#its always going to be 24 hours for me. gotta be QUICK

[mysicklove]

𝐌𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑, 𝐏𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐄 𝐋𝐎𝐎𝐊 𝐀𝐓 𝐌𝐄!

Pairing: Sub! Bottom! Bachira x Dom! Gn! Reader

Word Count: 3.7k

Warnings: Anal play, dildos, slight manipulation, reader is Gn but is implied to not have a penis, pet play, master/kitty kink, crying/begging

A/N: THIS IS A REPOST. my other got flagged super early on so I'm just testing to see if it will again. andddd dont be like Y/N kids, sex can come later, stay in school!!! focus on your studies!!!

Bachira has you wrapped around his pretty finger. 

The both of you know it, and he seems to love how easily he gets what he wants. He knew exactly how you reacted to a smile, or how you would coddle him when tears flooded his eyes.

You didn't mind listening to him, he was adorable and always so sweet to you. But he is so incredibly needy. Its like he wants your attention to be on him 24/7. Its cute having him cling to you when you have free time, but when you are busy it gets rough.

It's not like he is a brat. He listens well, and would never dare to talk back to you. He just seems to have too much love to give. Wants more and more, and its always so hard to decline when he looks so adorable.

But tonight, you needed to work on your essay. It was due at 11:59, and you've barely touched it. You needed just a couple more hours, and then you should be good for the night. Then, you are free for the rest of week to relax. 

“Meow…” A familiar high pitched voice chirps from behind you. He runs his hands down your chest, and places his head on your shoulder. He's wearing black fingless gloves with pink pawprints on them.

You know what he wants, from the way he drags his fingers along your body, to the way his voice seems to hold a slight purr. “Not now, Meguru. Can you wait till tomorrow?” You respond, eyes not leaving the screen, even if his hands get dangerously close to your crotch. 

If you show that you are affected by him, you are done for. Somehow one way or another he will be getting fucked tonight.

You don't have time today. The two of you had sex the last three days, and you know he isnt pent up. He just always seems to crave more. He was a spoiled thing. 

“Want you to fuck me,” he purrs into your ear, giggling lightly into your neck as if he was bashful about the lewd statement. As if he hasn't said way more dirty things the last couple of nights. He always was a talker. 

“I know, I know. I gotta finish this, love. Maybe later if i'm not too tired.” You reach up and rub the back of his hair, sighing when you feel the kitten eared headband. You had to restrain yourself from checking if he was wearing lingerie too. 

He must have knew you were busy, if he brought out the outfit. Probably thinking to himself, something along the lines of, desperate times calls for desperate measures.

He whines, high pitched and needy. “Pretty please? We can go quickly! Promise!”

You sigh when you feel him pawing at the buttons of your pants. You grab his wrists, before he can manage to undo them, which causes another whine to tear through his lips. “It's never quick with you,” You remind, and he grins. He would go the entire night if you allowed him too.

He laughs before placing a kiss to your neck. Two now, and he's suckling, most likely trying to leave a hickey. You grip his hair and pull him away. You didn't need to go in public with one on your neck. “Cause you're so good at it. Make me feel so good, I don't want to ever stop. Cmon, lets do it….I can give you head if you want!”

You roll your eyes with a grin. “How tempting...”

His hands try to escape your grasp, eyes already widen at the idea. “Mhmm! Let you ride my f–”

You don't let them free, pinning them to your stomach. “If I didn't have to finish this.”

His head collapses on your shoulder and he lets out another dramatic whine. Then, he menevours himself from behind you, to on your lap. You raise your eyebrows at his attire. You were right, black lacey lingerie with hints of light pink. He is even wearing a black leather collar a pink ribbon on the front.

He grins at you when you take in his appearance and successfully tears his hands away from you. He grabs your wrist, and gently lays your hand on his clothed cock. You have to force yourself to look away at the lewd sight, you are trying your hardest to not fuck him tonight.. 

“Look! Cmon please look,” He begs, and you have to take a glance. Just a peak, for your sanity. 

Resting in the black panties was his hard on, seeming to be leaking through the cloth. He kisses your neck again. “For you. All dressed up for you too. Do you want me to meow for you?”

The idea seems to make your head spin. Imaging on all fours while you pound into him. Would he moan, or would he really meow? 

Then he grabs your other hand and places it on his hole, now plugged with a cat tail. His eyes bore into yours, and he's grinning, cheeks flushed. “Prepped too. You don't gotta worry bout it. I'm all ready for you. Please Master?” 

You gulp when he begins to rock his hips into your hand. It sounds so appeasing to you. Maybe the two of you could get a round in…See his eyes roll back, and his mouth hang open. He always did have the prettiest face when he was lost in pleasure.

The computer screen darkens from the lack of use and your eyes flicker to it. Your assignment was more important. You could fuck all the time after you completed it. “Meguru,” You sigh, using your free hand to move the mouse so the computer does not fall asleep.

He continues to grind his clothed cock into your hand, letting out small whimpers. “Kitty~” He corrects, a small smile on his now pink face.

An idea pops into your head and you grin, maybe a bit maliciously. His eyes lighten up in return when he thinks you have agreed, and immediately presses his lips to yours. You let him for awhile, even going as far to help him grind on your hand.

When you pull away, his eyes are already half-lidded, and he seems to be almost buzzing in excitement. It almost makes you feel bad, but alas, this was important.. “’’m gonna grab the strap,” he murmurs, and quickly jumps off your lap. You watch the black tail swish at the movement.

But before he leaves you grab his wrist, and he turns to you, confused. “I'm going to pick what you will use,” You say smoothly, standing up from the chair and heading toward the bedroom. 

His eyes lighten at this, shivering in excitement at the prospect of you choosing the largest one. Though, the idea of him not playing soccer tomorrow because of him being sore does not sound to appealing. But alas, he follows along with a hop in a step.“Of course, Master!”

You take a deep breathe when you hear him continue the title, but you try to ignore the words. You grab the toybox, and Bachira is clinging to you, looking over your shoulder in excitement. “The big red one! No wait, what about the vibrating one? You know how it leaves my legs shaking. Oh choose, please choose one!”

You ignore the rambling in your ear and continue your searching. When you finally grab it, Bachira hums in question, “The suction one? Where will we do it then? Oh don't tell me you want me to ride it on your desk, you pervert Master!” He says, lightly hitting your shoulder, but almost drooling at the idea.

You ignore him again, and shut the box. He is gripping onto your arm, rubbing his cheek on your body from excitement.

When you walk out to the office he runs over to desk and bends over, his tail on display. “Take it out,” He purrs, shaking his ass in front of you, causing you to raise you eyebrows. “Want your cock now, please?” 

You sigh and walk over to him. He presses his hips into your crotch and by now, you're not even suprised by the display. He always was like this, gave no shame on what we wanted. 

You grab at his waist, and gently run your fingers over the flesh. He hums, and continues to press back into you. You reach down and slowly pull out the plug, and he keens. His cheek is pressed up to the desk and he is groaning into wood at the stretch.

“There is goes. Good job,” You praise, not being able to help yourself. The plug was larger than expected, and it made it much harder for you to really focus on your work. He seems to feel the strain too, his hands gripping onto the mouse with a small whimper when the thickest part meets his ring.

When it finally is out, he sighs, “Where do ya want me?” before turning to you with a cat like grin. 

You trace his jaw, and he leans into the touch. “Stay there for a second,” You whisper, and gently use your fingers to turn his head away. He nods immediately and buries his face into his arms, excited for what you have planned for him.

You glance at him, nearly bouncing in excitement, and then your half finished essay. Then, you sigh, and grab the suction dildo, and stick it to the floor next to your chair. It was a couple feet away so he can have room. With this, he can have his fun, and you can finish your essay.

But of course you should have known it wouldn't have worked. He craved attention and you were way too easily convinced.

When he turns around his smile falls immediately. “What's that?” He says, pointing to the dildo on the floor. He reaches for your hand for comfort, but you've already turned away.

You sit back on you chair, and turn your computer back on. “Knock yourself out. I need to finish this, but don't want you to get frustrated.”

He shakes his head at first, eyes switching back and forth from you and the floor. The two black knee pads placed next to it, lets him know immediately what you have planned for him. Him and him alone.

In one last attempt, he drops to his knees in front of you, and you raise your eyebrows. He places himself in between your legs and rests his head on your inner thigh. Then, he grabs your hand and places it on his head, pleading for you to pet him. “Please don't be mean, Master! I dressed up for you. I-I wanna be your kitty.”

Your eyes barely flicker to him, and he rubs his face on your thigh to hopefully get more attention. He whines when you don't react, loud and dramatic. “Meguru, I love you, but I need to finish this. Your toy is right there.” Your voice is flat, and your hand doesn't move.

“B-But I–Please?”

You grip at his hair, sending his head backward with a wince. His neck is exposed to you, and he looks up at you with half closed eyes. “You will either fuck the toy or nothing at all.”

The two of you stare at one another for a long second, before he seems to cave in on himself from the harshness of the glare. “Okay…” He half whimpers, hoping to pull some guilt out of you. 

When you don't say anything in response, he pouts and crawls over toward the dildo. It was simple, black and not too big. But you werent the one fucking him, so it wouldnt feel as good. He puts on the kneepads so that they don't get bruised from the hardwood floor.

He glances back to you. “I'm going to fuck it now.”

“Mhm’kay”

He clentches his fists and glares at the back of your neck, but positions the silicon cock in between his legs. He looks at his paw print gloves and has to bite back another whine, thinking about how this should have gone.

But, he grabs the dildo, and positions it up to his hole, and slowly begins to sink down on it. A quivered breath escapes his lips, as he tries to grip at the ground in front of him to no avail. It was harder to do by himself, usually you have to guide him through it. 

“Help?” He pleads, loud and whiny.

You don't even look at him. “You've taken something bigger than that. You're being whiny Meguru.”

Kitty. He was supposed to be your pretty kitty for the night. How did he end up on the floor, fucking a toy with no help. And why are you being so mean?

He bottoms out after a couple more seconds, and he gasps, leaning forward to brace himself on his fore arms. He shivers, and he can't help the small smile pulls at his lips, while his eyes slightly roll back. “It's in.”

You can't help but wonder, his gasps behind you are intriguing you. He usually was collapsing on to you when you stretch him out, in all honesty him doing this by himself was impressive. “Whole thing?”

“Mhmm” He starts rolling his hips, his cock beginning to leak at the needed intrusion. The second be bottomed out, he felt like some sort of rational part of him was put to rest. Now, he can simply focus on losing himself on the toy. 

“Good job, kitty.” He preens at the praise, and he focuses his gaze on you, hoping you've turned around by now. His smile drops when he hears the clicking of the keyboard and the back of your head.

It was upsetting him, and he could feel the pain in the chest from the lack of your attention. He was doing this all for you, why can't you just look at him? He ignores the tears starting to form in frustration.

Instead, he moves his hips, slightly pushing himself upward and then back down. A soft moan escapes him and his cock twitches. 

This time, he uses the his knees to push himself to the tip of the toy, and uses his entire weight to sit back down completely on it. His fingers curl and his back arches, while his mouth seems to hang open at the force. 

You hear a loud slapping sound, followed by a high pitched moan, way louder than before.The finger on your mouse pauses at the sound, and when he recollects himself, his eyes seem to focus in on the singular finger.

 In an instant, he knows exactly on how to get your attention again.

He resettles himself on the floor, and changes position. He begins to pick up the pace, rolling his hips desperately, causing his dick to slap upon his stomach. “F-Fuck master!”

Your heart hammers in your chest and you try to keep your focus on the screen. You gulp when you hear the moans get higher in pitched, and try to ignore the slapping sound of skin on skin.

He goes back to bouncing on the silicon cock, and uses one hand to reach forward to stroke his cock. His face is already flushed from the movements, and his eyes are half lidded, but all he does is stare at the back of your neck. “My cock…Feels good!”

Your eyes snap to his in an instant, and he seems to light up at the new found attention. Unexpected, but not unwelcomed. “I didn't say you could touch yourself, Meguru.”

He laughs in between pants, slightly shivering under your gaze. “C-Can't help it. Need it. S’good.”  

Even at the warning, his hand doesnt seem to stop its motions, sliding up and down the shaft, while he continues to jump on the toy. Tears begin to brim at his eyes, and his mouth seems to hang open with time. The moans have grown less dramatized for attention, but still are loud as they usually are. He was truly losing himself on the toy.

You just sigh, and turn back around. You are given him what we wants by getting upset at him. And it may go by quicker if he touched himself, then you can focus with no interruptions.

When he sees you turn back around again, he tumbles forward toward you. Tears begin to fall down his cheek, and the dildo slips out from the movement. He was so close. You were so close to helping him. He needed your help.

He murmurs a whiny curse under his breathe, and turns back toward it. His brain is fuzzy, and the only thing he seems to want in this very moment was to cum, from you. 

He pouts, and whimpers, but he sits back on it, and his eyes roll back with a sigh. And just like before he begins grinding on the toy, but this time he isn't moaning, it's full on whines and whimpers. “Please. Please help. Im trying to be good. Please, I can't without you.”

He bites his lip so it doesnt tremble, and he watches the precum drip out of his cock and onto the floor. His dick looks so useless in this moment, it was almost humiliating. He wishes you were looking at him, to tease him for how leaky he was. To praise him for how good he was doing.

With every bounce he whimpers your name. 

“Meguru,” You sigh, “You're so needy.” 

He hears the chair squeak, and you stand up. Tears stream down his face, but he's smiling as you walk over to him. He slows his movements when you crouch down in front of him. The two of you are now on eye level and he stares at you with glazed eyes and shaky legs.

You run your fingers down his jaw, and to his lips, gently telling him to release the poor bitten pink flesh. “What am I going to do with you, kitty?”

He sobs at the condescending words and collapses into you, the toy still lodged between his legs. “Fuck me. Fuck me, please. Wanna–I want it!” He says, buring his flushed face into your neck.

You pull him back again by his hair, similar to earlier, and you swear you heard a moan. “No. You can cum from that. I know you can. I'll be here to watch.”

He frowns again, obviously not liking this answer, but too fucked out to really do anything. Besides, at this point he will take anything from you.

 So, he just grabs onto shoulders and uses them as leverage for his movements.

His mouth now hangs open, and he's staring at you the entire time, while you coo and run you fingers through his hair. “Look how cute you are. Such a pretty kitty.”

Those were the words he craved, needed. He nods helplessly and giggles breathlessly , trying to put on the role he planned on even with his fucked out brain. “M-Meow!”

You grin at the sound, kissing his neck as he keens at the feeling. His legs are shaking and with everybounce you can hear the lewd slapping noise of skin upon hardwood. He's drooling ever so slightly, and he staring at you with hearts in his eyes. 

His moans begin to get higher and pitch, and his hands seem to tighten on your shoulder. You know the signs by heart now, you've seen it so many times. “Need to cum?”

“Yes! Close! I’m–Can I please?” You glance at the cute puddle on pre beginning to form beneath him and kiss his cheek.

“Sure. You can cum,” You whisper into his ear, and pulls you closer to him, wrapping his arms around the back of you neck for stability. With every breathe a high pitched moan is released, and sweet the sound turns you on immensely,

He nuzzles his tear-streaken face into your shoulder and mumbles, “For you,” on repeat and you smile in his hold. 

“Yeah kitty, cum for me.” 

“Oh fuck. Oh fuck, I cant–Im cumming!” He grips onto you tighter when he feels the wave crash over him. His whole body jerks, and he shuts his eyes adorably tight. You grin when you see his legs tremble and feet curl from under the pawprint socks. His fuming cock leaks out a coupious amount of liquid onto the floor, making the puddle even bigger now. 

He holds onto you, even after his orgasm tears through him, almost seeming to purr when you run your fingers through his hair. He nuzzles into your embrace, and slides himself off the toy. “Mhmmm. Felt good,” he mumbles into your neck.

“Good. Cmon, let's clean you up and run you a bath so that I can finish my essay.”

He begins to litter kisses up your neck, and you sigh, knowing something is about to come. “Actually I was thinking bout round two.”

You shake your head, and rub the bridge of you nose. “I've never met anyone as needy as you.”

He laughs, a little breathlessly and dazed from the after effects of the orgasm. “I'm glad. I can have you all to myself.” 

And even with his now trembling legs, he manages to pull the both of you up, and drag you toward the bedroom. He pushes you down on the bed and races toward the toy box before you could even protest.

When he comes back with the toy in his hands, he has a glint in his eyes. “I was thinking the vibrating one.”

You eye the now vibrating dildo, twice the size of the previous one. “You trying to not play soccer for a couple on days?”

He laughs, and dives onto the bed, already planning on what to say to keep you distracted from the essay.

In the end the assignment was turned in late, but you couldn't even be that mad, because your boyfriend is grinning lazily on the bed, hair messy, and legs shaking from the multiple rounds the two of you went at it.

He was such a pretty sight to behold.

[jacobsbigmelons]

Also...face sitting with jacob 🤭 like him whimpering and whining because readers tongue just feels so fucking good

Midnight fun

Jacob Custos x Male reader

cw: nsfw, face sitting, face riding, handjob, masturbation and my bad execution of these fics by always starting out in the cabins 💀

i love seeing jocks like jacob being the ones who are eaten out, go fuck a top rn

Jacob was scratching at his underwear as he was trying to get comfortable underneath his sheets, his crop top dangling off the side of the bed frame about to fall to the floor if he keeps moving around. Though the sound of a singular drop of liquid in the quiet cabin made him perk up for a split second before trying to get back to sleep.

You spat out a drop of saliva into your hand as you began to stroke your cock quickly trying to imagine any kind of explicit imagery in your brain though due to Mr.H taking all of the councilors phones you haven’t been able to get off as easily as you used to unless you spent some time with Jacob of course.

At this point Jacob was just staring up at the ceiling as the sounds of a sort of sloppy wet noise began to come from underneath him, he furrowed his brow as he felt his cheeks heat up a bit as the bulge in his pants only got bigger. He opened his mouth as if to speak. “Yo dude…are you…getting off right now?”

His voice caught you off guard and quite frankly kinda freaked you out as your heart raced a bit, eyebrows shot up just a second as your hard on began to go soft pretty quick. After all your friend…with benefits? just caught you going at it. “Shit- uh…my bad, look I can go somewhere else to finish.” You said with a quiver to your voice, looking up to the wooden boards holding up the mattress above you.

“Dude, I fucked you like not even a whole 24 hours ago. If you gotta bust do your thing man.” Jacob stated so nonchalantly but at the same time he did have a point, you guys fucked early in the morning so it shouldn’t be weird if you were to merely jerk off in his presence. “Could I ask a favor?” you said as Jacobs crop top finally made its way to the wooden floor.

“What’s up?” A curious tone laced Jacobs words as his mind was predicting the question might be related to helping you out somehow. “Could you come down? Maybe help me out a bit?” You shrugged slightly as if Jacob was able to see you despite not even being down there. Silence filled the room for a few seconds before the sound of Jacob getting up made the wooden boards holding his bed up squeak a bit as his foot made its way to the wooden ladder. You were pleased with the sight despite the lack of light available to you except for a few of the outside lights illuminating the place as well as the moonlight.

“Alright what’re we doing? Bj? Missionary? Sneaking out? Maybe 69’in-“ “Jacob!” Jacob quieted down as he heard you raise your voice despite you trying to call out to him about 3 other times but he just kept talking. “I was wondering…if we could do some face…riding…sitting? Face stuff let’s go with that.” You said questioning your request, hopefully Jacob was able to keep all that you said in that brawny noggin of his.

“Oh hell yeah dude, so what you sit on me and i just kinda eat you out or…?” He said as he took a seat next to you, his hand already rubbing your thigh as a way to get you hard again which was definitely working despite him not even knowing your soft. “About that…I wanted you to be the one on me.” You softly stated, bracing yourself for the possible rejection, you wouldn’t mind if you were the one being on top of him but you’ve had this on your mind for awhile so why not try it.

“O-oh…me? Uh…I mean, sure yeah let’s- let’s do it” Jacob was clearly nervous a bit, he scratched the back of his neck which definitely gave it away. “We don’t have to if-“ You were cut off by his hands yanking you by your waist just enough to get face to face with him as he kissed you very unprofessionally and may have accidentally dinked noses just a bit due to the lack of light but he had to make it known he didn’t mind.

“It’ll be new to me but that doesn’t mean we can’t try it” Jacob said with a playful tone, the light barely reflecting off the shine from his teeth. “Alright, nice um so just…” you laid onto your back once again as you maneuvered Jacob closer to you, his legs climbing onto your mattress as you felt him turn around, the sound of his boxers being pulled off. “Just go ahead and sit, this face is all yours.”

You said with a grin on your face as you backed Jacob more and more closer to you, he was definitely a bit hesitant as he was right in front of you, ass to face as you slowly pulled him down. He cooperated but you felt him shift some of the weight to his legs. “Why aren’t you putting all your weight on me?” You softly asked not to make him feel bad “I don’t wanna hurt you is all, I weigh a lot with all this muscle.” He giggled at the end as you shifted your face out from under him for just a second “I want you to put all that weight on me, I can take it. Trust” you said in a way Jacob could tell you were smiling despite not seeing you.

You repositioned yourself as you pulled him down slowly again as you felt a lot more weight be put atop of you as you made a satisfactory grunt, your tongue now rapidly moving around his hole and the area. Jacob cursed out quietly as the sudden pleasurable feeling surrounded his body and made him feel warm all around. He put one hand in between the crevice of the wood and mattress above him and the other on the wall next to you just to keep himself steady as you kept going.

Your arms wrapped around his waist as you practically had him held down on top of you as your tongue massaged around and inside his hole “mmmhmm” your muffled moans gave Jacob the slight reassurance he needed to know you enjoyed what you were doing. “Fffuck dude your tongue feels so good” Jacob heaved as his hand in the wooden crevice moved to your dick. You didn’t expect him to make a move like that which made you pause which in that case you decided to slightly push Jacob up a bit just to take a breath. “God your ass is amazing, you gotta let me play with it more” you said getting as much air as you could before putting him back down onto you.

Both of you were doing your own thing, it was hard to focus as you so badly wanted to thrust into Jacobs hand and it was hard for Jacob not to cum right then and there. You began to move his hips back and forth, your tongue slid around as his ass moved around your face, Jacobs quiet whimpers became more apparent the more you did that which only made you wanna go harder somehow. You added your teeth as you began to bite around his ass whether it be one of his cheeks or around the hole itself. A mix of slight pain and pleasure only made it better.

It was obvious you both were at the point of cumming, Jacob could only whine whenever you bit or licked and as he stroked you the more you moaned which only caused vibrations which made the feeling for him even better. You couldn’t stop especially when you moved him where your nose could actually receive air so you were on autopilot. You wanted him to do badly cum but at the same time you couldn’t help but feel a sense of domination over him since you were the one guiding him after all. You stopped moving him around as you stopping tongue fucking his hole which made him stop as well. “W-why…why’d you stop?!” His whiny tone was a tune to hear as his whimpers and whiny breaths made it clear he was desperate to finish, almost as if he was right there. “Cmon babe please? I was just about to blow my load…” Jacob whined out as he creased his lips, the small giggle you let out not helping the situation.

“Say it again.” You stated, “oh my fucking god…please please please just- just keep going dude.” Jacob pleaded, if he could he would probably even get on his knees and beg and as hot as a sight like that would be you also were super close to finishing so you might as well humor him and totally not continue to finish yourself off too. You wrapped your arms once again around his waist as you pushed him down onto you as your tongue felt even more euphoric than before.

“Ohh-ho-hah..ho oh my fucking god for fucks sake i’m- oh fuck i’m gonna fucking cum-!“ Jacob moved his left hand from the wall onto his cock as he jerked it just as quick as he was with yours in his right hand. “mmM- fffkkk!” You moaned as loud as you could though Jacobs ass practically muffled it as you felt yourself nut which shot all across your stomach and a bit on Jacobs thighs. Though that didn’t stop you from going on his ass with what energy you got left, your nails now gripping sharply into his torso area as you moved your head quicker and quicker until Jacob was a moaning and utter mess and you felt like you were gonna crash.

“Jesusdude i-im fucking sensitive- a-oh-ho-hhh” Jacob ended his sentence with a long breath of pleasure as you finally nudged him off of you as he made his way to the edge of the bed, heavy breathing following as you sat up next to him copying his breathing. “W-was that okay?” you said, sweat now covering your top half as the moonlight reflected a lot more of that. “That was fucking awesome babe, shouldn’t have doubted your…well experienced tongue” Jacob took a second to think of what to say as he picked his boxers up again, as you stood up to put yours back on as well.

Jacob sat back down as you did the same, his arms wrapping themselves around your neck as you two kissed for what felt like a small infinity. Though Jacob pulling away only to climb back onto his bed gave you both the opportunity to think about what tomorrow has in store for you both.

[venushasvixens]

Chapter 24. Before We Go - Life is but a Dream (Spike Spiegel x Reader)

Word Count: 4.5k 

Warnings: none  

[A/N] well, its the beginning of the end of this fic! We got a lot to get through though, so don’t go nowhere. Enjoy! 

“You think or you know?”

“I know. An old dog still knows her way around.”

You and Spike crept into a small alleyway full of boxes and trash. It reeked of the materials that were thrown away, only a little illumination was shining through from the street lights. You looked out in front of you, noticing that familiar car in front of you.

The way the car was cruising, it was almost like it wanted you and Spike to catch up to it. You had to admit, having this place close to each other wasn’t that smart, but knowing the law in town, you really felt like they weren't too concerned about it. You really hope that you weren’t falling into a trap.

You walked on the tip of your feet, the small pap of your feet could be heard against puddles and pieces of trash. But from where you were, you doubt that he could’ve heard the creeping investigators on his back. From the outside, it looked like a warehouse, in the middle of nowhere. Brown, rusted. Broken down. The doors looked ragged. It looked like it had no business holding what you think it had. You remembered this place very clearly.

There he is.” You barely whispered, your lips just mouthing the words.

“Ah, you gotta be shitting me.” An old soldier, the one you always hated. Annoying, creepy, didn’t know anything about personal space.

“You know him?”

“Unfortunately.” You mumbled. “Perv.”

All the buildings surrounding were closed, no lights in their windows or the streets. Without a doubt, the syndicate bought them all out. Not suspicious at all.

You looked at the man as he stepped out and swung the door open, the door closing behind him with a loud ca-thunk.

“We’re going to wait this out.” You said, turning to Spike. “I still know how to get in.”

“Its been a while since you’ve been here, are you sure you do?” He asked. “For all we know, this place could be surrounded by traps. We could be in one as we speak.”

“I thought the same thing. But how could they know, Spike?” You said, putting your hand on his chest, your brows furrowed. He put his hand over yours and kept it there, looking at the hangar and back at you.

He sighed. “If he is not out in the next hour, we are gone. Understand?”

You nodded, your eyes searching your surroundings. It didn’t take long at all, to your delight. To get this done, and for you and Spike to be on their merry ways to Lou’s and back to the Bebop.  The door opened once more, and the man stepped out. He grunted, stuffing his keys back into his pocket and climbing into the car. Now it was time to get all of this over with.

“Good, I thought he was never going to leave.” Spike mumbled sarcastically, looking around the corner as the car drove away.

You purse your lips and made the first move, creeping into the shadows and towards the entrance of the warehouse. Your hands, thimble and quick, began to work on the lock. Spike swiveled on your back, hand on holster.

“For something so secretive, this is a flimsy lock.” You stated.

“Shouldn't it be open by now?” Spike said lowly again, looking over his shoulder at you. “Aren’t you an expert?”

“Working on it. You need to give me a second.”

“We don’t have any, (Y/N).” He mumbled, his eyes darting around.

You could tell he was a little anxious about this, or agitated that you both were still in Yun in the midst of enemies and danger. To have another situation ending with a shootout, or either one of you getting badly injured, would be another disappointment. You wanted to shake off the thought, but it had to be taken into consideration as you tried to break into the warehouse.

Spike was not too keen that the both of you were still stuck here. Just having to leave the streetlights into the deep darkness of this unknown city put him on a higher alert than ever.

He remembered just how hurt he was before. While he tried to process your lie, he realized that he was so focused on it that he completely forgot how he got into his ship. Mid air, he gripped onto his controller and tried his best to meditate on it. And it took him all day to process it.

Waves of emotions echoed in the small red ship, from anger to hurt, to sadness and somehow, back to happiness.

Anger from having something important kept from him.

Hurt from the aftermath, and dealing with the thought that it was out of love that this secret was kept under wraps. And the fact that you both almost died.

Sad that you were sad. If you kept something as big as this as a secret, would you be sad? No, no. There was no way that you were unfeeling. Spike had clearly seen every single one of them from you. A comm from Jet pinged in, confirming his latter belief.

[Jet] Told her. She is a mess.

And lastly, there was happiness. Why? Because you were feeling. You were not cold, or uncaring. Every fiber of your humanity was intact, thriving with every kiss, every punch, every tear that fell from your eyes.

From the beginning, this mission felt like a step further closer to the edge. You both were close in finding a way to keep the syndicate off of your trail. How long could you hold them off? What would damage them so badly, that there would be no syndicate at all. He knew there was something you were trying to prove, something to close the past for you forever.

If it was destroying just a fraction of what there was, the rest could follow suit. As much as it annoyed Spike about history and that “Art of War” crap that Jet sprinkled into morning conversations, he could remember something about the fall of Rome. It only took one little push, and the domino effect went into place. All fell, and the recovery was harder to conceive.

In this day and age, it was very easy to. Guns, armies, power. That’s all it took to annihilate life. You may have not had any of that right now, but…there just had to be a one, tiny, little push.

He loved your determination. He loved the way you put yourself out to fight for what you believed in, even if it scared him. Oh god, he didn’t want to say it again, but it was true. He was scared for you.

Conflicted in the beginning of your time together, whether it was right to fall in love again, or if to push himself away again. That was his fear when finding himself in love with you. It was the fear of losing you. He cringes at the thought, not wanting to imagine the moment and aftermath of your death. How lost he would be without the light in his life.

The close encounter on Earth shook him to his core. Your bloodied body sent shockwaves, feeling as if everything was going by so slow. The response from Jet and Faye could have been milliseconds, but for him it felt like eons. He reminded himself that his fear was the reason that he was here with you, by your side.

So he swallowed his fear and straightened himself out.

“Did you get it?” He gently said this time, reaching a hand on your thigh as he had his back turned on yours. A hum came from you as you fiddled with it even more.  The clanky jingle of the lock becoming free and dropping to the side confirmed this, and the short chuckle from you.

“There we go.” You pat his side, looking around. You turned to Spike and pushed his hat down further on his face, fluffing up his coat. His skin shivered at your cold fingers, but he let her do whatever she wanted to him. Maybe skin to skin was better than a cigarette to calm his nerves.  “I’m going in for a minute. Only for a minute.”

“Do you want me to come?” He asked, tilting his head as his eyes bore into yours.

You shook your head. “It won’t take me long at all. Its just a quick look around, but until then, you know what to do. Stay hidden, and stay quiet. Understand?”

Seeing you give demands, as serious as it was, turned him on. Wasn’t the best place to have a feeling, but the way your tone was and just how beautiful you looked, he couldn’t help it. As you turned to open the door, Spike whisked you back to face him, his arm around your waist.

“What, what’s wr-“ you began, only to feel Spike’s wanting lips on yours, his arms just holding onto you. Oh how he kissed you. It was hungry, full of emotion and want. You couldn’t help but moan softly from how it felt, being kissed so sweetly by Spike.

You found yourself gripping onto his coat, almost sneaking yourself into his coat. Opening your eyes, you found a hazy gaze staring right back at you, a smirk growing from Spike’s lips. You breathed hard, shaking your head softly.

“That was for luck.”

“Well, umm….” You began as you tried to catch your breath. “I-if you keep doing this, we may just have to go on more missions together.”

“Stay in my room tonight and I’ll show you more.”

You pressed your lips together, getting mad at yourself for not focusing on the task at hand. You really hoped there was nothing to look at so you could make it back to Spike quicker. Would be a waste of time and resources, but fuck it.

On your heels, you opened the door slowly. The inside was barely lit, with a few lights illuminating the corners of the warehouse. You put your sunglasses on, with your gun out. Holding it by your side, you crossed over the threshold.

You bent your head down, eyeing the odd shapes that were single filed lines in front of you. You just needed a closer look.

The platform along the walls of the warehouse creaked, causing you to jump.

The main floor, if you could remember, only held cars and ammo. Nothing bigger than that. A few ships were in tow, but even that was a lot.

Your ventures never left Mars, and if they did, it was on bigger missions with more supplies that you think you could’ve lived without.

Despite it being chilly outside, there was a deep mist in here, floating all throughout the air.

That was odd.

You squint your eyes as you take baby steps in, taking note of the multiple boxes of ammo and equipment that was just ready to be unveiled and used on any poor soul. That was normal.

You walked down the initial platform you were on, to the main floor below. Those were machines? They were so small though…

But a closer look revealed a lot more. Sheets covered the weird shapes, cloaked in obscurity. You pulled one back, observing the details of what laid before you.

Their shape was just so odd. Circular, single rider. Multiple machine guns built on both sides. You noticed black bars on both sides as well. God this looked so well made, it looked like it would have cost a fortune just for the one. You took out your wrist scanner, allowing it to take a glance over the small carrier. Once downloaded, you back up.

This was a lot different from the modes of transportation from your day.

But…there is absolutely no way this was in their budget. Machine ships with such care and quality. Then you backed up, onto the platform. Single filed lines…more than you can count. From the outside, the warehouse looked a lot smaller, but inside, it was as big as a football field.  

In the darkness, you could see there was more than you thought there was. Machines of death and destruction, waiting to be used at any given moment. This wasn't what you remembered, it was worse. There was something far sinister that they had in store. You knew they were just finding an excuse to use these things, to test out their damage. You breathed heavily, and rushed to the door.

This syndicate was bigger than you thought it was. And they were ready for any war, at any time.

A message was already sent back to the Bebop, notifying Jet of what you had seen. Immediately, he was on the job. “Did you find what you needed?”

“And more.” You spoke, shaking your head softly. “We’re making a pit stop and we’ll be back soon.”

After showing Spike what you had seen, hastily as you both rushed away from the area around the warehouse, he shook his head. You both spoke in hushed tones about what it was all for. You had your theories, as well as he did. But one thing was absolutely clear.

You had to get thinking. And quickly.

One step ahead.

Avoiding bringing the Bebop even near any settlement that was remotely close to Yun was a first. Staying in your own lane, not bounty hunting for a while. Running from the past, and the past catching up to you seemed to be a running trend nowadays.

This was going to be a group discussion for sure.

With a goodbye, you and Spike approached the diner closer, his careful gaze searching the area. “Are you sure she’s here?”

The lights outside of the diner were shining as bright as they did so long ago.

The outside, although shrouded by more buildings and trees, was still the same. Some corners were withered, but with character. The inside was lit, the open sign flickering. There was Lou, flipping the window shutters closed. You could feel your heart beam in happiness, wanting to just run inside and hold onto her. You noticed the hours were shortened.

She is someone you need to talk to, especially now. You smiled, seeing now that she had never changed. She was still perfect to you. “Uh-huh.”

You both glanced at each other before heading up to the entrance. You turned to Spike, fluffing up his collar again and brushing the hair from his ears. “There we go…nice..”

“What are you doing?” He asked, his eyebrows lifting as he trailed your hands over his face and coat, smoothing them both out.

“Making you look presentable.” You said flatly, taking another look over. You brushed his eyebrows with your thumbs, feeling the deep rumble of Spike’s mumbling against your chest.

“Does my rugged appearance not charm you?” He mumbled, his deep tone gravel as he pouted. “My character is built off of it.”

“Mother figures don’t like rugged, they like straight.” You replied, winking at him slyly. Puffing air out, you took that as a gesture of understanding your little tease. From behind, you could hear him fiddling with his collar. Opening the door to the diner, you stepped in first, head down. Your sunglasses covered your eyes, hiding most of your face.

Spike followed suit.

“Hello, hello.” You heard from the waitress as you both walked in. She sighed rather loud, setting the rag she was wiping the counter with on the shelf below.

You saw Jeanie, older than she was many years ago. Her hair was still pinned back in a bun, her face weathered by time and still, sharp. You could feel her attitude from all the way outside of the diner. Somehow, as offstandish she was to you, a smile from her was just as good as a hug.

Distracted with putting plates up, and cleaning the counter, she spoke with her eyes down, distracted by her closing work. “What can I get you lovebirds today?”

“I’m not too sure. What are your specials today?” You asked, your voice low. “Afraid I only have this much today.”

You threw a couple of woolong coins on the counter, the loud clatter of the metal bounced off the diner, echoing. Wincing at the sound, you looked towards the waitress, who scowled at the rude gesture. Wasn’t too nice to have the same done to her all those years ago, but maybe it would help her remember.

She took one look at the coins, and huffed. “That isn’t even enough for a plate.”

“But its all I got.”

“Sorry, no can do.” She insisted. “The door is right over there…” She took a glance at you, and took a double take, her face dropping. You smiled, taking off your glasses.

“Oh, oh my god.” She said breathlessly. “Oh my god, (y/n)!” She yelled. She ran around the corner of the counter and threw her arms around you. You were surprised that she could even show this type of affection towards anyone. Happily, you hugged her back, chuckling. “Lou! Get your behind out here!”

Spike gave a small smile, happy to see that you were. He put his hands in his pockets, and stepped back for this reunion to play out.

“What?” You heard. “What's going on?” You pulled back, looking at the entrance of the kitchen doors, your face lighting up. Out of the corner of your eye, you saw Jeanie turn off the neon sign and lock the door. The lights on the outside were off, and so were the ones in the cafe, except for a few. Something told you that Jeanie knew about the trouble of being here, and of being caught.

Out came Lou, her apron off and the front strands of her hair pulled back. She never changed. She was just as beautiful as the day you left. She put her hand over her mouth, tears welling in her eyes. Remembering that you were in front of her, she held out her arms, and you jumped into them. Her hug was warm, her hands holding onto her shoulders tightly.

It was just like how you remembered.

“This is a face that I thought I’d never see again.” She said softly, planting a tiny peck on your head.

“I’m so glad to see you again.” You replied, smiling big.

“Me too, sweetie.” She wiped away the tear from her eyes, chuckling the same as you. “I shouldn’t cry, I got makeup on.”

You all laughed, putting your arm around her. “And who is this young man right here?” She asked, raising her eyebrows. She gave a knowing glance, her face telling you all she wanted to ask. You couldn’t help but roll your eyes, and held out your hand to Spike.

“This is Spike. He and I are together.” You said, your heart beating even more as you said that. To say it to someone you knew, it made it official. “Spike, this is Lou. She helped raise me since I was at the orphanage.”

Spike knew how to make this sweet. He took off his hat, and held out his hand. “How are you, miss?” He said, giving that signature sweet smile.

“Gosh, miss. Haven’t heard that in a minute. ” Lou said, giggling. She took his hand gratefully, shaking it. “I’m doing well, Spike. “Oh, (y/n), you picked out a pretty one. Good hair, really nice smile.”

You raised your eyebrows, at Spike, almost like you were saying, “what did I tell you?”

“Oh no no. He picked me.” You glanced at him, who gave you a small wink. After all this time, you could’ve crumbled right there in front of all of them.

“Now, I have to ask you. What brings you back to Yun?” Lou said, folding her arms. “I mean, I haven’t seen you since all of that went down.”

You sighed softly, hoping that she had enough time to hear what you had to say. “You got some coffee?”

“Plenty of. That long?” She asked. You nodded.

Sitting down, you started from the moment that you left. Planet after planet, bounty after bounty, hiding from Red Jack’s. Those moments where your ship was not worth looking through, the voices echoed on Mars of the syndicates on the rise. You went into great detail of trying to build yourself back up, getting your own ship and having your own home.

Even though it was a distant memory, it was a very special marker for you. Independence, finally being on your own and at peace.

“And now.” You said, sighing, preparing yourself for what you were about to say. “The reason why I am here is that they found me.”

Lou’s eyes widened, her hand on her chest. “Because you left?”

Nodding, you continued. “They found me. There was a shootout on Earth not too long ago, and I almost died.” You pulled up your sleeve and showed the scar of where the bullet had grazed you. Lou winced, shaking her head. “Had it not been for Spike, I would not be here.”

“I’m glad you were there, honey.” Lou said to Spike, patting his hand. “So glad.”

“So now, we are here to find out what exactly Jo has in store. We found something, but I’m not ready to set off alarm bells just yet.”

“I have plenty to say about that horrible woman.” Lou grumbled, taking a sip of her coffee. “I just didn’t know it was going to get this far.”

“Me either.” You replied. “Either way, I just want you to be on the lookout in case anything happens. You didn’t see anything, you didn’t hear anything, and you didn't speak anything. Even me being here is not the best, but I just had to you both.”

“I don’t care. As long as I know you’re alive and well, that is all that matters.” She nodded. “Now, tell me about this one.” She pointed over to Spike, humming to herself as you beamed. This ought to be good.

Spike listened intently, sitting at the booth beside you as you began to talk about your first meeting with him.

“Well, you’re not going to like how we first met, I will say.” You said, taking a sip of coffee.

“Try me.” Lou replied.

Spike sat back, crossing his arms. This ought to be good.

“Don’t worry, sweets, I’m not going to spill every detail.” You reassured him. Lou and Jeanie laughed, giving your hand a light smack. “I was chasing a bounty that had a large sum of woolong included in the reward. I was creeping up on the ship, when someone, not naming any names, threatened to take me out.”

“Take you out? Well why is that so bad-“

“No, Lou.” Jeanie said firmly, making a gun gesture with her hand. “Take her out.”

“Ohhhh. Oh.” She grimaced, nodding. “Okay, I see now.”

“We talked it through, and had some ups and downs.” You said, flashing back to all the times you had first argued and avoided each other. To the times you had spent sleepless nights in his room, wrapped in his embrace. Finally, now. Forgiveness, and moving on from the nightmare that overcame the both of you. “And here we are.”

Lou smiled. “Well I’m glad you’re happy, darling. I really am. I think that was something you needed all along.”

“What, a boyfriend?”

“No. Love.” She said. You both shared a knowing look, dating back years.

It told you the struggle you had been through, from how the love you first perceived at both the orphanage and from Jo was not true. It was just a ploy, another step in their scheme. Even if you didn’t love yourself in that period, or even now, it was still there. From Lou, a motherly love was unlike no other.

And from Spike…that was the love you always wanted. Someone who understood you, stood by your side when times were rough, and was willing to go to the ends of the galaxy to be with you.

Spike couldn't help himself. His admiration for you felt like it was going to burst out of his chest. Loving you was so easy, so peaceful. For a moment, he forgot where you both were and why you were in Yun. It honestly felt like meeting her mother and sitting down for some coffee, like normal people do. He just loved you so much.

He leaned over, planting a kiss on your cheek. His lips lingered for a moment, a smile enveloping in his kiss.

“Well isn't that sweet?” Lou said. “Oh, those were the days..” Lou sighed dramatically.

“She says that, like she doesn’t have a boyfriend of her own.” Jeanie added. Lou elbowed her softly, pressing her lips together. They both began to bicker, insults thrown between the both of them. You and Spike just watched as they both laughed from their shots from one another, your hand reaching for his.

“Ready to go home?” He whispered in your ear.

“I’m already home.” You whispered back, looking deep into Spike’s soul.

Your home, where you belonged, was right beside you. Holding your hand.

“Now these pancakes..” The red haired woman spoke through bites, nodding. “These pancakes are always delicious. No matter the day.”

She took a sip of her coffee, and let her utensils clank against the plate. She dabbed at the corners of her mouth and hummed. “I tell you, Lou, you are just the best.”

Her bodyguard that stood behind her was still, like he was a mannequin. Lou took notice of how quiet it was besides the hums of the refrigerators and the oven in the back. She also noticed just how hot her face was, and the grip on her cleaning rag.

“I’m glad you liked it.” She took the plate and put in a plastic bin, her back to Jo just a second. “Anything else I can get you?”

Jo had her hands clasped in front of her, one of those polite, unnerving smiles on her face. Her red lips were pressed together as she just stared at Lou. It was like she was frozen, just holding her gaze on her for so long. The seconds ticked by slowly, neither of them moving an inch.

“You know…some chocolate pie is nice.” She finally said. “And another moment of your time.”

Lou nodded, grabbing a slice and setting it in front of Jo. She carefully placed a fork next to her on a napkin.

“Any troubles?” Lou tried to grin as happily as she could, but it was damn near impossible. She already knew what she was going to ask.  “I’ve been told I could be a good therapist if I wanted to.”

“I sure hope so.” Jo said, twirling her fork against the plate, small scraping sounds heard as she did.

“Got any new visitors lately?”

-

Peace always comes and goes.

-

[myocsfanfictions]

The Road Ahead of Us - TWD (Season 2)

The Walking Dead Fanfiction

MASTERLIST

They had left Atlanta behind, trying to reach Fort Benning; but during an apocalypse nothing ever goes at it is planned. Sarah and Nicolette will have to face new challenges and dangers. How will they survive?

《 Previous - Next 》

Chapter 24

SARAH

Sarah could not stop thinking about Dale's eyes and his disappointment in all of them. She couldn't blame him; she really couldn't. She'd felt guilty for the entire day, and she still felt it, even though thinking of Randall dying was still a reassuring thought. And that scared her.

Who was she becoming? A frightened little girl or a heartless one? She really had no idea. But surely she didn't want Nicki to be either.

"Figured ya'd be here," Daryl's voice came from behind her as she was working on the car.

"I was just hoping to find somewhere quiet," she answered, oiling the pedals.

"Did ya?" he asked.

Sarah nodded her head. "It is quiet," she said, "But I forgot I can still think. " And boy, if she was thinking...

"What are you doing here?" she asked, standing up to face the man. He was leaning against the door frame, his arms crossed.

"Saw ya shaken up," he muttered, "Wanted ta know if ya were holding up."

Sarah passes a hand through her hair, feeling her mouth quiver, and her eyes sting. She really didn't want to cry, but she couldn't hold it in anymore, so she let some tears slip from her eyes.

"I'm trying to," she said, nodding her head, "As umm... as I'm trying not to feel guilty either way," he was observing her in silence, and that made her chuckle saddly, "God, you must think I'm a stupid little girl."

A stupid, frightened little girl who could not even make a decision without second thoughts. A little girl that always needed protection.

"I don'," he whispered, and that made her eyes widened. They both looked at each other in silence for some moments. Sarah did not know what to say, but she felt grateful for his words. Daryl chewed on his lip before looking down.

"I..." he whispered, "I gotta go." Sarah nodded her head. It was dark outside. They had decided to execute Randall at that time. Daryl, Shane, and Rick would have taken care of that.

"Daryl," she called for him before he could exit. Her voice made him stop and turn to look at her, "If you need to talk after..." she bit her lips, stopping herself from going any further. "Just... just know you can talk to me."

Daryl's blue eyes looked at her in silence for some long moments, but at the end, he nodded his head before exiting the cabin, closing the door behind his back. Sarah observed the door, standing where she was, wondering how Daryl must have felt in that situation. She didn't find it fair that the three of them had to witness Randall's execution—or do it.

 She just hoped that was the right choice and that they weren't killing an innocent person. She really hoped that.

She had been working on the car for another hour. Heshel had been kind enough to give her some fuel so she could get it started if she ever managed. Sarah had fixed the pedals and the breaks as Dale had taught her. She had connected wires and changed the headlights. The engine was old, but it seemed functional. She really wanted to try to make it work.

If I fix this, I can fix everything, she thought.

Suddenly, a piercing scream echoed in the night. Sarah was quick to grab a screwdriver running outside. Someone was screaming at the top of his lungs. The screams came from the fields, in the opposite direction compared to the house.

As she was running, she noticed another figure come from the cabin where Randall had been locked up.

"Daryl!" she called for him as she ran.

"What's goin' on?" he asked without stopping.

"I think it's Dale," she answered, her voice filled with fear. As they got closer, she recognized his voice. Her body didn't stop, but her blood felt cold inside her veins. They had to go to him fast.

"Oh my God!" she exclaimed as they began to see its frame. Dale was lying on the grass, and on top of him was a walker. The man was trying to fight him off, but the monster wouldn't move.

"Sarah!" Daryl called her, eyeing the screwdriver.

"Catch!" she said, throwing it in his direction, and he caught it with one hand.

As they got closer, Daryl launched himself on the walker, forcing it to fall away from Dale. Sarah was quick to move towards the man, but a cry came out of her mouth as she noticed his abdomen. 

"Dale!" she said, kneeling next to the man, feeling her tears fill her eyes. He wasn't even able to talk due to the pain.

"Look at me," she said, grabbing his hand and caressing his forehead. It's going to be okay," she said.

"Help!" Daryl yelled from next to her, moving his arms to make it easier for the other to find them, "Over here!"

"We have to do something," she muttered; one of her hands moved to the wound, but she only got covered in blood. His abdomen was ripped apart.

"Hang in there, buddy," Daryl said to Dale, who gripped Sarah's hand harder.

"Oh my god!" Rick's voice made her realize that the other had arrived, but she was looking at Dale. The tears in her eyes were uncontrollable at that point. She didn't know what to do. What could she do?

Rick kneeled in front of Sarah, on the other side of Dale, telling him to keep looking at him.

"Get Hershel!" he yelled.

"Hang on, Dale," Andrea had arrived as well, taking Dale's other hand. Sarah was crying, gripping Dale's hand hard. That could not be happening. That was not fair. Why did that happen?

Soon, everyone arrived, and among them there was Hershel.

"What can we do?" asked Rick.

"Please, help him," Sarah whispered. Her voice was hoarse, and only whimpers left her mouth.

Could he do it? Could Hershel save him? He had saved Carl, and he could have done it with Dale as well. He had to.

"Can we move him?" Rick asked. Dale only moaned for the pain, making Sarah let out more and more tears.

"He won't make the trip," Hershel said.

Rick then wanted Hershel to operate Dale there, but Hershel stopped him with a hand on his arm and a grave expression.

Sarah could only cry, as did everyone else. There was no hope for Dale. The gentle Dale. The first person that she, Nicki and Glenn had met on that Highway when everything went to hell. Dale, who had taken care of all of them like a father. Dale that they had all let down. That was not fair. That could not be.

What did they have to do now? He was suffering, he was in pain, he was still alive. What did they have to do?

"He is suffering," Andrea cried, "Do something," she begged.

Sarah's eyes widened as Rick took his gun. He was going to shoot him.

"Oh, my God," Sarah sobbed before kissing Dale's hand.

Rick was breathing heavily. His hands shook as he pointed the gun, aiming toward Dale's hand. Sarah could only cry, not able to move. She could not leave Dale, but she was terrorized by what was about to happen.

Then she saw it. Daryl's hand moved to grab Rick's. He gently took the gun from his hand, then he knelt across from Sarah, and for a moment, their eyes met. The girl sobbed more as he looked at Dale. The gun pointed against his forehead.

"Sorry, brother," Daryl said before shooting.

The sound echoed in the fields, and some birds flew from the trees where they were resting. The gunshot had been so loud, but not the cries that arose from the silence of the night.

Dale was dead. Sarah felt his hand become limp in her hold, and she started sobbing, doing all she could not to look at Dale's face. She didn't want to remember him like that, she really couldn't. Her gaze raised, and it fell on Daryl. He was looking at Dale, the gun still in his hand. He did what none of them could, and he helped Rick, like not even Shane had been able to do it. Sarah kissed Dale's hand one more time before gently laying it on the ground. Then she moved to Daryl. Her hand reached out delicately, brushing his shoulder, trying to see his reaction. When he didn't move away, she knelt next to him; her hand went to the one that was holding the gun, pulling it away from him. She took his hand in hers, linking their fingers together. Then she leaned her head on his shoulder, letting out a sob, as she looked at Dale's body, but not his face.

They all stood there; Sarah was not sure for how long. They mourned their friend, but no one had been able to move. Rick, Shane, Andrea, and Hershel. And Glenn, Maggie, and Patricia. Carol and T-dog. And Lori, Carl, and Nicki. She had now noticed her sister. She was standing behind Lori, who was lying down with her son in her arms. Nicki's cheek was wet because of the tears, her bow in hand, gripping it firmly. She should have not seen that. None of them should have seen that. That should not have happened. Not to Dale. The group would have never been the same without Dale. She sobbed again against Daryl's shoulder. He was not crying; he was only staring at Dale, but his fingers tightened around Sarah's.

[ihateoc]

Monster

(word count: 2,908) (flashback from when shadow worked for tenchi)

Under the dim evening sky, the mercenary's footsteps echoed a sinister rhythm throughout the empty alleyway, his black nails previously stained with the crimson blood of his last target, a chilling testament to his trade. During his kills, he was always pumped full of adrenaline, making sarcastic remarks whenever he got the chance and enjoying what he did.  

But afterward... Was a different story. He always felt hollow and bored, like he was just robotically going through the motions on his way back to his temporary residence, an apartment provided to him by his employer, a mob boss named Tenchi. And tonight was no different. 

He heaves a sigh, considering whether he should stop at a market for some food. He surely didn't have anything in his fridge. Wasn't there a 24-hour market down the street or something? The dark-haired man's wandering thoughts are interrupted when a young street urchin child calls out to him. 

"Hey, mister!" The young boy, clad in tattered clothing, stands in front of him, blocking his path, "Check out this lucky ring I have!" He hands it over to Shadow to inspect, "What do you think? My friend and I are willing to part with it for only $50." 

His previously darkened eyes light up as he examines the jewelry, "Looks like a normal ring to me. What's so special about it?" Shadow prods with a quirked-up brow, knowing full well this kid was trying to con him. He'd have to try a little harder than that. 

"Well, uh..." The kid fumbles with his words before pointing out, "Look at the inscription!" 

As the mercenary reads the inscription, he feels clumsy fingers attempting to dig into his back pocket. He spins around with such speed that it startles the other child who was trying to pickpocket him, prompting the young boy to trip over his own feet in surprise and fall on his backside. 

Now holding two things; one being the ring, and the other was this sheer disbelief at how amateur these kids were. He looked down at them with a devilish smirk curving his lips as he thought about teaching them a lesson.  

The main kid offers the thieving boy a hand, helping him stand back up on wobbly feet. "H-how did you notice?" He asks nervously. 

"Kid, you're about as subtle as a bull in a china shop," Shadow retorts with a wolfish grin, his tone laced with amusement. He crouches down to the kid's level, leveling him with an intense stare, "Here's some advice for ya, if you want to be good at pickpocketing, you gotta learn to blend in, be quick on your feet, and have some damn finesse. Otherwise, it's just embarrassing." 

"Then you show us how it's done since you act like you're some kinda expert!" The main boy argues in an impudent tone with a huff, his arms folded over his chest. 

The dark-haired man tosses the ring back to the main kid casually, raising an eyebrow at the kid's audacity before a smirk plays on his lips, "Oh really? You sure about that kiddo?" He chuckles before standing up and dusting off his knees. 

With a quick glance around to make sure no one else was watching, Shadow walked over to a nearby pedestrian who seemed completely oblivious while engrossed in their phone. With fluid motions honed from years of practice, he effortlessly lifted the bystander's wallet without them noticing and returned quickly, flaunting it confidently. 

The younger boys watch with wide eyes as he tosses the stolen wallet smoothly back and forth between his hands, "That," He begins, opening it up just enough for the kids to see its contents, credit cards, and cash, ripe for the stealing if they had played their cards right instead of targeting him, "Is how you rob someone." His tone is laced with satisfaction upon seeing the awestruck looks on their faces. 

"Wow, you're good. We'll have to try that with the next sucker," The main street urchin kid remarks, "I'm Tommy," He gestures to the nervous-looking boy, "This is my friend Bo. What's your name?" 

Shadow raises an eyebrow at the boldness of these brats, but he can't help but be impressed by their enthusiasm. He tosses them the wallet and smirks. 

"Well, Tommy and Bo, I'm Shadow," He introduces himself with a flourish, "And let me tell ya something, boys. It's not just about stealing from anyone who walks by. You've gotta have your targets picked out carefully, someone wealthy enough to make it worth your while but naive enough to fall for your tricks." 

He pauses for a moment before continuing in his characteristic arrogant tone, "But remember if you ever cross paths with someone like me again, it probably won't end well for you." A hint of danger flickers behind his eyes as he utters those words. 

"You're scary..." Bo replies nervously, fidgeting with his fingers. 

"Scary, huh?" Shadow chuckles, his laugh somewhat dark, "That's kinda the point, kid," He adds with a wry grin. 

Before Bo can say anything else, Tommy speaks up, holding up a digit as he points out, "Wealthy is a good idea but we take what we can get. We don't have a home anymore so we gotta rob anyone we can just to get money to eat." 

Hearing Tommy's explanation softens him just a little bit more despite himself. He knows all too well what that's like, having to rob or kill to survive in this ruthless world. He sighs before reaching into his own pocket and handing them some bills, not enough to make them rich but definitely sufficient for meals for the next few days at least. 

"This is survival money. Try picking your victim better next time," His tone carried no pity or sympathy. This was simply an act of understanding from one survivor of harsh realities to another. 

"Thanks, Shadow!" The kids thank him and scamper off, leaving Shadow to chuckle to himself while he saunters away. 

'Aren't I the good samaritan today? Maybe those little devils will use their brains next time instead of trying their luck with whoever passes by. Ugh... Me getting soft? This just don't feel right,' He muses silently to himself, trailing off down the sidewalk. 

A few nights later, Shadow slipped through the darkness once again, a seasoned routine for him. In the eerie stillness, he infiltrated his target's home with deadly grace. He wasted no time in pummeling the shit out of him leaving his prey slumped against the kitchen counter, bruised and bleeding out while he pleaded for mercy. 

The man holds his hands up in surrender, his glasses cracked and slipping down onto his nose, "Just let me go. I'll get Tenchi his money! I still have time. Just another week-" 

Shadow looms over the man, a hauntingly dark figure in the moonlight streaming through the window, "Too late for that now," He says with an eerie calmness. 

His heart pounds in his chest as adrenaline courses through his veins. This was familiar territory, and he could almost taste excitement on his tongue as fear radiates through the air around him, a cocktail of power and thrill that only few could understand. 

"S-surely, we can talk something out," The man stammers out as he tries to negotiate an escape with a fearful chuckle. 

"I'm done talking," The mercenary retaliates, the edge in his voice sharper than any blade he had ever wielded. He slips his knife out of his waist holster, twirling it between his long fingers. 

Before his target can object, Shadow slits the man's throat with incredible precision, leaving the man bleeding out on his own kitchen floor. Ironic. As the dark-haired man begins to clean off his knife, a muffled female voice calls out from the other room. 

"Honey? Did you bring dinner?" A woman holding a small child's hand enters the room from the hallway, her eyes widening in horror as she gasps in shock at the scene before her, "W-what did you do to him?" 

Shadow hastily stands up, sliding his knife back into his holster. There was a certain protocol to these things. Collateral damage wasn't part of the contract. 

"Nothing he didn't deserve," He mentions nonchalantly with an air of arrogance, giving her and the kid a dismissive wave as he turns to leave the house. 

The petrified woman rushes towards him without a second thought, roughly grabbing onto his arm before he can make a speedy retreat, "He was a good man! A father! How could you do this, you monster??" 

He flinches, tearing his arm away from the lady's grasp, "Good? Maybe to you. But a debt is a debt, and he was in too deep." Shadow shrugs, looking at her dead in the eyes, despite feeling an unfamiliar pang within him. 

'She has no idea what she's talking about... This world isn't as black and white as people like her want to believe. It's blood-red with layers of gray smeared on top for good measure. But... Why can't I ignore those pleading eyes mirroring my own emptiness back at me?' He shakes his head, trying to force these unfamiliar feelings out of his mind. He wasn't allowed to have these kinds of thoughts.  

"P-please!" Sobs rack through her body as she falls to her knees on the floor over her husband's corpse, her child watching on in confusion from across the room, "He can't be dead. He can't be!" 

Shadow's heart twinges in his chest as he watches her crumble to her knees while clutching onto the man's hand.  

"I'm sorry," He mutters under his breath before turning around and leaving the house swiftly, trying hard not to look at the broken family he left behind. 

In Shadow's line of work, compassion is considered useless. An impediment. He long ago made peace with that, or so he thought. Why was he feeling this surge of regret? Is it for them or himself? He couldn't tell anymore. It's just another scar added to his collection. But damn if this one isn't cutting him deeper than usual. 

He takes his usual route home, walking down the street aimlessly with dark circles swollen underneath his eyes. As he walks past a familiar alleyway, he spots Bo on the ground, getting beat half-to-death by two grown men while Tommy begs for them to stop. 

Something in him snaps and before he can consider the consequences, Shadow finds himself stepping in, his mind going blank as a surge of anger wells up within him. Those kids were annoying little brats, but they didn't deserve this. 

He appears before where those two men who are treating the boys like punching bags and flips his switch effortlessly. A flicker of a smile twists onto his face at their sudden expression of terror when he takes control of their shadows, slamming them against the alley wall with a bone-jarring crunch. 

"Didn't your mothers ever teach ya not to pick on those weaker than you?" He snarls at them, his eyes flashing dangerously under the dim glow of the nearby streetlight, "Now, let me ask you," Shadow starts with a sadistic smirk dancing on his lips, "How long do you think it would take you to bleed out?" 

"I-i don't know! We're sorry. Just let us go," One of the men begs him, fear in his eyes. 

"Wrong answer," Shadow retorts coldly before unholstering his knife and making quick work of them, leaving them lying in a pool of their own blood. He watches as the life drains from both men, feeling a sick sense of satisfaction. They had it coming after all. He turns to face the kids afterward, wiping off his knife nonchalantly. 

Tommy, who was watching on in horror, holds a hand up defensively, shouting, "Stay back! You're a murderer. You didn't have to do that!" 

"Yeah, that I am. But for what it's worth... They deserved it," The mercenary responds casually, his tone surprisingly calm despite the situation. 

At the sight of fear and horror etched onto those little faces, he feels a pang somewhere deep within. 

"Life is about survival," He begins grimly as the familiar, metallic scent fills his nostrils as he moves away from the lifeless bodies, "He beat your friend half to death, and he wasn't gonna stop. Those men didn't care whether you lived or died so why do you care if they die?" 

"But murder is wrong," Tommy cries out as he argues back to you, "You killed them in cold blood." 

Shadow pauses for a beat, "Yeah... Yeah, it's wrong," His tone suggests he's far from repentant, "But in this world," He gestures around them toward the squalid alleyway now stained red with blood, the gentrified city that abhorred people like them, "It's kill or be killed." 

He was confident that he was right, yet his eyes soften just a little as he looks at Tommy and Bo, young and innocent despite everything that they've had to endure so far. He understands their revulsion but sometimes the world doesn't leave you much choice. He ponders if he would have reacted in the same way if he had grown up in their position. 

"Now let me help your friend." 

"No way!" Tommy shouts, "You're a monster!" He wraps Bo's arm around his shoulder, supporting his weight as the two young boys scurry off down the alleyway.  

Not the first time he'd been called a monster today. In fact, he had been called it ever since he could remember. But hearing the kids call him that stung more than any bullet wound or knife slash. As they disappear from sight, even the sky begins to mourn this cruel reality of life as light raindrops begin to fall around him, washing away not only the blood but also blurring his own reflection in the puddle beneath his feet. 

"Yeah... I guess I am," He mutters under his breath before turning and walking away, "Hope they've at least got shelter for the night." 

The rain picks up, pouring down harder and prompting him to give pause, gritting his teeth while he clenches his fists at his sides. With a growl of frustration and an unfamiliar fire burning in his eyes, he turns on his heel and takes off after them, cursing under his breath, "Damn brats, I'm gonna get them help whether they want it or not!" 

They had called him a monster, were scared to death of him, but helping them felt like something he just had to do. He probably would never understand what strange pull they were exerting on him, an annoying and new feeling. 

'I’ve killed men without batting an eye, so why can’t I let these kids go? This is so damn frustrating! But I can't leave them alone in this storm when Bo is injured,' He thinks to himself as he struggles internally. 

Shadow catches up to them, swooping Bo into one arm and carrying Tommy like a potato sack under his other arm. He ignores Tommy's cursing and squirming, hauling them to a nearby hospital. 

"Hey! What's the big idea? We don't want your help!" Tommy shouts defiantly when the dark-haired man finally sets him down, before meekly adding, "We can't afford this." 

"Well, good thing you're not paying for it then, huh?" Shadow retorts with a smirk as he flags a nurse down to help him out, "Consider this a gift from your local neighborhood monster," Despite his cocky tone, there was an underlying layer of warmth that couldn't be missed. 

The nurse he had called over helps Bo onto a stretcher, leading him and Tommy through the double doors as Shadow waves goodbye to them. His smirk falters as he approaches the front desk, producing a black card from his wallet with the alias 'Lucien D'Silva' printed on it. An alias he had used on multiple occasions. It was handy to have numerous identities. 

"Here. Cover those two kids whole bill," He begins, not missing the way the receptionist blinks in surprise at him, "And look up some shelters or orphanages that might take those two in. They've been living out on the streets." 

She seems dismayed at the news, nodding along to his suggestion, "Oh my, of course. We won't let them go back out on the streets," She runs his card before handing it across the desk to him, "Most people wouldn't help kids like them. You must be a genuinely good person." 

The mercenary can't help but snort at her words. A good person? What a joke. 

"I'm no saint, lady. Nothing about me is genuine or good," He informs her, taking the card from her while peering at the fake alias as he slides it back into his wallet.  

The blood that stains his hands was enough to flood the whole damn hospital. 

"I don't think-" The front desk worker looks up from her computer screen to see that the mysterious man has disappeared. She stands up, looking around the room briefly before shrugging and going back to work. 

Leaving the receptionist to her thoughts, Shadow had melted away into the shadow of a nearby patient, reappearing just outside under the rain-soaked skies. As he steps out into the night again, a sigh escapes his lips. 

Alone. 

It was his default state. But this time, there was an odd emptiness hanging around him. 

[sheetsonfire]

Believe Me

Fandom: Chicago Fire

Characters: Severide!Sister, Kelly Severide, OC, Matt Casey, Squad 3, Chief Boden

Word Count: 5377

Warnings: injury mention, swearing, manipulative behaviour

Requested By Anon: Could you do a Kelly x SquadFF!Sister. Kelly’s new girlfriend doesn’t like his sister. Kelly doesn’t notice this and wants them to be friends. His sister try’s for Kelly but when he’s not around or not looking the girlfriend is a b****. When the sister mentions it to Kelly, he brushes her off basically saying she’s imagining things. One day Kelly is with his gf and he gets a call something has happened to the sister (minor emergency, nothing crazy unless that’s what you’re feeling) and when he tells his gf he’s gotta go she gets mad and basically gives him the “its me or her” speech and he breaks up with her on the spot.

I know it’s kinda long and specific but feel free to change anything you want! All I ask is that if you do write this, can you please make the reader (sister) very not dramatic. Like she tries not make a big deal out of it even though it bothers her. Also big fan of badass women… just saying. 😉

-

The past 24 hours had been one of the most taxing shifts in a good while, Squad had been called to back-to-back long, complicated, rescues which had left you feeling pretty zonked and somewhat deflated, in need of a recharge. However, other than a deeply satisfying and long sleep, you had personal matters that required your attention. One such matter was that you would be meeting Kelly, your big brother and Squad Lieutenant, for drinks at Molly’s. This wasn’t just a hang-out that you could call off, however, as tonight you’d be meeting his new girlfriend, Olivia.

You tried your best to be supportive of Kelly and his romantic endeavours, you knew that your brother had a heart of gold and always went in with the best intentions. Yet, you also knew he had emotional baggage that he was yet to face full on, and although you and he would talk about anything and everything, it was still down to him to make decisions for himself. So here you were, willing to give Olivia your most polite, undivided attention and see what she was all about, whether Kelly had made a good choice or not remained to be seen. He had seemed really happy of late, and who were you to put a question mark over that?

Arriving at Molly’s your bladder instantly decided that before drinks it would need a visit to the bathroom, so giving your brother a quick wave and Herrmann a salute you headed straight to the restroom. You noted on your walk through that Kelly was alone at the bar, you just figured Olivia hadn’t arrived yet and thought nothing of it. In your brief cloud of thoughts, you didn’t notice someone exiting the bathroom, walking straight into them and snapping yourself out of your musing.

“Oh shit, I’m so sorry, I was totally somewhere else! My bad…” You spoke quickly, apologising profusely as a small embarrassed expression came across your face, smiling to diffuse the annoyance the stranger might feel. 

However, the stranger scoffs, shoving past you as she comments, “For christ’s, just pay attention! What’s wrong with you, are you stupid, bitch?”

Leaving you standing there dumbfounded as it was clearly an accident and you had apologised, there was no need for that kind of venom. Before you can even respond the door to the main bar area swings shut and the stranger is back out into the foray. 

You head to the bathroom for the pee you’d gone for, feeling irritated that you hadn’t had the chance to call that woman out on her nastiness. You were used to stressed out and sometimes volatile people whilst working on Squad, but experiencing that kind of behaviour in a bar really got under your skin.

Washing up and making sure you were presentable for Olivia and Kelly, you head back out into the main area of Molly’s, laughing quietly as Herrmann gives you an encouraging thumbs up on your way back to where Kelly was sitting, now with a woman with long, straight, almost midnight black hair…

You recognised that hair. You had just seen it swishing past you outside the bathrooms. 

“Of course, it would be wouldn’t it.” You exhale in irritation, muttering to yourself as you take the last steps toward Kelly and his companion. Plastering the best smile on your face.

“Kelly.” You wrap a friendly arm around your brother’s shoulder, waiting for him to introduce his new demonic girlfriend.

“Hey! I’m so glad you’re here. Y/N this is Olivia, Olivia this is Y/N.” The lieutenant gestures to the woman beside him, and it’s like looking at a completely different person from minutes ago. Her eyes are softer, less hardened, and a sickly sweet smile greets you - it’s almost shy. She even reaches in to give you a half-hug complete with a pat on the shoulder. You want to laugh in her face, but you don’t show any other emotion other than polite joviality and return the gesture.

“It’s SO amazing to finally meet you, Y/N. Kelly has told me so much about his amazing little sister.” Your eyes do light up a little, not because of Olivia but because Kelly had been talking about you - he had always been so supportive and encouraging of you, he was the reason you fought so hard to get a place on Squad 3 with him. Working with your brother was the dream, and he had let you cut no corners. You were sure that you’d had one of the more gruelling application processes for Squad.

“The same for you, Olivia. It’s really nice to meet you.” You smile as best you can, slotting yourself next to Kelly at the table they’d moved to.

The night was going somewhat successfully, trading work stories, interests and future hopes for trips, experiences and so on, you could feel your irritation from before thawing out… That was until Kelly decided he needed to pee. Something you couldn’t be mad at him for, but desperately wanted to given what happened as a result.

Kelly had left you and Olivia to make small talk, and you had decided that perhaps you had caught her in a bad spot outside the bathroom earlier, choosing to hope that the person you’d been talking to all night was genuinely the kind and the interested person she seemed to be.

“I’ve really enjoyed this tonight, Olivia. It’s so good to see Kelly happy and excited about things other than work.” You smile, sipping at your drink, waiting for some kind of response.

Olivia simply stares at you, an arrogant smirk on her face, she raises an eyebrow.

“You think this is for you? To enjoy tonight? I’m here because your brother wanted me to be, don’t get it twisted. We’re not going to become best friends or fun sisters-in-law or whatever. Kelly’s got a right to have a life away from his little sister hanging off of him at every moment, don’t you think?” 

The words cut into you and you feel your body turn cold, she’s still got a smile on her face for anybody that might look over to the table and see whether Kelly’s sister and his new girlfriend are getting along. You feel the rage bubbling up in your chest, jaw clenched, you really didn’t understand what this woman’s problem was.

“I didn’t… I’m sorry, what have I done to offend you? What happened earlier was an accident, and I know Kelly has his own life, I would never-” The sound of her grating laughter cuts through the air, and you have no idea what’s going on until you feel Kelly return beside you.

“Kel, Y/N was just telling me stories from when you were kids.” She grins, giving him the doe eyes as you sit dumbfounded. 

“Is that so, huh? Nothing too embarrassing, I hope.” Kelly turns to you, and you realise you’re frozen in incredulity. Seconds pass by, and your brain kicks back in, shoving out your best half-hearted laugh and smile. “Nothing too embarrassing, just the highlights” You jest, but really you just want to throw the rest of your drink in Olivia’s face. Your enthusiasm doesn’t quite land, Kelly gives you a weird look, but he figures you’re tired just like he is from the previous shift. 

“Sorry, it's my turn to pee.” You mumble,  as you get up and make a beeline for the bathroom, your emotions surging through your body, ready to spill out in either tears or a temper.

You shove your way into the restroom, immediately turning on the cold tap to splash some water onto your face, blinking back the angry drops that push their way past your eyelashes. Fist clenched against the counter by the sinks. Breathing hard as you try to corral your anger. Being too much of a nuisance, interference or burden on Kelly has long since been your no.1 fear, and you have always tried to let him lead an independent life without relying on him too much as a younger sibling. You thought you’d been doing a good job, in fact, you were certain that you and your big brother had a wonderful dynamic, and yet Olivia’s words had rattled your cage so thoroughly. 

The minutes pass and you’re finding it hard to get yourself back out there, messaging Sylvie to ask if she could make up some sort of excuse about your shared apartment with her, something that would require you to go back and help sort it out.

Just as you think you’ve rallied yourself back together the bathroom door opens, and the last person you want to stand there is watching you with cold eyes. 

“You’re not sulking in here, are you? I was just giving you some adult advice.” Olivia snips, and you want nothing more than to strike your hand across her face. 

You were in your mid-20s, and you had one of the most serious and taxing jobs around, you knew what it meant to be an adult and you were already sick of this witch making you feel small. If Kelly could hear her now… 

“I’m all good thanks, not looking for any extra unsolicited advice.” You bite, this time side-stepping around her to leave the bathroom.

“You’re not running off are you?” She calls out, just as you reach the door back towards the main area again. 

You take long, quick, strides towards Kelly who’s now got Matt for company. You greet the Captain briefly before giving your excuse to leave to Kelly. 

“Hey, Matt… Listen Kel’, I’m so sorry but I gotta dash. Sylvie called and said the showerhead won’t stop running, it’s making a weird sound. I gotta go help her and get hold of the landlord. I’m so sorry for rushing off.” 

Even to your ears, the excuse sounds weak, but Kelly doesn’t show any signs of disbelief, 

“Oh, no sweat. You do what you need to, we can do this again soon, yeah?” Kelly smiles, squeezing your arm. 

“Of course, see you tomorrow. And nice to meet you, Olivia. Bye Matt.” You hurry your goodbyes, only glancing at Olivia who gets to the table as you start to depart, seeking the fresh air and distance from that situation as quickly as possible. Not noticing the curious look Matt gives you as you leave, grateful that he hadn’t offered to go help Sylvie, seeing as fixing things was his forte.

-

When you get home to Sylvie she’s waiting with some drinks of her own and some snacks, music and a listening ear. You had tried to not let it get to you so much, but in the safety of privacy with one of your dearest friends you felt the angry tears fall. 

“She is so condescending, Sylvie. Jesus Christ… I don’t even know her and yet she’s got under my skin. I have always tried to let Kelly be Kelly and not interfere. And-”

“And what’s changed?” Sylvie queries, eyebrows raised in that big sister, no-bullshit, way.

“What? Nothing’s changed…” 

“Exactly, Y/N. You haven’t changed, you haven’t done anything wrong. You and Kelly are a sibling fortress, and this woman needs to back the hell up if she thinks she can come between you.”

You’re stunned into silence for a moment, this was something you already knew but had let your mind run away from in an evening. You hadn’t done anything wrong, you were there for Kelly always and you hadn’t let your misgivings from tonight get in his way. You had done everything you could to keep the peace for your brother’s sake.

Your eyes filled with “Oh shit” meet Sylvie’s “Uh-huh, I’m right” expression. 

“What do I do, Sylv? I can’t just let her walk all over me, but I don’t want to make a fuss in front of Kelly.”

Sylvie links her arm with yours, “Y/N, listen to me very carefully. If Kelly found out you had let this all happen and kept going, well how do you think he’d feel, hm? What are the chances of him ditching you for a woman he’s known for a minute compared to your lifetime?” 

“Slim.” You murmur. Yet, something about the happy glint in Kelly’s eye told you it may not be as straightforward as telling him and then it all being over. A part of you was still hesitant to shatter the illusion that his new girl was as sweet as pie. 

“Slim to not happening at all, there's no way.” Sylvie corrected. 

“So I tell him?” You ask, needing confirmation that you weren’t crazy and that you had every right to go to your big brother about this. 

“You tell him, you let him know exactly how it all happened, he’s not stupid and he is generally good at seeing people for who they are.”

You nod, resting your head on Sylvie’s shoulder. “You’re the best, Brett.” 

“Only because I am friends with the best kind of person, Severide. Now, what are we getting drunk with, and are we ordering takeout?” You laugh at that, in total agreement with the new plan, squeezing her in a hug as you pick up the remote to find something for you and her to enjoy whilst forgetting about bitchy people snooping around in your life.

-

The next shift with Kelly is a challenge, to say the least. Rather unexpectedly your brother is particularly hard on you, through maintenance, through drills and, rather frustratingly, on calls. For some reason, you couldn’t do anything right in your brother’s eyes and it was starting to piss you off. Things you did that would have been perfectly acceptable or up to standard for him were suddenly done too quickly, or not taken seriously enough on your behalf; it meant that, despite your best efforts to appreciate that you would be treated like any other firefighter, you were starting to get short with your Lieutenant. It hadn’t gone unnoticed by your crewmates either, with Joe, Capp and Tony all giving each other a look as if to say “What the hell is happening?”

The most recent call had been the last straw, on the return journey you had sat next to Joe in the back simmering with rage. Kelly had undermined you and called you out on something in front of the entire scene of responders, for something you were sure had been the appropriate course of action during the call. Kelly’s tirade had been such that even the Chief had to tell him ‘Enough’ and sent 81 and 51 back to the firehouse, making Squad 3 clean up alone. You hadn’t answered back, or protested, accepting your Lieutenant’s words as something to take on board, yet inside it felt like a fire was ripping through you.

You had swept and hauled debris in silence, opting to work next to Capp and away from your brother who was discussing something with Joe. You couldn’t even look at him as you passed him to get into the truck, you were close to ripping into him personally and unprofessionally - even though you considered his behaviour to not have been appropriate. 

By the time you’d got back you were nothing short of having a breakdown, yet you held your head high and chose to simply pack away your gear ready for the next call, electing to find Matt Casey as soon as possible.

Making a beeline to the Captain’s office you knocked, barely waiting for the “Come in” before opening Casey’s door and pushing it firmly shut behind you. Sinking down onto the floor between the wall and his bed. 

“What’s up, kiddo?”

“If you don’t help me figure out how to keep my cool, I am going to strangle my Lieutenant, your best friend.” You muffle a yell into your palms, looking up at Matt with imploring eyes.

“So he’s not your big brother anymore, just my best friend?” Casey’s face carries a hint of a smile, but he senses you’re not in the teasing mood.

“Case, you heard him out there today, he’s been up my ass all day. Did that bitch break up with him or something, because I-”

“Woah, hold up. You don’t know?” Matt’s eyebrows raised in confusion. 

“Know what?” You’re focused on Matt now, your heart hammering in anticipation of what you didn’t know.

“Olivia told him that you tried to start a fight, and called her some pretty uh, nasty things. He came to me asking if you’d said anything, and I said I hadn’t seen you since Molly’s the other night. I figured this whole mess from today was the fallout of that…”

You stared at Casey with what felt like your entire stomach about to fall out of your ass. 

“She, what?” You murmured, your head was pounding and your mouth had gone dry.

He rose from his chair, coming to sit on the floor with you, a hand on your shin in reassurance. “I know, I told him I didn’t think it sounded like you, but he was pretty mad, Y/N. I couldn’t calm him down all that much.”

Your face fell into the palm of your hand, you were so full of adrenaline you didn’t know what would happen to it next. 

“That bitch. That honest-to-god bitch… All I did was accidentally walk into her at Molly’s, Matt. That’s it! I apologised and she in return told me how useless I was, then accused me of leeching off my brother, then she tried to make me feel like a fucking child… All the while I’m doing my best to keep the peace and not upset Kelly. I’m gonna… hoo, boy, I am gonna lose my goddamn mind.” You exhaled sharply, suddenly springing to your feet which caused Matt to scramble back and do the same, not sure where this was all going. 

“Y/N, don’t do anything you can’t take back…” Casey warned, eyeing you with concern. 

You can’t speak, shaking your head, patting his arm as you leave his office without another word. 

Matt cautiously follows in your quick footsteps, watching as you head towards Squad 3’s table. He swallows, scratching the back of his head, waiting for the implosion. 

You come to stand by Kelly’s feet, he doesn’t look up from his newspaper as you stand patiently. “Lieutenant? You got a second?” 

“Can this wait?” He replies, not even looking up at you. You bite your lip, willing your anger and upset to go away. You didn’t want to do this in front of the firehouse. 

“Unfortunately not, sir. It’s an urgent matter.” You bite your tongue, keeping it amicable, waiting for your brother’s response. 

“Alright, my office.” He replies emotionlessly, getting up from his armchair as he wordlessly heads back in the direction you’d come from. 

Matt eyes you sympathetically, and you smile weakly, steeling yourself for the conversation you were about to have. Joe, Capp and Tony eye the captain, looking for extra gossip. Matt shakes his head, “Back to work, or…whatever it is you guys do out here.” ignoring their noises of disappointment as he heads after you and your brother, wanting to be some kind of mediator if it got too heated. 

Kelly stands by the entrance to his office, waiting for you to get inside the space before closing the door and shutting the blinds. Next door you hear Casey's door shut, and you know he's on standby if anything gets out of hand.

You stand in front of your big brother with arms folded, a defiant expression on your face. You weren’t going to take any of this bullshit, and you weren’t going to let Kelly have the wool pulled over his eyes. 

Kelly’s jaw is clenched, he speaks in a deadly serious tone.

“Explain yourself.”

You swallow a scoff, shaking your head as you look at him. “Explain myself? You really think I am nasty enough to make your new girlfriend feel unwelcome? To get physical with her? To jeopardise your contentment for my own selfishness?” You stare him out, daring him to actually say yes to any of those. You can see the faltering in his eyes, he knew you, he knew how kind you were, how strong and loving you were. Yet, Olivia had put on a good show and for some reason, he couldn’t see past it.

“She was crying that night after Molly’s, Y/N. She was really upset at the way you treated her,”

You shake your head in disbelief, eyes closing for a second, searching for composure.

“I accidentally bumped into her on the way to the bathroom, Kel. When I arrived that night, you remember? That’s all that happened, I bumped into her and she called me a “stupid bitch”, and then for the rest of the night proceeded to accuse me of selfishly taking up your time, of being needy, of being a child.”

There’s silence between you, Kelly shifts awkwardly on his feet, he knows when you’re lying and he can’t see a hint of it in front of him. Still, he can’t understand why Olivia would have been in hysterical tears over nothing. You can see the wavering in his decision, you can see that he’s not going to fully commit to seeing your side of the story and your heart sinks. 

“Kelly, I don’t want you to say another word without you really considering what comes out of your mouth next. Just know that if we lose this great family between us because of something she made up… I can’t take that, Kel. You’re my no.1, the one I trust…I thought I was the same to you.” 

Your brother’s eyes are full of emotion, and you swallow, you just want to break down and beg him to believe you. You wanted to be strong though, to be believed because it was the truth and not because you’d made a fuss. And just like that, the cruel hand of fate sounds the alarm, and the voice asks that all units from the firehouse attend. You don’t say another word to your brother as you both leave in a hurry to get to the truck.

-

Sitting in the truck waiting to arrive on the scene gives you enough time to get your head together, as always you had a job to do and there was no room for the racing thoughts in your mind. 

Pulling up outside a three-story home a blaze taking hold comes into view on the west side, you pile out of Squad 3 and head towards Chief Boden, masking up as you go, checking each other’s SCBAs as you listen to who is going where. 

Your Squad is sent to the upper floor and you’re behind Kelly as you march up the stairs, announcing yourselves as you go, looking for any potential victims. Room by room you search, under beds and in closets, the neighbour next door had told you as you were going in that a large family lived there, with two parents and 5 kids. She wasn’t sure if they were home or not, but she knew that sometimes the kids would stay home alone if the parents had to work.

At the same time outside was the eldest child talking to the Chief, they had been found in the basement, crying hysterically as they explained that their 6-year-old brother and 10-year-old sister were still in the house. They had been playing hide and seek. 

As you shut one door and go to open another, you hear what you think is a wail coming from above your head. You look up to see the hatch is partially open, 

“Squad 3, come in.” Your radio comes to life.

“Copy you, Chief.” You answer Boden, still eyeing the gap in the hatch.

“There's a 6-year-old and a 10-year-old still in there somewhere, you have five minutes, Severide.”

“I think I see one or both of ‘em chief, the attic hatch is partially open, I think I’ve got movement.”

“I’m sending you Truck 81 on the East side to assist, can you get to that window?”

“Copy, Chief, I’ll get us to the East window.” You let go of your radio, picking up your halligan as you jump to reach the handle to the pull-out steps. Calling out. 

“Fire department! I’m coming up!”

Over the radio you can hear that Capp and Tony were coming back out to assist below, whereas Kelly was relaying the fact that he’d found the older kid in a bedroom, he was bringing them out too. So that left you with just the six-year-old. 

With a quick climb, you were able to shine your helmet into the smoky confined space, revealing a terrified-looking boy coughing and crying, huddled in on himself by the hatch. 

“Hey, buddy. My name’s Y/N, I’m here to help you, alright? You’re just gonna hold on to me, and then we’re gonna climb back down. Easy peasy, huh?” 

The boy whimpers, shying away as the fire roars down below.

“Listen, sweetheart. I know it sounds scary, but it’ll be scarier if you stay up here, alright? We’ve just gotta get to a window upstairs, and my friends are gonna have a fancy ladder waiting for us, they’re gonna help us too, okay?”

You lean further in, painfully aware of the groaning of the house’s structure beneath you, you beckon the child with your hand-clad gloves.

“Come on, kiddo. You got this, I won’t let you go, and we’ll be okay.” 

The boy wails again but this time shimmies forward, 

“Okay, that’s it, you’re doing great, sweetheart. Just wrap yourself as tightly as you can around my neck, and then I’m gonna climb down with you, yeah?”

He nods frantically, instantly getting a death grip around your neck, it makes you almost want to laugh. “That’s a good job, okay we’re going down now, just stay close to me and don’t look.”

With careful steps you push your body out to allow for the boy’s frame, steadily moving down until you feel the solid floor beneath your boots. Though solid, with each additional bit of your weight you can hear it protesting, prompting you to move a little bit quicker to the rendezvous, the staircase now engulfed in flames. 

“Chief, I have the kid, we’re coming to the East window now.” 

You move quickly, arriving at the window where you can see that Casey had broken the glass to get you and the kid out. You hand off your precious bundle to Matt, waiting for them to descend enough so as not to add too much weight to the top of the aerial. 

Behind you you can hear the fire spewing and latching onto the upper floor, grabbing at the doorframe to the room you’re in. You watch in anticipation as the glow grows stronger behind the door you’d shut. Glancing out of the window you can see that Casey is nearly at the bottom to Mouch, so you start to turn yourself around and climb out onto the aerial too, as you do so you hear the telling sound of the impending flashover, trying to correct your feet fast enough to beat the powerful force of the heat and flames blowing out the windows, but it’s too late. 

With a bang the force of the flames pushes you from the ladder, you try and reach out for one of the rungs as you fall but your gloves slip from the speed and force of your falling body, and your helmet collides with the side of the aerial, your mind going blank as you fall helplessly onto the grass below, ignorant of the calls of your name and the sounds of rushing footsteps as you lose consciousness. 

-

The next thing you hear is an annoying beep, at first you think it’s your PASS alarm but it’s not that annoying. You groan, your head clouded in fog with your body feeling heavy, sore.

There’s a movement by your side, and you decide to blink open weary eyes to find out what it is. Your eyes meet your big brother’s worried ones, and you smile weakly, still feeling weird from the sedation you’d been under. You were very much aware of the fact you had ended up at Med. Again. 

“Mnh, hey.” You murmur. You realise now the weight on your other side was your arm in a sling, your knee was strapped up pretty good and you were sure you could feel stitches on your neck going down into your shoulder. 

“Hey, kiddo,” Kelly murmurs, stroking your hair, mindful of the stitches just under your hairline. 

“Guess I should have taken the aerial rather than just the air, huh?” You quip, a dopey smile from your own joke.

Kelly half-smiles, still looking so morose and only partially relieved. “I would have preferred that yeah. Instead of being scared that my sister had just broken everything in her body. You got so lucky, Y/N.” 

“Feels it, I expected worse…” You sigh. “I’m sorry, Kel.”

Your brother shakes his head, “No, no more apologising from you. You’ve done nothing wrong, and all I’ve done is be an asshole to you.”

His lip quivers, grasping at your hand gently as he feels the tears fall silently. 

“Hey, I’m here. Why are you crying?” You rub your thumb across his knuckles, worried at what had him so upset. 

“Because you’ve done nothing but support me, and I let practically a stranger almost ruin all of that, take my sister away and have her maybe never know how much I love her.”

Your eyes well up now, all that restrained emotion coming to the surface, and your lip trembles too. Relieved that he had seemingly come to his senses in believing you.

“Kel, it’s alright, you’re here and-”

Kelly’s phone rings. He ignores it and you nudge him. “Hey, answer, it could be work or something. I can’t exactly run away.” You grin, he shakes his head with a sad smile. 

As his eyes clock the name on the ID, his face darkens and you frown, you think you can guess who’s on the other end.

He answers, putting the phone on speaker. “Severide.” Voice clipped, in no mood for politeness.

“Kel, are you on your way, the reservation’s at 8pm, you know how many strings I had to pull to get us a spot?” Olivia thinks she’s good at putting on an innocent enquiring tone, but all Kelly can hear now is the controlling and demanding woman that was in front of him all along.

“I’m not on my way, I’m at the hospital with Y/N, she had an accident at work today. I’m gonna be with her overnight and then I’ll be taking her home tomorrow as well.” 

There’s silence on the line, you can feel Olivia’s irritation through the phone and it makes you roll your eyes. Kelly’s jaw is set tight. 

“Kel, really? She can’t be in the hospital for one fucking night on her own? This restaurant doesn’t take kindly to cancellations, not when I called in favours. You have to stop babying-”

Your eyebrows go up at the unmasking of her feelings, and you watch in pure satisfaction as Kelly cuts her off.

“Olivia, I’m going to say this once. We’re done. Take your restaurant and shove it, we won’t be seeing each other again. Lose my number.” With that, Kelly disconnects the call, flicking around in the phone app to block the number. Letting out the biggest of sighs as he looks at you, you try not to smile because you still understand it’s hard to lose what you thought was a good connection, but at the same time, you’re elated that you have your brother alert and seeing that you’d never get in the way of what he wanted.

“Remind me to never lose my mind and believe some witch over my own sister again.”

“Oh don’t you worry, Kel, we’re not doing this again, if there’s a next time the gloves come off and I kick either your or your new lover’s ass.” 

-

Fin.

[curekibouka-writing]

Aftertaste (Twst one-shot fanfic)

Summary: By now, it should be too late. By now, it should be over. Yet one shred of sweetness persevered. (**Spoilers for main story episode 1 and Riddle's birthday story**)

Word count: 1134

A/N: Happy birthday Riddle (24/8/2021)❤️️🌹❤️️! Ugh gotta hate myself for thinking of birthday fics so soon before their birthdays I rushed this one somewhat.

*This fic is also on FF.net, Quotev and AO3

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Wow…!” The redheaded child knew no other words to say as the hands covering his eyes were removed. Colours so vibrant bursted around him, a fragrance so welcoming embraced him, and butterflies so unfamiliar fluttered in his chest. 

“Surprise-nya!!!” Chenya jumped out from nowhere, setting off a party popper right beside Riddle’s ear. 

Riddle seemed too surprised to be any more surprised. He turned to Trey, who had been tasked with bringing him here blindfolded, and was now standing behind him, satisfied with his reaction. 

“What is… this?” he let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. 

“A party!” Trey answered, brushing away streamers and confetti in Riddle’s tresses, “It’s your birthday today, isn’t it?” 

“Well, yes but…”

“Oh quit dilly-dallying-nya! We gotta get you paw-ty started before an hour ends!” Chenya ushered Riddle to a chair. Then he hustled to dump a birthday hat on Riddle’s head and to pour some juice for him.  

With mittens that were clearly too big for him, Trey brought an apple pie out of the kitchen. “Usually we eat cake on birthdays, but I wanted to let you try something fresh from the oven.” He began to cut a slice, “Well, technically we cooled it for some minutes, but it’s definitely crispy and the smell of cinnamon is still all over the place.” 

Apples and cinnamon, Riddle took a mental note, this pleasant aroma was of apples and cinnamon. 

“Go on, eat up!” Chenya pressed, his palms propping up his head, humming as he stared at Riddle, as if observing a small animal.  

Riddle nodded with a hesitant smile, scooping up a mouthful of rich crust and apples aplenty. He knew not what he was expecting when he took a bite, but the abundant filling that lingered on his teeth, the buttery flavour that enveloped his tongue, and the slight tang of spices in his throat, it was unlike any of the ten or so celebratory delicacies he had eaten for his past birthdays. 

One bite warmed his throat. The next warmed his chest. The third warmed somewhere deeper. 

Then, the fourth, his eyes. 

“W-what’s wrong?” Trey was quick to grab a tissue and dabbed Riddle’s eyes, “You don’t like pies? You don’t like apples? I’m sorry we didn’t have time to ask what you liked to eat.” 

“Nya~ I bet it’s the cinnamon!” Chenya placed his chin on Riddle’s head, “It’s purrfectly okay, I hate it too, just cough it out-nya.” 

“But I already adjusted the amount…… is the flavour still too strong, Riddle?” 

The younger boy shook his head insistently. 

“…For my birthdays, mother would always make cakes with lots of nutrients for me. I know it’s for my own good. And I know she puts much effort into finding out how to make them delicious. And… and I’m thankful…

“But this…” his fork clanged against the plate as his hands flew to scrub his eyes, “This is delicious too! 

“What should I do, Trey, Chenya……? My sentence has already been passed, and I’m not to be with you anymore. But I still love this, I love it here! One hour is not enough. One day is not enough. I want this for my next birthday, and the year after, and more and more… 

“Please… tell me,” he reached out for them, “when will we…” 

But once the hands covering his eyes were removed, he saw nobody. No colours. No fragrance. His hands grasped air, bedsheet, and sunlight from the window that used to bring him to wonderland. 

He swallowed the words he could’ve spoken, and felt the aftertaste still on his tongue — all that was left of wonderland, aside from the tears that carried through. 

He wiped his eyes with his pyjama. Just because it was his birthday didn’t mean he was entitled to disobey. His mother had turned down a mere strawberry tart, why should he even dream of more? 

But once you have one foot in, you cannot stop tumbling down the rabbit hole. 

What if they had never been caught in all these months? What if the two of them remembered? What if they specifically came to him today? Would the story unfold like in his dream? Would they prepare something else for him? 

He tasted sweetness in his mouth, with the freshness of apples and the smooth texture of butter. It tugged a smile on his lips. 

Then he tasted spices in his throat, hot and constricting, the heat swimming to his eyes. 

The aftertaste was delicious, yet it eluded his senses, no more than an ephemeral image in a child’s mind. 

He practically leapt off his bed, feeling like he would suffocate were he to remain wandering in the maze for too long. 

He tore a grid paper out from his immaculately organised shelf, this shall be a draft for his newest crossword puzzle creation. 

He was quick to jot down a 6-letter “sweets” across the 1st row, then “family” in the bottom right to mirror it. 

He tapped his pen on his chin. Perhaps this was too easy. 

To fill up the remaining 8 usable squares in the 1st row, he wrote “cinnamon”, aligned to the right. 

He wouldn’t want the player to solve it too quickly. 

He glanced at “family” in the 15th row, adding the 8-letter “fragment” on the left. Then starting from its “n”, counting 11 squares upward, he filled in “expectation”. 

Because if he could see them again, if he could proudly declare that he had created this puzzle just for them with the biggest grin they’ve ever seen and ask them to solve it, he would enjoy every moment of seeing them brood over it. And for once he would pour the tea for them, leisurely savouring every word exchanged in their long, long conversation as they sample scrumptious apple pies or strawberry tarts or all sorts of cake he hadn’t even heard of. 

One knock on the door and he tasted ice. “Riddle? Are you awake?” 

“Yes, mother,” he replied reflexively. 

“Good. Breakfast will be ready in 10 minutes, make haste. I won’t tolerate unpunctuality even if it is your birthday.” 

“I know, mother.” 

As he heard her walk away, he silently settled on the 11-letter word starting from the “i” in “cinnamon”. 

The time to wake up had long since passed. All the madness should be left behind in wonderland, by now, they are

“illusionary”. 

He set down his pen, turning to his closet to change out of his pyjamas. 

Yet one last shred of sweetness persevered. 

Briskly picking up the pen, he scribbled down one more word. He squeezed the pen for a moment, contemplating, then nodded in satisfaction and rushed to get himself ready. 

There, in the rightmost column, downward, 7-letters, sat the word 

“someday”.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The End

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: When I heard that he had made crossword puzzles wanting to let Trey and Chenya solve them, I just can't— 🥺

[spooderboyandtincan]

You're Gonna Miss Me When I'm Gone

Chapter 2

There’s a spider on the ceiling.

Peter can barely make out its eight gangly legs through a blur of tears. He feels some sort of bond with it- not only because of the DNA they share- but because they’re both alone. Then again, the spider has probably spent its entire life in this room, and Peter’s only been here- on a whole different continent- for a good couple of hours.

Maybe it’s just the jet lag. According to literally anyone who’s known him at all- he gets adorably grumpy when he hasn’t gotten his beauty sleep (Tony’s words, not his.)

Who does he think he’s kidding? He’s homesick, he’s alone, and he really, really misses Tony. Misses him as in the his heart is literally being torn apart sort of missing. He wishes he’d considered how his severe separation anxiety might play a part in this when he’d still had a choice.

Peter chokes on a whine- the one that forces its way out of his throat until he’s full on sobbing and gasping for breath.

He scrambles for his phone on the nightstand. He needs Tony, he needs him, like a fish needs water. He fumbles with the lock screen and desperately taps on Tony’s icon (a picture of Tony holding a proudly displaying a mug that reads “Number 1 Iron Dad.”) It rings once, twice-

“Pete? How’s it going, kiddie?” Tony’s voice, so gentle, so full of love and concern- he already knows something’s wrong, of course, because his Dad Senses are off the charts- makes the tear in his heart rip open.

“Tony,” he sobs. “Tony. I don’t- I can’t, I can’t do this. I wanna go home, Tony.”

“Whoa, hey, it’s okay Petey, breathe for me okay?” He can hear, just barely over his sobs, that Tony is pacing, can hear that his breathing is just a bit too fast, and Peter feels awful for freaking him out, but just can’t stop crying.

“‘M so sorry,” he wails, “‘M so sorry. I-I wanna go home, I want you Tony.” He grasps his pillow tightly and buries his face in it, trying to stifle his sobs, pretending that Tony is there, wrapping his arms around him, kissing his hair, rocking them back and forth.

“I know, baby, I know,” Tony croons, “Everything’s gonna be okay, we’re okay. Right now I just need you to take a deep breath, buddy- in, two-three, out, two-three, okay?” Tony demonstrates for him, taking exaggerated inhales and exhales, which are probably benefiting him as much as they are Peter. “You’ve got this, Pete, I know you do.”

“I miss you, Tony,” Peter whispers after a few seconds of shaky breathing. “I wanna go home.” He feels so immature, begging Tony to fly across the Atlantic in the dead of night just because he’s a little homesick.

Tony, however, seems to consider his request very seriously. “Do you want me to fly out? I could be there in a few hours.”

Peter almost laughs, imagining Tony arriving to the hotel at daybreak, dressed only in sweatpants and a stained AC/DC t-shirt. It’s actually not a bad idea- Tony could act as a chaperone, they could explore the city together, make another precious memory.

“Yeah, um, that-that would be great, Tony,” he sniffs, wiping the wetness of his cheeks. “A-are you sure? I don’t wanna, like, make you, there’s probably Iron, um, Iron Man things, I don’t-”

“Pete, listen to me,” Tony interrupts, voice again so impossibly gentle. “Nothing- nothing- is more important to me than you, understand? I’m here for you. Always”

Peter smiles wetly, relaxing back into the covers, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand. “I know. Tony?”

“Yeah, bud?

“Can-can you, um, talk? Please?”

“‘Course I can, Pete. What about?” Tony says fondly. The idea that his voice can bring such comfort to this sweet kid makes him feel all… schmoopy.

“Anything. I just… wanna hear your voice, s’all.” He tugs the covers up and curls into a ball, resting the phone on the pillow next to his ear.

“I’ve got you, bud,” Tony says. I miss you too. “Oh, you’ve gotta know what DUM-E did today….”

Peter feels himself relaxing as Tony talks about his day. It’s not just the words that soothe him, but the familiar sound of his warm voice that’s full of such love and affection. His thoughts begin to wander as he drifts into a barely conscious haze, but the voice remains steady and present in his mind.

Tony is quick to notice that Peter is on the precipice of slumber and wakefulness, and is just as quick to provide the last bit of reassurance Peter needs to fall asleep. “Sweet dreams, buddy. I love you,” he murmurs.

Just before Peter slips away, he finds himself slurring, “Love you too.”

Tony stays on the call for a solid ten minutes after Peter conks out, listening to the steady whoosh of his breathing against the speaker. Before he finally makes himself hang up, he whispers a quiet, “‘Night, Petey. I’ll be there before you know it.” Tony leaves for the airport at daybreak, not able to spend another second in that horribly empty penthouse. The absence of Peter’s presence is tremendously obvious, and Tony finds himself desperately trying not to imagine the unimaginable.

~~~~~

With a pilot on-call 24-7, and without the hassles of a public airport, he’ll be back with Peter around early afternoon.

Thank god.

He steps out of the Cadillac, barely noticing the blistering wind and the tiny snowflakes biting at his cheeks in his haste to board the plane. He greets the pilot- Allison, he thinks- with a nod, but she gestures to stop when he moves towards the stairs.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Stark!” she says over the howling wind. “We just can’t fly in this weather!”

To hell with that, Tony thinks. “When’s it letting up?”

“I’m terribly sorry, Mr. Stark,” Allison says apologetically. “Not for a few days at least.”

Tony activates the suit with a simple tap of his watch, the nanobots rushing over him within seconds. Allison gasps and jumps back, gaping as he rockets into the air.

He’s been flying for a good 50 seconds before a neon red warning lights up the HUD.

“Boss,” F.R.I.D.A.Y says, tone filled with caution. “The wind is blowing at a speed of 78 mph. I must advise that you return to the ground immediately, or you run the risk of losing control of the suit.”

Tony curses loudly. Just his luck, really. “How high is the risk?”

“89%, boss.”

“So, not all that bad,” he chuckles.

Then, F.R.I.D.A.Y reminds him how devastated Peter would be if anything happened to him.

Tony returns to his car on foot and pulls out his phone to call Peter.

~~~~~

Peter basks in the sunlight outside of a bustling café, sipping from a cup of hot chocolate. He’s ordered a chocolate croissant, and added the tasteless protein powder Tony and Bruce had synthesized to keep up with his spidey metabolism to his mug. Despite the jet lag, he’s eager to explore the city and it’s merits, his enthusiasm only growing knowing that Tony will be here within a few hours.

Feeling pleasantly full, Peter leans back in his chair- it’s an armchair, on a stool, and it’s driving him nuts, he loves it- and beams at Ned, who lounges next to him in an identical chair. “Dude,” he says.

“Dude,” Ned agrees.

Peter is grinning, Ned is grinning, the sun is shining, the birds are chirping, life is sweet-

Peter’s phone rings.

His first thought is that Tony’s plane has crashed.

His second is one of relief when he realizes it’s Tony who’s calling him.

His third is that his plane has crashed, and Tony’s calling him, mortally wounded, to say goodbye.

Ned stares at him, taking in the panicked look on his face, and mouths You good? Peter shakes his head and scrabbles for his phone.

“Pete?” Tony says as soon as he’s answered. He sounds fine, at least. “Hiya.”

“Are you okay?” Peter asks first, because he knows that even if Tony sounds like he’s fine, that doesn’t mean he is.

“Yeah. Yeah, Petey, I’m just fine, I promise,” Tony assures him. Peter relaxes in his chair, flashing Ned a quick thumbs up, because knows Tony would never lie to him, especially not if he was hurt. “How’re you doin’?”

Peter’s face lights up. “Oh, great! There are like, dogs everywhere here, even in the restaurants, and I saw this German Shepherd eating like- dog ice cream or something? And I got this super good chocolate croissant where we’re having breakfast. Y’know, I really thought the jet lag would be super bad but I’m not like, tired at all yet!”

“Aw, buddy, that’s great, I’m glad you’re havin’ a good time,” Tony says, voice dripping with fondness. “You’re drinking enough water, staying hydrated and all that, right?”

“Yup! Are you?”

Tony scoffs. “‘Course I am. Hafta set a good example n’ shi- stuff.” Peter snorts. He knows Tony does his best not to curse around his- and he quotes- “young, unsullied ears" but he ends up failing quite a lot.

“Which reminds me bud, how’s Ted?” Peter’s best friend’s health has pretty much no correlation with cursing, which makes the teen think that Tony has a specific reason for asking about him. He decides not to bring it up though.

“It’s Ned,” he sighs in mock frustration. And he’s good, he’s right next to me! I guess I didn’t tell you yesterday, but the hotel guy put us into two different rooms ‘cause they had extra or something and we didn’t realize ‘til we got to our rooms.” He sighs again then, for real, his good mood evaporating.

Tony’s Dad Senses pick up on it instantaneously. “Not ideal, huh?” he says gently, which earns him a small laugh from the kid. “D’you want me to talk to them?”

Peter nods sheepishly, then realizes Tony can’t see him. “Yeah. Thank you,” he says in a small voice, embarrassed that the genius is going to all this trouble just because he’s a little lonely. “Are you gonna be here soon?” he asks then, because he misses Tony, misses him just like he knows Tony is missing him.

Tony clears his throat. When he speaks, the guilt in his voice could rip him in half. “About that, buddy, well- Jesus, Pete, I’m so sorry. The, uh, the wind is too dangerous for me to fly over, and it’s not letting up ‘til around Monday. I’m so sorry, kiddo.”

Peter’s heart sinks. “Oh,” he says numbly.

He hears Tony lurch up. “Hey, Petey- shit, I’m so sorry, buddy. I- you know what, fuck it, I’ll fly over anyway, I-”

“No! No, I’m okay, I’m fine!” Peter says, wincing silently at the forced cheeriness in his voice, and knowing that Tony has seen right through.

“Hey, hey, buddy, it’s okay, I’ll be perfectly safe-”

“You can’t,” Peter pleads, desperate to keep Tony safe. “Please, Tony, you can’t, you’ll crash, or-”

“Whoa, Petey, deep breaths,” Tony interrupts, voice gentle. “I’m right here, I’m fine, you hear me?” He waits for Peter’s breathing to resume a steady rate, then says, “Bub, I won’t fly over if it’s not safe, I promise.”

Peter sighs. He’s relieved beyond belief that Tony is keeping both feet on the ground where he’ll be safe- he better be- but he misses the billionaire more than ever.

“And hey, who knows, maybe the wind’ll let up in a few hours!” Tony chuckles. Sobering a little, he says, “If the weather is on schedule, I’ll be there on Monday, 6 am, sharp.”

Peter prays he will. “I miss you, Tony,” he mumbles- he feels childish, knowing that he’s just begged the man to stay in New York, and now is just making him more miserable knowing that he’s miserable.

“I miss you too, Petey,” the genius murmurs back, voice filled with sorrow.

“Peter!” The phone nearly flies out of Peter’s hand as Mr. Harrington taps on his shoulder. He gasps a little, and though his teacher doesn’t seem to notice, Tony sure does, his gentle voice turning harsh with barley contained panic. “Who was that, Pete? Are you okay?”

“Um-” he tries.

“Come on, now! The bus is almost here, I can see it around the corner!” Mr. Harrington says loudly, and abruptly struts off, frantically waving down the bus that is already stopping.

“Peter!” Tony exclaims.

“I’m fine, I’m fine, it was just Mr. Harrington,” he rushes to reassure him. Tony breathes out a heavy sigh of relief. “Uh, the bus is here, I- I have to go.” He hurries to catch up with his best friend.

“I love you,” Tony says. “I love you so much, Pete, stay out of trouble, be safe.”

He doesn’t want to say goodbye. Neither of them do.

“I love you, Tony,” says Peter. “I’ll be safe, don’t worry about me!”

And with that, the call ends.

[wizardofahz]

Sentinel vs. CatCo

Kara sighs internally as she spots the Superfriends whiteboard.

While it has become a permanent fixture in Andrea’s office, it doesn’t always feature so prominently. The focus of the meetings determines its location. If it’s an internal meeting unrelated to the Superfriends, it can be pushed off to the side: towards the balcony or in front of the cabinets. If the meetings involve board members or anyone Andrea wants to impress, it’s tucked into a corner and discreetly covered.

Today, the Superfriends whiteboard stands right beside Andrea’s desk, which means their meeting is going to entail more requests for Superfriends interviews.

Kara braces herself.

And then Andrea says some of the worst words possible: “I want an interview with Sentinel.”

Kara wills herself not to react. On the other side of William, Nia actually snorts.

Nia has worked her way back into Andrea’s good graces, but Kara very much doubts that openly snorting at their boss’s request will lead to another mental health day. Before Andrea can react, Kara says, “I, uh, I don’t think she likes giving interviews.”

“That’s what Nia said about the Superfriends,” Andrea says, completely undeterred, “and we have since gotten interviews with most of them.”

As much as Kara hates to admit it, Andrea’s right. They never participate in puff pieces about what they do for fun, but when they have a cause to promote, they lend their voices in support.

Through his PI work and with his deep ties to the alien community, J’onn had been encountering many others who were also the last of their kinds. With an interest in preserving these alien cultures, he had dedicated a portion of the Mars space in the planetarium to a rotating exhibit of those cultures. He had also teamed up with Kara to revive her Aliens of National City series for a special feature.

Brainy had volunteered for a live public service announcement when a toxic chemical spill had breached the boundaries of an industrial complex and threatened nearby neighborhoods. He had been a little too thorough with the technical details though, and Dreamer had had to intervene to make it more vernacular friendly. His PSA had been big with the scientific community, where some of his equations had been beyond current understanding and sparked contentious debates.

Nia had done a fantastic interview of the new Guardian about marginalized human communities. To quell any curiosity, Guardian briefly mentioned that she wasn’t ready to reveal her identity, but she did reveal that she had the previous Guardian’s blessing to pick up the mantle. Annoyingly, most media outlets chose to focus on that rather than the deep dive into intersectionality.

Alex hadn’t done any interviews. None of the Superfriends had thought twice about it.

Until now.

Knowing how private Alex is, Kara can already picture her reaction to this request.

“If it’s about the ratings, I could get another exclusive from Supergirl,” Kara volunteers. “You said she’s the ideal Superfriend for interviews.”

“Mmm, but we’ve had Supergirl,” Andrea says. “We’ve had all the other Superfriends. We don’t know enough about this Sentinel.” She taps the board under Alex’s picture where it says “HUMAN?”. “Is she fully human? What is her motivation? If she is human, how did she come to join the Superfriends? I want to know.”

“And if Kara’s right?” William asks. “We seem to get interviews with the Superfriends on their timeline, not ours.”

“Then get yourselves on their timeline,” Andrea says. “But I’ll be generous and give you a week instead of 24 hours. If you still fail, well, you’ve heard me say your alternatives enough by now.”

On their way out of Andrea’s office, Nia passes by Kara and mutters, “I’m not touching this one.”

Kara cannot disagree with that life choice.

“What did Nia say?” William asks.

“Nothing.”

...

Alex looks up from her console as Kara enters the Tower. “Hey, what did you want to talk about?”

Knowing how little Alex will appreciate the conversation, Kara says, “You love me beyond measure, and that will never change, right?”

Alex turns around completely, resting her back against the console. She crosses her arms. She knows the difference between Kara approaching her abandonment issues and something Alex will find unpleasant. “Yes? Am I going to change my mind?”

Kara grimaces. “Andrea wants an interview with Sentinel.”

The look of horror on Alex’s face would be hilarious in any other circumstance. “Why?”

“Because you’re the last Superfriend not to give an interview. Andrea thinks that makes you mysterious and intriguing.”

“Not happening.”

“I figured as much. I tried offering up a Supergirl exclusive instead.”

“I love you.”

“Well, she didn’t bite.”

At that, Alex’s head drops back, and she stares at the ceiling.

“I'll write something up anyway,” Kara continues. “Hopefully it will keep Andrea happy in the meantime.”

“Thanks.” Alex gestures for Kara to come in for a hug. “I know you don’t like puff pieces either.”

“It’s okay,” Kara says into Alex’s shoulder. “I’ll find something meaningful to write about.”

...

Alex glances around the downtown street. Luckily she, Brainy, and J’onn had arrived in time to stop an Infernian from destroying a private lab. The police had also shown up and set up a perimeter, which was helpful as a crowd had developed to the south.

“Sentinel!”

Alex spots William Dey at the front of the crowd. "Oh, hell no.”

She normally likes William well enough, but given what Kara told her about Andrea’s request, he’s now on her list of the last five people she’d want to see at any given moment.

“I gotta get out of here,” Alex tells J’onn. “You and Brainy got this covered, right?”

They look over to where Brainy is explaining his containment technology to the police officers taking custody of the Infernian.

William says her name again.

J’onn glances at William then back at Alex with amusement. “Go. We’ll be fine.”

...

“Sentinel!”

Alex looks across the chaos of overturned cubicles and office supplies to see William Dey approaching.

Alex frowns. How did he get here so quickly?

Luckily they are on the fifth floor of the building, which means Alex has an exit strategy William doesn’t. “Supergirl, meet me outside.”

“Copy that.”

A few of the windows were broken in the fight. Dreamer already has the offending meta-human contained, so Alex doesn’t feel bad leaving William behind.

Alex picks the window with the cleanest break and jumps through.

...

Andrea drops something on Kara’s desk. “What is this?”

“An interview with Supergirl,” Kara responds after a quick look.

Andrea sighs. “Kara, I know you heard me when I said I wanted an interview with Sentinel, not any Superfriend.”

Kara shrugs. “I couldn’t get ahold of Sentinel, neither could William, and Supergirl had something she wanted to say.”

“Did you ask Supergirl about talking to Sentinel?” Andrea asks expectantly.

Kara blinks. “I think they have more important things to do than to act as messaging services to one another.”

“It’s not your job to think about their priorities. It’s your job to think about CatCo’s priorities,” Andrea says. “Get me an interview with Sentinel. You, specifically. And again, I don’t think I need to give you the consequences spiel. You have 24 hours.”

Kara reaches out to clear the Supergirl interview from her desk, but Andrea snatches it back up.

“I’m still publishing this.”

...

Kara looks apologetically across the couch.

Just as Kara had tried to give a Supergirl exclusive to spare Sentinel an interview, Alex is now giving an interview to spare Kara’s job.

“Okay, I have to make this on the record, so let’s maybe do a rehearsal.”

Alex sighs but shrugs her agreement anyway. “Yeah, okay.”

Kara hands over her notepad where the questions are written out. “These are the questions I’m going to ask you.”

“You already know the answer to most of these,” Alex says as her eyes glide down the page. “And there’s no way we can publish them.”

“I know. That’s why we’re rehearsing. We’ll have to come up with something that’s real but not revealing.”

Alex balks. Kara doesn’t have to wonder which question its at because Alex reads it out loud. “‘You’ve been a super hero for a while now, but this is your first interview. Why now?’ Seriously?”

Kara grimaces. “Yeah.”

“Because my little sister’s boss is a pain in the ass.”

“Alex.”

“Right, come up with a fake but real answer.”

But their quest for acceptable answers is a tedious process that comes up short.

“I can’t do this,” Alex groans and flops back into the couch cushions. “How about I promise that when I have something to say, I’ll say it to you? You can have that promise on the record.”

“I’ll try,” Kara says. She’s also tired, and she hates forcing this on Alex.

Andrea won’t be thrilled with it, but Kara will make it work.

...

The next day Alex sighs in relief at Kara’s single emoji text.

A thumbs up.

[matsbarzal]

Time’s a Ticking || Matthew Tkachuk

Notes: anyways I decided to do matty and I found this long list of soulmate AU prompts so I know what I’m doing tonight yikes. so here’s a lil bit of a nervous/anxious matty even tho he refuses to admit it. hope you enjoy!!! let me know how you like it <3 

Summary: everyone is born with a dwindling time on their wrist. the moment the time reaches zero is when a person meets their other half, the person who makes them whole; their soulmate. 

Word Count: 3k+

10,584. 7 days, 8 hours and 24 minutes. 7 days until he’d meet his other half, the person that’s meant to complete his soul, be his better half, or whatever a soulmate is meant to be. Matthew wasn’t crazy about the idea of soulmates, sure, he was surrounded by people who were madly in love and happy and complete; but he was also surrounded by those people... the one��s whose time stopped, girls and guys who had a permanent marking of time on their wrist that would never move again.

He wouldn’t say he was a pessimistic person, but he had seen so many friends and family fall into a spiral after their soulmate clock stopped ticking, watched as their other half broke them without even meeting them. He wanted to be excited and optimistic but Matthew couldn’t bring himself to feel the same delight that his friends did on his behalf. Anything could happen in this 7 days, 8 hours... and 22 minutes now.

6160 minutes

You could feel the bump of the plane as it touched the ground. This was the one part of flying you hated the most, the anxiety and the bumping as the plane made its way down the runway towards its destination. You knew anything bad was unlikely to happen, but your nerves were on edge. All you could think about was the time on your wrist, the time that kept on ticking. It hadn’t stopped in your entire 21 years of life, and from the looks of it, you were approximately four days away from that happening.

Sighing, you listened to the claps from around you as everyone congratulated the pilots for landing the plane safely. Around you, people stood up and began collecting their belongings, grabbing their bags from the overhead compartments as the chatter continued in the cabin.

You politely smiled at the man beside you as he passed you down your bag, a quick “Thank you” leaving your lips as he gestured for you to walk in front of him towards the exit. 

Originally, you hadn’t had any intention of leaving Alberta for the holiday break, but your parents had practically begged you to come home for the holiday’s, citing the fact you had remained in Lake Louise for the last year and that they had only seen you once since you made the choice to unravel everything you knew by packing a few bags and moving halfway across the country to Alberta to work at some fancy ski resort in the mountains. 

It was originally only meant to be a few months worth of work, waitressing in Lake Louise at a 5-star resort that is, and then time kept going by, and the more and more you fell in love with not only the scenery, but the people. Everyone was happy there, tourists were always excited and polite, everyone just wanted the chance to see the Lake, skate on the Lake, whatever it was. No one was ever unhappy here, and you loved that. 

You were pulled out of your thoughts as the line in front of you continued to move quickly, people eager to get out of the cabin and get back into the fresh air that flowed outside. You could barely contain your giddiness as you stepped off the plane. You could barely believe how much you missed the province, missed your friends, coworkers, you even missed the tourists. Who would’ve thought?

After about 20 minutes of watching the carousal spin and spin and spin, you finally eyed your bright red, Flames red, as a lot of people reminded you, suitcase. Grabbing it, you hauled the bag off of the carousal and onto the ground. You were eager to get to your car, which you had already paid a good 500 dollars worth of parking for, and eager to get the move on the three hour drive across Highway 1 to Lake Louise. 

After four and a half hours of travelling, you knew this three hour drive was going to exhaust you. And with the temperature out in Alberta right now? All you wanted was your bed and a cup of piping warm hot chocolate to end the day.

4590 minutes

“Man, your face is already awful to look at. You really trying to ruin it even more right before you meet your soulmate?”

Before Noah could even think, a wad of tape hit the side of his head while exclamations went up around the room about the choice of target. “Whoops, guess my tape slipped... out of my hand.”

Matthew shrugged his shoulders, an innocent grin on his face as he stood up to grab the tape from beside Noah Hanifin’s locker. 

“No, but seriously, why are you getting into fights with three days left on your wrist? Don’t go and get yourself killed or something, they’d be devastated if they’ve waited this long for your dumb-ass just to have 4000 minutes tattooed on her wrist for the rest of her life.”

Shrugging his shoulders, Matthew ignored his teammates comments, choosing instead to run his finger across the always-changing number on his wrist. 

“It’s not like it matters anyways.” His words were barely above a mumble, but it was enough to spark the attention of his captain, who was quick to tell him to meet him in the trainer’s office after he was done showering and getting the blood that was currently dripping down his face, cleaned.

Obliging on his captain’s orders, he found Gio in the office, a tight smile the only warning that he was about to get ripped apart by the veteran. Gio was one of the lucky ones, he had barely been 16 when his clock finally hit the big 0. It made him an advocate for all the soulmate bullshit, constantly encouraging his teammates to wait it out, be patient, their time would come. 

“Chucky, buddy, we gotta have a chat.”

Quirking his eyebrows at the older man, Matthew nodded, “Well Gio, I kinda figured that one out buddy, unless you pulled me in here to look at my oh so pretty face.” 

“I’m serious. You need to stop with this constant bashing of soulmates and times and shit. I know you don’t like it and you hate the concept of soulmates and whatever, but you’re doing nothing but worrying the younger guys. These kids are constantly terrified their minutes are just going to stop and be etched into their skin.”

Subconsciously running his fingers across the number on his wrist again, 4530 minutes. Wonder what that is in exact time. Shrugging his shoulders, he was quick to apologize to his captain. “Sorry, G. Not trying to scare the kids, just getting a little... I don’t know? Worried? It’s getting too close, I don’t want to get like...  it’s not important, never mind. I’ll stop talking about times in the locker room. Sorry.”

Quickly tightening the tie that was now wrapped around his neck, Matthew raced out of the office before Gio could say something else to him. He eagerly grabbed his phone, wallet, keys and suit jacket before quickly making his way towards the parking garage, the only thing on his mind was of course, you.

2120 minutes

One whole day and just a few hours. You could barely breath as you ran your thumb over the little black number on your wrist. You knew it was inevitable that you’d be meeting your soulmate while working, the moment you looked at the work schedule when you arrived back from home, you knew you’d be stuck working during the time in which you were meant to meet you soulmate. You were giddy, sure. But what if they didn’t like you? What if whoever it was, was snooty, and rude, and didn’t like you for who you were?

“Y/N, you gotta stop thinking about it, babe. You’re gonna get your head stuck in a whirlwind of thoughts. Think about other things! Like... the Calgary Flames.”

Eyeing the blonde beside you, “Tell me Cassidy, why in the world, would I think about the Calgary Flames, instead of thinking about my soulmate?”

Your coworker shrugged her shoulders and gestured to the board behind your head. You had all been notified a day prior that the Calgary Flames had reserved a whole floor of the Chateau for the weekend. With your restaurant being directly in view of the Lake and the Mountains, you were expected to be the main dining spot for the team over their course of the weekend.

“Believe me, Cass, the last thing I want to think about is a bunch of hockey boys who are going to make me miserable the weekend where I’m supposed to be... not miserable.”

She winked at you, a teasing glint in her eyes, “Maybe one of those awful hockey boys has the same number on your wrist. Maybe Noah Hanifin’s your soulmate. God, I’d be so jealous, could you imagine being destined for that beautiful exhibit of a man? God, I’d climb him like a tree.”

Laughing, you wacked her with the towel in your hand as she continued to egg you on, gloating about how beautiful of a specimen Noah Hanifin was, and how she’d do just anything to crawl into bed with that man. Cassidy was always like this, bubbly, happy, positive. Her number had stopped moving 12 years ago, or so she says. She hadn’t been paying attention the day it stopped, the number etching itself into her skin permanently, to never move again. She was never negative about it, always saying that she hoped just the thought of her brought peace to her soulmate in their last moments. 

“Okay okay, enough about the Flames. I doubt it’s even going to end up being any of them, hockey boys and I do not get along. Especially the one’s that are just constantly bothering people, and that’s the entire Flames roster, so... let’s get back to work.”

440 minutes

One thing Matthew was sure of was the fact that he loved everything about the drive to Lake Louise. He wasn’t notorious for being a huge fan of the scenery around him, but something about the drive across Highway 1, the trees, the snow covered mountains, they all just faded together and created this picture in his head. It was hard to describe, there wasn’t anything specific to the picture, it was just joyful, it was happy, it was calm. Jesus, maybe he was just fucking crazy. 

A lot of people always said you feel more calm in the hours leading up to the first time you meet your soulmate. But he sure as hell didn’t feel calm. He was on edge, the scenery around him, albeit, it was beautiful, it was not calming him down. His leg was shaking, his foot tapping the ground beneath him on the bus. He could see Johnny giving him a look every time his shaking leg touched his teammates. He knew the entire team was frustrated with him. Two games straight, two 10 minute fighting majors. 

He was being a pest, constantly egging people on, trying to ignite arguments or fights or just some form of stimuli to get his mind off of the only thing it could stray to. You. He didn’t want to think about whoever the hell you were, he didn’t want to get his hopes up that maybe his clock would actually hit 0, maybe he’d actually meet his better half. Or maybe he'd fall through a crack in Lake Louise and never have to worry about it again... hopefully. 

“If you touch my leg... one more fucking time, I am going to sock you in the fucking face Chucky.”

Immediately pressing his heel into the ground, Matthew mumbled out a quick ‘sorry’ to the teammate beside him as he watched the trees continue to go by outside the bus window. The time was still changing on his wrist, every minute counting down as the minutes passed outside. There was barely any cell service on the drive up, so the only thing that could truly distract him at this rate, was you, and he hated that.

“Soooo... you excited Chucky? It’s gotta be the big day, no?”

If choking a teammate was legal, Matthew would already be wringing Noah Hanifin’s neck. 

“Yeah, delighted.”

“C’mon grumpy pants, you’re literally like what? 6 hours away from meeting the person who’s supposed to complete your soul... and you’re in a foul mood. Did Doughty crawl up your ass and die last night or?”

Grinding his teeth, Matthew tried to bite his tongue, refusing to lash out at his teammate, even though he so desperately wanted to. He wasn’t going to be the cause for a toxic locker room, especially over something as stupid as soulmates. 

It was obvious that something was going on, everyone on the team knew the time on his wrist equalled out to less than a day. Everyone could see how on edge he was slowly getting as the time dwindled down, but no one could figure out why he was getting more and more frustrated, why the excitement wasn’t shining through as the time continued.

“Why the hell aren’t you excited man? This person’s supposed to be the love of your life, and you seem like you couldn’t give two fucks if you meet them or not?”

It was too late, Matthew was exploding before he could even comprehend what he was saying. “It doesn’t fucking matter man, okay? I don’t give a shit about this soulmate bullshit. Everyone’s soulmate is gone one day anyways, what the hell does it matter if you meet them now? I’m gonna be aching at some point because they’re gone and I’m alone. Woohoo, I get to meet them today, woo-fucking-hoo. I could literally not care less, so stop bugging me.”

27 minutes.

It was all around, highly likely, that your soulmate had some form of connection with the Calgary Flames. Their reservation was scheduled for 23 minutes from now... and your wrist had that small number 27 etched on it as it continued to count down. 

“Wow... maybe your soulmate really is Noah Hanifin... I’m sorry for saying I’d climb him like a tree.”

A loud laugh left your throat as you watched a guilty smile form on your co-workers face. “Cass, I highly doubt it’s Noah Hanifin. It’s probably just a coincidence that their reservation time coincides with my meeting my soulmate time.” Cassidy gave you a knowing look as she walked away, a small smile on her face.

You were anxious, you couldn’t deny it. Every second that counted down, you were nervous, what if you weren’t good enough for them? What if they were embarrassed it was you? What if... oh god... what if they hated soulmates? What if they were one of those people who was willing to cut the tie, ignore the call, ignore the connection?

You refused to think about that, instead putting yourself to work, clearing the tables and plates of the previous occupants, you waved off the clearing crew, instead choosing to do it yourself. Anything to get your mind off of it. 

The Flames weren't the only occupants of the Chateau tonight, only taking up about half, you were able to still seat other tourists who were interested in the view tonight. 

That’s how you found yourself, 25 minutes later, your hand on your hip as you interacted with the group of rowdy guys in front of you. They were from Edmonton, and they were absolutely hammered. They were as nice as you could expect them to be, continuously flirting your ears off, as they tried to impress you with their... what was it? Accounting job? You couldn’t remember for the life of you, your mind solely stuck on the small number 1 now etched on your wrist. 

You were roused out of your thoughts at the feeling of a hand touching your waist. “C’mon sweetheart, you’re not even paying attention to us here. Take a shot with us, baby!”

You politely removed the offending wrist, a tight smile now etched on your face. “First, I would ask that you please don’t touch me. Second, I was most definitely listening. You boys want another round of beers, and 6 tequila shots. Unfortunately, I don’t believe the shots are the best idea, nor do I think the beer is, but I’ll definitely get you a glass of water.”

Spinning on your heel, you went to walk away but were stopped by the feeling of a hand tightly gripping your wrist, a small squeak falling from your lips.

“We don’t want water.”

“Please get your hand off of me.”

“Get us what I asked for then, bitch.” 

You were about to retort, a vicious snarl on your lips, but your words were caught in your throat as you watched a fist connect to the cheek of the man in front of you, a gasp leaving your throat.

2 minutes

This had to be a joke. He was apparently two minutes away from meeting his soulmate, and here he was, in an orderly fashioned line as him and his teammates made their way into the restaurant. He could barely breath, his pants felt too tight on his hips, he could feel the sweat seeping through his shirt. Thank god he made the choice to wear black. 

It felt like everyone’s eyes were on his, everyone was wearily watching the number on his wrist go down, as the obvious anxieties began to cloud his every thought, action, move... everything.

He tried to take his mind off of it, observing the restaurant as the team slowly made their way to their designated tables. There were a few other patrons, most of them caught up in their own world. One specific table caught his eye, they were a group of rowdy guys, maybe a few years older than him. 

Quite frankly, they looked like all around assholes. Looked like the guys you’d see from Wolf of Wall Street, and from the looks of it, they were really starting to irritate their waitress. Although, all he could see was your back, your posture was unbelievably straight, your hand on your hip as you inventively listened to the guys in front of you.

Matthew continued to watch you, something inside of him telling him that he just couldn’t look away. He had to keep looking. He watched as you turned your body, ready to walk to wherever your destination in mind was, but he instantly zeroed in on the hand that was now tightly wrapped around your wrist, a violent look on the man’s face.

He wasn’t moving on his own accord now, his feet were basically moving by themselves as they raced towards you.

“Get us what I asked for then, bitch.”

His fist was connecting with the other man’s face before he could even think. He heard the gasp from beside him, he watched the number on his wrist hit 0 the exact moment he looked at you, a look of shock on everyone’s faces.

“Chucky!”

“What the fuck are you doing?”

“I’m going to call the police you fucking curly-headed fuck.”

He could barely focus on the voices around him. You were here. You were literally right in front of him. Both of your numbers were at 0, he could see it on your wrist. He was literally staring in the eyes of his soulmate.

“Oh my god, you punched one of our guests.” Your voice was like bells to his ear, soft, delicate, everything he wasn’t... but god, you were perfect.

“I’m Matthew, and yes... I uh... I think I did punch one of your guests. I also think you’re my soulmate. Does it count as self-defence... if I punched him in my soulmate’s defence?” 

You laughed, trying to cover it up with your mouth as you watched your manager’s rush towards the now bleeding asshole at the table behind you. 

“I think I like you already, Matthew.”

[lustbile]

I literally cannot tell you how many times I think about your post of “Taeyong isn’t a dom of a sub he’s batshit crazy and that’s all that matters”

Like that post lives in my head RENT FUCKIN FREEEE and sometimes I think about ,,,, what if,,, like idk fam if he finally had a day or two off from work and had a lot of pent up energy,,, he’d ask you if you could call in sick for work or school or whatever,,, and then y’all would just. Be fuckin like maniacs for an entire 24 hours. Rehydrating and eating and whatever. Realistically he’s flexing the money and ordering delivery, ur not cooking no way he’s got to make you cum like twice before that fried chicken gets here just for the principle of it

Like 100% just taking turns of who’s dom vs sub, the aftercare is IMMACULATE, there’s a lot of hot water wasted from shower(s) and at least one bath, he absolutely asks you to peg him, maybe twice, and begs you to ride his face when he’s exhausted but still wants to keep going. He’s always got some new toy he wants to try during these days/nights, like maybe some new rope and a shibari tie he wants to try, but y’all take turns because he wants you to do it on him first and then if you think it looks fun he’ll gladly reciprocate. There’s probably something he pulls out that makes you start snorting you laugh so hard bc it looks ridiculous and you’re like “whAt is that supposed to beeee” and he laughs at first and then batshit crazy dom Taeyong pops out and it’s not long til you aren’t laughing about the toy but instead moaning out his name and whining for more,,,

Anyways, can’t convince me that man isn’t absolutely insatiable when it comes to sex with his partner and he has the time to spend... he gon’ make it WORTH IT,,, gotta “make it up to you” for the stretches of time between seeing you, whatever that means,,, idk I just really like the idea of “absolutely insatiable Lee Taeyong” and then after you’re both fucking SPeNT you’re lying with your head on his chest and his fingers caressing the nape of your neck and he starts humming something thinking you’ve fallen asleep. “Really?” You ask quietly, once he starts mumble rapping something lewd, and he laughs that high pitched nervous laugh “I mean, it doesn’t come from no where...” in reference to the lyrics. “Oh good, I’m glad I’m just inspiration for you” and he’s very quick to apologize and say no that’s not all you are or whatever,,, and then of course he has to show you just what you mean to him and so he pins you down, one hand holding your arms over your head down by your wrists and the other pressed in the center of your chest as he drives into you slowly with eye contact so intense it should scare you,,,

I’m horny 4 Taeyong can u tell (also eagerly awaiting whatever ur beautiful noggin’ has cooking up for him,,, tysm xoxo)

god that’s a relic post I rlly need to reblog over here

and geez I don’t know if I can’t add anything to this like this is just the dream. only thing is I could also see him answering the door in only like a towel and very visibly in the middle of sex just cause all of its making him feel kinda slutty and like he needs to show off lmao.

but yeah it comes off as kind of insatiable and ready to experiment so yes

[factual-fantasy]

20 MORE old asks that I should’ve gotten around to answering ages ago.. 😅

Aww! Thank you so much!! ♡ඩ⌔ඩ♡

There is no need to change your mind, I see no lies here.

ᵀʰᵃⁿᵏ ʸᵒᵘ ᵛᵉʳʸ ᵐᵘᶜʰ, ᵇᵘᵗ ᵘⁿᶠᵒʳᵗᵘⁿᵃᵗᵉˡʸ ʷᵉ ᵃʳᵉ ᵍᵒᶦⁿᵍ ᵗᵒ ʰᵃᵛᵉ ᵗᵒ ᵃᵍʳᵉᵉ ᵗᵒ ᵈᶦˢᵃᵍʳᵉᵉ...

Thank you, I’ll try to take it easy.. I appreciate the devotion haha, even through all this change my blog is going through atm. <:}

Aww thank you, <:} I’ll try to heal up quick. And hey! That’s not a bad idea! I’ll be sure to keep that in mind..

Oh I know, I know, but I just don’t take naps. I will just end up with a headache and feeling bummed that I wasted so much of the day away sleeping.. (︶︹︺)

More Octonauts OC drawings..? Uhm.. I’ve never made an Octonaut OC before.. I’m not sure what you’re referring to..

It wouldn’t join the crab rave, because it is already the embodiment of the crab rave.

As for my favorite, that’s probably gotta be the Gup-X. That thing is basically an underwater military tank, its so friggin cool. 

Thank you!! I’m so glad you like the angst and fluff! I always have a blast drawing it! :D

*LE GASP* Kirby right Bask At Ya!! I LOVE this show! I used to watch it all the time growing up! :DDD That’s actually what series my Kirby OCs were based off of!

This show is fantastic! Its got its weird quirks but overall I loved it! :}

I cant find any clips to make a gif out of, but I can quote him. Octonauts movie spoilers!

There’s a lot of Kwazii scenes that I really like, but the 3 right off the top of my head that I cant pick between would be these three moments.

In the movie, Grouber is talking about a mango or something and Kwazii goes, “Arrg enough about the mango! What’s it gotta do with Barnacles and Peso??” In the most dramatic and frustrated way possible XD

The second one, after they discover that Barnacles and Peso are in the caves, Kwazii says this. “Common mateys, we gotta hurry! If I know the Captain as well as I think I do.. he’s not having a great time down there..” With a worried expression. So friggin C U T E

The last one is when the Octonauts have to crawl through a tight passage way to get out of the cave. The Captain is stressing out and nervously says, “I don't think I can make it through there..” Kwazii then swims over and says quietly enough no one else can hear, “Old fear of tight spaces acting up again ey Captain? Don't worry, we’ll go first, then you can follow.” Like, Kwazii is the coolest friend ever. Comforting the Captain without making it seem like he’s babying him or judging him. Friggin love this cat man,

I read this and was thinking “Oh you know? Yeah that’s a pretty good idea. He’d be so worried and just trying to keep his cool and stuff.”

But then I thought “..well wait.. The Captain would most likely keep everybody calm and surly resolve the situation.... hmm.. what would happen if Captain Barnacles went missing instead?”

You see, everyone looks to the captain for guidance. So what happens if he vanishes? Imagine the panic they’d all experience when they realize that they’re on a time limit to find the Captain before his battery dies and he dies from heat stroke.

Kwazii is the Lieutenant, its his job to take over when the Captain is gone, but how would he hold up under that kind of stress? His best friend has been gone for more than 24 hours. The Captain always has a plan, yet Kwazii doesn’t even know where to begin! There’s so many possibilities for angst its crazy! 

Specifically of the water like, sky like, light, soft and pastel variety :}

Hmmm.... let me see.. I imagine since cooking is the Vegimals main job, to not overthrow the competition they wouldn’t participate.

Captain Barnacles would probably want to make his favorite food, Vanilla kelp pudding! Even if he looses the contest, he still wins to him because now he has an entire bowl of pudding to eat! 

Kwazii would probably whip up a Pirate pie for the contest for the same reason the Captain made pudding. Even if he looses, he’s still a winner because he’s got some pie to eat.

Peso would maybe make some cupcakes I think? But with like, very pretty and delicately placed frosting and sprinkles.

Dashi might make kelp kebabs, to everyone's surprise XD.

Tweak might make something that she’d call mud pies, when actually they’re these like cookie shaped chocolate chip fudge brownies.

Shellington would probably make something simple? Like a kind of pasta dish maybe?

Professor Inkling might bake some kelp cakes, but alter the recipe so they’re super fancy looking and packed with more flavor.

In the end I feel like Tweak would take the cake, but everyone is impressed with each others cooking skills and they all get to eat some good food in the end so no one’s complaining. 

Pff XD I remember that episode, poor Captain Barnacles. Peso has no idea what kind of black mailing power he now has over the Captain.

Hey, I don’t blame him. I was just as confused as him the first time I watched that episode XD.

*sobbing* THANK YOU SO MUCH AND YOU’RE WELCOMEHHGHGHNN

I personally don’t uh.. ship anyone and don’t have any headcannons of anyone having crushes on each other.. b-but thank you! I’m glad you love my artwork. :}

Hmm.. I’m going to assume you meant one headcannon for Dashi, and one for Shellington separately..?

1. Dashi is the only crew member that can correctly use chopsticks.

2. When Shellington gets very stressed or scared, the only thing that really calms him down is to have someone hold his hand. It has everything to do with being an otter. Everyone knows this, no one judges him for it, and anyone offers their hand to him when they can see that he is stressing out.

Dawww you’re welcome! I’m glad my art could help! ♡♡♡

[shelby-love]

JAY HALSTEAD

#2 Alone.

Requested: yes

Prompts: none

Warnings: soft angst but with a cute ending

Authors note: Here is the long awaited part two! Hopefully you'll enjoy it as much as you enjoyed the first one xx

PART // 1 //

~

"So...you're mad at him for leaving?" Gabby asks you. She had already knew that you were a bit mad before you even told her what happened.

But mad wasn't the word you would use.

"I'm not mad!" You fight back. "I'm... Disappointed."

Gabby stays quiet for a second.

"I need him right now." You huff and fix the wrinkled areas of your hospital gown. It's something you do whenever you're frustrated. Or even something remotely un-positive.

"I was shot two times Gabby!" For drastic measures you put up your two fingers in the air. "I don't care that I'm whining like a teenager. He was ready to flee the scene with me but he can't come to see me when I wake up from a 4 hour long surgery. Make it make sense goddammit!"

Your friend stays silent before nodding her head in defeat. She sees your point.

What Jay did was something a senior detective shouldn't have done. Ever. Leaving the scene instead of helping was every bit wrong in his Sargent's books and you're sure that he god an ear-full from Voight.

But not even Voight is that uncaring to prevent him from visiting you as some sort of a punishing method. Jay not coming is all him. No one made him tell Will to call him once you're awake and not visit.

"I'll let you rest." She announces quietly before giving you a quick hug. Quickly and quietly she retreats into the hall of the hospital, and soon leaving back to the firehouse to continue her shift.

You're alone in the hospital within the next 15 minutes. Your colleagues and friends scurry into their respective vehicles and drive off.

Every now and then Will swings by to keep you company but apart from that you're all on your own. You aren't updated about the case or anything for that matter.

You're pleasantly surprised when you see Burgess make her way towards you. She's dressed in civil but wears her badge proudly on the belt of her dark jeans. There's an air of importance and power around her that almost makes you feel proud that someone like her is paying you a visit. The proudness is overthrown by the love you have for your friend.

Therefore, you can't help the smile that breaks out and completely demolishes your grumpy and brooding facade.

"Thank God you're okay!" She exclaims, voice fill with relief and happiness. "Jay said you were fine but I just had to see for myself."

Your eyebrows furrow and a scowl makes its way to your face.

"Oh no, what's wrong?" Her big doe eyes round in surprise when she sees your face.

"What else did Jay say?" You ask her before you can stop yourself.

A sudden wave of realisation comes over her and she sighs. "Y/N he's beating himself up. He thinks it's his fault that you were shot."

"That doesn't give him the right to leave me when I need him the most!" Your outburst makes the monitor next to you spike up, almost enough to alert you attending doctor. "He left the crime scene to be there for me when I was knocked out and didn't know where I was but then decided to leave my side completely when I woke up in shock and pain from a 4 hour long surgery!"

It should've been reversed.

"He's blaming himself for it Y/N... He told us that he won't be able to look at you until he finds the ones that did this to you." She talks about it so easily that it almost makes sense. You're too high on meds and you were out for way too long to suddenly feel forgiving.

"Well maybe I didn't want that from him..." You clutch your hands together in a strong grip and let your gaze fall on them. "Maybe I just wanted him to be the first person I saw when I woke up. I needed him to be there for me. Do you know how freaked out I was when I woke up and didn't feel my leg?"

Kim shakes her head lightly. She doesn't know. She can only imagine how you felt at that moment.

"He doesn't have to send me apology flowers or chocolate...but the fact that he didn't even call me. It hurts Kim."

At your truthful confession she stands up and pulls you in for a hug. You got a lot of them today but somehow her's felt the most warm and welcoming. She silently told you a lot of things.

Kim Burgess managed to snatch a few more minutes with you before she was called back.

"Could that be them?" You ask hopefully. Sitting in the hospital injured wasn't bearable knowing that the ones who did this to you managed to run away.

Kim nodded. "Jay has a lead. I gotta go."

She excused herself and quickly slipped out of your hospital room. Soon after, one of the lovely nurses payed you a visit once again with some hardcore medication that knocked you right out into deep slumber.

***

After some time you manage to lift your heavy eyelids long enough to get used to the bright light above you. You manage to stretch your arm long enough to press the magic button that will call someone to your room.

Halfway to the magic button you hear rustling sounds of one's clothing. It's like someone's in the room with you.

Instantly your paranoia kicks in. "Who...who's there?"

Your line of vision is met with an all fimilar set of eyes. The eyes, the nose, the lips, the cheeks...they all belong to only one person in the world.

They belong to your boyfriend.

"Oh, it's you." You tell him, clearly showing zero interest in talking to him. The wish to sit up becomes too strong that you can't ignore it any longer. You prompt yourself on your elbows, feeling pain in your side pierce you like an arrow. The noise that comes out because of the pain doesn't go unnoticed by Jay who quickly stands up to help you.

"I got this." You tell him through gritted teeth. You're still mad and disappointed with your boyfriend.

"No you don't. Don't be so stubborn and let me help you." He shoots back at you and hurts your already injured pride.

"N-no! You don't get to act like a boyfriend now!" You slap his help away like the petty little thing you are. After this new round of meds and a little more time napping with their help, you feel a bit more willing to forgive him. Not that you will show him that. He needs to see what he did wrong.

You can see it in his face. He wants to groan and shoot you a look that will tell you to stop being stubborn but he can't. He knows what he did and he also knows that he needs to explain himself in order to earn your forgiveness.

"Why did you leave me?" You ask. It feels good to finally ask the question that's been sitting on your chest for so long. "I understand what your job is and I also know that I can't expect you to be with me 24/7 but... Call me when she wakes up? They gave me my phone back, Jay. You could've just called me to see if I'm alive."

The fact that he didn't even do that... Instead he told his brother to call him when his girlfriend wakes up. It made you angry.

"You bolted with me in the ambo... You left everything and everyone behind to come with me and when I woke up you weren't there." You feel wet moisture (also known as tears) surround your eyes to the point he and his dark bomber jacket become blurry.

Every feeling you have is highlighted. You gulp the little saliva that created in your dry mouth and ask, "What do you have to say for yourself?"

"I couldn't stand looking at you while you're hurt like this, knowing that it happened because I didn't protect you." Jay confesses, bringing his hands to his face. He looks like he didn't sleep at all. "The men who did this to you got away because I didn't stop them. You were shot because of me. Not once but twice."

His words sink in. Your boyfriend is a proud guy. He protects what's his (not that you're an object) and when he doesn't succeed in that it eats him alive. It's the worst thing that can happen to him.

As his girlfriend, he already feels guilty that you have to be alert every day while you two are together because of his job. He thinks that the least he can do is protect you at all costs while you're in his sight.

What you didn't know is that before you went in to bust open the bunker door your boyfriend did everything in his power to get you out of there. To stop you from even entering the place with Severide in the first place.

But he couldn't. Not when his girlfriend is a very well respected member of CFD's famous squad group. Removing you just because he wanted to make sure you were safe was like saying that you couldn't do your job well. And Jay wasn't going to go that far and lie about your capability to do your job. If he did that then you would never forgive him.

And he knew it.

"I needed to find them first. I couldn't just let them go and get the upper hand." He told you sincerely and even managed to grasp your hands in his. "I was worried sick about you Y/N. I couldn't show it because Voight was going to remove me from the case and I needed to be there when we found them."

You take in his confession and nod. You take your hand from his grasp to wipe a few tears away before placing it back down and squeezing tight.

"Did you arrest them?" You ask.

"I kneeled them on the ground and managed to shoot each one when the open fire started." He said proudly. His statement brought a smile to your face. You always liked when he was badass.

"If I forgive you," His eyes sparkle when he hears that making you fight back a bubble of laughter. "Do you promise to never ever ever do this again no matter what?"

If, God forbid, this happens again you want him to be there for you when you wake up. Not chasing bad guys around Chicago while you fight for your life at Med.

"I sincerely promise." He says, pulling your hands up to your face and giving each a kiss.

"Now... Apologise." You lean towards him, smirking like a devil. "And make it good."

MASTERLIST

[cali-holland]

Promises- Harrison Osterfield One Shot

Pairing: Harrison Osterfield X Reader

Prompt: You’re out of town for Harrison’s birthday, and nothing upsets him more than knowing he can’t be with you on his special day, but little does he know that you and Tom devised a little surprise.

Word Count: 2100

Warnings: idk probably some swearing, alcohol mentions, lil bit angsty

Masterlist   Harrison Osterfield Masterlist

*Pic is not mine*

~~~

Harrison let out a small sigh as he stretched his hands and slipped on a couple of his rings, finishing his look for tonight. He scanned over himself in the mirror, adjusting the sleeves of his button-up. He rolled them up to his elbows because you had told him that you loved it when guys- a.k.a. when he- would do that.

Not that that matters much since you couldn’t actually be there tonight. He let out another sigh, pouting at the nagging reminder.

His phone began to ring from his bed and he darted across the room, picking up the call without even looking to see who was calling.

“Hello?” He asked eagerly.

“I’ve been trying to reach you all day!” His mother scolded. Harrison bit back a groan; the only voice he wanted to hear over the phone right now was yours.

“You called me this morning.” He replied, before quickly adding, “I’m not complaining though. How are you, mum?”

“Am I not allowed to call my son twice on his birthday?” She questioned with a laugh, which made him chuckle in return. “I was going to ask if you’d heard from Y/N today yet.”

“No, but she’s been busy filming today.” Harrison defended you. You’d been away filming a new show in LA for the past few weeks, and, while it sucked for Harrison to not have his own girlfriend of nearly two years there for his birthday, he knew you were incredibly busy.

Before his mother could respond, his phone started to vibrate in his hands, informing him of an incoming call. A bright smile made its way onto his face as he saw your picture flashing over the screen.

“Gotta go, love you! Bye mum!” He quickly hung up the phone and answered your call.

“Happy birthday, Haz!” You exclaimed, cheerfully.

“Thank you, darling. I’ve missed you today.” Harrison answered, feeling a twinge of sadness strike his heart as he once again remembered just how far away you were from him.

“I miss you too, baby.” You replied, just as sadly. “Don’t worry, I’ll be home before you know it.”

“I’m counting down the days.” His eyes flickered over to the calendar by his door, your return date circled with a red pen. To say he was missing you and excited to reunite with you was a massive understatement. “How’s LA?”

“It’s,” You trailed off momentarily, “LA. Hot, kinda gross, but hey there’s good food.”

“You’ll have to show me all the best spots when I come visit you.” He said, pulling up his laptop to look at flights out there.

“When? I didn’t know you were coming out.” Your voice sounded scared for a moment, but Harrison assumed you were just distracted.

“Well, I’m not, but I want to.” He laughed lightly, but still frowned as he looked at the flights. Every flight from Heathrow to LAX was fully booked for the next few days- damn Americans trying to celebrate their own holiday this weekend.

“Why don’t we figure that out later? You’ve got a big night ahead of you, Mr. 24.” You teased, effectively changing the topic.

“God, I hope not. I specifically asked for a small party.” He laughed just at the thought of his party last year. It was anything but an intimate get together with friends and it got incredibly out of hand; Harrison, you, and most attendees didn’t remember a good part of that night. He certainly started 23 off with a bang.

“I have to go, but you have fun tonight, alright? I love you, Haz.” You said, a quiet sigh escaping your lips.

“I love you, too, Y/N.” And then the line went dead and he was brought back to the reality that was his birthday- time to celebrate alone in a crowded room.

The moment you hung up the phone, you dialed Tom’s number. As it rang, you fidgeted with the baseball cap on your head, pulling it down further.

“Aren’t you supposed to be on a plane right now?” Tom asked immediately, a humorous tone hidden underneath his question.

“It got delayed.” You sighed, looking up at the board of flights. It seemed to be mocking you as the flight to Heathrow just kept getting pushed back.

“Really? How long?”

“I was supposed to leave an hour ago, but now they’ve pushed it back to 9.” You explained. You looked down at your watch and adjusted the blue neck pillow that you’d stolen from Harrison. This is what you get for thinking you could catch a quick break back home. When your schedule cleared up for the next few days, you jumped at the opportunity to fly home- the first available flight to London wasn’t supposed to land until the night Harrison’s birthday (a.k.a. right now), but now you’re just stuck in your Barcelona layover until the plane’s ready to go.

“So you’ll get here at like midnight? We’ll probably still be up.” He reassured you, “He’ll be so happy to see you, even if you don’t get here on time for his actual birthday.”

“I know, I just wanted to surprise him at the party. He already knows you’ve thrown a big one.” You laughed.

“If he’s gonna complain about my parties, then he can throw his own- and I’ll throw my own birthday party.” He huffed jokingly. He and Harrison had a thing going for the past few years where they’d plan each other’s birthday parties, just because they were both shit at planning stuff for themselves. If it wasn’t for Tom throwing Harrison a birthday party three years ago though, you and Harrison may have never met, so Tom made sure neither of you forgot that.

“Just make sure he’s fine until I get there. Make him actually enjoy the party.” You told him.

“So, set him up with a stranger?” Tom joked, and you scoffed.

“You’re the worst.”

“Thank you.”

“I’ll see you in a few hours.” You replied.

“Just let me know when you take off and land.” He requested.

“Will do.” You hung up the phone and let out a small groan. It was going to be a long night for you. You looked down at the small silver promise ring on your right hand and trailed over it. It was a thin band with just a small heart in the middle; Harrison had given it to you for your first anniversary, promising to love you forever and to be there for you no matter what- and now you felt like the world was keeping you from being with him.

~~~

When Harrison got to the party venue, his suspicions were confirmed- it was another large party. He drank a little bit, nothing more than a couple rounds of shots and a beer or two; it was enough to get him buzzed, but not enough to make him elated. He was trying to play it off though, claiming he wasn’t in the drinking mood as his friends all got drunk around him.

“What’s up with you tonight?” A drunken Harry asked him, throwing an arm around his nearly sober friend’s shoulder.

“Just tired.” Harrison tried to shrug it off, but his friends knew better.

“It’s your birthday! Live it up!” His enthusiastic words came out slurred.

“He misses his girl.” Tom announced, and a blush spread over Harrison’s cheeks.

“She’s got you so whipped.” Tuwaine snickered.

“Shove off.” Harrison grumbled, running a hand through his hair and taking a drink of the beer he’d been nursing. He let out a yawn and looked at the clock, 12:01. His birthday was over, and he could justify leaving now. “Okay, I’m going to head out.”

“Wait, you can’t.” Tom said, trying to discreetly look at his phone as the others protested Harrison’s departure.

“I really appreciate tonight. I had a good time, but I just want to go home now, okay? You lot drink up for me.” He stood up, doing his best to sound cheerful.

“No, no, you can’t leave.” Tom insisted.

“Why not?” Harrison questioned. He watched as his friend’s jaw slackened and he had no response. Laughing in confusion, he brushed it off, “I’ll see you all at home.”

And with that, Harrison left, quickly getting himself a cab. Meanwhile, Tom texted you: ‘Change of plans: he went home, go there’.

When Harrison got home, the tiny amount of alcohol he had consumed was all but gone out of his system. He thought about calling you, but he knew you were busy, you were always busy. Just as he was about to tug off his shirt, he heard someone clearing their throat from the hallway. He jumped, turning to the doorway to see you smiling there with a couple bags of luggage.

“Oh, don’t stop on my part. I want the show.” You teased. Harrison rushed over to you, wrapping his arms around you tightly.

“You’re here.” He breathed out, pulling back to look at you.

“I’m sorry I’m late.” You smiled before kissing him. He tugged you closer to him as he backed up to the bed, his lips never leaving yours. He sat down and you effortlessly climbed into his lap.

“Happy late birthday.” You said softly against his lips.

“You’re the best birthday present.” He stated. He went to capture your lips with his once again, but you moved back.

“I want to give you your gift first.” You told him.

“Well, I won’t say no to that.” Harrison winked, his hands running underneath your shirt and he leaned in to kiss you again, his teeth nibbling on your lower lip. You pulled away, laughing.

“Not that, Haz.” You shook your head at him, getting off his lap. He pouted playfully at you while you went over to your suitcase. You held a little box wrapped in blue paper, “This is your birthday gift.”

“Darling, you didn’t have to.” He said quietly, scooting back on the bed until he was comfortably sitting against the headboard. You climbed over the bed, sitting in front of him eagerly.

“Well, it took me months to find you this gift so you better like it.” You jokingly threatened, but both of you knew it was also serious; you always went out of your way to get him the most thoughtful gifts, that’s what he loved about you. He took the box from you and playfully shook it near his ear. You slapped his arm scoldingly as you both laughed at his childish actions.

Slowly, Harrison unwrapped the gift to reveal a standard, black ring box. He opened up the box and stared at the silver ring nestled in the middle with an unreadable expression. You felt your heart about to leap out of your chest, watching with bated breath as he slowly ran a finger over it. It was the inverse of your own promise ring, a thick band with a small heart taken out the middle.

“It took me a while to find a jeweller to make this, and I had to steal one of your rings to get the right size, but,” You trailed off, trying your best to read his face. His eyebrows furrowed slightly as he took it out of the box to examine it further. “If you don’t like it, I can take it back. I just thought-“

“It’s a promise ring.” Harrison looked up from his new ring to the ring resting on your finger. With his free hand, he delicately slid your own promise ring off your finger and, smilingly, merged the two silver rings into one. He looked up at you with the most awestruck face, “Do you realize how incredible this is?”

“How incredible?” You teased, and he shook his head in disbelief, slipping your ring back on your finger and taking off one of his rings to put the new one on, both of you now sporting matching rings on the same fingers.

“This is the best gift I’ve ever gotten.” He rested a hand on your cheek, cupping it lightly as he leaned over to kiss you. “I love you so much, Y/N.”

“I love you, too.” You smiled, “But you haven’t let me promise anything yet.”

“Okay, okay, go for it.” He laughed, and you gently started to trace over the ring on his hand.

“Harrison, I promise to always love you, to always share the best moments with you, to always be there for birthdays, and to always be yours.” You barely got the last word out before he kissed you again. It was by far his favorite birthday (or well morning after) yet, and it was all because of you and a couple promise rings.

~~~

Tag List: @viagracex​ @theamazingtomholland​ @Hellomoveonby @heyitsshrez @harrisonosterfieldhazmyheart​ @joyleenl​ @t-o-m-holland​ @lonikje​ @sleepybesson​

Harrison Tag List: @Calhtlland @tomkindholland​

[blouisparadise]

Here are some great bottom Louis fics that were posted or completed during the month of June. We really hope you enjoy this list. Happy reading!

1) Until You’re Home | Explicit | 1039 words

Louis lives in London, Harry lives in Tokyo. They make it work.

2) He Holds My Paradise | Mature | 1332 words 

“What is it that you want, baby?”

“Your dick” Louis breaths out, choking on his own words, neck still covered by his boyfriend’s hand.

“And where do you want it, baby?” the Devil asks him, a satisfied smirk painting his lips. “in my pussy, please.”

3) Morning | Explicit | 1428 words 

Harry and Louis wake up and have a 'productive' morning in the shower ;)

4) Let's Go To The Beach | General Audiences | 1489 words 

Note: This fic contains no explicit smut, but since it’s omega Louis, we’ve included it. This is a sequel. Part one of this fic is #6 on this list. 

"Louis," Harry repeated.

"Right," Louis sighed. "He tried to scent me."

or the one where Louis has a meeting with an aggressive alpha and Harry calms Louis down.

5) Sweet Relief, Pretty Please | Not Rated | 1840 words 

Louis is drunk, sad and alone, and Harry is a wanker.

6) Hey Moon, Don't You Fall Down | Mature | 2574 words 

Note: The sequel to this fic is #4 on this list. 

"Make me yours," Louis opened his eyes and put his hands on Harry's shoulders. "I'm ready, alpha, always been ready for you. Since the first day we met, I was yours. Please," Louis gasped as Harry slid his fingers out of him.

or the one where Harry and Louis finally bond.

7) Nothing Like Anything | Explicit | 2614 words 

Harry is bored of his frat parties. No one interesting comes anyway.It's always drunk people, grinding in the living room, strangers trying to catch his eye. He's about to leave, just to ease his pounding head when he sees him, sinful on the dance floor and suddenly the party isn't so bad.

8) Over Exposed - Part Two| Explicit | 2840 words

Note: This fic is a sequel to this fic.

Harry and Louis take a quick break from Harry's tour to attend the VMAs, then have a night out at a club.

9) Sweet Vanilla Cream | Explicit | 2896 words 

Harry fights to resist his roommate's new omega boyfriend, Louis. Louis maybe doesn't want him to resist.

10) Take Off Your Glasses | Mature | 3742 words

Louis was enjoying his time, as he decided to spend his weekend clubbing, Louis knows no one in there, yet someone wanted to mess with him to know who's Louis the attractive boy in the black skirt.

"It’s Louie.. Sir."

11) Rose’s Fortune | Mature | 5055 words 

Note: This fic contains no explicit smut but since it’s a/b/o we’ve decided to include it in this monthly roundup.

Omega Louis takes one of his siblings to the doctors (check up, possible broken bone or possibly injections?) and the new Dr is Alpha Harry. Harry is great with kids and Louis is smitten. Harry is smitten too but attempts to act professionally and keep his distance whenever Louis visits the Drs with his siblings or to pick up his prescriptions. But Harry realises there is no reason for him not to make a move as Louis isn't under his care.

12) Dare You To Move | Not Rated | 6060 words 

The one where Harry falls in love with the omega who is the brain behind the omega march he joined.

13) Savage Garden’s Song Rules Sometimes (While Yours Always Reign Supreme) | Explicit | 6261 words 

Note: This fic is a sequel to this fic.

The morning after one too many nights of isolation for Louis Tomlinson and his hot & dangerous boy.

Aka how insanely adorkable Harry Styles could be after a sulking episode. [wordplay edition]

14) I Can Feel Your Blood Pressure Rise | Explicit | 9292 words 

"Hello, your Highness," Harry heard a familiar voice coming from behind him. Chills ran down his body as he felt the coldness of something sharp poke the back of his neck, "Turn around slowly or I'll hurt you,” the voice said in a teasing tone.

Where Louis is some sort of Robin Hood and sneaks into the King's castle, only to be fucked hard.

15) You Know What They Say | Explicit | 10323 words 

Nice guys always finish last.

16) Teenage Dream | Explicit | 10333 words

Harry and Louis get reintroduced to each other by their friends. It’s an instant connection. Now they’ve just gotta get to know each other.

17) Move So Petty (You're All I See) | Explicit | 10548 words 

Harry’s pretty content with his life. He loves his job- a veterinarian at a local clinic who’s already built up a name for himself despite his young age. He loves his gorgeous flat with its wide, open space and minimalistic, yet still homey feel. He loves his family who he talks to and visits as much as possible, not bothered by the long hours of driving to Holmes Chapel from London he endures multiple times a month. He loves his friends and his coworkers and his neighbors- especially Allison, the little old lady next door who brings him and Louis cookies on holidays and who always comments on how “strong and handsome you are, Mr. Styles,” everytime he sees her.

And most importantly, he loves Louis, just- maybe in a slightly different way.

18) When Tomorrow Comes | Explicit | 11111 words 

The one where Louis is an Omega who has been keeping himself pure for his Alpha, Harry is a traditional Alpha focusing on his studies while he waits to find his bondmate, and Niall is a sneaky bastard who keeps borrowing Louis’ clothes and never returning them.

19) Smells Like Omega Spirit | Not Rated | 11769 words 

Note: This fic contains no explicit smut, but since it’s omega Louis, we’ve included it.

Louis is an omega doing a test run on neutralizers for a class project. Every time he talks to Harry he smells completely different.

Harry is an alpha who can't figure out if he's going crazy or his sense of smell is broken, but all he wants to figure out what Louis' real scent is.

Somehow they figure it out.

20) You Kill My Mind | Explicit | 13181 words 

Harry has always been ashamed to reveal his kinks to friends and partners alike. One day he meets a man who seems perfectly designed for him and they embark on a wonderful, sex-filled exploration journey.

21) In The Heat Of The Moment | Mature | 15743 words 

When Louis unexpectedly goes into heat in maths class it takes him way too long to figure out why (it might have something to do with a certain curly haired boy sitting next to him).

22) Was In No Hurry, Had No Worries | Explicit | 21485 words 

The year is 1999 and Harry can’t stop dedicating songs to Louis on the radio. Or the one where Harry hits Louis with his car.

23) You're The Smell Before Rain, You're The Blood In My Veins | Explicit | 21945 words 

“It was him you talked about, when you used to call me late at night, saying you were missing your ex? Was it him, your important five-year long story? Was it him the person you had thought about proposing, one day?” Nick asks with a low voice, almost inaudible, almost like he’s talking to himself “He’s my boyfriend…” he whispers again, without looking up.

“I know! And you shouldn’t worry, because you don’t have a single reason to do so. He’s yours now, he’s with you. I really don’t understand why you came here, honestly” Harry says defending himself out of instinct, even if he has no reason to react like that. He just- just wishes for Nick to leave his room and go back home to Louis. Because at this point Nick has Louis and fuck, why can’t he just go fuck off for once? Doesn’t he have enough shit do deal with already? Does he really need to get into this as well? Right now?

24) Like The Earth Around The Sun | Explicit | 23600 words 

The one where Harry bursts in on Louis in heat and things only get more complicated from there.

25) The Blood of Love | Explicit | 25273 words 

Harry is a nurse and Louis is a painting worth more than a thousand words. As desire and darkness encompasses him, Harry has to learn the secrets of Thorne Hills manor before he succumbs to the mystery that surrounds him.

26) Habit | Teen & Up | 27095 words 

In which Louis is a Donna who has a soft spot for alpha Harry.

27) Let Me Carry Your Weight | Explicit | 28633 words 

Louis is fresh out of a bad relationship with someone who made him feel awful about how he looked. on his journey to better himself, he meets harry - the ridiculously attractive and fit personal trainer.

28) Robbers And Cowards | Explicit | 33237 words 

A modern day Robin Hood AU where Louis and Harry (don’t really) hate each other but they hate greedy billionaires more.

29) Caves End | Explicit | 39711 words 

The one where Harry has lost his future, Louis has lost his past, but maybe together, they can find a way through the dark.

30) Soaked In The Blood Of Angels | Explicit | 40867 words 

The boy looks drugged, caught between a man who’s almost twice his size and a girl who looks like she wouldn’t even break a sweat snapping him in half despite her small stature, eyes closed and mouth open as he pants, arching up between them almost as if he’s trying to escape.

Normally, Harry would ignore it and continue on his search for someone to drink from, someone who wouldn’t mind his sharp teeth and rough hands. He’s seen plenty of boys like this one, ones who picked the wrong playmates, and if he stopped to rescue every single one of them he would have died from thirst a long time ago.

This one, though. There’s something about this one, the sheen of his bright blue eyes as he blinks slowly, looks around as though he doesn’t know where he is, the weakness of his hands as he tries to push the girl off of him and make his escape.

31) With Stars Of Brightest Gold | Explicit | 41109 words 

Louis Tomlinson is the premier courtesan at the Moulin Rouge. In his dreams, he has always wanted to be a famous stage actor. Locked into his contract, he has little means of escape until a handsome duke promises him freedom with a romantic alliance. Due to a case of mistaken identity playwright Harry Styles is thrown into the mix, compelling Louis to choose between his head or his heart.

32) We Both Got Nothing To Hide | Explicit | 43811 words 

Omega Louis has a secret nest. Alpha Harry keeps losing his clothes.

33) In A World Alone | Explicit | 50787 words 

Harry’s breath catches as the glow grows bigger and bigger until he’s squinting his eyes and blinking at the sudden intense brightness. He closes his eyes, rubbing at them helplessly. When his eyes open again- he gasps, grip loosening on his bow as he gawks at the sight before him.

Because the swan is gone.

And in its place is the prettiest omega Harry has ever seen.

A Swan Lake AU.

34) Hunting Ground | Not Rated | 583658 words 

Note: This fic is the third part of a series. Part two is #38 in this list.

Louis Tomlinson didn’t know how complicated life could be until he became a werewolf. And until he was mated to Harry Styles, the son — and enforcer — of Liam, the leader of the North American werewolves, he didn’t know how dangerous it could be either...

Louis and Harry have just been enlisted to attend a summit to present Liam's controversial proposition: that the wolves should finally reveal themselves to humans. But the most feared Alpha in Europe is dead set against the plan — and it seems like someone else might be too. When Louis is attacked by vampires using pack magic, the kind of power only werewolves should be able to draw on, Harry and Louis must combine their talents to hunt down whoever is behind it all — or risk losing everything.

35) The Wrath of the Emerald Eyes | Mature | 85205 words 

His chin is grabbed harshly, facing the two deep green eyes that have been getting on his nerves for the past ten minutes. The smirk on the man's face does not vanish. The grip of his hand on Louis' chin does not soften, his thumb at the side of his lower lip.

His smile widens as he answers Louis' question, ''My name is Styles, but you will call me Captain."

Pirate AU.

36) Cry Wolf | Not Rated | 85205 words 

Note: This fic is the second part of a series. Part three is #36 in this list.

Louis never knew werewolves existed, until the night he survived a violent attack... and became one himself. After three years at the bottom of the pack, he'd learned to keep his head down and never, ever trust dominant wolves. Then Harry Styles, the enforcer—and son—of the leader of the North American werewolves, came into his life.

Harry insists that not only is Louis his mate, but he is also a rare and valued Omega wolf. And it is Louis' inner strength and calming presence that will prove invaluable as he and Harry go on the hunt in search of a rogue werewolf—a creature bound in magic so dark that it could threaten all of the pack.

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