#maybe i should get a computer sooner rather than later.

[snowe-zolynn-rogers]

Pairings: None

Word Count: 1,794 Words

Summary: The solar eclipse after Solar's death has an energy to it.

Warnings: Character Death, Caps, Cursing, Overworking, Self-Hatred (from Moon, of course), Sleep Deprivation, Blood (minor), Minor Injury, Ghost, Magic, Mind Meld, Soul Bond, Sharing A Body/Brain, Pain, Nausea, let me know if I should add anything else.

Binding And Bonding

Solar woke up in an abyss. Everything around him was darkness. He could see a vague ring of light around him, lighting up the rest of his surroundings decently well. He could vaguely hear something being said into the void around him in a vaguely familiar voice but he was knocked out before he could acknowledge the voice.

-Two And A Half Weeks Earlier-

"I don't wanna go…" Solar muttered, body deteriorating and slowly disintegrating as it collapsed to the floor like his dimension likely was. Moon was quick to grab him and try to keep him steady but it wasn't any use given he couldn't feel his legs anymore.

"You don't have to!" Moon insisted, holding Solar as close as he could, Solar feeling Moon's hands slip through him as he could feel himself fading into an abyss.

"Solar? SOLAR!" Solar could vaguely hear Moon screaming as he went into a void.

-A Week Later-

"Moon, you're pushing yourself. You aren't charging or resting." Eclipse finally broke and snapped at him.

"Maybe I would if I hadn't fucked everything up!" Moon screamed back at him, too stressed to not scream at the inconveniences anymore, too focused on getting Solar back now.

"Moon, you're at a max of five percent." Eclipse reminded him.

"I'll charge when my brother is back." Moon growled venomously, eyes turning to glare that Eclipse dare interrupt him but Eclipse had gotten used to Moon being like this fairly quickly. Eclipse knew Moon would inevitably run himself down and then Eclipse could carry Moon off to bed.

Thankfully, Eclipse got that opportunity sooner rather than later as Moon stumbled and his hand hit a tray, knocking it to the floor with Moon collapsing to the floor as well a few seconds later.

Eclipse went and finally was able to scoop the poor sap up and groan at how heavy Moon was, muttering complaints about how much Moon weighed as he kicked the door to Parts & Service open for him since he was busy carrying Moon.

"You." Ruin caught Eclipse's attention before Eclipse was able to leave.

"Yeah, what about me? Want me to come in there and kill you finally?" Eclipse asked.

"No, actually. I would like you to forget Protocol 87.775.2, actually." Ruin told him and Eclipse tilted his head in question, not really knowing what Ruin was talking about.

"Forget about what?" Eclipse asked.

"Exactly! Good job! Thank you! Be on your way now!" Ruin cheerily told him and Eclipse shook his head and carried Moon up to the daycare and through the portal to the house, sighing seeing Sun's cats practically waiting for Moon, though they hissed as if they hated him anyway, but Eclipse knew the little cretins were pretending they hated Moon.

Eclipse laid Moon on the couch and put a blanket over him for the cats to crawl on top of and purr now that they knew Moon was sleeping. Eclipse chuckled at the little gremlins. They sure loved their uncle, they were purring on his unconscious body.

Eclipse plugged Moon's charging wire into the wall outlet near the couch and left to go figure out what the hell Ruin was talking about, landing at the daycare computer inevitably. It seemed the computer knew everything anyway so he may as well try.

"Nice attempt, but you are not a member of the Celestial Family." The computer told him.

"Nice joke, I actually am. But I came for answers." Eclipse told the machine.

"Whyever would I give you answers?" The computer asked.

"Ruin mentioned a protocol in me, basically asking me to delete it but I don't know what he was talking about. I will let you scan my code if you look for Protocol 87.775.2." Eclipse told the computer.

"…I will agree to these conditions, only because it may serve well for Moon." The computer agreed. Eclipse plugged himself into the computer for it to scan him and just sat back waiting, all he could do was wait. The computer was doing two things at once and it was taking a while.

Eclipse ended up falling asleep for a bit in the computer chair while the computer did its thing. However, the computer also decided to be an alarm for Eclipse as it woke him up with a loud bussing noise through his circuits.

"HEY!" Eclipse jolted awake, pulling out the cord and thoroughly startled by the computer.

"Ah, good, awake. I have found Protocol 87.775.2 as well as scanned your code." The computer told him.

"And you wake me up like your about to try giving me a controlled shock?" Eclipse snapped.

"Yes, I found it amusing." The computer would've laughed if it could, Eclipse could tell.

"Fine, what is the protocol about?" Eclipse asked.

"This protocol entails a means to what Moon has been working on. A way to undo what has been done." Eclipse scoffed at that.

"So that's why he wanted me to get rid of it. I haven't been alone in a room so he couldn't give me an order to try to get me to delete it until today." Eclipse muttered.

"Unfortunately, it is extremely difficult as it works with the essence of an energy." The computer told him.

"Tell me what I have to do."

-One Week & Four Days Later-

Eclipse walked into the room Solar had died in. He had finally made good on getting everything else ready and Sun and Moon were out with Earth and Lunar, watching the solar eclipse on the roof of the PizzaPlex.

Eclipse had chalk, blood, and a dagger. He hated this, it felt so weird. It felt so awkward to probably be the first person Solar sees when he comes back.

"Solar?" Eclipse calls to whatever remained of Solar's energy, which he had attuned himself to over the last week and a half.

"Solar." Eclipse called to Solar again, sitting down in front of where Solar died. He could feel the energy around him swirling as though Solar was trying to tell him he was there still.

"There you are." Eclipse closed his eyes, holding the chalk and drew a circle of runes with his eyes closed, following the images of runes the protocol was feeding him on the back of his eyelids. The circle was around Eclipse himself and the spot Solar died in, interlocking them.

"Solar, I can feel you. God that sounds weird." Eclipse muttered the last half. The energy jolted like it was laughing at him. "Yeah, laugh it up, idiot. Sit with me." Eclipse sighed. He could vaguely see the outline of Solar's energy sit with him.

"Thank you." Eclipse muttered, knowing he had to thank Solar. He hated that he had to. Eclipse cringed as he poured the blood on the inner ring of the rune circle, watching outside as the sky began to go dark.

"I willingly open this connection for Solar." Eclipse stated as the protocol had, cutting open his right hand with the dagger in his left dominant hand. Eclipse could see that the whisp in his vision that was Solar's energy was interested.

"Hold my hand, Solar and only Solar." Eclipse told the energy. The energy seemed to hold his hand and Eclipse sighed at the feeling, relieved Solar was just listening to him, probably out of curiosity rather than genuine willingness.

"I connect what is mine to what is yours. Wire for wire, energy for energy. I share willingly what is mine with you." Eclipse spoke evenly, making sure to read word for word.

"This day is a connection." Eclipse felt the rune light up with light, blazing as the room went completely dark. "I bind us. Mine is yours. under this light, we become connected." Eclipse lost his breath after these words of the spell, making him choke a bit as he could feel Solar's energy binding to his own, coughing to get air as he could feel his mind breaking in half, body feeling aches and pains as Solar's energy was bonding to him.

Eclipse lurched forward, nauseous as he felt Solar's AI blooming into his head, using the broken-off half of Eclipse's mind, their mind? Eclipse didn't know but he was nauseous. Animatronics weren't supposed to get nauseous. He leaned with his hands on the ground, hearing someone screaming. Was that him? Was he screaming? He still had to say the final words and get Solar to say them too.

Eclipse reached his energy into his mind, making Solar take half control with him, each having control of one half of their? body. Eclipse fed the final words into their vision to make Solar say it with him. Once Solar nodded using their head Eclipse nodded back.

"We claim the energy of the solar eclipse given to us." Both of their voices echoed and the pitch-black void of the room glowed with a peace around them, the white ring around them calmly pulsing with their energies. Eclipse finally felt a peace now as he curled up on the ground, trembling with everything that had happened, too overwhelmed to move but he had to finish it. He had to finish this. He fed to Solar in their optics the final step and words.

Solar was the one to drag their body upright again. Eclipse was shivering, Solar was shivering. The room felt cold. Everything felt cold. Solar seemed to have more force than Eclipse, Solar was learning how to share their energy.

"We undo the damage that has been done through false trust." They made sure to echo each other and Eclipse felt a bloom in his chest of the energy they claimed from the solar eclipse above in the sky still, the ring around them, practically burst into a running visual of universes coming back into being, rebuilding themselves, lives being brought back immediately, everything blooming around them in the circle of light like flowers.

Eclipse gave a soft, exhausted chuckle seeing it and seeing the sky begin to get light again. Once the ring around them finished, the warm feeling slowly dissipated and Eclipse and Solar simply collapsed onto the ground, shaking and taking deep breaths.

"Thank you." Solar whispered.

"I know." Eclipse tried to laugh but all that came out was a wheeze.

"Are you okay?" Solar asked.

"I'm exhausted." Eclipse whispered back.

"Well, you gave up your magic to bring everything back, you're probably going to be exhausted for a while." Solar sighed.

"I expect Moon to thank me, you tell him that if you wake up first." Eclipse told Solar before letting himself ease into unconsciousness, giving Solar control for a brief moment before Solar fell asleep too from being brought back and losing a lot of energy himself.

[mariposa-writes]

The Assistant - Part 3

Summary: You loopy on drugs.

Word count: 1.5k

A/N: Hi, sorry this took so long to get out. I know many of you have been waiting for a third part to this. I was super busy with midterms and then working during all of spring break. I didn't even touch my computer until last night. Hopefully the next few chapters will come out sooner than this one.

Make sure to like and comment! I love feedback!

You alarm was going off, making you groan. It was to early for this. You just wanted to sleep longer. You hated waking up early in the morning, you liked staying up late at night.

You snoozed your alarm for the 5th time, when Travis knocked on your door. "Y/N, you up?" He slowly pushed the door open, letting in light from the hallway.

"Travis" You whined motioning towards the door.

"We gotta leave in 15 minutes."

You buried your face in the pillow, "Just cancel the surgery. I don't want it anymore. I'd rather walk with a bum leg." He rolled his eyes.

"I expect you in the car in 15 minutes or I'm dragging you out." He shut the door, leaving you in darkness.

You groaned, reaching over to turn on the lamp. You put on shorts and a hoodie, before going through your basic morning routine. You were walking into the kitchen 10 minutes later.

"It should be a crime to get up this early just for someone to cut into your body." You complained, as you slipped on your tennis shoes.

"You're just a ray of sunshine in the morning." You rolled your eyes. Travis and you have had enough early morning together that he knew you hated them.

Travis on the other hand was a morning person. You also despised him for it. Why couldn't he do late night workouts instead of morning ones? You never knew.

You climbed into his car and got ready to take another nap. You had a 45 minutes drive and you planned to use it wisely.

You were out within 5 minutes. Travis looked over at your sleeping state and couldn't help but smile. He liked when you looked relaxed, which was something he rarely got to see.

Once you guys got there he woke you up. You guys entered through a private door, so other patients wouldn't see Travis. You sat on the bed in your hospital gown, waiting for the nurse to come back.

"Nervous?" Travis asked.

"What? No. I'm fine."

He raised an eyebrow, "Really, cause you haven't quit tapping your fingers since the nurse told you it was almost time." You placed your hand in your lap, forcing yourself to calm down.

"Maybe I'm a little nervous."

"Don't be. Doctor Locke is a great doctor."

"I know and you'll be here when I get out right?" You asked looking almost bashful, like you didn't believe Travis would stay for the whole thing.

Travis wanted to frown at your question, of course he'd be there when you got out. He wasn't just going to leave you, but what he didn't know is that's what you expected from people.

When you were 11 you had appendicitis and when you got done with the surgery your mom was no where to be found. She'd gone on a date that night, leaving you to an empty hospital room when you'd woken up.

"I'll be here, don't worry." Travis said just as the nurse walked in.

"Ready?" She asked with a bright smile on her face.

"I guess." You said as she injected something in your arm and wheeled you out. You don't remember anything after that.

All you do know is that when you woke up Travis was there, sitting by your bed. "Hey," he said standing up and coming over to you. You smiled at him as his hand reached out to cup your face.

He used his thumb to remove some of hair on your forehead. You leaned into his touch, not even aware of what you were doing. Travis pulled his hand back, when the nurse came in with the doctor.

"Ah, glad to see your awake." Dr. Locke said, as the nurse jotted down your vitals. "Vicky here's gonna help you get dressed and then you'll be free to go." He said pointing to the nurse.

"Ok." You said, trying to keep up. Your brain was scrambled from whatever they used to put you asleep.

"Hey, I'm gonna step out. I'll be back in a minute." You frowned at Travis, "I'll be right back promise."

You nodded, "Ok, lets get you dressed sweetie."

-----

"Dr. Locke." Travis called following the man.

"Hey Travis, what can I do for you?"

"Nothing. I just wanted to say thanks for squeezing her in."

"No problem, anything for a you. She must be pretty important for you to call. You two make a cute couple."

"Oh, she's not my girlfriend. Just my assistant."

"My bad, just judging by the way you looked at her I thought you two were together."

"Yea, just friends."

"Well your a good friend then, I don't know many people that would pay for their 'friends' entire medical bill." With that Dr. Locke left, leaving Travis in the hallway.

Just friends, he reminded himself. You'd never acted interested in anything more and Travis didn't want to overstep or make things awkward.

You were a damn good assistant and he'd be mad if he messed that up and lost you. That's why he kept his distance.

Travis went back into your room and saw you laying in the bed. "She's gonna be out of it for a while and kind of drowsy. We order her some put some pain meds in this bag for her, along with everything else she might need.

"Travis!" You cheered when you finally noticed he was in the room. "You're here!" You smiled bigger than he had ever seen before, making his heart clench.

It's just the drugs, he reminded himself. "Told you I'd be here." He responded, now standing next to your bed.

"We're ready to take her downstairs and load her into your car." The nurse said as she brought in a wheelchair. Travis nodded as the nurse continued, "You can pull your car up the same entrance you came in we'll meet you there."

"Sounds good." He turned to you, "I'll be right back, just gonna get the car."

"Ok," You nodded seriously, which made him laugh.

The nurse loaded you into the wheel chair and pushed you to the entrance Travis was waiting at. He parked the car and got out taking over for the nurse and loading you into the car.

You weren't supposed to put any pressure on your leg for the next 3 weeks. Once you were loaded in the car, Travis got in and started driving. "Travis." You whined, gaining his attention. Not that you ever really lost it.

"What's wrong?" He asked worrying about you.

"I'm starving. I haven't eaten in like 50 million years." You whined, causing him to laugh.

"I don't think it's been that long."

"I think I would know how long it's been since I've last eaten." You replied.

"Ok, my bad." Travis said turning onto the highway. "How about I order us some food, for when we get home."

"Ok, I'll take pizza, Chinese, Mexican, and Italian."

"Your sure you don't want to choose just one?"

"Nope, it's been 50 million years. I want them all." Travis laughed. "Can you please not laugh. How would you feel if you hadn't eaten in 50 million years?" He put a hand over his mouth trying to muffle his chuckling.

You kept talking about random things as he drove you to his house. He was trying not to laugh, but the random things you were blurting out was making it hard.

Finally he pulled into his garage. "Travis!" You shouted as he turned off the car.

His head snapped to face you, "What?"

"How am I supposed to get into the house if I can't walk?" You were starting to freak out. You didn't want to be stuck in his car for 3 weeks.

He placed a hand on your arm calming you down. He spoke slowly, "I have crutches in the back seat for you. Plus I'll help you inside."

You nodded, slowly processing his words. He opened the door and grabbed the crutches for you and then helped you out of the car. You slowly made it inside, Travis helping you the whole way.

He helped you into his bed, and got you situated. "Ok, I'll be right back. I'm going to go order food." He put the remote next to you. "You can watch tv if you want."

"Do you have paramount?"

"No, but I have netflix, hulu, hbo max, peacock, and disney plus."

"How do you not have paramount? It has my favorite show on it." That's when your eyes widened, "Can you not afford it?" You whisper shouted.

He laughed, "I can afford it. But I might not be able to after I order all the food you requested."

"Yes! Go order the food" You commanded, pointing towards the door.

He chuckled, before leaving the room to order all the food you wanted. He had to call 5 different restaurants and placed an order through Hyvee for some ice cream to be delivered.

After he was done he went back to his room, where you were currently staying, to check on you. You were passed out in his bed, with a random tv show playing that he didn't recognize. He grabbed the remote from his nightstand and turned off the tv, before shutting off the lights and exiting the room. Leaving you to rest after a long day, despite it only being noon.

[didee-anne]

Random stuff update

Had Addie’s birthday party yesterday! First party I didn’t take a single picture of, not even the cupcake tray. Rory snapped a few pictures and he had Jen record a few things so there are some pics to remember it. Most of the adults stayed as well and hung out and it just made me so freaking happy seeing Addie with all her cousins and friends, seeing all the adults chatting in little groups but not in a clicky way, there was plenty of pizza and cupcakes and chips for everyone…

Addie wanted to play pass the parcel so I bought a bunch of stickers and hair pretties and tattoos and glowsticks and then Jen put 2 parcels together and it took the kids a solid 30 minutes to get through them but since there were 2 parcels going at the same time none of the kids complained because they didn’t have to wait too long before it was their turn again. The middle prizes were little stuffies and they were a hit.

Moved the chicks out to a kennel in the chicken coop last week and I’m amazed at how much they’ve grown already! They’re turning into such pretty birds. I can’t tell which ones are hens and which ones are roos yet but that’s ok. By the time summer is over I should have an idea and I’m hoping to move them out of the kennel to be with the rest of the chickens in another month or maybe two. I’m hoping sooner rather than later but I can’t rush it otherwise they’ll get picked on hardcore and no one wants that.

I started a new antidepressant last week and am currently taking half a pill. I’m supposed to bump up to a whole pill on Wednesday but the half pill makes me slightly nauseous 20 minutes after taking it so I’m not looking forward to what a whole one will do. The nausea doesn’t last long though so it’s not that big of a deal but it’s not my favorite. If it helps make me not such an angry/sad ball of rage and tears then I’m fine with it but it’s too soon to tell how effective it’ll be.

The kids are supposed to have state testing the next two weeks but we don’t test so they’re not going to any of their Homelink classes and it’s like a second spring break but with slightly better weather! I mean, they do test because it’s required but we opt out of the state testing and do a different one that’s much more low key and is done by a person and not a computer.

[olivia-anderson-fanfic]

Staying up late with you, RPG (3)

Summary: Kuroki Yuuya, Enma Yuuken, and Asaka Yuuki all find themselves dragged into their favorite piece of media. They're all… coping. If you can call it that.

Pt2

Asaka Yuuki was having a time.

She had woken up in a coffin, which was already a 0/10 experience, but it seemed that she had also been dragged into her computer to become a part of her favorite game.

Which should be fun! It was her favorite game for a reason!

Unfortunately for her, it was a fighting game, and she was not prepared to get her ass beat. Multiple times.

And that ‘multiple times’ thing was just assuming she had Save Points. If she didn’t… well, she supposed she would just die. Funnily enough, this wasn’t something she particularly wanted to test out.

Hence why she had run away from the fight with Grim. He wouldn’t kill the player, he was there to rough you up a little while you get used to the game’s fighting system, but that was not appealing to her. She’d much rather stack up on healing pots and then head into the woods on campus to up her EXP.

After all, she would have a pretty tough battle ahead of her tomorrow… or was it the day after? She had never paid all that much attention to the so-called ’plot’ of the game. It was barebones at best, only there to justify all of the fight scenes the player would get into. But, now, she wished she had, at the very least, studied the timings for things.

Whatever!

She needed healing potions! Sooner rather than later! That was the point!

She let her feet carry her through NRC. It was a little strange, no longer seeing pixelated hallways, but the game was the magical equivalent of a First Person Shooter, so it wasn’t too different.

She felt her phone buzz in her pocket and pulled it out, mildly confused.

Kuroki has started a chat with you! Welcome!

Kuroki: Are you one of the other people from the coffin

She stared for a moment, before typing out her answer.

Asaka: yep

She watched him type for a minute, the three dots at the bottom of her screen popping up and then fading away repeatedly, before disappearing entirely.

Just when she was about to put her phone away again, she was added to a new group chat.

Kuroki started a group chat! Welcome to ‘HELP’. 

Kuroki: Guys, quick, I need help

Asaka changed the name to ‘what the fuck is going on’.

Enma changed the name to ‘No cursing, please.’.

How can someone play video games and not be used to cursing? Like, you can choose not to curse yourself, but trying to stop others from cursing is wild.

Her lips twitched into a grin.

Asaka changed the name to ‘fuck fuck fuck’.

Enma changed the name to ‘What is going on?’.

Kuroki: Guys

Asaka changed the name to ‘bastard’.

Kuroki: Seriously

Oh! Kuroki was trying to talk, whoops, she hadn’t noticed the first time…s, apparently. Sorry, Kuroki. She had assumed he was just making a group chat so Enma and Asaka could get each other’s numbers, or in case they needed to help each other out in the future.

Enma changed the name to ‘What is going on?’.

Well, that was just rude to Kuroki.

Kuroki: Okay. I’m just going to talk over you Kuroki: Where in the body would you say the soul is

Asaka hesitated, her head tipping to the side.

She had, honestly, never believed in souls, she had never really considered where it would be located…

Enma: Do I want to know why?  Kuroki: Just tell me, please Enma: The heart, maybe?

Her nose scrunched up.

Asaka: wouldnt it just be all over Asaka: why would it be concentrated in one place Asaka: if you get a transplant do you swap souls Kuroki: I’m deciding that it’s in the brain

What the fuck?!

She politely censored herself (somewhat) for Enma’s sake.

Asaka: what the hell Enma: Why even ask at that point?

Thank you, Enma! She may be weirded out by his hatred of swear words, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t agree that their opinions were being unjustifiably suppressed!

The group chat was silent for a while, so she glanced up to make sure she hadn’t veered off-course while she was texting-and-walking, and was pleased to find that she still knew where she was. It wasn’t that surprising, the game was a magical FPS game, after all, she had already traversed the halls of the school many times, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t be proud of herself.

It also meant that she could continue looking through her phone.

Absently, she wondered if she could still use her old world’s internet, because access to a guide would be nice. But, a glance at the top of her phone said the answer was definitely not. Which kind of sucked. She was in a computer, she should be able to connect to wi-fi!

Whatever. She wasn’t perfect at the game, but there were probably books that she could read here, so if she ever forgot something she could just refer to those.

She got a notification.

Kuroki: Told you

What was he talking about?

Enma: The mirror was probably just being polite.

Ohhhhh. She had forgotten about the whole ‘where is the soul’ debate already.

Asaka: wait seriously he was right Asaka: that sucks Asaka: still makes sense more than heart though

Enma didn’t respond to her little jab, so she tucked her phone away once again and then concentrated on finding the Alchemy room.

Which wasn’t that hard. The school was big, but it wasn’t that big – she was practically already there. And, when she did finally reach it, she didn’t hesitate to start sifting through the ingredients. She didn’t need a guide, she had this potion memorized, at least.

The door slammed against the wall, and she found herself lifted off of the floor in a gust of wind magic, pulled off of her feet and tipped upside down.

She shrieked, almost dropping the Blooming Onion (not the dish, a magical version) in her surprise.

Only to find a man staring at her, wide-eyed.

“A girl?” Professor Crewel said.

Oh wait.

This was an all-boys school, wasn’t it?

She hadn’t really taken note of it when she was playing the game. Tons of games had male main characters, and even when there were female options she had never really bothered with it (male characters tended to have cooler armor), but now that she was here…

“Excuse me! My pronouns are he/him!” she said, panic making her voice raise higher, which was not helping her case.

Crewel blinked at her.

“Oh, sorry,” he said.

He believed that?!

Not that she was complaining! But what?!

“What were you doing in my storage closet?” Crewel said, recovering quickly. Unfortunately.

She worried her lip. “I – uh –.”

There was a mechanic in the game to get you out of situations like this, but she wasn’t sure that they would work. She wasn’t actively injured, so she couldn’t say she was desperate. It wasn’t even the first day of school, so she couldn’t pretend she was trying to get a head start on her studies, she wasn’t supposed to have the syllabus yet! And she sure as hell couldn’t fight a teacher at this point.

What other options were there?!

She felt tears prick at the corners of her eyes.

Crewel’s own eyes widened in horror.

Well, that works, apparently.

“I – I don’t know why I’m here,” she said, swallowing thickly. “I don’t even have magic! The mirror made a mistake, but I’m here now, so I needpotionstomakeupforit –!”

“Just – stop talking!”

She could do that.

Crewel sighed. “I’m going to take you to the Headmaster.”

‘This is not my problem,” Asaka translated.

But it would soon become her problem, because now that she wasn’t in immediate danger she had new priorities: getting out of mandatory cutscenes. The not-so-subtle exposition scenes in the game had been long enough even when she didn’t know the information, now that she did it would be torture.

Ughhhhhh ESC ESC ESC.

~

… why was she outside of a haunted house with Dire Crowley?

Crowley turned to her, smiling. “Admiring the dorm’s character?”

Asaka nodded, a little numb. She had never really thought about how that would feel as a real person. She hadn’t even thought it would work.

“It – it sure has a lot of it,” she said, slowly, her eyes flicking away from Crowley, to look at Ramshackle Dorm.

There were ghosts inside, and she would be expected to beat them up. She hadn’t yet learned how to beat up characters. She was not eager to go in. She hadn’t gained any EXP yet, she would not win a fight like this…

But there were hands on her back, ushering her forward, and she didn’t know how to stop what was about to happen, not without outright admitting this entire place was a game, and that was, practically, illegal in stories like this.

The door was ajar when they finally reached it, swinging open further as they approached. A dull shiver ran through her.

“Probably the wind, right?” she said, because she wasn’t supposed to know about the ghosts yet.

Though it didn’t seem like she would have to pretend for long.

Because the moment they stepped into the living room, they found one of the other Players chatting merrily with the ghosts. He glanced up at the new people, and for a moment just stared, his eyes wide.

“Asaka-san?” he said, slowly, clearly trying to think but failing oh no the Headmaster was going to think they were spies or something they were going to be homeless –.

“Is this another dimension-traveler, Yuuki-kun?”

What are you even talking about? Asaka thought. She should not have skipped all of those cutscenes, whoops.

She nodded along, though. “We were scared you wouldn’t be understanding of our situation, so we were preparing to hide out here so we wouldn’t become homeless.”

Crowley stared at the pair of them for a second.

And then he smiled. “That makes sense!”

Asaka loved having plot armor.

[commodorez]

Operating on files purely in the cloud is not always going to be an option to get work done on a computer, and it may not give you the above tree structure.

We all have to get work done on a computer, be it for our dayjobs, school work, and of course general paperwork for surviving in today's modern existence. Paperless society or not, paperwork persists.

Not every document can be filled out in an online form, and even if they did, you probably want digital and physical copies of important documents that you will need later. Tax paperwork, your syllabus for each class, resumes, rental applications, car payments, loans, mortgages, insurance, etc.

You can't always rely on "show recent files" feature of an application to give you a clear indication of that file you just saved [gestures vaguely] somewhere.

You can't always trust that the file search feature is going to be helpful at finding the things you're after.

If you come to rely on these tools, and one day they break after a migration to a new computer or operating system, suddenly you can't find that one PDF talking about your health benefits from when you got that new job 5 years ago.

I know some folks prefer metadata tags on things rather than hunting for the files in question, but that isn't always going to be possible on some systems. Corporate/school environments won't necessarily give you this option. If they want you to go find a file that's kept in shared drive X:, you will need to understand how to traverse their folder structure to go find it. File searches in these situations tend to fail spectacularly, or they go slower than molasses because they aren't all pre-indexed. Up until recently, we had a networked Google drive at my job that Windows file search could not find anything in sooner than 10 minutes.

-

I should define the concept of the desktop (I don't mean like desktop vs. laptop). Much like my file cabinet/folder analogy from before, we'll use a desk concept. Pretend I'm at a school desk and it's the 1960s. I've got a few things in front of me, maybe some colored pencils for drawing. Maybe a nice pen for writing. A calculator slide rule for doing math. Maybe a notebook, a tiny calendar, and a book from the library.

Each of those items are arranged on the top of my desk for easy access. Each one serves a specific purpose, and with my desktop, I can have a few of them out at once if I'm doing work that needs more than one at a time. Maybe I want to read a section in the book to write down notes on paper. Maybe I want to draw a graph with the colored pencils. The idea is that all of these tools are at the ready, easily visible and arrangeable for the task at hand.

So too goes for a computer desktop. I've got icons that are shortcuts to let me start a web browser, a media player, a video game, a text editor, a drawing program. I've got a taskbar at the bottom to keep track of all the things I'm actively doing. I can manage not only my workload, but the computer's workload. All from my desktop! I can even make shortcuts (we'll get to those) to places that I frequently want to visit that have files relevant to what I'm doing.

But more importantly, I can store things on the desktop. It's a just a fancy folder like before. However, I highly recommend against getting into that habit. You could pile every song, picture, and pdf you had on the desktop. And that'd be fine for 10, maybe 50 files at most but if you've got 1000 files? That ain't gonna work.

You especially do not want to store most of your files on the desktop (even in folders you made on the desktop) if you're using a networked domain Windows account (like what you would be issued at work or school). Because it's slow. Every file you save there has to be loaded again on login, which has to come from a central server across a building, or maybe even miles away to get to you. If you aren't always using the same computer each time like I did in college, each time you log in, all of those files may have to be locally cached on that computer before you can start to do anything. I've seen this first hand at my old job, some employees waited like 5 minutes from logging in before they could start doing any work. They had a bad time, until I showed them a better place to keep those files.

Standby for part 3.

Zoomer here, and I do indeed have questions about computers- how do filesystems work, and why should we care (I know we should, but I'm not exactly sure why)?

So why should we care?

You need to know where your own files are.

I've got a file on a flash drive that's been handed to me, or an archival data CD/DVD/Bluray, or maybe it's a big heavy USB external hard drive and I need to make a copy of it on my local machine.

Do I know how to navigate to that portable media device within a file browser?

Where will I put that data on my permanent media (e.i. my laptop's hard drive)?

How will I be able to reliably find it again?

We'll cover more of the Why and How, but this will take some time, and a few addendum posts because I'm actively hitting the character limit and I've rewritten this like 3 times.

Let's start with file structure

Files live on drives: big heavy spinning rust hard drives, solid state m.2 drives, USB flash drives, network drives, etc. Think of a drive like a filing cabinet in an office.

You open the drawer, it's full of folders. Maybe some folders have other folders inside of them. The folders have a little tab with a name on it showing what's supposed to be in them. You look inside the folders, there are files. Pieces of paper. Documents you wrote. Photographs. Copies of pages from a book. Maybe even the instruction booklet that came with your dishwasher.

We have all of that here, but virtualized! Here's a helpful tree structure that Windows provides to navigate through all of that. In the case of Windows, it's called Explorer. On OSX MacOS, the equivalent is called Finder.

I don't have to know where exactly everything is, but I have a good idea where thing *should* based on how I organize them. Even things that don't always expose the file structure to you have one (like my cellphone on the right). I regularly manually copy my files off of my cellphone by going to the Camera folder so I can sift through them on a much bigger screen and find the best ones to share. There are other reasons I prefer to do it that way, but we won't go into that here. Some people prefer to drag and drop, but that doesn't always work the same between operating systems. I prefer cut and paste.

Standby for Part 2!

[pizzapizzadickz]

What the everything fuck.

[disasterofastory]

The maid of Mr. Barnes - Part 2 (Bucky Barnes x Reader)

The maid of Mr. Barnes Part 2 - The middle of the night // Masterlist Bucky Barnes x Reader Mafia AU Warnings: none

Summary: You are nervous about meeting Mr. Barnes.

After your conversation with Steve about Mr. Barnes's arrival, the tight knot in your stomach doesn't lessen no matter how many times you check everything to make sure the house is clean and ready for your new boss. You wander around the mansion with a rag in your hands, cleaning every surface, adjusting the curtains, and fluffing up the pillows. Usually, it helps you to calm down, but now, you get more and more stressed. You don't know what your new boss expects from you, and you don't want to lose your job even before you could really start it. There is always something to do, something to correct or wipe down.

You are in the hall, mopping the floor who knows how many times already. The water is clean in the bucket, sloshing around as you push it out of the way. You can feel Phil's confused stare on you from the small nook next to the entrance. He is ready to ask about your well-being when Sam appears at the top of the stairs. "Y/N," he calls out for you. "Yes?" You straighten yourself, looking up at the man immediately. "When you are done here, go out to Peter and help him in the garden." "Okay," you nod. "Sure." When you disappear into one of the corridors, Sam turns to the man in front of several computers. "Call Peter and tell him to find Y/N something to do." In reality, Peter doesn't need your help but seeing you so fidgety all day, almost driving yourself crazy with the thought of Bucky, Sam thinks fresh air would do some good to you.

The estate of Mr. Barnes is endless meadows, just like the neighborhood. The garden around the mansion is well-kept, with lush trees and bushes. It almost feels like walking in a park.

Peter is at one of the flower beds, kneeling and leaning above them with a hat on his head and gloves on his hands. "Hello," you greet him, stopping a few feet away from him. "I'm Y/N," you introduce yourself. "The new maid." The young boy jumps on his feet, taking off one of his gloves to offer his hand for a shake. "And I'm Peter," he smiles. "I'll show you what you should do, all right? There are spare gloves and a hat if you need them."

You spend the rest of your day in the garden, kneeling on the green grass and busying yourself with every task Peter gives you to keep your mind off Mr. Barnes as Sam ordered him. You have fun with the young man who shows you everything you need to know while he talks a bit about himself. "So you are still in college?" You ask him. "This is my last year," he replies. "And since when do you work for Mr. Barnes?" The boy shrugs. "I don't even remember. I started working for his parents, and before I knew it, I was here." "And what do you think about him?" "He is fine. I mean, you don't want to anger him, but otherwise, if you do your job, he doesn't make your life a living hell just for fun." "Okay," you huff, turning your attention back to the wet soil rather than running back to the building to clean down everything again.

Before you know it, the sky is plastered with pink and purple as the sun slowly disappears under the horizon. Lights turn on in the mansion with shadows in the windows. The air gets a bit colder and your day with Peter ends here. "Thank you for the help, Y/N." "I was happy to help," you smile at him, waving at him as he gets in his car and soon disappears behind the gates.

You check everything one more time and wash the dishes before you make your way back to your room to take a bath. When you lean back to soak yourself in the vanilla-scented water, it's already dark outside. And Mr. Barnes is nowhere to be seen. Or you didn't meet him? Maybe something went wrong, and he didn't come home? Even though you feel nervous about meeting your boss for the first time, you would prefer to meet him sooner than later. At least you wouldn't be so anxious about him anymore. But what if he won't like you? Of course, you can go back to your friend if something goes wrong, but you would hate to lose this job. Despite the gangsters surrounding you, you enjoy being here.

You wake up in the middle of the night at the sound of your stomach. It rumbles into the silence, and you groan as you turn on your back. You have to force yourself to get up from the soft bed and drag yourself through the dark corridors to the kitchen.

The whole building is quiet. Dim lights filter in through the windows from the garden. Long shadows stretch on the floor and walls wherever you go. The kitchen's tile is cold under your bare feet. Your muscles are sore after working in the garden the whole day.

You are so deep in your thoughts that you don't even hear when the double door opens and closes while you lean above the counter, making yourself a sandwich.

"And who you would be?" Somebody speaks up suddenly, making you jump and fall back against the counter. Your fingers grip the marble edge. Your heart beats in your throat as you become face to face with a man in a white shirt and dark pants. The tie is loose around the collar. You are sure you didn't meet him before. He doesn't seem like someone that people tend to forget easily. He shamelessly studies you with his stormy blue eyes, waiting for your answer. "I-I'm Y/N," you reply, still a bit breathless. "I am the new maid." "Right," he hums. "I heard there is a new maid." You wait for him to introduce himself, but when he doesn't, you speak up again. "Can I help you with something?" "What are you doing?" He asks, glancing over your shoulder to the sandwich. You look back at it over your shoulder, suddenly embarrassed. "I'm hungry," you explain. Heat creeps up on your face. "Uhm, do you want some?" Surprise washes over his features before he nods, sitting down at the other side of the counter while you turn back to continue making some food for the both of you. You can feel his heavy gaze on you the whole time, and you have to force yourself to stay calm and collected. Who is he? "And how do you like it here?" He breaks the silence after a while. His voice is a pleasant rumble in the silent house. "I like it," you answer, putting the plate in front of him as you take a seat too. You are honest, but at the same time, how could you say anything else? "Sam and Steve showed you everything? They didn't scare you too much, did they?" A lazy smile pulls on his lips. "No," you shake your head, avoiding his eyes and focusing on your sandwich. "Everybody was nice to me so far." "Good," he nods.

You continue eating in silence. You want to know who he is, but you don't have the courage to ask. He oozes power and control. Whoever he is, he must be important. "I will wash them," you tell him, reaching out for his empty plate, but he takes it from you. His rings gleam in the kitchen light. "I will do it," he says, and it's your turn to be surprised. "Oh, no," you shake your head. "It's my job." But as usual, your argument is unsuccessful. Before you can say anything else, he is already at the sink. He is tall and broad. The white fabric stretches across his muscled back. "Hop back to your room, little bunny. You must be tired." You frown at the sudden nickname but live with the chance to get out of his heavy presence. "Goodnight..." You bite your lip, hoping for a name. "Goodnight, Y/N," he says his goodbye, and even though you don't see his face, you are sure he smirks.

[a-reader-and-a-writer-for-all]

That Was a Blast

Fandom: Marvel, Captain America, Iron Man, Avengers x Reader

Word Count: 3766

TW: Whump, Blood, Impaled, Cauterization, Pain, Buried, Trapped

For the third time on this mission, you silently cursed Nick Fury and his crappy intel. What you had been told would be a quick and easy scouting expedition had quickly turned into an all-out fight for survival. The team had quickly been ambushed and everyone was forced to scatter to different areas of the building, leaving you currently on your own. And what’s worse was that the gauntlets which helped you regulate your powers had decided to take this moment to malfunction. As you dove behind an overturned table trying to avoid three HYDRA soldiers’ bullets, you watched as your gauntlets sparked once then went dark. Great. Just great.

“Concussion…. Concussion do you read me?”

You vaguely heard Steve calling for you on the comms but you are too focused on fixing your gauntlets to really pay any attention. It wasn’t until your entire team started screaming your name that you finally responded, “Sheesh. Can everybody just calm down? I’m kind of in the middle of something.”

“It only takes a second to acknowledge a hail.” Steve sounded annoyed but you could hear the relief in his voice as well.

“I’m sorry. My gauntlets were damaged. I’d rather not use my powers without them after what happened last time. And judging by my current situation, I have a feeling I’m going to need them.” A small bomb exploded a few feet from you, showering you with dirt and debris. “Sooner rather than later it seems.” Pulling out your gun, you laid down a round of suppressing fire as you charged out from behind the table. Making it to the next room, you slammed the door behind you. Wincing as you looked down to see a small trail of blood flowing from some shrapnel in your arm, you cursed Fury for the fourth time.

“Where are you?”

“Top floor, but beyond that I’m not quite sure. There are a bunch of computers and a big screen on the wall. A control room, maybe?”

“Are you safe?”

“At the moment. I don’t think those guys can get through the door. It seems pretty sturdy. I just need a few minutes to fix my gauntlets, then I can come meet you guys.” You hissed as you pulled a piece of shrapnel out of your shoulder then turned back to your broken gear. “Tony, you don’t have an extra power core do you? One of mine appears to be cracked.”

“Why would I have a power core for your device?” Tony asked.

“Because you know I always forget to bring extras and you love holding it over me?”

“That does sound like me, but no, I don’t. You should be able to reroute them enough to still allow for a few blasts. You’d have to use them sparingly, but it would be better than nothing.”

“Okay, I’ll give that a try.” After a few more minutes of tinkering, your gauntlet flickered to life. “Got it! Okay, what’s the plan?”

“Can you make your way to the first floor? We have almost everything we came for. By the time you make it down here, we should be good to go,” Steve said.

“Ay, ay, Captain.”

“I’m not that kind of captain.”

“Technically, it’s an honorary title so….”

“Just get down here.”

“Ay, ay Captain.” You chuckled to yourself as you duck back out into the hall. The coast seemed clear as it appeared the HYDRA soldiers from earlier had given up trying to get to you. However, this soon proved to be a faulty assumption as you rounded the next corner and saw them standing at the end of the hall, guns drawn.

You smirked as you lifted your hands and sent a wave of energy hurdling in their direction. Or at least, you tried to. As the concussive force you summoned traveled down your arms, the vibrations knocked something loose in your gauntlet causing them to once again black out just before they were needed. Without the gauntlets to direct your blast, the energy exploded from your fingers in all directions. You felt the entire building shake as you were thrown backwards, skidding limply down the hall.

As you struggled to remain conscious, you once again heard the comms roar to life as everyone tried to figure out what just happened. Weakly, you clicked on, “Guys, I think I screwed up.”

Steve’s voice was instantly in your ear. “What happened? Are you okay?”

You groaned as you struggled to sit up. The room was spinning and slightly out of focus. “Something went wrong with my gauntlets. They shut off right as I shot off a blast. Without them, it went wild in all directions.”

“Are you okay?” Steve repeated.

“I think so. I got thrown back quite a distance, but nothing seems to be broken. My head is killing me though.”

“Wait a second…. Concussion…. Did you just give yourself a concussion?” Tony and Sam both burst out laughing.

“Where do you think I got the name? It is one of the major side effects of being hit by my blasts. Remind me when we get back and I can demonstrate.”

Both men gave a speedy apology, but you still faintly heard them snickering to themselves. Rolling your eyes, you examined the rest of the hallway around you. “I think we have a bigger problem. Both the ceiling and the floor took some major structural damage. There are cracks all through this part of the building.”

“Which floor are you on?” Steve asked.

“Top. It seems somewhat stable at the moment, but I don’t think it will take much to send everything crashing down.”

There was silence on the other end of the comms. When Steve finally began speaking again, he was using his “Captain” voice. “Okay. Falcon, Tony, fly through the upper floors and make sure everyone is clear. If this place does start coming down, we want to minimize casualties. I’ll go find Concussion. Since she won’t be able to use her powers, she’s going to need back up. We can regroup down on the first floor then retreat back to the Quinjet.”

“Cap, I can still use my powers, I just won’t have as much control as I usually do without the gauntlets.”

“If you get into trouble, do what you have to do to get out of it. But if the building is already as unstable as you say, I don’t want to take any unnecessary risks. So just hold tight until I get there. I’m on my way.”

You pulled yourself over to the wall and leaned heavily against it. You hadn’t experienced a blow back from one of your blasts in the eight years since Tony had helped you build your gauntlets and you had forgotten how bad the aftereffects could be. You laid your head back and closed your eyes.

Soon, you heard footsteps rapidly approaching. Pulling out your gun, you pointed it towards the sound. However, you lowered it seconds later when Steve rounded the corner. He hurried over to where you were propped and examined you for injuries.

You swatted his hand away playfully. “I’m fine. I just forgot how bad these blasts can be. Can you just help me up?”

Steve just chuckled as he offered you his hand. You stumbled slightly as he helped you to your feet, but you were soon able to regain your bearings.

Once again raising your gun, you said, “Why don’t you go first, and I’ll cover your six.”

“Are you sure? It would probably be better if we stay next to each other.”

“I’m fine. And there are too many corridors and doorways around here. We need to spread out a little to get the best coverage.” Steve nodded but you could still see he was hesitant to leave your side. You rolled your eyes, “Geeze, how many times do I have to say it? I’M FINE!”

“Okay, okay. But if you start to feel weak or need a break, let me know.”

“Same goes for you, old man.”

Steve shook his head as he started down the hall, muttering under his breath, “Why do I even try?”

You allowed him to get a fair distance ahead of you, then followed after. You both had made it about halfway to the exit when, suddenly, four more HYDRA soldiers appeared out of one of the corridors to your right. Both you and Steve opened fire, easily taking them out. However, it appeared you weren’t quick enough as you both watched in horror as one of the soldiers dropped a grenade from one hand and the pin from the other. You knew that the roof and floor which were already creaking in distress wouldn’t sustain another blast. And with mere seconds before the grenade detonated, there was no way for either of you to run to the stable part of the building at the end of the hall. However…. there was still one way for Steve to reach safety.

As the two of you exchanged a look, Steve seemed to realize what you were planning. He took a step towards you, but before he could protest, you mouthed, “I’m sorry” and slammed your wrists together. A massive concussive blast hurled from your hands knocking into Steve just as the grenade exploded. He went flying backwards before slamming forcefully against the far wall. But that was the last you saw of him as the floor disappeared from beneath your feet. Between the grenade and your blast, the damaged building couldn’t maintain its integrity and the hallway collapsed, taking you with it.

You crashed into the floor below, landing hard on your back causing the wind to be instantly knocked out of you. However, you didn’t even get a second to catch your breath before the rest of the rubble rained down on top of you. You managed to throw your arms over your head in an attempt to provide some protection, but it did little good. Soon, what little air you had been able to get into your lungs was forced out once again as a large piece of the ceiling smashed into your chest, pinning you firmly to the floor. Even though you were now completely buried beneath the rubble, this one large piece was causing the most trouble. You tried desperately to move, to find a way to shift that piece off your ravenous lungs, but it was no use. You gasped frantically, urgently, trying to get some air but you soon felt yourself getting lightheaded, vision blackening around the edges.

Suddenly, you heard a distant voice calling your name. You tried to answer but your lungs were burning from lack of oxygen. The debris around you began to shift and after a few seconds, Steve’s face appeared in a gap in the wreckage. Spotting you, he began flinging huge chunks of metal and stone across the room, his enhanced super soldier strength allowing him to lift the pieces with ease. Just as you felt yourself slipping into unconsciousness, the stone crushing down on your chest was removed. You gulped down lungful after lungful of air trying desperately to replenish your body’s supply. Through the blood pounding in your ears, you vaguely heard Steve speaking to you and you gave him a weak thumbs up as reassurance that you are okay.

However, now that you were able to focus on something other than your lack of oxygen, you were feeling the effects of your fall. Practically every inch of your body ached, your skin felt scraped raw, and you felt the crushing pressure from the debris that still covered your bottom half. But you were alive, which was honestly more than you had expected.

Steve ran his hand lightly over your head as he checked you for any major injuries. When he didn’t find any, he sat back to assess the situation, “Are you okay?”

You chuckled softly. “Better now that I can breathe. And don’t you ever get tired of asking me stuff like that?”

“Yes. Yes, I really do.” He stared at you intensely. “What were you thinking? Your blast might have been what caused the collapse. If you hadn’t used it to push me out of the way, the damage might not have been as bad.”

“Yeah, but if it had been, then you would have fallen too. And then who would have saved me from underneath all this stuff?” You cut him off as he tried to argue. “Listen, can you just finish moving this stuff off of me so we can get out of here? The team is probably wondering where we are.”

Steve grunted in annoyance but he began clearing the remaining debris that was covering you. But then as he moved one of the larger pieces, you heard him swear.

“Language!” you yelled jokingly. But when you saw Steve’s face, you grew worried. “What’s wrong? What happened?”

“Don’t move okay. Everything’s going to be alright. I just need to call some backup.”

“Steve, what’s going on?” He tried to stop you as you struggled to a sitting position, but you were able to maneuver enough to see what had caught his attention. You paled at the sight of the three-inch-thick piece of rebar that was jutting out of your thigh.

Steve grabbed your hand reassuringly as he spoke into the comms, “We need medical attention immediately to the eighth floor.”

“What happened?” Sam asked anxiously.

“The floor collapsed and Concussion fell. She landed on some of the debris. I was able to clear most of it off her, but she’s been impaled by a big piece of rebar. It’s stuck in her thigh, and there is a lot of blood.”

Tony clicked on immediately. “I’m on my way. Just hang tight, kiddo. You’re gonna be fine.”

You nodded but then realized no one but Steve could see you. “Okay. I’ll just wait here.” You laid back down as you tried to wrap your head around the situation.

Steve looked at you anxiously. “Didn’t you feel it?”

You shook your head. “I felt the pressure of the debris, but that area is just kind of…… numb.” You both exchanged a worried look, not quite sure what that meant for your condition.

Suddenly, Tony landed next to you. You could hear him muttering to F.R.I.D.A.Y. as he tried to assess the extent of your wounds. You couldn’t quite make out the words but based on the tone of his voice, you figured it probably wasn’t good news. Finally, he leaned down and retracted his faceplate, giving you a good look at his face. Yep, not good news.

“Okay, kid. So, good news first. F.R.I.D.A.Y. doesn’t register any broken bones or any major concerns besides the leg. Just some bruises, a possible concussion, and a few cracked ribs. Now the bad news is, F.R.I.D.A.Y. thinks that the rebar has nicked your femoral artery so if we try to lift you off, there is a good chance you could bleed out. Now, I can try to cut the other end of it off so we can move you with it still sticking in you, but there is still a good chance it will shift enough that it does more damage or slips out enough that you still bleed out.”

“Great. So, is there a third option?”

Tony hesitated. “Not really, no. Those blasts you set off compromised this entire section of the building. Whatever’s left of floors above us is pretty unstable and could collapse at any second. We need to clear the area ASAP.”

You nodded. “Fine. Then we go with option one. You yank me off and see what happens.” Tony stifled his chuckle as you rolled your eyes. “Oh, grow up! You know what I meant.”

“Maybe watch your phrasing next time.” Tony turned to Steve. “So basically, here’s what’s going to happen. I’m going to lift her off the rebar then you press on the wound as quickly and with as much pressure as you can. Got it?” Steve just nodded grimly. Tony looked around. “Does anyone have something we can use to stop the bleeding?”

“Steve, take my shirt. It’s pretty dirty at this point, but it’s better than nothing.” He nodded again as he unzipped your jacket. Not wanting to jostle you more than necessary, he tore your shirt in half and removed it from your body. Always the gentleman, he averted his eyes as he rezipped your jacket. You smiled and gave him a reassuring wink. He blushed deeply, which just made your smile grow larger. That is until he started removing your belt.

Handing it to you, he muttered, “You’re going to want to bite down on that. I’m sorry.”

You nodded as you grasped the situation. Whatever happened next, it wasn’t going to be pleasant. Steve helped you sit up as he slid in behind you, positioning it so you were leaning against his chest. He reached his left arm across your body to grab your right hand. His right hand was at the ready with what was once your shirt.

Tony straddled your leg and placed his hands just below where the metal jutted harshly through your thigh. Placing your belt securely between your teeth, you nodded at Tony. After a second of hesitation, he jerked your leg free.

You knew that this experience was going to be painful, but you had not expected this. A bloodcurdling howl tore from your lips, muffled by the belt clenched firmly in your mouth. Your body arched back violently, slamming into Steve as you writhe in pain. He tightened his hold on you with the arm he had wrapped across your chest, and you squeezed his hand so tightly you were sure if not for the super serum, you would have broken a few of his bones. As he crushed your shirt into the gushing hole in your leg, sending another wave of agony through your system. Your jaw was clenched so tightly it felt like you were about to bite straight through the belt and your body shook violently as your muscles strained from holding themselves tense for such a long period of time.

Slowly, you were able to regain some of your composure. Your chest was once again heaving as you struggled to return your breathing to normal. As you reached up to pry the belt out of your mouth, you sagged against Steve’s chest, your muscles screaming out as you finally allowed them to relax. Your leg still hurt like hell, but the pain had dulled enough that it was bearable. However, you weren’t out of the woods yet.

Glancing down, you watched as Steve desperately pressed your shirt into your wound with both hands but blood still hemorrhaged between his fingers. You gazed weakly up at Tony but he just stared at your leg in confusion as he tried to figure out what to do now. Then, he glanced down at his hands which were still covered by his suit and you saw an uneasy realization wash over his face. As the two of you locked eyes, you understood what he was thinking and you nodded weakly. “It’s the only way Tony.”

“Nope. We’re not even considering this.”

Steve looked back and forth between the two of you, not sure what you were talking about. But you ignored him as you stared Tony down. “You’ve got to do this. We don’t have another option.”

“I can’t. If I make even the smallest miscalculation, it could kill you.”

“Then let F.R.I.D.A.Y. do it. Her calculations will be perfect. No mistakes.” He still hesitated but you knew you didn’t have time for this. Already the blood loss was starting to affect you. “Tony, I’m fading too fast…. We need to stop this bleeding. I can’t last much longer.”

Tony thought for a moment, glanced back down at your leg, then nodded. Steve was still staring at you confused. “What are you talking about? What is he planning on doing?”

You gently smiled at him. “It’s okay. It’s the only way, but it will be fine.” You dropped both of your hands so they rested gently over Steve’s, which were still pressed firmly against your wound. You nodded up at Tony.

Lowering his faceplate, Tony said, “On the count of three…”

“Three!” you yelled. At that same moment, you grabbed Steve’s hands as tightly as you could and, using his bewilderment at what was going on as a distraction, dragged them away from your wound. As soon as you were both clear, Tony pointed his repulsors at your leg and a thin, tight beam blasted you precisely in your wound. Steve cried out in protest but your screams of agony drowned him out as pain once again rushed through your body. Finally, mercifully, Tony turned the repulsors off. Smoke trailed off the cauterized scar that was once a gushing wound. You weakly turned your head so you didn’t gag on the smell of your own roasting flesh.

Steve glared up at Tony as you lay limply in his arms. “What the hell did you do?”

“What he… had to,” you managed to croak out. Steve looked down at you anxiously but you continued. “It was…the only way to….stop the bleeding….Knew you wouldn’t….approve…”

“Damn right I don’t approve!”

“Language…” you whispered, a ghost of a smile flickering on your lips. The bleeding might have stopped but the damage had already been done. You needed medical attention and a blood transfusion as soon as possible.

Tony seemed to be thinking the same thing. “I’m going to fly her to the nearest hospital. Then I can come back and help with your extraction.” He bent down and Steve gingerly transferred your weakened form to Tony’s waiting arms.

Steve shook his head. “Sam and I will be fine. Just get her help as quickly as you can.”

You grasped for Steve’s hand. “’m sorry Cap…. be safe….”

“You too.”

You smiled again. “I’ll be on….feet ‘fore you….get back…”

Steve nodded with a smile. “I don’t doubt it.” Then looking at Tony, he said, “Go.”

Without having to be told twice, Tony took off with you in his arms, exiting the building through the hole you had made in the ceiling. You rested heavily against his metal-coated chest as the two of you soared through the sky. Reaching up, you pressed the comms to connect you to his suit.

“Tony….” you managed to whisper. He looked down at you, concern obvious even through his mask. “You better… hurry.”

[zara-mayfield-silva]

“Don’t be so modest, you can just admit you’re better than her. And cooler. And a lot more badass,” Zara teases, obviously poking fun at her friend and Sera. As Zara walks around the exact replica of their old apartment, she can’t help but look at and touch everything that’s in the room like she’s seeing it for the first time. To some extent it does feel that way, since it’s been…well, years since she’s stepped foot in this place. She pauses to look up at Kishan; to examine him a moment. Touch him. He’s so real when she’s here. Easy to forget… “Hm…” Zara hums, nodding. “Very, distinguished. It’s giving college professor…or maybe a man in his PhD era?” She slips in casually while eyeing him. Yeah, she knows where he’d been headed the day he died. They haven’t talked about it yet, but she knows. Tara told her, she doesn’t need him to say anything. It hurts all the same. Then he goes ahead and asks her if she still lives here…ah. Yeah. Well, they were going to get around to questions like this, right? Sooner rather than later, she supposes. Zara shakes her head, “no, Javier and I lived separate for a bit, for like a year or two, and then we moved in together someplace new entirely. We needed more space; a fresh start. Both of us did. It needed to feel like ours, not one of ours, y’know?”

His smile is mirrored on her face almost instantaneously as they reminisce about Zara’s lack of cooking utensils and skills in the kitchen. “I never needed a fucking spatula, dickhead, what was I gonna use it for? To flip the imaginary eggs sitting in my fridge? To go along with the invisible bacon and cheese? Why not make a nonexistent omelet, while I’m at it?” It’s actually fucking insane she doesn’t have anything other than the essential bowls, silverware, plates, and water glasses, but she’s more of a takeout gal. Always has been, still is. Though now Javier’s cooking could rival that notion. Zara slides onto the top of the counter, easily falling into an old routine the two of them have in the kitchen as she sets the pot down. “I miss your words of wisdom,” she admits, leaning forward on her hands as she looks at Kishan. There’s definitely something there with Bailey, Zara knows Kishan. The way he looks down when he mentions she hasn’t been in in a while pretty much says it all. Something is up with them. “Seems like it, but, okay…I’ll go first because it is pretty damn exciting,” Zara takes a deep breath in, releasing it. Their friendship used to be so damn effortless, she could tell him anything. Now…she hesitates. There’s a part of her, rationally, that wants to keep reminding herself that this isn’t really Kishan. This is an AI. It’s a computer. Her friend is dead outside of this place, and it’s only here she has him. Forever code. But also…there’s a part of her that wants to let go, to tell him everything. What’s the real harm in letting go? Of talking to this version of Kishan, even if he isn’t really real? Right now, in here, he sure feels like it. What real harm can it bring, other than to help her heal and process, in talking to an AI version of one of her best friends? “Javier proposed, and I said yes,” Zara finally blurts out loudly, eyes wide and surprised by her own outburst. She tries to backpedal, or at least explain better, “we’re getting married in April. I’m…I’m sorry, that I didn’t tell you sooner. It all happened so quickly, and I’ve been in planning mode ever since. I’m sad you don’t get to be there. I want you to be there. You should be there.”

Kishan smiled at Zara as she started to realize what was happening to the space they were in. One of the last memories he had were him packing some of his belongings and leaving this apartment behind. He hadn't quite gotten around to explaining to Zara that he was leaving Turing and going to a PhD program in New York, but the weekend he died, he had planned to tell her. To tell everyone. "Technically Sera can do this too, but I can do it a little better because I have memories of the outside world," he explained. "Makes it feel more real when I do it since I've seen it and experienced it before versus what Sera has seen through pictures and whatnot." He laughed lightly as Zara reached up to touch his face, messing with his beard and touching his hair. "I definitely think it makes me look more distinguished," he joked. He shoved his hands in his pockets and trailed behind her as she looked around the apartment, comparing it to what it actually used to be like. "Do you still live here? Or did...did Javier move in?" He figured the apartment had changed some since he died, but he was curious to know if she was still there or not.

Kishan grinned when Zara held out one of the many pots he'd brought to her apartment when he'd moved in. He was the chef in their roommate situation and he never minded cooking for her. Cooking was one of the ways he'd expressed his love for his friends and he hated that he could no longer do that for them. This was as close as he could really get to showing them how much he loved them. A grand gesture as Bailey would call it. "You didn't even have a spatula. I was honestly amazed you had real silverware and not a drawer full of plastic ware from takeout," he said, laughing lightly. He tilted his head to the side as Zara said how she was doing. "Yeah, I remember. But, if there's anything I've learned, it's not usually one big crisis. It's usually a bunch of small ones. Just waves. Ebbs and flows." He took a step back and put his back against the counter. "Bailey hasn't been in in a while, so no, she hasn't updated me on what's going on out there." He hung his head and smiled as his former roommate brought up his relationship with Bailey. The last time he'd seen Bailey, they finally kissed and said how much they'd loved each other, at least in their way. But it was all in the Grid and he was afraid he'd hurt Bailey more than provide any sense of closure. It was probably why she hadn't been in for so long. "Yeah, it's...a long story. Which I will tell you, but after you tell me your thing. Your thing seems much more exciting and interesting."

[a-reader-and-a-writer]

That Was a Blast

Whumptober 2021: #13. Cauterization, #14. Crush Injuries, #17. Hemorrhage, #26. Fallen

Fandom: Marvel, Captain America, Iron Man, Avengers x Reader

Word Count: 3766

For the third time on this mission, you silently cursed Nick Fury and his crappy intel. What you had been told would be a quick and easy scouting expedition had quickly turned into an all-out fight for survival. The team had quickly been ambushed and everyone was forced to scatter to different areas of the building, leaving you currently on your own. And what’s worse was that the gauntlets which helped you regulate your powers had decided to take this moment to malfunction. As you dove behind an overturned table trying to avoid three HYDRA soldiers’ bullets, you watched as your gauntlets sparked once then went dark. Great. Just great.

“Concussion…. Concussion do you read me?”

You vaguely heard Steve calling for you on the comms but you are too focused on fixing your gauntlets to really pay any attention. It wasn't until your entire team started screaming your name that you finally responded, “Sheesh. Can everybody just calm down? I’m kind of in the middle of something.”

“It only takes a second to acknowledge a hail.” Steve sounded annoyed but you could hear the relief in his voice as well.

“I’m sorry. My gauntlets were damaged. I’d rather not use my powers without them after what happened last time. And judging by my current situation, I have a feeling I’m going to need them.” A small bomb exploded a few feet from you, showering you with dirt and debris. “Sooner rather than later it seems.” Pulling out your gun, you laid down a round of suppressing fire as you charged out from behind the table. Making it to the next room, you slammed the door behind you. Wincing as you looked down to see a small trail of blood flowing from some shrapnel in your arm, you cursed Fury for the fourth time.

“Where are you?”

“Top floor, but beyond that I’m not quite sure. There are a bunch of computers and a big screen on the wall. A control room, maybe?”

“Are you safe?”

“At the moment. I don’t think those guys can get through the door. It seems pretty sturdy. I just need a few minutes to fix my gauntlets, then I can come meet you guys.” You hissed as you pulled a piece of shrapnel out of your shoulder then turned back to your broken gear. “Tony, you don’t have an extra power core do you? One of mine appears to be cracked.”

“Why would I have a power core for your device?” Tony asked.

“Because you know I always forget to bring extras and you love holding it over me?”

“That does sound like me, but no, I don’t. You should be able to reroute them enough to still allow for a few blasts. You’d have to use them sparingly, but it would be better than nothing.”

“Okay, I'll give that a try.” After a few more minutes of tinkering, your gauntlet flickered to life. “Got it! Okay, what’s the plan?”

“Can you make your way to the first floor? We have almost everything we came for. By the time you make it down here, we should be good to go,” Steve said.

“Ay, ay, Captain.”

“I’m not that kind of captain.”

“Technically, it’s an honorary title so….”

“Just get down here.”

“Ay, ay Captain.” You chuckled to yourself as you duck back out into the hall. The coast seemed clear as it appeared the HYDRA soldiers from earlier had given up trying to get to you. However, this soon proved to be a faulty assumption as you rounded the next corner and saw them standing at the end of the hall, guns drawn.

You smirked as you lifted your hands and sent a wave of energy hurdling in their direction. Or at least, you tried to. As the concussive force you summoned traveled down your arms, the vibrations knocked something loose in your gauntlet causing them to once again black out just before they were needed. Without the gauntlets to direct your blast, the energy exploded from your fingers in all directions. You felt the entire building shake as you were thrown backwards, skidding limply down the hall.

As you struggled to remain conscious, you once again heard the comms roar to life as everyone tried to figure out what just happened. Weakly, you clicked on, “Guys, I think I screwed up.”

Steve’s voice was instantly in your ear. “What happened? Are you okay?”

You groaned as you struggled to sit up. The room was spinning and slightly out of focus. “Something went wrong with my gauntlets. They shut off right as I shot off a blast. Without them, it went wild in all directions.”

“Are you okay?” Steve repeated.

“I think so. I got thrown back quite a distance, but nothing seems to be broken. My head is killing me though.”

“Wait a second…. Concussion…. Did you just give yourself a concussion?” Tony and Sam both burst out laughing.

“Where do you think I got the name? It is one of the major side effects of being hit by my blasts. Remind me when we get back and I can demonstrate.”

Both men gave a speedy apology, but you still faintly heard them snickering to themselves. Rolling your eyes, you examined the rest of the hallway around you. “I think we have a bigger problem. Both the ceiling and the floor took some major structural damage. There are cracks all through this part of the building.”

“Which floor are you on?” Steve asked.

“Top. It seems somewhat stable at the moment, but I don’t think it will take much to send everything crashing down.”

There was silence on the other end of the comms. When Steve finally began speaking again, he was using his “Captain” voice. “Okay. Falcon, Tony, fly through the upper floors and make sure everyone is clear. If this place does start coming down, we want to minimize casualties. I’ll go find Concussion. Since she won’t be able to use her powers, she’s going to need back up. We can regroup down on the first floor then retreat back to the Quinjet.”

“Cap, I can still use my powers, I just won’t have as much control as I usually do without the gauntlets.”

“If you get into trouble, do what you have to do to get out of it. But if the building is already as unstable as you say, I don’t want to take any unnecessary risks. So just hold tight until I get there. I’m on my way.”

You pulled yourself over to the wall and leaned heavily against it. You hadn’t experienced a blow back from one of your blasts in the eight years since Tony had helped you build your gauntlets and you had forgotten how bad the aftereffects could be. You laid your head back and closed your eyes.

Soon, you heard footsteps rapidly approaching. Pulling out your gun, you pointed it towards the sound. However, you lowered it seconds later when Steve rounded the corner. He hurried over to where you were propped and examined you for injuries.

You swatted his hand away playfully. “I’m fine. I just forgot how bad these blasts can be. Can you just help me up?”

Steve just chuckled as he offered you his hand. You stumbled slightly as he helped you to your feet, but you were soon able to regain your bearings.

Once again raising your gun, you said, “Why don’t you go first, and I’ll cover your six.”

“Are you sure? It would probably be better if we stay next to each other.”

“I’m fine. And there are too many corridors and doorways around here. We need to spread out a little to get the best coverage.” Steve nodded but you could still see he was hesitant to leave your side. You rolled your eyes, “Geeze, how many times do I have to say it? I’M FINE!”

“Okay, okay. But if you start to feel weak or need a break, let me know.”

“Same goes for you, old man.”

Steve shook his head as he started down the hall, muttering under his breath, “Why do I even try?”

You allowed him to get a fair distance ahead of you, then followed after. You both had made it about halfway to the exit when, suddenly, four more HYDRA soldiers appeared out of one of the corridors to your right. Both you and Steve opened fire, easily taking them out. However, it appeared you weren’t quick enough as you both watched in horror as one of the soldiers dropped a grenade from one hand and the pin from the other. You knew that the roof and floor which were already creaking in distress wouldn’t sustain another blast. And with mere seconds before the grenade detonated, there was no way for either of you to run to the stable part of the building at the end of the hall. However…. there was still one way for Steve to reach safety.

As the two of you exchanged a look, Steve seemed to realize what you were planning. He took a step towards you, but before he could protest, you mouthed, “I’m sorry” and slammed your wrists together. A massive concussive blast hurled from your hands knocking into Steve just as the grenade exploded. He went flying backwards before slamming forcefully against the far wall. But that was the last you saw of him as the floor disappeared from beneath your feet. Between the grenade and your blast, the damaged building couldn’t maintain its integrity and the hallway collapsed, taking you with it.

You crashed into the floor below, landing hard on your back causing the wind to be instantly knocked out of you. However, you didn’t even get a second to catch your breath before the rest of the rubble rained down on top of you. You managed to throw your arms over your head in an attempt to provide some protection, but it did little good. Soon, what little air you had been able to get into your lungs was forced out once again as a large piece of the ceiling smashed into your chest, pinning you firmly to the floor. Even though you were now completely buried beneath the rubble, this one large piece was causing the most trouble. You tried desperately to move, to find a way to shift that piece off your ravenous lungs, but it was no use. You gasped frantically, urgently, trying to get some air but you soon felt yourself getting lightheaded, vision blackening around the edges.

Suddenly, you heard a distant voice calling your name. You tried to answer but your lungs were burning from lack of oxygen. The debris around you began to shift and after a few seconds, Steve’s face appeared in a gap in the wreckage. Spotting you, he began flinging huge chunks of metal and stone across the room, his enhanced super soldier strength allowing him to lift the pieces with ease. Just as you felt yourself slipping into unconsciousness, the stone crushing down on your chest was removed. You gulped down lungful after lungful of air trying desperately to replenish your body’s supply. Through the blood pounding in your ears, you vaguely heard Steve speaking to you and you gave him a weak thumbs up as reassurance that you are okay.

However, now that you were able to focus on something other than your lack of oxygen, you were feeling the effects of your fall. Practically every inch of your body ached, your skin felt scraped raw, and you felt the crushing pressure from the debris that still covered your bottom half. But you were alive, which was honestly more than you had expected.

Steve ran his hand lightly over your head as he checked you for any major injuries. When he didn’t find any, he sat back to assess the situation, “Are you okay?”

You chuckled softly. “Better now that I can breathe. And don’t you ever get tired of asking me stuff like that?”

“Yes. Yes, I really do.” He stared at you intensely. “What were you thinking? Your blast might have been what caused the collapse. If you hadn’t used it to push me out of the way, the damage might not have been as bad.”

“Yeah, but if it had been, then you would have fallen too. And then who would have saved me from underneath all this stuff?” You cut him off as he tried to argue. “Listen, can you just finish moving this stuff off of me so we can get out of here? The team is probably wondering where we are.”

Steve grunted in annoyance but he began clearing the remaining debris that was covering you. But then as he moved one of the larger pieces, you heard him swear.

“Language!” you yelled jokingly. But when you saw Steve’s face, you grew worried. “What’s wrong? What happened?”

“Don’t move okay. Everything’s going to be alright. I just need to call some backup.”

“Steve, what’s going on?” He tried to stop you as you struggled to a sitting position, but you were able to maneuver enough to see what had caught his attention. You paled at the sight of the three-inch-thick piece of rebar that was jutting out of your thigh.

Steve grabbed your hand reassuringly as he spoke into the comms, “We need medical attention immediately to the eighth floor.”

“What happened?” Sam asked anxiously.

“The floor collapsed and Concussion fell. She landed on some of the debris. I was able to clear most of it off her, but she’s been impaled by a big piece of rebar. It’s stuck in her thigh, and there is a lot of blood.”

Tony clicked on immediately. “I’m on my way. Just hang tight, kiddo. You’re gonna be fine.”

You nodded but then realized no one but Steve could see you. “Okay. I’ll just wait here.” You laid back down as you tried to wrap your head around the situation.

Steve looked at you anxiously. “Didn’t you feel it?”

You shook your head. “I felt the pressure of the debris, but that area is just kind of…... numb.” You both exchanged a worried look, not quite sure what that meant for your condition.

Suddenly, Tony landed next to you. You could hear him muttering to F.R.I.D.A.Y. as he tried to assess the extent of your wounds. You couldn’t quite make out the words but based on the tone of his voice, you figured it probably wasn’t good news. Finally, he leaned down and retracted his faceplate, giving you a good look at his face. Yep, not good news.

“Okay, kid. So, good news first. F.R.I.D.A.Y. doesn’t register any broken bones or any major concerns besides the leg. Just some bruises, a possible concussion, and a few cracked ribs. Now the bad news is, F.R.I.D.A.Y. thinks that the rebar has nicked your femoral artery so if we try to lift you off, there is a good chance you could bleed out. Now, I can try to cut the other end of it off so we can move you with it still sticking in you, but there is still a good chance it will shift enough that it does more damage or slips out enough that you still bleed out.”

“Great. So, is there a third option?”

Tony hesitated. “Not really, no. Those blasts you set off compromised this entire section of the building. Whatever’s left of floors above us is pretty unstable and could collapse at any second. We need to clear the area ASAP.”

You nodded. “Fine. Then we go with option one. You yank me off and see what happens.” Tony stifled his chuckle as you rolled your eyes. “Oh, grow up! You know what I meant.”

“Maybe watch your phrasing next time.” Tony turned to Steve. “So basically, here’s what’s going to happen. I’m going to lift her off the rebar then you press on the wound as quickly and with as much pressure as you can. Got it?” Steve just nodded grimly. Tony looked around. “Does anyone have something we can use to stop the bleeding?”

“Steve, take my shirt. It’s pretty dirty at this point, but it’s better than nothing.” He nodded again as he unzipped your jacket. Not wanting to jostle you more than necessary, he tore your shirt in half and removed it from your body. Always the gentleman, he averted his eyes as he rezipped your jacket. You smiled and gave him a reassuring wink. He blushed deeply, which just made your smile grow larger. That is until he started removing your belt.

Handing it to you, he muttered, “You’re going to want to bite down on that. I’m sorry.”

You nodded as you grasped the situation. Whatever happened next, it wasn’t going to be pleasant. Steve helped you sit up as he slid in behind you, positioning it so you were leaning against his chest. He reached his left arm across your body to grab your right hand. His right hand was at the ready with what was once your shirt.

Tony straddled your leg and placed his hands just below where the metal jutted harshly through your thigh. Placing your belt securely between your teeth, you nodded at Tony. After a second of hesitation, he jerked your leg free.

You knew that this experience was going to be painful, but you had not expected this. A bloodcurdling howl tore from your lips, muffled by the belt clenched firmly in your mouth. Your body arched back violently, slamming into Steve as you writhe in pain. He tightened his hold on you with the arm he had wrapped across your chest, and you squeezed his hand so tightly you were sure if not for the super serum, you would have broken a few of his bones. As he crushed your shirt into the gushing hole in your leg, sending another wave of agony through your system. Your jaw was clenched so tightly it felt like you were about to bite straight through the belt and your body shook violently as your muscles strained from holding themselves tense for such a long period of time.

Slowly, you were able to regain some of your composure. Your chest was once again heaving as you struggled to return your breathing to normal. As you reached up to pry the belt out of your mouth, you sagged against Steve’s chest, your muscles screaming out as you finally allowed them to relax. Your leg still hurt like hell, but the pain had dulled enough that it was bearable. However, you weren’t out of the woods yet.

Glancing down, you watched as Steve desperately pressed your shirt into your wound with both hands but blood still hemorrhaged between his fingers. You gazed weakly up at Tony but he just stared at your leg in confusion as he tried to figure out what to do now. Then, he glanced down at his hands which were still covered by his suit and you saw an uneasy realization wash over his face. As the two of you locked eyes, you understood what he was thinking and you nodded weakly. “It’s the only way Tony.”

“Nope. We’re not even considering this.”

Steve looked back and forth between the two of you, not sure what you were talking about. But you ignored him as you stared Tony down. “You’ve got to do this. We don’t have another option.”

“I can’t. If I make even the smallest miscalculation, it could kill you.”

“Then let F.R.I.D.A.Y. do it. Her calculations will be perfect. No mistakes.” He still hesitated but you knew you didn’t have time for this. Already the blood loss was starting to affect you. “Tony, I’m fading too fast…. We need to stop this bleeding. I can’t last much longer.”

Tony thought for a moment, glanced back down at your leg, then nodded. Steve was still staring at you confused. “What are you talking about? What is he planning on doing?”

You gently smiled at him. “It’s okay. It’s the only way, but it will be fine.” You dropped both of your hands so they rested gently over Steve’s, which were still pressed firmly against your wound. You nodded up at Tony.

Lowering his faceplate, Tony said, “On the count of three…”

“Three!” you yelled. At that same moment, you grabbed Steve’s hands as tightly as you could and, using his bewilderment at what was going on as a distraction, dragged them away from your wound. As soon as you were both clear, Tony pointed his repulsors at your leg and a thin, tight beam blasted you precisely in your wound. Steve cried out in protest but your screams of agony drowned him out as pain once again rushed through your body. Finally, mercifully, Tony turned the repulsors off. Smoke trailed off the cauterized scar that was once a gushing wound. You weakly turned your head so you didn’t gag on the smell of your own roasting flesh.

Steve glared up at Tony as you lay limply in his arms. “What the hell did you do?”

“What he… had to,” you managed to croak out. Steve looked down at you anxiously but you continued. “It was…the only way to….stop the bleeding….Knew you wouldn’t….approve…”

“Damn right I don’t approve!”

“Language…” you whispered, a ghost of a smile flickering on your lips. The bleeding might have stopped but the damage had already been done. You needed medical attention and a blood transfusion as soon as possible.

Tony seemed to be thinking the same thing. “I’m going to fly her to the nearest hospital. Then I can come back and help with your extraction.” He bent down and Steve gingerly transferred your weakened form to Tony’s waiting arms.

Steve shook his head. “Sam and I will be fine. Just get her help as quickly as you can.”

You grasped for Steve’s hand. “’m sorry Cap…. be safe….”

“You too.”

You smiled again. “I’ll be on….feet ‘fore you….get back…”

Steve nodded with a smile. “I don’t doubt it.” Then looking at Tony, he said, “Go.”

Without having to be told twice, Tony took off with you in his arms, exiting the building through the hole you had made in the ceiling. You rested heavily against his metal coated chest as the two of you soared through the sky. Reaching up, you pressed the comms to connect you to his suit.

“Tony….” you managed to whisper. He looked down at you, concern obvious even through his mask. “You better… hurry.”

[tanyawritesstories]

Love Comes With A Hat | Kung Lao x Reader

So this fic was actually based off of a dream I had a few months ago. It's based off the movie characters looks because that's the way I saw it in my brain. It's the first fic I've written for a Mortal Kombat character so I hope y'all like it and that it's accurate.

Word count: 3.9k

Warnings: technically there's smut but it's brief, pregnancy, drinking, angst, feelings, pregnant reader, Bo Rai Cho is a warning all his own

•••

You stared at the test in your hand, not experiencing the emotions you expected. You were shocked more than anything, it had only been one random night. It was an accident. An accident you remembered quite vividly. It had started as just a few innocent drinks with Kung Lao, Liu Kang, and their master Bo Rai Cho. But if you learned anything about Bo Rai Cho that night, it was that he liked to drink and he liked to buy drinks for everyone. That's how you and Kung Lao both ended up more drunk than you wanted to be, and if you had learned anything about Kung Lao that night it was that he was a flirty drunk. A very flirty drunk. You were too tipsy to care about your respectful relationship with the Shaolin monk and just happy that your friend was showing you some romantic attention. You shamelessly flirted back and for some reason Liu Kang, who you later learned wasn't actually drunk and just kept lying about the supposed vodka soda he was drinking, let you and his best friend continue to get more and more handsy with one another.

At the end of the night, Liu had dropped off you and Kung Lao at their temporary earthrealm lodge and gone to take Bo Rai Cho home since he was blackout drunk. At least you and Kung Lao could still stand. The second the door was closed and locked, he was on you. His hat was thrown to the side as his lips moulded perfectly with yours. You could taste all the alcohol he'd consumed and it only intoxicated you more. After spending half the time at the bar with his hand up your skirt, Kung Lao wanted the real thing. He had picked you up and set you on the table, laying you down and stripping everything off your bottom half. He eagerly explored the treasure between your legs with his fingers. Even when drunk, Kung Lao was precise with his movements. He brought you to the edge with just his fingers before licking your juices off of them and taking off just enough clothing to free his member and plunge it deep within you.

Everything was a blur after that. He was thick and scraped every euphoric nerve in your body with his movements. Your muscles burned and twitched with every groan and growl he let out, his mouth right next to your ear. It wasn't long before that delicious pressure built back up within you and snapped with a few well aimed thrusts. You remember the warm feeling spread through you as Kung Lao released inside, both of you too drunk to worry about protection beforehand. You laid in an uncomfortable position on the table until Kung Lao pulled out of you and stumbled to the bathroom. You were able to get up and clean yourself off a little, put your skirt back on, and collapse on the sofa. Which is exactly where Liu Kang found you when he got back. He let you sleep and took you back to your apartment in the morning after giving you some herbal pain remedies.

You didn't feel any different the next day, or the next week. You threw up a few times the day after, which you were sure was because of the amount of alcohol you consumed. A whole month and a half passed before your nosey roommate, Mia, brought up the idea that you might be pregnant. She had been keeping track of every strange thing you had done for the past month. From getting up to go to the bathroom in the night more than usual, to the random mood swings, to falling asleep at your desk, and eating pickles with hot fudge the other day. Not to mention, your period was three weeks late and you hadn't even noticed. Mia wanted answers, for you as well as herself, and had already bought you a pregnancy test which she promptly thrust at you.

Now, staring at the little stick that read 'pregnant' in plain English, it was all starting to hit you. You didn't go to see Kung Lao and Liu Kang very often. Once, maybe twice, a month if you weren't busy, to put it simply: you didn't know what to do. You heard knocking on the bathroom door before you heard Mia's voice. "You ok in there, hun?" You blinked back tears of confusion and answered her. "Yeah, I'm ok." You stuck the test in your pocket and exited the bathroom to find Mia standing right outside the door. "So, what's the verdict?" You didn't say anything and just handed her the stick. "I knew it, so who's the daddy?" You cocked an eyebrow at her blunt question but decided to answer. "One of my best friends," you said quietly. Her eyes widened as she handed the test back to you. "That's gonna be tough, how are you gonna do it?" You frowned. "Do what?" She shrugged, the nonchalant look on her face starting to annoy you. "Tell him, ya'know, that he knocked you up." You looked at the test in your hand, feeling the strong urge to just snap it in half. "I don't know."

~~~~

You waited two more months, deciding not to tell Kung Lao. He and Liu were your best friends, you didn't want anything to ruin that. You couldn't stay away from them forever, they were already wondering why you hadn't come over the last couple times they invited you. You sent them your work over the computer instead of in person, all the information you had been gathering about potential new champions. Just a few days ago Liu had called just to check in on you, thinking you might be sick or injured. You assured him you weren't but you knew you didn't convince him, he could spot a lie from a mile away.

You had started going to the doctor, getting the proper care and tests done to make sure you and the baby were healthy. You even had ultrasound pictures of your little one, that seemed to cement something in your mind. You needed to tell Kung Lao. Sooner rather than later, before you started showing, there was no hiding it then.

You called Liu Kang before you left and asked him if you could come stay at their place for a night or two. That concerned him a little bit but ultimately he was glad that you would be coming to see him and Kung Lao again. You packed for a couple days and drove for a few hours into the woods where the boy's temporary earthrealm residence was. It was secluded back in the woods along a river popular with fishermen in the morning hours. It blended in and allowed the boys to hide in plain sight, mixed in with the few other fishing cabins along the river. No outworld ruffian would look there.

You arrived at the cabin later than you wanted to, having stopped three times to use the restroom along the way. You had tried not to pack your bags that heavy but you needed clothes and you needed all your computer equipment for work. You grabbed the lightest bag you had and went inside, hoping one of the boys would be able to help you with the rest. The door was unlocked, as they had been expecting you, and you walked right in. You entered the living room and found that master Bo Rai Cho was also visiting. He was sat plopped in front of his new favorite thing ever since you introduced him to it, the television. You set your bag on the floor and he took notice of you. "Y/N!" He got out of his chair, fast for a man his size, and strode over, pulling you into a tight hug. "It's good to see you again." You winced in his tight hug until he let go and you smiled at him. "It's good to see you too, Master Cho." He returned the smile and clapped you on the shoulder before walking to an open window. "Liu Kang, your friend has arrived!" He shouted.

It was only a few seconds until Liu Kang came bounding into the room from outside. You smiled at him and he walked over to pull you into a hug, he almost seemed relieved to see you. "It is good to see you again," he said, pulling away. You half smiled and nodded. "It's good to see you too, Liu. Um, you mind helping me unload my stuff?" He agreed without a second thought and walked out to your car with you. You stopped by your trunk and swallowed hard, your muscles tense and nervous. How were you going to tell Kung Lao? "Is Kung Lao here? Usually I'd see him," you commented. Liu grabbed a few of the heavier bags, lifting them with ease. "No, he is out running errands. He should be back in an hour." You sighed and hung your head, not knowing what to think of that. "Is something wrong?" You took a deep breath and looked over at the concerned young man. "Liu, I need to talk to you."

You both unloaded your car before walking down by the river, through the small flower garden they'd planted. You both took a seat on top of the retaining wall, separating the river from the land. "Now, what do you wish to speak to me about?" Liu sat with his legs criss-crossed, perfectly relaxed. You tried sitting the same way but ultimately just dangled your legs over the wall. "Um, I know I haven't visited in a while, and there's a reason for that.." you stared at the water, avoiding eye contact. Though you could see Liu out of the corner of your eye, looking at you with a worried expression. "That night I crashed on your couch...did Kung Lao ever tell you what happened?" You hesitantly looked over at Liu and his eyes fell to the dirt. "Yes, he told me the day after." You looked back at the ground and sighed, Liu reached over and placed his hand on your knee. "There is no need to be ashamed, you were inebriated. Your judgement was clouded, both of yours." You closed your eyes trying to will yourself not to cry. "There's more to it.." you figured you just had to say it and blinked away tears, looking over at Liu who had his head tilted in curiosity. "Liu, I'm pregnant."

His mouth slowly dropped open as his mind processed the information. His gaze dropped to the ground and his reaction just made you feel worse. "I know, I'm sorry," you said. He looked back up at you. "It is not your fault," he squeezed your knee reassuringly, "this is Kung Lao's business now, you need to tell him." You sniffled and a tear managed to escape down your cheek. "I know, when he gets back will you tell him I need to talk to him? Maybe, give him and I some privacy so we can talk it out?" Liu nodded and gave you a small smile, "of course." You could tell Liu was still trying to comprehend what you told him as you both walked back to the house and he helped you settle in. He tried to strike up normal conversation but it was awkward, you felt like an outsider. After a while you offered to clean the place to try and distract yourself and neither of the men objected.

Kung Lao was gone for longer than expected but eventually he came back, Liu took him aside while you unpacked the groceries. You saw them standing in the corner talking though you couldn’t hear their words. You stared for a second and could read Liu’s lips. ‘Talk to her’ he was saying. You tried to calm yourself down and at the same time psyche yourself up for what you had to eventually tell Kung Lao.

You had just finished putting everything away when Kung Lao approached you. “Liu Kang said you needed to speak to me, privately,” he said. His tone was curious this time, not as serious as he usually was. “Yeah, can we..” you trailed off as you motioned outside. He nodded and waved for you to go first. You walked back out to the same spot you and Liu had sat earlier, on the retaining wall by the river. Kung Lao took off his hat and set it next to him, he knew it was easier for you to talk to him without it ever since you said it was distracting and you were staring at it instead of him. He smirked at the memory and looked back at you, waiting for you to speak.

“What did Liu tell you I needed to talk to you about?” You asked, wondering how to start the conversation. “He just said you needed to talk and that it was important,” he answered bluntly. You nodded and fiddled with the ultrasound pictures in your hoodie pocket. You had worn it to hide the tiny bump that had started to form over the last couple days. “Um, about that night a few months ago-” “I’m sorry,” he interrupted, “I know I should not have gone that far. We were both not ourselves that night.” You smirked. “No, I’m not complaining, but there’s more to it..” you sighed. “I’m not sure how to tell you this but..” you could see him becoming worried. You took one of the photos out of your pocket and handed it to him. He looked confused but took the blurry image, trying to figure out what it was. “You got me pregnant.”

His eyes widened and he looked over at you. “I’m sorry,” you said with a sad look on your face. You weren’t sure what compelled you to say it but you felt like you had just ruined someone’s life. You watched him as he stared at the picture, nothing was clearly visible but it must have seemed convincing enough to him. You slipped the pregnancy test out of your pocket and showed it to him too. You heard him sigh and just kept silent, not wanting to interrupt his thoughts. “How far along are you?” he finally asked, his voice scarily cold. “A little over three months,” you answered. You bit your lip before asking a question you needed an answer to. “What are we going to do?” He handed you the test and picture back. “I don’t know.” He said. You were hurt, he had nothing else to say? Your moment was interrupted by Bo Rai Cho calling out that dinner was ready.

Kung Lao helped you up and you walked inside together, he was silent the entire time. You made eye contact with Liu for a split second as you took a seat at the table and his shoulders fell, your expression gave away your emotions. Bo Rai Cho set down the meal, a kind of special fish concoction he had come up with that you normally loved. This time though, it made your stomach turn. The second the aroma hit your nose, nausea hit you badly and you could practically feel the vomit rising in your throat. “I’m sorry, excuse me,” you said quickly before getting up and dashing to the bathroom. You had just enough time to brush your hair out of the way before you emptied your stomach into the toilet.

“What might be wrong with her?” Bo Rai Cho asked. “I didn’t mess it up again, did I?” Liu looked at Kung Lao, his expression urging the other monk to go check on you since this was his doing. But Kung Lao stayed put and just stared back at Liu Kang, his expression unwavering. You could still be heard throwing up in the bathroom down the hall. Liu finally got up and went to check on you. He grabbed a cup of water and a wet cloth to clean off your face. “Lao?” You asked out loud between dry heaving breaths. “No, it’s me,” Liu answered. He kneeled down next to you and rubbed your back until your body finally stopped it’s rejection. “Why didn’t he come?” you asked, sounding defeated. “He does not know how to, right now. He will learn soon," Liu tried to assure you. "He doesn't want any part of this, I know he doesn't," you admitted as you slumped into the corner. Liu handed you the glass of water and watched as you downed it all, thinking. "He will come around, I will talk to him."

You spent the rest of the night in the spare bedroom, hiding and crying. The realization that if Kung Lao didn't help, you'd basically be left alone to raise a child and that idea terrified you. You hoped Liu could talk some sense into him. You loved Kung Lao, only you didn't know how to tell him. The thought of him completely rejecting you because of this was heartbreaking, you wished there was a better solution or any solution at all. Bo Rai Cho felt bad that his cooking had made you sick and made up for it by making you some calming tea and getting you anything you wanted. But the thing you wanted most was Kung Lao back.

You barely slept that night and asked Liu if he could bring your breakfast to your room. You could smell how good it was from your room but you didn't want to get up, you just wanted to hide. Someone knocked on the door and you called out for them to come in. You expected it to be Liu Kang with your breakfast, but Kung Lao had brought it instead. You immediately looked away from him, all the shame and embarrassment coming back. "May I sit?" He asked. You shyly nodded and allowed him to sit on the edge of the bed and hand you your food. "I thought Liu was bringing me breakfast." You wondered out loud. "I wanted to," he said, "I need to apologize for yesterday. I reacted badly." You shrugged. "You reacted normally to shocking news," you replied, slowly starting to eat your food. Kung Lao looked at the floor as he thought about what to say. "I thought about it all last night and...I want to be a part of it. I'm not going to let you do this alone."

Your eyes locked with his and you could see the sincerity in them. You couldn't believe it, your eyes welled up with happy tears. "You're serious? You want to help me?" You questioned. A small smirk came to his face and he took one of your hands in his. "Yes. This is something that will affect us for the rest of our lives. I want to be a part of my child's life." You set your food aside and threw your arms around Kung Lao, hugging him. He was caught off guard but hugged you back. "We can do this," he whispered in your ear. "When is your next doctor appointment, I want to be there." You pulled away just enough to see his face. "Not for another month, are you sure?" He nodded. "I think it's about time I showed up to one," he said with a smirk.

~~~~

You met Kung Lao in the hospital lobby and checked in with him, finally glad to have him with you. It was a lot less embarrassing and anxiety inducing, despite the fact that most people were staring at his hat. He stayed by your side with one hand on the middle of your back protectively all the way up to the correct floor, where you had to check in again.

"I'm here for an ultrasound appointment," you said to the receptionist. "Alright," she said, glancing questionably at Kung Lao. You smirked to yourself, he was intimidating. Nobody would dare fuck with you while Kung Lao was at your side. "And who have you brought with you today?" The woman asked, looking again at Kung Lao. You opened your mouth to speak but he beat you to it. "I'm her boyfriend, and the father," he answered. The woman nodded and went back to her computer. You turned your head to look at him, a huge smile coming to your face. Not wanting to give anything away, Kung Lao just looked at you and winked.

The receptionist got you checked in and you both sat down to wait for your name to be called. You leaned close to him and whispered. "Boyfriend, huh?" He smirked. "It was the only way I could think to tell you," he said, his tone of voice giving away his teasing. You giggled and rested your head on his shoulder, happy when he put his arm around you in return. Your name was called and you both walked back to an exam room. Kung Lao took off his hat and leaned it against the wall, the room was small and he didn't want to accidentally cut anyone.

The nurse took your vitals and asked you a few questions before leaving you and Kung Lao to wait for the doctor. "Can I see it?" You turned to look at him. "See what?" He uncrossed his arms. "The baby." "You will be able to see it on the ultrasound-" he shook his head, interrupting your sentence. "No, your stomach," he clarified. You understood now and laid back on the table, pulling your shirt up to expose your stomach. Now on month five, your bump was getting increasingly hard to hide.

"Can I touch?" He asked. You nodded with a smile, his curiosity and interest was adorable. Kung Lao placed his hand on your stomach and after a moment he began to rub it around. A sudden discomfort peaked in your stomach area and you looked at Kung Lao, who was as surprised as you. "Was that.." you put your hand on your stomach right next to his and after a couple seconds the discomforting, tiny jolt happened again. "It's kicking!" You beamed, “this is the first time I’ve ever felt it.” Kung Lao took your free hand in his, the look on his face seemed genuinely happy this time. “That was the most amazing thing I’ve ever felt,” he said. “Besides the night we made this happen, that is.” You let out an actual laugh, there was the Kung Lao you knew.

The doctor came in and set you all up for the ultrasound. Kung Lao waited impatiently by your side. “The gender should be visible if the baby cooperates, would you like to know?” The doctor asked. You exchanged looks with Kung Lao and came to a conclusion. “Yes, we would like to know,” Kung Lao answered. The doctor nodded and Kung Lao held your hand as the doctor moved the device around your gel covered stomach. The doctor let you both see the screen as they looked around, pointing out things and details that made no sense to you. As long as the baby was healthy that was all that mattered to you.

The doctor finally removed the device and handed you tissue to wipe off your skin. “Looks like he’s all good in there, just stick to what you’re doing and take it easy,” the doctor said. You smiled, “he?” You looked at Kung Lao who looked back at you with a smile. “We’re having a baby boy..” Kung Lao didn’t think, he just pulled you into a tight hug. He’d never been happier in his life. He was going to be a father to a little boy, one he could teach everything he knew, one he could get his own little hat. Everything would be perfect. He kissed your cheek. “I can’t wait to tell Liu Kang.”

[d0d0-b0i]

day two of no frontiers:

i have slept more than i’ve been awake this past day, hoping to wake to a slumber free land with patches to fix the steam launch. it has yet to arrive, and despite my sleeping state, my eyebags feel heavier than ever, and my rest is lost, unfound.

war is hell, and it has been perfectly encapsulated for me by way of dodging through spoilers on the internet. every turn, be it youtube, tumblr, or any other known site, i must be wary and on my guard. to assume i’d wake up to a patch was nothing but a dream, and now the content creators must be streaming to get paid, or be posting video reviews. i hold no anger for them, it is simply the way of the world.

on my end, i have tried everything, be it relaunching, checking the files, moving settings around, and whatever else the gamer sites tell me. the only thing i think could be harming my side is my actual pc, but that still wouldn’t explain the other people that have the exact same issue as me, despite having way better computers. so i am forced to wait, and see if steam or sonic team have an explanation.

to bide my time, rather than finishing up my schoolwork, or helping with chores around the house, i started reading the physical idw comics to ease my pain. after reading two volumes though, i came to the realization that i should attempt to ration these in case the patch comes out later rather than sooner.

why this affects me so greatly i am yet to understand. surely, i have had much harsher waits for so much more than a game, yet my body is going through the similar grief i’ve felt when overcome with harsh truths and deaths. why does it cause such pain? is it fomo? is it sadness of missing a schedule i had planned? fear that i might have done something wrong, or that my computer is simply too old to play it? i do not know for sure yet. all i know is this day has been in a haze rather than coherency. maybe the seaside will do me good.

i feel no ire for the developers. i understand the crunch culture, and have seen secondhand the hell that going through code is. however much time they need, i will understand. my sanity cannot say the same, however. would prefer some correspondence to fans, maybe even just a note saying that they’ll need time to figure out what the hell is going on. i cannot begin to imagine the hell that is sega right now. being kept in the dark however, is not fun. :(

[invisibleanonymousmonsters]

All Men Have Limits - III

Character: Dick Grayson x Reader x Bruce Wayne

Summary: A certain bat believes that Y/N is in way over her head, that she’s too naive to act in her best interest. So, whether she wants it or not, the vigilante family is going to help and protect her before she gets herself killed.

Word Count: 3,500+

Previously on…

Bruce was having yet another night without sleep. It happened often. And similar to the rest of the family, he just learned to function on very few hours of sleep.

So, he decided to make his way down to the kitchen.

But as he walked down the long hallway of bedrooms, he noticed that Y/N’s door was open. He glanced inside to see that it was empty and her bed was still neatly made from this morning. 

He looked down at this watch to see that it was almost 5AM.

A part of Bruce expected to find Y/N snacking or drinking coffee. But she wasn’t in the kitchen either.

Bruce sighed, realizing where she’d be and made his way down to the cave.

He expected to find Y/N with her eyes bloodshot and shoulders hunched over at the computers.

What he didn’t expect was to find Y/N passed out, slouched in the chair, knees in her chest and head balanced on the palm of her hand. How her elbow stayed propped up on the arm of the chair was beyond Bruce.

He smirked at the sight.

Perhaps she’d been spending too much time around the Wayne family. She was starting to adopt their bad habit of exhausting themselves.

Bruce knew she would be irritated if he moved her. But, honestly, he didn’t really care.

Carefully, Bruce slipped his arms behind her back – separating her from the chair – and then behind her knees, slowly lifting her into his arms.

Even though the movement was extremely smooth, Y/N still stirred.

“I was just taking a cat nap,” Y/N mumbled, but couldn’t even open her eyes to make the argument compelling. “I’m still working.”

“No, you’re not. Time to get some sleep.”

“Mmmm. Fine,” she slurred and tucked her head into his neck.

Bruce wasn’t sure if her mind even put together that it was him carrying her.

But he savored the closeness as he carried her out of the cave and up the stairs to the second floor of the manor.

When they got to her bedroom, Bruce put her down on the bed so softly, that she didn’t even feel it. Then he bent down to take off her shoes and unfolded the covers to tuck her in.

Just as Bruce reached the door.

Y/N woke up slightly and muttered, “Night, Bruce.”

His hand froze on the doorknob. It was so quiet that he wasn’t even sure if he had imagined it. But he couldn’t find the courage to turn and face her.

So he shut the door and let her sleep.

————

“Where’s Y/L/N?” Damian asked the table.

She usually ate breakfast with them.

“Still sleeping,” Bruce answered without looking up from the newspaper. “No one bother her today. She needs to rest,” that made him look up and give a warning look to Tim, Damian, and Dick.

Then Jason came stomping into the kitchen.

He grabbed a pastry and ate it standing up, getting crumbs all over the floor.

“Where’s ladylove?” He asked with his mouth so full that he looked like a chipmunk.

Bruce ignored him and looked back down at the paper.

But Dick frowned at him. “Don’t call her that.”

“What do you care?” Jason laughed.

Dick didn’t dignify the question with an answer. He just thrust his chair back and shoved Jason’s shoulder as he stormed past him.

“What’s his fucking deal?” Jason asked once he was out of ear shot.

“Watch your language,” Bruce warned with a glare from behind his paper.

Jason exhaled a laugh. “I’m not a kid. I also don’t live under your roof anymore.”

“And I consider that a gift,” Damian muttered loud enough for everyone to hear.

Jason smacked the back of his head.

Damian flew out of his seat and lunged for him. “I will end you, Todd!”

“Maybe when you hit puberty, demon spawn.”

“Damian!” Bruce shouted to get his son’s attention. His son snapped to attention. But then Bruce’s tone was eerily calm when he continued with, “Control your anger.”

It was something they’d been working on since Damian arrived at the manor. Bruce guessed that Damian would always have a temper. But he needed to learn how to control it. Through time and practice, he got better.

Damian took in a deep breath, but still looked like he wanted to murder Jason.

“I will be training,” Damian announced through an irritated sigh before leaving.

Bruce glared at Jason. “Don’t push him.”

“He started it.”

“You claim you’re not a kid, so don’t act like one.”

“Speaking of kids…” Jason started with a smile.

Bruce swiftly stood up. “Don’t even try.”

Then he was gone as well, leaving just Jason and Tim.

“Well, it appears everyone is in a rather bad mood this morning,” Jason joked.

But there was no response from Tim.

“Are you sleeping with your eyes open?!?” Jason yelled.

That woke up Tim and he jumped. “Huh? What?”  

————

Y/N would’ve slept the whole day if she hadn’t smelled the coffee and breakfast.

She winced as she woke up to see if her mind was playing tricks on her.

But on top of her nightstand sat a beautiful, antique tray with a full American breakfast on it, a cup of water, a giant mug of coffee, and a little vase with a tiny flower in it – a single, pink peonie.

Y/N rubbed her eyes awake with a shy smile.

Alfred was way sneakier than she realized if he could bring in a full tray like this and not even wake her up. She must be far more exhausted than she originally thought.

But then a piece of paper caught her eye. A note.

Y/N reached for it.

In the neatest handwriting Y/N had ever seen, she read:

“Perhaps you should take the day to relax. I apologize for my behavior last night.”

Y/N snorted at the word ‘behavior.’ Everything he had done last night was passive. It was more of an energy and tension than actual behavior. But Y/N had to give him credit for being aware of it. He had annoyed her last night, especially when Dick somehow took the fall for her own actions regarding her own life.

She ate the food at a disturbingly fast rate, not realizing how starved she’d felt until taking the first bite.

She would definitely miss Alfred’s cooking when she finally left Wayne Manor… whenever the hell that would be.

Y/N hoped it was sooner rather than later.

‘No, you don’t. Liar.’ A voice said inside her head.

Once Y/N had finished eating at light speed, she threw on a pair of baggy jeans and a cropped sweatshirt. She grabbed her coffee and carried it through the hallway.

She heard typing coming from Bruce’s office. He hadn’t used the room since she starting stay at the manor. So, her curiosity got the best of her and she leaned into the doorframe.

Bruce was wearing a navy polo that fit tight on his toned body. He was behind the desk, typing on the computer with his brow folded in concentration.  

He immediately noticed her presence and looked up from his work.

“Hi,” she said shyly before she leaned her back into the doorframe and took a sip of coffee.

“Hi,” he smiled back.

“Thank you for the breakfast.”

Bruce leaned back in the chair and crossed his arms. “I can’t take credit for the actual cooking,” he admitted with a smirk.

“Oh, I know.” Then she looked around the study. “I was on my way to the cave when I heard you in here.”

Bruce frowned at that. “I thought you were going to take the day off.”

“I think you thought I was taking the day off.” Then she raised an eyebrow and glanced at all the work spread out on his desk. “Maybe you should take a break.”

“This is Wayne Enterprises, not my…nighttime…activities.”

Y/N shrugged and sipped more coffee. “Still work.”

Bruce rubbed his face. “Guess so.”

“I’ll make you a deal,” Y/N walked into the room and didn’t break eye contact. “If you take the day off, so will I.”

She expected Bruce to immediately shoot down her offer.

But he was smirking as he considered her proposition.

“Deal,” he told her before standing up and walking out from behind the desk.

He got unnecessarily close, invading her space.

Bruce held out his hand.

Y/N grinned at the formal gesture, but shook his hand.

But when their hands gripped together, the gesture no longer felt formal. It felt intimate. Y/N’s grin fell when she acknowledged it.

“What did you have in mind?” Bruce asked. He put his hands in the pockets of his slacks.

If he felt the same intimacy as she had, he didn’t show it.

Y/N cleared her throat. “How about something simple? Maybe a walk?”

Bruce nodded slowly. “A walk sounds good.”  

“Well, then what are we waiting for?” Y/N sassed.

He shook his head and almost rolled his eyes before gesturing to the door, silently telling her to go first.

Next thing Y/N knew, she was getting an informal tour of the grounds at Wayne Manor from the owner himself.

Y/N listened closely, genuinely finding all the history interesting. Bruce was surprisingly a good storyteller – even if he was more informative than colorful.

“I know you had a hard childhood. But it still must’ve been nice growing up in a place like this,” Y/N tried to tell him.

“I suppose so.”

He glanced at Y/N and found her giving him an encouraging look, as if she was silently begging him to say more, to share more.

But he left it at that.

“Damian is rather fond of animals. That’s why we updated the old outbuilding. He keeps his horses there…amongst other things.”

Y/N chuckled and nodded, “He was telling me about Batcow the other day.”

“I’m sure he wouldn’t appreciate me telling you this, but I think Damian has enjoyed having you around – all the boys have.”

Y/N hummed and turned to fully face Bruce. “And what about you? Have you enjoyed having me around?”

“Wayne Manor is the safest place for you right now.”

“That’s not what I asked, Bruce.”

But he already knew that.

Y/N waited. Because she wasn’t going to let him ignore her question.

“Dick has taken quite a liking to you,” Bruce said quietly.

“Don’t change the subject,” Y/N snapped.

He opened his mouth to continue, but she cut him off.

“We’re not talking about me and Dick. We’re talking about me and you.”

Bruce’s jaw tightened.

Y/n took a step closer to him. “Why did you kiss me the other night?”

He tilted his head to the side. “Did you not want me to?”

“What does it matter?” Y/N sighed and ran a hand through her hair. “I want to know what you’re thinking. I thought I put up walls. But you give me nothing, Bruce. Absolutely nothing. One second I think you see me as a nuisance, then the next you’re fucking kissing me.”

“You’re not a nuisance.”

“Oh, he speaks!” Y/N threw up her arms.  

“What do you want me to say, Y/N?” He asked evenly.

Always calm and collected. Overly polite. Controlled. Closed off.

“Forget it,” Y/N breathed and started walking back to the manor.

But after she was a few yards away, she realized she wanted to say one last thing and turned back around.

“Not that it matters. But I did. I did want you to kiss me.”

“Then why did you run away?” Bruce asked.

“Because I knew you would do it eventually. And I was trying to protect myself.”

-

So much for a “day off.” When Y/N was upset, she turned to her work to take her mind off of things. Was it denial? Was it displacement? She didn’t like to dwell on it. And most of the time, there was no one in her life to call her out for it.

Y/N thought she was emotionally distant, but Bruce won that race by a landslide. And she found it infuriating.

It was interactions like the one she just had that made Y/N think everything Dick tried to tell her about how Bruce saw her was utter bullshit.

Y/N arrived to the cave with an energy she was definitely not expecting.

Damian and Dick were training on the lower level while Tim and Jason observed from the sides.

Y/N had seen footage of each of them fighting before. It was one of the research pieces she’d watched while investigating them before figuring out their identities. But seeing it in person was a completely different experience.

Dick was using his escrima sticks,  while Damian had his katana.

Jason noticed her arrival and made his way over with a smirk.

“Was wondering when you’d wake up,” he greeted.

“Please tell me that’s a sword for training and not an actual blade,” Y/N asked nervously while her eyes followed the two dancing around each other. She could even hear the blade slicing through the air.

“Don’t worry. They won’t seriously hurt each other.” He had a little side smirk. “Especially since Dick is Damian’s favorite.”

Y/N looked at Jason. “I always assumed Bruce was his favorite.”

He shrugged. “Dick’s been a father to Damian far more than Bruce ever has.”

She didn’t have anything to say to that. It caught her by surprise a bit.

“Can you fight?” Jason asked her.

Her eyes widened. “No. I don’t know how to do…anything. I did one of those boxing workout classes. I hated it. All the instructors are male models, and that’s their side hustle.”

“I can assure you that was not boxing,” Jason laughed. “Why haven’t asked one of us?”  

Y/N shrugged. “Seems like a waste of your time.”

“No, it sounds like a fun time,” Jason corrected.

She laughed at that.

They both watched the two again.

A few moments went by before Y/N quietly added, “I have a gun. I don’t really know how to use it. But I thought it was necessary with my…line of work.”

Jason nodded slowly. “These pansies have a certain aversion to guns.” He looked down at her. “If you need me to show you a few basics, let me know.”

Y/N quickly looked at him. “T-Thank you.”

He laughed. “Don’t look so surprised.”

Jason Todd may have been labeled an anti-hero or even a criminal at one point. But deep down, he was still a Wayne. And even though he had the reputation of the bad boy, they all knew he was a sweetheart deep down. However, Y/N was now just seeing it.

Y/N jumped when Damian was slammed to the ground.

“Jesus,” she hissed.

“He’s fine,” Jason insisted.

But then he leaned closer and started pointing out certain moves to her. 

“With Dick’s gymnastics background, he incorporates a lot more acrobatics and moves that require more flexibility. He’s good at improvisation. He also leans more toward taekwondo. But with his escrima sticks, he also uses arnis.”

He looked down to make sure he wasn’t boring Y/N before he continued.

“He almost moves like a dancer,” she thought aloud, proving she was interested and engaged.

“Exactly,” he nodded. “Whereas Damian is still a kid. It’s less about power and more about agility. Before he got here, he was trained to kill. He’s mastered the sword better than any of us – but don’t tell him I said that. Damian’s had to adjust his technique and turn it non-lethal.” He smirked, “Just think devil ninja and that pretty much sums it up.”

Y/N laughed.

“And Tim?” She asked.

“Tim leans towards Kobudo, which is an ancient style developed by the Japanese. He prefers to use a battle staff. He’s smaller, so his technique is very calculated and controlled. Every move he makes counts for something. He’s extremely observant and can read his opponents like a book. Dick tries to create his openings, while Tim waits for the exact right moment.”

“Smart,” Y/N commented.

Jason nodded in agreement.

She turned back to him. “And you? What’s your style?”

“Brutal,” a voice said behind them.

Y/N whipped around to see Bruce standing behind them with his arms crossed. He’d changed, and was now wearing a tank top and sweatpants. Clearly he came down with the intention to train as well.

Jason didn’t seem surprised nor did he acknowledge him, meaning he probably knew the moment Bruce had arrived. He just didn’t care to notice him outwardly.

“Wing chun. Heavy-weight boxing. Krav Maga,” Bruce continued as if he was just listing of stats. “Angry…” he shrugged, “sometimes reckless.”

Jason scoffed at that.

“And he can’t seem to get over his complex for guns,” Bruce finished.

Jason turned to him. He was just an inch or so taller than Bruce. But he looked like he was twice the width and his muscles were somehow even bigger.

“Should we give her a show, B?” Jason offered with amusement.

“We’re not a spectacle, Jason.”

Jason looked down to Y/N. “Such a party pooper this one.”

She smirked at his sass. Bruce was not in her good graces right now, so she would support any and all mocking of him.

Y/N hadn’t even looked at Bruce since he arrived. And now she was choosing it as a perfect time to finally make her way to her computers and away from him.

Jason didn’t miss the cold shoulder. “What did you do to piss off yet another woman?”

Bruce glared at him, and walked down to the training area with the boys.

Jason followed after him. 

He looked back and forth between Bruce and up at Y/N, a plan developing in his head.

“$100 bucks Bruce can lay out Dick in two minutes,” Jason said loud enough that Y/N could hear him.

Tim and Damian shared a smirk.

Bruce and Dick glared at him.

“I’m not betting against that,” Damian announced.

Tim smiled. “But I will.”

Dick shook his head in submission, “Fine.”

Bruce needed the practice, even though he was aware Jason had ulterior motives with his request. So he just gave Dick a look of consent.

Y/N tried to ignore what was happening, even though Jason made it very clear for her. She heard the sound of fists and feet hitting skin. He heard their grunts of pain and exertion.

It wasn’t until she heard Dick torment Bruce with, “Come on, old man,” that Y/N couldn’t help but turn to watch them below the platform she worked on.

Dick’s teasing worked, but not in his favor.

Bruce no longer took it easy on him. Maybe that’s what Dick wanted, but he was now on the defense.

They were fighting hand to hand. No escrima sticks or gadgets. Just hand-to-hand combat.

Y/N could tell the that Dick was starting to get frustrated. 

Bruce, however, seemed completely calm. He knew all of the boys’ fighting styles and taught them the majority of what they knew. There was a part of Bruce in all of them. It almost made for an unfair fight. 

Their movements got faster and faster. Y/N was struggling to figure out what was even happening anymore.

But just when she was about to give up her observing and get back to work, Bruce managed to get a proper grip on Dick and flipped him over his shoulder.

Dick landed on his back hard. So hard, that Y/N heard the smack and the sound alone made her feel sick.

Y/N gasped, and put a hand in her mouth when the sound came out louder than she expected.

Jason, Tim, Damian, and even Dick glanced up at her.

But Bruce was staring down at his opponent.

“Your weight placement was off and you know how to get out of that hold,” Bruce lectured. “You know better.”

Dick glared up at him.

Bruce offered him a hand up, but Dick ignored it.

“I know,” Dick growled as he got to his feet.

“You’re letting yourself get frustrated. It’s causing your mistakes.”

“I said I know,” Dick snapped louder this time.

Before an argument could really start, Alfred made his presence known by clearing his throat.

All the boys looked up at him, as well. 

“What is it?” Bruce asked.

“I was rather certain you’d forgotten. Seems I was right.” Alfred cleared his throat. “I came to remind you all that the annual gala for the Martha Foundation is tomorrow night at the manor.”

“Can’t we reschedule it,” Damian whined.

Bruce shook his head. “The Court of Owls is made of Gotham’s elite – many of who are invited. If we cancel, it will cause suspicion.”

“You can’t honestly think we should risk that with Y/N being here,” Dick called out, gesturing up towards Y/N.

Bruce and Dick had a silent conversation.

Y/N knew it was about her, so she did not appreciate being excluded.

“Oh, wow. Looks like one of my safe houses is finally more secure than this place,” Y/N spoke up melodramatically.

But she should’ve known it wasn’t going to be that easy to escape.

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

Next chapter is gonna be fun, guys. 😈 But let me know what you thought of this one. 

[weaselle]

thoughts on a theme on a scene on a dialogue too fast!

to write it is to halt its flow, sitting here with a blank document open i’m overwhelmed by a three-trilogy, nine book series worth of socio-economic /socio-political explorations set in a sci-fi fantasy crossover universe. Like, i’d have to commit to writing at least two hours a day most days of the week to .. hm, actually.

OH MY GOD I’M ALREADY BORED OF IT

now i want to sculpt the bone creatures my grandmother haunts me about

what i really want is like, the mad-scientist’s-lab version of a creative space

with like paints and clay and 3D printers and tools and musical instruments and recording booths and microphones and cameras and computers and a stage and circus gear and props and costumes and a green-screen room, a big kitchen and a workshop.

Like, a really nice gym but for creativity instead of fitness.

Because if i had access to that (and a budget of some kind) i could jump in and stay in, just do it as i feel it, wake up like:

 “i want... toys, i want to film like dinosaurs and cars in a pre-history to far-future City of Alltimes we make as a setting for some stop-motion shit. Okay we’ve done some of that i want to make a song, hold on, let me write lyrics to a song about that, cool, okay now let’s pick a vibe to build on and get some music going, this is going to become a music video featuring the dinosaur and car stuff we were doing, I think it’s going to be an awesome part of the choose your own adventure video tree i just thought of...”

oh yeah, “we were doing”, because in my fantasies about this it’s always with a group or a team of some kind

The dream is, we all wake up and have a nice breakfast and morning time, some of us eating together, some doing quiet solitary dawn greeting or whatever; anything each person likes (ideally there’s, like, a sauna and hot tub and viewing lounge with a nice view and a coffee station. Hey, if i’m dreaming, might a well dream big)

And then after our morning routines, we congregate in the creation lab

First I ask if there is anything the group wants to do, like if people sort of “song? anybody feel like songs” “how about a cooking video?” “i kind of want to do something in the workshop today” “yeah, let’s build something” “that sounds nice let’s do things with tools” “yeah building stuff” 

okay so it sounds like a lot of us want to build something in the shop, let’s do that, any ideas on what we should build

 Or maybe someone has a specific thing they have an idea for, a mural or something, and everybody else gets hype about it.

But then, for times when people were willing to create but didn’t have a specific idea, i would be there, with my ten latest greatest ideas and we could pick one to sort of let me conduct it like an orchestra meets mad-science experiment.

Anyway, the entire dream is that, but expanding the projects from purely creative to also include things like creating programs to help local homeless people, and looking at school charters and social messaging and local political projects that could help the next generation get the education they will actually need to accomplish what humans need to get done for ourselves sooner rather than later, in terms of turning climate collapse and politico-economic corruption into global peace and world-wide sustainable prosperity.

And maybe running a couple home businesses to fund it all.

So just, a tight crew, facilities, a budget, and getting up every day and making something happen that we want to happen, because no matter what that thing is, it’s going to happen faster and bigger and better with a highly-cooperative group than with individuals. 

and that’s how i want to live.

[holidaywishes]

a bit of stress relief

  Requested: 👍

  Summary/Request: Can you PLEASE write about Freddie coming to your work and having a quickie in your office

  Warning: smut, fluff, whiny Freddie

  Author’s Note: REQUESTS ARE CLOSED for a bit. I do have one more in my inbox right now so I’ll add it to my drafts but after I write that I won’t be taking requests for... a while. Maybe a month? I have a few series I want to finish up before I start having requests piling up. I always love seeing my inbox full of requests for different types of fics, so this isn’t forever, just until I’m able to finish my Gally series for sure and possibly my 9-1-1 series. This request was fun and I just couldn’t say no lol. Thanks in advance for your understanding and I hope I’ll be able to get back to requests sooner than later but I’ll keep y’all updated! Stay Golden, loves! <3 

  masterlist

  the other masterlist

xx

  Your boss asked you to go into the office on a Saturday to finish an assignment that she had forgotten to mention earlier in the week. You would’ve argued that you had plans but your boss said it was for a presentation the next morning that they needed the information for

  “I’m sorry, Freddie,” you whined to your boyfriend as he tried to convince you to stay at his apartment, “believe me, I’d much rather be here but I’m not about to get fired...”

  “It’s not your assignment, it’s hers,” he argued, “she made the mistake. Why do you have to do it for her?”

  “It’s my job” you admitted

  “Except when it’s not...” he groaned

  “Freddie,” you sighed, “I won’t be long I promise. I just need to go in and print up some stuff and make a couple calls. Nothing major...”

  “So why can’t your boss do it?” he challenged, “it’s her mistake, so.. she should be responsible for fixing it”

  “I know,” you repeated, wrapping your arms around his neck before kissing his cheek, “but I can’t lose this job. I have loans to pay off”

  “You know I can help with that”

  “No,” you scoffed, “no you absolutely cannot. I don’t want to feel like I owe you anything. That’s not the relationship we have... I’m not your sugar baby”

  “But you could be”

  “But I don’t wanna be”

  “Alright...” he laughed, kissing your nose playfully

  “I’ll call you when I’m finished okay. I give it one, two hours tops”

  “If you’re not finished in two hours, I’m coming down there and taking you home” he teased

  “Okay,” you scoffed, “I’ll see you later.” You got to the office and rushed into your boss’s office to find the information you needed to work on. The office was empty, as it should’ve been, but when you heard the door open and close, you popped your out of the door to see who was there, “Hello?” you called

  “(Y/N)?” your co-worker asked

  “Mason? What are you doing here?” you returned, noticing now that a bunch of your co-workers were walking in

  “We could ask you the same thing” he chuckled

  “Laura forgot to do stuff for the presentation tomorrow, so she asked me to come in and do it”

  “For the conference?”

  “Yup”

  “Yeah,” he replied, “our team is having the same issue. Except they’re saying they ‘lost it’ or that it ‘must have gotten deleted somehow’ so now we have to be here all day trying to fix this”

  “Why are any of this people in charge again?” you asked

  “Maybe they slept their way to the top” he joked before waving you goodbye and heading to his station. You started at this company as an intern, mostly handing out mail and grabbing coffee for everyone, but they kept you around because you had a good eye for graphic design which was important in a marketing firm. However, your boss, Laura, had replaced Debra, the former Head of Marketing, a month before you were hired to be her assistant and she really wasn’t all that fond of you. She claimed that your degree should be in Business or Marketing not Graphic Design and that you’d only ever be an assistant in this industry so ‘don’t hope for more than that.’ You didn’t think too much of her comments though, at the end of the day, you had a job to you and you were going to do it well; even if it meant coming in on the weekend to do her forgotten assignments. When you finally found Laura’s papers, you groaned audibly, realizing this wasn’t going to be quick work

  “Hey!” Freddie greeted you from the other end of the line when you called him to let him know what was happening

  “Hey...” you sighed

  “What?” he groaned, “what’s going on?”

  “It looks like I’m gonna be here for a while. Laura underplayed how much work there was for me to do...”

  “You can’t really be doing this?” he whined

  “Babe, I have to. I told you, it’s my job. But,” you added, hoping it would make him feel better, “it’s not just me! Apparently, all the senior staff forgot to do these super important assignments for the conference. So, a bunch of us are here working until we finish them”

  “You need to quit this job,” he grumbled, “clearly no one is good at what they were hired to do”

  “I can’t quit unless I have something lined up,” you argued, “babe, I’m sorry. I know I promised that we’d lay in bed all weekend because this was the first time that you had free time but I have to do this. I promise, I’ll work as fast as I can but the longer I’m on the phone, the longer I’m at the office. So, I gotta go. I love you and I’ll see you as soon as I’m done okay?”

  “Call me and I’ll pick you up,” he replied, “you shouldn’t have to take an Uber back here...”

  “Okay,” you smiled, “that would be nice. Talk soon. Love you”

  “Love you, too” he said before you ended the call. You took a deep breath and started getting to work. Organizing timelines and trying to understand doctors-note-handwriting from past meetings

  “How can she possibly expect me to be able to understand this?” you thought to yourself. You signed onto her computer and were immediately left in shock at the jumbled mess of her desktop, “holy fuck!” you exclaimed silently, it’s no wonder she gets nothing done, “she’s the most unorganized person I’ve ever seen!” You spent the next 20 minutes opening files to find what you were looking for, closing what was not it immediately so you could legally say you didn’t see anything, and then you had to spend the next half an hour printing documents and running back and forth between Laura’s office and the copy room

  “How’s it goin’?” Rob, one of the other team members who was forced to come in and work on a Saturday, asked when he noticed you rushing throughout the room

  “Oh, you know, I’m sure I’ll have a panic attack in the next, oh, twenty or so minutes” you replied, sighing as you walked back to the printer one last time. You had managed to get most of the paper work done but you still had to make a few phone calls to get estimates on some of the ad spaces needed and whether or not there could be a discount involved for the company

  “Hey!” Freddie said gleefully, walking into your boss’ office like he owned the place

  “Freddie,” you gasped, a slight sneer on your tone, “what are you doing here?”

  “I came to see you...” he replied, furrowing his brow at your response, “when you said you were gonna be longer than you thought, I thought I’d come down and surprise you. Maybe take the stress off a little?”

  “That’s sweet, babe,” you smiled, noticing the look in his eyes and realizing what he was really there for, “but I have to make some calls so I can’t... do that”

  “We can make it work” he teased, biting his bottom lip quickly before pulling you close to him

  “Fred...” you whined, kissing him once before pushing him away from you and walking back to Laura’s desk, “I really do have to work. You can sit if you want but that’s it...” he slumped onto the plush couch against the window and frowned before scrolling through his phone as you started to call the businesses on your list. After about 10 minutes, you noticed Freddie peering up from his phone to look over at you, as if he was trying to get you to hang up the phone just from a look, choosing to walk over to you when you didn’t. “Yes, that’s right. I know you’ve been with us for quite some time and our relationship has helped both our businesses grow,” you spoke as Freddie swiveled you and your chair out from the desk, “we want that relationship to keep growing” you continued before noticing the smirk on Freddie’s face as he hovered over you, kissing your neck as you tried to pay attention to the call. “Mhmm,” you said to the person on the other end of the phone, distracted by Freddie’s lips pressing against the sensitive skin on your neck, his hot breath cascading down your neck, “mhm, sure. I understand” you said again, trying not to let on what was happening. “Laura is so sorry she couldn’t make this call to you herself,” you lied, Freddie kissing his way down to your core, pulling off your leggings quickly and kissing your inner thighs as you spoke, “however, she is excited to showcase your work to those at our conference tomorrow. We all just wanted to make sure the numbers were 100% accurate...” you had to bite your lip and move the receiver end of the phone from your mouth in case any sound escaped when you felt Freddie’s tongue finally press against your clit. “Oh that’s great!” you exclaimed when the partner on the phone added a discount to the quote you’d already been given, claiming that, had he known other businesses would be hearing of his services earlier, he would’ve offered it sooner. “Thank you so much,” you smiled, Freddie’s hands pulling your body closer to his him as his mouth brought you closer and closer to your orgasm, “I or Laura will let you know how everything goes. Thank you again” you said quickly before hanging up the phone. “Fuck,” you cursed breathlessly, “oh my god, Freddie!” your back was forced to arch, as you were pretty much falling out of your seat as Freddie continued to stimulate your clit, only now moving his finger to caress your folds before slowly inserted it inside of you and pumping until you whimpered, tugging at his hair. “Freddie,” you squeaked, trying not to be heard from outside the office, “fuck” you repeated quietly, your grip loosening from his hair as his ministrations slowed and your breathing steadied.

  “How’s your stress now?” he smirked, wiping his mouth casually before standing up in front of you once more

  “You can’t do that” you said, small pants escaping your lips, making Freddie believe you less than you intended

  “I think I can” he teased

  “I was on a business call, Fred!” you exclaimed, pulling your leggings back up, “what if they heard something?”

  “They would only hear something if you let them” he countered and, ultimately, you knew he was right but you still shook your head

  “You can’t do that” you repeated and he scoffed, hovering over you once more to taunt you with a kiss but stopped right in front of your lips

  “We’ll see about that...” he smirked, taking his hands away from the chair and walking back to sit on the couch

  “What’s goin’ on with you?” you asked

  “I just want to be with you,” he whined, giving you puppy dog eyes and earning a scoff from you, “that’s what we were supposed to be doing anyway...”

  “I told you we would when I got home...” you said

  “Come here,” he said, patting his thigh, “come sit on my lap” you chuckled but obliged. You wrapped your arms around his neck after sitting on his thigh, playing with his hair and kissing his nose before he spoke again, “see, isn’t this better than making a few phone calls?” he asked, his hand beginning to rub your back lightly

  “You know I would rather be doing this, or more than this, with you,” you admitted, leaning in and kissing him softly, letting your lips linger a moment before you pulled back, “but I have to do this stuff...”

  “Just a quickie...” he whispered, “and then I’ll go. Then we can pick up at home”

  “This is my boss’s office” you whined

  “All the more reason to do it. We’re in a private spot, secluded from everyone else, it’s perfect” he replied, kissing your jaw before moving down to your neck and you let your head fall back to give him more room

  “Mmmm,” you hummed, melting into his kiss, “I can’t”

  “(Y/N)...“ he groaned

  “Just a few more calls,” you argued, “I don’t have a lot left. Just like, five, maybe six”

  “That’s a lot. How long are each of those calls? 10 minutes? 20?” he asked, “we could do a lot with that time...”

  “Stop,” you smiled, standing up from his lap and walking back to the desk chair, “just a few more calls...” you repeated. He slunk into the couch and angrily unlocked his phone while you picked up Laura’s phone and began dialing. You were able to make three calls before Freddie began sighing loudly across the room and you had to glare at him, which is when the texts started

  “I want you” he sent as you spoke to another advertising partner on the phone

  “Like now” another came through

  “I’m gonna come over there”

  “And make you cum again” you glared up at him and he smiled

  “And again” you shook your head, turning off your sound so the partner didn’t hear the constant dinging

  “And again”

  “And again”

  “Until you can’t cum anymore” you noticed him smile as he thought up more responses and you threw a pencil at him, still paying attention to the conversation on the phone before mouthing ‘stop’ to Freddie but he just shook his head with a teasing smile

  “You won’t be able to walk”

  “Your legs will be numb”

  “Your chest will be heaving because you can’t catch your breath”

  “You’re gonna crave my dick”

  “Every time you move”

  “You’ll have to physically stop yourself from jumping me in public”

  “Because you’re still feeling me inside you” your eyes went wide as you read his messages, heat flooding your face as you ended the call, forcing yourself to dial another number before Freddie could get the upper hand. He slowly made his way to the desk once more and you gulped as you swallowed the saliva that had filled your mouth, Freddie hung up the phone before it ever even really began to ring

  “Seriously, don’t...” you whispered, knowing that you were about to break from whatever move he made next

  “But I want to” he growled, grazing your nose with his and you started to give in when he walked toward the door, “crap” you thought to yourself when you thought he was about to leave but he was only locking the door

  “What the fuck?!” you exclaimed, “that was unlocked this whole time?!”

  “Yeah?” he chuckled

  “Freddie! What would have happened if someone walked in earlier?”

  “They would’ve gotten a great show” he replied, walking over to you, leaning over you but not doing anything. You took a deep breath before running your hands up his arms, tangling your fingers in his hair before bringing him down to kiss you

  “We have to be quick...” you whispered, earning a grin from Freddie before he pulled your leggings off and directed your thighs around his waist so he could pick you up to carry you to the couch. You laughed when he sat down and you fell into him clumsily, “quiet” you shushed him before kissing him slowly and trailing your hands down to his waistband, pushing his pants down just enough to free his erection while his hands lifted your shirt up, stopping to massage your breasts. You heard a laugh outside of the office and stopped what you were doing, “wait,” you whispered, “I think someone’s there” he didn’t listen, kissing your neck and lining himself up with your entrance before bucking his hips to yours; your nails digging into his shoulders to stop yourself from making any sound. His hands gripped your hips as he thrust into you, bringing your attention back to him while your lips found each other in a clumsy rush to muffle the sounds of each other’s moans

  “Fuck,” Freddie moaned first, “fuck” you were about to reciprocate his sentiment when the phone rang and your head jerked back in panic

  “Shit” you sighed, worry mixing with pleasure as Freddie continued to grip your hips tightly

  “Ignore it” he said, kissing your peaked nipple over your shirt before moving a hand to your core, but your head still stayed looking at the ringing phone

  “What if it’s her?” you whined, referring to your boss

  “Ignore it” he repeated

  “What if it’s one of the partners or the vendors? What if it’s one of the really important clients?” you asked, knowing he wouldn’t give any helpful advice other than

  “Ignore it” he said once more, pulling your face back to his before kissing you harshly. The phone stopped ringing and you felt a faint sense of peace course through you as you softened the kiss that Freddie had started, your tongue begging for his lips to part, a muffled moan intertwining with his warm breath as it brushed over your exposed neck. Your tongue danced with his for a while as his fingers circled your clit, pressing down on the sensitive flesh every so often

  “Fuck” you breathed finally, now beginning to ride him faster, feeling his thighs flex underneath you as he welcomed the sensation of you crashing onto him. “Fuck,” you repeated, “shit, oh my god. Fuck Freddie” you felt your climax build as his lips met your neck, his finger still working on your clit while you rode him harder; the loud ringing of the phone the only thing that brought you back to where you were. “Ugh” you groaned

  “Leave it” he groaned back

  “Fuck” you sighed, reluctantly ignoring the phone to continue fucking your incredibly broad shoulder boyfriend

  “That’s my girl” he smirked, watching you bounce up and down his length

  “Fuck, Freddie, I’m gonna cum” you panted, your hands clutching his shirt as your hips began to shake. “Sh-i-it, god fuck! Freddie” you moaned, still trying to be as quiet as possible but knowing that everyone in the office was probably putting on noise cancelling headphones just to try to escape the sounds they were undoubtedly hearing.

  “Almost there, baby” Freddie breathed, clutching onto your waist to assist your movements. Fuck, his hands fit so perfectly on your body, you really hated that this had to end so quickly, but that’s what he came here for. “Fuck, I’m gonna cum in you”

  “Fuck” you breathed, dropping your head onto his shoulder, your body taking over until you and Freddie met your release. Like clockwork, the annoying ringing of the phone appeared and you had to scoff at Freddie while you quickly got dressed

  “That was fun,” he smiled, “you sure you don’t wanna go round two?”

  “Hello” you greeted, picking up the phone to continue the work you had come to do, “I am so sorry about that. I’m not sure what was happening with the line…”

  “So we’ll continue this at my place then?” Freddie teased before and you nodded with wink before shooing him away but not before he kissed you goodbye. You were dreading the walk out of the office if Mason and his team hadn’t left yet but you knew it had to happen sooner or later

  “So, should we hire a clean up crew before your boss gets back?” one of the guys teased

  “Shut up” you said, hoping your embarrassment didn’t show too clearly

  “You do know we put on our headphones as soon as we saw him,” Mason admitted, “we knew there’s no way that he was gonna just show up to say hi”

  “He could’ve,” you tried, exhaling when you realized you were never going to fool any of them, “fine. Just, please, don’t rat me out. I just pulled together a miracle in that office and I don’t need Laura finding out about my office sex-capades — I don’t want that to be the reason she fires me. I’m not that girl…”

  “We know” another co-worker smirked

  “Don’t worry, your secret is safe with us,” Mason assured, “it’s a don’t-ask-don’t-tell policy as far as we’re concerned” you gave him an appreciative smile before heading out to meet Freddie in the parking garage

  “Hey” he smiled as you sat in the front seat

  “Hi” you replied, leaning over to peck his lips

  “Did you get your work done?” he teased

  “Yeah,” you chuckled, “it was a miracle but I got it done” he took your hand and brought it to his lips to press a kiss to it

  “No more quickies,” he whined, holding your hand for the remainder of the ride, until he needed it for one reason or another, “I need more than that”

  “I agree,” you smirked, “now, let’s go home so you can fuck me until I can’t walk

  “Yes ma’am.”

[doctorstethoscope]

The Right Chapter 24 || Aaron Hotchner x Fem Reader

Happy Saturday my loves! A little fluff/angst double whammy for your afternoon :) 

contains: grouchy aaron, food mention, description of anxiety, canon-typical description of murder

wordcount: 2.4k

“I seem to remember you being the one lecturing me about the bureau’s generous sick leave policy not all that long ago,” You told Aaron as you gently shoved him back into bed three days after he’d broken his leg. 

“I also recall that in that situation, you were the one who was injured,” Aaron grumbles, and you roll your eyes. 

“Yes, and you stayed home to take care of me. Now, I’m returning the favor,” you reminded him. 

“I’m not going to get a brain bleed, I just need the leg to heal. You don’t need to stay with me all day while I sit in bed.” He argues.

“You’re right, but I think we both know that if I wasn’t here, you wouldn’t stay in bed, and seeing as how you can’t get as far as the bathroom without my help, that might present a problem.” You chastise him. “I’m not coming home to you bleeding out in the hallway because you fell over and couldn’t help yourself.”

“You make me sound like I’m eighty years old.” he scoffed. 

“Well, if you agree to wear a life alert, maybe I’ll go back to work.” You said, throwing your head against the pillows. There’s a few moments of silence, punctuated by Aaron’s deep sigh. 

“I’m glad you’re here. Sorry I’m being grumpy.” He apologized. “I just don’t want you to have to take care of me.” 

“You’re injured and in pain. You’re allowed to be grumpy,” you told him. “And I plan on taking care of you for the rest of my life, so you should start to get used to it.”

“Can I hold you for a little while? You don’t have to go near my leg,” he says, knowing you’ve been extra-gentle to avoid his injury since you’ve been home together. “You could put your head on my chest and I could just… hold you,” Aaron asks shyly, and your heart melts. 

“Of course, baby.” you say, snuggling your torso in close, leaning your head against his pec and resisting the urge to toss your legs over his. “See? Sick leave isn’t all that bad,” you tease him.

“No, I suppose not,” he smiles, rubbing an arm up and down your back.

“Jack is so excited to have you home.” You comment.

“Not that it matters, I can’t even take him to the park or ride a bike with him.” Aaron grouses. 

“Aaron, he’s over the moon just to have time to spend with you. He could sit here in bed with you watching Toy Story on a loop for the next six weeks and I’m sure he’d tell you it was the best month and a half of his life.” 

“A month and a half… I’m gonna go crazy.” Aarom remarks, more to himself than to you. 

“You’re gonna have to take up a hobby. Maybe knitting,” you snort, and Aaron smiles. 

“Yeah, or braiding or something,” he agrees offhandedly.

“Braiding?” You ask. 

“Oh, I mean, or maybe I could get back into Chess, finally get good enough to beat Spencer--” 

“No, no, back up, what made you bring up braiding?” 

“Uh… it’s just… something I’ve been thinking about in case we ever, you know, made a decision, and felt like maybe---” 

“Aaron, spit it out,” you laughed. 

“Just… if we had kids, or a daughter, I would want to be able to do her hair. Because if you’re not home, I don’t want to be the dad that doesn’t know how to do his daughter’s hair.” He confesses, the embarrassment clear in his tone. You place a kiss to his chest. 

“You are a good man, Aaron Hotchner.” 

“I’m glad you think so, anyways.”

“Alright, you’re getting grumpy and self-deprecating, which is a bad combo. You need a nap.” You instruct him teasingly. 

“You’ll be here when I wake up?” He asks, tightening his hold on you just slightly. 

“Of course, love. You go ahead and rest. I’m not going anywhere.”

You went back to work a little over a week later, when Aaron was mostly off of his pain meds, and able to get himself around the apartment without any assistance. You were still staying there when you weren’t on a case, and found yourself grateful that you’d decided to sign a month-to-month lease-- you weren’t sure what the point was of keeping up the pretense of separate places anymore. But, then again, with Aaron injured, now probably wasn’t the best time for a move. You're working through a few scenarios in your head when Spencer interrupts your train of thought. 

“How’s Hotch feeling?” He asks as you and the rest of the team board the jet to head home after a case. 

“He’s doing better,” you tell him. “The pain isn’t bothering him as much and he’s getting a little bit of his range of motion back. I’m still trying my best to keep him in bed, but I’m sure you can imagine how well that’s going,” you tell him with a smile. 

“Well, tell him I can’t wait to have him back. I hate all this paperwork,” Morgan cuts in with a playful chuckle, and you shove at his shoulder. 

“I’m trying to keep him home, Derek. Besides, we all know that Spencer is doing most of the paperwork for you,” you called him out, and Emily and JJ laughed.

“He’s just so fast,” Morgan defends himself, and now everyone is laughing. 

“We do want him back,” Emily tells you. “But not until he’s good and ready. And then, you know, maybe even a few weeks after that. Wouldn’t kill him to take a vacation.” 

“I’m not so sure about that,” JJ smirks. 

“Please, he’s already itching to get back to work. I think he’d leave me if I asked for a vacation.” You tell Emily.

“No, if you asked for a vacation he’d buy a plane ticket in an instant. And he’d bring his work phone and his computer to the beach and try to solve a murder from underneath a palm tree,” Morgan argued playfully. 

“Sometimes when we take a case somewhere warm, I stand in the parking lot for five minutes and face the sun. And if you close your eyes, it’s almost like a vacation.” You say. 

“Weren’t you literally taken hostage the last time you did that?” Spencer asks, and you roll your eyes goodnaturedly. 

“Well, there goes my tropical getaway,” you tease. 

With Morgan as acting unit chief, paperwork deadlines are considerably more flexible, which is to say nonexistent. Strauss would probably have a field day when she went to review the case file, but that wasn’t your problem. And, quite frankly, as you rushed to your car to get home to your boys, you couldn’t care less. 

When you swing the door open, you interrupt a very spirited game of Connect Four between Jack and Aaron. You notice that Aaron has at least three opportunities to make a winning move, all of which he ignores in favor of allowing Jack to push his chips in at random. 

“You’re home!” Jack exclaims when he sees you, scrambling across the living room and wordlessly commanding to be held by you. 

You hoist him up onto your hip, not without difficulty. He was getting big, and it made you a little sad. It strikes you that you won’t be able to do this forever, wrap him up in your arms and make him feel small and safe and secure. You squeeze him tighter. “Were you good for your daddy while I was gone?” 

“Uh-huh.” He nods, pulling back to look at you and running the collar of your shirt in between his thumb and forefinger absentmindedly. 

“And was Daddy good? He stayed off of his booboo leg?” You asked the only Hotchner who would give you a truthful answer. 

“Daddy was good.” Jack confirms, and you narrow your eyes skeptically. 

“Did he bribe you to say that? Ice cream for breakfast, or a new comic book?” You ask. 

“No. We watched Toy Story and I learned checkers. I had cereal for breakfast, not ice cream.” He tells you, and you relent. 

“Sounds like you had a lot of fun, bug.” You say, putting him down and crossing the living room to sit next to Aaron on the couch, who leaned over to press a kiss to the top of your head and placed a hand in your lap. 

“I did. But I missed you.” Jack tells you, climbing onto the couch next to you. 

“He’s not the only one,” Aaron whispers, pressing another kiss to your hair. 

“I missed you both, very very much,” you tell them, snuggling closer into Aaron and placing a hand in Jack’s hair. 

“We had pasta for dinner. I saved you a plate,” Aaron tells you. 

“Thank you, baby.” You tell him. “But, I’m pretty sure it’s past somebody’s bedtime…” You mention, and Jack pouts immediately. 

“I told him he could stay up until you got home, but he promised he wasn’t going to fight when it was time for bed, right buddy?” Aaron reminds his son. 

“Come on, sweet boy. I’ll tuck you in,” You tell him, pecking Aaron’s lips briefly before scooping Jack up off of the sofa and bringing him to his bed, tucking him in with extra stories and kisses to make up for the nights you missed while you were gone. 

When you come back into the kitchen, Aaron has heated up the leftover pasta and is waiting for you at the counter. 

“You didn’t have to get up, I would have done that,” you tell Aaron, knowing full well that he’d never actually listen.

“How was the case?” He asks as you settle in and start to eat. 

“It wasn’t too bad. We got the guy to surrender without hurting any of the hostages. A few of them were in pretty rough shape, but they should all recover.” you tell him in between bites. 

“And the team? Everyone’s doing okay?” 

“We’re all good, babe. JJ’s getting really good at the geographic profile, but I think it annoys her to stay at the station when we’re all out.” 

“She’s pregnant. It’s not worth the risk,” Aaron reminds you. 

“I know, honey, but it’s still annoying. It’s kind of like when you break your leg and you’re not allowed to go to work but you still have to hear all about it from your girlfriend,” you point out, and he smirks at you. 

“Morgan’s doing okay? The field agents aren’t giving him any trouble?” 

“Morgan can handle himself just fine against any cocky field agent. You don’t need to worry about us, sweetheart. We’re okay. You trained us up good,” you smiled at him, and he blushed, rolling his eyes at you. “We want you back, but we want you back healthy,” you tell him.

“Well, the doctor cleared me to start PT in two weeks. So hopefully I’ll be back sooner rather than later,” Aaron tells you. 

“That's great news! So the cast is coming off soon?” You ask. 

“Yeah, he wants to see me again to take it off and give me the final go-ahead for PT.”

“And you’re gonna take it easy at PT, because you know you can’t rush recovery, right?” You remind him. 

“Yes, mom,” he teases you with a smile. 

“It’s my turn to fret over you. Karma’s a bitch,” you smile at him as you get up to take his plate to the dishwasher. As you do so, his phone rings. 

“Hotchner,” he says into the receiver. “Woah, woah. Slow down, please. Are you okay?” Aaron says, and you turn around immediately, concerned. “Garcia, hold on. I’m going to put you on speaker. Yeah, she’s home. She’s here with me.” Aaron says, his eyes flicking over to you as he pulls the phone away from his ear and adjusts the volume. 

“Okay, so, I have been keeping an eye on Josh’s arrest record, awaiting his arraignment and his court dates so that we could throw a big ‘Josh is in prison for life party,’” she tells you, spitting out information a mile a minute. “There hadn’t been any movement for a few days, and I couldn’t figure out why, but I decided to check one more time before I went to bed tonight, and Josh’s dealer posted bail for him four days ago.”

“What?” You say. You heard her, heard every word she said in perfect clarity. But there had to be a mistake, right?

“Garcia, what do you have on the dealer? What has Josh been doing for the past four days?” Aaron asks, and you hear him, but you also… don’t. Everything sounds like you have cotton stuck inside your ears, or like you’re underwater. This couldn’t really be happening, could it?

“That’s a trigger,” you mumble quietly, and you think that Aaron doesn’t hear you, he’s so focused on his conversation with Garcia that you try hopelessly to follow. He turns to you, after a moment, tucking his phone back into his pocket. 

“What did you say, doll?”  He asks you. 

“That’s a trigger. You know, how we say that serial killers have triggers that make them start killing people. This is probably a trigger to start killing,” you say, staring at a spot of dirt on the tile. Jack must have tracked it on his cleats, and Aaron couldn’t mop with his injury. You should really clean that. You needed to get the dirt off the floor. Mop, mop, where did Aaron keep the mop? You pulled it out of the closet and were headed for the stain when you felt Aaron’s hands come to rest on your shoulders, blocking your path. 

“Hon, what are you doing?’ He asks, trying to make eye contact with you, which you avoided. 

“The floor needs to be mopped.” You answer, emotionless. 

“Why don’t you come sit down, the floor can wait,” he says, trying to guide you towards the sofa. 

“Aaron, your knee! Go sit. Go, go. I just need to get the floor clean. Please just go sit and I can fix it. It’s okay. I got it.” You got more and more worked up as you continued to stare at the dirt, watching the stain grow as your vision blurred, as if the dirt were mocking you. 

“Hey, hey hey. Where’d you go, angel? Come back here with me, love. You’re gonna be okay. I’m not gonna let anything happen to you.” He says, wrapping his arms around you. 

You’d never wished more that you believed him. 

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