#ive been out all day and crashed for a quick nap and now it is time to continue the grind

[lorelune]

good evening gamers i need to lock the fuck in

[lueurjun]

𝖱𝖮𝖠𝖣 𝖳𝖮 𝖥𝖠𝖬𝖤. 𝗌𝗂𝗆 𝗃𝖺𝖾𝗒𝗎𝗇

“=⌕ sim jaeyun x gn!reader. 

⌗ SUMMARY — becoming a tiktoker was never apart of the plan, but here you are, 4 million followers and a love for pranking your boyfriend. 

. . ⇢ LUEURJUN’S NOTES — this is supposed to be gender neutral but if i slipped up at any point then i do sincerely apologise. this probably won’t be written the best, i was kinda sick and had a moment of inspiration. this is super fluffy and cheesy, so brace yourself. 

₊❏❜ WARNING ⋮ uh tears of joy?? i guess.

2021 @lueurjun.

i. 

THE 30TH APRIL 2020 was the day that your life changed in ways that you used to believe only happened in movies. 

Honestly, setting up your phone and telling your devilishly handsome, yet so pure, so innocent boyfriend that you wanted to have a child—whether that be adoption plans or getting pregnant—it was a small prank you decided to pull and film for your group chat. You never had any intentions of uploading it onto the internet, until Jay, one of your closest friends, suggested that you posted it to Tiktok. 

Jake was cool with it, having not expected it to blow up as much as it did. Nobody had expected for you to get over 2 million views and over 600k likes on your first video. Nor did you expect the heaps of requests in your comment section of different pranks to pull on your boyfriend. And that’s where it began. 

That one video was a rabbit hole into what quickly became your career. 

Now, with over 4 million followers, you have created your own little fan base, who have grown to love you, your boyfriend and even your friends that occasionally end up in your videos.

ii. 

The light in the kitchen flickered once as you set up your phone against a bunch of cookbooks that your parents had yet to read. Mentally, you made a note to ask one of your family members to change the bulb when they returned home. Focusing on your phone, which was now recording, you put your thumbs up and turned towards the door.

“JAEYUN!” Your voice echoed through the quiet home, bouncing off every wall until it met your boyfriend’s ears. Brief shuffling could be heard followed by the padding of feet across the floor boards. He was only in the next room, so it didn’t take long for him to appear right before your eyes. 

The first thing your eyes set on was the crinkles in his shirt, suggesting that he had been laying down. His dark hair was hidden beneath a black hat, which he had placed on his head backwards. He was dressed so simple, but you still managed to fall in love once again at the sight of him. You often wondered how you had managed to bag someone like Jake, he was the epitome of perfection and you couldn’t really see why he would want to be with you. Jake never let these thoughts ponder in your mind for too long, since he was always quick to prove to you that you’re everything to him. 

Secretly eyeing the camera, you put on a pout and fiddle with the hem of his shirt. Immediately, the alarm bells go off in Jake’s mind. You’re never normally this quiet and it’s rare to see you pout. He frowns a little, eyebrows knitting together as concern washes over his face. Using his index finger and his thumb, he lifts your chin and gently rubs the skin just below your lip.

“What’s the matter?” 

“I just- don’t get mad,” you begin, forcing yourself to sound sad. “But I just think you could’ve been a little bit nicer to me today.”

He had been nothing but an angel to you all day, and you felt horrendous for making him think otherwise, but alas, Tiktok had spoken and they wanted you to do this prank. So, as bad as you felt, it wouldn’t cause much harm. 

“Did I do something to upset you?” He looks genuinely hurt by his own actions and guilt immediately tugs at your heart strings.

You shrug and avert your gaze downwards, focusing on the tiled floor beneath your feet. This was partly to stop yourself from giving in too quickly, you’d always been a sucker for Jake’s puppy dog eyes and you knew if you looked into them any longer, you would stop the prank.  

Jake cocks his head to the side and steps closer to you, nuzzling his nose against the side of your head. You feel his breath fan over your ear and you swear your heart stops beating for a second. His fingers trail over your waist and he plants the softest kiss to the side of your head. 

“I just feel like you’ve been a little mean to me today,” you continue. And he nods his head in understanding, though you know he doesn’t understand at all. Jake doesn’t know what he’s done wrong, but if you think he hasn’t been nice to you then he’s not going to argue. 

“I’m sorry, can you tell me what I did to make you feel this way?” 

You lean your head against his chest and bite your lip, it’s hard to contain your smile. With his sweet response mixed with the scent of his cologne fogging up your brain, you have a hard time holding onto your act and he quickly notices. 

“Is this a prank?” He asks, pulling away from you. 

You let the giggles slip from your mouth and nod towards the phone, that you had done your best to hide. Jake turns, his hand still on your waist, and he looks for the camera. Once his eyes land on his figure, he throws his head back and a breathy laugh falls from his lips.

“I should’ve known.” 

Yes, yes he should’ve but you still made up for it with plenty of kisses. 

iii. 

Picking Jake up from football practice had become a ritual. 

You didn’t need to be asked anymore, you’re just always there waiting for him and he loves that. The excited smile on his face whenever he sees you patiently sitting behind the wheel never gets old. Picking him up, as sad as it sounds, has become your drive to get through Tuesdays. They’re not your favourite day of the week, but knowing you get to see a smiley, yet sweaty, Sim Jaeyun at the end of the day gives you more than enough motivation. 

Just like any other Tuesday, you’re waiting. You like to get there early and so, you have about fifteen more minutes until you see your favourite boy walking through the gate. Music plays softly in the background as you lean back and scroll through your comment sections—people are so sweet, though you do get a bitter taste in your mouth when you see people fawning over your boyfriend like he��s a piece of cake. 

You ignore the thirst comments and look through the requests. Not many catch your eye, until you come across a particular one and a smirk appears on your face.  

Fifteen minutes turns into twenty and finally you see your worn out boyfriend heading towards your car. As tired as he never fails to smile and pick up his pace. He pulls open the door and slips inside. You reach over and greet him with a chaste kiss before pulling away.

“How was practice?” 

“Exhausting. Can we take a nap together when we get to your place?” He asks whilst adjusting his seatbelt. 

A nap sounds amazing, and you waste no time in nodding your head. “Before we go, I went shopping today. I picked you up a few things, let me show you.” 

He melts then and there. Reaching back, you grab one of the bags and aggressively tug it towards you, making sure you hit Jake on the side of the head. He hisses and turns to look at you. 

You don’t even apologize. 

“No this isn’t it,” you mumble to yourself. 

You grip the bag and throw it back where you got it from, once again making sure to slap your boyfriend with it. He stares at you, annoyed with your aggressiveness, though you don’t look back at him and instead, you hit him a third time with a new bag but you instantly regret it. You ended up attacking him with the new pair of shoes you treated yourself to and you can tell this one pained him.

Quickly giving up on the prank, you drop the bag and reach over to rub the back of his head. “I’m sorry! I really didn’t mean to hit you that hard.” 

He whips his head towards you, looking at you as though you had just murdered an entire family in front of him. “What? So you meant to hit me?” 

You drop your hand and retreat back to your seat, attempting to look innocent. Jake then finds your phone, which is pointing right at him and he sees that it’s recording. You feel guilty, having not meant to hurt him so hard, you can’t meet his eye. You are about to start driving again, when you feel an impact on your arm and a yelp parts from your mouth. 

Jake sits beside you, a smile on his face and a bag clutched in his hand. You scowl and he only grins wider. 

“Now we’re even.” 

Oh, he is evil. 

iv. 

On the 10th May 2021, you hit 5 million followers. 

It was a shock, you rarely kept track of your follower count because you weren’t really in it for that ( though you are grateful for every single person that supports you ) so, you really hadn’t been expecting to hit such a huge milestone. In fact, you were so unexpectant, that you were sleeping at the time. 

“BABY!” Your eyes flew open as the bed shook. Jake had jumped on the bed, plastering kisses all over your face. “You hit 5 mill!” 

Disoriented, you blink. “Pardon?” 

Jake chuckles at your sleepy state, even with messy hair and puffy eyes, he thinks you look so attractive. His dark eyes trail over your features as he uses his thumb to rub underneath your eye, almost like he was trying to wipe away your sleepiness. 

“You hit 5 million followers, you did it.” His voice is softer this time, quieter but still filled with enthusiasm. You gape at him, and he laughs. 

“I did?” You ask, pointing to yourself. 

He nods. “You did.” 

The realisation crashes down at you at once and suddenly, you feel your nose sting as tears form in your eyes. Your fingers curl around the fabric of your boyfriend’s shirt whilst the other hand comes up to cover your mouth. Stray tears drop down onto your skin. You can’t believe it. 5 million people followed you. They like your content.

Jake coos at the tears that leak from your eyes like a waterfall. He’s quick to wipe them away, before he presses a kiss to your wet cheek. He’s proud and he’s filled with pride, his baby got 5 million followers and he couldn’t wait to brag to everyone about how talented and cool you are. That’s his favourite thing to do. Jake loves to brag about you. 

You sniffle and press your hands against his cheeks. Gently, you rub your nose against his own. “We did it. It’s your account just as much as it is mine, I wouldn’t have got this far without you. After all, you’re my main prank victim. So, we did it. We hit 5 million together.” 

You weren’t taking all of the credit, Jake was just as involved as you and he deserves the praise. You had done this together. 

“You do know Jay is never going to let you forget that he was the one who suggested uploading it to TikTok...right?” 

You laugh, nodding your head. “Yep. I know he’s gloating in the group chat, right now.” 

And he was. Jay was so proud of you and Jake, but most of all, he was proud of himself because without him, you would have never uploaded that first video. So, you let him have his moment. 

“To millions more!” Jake cheers as he lifts the pizza in his hand, the two of you had decided to celebrate with a victorious take away and a movie marathon. 

“To millions more,” you repeat softly. 

Whether you had 0 followers or 5 million, as long as Sim Jaeyun was by your side, you didn’t mind.

[brelione]

After (The Best Boys)

Series Masterlist

Warnings:Smut, hospitals, mental breakdowns/panic attacks.

After the three weeks that Topper was in the hospital everyone was  in pure agony.None of you were really sleeping properly, your days spent at the hospital with your friend, voices never going above a whisper.

He was getting better, able to sit up in his hospital bed and play uno with you and Rafe while Kelce napped on your lap.Kelce was getting the least sleep, the stress all catching up with him.

You didnt know how to bring it up, instead helping him in the only way you really knew how.That was by extra hugs, a shit ton of forehead kisses and sleeping in his bed with him when he stayed at your house.You had no idea what was happening with you and Rafe.

When Kelce would leave whether it be to the grocery store or to pick up McDonalds you would find yourself on the couch with Rafe, sharing feather like kisses with your arms wrapped around eachother.You still hadnt figured out all your feelings.

You knew that you liked kissing Rafe but you werent sure why.He was gentle and it calmed you but that didnt mean you loved him, right?Sometimes when you were kissing Rafe you’d start to worry about Kelce.

You would usually go with him when he went grocery shopping but he now preferred to go alone, figuring that it would help him clear his head and get lost in the music from his radio.

You laid with your chest pressed against Rafe’s, your hand twirling his hair with his head resting against your neck, arm around your waist.You were still wearing Topper’s hoodie, switching between the gray hoodie you had took from him and the black one with a rabbit sillouhette on the back.

You still felt scared of touching Topper, way too worried about hurting him even when he was practically begging for hugs and forehead kisses.It killed you to not be able to, wanting nothing more than to hug him and kiss him and laugh at how stupid he was.

Rafe sighed, lifting his head from your shoulder, the tip of his nose resting against yours, letting out a small sigh. “You excited to take Topper home tomorrow?”He asked, his eyes only half open as he spoke.You hummed, a small grin on your face. 

“Mhmm...Ive missed him a lot.”You glanced down at Rafe’s lips, looking back up at his eyes.A small smile tugged at his lips, leaning towards you and pressing a gentle kiss to your lips, smiling a bit.A dozen of gentle pecks later and he had ended up on top of you, elbows on either side of your waist, sighing against your lips. 

“The nurse said we can do movie nights again soon as long as its not too loud.”He informed you, placing a gentle kiss on your nose, smiling when you let out a small laugh. “Thats good...I think he has to have like infinite movie picking nights.”You replied, leaning up to kiss him again.

He nodded, biting his lip. “Yeah, definitely.But the no horror movie rule still stands, right?”He asked, looking down at you with a big smile.You rolled your eyes, pulling his head down so you could kiss his forehead. 

“Yeah, the rule still stands.”You grinned, your hand going back to play with his soft hair.He had washed it today.You could tell because it was nice and soft, well conditioned with some high end conditioner.

Out of curiosity you sniffed it, face heating up when he lifted his head, raising an eyebrow. “Are you sniffing my hair?”He asked, trying not to laugh.You rolled your eyes.

 “Shut up.”You grumbled, tugging lightly at the dark hair.He let out a low moan, surprising you both. “Did you just…”You trailed off, noticing how red his face had gotten, his face burying itself into the soft fabric of the hoodie. “Shut up!”He exclaimed.

You simply laughed, sniffing his soft hair again, trying to figure out what the scent was.He laughed, holding onto you tightly.His hair smelt like maraschino cherries and roses. “Your hair smells really nice.”You told him, inhaling the scent again.

He let out another laugh, biting his lip. “Yeah?”He asked, trying to remember which shampoo he had used that morning.You nodded, not able to feel your legs from his weight on top of you.The door swung open, Kelce coming in with a brown bag of Chinese food, setting it down on the table.

He didnt say anything, just sat down on the floor and started to take the food out, placing the boxes on the table.You frowned, Rafe getting off of you so you could move across the couch, hugging Kelce from behind. “You okay?”You asked, pressing a light kiss to his cheek.

He sighed, leaning back against you and letting you wrap your legs under his arms. “You seem stressed.Do you need to talk about something?”You asked, quiet enough that only he could hear it.He shook his head, opening one of the boxe and handing you a crab rangoon, laughing when you took it in your teeth right from his hand. 

“We need to save rice for Topper.”You reminded Rafe as he scooped it onto a paper plate with a spoon.He frowned, shaking his head. “Nope, Topper drove off a bridge.He gets no rice.”he replied, staring up at you as you glared down at him.

It took a few seconds before he hummed, putting some of his rice back into the container. “Should we get him cake or something?They wont let us smuggle him McDonalds so maybe we should get him that.”You thought out loud, grabbing another crab rangoon.

They shrugged, not really knowing. “My mom wants me to be home more often because she’s convinced i’ll crash like Topper did.I dont know, she just wants me home tomorrow for a family day or something.I’ll probably just stop by Topper’s house after you guys drop him off tomorrow.”Kelce fixed himself a plate, the two of you ending up switching positions so that you were on the floor while he sat on the couch with his legs on either side of you.

You sighed, resting your elbows on his knees while you bit into a piece of shrimp.Rafe turned on the tv, staring at you and Kelce.He wasnt sure what was happening with you.He didnt really understand why you two did what you did or why you guys never talked about it.

He ended up turning on Nickelodeon, glad when Victorious started playing.Rafe was grumpy the whole night, up until three in the morning as he scrolled through his phone.You and Kelce were cuddled up at the end of the couch, your arms and legs wrapped around him with your nose pressed against his chest, loud snored escaping the two of you.

Eventually he fell asleep, his phone on his chest and his head on the arm rest.He was woken up by you jumping up and down on the couch, grinning when you saw his eye open. “You gotta get up, bubs.We have to go get Topper.”You reminded him, hopping off the couch.

Rafe groaned, shifting on the couch and resting his face against the cushion.He dozed off again, grumbling when you climbed on top of him, demanding that he get up. “Hmm...where’s Kelce?”He asked, eyes half open. “He went home, its almost three in the afternoon, Topper can leave by four.”You kissed Rafe’s forehead, noticing how confused he was. 

“Three?”He asked, looking over to check the time on his phone.You nodded, getting off of him and heading upstairs to change your clothes.He groaned, finally getting off your couch and stretching his long limbs.Dragging himself up the stairs and into your guest room he had nearly fell on the stairs twice, closing the door behind him.

His clothes were scattered all over the room, groaning as he searched for his yellow shirt, cursing.He forgot to knock, walking straight into your room. “Hey, do you have my yellow shirt?”He asked, watching you tie your shoes.You bit your lip, glancing over to your closet.

 “No.”You lied, standing up straight once you had your shoes on.He chuckled, walking over to your closet.You quickly grabbed his arm, trying to prevent him from opening the door.He easily held you back, seeing the yellow shirt hanging in the closet.

He grabbed it, running past you. “Rafe!You cant have that!”You shouted, running through the house.He laughed, running into your kitchen before realising he had cornered himself.You ran at him, trying to take the shirt back.

 “Rafe-thats mine!”You exclaimed, clinging onto his arm and trying to bring it back down so you could take it from him. “No, no its not.”He answered, holding it high above his head.You sighed, wrapping your arms around his torso.

He frowned, eventually giving in and hugging you back, forgetting that he was holding the shirt when you swiped it from him, holding it to your chest. “thanks.”You grinned, stepping on your tiptoes to kiss him lightly.He sighed, arms tight around your waist, knowing it would be the last kiss he got that morning since you two would most likely be with Topper for the rest of the day.

 “Hmm...we gotta go.”He mumbled against your lips, not really wanting to pull away.You sighed softly, kissing him again. “Let me just grab my backpack really quick.”You kissed his nose, noticing how tired he looked.You grabbed your small leather backpack before coming back into the kitchen, seeing Rafe eating a handful of frozen berries right out of the bag.The two of you got into the car in silence as you texted Kelce.

You:Hows family day going?

Bean:we cant decide on a movie

Bean:hows Topper doing?

You:We’re on our way to the hospital rn.My heart is literally pounding im kinda nervous ngl

Bean:felt that.How’s Rafe doing?He seemed mad last night

You:Rafe’s fine he just slept weird

You:Are you ok?You’ve been really stressed lately

Read at 3:43 pm

You sighed, placing your phone between your thighs.Rafe raised an eyebrow, wondering whether or not he should ask about your sudden mood change.You were out of the car before it even stopped, speed walking to the hospital entrance with Rafe close behind you.

You took in a deep breath as you walked through the motion activating doors, the cool air conditioned air hitting your skin.Rafe came up quick behind you, not wanting to lose you in the hospital.

Topper was sitting at a little waiting area on a red couch, reading something from a magazine.He was wearing loose gray sweatpants and a white T Shirt, squinting as he tried to read.You ran over to him, grinning when he looked up at you, slowly standing up and letting you hug him.

You closed your eyes,arms tight around his torso, his nose in your hair. “Hi.”He grinned, trying not to laugh.You were acting like you hadnt seen him in months, cautious of his casted arm. “Hi.”You replied, feeling your eyes moisten.

You refused to let go even when Topper lifted up his head to greet Rafe.His forehead wound had healed nicely, a stip of medical tape over the area.The stitches had been removed a few days prior, the tip of his tongue fully healed so he could eat better foods.

 “(Y/N).”He mumbled, a red blush across his face.You took in a big breath, looking up at him curiously. “I asked the nurse and she said I can have forehead kisses now.”He replied, flicking your hip lightly.

You sighed, cupping his face so he’d lean down a bit, placing a gentle kiss to his forehead.A weight lifted off his shoulders, letting out a low sigh.He had missed that feelin so much, glad he could finally enjoy your touch again.He sighed softly, resting his head on your shoulder.

 “We’re gonna get McDonalds and Kelce said he’d stop by your house later.Do you need to check out with the nurse or something?”You asked, feeling his hot breath against your collarbone. “Noo...we can just go.”He replied, most of his weight on you.You sighed, rubbing his back. “Are you sure?”You asked.

He nodded, kissing your jaw lightly.You looked over to Rafe, seeing him just standing there nervously.Once Topper had picked up the magazine and slid it up his shirt you guys walked out, Topper holding your hand tight, the sun causing him to squint.

You sat in the backseat with Topper, making sure that his seatbelt was secure. “Its scary to be in a car again.”He admitted, holding onto the door handle.You sighed, squeezing his hand. 

“The ride to your house from here is pretty smooth, no bridges or anything.”You reminded him, feeling his good hand on your thigh. “Can I turn on the radio?”Rafe asked.Topper sighed, kissing your temple. “Low volume.”He told the brunette, leaning against you with his eyes squeezed shut as the car started moving.

Your hand was running though his hair, rubbing at the back of his neck and avoiding his hairline.You placed a kiss on the top of his head, feeling yourself blushing a bit. “Hey, hey what do you guys want?”Rafe asked as he pulled up to the drive thru, stopping the truck.Topper grinned. 

“Uhh...a quarter pounder with extra pickles and large fries.”He replied, noticing how you were staring at his blue cast.Rafe pulled up to the window, handing you the large brown paper bag.You were quick to unwrap Topper’s burger halfway for him, letting him hold it. 

 “What about meds?Do we need to pick them up for you?”You asked, taking one of his fries.He slowly shook his head, slurping down his burger, nearly dropping a pickle. “No, they’re getting dropped by my house.”he replied, offering you a bite of his burger.

 “Thats good.”You mumbled, taking another fry. “What kind of meds?”Rafe asked, shutting up when he saw you glare at him. “Just like, pain meds.I dont know.Ive gotta take like three a day for two weeks I think.”He replied, halfway done with his burger when he quietly asked you if you could wrap it back up for him so he could save it for later.

Your heart dropped when Rafe pulled into his driveway, knowing that you wouldnt be able to see him again until tomorrow.You got up, helping him inside the house and shutting the door behind you, sighing. “Its been a while.”You muttered, taking in the white tile of the opening room, a chandelier hanging from the ceiling.

He nodded in agreement, slowly walking into his living room.It wasnt too different from yours except for the gray carpet and the different couch.He sat down on it, seeming confused.You placed the McDonalds bag on the side table, looking down at him. 

“Hey, can I tell you something without you freaking out?”he asked, shifting in his spot so he could look at you properly.You hummed, hoping it wasnt something too bad. “Yeah, yeah I guess.”You replied, waiting anxiously.He gulped, taking in a large breath.

It took him a second to finally form words, his legs tingling. “Um...so im in love with you and I have been for a while now.I dunno, when I called 911 the last thing I thought about was you.I just thought you should know.”He confessed, his heart thumping so hard that if he were still in the hospital the nurses would come rushing in.

Your eyes widened, trying to think of something to say.That wasnt what you were expecting him to say, taking in a large breath that hurt your ribs. “um...uh….I um….”You stuttered, taking in another breath.You let out a nervous giggle, covering your face.

 “Im sorry, this is just crazy….um….so can we just….can we talk about this another time, please?”You asked, not sure you could handle everything that was being thrown at you.Topper nodded, grinning.

 “Yeah, yeah its fine...we dont have to talk about it.I just wanted you to know.”He muttered, avoiding your gaze. “Alright...um...im gonna go but i’ll see you tomorrow.”You left quickly, shutting the door and hopping into the passenger seat, still shaking.

Rafe frowned, trying to figure out what had happened. “Whats wrong?”He asked, hand on your thigh to get it to stop bouncing.You sighed, looking over at him. “Topper just….he’s talking weird.Its stupid, hes drugged out of his mind anyways.Can we just go home, please?”You asked, wanting to focus on something else.

Had all those hugs and kisses meant something different to Topper this whole time?Or did they just mean something different to you?Now things were starting to make sense.Why Topper had left that night three nights ago, why he had always glared at Kelce whenever the two of you were cuddling.

Now you felt all the guilt.You were hurting Topper this whole time by being so close with Rafe and Kelce when he was supposedly in love with you.And now you would be hurting Topper now because of how often you and Rafe did things that shouldnt be done between best friends.

Everything was so fucked up now.Rafe was pouting, trying to understand what possibly couldve happened in the five minutes that you were inside Topper’s house. “Are you okay?Did something bad happen?”He asked, reaching for your hand.

You sighed, lifting your hands so your elbows were on the armrest, resting your head against his hand. “No, just weird shit.Its fine, Rafe.”You replied, sighing when he pulled into your driveway.It was already 5:30.You got out of his truck, going inside quickly. “Hey, why are you walking so fast?”Rafe asked, struggling to keep up with you even with his long legs.

You simply huffed, going up the stairs.He was confused, following you anyways. “I just…”You trailed off, groaning as you flopped onto your bed.He pouted, sitting at the foot of your bed after closing your door. “What?”He asked, not understanding.

You rolled onto your back in a starfish position, staring at the ceiling. “Im just stressed is all.Do you want to watch something?”You asked, looking over to see your remote on your night stand, surprised when his hands gripped your hips. “Do you want me to help with the stress?”He asked, hovering over you.

You knew where he was getting at, not sure how to think about it.It had been nearly a month since he had touched you like that but it had lead to something bad happening.But thinking something bad would happen everytime you messed around with someone was crazy, right?

You slowly leaned up, kissing him lightly.It didnt take long for his hands to move down to your pants, carefully pulling them down your legs.He looked up at you before pulling down your light blue underwear, making sure that you were okay before dipping his tongue into you, holding your thighs down as he pressed a kiss to your clit.

You let out a low moan, fingers squeezing at your comforter as he licked a stripe up your folds.One of your hands moved down, tugging lightly at his hair.He let out a moan, letting you direct him the way you wanted, his tongue plunging in and out of you, eyes closing.

He sucked on your clit, trying not to smile at how loud you were, slipping a finger into your entrance.He wasn't sure how this would end up, remembering your promise from last time.You moaned loudly when he added another finger, pumping them in and out of you.

He could feel you getting close, kitten licking your clit to tease you.A shiver ran up your spine, moaning loudly as your eyes clenched shut. “Rafe-please.”You whimpered.He smiled up at you, adding another finger to stretch you out a bit, slowly moving.

 “Rafe.”You whined, trying to get him to move faster.He simply chuckled, giving you what you wanted and beginning to speed up, your moans only making him move faster.You climaxed with a loud, high pitched moan, letting go of his hair as you panted.

Feeling his tongue moving again you let out a soft moan as he cleaned you up, your fluids on his chin and fingers as he licked them clean.He wiped his chin off with the back of his hand, looking up at you. “Rafe.”You whispered, knowing how crazy you were about to sound.

He leaned back over you, his nose touching yours. “yeah?”He asked, not sure what to expect.You let out a soft sigh, kissing him gently. “I want...I want to go all the way.”You told him, noticing his breath hitch in his throat.He gulped, not sure if he could do it.

He didn't want to hurt you. “Are you sure?”He asked, looking into your eyes.You nodded slowly, anxiety building up in you as he slowly pulled down his pants, letting you palm him through his boxers.He let out a moan, wanting you to apply more pressure.

 “Are you sure that you want this?”He repeated his question, biting his lip.You let out a shaky breath, nodding. “Im sure.”You replied, eyes widening when he pulled down his boxers.He was huge.You just had to hope it wouldn't hurt as bad as it looked.

 “Its gonna hurt a little, alright?I need you to tell me what you want.If you want me to stop I need you to tell me.If you want me to slow down I need you to tell me, okay?”He asked, wanting to make sure that everything would be okay.You nodded, touching his hair lightly.

The first few inches didn't hurt but when he was about half way in you hissed in pain, gripping his shoulders.He came to a halt, looking down at you with a concerned expression. “Baby, hey, hey.Do you need me to stop?”He asked, preparing to pull out when your fingernails dug into his skin. 

“no...no.Keep going.”You replied.He began to move again slowly, biting his lip.He was nearly fully inside you, trying not to moan as you kept clenching around him due to his size.You were whimpering, eyes becoming watery as he was finally inside of you.It stung a lot, scratching up his back.You sniffled, glad he was taking things slow.

You took in a deep breath, a few tears rolling down your cheeks. “Shh...I know, I know.It’s okay, you’re okay.”Rafe whispered, cupping your face and wiping away the tears. “It hurts.”You whispered, sniffling.He bit his lip, kissing his forehead as he tried to help with the pain or at least distract you from it.

He wanted to pull out and run you a bath, trying not to make himself cry. “Do you want me to stop?”He aksed, trying his best to stay completely still.You shook your head, holding onto hims tighter, his  face in the crook of your neck with his chest pressed against yours.

 “Baby- I indeed you to try and relax, alright?Tensing up only makes it worse, take deep breaths, ready?Breath in, breath out.”He pressed a gentle kiss to your collarbone, listening to your breathing. “Good girl...in and out, just keep breathing.Im gonna start moving a little, okay?”He asked, feeling you nod against his shoulder.

He took in a deep breath, pulling out ever so slightly before pushing back in, clenching his eyes shut. “You okay?”he asked, pulling his head from your shoulder, looking down at you.You nodded, taking in a deep breath. “Yeah-it hurts a little but im okay.”You confirmed, kissing him lightly.He let out a soft sigh, squeezing your waist lightly.

 “Ready?”He asked, keeping his hands on your hips, waiting.You let out a shaky breath, nodding.He was careful, only pulling out a quarter of the way before slowly moving back in, jaw dropping when you moaned.His heart was thumping fast as he moved slowly, groaning.

 “Shit.”He whispered, leaning down to kiss your cheeks, nose and lips. “How are you feeling, sweetheart?”He asked, pulling out halfway this time before pushing back in, watching as your eyes widened and a moan came from you.

  “Shit, Rafe.”You moaned, nails digging further into his back.He took a deep, shaky breath. “God, youre so fucking tight.”He moaned, letting out a low whimper, repeating the action of pulling out halfway before pushing in again. “Rafe-”You couldn't even form a full sentence before you were moaning again.

He was pleased with your reaction, moving a little faster and pulling out almost completely before pushing back in. “You want me to slow down?”He offered.You shook your head, running a hand through his hair. “Faster.”You muttered, seeing a surprised look spread across his face.

He began to speed up his actions, pulling out nearly completely before plunging back into you, both of you moaning loudly,He was panting, a light layer of sweat covering his face, going as fast as he could. “Rafe-im gonna-”You moaned, your head rolling against your pillow as you clenched around him,cumming all over his cock.

He licked his lips, slowly pulling out of you.He picked up a towel from your floor, carefully wiping your thighs clean. “You did so well, baby.How are you feeling?”He asked, picking up his boxers from the foot of the bed and pulling them back up, laying down next to you.

The sun was just going down, red and purple hues covering the sky like a wonderful painting, the golden light coming through your blinds.You held onto his arm, resting against his bicep. “Im fine...im tired as shit but im fine.”You replied, hearing your phone ringing from your shorts.

You sighed, too tired to move.Rafe grabbed it for you, telling you that Kelce was trying to call you.You were panting too hard to answer, Rafe gulping and licking his lips before lifting the phone to his ear. “Hello?”He asked.You noticed the way his eyes widened, eyebrows knitting together. 

“Chill, man.Just- what do you mean you broke it?Well dont-hello?”Rafe asked, realising his friend had hung up.You looked up at him with a confused expression, trying to figure out what was wrong. “So Kelce broke his door and he’s on his way now.He really doesn't sound too good.”Rafe answered, slowly sitting up.

After the call about Topper you thought you had heard the worst news you’d ever recieve.But hearing that Kelce had broke something made you want to vomit.Kelce freaking out was how you knew the world had hit rock bottom but it didnt help that you didnt know what he was freaking out about.Shit.

@sweetlittlegingy    @nicolefarley603 @ilikealotofpeople-younotsomuch @newsies-yeet​ @butgilinsky @jjjmaybank @gracelovesbroadway  @stellariddle @outerbongs  @copper-boom  @httpstarkey @teenwaywardasgardian @drewswannabegirl  @simonsbluee   @jiaraendgame  @khiaraaa-in-spacee  @on-socks-off @spn-marvel-nerd @lovelyelinor @chinamolina602  @sexytholland @28cnn  @popcrone818 @fttayla @cherryobx @n1ghtsh4d3-67 @drewstarkeyobx @poguestyleskye @judayyyw @jjtheangel @jj-iz-bae@sunwardsss @meaganjm  @sarcasticsagittarius1998 @natalie-kate-98 @nxsmss @broken-jj @joshy-obx @classygirlything  @annmariek8 @stupidpendeja @killjoyybsinner @teenagekook @i-love-scott-mccall

[starr-fall-knight-rise]

Humans are Space Orcs, “Nest.”

Finally guys, some fluff! Based on some comments made by @beckitty and @digitalmagpie on Compromised Earth.  I was inspired by the idea and thought it would be fun to write, and would totally make sense, so. I hope I did the idea credit.

Enjoy the fluff, and thank you all for reading.

Sunny was mad.

Sunny was also worried, but that was mostly overshadowed by just how pissed she was. Adam was being an idiot, the biggest idiot, the king of the idiots. If he kept this up any longer he was going to upgrade himself to the god of all idiots, and it seemed like it was up to her to get something done.

Adam was in a bad way.

He could be fine, she thought, if he was given the time he needed to rest and recuperate. He was exhausted, and short twenty minute naps were going to do nothing to help that exhaustion. She knew enough from Krill to know that the human body required sleep to recover from injuries, and the Steel Eye armor had practically destroyed his body. There was muscle strain, extreme inflammation, the overdose, internal damage, nerve damage, stress fractures etc. etc, and despite all that he was still answering the call of the UNSC.

The stress of his job, and his inability to say no to other people and their needs was going to kill him. He felt obligated, by his job to make sure that everything went well, he assumed because of who he was that he was in charge of protecting earth, even the entire universe if he had to. He was taking on weight that he was not obligated to take on.

Even the UNSC was well aware of how sick he was, and despite taking his help, they seemed concerned about him, and she had no doubt they would be ok if he decided to take time off to recover. There were other men and women in the universe who would be willing to take on the weight he was trying to bare.

Yet he wouldn't listen to her.

Sitting on his chair in the UNSC command room, fighting back sleep, and no ability to walk, he was running himself into the ground.

She needed to find someone who could rein him in.

And she thought she had just the idea.

She left him, though she didn’t want to and made a quick call before walking into the room and quietly whispering to some of the Admirals standing off to one side of the room during break.

“I will not be accepting no, but I thought you should be aware.”

They looked at her and nodded, “We can take it from here.”

“Thank you. I hope you understand that this isn’t a reflection on him.”

“The reflection on him has to do with the fact that he refuses to leave. Do what you have to.”

She nodded turning and walking over to where Adam was sitting slumped in his chair half asleep pale as a ghost. He had insisted the IV be removed so he wouldn't be so distracting. She had argued, he had been stubborn

She walked over putting her arms around him and hauling him to his feet. His head lifted in exhaustion bright green eyes glazed over with exhaustion,”Sunny?”

“Just relax. We are going to go get you some sun during the break.”

He was too tired to be sceptical, and just walked with her.

She could feel his feet dragging, and occasionally his legs would give out under him, but she wrapped one arm around his waist and the other arm around his chest to hold him upright until they finally made it outside to the front of the building. In comparison to the inside, where the lights were dark and the mood was darker, the day was bright and warm. The sky overhead was blue and the ground before them was lush and green. Overhead the sun was warm and bright.

An automated lawn mower was roaring in the distance filling the air with the sound of freshly cut grass.

It made sunny mouth water.

She let Adam sink onto the curb, his head in his hands and lifted her head looking this way and that for signs of life, for the people she was expecting. She heard them before she saw them, the screeching of rubber on pavement, a sound that wasn’t exactly common in a world where everything could hover.

Sunny turned her head and watched as the ancient, four door pickup roared around the corner and skidded through the parking lot. Sunny could feel the aggression spilling off the thing in waves, and when it gunned towards her, she almost worried that she was destined to be roadkill.

However, the tires came to a screeching stop just before them.

Adam lifted his exhausted head and blinked eyes focusing blearily on the front of the car, and as soon as he did, his eyes widened.

Sunny peered through the front windshield where a small, blond- hair woman in a red flannel was hunched behind the steering wheel eyes narrowed face contorted into a predatory snarl that made sunny think twice about having made that call. In the seat just next to her, a greying human male was white knuckling the crash handles.

A door was thrown open and then slammed shut.

“Mom?” 

Martha Vir stormed around the front of the ancient truck, whose engine popped and rattled as it cooled down.

The look of anger fled from her face at one moment, to one of concern as she knelt on the curb looking over her son with piercing blue eyes wild with concern. Mr. vir wobbled stiffly from the cab of the truck forced to pry his hand from the crash handle.

“Mom… what are you doing here?” Adam said in confusion as she tiled his head this way and that, pressing her hand against his forehead, grabbing his hand to examine the inflamed wounds still evident from the steel eye implantation.

It was clear by her expression that she knew exactly what had caused those scars. 

“What-did-they-do. They made you wear the suit again! I swear to the lord above I am going to kill every last-”

“Mom!” his voice was weak, “No one made me put it back on….. I…. asked them to.”

She stared at him in confusion, “What?” “I had no other choice.” His voice quivered a little though he tried to choke it down. Clear evidence that humans were more likely to drop their guard in front of a caregiver, no matter how long past.

She rested her hand on his cheek, “But why… Adam….” 

“It’s what I had to do.”

“And the drugs….”

All was silent for a moment, and he lowered his head.

The stormy expression on her face grew thunderous. 

“I’m sorry…. I couldn’t…. Take the pain.” 

Sunny was surprised to see she didn’t even look mad. Instead she hugged him holding him to her chest his head resting on her shoulder for a long moment. Jim came to sit next to them one hand resting on his son’s back.

“It’s alright, we’re here to take you home.”

He lifted his head, “Home, no, I can’t I have….”

“I don’t care what you have. You aren't in any kind of shape to be doing any kind of work.”

“But mom the burg could attack earth at any-”

“I don’t care if the burg is attacking,I don’t care who is coming. I don’t care if it’s the rapture, and Jesus is descending from the sky on a chariot of fire, you are coming home.”

“But-”

“Adam you are not the only thing standing between earth and eminent destruction, now argue with me again…. I dare you.”

Sunny had never experienced such intense eye contact in all her life. And she thought her own mother had had a mean glare. As soon as Adam made eye contact with his mother, it was over, Sunny saw the fight drain out of him and he simply nodded his head.

He glanced over at sunny, “You called them didn’t you.”

Sunny lifted her head, “I did.”

“Why?”

“Because you won’t listen to me, but I knew who you would listen to.” 

His father leaned down, and with one strong calloused hand, he helped Adam to his feet, “Come on Kid, let's get you home before your mother levels the UNSC.” He chuckled, “Thought she was going to drive the truck through the front door.” Adam snorted, too tired and weak to actually laugh.

His legs gave out before he made it to the car. His parents caught him, doing their best to hold him up.

Sunny intervened, lifting him easily off the ground and into the back of the truck, she then followed after allowing him to rest his head on her leg as he lay across the back seat.

Jim and Martha got back into the truck, Martha grudgingly allowing her husband to drive. 

After a moment she reached a hand back holding a water bottle out to adam.

“Drink, this better be done by the time we get home.”

“But-”

“Drink your water!”

He shut up, finishing the water in a few minutes. It wasn’t a second later that the water bottle clattered to the floor, and Adam was out. Sunny sat in somewhat awkward silence as they drove down the highway.

Jim glanced at her in the rear view mirror, “You alright, Sunny.”

“Yes, sir. 

“Enough leg room?”

“Yes sir, just fine, sir.”

“My name is Jim, Kid, you can use it.” 

Er, “Of course, Jim.”

After another few minutes of awkward silence, Martha turned around in her seat to look at sunny, “What happened?”

Sunny wasn’t entirely sure what she was and was not allowed to tell them, but she didn’t want to find out what would happen if she didn’t, “The Burg declared war on the GA, and then proceeded to attack the Gromm homeworld for the warp codes that would give them access to the rest of the GA. They landed on the planet and were dug in inside an energy field with a plan to attack and charge our line within a day. Adam and his advisors determined the best course of action would be to attack them first and detonate their ship’s engine. Adam made a call…. I had no idea what he was doing. Both Krill and I tried to stop him when we figured it out, but he made it clear that he would find someone else if we didn’t do it. He….. he wasn’t doing so well, but he began the battle without any drugs….. Halfway through…. Well he just couldn’t handle it. He took them, and we finished, but he overdosed. Krill saved his life, but, he just hasn’t slowed down since. I can’t get him to, no one can…. So that’s when I called you.”

She stared up at martha worried that she would be blamed for not stopping Adam.

It seemed as if it might tilt in that direction, but Jim piped up, “Thank you for taking care of him, Sunny. Adam…. He’s always been stubborn. A weird mix of stubborn and not being able to say no.”

They turned off the highway and cut through the suburbs finally pulling up to the familiar house under the unassuming blue sky.

Sunny stepped out pulling Adam with her, who only partially woke up.

She carried him to the door and into the house following Martha back to a guest bedroom,where she set his hat on the nightstand, and woke him up long enough to get him to kick off his shoes and pull off his uniform jacket.

Then and only then was he finally allowed to lay down. Sunny wasn’t sure if he was even awake for the following few minutes where, like a mother bird, the human proceeded to construct a nest out of pillows and other soft things. He had a pillow under his head, and a pillow under his legs, and if that wasn’t enough, he was then surrounded on all sides by pillows. That done, she took a moment to check the sounds left by the Steel eye armor, cleaning a few of them up and bandaging over with clean gauze. She lay a hand on his forehead checking for fever, and by extension, and infection.

He shifted in his sleep.

She then went hunting through a closet which was hoarded at least two dozen more blankets. 

She left the window open allowing the warm sunlight and cool air to breeze into the room, covering his legs with the blanket, but leaving his arms and chest exposed to the warm sunlight.

Finally done, She then ushered Sunny out of the room, leaving the door cracked slightly, where it could be seen from down the hall in the kitchen. Sunny stood awkwardly in the living room for a time her back facing the window where sunlight was beaming through onto the floor. Dust moats churned and rolled in the sunlight.

Martha sat at the table while Jim stepped outside to get some work done.

Sunny shuffled her feet awkwardly before.

“Thank you for…. Coming so quickly.”

Martha looked up at her, her bright blue human eyes cutting and cold.

“I would do anything for my kids.”

Sunny shifted her feet and looked down quietly and before realizing what she was saying, “I wish my mother had been more like you.”

There was silence.

Martha worked her jaw for a second before curiosity got the better of her, “Are…. Drev mothers not protective of their children?”

Sunny shook her head, “No…. not at all…. Just not…. Mine.”

“Oh…. I’m sorry…. What…. Happened?”

Sunny looked away and shrugged, “Oh I was a disgrace. A crippled abomination that should have been tossed into the fire at birth.”

Martha stared at her, “Don’t you think that’s a bit exaggerated.”

Sunny turned to look at her, “No… That’s what happens if you are born crippled. You are tossed into the fire.” 

Martha stared at her mouth open, “They what!.... But how…. Why… why would anyone do anything like that….. And you. You look fine.”

Sunny turned to look out the window, “My mother was a great general. She won land in all directions of the compass, but after my brother, she was never able to produce another child…. It is very important in Drev culture to be able to produce kits.” She turned to look at martha, “Drev mothers give birth near the mouths of volcanos, and if the kit doesn’t hold up to standard they are thrown into the fire for their spirits to be recycled. My mother was…. Unable to get rid of me…. I am very small. I think she hated me because I was a symbol of her weakness, and she just couldn’t handle that.”

Martha had gone very quiet staring on at Sunny in surprise and….  a hint of something else in her bright blue eyes.

“I tried for her to be the best warrior I could. But in truth, I am not talented in battle. When the Drev war came, I thought I could win her love through valor, though I should have known better by then.” She looked at Martha feeling a horrible clenching feeling rising up in her chest and stomach, “What I did to Adam…. It isn’t excused by any means, but at least now you know why I did what I did.’ She looked down at her hands, “But instead of winning my mother’s love, she blamed me for my father’s death.”

“Your father…. Died during the war?”

“Yes, he was killed by a Steel-eye soldier during the last push.” She raised a hand, “Don’t worry, my father died an honorable death in battle…. I was happy for him. Once again my mother went against our customs and turned her sights on revenge.” Sunny siged taking a seat at the table resting her hands together atop the polished surface clasped lightly together.

As she sat a sudden touch of warmth on her hand made her look up.

Martha Vir had a hand over hers and was looking at her with an expression Sunny had not seen on the human’s face before.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright.”

“No, it’s not. No one deserves to be treated like that.”

Sunny chirped half heartedly, “It’s past me now. “She glanced towards the door, “Besides, I have people who care about me now, and they make it pretty clear that I am worth far more than what my mother said.”

There was another silence. The distant sound of laughter reached them from outside, “I am sorry, for the way I treated you. I shouldn’t have done that.”

Sunny chirped again, “I hurt your son, you would have to be crazy to trust me, or even like me all that much.” “Still, I should have been willing to trust his judgement…. He’s my youngest, and sometimes I forget he’s his own man.” She laughed, “Every time I picture him he’s still eight years old.”

“Are you sure he isn't” 

The two of them laughed.

The door creaked open just then, and Jim stepped into the house a handful of dandelions in one hand. He seemed surprised to find the two of them laughing with each  other, but just as pleased, “What did I miss.”

Martha smiled, “Nothing important. What do you have there?”

“Well, I was just getting rid of these from the lawn, and I was going to throw them away, but.” He glanced at sunny sheepishly, “I thought I heard Adam mention that you liked eating them, so…. I bought them inside instead. Forgive me for overstepping or mishearing.”

Sunny perked up a bit at the sight of the little yellow weed, “You heard him right.”

Jim looked relieved, handing Sunny the flowers and coming down to sit  at the table. Sunny munched on the flower rather happily. 

“Please eat them all. I hate those little yellow bastards.”

Martha looked over at Sunny, “Adam ever taught you how to play cards?”

Sunny shook her head, “I’ve seen him play, but we usually do other things.”

“Might as well do something while we pass the time.” Jim reached out to open a drawer revealing a few decks of cards. “Prism, turn on the sports channel.”

A blue light flashed around the upper edge of the ceiling, and a projection bloomed to life at the center of the room.

Martha began manipulating the cards between her hands adding a pleasant shuffling sound to the air.

Sunny growled at the screen.

“What, you don’t like the Strikers?”

“No, their coach is a D bag and Marcos can’t throw to save his life.”

Jim laughed, “Finally someone who gets it. Only Jeremy was ever into football, but they’re his favorite team.”

“Schmuck.”

“That’s what I said.”

Sunny chirped happily, and Jim laughed.

[anythingandeverything1d]

Surprise

You followed Preston down the hall anxiously awaiting the moment you had dreamed of for months. It had been almost 4 months since you had last seen Harry and you were so excited to finally surprise him on tour, part of you was a little nervous though. Distance wasn't the easiest thing... both you and Harry had been struggling and the past few weeks Harry had been extra distant and almost completely absent aside from a few texts here and there. “Harry’s dressing room is the one on the left” Preston said with a smile. “Good luck kid.” 

You smiled back and mumbled a quick thank you while walking to the door. You could hear Harry inside talking to someone and your heart fluttered up into your chest just thinking about him. You knocked quietly and walked in. The scene before you was not what you had expected to see. Harry was sitting extremely close to a tall blonde haired girl. She was very clearly flirting, running her fingers up and down his chest and he was leaning in to what looked like was about to be a kiss. His eyes shot up and he jumped off the couch. “(y/n)” Harry yelled moving towards you. You backed against the door you had just come through and he stopped. Your heart was beating and tears were forming in the corner of your eyes. You couldn't breathe. This was not the surprise you had planned. You grabbed the door handle and opened it. “(y/n)! Wait!” Harry yelled but you were already running down the hall. You could hear Harry following and you had no clue where you were going but you turned left and right into Louis. 

“(y/n)!” he happily greeted with a warm hug. “I didn't know you were coming love. How are you?” He finally moved back and took in the scene. Tears running down your face, Harry yelling for you somewhere down the hall. He grabbed you and pulled you into the door behind him. 

“(y/n)?” Niall said standing up from the couch to greet you. “Whats wrong?” He looked concerned. Louis pulled you into his bathroom and motioned for Niall to stay quiet about it. No sooner than Louis had shut the door had Harry burst into the room. 

“Niall have you seen (y/n)?” Harry asked out of breath. 

“(y/n)’s here? Where is she? Id love to catch up with her.” Niall answered calmly. “Wait..why would she be hiding from you?” Niall stood up defensively.

“Well she came into my room and well that girl from the other night was in there and then she turned and ran.” Harry answered. “I need to find her though. I need...I need to...I just need to talk to her.” He answered sadly.

“Well she isn't here mate.” Niall said sitting back down clearly annoyed. Louis looked at you with empathy and wiped your cheeks. Once Harry had left he opened the bathroom door and sat you on the couch. 

“Quite the way to start a surprise huh love?” Louis asked trying to cheer you up. You shrugged as more tears fell. “Im sure it was a misunderstanding (y/n)..”

“Harry hasn't even texted me today. Nothing, no good morning, how are you, what's up, miss you. Just silence. He's barely called the last few weeks and now I finally get to show up and surprise him and he's with some blonde hair blue eyed model. I feel so stupid” 

“Harrys the dumb one then.” Niall said scooting closer and putting an arm around your shoulder. “Nothing to feel stupid about. Its all on him.” At that moment the door burst open and you cowered into Nialls arms. 

“Hey does anyone know why Harry is running around like crazy right now?” Liam asked confused. You breathed a sigh of relief and ran into his arms. “(y/n)?” He asked confused but held you tight none the less. “I guess you're my answer huh?” You nodded into his stomach and held on tight. Liam was always kind of like a big brother to you. He was there before anyone else and he watched everything happen with you and Harry. You felt safe in his arms and reluctantly pulled away as the door opened again. This time Harry’s green eyes caught yours and he grabbed your arm. 

“We need to talk.” He grumbled trying to pull you from Liams grasp. Liam held on tight and shook his head.

“I think you need to go Harry. Clearly she's upset and doesn't want to go with you.”

“Liam back off and let go of my girlfriend.” Harry nearly yelled as he pulled your arm again. Harry dropped your arm and shoved Liam back, causing you to flinch and fall forward out of his arms. Harry stopped after seeing the expression in your face and took a step back.

“You're scaring her mate, stop.” Liam moved between you and Harry and you peered around his back to see what was happening. The rage in Harry’s eyes had disappeared and sadness had replaced it. 

“(y/n)...please. I’m not going to hurt you. I’m sorry I scared you...I just..we need to talk..” Harry stumbled his eyes begging you to come forward. Reluctantly you moved around Liam and towards Harry who was holding out his hand. You gently took it and let him lead you out of the room and into the hall. Harry dropped your hand and anxiously ran his fingers through his hair watching you closely. “Its not what you think okay? I promise what you saw was nothing. I just need you to believe me (y/n) please... I love you so much and Im so happy you're here and all I want to do is kiss you and-” 

You stopped him there. You knew you would need a better explanation later but for now you just wanted him. Your lips crashed against his and he pushed you back against the wall. Your legs went around his waist as he picked you up, his lips never leaving yours. After a minute you were both gasping for air, Harry hadn't set you down, and your forehead touched his, his gentle breath hitting you softly. Everything had been momentarily forgotten and you smiled running your fingers through the curls in his hair. “I missed you Haz..” you mumbled dropping your head to his shoulder. He sighed and set you down.

“I missed you too beautiful...” You didn't dare move, afraid that if you did the moment would fall apart. Harry didn't move either, he just kept his arms around you and his forehead on yours while his breathing slowed and settled. “Listen (y/n) that girl..”

“Can we do this later...please. I’m so tired, I want a shower, and I’m not ready to argue anymore with you..” Harry nodded and placed his hand out. 

“You can shower and nap in my room.”

“I-uh I think I would rather stay in Liam’s...” Harrys whole demeanor changed. All of the confidence he normally had was gone and he just looked away and nodded before taking your hand and walking into Liams dressing room. You sat on the couch and Harry stood in the door.

“I’m going to go get ready...if you need anything I have my phone.” You nodded and he left. You drifted off into a deep sleep, only to awake hours later to Harry’s gentle shaking. “Baby wake up..” Your eyes slowly opened and you held out your arms. Harry took them, snuggling with you for a minute.

“How was rehearsal?” you mumbled.

“Good. Would've been better with you there though.” you grinned and kissed him. “Can we talk now? Ive been sick to my stomach all day.” You nodded, not letting go of him but letting him continue on. “That girl was an interviewer..she was doing a piece on me and she was flirting and I may have flirted back but only because I felt like I had too for the interview. I didn’t mean to upset you. I never should've done it and I’m so so sorry. But baby I never would've cheated and I’m sorry I haven't been replying to you lately. I was so upset I hadn’t seen you in a while I was just becoming distant. I never meant to make you think I didn’t want you. I’m so so happy you're here and I can't even begin to tell you how much I needed this.”

“Shh...it’s okay Haz. I overreacted. I was so tired. I know you wouldn't cheat. I love you and I’m excited for everything tonight and this weekend.” Harry smiled and kissed you. 

“You're the best (y/n).” You kissed him again, pulling him on top of you. 

“Get a room!” Liam yelled covering his eyes as he walked in. You laughed and Harry slowly slid to the floor. “Not my room either, seriously I’m glad you worked things out but get out.” Harry pulled you to your feet and to the door. You winked at Liam, still laughing and followed Harry into the hall. 

“What would you like to do before the concert?” Harry asked looking at you.

“I have some ideas...the first involves a shower.” You wiggled your eyebrows and pulled him close. 

“Sounds great to me.” He kissed you before laughing and dragging you into his dressing room. You smiled, glad things were finally turning out the way you had imagined.

---

So this was one of the drafts I had saved from 2016 lol. It’s not the best but figured might as well post it.

[yespolkadotkitty]

The Apple of My Eye, pt 2/2

part I here

This chapter written mostly by the talented @hopelessromanticspoonie !

*****

“The results of your x-ray show that you didn’t break anything, but with your medical history, we’d like to do an MRI, just to check everything out.”

Propped up in the bed in the ER, dressed in a paper-thin gown that was flattering to no one, with only a blanket covering your legs, you felt less than equipped to disagree with the nurse. The ambulance had been effective at getting pain meds into you quickly through an IV inserted at your elbow, the medicine cold and heavy as it settled over you like a numbing blanket. “Sure, whatever. Has anybody come asking for me?”

The nurse, a short woman who looked as if she could take on the fiercest creature and come out unscathed, shook her head, punching your information into a rolling computer cart. “Not yet, sweetheart. Expecting someone?”

You heard a crash in the distance, followed by a barrage of incomprehensible shouting that you would recognize instantly. Wincing, you pointed in the direction the mayhem had come from. “I think that’s him, yeah.”

Loki, followed closely by a rather harassed looking Steve - what was that about? - sprinted into your room, nearly barreling over the nurse in the process. He came to a stop at your bedside, eyes sweeping over you, landing on the bruising and blood on your forehead and the line coming out of your arm. His eyes burned into yours as he addressed the nurse, in his best James-Bond-on-a-shoot-to-kill-mission voice, “Will it harm her if I touch her?”

“Don’t you go jostling her around too much there, lover boy,” the nurse replied, totally unfazed by all six foot two of Loki towering over her. “She took a nasty fall, and with her medical history, we don’t know what kind of damage there was. Your girl there is delicate.”

You couldn’t help but grumble out, “I am not delicate.”

Loki placed one knee on the bed, leaning over you so that he could wrap his arms behind your shoulders and neck, pressing his chest into you and his cheek to the top of your head. “Norns, what happened, kitten?”

The smell of his cologne was much preferred to the burning, sterile antiseptic of the hospital, washing over you from where your face had come to rest against his chest. You patted his back softly, careful not to lift your arms too much because even if the heavy duty pain killers had kicked in, you still didn’t know what the damage of your idiocy was. You pushed him away gently after a moment, gesturing for him to take a seat on the bed next to your thighs. He did as you non-verbally commanded, taking one of your hands in both of his.

“Oh, I grabbed for my phone when it rang, forgetting I had my hand on the bannister. I was on the stairs of my building - the elevator is out again. Fell down a bit-”

The nurse cut in, her eyes never leaving the screen. “She fell down two flights of stairs.”

If you could shake her for deepening the creases of worry between Loki’s brows, you would. Settling for a cutting glare, you continued. “Fell down. Called 911 when I realized I couldn’t walk, and Tony’s my next-of-kin on my medical records, to be alerted if anything happens to me. I didn’t want to worry you…”

“Will she be alright, ma’am?” Steve asked your nurse from where he was situated against the wall, calm and collected as always.

“I’m about to take her away for an MRI, and that should be the last test we need to run to see if she knocked anything out of place. Make no mistake, she’s going to be in a world of hurt for a while, and I’m assuming that tall, dark, and intimidating over there is her beau, so he’ll need to take extra special care of her.”

You pulled your pleading eyes away from Loki, plastering on a weak smile. “It isn’t my first fall, it won’t be my last.”

Cherie - you caught the moniker from the badge on her hip - came up and lifted the railing on the side of the bed that Loki wasn’t occupying. “Those drugs should be kicking in full force in a minute, and then you’re going to want to take a little nap.”

“Don’t need a nap,” you replied stubbornly. 

Cherie smiled patiently. “That’s okay, sweetheart. I’m gonna take you to get that scan done and then right back here to your boys. Sound good?”

Loki rose, holding tightly to your hand as Cherie lifted the other bed railing. “I’m going with her.”

Cherie leveled him with a look that would make even the strongest man shrink, but he was no man. Thankfully, Steve stepped in, clapping a heavy hand down on the Aesir’s shoulder. “She has to go in there alone, but they’ll bring her right back. They won’t hurt your girl, I promise.”

You were astonished to see Loki actually back down at Steve’s reassurances, pressing a kiss to your forehead. Cherie’s prediction had been correct, and you struggled against the weight of your eyelids to shoot Loki a reassuring smile. “I’ve had loads of these, Loki. It’ll be okay. See you soon,” you whispered, just before giving in gratefully to your medicated slumber.

When you woke later, you were much warmer than before, especially your hands. Licking your lips against the bitter, dry taste in your mouth, you cracked your eyes open.

Loki was perched in a chair by the side of your bed, and the tightness around his eyes lessened when your gazes met, and held. He quickly grabbed the cup of water left at your bedside table and held it to your lips, helping you take a few mouthfuls before setting it back down. The water calmed your scratchy throat.

“How are you feeling?” he asked quietly, the low rumble of his voice hoarse, but no less pleasant for it.

You made to reach up to push an errant lock of hair from his face, but found your hands firmly held in his - the cause for the lovely warmth you felt upon first waking. Taking a quick mental scan of your pain levels, you shook your head. The action pulled at your back, but the only faint twinge of pain spoke of the potency of the drugs coursing through your system. After falling down two flights of stairs, you knew your body was very upset about it. “I’m okay. Did they say what the MRI revealed?”

“No. Since neither I, nor Rogers - he left to locate coffee - are listed in your paperwork as family, they wouldn’t release that information to us.”

The idea seemed to really upset him, judging by his harsh tone and the vein that ticked in his temple. You lifted your hand out of his grasp to reach out to him. You couldn’t quite reach his face, and he shifted so that he perched on the edge of the bed, leaning his cheek into your palm. You stroked the smooth skin, the action calming for you both.

He captured your hand in his again, pressing a kiss to your palm before setting it on his thigh. “My heart stopped when I received that call from Stark. I was fortunate that Rogers was there to bring me to you so quickly. It was the worst agony I have felt in all my days, and believe me, I do not say that lightly.”

You rubbed your thumb over the warm denim of his jeans, your heart cracking almost clean in two at the fear and vulnerability coating his words. “I’m sorry, I am. I didn’t want to call you until I was home, safe, so that you wouldn’t worry more than you needed to.”

The ferocity of his expression was startling. “No. That would have wounded me more. To know that you were in pain and I was not there at your side? All I could think about on our journey here was how terribly fragile you are, how easily you are injured.” He shook his head, taking a deep, steadying breath. “I feared I might never see your smile again, know the joy of your touch and the breadth of your love. Never again hear your laugh.  It was agonizing.”

You had to say it. You couldn’t help it. The pain killers had settled over your brain and wiped away any filter that you’d once had. “But Loki, it will happen, one day.”

So many expressions warred on his face that you couldn’t place a single one, before only love, fear, and hope remained. “Oh, kitten. It doesn’t have to.”

You furrowed your brows, not understanding.

“I didn’t mean for it to be this way. I had grand plans of a wonderful dinner, of lavish gifts and the sweetest prose known anywhere in the Nine Realms. But now, when faced with the reality…” He paused, holding out his hand, palm flat,  in front of you. An apple, the skin glossy and unblemished red, a jaunty golden leaf growing from its stem, appeared. “I am stricken by the thought of spending even a single day without you. Of getting another blasted phone call from Stark that stops my heart cold. Of worrying for your health through the winter of your Midgardian life, and then facing nothing but the yawning chasm of my own years alone."

You reached out, taking the apple carefully in your hands, the shiny, tempting flesh cool beneath your touch. “What is it?”

“It is an apple I procured from my mother on our last visit, with her blessing. If you take but one bite - although it is delicious and you may eat it all should you wish - my fears of your brief lifespan will be silenced. You will be granted a long life, easily as long as mine or Thor’s. And I hope, that if you accepted this offering, you would spend the millenia by my side.”

You had never seen him look so unsure, so shaken, as he was in that moment. He searched your face, watching the gears turn over in your mind as you idly turned the apple over in your hands. Chewing on your bottom lip, you thought it over, thinking back to all the times you had felt so guilty for loving him, for capturing his heart when you could only hold it for so long. He deserved someone who could match him in years, if not in a body that wasn’t so ‘substandard’.

“What will happen to me? To my body - I mean specifically, to my back?” you asked quietly, needing to know what you were signing up for. It was one thing to know that your spine was going to deteriorate over the next few decades, but what would happen to you over thousands of years?

He sighed heavily. “It will slow the degeneration process drastically. As I still look quite young for living over two thousand years, my body matches my outward appearance. You would age similarly.”

That was… doable. You could handle that. But could you handle watching Tony, Steve, Nat, almost everyone you held dear die? It was the question that Loki had faced, and he had found a solution in the apple you let your eyes fall onto. You doubted there was an entire orchard on Asgard that you could plunder so that your newfound family could join you in near-immortality. And even if there were. You alone should not have the luxury of choosing who in the Universe would benefit.

But then you let your gaze drift up to the man who was watching you so intently. You had never known happiness and peace as great and all-encompassing as when you were with him. He was the love of your life, and you knew without a doubt that your abiding affection for each other would only grow over the many lifetimes that the unassuming fruit in your hand could bring. You could truly grow old together, and you’d be a fool to pass that up.

“I probably shouldn’t eat this right here in the hospital. Think you can keep me and this bad boy safe until we get back to my apartment?” you asked, unable to match the seriousness of his proposal, but the smile that stretched across your face as you offered him the apple for safe-keeping hurt your cheeks, it was so big. Your stomach felt full of nervous, happy fireworks.

He didn’t reply, leaning forward and carefully pulling you into his arms, burying his face into the crook of your neck. He trembled lightly in your embrace, and you held him tighter for it, joy bubbling out of you in quiet laughter.

And then he kissed you. It was warmth and happiness and relief and promise and every ounce of love that he contained. His forehead rested against yours and his eyes swam with unshed tears. You had rarely seen him so vulnerable, and your heart squeezed. “You’ll be mine?”

You let the apple fall soundlessly into your lap, cupping his jaw tenderly. “I’ve always been yours.” 

Permanent taglist: @just-the-hiddles @nonsensicalobsessions @lotus-eyedindiangoddess @wiczer @polireader @magnitude101999 @brokenthelovely @vodka-and-some-sass @amarisyousei @myoxisbroken @jessiejunebug @lovesmesomehiddles @arch-venus25

As You Are taglist: @darealbellabelleoftheball 

[gamingleopard28]

RWBY Shattered Eye AU

(If you would like to make the AU into a comic I don’t mind, just give me the credit for the AU)

          Volume 5 School Fight

     After Cinder knocked Jaune to the floor she starts walking over to kill Weiss, but then notices an unconscious Ruby to her right then saying “Eye for an eye”. She then lifts Ruby up with her right arm by the shoulder with her spear in her left hand. Jaune yells out a “NO!” but Cinder doesn’t care. She slowly shoves the spear into Ruby’s right eye in order to make it as painful as possible. Yang cries out a “NO!” just before running to Cinder and tackling her which caused her to drop Ruby pretty hard onto the floor. During the moment of confusion Weiss, Qrow, Jaune go to keep Ruby alive while Nora, Ren and Ozpin/Oscar keep them protected from Mercury, Emerald and Hazel who are still trying to fight them. Meanwhile Yang is aggressively smashing Cinders head into the floor to a point where to fix it would require a landscaper as well. After Qrow realizes Ruby should be fine he goes over to Yang who is still pummeling Cinders face and manages to pull her off so he can check on her. Yang's face is filled with tears that are boiling as they fall, her hair is ready to basically explode at this point. Emerald helps Cinder up while Qrow calms Yang down to a point where she can think rationally enough to not lose her other arm.

At this point the fights are Qrow and Yang Vs Cinder and Emerald, Nora and Ozpin/Oscar Vs Mercury and Hazel. Jaune and Weiss are keeping Ruby alive as Jaune finds out he has his semblance. 

     While the chaos is happening Raven and Vernal who just watched all of this happen in about a minute decide to go down the elevator and see if they can get the relic without Cinder. Cinder notices them going down the elevator and lets Emerald know she is going down it. After Emerald covers Cinder as she disappears down the elevator shaft. Emerald, Mercury and Hazel move over to cover it and stop Qrow, Ozpin and the kids from getting in. Ruby has been moved to a safer corner and Weiss is now fighting again after getting her aura back. 

In short things mostly proceed as normal, White fang is stopped, Yang gets the relic and Adam goes missing. 

     Blake walks in through the hole in the front, looks around and notices Yang and Weiss kneeling next to Ruby, but she isn’t looking the same as she last saw her and it wasn’t really the outfit. Then Blake realized that Ruby was bleeding from her right eye and ran over to check on her. After cleaning the blood out for a little bit the got her onto a more comfortable surface, 2 medics came in and got her onto a stretcher and started asking the basic questions like “What happend?”, “How Long?” and so on. After which they began bringing her to a medical tent but stopped just outside in order to let the crowd clear. While they were stopped Yang brushed her left hand across Ruby’s hair to which Ruby then open her eyes weakly asking in pain “ya-ng?” before passing out. While passing out she could hear Yang’s voice getting quieter until she was unconscious.

          Between Volume 5 and Volume 6

     Blinking weakly Ruby opened her eyes and winced from the pain across her body but mostly in her right eye. Looking around she noticed that her right eye was more blurry and had a fairly thick black line going through its middle, she still remembered what happened to her and how Yang saved her life. Yang! She needed to find Yang. After spending probably about 2 minutes getting out of bed because of the pain she managed to get to the door after realizing she was connected to an IV bag with water in it. After opening the door she looked down both ways, to her left was a door about a foot away and to her right was a hallway about 8 meters long with doors along the walls and lead into a living room. The noise from the talking kind of irritated her a little so she checked the door to her left which wasn’t super quiet but didn’t creak. Ruby wasn’t exactly quiet with her entry and got the attention of Qrow and Ozpin who were in a conversation. Ozpin told Qrow could have some alone time and exited the garage. Qrow quickly got Ruby a chair as Yang stopped working on Bumblebee (her Motorcycle), grabbed a bag labeled Samples and helped Ruby sit as the asked her some basic questions like “Are you hungry? Are you hurting? Do you feel sick?”. Ruby answered “Yes. Yes. No.” and so on. Her eye did start to bleed but Yang was quick to get it with a tissue. Ruby asked why she had a bag labeled Samples and was told that the medics found some kind of dust in her eye and asked for them to keep samples. After she stopped bleeding from her eye they had a hug which made Ruby a bit more happy and managed to make her smile a little, then she was helped up out of the garage and to a table for about 10 people and get her some food. While passing by everyone else they saw her and all felt a bit bad as Ruby went from zipping around to looking like a kitten with broken legs as she slightly limped and stumbled each step. She didn’t even have much of a smile on her face, it even looked like moving kind of hurt her. Ruby did ask Yang how long she was asleep and Yang told her almost 2 days. Ruby then ask who changed her, which makes Qrow tell her “We made a rule that guys aren't allowed to change your clothes for you.” and Yang also tells her that she did.

About 2 hours later at 9:00 am Taiyang knocks on the front door. Qrow answers and lets him in and he immediately asks were Ruby is. Qrow tells him and lets him know to be quiet as noise makes her uncomfortable. 

     Tai basically does what he did after The Fall of Beacon and asks if she wants anything. Ruby just says a hug and to be able to sleep which Tai then realizes that his precious Ruby isn’t the same as she was before this happened which causes him to cry while hugging her. Ruby does ask if Zwei is okay and her lets her know that after her fight at haven Raven came back and is currently living with him as her tribe kinda got destroyed, and she is taking care of Zwei. After he leaves her be Yang comes in to give her a Hug and change her IV bag. Ruby then manages to go to sleep as her room is pretty nice. Sage green walls with dark brown floor trim, the floor is a nice soft wood. The room is 5 meters wide by 4 long parallel to the hall. Her bed is made with a sturdy wood and a comfy mattress, the sheets are a nice soft light brown cloth with about 1 ft of a fluffy material she likes to cuddle with and some soft pillows. Occasionally Yang, Blake and Weiss have peek in while she was doing it. Yang’s reaction was “She is so cute like that”, Blake’s was a warm smile, and Weiss was a mild blush. Everyone else reacted in their own way, Jaune and Ren saying ”As long as she’s happy” and Nora saying she knew it would work, Tai and Qrow just felt better knowing she could still be happy. On the left wall there is a window with a curtain that is mostly kept closed. Along the wall opposite side from her bed there are two 1 meter wide by 1 foot thick by 2 meter tall bookshelf's on opposite sides of the wall and a nightstand next to her bed with a lamp on it. She got up later for dinner, talked a little bit and goes back to her room to read a little and sleep. During the night she has a Nightmare and ends out screaming a little as she wakes up and then starts crying. Yang is in her room in a few second followed by Tai and Qrow, everyone else was to tired to get up at like 1 am. Yang, Qrow and Tai were all trying to calm her down from her nightmare. They did manage to calm her down and made sure someone was with her every night in case it happened again.

Throughout the rest of the 2 weeks every night she had a nightmare but was quickly comforted. Also every once in a while someone would check up on her and help her with something or just relax with her. Mainly it was the girls but occasionally Jaune or Ren would come in and give her some cookies or lunch. While the girls did their respective things with her, Yang would generally come in to help her shower, Blake would read with her, Weiss would explain what happened that day or cuddle with her as Ruby asked of her and Nora would help her with exercise. Ruby did get better throughout the week, even being able to walk around the house on her own in 5 days. Although Ruby wasn’t allowed outside unless it was the backyard or she was with someone as she still couldn’t really fight right now. Another 5 days later team RWBY went to a mall which is were Ruby got her present for Yang. Before leaving the blanket Ruby had is packed up because the blanket was actually bought by them for her.

          Volume 6

     The train ride is mostly the same to the normal one, only difference is Ruby has a nap and a Nightmare but is comforted by Weiss. Weiss covers Ruby from a Grimm swipe, The train crashes and and Jinn explains what Ozpin hid from them WBY does get angry at him but Ruby tells her to knock it off and asks Ozpin if he hid it to protect them. He says yes and Ruby then explains that they have bigger problems then trying to kill each other like shelter and food. In the house where Weiss and Ruby just sleep together and Ruby doesn’t have a Nightmare. During the well section Maria realizes that Ruby’s eyes are even stronger than they should be probably because her right one has less eye holding back the light. As they come through the cellar Qrow asks whats happening sounding more sober than normal as the Apathy slowly crawl out of the cellar, he then throws a few bottles at them with Weiss before running out of the house with Ruby and Weiss. They get to Argus without any incident. After everyone reunites they go to Saphron’s house, and relax while explaining what happened. After a little bit Saphron comes in and sits in one of the couches and then Ozpin explains that he did hide the truth from everyone, Jaune holds him against the wall and screams at Ozpin which causes Ruby to go into one of her Panic attacks, starting of with a scream and then intense crying and her right eye flashing a little bit. Everyone looks at Jaune and Ruby in a surprised look as Jaune is caught off guard by that and drops Ozpin letting him back off from Jaune who’s in a startled state. Yang and Blake are next to Ruby in a second and Weiss is in about 2, and they start calming her down. Everyone else decides to give her some space as Yang, Blake and Weiss bring her upstairs to rest while Weiss watches over her. Jaune did get some dirty glares from Yang for like 5 seconds until she gets distracted by Blake nuzzling her to get her to stop. Terra then comes home as well with the child and sits down next to Saphron. Later when everyone is going out to get food Ruby and Weiss stay back in case of a Nightmare or Panic attack. They find Maria and learn about Ruby’s eyes and that they seem a lot stronger than they should be. Then they all have dinner. The next day they all go to the Atlas airfield gate and Cordovan she tells them Weiss and Ruby are allowed because Weiss because her father wants her back and Ruby because of the samples, but everyone else is not. After trying to see if they could make an exception Weiss has an idea and backs off and calls someone. Then Cordovan gets a call about 30 seconds after Weiss, Finishes and tells the team that they have one hour to get their things and be back, when they get back they pack their stuff as well as Qrow’s things. He comes back surprisingly not at all drunk. Ruby is somewhat happy but also really confused as to why. When they return to the airfield they are escorted to a small airship and flown to atlas. On the way there Ruby gives Yang the present which is a Gift card for Strawberry Sunrises, a cleaning kit for her arm, a new pair of sunglasses and a few tools that she can attach to her arm. Yang lets out a little laugh and hugs Ruby really hard to a point where she can’t breath. Meanwhile Cinder did have her fight with Neo but she ran away from Cinder as the intense wind reminded her of how she failed Torchwick. Later Cinder finds Adam who has an airship and she explains that together they can destroy team RWBY and that on a specific date he will assassinate Ruby before she wakes up which will lower team moral and make Adams target (Blake) easier to get. Cinder will finally have Ruby dead and more maiden powers. He agrees and lets her on as they head for Mantle.

Team RWBY and JNR was well as Qrow and Ozpin/Oscar land at atlas and are greeted by Penny, Ironwood and Winter who thanks Weiss for calling her rather than doing something reckless. Penny lightly tackles Ruby and then notices the scar in her right eye. Ruby tells her its fine and that she doesn’t want to talk about it but Weiss will fill her in, which Weiss agrees too. Ironwood somewhat loudly goes “YOU’RE SOBER?!” to which Qrow replies yes and lets him know about Ruby and noises as she is noticeably uncomfortable. Winter is absolutely caught off guard by Qrow being sober and just jaw dropped. The Ace ops watch from a little ways away glad they are having some fun and then introduce themselves.

          Volume 7

     Weiss went to catch Ironwood, Winter and Penny up on what happened, Jaune, Ren and Nora went for training, Yang went with Maria for tuning for Maria’s eyes and Yang’s arm and Ruby went with Blake to the lab where they took the samples and explained that they may be able to make lights that kill Grimm making cities a lot safer and so they also take a blood test as the samples are dried up by this point. Blake stayed by Ruby in case she had a panic attack as she knew what to do unlike the scientists. Luckily she didn’t have one and managed the appointment pretty well and even got a lollipop and a cookie. Then everyone met back up. After learning about the Amity Project they got their new outfits and weapon updates and to learn about Ironwoods plan. Then they help clear out the launch site and then are shown their dorms. Next they have the training montage and get their licenses. Everyone ends out going to the Movies or to the voting party and it goes as normally until Tyrian attacks. Penny fires her swords at him and then loses him in the crowd and then hears Ruby yell something before it goes quiet and the light come back on. Everyone sees the swords but also notice none of them a bloody or correctly aligned to hit any of the dead bodies correctly to kill them. Then Penny realizes Ruby is missing...

Meanwhile many blocks away Ruby is tied up in a chair while Watts and Tyrian are talking about the how the plan went well and other things. After a little bit Watts Unties one of Ruby’s hands after setting up a chess board and asks if she wants to play. She accepts and they constantly tie. Watts is impressed and even Tyrian is interested in the game while still absolutely confused on what they are doing. 

     Afterwards they manage to sleep until Ruby gets woken up by the riot and a Nightmare. Tyrian yells at her to shut up and gives her a small cut with the non poisonous part of his tail which makes it worse and Watts tells him its time to leave. Back in atlas about 2 hours ago Yang, Blake and Weiss got to their bunks but noticed Ruby wasn’t there but assumed she was helping Penny with something until Ren and Nora burst into the room and tell them Ruby’s been kidnapped which Yang almost doesn’t even take an airship down to Mantle. After about an hour and a half they go back miserably and sit there still in their huntress outfits for a few minutes and then they get a call, “We found her. While getting out of an abandoned basement they were spotted by protesters as they have Wanted and Warning signs everywhere and so a squad of robots looked over at them and start sprinting towards them as the start running down the alleyway”. After about 10 minutes of running while Ruby is bawling her eyes out, an airship pops in front of them and the speaker says: “Put your hands up!” to which they decide to ditch Ruby so Tyrian just dropped her on the ground pretty hard which isn’t helping with her bawling. The squad of robots and the airship chases after them. Ruby is still just bawling her eyes out which are starting to flash. Another airship lands on the street and Yang, Blake and Weiss hop out and run over to her. When they get to her they immediately start to try and calm her as Blake cut the ropes but Ruby was still bawling her eyes out and had even started soaking her clothes. After about 5 minutes of hugging, head rubbing, even a few kisses and a lot of tears she finally was able to be moved to the airship and explain while sobbing what happened as Yang texts it to Qrow. Meanwhile Qrow, Ozpin/Oscar and Ironwood are having a little break and Qrow is offered a bottle and he only has a little bit. Then he is asked why he isn’t drinking as much to which he explains that he feels that he was to drunk to keep Ruby safe and that it might get her or him killed and would make her and Summer happy. Then he gets a text from Yang explaining that they have her and what happened as well as that she isn’t badly hurt but was bawling her eyes. He nearly dropped the scroll as Ozpin decides to ask what is it and Qrow tells them shocking them. Back with team Ruby, she is still mostly sobbing but not as bad so Yang tugs her along while she cries into Yangs shoulder, Weiss hugging her from behind and Blake up ahead just telling people to give her some space as they are getting notifications that Ruby is no longer missing. After getting to their dorm and calming Ruby down to just tears, Penny comes in knowing its been a bit over 2 hours since she disappeared. Penny is shocked that Ruby is crying as she has never seen Ruby cry before. She asks Ruby is she is okay and she replies “Yeah... Sorry I scared you.” and then hugs Penny who returns it telling her she is a good friend. After Penny leaves Ruby is asked if she wants anything and she says: “Maybe to sleep all together?” to which they accept her request and start unfolding the couch into a bed. (In this AU teams have separate rooms) After changing into night clothes they go to sleep on the bed. (If you are curious this is the order from left to right: Weiss, Ruby, Yang, Blake.)

     In the morning around 6:30 Yang woke up got out of bed easily since Blake had curled up on the bed, and started making some breakfast. Some PB&Js with milk and cookies for Ruby who was still asleep as Blake started to wake up. Then turning back to what she was doing yang then sees Adam and stumbles back ready for an attack that never comes as there is no one there. Blake rushes to Yang's side and asks why she is blocking from nothing to which she explains she thought she saw Adam and that he is out there still. Blake listens and then looks at Weiss who is waking up then jokes “Morning princess” to which Weiss doesn’t really care as she is being held onto by a sleeping Ruby. They all look at her smiling as she hasn’t been in a really great mood since haven, and then Ruby mumbles something along the lines of “We-iss... love... youuu...” which causes everyone to look quite surprised. About 3 minutes later Ruby wakes up and realizes she was holding Weiss and quickly lets go with her face going red and asks if she heard anything while she was asleep to which a blushing Weiss replies “N-o... yes” causing Ruby’s face to go very very red. Yang is basically dying laughing at this point and Blake is getting ready for CPR as Yang is laughing, choking and wheezing heavily. After they calm down without Yang needing CPR they have their breakfast and check their scrolls to see they have been given a day off and literally can’t do any missions today. So they just relax with the time they have like spending some time in the pool, going to the arcade, Even going to the library which Ruby finds a really good book that is like 10 inches wide which impresses Blake, they even play a little bit of tag and a few other activities. At some point they find Penny and have a chat with her and Winter. After that they go to a club that is fine with faunas and okay for Ruby (It isn’t loud enough to cause a panic attack). Then they head back to the bunks to which Ruby climbs onto her bed and immediately falls asleep. Later they had dinner with nothing really happening.

     Early in the next morning at about 6:55 Adam is waiting in the hall waiting for 7:00 as that is when the doors open and the cameras to turn off. Just as they turn off and the door unlocks he heads inside, but someone sees him enter. As he grabs a wooden box to stand on so he makes sure its a kill, gets on it raises the knife above Ruby’s chest and brought it down. “Hey!” while bringing down the knife it misses her heart and goes into her stomach, Weiss kicks his legs out from under him and he hits the floor hard and Penny starts disarming and arresting Adam. Weiss is now trying to get the knife out of Ruby’s stomach while Yang helps Penny with arresting Adam. Blake is still waking up from her dream about cat nip or something I don’t know. After getting the knife out of Ruby, Adam was arrested and put into a cell with his weapon in another secure room. Later around noon Ruby and Weiss have a walk in a park and end out sitting on one of the benches under a tree. Weiss asks if Ruby did love her to which Ruby replies yes and then kisses Weiss on the cheek, Weiss then returns the kiss but on the lips for a few seconds before breaking off. Both are blushing very hard as  Yang and Blake then come around the tree and go “Congrats!” to which Ruby yelps in surprise “YANG! I thought you were on a date with Blake!” to which Yang just replies “Yes but we also went here”. 

The rest of the time is of training and dating. Everyone thinks Weiss and Ruby are very cute together even Qrow. Not much really happens for a while.

     When they are invited to the Schnee manor not much really changes other that Bumblebee and WhiteRose flirting with their partners. Jacques gets arrested, Tyrian gets arrested, Watts getts messed up and RWBY + JNR + Ace ops are saving civilians, team RWBY gets called up to atlas to talk to Ironwood a little bit before Ace ops are finished up. While getting to atlas Cinder frees Adam and arms him and reminds him of what to do before she heads to the winter maiden. While running down the hall Adam is waiting behind a pillar for Ruby who is at the front, then comes past the pillar after seeing something red looks over and sees Adam with his sword raised and all she can do is block with her arm and- He cut right through her left arm (at just about past the elbow) which made her cry in pain as he front-flipped outta that convenient window. Ruby is now on the floor bleed badly and Yang is trying to stop the bleeding and Weiss is trying to calm he down the the blood flow isn’t as bad while Blake makes sure he isn’t coming back as he slides down until she can’t see him any more. She then check on Ruby who is still crying in pain but not as bad, Yang tells her to get some help. So Blake runs down the hall to the medical wing where some doctors are working with scientists on her blood samples and the dust that has been extracted, opens the doors and tells them Ruby lost her arm and one of them grabs a kit Blake sees is labeled Ruby and asks where as she shows them. By now Yang has Ruby's head on her thighs while calming her down and Weiss is still trying to stop the blood dribbling out of her arm. The doctor put some bandages that are really absorbent on the wound before spraying some antibacterial spray on it. Then with the kit open Blake, Yang and Weiss could see that it had 4 small and large joint pieces and 2 forearm, leg, thigh and upper arm parts so they were ready for something like this. After putting on the arm they gave her a blood injection so she wouldn’t pass out. After about 15 minutes they managed to get to Ironwoods office with Ace ops, who didn’t really care about Ruby’s arm to much. After Ironwood shows the black glass thingy Salem then does her thing and when telling Ruby about what her mother said Ruby then replies angrily “Well I’m angry. Meaning I will rip your legs off if and drag you to hell myself I have to” which shocks everyone including Salem who just ends the conversation. Then Ironwood explains that he is abandoning Mantle and declaring Martial law to which Ruby then tells JNR + Ozpin and Qrow + Robin about Ironwoods plan before he cuts her connection and after their one liners he pulls out his gun and shoots her in the chest breaking her aura. Yang attempts to hit him back but is deflected. After Ironwood leaves and the airship Qrow, Robin, Clover and Tyrian are in crashes the Ruby does her one liner and zips past the Ace ops. The fights go as per normal until the end where Tyrian is standing over clover ready to kill him until Qrow jams Harbinger through Tyrian who laughs like he does and then passes out from blood loss, and Qrow flops onto the snow from exhaustion and is arrested by Clover’s reinforcements. Weiss, Yang and Blake's fights end normally but Harriet manages to start choke holding Ruby as the rest of her team is ready to help her. Ruby then smashes Harriet’s foot with hers and then backs up into the wall, uses her semblance to get out of her grasp, Kicks her in the stomach and then full force punches her in the face with the robot arm slamming Harriet into the wall. Harriet is completely unconscious and Yang can’t help but be proud and a little scared of Ruby. Then Yang and Blake go to the airship while Ruby and Weiss go to find the winter maiden, find Cinder and Ruby uses her eyes on her. Penny becomes the winter maiden, Winter gives them a head start, Oscar learns how use his semblance, Ironwood gets mad and Salem is here.

To be continued...

I would continue but am now waiting for Volume 8 to be released so I can stay somewhat on track with the story and location(s)...

[abarbaricyalp]

The Babe With The Power

@pynchpromptweek

Pynch // Prompt: Future/Kid Fic // Rated: G

No archive warnings, but Adam bruises his face in the second half and the injury is discussed

AO3 Link

“We have to talk,” Ronan said, leaning on the door way to the living room.

Adam looked up at him, leaving his hands to the mercy of RG IV in front of him. The baby wasn’t actually called RG IV. Actually, the baby wasn’t a Richard at all. She was a Noa Percy and had stalled the great debate about whether Blue would allow Gansey to name their son RG IV. But they’d all spent so long calling Blue’s baby bump RG IV that the nickname stuck when they weren’t actually talking to the baby. (Names were important for cognitive growth, they were told, so don’t fuck her up with your joke)

RG IV gnawed at Adam’s knuckle and Ronan scowled at her. “You shouldn’t be baby sitting so much.”

Adam frowned and pulled the baby into his lap. “What do you mean? You volunteered us for the summer!”

“Yeah, but you’re supposed to be working on your dissertation and you have that grant proposal in a month. You should be focusing on that.”

“What? Do you want more time with her?” Adam asked. “I’m balancing everything just fine. I’m ahead of schedule on my dissertation and the proposal is being edited right now. If you want me to back off to give you time, just say, Ronan.”

“I don’t want more time with her. I already have to entertain her when you’re writing.”

Adam stood suddenly, a fast flash of anger. “You told them we’d take care of her. Get over yourself, Lynch,” he snapped, cuddling her closer to his chest.

Ronan’s jaw worked and Adam could see it all the way across the room. “She’s gonna forget what her dad looks like ‘cause she stares at you so much.”

Adam’s eyes widened and his arms tightened around her. “Did Gansey tell you to do this? Is he mad at me?”

Ronan made a face. “What? No. Gansey would probably be honored if she started to call you Daddy. He’d be like, ‘That’s fair, I get that.’”

Adam rolled his eyes and relaxed a little bit. “Then what the hell is your problem?”

“Watch your mouth, she’s literally right there.” Ronan shifted from foot to foot, chewing on his lower lip in irritation and anxiety. “It’s distracting. And she takes up so much room. I mean, there are baby toys down our couch and you're always sleeping with her on your chest and that's just a safety concern to begin with. Her bottles are all over the drain tray and I almost put formula in the coffee this morning.”

Adam steeled his jaw and shoulders, glaring so hard Ronan felt it cut him to the quick. “If you want me to take a step back, I will. But I think you’re just throwing a fit. Here.” He crossed over to Ronan and held RG IV out. “You tell Gansey that you don’t want her around.”

Ronan took the baby, immediately cuddling her in the crook of his arm and letting her hold his other arm hostage to chew on his bracelets. “You gave her a bath the other day in the sink and you were baby talking her and I walked into a door.”

“I remember,” Adam said with a nod.

“And I don't even know which is worse--when you're talking her nonsense or when you're sitting there, asking her serious questions about whatever paper you're writing and nodding along seriously when she coos back at you.”

“I knew it!” Adam crowed. “You have baby fever! You’re not upset, you’re overwhelmed!”

Ronan glared at him. “I do not! I am not! It’s just that my boyfriend is always hugging on her and kissing her and you’re so good at it, I want to scream.”

“She’s our niece. I’m not gonna send her home just ‘cause you never learned how to process emotions.”

“You’re pursuing a doctorates! You should be living a distractionless life!”

“Oh, ‘cause you’re so distractionless.”

Ronan scowled at him for a second longer before sitting heavily on the couch. “I didn’t want kids. I wanted a family, wanted my family back. Kids felt like I was trying to replace them and I didn’t want to. And, y’know, bein’ gay and all. And I never thought I’d actually get to fall in love.”

Adam sat down next to him. For a moment, he just smoothed his thumb over the baby’s weirdly soft forehead. “I always thought I shouldn’t have kids,” he said eventually. “That I might end up too much like my dad. I figured he musta been in love at one point, he must’ve been halfway decent and it was just me who ruined everything for him, so I should avoid kids too.”

“Clearly you’d be a great father,” Ronan muttered.

“Yeah, I get that now. But I’ve grown a lot since then too. Who knows what might’ve been true if things in my life hadn’t happened the way that they did.”

“Adam, you’re a good man. You’re nothing like your father. You never would’ve been.”

Adam shrugged. “Yeah, but that wouldn’t have been enough to convince me to have kids, probably. But now I have you and I see myself in such a different light, I’m a different person. And you’re right, Ro. I am good at this. I love it so much.” Like she was trying to prove his point, RG IV let go of Ronan’s bracelets to grab Adam’s hand and chew on his thumb again.

“It’s a big change. And I’m having to come to terms with a lot of things about myself that I didn’t know, or didn’t want to know,” Ronan said. They sat in silence for a few moments, watching the baby who was keen on watching them too. She had a big, gaping grin for them each time she caught their eye. “I’m sorry I snapped at you,” Ronan eventually said.

“It’s alright,” Adam murmured, leaning into his side. “I know you didn’t mean it. And we don’t have to make any kind of plans, Ro. I mean, this is literally the first time we’re talking about it. It’s not like we should be at an adoption agency tomorrow morning.”

“I could dream us a kid,” Ronan said immediately, like he was anticipating Adam’s response. “A little kid with your hair and my eyes and your freckles and--”

Adam pressed his hand over Ronan’s mouth. The baby watched intently. “You can’t dream them. I can’t lose you both in one moment.”

Ronan sagged under Adam’s hand and his eyes lowered before he nodded. “I won’t. I promise,” he murmured. He met Adam halfway in a kiss and the baby giggled between them.

Two days later, Ronan ran through the door, breathless and terrified. “Adam? Where are you? Are you okay?” he asked, rounding into the living room with a panicked look on his face. He saw RG IV first, asleep in some mini-bed on the couch, perfectly safe and happy. Then his eyes found Adam, and his face, and the already mottled bruise down half of it. “Oh my God,” he breathed, crashing to his knees in front of Adam.

“Please don’t wake her up. She was so freaked out, I thought she’d never go to sleep,” Adam groaned, leaning back in the couch and replacing an icepack on his face.

“What happened, Parrish?” Ronan asked, voice still tight with worry.

“I was chasing her around the house and I ran into the french doors on the other side of the kitchen. One was open and one was shut, but I was looking down at her and I didn’t see it.”

“Adam, you look like you got hit by a baseball bat. Move your hand, let me see.”

Adam sighed and sat up, obediently pulling the ice away. Ronan hissed in sympathy as his cold fingers probed at the bruise. “Did you clean these cuts?” he asked, tracing two fingers down either side of the gash that ran from the top of Adam’s forehead to his eyebrow and then picked up again at his cheekbone, a perfect visualization of the edge of the door.

“No, I didn’t have time. It was all I could do to get some paper towel on it to stop the bleeding,” he explained.

Ronan flicked his opposite temple. “I’ll go get the alcohol and some bandages,” he said. “How’s your head feel?”

“Hurts like hell,” Adam admitted.

“We should take you to an emergency clinic. You might have a concussion.”

“I don’t have a concussion. Besides, I’ve lived without getting them diagnosed before.”

“Doesn’t matter. You have to go get checked out.”

“We can’t take a baby to a med clinic in the middle of flu season.”

“Then she can go to her grandmother’s place.”

“You really got used to leaving kids with them, huh? Having withdrawals, Lynch?” Adam teased softly.

Ronan shoved Adam’s shoulder just as softly and got up to go to the medical cabinet. When he got back, Adam was rocking the mini-bed, hand pressed over the baby’s chest as she clung onto his index and pinky fingers.

“When I ran into the door, I knew I’d hurt myself pretty bad,” he said as Ronan sat himself next to him. “I was in pain, I couldn’t think, my vision had gone a little black, I was bleeding immediately. And she’d gone running off still and all I could think about was how badly she could’ve been hurt if she’d hit the door instead of me. I mean, she was running full speed. And she’s fast. It’s part of why I wasn’t paying attention. I didn’t want her to run away from me and be able to hide.

“But I could only see her running into the door and how small and fragile she is. She noticed I wasn’t chasing her and she came toddling back and she crawled into my lap and I just...hugged her so tight. I was so scared.”

“Nothing happened to her, Adam,” Ronan said, setting aside the alcohol wipes and grabbing neosporin. “She’s totally fine. Look at that little face.”

Adam sighed and rubbed his hand against her chest and tummy. “She was so sweet about it. She pointed up at my face and pouted out her little lip. She really freaked out when I carried her in here and kept wincing and stuff.”

“Adam. Adam. Look at me. Look.” Ronan turned Adam’s face to his. “She’s okay. And you’re gonna be okay. This wasn’t a tragedy.”

“It could’ve been, Ro.”

“But it wasn’t. Hey, look. You did good, alright? You took care of her, got her down for a nap even.”

“It was already nap time. That’s why I was trying to wear her out.”

Ronan snorted out a laugh, which made Adam smile, a little begrudgingly. He finished bandaging Adam’s face and leaned over to kiss the corner of his mouth. “You did good.”

“There’s still so much we don’t know, Ro.”

Ronan shrugged. “Sure. We’re twenty five and haven’t dealt with a baby until her. We’ve got a learning curve. But, hey, at least we get to practice with the best baby ever.”

Adam smiled over at the baby and nodded. “She’s pretty cool.”

“Gonna be cooler for knowing us.”

Adam rolled his eyes and leaned over to kiss Ronan again. “Well, not so much for knowing you.”

“Now I’m definitely gonna drag your ass to a med clinic.”

“I might let you. To set a good example for her.”

Ronan hummed and kissed him again. “One day you’re gonna do something for me and I’m gonna keel over.”

“Yeah, I’ve never done anything for you,” Adam agreed sarcastically. “You have a hard life.”

“It’s getting better.”

Adam stole another kiss. “The best is yet to come.”

“You’re a damn sap, Parrish,” Ronan murmured against his mouth.

[derireo]

sylvain - a little help

im being pressured to apply for scholarships ,,, didn’t want to go to post secondary in the first place .. + ive been napping a lot during the day. not good.

sylvain x f!byleth

“ it was difficult. even though her heart didn't beat, it was still heavy with grief and loss. she couldn't bear to remember the people she had killed to get to this point with her comrades, but images of caspar's face as he accepted the fatal strike of her sword and the tears that fell from dorothea's eyes as she thanked byleth for being the last person she saw – it was all too much. it wasn't supposed to be like this. “

It was a rainy day in Garreg Mach as fat water droplets pounded against the windows of the dorms and the monastery. The sky was gloomy with splotches of black and grey, and the angry pitter patter of rain against the pavement was deafening to the ears.

As much as Byleth loved the rain, her mood tonight definitely matched the weather.

There was a storm brewing in her head. From her father dying and fighting in a war against her former students, only to wake up 5 years later, frozen cold from the river she was pulled out of, it was difficult for Byleth to cope with all the things that had happened when almost everybody already found the strength to move on.

She willingly became the commander for the Church of Seiros, to fight for the liberation of the people who were caught in the tyranny of Edelgard; a former student that Byleth was fond of back then. Byleth found herself re-thinking her choices up until now, as the Church of Seiros neared the end of this war.

It was difficult. even though her heart didn't beat, it was still heavy with grief and loss. She couldn't bear to remember the people she had killed to get to this point with her comrades, but images of Caspar's face as he accepted the fatal strike of her sword and the tears that fell from Dorothea's eyes as she thanked Byleth for being the last person she saw – it was all too much. it wasn't supposed to be like this.

And Byleth loathed the thought of having to face Edelgard; hated the thought that her former student wouldn't accept the compromise of ending this war peacefully as Dimitri had suggested. Byleth didn't want to kill another one of her friends.

But it's impossible to change fate, just as it is impossible to create a new path that lets everyone live.

Byleth was sitting outside on the pavement, under the roof truss. She was wrapped in the duvet that used to lay on her bed and she had her knees hugged to her chest as she stared  at the rain drops that splattered into puddles.

Looking at the weather, everyone unanimously decided to use this day as a break from preparing for battle, so many people were gathered in the dining hall or were cooped up in another warm area, so it was understandable why Byleth wasn't seen roaming around the monastery grounds.

Byleth didn't feel like doing anything anyways.

She let out a deep breath of air from her lungs and rested her chin on her knees, her mouth formed into a lazy pout as she stared into nothing, the loud crashing of rain becoming white noise to her.

She didn't notice the few people who were quietly approaching her while she let the soft duvet fall from her shoulders. She then stood up from her sitting position, and as if on autopilot, walked out from under the truss and into the pelting rain that immediately left her body and clothes soaking wet.

She sighed again and closed her eyes, tilting her head back to bask in the rainstorm that fell from the heavens. Byleth couldn't remember clearly, but remembered that on the day of Jeralt's passing, it was raining like this as well.

But then again, she couldn't remember many things.

It could be her imagination, but the sight of dark crimson flowing through the cracks of her fingers and staining her clothes was much too vivid for her to forget.

The growing stain of blood that dirtied her father's coat was something she could never remove from her memory.

She would never be able to forget having to watch her father be stabbed through the back twice. Once when it initially happened, and twice when she turned back time with the divine pulse Sothis had gifted her

How could she forget anyways?

The rain continued to beat down on Byleth, but the pain wasn't enough to distract her from her thoughts. Her bare feet was wet with mud, thin clothes clinging to scarred skin, and mint green hair stuck to her forehead.

"You're going to get sick if you stay like that." someone called out from the walkway of the dorms with a voice so soft that Byleth couldn't help but turn her head in their direction. Her nose twitched when she noticed that it was Sylvain speaking to her. The man was leaning against the pillar nearest to her room door with his arms crossed, and the clothes he was wearing was suited for the winter in Faerghus.

Good enough for Garreg Mach weather, Byleth mused to herself and ignored the way the redhead looked at her expectantly; waiting for her to come back and stand under the shelter with him.

Sylvain sighed, "It wouldn't do you any good if you caught the flu." he tried once more, and held his hand out with the palm facing up as he patiently waited for Byleth to make a move. as much as he hated to force people to do things they didn't want to, he couldn't bear to let his friend stay miserable in the rain like that.

But Byleth didn't look miserable. She seemed the slightest bit distraught, but she looked so comfortable in the rain. Her clothes were now heavy with water, and her hair clung to her face and neck, and although it should've been uncomfortable for her to be in this state, she was receiving the rain with open arms.

Before Byleth could even realize it, Sylvain was already in her personal space, out with her in the pouring rain as he smiled down at her. "Gonna have to tell Seteth to scold you for still being a terrible listener." Sylvain joked as the rain began to beat down on him as well, but paid it no mind, and removed his warm Faerghus coat to put over Byleth's head. The rain only seemed to worsen, not that either person minded, but quietly, Byleth fretted for Sylvain's own health.

His teal button up was already clinging onto him like a second skin while his slicked back hair was a sad, flat mess atop his head. That stupidly kind smile was still on his face too and Byleth couldn't help but feel sorry for making him reach out to her like this in the rain.

Silently, her frigid hand went out to reach for his own, and she dragged the both of them out of the squelching mud and rain to under the roof. Her unoccupied hand still held onto the coat that was laid atop her head, and she decided to keep it there while she watched Sylvain shake the water from his hair.

As always, her eyes held no hint of emotion while owlishly blinking at the man before turning around, heading down the hallway. Sylvain had slicked his hair back while she turned, and with a hop to his step, followed after her when his hand fell from her grip.

"As much as I love the rain," she started when they continued to walk towards the dining hall, the roof above them ending and the raindrops replacing them again, "I can't let you guys get sick. It's hard for me to take care of the Knights of Seiros as it is." she mused, Sylvain striding beside her casually with his hands in his pockets, the rain dampening his hair again.

They walked up the cobblestone steps that led up to the dining hall and quietly shuffled in, the sound of Byleth's wet footsteps apparent in the warm room while the squelching of Sylvain's boots had people turning their heads.

"Oh dear." Mercedes gasped when she saw the pair, "Byleth! Sylvain! What were you two doing out in the rain?" she scolded halfheartedly and stood up from her seat beside Annette who was busy slurping at her soup.

Byleth was sheepish when the gremory walked up to her and wiped away the water that was dripping from her face, her eyebrows furrowed in worry. A few of the others took a quick glance at the small commotion while some had taken the initiative and handed dinner towels to both Byleth and Sylvain for them to dry off. Not the most ideal fabric, but it was definitely better than nothing.

"Just chilling." Byleth answered casually while struggling to shove her hands into wet pockets.

Sylvain couldn't help but roll his eyes.

"Yeah. Literally just chilling." he mused and grabbed the dinner towel that lay neglected in Byleth's hands, immediately plopping it on the top of her head to manually dry her hair. Although it was a casual thing for Sylvain to do for his friends; taking care of them even when they don't think much of it, the red head couldn't help but stare down at Byleth with a loving fondness in his eyes. With the way she looked up at him with her own curious gaze from below the towel and the hair that stay stuck to her face; he couldn't prevent the erratic beating of his heart.

Mercedes sighed as Byleth and Sylvain continued to drip rain water onto the floorboards, and kindly asked a passing soldier to go fetch some more towels along with Annette.

"I'll go and get her some Onion Gratin Soup," the pale haired woman offered to the dark knight who was still messing around with Byleth's hair, "It'll warm her up, no doubt. Would you like anything, Sylvain?" Mercedes smiled kindly when the man averted his gaze from the former mercenary to her, his hands moving around to lift the soaked mint hair from Byleth's neck to dry the wet strands at her nape.

"Cheesy Verona Stew. Thanks, Mercie." he winked out of habit, causing Mercedes to let out an uncharacteristic gag from the back of her throat before briefly turning around to fetch the food that would help Byleth and Sylvain to warm up.

"Hey, hey!" Annette bounced into the dining hall with towels in her arms and headed straight for the pair. "I've got towels and clothes for you guys! One of the students told me you two came in soaking wet and so I took it upon myself to help out." she declared and happily handed Sylvain and Byleth a fluffier, much larger towel as well as some warm clothes for them to change into.

Byleth pursed her lips once the folded clothes were set in her arms, and she looked under the mock turtleneck to see that Annette had done a little snooping in her room. A fresh pair of underwear was hiding underneath the shirt she was given.

She raised her eyebrows at Annette, silently asking for the explanation.

The little gremory trembled at the blank stare, but she still answered, "Well, the soldier was male and.. well – ugh! look, it's important that it was me who decided to help." she grumbled childishly, "Can't really up and ask Dedue to go and retrieve those scandalous things you call underwear, Byleth!" Annette whispered with wide eyes.

Sylvain whistled to himself, earning an elbow to the gut by Byleth.

Annette wasn't a very good whisperer.

"And how did you go there and back without getting wet?" Byleth inquired, already knowing the answer when she saw Lysithea at a nearby table, eyeing the three curiously. "Nevermind."

"Ferdinand helped with getting Sylvain's clothing " Annette added on hastily when she noticed the redhead check his own folded clothes.

"Carrot Top, huh?" Sylvain chuckled to himself, to which Byleth snickered and smacked the back of his head. "You don't get to say that."

"Aw," Sylvain pouted, rubbing the spot where he got hit. "You can't be saying that I am also a carrot top?"

"I am." she smiled slightly and tilted her head to the side as Sylvain began to dry his own wet hair with the new towel he just received, his skin clinging button up making it difficult for him to raise his arms comfortably.

Silently, Byleth let her gaze roam over the length of Sylvain's rain drenched body before consciously hugging her clothes and towel to her chest to help her snap out of it. "I'm going to go change." she announced and started to head towards the exit of the dinner hall, with Sylvain immediately trailing behind her after he said his thank yous and goodbyes to Annette.

Sylvain peeked over Byleth's shoulder to take a look at what clothes Annette picked for her and hummed, prying apart a few buttons from his shirt in an attempt to get the fabric to stop sticking to his skin. "Wanna show me the scandalous things Annette was talking about earlier?" he offered playfully and bumped his arm into Byleth's to tease her, his grin lazy when the mint haired woman only scoffed and shook her head.

"In your dreams, kiddo." she fired back and pushed Sylvain away from her with a powerful hand before slipping into one of the washrooms that was near the mess hall.

Sylvain could only bite his lip in bashfulness as he stumbled backwards over his feet, the corners of his mouth quirking into a little smile. She's not wrong. He thought to himself and sighed, bumbling around to get into a separate washroom to change into his new clothes.

As much as Sylvain loved the moment where he stood under the rain with Byleth, he hated how his clothes felt against his skin, and the cold air in the washroom only made his body spasm as a reaction. He wrinkled his nose when he shed the articles of clothing and immediately wiped at his bare chest and arms with his new towel to dry off.

"Gross." the man had groaned in annoyance once he had to peel off his pants. The sound of wet clothing thumped against the floor along with the clatter of his belt, and he sighed, rubbing his forehead as he put the towel back to use.

Once he was finished putting on the pieces of clothing Dedue and Annette had retrieved for him, Sylvain threw his large towel into a nearby hamper and kept the dinner towel on his head to help his hair dry.

The air in the dinner hall was pleasantly warm, and it definitely helped bring back the feeling of his fingers. The room was less packed than it was before, save for Mercedes, Byleth, and a few soldiers spread out here and there.

Mercedes perked up when she saw Sylvain enter in with a teal, long sleeved turtleneck, a mahogany long coat, and charcoal sweatpants. "A bit dolled up, aren't you, Sylvie?" she teased the redhead with the nickname and shot an expectant glance towards Byleth who was still sipping at her soup.

Sylvain didn't seem to bristle at the comment, but he looked at his own clothes with a pleased quirk to his lips then looked back up at the two women seated at the table. "Annette did say that Ferdinand picked the clothes for me." he shrugged his shoulders lazily then jutted his chin in Byleth's direction, his mouth slowly curving into a smile when said woman looked up from her soup to look back at him.

"Don't you think our Darling Byleth is dressed up a bit too pretty for such a casual occasion?" he drawled while sitting across from Byleth and welcoming the stew that Mercedes was pushing towards him.

Byleth was dressed in a fitted black mock turtleneck and an open, light grey cardigan that was falling down her shoulders as she ate, exposing that the shirt she was wearing was also a short sleeve. Despite the calm look on his face, his heart was racing at how the clothes accentuated her shape, but also softened her look.

Sylvain broke through the cheese on his soup with his spoon to keep him from staring.

"Hm." Byleth hummed into her spoon of soup with a hint of mirth flashing in her eyes, "I don't know." she mocked him while cleaning up her spoon with her tongue, her eyes showing off an uncharacteristic smile. "What do you think, Sylvie?" she batted her eyelashes prettily at her target and tapped her spoon against her tongue.

The nickname coming out from Byleth's mouth left him a sputtering mess, and he winced when a hot splash of his soup landed on his thigh. He grumbled childishly as he wiped at the wet spot on his sweatpants with a separate dinner towel, and Mercedes and Byleth giggled to each other when they noticed how red his ears were when they poked out from under the towel on his head.

Mercedes smiled knowingly at Sylvain when he finished cleaning up the small mess on his pants, and gave a motherly kiss to Byleth's wet hair as she stood up from the bench, "I'll be going now. Don't go out into the rain until it settles." she reprimanded the both of them as she squeezed Byleth's hand before putting it back on the table.

When the gremory walked out of ear shot, Sylvain cupped a hand around his mouth with a sparkle in his eyes and a grin playing on his lips, "I think Mercie's got a crush on ya." he winked suggestively at the mint haired woman across from him then shoved a spoonful of soup into his mouth, visibly slouching as the salty sweet warmth coursed throughout his body.

Byleth scoffed playfully and dropped her spoon into her now empty bowl, crossing her arms over her chest to challenge Sylvain with a raise of her eyebrows. "Mercie is too preoccupied with Lil' Annette, Sylvain." she laughed and subconsciously played with the hair that Mercedes had kissed a little while ago, smiling fondly at how motherly Mercedes has become over the few years she's known her for.

And then her face turned serious, and something in Sylvain's stomach didn't sit right with him when he watched her fold her hands on the table.

"I just wanted to thank you." she whispered between them with a crooked smile, her doe eyes slightly sad as she looked at Sylvain, "You didn't have to reach out for me today, but you did, and I think it's going to help me get through this week." she admitted shyly, and a small twinge of pink dusted her cheeks as she glanced up at the man who had pushed his bowl of soup to the side, all of his attention now concentrated on her. The silence that fell between them was comfortable, and Sylvain took it as the chance to reach across the table for Byleth's hand, gently prying it from the other one she was clutching onto so that he could hold her hand in his palm.

"I'm -- we're.. All of us are here for you." Sylvain stumbled over his words when Byleth curled her fingers in his palm, her fingertips tickling his skin as he spoke to her with genuine concern. His smile was kind while he waited for Byleth's answer, and she only nodded, with a private smile shared only between him and her.

"I am so grateful." she sighed wistfully as she began to stand up from her bench. Sylvain could only watch and follow her movement curiously as she walked around the end of the bench with her hand still held in his, pleasantly surprised when she stopped to stand in front of him. His legs were spread on either side of the bench and she had coincidentally stepped between them. Despite her not stepping any closer, Sylvain was getting nervous at the barely close proximity.

His heart was racing again.

His throat bobbed nervously as he tilted his head up to look at Byleth who was snickering at him in amusement, knowing all too well that he was getting nervous for a silly reason.

"Calm down," she laughed happily and squeezed his hand before using the same hand to wrap his arm around her hips, shuffling closer until she was able to wrap her own arms around his neck to pull him into a cosy hug, her body a snug fit against him as he let himself hug her back in earnest, his arms a tight chain above her hips.

"Thank you, Sylvie." she murmured sweetly into his ear once she noticed he was getting comfortable with her in his arms, and let out a gentle laugh when she felt his face heat up, one of her hands coming up to curl around his strong jaw. She brushed the pad of her thumb against the sharp bone and hummed a small melody that Jeralt used to murmur to her when he tried to coaxed her to sleep, sighing softly at how perfect his arms felt around her body

"And stop trying to hide your feelings. I'm not as dense you guys make me out to be." she admonished him with a smile on her face, grinning when Sylvain's arms loosened in shock. Quickly, she pulled the towel from his head off and printed a gentle kiss to his temple where the hair was almost dry before stepping out from between his legs, but before she could move far enough, Sylvain curled his hand around her wrist and pulled her back in between his legs, his lips already grazing along her forearm.

His arm wrapped around her waist once more, and with how tightly he coiled around her, Byleth's cardigan had slipped down her arms. "Okay, By." he mumbled sweetly into her pale skin, his soft lips trailing up her arm until they brushed over the dip between her collarbones. Happily, he nuzzled his nose into the centre of her throat when she didn't push him away, and planted a small butterfly kiss onto her neck.

The scent of her skin smelled so sweet to Sylvain, and when he inhaled, his mind nearly went dizzy with pleasure. Silently, as his body buzzed with excitement, he bared his teeth and grazed the sharp tips along her unmarked skin, and just as he was about to sink his teeth into the sweet flesh, Byleth had tangled her fingers in the hair at the back of his head and tugged him back with a teasing smile on her face.

"But at least show some restraint." she scolded him then proceeded to kiss his forehead, her hand still buried in his hair. "Okay?"

Sylvain's throat bobbed, his gaze filtered through thick eyelashes.

"Okay."

Byleth then let out a playful coo and pat his cheek with her free hand, "Good boy." she praised, combing her fingers through his messy hair one last time before reaching back to pry his clingy arms from her waist. "Thank you for today." she smiled again, and left Sylvain on the bench with his cold bowl of stew to head for the mess hall where Mercedes and Annette probably are.

"I'll see you tomorrow." the redhead had called out breathlessly, and watched at how her lovely figure walked away with a slight skip to her step.

When she was out of sight, Sylvain turned back to the table and held his head in his hands, his body straining with how much adrenaline was running through his body. He reminded himself of how her fingers tangled themselves in his hair and how her body felt so warm against his chest when he held her for a brief minutes and groaned into the wood that trembled beneath his elbows.

"She is so hot." he sobbed into his hands.

[autoclavesarchived]

dead sea | the magnus archives (ao3)

a character study of martin & depression

Martin wakes up, and doesn’t want to. This is always how it starts—the creeping fog, the wretched emptiness, the realization that he can no longer find a single reason to go through the motions of living again. It’s a slow descent. He can feel himself slipping back into that bad place again, and he is both aggressor and spectator in his passivity. On these days, he doesn’t think he can be a person even if he wants to.

(It had started the previous evening when the sun sank down. It’s so lonely out at nightfall. To look outside and see nothing else, only pinpricks of solitary light in the distance, to be the only known quantity in a sea of darkened glass. It was like the slow fade into night had bled something loose inside him.)

That had been a different kind of void, though. Less illness, more sadness, a sheet of blunt-edged melancholia. This raw, record-scratch morning is far less quantifiable and infinitely worse.

Radio static in his head. He is in so many pieces. It’s hard to keep himself together when the sun has fallen right off the edge of the world and his body now feels like the unwanted inhabitant of a car crash; no, nothing quite so violent and screaming as that. A haunted house, maybe. A muffled crime scene before its investigation.

Somewhere in the middle of this glitching mindscape, a person that Martin would like to believe is his real self cries for it to stop. This self is still alive, just—inaccessible. Quietly pigeonholed into the attic, quarantined under floorboards like a bad secret. Is there a way back home? Is there a way back to you? he thinks, blindly. There is no answer, or at least, none that he can hear. Depression, in its slow and imperceptible way, continues to take up residence inside of him.

It seems so unreasonable, but he can’t bear to even lift his head. He’s just so tired.

Outside is a riotous spring, green and pink and yellow. Last fall, when the cold set in and winter rusted shut its grip around them, he’d wanted it to be spring so badly that he would have given up anything to see it happen. A hand, an eye. A lung, even. The nights had been so long and aching then. Now, the days are, too. Outside is spring and Martin is acutely aware that it is passing him by.

Time distorts strangely when he’s like this. He wakes from the blink of a sleep-sick nap to find the sun burning too high above him, and the door creaking open; a rattle of keys being set down, plastic grocery bags rustling onto the kitchen counter, and Jon’s quick footsteps walking down the hallway.

“Martin?” he hears Jon call. “Martin? I’ve got the shopping but we should really see if—”

Their bedroom door opens, the noise of it interrupting whatever he had been about to say. It’s a little darker in here with the blinds half-turned, but not dark enough that he wouldn’t be able to see Martin lying curled on the bed.

“Martin?” he repeats, more quizzically this time.

“Jon,” Martin says. His voice is raspy from disuse, so he tries again. “Jon. Hello.”

Jon draws nearer. “Is this a bad day?” He is windswept and smells like sunlight, like the springtime he’d just been outside in, and Martin can hardly bear to look at him for envy of what he wants to be. What he couldn’t be if he tried because he is barely a person right now. But that isn’t Jon’s fault, he reminds himself very carefully. Jon is trying to take care of him. (His expression has not changed in the slightest after seeing Martin motionless on the bed, all the blankets pulled up despite how mild the day is, and he is silently thankful for it. He knows what a miserable picture this must make.)

“Yeah,” he manages. “Do you—can you… come here? Please.”

“Of course.” There’s a sweep of air, and the bed dips; Jon sliding in between the sheets unquestioningly at his appeal even though the day is in its prime and it’s only Martin’s brain being irrational and happiness-deprived.

It takes a minute, but they shift so that they’re facing each other, bodies only a few inches apart on the mattress. Martin can feel the difference of a second presence and the warmth it exudes. He can feel himself reaching for it, too, with his half-starved self. A puzzle piece, or a stray bracket looped inwards.

“Can I touch you?”

Martin nods. He desperately wants Jon to touch him. He needs to be reminded that he’s real, and that he hasn’t just made this up in his mind as a respite from the echoing wasteland of the sadness. Jon is real, and that means Martin is more than a single lonely blot on the horizon.

“Okay,” Jon whispers, and doesn’t ask anything more of him. Soon enough, Martin feels hands skim the backs of his wrists, glide up his forearms and across his shoulders. They trace the pattern of freckles on his chest, forwards and backwards. Light, undemanding touches, so quintessentially Jon in their repetitive familiarity. Eventually, he pulls him closer so that their bodies are pressed against each other in a sort of half-hug: Martin’s head tucked into the bend of Jon’s chin, one of Jon’s legs draped over his hip, their torsos a single warm line from collarbone to stomach. Jon is normally so much smaller than him, and all rangy and bird-boned to boot, but when he gets like this, his presence is expansive, comforting. Martin feels lazily enveloped in it. The whole bed smells like Jon now, aftershave and rooibos tea and something citrusy—oranges, maybe.

He lies carefully still in familiar arms, and he thinks he should feel something more about this. He thinks he should feel happier, or more grateful. It’s not that he’s not, exactly, more that he’s just… temporarily divorced from it. As if he’s looking at the feeling, or the implication of it, from a point very distant at the edge of the sky. There’s something in the way that makes it hard to directly feel anything. He is looking at the happiness of someone else’s body, and then back down at the happiness-shaped imprint on his own. The place where happiness is supposed to be, but isn’t, right now.

He tells Jon this. “I think I should feel something about this. I think I should feel something about you right now. It isn’t right that I don’t.”

(He just feels so hollow. He didn’t know absence could take up so much space inside a person. Right now, he is a tenant in his own head.)

“You don’t owe me anything, Martin,” Jon says, the steady vibration of words in his throat humming through the top of Martin’s skull. That sensation, the intimacy of it, is the closest Martin thinks he has gotten to feeling something today.

“I love you. You don’t have to answer that right now, but I just wanted you to know. When you come back, I’ll tell you again. As many times as you want.” The light stretches and slants as Jon speaks.

Martin is sometimes afraid that there is no back. There is no returning. It really does seem like this is all there is, this static on a broken loop and his mind slowing like the drip of a hospital IV. If that is true, then it’s not Jon, or even the feeling of happiness that is unreal; Martin is the imposter here. The magic trick, the illusion, the Eurydice caught between person and not. There is nowhere to go back to, because the emptiness is the only part of him that means anything.

(“I love you,” Jon had tried, over and over, achingly, the first time it happened, and finally Martin had screamed at him, “I love you can’t solve this, Jon!” They’d had a long conversation that night about love and illness and how sometimes he was so numb he could die from it. Since then, Jon only says the words because they are true, not as if they could save Martin. It might seem uncaring to anyone else, but it works for the both of them.)

I love you, Jon says now, like a fact, and Martin wants to say it back, he really does.

The figure in his head, the one that he has to believe he can go back to, tries to say it. But even in the isolation of his own mind, it only comes out as a faint I really loved you, you know. He doesn’t mean for it to mangle like that, the past tense of it softly mocking. He still loves Jon—that much is not an illusion. That much is also a fact. It’s the apathy again, leaching the feeling out of his actions and his speech. There is an I love you- shaped wound on his self and it is one he cannot quite reconcile with the love he knows he has for Jon. I really loved you, you know. And the version of me that loves you, that can love you, is still out there. Just not here. There’s all this untethered, inaccessible love here, Jon. I want to be able to feel it for you.

Jon falls asleep for a while after that. He’s still clutching at Martin, the weight and anchor of his body a welcome warmth. Martin stays awake, so he looks at Jon to fill the time.

Jon is rendered looser when he drowses. He’s more inexact somehow, edges less sharply defined and face slack, unreserved. It isn’t that he withholds on purpose, and especially not from Martin, but his defense mechanisms forget to reset themselves in sleep. It’s part of why sleeping next to him is an almost unbearable closeness all by itself—a reminder that he is trusted enough to see this. Martin reaches out with a hand, and is nearly startled when it brushes Jon’s face. He’d expected it to go right through him, for some reason. He isn’t sure whether he’d imagined himself or Jon to be the insubstantial one in this scenario, but in any case, his hand finds solid skin.

He touches his fill of Jon’s angular cheeks and cradled shoulders and pinned dark hair. He’s so beautiful, all of him. Aftershave and rooibos and oranges; it feels like a foreign landscape, but Martin is determined. He is relearning the things that make up Jon the way a man deprived of senses does.

When Jon wakes up—in fits and starts, squinting at the sun that is now slouching golden across the room—Martin embraces him and very quietly says that he’ll start putting the groceries away.

So they get out of bed together, even though Martin feels like he hasn’t walked in weeks. He lifts the bags off the counter to sit down and sort through them on the floor. It is the most human thing he’s done today.

Sorting is a quiet, menial sort of task that doesn’t require much thought, which is good, because his head is still weighted down with buzzing. He sits in the sunlight and lets the rice and orzo and tinned olives and fruit pass through his hands as he puts them on the shelves, thinking, our food, our sunlit kitchen, this is the home we have made. (I really loved you, you know. He can’t change the tense of it yet so he just repeats that word, love, until he can pretend to forget the context of it. No past, no future, just love, said like it would replace the emptiness.)

Afterwards, Jon makes them baked pasta with three different kinds of cheese. Evening paints the length of him glorious and blue. As Martin watches, he shreds thyme and basil and mixes breadcrumbs to cover the top layer the way Martin likes best; Jon, who is reasonably talented at yet notoriously opposed to the idea of cooking, does all this without batting an eye. Martin is sure he will feel something about this, too, later.

[sml8180]

Long Overdue Upgrades

This turned out WAY longer than I intended, and I have no regrets. Have some Cyborg!Eric, courtesy of a friend on one of the Discord servers I’m a part of.

Also, just a heads up for some medical unpleasantness, seeing as topics such as surgery are brought up.

Long Overdue Upgrades

One of the first things Google, Bing, and the extensions had noticed when they first met Eric Derekson was the fact that he had two prosthetic legs. Over time, they came to learn that he had lost his legs in the same crash that had snuffed out the lives of his brothers. It became clear early on that the prosthetics were on the cheap end, and likely weren’t fitted properly, going by how great of a parent Derek was. So, the androids all came together and got to work, even bringing Dr. Iplier and Dr. Schneeplestein into their plan.

It took them weeks of working practically non-stop, with all hands on deck. The work was frustrating, but it started to pay off when things finally started to come together and function properly. Every time the androids saw Eric walking around the manor, in the living area on the couch, or in Dr. Iplier’s office, likely dealing with the lingering phantom pain in his legs or the complications resulting from years of wearing ill-fitting prosthetics, it only served to act as fuel to their fire.

Finally, the androids all finished their work, and Bing went to find Eric while Dr. Iplier called Dr. Schneeplestein to come and lend an extra set of hands.

“Hey, little dude,” Bing addressed, finding Eric reading a book in the living area.

“Hm?” Eric hummed in question, looking up from his book towards the android. “What’s up, Bing?”

“I’ve got something to show you, come on,” Bing answered, hardly waiting for Eric to mark his page before he was starting to practically pull him along by the hand.

Eric allowed the android to lead him to the office he shared with Google and his extensions. He shut his eyes when they got to the door, as Bing requested it of him, and let the older Ego usher him inside with his hands on his shoulders. The younger Ego could hear some shuffling and whispers, though he couldn’t tell how many people were in the room.

“Okay, kid, open your eyes,” Bing requested. As Eric did as he was instructed, he let out a gasp, covering his mouth with his hand as he spotted Google, the extensions, Dr. Iplier, and Dr. Schneeplestein all standing by one of the work tables, upon which sat a pair of white lower legs. It was clear to him what exactly they were for.

“You guys… You m-made me new legs?” Eric stammered in disbelief, stepping forward to run his fingertips over the smooth surface of one of the legs.

“We did,” Google piped up. “You deserve far better than the cheap prosthetics your father provided to you. This set is one of a kind, made with similar materials and technology that makes up Bing, the extensions, and myself.”

“Ja!” Henrik interjected. “You vill have full natural mobility, and even be able to feel changes in temperature and touch, should all go according to plan.”

“A-according to plan?”

“Well, with how advanced these are,” Dr. Iplier began, “You will need to go through an operation for things to work properly. There is a set of cuffs that connect to the top portions of the legs, which will allow for sensation and natural movement. In theory, this could also help to manage your PLP.”

“Y-you really think s-s-so?” Eric was practically vibrating with excitement, at this point, especially as Dr. Iplier nodded in response to his question. “Um… What will the surgery involve…?”

Dr. Iplier picked up his tablet, which had been sitting on the table, and came over to Eric with it, tapping at the screen, with Henrik following behind him. “Basically, we’ll be going in and exposing the main nerve endings, neatening up the stump and smoothing the bone out a bit,” Dr. Iplier explained.

“From there,” Henrik jumped in, “Ve vill be making the primary connections between your nerves and the connecting cuffs. Once all connections are made, ze cuffs vill be set in place vith a handful of plates and screws, and your legs vill be wrapped up to heal.”

“It’ll take some time before you’ll be up and walking, but it’ll be worth it,” Dr. Iplier added.

“Okay… When will we do it…?”

“Well, Dark can easily arrange things so you have time off, seeing as you work for Wil and the twins. If you really wanted, we could go through with it tomorrow, so long as you think you can fast tonight,” Dr Iplier answered.

“I’d like that,” Eric confirmed, giving the doctor a little smile.

The rest of the day seemed to go by in a blurr for Eric, joy and excitement filling his heart. Night seemed to come quickly, and it went by just as fast. Soon, Eric was being lead to Dr. Iplier’s office within the manor by the doctor himself. He changed into a hospital gown and lay on the bed, while Dr. Iplier took his vitals. Google came in during this time, bringing the connecting cuffs for Eric’s legs with him, with Red and Green following him, and Henrik arrived not long after, speaking in a rapid-fire mix of English, German, and medical jargon with Dr. Iplier as he set aside his coat and got ready to scrub up for the operation.

“Alright, Eric,” Dr. Iplier addressed as he finished getting the IV into the young Ego’s arm. “I’m going to put the oxygen mask on you, and then I want you to count backwards from 50 for me. You don’t have to count out loud, I just want you to do it.”

“Okay,” Eric confirmed, lifting his head a bit and letting Dr. Iplier put the mask over his nose and mouth, starting to count backwards as he let his head rest on the pillow again.

50… 49… 48…

He was starting to feel tired, now, like he’d had a long day at work.

47… 46… 45… 

His eyelids were starting to feel heavy, and his head was cloudy.

44… 43…

He was out cold.

The doctors, Google, Red, and Green were able to get to work. Green kept an eye on Eric’s vital signs as the others did what they needed to do. Red and Google make sure that the doctors had whatever they needed when they needed it, and the two doctors worked on Eric’s legs. They worked for hours, neatening up the ends of Eric’s natural legs, getting the framework needed to fix the cuffs in place where it needed to be, smoothing out the end of the bone. Once one leg was ready for the cuff, the doctors shifted positions, letting Google work on getting the cuff connected how it needed to be - he was more precise than any doctor could ever be, after all - and began to work on Eric’s other leg. Dr. Iplier followed Henrik’s lead when it came to the operation, seeing as he was the surgeon in the room. By late afternoon, they had finally finished, and wrapped up Eric’s legs so that he could recover.

When Eric woke up, it felt like he was waking up from a long nap. He blinked, groaning softly as he tried to recall where he was.

“Morning, Sleeping Beauty,” he heard a soft voice joke, followed by a quiet chuckle. Eric looked to his right, and smiled tiredly as he spotted Illinois by his side.

“Hey…” came his own soft reply, as he was still waking up.

Illinois smiled, lightly petting Eric’s hair. “Doc and Henrik say things went smoothly; Henrik said that this might’ve been the smoothest operation he’s done in a while.”

“That’s good,” Eric responded with a giggle.

Dr. Iplier approached the bed, hearing Illinois and Eric speaking. “Hey, there he is, awake and alert.”

“Hm…?”

“Well, awake, at least,” the doctor chuckled. He checked over a few things on the monitor beside Eric, and nodded to himself. “Everything’s stable. How’re you feeling, Eric?”

“Tired, kinda, um, kinda sore…” Eric muttered. His words were followed by a rumble coming from his stomach. “And hungry…”

“I’ll get you some soup or something, okay?” Illinois offered. With a nod from Eric, he placed a kiss on the tired Ego’s forehead and went to get him some food.

“Let’s sit you up,” Dr. Iplier dictated, helping Eric to sit up, propped up by a couple of pillows. “I think things are going to work out just fine, kid.”

Weeks went by with Eric recovering from the operation. He was sore and tired for the first three weeks or so, as Dr. Iplier kept him on painkillers, which he slowly weaned off of. Each time Dr. Iplier checked his legs, they seemed to be looking better and better. Illinois helped however he could; all the Egos did, really. Eric didn’t mind the time the healing process took - though he occasionally gave a small protest towards the others fussing over him - it was all leading up to the day he’d be able to start learning to walk with his new legs.

Finally, finally, Dr. Iplier and Dr. Schneeplestein gave Eric the green light to work with Google, Bing, and the extensions in order to get back on his feet. Illinois brought him to the Google office, carrying him in his arms (mostly just because Eric had asked him to, and he enjoyed carrying Eric, anyways), and the pair were greeted by Bing, who quickly ushered them inside. He had Illinois set Eric down on the surface of one of the work tables, and looked over the site where Eric’s legs met the cuffs.

“Okay, so, Doc gave us the green light to go ahead, this looks way better than we’d expected, and now is the time to get hyped,” Bing rambled, looking over Eric’s legs.

“What is going to happen,” Google interjected, cutting off Bing’s quick rambling. “Is that we’re going to connect the legs in two stages. First the primary connection, which is intended to keep the prosthetics in place and allow for movement, then the nerve connections, which will allow signals from the sensors to be transmitted to the brain,” he informed the younger Ego, watching as he nodded. “I will warn you now, Eric, that the nerve connection process will most likely be extremely painful. That is part of why we are doing this now, while Dr. Iplier still has you on some dosage of painkillers.”

“There… There isn’t another way…?” Eric questioned, wringing his yellow handkerchief in his hands.

“Not if you want to have any feeling in your legs,” Google answered bluntly. “The pain won’t last for long, if our calculations are correct.”

“Yeah!” Oliver chimed in, his chipper voice cutting off the level, serious drone of the main unit. “If we’re right, you’ll have a spike of pain right when we do it, but then it’ll dull down after a moment. It might be annoying for a bit, but that’ll mostly just be your body adjusting to everything.”

“O-okay…” Eric confirmed, taking a slow breath to try to steady his thoughts.

“You ready, little dude?” Bing asked, setting a hand on Eric’s shoulder.

“As I’ll ever be…” Eric answered.

The androids made quick work of making the primary connections, making sure to have Eric test the mobility of the ankle and toe joints as they went. Bing then moved behind him, resting one hand on the younger Ego’s left shoulder, taking hold of his left hand. Illinois took up a similar position on Eric’s right, while Green and Oliver positioned themselves at his legs to prevent any movement while Google and Red got ready to make the nerve connections.

“This is the part where it’s going to hurt, Eric,” Google informed him. “Brace yourself; we’ll connect both of them on the count of three.”

“Okay…” Eric responded, taking a deep breath as he turned his head towards Illinois, doing his best to brace himself for what he knew was going to happen.

“One… Two… Three!”

Eric couldn’t tell who had made the count. All he knew was that it hurt like Hell when the nerve connections were made. He let out a yell - practically screaming - as he tightly gripped Illinois and Oliver’s hands, tears welling up in his eyes and slipping down his cheeks. The connection burned and stung and felt like pins and needles in the worst way. It seemed to last for ages before he finally began to pull himself together, breathing heavily and paying no mind to the tears still rolling down his cheeks.

“It’s okay, you’re okay…” Eric could hear Illinois whispering reassurances in his ear, and he could feel the man rubbing his back.

“Connection complete, went off without a hitch,” Red stated, making a couple of notes for future reference.

“We will have to wait a couple of days for your body to adjust to the connection,” Google told Eric. “Then we’ll be able to make the adjustments so that you can feel things properly and possibly start walking again. For now, though, you should get some rest.”

That was all Eric needed to hear as he felt Illinois pick him up and carry him out of the office. The man was asleep before he was even set on his bed.

The next couple of days brought slow relief to Eric’s pain. His nerves were starting to calm, and though he was still sore, he was in far less pain than he was originally. He was feeling better with each passing day, and it only served to improve his mood even further. A couple of weeks went by of Eric continuing to recover, slowly making progress as he got used to having actual feeling in his legs for the first time in so long. 

“You’ve been making great progress, dude,” Bing praised, ruffling Eric’s hair as the younger Ego sat in the Google office. “Think you’re ready to try walking on your own?”

“I think so,” Eric nodded. He’d been looking forward to walking without any sort of support from crutches or a cane or another person since this all started.

“We’ll help you down, then,” Oliver offered, coming to Eric’s left, while Bing shifted to his right.

“What’re you all up to in here?” Illinois questioned, coming to the doorway of the office.

“You’ll see in a minute! Stay there!” Eric excitedly told Illi, as Oliver and Bing helped him down from his spot on the table.

“Okay, okay. I’ll stay here,” Illi chuckled, leaning against the doorframe.

Eric stood upright, getting his balance before taking a hesitant step forward. Another step, this time a bit more certain, drew forth a fit of happy giggles from him, and he made his way towards Illinois. The adventurer straightened up, beaming as Eric walked towards him; it was the first time he’d walked without support since his operation was done. He caught Eric when he stumbled on the last step towards him, lifting him up in a hug and kissing him, beaming.

Google and Bing watched the pair, unable to hide their own smiles as they did. It seemed they had done well, and Eric’s life would only get even better as time went on, thanks to these long overdue upgrades.

[sweetgingerpie]

Happee Birthdae

“Now, girls, when Mama asks what you did today, what are you going to tell her?”

“We made presents with Tante Gabby!” exclaimed Dominique with a large grin.

“No, no, Dommie—that’s exactly what I DON’T want you to say to Mama. We’re gonna tell Mama that I was at work all day, and you and Vic played with Pop and Nana. We did NOT spend the whole day preparing for Mama’s birthday, and your Aunt Gabby did NOT help us, yes?”

“I thought lying was bad?” Victoire asked.

“It is, Sweetie, but, some lies are okay. Some lies are good lies, like this one. We’re trying to do something special for Mama’s birthday, and it’s even more special when it’s a surprise. I’m relying on you girls...”

“What about Louis?”

“Louis is a boy, Sweetheart. Boys aren’t always the brightest. Besides, he has a very loud mouth on him. You know. You can hear him all the time,” Louis was upstairs asleep in Victoire and Dominique’s old crib, but, he had no use for the valuable information that he was offering his two older sisters.

“Remember: you played with Nana and Pop all day. That’s all. And tomorrow, you’re going to grab your presents to Mama from underneath your beds and bring them to her. Keep her busy so I can finish the rest of the surprise.”

“What did you get Mama for her birthday, Papa?” Victoire asked, curious as she tilted her head to the side in puzzlement. A characteristic she inherited from her mother.

“You’ll have to wait until tomorrow. It’s time for bed now... C’mon, we’ll finish Babbity Rabbity and then it’s sleepy time.”

“Bu-But we wanna stay up to see Mama!” Dominique wined.

“No. Mama isn’t going to be home for another couple hours. You’ll see her in the morning.”

Bill reached for the waists of both children. As he lifted each up to hold against each respective side, they adhered to him like a pair of koalas: Victoire rested her blonde head against her father’s shoulder, and Dominique wrapped both of her slightly smaller arms around his neck.

“Papa?” Victoire piped up just as he had kissed Dominique goodnight, ruffled her ginger curls, and tucked her plush toy dragon (her favorite gift from Uncle Charlie) underneath the covers with her.

“Yes, Sweetie?” He moved across the room to the opposite end where Victoire was sitting at the foot of the bed, dressed comfortably in a lavender onesie with her hair up in a pony tail.

“Is Mama gonna like my present?” She asked, a little doubt in her voice.

“Of course,” Bill spoke as he lowered his weight onto the edge of the bed, “Because it will come from you. You’re lucky. You’ve got the cute factor about you. You could do ANYTHING for Mama and she’ll be impressed. Me, I need to actually try. I can’t just give her a big goofy smile,” he exaggerated a smile for Victoire and she quietly giggled.

“Now, c’mon, bed. It’s passed your curfew. No jinxes, curses, charms, or incantations. No foolish wand waving, explosive dung bombs, or fanged frisbees... and no animating of toy dragons to set fire to the curtains,” he gave Dominique the side eye from Victoire’s bed. Dominique stifled a giggle and shut her eyes abruptly, pretending that she was asleep.

“What’s your most favorite present you ever got?” Victoire asked as she climbed under her comforter, Bill fastening the hem under her chin, “Oh, that’s easy: you, Dommie, and Lou, of course.”

“People don’t count!”

“Why not? Your Mama gave you to me. That’s a present, yeah? And like your gift to your Mama—you were a surprise.”

“Uncle Charlie called me an ax-ee-dint?”

“An accident? Spilled juice is an accident, taking your father’s old Cleansweep IV and crashing yourself into a field of corn is an accident...” Now he gave Victoire the suspicious side eye. Eight year old Victoire Weasley came limping out of the cornfield with some cuts and scrapes on her face and a big bruise on her ego. Before Molly got to work on her healing spells, she called her oldest son into the room so he could witness his daughter’s bold stupidity. They both cleaned her up and put her down for a nap in his old bedroom.

“You were a delightful surprise,” he spoke with a genuine smile before he leaned in and pressed a kiss to her forehead, “Go to sleep, or I’ll make you help Pop Pop assemble that refrigerator he won’t stop talking about.” Victoire stifled a giggle and rolled over onto her side so her back was facing her father.

Bill stood in the dimly lit doorway for a moment longer, admiring the scene in front of him before he quietly pulled the door closed. He popped his head in the nursery, just long enough to see Louis’s still form through the bars of his crib. The room was quiet except for the lightest of breaths that were leaving his parted lips. Satisfied, Bill pulled the door closed and exhaled before he moved across the hallway into the master bedroom, or, ‘Mama and Papa’s Bedroom.’

The kids being put to bed was only the first step in completing Fleur’s birthday present.

He started to dress down the moment the door clicked behind him: stripping his body of each layer of clothing from his flannel shirt and under shirt, down to his pants, boxer briefs, and socks. He left this trail of discarded clothing in his wake as he moved into their private bathroom.

What would have normally been a quick and careless wash, he instead paid great attention to his body—for Fleur’s benefit. He washed his face thoroughly, making sure that the dirt and sweat that often got trapped in his scar tissue was expunged; he shaved away the stubble that had begun to form on his chin and cheeks—and other places... He finished it off with his usual shampoo and soap—imported from Egypt, and patted dry his damp body as he climbed out of the shower. The stray droplets that he had missed cascaded down his body and came to pool at his feet.

He had just finished applying her favorite after shave to his cheeks and neck when he heard the faint ‘ding’ of he family clock downstairs, implying that someone’s state of being had changed, or, was changing. It startled him into action as he hurriedly moved around their bedroom. He stumbled to get his wand from the top of the dresser and waved it with purpose; summoning the dirty clothes to the basket in the corner; smoothing down the blankets and comforter on the bed and fluffing the pillows; and drying his hair and body.

Throwing the wand back onto the dresser, he pulled out the drawer that contained his under clothes and accessories. What does she like? We’ve been together for ten years and I don’t know what she likes? As a man, he felt that his desires were more predictable: skimpy, lacey, more skin, more butt, more breasts, done. Even then, it took little effort on Fleur’s part. But, now, he wanted to put a real effort in for Fleur. He wanted to make her feel, and want, and lust for him in the same way that he did her.

Eventually, he decided upon a pair of dark purple boxer briefs with a black elastic band and thigh-hugging edges. It was a bit tighter than his other underwear, but, that proved to be a slight advantage over the others. And the purple was a color that they both associated with their wedding, which would create a positive aura.

He stepped into the shorts and pulled them up to his waist, just below his bellybutton and where the elastic band hugged his hips. He took one look at himself in Fleur’s vanity mirror: smoothing his long, red locks back and out of his face, and then taking a moment to glance down at his physique: a little muscular, but still modest and lanky. His biceps were well-defined, his abdomen was smooth all the way down to the happy trail of ginger hair that partially disappeared beneath his briefs. He crossed his arms over his chest and tensed up, flexing a bit in hopes that this image is what will entice his wife for her birthday—which it now was since midnight had only just passed.

He glided his tongue over the front of his teeth and stepped away from the vanity so he could climb onto the bed, strategically placing himself in the center of their modest queen-sized bed. His body sunk into the comforter as he settled into place. He awkwardly tried get himself into a visually alluring position: bending his knees, laying on his side, thrusting his groin out for emphasis in case there was any confusion as to what he was trying to do. But, he gave up (after feeling a little foolish and embarrassed), and instead propped himself up using the pillows and sunk down onto his bottom. He took one deep breath and just relaxed with his eyes fixed on the door, waiting for his birthday girl.

[sunriseverse]

24. “i don’t blame you, i wouldn’t love me either”

not as angsty as it could be but still…

hrems

*herms

whatre u doin

im bored

i wish u were here…

i mean im glad ur staying in bed bc ur sick but

Hermann stares at the screen blearily, eyes stinging slightly even with the brightness all the way down. The messages are timestamped an hour earlier, and he hadn’t seen them until just now, exhausted and fast asleep, having crashed in bed for a nap due to the aforementioned sickness.

His brow furrows as he tries to recall what event the other could possibly be attending; as far as he knows, there isn’t any sort of party; if there had been, Newton would’ve talked his ear off about it. If not a party, though, then what?

Newt? Where are you? he types, having to concentrate extra-hard to avoid typos. For a second, the screen reads sent before switching to read at 11:26 PM. After a few minutes, he’s about to give up hope of receiving a reply, but then the little pencil icon appears.

im not in thne lab if thats what ur askign 

im in my room

*asking

*the

Hermann smiles slightly at the typos; Newton always thinks faster than he can type or speak, and it’s endearingly extremely clear in moments like these. 

im just

sad

i think? idk i might just be hungry…

The messages are rapid-fire, and it’s like having the biologist by his side; his tendency to go off on tangents in real life conversations transfers over to text, as well, the jump from topic-to-topic, while jaring for outside observers, is familiar to Hermann. Comforting, even.

im in love and it hurts

Hermann draws in a deep breath, surprised. Newt, are you drunk?

no im not stop worrying

okay maybe im overexhausted 

i havent slept in 36 hrs

Newton! Hermann wants to snap, scold him for his feckless attitude, but text doesn’t carry the tone properly. He wants to force the other to take care of himself properly, but he’s aware that Newton is a fully-grown adult, and as stubborn as a two-year-old to boot.

but like ive only had 1 glass…

but im sad and im rly into him but hes not interested…

fuck tendo i tried to give him flowers and he asked me *why*

and the other day i used the “are u a book cuz im chevking u out” joke nd he stared at me blankly

*checking

i mean its like

“i dont blame you, i wouldn’t love me either”

Hermann stills, because he remembers both of those incidents. He—he’d thought it was a mix-up, or that the biologist was mocking him. Heart racing, he rereads the messages. Oh. Newton, I’m not Tendo. There’s a second, before the pencil icon returns.

fuck

oh god im sorry

ignore that all pls

im so sorry hermann

Wait! Hermann types, but it’s too late. The screen reads sent but remains that way. Hermann’s heart clenches. He wants to get out of bed, race to Newt’s room; demand did you really mean that? but he can barely stand at this point, fatigued as he is.

With a frustrated groan and a sneeze, Hermann settles back under the blankets, miserably hoping he’ll be well enough to try and speak to Newton in the morning. He hopes…oh, damn that. He fervently desires that Newt feels similarly—what was originally simply a crush has grown and mutated in the past decade to something more deeply rooted; the scent of formaldehyde and a quick smile, the intonations that mean fond exasperation and a scratchy call me Newt!

It isn’t love, not in the way it’s classically portrayed, but it’s…something. Something beyond mere friendship, that much is certain.

He drifts off to a restless sleep.

When he blinks awake, the first thought in his mind is ow followed quickly thereafter with Newton! He checks the time. Past nine in the morning. His congestion has cleared up a fair amount, and he no longer feels like falling over when he stands up.

The walk to Newton’s room is a blur; two months post-Slattern (post-almost apocalypse, as Newt would say) the Shatterdome is almost half-empty, and he doesn’t pass anyone in the halls.

The door handle, when he tries it, is locked; he bangs on it, calls, “Newton? Newton!” Despite what most assume, of the two of them, Newt is the only one who can wake up before ten with any amount of regularity, and Hermann doubts he’s asleep.

A few beats pass, and Hermann waits with bated breath, before the locking mechanism clicks and the door swings open to reveal a red-eyed Newton, dressed in a pair of sweatpants and a loose, faded graphic tee. “I’m sorry,” he says, voice hollow. “Can we just—can we pretend I never said that?”

“Absolutely not,” Hermann snaps. “For once in your life, Newt, act like an adult and face things head-on.” It’s a low blow, and they both know it, but Hermann, in the face of adversity, is prone to slipping back into old habits.

“I’m sorry,” Newt repeats. “I thought you were Tendo.”

He tries to slam the door shut, but Hermann insinuates his cane in the way, ducks inside before Newt manages to stop him. “Quit saying that.”

“Well what do you want me to say?”

Hermann’s lips pull back in frustration, teeth bared as he hisses, “The truth!”

“The truth?” Newt laughs, semi-hysterically, throws his head back. “The truth, Doctor Gottlieb, is that I am, for some insane reason, irrevocably attracted to you!” He’s almost shouting at this point, hands clenched into fists.

“As am I!” Hermann spits back, almost a snarl.

It takes a second to register, for both of them, what he’s just said, and Newt gapes at him. “You—what?” he breathes, features slack with surprise.

“Yes!” Hermann snaps. “There, I’ve said it—at least I’m not trying to hide from it!”

“I wasn’t!” Newt shouts back, throwing up his hands. “I kept trying to express interest, and you kept thinking it was just a mistake!”

“Well how was I supposed to know you weren’t mocking me?” Hermann questions hotly.

Newt lets out a bark of laughter. “Mock you? The hell, Hermann? I might be a dick sometimes, but I thought you held me in a higher regard than that!”

Hermann glares at the other, flushed, and sputtering. “…apologies,” he says slowly. “I didn’t intend to imply that I think of you as…morally deficient.” Newt huffs.

“You bastard,” he sighs. “You handsome, annoying, brilliant bastard.” This time it’s Hermann’s turn to sputter incoherently, blushing hotly at the compliments, and fixes his gaze on an interesting sketch on the wall, fingers fidgeting with the head of his cane. Newt’s gaze tracks his movements, and from the corner of his eye, Hermann catches him grinning.

“So,” he says, sidling up to Hermann, “what do you say we order take out for brunch and cuddle on my bed?”

Hermann clears his throat, trying not to blush further as Newt slips his hand into Hermann’s, and finally meets his eyes. “I think that’s an excellent idea, Newton.”

[i-writing-is-hard-i]

Blood Traitor pt6

Summary:  You are Draco’s older sister.  A pureblood Witch, without the prejudice and anti-muggle beliefs of your family. Who just so happened to fall in love with none other than a blood traitor, just to complicate matters more Voldemort has returned.  What will you do?

okay, I suck at writing descriptions,

[Disclaimer] Mentions of sex, violence, and hints of torture, I may have screwed up the timeline somewhere along the way, and no one dies, because, thats sad

[Begining]  - [Previous] - [Next]

Part 6

The next week seemed to drag in, but you were finally standing on the platform ready to go to Hogwarts.  You spotted George and Fred in the crowd, hard to miss them really.  George spotted you, giving you a wink and a smile, which you returned with your own smile.  Fred followed his brothers gaze, but you looked away just in time. ‘That was close’  

The journey seemed to last forever, but you were getting more and more excited to see George, you hoped he felt the same.  You wished you had managed to get in the same carriage, but at the same time, it would be risky.

You practically ran to the dining hall, making sure you got a seat where you could see the Gryffindor table, sure enough, George made sure he got a seat facing you. As the new students filed in, your eyes were on George, who kept making funny faces, to make you smile.  Always managing to turn his attention elsewhere before his twin noticed.  BFF/N had noticed though, in your excitement you forgot to be more subtle, though luckily she didn’t know who it was you were looking.

Your attention was taken when Dumbledore announced the new DADA teacher, it was none other than Umbridge, she worked with your father and you really didn't like her.  The policies she created for werewolves, were downright cruel.  You had no problems with werewolves, in fact, your favourite teacher was Remus Lupin, he was a good man.  Your father hated him, almost as much as he hated Dumbledore and Harry, maybe a little more than he hated the Weasleys, he never shared why with you.

After Umbridge was introduced Dumbledore went to continue with his speech but Umbridge interrupted him.  All the students turned to her in silence, even those who had no interest in listening to Dumbledore stopped talking.  Umbridge droned on about teaching standards and a few other things that made you want to tell her to shut up.  You felt yourself glaring at her.

After dinner you and BFF/N made your ways to your dorm, talking cheerily about the holidays.  She had mentioned that Dumbledore was crazy but when you denied it, she seemed scared, guess it’s easier for people to believe the papers.  

It was a few days later when you and George finally got a chance to be alone.  You were already in the room waiting when he came rushing in, without hesitation he pulled you into an iron grip.

“I missed you” he mumbled into your neck

“I missed you two” you returned happily.  George quickly pulled away only to crash his lips to yours in a longing kiss.  The kind where you could really feel just how much he had missed you.  After that and a moment to catch your breaths the two of you snuggled together.  Talking about anything other than Voldemort, even though you wanted to ask him, so many questions, you decided that it was best not to ruin the moment.

“Georgie?” you piped up after a while, but he didn’t reply.  ‘Was he sleeping?’

“I really missed you” you whispered again.  George groaned in his sleep, but you knew he hadn’t heard you.  You didn’t mind though.  You pulled out your book as gently as possible, so as to not wake George up, settling further into his chest to read.

It had only been 15 minutes when George woke up.  You felt him shuffling behind you, but you were so engrossed in your book you didn’t really pay attention.

“Enjoying that love?” he asked, his voice was husky from the short nap, it was really sexy.  You were so caught up in the way he said it that you hadn’t realised he called you love straight away.  Your cheeks turned red when you did.

“Yup, you enjoy your nap?” you asked after regaining your thoughts.  It probably meant a lot more to you than him.

“Yup,” George replied, nuzzling into your next.  You suddenly felt him tense up, but he quickly relaxed again.

You only just realised it had started to get dark.  It would be time to head back soon, not without the usual kiss.  

The next day was your first DADA class,  you missed having George sitting beside you, but at that moment your focus was on Professor Umbridge, in her bright pink outfit as she introduced herself, when she mentioned that there would be no practical magic in her class, a few concerns were raised, by you included. When she had enough, she yelled at the class. ‘Raise your hands if you want to ask a question’. It was the end of class before everyone had settled enough to actually do some work.  

Two days later you were finally able to meet up with George.  He was already sitting there waiting for you, with an interesting expression on his face.

“You okay Weasley?” you joked.  Not really used to him looking so serious.

“Naturally Malfoy” he returned, but he still didn’t look it.

“Have you heard anything, about Voldemort I mean?” you asked.  He looked up to you, it seems he was wanting to ask the same thing.

“Well, uh, everyone thinks Harry’s looking attention, and Albus is losing his mind, but it is true, he’s back” George explained.  

“So, you haven’t got any actual proof either.  I’ve asked my mother and father, but they keep denying it. I do believe my father didn’t know about Barty though, and I am not completely sure he knew of Voldemort’s return but he’s hiding something, he just won't tell me” you explained.  George let out a sigh,

“We are like some cheesy romance novel” he sniggered, earning a giggle from you too.

“If I do hear anything, I will share it with you” you stated, but it was quiet. “I know this is hard for you, Y/N, I’m sorry” George walked over to you, pulling you into a comforting embrace, that you happily returned.

“So, Umbridge”  George spoke changing the subject.

“That woman is......” you stopped trying to think of the perfect word to describe her, but nothing seemed to suit.

“I really don’t like her, never have” was all you could manage.  George laughed at your anger.

“So you know her then?” he asked.

You had met her once or twice through your father, but he worked with of a few occasions she was a horrid woman, who was against ‘half-breeds and muggles’ believing purebloods were superior, though as far as you knew she had never worked for Voldemort.  You explained all this to George as well as some of her policies, that were making life difficult for those who weren’t pureblood.

“Horrible woman,” George said, but he looked happy like he was planning something.  You eyed him suspiciously

“What are you planning?” you questioned

“Oh, you will just have to wait and see” he smirked.  You were a little-excited thinking about what he would do.

“Oh, how’s the shop coming?” you suddenly remembered.

“Well, we managed to get funds, can’t tell you where they came from, but hopefully after school, we should be good to go” he smiled happily.

“Harry wasn’t it, his winnings,” you asked.  He looked shocked, but you didn’t really notice. “Well, that is good, I better get a discount” you teased,

“Well, I dunno, what makes you think I should do that?” George teased back.

“Because I am the best girlfriend ever” you replied.

“Well you are pretty good” George nodded thoughtfully

“Just ‘good’ huh?” you were both trying not to smile now.

“Well, I might need reminding, say a kiss” George smirked.

“You think you deserve one?” you weren’t giving up, but George’s smirk only grew.  Next thing you knew he had you pinned down, placing quick kisses all over your face, making you laugh out loud.

“Georgie” you stuttered, his final kiss was on your lips.

“I am really lucky to have you,” George said

“Does this mean I get a discount” you joked back.  George laughed at it.

“You can have anything you want” he replied.  Smiling warmly at you.  You almost said ‘I love you’ but settled with

“I am really lucky to have you too,”   you thought it would be too soon to say I love you, it would freak him out, put him off.

“I love you” George suddenly said, looking serious.  You stared at him for a moment, shocked,  it was like he read your mind, but it quickly made you smile.

“I was just thinking about how much I love you” you returned.  You watched George’s expression relax, as you run your hand across his cheek, before pulling him into a long loving kiss.

[thepointofthestory]

Pressure Release Valve

I’m starting this blog as a way to release some of the pressure I’m experiencing.  A journal to help me process what’s going on and deal with it.  I process verbally a lot, which is good, but I can’t afford a therapist right now so I’ve been leaning heavily on friends - and they’re amazing for listening to me, but, I just keep going over the same shit again and again and they have to be getting tired of me.  I can’t vent on Facebook anymore - because that’s just so fraught.  Anonymous venting onto Tumblr seems like it’s worth trying.   So, here we go - first real post.  This is some background about one of the topics that’s got me deeply wound.  

My father is an elderly man.  He is 71 years old with Type 2 Diabetes, Severely Reduced Kidney Function, and Moderate to Severe Sleep Apnea. 

A Quick Medical Overview about 15 years ago my dad was in a long term relationship with a woman and was living in her home.  During that period he was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes and, because he snores to wake the fucking devil, she made him do a sleep study and he was diagnosed with Moderate to Severe Sleep Apnea and given a CPAP machine.   About 4 years ago my father’s kidney’s failed.  He had a UTI and went in for a contrast dye test for some other issue, and, the combination of those things plus my dad’s unchecked Type 2 Diabeties (and very high blood sugar levels) made his kidney’s throw up their hands and go “Fuck it, we’re done!” 

He spent THREE FULL WEEKS in the hospital.  At first trying different treatments to see if they could “reboot” my dad’s Kidneys, then, after a day or two doing Dyalisis and getting his bloodwork stabalized.  Three full weeks.  And he nearly died.  

He was released to Hospice/Rehab care where they assessed his abilities and capabilities.  They recomended a walker.  Set up on-going out-patient Dyalisis treatments.  Literally helped him get back on his feet.  The Rehab center was wonderful and recomended that he move to a facility with nursing staff.  Not that he go into a “Home” or Hospice care, just... a place with medical staff on hand.  Someone to help him manage his diet and medications.  He refused.  Because he’s a grown man, see. 

THREE days later he called me at 2 am hysterical.  Utterly freaking out.  At the time I had a 5 month old baby and I was awake when he called because I was nursing my son.  But also I lived an hour and a half away from him and could not understand what he was saying or what was going on.  I was sleep deprived.  I hung up on him.  My sister ended up calling an ambulance to check on him, which was good, because his blood sugar had crashed out so low he was having a delustional episode.  

He went back to the hospital.  He got stabalized again and relased to go home within 48 hours, but, with the caveat that he take a Diabetes 2 education class.  I agreed to go with him to the classes - which were at a location close to his house.  So I drove an hour and a half to pick him up, sat through an hour of class, drove him home, made him fucking dinner and then drove an hour and a half back home with breasts that were, at that point, painfully full of milk - because there was no possible time to pump in that whole mess of activity. 

The course was 5 classes long, after the 4th class we got into an argument about how he couldn’t just eat McDonalds all the time anymore.  Because the class had focused on how fast food was an especially bad choice to make for Diabetics who have other health issues.  The teacher had specifically pulled up the nutritional information for a BASIC McDonalds Hamburger and talked about all the reasons why it was bad for blood sugar, even though - yes, there was a high protein count, there were all these added sugars.  Our argument began by me basically saying “Now that someone else has said it, will you please stop doing this?”  The argument ended when he OPENED THE PASSENGER DOOR OF THE CAR WHILE IT WAS IN MOTION AND THREATENED TO THROW HIMSELF OUT.

I had to pull the car over, get out, shove him back into the car (as he wasn’t able to right himself) while he hit me in the shoulders and threw a tantrum like a toddler about how all the women in his life have ever done is screw him over. I didn’t go to the 5th class.  I’m not sure if he did.  And I didn’t talk to him or deal with him for months. 

During those months my sisters (both younger) discovered that he was so deeply in debt that he was going have all his utilities shut off and to be evicted from his apartment if he was late on another payment.  So, they took over his finances.  Like, litterally took them over.  My youngest sister (who we’ll call Teri) is his Trustee for his social security payments, and, all his money goes into an account that she has access too but that he does not.  My middle sister (Who we’ll call Beth) now manages the day to day bill paying and distribution of the account, including putting money weekly onto a pre-paid debit card that my dad has access too for shopping and miscelaneous expenses. 

About six or nine months passed and things had evened out a little.  My father was coming out to see my son on a fairly regular basis.  I was ignoring him to the best of my ability.  Working. Raising my son.  Ignoring.   And then I got a call, while I was at work, from my father.  He needed to go to the ER, he said.  To schedule a surgery apointment.  Huh?  He had a wound on his big toe that wouldn’t heal.  This happens with Type 2 Diabetics, so it wasn’t a surprise. I was already aware of the wound and that he was seeing doctors about it.  He had assured me that he was taking care of the wound and he was having apointments reguarly to have it dressed and assessed, so, I hadn’t done any digging into it.  Apparently his doctor had recomended surgery and told him that he should go to the ER in the morning and get scheduled for a surgery apointment... which doesn’t make any sense at all.  That’s ... not how that works? 

So, I took a break at work and called Kaiser.  I spoke to someone who read me the visitation notes from the doctor.  Basically, the doctor had come to the conclusion that the tissue was damaged enough that it needed to be abraded and recomended that my father be transported to the hospital and admitted and scheduled for surgery that night.  My dad, who was STILL paying off the ambulance bills from his last two hospital stays refused to go.  He said he’d drive himself in the morning.  His doctor recomended against that and suggested that, if he didn’t want to be transported via ambulance he could get a family member to pick him up.  He refused.  The doctor made a note in the after visit information that this course of action could result in serious issues up to and including DEATH and that my father was refusing/leaving the office against medical advice. 

So.... I got a friend who drives Uber to pick my dad up at his apartment and take him to the closest ER.  I met them there.  There is a whole story associated with this pick up and my friend had to get his car detailed afterwards.  Whee. 

When I got to the ER they had my dad laid out in a hospital gown and had done some initial blood testing and my dad was waiting in a curtianed area.  His blood sugar was all out of whack.  He had an infection in his toe that threatened to spread to his blood - and if you don’t know, blood poisoning is fucking deadly.  They were running fluids and antibiotics via IV.   The toe was necrotic.  Unsaveable.  They needed to remove it ASAP.  It was a good thing I had gotten him in tonight, the doctor told me.  If he had waited until morning he might have fallen asleep and never woken up.  

They ended up removing his big toe from the first knuckle to the tip, and wrapping it up.  He went back to Hospice/Rehab and spent another 3 weeks learning how to use a cane to help him walk.  He was instructed to use the cane all the time, but especially while he was recovering from surgery.  He never used it, still doesn’t.  

Another six months pass.  It’s December now his toe has never healed from surgery.  Refusing to use the cane has put too much pressure on the toe and it won’t heal.  Being diabetic makes it important that he keep it clean and dry, but, he continues to stand up to pee ... and misses the toilet regularly.  So... he’s peeing on his open wound and not changing the bandage or cleaning the wound.  

And, so, there’s a need for a second surgery.  This time they take the whole toe.  And it’s back to rehab.  Again.  Where he ends up pushing for release early - and ends up getting authorized to go home on Christmas Eve.  This time he promises he’ll use his cane.  He does not.  

It’s been two years now without any catastropic injuries or events.  He’s mostly stabalized but his kidney function is in the 24% range (which is a failing grade on any test I can think of) but means that he doesn’t require regular Dyalisis.  His Diabetes is under control only with the help of medication, and his A1C is generally in the 6-7 range, which is boarderline and if it gets any worse will not be able to control it with the meds he’s on.  He’ll have to do insulin injections - this is an ineveitablity.  But he doesn’t test his blood sugar.  

He continues to ignore the dietary recomendations for both his Diabetic and Renal conditions.  He refuses to use his cane.   My father comes out to my house on Tuesdays to spend time with my son.  Mostly he naps in the chair in the living room and we feed him dinner, so at least he’s getting one good meal a week.  But, recenly, over the last three months he’s been falling more.  He shows up to my place with new visible scrapes and bruises every week.  He always wears slacks and a button up shirt, sometimes with a sweater.  So, the visible bruising is on his wrists, hands, and face.  In addition to that he *falls down* in front of me once every two weeks or so.  These falls are not little falls.  He trips, looses his balance and just CRUMPLES into a heap on the floor.  Usually face first.  Often he doesn’t even have time to put his hands out to slow his fall.  

Recently, I suggested we move his recliner so that it was out of the walk-way into his living room.  I have noticed that he often bumps into it or starts to stumble when walking through the narrow walk-way to get into his living room, because it’s in the way.  I suggested we move it to the other side of the coffee table, about 2 feet to the right.  And then, before he could protest, I said that if that meant he was too close to the TV, that we could then swap where his desk and TV sit, which would clear his desk chair out from in front of the entrance to the kitchen - removing another hazard.  

Keep in mind:  I DO THIS FOR A LIVING.  I am a personal organizer and I help reorganize and reorder people’s spaces for better work-life flow.  I am not simply making random suggestions.  I’ve thought about this for a while, and, it was a soft suggestion, not an order or an edict. 

But he flipped the fuck out on me.  He dug deep into the past to pull out some horrible bullshit he *did do me* as a kid and tried to weaponize it like it was shit I did to him.  It was dramatastic and awful, and, in hindsight probably an indication that his blood sugar is way off.  Because he was super irrational and kept saying he was shaking. 

I just get to sucked into his fucking tantrums and bullshit, because of a life-long dynamic of screaming fights and hysteria on his part.  I try.  I really do.  But I never recognize the possible low/high bloodsugar behavior until after the fact.  

[themutantunderground]

Linger Ch. 1

It's been a few months since the world ended. Now it's a zombie-filled wasteland, one where people still in possession of a brain are desperate to stay that way. Clarice finds herself reluctantly joining up with a small, ragtag group of survivors led by John, who's just trying to keep everyone he cares about alive. Maybe they'll make it somewhere safe. Eventually.

Ao3 | FF.net

That damn gash on her head was still sluggishly bleeding. Clarice could feel the warm, steady trickle starting to drip out from under the rag she had used to bind the wound. Reaching up, she gingerly tried to tug the rag down farther to sit fully on the cut, hissing at her own efforts. It stung, and behind the sting was a steady ache, like tiny fists wearing brass knuckles beating against the inside of her skull. It wasn't a pleasant experience.

She leaned back toward the bookshelves of the workroom, settling against the soft pillows and stuffed animals she had dragged there from the children's section. The musty smell of old pages was almost comforting, or it would have been if there wasn't a hint of mold.

The library was a decent, nearly secure location, but she hadn't been able to lock the broken front doors. A simple barricade had been easy enough to construct, just something to keep the normal zombies at bay, but if any of stronger types came by or if living survivors decided to visit for some light reading and looting, she was shit out of luck.

Still, this was way better than limping through town, vulnerable to any zombie that might have been lumbering around looking for a meal. Especially the fast ones. Regular zombies were bad enough, but those quick ones were hellish and impossible to get away from if you were limping even a little bit. With her scraped up side, twisted ankle, and head wound, she wasn't going anywhere fast.

Clarice hoped nothing was broken. It was a miracle she had walked away from the crash at all, and even more of one that she had made it all the way to the library without running across anything worse than the regular kind of zombie, what she referred to as ramblers. Her gun still had three bullets in it, if she had counted right, and there was her knife and the fire axe laying in the ground near her.

Maybe she wouldn't die immediately. Maybe she would hang on a couple days before something broke in to finish her off.

You never knew.

She should've paid more attention while she was driving her dirt bike. That stray tire in the road had come out of nowhere, it seemed, and she had been thrown from the bike. Luckily she had been slowing down. It could've been so much worse. Her jeans and leather jacket had taken a beating...new clothes were necessary now too.

Only a few months ago, she would've gone straight to the hospital after a crash like that. There would've been pain meds and an IV and X-rays, but she was lucky to have found some ibuprofen in one of the drawers in the workroom. Back then, she wouldn't be thinking about where to find new clothes because she could easily go to a store without worrying about what was lurking behind the doors. It wasn't like shoppers of the undead variety had been an issue.

It seemed like a century ago instead of just months.

Clarice reached for the water bottle at her side and then let her hand drop away. She had to conserve water. Before she had made a nest in the back room, she had looked in the staff lounge but the only water had been in a cooler and it had gone bad. Tomorrow she would try to get up and find a pharmacy...that way she could get water and meds. Something to patch herself up with. The library had been the safest location that she had stumbled across right after the crash. She should've gotten eaten by all rights, but somehow she had managed to wake up from getting knocked unconscious before a zombie found her.

She fiddled with the lid of the water bottle, wanting at least a sip. She refrained. Tomorrow she would find a whole pallet of water bottles. Sure. And then she would find a feather bed and a sexy butler and an entire stash of donuts.

Closing her eyes, she rested, one hand on the revolver in her lap. A nap would've been great… A few weeks ago, she had been with a group outside of Atlanta. Then they had turned nasty and started making rules she didn't like too much, so she had left. Being on her own wasn't terrible, but having someone to keep watch while she slept would've been nice right about then.

Her eyelids felt heavy and her head bobbed down toward her chest, exhaustion catching up to her. Maybe it wouldn't be too bad to sleep for just a few minutes. She needed the rest, and there hadn't seemed to be many zombies in town anymore.

Most likely they had been attracted somewhere people still lived. This place was a ghost town, and there were rumors of safe zones not too far from where she was. She had been trying to decide if she wanted to head for one, just for somewhere that had running water and a somewhat steady food supply.

She drifted off to thoughts of what she would eat if the world hadn't gone to hell. Apple fritters, chocolate chip cookies, key lime pie, donuts… Sweets took up most of her list. Eventually she fell asleep, her head dropping back against the shelves.

Rustling woke Clarice up, and she instinctively lifted her gun, aiming it toward the door.

She wasn't alone.

The shadowy figure in the doorway lurched backward, and she took a quick shot, blowing part of the frame off, bits of wood flying everywhere. A high-pitched shriek ripped through the air, followed by loud whispers and more scuffling.

"Don't scream!"

"Are you bleeding? You're bleeding!"

"Shh, it's not that bad. John's gonna kill us. Shit."

The voices sounded so young they had to be kids. One girl, one boy. Clarice mentally cursed at herself just as much as she cursed at them as her heart pounded against her ribcage. She couldn't believe she had taken a shot at a kid. They were probably a part of a pack of half-feral kids. Those were starting to pop up in places where the kids had somehow survived while all the adults were dead. But most of the nation's kids were dead. Children were easier prey than adults.

"I thought she was dead," the girl's voice said. They couldn't have been more than a foot or two away from the doorway.

"She looked freaking dead," said the boy. That was the one she had taken a shot at, judging by the conversation.

"I can hear you," Clarice mumbled, "And I'm obviously not dead."

Both of the kids went silent. There was a bit of rustling, like shoes moving over carpet.

Finally the boy spoke. "Are you going to shoot at us again?"

Clarice snorted. "Are you going to go all mini-cannibals on me?"

"We're not zombies," was the sharp reply from the boy, "But you just tried to kill us."

"No, I didn't. You woke me up, and you were all eerie in the door," she said. Shifting, she muffled a groan as her leg protested the movement. "Can't blame me for thinking you were zombies."

"So you didn't mean to shoot at us?" the girl asked.

"Well…if I knew you were alive, I wouldn't have. Are you hurt bad?"

"Yeah, I'm bleeding out. Probably be dead in a few minutes, and it's all your fault," the boy grumbled, "Be guilty."

"He is not," the girl said, "His arm just got scraped."

"It's called a graze," the boy growled, "See, I got grazed by a bullet."

Clarice made a face. She really wouldn't have taken a shot at them if she had been fully awake.

For a few moments, they were all quiet. Clarice rested the back of her head against the bookshelves. What the hell were two kids doing out here? They didn't seem to be the wild kind of kid, and it seemed like it was only the two of them. "Are you guys alone?"

"What about you?" the boy demanded. "Or did you get bit and left behind?"

Well, wasn't he just a bundle of joy. Before she could answer that, there was some kind of commotion at the front of the library, like someone was trying to quietly break down her hasty barricade. She tensed, her hand tightening around the grip of her gun again. Just because the kids didn't seem like they wanted to hurt her didn't mean whoever they were with would feel the same way.

"You think they're in here?" a man's voice asked, distant.

"Idiots…" A woman hissed. "How hard was it to stay in the truck for fifteen minutes?"

"The gunshot came from this direction," another man said, softer than the other two but somehow more intense. "James?"

"We're back here," the boy replied, "Some crazy lady shot me."

Clarice winced as she shifted again, getting ready for a fight. She had not meant to shoot at them. Or she wouldn't have if she had known they weren't the living dead.

"What?" the last voice demanded, getting louder. There was more noise, probably her barricade being hastily disassembled, which was frustrating. It had taken her a long time to set that up… "How bad? Where'd she go?"

"John, no, don't go in front of that door," the girl said, "She might shoot you, too."

"Only if you try something funny," Clarice grumbled. Her vision swam as she grabbed the bookshelf and forced herself to her feet, watching the door. She didn't like the idea of more people showing up, especially guys. Not that she couldn't handle them, but she didn't have that many bullets left if they tried to attack her. It was so hard to know whether you should trust someone or not, she usually went for not trusting anyone at all. It was easier that way.

"Stay there," the second guy said, apparently speaking to the two kids. There was silence and then quiet whispering that she couldn't make out except that everyone sounded angry and concerned or defensive. Her chest tightened. Were they going to attack her? She leveled her gun at the doorway again, determined that she wasn't going to die there. Her ankle was protesting the strain, so she tried to stay off it, resting most of her weight on the bookshelves. Every part of her ached.

"Hey," she called, "I didn't mean to shoot him. But don't come back here."

"We're not going to, psycho," the woman's voice snapped, "Do you normally just take random shots at kids?"

Clarice rolled her eyes. "Everyone needs a hobby," she growled and then sighed. "No, they startled me."

"She's hurt," the girl said, "She might be bit."

"Are you?" It was the second guy again, the one with the sort of deeper voice. It sounded like he was right by the doorway, near where they kids were hiding. He had probably snuck around using the dark shadows in the library. It was dusk, and everything was haze and shadow out there.

"If I was, I'd be trying to eat you already instead of going through all this small talk," Clarice said, "Look, I'm sorry about the kid but just...get out, this is my creepy abandoned library. Get your own."

"Sounds like too much of a smartass to be bitten," the woman said.

While it wasn't instantaneous, people quickly became incoherent and then completely bonkers soon after being bitten. The longest Clarice had seen someone hold out was fifteen minutes. Then he had started screaming uncontrollably until his jaw had come unhinged and flopped around. It wasn't pretty.

There was more whispering and a very distinct 'no' while Clarice tried to find a better position against the bookshelves. If they tried to come rob her, she would fire a warning shot and hope they left. Not that there was much for them to steal, unless they just loved fancy green water bottles and blood-stained jackets.

Could they leave already? It was taking them forever to head out. They had their kids so it was time to go.

"Hey." It was the deeper voice, and he was definitely standing right beside the door. Clarice trained her gun in that general direction. "Do you need some help? The kids say you're not doing well."

"Really?" Clarice let out a humorless laugh. "Don't play that game. If you come through that door, I'll shoot."

"Let's just leave, John," the woman said, "She doesn't want our help, and it's getting dark."

"And she tried to kill me," the boy added. James, right? Wait, who cared…she didn't need to know their names, she just needed them to leave ASAP.

"For the love of—I didn't mean to shoot you, kid!" Clarice swayed and reached back to cling to shelves behind her. The gun felt so much heavier than it normally did, and it was worse when she tried to hold it with one hand. Everything ached, and now that she was standing again, she felt terribly dizzy.

"She might die if we leave her here…" It was the girl's voice, soft and worried. "Would that make us murderers?"

"No, it makes us smart, because when she dies she'll go all zombie and try eat us, remember?" the woman's voice said sharply. "Do you want her to come gnaw on your skull? 'cause I don't."

"Lorna."

"Just because you don't like it doesn't mean it's not true."

That didn't bother her. She ignored the ice that burrowed through her veins, a sudden fear that came out of nowhere. Clarice took a deep breath. She wasn't going to die here.

"Do you at least have some water and medical supplies?" It was that same guy, John. He seemed to be hovering near the doorway, like she was suddenly going to change her mind and invite him in for a nice chat. He must not have realized that this was the apocalypse and helping a stranger could get you in more trouble than you originally thought.

"What part of get out did you not understand?" Clarice mumbled. She shook her head and then regretted it. "There is 'get' and then 'out'. Put them together and leave."

"Can I bring you an extra water bottle?"

Clarice blinked. "Oh, my god." What in the world. She stared at the doorway, wondering exactly what they planned to do with her after they lured her in with this act of kindness. They had kids, which made her think they weren't completely terrible, but then again, the kids might've been little monsters. The boy seemed like one.

"You can't just give all our supplies away!" the woman said, "John, seriously. She said for us to go, so we should maybe respect her wishes and get the hell out of here."

"What she said," Clarice chimed in. It was getting hard to stay standing, so she hoped they made up their minds soon. Her headache was growing into a migraine, and her scraped up side felt like the cold autumn air was actually setting it on fire.

"It's one water bottle," John retorted, "That's hardly all of our supplies."

"Yeah, but we can't spare you if she shoots you dead," the other guy said.

"Throw it at her if you have to, but don't go in there," the boy, James, said, "Okay?"

The voices dropped into fierce whispers again, and she couldn't hear most of it. It seemed to be a furious discussion about morals and how they shouldn't act like animals or how they had to look out for each over versus we need to survive and we can't save everybody and…ugh, they talked a lot.

Her mind drifted, her vision going hazy. How long ago had it been since she had wiped out on the road? She needed to get her bike back. Transportation was stupidly important. She hadn't totaled it, had she? God, her head felt heavy.

She felt distant from the room, her hands going numb, everything pitching to the side. Her fingers scrambled to put down her gun, and her hand slammed into a nearby desk, taking off some skin. The desk came up to meet her and she leaned to the side, instead crashing into a chair and taking it to the floor like a drunk football player making a bad tackle. She heard the voices get louder as her vision tunneled, and she saw a pair of muddy combat boots step into her line of sight before she fell fully into the darkness.