#lets hope the antibiotics help

[nabsthevulture]

ALSO OMG?????

Thank you guys so so so much for your help with Kaine's vet bills <3!!!!!!!!!!! We're about halfway there for covering it all. Like you guys know, I've been unemployed for a while and even at my last job with the hours i was getting I would have to pay with three weeks of pay. The job search is not going as good as I hope, so this all went on my credit card and I can't keep piling money on that with no back up plan, so your help is incredible and I can't thank you guys enough.

Big big love from me and my big baby. If he could type I'm sure he'd say thank you too. I'll post a picture of him in his donut for your viewing pleasure.

[nsharks]

bleeding blue | apocalypse au

part thirty-four —other parts

pairing: Simon “Ghost” Riley x fem!reader words: 4.5k tags: death. blood and gore. zombies of course. AFAB reader. single dad ghost. enemies to lovers. harm to a child. summary: After losing your companions, you run into a skull-masked man and his daughter. They are your last hope for survival.

The rattle of vials cuts through the quiet sobbing as you raid the cabinet, stuffing a backpack with painkillers, sedatives, and wound care. 

"We had antibiotics on us. Where are they?" 

From the corner of the room, the response breaks apart. "I don't... I don't know about any... This is all we have."

You drop the backpack in favor of the gun at your waist, and direct it at her. "Don't lie to me."

"I-I'm not! I don't know where they are!"

A twist in your gut says she's honest. "Is there any alcohol?" you press with a curl at your lips.

"There's... some... under there."

You lower the gun and move to the sink, uncorking a half-filled bottle that reeks of absinthe. It fits snugly into the backpack. A nod to Nereida. She lowers her own gun from the young woman’s temple. Straps over your shoulders, you step into the smoke-tinged air, leaving the woman behind, when her accented voice chokes out: "You have taken... everything from us."

You stand in the doorway, watching a piece of ash fall on the scuffed leather of your shoe, then glance over your shoulder. "There is still some medicine left in there. Take what you can, get the other women, and leave. This place could be teeming with Greys soon with all the blood spilt. Travel north. We're going south." Her glossy eyes drift up from her hands. Your gaze hardens. "We will kill you if we see you. Do you understand?"

"Yes," she whispers.

You look away. "Salome is in the cell. Alive."

The flames lick at the chapel’s frame as you return to the others. The stone walls have blackened, the door swallowed in fire, windows shattered. The acrid stench of scorched wood and charred flesh burns your nose. The last survivors��the few men left after Price and Kyle cleared the barn—had been shoved inside with the Grey. 

You need to get out of here—away from the stench of blood. Clean water is urgent. A safe place to treat everyone's wounds, even more so, though the missing antibiotics linger in the back of your mind. Adrenaline wearing off, you move quickly, pausing only to hastily dress Blue's feet and Ghost's back with medical cloth from the cabinet before continuing down the main road. While everyone yields a backpack and gun, Ghost carries Blue to his chest. He hasn't once let her go. 

The flames still flicker behind you when his grip falters. He stops to adjust her weight, and you touch his elbow, speaking low. "Let Price or Kyle carry her."

"I've got it."

You don’t press, though the gnawing concern remains. How much blood has he lost? You can only hope it's clotted enough to hold a bit longer. 

The only words Price manages are instructions—what to watch for to indicate freshwater. Downward slopes, converging animal tracks. You’re nowhere near as injured as the others, yet your thighs shake, your vision blurs, forcing you to squeeze your eyes shut to regain focus. You still flinch at every sound, ready for blood.

An hour out, the sun hangs heavy. Dense vegetation and a small cliffside offer promise. Carefully, you help each other down. Ghost finally relents, letting Blue cling onto Price’s shoulders so he can manage rappelling down the rocks. You stay close without thinking, your hand ghosting over his bicep when he wavers.

Then you smell it. Water.

Relief nearly buckles your knees.

A narrow creek winds between boulders, tucked beneath towering cypresses.

Everyone washes off the blood, dulling the stench. A fire will be needed to clean it for the wounds. As you rake water through your hair, your gaze drifts upstream—where cypresses give way to ripened plum trees, bordering what seems like a property. Price sees it too. He’s already shouldering his backpack, moving to check it out.

The gown pools at your ankles, dipping into the shallow water as you cross. The property is silent, save for the rhythmic tapping of a woodpecker. You tighten your grip on the gun, scanning the unkempt garden and overgrown path leading to the estate—a summer home fit for a family or, as you soon realize, two wealthy old fucks. Their skeletons are all that remain inside, draped in dust like the furniture around them.

Price lowers the rifle to his side and nods in approval. "This will do."

If you could, you’d strip off the stained gown and shut your eyes. Instead, you follow Ghost as he kicks open doors—nothing but a bathroom and parlor. On the second floor, the first door to meet his boot reveals a bedroom. You shake the dust from the quilt, and he carefully lays Blue down. You're already sifting through the backpack.

Ghost kneels to take her feet. He fumbles with the cloth, exhaustion stealing motor function. You help, unveiling the jagged cuts edged with dirt. Ghost grits, "They did this?"

"I did," she whispers. "I hoped you'd find me... and the Greys... they got distracted by my shoes."

Her words linger as you dab alcohol onto a strip of cloth. "This will hurt," you whisper, biting your cheek.

Ghost grips her ankle to keep it still and takes her hand, offering something to squeeze. At first touch, her nails claw at his wrist. Her lips press tightly together to muffle a small sound that dies in her throat, and then she falls silent. Her eyes flutter shut, reopening only to release a lone tear when you finish with both, then wrap them again.

"Your arms," you say, reaching for them. One is already bandaged—must've been done by them. The other is freshly cut. When you try to look at it, she recoils, inhaling sharply.

"They did this one, didn't they?" he asks.

A slight nod of her chin.

Anger leeches from Ghost's skin.

He exhales sharply through flared nostrils, then gently takes her wrist, pressing a kiss to the skin just before the cut begins.

"Let Twix clean it, baby."

Her fist clenches before she offers you her arm. More tears cut a trail down to her lips. 

"There. Let's get you something else to wear," you breathe out, stuffing the cork back in once it's over. 

What you find in the closet is at least better than the bloodied dress she was supposed to die in—a large flannel shirt that smells like old man. Blue accepts it, but stares at the shirt in her hands for a long moment before asking Ghost to look away. He does, and you help her, keeping your eyes on hers while undressing her.

You turn to Ghost. "Your turn," you whisper.

Lowering to the bed is a great effort, one you have to steady with a hand under his armpit. As gently as possible, you peel the cloth from his back. Seeing his wounds before did nothing to prepare you for this—up close, in the unforgiving sunlight. Deep, inflamed gashes ooze fresh blood at the disruption. The stench of festering flesh makes it hard to focus as you murmur for Blue to touch his hair, distract him for the first dab of alcohol.

Where Blue was able to silence herself, he cannot. Not when it’s this bad. The terrible, wrecked groan and the violent jerk of his body make you want to disappear—to run and let someone else do this to him. But you know you wouldn’t. You wouldn’t trust anyone else to. So you steady the tremble in your fingers and continue, the room heavy with his pain. It finds its way to your back, as though someone behind you is holding a whip. The phantom pain sinks into your skin with each of his groans, forcing you to push it away to steady your hand as you work.

Blue twists her fingers in his hair, whispering in his ear. "It's almost over, dad."

By the time the wounds are cleaned, redness remains, offering little reassurance. Over a day's worth of sweat and bacteria isn't something you can simply undo. You'll need to keep an eye on them for infection. You sift through the vials and push two painkillers to his lips, helping him sit up to swallow them. As you’re about to help him back down, he grabs onto your wrist, a pulse of pain pulling your gaze to where you slit your own vein. The linen strip is soaked through. Ghost silently unties it and reaches for the alcohol at the bedside table.

"They did that?" Blue questions from behind him.

"I did."

The pain sears as he cleans it, though it’s nothing compared to his.

When he lays back on his stomach, there’s no fighting the heaviness of his eyelids. Blue curls up beside him, wincing. You get her two painkillers as well.

"Is he going to be alright?" she asks quietly.

You pull the light quilt over her body. "His body just needs to rest. So does yours."

"That's not an answer, Twix."

The way she calls you out makes your face fall. "I'm sorry. I just... I don't know."

There is a pause of silence before she sighs audibly, arms falling flat at her sides and her gaze finding the ceiling. "I don't think I can sleep."

Your chest tightens at the thought of what she must be thinking of, what she must have seen when you weren't with her. The wounds you can't wrap up. You dig for one of the sedatives: lorazepam. "Here." 

It takes a while for it to take effect.

"You're safe," you whisper to her, over and over, tucking her hair behind her ear until you feel the subtle shift in her muscles as they slowly loosen from their panicked tension. When sleep finally comforts her, a shift in the air causes you to leap up.

"It's me," Nereida whispers, poking in her head. "The others are sleeping, too."

Right. The others. "They're alright?"

"Just a few fractured ribs."

"Someone needs to keep watch."

"I'll do it." Seeing the protest twist on your face, she adds, "You haven't slept in days."

She's right. It was impossible to sleep in that cell outside of being drugged.

You give in. "Patrol the whole property if you can. And keep track of the air. The flowers here should help mask our scent, but—"

"I've got it, Twix."

The fatigue truly hits when she leaves. You barely have enough fight in you left to peel off the stupid dress and raise another flannel shirt from the closet over your head, the hem resting above your knees. There is a chair in the room—that's where you sink down, knees tucked to your chest. At first when you close your eyes, the world is loud and red. Then, it quiets to black.

A dove call announces morning, and you jolt awake to fresh light from the window.

You fell asleep.

They've already killed her.

You didn't get there in time—

Your gaze lands on the small body lying in the bed beside a much larger one, and the panic escapes through a shaky breath. You inhale and exhale to calm your heart rate before uncurling from the chair to touch Blue's soft cheek. The skin is cool. You move to her father next. Palm to his forehead. Hot, dry skin snaps your touch away as if burning you. 

"Fucking shit," chokes out of you, along with a fresh wave of urgency. Blue stirs in her sleep. You clamp a hand over your mouth to quiet yourself and whirl out of the room. A fever: you need water. If you hadn't slept so long, you could've boiled some sooner. With the recovered energy, you race outside in the chilled morning air.

Nereida sits up from the porch.

"Good morning. You're the first one up. I haven't seen—"

"He is burning up," you seethe. "You should've waken me. I slept all through the night!"

Her eyes widen. "I didn't—"

You push past her. "I'm getting water."

She lightly touches your elbow. "I already got some from the creek. I boiled it over the fireplace." She rushes to show you the full metal pot in the kitchen. 

You don't pause to say thank you, hoisting the water upstairs to urgently wet a cloth and place it over his forehead. His lashes flutter, once, then twice, before fully opening.

"You have a fever," you exhale, swallowing hard. "I need you to drink a little."

He sits up to swallow a handful of the water from your palm, faint bobs of his throat, and you feel just how dry his lips are. His voice emerges low. "Did they have anything for it?"

"I couldn't find the antibiotics," you bitterly admit, swiping a thumb over the faint freckle on his temple, as if maybe, the sip of water has already changed the temperature. It hasn't. A growl pushes under your breath. "The bitch probably lied to me and took them. We'll need to experiment a bit for now."

"Sounds promising," he manages through his teeth. He glances down at his daughter. "She's alright?"

"She's okay, not warm." You inhale sharply. "Lay down. Let me look at it again."

When he does, you gently remove the bandages and are met with yellow-green pus. The sound that fills your throat, caught between helplessness and disgust, has him popping an eye open to look back at you over his shoulder. "Sorry, it's just..." Another explicative leaves your lips, and you have to bite your cheek hard to keep from vomiting at the sight and smell. Blue is awake now, sitting up against the pillow; she need only glance over once for her face to twist in concern. 

"It's bad, isn't it?" She covers her mouth.

"I need to drain it," is what you say. Luckily, it's already oozing, saving the need to puncture the wounds open. You wet another cloth and carefully press at the swollen ridge of the first laceration, making him groan through his teeth as pus begins to run down his sides. Blue has one hand back in his hair, and uses another wet cloth to collect the pus. You keep pressing, draining each irregular wound, having to remind yourself the rotten smell being released is for the better. 

After what feels like hours, it's mostly cleared. Only a bit of swelling remains, revealing just how deeply the skin was shredded, as if slashed through repeatedly in the same spots. 

"How come you were hurt more than the others?" Blue asks him the question you've been mulling over since the moment you found him. 

"I was their favorite," he mumbles lowly. "The most handsome."

"It's not funny," she presses, nails twisting in his hair, teeth grinding. "It's infected. You could fucking die."

"I won't," he says to her, but the silent, heavy glance you exchange with him acknowledges the understanding that he very well could, deepening the harsh pit in your stomach. "We have a nurse here."

"An unlicensed one." You finish securing a new layer of cloth and lean back. "And one without real medicine." Realizing you are supposed to be reassuring her, you hide the way your nails pick each other and add, "But draining all that pus will help. Eating will help even more," you look at Blue, "For you, too."

Blue and you share a meal of wild cucumbers, strawberries, and two small field mice you catch by the creek, swiftly snapping their necks before skinning them. For Ghost, you boil the bones with garden carrots to make a broth. You have to coax him into finishing it, no matter how it tastes, promising that once it's done, he can sleep longer.

By the time the others are awake, you and Blue have failed to leave his side, simply watching the continued rise and fall of his chest as if it might halt if you look away. "Please get better," you catch her murmuring. The only time you go is to speak with Price, informing him that Ghost is in no condition to travel again. 

"Twix," he interrupts you, the knowing tick in his brow, and worn smile, making you realize you'd been rambling, your tone coming off a bit accusatory. "I have no intention for us to continue yet. No one is ready for it. We need food, and rest."

"I can help hunt, I just need to—"

A firm hand finds your shoulder. His seafoam eyes glance past you at the door to the bedroom, then back into your gaze, low voice barely above a murmur. "You've done more than enough. Let us take care of the food. Just make sure we don't lose him, alright?"

You nod, and when he turns to leave, you mutter to yourself, "I'm trying."

You spend the evening draining pus, refreshing bandages, and scouring cabinets—nothing but expired vitamins. You think to check the garden for onions, their antimicrobial properties lingering in your memory, but find none. So you rinse his wounds again, scrubbing his filthy hair for good measure. For a moment, your fingers trick you into thinking his fever has dropped—then it spikes higher. His skin holds no color except for the angry red of infection and the fever-flushed sheen on his cheeks. Otherwise, he’s a ghost. As if all your efforts have done nothing.

Frustration strangles your lungs, and you palm at your forehead. His body, deprived of sleep and nutritions for days, is struggling to bounce back, to fight off the encroaching bacteria. His unyielding strength is yielding; succumbing. He needs more food and water. You try to sit him up again, retrieving a small bit of leftover broth, but he is unable to help pull his weight.

"Come on, Simon. Please."

He's too heavy for you, even with Blue pulling at his other arm.

You hurry out of the room and call for Price. He and Nereida are there quickly, his rifle ready. "No, I just need—I need you to lift him."

Price drops the gun to steady Simon up despite the heavy hiss of protest. "Gotta eat, Simon."

He holds him as you spoon broth to his mouth, having to rub at his jaw to release enough tension for him to open it and swallow. 

The room is quiet once it's all done, and Nereida stands in the doorway with her head hung low. Price carefully lays him back down so as not disturb the work you've done to his back. He glances at the empty bowl in your hands. "Kyle cut up some squirrels he killed earlier. I'll tell him to make more broth with them in the morning."

All you can do is nod and pass the bowl to him.

When they leave, the heaviness in the room has Blue picking at her wrist. You take her hand, placing another painkiller and sedative in them, and urge her to lay down for more rest.

"I'll stay up with him, alright?"

Her chin drops, and she stares blankly at the quilt. "What happens to me if he dies?"

The hollowness in her voice cuts through you. "We can't think like that," you murmur.

"Why not?" Her eyes blaze in the dark. "It's a possibility. I've never seen him like this before."

You shake your head, touching two fingers under her jaw to tilt it up so yours eyes meet. "He's stubborn, like you. And he has too much to live for. He loves you."

She looks away. "I'm not like him. I wouldn't be able to keep going on my own."

"You’ll never be on your own. He and I... we will always come for you," you swear, your voice firmer than you intend. You soften it to a whisper, breathing out, "But even if you were, you’re smarter and stronger than anyone here. There’s nothing you can’t handle, Blue. It was you who kept yourself alive this time."

"It was just luck," she murmurs, curling a fist into the sheet below her. She peers back at you. "If you guys hadn’t found me, I would’ve been bitten to death."

"No," you insist. "It wasn’t luck. You survived because you saw the opportunities, and you took them. You made time for us to find you. You are just like him."

Without thinking, you pull her into a solid hug, pressing your nose to her scalp.

"You’re just like him," you whisper again, screwing your eyes shut. White-hot tears escape, burning a quiet trail down your cheeks, and you feel her begin to tremble in your arms, silently soaking your shirt with her own tears.

Through them, she manages to whisper, twisting your shirt in her fists, "I-I don't want him to leave me again. H-he said he wouldn't."

"He won't," you promise, struggling to catch your breath through a choke, the words rushing out of you. "Never again. I won't let it happen."

After minutes, hours, like this, she grows limp with exhaustion, and you lay her back down, tucking her under the quilt and wiping your cheeks. 

You resume position in the chair by Ghost. 

This time, you refuse to close your eyes, locking them onto him—the way his cheek is squished against the pillow, the bare stretch of his arm, the curve of his ribs where an old scar splits into the new ones. You keep pulling the blanket over him, thinking maybe the extra heat will break his fever, only to rip it back off moments later, convinced the cool night air would be better. Frustration burns behind your eyes as you rub them hard, then press your forehead against the uninjured part of his shoulder.

“Goddamn it, Simon,” you whisper, pulling back just enough to trace your thumb over the freckles there, connecting them with soft, absentminded sweeps of your finger.

He needs more.

Real medicine.

Either the women are long gone with it, or it's somewhere none of them knew of. 

This is what you mull over well into the night when sleep threatens with a pull at your lids, and again, you see red. Blood-red. Like the burst of an open throat. You reopen them and jolt up to your feet, panting hard. The need for a distraction to keep yourself awake pulls you out of the room for a stretch of your legs, pupils straining against the dark hall as you stumble through it, crossing your arms over yourself. You've barely looked through this place besides what was necessary, so it's a surprise when you happen upon a spiral staircase going up, not down. 

A cool metal rail bites your fingertips as you heave upward, revealing a small attic library. Dark oak shelves reach the low ceiling, all of the leather spines neatly alined as if never having been touched even once: a capsule of time. A large window at the far end offers enough moonlight for your eyes to scan the embellished spines as you brush a finger over them, various French titles staring back at you. You work your way to the window, where the thin curtain is parted just enough to allow you a view of the creek, cliffside, and dark horizon where stars disappear into distant earth. 

"I shouldn't have believed her. I should've made her talk more." The words barely leave your lips before the stench of burning flesh fills your senses. Your hands shake violently. With a sudden, forceful yank, you tear the curtain from the rod. Your voice cracks, rising with rage. "I should have killed her—all of them. I shouldn't have let a single one walk away!"

You spin around and begin pulling books off the shelves, ripping at pages, thrashing them at the floor with a cacophony of thuds, until only half are left untouched. The years-old dust caking the covers explodes into your eyes, stinging them, and tears begin to fall, the painful kind. They come hard, ragged, anything but quiet. You sink to the oriental rug, burying your face into your knees and hugging them close as you sob through your teeth, scraping your nails into your shins.

You picture them all—the blonde man, the old woman, the veiled girls. In your mind, you cut them to shreds. Nerves severed, eyes burst. Until you’re drowning in their entrails.

There is a voice. In your head maybe. But no, it's real—someone touches your shoulder, and you flinch. You lift your gaze, and through it, make out the shape of warm, almond eyes, one of them half-opened beneath a swollen bruise.

Kyle kneels beside you. He doesn't say anything, just sits there, his knee touching yours the only point of connection. When your crying subsides, you feel a tinge of embarrassment at the state he's found you in, and wipe at your cheeks. "Sorry. I woke you up."

"I was already awake."

Silence hums between you, and he thoughtlessly picks up one of the books, thumbing through the pages, then quietly closes it.

"We all owe you our lives, you know. Nereida told us about all you did."

You dig your chin into the tops of your knees and stare off at the wall. "I still didn't do enough."

"You're doing all you can." His gaze pierces into the side of your face, making you feel translucent. "He'll be alright. Always is."

You don't know what to say to that, sighing through flared nostrils and looking down at your feet before over at him. "How is Ari?"

"He's alright. Just shaken, I think. Thank you for asking." A tinge of guilt finds you that you haven't checked on them enough. Ari, just a boy, and he's hardly crossed your mind through any of this.

"You know," Kyle continues quietly, his knuckles whitening around the book. "When we were in there, I didn’t know what to say to get him through it—because I couldn't see much hope myself. I had to watch, do nothing, while they made him memorize that goddamn book just to earn a meal. And he wasn’t allowed to share any with me." He lets out a short, bitter snort. "I've never felt so fucking weak. So powerless. Watching someone you love suffer, not knowing how to help them..." His gaze locks onto yours. "That has to be a pain worse than any torture."

His words catch you off guard. All you can do is reach for him, gripping his shoulders in a firm hug, evening your heart rate. He murmurs a promise about the broth, his hand brushing your shoulder before he excuses himself.

Returning to the bedroom, you check their pulses—her pinky hooked around his in sleep. You press a kiss to Blue’s hair, then, without thinking, your lips skim his burning temple.

[birdyisthewordyy]

Hiyayaya, I leik ur work >< I hope it's alr if u can do my request ^^

An au where Pony Express shuts down and the crew finds better things to do with their life rather than being in that stupid shitty company— and then some random ass afternoon they randomly see the reader, doing the most mundane things like just shopping or eating food. And yk it's kinda weird seeing them after a few years!

Yes, I need some crew x readers

a/n: OH MY GODDDD I LOVE THIS ASK SO MUCHHH YES?? I’m literally foaming at the mouth

Tulpar Crew x Ex coworker! Reader

Curly

You were never exactly close with Curly on board

You were a little intimidated by him

He liked you though

He thought you were very competent

So when he sees you 3 years after Pony Express kicks the bucket, he’s more than happy

Walks in and shouts your name with no shame

Sits down across from you and chats it up

You talk about mundane things like life on the Tulpar, your families, life since Pony Express disbanded, and so on

He gets roped into the conversation

And your eyes

And the way you talk

“Let’s do this again sometime, yeah?”

Cue weekly meetings

Jimmy

Jimmy despised Pony Express

You were just another person who he had to deal with

So when he sees you walking down the street, he doesn’t try to get your attention by any means

Puts his head down and hands in his pockets

Doesn’t help

You see him

��Jimmy?! Hey!”

You run over and say hi enthusiastically

Like you missed him or some shit

He doesn’t hold up his end of the conversation…like at all

“Yeah, yeah. Uh huh.”

You talk about how you didn’t like Pony Express either

You hug him when you go

He doesn’t like how it makes his chest feel tight and weird

Swansea

A lot like Jimmy, but this time he has an actual reason to hate Pony Express

He’s grown to hate it over the years and was thankful when it finally shut down

But it raises the question: where does he go from here?

Applies for a lot of bodyguards jobs and the like

Finds you working at a club he applied to be the bouncer for

In a less than ideal waitress uniform

Doesn’t stare though

He’s a gentleman

Or is he? Wink

He and you don’t talk but you recognize each other

And give each other “Good to see you” glances

He liked you on the ship

You were one of the few people who knew how to do anything

So it’s always to see a… you

Daisuke

Daisuke…

He went back to living off his parents

Just for a bit, he swears

He finds himself going out more to fun places

Imagine his surprise when he sees you at this amusement park out of town he’s visiting

“(Name)? (Name)!”

Runs right up to you

You walk with him and talk about life

Actually you don’t really talk much about Pony Express

Despite that being how you met

He knew that you had more to you

He wanted to know!

Tries to win those rigged games to impress you

Buys you cotton candy

You come home with him and you watch a movie

End up crashing on the floor

He missed his buddy

Anya

Anya gets sick a lot (again I am projecting)

Funny enough she has to go to the doctor a lot

Nurse seeing a nurse

And that nurse happens to be you

You were both nurses in Pony Express’s crew, but while she was assigned to the Tulpar, you got a different ship

She knew your name though

You take her vitals and give good small talk

You have to draw her blood

She hates this

But you’re damn good with a butterfly needle

She doesn’t feel a thing

She likes how you talk her through it

Makes her feel safer

You exchange numbers and promise to get a coffee together sometime

She leaves with a smile on her face for once

And antibiotics because she’s got another virus

Poor Anya

[gojorgeous]

how do the jjk men treat you when ur on ur period? suguru specifically hehe <3

✰ JJK MEN: WHEN YOU'RE ON YOUR PERIOD ✰

pairing(s): gojo, geto, nanami, choso x afab!reader content: (MDNI 18+ only), nsfw-ish/suggestive, periods, period blood, period products, pet names, lots of fluff! a/n: i hope you like anon!! you have great timing cause i’m getting my period and i also have a uti pray for me besties i need help and antibiotics. left out toji and sukuna cause…. nah LMAO. enjoy, and remember ALL AGELESS BLOGS WILL BE BLOCKED!

✰ GOJO:

Lowkey loves when you’re on your period, but is just barely smart enough to never tell you that. 

His favorite part is that you always want more cuddles, which means more cuddles for him. 

Thinks period products are really amusing– loves playing with your hot water bottle cause it’s squishy. Finds those ones that look like stuffed animals at the store and brings home like five of them for you. 

Will definitely buy you pads/tampons but not without the obligatory “what size is your pussy” text. Won’t buy them until you respond with “extra super pretty” and then sends back this emoji -> 😋.

Highkey likes period sex. Knows it can relieve your cramps and will use that as an excuse at every opportunity if you’ll let him. 

Is always on some cheesy ass shit murmuring in your ear about how doing it on your period “bonds your souls”, too. 

Constantly offers to get you pregnant so you can avoid your period for the next nine months… he’s only half joking.

Will actually skip work to stay home and cuddle with you if you give him even the slightest inclination that you don’t want him to go. 

Watches movies with you and has gotten surprisingly good at rubbing little circles on your tummy that help with cramps.

 Keeps the house stocked with candy, but, then again… it’s always stocked with candy.

“Babe. Look what I just found at the store.”  You watch with furrowed brows as he sets the bags on your floor. You’re curled on the couch, a blanket tucked up around your neck. He’d made sure to roll you like a burrito before he’d left.  He pulls out… a cow? It looks like a stuffed animal, but when he shakes it you hear something sloshing around inside. You raise a brow. “Ummmm–”  “It’s one of those hot water bottle thingies! For your cramps!” He tosses the poor cow on the floor and digs around in the bag again. “Oh my god, they had so many. I got the cow, the dolphin–” He tosses a dolphin out of the bag, followed by a puppy, a raccoon, and a cat. “Do you want me to put one in the microwave for you?”  He looks far too excited to turn down, even though you just heated up your old hot water bottle minutes ago. You smile and nod. “Yeah, baby. Thanks.” 

✰ GETO:

Mans TAKES CARE of you. Like… fully. 

Is really sympathetic and gentle when your cramps are killing you– brushing your hair back, rubbing circles on your tummy, letting you put his warm hands wherever it hurts. 

Runs you a warm bath and climbs right in with you. Makes you lean back against him while he gives you a massage and works out all the knots in your neck and shoulders. 

Buys you period products before your period starts if he remembers. If he doesn’t he’s happy to run down to the store. Doesn’t need to ask which ones you like– he already knows.

Wraps you up in the comfiest blankets and cuddles with you wherever you ask. Gives the best cuddles, too. Rubs your back in a way that has you falling asleep in seconds.

Makes sure you take your meds on time and brings you a glass of water. 

Secretly loves period sex. Will never push you for it, but gets super horny at just the thought. Loves the sight of your blood on his dick. Makes him feel possessive of you in a way that’s kind of scary. 

“Sugu…” you whine. Your cramps are bad. You’ve been curled in a ball all morning, even with all the meds Suguru has been giving you. “It hurts so bad.”  You feel him shifting behind you and then his hands gently prying you to lie on your back. You whimper, the pain spiking again as soon you roll out of the fetal position. His face appears above you, a couple stray strands of black hair tickling your cheeks. His smile is soft, but full of sympathy as he settles over you.  “I’m sorry, baby. I wish I could make it go away…”  He moves down your body, settling between your thighs and resting his cheek on the plush of your thigh. You sigh when you feel his fingers skate over your tummy, rubbing little circles into the skin that somehow work wonders for the pain. You sigh with relief, a bit of the tension ebbing away. “That feels nice…”  Your body relaxes a bit, finally getting a break from the incessant pain. Suguru only smiles, looking up at you through hooded eyes when he presses a kiss just below your belly button. You don’t fail to notice the way his thumb is sliding under the fabric of your panties.  “I can think of something that would feel even nicer…” 

✰ NANAMI:

Prepares for your period. 

Has your cycle marked down on his calendar so he always knows when you’re starting. 

Stops by the store a couple of days ahead of time to buy pads/tampons/meds and your favorite snacks. 

Runs a bath for you every night and fills it with all of your favorite soaps and scents. 

Cooks. Mans knows how to cook and does extra of it when you’re on your period. Will make you nutritious meals and urge you to drink water, but always brings you something sweet if you’re craving it. 

Heats up your hot water bottle every thirty minutes without you ever having to ask. 

Lays out a fresh change of clothes for you whenever you’re in the shower. 

Cuddles you whenever you want, but only after he’s tended to all of your other needs (meds, food, water, etc.). 

Will have sex if you want, but will never push you for it. If you just want the relief from your cramps, he’ll just use his fingers to get you off and then pull you back into his arms.

“Time for your bath, sweetheart.”  You nearly grumble in protest, but how can you do such a thing when he takes such good care of you? Still, you don’t want to move. Just existing hurts, much less walking to the bathroom.  Despite your resistance to saying it aloud, Nanami still seems to understand what you’re thinking. No more than a second later he’s scooping you into his arms and carrying you to the bathroom.  “You know you’ll feel better after, love.”  You nod weakly against his chest. “Will you get in with me?”  He pauses. He’s got dinner to make and he wanted to change the sheets for you… One nuzzle of your face into his neck has him throwing all those plans out the window.  “Of course, princess. I’ll get in with you.” 

✰ CHOSO:

Is new to this stuff so he lowkey freaks out. 

Worries that you’re actually in danger cause… there’s blood??? 

Chills out eventually, but is still irrationally convinced that you’re injured. 

When i tell you this man is at your BECK AND CALL, I mean it. He will do every little thing you ask. Fetches water, food, snacks– whatever you need. 

Mans is panicked when he can’t find the candy bar you want at the grocery store. 

Happily buys period products for you but has to facetime you cause the poor baby is overwhelmed and confused by all the options. 

Is kind of attached to you like glue. Thinks you’re somehow more breakable in this state will hold you in his arms permanently apart from when you need to bathe, eat, or use the bathroom. 

Actually freaks when you have a bout of cramps that makes you hiss in pain. Cannot believe you have to do this every month and hates feeling so useless in taking the pain away. Eagerly learns that he can put his warm hands on your tummy and it helps.

Is actually amazed when you tell him that sex helps with the cramps. Worries about hurting you, but is completely down. Mans is definitely not afraid of a little blood lmao.

“Baby… there are so many…”  You can’t help but stifle a laugh looking at your boyfriend’s stressed expression through your phone screen. He’d run down to the store to get you some more pads– you just hadn’t anticipated how overwhelming the experience would be for him.  “I know, Cho. I’m sorry. Here– back up so I can see the whole aisle.”  He does as you ask, flipping the camera around so you can see what he’s looking at. You have to bite your lip this time to keep the laugh in. You’ve never realized just how many options there really are. “The ones toward the bottom right, baby. With the pink box.”  The camera shakes a little as he follows your directions, arm sticking out like he’s playing pin the tail on the donkey.  “These?” His hand hovers over a box that is pink but not the pink you need.  “Down a couple racks.”  Finally, his hands close around the right box. “Thank you, baby. I didn’t think about how confusing this would be for you…”  The camera flips again and you grin at the soft soft smile on his lips. “Don’t apologize. Want me to grab some candy, too?”

taglist (dm me or send an ask to be added!): @lacheri, @la-undercover-latina, @enchantedsylveon, @httpstoyosi, @bbyxxm, @6kabuki, @myriliy, @complexivelovely

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[tthoroughfare]

Could you write an Ellie x fem reader where reader is like a scientist/ doctor and just being really nerdy talking about cordyceps whilst treating Ellie’s wound or something 💁‍♀️

thank u for this cute request so sorry it took so long <3 i loved this sosososo much i'm really thinking about doing a pt 2!! also the doctor is named jasper because i was randomly thinking about twilight while writing this lol

*･゜ﾟ･* pairing: jackson!ellie x reader

*･゜ﾟ･* content: sfw, ur a nerd, ellie's a nerd. just two nerds desperately trying to flirt with each other. sickeningly sweet

*･゜ﾟ･* length: 1.9k

just as you’re in the process of placing away a batch of meticulously counted antibiotics, the door to the office swings open. your head automatically snaps rightward, an unfamiliar voice bouncing throughout the room.

“hey, can you—“ the intruder stops in her tracks, hand still perched atop the doorknob. her gaze flickers over you in a split second, then lands at her feet. “oh. i’m sorry, i thought it was — my bad. i thought jasper would be in here.”

there’s a beat of uncomfortable silence, the girl looking back up for your response. you’re trying to think of what to say, trying to ignore the fact that she’s hot.

“uh, no,” you begin, finishing up and freeing your hands. you turn in her direction, leaning against the counter. “he had to go see maria about a trade.”

another silence. you swallow, making eye contact then breaking it, willing your blank mind to come up with something, anything. in the end, you both speak at once:

“can i help you with something?”

“i haven’t seen you before.”

then, there’s an awkward back and forth of, ‘no, after you,’ culminating in a shared laugh. she meets your gaze for a second, pretty rose blossoming over freckled cheeks and a glimmer in her eye. a little tension evaporates from your body, ice feeling slightly broken.

“i’m working under jasper,” you explain, hint of a smile still on your face. “technically i’m still training, but i treat my own patients.”

“patients,” she parrots, feeling out the word in her mouth. “that’s… official.”

you chuckle. “i guess so.”

“look… uh, i was coming for…” she trails off, gesturing at her arm. “it’s fine, i can come back later. you’re busy.”

“i’m not.” you hope it doesn’t come out too firm; you also hope it doesn’t sound like you’re coming on too strong. your head nods toward the medical couch at the other side of the room. “i can take a look.”

“uh… okay. if you’re sure,” comes her gentle reply, allowing the door to fall closed as she saunters her way over. she shucks her backpack from her shoulders, plopping it on the ground before hopping up, ankles crossed and legs swinging ever so slightly.

as you drag over a metal trolley containing various medical supplies, you feel her eyes on you. you sniff, willing the funny feeling in your stomach away. just do your job.

“you mind taking that off?” you ask nonchalantly, pretending to fiddle with a pair of scissors.

she makes a quiet noise, shaking her head to herself a little as she unzips her jacket. you pluck it from her hands, hanging it atop the door hook before gliding back over. red stains the sleeve of her button-up, an uneven blotch against mossy, torn fabric.

you note the way she struggles to roll it up without aggravating the tender wound below, stopping her with a gentle touch to the shoulder. “hey, let me.”

sitting up straight, she nods. her fingers fall from prying at the hem of her shirt, hand curling in her lap.

“it’s better to take that arm out,” you begin, gingerly straightening out the material before shifting to ease the other end off her shoulder. “i’ll have more room, and it won’t irritate it as much.”

“you’re the boss,” she shrugs in reply with a hint of a smile, lifting her injured arm slightly. she tries not to look too much as you glide the sleeve down — tugging upwards to avoid contact with the gash, gently supporting her wrist all the while. her eyes twitch, flitting between her arm and your face until she snaps out of it. swallowing, she fixates on a tile at the other side of the room.

you let out a small, sympathetic hiss as you allow the fabric to hang down her back, exposing the wound. it’s along her forearm, redness radiating outwards from a nasty-looking slash. “ouch. what did you do?”

she blinks, free hand toying with her tank top. she’s aware of it all of a sudden, feels like it’s sticking to her skin. “uh… just, y’know. patrol.”

“you get jumped?” you ask, turning to disinfect your hands.

“something like that.”

letting out a hum of acknowledgment, you go to start flushing out the area. “just water, m’kay?”

“yeah,” she affirms quietly. even though it is just water, she winces a little as you cleanse the amalgamation of dirt and dried blood, cool liquid accompanied by a sting as it seeps into the open skin. she watches you work to busy her mind; the way your movements are tender, yet confident. effective. “what’s the verdict, doc?”

you blow air out of your nose. “ah… it’s looking like amputation.”

“shit.”

“i know. sucks, right?” you deadpan back, holding in a smirk.

“eh… could be worse.”

eyes meeting hers as you step back, you allow yourself to break the act with a light laugh. she looks away again after a beat, you drinking in her pretty side profile. the curve of her jaw as her soft laughter gives way to a shy smile.

“just needs a few stitches. it’ll heal nice,” you state, mouth still slightly upturned. you turn, toeing a wheeled stool over and readying your equipment from the trolley. taking a seat, you readjust her, placing her arm where you need it. you pick up on a trail of goosebumps prickling where you touch her; although, you tell yourself it is pretty cold in the room.

“good to go?” you check, looking up to be met with a nod and a raise of the eyebrows. 

“knock yourself out.”

“sharp scratch,” you warn her, chuckling as you do so at her comedic, matter-of-fact way of speaking. the needle passes through the initial site easily; she barely flinches.

it’s quiet as you perform the first couple of stitches, your concentration on the task at hand — hers on you. she’s nervous, funny feeling settling itself right in the center of her stomach. it gives her the need to fill the silence.

“you always wanted to do this?” she asks, eyes still firmly on you as you suture. “… be a doctor?”

you hum, lashes fluttering as you continue to work. “i mean… i guess so, yeah. i’ve always really liked science ’n stuff, and i think it was pretty obvious, pretty early i wasn’t cut out for patrol duties.”

she blows air through her nose, corners of her mouth quirking. you’d glanced up as you’d said the latter half of your sentence, and she’d held the eye contact for barely a second before training her gaze into her lap.

“don’t get me wrong, i love treating people,” you add, pulling a stitch taut. “it’s… rewarding, y’know? ‘specially when it’s kids. but i really love the actual science, the biological side of it.”

you pause, honing in and tilting your head to get a better view of the next insertion. “i actually have kind of a side project. i’m doing some research.”

you look up again upon lack of response from your patient. she blinks harshly when you do; like she’d zoned out with her gaze on you, slight cloud in her corneas. you hope you’re not boring her with your spiel, the genuine response she gives reassuring. “research? what are you researching?”

“oh, uh…” you stutter, almost embarrassed to reveal your ambitious effort. “uh… the virus, actually.”

your attention darts upward for her reaction, met with a tiny, encouraging nod. there’s something else behind her eyes, too — her throat bobs at the mention. you can’t quite figure it out. 

“which has already been researched to death, i’m fully aware, but… i’m kind of looking at it from a different angle. some of the patrol guys have been bringing back samples of infected for me, i’m taking it down to a molecular level and… trying to pretend we know nothing about it, i suppose? it’s a lot of work, and sometimes i don’t really feel like i’m getting anywhere, but… i’m hopeful.”

“no, that’s…” she begins after a drawn-out pause, voice earnest and brow furrowing slightly. “that’s awesome. really. it’s super admirable.”

you finish up the final suture, closing the wound fully. pausing for a moment before tying it off, you send her a small, warm smile. “thanks.”

you begin knotting, green eyes still burned into your short-term memory. “sorry for… yammering. once i get talking about something, it’s over.”

“no, don’t worry,” she reassures, free hand gesturing lightly. “i’m the same.” she looks away, gaze flickering toward the window. “… i’m really into space, and if i start talking about that…”

exaggerating her point, she rolls her eyes, huffing. you look between her and the wound as you finish up, a small grin on your face. “space, huh?”

she shrugs, sheepishly smiling as she talks. “yeah… i just — i’ve always liked it. i think it’s cool.”

you raise an eyebrow, pivoting to place your tools back on the trolley. “did you know the moon landing was actually fake?”

“wha— no, okay, that was a… crackpot theory,” she begins, shifting in her seat. “there’s no real evidence that’s true, it was politically motivated. i have so many books on this sh—stuff, there’s no way they could fake that. i mean, it doesn’t make sense. you don’t really believe that, do you?”

pausing, you grab a clean rag and douse the middle with antiseptic before chuckling in her direction. “no. i just wanted to see if you meant it.”

the sigh she lets out gives way to a light laugh, the sound dropping off as you turn back to her arm, readying to clean over the tended cut. she speaks quietly, pitch low. “that’s terrible.”

you blow air through your nose, meeting her gaze waveringly. you swear she’s moved in a little; her face feels closer than before. “you walked into it.”

“i suppose,” she replies, hint of a smirk dusting her features. she clears her throat gently.

you look back down, cautioning her before you wipe over. “little sting.”

a tiny grunt escapes her, nose scrunching when you press down. “nope. feels awesome.”

laughing quietly, you give it another once over before tossing the rag to the side. “okay. you’re all good to go.” you stand, moving the stool away with the side of your foot as you disinfect your hands. “i’m sure you know the drill: keep it clean, keep it dry, come back in a week.”

you awkwardly perch against the counter as she puts the other half of her shirt back on, unbuttoning the hem and this time successfully rolling it up and away from her stitches. after she’s dressed, you wait for her to get up — but she lingers, goes to say something and then doesn’t. then does: “uh, thanks for… y’know.”

nodding as she gestures towards her arm, you readjust yourself. “any time. you did good. took it like a champ.”

chuckling, she stands, leaning to grab her backpack and sling it on. you swear she goes a tad pink, ears still rosy as she turns from picking her coat off the hook. “wait, i didn’t get your name. sorry.”

you say it’s alright, giving her your name with a tiny, lopsided smile. she nods, looking up like she’s manually tucking it away in her memory. “i’m ellie.”

subconsciously, you mime the syllables. “you look like one.”

“what does that even mean?”

shrugging and shooting her a grin, you watch her laugh to herself. she turns, reaching for the door handle, then pauses — lingering again. it makes your heart hammer, for some reason. 

her head pivots, catching your eye. “see you in a week?”

you give her a final smile, raising an arm to wave once. 

“see you in a week, ellie.”

@fernbruises

[cannibal-alien]

Hello!! Could u perhaps do chance x reader x elliot general hcs? :}/nf

꒰ 🎰 🍕 ꒱ chance/elliot/reader – general headcanons!!! . *

goodnight everyoneee,, here’s the last one for tonight 🫶🏻 thank you sooo much for the request nonny!! hope you like ^_^ 👽

chance will absolutely have you two locked into some kind of card game. probably something like war! just so they could scratch that gambling itch. but really? he just can’t stand seeing you both so stressed out. so he plays his cards with a smug little smile on his face, knowing it’ll definelty take your minds off the constant mental strain,, and not before long you’re laughing at their antics; momentarily forgetting about the horribly miserable realm you’re trapped in. it’s pretty silly, but also a much needed sanity boost

it’s kind of tough luck for the other survivors who end up in the same round as all three of you,,, they’re not exactly glued to your side like you’re a fragile glass doll, but the second you call out for help? chance and elliot are there in a millisecond. you’re their number one priority and they’ll do quite literally anything to keep you protected!! not that you’re just standing around letting them do all the work either, chance has been saved by you more times than they can count on both hands. as for elliot though? you’d need to grow five more just to break even, that boy is a real lifesaver.

bandaging each other up might just be one of the most frustrating tasks ever. chance can’t sit still to save his LIFE and you’ll literally barely be past the stinging antibiotic cream. i’ve said it ONCE and i’ll say it AGAIN: chance has the pain tolerance of wet cardboard!!! he tries to grit his teeth and act like it’s nothing but his strained winces immediately give him away. over time he does toughen up,, you can thank the endless matches for that! but in the earlier days? they were incredibly tough to handle. elliot actually has a pretty high pain tolerance! he’s usually the one doing most of the patching up anyway, and he’s good at it. not surprising though,, his bandaging skills are pretty clean and infinitely better than chance’s “slap it on and hope for the best!” method. plus, he doesn’t complain… unlike a certain someone you both know veeery well. hmmm…

it’s always kind of a big deal when you three get separated, but both of them believe in you an insane amount and do their best not to worry. they know you’re a strong, capable survivor, and you refuse to give up so easily,, they never let you forget it. you can sense their admiration for you from hundreds of miles away, it’s glaringly obvious… do you really need the ego boost right now??

divider by @/strangergraphics ^.^

[nightscythe]

I’ve been sick for the past two weeks, and it’s got me wondering—how do you think the primarchs would handle their s/o being sick for that long? Would some of them totally panic and try to carry you to the medbay even if you just have a cold? Or would they be the quietly worried type, sitting next to you and acting like they’re not checking your temperature every five minutes?

Would any of them try (and fail) to cook you something? Or maybe sit there reading to you because rest is important? I need to know who’s handling it with grace and who’s acting like you’re dying of the plague.

i hope you feel better anon!! i hope this gives you a bit of comfort ◡̈

pre-heresy primarchs when their muse is sick? just another way of saying that their entire world is shutting down. because they don't get sick so they just can't compute it properly.

cw for sickness/illness of course, worries about death, and alpharius' one is darker.

-ˋˏ✄┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

the lion: he would never, ever leave your side. he may not outright tell you he's worried but given the fact he's moved in days, its safe to assume his worry has consumed him beyond anything else. actually, the only time he did leave was when you fell asleep one time and he wanted to make you food himself (because, if whoever was making your food before was doing a good job, you'd be better already). he can't actually cook but he does his best for you an it actually turns out well, and when you inadvertently compliment him he decide then and there he will walways be the one who makes your food. convinces himself he's the reason you're getting better in the end. and when you finally find a bit of rest? he finally lets his hands shake because he was worried. tiny over-reaction.

fulgrim: pff, dramatic? that's not fulgrim at all. convinces himself you've contracted the black plague for certain, but keeps up his happy appearance and tells everyone you're going to be fine anyway. no expense is too much, an array of possible things to make you better are presented each day, no matter how many times you tell him you don't need tiny rocks to make you feel better no matter how pretty they were. would probably need shutting down eventually and for you to tell him you would just like him, not everything he can offer. his heart practically melts at the thought, and even if you did have the plague, he'd still risk getting it to so he could revel in how much you wanted him around.

perty: hates more than anything that he can't fix it for you. probably spends more time away from you in an effort to cure whatever illness you have (because antibiotics could surely be more efficient), asking for four updates an hour from his sons. also probably thinks he's useless being with you, so there's no point with you. let's say you have enough of not seeing him and find him, sit beside him and watch him work. he wouldn't notice you at first, so focused on distracting himself from worry that shouldn't even exist to him. but when you place your hand on his, he freezes. what do you need? he'd ask, and when you say you need him, he short circuits for a moment. yes, of course, whatever will help. probably one of the first times he realised it was him that you loved and not his mind.

khan: there's not many times he would show his feelings openly. but he doesn't understand human weakness, certainly not something so mundane as being sick. so when he tries to imagine it in his head, he somehow inflates it to something far worse than it actually is. he makes an effort to keep light banter with you, even jest at how he'd never expected something like this to phase you. he'd want to let you rest, but when you ask him to stay, he'd be the first to sit back down and make sure no one was disturbing him for at least 24 hours. he'd talk to you until you fell asleep and stay by your side until you woke up. the second you feel better he tells you he always knew you'd be fine, but internally he's finally stopped worrying that he was going to lose you.

leman: laughed it off at first (nervously) because he knew you were strong. forgot you were not a primarch and could acually be defeated by something as small as a cold in the more dire circumstances. he'd be quite proactive in trying to get you to recover. no mopping around in bed all day when you could be having a warm bath or sitting beside him eating a good meal. somehow by trying to convince himself everything is fine and normal he becomes extremely efficient in making you feel better because you just feel... normal. but when you really have had enough, and you just want to rest, it only takes one look for him to give in. come here, little one, he'd say as he pulled you into his arms, resting his head against yours, you are strong, you'll be okay.

dorn: he may not have the words to say to you, but he's comfort incarnate nonetheless. he holds your hand, a bit (a lot) tighter sometimes when you show any symptoms of your illness. he asks for things to be brought to you that he knows will help (ie, soup, and even tastes it to make sure its the perfect temperature), he processes every bit of information logically so he knows what could possibly happens. accidentally focuses on the most negative side effects. a side effect of your medication is death? doesn't matter how many times you tell him they have to say that in case you have an allergic reaction, he's convinced himself of the worse. only recovery will remove this fear. is your personal guardian until you feel better regardless.

curze: has no clue what to do. is angry at you for being sick (he told you to wear a jacket when it was cold and this is what we've come to?). angry at himself for not being able to change it (because he should have held you in his arms and forced you to share his warmth). he could just go and check if you needed anything but that's too easy. life isn't that fair to him, there must be more to it. turns his attention elsewhere in ignorant bliss. returns to your bedside in time for you to wake up and still doesn't say anything to you, just watches. if you seem any worse he'll send someone, he's no help in this situation. no, he just goes and procures you a bunch of flowers and a gift to show his affection.

sanguinius: he already treats you like the most fragile thing in existence, so when you actually do show an ounce of weakness? he caves. he will not let you lift a finger. he will not have you bear a single thought without his support. you may just have a sore throat, he'd silence you with a kiss and speak for you, as if he knew exactly what you were going to say. he'd smile sweetly as he did everything in his power to ensure you were recovering (yes, he'd have someone check on you every ten minutes, even has an oximeter on you just in case...). type to lay beside you as you sleep, watch you so closely he can track each of your breaths, shield you from anything the outside world has to offer. and he knows you'll be fine. but whats a better excuse than this to treat you like he always wanted to.

ferrus: well you're not allowed to have anything happen to you, so good luck. he doesn't really know how to tell you anything else. you're not leaving me, he'd say as he sat beside me. and you can tell him over and over its literally just tonsillitis or whatever. he doesn't listen. its like him telling you over and over will somehow indoctrinate your body into listening to him. immediately begins looking into a way to make sure you're not susceptible to illness again, but never leaves your side. it would seem that vaccines need to be made stronger...that is how they work, if they were more effective, you would not be in this condition. how do you tell him you can't vaccinate against every single bacteria and virus. in his own arrogance of telling you you can't leave him, he doesn't worry too much.

angron: it was okay at first. then he really thought about it. he's unable to cope at all. please don't leave me he'd whisper in the dead of night. he's so quietly observant, seeing your fever get worse, how you reached for him as if you wanted him to help. please, my love, tell me you won't leave me. he knows you're sleeping and won't hear him, but he can't bring himself to say it at any other time. he just sits there, his legs and hands shaking, waiting for your fever to break overnight. there were a few times he felt utterly powerless and this was one of those times. and when he finally sees you open your eyes, how you seem just a touch better? every part of his body relaxes. he knows you're past the worst of it. he knows you won't leave him.

rob: brings in the best medicae he knows, stands behind them observing all their tests to ensure he is satisfied they know everything that's wrong and have a complete follow up treatment plan. basically becomes versed in medicine as well so he can form part of the discussions and reassures himself the best that can be done is being done. ignore that all you had was the flu. yeah it sucks but you'll more than likely be fine. he micromanages every part of your recovery alongside the medicae to ensure optimal recovery. does he worry? yes. but he hides it better than the others in front of you. outside your room? he's pacing. he's got about 5 action plans in the works for what to do if you start to feel worse, don't respond to the paracetamol, and if you do get better when he's not there.

morty: it wasn't very often that mortarion felt weak himself. but when you're sick? when he can't immediately take away your pain or your hurt? that's when he breaks. you were used to his blank stare 90% of the time and having to work out how he actually felt. but the second his voice broke, it was obvious - he was not coping well. because he felt responsible for you, keeping you safe, keeping you well, and he felt like he had failed you. he'd personally take control of your recovery. he'd spent each minute with you, never allowing himself to take his eyes off you until he knew you were well again. even if you told him you were okay, he'd shush you, still seeing that you looked tired or your hands shook a little. the only person he could ever trust to help you was himself, and its in this time you see the mortarion that existed behind all of the walls he built.

magnus: he can feel everything you can, so no point lying to him. every ache, every pain - you can't hide anything from him. and that makes it so much worse because he starts to panic even more. he's completely devoted to you and he's not afraid to show it either. he'd lay with you, cast illusions of grandeur to try to make you feel a bit better. craft stories to take your mind off whatever you're feeling. use ancient treatments to offer you any reprise he can. and when you do fall asleep? poor guy just falls apart. he's scared to lose you already and seeing you in any kind of weakened state really sets him over the edge. he's cry whilst holds you, he'd search every future he can to see an outcome. when you wake up and tell him you're feeling a lot better? his heart almost bursts with joy. such a soft huge guy its unreal.

horus: he says he's not concerned (he is) because he's seen men lose most of their body and still survive (yeah thanks for that). he doesn't leave your side though, opting to cancel every engagement he was meant to attend in favour of spending it with you. i know it will pass, sweetheart, he'd say as he wrapped his arms around you and kept you as close to him as possible, pressing a soft kiss to your temple, but i would rather be with you until i know you're okay. he cares deeply about you and he's completely obssessed with you, so of course he's going to worry - but he turns that into extra love for you.

lorgar: he first of all believes that this is punishment for something he's done wrong. he's convinced that the powers above, be it his father or something else, knew that the fastest way to hurt him was through you. when you explain its because you caught it off a serf (an immediately retracted admission because this poor serf was almost about to feel the wrath of a primarch in love), he questions it, but accepts it. he would not feel whole again until you were well - this literally breaks him inside (because he later convinces himself this was fate's punishment and blames himself). he's so caught up in his divine presentation of you that he forgets you are human, his worship doesn't make you invincible. don't expect anything practical from him, he's now making plans to actually make you a divine entity.

vulkan: praise to the one primarch who doesn't overreact. he understands the depths of why you're unwell (be it a cold, a virus, or something more serious) and tailors his approach perfectly, knowing exactly what you do and don't need. and you know his big warm hands are extremely nice to feel no matter what's burdening you. he will give you your space when you need it, especially when you're sleeping so he doesn't disturb you, and when you want his company? he's right there with anything you've previously told him you liked. hot water bottle, blanket, energy drink (poor choice but 1 is permitted), he would have it all. let me take care of you, he'd mumble, pulling you into his arms. perfectly normal reaction, really.

corax: acts like he doesn't care, but he does. sends medicae your way the second he sees a slight shift, even if its just your voice sounding a bit hoarse or if you wince when you move a little. stands at the other side of the room and listens to everything they say with great detail to ensure he carries out their treatment to the best of his ability. if its something small he can sigh in relief for now, but anything else would leave him a bit of a mess internally. because what would he do without you? how can he get through life without you by his side? immediately assumes the worst and becomes a silent observer. makes sure everything you need is at your side immediately when you need it - including him.

alpharius: you needed him so much that he liked it. you always kept your independence around him, but when you were sick? you asked for his help in everything. and he lived for it. so maybe he manipulates your recovery. you thought you'd feel better after a week, but 3 weeks in and you still don't feel 100%. the medicae tells you its just a stronger form of the virus you caught. must have mutated. you're not paying enough attention to notice how they glance at alpharius when speaking. i'll keep you safe, he tells you, locking your door behind him. its not like you could get up to leave anyway, the strong painkillers kept you in bed. i won't let anything happen to you, he whispers softly as he strokes your hair and holds you against him. i won't lose you, as he wonders how he's going to convince you that you're still sick when you have no more symptoms.

[acewritesficsagain]

When Needed | Tommy Shelby

- Pairing: Tommy Shelby x Reader

- Requested by: @runnning-outof-time thanks for being my first request back, K!

- Prompt: S-03 - After a rough day at work, reader is pleasantly surprised when he picks her up from work.

- Warnings: mentions a patient's death during child birth, ptsd (shell-shock), vomit & blood.

- Wordcount: 633

Main Masterlist | Request Guidelines | Tag List

Y/N breathes a sigh of relief as she exits the hospital, her spare nurse’s uniform stained with blood, medicine, and the remnants of a long, grueling shift that seemed to stretch on forever. The cool evening air hits her face like a refreshing splash of water, momentarily washing away the fatigue that clings to her like a heavy blanket. The day had gone terribly wrong from the moment she stepped inside the hospital.  

Ten minutes into her shift a patient with severe food poisoning vomited all over her, the horrible smell still lingering in her nose. Not long after cleaning herself up and changing into her spare uniform, another patient violently ripped his IV from his arm sending blood splatter all over her as well as the patient. They had to sedate the patient until the IV antibiotic bag had emptied. As if that wasn't enough to test her resolve, another patient suffering from shell-shock mistook her for them enemy as she tried to administer the medication he needed for a nasty infection. But that wasn't the worst of it.  

The worst moment came when a young mother died giving birth to her third son, leaving behind a grieving father and five children. Fortunately, the baby survived but it was touch and go for the first few hours as they did as much as they could for him. The mother wasn't even her patient. Y/N was called into help and assist the doctor when things started to get complicated.  

After that time, seemed to slow down. Y/N didn't get the time to sit down and process what just happened, it being her first time experiencing something so tragic in her nursing career. She went right back to taking care of her other patients as though nothing had happened.  

Looking up at the night sky to see there is not a cloud in the sky. The full moon and the stars are on full display, one star shining brighter than the others. Her mind drifts back to the mother they lost. She thinks of the baby, now safe and sound in the nursery, and the father who held onto hope through his unimaginable grief. She feels a tear stream down her cheek, her heart going out to the grieving family and the woman who wouldn't get to see her youngest baby grow.  

Y/N wipes her cheek with the back of her hand, a small attempt to gather herself before she starts her walk to the bus stop a few metres up the road. But as she reaches the footpath, she stops, pleasantly surprised to see the man who's been courting her for the last six months, leaning against his car with a cigarette hanging from his lips. 

Her heart skips a beat as she takes in the sight of him. A familiar warmth spreads through her chest, momentarily pushing aside the heaviness of the day. Thomas Shelby always had a way of making her darkest days feel a little brighter with just a smile. He flicks the cigarette away, and it lands softly on the ground. 

“I had a feeling I should come pick you up today,” he says, noticing the solemn look in her eyes.  

Y/N manages a small smile, despite the weight still pressing on her heart. “You always seem to know when I need someone the most.” 

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asks as he pushes himself off the car and walks towards her, his gaze softening as he takes in the disheveled state of her uniform.  

She goes to shake her head but nods instead. “Let’s go home, first,” she says, her voice soft and fragile.  

Tommy nods, a knowing look in his eyes as he opens the car door for her and helps her get in. 

©️2025 acewritesficsagain - No one has my permission to copy, translate and/or repost anywhere.

Tagged: @rainyday-daydreamer

[kiwiikato]

mommy’s here // ken sato x reader

Chapter Six

note: i wanted to make it up to you all for the lack of a post yesterday by making this one 1k words longer and more wholesome, i hope you all enjoyed the ending, i need to feed u all more♡ thank u for ur patience and support >:3

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your body froze at his question. his voice was silky smooth. you knew he was teasing you and the effect it had on you. you body heated up more as your face erupted into a blush. no matter how hard you tried to keep calm, the way his looked at you almost had you fainting then and there.

and he knew the effect he had on you. and he liked it. in the short amount of time that he knew you, he thought you were attractive. so to see the effect he had on you in this moment, he couldn't help but have his ego grow slightly.

"so? do i make you nervous?" that damn cocky smirk never left his lips as he watched you, almost like he was eating you with his eyes. "no." you quickly blurted out, your thoughts going haywire. "i don't knowww," his voice playfully drew out his words, "the pink on your cheeks and the way you keep trying to avoid looking at me says otherwise♪"

he spoke teasingly, almost like he was tauntingly singing out your reactions to you, making you even more flustered. his body stayed looking at you, your eyes flickering between his arms to his chest to his sultry eyes. 

you mouth dried up, panicking. "yeah yeah, i have eyes, i can look where i want." your response was not the best, you didn't know how to react to this, you could only look away. "oh. really?" his voice was mischievous.

you heard the ice bath he was in move around from his movement. he didn't speak, he was too quiet for your liking. until he did. "hey." you looked back at him, trying to see what he was doing. god, you regretted it, but you couldn't deny how much you loved it.

you face was met with his, only about an inch away from you, almost like he knew you'd turn to him. your breathing caught in your throat as his lips were so close yet so far. you barely knew him, but the effect of a guy as handsome as him had you wrecked.

your eyes widened as you stayed still. he only seemed to get closer. his mouth got closer to your ear. you could feel his hot breath against your ear. what was he doing? "hey... can you pass me my towel on the couch?"

he pulled away with the most mischievous smile you have ever seen. he had no shame teasing you only to mess with you. nothing was going to happen, you should've known, but gosh, the way he acted made it feel like something would. "yeah- i'll get it." you quickly got up, moving to pick up the towel that he had left on the couch.

you grabbed the soft material, handing it over to him. you turned away, not knowing how he'd come out of the ice bath, waiting for him to be finished. you heard him get out, now walking beside you.

your eyes trailed as he walked away, the towel wrapped around his waist. his back shown perfectly to you. his neck turned to look at you, sending a childish smile as he stuck his tongue out at you.

he walked away, entering the hallway, going to change. once you were out of his eyesight, you quickly grabbed your face, caught off guard by everything that happened. "holy fuck.... what a tease" you could only whisper to yourself.

you went to sit in the couch, taking deep breaths as you fanned yourself with your hands. it wasn't long till you heard a door open and saw kenji walking towards your direction. he sat on the couch, next to you. "can you help me?" he was quiet, almost like he was embarrassed to ask for help. "of course."

you smiled as you took the bandages, rubbing alcohol, antiseptic, and antibiotic ointment he brought for you to help. "okay let's see what we got here." you reached over to the bandage on his forehead, looking at him for confirmation. he nodded, letting you know it was okay.

you slowly took the bandage off, looking at the scratched up wound he had, definitely one that would leave a bruise on his face. "ouch kenji, you might get a bruise from this." his face paled. "a bruise?? on this face? no can do!" you laughed at his reaction. "it's okay, you're in good hands, let's fix up that pretty face then."

he froze, slightly blushing, as you grabbed the bottle of antibiotic ointment he had brought. his breathing was shaky as you placed a hand on his chin, pulling him forward for you to reach the cut. "oh- aren't you going to use rubbing alcohol first to clean it?" he asked quietly, trying his best not to stutter.

"ah no. using things like rubbing alcohol or antiseptic on wounds can actually slow down the healing process since they damage your tissues, also killing helpful germs. some say you can use antiseptic as long as you dilute it with water and try not to get in inside the cut. antibiotic ointment is good to use though since it keeps out infections, also keeping the wounds moist and clean." you said as you applied the ointment to his forehead.

you grabbed a new bandage, softly placing it on his forehead, making sure it covered it right. "how do you know that?" he asked, curious of your knowledge. "i told you i used to take care of kids when i first offered to help you with the baby kaiju, i researched a lot since kids can be pretty reckless, and i wanted to make sure i did my best for them." you said as you tapped his shoulder.

he lifted the shirts fabric over his shoulder, letting you see the scratch there. you repeated the process, then moving to his forearm, right under his elbow, and repeating the process there.

"there you go. should be good as new in no time." you said as you closed the medicines and placing them to the side. "thank you." he said softly. "no problem kenji, i'm always here to make sure you and the baby and take care of.

"oh also! mina told me to tell you to go with her and the baby, she wants to show us something." kenji smiled and got up, eventually leading the way towards the elevator he had.

the ride down was quiet but comfortable, the both of you eventually getting there. you walked out with kenji trailing behind you, happily walking to where the excited kaiju baby was. small coos came from her as she excitedly clapped and jumped seeing the both of you finally in front of her.

"give me some good news mina." kenji spoke tiredly as he took a sip from his drink. you watched as his adam's apple bobbed up and down. "please tell us you found kaiju island." the idea made you sad to hear. you knew the baby kaiju didn't belong here but that didn't mean that you hadn't found yourself starstruck with her. you were grateful to know that wasn't why mina made you call kenji down here for.

"no, ken, but the baby has a surprise for you. right y/n?" she said, spinning over to you. "oh yes yes! we think you'll love it very much." you said as you clapped your hands excited. kenji smiled and turned towards the baby kaiju. "let's see then."

the baby kaiju flashed multiple colors, all the ones that belonged in the rainbow and those in between each shade. she bent her knees in joy as she started to jump from excitement. making a cute pose of bending one leg and raising her claw up as she alternated between limbs. your heart melted at the sight as she mimicked the intro song for the silly show known as 'kaiju step wandabada'.

the happy atmosphere from the song quickly changed when you found kenji and your faces contorting into one of disgust. it was then that yku realized that the baby kaiju had gone to the restroom and farted... horrendously.

"ugh! dear god... what is that smell?" kenji covered his nose and mouth with his arm as he moved backwards. you followed suit by using your shirt to cover your nose. "oh gosh..." you said quietly, trying to not gag from the stench.

"ken, y/n. you can not feed a twenty foot baby a half ton of fish and not expect anything but a giant pile of—" mina's words were cut off by the sound of another fart, loud as the one before it. green funk splattered against the walls of the containment as the baby jumped around.

"which brings me something that we need to discuss. until i'm able to find kaiju island, we're all going to need to raise her." kenji didn't like this idea what so all.

"mina, i got a whole season of baseball ahead of me. i just can't do it." he said as he started to walk away. "ken, you brought her home and now she is your responsibility. besides, you are not fully alone since y/n will also be helping you raise her." mina said as she followed behind him.

"exactly as mina said ken, you're not going through this alone, i'll be here to help you." you said as you walked beside him. he turned to say something to you but was cut off by mina floating in front of him, stopping you both in your tracks.

"she'll die if you both don’t take care of her. now it won't be easy but i'll do everything i can to help. y/n will too. we'll have to continue feeding her, washing her, develop a strategy for taking her to potty. you'll have to learn the five s's. swaddle, side, shush, swing, suck. you both need to raise her."

she menacingly floated towards you both, causing you both to walk backwards. her lights flickered orange, giving off a scary aura. you nodded your head quickly in fear as kenji's face tensed up and breathed heavy from all the events occurring.

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the days went by so fast yet so slow. everything drained the both of you, not expecting it to be so hard since it was two of you raising her. the days switched from waking up too early, to never getting sleep, to dealing with the crying, the feeding, the vomiting, pooping, the struggling to wash her, the burping her so late, to being slumped on the floor with eachother, to spending nights down stairs, cuddles together for warmth, to professor sato calling you and you rushing over to help with his work, to fighting kaijus, to knocking out while reading, to drinking tons of coffee, and more on repeat.

the days were horrible. and so painfully slow. so slow. every game kenji did went bad, so many strikes and missed hits. you felt bad for him as you would deal with the crying baby as you watched the tv. and other days you'd run off to go help his dad, avoiding telling him you were with his son of out respect to their lack of bond to kenji. some days you couldn't help but yell in a room by yourself. constantly running back and forth from your apartment, to professor satos place, and to kenji's house.

back and forth and back and forth and back and forth. you hated it. kenji hated it. but you both dealt with it. it wasn't till the seventy first day were you woke up to kenji rushing out of the house to a baseball match.

you laid on the floor next to mina and the baby as she slept fast asleep, thankfully giving you a second of peace from your exhaustion. the day was long as you waiting for kenji to come back.

a yell sounded through the room as you and the baby quickly shot up from the sound of something hitting the floor. kenji's helmet rolled on the floor, the source of the sound.

"threaten to trade me, ken sato?!? to the tigers?! to the tigers?!?! nobody trades ken sato!" you slowly stood up from where you sat, slowly walking towards kenji who stared outside to the ocean. "i'm doing my best, okay?! god!" his breaths were shaky as his voice cracked from his heavy emotions. "i feed you, i clean your massive poopies!" kenji's hand slammed against the glass as he shook.

you got closer to him, right as he started to crumble to the floor. "ken... are you crying?" you softly asked as your hand touched his back in a comforting manner. "no... i'm not crying." his breathing was shaky as you heard his sniffles. you watched as he wiped away at his eyes, getting rid of the tears that leaked.

"it's been a long day, hasn't it?" you said. you hand rubbed against his back, trying to soothe him. the both of you had gotten closer in the duration of taking care of the baby, connecting through the hardships of raising a living being. "yeah..." he whispered.

"do you want to talk about it?" he looked away, trying to his his face. "hey hey. it's okay. let it out." your hands found his face, gently pulling him to look at you. the thumbs of your hands rubbed against the bottom of his eye as you wiped away any tears that came out. "there there you big baby, everything's going to be okay."

he could only cry more as you held him. he scooted closer, his face looking to the floor. he spoke but the tears he had made it hard to hear. "what was that ken?" you said as his face sat on your hand. "can i hug you..." it was almost so quiet that you almost didn't hear it, but you did.

"come here, ken." your arms opened as he fell forward. his arms wrapped around your body as they rested at your waist. his grip was tight as he continued to softly cry. "don't cry ken, it's okay, you're not alone." you said as your arms held him to you, softly humming to ease him.

"can i get closer..." he asked, seeking comfort, anything. he just needed a loving embrace. "of course you can ken." before you knew it, your body was lifted up. it was then that you realized that ken had placed you on his lap as you both hugged each other.

his face found the crook of your neck, as your chin rested on his shoulder. "i'm sorry. i just don't want to be alone right now." "it's okay ken, it's okay. i'm here, let it out." his waterworks continued as soft whines and sniffles escaped him. you couldn't help the small blush that made its way to your face from the position you were in, shaking it off since he was vulnerable.

some time passed, the both of you not moving for a while. you almost thought he had fallen asleep from his silence. you were wrong. "y/n... can i sleep with you tonight, please." his voice was soft and timid. how could you deny someone as adorable as him.

"that's fine ken, as long as you're comfortable with it." you said as your hands trailed through his hair. his face moved from your neck, giving you a soft smile. "that would be nice." you moved to get off of his lap, with him following suit.

you walked towards the baby kaiju, letting her know that it was okay to sleep. mina played a lullaby, letting her lull to sleep. "thank you mina." you said quietly as kenji trailed behind you, his body timid.

"of course. do let me know if you both need anything. we can play some baseball to help ease you tomorrow if you'd like ken." ken nodded and mumbled a small 'thank you'.

you both walked to the elevator, deciding to call it a night for the both of you. it wasn't long before the doors open and you moved through his house to the spare room he had lent to you to stay it. "oh wait hold on, can i change into pajamas really quick?" you nodded your head as ken ran to his room to find comfortable clothes since he still adorned his baseball uniform.

you moved into the room, tidying the bed a bit as you waited for him to return. you turned the lights off as you went to lay in bed. it wasn't long to the sound of the door opened, you could hear soft steps make there way to the other side of the bed. "y/n..." he whispered, trying to see if you were awake or not.

"get in the bed kenji, you need your rest." ken nodded as he pushed the covers aside and got in. the both of you laid side to side, facing one another. the room was dark but moonlight flashed through the window, illuminating his features nicely.

"thank you." "you're welcome ken, you've had a rough day, get some rest and relax your head." you said as snuggled more into the sheets. "thank you again.. this means a lot, i wasn't feeling the best— is that a frog?" your eyes snapped open as you stared at ken slightly laugh at the frog stuffed animal that laid in your arms.

"shut up! leave him alone." you said as you held him close. he could only laugh as he shook his head. "do you really get that lonely at night?" he asked teasingly. "weren't you the one that was just crying? why are you teasing me, i'll kick you out of the bed right now." you said, huffing out of embarrassment.

"no no no, i just thought it was cute." you grumbled put a 'whatever' at his teasing. "look. come here." you didn't have the chance to react till kenj reached over, pulling you body against his. his arms wrapped around you as his leg laid on top of you, getting comfortable.

"there. now you won't be lonely." he said as his head rested on yours. "shut up." you grumbled. you could feel his chest vibrating against you. "your welcome n/n, now sleep with me."

you didn't say anything, instead just scooted closer as the blanket wrapped around you both. the room was silent as your breathing intertwined. it was peaceful. it wasn't long till you both felt your eyes grow heavier. "goodnight n/n."

your eyes closed as his arms pulled you closer. his eyes admiring the sight of you against him. he softly smiled, closing his eyes to follow you into sleep. his head leaned down as he lips placed a small but gentle kiss on your head.

he snuggled into you more. he could get used to this, it was nice... really nice. his thoughts were cut short as he, too, fell into sleep. the night flew with small dreams of you, his mouth in a smile as he slept.

TAGLIST

@ilovemyhusbandaaravos @miffysoo @dumbkira15 @chaoticotaku @channit @shingsoluvely @vampz-cats @mixvchelle @ifharbingerbad--whyhot @dreamayy @justanotherkpopstanlol @bat1212 @angelitadiaz @snowbusiness @witcwitchy @mizzowizzo @buggs-1 @mmeerraa @everywonuu @nevermorekisses @f1uveryysblog @t4naiis @stxrrielle @ixqiix @arrozyfrijoles23 @sincerest-one @imsimping4life @sassy-cat-in-town @jack-of-all-trades-696 @flutterfly365 @eternalgoddessofart @hulyenl @leabrainrot @sunmigs @m3q3kic @lynbubble @leviannx @call-me-nyxx @gurofushi @ya-boi-v @im-sidney @haitani-zoe

[revelboo]

May we have a Cosmos drabble? I feel like that little ufo guy rarely gets any love🛸

Sure! He’s adorable

Found some antibiotics that weren’t super expired, so I’m trying those. 18+ 🌶️

In Space

Cosmos x Reader

• Jinking and diving, he’s painfully aware that he’s not fast enough. Not to outrun Astrotrain. Already damaged and leaving a trail of energon droplets floating against the backdrop of the stars behind him, he can’t even radio for help. Astrotrain’s initial attack had damaged his comms. And even though this is his element, there’s nowhere to hide from the big Decepticon. Crying out as weapons fire slams into his back again, he dives. Arrowing down toward the earth, desperate to escape. To live.

• Startling awake and heart racing with the loud boom of noise that had rattled the windows and sent something crashing down in another room, you sit up. What was that? Sliding out of bed, you wander to the window and lift your blinds. And stare at the faint glow from the trees. Had a plane crashed? Yanking on boots, you don’t bother to get dressed beyond your sleep pants and a tank top. Pausing to grab your phone and a flashlight, you head outside. Someone might need help.

• Groaning as he tries to push himself up and slumps again, everything hurts, the landing much harder than he’d intended. Straining to listen for Astrotrain, he hopes his crash had looked convincing enough that the Decepticon will assume he’s offline and won’t investigate. It had felt convincing, painful and damaging. Can’t feel one of his legs, servos of one hand broken and useless. And he freezes as a light swings back and forth among the trees his broken body had toppled over. One of the tiny natives? Oh, no.

• Flashlight playing over the damage, it looks like a very precise tornado came through. Picking your way over uprooted trees, your heart is hammering against your ribs. Painfully aware that you probably should have just called the police and let them deal with this. What are you even going to do if it is a plane crash? If someone’s hurt? “Hello?” Something moves and you freeze, afraid of another tree falling. That glow you’d seen is gone now. The woods eerily quiet, reminding you that this isn’t really your element. That the woods are creepy.

• Flinching when the light plays over him and then jerks back to his face, he whimpers. And tries to push himself away with a groan, broken visor brightening. Finding you. Such a tiny thing, trembling as you stare up at him, little light bouncing all over the place you’re shaking so bad. Terrified and he understands fear all too well. Trying to drag himself away from you, he lifts an arm, shielding his face from that bright light. What will you do? Call more humans? Will they dissect him? Tear him apart to see how he functions? “Please,” he groans, trying to escape. Doesn’t want to die that way. Or at all.

• What are you looking at? A giant, metal monster. Heart racing so quickly, you’re afraid you’ll black out, it’s the way the thing cringes away that registers. Trying to drag its broken body in the opposite direction instead of attacking. That ragged plea, makes you hesitate. Realizing you’d started lifting your phone and you let your hand fall, lowering the flashlight beam so you’re not blinding it. And even though it’s crazy, you’re sure the giant is more afraid of you than you are of it. “I won’t hurt you,” you say, voice little more than a whisper. Praying you’re not wrong.

Next

[ofstarsandvibranium]

Pull the Thread

Fandom: Marvel (Mob Boss AU)

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x F!Reader

Summary: You and Bucky used to be so in love and so… ignorant of the roles you had to play, which lead to you breaking up. But that didn’t seem to keep you away from each other since you now act as Bucky’s nurse whenever he gets hurt. Based off my mini fic here.

Warnings: mentions of child death

Stitched Together | Bucky Barnes Masterlist

When you wake the next morning, Bucky and Sam are gone. Their sleeping areas are made up and a note is left on your kitchen counter.

Thanks again.

See you around.

-B

PS. call me if you ever need anything

Beside it is a cup of coffee and a stack of bills. You count it out and chuckle in disbelief. Bucky left you two hundred dollars for helping him out.

You grab your phone and type in Bucky's number. You insert a picture of the money along with the text:

You: you didn't have to pay me.

Bucky: I wanted to. For disturbing your night and for your work.

You: It's fine, but thanks anyway.

Bucky: Hope you have a good day, sweetheart. :)

You pause. Sweetheart. You can't help the way your heart beats a little faster when you read that word. He used to call you that when you two were dating. It was never "babe" or "honey". Always "sweetheart".

You feel conflicted. You want to scold him for calling you that...but you also really miss being called that by him.

You decide to not respond back at all, since you still need to eat before you head into work.

_____________

Bucky shows up at your place again a few nights later. This time, he's alone and with a bullet graze on his side.

You frown at him as you let him into your apartment, "Is this going to be a habit of yours?"

He snorts, "You think I purposely get hurt just to come and see you?"

You shrug, "I don't know, Buck! We don't really know each other anymore, so I'm not sure what you'd do!" you snap at him. He looks at you with surprise and you sigh, "Sorry. It's been a long day and I wasn't expecting you."

"I can go. I'll-I can find someone else to help me."

"No. You're here already. Might as well get it over with." You gesture to the couch and he sits down as he waits for you to come back with your first aid kit.

Bucky starts to rethink things. It's true that he didn't purposefully get shot at so he can see you. But he definitely didn't hesitate to start heading to your place as soon as things were handled. He just misses you.

You come back with gloves on. You have Bucky take off his shirt so you can fully assess the wound. Just a bullet graze. He lays on his other side as you clean his wound.

Again, you work in silence. You're focused on getting this done quickly and efficiently so you can go to sleep.

As you dress his wound, you say, "You should get some antibiotics or pain relievers so it doesn't get infected or if the pain becomes too much. Change the dressing often. Make sure there's minimal movement."

He nods, "Alright. I can do that."

You help him sit up and pull his shirt back on.

Once he's dressed, Bucky looks up at you, "Maybe you and I could make an arrangement."

You look at him with a cocked brow and he stammers “Not that kind of arrangement! Business! Strict-Strictly business. You take care of me and my people when we get hurt. I pay you for your efforts and we’re out of your hair until the next time.”

"...I don't know, Bucky."

"We'll be discreet. I promise. I'll make sure everyone knows not to blab about you and to only come if it's an absolute emergency."

"I'm sure you can find an actual doctor or something to help you. Why me?"

"Because I trust you."

"Bucky, my dad is the chief of police. You shouldn't trust me."

"I know you wouldn't tell your dad. Because despite how long it's been, I still know you care about me."

You cross your arms over your chest and look at him defensively, "And how do you know that?"

He gives you a cocky grin, "Because you wouldn't have helped me that first night."

"I was doing my civic duty. I'm in the healthcare field. It's my job to help people no matter where they come from."

"Okay. Fine. All I'm saying is that you do good work and I don't want anyone else fixing me and my guys up, but you. And, of course," he pauses to pull out his money clip, picking out a few hundred dollar bills. He holds it out to you, waiting.

You weigh out your options and then take the money. You agree, because, despite what your father tells you and how Bucky treated you in the past, a part of you still loves him and will always love him.

"Alright. I'll do it. Just let me know when you're coming just so I'm not surprised every time there's a knock at my door."

"Will do," he mumbles, grunting as he stands to his feet, "Get some rest. I'm sorry you had a shitty day."

"It-It's fine. I just-" you pause and start feeling choked up. You let out a sob and you lean forward, burying your face into Bucky's shirt.

His arms immediately wrap around you in a protective, comforting hug, "I got you, sweetheart. It's okay. Let it out." His heart breaks when he hears your muffled cries.

"We lost a patient today. He had cancer. He was only eleven," you mumbled into Bucky.

His arms around you tighten, "I'm sorry, sweetheart. That's heartbreaking. But I'm sure you did everything you could to make sure his last moments were good, right?"

You slowly nod and step away from him. You wipe at your eyes, "Shit, sorry. I didn't mean to-"

"It's okay, Y/N. Cry on me whenever you like," he gives you a soft smile, "You gonna be okay?"

"Yeah. I've just been keeping that in all day. Thanks, Bucky."

"No problem. You're a great nurse, Y/N. I just know that those kids are lucky to have you take care of them. I know I am." He kisses your forehead, "'Til next time." He murmurs before heading to the door.

"Hopefully, not any time soon."

He shoots you a grin, "No promises." With a wink, he's out the door. You go over and lock it in place. You lean against it and let out a long sigh. Your heart is beating fast again.

_________________________

It's one of those nights where you dad comes over after a shift and you two have dinner. Neither of you felt like cooking, so you ordered takeout instead. You eat out of the styrofoam containers at your small dining table, pausing in-between bites to chat.

"Work's been okay?" your dad asks before shoveling food into his mouth.

You swallow your food, washing it down with water, "Yeah. We lost a patient earlier this week and I-I can't seem to shake it."

Your dad nods in understanding, "I get it. It's never easy and it never gets easy. And you can't even do anything but continue working after it happens. You gotta push through it. In our line of work, it's important to care for others, but also important to care for yourself too. Got that, bug?"

"I know, dad. Thanks. What about you? You said earlier that work's been super stressful lately?"

Your dad gives an exhausted sigh and leans back in his chair, "Yeah. Been working closely with different units. For years there's been word that the Barnes Family has been the head of several crime operations happening around the city. They've been good about keeping their tracks covered, but since George Barnes' passing, I'm hoping to see his son slip up." Your dad gives a disappointed shake of his head, "Still can't believe you were friends and dated his son."

"He wasn't a bad kid, dad."

"Yeah, up until he started being a prick to you. Good thing you broke things off with him when you did."

You slowly nod, "Yeah. Good thing."

___________________________

You hadn't seen Bucky for two weeks, but he'd been texting you here and there during that time.

He sent you pictures of dogs he'd seen while out and about, would ask about your dad, even ordered food for you when you said you were too tired to eat. It was really sweet and kind of him, but you couldn't help but still have your reservations about Bucky.

Did your heart skip a beat every time you received a message from him? Absolutely. But were you still anticipating on the day he'd turn around on you again? Yup.

You kept things friendly, but also not too friendly. You didn't indulge in anything too personal or detailed. For all you knew, Bucky could be using you to get information about what your dad had on him. As much as you wanted to think Bucky wouldn't do that, you had to keep yourself accountable and aware.

[paladin--strait]

Hello! I love your blog!

Could I please request…

1 - "I'm sick, don't get near me" "I don't care"

With Nico Hischier? I currently have Influenza A and im dyingggg for some comfort 💖❄️

chills - nico hischier

i hope you get better soon! 🫶 sorry this took a while to come out, i hope you enjoy it!

tw: sickness, medicine, vomiting

prompt: "i'm sick, don't get near me." "i don't care."

-

chills, headache, fever, cough, stuffy nose, sore throat, body aches, all the classic symptoms of some sort of sickness. i sit on the edge of the leather bed in the checkup room at urgent care, kicking my legs and waiting patiently for the results for my tests. covid, flu, influenza, strep, anything could be positive at this point. but right now i just want to find out so i can get my prescription called in and leave.

about 30 boring minutes of waiting later, the nurse comes back, now wearing a mask, and tells me that the only test that came back positive was for influenza A. she says that it's highly contagious and that i should start on my medication as soon as possible. she gives me a steroid shot to help with some of my symptoms, then sends me on my way.

i get in the car, driving to the pharmacy. i bop my head to some light, upbeat pop music to distract me. i pay for ny prescription and then drive off to go pick up some food for nico and i. he should be home by and now, hungry and tired from practice. i pick up the food and drive home, seeing nico's car in the driveway.

i grab the bags and head inside, shutting the door behind me. i set the food down on the counter, hearing nico coming down the stairs. "hey love, where've you been?"

my shoulders slump as i turn to look at him, "nico, don't come near me, i'm sick." i say, sniffing.

nico's expression drops from excitement to concern. "what's wrong? what do you have?" he asks me questions at a million miles per hour, stepping towards me.

"i have influenza A, it's highly contagious!" i say, trying to get him to stay away so he doesn't get sick too.

but that doesn't stop him, he manages to back me against the counter in my attempt to distance us, putting a hand on my shoulder. "love, i don't care that you're contagious. we've been practically right up on each other since i got home from that roadie. if you're sick, i'm probably gonna be sick anyway."

"that's no excuse, nico! you have to play tomorrow. i don't want you sick." i say, shaking my head and pushing him away.

"don't do that, don't push me away." he says, a twinge of sadness in his tone. "i want to care for you. let me do that." his voice is pleading, wanting to help take care of me while i'm sick.

"nico, if you get sick too, i'm gonna have to take care of you, too." i say, laughing softly. "did you think about that?"

"i didn't..." he says, looking down. "but, i can start taking some antibiotics and stuff, try to keep healthy while i take care of you? but first you need to take your own medicine before i start even looking for mine."

he walks to the bag of medicine i brought home and pulls out my prescriptions, measuring the liquid and setting out water for me to take the pills. the care nico takes in giving me my medicine is incredible. he googles the side effects and what you shouldn't take with it before giving me the medicine. i drink the liquid, the taste making me scrunch my face as i take the pills next, drinking water with it.

nico gives me a kiss on the forehead before he moves to our medicine cabinet and pulling out some antibiotics and vitamins, checking the labels to make sure it'll help with what he needs. he takes his own medicine as i wash my hands, pulling the food out of the bag. i leave his in the package so i don't breathe all over it, and sit on the opposite side of the table as him.

nico frowns when he sees where i'm sitting, but he doesn't argue, taking his seat across from me. we eat our food in a comfortable silence, with a question here and there.

about an hour after dinner, we're sitting on the couch watching the canucks vs. oilers game, when my stomach begins to churn. i stand, immediately rushing to the bathroom. i barely make it in time, my dinner hurled into the toilet. i kneel, placing my hand on the counter next to me to steady myself. i feel two hands grabbing my hair and pulling it back, a kiss pressed to the back of my head.

after a few minutes, i finally feel okay enough to stand. i use the counter to help pull myself up, sighing as i wipe my mouth with a towel. i turn and see nico standing there, a sorrowful expression on his face. he opens his arms, pulling me in for a tight, grounding hug. i cling to him, pressing my face into his chest. he whispers kind things into my ear softly, rubbing my back.

nico leads me to the bedroom, helping me out of my day clothes and into my sleep clothes, laying me in the bed and telling me he'll be right back. he slips out of the room and returns a few minutes later with a mug of hot tea. he sets it on my bedside table and changes into his sleep pants.

"time to take your medicine." he says, walking back over to me and helping me sit up. he hands me the little cup of liquid, watching as i quickly try and drink it, trying to rid of the awful taste with a sip of tea. i then take my pills as nico climbs into bed beside me.

i finish my tea, slipping back into the bed properly. nico pulls me into his chest, "i love you so much, you know that?" he says, i can almost hear the smile in his tone.

"even when i'm throwing up?" i ask, looking up at him.

"even when you're throwing up." he laughs softly, pressing a gentle kiss to my forehead and reaching back to turn off the lamp on his bedside table. "goodnight, my love." was the last thing i heard before i drifted off to a comfortable sleep, still in nico's loving arms.

[callsign-rogueone]

under the weather

fourth wing boys* x gn!partner!reader *Aaric, Bodhi, Brennan, Dain, Garrick, Liam, Ridoc, Sawyer, Xaden! y'all seemed to like excuses, excuses, so here’s something in that style because I don’t feel good rn, but I want to write :( and I added Aaric this time too!  words: 645 🏷: no spoilers. just some thoughts on ways our boys would take care of you when you’re sick 🥰 descriptions of sickness (cough, fever, dizziness, etc.) doctors visits, medication. I've been ripping shots of nyquil all day and I’m not all there rn so I really hope these make sense lol 

Aaric lets you rest your head in his lap while he reads to you, either from a textbook (the grind never stops with this one) or whatever fiction novel he’s reading. the words go in one ear and out the other in your soft delirium, but it’s still nice to hear his voice and feel him stroking your hair as he reads. if you fall asleep on him, he won’t move until you wake up, or unless he absolutely has to — but heaven help the person who makes him move.

Bodhi insists on cuddling you back to health, curling up with you and letting you rest your aching body against his while you settle in for a long afternoon nap, because sleep is the best medicine. he completely ignores your protests that you’ll get him sick too (you do, and then it’s your turn to play nurse next week, but he swears it was worth it). 

Brennan spends as much time with you as he can, bringing his paperwork and things to your shared room so that he can be there when you need him, while still tending to his duties as a leader of the revolution. he checks your temperature and pulse etc. every hour, monitoring you carefully, but he’ll make up for it with lots of forehead kisses. 

Dain excuses you from training until you’re better, insisting that you stay in bed and devote all your energy to recovering. he frequently comes to check on you throughout the day, and you better still be in bed when he does, or you’ll be getting a gentle lecture about the importance of your caring for yourself and how much you mean to him — he needs you to be healthy, okay?

Garrick carries you around whenever you need to go somewhere, because he doesn’t want you collapsing after that dizzy spell you had. he doesn’t care if it’s only twenty feet to the showers and back; he’s scooping you up and walking over himself. he also insists on supervising your shower, but no funny business — you’re sick. once you’ve recovered, however…

Liam draws you a warm bath, letting you soothe your aching muscles for a while before washes your hair and your back for you, being incredibly gentle all the while. he’ll dry you off afterward, letting you pick any of his clothes to wear to sleep if you want, and helping you through the steps of your nightly routine — brushing your teeth, etc., before giving you your medicine and letting you fall asleep on his chest.

Ridoc goes with you to the healers, rubbing your back and making soft jokes all the while to distract you from the discomfort — apologizing when your laughs turn into a coughing fit. he also tries to make you feel normal / less gross when you’re stuck in bed, helping you with basic self-care: brushing and braiding your hair, taking your makeup off if you wear it, helping you do your skincare… 

Sawyer does all the things that you can’t do while you’re sick — goes to class and copies an extra set of notes for you, does your laundry, straightens up your room, etc. that way you can focus on recovering, but also, once you’re back on your feet, you won’t have a huge mess to deal with and you won’t be behind on your studies. he’ll help you review what you missed, as well. 

Xaden is protective to a fault, but when you’re sick, it’s a whole new level. he doesn’t leave your side unless absolutely necessary, ignoring any form of protest. follows the healer’s instructions to the letter — antibiotics every four hours? he’s waking you up at two am, glass of water in hand, helping you sit up so you can take them. he’ll also use his shadows to dim the room so you can sleep through the day. 

[stevesgother]

When The Sun Hits

steve harrington x fem!reader summary - a supply run doesn't go as planned 1.7k previous chapter I next chapter series masterlist

Steve didn't hate you; contrary to what you might believe. But Steve does hate that you hate him.

Something about your clear disdain for him had opened some precariously healing wound. He bit, and he didn't know why. The roots of his younger, much more childish self-- you were especially good at finding them; tauntingly wrapping them around your fingers. Every word from your mouth unearthed the version of himself he'd tried so hard to bury; reminding him of who he once was. Maybe he did hate you a little for that.

Twigs and the very beginnings of fallen leaves crunch under his footfall-- a fraction out of time with yours. You were always in a hurry; desperate to get wherever it was you needed to be.

"You have the map, right?" You call over your shoulder to the man behind you, wishing that he would pick up his pace.

"Yeah-- yeah, I do," Steve responds, squinting at the crumpled piece of paper in his hands, "we're going in the right direction, I'm pretty sure. The ink is wearing off..."

"I'd rather you know than be 'pretty sure'."

"Why don't you read it then?" He retorts as he shoves the map into your shoulder. You snatch it from his hands before you can think better of it; as much as he irritates you, this was still your only one.

You'd made it to Indianapolis. Neither of you anticipated how overrun it would be-- your modest kitchen knives barely cutting it anymore.

What you really needed were antibiotics. Medicine. Antiseptic. Anything. Your concussion had been difficult enough to heal from without so much as an Advil; let alone something like an infected wound, or pneumonia. And it was only getting colder outside.

"There should be a pharmacy about a mile from here," you mumble, fingers tracing the map, "if...we are where I think we are."

"Helpful." Steve mutters sarcastically. You don't have the energy to quip back, you simply wish he'd stop being such a dick. "We need to make it fast-- sun'll be setting soon." He states.

You nod, clenching your jaw; tired of the authoritative tone he keeps taking with you. He's seemed to develop some sort of complex ever since he saved you, like you're something that needs to be taken care of-- looked after. Like you can't handle your own. It's simply infuriating.

More daylight than you'd hoped has been lost by the time the pharmacy finally comes into view over the glistening swell of a paved hill. Evidence of the city's wreckage was all around you-- in the abandoned shopping carts and boarded windows. Instead of honking car horns and the bustling racket of a metropolis, the only sound that could be heard now were yours and Steve's combined footsteps crunching on bits of broken glass, your heart hammering behind your ribcage.

The store looks ransacked from the exterior-- graffiti and smashed windows. You can only hope it's contents will be more promising. There's no current Plan B if this doesn't pan out.

"You take one side, and I'll take the other," Steve instructs, "It'll be quicker if we split up. It's already getting dark."

"Is that really a good idea?" You question-- constantly questioning, "I mean, Steve-- we don't even have flashlights,"

"There's enough light to get us in and out, it's fine." He dismisses, "Just keep your back covered, and yell if you need help."

Huffing, you shoulder past him and into the deserted aisles-- hating that your only option now was to trust him. The shelves still housed a surprising amount of stock; you quickly scan over the products in your direct eyeline.

Anusol, Systane, Levonorgestrel-- all basically useless, unless you or Steve got hemorrhoids. Or needed eyedrops.

You can hear Steve shuffling around on the other side of the pharmacy; so far, so good. The sound of pills rattling inside of their bottles fills you with an optimism you haven't felt in weeks.

You decide to try your luck at the shelves behind you, turning to begin sifting through the scattered packages there. It's still mostly condoms and antiacids, until out of your peripheral you spot an unopened box of Tylenol. Jackpot.

Steve's satchel tugs his shoulder a little tighter each time he drops a new item into it. He doesn't find that he minds it as much as he normally would.

He proceeds to snatch anything that sounds like it could be useful: amoxicillin, hydrogen peroxide, penicillin; even though he's allergic to the latter-- you might not be. So, he grabs it anyway.

The sound of objects clattering and a strained yelp ring out from the other side of the pharmacy. Steve's gut lurches at the cry that follows:

"Steve!"

His body reacts before his mind has a chance to catch up, retrieving his knife. It could be the dead, or an aggressive man with a loaded weapon, hell-- it could be a goddamn cannibal. All Steve knows is that he needs to get to you.

"Steve!" You cry again, "Please--help!"

Whatever sense of relief he feels when he realizes it's just a reanimated corpse that's gripping you by your hair and not a crazed psychopath is temporary. It's not ideal, but it could be much worse.

He plunges the dulling blade of his knife into the thing's skull; it's cranium so soft that it caves in on itself like a sinkhole. It makes him nauseous.

The walker loosens its grip on your scalp enough for you to regain your balance and face Steve. He doesn't even give you a chance to catch your damn breath before he's reprimanding you. Again.

"Jesus Christ, I told you to watch your back!" Steve scolds, his voice rising slightly in pitch.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" You pant, "Can I have a second before you start scolding me? I'm not a fucking child, Steve!"

He opens his mouth as if to say something before changing his mind-- an apology waiting in the back of his throat, begging to be let out. He's scared that if he opens his mouth long enough, he'll finally admit that he's petrified. Even after everything, a terrible knot still forms in his chest at the idea of anything happening to you.

He still doesn't speak, opting to look anywhere but your face, "You're the one who insisted on splitting up--" You continue.

"God, keep your voice down!" He whisper-yells. "I can't be constantly keeping an eye on you!"

"I was doing just fine before you." You spit; fists clenched so tightly at your sides that your knuckles become a sickly shade of white.

"You would've died without me."

Your features harden, memories flashing like a projector reel in your mind: Freshman year. A charmingly handsome boy asking you to see a movie with him at the drive-in theater. Kisses and clandestine meetings. Heartbreak and betrayal.

"Not what I meant." You mutter more to yourself than anyone as you make to exit the pharmacy. You can't seem to find it in you to care if he follows you or not.

Steve's shoulder burns where it collided with yours on your journey towards the smashed, once automatic doors.

The dampness of the log you're sitting on soaks through your jeans and chills you to the bone-- the fire in front of you doing almost nothing to raise your body temperature.

"You need to eat." Steve says, offering you a can of pinto beans with a twig sticking out of it, "I can't carry you, too."

You shoot him a pointed look, "I'm good."

Steve doesn't argue, just sets the can down on the forest floor next to your feet, a silent plea.

"Do you really think there's going to still be anything left in Cincinnati?" You ask, despite your instincts warning you against it, "And honestly, do you really want to be stuck with the miliary even if there is?"

"What's my alternative?" His voice low and gaze blank where he stares into the woods.

When you don't respond, he sighs, "I'm looking for someone. She told me she'd be there-- to go get her when I was able to."

"Someone?" You push

"Robin. Her name's Robin."

Your eyes widen a bit in recognition, "...Buckley?"

Steve finally turns his head at the mention of her name-- a tender, almost sorrowful look in his eyes now. Something you haven't seen in years, "Yeah."

"What're you gonna do if--" you pause, considering your next words carefully, "What're you gonna do if she's not there?"

All the softness from Steve's expression drains and is replaced by something more severe, "She'll be there."

Picking up the can of pinto beans, you take the dirty twig and toss it back into the woods, opting to eat with your hands instead, "Okay."

"Is your head alright?" He asks softly. Not out of gentleness, you presume, but to keep quiet, and not attract any unwanted attention. Dead or alive.

"It's fine," you dismiss.

"Let me see--" Steve lifts his hand in an attempt to push your hair aside. Two head injuries in less than a week isn't exactly ideal.

You swat his hand away before it can get even a few inches from your person, "I said I'm fine."

He looks at you for a long minute, but you pretend not to notice. Sometimes, you think you'd give anything to be a fly on the wall of his brain during moments like these. Steve sighs, "I'm going to get the tent set up."

A silent nod, the bare minimum of an acknowledgement and his cue to leave you alone. Another thirty minutes or so is spent staring into the slowly dimming orange and white of the fire at your feet. You think about your mom, your brother; wishing you could get to them faster but dreading it in a way-- because what happens if your grandmother's is house empty? Or worse, your family slaughtered inside?

The thought causes the beans in your stomach churn, making you queasy.

Steve's asleep by the time you lift the burlap flap and step inside your shared tent, his lips parted with the soft sounds of slumber. There once existed a version of you that would've tucked the baby hairs that curl around the frame of his face behind his ear-- whispering something saccharine sweet to him as you did so, even if you knew he couldn't hear you.

That part of you had hardened into something much more bitter. The passage of time had only sharpened your edge, not dulled it. Being around Steve again stirred and sifted the silt sitting at the bottom of your chest. He knew just which buttons to push. You couldn't afford for these feelings to begin festering. Not again.

Barely a wink of sleep came to you that night. Just red-rimmed eyes longing for respite; dreading the foreboding weeks that lie ahead of you.

Divider credit @/strangergraphics

@adaydreamaway30 / @madaboutjoe

[starberry-cupcake]

I'm still kinda sick and on antibiotics (hopefully getting better) but I needed to recap because I CANNOT BELIEVE the thing I predicted I 👏 AM👏 LOSING👏 IT👏

previously in nona del 9:

this happened

this is the general tag of all the recaps

CHAPTER 26 (fourth house skull for some reason????)

the party is ready to move and pyrrha is carrying gideon like a sack of papas 🥔

I think pyrrha likes carrying gideon because she's like the child she never had

gideon is playing dead and nona thinks she's very good at it

she's had a lot of practice being dead and not quite dead

we suffer almost has a heart attack when yandere chad's body showed up and palmolive had to explain the situation

looking at it from like a totally uninvolved perspective, what a group of people coming out from the club

here's an artistic rendition I made with markers in 3 minutes

I considered, after making it, doing it properly and not putting out there a 3 minute marker doodle that may embarrass me, but I think this captures it well enough and cringe is dead, anyway

If I messed up anyone's hair, I'm sorry, I sometimes fill in the blanks with my imagination of the appearance details I don't remember

we suffer wants to help treat camilla and she isn't very into it but palmolive orders for all the pain meds they can give

I also want camilla to be well and not suffer but let's try to not get her high as a satellite right now

they have to separate them in to vehicles and camilla decides to go with gideon while pyrrha goes with nona, palmolive, coronabeer, judith, we suffer and tsundere pash

nona wonders if she doesn't want to go with palmolive, since they've been attached by the green thread of the queerplatonic bound since he got inside chad's body

I hope chad is very aware that palmolive got into his body, I hope he knows

camilla says she's getting sick of palmolive and parts with a cute little gentle forehead touch

tsundere pash nope-d out of sharing a car with gideon real fast

they position judith on her side, like I do when I'm not feeling well

and coronabeer is worrying for her wet mouse girlfriend

palmolive can't help judith further, while in chad's body

coronabeer says judith has come so far and fought so hard and palmolive says she's gonna have to fight some more

we suffer asks palmolive about the shuttle and he says "secure" which is the understatement of the century, but that's between him and...maybe not god, in this case

between him and nona

we suffer says that the sixth is being moved around underground like some eternal delivery service

few things are more torturing to me personally than to be moved around in a vehicle for so long

I would never cease throwing up

when they're theorizing about the specific location, nona remembers "fucking nuts man, fucking nutter" and little green fruits

pyrrha says it's a classic BOE move "fucking insane, surprisingly effective, relies on a lot of soldiers pissing in a lot of bottles"

tsundere pash is trying not to laugh at that but we all notice anyway

nona looks at how we suffer sits elegantly and thinks she would learn to imitate that if it was another time, but currently what she feels is "some kind of sorrow related to legs"

nobody is taking nona notes anymore but I am in my head

we suffer thinks that unjust hope

(who seems to be in charge of the merv wing)

(who were the ones doing all that shooting in the school, if memory serves)

is not gonna pull any punches if they're found out

palmolive asks if there's any way to make their odds better and tsundere pash is very rude about it

like, extremely rude

it's wild to me that these people are so rude to people they know for a fact could murder them in the blink of an eye if they wanted

but tsundere pash is nothing if not tsundere

pyrrha is looking at tsundere pash with some sort of softness that tsundere pash also feels very tsundere about and nona doesn't know what to do with it

I need to stop using the word, but that's her true essence

palmolive politely apologizes about his insistence because you can definitely take the chad-ness out of the chad if you put a nerd inside him

or whatever

judith makes a sound like she wanted to laugh at palmolive but is falling apart from inside and coronabeer has to soothe her puddle of a girlfriend

nona offers another one of those bombs she drops every now and then and lets everyone know she is aware of where the convoy was earlier that week

remember honesty's terrible gig that got him punched? it's back!

we suffer doesn't quite trust a kid's intel and nona tells her she can ask angel teacher for confirmation

nona says honesty would never snitch to a cop (good!) and that she doesn't think he'd tell her either, since she's out of the gang for being a zombie

it's been a difficult week for nona

pyrrha volunteers to go with nona to talk to him but nona thinks it'd be best for her to go alone and, if all fails, scream like she did before, because that would impress honesty

she knows her kiddos

nona starts sort of disassociating from her body, recognizing sensations but as if she wasn't the one feeling them

which is something to underline in the nona notes

nona gets to honesty's place and honesty doesn't feel well opening the door to her because he knows what went on in the shooting

nona says she respects him for it, because listening to sriracha girlie is top priority

"if you can push a bullet out your head your hair's probably okay"

honesty is always imparting the wisdom of the common man, I'm here for it

they go back and forth about whether to call this a matter of life and death or non-death or how it'd be appropriate to call it

since death is kind of blurry for nona right now, with all the people not quite dead around her

nona tells him that, after, this, she's going away and she wants him to keep her money and also her cleaning rag with turpentine, which he can sell

turns out sriracha girlie is also there and honesty tells her that he wants to help nona because she cares so much about him being an entrepreneur and is looking out for his business

it's all very cute, minus the part where a minor has to sell drugs and weapons to make a living

nona tells them that it's not only her, that other necromancers are also going to leave after this

sriracha girlie doesn't think it's possible but they decide to help nona with the location

sriracha girlie knows the intel isn't for nona to read, so honesty goes to print it

nona gives sriracha girlie some requests before her leaving, including that the next teacher aide should be nice to the tinies because it's not their fault they're small

are we all crying or is it just me??

nona also asks honesty to not do jobs like the one that got them this intel ever again and that there's enough in her savings for him to stay safe

sriracha girlie tells nona the secret of her name, which is that she likes hot sauce because you can put it on anything

makes sense to me

she also tells nona she'll always love her and nona is now also crying

and that she's in the gang again but on eternal kevin bathroom duty because she's a zombie

we love kevin

hope these kids don't die, I really do, but at this point, we're all in danger

CHAPTER 27 (second house skull!! judith time??? pyrrha time??? who knows!!)

with the intel from honesty, we suffer starts back "operation lock and key"

not to put to shame the entirety of BOE but a bunch of kids just did a better job

pyrrha is chatty towards we suffer about commander amanda wake and says she likes talking to people who knew her

even if she (and og!gideon) killed her

not the most complicated relationship in this book series, even then

pyrrha also mentions that commander abigail wake had tsundere pash's photo on her

and says wake said "if it wasn't for filth like you, nice kids like this wouldn't have to hold these"

kind of wild hearing her having a mentor relationship to a kid whereas gideon was a tool to gain something

tsundere pash says that commander agatha wake was her aunt

gideon now has a dad, a cousin, a stepdadmom, a title and renown but it's not the way she wanted it

hell of a monkey paw

nona keeps having this sort of disconnection from her own body

a ticking time bomb if I've ever seen one, familia

because it wasn't enough chaos already, they start hearing thumps over the vehicle

so pyrrha goes to look at what's going on and comes back with "Sextus, we're fucked"

not those exact words, but that's the sentiment

turns out varun is an RB? was I supposed to assume this???? I didn't think about this

I'm losing my touch over here

pyrrha thought it was going to remain dormant after killing og!gideon because of how things went for cassiopeia when she died

but turns out nope, we don't have that luxury

palmolive doesn't think it's caused by yandere twin's soul

pyrrha says there are already heralds out there and that they'd need at least three fully capable lyctors to attempt to fight back

judging by the display we saw in the last book, not even a bunch of competent lyctors is enough

although judging a lyctor "competent" can be a bit of an oxymoron at times

judith starts trembling violently and coronabeer is trying to hold it together with stern soothing words

their love language

I think everyone is internally judith right now, though

nona stands up and has the opinion that two feet is the worst amount of feet, which also goes to my nona notes

she didn't originally have feet maybe? I'm wondering?

tsundere pash is ready to point her gun but palmolive asks her to put it down and also asks nona to talk to him

but nona isn't listening and she exits the truck's cover

there are a lot of herald pods dropping, which is the sound they've been hearing, so we're not doing well

nona then shouts at varun "You said you wouldn't do anything weird!"

we can't say she didn't try

she did ask him

also, nona has been listening to a resurrection beast this whole time

in comes judith, though, and starts talking again like that time nona heard her and nobody else seemed to

she says "get him" and "he flees" and nona says she doesn't want to

not!judith says "you asked for help" "all for nothing, only pain" "I gave you blood for blood"

is judith varun's voice? is she channeling him or...??

nona says "not like this, I love this place" and not!judith goes "do you love?" to which nona responds "Did I ever know what it meant?"

you know, I've been wondering about that for a minute

not!judith again talks about the "green thing" and says "Green-and-breathing thing, big ghost, the drinker, transformed, what will you eat now? Where will your body go? What did he do to you, to make you this way? You eat yourself. I gorge on unliving marrow"

nona thinks they're talking about judith and asks them to stop hurting her

I thought they were talking about nona at first, because nona is also killing the body she's in, as far as we know

and if it's ice cube barbie with something weird or whatever idk what she is or she was

so it's up in the air to me what it's really about tbh

not!judith who might be varun's voice for all I know says "I crossed the face of the universe, I poison it to match my grief" which would check out with what we know

maybe it's more like this

not!judith that might be varun says "for 8 thousand unjust bodies I will stop"

8 thousand bodies??? in this economy??????

not!judith that might be varun says they came to help and are made a mockery and "they are coming out of their tower, salt thing. There is a hole at the bottom of their tower. I will pull their teeth. I will make it blank for you"

nona argues that nobody has done anything wrong there to deserve it, except for pyrrha, who did a lot of things wrong, but at least she admits it

and that she's ready to die

nona jumps to them and says "help me do this. I might be different...soon"

judith seems to regain control of her own body, looks at nona and says "Harrowhark?"

nona, who's feeling more and more like her body isn't hers and has to feel the different parts isolated to have sensation, goes "No, and I never was"

JOHN 1:20

"He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, 'I am not the Messiah.'"

nona didn't go to sleep but we've got another johnny boi installment

maybe she passed out

him and not!harrow who might be ice cube barbie are still walking into the building of his past in the post apocalyptic landscape

dr reverend emperor john continues his villain origin story and says that the plan for the first wave exit was still on

he was also still puppeteering the political leader guy, which sometimes led to having to make him say that he had to be stopped

and, while he was at it, in comes mercygirl with some news

the first wave is actually gonna be the only wave because the bazillionares are leaving everyone for dead

wow who would have thought

dr reverend emperor john says he won't let them get away with it

then, they continue the conversation while eating peaches from a can

canned goods take a long time to turn stale but I think these might be expired, johnny man

they decide to alert the government about it, which is a big mistake, it just makes the bazillionares get into a speedrun to get out in space

johnny and the band are really unable to read the room, apparently

cassiopeia asks dr reverend emperor john "can't you do an act of good wizardry?" and isn't that a fantastic question, actually

can you, john? do you want to?

dr reverend emperor john thinks he's limited by the fact that he still can't reach the soul thing

he says there was too much noise around the moment of death in order to pick the soul specifically and retain it

he also mentions that, in case we all forgot, they had a nuke and they might have to use it

he threatens the client government people and says that if they don't stop the ship from going, they're gonna use the nuke they gave them, which would implicate them

meanwhile, nobody suspects the bazillonaires, even if they give the flimsy excuse of "we're just gonna do a test run"

I'd think some people would be rioting on the streets about this, but maybe that's my south american perspective

instead of riots to the government we have cultists turning, though

og!gideon is the one who's gonna take the nuke to the launch

even if pyrrha doesn't want him to go alone

but, before he could go, dr reverend emperor john removed his arm and gave him a new one

because he needed his "material"

"I've got plans for that arm"

and og!gideon was like "alright"

these people are not ok

in the midst of all of this, cassiopeia and nigella get married

btw, I checked back on the dramatis personae in harrowcita to see if I was spelling the name right (since he says N—) and I had totally forgotten for a minute there that Ulysses and Titania the corpses were also a lyctor

fourth house

anyway, they get married like that time there was a marriage ceremony in the courtyard of my uni

dr reverend emperor john makes them a bouquet of roses with teeth

I'm thinking of the awesome fanged flowers by Anastasiya Khramina ( ig @ madame_bloomfang )

I'd screecap them but I've had tumblr block posts from me for similar things before and I don't wanna risk it

when he tells everyone, after the wedding, that he sent og!gideon to his death, everyone goes wild

and he's surprised that they do lmao I hate him

he goes "Guys, it's fine, they're Australian"

is this about that animosity that sometimes comes up between people from New Zealand and people from Australia? I'm sure there's a lot of social and political background about that I'm not aware of

also, to be safe, dr reverend emperor john decides to use his puppet guy to lock himself in with the codes and access the stuff that can blow that whole country to smithereens

everyone thinks this is nuts, except for augustine and mercygirl, who think it's still manageable

I guess it's always those two huh

that's why it bothered him so much that they double crossed him

cassiopeia says "John, your problem is that you care less about being a savior than you do about meting out punishment" "You can be quite the most appallingly vindictive person I have ever met"

this is when the cultists go wild and start killing people

hell of a wedding reception

"I just caught the fucking tooth bouquet at C— and N—'s wedding. What if it didn't matter?"

I want to hurt this man in so many ways

dr reverend emperor john starts using skeletons to fight the cultists but things get out of hand very fast

so he does what he does best, what he did in his bolthole when the beast was coming in, he hid in his room

when dr reverend emperor john and not!harrow who might be ice cube barbie get into the room itself, there's a body in there

the nun goes to ask him to do something and he says he can't find the soul in all the chaos he can sense

the nun is like "brb" and comes back with pyrrha's gun

dr reverend emperor john thinks maybe she wants to kill him, but we aren't so lucky

she says that "fear doesn't help us achieve a state of grace, it deafens the heart", which is very true

she starts praying hail mary/ave maria

and then shoots herself

which like, I want to point out for a moment here, is kind of huge af

considering she was a catholic nun and she killed herself

because she thought that would help him find a way out of this

like, to her beliefs she's knowingly granting him her soul, not only because theoretically she's doing it for him to be able to get how it works, but also because she killed herself

whatever I think about the church's opinion on suicide, for someone who believes in that to knowingly set it aside because they think it might save the world is fucking metal

it's sad that what she did ended up being the catalyst for this douchebag to become what he became

because what she did, for someone with her beliefs, in the midst of chaos, was huge

everyone around this man sacrificed so much for him and he just kept taking, huh

so, he is able to see how it all works and when he touches her soul, he says "I touched you"

"You were so huge and so complicated, and you were screaming. You wouldn't stop screaming. You were so scared. You were so goddamn mad"

remember when I said ice cube barbie could be some sort of earth personification life force thing? should I still put money on that?

DON'T TELL ME

he says that holding a human soul didn't compare to holding "you"

so, dr reverend emperor john exits his room and starts putting souls in bubbles like nega steven universe

augustine and mercygirl are still alive and they hide alongside johnman because the polycule that dies together starts having sex in front of harrow's sopita for distraction together

then he goes "This is the part where I hurt you"

he says he tried to grasp her and that hurt her but he kept trying

the only one alive at that point was og!gideon, so he stopped his heart

he says he ate every single death and that kept hurting her

he also triggered the nukes and the whole chaos that continued erupting further as he went on with the death feast

and that he "helped a hell of a lot of them go before they knew what was happening"

"I put my hands around your neck. I cupped your soul in my hands. I took you into myself and we became one"

he sort of can't keep her inside him though because she (they?) is too immense for that

so he ripped half his ribs and made her out of part of him, sort of eve like

and here he starts describing what he thought about when molding her and he goes "some of Mum's old toys"

no way

"my favorite out of all of them"

NO WAY

"My favorite was her old Hollywood Hair Barbie"

NO FUCKING WAYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

WHATTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

FOLKS

FOLKS WHAT???? I CALLED IT????

ICE CUBE BARBIE IS CANON????????????????

THIS IS CRAZY

ok so, wait, I have a lot to say about this

first of, I had replies saying something like "I can't believe you didn't spoil yourself" and I didn't know what it was about

@lady-harrowhark kept screencaps and I was like "please remind me when I get there" and she said something like "oh, you'll know"

I DIDN'T THINK IT WAS THIS!!!! WHAT????????????

YOU GUYS

I LOOKED UP WHEN I STARTED THE ICE CUBE BARBIE THING

IT WAS BACK IN GIDEON!!!!!!!!!! WHAT???????????

BOOK 1?????????????

I even posted it on april fool's lmao what are the odds

GUYS I'VE BEEN CALLING HER BARBIE FOR OVER A YEAR AND YOU GUYS HAD TO SIT THERE AND WAIT FOR ME TO SEE THAT I WAS RIGHT ABOUT SOMETHING SO INCREDIBLY STUPID

so, here's the thing

I knew there would be a hollywood hair barbie reference somewhere in the books because @lady-harrowhark got one a long time ago, before I started reading, and I have very intense feelings about hollywood hair barbie specifically, so I talked to her about it back then

basically I got her for christmas as a kid, I loved her so much and it got stolen from me during a school camp thing and it was all very sad for me

my mom ruined a contact lens trying to get the hair spray to work in christmas night

anyway, I knew there would be a reference but, in my mind, it was going to be like a mad max thing of someone finding one in some sort of post apocalyptic earth and I forgot all about it

I did not, in a million years, connected that to ice cube barbie

you all know because you've been here but I started calling her that because her description reminded me of the Ghost Barbie from the Haunted Beauty Collection, because my references are very eclectic

this one right here

and then it's history and ice cube barbie it was

if you would have told me this would be what I'd get right in this book, I wouldn't have believed you

this is so crazy and stupid, I love it

I want to thank you all personally and kiss your hands tenderly for having lived with the knowledge of this for over a year and not telling me once that I was right about this

because you guys must have been thinking either I was lying out of my ass and had been spoiled in some way or that I was psychic

thank you so so so much for not telling me about this, I know it must have been so hard

I promise you I didn't cheat, this was entirely a coincidence

I wish I had been right about some cool theory rather than this, but I'll take it

I sent @lady-harrowhark a dm immediately when I read it because I couldn't believe it

is this a common experience???? did you guys call it too or was I just hit by that dodgeball real hard?

god, I miss my hollywood hair barbie

she wasn't my #1 favorite barbie (that was my civil war nurse barbie, long story) but she was in my top 10

I got 3 barbies stolen that day, hollywood hair and swim n' dive barbie were two sad losses

ANYWAY

he puts her into the ice cube barbie body (now an officially approved nickname) to house her in (and trap her, I presume)

and once they were together, he became God

then they went planet surfing

(not sure if this has to do with the houses, I still remember that)

but he couldn't catch the ship of the bazillionaires from leaving

she said, at the time "I picked you to change and this is how you repay me?"

"What have you done to me, I am hediousness"

HEY, THAT'S ONE OF MY FAVORITE CHILDHOOD BARBIES YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT

SHE CAME WITH A HAIR STENCIL AND PINK SPRAY

"Where did you put the people? Where did they go?"

"She said, 'I still love you'" "He said, 'You said that too'"

WELL, THAT'S A WRAP ON THIS PART. I need to marinate these things, I feel like everything that was happening before kind of melted the moment I read I was right about Barbie, of all things. HOW DID THAT HAPPEN. Thank you for sticking around and for being so respectful of the no spoilers rule, you're the best ♥

[megalony]

Who Do You Think I Am

This is my newest Eddie x Reader x Buck imagine, I hope you will all like it. Let me know what you think.

Taglist: @justagirlthatlovedtoread@musicistheway@avada-kedavra-bitch-187@luula@missdreamofendless@bradleybeachbabe@woderfulkawaii@amberpanda99@daggersquadphantom@marvel-and-chicago-fan@angryknightstatesmantrash@minjix@lyjen@kmc1989@itsmytimetoodream@noonenuts@hiireadstuff@ashie-babie@classyunknownlover@jayyeahthatsme@sp1ritssz@dumb-fawkin-bitch@oliverstarksbae@gimatida@heart-35@supernaturalstilinski@stefansalvatoresgf@kyky9103@wutheringhearts2275@gay4hotmilfs@itshamleth@chaoticnosleepinfluencer@gs29@wh0reforsmutstuff@mel-vaz@natashamea18@chrisevansdaughter @alexandra8484 @deena-beena-weena@targaryenluvs @shelbygeek @kpoplover-19@marvelmenarebeautiful@gillybear17 @zoeybennett

Eddie Diaz Masterlist

Evan Buckley Masterlist

Summary: When one of their kids isn't well, Buck goes to collect her from nursery and the 118 come to make sure she's okay. And there are more than a few choice words for the nursery staff about how they've acted.

Enjoy.

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

"Are you going now?"

Glancing over her shoulder, (Y/n) scanned her eyes up and down Eddie's frame while her teeth sank down on her lower lip. He was wearing his work uniform, he didn't usually get dressed at home. He got changed into his gear once he got to the station, he must either be in a hurry or he'd brought his uniform home to wash it the other day.

Her arm tightened around the toddler sat on her hip who was cuddled up into her chest like some sort of baby monkey.

"Yeah or I'll be late. You still want me to pick you up tonight?" Eddie finished pouring the coffee in his travel mug and screwed it on tight before he looked over at (Y/n).

"Yeah- baby can you take a look at her before you leave, please?" Her arm bounced Ellie on her hip and her eyes travelled from the toddler back to Eddie.

She watched the way he glanced at the kitchen clock before he sucked in a deep breath and nodded. It would have to be quick, he was running out of time and he really didn't want to be late for the change from A to B shift.

He set his mug down near his keys and walked round the kitchen island, reaching his hands out for their youngest. Ellie was curled into (Y/n), her chest tucked into her mother's chest with her arms bound tight around the teddy in her arms. Her eyes were barely open from how tired she looked and she didn't even smile when Eddie stood in front of her.

He gently lifted her from (Y/n)'s arms, causing the two year old to grumble as Eddie sat her down on the counter and crouched down to be level with her.

"What's wrong?" He directed his question at (Y/n) while he pressed his hand against Ellie's temple, noticing she was a little warm but nothing to indicate a temperature or a fever.

"She's coughing a lot and she, I don't know, she doesn't seem herself." (Y/n) didn't want to worry.

They had done enough worrying over Ellie from the moment she was born three months premature. The first two and a half months of her life she had spent in the neonatal unit at the hospital and ever since they got her home, Ellie had been a happy but sick baby. She picked up any illness or infection going round. She held onto infections longer than usual and they wore her down.

She had been on a variety of antibiotics and she was only two years old.

(Y/n) didn't want to worry but she couldn't help it and she didn't want to send Ellie to nursery if she was coming down with something. If Ellie picked up a bad infection, they had to keep her home and get the doctor's advice on medicines. When one of the kids in Chris's class got the measles, they had to bring Chris home and isolate all the kids at home so none of them got it and passed it onto Ellie.

"Baby girl, let me look." Eddie pressed his finger to Ellie's lips until she opened her mouth. He then felt her throat and listened to her breathing.

(Y/n) could see the debate in his eyes. He didn't know whether sending her to nursery was such a good idea or not.

"Send her. If she was really bad she'd of been crying by now, and it's Buck's day off. If she feels worse he can bring her home."

"Okay."

Today wasn't such a bad day for childcare. Considering they had four kids in the house, the three of them did well to work around childcare. And it was Evan's day off today. If Ellie was coughing up a storm or had a fever, they wouldn't have to cancel shifts, Evan was here to care for her.

But they may as well send her since she wasn't complaining and if Ellie was very ill, she would of been crying and begging to stay home. It was worth getting her into the routine of nursery since she had only just started going two months ago and she was there three days a week.

If she felt worse, Evan could go get her, no problems.

"Alright, I love you both and I'll see you tonight." Eddie pressed a sloppy kiss to Ellie's cheek and lifted her up, gently settling her back down in (Y/n)'s arms.

He pressed his hand to (Y/n)'s chin and tilted her head up to meet his so he could steal a kiss from her lips. He bit down on her lip before he pulled back and he murmured a soft "Thank you," when (Y/n) handed him a slice of toast. She knew he hadn't eaten yet and wasn't likely to if he was going to walk right into a busy shift.

He headed out the kitchen, grabbing his flask on the way, and made a beeline for the hall that looked as packed and cramped as a school hallway.

His eyes trailed over his troop, smiling down at them as they were all getting ready. Chris was sat near the front door, tying up his shoes with his bag perched next to him. Lola was leaning back against the wall with one foot up on Evan's thigh so he could tie her shoelace for her since she couldn't do it herself yet.

And Maria was stood to one side with her backpack on and her hair in two pigtails so she could twist her head from side to side and have her hair bash against her cheeks. It was her way of stimming.

"Who's driving us?" Maria looked between both dads with a smile. She could tell that since Eddie was wearing his uniform, he was going to work whereas Evan was dressed casual. He was wearing jeans and a short sleeved shirt, and when she looked and saw her mum walking through, she could tell her mum was also going to work.

"I'm driving, and we're dropping mummy off at work today too." Evan patted Lola's leg as a sign that he was finished so she could stand on both feet again.

He had been at work until eleven o'clock last night but his silver lining was he had the next two days off. So he had the house to himself until he went to get Ellie from nursery, then he would pick up the rest of the kids and have the evening with them until Eddie and (Y/n) came home.

"Alright troop, I gotta go." Eddie grabbed his keys before he turned to the closest child, who happened to be Maria. He kissed her cheek, then moved to Lola, then finally Chris, giving them each a kiss and whispering a quiet 'love you' to them all.

He finally turned to face Evan who had his own keys swirling around on his thumb and his hand in his back pocket somewhat casually. He brushed his thumb across the side of Evan's neck and reeled him in for a kiss before he weaved around Chris to get to the door.

"Everyone be good for pops."

Eddie left the door open behind him for the rest of them to head out and get in 'the bus' as the kids always referred to it. Since they had a family of seven, they had what was effectively a mini-bus, something (Y/n) hated to drive but what was child's play for Evan and Eddie. Considering they could manage driving the trucks at work.

Both Chris and Lola followed after Evan and when he opened the back door, they climbed up and went right to the far back. There were two rows of three-seats in the back, and then two up in the front. Plus two seats in the boot that could fold up or pull out so they could effectively fit ten people in the car.

They strapped themselves in while Evan picked Maria up and clipped her in, and (Y/n) moved round to the other car seat to get Ellie strapped in. (Y/n) pursed her lips and sighed when Ellie didn't say anything.

The toddler wasn't always loud, but she usually babbled quite a lot and today she had barely spoken a word. She just closed her eyes and coughed quietly into her teddy.

"All good?" Evan looked over at (Y/n) when the pair of them climbed in the front.

"I don't think Ellie's very well… can you be on standby, if she seems unwell at nursery?"

Evan took a glance in the rear-view mirror as he began to drive. Ellie didn't look unwell, but she didn't look herself either. He turned the radio up to see if the music might liven her up. All the kids loved to sing, whether it was early in the morning or late into the night. The only time they didn't sing was when they were sick.

"Yeah, course I will."

(Y/n) nodded and managed a smile when Evan reached across and curved his hand around her thigh. When she was at work, she couldn't always answer her phone and both the school and nursery always seemed to ring (Y/n) first before they rang the boys. They even rang her regarding Chris because he thought of her as his mum and Eddie had added her and Evan to Chris's school record.

But she knew Evan would tell the nursery to ring him today, he was the only one with a day off who would be able to answer his phone straight away.

When he pulled up on the curb, (Y/n) leaned across and stole a few kisses from his lips before she looked in the back. "Alright, have a good day, I love you all." She blew a few kisses towards them before she hopped out, her work was first on the journey. Then the school, then the nursery on the way back because the older kids had to be at school before Ellie technically needed to turn up to nursery.

It didn't take long for Evan to arrive at the school and he got as close as he could to the gates.

He opened the back door and unclipped Maria first since she was the closest to him. He picked her up and set her down on her feet, helping her hook her arms through her bag straps while Lola hopped out, followed by Chris who bashed his crutches into the back of Evan's leg as he got out.

"It'll be me picking you all up today. Have fun and be good please."

"Bye papa."

"Bye baby, love you." Evan kissed the top of Lola's head and did the same to Chris, following them a few feet up the path until they were at the gates. But he looked down to his left when Maria pulled on his hand and started to sway back and forth on her heels.

"You love me too, papa?"

"You know I love you, sweetheart. Go on, good girl." He kissed her cheek and gave her a little nudge, waving and watching until they all got safely to the doors before he headed back to the car.

He opened the other back door and poked his head round to check on Ellie. He had been busy getting the girls up and sorted this morning while (Y/n) saw to Ellie, so he didn't know if she had been complaining she felt ill or if (Y/n) just noticed something was off.

"How's my baby, hm?" He leaned in the back and kissed her forehead which was a little warm. And his heart swelled when he got a smile out of her.

It was habit that all three of them referred to Ellie as the baby, even though she was now two years old. She was their youngest, and since she had been born premature, they were used to friends and family constantly asking 'how's the baby?' As everyone had been worried she wouldn't make it. And with all the infections and rough illnesses she picked up, she worried them even more.

"We go bed, papa?" She snuggled her face down into her teddy and smiled brightly when Evan started peppering her face with kisses.

"Hm, maybe later. You're going to nursery this morning, but I'll pick you up and you can spend the afternoon with me, how's that sound?"

He could see it in her eyes that she didn't want to go, but she didn't have the energy or the will to argue either. Ellie had grown up thus far being ill and constantly being cared and doted on by one of her three parents. Going to nursery was a change she wasn't too keen on. She didn't like being parted from any parent, but they were slowly getting her used to it.

It was hard on all three of them too because they were constantly worrying about Ellie and wondering if she was alright.

With a lasting kiss to her cheek, Evan closed the door and got back in the driver's seat. He turned the radio up a little more, but he felt his heart quicken when Ellie didn't sing or babble or even laugh. She only coughed and gave the occasional, cute sneeze.

Evan had a feeling she wouldn't last the whole day, something in his gut just told thim that he would be picking her up early.

Nursery didn't last as long as the school hours. The plan was usually for Evan to pick Ellie up first, take her for a drive or a walk somewhere, just the two of them. Then he would go get the other kids when they finished at half three.

But Evan didn't like being home alone, especially with both (Y/n) and Eddie at work today. So he would be relieved to pick Ellie up early, maybe after lunch so she at least had the morning at nursery. Then he could have the afternoon with his baby and then the rest of his kids.

He was going to end up seeing Maddie this morning anyway since she wasn't at work and Evan didn't like being alone.

"Come on then, baby. Off we go."

Evan gently unclipped her and swung her navy blue Fireman Sam bag on his shoulder as he let her curl up into his chest. She was tired and he was more than happy to cuddle her than have her walk inside.

He winced when she coughed into his neck, but she wasn't snuffly or finding it hard to breathe which was a relief. Her arms cocooned around his neck and she breathed softly against his neck as he walked into reception.

"Is it Ellie?" One of the women was halfway between the reception area and the play room with the other kids.

"It is," Evan gently eased her down to her feet and took her hand so he could walk over and put her bag on one of the hooks. The one thing he liked about this nursery was the fact that they didn't have too many kids here at a time. It wasn't too many kids to overwhelm or make Ellie nervous and that also meant there was less chance of her getting ill.

He let Ellie take the lead and drag him into the room before he crouched down in front of her and pulled her close.

"Be a good girl, I'll be back soon, okay?" He took a deep breath when Ellie flopped into his chest. She tucked her face into his shoulder and clung to his neck, leaning all her weight onto him so her legs bent and went floppy. "Go on, baby." He encouraged, kissing her temple before he tried to unhook her arms so she would go play.

She didn't seem too sure or very keen when one of the assistants came over and took her hand, but Ellie let herself be guided away from Evan.

Once she was out of sight and earshot, Evan moved his hands to his thighs and pushed up to his feet again. His sights set on the woman who led them inside and he plastered on a smile as he walked over to her, tucking his hands into his pockets as he walked.

"Hi, uh, Ellie's not feeling well. Her mum and her other dad are at work, so if she needs to come home, you'll just have to ring me today and I'll come back and get her." He knew if Ellie heard him say any of that, she would start crying and ask Evan to take her home if she knew he was willing to come back for her at any point.

And he didn't want them trying to ring (Y/n) or Eddie and panicking when they couldn't get hold of either of them. There was no point calling them when Evan was off and was the easiest to access his phone. And he was already panicking that Ellie was going to get upset and want to come home.

The only reason Evan had brought her in was because he knew he couldn't keep her home whenever he suspected she wasn't one hundred percent. They could play things safe with Ellie more than the other kids, but they couldn't always keep her home and try to smother her to protect her. They had done enough worrying about her already to last them a decade.

"Okay, I'm sure she'll be fine but I'll make a note."

"Thank you."

***

A groan tumbled past Eddie's lips and he hung his head down when his spine clicked into place. He felt like someone had run him over with the truck. He was glad Evan wasn't on shift with him right now to see the discomfort he felt or Evan would fuss like a mother hen.

He shrugged off his shirt and grabbed a fresh one from his locker and the towel which he slung over his shoulder. A hot shower would do him some good and make him feel a bit more lively so he could get through the rest of his shift in one piece.

His head snapped up and crashed into the locker door, causing him to yelp when his phone rang.

That was lucky. He usually turned his phone on silent and kept it in his locker, he must have forgotten this morning.

With one hand cupping his temple which was now throbbing, his other hand rummaged around in his bag to find his phone before it stopped ringing. His eyes narrowed into a frown that set deep into his features when he looked over the caller ID.

Why was Ellie's nursery ringing him? Why did he already have a missed call off them from two minutes ago? They shouldn't be ringing Eddie when he was at work and Evan was the parent who was dropping off and picking Ellie up today. Why weren't they calling him?

"Hello?"

"Mr Diaz?"

"Yes… is Ellie okay?" He could feel his guts twisting themselves into knots while he sat down on the bench in front of the lockers. He arched his chest forwards to curve his spine and try to straighten out the tension he felt while he waited to know what was going on.

"Ellie was coughing this morning, but now she's started wheezing and she says her chest hurts. She isn't breathing very well, we think it'd be best if you could come and pick her up."

She wasn't having chest pains this morning, Ellie barely even coughed or croaked when Eddie looked at her this morning. To go from looking groggy and tired to wheezing was a little drastic and extremely worrying. But Eddie couldn't go and pick her up. He was at work. They should be ringing Evan and telling him this.

"Has she been sick? How bad is her breathing?" There were a million things coming to Eddie's mind about what the problem could be and what was happening. One of which was Ellie had just coughed a bit too harshly and given herself a bit of chest pain from straining. He hoped it was that. He prayed that was what was wrong.

"She's not been sick, but she is gasping and wheezing and she's getting herself upset."

"Okay… I'm sorry but why are you calling me, not my partner?" There was no question that Ellie was going home. Evan was going to have to go and pick her up.

"We couldn't get hold of her mother, so we called you."

"No, I get that but- you've rang me twice to get hold of me, why didn't you ring her other dad, Mr Buckley?" It felt so strange to hear Evan's last name passing through his lips. It had been a long time since Eddie had called him Mr Buckley and that was only when they were at some sort of formal place like the doctor's office or when they were registering the kids for school.

Surely if (Y/n) and Eddie hadn't answered the first time around, they should have tried Evan too. Was he alright? Why wasn't he answering? He had dropped her off this morning, hadn't he spoken to them when he took her in?

"We tried her mother first, then we tried you. It's protocol to call the parents-"

"He is her parent! Ellie has three parents and Evan is one of them. He dropped her off this morning for God's sake. I know you've got him on file."

Eddie could feel his blood beginning to boil.

They couldn't be serious. They couldn't be doing this to them. They had four kids together, Eddie had added (Y/n) and Evan as Chris's adoptive parents at his school. They had registered all the girls together at each nursery and school they went to and they rarely got this problem.

The one main issue they had was when they had Maria registered at a preschool and she had an accident. They kept insisting they could only speak to 'the real father' and didn't accept that both Eddie and Evan were equal fathers to Maria. They took her out of that school the same day and registered her somewhere else.

Sure, they got a few odd looks when they first applied and went to look round, but most of the staff had been accepting and a little curious. No one had been this rude to them in years.

"I- I'm sorry…?"

"It's fine, I'll ring him and he'll be there in five minutes." Eddie crudely hung up the phone, snaking a hand through his hair as he scrolled to find Evan's icon and call him instead. He couldn't be bothered to argue with the receptionist, not when he was at work and needed to go get changed ready for when the bell sounded.

Evan wasn't going to be happy about this, Eddie could already feel the anger and he hadn't even spoken to his partner yet.

"Hey babe, everything okay?" Evan didn't usually get phone calls from Eddie when he was at work. It wasn't that often that they did split shifts, they were usually on shift together, even if their schedules only lined up for half a shift and one left and the other stayed.

With (Y/n)'s job it was different, she could call them and have a conversation while she was on shift. But Eddie never rang while he was at work.

"Babe, can you go to nursery and pick Ellie up please?"

"What, why?"

Evan sat forward on the sofa, his back hunching over while he dragged his free hand along the back of his neck. What was Eddie talking about? Why had he been talking to the nursery? They were supposed to ring Evan if there were any problems and he had been a little worried that he hadn't heard anything from them by now.

"They called me, she's having breathing problems and they're worried, you need to go get her."

"No one rang me." The hurt was evident in Evan's voice and it made Eddie wince.

"I- I know babe, I know. I've already told them you're on your way, just let me know how she is when you get there please."

Evan muttered a quiet 'Will do' before he ended the call and grabbed his keys. He had a gut feeling he would be heading back to that nursery earlier than planned today, but Evan thought he would at least get the call himself. They had seen him drop her off, he had spoken to one of the girls who worked there. They had him as one of Ellie's contacts, he was one of her dads.

His fingers drummed against the steering wheel and every now and then he moved his hand to scratch his jaw and drag his nails down his neck. He could feel the anger radiating through him and it was bustling out of him in waves.

What was wrong with her this time? Was he going to have to make another trip down to the emergency room?

Evan hated taking any of the kids to the emergency room on his own; he would have to call (Y/n) at work and ask her to meet him there. He would ring Eddie back and check whether the hospital was busy today or not. An ambulance might be quicker than sitting in the waiting room.

He dragged his hand across his face to liven himself up and see if it would somehow wipe away the angered, hardened expression he found staring back at him in the rear view mirror.

By the time he climbed out the jeep, he was shaking and his hands were balled into fists which he shoved in his jacket pockets.

He stormed into the reception he had been in less than six hours ago and drummed his hand against the counter as he waited for someone to talk to him.

"I'm here for Ellie, what's happened?"

"Someone to collect little Ellie."

Evan's eyes darted to the double doors ahead of him when he realised there was a lady leaning out, obviously waiting for someone. She nodded and beckoned Evan over. It was the girl he spoke to this morning. She held the door open for him for him and he hurried after her and followed her through the main room.

"She's right this way."

He could feel a wave of relief wash through him at finally seeing a familiar face. He would finally get some answers out of her and find out why no one called him and be told exactly what was wrong with his daughter.

"We tried contacting her parents-"

"Who do you think I am?"

The words flooded past Evan's lips before he could stop himself and he found his hands curling back into fists to try and calm himself down. His nails punctured into the palm of his hands and his head tilted to the side when the woman turned around to face him.

"I- I'm sorry?" She paused, one hand on the door that led into the small kitchen at the back. Clearly they wanted Ellie out the way of the other kids to try and calm her down.

"I've dropped my daughter off here before work a hundred times, I brought her in this morning and spoke to you. I told you if there were any problems, call me. But no one did, I had to find out second-hand that something was wrong. Who do you think I am, the babysitter?"

Did this girl honestly think Evan was the babysitter or Ellie's uncle? Did she think Evan was just a friend of the family who helped out and brought Ellie here on his days off? She had seen Ellie cling to him and kiss him goodbye. When Ellie was in her brighter mood she would kiss him on the cheek and say goodbye papa.

Did all of that mean nothing or go in one ear and straight out the other with this girl? What did she think happened or was going on when three different people brought Ellie into nursery and Ellie seemed attached and referred to them all as her parents?

At the very least, Evan thought this lady would have gotten the wrong impression and thought he was her stepdad or her mum's new boyfriend if she was that confused. Clearly she didn't think he was anyone of importance.

"I- well, um,"

"Her name is Buckley-Diaz and I'm Mr Buckley, that doesn't give you a clue, at all?"

Evan waited with raised brows and hunched shoulders but when the girl just stared at him and gawped, Evan sighed. There was no point debating this any further. Clearly they didn't care to work out what was going on or come to grips with the fact that Ellie was lucky enough to have three loving parents and not just two.

"She has two dads, one of them is me. If you have a problem with that, I won't hesitate to switch childcare providers."

With that said, Evan moved past her and pushed open the kitchen door and briskly walked inside. His eyes landed on Ellie straight away. His youngest was sat on a little plastic chair near the window, leaning forward like she was about to fall asleep sitting up. But the way she was trembling and cuddling her teddy to her chest told Evan she really wasn't well.

As soon as Ellie lifted her head, Evan saw the tears streaking down her face and he suddenly realised she was wheezing.

"Papa!" The word was breathless and crackled like static and she unhooked one arm from around her teddy to reach out for Evan when he knelt down in front of her.

His hands found her waist and he leaned forward to press a kiss to her cheek while he rested her elbows on his knees and balanced back and forth on his heels. His thumbs brushed across her sides and he managed a calming smile when she looped her arm around his neck and tucked her temple against his so she could press a sloppy, gasping kiss to his cheek.

"Hi baby. What's wrong, hm? Tell me what's the matter." Evan kissed her again before he gently sat her up straight so he could look at her properly.

He watched her unhook her arm from his neck so she could tap her chest while she dropped her teddy to rest on her thighs. "Chest hurts, papa. Sore." She patted her chest before she moved her hand near her throat and back down again. Everything hurt. Breathing was a struggle, she wanted to cry but it made her gasp and her throat felt raw and broken.

"Let me see, baby."

Evan cupped one hand on her neck to check her pulse and he moved his other hand to gently cup her chin. He pressed his thumb against her lower lip to get her to open her mouth so he could take a look. Her throat looked red raw and inflamed and he didn't like how hard it was for her to breathe. Her pulse was quite high too.

With pursed lips, Evan leaned back, trying to stay calm so Ellie wouldn't panic as he rummaged around in his back pocket for his phone. But when he went to stand up, Ellie stretched her arms out and made a loud, croaky scream that had Evan shuddering and cringing.

"I'm not leaving, baby. Come're, shh I'm right here." In an instant, Evan leaned down and scooped Ellie up into his left arm so he could cuddle her into his chest.

He moved to stand near the window, gently bouncing Ellie in his arms every few seconds while he made a phone call. He leaned back so she could curl up on his chest and he felt her fingers scrunching up in his shirt as if to make sure he wouldn't dare put her back down.

"Buck, how is she?" Eddie's panicked voice came through the receiver within two rings and Evan guessed he had kept his phone in his pocket rather than his locker for any news.

"I'd guess tonsillitis, I'm taking her down to the emergency room, again."

"Again- fuck, that's the third time this year. Buck, I can come down and get you in the ambulance, then you won't have to wait, the emergency room was packed this morning when we dropped a few patients off. We can come down, just stay there."

That would make the third time that Ellie had gotten tonsillitis, and the doctors wouldn't do anything about it unless she got it at least seven times in a year. All they would do was give her antibiotics and tell them to keep her home and keep her fluids up. If she got worse or got a temperature, they would be back to the doctor for an inhaler, more meds and a chest X-ray.

Eddie couldn't see why they wouldn't just remove her tonsils and he done with it. This wasn't fair on her, always getting ill and forever getting chest infections, but there was nothing they could do to persuade the doctors otherwise.

"You sure?" Evan knew what that meant. He knew that meant the team would come down to this if Eddie made it a call out.

More to the point, the team would find out that Eddie and Evan were in a relationship together, and that they had kids. That they were in a poly relationship with someone else.

The team were open minded and always easy going and understanding, but the boys thought it better to keep their lives private. They didn't know what kind of looks they were going to get. It was bad enough that Evan's parents had reacted horribly to the news and used to ask Evan to find out if the girls were his or Eddie's.

And with Eddie's family being devout Catholics, they hadn't been impressed he'd entered a relationship with two other people at the same time. The team were loving and caring and understanding, but the boys didn't want any strange looks or frowns from the people they thought of as their family.

"We're coming down to you right now, babe. Call (Y/n), get her to meet us at the hospital. I'll see you both soon."

Evan found himself smiling and he leaned his cheek against Ellie's head and continued to sway her side to side. When he scrolled through his phone for (Y/n)'s contact, he stopped and looked down at Ellie as her hand scrunched up in his shirt and gave a small tug for his attention.

"We go home?"

"No, baby. Daddy's coming down to see us, you can see him in his uniform and ride in daddy's ambulance."

***

"Where are we going?"

Eddie ran his hands up and down his thighs and tilted his head back into the headrest when the truck took a right turn and had them all leaning to one side. He glanced across at Ravi who was switching between looking out the window and glancing over at Eddie and Chimney.

"My daughter's not well, we're gonna go take her to the emergency room." He moved his hands to grip his knees and he scratched his nails through his overalls.

He hadn't expected Bobby to say no when he approached and asked if they could go on a personal call. The moment he explained his daughter wasn't well and needed a trip to the emergency room, Bobby understood. He understood Eddie didn't want his partner or child to be waiting in the queue that had been out the door.

Not when Ellie could barely breathe and she was a high priority. Whereas if the team assessed her and took her, they could take her through the paramedics entrance at the hospital and she would see a doctor sooner than being in the waiting room for hours.

"How come?" Chimney had learned that they could ask Eddie questions about his private life if he opened the door and started the conversation. Otherwise, no one pried because he clearly liked to keep things private. They knew he had a partner and kids, but that was it. No no one had met any of them.

It was the same with Evan, no one asked him about his private life because he wouldn't offer anything up.

"She was a preemie, born three months early." Eddie tilted his head to the left and looked out the window as his hands left his knees and rung together between his thighs. "Picks up any infection going and nursery said she's not breathing well."

He couldn't have been more relieved when the truck pulled up outside the nursery.

Eddie had been expecting him and Hen to arrive in the ambulance while the rest of the team waited back at the station. But Bobby said they would all go and treat this like any other call out, and if they got another call on the way then everyone would be together and ready to divert after Eddie had been dropped at the hospital.

He climbed down and grabbed one of the medic bags from the side compartment before he led the way inside. Eddie grabbed the reception door and flung it open with haste and an air of confidence that almost rattled the walls.

His head turned to the left and his lips pursed when he watched the receptionist look him up and down with wide eyes and a dropped jaw. It was Daphne, the lady who had called Eddie less than an hour ago about Ellie, the one Eddie rarely spoke to whenever he dropped Ellie off.

"Mr Diaz," The surprise was evident in her voice and she darted to look towards the main room and back again. Clearly Evan hadn't told them he had called for back up.

"Where's Ellie?" He didn't have the time or the patience to play nice. Eddie wanted his family and he wanted to get out of here.

"In the kitchen."

As soon as Daphne pressed the button to unlock the door, Eddie stormed through with Bobby and Hen hot on his heels.

He didn't bother to smile at the carers or the toddlers who stopped to see who was storming through. Eddie didn't feel like smiling. He felt like screaming. not only had they pissed him off by disrespecting his boyfriend, they clearly hadn't called for any help or thought to contact a doctor whereas Evan clearly thought Ellie was bad enough to need to go to the hospital.

The sight in the kitchen was enough to melt Eddie's hardened exterior and his lips managed a smile when he looked around.

Evan was sat at the small round table, slouched back in the chair with one hand on the back of Ellie's head and the other hand on her back to try and keep her stable on his chest. He had his lips smothering the top of Ellie's head, but the moment they both heard the door open, the toddler was looking off in that direction.

"Daddy!"

"Hey little girl." Eddie grinned softly and dropped his medic bag on the middle of the table.

For a second, he forgot that the rest of the team were following behind him. He didn't think before he acted, not that it really mattered anymore, and he curved his hand around to cup the back of Evan's neck. His lips pressed down on Evan's forehead and his thumb glided over the back of his neck until he was shivering from the contact.

Eddie reached out with his free hand and grabbed the wooden chair behind him and dragged it over so he was sat in front of Evan with their knees bumping together.

"Alright, let me take a look at you, little one." He waited for Evan to spin Ellie around to face him before he reached out to cup her chin. He felt that her throat seemed a tiny bit swollen, unlike this morning, and he could already see the inside of her mouth was inflamed.

Ellie let him check her temperature and she stayed limp and mobile while Evan leaned her forward over his arm so Eddie could use the stethoscope to listen to her lungs and how croaky her breathing was.

"Buck?" Bobby stood in the corner of the room and moved his hands to his hips as he raised a brow. Eddie never mentioned anything about Evan being his partner. He could have sworn Eddie had mentioned the name (Y/n) more than once. Maybe he had gotten it wrong.

"Are you-"

"This is our daughter Ellie." Eddie didn't want to wait around and have them play the guessing game or stand and stare, trying to study and figure out what they were to each other.

He whipped the stethoscope from his ears and chucked them back in the bag before he rummaged around for a blood pressure cuff. With Evan here to hold her, Eddie might be able to get a reading. Ellie hated her blood pressure being taken and neither of them could blame her, it wasn't a nice feeling.

But Eddie paused and looked back at Ellie when her hand batted against his shoulder. She waited for him to look at her before she started to pat her chest and whimper. It was hurting again. And they all watched with sympathy in their eyes when Ellie started to croak and cough which turned into gasping cries from the pain it caused.

"Hurts,"

"I know, I know little one. Alright, let's get her in the ambulance."

When Eddie stood up and hooked the bag back over his shoulder, Evan turned Ellie around so she could cuddle back up into his shoulder with her face burrowed into the crook of his neck. But his eyes went straight back to Eddie and he watched his partner turn to face the care assistant who was still stood in the corner of the room.

"Don't expect us to bring our daughter back here again."

Evan pushed himself up onto numb legs and grabbed Eddie's hand, squeezing tightly as he led the way out after Hen and Chimney. He had seen the look of thunder on Eddie's face the moment he walked in here and he had heard the frustration in his voice over the phone.

If they weren't going to be understanding or even try to listen to them, they weren't bringing Ellie back here. They had to understand that she had three parents and they had to listen to each of them. They couldn't just make presumptions or ignore Evan like they had done today.

Eddie wouldn't stand for them being so rude to his boyfriend like that.

A tender smile flickered onto Evan's face when he felt Eddie's hand on his lower back and his partner follow close behind until Eddie's chest was almost bumping into his back with each step.

Bobby and Ravi headed back to the truck and took Eddie's bag with them while Chimney climbed in the driver's seat of the ambulance. And Hen opened the back doors, beckoning the boys to hop in before she followed after them.

Evan perched himself down on the gurney and sat Ellie on his lap with her back slouched into his chest. His hands splayed out on her chest and tummy and he smothered his lips into the top of her head while Hen and Eddie sat down in front of them.

"Is she your only child?" Hen scanned her eyes between the boys who both shared a look while Eddie bit down on his lip, leaving Evan to answer this one.

"You're the baby, aren't you?" He murmured into the top of Ellie's head. "We've got four. Chris, Lola, Maria, and then Ellie."

While Hen muttered a quiet "Damn." With wide eyes, Eddie looked through one of the drawers on his left and found a steroid inhaler. It was a very weak dosage that would do Ellie some good to try and get her throat and airways open so she could breathe easier.

"Let's try some of this, see? Big breaths, like daddy, and it will feel better." Eddie pressed the white pen-like inhaler to his lips and took a deep breath. He tried to smile and stop himself from coughing at the taste, but he knew if he or Evan didn't try it first, there was no way Ellie was going to believe them and have a go herself.

She squirmed back into Evan, whining and shaking her head until Evan kissed her cheek. "Be a good girl for us, hm? Then we can tell mummy how good you've been."

"Mummy?" Ellie tipped her head back into Evan's chest, coughing and croaking as she stared up at him.

"Yeah, mummy's gonna meet us at the doctors, you wanna make her proud, don't you?"

She scrunched up her nose and curled her lips, but when Eddie pressed the inhaler closer, she didn't pull away. Her eyes sparkled when Evan sucked in a deep breath and puffed out his chest to get her to imitate him while Hen grinned at the pair of them.

Ellie copied Evan and reached both her hands out to hold Eddie's wrists as she tried to breathe in the inhaler. But as soon as the powdered steroids got into her lungs, she gasped. Her short nails scratched the back of Eddie's hands and she wriggled back into Evan, screaming as much as she was able to with the little breath she had left.

"Baby please- Ellie no- okay, okay all gone, see? It's gone now." Eddie wrenched out of her rather tight grip and handed the inhaler to Hen so she could hide it.

He dropped his head down and sighed, shaking his hands to get some feeling back from where she gripped him and his thigh burned from how she had kicked him in her panic.

"You're a little fuss-pot, you know that?" Evan murmured quietly as he rubbed his chest that now felt bruised from where she bashed her head back into him. It had only been an inhaler, it wasn't as if it actually hurt to take it and it must have made her feel a little better, even if it didn't feel normal for her. She knew they weren't trying or going to hurt her.

"I wonder who she gets that from." Hen dead-panned as the three of them felt the ambulance pull to a stop.

"Not me. Come on, let's go find mummy." Leaning over, Eddie gently scooped Ellie up from Evan's lap and climbed out the back. He felt Evan's hands on his shoulders and both of them found (Y/n) straight away.

She was stood to the far side just shy of the ambulance entrance, leaning her shoulders and one foot up against the wall. With her arms folded over her chest and her bag hanging off one elbow.

When her eyes locked on them, her lips curved into a soft smile and she pushed off the wall to aim for her guys and their youngest baby.

Evan reached her first. He weaved beside Eddie to meet (Y/n) halfway and his hands found her hips while his lips attached to her forehead. Their phone call had been brief but (Y/n) had immediately agreed to meet them here at the hospital. Ellie would need all of them if she was going to be seen by a doctor because they could guarantee she would get distressed and have a meltdown or some kind of tantrum.

She gripped Evan's waist and leaned up to kiss his cheek before she reached out for Eddie. His arm curled around her waist and she pecked his lips while Ellie scrambled to get into her arms.

"Mummy,"

"I'm here, baby. Come on, what have you been doing, hm?"

When Evan turned his head to the side and noticed the smile playing on Hen's lips, he could feel his cheeks flushing pink and a blush crept up the side of his neck. "We'll introduce you all later."

"Hm, I'm counting on it."