#jet aviation openings

[xveenusx]

And Yet..

Paring(s): jj maybank x fem!reader

Summary: two people who should be together simply can't find their way. In other words, JJ can't let himself be loved and can't let her go.

Author's note: This one is brutal so prepare yourselves. Realistically, JJ would totally self sabotage any chance of happiness because he can't handle how it makes him feel so that's exactly what this is. Thank you for all the feedback on 3 seconds! If you like when it hurts, then this is for you!

Part 1: Three Seconds

-------------------

He left.

It’d been hours and none of us knew where JJ went, only that he left. While JJ storming off was a normal feat, he always came back.

Now normally, I would have been looking for him, knowing exactly where to look. I’d find him and we’d avoid everyone until he felt like he was ready. This time was different. He never looked at me the way he did today.

A look of pure betrayal.

John B had gone MIA with Sarah while Pope and Kie were handling everything we needed to look for the gold. Me? I was trying to find a way to cope with the sudden JJ sized gap in my life.

It was brutal trying to get through the entire day without collapsing. Everything felt dull. I decided going home and hiding out in my room was the only option. It spared me the looks of concern from our friends and gave me the freedom to cry.

My room felt abnormally empty and cold. My stomach rolled as JJ’s words played in a brutal loop. I crawled into my bed where I curled into myself tightly, hugging my knees to my chest to create some type of pressure.

He’ll come back. He always comes back.

I jolted awake to pounding on my window.

“-wake up. He needs you. It’s bad oh my god it’s really bad.”

Scrambling off the bed, I pushed the curtains aside to see Kie’s panicked face. “Kie, what’s going on?”

Her face filled with relief as she pulled me into her. “We need to get to the chateau now. He’s not making any sense and bought all of this stuff.”

Nausea rolled in my stomach.

“JJ-“

She cuts me off. “He needs you.”

I left the house in seconds, hopped into the Hayward truck and we took off. I nibbled on my nails, glancing at Kiara in the drivers seat. Her face was painted with worry and her leg bopped up and down displaying her nervous energy.

Kie moved one hand from the steering wheel and threaded our hands together, squeezing tightly.

Pulling up to the chateau, I see LED lights tangled up on the trees, shining lights reflecting on the yard. How was there power? The hurricane had taken everything out.

Before I could figure it out, I heard a commotion that drifted up the drive way.

“Where is she? You said Kie was getting her.”

My heart jumped to my throat. I hold onto Kiara tighter as we move toward the raised voices.

Something twisted in my chest as I took in the hot tub and lights suddenly decorating John B’s yard.

JJ is shouting at Pope now, slurring his words slightly, before taking a pull of the champagne he clutched in his hand.

“Look man, she’s here. She’s here, JJ. Calm down.” Pope announced, pointing in our direction, before placing his hands around his head and taking a deep breath.

Awareness ran through me. JJ turned his body to face me, his gaze flicked to mine.

He said nothing yet his eyes said everything. There was an openness that seemed to make him vulnerable.

“You came.”

A tug deep in my chest urged me to move closer. “You asked.”

“Okay, now that she’s here. What did you do, JJ? Where did all this come from?” Pope asked, but we all knew the answer.

“I got a jet going straight in my butt right now. Y’all should get in immediately, ya hear?” JJ laughed, the aviator sunglasses slipping down slightly. His blonde hair slick with water stuck to his forehead as he messily poured champagne into a glass. “Salud!”

Pope let out a noise of disbelief, “How much did this cost?”

“Uh, pretty much all of it.”

I moved around, taking in the inflatable floaties that filled up the yard, while biting the inside of my cheek. He spent all of the money.

“Kie, what? Can’t a man have a little luxury in life?”

I tuned out their arguing. There was a reason he acted out and bought all of this pointless shit but I couldn’t figure out what it was. He knew. He knew he needed to pay for restitution.

A blanket of dread covered my body like an old blanket as the consequences of JJ’s actions finally settled in. Another sense of dread hit when I knew I wouldn’t leave him.

“You could have paid for restitution or better yet, helped us buy supplies.” Pope said, shaking his head in clear frustration.

They weren’t seeing this for what it was. Something was wrong. Yes, he was reckless and rash but like I said before, most of the time he does those things because something happened.

“Okay Pope. Well, I didn’t do that. I got a hot tub for my friends,” JJ choked out, “I got a hot tub for my friends. Screw that, I got a hot tub for my family.”

“JJ, what the hell?” Kie whispered.

Something in her voice made me turn back around quickly and that’s when I saw it.

JJ stood at the center of the hot tub, one hand clutching the champagne bottle while the other hung loosely at his side. His gold necklace moving back and forth shining under the lights, but that’s not what caught my eye.

What caught my eye was the purple and blue bruises that littered his chest and ribs. A high pitched ringing filled my ears as my body felt like it began to float.

This. This was the reason he spent all the money.

My hand covers my mouth as I let out a choked sound.

Hearing the noise, JJ turns to me, his face entirely shattered, tears causing the crystal blue orbs to shine.

“Do you see what I did? Look what I did for you,” He cried out as he held out his arms, staring at me with such vulnerability I could feel my knees start to buckle.

Tears freely began to fall from my face as I took inventory of just how many bruises covered his body.

“No, stop being so emotional. It’s fine, everything’s fine.”

My feet moved on their own accord. Fully dressed, I threw one leg over then the other ignoring the burning from the heat of the water.

He reached for me the moment my body hit the water just as my arms circled around his neck. JJ curled his body into me, the champagne bottle forgotten, his arms circling around my waist digging into my lower back, clutching me like a life line.

My legs knocked together as the adrenaline and helplessness kicked in. I began counting in my head my breaths because I knew in this moment, I couldn’t afford to break down.

Not when he was broken beyond belief.

My fingers threaded themselves into his sun-kissed locks, brushing from the nape of his neck to the top of his head and back again. I pressed my lips onto his head, not letting my grip loosen for one second.

“I love you.” I murmured over and over again as sobs wracked his body, his head in my chest soaking my shirt with his tears. “I got you, it’s okay. I’m here, Jayj.”

I glanced up helplessly and see Pope and Kie staring at us, both of them clearly distraught.

I beckon them over with a nod in my head and instantly JJ and I are covered in warmth. Their arms wrapping around us both, whispering words of love to him.

We stayed like that until our skin got pruny, not wanting to move until he was ready.

When the time did come, I could tell by the way his grip on my waist loosened and his sobs quieted down. Brushing the hair out of his face, I brought my face close to his, “You ready to get out now?”

JJ nodded.

“Kie, can you set out some of John b’s clothes?” I asked her, moving to get out. She nodded and pope followed her inside.

JJ followed closely behind me. His fingers laced with mine, trembling slightly as the night air bit at our soaked bodies.

Shuffling into the chateau, our friends were sprawled out on the couch with Kie strumming away at the ukulele.

“I left the clothes in the spare.” Pope said, his eyes locked on JJ.

I shot him a thankful smile, “Thanks, Pope.”

Once we were in the room, I shut the door as JJ shimmed out of his shorts. Ignoring the heat in my cheeks, I grabbed the towel from the bed and began to dry him.

I could feel his intense gaze on my face the entire time. Biting back a smile, I whispered, “Can I tell you something?”

“Please.”

“I really like the hot tub.”

JJ tilted his head back and let out a surprised laugh. The sound of his familiar laugh caused a wave of warmth to crash over me, causing a zoo of butterflies to swarm my stomach.

“It is a pretty sick tub, isn’t it?” He smiled.

“It is. Very kooky of you.”

He narrowed his red rimmed eyes at me, “Take that back.”

I couldn’t have his my grin even if I tried.

“JJ the kook? I could see that.”

He sends me a cheeky smile in return. Bringing my attention back to the task at hand, I drag the towel along his shoulders before heading towards his chest. My hand stalled slightly as I saw how angry the bruises were, the hue of the purple and blue causing my stomach to churn.

My head moved carefully as I pressed my lips softly along each bruise, fluttering my eyes shut. I feel familiar rough hands tangling themselves in my hair and he lets out a sharp breath.

Opening my eyes, he tilted my head back with his fingers gripped the nape of my neck. A storm brewed in the crystal blue eyes, flicking between every emotion.

His thumb slowly drew my bottom lip down causing his eyes to darken with each passing second,” Thank you.”

Tremors wracked my body at how close we were, our breaths intertwined filtering into my bloodstream.

JJ shifted forward allowing his lips to softly brush mine. The moment my lips parted, he pressed his again almost like he was inhaling my every breath.

Pulling back, he rested his forehead on mine and repeated, “Thank you.”

“I got you. I’ll let you change-“ My words got cut off as he grabbed my arm to stop me in my tracks.

“Stay.”

And so I did.

_______________

I blinked at the alarm clock that read 3 a.m and slowly rubbed the sleepiness from my eyes. I could hear the sound of the skeeters buzzing outside the chateau and felt a strange sense of calm at the quiet.

Reaching toward the other side of the bed , my hands were met with empty cold sheets. He was gone.

I closed my eyes tightly and took in a deep breath as I willed for this nightmare to go away. We still had a lot to work through, but I thought after last night, he finally understood how fucking in deep I was. I was all in, completely and utterly in love with him. It’s always been him.

Pushing my body up, I slowly bring the sheet up to my chest covering my naked body from the cold. A sharp tinge of fear hit my chest as I noticed a presence at the end of the bed that was quickly replaced with an immense sense of relief.

JJ sat on the edge of the bed with his bare back facing me, his elbows on his knees, and head in his hands. A small smile played my lips as I shuffled over, my hands slowly trailing themselves over his shoulders and pressed my lips softly against his shoulder blade.

“Can’t sleep?”

His shoulders tensed the minute my lips touched his body. “I didn’t think you’d still be here.”

Confusion filled every fiber of my being as I finally took him in. I could feel the weak stitches that held my heart together suddenly begin to tear.

I opened my mouth and closed it. The backs of my eyes burned as I stared at the side of his face, the face that I spent hours admiring, that refused to even look at me.

“I thought after last night-“

JJ shook his head in disgust and let out a dry breath, roughly tugging at the messy strands on his head.

“We fucked. It’s not like that’s something we’ve never done before. It doesn’t change anything.”

Like I said before, I understand him. I know him and I know exactly what he’s doing. That doesn’t stop every part of me from feeling like I had just gotten kicked in the chest.

“JJ, please don’t do this.” I inhaled a shaky breath as I clutched the sheer tighter to my chest, almost like it was an armor against his cruel words, words that I knew came from a place of panic. Yet, it hurt just the same.

“Do what,” JJ said, getting up from the bed to face me, arms crossed tightly against his chest. “You made it clear what side you were on and it wasn’t mine.”

“Stop twisting what happened. You forget that I know you, JJ. I know you,” I stood on my shaky feet, the sheets wrapped around my body. “You think I dont know why your treating me this way. You’re dad doesn’t decide who you are.”

Desperation burned in my blood as I once again tried to grasp at straws. He was always finding excuses to run from me and each and every time, JJ took a piece of me with him.

“Shut up. I’m not doing this shit with you.”

“You have no idea how special you are do you? How easy you are to love?” It was an honest question, one that seemed to anger him if the clenching of his fists was any indication.

“Stop-“

I cut him off. “Because you are. Special, I mean.”

JJ said nothing. His gaze met mine, and the blue eyes I thought matched the ocean perfectly, showed a battle of emotions.

I took the opportunity to move closer to him, fighting the urge to curl up and cry at the look of utter confusion on his face.

Luke had successfully beat it into him that he was worthless, useless, and would never amount to anything. This, this look on his face was why I stayed.

He didn’t know. He really didn’t know the effect he had on people, on me.

My fingers trembled slightly as I reached to touch the bracelets that decorated his wrist. All of them being gifts from me.

“You’re fiercely loyal to the people you love. The family that you chose for yourself. It’s almost frustrating how you don’t see it,” I muttered, tilting my head up to search his eyes. “I mean, fuck JJ, you took the fall for Pope because you didn’t want his future to be ruined. You went to jail and now you’re on probation.”

“Please, stop.” His plead was weak at best.

My fingers danced along his jaw, my voice wavering slightly at the tightness in my chest. “You sat with my everyday during summer school so I wouldn’t be myself. No one does that, JJ. Especially not here.”

He had to know I was telling the truth.

“So please, listen to me when I tell you that loving you has been the easy thing I’ve ever done.”

Despite the immense beating my poor heart has taken, it still beats with a naive sense of hope.

Hope that sky rocketed when JJ reached forward to twirl a strand of my hair in between his fingers, almost as though he was memorizing how it felt.

“Such pretty little words.” He hummed. “How many other guys have you told that too?”

I recoiled back in shock.

“Pretty little words won’t get you anywhere. You wanna fuck, I’m down. But that’s not gonna stop me from mackin’ on other chicks.”

Then he dropped the strand of my hair, along with every hope that he could love me.

I chose to then focus on my anger that slowly began to bubble to the surface.

“Like who? Your gonna start mackin’ on Kie?” I launched the question at him, my voice raising an octave in disbelief.

“Maybe. At least she knows when to leave.”

“Stop talking to me like that,” My voice broke at the end, the burning in my eyes getting too hard to ignore. “You’re hurting me.”

All I could do was stare.

Here I stood, heart bleeding, begging a broken boy to love me back. And maybe that wasn’t fair for me to ask, maybe it was too much but a large part of me thought he felt something. Even if it was a fraction of what I felt for him because at least it was something.

Anything.

“You’re never going to let me love you, are you?” I ignored the sharp stab in my stomach as I finally said the question I already knew the answer to.

JJ’s head snapped up in shock at my question. “I never asked for you to love me.”

“You showed up to my window every night because you didn’t want to go home. You hold my hand, you kiss me, you fuck me. You come to me when you can’t fucking sleep. You sleep in my bed. You teach me to surf and take me everywhere with you. You ask for my advice and god forbid I don’t answer the phone, you have a melt down.” I was shouting at that point, my voice loud enough to wake up our friends who were sleeping in the living room but I couldn’t bring myself to care.

“You need me, I’m there. You got arrested, I bail you out. You get in a fight, I clean you up. JJ, you showed up in my life and surrounded me. You’re fucking everywhere. How could you not expect me to fall in love with you when you do these things?”

The laugh I let out was one of a broken girl, one who had completely lost herself in a wave of chaos known as JJ Maybank.

The door was right there. And yet, I couldn't get my feet to move.

“Because I don’t fucking understand it, okay? Because I’ve never had the luxury of someone looking at me the way you do and it makes me physically fucking sick.” JJ took several strides until he was pressed up firmly against me, his fingers threading themselves into the nape of my neck.

“The way you look at me makes me feel like I’m suffocating, don’t you get that? And yet, I can’t fucking thinking straight when you’re not by me.” He choked out, his face was white with panic.

I could feel myself start to crumble at his words. Welcome to the club. “Yesterday, you said I wasn't enough for you.”

JJ nodded, his eyes staring straight into me with such intensity I had to swallow.

“You know why I said it. You know how I get. The way you look at me,” He swears pounding his hand against the wall,” Fuck the way you look at me. You make me feel like I can be a better person, that I have the potential to do something great.”

“Because you can-“

“No I fucking can’t. You give me this hope that I can be better and then something happens to remind me that I can’t and it crushes me. It fucking wrecks me.”

I roughly wiped the tears that blurred my vision and asked, “So what are you saying?”

The silence caused the anticipation of his answer to intensify, making breathing almost impossible.

“Sometimes, being with you is the hardest thing I’ve ever done.”

Can you hear that? It’s the sound of my heart shattering for the last time.

“Then you have to let me go.”

He shook his head,”Thats not what I want.”

“Let me go, JJ. If not for you, then for me because loving you is the easiest thing I’ve ever done. You haven’t even been able to say it back. You completely own me, every thought I have is about you.”

“You own ME.” JJ shouted, his hands in his hair tugging it in anger. “And it completely terrifies me and then I say the first thing I can to make the fear go away just so I can get a moment of peace. I don’t want to feel like this anymore.”

In a way, I couldn’t really be angry with him.

No one’s every really described just how dangerous loving someone can be. How they consume every part of you until there’s nothing left. Until suddenly, you can only breathe when you’re around them. When your very mood depends on the expression of their face. The pure feeling of ecstasy that covers your body in a layer of electricity the moment you’re around them and they look at you.

“You love me,” At my words, JJ looked almost relieved, like he finally understood why he felt so many things at once,” but you can’t let yourself love me.”

And yet, despite this revelation, I still couldn’t bring myself to leave.

A tortured look passed his face as he pressed his back against the wall and slowly slid down.

“You need to let me go because I love you to the point that I cant bring myself to leave. So if you don’t want me, if you can’t be with me then do this for me. If you don’t, I’m going to keep giving you every piece of me until there’s nothing left. “

I guess you never truly understand until it happens. Until you get physically ill when they’re upset or filled with warmth when you see them tilt their head back and laugh. When you see them and suddenly the world is just a little less overwhelming, bearable even.

When every fiber of your being is tuned into one person.

Gripping the sheet tighter, I moved in between his legs and settle myself on the floor. The moment I did, JJ engulfed me in his embrace. His presence soaked through my skin leaving the intoxicated feeling in its wake.

“I can’t,” He shook his head fervently, “ I can’t do that.”

I understood him, because I couldn’t either.

“What are we going to do, Jayj?”

JJ pressed his face against my throat, “I don’t know.”

We weren’t okay, it didn’t take a genius to figure it out. Nothing had been solved and yet, we sat on the floor wrapped in each others embrace.

So I said the only thing I knew to be true and give him yet another piece of me, “I love you.”

“I know.”

There we were. Two souls irrevocably intertwined in a mass of love and hate that were broken beyond recognition. Neither of us being able to leave the other.

And yet, all I could focus on was his inability to say he loved me back.

_____________________

Tags for all those who requested: @trickylittlewitch @maybankslover @bcon24 @chaoticbisous @ifilwtmfc @dullsocietyy @mad-die45 @stuffyownswrld @kaylinfayezink @theywantedplayer

[roosterforme]

In the Line of Duty | Rooster x Reader

Summary: During preparations for a dangerous mission, Bradley finds comfort in writing his thoughts down for his unborn child to eventually read. There's always a chance that he won't make it back, and his final plans involve safeguarding the most important item he brought on his deployment with him.

Warnings: Angst, deployment, pregnancy topics

Length: 2800 words

Pairing: Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw x Female Reader

This was written to accompany my series Is It Working For You? along with a bunch of my one-shots and other series, but it can be read on its own! Check my masterlist for the reading order.

Bradley was in the same tiny room with the same seven people for the nineteenth day in a row. He was sweating, too aware of his surroundings. He could hear Reuben breathing next to him. He could hear Admiral Turner's wristwatch counting off every second. He could hear the plans being laid out, but he could barely focus on them.

"The political climate is rapidly changing," the admiral said. "This bombing run is essential, however it will undoubtedly lead to a hostile environment for our allies. Getting the timing just right is essential to a successful mission."

He'd been telling the aviators the same things for days, and while Bradley knew somebody's best interest was at heart, he wasn't really sure it was his. Or Reuben's. Or anybody's in this fucking claustrophobic room. But what choice did he have but to sit here in his flight suit, reeking of jet fuel until he was released?

"Also," Admiral Turner said, his voice laced with exhaustion, "we'll be keeping a close watch on the weather. If you fly this mission, it's going to be a rough takeoff and an even rougher landing. And that's not even mentioning the elements you'll encounter in the air."

Bradley could feel it. The aircraft carrier was a massive vessel, nothing like a cruise ship or anything smaller. It was built to withstand typhoons and hurricanes, but he could still feel it. The movement was getting worse by the hour now. There were deckhands and petty officers walking around with seasickness bags. People were running from the mess hall left and right. The only thing that could be said of this small group of aviators in this tiny ass room was that professional fighter pilots had all traces of motion sickness eliminated from their bodies during flight training, never to be heard from again. He wasn't uncomfortable, but he could still feel it.

"And with that final precaution, I've made my selection for the three pilots who will fly when I say it's time to go." Bradley knew it in his bones even before he heard the admiral say, "Vandal. Patches. Rooster. Everyone else will remain on standby. You're all dismissed."

As he stood, Reuben stuck his fist out. "Congrats, man," he said, and Bradley reached out as well to bump fists. Being chosen was an accomplishment; Bradley always wanted to be chosen. He always wanted to perform to the best of his ability. But his thoughts were so heavy now, filled with new hopes and fears. 

"Thanks, Payback," he replied, following his friend from the room and into the noisy reprieve of the cool hallway. There were people rushing around as the two of them made their way to the mess hall. "But if I have to sit in that room for another day, I'm going to lose my mind."

Reuben laughed as he started to load a tray with food. "I love how the weather is too bad for us to do any training runs, but in the same sentence, we're told to be ready to fly a mission in this. It's like they're steering us right into the worst of the storm."

They were. Bradley could tell they were. There was something strategic about the open water location, but they were absolutely heading into the worst of it. He just hoped it would clear up before he was called out on deck to fly. 

"It's a good thing I haven't barfed in a Super Hornet since that very first time," he said, also piling food that he knew would taste like cardboard onto a plate.

"This shit sucks," Reuben muttered, biting into a roll once they reached an empty table. "We got any more of your wife's cookies back in the bunk?"

Bradley smiled as he looked at the questionable meal in front of him. "A few." He bit into the steak and grimaced. Everything you cooked at home was better than this. He'd trade his whole plate of food right now for half of a grilled cheese sandwich made by your hands. Just thinking about it had his stomach growling louder. "You already ate most of them."

Reuben popped another roll into his mouth and chewed it up before saying, "Rooster, you've got a hot lieutenant commander who can cook for a wife. And a baby on the way. Come on, man. The least you can do is spare some more of those cookies."

Once he let his thoughts drift, Bradley knew it would take hours to get focused on his job again, but he couldn't help it. When he left home, you looked the same as you always did. You'd been complaining about your weight gain and bloating for weeks, but you looked just perfect to him. He wanted to get back home to see if you had a bump yet. He wanted to get home and talk to the Nugget. But he'd already been gone for three weeks, and he hadn't been given a single chance to call or FaceTime with you. 

He hated having no idea how your most recent doctor's appointment went. There were probably new ultrasound photos sitting right on the kitchen counter, but it could be weeks before he got to see how much the Nugget grew since last time. He should be a home, catering to your every whim and building the massive jungle gym for the backyard.

"Are you excited?" Reuben asked, breaking through his thoughts. "You've got what, like five more months to go before you're a dad?"

"One hundred and eighty-six days until the due date," Bradley replied with a grin. "And yeah, I'm pretty fucking excited. It's all I can think about." He tried to finish all of the food, but he set his plate aside and said, "Let's go eat some of those cookies."

An hour later, Bradley was sitting in his bunk, nibbling on the rationed baked goods while Reuben snored across the room. He took this opportunity to get out the pink and blue striped notebook which he affectionately referred to as the Nugget notebook. He'd filled half of it with his musings, and he figured it would be full by your due date. It was silly, just his random thoughts and some sporadic story telling, but he liked the idea of his kid having all of this to look at later. He uncapped his pen, jotted down the date, and started writing what was on his mind. 

You'll never guess where I am right now. No really. It would be impossible, because even I don't really know where I am! But it's somewhere in the Pacific Ocean, I know that for sure. And while I'm really, really far away from you and your mom right now, the two of you are all I can think about....

-------------------------

The weather was so bad a few days later that the gym was closed. Bradley and Reuben stood in front of the locked door in their gym clothes looking at each other. 

"This is fucking wild," Bradley muttered, deprived of the only activity he could think of to keep himself busy. The hallways were pretty empty at this time of night, but everything still felt more deserted than usual. The dining menus had been pared down, presumably because half of the kitchen staff was too seasick to make everything. He was starting to feel anxious. "Let's go workout in the bunk and then finish the cookies."

"Sounds good," Reuben replied. They took turns churning out sets of fifty push ups while the other ate a cookie. They did this until they were both sweating and all of the cookies were officially gone.

"Now what the fuck are we supposed to do?" Bradley asked, but any response was cut off by a knocking on the door. He jumped up, glanced at Reuben, and then opened the door for a petty officer. 

"Bradshaw?"

"Yeah?"

"You requested a FaceTime call? Report to the lounge in thirty minutes."

"Thanks," he said, heart beating wildly as he closed the door. He rushed around the room, grinning and grabbing everything he'd need to take a quick shower.

Reuben just laughed and said, "Please thank her again for the cookies."

"Will do," Bradley replied, making a mad dash for the showers. If he did the math correctly, he figured it was between four and five o'clock in the morning back home in San Diego. He hated calling you in the middle of the night, especially when you were pregnant and exhausted, but he knew you'd forgive him. And he desperately needed to see your face and hear your voice.

His hair was still damp when he jogged along the quiet corridors toward the lounge and took a seat in front of one of the computers. He quickly entered his credentials followed by your phone number, and then he waited and waited. "Shit," he muttered, gripping the edge of the table, afraid the call was going to ring through and then cut off. But then he heard you screech his name and saw you as you reached for your glasses while the light from the lamp on your nightstand illuminated your face. 

"Bradley!" you practically screamed again, your voice scratchy from sleep. "Roo! Are you okay?"

"Hey, Baby Girl," he said, feeling calmer than he had in weeks as you juggled your phone around and tried to sit up fully in bed. "I'm fine. Sorry it's so late."

"No, no, no, this is perfect!" you insisted, rubbing your eye behind your glasses as you tried to stifle a yawn. "This is great."

Bradley laughed and said, "I miss you so fucking much. Wish I was in bed right there with you."

"Me too," you insisted, and he could see the sincerity on your face. "It got chilly here tonight, and Tramp isn't as snuggly as you are."

He wanted to kiss you. He wished he could somehow dive through the screen and end up next to you where you'd pull him right into your arms. His voice was just a whisper as he said, "Tell me about the Nugget."

Your smile was soft, and you bit your lip. "Dr. Morris said the Nugget looked great when I was there two weeks ago."

"Two weeks ago," he groaned, rubbing his rough hands along his face. "Sweetheart... I already missed so much." When he looked at the screen again, you were out of bed and on the move. "Where are you going?"

You flipped on the hallway light and said, "To get the ultrasounds to show you. I left them on the kitchen counter."

The fact that he knew that's where they would be made him smile. When you propped your phone up next to the stove and turned on the light, he felt tears stinging his eyes. You held up one of the photos so he could see the baby, and he had to blink past his blurry vision. "There's my Nugget," he said, voice thick with emotion as you held up a second image. "Fucking cutest baby I've ever seen."

Your laughter sounded beautiful as you showed him a third one. "I liked this one the best. I think it looks like the baby is waving hello."

"Shit," he gasped. "You're right. I can't wait to wallpaper our bedroom with copies of these."

You pulled the baby picture away, and he could see your face again as you said, "You're probably not even joking."

"I'm definitely not even joking."

You leaned on the counter and got a little closer to your phone as you said, "Another week or so, and I can go in for an anatomy scan."

Now Bradley felt like crying for a totally different reason. "You get to find out if the Nugget is a boy or a girl."

"Yeah," you said with a nod. "But I don't really want to do that without you there too."

Bradley looked at your beautiful face and the perfect curve of your cheek. He imagined a little baby in your arms with the same flawless features. "I wish I could get home in time to hold your hand and find out in person. But you know I don't care one way or the other. The only nice thing is that we can start narrowing down baby names soon. I actually wrote down a few that I kind of like in the Nugget notebook earlier."

Your smile was brilliant as you told him, "I can't wait to read all of your notebook entries. And if you're not home for my next appointment, I'll be practically vibrating with anticipation until I get to tell you if it's a boy Nugget or a girl Nugget."

Bradley opened his mouth to say he couldn't wait to come home and spend a full day curled up with both of you. He was about to ask you to pull his UVA shirt up and let him see what your belly looked like now. But the lounge door swung open so hard, it sounded like it was going to fall off the hinges.

"Bradshaw!" barked Admiral Turner. "It's time. Get into your flight suit."

"Yes, Sir," he said before glancing back down to see your face as you started to cry.

"You have to go," you sobbed.

"I do," he said quickly. "Right now. Listen, I love you. More than anything. You and the baby both, okay? I love you."

"I love you, too," you sobbed as your lips trembled. "So much."

"I'll be home soon," he promised, even though he knew he couldn't guarantee anything of the sort. "I love you."

After he ended the call, he ran back to the bunk where Reuben was already in his flight suit and pulling on his boots. It was late enough now that it had to be dark outside, so he was either about to fly another mission without the use of one of his senses, or they were sending him out at first light. Either way, he knew what he had to do, so he pulled his own flight suit on with shaky hands.

The call with you had calmed his nerves right up until the point when he had to abruptly end it. What he wouldn't give to be back home within a week. He'd drive you to the appointment in his Bronco and hold your hand the whole time. Dr. Morris would let you know if he was going to be the dad to a daughter or a son. His little Nugget.

"You ready?" Reuben asked as Bradley finished lacing up his boots. 

He looked up at his friend as he stood. "Actually, no," he said, pulling his duffle out from under his bed. He started rooting through it as he said, "I need you to potentially do me a favor."

"Sure," Reuben replied, "but we gotta get to the meeting room now, Rooster."

"I know," he mumbled in response as his hands connected with the most important thing he had with him. He held up the pink and blue notebook, his voice calm in spite of his nerves as he said, "Just real quick, you see this? I need you to take this back to my wife if anything happens to me."

His friend was silent for a beat before he said, "Alright. I can do that."

Bradley's fingers tightened around the spiral binding holding together all of his thoughts about fatherhood and how much he loved his unborn child. And now his voice shook a bit as he said, "This is very important to me."

Reuben nodded and said, "Understood. I promise I'll take care of it if the need arises."

"Thank you." Bradley kissed the striped cover and propped the notebook up against his pillow, giving it one last look before he followed Reuben from the bunk.

At first light, Bradley made his way out onto the carrier deck through the rain and whistling wind. The mission was on. The weather was miserable, but the plethora of Naval officers deemed this the best opportunity they were going to get to help their allies. 

It was time. Time for Bradley to trust himself. And if he failed, he trusted Reuben to take the notebook back to San Diego and get it into the hands of his wife. Then you'd take care of the notebook for the Nugget. Because if there was one person who was never going to let him down, it was you.

-------------------------

I can't deal with how much I've been hurting my own feelings with these two. Should we start a new series? Would that be okay? A tragic, new series? Thank you for reading about and loving them! Please stay tuned. Thanks @mak-32 and @beyondthesefourwalls

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[rwby-encrusted-blog]

Nora: You know, between Bleiss and Bluby, I'm pretty happy I'm an only child! Wouldn't want a Dark Version of Myself creeping up on me! You don't have a dark twin, do you Fearless Leader?

Jaune: What? Me? NO! HAHAHAH! I Only have Seven Sisters! Nothing about a Half-Sibling AT ALL!

Nora: ... Who said anything about a Half Sibling?

The door breaks open as someone kicks it in. They are a Young man, half an inch taller than Jaune with short, feathery, Jet black hair. He wear a thick, black Leather jacket, Jeans, Heeled boots, and Aviators with a gunmetal scarf around his neck.

???: *swaggering up to and hooking an arm around Jaune* Well Well Well Golden Boy~ Lookin' good for a runt~

Jaune: *removing the man's arm* ... Dawne. How have you been?

Dawne: What? No Love for the Brother, Lil' Bro?

Jaune: You are not even an hour Older than me! And you're not my brother!

Dawne: You're dad and my dad are one in the same~ Just Chill Shortstop!

Jaune: gods give me patience.

Dawne: What? That confident in your strength? And you say I have an Ego!

Jaune: If the gods gave me Strength, you'd be in the hospital.

Dawne: Ah Man, Don't be like that! 'Sides, a little birdie told me you're in a with a lot of hot broads~

Jaune: ... Dawne, listen to me, and listen to me well.

Jaune: If you do anything to my friends that they don't like, they will only get the chance to kill you if I don't end you first.

Dawne: ...

Dawne: *Looking over his sunglasses, dark brown eyes shining* Damn. You're serious.

Dawne: Fine. Your friends are off limits. That list can't be too long.

Nora: Uh, Hi, Hello! he's not lying, Most of us will break your legs if you try anything! Who are you and why are you here?

Dawne: I'm-

Jaune: This is Dawne Angeles, My half brother. My parents had a threesome, and nine months later the two of us were born to separate mothers. He's been a pain in my butt my whole life. As for why he's here ...

Jaune: Why are you here?

Dawne: Transferred from Haven! The other half of my team should be here Soon~

Jaune: Other half?

???: Hello.

J+N: AH!

A young woman with shoulder length teal hair, roughly Nora's height gingerly steps in. She's wearing a full, fancy, modest (In terms of visible skin) Victorian maid's outfit. The long skirt swished just enough to see the high heels she wore.

???: *curtsying* My apologies for frightening you. My name is Eren Jötunn.

Eren: I am the second of our team, and I would like to apologize for the roughness my teammate is displaying and speaking with, though i have been told that that is often how sibling treat each other, in which case you may ignore my apology.

Eren: Mister Angeles, please join me in the walk to the Airship Docks. I'm certain our Partners will be here shortly.

Dawne: Hey frostbite, we don't need to worry, They'll send us a message-

Eren: *Stamps the ground, standing tall* Mister Angeles, I would suggest That you join me in the walk to the Airship docks.

Dawne: ... *sigh* Fine. *pats Jaune on the shoulder* See you 'round, golden boy.

Jaune: Yeah, Yeah, Whatever.

Jaune: I'm glad that maid-girl swung by. She seems chill.

Jaune: Nora?

Nora: She Looked like my mom.

Jaune: What?

Nora: I- I look like my mom, but she looks like my mom too.

Jaune: ... Oh Crabapples.

~~~~~

Dawne has a Greatsword-Battlerifle called "Horizon Line", and Eren fights with a Longbow, coating her Arrows in dust, and a Shortsword on her side.

Eren's Semblance "Thermal Dynamo" Allows her to suck the heat out of air (or thing she's touching) and use it to boost her combat prowess. This is extremely taxing and makes the air around her much, MUCH Colder.

I have no ideas for the other half of Anti-Jnpr.

[callsign-fox]

Wingman - Rooster

Pairing: Rooster x Fem!Reader

Been sitting in the drafts/Lightly edited

Written with @fanficgirl429 <3

18+ Only // Enjoy xo

--------------------------------------------------------

When you sign on to be a pilot for the Navy as a female, you know you’ll have to put up with egotistical men on a daily basis, however, it’s not until you have to work with them that you realize how incredibly self centered they actually are. 

The canopy to my jet raised and I quickly climbed down the ladder. My wingman, Rooster, landed right behind me and he was currently maneuvering his jet into the assigned spot beside mine. Rooster was not my first choice for a wingman, he wasn’t my second or third either. It was near impossible to work with him and I was sure our superiors were getting ready to ship one of us off to Guam just to separate us from one another. Fortunately for them, we were two of the best the Navy had to offer and so for that reason alone, we were stuck together. 

I glanced up from my current conversation with my flight crew just as Rooster walked by, his head down and stupid aviator sunglasses shielding his eyes. I rolled my eyes as he continued by not saying a word. Of course he wouldn't say anything, he was the reason we failed the exercise.

“That was a disaster,” I mumbled to myself.

I turned behind me just as my friend Phoenix walked by. “What was going on up there?” she asked, watching    

Bradley as he disappeared into the locker room. 

“I don’t know. Why don’t you go ask Bradley and report it back to me?” 

Phoenix shook her head. “No thanks. I’m slightly terrified of him when he’s angry.” 

I rolled my eyes. “Well, he’s an asshole.”

Phoenix glanced back at the locker room before looking over at me. She lowered her voice as she said, “I have to tell you something about Bradley and it’s probably going to make you mad.” 

“Well if it has to do with Bradley, of course it’s going to make me mad.”

Phoenix sighed and began, “Well, I was at the Hard Deck the other night and ran into Anders. Apparently there is a rumor going around about you back in the Academy.” 

My eyes narrowed in on her and I clenched my fist, “About what?”

“Now don't shoot the messenger, you can be scary sometimes too.” 

“Phoenix!” I yelled, losing my patience. 

“Apparently Bradley started a rumor that the only reason you got into Top Gun was because you…” Phoenix trailed off. 

My heart began to race and I felt my cheeks grow hot. “Because I what?” 

“Because you gave Admiral Rhodes a blow job.” 

“What?” I shrieked and quickly began to walk towards the locker room. 

When I reached the door to the men's locker room, I pulled it open and immediately locked eyes with Hangman. A towel hung off his hips, showing off his incredible abs. I tore my eyes away, feeling a blush creep up my neck. 

“Where is he?” I asked. 

Without hesitating, Hangman pointed towards the back, where I assumed the showers were. There was only one shower being used and I walked over and pushed the white curtain aside. 

“Hey!” a very familiar voice shouted. “What the fuck?” 

I took a step back, not wanting to get wet. Bradley reached out and grabbed his white towel from the hook and wrapped it around his waist. I couldn’t help but notice how well built he was. His six pack abs were on full display and I hated how much I wanted to run my fingers along them. 

“What do you want Y/N?” 

My eyes snapped away from his body and I stared into his brown eyes. “I heard a rumor about me. One that you might happen to know about.” 

Bradley narrowed his eyes and nodded. “Yea, I might happen to know what you’re referring to.” 

“Are you insane? What did I do to you besides tolerate you every damn day for the last four years!”

Bradley shrugged. “I’ve been a delight! You have done nothing but drive me insane.”

“You didn't know, the only reason I’m here is to drive you crazy!”

Bradley laughed. “Nope. The only reason you’re here is because you gave Admiral Rhodes a blow job.” 

My jaw dropped and I couldn't help but growl at him. “That never happened! I hate you so much.”

“Don’t worry sweetheart, the feeling is mutual.” 

I took a step forward and shoved him hard causing him to stumble back into the shower, but before I could react his hand grabbed my wrist, pulling me under the hot stream of water. To my amusement my hands were pressed against his chest, and before I could register what I was doing my nails ran down his toned abs to the top of his towel. The moment was over when I pulled my hands away and brushed them through my now wet hair. 

“Do you have any idea how attractive you are when you’re mad at me?” he said, his voice low. 

His words caught me off guard. “Wait, what?”

The hot water was still running over my body and I was becoming increasingly aware of just how see through my white t-shirt was when I noticed Bradley’s eyes looking down at my chest. 

“I know I shouldn't be this turned on right now, but I am.”

I rolled my eyes and pushed a piece of wet hair behind my ear. “You’re such a prick.”

Bradley ran his tongue along his lower lip and smiled. A moment later his lips came crashing into mine. The urge to push him off of me came and went as my hands snaked around his neck and I began twirling my fingers through his hair. 

His lips moved quickly as he placed his hands on my hips, pulling me closer to him. My body was pressed against his and I could feel his erection against my stomach. My core slightly throbbed, begging to be touched by him. 

Bradley’s fingers toyed with the bottom of my wet t-shirt before he slipped them under and pulled the shirt over my head, barely breaking the kiss. My shirt dropped to the floor and I quickly pushed it away with my foot. By now the rest of the guys would have left, but I pulled the shower curtain shut just in case. 

His lips brushed softly against my neck before pressing against my ear and whispered, “Does that mean you want me to keep going?” 

My fingers toyed with the top of Bradley’s towel as I gave him a slight nod. His hands gripped my waist and he swiftly spun us around so that my back was pressed against the wall. Bradley hurriedly unbuttoned my wet jean shorts and pushed them down my waist before dropping them to the floor. He quickly turned off the water as it began to get cold, but not before our lips were once again intertwined. In the mess of clothes coming off, I hadn’t even noticed his towel dropped to the floor, proving to me that the rumors about how endowed Bradley Bradshaw was, were indeed true. 

“Well, well. I guess I won’t ever be able to spread anymore rumors about how small Rooster is.” 

He pulled back, slightly offended. “Wait, what have you been telling people?” 

I let out a small laugh. “What’s done is done, YOU told people I gave an admiral a blow job.” 

“And if you’re any good at it, I'll be sure to pass that on and your spot in Top Gun will have been well deserved.” 

I gave him a small smack on his arm before reaching over and placing my hand against his chest. My eyes locked with his as I slowly began to run my fingers down his chest and towards his stomach. My polished nails left faint red lines on his skin and Bradley looked all too amused as he watched me drop down to my knees. 

Bradley sucked in his breath as my hand wrapped around him. I slowly moved my hand along his length, which by Bradley’s reaction of pressing his hand to the wall to steady himself, was a good move. I gently grazed my tongue over his tip and his free hand instinctively moved to my long brown hair, giving it a slight tug. I smiled as his hips jerked forward, pushing his length further into my mouth. I didn’t miss a beat as I continued with my lips wrapped around him, causing him to let out a deep moan and pull tighter on my hair.

“Y/N,” Bradley breathed, “you need to stop…now.”

I let out a small chuckle before standing up and Bradley immediately pulled me against him. He placed his lips against mine, kissing me quickly. One hand wrapped around my waist, while the other moved up my stomach and towards my chest. His fingers played with my nipple, causing it to stand erect. With each touch, my core throbbed from being ignored by him. I rubbed my thighs together, trying to ease the tension but Bradley noticed. His hand moved from my chest, along my stomach, and towards my core. 

His calloused fingers ran along my center, coming to a stop at my sensitive spot. Two fingers rubbed against it and I let out a moan. Bradley’s lips continued to move against mine and he slipped two fingers inside me. He moved them against me and I could feel my high quickly approaching with each movement. 

“I’m close,” I told him. 

His fingers continued to move and it didn’t take long before my walls were clenching around him. My legs became weak and Bradley placed his hands on my hips, helping me steady myself. It had been a while since I had an orgasm that intense. 

Once I was able to stand on my own, I reached down and placed my hand on his erection. He took a step closer to me. 

“Are you sure you still want to do this?” he asked. 

“If you ask me one more time, I’m going to walk out of here,” I told him. 

“You’re making it really hard to hate you right now,” Bradley said, while placing a hand on the back of my thigh. 

My leg wrapped around his waist, and without hesitation Bradley pushed his length inside of me, my walls stretching around him. A gasp escaped my lips and Bradley smiled.

“You’re so tight.” 

He gave me a moment to get used to the size before he began to move his hips against mine. 

Each thrust pushed me closer to my second climax of the day. I let out a loud gasp as his length hit the perfect spot. 

Bradley smirked as I continued to melt against his touch. 

“I’m so close,” I whispered. 

He reached down and pressed two fingers against my sensitive spot, rubbing it casually. 

Within moments my walls clenched around him and my legs became weak. The humidity from the shower made our bodies sticky and sweaty, which only helped my arousal. Bradley continued thrusting and seconds later he released inside of me, a moan escaping his lips. 

The two of us stood there for a moment, catching our breaths. Bradley stared at me and I smiled shyly, fully realizing that we were both completely naked. I reached for the towel he had hung on the side of the shower and wrapped it around my waist. 

“That was mine.” 

I stepped out of the shower, reaching down and picking up my soaked t-shirt and shorts that had lazily been pushed aside. “These are the only clothes I have with me. How am I supposed to get home?” 

He walked over to his duffle bag that was sitting on the bathroom bench and pulled out a gray t-shirt. “Here you go. I can get it back from you tomorrow, after training.”

“That would imply I am inviting you over to get it, and I haven’t.” 

“Oh,” Bradley said with a wink. “You will invite me over.” And once again there was that attitude I knew and hated.

[tomorrowusa]

Ukrainians are making good use of those F-16s. A Ukrainian pilot flying one set a new record for shooting down cruise missiles.

For the first time in the history of the F-16 Fighting Falcon, a Ukrainian-operated jet shot down six Russian cruise missiles during a single mission in December, including two with the aircraft cannon, the Air Force claimed on Jan. 7. The interception reportedly took place during a mass Russian aerial strike on the morning of Dec. 13, 2024, which saw Russia deploy almost 200 drones and 94 missiles. "For the first time in the history of the Fighting Falcon, an F-16 fighter jet destroyed six Russian cruise missiles in one combat mission," the Air Force Command said on social media. Ukraine has received a number of U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets from the Netherlands and Denmark, deploying them multiple times in air defense roles during Russian mass strikes on cities and infrastructure. "They say that even Americans couldn't believe you did it," Air Force Command spokesperson Yurii Ihnat said in an interview with the pilot, whose identity was not revealed.

While F-16s are not practical for shooting down smaller drones, Ukraine has displayed skill at neutralizing larger missiles launched by Russia.

Real life in Ukraine makes Top Gun seem lame.

The aviator said that he approached a group of cruise missiles and, despite their electronic warfare countermeasures, managed to lock on to targets. The F-16 reportedly shot down one pair of Russian projectiles with medium-range missiles and then another pair with short-range missiles. Ukrainian F-16s are equipped with four air-to-air medium-range and short-range missiles. Without missiles and low on fuel, the pilot was then recalled from the area but spotted another missile heading toward Kyiv. He moved to intercept it and opened fire from his aircraft cannon against the projectile, which was flying over 650 kilometers per hour, a difficult and risky maneuver, the Air Force said. "A few bursts from the cannon — and an explosion... then another one! 'A secondary detonation,' I thought, but, as it turned out, there were two missiles," the pilot said, adding he did everything as taught by U.S. instructors. According to the Air Force Command, Ukrainian pilots have learned how to shoot down missiles with aircraft cannons in simulators in the U.S. but have never attempted it during actual combat before.

When a malicious dictator is trying to erase your country, you have incentive to get things right the first time.

[shadowsndaisies]

dogfighting 101 - 01: let's make it interesting

wc: 1.3k

synopsis: harvard is a good friend (and petty on your behalf)

main masterlist

athena-verse master post

a/n: hi friends! hope you're all doing well, have some more top gun maverick athena plot.

You got lucky on the first pairing.

“Athena! Harvard and Yale! You're up!”

“Let's go boys, we got a fossil to take down,” you smirk.

Harvard rolls his eyes, throwing an arm over your shoulder, and quietly to you he whispers, “that fossil raised you.”

“Exactly why I get to say it,” you tease, leaning into your friend for a moment.

Harvard shakes his head and pulls you out on to the tarmac. You pause briefly, looking out as Payback and Fanboy pass by, tapping at your shoulders, wishing you luck. Your eyes focus on Bradley though, doing push ups as Hondo counts them. You know the tarmac is blazing, you can feel it through your gear, you can imagine having to do push-ups right now would be miserable. You can even see the strain on his face.

“You remember the rules?” Yale asks as he catches up to the two of you, but you know both of the men caught where your gaze was focused. Harvard’s arm is still tight around your shoulders, and he gives you a squeeze.

“I remember, do you?” you ask, swallowing your thoughts and turning back to the pair.

“Well there was this pilot at Top Gun with us, she gave us so much shit, but hand to God if she isn't the best pilot I’ve ever flown with. She had these rules up in the air, how to focus in, what we leave on the ground, she drilled them into us, really. But, she made us better aviators, hands down,” he teases and you shake your head, happy that these two were your partners for the first go. Brigham turns you with a smile, pushing you toward your jet.

“I think you give me too much credit, Logan,” you muse as you stop beside your jet, grabbing a hold of the ladder.

“Not possible. Show ‘em what this nepo-baby’s made of,” Harvard negates with a teasing tone, tapping your shoulders.

“Yes, sir,” you muse rolling your eyes before climbing up into your jet.

You spot Harvard and Yale as they walk past Rooster. You see the tap Harvard does, stopping Yale, and you watch as he pulls his phone out. The two stopping to snap a photo, undoubtedly teasing him in the process. Yale shakes his head as they walk, and as if feeling your gaze, Harvard turns back meeting your eyes. You know he can see your frown, but all he does is tap at his chest and point at you.

FLASHBACK: TOP GUN

“Why haven’t you emailed him back?”

Brigham’s question catches you off guard, you’d been sat in the Naval Aviator’s lounge at Top Gun. Your laptop open as you switched between Bradley’s most recent email, and a text chain you had running with Amelia about going sailing on your day off over the weekend.

”What?” you ask, turning to look at Brigham.

You liked Brigham, and Logan. They were a good team, and smart aviators. Talented and clever, its makes sense why they got invited to Top Gun. They were also the only two of your class that you actually enjoyed spending time with. They were the only two who didn’t make nepotism jokes as soon as someone realized you were a legacy, that your old man was a Top Gun graduate. They were a solid team, solid aviators, and solid people, you were quickly starting to consider them friends.

”You’ve had that email open on and off the last few days,” he notes casually as he sits down across you.

”You’re a snoop, Lennox,” you deflect with a flat look.

”Guilty, I got two older sisters, snooping was a part of the job, and you make for an easy target, Mitchell,” he shrugs in response. “But it doesn’t answer my question.”

”Not that it’s any of your business, but I never email him back,” you admit honestly.

”Bradshaw, I recognize the name, he’s an aviator too, came through Top Gun last year? Or was it the year before?”

”Yeah something like that, goes by Rooster,” you confirm.

”So what’s the story?” Harvard’s pokes.

”Doesn’t matter,” you shrug off.

”Oh, I get it,” he decides smirking, leaning back as your eyes narrow. “Hook up gone wrong.”

You choke on that, an incredulous look taking over your features. “Ew, no! God,” you scoff.

”Then what?” there’s a challenging smirk still on his lips and you decide that making friends might have been overrated.

”We grew up together. Something happened when he was 18, set him back, made him mad. He blames my dad,” you nutshell.

”So he blames you too?”

“He did. Said some fucked shit, and I decided distance was for the best.”

“That bad?”

“I was raised by a naval aviator for a dad, Harvard. I spent deployments in the PACFLEET Commander’s home. And in every other moment until what happened, I spent with Brad and his mom. What he said, it wasn’t something he gets to walk back by trying to email me life updates,” you bite back, venom in your voice.

Harvard’s hands go up in a second, surrender, he mimes. Your shoulders drop and you look at the roof before taking a breath. “Sorry,” you apologize. “I… I try not to be mad, it was a long time ago.”

“Respectfully, I’ve only known you since we got here, but, if you’re still mad, if it still hurts, then I think it’s justified,” Harvard offers.

“Like I said, it was a long time ago,” you repeat, shaking your head.

“Maybe, but you don’t seem like one to hold grudges, Athena. Whatever he did and said, and you don’t have to tell me, it’s enough for me to know that I don’t think I like him very much.”

You smile softly despite yourself. Just a little quirk of the lip from the blind support you’re being offered. It was so different than the ‘maybe you should reach out’ and ‘hasn’t it been long enough?’ that Sarah, Ice, and Viper would drop, and it’s not their fault you never told them what Bradley said, but you weren’t ready for that, not truly. Brigham in one conversation, had reaffirmed your belief, had brought a comfort that you never realized you needed.

“Thanks, Brig, really,” you say softly.

“Anytime, Athena. You practically kept Yale and I from being booted day one, what ever you need, we got your back, girl, always,” he promises.

You nod softly, willing yourself not to get emotional from the support.

“C’mon, Yale was looking for you earlier, I think he want’s to try that taco place we passed by on the way to the beach the other day,” Harvard offers, effectively ending the previous conversation.

He stands, gently shutting your laptop with a pointed look before offering a hand to pull you up.

You take it gratefully, and pause once you’re on your feet, pressing a sweet kiss to his cheek, “you’re a very good friend, Brigham Lennox, and I am very grateful,” you tell him.

“Let’s go, we gotta get out of here for a bit,” he says dismissively, cheeks pinking slightly.

You nod, and walk in front, he follows after you, handing your laptop back with a smile.

...

You’re brought back from the past as your name is called, giving you the 'all clear' to start take-off protocols. You take a breath and remember the rule, leave it on the ground, a clear head for clear skies and soon enough the three of you were in the sky over the training range.

...

everything: @butterfly-skinnylegend

athena’s tags: @omgbrianab @smoothdogsgirl @bazellawriz @sbrewer21 @inky-sun @djs8891 @rory-cakes @geeksareunique @je6291

[torturedreid]

Wordless

word count: 2171

uhhh i don't know how to categorise this so...enjoy??

Also happy new years ♡

--------------------------------------------------

The low hum of the jet as it finally stops, the stillness making the exhaustion in the cabin feel even more palpable. You’re leaning against the leather seat, staring out of the window at the cold wet night, barely noticing the jet stop. Across from you, Spencer Reid rubs at his eyes from under his glasses, his long fingers moving slowly like even the most minuscule movements require effort he doesn’t have.

The team quietly files off of the jet- Morgan gently clapping Spencer on the shoulder in a bro-style goodbye. JJ offers a soft tired smile and Hotch, as usual, barely says a word. You and Spencer share a look, you have a silent agreement that you always wait for each other. Whether the case is good, tough, or one like this that hits like a gut punch- there’s an unspoken comfort in being the last to leave.

“Hey,” you try to say, coming out as more like a whisper after not speaking for almost the entire flight. Your voice feels out of place, too warm for the cold serenity of the cabin. Spencer looks up at you, his posture rumpled, like he hadn’t slept in days and in all honesty- you knew you looked the same.

“Shall we go?” he asks, his voice gravelly.

“I don’t want to,” you admit with a slight smile. “But I don’t think the jet works as a cab, it won’t take me home on its own.”

He huffs out a soft laugh- small but real. “If it could, that would change the world of aviation as we know it.”

You roll your eyes a little but are too tired to fight the tug of a grin. Even now, after the darkness of the past few days of the case, he was still undeniably him. Still the same Spencer.

“We could grab coffee?” You blurt out. Even though you were exhausted, this case filled you with a sense of unease and you weren’t quite ready to be by yourself. “Or tea? I just-” You falter slightly, “I don’t want to be alone.”

He stills for a second, his hands no longer picking at the loose strands of his sweater, he tilts his head like he's processing your words through the tired fog. Then, with that trademark shy smile, he nods. “I’d like that. I’ll never say no to coffee.”

You gather your go-bag, feeling a little lighter now that you don’t have to face the suffocating loneliness at home. As you step off the jet and into the cool night air- the moonlight reflecting off the tarmac still wet from the rain- Spencer falls into step beside you, close enough that his shoulder brushes yours. It’s an unconscious gesture, but it grounds you, like an anchor keeping you steady.

It’s the kind of touch that friends might pass off as nothing, but tonight it feels like something more. And you think, maybe he feels it too.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

The air outside is crisp, carrying the occasional drop of rain. Your footsteps echo the almost empty streets in tandem with Spencer’s, the world feeling like it’s at an unusual standstill. The street lamps cast pools of warm light over the sidewalk, framing Spencer in an almost angelic glow, and you find yourself throwing occasional glances at him.

His hands fidget with his satchel strap, clearly restless. It’s something you’ve come to recognize in his behavior, it’s his tell, showing that he’s thinking. A lot.

“You’re quiet for once.” You tease, nudging his arm with your own, “Penny for your thoughts?”

Spencer hesitates, lips parting like he’s about to go into a long-winded speech, before he reverts his gaze to his shoes, shaking his head. “It’s nothing…it’s just that case. It was tough, to say the least.”

It was a general answer, true but definitely not what he was thinking about. You can tell he’s trying to shield you- or maybe himself. You don’t press him, and you let him fall back into his silence. You both keep walking until you find your favorite all-night cafe. It’s neon Open sign brightly shining like a savior in the night.

The bell jingles as you step inside and the smell of freshly ground coffee washes over you, and you let out a content sigh. The cafe is almost empty, save for a friendly barista behind the counter and an older couple chatting in a corner booth. Spencer lets you order first, his gaze falling over the various shelves lined with books and board games. He orders a black coffee, of course, and you can’t help but smile at how predictable he is.

You sit at a booth next to a window, the type with cracked vinyl seats and a table that can’t even be rescued with varnish anymore, but it feels inviting. Spencer sits across from you, his slender fingers wrapped around the coffee mug as if the heat will chase away the cold of the night- and the case.

For a while, you both sit in silence. It’s not necessarily uncomfortable, but it feels like a thread waiting to be pulled. Finally, you decide to bite the bullet.

“You know…you don’t always have to carry things alone. The cases, I mean.” You say, tracing a finger around the rim of your mug.

He looks into his drink, his eyes widening slightly like he hadn’t expected you to realize his inward struggle. “I don’t–”

“You do, you always do.” You interrupt, “And I get it. We all have different ways of coping but this…isn’t coping. It’s repressing your emotions and it’s not healthy. Plus you’re quieter than usual.”

Spencer exhales, his shoulder’s slumping and his fingers tighten around the mug. For a moment you think you might brush you off again, but then he begins to speak.

“It’s just…” He pauses, searching for the right words. “Sometimes I wonder if we’re making a difference. I know that we save lives, and make marginal difference to some people. But no matter how much effort we put into solving one case, another one takes it’s place immediately. There’s always more monsters waiting in the shadows.” He takes a shaky breath before continuing a little quieter now, “At times I feel like I’m not strong enough to face them.”

The vulnerability in his words hits you like a semi. You rest your elbows on the table and lean forward. “Spence,” You begin. “You’re one of the strongest people I know. You’ve been through more in your short life than what most people do in their lifetimes…hell, than what multiple people do in their lifetimes. You’re strong, not because you never feel afraid or overwhelmed but because you never let it stop you. You put everyone else above yourself and it’s damn honourable.”

He looks up, his expression unreadable for a split second, and then he smiles– a small hesitant smile that feels more real than anything you’ve seen all night.

“Thank you,” he mutters, almost unnoticeably. “I needed that.”

The tenderness in his voice wraps around you, and for just a moment the entire world fades away. Just the two of you, sitting across from each other, sharing something unspoken.

You tear your eyes away from him, feeling a slight blush creep over your cheeks. You glance down at your mug, “That’s what friends are for, right?”

“Right,” he echoes, but there’s a slight lilt in his tone– something soft but yet so heavy- that makes your chest tighten.

He definitely feels it too.

— — — — — — — — — —

The night stretches on, the occasional loud grinding of the espresso beans and the clinking of mugs cutting through the silence. Spencer’s coffee had long since gone lukewarm, but he didn’t seem to notice, his fingers absently picking back at the loose strands of his sweater like he usually does when he’s overthinking. You’ve been talking about lighter things- books you’ve read, random facts he shares- but there’s something new about the way he looks at you like he's studying you in the same way he does with his textbooks.

You try not to look into it too much, but your heart betrays you, fluttering a little faster every time his gaze lingers for a second too long. He’s still the same Spencer- awkward, genius, shy, and unremittingly kind- but you’re not the same. Something about the way he licks his lips before he speaks, how he leans forward with every fact he shares, the way his fingers twitch as he looks at the books on shelves like he's itching to flip through the pages.

“Do you ever think about what you’d be doing if you weren’t here?” He asks suddenly, breaking through your thoughts.

You blink at him, a little off guard. “You mean…if I wasn't in the BAU?”

He nods, his eyes flickering down to his hands. “Yeah, if life had gone differently.”

His question lingers in the air, feeling heavier than it should, like there’s something hidden behind it. You take a long moment to consider it before you speak again.

“Honestly, I don’t know. Something quieter, maybe? Something less dangerous, but I’d definitely still want to be helping people. Making a difference.”

“What about you?” You ask back, “What would you be doing if you weren’t Boy Genius, profiler to the stars?”

He huffs a soft laugh, leaning back in his seat. “Probably teaching, or maybe working in a library somewhere. Surrounded by books sounds like heaven.” The image makes you smile- Spencer in a library, amidst stacks of books and lost in his own world. It suits him, but there’s a pang in your chest at the idea of him being anywhere but here, with you, living a life where you might never have crossed paths.

“I could see that,” you nod. “But for what its worth, I’m glad you’re here. Even if the job is hard sometimes…I don’t think I could do it without you.” The words slip out without even thinking about it, and the weight of them hangs between the two of you. Spencer’s eyes widen slightly, and you feel the embarrassment roll through you.

“I mean the whole team…not just you.” You add quickly, trying to backtrack.

“You don’t need to explain,” he interrupts, his voice delicate. There’s a look in his eyes now, something tender and unreadable that makes your heart skip. “I know the feeling.”

— — — — — — — — — — —

By the time you leave the cafe, the world is cloaked in quiet, the sound of cars is the only thing in the streets and even those are sparse. The cold biting at your cheeks, but you barely notice, too caught up in your own train of thought. Your mind still turning over the conversation from earlier. Spencer walks close enough that occasionally his arm brushes yours, pulling you from your overanalyzing, sending your stomach twisting with a feeling you’re choosing to ignore.

The walk back to the BAU car lot feels slower than the walk to the cafe, like neither one of you really wants the night to end.

“You know,” You say after a while, your breath visible in the cold air. “You’re not what expected when i first joined the team.”

Spencer glimpses at you, his brow furrowing like he’s worried it’s a bad thing. “What do you mean?”

“I don’t know exactly. You’re just different.” You see the worry in his face, “In a good way. You surprise me, I guess.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“It is,” You say quickly, meeting his eyes. For a moment, the world becomes motionless, the city fading into the background. A nearby streetlight radiates a lustre over him and it feels like you’re truly seeing him for the first time- or maybe noticing what’s been under the surface all along.

The realization settles over you, like the first rays of sunlight over the long night.

You’re in love with him.

And the thought terrifies you.

— — — — — — — — — — —

When you finally reach your car, the night feels over too abruptly. Spencer hesitates beside you, his converse shuffling on the floor.

“Thanks…for tonight.” You say, leaning against the car door. “I really needed it.”

His breath catches, an unknown intensity in his eyes. “Me too.” For a second it feels like he might say more but then he takes a small step back, the distance between you feeling harsh.

“Goodnight,” He mutters, barely above a whisper.

You nod, heart aching as you watch him turn and walk away. You sigh and move to unlock your car door, hand finding the handle…and then you hear his footsteps stop.

“Hey,” he calls, his voice slicing through the tension. You look up at him.

“I’m glad you’re here too.” He says, his voice laced with fondness.

You smile, his words filling you with comfort, finally sure of how he feels towards you.

As he disappears into the night, you climb into your car, your heart feeling like it might burst. Neither of you said it- not out loud- but maybe that wasn’t necessary.

Sometimes love doesn’t need words

[trashmouth-richie]

𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐬 

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟓: 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧’𝐭 𝐠𝐨 𝐨𝐧, 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧’ 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐰𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠

𝐞𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐞 𝐱 𝐟𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲:  𝐞𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬, 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐞𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐟𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐬?

𝐭𝐰: 𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭, heavy angst! 𝟏𝟖+, 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝟏𝟖+ 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐝𝐫𝐮𝐠 𝐚𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐞, 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐚𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐞, 𝐚𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 

𝟔.𝟐𝐤 — my goal was 10k let’s all laugh masterlist

a/n: good morrow cousin, don’t mind me just vibin’ anyway— pls ignore the lack of formatting, google docs… count your days. this story still means so much to me, i won’t jump ship on it, and i hope you understand the mental headspace i get in while writing and how 🥰draining and crippling🥰 it truly is 🥲 BUT I DO IT FOR YOU MY LOVERS! ♥️😵‍💫

Sweaty hands were clamped in a bone aching constriction around your steering wheel the entirety of the drive to the club. Watching the whispy curls of dust from the gravel color the powder blue sky, you mutter to yourself.

This was so stupid.

Magenta hued beads hanging from the rearview mirror sway and clack together as you pull the car sharply into the your designated spot towards the back of the parking lot. Flitting a quick glance in the mirror to see if Eddie was still following, you tear your eyes away when the jet black steel of the fender catches the sun's rays, sending a blinding wink into the side mirrors as he approaches, parking alongside you.

This is crazy. This is insane.

Wiping your palms hastily on the ruby stockings pinched to your thighs, you wonder when the nerves in your chest would settle. If your stomach would ever stop churning with the rapid wings of a swarm of angry bees?

Why were you nervous? It was just Eddie.

Your knee bounces of its own accord as you remind yourself of just that. The dry swallow of the tablets you took before he could notice would start working in no time, and then you’d be able to stomach what you were getting yourself into.

Eddie Munson. A childhood friend. Taking a few deep breaths, you open the door into the shared space, and are met with that shit eating grin he never lost.

Here we go.

Green lensed aviators are nestled onto the bridge of his nose, a black bandana snug on his head that you definitely didn’t watch him tie back at your apartment as he straddled the bike before revving the engine and shooting you a daring smile.

Crunching gravel beneath his boots, he stands with hands in the back of his pocket.

“So…” he asks, hooking a thumb over his shoulder towards the club, “when did the Hideout go belly up?”

A sigh leaves your mouth and you turn to get the laundry from the backseat of your sedan, voice muffled, “eighty…-three, I think..” you say strangled like, as you struggle with the bulk of the laundry basket. The strap of your purse is slung over your shoulder when you finally emerge from the car and stand upright to face him.

“Here,” he offers, holding his hands out in offering his help.

Puzzled, you look at everything in your hands, deciding against thrusting the basket of sheets into his awaiting arms, you nod your head towards the car and step out of the way, “sure, my shoes from the back? I just gotta find the keys.”

Switching the basket to your hip you dive into the depths of your purse looking for the keys to unlock the club doors.

Eddie’s fingers curl around the straps of your high heels. A look of bewildered awkwardness coloring his brow. The aching reminder of his actions that damned you to this life were held between his fingers. Cheap leather material, a small brass buckle, plastic.

He slams your door in defeat, hating himself more with each day of being back in Hawkins.

Your hand finagles the key, jingling it out from the mess of your purse. When you look up with a sly little quirk at the corner of your lips for your triumph…Eddie has planted a fake smile on his lips… one that was buried within him before you can see the sadness in his eyes.

“Ready?”

Mrs. Click rattled on and on about WWII, sounding more like the adults in a Peanuts episode every second that ticked by. A loud yawn escapes Eddie’s already slack mouth as he doodles in the margins of his paper, a blue smear on his hand from the ink.

A crumpled ball of composition paper lands on his textbook skidding across the slicked pages and finding home against the wire of his notebook.

Without looking around Eddie already knows who the note is from. A simple scrawled sentence with big loops on the letters and a smiley face after the question mark.

“Lolly wants ‘sketti’ for supper tonight… you in? :)”

His dimples well deep in his cheeks as he scribbles a reply, stealing a glance your way. When Mrs. Click’s back is turned to scratch a hiss of powdered chalk into the board, he lobs the note back to you, hitting your shoulder lightly.

A slow smile creeps across your face as you flatten the note with your palms and read your best friend’s scratched handwriting.

“Hell yeah!”

…

The halls were quiet, Hawkins High students busying themselves with tests and worrying about grade point averages. Not even the janitor Sal was squeaking down the halls.

“If Ms. Judy catches us…”

“She won’t.”

“What about Higgins? I can’t get detention again, my dad will slaughter me.”

“Clove…” Eddie grumbled, stopping his task of picking the lock to look at you with the deepest sincerity, “I promise, we’ll be fine, okay?…just, shit, keep your eyes peeled, I’m almost… there…”

A wicked sliver of a grin plays on his lips.

“Yahtzee, baby! C’mon”

The door to the school kitchen swung open beneath his hand. The smell of Comet cleaner and fresh baked bread invade your nose.

The blade of his knife is closed with a clink on his hip as he bends low with a bow for you to go in first, “let’s go shopping.”

“Set them wherever,” you say nonchalantly, pupils adjusting to the darkness as you step through the threshold into the club.

Walking to the counter and shifting the basket on your hip tossing the keys on the bar, you wiggle off your purse, and turn around to see him standing by a barstool, looking slightly out of place, like a lit Christmas tree in the summertime.

Seeing Eddie in the club, in the depths of sweat and sin was gut wrenching. The club was accustomed to pleasuring pastors and preachers, cops and school teachers. They had all traipsed across the wood floor in their Sunday best, shoes shined to godliness… leaving with lipstick stains and reeking of alcohol. Sin on their breath and in their Hanes.

No, him being here made you feel like your skin was crawling, and that you were about to scream at any given moment.

Heaving the basket onto the nearest table, you take a wounded breath, holding it for longer than necessary to squish your toes along the muddy depth of Lover’s Lake. You spin to avert the lingering glances from Eddie, his eyes burrowing into you like hot steel to butter.

Slotting yourself behind the bar you holler over your shoulder, “park it, I’ll get some drinks.”

Lights flicker and hum an exhausted tune as they slowly shine light to the grim bar, just enough to not be cast in complete darkness.

Eddie grabs the stool in a swift all too cool motion, sliding his long frame over it, the chain on his hip jingling against the wood as he sits, “just water for me…what?” he laughs.

You’re turned facing him with a furrowed brow, holding two of the cleanest shot glasses Queens had in one palm, the other steady on your hip, an annoyed look on your face, “don’t make me drink alone, Slim.”

He laughs again, a loud abrupt sound as he shakes his head, tucking his sunglasses in the neck of his shirt. A modest blush pinking his cheeks as his tongue runs over the sharp edges of his canines.

You haven’t budged, and Eddie finally looks up to meet your stare.

His eyes are glassy, dark and almost a sheen of velvet to them under the shadow of bandana, and the comical yellow rubber of the bandaid.

If eyes were the windows to the soul, you were familiar with his scenery, this particular essence was hurt like you, wounded in the same ways. The past showed through the forlorn strangeness of the last few years like a weathered map with all too familiar paths. Looking into his pools of deep darkness felt soothing in a crippling ached breath.

Features could change but eyes couldn’t, they kept you anchored to him stuck in the void of his mud.

It’s a game before you realize it.

A stare down… in dim light, eyes drying by the second, but it’s Eddie who folds first, no cards left to hold, or rather letting his opponent win. Like old times.

“Always such a headache, huh? Fine,” he exaggerates with a petty eye roll, “you win.” The crooked smirk on his lips gives him away, matching your own.

The two stout glasses clink together against your palm, a bottle of Jameson held by its neck in your other hand, “Not much has changed I see,” you quip, setting them down and pouring the whiskey into the first one, “you still suck at games.”

Eddie cringes as you pour the second, “trying to kill us? Do you not remember what happened on your fifteenth birthday?”

You erupt with laughter, tossing your head back and giggling in that little way he hadn’t heard since you were kids, “oh please,” you snort, thinking back to how drunk the both of you had gotten, “you don’t either.”

Eddie smiles, “probably not the greatest idea I’ve had.”

Sliding a glass towards him you hold yours up, the lights coloring the dark amber into a caramel pool of regret, “to us.”

“To old friends,” Eddie follows, in a grand accent, holding his glass next to yours, “burying the hatchet, stitching old wounds..”

“Alright Shakespeare wrap it up.”

“.. to you.” he says barely above a whisper, his eyes scanning your face, and you shudder involuntarily before tipping the glass against your lips and swallowing the liquor.

It burned on your tongue, hot and unwelcoming, sliding like lava down your throat. Eddie winces, making a sour face as he slaps his glass down on the wood top of the bar.

“Fuck, that's horrible.”

“Ah,” you say, pulling a lever on the tap and putting a tall frosted mug under the spout of draft beer, “it’s not that bad.”

He watches as you pour another beer walk around the bar with one in each hand. His cheeks pink when you smile at him, and he quickly pulls out a stool for you.

Leaning your back against the counter you sip your drink. The bar is empty but the roaring waves of silence crash loud in your ears. It’s strange. Being here with him, would you ever get over seeing him after so many years?

“I won’t lie, Clovie, ’m not much of a drinker.” Eddie admits, rubbing his thumbs along the frosted mug.

“Well,” you say, holding your beer up to your lips, and looking over the edge to meet his gaze, “today you are.”

Taking a generous sip you smile when he follows suit.

“Eddie Munson, back in Indiana,” you tease, elongating the vowels of the state, “never thought I’d see the day.”

He shrugs, tossing long curls behind his shoulder, “missed the scenery.”

You scoff, “yeah the luscious rolling hills of the trailer park really get me feeling like Julie Andrews too.”

He cringes, raising his brows for emphasis, “Those hills have eyes.”

“Eww..” your nose crinkles, “Craven outdid himself with that one, I still won’t watch it.”

Eddie takes a pull from his beer before adding nonchalantly, “that’s cause you’re chicken shit.”

Blowing a raspberry with your lips, your eyes narrow as you spit an insult. “This coming from the guy who slept with his lights on after watching E.T.”

“When he turns white by the river?! Fucker looks like a crushed powdered donut!”

It was easy falling back into the throws of jokes and banter with Eddie. You both giggle like kids talking about movies that had shredded horror as kids but now made you cringe with how poor they were done.

After a particularly long laugh about whether or not you still carried around your security blanket, Eddie sighs, “I thought this was gonna be weird,” Your nerves had calmed at the expense of childlike humor and talks of times long ago, that you finally slide on the stool he had pulled out for you. “us…. this place… Hawkins,” he bumps your elbow with his, “ shit I mean, we’re drinking in a bar, legally! Who would have thought?”

Your grin warms his heart like honey in a cup of tea, “somehow the beer doesn’t taste any better once you’re old enough to drink it.” The sip you took from your frosted mug was far from ladylike.

“You’re right,” he agrees, following your lead and taking a big gulp, “something forbidden always tastes better.”

Right now you felt like Eve, enjoying the fruits of company from Eddie Munson, and your cheeks heat. Rick hadn’t crossed your mind since he drove down the driveway this morning, and you’d like to keep it that way.

“…a motorcycle, huh?” you say changing the subject, “honestly didn't think you were the type.”

He shrugs nonchalantly, a little dimple pitting in the plumpness of his cheek, “Type? Like I need to be a colossal douche to drive one, hell…it’s good on gas, real fast. I got a buddy who fixed it up for me, owed me a favor for a cover up I did on his back.”

“Cover up?” you ask, eyebrow quirked, “like…a tattoo?”

“Yeah,” he says, swiveling on his barstool to face you, rolling his sleeves up past his elbow showing off his tattooed arms in the space between you both, “did these myself, just something I do for fun.”

His skin is embellished more than it is bare. Dark swirls of onyx branched out along his left wrist and up to the rolled fabric of his shirt, and you wonder if it disappeared up to his arm, around his torso? The marks seemed to flow like a river, connecting, gathering, forking this way and that, etching more pages to a story of an unfamiliar tale. You hoped to one day know its origin.

Without asking, your fingertips trace the outlines of the black ink, delicately following the path.

They circled around a rose covered in heavy dark thorns, dripping with blood. It had bloomed in a grassy knob made of lyrics from songs you had never heard. The inscriptions continue to channel along to a long silver dagger with a jeweled embellished handle of pretty emeralds that were shaped in irregular patterns. The dagger sunk into his skin and poked back out, shredding tendons and marrow in its wake… all exposed, coming to a point at his wrist.

It was as if he created his own armor, each intricate drag of the needle serving as a steady reminder that he would overcome. You can’t help the smile spreading on your lips, you had never seen anything more beautiful in your life.

“Should have guessed you’d end up being some sort of artist, Eddie, these are really lovely.”

He smiles, warm and inviting as he reaches for your hand, angling it towards him to get a proper look at the stick n poke tattoo he did years before.

A rough thumb sweeps along your skin, and the whiskey coloring of his eyes pour into yours, “I could fix this for you, make it look better.”

“Absolutely not,” you falsely gasp, “I love it just the way it is… besides you didn’t cover yours up either,” you point to the tattoo on his left hand. The small heart and clover were faded and blown out, a stark contrast difference against the shadowed dark lines around it.

You grin and meet his eyes. “Do you remember how hot it was that day?”

Eddie had always kept that memory at the surface, remembered as if it were yesterday, thinking about it often. As if your hand was still sweating in his, he could practically smell the peanut butter in your hair, feel the dampness on his shoulder from your tears.

“Yeah,” he says with a sad little smile, “I remember getting our asses chewed because we burnt supper.”

The light leaves your eyes and your smile fades, venom on your tongue as you spit, “should have poisoned them both… could have saved ourselves a world of trouble.”

Eddie’s stomach rumbled at the empty hollow feeling it used to play on repeat, if it weren't for you, he would have starved indefinitely.

“Juvy couldn’t have been that bad, THREE meals a day? Shit, practically a cake walk.”

“Yeah, lucky bastards,” you admit, a small lost look on your face as you drop his hand, mind wandering to the long forgotten childhood you were abandoned in. If your dad wasn’t screaming at you and raising a fist it was the neighbors ignoring the hollering and groaning of furniture snapping against thin walls from the Munson trailer. Never a silent hour in the park.

It’s quiet for a few beats as you drink your beer, finishing it a few swallows and leaning over the bar to grab the bottle of Jameson, pouring another round.

“So, the motorcycle, tattooing… you must be fighting off the ladies.”

Eddie laughs, his eyes darting across your face with a quirked brow, “not hardly.”

Rolling your eyes you sip at the bitter drink, “don’t be prude Munson, tell me.”

He scoffs and moves hair from his neck, suddenly interested in the bottom of his drink, “I’m not telling you the woes of my love life, thanks.”

“C’mon..” you pout, showing your bottom lip, “we never got to have talks like this!”

Eddie snorted at the pathetic pout you showed, “yeah and we aren’t gonna start now because there’s nothing to tell.”

Your eyes narrowed into slits as you scowled at him. “You’ve always been such a bad liar, bet your ears are red,” you reach for his hair in a feeble attempt to reveal what you both already knew to be true.

“Quit!” Eddie yells playfully, batting your hand away, “alright yeah, I’ve had a girlfriend or two,” he shrugs, “never anything serious.”

You grin at him lazily, elbow on the counter and your chin in your palm, even though your heart sank a bit at the thought of him loving someone, “ahh, see? That wasn’t so bad.”

Eddie blushes under your stare, “speak for yourself.”

He looks down, rubbing condensation from his mug with his thumbs. “And you? d’you uh… got a boyfriend?”

Your smile fades and you try not to shiver in disgust as you pour another shot. Slapping the glass down hard on the counter as you drain it, “I wouldn’t exactly call him that… it’s more of an… agreement.”

His face breaks into a jigsaw puzzle, “what does that mean?”

“Dont wanna bore you with ‘my love life woes’…” you interject, ignoring him, putting the tip of your finger in his glass and dragging it towards you. Tipping in more Jameson and sliding it towards him.

The buzz was tickling your fingers, a lightness took over your head as the alcohol seeped into your blood.

“Down to the meat and potatoes Slim…why are you home? I mean it’s not as if this shithole holds any happy memories.”

He brought the shot glass to his lips, sipping it down as you pour yourself another.

How did you not know that the only happy memory he had of Hawkins was you? He didn’t know how to tell you that it was the memory of your smile that kept him company when the nights were cold and he didn’t know where his next meal would come from.

He takes a deep breath, “my uncle died,” he squints with a puckered sour face at the burn from the liquor shaking his head, “Al is either dead or on another bender so…” he claps his hands, “here I am… met with his girlfriend today actually.”

You frown, reaching for his folded hands, tapping his knuckles, “‘m sorry, Eddie. Wayne was sweet, respectful, a regular here… to the bar, not the club.”

Eddie rolls his shoulders, trying to untie his tongue to ask the question that burned in him, “when did you um... start working here?”

Your stomach drops at his question, and your nails clack around the Jameson bottle again as you dump yet another splash into your glass. Your answer is muffled behind a choked swallow.

He frowns, racking his brain, “wait.. isn’t that…”

“My birthday,” you fake cheer, eyes too wet for normal conversation, “big 1-8.”

“Jesus...”

Eddie’s eyes shut in horror and your doomed fate. He covered his mouth with a fist to shield you from his quivering bottom lip. It was a far fucking cry from what he could have even imagined.

His eighteenth birthday was no glorious day either but he wasn’t forced to work in a strip club. His stomach churns, making milk into butter at the thought of your naive innocent eyes, and how they had almost hardened to steel in his absence.

The whiskey is working its magic now you’re feeling a little hot behind the ears, fuzzy in your head, dizzy eyed.He stares for a while over at you, watching in disappointment as you get clumsy with the pours, spilling a little on the counter and wiping it away with your bare hand, as you slug down, yet another, shot.

You stand suddenly, stumbling behind the bar and to the chip stand. Your fingers miss the clips in your attempt to release the snacks but they finally find home and you grab a bag, flinging it to him before opening one for yourself.

“Cool right?” you say, struggling to open it, tongue poked out in drunken concentration.

“Y’know I think most kids get a car,” the bag opens sending a confetti of salted crumbs and chips scattering to the counter to be crunched at your feet. Trying not to meet his eyes you talk to the ceiling, “maybe a crisp hundred dollar bill for their eighteenth. Clove? Blisters, a couple of bruises.. oh, and my name! Carved on the bathroom door, for a good time call…”

He’s struck dumb. Shell shocked and blinking back tears. Eddie clears his throat and reaches across the bar for your hand but you pull away from him, instead grabbing for the bottle.

“Welcome back.” you muse before pressing the mouth of the bottle angrily to your lips… foregoing the glass entirely.

Tipping your head back the now tasteless liquor slides down your throat with ease. An expert at coating the agony, you wait for your brain to lose oxygen and beg for an intake of breath, silently hoping you’d drown instead.

Years have passed of you dulling misery with anything you could get your hands on, liquor, pills, a little bit of nose powder… you’d tried most of the things Rick sold. And it worked until you needed more and more. It was a vicious cycle you were chasing.

But with Eddie here? It was nearly impossible to breeze over the truth.

When the bottle, in its near emptiness, slapped against the counter… a pair of dark eyes stare up at you, wide and sad, glossy with tears of shaming guilt.

Eddie couldn’t have guessed that your life was going to end up this way. He was naive in thinking that. Fucking stupid. He should kick his own ass for leaving the way he did, but his options were limited. Still, he’d wear the brunt of this mistake on his shoulders like a heavy cloak.

Your eyes were empty, lost, and he couldn’t handle it anymore. He shook his head slow, voice gravely.

“I owe you years worth of apologies, Clove.”

You’re more than tipsy at this point, and suddenly you can’t form words as your breath is trapped in your throat.

He was practically in tears as he tried his hardest to explain himself, tried to right this wrong.

“I was young, so fucking stupid..”

“Eddie..” As much as you wanted to know what happened it suddenly felt like too much, like your brain would implode, unable to process the heartache any further.

“Just listen, okay? Please?” He’s begging for your attention and you would rather melt into the floor. “I never told you, I never told anyone.”

Thicker than thieves. Eddie knew you like the back of his hand and likewise with you, so what the hell was he talking about?

…

“Check the back, I’m sure the canned stuff is there.”

The kitchen was eerily quiet, filled with sleepy rays of the afternoon sun, loaves of bread set out on the counter fresh from the oven for tomorrow's lunch.

You pad on tip toes to the back room lined with shelves of aluminum cans, and dried goods. You didn’t know where to start.

“How many should we take?” you whisper yell over your shoulder, “Two? Three?”

Eddie’s using his shirt as a basket, filling it full with small cartons of milk, shoving apples in his pockets, “Look for the big ones, then we won’t have to come back for a… oh fuck yeah, come to daddy.”

“Ew, Eddie!”

“Found some cheese!” he cheers, “we could make garlic bread!”

Label after label your fingers skimmed over the cans. Peaches, tapioca pudding, green beans, lima beans, and finally… in a can larger than your head, crushed tomatoes.

“Jackpot,” you whisper grabbing the cans and adjusting them one under each arm, “ready?”

Eddie’s frame fills the doorway, arms bundled with an assortment of goodies, a fresh loaf of bread in a plastic bread sack between his teeth, a joker’s grin wide on his face, “let’s roll.”

…

It was pure dumb coincidence that an exit was next to the cafeteria. You were surprised at the fact that Eddie's jeans didn’t fall down to his ankles from the extra weight of food heavy in his pockets as the two of you ran to his van and sped back to the trailer park.

“We made out like bandits, gonna eat like kings tonight, Clovie.” Eddie’s smile is spread wide as he helps haul the looted school food into your trailer.

Years of yellowing stains from tobacco use shown on every surface, a permanent haze of smoke lingering in the air, baking in the sunlight. Dishes littered the sink in standing dirty gray water, gone ice cold.

“Sorry for the mess,” you explain, reaching into the sink to pull the stopper, “I fell asleep before doing them while reading Lolly her library book.”

Eddie opens a drawer looking for a can opener, “and your dad didn’t come unglued? You must be Irish with that kinda luck.”

“He was passed out, I could have lit the place on fire and he wouldn’t have known, and he was gone before my alarm went off this morning.”

Peeling back the tin lid after pinching it open with the can opener, Eddie grunts, “yeah, my dad left early this morning too, said something about keeping my ‘filthy fucking hands off his stash’ and that he’d be gone for a few days.”

It was an enormous relief when it was just you and Eddie to fend for yourselves. Most teens could barely use the stove to make popcorn, but you had been taking care of yourself and Lolly for years. It was what you preferred.

Reaching for the one good aluminum pot that was stashed above the fridge, you pull it down and remove the magazine clippings of recipes you wanted to try or things that looked easy to make with the very little your cabinets held. “Good, glad they’ll be gone.”

Eddie sucks a tomato sauce covered thumb into his mouth, smiling in a way that made your cheeks heat, “almost like you read my mind.”

He’s hesitant now, fumbling over his words and brushing hair from his neck.

“I, you know I always talked about leaving Hawkins…practically had it all figured out by the time we were thirteen.”

You remember how serious his face was when he cupped your arms in the kitchen, his words branding themselves in your skull like a prisoner counting down days.

He swallows roughly, running hands through his hair, “I… I wanted you to… firstly…I need you to understand that I didn’t want to leave… not without you.”

Playing coy you brush off his serious tone, “.. stop.”

“I’m serious,” he sighs, reaching for your hand and your stomach flips when his calloused palm clamps tight on your knuckles, “you were everything to me.”

“.. c’mon Eddie, that’s just the liquor talkin’ now.”

“t’s not… and with me,” his eyes seem to grow in size as his sincerity leaks through them, “I’d never tell you something like this while drunk.”

You swallow dryly and nod, accepting that whatever he was about to say was true and real.

He takes a sharp intake of breath, as if this particular memory hurt him more than any other. His eyes were growing dark. solemn, and he squeezed your hand as he begins.

“I think it was about a year before I left… we made spaghetti with shit we stole from the cafeteria…”

A pain in your chest blossoms with a thought you hadn’t remembered until now when he reminded you. The taste of cheesy bread in the oven and salty tomatoey spaghetti invade your mind.

“I still can't eat spaghetti.”

A quick smirk dances in the corner of his lip and he meets your eyes, “yeah… me neither, I stayed over on the floor of the bathroom.”

You nod, remembering the sounds of Eddie retching into the toilet while you laid in your bed, a popcorn bowl keeping you company, thankful that Lolly hadn’t gotten sick. Even though you had gotten screamed at for being sick yourself when your dad and Al came back earlier than expected.

“Well, I was awake when they came home. They didn’t know I was there or even awake, and they were talking ‘business’.. you know those trailer walls are so fuckin’ thin, couldn’t not hear them.”

His eyes pinched shut like you would on a rollercoaster when it’s too scary, shaking his head, his other hand clamped over the one he held yours in, rubbing as if he could possibly buff out the callouses.

You can’t do anything but stare at him. Frozen in place. Scared to move, not even breathing.

“They had been talking about how some of their new “talent” wouldn’t be ready to go right away but… goddamn…” his voice cracks and he shakes his head before his demeanor falls and his voice gets quiet almost mute, “they had someone in mind to fill in in the mean time…”

No.

It shouldn’t have been a shock, shouldn’t have gutted you on the spot, usingyour intestines as a jump rope, but somehow, hearing this from Eddie’s mouth made it worse than if you were to hear it from them yourself.

You wanted to run away, to hide and never come out of a dark hole.

“… I hoarded away any nickel I could find, because we were going to leave. Together.” he squeezes your hand on the last word, possibly trying to bring you back to life as you stared ominously at the counter next to your conjoined hands.

The stagnant air is cold between you, and you aren’t sure if you’ve taken a breath within the last two minutes or not. Cold sweat formed on your lower back and any high you were feeling was dull, a competition to fight with your lucidness. Eddie took a few deep breaths before continuing.

“I replay that day over and over… how my dad came home, screaming about how I was a man now, needed to start helping with the family business stop freeloading like my mom… y’ know somethin’ Clove, to this day I’ve never touched that shit, and that was the one and only time I’ve ever seen heroin.” He hangs his head and you shift on uneasy feet.

“Telling him no was my first mistake, But I had to stick up for myself, had to let him know that I wasn’t gonna be like him,” he spoke now through gritted teeth as he admits, “but instead he swung on me,” Eddie chuckles despite the gravity of his words, “got a few good jabs in before he pulled those brass knuckles out.”

Your hand flies to cover your mouth before you realize it’s open in horror.

“I packed the van when I heard him leave, pocketed the cash I had saved up. This was it, we were getting the hell out. You and me, Lolly too… fuck I can’t even imagine how crazy I looked covered in blood,” he sighs then, shuttering like, voice shaking, his eyes wet.

Your heart broke for him. Broke for his demons that followed him around like a shadow. “I… I didn’t even get a knock in on your window before I felt a gun pressed to my head …”

It’s your turn to take a shaky breath, and you can’t hide the burn in your nose or the way your mouth tingled from holding in tears.

His voice is low, broken, “… I didn’t have a choice. It wasn’t just me they were threatening. He made it more than clear how easy it would be to get rid of two kids nobody wanted to begin with.”

Slipping in and out of present time, you imagine how scared Eddie must have been. The look of terror on his face as a grown adult held him at gunpoint. How his own dad hit him until he bled, how he tried to get to you, tried to save you. You were a fucking fool for hating him when the one you should have been hating this entire time was yourself.

“… he followed me to the van… told me he’d fill me full of lead if he ever came back.”

You pinched your eyes shut, imagining him driving away from the only home he’d ever known, from his life, from you.

His voice fades in and out, as he works through the emotions wavering in his body. “I should have come back for you, should have, I dunno.. I’m sorry, Clove.”

It’s quiet as you process everything Eddie has said. The pain you’d shoved down for years is raging towards you like a bull. Red, angry, demanding to be felt. But you would hide from this terrorizing house of horrors for as long as you could, and you step out of the bull’s way, deflecting.

“Music!” you screech out of nowhere, through the thick haze of sadness, “we need music.”

Standing abruptly, sending the now empty bottle of Jameson clattering across the counter, Eddie tries to steady you from across the bar, his cheeks damp.

“Whoa, hey.. you okay?”

“I gotta,” your hands roam over yourself in search of pockets, “…hey you got a quarter?” The floor seemed to move as you teetered toward the jukebox, keeping your eyes on the colorful lights as you walked towards it like a moth to a flame.

“Wai…” he takes a step forward reaching for your hand but deciding against it, hand going limp by his side, his eyes searching inside your own.

You desperately want to break against him, to throw yourself in his arms and let him hold you until the tears dry on your cheeks, but you can’t let yourself be so vulnerable. Not in front of Eddie, not in front of anyone.

“Clove…” his voice is tender, concerned, “c’mon, you need to sit down.”

“No change? That’s okay, Slim,” you squeak, cutting him off in a rush, forcing a fake smile as you silently curse yourself for sounding so derailed, “Gotta change anyway.”

Spinning and nearly tripping over a stool in your attempt to get to the dressing room, you avoid the swelling brown of his eyes like the plague.

“Larry or Kenny should be here in a few, tell ‘im you’re on my tab and you can eat all the wings you want for free tonight, ‘kay? I’ll be back!”

The tears slid before you could stop them, hot pools that stung your eyes like acid. Maybe you shouldn’t have asked…no you definitely shouldn’t have pushed to know the reason why he left.

The bar was still spinning, waves of heat hitting you like an oven.

You prayed that your Eddie would come back to you, come home to save you and take you away from this life, but he’s here now and it’s entirely too much for you to deal with.

Vomit rose in your throat before you could swallow it back, and walking down the ruby carpeted hallway, your stomach empties itself on the floor before you can find a trash can, the wall holding you up as you crumble against it. Heart bruised and battered, despite Eddie’s efforts to mend it.

He stood in the open bar, soul empty and hollow. So many confessions left unsaid were formed but couldn’t quite fall from his lips. The conversation he wanted to have was not the outcome he had hoped for. He yearned for you, how close the two of you used to be and how it was torn away too soon. Time was a thief and the years spent apart ate at him, and all he can think of is the small manila envelope he kept of letters that went unread, addressed to you.

thank you for taking the time to read 💋 i know this chapter has taken for fucking ever to come out but i hope it was possibly worth it🥀

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[ythankucaptainmccoy]

The Cowgirl and The Aviator Ch15

Next Chapter! WARNINGS: Military Inaccuracies, Near Death Experience, Smut (The Smuttiest Smut), Vibrators, Alluding to Squirting, P in V (Wrap It Before You Tap It), Teasing and Fluff!

If Jake had been team leader before he had met you he wouldn’t care about his team as much as he does now. The mission was going to plan as they flew the terrain they had been training for. Rooster was his wingman, Nat and Bob dagger three and Payback and Fanboy dagger four. It was a night mission and to any civilian wouldn’t seem very hard, but it wasn’t the target that was the problem. The problem was hoping not to get into a dog fight if at all possible. 

He looked down to your photo praying that he gets to come back with the other members of the squad. You were asleep waiting for your shift at the Hard Deck when you woke in a cold sweat screaming. You’re hands shooting to Jake’s side of the bed calling for him. When you couldn’t feel him there you started yelling for him in the apartment. Then in your panic you realize he was gone on a mission and that sent you spiraling even more.

You didn’t have anyone to call as you tried to calm down. It was just a dream you kept telling yourself as you pushed the nightmare away. Jake was going to be fine and the team was going to come back safe. You couldn’t go back to sleep as you clean to keep yourself busy. As you stand at the sink a storm is rolling in and you can see the rough waves outside. It unsettles you even more as you do the dishes from the night before.

Jake and the team have a clean run as they head back for the carrier. On approach to the carrier Jake realizes that his tail hook is malfunctioning. “Hangman here I have a malfunctioning tail hook and low on fuel”, Jake radio’s in. “Acknowledged Hangman we will land the others first then raise the net for you”, he’s told. He circles as they raise the barricade for him. He takes a deep breath and grabs your picture to put in his pocket. 

His wheels hit the deck wrong as he bounces only catching the back wheels as he is headed for the edge. He goes over as his heart drops, but the jet jerks back causing his shoulders to jerk against the harness. It knocks the breath out of him, but he powers everything off as all he can see is the waves lapping at the ship. The creaking of the back two wheels tells him he needs to get out as soon as possible. He opens the cockpit as they are getting a man harnessed to come get him.

The jet creaks again and Jake knows he has a split second decision to make. The carrier had stopped a while ago. He puts his hand over his pocket with your picture and jumps. When he hits the water it’s freezing and when he surfaces he can hear the jet let go. It crashes too close and as it sinks he can feel it trying to suck him down. He can hear the yells of man overboard. Rooster hears the call of “OSCAR OSCAR OSCAR” go out and he panics as the others race to the edge to see Hangman's jet sinking.

Jake swims for his life as he gets clear of the wreckage. They send out the helicopter to search as Rooster can only think of you standing over a casket just like his mother did for his father. It takes him to his knees as Phoenix tries to shake him out of it. Jake feels like he has been in the water forever as the helicopter searches with the searchlight. He knows they won’t be able to hear him over the rotors, but soon enough they spot him. 

They send a man down to harness him in and lift him into the helicopter. Rooster only comes around when he hears that they have retrieved him. By the time the helicopter lands they immediately take him to the infirmary. Jake can’t remember the last time he felt so cold as they helped him strip out of all of his wet clothes. They take protocol and get him dry clothes as they tend to him. He must have inhaled water because he continues to cough. They get him squared away and tell him they are keeping him for monitoring. 

Maverick is the first to come to check on him. The debriefing he is told can wait until he has rested and they know he will be okay. He still feels cold even with the extra blankets as he drifts off into sleep shivering. His mind goes to you and how you would be curled up beside him if you were here. He misses you more than ever at this moment knowing that today could have been his last. He knows you would be fretting over him like he had with you when you were in the hospital. He coughs a little, but eventually gets some sleep. 

You go to work and Penny keeps an eye on you as you seem off. “(Y/N) are you alright?”, Penny asks. “I don’t know, I woke up after a bad dream and I haven’t been able to shake it. The storms today probably aren’t helping”, you reply. “Well let me know if you need a break I know how it feels when your man is away on a carrier”, she tells you. “Thanks Penny”, you reply. The shift goes by slowly as the storms get worse. When your break comes Penny comes running to you.

“(Y/N) you need to come with me right now”, she tells you. She brings you to her office where her laptop sits and Maverick is on the screen. You look at Penny as she offers you the chair sitting in front of it. That feeling you had worsens and then you go numb as Mav waits for you to sit down. Once you sit down Penny grabs another chair and sits beside you. “(Y/N) I’m not really supposed to be doing this on my video call, but I thought you should know there was an accident”, Mav says. 

“Jake”, you whisper. “(Y/N), his jet's tailhook malfunctioned and the landing was bad. He went over the deck and into the water. He is safe onboard now, but the doctors are monitoring him. Their main concern was hypothermia and they believe he may have inhaled some water. I’ll continue to give updates to Penny when I can alright”, Mav relays. “So does this mean you all will be coming home early?”, you question. “No (Y/N), but I’ll keep you updated. I have to go, my times up”, he tells you. “Thank you Mav”, you reply. He nods as the call screen goes off, and Penny watches you carefully.

“Thanks for coming to get me. I’m gonna’ go back to work”, you tell her. You feel weightless as you stand up and you don’t even get a step towards the door when you go to your knees as the room spins. “(Y/N) are you alright sweetheart?”, Penny asks. “I could have lost him”, you whisper. She knows you're in shock as she helps you to sit back down in a chair and tells one of the other staff members to get you some water. You kept telling yourself that he was okay, but you wanted to see proof. 

Eventually you collect yourself to finish out your shift and Penny tells you to stay over with her and Amelia. It was a good decision as the storm gets bad and you can hear it getting even worse. The howling wind and thunder get to a point where the lights go out. Penny and Amelia help you settle in for the night as you take the couch. You just keep thinking about Jake and praying that he is okay as you fall into a fitful sleep.

You don’t hear from Mav for another two weeks. He tells you Jake caught pneumonia and that they are treating him for it. Then four weeks until Mav can call again and tell you Jake is alright, but that the pneumonia took a toll on him, but he was ready to fly again. You knew what that meant and you continued to pray that he came home safe and sound. You get a letter back from Jake telling you he is feeling better and not to worry that Bradley has been keeping a close eye on him ever since the accident. 

You send a letter back telling him to stay safe and next time he better tell you when something happens. When Jake gets that letter he laughs as he tells the squad what you had said. Also tucked in the envelope was a picture and he pulls it out and immediately puts it back into the envelope. “Well I’m heading off to bed”, he tells the group. Rooster quirks an eyebrow as Jake hurries back to his bunk. 

When he pulled out the photo it was you in his bed, hair spread out like a halo around you and dressed in a green lace teddy. The smirk told him everything he needed to know and what really topped the cake was in that smirk you had one of his dog tags between your teeth. He wished he could be there in person to see you like that, but his imagination would have to do. He wasn’t proud of jacking off to your picture, but it was a release he didn’t realize he needed. 

He swore to himself that when he got back he was going to rock your world. Every once in a while he would have a coughing fit, but he was getting better every day. He was counting down the days that he could come back home to you. A couple more times in the air and then they would all be on their way home. You on the other hand looked like a wreck as Penny could tell you weren’t getting enough sleep. 

Nights spent at the Hard Deck helped with your anxiety of waiting for Jake to return. A call came in to the Hard Deck that they would be getting back a week late due to some unforeseen issues. Penny could tell it was eating at you, but you held strong as Mav was able to tell you that Jake was back to one hundred percent. “Penny, I think we should plan a welcome back party”, you say. “I think that would do everyone some good”, she responds. The next week is making the Hard Deck look more festive than it ever has with a banner that reads ‘WELCOME BACK DAGGER SQUAD’. 

When pick up day came around you were first at the pick up point. You paced for what felt like forever when the door opened and the Dagger Squad exited. You spotted Jake right away and took off at a sprint. Jake didn’t have time to react as you launched yourself at him. He dropped his duffle bag and caught you as your shoulders shook. He knew you were crying as he tried to comfort you. “Darlin’ I’m alright. I’m here baby, I’m here”, he soothed. 

You pulled back giving him a serious look and Rooster smirked at him already knowing what’s coming. “If you ever pull some crazy shit like that again I’ll kill you”, you scolded. Jake looked taken aback but couldn’t stop from smiling. You looked beautiful even when you were angry as he swooped in for a kiss. Your anger quickly melting as he continued to kiss you breathless. “Let’s go home darlin’ this outfit needs washing”, he said, winking at you.

“Yes sir”, you replied. You walked with him back to the truck stealing kisses as you went. When he pulled into the apartment parking lot you went straight inside while he got his stuff. When he entered the apartment there you stood in a scanty sailor uniform with his dog tags hanging between your breasts. “Lieutenant Seresin sir. Welcome home”, you say in a sultry tone. Jake can already feel his cock hardening at the sight of you. 

He wastes no time in giving orders for you to go to the bedroom and wait for him. You do as you’re told as Jake goes to the kitchen filling a pitcher of water and bringing a glass with him. When he enters you stand at attention at the end of the bed. “On your knees”, Jake says. You immediately go to your knees as he places the pitcher and glass on the bedside table. You watch as he comes to stand in front of you. He looks damn good in his khaki uniform as he admires you.

He unzips his fly and pulls himself out of his boxers. You note that he is hard as a rock and he gives you the nod to continue. You automatically wrap your lips around his head as he groans deep and loud. “Darlin’ I’ve missed you”, he hums. You take him deeper at his admission until you gag. One hand comes back to wrap around your hair guiding you on his shaft. “That’s it. Fuck”, Jake hisses. He continues for a couple more minutes until he pulls you off. 

He pulls you back up to your feet ordering you to strip, but to keep the tags on. You do as he commands then watch as he admires the view. “Get on the bed all fours”, Jake barks. You move as if your life depends on it as he takes up position behind you. He swipes his fingers through your folds and whistles. “You’re so wet already”, he hums. “Only for you Lieutenant”, you reply. You wiggle your hips to urge him to do something and it earns you a slap to your ass.

You jump with a small shout as Jake checks in with you. You promise him that you’re fine, that you just weren’t expecting it. “Stay still and obey my orders or there will be consequences. Am I understood?”, he asks. “Yes”, you speak. Another slap to your ass as Jake says, “Yes what”. “Yes Lieutenant Seresin sir!”, you sound off. “That’s right”, he tells you. He soothes your ass then skirted down to your pussy where he thrusts two fingers into you. 

You moan as he starts curling his fingers and the closer you get the weaker your arms seem to get. You lay your head down on the bed and it earns you another slap. “Up on all fours darlin”, he drawls. You do as told and Jake speeds up his ministrations as you mewl as you're about to fall over the edge. “Jake I’m gonna…”, you don’t get to finish as you shudder through your orgasm. When you come back around Jake is rifling through your underwear drawer and pulls out your vibrator. 

“Alright on your back”, he tells you. You shakily lie on your back as Jake pulls you to the edge of the bed. You watch him in his uniform as he drags his cock through your folds. You moan each time he bumps your clit and he smirks as you whine for him to put it in already. “What do you say?”, he asks. “Please Lieutenant”, you whine. Jake smiles but it’s soon wiped away when he pushes all the way into you.  He stays like that for a moment then when he opens his eyes to look into yours your smile has him melting. 

He leans down to kiss you as he starts to thrust into you. You moan into his mouth until he pulls away to get better leverage as he starts a brutal pace. The noises coming from you spur him on as he grabs the vibrator. As soon as it touches your clit you fall over the edge to another orgasm. He is right behind you as a couple thrusts later he cums hard. His moans are heavenly and you want more. He pulls out of you to shed all of his clothes as you notice he is getting hard again. 

Once he is naked he goes to take off his dog tags when you hook your finger into them and pull him down for another kiss. He goes willingly as he enters you again. You can’t seem to get enough of each other as he starts up a slow pace and punctuating each thrust. You go along with his movements as each kiss seems longer and more sincere. “I missed you”, he whispers. “I did too. When Mav told me what happened I thought I would never see you again”, you say. He pulls back to look into your eyes.

He can see the pain behind those eyes as he kisses your forehead. “Me too darlin’ I was so scared that I wasn’t going to make it back”, he admits. You pull him back to you to kiss him more, reveling in the fact he was alive and here with you. “We should go to the Hard Deck tonight”, you say. His next thrust pushes the air from your lungs. “Well we have some time to kill before it opens”, he smiles. 

“Well let’s make the most of it”, you gasp, as he thrusts again. He continues with a slow pace as he hikes your leg into the crook of his elbow. The new angle has you mewling as he hits parts of you that you didn’t know existed. Everything feels drawn out like this as if you're both savoring each other's company. He reaches for the vibrator he had placed on the bed earlier as you hear it start on its lowest setting. He places it onto your clit as he continues the slow thrust and grind.

It’s a slow burn low in your gut as you start to climb to the peak of your orgasm. “Jake”, you sigh. “That’s me”, he chuckles. You giggle until he turns the vibrator up a notch. It has you climbing to that peak faster. It hits you suddenly and out of left field as you clamp down with a moan. Jake hisses as he has to come to a stop, but doesn’t take the vibrator away. You start to try to push him away as it becomes too much.

He holds fast and starts up a pace that has you grabbing his biceps and digging your nails into his flesh. The next orgasm is slow and goes through your veins like lava as Jake swallows your moans with his kisses. Then he placed both legs over his shoulders and amped the vibrator to the max. You couldn’t do anything as tears came to your eyes as you tried to breathe. Jake noticed the tears and asked, “You okay? Do I need to stop”. You couldn’t speak as you shook your head no as you could feel him twitching more often now. 

“Feel so good Jake”, you cry out. “Darlin please tell me your close”, he pleads. “Yea”, you gasp. “Where”, he shudders. “I want you…to cum deep inside. Make me feel you when I’m at the Hard Deck”, you say. “Fuck Darlin’ you can’t say things like that when I’m this close”, he huffs. That gives you the bright idea to keep going. “You feel so good please cum inside me pleasepleaseplease”, you whimper. “Fuck”, Jake curses.

He’s almost there, but your orgasm barrels into you so hard that your body spasms. Jake curses as he feels the wetness coat him and that has him burying himself as deep as possible. He groans long and loud broken by little whimpers as he emptied himself into you. He turns the vibrator off and places it on the bedside table as your body trembles underneath him. “Jake”, you whisper. “Yea’ darlin?”, he replies. “That was amazing. You’re amazing”, you announce. 

You can feel his shoulders move with a breathless laugh as you finally come down from your high. Jake gently puts your legs on either side of his waist as he stays fully seated inside you. You give a couple experimental spasms around his cock. He hunches his back a little as he hiccups a groan. “Darlin’ I can’t too…Mphm”, he groans again as you grind a little. His hands grab your hips in a bruising grip as he goes in for another kiss to distract you. 

You both go a couple more rounds until you both have to get in the shower to get ready. When you arrive at the Hard Deck and walk in Jake understands why you wanted to come. The bar is decorated and has the welcome home banner above the piano. You hug Bradley and say hello to his girlfriend as Coyote comes over with his wife. Nat squeezes the life out of you when she sees you and Bob pulls you into a hug. You could tell Bob had more beers than normal because he normally wasn’t a hugger. 

“You look good Hangman”, Bradley says. “I am good Rooster. I’m very good”, he replies with a wink to you. You go red as Bradley raises an eyebrow until he spots something on your neck. “(Y/N) is that a brui… Nevermind”, Bradley states. You look confused until Nat tells you that your shirt is showing off a very noticeable hickey. You go red and try to cover it to no avail. “What’s the matter darlin’ they know we’re together”, Jake says. You go to retort but laugh when you realize Jake has a few on his neck as well.

You point them out, but Jake just pulls his shirt to show them off more. “I can’t believe you”, you laugh. You go to the bar to get a beer for Jake and yourself, but when you come back a woman that you know for certain knows Jake well by the way she runs her hand down his chest and says something to him. You watch as Nat slides up next to you and watches the scene. Jake shakes his head and you can’t tell what he says until he looks up to point you out. The woman says something back and seems upset as she looks at you then stomps away. 

“Wow I never thought I would see the day”, Nat says. “What?”, you ask. “Even when he was “dating” he never turned that girl away. I think you’ve changed him for the better”, Nat replies, taking a swig of her beer. When you bring the beer to Jake he makes a show of kissing you in front of everybody. You smile up at him then hand him his beer. “Love you darlin’ now how about a game of pool Rooster. Me and (Y/N) against you and your girlfriend”, Jake says. Bradley looks at his girlfriend as she nods. You get deemed to rack ‘em and while you’re bent over the pool table Jake leans over you. “Darlin’ keep lookin’ like this and we might have to go to the truck”, he grins. 

He slaps your ass as you finish up and you just shake your head. “You’re insatiable”, you tell him. “Only for you darlin’. Only for you”, he replies. You and Jake make a pretty great team as you win. You challenge Payback and Fanboy next as the jukebox plays ‘Slow Ride’. “I love this song”, Jake whispers in your ear. “Maybe I can ride you to it at some point”, you reply nonchalantly. “(Y/N)”, he groans in your ear. From his lap you can feel him getting hard underneath you. “Your turn”, Payback calls.

You kiss Jake and get off his lap to play as Jake readjusts himself before getting up. You and Jake end up winning that game too, but then challenge Phoenix and Bob. This proves a more challenging game, but only because Jake’s focus is on you and how you keep teasing him. The party lasts late into the night as Jake holds you close as Bradley takes over the piano after unplugging the jukebox. Jake for the first time ever joins in singing with the squad as you sing beside him.

[whohasthecards]

Hangster AU -- Firefighter Bradley & Best Buy Employee/Aviator Jake

AU where Bradley is a firefighter and Jake is still an aviator. Jake is on a long leave, probably because of the mission, and he takes another job to pass the time. He works at Best Buy.

Bradley comes to Best Buy to buy something, he's still in uniform, so Jake knows where he works at. And they snark at one another, but Jake manages to throw the box of what Bradley needs at him, smirking all the time.

---

"Can we stop debating the merits of 10 different wires and connectors and just give me the box, please," Bradley said exasperated as he held a hand out for the box this Ken doll was holding.

"Sure, here, catch," Jake said shrugging throwing the box lightly at him. "No need to get as red as your fire truck."

Bradley groans, rolls his eyes, and walks away. He was never wearing his fire department shirt in public ever again.

---

Bradley put his keys on in his bronco. And turn it. Engine sputtering.

"Oh come on," Bradley muttered, moustache twitching.

He stepped down again on the brake and clutch, twisting the key. Nada. Bradley groaned and hit his head on the steering wheel wondering who the fuck to call.

He jumped when he heard a knock at the window, seeing Ken doll, looking sympathetic.

He opened the door.

"Need a jump?" Ken-doll asked.

Bradley, sighed, "Yes please."

"Give me a sec to bring my car over."

"Thank you." ---

"Man, you've been having issues with the lights and radio, too? But you just replaced the bulbs, right?"

Bradley deeply sighed and rubbed the space between his eyes, "Yeah."

"That's fucked up, man, good luck, better bring it to the shop for the wiring."

"No comment on the wires on this one?"

"Car wiring is a whole another thing I ain't gonna touch, too much of a headache for me," Ken-doll said, flicking the toothpick in his mouth to the side.

"How do you know so much about wires, anyways? You work with it a lot at Best Buy?" Bradley said going back inside his truck to try to start it.

"Nah, not really, I studied engineering, and my other job. You pick some stuff up along the way."

"You studied engineering and you work at Best Buy!?" Bradley said fingers slipping from the ignition.

"Anything wrong with that?" Ken-doll said, raising a brow.

"No, I mean-- Oh look the car's starting," Bradley said flustered. "Thank you, man, I'm Bradley Bradshaw by the way, incase you need anything, I'm by the fire station." Bradley said holding out his hand.

"It's Jake, and if you need anything from electronic goods to repair, come to Best Buy for a wonderful service," Jake said shaking his hand and winking.

"Should add auto-repair to that slogan."

---

A series of events caused them to meet again. And they hit it off, go one dates and all that.

Jake likes listening to Bradley's stories about his job, and Jake tells him about some crazy customers he had to deal with.

Bradley never asked about Jake's previous job/other job, and Jake,,, forgot.

---

One day, Bradley's station gets a call for a jet having to do an emergency crash landing. And they have to make sure that the area is clear and be prepared for anything that might happen. If the pilot gets stuck or something gets lit on fire.

And they're listening in on the radio with the pilot and pilot's instructor telling him what to do. Calm, steady, smooth, and knowledgeable.

Familiar.

They arrive on scene, get the pilot out, and the instructor comes eventually in a rush.

"Is my pilot, okay?" A familiar voice asked.

"Yeah, we're getting him checked out at the hospital, nothing severe."

He hears the man sigh, "Good."

The man turns the corner, and his eyes flickered to Bradley for a moment, before focusing back on the fire captain.

"I'm Lieutenant Commander Seresin, thank you for helping during this incident."

---

"You work in the Navy!?"

"Yeaahhh--"

"You didn't tell me!?"

"I forgot!"

A pause.

"Also does the team know we're dating?"

"The station? No, why?"

"Wanna mess with them?"

"I'm listening."

[roosterforme]

MRN headcanons???? Don't mind if I do

What about the first time Jake brings her on base to see his gear/plane? Maybe he takes her up in the air?

The first time she visits him on base, she already knows the rest of the Daggers. So they aren't surprised to see her there. The person who is surprised is Maverick.

When Jake left his lunch at home by accident, you texted him and promised you'd bring it over for him by midday. It was spring break, and not only did you have nothing better to do, you were itching to see what North Island was like.

"You look ridiculously hot in this thing," you whispered against Jake's lips as you ran your hand down the front of his flight suit, skimming the patches with your nails. "Why don't you ever wear it for me?"

He grunted, clearly wanting to do more than just give you soft kisses right now, but the two of you were alone in the aviators' rec room on base during his lunch break. "Don't want you to have to smell all the jet fuel fumes, Darlin'."

You got another kiss just as your hand skimmed low enough that you knew he could feel the pressure along his cock even with his compression shorts on. You were rewarded with a smirk and another little grunt before you pulled your hand away just in time for the door to swing open.

"Captain Mitchell," Jake groaned as you took a step away from him.

The older man's eyes were not unkind as he pulled his aviators down his nose and looked between the two of you. He cleared his throat and said, "The graduate students on the aeronautics tour have gone upstairs into the tower, Miss. Do you need me to show you the way?"

You gaped at him as Jake cradled his forehead in his hand and blushed. "Maverick, this is my girlfriend. Darlin' this is my boss."

Now both men were blushing as you stumbled forward to shake his hand. "It's very nice to meet you," Captain Mitchell said with a small smile.

You glanced back at Jake and winked before you said, "That tour actually sounds fascinating. Any chance I could join it?"

Maverick nodded, clearly still embarrassed, but he said, "Absolutely. I'll walk you up."

[cumulo-stratus]

hi sweet max!

I’m here to drop in a request for Aaron x bau!reader, where reader’s just noticing all the little things Aaron does for them in their day to make it better and easier and how THOUGHTFUL HE IS, like maybe he buys their favourite drinks to stock the fridge on the jet and in the office, making sure that their keyboard at their desk is always charged bc he’s there so late at night and he knows they’d forget. maybe he picks them up in the mornings to make sure they get to work on time. Just him trying his hardest to help them out in teeny tiny ways that make a big difference? sorry if this is long or boring I can try something else but yeah! He’s just so cute and thoughtful. Also masc or gn reader is fine, whichever you prefer!! <3

The Little Things

Request- yes/no

Pairing- Aaron Hotchner x gn!reader

Summary- you notice all the little things Aaron does for you everyday (could be read as romantic or platonic)

warnings- like one use of y/n, fear of flying, mentions of eating/not eating

A/N- Rooommmee!!!! Thank you for this absolutely lovely request, I hade SO much fun writing this, and I may have gotten a little bit carried away😅! But anyways he would SO do that- he's a gentleman fs!! Love u Rome 🫶🫶

wc- 2k

Despite the bright, morning light shining through the large rectangular windows, you still yawned for what must’ve been the fifth time in just as many minutes. In your defense the team had wrapped up a case pretty late the night before. Which meant by the time you were in bed and asleep, it was only a couple hours until your alarm went off to go back to work again the next morning. 

Spencer had arrived around the same time as you—you both took public transit to work— so he pushed open one of the large glass doors marking the entrance of the BAU. Both you and Reid offered each other warm, but tired smiles as he let you go ahead of him, holding the door. 

coincidentally, you both start making your way to the small kitchenette in the corner of the large bullpen. since you hadn’t had any coffee yet, you B-lined straight for the old, barely functioning coffee maker. Gideon had refused to get a new one when Garcia mentioned getting a keurig, stating that all the new ones these days were too fancy- a coffee maker did not need a screen. So that's how you ended up with a coffee pot with stains and knicks all over it from constant use. But what you noticed when you approached it wasn't the coffee maker itself. But what was sitting next to it. 

your snoopy mug!

you couldn't help but break out into a grin at the sight of your favorite mug, it was white with an image of the little white dog, sitting on top of his little house in his signature aviator goggles, hat, and a red scarf. Except the bright red scarf trailed out behind him and morphed into the handle of the mug.

Reid noticed your excitement as he poured his own mug of coffee. The pot was about ¾ full, Hotch and Morgan having already got to it. “Nice mug” Reid commented with a smile as he stirred what must’ve been at least 2 tablespoons of sugar. You thought he was smiling because it was a cute mug—which it was—but Spencer was mostly smiling because he had noticed hotch watching from the window of his office. 

Aarons face had one of his rare smiles that actually reached his eyes. He couldn’t help but blush as he watched you fawn over the mug to Reid. A couple minutes later, after Reid had left for his desk, you made eye contact with Aaron, smiling. Then, if he hadn’t gotten the point already, you took a sip of the hot coffee- which you had forgotten was still hot and scrunched your face in pain. It had burned your tongue, causing you to stick your tongue out in pain. Aaron laughed at the silent scene he watched unfold, but you didn't notice as you had already shook it off and walked to your desk. 

Only minutes after you had settled into your desk, JJ stood on the raised walkway above the bullpen, calling for everyone to meet in the round table room. They had a case. You a bit reluctantly, heaved yourself up from your chair, the weight of sleep still wearing off. Derek chuckled, and gave your arm a playful shove. As you walked by Spencer's desk, Morgan mussed with his hair to get his attention, as he was so absorbed in his book that he hadn’t heard JJ announce the case. 

“Come on pretty boy, we got a case-“ Morgan didn’t finish his sentence before you had sped ahead to catch up with Aaron as he made his way to the round table room. “Thanks for the cereal bar by the way, I forgot breakfast on the way out again.” You spoke casually, barely even making eye contact with him, as this was a normal occurrence. You often arrive at work to find a cereal bar, or pastry on your desk with a little note on it. They were usually Aaron reminding you how important it was to eat. 

“you need to eat breakfast you know y/n, it’ll affect your abilities in cases if you're not careful you know” you just rolled your eyes at Aarons comment, he was often very protective in that way. Although it was a bit annoying sometimes, you mostly found it endearing. It showed that he cared. 

Instead of responding to Aaron’s comment, you just took a bite of your cereal bar as you sat down. JJ started going over the case, 3 women in Wisconsin were missing and presumed dead after days of searching. 

”wheels up” hotch called to the team, and everyone almost immediately dispersed to get themselves ready to leave. 

—

As everyone filed onto the plane and took their seats, you followed Aaron, as you and he often bounced ideas of each other well. And for one other reason. but no one else, not even Emily, your best friend (only second to Aaron), knew about it except for you two. 

You had a fear of flying, take off and landing in particular always freaked you out. You knew it wasn't a good phobia to have, considering how much flying you had to do for your job, but you couldn’t help it. That’s where Aaron came in, you would always sit next to him at the tables, and he would always offer you his hand under the table. He never said anything about it, and no one ever noticed. but every flight a minute or so before takeoff and landing he would rest his hand palm up on your thigh in a silent offering of comfort. and every flight for a minute or so after take off and landing he would keep your hand in his, letting you play with his fingers knowing it often helped you ground yourself and refocus. 

That day he offered a small smile along with his hand when no one else was looking. Morgan and Reid were arguing, JJ was scolding them, Rossi was reading a book, and Emily was getting herself a cup of tea. You decided to get yourself something too, after take off of course when the plane was safely en route to wisconsin.

When you approached the tiny kitchenette of the jet the first thing that came to mind was something snarky, like cheetos. JJ always kept them stocked. But then you noticed your favorite as you scanned the small cupboard, cheddar pringle’s! They were cheesy, crunchy and salty- aka the perfect chip. You immediately grabbed them and tore off the lid, excited to eat the crunchy chips. You had only had coffee and a cereal bar to eat so far that day. Aaron watched you walk back to your seat with a contented smile on your face and a small bounce to your step.

When you arrived at your seat you didn't hesitate to plop down next to Aaron and take a big bite of chips. He couldn’t help but laugh a bit at your obsession with the salty snack and decided to comment, knowing he had put them there last case, noticing they didn't have any. 

“oh, looks like you found your favorite, how nice-“ his smile was almost sly and you noticed. It didn’t take long for you to connect the dots that he had restocked them, he often did. And they were often your favorites, your favorite energy drink in the fridge, your favorite protein bars in the cupboard, and your favorite snacks on the jet. 

—

After a long day of profiling in Wisconsin, the team had ordered take out and decided to all sit together around the large table in the conference room that had been provided by the local police department. 

You sat with Aaron to your left, and Derek to your right. THere were 2 trays of food in the middle and various smaller dishes surrounding it. Most of the team was still discussing the case as they served themselves from the various dishes. 

You were the last person to serve yourself, as you had been too absorbed in a conversation with Aaron about where he got his many, very, nice suits. You had learned that Aaron Hotchner gets all of his suits tailored. 

After lots of discussion, and some slightly subpar asian food, the team was ready to get back to work, it was only 9 o’clock, and they were all pretty much workaholics. So reid went back to his many colored markers and his geo-profile. For whatever reason, you hadn’t been able to sleep very well the night before, and due to that you were practically falling asleep standing up. You had moved from sitting into a standing position in order to keep yourself awake a little more. 

It wasn't working. And Hotch noticed this. Aaron used his legs to push up and out of his office chair away from the table to where you were standing about a foot away. He tapped your shoulder to get your attention before speaking. Your head snapped towards him, surprised, as if you hadn’t even noticed him approaching in your trance-like state.

”y/n, you should go back to the hotel, you're no use if you're not clear headed. The team will benefit from you much more if you just get some rest and come tomorrow morning”. You almost immediately tried to protest leaving, but a stern look from Aaron put any protests to rest. Even when you really wanted to protest the idea of him driving you to the hotel, since in his words “you're in no condition to drive, I don't need an agent in a car crash and 3 dead women”. Eventually you had accepted it, as you were too tired to care by the time you and Aaron were on the road to the hotel. 

Aaron left the radio on, playing quietly in the background so the silence wouldnt be awkward. But, number one, you were already half asleep by the time he started driving, and number two, the silence was never awkward with Aaron, you felt comfortable with him.

When you arrived at the hotel, hotch shook your shoulder lightly and you jumped awake saying, “Im awake! I'm here! I'm ready..” before trailing off and yawning. Hotch chuckled as he walked around the car to open your door for you, inviting you to step out in front of him. He walked with you to the elevator and pushed the button for you, always a gentleman. 

When you finally got into your room after struggling with the key for a minute, you flopped face down on your bed with a groan as Aaron watched from the doorway. When he noticed the lamp on he immediately started crossing the room to turn it off, so you could sleep. 

After the lamp was turned off, and Aaron was sure you were okay, and fast asleep, he left for his room in order to change his shirt as he had spilled soy sauce on it at dinner. After making his way to his room down the hall and fumbling with his own key, Aaron made it into his own room to pull out a new shirt. After the long process of taking off his tie and jacket, switching shirts, and putting his tie and jacket back on, he turned off the lamp on the desk near the door. Aaron shut the door behind him quietly so as to not disturb anyone at 10:00 at night.

At first he continued past your room, but then two steps later he changed his mind, turning on his heels back down the hall. He wanted to make sure you were alright one last time before he went back to the police precinct. He had made sure to get a copy of everyone’s room key when they checked in, in case of emergencies. And it wasn’t exactly an emergency, but if you didn't tell, Aaron wouldn't. 

When the door clicked open quietly, light from the hallway bled into the dark room. In front of him lay your sound asleep body, still in its work clothes, passed out face down on the hotel bed. Aaron couldn't help but smile as he approached you, bending down to your level. When his face was level with yours he left a small kiss on your cheek, before retreating back into the well lit hallway and into the night. 

The End

[baronessvonglitter]

Wip Wednesday

thank you @myownwholewildworld and @penascigarette for tagging me 🦋

For starters, I have chapter 2 of "Law of Attraction" which will be ready to go Monday, wherein we learn a little more about the early days of reader and Javi's relationship:

From the moment you'd met Javier Pena, who sold drugs to your friends behind the football field bleachers during your senior year of high school, you'd fallen for his bad boy persona. Motorcycle, leather jacket, aviators, cigarette resting between pouty lips, perfectly groomed mustache. He looked like the saxophone solo from "Careless Whisper". And out of all the girls who flirted with him, you were the one he wanted.  He'd whisked you away on his motorcycle, bringing you home so late that your parents forbade you from seeing him. But nothing could stop true love, that's what you had with him. Javier saw you, made you feel seen. He listened to you, big brown eyes studying your every feature, compelling you to kiss him, to do things you ordinarily wouldn't have.

And a spicy part from "The Girlfriend Experience":

Oberyn's lips brush your shoulder, humming appreciatively at your pleasured reaction. "That's it, pretty baby, feel it." His fingers join Ellaria's inside you, stretching you further. You grasp the satin bedsheets in fervent need. Oberyn's gold rings at the base of his agile fingers are cool against your heated flesh.  You fuck yourself against their fingers, kissing him and then her, their free hands grabbing at your breasts, cupping your ass, the three of you moaning and sighing in unison until you come hard, and when you open your eyes they're kissing in front of you.  "Let's give him a little show," you whisper to Ellaria, tucking a strand of her curly jet-black hair behind her ear. "Give him something to pump his cock for.."

And last but not least, a Christmas fic about sleazy mall Santa Joel, who's gonna give you something to suck on, and it ain't a candy cane.. (thanks to @strang3lov3 for being my enabler)

Santa watches as you pass, cheap plastic beard hanging off, revealing gray scruff, his red suit wrinkled and stained. You track his gaze roving over your figure, fully concentrating on the jiggle of your ass under the short skirt you'd picked out in the hopes of getting a quickie. "God damn," you hear him mutter. "Merry Christmas, babygirl." he calls out. You glance back and see him pull the beard down, wiggling his tongue at you in a lewd manner.  Fucking sleaze. But your pussy is wet and throbbing, and this is the first bit of attention you've had all day. You respond by stuffing your tongue in your cheek and making a blow job motion. Santa licks his lips and subtly palms his cock over his fluffy red pants.

It's been a crazy post-Thanksgiving week but I am trying to get caught up with reading and tags and such. I promise I'll get to everything in due time ❤️

NPT for @almostfoxglove, @greenwitchfromthewoods, @itwasntimethatdidit40, @milla-frenchy, @evolnoomym, @inept-the-magnificent and literally anyone else who wants to show their wips 😉

[newwritergirl]

Starting over | Part 20

Masterlist

Summary: Bradley and Jake are back in Miramar and are happy to surprise their girlfriend at the base. But when they enter her office they're not greeted with their girl but with an unusual chaos. Where is y/n?

Trigger warnings: 18+, Minors DNI, attempt SA, violence against women, blood, injuries, hospital, language

A/N: Here is the next part of my little TopGun fic. Finally we have our pilots back *.* Thanks for reading =)

Word Count:4.1k +

Jake and Bradley make their way over to y/n's office, when Bob leads Nat into Javy's teaching room, since the recruits have a short coffee break.

A soft knock is the only thing which can be heard in the empty office when both pilots enter the room. Their gazes land on the empty chair behind the desk.

"Where is she?" Jake asks confused when he turns to the other pilot who also looks surprised to see the office being empty.

"Maybe on a coffee run?" Bradley suggests and starts to make his way out of the office to search their girlfriend in the mass, where she probably gets herself a hot coffee.

"Hey, Rooster. Look…" Jake points to y/n's desk and on the floor. Papers and other items are spread across the floor. He takes a step closer to the wooden furniture when a shiny object catches his eyes. He bends down and picks up the plane shaped paperweight.

"What the fuck…" He mumbles when he sees that there's blood smeared on the front of the plane.

Bradley takes a closer on y/n's desk and immediately sees the puddle of dried up blood in the center of the table.

She must've hurt herself. But it's too much blood for a papercut or a cut from her scissors. He holds his breath and his whole body stiffens. Still confused from the bloody statue Jake notices the change in his boyfriend and turns around to see what Bradley just discovered.

"What happened here? Where is y/n?" The blonde whispers to Rooster.

Like two men on a mission they hurry out of the office, searching for someone who can explain what the freaking Hell happened there.

"Where's y/n?" Bradley shouts when he sees Maverick in the hallway on his way over to them.

Pete is more than confused, both aviators look panicked, almost out of their minds.

"She's not there. Her office is a mess, there's blood on her desk…" Jake rambles.

"Hey, slow down slow down. What's wrong?" Pete asks more confused than ever.

Bradley takes a deep breath and explains the situation to their superior. He knows that he has to calm down, the same way when they're on a mission or flying their jets. The three men make their way back to y/n's office.

"I didn't see her today and the Bronco wasn't in the parking lot when I came some minutes ago. I thought she starts later today, we had a big sever breakdown yesterday and she stayed until late in the evening to save some of the data." Maverick explains to the men in front of him.

They have to find her and when the Bronco isn't in the parking lot she's probably still at home. There has to be a logical explanation for the mess and the blood in her office. Maybe she just cut herself and searched for a band aid and just left her office in this mess because it was just too late and she was exhausted. But her office wasn't locked and the blood on the paperweight is also unsettling.

---

Jake drives as fast as he can to their shared home. Despite both men trying to keep calm and find logical explanation for the situation they can't help themselves and have a bad feeling which only increases when they finally made it to their house seeing the Bronco in the drive way with one tire parked in the rose bed.

Not waiting another minute Jake and Bradley jump out of the SUV and both sprint to the front door of their cozy home.

"Fuck, where are my keys." The blonde curses when he searches his pockets for the keys.

"Here let me…" Bradley steps around his nervous boyfriend and opens the door.

Finally entering their home they start to search for their girlfriend frantically. Jake stands in front of her closed bedroom door, ready to enter the room.

"Bradley, her door is locked, she has to be here." Jake says before he starts to knock at the locked door and shouts the name of their girlfriend. With one last verbal warning he kicks down the door but is greeted with an empty bed.

"Bathroom!" The brunette pilot sprints into the direction of said room, the last possibility where the young woman could be.

"Y/n? You in there? Please say something…" But both are confronted with silence.

"Baby, we're coming in…" Jake warns before he kicked down the second door for today.

---

The sight they're greeted with is nothing both could've been prepared for. Before them is laying their girlfriend curled into a ball under her fluffy towel. Ghostly pale, she almost looks dead.

"No! Baby…" Jake is the first one to kneel beside the still body of their girlfriend. The blue tinged lips of the young woman are just another catalyst to spiral further into panic. With trembling fingers he touches her carotid searching for a pulse. Bradley is still standing behind his boyfriend towering above both his partners too shocked to get into action.

"Pulse is steady, but she's extremely cold." The blonde talks into the quiet room.

"Babygirl? Can you hear me?" He softly turns her onto her back to access her body and looking for possible injuries. He gasps when he sees her head laceration and the small blood puddle where her head was positioned before he turned her on her back. The bruise on her delicate cheek and her black eye are a stark contrast to her ghostly pale face. He looks further down and his heart nearly stops when he sees the black and blue hand prints on their girlfriend's neck. Someone has beaten her and chocked her so heavy to leave these prominent hand shaped marks.

"No…" Jake's gasp brings the other pilot finally out of his shock and he also kneels down beside the blonde. Reaching for one of y/n's cold hands.

Hangman pulls the towel which is still hiding the small woman's body further down.

A turmoil of emotions is bubbling in his chest when he sees the full damage. Hand shaped bruises on her shoulders and arms, a dark purple bruise on her side, the blood on her head.

Rage, hate, helplessness and a huge emptiness is squeezing Jake's ribcage.

"Who did this?" Rooster growled when he sees their girlfriend's injuries, clearly inflicted by a human being. He feels y/n's hand switching in his big warm one. "Princess? We're here now, we're back. Can you hear me?" He soothingly whispers rubbing soft circles on her ice cold hand.

"P-p-please not… No…" The woman mumbles when she slowly opens her eyes.

---

She's cold, so cold. The underground she's laying on is also cold and very uncomfortable. Why is she so tired but is not engulfed in the cozy sheets of one of their beds? Y/n hears voices, a familiar mumbling but she can't comprehend where she is. Images of last night blend into her thoughts. Welsh grabbing her, hitting her, trying to sexual assault her. Is he still there? Is he back to finish what Michael once started and he continued? She knows that she needs to fight, for herself and for her future with her partners. Y/n tries to get rid of the warm hand that has her smaller one in a tight but not painful grip. Her other hand balls into a fist in an attempt to catch her attacker. But her whole body feels like it is made of cold unmoving granite. Pain rushes through every fiber of her body and she feels like it doesn't belong to her anymore. She has no control over her shaking and aching limbs. The young woman lets out mumbling noises, she can hear herself whimper but can't stop the sounds that are coming out of her mouth. The pain and the fear have fully taken control over her body and she knows that she stands no chance in case Welsh is back.

"Noo.." is the only word she form. She feels her heart beating furiously in her ribcage, panic bubbling further up in her lungs.

"Babygirl, you're safe. It's Roo-y and Jakey. Come on, show us your beautiful eyes." Jake coaxed her to open her eyes fully.

She knows this voice. It's Jake's warm voice and his signature nickname for her. But it has to be a dream, they're deployed. Maybe she's already dead or she is hallucinating.

It takes her some minutes to be somewhat coherent and register that her two boyfriends are really with her in the bathroom. She feels two warm hands enveloping her right one and she starts to squeeze as hard as she can as if she is afraid that the both men will disappear any second. A heart wrenching sob escapes her parted lips. She tries to sit up, she needs the physical contact of her boyfriends but her broken ribs and her other injuries are making it difficult for her to move her upper body.

"Hey, hey stay still okay." Jake tries to bring her back in the laying position but she grabs one of his arms and gives it another painful attempt to bring herself closer to one of her boyfriends.

Jake finally understands her actions and slowly sits her up. When y/n is finally cradled into the warm chest of the blonde aviator she lets out a painful sob. She survived. Welsh was not able to break her. He hurt her, he traumatized her, but he didn't get the chance to break her fully. She fought for her life and she escaped. Without help.

"Shhh… shhhh. Baby, we're here now, It's going to be okay." Jake says with a thick voice full of emotions.

"Gonna call an ambulance." Rooster says when he softly strokes y/n's bare back cautious of her injuries and painful looking bruising.

"No, no ambulance…please." Y/n throws herself into Bradley arms, fortunately he is able to catch her before she can hit the floor. Her eyes are open wide, full of panic and pain. She knows that she is in need of medical attention, but strangers intruding their privacy, seeing her half naked, bruised and panicked is the last thing she can handle right now.

"It's okay, Princess." Bradley whispers into the shell of her ear when she nuzzles her head into his chest breathing in his familiar scent.

"What did you say, Princess?" The brunette asks when he hears her mumble something into his chest. He feels her shaking so badly and her body is still ice cold. God knows how long she was wet and naked on the cold tiles. "Talk to us, baby." Jake encourages her to talk to both of them.

Y/n lifts her head, pinching her eyes shut when a wave of dizziness overcomes her and her vision turns black for some seconds. Bradley feels her wavering in his arms and cages her trembling body further into his arms.

"I- I fought back. He didn't... He wanted to, but I hit him…" Y/n stammers and squeezes Jake's thigh to ground herself against the strong dizziness which is still makes her head swim.

Bradley feels himself tearing up. Someone tried to sexually assault their girlfriend? He hopes he interprets her words wrong. But his gaze lands on her ripped and bloody blouse which Jake has in his hands now. The blonde aviator lets out an animalistic growl. Y/n shrieks into Bradley's chest afraid that Jake is mad at her.

"…not a slut…I'm not…" She starts to weep desperately, fisting Rooster's uniform shirt into her trembling hands.

"Princess, who did this to you? Do you know who attacked you?" Bradley whispers as calm as possible. They need to know who did this to their girl. Is her ex out of prison and found her? That's nearly impossible. Was it someone they know or just a random attack and y/n an accidental victim?

The young woman in his warm arms starts to weep harder, wet tracks of her tears are marking his uniform. It takes a minute or two before y/n can talk again. She takes a deep breath but whimpers when the pain in her ribcage reminds her of her severe injuries.

"…came into my o-office," she painfully breathes out, "W-Welsh…"

The last thing Jake wants is to scare y/n any further but he has so much rage in him that he has to storm out of the bathroom to cool off.

---

Welsh attacked their girlfriend, hurt her that bad that they have to take to the hospital rather sooner than later. He choked her, beat her and he tried to rape her. Jake had never felt this much hate and rage in his bones. The guy developed from an annoying blighter to a sexual offender. Welsh is now his greatest enemy. The urge to kill that bastard with his bare hands nearly overshadows all of his thoughts. To calm his nerves and not going off the deep end into something stupid he paced around the living room, still hearing the faint weeping and Rooster's muttering out of the bathroom.

He fumbles with the pockets of his now crumbled uniform, searching for his mobile. He needs to call the base and inform Maverick about the whereabouts of y/n. Jake has several missed calls from Pete, Bob and Nat. All probably worried about their female friend. After taking a deep breath to calm his nerves he hit the call button, almost immediately hearing the Captain's greetings.

---

"Princess…shhh." The brunette pilot absolutely understands his partner’s reaction to y/n's words. He has the same rage and hatred in his bones by now, but he has to stay calm. He needs to support the weeping woman in his arms and not let his emotions take over.

"…h-he ripped…blouse…" Y/n's breathing gets more laboured by every word but she needs to tell Bradley her thoughts, she feels like her emotions are going to suffocate her. "…I hit him…"

"You did so good, Princess. So good…" He places a soft kiss to her head, feeling her still wet hair. He knows that they have to take to the hospital, even if she is somewhat coherent now that she even could tell him pieces of the previous events she is far from being okay. When he cradles her deeper into his warm chest he strokes up and down her back to give her even more warmth. A painful cry of the woman in his arms brings him out of his raging thoughts. She's in pain. When he looks down her back he sees the angry bruise on her kidney area. This bastard kicked or punched her in her most sensitive area and hurt her weak kidney further.

"I'm sorry, Princess. I'm sorry. We- we have to get you up okay? You're shivering, we need to put on some dry clothes and we have to take you to the hospital." Her faint nodding against his chest is concerning him. In any other situation, high fever or pain, y/n would've fight tooth and nail to not go to the hospital. Her being content with seeing a doctor is a clear sign how much she has to suffer right now. His heart is breaking even more, if it's even possible.

"I'm going to pick you up, Princess. Gonna change in your bedroom, okay?" Bradley is determined to give her as much control over the situation as possible, even if he is well aware that she is nowhere near to walk into her bedroom or change herself into something dry.

When the pair finally made it into the bedroom he sits y/n down onto her bed. Her small shivering frame leaning heavily against his body as he sits beside her, contemplating his next moves.

"Roo-y…," he hears her saying in a small nearly inaudible voice, "is Jakey disgusted by me?" Y/n's voice quivers as she looks up at the brunette pilot with unfocused glassy eyes.

"Hey, hey, Princess. Don't you ever think one of us could ever be disgusted by you. We love you!" Bradley pulls her into his chest as cautious as possible, hoping that Jake would make an appearance as soon as possible to help him and more important to take care of their girlfriend. It's clear that y/n needs both of them right now.

"He… W-Welsh…" Y/n shivers when the name of her attacker goes over her lips, "he called me a-a s-s-slut…"

"Sweetcakes, you're far from that. You're kind, beautiful, loveable and so much more. We love you." Fortunately Jake finished calling Mav seconds ago and calmed down enough to join his partners and help Bradley with attending y/n's wounds and taking her to the hospital.

Both aviators have a silent conversation and Jake doesn't waste another second and starts to rummage for some dry clothes.

With y/n's favorite leggings and one of his Navy Academy shirts he crouches in front of his partners.

"Y/n, I need to take off your underwear, is this okay?" His cautious question is answered with a slight nod of the woman in front of him.

The whole process of dressing their girlfriend takes a lot more time than both of them would have anticipated. But when she is finally clothed the pain and the shock are back full force. Her eyes are more unfocused than before and she starts to mumble unintelligibly, no longer able to sit up even when most of her weight is propped up against Bradley.

"I called Mav, he enrolled us already in the military hospital. We have to take her in now, she seems to deteriorate. "

---

When y/n is settled in the backseat with her head in Jake's lap, Bradley jumps into the driver's side of Jake's truck. The brunette knows that Jake needs the physical contact of their girlfriend now, he needs to see her breathing and being alive in his lap to keep his calm on the drive to the hospital.

"I think she's burning up, Roo." The blonde aviator notes when he brushes his hands over the clammy forehead of the woman in his lap.

Rooster has the steering wheel in a vice grip, his knuckles already turned white. Images play in his head from the bits and pieces y/n told him earlier. He sees Welsh hitting her, slamming her head against the wall or the desk. He sees this disgusting man ripping her blouse. But Bradley also sees y/n fighting. Fighting against this monster that is much bigger than her. But she made it. He thanks his parents, he thanks God that Jake and he are already back and he prays that this trauma is not going to break her. He knows that he and Jake will be there for her no matter what but he just prays that she still has trust in them. He doesn't know what he is going to do if she is slipping into that shell of a woman she was two years before.

No he KNOWS what they're going to do in this worst case scenario: They will get her out of this and they will be her support system. They love her and this alone is enough to move mountains. A tear slips down his cheek. He's never been so emotional over a woman except for his mother. But y/n is special and nothing can ever change his and Jake's love for her.

---

Y/n's shaking seems to increase during the drive to the hospital. Jake occasionally checks her pulse at her carotid even if she's trembling and whimpering from pain he is afraid that she slips between his fingers. When they stormed into the bathroom earlier she looks so pale and with her blue lips Jake's first thought was that they're too late. That their love is already dead. Even now that he knows she's alive that moment killed something in him. He will never forget these seconds of pain in his heart.

"Babygirl, I got you. You're safe." Jake whispers in y/n's direction when she starts to mumble something he cannot make out.

---

Mav pulled some strings at the Navy hospital that one of the aviators could stay with her in the small cubical of the ER. So Bradley, the calmer one of them, is now looking at the several nurses and the two doctors working on his girlfriend. He already informed them about her previous medical conditions and the previous events, as much as he knows.

Behind the huge glass door of the ER a nervous Jake Seresin is pacing the waiting area up and down. Mav informed him minutes ago that the military police is out there in search of Welsh. But so far there's no sign of the disgusting piece of shit. As much as Jake wants to put his hands on that guy he knows that y/n needs him more than ever. So he tries to work on his rage to be calm for her when he can finally see her again.

A hand on his shoulder stops him to pace another round in the waiting room.

"Hangman…Jake, I'm sorry. I said I will keep an eye on her…" Bob's eyes are bloodshot when he looks up at his blonde colleague. The sudden movement of Jake's arm makes him flinch but instead of knocking him on his ass Jake envelopes his friend into a tight hug. The situation is taking a toll on all of them. They're friends, hell they are family and y/n is a member of that family since she first stepped foot on the base.

"There's no other to blame than that bastard and I need to restrain myself really hard not to go out there and find him myself" Jake growls.

The double door of the ER slides open and Bradley enters the waiting area, looking clearly exhausted.

The blonde aviator doesn't waste a second and hurries over to his partner hugging him into his chest, totally aware that now the cat is probably out of the sack for the other members. But he doesn't care that their poly relationship is no longer a secret between the three of them and Nat.

Slowly the other aviators make their way towards Bradley and Jake hoping for some good news.

When both release the comforting hug Bradley starts to speak not breaking the eye contact with his partner.

"Ehm, where should I start…" he pinches the bridge of his nose, his head hammering with a headache from stress and concern. "They glued her head wound and made a CT which was without noticeable problems, but she has a concussion. Her upper back, the side of her weak kidney is severely bruised, she has three broken ribs on the other side of her ribcage, fortunately they didn't injure her lungs. They put her on a broad-spectrum antibiotic because of her fever and her inflamed kidney. She's sleeping now, which is good." Bradley looks behind Jake to their friends to engage them in the conversation after all they're just as concerned as Jake and him.

Jake knows that there's more. Something must've happened, he can see it in his partners eyes.

Nat is the first one to speak up. "I think it's time for us to go home. Please tell her we said 'hi' and we're here for her and for you two." She hugs both her friends and waits for the other to say their good byes.

---

When their friends finally made their way home or back to the base to help find Welsh Bradley leads Jake to y/n's room. Even if the blonde can't wait to see for himself that their girlfriend is resting and was properly attended to he needs to investigate what has happened during the examination.

"What happened?" He stops his boyfriend by squeezing his shoulder. "You can't tell me shit, man. I know you." He softly strokes Bradley's back, his words came out harsher as he intended to.

"I told them the bits and pieces of what y/n told us what happened. And due to the accusation of SA, they did a rape kid." Bradley grabs Jake's hand to ground himself. He sees pure rage in Jake's eyes. "Hey, Jake calm down. They did it as a precaution, cause she was so out of it and not coherent. I told them that she said she fought him off before he got the chance but they told me it would've been safer when they do the kit. She freaked out. Her high fever… I guess she was back in her office. I heard her screaming and crying. They told me to wait outside during the rape kit… but when I heard her screaming and crying, Hell she begged them to stop I barged into the room. I was able to calm her down, but it was hard to see her in such a state." The brunette aviator is still under the impression of the events. Jake envelopes him in a bone crushing hug. "She was right though. The kit was negative." He breathes out, into his boyfriends shoulder.

"She's our fighter." Jake mumbles before they make their into y/n's hospital room.

@djs8891

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[cherryblossomcowgirl]

The Blonde Mystery Man part 2

MASTERLIST PINNED

Warnings: Swearing; fluff; talk of sex; talk of cheating; age gap; FLUFF

WC: 2.7k

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*A few weeks later*

Amelia bolts into my room and wakes me up squealing, “There is a handsome guy on the porch and he has flowers and coffee and he asked for you!!!!” I jump up, “Tell him I will be down in a minute.” I throw my hair up into a messy bun and pull on a hoodie. I run down the stairs and swing open the door, “Good morning, J-“ My eyes meet eyes that are not green, the brown eyed man smiles at me, “Morning, Y/n. I was wondering if you wanted to go on a walk with me?” I nervously chuckle, “Hey Bradley, I ummm.. I.. I can’t today. I’m sorry! But.. thank you.. for-“ I freeze when I see Jake’s truck pull up behind Bradley’s Bronco. Jake jumps out and the look on his face says it all. He joins Bradley on the porch, “Hey Bradshaw, what are you doing here?” Bradley clears his throat, “Well Bagman, I was just asking Y/n if she wanted to go on a walk with me.” My eyes are like a deer in the headlights and Jake smirks, “You should head on home, Bradshaw. I was just here to take my lady out for the day.” I laugh, “Oh were you?” He nods, “Yes ma’am. You better go get dressed.” Bradley’s cheeks turn bright red, “I didn’t know. I’m gonna just.. I’m gonna go.” Jake smiles, “Have a good day, Bradshaw.” I slap his chest, “Jake, you don’t have to be rude. I’ll be right down.” He follows me inside and sits in the couch, “Take your time, darling.” Penny comes out from the kitchen, laughing, “Two callers today Y/n?” “Yeah Pen, thanks for the warning about Bradley.” She laughs even harder, “Oh come on, I had to see your face when you opened the door.” I head upstairs, “Don’t bite Jake’s head off while I’m changing.” “I’ll try not to.”

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I follow Jake to his truck, “Where are we going?” He smiles, “It’s a surprise.” He places his hand on my thigh and I have to keep myself from jumping, “I wasn’t expecting you this morning.” “I tried to wait. Was gonna text you this afternoon to see if I could see you tonight, but then I decided that I couldn’t wait.” I run my hand through his hair, “You are adorable.” We pull onto base and head towards the hangar. I look at him and all he can do is laugh. I raise my eyebrow, “You’re taking me to work?” “No darling, I’m taking you up in the sky.”

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Jake shows me around the hangar and walks me over towards his jet. He places a helmet on me and his extra pair of aviators, “Looking good darling.” I smile, “When was the first time you flew a plane?” He thinks for a second, “10 years ago. I joined after college.” He furrows his brow and chuckles, “What were you doing 10 years ago?” I think back and chuckle, “I had just started high school.” “Oh my gosh, now I feel like an old man.” I laugh and rub his back, “It’s okay. You may be an old man, but you’re my old man.” He rolls his eyes and smirks, “You are horrible.” He lifts me up into the jet and then he climbs in. I sit in a seat directly behind his. He turns around, “I probably should’ve asked if you are okay with planes or not.” “Oh I am fine, I fly in the label’s jet all the time.” “Well buckle up little miss country star, this is going to be a little different from a private jet.” Jake starts the engine and we taxi. All of the sudden, we are in the air. My stomach drops like it does when I ride rollercoasters. I squeal with excitement and he smiles, “Told ya.” I look all around and the views take my breath away. Jake points out some different things and I stare at him in awe. I can hear his smile when he says, “You good back there, darling?” I take a deep breath, “Jake, this is amazing.” “Get ready, we’re gonna head back and land.” I prepare myself and watch him methodically land the jet. Once we land he turns around and I smile, “That was hot.” He raises an eyebrow, “Really? “Really.” He helps me down, “You have any plans tonight?” Suddenly I remember, “Actually, yes. I promised Penny I would start singing on Saturdays.” Jake smiles, “Can I be your ride? And security? And president of your fan club?” I kiss his cheek, “Sure, pretty boy. I’d like that.”

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Right as I finish getting ready for tonight, I hear Jake’s truck pull into the driveway. I pop my head out of the window and yell down, “Door is open! Mind helping me carry a couple things?” He smiles up at me, “Yes ma’am.” He walks into my room and I point to some speakers and microphones, “Do you mind grabbing those? Just bringing my guitar with me tonight.” He loads them up for me and I hop in the passenger seat. Jake smiles when he sees my outfit, “You usually perform in shorts and t-shirts?” I laugh, “Yes I do. Not a huge fan of dressing up, annoys the hell out of my manager.” He tucks a strand of hair behind my ear, “I like it. Especially because it’s Texas. Now if it was Georgia or Alabama, we’d have a problem.” “Oh would we?” He nods, “Darling, I would do anything for you but I could never support another team.” I laugh at him, “You are such a Texan. Makes me feel like I’m back home.” “Yeah, you make me feel at home too.”

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Jake helps me get everything set up and Penny comes over to the microphone, “Hey everybody! This is my niece, Y/n Y/l/n, and she is going to sing a few songs for us!” I walk up and look over to see Pete standing by his squad. They all look shocked, I guess Pete and Jake didn’t tell them. There’s collective chatter around the bar and I clear my throat, “Hey y’all! Wanna hear some country music?” I smile and they cheer and start my set. Nothing crazy, just like Penny asked. I started with a cover everyone loves, Neon Moon. Then I went on to Heads Carolina, Tails California. That one was a crowd pleaser for sure. I sing Automatic, Travelin’ Soldier, and Half of My Hometown. “That’s all for tonight, y’all! Thank y’all so much.” Everyone started complaining, asking for one more song. Penny yells, “Please?” I laugh, “Okay, okay. Y’all settle down now. One more, deal?” The crowd that has gathered around the small stage cheers. “I got a special one for y’all. I’m not usually a big love song girl, but this one makes me think of someone special.” There are some “Awhhs” and I start strumming. I sing Cowboy Take Me Away and the crowd sings along. After the first chorus, I look over at Jake. He is with the squad, but his eyes are focused on me. I smile and he winks at me. Once I finish, I thank everyone and Jake starts heading towards me. A line for photos forms and I stand there for each one. When the crowd finally dissipates, I see Jake. He walks up and kisses the top of my head, “Hey Darling, I liked that last song.” I smile up at him, “Oh yeah? Picked it for someone special.” “I wonder who that could be.” I shrug, “You wouldn’t know him. He’s super buff and handsome and a badass. He’d probably beat you up for talking to me.” Jake chuckles, “I know we are joking around, but I did want to beat up Bradshaw for talking to you this morning.” I wrap my arms around his waist, “That’s hot.” “It is?” I nod my head and he holds me tight. Penny and Pete walk over. Penny smiles, “Good job, baby girl.” Pete pats my back, “You sounded great. Penny told me about the nomination, congratulations!” “Thank y’all.” We follow them back towards the bar and Penny grabs Jake a beer. Jake throws his arm around me and I notice the squad looking over at us. “Jake, do your friends know about us?” “Yeah! Why?” “Oh nothing, they’re just looking at us.” He chuckles, “Well darling, you have some fans over there.” My cheeks turn red and Jake notices, “Don’t worry. I told them to not be weird. You are just Y/n.” I kiss him, “You are the best.” “You wanna get out of here?” I nod and follow him to his truck.

.

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Jake and I sit on the back porch of his bungalow, looking at the ocean. The moon is bright and the reflection of it in the water is beautiful. My head is in Jake’s lap and he is playing with my hair. I take a deep breath, “Jake, this is the best night ever.” “Yeah, darling?” “Mmhmm.” After a little while longer Jake asks, “Wanna take a walk?” I jump up, “Always.” He grabs my hand and leads me towards the water. We stroll in the moonlight and I ask Jake, “Question for question?” He laughs, “Of course. You start.” I think for a second, “Chocolate or vanilla?” “Chocolate. What’s your favorite kind of food?” “Italian. Are you allergic to anything?” He chuckles, “Dairy. Have been my whole life. When was your last relationship?” “6 months ago. How many serious relationships have you had?” He winces, “None.” I stop walking, “None? When was your last relationship?” “Well.. I.. uhhh.. I would really call it.. a relationship? I kind of saw someone a couple months ago, but it didn’t last long. How many have you had?” I shrug, “None. I only dated that one guy.” Jake’s jaw drops, “You’ve only dated one person? But you’ve.. seen other people?” I shake my head, “Nope. Never really been interested in that.” He raises his eyebrow, “But you and your ex.. you know..?” I laugh, “Jake, are you asking me if we had sex? The answer to that is, he cheated on me before we ever got there.” He rubs his head, “So you haven’t ever..” i laugh harder, “Jake, I will make it plain and simple for you. I am a virgin.” His cheeks turn a shade of pink and he looks at his feet, “Sorry darling, I just wasn’t expecting that.” “Okay now it is my turn. When was the last time you were back in Texas?” He thinks, “Two Christmases ago. Had a pretty long deployment after that. How about you?” “Last year. Once I moved to Nashville, everything got so busy. There’s always some meeting or event. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?” He looks up at the stars, “I wouldn’t be deploying anymore. I’d be somewhere in Texas. Surrounded by land and some cattle. Hopefully a family. Never thought I’d really be able to have one.” “Why’s that?” “Well I could just blame the job, but it’s my fault too. I was focused on my career and never put any effort into having a serious relationship. Where do you want to be in 10 years?” I think, “I always thought I’d be married by now, but I guess that’s just the southern girl in me. But in 10 years I’ll be old, like you..” He playfully gasps, “Oh no you didn’t!” He throws me over his shoulder and stars running towards the water. I smack his back, “Jake! Stop! Jake!” He jumps in and I shriek. Jake laughs, “You shouldn’t have called me old!” “It isn’t a lie!” “Oh it’s on!” He holds onto me tighter and dunks us under. We come back up, “Jake! Put me down!” He smirks, “Choose your words carefully, darling.” He lets go and I started paddling, “Okay! Never mind! Pick me up!” He grabs me and I wrap my legs around his waist. Jake smiles, “Better?” I run my hands along his back muscles, “Much better.” He kisses me and every nerve ending in my body lights up. One hand is on my waist and the other one is holding the back of my neck. It feels like I am melting into him. He pulls back and gazes into my eyes, “Do you know how much you mean to me, Y/n?” I smile, “How much?” “This much.” He kisses along my jaw, down my neck, and across my collarbone. I giggle, “That’s a whole lot.” Jake grins, “Did you realize we met a month ago?” “Wow. That’s gone by fast. Also, you remembered the date we met?” “Yeah, I did.” I run my hands through his wet hair, “Jake, you are so thoughtful. And gentle. And super, super handsome.” He traces my jawline softly, “Everything feels different with you.” “Awhh, Jake-“ He interrupts, “I love you.” His eyes widen and his cheeks flush, “I’m sorry.. I didn’t mean to say it like that.. I.. I wanted to make it special..” I stop him with a kiss, “Jake, I love you too.”

.

.

Jake carried me back to his house and lays out clothes for me. I put on a Navy sweatshirts and a pair of pajama pants. He smiles when I walk out, “Those look way better on you.” My phone starts ringing and I sigh, “It’s my manager. Mind if I take this?” “No worries darling, I’m gonna grab us some snacks.” Katie is bouncing off the walls when I answer, “Y/n! I just got off the phone with the director of the CMAs!” I chuckle, “Hey Katie, what did they call about?” “They didn’t just invite you! They want you to perform! One of your original songs! On NATIONAL TELEVISION! IN FRONT OF THE GREATS!” I giggle, “Katie! You’re joking! That’s amazing! Tell them yes! Hell yes!” She takes a breath, “Also, I accepted for y’all. Is your mystery man excited?” I hold my breath, “I actually.. I hadn’t asked.. I didn’t know if..” She sighs, “Y/n, you better ask that man to be your date. Not only is he SMOKING, you haven’t come back to Nashville yet. That means you like him. You are never gone for this long.” I laugh, “Shut up, Katie. I’ll talk to him.” She rambles on, “You know you can work from anywhere. Being by your family could be good for you! You know how hard it has been being away. I always want what’s best for you. You really should-“ I cut her off, “Katie, I love you too. Go drink some tea or take a deep breath. Talk later?” “Sure honey, proud of you!” I hang up and meet Jake in the kitchen. He looks over at me, “Good call?” I smile from ear to ear, “It was a really, really good call.” He walks over and wraps his arms around me, “Spill it.” I am so excited the words fly out of my mouth, “The CMAs don’t just want us to attend! They want me to sing! One of my own songs! On the stage! In front of everyone I look up to! And I am freaking out! And I am excited! And I need to pick out a dress! And-“ Jake stops me, “Darling, that is spectacular! I am so proud of you!” He hugs me tight and I tear up, “I can’t believe it.” He kisses the top of my head, “I can. You’re amazing. But can I ask you something?” I look up at him, “Sure. Anything.” He grins, “You said they don’t just want ‘us’ to attend.” I nervously giggle, “I guess I got so excited that just kind of came out. They gave me a plus one and I was wondering if you would go with me..” He smiles, “Of course I will. I would love to. I guess we both are just blurting things out tonight.” “Hey Jake?” “Yeah darling?” “I really love you.” He picks me up and squeezes me, “Hey Y/n?” “Yeah pretty boy?” “Will you stay tonight? Not like that.. I just don’t want you to go. I want to fall asleep holding you.” I kiss his cheek, “Well you’re in luck, I want to fall asleep in your arms.”

[butterfly-stitches]

BLUE MONDAYS.

[ Mature ]

AO3

Masterlist

Pairings: Russell Adler x Bell, Russell Adler x Reader Russell Adler & Bell, Russell Adler & Lawrence Sims, Bell & Lawrence Sims, Russell Adler & Helen A. Park

Warnings: Brainwashing 🧠 Psychological Torture 🧠 Torture 🧠 Mind Manipulation 🧠 Medical Experimentation 🧠 False Memories 🧠 Flashbacks 🧠 Loss of Identity 🧠 Prisoner of War 🧠 Medical Torture 🧠 Medical Inaccuracies 🧠 Military Inaccuracies 🧠 Vietnam War 🧠 Propaganda 🧠 Pining 🧠 Crush at First Sight 🧠 Unresolved Romantic Tension 🧠 Unresolved Sexual Tension 🧠 Older Man/Younger Woman 🧠 Developing Friendships 🧠 Possibly Unrequited Love 🧠 Stockholm Syndrome 🧠 Denial of Feelings 🧠 Pre-Canon 🧠 POV Second Person > Other Additional Tags to Be Added <

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Chapter 2: rewind the clock.

Words: 7,535 Summary: In which you are tried …

We’ve known each other for years. Fought together, bled together. Been through the hell of Vietnam together.

Together.

Together…

=========================================

— Script 01 —

=========================================

You remembered when you first met him. All those years ago.

You were fresh off the huey; jet-lagged, motion sick and completely exhausted. The majority of your morning had been spent by long, draining hours of travel. With nothing to do but to sit still in your heli seat and mindlessly stare out beyond to leagues and leagues of endless jungle. You had grown restless during it; uncomfortable and fidgety. It was not in your nature to be so inactive and stationary for so long, although it was only for now.

Even so, it was grueling for you. Zoochosis for a captive animal, idle hands for a person with calloused palms. Your tailbone ached, your muscles stiffened. The earmuffs of the aviation headset were starting to make your ears hurt. The sound of static in your eardrums echoed in your head. But it was the only thing that blocked out the chopping winds and sounds of the rotor blades from the open cabin. Hours of constant travel that felt stagnant, stuck in a never ending loop. Trapped in a limbo of an all-encompassing jungle. A glue trap for vermin such as you. And it was all beginning to drive you mad. 

There came a sudden drop in your gut, a rising crest of nausea. Then all at once, the irrational feeling of claustrophobia. As the urgency to escape from the cramped feeling of your helicopter coursed throughout your body. Bile was in the back of your throat, a burning pain behind your eyes. You stood up, gripping the handrails tightly as you swayed on the edge from shooting up from your seat so quickly. Heels just on the precipice of the open cabin’s fuselage. Winds howling all around you, whipped against your face as you stared out. The panoramic blur of jungle greenery was starting to pull you in like a gravity wellspring, a riptide. Maw open to swallow you whole. 

A traitorous thought, a nipping need. From a desperation that entailed recklessness. Muscles primed to take the plunge and jump out. Alarm bells drowning out all logical thinking, overwhelmed instead by the fight-or-flight instinct. To run, to escape. Escape? Escape from what? 

You didn't know.

(Oh, but you do. Don’t you? Deep down where the wounds are still fresh. Nothing forgets the feel of teeth and claws.) 

There came a crackling of voices in your headset between the pilots and air control. It was incomprehensible in your current state, too stuck in your own headspace to fully grasp what was said. But you knew what it meant, you were close to your destination. Closer still to being out of the air and off the helicopter. Your eyes shut as you leaned your head to the side against your forearm, and took lungfuls of air. A process to breath out the feelings that beset you. To calm the turbulence in your head and ease away the tension in your limbs. You opened your eyes. And there, you saw it. Right as it bloomed on the horizon in the far distance. A single splotch of civilization among all the wilderness. One you recognized from your dossier. Your reassignment, your new place of conduct.

Camp Haskins. 

A base built on top of an excavated and flattened peninsula. Jungle and hilltops in the distance. A boundless murky lake surrounded it all. With wide winding rivers slithering through the expanse of overgrown verdure. Sunbeams streamed through the plies of clouds across a clear blue sky, reflecting off the water surface in an sparkling array like that of a shining prism. Hypnotizing, entrancing.

(But you could see past the surface level beauty, can’t you? Look closely, to where all the ugliness and madness lies just beneath the skin. To the false ideology that poisons the land. The hearts and the minds.)

Like ants, the shapes of soldiers and personnel were all but small dots beneath the view from your huey hovering above. You were eventually forced to sit as it started to slowly descend downwards to a stretch of land serving as a makeshift airstrip. From your view above there were other helicopters sat aside on dirt spots lined with sandbags and grass patches. Their rotor blades spun idly like weathervanes, disturbed by the sudden dusty squalls generated by the wing blades of your own.

As your steel bird landed amid the rest of the flock, without a moment of delay, your boots met the ground. Legs shaky like a fawn’s, duffle bag over your shoulder. Hot dust swirled around you, the harsh glare of the sun was in your eyes. And you squinted, shielding your face with your forearm from it all. But all you felt was relief. Eased by the feel of solid ground underneath your feet. From the cloudiness, a marshaller ducked underneath the helicopter blades. The aviation helmet and clouds of dust obscured his features. Voice muffled by the hum of the chopper blades but you understood his gestures. 

He led you toward the outskirts where a Lieutenant awaited your arrival. Silent and stoic in the shadow of one of the roosting helicopters. You were greeted with nothing more than a curt nod and a firm handshake. No formal introductions or debriefs given. But his face said it all. Apathetic and haggard, thin mouth pressed tight. You were taken aback by the abrupt unfriendliness. You weren’t expecting any enthusiastic reception, or even a warm welcome by any means, but it seemed your arrival wasn’t as big of a deal as described to you. Mannerisms and rectitude… just civil things chipped away and lost to the jungle. He walked off ahead of you, away from the airfield and towards the entrance of the base. And you followed wordlessly. 

But as you both reached the threshold of the base entrance, your steps began to slow until you eventually stopped in place. Wiping away sweat that already began to coat your skin. Your eyes went to the flagpole at the foot of the entrance gate, right along the barbed wire fencing. And up to where the sounds of whipping fabric snapped in the breeze. Above you, the star spangled banner soared. Something in you stirred at the sight of it, staring up at the domestic colors of red-white-and-blue. Of the stars and stripes in the air. You were attentive to it as it waved at you. Saluting to the soldier inside and out. Seeing those colors fly above was more of a welcome than anything, something sickly familiar. 

But the longer you stared at it, the more something began to brew within you. An itch in the recesses of your mind as you tried to remember. A jolt shot down your spinal cord and your skin crawled. Something about it felt off.

(Don’t you see it? Look closely. To the false ideology that poisons the land. The hearts and the minds.) 

Seeing those colors fly above you… 

Was as sickly familiar just as it was sickly foreign to you. 

The American flag distorted like a glitch, hemorrhaged before your very eyes. The red stripes bled. Poured out like cuts on the skin, staining the fabric darker. Until it was red, red, red. Soaked in sin, bathed in bloodshed. With only the taste of iron and rot to overload your senses. Of lies being force fed to you. Slowly, by the spoonful; easily masticated, easily digestible. 

Sluicing rivulets of burning scarlet trickled down onto the dirt below, pouring out before your feet like flood waters. But before the spillage could wash over your boots, you stepped back. As disembodied, high-pitched screams came from all around you in all directions, from everywhere all at once. Pressure expanded in your head, a ringing hummed in your ears. And all you could do was look around aimlessly as your surroundings began to fade away. As if the world around you had been sepia-stained all along. Saturated and grainy like living through a photograph. Snapshots hung in darkrooms, pictures pinned onto cork boards. 

There came another itch in the recesses of your mind, a jolt down your spinal cord once more. As an omnipresence settled in your head. With it came a cacophony that surged forward. A thousand voices that spoke with the power of one, loud and sharp in your ringing ears. Someone called to you, words unintelligible. Muffled as if spoken underwater. Until it grew louder and clearer. 

The voice called out again. And you blinked. 

Slowly, heavily. As if you just remembered you could.

You turned towards the voice. Craned your head towards the entrance of the base where the Lieutenant stood. Visibly confused and on the border of being concerned. Your eyes flicked back up to the flag, only to see that it was as it was before. Red-white-and-blue, American colors blowing in the wind. Your tongue swiped across your chapped lips and a coppery taste seeped into your mouth. You lifted your hand up, pulling it back to see blood smeared on your fingertips. A nosebleed, small and just beginning to congeal. You wiped away the trickle of blood with the inside of your sleeve. Gave one last look at the stars and stripes above before falling back in line. 

Following right after the Lieutenant. Who only remained quiet as he led you through Camp Haskins. Stealing occasional glances over his shoulder at you. You brushed off his looks however, taking in the new sights and sounds of your new workplace. The FOB was bigger than what you anticipated. Uncounting for the expansive area of its grounds and perimeter that was more like a campground than just a resting campsite. Made of wooden pallet walls, metal sheets, stacked sandbags, barbed wire, and chain link fencing. Built from the ground up, Camp Haskins was a foothold in the predacious jungles of Vietnam. A paradise in the hellscape. A somewhere in the middle of nowhere. 

And here, in such a place, you stuck out like a gangrened limb. 

Eyes were on you, curious and watchful. Whispering to each other. Peeking out from the surrounding rows of field tents and makeshift pallet sheds. Sheltering away from the sweltering heat of the afternoon sun. Listening to cheery vinyls in the background to dilute the silent suffering that simmered over the campsite. But how could they not stare? You were fresh meat among the butchered bunch, just another body for the grinder. Just another cog for the machine. But you weren’t just some starry-eyed recruit straight out of bootcamp. Just as young, yes. But far more seasoned. Having had your fair share of field and combat experience. As well as a honed skill set based in subterfuge, intel gathering, linguistics, encryption and decryption — more specifically, cryptanalysis and cryptography. 

Your experience and expertise were why you were here. And why you were reassigned to this place. 

(A new change of scenery, a new set of challenges. A sacrificial lamb in a slaughterhouse. You belonged here rightfully, did you not?)

Even so, there was an efflux of uneasiness -- an acetic mix of both nerves and nausea. Lingering after effects from your journey here. But you remained composed. Unreactive to the looks and stares from the other soldiers. Quiet as a field mouse while you followed behind the Lieutenant on a plank path between the field tents. Head down, eyes averted. Focused instead to the sounds of your footsteps on the boards. 

The wooden footpathing eventually cut past a gun range. Targets, crates, barrels, wood paneling and sandbags set up at different distances and positions. Behind cover and out in the open. A group of men watched from the sidelines underneath the shade of the camouflage net hanging over the shooting booths. Because of the rising temperature, some were shirtless. Others were still in their jungle fatigues with their collars opened wide and sleeves pulled up as far up as they could go. Instructors and quartermasters lingered nearby, observing the attempts and watching for progress.  

From what you could gather it was a shooting exercise or rather a friendly competition. Soldiers cheered on as one of the participants standing behind the firing line quickly took shots at the targets. Missing more than a few, before his aim steadied a bit. But he wasn’t quick enough as a stopwatch rang out, signaling the end of his attempt. You slowed your stride and took a moment to watch. Analyzing and surveying. Your eyes focused on the next participant that stepped forward. A stocky man with a buzzcut, wearing a stained wife beater. A rifle hung over his shoulder casually, as if it was an accessory more than a necessity. He audibly scoffed at the time set by his fellow competitor, a cocky grin on his face. A deliberate display that caught the attention of the shooting instructors.

“What? Think you can do better, Miller?” One of them said.

The man’s grin only widened in response. “More than better, sir.” 

Some of the men behind him laughed. More in agreement than doubt. Laughing with him rather than at him. From the crowd, you watched another soldier stride forward, clapping Miller on the shoulder with a hearty laugh. Then threw an arm around his neck, tugging him close like one would a younger brother.

“Gotta watch out for this one, Staff Sergeant. Fought off a whole ambush of those Vietnamese bastards down in the ridge. And all by himself.”

“Heard Miller did it all with just one mag left.” Another piped in, miming an assault rifle in his hands and taking aim at invisible enemies. “One shot, one kill.”

“Got them damn Vietnamese runnin’ at the sight of ‘im.”

The instructor only rolled his eyes, arms across his chest. “Didn’t know you had cheerleaders, Private.”

“Yeah. The best damn cheer team in ’Nam, sir. Just need some short skirts and pom-poms then it’ll feel just like home.”

Miller winked and the other men burst out in laughter much to the Staff Sergeant’s clear annoyance. By the way his lips flatten into a scowl.

“This ain’t high school football, son.” He said, stepping closer. Glaring down at the still smug Private inches from his face. “Just get your ass to the shooting stall. We’ll see just how good you are at killin’, Team Captain.”

Miller stood up straighter in a salute, a small smirk rising in the corner of his mouth. 

“Yessir.” 

But you didn’t get the chance to see the Private’s attempt at the marksman challenge. Having to hurry past the firing range instead. Just to catch up in time before he disappeared in the bustle. Only the echo of rapid gunshots and sounds of cheering were heard behind you. You were led further into the base’s center to a cluster of temper tents and pop-up canopies. It was busier this time of day. Personnel went in and out of the field tents carrying manila folders and field reports. Squads of soldiers prepared themselves for the field, packing up their ammunition and filling up their water canteens for the day. 

While other soldiers sat underneath tarpaulin awnings that sufficed as an open-air mess hall of sorts. Full of endless chatter and laughing, and the scratching sounds of cutlery on metal platters. Scraping their plates clean, not leaving any morsel or crumb. From it came the smell of hot chow wafting in the air: chicken, pork chops, vegetables, rice, and boiled legumes. Being seared on flat top grills, served from their pots and pans onto wood tables. Even though you haven’t eaten since the early morning of your departure, the pungent smells of lunch only intensified the queasiness you felt. Your nausea hadn't diminished nor had your nerves. Even now as you were led to one of the canopy tents ahead. 

Beyond the green tarp flap, a small gathering lingered inside. Surrounding a circular table, discussing quietly between themselves. But only to go dead silent as the Lieutenant approached the mouth of the tent with you in tow. From what you could tell they were all higher officers if their insignia patches and uniforms were anything to go by. But between them all, standing at the head of the table, the base commander eyed you both intensely. Stalwart, serious. Stiff postured. With sheared hair the color of polished gunmetal.

The Lieutenant was the first to proceed. Stepped forward and saluted the whole tent full of higher-ups with a polite ‘sir’. Standing so perfectly at attention it was like he was back in formation. With a simple gesture of dismissal, the gathering dispersed. Filing out of the tent like a row of waddling ducks. Walking past you as if you weren’t even there. 

“Lieutenant Weiss,” The base commander nodded.

An acknowledgement more than a greeting. But his eyes were quick to land back on you. Standing a few feet behind the other soldier. 

“Thank you, Lieutenant. I’ll take it from here. You are dismissed.” He said, without turning his attention away from you.

Lieutenant Weiss moved aside, giving you one final glance before shouldering past you. You straightened your spine, conceding the superior’s seniority with a salute of your own. The base commander rounded the table and walked forward just as your arm fell to your side. He let the silence linger a bit longer between you two. Only made you shift your weight on your heels. But eventually he spoke, narrowing his gaze at you. 

Disappointedly, you came to realize. 

“So you’re the person I’ve been waiting all day for.” 

The base commander looked you up and down for a moment, sizing you up. Processing your presence. Underwhelmed by first impressions. 

“Hm, you’re not what I expected. Hell, you don't even seem to fit the damn bill. The way they hold you up as some sort of mastermind prodigy I expected well… more.” 

He let his words settle. You knew he awaited a reply. To bite back and dissuade any doubts given about yourself or your skillset. You thought you would. At least disagree with him. But nothing rose, nothing conjured up. 

“If I didn’t know any better I’d say they sent me the wrong person for the job. But if there’s anything I learned over the years it's that taking someone at face value will only be a disservice in the long run.”

The commander sighed out more wearily than was intended as his composure fell. But he was swift to stiffen his shoulders again and correct his posture. “I’m sure I don't need to give you the rundown of things. You know what needs to be done and what is required of you. You’ll be working closely with Russell Adler.”

Something in you stirred, writhing. 

The details of your debrief were foggy. But the name seemed awfully distinct. Too familiar. Like an old wound, there came a phantom pain. Skin prickled and cold sweat gathered down your spine. Empty traces of memories came and went. Too convoluted and obscure; too fleeting to fully grasp. Washed away like silt in a rushing stream.

“Adler?” You repeated. Whisper-like from your sudden breathlessness. Such a name carried weight. But on your tongue, it felt like an imprecation. 

“Correct, you’ll be assigned to his team and will take direct orders from him from now on.” He eyed you, “Is that a problem?”

You paused, taken aback by the question. Licking your dry lips, you shook your head. “Of course not, sir.”

“Good. The man's a damn bastard. He’s got a particular way of doing things but he’ll bring out that potential in you I’m sure.”

From the way he paused again, the commander intended to elaborate more. But the sound of revving engines and heavy wheels crunching on dirt gravel behind the tent cut through the conversation.

“Speak of the Devil.” The commander said, chuffing out a dry laugh. You turned your attention back to him as he walked forward. Stopping in the entry of the tent and then turned to you. 

“Let's hope you exceed expectations.” 

With that, the base commander stepped outside of the tent. And a second later, you did the same. Followed behind him closer than you did Lieutenant Weiss as he walked between the rows of tents and onto a dirt road directly behind them. A convoy of vehicles were parked on the sidelines along the fencing. Offloading platoons that jumped off from the backs of them. Tired, sweaty, and dirty. Returning back from the field. 

The commander stopped walking and you stood beside him as he scanned the soldiers across the way. 

“Adler!” He barked out toward a group of soldiers hopping out from one of the vehicles in the back of the convoy. In that loud, stern military tone that made the other soldiers stop and grow stiff. 

From the drove of soldiers, a silhouette emerged in the afternoon sun. And you faltered. Stunned suddenly by a concentrated sun glare. You shielded your face. Crushed your eyelids together, flinching away from the brightness. While the sound of heavy boots on the gravelled road stalked forward, getting closer and closer. 

Until the footsteps came to a stop in front of you both.

In the glare of the sun stood an imposing figure. Tall and broad-shouldered. Framed entirely by an angelic glow that seemed to suffuse into your surroundings. Blinding, nauseatingly bright. It was hard to look up. Like the onset of an eclipse, it hurt to stare too long. 

“Colonel.” Greeted a velvety voice; sonorous and smooth like silk. 

And your stomach twists. A dread, unprofound.

(Nothing forgets the feel of teeth and claws.)

His large shadow fell over you, blocking out the sun. Still you struggled to see. Your eyesight bleached white. You blinked over and over, slowly opening your eyes. Squinting hard as everything started to take shape around you. Subsequently, gradually, the figure grew clearer. Stinging, watery eyes yet you braved a look. A single glance. 

And all at once the world seemed to fall away, time itself slowed. Face-to-face with the man himself. 

Russell Adler.

Dressed in olive green fatigues that reeked of the jungle. Sweat, gunpowder, mud and rancid water. Overtaken now by the stench of a lit cigarette balanced between his lips. The residual smoke caught in your sinuses, filling your lungs like a house fire. Instinctively, your eyes went straight to his. Only to meet the mirrored lenses of sunglasses perched on a strong Roman nose. Eyes hidden, though it didn’t shield you away from the intensity of his gaze. Or the asphyxiating feeling it churned deep inside your fickle, feeble ribs. To a rabbit heart that thumped wildly against its bone cage. Overcome with instinctual fear.

“Adler,” The base commander nodded, hands clasped behind his back. “Brought you something.”

Smoke fell from the man’s parted lips. 

“Hm, better smokes?” 

“A new member of your team.” The commander corrected. “I trust you’ll be accommodating.”

Adler took a puff of his half-smoked cigarette. Your reflection stared back at you in his dark lenses. A shiver shot down your spine like an ice spike, hair raised at your nape. As the corner of his lips rose into a small smile. 

“I’ll be sure to find good use for ’em, sir.”

“That’s what I like to hear.” He looked between you both. “I expect results.” You felt the commander’s ironclad stare on you as the finality left his mouth. Aimed at you deliberately. 

Adler grumbled a low prusten, cigarette burning between his fingers. 

With that, the commander stepped away. Within seconds of leaving, he was already pulled into other business. Guided away towards the field tents and lost into the crowd. Leaving you alone with Adler. You shuffled on the balls of your feet. As a tense silence befell you both. A beat came and went, then he moved. A body shift that made your head immediately shoot up, body tensed, startled by the movement. 

Adler tilted his head to the side. Motioning for you to follow as he sauntered off. You watched him go, unable to move yourself. Feet rooted to the ground, limbs made of lead. When he noticed that you weren’t behind him, Adler stopped and turned. Eyebrows knitted together in a questioning look. 

“You coming or what, kid?” He asked.

You stared at him for a moment. Sun beating down on you, exposed to it now with the absence of his shadow. You took an uneven breath. Despite yourself, despite your gut feeling, you stepped forward and followed him. 

(How easily you are led astray, alongside a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Your fate is sealed. You walk with death now.) 

The crowd between the tents parted into two, leaving a clear and undisturbed path for Adler as he strode on through. You trailed behind Adler, lingering with enough interspace put between you and him to not lose track of him while also remaining at a safe distance. Eyes were on you both, curious and watchful. Whispering to each other. Peeking out from the surrounding tents and makeshift pallet sheds. Sheltered away from the high noon sun. Vinyls played cherry sweet songs in the background to omit the unabating melancholy and despair of Camp Haskins. But how could they not stare? 

Like you, Adler wasn’t exempt from the attention of other soldiers. But unlike you, the looks and whispers given were derived more from admiration and camaraderie. You saw the way they looked at him. How they reacted to him and greeted him. With nods and smiles, waves and whistles; such simple recognitions to him. But to you, it spoke volumes. Adler was a man that was well-respected, well-received. And not to be taken lightly. 

Adler slowed at open tents ahead. Stopping just before the mouth of one of the open tents, peering over his shoulder to make sure you were still behind him. Boisterous laughter and talking echoed from inside making you uneasy. Reluctantly you followed Adler inside. A group of men were strewn around the interior. Sat on cots, wood boxes and ammo boxes. Leaned on tables and against stacked crates. Half-quart beer cans and whiskey bottles gathered on a table top in the center where a card game was currently taking place. 

Poker, you realized.

“Adler! Just the man we’ve been waiting on! Nice of you to finally join us. Was worried you got caught up in some more bullshit.” 

Adler only hummed, cigarette idle in his hand. 

“Well, it doesn’t seem like you did much waiting.” Adler gestured to the empty cans and bottles, then took a slow drag of his cigarette. “I see you got the party goin’ without me, Sims.”

“Yeah, well. Better to get it started than to sit around, twiddling our thumbs and waiting on you. S’like I said, I thought you —”

The man, Sims, went quiet when he finally noticed you. As did the rest of the tent. An uncomfortable moment passed before the man let out a laugh. 

“So I was right. You did get caught up in some bullshit.”

Adler’s gaze narrowed, blowing out a rush of smoke. “Always the brazen type, Sims.”

The man, Sims, only shrugged with a wide smile, folding his hand. The action made the other players stop their staring and resume the game. “So… this the ‘new one’ then?”

“Something like that. Gonna be working with us from now on.” Adler declared. Spoke more to everybody in the tent than to just Sims.

“Goin’ to show ’em around. Try not to lose all your chips while I’m gone, Sims.”

“Got no faith in me, Doc. Just one good hand and I’ll win it all. You’ll see.”

But Adler wasn’t convinced. 

He led you back out of the tent, crushing the finished cigarette with the twisting of his boot heel. Still you kept distance between you both, trailing a few paces behind. 

“Welcome to Camp Haskins. Our little oasis in the middle of this godforsaken shitstorm.” 

Adler introduced so casually that you couldn't take any other way but derisive, acrid. Nonetheless, he showed you the basic layout of the base. Pointed out what everything was and where everything was located, various facilities and all. But you barely categorized a lot of them. Occupied instead by him, by his presence. Watching, ever observant. The nature of espionage was instinctual to you. At this distance, at arm’s length, you couldn’t help but take in the sight of the man in front of you, despite yourself. Caution thrown to the wind. But you were simple in some regards; no one was immune to charisma. So you looked and stared, just like the other soldiers did. 

Adler was the embodiment of an all American man. Clean-shaven, square-jawed, and… ruggedly handsome — despite the obstruction of his shades. His disheveled helmet hair was brushed to the side in a semblance of a groomed hairstyle. The color of it was burnished by the sun until it burned like an aureole, a crown of light. 

(But you could see past the surface level beauty, can’t you? Look closely, to where all the ugliness and madness lies just beneath the skin.)

But the glory and gore of war was already skin deep. Into the trenches of a weathered face where camouflage paint was slashed across hardened features, smudged now by sweat and grime. It was nothing less of a battle-hardened, war worn soldier. There was beauty, there was madness in him. You saw it as Adler led you to your sleeping quarters, a tent shared with other soldiers. Even now as he bid you a farewell so you could get adjusted, unpack and get some rest for what tomorrow would bring. You laid in your hard army cot, your duffle bag untouched in the corner. Overwhelmed with a wave of exhaustion like you had stayed up for days. 

You closed your eyes and dreamed of death.

◼◼◼◼◼◼◼◼◼◼◼◼◼◼◼◼◼◼◼

It was getting hard to breathe.

No matter how much you wiped away the sweat streams and matted strands from your face. Took gulps from your canteen or pulled up your sleeves. The suffocation remained. 

You were only a couple kilometers into the jungle and already you felt its bite. Cascades of sweat were already sheening on your skin, gathered on your brow. And already your uniform started to feel like a second skin, clinging to you from all the clamminess. You thought yourself prepared mentally and physically. But your debrief or specified training didn’t fully prepare you for this sort of misery. Of an inescapable and persistent humidity that didn’t take long to sink its teeth in you. A sweltering heat insulated by the density of all the trees. Canopies that were heavily intertwined in growth like tapestry; their branches woven together so tightly that they were indistinguishable from each other.

You weren’t the only one affected. So were the rest of Adler’s team. 

From their footslogging, they were as miserable as you were. But they endured and continued, without a complaint or slowing down. So you did the same and kept on walking further into an endless jungle without an end in sight. But it wasn’t just for nothing that was for certain. You remembered earlier. Hours before. When Adler had arrived at your tent to fetch you in the morning. Seemingly surprised that you were wide awake and already dressed. 

“You’re up early. Thought’d you be out cold.” Adler had commented while he walked you to the open-aired mess hall. “Hope you got decent sleep, we’ve got a job to do.”

You had sat at the same table as Adler’s team albeit at the far end of the table bench. Spacing still kept, at arm's length to everyone. No one had commented on the distance you put between everyone, especially him. But you didn't eat breakfast. That feeling in your gut had stayed and so had the nausea. You weren’t keeping up with the conversations. Only bits and pieces: how Sims lost all his chips last night then again by no other than Adler, how the eggs and ham tasted like rubber, or even how hot it always quickly gets. Mindless chatter to pass the time. 

“Hutch and his boys got ambushed down by the ridge while out on yesterday’s patrol.” Adler had told everyone after breakfast. “That piece of land’s a prime piece of real estate. Too valuable to give up. Got orders to zap ’em. So gear up. We leave within the hour.”

You had followed steps behind Sims and some other members towards a provisional tent to stock up on ammunition. 

“Heard Hutch got hit during the entire thing.” Sims had said. 

“Yeah and got his ass saved by a single stripe Private.” One of the members had added, but you couldn’t make out which one. 

“Think it's enough to send him back home?”

Another member had shook his head. “Nah, it's a through and through. They’ll have him back in the field within the month I reckon.”

You all had met Adler within the hour, on the dot. He was dressed in jungle fatigues, ammo, grenades and the rest of his gear strapped to his utility vest. M16 cradled in his hands, a boonie hat on his head. Tiger stripes across his face and arms. Without delay, all of you had gone to the airfield and hopped on a helicopter. A short ride later, you had been dropped off miles away from the destination. You and Adler’s team would have to trek the rest of the way there. 

The assignment had seemed simple enough then. Go to the ridge, eliminate the enemy, and make it back just in time for dinner. But nothing was ever so simple in the hellscape of the Vietnam jungle you would soon come to realize. Adler took point, Sims at his right, and you at the back. Covering the team’s flank. But together you all moved as one through the underbrush. Carefully and silently, slow and steady. Wary for any booby traps and trip mines even this far out in the jungle. But you were all close to the ridge. 

Still, the heat was getting to you. More than you thought possible. In the silence of the jungle, you heard it. Beneath the ambiance, in the background of you and the team’s trampling through the undergrowth. Voices in the trees. Smudges of shadow just beyond the treeline where the eye could barely see. Watching, waiting. For the perfect opportunity. Then beeps, a loud beeping. Like a ticking clock, a heartbeat. Your own? No, you recognized the sound. Of a hospital room, medical machines monitored in tandem. Then something softer. Wind chimes, the gentle ringing from a belfry in the far, far distance. 

You wiped the sweat from your brow. Head pounding. . You placed a hand against a tree, but you didn't feel the rough texture, instead it felt papery and painted underneath your fingers. Like paper mache. And the undergrowth brushed against your arms, was nothing but fabric and plastic. You blinked. The jungle changed before your eyes, dissolving like an illusion. And all you saw was white. White walls, white flooring. A hallway. The sterile scent of peroxide and bleach. Shadows behind windows, peering through. Watching, waiting. You walked faster, panic and confusion fueled your steps. But the hallway grew longer, endless. You weren’t allowed to leave just yet.  

Until you collided with something, someone. 

“What the hell? — ” A harsh mumble through gritted teeth.

You looked up, wide-eyed. Shades filled your vision, as well as a downturned scowl. As your surroundings settled back in place.

“Get your head out of the clouds, kid.”

He grabbed you, hand pressed down on your shoulder, and pulled you down into a crouch. Only then did you notice that the whole team was crouched as well, hiding behind the boughs and piles of dead leaves and vines. And all staring at you. 

“Since the new one’s so eager, could send ’em in as a distraction, Doc.” Sims, who was leaning against a tree trunk across from you, whispered. “Get them all focused on a single person.”

Adler seemed to consider it, his scowl turning into a thoughtful press of his lips. He turned towards you, making you flinch. 

“I want you to get up there.” Adler pointed out a mound between the trees not too far from where you were all at. “You’ll get a better view of where those VietCong are hiding. Pick a target and on my say, take ’em out. That should flush them all out. Think you can manage?” 

You swallowed. “Yessir.”

Adler nodded at you, sending you off. 

Quietly and carefully, you snuck your way through the trees. Your rifle clutched tight in your hands, your helmet feeling heavier on your head.  

The trees seemed to lean in closer and closer, closing in all around you. Squeezed and pressed around you like a tight fist, suffocating you. 

White noise in your ears, static that clears into a voice. 

“You in position?”

“Almost, sir.” You replied.

You bellied yourself towards the top of the mound, settling into a spot. You stared down your scope, but all you saw was green. “I’m in position.”

“See anything?” Adler asked.

“Nothing.”

“Stay focused. Won’t be long until they walk right into your sights.”

You shifted on your elbows, nestling yourself in the dirt and ferns. “Copy.”

But Adler was right. It wasn’t long before you noticed some movement  below you. Figures emerged from between the trees, stalking out like big cats. You couldn’t gauge how many there were but from what you can tell, it was a group of them. Outnumbered Adler’s team — even with you included . 

“See ’em?” 

You blinked at Adler’s words over the radio. “Yessir, see a group of them walking towards you.”

“Good. Have a target picked out?”

You hovered your scope over one of them, walking just outside of the formation. 

“I do.”

“Take the shot.”

With an intake of breath, you steadied your rifle scope. Finger hovered over the trigger, as your crosshairs align with the target’s head. Slowly, you released your breath and took the shot. The sound of it echoed throughout the trees, a finality that left a ringing in your ears. Watching as the soldier’s body slumped to the ground in the scope. Immediately, a firefight broke out as Adler and his team started their surprise assault. But it was a blur to you. Bullets flew around you, the flash of muzzles in the foliage. Yelled Vietnamese in one ear, team comms buzzed in the other. Screams of dying soldiers collapsing to the ground. With your advantage on the mound, you tried your best to take out as many enemies as you could. When they tried to reposition when Adler and his team advanced forward, gaining ground. 

You moved down the top of the mound, taking cover as you were reloading your rifle. Hands shaky with adrenaline as you tried to insert a fresh mag. Something moved below you, just in the corner of your eye. The flash of a rifle in a stray sunstream, aiming right at you. You ducked as the rifle was unloaded towards your direction. Sweat poured down your face, stinging your eyes. Your rifle clicked, the hammer pulled back, reloaded. You heard running footsteps and yells behind your position. Coming straight for you. You heard them close in on you. From what you could garner, there’s a few of them. You laid still, finger ghosting over the trigger as the footsteps crunching against the dried leaves grow closer. As they crested over the top, without hesitation, you unloaded your mag into them. Taking out two of them, injuring another, before a fourth rushed forward. Body collided with body, as the enemy grappled with you. Your rifle pinned against your chest, the bayonet blade of his rifle sunk into the dirt beside your waist. 

He tried to keep you still on the ground, an opportunity for his injured teammate to force himself up and aim his rifle at you. You pushed your hips up, boots on the ground, as you bucked the enemy soldier off of you. Just enough to lift up your rifle and shoot the injured soldier before he could get his shot off on you. As instant as your shot, your rifle was kicked out of your hands. You recoiled back, a punch colliding with your jaw as the soldier climbed on top of you again. Grappled with you again, as you tried to reach for your knife. Using all your strength to push, you shifted your weight, bucking him off. The momentum of the maneuver pulled you with him as he fell backwards and tumbling down the mound into the jungle ground below. 

Body met the ground, dirt and twigs scraping against your skin. Your head throbbed, mouth filling with blood from a bitten tongue. You groaned, pulling yourself up. Your enemy was doing the same across from you. Your knife laid in the middle between you both. You lunged forward, grabbing your knife just as he rushed for you. You’re on your back again, hand clasped around your knife handle. It was a battle of might as you tried to push your knife into the soldier’s chest while he pushed against your arms, trying to twist the knife around and aim it towards you. Gritted teeth sneered above you, saliva falling from jowls. You felt your wrist bent, arms strained as your enemy used his weight to his advantage. Used it as leverage to pin your arms to your side, making the knife all that much closer to your chest. 

A split decision as you loosened your grip, letting the knife fall from your hand and onto the ground. A foolish decision, sure. Letting go of your only advantage. But it was enough to make your enemy falter, stupefied by it. You mustered all your strength, a last ditch effort as you kneed his abdomen. Pushing up, flipping you both over. You hit him once. Then twice, then more and more until you felt his nose shatter beneath your fists. Teeth cracked and  pieces rattled inside his mouth. 

You grabbed a rock by his head, your knees pinning his arms down, as you brought it down. Over and over. Feeling how easily the stone cracked through bone. Until his head was caved in. All mush, skull shards, and mangled blood vessels. Like fish chum in an angler’s bucket. 

You let the bloodied rock drop from your hand, right next to the crime scene. You moved away, falling backwards against a fallen log and trying to catch your breath. Your mouth flooded with blood, the overflow trickled out of the corner of your mouth. Staining your shirt. All you could do was sit there, even as the sounds of exchanged gunfire ended and the jungle went silent. You didnt how long you sat there against the rotten log. Long enough that the radio was nothing but white noise in your ears, the voices disembodied. 

Soon you heard more footsteps in the distance. Approaching you from the side. You instantly went tense as a figure broke through the treeline in the corner of your eye. You took a breath. In your bleary vision was Adler. He stalked forward in a slow manner, gun raised. He eyed your kill on the ground, still twitching and bleeding. Brain matter splattered all along the ground just like a prion infected deer. Your eyes followed him, adrenaline still coursing through your veins. Danger still blared in your head. You watched as he stopped and looked down to your knife by his boot. He reached down and picked it up, brushing off the dirt on the blade. You could already tell he connected the dots on what happened. 

As he eyed your unbloodied blade and the bloodied rock next to the dead VietCong.

He stood over you now. His rifle lowered to his side. He flipped the knife, catching it as it turned in the air. The blade in his gloved hand and the handle offered out to you. You grabbed your knife, putting it back in its sheath on your side. He extended an arm out to you, an offer of a hand up. You reached out, accepting his helping hand. Let him pull you back on your feet as he steadied you. His hand went to your shoulder, the weight grounding you. There was a knowing look on his face as it softened, just slightly. Something akin to a confessor that knew the nature of sins to a sinner. 

Adler gave you a smile. Sardonic and sharp yet genuine. Proud.

“Welcome to Vietnam, kid.” 

You let out a strangled breath, feeling something in your chest ache and stir, coiling around your heart like barbed wire until every heartbeat stung. The roots of guerilla warfare, much like jungle rot, burgeoned underneath his sun-kissed skin. And now it sprouted underneath yours.  

(Hand-in-hand with the Devil. Look him in the eye and see how he looks like a long-lost friend.)

But for that single moment, the world around you seemed to disappear. Where only he, and that smile, remained.

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A/N:

Critique welcomed as long as it is constructive and polite (don't be rude/mean pretty please ◡̈ ).