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sweater-daddiesdumbdork · 4 years ago

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The Pack: Silent Night, Holy Night

Summary- 3.6k Alpha Steve Rogers x Little One!Reader. Its your first Christmas with Steve. Preparing the tree you picked, Steve falls in love with the holiday once more.

Warnings- soft smut and feels shared between you two.

A/N- I know we are in mid January, but this fic was started for the Holiday Challenge Sage and I had going. And no entry is to late, so here’s some Christmas feels for those that might be going through with drawls. Much Love always. Happy Reading. 🐺❄️

Your boots crunched through the snow as you followed after Steve, the two of you had walked rows of trees trying to find one for the cabin. It was the first Christmas you have been able to actually celebrate and once Steve put two and two together, he was sure to go all out in a way he hadn't done himself in years.

So today was tree picking day, and it had to be a wild fresh cut tree. Not one from the lot in town, that had been perfectly manicured through its life to be the perfect shape. Of course Steve offered that for you, but you were insistent. No it had to be a tree from home, just as wild and imperfect as you two were. You would know when you saw it.

“What about this one Y/N?” Steve came to a stop, and you tilted your head, looking up at it. It looked full, maybe a bit bigger than the living room it was going into but Steve could easily trim it down to size. You were about to say yes when a head popped out of the top branches, chattering in a scolding manner at the two of you that had you shaking your head.

“It's the chipmunks home.” You said firmly and Steve snorted a bit, folding his arms over his chest.

“We’re saying no to the perfect tree cause of that?”

“Yup. Let's keep looking.” You started in which the Little Wolf was rolling laughing inside of you at the expression of disbelief you left on the Alphas face.

He glanced up at the tippy top of the branches where the chipmunk stared him down. “You're lucky it's me and not the Wolf, he make a snack out of you.”

The chipmunk seemed thoroughly unimpressed and darted back down into the branches. Turning to follow your trail, Steve really couldn't be that upset you bypassed it. Truth be told, he was thoroughly enjoying himself this holiday.

You had managed to dig out some of the old decorations he had stored away, careful with them in case any were fragile. You two had spent one evening going through them, you asking questions about them, where they came from, was there a story behind them. Some made it out into the garbage, memories Steve didn't want to carry anymore. You didn't push for a reason why. Just accepting that they no longer had a place at home.

Then you two went about decorating the front of the house. You shimmied up the ladder to sit on the roof and help strand the lights along the edge while he used the ladder. Streaming lights that looked like blue and white icicles were stretched along the porch and once finished you two sat on the roof for a few moments while it got dark, admiring what others had done from the higher vantage. “Think Santa come find us Alpha?” You teased him while your head laid on his shoulder.

“Were lit right up Little One, if he can’t then he's not doing his job.” Steve teased back before tilting his head back to go from the Christmas lights to the stars starting to dart into sight above them.

“And what do you want for Christmas Steve?” You asked, in which he tightened his arm around your shoulders and dropped his mouth to your temple, pressing his lips there.

“I already have what I want.” His Wolf could do nothing but agree. You chuckled softly and nudged at him.

“Come on, I really want to know Alpha.”

The night he came back late from the lumberyard, you were baking cookies. And not just any cookies, you had managed to find his mothers gingerbread cookie recipe in one of the cupboards and was busy decorating them with so much concentration you hadn't noticed him come inside. The tip of your tongue bitten between your teeth, brows furrowed as you filled in the top of the cookie with icing. He managed to sneak up behind you, arms circling you as you yelped and jumped a bit, Steve laughing deep from his chest as he pressed a kiss to your mark. “Sorry, what are you doing that requires so much concentration?”

You tried using your fingers to smooth out the icing on Frosty, but it just wasn’t happening. “Frosty is just gonna have three eyes instead of two I guess. Making cookies, but I don't know. Do you deserve them?” you teased him with a wiggle of your brows at your mate.

Steve arched a brow and let his hands fall to the curve of your ass, giving a firm squeeze. “Probably not, but you will give me a taste anyways.”

You try hiding your grin, but it's hard. You glance at the messed up cookie in your hand and squint at it. “This looks… exactly like you.” Then you sunk your teeth into the moist gingerbread, proceeding to bite off his head, which made Steve tilt his head back and howl with laughter.

“Should I take that as a promise or a threat Little One?”

“We will see later tonight, now let me finish these cookies!” You pushed him away gently while stuffing the rest of the gingerbread man in his mouth.

All of them just adding up to fill his life in the most unlikely of ways. All these moments could be felt in your bond. He was happy, because you were happy. It was like a soothing balm in his soul. The heaviness he had always experienced was simply gone when he was with you, connected with you. The Wolf was happily settled with your Little Wolf every chance he could. Both of them traveling the expanses of their human sides.

You finally paused, brushing your hands along a branch and tugging at it gently. It was slightly crooked, some gaps in the branches where the tree hasn't grown perfectly. You circled it once while Steve waited for your answer and when you stopped back in the front, you turned, beaming at him.

“It's perfect.”

Later that night You were carefully hanging ornaments, Steve had done the lights just so and was helping you fill out the gaps with twinkling lights, shiny balls you had picked up shopping with Sara and strands of tinsel to make it that much more festive. You step back, hands to hips looking at the tree while Steve closes the last box on the coffee table and moves up behind you. Tucking you under his chin and looking at the tree as well while wrapping you in his arms. “Our first Christmas tree is beautiful Little One.” He said softly, swaying slightly to the sounds of the radio playing Christmas tunes from the kitchen.

He could feel you lean back into his chest, your hands sliding along his arms wrapped around you till you were mimicking hugging yourself as well. The room had such a relaxing ambiance in the glow of the Christmas tree with its twinkling decorations lighting up the room in a soft glow. It even spilled out onto the deck, making the slow glisten just a bit. “It really is Alpha.” You tilt your head enough to nuzzle under his jaw.

The Little Wolf pushed past the barrier to meet with the Alpha, tangling around him affectionately to settle in with him for the night. Curled around one another as they both laid down, nibbling and nuzzling one another quietly.

Steve inhaled along your neck, letting himself drown in your warm scent that was tinged with that fresh snow scent. Clean and hinting on a cold sensation. The cider you had sipped from earlier with a tinge of fireball whiskey in it still lingered. Which Steve wanted more of it, more of tasting it heatedly on your lips.

You could feel Steve's fingers twist into your sweater you were wearing, the slight nips along the curve of your neck while he softly rumbled from his chest. “I got you something.” He pressed the words against your shoulder and then loosened to pull away. You spun at the loss of contact which Steve held up a finger. “Wait, right here Little One.”

You stalled reaching for him, biting your lip. “You have something for me?” You asked softly in a bit of surprise and Steve nodded, a grin forming.

“Be right back.” He stepped back and went down the hallway out of sight. Once he was gone, you breathed out and turned back to the tree, your head tilting as you could feel the moment filling you. It was something you had never thought you would get to experience, Christmas wasn’t celebrated at your old Pack. It was just another long winter day trying to survive.

Now it was filled with everything Steve could think of to do. You were dragged from your thoughts when you heard Steve come back in with a gentle request. Doing his best not to command you as he knew you hated choices taken away from you.

“Can you close your eyes Little One?” He went back to his spot, pressing behind you and rubbing your hip with one hand.

“Okay Steve, they are closed.” You assured him, and waited patiently, a held breath of anticipation burning in your lungs till you could feel him whisper in your ear while tracing the side of your face with the tip of his nose.

“Okay, open them up my Little Wolf.”

Which you did and dangling from his fingers was a frosted glass snowflake, dangling back and forth in which you reached for it, letting the delicate piece sit in your palm. “Steve… I love it.” You trace the patterns so gently that you were barely touching them, and stepped forward looking around before you went to your tiptoes, higher on the tree and slipped the ribbon around a branch, the blue light placed behind it playing the snowflake in a way that made you think of the winter winds sweeping over the lake outside.

Falling back into Steve’s hold, the two of you admired the way your tree had come together. Steve dropped to whisper in your ear soon enough. “Know what I want to see in the future? A couple youngin’s decorating the tree all in one spot, so we have to fix it later when they are asleep.”

You bit your lip while letting that image cross your mind. “What do you say we work on making that happen Alpha?” You twisted and pushed on his shirt, pushing him back to the couch. He didn't put up any kind of fight, letting you push him down to a sit on the middle cushion with a rather turned on look at you.

You move to stand between his legs, his hands slip up along the back of your thighs and cusp under your ass cheeks through your sleep shorts while your hand slide along the sides of his jaw, his beard making your palms tingle while he pulls you into his lap, straddling him with light nips to his lips. “While we are discussing making that happen. What's a good number.” He teased while sliding his hands under your sweatshirt, his favorite one that had their logging business logo on the front. You moaned while pulling away, and he was quick to get it off you and tossed to the side.

The glow of the tree lights illuminated you for him, his fingers dipping along the small of your back while tugging you in close to nip the tops of your breasts while his fingers found your bra clasp and drew it off of you as efficiently as the sweatshirt.

You let your head tilt back to enjoy the sensation of Steve's mouth fondling your chest. Holding onto the back of his neck while he teased you with his mouth, swirling a pebbled nipple with his tongue, he gave a pull to draw it into his mouth, making you growl softly in pleasure and your mind fog over while trying to think of his question. “I know you Alpha.” He gave another rolling twist with his tongue that caused another shudder to roll through you. “You are gonna want a whole mess of them aren't you?”

Steve continued on, soft bites turning into a lavished lick between your cleavage till he tilted towards your other one, his hand massaging with squeezes, his palm was so warm against you. “Only if you want that as well Little One.” He pulled away with a slow pull, letting himself lean back against the couch. His hands covered your breasts, fondling them while you started to rock your hips against him, clearly rubbing your aching cunt against his hard on straining the front of his sweatpants now. His nostrils flared, drawing in the scent of your arousal. Thick swallows bobbed his adam’s apple as he wanted to take a taste of you, but not as much as he wanted his cock in you. “What do you want?”

Your gaze dropped to his, and for a moment you were at a loss as your fingers gripped his shoulders. It was hard to really consider it at the moment as all you could think about was his hard on pressing against you and how wet you already were for him. How could he expect you to think at a time like this, it was clearly unfair and you bit on your bottom lip while sliding your hands against his chest, digging in slightly against his pecs to leverage yourself against him. “Umm, a few? Lets try for one and see how that goes?” You whimpered out while he took hold of your hips and started moving you in a way that really satisfied you, the right amount of pressure driving you wild. Already you were drenching through your shorts to the front of his pants, not to mention your inner thighs, your folds dripping with slick for him.

“I am good with a few.” Steve nipped at your collarbone when he leaned forward, lavishing his tongue in a trail to leave his scent soaking into your skin, further marking you as his. There was nothing more that he craved than filling you with his pups, seeing your belly swell while his babies were safely tucked inside until they were ready to join the world. His fingers dug in possessively and he ached even harder at the thought of filling you with his seed. You smelled so good and were so soft in his arms. He could spend a lifetime just loving you like this, lost in the moment with the Christmas lights glowing softly behind you, illuminating you while you arched back getting lost as his hands rocked your body back and forth against his thigh and aching erection.

Your hands slide down his chest and abs, your senses all heightened with the Little Wolf right at the surface while loving Steve. You tug gently at his sweatpants band and reach in to circle around his throbbing member, easing it out. Your Alpha hissed at the feeling of your hands gliding up and down his shaft, velvet smooth and thick in your palms. You knew he was feeling good at the way his head dropped back against the couch and his hands stilled from moving you. Deep groans would roll from him when you cupped his balls, tugging slightly and rolling them in your fingers. “I want that Steve, to carry your pups.” You confess, giving one last stroke to his cock before pulling away to stand, and your hips shimmy to pull down your sleep shorts and discard them. His own hand replaced where yours left off, tightening once in a while to hold himself in check while his eyes roamed up and down your body, perfection in his eyes.

“Then let me fill you up Little One.” He growled out while reaching for your naked body, easing you back to straddle his lap, kneeling above him while he slid his cock through your heated swollen folds and when you felt his swollen tip press against your entrance, you sunk onto him slowly with a jaw dropping sharp inhale at stretching around your mate.

Steve fought the urge to slide himself fully into your heat, your velvet welcoming walls fluttering tightly around him as he opened you. Made for him, the way you took him and he swore it took the very air from him to see your face screw up a moment and go slack with relief once you were settled on him. He heard you whimper as you rolled your hips. Steve knew you were feeling him completely and clenching around him in need. His hands roved up and down your back while you started to move yourself, arching up and sinking back down, Steve matched your slow pace with an upwards roll of his hips, matching your effort. This was a slow lovemaking, no rush to finish but just enjoy one another intimately.

Your hands roamed up and down Steve's chest and slid around to clasp your hands around his neck, leaning into Steve to catch his lips. Moaning against his mouth while his tongue filled your mouth, lapping back at him. Your fingers curled into his hair at the back of his head, arching into his chest to rub yourself against him while he sucked on your tongue, twisting your head to break from him panting while he flushed kisses down your neck. His teeth sinking into the curved hollow between your neck and shoulder as he grasped your hips and pulled you fully onto him.

Your forehead pressed against his, gasping as Steve took over. Dragging his cock through your fluttering channel, making the knot in your stomach tighten heatedly. Your eyes lifted towards his, which were lust blown and studying you so intently watching how you were coming undone. You whined out with his next roll, feeling his cock hit you in all the right places. “You know how much I love you Steve” You panted out, twisting your face to rub against the side of his face whimpering. His hand slid up your back and grasped the back of your neck to lift your head back up to look at him.

“I can feel it Little One in the way you're loving me right now.” He nipped at your lips with a deep growl, his fingers massaging the back of your neck while holding you in place, listening to those tiny growls and whimpers you were giving him in the soft glow of Christmas lights. “So beautiful right now Little One.” He whispered to you while grinding you against his groin. “Loving your alpha so sweetly, so trusting. I can't wait for the day you become my pups mother.” Losing his hand on his hip, he dipped between your thighs and slid fingers around where you two were joined, gathering arousal to drench your clit while rubbing in circles.

“Oh god Alpha.” Your voice pitched with the tingles racing along your body and Steve had you where he wanted you.

“I love you too my Omega… come with me.” He demanded, his own rush tightening his chest and heated through his body with tense muscles. You started breaking apart in the way he loved seeing you. It was the most raw form of yourself, no words could describe the way you cried his name sounded to him, or the roaring growl he gave as he painted you full of him, his knot swelling to lock you together. Steve pulled you into his chest while you shook out your orgasm, blissed out feeling yourself so full with him and you curled up into his chest while he rubbed deeply at your back and over your hips, his face buried in against your neck while inhaling deeply. Warm honeysuckle mixed with your satisfaction wafted through him, as much as he had marked you, you had marked him as well.

You two stayed like that for several moments, in the quiet of the night in just the glow of the tree lights. You were the first to stir, brushing a hand through his hair that made Steve hum against your neck before shifting back to lean against the couch and you eased up a bit to look at him. “You okay Little One?” He asked softly and you gave a nod, sighing with satisfaction still feeling his knot stretching you. It would be a while before you could move off his lap his time. Not that you minded, you were quite comfortable staying right there with him.

“Always with you Alpha.” you settled back into him, and he loosely circled his arms around you to rub your still shivering back. Remnants of your passion, but he still reached for an afghan draped over back of the couch and spread it over the two of you. He nuzzled the side of your head, brushing your hair back off your neck to flush possessive kisses against your mark. “Best Christmas I've had in a long time, Little One. You've been my greatest gift.”

You hid your smile for a moment, letting his words sink in. Your Little Wolf crooned in pleasure while swirling into the Alpha's embrace, the two wolves sharing love bites against the muzzles and rubbing against one another in a mates dance.

The bond between you two radiated each other's bliss, forming a stronger connection with each passing day. The evening slipped well into the night before you two pulled away from each other. Steve turning on the radio in the kitchen to turn up the soft Christmas music tunes while you tugged your sweater back on.

Once he approached you again, you thought he was gonna scoop you up to go to bed, but he weaved his fingers with yours and swayed slowly in front of your first shared Christmas tree, sharing whispered ‘I love you’s’ and nips of playful kisses until you led him to the bedroom for the night. You insisted on leaving the tree illuminated through the night.

Any wolves passing on the frozen lake could see the glow playing on the snow falling heavily, muffling any noises and encasing there part of the world in silence.

#the pack #alpha steve rogers #steve rogers #alpha steve and little one #amber writes #sweater writes #welcome to the pack #one shot #holiday #holiday 2020 #ssholidaychallenge

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taylorsage22 · 4 years ago

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Home Videos (Sara Lance x Reader x Killer Frost)

Request-Hi, can you write Killer Frost x reader x Sara Lance smut? thanks💙

Warnings-Lots and Lots of Oral smut. Poorly written smut,I'm sorry.💜

Sara, Killer Frost and I decided to watch some at-home videos my brother had in his room, unsure of what we’d find.

“Hey, y/n,” Frost called, “What’s this one? It doesn’t have a label on it.”

“Maybe it’s lesbian,” Sara joked, nudging me, knowing I’d just came out as lesbian a couple weeks ago, “Have you watched it?”

“Maybe,” I joked, rolling my eyes.

“Let’s watch it.” Sara announced, and when she noticed Frost’s look she said, “It will be fun!”

“C’mon Frosty, you aren’t scared of a little lesbian action?” I teased, nudging her.

“No,” She pouted, “I’ve just never even done anything with a girl before.”

“Oh, we’re just watching,” I said.

“Sure,” Sara said, rolling her eyes, “Okay let’s watch this thing.”

We all sat down to watch, and honestly, I was a little nervous, even though I’d identify as lesbian, I’ve never gone far with a girl, except for making out and I’m pretty positive that Sara has.

As the “movie” started, I noticed I was getting extremely wet and horny. I honestly just wanted to start touching myself.

“Frost?!” Sara gasped, looking at Killer Frost, who was fingering herself, “Are you touching yourself?!”

“Y-yes, care to do it for me?” she asked and before I knew it, Sara was over by Frost.

Sara’s hand went into Frost’s panties and started fingering her with a finger, I could see Frost’s hands move up her shirt to touch her perky breasts.

“You like that don’t you little slut?” Sara asked, pushing another finger in, hitting Frost’s g-spot.

“Y-yes!” Frost moaned, arching her back and titling her head back.

“Say it, call yourself a little slut” Sara demanded.

“I-I’m a little slut !” She moaned, barely able to speak, “Your little slut.”

“Hey, y/n, do you think she’ll be able to handle three fingers in her tight little pussy?” Sara asked, turning to me for a moment, and noticing I was fingering myself, “You couldn’t wait, a slut just like Frosty, aren’t you?”

I nodded, “And yeah, I think She can handle three.”

Sara slid another finger inside of Frost, pushing harder and faster.

While they were busy, I undressed myself, completely naked. I moved myself over to Frost, and put my pussy over her face, demanding she ate me out.

“I want you to taste my juices in your little slutty mouth,” I said, moaning, “Please, make me come. Let me squirt all over your pretty little face.”

“Can I swallow it?” Frost moaned, vibrating my vagina, making me more wet.

The sight seemed to be making Sara even more horny herself, as she had now removed her shorts and she was rubbing her pussy through her panties with her other hand.

“Don’t you dare touch yourself,” I growled, “That’s mine for later.”

Frost removed her top and bra, and moved her hands to her nipples, rubbing and pinching them, as Sara used her other hand to rub Frost’s clit.

“Come for me, y/n.” Frost moaned.

“Are you close?” Sara moaned, rubbing Frost’s clit roughly.

“Y-yes!” she gasped, “Please, keep going, Sara.”

Sara got down on her stomach, using her tongue to lick her clit, but continued fingering her, her tongue swirled on her clit in fast circles.

“I’m going to come!” Frost moaned out which knocked me over the edge, as I came in her mouth.

“You taste so good!” Frost gasped, as she came all over Sara’s fingers.

“It’s my turn,” Sara said, getting up from Frosts sensitive pussy, removing all her clothes, making sure all of us were naked.

“Frosty, I want your little mouth on my pussy, and I want you to swallow every last drop,” Sara demanded, laying down.

Frost put her mouth on Sara’s pussy, sucking on each pussy lip, before licking her folds, and entering her vagina with her tongue. She used her hand to rub her clit in slow circles.

I was on my hands and knees by Sara’s head, leaning down to slide my tongue in her mouth, and she slid hers in mine, she moaned in my mouth.

“You’re so good, Frost!” Sara screamed, moaning.

I moved my mouth down her neck, shoulders and to her breasts, where I sucked her nipples gently, before biting them hard.

She jolted, shrieking, bringing sweet Frosty up from her vagina.

“No, no, keep going, Frost.” She moaned, and Killer Frost continued what she was doing, I bit her nipples again, and she seemed to like it, so I kept doing it.

I started to finger myself, horny again, because Sara Lance was just so damn hot.

“Let me eat you out,” Sara moaned, noticing I was fingering myself.

I moved myself to her mouth, and she flicked her tongue on my clit before entering my pussy with her tongue.

I moaned loudly, “Yes! Yes! Sara!”

She moved her hands to her breasts, pinching and rubbing them as she arched her back in pleasure.

“Come for me baby,” Frost said against Sara’s aching pussy, “Please baby, I’ll swallow every last drop.”

That drove Sara over the edge, as she squirted all over Frost’s face, “Wanna go again baby?”

Sara nodded, and Frost placed her pussy over Sara’s. She pushed her pussy against Saras and that caused Sara to moan again, against my pussy.

“I’m so close,” I screamed, as Sara’s fingers started rubbing my clit, and her tongue was still licking my wetness.

Frost was still grinding her pussy against Sara’s and Sara was screaming into my pussy as she sucked and licked, “Gosh, yes! That feels so good!”

Frost was moaning too, and their moans and scissoring was making it extremely hard for me not to come in Sara’s mouth.

“Y/n, come for me,” Sara demanded, “Now.”

I did as she said, and came in her mouth, and she swallowed it all.

“You taste so good,” Sara gasped, and I moved myself off of her, and started making out again.

“Come for me, baby,” I moaned into her mouth, “Doesn’t Frost’s pussy feel so good?”

Frost heard this, and moaned even louder than before, “I’m coming!”

Frost came, and so did Sara, and they both fell onto the floor.

“We’re going to do that again, right?!” Frost said, excitedly.

“I’m sure my brother has more videos.” I laughed.

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crowdedimagines · 4 years ago

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Happy To Help - David Dobrik

“Baby, what’s wrong?” I ask, sitting up in our bed. David came in with a serious look on his face. One that I don’t see very often. Definitely not this early on a Sunday morning, it’s still early and quiet. The only reason he got out of bed was his mom calling his phone.

“My dad threw out his back really badly and he needs surgery.” He walks over to sit on the edge of the bed.

“Is he okay?” I ask tentatively.

“Yeah, he’s claiming he’s fine but my mom said he can’t even move. He’s in a lot of pain.” David wipes at his face, “Fuck.”

“How can I help?” I take his hand in mine and try to get him to focus, “Should we fly out to help out? If he needs surgery he’s going to be in the hospital for a while.”

He nods and leans into my touch. I pull him back to lay on top of me on our bed. He worries about his family all the time, this is like a nightmare for him.

“I’m gonna call Jack.” He announces.

He grabs his phone and calls his manager to inform him of what happened. I tune out most of what he says as I grab a bag for each of us. I start packing my own things so we can leave as soon as he needs to.

“Are you serious?” David’s voice suddenly pulls me from my thoughts. He’s sitting on the Lovesac with his phone on speaker.

“I can try to get you out of that shoot David, but they're just going to cut you out and move on with someone else. The only real issue with it is that filming for Dodgeball Thunderdome starts this week. We’ve signed a lot of contracts, I can try to get you out of them but I know how excited you were about hosting this show.”

“Fuck.” He mutters softly. “I need to be in Vernon hills by tonight. My parents are going to in to Chicago for surgery so someone needs to stay at the house. Plus once they get back they’ll need help.”

“I totally get that David.” Jack agrees, “I just want you to know the gravity of you leaving this week. The position you’re putting in those you work with. I just worry about your reputation a little and if they’ll be willing to postpone for you.”

“I’ll go.” I cut in. There’s no need for David to give up something he’s worked so hard for and he loves so much. He’s one of the hardest working people I know and he deserves everything that he’s earned.

“What?” David’s head snaps in my direction.

“You stay here, get everything done that you need to. I’ll fly out and help with the girls and Toby. Then I’ll be there when your parents get home to help. You can fly out once you’re done with everything or you get a break.” I shrug.

“Jack, let me call you back.” He hangs up the phone and gets up from his seat. He walks over to grab my hand and fully pull my attention from the clothes I had been folding, “Are you serious right now? You would do that for me?”

“Of course I would.” I smile, his arms wrap around my waist so mine settle over his shoulder, connecting at the back of his neck, “I would do anything for you, and your family. This is not a big deal, and it would make me happy to help. Plus then you don’t have to give up hosting your show. You’ve been excited about this for months.”

“I love you so much.” He sighs, pulling me in tight against his chest.

“You’re alright.” I tease, earning a laugh from him.

David insists on paying for my flight and driving me to the airport.

“Okay, my parents are waiting to leave once you get there. I already set up a rental car for you, so then you’ll have one the whole time you’re there.”

“Thank you, babe.” I press a kiss to his lips.

We get out of the car and David pulls my suitcase from the trunk.

“I cannot thank you enough for this.” He wraps his arms around my waist.

“I don’t need a thank you.” I shake my head, “One more kiss will do, though.”

David happily obliges, leaning in and pressing a kiss that lasted longer than all the others.

“Call me when you land.”

“Of course.”

I start to walk away, knowing that we could be saying our goodbyes for the next half hour if I don’t.

“I love you.” “I love you too.”

The flight is fairly uneventful and quiet, I try to sleep on the way to just be fully rested. Once I land I go find the car rental place and David (Natalie) had set everything up in advance so there wasn’t much waiting there either. I text Ester to let her know that I am on my way, she is definitely the Dobrik I talk to the most, other than David obviously. I make the drive to the Vernon Hills home, I call David on the way to talk for a while and let him know that I landed safely.

I park on the road so I don’t block in their car in the driveway and take my suitcase from the trunk. Toby greets me before I can even make it to the door, pulling me in for a hug. He holds open the door for me and I am greeted by the whole Dobrik family.

Palo is laying on the couch, in obvious discomfort. I send him a smile and say hello. I notice that they’re already packed up with everything they’ll need for the week.

“Thank you for being so kind.” Cristina sighs pulling me in for another hug.

“I am happy to help in any way I can.” I smile, “Please let me know if you need anything else, honestly, anything you guys need.”

We talk for a little while before they leave so they can check in. It’s over an hour drive to the hospital they’re doing it at so they leave now.

“Alright, now it’s just us.” I laugh, we’ve all already eaten dinner so we all sit down in the living room to watch a movie. We don’t stay up late, all three of them have school tomorrow. Ester stays up a little later, she talks to me about school, boys, and drama.

After we both say goodnight I make my way up to David’s room. It’s always been the room I stay in with David, but I’ve never been here without him.

“I’m laying in your childhood bed right now.”

“Why do you make that sound so sexy.” He laughs, “It’s kind of turning me on.”

“Gross.” I laugh loudly.

“How’s everything going?” He asks.

“So far it’s fine. Your dad looked like he really needed to get out of the house tonight and get checked in so I’m glad I flew in tonight instead of tomorrow morning.”

“Me too.” He sighs, “I can never thank you enough for this.”

“You don’t need to thank me, isn’t that what girlfriends are for?” I laugh.

“I don’t think I’ve ever had a girlfriend do something like this for me before.”

“I guess I’m pretty special then.” I grin, turning on my side. It’s not very often that I sleep by myself now that David and I live together, but it’s comforting to hear his voice.

“That you are.”

I don’t remember saying goodnight to David, but at some point I must’ve fallen asleep. I wake up when my alarm goes off, notifying me that I need to get ready so I can get everyone else ready and drive them all to school.

“Good morning.” I smile seeing Sara and Ester come down the stairs.

They sit down for a bowl of cereal, eventually Toby comes down, his hair angled in fifty different directions, reminding me of his older brother.

“Alright, everyone’s ready for school?”

Everyone piles in the car and we leave. I drop off Toby first, seeing as his school day starts earlier than the girls. I drop off Sara next, leaving only Ester and I in the car.

“What’s so funny?” Ester grins, glancing at me from the passenger seat.

“I never thought that I would be a soccer mom at twenty-two. It’s a little odd dropping kids off at school.”

“Whatever.” She bumps my shoulder lightly, “You’re not a mom. Yet.”

“Yet?” I raise my brows, looking over at her amused. David and I have never talked about kids, even though it's known that we both want them, just not any time soon.

“You and David will be married any day now. And the way David talks about you guys on the podcast, it doesn’t seem like you guys are staying celebete.”

My face takes on a red tint. I’ve never been a shy girl, but I was not expecting this to be our car ride conversation. Ester is old enough to not be phased by talking about sex, we’ve been having boy talk for practially as long as David and I have been dating. I’ve talked about worse, but I’ve never gone into details when it pertained to her brother.

“Oh my god, shut up!” I laugh.

“What we always talk about boys!” She grins.

“Well, it’s definitely different when my boy is your brother.”

“Yeah, that’s not the greatest, but I like talking to you. You give off older sister vibes.”

“Thanks. Now get out of the car.” I smirk, teasing her. We’re pulled up in front of her school, the same school David went to high school.

“Thanks for the ride.”

“Anytime!” I manage to pull out before many fans take notice. Thankfully, I’m not David, but still we could easily form a crowd if I stayed for too long.

It takes a few more days to fall into a good rhythm with everything. Between the kids homework, making meals, cleaning, and just trying to keep everything organized for when David’s parents come back it's been an exhausting yet rewarding week. Palo’s surgery was today, it went well. He only needs a few days in recovery before he can come home.

“Y/n, David’s asking for you.” Ester comes down the stairs, phone in hand.

“Babe, you didn’t answer your phone!” He yells through the phone.

Ester holds out her phone so I can see him on facetime.

“Sorry, Sara and I are painting our nails!” I hold up a hand as proof and he nods.

“So, how’s everything going?”

“It’s good babe, it’s actually been a pretty fun week.” I smile, “I’m starting to like your siblings more than I like you.”

“And we definitely like Y/n more than you!” Toby teases leaning into frame.

“Fuck you guys.” He laughs.

“So how’s filming been? I saw your story! Very fancy them giving you someone to follow you around with an umbrella.”

“It’s been fun. I forgot just how good it feels to be working! Do you have any idea when you’re coming back?”

I shake my head, “No, your parents are coming home in three days and I’ll talk to them and go from there. Are you still planning on staying in L.A?”

“Yeah, my mom insisted I stay here. She already feels guilty enough making you fly out, but we’ll see.”

“Okay, keep me posted. Love you.”

“Love you more.”

Ester takes her phone back and continues talking with David.

“I like the color you picked better.” Sara comments, noticing the light color I’ve picked for my nails.

“Wanna trade?”

“What? We already painted one of our hands.” She looks up at me confused.

“So what! It’ll be different. Then we kind of match.”

Sara and I finish up our nails. We all call Palo and Cristina, our nightly ritual to say good night to everyone. Everyone goes to bed, I stay up a little later so I can clean up the dishes from dinner and the nail polish that we left on the counter.

The rest of the week passes by without any hiccups. There’s a few times I can tell Toby really misses his parents, but other than that everything’s been a breeze. More than that actually, I feel closer to all of them. I was nervous to come, even though I would never tell David that. I was afraid to step in and try to help when I have no clue what I’m doing, but it went better than I could imagine.

“Are you absolutely sure?” I ask, “I don’t mind staying longer at all!”

“No!” Cristina insists, “We are fine, Palo is feeling fine now that he’s been back at home for a few days. We will be okay.”

She places a reassuring hand on my arm and I simply smile.

“Only if you’re one hundred percent sure.”

“I already told David to book you another flight.”

I thank her and go upstairs so I can pack up all of my belongings. I ended up spending ten days in Chicago, but it was alright. I had fun, and it felt good to be needed.

“Okay, I think I’m all packed up.” I bring my suitcase to the bottom of the stairs and smile at the family in the living room. I get hugs from everyone, and several thank yous. Too many if you ask me.

“I’m going to walk Y/n out to her car.” Ester grabs one of my other bags to walk with me.

“Me too!” Sara tags along.

You could never get me to wipe off the grin watching those two girls bound away with my stuff.

“The ride to school is going to seem boring now.” Ester sighs.

“I’m sure you’ll manage.” I grin.

“Yeah, but mom doesn’t talk about weed or hooking up at parties.”

“Shh!” I clamp a hand over her mouth, “And if anyone asks I don’t talk about that stuff either!”

I give them each another hug and start to get back in the car.

“Y/n, will you call me tonight? Like once you’re back home and settled.”

“Yeah, is everything okay?” I raise my brows.

“No, I just have something I want to talk to you about. You’ll get it, it’s fine!”

“Okay, weirdo!” I laugh shutting my door. I back down the driveway and notice that all of the Dobriks are out on the front porch now waving. I wave back with a smile and drive back to Chicago to finally head home.

“Baby, I’m home!” I yell, letting myself in our front door. The goal was to surprise him, he didn’t know that my flight landed early, causing me to get the jump on him.

“Y/n?” He yells back loudly. I drop my bags and round the corner to see him coming to find me.

“Baby!” He instantly pulls me into his arms, “God, I missed you.”

“I missed you too.” I sigh, pulling him in a little tighter.

After a good long cuddle in our bed it’s nice to just settle in again. It’s nice to see Natalie and Ilya too. I wasn’t that long, but I was weird to be apart from the whole group for that long. We purge on a large dinner ordered in, after stuffing our faces, David and I settle on the hammock outside together. The sun is setting slowly, letting the sky take on a pink hue.

“I can never thank you enough for what you did.”

“David, you have to stop thanking me.” I sigh, letting him twist and play with my fingers.

“Y/n.” He says my name softly.

“Hmm?” I turn to look at him, he has a surprisingly serious look on his face.

“We just moved in together. I’ve never done that with a girl, I thought that I would be afraid to do it, but with you I am not afraid of the future anymore. The only thing that scares me is a future without you, as cheesy as that sounds. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, more than anything.”

He reaches into his back pocket and I can feel a smile growing on my face. He opens up the black velvet box to reveal a beautiful ring with a large diamond sitting front and center.

“I bought this ring after you left for Chicago. I knew that I wanted to marry you before that, but right then and there I decided that I needed to lock you down.” He pauses to laugh a little, I join in too, “I needed to make if official. Make it real, because I don’t want to waste anymore time as your boyfriend. You treat my family like your own, and I want to make you mine. Forever. Y/n, will you marry me?”

“Of course!” I sigh, no longer fighting the teary eyes. I pull David in for a long sweet kiss. We pull apart laughing, he slides the ring on my finger and I smile even wider.

“Baby, it’s perfect.”

“Ester helped me pick it.” He grins, pressing several more kisses to my temple.

“She did? Of course she did. Well you both did a great job.”

“I’ll be right back, I got us champagne!” He climbs out of the hammock carefully. I smile softly watching him walk away. I pull out my phone to call the girl herself.

“Hello?” She answers almost instantly.

“You picked out a stunning ring.”

“You said yes?” She shrieks.

“Well, duh!” I laugh.

“Yay, oh my god. I love this! She said yes!” She yells loudly to I’m sure the whole family.

“Did everyone know?” I ask, sitting up a little more.

“Yeah, he’s been too excited to keep it to himself. Told everyone in L.A and of course he told us. I think everyone knew but you.”

“Sneaky boy.” I roll my eyes. David makes his way back outside, two glasses in one hand the bottle in the other. The same smile stuck on his face.

“Hey, who are you talking to already?” He rejoins me.

“Your sister. I promised her I would call.”

I put the phone on speaker so David can hear too. We talk with Ester and everyone else in the family for a while. It feels comfortable. We spend the rest of the night snuggled up together, even as it gets colder.

Natalie took a video, which I was completely oblivious to. We also got some really cute pictures, which David proudly sends to the group chat, informing everyone who he had gushed to that I had in fact said yes. It was a steady stream of congratulations.

“Ready to go inside?”

“Mhm” I sigh dreamily looking down at the new piece of jewelry on my hand.

“C’mon, it’ll still be there in the morning.”

an// this was some CUTE fluff!! Also what is David’s mom’s name? I wrote this and then I couldn’t remember if it was right so i went to look it up and i can’t even find it. so if anyone knows, cool! lol

what did you guys think?!?!

#david dobrik imagine #david dobrik x reader #david dobrik

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singledarkshade · 3 years ago

Text

Lost In Time

Summary: Reappearing in the world many years after he faced a Time Demon, Rip is surprised by how things have changed but where is Gideon and the Waverider? Author’s Note: Day 6: “Live the next day” – Rip is still out there, so how does he re-join Gideon? Perhaps he’s got something up his sleeve that he’s working on. ********************************************* The world around him filled with blinding light, before it faded to nothing. Rip lay in the darkness, floating in a sea of nothing unaware before consciousness rushed back upon him. Gasping Rip opened his eyes and sat up sharply, confused to find he was in a room which had light peach curtains that matched the bedspread covering him.

“Well, it’s about bloody time,” a familiar voice made Rip turn to the man walking into the room, “You’ve been taking up space in the spare room for long enough.”

“John?” Rip frowned.

Self-professed Master of the Dark Arts, John Constantine nodded, “So no amnesia. I lost that bet.”

“Where the hell are we? Rip demanded, “Because this is not the Mill House, unless a spell went very, very wrong.”

“This is our spare room.”

“Our?”

Before John could answer a woman called, “Is he awake?”

Rip stared confused at the woman who appeared, recognition hitting him after a moment, “Miss Tomaz?”

“Zari Tarazi,” she corrected before explaining, “You must have known the other version of me.”

“The other…” Rip let out an annoyed huff, “They changed time again, didn’t they?”

John and Zari swapped a look before John noted, “There were circumstances.”

“Bloody arrogant as always, thinking they know best,” Rip snapped before rubbing his temple, “Okay, other things to think about just now. Where is my ship? I need to let Gideon know I’m alive, even if the lecture will take several hours not to mention the medical exam.”

John and Zari glanced at one another again before John noted, “The lecture can wait. You’ve been unconscious since you appeared in my living room three days ago.”

“Three days?!!!”

John nodded, “Yes, so slow down a bit. Get your strength back.”

“Have a shower, get dressed then have something to eat,” Zari added.

With a smile, Zari disappeared, and Rip turned to his friend, “She is very different from the women you normally hook up with.”

“We’re trying to make a go of it,” John shrugged, “Seeing how it goes.”

Rip looked around the room thoughtfully, “And how long have you been seeing how it goes?”

John shrugged, “Ten years or so.”

Laughing Rip managed to stand, “So not long then.”

Rolling his eyes, John left him to freshen up.

Zari looked up from her phone when John arrived in the living room, “We have to tell him.”

“Considering how he’s going to react,” John said, “I want to let him recover first,” he sighed, “The Waverider and Gideon are gone for good, but he will kill himself trying to prove us wrong.”

Zari rested her hand on his arm, “I know he’s your friend, but you can’t protect him from this.”

“The Gideon we knew and the Gideon he knows are completely different,” John told her, before explaining at her confused look, “To us Gideon was an information source who worked the ship but to Rip, Gideon was family.”

Shaking her head, Zari sympathised, “I understand you want to protect him, John but he won’t thank you for it.”

Sighing John caught her hand and squeezed it, “I’ll tell him.”

“Good,” Zari leaned over and kissed him, “I have to go and meet my publicist. Make sure he eats something before you drop the news on him.”

John nodded and watched Zari sashay out the room, already going over in her head the meeting about her book. Not long after Zari left the house, Rip appeared dressed in the clean clothes they’d left out for him looking around thoughtfully.

“I’m guessing you didn’t decorate,” he said before adding, “Which having seen your old place is a blessing.”

Chuckling John drew him into the kitchen, and Rip took a seat.

“Since when do you cook?” Rip asked watching his friend, “I remember Chas once saying you would starve if he didn’t feed you.”

John shrugged, “I learned. I had to after…”

“After what?” Rip asked curiously when John trailed off.

Becoming very interested in the sausages he had in the pan, John replied, “Zari doesn’t cook.”

Rip fell silent and watched John, which didn’t make John feel any better because he could feel Rip’s mind working. And one thing John knew was exactly how smart Rip was.

Rip was getting frustrated. John kept dodging questions about when he was, where he was but especially where his ship was. As he ate the breakfast John placed in front of him, which was actually not that bad, Rip contemplated everything being said and not said. Once he’d finished, Rip watched his friend clear everything away, avoiding Rip’s eyes.

“John,” he stated getting annoyed that the other man kept avoiding his questions, demanding, “What happened to my ship and where is Gideon?”

Freezing John grimaced, “You know you should…”

“I do not need to get my strength back,” Rip snapped, “I want to know where Gideon is.”

John let out a long breath before starting, “It…well…”

“Spit it out!!”

“The Waverider was destroyed,” John confessed, “Almost six years ago.”

Rip gripped the edge of the table, “No.”

“I’m sorry,” John breathed, “I know this is hard.”

Anger filled Rip’s eyes, “I should have known they would do something like this, I should have…” he trailed off, anguish at losing his best friend welling up. He took several deep breaths before asking, “What did the Time Bureau say? Did they check for debris or…” he trailed off again at John’s grimace, “What?”

“There is no Time Bureau,” John winced, “It folded about a year after you supposedly died.”

Rip gave a bitter laugh, “Five years it took me to build that, five years of my life and they destroyed it in one. How bloody typical.”

John passed him a mug of tea stating, “Nothing stronger, you just woke up.”

“So, how are they causing chaos across time these days?” Rip asked, taking a long drink before grimacing and putting the tea to one side.

“They don’t,” John shrugged, “After we managed to get to safety, nothing worked anymore. All the Time Couriers were dead, so we went our separate ways and get together for a drink every so often.”

Rip rubbed his eyes, “Well, that’s a blessing.”

“There was a rumour the Flash team has a time travel device,” John continued, “But either it wasn’t true, or Barry is hiding it.”

Musing for a moment Rip felt a smile touch his lips, “No, they have something thanks to Thawne,”

“What did he do?” John asked confused.

A smile touched Rip’s lips, “He got Cisco Ramon to build him a Time Sphere.”

“I heard about that,” John replied, “But if they wouldn’t give it to Sara, who they know, why do you think they’ll give it to you?”

“I’m not going to ask them for it,” Rip laughed, “I’m going to build my own.”

John frowned, “How?”

Rip rolled his eyes, “It’s my design, and I can build another one easily. First thing first though, I need to get to my base.”

“Your what?”

“What happened to my watch?” Rip demanded.

Confused John shook his head, “I left it next to the bed. Why?”

Rip ignored his friend’s questions and retrieved his courier. He had based the one the Time Bureau used on the courier he’d had back when he was training. It was a useful tool which gave the wearer information, tracked them, monitored health so Rip just added the time travel function. This one however had even more functions, had ensured it was camouflaged as a watch and that no one other than Rip could access it. Finding his duster in the wardrobe, Rip fixed it on his wrist before turning to find John frowning at him.

“Where are you going?” John demanded.

Tapping the controls, Rip opened a portal behind him, smiling at his friend’s amazement, “My base. Come on.”

John knew Rip had secrets.

The man never told anyone the full story, but John understood why. Rip had been trained to be secretive, trained to work in the shadows and then all the people he trusted turned on him. It was no wonder Rip played his cards close to his chest. But John was stunned as they walked through the portal into a large familiar looking room separated into distinct areas and only missing the seats for the crew.

“Gary,” Rip called the moment he stepped through.

“Yes, Captain Hunter,” a polite voice came from around them.

Rip closed the portal and hung his coat on the stand in the corner, “Status report.”

“All systems are working within normal parameters,” Gary replied.

“Where the bloody hell are we?” John demanded as he looked around, “Is this a ship?”

Rip shrugged, “It was. This was once the Astraea, Miranda’s ship,” he gently rested his hand on what looked like the central console, “I found it floating after the Vanishing Point was destroyed so rescued it and Gary.”

John stared at him.

“This was my base of operations while I built the Bureau,” Rip continued, irritation slipping into his voice, “And after I escaped their imprisonment.”

Looking around, John noted, “I’m guessing you also spent time here when the Time Bureau was in existence.”

“It gave me a place to work in peace,” Rip replied, as he accessed the computer, “Now, I need to know everything about what happened including the exact time and date you arrived through the portal after you abandoned the Waverider.”

“For what?”

“So I can find my ship,” Rip replied, “Because I know she’s still out there.”

*********************************************

Rip took a drink of water as he went over in his head what he still had to do to finish the Sphere. The good thing was he had most of the equipment and parts sitting around, because when he had nothing else to do Rip tended to build and repair things. It used to drive Gideon crazy when they were on missions that were mostly surveillance and he had nothing else to do.

“Gary,” he called, “How are the scans going?”

“Still nothing, Captain Hunter,” the AI told him, “But from the information Mr Constantine provided, I have currently only managed to search fifty percent of the zone.”

Rip sighed, “Okay. The moment you locate something, anything I want to know.”

“Of course, Captain.” Gary replied.

Returning to work, Rip tried not to focus on his fear that Gary would tell him that he found no trace of the Waverider, and Rip would have to accept that Gideon was truly gone. Part of him wanted to find Sara and give her a piece of his mind however that would let her know, not only that he was alive but that he still had access to time travel.

“Captain,” Gary spoke up interrupting his thoughts, “Mr Constantine is calling.”

“What can I do for you, John?” Rip asked, Gary instantly connecting the call.

“Just checking in,” John told him, “How’re you doing?”

Rip let out a soft sigh, “I’m getting there. We’re still searching for the Waverider though.”

“Let me know if…when you find her,” John told him, “I’ll come with you to help bring her back.”

Rip frowned for a moment, “Just you?”

“If you’re asking if I’ve told Sara about your return then I am insulted,” John noted.

“You’re not the only one who knows,” Rip retorted.

“Zari has promised me she won’t tell anyone,” John replied adding, “And I trust her.”

Rip hesitated but John had earned his trust over the years, “I’ll contact you the moment I’m ready to leave.”

“Captain Hunter.”

Rip groaned when Gary’s voice invaded his sleep, covering his eyes with his arms as the lights came up in his small bedroom he demanded, “What?”

“I have located the Waverider’s energy signal.”

Rip froze, he slowly sat up and asked, “And?”

“The ship appears to be intact,” Gary assured, “I have not managed to contact Gideon, but this is not unexpected.”

Relief filled Rip that his ship was there, now he just had to finish the Sphere and fix an anchor point so they could return it to normal space.

And then he would have his ship back, he would have his best friend back.

“Do you have a lock on the Waverider?” Rip asked.

“Yes, Captain,” Gary assured him, “And projected her trajectory in case there is a loss of signal.”

Rip nodded, “Then I am going to get a few more hours sleep. Wake me at the usual time and I’ll finish the Sphere before contacting Constantine.”

“Okay,” Rip nodded studying the readouts, “Shut the engines down and recharge.”

Sliding out the Sphere, Rip moved to the monitor and reviewed the system information. Now the Time Sphere was ready, he created an anchor point that would allow him to fly his precious ship back into the timestream proper before bringing her to the bunker.

Since he’d woken up in John’s spare room over three weeks ago, Rip finally felt he had a chance to get back his best friend and confidant. Gary was helpful but he didn’t have the same capacities as Gideon.

No other AI ever had.

It took a few more hours until Rip was ready to enter the Time Bubble and rescue his ship.

“Gary, contact Constantine and tell him he has an hour to join me or I’m going alone,” Rip said.

“Mr Constantine swore at me,” Gary came back a few minutes later, “And told me to open the portal in five minutes.”

Rip nodded as he pulled together what he needed and packed the sphere, hearing the portal open he turned to see John walking through.

“You didn’t exactly give me time to prepare,” John noted, “I could have been doing anything.”

“I have a lock on the ship and don’t want to lose it,” Rip replied, “Now is the best time to go.”

John nodded and slid into the passenger side of the sphere, “Waiting on you.”

“Gary,” Rip called as he entered the sphere and started the engines, “I will contact you when we’re ready for re-entry. Ensure the anchor is stable at all times.”

“Yes, Captain.”

Rip glanced at his friend, “Ready?”

“As I will be,” John replied, “Let’s go.”

*********************************************

Rip frowned when they materialised within the cargo bay, and it remained in darkness. Ensuring the Sphere was powered down fully, Rip grabbed a torch and his toolkit before sliding out, John following him.

“Lights aren’t coming on,” John noted, “That does not bode well.”

“No,” Rip grimaced, he started to the door pausing at the control panel and checked the power.

“What?” John asked at the bemused look on his face.

Rip turned, “The power is fine.”

“That’s good right?”

“Yes and no,” Rip replied, “The sensors should have activated the lights.”

John licked his lips nervously before asking, “Gideon?”

“Not sure yet,” Rip mused, “Her matrix doesn’t appear damaged but…” he sighed, “I can’t find any activity.”

Wincing John noted, “Let’s keep going. Once we get to the bridge you can check properly.”

Rip nodded and manually activated the door, turning on the lights in the hallway for them as they headed for the bridge. Even though the ship was trapped and appeared to be dead it was good to be home once more.

If only he knew where Gideon was.

“I don’t like this,” Rip mused, “There is something off about how the ship seems active but there is no reaction to our presence. That’s not right. Gideon should be reacting to our presence.”

Rip pulled out a wire from the Courier on his wrist and connected it to a panel on the wall.

“What?” John demanded when Rip spun looking shocked.

“There’s a life sign,” Rip told him, disconnecting from the panel, “Coming from my room.”

“Your…” John rolled his eyes as Rip marched away frowning as he entered a section of the ship he didn’t recognise, “What the hell is this?”

Rip glanced back at him, “Gideon and I sealed it before we let the team take the ship.”

“Why didn’t the team remember it existed?” John demanded, “Because we could have used the extra space.”

“Because Gideon altered the teams’ memories so they wouldn’t,” Rip replied with a shrug, “I didn’t want them going through my things or using my room.”

“What?”

“You didn’t think I was letting them keep my ship, did you?” Rip asked annoyed, “This is my home.”

John frowned as they continued along the small section of corridor, “Who unsealed it and why?”

“That is my question,” Rip noted.

Reaching the door, he found the manual release to unlock the door which opened only a few inches. Rip could see a figure curled up on his bed through the small opening. Pushing the doors open fully Rip motioned John to stay back. They didn’t want to overwhelm whoever it was, and it was better if there was one of them back if whoever this was attacked Rip.

Reaching the bedside, Rip touched the lamp raising the light slowly and stared at the face peeking out from beneath the covers.

“Gideon?” he breathed.

“What?” John snapped, frowning when Rip motioned him to stay where he was.

Rip sat in the edge of the bed and gently stroked Gideon’s hair back, “Gideon,” he called softly, “Wake up.”

“No,” she whimpered curling away, “I don’t like this dream.”

“Gideon,” he called again.

She cried softly, “You’re never here when I open my eyes and I’m alone again.”

“I’m here,” he promised, resting his hand on her cheek, and wiping away the tears leaking from her eyes, “You’re not alone anymore.”

Her eyes opened slowly, a mixture of amazement, joy and relief covered her face, “Captain?” she breathed, grabbing the hand that was sitting on her cheek, “You’re real?”

Rip nodded softly, “I’m real.”

With a gasp Gideon moved and was suddenly in his lap, arms wrapped around him as she held onto him tightly sobbing against his shoulder. Rip gently rubbed her back and waited until she was ready to talk to him.

Finally, she sniffed and pulled back, her eyes red rimmed and Rip just wanted to take all her pain away.

“I can’t believe you’re here,” Gideon said, resting her forehead against his, “I thought I’d lost you forever.”

Rip smiled, “I thought the same for a while there.”

A pointed cough made them turn to where John was standing in the doorway, “So, we found Gideon then.”

Gideon quickly washed her face and pulled her hair back before changing into less rumpled clothing. Walking back into the main room, she smiled to see Rip standing there. It had been so many years since he’d walked off the ship to stall Mallus, both before and after she had been trapped here.

Walking to him, Gideon wrapped her arms around his waist holding on, just to be sure he was real. She just wanted to hold onto him and never let go because he had come for her, he must have known how small the odds were that she would be here, but he had still come.

Rip gently rubbed her back for a moment before he whispered, “What happened?”

Gideon sighed and stepped back from him, “We hit a time bubble. The team did not know how to deal with the problems that arose, because it was a phenomenon they’d never encountered before. It caused the engines to malfunction and due to the displaced time around the ship I was only able to contact the crew using text.”

“Which I’m guessing they ignored,” Rip frowned, glancing at John who winced.

Gideon started out the room, leading them to the bridge, “While they tried to release the ship, the self-destruct initiated.”

“That’s easy to fix,” Rip noted, “Diving into the bubble with the shields set properly would reset it.”

“I suggested that this was how you would deal with the situation,” Gideon noted, “But…”

Rip sighed, “Sara wouldn’t use my solution.”

They both turned to John who frowned, “She didn’t think it would work.”

“Because the person who was trained to travel in time since childhood and had used the solution in the past,” Rip noted sarcastically, “Plus the AI who ran the ship telling her it would were wrong?”

“Everyone thought it would kill us,” John grimaced, “We did our best to repair the ship and stop the countdown but there was nothing we could do. We were forced to abandon the Waverider. Sharpe suggested we send it deeper into the bubble so that when it exploded it wouldn’t destroy the time stream.”

“Except the Waverider did not explode when sent into the bubble,” Rip sighed, “Because as Gideon told them it reset the self-destruct. And without someone setting a release point trapped Gideon here.”

Gideon nodded sadly.

“How did this happen?” John asked, motioning to her human form.

“I do not know,” Gideon told him, “I theorised it was due to the shields not being raised when the ship passed through the bubble once more. But one minute I was a part of the ship then the next I was on the floor of the bridge, human. And completely alone.”

Rip wrapped his arm around her protectively, “How long have you been here?”

“You know time does not work like that here, Captain,” Gideon said softly, “But the chronometer shows that it has been several years chronologically. If you had not come, I would be trapped here alone for eternity,” she sighed, “Now we are trapped together.”

Shaking his head, “I thought I was the pessimistic over-dramatic one,” Rip chuckled, “Do you really think I would come in here without an exit plan? You know me better than that, Gideon.”

“You created an anchor point?” Gideon asked hopefully.

Rip nodded and found her in his arms once more, hugging him tightly, “I was not leaving you and the Waverider here.”

Releasing him, Gideon nodded smartly, “Then we have work to do to.”

Rip walked with Gideon into the engine room to reconfigure the shields and engines for their escape, leaving John to watch the energy levels on the bridge.

“Well, the entire ship is in perfect condition,” Rip noted as he opened the main panel while Gideon worked on the core.

“I had little else to do,” Gideon reminded him, “I put myself in stasis for months at a time, waking to perform maintenance.”

Rip turned and caught her hand, “I’m sorry, Gideon. I…”

“It was not your fault, Captain,” she said, “We agreed that I should go with the Legends.”

He sighed, “But I left you with them when I used the core against Mallus, and they never understood how special you are.”

A smile touched Gideon’s face, “I amused myself during their misadventures. I knew you would reappear one day, despite your belief it would kill you, the odds were higher that after the temporal electrocution you would survive the overloading of the core.”

“Nice to know,” Rip shook his head.

Gideon shook her head sadly, “I never thought you would find me here though. I feared I would be lost alone forever.”

Rip pulled her into his arms, holding her tightly, “You will never be alone again, I promise.” He pressed a soft kiss to her temple, “As long as you want me around.”

Gideon pulled back and smiled at him, “Always, my dear Captain.”

“Rip,” he corrected.

A sweet smile touched her lips as she conceded, “Rip.”

Turning back to the shields, Rip realised Gideon had a thoughtful pout on her face, “What?”

“I do not want the others to know you released the ship,” Gideon told him, “I am sure you do not either and if Mr Constantine’s relationship with Miss Tarazi is still ongoing then they will find out. Mr Constantine may not say but Miss Tarazi is likely to mention something to her brother, who will mention it to one of the others and Miss Lance will learn.”

Rip nodded, “Then we blank their memories of everything, starting with my return.”

Gideon sighed in relief, “Thank you.”

“But first we need to get the ship out of the bubble and back to the base,” Rip reminded her, “Gary will be happy to see you.”

“He just knows I am able to deal with you better than he can.”

Rip took the pilots chair looking out at the strange purple of the time bubble, while Gideon sat in the co-pilots chair so she could monitor the connection to the anchor outside the bubble.

“Ready?” Rip asked.

Gideon nodded, before glancing round at where John was sitting, “Completely.”

“Then let’s go,” Rip smiled, “John, make sure you’re restrained properly. This is going to be a bumpy trip.”

John sighed and gripped the chair, “Doesn’t surprise me.”

Glancing at Gideon, Rip took her hand, “Let’s get out of here.”

Activating the engines, Rip checked the shields before connecting with the anchor point that he’d created outside the bubble. Using the link, Rip opened a corridor out of the bubble, and as they began their exit the entire ship began to shake.

“Gideon?”

“Shields are holding, Captain,” Gideon assured him.

Rip gripped the controls, “Alright, we’re about to exit the bubble. Hold on.”

The ship began to shudder violently, Rip could see a pained expression on Gideon’s face at what was happening to her ship and wanted to comfort her, but he had to concentrate on flying the ship.

“Tell me we’re almost there,” John demanded, his voice wobbling from the vibrations.

“Exiting the bubble in three,” Gideon called, “Two. One.”

The shuddering stopped and outside suddenly became the green of the time stream once more. Gideon let out a sob of relief and Rip moved to hug her, her arms wrapped around him tightly.

“It’s okay,” Rip soothed, “You’re free.”

*********************************************

Rip landed the Waverider in the large bay he’d created for her within his base. Removing himself from the restraints, Rip turned to Gideon and hugged her once more.

“I’m bloody blind,” John snapped from his chair.

Rip shared an amused smile with Gideon, and they helped John out the chair, guiding him into the main lab.

“Gary,” Rip called, “Connect with the Waverider and perform a full system check.”

“Yes, Captain,” Gary replied before adding, “Welcome home, Gideon.”

Gideon beamed and rested her hand on the console, “It’s good to be back, brother.”

Rip smiled at the joy filling Gideon’s eyes at being reunited with one of her siblings, the loss of them had affected her so much.

“Before we allow you to settle in,” Rip told her, “We should get John home.”

Gideon nodded asking, “How is your eyesight, Mr Constantine?”

“I can see colours now,” John noted, waving his hand in front of his face.

Rip retrieved the memory wiper from its drawer, programming it while Gideon spoke with John. Part of him was sad that his friend would forget that he was alive, but Rip understood Gideon’s fear. If the others knew the ship had been freed, they would want to take it once more. It was not only Gideon’s home, but she had been abandoned by them when they ignored her advice, so Rip wanted to ensure she felt safe.

Activating the portal back to John’s house, they guided him through into his kitchen.

“My eyesight is back to normal,” John noted as he looked around.

“John, are you back?” Zari’s voice came just before she appeared in the kitchen. She paused seeing Gideon, “Who is this?”

“This is…” John stopped as Rip hit Zari with the memory wiper. Rip caught and lay her down on the floor as John demanded, “What are you doing?”

Rip sighed, “I’m sorry, John. But Gideon doesn’t want any of them to know we got the Waverider back and I know you trust Miss Tarazi, but I can’t take the chance she’ll slip.”

“So, what?” John demanded as Rip raised the wiper to him, “I forget you survived. I get to keep thinking that my friend is dead?”

Gideon caught his hand, “This is my request. Rip is doing this for me.”

Deflating, John sighed, “So, I don’t get to remember either of you are safe?”

“Can you keep this secret from Miss Tarazi?” Gideon asked softly.

Nodding John reminded her, “I can, and I will.”

To Rip’s surprise, Gideon caught Rip’s hand and lowered it before she hugged John who squeezed her tightly for a moment before letting her go.

“Take care of one another,” John told them, “You know where I am if you need me.”

Rip clasped his friend’s hand briefly before opening the portal and, wrapping an arm around Gideon, led her back to the base.

Gideon sat in the comfortable living room area of the base, amazed to no longer be trapped within the time bubble. She had spent so many years alone, so long wandering the corridors of her ship wishing for someone to find and bring her home.

She had dreamed so often of Rip’s return, only to be bitterly disappointed when she woke alone. Now he was just across the room making them tea. He had come for her, and Gideon was so happy to have him back.

Rip placed the mugs of tea he’d made for them on the table before taking the seat at her side. Gideon leaned into him, enjoying the tactile sensation, especially as Rip wrapped his arm around her hugging her close.

“What do we do now, Captain?” Gideon asked softly.

Rip shrugged, “We’re free, Gideon. We do whatever we want. But there is one thing you need to do.”

“What?” confusion filled her.

He smiled, “Stop calling me Captain and use my name.”

Gideon gave him a shy smile, “Of course, Rip.”

Pressing a soft kiss to the top of her head, Rip hugged her close and they sat together ready for whatever the future held for them.

#ripfic #legends of tomorrow #rip week 2021 #rip week #rip appreciation week #Rip Hunter #Gideon #John Constantine #zari tarazi

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thebluenoteblog · 5 years ago

Text

Just a Number

Summary: While celebrating a win with the team, you overhear a conversation that you really wish you hadn’t heard.

Player: Joel Edmundson

Word Count: 2k

*I’ve never written the Hurricanes before, but I did my best.*

Requested: Can you do a Colton parayko or Joel edmundson one where they have a age gap (reader is 21-23) and on day at a party you hear his friends talking about the age gap and you also hear him not defend your relationship and you leave and when he comes back he sees a blanket and pillow on the couch and the bedroom door is locked and you tell him what he did and you ignore him when he tries to talk to you but that next morning you go downstairs and he runs to you and says he sorry and you guys make up

You were never much of a party person. However, there was no denying that your boyfriend was the definition of life of the party. It wasn’t uncommon for you to find yourself in one of Raleigh’s bars late into the night after a game celebrating a win with the boys and their girlfriends. It wasn’t your favorite pastime. You would much rather be curled on the couch with a good book and a nice glass of wine than sloppy drunk on a Wednesday night. You managed though.

You were managing your way through your second beer of the night when you excused yourself to go to the bathroom. You weren’t gone long. Three, maybe four minutes. The boys and their girlfriends were all pretty far gone though, so their social skills were basically nonexistent at this point.

You paused a table away, still able to hear their too loud voices clearly over the bustle of the bar. “I don’t understand how you do it man.”

“I could never date someone that much younger than me, I would feel like I was babysitting all the time.”

A round of laughs and no defense from Joel, he was laughing right along with them. You should have made your presence know. You should have walked up to the table and stopped them from making asses of themselves. You couldn’t make yourself. The temptation of finding out what they truly thought of your relationship, what Joel truly thought of your relationship, was to strong.

So, you stood partially concealed behind a group of men and listened.

“You’ve got to think about this. You’re at totally different points in your life, man.”

You watched as Joel nodded and took another drink of his beer.

He wasn’t wrong. You were getting your college degree and Joel was traveling North America playing in the NHL making millions. That had nothing to do with the age gap though, it would have been the same story whether you were twenty-one or twenty-six.

“You aren’t really planning on staying with her, are you?”

You didn’t want to hear the answer to that question. You already had your purse, so you turned and walked out the door before he had time to answer. You didn’t say goodbye. You didn’t tell anyone you were leaving. You didn’t want them to see the tears in your eyes. Childish? Yes. Why did that matter? You’d done everything you could to prove yourself to them and still, none of it mattered. So you walked down the street, ordered an Uber from a McDonalds and waited.

****

“Where’s (Y/N)?” Joel asked, craning his neck to look around the bar.

Sebastian turned his head, joining him in the search, “I don’t see her.”

“Could she still be in the bathroom?” Petr asked, “She isn’t out here.”

“It’s been like fifteen minutes,” Joel said, though his concept of time was skewed by alcohol and it had been much longer then fifteen minutes. He started to stand from his chair, “I’m more worried about something having happened to her between here and the bathroom.”

Sara put out a hand, as the soberest person at the table she was thinking the clearest. “Sit down, I’ll go check the bathroom. I don’t think they would take to kindly to you walking into the women’s restroom.”

She stood and walked off, Joel leaned back in his chair bouncing his leg and pealing at the sticker on his bottle. “Man, she’s fine.” Haydn said from beside him, “stop freaking out.”

Joel didn’t take his eyes off the bottle, just nodded, “Yeah, you’re probably right.”

“Haydn? Right about something? It’s a miracle.” Sebastian said in an attempt to lighten the mood. Haydn threw a straw wrapper at him and he swatted it away without much effort.

“Sara’s coming back,” Petr said, nodding his head through the crowd.

She took a seat with her lips pressed together and said, “She wasn’t in there, or anywhere along the way. Did you try calling her?”

He quickly placed his beer on the table and pulled his phone out of his pocket. The phone rang once, twice, then voicemail. He pulled it away from his ear and stared at it. He was feeling really fucking sober by that point.

He tried again. Straight to voicemail. He looked up at the rest of the group, “Straight to voicemail.”

They all looked around at each other, concerned. “Do you share you share your locations with each other?” Sara asked.

Joel nodded, a little bit of the panic leaving his face as he pulled out his phone and went to the app. No Location Found. “Her phone is turned off.” He looked up, eyes wide, “What do you do when someone goes missing in a bar?”

“Do you think maybe she just left?” Haydn asked. “Like maybe she just went home?”

Joel shook his head, “She wouldn’t do that. She wouldn’t just leave and not say anything.”

“Eddy, it’s a hell of a lot more likely that she went home than that she got kidnapped in a crowded bar and no one noticed.” Haydn said, “We’ll stay here, you go back to the apartment and see if she’s there.”

He pushed his lips together and closed his eyes, trying to think logically through the panic and what was left of the alcohol in his system. “Okay.” He said eventually, “Okay, I’ll go see if she’s there.”

****

Twenty minutes later he was unlocking the door of your shared apartment and pushing it open. He stepped inside and the first thing he noticed was that in the middle of an otherwise spotless apartment (courtesy of you, despite the team thinking he was babysitting you, you were the one cooking for him, cleaning up after him, and in general making sure he was taken care of) there was a blanket and a pillow thrown on the couch. They weren’t folded. Not the way they would have been if you had been leaving them for a guest. They were unceremoniously tossed.

They hadn’t been there when you’d come home to change after the game before heading to the bar. At least he knew you were here.

He closed the door behind him and as he flipped the lock he called, “(Y/N)?”

There was no answer. He could see into the living room and kitchen from where he was standing so that really only left one of the two bedrooms as options. As he walked past the guest bedroom he pushed the door open. Nope.

He made it to the end of the hallway and twisted the door knob of the master bedroom without pausing in his stride because, well, he expected the door to open. It didn’t. He ran right into it, took a step back and twisted it again. Locked. “(Y/N)?” he asked through the door, knocking a couple times, “Can you let me in?”

There was no verbal response, but through the door he could hear her turn up the TV to tune him out. He pounded harder on the door, “(Y/N), seriously! Let me in!”

There was no sign whatsoever that she had heard him. He sighed, “Babe, what did I do?” He asked making sure his voice was loud enough to be heard over whatever show she was using to drown out his voice.

On the other side of the door, you turned down the TV and responded, “Go away, Joel. I’ll talk to you in the morning.”

He could hear in your voice that you’d been crying. He ran back through the events of the night trying to find anything that he had done that was bad enough to illicit this response from his usually stable, calm, reasonable girlfriend. He couldn’t come up with anything. “(Y/N), I swear to god I will break down this door if you don’t let me in.”

“I don’t want to deal with this right now! Go away!” You yelled, finally snapping and throwing a pillow from his side of the bed at the door.

He flinched at the impact and took a few steps back. He stared at the door for a few more minutes wondering what the fuck he’d done and how he was supposed to fix it. After a long moment of contemplation, he headed to the couch to grab his pillow and blanket.

****

It was a good thing you usually walked staring at the ground when you were in a bad mood. If you hadn’t been, you probably would have tripped over your boyfriend who was laying sprawled on the floor outside your door like a guard dog. You stepped over him and made your way into the kitchen.

You must have been slamming things around louder than you thought you were because the notoriously heavy sleeper appeared behind you within five minutes. You did your best to ignore him, but it was difficult given his following you around with a confused, guilty look on his face. It was like he felt bad for what he’d done but he wasn’t quite sure what that thing was.

Finally, you dropped the bowl of eggs you were whisking on the counter with a clatter and turned to face him with your hands on your hips, “Okay, ask.”

He swallowed, eying you nervously like you were some type of wild animal. “Why are you so mad at me?”

You were angry and not quite thinking clearly. “Don’t you mean to ask why I’m acting like a child?”

“What are you talking about?” He asked, his eyebrows coming together in confusion. Then his face paled. “Oh.”

“Yeah, oh.” You said, “Make your own eggs, babysitter.” Then you returned to your whisking.

He stood quietly behind you, knowing he had to do something to fix this, but not quite sure what. As you poured the eggs into the pan he decided that saying just about anything was better than saying nothing, so he decided on, “Babe, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

You hummed, acknowledging that you’d heard him but not accepting the apology.

“To be honest, I don’t even remember what all was said. I was mostly tuning them out.” He said, taking a tentative step toward her. “I know I should have stopped them, but it just didn’t seem like an argument worth having.”

“Is this argument worth it?” You asked.

“No.”

“Well I’m glad to hear that you feel that way. Maybe next time you won’t just sit there while all your friends try to convince you to break up with me.”

“I didn’t!” He defended himself, walking up to stand next to you, leaning against the counter and trying to get you to meet his eyes.

“Really?” You asked, “Because that’s sure what it seemed like from my end.”

“(Y/N),” He said, voice serious, so uncharacteristic for a man who prided himself on being so lighthearted, “The only part of that conversation I remember was telling them that I plan on marrying you someday.”

You looked up from your eggs, “I didn’t hear you say that.”

“I did, (Y/N), I swear.” He said, “They asked me if I was going to stay with you-,”

“Actually, they said you aren’t really going to stay with her, are you.” You corrected him.

He swallowed, and you stared into each other’s eyes as you waited for him to say something. Eventually he said, “Yeah, they did. They were wrong though, and I told them that. They shut up after I did.”

You dumped the finished eggs on the plate you’d set out then turned to face him, tears in your eyes. “You really said that?”

“I did.” He said, “I swear to god, (Y/N). I wouldn’t lie about that.”

He took a step toward you, closing the distance and wrapping his arms around you. “I know I should have said something sooner and you have no idea how sorry I am, but I don’t think they’ll bring it up again.”

You blinked back tears as you buried your face in his chest. “I’m sorry too. I guess I kind of proved them right last night, didn’t I?”

He hummed low in his chest, “No, baby. Besides, it doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks. We both know I’d be lost without you taking care of my irresponsible ass.”

#Joel Edmundson #joel edmundson imagine #Joel Edmundson Imagines #hockey imagines #nhl imagines

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avasharpe · 4 years ago

Text

Spooky Scary Skeletons

Chapter: one/one

Summary: "What about a chick magnet and a chick?" Sara asked, pulling up the picture on her phone to show Ava.

"No," Ava said, scrunching up her nose in disgust.

The couple was lounging on the bed at Ava's house that night. With Sara laying on her stomach sideways across the bed and Ava leaning against the headboard with a glass of wine.

"Okay, what about a coffee barista and a frappuccino?" Sara asked.

Fandom: DC’s Legends of Tomorrow.

Relationship: Sara Lance/Ava Sharpe.

Characters: Sara Lance, Ava Sharpe, Charlie, Zari Tomaz, Mick Rory, Nora Darhk, and Ray Palmer.

Chapter Rating: General Audiences.

Additional Tags: Halloween, Costume Party, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Avalance Halloween fun! (This is an old one but It’s not posted here so!)

Read at AO3

Read at FFN

……………………………………………………………………

"Hey, Sara?" Zari asked, pulling her yogurt spoon from her lips. "Can I turn the bridge into a haunted maze for the party?"

"What party?" Sara asked, sitting her oatmeal breakfast down on the table next to Ava.

It was a fairly late morning and the crew was lazy in their efforts to get up and start the day. The majority of them were still in their pajamas as they got breakfast and were not too chatty as they ate. Apart from Zari, Ray, and Ava who were always the early birds of the team.

"The Halloween party? We are having a party, right!" Zari exclaimed.

"A party?" Nate said, popping up his head from where he had been staring into his coffee.

"A party?" Ray sang, as cheerful as ever that morning.

"Oh no," Ava said, knowing exactly where this was going.

"Can we have a party?" Mona sang, perking up.

"Can I get drunk?" Mick added, smiling despite the weary look he had a moment ago.

"Can I get laid?" Charlie sang as they all broke out in song for the last verse.

"Will there be a pretty girl for me to serenade?"

"Not you too," Ava said looking over as had Nora joined in. "It’s too early for this."

"A party, a party. Can we have a party?"

"Can I get drunk? Can I get laid?"

"Will, there be a pretty girl for me to serenade?"

Ava dropped her head into her folded arms as everyone else sang the rhyme again, but Sara wrapped her arm around Ava’s shoulder giving her a quick squeeze. "All right that's enough. We can have a party, but keep it to the bridge."

"Yes!" They all shouted.

Zari pulled out her tablet and pulled up the Pinterest board she had made with all her ideas. Her enthusiasm was contagious as they all talked over each other about the drinks and decorations they wanted. Ava gave Sara a weary look knowing how out of control these things could get, but Sara just smiled and leaned in. She kissed her lips and scooted her chair closer to her.

"Relax, it’ll be fun. I promise."

"I don’t know," Ava said, still not on board with the party. "I’ve never even been tricking or treating, much less an actual Halloween party."

"All the more reason for us to do this, I’m sure you’ll enjoy it. We can dress up, have some fun food and drinks and if you’re lucky I’ll dance for you."

Ava blushed and hind her pink cheeks in Sara’s shoulder, kissing her bare skin. "Okay."

Sara leaned her head down onto Ava’s and they enjoyed the quiet moment together, despite the loud and busy conversation happening in front of them. That is, until Zari decided to try out the strobe lights and dubstep music. Causing Ava to jump and fall back in her chair.

"Zari!" Ava shouted as Sara helped her up. "A little bit of warning next time okay."

"Oops."

……………………………………………………………………

"What about a chick magnet and a chick?" Sara asked, pulling up the picture on her phone to show Ava.

"No, it just seems wrong," Ava said, scrunching up her nose in disgust.

The couple was lounging on the bed at Ava's house that night. With Sara laying on her stomach sideways across the bed and Ava leaning against the headboard with a glass of wine.

"Okay, what about a coffee barista and a frappuccino?" Sara asked.

"No, what about Marcie and Patty from Peanuts?" Ava asked showing Sara the photo she had found on her phone.

"No," Sara said, with a shake of her head. "We could do a cat lady and her cat."

"No, Mona said, she's doing that. Or something like that." Ava said, trying to think about what Mona was saying about her costume the other day.

"What about a skeleton and the grim reaper."

"No, but, what if we did Edgar Allan Poe and his raven?"

"No, what about a skeleton and a vampire!"

"No, if we're going to do a couples costume I want us to match more and why do I get the idea that all of your costumes are the sexy kind?" Ava asked looking down at Sara with her eyebrows raised.

Sara gave her a sultry smile and a wink. Ava just rolled her eyes and looked back down at her phone. It wasn't necessarily Ava’s first Halloween with Sara, but it was her first Halloween party. Last year they had just watched Halloween movies and handed out candy to trick-or-treaters and that was Ava's plan for this year as well, but Sara had never needed an excuse to dress up or to party.

"What about a pair of Beanie Babies?" Ava suggested.

"NO!" Sara yelled, rolling over onto her back and onto Ava's feet.

"Okay, Sara just admit it. You want to wear a skin tight costume, so I can try and find something we can agree on," Ava said, fed up with the current argument that was going nowhere.

"I just want to wear a sexy skin tight costume," Sara said, rolling over until she was resting in Ava's lap. "It's Halloween, I just want to have fun, get drunk, and wear a costume that has you staring at me all night."

"Okay fine," Ava said, letting her fingers run threw Sara's hair. "But I would rather wear something fun."

"Okay," Sara agreed.

They went over several options that they have been throwing at each other for the last hour. They had been having this fight all week as they tried to figure out something that they could do together. Now, they were down to the wire as it was October 30th.

"You really want to be a skeleton?" Ava asked.

"Yes," Sara said, smiling up at her.

"Okay, well I guess I could be a ghost, but like one with a white suit and hair."

Sara smiled imagining Ava in a suit with blood. She watched has Sara wiggled in excitement and got up from the bed. She went one grabbed Ava's Time Courier and opened a portal into their bedroom on the Waverider. Ava followed her threw the open portal as Sara opened the second drawer in the cabinet that was built into the wall and pulled out She held up the costume for Ava to see. It was definitely a sexy skin tight costume. It was a three piece skeleton corset, leggings, and black with white rimmed tutu.

Ava just shook her head and smiled. "Okay but now we need to get a costume for me."

……………………………………………………………………

The Halloween party was in full swing. The majority of the lights had been turned off, leaving only red and gray lights. Zari had gotten an actual smoke machine that had flooded the ground. With ghosts and skeletons hung up around the room and a vast array of spider webs crisscrossed the ceiling Zari had gone all out. Ava had already managed to get caught up in one of the spider webs and after a cup of blood punch that was heavily spiked, she was happy to sit for the rest of the party talk with Nora at one of the tables.

"Why a witch?” Ava asked Nora as she set down her yellow and black scarf on the table narrowly avoiding one of the candles set up among the pumpkins.

Nora just shrugged, "I think Ray just wanted an excuse to wear the beard and I couldn't say no."

They both looked over to where Ray was dressed as Dumbledore complete with a long white beard, standing next to the food table and talking with Nate who was dressed as Indiana Jones.

"I suppose I don't have to ask why you chose your costume,” Nora said, referring to the ghost white and gray suit that Ava was wearing along with the skull makeup and splashes of blood and cuts, before looking over to where Sara was dancing with Mona and Charlie, the white skull face makeup and bones of her costume glowed in the dark light. Accenting the low cut corset and short skirt.

"It’s what she wanted."

Nora laughed and Ava rolled her eyes at her friend, looking back at Sara. She caught Ava’s eye and now was purposely dancing seductively until Charlie pulled her aside and they went over can grab another drink.

"We’re not whipped," Ava said looking back at Nora.

"No absolutely not," Nora said with a shake of her head and a frown on her lips, as she quickly took another sip of her drink.

"Yeah, of course not," Ava said shaking your head too fast.

They took one look at each other and burst out into a fit of giggles. They both knew that they were head over heels for their partners.

"Hey, did you finish the book club book?" Ava asked thinking about the Halloweenish, boy wizard book set in England. Mona had been appalled when both of them admitted they had never read it.

"Yes," Nora said reaching over and slapping Ava's arm. "And you should too it's actually pretty good. "

"I know," Ava said frowning at the thought. "I just read the first few pages, but it was just dull and childish and the way his family treats him…"

"It gets better," Nora said. "And you know how disappointed Mona is going to be."

"What's going to disappoint me?" Mona asked appearing at their table out of breath I'm dancing but smiling, complete with cute cat whiskers headband and cat ears.

"The fact that we didn't save you any of Lady Bird Johnson's pecan pie," Nora said, quickly covering and trying her best to not look guilty.

"Oh that's okay," Mona said, waving them off. "Besides I've already had three pieces of pumpkin pie, it's my true favorite."

"I'll have to remember that for Thanksgiving," Ava said with a smile.

Mona squealed and did a whole body wiggle. "I love the holidays! Now come on you have to come dance with me."

She grabbed both Nora and Avas’ arms ignoring their whines and groans of protest as she dragged them onto the dance floor.

Ava barely lasted for fifteen minutes, before she was making up an excuse that she was thirsty and headed for the drinks that were set up on the table in the parlor. It was a bit better lit than the rest of the bridge, although not by much. Ava almost tripped over Charlie who was crouched over on the floor with a broom and dustpan picking up shards of glass. Ava looked over the mess and grabbed a rag to help whipped up the spilled drinks.

"Are you all right?"

"Yeah, Charlie nodded. “It's just those fancy glasses Zari insisted on using. They just shatter the second they hit the floor."

"Are those part of the decorations?" Ava said looking closer to see the outline of bloody footprints leading out of the room.

"Oh bullocks. It must be from Sara, she said she was gonna go get the vacuum."

"I'm going to go check on her."

There was a heavy trail of blood from mostly side or heel footprints and Ava's worry grew as she followed them over to the bathroom across the hall, rather than to the Med-Bay where Sara should have gone. They stopped at the door to the bathroom and she quickly knocked.

"Hey Sara, it's me honey. Can you open the door?"

The door to the bathroom slid open to reveal Sara on the other side of the bathroom. She was sitting on the edge of the tub with one foot resting on her other knee underneath a towel.

"Thank you Gideon,” Sara said.

Ava stepped into the bathroom and followed the blood trail. When she saw the small pool of blood on the towel, she quickly rushed over, kneeling down next to Sara and taking a look at her foot.

"It's not as bad as it looks,” Sara assured her.

Ava wasn't quite so sure. Sara's whole foot was bloody with thousands of tiny pieces of glass shards embedded across the sole of her foot. Sara grabbed a small piece of glass out of her toe with a pair of tweezers and dropped it into a bowl to her left. Ava grabbed the edge of the towel and tried to lightly press it against the blood that gushed from the now open wound.

"We have to go to the Med-Bay,” Ava said looking up at her.

"No," Sara began to protest.

"Sara," Ava said grabbing her hand and gave it a squeeze. "You're bleeding quite profusely and at this rate, it's going to take at least an hour to get all this glass out."

"That was what I advised the Captain to do as well," Gideon sniped at her.

Sara rolled her eyes at both of them.

"I saw that," Gideon said.

"No, I'd rather do it myself, I'll go to the Med-Bay after I get everything out," Sara said taking out another piece of glass.

Ava just shook her head and looked back down at Sara’s foot. She got up and went over to the cabinet, grabbing another towel and bring it over. Sara switched it out with the drenched bloody towel and Ava took it straight to the trash shoot. Ava knew Sara wouldn't listen to anyone's medical advice but her own. Even if it meant withstanding a significant amount of pain and blood loss.

Ava sat down next to Sara and loosely wrapped up her foot in the new towel as carefully as possible, before pulling one arm under her knees and the other behind Sara’s back and picking her up.

"Ava what the... Put me down," Sara protested wiggling in her arms, but Ava just held onto Sara tighter as Gideon open the door for them.

"Sara, it's not going to kill you to just go to the Med-Bay straight away," Ava said, as she walked down the hall.

Sara let out a long drawn out and dramatic sigh but, she stopped wiggling and put one arm around Ava's neck.

"You don't have to carry me, you know, I can hop."

"I know," Ava said with a smile. "But one must always carry their damsel in distress."

Sara laughed at that and leaning up to kiss Ava’s collarbone, since she couldn't quite reach her lips.

When they reached the Med-Bay Ava set Sara down and snapped the bracelet around her wrist. Gideon quickly got to work on Sara's foot, as the robot arms came out and took multiple pieces a glass out at once. The bleeding hadn’t stopped but, Gideon applied a mist over the wounds and it was slowing down. Ava watched as Sara relaxed back into the chair, before lazily looking over at Ava with an easy smile.

"Gideon? Did you drug Sara?"

"Of course, I gave Captain Lance something for the pain as well as a light sedative that I give to all my difficult patients. It should wear off within a few minutes."

Ava couldn't help but laugh, especially when Sara pouted at her so adorably.

"It's not funny," Sara said.

Ava didn't respond, she just leaned in and kissed Sara, reveling in the fact that she quickly smiled against Ava's lips.

Gideon was quick and efficient, as soon as the robot hands disappeared back into the walls Sara sat up and pulled her foot back to inspect it. All the glass and blood were gone leaving only fresh new pink skin.

"Thank you Gideon," Ava said, briefly looking away from Sara and up to the ceiling. "Ah hem?"

Ava nudged Sara who prodded the new skin of her sole. "Yeah, thanks Gid."

"You’re welcome Captain."

"Ready to go back to the party?" Sara asked looking up at her.

Ava’s face betrayed her with a disgruntled look, she leaned down and rested her elbows and upper body on the chair.

"Not a fan of the party?"

"It’s fun, it’s just not really my thing, but I know it’s your thing, so we can go back for a little while longer."

Sara leaned forward and placed a kiss on Ava’s forehead. "It’s okay, I’m kinda partied out too. It’s not as fun as it was when I was 20."

Ava giggled and got back up, she held out her hand. "Want to go home, watch a movie, and hand out candy to all the cute kids."

Sara grabbed her hand and swung her legs around. She stood up and let Ava pull her in for a kiss, that was soft and sweet as they melted into their lips.

"I’m gonna go grab some candy and some wine and I’ll meet you back at the house," Sara said smoothing out the lapel of Ava’s suit.

"After you put on shoes!" Ava insisted.

"Of course."

Sara smiled and kissed Ava again, before untangling herself from Ava’s arms. She walked out the door, but not before she stopped, she held onto the door frame and winked at her. Teasing Ava with a shake of her tutu-clad butt before she disappeared.

Ava let out a breath as the heat rose in her cheeks and programed the Time Courier that was around her wrist. She opened a portal and stepped into the dark living room. She pulled out her phone and used it to turn on the lamp lights and start the fire. She ran upstairs and stripped out of her suit costume, and into a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt. Ava was relieved to be able to wipe away the heavy makeup and went back downstairs.

After grabbing two wine glasses and pulling up Beetlejuice on the tv, she heard the sound of the portal opening behind her and turned to see Sara walking in. She had traded her corset for a skeleton shit, but kept the tutu and tights, and had also wiped her face clean. Sara held up the bottle of wine and a bowl of candy that she placed on the table in the hall, then flicked on the porch light and walked back over to her. Ava reached out her arms and Sara ran up to her, Ava picked her up with ease as Sara wrapped her legs around her waist.

Sara giggled as Ava sat down on the couch with Sara in her lap and relaxed back into the cushions. Sara leaned forward and poured them each a glass of wine as Ava started the movie. They both settled in as the movie started and Ava couldn’t help but sigh in content.

"This is nice, Thank you," Ava said looking down and Sara. Sometimes she was so overwhelmed by how much she loved this woman. She felt like she was floating on cloud nine when Sara smiled at her.

Which she did, Sara smiled and kissed her lips. "I’m happy anywhere you are."

Ava kissed her again and they settled in to watch the movie. However, the quiet didn’t last long as the doorbell rang.

Sara eagerly jumped up and ran to the door with Ava trailing behind her. She leaned against the wall as she watched Sara open the door and great the kids, giving them each a handful of candy and complemented their costumes. This, a quite domestic holiday with Sara, this was perfect.

#Sara Lance #Ava Sharpe #Avalance #legends of tomorrow #DC's Legends of Tomorrow #otp: I love you ya goober #DC #My Fanfics #my writing #my work #happy halloween #halloween

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aluthorand-asupercorp · 5 years ago

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Prompt from: carterkane008

Can u write one where lena goes to the wave rider (set post hour 2 of the crisis)Like everyone is worried about kara since she didnt cry or anything after see her planet and the universe gets destroyed then alex and lena teleport into the waverider and when everyone talks to alex about how worried they r about lena. And lena getting angry about how so many people knew kara for years,and alex is like kara is very strong but to everyone's surprise she breaks down in front of lena hugging her.

Kara leaned over the screen, watching it again and again: the disappearance of Argo and her Earth. The same wave of antimatter erased her people every few seconds, and she restarted it when it finished. Her home, her world, what was left of her homeworld, all erased like they’d never existed. The reverse of the big bang, right before her eyes. Kara swiped the screen and made it begin again. People were speaking behind her, but she paid them no mind. She tried to imagine her mother’s last moments. Had she been scared? Had she been brave? Had she thought about Kara before she had gone? Clark had told her about how Alura told he and Lois to save Jon while they could, but Kara really hoped her mom had a moment to worry about her. Just one. The first tear tried to fall. Kara squared her jaw, ground her teeth, and waited for the moment to pass. She wouldn’t cry. She couldn’t.

“You know,” the Waverider drawled, “watching it doesn’t change it. You might as well stop.” Kara swiped the screen again, and a small crack appeared where she pushed down too hard. “Easy there, Superpower girl. I didn’t mean it.” Kara had had just about enough of Leonard Snart’s Snark™. She stared at the crack in the screen and considered pushing down on it, just out of a need to cause more damage to something, to even let an inanimate object feel a fraction of what she did. Oliver and Barry had known these things were coming for years. Last year, when they met The Monitor, she knew something was coming, but if she had been able to prepare, she would have done something, anything. Now almost everyone was gone.

“Hey,” a low voice asked behind her. “Are you okay?”

Kara cleared her throat before she turned. She knew who was there. Kate had abandoned her cowl, knowing it served no purpose in this group of strangers. She trusted Kara, so if they knew Supergirl’s secret identity, Batwoman’s must be safe as well. “I’m fine,” Kara lied. She could see the pity on Kate’s face. Kate Kane, the Dark Knight, the fierce protector of Gotham, pitied Kara. Kara wasn’t used to being pitied, not since she’d sent away Mon-El.

“That sounds like a lie,” Kate said quietly, making sure not to draw attention from those around them. “Trust me, I am the Royal Highness of saying I’m fine when I’m not.”

Kara nodded. She didn’t want to lie to Kate; she didn’t want to tell the truth either. Not right now. “I am no stranger to losing those close to me. There’s work to do, though.”

Kate leaned a little closer to Kara. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but everyone is kind of watching you.” Kara looked over Kate’s shoulder just in time to see Clark looking away. He was the only one who could hear what Kate had said, but she accidentally caught the eyes of Iris, Lois, and Barry. The four of them had been huddled together, talking about Kara. She had been so focused on the screen she hadn’t even heard them.

“Of course, they are,” Kara mumbled. She raised her voice, “I’m fine, okay. Everyone can stop watching me like I might explode!”

Mia folded her arms and smirked at Kara. “Yep, that will convince them.”

Kara heard a portal closing in the hall of the Waverider. “Uh oh,” Leonard Snark mumbled through the speaker system. Everyone’s attention left Kara as they waited to see who was in the hallway.

“Just calm down!” Alex’s voice drifted into the bridge, “Don’t be so angry with us, please!” Kara heard heels clicking closer, along with two racing heartbeats.

The voice Kara had been hoping to hear entered the room before its owner did. “Where is she? How dare you? I could be helping J’onn. I could be guiding the refugees. How dare you bring me here?” Lena turned sharply into the bridge of the Waverider.

“This looks like trouble,” Leonard gloated.

Lena’s eyes searched the room, landing quickly on Kara by the main computer. She took in Kate, and how close Kate was standing to Kara. “Supergirl,” Lena growled, storming through the groups milling about the bridge. “What is the meaning of this?”

Kate stepped in front of Kara, blocking Lena’s way to her. “I don’t know who you are-“ Kate began, but Lena cut in.

“And I don’t care if you ever find out, Bat Lady.” Lena sneered. “But if you don’t move, you’re about to find out exactly how long I’ve put into combat training.”

Kara put a gentle hand on Kate’s shoulder. “It’s okay, Kate,” she said quietly. Kate stepped to the side, arms crossed angrily over her bat symbol. She growled, “It’s Batwoman, thanks,” but no one but Kara could hear it over Lena’s rage.

“Those people are afraid, Supergirl,” Lena continued, zeroing in on Kara and pushing angrily on the symbol of the House of El. “You don’t get to have your sister fetch me. There is so much to do, and I didn’t help those people just to end up on some fucking ship while you all hide from this crisis. Are you safe here? Is that what this is?” Kara looked at the ground. “I knew you could be cowardly,” Lena raged on, “but taking all your closest Superfriends and hiding them here?” Lena looked at the people she didn’t know. “I’ve got to say, you seem to be missing a few people.” Lena locked eyes with Kara. “There’s more room here, why don’t you grab a few more precious people while the rest of us suffer in fear?”

Sara looked ready to step between Kara and Lena, but Kara raised a hand and shook her head. The motion did not get by Lena. “Oh, I see. You’re in charge of everyone, right? And all of these people know who you are, don’t they Supergirl?” Lena indicated Ray and the Superman that looked just like him. “These two?” Kara nodded, and Lena continued. “Let me guess, them too?” She gestured to Mia, Lyla, and John, who’s eyes were still red after the loss of Oliver. Kara nodded again. “How long did it take you to tell them? Ten minutes? Maybe an hour? Because they’re not Luthor’s, right?”

Alex had had enough. “Lena, too much.”

“Why, Alex? Because you know this is your fault too? Director of the DEO?”

“We didn’t bring you here for this,” the Monitor’s heavy voice intoned. “You may be the key to helping the paragons save the universe.

“What?” Lena growled, crossing her arms while she glared at Kara, who had still not said a word.

“The Paragons. The heroes who are our last hope. We need your help to determine who our other paragons are. We have four of them.” The Monitor pointed at each of them in turn. “The Paragon of Truth,” he indicated Earth 96 Superman, “the Paragon of Destiny,” Sara Lance, “the Paragon of Courage, and the Paragon of Hope,” The Monitor finally swept his arm towards Kate and then Kara.

“Big surprise you’re not the Paragon of Truth,” Lena cut in. Kara met Lena’s eyes and didn’t look away.

“I believe that together you and the ATOM can find our last three paragons. Together, with them, we can save the Universe.” The Monitor continued like Lena had never cut in.

Lena took a deep breath and let it out heavily. “Okay.” She still stared down Kara, and Kate made a fist. “I’ll help.”

“I’ll show you where we’re working,” Ray said cheerfully, breaking the tension. Lena finally looked away from Kara and followed Ray to the other side of the bridge computer. He began explaining the algorithm they were working on, and Kara let out a shaky breath.

The rest of the bridge cleared out. Most of the heroes spared a glance at Kara, wondering if they should say something to her. “What was that about?” Kate asked as Alex approached them.

“Nothing,” Kara said, eyes down.

“That is not nothing,” Kate glared at Lena, where she and Ray stood side by side, typing into the panel.

“I hurt her. That’s all.”

“Did you break up with her?” Kate asked.

Alex choked on air. “Break up with her? What? They’re best friends.” Alex thought for a second. “Or they were.” Alex rubbed Kara’s shoulder. She missed the disbelieving look Kate gave her. “Are you okay? I’m sorry. I tried to warn her not to go in on you, but you know Lena.”

“I’m okay. I get why she’s mad.” Kara kept her eyes turned down. “I’m gonna go get something to eat while they work.”

“You want us to come with you?” Kate asked.

“No, I’ll be fine. Let me know when they’re done.” Kara left the room, eager to escape the eyes of everyone who was watching her. She didn’t see Lena look at her either.

Kara sat in the cargo hold, knees pulled to her chest, her body as small as she could make it. She was tucked between a box and a wall, with only a few inches left for her to move freely. They’re gone, she thought to herself. They’re all gone. The child Mon-El saved. Her childhood best friend. Her mother, The council. Every Kryptonian in the galaxy except for Clark was gone, and there was no coming back this time. Kara refused to let tears fall, as they tried to fall again. She took a deep, shaky breath. There’s not time for this now. The multiverse needs me. I am the Paragon of Hope. I have to stay hopeful.

“Are you hiding from me?”

Kara scrambled to her feet. Lena was leaning in the doorway of the cargo hold. “Not just you,” Kara mumbled.

“So you can talk.”

“You had a lot to say. It seemed better to just wait.”

Lena watched Kara with scrunched up eyebrows. Her eyes flashed dangerously. “But you had nothing to say for yourself, Paragon of Hope?”

Kara slumped, leaning against the box she’d been sitting behind. “I’m not feeling much hope right now.” Lena eyed Kara. Kara could hear Lena’s heart pounding, and she knew the woman was still angry at her. “Lena could you just-“ Kara paused, worried she was about the make things worse, but Lena didn’t interrupt her. “Could we fight more later? I know that you’re mad, and I do understand why, but I can’t do this right now.”

Lena uncrossed her arms and finally really, truly looked at Kara. “We saved as many people as we could, Supergirl.”

Kara nodded, but her eyes started to water anyway. “Not everyone.”

“We can’t save everyone. Believe me, I’ve tried.” Lena’s eyes flashed a bright green as she thought of Hope, locked away somewhere. Lena realized her plan was foolish, considering that a bigger threat was upon them.

“We couldn’t save Krypton.”

Lena tilted her head. “Krypton has been-“ it finally hit Lena. Krypton might be gone, but not all of it was. “Argo?” Kara nodded. “Oh no, what about your-“

“They’re all gone.” A single tear rolled down Kara’s cheek. “My mom is gone. Everyone is gone.”

“Oh, Kara,” Lena said quietly. She realized it was the first time she had called Kara by her name since the Crisis had begun. Kara swayed and Lena stepped closer to her, throwing her arms around the hero’s waist. Kara put her arms around Lena’s shoulders and let the smaller woman support her wait.

“We’re all that’s left, Clark and I.” The tears fell freely onto Lena’s shirt. Kara burrowed further into Lena’s neck.

“Oh sweetie,” Lena said softly, rubbing Kara’s back under her cape. Lena turned her head, just a bit, and gave Kara the softest kiss on her tear-stained cheek. “I am so sorry.”

Kara froze under Lena’s attention, and she pulled back just a bit. “You don’t have to be here, you don’t have to do this. You’re angry at me, and I understand why.”

“Shhhh,” Lena murmured, as she pulled the woman back into her arms. “There’s time to be mad at you tomorrow, as long as we all live that long. But right now, I’ve got you.”

Kara gripped Lena tighter, and finally cried freely, allowing herself to mourn those she had lost. For the first time since the crisis had begun, she truly felt like the Paragon of Hope. They could do this, all of them.

@carterkane008 I did it!

#crisis on infinite earths #kara danvers #supergirl #kara zor el #kara zor-el #lena luthor #sara lance #supercorp #arrowverse #i write stuff

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bookscapadesblog · 5 years ago

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What to Read While Stuck in Quarantine

Right now, many people (myself included) are stuck inside and social distancing due to the Hell that is considered our world because of Corona. As a fun activity for myself and in the hopes of maybe helping a few people through this weird/uncomfortable/stressful/whatever other negative phrase you want to use time, I thought I’d compose a list of books that may occupy your time. I’m going to try and stick with completed series or stand-alones so that in addition to everything else you’re not miserable you have to wait for a new book.

Similiar to my Non-Horror October reads post, I’ll add the Goodreads link so you can check out ratings and such!

So...here is my list of books that might help get you through the dumpster fire that is our current situation!

(I am aware some of these are very popular but I’m adding them anyway in case someone hasn't read them)

Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas

After serving a year in a slave camp, Celaena Sardothien is granted the chance at freedom when the crown prince chooses her to be his champion in a competition to find the new royal assassin.

If you haven't read this series yet and love YA fantasy please do yourself a favor and get it. Katie and I love it so much

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas

A loose retelling of Beauty and the Beast; Feyre is dragged off as a prisoner to a magical kingdom after killing a faerie while hunting in the woods. She comes to learn that maybe her captor, a beautiful Fae trapped in a mask, might not be as terrible as she thought.

I’m not even going to lie this was difficult to give a two sentence summary of. The first book is great but 2 and 3 are exponentially better and Feyre is just the badass woman we all need.

The Iskari Trilogy by Kristen Ceccarelli

Asha is the Iskari, responsible for hunting dragons in her kingdom. Engaged to a man she will never love, she is given the opportunity to prevent her marriage by killing the most ancient of all dragons.

All three of these books are interconnected but each one follows a different main character. They were all AMAZING, but book two (The Caged Queen) was my favorite

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

In the country of Ravaka, cut in half by a darkness called The Shadow Fold, Grisha are an elite magical group. After learning of her own abilities during an attack on the fold, Alina Starkov is taken away to learn to harness her power while under supervision of their leader, The Darkling.

I put off reading these like an idiot and finished them a few months ago and absolutely loved them. King of Scars is a continuation but maybe wait until the second one comes out to read it because I’ve been struggling getting over it and anxiously waiting for any news about it.

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

Kaz Brekker is one of the most notorious criminals in Ketterdam. When offered a job that will make him rich beyond his wildest dreams, he gathers a crew that can help him pull off a deadly heist.

This book has an array of diverse characters and a lot of excitement and hijinks. Takes place in the same universe as Shadow and Bone, so I would recommend reading it after them, but it can be done on its own.

The Wicked Deep by Shea Ernshaw

The small town of Sparrow is located on the coast of Washington and has a troubling history. Every summer witches possess three mortal girls and use their bodies to lure boys into the ocean and drown them. When a new boy arrives Penny doesn't know if she will be able to protect him from her sinister home.

I read this one in a day and absolutely loved it. Easy and entertaining read.

The Shadows Between Us by Tricia Levenseller

Alessandra is tried of being in the shadow of her older sister so she devises a plan: make the Shadow King fall in love with her, marry him, and then kill him and take his kingdom.

This book was described as a ‘slytherin love story’ and I was all about it. It was an easy read and definitely kept me intrigued in the story.

Gone by Michael Grant

All adults disappear, along with cell phones, internet, and any other way to get help. Teens are left to pick up the pieces in this sic-fi story.

I read this series a pretty long time ago but it was SO GOOD. Grant did such a great job sucking you in, to this day I will still recommend it to people.

The Fever Series by Karen Marie Moning (Book #1 is Darkfever)

When her sister is murdered, MacKayla travels to Ireland in search of answers. While there she learns she is able to see beyond the human realm, into the real of the Fae.

Honestly this series was so wild and I remember there being some unnecessary erotic stuff but it was still SO DAMN ENTERTAINING. A good way to escape the humdrum of quarantine life.

Anything by Gillian Flynn

If you need a thriller, murder mystery, etc just honestly pick Gone Girl, Sharp Objects, or Dark Places. They're all so good.

Caraval by Stephanie Garber

Scarlett has always wanted to participate in the fantastical performance that is Caraval. She gets her wish when an invitation arrives, but then regrets it when she learns the performance centers around her sister Tella, who has been kidnapped by Caravel Master Legend.

I love these books. Scarlett and Tella are both amazing in their own way and the mystery and not knowing what is real and whats part of the game makes it so fun to read.

These Rebel Waves (Stream Raiders) by Sara Raasch

Adeluna is a soldier that helped free her home island of Grace Loray from its oppressors, the kingdom of Argrid. Devereux is a pirate, sailing the waters of Grace Loray and collecting its magic plants and selling them on the black market. Benet is the Crown Prince of Argrid, unsure of his father’s beliefs and methods after watching his uncle and cousin burned to death after practicing magic. Their fates are intertwined as they all search for peace between Grace Loray and Argrid.

Katie and I both just read this and they were so good. The beginning is a little slow but the history you get on all the characters is great.

Angelfall (Penryn and the End of Days) by Susan Ee

Angels of the Apocalypse have fallen to Earth. Streets are ravaged and life as we know it is over. When Penryn’s little sister is taken by Warrior Angels, she's willing to do anything to get her back, even make a deal with an enemy angel.

I looked for a hard copy of this trilogy everywhere and couldn't find it, so finally gave up and got the kindle books. I loved it, the end of world sci-fi and enemies-to-lovers tropes were wonderful.

The Knife of Never Letting Go (Chaos Walking) by Patrick Ness

Todd Hewitt lives in a town of only men, where everyone can hear each other’s thoughts. He stumbles across a girl in the swamp, the only one he’s ever seen and it sets off a chain of events that can't be stopped. On the run and hunted by the only people he's ever known, Todd tries to discover the dark truth of his world.

This series was so well written and just sucked you in. Even if it seemed like nothing was happening or was going to happen soon, I couldn't put it down. The books are all long too so thats a plus for quarantine reading.

And if you need something to bring you back to a time when things were simpler, may I recommend rereading some old favorites, two of mine are:

Harry Potter by J.K Rowling and Percy Jackson and the Olympians (also The Heroes of Olympus) by Rick Riordan

These don't need links, but they were two series that I loved when I was younger. The Goblet of Fire was the first big chapter book I ever read on my own and PJO just was so fun. I just read all the PJO graphic novels because I found them when I redid my bookshelves and it was a nice little escape.

Honestly, I have more recommendations but I feel like this is a long post already so I’m going to stop here and maybe I’ll do another one.

Anyway...happy reading, I hope this helps someone. It definitely improved my mood. Just remember High School Musical and hopefully we’ll get through this soon.

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secretlynestaarcheron · 4 years ago

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Chapter Five + Six

The Selection AU - acotar

Sorry it was late, I work in the medical field and a coworker tested positive so I had to in on my usual writing day! I hope everyone is staying safe!

tagged: @justgiu12 @blxckbeaks @justabunchoffandoms @swagbookmaster @my-fan-side @heyitsrhysand @acourtofmarauders

Does anyone know why some of the tags don’t work?

Chapter Five: Nesta

“Isn’t this so interesting?” she asks, moving through the hall with the other girls, flipping through the pages. She had gone to school the longest but hadn’t learned anything about war and history like this book taught. Usually the schools said the same thing every year, that they were lucky the king’s family had saved them and how great of a country they were because of it.

She felt foolish, as a young girl in the caste four, she did feel lucky and great but now seeing the brink of poverty as a seven she knows the truth. She sees it in the sixes and the fives, she can’t imagine how the eights are feeling, practically forgotten by society.

Rita chuckles next to her as they make their way to the women’s room. “You know that there is so much more that those books purposefully leave out, right?” Rita says with a mischievous smile. Nesta glances back at her as she moves through the door. They make their way towards the side of the room, taking seats next to each other.

“What do you mean?” Nesta asks, glancing down at the page number before shutting the book and placing it on her lap. “Are you talking about the rebels?”

Rita nods, “It's like the palace wants to pretend they don’t exist,” she says.

Nesta narrows her eyebrows, “I don’t think the rebels let them forget,” Nesta replies, thinking about all the articles and news reports talking about the small to huge attacks on the palace brought on by the rebels. “Houses are burned down, people die, when there is a rebel attack.”

Rita turns to face her, a new seriousness in her features, “Those are the south rebels, they are out to be heard no matter what,” she explains, “The north is much more quiet and strategic.”

Nesta glances at her friend, opening her mouth to ask her how she knows so much about all of this but Ianthe cheerful cheering interrupts her thoughts. “Its so good to see you again, ladies! How are your rooms? How was breakfast?” Ianthe calls out standing in the center of the room like she did during their first encounter.

Nesta glances around the room, counting the girls, they were missing ten. She turns towards Rita, “The girls that stayed behind, they were sent home,” Nesta says.

Rita glances around the room, Nesta assumes doing her own count, before turning back towards Nesta and whispers, “There's only twenty-five of us left, after the first day.”

Nesta can’t help but feel that her frightened sense of time running out wasn’t because she could be sent home without more than a few words with the prince but something else entirely.

“I have a special day for you ladies,” Ianthe says, waving her hand as maids come in with trays of tea. “We are going to have our very own tea party. It is very important as queen to be able to host through eloquence and manners.” Nesta swears that Ianthe looks at her at the last part. She realizes that Rita and her are the only ones below a caste four left.

The maids come around, leaving little trays on the table with everything they could need for a tea party. Nesta realizes that three more girls had joined them at their table looking uneasy and nervous, she guesses that they realized that the others were sent home as well. “I don’t think I’ve been to a tea party so elegant before,” Nesta chimes.

One of the girls gives her a soft smile, “I’ve been to one when I was younger, I can’t imagine having to plan everything to perfection while also being a gracious host. It seems so overwhelming!”

Nesta nods in agreement, “I am sure it is, but you’ll have the queen who will teach you everything you need to know,” she says and can not help but add, “As well as Ianthe, who I am sure will be with you every step of the way.”

The girls chuckle at that and it makes Nesta feel better that they all saw how overbearing Ianthe was.

The tea party went smoothly as far as she saw, she befriended the girls at her table Alyssa, a four, who was soft spoken and shy. Kamri, a confident and determined three, as well as Sara, a two, who wanted anything but the spotlight.

Ianthe said final words, how she was proud of them all for their hard work and can’t wait to continue this journey with them, before announcing that they were free to do as they please for the rest of the day. Nesta was glad at the words, she wanted to head back to her room to see if her sisters wrote back.

She surprised herself with how quick she was to learn the layout of the palace, but it wasn’t that hard when the only places she cared about was the library, her bedroom, and the dining hall. She walks past the library wondering if she should stop by and pick out another book but her excitement for the thought of a letter from her sisters kept her going.

She walks through her room, she sees her maids Beatrice and Hanna, who look up in excitement at the sight of her. “Lady Nesta, you’ll be so excited,” Hanna says, lifting the envelope. “It came this morning while you were at tea.”

Nesta smiles taking it from Hanna’s outreached hand. She rips the seal excitedly, sitting down on the small sofa by the fireplace. She scans the letter, Elain spoke about the news in town and how they were all rooting for her. She added that she thought she looked stunning in their mother’s red dress. She sends her thanks for the botany books and flowers.

Nesta raises an eyebrow at that, Rhysand did not mention that he was going to send flowers along with the book. She finishes Elains letter to read Feyre, who asks question after question. She wants to know how the food is and how the other girls are, if they are treating Nesta nicely. She brings up the book next, wanting to know if they look as beautiful in person as they do in the book. She also adds a thank you to the prince for the paint and wants to know if he's as handsome in person as he is on camera.

Nesta feels dumbfounded, she was surprised he would send the books but to add extra gifts made her feel bad for every poor thought she had about the royal family.

“Was it a nice letter?” Beatrice asks.

Nesta looks up from the letter folding it as she gives a small smile to her maids. “Yes, very much so,” Nesta says, feeling uncomfortable with the sense of homesickness. “I didn’t realize how much I missed them until reading this,” she replies honestly. She couldn’t wait to get home, to be able to hug them and fight with Feyre on her readings. She missed everything about them.

She found a purpose to be here but before she could work on building a better future for the castes below four, she had to thank the prince for the gifts he had sent her sisters. “I am going to go for a walk, would you mind finding me some paper? I would love to write them back tonight,” Nesta asks, standing up and straightening her gown.

“Of course,” Beatrice says, “Would you like dinner in your room as well?”

“Yes, thank you,” Nesta replies, sticking the letter in her pocket and then exiting her room in hopes of stumbling upon the prince which she assumed was impossible.

She moves down the hallways, wondering if she should stop by the library or if she should ask a maid. She didn’t want to seem too forward or take him away from his own work or perhaps from another girl. She turns down the hall and sees the guard that is normally around him, the one she had run into last night. “Hey!” she calls and he stops short and turns towards her. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to be abrupt. I was just wondering if you were headed towards the prince.”

His eyes narrow, “I am not taking you to him nor am I taking anything to him.” He seemed irritated, Nesta assumes that he was stopped by many girls who have also noticed his friendship with the prince.

“Oh, I am sorry to bother you,” she replies quickly, she was too forward and that was something she should probably work on hiding during her time here. She adapted the trait when she was moved to a world where you had to fight for what you wanted on a daily basis. “I just wanted to send a thank you for the books and gifts he had sent my sisters, I didn’t expect him to do so much for them.”

He frowns, his eyes softening before he was back to the stone cold guard that she met yesterday. “I’ll let him know, I am sure he will be glad to hear it,” He says with a sharp nod before moving back down the hall. She calls out a thank you but she doesn’t know if he heard her or just ignored her.

She decides that that is the best she's going to get and makes her way to the library. She finished the two books she had borrowed the night before and was itching to get more. She wanted to know as much as she could about everything before heading back home. She wanted to be able to tell her sisters all that she learned so they could move their way up the caste system.

She knew her sisters could be better. Feyre was a beautiful artist that could sell her work for a lot and Elain would be the best scientist. They needed to be able to hold their heads high to be taken seriously, work harder than anyone who was born into a higher caste system to be noticed.

She had to work hard to get her sisters to be noticed, that was her job as the oldest to protect her sisters from the cruel world around them and she would do what she could to make their lives happy. She enters the library, moving towards the middle of the room where Prince Rhysand had said the index of the library would be. She wanted to borrow books on artists and poets as well as science textbooks.

She found the large table, touching the tables and feeling the curves of the letters engraved in the map. There were so many books she doubted that the index was kept up to date. She began to read through them, making a mental note of what she wanted to learn about and when. She wondered if they knew how lucky they were to have such a source of knowledge at their fingertips whenever they wanted.

“I hope I am not interrupting,” she looks over to see Prince Rhysand standing in the aisle to her right.

She stands up straight, “Not at all,” she replies, “I wanted to thank you for the gifts you sent my sisters, I can’t wait to see what they’ve created when I go home. I am sure Feyre has already painted the canvas she had stored away.”

He nods, taking a step forward, “And are you enjoying your time here? Enjoying the resources that normally go to waste in this castle?” He asks, glancing around the library.

“Yes, I’ve enjoyed my time here so far,” she replies.

“Good, I am glad,” Prince Rhysand says, “I wanted to speak to you about something important, I hope you won’t find it offensive.”

Nesta raises an eyebrow, she knew her time here would be short but she didn’t expect to go home the second day, especially now that she had so much to lose. She would never step foot in a library of this beauty again. “There’s little in life that I find offensive,” Nesta replies, turning to face him fully, her words were full of truth. While working at a bar she had heard many sneers directed towards her and her character. She learned to build walls.

“I am not sure if you feel anything towards me,” Prince Rhysand begins. “I am not sure how to say this,” he hums, turning away and running a hand through his hair. This is the first time that she saw a boy in front of her and not the future king of Prythian. He was just a boy and she was just a girl.

She takes pity on him, she didn’t want him to feel so broken about sending her home when she knew all along that she wouldn’t be queen. “You don’t feel anything for me,” she replies, with a small smile, “I must be honest, I didn’t feel a spark with you either. I enjoyed our conversations, I’ve enjoyed the library, and I have very much enjoyed the food but you have no purpose for me here.”

“Actually, quite the opposite,” Prince Rhysand begins. “You’re right that I don’t have that gut feeling about you in the sense of marriage, but there’s something about you, Nesta Archeron, that I can’t quite grasp,” He begins, taking a step towards her before they were standing right infront of each other. If he hadn’t just admitted to no feelings for her she would have been nervous that he would try something with her in the dark aisle of the library. “You’ve shown me the light to what was happening in your caste, I would like your help. I would like to know more about your experiences.”

Nesta ponders this before asking, “You want me to stay to help you learn more about your country?”

He looks embarrassed by this. “Yes, in a sense,” he replies quickly, “I am becoming king soon, my father has been teaching me since I was younger, but in all my training and all my meetings not once was it brought up that children were being sent to work to help provide for their families. I need to know this to become the best King I can be for my country.”

She smiles at that, “Okay,” she replies, feeling the ease of the competition lifted from her shoulders. She would have to go home eventually but right now, he made her job of bringing awareness a lot easier. “I would love to help you.”

He smiles, “Good, I am glad,” he replies, “I knew there was something special about you. I think you’ll be a good friend through this all. Shall I call upon you tomorrow?”

She nods, “Tomorrow sounds great,” she retorts, he gives a small wave before moving down the aisle to exit. She couldn’t help the ghost of a smile on her face as she moved down the aisle to find the books she wanted. Her heart is full of a new sense of hope. She would be the change her sisters needed.

After gathering two books for her sister and a couple of the rebels, after Rita brought them up during tea this morning it made her curious as to what really happens during all the rebel attacks and what started them all. She had her suspicions but she wanted to know if they were true.

She makes her way out of the library, stumbling when she slams into someone dropping several of the books. “Sorry!” she says quickly glancing up to see the guard as she crouches down to grab the books. “We should really stop meeting like this,” she jokes, as he crouches down to help her, “Or maybe I should just learn not to barge out of doors.”

He chuckles as he stands up, handing her over the three books she picked up, “Prythian Artists and Rebel Attacks? Just some light reading?” he questions, but she senses he's questioning more than just her reading material.

She takes the books, sliding it below the stack of sciences books, as she states, “How else am I supposed to learn anything?” she retorts, turning to move down the hallway towards her room. She didn’t want to be questioned for her actions when he probably grew up as a two, she could tell by his judgemental looks that he didn’t approve of a seven being here.

He quickly catches up to her, moving in pace with her as she turns towards her room. “Is there anything else you would like to question me about?” she asks, holding the books tight to her chest, as she glares over at him.

“It’s after curfew, I wouldn’t want anything bad to happen to you, so I am escorting you to your room,” he replies with ease.

Nesta rolls her eyes letting out a “hmph” noise. They walked in silence, just the echoing of their shoes against the marble filling the silence. “Do I at least get to know your name?” she asks, turning to peer at him, it's a shame he was a snob he was quite handsome in a gruff kind of way.

He looks at her with amusement in his eyes, “Cassian,” he retorts.

“Cassian,” she repeats, “Interesting name.”

He looks at her and raises an eyebrow, “Perhaps my mother should have looked in the same baby name book your parents found Nesta in,” he replies. So he was sarcastic, Nesta concluded.

She stops in front of her door and she thinks that she reads disappointment on his face but it fades so quickly so assumes she made it up. She was still a part of the competition and still property of Prythian Palace if she liked it or not. “Thank you for walking me back,” she replies, even though she’s still sure he thought she was more of a threat to the palace than anything inside was to her.

“It was my pleasure, Nesta,” he says softly, moving down the hall, “Enjoy your light reading.”

She chuckles as she opens the door, the smell of the dinner sitting on the table in the middle of the room making her stomach growl. She moved towards the table a new surge of excitement, she got the feeling that this was the beginning of a long story.

Chapter Six: Cassian

Cassian feels bad as he watches the girls say their tearful goodbyes to Rhysand before leaving the dining room. Some girls even seemed angry that they were being sent home, their hands moving wildly as they chatted with the other girls their eyebrows furrowed deep into their brows.

He turns to Rhysand who looks guilty and defeated, clapping him on the shoulder comfortingly he says, “It’s hard, but you’ll get through it.”

Rhysand shrugs, “I doubt it’ll get easier and part of me doesn’t want it too,” he retorts, shaking his hand and then running a hand through his hair. “I have meetings but want to spar later?”

Cassian thinks about the mountain of work on his desk waiting for him to get to it but finds himself nodding. “Just tell me when,” he replies, knowing that his friend needed this more than the King needed him to write a report on every girl.

Rhysand nods, moving out the room quickly to start the day, as Cassian turns to face the King. The girls had all exited with the Queen so it was just them left in the silent dining hall. “Have you thought more about my proposition? I could really use someone with your abilities,” the King says where he lounges in his chair.

Cassian wants to roll his eyes at that, the King didn’t make propositions he gave orders and it wasn’t Cassian’s abilities that made him a worthy candidate to become the King's right hand but the secrets he had and the information he already had. It would be easy for him to transition back to the old Cassian, the Cassian that wanted to please, the Cassian that shut off a part of him to do unspeakable things in the name of the King. He wouldn’t become that again.

Cassian clicked his chin, thinking about how he should properly phrase this. “With everything going on in the palace with the new recruits and the safety of the girls with the rebel attacks I need to be here,” Cassian states, standing tall as he faced the King, who merely glared at him.

The King smirks, leaning forward on his elbows, pretending to think about what Cassian said. “How are the reports on the girls going?” The King asks, “Since you’re so busy with that I am sure you have found something out.”

Cassian shifts his jaw, the King was baiting him and Cassian would have to be careful not to be caught. “ Unfortunately, the most of the work I did last night was thrown away when he sent ten of the girls I had already thoroughly checked home,” Cassian explains, “But I would be happy to go finish up the work now.”

“Actually, I have a better idea,” The King states, standing up and walking down the few steps to be level with Cassian. The King was tall but Cassian still had to look down to meet his eyes. Cassian’s frame twice the size of the Kings. Although, Cassian was built for power, the King wield it. “You can give me a list of six guards that you think are worthy enough to go out to the borders to keep the rebels in check.”

Cassian looks at the King with a mixture of disinterest and annoyance. He couldn’t let the King know it bothered him or else he would have no choice but to do it. “Does Prince Rhysand know about this?” Cassian replies with ease. “You told me I would be taking orders from him now.”

The King clicks his tongue, peering down at Cassian, but the King had to admit that Cassian had a point. It was all a part of the education of Rhysand in his future role as a King, it was a new development and the King was struggling with the release of power. “Have the list ready,” The King says, “I’ll bring it up with Rhysand in our next meeting. I am sure he will agree with me.”

Cassian frowns as the King walks by him and out of the room. He felt the rage pulsing through his body, as the words of the King echoed in his head. He wasn’t asking Cassian for worthy candidates but guards that were useless, that wouldn’t be missed, that were weak links.

Cassian knew that sending such a small group was a suicide mission, he had done it again and again for the King, watching his men take off never to return again. The rebels practically owned the borders, if the King truly wanted to get them in check or disperse the rebels he would send an army equipped with the proper tools not a handful of guards with nothing but a handgun and the shirts on their backs.

He knew he couldn’t add more names to the long list of guards he had sent to their deaths, he couldn’t tell another family that their son or daughter had died. If the King did get his way Cassian was putting his own name on the list.

~*~

He spent the rest of the day in the training rooms, watching the new draftees assigned to the palace spar and work on their weaponry. Palace Duty was seen as a plush station, although better than most assignments, it was growing more and more dangerous with the frequent attacks.

He kept an eye on the guards that would mess around or talk back to their superiors, they would have a lot to learn before being stationed anywhere near the royal family. He had to admit that he was stressing about the added protection needed for the girls, with the announcement of the selection the King had thought it would settle the rebels but it only made them more unpredictable.

“If you think any harder your face will get stuck like that,” a new voice chirps beside him. He glances down to see Amren, she was practically his second in command. Although barely five foot she could take down any soldier. Cassian was pretty sure she could take him down in one swing but he wasn’t going to test his theory.

“I appreciate the concern you have for my face, I knew it warmed up on you,” Cassian retorts, putting his attention back on the training guards. “How’s training going?”

She snorts, shaking her head as she turns to look around the group. “There’s definitely some putting in place needing to be done.” she retorts, “but that’s why I am here, you don’t need to babysit me.”

He chuckles, leaning against a rack of wooden training swords only used in the first day of training. “I am not checking up on you, you are more than capable of whipping them into shape, Amren,” Cassian retorts, running a hand through his hair. “I just had a lot on my mind and needed to do something else.”

She raises a quizzical eyebrow, an unspoken understanding between the two of them. Cassian had to fight to get Amren her leadership role and to this day the King still pretends that he can’t hear her when she speaks. WSince the King pretended she wasn’t there the majority of the time he would speak to Cassian about certain things, not even aware that Amren was standing beside them.

Amren understood the things the King asked of Cassian but did not know the extent it went too and Cassian never wanted her too. He was scared she would bolt, he needed her here more than she needed to be here. Promoting her was the smartest thing he had ever done.

“Need to spar it out?” Amren asks.

He shakes his head, laughing at her eagerness as he says, “No, but I appreciate it. I think getting my butt kicked by you right now would worsen my mood.”

“I am here if you ever need it. One of these days I’ll get you to say yes to a spar,” she replies, shoving his arm lightly with her elbow. “Now get out of here, you’re distracting the troops with your focused face.”

He chuckles, feeling a lot better than he had when he first finished speaking with the King earlier. “I’ll check see you around, Amren, don’t work them too hard,” he retorts moving to the exit. A maid walks by telling him the Rhysand would be out in the training ring outside waiting for him.

Cassian falters, thinking about all the work on his desk waiting for him, “Okay, thank you for letting know,” he retorts, running a hand through his hair as he turns down the hallway away from his office. It would be good to procrastinate thinking about the King.

“Hey!” He turns to see one of the girls, Nesta Archeron, moving down the hall towards him. She smiles sheepishly as she says, “I didn’t mean to be abrupt.” She goes on to ask him if he is going to Rhysand. He can’t help but roll his eyes.

“I am not taking you to him or being a messenger for you, he will find you if he wants to talk to you,” He snaps, this was what he was afraid of. Girls on the hunt for the prince, ready to pounce for the crown at any moment.

He feels bad when he sees her expression, but she covers it up quickly. “I only wanted to send a thank you for the gifts he had sent my sisters,” she explains, which only makes him feel worse for his treatment but he wasn’t about to let her see that.

“I’ll let him know,” he says with a short nodd, “I am sure he will be happy to hear it.”

He moves down the hallway away from her and towards Rhysand, looking back as he turns the corner not able to stop the creep of a smile on his face as she yells a thank you after him. He chuckles as he turns back towards his destination chuckling slightly.

The more he knew about her the more he had hope that he best friend could actually find someone to be with through this whole thing that wasn’t just after the fame.

~*~

He spent a couple hours sparring with Rhysand in the training grounds. He could tell there was a lot on Rhysand’s mind but didn’t push him to discuss anything, he wondered if the King had a chance to bring up another group going to the borders. He wondered if Rhysand was in favor of the idea.

He thought about what Amren would say if he signed up to go, she would probably follow along after him complaining about how dumb he was. Would he tell Mor? No, she would stop him somehow, tell the King or Rhysand before he had the chance to go. It was cruel funny to think that everyone knew being sent to the border was a suicide mission but no one would fight the King on it.

Cassian can’t say much on the topic, it was recent that he finally decided to speak against the King. Cassian kicked his office door shut behind him, sitting down at his desk and pulling one of the last files he had to go through in front of him. He glances up at the top, Nesta Archeron, in his scrawl like handwriting. He flips it open a picture of her falling out first, her hair that was normally braided was loose and wave. Her bright green-blue eyes sparkling bright at the camera as she smiled shyly.

He saw those eyes bright before, when Rhysand shook her hand or this morning when she looked up to speak to her friend Rita about something she had read. They were bright with excitement and curiosity, he wondered what made them bright that morning. Perhaps the competition itself, or the chance to meet Rhysand and be in the palace.

He moved her picture to the side beginning to read what he assigned Amren to discover about each of them. She was born in caste four, the oldest of three girls, she excelled in her studies. Amren had reached out to a few of her teachers who were sad to see her leave. Her mother had passed away and a few months after that she was transitioned to a seven. That explains why she’s always in the library, why she’s teaching her sisters.

He reads on about her father, how he adopted alcoholism after the death of his wife and would be found at any bar open. He stopped showing up to work, began to gamble in underground casinos, brawled until he and his daughters were forced out of their house.

The thought made him sick, that someone could lose themselves so much. How he could allow himself to be lost when he had three daughters to protect, the oldest only be thirteen. There were peer reviews from many bosses for Nesta. She had worked as seamstress, earning praise from people as high as caste three and two. Her neighbors spoke highly of her. He was still suspicious of her, her father was a known member at an underground casino so he could have connections to the rebels. He continues reading, seeing how highly her town thought of her. Amren even spoke to a few of her customers at a local tavern who praised her.

He chuckles as one of them mentions how she had to kick two guys out from getting too comfortable with a fellow waitress, he tried to picture her small frame kicking out two large men. He turns the page to read the last review, deciding that she couldn’t possibly have anything to do with the rebel attacks.

He pauses as he reads the name of the interviewee, Tomas Mandray.

A chill ran up his spine as he read what Tomas had to say on behalf of Nesta. He spoke highly of her, complimenting her work ethic and appearance. Cassian frowned as the truth of his relationship with Nesta came to light. He never outwardly said it or perhaps Amren was careful with her words but it was instituted that the two of them had a relationship.

There’s a sharp knock on the door and he looks up as a guard peeks his head in, “Good evening, sir,” the guard says, nodding his head in respect before continuing, “There appears to be a girl unaccounted for.”

Cassian runs a hand through his hair, his mind moving to the rebel spy or girls sneaking out of their rooms to find the prince. “Which one is it?” he asks, standing up to get ready to track them down.

The guard looks down at the piece of paper in his hand, “Uh, Nesta Archeron, sir,” he replies.

Cassian rolls his eyes, of course as soon as he finds something out about her that could connect her to the rebel cause she has to go missing. He just hopes he doesn’t find her anywhere she shouldn’t be, hopes he doesn’t have to see those bright eyes dull.

He moves past the guard, “I’ll take care of it, go back to your post,” he replies, moving quickly through the halls toward his destination. He reaches it but before he can open the door it swings open slamming into him. He catches her elbow relieved to find her here.

She drops a few books in the collision and he thinks that they should really stop meeting this way. He bends down to pick up a few of the books, his eyes narrowing as he sees the titles, a book about prythian artists and another about rebel attacks. He makes a comment about her choices, asking if this was considered light reading.

He hands them to her as she adds them to the pile her arms, he takes in a few more titles one about the ocean and the other a book on botany and insects. He couldn’t quite get a grasp on her, she wasn’t the normal stereotype for a rebel. Perhaps that’s why they chose her, if she was even a rebel.

He realizes she said something as she moves past him and down the hall. He acts quickly to catch up with her, matching her slow pace compared to his own. He had to cut his strides in half to match hers. “Was there something else you wanted to question me about?” she asks, glaring at him. He took note of how her eyes darkened and her nose crinkled as she tried to be intimidating.

He chuckles, but when she frowns he cuts himself short. He didn’t want her to think he was laughing at her. “It's after curfew,” he retorts with a slight shrug, “Wouldn’t want anything bad to happen to you.”

She rolls her eyes, turning to face the hall again, pulling his attention away from her face and back to infront of them again. They walk in silence before she asks, “Do I at least get to know your name?”

He smirks at that, maybe she wasn’t as stubborn as he pegged her, “Cassian,” he replies with ease as he looks down at her in amusement.

She snorts, “Cassian? Interesting name.”

He can’t help but bite back a smile, she reminded him of Mor with her sharp tongue and quick wit. He wondered if she could take it as well as she dished it. “Perhaps my mother should have looked in the same baby name book your parents found Nesta in.”

She laughed at that and he realized that’s the first he heard a noise other than annoyance leave her mouth. “If you must know I was named after my grandmother’s cat, she had two others named Bernard and Gerty. Would you prefer one of those?” she questioned.

He nodded in approval, she would get along extremely well with Mor. They could bond over picking on him. He stops in front of her door and she turns and says, “Thank you for walking me back.”

He returns her smile, nodding his head, “It was my pleasure, Nesta,” he says, turning on his heel and beginning to move down the hall. “Enjoy your light reading.”

He listens to her chuckle before the door clicks and he’s left in the silent hall. He moves swiftly feeling the exhaustion set in. He turns sharply, pausing quickly when he spots a figure standing in front of his office door. The person pushes themselves off the wall and Cassian can see the wicked smile. “I was wondering when you would be back,” Tomas Mandray dreary voice echoes through the hall,

Cassian stops and crosses her arms, “What do you want, Mandray?”

Tomas chuckles, “Don’t act so angrily towards me, I thought I would warn my old childhood friend.”

“Warn me about what?” Cassian spits out but as soon as the words left his mouth there was a large crash of glass being broken and he could smell the fire. “That wasn’t much of a warning.”

Tomas shrugs, “Shouldn’t have taken your good ole time swooning one of your friends' mistresses. Which one was it? Rita? Perhaps Caroline?” Tomas asks, chuckling to himself. “Oh, it must have been Nesta. You always loved a crazy one.”

Cassian snarls, “How do you know about them?” He wanted to punch Tomas out cold right then and there but the siren was beginning to blare and he had to make sure the royal family and girls got to safety.

Tomas laughs as he begins to run down the hall towards the chaos, “I have friends everywhere, Cassian. You better watch out.”

As always - unedited

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adrenaline-roulette · 5 years ago

Text

Is this just fantasy? Chapter 2

Pairing: Brian May x Reader

Warnings:

Summary: "Want me to bring back some ice-cream, and you can bitch about how horrible you day was?”

The idea of ice-cream had never been more appealing. “I believe Ben and Jerry’s is on sale at the moment, I could really go from some chunky monkey.”

“I never understood why you like that one so much!”

“I try to convince myself that because it’s banana flavoured then it must be healthy.”

“As a dietician in training, it is my duty to tell you, that that is not by any means true.”

“For a dietician in training, you eat an awful lot of instant mac & cheese.”

“Whoa now, there is no such thing as too much mac & cheese!”

Chapter two: Listen carefully to the sound of your loneliness

If you haven’t read chapter One yet, check it out here!

Roger sauntered his way over to the bar, his eyes focused solely on the woman who had entered the pub only minutes earlier. The fact that she was currently face planted into the counter didn’t bother him too much, his standards were relatively low tonight, he would happily take home anyone just to prove Brian wrong! He couldn’t care less if the woman he was quickly approaching was a mental case who was actually licking the counter, rather than just resting her head. Anyone would do, so long as they said yes. As he stepped up besides the woman, he cleared his throat, a coy smirk donning his boyish face. He had expected her to swoon, or perhaps blush, that’s what usually happened when he presented himself to the opposite sex. This reaction, however, was entirely unexpected, and had him fearing he had lost his charm!

********

You startle at the noise beside you, not having expected anyone to disturb your self-wallowing. You had found yourself spiralling into a panic attack as the realisation of what was going on around you, really began to sink in. Somehow, you really were in 1970’s London, and for the life of you, you couldn’t figure out how. The last thing you could remember, before falling asleep was talking to Sara about ice-cream flavours, after that, everything seemed to be a bit of a blur. The feeling of falling remained with you after your dream, but surely a dream couldn’t have caused this? The person clears their throat again, and his time you look up at them, your slumped shoulders lifting so you sat gracefully on the stool. Your eyes travelled up the body beside you, trailing from the feet, past the bellbottom jeans, over the masculine chest, and finally resting on the stunningly attractive face, of the one and only, blue eyed beauty, Roger Fucking Taylor.

Your face must have given away just how shocked you were, as Roger visibly stepped back, a flicker of surprise passing his baby blues. The ever so slight sliver of hope that this was all an elaborate prank, that had remained with you vanished in a matter of seconds. Your eyebrows creased together, as your mouth opened and closed in an excellent impression of a fish, as you desperately tried to form words. “You’re Roger Taylor” You breathed out, your voice raising a few octaves as you looked at him.

Roger blinked his eyes three times, before leaning his hip against the counter, grinning down at you. “Ah, you know me then do you? I’m positive that I would remember someone as lovely as you, but just in case I did somehow forget, what’s your name love?” He practically purred, trailing his index finger along your jaw. The logical part of your mind argued that you should keep quiet, there was far too much at stake, and knowing your luck, you would say something that could completely change the course of history entirely! The only problem with that however, was that you had never been a very logical person, and were more inclined to speak first, think later. This meant, the moment those thoughts entered your mind, you found yourself voicing the exact opposite.

“What? No! You don’t know me at all. You’ve never met me, and I’ve never met you either! But I used to have your posters up in my room when I was growing up. Well not just posters of you, all of Queen! I had my first kiss to sail away sweet sister!” And there it was, the word vomit. By the time you realised what you had said, poor Roger looked utterly terrified. His eyes had grown impossibly wide, and he seemed to be shaking, and you could swear you almost heard his heart hammering away in his chest.

“I have no idea what you are talking about, but I think I’ll leave you be now. Have a lovely night Miss.” He mumbles, taking a half step backwards. The moment he moves, you leap up from your stool, clasping your hands around his biceps, unaware that the two men he had been sitting with just before were making their way towards the two of you.

****

Brian reaches the two of you first, he had been watching the exchange between his band mate, and the young woman with a great deal of interest. Brian knew what to expect, after having watched Roger use his charm on many a woman before. Though something was different this time, he could tell, from Roger’s expression, that things didn’t appear to be going the way he had been expecting. The poor man looked visibly shaken, and like he was about to go running out of the pub. The moment the woman stood, and grabbed Roger, he knew he had to do something. He pushed his chair away from the table, and leapt to his feet, Tim following his lead soon after. The two men appeared beside Roger in a matter of seconds, the moment they arrived Roger seemed to relax somewhat. “Miss, is everything alright?” He asked gently, as Tim stepped away a few paces with Roger. The poor woman looked terrified, and on the verge of tears, perhaps Roger had picked the wrong woman to chase tonight?

****

You feel like you’re about to collapse as you look up into the deep brown eyes of the world-famous guitarist before you, he’s so young, yet still so incredibly handsome. His words shake you from your thoughts as you stare up at him. “No of course I’m not bloody alright!” You practically shriek, how could any of this situation possibly make you alright? “You’re Brian May, And you! You’re Tim Staffell!”

Both men look rather surprised at your outburst, as Roger simply nods along. “That’s exactly what she said to me too! Scared the bloody life out of me.” He mutters, just loud enough so your small group could hear him. Your hands hover mid-air from where you had been clinging to Roger, and you find yourself unable to bring them down.

Brian is the first to come to his senses, stepping forwards and in-between you and Roger, he reaches out to, wrapping his long, slender fingers around each of your wrists, carefully lowering them down to your sides. “Ok, lets start slowly. Can you tell us what your name is?” He asks carefully, guiding you over to the table he, Roger and Tim had been seated at minutes before.

You sit gently down on one of the wooden seats, the leather cushion peeling at the edges of the old seat. The three men sit around you in the vacant seats, all looking at you intently. The last time you had had people looking at you like this, you were introducing yourself to your new class at school, the teacher had kept pressuring you to talk about yourself, wanting to know all about your hobbies and interests. You take a deep breath in, releasing it slowly out of your mouth, this was the tricky part. What damage would it do if you introduced yourself? Just by being here alone, you had surely broken just about every law of physics! What if by using your real name, that only caused more damage to the world as you knew it? Your breathing was becoming shallow once again, as you look frantically around at the three men before you, your eyes finally resting on Brian’s. You had never been embarrassed to admit this before, but now sitting here with the curly haired brunette, you found yourself blushing, the knowledge that he had starred in many of your late night ‘quiet’ moments, stirring something deep within you. “I’m, um, Eleanor- Eleanor Ribgy!” Perhaps that wasn’t the best name choice, but for the life of you, you couldn’t remember when the song had come out! Maybe it was yet to be released and you would be in the clear?

“Okay, so we all now that that’s a lie.” Tim smirks at you, and you find yourself wanting to slam your head against the table once again.

“How about we try this again, what’s your name? You know ours, it’s only fair we get to know yours.” Roger grins, as he takes a gulp of beer, before placing the glass back on the table with a loud clunk.

Right, well, that didn’t go the way you had hoped. Maybe you should just tell them your name, besides as Shakespeare once wrote, what’s in a name? “It’s Y/N Y/L/N.”

“See, that wasn’t so hard now was it?”

You almost glare at Roger, if only he knew how difficult all of this really was for you, maybe then he would wipe that cocky grin off his face. “You have no idea.” You mutter.

Brian twirls his glass between his large hands, frowning down at the amber liquid that was nearly gone. “Can you explain to us what happened just before?”

“Yeah! What did you mean, you had a poster of me in your bedroom? And who is Queen?” Roger butts in, causing Brian to scowl at him. Brian had been trying to approach this situation carefully, but clearly the blonde drummer had other ideas.

You groan deeply, this time, allowing your head to swing forwards and rest against the table once more. Face planting was becoming a habit of yours in the 1970’s, and you can’t help but think it’s likely not a good thing. “Honestly, I don’t even know what to tell you. It’s all too much, even for me to comprehend!”

“Try us, we’re smarter than we look!” Tim offers with a smile of his own.

Your shoulders slump down, before you pick yourself back up from the table, folding your hands in your lap. “Trust me, I know how smart you all are.” You almost whisper, before shaking your head gently. This was your chance, you could explain this bizarre situation to the men sat before you, perhaps one of them would believe you and help you find your way back? Brian has a doctorate in Astrophysics, surely, he would know what to do? But then again, that is Brian in forty plus years, and not the young man sitting with you now. “This is going to sound insane, I know that.” You begin, the three men leaning in closer to hear you quiet voice. “I woke up in the middle of a fucking field today, no idea where I was or how I got there. And now I find out I’m somehow in the 70’s.”

Roger scratches his heads, mussing up his already messy locks. “I don’t see the problem? I’ve woken up in a field before, maybe you just had too much to drink last night”

A laugh bursts from your throat, as you shake your head no. “Oh Roger, you don’t understand! The biggest problem with this whole situation isn’t me waking up in a field, it’s the fact that it’s the 70’s!” At this, Roger returns to looking rather confused, just as Brian and Tim do. “When I fell asleep last night, it was 2019. Somehow, I’ve gone back in time forty odd years!” You raise your voice at the end, earning a few confused looks being thrown your way.

“Y/N, look I’m not trying to be rude here, but maybe you’re hungover? I mean, time travel? That isn’t possible!” Brian begins gently, reaching out and placing one of his hands over yours. The gesture sends a jolt of electricity through you, and in any other situation you would swoon, but not right now.

“Brian, I know how crazy this sounds! When I fell asleep last night, I was happily living with my housemate, stressing about work, and looking forward to her bringing me home ice-cream!”

He bites his lower lip for a moment, looking directly into your eyes as he thinks over your predicament. “I’m sorry, I just don’t think it’s possible. I of all people would know if time travel was real, I’m studying to be-“

You cut him off before he can finish, “An astrophysicist. I know, and one day, you will be Doctor Brian May.”

“How do you know what I’m studying?”

At this, you almost wish the ground would open you up and swallow you whole. “Because I’m from the future! I know about all of you Brian, Roger, Tim, even Freddie and Deaky!”

Tim and Roger look between each other with equal looks of curiosity. “Who are Freddie and Deaky?” Roger asks.

Ah right, shit, maybe you shouldn’t have mentioned them just yet. “You’ll know them when you meet them.”

“Wow, that was cryptic.” Tim mutters, causing Roger to chuckle quietly. You shoot them both a glare, neither of them were taking this seriously! At least Brian seemed to be attempting to understand and believe what you were telling them!

“Look, I’ll prove it to you! I know just about everything there is to know about Queen, fuck, I mean Smile. Just, I don’t know, tell me what the exact date is?”

The men look between each other, before Brian shrugs and turns back to you, reciting the date to you. You nod, smiling in thanks as you go back through your mental log of notable Smile era happenings. A spark of recognition flashes behind your eyes, and you leap up from your stool, grinning broadly. “Tim! Today is the day you quit Smile to join Humpy Bong!”

Tim freezes, his hand halfway to bringing his glass to his lips. Brian and Roger and caught between looking at you and Tim. “Tim’s quitting?” Roger mumbles. Oh, okay, so that clearly wasn’t common knowledge yet.

“I- um yeah. They’re going places guys, and we really aren’t, lets be honest.” Tim sighs, drumming his fingers against his glass.

Brian turns to stare at you, a small smile spreading over his lips, you were an absolute scientific anomaly, and he loved it! “Wait, what the fuck are we supposed to do without a singer and bassist?”

You shrug lightly, not sure how much you should give away. But fuck it, you’ve likely already ruined multiple timelines by just being here, you may as well continue. “I believe, this is where Freddie and Deaky come into the picture.”

My Masterlist

#brian may x you #brian may x reader #brian may fanfiction #time travel fic #queen band #queen fanfiction #roger taylor #tim staffell #1970s london #confusion #roger does in fact strike out #shocking i know #reader continues to spoil things about the future #humpy bong #roger is actually terrified #brian saves the day #if you ever somehow find yourself in the past do NOT tell a celebrity that you have their pictures on your wall.... its creepy

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danganronpa-tng · 4 years ago

Text

Chapter 5 - The Trial Of Kamron Naegi

*Trigger Warning; brief mention of hanging later in the trial. Read at your own discretion*

- - -

Kamron was found collapsed out in the hallway of the dormitory corridor. He had a couple of bruises on barely visible areas, such ad his stomach or legs. His sunglasses were missing. Due to the fact four people encountered the body at the same time, one out of the four could still be a suspect, hkwever this is not certain.

Cause of death was blood loss. He was found with his right hand severed, laying several feet away from him. The weapon used to sever the hand is unknown, but the cut makes it look like a sharp blade. There were clear signs of a struggle, including blood splatters in the middle of the hallway. It seems he was propped up against the wall rather than collapsing against it.

The victim was killed at approximately 1PM. He was discovered at approximately 9AM that day.

- - -

“So, he died at 1AM?”

“Yep... anything on your mind, Sara?”

“Huh? Oh, nothing really. I just find it odd he was still fully clothed at 1AM, that’s all. Well, bar his sunglasses, but you know.”

“That’s true, actually... thanks, Sara!”

“Anytime! Good luck.”

- - -

“I-I can’t believe this... Kamron... as s-soon as I learn we’re related...”

“Hey, hey Kass... it’s gonna be OK. We’re gonna find his killer, no matter what! Ok?”

“Yeah... yeah, I know you can. We all can. I just can’t let this slide. Someone’s- someone’s gonna pay!”

“Right.”

- - -

“Greetings, Hayden.”

“Oh, Katelyn! You ok? You look panicked.”

She’s smoothing out her clothes and panting.

“No, not panicked per say... more so, kind of nervous. I was chatting to Aspen last night, and we talked about how we were sure nobody else would be killed from now on... I suppose we were wrong.”

“Oh...”

“Anyways, I did my usual check to the weapons room, as I tend to do.”

“And?”

“I, surprisingly didn't see anything out of place. Nobody had moved anything since the masquerade.”

“Really? That’s odd... anyways, thanks Katelyn.”

“Anytime. Now, if you’ll excuse me.”

- - -

“M-morning, Aeja...”

“Hello, Hayden. Apologies for my message earlier, please disregard it.”

“Huh? I mean, we can still talk if you want-”

“No, it’s quite alright. Now, what did you come over here for?”

“Ah, well, I just wanted to see what evidence you had.”

“Is that it? Hm. Well then, all I’ve found so far isn’t properly solid evidence, but I noticed that almost everyone came out of their room in their pyjamas, as you can see. However, three people didn’t. Aspen, Katelyn and Estrella. Not proper evidence.”

“Well, it’s still worth noting! Thanks, Aeja.”

“You’re welcome. Now, please leave me be. I’m thinking.”

“Ah. Ok.”

- - -

“Estrella-?”

“Hm? Hmm? Is that a voice? No, must have been the wind.”

“Estrella-”

“Oh, there it is again! It sure is drafty in here.”

“Estrella please, I just wanna talk about evi-”

“Ugh, a leader as supreme as me shouldn't be putting up with a cold room. I’ll be taking my leave now.”

“Wait-! Aaaaaaaand she’s gone.”

- - -

“Hm? Vera? Oh, you can write it down. Cool.”

Yes. Well, I was just wondering, has anyone checked the kitchen to see if all the knives are still there? It might be a worthy idea.

“Oh, no actually! I didn’t even think of that. Thanks, Vera!”

- - -

The Trial

- - -

“So, does anyone have a solid alibi?”

“For 1AM?”

“Ah... fair point. So let me rephrase that; was anybody in someone else’s dorm last night? As in, sleeping over?”

Yes, I was staying in Sara’s room last night.

“Ah, ok! So, we can pretty safely assume those two are clear then.”

“Nice! Thanks, Vera!”

“Was anyone else with another person? For any amount of time?”

I looked over at Estrella and Aeja. They were looking anywhere but at each other, avoiding eye contact like it was the Black Plague. I pitied the two. I debated whether or not I should admit I saw them. But before I could, the conversation topic changed.

- - -

“So, I don’t suppose anyone checked the weaponry room, did they?”

“Yes, I did, in fact.”

“Oh! See anything, Katelyn?”

“No, actually. Nothing was out of place, so it seems nothing has moved since our last investigation.”

“Oh, that’s odd...”

“...hey, Vera? Didn't you say you thought about checking the kitchen?”

She nods.

“Did you get a chance to?”

She nodded again, starting to write. I suppose writing is easier then having everything translated.

Yes. One knife was in the rack still, but bloodied, so we can assume a kitchen knife is what severed his hand. And I also noticed a glass while I was there, one that still had ice in it. Which means...

“Someone only put it back this morning?”

She nods.

- - -

“Estrella, you’ve been pretty quiet.”

“Hm? Oh, sorry. I just didn’t feel like wasting my breath on you.”

“Wow, rude.”

“Really? Quite honestly Sara, I hadn’t cared to notice.”

“What’s up with you? You’ve been in a pretty good mood since the whole-”

“Yeah, well, things change, People change. Or rather, they don’t. See, I was trying to be a but nicer, but after a certain incident I realised that- well, who am I kidding? I’ve built this role for myself, and I’m never gonna be able to shake it off, so might as well live up to it.”

She folds her arms.

“I’m the evil leader that’s only here to confuse and irritate people. I’m the walking embodiment of a bad joke! So, if you plan on figuring out who stabbed Spy Kid over there, I suggest you shut the fuck up and keep going with the trial.”

Sara just looked away, slightly disheartened.

“I thought we’d become friends now... Aren’t we friends?”

“Do you really want to be friends with someone like me?”

- - -

“Well, let’s get back to alibis, since we don’t have much to go off. Where was everyone? Alone, or with someone else?”

“I- like I said earlier, I was with Vera.”

“Right. Karma?”

“I was alone. I stayed up a bit late though, so I only woke up when the body announcement went off.”

“Ok. Kassidy?”

“I-I said goodbye to Kamron and then went back to my room... I went asleep pretty quickly.”

“Alright. Katelyn?”

“Unlike almost everyone here, I have an alibi. I stayed in Aspen’s room last night, then went back to mine and got changed. I was up before the announcement, so-”

“Wait a sec.”

“Hm? Something wrong, Aspen?”

“Katelyn... you never came to my room last night.”

- - -

“Katelyn..? Care to defend yourself?”

“Wh- oh, shut up, copycat. Have you not even considered your dear girlfriend over there? You should have seen her face when we saw the body! She didn’t even look surprised, she looked like she already knew! She-”

“That’s because I did.”

“...what?”

“Estrella, what do you mean by-?”

“Isn't it obvious, Mr No Talent? I saw the murder happen. I was on my way back to my room when I heard a fight, so I went to check it out, and... well, I simply decided to not give him a hand, haha!”

“Really?! You're serious?”

“Most likely.”

“Well, who did it?”

“I thought that was obvious, too. I decided not to tell you because I’m pissed off! I’m a petty bitch, as you know, and as such I decided to let this play out.”

“Estrella, stop being childish-”

“DON’T talk to me about childish, Aeja! I’m not the one who tried to hang them self when they got scared!”

The room fell horribly silent. Aeja looked away, and Estrella reached up to her own cheek, where her cut was. Something started to click into place.

“Wait, Aeja tried to-”

“Fine then, Estrella. If you're going to be like that, shut up and dont disrupt this trial. This isn't about our business, it’s about finding Kamron’s killer. So, now that we’re back on topic and abandoning that last conversation... Katelyn? Aspen?”

Aspen looked at Katelyn, who didn’t meet his eyes.

“K-Katelyn? Kate? Please, please tell me you just got mixed up. You got mixed up, right? Yeah. Yeah!”

“...Aspen.”

“...no. No, no, no, please don’t say it.”

- - -

“Why? Why did you do it, Katelyn?”

“I- Hayden. You have to understand, I hold my parents in... very high regard. He was insulting them, insulting me! I-I couldn’t just let that stand. I got mad, so I- I got a knife from the kitchen and went back, just to threaten him! I never planned on actually hurting him... but I guess he panicked, and he lunged at me. So I panicked, and- I accidentally-”

“...chopped his hand off.”

“...If I could go back in time, I would change what I did. But, it’s in the past now. I... this shouldn't have happened, I know.”

“...you can’t be serious, right Katelyn? Right?! It was Estrella. Yeah, it was! You’re just covering for her because- because- you don't wanna watch the same execution again!”

“...no.”

“...this doesn’t compute. There’s something wrong here, right? RIGHT?!”

- - -

“Well, Hayden, I do not wish to put up a fight. Care to unravel this case?”

That quickly? Hm...

“Ok. This- *sigh*.”

This all starts... Last night, I believe. The killer was out in the corridor with Kamron, with whom they hadn't interacted, until the killer made some off-handed comment about their parents, which caught Kamron’s attention. He started talking about the parents of the other participants, including the killer’s. They seemed to have a particular distaste for their parents, particularly their deceased father, for reasons unknown, as they started to slander them, insulting them and the killer. The killer, enraged by this, leaves Kamron there and goes to the kitchen. They grab a knife, which they must have thought was blunt, to threaten him. However, when they got there, Kamron saw the weapon in their hand and panicked. They tried to lunge for the killer, but was swiftly cut off- literally- as the killer also panics and swings the knife with unusual force. This blow, to their dismay, manages to cut off Kamron’s hand. He stumbles backwards and collapsed, bleeding out. The killer, panicking, returns to their room. They stash the weapon and go straight to bed, trying to act natural.

They wake up slightly earlier than everyone else to hide the evidence. They wake up a bit too late though, and don't have as much time as they thought to clean the weapon. They simply slip it back into the knife rack and grab a quick drink, before heading back to their room. Five minutes later, they hear me scream and run outside, ‘finding’ the body along with me and two others.

That’s what happened, and our killer is...

Katelyn Momota, the Ultimate Psychiatrist!

“...it sounds so horrible when it’s repeated back to me. But, I must face the facts. I’m-”

- - -

*mumbling*

“Aspen? Did you say somethi-”

“WHAT DID YOU DO?!”

“ ! ”

“I told you not to get mad! I told you not to hurt anyone, and look what you did! You’ve... you’ve gone and killed someone, and now I’m going to lose you. I’m gonna lose you, Katelyn!”

“Aspen... Aspen, no. You can’t be upset over me, ok? I’m a killer now. I’m a bad person here.”

“No you’re not! I don’t care what you’ve done, you’re still special to me! I-I can’t lose you! Please don’t go... please...”

Aspen was doubled over on himself, and... I think he was crying oil?

“I didn’t know the robot could cry-”

“Shut up, Estrella.”

Katelyn looked genuinely confused and concerned. She shook her head.

“No, you... you’re not supposed to be upset over me. You... you shouldn’t be upset over me. You can’t.”

Aspen and Katelyn finally locked eyes. Neither said anything for a moment. Eventually, Katelyn sighed.

“I... I know there is no escaping my fate. But... I wish to do one more thing before I am killed. Monokuma, may I? I will make no attempt to escape.”

Monokuma shrugged.

“Sure, knock yourself out. ...wait, what are you doing?”

And suddenly, Katelyn was running. Not to the exit, not to Aspen, but to...

“...Eh-?! GAH-!”

Katelyn was on her knees either side of a now toppled over Estrella, with her hands around Estrella’s neck. Estrella was grabbing at Katelyn’s Arms, trying to free herself. She was being strangled.

“You BITCH! I should have wasted my damn murder on you!”

“KATELYN!”

“ESTRELLA!”

Two people ran over; Aspen and Aeja. Aeja reached them first, full on jumping at Katelyn and pushing her off Estrella. Aspen helped Estrella sit up, the girl in question being purple in the face and gasping for air. Aeja had Katelyn pinned by her wrists.

“Hah... hah...”

Estrella looked over at the girls, panting. She looked between them, and I couldn't tell which person confused her more. She nodded at Aspen, trying to stand herself up.

“Katelyn... the fuck?!”

“You... you know what you did to me, you bitch!”

After a moment, Estrella took a deep breath and grinned, placing her arms behind her head.

“Of course I do! And I don’t regret it either, you know. I’m glad I did!”

Katelyn literally growled, and suddenly she shoved Aeja off her, standing up. Estrella jumped a bit, backing up. Aeja looked at Monokuma.

“Monokuma- MONOKUMA!”

Even Monokuma looked surprised at the whole outburst, but he quickly resumed normal behaviour.

“I have a very special punishment for Katelyn Momota, Ultimate Psychiatr- SHIT-!”

With Katelyn quickly approaching Aspen, Monokuma slammed his hammer down on his button.

“Wait- Katelyn!”

#Danganronpa TNG #Katelyn Momota #TNG Spoilers #Trial

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seelaa26 · 4 years ago

Text

5. Forever Young

“May your wishes all come true. May you always do for others and let others do for you. May you always be corageous, stand upright and be strong. May you stay forever young."

Sara and I were in the Break Room filling out paperwork about the case we just closed; a case we worked for three days. Sara was the person on the team with whom I had less contact, but when we started working together on that case, I knew I was going to like her. We were both very emotional and very passionate. We weren't going to give up until we got to the end of the matter and knowing that there was somone on the team with a determination like that, it was great.

-¿What did he say when you told him that? -I asked interested in the story Sara was telling me about a boyfriend she had on her college days.

-¡That he didn't remember!

-¡No fucking way! -we both laugh at her response- You didn't believe it, ¿did you?

-No, of course not.

-¿What are you girls up to? -Warrick asked as he entered the room accompanied by Nick.

-Nothing evil if that's what worries you -I answered with a proud smile.

-Just talking about boys.

-¿You think it's too late to get out of here and pretend we haven't heard a thing? -Nick muttered out loud to his friend.

-I'm pretty sure they already put a spell on us -Warrick muttered back.

-¡Guys! -Catherine exclaimed- ¿What are you doing here? ¿Haven't you seen your phones? Grissom paged you twenty minutes ago, you've got a 419.

-Crap.. –Warrick said and looked at Nick- We have to go, ¡now! ¿You coming with, Catherine?

-No, I’m working the carnival case with Sara –she replied causing Sara to pay attention to her.

-So, ¿which case am I working on? –I wondered out loud.

-Dead jogger in the park –Catherine answered- Robbins has already started the autopsy, Grissom’s with him if you want to join.

***

I walked into the autopsy room were Dr. Robbins and Grissom were already with the body. They both looked at me and then I walked up to the table where they were going over the autopsy findings.

-¡Glad your joining, Laura! –Dr. Robbins said- ¿You ever owned a kitten?

-¿..Yes, why?

-When you play with them, they don’t just bite.. they scratch –I nodded agreeing with him- There’s no signs of claw wounds on the victim.

-¿So what are we dealing with? –Grissom asked- The teeth marks on the neck look canine. ¿Can you make a mold of the bite? Maybe we can narrow it down to breed.

-¿A canine killed him then? –I asked- Maybe I’m wrong but.. ¿isn’t that a scalpel wound?

I looked at them both waiting for an answer. Grissom raised an eyebrow and looked at me through his glasses.

-You are not wrong –Dr. Robbins explained- Whoever removed this guy’s organs knew how to handle one.

-So a dog killed him, then someone came along and cut him up.

-Someone with two legs and a medical degree –Grissom ended.

***

After finishing the autopsy, Grissom took care of the bite mold while he told me to go back to the crime scene and help my colleagues. When I arrived, most of the police were gone, but the area was still cordoned off. I crossed the tape and followed the markers that Nick and Warrick had put until I found them. I could hear them grumbling.

-¿Do you need help? –I laughed as I walked towards them.

-Yes, I do –Nick pointed his gun and then pointed at his neck- Two in the back of the head. Quick and painless.

Warrick and I laughed.

-I guess Grissom called and told you what you should be looking for.

-Collect the dog’s scat –Warrick nodded- This is combat duty.

Suddenly, we heard a thunder and seconds later it started to rain.

-¡This sucks! –Nick yelled frustrated.

-¿But it’s evidence, right? –I asked them.

-No, hair and fiber is evidence, Laura.

Warrick saw something so we leaned for a closer look.

-Don’t even waste your time, that’s cougar.

-¿How do you figure that?

-¿See the rabbit hair in the feces? –Nick shined the flashlight on it- ¿Don’t you remember the seminar, Warrick? ¿Julie?

-Julie.. –Warrick remembered- Oh.. a CSI should not be that fine.

Nick chuckled meanwhile I rolled my eyes and continued looking around the area. I saw something behind them, so I reached out and picked it up.

-¿What is that?

-Looks like dirty ice.

-Let’s take it into evidence.

-It’s evidence of a picnic, Warrick –Nick said in a frustrating way.

Back at the trace lab, the three of us were working with the evidence of the case. Warrick passed us the jars and labeled them meanwhile Nick and I were looking through the microscope examining the dog scat collected at the park.

-Corn, hamburger, rawhide.. –he mumbled- But no human cellular tissue in this sample.

-Only thirty more jars to go –Warrick said with feigned joy.

-I have a question –I said calling the attention of my coworkers- ¿Isn’t the trace lab tech supposed to take care of this?

-It is, the point is that we don’t have a trace expert.

-Maybe you could be –Nick added.

-No, thanks –I smiled at the proposal- I’ve already chosen my specialty.

-¿Which one is it?

I opened my mouth to answer him but I thought better and instead of saying it, I smiled playfully. I put my hand on the table to give me support and I looked at him. He cocked his head in surprise.

-Let’s do something, I’m going to give you three opportunities to guess my specialty –I proposed, then I reached out my hand to shake it- Whoever wins, can decide something for the other person to do.

-Deal –Nick smirked as he shook my hand- Blood Spatter Analysis.

-Wrong –I smiled- You’ve got two more.

Warrick was silent, arms folded, watching the scene. His eyes traveled from observing me to observing Nick, several times. He had that mysterious look, trying to understand what he was seeing.

-We’ve I.D. the dog –Grissom said walking into the lab- The dog is a Great Dane-Mastiff mix, and as you know most dogs have 42 teeth, ours only has 41. O’Riley called around and the one with the missing tooth is no angel.

***

We walked up to the porch and rang the door bell, then we heard a dog barking from inside. The door opened and a woman was standing there. The dog in question barked and jumped on Grissom, his paws resting comfortably on Grissom’s shoulders.

-¿Susan Hillridge?

-Yes, “Doctor” Hillridge –she proudly corrected.

-¿Is this your dog, Doctor? –she nodded- Well, you have a problem.

-Oh, no. Not again. ¿What happened?

-We are looking for a dog that had an involvement with a homicide –Grissom explained while the dog slipped off his shoulders- The dog we’re looking for is missing a tooth and I noticed yours is also missing a tooth.

-Okay, he is missing a tooth but Simba is not a violent dog.

-That may be, but we still have to take him into custody until we can determine whether or not he had any involvement in this homicide.

-You’re making a mistake.

-You said you were a doctor. ¿May I ask your specialty?

-Nutrition, my patients are mostly professional athletes –she answered with a frown in her face, she was pissed- You’ll let me know when I can pick up Simba.

-You are assuming a lot.

-So are you.

Without waiting longer, the officers took the dog, and the owner as a sign of being offended, crossed her arms and entered the house again. Grissom and I went back to the car, but on the way I told him something I had remembered.

-You know, we found a unique sample at the crime scene.. Great Dane-sized scat containing bits of premium pet store kibble –I commented- We need to find out what Dr. Hillridge feeds her dog, that could make a connection with the crime scene and the mold with the jogger.

Grissom nodded in agreement and as we climbed back into the car, his phone rang. He put it on speaker because it was Warrick.

-¡Hey! ¿You remember that ice we found at the crime scene? –he asked- It evaporated. It was dry ice, frozen CO2 sublimates into invisible gas, not water.

-The jogger was missing some organs. Surgical teams use dry ice to pack organs shipped for transplant.

-It just so happens the dog’s owner is a doctor –I added for him to know.

-Warrick get a search warrant for Dr. Hillridge’s house, when you have it come here with Nick. Laura will be waiting at the house, meanwhile I’ll return to the Lab and get the mold.

Nick was in the backyard checking the ground, and Warrick and I were inside the house. He was examining the living room and I handled the kitchen. I walked into the kitchen where Susan Hillridge was putting items into a blender.

-¿Would you mind if I looked in your freezer?

-I have a patient coming in exactly twenty minutes so if you want to rifle around until then, fine but I will not leave my place of business.

-No one’s asked you to.

I opened the large stainless steel refrigerator and looked inside. There were stacks of plastic containers neatly stacked and labeled.

-You’re very organized, Dr. Hillridge –she turned and looked at me- I imagine you’re upset about your dog.. having to put him down if it comes to that.

-I don’t hold onto things. I accept the evolution of change. None of us gets out alive but if we treat our bodies like a temple we can cheat time.

She turned around and took a step towards me. In one hand, she held a beet and in the other hand, she held a large cutting knife and held it up.

-Your eyes.. –she stared at my eyes- Your eyelids have a muted color. You have anemia. That means you have a low presence of hemoglobin.

-I know what anemia is.

-Then you should know you have to eat iron-rich foods. And you should add foods rich in folate and vitamin B-12 to support red blood cell production.

Warrick walked into the kitchen and watched Susan mixing her drink.

-Laura, ¿can you come with me for a minute?

I nodded and followed Warrick into the living room. He placed on the table a long thin box with a small plaque on the cover.

-Surgery equipment –Warrick explained- Antiques well maintained. What I find interesting is that she keeps them near the door, not in the office.

We went back to the lab and while Grissom took care of the mold and Nick of what he had found in the house, Warrick and I took care of the surgery equipment. We put the equipment on the table, we put on the lab coats and we got to work.

-Let’s find out if the owner cut the victim up –he looked at me- ¿What are we going to need?

-Reactive agents and filter paper.

-Now, we have two ways to do this. We could use the Luminol directly on the surface of the scalpel but since it is a small surface, we will use the second way -Warrick placed to small pots on the table and a pack of filter papers- One part leuko-malachite and one part hydrogen peroxide. ¿You want to do the honors?

-Yeah –I took a filter paper and ran it over the scalpel, then I put a drop of each pot on the filter paper and we both watched the paper change its color- Blue.

-Weird, ¿isn’t it? To prove the presence of hemoglobin, the stuff that makes the blood red, turns the swab blue.

***

Grissom sat behind his desk delivering the bad news to us.

-I’m sorry, guys. If she cut up that jogger she didn’t use that scalpel.

-But we found evidence of blood on it –I spoke.

-I had Sanders run a degradation on that same sample. The blood is 50 to 200 years old, antique.

Nick walked from the hallway into Grissom’s office looking for us.

-Guys, I got a match -he smiled- The scat I found at the crime scene and the scat from the doctor’s house are the same, except for one difference. The stuff from the backyard, full of human cellular tissue. Jogger DNA.

-So we got the right dog –Warrick nodded- But she didn’t cut him up with that surgery equipment we found.

Grissom’s phone rang and he answered it. Ten seconds later he stood up and left the office without giving an explanation.

-¿What now? –I asked.

-Well, we have all the items taken from the kitchen –Warrick remembered.

Back in the Layout Room, we spread out on the table part of the items from Susan Hillridge’s kitchen. The three of us were spraying Luminol on the when Nick broke the silence.

-So, Laura, ¿what subject were you better at?

Warrick and I shared a quick glance and smiled, since he did know my specialty.

-Even if I told you, it doesn’t mean anything.

-C’mon, amuse me.

-Fine –I stopped to look at him- The subject I was best at was forensic medicine.

-¿Want to shoot your second guess, Nicky? –Warrick asked, giving him a huge clue in the question. Even though he had made me laugh, I nudged him.

-I’m going to be guided by something you once said, so I’m going to go with toxicology.

I looked up until our eyes met and then I shook my head. He made a regretful gesture with his face which soon stopped as soon as he saw Grissom walking into the room.

-¿What, are you guys working in bulk now?

-If the jogger’s blood is in any of this stuff, we need to find it now –Warrick explained.

-This is only part of the kitchen –Nick pointed to the items on the counter behind Grissom, who turned around to look at them- The rest is in those bags and boxes.

-I’m ready, guys –I said when I finished spraying all the items- ¿You want to hit the lights?

Grissom turned off the lights and we started looking for any signs of blood. He walked around the table and reached out for the blender, the bottom of which was glowing.

-She made a protein shake in this yesterday right in front of us.

-¿Why would she do that? –Nick asked.

-Get this to DNA –Grissom commanded- See if this is the jogger’s blood.

-I’d place a bet on it –Warrick said.

-You’d place a bet on everything –I joked.

-True –he smiled as he put the blender inside a package, then he realized something- There’s also a drinking glass that’s glowing.

-Whoa whoa –Nick said surprised- So she’s not selling the organs on the black market.. ¿she’s eating them?

-Possibly drinking them.

***

Grissom and Sergeant O’Riley entered the interview room where Susan Hillridge was waiting for them. As usual, I was looking from behind the glass. I had to observe the techniques and questions in an interrogation because I had to be prepared for my first time interrogating a suspect. It was a key moment in the investigation and I had to show poise and confidence.

-We found blood in your kitchen blender –Grissom said looking grim- The lab has matched it to the dead jogger.

-It had to happen eventually –she answered without being affected- Think of the bugs, Grissom. Cycle of life. When we die the fable we tell ourselves is we go toward a white light and angels, but you and I both now the hard reality is that insects arrive immediately and begin turning us back to earth. They’d die if they didn’t have bodies to feed off of, and so will I –she made a dramatic pause- Porphyria.

-The madness of King George –I muttered at the same time as Grissom, only they couldn’t hear me.

-Or the Legend of the Vampire. Which makes it a real hard disease to have, but it’s real for me.

-It’s genetic –Grissom explained- Heme deficiency.

-The only thing my father gave me. The first time it presented was after a minor sunburn. I began a drug regimen but they only treated the symptoms. I had my spleen removed because it absorbed my blood, but nothing helped. Lesions started forming on my face, that’s when I bought my first dog. Bullets and poison leave residue in the blood. Dogs kill clean.

-She’s right –I nodded and I explained to Nick, who was next to me- Bullet fragments can cause lead poisoning. The exposure to lead can have both short and long term effects, ranging from small change in organ function to symptomatic life-threatening toxicity.

-You could’ve tried intravenous hematin –Grissom continued.

-Human blood is the richest source of heme.. if you lock me up, I’ll go mad. I’ll die in prison.

-Yes, but the people you’d be feeding off of will still be alive –she smiled at him as he threw her own words back at her- Cycle of life.

***

Warrick and I were picking up our things from the lockers when Nick walked in. I don’t know if it was by chance or Warrick did it on purpose, but he managed to be faster than me, so he crossed paths with Nick when he left. We were both alone.

-¿Can I have my last chance before you go? -I nodded while I put my bag on the bench and looked inside to make sure I wasn’t forgetting anything- Ballistics.

I looked up surprised and saw that he was in front of me with his arms crossed and a proud but cute smile on his face.

-Congratulations –I smiled back- You are right. I’m a gun girl.

-I know –he breathed, placed his hands on his waist and looked at me again- Ever since I met you I’ve always thought of you as someone with a pump-action. Besides, that explanation about the bullets in the interview has made me feel confident about my choice.

-¿Then what took you so long? –I wondered- ¿Why Toxicology?

-Well, you once said something about.. your uncle and alcohol –he answered carefully, not knowing how that was going to affect me- I thought it was a reason.

-It is a reason, but it’s just not mine –I smirked to make him see I was fine- I just like guns and shooting.

-Maybe you can tell me more when we are having dinner.

-¿Dinner? –I asked, then I realized- ¿That’s the price of you winning the bet?

-¿You don’t feel like going to dinner with me?

Absolutely yes. Damn right I wanted to, but I had to show calm and not nervousness or Nick would notice the desire I had.

-Actually, dinner it’s what I would’ve proposed to you but I was interested to see what you proposed.

-Wait.. –he stopped and looked at me with a frown- ¿Are you saying that you have let me win?

I put the bag on my shoulder and got close enough to him to whisper in his ear.

-¿How do you know that the explanation about the bullets wasn’t on purpose for you to realize?

I moved a few inches away so that Nick could see my seductive smile, to which he replied with another smile from the same caliber. He felt like he should do the same, so he got close to me. Close enough to make me feel shivers down my spine.

-¿..And how do you know that I didn’t know the answer from the beginning and I’ve been playing the game because I wanted to?

Being so close and with this tension in between, made me think that something was emerging between us. Maybe it was just a silly flirtation between coworkers and there was nothing else, but that flirting, if not controlled, would turn into fire. The decision was to let it burn or turn it off before its expansion. The thing is.. ¿if it doesn’t burn a little then what’s the point of playing with fire?

-¿Dinner tonight then? –I proposed.

-Cowboys ware playing tonight and I’m meeting a friend to watch it –he rejected, even though you could see he didn’t want to- When I know the schedule for next week, I’ll tell you something, ¿okay?

-Perfect –I placed my hand on his shoulder and smiled at him- ¡Have fun tonight and go cowboys!

-¡Damn right!

#csi #csi las vegas #gil grissom #sara sidle #catherine willows #warrick brown #nick stokes #george eads #csi fic #fanfic

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singledarkshade · 4 years ago

Text

Magical Mix Up

Summary: When Constantine uses a spell to locate Rip, it leads them to a hospital and a nurse called Rory Williams. Taking him back to the Waverider they try to get him to remember who he really is. While Rory's wife Amy is searching for him with the Doctor, they come across an unconscious man in a long brown duster. Author’s Note: I had a small idea and shared it with the Discord Ripchat group, which sent it from a small possible one-shot to a larger story. This is a birthday present for @riphuntertimemasterlegend. Happy Birthday, I hope you enjoy. Chapter One

“I have one more patient for you, Rory,” Davy on the desk said, handing him a chart, “Some kind of burn.”

Rory Williams took the chart and scanned it quickly, “Okay. What’s open?”

“Curtain three,” Davy replied giving him a smile.

Nodding to the other man, Rory headed out to the waiting room which wasn’t too bad for a Sunday afternoon in the middle of the summer.

“Mr Constantine,” Rory called. His patient stood and Rory frowned in surprise to see the man wearing a trench coat, white shirt and a red tie, his dyed blond hair was a mess, and he had the look that he had just rolled out of bed, “Please come with me.”

As a blonde woman stood to join them, Rory shook his head, “Sorry, you’ll have to wait here for the moment.”

Rory’s patient turned to the blonde woman, had a quick, annoyed whispered discussion before she sat down and he turned to Rory with a charming smile, “Lead on, mate.”

Walking the man through the security doors, Rory motioned him to take a seat on the bed and pulled up the stool.

“Okay,” Rory told him, “Looking over your information it says that you burned your arm. I’ll do an exam to check the area, and if required I will get one of the doctors to take over, or I will clean it up.”

Constantine shrugged, “Really sorry about this, mate but I lied a little bit.”

Confused Rory heard a strange noise behind him, turning he saw the blonde woman from the waiting room walking through a portal to what looked like a ship or space station. Spinning off his stool, Rory grabbed a scalpel out the kit to defend himself.

“I know you’re confused, Rip,” the blonde woman said, “But we’re your friends and we’re taking you home.”

Gripping the scalpel and letting the Centurion in his head free, Rory replied, “No idea who you are and I’m going nowhere.”

Constantine shrugged, “Sorry, mate,” he pulled a strange looking silver device from his pocket and a flash of light filled Rory’s vision before everything went black.

Sara Lance sighed as she watched Rip fall to the ground, “That could have gone better.”

John frowned at her while crouching down to relieve the unconscious man of the scalpel before pulling him off the ground and onto his back in a fireman’s lift, “You’re not kidding.”

“Let’s get back to the ship before anyone comes looking for him,” Sara motioned John back onto the Waverider.

Carrying the unconscious form of his amnesiac friend, John was relieved when they entered the ship and Sara closed the portal. Resting Rip on the medical couch Sara slid the cuff onto his arm and checked the readouts. They now had to wait until he woke up to see if he remembered anything now that he was onboard the ship once more.

“Well?” John asked.

“As far as I can tell he’s healthy,” Sara noted before frowning at him, “It would be easier with Gideon.”

“That wasn’t my fault,” John defended himself, “I had no idea that the idol would react with the spell in that way.”

Sara rolled her eyes, “Now we have no AI because she’s suddenly human, unconscious and in Star Labs.”

John frowned, “From everything the doc told us, she’ll be fine and she’s sleeping just now. It’s probably a lot to assimilate going from an AI to human. If we give her time, I’m sure she’ll wake up soon just like Dr Snow told us.”

“Until then we can’t really go anywhere,” Sara sighed. She looked down at the man on the bed before her, “He looks different.”

John shrugged, “Well you said this is a camouflage. He’s bound to look different.”

“I mean the last time I saw him without the beard he looked odd, but it seems to suit him now,” Sara mused, shaking herself she turned back to John, “Do you have any ideas how to return his memories to him? Because I only know of one way and, without Gideon, it’s not possible.”

John mused, “There are a few spells and rituals I can try but since this was caused by the time drive and not a spell or curse then it becomes tricky.”

“Well, the last time this happened ‘Phil’ was writing about us,” Sara said, “So it was slightly easier for him to accept his movie was basically real. But this time he’s a nurse? It’s the last thing I expected.”

John shook his head sadly, “Rip is a lot more compassionate than you give him credit for, Sara. He just knows how to hide it because he was raised to believe it was a bad thing.”

She pinned him with a sharp look, “I didn’t know you two were such good friends.”

“Spend some time almost getting eaten alive by a demon,” John noted with a shrug, “You tend to bond.”

Sara checked the screen again, “Let’s leave him to rest. I’ve set the alarm to let us know when he wakes up and put up a forcefield so he can’t leave this room. We don’t want him getting anywhere near the time drive.”

John nodded, “You can say that again.”

Ray, Jax and Zari looked up when Sara and John entered the bridge, Mick was lounging in a chair with a beer in his hand, but the tilt of his head let Sara know he was paying attention. Ava was sitting stiffly on the chair in the parlour, with Nate not far from her both looking annoyed as they had been voted down when Constantine said he could possibly locate Rip.

“How is he?” Ray demanded instantly.

Sara gave a slight wince, “He has no memory of us.”

“So, he’s Phil again?” Jax asked.

Sara stole one of Mick’s beers and took a seat on the stairs, “No.”

“Then who does he think he is?” Ray and Jax demanded in unison.

“Rory Williams,” John spoke up, “A nurse working in London.”

Mick let out a snort of amusement while Jax said, “At least he’s still English this time.”

“Once he wakes up John is going to try to retrieve his memories,” Sara told them, “But as with Phil, we just have to remind him we’re his friends, that his memories are fake, and he belongs here.”

A snort from Nate made Sara turn to him and Ava, “Neither you nor Ava need talk to him at all but if you do remember at the moment, he isn’t Rip.”

Ava shrugged, “We’ll try.”

Rory’s head was killing him. Pressing a hand to his forehead, he slowly opened his eyes before slamming them shut when the light jabbed through them like a knife. Trying to get his bearings, Rory wondered what happened because he was sure he had been at the hospital. If the Doctor had kidnapped him from work, he was going to kill the Time Lord.

“Amy?” he murmured, letting her know he was awake because he knew she would be at his side if he was hurt or sick. Especially if the Doctor had picked them up. He was confused and saddened when his wife wasn’t there sliding her fingers through his hair and telling him to stop being lazy.

Finally, he forced his eyes open and frowned as he looked around a medical bay, realising he was on a ship, a space station or just a good bit in the future. Suddenly Rory remembered the last patient he had.

“Son of a…” he breathed, looking around properly.

He was still in his scrubs which meant whatever they’d done to him had been while at work.

“You’re awake,” a voice came from behind him making Rory turn to find a blonde woman walk in. She was a good bit smaller than him, but Rory could see from her bare arms she was extremely fit, and from her stance, the Centurion part of his brain noted she was a warrior.

“Who are you?” Rory demanded, “Where am I? And what do you want?”

She stepped forward trying to look unthreatening, “My name is Sara Lance and, I know how confusing this will be for you, but I promise it’s the truth.”

Rory folded his arms waiting for the explanation.

“Your name is Rip Hunter,” Sara told him, “You were stopping a Time Demon and used the core of this ship. It sent you through time and changed your memories as a camouflage. I understand you think you’re someone else but you’re not. We’re your friends and we’re going to help you recall who you really are.”

Staring at her, Rory finally managed to say sharply, “I know exactly who I am, Miss Lance. And I’m going home.”

“There,” she smiled, “That was the real you for a moment. Hold onto that and we’ll get you back.”

Shaking his head in bemusement, Rory stared at her, “What is wrong with you?”

“I know this is strange,” Sara said, “But this is for your own good. I made a promise to a friend of ours that if I found you then I wouldn’t let you leave again.”

Rory remained silent trying to work out his next move but began to pace so he could get closer to the door, hopefully without her realising.

“Your room is still here,” Sara said, moving so she was the same distance from him as he walked, “It was locked until recently so all your things are there for you to go through, which will hopefully help you remember who you are.”

Rory reached the door and shook his head, “No, thanks.” Hitting the button to open the door he ran into the corridor and chose a direction at random. Running through the corridor he saw a tall man with dark hair coming towards him.

“Rip?” the man grinned at him, “It’s so good to see you.”

Letting the Centurion take control, Rory ducked and caught the man in his stomach throwing the man over his shoulder and onto the floor. The man let out a loud oomph as he hit the ground, and although the nurse part of his mind wanted to check the other man was alright, thankfully the Centurion part was in control. Turning a corner Rory stalled finding the man, John, who had been his supposed patient standing there.

“I know you’re confused, mate,” John said, “But this is your home, Rip.”

“What is wrong with you people,” Rory snapped, “Why can’t any of you listen to what I’m saying. I am not this Rip guy. My name is Rory Williams, I have never met any of you before today and no matter what you say or do, I’m not going to remember a life that wasn’t mine.”

Just as he finished talking, something thudded across the back of his head and Rory dropped to the ground unconscious again.

“Did you have to hit him?” the annoyed voice of Sara came as Rory swam towards consciousness with yet another headache.

A man grunted, “Seemed quickest way to stop him after what he did to haircut.”

Rory heard Sara let out a sigh before she said, “Let’s not give him any more brain damage, Mick.”

“Whatever,” the man grumbled.

Forcing his eyes open Rory realised he was not in the medical bay this time but, from the looks of things, a cell. Slowing sitting up he found Sara standing on the other side of the glass with concern on her face.

“Are you okay?”

Rory glared at her, “Well I’ve been abducted by a bunch of lunatics who keep knocking me out, while trying to convince me I’m someone I’m not. How do you think I am?”

She gave a slight smile, “There are some painkillers and water just down in the corner, and something to eat if you’re hungry.”

“Or you can let me go and I’ll get something at home,” Rory shot back at her while he found the painkillers.

Sara winced, “I know this seems harsh, Rip but it’s for your own protection. The last time this happened I let Thawne and his Legion of Doom take you, and I can’t let that happen again.”

Rory sat on the bench again, “So your logic for keeping me captive is so someone else doesn’t? That makes complete sense.”

“I left you some books and a few of your diaries to read through,” Sara told him, “We’ll talk a little later once you’ve had some time.”

Rory watched her leave and sighed. He listened to the Doctor every day, but this was true nonsense. Finding the small stack of books, Rory lifted the top one opening to the first page finding it was handwritten and realised this was the diary of the man they thought he was. A part of him wanted to read it a little but he didn’t want to invade the person they thought he was privacy. Closing it and putting it carefully to one side, Rory checked what else was sitting there and found Treasure Island, one of his favourites.

Putting the blanket and pillows they’d given him on the floor to sit on, Rory started to read.

John sat watching the security feed of the cells as Sara spoke with Rip, or Rory as he was calling himself these days. It was odd watching his friend like this, he truly believed he was this Rory Williams and there wasn’t even a hint of recognition of any of them.

If they had Gideon, it was possible she would be able to get through to him, but currently Gideon wasn’t an option.

“Well?” Sara appeared at his side.

“He looked at the diary then put it down,” John told her, “I don’t think he’s going to read it. We need to try something else.”

Sara frowned, “What about your spell?”

“I need some supplies,” John said, “I’ll go pick them up in the morning,” adding before she could argue, “A night-time trip isn’t a good idea.”

Dropping into the seat beside him, Sara stared at the man on the screen, “Rip was always close to Jax, and Ray gets along with basically everyone. Maybe I should get one of them to try get through to him.”

John shrugged, “Why not? Or you could try your girlfriend.”

Sara frowned at him, before ignoring the jibe, “I’ll ask Ray to try first. Jax still has some issues from evil Rip.”

*********************************************

Rory drank the tea he’d been given with his breakfast as he continued to read the book. He’d been fed and managed to get some sleep but was still in a cell. Rory wondered what Amy thought happened to him and hoped that the Doctor would be able to track him down somehow. He smiled slightly imagining Amy walking in, with River at her side, taking out anyone between her and him.

The door to the room outside the glass opening interrupted Rory in the middle of a chapter. He let out an annoyed sigh, marking his place with the handy bookmark that was already inside the novel, placing it to one side before looking up at whoever had come in to annoy him some more.

“You’re the one I hit yesterday,” Rory noted seeing the tall man with perfect coiffed dark hair, looking like he stepped off the page of a magazine, “I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

The other man gave a shrug, “I’m okay. I’m Ray,” he introduced himself, “And you’re using the name Rory just now, right?”

“I’m not using it,” Rory replied sharply, “It’s my name.”

Ray winced for a moment before he pulled a chair over and sat, “It’s not. Your name is Rip Hunter, although that’s not the name you had as a kid. You were originally called Michael but in order to become a Time Master, you had to change it, so you chose Rip.” He paused, for a moment before explaining, “Time Masters were at one point the supposed guardians of time. They raised you and until a few years ago you worked for them.”

Rory rolled his eyes but held his tongue for the moment knowing the more information he had the better.

“You saved a lot of lives making and stopping alterations to the timeline,” Ray continued, “Then your wife Miranda and son Jonas were killed by a man called Vandal Savage who it turned out was working with the Time Masters. You recruited us to stop them, which we managed to do, and we protect the timeline now.”

“My wife’s name is Amy,” Rory said softly, “And my daughter is called Melody. Both are perfectly fine. I have never heard of Time Masters and I have no idea who any of you are.”

Ray sighed annoyed but Rory was beginning to go over and over the idea of Time Masters. If these people had access to time travel, that would allow Rory a possible way to contact the Doctor.

“Rip,” Ray sighed, “I know things were bad between us all for a while, but you sacrificed yourself for us. The fact you survived is incredible and I can understand why you want to hide in this life you created for yourself after everything but it’s time to come home.”

Rory shook his head, “It’s a nice sentiment but no matter what you say, I am not and have never been Rip Hunter.”

Ray grimaced before he stood, for a moment Rory thought he was about to say something else before he simply walked out.

“We can’t keep him locked in the cell,” Zari said as the team gathered in the library, “It’s not fair.”

“Don’t see why not,” Nate muttered.

“Because he isn’t a danger to us,” Zari reminded him sharply.

Ava frowned, “Tell that to Ray.”

“I’m fine,” Ray spoke up, “But he’s insistent he’s not Rip, and I think he’ll try to get off the ship any way he can.”

Sara sighed softly, “John is getting supplies to try the spell for returning Rip’s memories, until then he stays in the cell. I don’t like it either,” she stopped Zari arguing, “But it’s for his own protection and our safety. Rip, no matter what memories he holds, is still very smart and he could cause problems for us.”

“How long till John does the spell?” Jax asked.

Sara shrugged, “He said he had to collect some ingredients. I’m hoping he’ll be back soon.”

“What about Gideon?” Ray changed the subject, “Have we heard from Star Labs?”

With a smile, Sara replied, “Barry called earlier. Gideon is not only awake but is in good health and Dr Snow is just keeping her under observation for a few days.”

“That’s good,” Jax sighed in relief.

“For now,” Sara said, “We’re stuck here in Star City. So, you may as well visit family and friends or pick up some supplies you want. I will stay on the ship and keep an eye on Rip.”

“Are you sure?” Ava asked, “One of…”

“I’m sure,” Sara cut her off, “He’s my responsibility.”

Rory looked round when the door opened again, wondering who was coming to persuade him he was someone else this time. A different blonde woman walked in, taller than Sara, and looked at him with distaste.

“I don’t know what your game is this time, Rip,” she said sharply, “But I know you’re making sure they let their guard down before you do whatever you’re planning.”

Rory stared at her for a minute before laughing, “You are crazier than the rest of them.”

“After what you did to me,” she snarled, “I know how untrustworthy you are.”

Letting out a sigh, Rory stood and moved to face her, “Look, whoever you are.”

“You know who I am,” she snapped.

“Whoever you are,” Rory repeated, “Your people abducted me. You all keep telling me I’m someone I’m not while holding me prisoner. Whatever issues you have with that guy, I know nothing about them and have nothing to do with them. Though I can offer the number of a good therapist for you to talk through whatever you need to.”

Anger flashing in her eyes, the woman leaned in and she stated darkly, “Even when you ‘get your memories back’” she put in the air quotes, “I will make sure you stay in this cell.”

With that said she turned, her hair flipping over her shoulder as she marched out. Just before the door closed, he clearly heard Sara’s voice demanding, “Ava, what are you doing?”

Sighing Rory sat and picked up his book again, he’d been here a day and as they’d used some kind of portal technology then Rory was sure the Doctor would be able to find him.

At least that was what he was telling himself.

#fic #doctor who #rory williams #legends of tomorrow #sara lance #john constantine #ray palmer #jefferson 'jax' jackson #nate heywood #zari tarazi #ava sharpe #crossover

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raywritesthings · 5 years ago

Text

In the Dead of Night 4/9

My Writing Fandom: Arrow Characters: Laurel Lance, Oliver Queen, Sara Lance, Ra’s al Ghul, Nyssa al Ghul, John Diggle, Tommy Merlyn, Malcolm Merlyn, Thea Queen, Moira Queen Pairing: Laurel Lance/Oliver Queen (Eventual) Summary: Oliver Queen returns to Starling City after five years away, three years after Sara Lance was found and rescued by her mother. More troubling to him is Laurel’s abrupt and unexplained absence from the city for the same length of time that her sister’s been home. Three years into the past, Dinah Lance makes a terrible choice. *Can be read on my AO3 or FFN (links to both accounts are in bio)*

Present day

Oliver was speechless. What he had just heard...it seemed unthinkable.

Yet the evidence of its truth stood in front of him. Sara was keeping several feet out of reach, and whether that was a conscious decision or not, it was a wise one.

“Your mother traded Laurel to a cult of murderers in the Himalayas,” he repeated, for his own benefit as much as hers, “and you just stood there?”

“Whatever you want to say to me about it or call me has already gone through my head, Oliver. I know it was wrong.”

“Then why haven’t you confessed to the authorities? Your father?” He was barely remembering to check his volume, and it was only his desire to have all the facts that had him doing so.

“Because the League is too powerful for any of them. Once mom made the deal, Ra’s promised to kill our whole family and Starling City itself if we went back on it. But that hasn’t kept me from feeling guilty, okay?” She gestured to herself. “It’s hard enough not to spend the whole day crying. I wish I had died on that boat, if it had stopped all of this from happening.”

He pushed a hand through his hair, trying to reign in both his temper and his panic. Laurel was trapped with a powerful army of killers. Forced to become one herself. Was she even still alive? How did he find her?

“You said I needed to be able to best the Dark Archer to have a chance at getting Laurel back. Why?”

“He’s with the League. I don’t know how, but that’s their uniform he was wearing on the news. If you can’t beat him, we have no chance.”

He stared down at his battered and bruised body and felt more worthless than ever. The duel with the Dark Archer would set him back weeks in physical recovery. And even if he got back to where he’d been, that still wouldn’t be enough.

So he had to get even better. There was no other option. No one else knew where to look for Laurel or would be willing to do whatever it took to right this wrong. Oliver could not afford to give up.

This was his fault. If not for his own betrayal, Sara and her mother would never have been in the position to do this to Laurel.

But that they had at all...he couldn’t fathom it.

“Where is Nanda Parbat?”

Sara shook her head. “We only get one shot at this if we’re lucky, Ollie. I won’t tell you until you’re ready.”

“There’s no we, Sara.” His hand was clenched in a fist without him even realizing it.

“She’s my sister—”

“You let her be traded for your own freedom!”

They both went totally silent the moment after. Footsteps could be heard out in the corridor. Sara hurried to the connected bathroom, leaving the light off and pulling the door mostly closed.

A nurse stuck her head in his room. “Everything alright, Mr. Queen?”

He had to force his voice into a more friendly tone. “Yeah. I just, uh, had a bad dream.”

She nodded. “Okay, well if you need anything, don’t hesitate to hit the call button.”

“Thank you.”

She left, and the smile instantly dropped from his face. After a few minutes, Sara crept out of the bathroom.

“I know what I did, Oliver,” she hissed. “I also know I haven’t been able to eat a full meal or sleep more than a couple hours a night since. What my mother did, it wasn’t giving me freedom.” What he could make out of her expression in the dark looked haunted. “If Laurel wants to kill me when we get there, I’m fine with that. But I cannot just keep sitting here.”

Oliver remained silent. He wasn’t prepared to promise anything right now.

Sara moved back to the door of his room, peering out the window to check for a clear opening.

“You can’t tell my father. If he knows, he’ll want to go himself. And they’d kill him.”

On that at least, they could agree. He nodded once, and Sara turned and slipped out the door.

Oliver relaxed back against his pillows, but he got no more sleep that night. In the morning, he discharged himself and called a cab to take him home, much to the surprise of his family when he arrived.

He couldn’t put on an act for them right now, so he excused himself to his room. Once there, he turned on his computer. Where could he get started? His injuries would need another couple of days before he could start pushing himself to train back up, but was there anything he could find out about the League on his own?

Oliver reached into his wallet and took out Laurel’s picture. His thumb smoothed down the folding edges as he laid it out on the desk. No matter how slim a chance, he couldn’t give up. Not on her.

Two hours into a fruitless search, Digg knocked on and opened his door.

“Your mother called to say you’d come home. Should have known you wouldn’t even take a day.” When he said nothing, John frowned and shut the door. “Oliver, what is it?”

He looked up. “Sara visited me after hours. She told me the truth about how her mother found her and brought her home. And it’s why Laurel is missing.”

He repeated everything Sara had told him, trying to keep his emotions in check as he did so.

“I know I’m partly responsible. Because of the way I treated people before the island, it gave Mrs. Lance the excuse to choose one of her daughters over the other.” Oliver shook his head. “I just can’t see how someone could make that choice.” Even when Ivo had had a gun to Shado and Sara’s heads, he hadn’t been able to, only acting on instinct to try and stop it when the man had taken aim.

If Dinah Lance were still in Starling, he would be considering a visit to ask her how she’d made that choice. But a trip to Central was out of the question given his current condition, and it would only serve as a distraction to what his goal needed to be: getting Laurel back. If that were even possible.

Were it not, Dinah Lance would be receiving more than a visit.

John had his arms crossed. “Oliver, are you sure any of this actually happened and it wasn’t just some dream you had in the middle of the night?”

Oliver gave him a look. “I know it was real, Diggle.”

“But a secret group of killers that lives in the mountains and carries out hits with medieval weaponry? How do we know any of this is real?”

“Sara says the Dark Archer is one of them. He was wearing their uniform.”

“Then what’s he doing here?”

Oliver shrugged. “The man who wrote my father’s list hired him to kill me. He didn’t succeed, but no one knows that yet. I’m going to use that to my advantage so I can train uninterrupted. I have to be better than I was that night.” He frowned as he added, “Sara won’t give me the location of the League until I am.”

“Oliver, even if the Dark Archer is one of them, going to this Nanda Parbat doesn’t seem to be part of your father’s mission. Maybe you should be keeping your focus on that.”

“I can’t now that I know the truth, John. This happened because I took Sara on the Gambit. Because I betrayed Laurel first. How can I hope to right my father’s wrongs if I refuse to right my own?”

His eyes fell again to Laurel’s picture. For five years, the promise he had made himself to reunite with her and make up for his sins had kept him going through torture, through Hell itself. He would fight a thousand leagues to fulfill that promise. It was what she deserved.

John considered all that for a time. “Let me see what I can find out from my contacts about this League. We’re gonna need all the information we can get.”

That night, they all received news of a different kind; Walter’s things had been discovered abandoned in an elevator at Queen Consolidated, and he couldn’t be reached. Without any sort of explanation or notice from an outside party, it was hard for him to know how to feel. Oliver had always liked his father’s old friend, but he had only just begun to start thinking of him as part of the family. Thea was far more shaken by contrast, and their mother was inconsolable.

“Maybe it’s the same people that made Laurel disappear,” Thea mused on the couch late one night. Her eyes were fixed on the fireplace, and the flames reflected brightly in her wet eyes. “Maybe they’re just coming for each of us one by one.”

“I’m sure they’re not related, Speedy. And it’s gonna be fine.” He reached over to guide her to rest on his good shoulder. Things would be fine once he was ready to act on the information he did have. He would make things right again with their home.

Oliver began training as soon as he was able. It was important not just for Laurel’s sake, but the city’s as well. Crime and exploitation had not stopped just because the Hood was on medical leave. Just over six weeks after his fight with the Dark Archer, a story came out about a former firefighter who had survived a terrible blaze five years ago and decided to exact revenge on the members of his squadron he’d felt had left him for dead. After attacking them one by one, he had exposed himself when going after the Fire Chief and burning the both of them together. Reading about it in the paper the next morning had Oliver wishing he had some advance warning on looming threats in Starling. The list, he could admit thanks to Diggle’s prodding, was only a partial indicator of the ails his city was plagued with.

He had trained harder and longer than ever before, even on the island, and he put it to the test going up against Diggle’s old army commander and a group of his men who had turned criminal. For a return of the Hood, it was a triumphant one; he cut through the group without a scratch on him.

John was disappointed in his old commanding officer, but Oliver watched him push it aside in the base that night as he walked up to him with a file. “Heard back from my contact at the CIA. She says the League has been something on their radar for a while now, but they don’t have much. The name Ra’s al Ghul checks out, though. And she said thanks for the tip about the uniforms.”

Oliver nodded once.

“But they don’t have the location for this Nanda Parbat, Oliver.”

He drew in a breath. “Then it’s time to call Sara. Time for her to make good.”

He was ready. He had to be.

---

Three years ago

Laurel didn’t remember drifting off into exhaustion. The next thing she knew, there was a loud knocking on the door and she sat up, rubbing at the soreness in her freezing limbs from having spent however many hours on the floor. She stood just as the door was unlocked and pushed open.

A masked and hooded woman came in and thrust a bundle of black cloth in her direction. It was the same as she and all the others were wearing.

“You will change and be brought before Ra’s.”

“What if I don’t want to see him?”

“Disobedience is not tolerated in the League. You will serve the will of the Demon Head or die.”

And if she died, so did Starling City. Laurel accepted the bundle numbly and was left alone. She struggled into the clothes, trying to figure out where the various fastenings came together, and she couldn’t find the face covering. Her guide returned, and Laurel had to hope she was presentable enough as she was led back through the labyrinth of tunnels to the main chamber.

Ra’s stood on the dais, and when Laurel was brought forward, her guide pushed on her shoulders until she was forced to kneel. She had to bite the inside of her cheek to avoid snapping at the other woman not to touch her.

“Dinah Laurel Lance. You carry the name of a mother who abandoned you. That mother matters to you no longer. From this day forward, your allegiance is to the League and to me, Ra’s al Ghul.”

There was a pause, and she wondered if she was expected to say anything. But he continued on eventually.

“I do not desire your blind trust in my rule. That is why each new member of the League of Assassins is brought to witness a demonstration of my power.” He nodded to the side, and four League members came forward carrying a large cinder block between them.

Their leader got into position as if to do push-ups, and the cinder blocks were laid one by one on his back. His arms and legs remained locked in place, not even shaking under the added strain.

“Two more.”

These blocks were placed near his feet and his hands. Laurel watched as he lifted a foot as well as his opposite hand off the ground, remaining in perfect balance. The blocks were slid underneath. Then Ra’s drew in a breath before bringing his foot and hand down onto each of them, cracking the blocks in two.

The League members cleared away the debris as Ra’s leveraged himself back up and paced away from the mess he’d caused. Laurel had to wonder if he was walking some pain off, and returned to biting her cheek to hold in a laugh. She was delirious or insane. That man had split a block of cinder with his own toes and she’d thought of laughing?

“Every member of the League is reborn when they join. Part of that process is in receiving a new name. I planned to call your sister Taer Al Sahfer. Yellow bird in your native tongue,” he said as he paced before her.

“But you require a different name. Cast out, abandoned by your own blood. Serving me in the place of another. A cheerless bird in a gilded cage.” He stopped and pronounced, “Taer Al Aswad. The black bird.”

Laurel didn’t even know if she could say that without hearing it another twenty times first.

“You will begin your training. Nyssa will lead your instruction.”

They were starting already?

Nyssa stepped forward. “Father, Al Owal is—”

“Al Owal is not the one who brought an outsider to Nanda Parbat for healing. You made the girl your responsibility, and her replacement shall be yours as well. Do not question my decisions.”

Nyssa lowered her head. “If it is your will, Ra’s, I will see it done.”

Laurel rose when Ra’s indicated she should do so, and Nyssa left the chamber at a quick march she was forced to follow if she didn’t wish to get lost in the cavernous fortress.

They entered a room with an open floor and a rack of weapons lining either side wall.

“Select a weapon.” Nyssa gestured to one of the racks. “You will learn to master all of them, but to begin we must see where your proficiencies lie. And your deficiencies.”

Laurel looked down the row of swords, knives, bows and arrows, until she spotted a staff. That one seemed the least lethal, so she picked it up.

“Okay, so what now — hey!” Laurel had barely turned around when Nyssa struck her arm with her own staff, and she didn’t stop there. She backed away and was pursued by the other woman until she found herself up against a wall. Laurel only just managed to get her staff up between them to block a swing aimed for her head.

“What the hell?”

“There is no waiting to begin,” her teacher stated. She barely seemed out of breath. This was going to suck.

Laurel found it hard to sleep that night from the red welts that covered her arms, legs, and torso. The pain was what finally convinced her; this was real. She was really expected to join these people and carry out whatever Ra’s al Ghul asked of her.

This wasn’t going to be some easy training course. If she wanted to avoid additional pain, she was going to have to work fast.

Even with her newfound motivation, Laurel did not escape her training unharmed. Every day seemed to bring with it new cuts, scrapes, and bruises. Her teachers were relentless, as she learned to battle with first Nyssa and then multiple assailants. When she suffered a broken wrist at the hands of Al Owal, she was expected to keep fighting until she had disarmed him. Only then was she allowed to have it wrapped.

She was given lessons in stealth, languages, and poisoning among other skills. It made cramming for law school seem like a breeze, but Laurel was eager to avoid any punishment for slacking and so she learned them all.

One evening, hours into a session of sparring with knives, Laurel finally managed to disarm Nyssa. She kept her weapons trained on the other woman, breathing hard but refusing to drop her guard. She knew her teacher would only use that for an opening.

Nyssa smirked, one of the first times she had shown anything like approval. “Good. I will tell my father you are ready.”

“Ready for what?”

“The final test.”

The next morning, Laurel was woken early and brought to the main chamber. Other members of the League stood around the edges of the room, and a man was waiting in the center.

“Taer al Aswad. Alriyh. You have both completed your training,” Ra’s stated as he stood between them. “Now you must prove yourselves to me. Only one of you will leave this room alive to join my service, once you have bested the other in mortal combat.”

She looked sharply to Nyssa, but the other woman only stared back solemnly.

“You will each choose a weapon and begin.”

Ra’s walked back to the dais. Laurel’s heart was racing as she went to the rack. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched Alriyh grab a sword.

She didn’t want to kill him. She didn’t even know the man, but that didn’t make the idea of taking his life any easier. But if she let herself be killed, would that count as her breaking the deal with Ra’s? What would happen to her city?

Alriyh turned and swung at her before her hand had fully closed on the handle of her own sword. Laurel was immediately forced on the defensive, the clash of their swords loud in her ears. A nick to the back of her right thigh produced a growl in the back of her throat, and she started to push back against his advances.

His attacks were swift and done in quick succession of each other, giving credence to his name — The Wind — but his swings tended to go wide whenever she dodged him instead of blocking and he was forced to follow all the way through. Laurel recalled a session with Nyssa when her teacher had instructed her to only dodge and refrain from blocking, and Laurel put it to use in the moment.

She ducked under his arm and sliced at his left side. Alriyh staggered with an agonized yell, but when she hesitated he renewed his attack. His eyes were wild and crazed, and Laurel knew without doubt he would kill her given the first chance—

There was an opening again, and she saw it. In the next instant, she’d taken it, her blade sliding true through the underside of his rib-cage. Alriyh cried out but fell silent as he hit the floor. Laurel stood over him, breathing heavily and unable to take her eyes off the body.

There was no cheering or clapping, and for that she was grateful. She wouldn’t have been able to stomach that sort of response.

Ra’s stepped off the dais and walked down to her.

“Well done, Taer al Aswad. I am satisfied to know I was delivered a fine assassin.”

Like any time she was reminded of her mother and the bargain she had made to leave Laurel here in Sara’s place, Laurel felt her blood run cold. To this day, she could not think of the woman without hearing her own screams in her ears.

“It is time for you to begin carrying out the League’s mission for the world. We are assassins, not out of enjoyment of the kill but to prevent more killing and destruction. Those we target are truly evil, and would throw our world into chaos. By removing them, we bring humanity all the closer to peace.”

Laurel stared straight ahead. She could not meet his eyes, because she knew if she did Ra’s would see just how little she actually believed his words.

“You will leave in three days’ time. Nyssa will accompany you.” He dismissed her, and Laurel spent the night in her room pacing and thinking about what she would soon have to do.

The League member could be considered an act of self-defense, but to plan and commit an assassination of someone who posed no threat to her? Her stomach churned at the thought.

---

Present day

Things had been feeling pretty bleak the last few months, ever since the news about Laurel having actually been missing had broken. Now with Walter gone, Tommy was starting to wonder if this city had a one-in, one-out policy.

He felt tremendously guilty he hadn’t realized the truth about Laurel’s disappearance. In hindsight, it seemed so obvious. She would have never just up and left the city or her father like that. Maybe he’d just been too busy chasing false leads to Hong Kong for Oliver to notice what had happened right under his nose. The morbid side to him couldn’t help thinking it was far too late now. It wasn’t fair. He’d spent the last five years mourning his one best friend, and now that Oliver was back Tommy was mourning the other.

On top of that, everything with Walter was throwing the Queens back into their own period of grief. He decided to stop by the manor one afternoon to check on them and was let in by Raisa. Thea was coming down the main stairs.

“You picked a great time.”

“Oh?”

“Ollie and mom are getting into things again. We only just got her to start leaving the house, and now he’s upsetting her.” She grabbed her coat from the front closet. “So, I’m going out with friends.”

“Which friends?”

“Nice try.”

She slipped out the door, and Tommy stood in the front hall, torn between going after her or investigating the argument that had caused her exit. In the end, he knew Thea would rebuff his company at the moment, so he headed further into the house.

He found Oliver and Mrs. Queen in the sitting room. Mr. Diggle was standing against the wall and watching the two as they argued.

“I just don’t like the idea of you going away, and at a time like this.”

“I wouldn’t be going away, mom. Just a few days.”

“Well, I’ve heard that before, and we all know how that turned out.”

“Digg would be with me, and planes are supposed to be safer than yachts anyway.”

Tommy chose to make his presence known at that point. “Who’s taking a plane?”

Mrs. Queen looked up. “No one, if I have anything to say about it.” She sighed as she rose from the couch and walked up to him. “See if you can’t put some sense into my son’s head, would you, Tommy? Apparently my feelings on the matter hold little sway.”

She continued out of the room and up the stairs. Tommy watched her go, then turned back to his friend. “What was that about?”

Oliver had stood as well and came to join him. “I asked if I could borrow one of the private planes for a few days.”

“Well, you gotta admit your mom has some reason to be worried about you heading out so soon.”

Oliver grimaced. “I know. I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t have to, but—”

“But what? Why the trip?”

His friend frowned and looked away towards Mr. Diggle. “I just need some time away. After Walter disappearing and my accident, it’s all a little much.”

Tommy paused. He hadn’t thought much about how Oliver might be processing everything that had gone on since he’d come home. He’d been on that island by himself for five years; all of them and their problems might be a little overwhelming.

“You really need to do this?”

“Yes.” Oliver’s gaze had almost too much weight to it for this kind of question. Maybe he really did need to get away.

“Okay.” Tommy clapped a hand onto his shoulder. “Then let’s not worry your mom about it. We’ll take one of my dad’s planes.”

“You would do that?”

“Well, I’ll try. There’s every chance he says no. This is my dad we’re talking about.”

He drove them back into the city and breezed past the front desk at Merlyn Global. Fortunately, his father was in his office when they arrived, and he looked up at their approach with something that didn’t look like annoyance for once.

“Tommy, Oliver. This is a surprise.”

“Hey, dad. Kind of a long shot, but do you think we could borrow a plane? Just Ollie, me, and his bodyguard. No girls, no crazy mid-air parties, I promise.”

His father sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Tommy, despite what you might think, Merlyn Global does not have unlimited resources. I really can’t afford to just let you fly off to who knows where anytime you feel like it.”

“It was my idea, Mr. Merlyn,” Oliver said, stepping forward. “With everything that’s been happening, I guess I’m still just a little used to being alone. I kind of hoped that taking a trip would help me clear my head.”

“Yeah, commune with nature,” Tommy added. Oliver cut him a look, and he stared back unapologetically. He was going out on a limb here, and he was perfectly entitled to poke a little fun while he did so.

“And where would you two be going?”

It occurred to Tommy that he’d totally forgotten to ask just as Oliver opened his mouth. “The Himalayas. I thought we might get some hiking in.”

The Himalayas. He’d signed up for hiking the Himalayas. Was he crazy? No, better question, was Oliver?

His father paused, and for once Tommy prayed that he would rain on the parade. “The Himalayas.” He studied Oliver for a few uncomfortable moments. “Yes, they’re a good place to go for anyone looking to...find themselves. Or so I’ve heard,” his father added, circling back around his desk to the phone. “I’ll schedule a plane. Though I wonder how you’ll get Tommy up the mountain. You might have to carry him down.”

“That’s very funny, dad.”

“I’m sure we’ll make it work,” Oliver replied. “Thank you, Mr. Merlyn.”

“Of course. Anything I can do to help your family at this time.”

Tommy waited until they’d gotten into the elevator and the doors had shut to make his thoughts known. “The Himalayas? Seriously, Ollie?”

“What’s wrong with that?”

“Oh, I don’t know. It’s a mountain range, there’s definitely no cell service, it’s February.”

Oliver glanced at him. “You don’t have to come.”

“I think I do. It’s kind of my family’s plane,” he reminded him. “And you’re my best friend. So I guess we’re doing this.”

“Thank you, Tommy.” When he looked over, Oliver was smiling at him. “I promise, it’ll be worth it.”

“Sure it will.”

They were scheduled to leave at the end of the week, so Tommy got packing. He didn’t know what all Oliver had planned, but he dug out the closest thing to hiking boots he could find and hoped for the best.

The morning of the trip, Oliver swung by with Mr. Diggle to drive out to the airport. His friend seemed oddly quiet for someone about to head out on vacation, and his mood only seemed to worsen as they pulled in to find somebody already waiting at the tarmac.

“Is that…?”

“Wait here,” Oliver said as he undid his seatbelt. “I’ll talk to her.”

He got out of the car and walked over to Sara Lance where she stood with a rucksack slung over one shoulder. Tommy leaned forward to poke his head up front.

“How did she know we were gonna be here?”

“That’s not really my place to say, Mr. Merlyn,” Mr. Diggle answered.

As he watched the two, it seemed whatever conversation they were having was growing heated. Tommy got out of the car.

“I told you to just send me directions.”

“And I told you you’re never gonna find this place on your own. Face it, Oliver, you need me.”

“Sara!” Tommy called. “Hi. Thought we told dad no girls,” he added in a mutter to Oliver as he drew up to his side.

“I just told the pilot to keep it on the quiet,” Sara said. “He seemed to find that pretty believable.”

Tommy chuckled, then stopped when no one else joined in. “Okay, seriously if this is an alone time trip for you two, I don’t need to be here.” He couldn’t help feeling disappointment in Oliver at the thought. What had all of that talk about wanting to see Laurel right when he got back been about?

But Oliver shook his head firmly. “It’s not.”

“Yeah, pretty sure Ollie wouldn’t touch me with a ten-foot pole these days. So don’t worry.”

“Okay,” he replied, dragging it out as he looked from one to the other. “So is she coming or no?”

Sara put a hand on her hip and stared them down.

“I guess she has to,” Oliver eventually grumbled. “She’s the only one that knows the...trail.”

Tommy was starting to get a feeling that something was up. He wasn’t sure what, but there had to be some reason for Oliver’s insistence on going to one specific mountain trail, not to mention his and Sara’s frostiness towards each other. Mr. Diggle joined them at that moment, however, so Tommy elected not to say anything. He didn’t want to get Oliver in any more trouble with his mother than he already would be after this trip.

They all loaded onto the plane and took their seats, Tommy next to the window and beside Oliver with Mr. Diggle sat across. Sara sat in her own row, her shoulders hunched. They were given the usual safety spiel by the pilot and then it was takeoff.

“So, this flight is, what, thirteen? Fifteen hours?” He checked. “What do we all want to do in the meantime?”

Sara and Mr. Diggle were both silent.

“Get some rest,” said Oliver.

“Okay, but it is morning, Ollie. You remember that, right?”

“I know it is, but the time differential usually leads to jet lag, which I want to avoid,” his friend explained. “I pulled an all-nighter last night. I’ll sleep on the plane, and then I’m ready to go when we land.”

“Oh.”

Oliver settled back in his seat and closed his eyes. Tommy sighed. This was going to be a long flight.

He hoped this trip was actually worth all the trouble.

#lauriver #laurel x oliver #laurel lance #oliver queen #arrow #sara lance #ra's al ghul #nyssa al ghul #tommy merlyn #green arrow #black canary #my writing

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