#just like the chicken soup he gave to will it was a gesture that was disguised as a courteous thing

[clowningaroundmars]

my absolute favorite thing in the whole world is how petty we see hannibal being from the very 1st moment we get to see him when jack rolls up to his office in baltimore

hannibal's with franklyn, just finishing up an appt that we see him practically rolling his eyes through. franklyn is rude, and also painfully boring. he just has an anxiety issue! ugh 🙄

then jack's in the private exit waiting to greet him, and pulls out his fbi badge when confronted. hannibal turns to franklyn and says he's excused... unless, of course, this is about him

... WHY would hannibal say that to a clearly shocked and extremely anxious man he was JUST talking to abt his anxiety 😭😭😭 that probably made poor franklyn's heart kick into overdrive bc imagine talkin abt your deep seated fears and when you exit your therapist's office, a literal fbi agent is waiting outside the door?

LMFAAOOOO

[supernovafics]

eddie has a crush on you

wc: 683

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

eddie has a crush on you, and it’s become blatantly obvious to everyone except you. 

only days after he met you at the hideout when robin introduced you both, he made you a mixtape. you had half-mentioned that you wanted to get into new music and eddie ran with that information, putting the tape together in just one night and then giving it to robin to give to you since she saw you more often. 

the next time you saw him at some group hangout at steve’s house, you told him that you really liked the songs he put on the mixtape and his heart nearly exploded out of his chest. he happily smiled and rambled on and on about some of the specific songs you said you liked, recommending you more songs from the artist and promising that he’d bring you their full album or just make you another mixtape altogether. 

that was when everyone saw it, how much he obviously liked you. but, you didn’t. 

you saw everything he did for you as just a simple friendly gesture, which was great in your eyes because you wanted more friends in this small town that you moved to only a few months ago.

when he was the only one that would come with you to see some new horror movie at the theater, or when he showed up during your quiet shifts at the bookstore and stayed for a few hours just to keep you company, you simply felt lucky to have him as a friend. 

robin was the only one to tell you differently, though. 

“oh, come on. he’s looked like a little puppy pining after you these past few weeks. i can’t believe you don’t see it.”

you laughed at her words. “you’re insane.”

“no, i’m right,” she said and you only shook your head in response, another laugh falling from your lips because you still couldn’t really believe it. 

that changed only a week later, when you got sick and robin told eddie, and then he showed up to your place armed with chicken noodle soup, cough syrup, and a few movies that you had mentioned to him one time that you really liked. 

“you made this yourself?” you asked as you poured the soup out of its tupperware and into a bowl. 

he smiled sheepishly at you as he nodded. “yeah… it actually wasn’t that hard, though. this lady at the grocery store helped me get the ingredients and then basically wrote down the instructions for me too.”

you gave him a small smile. “thank you.”

you looked down at the bowl of soup. him making it was probably the nicest thing someone had ever done for you, and that was when you finally knew. it was also when you realized how you felt too. 

you both settled on your couch after you ate the soup. one of the movies eddie brought over was playing in front of you and your head was against his shoulder because the cough syrup was making you a little sleepy. 

“eddie,” you said with a sniffle maybe halfway through the movie and turned your head to look at him. there was something about the drowsiness of the medicine that made you feel a little bold in that moment. “do you like me? like, more than just as a friend?”

how red his cheeks got at your questions told you everything you needed to know, but he still gave you a flustered response. “oh, um, yeah. yeah, i do… but, i completely understand if you don’t and—”

you cut him off with a quick shake of your head and you gave him a small smile. “no, it’s okay. i like you too.”

the immediate elated grin that broke out on his face at your words made you want to kiss him, but you refrained from doing so because you didn’t want to make him sick too; you were also too tired. 

“oh. nice. cool,” he said, trying to act normal about it all but was still smiling widely. 

you laughed a bit. “cool.”

[aishangotome]

Azel Radwan: Romantic Ending Ch. 21

Chapter 20

Thank you @shatcey for providing the video for this chapter!

♡———♡

One evening, the greedy God, on a whim, gave me a lesson on Tanzanite cuisine.

Azel: Your debt keeps increasing instead of decreasing…

Azel: At this rate, you might have to be my slave forever, you know?

At the dinner table, which had become a daily occurrence in Tanzanite, Prince Azel brought the food to his mouth with gestures that spoke of his good upbringing.

Today's meal was a Tanzanite-style salad made with bulgur wheat soaked in water until soft, mixed with finely chopped tomatoes, onions, and parsley.

The main course was simple yakitori, skewers of chicken seasoned with vegetables and spices, served with chickpea soup.

The presentation wasn't perfect, but I was getting used to dishes other than Rhodolite's.

Even so—I couldn't agree with the dinner topic being my debt.

Emma: Just to be sure, what debt are you referring to?

Azel: The tuition fee for the Tanzanite cooking course.

Emma: I'm improving my cooking skills for your benefit too, you know.

Azel: That's irrelevant. No matter what your circumstances are, my goodwill doesn't come free.

(He brings up debt, debt, at every opportunity...)

(But, I've recently learned how to get back at him.)

Emma: Ah, I understand. You want to keep me here, don't you, Prince Azel?

Azel: That's a leap in logic.

Emma: It's not. You keep increasing my debt with contrived reasons, so I thought you didn't want to let me go.

Azel: That's absurd.

(He won't meet my eyes... Don't tell me I hit a nerve?)

(...Calm down, Emma. Don't dig your own grave.)

I cleared my throat to regain my composure.

Emma: But at this rate, I don't think I'll be able to repay it even if I spend my whole life doing so.

Emma: I'd be happy if you could provide some kind of relief measure.

Azel: I'd like to tell you to diligently pay it off in cash or labor, but...

Azel: If it's going to become a bad debt anyway, it might be an option to show you another path.

Azel: For example, if you give me something worth a fortune, I might consider it.

Emma: ...Something worth a fortune...

Azel: A treasure that I would want even if I had to pay a large sum of money for it.

Emma: Do you have any desires besides money, food, books, and materials, Prince Azel?

Azel: Let me see...

Prince Azel, who had stopped eating, suddenly looked at me.

But he didn't say anything, and his mystical eyes remained motionless, making me uncomfortable.

Emma: .....Prince Azel?

Azel: ......

Emma: Why are you pinching my cheeks?

Azel: Because I felt irritated for some reason.

Emma: It hurts!

Azel: I thought about it, but as of now, there's nothing that's worth a fortune to me.

The hand that had left my cheek now reached for the yakitori.

Emma: It's troubling that there's nothing, for my debt's sake.

Azel: You just have to become a great merchant like Prince Silvio.

Emma: I don't think I can.

Azel: Then give up and keep diligently earning money.

Azel: Ah, don't worry. I also accept debt repayments by letter.

Azel: Use a carrier or whatever to deliver it to me.

Emma: ...If it gets to be too much, I think I'll consult with the owner.

Azel: Please don't do that. It's not something a kind-hearted Belle should do. It's too cruel.

I couldn't help but laugh at Prince Azel's sudden change in attitude.

The God frowned.

Azel: ...More importantly, you haven't eaten anything since a while ago.

Emma: Ah, I was so engrossed in talking that I...

Emma: Shouldn't you be reading a book, Prince Azel?

When I pointed it out, Prince Azel finally seemed to realize that he hadn't brought a book to the dinner table.

Azel: ...There's no book I want to read today.

Emma: I feel like something similar happened recently...

Azel: That doesn't matter. If you're not going to eat, I'll eat it all.

Emma: No way, don't take my share too!

I hurriedly snatched back the skewers when he tried to take them all.

Unlike in the beginning, our meals these days were often lively.

We would have trivial back-and-forths, laughing foolishly...

I knew this everyday life would end someday, but I wanted to soak in it for as long as possible.

-

Emma: Prince Azel… is he… trying to take his own life?

Screams, shouts of anger, cries, fear—all these mingled in the city, stirring the dry air.

The sounds of conflict could be heard not far away, and Tanzanite, which should have been protected by dreams and illusions, was crumbling.

In this nightmarish reality, only Kamal was smiling.

Her head wouldn't nod, nor would it shake.

The sound of my own heartbeat stuck to my ears, and sweat trickled down my cheeks.

Silvio: Hey, what's goin' on?

(Maybe I have more information than Prince Silvio right now.)

(That's how long I've been with Prince Azel.)

To answer his question, I gathered all the memories I had since coming to Tanzanite.

Everything I saw with my eyes and felt in my heart led me to the worst possible conclusion.

Emma: Perhaps Prince Azel is…

Emma: ...trying to give the people who can't live without a God a shock treatment.

Silvio: ...Huh?

*flashback*

Azel: Someone once said that humans are thinking reeds.

Azel: But those who have given up thinking for themselves are just reeds.

Azel: It's a fitting image for this country, where all the plants have withered and died.

*flashback over*

(Prince Azel was worried about the current distorted state of Tanzanite.)

(As long as there is a God, people will forever give up making their own choices and will not be able to move forward on their own.)

(But if the God were to physically disappear...)

(Only when they can no longer rely on a God will people finally awaken from the dream of mythology.)

Silvio: What are ya sayin'...? There's no way that bastard would engage in such selfless hypocrisy.

Silvio: Unlike you, he hates the words "for the sake of others" more than anything.

(...That part bothers me too.)

(Until a while ago, I even thought he might love poeple...)

*flashback*

Azel: If you want to say that God is a merciful being, don't make me laugh.

Azel: I don't care what happens to ordinary people.

-

Azel: ...The people say they love God.

Azel: They think they can do whatever they want using "love" as a shield.

Azel: That's why I will never love anyone.

*flashback over*

(The more I hear, the less reason I see for Prince Azel to be able to love anyone.)

(Could a God who has served people to the point of degrading himself as a slave truly wish for their happiness?)

Silvio: It's easier to believe he's "fakin' his death to seek freedom."

Silvio: His unusual greed for money might have been to raise funds for his eventual departure, right?

Emma: ...If that were the case, would there be a need to cause such a big commotion?

Emma: Besides, Prince Azel's appearance would stand out in other countries too.

Emma: Even if he could disguise his hair color, there's no way to hide those eyes.

Emma: Even if he faked his death and escaped, there's a high chance he'd be found.

Silvio: The country that sheltered him would be pickin' a fight with Tanzanite. Your point makes sense.

Silvio: Even if we argue here, we won't find the answer in the end.

Silvio: Not unless we catch that bastard and interrogate him.

(As Prince Silvio said, it seems the only thing to do now is to question Prince Azel.)

(...The more time passes, the more likely my guess will become reality...)

I put on the bag Kamal gave me and started walking towards the back of the alley.

Silvio: Are ya really goin'?

Emma: I can't just be driven out like this without an explanation.

Silvio: What happens to him has nothin' to do with ya, right?

(Prince Azel also used to say "It has nothing to do with me" at every opportunity.)

(Certainly, once I leave Tanzanite, he might become no more than a casual acquaintance, but...)

Emma: ––When I was burdened with debt, I told Prince Azel...

*flashback*

Emma: Even if I'm in debt, I will say no to things I don't like.

Emma: Don't think I'll just obey everything you say.

*flashback over*

Emma: If I really become subservient to a God, then I'm truly a slave.

Emma: That's why I have to go and clearly tell him what I don't like.

(When I think that I might never see Prince Azel again...)

(It becomes so painful that I almost forget how to breathe.)

Kamal didn't stop me as I moved forward with determination.

Silvio: ...Tch, that broke bastard, I'll squeeze him dry when I see him next.

It seemed Prince Silvio was coming with me, and he lined up beside me.

Emma: Thank you very much.

Silvio: You owe me one too, ya know?

Emma: I'll definitely pay you back.

(I will definitely catch that cowardly God.)

-

Silvio: ––Well, I imagined it, but...

Silvio: It's completely empty, huh?

What awaited us when we returned to the temple was an eerie silence, so profound that it made this morning's events seem like a fleeting illusion.

Just like the other day, we searched the temple thoroughly, but he was nowhere to be found.

(The left corridor is blocked by rubble, and there's no sign that Prince Azel removed it.)

He might be hiding somewhere in the vast desert, or somewhere in the city, but without any clues, it would be difficult to track him down.

(It's impossible to avoid being seen on the only road leading from the city to the castle.)

(That means it's unlikely that Prince Azel is in the castle, so I think it's either the city or the temple.)

(...Maybe the tourist firm he took me to before is a possibility.)

(But, since he threw out my bag from the temple, Prince Azel must be avoiding me...)

(In that case, he might be in a place I would never think of.)

(...Coward. Are you fine with this becoming a bad debt?)

Silvio: Woman, we've got a problem.

(.....?)

With a click of his tongue, Prince Silvio looked towards where a shadow was approaching us with a leisurely gait.

(The apostle....)

Apostle: Lady Emma, you were here after all.

The High Priest wore the same unchanging smile, betraying no hint of the attack in the city, as he stopped before us with several guards.

His air of benevolence, even in this state of emergency, was rather eerie.

(Having heard the story of Prince Azel's brother, I'm even more on guard than before.)

Silvio: The God aint' here.

Apostle: Is that so? ...I thought as much.

Apostle: The Living God can foresee the future. He's probably hiding himself within an illusion to protect himself.

Apostle: It's my fault that such a non-believer appeared in the city...

Apostle: I wanted to confirm the safety of the Living God with my own eyes, but this is troubling.

(The apostle probably wants Prince Azel to quell the unrest in the city.)

(By any means necessary.)

(...)

(...Did you really come to look for Prince Azel?)

Even though he knew Prince Azel wasn't here, the apostle didn't seem flustered. There was no sign of him rushing off to another location.

Apostle: Lady Emma and Prince Silvio are also looking for the Living God, aren't you?

Apostle: But neither we nor you have any idea where he might be.

Apostle: It would be impossible to find the Living God if we just wander around blindly like this.

Apostle: So, if you don't mind, could you lend me your strength?

Silvio: ...How specifically?

Apostle: There's only one way to summon the Living God.

The apostle's gaze didn't leave me. His clinging, unpleasant stare made my breath tremble.

Apostle: Lady Emma is the only one who has received the divine favor of God.

Apostle: The Living God is merciful, so he surely wouldn't ignore it if something were to happen to that woman.

(...!)

Silvio: You...

As Silvio immediately reached for his sword, the apostle raised both hands. The way he surrendered, just like Prince Azel, made their blood relation undeniable.

Apostle: I apologize if I caused a misunderstanding. Of course, I won't harm Lady Emma.

Apostle: Just having you here with me is enough.

(......Not good at all.)

Emma: ...Are you going to exploit Prince Azel's trauma?

(The fear instilled in him when his brothers were tortured...)

A low voice, the likes of which I had never uttered before, escaped my lips. The apostle, who had kept his expression masked, showed a slight change for the first time.

Apostle: The Living God has truly opened his heart to Lady Emma.

Apostle: To think you know about that painful divine punishment...

Emma: ...Painful?

(He did it himself, so why can he talk about it like it's someone else's business?)

Apostle: I am a servant of the Living God. Every single action I take is dedicated to God.

Apostle: I have never wished to torment him. That's why it's painful.

(...)

(...This might be the first time I've ever wanted to punch someone this badly.)

I suppressed the violent urge and told myself to stay calm.

Even if I explained my anger to the apostle, it would be meaningless.

(If I cooperate with the apostle, I might be able to find Prince Azel and avoid the worst-case scenario.)

(If we only look at the goal, we can work together... but...)

Emma: Regarding your previous proposal, I must decline.

Emma: It would truly pain me to summon Prince Azel using such cowardly tactics.

My heart couldn't accept it no matter what.

Apostle: ...I shall respect your compassionate heart.

Apostle: I must think of another method.

(...To think he'd back down so easily.)

(I thought he might resort to force...)

While maintaining his smile, the apostle turned to a male cleric beside him.

Apostle: Please summon Enis to the sanctuary.

Apostle: Just tell him I wish to discuss the future.

(No––...! It's no different, the hostage has just changed from me to Enis!)

Apostle: Now then, we shall take our leave.

Apostle: If you happen to see the Living God, could you tell him to come to the sanctuary?

Apostle: I'm so worried about where he is and what he's doing now...

(With a kind face, he's cruel to the core...)

(Come to think of it, Clavis did say...)

*flashback*

Clavis: The gatherings that the apostle holds regularly... when you lift the lid, it's a workshop for manufacturing fanatics.

Clavis: Today's riot was probably also caused by some of those fanatics.

*flashback over*

(...The apostle will stop at nothing to protect his faith.)

(If King Enis is captured by the apostle now, it will be disastrous.)

Emma: Apostle....!

The hand I extended to stop him was easily grabbed and blocked.

—Not by Prince Silvio, nor the apostle, but by Kamal, who appeared as if emerging from the sandstorm.

Emma: Kamal---

Kamal: Old man, I'm disappointed to see you looking so well, truly.

(………… Huh?)

For the first time, words were spun from Kamal's lips, which shouldn't be able to make a sound.

More than the content itself... I was so shocked, it was like being punched in the gut, leaving me gaping.

I wasn't the only one surprised; the smile disappeared from the apostle's face as well.

Kamal: Oh my, what's with that stupid look? I wanted to see it with Azel.

Apostle: ...Why...?

Kamal: Why? You're saying strange things.

Kamal: I've always been on my cute little brother's side. Unlike our crazy old man.

The voice coming from the bewitching beauty was unexpectedly deep.

Silvio: That face... You weren't told?

Silvio: Kamal is that broke bastard's brother.

(Prince Azel's... brother!?)

.

.

.

Romantic Ending Ch. 21 His Side Story

If you’d like to support my translations, feel free to leave me a tip here or buy me a coffee through the "Leave a Tip" button on my navigation bar!

[matchadobo]

Hello! I absolutely love your work and wanted to ask for a request with Kidd and possibly Killer if you can fit him in! Basically I was thinking something with since Kidd and Killer are from the SouthBlue theyre probably used to being in warmer temperatures, so how about they have a partner who is from the North and absolutely thrives in cold temperatures, wearing regular pants and a shirt and only maybe a jacket if it’s sub temperatures and being able to live off cold foods even when it’s below freezing, meanwhile they’re looking at them like they’re mad crazy because they get chilled and annoyed at even the thought of a snowflake.

KIDD & KILLER; north blue s/o

wc: 955 warning/s: gn reader, all fluff!!

"how are you not cold?" kidd asked, buried in his fur coat. he tightly wrapped it around his burly build, shivering as he approached your tshirt-wearing ass. the cold wind of the wintry, evening air ruffled his crimson locks when he crossed the deck.

"we don't experience this shit in the south, shut yer trap." he rolled his eyes, sitting next to you and shuffling closer for warmth. "you're even having ice cream for dessert for god's sake."

"thought you didn't believe in god." you hooked arms with him, pulling him closer as he nestled in your embrace.

"know what? i'm fuckin' startin' to cuz of this goddamn snow." he scoffed, rubbing his shoulders to feel less frosty. he lied between your legs, head settled on the cushion of your chest. you placed your hand on his hair, you combed the strands between your fingers as you giggled at his remark.

"where's that beanie i got you? the one with cute bear ears?" your hands trailed down to his red ears, warming them up by your palms.

"it looks stupid on me." he rolled his eyes, sighing at the relief of your warmth. "keep your hands there." he told you, a little smile on his lips spreading.

"heeeyy, i made that beanie especially or these occurences!" you pouted, pinching his ears instead. "look at them! their red as hell! so is your nose!"

"that's because you pinched my fuckin' ears!" he protested, sitting up from his comfortable position to ready and argue.

"kidd, name." killer called out from the kitchen, peeking over the doorframe to see you two in a heated argument. "i made bread pudding." he donned a frilly, white apron that had flowers scattered on the surface.

when kidd was almost in your face, ready to kiss you to shut you up, he didn't hesitate to follow the sweet, delectable aroma of the freshly baked bread emanating from the brightly lit room. you did the same.

"you really are the wife in this relationship." kidd gave killer a little tap on the chin before walking past him by the doorframe.

"ah shut the fuck up, kidd." you blurted out, kicking his ass. "you cold, kil?" you tiptoed to place a kiss on his neck, he was wearing the mittens you made him.

"your hands are warm," he pulled you by the waist, hugging you to feel your embrace. "aaah i want to stay like this, name."

"fine by me, i'll eat the goddamn pudding for myself." kidd spoke through a full mouth, munching on the custard-filled pudding.

you and killer laughed a little at the pouting redhead by the counter before walking towards him. killer let you sit by the chair opposite to kidd's as he leaned by the chair of the head of the table. "how is it?" he asked, genuinely observing how you two stuffed yourselves with it.

"phenomenal." you clapped your hands, savoring how the pudding melts in your mouth. "c'mere, taste it!" you raised a spoon while your other hand acted as a support to catch any falling food as you gestured closer to him.

killer took off his mask and ate you offer, he sat by the chair and gave you a smile, satisfied at his craft. "what do you two want for breakfast tomorrow?"

"chicken noodle soup." kidd answered with a tap of his hand on the table. "just any goddamn soup that is hot."

"you, name?"

"oh i'm fine with leftover fruits by the fridge, i'll make a fruit bowl or smoothie bowl or whatever."

they both looked at you like you grew another head. desperately waiting to see if you're joking. kidd had that usual scowl but it was deeper and killer had an eyebrow raised, anticipating your next response to say sike.

"what?" you asked as if what you said was the most normal thing during the cold especially mornings are the coldest. "it's tradition in my village who always gave out cold foods at the start of winter to have plenty of hot foods for january which was the peak of winter. i'm just conserving!"

"you north blue people are somethin' else." kidd shook his head, munching on the pudding some more. "hardcore shit."

"not my fault you're too weak to handle the cold, love." you teased, sitting on his lap as you waited for him to feed you pudding.

"whatcha say?! the fuck are you opening your mouth for? not in the mood right now, name." kidd rolled his eyes, but he sturdied his thigh so you can have a proper seat.

"it's not that!- feed me!" you wiggled in your seat, poking at him to piss him off.

"you can fuckin' eat by yourself!"

killer just watched you two with a tender smile on his face. clutching the mittens close to his chest. "well, we better sleep now. name wants to go skate and snowman building tomorrow, right?"

"yes!"

"it's too cold for this shit!" kidd grumbled. he then carried you to your shared quarters when you start to nag and whine at him for his remark while killer cleaned up. they snuggled to you that night, since you were the warmest. they soon adapted to the cold; now eating fruit bowls for breakfast, cold salads for lunch, cold ramen for dinner, and ice cream for desserts because they kept eating with you. they soon began to see the charm of eating cold, sharing habits with you. kidd begrudgingly for that matter while killer enjoyed seeing you have fun eating cold with them. the crew had begun to surmise that you three are just on some kinda bullshit they can't relate to. because who would voluntarily eat cold foods during winter?

ok first of all, i just researched about the winter times bc i live in a tropical country so i have NEVER experienced snow or winter. i read that january is the peak so if that is wrong, please educate me and lmk what should be written 🥰. i didn't really know what else to put other than what was being asked and some flirtings here and there so this is pretty short 🥺

[disasterbuck]

Hiii 💕💕💕

For the prompts: “did you eat today?”

-❤️🪐

bestIEEEEEEEEE omg I had no idea this fic was gonna turn out like this but I LOVE IT so THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE PROMPT!!!! I really hope you like it too 🥰

did you eat today?

At the sound of a door opening and closing, Eddie stretched and rubbed at his eyes. He must've fallen asleep on the couch without realising it, as the room had grown dark around him. Pushing himself up, he turned around to see Buck toeing off his shoes beside the door.

"Hey," Buck said softly, smiling at him. "I just wanted to make sure you two were doing okay."

"Thanks," Eddie murmured, something warm unfurling in his chest.

Raising an eyebrow questioningly, Buck gestured at the light switch. Eddie nodded and Buck flicked it on.

"How's Chris?" Buck asked.

With a start, Eddie tensed and looked down the hallway. "I think he's okay, but I haven't checked on him in a while. I fell asleep," he explained, taking a step in the direction of his son's room.

But then Buck's hand was on his shoulder, holding him back.

"I'll check on him," Buck said, his head tilting to one side as he studied Eddie's face. "You look like you could use a break. Did you eat today?"

What a stupid question, Eddie thought to himself, a moment before realising he couldn't actually remember the last time he'd eaten anything. The morning had been a blur of stressing about Christopher and calling Bobby to say he wouldn't be able to come in to work, and then the rest of the day had been spent taking care of his son and making sure he got enough fluids into his system.

"Does coffee count?" Eddie asked with a wry grin.

Unimpressed, Buck gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze. "Go have some water. I'll check on Chris and then whip up something for dinner."

Eddie watched him disappear down the hall to Christopher's room before sighing and making his way to the kitchen, turning lights on as he went. Obediently he got himself a glass of water, downing it almost in one go and then grimacing as his stomach rumbled hungrily.

Putting the empty glass down on the bench, he then followed the faint murmur of voices to Christopher's room and paused in the doorway with a smile.

Buck was sitting on the edge of the bed, one hand smoothing hair back from Christopher's face while the boy had his eyes closed. Without his glasses Chris looked a lot younger and Eddie felt a brief pang of nostalgia for all the years that had come and gone already.

"I'm glad you're feeling better," Buck said quietly. "Your dad's done a good job of looking after you today, huh?"

"He always does," Chris mumbled sleepily.

Shifting forward, Buck brushed his lips against Chris' forehead – Eddie felt something settle in his soul, like a puzzle piece finally slotting into place.

"I love you. I'm gonna go make some dinner and maybe get you some soup or something. Does that sound good?" Getting a nod in response, Buck stood up and headed for the door, grinning when he saw Eddie. The two of them went back to the kitchen together and Buck immediately began pulling things out of cupboards so he could get started on dinner.

"You had some water?" he asked as Eddie pulled out a chair to sit down.

"Yeah."

Buck nodded approvingly and then asked, "Hey, do you have any instant soup?"

Eddie gestured to where he thought there might be some and Buck set to work rummaging through the cupboard. He made a small sound of triumph a moment later, holding up a single serve chicken noodle soup packet.

Eddie's eyes followed him as he moved around the kitchen like he belonged there, prepping the soup for Christopher and getting things together for their dinner as well. He didn't need to ask where anything was or if he was allowed to do this; he already knew.

Because he'd been practically living here for such a long time already. He was part of their family. Eddie trusted Christopher with him completely and had done for years. He was Eddie's best friend and closest confidante. The two of them were practically inseparable – demonstrated by the way they couldn't even go a day without seeing each other before Buck was letting himself in with his key to say hi.

Scraping his chair back across the floor, Eddie stood and made his way around the table to where Buck was scattering bocconcini onto two pizza bases. Buck glanced up automatically with a smile.

"Could you stop for a second?" Eddie asked, heart in his throat as he put a hand on Buck's arm.

"Are you okay?" Buck asked, his smile turning into a concerned frown as he brushed off his fingers and gave Eddie his full attention.

"Yeah," Eddie said, and despite his racing pulse his voice was strong. Sure. "I am."

Slipping his hands into Buck's food-stained ones, Eddie sank down onto one knee and revelled in the choked gasp that left Buck's mouth and the way his eyes went wider than he'd ever seen them before.

"Buck … Evan," Eddie said softly, smiling as he saw tears welling up in Buck's eyes. "Will you marry me?"

Speechless, Buck opened and shut his mouth in an impression of a fish as he searched for something to say. When Eddie raised an eyebrow he choked out, "Are you having a stroke? We're not… I mean, we haven't even…"

"I know what I'm asking," Eddie said steadily, giving a small nod of reassurance. "I want you in my life, Buck. Forever. I'm just sorry it's taken me so long to see what's right in front of me."

Blinking rapidly to keep his tears at bay, Buck squeezed Eddie's hands tightly. "Yes," he whispered, then cleared his throat and repeated louder, "Yes! Absolutely. A thousand times yes."

And then he was pulling Eddie up and into his arms, crushing their chests together in the most soul-healing hug of all time. Eddie let out a breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding and buried his face in Buck's shoulder, lips pressed to warm skin.

They stayed like that for a few minutes, clinging to each other silently, until at last they drew back and looked into each others eyes. Buck's were still wet, and two tear tracks ran down his cheeks.

"I hope it goes without saying," Eddie murmured, lifting his hands to Buck's face and gently wiping his tears away with his thumbs. "That I love you."

"Yeah," Buck said with a grin, another tear getting caught in his eyelashes. "But it doesn't hurt to hear it. And Eddie, I love you too."

Leaning in so that their lips were almost touching, Eddie whispered, "I know you do," and then kissed him.

-

Tags 💕

@dluoser @taketheplanspinitsideways @loudenthusiastic @wallywise @mxrcjqckspnchqsc

@i-am-married-to-my-fandom @therosesaredying @stillfuckingtired @classtrialguru @speggle

@awesome-igi @natnuszsstuff @olliesrants @crazyfangirlallert @delirium1995

@brah3280 @meanceclosetohell @anythingeverythingallofthetime @izzysbeans @jesuiscenseedormir

@darkrose6578 @veronae-buddie @steadfastsaturnsrings @loveyouanyway @inell

@spicyrottingbrains @gnoeltop @idealuk @donationwayne @lemotmo

@smilingbuckley @realpersonwithrealfeelings @superlock-in-the-tardis @mjthe14thdoctor @strxwbereee

@idontknowwhatimdoing777 @ashleigh2658

Let me know if you'd like to be added or removed 💕

[notsodailykurudoro]

Day 95

Dororo lacked an appetite.

Despite his flawless care habits, rigorous training that he glided through with ease, the extra attention he gave to others, his strong morals, and insistence on staying on the bright path after belonging to the shadows for so many years, it was a reality, an asterisk in his portfolio, a blue stain on the white cloak of hypocrisy.

Dororo didn't feel like eating.

Dororo, in fact, refused to eat.

Even though this affliction did not greatly affect his almost invincible performance, it exposed him to certain situations that were, at the very least, unfavorable and uncomfortable. A fake laugh accompanied by a hand gesture of rejection, a polite decline that, under insistence, turned into cold sweat and finally into the bitterness of giving in. He had always been weak to social pressure, weak to the pure of the heart, as he would say.

Kururu was not like that.

After constant, close inspection and very long sessions of trial and error, he realized how curious his nature was. He could spend entire days awake, with the occasional bite of a curry-flavored nutrition bar, too engrossed in whatever task or objective was in front of him, determined to finish it until the inevitable snap of reality fell on his shoulders and brought him to collapse, something that he eventually found out only happened when he was in total and complete solitude. Something that changed once the trained assassin settled into his routine.

Once he finished his endless days of leisure, hunger attacked him as if his stomach was demanding blood, and he ended up eating anything he had within reach with aggressive voracity, regardless of the time, as long as no one could see him. He tore up packages, skinned pieces of meat or chicken, gobbled up noodles, inhaled instant curry, and if the gods decided to take pity on his putrid soul and he happened to have access to homemade curry (or, in general, something more edible than the packaged garbage he got at any grocery store), there was no power on earth that could keep him from almost tearing off his fingers or eating part of the plate. It was a spectacle, one that he had been fortunate (or unfortunate) enough to experience more than once.

And from that moment on, the Ninja tried to get packages of food prepared by him to hand over. Once again, the extra attention to others was messing with his own well-being.

He loved Pekopon, he loved his friends, he loved his hobbies, and he loved Kururu, but that conclusion came only after an extensive period of deconstruction and a very severe identity crisis that cast a shadow over him, which he was still trying to leave behind to this very day. The things he saw and did during his time in the assassins' corps were only to remain in his darkest nightmares and in the most horrible of his intrusive thoughts, things so ruthless, immoral, unpleasant.

It wasn't until he tried to take a bite of a piece of undercooked ham that, the impact of the taste making him return to the darkest of his days, made him realize that perhaps, and just perhaps, the problem ran a little deeper than he had initially thought.

He grimaced in disgust, only reflected in his usually expressionless eyes, as he witnessed how the Sergeant Major noisily slurped what a moment ago was his almost intact soup without waiting for a concrete response from him. It wasn't like he would have denied it to him anyway, but the urgency with which he was devouring his food (and his, too) was perhaps starting to displease him a little, besides the fact that he was starting to consider it somewhat rude.

He sighed again, looking away at the rest of the event hall, which was also part of the underground base of the platoon, decorated halfway with lights and other Christmas miscellany for the season, and also with the mess that gradually grew while his companions argued and ran around the entire venue wrapped in the decorations. Completely oblivious to the conflict, he barely made an effort to put the pieces together of what he more or less found out before the situation escalated... Did the life cycle of geese have something to do with the color of the grass in the stadium? He had no clue.

It was horrible; he felt strangely melancholic, almost dizzy from the lights and the screams. Christmas was supposed to be a time to rejoice in the company of those you care about the most, to feel grateful for what you have in your life and what you have achieved during the year, to admire the decorated houses, the families, the friends, the lovers... None of that entered into the bitter feeling that built up in his stomach and made his chest throb.

He considered excusing himself and calling it a day, returning the next day or maybe in a week, clearing his mind with more meditation, having tea with Koyuki, but he had no idea when the next time they would include him in their plans would be and he did not wanted to risk cutting short valuable time in the company of...

Another glimpse of Giroro hitting Keroro, who was on the ground with Christmas lights wrapped around his torso, with a comically large candy cane in his hand, erased his train of thought in a flash, and his grimace only grew larger. He prepared to stand up.

"Very well, this has been deligh-" he began.

"FFFWAAAHh-" A high-pitched, nasally voice exhaled from beside him, finally satisfied after having victoriously exterminated as many dishes as he could reach from what used to be the feast prepared for their small meeting thousands of meters underground.

"Now THAT is a Christmas miracle, Ne, Doro?"

"Ah..." Interrupted once again mid-sentence, he managed to blurt out, halfway up to leave.

"What? You gonna empty the tank?" Kururu returned, halfway to lying down on the ground.

"Um... Actually, I... I was just about to-" He tried to excuse himself, making inconclusive gestures, realizing it would be quite rude to take his leave without a proper goodbye.

"...N-Nevermind."

"Haaaah..." The yellow frog blurted out, scratching his stomach and looking away at the trio of morons who were now hanging Giroro from the ceiling with the same Christmas lights and preparing (or at least hinting at it) to use him as a piñata.

They both entertained themselves for a few minutes staring in mutual silence at the stupid scene before Kururu spoke up.

"Welp, I'm fed up. Wanna get outta here?"

Slightly surprised, he was able to return his gaze in time to process his request, take one last look at the rest, and nod firmly.

And once outside, he could finally breathe.

Their shared silence always seemed comforting to him, being able to lose himself in his own thoughts with the freedom of knowing that the other was doing exactly the same until one felt the eventual need to mention something before returning to calm, sometimes for hours, sometimes for minutes.

This was one of those minutes.

"You're quiet," Kururu spoke, bringing him out of his trance.

"What do you mean? I always try to reserve my words." He answered after seconds of stupefaction.

"More than usual, too much jovial charade?"

Dororo seemed to consider it, staring at the mechanical floor beneath his feet that constantly moved in tune with the machinery, saving them the tedious task of walking barefoot through the endless corridors of the base.

"...Maybe."

"Hm."

Another couple of minutes passed, seeming to stretch on for hours. Usually, they didn’t take the scenic route; by now, if they had wanted to, they would have already been in front of the metal doors of the amphibious lemonade lab. He supposed his autopilot got the better of him, unconsciously falling into one of Kururu's psychological traps.

He bristled a bit at the realization, doing a fleeting recount of all his actions during the day and the week while he was at it, failing to take a hint at the subject of the mental war that was approaching.

"You didn't touch your food."

Oh. Oh no.

"...You didn't let me."

"You haven't done it in a while."

Insightful, and honestly not surprising.

"A-Ah... Is... Is that so?"

"Listen, as far as I'm concerned, you can starve yourself if it means you're in the middle of some weird ninja starvation vow. I don't care what you do to honor the persona you created in your roleplay post-trauma, but believe me, I don't want to be the one to drag you once you fall face-first into the ground because of this stupid little antic."

He sounded oddly harsh, mad even, genuinely exasperated by something as banal as he believed his little intermittent fasting was. No matter how much he turned his claims over, he couldn’t fully understand his frustration or what at least resembled such.

"Such... thing is not going to happen, I can assure you. My health is above all in perfect condition." A half-lie, perhaps accustomed to the static in his vision, to the numbness of his words, and the slowness of his cognitive tramp.

"Sure." He spat, cynical as always in that mocking bite that adorned his own words.

Tense, he pressed his forearms together a bit, feeling somewhat scolded and remaining in cold silence for the rest of the journey. At least until the belts split, and the decision to jump to Kururu's or stay on his own to go off on his own presented itself to him. Panicking a little in the face of uncertainty, he opened and closed his mouth as he searched for the right words to ease the burden he felt he had placed on the hacker's crooked back. Finally, he opted to move from his spot, at least to beg for an apology, and if possible, a hug, any kind of physical contact, any pixel of validation. He took a step forward.

And that was the last thing he knew.

Fading in the process, a deafening pressure enveloped his senses and took his breath away, effectively falling face-first to the ground.

Still dragged by the moving platforms, Dororo remained motionless.

The yellow devil let out some sounds of urgency (and annoyance), condemned to the irony of his predictions always coming back to bite him in the ass. Cursing under his breath, his hands gripped the ninja's pits and dragged him to a more optimal area on the belts, at least while they arrived at their destination.

"I told you, I told you, I fucking told you. I always tell you, and you never listen to me. You're a…" He muttered between pushes, the mechanical statue with its face rising imposingly behind him.

He huffed, wiping sweat from his forehead, before slapping it after remembering that he could make robotic limbs emanate from his gear to make the task of carrying a body in the solitude of his mechanized cave easier… For once, without malicious intent. He supposed his autopilot got the better of him.

Still grumbling, he held Dororo suspended in the air, supported by six spider hands. The statue's teeth raised upon detecting his presence and emitted a few extra beeps upon recognizing the shinobi's. His own hands clung to his churning stomach in an attempt to ease the nausea caused by the scare and physical effort previously used. It was his fault for overdoing it like that anyway; he could only hope that he didn't end up throwing up that night.

He gently positioned his partner in his Gaming Chair™, manipulating buttons, commands, and medical equipment with his mechanical hands while he rubbed his face in eternal tiredness and stress, sitting on the floor next to the blue-hued frog. He connected small tubes to his arms that led to plastic bags with strange liquids, serums, and alien substances that perhaps, if he were in the right mood, he would take the trouble to explain in excessive detail. Withdrawing assistance once everything was in order, he shrank a little in his place when he noticed that the discomfort was only getting worse.

He let out a shaky sigh, looking up at one of his huge screens to see the time: 1:05 AM, December 25th. Christmas.

"Tch… Ho, ho, ho, motherfucker." He tilted his smile, staring at the sleeping frame of his partner.

This was nothing out of the expected; he had gotten used to the idea that sooner or later, he would end up tying him to a chair and forcing him to eat, or maybe take a rag and cut off his breathing until he fell asleep and proceed with the same idea. Even suddenly attacking him with syringes while his guard was down, taking advantage of moments of closeness, or simply going all in and stabbing the poor bastard. But he never thought that the moment would come so quickly, or much less in such an easy and, he would be lying if he didn't admit it, anticlimactic way.

Nevertheless, a failure in his almost precise calculations was a failure; there was no denying that. This was not what he expected from his night when he left the room with a full stomach. Yes, his emotional instigation was a stone in the road, and yes, maybe he also got a little bit carried away with the "scolding." But it was nothing that couldn't be smoothed out with a little more time, nice words, and a grope here and there.

Dororo was easy to manipulate, and it just so happened that Kururu almost always got his way out of things. He wasn't even leading him toward committing illicit acts! Everyone had a win on this!

…Had one.

Christmas was supposed to be about freebies, food, and consumerism, and basic decency and kindness, no matter how many war crimes and hate crimes you committed over your long career in the scumbag chain of the worst of spatial scum. Endless speeches about love and peace and giving, the hopeful looks of idiots rejoicing at the most futile of gestures, the smallest of compliments, the most meaningless of gifts…

To become uncomfortable under the coldest of touches…

He shuddered all over, his stomach churning with the aggression of a miniature typhoon, twisting and bending his organs until he felt the gags graze the back of his throat, flesh sizzling against the acid.

Oh no, he definitely wasn't going to be able to hold this one, he thought fleetingly, unable to find a trash can in time. Grabbing an unfinished helmet attached to a myriad of cables, he emptied some of the contents of his stomach inside.

Making a mess of the unfinished apparatus, he remained in that position for a few seconds before regurgitating again. His gags and whimpers echoed too loudly in the lab's silence, as he threw up another slice of turkey and stew.

"Nnngh..."

He hated food.

He hated Dororo.

He hated the way he always bragged about being nice and good, with his old-fashioned sayings, his well-kept garden, his almost perfect physical condition, and the pretentious advice he gave, as if he knew him or at least had a rough idea of what was going on in his head.

He snorted, idiot, he couldn't even take care of himself. He was just as mortal as everyone else, just as miserable and pathetic.

He laughed to himself, in a fetal position, waiting for the nausea to pass. His congested breathing made him snore and sound unpleasant as he tried to boast.

Poor thing, of course, he needed him. What would become of Dororo if he wasn't there to drag him out of his misery bubble?

"... Yeah..." He found himself muttering, turning his permanent smile upside down.

"Kur-... uru..."

He jolted upwards, how much time had passed?

He rushed to Dororo's side, who was beginning to stir and show signs of consciousness. Kururu tried to hide a sigh of relief.

"Don't strain yourself, dumbass." He warned, rubbing one of his eyes, still dizzy from his earlier vomiting.

"What... happened...?" Dororo tried, attempting to bring a hand to his face, only to notice his restricted movement.

"Don't move." Kururu said quickly, holding down his arm with one hand, carefully

They finally locked eyes.

“... You passed out because you are a crybaby who doesn't want to eat his fruits and vegetables.”

"I'm... sorry."

"You're a moron." Kururu frowned, tempted to hit him behind the head, without taking his hand off the other.

They held their stare for a while, one crystallizing and the other softening.

"Tch... Fine, apology accepted..." Kururu looked away, crossing his arms.

Dororo, in all his exhaustion, couldn't help but muster a hidden smile.

"I... suppose you did end up being the one to-"

"Drag you once you fell face-first to the ground, yeah, I know, very funny, Doro..."

A pang stabbed through his chest and stomach. He remained silent before trying to move one of his arms again to reach out for Kururu.

"I'm... sorry." He repeated, his hand in the air stretched towards Kururu's direction before being held by the wrist by an alien touch. A touch that, even coming from annoyance, was nothing more than a gentle squeeze.

"I said don't move, you braindead?"

"Are you mad?"

"What kind of question is that? Of COURSE, I'm ma-..." Kururu cut himself off, falling silent and looking at the floor for a few seconds before returning his gaze.

"No." A blatant lie, as he led Dororo's hand to a more optimal position and let him go.

Resigned, the ninja stood still, losing his sight in some dead spot in the room while Kururu walked away to lean on his desk and let his weight fall on his arms, exhaling a sigh between his teeth, still dizzy.

Dororo tended to make him sick.

"Would... it make you feel better if..."

"Just don't do that again..." Kururu interrupted, bringing a hand to his face to rub his eyes again under his glasses.

"What thing?"

There were a few beats of silence.

"... Scaring me."

The Shinobi's empty eyes opened a little more, worry settling on his features. Before he could properly process it, he began to tear up.

"... I'm sorry..."

"Ah, it's alright..."

Normalizing his breathing, Kururu finally turned to see the ninja practically tied to the chair, approaching to check the bags connected to him. Not yet.

He gave him a few playful pats on the cheek.

"Ne, cheer up, it's good now."

"I-Is it...?"

"Yeah, you just caught me in a bad mood."

Dororo sniffed.

"Is there a difference?"

"You're stretching it."

"... I know."

He weakly laughed, Kururu stretched his smile.

“... I'll start eating more,” Dororo added, his blurry vision showing signs of determination as he tried to focus on his partner's face.

“Do I believe you?” Kururu asked skeptically.

“I implore you to trust me.” Dororo replied.

“Only if I see it.”

Even through the haze of his own tears, Dororo could make out their faces drawing closer with each passing second. For the first time, he took the initiative to disobey previous orders and reached out to grasp the smaller frog’s face. He took the edges of his own mask with his free hand, attempting to pull it down. Until suddenly, Kururu shuddered violently, puffed out his cheeks, and vomited all over both of them.

… Merry Christmas, he guessed…

[theladyofdeath]

Anxious & Bewitched {nessian}

Ship: Nesta x Cassian Summary: College AU; Nesta loses a bet and has to go on a date with Cassian to a haunted corn maze. T/W: None; Fluff

Written with @snelbz

As Nesta opened the passenger side door and dropped from the cab of the truck, a chill breeze had her tucking her hands into the folds of her thick sweater.

The driver-side door closed behind her and she took a deep breath.

She had no reason to be nervous. There was no reason to be nervous. It wasn’t the first time they’d hung out together, wasn’t even the first time it’d just been the two of them, without the rest of their friends. But this time… This time was different.

He appeared around the front of the truck. “I told you I’d come around to get your door.”

Reigning in the urge to roll her eyes, Nesta muttered, “Yeah, well, you were taking too long.”

He laughed, as he always did when he was clearly exasperated by her. She wondered if somewhere, deep down inside, Cassian secretly wanted to throttle her instead of being amused by her annoyance. She wouldn’t be surprised if he did.

“Most girls—” With one look shot in his direction, Cassian stopped speaking and cleared his throat. “Like corn mazes,” he finished, even though she knew damn well that wasn’t what he was going to say. “Do you?”

Nesta shrugged. “I don’t think anyone really enjoys corn mazes. We all just do them because it’s a tradition.”

“Glad to see you’re excited,” he muttered and shoved his hands in his pockets as they walked toward the ticket booth. “I hope you don’t get scared too easily. They say this is the scariest maze in the county.”

Nesta glanced at the setting sun, barely still in existence. She gave it fifteen minutes before they were in complete darkness. “Do I seem like someone who gets scared easily?”

They reached the front of the line, which saved Cassian from having to answer the loaded question and headed for where the festivities would be starting as soon as the sun fully set behind Ramiel in the distance.

“So,” Nesta began as she looked around at the stands and vendors around them. “I believe the stipulations were one dinner and one trip through the corn maze.”

“And apple cider after the maze,” Cassian reminded her with a wink. The bet they’d made last week over whether Azriel or Elain would earn a higher score on their English lit midterm had won Cassian a date with Nesta, after over a year of rejections. He would make it count.

Nesta’s dramatic sigh was mostly for show as she said, “Right, how could I forget? Where do we start?”

“Dinner?” He asked, gesturing to the stalls they paused before.

Chili, soup, and roasted chicken legs; kettle corn, funnel cake, and, of course, hot cider. The options were limitless and as Nesta’s stomach rumbled hungrily, she realized her appetite was as well. “I could eat.”

After a quick discussion over what they each wanted and whether or not it would count as a date if they weren’t eating the same thing, Cassian led Nesta to an open picnic table, placing her bowl of hearty tomato soup in front of her as she sat down. Rather than taking the seat across from her, Cassian sat next to her, the heat of his thigh against hers as he took a bite out of the massive chicken leg he’d decided on.

He ate like an animal and Nesta hated to admit that she found it oddly attractive. 

Nonetheless, she said, “You eat like a barbarian.”

“I eat like a man,” he corrected and nodded towards her soup. “Are you going to pretend to sip that thing like a lady instead of devouring it like you want to?”

The word devour from his lips sent a chill down her spine. She’d read too much smut.  

And yes, yes she was.

Nesta took her sweet time sipping her soup, just to spite him. He was finished in less than a minute but he waited patiently for her once his food was long gone. 

Half an hour passed before Nesta’s bowl was empty and by that time, the moon and the stars were shining brightly in the night sky. Cassian took care of their garbage and clapped his hands together as Nesta stood from the picnic table.

“Ready?”

She sighed, even as a whirlwind of anxiety and excitement swelled in the pit of her stomach. “I guess I don’t have a choice, right?”

His grin was intoxicating as he said, “Not at all.”

They lined up behind a group of high school students, Cassian recognizing the green and silver of their letterman jackets from the next town over, and sat in companionable silence as the teenagers planned how they’d make their way through the maze. They discussed who would lead, who was too scared and would walk in the middle, and who would bring up the rear, making sure those people from the middle wouldn’t fall behind.

Before they knew it, the excited giggles of the group became shrieks and howls of laughter as they meandered deeper into the maze.

Then it was their turn.

“After you, Nes,” Cassian said, gesturing to the long walkway ahead of them. It faded into nothing but darkness and he swore he heard her swallow before she turned to him.

“I don’t think so. This was your idea, so you get to go in first.”

The attendant rolled his eyes and held an arm out toward the entrance. “I’ve got a line and you’re backing it up. You can go in together.”

Nesta opened her mouth to protest but Cassian took her by the hand and pulled her into the maze. Before she could even catch her breath, they were enveloped in corn stalks, the shrieks and screams of others radiating around them.

Nesta’s body grew taut, so much so that she hadn’t even realized that her hand was still in Cassian’s until they turned their first corner.

“So,” he began, and she could see his smirk in the outline of the starlight, “not scared, huh?”

“I swear to the Cauldron, I will leave right now if you don’t shut up.” The words rushed out of her. She took a deep breath, then another. “I’m not scared. I’m just—”

A guy dressed as a bloodied up zombie jumped out of the cornstalks and Nesta screamed.

But it was Cassian that jumped nearly a foot in the air, a long string of profanity tumbling from his mouth.

Nesta stared at him.

Cassian, chest heaving, stared back.

Then, despite herself, Nesta laughed.

With an exasperated sigh, Cassian took Nesta’s hand again and dragged her away from the still snarling zombie.

“Holding my hand a little tight there, aren’t you?” She asked, once they had moved farther into the maze. He could hear the smile on her face, but didn’t look at her as they surged forward. “Don’t worry, Cass, I’ll keep you safe.”

A twig snapped at their backs and Nesta whirled, turning to face the…empty path behind them. Her eyes darted around, searching despite not seeing anyone or anything there.

A terrified scream from somewhere deeper within the maze had Nesta gasping and clutching onto Cassian’s arm with her free hand.

“I could say the same for you,” he snapped, and cursed when the sound of a chainsaw began to rev from somewhere in the maze. “I’m having a blast.”

“Me too,” she hissed, grounding herself in the warmth of his body. She had never felt so annoyed and so safe at the same time. Maybe if she closed her eyes, this whole experience would be so much more enjoyable. 

Ignoring the fact that she was clinging to Cassian for dear life, Nesta continued to make her way through the maze, wishing she was literally anywhere else every time they came to a dead end.

They had just gotten away from a psycho in a hockey mask when Cassian said, “I have no clue how to get out of here.”

Nesta looked down the creepy pathways before them. “I don’t either. Isn’t there some trick to getting out of mazes?”

Snapping his fingers, Cassian took her hand and began pulling her down the path to the right. “Right turns only.”

The psycho in the hockey mask was waiting around the next turn with the rest of his team.

“Why do you even like this stuff?” Cassian demanded as they stopped to catch their breath, warily looking around at the corn stalks, waiting for someone to jump out at them.

“I don’t,” Nesta replied, peeking around the corner, cringing at whatever she saw. “I hate it.”

When there was no response, Nesta glanced over her shoulder, half-expecting him to be gone. Instead, she found him staring at her.

“What do you mean you hate it,” he asked, eyes on hers.

“I mean, I hate getting scared,” she snapped, looking back around the corner. “Slashers and horror movies are the extent of my interest in being scared.”

He muttered under his breath, “I’m going to kill them.”

With her brow furrowed, Nesta turned to find him shaking his head. “Who?”

“Feyre, but I’m sure it was Rhys’s idea, too.” He stepped up behind her, finally seeing the clown standing in the middle of the path and stepped back. “When I asked her for an idea of what you’d want to do, she said you’d love this. That you love haunted houses.”

Nesta tried her best not to gape but couldn’t help herself. “She said what?”

Cassian just shook his head, dragging Nesta past the creepy ass clown. 

“You don’t like this, either?” She asked, when he said nothing. Cassian just shook his head, and Nesta scoffed. “Wow.”

“Being scared pisses me off,” he admitted. “Which, your sister knows.”

A realization hit Nesta as they turned yet another corner: he hated being scared, but he brought her here anyway.

Because he thought she would love it. 

She hadn’t realized she was staring at him until a second clown popped out of the stalks and Cassian’s hand gripped onto hers so tightly that it hurt.

Nothing else was said until they reached the end of the maze, just a few minutes later. There were no other big scares, nothing else to take any additional years off of Cassian’s life and he wished his sigh of relief when they finally walked out into the open air of the festival wasn’t as loud as it was. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, beyond thankful that the entire ordeal was over and he’d made it out alive.

“Alright,” he said, exhaling one last time and looking towards the stalls. He’d seen someone selling hot cider when they’d first gotten here. “I could go for some cider. Honestly, I’m down for something stronger, if you are, but—”

A tug on his hand had him leaning down and then a warm kiss was pressed to his cheek.

For a moment, he stilled, thinking what had happened hadn’t just happened, but when he met her gaze, she almost looked as surprised as he was. Her eyes were wide and hesitant, glancing hectically between his eyes and his mouth. Cassian swallowed, scared to say or do anything to break whatever the hell was going on here. 

“Thank you,” she said, quietly but firmly, eyes locked on his. 

“For what?” he asked, blinking. “You were miserable.”

“So were you,” she agreed, and shook her head. “So, thank you.”

“I wanted you to have a good time,” he admitted, brushing his fingers against hers. “I didn’t want you to regret having said yes.”

Her fingers grazed his again, but then she laced them together. “Technically, I didn’t have a choice, since I did lose a bet after all,” she said, voice taking on a teasing tone before dropping back into something softer as she smiled. “But I’m glad I came. I’m glad I said yes, Cassian.”

She glanced down at their joined hands, squeezing his fingers once before she met his gaze. His eyes were already on her and he couldn’t help but stare in awe at how beautiful she was.

Blushing, Nesta cleared her throat. “So. You owe me a drink.”

Cassian hesitated. “Cider? Or…”

“Something stronger may be nice.” Nesta breathed a laugh and Cassian couldn’t help but smile. “Something to take the edge off.”

Cassian couldn’t deny that. He could use the same thing, something to take the edge off. “There’s a bar two miles up the road. I think it’s a biker bar, but it seems… Well, I’ll keep you safe.”

Nesta raised a brow. “Maybe I’m the one to keep you safe.”

Cassian sighed. “You can’t ever just say okay, can you?”

Nesta pretended to think about it. “No.”

Yet, with a wicked smile, she dragged him by his hand to the parking lot - which was nothing more than a field marked off with rope - until they were at his truck. Still holding her hand, Cassian opened the passenger side door and helped Nesta up inside before rounding the truck and climbing up behind the wheel. 

The ride to the corn maze had been okay. Conversation had been awkward. Not bad, but a little forced. The ride to the bar was nothing like that. It was brief, but by the time Cassian put the truck in park and cut the engine, he had Nesta dabbing at her eyes as she laughed at a story he was telling her about a prank he and Azriel had pulled on Rhys when they were in high school.

“To this day, he can’t stand the smell of tartar sauce,” he said, shaking his head as unbuckled his seatbelt.

She did the same, laughter still shaking her shoulders. “I don’t blame him, I don’t think I can think of it the same way either.”

With a grin, he opened the door, hopping down and rounded the truck. When he opened her door, he offered her his hand. “You waited this time.”

Her cheeks darkened just a bit, but her eyes sparkled as she said, “Well, I wouldn’t have wanted to take your chance to be a gentleman away.”

“Again,” he added.

Nesta rolled her eyes. “Again.”

After taking his hand, Nesta hopped down from the cab and he locked the truck behind them as they made their way inside the bar. It was pretty busy but they managed to find a little table tucked into the back. 

“What’re you drinking?” Cassian asked after Nesta plopped onto the bench.

Nesta lifted a brow. “Surprise me.”

Cassian chuckled. “You trust me that much?”

“We’re about to find out,” Nesta crooned.

Suddenly nervous, Cassian made his way to the bar and waited for the bartender to find her way towards him. He took the time to decide what drink best represented Nesta Archeron.

In the end, he returned to the table with two drinks and two shot glasses.

“What’d you get?” She asked, eyeing the drinks as she set them on the table.

“Jack and Coke,” he said, hovering his hand over the first. Then the second. “Vodka cranberry.” Then he slid one of the shot glasses in front of her and took the other himself. “And a shot of tequila for us both, in case you hate either of those.” 

Grinning, she looked back at the drinks. “And if I want the Jack?”

“Then it looks like I’ll be having a pink drink tonight.”

Rolling her eyes, Nesta nudged the Jack and Coke closer to him and took the other. “I like both, but this is my favorite.” She picked up the shot glass and held it out to him. “Cheers.”

Clinking his glass against hers, Cassian tossed it back, before placing it top down on the table. He did his best not to make a face, but found himself chasing his shot with his drink. Blowing out a brisk breath, he asked, “So am I to assume that haunted corn mazes aren’t a part of your yearly Halloween traditions?”

Nesta shook her head, leaning back in her seat. “Absolutely not. I’ve never even been to a haunted house. Feyre and Elain used to try and get me to take them in high school, before they could drive, but I’ve never liked it.”

“Me either.” He drummed his fingers on the table next to his drink. “Why would I want to pay someone to scare me shitless?”

With a laugh, Nesta agreed. “What about you? Anything you do for Halloween every year?”

“Pumpkin carving. Hands down.”

Nesta scrunched her nose.

Cassian blinked. “Do you have…an issue with pumpkin carving?”

“It’s so messy,” she said, sipping from her drink. “And I hate the feeling of all the guts between my fingers. No, thank you.”

Cassian shakes his head, eyes narrowed in her direction. “What kind of person hates pumpkins? Who hurt you?”

“I like pumpkins.” Nesta laughed. “I just like them intact.” 

“You’re missing out,” he said, and his toe nudged hers until the table and lingered. “Maybe you should give it another try. Maybe you’ve done it wrong.”

“You’re very passionate about carving pumpkins,” Nesta chuckled.

“I prefer calling it pumpkin art, but yes I am.”

Nesta laughed again and Cassian stared at her in awe. It was nice to see her laugh, smile, be happy instead of glaring daggers in his direction.

He looked away from her, his finger circling the rim of his glass. “You could come over, one night this week, if you wanted. We could carve a couple pumpkins. I’ll handle the guts, all you’d have to do is the fun part.”

Raising her eyebrows, Nesta asked, “And what exactly is the fun part? The stabbing?” 

“That and realizing that what you carved looks absolutely nothing like what you planned.”

With a snort, Nesta asked, “I thought you said it was pumpkin art?”

“I did,” he replied with a shrug, but the corner of his mouth was lifted up in a smirk. “But I never said it was good art.”

Tipping her head back, Nesta laughed. When she was done, she brought her glass to her lips and took a drink. “I’d love that.”

Cassian was almost shocked by her revelation. “Yeah?” She nodded but Cassian tried not to get his hopes up too much. “How about Wednesday?”

Nesta slowly set her glass back down. For a second, she hesitated, but then she said, “I can do Wednesday.”

Nearly dropping his glass, Cassian stared across the table. She was not only on a date with him now, but agreed to another in only a few days time. 

Either he was dreaming…or she was already drunk.

Maybe a bit of both. 

After a few more drinks, Cassian glanced at the clock over the bar and saw that it was pushing midnight. “We should probably go. You said you work at nine?”

With a groan, Nesta nodded. She worked at the library on campus and the librarian was not lenient about tardiness and attendance. “Bright and early.”

Drumming his fingers on the table, Cassian stood. “I’ll pay our tab and we can get out of here.”

By the time he returned, Nesta had finished her drink and was slipping her purse over her head.

His hand fell to the small of her back as they left, the crack of pool balls and droning of the jukebox in the corner fading as they walked out the front door.

As soon as they were outside, Nesta shivered. “It’s definitely fall,” she said, tucking her hands under her arms.

With a laugh, Cassian wrapped an arm around her shoulders and tucked her into his side, not letting himself second guess the move. “It’s almost like you should have worn that coat I mentioned when I picked you up.”

“I’d rather be cold than admit defeat,” she joked, but Cassian sensed there was a bit of truth to it, even as she leaned further into him. “Besides, you seem to like my lack of a coat.”

He did. “I wouldn’t like it if you were to die of hypothermia.”

Nesta snorted. “Once again, look who's being overdramatic.”

She let him open her door and help her into the truck, before it roared to life and he headed back into Velaris. On the ride back to her apartment, Nesta admitted she’d never been to a high school football game, much to Cassian’s dismay.

“What did you even do on Friday nights?” He demanded, glancing over at her as they stopped at a red light.

“Stayed in and read.” She said it like it should have been obvious, and honestly, it probably should have been.

“We’ll have to fix that, too,” Cassian said, just as the light turned green. “There’s nothing like being under those lights, the sounds of the game.”

Nesta lifted a brow. “There’s also nothing like curling up in bed with a good book.”

Cassian shook his head, amused. “You can’t tell me that reading is better than a real life experience.”

“Football is not a real life experience,” Nesta protested but that playfulness in her tone remained. “It’s a sport where people are either getting injured or praised way too much. Sometimes both.”

Cassian looked over to find her already watching him with the smallest of grins on her mouth. “So hateful.”

“I could say the same for you,” she crooned.

“Fine,” Cassian laughed. “You come with me to a game and I’ll read whatever book you give me.”

Eyebrows raising, Nesta asked, “Whatever book I give you? Any book of my choosing?”

“I already feel like I’m going to regret this, but yes.” Cassian pulled into the parking lot of Nesta’s building. “Any book of your choosing, as much or as little smut as you want.”

Nesta’s cheeks darkened. “I’ll start thinking then.”

He put the truck into park, looking over at her. “I can’t wait.”

The cab of the truck was silent, as her eyes met his. It felt quiet, intimate, safe. Softly, like speaking too loudly would shatter whatever was building between them, Nesta said, “I had fun tonight. Despite getting the shit scared out of me.”

“Me too,” Cassian agreed, hardly more than a whisper. “Can I walk you to your door?”

“Yeah.”

Neither of them moved.

The realization that Cassian had no idea what to do was daunting. He had never had trouble with women before but Nesta was a different breed. He’d waited years for this moment and now that it was here, he felt he was walking on glass and it would shatter beneath him at any given moment.

Nesta cleared her throat when the silence dragged on. “Should I get my door this time or…?”

That set Cassian in motion and by the time he rounded the truck and opened her door, she was doing her best — and failing — to hide her grin.

“Shut up,” he grumbled, taking her hand and helping her down.

Her laughter was quiet, but she didn’t let go of his hand as they headed up the stairs and to her door.

“So I’ll come over Wednesday?” She asked, and it was more than Cassian could have hoped for. He’d half expected her to change her mind, to pretend she forgot, and move on.

“Yes, I mean, yeah.” He was stumbling over his words and he cleared his throat. “I’ve got a bio chem lab that lets out at three, but I’m free anytime after that.”

“Then I’ll be there after three,” she said.

Cassian's hand tightened in hers as they stood on her doormat. “Sounds good.”

“Good.” With one last smile that had Cassian feeling weak, Nesta turned towards her door.

Before he could think twice, Cassian pulled on her hand and pulled her towards him until their mouths met, softly. He was still walking that line of caution even if caution was the last thing on his mind.

But she kissed him back, each touch sweet and gentle and nothing like he expected a kiss with her to be like, but far better.

He cupped her face, her lips soft and lush against his, and breathed in her scent before stepping back. The blush on her cheeks was beautiful, her eyes bright, and her breathing was shallow and quick. He wanted to kiss her again, something more than the quick meeting of their lips, but he forced himself to take another step back, to head towards his truck. “I’ll see you Wednesday,” he said, gaze locked on hers.

“Wednesday,” she repeated, voice soft, and unlocked her door. It opened with a creak and she stepped inside. “Goodnight, Cassian.”

The door closed and he was left staring at her autumn-themed wreath. So soft, there was no way she could have heard it, he breathed, “Goodnight, sweetheart.”

[theoceanoasis]

Fairy Tale AU with Soundrod?

"Hot Rod?!"

His father called and he rushed over.

"Your grandpapi is sick and I need you to deliver this basket."

He carefully took the basket and looked inside, where he could see chicken soup and bread.

"You must hurry. I don't want you out after sunset."

He nodded glancing at the woods.

"And never forget you must stay on the path."

"I know."

He'd heard it a million times. The forest was dangerous and he needed to be weary of evil things that lurked inside.

"Go now Hot Rod hurry along and make sure you're back before dark."

He took off driving as fast as he could.

Only to be stopped when he heard something cry out in pain. Worried he transformed and looked out into the forest. Hearing the whimper again he didn't hesitate to step off the path and go help.

He swiftly moved through the forest following the noise. He stumbled into a clearing where he found a wolf. He snarled at him the only thing stopping him from attacking was the trap caught around his leg.

He froze raising his hands he carefully stepped foward trying to talk to the wolf.

"I'm just going to free your leg."

The wolf seemed to understand him because he let him get close enough to touch his leg. He looked it over giving the wolf a sympathetic look.

"This is going to hurt."

He then opened the trap freeing the wolf who barked in pain. He threw the trap to the side and looked over his leg.

Using materials nearby he managed to make bandages although it wasn't perfect.

"Sorry I don't have anything more."

The wolf licked him and he smiled carefully petting his head. He gave him some of the energon he had which the wolf greedily drank.

He then stood up and went to leave when the wolf whimpered. He gave him a concerned look.

"What's wrong?"

The dog barked and whimpered trying to stand up and walk towards him. He tried stopping him however the dog was determined.

Eventually he realized the wolf wouldn't leave and continued his journey on foot going slow to make sure the wolf could keep up.

The sun was quickly setting and he found himself getting anxious. He was supposed to be at his Grandpapis house by now. The wolf growled at something in the forest his ears pinned back.

Getting nervous he looked in front of him and could see his Grandpapis house.

"Come on wolffe."

He nervously gestured. Out of the corner of his eye he could see a dark shadow, which sent a shiver down his spine.

The wolf barked looking about to lunge at the approaching figure. His heart was beating rapidly in his chest as a large figure with a long cloak and mask appeared out of the shadows.

"Soundwave is that you? How do you like your new form? I thought it was fitting since you always follow Megatron around like a dog."

Soundwave barked his teeth bared.

"And what's this pretty little thing?"

He shivered feeling frozen in place as the creature stared at him.

"You will make a fine addition to my collection."

"Stay away!"

He shouted and the man chuckled.

"Normally the path would stop me."

He glared at the path he was currently standing on.

"But you stepped off. Which means it's magic can't protect you tonight."

The creature suddenly appeared right in front of him and his heart stopped, as he stared up at the creature. Soundwave leapt into action and grabbed a hold of the masked figure.

"Soundwave!"

He shouted as he fought against the creature. He wanted to help and found himself blocked by some kind of shield.

"Why are you helping him? You never help humans. What's so special about this one?"

Soundwave didn't answer. He bit down on the creature causing it to roar in anger.

Slapping Soundwave away the dog whimpered in pain.

"Soundwave come here."

He looked between the dog and his Grandpapis house."

"I don't think so."

The creature pulled him close and his hands felt like death. He looked down at him and he could see glowing yellow eyes behind his mask.

"You are going to be mine forever."

Soundwave charged again knocking the creature away. He was thrown out of his arms and onto the floor. Looking over he watched as the two spirits fought.

He looked at his Gandpapis house and called for help, not wanting to leave Soundwave.

A moment later and Kup appeared gun in hand. He surveyed the situation and walked over to him with his gun raised towards the masked figure.

"You've got yourself in a lot of trouble lad."

"I know. I know."

"Get inside the house."

"I can't leave Soundwave."

"What?"

Kup gave him a confused look and he heard a whimper of pain. He gasped in horror as he saw a sword go through Soundwave.

The masked creature kicked him to the side turning his attention to him. Kup grabbed him and pulled him behind him with his gun raised. Staring the masked creature down.

"Stay away from my grandson."

"He's mine."

He looked away from the masked figure and turned towards Soundwave. Who was laying on the ground in pain. He ran over ignoring his Gandpapis shouts.

Kneeling on the ground he ignored the blood pooling around him. Soundwave looked over and whimpered when he pressed his hands against his wound trying to stop the bleeding.

"I'm sorry."

The wolf licked him and he smiled at the reassurance.

Pressing down Soundwave whined in pain while laying on the ground.

"It's going to be okay. Kup will know what to do."

His hands became soaked with blood and Soundwave barely moved. He could feel the life draining out of him as he pulled him close.

"Soundwave please you have to stay with me."

The dog gave him a sad look and he begged him to hold on. In the background he could hear his Gandpapi fighting with the creature, however he didn't focus on that.

He looked at Soundwave his hands still pressed against his wound when he watched the light fade from his eyes.

"No Soundwave. You need to hold on."

He begged and the dog looked at him one last time before he stopped breathing. His eyes had a far away look in them and he screamed. Pulling the dog close he sobbed. Ignoring Kup and the creature who'd turned to look at him.

He gently pet Soundwave's head. Tears sliding down his face and hitting Soundwave's fur.

"No please. Soundwave come back."

He noticed light start to form. First it started where his tears touched his fur and then it spread as a breeze blew past.

"Impossible."

The creature gasped and he watched in amazement as Soundwave suddenly changed from a wolf into a person.

More tears fell this time in happiness when he opened his eyes.

"Soundwave?"

"How?"

He sat up looking down at himself in amazement. He then looked at him in awe.

"You broke the curse and set me free."

He then turned to the creature who now cowered in fear looking nervous.

"Tarn."

The creature shook taking a step back.

"You will pay for your crimes."

"No you can't stop me he will be mine."

Tarn charged at them and Soundwave held up a hand causing him to freeze. He struggled against his invisible captor looking panicked.

"No please Soundwave let's think about this."

"There's nothing to think about."

Soundwave snapped his fingers and a hole opened up underneath Tarn. He watched in shock as the dead rose from the ground and pulled a screaming Tarn into the underworld.

The hole disappearing as he was dragged down until there was nothing left. Kup looked between the two of them in shock and then picked up the basket he dropped.

"Why don't you two come inside and we can talk this over."

He glanced at Soundwave shrugged and then held out his hand.

"My names Hot Rod."

"Soundwave."

"Do you want to have share a meal with us?"

"I'd love to."

The two of them stood up and followed Kup to his cottage.

[ejzah]

A/N: @mashmaiden encouraged me to get this story finished up, so here we are.

***

An Error in Judgment, Part 9

Deeks spent the next two-and-half days in and out of consciousness while antibiotics did their work. The doctors said they’d caught the septicemia in time before it spread to other parts of his body. Kensi marveled at the amount of damage a few little wounds had caused.

In that time, Deeks drifted in and out, battling high fevers, disorientation, and pain. It was terrifying, and reminded Kensi far too much of when he was in recovery from his injuries in Mexico. She’d barely let him out of her sight in all that time, insisting on observing all tests she could, and assisting with his medical care.

Now, he was finally more lucid, though he slept through large parts of the day.

“You know, you’re supposed to eat that, not sculpt with it, right?” Kensi commented as she came back from the bathroom and found Deeks pushing a scoop of food into a more uniform mound.

“Oh, you know I’m more a jello guy than…whatever this is,” he replied. He gave it an experimental poke. Kensi had to admit that the soft and bland diet left a lot to be desired.

“I’m sorry, baby. I’ll ask Sam to bring you some chicken soup, the good kind, and sherbet.” She already had her phone out, but Deeks waved her down with a muted gesture.

“Eh, don’t bother. I’m not hungry anyway.”

“I know.” Kensi sat down next to him, cupping his jaw. His beard had grown out a little more than usual, so it felt softer under her skin. “But they’re not going to let you out of here if you don’t eat.”

“Ugh, fine,” he relented, shifting with a grimace. “Ask him to bring orange and lime.”

“Will do.” She settled back, sending the request to Sam, biting back a yawn.

“Hey, you should go home.”

“I’m fine,” she insisted, even as she yawned again, unable to hold it in this time.

“Kens,” Deeks said. When she looked up, he was eyeing her knowingly, fondly. “Baby, you’ve been here for days. Go home, take a shower, get some sleep, get some real food.”

“I don’t want to leave you here alone,” Kensi admitted.

“You know I’m just going to end up sleeping most of the time. Besides, Sam will be here before too long. Please.” He gave her the soft, pleading look that she could never refuse, and she sighed.

“Ok, I will go home for a little bit. But if anything changes, you feel even a tiny bit worse, you text me right away, ok?” Deeks nodded once, giving a playful salute. She bent down and kiss him softly, lingering for a couple extra seconds. “I’ll see you soon.”

***

True to his predictions, Deeks dozed off shortly after Kensi left. He dreamed he and Kensi were floating in the middle of a perfectly blue ocean, the sun shining overhead as they laid on the deck of a small yacht. He was just leaning over to kiss Kensi, when a voice broke through his revery.

“Deeks. Investigator Deeks.” Deeks cracked his eyes open slowly, fighting the voice urging him to wake up. It was a lot more pleasant to sleep right now than facing the discomfort of reality.

“Yessir,” he slurred, only partially aware, but recognizing Admiral Kilbride’s gruff tone. His vision finally focused enough to see the man standing over him, dressed in one of his three-piece suits, and a frown firmly in place. “Afraid I’m not up to any super secret missions right now.”

“You certainly have looked better,” Kilbride commented. Deeks couldn’t tell if it was said sympathetically or in criticism. Either way, laying down seemed to put him at even more of a disadvantage, so he pushed himself up, concealing the pain it induced.

He must not have been as successful as he hoped, because Kilbride visibly winced, hand lifting slightly like he was reaching to help Deeks before he caught himself. Instead, he shoved his hand into his pants pockets, rolling back onto his heels.

He was uncomfortable, Deeks realized. It was an odd look on the normally unflappable man. Foregoing his usual urge to fill the silence, Deeks leaned back, and waited.

After several moments of extremely awkward silence, Kilbride cleared his throat.

“So, I hear that you had a pretty significant infection brewing,” he said finally.

“Yeah, turns out burns mixed with not the cleanest floors makes for a nasty combination,” Deeks agreed.

Kilbride nodded, turning partially away, seeming to study the notes left by the afternoon shift nurse, before he turned to face Deeks again, face set grimly.

“I am not in the habit of making apologies, Deeks,” he began.

“I’m aware of that, Sir.”

Kilbride’s eyes tightened and he sighed deeply, folding his arms behind his back.

“But, upon future reflection, it appears that I owe you one.” Deeks’ eyebrows rose at that. “Although I don’t like to admit it, I did allow my…own feelings about you affect my judgment. If not in the original incident that started this all, then in my decision to ignore concerns about your health. And I apologize for that.”

“Wow, I can say that I was definitely not expecting that. Are you sure I’m not having a drug induced dream?” Deeks said. He eyed the Admiral, not quite trusting him. His apology seemed too sudden and uncharacteristic. “I didn’t take your for the “see the light” kind of guy.”

“Yes, well, your wife made a very compelling argument in your favor,” Kilbride said dryly. Based on his expression, the discussion hadn’t been pleasant.

“Mmm, she did, huh? She’s kind of scary when she’s angry isn’t she?” Deeks guessed..

Kilbride harrumphed, which Deeks assumed was the closest he would get to agreement. “In any case, she pointed out certain oversights I might have made.”

“You mean like assuming we were having a tryst in the locker room and refusing to let me go to a doctor?” Deeks guessed. Maybe it was a little forthright, but he’d blame that on the drugs too.

“Perhaps.” Kilbride tapped his fingers on the footboard, once again seeming ill at ease. As though whatever he was about to say was physically hurting him. “She also reminded me of your excellent record and work ethic, including during this most recent case.”

“And now that you’ve had that reminder, what does that mean for the future?”

“It means, that I am ending your and Agent Blye’s probation, effective today,” Kilbride said. “Assuming that you can keep your relationship out of the office.”

“No.” Kilbride looked surprised at Deeks’ objection.

“Excuse me?”

“I appreciate your apology and the reinstatement,” Deeks began. He licked his bottom lip, working solely on instinct. “But I refuse to work in an environment where my every action is constantly under scrutiny. Kensi and I have managed to maintain our professionalism for years as partner who are also in a romantic relationship. An innocent hug or kiss in a private space shouldn’t discount everything that we’ve achieved for NCIS, for this team.”

“I sense an ultimatum coming,” Kilbride guessed shrewdly.

“I definitely don’t want to, but if it comes to it, I will seek legal recourse for the negligence that led to the exacerbation of my injuries.” Deeks gazed back steadily after he finished speaking. It wasn’t a threat precisely, more a warning and a promise.

“I see.” Nodding slowly, his lips twitched against a smile. “I often forget your past legal training. Alright, Deeks, you have a deal. With in reason. I won’t have you making out in the bullpen.”

“I think I can manage that,” Deeks agreed. He held out his hand, and after a moment of hesitation, Kilbride took it, his grip firm.

“I’ll take my leave now. You look ready to pass out.” He gave a sharp nod, heading for the door. “Oh, and tell Agent Blye that she used up her free pass to shout at me.”

“I’ll let her know, Sir.”

Settling back in his pillows, Deeks rubbed both hands over his face. He had no doubt that he and Kilbride would butt heads in the future, but he thought they’d reached some kind of understanding.

And if not, he had a friend who would help him draw up the appropriate paperwork. Smiling to himself, he let that thought comfort him, and closed his eyes, returning to the peaceful ocean of his earlier dream.

***

A/N: Thanks so much to everyone who stuck with me for this story.

I hope the ending didn’t seem too abrupt or Kilbride’s apology out of place. My intent is that he felt guilty about the role he played in Deeks’ decline in health and is trying to do damage control.

Do you think I should write a short epilogue, or does this seem like a good ending?

[spacecadetspe]

Feb. 17, 2025

I all but passed out from exhaustion when I got home last night. I've been working like a dog trying to make ends meet, but straining my eyes by staring into the dark and being hunched over my steering wheel has left me more tired than I care to describe.

While I was out, I got a summons from Hades' daughter, Melinoë. She and I are on friendly terms, and she gave me a chilly hug in greeting.

She explained that she had summoned me because there was some sort of jurisdictional issue between the nightmares and her madness, and gestured to a throng of zombies, all female, all dressed in mourners' robes. They were all Locrian women, she explained. Sometime long ago, someone had defiled the temple of Athena, and henceforth she demanded tribute of two women per year for a thousand years to work at her temple. If one died, she would have to be immediately replaced, but if her replacement were seen by mortal eyes, she would be stoned to death and another replacement would be chosen.

Among them were three women who had been chosen to watch over Athena's foster son, Erichthonius, as well as the seer Tiresias. And I'll get to that story in a bit.

Melinoe's question was this: whose responsibility was it to deal with these women who had emerged from Athena's excursion into the Mysteries?

"Athena's," I answered. "Drop them in her lap and let her deal with them." I gave them each a coin and sent them collectively up the Acheron for Olympus to deal with.

Tiresias and I had a short but relatively sweet conversation, and I sent him to spend the night with the prophetic faction.

Fortitude had chicken and rice soup on the stove when I got home. It wasn't ready to eat by the time I went to bed, but I had a cut of the seasoned chicken to tide me over. Funny what I'll settle for when I'm too exhausted. I fell into bed fully clothed and didn't get up for nearly twelve hours.

Athena, like many of the gods, has a long history of sanctimony and misogyny, and so dumping this issue into her lap to deal with displeased her mightily. She was banging on the palace doors for over an hour before I finally woke up, with Vassilios and several others barring her way, telling her this wasn't Olympus and she couldn't just do as she pleased whenever she liked, begging her to calm down.

Like I said. Entitled brat.

I came down the stairs and bade them let her in, and she shoved her way across the threshold. "Finally! She's awake!"

I rubbed my eyes. "Athena..."

"We need to talk."

I sighed and gestured her into the garden.

She turned and stared up at me. For the ruler of Olympus, Athena is quite short; perhaps 5'1". She put her hands on her hips and stared at me. "What is the point of dream spirits?" she asked pointedly.

I rubbed the bridge of my nose. "To process information," I said simply.

"Then where is my dream spirit? Why'd you take him away?"

"He is injured, Athena, and I told you this. I am not going to make him serve you in his current state. I have warned you every step of the way and you have ignored me."

"Then what do you call me walking through that door?" she asked. "I did what you asked. I processed. What do you expect me to do?"

"I want you to do it again. And again, until there aren't any doors left." I rolled my eyes and summoned the spiral of doors inside her mind; one for each of those sacrificial maidens. "Processing doesn't have a time frame, and healing will likely take the remainder of your existence. And the fact that you want Dimitrios to do it in spite of his physical state tells me you're still willing to do it at the expense of everyone around you."

"I don't enjoy having the rug pulled out from under me."

I folded my arms. "And I don't appreciate being lied to," I replied.

She looked confused.

"When I spoke to you about what befell Demeter, you made it seem as if penitence for Dimitrios was about nothing more than saving face as the sovereign of Olympus. Changing the terms in the middle of the game is dirty pool. Not only that, but dumping your problems on me and expecting me to fix them after you decided to set the tone of this game?" I shook my head. "I don't feel like helping you. You broke my trust."

She scoffed. "What is trust to a person who can do anything?" she asked.

"Everything."

Her self-assured smirk faltered.

"The people around me don't do things for me because I have power over them. I don't force them to do anything. They do what they do out of love. And it's not hard."

"You don't have room to talk," she sneered. "Aphrodite was ten times worse than me."

I nodded. "Nice. Low blow. Why the fuck do you think I'm trying to fix all this? For the funsies? No. It's because I know exactly how bad it was, and I want to love them properly."

Athena looked at the pathway between us. "So... what do I do now?"

I sighed. "Take them to the courts."

"Fine. I'll call Hermes. He's a psychopomp."

I cocked my head at her. "Are you just determined not to take accountability for this? Take them to the courts yourself."

She tried to strike a deal with me about not stepping on each others' toes again, but I turned her down. "I asked if we were friends once," I said. "This seems to have answered that."

Athena took the mob of mad women to see Hades. He seemed surprised that she was there. "Niece! It's not often you venture to my realm."

Athena grumbled something about her duty. "Can't you tell why I'm here?"

Hades glanced from her to the mob and then back, and then chuckled. "I can. I hope the journey was not too arduous."

"Hope," Athena growled.

Hades just chuckled again and led her down the hall to the courts.

"Do I even need to be here?" she asked.

"It would be unwise if you weren't," Hades said, playfully prodding her for her title as the goddess of wisdom.

"How long is this going to take?"

Hades pushed open the doors to a very busy room, and Athena stood dumbfounded, watching shades bustling about.

Athena raked both her hands into her hair. "This is going to take forever!"

Hades nodded. "It usually does."

"Well, isn't there some way to speed it up? Do all five judges have to preside over a single shade at a time?"

Hades explained that more judges mean more impartiality and quicker judgments, and a lot of the wasted time was more a paperwork issue.

"Fine. Can we add more judges, then?"

Hades sighed and called out for me. "Hope?"

"Well, you've got the Judicer, don't you?" The Judicer, formerly a monk known as Lok Ta, is one of Hades' three astral guides.

Hades nodded that this was a good idea, and then reached out to the Judicer. Instead of appearing in the room, however, the Judicer possessed Hades' body and began reproaching Athena for her impatience. He essentially said that she had been part of the problem long enough, and it was time to become part of the solution.

Athena always seemed to want to have the last word, but Lok Ta reached out and put a hand on Athena's face and gripped her firmly while trying to process her. I'm not exactly sure what he was doing, but Athena did not appreciate it.

"How dare you!"

"I am an astral guide. I do dare."

One of Athena's retinue drew his sword, but I put a hand on his shoulder. "Don't," I said. "That's not Hades. You're not going to help her; you'll just... get involved." He reluctantly put away his sword.

Lok Ta finally let Athena go, and she stomped her feet. "I have had it with astral guides and their insanity!" she screeched.

The Judicer chuckled. "Child, you have barely begun." And then he left Hades' body.

After that, I made the suggestion that the appeals should go through the faction heads rather than the individual souls in Tartarus, just to keep paperwork off Hades' desk. Not just anyone could submit an appeal anymore. We'll work on things little by little, but it seems like the whole of the courts could do with an upgrade. We just don't know what that looks like yet.

As for Erichthonius, he happens to be a child of theogony, created when Hephaestus tried to seduce Athena and failed. Hephaestus was more than willing to donate blood for a seeking spell, and I found his son in Tartarus with the furies. I showed him the memory orb of what he needed to know, and in his shock he confessed that Athena can't move forward because of him.

"No," I said. "Not because of you. You were never the cause of this; only a result. She must reconcile that, and that onus is on her. However..." I looked back into the portal to Tartarus. "You don't seem like you belong there."

He explained that one of his constituents had cursed him, and he didn't even remember the oath he broke. I gave him the advice to stop running and accept whatever punishment; he's already dead, so it won't kill him. I allowed him time to visit Hephaestus, and then we sent him back. The furies collectively were stunned that he didn't smell like fear anymore, and put him in "the box" to see if it lasted the night.

Don't worry; he'll be fine.

[keefwho]

January 08 - 2024 Monday

10:46pm

5.5/10

This morning I did some general tidying of my room since I had a bunch of things just laying around and out of place. I also vacuumed so now my room looks very clean. For breakfast I reheated some leftover soup from yesterday and it was delicious. Daisy also did that for lunch and hers was good too. I watched another episode of Bojack while eating.

In stream I tried doing some gestures of people standing to warm up since I often struggle with simple standing poses. For today's commission I kinda messed up while trying to make the pose more dynamic and started over 30 minutes in. It went more smoothly from there. There were 9 concurrent viewers today but they weren't chatting.

After stream I did my workout. I watched 1 and a half bojack episodes during that. I took my shower and made beefaroni with a granola bar and pear cup afterwards. Since Trevor keeps asking me to play Valheim which I have been down for but always busy, I decided to play with him for about 40 minutes while I ate lunch. He invited me to the small server he hangs out in with his friends. We covered the basics of the game before I had to leave. It was pretty chill because I wasn't being guided with a heavy hand like is common when someone invites me to play something. Also the call was calm, everyone there seems to be chill and not yelling or interrupting each other.

Today's request was for Fiya and he wanted me to draw his Braixen character being given a blunt. I finished it pretty quick. I did a little bit of lolligagging but ultimately kicked myself into gear quicker than usual because I'm tired of wasting time. I did a couple sketches of ideas I had written down, one of Kumatora and one of Zelda. They turned out okay so I tacked them onto my ideas Trello. I don't think either of them will do good numbers but it's a personal challenge of mine to try and do my ideas some kind of justice.

I was listening to XQC while working and when I was done I was going to switch to yoga. As I did, he started reacting to a Nexpo video I really wanted to watch but I abandoned that so I could get my yoga out of the way. Today's was about syncing your breathe with your movements more attentively than usual. I struggled to do some of it because of how generally sore I am but I got through it. After that I settled down and worked on my secret project some more. I realized like usual that I failed to have a solid plan going in and it's setting me back so I may have to iron out my idea more before I continue. it might mean a little bit of redoing but probably not too much. Daisy became free while I was working on that so we called and worked together a tiny bit. She put on a Jerma compilation and I stopped working since I was tired. I just watched the video after that. Then she showed me a Dennis compilation from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia because he looks/acts like Jerma. I made a rice a roni cup for dinner and put some chicken in the oven while we watched an episode of She Ra. Then she went to bed.

In bed she read me 2 chapters of Howls Moving Castle which was cozy, I needed something gentle like that. Then I played Neopets for her. She has been rustling and making noises a lot tonight as I've been doing my nightly routine. I also grabbed a cheese wheel and some crackers as a snack before bed because I don't think I've been eating enough to keep up with my recent activity. I am so sore, tired, and hungry.

Today was alright. I went through the motions like usual and felt relatively unengaged. This morning however I actually enjoyed drawing for at least a little bit. I think engaging in different activities over the weekend gave my brain a firm break from 2d creative work. In the evening I felt like I was boring or bland on account of being so tired and unengaged. I didn't have much to say.

[rachelhargrovearchived]

She gave him a small smile of encouragement when he said that could do it. Rachel gave him a nod, having a feeling that just like the other people who'd come through here to help volunteer who'd been a bit more hesitant; Foster would be able to relate with them in some way. "Awesome! And I'll be right in the back here, honestly I was going to stay anyway since I wanted the soup." She said with a small laugh and shrug of honesty. Greeting each of the teens, some of them more excited by her presence more than others, but once there were a good amount of people in there. "Okay, so Angela had something come up today so we have another very talented chef from The Glass Onion here with us today. Foster is going to show us how to make chicken noodle soup. Go ahead!" She gestured towards him and let him do his thing.

***

And just as Rachel had expected not only did Foster do a great job, he'd done an excellent job. Though a bit timid, she wondered if that just might be his personality. But as the kids grabbed a bowl and headed back out to either do homework or just chill, Rachel stayed behind to get a bowl of her own to try watching as the last of the kids filtered out. "So...how do you feel?" She asked with a proud smile across her face.

@foster-notmatty

They're just people. It seemed obvious, but it was reassuring all the same. He couldn't really think of any adults he'd liked when he was young, but he could talk to people. He could talk to people about food — the thing that had saved him, that had given him purpose. "Okay, yeah," he nodded. "I think I can do that." He certainly saw how Rachel could do it, the quiet confidence she used to reassure him. He thought that maybe she would've been the kind of adult he liked. Or maybe it was enough that he liked her now.

He started looking over his space, the ingredients laid out, formulating a plan in his mind for how it could all work. He could make chicken noodle soup — and if he'd taught Phoebe to cook without burning his apartment down, he thought just maybe he could teach anyone. Gradually, the kids started filtering in and he looked over to Rachel to confirm he could begin.

[blindmagdalena]

I hope you are taking care good care of yourself! I was just thinking about taking care of a sick Homelander, maybe another supe that can make other supers fall ill accidentally used their powers on Homelander, the supe gave him the equivalent of the flu, but Homelander being Homelander is needy and dramatic as fuck, forcing you to take care of him.

It's been two days since Homelander had a nasty run-in with a supe terrorist—sorry, super villain—who calls themselves Contagion. As the name implies, their power is the spread of disease through contact. At the time, Homelander had been dismissive of it, certain he would be immune. As it turns out, he absolutely is not. Luckily, it isn't lethal for him in the way it would be for just about anyone else. However, it has left him suffering side-effects the likes of which he has never experienced. On the bright side, it isn't contagious beyond initial infection, and you've been allowed to care for him while the malady wears off. In fact, he insisted upon it. He thoroughly refused to stay in Vought's medical ward.

"Babe," Homelander groans weakly. He's sprawled out on the couch, too stubborn to be resting by himself in the bedroom while you cook dinner, but too sick to be self-sufficient. You know it's serious because he's wearing pajamas. "My ice pack melted." Never have you heard him sound so full of self-pity. He's been relentlessly mopey through this experience. While you can't blame him, the flu is wretched, the theatrics are a little funny. You give a quiet laugh under your breath. Not quiet enough. "You're laughing," Homelander says flatly, still holding up that melted little ice pack. "I'm dying a slow, miserable death, and you're laughing." "You're not dying," you assure him, biting back a smile. You turn off the heat, cover the pot of soup, and retrieve a new ice pack from the freezer. You walk it to him, taking the lukewarm one from his extended hand. "The doctor said your system is fighting it exceptionally well. You're going to be alright." Homelander is quiet. He's pouting at you, you realize. His lips are pursed, brows deeply furrowed. His fever has improved, but his cheeks still have a pronounced flush to them.

He doesn't want facts. He wants comfort. "...But I know that it feels like you're dying," you continue, softening your tone. "Here, up," you say, gesturing for him to lift his head. He does so without hesitation, giving you just enough space to sit before he's crowding back down against you, nuzzling grumpily into your stomach. He slips his arm under your legs, wrapping it around to grip your thighs like a pillow. You press the cold gel pack to his forehead with one hand, and stroke through his hair with the other. He makes a soft, sad little noise, but it fades off into a sigh of relief. "There we go. I've got you, darling," you coo, brushing your thumb over his temple in soothing circles. He glances up sidelong at you, ill and with a deeply wounded ego. You smile sympathetically. "This will pass. I promise." "Don't laugh at me," he says, quiet and morose. "Okay," you relent, sincere. "I didn't mean it. Honest." Satisfied, he closes his eyes, turning his head into your touch. After a few moments, he opens his eyes, staring up at you, though his gaze seems distant. "I used to have dreams like this. Of being sick. Being taken care of. Eating chicken noodle soup. Just like in the movies." You hum, caressing his cheek with your knuckles. It makes your heart ache to think of him yearning for something like this. Dreaming of a taste of the normalcy he saw in fiction. "How does the reality compare?" "Awful," he says, pitch dropping. "But there's one part of it that's better." "Oh?" You prompt, intrigued. "What's that?" "You." It makes your heart skip a beat. Warmly, you smile down at him. "I love you." He smiles back weakly, but earnest nonetheless. "Love you, too." It makes all the more sense now why he was so adamant about being home with you, and not tended to by a dozen faceless professionals in a sterile hospital. For as miserable as this is, a small part of you is glad that he's been allowed this one deeply human experience, and that you have been the one to see him through it.

[ofmonstersandlovers]

Dating Oliver Includes. . .

Oliver is a sweet, sweet boy who would be smitten towards his s/o

Get ready for cuddles

Doesn't matter where you're at. Cuddles are mandatory.

(Not really, if you don't feel like it he'll respect you boundaries)

In public? Holding your hand and scent marking you

In front of the pack? Doesn't matter. Give him forehead kisses, please

In front of his parents? What do you mean you're not going to give him lap cuddles?

Random gifts

And not just the ones he knows you'll like

He'll get you things that remind him of you, even if they don't make a lot of sense

One time, he gave you the Queen of Hearts as a necklace and was flustered while trying to e mxplain to you the odd gift

"It's just that.. it reminds me if you."

"Okay, honey. But how?"

*gestures with profoundly flustered movements*

Kisses

All the kisses

He loves peppering your face with cute little pecks to show how much he loves you

Please give you forehead kisses when he's in your lap, it makes him melt so easily

Loves your scent

Will breathe in your scent whenever you two cuddle

Be it with his face nuzzle within your neck

Or his head resting against your own, taking in the conditioner you used in your hair and your own natural scent

Will give you his hoodies and shirts so that you smelled like him as well

A concoction of each other

And also you look cute in his clothes

Horror movies are a no

This sweet baby wants to watch romance movies with you ir the latest cartoon

Last time you tried to watch one together, he transformed during a jump scare and hid underneath his bed in his wolf form

Was a whimpering mess, and it took a little bit of coaxing to get him from underneath the mattress

Knox snorted when you told him what happened

Dating Oliver means also being a part of the pack

Pakc outings, going on pack runs, experience the full moon with the werewolves. Everything

You're family now, and also the pack alpha's mate which gives you some authority

Not the same authority as Oliver or Knox

But when you were sick, you were gifted ten different get well packages and five different chicken noodle soups

Oliver is a sweet and soft lover

Always listening to your problems and very physical with affection as well

He can be bashful during the beginning of the relationship, easily flustered, but he loves you with all his heart

Wanting to do what he can to keep you happy

He's a giver through and through

[espresseo-cafe]

coming home | johnny | oneshot

pairing: dad!johnny x mom!reader

genre: syrup-y latte

bean count: 1.6k+

a/n: here’s a cute dad!johnny fluff for you! i missed writing fluff 🙈 hope you enjoy reading this as much i did writing it ☕️

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

as time struck 4pm, johnny quickly glanced around the staff room and swiftly shoved his files and papers in his bag. his colleagues perked up at the hustle he had been recently doing whenever the day came at this certain time, only to shake their heads playfully as the door slammed of their quiet workspace.

“he’s coping up, isn’t he?” kun fixed his glasses, smiling as his dimples indented his cheeks because johnny’s little habit reminded of himself before.

jaehyun laughed, agreeing with him. stretching as the day came into an end, he realized, “oh right, how long has it been already? seems like he’s still struggling at it.”

kun slung his shoulder bag, gesturing jaehyun to leave the office together, “just two days! hahah amateur.”

almost tripping on the way, johnny rushed down the stairs and caught the bus before it left. he panted as he sat down, checking his phone for any updates. a text message from his cousin- seo hyelin, popped out on his notification center.

[hyelin-noona] : couzie bean where are you? i gotta go for my night shift in a bit! 😅

[john] : just got on the bus! will be there soon 🙇🏻‍♂️ how’s the little one?

[hyelin-noona] : adorable! he didn’t give me a hard time! 🤗

[john] : i’m glad 😮‍💨 thanks for looking after him!

[hyelin-noona] : anytime! it’s the summer break, he’s all yours! you sure you can handle him later? 👀

[john] : i survived yesterday, so it’ll be a piece of cake 👍🏻

boy was he so wrong.

when johnny was preparing dinner in the kitchen, he couldn’t even count the times he had to leave the stove to go and check on his crying, seven month old son, who couldn’t stand a minute without him.

he sipped the soup he was cooking and almost burnt his tongue when the baby started to wail a little. unfortunately leaving the television on play wasn’t a solution to keep him occupied.

when he decided to carry him while he fried the chicken, however, his son made a sour face hearing the sizzle of the hot oil. johnny sighed and put him down on his high chair and gave him a cracker.

that’ll settle him, for now. he thought.

dinner went by smoothly.. barely. changing diapers was a hassle as the little one kelt rolling over, ended up peeing on the bedsheet that johnny rubbed his eyes thinking he’d have to wash that first thing in the morning tomorrow.

even worse, the panicked him lifted up the baby and peed on him as well. johnny was dumbfounded but it was shortlived as the baby smiled at him as if he gave him a gift.

johnny thought he’d be able to put him to sleep right after. preparing his bottle of milk, he took the milk formula and warm water. then it struck him, “ah, how to do this again?” he sighed, looking at his son, “i don’t suppose you know how to make this, jesse.”

jesse looked at his dad, giving him a teethless smile. johnny snickered out loud, shaking his head and followed his instincts by putting warm water in the bottle and shaking it with the amount of tablespoons according to the can. shaking several droplets of milk onto his skin, he tasted it and concluded it was okay for jesse to drink.

his heart beated slightly, waiting to see jesse’s reaction. he puffed out a relieved sigh when the baby continued to drink as he laid on johnny’s arms.

“this isn’t so bad at all, huh jesse?” johnny shook him gently while jesse just looked at him with his long lashes. “we’re a good team.”

usually babies sleep around 8pm or so, and johnny thought he’d have some alone time after this. but nope! johnny let out a soft grunt when jesse started to cry nonstop, so he checked for any filled diapers or maybe he wasn’t feeling well.

he placed jesse facing him as he patted his back for some comfort. sighing when he finally leaned on his shoulder and hugged him, having hiccups here and there. he sung a lullaby his mom used to sing to him, five minutes passed and his son was sound asleep and he placed a kiss on his head as he turned off the bedroom lights and kept the baby light on.

opening the door to the bathroom, he turned on the showerhead to wash himself all the dirt he received from jesse: soup stain that splashed on his newly bought shirt, pee stain from the diaper disaster after dinner, milk vomit he got by the neck and shoulder, and the difficult phase of putting him to sleep.

he wondered how you were able to do this so flawlessly, and singlehandedly. being a mother was a 24/7 job, tirelessly working around the clock just to provide jesse’s needs. sometimes he was your big baby too, giving him a good dinner after a stressful day at work or giving him sweet embraces and massages to ease his mind.

that was why he wanted to work harder for his little family. and now that you were away, he had to work much harder since it was just him and jesse right now. gosh, how much he missed you.

24/7 during those seven months of love and care you gave was nothing compared to the two days he did. that was a huge difference.

the knob of the showerhead squeaked and johnny tried his hardest not to make a noise as he exited the bathroom. his fingers running through his wet hair made him so refreshed that he felt like he hadn’t showered for ages.

his computer rang, receiving a video call request from you. it was the first time you both have been apart since jesse was born and it was your first week back after maternity leave so johnny quickly clicked the button and answered it. “hi babe.”

he saw you shuffling through your things before you look at the screen, “give me a sec- a whole lotta things here.”

felt like forever, but seeing you made him so relaxed. “cool, take your time.”

you scratched your eyebrow and you swore you could’ve dropped your phone at the sight of your husband, fresh out from the shower with nothing on but a towel wrapped around his hips. “whoa hey,” you smiled, “how’s everything over there? our house hasn’t burn into bits just yet?”

johnny scoffed, taking a seat on his desktop chair and continued to dry his wet locks. “pfft, what do you take me for?” your laugh was contagious for johnny he nearly made a loud snort, “sigh, it’s manageable. our son is a handful, makes me appreciate you more by the second.”

you pouted in joy hearing that, johnny has a way with sweet words that it warmed your heart. even if he was tired from work, he still tried his best to make you smile by his actions. he’d kiss you passionately until jesse cried, give you warm hugs during movie nights, and listened to your complaints.

“i love you, but i know you know that already.” you chuckled, and for a second johnny paused before smirking at you. “what?”

“of course i know, just that it’s the first time you initiated saying it.” johnny smiled, agh i really miss you. “i love you more. when will you be back?”

his raspy voice was so attractive to you that you almost forgot to mention something. “by the way, my flight’s been rescheduled from next monday to tomorrow. work has been quick. your miserable days are soon to be over.”

you almost snorted seeing johnny’s reaction, he was obviously happy yet he attempted to hide it. “that’s.. that’s great! i’m happy for you. earlier the better.”

“i could tell you’re having a great time with jesse that your bags are showing.” you joked and johnny pretended to be hurt.

“hey, jesse is a sweetheart but he could be a terror.” johnny defended, remembering his cute little smile.

“wonder where he got that from.” you sarcastically pinpointed, earning a chuckle from him.

“i swear when you get back-“ he turned his head to the side and heard jesse making a fuss in the next room, sighing a bit before leaving and that made you giggle.

“oh you woke him up.” you teased as you waited a minute or two until he entered your shared bedroom with your son in his arms. “hi baby! how’s my little bear?”

the sound of your voice and your face on the computer screen made your son let out a gurgle and you were glad you were coming home the next day. you missed your boys so you could say you were homesick.

“baby look, mama’s there.” johnny took his little hand waved it at you.

“papa bear hasn’t given you a tough time, has he?” you continued to tease him, seeing him glare at you playfully. “mama misses you my little jesse bear, i’ll see you soon.”

johnny patted jesse’s bottom as he began to rub his eyes, “alright, he’s sleepy again. i gotta hit the sack too. it’s 1:30am here.”

you nodded, “mhm alright, i’m gonna go for lunch and walk around the city. i’m meeting eomma and appa after this.”

he smiled as he heard this, “okay. send my regards to them. we have to visit chicago this december, it’ll be jesse’s first christmas with them.”

“will do.” you gave a flying kiss and wave a goodbye to your boys. “love you both, see you in a bit.”

johnny mirrored your gesture before turning off the pc and readied himself for bed.

“love you too babe. goodnight.”

[ninjastormhawkkat]

Carl greeted his husband with a quick kiss on the lips. "I'm apologize for worrying over you. I guess some old habits take longer to die than others." Carl admitted with a slight melancholy tone. Matthew frowned a bit before he kissed Carl on the forehead in a loving and reassuring manner. "Don't worry about it. I understand." Matthew replied. This brightened Carl's smile a bit more which made Matthew happy. Carl then straightened his clothes out a bit. "Well we still have some time to get ready. This restaurant isn't a fancy place so you don't have to change clothes." Carl commented as he gazed at Matthew's sweater vest combined with nice slacks and comfortable shoes. "You still have time to freshen up a bit if you need to." Carl added on. "Aww but I like dressing my best just for you handsome." Matthew playfully pouted. Carl rolled his eyes as his cheeks became red from the hidden flirting. He playfully smacked Matthew's arm. "Just go and hurry up." Carl lightly scolded. Matthew smirked then headed to their shared bathroom to freshen up before leaving. "Wow Gene's friend Chuck was right when he said these sandwiches were extremely good." Matthew commented after he took a bite of his pastrami sandwich. Carl nodded in agreement as he was enjoying his chicken panini. The couple had taken the bus to the 'mom and pop' sandwich diner which was only a few stops away from their home. Neither had their driver's license after being imprisoned for twenty years, and it would be difficult now to get one after so long. So they both settled for walking or taking the bus. Matthew had gotten some stares but he was used to them by now. Some people gave him nervous glances which he understood completely. Some actually smiled or waved at him which was a nice change of pace for the former villain. Matthew easily assumed it was from his actions against B.E.A.W labs that people were treating him differently than before. Others just ignored the old man and went on with their own business which was fine by him as well. "So how has your community service been?" Carl asked. Matthew shrugged. "It has been going well. I helped out at the soup kitchen for a couple of days. Then I helped at the main branch library for others. Oddly though an assistant at the library named Milt asked me how was that ever since I started working there, no one has turned in their books late and to "teach me my ways" before Miss Dewey dragged him away by the ear and scolded him for being a nuisance. I still don't have any idea to what that guy was talking about." Both men chuckled at Matthew's tale as they ate. "You do work with interesting people love." Carl chuckled. There was silence after that as Matthew noticed Carl's face becoming crestfallen. "Carl is there something wrong?" Matthew asked worryingly. Carl shook his head. "Not exactly. The truth is I have become a bit bored with my new routine right now. I'm glad to be out in the open again, but I want to do something. I have been asked to be a consultant for Gene's old workplace but you and I both know I can't ever step in a professional lab again." Carl sighed. "No matter how I wish I could." Matthew said nothing but gently grabbed Carl's hand and squeezed it gently. Carl gave a brief smile, appreciating the gesture. "I am not sure on what i can do here since I can't work in a lab. I could do what Steven did and become a teacher though I am not sure I still have the patient for that." Carl was happy that his nephew was mentally and emotionally stable enough now to not only work in a lab but also teach others different fields of science. He and his boyfriend Aaron moved back with Thomas and Jessica to Northic so he could work on his teaching degree and make up lost time with his family and hometown friends. Matthew was silent as he pondered his husband's situation. He knew what Carl was going through. "Maybe you can talk with our kids or their spouses for ideas on what you can do now." Matthew suggested. @dualnaturedscientist

Heart of chaos

A year had passed since the B.E.A.W Labs organization had fallen. Since all the events had taken place. Becky being taken along with Bob. The poor girl being experimented on by a cruel scientist who had no love for anyone but himself. Matthew had broken out of the facility with her, Carl and Steven. Gene's true identity being revealed along with losing his Dr.Two-Brains persona. Shocking revelations unfolded. Betrayals and redemption. Things had calmed down significantly since but that didn't mean life had been dull. It certainly wasn't for Fair City. Especially with the villains, heroes and its eccentric inhabitants livening up the city. Becky had been making a wonderful recovery. Though she still wasn't at her full recovery Becky was still making so much more progress than the year prior. Gene still had identity issues, dealing with the loss of Squeaky. Though he didn't go through it alone. The still mad scientist had his family and friends help him through everything. Matthew and Carl took up residency within the city. A house that wasn't too far from their sons. Life in this place was definitely lively and peaceful in comparison to the hellish place many innocent souls were imprisoned in. Matthew was less exhausted than before. Relaxing within the living room in his son's house, watching whatever was put on the television. Matthew felt his eyes beginning to droop. Sleepiness hitting him out of nowhere. He simply allowed himself to doze off, not fighting it. Knowing that he was safe there. It wasn't until he felt weight on him that Matthew opened his eyes. Usually a dog or cat would be the cause for this but Matthew met many eyes. Fluffy had snuck into the house yet again. A small warm smile spread across his facial features, patting the spider on its head. Fluffy leaned into Matthew's hand, making soft happy noises. It was funnily cute to him. Though he understood as to why Gene was so afraid of him. Even Carl was squeamish around the giant spider. “Aw, who's a good boy? You are! You're a good boy!” Matthew couldn't help but baby talk the arachnid. He looked up, wriggling his chelicerae in response. As to say ‘Me! I'm a good boy!’ He chuckled at that, giving Fluffy gentle scritches. It was like a huge puppy in a spider's body. Though the peacefulness was interrupted by a sudden shout. “NO! WHY IS IT HERE AGAIN?!” Gene was in the doorway of the living room. Looking quite terrified at the huge arachnid. Fluffy instantly moved around on Matthew's lap to look at Gene. Excitedly jumping off of the supervillain's lap in favor of his son. He bolted right for the mad scientist, causing him to yelp loudly and make a run for it. “SOMEONE KEEP THAT ABOMINATION AWAY FROM ME!” Matthew gave a small laugh. “Can't help but feel abit rejected there.” Archie, who was quiet until then, responded. “I know that feeling.” This caused Matthew to jump up startled. “Don't do that! I'm old. Also I could accidentally blast you.” Archie blinked in confusion. “You didn't notice me? I came in with Fluffy. He got loose and snuck into the house. I just came to bring him back before he got to Gene. Too late for that now.” Archie frowned. “I can't help but be jealous at how much Fluffy loves him. Though Gene is terrified of him. That spider just won't listen to me when it comes to his favorite person.” He shook his head disapprovingly. “You want me to help you?” Matthew was being genuine with his question. He didn't want his son dying of fright from the giant arachnid. “That would be greatly appreciated. I have to take him back home. He can't avoid taking his medication this time.” Matthew got up, stretching first before doing anything else. This earned him a strange look from Archie. “What? I said I'm old. If I don't stretch I'll pull a muscle.” The hero shrugged. “Let's go get him soon. I have to look after Charlotte as well.” Archie always had the brightest smile when Charlotte was brought up. Either by him, Sunshine or anyone else. It was sweet. “Alright, alright.” They were completely unaware of an enemy observing them. Waiting.

Miss Power growled in frustration at the display she was witnessing through a window to the Boxleitner or rather the Woods household. A display she thought was very disgusting. How badly the alien conqueror wanted to charge right in their and obliterate everyone in her sights. She couldn't do her usual tactics and tricks right now, not after what she learned after coming back. She was still ticked off after that little alien brat Wordgirl and her parents dupe and tricked her into leaving the planet in defeat. There was no way she could go back to her planet and face her people with such a shameful stain to her otherwise brilliant record. Fueled by revenge and hatred, Miss Power spent her time preparing, training, and waiting so she could exact her revenge against those who wronged her, against the little hybrid girl and her freak of a family that humiliated her. Sadly when Miss Power and her loyal sidekick Colonel Gigglecheeks did decide to return, they were not prepared for the recent changes that had happeend in their absence. Miss Power did not care much for this Darius person or B.E.A.W labs, she had seen those like them a dime a dozen before on other worlds. The alien wished she could have congratulated the person who tortured and dehumanized Wordgirl and her sidekick. If it was up to her, Professor Ross Moran would receive high honors among her people for his actions. She did give her condolences at his unmarked gravestone. While the recent trauma Wordgirl and her sidekick have suffered gave Miss Power an opportunistic advantage, the alien conquerer unfortunately could not risk using it especially with her grandfather around. Miss Power was amazed at hearing about the past and recent exploits of Maddrix the Malicious. She was shocked that someone so bloodthirsty and powerful was the father of that scientist who used to have a mouse brain attached to his skull as well as a weird cheese obsession. To her disappointment, Miss Power could clearly see the man was too human and had regretted his actions in the past. Actions that would have made him highly respected among her people despite him being human. Still Miss Power wasn't going to risk striking back while that old coot was still alive. Age did not always equate to weakness according to what she had been taught. Even though he was old, Maddrix was clearly still powerful. It was likely that her and Gigglecheeks would wind up dead by the man's hands before they could claim revenge and victory. A chittering sound snapped Miss Power out of her musings. She turned her head to see her sidekick give her a concerned look. He chittered again and asked 'So what are we going to do?' Miss Power smiled and scratched her sidekick's head which he enjoyed. "Don't worry Colonel Gigglecheeks. We'll get our revenge soon. We just need to learn more about Mr. Malicious and what weaknesses he might have so we can use it to defeat him." Miss Power cooed. She then took her sidekick and flew off without anyone being the wiser. Miss Power was brash and bold and could be tricked sometimes, but she was no fool. The alien conqueror learned long ago that the best way to win your battles was to be prepared and know your enemy more than they know themselves. Carl sighed with relief and slight exhaustion as he sat down in a comfy chair. He had just finished sweeping the floor of his and Matthew's home. Now all he had to do was sit and relax until his husband got home. Carl wanted to try a nice 'mom and pop' owned restaurant that one of Gene's friends, Chuck, had recommended to the man. Carl had been itching to get out and do something more and more recently. If he had to be honest, he was getting bored. In the past, Carl had his job and work as a scientist to keep him occupied along with spending time with his husband and kids. Unfortunately after his 20 year imprisonment, Carl couldn't step in another official science lab ever again without a severe anxiety and panic attack @dualnaturedscientist