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bookishofalder · 4 years ago

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hi! i just recently found ur account and love it💞💞 can i request adam driver x reader and they are dating. reader is a bit younger and he gets jealous over one of her guy friends bc he thinks she deserves someone younger than him. & it ends super fluffy :)

@avengxrs423

Yay, my first request! Thank you so much for the kind words. This was fun to write, I hope you enjoy!

Doubts

Pairing- Adam Driver X FemReader

Summary: Adam has always been aware of the age gap he has with his fiance. He tries to move past it, but a chance meeting with your famous old friend brings the worry crashing back.

Warnings: Language, insecurity, mild smut, paparazzi. WC-2,700

“Mr. Driver, over here! Miss (Y/L/N), this way!” Adam followed you out of the car, thanking the driver, his eyes on you as the crowd of reporters and paparazzi lined either side of the walkway into the restaurant. It was always these sorts of outings, where the press knew he’d be in attendance to a new hot spot, that made him nervous. Wary of how easily you could be accosted, even injured. He was nothing if not protective of you.

Standing closely next to you, Adam places his hand on your lower back, joining you in smiling around for the cameras as you slowly moved forward. His security team had the doors open ahead of you, mere steps away.

“Have you set a date for the wedding yet?”

“Let’s see the ring again, Miss. (Y/L/N)!”

“Mr. Driver, what do you have to say to fans who find the age gap between you to be too much?”

Adam worked actively not to react to the last question, his body tensing. When he looked down at you, he found you were already watching him, the glamorous smile still dazzling everyone, but he read the caution in your eyes. When you were both through the doors and they shut behind you, he began to breathe a little more freely, casting the reporter's rude question out of his mind.

He was taking you on a date and wanted to make sure the evening was special. His publicist had set it up, as this new restaurant was the current ‘place to be and be seen’ in New York City. While Adam could care less, he knew fans everywhere were chomping at the bit to see more of him and you together, in New York especially.

The makeup artist who won the movie star’s heart. It was a major headline when you first started dating publicly, which made you both laugh as Adam had to work to convince you he was interested, in the beginning. Newly engaged now, Adam could see the romance of it, could understand why fans enjoyed the story. But he hated, absolutely despised, how every damn article made sure to mention, directly or not, the age gap between the two of you.

He had had no intention of falling in love with anyone he worked with, he hadn’t been actively seeking-but you had shown up one day one and after one brief conversation, he was smitten. His feelings only grew over the two years you worked together, but he had hesitated greatly in acting on them, solely because you were 10 years younger than him.

When you finally got together, he felt like the luckiest man, that you would love him back, age be damned. You were cautious at first, eventually believing he genuinely wanted to be with you, not just have a fling. He had waited four months into the relationship to make it public (which was no easy feat, but you were supportive through all of it), and of course, the articles started on pointing it out straight away, some going as far as to point out where you were when he was enlisted in the Marines, or graduating Juilliard.

You told him it didn’t matter, repeatedly. And never got mad at him for fixating when a particularly brutal article was released. He had felt guilty many times that you had to comfort and reassure him so consistently, yet it made him love you even harder. And life went on, happily, your relationship solid.

When news broke that he had proposed, the articles started up with renewed fervour. He had been trying to hide from you just how much this upset him, how the doubt was creeping back into his mind...

Tonight was meant to be a sophisticated, romantic evening that served the double purpose of getting Adam press coverage before heading back to L.A. As you were shown to your table by the excited owner, Adam watched you chatting away with her, complimenting their design and success. You wore a beautiful hunter green dress made of satin, it fell to just above your knees and complimented your glowing skin perfectly. He was enraptured by you, whether your wore sweatpants, a dress-and especially when you wore nothing. Green was his favourite colour on you.

At the table reserved for the two of you, Adam helped you take your seat, his hand brushing gently against your hair, before taking his own. Annie and the waiter who had appeared handed you the course descriptions, before asking if you had any dietary needs. “Thank you so much, Annie-honestly just tell the chef we’re game for anything!” You said, grinning. Annie winked before setting off to the kitchen.

Adam nodded politely at the waiter, who took their drink orders, before sweeping away, finally giving him time to study you. “How do you like it?” He gestured around them, at the dark lit, moody and stylish venue. It was busy, filled mainly with notable celebrities, though he hadn’t seen anyone he’d met before. He hoped you liked it, not being one for going out to fancy dinners-you were a homebody, preferring to curl up with a good book.

“Adam, this is great! We haven’t been to a dinner like this in forever, and did you hear what Annie said?” You gushed, beaming, and Adam felt his worries washing away, “13 courses! 13! You’re going to have to carry me out of here, babe.”

“I’m fine with that,” He replied, enjoying the flush that spread across your cheeks. “But let’s be honest, you’re going to end up giving me half your food, pretty girl, you always do.”

You pouted, “I’m making a renewed effort tonight, just wait.”

Adam laughed, and the two of you settled in, the conversation flowing as you discussed the upcoming film Adam was starring in, of which you were working as his artist. The food was, as expected, incredible. Adam loved how you took a photo of each plate, even though neither of you had social media accounts. You still took photos of all the food you ate, just for the fun of it, or as you told him ‘simply to document our adventures!’.

It was around the ninth course that the evening took a turn.

A commotion at the doors captured the attention of some of the patrons. Adam glanced up, but from where your table was, he couldn’t see much. The paparazzi outside were shouting too loudly to decipher what they were saying, so it wasn’t until Adam saw your friend walk in, his brother and friend in tow, that he knew his mood was about to shift.

Tom Holland was one of the first celebrities you had worked with when you started working in L.A. And he’d always kept in touch, even when his own fame skyrocketed and before you were public with Adam. And actually, Adam did like the kid-he was beyond well mannered and genuine, and from the stories you had told, a very considerate friend. Tom’s glowing recommendation of your work was part of the reason Disney had hired you on for the Star Wars films, which was how Adam had met you.

Really, Adam had no reason not to love Tom Holland and be happy to see him arrive with his brother Harry and friend Harrison. It was just the minor, ridiculous concern Adam had that, being close in age, you and Tom were more much suited for one another. A concern that had poisoned his mind for your entire relationship.

Seeing his eyes over your shoulder, you turned to look where Adam had been and exclaimed in delight when you saw your friend. Adam quickly arranged his features to match yours, nerves shooting through him. Tom spotted you when you stood, in all your dazzling beauty, and grinned before making a beeline towards your table. The owner, Annie, had been leading the men to a nearby table and stood back politely while you all greeted one another.

“(Y/N), love! How are you?” Tom gave you a hug, “And Adam, good to see you mate!” Adam took his offered hand, giving a quick handshake. (Y/N) hugged the other two, chatting amicably.

“Good to see you, Tom-hi Harry, Harrison,” Adam greeted the other two before placing his hand on your lower back. Inwardly, he felt more stable in doing this, but he worried it would look possessive. If you thought so, you made no objection, stepping a little closer to his side while you beamed at your friends.

“I didn’t realize you’d be in New York this week, Tom!” You said, smacking his arm playfully.

Tom held his hands up as if in surrender, “It was completely last minute, just stopping off for two days before we head to L.A.” He glanced between the two of you, “I nearly forgot-congratulations again on the engagement! This is the first time I’ve seen you both in person since!”

Adam smiled, “We really appreciated the gift you sent, Tom-that was too kind.” And it had been quite the gift, in addition to a beautiful and extravagant flower arrangement, Tom had made a personal donation to Adam’s charity, Arts in the Armed Forces, and shared the charity on his social media. They’d had an influx of new donations from his fans and followers.

“Arts in the Armed Forces is incredibly important to Adam and me, Tom-you really knocked that gift out of the park.” (Y/N) agreed, her arm snaking around Adam’s waist with affection.

Tom waved off their thanks good-naturedly, “Well, we’re going to leave you to what looks very delicious-Annie, I’ll have what Adam and (Y/N) are having!” Tom grinned briefly at the owner, “And we’re still on for lunch when you both come to L.A. Next week, yeah?”

After assuring Tom they’d see him soon and bidding their farewells, Adam and you sat back down, diving back into your food. You chatted happily about bumping into Tom, which quickly transitioned into excitement for returning to L.A., as the cold of January in New York City was getting a little old for you both. You loved it here, were all too happy to call it home when your relationship escalated and Adam asked you to live with him. And though you both spent a lot of time away from your New York brownstone, it was always going to be home.

Adam worked to enjoy the rest of the evening, but he’d rather lost his appetite, the food tasteless on his tongue. Because seeing Tom had brought the wave of insecurity crashing back down on Adam, that you were too good for him, too young, that you deserved someone better, to be with someone who smiled more easily and with whom you shared more in common with. He knew you loved him, but his brain kept asking-did you realize what you could have if you broke up?

When you climbed into the car after dinner, having said warm goodbyes to Tom and his party and touring the kitchen with Annie to thank the chef and his team, Adam’s smile dropped. He sat back in his seat, confirming with the driver that he could take them home, before dropping his head against the headrest and closing the divider between the front and back seats.

“Adam?” Your voice cut through the silence after only a few moments, concern evident in your tone.

Adam glanced down at you next to him, softening when he looked into your wide eyes, “Sorry, sweetheart, what’s up?”

You frowned, turning in your seat to face him more directly, “I want you to tell me what’s up, you’ve been in a funny mood half the night-you okay?”

“I’m alright, just tired-that was a lot of food over a long time.” He shrugged, looking away. For a moment, he thought you were going to leave it at that, but he should have known better; one of the reasons he adored you was your commitment to being the most stubborn person in the room. In an instant, you undid your seatbelt and slid from your seat, carefully climbing over him so that you could straddle his lap, all of his attention now on you.

Adam’s hands went to your hips instinctively to hold you steady, as you glared at him, “Babe, I know you’re not saying it, and I don’t want you to feel forced here, but I thought we’d talked about this.” The car hit a minor bump and you sank into his lap, nearly bumping heads, from the force.

He gripped your hips tighter, “We did, I just...I can’t help it, I feel like-like I’m holding you back.” He murmured with his eyes on your stomach, shame flooding through him.

You sighed, not without affection, “Holding me back from what, exactly? You are my everything, Adam, and without you...I can’t even begin to imagine my life without you.”

You slid your hands from his chest to his neck, where they rested gently, thumbs brushing across the lower half of his jaw. Adam closed his eyes briefly, “But if you did imagine it, properly, you might see that someone like Tom-I mean, he’s your age, goes to more parties and events, you’d have more fun-“

Your mouth was on his, cutting off Adam’s words, his mind going blank. The feel of you against him, your lips on his, was more than enough to render him speechless. After a moment, you pulled back, your cheeks flushed and expression serious, “I understand that sometimes, we notice the age gap a little more because the press thinks it’s interesting, but Adam, I need you to understand. I need you to see just how much I do not care about any of that, what they say or think or even about the actual difference in our ages! I never think about it, because it has no effect whatsoever on how fucking madly in love with you I am.” (Y/N) cupped his face in her hands, holding his gaze.

“I-I love you too, so much, pretty girl,” He sighed, his emotions raw, “I just want the best for you, always.”

“You are the best for me, which is why I said yes to marrying you when you got down on one knee, in our apartment, wearing nothing but those ridiculous shorts. It’s why I’d say yes, again and again, Adam. Do you think I like going to parties? That I don’t have fun with you?” Your voice raised slightly in exasperation, while Adam stared at you in wonder; you’d never been so passionate about this before-despite having had the conversation many times, “I have an adventure every single day with you, I love everything about our lives together, and honestly, babe...” Your voice lowered considerably, a soft breathy croon now, “I can’t picture a guy like Tom treating me how you do, knowing exactly what I need from a man, always taking such good care of me.”

She punctuated these words by grinding against him, her eyes darkening in arousal. Adam groaned at the sensation, “Pretty girl, you’re too good for me.”

(Y/N) smiled at Adam, “No, I’m just right for you and you’re just right for me.”

“Damn it, I love you!” He gasped, before sliding one hand from your hip to the back of your neck and pulling you close, his lips on yours before you could reply. You let out a small whimper, melting into him. Your arms circled around his neck, and Adam could feel the intent in your body, the overwhelming need to send him the message that he was yours, and you-you were his.

“I love you, Adam, forever.” You sighed against his lips, deepening the kiss further.

All thoughts that weren’t of (Y/N) kissing him in the back of their town car, soared from Adam’s mind. His new focus on getting you home, so that he could show you just how much he appreciated your patience and understanding. And as you shivered from his touch, his name on your lips, you successfully and unknowingly convinced Adam his doubts were unwarranted, that you loved him endlessly, as he loved you.

#adam driver x reader #adam Driver x you #adam driver #reader insert #reader x tom holland #fanfic #requests open #requested #fluff #angst

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protecticarus · 4 years ago

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I didn't know I needed this until now. Prompt idea: Dirk meets Todd's parents who just assume Dirk is his boyfriend, and for fun Dirk plays along while Todd is clueless

i decided this prompt would work with a christmas setting, so here we are! i’m back!

i tweaked the prompt just slightly by making dirk “play along” unknowingly, so without realizing what todd’s parents are implying. the result however is the same mortifying ordeal for todd, amusement for everyone else and fluffy set up for the next step in dirk and todd’s relationship! i hope that’s alright!

possible tw: alcohol and some swear words.

merry christmas y’all! x

”Are you absolutely certain it’s alright for me to tag along?” Dirk asked, for maybe the 18th time that day.

”For the last time, Dirk, my parents were the ones to invite you themselves. I know you don’t know them yet, but let me tell you, my parents are the kind of people who won’t do something they don’t actually want to. So yes, Dirk, I’m absolutely certain you’re welcome to spend Christmas with me and my family this year. Now please, stop asking.” Todd explained, for what he hoped would be the last time. He kept his eyes on the road as he drove - much to Dirk’s dismay who wanted to be the one behind the wheel himself, which Todd refused to let happen, insisting that he wanted to live to see the new year - but he could practically feel Dirk furrow his brow in deep thought.

”As long as you’re sure.” Dirk finally mumbled his reply.

Todd resisted the urge to roll his eyes. ”I’m sure.” He said instead.

Dirk was uncharacteristically quiet on the drive over to Todd’s parents’ house, a fact which would normally demand all of Todd’s attention, but he was currently too nervous himself to be of much comfort to his friend. The last time Todd had seen his parents was when he told them everything. The faked pararibulitis, the real reason for him dropping out of college, the screwing his band over, the money… They had, of course, been very upset and hurt, but ultimately willing to forgive Todd. They just asked for some time, which Todd happily gave them.

That had been four months ago. Todd had talked to his parents in the meantime, on the phone and via email, but he had yet to actually spend time with them, face to face. His mother had assured him that she and Todd’s father had moved on and forgiven him. And Todd believed them. But he also knew they would like to talk about it. As soon as his parents had expressed their need for some time to think, Todd had taken the opportunity to escape the uncomfortable situation. Four months ago.

It was one thing to hash things out over email or even on the phone, but another to do so face to face. While his parents’ gesture to invite Todd’s eccentric colleague/best friend along had been made to assure Dirk didn’t have to spend Christmas alone, Todd’s relief of being able to take Dirk with him had been partly selfish. Dirk was his buffer. Any time he felt too uncomfortable, he could just use Dirk as a distraction. That, and Dirk provided Todd with comfort and support he desperately needed, a fact he was a little less willing to admit, even to himself.

Too soon for both of the men, they had arrived at Todd’s parents’ house. Todd took a deep breath after putting the car safely in park. ”Ready?” He asked the man next to him.

”No.” Came Dirk’s reply.

”Yeah, me neither.” Todd sighed. ”Let’s go.”

They both made their way to the door which was immediately flown open before either of them had the chance to even entertain the idea of ringing the doorbell.

Amanda threw her hands around her brother’s neck in a quick hug. ”Thank fuck you’re here, I’ve been alone with them for like an hour.” She said and then moved onto wrap Dirk in a quick hug of his own.

”Sorry, we left late. Dirk couldn’t decide on a tie.” Todd said.

Dirk rolled his eyes. ”Right, that and Todd pretended to have a headache and contemplated calling in sick. From Christmas.” He replied.

Amanda gave Todd a dirty look. ”Wimp.” She said.

”Shut up. Both of you.” Said Todd and finally stepped into the house with Amanda and Dirk on his heels.

As soon as they entered the house, they were met with the sharp ringing of the smoke detector.

”Guys, Todd and Dirk are here!” Amanda yelled over the alarm.

”Come in, come in!” Came the reply from the direction of the kitchen.

The trio made their way toward the voice and the alarm.

”Mom, is something on fire?” Todd asked as they entered the kitchen to see Todd’s mother surrounded by grey smoke.

”Of course not, Todd, you know that alarm is too sensitive.” Todd’s mother replied nonchalantly and took a sip of her white wine.

”Smoke detectors tend to react to smoke.” Amanda said.

”Yeah, well, a little smoke never hurt anybody.” Came the reply.

”I wouldn’t put money on that.” Amanda remarked.

Suddenly the alarm quieted down. ”Got it!” Yelled Todd’s father from somewhere in the house.

”Thanks babe!” His wife replied. Then her eyes finally landed on Dirk. ”Oh you must be Dirk! So nice to meet you honey, sorry for the smell.” She said and put down her wine glass.

”Hello Mrs. Brotzman. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.” Dirk replied in a nervous voice. ”I hope it’s alright that I-” He was cut off by Todd’s mother wrapping him in a surprisingly strong hug.

”The moment Todd mentioned you had no family in the States I knew we had to have you over for Christmas! Lucky us you’re not from here, huh? Gosh that accent is adorable by the way, I totally see the appeal.” She said and patted Dirk’s cheek after pulling away from the hug.

”Jesus, mom.” Todd groaned.

”T-Thank you, Mrs. Brotzman.” Dirk replied, quite taken aback by the friendly welcome.

Todd’s mother made a face like she’d smelled something bad - other than whatever had just set off the smoke detector. ”Ugh, no, Mrs. Brotzman is my mother-in-law. Please call me Jo, Joanna if I’m in trouble.” She said.

Dirk smiled and let his shoulders drop a little in relief. ”Alright. Jo, then.” He said.

Jo smiled back and patted Dirk on the shoulder. ”Good kid.”

”Who’s being a good kid? Surely not any of ours?” Said Todd’s father as he stepped into the kitchen.

”Dad…” Groaned Todd and Amanda.

Jo laughed. ”Of course not. This is Dirk.” She told her husband.

”Ah yes, how’s it going, Dirk? I’m Thomas.” He said and extended his hand to Dirk.

”It’s… Good. Going good. Thank you for having me, Mr. Brotzman.” Replied Dirk as he shook Thomas’ hand.

”Told you, it’s Thomas.” Insisted Thomas.

Dirk gave an awkward smile. ”Ah, yes, Thomas. Of course.” He said.

”Good to have you here with us, Dirk. Jo and I were just saying how it’s about damn time.” Said Thomas.

Dirk blushed. ”Why thank you, Thomas. I’m very happy to have been invited.” He said.

Todd furrowed his brow in confusion. Had he even talked about Dirk that much to his parents? In fact, he’d made the conscious effort not to, as much of Dirk was impossible to explain without explaining… Well, Dirk. So why were they so eager to meet the guy?

”Wine anyone? We can have a drink in the living room while the ham calms down.” Said Jo.

”You should know that in this house we have to hope for mom’s cooking to ’calm down’ before we attempt to eat it.” Amanda fake-whispered to Dirk.

”Oh hush you.” Said Jo. ”So we’re not a family of chefs! We have other strengths.” She added.

”I’ll drink to that.” Said Thomas while he poured himself a glass of red wine. ”Dirk, are you a red or white kind of guy?” He asked.

Dirk froze. ”Uh, I… I suppose-”

”Red, right? Cause it’s richer, more… Fruity.” Todd jumped in.

Dirk looked grateful for the interruption. ”Yes. Red, that’s right.”

”Great, I won’t be the only one emptying the bottles of red tonight! These three won’t give up the white.” Thomas said.

”That’s because it’s better.” Said Amanda.

”Here, here!” Said Jo and raised her glass in a toast.

Thomas nudged Dirk. ”They just don’t get it.” He said.

Dirk didn’t even care that he’d never actually tasted a drop of red wine, he just enjoyed the feeling of camaraderie with Todd’s father. Dirk smirked at Todd, as if to say ’look, look how well it’s going.’ Todd rolled his eyes fondly at Dirk. As he turned away, he caught his mother’s eye, who gave him a look he couldn’t quite read. It was a warm look though, similar to the teasing ones she’d given him before he revealed what an asshole he was. Todd felt his throat tighten at the warmth of the look, and quickly poured some wine down it.

”Let’s move to the living room to chat, I want to know all there is to know about you, Dirk!” Said Jo and began leading the way to the living room.

”And by all she means-” Todd began.

”All that has nothing to do with time traveling, soul swapping or alternate dimensions, I know.” Said Dirk.

Once seated around the living room - Dirk, Todd and Amanda on the couch, Jo and Thomas snuggly on an old armchair facing the couch - Jo leaned forward and gripped her glass tight. ”So, Dirk. Tell me.” She said.

Dirk blinked a few times in silence. ”Tell you…?” He questioned.

”Everything!” Jo clarified.

”How about we start with: where are you from? England?” Asked Thomas.

”Yes, England.” Dirk replied. ”Not much to say about it though, I came here when I was quite young.”

”Your parents wanted a change of scenery?” Asked Jo.

Dirk smiled awkwardly. ”Something like that.”

Todd tensed next to him, knowing the topic was nearing dangerously emotional territory for Dirk.

”Where are they now? Back in England?” Jo asked.

”Oh. Well…” Dirk began.

”Mom, this isn’t an interrogation.” Interrupted Todd.

”Of course not!” Jo exclaimed.

”I don’t think your mom meant it that way, Todd.” Thomas said and gave Todd a disapproving look.

”I know, just-” Todd sighed.

”It’s alright, Todd.” Said Dirk. ”Truth is, Jo, I haven’t seen my parents in a long time. I was told they died a while ago though. I haven’t been able to confirm it, but I don’t have a reason not to believe it to be true.” He explained vaguely.

Jo and Thomas stared at him in silence for a moment. Amanda took a rather large sip of her wine. Todd placed his hand on Dirk’s in his lap and gave it a supportive squeeze. Dirk gave him a soft smile in return.

”I’m sorry, Dirk, I didn’t know. Todd never said…” Jo finally said and gave Todd a stern look. Todd wasn’t sure why, but clearly his mother thought it should have been obvious to Todd to inform her of Dirk’s parents’ status.

”It’s quite alright, Jo. Like I said, I haven’t seen them in a long time. Since I was a boy, really. I’m quite used to being on my own.” Dirk reassured her.

”You’re not though.” Said Todd quickly. ”On your own, I mean.”

Dirk gave him a watery smile. ”No, I suppose I’m not.” He said quietly.

”Aww…” Said Jo. ”You two are so precious.” She added.

”What?” Asked Todd.

”Thank you.” Replied Dirk.

”How did you meet again? Todd’s recount was pretty vague.” Jo asked.

Todd was still trying to decipher what his mother had meant by her last comment when Dirk already went to answer the new question.

”Oh it’s quite the story, actually!” He said, his mood immediately back to chipper.

”Uh, yeah, maybe the, uh… Abridged version of the story, Dirk?” Said Todd.

Dirk turned to look at him. ”Ah.” He said at the expression on Todd’s face. ”Of course.”

Todd’s parents exchanged a look that made Todd’s ears burn for some reason.

”Well, you see, I broke into his apartment through the window.” Dirk explained.

Todd squeezed the bridge of his nose. ”Right, cause he… He got the wrong apartment.” He said.

”I did?” Asked Dirk. Todd gave him a look. ”Yes, of course I did. Stupid Dirk, always climbing through other people’s windows by accident.” He added.

”Right, so… Dirk had just moved in and he forgot his keys. And so he tried to get into his apartment through the window, only he climbed into mine, cause it’s right below his.” Todd explained.

”Yes.” Agreed Dirk. ”Precisely.”

”Wow.” Jo commented. ”What a… What do the kids say? A sweet-meet?” She asked.

Amanda snorted into her wine glass. ”A meet-cute.” She corrected her mother.

”Right!” Said Jo. ”A meet-cute!”

Todd flipped Amanda off while their mother explained the concept of ’meet-cute’ to their father.

”We had a meet-cute too, didn’t we Thomas?” Jo said after a moment.

”I suppose we did.” Replied Thomas.

As Dirk insisted on hearing the story, Todd couldn’t help but stare at his parents in stunned silence. His mother had just compared his and Dirk’s first meeting to hers and her husband’s. Todd was no holistic detective, the universe didn’t give him hunches, but he was beginning to get the creeping feeling that there was a misunderstanding between him and his parents. Dirk however didn’t seem to notice.

”How did you two meet?” Dirk asked Jo and Thomas. ”I’d love to hear the story!”

”Oh man.” Amanda laughed. ”Here we go.”

”It’s a great story!” Said Jo. ”I was in a band.”

”Like Todd!” Exclaimed Dirk.

Jo smiled knowingly. ”Yes, where do you think he got his musical talents from?” She said.

”Me, of course.” Said Thomas.

”Please, our guitar skills go way beyond your cute little bass.” Jo challenged.

”And I can drum you all under the table.” Said Amanda. ”Get on with the story, mom.”

”Right.” Jo said. ”So, I was in a band and we wanted to participate in this battle of the bands type thing at a local pub. Problem was, we were all 17, juniors in high school, and one of the requirements for signing up was to be 18 or above. So we needed someone older.” Jo explained.

”So imagine this,” Thomas jumped in, ”I’m at my locker at school and this girl, dressed in all black with crazy spiky pink hair, walks up to me and says ’you play bass or something, right?’ No introduction or nothing.” He said.

”I’m nothing if not efficient.” Remarked Jo.

”That you are, babe.” Thomas agreed. ”So I said yes. She confirmed that I was indeed 18 and before I knew it, I was in a band. A previously all girl band too, mind you.”

”Compromises had to be made.” Said Jo. ”So we had an 18-year-old to sign the form. And we rocked, hard.”

”Did you win?” Dirk asked.

”No.” Replied Thomas.

”It was rigged to high heavens!” Said Jo. ”We should have won.”

”I feel like I did win that day.” Thomas said.

”Aww,” Said Jo, ”You’re such a sap. That was the day we got together.” She added for Dirk’s benefit.

”And by ’got together’ she really means hooked up.” Amanda remarked.

”Yeah, well, it worked out.” Said Jo.

”That’s an amazing story!” Dirk agreed.

”Told ya.” Said Jo.

”Well, it’s not quite as dramatic as breaking into the other’s apartment by accident.” Thomas said.

”Yes, well, at least she didn’t throw a shoe at you.” Said Dirk and gave Todd a pointed look.

”Todd!” Exclaimed Jo.

”I thought he was a burglar, what was I supposed to do!” Todd in turn exclaimed.

”First thing I said to you was ’hi!’ What kind of burglar greets his victim!” Dirk argued.

”A bad one?” Todd remarked.

”Yet somehow you ended up working together, is that right?” Asked Thomas.

”Yeah, we work together now.” Todd confirmed.

”And what is it that you do, exactly?” Thomas asked.

”I’m a holistic detective. Todd is my assistant.” Explained Dirk.

”A holistic detective? What’s that?” Thomas asked.

Dirk was right about to leap into his ’the interconnectedness of all things’ speech as Todd jumped in. ”It’s a type of private detective. More of an… Open-minded approach than the police.” Todd explained. He could hear Amanda holding in laughter next to Dirk.

”I see. Cool.” Thomas said.

Todd took a sip of his wine, hoping his father was done with the topic of their job. There’s not much he could actually tell him about it without sounding like a crazy person.

”So, how long have you two been together exactly?” Jo asked.

Todd spit some wine back into his glass in his surprise. There it was.

On second thought, maybe they should be talking about time traveling and purple people-eaters instead. Or maybe even Todd’s fake pararibulitis.

”Almost 7 months!” Dirk told Jo.

Todd shot him an alarmed look, trying to will him to shut up, but Dirk either didn’t notice or didn’t care.

”Wow,” Said Jo, ”That’s pretty serious.”

”Oh definitely.” Dirk replied.

Todd wanted to sink into the couch, never to be found.

”How serious would you say it is, Dirk?” Asked Amanda, clearly loving the turn of events.

”Shut the fuck up, Amanda.” Todd hissed.

”Mom, Todd said ’fuck.’” Said Amanda.

”I did not raise a snitch, Amanda.” Said Jo.

”7 months, huh?” Thomas repeated, changing the subject. ”How come we haven’t met Dirk before now?”

Todd thought his skin might melt off his face based on how badly it felt like it was burning.

”Uh… I- It never came up.” He explained lamely.

”Well, I for one am so glad to meet him now. You better come back here with Todd from now on!” Jo said.

Dirk’s eyes lit up. ”Oh I would love to, Jo, thank you!” He said.

”Of course!” Jo replied. ”I don’t remember the last time Todd brought someone home.”

”Oh my god…” Todd mumbled. He couldn’t believe this was happening.

”Well, I’m very glad he brought me!” Said Dirk. ”I should have known you two would be equally as lovely as your children!” He praised.

Jo lifted her hand to rest on her heart. ”Aren’t you the sweetest! Isn’t he the sweetest, Thomas?” She said.

”Indeed.” Agreed Thomas.

Todd couldn’t tell whether Dirk was deliberately indulging his parents’ idea of them as a couple, or if he really didn’t realize that’s what he was doing. Either way, Todd felt completely ganged up on.

”As soon as Amanda said she really liked you, I knew you must be special. She’s never liked anyone Todd’s been with.” Jo said.

”Yeah, cause they were all losers.” Said Amanda. ”Which you, Dirk Gently, are not.”

”Why thank you, Amanda.” Dirk said, seemingly genuinely touched.

Todd tried to figure out where exactly this train had gone so far off the rails into Let’s All Embarrass Todd Town. He had to put an end to this.

”Dirk, join me in the kitchen, will you?” He said abruptly.

”Why?” Asked Dirk.

Todd bit his teeth together in frustration. ”I need more wine.” He said.

Dirk glanced at his own glass. ”I’ve barely touched mine though.” He said.

”Just come with me!” Todd hissed.

Dirk furrowed his brow in confusion, but nonetheless stood up and followed Todd out of the room.

”Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!” Jo yelled after them.

”That’s not saying much.” Thomas said, smirking.

”You wouldn’t have me any other way.” Jo countered and placed a sloppy kiss on her husband’s cheek.

”Fuck me.” Amanda huffed and finished off her wine.

As soon as Todd stepped into the kitchen, he turned around to face Dirk, who almost ran into him.

”What are you doing?” Todd asked.

”I was just going to ask you the same thing.” Said Dirk.

”I’m serious, Dirk.” Todd added.

Dirk furrowed his brow. ”I don’t know what you’re talking about, Todd.” He said.

”I’m talking about you, out there, with my parents.” Todd tried to get Dirk to understand.

”Did I do something wrong?” Dirk asked, now worried.

Todd blinked a few times. ”You really don’t know what I’m talking about, do you?” He finally asked.

”No?” Dirk replied.

”My parents think we’re a couple.” Todd explained.

”A couple…?”

”Dating, in a relationship, romantically involved!” Todd huffed in frustration.

Dirk looked genuinely surprised. ”They do?”

”Yes!” Todd exclaimed. ”And you’re confirming it for them!”

”I am?” Dirk asked.

”Yes! Obviously!” Said Todd.

”Are you certain, Todd?” Dirk asked.

Todd sighed. ”Jesus, Dirk, my mom basically compared us to her and my dad! And you went along with it! And Amanda, fucking Amanda… How did you not pick up on the comment about people I’ve dated in the past?” He said.

Dirk thought for a moment. ”Why doesn’t anyone use the word ’dating’, it’s all so vague.” He finally said.

”Only to you.” Todd huffed. Dirk looked annoyed and Todd felt bad. ”Sorry, I just… I wasn’t sure if you didn’t realize what was happening or if you deliberately went along with it.” He explained.

”Well, I did not. Realize or intentionally go along with it. I thought I was just making conversation.” Dirk said. ”I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.” He added.

Todd sighed. Now he felt like an asshole. Again. ”You didn’t.” He assured. ”I just… Sorry, I’ve just been on edge about seeing them all day and this, this misunderstanding threw me for a loop I guess. I didn’t mean to take it out on you. Sorry.”

Dirk gave him a soft smile. ”It’s alright.” He said. ”I’ll pay closer attention to others’ choices of words from now on.”

”Okay.” Todd said. ”I guess I’ll just… Have to correct them. God, that’s not gonna be awkward at all.”

”Sorry.” Dirk said again.

”Stop apologizing.” Todd said and grabbed a bottle of white wine. ”Let’s just go back. I’m guessing Amanda’s in desperate need of more wine.”

They made their way back to the living room, where Jo and Amanda were engaged in a seemingly heated discussion.

”Yeah, but who in their right mind doesn’t list Bikini Kill when talking about iconic punk bands with female vocalists!” Exclaimed Amanda.

”I simply didn’t get that far-” Began Jo, only to be caught off by her husband.

”Look, the boys are back! Let’s put a pin in this discussion for now.” Said Thomas.

”Kathleen Hanna would be so disappointed, mom.” Amanda said.

”Don’t you tell me what Kathleen Hanna of Bikini Kill would be at me, young lady.” Countered Jo.

”Uh, anyway,” Said Todd as he and Dirk took their seats next to Amanda on the couch, who immediately grabbed the wine bottle from Todd. ”Mom, dad, I should, uh, say something.” Todd added.

”Go ahead, honey.” Jo replied encouragingly.

Todd looked briefly at Dirk for reassurance and Dirk gave him a genuine smile and an encouraging nod.

Todd took a deep breath. ”Right, so… I don’t know where our wires got crossed but, uh… Dirk- Dirk and I are not dating.” He finally said.

Jo and Thomas didn’t say anything for a moment, only stared at Todd. They briefly shifted their

gazes at Dirk, after which they settled back on looking at Todd in confusion.

”What do you mean, Todd?” Thomas asked finally.

Todd blinked a few times in silence. ”I mean… That we’re not… A couple.” He repeated.

”Since when?” Asked Jo.

”Since always?” Replied Todd.

”I’m so confused.” Said Jo.

Todd sighed. ”Look, I don’t know what the hell happened, all I know is that you got the wrong idea. We’re just friends. And, you know, colleagues.” He explained.

”Are you sure?” Asked Thomas in turn.

”Am I- Yeah, I’m sure, dad.” Assured Todd.

”Dirk?” Asked Jo.

Dirk swallowed and shifted awkwardly on the couch. ”Yes, that’s right. I’m sorry if I implied otherwise before, I didn’t… I didn’t realize we were talking about two different things.” He said.

Jo nodded, thinking. Thomas took a sip of his wine. Amanda topped off Todd’s glass.

Finally after a minute or two of silence, Jo spoke again. ”Why?”

Todd turned to look at Dirk who simply shrugged. ”Why what?” Todd asked his mother.

”Why are you not a couple?” Jo clarified. Thomas hummed approvingly at her question.

”Oh shit.” Whispered Amanda into her wine glass.

”I- What?” Asked Todd. He didn’t dare to risk looking at Dirk right now, who was blushing rather violently next to Todd.

”Well, considering everything you’ve said tonight and us misunderstanding in the first place… Why is it that we got it wrong? Why aren’t you together?” Jo explained.

”Jesus christ, mom…” Todd sighed.

”What? Why is that such a strange question?” Jo asked.

”It isn’t.” Said Thomas. ”Since we thought-”

”I know what you thought!” Huffed Todd.

”I’m really sorry to have confused you-” Dirk tried to cut in softly.

”It’s not your fault, Dirk, stop apologizing.” Todd sighed.

”Yes, but why did you?” Pressed Jo. ”Look, all I’m saying is, to me it sounds like maybe it’s not such an impossible scenario for us to have conjured up.”

Todd could practically feel Dirk freeze up next to him. Todd himself felt like running out the door and never looking back. What, had his parents not forgiven him after all and this was their revenge?

”Mom, you can’t just say stuff like that.” Todd said quietly.

”Why?” She asked.

”Because- Because you just can’t.” Todd replied.

”Because it’s not what you want?” Jo asked. ”That’s okay, you’re allowed to say that.”

”No, obviously that’s not why, I-” Todd began, before immediately cutting himself off. He couldn’t believe he’d been that stupid. His mother played him like a fiddle. He’d eaten right out of her hand.

Jo was smiling now. ”I see.” She said. Yeah, I bet you do, thought Todd. He’d reacted exactly like she’d expected him to.

”Dude…” Said Amanda.

”Shut up.” Said Todd.

”What?” Asked Dirk.

Todd sighed and covered his face with his hands. Amanda lifted Todd’s wine glass from the coffee table and removed one of his hands from his face, wrapping it around the glass. Todd lifted the glass to his lips and took a generous gulp. Amanda patted his back encouragingly.

”Todd…” Dirk said softly. ”What-”

”Dirk, can we not…” Todd mumbled into his glass.

”Why not?” Dirk asked.

”What?” Todd asked in turn, now looking at Dirk for the first time in several minutes.

”What?” Dirk repeated.

”Oh my god,” Amanda groaned, ”You’re both into each other, have been since day one, which, shocker: mom and dad figured out before they even met Dirk! So please, for the love of all that’s holy, just finally make your peace with that so that we can go eat mom’s scorched ham and get on with Christmas.” She said.

As Amanda mumbled something along the lines of this is why I don’t do relationships and sipped her wine, everyone else digested what she’d just served them.

”Well said, daughter.” Said Jo finally.

”Thank you, mother.” Replied Amanda.

”Todd,” Said Dirk, ”Is that true?”

Todd swallowed awkwardly. ”I don’t know. Is it?”

”Jesus, do I need to do everything for you?” Asked Amanda.

”No, you shut up now. And maybe have a glass of water.” Said Todd quickly. Amanda flipped him the bird.

Jo stood up. ”I’ll go see if the ham’s calmed down. Amanda, come get a glass of water.” She said.

”I’m 24 goddamn years old…” Amanda mumbled as she followed her mother out of the room, her father on her heels.

Thomas shot a quick thumbs up at Todd and Dirk before disappearing into the kitchen behind his wife and daughter. Todd rolled his eyes.

”So.” Said Dirk.

”So.” Repeated Todd.

”Is this going to be one of those things we just don’t talk about, or…?” Asked Dirk carefully.

Todd sighed. ”As much as I want to say yes,” He said, ”It probably shouldn’t be, right?”

”Right.” Agreed Dirk.

Neither of them said anything more.

Finally Todd groaned. ”I suck at this.”

Dirk chuckled. ”Well, I’ve never done this before, so, I can only assume that so do I.”

Todd laughed too and turned to look at Dirk. ”Did… Did Amanda have a point? And- And my parents for that matter.” He said, his voice much softer now, insecure.

”Yes.” Dirk replied immediately. ”Well, I mean… I hope so.” He added.

”Yeah?” Todd asked.

”Yes.” Dirk assured him.

”Okay. I mean… Yeah, me too.” Todd said.

”Really?” Dirk asked.

”Yeah, really.” Todd said.

Todd could’ve sworn he’d never seen Dirk smile brighter. It sort of made his stomach hurt.

”Maybe…” Todd said. ”Maybe we could talk about that more, you know, when we’re not in my parents’ house?”

Dirk nodded eagerly. ”I’d like that.” He said.

Todd smiled. ”Cool.” He said.

Dirk took a deep breath and let it out in a sort of relieved laugh. ”I just- I thought perhaps it was just me and that it would be horribly inappropriate if I-” He tried to explain.

Todd was hit with a strange mix of relief and guilt. He was relieved that Dirk seemed to be on the same page with him, despite Todd having never had the balls to even entertain the idea that he might be. Todd also felt guilty, because apparently Dirk had been convinced he couldn’t talk to Todd about this. Todd had made such strict rules for himself when it came to Dirk and any acknowledgement of any possible feelings regarding Dirk, that it had come across as totally unapproachable.

As if Dirk could read Todd’s mind, he added: ”That’s not your fault though.”

Todd sighed. ”I sort of have a history of not communicating what I’m really thinking.” He said.

Dirk smiled. ”Touché.”

”I’ll try harder from now on. Promise.” Todd said.

Dirk nodded. ”Okay.” He said. After a moment he continued. ”In the spirit of saying what we’re really thinking… I feel the need to say that this is perhaps the best Christmas I’ve ever had.”

Todd smiled. ”Yeah? I’m sort of a fan myself.” He said and took Dirk’s hand in his, intertwining their fingers.

Dirk looked down at their joined hands in wonder. Then he looked up at Todd with an expression that made Todd simultaneously want to look away and personally thank both his parents and Amanda for provoking this moment.

”Good news and bad news boys!” Amanda’s voice broke the moment. ”Good news: dinner is ready! Bad news: the ham didn’t totally burn so we still have to eat it!”

”You’ll eat it and you’ll like it or I’m cutting you off from wine!” Jo’s reply could be heard.

”Scratch that! Mom’s ham is the eighth wonder of the world!” Amanda backtracked.

”Damn right it is!” Said Jo.

Todd rolled his eyes as Dirk laughed.

”Wanna go pretend my mom can cook and answer more uncomfortable questions?” Todd asked.

Dirk grinned. ”Lead the way.”

They entered the kitchen, still hand in hand. ”I hear the ham’s somewhat edible after all?” Todd asked.

His mother turned to them. ”Of course it is! Everything’s going exactly to plan.” She said. Her eyes fell to their joined hands and she gave Todd the warmest of smiles.

”Smells great, babe.” Said Thomas. ”Sit down, everyone.” He added.

Once seated, Jo turned to Todd and Dirk again. ”So,” She said, ”Dirk, any plans for Easter?” She asked.

Dirk laughed, blushing. ”Not that I know of.” He said.

”We do an egg hunt, Brotzman style.” Said Todd. ”You’ll love it.”

Dirk smiled at him. ”Yeah?”

Todd smiled back. ”Yeah.”

Jo clapped. ”Welcome to the family, Dirk!” She exclaimed.

”Mom…” Todd warned, but his warning lacked conviction.

Thomas raised his glass in a toast. ”To Todd and Dirk!”

Jo raised hers in turn. ”To my match-making!”

Todd raised his glass. ”Fuck you all.” He said.

Amanda raised her already half empty glass. ”And to all, a goodnight!” She exclaimed.

Everyone laughed before taking a sip of their respective drinks.

The ham turned out to be surprisingly good, which didn’t stop Amanda from making jokes. Dirk did his best to hide his shock at what red wine actually tasted like and got Todd to finish his glass while he himself moved onto water. After a pleasant meal accompanied by lively conversation, Thomas talked Jo and Todd into playing the guitar while the rest of them sang Christmas songs. Well, Thomas did. Amanda drummed on the table and switched the lyrics to the parody ones from her childhood. Dirk didn’t know the songs to begin with, but that didn’t stop him from trying to sing along. Todd had to stop playing at one point because he was laughing so hard at the lyrics that came out of Dirk’s mouth when he tried to anticipate what Thomas would sing next. Jo and Amanda both agreed that Dirk’s lyrics were much more interesting than the original ones.

When his mother pulled him aside after their impromptu caroling, Todd remembered to be nervous about having to talk about the other elephant in the room. In the end, Jo only wanted to apologize for putting him on the spot earlier. She also said she was so happy to see him again after months, which said all that needed to be said. Todd knew they’d have to talk more in depth about his years of lying, but tonight was not for that. Tonight was for family, strange cooking, bad singing and good company.

If his parents shot him entirely too knowing looks when Todd stole a kiss from Dirk under the mistletoe later in the night, he didn’t notice. All Todd saw was the slow falling of snow outside the window and the blinding smile on Dirk’s face.

if you have ideas for fics, send me prompts! my inbox is always open! x

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anotheronechicagobog · 3 years ago

Text

Rangers, Lead The Way - Chapter 3 - Kenny with Maggie

written by @anotheronechicagobog

warnings: swearing, nudity, profanity, mention of school shooting, guns, weapons, I’m pro gun control (even though I’m Canadian) and this kinda reflects that, mention of PTSD, child neglect, also I fucking hate nazis

When someone called before seven in the morning it was work, a death notification, or one of his fellow trio of lovestruck fools. So when the annoying ringtone Hana installed as a prank and he couldn’t figure out how to remove started blasting on his nightstand at 2:17 in the morning, he was more annoyed than apprehensive. “Crosby.”

“Hey man, sorry to call you so late, but it’s about Maggie.”

“What’s going on?”

“One of her first arrests as an FBI agent just broke out of prison, and she’s been temporarily assigned to the unit being tasked with finding him. Yours. I expect you’ll be getting a call in the next five minutes or so. Maggie can take care of herself, I know that, but...”

“It’s hard when you’re not there to watch her back. Don’t worry, I’ve got her.”

“Thank you. So much. I appreciate this, so, so much.”

“Hey, a couple of months ago I was you. I feel you man, don’t worry. She’ll be fine. Listen, I’d love to keep talking but I’ve got another call coming in and it looks like that work call you were warning about. Talk to you later.”

“See you on the flip side, man.”

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Jess stood in front of everyone with that look on his face that vaguely reminded Kenny of his stern ex-navy fourth-grade teacher. “Everyone, this is special agent Maggie Bell, you may remember her from when we worked with her unit on a couple of cases, but this time it’s just her joining us. Is there anything you’d like to add, Bell?”

“I’m excited to work with you all, but please, call me Maggie.”

“Alright, let’s get to work, then. Maggie, Jason Anderson was one of your first arrests with the bureau, can you brief us on that case and highlight any details you think may be pertinent?”

“Definitely. Well for starters, Anderson is a cheating scumbag and it only gets worse from there.” Maggie’s bluntness broke through the formality that was stifling the bus, smirks and chuckles abound, and it seemed that only he didn’t have the sense to at least try and hid his amusement. An understanding but disapproving look had Kenny composing himself to speak up. “Well then, let’s jump down this rabbit hole.”

Maggie was sitting next to Hana, giving details about the fugitive they were currently after. He was one of Maggie’s first arrests as an FBI agent, so the bureau thought it would be beneficial to have her work with the team. So here she was, dressed in jeans and a sweater as opposed to her usual suits, combining her razor-sharp intelligence with Hana’s. They’d commandeered the top floor of a police station in Boston and were relying on Maggie and Hana’s wit to find out where he was. Jason Anderson, 42, was an illegal weapons dealer. He’d previously been put in prison for distribution and possession of prohibited firearms, and for giving an AK-47 to a school shooter. He was being transferred to a higher security prison because it came to light that he was continuing his business from behind bars, but the security team had been too small and unprepared for the escape plan pulled off by a team of eight. Those eight men were their biggest clue oddly enough, as they’d been dropping like flies since the escape. Michael Howard, 40, was Anderson’s ex-brother-in-law. And the connection between all the, now dead, prison breakers. Unfortunately, Howard’s sister, and Anderson’s ex-wife, had cut contact with both of them along with the rest of their families after Howard introduced Anderson to his mistress and encouraged an affair that created two children. The mistress, Bethany Karnstein, had gone AWOL hours ago when she left her job in the middle of her shift and didn’t pick her kids up from school.

The kids were safe with Anderson’s parents, but they couldn’t answer their questions when they asked where their mother was. The kids did identify Michael Howard as one of their mom’s friends though, he’d come to watch them while their mother was in the hospital about six months prior. They didn’t look shocked that FBI agents were asking about their parents, but they still didn’t know anything.

At the moment, they were splitting up. Jess and Barnes were headed to follow up with Bethany’s clueless boss, he and Clinton were about to go follow up on a possible sighting, and Hana and Maggie were staying on the bus. Thankfully, since Kenny was stressed out enough at the prospect of having to watch out for Maggie on top of worrying about Hana, them being assigned together eased his mind.

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It was around midnight when he and Clinton were finally able to rendezvous with the rest of the team. There was no sighting, Bethany had one of her affair partners call in a false tip, and when he and Clinton had quickly sussed that out it lead to a shootout and car chase. Jason, the dumbass stupid enough to commit six different felonies for a woman who has two kids with a violent arms dealer, was lying in a heavily guarded ICU bed. They’d managed to get his cell phone but he was beyond unconscious when they’d finally managed to get him to stop shooting at them. “Hey Hana, I brought you something.”

“Jason’s cell?”

“That too, but I was actually talking about this.” He held out a large coffee that she desperately needed if the way her eyes lit up was any indication. “Thank you.” Hana let out an over-dramatic groan as she downed the first sip. “Hey Crosby, thanks for my coffee too.” He looked at Maggie sheepishly, realizing that he’d only gotten two, one for himself and the other for Hana. “I was the one who drove to and then parked in front of the coffee shop while he went and got those, how do you think I feel?” Clinton’s playful jab caused a round of giggles but the knowing look from the older man made Crosby a little nervous. He was sure his feelings towards Hana weren’t super well-hidden, but he really didn’t need anyone on the team tipping Hana off. “Anyway, here’s Jason’s cell. Do you think you can crack it?”

“Normally with this many characters I’d say no... But, his password is seven characters long and his lock screen is Bethany, so... There we go, unlocked.”

“... That was a really poor choice of password.”

“And girlfriend.”

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After working for fourteen hours straight they were all spent and headed to the hotel that the FBI had secured rooms at for them. Jess, Barnes and Clinton were all in one car that was headed straight to the hotel to get everyone checked in. Kenny, Hana, and Maggie were in the other car that was making a detour on the way to pick up Thai food. Hana and Maggie were chatting amongst themselves, but Kenny was still kicking himself for the slip-up he’d made while placing the order over the phone.

“Hi, can I place an order for pickup? Great. The name’s Kenny and the phone number is 123-456-7890. Okay, I’ll get two orders of shrimp rolls, one vegetable pad Thai, one pork Mee Khob, one chicken pad Keeng, and two orders of chicken Kao pad puk, hold on one second- Maggie you want green curry, right?”

“... Yeah, how did you know?” I’ve heard your partner talk about you almost non-stop since he met you because he’s head over heels in love with you, but I can’t say that, can? Especially because you, Hana, and Hailey don’t know that OA, Jya, and I know each other... For some reason, so sorry Maggie, Hana but I’m going to have to lie my ass off here. “Uh, sorry, I thought I heard you mention it earlier, plus you look like a green curry kind of person.”

“Ha, alright, yes I’d like some, thanks.”

“- Sorry about keeping you on hold, I’ll add one green curry to that order. Do you want me to pay over the phone or is it okay if I pay when I get there?”

“Kenny!”

“Sorry, what’s up?”

“Our exit is coming up in... 150 metres, you need to turn right.”

“Shit, thanks, Hana.”

“Are you okay? You seemed like you were in your own world there.”

“I’m fine, I was just thinking. Where do I go next?”

“Go straight for another 700 metres, it’ll be on the right.”

“Got it.”

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“Alright everyone, the food’s here!” They’d all decided to gather in one of the meeting rooms the hotel had to the left of the lobby, Kenny had admittedly bellowed a little loud, but it brought all of his straggling coworkers into the room from their various spots in and around the lobby.

“Finally, what took you guys so long?” He knew that Jess was just hangry, and frustrated that they hadn’t caught the fugitive yet, so he let the snappy comment slide.

“Crosby almost missed the turn.”

“You let Crosby drive? Rookie mistake” He gave Hana a teasing look of betrayal before turning to Clinton. “I’ll have you know I am an excellent driver.”

“You’ve driven into a lake.”

“That was one time three years ago! And we were in a high-speed chase with a guy on a BMX bike who made a sharp turn near a kid’s birthday party, I didn’t exactly have many options.” He sounded more upset than he actually was. Moments like these were nice, where they got to hang around each other and just be friends, and Maggie was fitting in wonderfully with everyone but especially Hana, who sat in between him and Maggie as she started telling a story about OA with her face absolutely glowing.

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Jason’s cell proved to be far more useful than he was. Bethany had been texting him from a rural address that turned out to be a cottage rental that was supposed to be vacant. The owners had a basic security system that had alerted them that someone was in their cottage, when the local LEOs investigated they immediately recognized the suspect but were able to play it off as having gotten a noise complaint, before going back to their vehicle and calling the FBI, while hiding their vehicle so that they could keep watch over the cottage. There was always a tense atmosphere when people were getting greedy for a raid, Kenny supposed the fresh air and appealing scent of pine trees eases tensions slightly, but not by much. Everyone knew that the worst could happen. That their loved ones could get an overly formal call at an unholy hour, telling them that the worst would happen. Everyone always did their best to try and prevent that, but there was only so much that they could keep out of fate’s unforgiving hands. His heartstrings pulled slightly as he flicked his eyes over to Hana. She was his special someone, even if she didn’t know it, and for a brief moment, he wondered what it would be like for her if he- No. Nope. You can’t think like that, especially not before a raid, and especially not about a woman who was only supposed to be your friend. The final preparations were complete and they were getting in position to breach. Hana still hadn’t been cleared for the field yet, so in the back of his mind, he was appreciative that there was one less person to worry about, with her wirelessly monitoring their body cams and coms. Although that was kind of moot point honestly, because Maggie was with them, in fact, Maggie had taken Hana’s position behind him. “You ready Maggie?” She put her hand on the back of his vest as the SWAT leader started counting down. “Always.”

The door was busted down and all the FBI and SWAT agents funnelled into the house through the three entrances. The sliding glass back door was where Jess was entering, the side door was for Clinton and Barnes, and He and Maggie were going through the front door. The front door went straight into the family room to the right, the eat-in kitchen was on the left, and directly across from the sliding glass door. Flashbangs went off as everyone started shouting, announcing themselves. There were screams and cries of panic, something not unusual in their line of work, what was also not unusual was finding Bethany naked on her knees with Michael Howard standing in front of her dressed in the same manner. Michael’s eyes went wide, and his thought process played out like an open book.

Shit. Feds.

Get gun.

... Gun is not in my holster because I’m not wearing clothes.

Run.

... Can’t run cause Bethany is clinging to my legs.

Kenny had to give the guy props for trying to tackle him linebacker style naked as the day he was born as he stood firm and checked him, sending him flying onto the ground. “Turn onto your stomach, now!”

He writhed around, trying to resist arrest, shouting “SUCK MY DICK YOU PIGS!” And trying to thrust his bare nether regions at everyone, Kenny in particular. “Howard Michael, you are under arrest, you have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you. Do you acknowledge that your rights have been read to you?”

“FUCK YOU!”

“I’m gonna take that as a yes.” One of the SWAT officers approached them with an itchy-looking wool blanket and took their suspect into custody. Maggie and Kenny shared a look before making their way to the two bedrooms that were to the left of the kitchen, they hadn’t been cleared yet and now they were trying to move fast to make sure that no other accomplices got away. Kenny took the right door, Maggie, to the left. “FBI! Freeze!” Kenny was met with the disturbing sight of a dead body on the bed. His throat and wrists had been slit and he was surrounded by lumped together blood-soaked sheets. He immediately recognized the dead body as the last remaining accomplice in the breakout. “Hey, Crosby? I need your help in here.”

“What’s up Maggie?” When he entered her room he stopped in his tracks. There wasn’t a bed, instead, there were two cribs for two babies, both of whom were in an equally freaked-out Maggie’s arms. “Here, let me help you.” Kenny helped lighten her load by taking a baby in his arms. “Hi sweetheart, what’s your name?”

“Kenny, these babies can’t be older than six months, you know she can’t respond to you, right?”

“I know, but they’re so little and scared, I want to at least try to comfort them.” The little girl hard curled up into his chest and nestled her face into his neck. “It looks like you’re doing a great job to me.”

“Who’s kids even are these?”

“I’m really trying not to think about it.”

“I’m praying to every deity there is that they’re not Bethany and Howard’s kids.”

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There had to be thousands of deities, gods, godlings, divine beings, and not one of them could come through for those poor kids? The six-month-old twins Baxter and Hazel were the children of Bethany Karnstein and Michael Howard, who had murdered a man in the room next to their children’s room. The social services department where they were was basically non-existent, so while they waited for a social worker to drive from four and a half hours away they were watching the babies at the local police station while Jess and Clinton were questioning Michael. Baxter was much more social, jumping between the FBI agents, SWAT, and local LEOs, but he was now babbling quite happily on Maggie’s lap, whereas Hazel had immediately taken to Hana and refused to be held by anyone but her and Kenny. He looked at her fondly, Hana was holding the baby close to her chest and humming the tune to a melodic song he couldn’t remember the name of. Hazel looked up at Hana with wide, enchanted, trusting eyes, and all Kenny could do was feel his heart melt. A stray thought placed itself at the forefront of his mind and before he could stop it, he was picturing Hana as a mom, and as captivating as that thought was Kenny had to shake his head to stop it from going too far, they were just friends, it wasn’t Hana’s fault that he’s in love with her. I need to look somewhere else, anywhere else.

His eye-line shifted to Maggie and watching as she bounced an absolutely delighted Baxter on her lap. He knew that OA wanted a family, wanted a wife and a couple of kids, and looking at the tender way Maggie was holding and entertaining Baxter, he could see her being a mom too. Man, if OA saw this he’d have a heart attack, it’s his dream come true.

Kenny saw Hana shift positions out of his peripheral vision and turned to look at her and was immediately concerned. She had a look of discomfort on her face. “Hana? Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Her tone was tense and Hazel immediately picked up on it and made a scared noise. “Are your arms tired? Do you want me to take her?”

“No. We’re fine. Maybe you should hold Baxter instead.” She snapped and finally looked him in the eyes, she was clearly angry and upset, but she seemed betrayed as well. Kenny leaned back into his chair his shoulders sinking in tandem. He was silently thankful that since everyone was milling about and talking it didn’t seem that anyone heard the exchange, though Maggie did look at him with a raised eyebrow. He shrugged his shoulders in response, completely bewildered. Maggie shook her head sharply, rolled her eyes, and scoffed. ‘Men.’ She mouthed. Kenny was completely clueless, had either of them noticed him watching them at they were offended at that? He watches Hana work away on her computer all the time and it’s never been an issue, but then again that was always subject to change. His inner ramblings were cut off when Jess and Clinton came back from the interrogation room. “Michael didn’t talk much, but Hana decrypted his cell and he has incoming and outgoing calls to a recluse retiree Evan DeLuca who lives forty minutes from here. Crosby, Bell go check it out, Clinton and I are going to take a break from interrogating Michael for an hour or so, Gibson and Barnes, you two can interrogate Karnstein, see how much she knows and just how involved is she in all of this. We can watch the babies while you’re in there...”

“Admit it, boss, you want a break just cause you two want to hold the babies.”

“Get moving Crosby, Barnes is already out the door.”

“You got it.”

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

They were twenty minutes into the tense car ride when Maggie finally spoke up. “Just so you know, you’re an idiot.” Flabbergasted Kenny let his mouth fall open and close a couple of times before tightening his grip on the steering wheel only to release it after taking a breath. “You’re probably right, but can you please tell me why I’m an idiot? What did I do wrong?”

“Can’t tell you that.”

“Why not? You were the one who brought it up.”

“Just... Focus more on Hana, okay?”

“Are you sure? I mean, I thought about it, and maybe that’s the issue?”

“Trust me, it’s not. Just focus on her, got it?”

“Okay... I’m confused as hell, but okay.”

“Isn’t that your usual state of mind?” He didn’t have to look over to see the teasing grin, he could feel it. “Woah, low blow, Maggie, low blow.”

“If you want to hear about a low blow, you should hear about how OA and I had to chase a clown fairy princess twelve blocks at two in the morning.”

“Please, go on.”

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

Well. That went terribly wrong. As much as Kenny could appreciate the peace and aesthetic of small towns and cottage areas, he hated working in them because there was never any backup! Forty minutes may not seem like a lot of time, but when you’re in a firefight against a man who has access to a seemly endless supply of weapons of war, that was an eternity. He’d literally fired a bazooka at them, how in the fuck did he get a bazooka?! So, the good news about this situation? They’d found Jason Anderson. Bad news? They’d found Jason Anderson with an arsenal large enough and powerful enough to take down a small army. They’d managed to take cover, but Anderson clearly had night-vision goggles because, despite the fact that it was past eleven and pitch black, he always knew where they were. Oh, and Evan DeLuca was probably a dead retiree, not a recluse. That’s just great, another body to add to Anderson’s growing total. Now, all that he and Maggie had to do was not become part of that number. If only it were that easy. They’d managed to get around the side of the house where there were only two medium-sized windows on side of the house facing them instead of a large doorway like at the front and, presumably, the back.

When Kenny got Jess on the phone it was nothing but panicked observations, and the notification that they’d found Anderson, as he and Maggie ran for cover. His phone wasn’t even near his face when he made the call, so he’s not quite sure what all made it through, only that they were still thirty minutes away from the address.

“We need a plan.”

“He can see our movements so we’re going to have to be sneaky about it.”

“I’ll fire on him, cause a diversion, do you think you can try to sneak around back?”

“Are you crazy?! We didn’t have time to grab our vests, that’s suicide. Besides, how many rounds do you even have left?”

“I’ve got a mag and a half.”

“Really? I thought you fired a bunch of shots at him earlier.”

“I did, but I’ve been carrying extra ammo for this case, I figured I’d need it at some point considering we’re going up against a weapons dealer.”

“Smart-” She was cut off by another several hundred rounds being fired at the, thankfully incredibly thick, tree they were hiding behind. “We don’t have much of a choice Maggie. Head around back, I’ll try to distract him and not get shot.” He knew she’d argue with him, so he didn’t give her the chance to. He ran out from behind the tree and fired through the only window of the two that was open. There wasn’t any light on in the house, so Kenny really wasn’t sure what he was aiming for. After the sixth shot he heard “fuck! Fucking fuck!” And felt a wave of relief; he’d hit Anderson. Hopefully enough to keep him subdued. He ran around to the front of the house only to be met with the sight of Anderson pulling the pin out of a grenade. He ran back out faster than he entered and hugged the outside of the entrance just outside of the doorframe. “GRENADE!” The explosion went off where he’d been standing when he burst through the front door, shrapnel from the grenade exploded through the doorway seconds after he’d gotten out and he could hear some of it embed itself in the interior of the wall behind him.

When Kenny entered through the doorway, they were face to face. Kenny's gun was raised aimed at his forehead, and Anderson stood there weaponless. Pulling the trigger, Kenny made the mistake of thinking that it was over, that Anderson was done for. Click. Horror and vindication simultaneously coursed through Crosby and Anderson. The gun was empty. He'd spent all the rounds. Before he could lower his useless gun Anderson was on him like a feral animal. Despite the gunshot wound to Anderson’s right shoulder, he was just as lethal without a weapon as was when he had one. Anderson had him by the throat up against the wall and was pressing his thumbs into Kenny’s throat. Kenny threw two quick punches to Anderson’s jaw, releasing him and making them stumble away from each other. It quickly turned into a fight on the floor. They were biting, kicking, hitting each other, trying to get the upper hand. Kenny managed to land a solid elbow to Anderson’s head but that seemed to be the tipping point that only enraged him. The next thing Kenny knew Anderon had pushed him up and smacked him on the ground, knocking the air out of his lungs, and started to choke him again. Kenny tried to lay in a punch like the first time, but Anderson saw that coming, just dodged away from the fist and started pushing his thumbs into the centre of Kenny’s neck harder.

“FBI! Put up your hands!” Anderson growled but did as he was told. Kenny lay there gasping for breath knowing that it was too easy, Anderson had another trick up his sleeve, and Maggie was too smart not to know it too. She stepped closer, her gun pointed to the back of Anderson’s head, one hand reaching to her waist to grab her cuffs... That’s when Anderson made his move, spinning around and grabbing her by the waist, Anderson pulled her to the ground, the force caused her to let go of her gun. She tried to reach for it but Anderson pulled her towards him by her hair and put her in a chokeholdJaytill hazy from the lack of air Kenny grappled at him from behind. Trying to do something, anything, to save Maggie. Whatever he did worked because Anderson turned back to face him only now he had a bruise on the side of his face that was already swollen. Anderson tried grabbing Kenny by the neck again, but it was clear he was low on energy and just trying to fight until his last breath. Too bad for Anderson that Maggie wasn’t going to let that happen.

Crack.

And then Anderson was unconscious, lying on top of him, and Kenny barely had the strength to move the gun dealing scumbag off of him. “You good?”

“Yeah, thanks.” He looked at the gun in Maggie’s hand and Anderson on the ground. She was holding her gun by the barrel and there was some blood on the handle. “You cold-cocked him?”

“Yeah, I tried shooting him, but I mistook my gun for yours. I told you that you wouldn’t have enough ammo.”

“That you did. Thanks again, for saving my ass.”

“Any time.”

“I’m gonna call the team and let them know they don’t have to come in guns blazing... Especially because we are surrounded by improperly stored weapons and ammo. I’ll probably call for an ambulance too, to come to check you out.”

“What? Me?”

“Yeah, he had you in that chokehold pretty hard.”

“He strangled you, twice!”

“Three times actually, you weren’t here for the first one.”

“Even if you have to be dragged over by the ear, you will be getting checked out by the ambulance too.”

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“I’m going to preface this by saying Maggie’s fine, she doesn’t even have a concussion.”

“... That was the absolute worst way to start this call. Are you aware of that? Oh the heart attack you’re giving me? What the fuck happened?”

“Long story short, we found Jason Anderson and he tried to kill us.”

“And the long version? Actually, wait do I even want to know?”

“Probably not, but you want to know anyway because you think it will make you worry less, even though we both know it won’t, don’t you?”

“... Yes.”

“We got shot at a lot, got pinned down behind one of the massive trees they have out here, split up with me providing the distraction, I almost got blown up, my magazine was empty from providing cover so we went hand-to-hand, the door at the back was blocked by crates of uzis so it took her a while to get back, I got strangled three separate times, managed to land good hits, so did he, he threw Maggie on the ground when she showed up and she hit her head, he put her in a chokehold, I got her out of it by pinching his armpits really hard after punching wasn’t working, he tried to strangle me for the third time and Maggie cold-cocked him with my empty gun cause she couldn’t find hers. The paramedics cleared her, she’ll be fine. I think that Hana’s gonna try to drag us to the local clinic when we get back to town.”

“She’s okay?”

“Completely, she doesn’t even have a headache or sore throat, and she really saved my ass back there. She’s good. She’s with Hana right now actually. Hana was really off when everyone showed up, she’s been pretty worried and she won’t believe me when I say I’m okay but she’ll believe Maggie. You know you could probably call her, check up on her yourself? We were talking with the paramedics and she kept talking about this halal burger place you brought her to and she’d do anything for one of those right now... But from the look on her face when she brought you up, I’d wager she was actually talking about you. She misses you, even spent an hour talking about you when we all got Thai food in Boston.”

“Alright, thanks, man. I don’t know what I’d do if she wasn’t okay.”

“Gee, thanks for showing your concern for me. You know, your brother in arms-”

“Alright-”

“Fellow ex-ranger-”

“Okay-”

“Favourite blonde-”

“I’m glad you’re alright Kenny. I just can’t believe you two went up against Jason Anderson and walked away unscathed.”

“Actually my throat is pretty sore and the paramedics found some shrapnel in my right leg, all of it was shallow but some of it got pushed in deeper during the fight.”

“... Just go to a hospital, man. Seriously. Also, Hailey is my favourite blonde now. Sorry.”

“What?!”

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

“We have a problem.”

“What kind of problem, Hana?” Jess may have sounded cool, calm, and collected, but anyone who knew him was able to tell it was the opposite. Jess LaCroix likes for things to get done and stay done, according to Tali that’s why he hates doing the dishes, and this threw a serious wrench in everyone’s plans to escort the culprits, and children because children’s aid still hasn’t shown up, back to Boston and then go home to New York.

“Anderson’s set up a buy, a big one. Everything in that house except for two AK-47’s, ten grenades, and eight rounds of ammo for the AK-47, is for a single buyer, they’re meeting at the base of a hiking trail in two days.”

“Fuck. There were uzis and bazookas, who the hell are these guys.” Anderson was just a weapons dealer, and he was dangerous enough, Kenny really wasn’t looking forward to meeting whoever the buyer was. “I don’t know, I couldn’t find out, but there is some, I guess, good news. They think that he blew up an FBI agent and that that’s who’s in the hospital under armed guard. They think he got away, want to do the exchange earlier than planned, they want to meet in two hours, the same location.”

“Hana, we have the opportunity to also take down some pretty dangerous buyers too, that’s great news, why don’t you think so?”

“Kenny, they don’t know his exact face but they have a description. Six feet tall, blonde, blue eyes, muscular-”

“You think I have muscles?” Kenny realized his attempt at lightening the mood wasn’t welcome when no one chuckled along with him, muttering a quick apology before looking back at Hana, whose face displaced what he could only describe as contained distress. “Kenny, you’re pretty banged up, you shouldn’t be going out there.”

“Hana, I’ll be fine. Everything’s mostly superficial, SWAT hasn’t gone back to Boston yet, and we may not get another chance to get these guys. It has to be done, and quickly. I’ll be okay.” She took a deep breath and looked down at the papers on the table in front of her. She did not like it, that much was very obvious, but she looked frustrated that his logic was right, and that they’d have to go through with his, admittedly not very well thought out, plan. “Alright, I guess I’ll go and get the tech set up.” Jess coughed to draw attention to himself, along with everyone else in the room they’d been ignoring, and Kenny felt his cheeks heat up. “Sorry, is this the plan we’re going through with and should I get the tech together?”

“While I get the local LEO’s to give us some info on the terrain?” Jess looked them both over before nodding. “Sounds like that’s what we’re doing, thanks for doing all the planning guys, everyone, go get prepared.”

“Kenny, can you come and find me after you’re done talking to the LEO’s? I’d like to talk for a sec.”

“Sure thing Maggie.”

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His talk with Maggie ended up just being a quick, and confusing, talk.

“I know that it’s been a rough couple of days, but I’m still you really need to be careful.”

“I know, it won’t be like back at the house, there’ll be back up this time, and I’ll have ammo in my gun this time.”

“This isn’t the time to joke but... Okay. And one more thing, be nice to Hana.”

“Aren’t I always nice to Hana? I feel like she’s upset with me but I don’t know what I’ve done wrong.” Maggie sighed before giving him a long look and was clearly debating whether or not to say something. “It’s not that you’ve done anything wrong, it’s just that... current circumstances have been stressing her out. Like me being your partner right now, it’s thrown her off a bit. And she said you’ve been acting strange so she’s worried about you for that on top of your physical safety, and Zadie has been calling and texting her quite a bit asking for updates about you, and it’s just been a lot for her.”

“Why didn’t she tell me any of this?”

“Sometimes it’s easier to talk to someone who isn’t directly involved in the issue. Look, all I’m saying is that you need to be careful, and maybe tell Zadie to not ask about you while you and Hana are working.”

“I didn’t even know she’s been doing that, it doesn’t matter that Hana isn’t in the field, her work is still crucial and she can’t afford to be distracted. Are we good?”

“Yeah, we’re good.”

“Good.”

Maggie was still pretty vague, but when Hana was wiring him up, he promised her he would be careful and cautious, that he was sorry if he worried her, the relief on her face made his heart twinge. He hadn’t meant to make her so concerned.

Two sets of headlights drove up the gravel road that leads to town, bring Kenny back to the present. Two men stepped out of each car and he immediately had to stifle a groan. He was now standing alone in a hiking trail parking lot alone, but with back up hiding in the trees, with four nazis. They were all in their fifties wearing blatant white supremacist clothes. He counted a trump shirt, a confederate flag, an all lives matter shirt, and a swastika shirt. “You Jason Anderson?” Confederate spoke first, and his voice was so loud and boisterous it shook his beer belly. “I am.”

“Is that FBI agent you blew up dead yet?”

“I really didn’t come here, when the feds are really pissed and packing heat, to make small talk. Are you buying or not? I’ve got them all loaded up in the back.”

“Can we see them first?”

“After I see the cash.” Trump shirt looked at confederate for confirmation before walking to the second pick-up truck, because of course, and returned with two stuffed duffle bags. Kenny unzipped them the second they were in front of him, and sure enough, stacks of $100 bills shoved inside in a disorderly fashion. Kenny pretended to count but he was really biding his time, trying to find ways to get them to spill their guts. “What do you guys want with this much firepower, anyway? It’s a bit much for hunting.”

“There’s an abortion clinic a couple of hours away in Boston, we’re going to teach those whores to respect life.” And here I was thinking that these scumbags couldn’t get any worse. Kenny sighed and popped the trunk, revealing the crates of guns, that all had the firing pins removed making them useless, but assholes one through four didn’t need to know that. “Alright, take a look. What do you think?”

“I think... That we just got an arsenal for FREE!” All four aimed their newly attained weapons and... Didn’t fire. “Really? Did you honestly think I’d put ammo in there? Whatever, FBI YOU’RE UNDER ARREST!” They didn’t even have time to start running before the most wanted unit, Maggie, SWAT, and LEO’s had burst out of the trees, guns raised.

Fucking morons.

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“Hey man, how’d the bust go?”

“Great, we arrested the head of the local faction of the KKK and his minions, apparently. You know, the second the guns were in their hands they tried to blow me to pieces. They thought we, or Anderson rather, would have them all loaded up for them so they could make away with the guns and the cash. You should’ve seen them when they were arrested, they were genuinely surprised that their plan didn’t work, and that no one wanted to hear their bigoted crap. And Anderson’s ex-wife decided to take in all four of Karnstein’s kids, those he had with her husband and brother, which is great because we were worried about what was going to happen to them, but she said she just wants to keep all the siblings together and that’s an example of sainthood if I ever saw one. And before you ask, yes, Maggie’s fine.”

“I’m getting a little predictable when it comes to her, aren’t I?”

“A bit, yeah- hold on one second... I’m back.”

“What was that?”

“I got another call.”

“From who?”

“Zadie.”

“The girl you’re dating who happens to be the roommate of your best friend and the girl you’re in love with?”

“... Shut up.”

“Hahaha no. Look, we’re both idiots, all three of us were until Halstead figured out how to get off. I can’t talk to Maggie about how I feel, not yet and maybe not ever. Losing her husband left horrendous scars and she needs me to be her partner and her friend, she doesn’t need to deal with how I feel. But you and Hana? You could happen, you could talk to her, I know that you spoke with her about your PTSD and she’s told you about serious things in her life and herself. Both of you have a trust and bond that doesn’t need to be tested. It’s tried and true. You don’t deserve to be miserable, drowning yourself in distractions and being a distraction. Just promise me you’ll think about it.”

“Okay, I will. And for what it’s worth, I don’t think you and Maggie are as far away from each other as you think. She talks about you all the time, she told me so many stories about you two in the field. She trusts you implicitly, and the face she makes when she talks about you... There’s nothing platonic about that. So you need to think about talking to your girl and moving forward too, okay?”

“Yeah, okay.”

“Am I really not your favourite blonde anymore?”

“Haha, no you’re not, sorry.”

“You knew her for like three days!”

“Eh, still.”

“I hate you.”

“No you don’t.”

“... No, I don’t. But... Maggie told me about the clown fairy princess and I’m gonna tell Halstead about it the next time I call him, which we’ll be in an hour cause I want to catch him before he goes to work. So, HA!”

“Crosby!”

#fbi cbs #FBI Most Wanted #Maggie Bell #hana gibson #oa zidan x maggie bell #maggie x oa #hana gibson x kenny crosby #kenny x hana #OA Zidan #Kenny Crosby #clinton skye #jess lacroix #jay halstead #hailey upton #upstead #zibell #sheryll barnes #One Chicago #Chicago PD

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babeyvenus · 3 years ago

Text

The Wolf Among Us

Bigby x OC

Summary: Sonya Blaze, A.K.A. Hell Rider, is a half fable, half mundy girl who comes to Fabletown to learn more about her side of the folktales. She works alongside Sheriff Bigby Wolf's as his newest partner and together they strive to find out who's behind the unexpected murders in Fabletown.

TW: Mentions of death, gore/blood, alcohol, drugs, sex implications, suicide, guns and ofc language.

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Chapter 6: Let's Get Some Answers

“-Wolf.”

“Mr. Wolf.”

“Mr. Wolf!”

Bigby snapped out of his thoughts, blinking away from the photo of Sonya’s decapitated head. He looked around the interrogation room. “You’re making this more difficult than this has to be.”, the Mundy police detective says. “If you’d just cooperate and answer the questions, you can go home. Maybe get some sleep.”, she says, watching Bigby grab the pack of cigarettes, takes one out and light it.

“How are you feeling?”, she asked him. “I know it’s been a long night for you. You look like you could use some rest.”

“I’m hunky dory. Thanks for asking.” Bigby rolls his eyes.

“There’s no need to get aggressive, I’m trying to help you.”, she says, distastefully unappreciative of his attitude. “Look….I know what you must be going through. Really, I do, but I could use your cooperation.”

He glared at her, displeased with her statement. “You don’t know anything. If you did, you wouldn’t be sitting here talking to me. You’d be talking to the piece of shit that did this.”, he replied.

She frowned deeply. “Well, you stonewalling me like this isn’t helping either of us, so why don’t you cut the shit and…” She takes a deep breath while Bigby takes another puff of the cigarette. “I’m trying to help you, Bigby.”

“What is it with you cops always trying to empathize with people? “I know this must be hard for you.” Do you? Do you fucking know?!”, he yells angrily. He leans on the table, glaring at Brannigan, trying to keep himself together. “Have you had a friend killed and their head left at your fucking doorstep?”

Brannigan almost looks hurt as he yells at her. “No? Didn’t think so.”, Bigby said, calmly as he leaned back in his chair.

He looks away, thinking back to before he last saw Sonya. If only he stuck around a little longer. He could’ve protected her. ‘She just got here…’, he thought, sadly.

A metallic smell snapped him out of his thoughts as he looked back at the detective. “Your nose is bleeding.” The detective looked at him confused then realized her nose was actually bleeding. Bigby raises an eyebrow at her confused expression. “You look nuts right now. Its kinda hard to take you serious with that mess on your face.” His eyebrows furrowed when she didn’t respond. “Detective Brannigan?"

"I’m Detective Brannigan.”, she says, almost robotic. “Uh, yeah. I know. I just said that. Is there something-”, Bigby starts to ask but gets cut off by Brannigan, as she looks around warily. “Do you hear that?”

Suddenly, she groans in pain as she cups her head. “Please….please…” she begged to no one. Bigby looks at her in shock. He heard squeaking from the one way mirror and he heard some thuds coming from behind it. "I’m sorry, just…..make it stop…please.“ Brannigan begs as she stands up but she slumps over the table.

Bigby’s eyes widened as he looked at her limp body. ‘What the fuck just happened…?’, he thought until Crane busted in the door, carrying a box labeled Evidence. "We have to go. Now!”, he ordered.

“What did you do to her?”, Bigby asked him. “She’ll be fine! It’s just a memory wipe spell. Very expensive, but it works. The whole station will forget the last twenty-four hours and everything they saw at the Woodlands.” Crane explains. “Well, hurry up!”, he yells.

Bigby puts out his cigarette in the ashtray and starts to walk out. He pauses, looking at Sonya’s picture and takes it before following Crane out of the station. Crane drove to the Woodlands, only to pause in traffic. The two men sit in the car silently until Bigby spoke up. “Thanks for the lift.” Crane looks over at Bigby in surprise for a moment, feeling appreciated. “Certainly.”

They quiet down again until Crane speaks. “We, uh, we found Tweedle Dee chained up to a post. That was your doing, correct?” Bigby frowned. “Yeah.”

“Well, I don’t know why you detained him. Dee was at the Trip Trap when Miss Sonya was left at the Woodlands, so he couldn’t possibly be involved in this mayhem. Bluebeard’s currently interrogating him.” Crane informs. Bigby could feel himself getting irritated. “There’s two of them. Dee and Dum. And they’ve been snooping around every crime scene I’ve looked at.”, Bigby says.

“That doesn’t mean they’re necessarily involved in the murders…” Crane says. Bigby glares at him then looks out the window.

Traffic finally lightens up a bit but they pause at a stop light. Crane, sensing Bigby’s overwhelming irritability, he stops the car, waiting for the light to turn green. “I know what you’re thinking, Bigby. It’s been one full night and a slice of morning, and I already miss her, too.” Crane said as he gives him a sad look. The light turns green and Crane drives off again.

“You know, I never get more homesick than when one of us dies. She may have been a new one, but its like her father all over again. He died and now her,” Bigby looks at him in shock. ‘Her father….? Is that what mirror meant by heiress…?’

“…I’ve never been good with these sorts of things. I just can’t believe this is really happening.” Crane said, frowning in sadness.

“Yeah…it’s hard.” Bigby agreed, looking back out the window.

“Our stories used to be so simple. We had a beginning, a middle, and an end. But ever since we moved to this awful city….everything’s gotten so confused. Did she, um, give any indication to what she was thinking, .when you saw her last, I mean? I don’t know why, but I’d like to know that she was….I guess fine, I suppose.” Crane asked Bigby.

Bigby closed his eyes, his eyebrows furrowing. “She just… she told me to be careful.” Bigby said.

“I’d like to think she took a liking to you, Bigby.”, Crane says, making Bigby look at him in surprise. “Has anyone informed Snow?”, Bigby asked. “No, we can’t seem to find her. She wasn’t in the office or in her apartment. But we’ll find her.” Crane says. Bigby frowns. ‘She did say she was gonna check up on her…’

“I don’t know what else to say, Bigby. We have to- we have to put an end to this. It’s been two murders in as many days. If we don’t unearth our culprit soon, there will likely be another on our doorstep tonight.”, Crane said, pulling up to the front of the Woodlands and gets out of his car.

“I’ll get it done.”, Bigby grumbles, getting out of the car. “Please, Bigby. For Sonya.”, Crane said “I said I got it!”, Bigby growled, slamming the car door so hard that the window cracked. Crane frowns at Bigby’s actions and follows him inside.

The Woodland Luxury Apartments

Basement

“You ignorant fuck!” A deep voice is heard yelling. Bigby rolled his eyes. “Bluebeard…”

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?”, Crane yelled, storming up to the bald, tall man. Bigby crossed his arms, leaning in the doorway. “Hello, Ichabod. Sheriff.”, Bluebeard greeted, wiping away his knife. “Bluebeard.”, Bigby greeted, annoyed.

“I was just chatting with our new friend.”, Bluebeard explains to the two men. “You were supposed to wait for us to get back!”, Crane shouts at the taller man. “I told you, if you want to be involved, you will do things my way. No violence!”

Bluebeard gave him a fake smile. “Whatever you say, Ichabod.” said Bluebeard as he steps away from the Tweedle twin. “Hello, Bigby.” Dee greeted him, grinning as Bigby walked up to him. “I want answers, Dee.”, Bigby said, folding his arms across his chest.

“Oh goodie! I thought you wanted questions. And I was having so much trouble thinking of any good ones.”, Dee said, with a taunting smile. “Though, I’d settled on, How’s your head?”

Bigby narrowed his eyes at the bloodied twin. “You see what I’ve been dealing with!? What are you going to do about this, Bigby?”, Bluebeard asked the Sheriff.

Bigby gives Dee a smirk as he leans in his face. “I’m glad you have a sense of humor. I hope that means you’re willing to cooperate. Sonya Blaze is dead.”, Bigby growled. “Look, I didn’t kill anyone.”, Dee told him, shrugging. “And I’m supposed to just believe you?”, Bigby asked. “You were with me when it happened, dummy.”, Dee replied with a smirk.

Bigby breathes through his nose, considering breaking Dee’s. Bigby closes his eyes for a moment then opens them. “I still have questions for you, Dee.”, he says. “Sounds like a personal problem.” Dee looked at him with a bored expression.

“I saw you at Faith’s apartment. What were you doing there?”, Bigby asked. “Girl’s got air conditioning. You can’t imagine what it’s like livin’ in a little shit hole with no air.” Dee complains, sarcastically. Bigby glared at him and punched Dee in the stomach.

Dee coughs in pain, making Bluebeard smile and shocking Crane. “All right, Dee. Let’s get to know each other.” Bigby said, slamming his fist into his palm. He pulled out Sonya’s picture, not even wanting to look at it himself. He showed it to Dee, making him flinch and look away. “Fuck, Bigby! Don’t make me look at that…”

Bigby bared his teeth, “She’s dead! She was...my partner.”, he looked down in sadness for a bit before glaring at Dee. “She didn’t deserve that! If you don’t tell me who is responsible, we’re gonna have a problem!”

Dee rambled. “I don’t know what to tell you. You’re barking up the wrong tree. I don’t know who did it.” Bigby pocketed the picture, pinching at the bridge of his nose. “Just tell me what the hell you were doing at Toad’s.”

“Look, Bigby. We’re not on opposite sides here. My brother and I are trying to get to the bottom of things. Same as you.”, Dee explained. “Your brother…”, Bigby said, smiling. “Where was he exactly?” Dee gives him a worried look.“I can’t say….he could’ve been anywhere.”

“Take your best guess.”, Bluebeard frowns, crossing his arms. “He didn’t do it, if that’s what you’re thinking.”, Dee declares. “Okay, then where is he?”, Bigby asked. “No. I’m not sending you after my brother. Look, I answered your question. Can I get my stuff back now?”, Dee asked, giving Bigby a smile.

Bigby asked Crane, “What did you find on him?”

“Oh, uh….nothing of consequences really.”, Crane explains, walking over to pick up a box. He poured out whatever was in the box onto a mattress. It contained a big bottle of alcohol, a cigar and a big wad of cash.

Bigby frowned. ‘Nothing of importance…’

Bigby takes the cigar and starts to light it. “I’m saving that.”, Dee said, annoyed at Bigby’s actions. Bigby ignores him, taking a puff and blows the smoke in Dee’s face. He offers the cigar to Dee. “Yeah, alright.” Dee said and he takes a few drags out of the cigar. “Wanna see a trick?”, Dee asked him, then he blew smoke in Bigby’s face.

Dee smiles as Bigby drops the cigar on the floor and squishes it under his foot. “Look, Bigby. This isn’t going to work. Don’t you want to find out what happened to those girls…to Miss Blaze?” Bluebeard asked him. “Will you let me handle this.”, Bigby growled and turned to Dee.

“So. Where's your brother?”, he asked, crossing his arms.

“Look, mate. I’d like to help, I would, but I can’t tell you where he is. Last time, I saw him, we split up, and I went to find Faith’s–” Dee stops as he realizes he’s said too much. “I don’t know where he is now.”

“You went to find Faith’s what...?”, Bigby asked. Dee quickly answered, “Her apartment. I went to her apartment. That’s no secret. You saw me.”

“No, there’s more to it. You said you were trying to find something.”, Bluebeard said, making Dee gulp. “All right, Dee. Since you never answered my first question…what did you want from Faith?”, Bigby asked. “Sorry, I can’t help you. I’m not saying anymore about it.”, Dee said.

Bigby looks over at the large bottle. “You just carry this around?”, he asked Dee. “Always handy that way.”, Dee replied, smirking. Bigby rolled his eyes.

“This is ridiculous!”, Bluebeard exclaims as Bigby sets the bottle aside. “He’s never going to talk if you treat him like a fucking houseguest!”, he shouted, marching up to Bigby.

“Bluebeard!”, Crane shouts, getting angry with the bald man. “I’ve already heard your opinion.”, Bluebeard argues. “Back off, Bluebeard! This isn’t your job!”, Bigby yells.

“Get your answers, or I’m taking over.”, Bluebeard frowns.

“Not happening.”, Bigby said as he faces Dee. “Come on, Dee. What did you want from Faith? A sweet girl like her…” He shook his head sadly.

Dee scoffed. “Sweet?! You think that girl was sweet? She was a fuckin’ thief!”, Dee exclaims, in disbelief. “Fuckin’ sweet. Faith was plenty of things, but that ain’t one of ‘em. I mean, you know what she did for a living, right?"

"You still seem pretty mad about it.”, Bigby smiles slyly. “Hell, I ain’t bothered. Wasn’t me she stole from. Nah, she took somethin’ from my boss.”, Dee shrugged.

“Your boss….”, Bluebeard said and Dee’s eyes widened. “So, let’s talk about your boss then.”, Bigby said.

Dee chuckles nervously. “You’re gonna get me in trouble, Bigby. I can’t answer any more of your questions.”

Bigby grabs the wad of cash and holds it up. “You always carry this much cash?”, he asked. "I’ve got a lot of laundry to do this week. What’s it to you?“, Dee said, sarcastically. Bigby rolls his eyes, putting the wad back down.

“Why don’t you just tell me who you’re working for?”, Bigby asked Dee, getting irritated. What was up with people making his job harder than it had to be…!? “Look. You’re not a bad guy, I believe Beauty on that one, but I can’t give you that information. That’s where I gotta draw the line.”, Dee declares.

“Beauty…”, Bigby’s eyes widened. “There’s no way Beauty would associate with a scumbag like you!”, Bigby yelled. “What’s wrong with me? You tellin’ me I ain’t pretty enough?”, Dee asked, taunting Bigby. “Oh, yeah, we’re real close.”, he says, antagonizing. “Bullshit.”, Bigby spat, slamming his arm into Dee’s throat. “The hell are you doing with Beauty, anyways!?” If Beast ever found out… He didn’t even wanna think about it.

Bigby’s reaction made Dee smirk. “Enough of this!”, Bluebeard shouts, angrily. “Bluebeard!”, Crane yelled, giving Bluebeard a warning tone. Bluebeard gets into Bigby’s face and shouts. “You’re not getting any answers from him this way. Sonya Blaze is dead. One of us! And you’re going to let this ignorant shit walk out of here in one piece?!”

Bluebeard shoves Bigby to the side and storms up to Dee. “Out of my way, I’ll show you how it’s done.” He punched Dee in the stomach.

“Ah, what the fuck!”, Dee yells in pain.

“What do you think you’re doing?!”, Crane yells at Bluebeard, angrily. “Teaching him a lesson. Now, pay attention.”, Bluebeard said and punched Dee in the face. “Stop this right now!”, Crane shouts.

“You enjoying yourself?”, Dee asked, glaring at Bluebeard.

“Immensely.”, Bluebeard says, giving him a smile.

Bigby grabs Bluebeard’s arm and pulls him away from Dee. Bluebeard glares at Bigby, shoves him and throws a punch. Bigby ducks and punches him in the stomach, making Bluebeard groan while Bigby shoves him against the wall and tries to restrain him. “Enough.”, he growls in his face.

Suddenly the door to the basement opens, revealing an angry Snow White. “What’s going on down here!?”, she demanded for answers. Crane turns to her in shock. “S-Snow! We’ve been looking for you!” Snow frowns at him. “What happened now!?”, a voice yells, down the hall.

Bigby’s eyes widened as he heard her voice. A confused and irritated Sonya walked in the door. “Sonya…”, he muttered.

Woodlands Lobby

“What the hell were you doing down there, Bigby?”, Sonya asks. “It wasn’t me. I wanted to do things the right way but of course, Bluebeard had other plans.”, Bigby grumbled. Sonya frowned, shaking her head. “Okay.”

They walked over to an elevator. “Okay, you’re gonna have to explain this, cause I’m really not getting it yet.”, Bigby said, still confused and shocked.

“After our conversation in the taxi last night, I headed back to my place, got stuff done so now its a little better, Snow called me down to the Office and told me she got a call from Toad. He said his T.J. found a body. So, we went to go check it out. We thought it was Faith at the time… But this time… it was different. Getting her back here wasn’t easy, but hopefully we’ll find something on her to help us track down the killer. Or at least to figure out who she is.”, she said, walking in the elevator.

“I should have been there, Sonya.”, Bigby said, following her. “We tried to call the Business Office, but there was no answer. We couldn’t find you, or anyone. So, Snow and I took care of it.”, Sonya says with a frown. She pushed the floor button, making the doors close and the elevator moves. For a moment, they stay quiet until Bigby speaks up. “Sonya…”

She looks over at him. “Yeah?” He lets out a soft sigh. “I’m glad you’re not dead.”, he says, giving her a small smile. She gives him a grin. “I wouldn’t let you live in this harsh world without me.”, she joked, making him roll his eyes. “Yeah, yeah.”

Outside The Business Office

“I just want to get to the bottom of this.”, she said as the elevator stopped and opened the doors. “I just….”, she sighed.

“What is it?”, Bigby asked, walking out of the elevator with her."I just….I feel responsible, in a way. She looked just like me. Maybe that’s why she was killed.“, she frowned. “I mean why me? I hardly know anyone who would be out for me to begin with, much less make someone else be glamoured as me.”

"If someone wants you dead, at some point they’ll realize they missed their target.”, Bigby said. “And they’ll come looking for me.”, she said, folding her arms across her chest. “We just have to find out who did this. And why she was glamoured to look like me…I mean, that’s what it is, right?”

Bigby shrugs a bit and scratches his stubble. She sighed, looking at the door of the Business Office. “So what’s our next move?”, she asked Bigby. “Maybe you should lie low for a while. Until we figure out what’s going on.”, Bigby suggested.

She scoffed. "And what? Sit around my apartment twiddling my thumbs all day while you guys solve what little we have now? Not happenin’.“, she says, huffing. "That’s not what I meant.”, Bigby replied, frowning. “Then what?”, she asked.

“I just want you to be careful. I almost lost you once–” Bigby started to explain, but Sonya cut him off, pointing a finger at his chest. “Bigby, I am not a little kid. I can handle a little danger.”, she argues and sighs, backing away. He looks at her sadly. "I’m sorry.“, she apologized. "I know it’s dangerous, but I’m not helpless. I can take care of myself.” She looked down, “I’ve been doing it for years.”

She shook her head. Let’s go talk to T.J. He was so freaked out last night, he wouldn’t even tell us much. Even now he just stops talking altogether after a certain point. He’s pretty shaken up though, so try to be patient.”, she says, smiling.

"Yeah. I promise.”, he says. Sonya opened the door and once they entered, Snow looks up and walks over to them. “T.J.’s over there.”, she said as she points over to where Toad and T.J. stand in front of the Magic Mirror.

“I don’t know if you want to talk to him first or after, but let me know when you’re ready to see the body.", she tells Bigby. She nods and turns away to talk to Bufkin. Before Bigby walks away, Sonya grabs his arm. "Let me talk to him, too.”

“You sure?” Bigby asked and she nods. They walk over to Snow, waiting for her to finish her conversation with Bufkin. “Let’s talk to T.J.”, Bigby said and walks over to Toad and T.J.

Sonya sighs and follows behind, seeing Toad and T.J. watch something in the Mirror. Toad jumps and yells at the Mirror to stop. “What’re you doing?”, Bigby asks him. “What, I wasn’t doin’ anything.”

Sonya waves at T.J., walking over to him and kneeling beside him. “How’re you feeling?” T.J. sniffles, “I-I’m okay.” She rubs his back. “Are you ready to talk to Mr. Wolf?”, Snow asks. T.J. nods timidly.

Sonya nods at Bigby, giving him a look to crouch down. He rolls his eyes as he squats down as well. “Are you….okay?” Bigby asked him. T.J. nods but doesn’t say anything. “Go ahead, T.J.”, Sonya rubbed his back. T.J. looks up at the adults and starts explaining.

“I go swimming at night sometimes, in the river….I wasn’t doing anything bad, I promise.”, he exclaimed, fearfully. “Of course you weren’t.” Toad said to his son. “You’re a good kid, T.J. We have no doubts about that.”, Sonya said. “You’re not in trouble. Just tell me what happened.” Bigby said to him.

“I was there…under the big blocks. And I heard noisy feet. And when I hear that, I’m supposed to go underwater and stay real still and quiet.”, T.J repeats his dad’s rule. “That’s right, son.” Toad says, proudly.

T.J. closes his eyes and said. “And then I saw…..I saw the lady….”, he whimpered. “It’s okay, son.”, Toad comforts his son. Bigby raises his hand, trying to comfort the boy, but T.J. cowered away in fear. “Careful, Bigby.”, Toad warned. Bigby looks at him, “I wasn’t…” Sonya placed her other hand on his shoulder and nodded. “I know.”

He sighed and nodded at T.J. to continue. “The lady….fell in….but she didn’t have her head on! I thought….I thought she was gonna pull me down too. ‘Cause she had rocks on her feet. And she kept falling down in the dark parts.”, T.J. said, tearing up again. Sonya frowns and whispered, “Cinderblocks. Tied to her ankles.” Bigby nods, and peered at T.J. “Is there more, T.J.?”, he asked him. T.J. looks up at Bigby and asked. “Is it true….you know when people are lying? I heard you could do that."

Bigby gives him a soft smile. "Yeah, part of my job is being able to tell when people are lying. I’m really good at it. Is there something else you want to say?” T.J. turned to Toad and said, “Please don’t be mad.”

“What’s the matter T.J.?”, Snow asked. “I….I didn’t stay under the water.” T.J. replied. “What?” Toad said, raising his voice. “I know I’m supposed to, but I was scared, and I went to the top again. I couldn’t help it!”, T.J. exclaimed, fearfully. “I gave you very specific rules! You have to stay quiet and out of sight or bad things can happen. I told you!”, Toad shouts at him.

“Leave him alone, Toad.” Bigby warned. “He’s my son! I’ve set boundaries for a reason!” Toad exclaims. “He’s not in trouble, though.”, Sonya said. “The hell he isn’t.”, Toad growls. "Not this time, Toad.“, Bigby said, glaring at Toad. Toad pouts.

"So you didn’t stay underwater….” Sonya resumed. T.J. sniffled softly. “I don’t know….if anyone saw me, but someone said “stop laughing”. And then I was scared and I went under for as long as I could.”

“Wait, you heard someone?”, Bigby asked. "Yes.“ he replied. "Why didn’t you tell us before?” Toad asked him. “I didn’t want to be in trouble.”, T.J. replied. “Did you hear anyone laughing?” Bigby asked. “No.”, T.J. replied and he began to cry. “Were those the same words they used, stop laughing? Try to remember exactly what they said.” Bigby said, calmly.

“They said….they said, stop laughing at me.”, T.J. repeats. “Do you know whose voice it was?”, Bigby asked. “No!”, T.J. exclaimed, sniffing. “Okay, T.J.”, Bigby said, feeling bad. T.J. wipes his eyes. “I’m sorry.”, he whimpered. “After I came up again there was no one there, and I ran home. That’s all. I promise!"

"Okay, you can go.”, Bigby said to him. “Thank you, T.J.” Sonya said, giving T.J. a smile and a hug. "Okay, son. Let’s get you home.“ Toad said to T.J. as he held him. "You did a good job, kid.”, Bigby smiled at T.J.

T.J. looked up at Bigby, giving him a small smile. “Come on, then.” Toad said, walking away with his son. Bigby and Sonya stood. She gave him a smile. “You did good.” He gave her a small smile back. Snow asked, “You guys want to go look at the body, now?”

“Yeah.” Bigby nodded. “Oh my goodness! I almost forgot!”, Bufkin yells and flew over to a box Crane had before and grabs it. “Come on.” Snow said, leading the two to the Witching Well.

#twau bigby wolf #bigby x oc #bigby wolf x reader #bigby x reader #bigby wolf imagine #bigby wolf #big bad wolf #bigby twau #poc oc #oc #sonya blaze #fable #bluebeard #black girl #black reader #bigby wolf x plus size reader

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swiftlymoniquesblog · 4 years ago

Text

Fake FBI Agents? Sam x Reader (With lots of Dean)

A/N: Hello! Yes, I am alive but I’ve been hella busy with work, as some of you know. And then, I got my second COVID shot and had a BAD reaction to it so I’m trying to recover.

This story is based off my real job working for at my local police department, which I’ll be celebrating 6 months at this month! I thought it would be funny if I could tell that Sam and Dean were fake FBI agents based off looking at their badges because I do see and interact with real FBI agents occasionally.

I also met a Texas Ranger not too long ago and even though he was *much* older than me, he was *very* attractive. Not like Jared’s Cordell Walker but still.

Hope everyone enjoys this and all feedback is welcome!

Warnings: FLUFF, series level violence, angst, pining, blood, serious injuries, series level monsters, lots of pain but the fluff makes up for it.

Word Count: 5, 981

Masterlist of all Masterlists| Supernatural Masterlist

Working for a police department was quite a unique experience. On a daily basis, you got to see the worst in people. From assaults to thefts, stolen vehicles, and homicides, there was never a dull moment when you had to work to help the public. Even with not being on the emergency side of the police department, you were still helping people and were trying to solve all their problems when they couldn’t seem to handle them on their own. Growing up, wanting to help people was always a priority for you but you never thought that would be fulfilled working in law enforcement. Sure, there were times when it would get super overwhelming with the constant phone calls and reports you would have to take over the phone and/or in person, and if you were left on a shift alone, it was that much more challenging. But ultimately, you did enjoy what you did because you felt as though you were being an important part of your community, whether you were acknowledged for it or not. And, who wouldn’t want to look at those cute police officers all day long? Just a small amount of time spent chit-chatting with them as you handed them over the keys to their vehicles for their shifts, still seemed cool. Who doesn’t appreciate a man in uniform? One night, as you were working alone, you had two, albeit very attractive men, come into the lobby of the department and came to the window to speak with you.

“Hi, how can I help y’all?” You ask, looking to the shorter of the two men.

“Yeah, we’re here about a case. I’m Agent Tyler, this is my partner Agent Perry, with the FBI.” The man said, as he pulled out his FBI badge, his partner followed his lead.

You stood from your desk to walk over to the window to see their badges, and upon closer inspection, you discovered they were fake. Immediately, you started laughing, causing the two men to just stare at you with a shared look of confusion.

“What’s so funny ma’am?” The taller of the two asked.

“Y’all aren’t from the FBI,” You said, laughing harder as your sides began to hurt.

“Um, yeah, we are, didn’t you see our badges?” Agent “Tyler,” said to you, flashing his badge again.

“Yes, I saw your fake FBI badges,” you said, eyeing the men suspiciously.

“How did you know?” Agent “Perry,” asked.

“Because this is a police department. We have a local FBI office and I have dealt with them several times since I’ve worked here. We’re trained to spot real and fakes badges and from my training, these two are definitely fake,” you said, smirking smugly.

“Damn, she’s good, Sammy,” the shorter one said.

“So, what do you two really want?” You ask, cocking your eyebrow up to further question the men.

“Okay, here’s the truth. I’m Sam, this here’s my brother Dean, we’re in town to investigate a string of disappearances that have been going on over the past week-and-a-half. Do you know anything about them?” The taller one, Sam, said to you, giving a sad, puppy-dog look as he spoke.

“Of course I do. Police department remember? I can’t begin to tell y’all how many missing person reports our agency has been taking during that time. At least close to thirty and that’s a huge number for a town of about 100,000 people,” you say, shaking your head in disbelief.

“Well, what’s been reported?” The shorter one, Dean, asked.

“I can’t share that information with you but what I can do is call over to dispatch and see if they can send an officer up here to speak with y’all?”

“Okay, that’d be great,” Sam said.

“Alright y’all have a seat and I’ll see about getting an officer over here to help y’all out,” you say, turning around to head back to your desk.

The two men sat in chairs beside one another as you called over to dispatch to set up an officer to come speak to the guys.

“Well, officers are currently 10-6 (busy) so it may be a while before they’re able to get out there,” the dispatcher informs you.

“Okay, I’ll let them know, thanks. Sam, Dean?” You call to the guys as both their heads turn to look at you. “All our officers are busy with other calls at the moment but someone should be up here soon to speak to you,”

“Great, thanks a lot sweetheart,” Dean said, winking at you but you just ignore him.

Almost an hour later, an officer was dispatched and on his way to speak to the men, much to their happiness.

“Hey, sorry for keeping y’all waiting, I’m officer King, how can I help y’all?” The officer said, shaking hands with both Sam and Dean.

“Well first of all you should give that young lady behind that desk there a raise because she’s doing a wonderful job,” Dean stated, shooting another wink in your direction. Officer King just laughs as Sam groans beside Dean and takes over-explaining.

“We work for a podcast that reports unsolved cases and we just wanted to see if you had any information you could give us,” Sam explained.

“Sure, why don’t y’all come back to my office and we can discuss this,” Officer King said, nodding to you before he led the men back to his office.

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

About half an hour later, the boys had come out to the lobby and over to the counter again.

“What can I do for y’all?” You ask.

“Well, we just wanted to thank you for your help but also wanted to ask if you wanted to be included in this story because we heard your sister was reported missing?” Sam asked.

“Um, yeah, yeah she was. But no, I don’t mind talking about it, if y’all think you might be able to help,” you say. “I don’t get off until 11 tonight but I’m off tomorrow so I can meet y’all somewhere then and we can go over this.”

“Great. Where can we meet you?” Dean asked.

“Why not right back here say 10 am?” You suggested, not confident in trusting them to meet you anywhere else.

“Easy enough. See you tomorrow,” Dean said, shooting a quick wink your way before Sam just smiled and nodded to you.

The rest of the shift went by without too much excitement going on from your side of the screen, but the officers you could see from the call screen, they were dealing with quite a bit of incidents around town.

That night, you kept to your normal routine of driving home and quickly locking up behind you before you let your dog outside and made a quick meal for dinner as you searched for something to watch on Netflix. Your mind wandered off to the two brothers you met earlier that night. It seemed weird how they came up to the desk and just started asking a lot of questions. Most people have complaints or need to make some form of a report but these two? They were strange, to say the least, but they weren’t too bad to look at, especially Sam. He towed above you from the opposite side of the window and although he couldn’t touch you, he seemed rather intimidating. On the one hand, his eyes were soft but his height and the muscles that protrude from his arms made him a little scary. On the other hand, you thought about what it would be like to have him push you against a wall and have his way with you. You shudder at the thought; you don’t even know the man! I think it’s time for bed. You thought to yourself, trying to wish anyway whatever thoughts you were thinking to yourself but the last thing you thought as you shut your eyes for the night, was the name; Sam.

The next morning, you woke up and got yourself ready for meeting the brothers. You weren’t sure what exactly to expect but you did know you were looking forward to seeing them again. But it was odd to you; why would two strangers from God knows where come to your small town to investigate a string of disappearances? Who were these brothers? Whatever their story was, you decided to proceed to meet with them cautiously, because if there’s one thing you’ve learned from working for the police department; you can’t trust people’s stories. Gathering your things together, you got in your car and drove back down to the station where you almost immediately saw the two strangers leaning against a beautiful classic car, seemingly waiting for you. You would be lying if you said your heart was beating erratically. Something seemed weird about the brothers so you reached in your bag to secure the small handgun you kept there just in case.

“Hey guys,” you say, letting go of the gun but remembering it was still there.

“Hey,” Sam said, giving you a tight smile.

“Okay, so what do y’all wanna know?” You ask, looking between the brothers who just share a glance.

“Well, why don’t you start with your name?” Dean said.

“Oh, right, I’m (y/n). Nice meeting y’all properly,” You say.

“You too, (Y/N). How long have you been working for the police department?” Sam questioned.

“Just about a year now,” you state, walking over to a picnic table and throwing your legs under the table, the brothers sitting opposite of you.

“Have you ever seen any kind of activity like this before? This many disappearances?”

“No, never. We’ve had a few years where it was close to this but this year is on a completely different level. Our officers have never seen this kind of activity either, nor the detectives. Even those who’ve worked for the department the longest said they’ve never encountered an invisible monster on this large a scale in a long time,” you say, not believing the recent incidents that had been happening in your jurisdiction.

“Is there anything these cases have in common?” Dean asks.

“Not that I’ve seen but you should definitely talk to detectives because they know more about that kind of thing than I do.”

“How about the families of the victims? Anything seem similar to you?”

“You know, there is something similar with the victims’ families. They all come from upper-class backgrounds. We have two wealthier neighborhoods in town and all the victims are living in those neighborhoods,” you say.

“That’s interesting. Any reason that may be?” Dean said to Sam like he would know the answer.

“Not really but I do have some ideas of what this might be,” Sam said.

“What do you mean you might know what this is? Y’all aren’t even from here nor have even seen the reports!”

“Should we tell her?” Sam asked.

“I think we can trust her plus with the way you’ve been looking at her, I think she should know,” Dean said, causing his brother’s cheeks to turn red.

“Tell me what? How has Sam been looking at me?” You asked, not sure which was more important right now.

“We’re hunters and we don’t mean animals. We hunt monsters, like the ones you hear about in books or on TV. They’re real; all of them. And we hunt them, kill them, to protect the country,”

Sam explained like it was the easiest explanation for anyone to hear in the world.

“What? Monsters? Like made-up monsters? Like werewolves? Vampires? Ghosts? Those are real?” You ask.

“Every one of them. Plus so many others and we kill them. They attack humans, we kill them,” Dean said, with the most serious expressions you’ve ever seen.

“Wha-why are you telling me this? I-I don’t understand, monsters. They’re real? And y’all hunt them, kill them, to protect people?” You ask, repeating the info the brothers just told you.

“Yes and we think there might be one of those monsters here in town that could be causing this many disappearances,” Sam added.

“Why did y’all ask me about this? Why not anyone else? This-this is a lot,” You say.

“Because you were the only one willing to talk to us about this. No one else said anything about the disappearances.” Dean said.

You just looked between the two brothers, nothing spoken, but you nodded and agreed to help in any way you could.

“So you said you may know what this is? What do you think it is?” You asked, looking to Sam, who slowly made eye contact with you.

“Sounds like sirens,” Sam said.

“What are sirens?” You ask, never hearing of that kind of monster before.

“They’re creatures with the ability to change its appearance, kind of like a shapeshifter, but these guys get into people’s heads and make them think they’re the ‘perfect person for them. It makes me think that sirens have been luring people out of the town as if they were promising people in town something they’ve always wanted but never had. It would explain all the disappearances,” Sam explained.

“What do they look like so we have an idea of what to look for?” You ask.

“Well that’s just it, kid, you can’t tell what they look like unless you cast their reflection onto a mirror. They typically look like whoever they take the form of but when you see them through a mirror, they have like blackened eyes, like a demon, but a mouth that looks like it’s stitched shut,” Dean answers you, slightly scaring you.

“Y’all don’t need me to help out with this, do you? Like, go with you on the hunt? Cause I really don’t think I should be there,” You say, your stomach-churning as the thought of these creatures plague your mind.

“No sweetheart, you’ve done more than enough to help us with this case. You gave us a lot of useful information that we’ll need to locate these predators. All you need to worry about is keeping your pretty little self safe at home,” Dean said, winking at you.

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

As the boys were preparing to go out on their hunt, you couldn’t help but keep your eyes fixated on Sam. He was still doing some research, he said he wanted to get some last-minute information on the town you lived in and the kind of people he would have to encounter who the Sirens had “possessed,” yet something about the way he focused, was captivating all your attention.

“Is there something you’d like to share with the rest of the class (y/l/n)?” He asked in a teasing voice, breaking you from the concentration you held.

“I’ve never seen anyone research like you do. You’re very dedicated to your work and it shows. Plus, you get a very serious look on your face, and your eyebrows kind of scrunch together when you’re really concentrating; it’s rather cute,” you say, and although you weren't so sure how he’d react, the light pink color that begun to spread over his tanned cheeks gave you all the answers you needed.

“Well, I can’t say I ever heard that one before and most people don’t use “cute” as a means to describe me, but I find it flattering, so thank you,” he says, giving you a shy smile.

“I take it that not very many people compliment you,” you state.

“If people get compliment me, it’s because of my hunting skills or some information I found ended up being useful or I saved someone’s life, but the way I look as I concentrate on my work and definitely because I’m ‘cute,’ yeah I don’t hear that often,” he shakes his head but with a giant smile plastered across his face.

“Hey, you have dimples, those are cute too,” you compliment him again, causing the shade of red on his cheeks to darken. “And by that reaction, I’m guessing a lot of people don’t compliment you on your dimples either, do they?”

“Actually that one I hear all the time, but it’s still sweet of you to say, so thank you,” he says, smiling down at you.

“Well I think that’s about enough chick-flick moments I can handle for one day,” Dean said, suddenly appearing in the doorway to the library, surprising you and Sam. “You ready Sammy?” He asks his younger brother who quickly clears his throat and gets up, shutting his laptop and throwing it in a backpack.

“Yep, all set,” he says.

“Okay (y/n) so you gonna be okay just laying low for a little bit while we go gank these sons of bitches?” Dean asks.

“Yeah, I have a hot date with Netflix, popcorn, and comfy pillows and PJs for the night. I’ll be good,” you say.

“Well if you need anything, we left our numbers down here for you and we’ll come back and let you know what our outcome was since this is your town and you helped give us information on this case,” Dean said, giving you a slip of paper before he climbs behind the wheel of his sleek black classic car.

Sam, who remained standing in front of you for a minute, waited until the door slammed shut before he spoke up.

“As Dean said, if anything happens, just, don’t hesitate to call and we’ll be there. I uh, would hate to see something happen to you,” he said, shoving his hands in the pockets of his jeans.

“Is Sam Winchester paying me a compliment now? From what I’ve heard, that’s not common for you,” you said.

“What you heard?” He asks, worry filling his tone. “Who-who did you talk to?”

“No one silly but you don’t think I didn’t research y’all when you came to town? Believe it or not, there is a national name file for both of you and I’ve read about a lot of the time officers have been after you. Remember, I work for a police department; I can find out a lot about your demons,” you said, grinning at the man who still stood before you but suddenly seemed a bit smaller at that moment.

“Oh, that’s pretty smart and also kind of scary. Guess we can’t lie to you after all,” he says.

“Nope, because I always have a way of finding out the truth, plus “poses as fake FBI agents” came up as reasons why police officers need to be careful with you two. Although they haven’t had any run-ins with y’all in a long time,” you add, smirking at the stunned expression on the youngest Winchester’s face.

“Oh uh, yeah, we’ve been trying not to get into too much trouble lately, well at least not getting arrested,” he says.

“Yeah, I read about the few times that happened,” you add with a wink.

“Okay, so I’m going to go mostly cause I’m a bit scared now but there’s also not the best thoughts going through my head right now, so we’ll talk soon, okay?” He asks and when he sees you nod your understanding, he nods quickly back to you and hurries off to his brother’s car, and climbs into the passenger seat.

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

Sam’s POV

“Hey, you okay there, Sammy? I haven’t seen you that uptight about a girl in, well I don’t know long,” Dean says, smirking when he sees whatever look is on my face right now.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m good,” I lie, knowing damn well what he was trying to get out of me.

“Really? Cause it seemed like (y/n) was getting to you a bit back there,”

“No, she’s, she’s fine,” I say, trying to end this discussion.

“Yeah, but are you?” He asks.

“So I’m thinking when we get there, we should go right in, guns blazing and everything. No time to waste today,” I say, hoping desperately Dean would just drop the topic of (y/n) so we could focus on our case, and luckily he did.

There wasn’t anything wrong with (y/n), quite the opposite actually, and that was the problem. She was so infuriating, knowing that she could find out every little secret Dean and I had in the last, shit I don’t know how many years, and the fact she was so smug about it; who does she think she is?! Is she even allowed to do that? Like can’t employees of the police department get in trouble for looking up information about people? Well, maybe not, because they need to know what kind of people they have to deal with but like I told her before, we can’t hide anything from her! Not that I want to or anything but there are certain parts of this job I don’t think she should have to know about. Then again, we did tell her about what we really do out for a living so I can’t imagine too much more information would be bad for her to know. I just can’t see her knowing every little detail about our lives! I mean, yeah we’ve only known her for a couple of days since we came to town but already I can tell she is so sweet and so pure in certain things. I can’t imagine her reaction to some of the stories we could tell her. Wait am I saying? She works for a freaking police department; she probably hears horror stories on a regular basis! She may be sweet but I bet she’s more tough than she makes people believe.

“Earth to Sammy! Come in Sammy!” Dean says, bringing my attention back to him.

“Huh?” I say, looking at him.

“I said, are you ready? We’re here.”

I looked around where Baby stopped and saw we were in fact, there.

“Oh, yeah, I’m ready,” I say, opening the door to get out, gun ready at my side. We walked to the house where the last disappearance occurred and slowly made our way inside. The house was a mess, documents and files thrown across the floor, books and their shelves broken down; it looked like a tornado blew through here. Just as we made our way further in the house, up to the bedrooms, some lady came out of nowhere and tried to stab me but thankfully Dean heard her before I did so he was able to shoot her before she got to me.

“Thanks,” I say before having to turn and fight off another Siren who went for me again, Dean fighting off his own.

This went on for a while until we figured we killed them all and we could head back to meet with (y/n) until my phone started to ring.

“Hello?” I ask when I answer the phone.

“Sam?” A small voice asks.

“(Y/N)? What’s wrong?” She sounded scared; my senses going into overdrive.

“I-I need help. I don’t know where I am but...something happened….” She says, sounding like she was crying.

“Okay (y/n) where are you? What do you see around you?” I ask and Dean comes closer to my side.

“Um, it’s dark and I can’t see too much. I-I’m sorry,” she says, crying again.

“Hey, no, don’t you apologize. You did nothing wrong. What do you remember?”

“Um, I was just sitting in the apartment living as I told you I was going to do and then someone got inside and then I blacked out and when I woke up, I was here. I-I think I’m tied up and I’m in a lot of pain. I-I don’t know what happened Sam but I’m scared,” she sounds so helpless at this point.

“Hey, baby, listen to me alright, you’re going to be okay, okay? Dean and I are going to come to find you and we’re going to fix you up well, I promise,” I say, trying to calm her down. I know she’s scared but I hope I can settle her down a bit.

“Okay and Sam, hurry, please?” She asks, more desperate than before.

“We will, we’re on our way now. I’m going to stay on the phone with you so we can try to see if we can tell where you’re at okay?” I look to Dean who immediately takes my silent signal and rushes out the door and right out to the car. We jump in and race to figure out where (y/n) may be. I can hear (y/n)’s breathing get quieter and I’m afraid if she falls asleep, she won’t wake up.

“(y/n) can you hear me? Hey, I need you to talk to me, okay? I need you to keep talking,” I say as I keep trying to hear for any background noise to see if we could tell where she was.

“I really don’t have anything to say,” she says, her voice fragile.

“You never told me, why you chose to work for the police department,” I say, trying to see if that would get her talking.

“Well I needed a-another job and-a job as a-dispatcher came out so I-went to apply-and I-I ended up-getting that job-but with m-my training it-it became too-too hard so I transferred-to where I am n-now.”

“That’s good,” I say, smiling at her, even though I knew she couldn’t see it.

“Yeah I-I also wanted t-to help people,” she adds.

“I bet, you’re so good at helping people and I’m so proud of you,” I say, trying my hardest not to get upset myself. I can’t say for certain what I feel right now for (y/n) but I do know I care about her and I told her, I would hate it if anything happened to her and I don’t take that lightly.

“Sam, it-it hurts,” she says, and my heart breaks a little more when I hear just how uncomfortable she is.

“I know baby, but it’ll be over soon; I promise,”

“S-Sam?” She asks.

“Yeah?”

“Why-why do you keep calling m-me baby?” Damn, she may be in agony but she still picked up on that.

“You’ve caught that huh? Well, you are my baby,” I admit.

“But wouldn’t that mean I-I’m your girl?”

“You are my girl.”

“But we-we aren’t dating!”

“I know, but I want to change that,” I say.

“Really? You-you want to d-date me?” I can hear the tiniest bit of hope arise in her tone so I continue to talk about it.

“Of course I do! Ever since we met, I was immediately attracted to you. I thought you were so beautiful and you had a bit of an attitude too. But I thought it was cute. And then you have a bit of an accent and whenever you say y’all, you sound like a true Texas girl and it makes me smile. I know you said at one point, you weren’t from here longer than 6 years but you seem to be a Texan to me and it’s very attractive. I want to take you out and get to know you better; you have no idea how much I wish I could be there to hold you right now,” I exhale, everything finally coming out about how I was feeling. The line remained silent and I began to panic until I heard,

“I feel the same about you, Sam,” she said, clear as day.

“Well, why don’t you keep fighting to stay alive so I can take you on that date and give you all the hugs and cuddles you deserve?”

“That sounds great,” she said before a blood-curdling scream pierced my eardrums.

“(Y/N)?!” And with that, the line dropped. “Dean, we have to find her!” I grow weary as I feel the acceleration of Baby set forth by Dean. I tried to track whatever phone (y/n) had called from and was able to find out the last known location.

“Okay so the phone is pinging from up the road about two miles; she can’t be too far away,” I tell Dean, more determined than ever to find her.

“We’ll find her Sammy; I know we will.” Dean tries his hardest to help ease my worries but the sound of her scream is taunting me.

When we got to the location the phone was pinging from, there wasn’t much but an old house that appeared to have been partially burned down a few years ago. I couldn’t imagine why anyone would want to use this house as any means of suspicious activities but I can’t understand people. I jump out of the car and rush inside, holding my gun out in front of me, ready to shoot anyone who crosses my path.

“(Y/N)?!” I yell out when I’m inside the house, Dean close behind me.

“Sam!” I hear a voice yell back at me and I rush towards where the voice was coming from.

“Dean!” I yell, as I’m almost attacked by a Siren but Dean shoots it before it gets to me.

“Go find her, Sam, I got this,” Dean says and I rush off to find (Y/N).

“(Y/N)?” I call out again and am met with her reply, sounding a lot closer. When I turn the corner into another room, I see her tied to a table, in nothing but her bra and underwear, and blood dripping down from her abdomen. I rush over to her and immediately start untying her restraints.

“Sam?” A small voice squeaks out and two big (y/e/c) eyes land on me.

“Hey pretty girl, you got some pretty nasty injuries here. I’m going to get you untied and I’ll take you back to your place and fix you up, okay?” I say as calmly as I can. I know she’s very fragile, just like she was on the phone, but I work diligently to set her free. Once I get the last restraint undone, I slowly and cautiously lift her under her arms and legs and carry her bridal out of the house and out to the car. She groans when I gently place her in the back seat but before I could walk away, she grabs my hand.

“Will you stay back here with me, please?” Well, how was I going to say no to that?

“Of course pretty girl,” I say, climbing in and sitting beside. I lay her head on my lap, stroking her hair and having her hold a towel on her stomach.

“So I’m a pretty girl now, huh?” She asks, looking up at me. I smile down at her, blushing just a bit at her comment.

“Well I thought baby was a little too romantic right now and since we haven’t even gone on a date yet, I figured pretty girl had just enough effectiveness but not too much into the romantic side of things,” I explain.

“I like these nicknames you’re using for me; they’re sweet,” she says.

“I’m surprised you’re even able to pay attention to what I’m calling you or not in your state right now,” I say.

“Hey, just because I’m hurt doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate when a very attractive man compliments me. Hell, if I had more strength, I’d probably kiss you right now.”

“I can help with that,” I say, gently tilting her head a bit further back so I could easily kiss her. And I did but I held back a bit for fear I would hurt her more. So I left a small yet powerful, I’d hope, kiss on her lips, with a small taste of blood behind it. I looked up to see Dean grin at us through the rearview mirror, ignoring whatever he was hinting at, but I couldn’t help the small smile that played on my lips.

We decline to take (Y/N) back to her house for fear something like this would happen to her again. She put up no fight, not that she really could if she wanted to, but I felt better about it because now, I wasn’t going to let her out of my sight. Because last time I did that, she ended up hurt, and it was my fault because I left her alone.

Back in the room, I give up my bed as Dean helps me lower her so we could get a good look at her. The shirt she was wearing had a rather large stain of blood on one side so the only way to get to the injury was to cut the fabric away from her. I grab a pair of scissors and right before I begin to cut, I hear her cry out,

“No Sam, it-it hurts!” She says as she wiggles around on the bed, trying to escape the pain.

“I know pretty girl, but you need to trust me. We have to cut this shirt off because your injury is too severe; it’ll hurt worse if we don’t cut it, okay?”

She nods her head and I take her hand in mine, as I give the scissors to Dean, who slowly begins to cut her shirt, careful around her injury, and I can tell just by the look on her face, she is in a lot of pain. There’s nothing I would rather do than switch places with her but that is not possible. So I bring her hand up to my lips and kiss it tenderly, reassuring her that I would never leave her.

“Alright Sam, we’re going to have to disinfect this and stitch her up,” Dean says, giving me a somber expression.

“Yeah, okay,” I said, nodding to him.

“Will you hold her down? It’s going to hurt and I got a towel for her to bite down on,” Dean says.

I look down at the girl lying helplessly beside me and she looks so sad and afraid but I knew it had to be done. “It’s going to be okay, baby, I’m going to be right here the whole time,” I say to her as Dean pours some whiskey on the injury. It was a good thing we had that towel because I couldn’t bear to hear the entirety of her screams. Just her muffled cries broke my heart to the point I began to cry with her. She did not deserve this; she did nothing wrong. As quickly as he could, Dean began on the stitches, sowing her up remarkably fast.

“She’s done,” Dean says.

“Great,” I say, helping him clean up but a groan from (y/n) stops me.

“Sam?” She says, sweat glistening her body.

“I’m right here,” I say, coming back to her side.

“Lay with me?” I couldn’t say no so I moved the sheets aside and crawled in next to her.

“Thank you for saving me, Sam,” She whispers after Dean decided to leave the room to get some food and medicine for (y/n).

“There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you, (y/n).”

“Do you really like me, more than a friend I mean?” She asks

“I do. In a short amount of time, I’ve grown to care about you and your well-being. I want to do anything to make you happy and to protect you,”

“So does this count as a date then?” She asks, in all seriousness, and I just laugh.

“Oh no sweetheart, I will go all out for a date with you. Nothing is too much for my girl unless you say so. And I don’t see either one of us being hurt,” I say.

We both laugh until (y/n) begins to groan again. “No, it hurts to laugh,” she says, as we both still laugh.

“Stop making me laugh,” She whines.

“I can’t help it, sweet girl, I love the sound of your laugh,” I say, leaning down to kiss her temple.

“Well I can’t wait until you can kiss me properly,” she says.

“Believe me, pretty girl, it’s all I think about but until then, you get better, then I’ll kiss you like you deserve to be kissed.”

“Well then, I can’t wait.”

Taglist: @tloveswriting @calaofnoldor @thinkinghardhardlythinking @to-my-beloved-fandoms-2 @angeredcrow @spnjediavenger @440mxs-wife @fandom-princess-forevermore @sam-winchester-admiration-league @thwiso @lyarr24 @grace15ella @deansmyapplepie @akshi8278 @baby1967impala @suckmysupernatural @slutforfics

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velvetsehun · 4 years ago

Text

Born to Die| OSH | 07

pairing: Oh Sehun x Reader genre: Mafia!Sehun rating: 18+ warnings: violence, gun use, mature language, smut (in future chapters), slow burn. words: 14k summary: a collusions of worlds is supposed to kill, but what if it can do something else? A/N: omg chapter 7? we’ve made it this far? I’m so proud we’re on this journey together! I don’t have much to stay other than, thank you for sticking around and that i hope you enjoy the chapter, remember feedback is important so drop into my askbox once you’re done, lets chat ;)

TW// Warning this part contains some material that might be sensitive to readers as it depicts scenes of blood, mentions of medical procedures and violence, readers discretion is advised.

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The night was a swirling mixture of crisp air and the sharpness that came with living in the city; the residue of the day's smog coating the sky to the point the stars were blocked of their life and you were left with a fuzz of light on the horizon; buildings too far away to think about casting their lights onto the blank polluted canvas but regardless, he found himself standing there, shadowed by the darkness and the distance, watching the scene in front of him unfold. The scene of a tragic love story, the story of an ill-matched pair trying to survive in the grasp of the times.

“If you want to get him shouldn’t you do it now?” One of his men behind him probed, watching his breath curl in the air next to his head, “I mean he’s right there…” And he was right, Sehun was right there, in the sleek car that was highly out of place with its surroundings.

“Where is the fun in that?” The silver-haired man asked amused, the soft wind fluttering his bangs across his forehead; he probably looked like an angel in the night to the right person but right now, he was only shrouded by the darkness, “All the cards aren’t in my hands yet,” He hummed.

“But boss…” The man in question merely raised his hand shushing his counterpart, their eyes watching the girl exit the car; eyes intently staring at the vehicle that began is descent from her.

“Speak when spoken to.” The silver-haired man snapped softly, passing a look over his shoulder to his comrade, “And remember your place.”

His eyes were intense like he was trying to rip you apart with his pupils, a small part of him smirked as he watched your feeble form stumble further into the empty parking lot; walking closer to him like you were drawn to whatever was lurking. It was like watching a deer in a headlight he mused to himself as your eyes flickered around the area, your eyes meeting his in the darkness for a second unknowingly.

“Hello…” Your voice softly fluttered through the empty lot, “Is anyone there?” He could feel a smirk crawl upon his mouth; his teeth making their appearance as he watched you jump at the ring of your phone screeching into the empty lot with you, filling the space he could have used to answer your call.

“O, little dove, I’m right here…”

“Don’t worry Yoora, I’ll be okay…”

A confused grunt passed your lips as Chanyeol’s full weight collapsed onto you, your body struggling to hold the man up from slipping off the counter as you smacked his arm. The fluttering of his breath hitting your neck and the situation causing shivers to slither down your spine. You had no time to think about whoever he was talking about at that moment, your heart clenching slightly as you tried to talk to the man.

“Chanyeol,” You snapped, eyebrows furrow as you heard no response from the man, “For god’s sake, Chanyeol!” You snapped louder, your voice cracking with the intensity of your words.

Silence.

“No no no no…” You panicked slightly before using your full strength to heave him back against the mirror at sat on the wall behind him; his body slamming against it with a dull thud. “Chanyeol come on…” Your voice cracked again, your hand vibrating softly as that reached for his neck, your other hand smacking his cheek slightly.

He looked abysmal, his normally soft tanned skin had blanched itself out into a sickly grey that was stained with the deep red of his blood and littered with already purpling bruises; his breathing shallow and the stab wound on his stomach trickling out said blood steadily. He looked completely worse for wear, and you felt the depth of the situation settle into your bones as your fingers connected with his neck, the slow thud of his pulse quivering against your fingers.

“What the fuck do I do.” You spoke to yourself, pressing the rag from before onto his stomach to try and clot his wound; your stomach turning slightly at the blood staining your hands. “Chanyeol.” You used your free hand to shake him again, in a last-ditch effort that he might respond.

“Fuck…” You breathed at his unyielding silence, your free hand dropping onto the counter to try and steady yourself as your put your best pressure wound; his pockets looked empty so your chance of being able to call one of his brothers was slim to none.

Looking at his face, your remembered Chanyeol’s past haste at being introduced to someone he didn’t know; the vision of him speeding out of your apartment last time filing your head, but as he bled out on your counter you found no choice in the matter, your free hand already fumbling to get your phone before shakily clicking onto your contacts; the tinny ring thrumming in your ear not too long after.

“Come on…” You whispered into the receiver, “Please pick up…” You begged to no one.

“Hello…” The person on the other end started but you quickly cut them off.

“Jeonghan!” You cried softly, your voice crackling with emotion, “Please tell me you’re not working.” You begged softly.

“No, I’m not working,” He sounded concerned, immediately jumping into that tone he used to use with you all the time, “Why is everything okay?” He added quickly, the sound of his mouth pulling down nearly hearable in the receiver.

“Listen Hannie…” Your voice was shaky as you breathed deeply looking at Chanyeol, “I need you to my place immediately, bring your medkit, and tell no one you’re coming” You whispered like someone who might be listening in could hear you.

“What’s going on? Are you alright?” He stuttered softly but you quickly cut him off again.

“Jeonghan, please.” You snapped at the man, your temper wearing thin, “Just do it.”

“Okay,” He shushed you softly in his usual tone of voice; trying to calm you down, “I’ll be there as soon as I can, okay?” You felt tears splinter your eyes at his words, you nose sniffling slightly.

“Please just hurry…”

With an aching body and a pounding headache, Baekhyun found himself stumbling through the dense heat of an old building, flames licking the walls as his jacket covered his mouth to filter some smoke out; the heaving of his lungs telling him that this was a mission gone wrong. At first, it seemed like a simple recon mission, a small tip-off that Jongin had got earlier in the week about a potential lead in their current predicament; a quick job like they were used to. But to Baekhyun and Chanyeol, the desolate old building held nothing more than empty rooms and dust, or so it seemed, about an hour into the search it all went wrong. Baekhyun was trying to catch his bearings, the smoke flowing through his airwaves and causing a haziness to blur out his vision.

They had agreed to split up the building’s 8 floors, Baekhyun top four and Chanyeol bottom four; the objective was to see what was lurking around and recon back in the foyer before they checked the basement, due to the ominous nature to Jongin’s tip-off they weren’t exactly sure what they were looking for but remembers Jongin’s words had another fire burning with Baekhyun, beside the one he was already in.

“What the…” Baekhyun frowned slightly, while pushing open one of the ajar doors on the 6th floor, there as the briefest once of light filtering through the bottom of the old wood, the only sign so far that someone other than himself and Chanyeol was here.

The room was a ruin of what was probably once a nice apartment, the dense smell of mildew and rot in the air as Baekhyun took in the scenery; tattered furniture littered the room, the last tenants clearly in a rush to leave. It wasn’t much, an old couch in the centre of the decaying floor and an old dining table tucked in the corner; but what interested him was the blinking red light fluttering from under the couch, a small pain in his chest at what it could be. Baekhyun was still stationed at the door with a frown etched on his face when he decided to crouch on one knee to try to get a better look at what he was looking at, but when the light was just out of eye-line, Baekhyun decided to walk further into the apartment.

His gun was warm in his hand and tucked slightly down to allow him room to use his flashlight as he moved further into the apartment, his boots disrupting the dust that sheeted itself on the floor with each clicking step; he had to admit the place was unnerving, deathly silence coated every inch of the place and the idea of checking out the light wasn’t helping either.

Squaring his shoulder slightly, Baekhyun’s fluttered around the main room of the apartment one last time before he began to crouch again; the gentle thud of him placing down his flashlight on the ground filling his ears and one of his hands braced him to further lower himself down. The dust was a weird texture under his slightly clammy palms, his nose turning up already at the sticking sensation, but he shook himself out of it, opting to angle the flashlight on the floor under the couch instead.

It was still a bit hard to see under the couch but with a squint of his eyes, Baekhyun managed to see what was causing the soft red light; he eyes narrowing into slits before the dilated in size in shock.

The soft red light? Was the countdown on a small explosive, one which only had 3:40 left on the clock.

“Fuck.” Baekhyun swore loudly, pushing himself up quickly to get his phone out his pocket but he froze again when something thudded at the back of his head.

“Stay down.” A warped voice filled Baekhyun’s ears, the cold barrel of a gun pressing into his head, keeping him down. “Or I’ll shoot.” Baekhyun’s teeth ground together; he didn’t have time for this.

“Why don’t you face me then,” Baekhyun ground out, “We can settle this like adults.”

“Stay down.” The voice reiterated.

“Who are you.” Baekhyun tensed out.

“I think you know, don’t you Mr Byun?” Baekhyun frowned at that, the warped voice sounding like it was smirking, “Or can I call you Baekhyun.”

“I’ll ask you again.” Baekhyun spat softly, “Why don’t you face me.” The voice scoffed.

“Because I don’t have a death wish,” They answered.

“I think you do,” Baekhyun tutted softly, his grip tightening on his gun.

Baekhyun didn’t give the voice time to respond before he spun around, avoiding the gun pressed to his head and shoving the assailants hand up to the air; the boom of his shot going off, embedding itself in the ceiling. If felt like there wasn’t even time to take a breath in to react before Baekhyun was standing again; the sole of his boot planting in the stomach of what he could now see was a masked figure – watching them tumble to the ground winded.

He never stopped to survey the room as the beeping from the couch got louder – his hand instantly working to fire his shot off at another man he’d barely seen who was poised at the other end of the room. That didn’t stop anyone though, while the second man was recovering from the shot to his shoulder, the first one who was on the floor jumped up; barrelling towards Baekhyun at an impressive speed. Baekhyun had just enough time to dodge before a punch tumbled into his face; one of his arms coming up in defence to try to knock the man back quickly. The one he shot in the shoulder didn’t stay down too long either and before he knew it, he was fending off a barrage of attacks; the black blurs of their clothing moving with him.

They were sloppy fighters, but they did manage to land a few hits on Baekhyun; the butt of one of their gun’s slamming into his cheek painfully – normally Baekhyun would shoot them down but the way they were piling on him left his trigger hand unavailable to shoot; he spent most of the time deflecting their attacks. When he saw the glint of a blade, that’s when Baekhyun decided enough was enough – the explosive wasn’t going to hold off for him to finish up.

With a yell, Baekhyun managed to get the two men a far distance from him; getting a proper look at them while he did. They both wore black masks on the bottom halves of their face, a small decide attached that was modulating their voices, and what looked like a sheer scarf covering their eyes; this was a planned attack.

Baekhyun, as always, felt no remorse as he pulled his trigger; a violent hum pumping through his veins as he watched the head of the first man ricochet back with a sickening crack, splattering his partner with his brain matter in the process. The second shot was as swiftly as the first, no sarcastic remarks on Baekhyun’s end, just sheer violence as a small grin crept up his face at his carnage. There were no thoughts in Baekhyun’s head, other than a small sense of satisfaction over the killing of those two lackeys.

He couldn’t even find it in himself to ponder over the blood on his hands again, something most of his brothers did after the deed; the beeping in the room increasing with each breath. Taking off into a sprint, Baekhyun only managed to make it past the threshold before a circle of hell decided to open itself up in the place; his body getting flung like a rag doll into the wall opposite the door and with a disgusting thud - Baekhyun it the wall.

The ringing in his ears didn’t privy him to not hearing the 7 other bang’s that resonated throughout the old building, but the aching of his body and the pounding of his head stopped his instinctual movement. He laid on a heap on the floor, the minutes feeling like hours and before he knew it the building around him was up in flames, only the brief mention of his partner's name gracing his lips and he tried to find himself again.

“Maybe we should have listened,” Baekhyun grunted softly to himself while stumbling down one of the higher floors of the building, everything was a mess; most of the floor was missing as it was and the constant fire that kissed the walls and his skin with the sheer heat of it all didn’t exactly help the situation, he needed to find Chanyeol and get out; fast.

It was an old apartment building tucked away near the docks, empty and unused since the inside had rotted beyond repair and teeming with hidden life. If Chanyeol and Baekhyun had been easy to scare, the sheer fact there were various messages written across the walls telling anyone who dare enter to run would have sent them with their tails between their legs, but they weren’t easy to scare, and the look that crossed Baekhyun’s face as he shone his flashlight on the writing was proof. Baekhyun wasn’t quite sure how this all started truthfully, both himself and Chanyeol had no issue getting into the building; the door practically falling off its hinges with rust, and from the get-go, it did seem like the building was truly empty.

Even though he was in imminent danger of the building collapsing in on himself and anyone that was left at any second, Baekhyun still found the energy to yell in a last attempt to find his comrade.

“CHANYEOL,” Baekhyun found himself screaming down one of the empty hallways, his words dissolving into a cough at the smoke that tickled his lungs, spluttering violently into the fabric of his jacket to hack it back up. “COME ON MAN, WHERE ARE YOU?” He hacked again.

The fire was louder than any life in the building, the crackling and whipping sounds of its destruction filling Baekhyun’s ears like hellish white noise, but not even the sound of a response cut through it; it was silence on Chanyeol’s end.

Beads of sweat from the heat hastily dripped down Baekhyun’s face soot and blood-covered face; stinging the cuts that were left on his face from his earlier scrummage. The need to take his jacket off growing more and more with every second he spent in the belly of this beast, but he kept going on, even if the smoke was kicking in, his legs barely stumbling to down the hall to one of the last places Chanyeol could have been.

“Nostromo apartments?” Baekhyun scrunched his nose up at the man standing at Sehun’s desk, “You want me to scope out that shithole? Why?”

“Because of this,” Jongin sighed, plucking a piece of paper from his pocket while their boss looked tensely at his computer screen, “One of our men was slipped it at Yixing’s casino,”

“And what does it say?” Baekhyun pressed with a slight glare, “And better yet, why am I going.”

“It’s just an address,” Jongin shrugged, “Nothing else, just an address.”

“You’re going because it’s your job,” Sehun cut in but not bothering to glance at the man while he typed, “And because nearly everyone else is busy.”

“But-,” Baekhyun began childishly, a scowl on his face.

“No buts.” Sehun refrained from snapping, “And Jesus, take Chanyeol with you, I’m tired of him moping around the damn place.” Sehun bothered to look at him this time, a glare etched into his eyes.

Baekhyun now wished that he’d argued for Sehun to let him go alone, his body barely able to stay upright as he stumbled down the hall to the main stairwell; his face pulling taught as the peaked down, the flames consuming most of the bottom floors and stairs, meaning the only way was up.

“CHANYEOL,” Baekhyun tried yelling again, but he felt his face harden when he was met with more silence; a dark look passing by his face as he remembered one of Sehun’s rules.

“You get separated?” Sehun stated, pointing at his men, “You leave them behind, two of you is more valuable than one to someone else, we can’t have that.”

He wanted to directly oppose Sehun’s rule at that moment, but with the smoke-belching into his lungs, Baekhyun was finding it harder and harder to breathe; his heart gripped in a way he wasn’t comfortable as he moved away from the stairs that led down, his eyes burning with more than the smoke as he stumbled to the stairs that lead up. Moments were blurring together as the smoke inhalation started playing with Baekhyun’s brain, his lungs burning with such an intensity that he thought that maybe he was gonna die on the stairs to the roof, the colours of the fire and the walls melding together, he had finally found himself in hell.

By the time he’d made it to the last stairway up, Baekhyun was grabbing his throat like he was ready to strangle himself – the fire in the building had him breathing in all sorts of nasty chemicals and the blow had knocked another concussion into his fragile skull, he was a mess and a bigger mess at the thought that he’d let one of his best friends go. When Baekhyun found himself shouldering open the roof door with the last of his energy, he wasn’t sure what to do; the soft caresses of clean air feeling like heaven on his heavy chest to the point he felt content with just laying there and waiting for the building to fully collapse, but he knew deep down that it wasn’t an option.

His dirty hands wiped the moisture and soot from his eyes as Baekhyun finally staggered to full height; the burning in his torso a distant thought as he looked around at what he could do. Limping towards the edge of the building, he grimaced slightly, he could make the jump to the next roof but probably barely, the building next to him was slightly smaller and a tad out of reach. But as the building gave a horrific grumble, it prompted Baekhyun to make up his mind quickly; the distant sounds of police and firemen on their way not helping either.

Stumbling back a few paces, Baekhyun tenses his shoulders slightly before he took off into a sprint towards the edge of the building; his boot planting firmly on the ledge to boost himself up before he was lifted up and over the side of the building – the world rushing past him in a haze, his body tipping forward slightly as he saw the other building nearing closer and closer. Baekhyun barely managed to roll to catch himself before he found himself sprawled out starfish on the ground, a wheeze pushing itself out his lungs at the impact of landing on the roof, his head still up in the clouds.

“I knew this was a bad idea.”

With every second that passed, you felt like your heart was about to burst out of your chest; Chanyeol’s body slumped against you was going a horrible cold temperature, your hands were stained with so much blood that you felt gagging in your throat that reminded you too much of your excursion to the compound to feel comfortable, and the fate of the man in your arms depended on if your ex-boyfriend could get here quick enough. A cardiac arrest might have sounded closer to how you were feeling right now.

At first, you had stood with your hands holding the rag to Chanyeol’s wound as tight as you could muster, but as the blood flow slowed down one of your hands strayed; that hand was tangled softly in Chanyeol’s vibrant red locks, your voice trying its best to stay calm as you tried to keep speaking to him softly in the hopes that he might wake up. It was an odd situation but you felt like you owed it to him, regardless of how the two of you met, Chanyeol had treated you fairly in a situation that called for him to be; he worth at least this amount of kindness, even if he wasn’t regarded as a saint.

The apartment was so quiet, the only thing filling your ears being Chanyeol’s gentle breath, that when you heard the sound of your front door being busted down, you almost felt yourself drop the man in your arms; the image of Jeonghan’s shocked face filling the doorway a few seconds later in what you could only describe as sheer horror.

“Y/n…” Jeonghan started confusedly, but you quickly interrupted him.

“He’s been stabbed, Jeonghan, can we save the questions for when he isn’t bleeding out over me?” You quickly snipped at him.

It was magical to watch Jeonghan’s switch from a normal person to a doctor, his face hardening slightly as he dropped the kit he was holding to rush over; His hand pushing Chanyeol back onto the counter and off you in seconds. It was like watching a wizard work and he produced a small flashlight from his pocket and quickly pried Chanyeol’s eyes open.

“How long has he been out,” Jeonghan asked quickly in a resilient voice, flicking the small light in and out of his eyes before pocketing it again, quickly checking his pulse.

“About 15 minutes,” You stuttered softly, “He was just out when I called, you were the only person I thought could-,” This time it was Jeonghan cutting you off.

“He’s not in shock, not yet anyway,” Jeonghan quickly said, rushing over to his kit to grab a pair of gloves, “We’ll discuss this after I do this okay?” His eyes quickly fluttered to you before he was back to work. With a meek nod, you watched him go.

It seemed all the years of schooling paid off for him, your eyes watching in slight amazement as Jeonghan jumped between jobs; after doing a check for breaks on his ribcage and checking his heart/breathing, the tended to the wound that was glaringly obvious on the bottom of his torso, his fingers gentle as he pried it open to get a proper look.

“Whoever did this wasn’t intending to kill,” Jeonghan mumbled, quickly grabbing a cotton pad stack and rubbing alcohol, “It’s deep not it’s not surgery deep, but he’s lost a lot of blood”

“But no signs of hypovolemic shock,” He hummed much to your confusion, “He’s lost enough to pass out but not enough to kill him,” He explained to you in simpler terms.

“Will he be okay?” You felt a small resemblance of relief.

“I’ll need to stitch his wound,” Jeonghan stated trying to clean as much of the blood up as he could, “You’re typically not supposed to take a knife out of a stab wound, that’s how you bleed out, but you did the right thing clotting the wound,” He glanced at you with a softness in his eyes, some wisps of his blond hair falling into his face from where it was tied back.

“Right now, we need to make sure he doesn’t go into shock, okay?” Jeonghan said gently to you, “That mean’s I need to suture his wound as fast as possible and you’re gonna have to help me move him so I can, can you do that?”

It was then you realised that Jeonghan was talking softer to you because he could see how tense you were and as a way not to freak you out, your heart-melting slightly at his attitude.

“I can try,” You nodded, “But he’s heavy.” Jeonghan hummed.

“Built like that you would be,” He nodded to the fact that Chanyeol was all smooth skin and hard muscle.

“On the count of three okay?” Jeonghan explained, “We’ll move him to the couch, I need him reclined to do his stitches.”

The two of you only glanced at each other once before you both grabbed one of Chanyeol’s arms; fitting them around both of your shoulders and with a deep breath you nodded again, even though he couldn’t see you. Jeonghan wasted no time in counted and before you knew it, the two of you were grunting as you lifted the man that was taller than the two of you.

The walk to your couch felt like a marathon as the two of you barely made it in time to drop the man on the sofa cushions of your couch; Jeonghan instantly taking over the work to lay his patient, lifting his legs onto the couch before making sure his head was properly supported on the other end. Jeonghan didn’t even need to ask before you were scuttling to the bathroom to grab his kit again, making sure you had everything before you ran and passed it to him; watching the doctor in training change his gloves and quickly sanitise his hands for the new pair.

“I need you to get some blankets and a hot water bottle,” He wasted no time in quickly set everything up to stitch the wound close, “His internal body tempt is down due to blood loss so we need to sustain it before his body starts panicking.” You were about to open your mouth to argue with him about something before he passed you a look that would make even a parent scared.

“You don’t need to watch me suture him, don’t do that to yourself; get the stuff please.” He asked you again, “He’s going to be okay.” You merely shook your head before you darted off to the kitchen, boiling the kettle quicker than light.

You felt like a terrified mother as you made haste around the kitchen and apartment, trying to avoid looking at Jeonghan working; the man only carrying a calm look, this was a normal part of his job. The respect you held for him was always unimaginable but at that moment you felt something akin to pride as you peaked at him working, the grace he held as a doctor proved to you that everything that had happened between the two of you might have been worth it to him. This was truly his calling.

Soon enough you were dumping the stuff he requested down next to him; your nose turning up as he finished bandaging around his wound, the smell of antibiotic cream hitting your senses unpleasantly.

“You owe me a lot of answers,” Jeonghan was tense as his eyes skirted to you, watching you gnaw on your anxiously, “So get talking.”

“Jeonghan…” You said softly while tucking the hot water bottle under one of Chanyeol’s arms, trying to avoid it for as long as possible, “Please, can’t it wait till morning.”

“No.” Jeonghan snapped at you, a first for him in a while, “It can’t wait till morning.” He stood up as you placed the blankets over Chanyeol, waiting for you before he grabbed your arm and dragged you back into the bathroom; away from the sleeping man.

The bathroom still had streaks of blood over the counter, with the rag you used thrown in the sink to be out of sight – there was a vague metallic smell in the place as well that was being fought by your air freshener; it looked like a crime scene in here, and maybe there was some truth in that. Mentally you acknowledged that you were observing the room to avoid talking to Jeonghan, but you couldn’t help yourself, the door clicked softly behind you reminding you of that.

“I don’t ask for much,” Jeonghan started with a puff of his chest, looking around the bathroom at the butchery as well, “But I at least ask for the barest amount of honesty from you.” His eyes were drilling into you as you refused to meet them.

“Listen Jeonghan, he’s…” You were slightly at a loss of words on what to call the man on your couch; was he a friend? Was he a foe? He hadn’t done more than lie to you, you knew that much, “He needed help.” You affirmed instead, glancing at him briefly.

“I could see that,” Jeonghan said sarcastically, “But explain to me why he didn’t go to, you know, a hospital?” He did say it so simply, that if you didn’t know Chanyeol like that you would have asked the same thing. “He couldn’t,” You tried to reason with him, but he cut you off.

“He couldn’t? You couldn’t call or?” Jeonghan was aggravated, his complexion had a ting of red to coat it.

“He just couldn’t,” You snapped back, your lip wobbling slightly, “He’s not like you or me,” Your voice took a juxtaposition, as you spoke quietly.

Upon seeing you were getting upset, Jeonghan placed his hands on your shoulders, looking you dead in the eyes with a soft look – one of his hands coming up to touch your face slightly with concern.

“Hey, it’s okay…” He frowned, swiping a small tear away from your face, “What’s going on…”

Pouting your mouth softly, your mind ran through the last week and a half; from the shooting to the compound and everything that following that – your life had been tipped upside down in unimaginable ways and it was no secret that you were keeping a tight lid on how you felt about things. No one sprung to mind when it came to talking about the things that you had seen and witnessed, your jaw starting to tremble as you remembered the start of it all – watching someone that in some way you could call a friend lying next to you on the ground, the only sign that he was there were his pooling blood and dead eyes. It had a snowball effect on you more than you realised; from the constant threats against your life, the guns, the warehouse, the fact that these men had swept into your life and taken over aspects of it like nothing was wrong.

It’s not that you weren’t fond of the Chanyeol, or at times even that slimy guy that Baekhyun could be, but the issue was it that you weren’t supposed to be even remotely fond of any of them. The two of them having a hand in the way that you can’t sleep well at night anymore, or why you constantly had to check behind you in the small case that someone was following – you were adapting to the life they had placed you in, but you knew that at the heart of it all, this was just another day on the job for them.

Standing in front of Jeonghan now, felt like a twisted reminder of what life was supposed to be like – you were supposed to feel angry at the fact that a known criminal had welcomed himself into your house with his destruction without a thought of the person on the other end, you were supposed to question things. But as of lately, you’ve been accepting everything that was handed to you.

“Comply, comply, comply…” You remember Chanyeol saying to you, a distant enough memory now.

Had you found comfort in compliancy? Were you no better than the men that Sehun commanded around? An ashen taste filling your mouth at the fact you worked at one of his clubs now.

“Were you as bad as them?” You thought, they were criminals after all, and you knew this… Glancing back at Jeonghan you registered the worry on his face, his eyes flickering around your face like the ever-concerned human he was.

Your companion jumped slightly when you flung yourself at him, wrapping around him desperately; he was a semblance of normality and how you craved that at that moment, he wasted no time wrapping his arms around you too, listening as you quietly sniffled at him

“I have so much I need to tell you about…”

Midnight; tucked away down a side-ally and hidden to the naked eye, dubbed to some as the pinnacle of indulgence and dulce company, but to most, it was known for its exotic nightlife and less than saintly company or at least that’s what Yixing thought as his feline eyes fluttered around the establishment. Yixing knew the owners spared on cost on the place, the modern take on baroque lining every part of the room; gold accents replaced silver and delicate beige and cream licked the walls in their demure but tasteful way. He was no inexpensive man, none of his brothers were, but even Yixing knew that most of the time he carried himself with a certain grace that made getting through crowds a lot easier; a modern Moses if the biblical man carried a loaded gun and a silver tongue.

Yixing wouldn’t have come here if it wasn’t of importance to himself or his brothers, with the gaudy smell of burning incense was enough reason to drive him home, but as he casually strolled through the place; he soon caught wind of the only reason he was there. Nestled at the grand bar, tucked away under the droplets of crystal that hung from above; Park Jeonghwa.

“Miss Park,” Yixing was ever the gentleman, approaching the bar with grace next to her, “Long time no see.” But the woman in question didn’t look to have the same energy for him.

While Yixing was a few years older than her, he’d known her (like Sehun), for as long as he could remember; and to the trained eye there would be nothing wrong with the young woman, but Yixing – he could see the fraying of her character with one glance. There was an edge to her eye’s that wasn’t here before their last meeting.

“Yixing.” Jeonghwa grumbled back too occupied playing with the olive of her martini to give any energy back, “What brings you here.” She sighed slightly, glancing at him.

Jeonghwa always was the picture of perfection; right down to the last atom. She held a grace that most women could only dream of having, while at the same time having a mouth that could talk her way out of anything – she was all bark and no bite, but her skills did lie elsewhere.

“Felt like gambling my life away,” Yixing’s mouth tilted softly in a rare smirk, “Where better to do it then as the ever so grand Midnight Casino and Bar.” A playful tone edging into his voice, but regardless at his small form of a joke; the every stony Jeonghwa did not crack.

“Yes, well enjoy,” She scoffed softly, reaching to down her drink in one as Yixing’s brow raised.

“You’re a hard woman to track, you know?” He spoke carefully, watching closely at her reactions, her tired eyes flicking to his at his statement.

“Tell your boss, I don’t want to be found.” Her eye’s hardened slightly as she forwent mentioning his name.

“So, Sehun’s the one that rattled your cage,” He noted softly, watching a small village ending fire dance in her eyes, “I should have guessed as much.”

“I hate him, Yixing.” She mumbled almost childishly, turning back away from him, “I hate everything about that man, he’s decayed right down to his pathetic little core.”

“No, you don’t,” Yixing tsk-ed softly, “If you felt that way, you wouldn’t have such impassioned words to say about him.” She merely huffed.

“Did he send you here,” She changed the subject quickly.

“No,” Yixing hummed, tapping his fingers on the bar softly, “I’m here on my own accord,” Her eyes flicked to him in a glare.

“Don’t lie to me.” She snapped slightly, “I’m not in the mood.”

“Junmyeon called, you didn’t pick up and so I’m here,” Yixing explained, trying to keep her temper at bay, but Jeonghwa only shook her head with an eye-roll.

“Whatever he wants, you can tell him that I don’t care,” She scoffed, flagging down the bartender for another drink, “I’m tired of everyone in that stupid place,” Yixing looked at the woman before sighing internally, letting the bartender tend to her before he tried talking anymore.

“I’m not aware of what happened between you and Sehun,” Yixing said honestly, “But whatever is it, I can clearly see it’s affecting you.”

“Ever the observant,” Jeonghwa mumbled back, “Yes, I am upset and rightly so.” Yixing raised his brow at her.

“I always keep his best interests at heart, even if it doesn’t seem like it,” She griped, a distant look in her eye, “All I asked in return is that he considered one thing and he couldn’t even grant me that, Yixing,” She looked at him with pain in her eyes.

“I feel used, and I have done for a while.” Jeonghwa spat as her mouth pursed; Yixing held for a second before he decided to speak.

“I think we’re all aware of yours and Sehun’s relationship,” Yixing cleared his throat softly, “And I think you’re more aware of the truth behind it than you left on…” His brow raised softly, watching the women tense up.

“You can’t tie him down, Jeonghwa,” Yixing stated softly, “No one can.”

“I can try,” Jeonghwa said softly in a rare sign of vulnerability.

“Forcing him into marrying you won’t make him love you, Jeonghwa” Yixing told her gently.

She looked like she was having an inner battle with herself before she grumbled again, tensing back up into her shell before Yixing could fully pry it open.

“He could learn.” She huffed again, looking at bitter as before. Yixing knew that Sehun probably could learn how to love someone, but that someone wasn’t her.

“Is that why you agreed to help him,” Yixing asked plainly, “To soften him up?” But when Yixing was met with silence, he raised his brow.

“Jeonghwa,” Yixing demanded slightly, but the woman refused to face him.

“I told him what I knew, that was it.” She snapped softly, choosing to stare at her glass.

Pursing his lips slightly, Yixing knew he had to tread carefully – opting to reach into his jacket pocket instead of answering straight away. His fingers brushed a soft cream envelope, pulling it out gently to hold in front of Jeonghwa – the latter’s eyes glancing curiously at it.

“What’s that?” She asked, confused at why he was holding it out to her – her perfectly manicured hand reaching out for it, but she jumped slightly with it was moved slightly out of reach, Yixing a lot closer than he was before.

“You know I will find out,” He said quietly while staring her down, “I’ll give you one shot to be truthful, Jeonghwa, it doesn’t have to be right now – but whatever you’re hiding, I will know.”

“You should save your interrogation skills for the real felons,” Her eyebrow raised slightly, “I’ve said it to your boss, and I’ll say it to you – I told you what I know, that’s it.”

“Jeonghwa,” Yixing’s voice was dangerous quietly, “This isn’t a game, you’re going to win – there’s no prize.”

“Bold of you to assume I’m playing any game,” Jeonghwa scoffed back, tilted her head ever so slightly to stare Yixing down.

Yixing merely hummed, his eyes flickering over her face for second before he presented the envelope to her again.

“Next Friday; 8:30pm, tell no one,” He explained quietly under his breath, “A party for members, assure you and your father turn up.” Jeonghwa stanched the paper out of his hands before he could retract it again.

“Haven’t been to one of these in a while,” She mused, “The occasion?”

“Something you’ll find out when you’re there,” Yixing kept a stony face, “You’re expected to be there, don’t let pettiness ruin that – we’re all on thin ice.”

“You could have delivered this to my father,” Jeonghwa noted with a raised brow.

“I could have,” Yixing admitted, “But I don’t think it would have the same effect.” He glanced at her with a look that she couldn’t read properly.

“Dress sharply Jeonghwa, Sehun will want to see you.”

There was an awful lurch in Chanyeol’s stomach as he started to come back to life, the acid gripping his oesophagus in a chokehold causing his throat to constrict was enough to stir him from his slumber, but barely. He had no recollection of where he was, the only feeling in his body aside the overwhelming want to vomit was the softness under his spine and a warm coating his body. It was concerning; not even the bed’s in the medical bay of the compound felt like welcoming. Chanyeol could feel the dryness coating his mouth and lips like someone had sucked any life that was left in him out, his lids like sandpaper across the skin; he hadn’t felt this rough in a while.

Chanyeol wanted to fully wake up, to sit up and wonder where the hell he was, but the best he could manage was the slow blinking of his eyes opening; the early morning hues of the day settling into a place that looked vaguely familiar to him.

“He was in an apartment,” He thought dully, his head giving a painful throb at the changing of lights – It was still winter in the city, so the streaking orange that covered the ceiling at least told the aching man that it was around 8am. He couldn’t place where he’d seen this place before, his blurry eyes racking around everywhere he could look to try and get a recollection, but it wasn’t coming to him instantly.

“I see you’re awake,” A voice sounded out to his left. If Chanyeol had the energy to be scared by him he was sure he would be, but he barely had the energy to turn his head the fraction it needs to see who it was.

Standing in the door of the kitchen was a blonde man, his body leaning against the door with a cup of what looked like coffee; he’d seen this man before in Y/N’s apartment, his mind suddenly clicking where he was. He hadn’t looked at the place much during his last visit.

“Any pain’s?” The man hummed as he walked into the living space, making his way to the armchair not far from Chanyeol. He barely had the energy to follow him with his eyes, but he managed, keeping an eye on his closely, he didn’t trust him.

Chanyeol couldn’t see he came into much contact with “normal people”, his job didn’t really require it; but looking at the blonde man who looked beyond tired irked him, something didn’t settle well with him. “Nothing to say?” The blonde raised an eyebrow while perched in his chair, “Shame, here was me thinking that you’d tell me more about yourself, Chanyeol…” There was a vague sense of amusement dancing in his eyes as Chanyeol’s widened slightly.

He remembered telling you not to tell the man in front of him his name; the words of the persons barely on his tongue as he tried to remember it.

“Don’t fret,” He smirked, “I’m no danger to you,” At that Chanyeol tried to sit up, but yelped slightly as he felt a slight pulling at the bottom of his stomach.

“Who are you,” Chanyeol finally managed to grit out, registering that he was bundled in blankets, but the man in question merely laughed.

“I was that forgettable, huh?” He laughed but it was with amusement, “If you must know, I’m Jeonghan, the man that helped stopped you from bleeding out.” That left a bad taste in Chanyeol’s mouth.

“What, do you want my thanks?” He lay back down with a grunt, his head starting to throb painfully.

“You’re up a lot earlier than I expected you to be,” Jeonghan ignored him, placing his coffee on a side table to stand up, he rather slender body making his way over to him.

But Chanyeol felt like biting the man when he grabbed his head, tilting it towards him to shine a light into his pupils; the sharpness of the white light burning his retina as it flicked in and out of them

“No concussion,” Jeonghan hummed furrowing his brow at the man, “Temperature seems fine.”

“Get away from me,” Chanyeol growled slightly, trying to push the man away but the aching in his body stopped him from moving, “What did you do to me?” He growled again.

“You were stabbed,” Jeonghan rolled his eyes, swatting the hand that attempted to move him, “I stitched you back up, are you following?” Jeonghan’s sarcasm had Chanyeol edging to hit him, more so than just being in his presence wanted that.

“You’ve got a sprained arm and swelling around the stomach as well,” He noted off, still looking down at him, “I suspect a cracked rib but only barely and some swelling around the jaw and neck – you did get yourself in quite the scuffle didn’t you?”

“Where’s Baekhyun?” Chanyeol opted to ignore him this time, gruntled softly as he rubbed a hand down his face, the exhaustion heavy in his body.

“Not here,” Jeonghan spoke to him plainly, “You came alone, and I’m hoping you could tell me how,” Chanyeol merely grumbled shutting his eyes so he didn’t have to look at him.

“What are you a cop or something,” He hissed softly trying to move again on the couch.

“A doctor,” Jeonghan corrected and frowned watching the man move, “A training one at least.”

“Will you stop that,” Jeonghan proceeded to snap at his patient, forcing his shoulder down back on the couch “Keep moving and you’re gonna tear your stitches, and I don’t feel as welcoming to stitch you back up this time.” He jeered at the man.

Opening his eyes back up to stare down the man, Chanyeol started taking a profile of him; he wasn’t a natural blonde, the small amount of brown peeking out of his skull telling him that, he was also a bit on the thinner side, Chanyeol having no doubt he could take the man even in his state. But there was a tiny bit of muscle to his form, probably from his line of work, the slight definition in his arms and shoulders told Chanyeol that he could probably throw a punch.

“It’s cute you’re trying to scare me,” Chanyeol said, “But it won’t work.” Jeonghan merely smiled at that.

“Scare you?” He repeated, “I have no reason to do that,” Chanyeol gave him a curious look.

“But I will tell you one thing,” His voice dropped as he crouched down to be closer to Chanyeol, “I may be a doctor, but I’m not a forgiving man.” Chanyeol frowned at that.

“She told me everything,” Jeonghan smirked slightly, “And you are very lucky she waited till after I fixed you up, because otherwise…” He said darkly

“I don’t think I would have bothered,” Chanyeol’s eyes hardened at that, but the doctor didn’t stop.

“You’re on thin ice with both me and her,” Jeonghan glowered at him, “Even a finger out of line and you’ll regret it, do I make myself clear?” Chanyeol scoffed at him.

“Am I supposed to be scared?” He spat out, but the man merely leered in response.

“I don’t think you have an idea of what I can do,” Jeonghan said simply standing back up as Chanyeol’s eyes trailed him.

The blonde merely took his seat back on the armchair, picking up a discarded book that was near his coffee while Chanyeol stared at him. Jeonghan played him no mind anymore, not even bothered to glance at him as he spoke.

“Get some more rest, Chanyeol – you’re going to need it.”

Going to bed was supposed to be the place you felt most comfortable, bathed in warm and welcoming – but for some reason, sleep had been evading you much like you had been evading the reason that was causing it. The process of coming to terms with things was never simple, you knew that; you had come to terms with many things in your short life, all them carrying their pain but how do you come to terms with things that were still going on? Can you move past the present? These were all thoughts that plagued your mind, more so after the night that you had.

After the fiasco in the bathroom, Jeonghan had gently coerced you into laying in your room; away from the problem on the couch and into something that you could find comfort in, or what you were supposed to find comfort in. With him being ever the gentleman as he made himself accustomed to your space and going out of his way to clean you up, he tried to make it as nice as an environment as possible so that when you did unleash the skeletons in your closet, you weren’t alone.

Jeonghan wasn’t a cruel guy, more often than not he was the loveliest person you’d meet; being a doctor bought out all the caring qualities in him, and while he never lost that sarcastic edge, he never used it in a way to hurt anyone – or more specifically, you. So, to see the way his face darkened as you told him everything that had happened had broken you slightly, he was someone you never wanted to see upset; and the way his body language changed was scary. You had spent what felt like hours explaining everything to him, his hesitance to the man on the couch outside the door growing with each word, to the point that you had to stop him several times from going out there. The two of you talked until you felt the exhaustion kissing your lids like a lover, your grasp on reality shrinking – you had assumed that Jeonghan would stay with you, but you couldn’t even fight him as he gave you a brief kiss on the forehead, telling you he’d watch over the guest while you slept, his mind too chaotic to do anything else.

It was hours later that you eventually found yourself in the most uncomfortable setting in your life; after starting your morning far earlier than you had hoped to, you hadn’t expected both Jeonghan and Chanyeol to be in the living room when you eventually decided to go out. The latter of which, still asleep on the couch – his face riddled with cuts and bruises.

“He’s got no phone on him,” Jeonghan whispered as he led you to the kitchen, “Checked his pockets, just a weapon and blood-stained keys.” You frowned softly.

“We’re gonna have to drive him back,” You whispered back, “I don’t have any way to contact them, but I have a rough idea of where they stay…”

“Are you crazy?” Jeonghan’s eyes were wide, “You want to go back there?”

“What choice do we have?” You quizzed back, “He can’t drive, and he can’t exactly get a cab back, can he?” You watched as Jeonghan’s chest expanded in stress.

“I’m not driving him back, no I refuse to go near that place,” Jeonghan’s eyes were hard, but you gave him a stressed look.

“Then give me your keys,” You held your hand out to him, “I’ll drive him.” His eye’s widening.

“You’re not going yourself,” He snapped softly, but you only made a frustrated noise at him.

“He can’t stay here, Jeonghan” You raised your voice an octave, “His boss is going to be looking for him.”

“Listen,” You tried to reason with him as a look crossed his face, “We take him back, we give him to Baekhyun or whoever and we leave – it’ll take 20 minutes tops, whatever he’s involved in has nothing to do with us.”

“I swear to god if he-,” Jeonghan started but was cut off when another voice cut into the conversation.

“He can hear you,” Chanyeol had managed to pull himself up and was now leaning against the door on the kitchen; grabbing his bare torso in pain, the blankets long forgotten, “The two of you need to work on whispering.”

“Chanyeol!” You yelped, as he winced, your voice too loud for his head, “You’re alive, thank god” You tried to smile but his eyes settled on you, it became strained.

“No thanks to you,” He hummed, limping further into the kitchen to sit at the table, his face pulling taught as he eased himself into a sitting position.

Jeonghan was glowering next you as the two of you looked at the man, he looked worse for wear, but he at least looked better than he did last night.

“You shouldn’t be up,” Jeonghan told him, leaning against the counter with his arms crossed, the two men staring each other down.

“I’ll survive, doc,” Chanyeol told him sarcastically, but his face softened up when you placed a glass of water in front of him – you hand warm, as it placed on the skin of his shoulder.

“Chanyeol, what happened?” Your face was pinched with worry, but he merely sighed – moving away from your warmth and taking a sip of his water.

“Nothing to worry yourself about,” He grumbled, shaking his head but you weren’t having that.

“You came to my home bleeding and disorientated, I think you owe me some explanation.” Your voice was hard, and the surprise at this registered on his face.

“Mission went wrong,” He said simply, “That’s all you need to know and that’s all I can tell you.” You vaguely heard Jeonghan scoff from behind you.

“Chanyeol.” You warned, giving him a hard look.

“I don’t fancy getting shot,” Chanyeol snapped, staring you dead in the eye, “There are some things that you don’t need to know, even if you’re pushy about it.” You flinched slightly at that but took a step back with a look.

“Whatever,” You shook your head at him, jaw set, “We’re taking you home.” His brow furrowed.

“I’ll make my own way home, thanks.” He stated, not bothering to look at you.

This time Jeonghan cut into the conversation, and he didn’t look happy.

“Listen, take the help,” His voice was hard, “You’re in no fit condition to drive and wherever you and your “brothers” reside isn’t walking distance, so suck it up.” You flinched slightly at him.

“Jeonghan,” You warned but Chanyeol cut in.

“Get your boytoy on a leash,” Chanyeol retorted, sitting a bit straighter “I never asked for his help.”

“The two of you please,” You begged slightly, looking between the two of them before directing yourself at Chanyeol.

“You’re getting a shirt on and you’re getting in that car, Chanyeol.” You snapped softly giving him a tense look, “I don’t care if you don’t want the help, you’re stranded here otherwise.” His jaw was set into a hard line.

“I said…” Chanyeol tried to reason with you but you weren’t having it.

“I don’t give a shit what you said.” You raised your voice, he had a vague amount of surprise in his eyes, “You’ll do it and that’s final.”

Glaring at him one last time, you moved to get out of the kitchen, the stress and hurt radiating off you in waves at the situation but you tried to suck it up, tossing over your shoulder as you got out the room.

“Get ready to leave.”

If you had to talk to someone about the world’s most horrific road trip, you imagined the look on someone’s face as you talked about the time you were stuck in a car with a trainee doctor and a wanted gang member; the spectacle on their face as their heard about how awkward the silence was and how badly you wished to throw yourself out the car door.

As much as you wanted someone to listen to you complain, you were far too busy living the awkward road trip, the three of you a sight for sore eyes as you sped down the highway. Chanyeol had been relegated to the back of Jeonghan’s car out of fear for the man’s safety and for the fact he could keep laying down on the seats – but it was a bit funny it to watch his long-form struggle to fit.

The trip to the compound was brief, Jeonghan basically speeding there and yourself too busy looking out the window to fully pay attention to what was going on; no one bothered to speak other than the brief directions you’d give every so often and the occasional grunt from Chanyeol as the car hurdled over a speed bump. It wasn’t peaceful in the slightest, you wanted nothing more to be at home since you were working tonight but you still found yourself there, a thread filling your stomach as the city melded from buildings to vast expanses of trees, you could practically taste the fear the closer you got.

Even though you had offered to drive, you don’t think you could have had the nerve to pull up to the massive house like Jeonghan did – speeding through the gates and into the courtyard that you hadn’t seen properly since that night.

You weren’t sure what reaction you expected pulling up through the open gates, but the three seconds it took for gunmen to fill the space had Jeonghan stopping the car with a screech; Chanyeol yelping as he was flung forward from where he was laying down. Vaguely you could see some familiar faces among the barrels of guns pointed towards you but a loud voice cutting through had the two of your tumbling out the car like you were on fire, someone appearing on your side of the car to tap on the window.

“Get out, hands where we can see them.” A face you didn’t recognise demanded, not seeing Chanyeol in the back, but you meekly nodded.

Glancing at Jeonghan the two of you nodded at each other before stepping out the car, a chill running through you as numerous guns clocked in case you tried to pull something.

“What’s your business here,” The man in front of you stated, his eyes hard as he looked you up and down; Jeonghan on the other side no doubt getting the same treatment.

“Well…” You stuttered, surprised no one recognised you but that didn’t last long, the car door beside the two-tumbling open as your third passenger tumbled to his feet with a grunt, surprising everyone in the area.

“Put the damn guns down, idiot,” Chanyeol swore at them as he stood to his full height, pushing the man in front of you out the way as you stared at him in shock.

“Chanyeol,” It was the man’s turn to stutter, jumping to help him as he limped away from the car to pass a glance at you, “We thought-,”

“Well you thought wrong,” He didn’t give him a chance to explain before he interrupted, looking around at the underlings holding guns up to the car before he focused on someone standing behind at the foot of the house, not that you bothered to turn around, “Do you mind calling them off, Jongin?” A chuckle met your ears faintly from the man in question.

“Only the warmest of welcomes for you, Yeol…” Jongin spoke, as Chanyeol began to limp around the car and away from you, their voices fading out; and your body deflating slightly, he was partly being carried by the man that tapped on your window, not that you bothered.

Glancing around to fully look, you noted how one of the men still stood next to Jeonghan – a hard look passing over his face as he stared at him but you merely caught Jeonghan’s slightly annoyed eyes with a soft smile, making your way over much to the digression of the man with him. The two of you shared a look before something settled on Jeonghan’s face, a hand touching your shoulder a few seconds had you looking around; a familiar face filling your vision.

“Y/N, was it?” The man you registered as Minseok touched your shoulder with a slight smile as you meekly nodded in response, “Fantastic, do the two of you want to come with me?” You were about to answer when Jeonghan cut in.

“We have somewhere to be,” Jeonghan stated, giving Minseok a look which didn’t sit well with him, “We’re just ready to leave.”

“As nice as that is,” Minseok smiled tightly, “I’m afraid I’m going to have to insist, my boss would like to see the two of you.”

“That won’t be needed-,” Jeonghan tried to talk about you cut him off with a look, knowing the last thing to do was offended someone that could have you shot before you could blink.

“Ignore him,” You smiled apprehensively, “Lead the way,” You gestured for him to walk in front of you.

The two of you probably looked vaguely like show ponies as you were led in front of the large group and into the house; everyone’s eyes staring at you like you could revolt at any moment and decide to attack – a far cry from what it was like last time you were here. The compound was still the same as before, the winter morning giving it a glint that almost made the place look friendly but as you were led up the stairs to the familiar foyer; your heart dropped out of your ass as the prospect of where you were going. The two of you were only one step into the place before you heard a voice off the side make a side comment.

“We’ll you look terrible,” A sarcastic voice that held no bite sounded off, your eyes flicking to a familiar face.

Baekhyun.

“You’re one to talk,” You said softly, wincing slightly as you took him in – he was much in the same condition as Chanyeol if only a fraction better; his face cut and bruised, but he still looked good, “You look like you’ve seen better days.” He laughed at that, wincing softly as he walked closer.

“I suppose I owe you thanks,” He said honestly much to your surprise; his eyes flicking from you to Jeonghan who was posed slightly behind you, “The two of you.” “What for…” You frowned; a bit confused.

“Well, he’s not going to say it is he,” Baekhyun rolled his eyes, “Whatever you did for Chanyeol, thank you – honestly.” He looked you in the eyes; a rare moment from the man that he looked someway normal.

“It’s okay…” You said softly, “Jeonghan did most of the work.” You nodded with a small smile.

“Regardless,” Baekhyun waved his hand, shooing the thought off, “I owe you my thanks, I’m not mentally prepared for a new partner just yet” He winked at you as Minseok scoffed.

“You’re keeping the boss waiting, Baekhyun.” He rolled his eyes, but there was no bite in the words.

“Merely giving my thanks, Min,” Baekhyun smirked, before he gestured to the stairs, “Be on your way.”

Baekhyun blended back into his place as Minseok continued to lead you both up the stairs in silence; only the sound of yours and Jeonghan’s breathing was heard as the stairs became less and less before your eyes. Jeonghan was staring at you intently, his eyes asking if you were okay but you merely shook your head; the last time you had seen the man in the office, the two of you shared a normal moment in his car as he drove you home, but now it seemed like that was a distant memory that wasn’t to be thought of again.

The double cream doors opened on-demand as the three of you neared, opening to show you the horror inside, sat at his desk casually with a raised eyebrow was the man of the hour: Sehun.

“If I knew you’d be back so soon I’d have thrown together a better welcome party,” Sehun wasted no time in making a sardonic remark, “But I see you brought a friend this time,” He noted as the two of you were led to stand in front of his desk so he could get a better look at you.

Every time you saw the man you were constantly annoyed at how put together he looked in every situation – this time his long hair was loosely slicked back from his face to reveal the smooth skin of his unmarred face, his all-black suit doing the most of giving off the appearance that he was, in fact, the powerful man he believed himself to be.

“Nothing to say?” His mouth jilted slightly, he was in a surprisingly good mood for someone who had a man MIA for nearly a day, “That’s a first.” You merely just turned your head away from him.

“Sehun,” You said quietly in a greeting - nodding at him, “Lovely to see you again,” He hummed at that, casting his eyes from you to Jeonghan as you winced, you could imagine his face.

“Problem?” Sehun’s voice lost its amusing edge at he spoke to the man, “Or would you like to introduce yourself?” When Jeonghan was silent at that, you elbowed him.

“Jeonghan.” The man in question said briefly, not paying him the reaction Sehun wanted from him.

“Jeonghan,” Sehun mused to himself, leaning back in his chair casually – one leg lifted gracefully over the over, “I suppose I owe the two of you thanks,” He hummed softly.

“I’m not sure what trouble Chanyeol found himself in, but I give my thanks that you at least returned him somewhat intact,” He continued with a fraction of amusement, “I’m not typically a man to repay kindness with anything other than that, but seeing the job you’ve done on him I suppose I can give you something.”

You imagined Sehun was a great actor when he wanted to be but now wasn’t the time, he was acting uncharacteristically childish – a far cry from the man you’d seen before.

“A favour,” Sehun said plainly, “For saving one of my men, I’ll grant the two of you a favour.”

“A favour.” Jeonghan reiterated plainly, “You’ll owe us a favour?”

“Issue?” Sehun’s eyes glinted slightly, the deep pools flicking to the only person that had a problem with him.

“Yes, there’s an issue,” Jeonghan snapped.

“Jeonghan,” You sounded shocked at the voice that came from him, realising the danger he could put himself in but you watched in bigger horror as a dark look fluttered over Sehun’s face, taking that mask he had on with it. There’s were a few tense seconds of silence before Sehun stood up from his desk.

Sehun squared his shoulder as he rounded his desk, the tick in his jaw twitching with his displeasure; a dark looking coloured his igneous eyes, a dark look directed at the two of you. There was a thick silence in the room as Sehun walked up to the two of you, dismissing you in the conversation completely to talk to Jeonghan, the latter of which being equally as ticked off as the perilous man he was confined in a room with.

“You should keep in mind who you’re speaking to.” Sehun tutted sarcastically, his eyes filtering down to his opponent; whom of which was a decent amount shorter than him not that the latter cared, “Better yet, you should keep in mind where you are.” You practically sweat dropped next to the two of them.

“And if I don’t?” Jeonghan challenged back, the testosterone practically suffocating in the room; but Sehun merely smirked, looking him up and down.

“I don’t think you want to be in a position to find out what happens,” Sehun hummed as you caught sight of one of the smaller members of the gang from your peripheral touching the gun on his waist, “Not many have lived to tell the experience.”

Putting your hand between them, you eyed Jeonghan as you gave Sehun a small shove away; a very bold move on your part, but it didn’t stop their staredown.

“Stop it.” You hissed slightly at Jeonghan, eye’s hardening before you turned to the head man himself, “Stop it, we’ll take the favour.”

“Y/N” Jeonghan hissed, placing a hand on your arm to draw you back, but you merely pulled out of it; still facing Sehun, who only wore a smirk on his face.

“Enough,” You snapped softly as Sehun cut in.

“You heard the lady,” Sehun gestured to you, a darker amusement dancing in his eyes, “A favour for your good deeds.”

“A favour, I saved your-,” Jeonghan began before you snapped at him.

“Jeonghan, enough.” You tensed your jaw at him.

“Don’t be mistaken, kid” Sehun hummed, retreating to lean against the front of his desk, away from the brewing storm, “A favour is no easy way out, dare I say – even hard to come across”

“What do you mean,” Jeonghan frowned, the sound of a quiet sigh from Junmyeon the corner telling you that this probably wasn’t going to end well.

“You saved one of my men,” Sehun shrugged, “I owe you something, both of you” He glanced at the two of you.

“Such as…” Jeonghan glowered, not seeing the value in what he was offering; this time it was your turn to quietly sigh before you decided to answer.

“Probably whatever we want…” You grimaced slightly, the idea of asking them for anything tasting like ashes in your mouth.

“Within reason,” Sehun corrected with a chuckle, his arms very much crossed over his chest in a casual stance, as much as he enjoyed riling up Jeonghan; even knew that he was no threat.

“If I may,” Junmyeon piped up from his stance at the back of the room, “Sehun is right, a favour from us is nothing to be taken lightly…”

“It’s a tradition amongst us,” Junmyeon, ever the peacemaker continued, “One we normally reserve for our families but one we can pass on in moments of great exception.” Sehun rolled his eyes softly, your eyes catching his for a brief few seconds while Jeonghan locked with Junmyeon. “It’s a way of saying that we at Exodus are grateful for your efforts,” Sehun pipped in, looking slightly annoyed, “And in turn, we are indebted to you, the two of you.”

“You can bring it in yourself to be indebted to someone,” Jeonghan snapped slightly.

“Don’t push it,” Sehun snapped back, “I can easily decide to revoke it if you keep this up,”

“I’m not one of your men,” Jeonghan glared as you practically melted from stress beside them.

“If you were you would know to watch your tongue,” Sehun sneered in such a way, filled with such hate and authority, that you felt a chill run down your spine; even Jeonghan stopping to be quiet for a second, “Do not take my kindness for weakness, kid – If I wanted I could shoot you where you stand and no one would come looking.”

“Sehun,” Junmyeon warned, but he was ignored.

“You’re testing my composure,” Sehun spoke plainly as his eyes hardened, “And you are in no position to do so, so a word of advice? Bite your tongue before I decide that you don’t need it anymore.” Sehun’s words resonated a silence in the room that felt like winter had gotten through the front door.

Jeonghan was left a deadly look on his normally calm face, staring down the man who didn’t bother to look at him anymore; Sehun’s eyes set firmly on your form as he decided to speak again.

“Thank you,” He spoke honestly, “I’m aware you were in no position to help but myself and my men are glad you did” You merely just nodded at him, registering your thanks before you meekly smiled.

Glancing at the two of you again Sehun waved his hand, “Take your leave.”

His name died on your tongue slightly as you went to say something else, but you knew this wasn’t the time or place to ask anything – not with the ticking time bomb next to you. The two of you merely nodded as you turned around, Jeonghan wasting no effort to get out the room in a fuming mess, your own body trailing before him a few paces, Junmyeon at the door giving you a look as he spoke quietly.

“You have our thanks…”

This time he wasn’t cooped up in the compound, he was in the only place that he could feel at home – hundreds of floors above the world and nestled in the apartment than no one knew he owned. But regardless of this being home, Sehun found himself staring out the window of the apartment with an ache in his chest that didn’t feel like it belonged there – a dull throb in his chest as he looked out at the glinting lights, a reminder of all the things he owned in life.

He wasn’t a sentimental man, he nothing to be sentimental over; his life didn’t call for that, but as he sat on his floor staring out the window, he found himself reminded of his own loneliness. Sehun had so many secrets in life and no one to share that burden with, even now as he uncharacteristically sat on his floor; he longed for someone to share the moments of weakness he did feel with. It had been a messy week for him, from a botched mission that resulted in one of his best men being put out of commission to another break-in at his weapons depo; Sehun had a thoroughly terrible week. His life was still on the line wherever he seemed to go, mumblings of the new gang getting louder with each passing day to the point he knew his men would start questioning him soon; he was looking weak in their eyes, fragments of his business caving in on him and he was doing nothing to stop it – not like he could do much at the moment.

Sehun and his family were terrible people, everyone knew this, it was part of the job of being in the Oh family; to be a terrible person. And while he knew that some people would be rejoicing at the fact Exodus was taking an ego hit, Sehun could only feel the burdens of his failure and confusion.

“Father had it easy huh,” He spoke softly to himself, eyes glancing over to the small pooch that decided to join him, Vivi’s fur glowing in the nightlife as he nestled himself into Sehun’s outreached hand, “Where am I going wrong…”

Vivi only gave a small dog cry at his owner's apparent sadness, nuzzling into him to make it all go away but as cute as Sehun found the act; he was sobered by the fact that he could get no answers from the small dog.

“Junmyeon thinks I’m being reckless,” He spoke to Vivi, “Throwing a party while there’s a target on my life, but he’s missing the point.” He sighed softly.

“I can’t bring them out of their hole, so I have to bring them to me…” Sehun said quietly, “Even if it kills me, I can’t let what’s been built crumble to the ground, even if I don’t want it anymore.”

“I think that’s why I’ve connected with her,” Sehun screwed his face up, “That girl that Baekhyun as roped in.” Vivi tilted his head at that.

“I’ve always gone to people for escapes,” Sehun sighed, “Not to get help but to ignore the world for a while,” He wasn’t speaking to anyone at this point.

“First it was Jeonghwa, she’s been there for so long that she’s lost sight of what I was doing,” Sehun noted, “Now I’m being present with this new person, someone that hates me to my very core and I can’t help but feel like I want to chase her down.” Vivi let out a noise like he was trying to talk back.

“Goodnight Sehun…”

Sehun still felt his skin prickle at the thought of his name dropping from her lips days even after it happened; it had been a while since someone had so softly said his name – no ill intent or lust coating the words, just pure unaltered thanks coating the words like some sickly-sweet honey. He’d never admit he thought about her in a way that brought warmth to his chest, that he found the fondness she carried in her eyes tempting to him.

“It’s not about feelings,” Sehun tutted snapping himself out of it, “I don’t want that from her, I want an escape – someone who can remind me that my life isn’t all this.”

“I’m a selfish man,” Sehun frowned but it wasn’t a dig at himself, in his eyes; if he accepted it then it wasn’t a flaw.

“Should I feel this amused at the idea of using something up until there’s nothing left?” He asked nobody, “Should I find a pastime in turning people into nothing?”

“I am a horrible man,” Sehun sighed as he let silence envelope himself again.

His apartment was still, the only occupants were sat on the floor wondering why life had led them here, but Sehun could still find it in himself at least find amusement in his situation – life be dammed or not.

“Maybe I’ll do something I’ll regret, but maybe it might mean something more…”

No one was home when the envelope was slid carefully under her door, the off cream paper skidding across the wooden floor like butter and not even she had expected to see something so formal sitting at her feet when she returned home from work that night; a frown lacing onto her face as she plucked the thing from the ground like a flower.

With intricate handwriting and a wax seal, she found herself curious at who would leave her something to beautiful to read but as she opened what she thought was going to be a letter; her face paled slightly at the card instead.

“You are warmly invited to a night of festivities, courtesy of Exodus…”

#sehun fanfic #sehun imagine #sehun scenario #sehun smut #exo imagines #sehun au #sehun x reader #exo scenarios #exo fanfic #sehun mafia au #exo fic #sehun angst #exo au

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bellisperennis0 · 4 years ago

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Friends w/ Benefits

Word count: 1,554

A/N: Showing Daddy Bishop some loving. Just your annoying fluff. Gif credit to creator, found off Google. Thank you for reading.

Warning: None

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Currently you were sitting outside Carniceria Reyes with both Angel and Ezekiel, chit chatting about your current situation. “Why don’t you just tell him how you feel y/n?” EZ speaks up. They had literally just tagged teamed you into admitting your true feelings you had for their El Presidente. “It’s not that easy Ezekiel. We agreed on No strings attached. We aren’t supposed to catch feelings.” You say, frustrated in yourself for allowing your feelings to get the better of you. “He has been really pissy and miserable these last two weeks without you. Trust me I would know! Apparently everything is Angels fault.” Angel speaks up, rolling his eyes. Both you and EZ chuckle “Well almost everything is your fault Angel.” Ezekiel says. “Shut up, boy scout!” Angel shoots back, throwing a piece of his lunch at him. ��I needed to put some distance between us. It was getting too hard for me. Sleeping with him one night and then seeing a skanky hang around all over him at the clubhouse the next. I just couldn’t handle it anymore.” You sigh as you stare down at your lunch. “It’s Creepers birthday today and we are having a little thing at the Clubhouse tonight, just us, why don’t you come by?” Angel suggested. “I really don’t want to see him, Angel. I’m sorry!” You knew from the looks on their faces it was killing them to see you so down over all this. “We can come over and binge scary movies, like old times.” Ezekial suggested. The last thing you wanted were for them to put their lives on hold just for you. “No EZ, you both go and enjoy Creeps party. I’ve been working like crazy these last couple weeks; I have a bottle of wine, a bath tub and some sleazy Rom Com calling my name.” you slightly chuckle, as you get up from your seat. “I’m going to say bye to Pops, be right back.” Once you return back outside, EZ was on his bike putting on his helmet; meanwhile Angel was on the phone. “Yeah All right…see you in a few, Bish.” You hear Angel say. “Let me guess, Club shit!?” you ask with a chuckle. “Actually, he called to check up on you. Says you aren’t answering his calls. Wanted to know if you were showing up tonight, was disappointed when I told him you had plans.” Angel answers, you simply look down at your feet. Looking back up at the two brothers you give them a sad smile. Walking up to them you give them each a kiss on the cheek. “I’ll call when I get home. Drive safely!” you say as you go to unlock your car door, getting in and heading home.

After your somewhat emotional lunch with your favorite Reyes Men, you had gone home and took a nap. Waking up you look over at your phone and see a couple texts from Angel, one from EZ and a few missed calls from Bishop. Texting both Angel and Ezekiel back, you toss your phone back on the bed and start gathering your things for your bath. You had been soaking and enjoying your bath for about ten minutes when your phone began to ring. Grabbing it to see who it was, you hesitated when you saw Bishops name flash on your screen. You knew you couldn’t avoid him forever and you were honestly surprised that you were able to for this long. Sighing you answer it, putting it on speaker. “Obsispo!” you simply say. “Querida!? Glad you finally answered. Are you alright?” he asks. God, how you have missed his raspy voice, his touch, him! “I’m fine! Why are you calling Obispo?” you ask, silently kicking yourself for answering his call. “It’s lonely here without you.” He rasps out, the longing in his voice. “Aren’t you at the clubhouse with the boys?” you said, sounding more annoyed then you intended to. “Can I come over, so we can talk face-to-face? Please querida!?” he practically begged. Letting out a deep sigh you agreed. “Thank you, dulce. I’ll be there in twenty.” You smiled a little; you can just hear how he perked up when you agreed to see him. “I’ll be waiting” you say before you hang up. Jumping out the bath, you quickly get dressed and pick up a little before Bishop arrived. The sound of his motorcycle quickly approaching caused the butterflies in your stomach to begin to take flight. You cursed at yourself at how giddy you got at the thought of seeing Bishop.

Hearing his bike shut off you open the front door and lean against the door frame waiting for him to approach. The second his eyes lay on you standing there, he flashes you that gorgeous smile of his. “I brought some Chinese food, hope that’s okay?” he says lifting the bag in his hands up to show you. “I’m starving!” you admit. He walks up to you, pulling you close to him by your hip and placing a tender kiss to your forehead. You smile under his embrace; pulling away you led him inside, locking the door behind you. As you walk into your kitchen, Bishop was already placing all the boxes of food out onto the table. “Sit.” He says turning around to look at you. “I’ll grab some glasses and the wine” he says as he moves into the kitchen to grab the glasses and wine. You plop down onto the chair, taking a box of food and diving right in. You hear a little chuckle and look up to see Bishop standing there with wine glasses in one hand and the wine in the other. “What? I told you I was starving!” You say with a mouth full. “Clearly!” Bishop laughs as he takes his seat across from you. You both eat in a comfortable silence. Once you both were happily full, you began to pick up, until Bishop stops you. “Allow me, querida.” He says getting up, grabbing your hand to stop you. “Thank you!” you whisper to him, he simply smiles down at you.

You watched as Bishop moved around your kitchen putting everything away, almost as if this was his daily routine. You smiled to yourself with the thought of coming home every day to Bishop, to see him so relaxed and content as you have almost every time you were with him. “I can’t stand the thought of losing you” you say. Once you registered that that had just came out of your mouth, you began to silently panic. Bishop turned around to look at you, unable to read his face you had no idea what was going through his head. “I know when we started this we agreed to no string attached, all feelings go out the window, it was strictly sex. But I had feelings for you long before we started this. I just never thought they would be reciprocated. If only having you when you needed me was the only way to be with you, I was fine with it.” Everything was coming out like word vomit. As you were pouring your heart to Bishop you didn’t realize you had gotten up and were now pacing the room. Biting your lower lip, you finally looked up to Bishop. He stood there at your kitchen sink, you could tell he was trying to process everything you had just poured out to him. He pushed himself off the counter and slowly made his way towards you. Your heart racing, unsure if what he was about to say was going to completely destroy you or make you extremely happy.

He finally approached you, placing a hand on your hip and pulling you flush to him, his other hand gently cupping your cheek as his lips crashed into yours. Taking you by surprise at first, but you then quickly melted into his kiss; your arms wrapping around his neck to pull him even closer to you. Pulling away, he places his forehead to yours “You own my heart.” He whispers to you. A wide smile pulling on your face. “Do you mean it!?” you ask. “Why else do you think I came up with that stupid arrangement.” He says, you giggle. “why didn’t you just tell me?” you say, lightly shoving him. “well I could say the same for you, sweetheart.” He says giggling. “Point taken. So, what now?” you ask, not sure how to go about this new situation. Bishop just smiles down at you, grabbing your hand and leading you down the hall. “What are you doing, Obispo?” you asks as you follow him down the hall clearly heading towards your bedroom. “We got two weeks to make up for, sweetheart. And I gotta show you just how much I love you.” He says as he throws you over his shoulder with ease, and heads into your bedroom. “Obispo!” you shriek as he tosses you onto the bed. He quickly hovers over you, staring down at you with nothing but pure love on his face. He gently caresses your cheek with the back of his hand, “I love you!” he says. Grabbing the side of his face and smiling, “I love you!” you respond before pulling him down for a passionate kiss.

#bishop losa #bishop losa x reader #mayans mc #mayans mc imagine

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emmakillianfan · 4 years ago

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A Christmas Story for You

To @whimsicallyenchantedrose for Christmas. While I haven’t had as much time for it as I had hoped, I hope you are having a wonderful Christmas and enjoy this little story that kind of got away from me. Merry Christmas and a very happy new year to you!

Due to illness and post graduate studies I’m a bit rusty on the fanfiction story writing, but I hope you enjoy it. I have loved the opportunity to be your secret santa. As I said from the beginning, I’m a big fan of your writing.

Getting to Know You at Christmas

Emma Swan hated to mingle at these social events her parents held each year as a welcome to the holiday season. Her mother easily socialized with people, remembering names and details of each person’s life in the coastal town of Storybrooke, Maine. Her father was just as gregarious, shaking hands and clapping older gentlemen on the back as the mused over details of long-ago exchanges and funny occurrences that she never quite could understand. She liked people, even had friends. But there was something missing for her from the conversations and laughter that seemed to lift over the swell of Christmas carols and the flashes of lights from the tree and cameras snapping shots of huddled groups of friends, family, and compatriots.

“Your mother is worried about you,” Ruby Lucas-Gale said with a knowing smile as Emma reached for another mini pizza and shoved it in whole. “You don’t look happy.”

Keeping her lips sealed, Emma shot her friend a plastered smile and shrug.

“You could at least move away from the bar. She’s going to think this is a re-do of last year’s party where you went to bed with a bottle of tequila under each arm after telling everyone that you were sleeping until the new year.”

“I should have kept that promise,” Emma groused, giving a slight wave when her mother looked at her pleadingly. “I could have avoided the Christmas Karaoke party at Victor’s, the cookie exchange at your grandmother’s, and let’s not forget the pot luck at Regina and Robin’s where I was shamed for bringing your grandmother’s frozen lasagna as my contribution. Not only had Regina made one, but I didn’t even realize it was still frozen.”

“You brought a pie too,” Ruby reminded her. “I don’t remember anyone noting that was store bought.”

“I ate it in the car working up the nerve to go inside because my mother set me up on a date. Who does that? Blind dates on Christmas?”

“She means well,” Ruby added consolingly, patting her hands down her red dress that seemed to creep up her toned thighs each time she moved. “And Graham was…”

Emma held up one hand in protest. “Don’t defend him. First he was your ex. He was nice but a little or more than a little too intense with his whole getting back to nature and communing with animals thing. My mother has horrible taste in men for me. For a woman who believes in fairy tales and calls my father her prince charming, I don’t think she would survive a day on Tinder.” It had been the long running commentary at the parties that somewhere in the crowd was there to be set up with Emma. Some who did not partake in the dancing or singing along around the piano would try to guess who it was going to be this year. Bets were currently on about a gawky man with a green tie who was currently chatting up Zelena Mills in the corner.

“Just remember she means well.” Linking arms with Emma, Ruby pulled her friend out onto the makeshift dance floor and began to sway her hips to the beat of a modern Christmas tune that Emma knew was by some current pop singer. “So I’m guessing your next date is in here somewhere. Where oh where could he be?”

“You are annoying,” Emma pouted, folding her arms over her chest yet still swaying a bit to the up-tempo beat. “I thought you had money that guy in the green tie.” He was the typical type her mother would love to see her date. She could hear the school teacher turned public servant now telling her how she just knew he was the kind of guy she would love to get to know.

“Possibility,” Ruby said, tapping her bright red lips in mock thoughtfulness. “What about Archie?” He’s been hanging around over in that corner in a conversation with Regina and Robin for a little bit now. Seems to look over here every once in a while.”

“Everyone is looking at you, Ruby,” Emma hissed in exasperation. You are showing more skin that is advisable with the temperature and you’re currently bumping and grinding to Christmas tunes.”

“Maybe he’s setting up some pre-marital counseling for them. Okay…one of the guys from the mines? Leroy?”

“That’s a tad incestuous since they are practically my uncles.” Emma scanned the crowd to see her father and mother in conversation over by the French doors leading out to the patio that had been sprayed with twinkle lights and that included a new audio system he had spent the day fiddling with as her younger brother tried out the microphones in his own rendition of some sort of heavy metal meets classic rock rendition of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. He was just 14 and still at that awkward stage, suffering the embarrassment of parents who doted and friends who loved to point that out to him. Her own son idolized him though. “I’m thinking he’s a no show. My mom is in her plotting mode. Look at the way she’s talking to my dad.”

Sure enough her parents were furtively whispering, her mother holding up a hand to hide her mouth as though nobody would notice. It would be debated for years to come which of the two women noticed him first though. A slender, tall man with piercing blue eyes and sardonic smile seemed to rush up to her parents and hug them in turn. Even though Emma couldn’t make out the words, her father gave the man his double shoulder clap before spinning him about to the crowd and pointing out a few people.

“Maybe him,” Ruby said, lifting onto the balls of her feet even higher than her shoes allowed and balancing herself against Emma. “He’s a hottie.”

“Doubtful,” Emma noted, swinging her gaze across the room to the man in the green tie who was now eating a banana and doing nothing for his resemblance to a simian creature as Ruby had declared. “I don’t have that sort of luck. My mother doesn’t…” She never got to finish the sentence when she noted who had just entered the party and made a line straight toward greeting her parents. Neal…the once love of her life turned affection into weapons and her self confidence into a puddle of what if. She was better now, but the sight of him seemed to jangle her nerves in a way that made her doubt her recovery. They managed to co-parent their son with little trouble, but he wasn’t one she wanted to see socially. The fact he always had a date on his arm just added to her discomfort.

Ruby was one of the few people who understood. Twirling her in the direction of the mystery man who was now noshing on a few of the crisp veggies without bothering to dip them into the various sauces, Ruby leaned in and whispered loudly in Emma’s ear. “Don’t question it. Just go introduce yourself. It’ll be less awkward that way.”

Emma would forever question the logic in that, but for the moment felt her feet begin to move one after the other and in no time she was standing in front of him. His eyes were even more striking up close and she caught a whiff of his cologne that was a spicey scent that she would later blame for her mouth watering and her words feeling like they slid off her tongue without regard to custom or reason.

“Emma,” she said by way of invitation. Her smile was a little forced and her hand held out in mid air a beat too long as he shoved a celery stick in his mouth and raised his own in greeting. “I guess my parents probably told you that.”

“Your parents?” he repeated, the smiled he was giving her lifted higher on the right side of his face as did his right eyebrow. He seemed to be surprised by her, almost as if he was not expecting the conversation. That irritated her a bit.

She gave a wave over her shoulder to where they stood by the fireplace. “Mary Margaret and David. The Nolans. You were just talking to them.”

“Aye, David and my older brother went to school together back in the day. They invited me to…”

She brushed off his explanation. “No, I get it. It’s so them. They don’t think I have any skills in that area at all. Apparently, they have given up on finding someone local.” She shrugged and when he seemed he wasn’t going to answer, she reached across and grabbed a carrot stick. Placing it in her mouth she made a face and immediately removed it. “Rabbit food.”

“You do know how to flatter man, love. I’m not sure I would want to be just one of the multitudes.” His smile was wider as he watched her, his questions about her easy and slick as she tried to explain that her parents were young when she was born and waited nearly two decades before their miracle child was born. He seemed to know nothing about her, which was odd for a set up. Maybe he was just being polite.

“So you’re not from around here,” she asked when he paused to take a drink. Even over the rim of the cup his eyebrows raised again. “I’m the sheriff. I sort of notice things like accents. I do sort of like accents like yours. Different than other guys around here.”

“Boston by way of London,” Killian answered. “And you, love? Always a resident of this seafaring town?”

“Most all my life,” she admitted, leaving out a few pit stops along the way. “Mom probably told you that the best place to take me for a dinner date is Granny’s. She loves it there, plus Granny will spy on us and give her updates every few minutes. I’m more into this Italian place near the docks. Awesome seafood and pasta. And their lasagna isn’t frozen. It’s more date like, I think. You know, checked table clothes, drippy candles, wine, and all that.”

“A classic romantic?” he asked, clearly amused.

“Well, I mean if we have to go out, it makes sense to go someplace like that.” She held out her hand and gestured to his phone. “I’ll give you my number in case mom hasn’t already. A date is a date, but might as well get a good meal out of it.”

“By all means,” he said, handing her the latest device on the market. She noted that he did everything with his right hand, his left staying next to his side and covered in a black glove. She was about to mention it when she heard her father’s voice and laughter.

“You’ve met our Emma,” David said, joining the duo at the table and placing one hand under Emma’s elbow. “Our daughter can be a bit blunt. I hope she hasn’t insulted you or made you change your mind.”

“Dad,” Emma said, swatting him playfully.

“She’s been absolutely brilliant,” Killian answered, shoving his phone in his pocket. “By the way, love, name’s Killian Jones. I don’t believe I properly introduced myself.”

David nodded knowingly. “Killian is here to work with your mother on her bid for the mayor’s office. He’s a wiz when it comes to all things in local politics. Very highly recommended.”

“Work for mom?” Emma asked weakly, trying to ignore the not quite so humble smile that played about Killian’s mouth. “You mean he’s not…”

“Of course, Regina is taking time off to plan her wedding and then get settled into married life. She recommended Killian to run your mom’s campaign since Archie is considering and Mal has already announced. Anyway, it is good you met. Killian’s going to need to talk to you about your role in promoting our family. Maybe you can meet up at Granny’s later this week.” David glanced around the room and gripped his daughter’s arm harder. “I wanted to introduce you to someone I met when I was buying supplies for the farm. His name is Walsh.”

Emma stammered a bit, her face turning pink as Killian continued to hold that smile that showed both bemusement and cockiness. “Walsh…”

“Go ahead, love,” Killian said. “We’ll finish our conversation at this Granny’s or perhaps you might like the atmosphere.”

Emma was sure that her face was bright red as his eyebrows lifted up and down in a way that made her wonder just what lascivious thoughts were rolling around in that head of his. She felt those blue eyes on her as her father made another excuse and led her over to the man in the green tie who was smiling nervously at her and oblivious to her discomfort and not so secret looks over at Killian Jones.

She nodded appropriately and even asked a few questions about Walsh and his furniture design business. Her own rental was outfitted with castoffs and hand me downs that had seemed comfortable and worn at the time. He was telling her why it was important to have pieces that spoke of her uniqueness and character. At least that was what she heard on the occasions she bothered to listen and didn’t internalize the flinches and groans as her parents introduced Killian Jones to every person in the room. She wasn’t pleased to see most of the single women giggling and flashing him flirtatious smiles that he easily returned. There was no need to be jealous, but still the emotion was creeping up her spine as she watched him actually kiss Ruby’s hand like something out of a novel.

“I could show you sometime,” Walsh interrupted. She jumped at being caught unaware and repeated the words back to him in hopes of making some sense of the situation. “My shop. I have some really beautiful pieces I think you would like.”

“Well, if I am ever in the market,” she said, realizing that he was holding out a business card with his personal number written on the back. “Have you met August and his father Marco. They do some of the most beautiful woodwork you have ever seen. Come on, I’ll introduce you.”

~~ CS ~~ CS ~~ CS ~~ CS ~~ CS ~~ CS ~~ CS ~~

“We were right about the monkey guy,” Ruby said defeatedly, kicking off her shoes and reclining on the bed in Emma’s childhood bedroom. The room didn’t quite do justice to the angsty teen she had been, but still boasted teen idol posters of boy bands and even the dollhouse brought by Santa one year. “But that other guy was cute and quite the charmer. Even I was about to hit on him. I had such high hopes for your mother.”

Emma flinched as she unclipped her hair and left it to fall around her shoulders in soft waves. “Yeah, so he’s not my set up of the year. Yet I asked him out, sort of. I don’t know. I made a fool out of myself.”

“He didn’t seem too offended,” Ruby suggested. “I mean I was distracted once Dorothy agreed to dance but every time I looked in his direction he was looking in yours. And I might add that was pretty often.”

“Right, he was probably trying to figure out what was wrong with me.” Emma was about to bemoan her embarrassed state a little more when her phone dinged out one and then another text message. She reached over to grab it and groaned with the realization. It was Killian. Ruby immediately wanted to know what he had to say and proceeded to inspect the picture he sent just in case Emma was confused if he was the guy in the green tie or not.

“Emma, you might have had a rough start, but he’s hot. And he’s clearly interested. Why else would he text?” Passing the phone back, she shrugged. “And let’s face it, you and commitment aren’t that strong of allies. He’s from out of town. Mary Margaret said he travels all over to do these little campaigns. I’m seeing excellent fling material.”

The text was taunting her, a coy comment about Italian restaurants and then a reminder of who he was with the picture. “I should answer him. I mean it would be rude not to answer, right?”

“Your mother would say not to be rude to anyone, but I’m telling you there is no reason to be rude to that guy.” Ruby reached over and grabbed a 10 year old magazine from the table, clearly bored with the conversation. “But I mean it is up to you. Text him. Don’t text him. Your choice.” Ruby flipped the pages casually, bringing up what dresses Regina was going to want them to wear at her wedding. She insisted that red wouldn’t be that garish at a Christmas event. It wasn’t until Emma refused to correct her that Ruby even looked over cautiously. “You haven’t texted him?”

“I was thinking about it.”

“You like him, don’t you?” Ruby propped herself onto one elbow. “It’s written all over your face.”

Emma shoved the phone back in her bag and let her head loll against the mattress as she sat cross legged on the floor. She rarely was in this room now, but somehow it felt comfortable and almost nostalgic to discuss dating and boys with her friend just down the hall from her parents. At least she wasn’t practicing writing his name with hers or anything like that. “I don’t get crushes.”

“You’re much too tough for that.”

Emma wasn’t exactly wrong about her aversion to crushes. She was in her twenties and already sheriff of the small coastal town. She wore practical boots or sneakers more than heels and her long hair had not seen princess curls in months. This event at her parents was the first time she’d worn a dress except to church. “If I did, and I’m not saying I do, what difference does it make. I’m a grown woman, mother of a 10 year old, and I have a career. I’m hardly going to make cootie catchers and see if his name comes up after saying some horrible rhyme.”

Ruby nodded thoughtfully and went back to the magazine. “Not to mention horribly ugly and boring. I don’t know how I put up with you.”

“You are going to pay for that one, Ruby,” Emma laughed, tossing a pillow and joining in as Ruby cackled with laughter. They were both laughing so hard that Emma barely heard the familiar chirp of her phone ringing. Holding up a hand to silence her friend, she shushed her and reached for it. She only hoped she sounded less winded than she felt as she said her own name and waited for the response.

“I hope I didn’t call to late,” a male English accent sounded on the other end. Even without seeing him in person, she could already picture that bemused smirk and light in his eyes. “I meant to check back with you, love, but time got away from me and then you were gone.”

“Oh um…good…I mean great…I mean you didn’t call too late,” Emma gestured wildly at her friend who was making choking signs in response to her word vomit. “But why did you call?”

“Well, love, you did give me your number,” he reminded her. “I tried texting, but didn’t get a response. I thought perhaps you were screening, but I had to give it a shot. I was hoping you might have a bit of time for me tomorrow – breakfast perhaps? I know you said you preferred that little Italian place, but I have never known such an establishment to be open very early. Perhaps that Granny’s, you spoke of? We could save the Italian place for our dinner date. I have been craving some ravioli lately.”

“Date?” Emma stammered, ignoring the way that Ruby looked ready to pounce. “I…”

“You did sort of ask me out and I must say it was a masterful way to do so. I would love to accompany you for dinner, Emma. But first we have a bit of business to discuss about your mother’s campaign. Breakfast then? 8 a.m.? Granny’s?”

“I’ll be there,” she answered dully as he spoke politely for a moment about thanking her for her time.

~~ CS ~~ CS ~~ CS ~~ CS ~~ CS ~~ CS ~~ CS ~~

Emma’s father had not gotten the memo that she was going out for breakfast, as he was flipping pancakes onto a large plate as she descended the stairs, handed her son his permission slip for the field trip, and dodged the family’s collie that seemed to be underfoot. Her mother showed no signs of worry as she sipped her morning coffee and reminded Emma to wear a scarf and hat as she consoled her husband that there were not too many pancakes and Emma wouldn’t have eaten them all anyway.

She pulled her yellow bug up in front of the diner, taking the last of the spots at 8:05 a.m. That was early for her and not a big worry that she was late for meeting with Killian. That was until she walked in, kicked a bit of the snow off her boots (the black ones with a heel that were in her old closet and could not be described as practical – don’t judge), and spied Killian at one of the booths talking to Tink. The bubbly blonde was petite and perfect, a face and voice like a cherub in a painting. Every year she had the solo at the church choir’s Christmas Eve performance and every year people wiped away tears at her beautiful rendition. She didn’t look very angelic as she perched on the edge of her seat and leaned forward to talk animatedly with Killian. Her smile flashing at him and even an occasional stroke of his arm with her hand to emphasize a point. Even in the 90 seconds she had been standing there kicking her boots and unwinding the mile long scarf from her mother, she had watched the waitress stop by and lean across the table to give Killian quite the view down her shirt.

Ruby must have noticed too, as she left her spot behind the counter and fluffed Emma’s hair with an encouraging nod and a teasing note that Emma was wearing lip gloss. Spinning her with one hand on her shoulder, Ruby sort of nudged her in the direction of the booth with a hissed reminder to smile.

“Killian,” Emma said, ignoring the pout from Tink, whose real name was Isabella but didn’t want to be confused with the town librarian, Belle, “sorry I’m late.”

“Don’t trouble yourself, love,” he said, scooting out to stand as she arrived. “I was going over a few notes for the kick off and Tink here was catching me up on some of the ideocracies that make small town politics so fun.”

Emma flashed a quick smile at her childhood friend, watching her slink out of the booth and tell Killian she was in the town directory if he wanted to call. He did not follow her with his eyes as she sashayed toward the door, nor did he smirk like Emma wanted to do when Ruby called after Tink to tell her that she still owed for her morning tea. It wasn’t that she disliked Tink, but there was that feeling that made her feel ill when she saw her flirting with Killian.

He gestured for her to sit down a simple glance toward the counter sent the waitress scrambling to bring them menus and take their orders. Or maybe it was just his order, as he had to call her back to get Emma’s. Despite his seemingly healthy eating style the night before, he matched her order of a hot chocolate with whipped cream and cinnamon. Granny had even fancied it up with chocolate shavings.

His questions were easy at first, wanting to know about her childhood and then her job. While a few were personal, he did not seem to be prying. She even managed to ask him a few and he offered some answers of his own without objecting too loudly and then quickly getting them back on track. She learned of his naval experience that paid for his education and how he had become involved in the campaigns and politics of small cities and his love of the ocean and aged rum.

“So is your position as sheriff an elected one?” he asked, casually resting back in the vinyl seat across from her.

She was taking two sips to his one when she noticed the way he smiled as he watched her. Instinctively she raised her hand up to swipe at the whipped cream that might have gathered on her nose but found none. “What?” she asked in exasperation. “Did I make a mess?”

“No, I am simply enjoying watching you share your experiences as sheriff. Your passion for it shines on your face, love.”

She knew she was probably blushing and rolled her fork through the home fries as a distraction.

~~ CS ~~ CS ~~ CS ~~ CS ~~ CS ~~ CS ~~ CS ~~

For the next few days they saw each other often. There was the announcement of her mother’s candidacy where she helped place signage. She ran into him when she went to inspect a license of one of the vendors at the skating rink and ended up sharing a drink and conversation. While pondering which type of creamer to buy, he popped up out of no where and offered a suggestion. He was even there when the church choir had a rehearsal, claiming he was talking to some potential volunteers. He did apologize for that when the choir director called Emma out for missing two of her cues in a row because she was watching him, in the words of Regina, make doe eyes at her and silently flirt.

In the mean time, her mother had been talking up Walsh’s skills in design and potential as a date for Emma. There was now a gaping hole in the living room at the farm house where her mother was having him design a custom entertainment center. Her brother was already complaining that the television on the floor was not the greatest idea. Emma tried to explain Walsh wasn’t her type, but her mother wasn’t hearing it and was asking when she was seeing him again. Given that she had not saved his number and had mutually agreed with him that they weren’t really each other’s type it seemed unlikely. However, Mary Margaret was so cutely sure she had done well this year that Emma hadn’t the heart to tell her.

One morning over doughnuts at the station her mother read the speech Killian had written for her campaign and asked her daughter for feedback. Emma offered a few remarks as the woman adjusted the clutter on her father’s desk.

“I think he’s handsome,” her mother said at one point. “Kinda has that mysterious look to him.”

“Who?” Emma asked distractedly. “Dad?”

It was the pronoun game.

“No, I was talking about…” The phone ringing cut off what Emma was sure was a pep talk about Walsh. The conversation was left unfinished as Emma went to investigate the case of the missing trash can lids. Spoiler: some of the kids were using them for sledding.

It was a full two days later before she saw Killian again. Granted he had texted a few times and called her “by accident” when he claimed he had meant to call her mother to discuss strategy. He was humming a tune and scrolling through his tablet when she and her son, Henry, spotted him inside the library. Apparently, he had set up shop in the corner and had everything but a receptionist there to greet visitors. Her son, who had heard his name a few times from his grandparents, pointed him out in a totally obvious way that made Emma want to crawl under the table. Somehow she managed to take a few steps closer and do more than the wave she originally planned.

“Nice office,” she said of the table he had commandeered. “Quiet I guess.”

“It has it’s perks,” he offered. “I was heading over to talk to your father. He said he would be at the station this afternoon. I take it you are not?”

“Short break to get my son home before I go back to face the files on my desk.” She knew her son was already done checking out his three books and would be joining them any second. She only hoped he would not blurt out an inappropriate question. She was about to send up a silent prayer when she noted that the glove Killian normally wore on his left hand was off and a synthetic material prosthetic was in its place. Before she could say anything, he looked down at the hand as though surprised by it and shrugged.

“Naval accident, an accident.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t realize,” she said not sure what else to say about it. It was clearly an old injury and hardly one she had a blame in causing.

“Tis an old pain,” he told her. “Most days I don’t really think of it.”

She nodded, glancing at her son who was still in conversation with Belle. “Does that mean you are getting more comfortable with me?” She instantly regretted saying that, as it came off a little weak.

“You do seem to put me at ease, love.” He winked at her and leaned a little to the left as her son ran up beside her. “You, lad, must be Henry. Your grandparents tell me you are quite the author.”

Henry nodded enthusiastically and continued the conversation for a few more beats, nearly forgetting his mother was there. Even a comment from another patron, Will, that Killian was clearly trying to get to the mother through the son, went unnoticed by all but Emma who stood taller and tried to let it slide. Killian was quite the conversationalist, observantly noting that Henry was holding a book on piracy along the New England states. That really got them going until Emma reminded Henry that she needed to drop him off at home to meet the tutor and get back to work.

That was how she ended up with Killian sitting in her living room and then the two of them walking side by side back to the station to interview her father. He opened doors for her, asked her less probing questions, and complimented the way she handled one of the boys known for getting into trouble with a stern look and warning. She was starting to feel natural about it all when he stopped short at the wreath decorated double doors and scratched behind his ear.

“I was wondering, love,” he said, shifting his eyes to the door and back to her again. “Rather I was hoping you might…well, bloody hell, I was hoping to ask you on that date. I gather you weren’t aware of who I was or why I was here when you sort of asked me.”

“I thought you were the guy my parents set me up with this year. It wasn’t my finest moment.”

He smiled nervously, his lips tight and his eyes again darting to the doors. She realized he was looking to see if her father was lurking. “It was rather adorable actually and I was thinking…”

She closed her eyes as he searched for the words, something she was sure he rarely did in his life. He always seemed to know the perfect thing to say and the perfect way to say it. “Killian, you don’t have to…”

“And if I want to?”

“Then maybe we could meet up tomorrow evening? Or wait no…tomorrow is the winter carnival for the kids at the orphanage and I am hosting the movie portion. Maybe Thursday…no Henry’s got his soccer game. I would say Friday but I’ve got choir practice and Saturday is mom’s campaign rally.” She truly looked sorry about her schedule as she shifted from one foot to the other.

“Busy lass,” he muttered. “I suppose we’ll have to consider another time. Or by chance are you free this evening?”

Biting down on her lip, she closed her eyes briefly. “I want to say yes, but my father is in there and I’d rather not mention this to him. And given that my son is likely to either eat potato chips and chocolate milk for dinner, stay up past bedtime for video games or inappropriate movies, or worst yet burn the place down in an attempt to see what he can melt in the oven, I’m thinking I need a back up babysitting plan that doesn’t include my parents.”

“Rather not hear the I told you so? Or are you hoping to keep me your little secret?”

“My parents are a little on the enthusiastic side when it comes to my love life.” She tilted her head back for a moment and then made eye contact again. “I have a plan, but you have to swear to me that we won’t be going to Granny’s or any place else they would be spotted.”

He assured her that paper napkins weren’t on the menu. “I have no issue with being circumspect, love. Trust me, I can plan an evening for us.”

If she didn’t trust him, she didn’t show it as he ushered her inside and greeted David. His cheeks were a little red from the cold and she knew hers were too. However, David never seemed to notice their conversation outside. She saw him pulling out his notes when she spoke up and asked David if Henry could perhaps have dinner with them. She managed to ask nonchalantly, simply a scheduling glitch.

“Any particular reason,” David asked, barely hiding his smile.

“I’m going out,” she answered vaguely, crossing her denim clad legs and pulling a stack of files into her lap. “Did you see Leroy’s file? I need to check about his court date.”

“Haven’t seen it. Anyone I know?” He was trying to watch her in the reflection of his computer screen, sneaking a few knowing looks at Killian who was flipping casually through his notebook.

“Oh you know,” she said, pausing to look at a document, “that guy from your party.” She didn’t want to lie to her dad, but she could tell he was not going to let up. It was one thing to have her father believe it was Walsh but another to flat out tell him that.

Killian seemed to understand, interrupting the awkwardness with a cheeky smile. “Since Emma appears to be on a deadline and you’ll be entertaining the lad this evening, it sounds like we need to get through these questions to prepare your wife’s talking points. Let’s start with the most obvious. You have a role that is second in command here at the station and in the community. How does that work with you effectively reporting to your own daughter?”

Emma let out a little sigh and as her father droned on about how proud he was of her, she shot Killian a grateful look. Her father seemed to take pride in both his work and how well she did her job, showing him pictures of celebrations after tough cases were solved and the commendations she had gotten from the governor. Most grown children worry that they aren’t successful enough or are somehow a disappointment to their parents. Emma didn’t have that worry when David Nolan talked about her.

He was still talking about how well Emma had worked with Regina who was stepping down to concentrate on her new life when Emma slipped out to change. Neither he nor Killian seemed to notice that she almost spoke up twice to tell Killian that maybe tonight wasn’t the best timing. Then she reminded herself of Ruby’s advice. He was a nice and more than good looking man. He didn’t even live here. So what if she went out with him. It was just fun.

She repeated that to herself as she went to her car to head home and change. That is until the realization hit that she didn’t really have anything to wear. A trip to one clothing store in town would rouse suspicion and the tailor was a friend of her mother’s. There was only one place to go.

~~ CS ~~ CS ~~ CS ~~ CS ~~ CS ~~ CS ~~ CS ~~

“No leather, no spiked heels, no red, no plunging necklines, and I would preferably like to sit down without flashing everyone in town,” Emma said as Ruby dove into the bowels of her closet up above Granny’s. The woman had squealed, hugged Emma, and asked if certain parts had been shaved or waxed. Emma assured her that was not an issue and that she just needed something that didn’t have the capacity for her shoulder or hip holster. Ruby had of course said she had just the thing.

With no sign of her wardrobe addition, Emma looked at her phone and two unread texts.

Killian: Your father is in search of your old scouting badges. I feel like we should have code words. Perhaps not. Meet me at the docks at 7?

She answered quickly, not wanting Ruby to interfere with the response that would probably be inappropriate. A quick see you then and an internally debated smiley emoji would have to suffice. The next message was from her mother.

Mom: David says you have a date. Very exciting. When you come by to pick Henry up, I want to hear all about it. I’ll wait up.

Her mother was going to be an issue. She loved the eternal optimist that was her mother, a woman who had more than her fair share of darkness, including losing two parents early in life, but rose above it to see the good in people. Wasn’t that what Emma was doing. She was seeing the good in Killian despite the voices inside that said this was a bad idea. Well, she could rationalize it that way. Her mother truly wanted a happily ever after for her daughter, something even Emma couldn’t disagree with in scheme of things. The fact that her mother even believed in such things was pretty amazing.

Ruby emerged with a black dress that looked more like a set of random strips all stitched together. Beneath it was a red dress that flared out and looked more appropriate for dancing. And beneath that was a soft mauve frock with a full skirt and wrapped bodice. She knew that was the one she wanted to wear, but knowing Ruby she had to at least try the others. Half an hour later she was wearing the lighter colored dress, matching nude heels, and her hair was what her friend called casually curled.

She was standing with her arms crossed for warmth at the docks at 7:01 when Killian emerged from one of the sailboats with a single red rose in his hands. “Apparently,” he said, steadily walking the gang plank despite the swell of the waves that had her not quite sure if she was standing still or not, “it is nearly impossible to procure just a rose this time of year. You almost ended up with a pot of poinsettias.”

“It’s beautiful,” she remarked. “You didn’t have to go to the trouble.”

He assured her that it was no trouble and that she was beautiful herself. Below deck he had a small table set with real dishes and flatware, a bottle of wine and containers of pastas and sauces from the Italian restaurant she had mentioned. The only thing, he mused, was that he could not do the candles since such items were not really safe on a boat.

“Confession time,” he said, clinking his glass with hers. “I borrowed the boat. I don’t have one here in Storybrooke.”

“I knew that,” she admitted. “It’s my uncle Leroy’s boat.”

“Short man, scruffy looking, kind of grumpy?”

“Always grumpy, yes. It’s nice of you though. Not too many prying eyes.”

He took a sip and pondered that for a moment. “I take it that you would prefer to keep things clandestine just in case. I am also guessing that you gave the information to your friend Ruby just in case I turn out to be a murderer.”

“I can take care of myself.” She squared her shoulders off.

“Aye, I believe you can, love.”

The rest of the meal passed with pleasant conversation and only a few awkward pauses that were usually filled before it got to be too much. Killian had even brought along a set of speakers to stream music allowing them to dance. It was a tough that even Emma thought was sweet as his arms were around her in a way that she admitted fit. She wasn’t sure how much life was left in his phone or when the clouds that had been building all day would open up with snow, but time seemed to stand still as they swayed. Her eyes closed and her head resting against his right shoulder. He lifted their entwined hands and softly kissed hers. She was glad her eyes were closed and her head nestled against his chest.

She could feel his breathing change and his hold feeling tense. Her name came out as a whisper from him. She lifted her head and found his eyes searching hers. “Emma? I would very much like to kiss you.”

“I’m not sure you can handle that,” she teased in just as soft of a voice. Yet she closed the space between them and let him close the rest. Their lips touching softly at first and then with more passion. Her hands gripped at his shirt, pulling him toward her and his hand hovered at her hair before threading through it with a sort of awe she had never experienced.

They might have stayed like that for a while had the siren of her dad’s cruiser not shattered the cold and quiet night. Maybe they should have stayed below deck, ignored her father’s presence on the docks. However, that plan faded as his footsteps grew closer and she knew, just knew that someone had spotted them on Leroy’s boat and reported it. Resigned to the fate that her father was about to find out who her date was with and probably have an opinion about it, she took a step back and turned to climb up into the cold. While he said nothing, Killian placed his own jacket, a worn leather one, over her shoulders. It was a gentlemanly gesture and one that shouldn’t surprise her.

“Dad?” she asked, holding one hand over her eyes to shield it from the giant flakes falling silently from the sky. “Did something…”

Her father looked startled and even a little embarrassed to see her there. His breathing was normalizing when Killian emerged too, which sent his eyes wide and his gasp of surprise sharpening. “I didn’t realize…”

“Everything okay, mate?” Killian asked. His dark colored shirt and black vest offered little warmth against the plummeting temperatures. However, he did not indicate it by shivering or otherwise complaining.

“Sure…I mean I was just answering a call about someone attempting to break in cars when I saw Emma’s bug. Someone said they thought they saw the suspect run this way and…”

Emma gave her father a nod, taking a deep breath to switch back into her role as sheriff. “Any description?”

Her father’s eyes drifted to where Killian’s hand was covering hers and giving it a slight squeeze of reassurance. They narrowed and his voice faltered as he answered, “light colored hair, red sweatshirt, about 5’9”, thin.”

“Sounds like a juvenile,” Emma assessed. “I’m assuming we don’t have any camera visuals. Last time we investigated over here the cameras were malfunctioning and I haven’t noticed…”

“Emma,” her father said, his boots shuffling a little on the worn planks of the dock that were beginning to be covered in snow. “You don’t have to…I mean…You’re on a date…I guess you are.”

“Well, yeah,” she said, glancing at Killian who seemed to be enjoying the moment. Suddenly she felt the urge to clear up the misconceptions she had caused. “I didn’t mean to…” She cleared her throat. “I know you probably thought I meant I was seeing that Walsh guy.”

“Your mother’s buying an entertainment center from him,” David answered with confusion. “It’s not my business who…but where is Walsh?” He did manage to lower the flashlight and seem less ominous there on the docks, but still had his hand on his hip and was rocking backwards as he waited for explanations.

“I’m not really sure. I haven’t exactly seen him since the party.” Emma glanced at Killian who was standing closer to her than she realized. That wasn’t exactly unpleasant as a prospect. “Killian and I…”

“You and Killian,” he father parroted with the confusion that it hadn’t dawned on him. “You and Killian what?”

Killian gave her hand another squeeze and took a step forward as though offering himself as tribute. “Aye, mate. I do fancy your daughter and she and I have been spending time together.”

Blinking back at them, David appeared to running through the occasions he had seen them together and attempting to digest this information. “So the conversation about intentions toward Emma should be delivered to you and not Walsh?” It was too dark to know for sure, but Emma thought he looked a little disappointed.

She reminded him that there was a potential thief on the loose and he assured her he had it under control and to go back to her date. Killian just sort of shrugged and offered his analysis that it wasn’t that much of a secret after all. They talked a bit longer, took a slow walk toward her car, and both hopped in with him saying he would walk to Granny’s after she was safely at her parents with her son.

“That’s ridiculous,” she said, speeding up the wipers against the snow. “I can drop you off. No need for you to freeze.”

He looked toward her in the dark car and gave her a soft smile. “Your father is bound to have told your mother about our date, love. I know you had hoped to keep it secret. I only wanted to offer my services should you want them to fend off her disappointment and concern.” He jumped when she placed her hand over his prosthetic.

“I didn’t mean for it to be a secret. I guess I just don’t want to disappoint them with another failed attempt at matchmaking. My mother has to be ready to give up by now.”

“Perhaps,” he said thoughtfully, “she might have to give up anyway. If we were to date, surely she would not attempt to replace me each year.” Her hand jerked away fast, something he noticed. “I hoped you might want…”

She sighed, turning her car off the coastal road to the one that led toward town. “Killian, I am the one who originally asked you out. Even if that was a misunderstanding. I had fun. I enjoy spending time with you. But…”

“But?”

“But we live in two different cities. The special election is going to be over next month. What kind of relationship can we have when you’ll be off on your next job and I’ll still be here? I’m not 18 and free to wander around after you. I have a job, parents, a son, and responsibilities.”

“We could…”

“Killian, I like you. I like spending time with you, but I’m not interested in starting a go no where or long distance relationship. I want more than a pen pal. Think about it. You do too.” The driveway of the farmhouse was coming into sight and then disappeared as she passed it. “I’ll take you back to Granny’s. No sense in talking to my mother about this. We’ll just say it was a one time thing.”

“As you wish.” His voice was quiet, deep, and almost wistful.

~~ CS ~~ CS ~~ CS ~~ CS ~~ CS ~~ CS ~~ CS ~~

As the holidays grew nearer, Emma’s parents and Killian went into campaign overdrive. There were photoshoots of the whole family on the farm. Her mother even managed to sneak in a few candid shots of Emma and Killian. Speaking of Mary Margaret, she was only mildly disappointed at Emma’s secret that she was not seeing Walsh. That was quickly erased as she said she had considered setting her daughter up with Killian, but was quickly dissuaded when her internal voice said her daughter would object. Nobody corrected her on it.

For his part, Killian worked hard and would try to sneak in time with Emma. They shared a few lunches, walked around the farm discussing a few strategies, and shopped together for a present for her parents. He sat with them on Christmas Eve when Emma performed with the choir for mass, looking just as in awe and proud as her parents did. He even joined them for the evening meal on Christmas, leaving behind a gift for Emma rather than making a big deal of her opening it in front of everyone.

As the wreathes were removed and the snow seemed not as white, the election day finally drew close and Killian was even more of a fixture. He was constantly showing up with a new tactic and shoving his client in front of cameras to announce a proposed initiative. Everything from illiteracy to hunger would be addressed by Mary Margaret Nolan for mayor. When election day arrived, more than 60% of the voters chose her and he beamed proudly from the sidelines. Most people noticed the hug shared between Emma and Killian, but it seemed to be just part of the celebration. It went so long into the night that nobody really saw the two of them saying goodbye the next morning.

“I wish it was different,” she admitted, folding her arms over her chest. “I’m sorry.”

“Perhaps someday, love. After all, nothing stays the same.”

She watched as the Uber driver loaded his bags and Killian reluctantly slid into the backseat. Their eyes were locked and the unsaid words hung in the air. She wasn’t sure she even breathed again until she was pulling up in front of her parents’ house. Her father was flipping pancakes, but her mother was at the doorway even as she dragged up the steps of the front porch.

“I like him,” her mother said. “He’s a good man.”

“Yeah,” Emma agreed, accepting the hug and hurrying in before the next gust of wind. “I just…I don’t want this every time we see each other. I don’t want to miss him and have the constant feel like a clock is counting down the hours.”

“I know, Emma. And that is very practical, but if you…”

Emma didn’t wait for her mom to finish the statement before greeting her father and asking about setting the table. It wouldn’t be the last time that her mother brought him up. She would over the next few months, mentioning seeing him at some event or another. Emma never asked, but her mother would always update her on his well being. It wasn’t that Emma didn’t know. He still called. He texted. When he was in the area he would invite her to dinner or to an event. She occasionally went but always told herself it was just casual. He never tried to kiss her again and she never sat herself too close to him, despite Ruby’s advice to do so.

A book he had mentioned to her once said of the protagonist and her lover turned best friend, “they would continue to call and write until eventually they were just acquaintances and no longer a real part of each other’s lives.” That’s what Emma resigned herself to when he didn’t answer her text or voicemail inviting him to her parents’ annual party. He’d been pretty scarce for the past few weeks. Their conversations short and usually interrupted by something or someone. She once even heard a female voice in the background and wondered if he was seeing someone. That idea hurt more than she wanted to admit.

She wore red to her parents’ party, her hair hanging loose and the smile on her face tense and unyielding. She was sipping on champagne and watching as Regina and Robin twirled around the room still in bliss nearly a year after their wedding. Walsh was there too, dancing with Zelena and inking a new design deal with Marco. Neal had brought Tink as his date, which made Emma roll her eyes. And her parents were at their prime greeting and hugging all of those in attendance.

“Emma,” her mother called out when a few more guests were greeted. “Come here. I want you to say hello to someone.”

Ruby gave her a sympathetic look as Emma begrudgingly dragged her feet over to where her parents were standing. And there he stood, Killian in a freshly pressed suit with a wide smile on his face as she approached. Her mother was giddy as she mockingly introduced them. “Emma, you remember my old campaign manager, Killian, right? Well, he was in town getting settled because his new job at the governor’s office starts next month. I was thinking that he might be just the kind of guy you’d like to get to know.”

#csss #csss2020 #Captain Swan

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emy-loves-you · 4 years ago

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Sanders Sides AU-gust Day 17: Modern Setting

Remus, Janus, and Virgil were all in a relationship when they were teenagers. But because of college and family issues, they were forced to separate. Now, 5 years later, they’ve found each other again. They’re currently in relationships, but that won’t stop them from having fun. Virgil POV, Intruanxceit with Moxiety, Roceit, Intrulogical and familial Morolo

Implied sexual content, mention of drug use

Day 16 | Masterlist | Day 18

“So, why are we going again?”

“Because Lolo’s got a boyfriend, silly! And now’s the perfect time for everyone to meet each other and catch up. It’ll be fun, I promise!”

Virgil sighed. “If you say so.” Virgil closed his eyes in a belated attempt to get some sleep while he thought over his current predicament. Virgil and Patton had been dating for almost a year now, and this would be the first time that Virgil met Patton’s brothers, Logan and Roman. Not only that, but he would also be meeting their boyfriends, who neither Virgil nor Patton knew anything about. Four essential strangers, all of whom Virgil was supposed to get along with. It was nerve-wracking to think about. But Virgil would do it. For Patton.

Patton Sanders. Lovable, enthusiastic Patton. A godsend that Virgil didn’t deserve. Every day was filled with soft kisses and gentle touches. “I love you” was spoken as often as “Hello.” It was so… warm. And peaceful. And different from everything Virgil had ever known beforehand.

“We’re here!” Virgil slowly opened his eyes, the earlier dread returning with a vengeance. He felt his anxiety coil in his gut as he got out of the car. He stuffed his hands into his hoodie pocket, suddenly self-conscious about his state of dress. Patton had said to dress casual, but what if this was too casual? “Ready?” Virgil’s eyes snapped up to meet Patton’s. Patton had a small smile on his face, making sure to keep his distance. Virgil was grateful for his boyfriend’s thoughtfulness (he didn’t like to be touched when he was anxious). Virgil nodded, forcing his feet to take him to the door.

Patton knocked on the door, adjusting the tray of cookies that Virgil had forgotten they’d made. There was some scuffling before someone yelled “I’ll get it!” Virgil used all of his willpower to not let the confusion show on his face. It was probably just the way the door muffled their voice, but Virgil swore that sounded just like-

The door opened to reveal Janus Python. There’s no way Virgil was mistaking him for someone else. From the heterochromatic eyes to the scar on his cheek to the way he carried himself. Virgil just stood there and silently stared. How long had it been since he’d last seen Janus? (That was a rhetorical question. Four years, eleven months and three days. There wasn’t a day that went by where Virgil didn’t reminisce about the times he had with his ex-boyfriends. The drugs, the sex, the chaos, the fun. )

“Hello!” Virgil’s eyes snapped over to Patton, who didn’t seem to notice his silence. “I’m Patton and this is my boyfriend, Virgil.”

Janus blinked before smiling. “Pleasure to meet you. My name is Janus. I’m Roman’s boyfriend.” He held open the door, not sparing Virgil another glance. “Do come in. The others are waiting in the living room.” Virgil felt a small pang of hurt at being ignored like that. But on the other hand, it reminded Virgil of the games they would play at parties. They would show up at separate times, pretend like they’d never met each other, use their codewords to start the scene, then put all of their acting and exhibitionism to the test. Virgil had loved those games. Pretending that sexual touches were platonic; making out in an unlocked room where anyone could come in and expose them; kissing someone that wasn’t your boyfriends just to rile them up-

Virgil mentally shook the thought away. Janus wasn’t his boyfriend anymore. They weren’t his boyfriends anymore. Patton was. Sweet, innocent, vanilla bean Patton. Patton, who would immediately break up with Virgil if he knew of Virgil’s life before meeting Patton. It would be best to just ignore Janus for the rest of the day. He probably didn’t even recognize Virgil. And it wasn’t even Janus nor Virgil who started these games, and there was no way that he would also be here-

“And then I said, ‘Joke’s on you, I have two!’” Virgil resisted the urge to scream. In the middle of the living room, telling a story that Virgil had heard hundreds of times, was Remus Duke. Virgil’s other ex-boyfriend. Virgil couldn’t believe the irony of the moment. Virgil was here to meet his boyfriend’s brothers, and said brothers’ boyfriends just so happened to be Virgil’s ex-boyfriends. They weren’t even in the same state that Virgil had last seen them! They had all grown up in California; Remus moved to Washington, Janus to New York, and Virgil to Florida. That’s why they had broken up; their relationship was too physical and personal to be long-distance.

Janus cleared his throat, and everyone turned to look at them. Virgil made brief eye-contact with Remus, and he could see the amusement and shock in his eyes. At least he knew that Remus recognized him. Remus smiled. “Well, hello!” He pointed to Patton. “You must be Patton. I can see the resemblance.” A blatant lie. Even though they were all blood brothers, they looked nothing alike. “Lolo’s told me so much about you. All good things!” He looked over to Virgil, a hungry look in his eyes. “Now, who is this handsome stranger?”

The man sitting next to Remus, who Virgil assumed was Logan, lightly smacked Remus on the arm. “Ree, behave.” Remus pouted slightly but nodded.

Virgil took a deep breath before responding. “The name’s Virgil, but you can call me Virge.” He made sure to get eye contact from everyone in the room, but he looked into Remus’ dark orbs as he said ‘Virge.’ After all, ‘Virgey’ was Remus’ favorite nickname for him. Janus went and sat down next to the final individual, who Virgil assumed was Roman. Patton and Virgil sat in the remaining seats. It put Virgil directly next to Remus. Part of Virgil expected Remus to lay his hand on Virgil’s thigh, but Virgil knew he wouldn’t. They hadn’t started the game, after all-

Virgil mentally shook away the thought. They weren’t dating anymore. There was no game. Virgil was going to sit here and be Patton’s perfect boyfriend. Nothing more.

… But Virgil couldn’t stop thinking. About how good Janus’ lips used to taste. About how fun it was to play these games with Remus. About how he still loved them, after all of these years.

Roman, Logan, and Patton chatted for a few minutes while the others sat there silently. Virgil watched as Remus and Janus made eye contact before Remus stood up. “Well, while you three catch up, I’m gonna go get me something to drink. I’m thirstier than a shark in the Sahara.” Virgil felt his breath hitch slightly. That was it. The codephrase they used to start their games. Remus turned to Janus. “Do you want anything, beautiful?”

Janus seemed to ponder the question for a moment before standing up. “I’ll go with you. I’m positively parched.” Janus’ codephrase for ‘I wanna play.’ Janus asked the others what they would like, but Virgil tuned them out. It was inconsequential to the game. Janus then turned to Virgil. “Is there anything you would like, Virgil?” They’re giving me an out. I could say no and pretend I never knew them. But…

Virgil looked over at Patton. Sweet, submissive, vanilla Patton. Then he looked back at Remus and Janus. Two men that knew how to make Virgil scream down to a science. Two men that knew Virgil’s deepest secrets and wildest fantasies. Two men that still held a flame in Virgil’s heart.

Virgil cleared his throat before standing up. “I’ll go see what’s in there. Might grab something to eat while I’m at it.” They all understood the codephrase loud and clear. ‘We need to negotiate some things before we start.’

Remus nodded, his smile widening. “Alrighty then! Let’s go!” Virgil nodded as he followed them out of the room. What did I just sign myself up for?

#sanders sides #AU_gust_2020 #modern setting #intruanxceit #moxiety #roceit #intrulogical #implied smut #past drug use

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anotheronechicagobog · 4 years ago

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The Crackship Sails to Molly’s

Sylvie Brett x Jay Halstead

written by @anotheronechicagobog

Warnings: swearing, implied smut, Daswon sibling bashing, background manstead

A/N: Please comment :)

Jay was on the floor, in pain. The area around his socket was throbbing in pain, and his lower back was definitely going to have a bruise. He didn’t have time to react before Antonio was back and punching him in the face again. “Oh my god, Antonio stop it!”

He wasn’t fighting it, he just didn’t have it in him to try and stop the man he called his friend, though Jay supposed they wouldn’t be friends much longer.

Antonio had managed to get in a few more punches before he was hauled off of Jay by Voight and half of the members of 51. Jay exhaled and went to close his eyes, but was interrupted by her entering his line of vision.

Sylvie.

Her mouth was moving, and Jay could vaguely hear her speaking over the shouting men and women. “Sylvie? Are you okay?”

“Me- What? Jay, I’m not the one who just got mauled by Antonio.”

“So you’re okay?”

“Alright get up, I’m taking you to med now. No arguments.”

“Okay.”

“Oh pickles, you’re actually agreeing to go to the hospital, something must be really wrong with you.”

“As long as you’re okay.” His voice was so hoarse he almost didn’t recognize it. Sylvie sighed as he looked at her dazedly while she buckled him up in her car. “I’m okay, I promise. I just have to make sure that you’re okay too.”

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SIX MONTHS AGO

It had been months since Erin left, and months since Sylvie had to dump Antonio because of his ex-wife. Jay and Sylvie ended up at a table together, neither one was feeling particularly happy at the moment and didn’t want to be around their romantically successful friends. So they sat together, nursed their drinks, and talked about Harry Potter. They’d bumbled around in discussion for a while, not having a whole lot in common, before finding out they were both Harry Potter fans. Will, the rest of the intelligence unit, and 51 weren’t big fans of the book series, sure they’d seen the movies but that was about it. They both found it relaxing to just talk about something that wasn’t about their important work or love.

They started to spend more and more time together. It started because Sylvie mentioned how she hadn’t grown up in Chicago and was so busy she never got to see the sights, so Jay took it as a challenge and started showing her his favourite parts of the city. Restaurants, theatres, parks, museums, galleries, all of it. He even took her to a restaurant in Canaryville where everyone who worked there had known him his whole life. Sylvie was enthusiastically told stories from Jay’s childhood. Hiding behind curtains buck naked, exposing everyone on the street to his six-year-old butt while he and Will shook in giggles. Block-wide water gun fights. Years of ding dong ditch. Sylvie was in stitches before she even got her food.

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THREE MONTHS AGO

There was a fire. A bad one. And after receiving a patient on a gurney, something in the basement exploded, Sylvie and the patient were thrown several metres away. No one else had been injured, but Sylvie wouldn’t wake up, was bleeding profusely out of a cut on her head, and she had shrapnel in her back. It didn’t look good.

“Alright everyone, gear up. 51 just responded to a fire at a suspected meth lab, it was confirmed five minutes ago by an explosion. A paramedic, Sylvie Brett, was critically injured and is currently fighting for her- Halstead? Halstead where do you think you’re going? Halstead get back here!” At the words ‘Sylvie Brett’ Jay’s blood ran cold. At ‘critically injured’ he went into autopilot. Just stood up and left. Didn’t even grab his jacket. He ignored his boss’s enraged screams. He just got in his truck and drove to Med.

He ignored the odd looks he got from those at 51. He ignored his coworkers and boss when they came by to talk to their witnesses/ask him what the actual fuck was going on. He ignored his brother and sister-in-law when they asked him why he was there. He just stayed sitting in the uncomfortable chair for hours, watching nurses and patients flitter between the doors to the ED. It had been six hours when Platt came by to yell at him too only to be interrupted by Dr. Rhodes. “Sylvie is awake and stable, I expect her to make a full recovery. We can only allow one visitor at a time, and she has been asking for Jay since she woke up, she’s pretty frantic, so you’ll have to come quick.” He stood up and almost ran past Rhodes into her room, ignoring the confused looks from everyone at firehouse 51 and Trudy Platt.

“Jay, Jay, Jay, Jay, Jay-”

“I’m here Syl, I am right here.” She sobbed as he wrapped her hands in his. “I am right here, and it’ll take an army to get me to move. Or you, but that’s basically the same thing if someone denies you chocolate.” The laugh that briefly interrupted her sobs made his day, releasing the tension he’d been holding all day. Jay sagged in relief, and just held one of her hands as he used the other to gently hug her, hold her as she cried, sobbed, hiccuped and, whimpered from the physical pain expressing her emotions was causing her. “I thought I- w- was goi-i-ing to-o die-e.”

“I know,” he choked, “I thought you were going to die too.”

Jay had refused to leave the hospital until Sylvie ordered him to. “At least shower and change, ooh, get something to eat too.”

“You just want me to bring you mac and cheese don’t you?”

“You know me so well.”

“Alright, I’ll be back in an hour, don’t watch ‘Say Yes to the Dress’ without me.”

“You will take at least three hours to come back here.”

“Sylvie-”

“You have been sitting and worrying for the past three days, take some time for yourself. Don’t make me get Maggie involved.”

“Okay, fine, I will be back in three hours. Can you still wait to watch ‘Say Yes to the Dress’ with me?”

“Duh.”

“Okay, see you later.” He kissed her on the side of her forehead that wasn’t bandaged, and left, starting an alarm on his phone for three hours. He would be back on the dot.

The second he got to the lobby, however, he was met with all of firehouse 51 and the 21st district standing up, expecting news from him. “I’d love to stay and chat, but I have orders to shower and change from Syl. Apparently I smell.” Trying to use his charm to get out of a situation he didn’t feel like explaining. But, he knew everyone glaring at him well enough to know that they needed some kind of answer. “Sylvie has become a very important friend to me, that day was one of the worst I’ve had in a long time.” Fewer glares, more confusion, and a free Jay Halstead.

He returned to his favourite person on the planet exactly three hours later with two containers filled to the brim with homemade macaroni and cheese, his laptop, and a box set of the Harry Potter books. “You, are an absolute angel, Jay Halstead.”

“No more than you, Sylvie Brett. Here is your food.”

“Oh, it’s still warm. Okay, time for bridal drama and lots of carbs!”

Sylvie was still in the hospital with Jay at her side as much as possible for another week. When she was given the all-clear to leave, no one seemed satisfied with the answer that Jay was taking her home. “Gabby I’ll be fine! Jay is one of my best friends, okay? He’s gonna drive me home, insist he stay longer than he needs to, before eventually leaving me with Otis and Cruz.”

“Okay, seriously, when exactly did you become friends with Jay Halstead? And are you sure that’s all you are?”

“Three months ago, and yes, I am sure that we’re friends. I am gonna hang up now, because I really do not appreciate the third degree.”

“Oh, come on Sylvie, I’m just looking out for you and Antonio, I just want to make sure Jay’s not moving in on you guys.”

“Gabby, there is no me and Antonio. And there hasn’t been for a while. He was great, Eva and Diego were great, it was fun, but he in no way protected or prepared me for Laura. He kept from me how erratic and impulsive and rude her behaviour was. He told me that she knew about me and was fine with cause she’d dating a few guys since the divorce. But it turned out a lot of that wasn’t true. He lied to me, leaving me to fend for myself when she came barreling in on a warpath, and then yelled at me for reacting in a scared and shocked way. He was actually the one who suggested we break up. Whether he likes it or not, she is still a significant part of his and his children’s lives, as well as a significant hindrance. And please, don’t act like we’re getting back together. I loved him, but I’m done with him.” And she slammed her finger on the touch screen much harder than she needed to. “Gabby again?”

“Yes, I love her, and I know she means well, but she doesn’t know everything.”

“And she has a lot of audacity trying to tell you she does. It’ll be okay, I think that everyone is just really stressed out and confused. I think that if we just tell everyone that we bonded over Harry Potter they’ll understand and leave us alone pretty quick.”

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ONE MONTH AGO

Intelligence had set up a meet with a coke dealer to arrest him and get some intel. The buy wasn’t until 1 am and they didn’t have to start gathering equipment and double-checking everything for another three hours, so everyone was just going to eat and try to relax until then. But then Jay’s phone rang. Luna appeared on his screen with a picture of Sylvie staring at a tank of baby jellyfish with complete and utter fascination. “Hey Syl-”

“I need your help.”

“What’s wrong?”

“I know you’re working tonight, but- oh I probably shouldn’t have called-”

“Sylvie, what’s wrong?”

“The blind date I’m on right now? I- he was fine at first but I’m scared. There are red flags everywhere and I’m afraid I’ll end up in a ditch.”

“Marco’s Bistro, right?”

“Yeah.”

“I’ll be there in ten minutes, you’re hiding in the bathroom, right?”

“Yes.”

“Good, stay there until I get there.”

“Of course.”

He nodded at Voight and ignored a livid Antonio. When he got to the restaurant, he told the hostess he was here to rescue his friend from a dangerous date and she didn’t even blink. “She’s still in the bathroom but you might wanna deal with her date after, he’s getting agitated.”

“Green dress shirt by the painting of the heron?”

“Yup.”

“Got it, thanks.”

“Hey,” he knocked on the door, “Sylvie I’m here.”

She exited and before he could even make eye contact with her she wrapped him in a bone-crushing hug, despite her shaking body. “I am so scared. He picked me up, saying that I couldn’t refuse him, he knows where I live.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll handle it.”

Jay watched her until he could see her in safe his truck before he approached the man, and he knew that Sylvie had every right to be worried. Sharp eyes, nasty temper, tan line on his ring finger, and he looked one second away from just grabbing the next person and caving in their skull. “Excuse me-”

“And just who the fuck are you pal? I’m here on a date so leave before I kick your ass.” Jay pulled his badge out from underneath the collar of his shirt and sat down across from him. “Give me your driver’s licence, please.” The douche (as Jay would call him for the rest of his life) handed it over pretty damn quick, he waved the waitress over. “This man is going to need his bill immediately, please.” She nodded quickly and darted off, then Jay pulled out his phone. “Hey Burgess, I need you to run a name for me. Arthur Garrett. Two t’s. Okay, thanks. Can you send down a couple of officers for me?” He waited until the bill was paid and backup arrived before speaking again. “Mr. Garrett, stand up and turn around. You are under arrest for failure to pay child support and failure to attend court. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you.” After the handoff, he saw his least favourite thing in the entire world. Sylvie crying.

“He had an arrest warrant out, he’s being taken to detainment now. I’m sorry this happened to you Syl, you don’t deserve it.”

“I just feel so stupid.”

“Well don’t, you weren’t even the one who set up the date. Can I ask you a favour though? Let me do a check on everyone you go on a date with, please. I’ll worry a lot less.”

“After tonight? You have a deal.”

“Oh thank God, I was worried I’d have to try and convince you.” He leaned over the console to kiss her cheek, he looked into her expressive eyes and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ears. Neither of them realized how close their faces were until Jay went to speak and their lips brushed together, in a feather-light touch. “We, uh, we were going to order a bunch of pizzas for dinner. It doesn’t look like you got to eat, would you like to join us?”

“That sounds great.”

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THREE WEEKS AGO

Sylvie had gone back to Fowlerton to spend the holidays with her parents and brother, and Jay stayed in Chicago to celebrate with his brother’s family. Will was in the kitchen with Helen, he and a very pregnant Natalie were watching the looney tunes version of ‘A Christmas Carol’ in the living room with Owen. It wasn’t until Jay thought, about ten minutes into the movie, that Sylvie would love to watch this and he’d have to add this to their movie marathon lost for when she got back that he realized just how much he missed her. Her demeanour, her personality, the way she made him feel warm and fuzzy without much effort. And then he had another, much more startling realization. “I’m in love with Sylvie.” Beside him, Natalie snorted and Helen called from the kitchen “congrats on being literally the last person to know.”

“What? How did my brother’s mother-in-law-in-law know before I did?”

“She follows you on Facebook, remember? Basically everything you post is Sylvie, about Sylvie, or Sylvie related. And vice versa, I see the way she looks at you, she’s into you too.”

“It’s only been a few months, how am I in this deep?” Jay completely ignored his brother’s observation, he could barely register his feelings, he didn’t want to get his hopes up about hers.

“Take it from me, Jay, when the right person shows up it doesn’t matter how long you’ve known them or had a bond with them. If it feels good, go with it. It will only cause you pain to move away from it.”

“I don’t know if either of us are ready for that. The timings just not right.”

Nat covered Owen’s ears, “timing is a bitch.” She released a confused Owen who immediately zoned out looking at the tv again with a kiss on his tiny head, “if you don’t think that you’re ready, that’s fine. But don’t put anything down for timing or the universe, they’ll just mess you up.”

“Yeah... I’ll think about it.”

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ONE WEEK AGO

Sylvie had been all set to go camping with Gabby and Stella, she’d been so excited and Jay had spent the last three days with her helping her pack and hanging on to her every word. Watching flit around in a flurry of excitement for a girls week. He was sitting on her bed rolling up her light blue sleeping bag with white polka dots when she got a call from Gabby and her face fell. Lines and bumps moved their way on to her face which was carefree and bright only seconds ago. “Okay, Gabby. I hope you and Matt and Stella and Kelly have fun.”

“She cancelled the trip? Or cancelled you out of the trip?”

”She decided to make it couples only. She also took the opportunity to tell me that Antonio’s single again.”

“You know what? You are not going to be sad. Because you have a week off of work, and so do I because we worked too much OT the past two months. Let’s go to Universal studios, I hear they expanded Harry Potter world.”

She smiled again. Bright and beaming and in a way that was just so, so her. “I’ll look at flights.”

Thanks to a bunch of last-minute deals, coupons, and first responder discounts they were on a plane bound for Florida in three hours. And when they got there, they went into prep mode for the next day, making sure that everything was ready to get up and go to the park, and they were so busy that neither of them noticed that there was only one bed until they were both drifting off to sleep, centimetres apart.

Waking up entangled in each other hadn’t been as awkward as either of them thought it would be. It was nice, warm. And it only got better as the week went on. They spent three days at Universal Studios, three at Universal Island Adventure, and one at Disney. Taking as much time as they could at each place. They went on every ride they could, multiple times, enjoyed all the themed food, took far more pictures than they had ever taken in their entire lives, and waited until the last day to buy any souvenirs because of how expensive everything was. They even held hands every day, Jay’s reasoning was so that Sylvie wouldn’t get separated from him but because of the time of year the population of the park was sparse compared to what it could have been. Sylvie knew this, knew that she didn’t have to hold his hand, but she wanted to. Badly. She didn’t care if it was only for while they were in Florida, she could pretend while they were there that they were more than friends. Because once they went home, she had to pretend that she didn’t love him with all her heart. But honestly, they had the time of their lives. Fun, food, and unresolved romantic tension. What could be better? It was their last day in Florida, their rental car was already loaded up with their stuff and after the fireworks display at Disney they were headed back to Chicago.

Sylvie’s hair was mussed from the long day, and while she looked tired, she couldn’t take her eyes off of the display. And Jay couldn’t take his eyes off Sylvie. The multi-coloured lights were reflected in her eyes and the wind was blowing her hair gently. Sylvie could feel him staring at her and when she turned to ask him was what wrong, she stopped, her words dying in her throat. Jay’s entire soul was playing through his eyes. It was as if there was a tether connecting the two of them. Neither of them could turn away or blink. And Jay just went for it. He leaned down and kissed her with all the emotion his body possessed. The kiss making Sylvie feel weak in her knees. She wrapped her arms around his neck in part to stabilize himself, and in part to pull him closer. They’d missed the rest of the display just holding each other, but neither of them could bring themselves to care.

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PRESENT DAY

Dr. Choi had been assigned to Jay. He raised an eyebrow at Sylvie seated on the bed beside him but made no comment, paying heed to the words of wisdom Maggie had just bestowed upon him, “she’s the only reason he’ll behave and accept treatment.”

“Alright, while I’m happy you’re not here with a bullet wound detective Halstead, coming back after a fight wasn’t exactly what I had in mind when I said ‘avoid lead’.”

“And deprive you of my charming personality?”

“Yeah, yeah. Now follow my finger, let’s hope you don’t have a concussion.”

It had only taken about twenty minutes to determine that Jay, miraculously, didn’t have a concussion or any broken bones. Just a lot of swelling and bruises. “Thanks, Choi.”

“No problem, while you are discharged and free to go, you can’t travel yourself, I’m actually you can see with how swollen the areas around your eyes are.”

“That’s no problem, I’ll drive him home.”

“Alright, good. Remember Jay, desk duty for a week.”

“Ugh, I’m already bored.”

“I’m sure you are, now let’s go. I want to leave before a Dawson comes barreling in here, cause I might start swinging punches too.”

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The next week Jay avoided Antonio, not intentionally though. After hearing what happened Voight decided to keep Halstead in the basement as much as possible for his desk duty. While it was boring and agitating not being in the field, Sylvie made sure to send him as many hilarious snapchats as possible, many of which consisted of her hiding in ridiculous places to avoid Gabby. The photo that had offended the Dawsons so greatly sat framed on his temporary desk. Apparently, the people behind them at the fireworks display their last day there thought they were so cute that they took a couple of pics during and after their kiss, but the new couple had left before they could be asked for contact info for the pictures. Luckily, they’d overheard them before the fireworks display talking about how while they were sad to go back to Chicago that night, the fire and police departments desperately needed them to keep their partners in line. It had been an amusing joke to Sylvie and Jay, but a way to post the photos for the people behind them. The Dawsons were already pissed that Jay was ‘moving in on Antonio’s girl’, but when they saw the photos on Facebook, with that mother posting the, admittedly gorgeous, pictures with the tags for CPD and CFD, looking for them so that the ‘adorable couple’ could have pictures from their first kiss, they were both livid. Gabby unleashing all of her fury, most of which was for unrelated things, on Sylvie at Molly’s, while Antonio just started punching.

It all came to a head when Jay was picking up Sylvie from her shift after he had finally been cleared to drive and go back to work. “Hey, you.”

“Hello, gorgeous.” Their quick peck was stopped by Gabby darting in between them and physically pushing them apart.”How can the two of you do this to Antonio? He still loves you Sylvie, even after all this, how can you-”

“Okay, you know what Gabby? You need to shut the fuck up.”

“Brett-”

“Uh-uh. I am talking now. Antonio screwed up. He lost his chance with me. So not only do you need to stop trying to meddle in my love life, but you need to stop feeling entitled to it. You have no say in who I do or do not date. End of discussion. No, ifs, ands, or buts. I am honestly at my wit’s end with you. I don’t even consider you a friend anymore because of how poorly you’ve been treating me.”

“Bu-”

“And don’t pull any more of that ‘but you dated my brother’ crap. I only did so at your encouragement. And I seriously regret dating him because of how much trouble you two are causing for me now because I choose to have a life and not let the end of my relationship with Antonio be the end of me. You need to leave me alone. I’ve already reported you to HR. I had no other choice after you locked me in the ambo for hours today without my phone or radio and wouldn’t let me out unless I got back with your brother. Goodbye Dawson. I’ll see you next shift.”

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THREE MONTHS LATER

Sylvie and Gabby were finally back on speaking terms, but took them a while to get there. Natalie and Hailey had become her best friends. They both understood how awful it was for someone to feel entitled to your love life, and how much gossipy coworkers who were closer than peas in a pod knew how to affect you more than anyone else. 51 had originally been avoiding taking sides, something that Sylvie was grateful for, and she made sure they knew she’d never ask them to choose. Everything, barring their relationships with Antonio and Gabby, went back to normal. Stella was asking for details about Jay, Cruz, Otis, Hermann, and Boden cornered him at Molly’s one night and threatened him, Upton told Sylvie plainly that she wasn’t allowed to hurt Jay, and the two made each other their emergency contacts. Jay also made stops by the firehouse with doughnuts from the place just around the corner from the 21st district. Sylvie, a secretly amazing cook, also dropped by the station with homemade food for the unit and Trudy on long nights.

Molly’s, in a bid to get more customers, started having trivia nights. Sylvie and Jay were practically vibrating in excitement because the trivia night that night was for Harry Potter.

“What did Draco steal from Neville during flying lessons in the first movie?”

“A remembrall!”

“What was the name of Hermione’s cat?”

“Crookshanks!”

“What was the device Hermione used to go back in time during the third movie?”

“A time turner!”

“Okay, and the winning pair is... Sylvie Brett and Jay Halstead! And can I just say that even though I work at 51 and not at the 21st district, I feel like I should have known that detective I-am-a-badass-army-ranger-and-can-kill-you-twelve-different-ways-with-a-pencil-eraser Halstead was such a nerd!” There was a roar of laughter from everyone including Jay. “Laugh all you want, being a nerd is how I got my amazing girlfriend.”

“Damn right it is.” A celebratory kiss was met with cheers from the tipsy group. “Alright, alright, stop making out with my honourary sister and come get your gift card to the aquarium.”

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EIGHT MONTHS LATER

Jay was trying to be sensitive to Antonio, really, he was. He put his photos of Sylvie in his locker, not on his desk, he took calls from her in another room. He didn’t talk about her with anyone from the unit. Sylvie was like an entity of golden light, anyone would be a fool to mistreat her or let her go, and Jay knew that both of the Dawson siblings were beating themselves up over their mistakes. But now Jay was pissed. Did he really think that Jay was so stupid he wouldn’t spot him at the table three rows down from them? That he wouldn’t make sure to take a closer look at the man sitting alone in a restaurant designed for dates, wearing all black, with a baseball cap and shades? And that was seriously the worst disguise, too. He could see numerous other couples and the staff take notice of him and they all looked concerned. Hell, even Sylvie noticed him the second he walked in! So they had decided in a little bit of revenge. They normally wouldn’t display PDA above hand-holding or a quick kiss, but tonight they’d made an exception. They were going all out, even choosing to sit on the same side so not only did Antonio have a clear view of both of them, but Jay would lean down and nibble on Sylvie’s neck, Sylvie would lean close to his ear and whisper in his ear, far, far too much physical contact. Oh, and kisses with tongue, can’t forget those when trying to make someone immensely uncomfortable.

They kept it up all throughout dinner and dessert. At some point in between appetizers and receiving the dessert menu, the PDA stopped being an act. They started riling each other up, enjoying what they were doing to each other. They finished dessert incredibly aroused, and paid the bill as quickly as possible. Jay was vaguely aware of Antonio following them but he couldn’t bring himself to care.

They made it to Jay’s apartment in record time and started ripping off each other’s clothes the second the door was locked. Jay lofted Sylvie up and carried her into his bedroom with Sylvie distracting him, kissing and biting his neck. Once they made it there everything happened slow and steamy, with Sylvie screaming Jay’s name multiple times, Jay purring and growling in her ear. They were vaguely aware of someone pounding on the apartment door, whoever it was (Antonio) had been doing so since Jay and Sylvie locked the door. But they didn’t care. They only focused on each other. They let him knock.

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*Brring, brring*

“Mhm, Halstead.”

“Halstead, we caught a case in Humble Park. Meet Upton there.”

“Sure thing Voight.” He hung up and stared at Sylvie for a moment, taking in her soft skin, mussed hair, and even breathing. He kissed her forehead and closed his eyes as he wrapped his arms around her. “I love you, Sylvie Brett.”

“Mmm, I love you more, Jay Halstead.”

“Did I wake you?”

“Your phone did. You want me to make you some breakfast while you get in the shower?”

“That would be great.” He kissed her, revelling in the feeling of his naked body against hers first thing in the morning.

Jay walked onto the scene with a spring in his step, homemade breakfast in his stomach, and a reusable take-out cup filled with amazing coffee. “You’re looking happy Halstead. How’s Sylvie?”

“She’s great. She made these egg muffins, they’re really good, she sent a few in a container for you if you want them.”

“I absolutely want them. Sylvie is so sweet.”

“She really is.”

“You are so smitten.”

“I am, I uh, I’m actually thinking about proposing.”

“Oh my god, that’s huge!”

“Do you think she’d say yes?”

“Oh, she definitely would.”

“I haven’t had a chance to talk to Nat yet, but would you come with me to help pick out a ring?”

“You got it.”

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Jay was beyond nervous, but he was ready. He was ready for Sylvie to be his fiance, then his wife, then the mother of his children. Sylvie was just getting dressed and then they were heading to the park for an Irish festival, which would end in green fireworks. “Hey!” Sylvie jumped out from their bedroom in a deep green knee-length dress. “What do you think?”

“You look absolutely gorgeous. Seriously, I have absolutely no idea how I got lucky enough to date you.”

Later, just before the fireworks were about to begin, after they’d spent the whole day dancing and eating, Jay led Sylvie to a spot on a hill that two officers had been guarding for him, courtesy of Trudy. “This is an amazing spot, Jay. What did you have to bribe Trudy with to keep it?”

“Permission to take pictures and a speech if you say yes.”

“Yes to what- oh my god.”

“Sylvie Brett. You are the light of my life, I have never been this happy before and it’s all because of you. I love you so much and I want you to be my everything for the rest of our lives. So please, Sylvie, will you marry me?”

“Yes, of course, YES!” Jay slid the ring Natalie and Hailey had help him choose onto her finger, then he jumped up, wrapped her in his arms and twirled her in the air. He stopped, still holding her, Sylvie caressed his face lovingly before leaning down and kissing the love of her life. Completely ignoring the fireworks behind them, and the camera shutters in front of them. They were getting their happy ending, and they were going to love every second of it.

#One Chicago #Chicago Fire #Chicago PD #chicago med #jay halstead #sylvie brett #jay halstead x sylvie brett #gabby dawson #antonio dawson #antonio dawson x sylvie brett #brettonio #hailey upton #Natalie Manning #will halstead #will halstead x natalie manning #manstead #brettstead #brettstead fic

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spinnin-burnice · 3 years ago

Text

Watch Dogs: Legion x AmRev

@burgoyned Chapter 6 pumped out in an hour lol. Not sure if it's any better but feel free to share your thoughts ^^

Chapter 6: Keep Calm and Resist

André sat in front of his computer browsing through the information from the damaged Spiderbot. As he sat there pondering, Howe and Burgoyne chatted about the easiest road leading to Royal London Hospital. After hearing about increased Albion security in the streets (i.e. more fighter drones patrolling the streets), Bagley suggested a more covert way of reach the destination. “Best case scenario would just take a taxi there so that way you won’t be under the radar,” he said as he closed the map. “I’m up for whatever. You wanna come with me, André?” Howe asked the hacker. André shrugged. “I guess. I’m finding some disrupted data that needs to be cleaned up.” “I can take care of that,” Bagley chimed in. Howe looked at his phone. The time reads 10:15 PM. “If we head there now, there shouldn’t any workers present. Most likely security guards, but they can be taken care of.”

“Ok. We’ll be off. Don’t do anything stupid, Burgoyne,” warned André. The playwriter held his hands up yet said nothing. Both André and Howe left the Safehouse and walked into The Earl’s Fortune where they found the pub mostly empty except for a few patrons sitting at the lounge smoking and chatting. Clinton sat at the bar with Hanger discussing current events. The bartender looked up and smiled. “Y’all out for a night exploration?” “Of course. London looks beautiful at night. We’ll be back shortly.” “Sure thing. And do be careful Albion is everywhere tonight,” Clinton said. André gave his friend a reassuring smile before leaving the pub with Howe. Using his phone, the fighter flagged down a taxi. He climbed into the driver’s seat with the hacker in the passengers. Tossing his bag into the back, Howe began setting up the GPS route to the Royal London Hospital. “This shouldn’t be too long of drive….15 minutes. Sounds reasonable enough,” he said as he shifted into drive. “Methinks that the hospital is going to be heavily secured tonight,” André muttered while watching an Albion guard detain a civilian on the street. Howe looked over and shook his head. Around 10:30 PM, the men pulled up to the Royal London Hospital.

It was to be expected; guards patrolled the entrance of the hospital, including the driveway where ambulances are parked. Making his way towards the front entrance, Howe and André put on their masks and hid behind a brick wall. The hacker pulled out his phone and almost immediately pinged, directing the signal to a nearby ctOS fighter drone. We could use the drone to clear the guards. Hacking the drone, André began piloting it inside the main entrance where Albion guards are stationed and proceeded to take the guards down one by one. Howe watched with curiosity as the hacker pointed the drone towards a guard on the second floor before he prodded his friend. “I see the data machine look!” he hissed. There was a black box located right behind the guard which made the mission more convenient than they both thought. André shot the guard then flew the drone close to the machine. “Alright. Wait…” he stopped. Howe became confused. “What happened?” he asked. “Someone seemed to have cleared the data from the machine. The drone isn’t picking up anything.” “

“Do they know we were coming then?” “Not sure. But no data is coming from that box.” It was then Bagley pinged their earpiece. “It appears that someone has already hacked the data from the file server. I do believe there is backup storage stored somewhere on the other side. See if you can find something.” “Copy that. Alright.” André piloted the drone to the front of the hospital. There are several stories; each floor containing rooms of many patients as well as nurses and doctors working night shifts. Outside, the balcony floors were devoid of any sign of life, except for a few hospital workers. Gently flying the drone away from the windows, André finally located the backup file storage sitting on the fourth-floor balcony. “Second time the charm here we go…” He flew the drone towards the black box only for the phone to be suddenly disconnected.

Frustrated, André attempted to reconnect his phone back towards the drone. He successfully regained control only to see part of it damaged. “Oh God, who could it be now?” he groaned. Tilting the drone to the side, both men saw another fighter drone next to them. “What the...GET OUT OF HERE!!” André snarled and attempted to shoot it. He was unlucky. The other drone dodged the laser and proceeded to shoot the ctOS drone, destroying it. The phone signaled a loss of connection. Bagley pinged again. “It seems that someone has gained access to the backup storage. Looks like all the data are cleared from this location.” “DAMMIT!! Ok, what about St. Thomas could you check on that?” André said, giving Howe an incredulous look. The fighter shook his head. A moment of silence conveyed until Bagley spoke up. “Unfortunately I was unable to locate any data worth recovering from there. And don’t bother attempting Guy Hospital, that one was long cleared.” “Fuck! Ok, well appreciate your help, Bagley.” “Certainly. You should probably get back. Lord Germain has now issued a curfew at midnight.” Both men growled at that name. “We’ll be sure to head back,” André responded, tapping his earpiece. They both got up and walked towards their car only to notice a message clipped to their windshield. Howe took of his Ded Coronation mask, tossed it into the taxi, and started reading the note. André slid next to him. “What does the note say?” “It’s not a note,” Howe whispered. Staring at the paper, André read out loud the message:

Hey DedSec,

~~~~~~~~~C@N’T F1ND WH@T Y0U’R€ L00K!NG F0R? B€TT€R LUCK N€XT T1M€~~~~~~~~(8>

“DeFaLT”

“ ‘DeFaLT’? The Polish black hacker and well-known DJ? HOLY CRAP YES!!” André’s eyes lit up like fireworks. “Have you heard any of his songs Billy? He’s got helluva a collection.” His enthusiasm was not shared by his friend, who was staring at the paper with a blank expression. “William? Is everything ok?” the hacker asked, concerned. “Huh? Oh, nothing…it’s just…” Howe stopped. Defalt. Richard loves that man just like André. Even learned to hack like him. Could it be…? The fighter shoved the paper into his jacket before entering the taxi. André got into the passenger seat, head swimming with mixed emotions.

The drive back to the pub was extremely quiet. André wanted to continuously share his enthusiasm about his favorite artist but couldn’t since Howe was not in the mood to converse. They arrived back at The Earl’s Fortune. Few patrons still sat by the fireplace, conversing over the news while Hanger poured drinks to a few customers at the bar. Entering the passcode, Howe and André returned to the Safehouse where Howe tossed his bag onto the desk next to Bagley and walked towards the broken down train converted into a bar. Clinton, who was sitting on the leather couch tuned into his headphones while browsing his laptop, looked up and saw André standing there with a glum look on his face. He took his headphones off, placed his laptop on the couch before getting up to comfort the hacker. “What’s the matter? Got busted by Albion?” “No. It’s something else…” André said quietly. Bagley spoke up. “Every hospital record has been taken by someone. Not sure whom it may be, but it seems that person knows what we’re up to.” “A spy? Well well guess we’ll have to watch our backs,” Clinton said, sighing in disbelief. Howe finally emerged from the train and pulled out the note from his pocket.

“This is what I found on the taxi we drove. Looks like someone was playing ‘DeFaLT’ and got to us before we could.” Clinton took the note and stared at it. “My God it looks as if someone is trying to cosplay as an actual hacker, writing a note like that.” He turned it over to find nothing else. “Probably some kid on the street who thinks it’s funny to play games like this.” Clinton handed back the paper. “In any case, we’ll need to cover our tracks more discretely from now on.” Howe looked back at the paper. “We may have to. Although I do plan on paying a visit to the Royal Navy shipyard tomorrow.” “How so?” Clinton inquired. “I have a hunch….but I could be wrong….that my brother wrote this message. He could be trailing us.” “Richard? That guy hasn’t spoken to you in ages how could he possibly emerge from the shadows like this? It doesn’t make any sense,” André pointed out. Howe sighed. “Look, I’m going to the navy quarters to find out. Y’all wouldn’t mind coming with me?”

“Why certainly. Hmm, where is Burgoyne?” “He’s in the training room trying to ‘jack himself up.’ “ Clinton grunted. Bagley snickered. “As if that’s not the only thing he’s ‘jacking up’ on.” “DAMMIT BAGLEY!!” Clinton yelled as everyone burst out laughing. Exhausted, André slid onto his gamer chair before tossing his black DedSec jacket onto the table. His white shirt displayed the fox logo of DedSec in blue highlights, matching his black cargo pants. Stretching, André leaned back and closed his eyes. Who could be playing Defalt? Hmm...Mission Complete.

#watch dogs legion x amrev

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suckmysupernatural · 4 years ago

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Sunshine - Chapter 6

Series Masterlist

Word Count: 1557

Pairing: Sam x OC Sunny

Series Summary: The Winchesters meet a cheerful hunter named Sunny, who quickly captures Sam’s attention. Little do any of them know what lies in store when Sunny gets invited to join the brothers. Who can say how Sam, Dean, and Sunny will be some training days, a handful of hunts, romantic dates, a kidnapping, and one vengeful demon later.

Chapter Summary: The case gets wrapped up.

Warnings: language, show-level violence

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

Near the end of the day, the three hunters had decided to meet up at the local diner to discuss their findings. Dean had been to the police station, local bars, even checking out the alleyways looking for men with sinning tendencies. Sunny and Sam had talked with many of the townspeople, posing as journalists who were looking for extraordinary women. Sitting at a booth, they began to trade information.

“I have, like, four town drunks,” Dean said before listing their names. “Oh, and there is this one dude who I caught snorting coke off of a bar bathroom sink.” Both Sam and Sunny were equally disturbed by the information. Bars were not known for their cleanliness, that was for sure.

“Well, we found a couple of women who seem to fit the profile,” Sunny started, looking to Sam so he could continue.

“There is a woman who is a sports coach for teens with disabilities, one who plants gardens around the city to make it look nice, a lady who bakes cookies for those staying in the hospital, and the last one just recently came home from a trip to Africa where she built ten houses for those in need,” Sam explained.

“Well, damn. Those are some do-gooders. So what, we just trail the people until the demon shows?” Dean asked. The three sat in silence, no one knowing where to go from there.

“Why don’t we follow the women? So far it’s one man, one woman and so on. The last that died was a man,” Sunny pitched the idea to the guys.

“There are four women and three of us,” Sam pointed out.

“I think Garden Lady can be counted out for now. Yeah, she is doing good but not at the scale the other three are,” Sunny shrugged. The two men agreed. Tomorrow, they were each going to tail one woman and call the others if they found anything.

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

Sam had been watching a basketball practice for almost two hours now, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. He watched as the kids all left the court, getting their things, and starting to leave. Taking the opportunity, he decided to approach the coach.

“Hi, um, Jeanine?” Sam asked, getting the woman’s attention.

“Yep that’s me, and you are?” Jeanine smiled.

“My name is Sam, I’m a freelance journalist and I am currently writing a piece about extraordinary women. I asked around town and your name came up a lot. I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions?” Sam asked, taking on the role that he and Sunny had the day before.

“Why, sure! The people around town are just the sweetest,” Jeanine shook her head slightly. It was obvious that she wasn’t one to boast about her efforts. She motioned to a bench nearby, her and Sam sitting and facing each other.

“So, Jeanine, what made you want to teach teens with disabilities?” Sam asked. He wanted to ask demon-related questions but knew it would probably be best to start simple.

“I might not look like it, but I’m disabled myself. I have POTS and Ehlers Danlos Syndrome. When I was a kid I really enjoyed going out and being active until I kept getting sprains and injuries. I tried pushing through it but began fainting at random times as well. It was then that I saw a doctor and was officially diagnosed. I asked if I could continue playing sports, but was immediately shut down. My doctor basically said that people with disabilities can’t play sports. I decided that was ridiculous, so I started finding ways to play the sports I loved while also keeping safe. As I grew older, I realized that I wanted to help other kids do that too. When you have a disability you are always told what you can’t do. I decided to focus on what they can.”

“Wow, that’s really great. How has the reaction been of those in town? People must love what you are doing,” Sam said.

“Almost everyone is fantastic about it! I have parents that volunteer to bring snacks for all types of diets, the community here really cares about one another. I do have a few people, however, that don’t like what I’m doing. They say I am getting these kids’ hopes up for no reason or that they are just going to get hurt,” Jeanine sighed. It was obvious that these types of people annoyed her greatly.

“Who would be against this kind of thing? Do they bother you?”

“Well,” Jeanine took a second to choose her words carefully. It was going to be in an article, after all, “I have had one woman that won’t give up. She had tried just about everything to get my programs shut down. She doesn’t even have a reason, it can feel like she has it out for me.” Sam’s eyebrows raised Jeanine’s answer. This could be the lead he was hoping for.

“Off the record, who is this crazy lady?” Sam asked. Jeanine hesitated, not wanting to annoy the woman even farther. He gave her his sympathetic puppy-dog eyes and she folded.

“Name’s Brandi Thomas,” Jeanine told him. The two continued to chat for a few more minutes before Sam excused himself. Walking away from the bench, he sent a text to his two partners. He was going to leave Jeanine to go investigate Brandi. He got two confirmations before heading to the nearby payphone to look at the yellow pages.

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

After finding Brandi’s address, it didn’t take long until he was on her front door. The mailbox was filled to the brim and it looked like there hadn’t been any visitors to the house in a long time. Sam patted his jacket, feeling the demon blade that was tucked into this inside pocket. He had a feeling that he was in the right place. Bringing his knuckles to the wood, he gave a few loud knocks. Sam could hear the footsteps as someone approached the door. It swung open, revealing a middle-aged woman with black hair and piercing blue eyes.

“Yes?” the woman asked, her voice conveying her slight annoyance.

“Hi there, my name is Sam. I am a freelance journalist reporting about those who use other’s disabilities for their own gain. I heard that you might be the perfect person to talk to about Jeanine?” Sam said. The woman’s eyebrows raised in curiosity.

“Brandi,” she said, offering a hand for Sam to shake, “come on in.” She ushered Sam into the home, closing the door behind him. He took the opportunity to pretend he tripped on the rug that sat in the entryway.

“Jesus Christo!” He said, looking in his peripheral. Brandi twitched, her eyes turning a jet black. Sam’s hand went to his jacket pocket, pulling out the blade. The demon saw the glint of the metal, quickly shoving Sam in an attempt to get away. Before Brandi could get far, Sam tackled her onto the ground, stabbing the demon blade into the center of her chest. It was like her skeleton was a glow stick, lighting up orange as the life drained from the demon. Sam stood and wiped the knife off on the lifeless body’s jeans before tucking it back into his jacket pocket. Adrenaline was still pumping through his veins as he cleaned up the corpse, wiping down any surface that might have his handprints on it.

Exiting the house, he pulled out his phone and told the other two that he had dealt with the bitch. They could meet back at the hotel, pack up, and head home.

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

“I wonder why the demon went after the shitty guys too. I mean, the good people make sense; demons want to watch the world burn. Why the sinners though?” Sunny questioned as she shoved her clothes back into her duffel bag. It was something she had been pondering all day.

“Who gives a shit? The bitch is dead,” Dean shrugged. Sunny tossed him a look before resuming packing. Of course, Dean wouldn’t care. He usually left a hunt behind as soon as the monster was rotting in Purgatory. Sunny and Sam, on the other hand, wanted to understand each aspect of a case. The question nagged at Sunny, but she decided to drop it as she felt Sam’s hands snake around her waist. He kissed the back of her head before leaning down to rest his chin on her shoulder.

“You know, maybe she had a bad ex,” Sam joked. Sunny couldn’t help but chuckle along with him. Turning her head, she gave him a quick peck on the lips before stepping out of his arms.

“Let’s get going, Mr. Lucky,” Sunny teased. Sam picked up her duffel bag, along with his, and began to follow her out to the Impala.

“Mr. Lucky?” Dean questioned.

“Yep,” Sunny looked to the older brother, “it’s short for Mr. Getting Lucky Tonight.” She stuck out her tongue as Dean pretended to gag. Looking over at Sam, she winked. He gave her a grin, his eyes raking over her body.

The car ride to the bunker was going to be torture for them all. Sam and Sunny would have to resist taking each other in the Impala’s back seat and Dean would have to resist puking at the thought.

Chapter 7 ->

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kasdeyathebitterwoman · 5 years ago

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Running Mate - Part 4

Eek! Somehow we’re on part 4 and still going! I hope you all are enjoying this series as much as I am. I should have a few more updates for you soon with this series and with the Ninja Warrior Love Story series, so watch this space!

Idea: While running through the English countryside, Henry meets a fun documentarian and sparks fly.

CW: none

Word Count: 3,165 (sorry, the words got away from me on this one!)

taglist:

@maeleeme @andyrazzledazzle @fanfictionaddiction99 @henrycavillluv32 @blossom-a @jhenno2002

The next morning, you wake up groggy from lack of sleep. The screening and after “party” for your documentary went on much later than you anticipated. So much so, you missed your alarm completely which means you missed running with Henry this morning. That was okay though, since you were seeing him later today. You walked out of the guest room where you were staying and into the kitchen where there was fresh coffee.

“Morning, sunshine,” James says and you grunt in response. James is sitting at the breakfast table reading through several of the feedback cards. You make yourself a cup of much-needed coffee then join James at the table. You pick up a few of the cards to read yourself.

“How did Fiona feel about the final product?” you ask. Fiona was your documentary’s main benefactor. She was a really kind woman with an eye for successful projects, so you were hoping that your efforts were worthy.

“She was seriously impressed,” James replied. “Everyone was, just read through the notes here,” he said, so you did. Almost everyone said the same thing, that the film was raw, real, and heartbreaking in a good way. You smiled as you read through the responses. There were some valuable critiques about editing, sound volume, and color correction and then there were some silly comments. You snorted reading a few and James nodded his head in agreement.

“Well, I think last night was a success,” you finally muse and James nods.

“A very successful night for you,” he replies and you squint at him over your mug.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” you ask.

“Oh, nothing,” he sighs. “I just can’t think of anyone else that shows a fantastic documentary then snogs Superman himself in the same night,” James finishes. He isn’t looking at you, but at the notecards, so he can’t see the serious scowl that you are giving.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” you reply, huffing a little.

“Mhmm,” James grunts and you huff a little more.

“Whatever,” you say, standing up from the table. “I’m going to equalize the audio from the second round of interviews,” you go to refill your mug before leaving.

“Alrighty, I’ll feed you Cheese-It’s if you get stuck in your room,” James says and you stop in your tracks.

“Oh my god, I’m going to murder Kyle for telling you that story,” you say and James laughs hysterically. You scowl the entire time walking to the room remembering when your old brother Jeremy caught you kissing a boy and accidentally locked you in your bedroom. Kyle, your older brother of five years, fed you Cheese-Its under the door while you waited for Jeremy to get the tools to fix it.

You got dressed in a large, chunky sweater, leggings, and big fuzzy socks. You took your hair and piled it into a bun on the top of your head. Then you shuffled into the workroom where James had a set up a computer bay for work. You grabbed a set of headphones and began equalizing the second round of interviews your director got.

Hours passed while you worked and you easily found yourself absorbed in the work. You were listening to a woman talk about her experience when something touched your shoulder. At the same time, there was a loud sound on the video.

“AHH!” you scream, jumping in your chair. You whip around to find James jumping back from you with his hands up in the air. Then he doubles over with laughter. “What do you want?” you demand, placing your hand over your heart. James is laughing and crying so hard he can barely talk. Finally, he calms down and composes himself.

“Henry Cavill is here,” he says, still chuckling and wiping away tears at the corners of his eyes.

“Who? Oh!” you yell, bouncing up from your chair and darting out of the room. Henry is standing in the living room looking at several pictures that James has up on the mantle. “Hey Henry,” you say as nonchalantly as possible. He turns around and smiles when he sees you.

“Hey,” he replies and your heart skips a beat. He’s wearing a simple blue shirt, jeans, brown leather shoes, and a newsboy hat. His smile is so genuine, even when it shows off those canines. “Are you ready to go?” he asks slowly taking in your current outfit. You look at him confused then you suddenly remember.

“Oh, no! I’m not ready!” you say quickly and turn to dart of to your room before turning back around. “I definitely did not forget that we were going out, I was just,” you pause trying to think of a better answer other than forgetfulness. Henry is smiling and trying to contain laughter.

“It’s okay,” he replies, the laughter clear in his voice. You sigh and smile at him.

“Give me about five minutes,” you say holding up your hand then darting off for your room. Quickly you throw on a pair of skinny jeans, replace the chunky sweater with a thinner gray sweater, and your ballet flats. You pull your hair out of the bun and run a brush through it quickly. You washed your face the night before so there were no traces of makeup and you didn’t have time to throw anything on now, so this would have to do. As you are leaving your room, you can hear Henry and James chatting about something.

“It’s a project we don’t have backing for just yet, so I’m trying to get as much together before we take it to our benefactors,” James says as you round the corner. You see Henry nodding with interest and then he sees you and smiles.

“Speaking of, James,” you start, waving a little at Henry. “There is a weird sound during Mrs. McClendon’s interview,” you say and James gives you a puzzled look. “Here, come listen. Henry, you can come along as well,” you say, turning and gesturing for the men to follow you. All three of you walk into the workroom and Henry whistles low.

“This looks very familiar to me,” he says and James smiles. You smile as you grab a set of headphones and hand them to James. He puts them on while you pull the audio back to the place of the sound. You can hear it even though the headphones are on his ears and watch as James jumps a little at how harsh the sound is.

“Jesus, that’s intense,” he says, taking the headphones off. “Just mark it and equalize like you normally would and we’ll decide later if we need this section of the interview,” he instructs and you nod. You grab a notepad by the keyboard and write everything down. James and Henry discuss his set up while you find and mark the audio. When you’re done, you turn to the two men.

“Okay, sorry about that Henry, I’m ready to go when you are,” you say and Henry nods. He shakes James’ hand and thanks him for letting him look around. As you leave with Henry, James calls out from the room. “Where are we going, by the way?” you ask, realizing you had no idea what the plan was.

“Well, there is a new exhibit at the Natural History Museum about Ancient Rome. I was thinking we could go take a look and then maybe grab something to eat,” he says and you can almost detect a hint of embarrassment in his voice. You smile wide at him.

“That sounds awesome!” you reply, genuinely excited. You haven’t been to the Natural History Museum here yet, though you’ve lived in London for over a year. You walk out to Henry’s car and he jogs to open the passenger door for you. “Such a gentleman,” you tease as you slide into the car. You can see Henry smiling to himself as he closes the door and jogs around to the drivers’ side. When you glance around the car, it doesn’t take long for you to realize this is a very fancy car and for a moment, you panic.

Henry climbs into the car, starts it, and you nervously arrange yourself in the seat. Henry doesn’t notice and drives off. The ride is silent for the most part until you decide to start asking Henry more about himself. You ask him about his home island, what it was like going to boarding school, and how he decided that acting was the direction he wanted to go in. Henry was a good sport and seemingly answers all of your questions honestly. You laugh with him through stories of growing up with four brothers and empathize with him as he talks about being the “weird” kid at school.

When you arrive at the museum, Henry easily finds parking. You attempt to let yourself out, but Henry stops you, jogging around to open the door for you. You give him a closed-lip smile and can’t refrain from saying something.

“You don’t have to keep doing that,” you say and Henry looks confused. “Never mind,” you say, chuckling and shaking your head. Henry realizes what you meant and blushes.

“Sorry, I’m a gentleman through and through,” he says sheepishly. You reach up and gently cup the side of his face.

“It’s okay, just be better,” you joke before giving him a gentle yet firm pat on the cheek. His expression is a mixture of shock, surprise, and awe and it casques you to laugh out loud. You turn to run but Henry grabs a hold of your hand and pulls you back to him. He embraces you in a firm, playful way, laughing the whole time. After a moment, he lets go and you walk hand in hand with him into the museum.

Because you’ve never been the center of attention, you are much more aware of the stares that Henry, and subsequently you, are getting. Henry doesn’t seem to be phased by it, so you try hard to do the same, but you can’t deny that it’s very strange and unnerving. At the ticket booth, Henry goes to pull out his card, but you bump him out of the way dramatically and offer some cash to the woman. She looked confused as her eyes flicked between Henry and you.

“It’s okay, we’re trying to break him of his horrible, horrible gentlemanly ways,” you say and the ticket girl bursts into laughter. Henry is shaking his head and smiling as you accept the tickets and you smile wide at him as you hand him is the ticket. When you walk up to the next booth to have your tickets scanned, Henry begins gently tickling and nipping at your sides. It causes you to jump around and laugh. The ticket scanner is watching you with a strange look on her face.

“It’s fine, I’m just learning to not be a gentleman,” Henry says sardonically as he takes another jab at you to which you respond with a muffled squeal and slap to his hand. Both he and the ticket scanner laugh before you notice a recognition flash through her eyes. Henry doesn’t see this but you do.

“Do you want to get a picture with him?” you ask her and she smiles as Henry’s eyes dart back and forth before he understands what’s going on. You take the girls phone after she pulls up her camera for you. Henry obliges and puts an arm around the girl while smiling at you as you take several pictures. “Sell those for a lot of money,” you say handing the phone back to the girl. Henry rolls his eyes and barks out a laugh, before grabbing your hand and dragging you off. Once again you smile wide at him. “What? That was sound advice,” you joke at Henry’s side-eye. “Okay, I’m sorry, that was kind of mean,” you say, realizing you may have actually crossed a line with Henry. He stops and turns to you, looking down with those intense blue eyes. Then he reaches down, cups the side of your face and says,

“It’s okay, just be better,” then gently taps the side of your face. Your jaw drops open, but no sound comes out. You watch him walk away, a smug smile plastered across his face. Your place your hand over your heart and call out,

“The grasshopper is learning!” you laugh and watch as Henry laughs along with you. You powerwalk up to him and take his hand with yours, smiling proudly up at him. The rest of the afternoon is spent walking around the Ancient Greece exhibit. Henry enjoys pointing things out to you almost as much as he enjoys listening to you tell him about various bits of information. Several times he is stopped for pictures and autographs and you smile every single time it happens. Henry seems very connected with his fans and genuinely doesn’t seem to mind when they politely ask for something from him. A few times you take the picture for fans so groups or duos can all be together with Henry. What you appreciate is regardless of how chill Henry seems with the interactions, he always checks back with you and asks to confirm you are okay. At one point, the director of the museum found out Henry Cavill was there and offered to give you both a free, private tour of the exhibit.

“So this is how the other half lives,” you mutter, mostly to yourself, but Henry hears you and smirks. He leans down to whisper in your ear.

“I wouldn’t know, I don’t take advantage of half the things I’m offered,” he whispers in your ear. You give him a sideways smirk and laugh at the silly face he makes. The director takes the two of you around the exhibit, explaining the reasoning behind the setup, placement and such. That aspect of the process is fascinating and you can’t help but grill him with questions. The director answers everything willingly and you openly ignore the smirk Henry has every time he looks at you.

When you are done with the tour, you and Henry leave to go get something to eat as planned. He held your hand the entire time to the car and then reached across the console to hold your hand as he drove. Henry picked a nice restaurant not far from the museum. Not only did he open the doors for you, but he pulled your chair out as well. The waiter took your drink orders and left you to examine the menus. A few moments later, you gave your order and sipped the wine that was brought for you.

“I have to say,” Henry starts. “It was interesting to see you hound that museum director back there,” he says, smirking at you. Your jaw dropped and you scoffed.

“I did not hound him,” you claim and Henry snorts.

“You were relentless,” he replies and all you can do is scoff.

“I was interested in the process and I had questions,” you insist. Henry’s raised brow expression causes you to start giggling. Henry joins you and the two of you laugh like school children. You have to calm yourself because your waiter has brought out your food. After a few moments of eating, Henry speaks again.

“Tell me where the name Bulldog Westley comes from,” Henry asks as you finish a bite of your food. You smile, thinking about it.

“It’s a way to pay homage to James’ first love: his dog, Westley,” you say and Henry smiles. “He was the sweetest bulldog I ever met and absolutely the main reason James and I became friends in the first place,” you say, laughing. Henry laughs as well, a smile unmoving from his face.

“How did you and James meet?” he asks and again, you smile at the memory.

“We met at school. I went to The University of North Texas and James was an exchange student in the film program. We officially met while taking a Television Documentary course,” you say and Henry’s blue eyes twinkle. “We did try to date, but he’s honestly more like a fourth brother than a lover,” you say and make a face. Henry laughs, his smile making your heart flutter like crazy. Y’all finish your meal and Henry pays, making a point to look at you as he places his credit card in the book.

The drive back to James’ house is silent, but Henry holds your hand the entire time. His thumb occasionally grazes your knuckles. He pulls into the driveway and parks the car, looking over at you.

“Thank you for today,” you say and Henry offers a gentle smile.

“No, thank you,” Henry replies. “This was an amazing day,” you smile and feel your heart beating a million miles a minute. Henry pulls himself out of the car then jogs around to your door. He opens it and helps you out, then walks you up the short distance to the porch. You stand there, awkwardly wondering what Henry plans to do next. He makes himself clear when he closes the small gap between, gently placing his hands on either side of your face, and pulls you in for a kiss. It’s gentle at first but quickly turns passionate. His tongue teases yours and he moans as you wrap your arms around his shoulders. His hands slip down your shoulders and stop just above your butt on your hips.

Eventually, you break away from him, a smile permanently attached to your face. You look up at Henry through your eyelashes and see that he is smiling just as wide.

“You could come in for coffee or more wine or tea, if you want,” you say, hoping to god he’ll say yes so you can continue kissing those soft, delicious lips.

“I want to say yes, but,” Henry sighs and you groan.

“Oh, I know that ‘but’ well,” you murmur and Henry chuckles.

“I know, I’ve got work and meetings in the city,” he replies.

“You don’t have to explain it to me, baby,” you say and Henry smiles.

“Keep calling me that and I’ll never make it home,” Henry murmurs.

“Baby, baby, baby,” you purr, leaning in close to him. Henry sighs, pulling your body close to his. He leans down and kisses you deeply again. You snake your fingers through his hair, moaning into him. You kiss him passionately, feeling the warmth of his body even through his clothes. Finally, you break away from him, you both breathing heavily.

“I have to go,” Henry whispers, not letting go of you and not backing away.

“Then go,” you whisper back and Henry smiles painfully. He finally leaves and you watch as he drives away down the private road, running your thumb over your lips still feeling the tingle of Henry’s kiss.

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