#not in love with how this turned out but it’s fine i love paulkins

[doug-meat]

Paulkins on Halloween :3?

they didn’t feel like coming up with complicated costumes so emma just picked up angel and devil accessories after her shift and they watched scary movies

[possibly-evil]

SO SORRY IF THIS IS AWKWARD but i wanted to send in a writing thing 😭

prompt: what if Paul and Emma swapped places with Tom in Black Friday? Like Emma is part of the doll ‘feast or famine’ crowd for. Yk, the family reasons and Paul (unaffected) essentially is just running around/running into the foster sisters and whatever the hell was happening in the mall. Dude is having a terrible time as always

(If i phrased that weirdly can i just ask for paulkins interacting with the foster sisters in a casual setting please 🙏 ty!)

yeah!!!!! love this idea sm, hope you like it :)

“You want us to do what?” Emma slammed her coffee on the table.

“Pick up a Wiggly for Tim.” Emma scoffed at Tom. Paul stood awkwardly in the corner. He didn’t want to get involved, Emma was better at arguments.

“Why would we-”

“I want to spend the holidays with my son, not waiting in line.” Tom said. Emma rolled her eyes.

“I thought we were spending the holidays together, Tom. As a family.” Tom clenched his fists.

“My son lost his family when that car crashed. I’ve never asked anything of you ever before. Do this one thing for Me. For Tim. For Jane.” Emma looked away. After a few seconds, she walked over to Paul.

“Lets go get a fucking Wiggly, I guess.” They picked up their bags.

“Emma? Where are you going?” Tim asked, poking his head into the kitchen.

“We have to go to the hardware store to pick up a new bandsaw for your dad. Merry Christmas, Tim.” Emma slammed the door shut.

-

“There's nowhere to park…” Emma said, driving slowly.

“There?” Paul asked, pointing at a large spot.

“That's where the delivery trucks dump their stuff off.”

“It’s probably fine. Let's just hurry.” They parked the car and hopped out, and began walking into the mall.

“You can’t park there.” A voice said. It was a teenager, wearing the Toy Zone uniform and smoking a cigarette. She couldn’t have been older than 19. Paul blinked a few times.

“Lex? Lex Foster?” He asked. She nodded.

“I used to babysit her and her sister,” Paul said to a confused Emma.

“Have you babysitted everybody in this town?” she mumbled under her breath.

“Do you know how many Wiggly’s they have left?” Paul asked. Lex sighed.

“The store isn’t even open yet. Not that it matters. People have been waiting outside for days. You'll be lucky if you even get in the store by noon.” Paul groaned.

“C’mon, let's at least see if we can… buy our way into line? Or something? I don't know. Let's just hurry up.” Emma walked off, dragging Paul behind her. He waved awkwardly at Lex.

“You can’t park here!” Lex called after them. They didn’t hear her. “Oh well.”

-

“Hello? Sorry, can we cut in here for… uh… twenty bucks?” Emma said, pulling some cash from her pocket. The girl in line scowled at her. She was wearing a nursing uniform. Emma vaguely remembered her from highschool.

“Hey, some people have been waiting in line for a very long time, that’s not very fair,” a blonde lady shouted from further ahead. The nurse ignored the other customer.

“No, you can’t cut. That's bribery, and it... should be illegal.” Emma opened her mouth to retaliate, but Paul stopped her.

“Emma! Emma! Over here.” She turned. Paul was pointing to- Gary Goldstien? The attorney?

“This is Gary. He’s uh- my brother. Gary, this is Emma. My…” He shrugged. Emma glared at the nurse one last time and walked to where Paul was standing.

“Hi Gary, nice to meet you. Can we cut you for twenty bucks?”

“Sure. I’ll do it for free. I’ve a lot of favors due to Paul here for taking care of my son when I'm away,” Gary said in his nasally voice. Emma smiled at him.

“Hopefully this will go by quick so we can all go home.” She muttered to Paul as they squeezed their way into line.

-

Emma tried to be quiet as the rabid customers ran by her hiding spot, the popcorn counter in the movie theater. She looked out and saw Paul skittering towards her.

“What the fuck was that?” He whispered, crouching down into the shadows with her. His face was ridden with sweat and panic.

“I-I don’t know. Everyone’s going crazy. Is Gary- where’s Gary?”

“He… I think… I think he killed a guy. I don’t know what’s happening to him- what's happening to anybody. We know these people. They’re not murderers.” Emma nodded.

“We just need too-”

Something clattered to the floor. Emma shrieked, and Paul jumped up, looking around their area. He locked eyes with a young girl, who had knocked a can off of the counter on accident.

“Hannah?” He asked her. She backed up against the wall.

“Bad blood… bad blood…” she repeated it over and over again. Paul looked at Emma, who had calmed down.

“It’s Lex’s sister.” He turned back to the frightened girl.

“Hannah? It’s me, Paul. I used to babysit you. Do you remember?” He walked a little closer to her, and she whimpered, clutching her backpack.

“Hannah… what’s in the backpack?”

“Bad. Bad. Webby says it’s bad. He’s bad. He’ll trick you! He- he…” She started crying. Emma came up to the girl and sat down next to her.

“It’s ok. It’s ok.” She let Hannah lean on her. Emma looked in the backpack quickly.

“Oh. It’s a Wiggly.” A look came over Emma’s face. A look Paul had never seen before. A look Paul didn’t like.

“Emma?” She didn’t look at him. She slowly took the bag from Hannah. The girl looked up at her with a distressed expression.

“No! No! Bad!” Emma stood up.

“Lets go Paul.”

“No! He’s bad! Black and White! Bad blood! NO!” She grabbed at the bag, and Emma kicked her legs.

“Emma!” Paul rushed to stand in front of Hannah. “Emma, this isn’t you.” Her eyes darted around.

“Tim wants this doll. He needs it. He needs it.” Paul shook his head.

“Leave the doll! We need to get out of here, get safe.” She locked eyes with him, and her gaze softened. She dropped the bag. Paul took Hannah’s hand.

“We need to find somewhere safe. Let’s go.”

-

“Emma?” Tom jumped out of the car and rushed to her. Emma ran to embrace him, and Paul shook his hand awkwardly afterwards.

“Tom, god, I'm so glad you’re here.” The mall was aflame behind them, and the few stragglers that made it out were charred and distressed. Hannah and Lex had found each other in the mall, and Paul could only hope they got out.

“I’m so sorry, Emma. I- I don’t know why I sent you to get that doll. Tim doesn’t even want it. I’m gonna get him a Nintendo or something.” They all laughed, but soon a silence followed.

“I almost lost Paul in there."

"And my... my brother..." Paul looked back at the mall. He still hadn't fully processed what had happened to Gary. Maybe he got out? Paul doubted it. He'd never see his brother again. He'd have to tell Richie. He'd have to tell his friends and family that Gary had burned in the mall after beating a teenage boy to death. He looked away from the people, and squeezed Emma's hand tighter. She continued talking to Tom.

"All this stuff, people dying... friends, family... it made me start to think…Tom, it’s time we sit down, as a family, and talk about Jane.” He looked reluctant, but nodded.

“I’m just glad you’re ok. Both of you. And I'm sure Tim will love spending the rest of Christmas with his Aunt. And Paul.” Paul gave him a thumbs up, wiping his eyes. If he could make it through today... he could make it to tomorrow. that is, if tomorrow even came.

A plane whooshed overhead.

[melchron]

Nightmare Time 2 Episode 2 Thoughts

Can I just say that I love the 8-bit versions of songs. Jane's A Car sounds so good in 8-bit

Woah woah woah wait. What was that? Why was Homeless Guy in the intro? Is that important? Does that mean anything? I mean Ted was in the episode but still

EMMA!!!! I missed her so much. And she's living her dream good for her

And she sounded super southern just now. Ma'am you live in Michigan

AND ZIGGS!!!! Oh I love them. Please be my friend

Oh we're meeting Grace now? She's not what I expected. And I don't mean because she's played by Angela. I didn't expect her to actually be a nerdy prude I thought Alice was just being mean

Potte Hottay!!!!!!

DADDY?!??! IS THAT THE DADDY WE'VE HEARD ABOUT!??!?! IS HE GONNA GET US- oh nevermind mind he's dead. At least we got another Dylan Dad™️ out of it

OH Bob is saying the the thing!!! The thing the guy that tried to kill Willabella/Hannah said. The "The innocent must suffer" thing

TIG OL BITTIES!! I really hope someone recreates their painting

Emma had a dog quick right that down right that down

OMG Emma and Ziggs were about to go turned into tree people

"You have a fixation with fecal matter and I have had it up to here with you!" I'm sorry W H A T

I knew this would happen. Nick and Matt "Look at the cute Paulkins wedding this is definitely all the episode is" Lang. Of course we can't trust the synopsis. Of course the nighthawks are telepathic now

Ezekiel and the rest of the birds are terrifying

Please let Ziggy go to the bathroom. Did they make Emma poop outside too?! Going to the bathroom will not take that long I promise

Please let them get food they don't want your vomit. Ziggs is vegan they can't even eat that. Ezekiel is really stupid. If you would let them live their lives normally then you would have no reason to fear them getting help. They were going to continue growing weed anyway and I don't believe you need that much

AND you're making them sleep in the barn. Their growing the weed FOR YOU!! They were fine to continue doing so. What are you treating them like this for

"And let this man take our weed?! Issac, never speak to me again." ok so Ezekiel is growing on me

The other nighthawks should unionize

Reason #1852 I relate so much to Emma. Of course she's had her final words picked out since high school. I've been thinking about what mine would be for the past few years. I have a few ideas

I love Emma and Ziggy's dynamic. They are buddies. I'm so glad Emma has a friend it's what she deserves

Just when you think Emma might actually get her happy ending, she gets arrested. Why can't she be happy

That video was definitely made by the the Smoke Club teens what is even happening

OH this video. This is so sexy. Corey and Bryce sound amazing and this song is great. Rip Curt and Kim campers

THE MAYOR!?! I didn't think we would ever meet him. Hello

Their names are Mary and Noah I can't

HCB NED PETER SPANKOFFSKI <3333

Grace sweetie you did not need to tell everyone. I appreciate you trying to help but you could have at least asked Steph if she had a plan

Jerry and Jeri I love you!! And their song is so good. This camp has their own record company omg. Them ripping their shirts to reveal the same shirt underneath asdfghjkl

Oh they horny

Are you trying to kill him?!? He told you his blood sugar was low let him have his chocolate. I hate you Corey counselor. Die

That was on a school test?!? How many people did that go through without anyone seeing anything wrong

Steph and Pete are really cute omg. Peter is not at all what I expected. Like he is nerdy but he definitely is Ted's brother. He horny. But also he's not obnoxious like I thought he would be. He's so sweet and chill. He's cool and I like him. Nick did so good

Oh no Gabe is gross I thought he was chill. I wonder if he was only protesting with Grace just to get her to bang him

The lumber-axe puppet looks so cool!!! I love the eye

Grace only showers in a bathing suit? Gabe I don't think you would have wanted to do her

I LOVE that Peter is canonically jacked. This dude is not at all what I expected

Woah woah guys the other campers have to use the showers don't be gross

Noooooooooo not Noah and Mary!!! They were so young!! So pure!! The lumber-axe has no mercy

Of course Ted got put in solidarity confinement. And of course he snuck a p/rn magazine in there. It's cute that Pete found it an felt his brother was with him

Angela's screams!!

He's getting defeated by a p/rn magazine I seriously can't. Thank you Ted?

They let Jon go feral again yay!! I love it when this happens. Jerry is insane and I love it

Woah plot twist Little Jerri (that's how I choose to believe its spelled. A combo of their spellings)

I feel so bad for Jeri. She didn't deserve any of this

Um so is Grace camp director now? Also is she the new lumber-axe? Good for her I think

COREY YOU CAN'T JUST SAY BILL IS IN LOVE WITH TED AND BE ON YOUR WAY WHAT

[awigglycultist]

Okay hatchetfield zombie apocalypse au bc why not ("but tgwdlm is a zombie apocalypse" shh no that's an alien musical apotheosis and also this is won't be the exact same as tgwdlm)

This ended up being way longer than I thought it would and also kinda ramblely (is that a word??) oops. So read the rest under the cut

Okay this takes place in 2019

Emma and Paul are together, emam ofc suggests they going to her cooky reclusive biology professor

This isn't the apocalypse Henry excepted and he doesn't like that, but hey he still prepped for an apocalypse so he's safe

Since this isn't a musical apocalypse and it'd probably be pretty hard to get money off of someone during a zombie apocalypse, so he's currently not trying to murder anyone

He let's Emma and Paul stay with him

But then Emma is like "hey you have room do you think my nephew, brother in law and his gf could stay with us? The gf's a nurse she could be helpful!!"

He eventually agrees

Then Paul's like "hey my coworkers are kid dumb asses there's know way they're surviving an apocalypse on their own can they stay with us? And also one of them has daughter and the other has a little brother (cough cough HCB) them too?"

And then Hidgens ends up agreeing to that, and then Alice and HCB are ofc both like "wait hold on our friends-" (ie: Deb, Ziggs, Grace Chasity (this would be HCB's friends not Alice's ofc), Cineplex kid (because I said so) Ethan (also Tony, my beloved) Lex and Hannah (once again, because I said so, do we seem them interact? No, but they're friends now)

And Hidgens at this point is like "well fucking fine I guess so! Bring em here we have a bunch of ppl already so why not!!"

All of these people, living under one roof (albeit a very big roof) is ofc chaos!

I'd imagine ppl kinda stay in groups a bit tho. Like the teens stay with each other for the most part. CCRP gang hangs out together most. Ect.

Still, very chaotic. The teens (really mostly Deb, Ethan and Lex) causing plenty of trouble. The adults all being dumb asses. Plenty of arguments between Bill and Ted ofc. And probably several arguments between the nerdy prudes (grace, hcb and cineplex) and the other teens. Probably one fight between Alice and Ziggs but it gets settled quickly and they figure everything out and clear the air and become good friends.

I mean you think this amount of ppl, particularly this certain group of ppl, are going to be well organized durning the apocalypse? Hell no!

Hidgens is the only one that actually understands shit about apocalypse, he's the one who prepared! (once again: although for the wrong one) so he's constantly having to be like "no we can't do that that's dangerous!!" Emma, Alice and Lex are the only other really competent ones.

Hidgens ofc spends his time trying to find a cure, Emma helps him. If life ever goes back to normal she has an automatic A in his class for the rest of college just for going through this shit and helping him.

Tom, Bill, and Tony are the dads. They're obviously dealing with the kids. But the do mainly try and focus on their own kid because... That their kid ofc they care about them the most. But they try to take care of the other kids too.

Bill has a rough time connecting with anyone besides Alice. But Grace was always nice to him church so there's that. And ofc Alice has gf, a gf he doesn't like a ton but now he's very much stuck with so he might as well try and get along with. They eventually do.

Tom ofc like I said cares most about Tim. But after him the next he cares most about are CaliforMIA gang. Lex and Ethan were his students (I know it's not confirmed that Ethan was one of students but he is now bc I want him to be), probably his favorite students, and that Lex's little sister who's only a few years older than Tim, ofc he's also gonna care a lot about them.

Tony also cares alot about Lex and Hannah, that's his son's gf and her little sister, once again, ofc he'll care about them alot too.

Becky absolutely cares about all the kids a ton!! She's a nurse who works with kids, she's very nurturing and mother like. She cares for and about them all fairly equally but Tim is her favorite because... Well that's her bf's son and she's known him the longest out of any of the kids ofc. Lex and Hannah end up loving Becky alot because she's so much kinder and sweet than their biological mother.

Before the apocalypse Ted took care of HCB, now he's still taking care of him ofc. Ted doesn't want to be taking care of any of the kids besides his brother. He wants to drink and party and stuff. I mean it's the apocalypse so why not? But he ends up taking care of Grace and Cineplex quite a bit too. This happens not bc others aren't taking care of them, they are being taken by the other plenty well (like I said the dads and Becky all care for all the kids they just have favorites) but because they see HCB going to Ted for almost everything and Ted doing stuff for/helping out HCB so they're like "well okay guess we'll go to him too" He's not happy about it. He already has to deal with his obnoxious little nerdy prude bother and now there's two more? But part of them reminds him a lot of himself when he was younger. Maybe that's why he doesn't like them, or also maybe that's why secretly likes them a ton?

Hidgens, Emma, Ted, Tom and Lex are the ones that go out most often because they're the only who are really able to fight off the zombies and stay safe a stuff (okay Ted not so much as the others but they bring him anwyay cause Henry's like "he looks like he can use gun or something" and Emma, Paul, Bill and Charlotte are all like "this is a horrible idea don't bring him" but they do anwyay. He doesn't kill any of the others so hey why not keep bringing him? Besides if something goes wrong they can use him as bait or throw him to the zombies to get them off the rest of the group /hj)

Other ppl in Hatchetfield exist of course and are out they're trying to survive. Sam and Pamela are some of the first to die that's karma bitch

Lex and Hannah were living with Pamela ofc when the apocalypse hit, the girls wanted to go somewhere safer but Pam wouldn't let them, then one day she went out and got turned into a Zombie, the girls quickly took that as their chance to escape and they went to Tony and Ethan and then ofc ended up at Hidgens'

Charlotte was with Sam before he turned into a Zombie and then when he did she ran to Ted & HCB and stayed with them before they ended up at Hidgens'

Gary and MIAH are together and trying to survive on they're own. Sylvia, Melissa, and Greenpeace Girl end up meeting each other and decide to gang up together and they're badasses. Dan and Donna are two focused on the news and finding out if Peanuts is surving (which yes, Peanuts, (as well as Papa Ed.. At least for a while) are doing fine) and they die pretty quickly. Holloway and Duke are doing great, Holloway's a witch so yeah she's good and ofc Duke is with her so he's good too.

Lucy is in Hatchetfield and she's already in the woods vibing with Chumby before the apocalypse hits (THAM doesn't happen in this universe and instead Lucy ends up finding Chumby own her own because uh??? Reasons??? Idk bc I said so) the two of them have no idea there's a zombie apocalypse. The Paul clones take this apocalypse as they're chance to escape, Paul23 leading the uprising ofc, they don't kill Paul and take his place tho, instead it's more like "there's a zombie apocalypse? Oh fuck yeah!" *escapes* "oh theres a zombie apocalypse oh no-" some try to stay in a group and live together, some try to go out their own. There's now a bunch of random Pauls and Paul zombies around town. The main gang do end up seeing the clones and they're all just kind like "uhhh wtf???" except Paul, he's absolutely freaking out, the clones kinda are just "uhh haha how do we explain this".

Spoiler alert: the world isn't destroyed. How? Not totally sure yet but probably through Hidgens managing to find a cure and time travel. Emdriod has traveled back in time to replace Emma, but oopsie she didn't travel back far enough so she can't kill Emma in Guatemala, so she goes to Hatchetfield in hopes she can kill Emma when no ones looking and just replace her then, but oh no there's apocalypse so thats a much bigger issue. She survives easily, she's strong af, doesn't need food, all that jazz. She and Emma do meet each other and it's another "wtf?" "how do I explain this?" situation. But Emdriod lies ofc and kinda explains what happened but said that she accidentally time travelled and leaves out the whole wanted to kill her part. Now the Emdriod has found Emma she does try to kill her, that's awfully hard to do tho considering Emma is literally always with a group of people, and Emdriod doesn't want to just kill Emma right in front of everyone bc then they'll all hate her and her goal isn't to just kill Emma it's too replace her. She end up giving up and she runs into Paul 23 and they bond of my doubles of someone and wanted to kill that somoen at first and then fall in love and kill zombies together :)

Ohh uhh other ships: Paulkins, Lexthan, Barneston, Potseed (Alice x Deb) ofc. Charted, Obnoxious Teens (HCB x Cineplex Kid) oh and ofc Holloduke. Uhh Bill x being okay for once, Ted x probably not dying for once (not too sure about that one yet) Hidgens x not actually trying to murder someone for once

Wait wait I just got idea: the zombie apocalypse occurs BECAUSE of Hidgens, he tries too bring back the working boys (remember his original backstory with accidentally killing them and stuff??)

Okay I think that's all I got for now

[wizisbored]

My brain is in Big Stupid Mode™ rn, so I can't think of any specific prompts, but how about some Lab 4 paulkins?

God i relate,, brain has been Big Stupid for an annoyingly long time now. honestly im not sure whether im going to have them end up definitely in a relationship in this but they still love each other no matter what because thats paulkins, baybeeeee

For fifteen minutes now, Paul has been definitively thrashing Emma at mario kart. But that's expected, since she's never so much as held a controller before. He tries to give her tips - don’t tilt it quite so far, try not to get too excited, focus a little less on parroting the soundtrack - and while she does improve, she’s got nothing on Paul.

“Damn, dude, are you even physically capable of coming below 3rd?” Emma asks as she sets down her controller after another race. Paul shrugs. “I’ve just had more practice,” he says, watching the results flip up on the screen. “But hey, you got 6th! That’s a new record for you, right?” “Mmhm,” Emma agrees, rubbing at her eyes, barely suppressing a yawn. “Tired?” She nods. “Up late?” “No, no, I just… I get drowsy sometimes.” The man’s brow furrows. “That doesn’t seem entirely healthy, Em.” But she just shakes her head. “It’s alright, really. My dad would’ve picked up on any serious issues.” She yawns again. “‘S just a little annoying sometimes.” “You wanna sit out the next race?” “Mmkay.”

Paul’s performance is a little worse than usual, with the distraction of Emma going from watching the screen to slowly slumping down onto the sofa to curling up beside him with her hair tickling his thigh. He can’t help taking his eyes off the race every so often to check on her, often being met with brown-streaked blue eyes and a sleepy smile. But when the last lap comes around he turns his full attention back to the game, and ends up in fourth place.

“There, Emma! I am capable of coming below third!” There’s no response, and he looks down to see Emma laid with one arm and one leg hanging off the sofa. He leans down to look at her face, and finds her fast asleep. “Em?” She gives a quiet “mh,” in her sleep and rolls over - an action that requires him scrambling to catch her before she falls off the sofa entirely. He succeeds in this, though in doing so he finds himself holding his friend(?) half-on and half-off his tiny sofa. “Ah. Okay.” He manages to shift her fully into his arms, but even with this jostling she barely stirs. “Damn, you really are out of it,” he mutters to himself as he stands. Even with her small size the sofa isn’t really big enough to comfortably sleep on, so he shoulders open his bedroom door and carefully lays her on the bed before pulling out his phone.

“...Paul?” Looking up, he sees the woman looking up at him with half-closed eyes. “Wha…” “You fell asleep on the sofa, Em, I thought-” “‘M sorry.” “Huh?” Still clearly barely awake, she attempts to push herself onto her elbows. “Sorry I fell asleep.” “Hey, it’s okay! I was gonna set an alarm for ten-to, just let you nap it out.” “Oh. Would that be… are you sure that’s okay?” “That’s fine.” Seemingly relieved, she collapses back onto the bed, closing her eyes again. “Can you set it 5 minutes earlier?” “Sure.” He turns to leave, looking down at his phone. “Paul?” “Hm?” He looks up at her again. Her eyes are half-open once more. “You don’ have to, but… Stay?” she mumbles. “Uh. Sure.”

He hopes he isn’t blushing as much as he thinks he is. The woman seems almost surprised that he agreed, but quickly settles beside him when he takes a seat on the bed. He lets out a quiet snort of laughter when she squeaks a little as she yawns again. “You’re adorable.” It slips out without him thinking, and his eyes go wide when he realises what he just said. But, to his relief, he hears her chuckle. “How dare you.” It’s lucky she’s closed her eyes again, because he’s definitely blushing now. “H-hey, I’m just telling the truth!” “Yeah, sure… G’night, Paul.” “It’s nowhere near night.” “Don’t give a shit.” “I don’t doubt it.” No response - she’s out again, a small smile on her face this time. He can’t help smiling too, resting a hand gently on her shoulder as she rolls over towards him and sighs contentedly in her sleep.

[aceday]

Paulkins 28

I wrote a superhero fic a while ago and so this prompt is going to be in that universe pls and thank you

“Take one more step and I snap her pretty little neck.”

Paul fucked up. He did. He knew he did, and he knew this was him suffering the consequences. Heroes didn’t date. They didn’t. They didn’t form connections, they didn’t get too close, or else this would happen. He’d fucked up.

“Come on Angel Master, come on. My hands are feeling a little twitchy.”

Paul stared at Emma, who was watching him with widened, terrified eyes. Who was more scared? Him, tasked with saving her with his bullshit healing powers or her, losing consciousness, scratching at the giant, hairy hand around her neck.

“Snarl, put her down.” Paul tried to steady his voice, to hide the quiver, but the Rogue’s smile widened, lips stretching over two tusks in a sickening grin.

“Imagine... me being the one to catch the impervious Angel Master, by getting his girlfriend.” His eyes narrowed, yellow eyes gleaming in the dark. “Girlfriend... maybe that’s not it. Friend with benefits, Angel Master? Fuck buddy?”

Paul’s mouth twisted into an ugly frown and anger heated his cheeks.

“Put her down.”

Think of it rationally, Paul. What can you do? Heal people. Does that help you? No. Not at all. But doesn’t it? Paul eyed the heavily bleeding knife wound across Snarl’s forearm. Snarl didn’t know about how painful speeding up the chemical reactions of one body actually was without the proper painkillers.

If he could just get close enough.

Paul looked at the ground, at the knife that had flattered by Snarl’s clawed feet. “Fine. You win. Let her go, and I’ll go with you.”

Emma let out a strangled yell that was quickly silenced with a tight squeeze. Her body flinched and stilled, her dark eyes boring into Paul’s. He loved her. God, he loved her.

Snarl’s grinned stretched in a way that seemed almost painful and his tongue flicked over his tusked teeth. The Rogue took a step forward and Paul raised his hands.

“Wait wait. You have to let her go first.”

Snarl scoffed but obliged, throwing Emma into the gravelly pavement. Paul flinched as she slammed into it and stilled, whether unconscious or conscious he didn’t know, but didn’t have time to check. Snarl stretched his bleeding arm towards Paul, the sick grin still on his face.

“Emma!”

“Come on then, Angel Master. Let’s see the powers others so highly remark upon. Let me see my prize.”

Paul swallowed the bile that gathered in his throat as his gaze turned from the unmoving form of Emma, his hands shaking as he slowly closed the distance between himself and the mutated Rogue.

With trembling fingers, Paul let his fingers hover over the wound as he thought.

Snarl was a mutant. An abomination of a dark twisted science and bloody greed that had created a Frankenstein’s monster-type being.

If Paul played his cards right, trying to heal one simple knife wound could become trying to right the many, many wrongs in Snarl’s DNA, his powers trying to viciously scramble and unscramble repulsed DNA. If Paul played his cards right, he could make it feel like Snarl was being torn apart, limb by limb.

“Get on with it, healer,” Snarl said, his voice a gravelly growl from deep in his throat that sounded like chalk against crumbling brick.

Paul swallowed and placed his fingers on the wound. Snarl watched in anticipation. Paul took a deep breath, focusing on the energies that swirled at his fingertips, collecting them and building them up, like a fishing line waiting to be snapped out. To be able to send his powers stretching into the deep-rooted, dark heart of the abomination that was this mutant Rogue, he needed to gather as much as he could.

Snarl was getting restless, he could feel him shifting under his touch.

The Rogue parted his cracked lips, about to retort, but Paul’s eyes snapped open and he cast the energy tendrils through Snarl’s body.

He knew what was coming.

The pause, feeling the icy warmth numbness shooting through your veins.

And then the pain.

Snarl’s mouth opened in a gasp that couldn’t even come out. The pain was blinding and he stiffened, body twitching slightly, tears immediately welling as the twitching turned to convulsing turned to choked sobs and a frothing mouth.

It was working.

Snarl’s hand jerked up in an attempt to knock Paul off, but he had been forced into a dramatically weakened state. He fell to his knees, Paul gripped tighter, uncaring of the dark blood that stained his skin. Snarl would pay.

And the Paul heard a groan from behind him. Her groan. Emma. In pain. He wrenched from Snarl, the Rogue collapsing onto the pavement in a heaving pile in numbing, hot pain.

Paul knelt by Emma, taking her head in his lap as he observed the damage. A gash on her head, not bleeding seriously enough to be a major concern but still a concern, her neck was bruised and spotted with purple, various cuts and scrapes across her body. But other than that, unharmed. Paul sighed in relief and dropped his head down, panting lightly.

“Paul?” He looked Emma, seeing her eyes beginning to open. Her body trembled and Paul took her hand in his.

“Hey. I’m here. I’m here.”

“Is he...” she tried to get up to see what had happened to Snarl, but Paul held her close to him, stilling her.

“He wont bother us.”

She sighed lightly, her eyes closing again. “What did you do?”

Paul didn’t want to know the extent of what he’d done. Never had he done anything like... that. “I’ll tell you later. We need to get you healed. Can you swallow a pill?” Emma mumbled something incoherent and winced. “I’ll take that as a no. Let’s get you to a hospital. I’m sorry date night was ruined.”

She groaned as Paul stood up, grunting with effort as he carried her bridal style.

“And I was going to propose to you tonight, too.”

Paul froze. “What?”

Emma cursed, a noise that turned into a groan and a weak cough. “Nothing. Just get me to a hospital, you tall dork.”

[autistic-paul]

Dumbass (With Love)

Summary:

Emma and Paul have different styles of communication, and Emma has a hard time being vulnerable. Also, she calls Paul a dumbass a lot. It works out.

Tags: Paulkins, Autistic Paul, Fluff, So much fluff.

AO3, or under the cut!

Emma wasn’t the most in touch with her feelings. Generally speaking, feelings belonged buried in her chest where no one could touch them, not even herself. Paul… Paul was not like Emma. Paul was open, he talked about how he felt, and he talked about how he felt about her. Watching him change as their relationship developed had been like seeing a flower bloom. He started spending more time with Bill, he smiled more, he seemed to find a purpose in life. Maybe it was something internal, him choosing to take what scraps of joy he could get, maybe it was as simple as Emma helping him realize that people could, and did, care about him. Emma decided it didn’t particularly matter. He was happy, and Emma enjoyed being around him, and she enjoyed the way he lit up when he saw her. She looked forward to him visiting her on this coffee break. She’s count down the minutes until it’d be time, when she’d turn around and see him standing there, waiting for the order that he no longer had to ask for. It’d be ready. As hard as it was to admit, Emma was happy too.

Their relationship had been pretty steady sailing from day one. Or at least, steady for them, given their clumsy start. They’d known each other for ages before anything had truly happened between them. Paul had come in for his shitty coffee every day, and every time, they’d strike up a conversation. It got out of hand far too quickly, Paul would have to run back to the office because they’d lose track of time. Zoey, that snitch, told Nora about Emma leaving the customers waiting so she could talk to the dude in the suit, because god forbid Emma get a few minutes to herself on the clock. The next day, Emma forced herself to tell Paul that she had to get to work. Their conversation about CRISPR would have to wait for another day. Paul’s face had fallen, the guy really didn’t have a poker face, and Emma considered telling Nora to fuck off. Before she could make a terrible decision, Paul spoke, the words running together like he hadn’t sorted them out in his mind. Only Paul Matthews would ask her if she wanted to get a coffee sometime while in a coffee shop. The second the words left his lips he closed his eyes, looking as if he was desperately begging for the ground to swallow him whole.

Emma was still surprised that she managed to keep a straight face. She simply slid Paul his cup of coffee, distantly realizing that once again, they’d talked long enough that it was no longer hot. If she’d had any doubts about her response, that cleared them away. Sliding him that coffee was as clear of a yes as she could manage, and it was a message. What made these daily conversations distinctly separate from dates? Other than the fact that she was at work, but damn, Emma didn’t give a shit about any of the other customers. She certainly didn’t chat with them, she was here to give them their cups of liquid sugar and get them out. Paul didn’t seem to get the hint, though. He seemed to think that her offer was a gentle rejection rather than a subtle yes. He was still busy purposefully not looking at her, his gaze on the floor, which made grabbing his coffee rather difficult. Needless to say, as he reached out to grab it, he misjudged how far away the cup was.

Emma had anticipated it, and before she knew it, her hands were over his, keeping the cup from spilling. Her damn heart had been pounding, and she cursed it. This wasn’t supposed to happen, it was such bullshit. She’d come to terms with the fact that she liked Paul a while back, but this? This was a betrayal. She was a grown woman, she could handle being asked out and a little physical contact without turning into a giggling schoolgirl. A thundering heart and rapidly warming cheeks were unacceptable.

Emma had reacted in the best way she could manage and drew her hands back, dropping them to her sides. Paul held his cup close, like it was something precious, and Emma nodded, though she suggested maybe a break from her workplace would be better. Paul pursed his lips and nodded, easily backtracking from his first suggestion. They’d settled on a movie, and that was that. It’d always been so simple for them from that point on. Conversation continued to flow freely, and the tension that Emma expected from a new relationship never showed itself.

They learned new things about each other every day, new ways that their methods of communicating could overlap or clash. Emma had to get used to his easy affection quickly, his tendency to press against her, his loving gaze, the way it seemed to be nothing to him to drop the casual ‘I love you’s. Of course, she wasn’t silent on the matter. She could say it back. It felt like closing her fist around her heart, pulling it free of her body and handing it to him. It felt like vulnerability . But she could say it. Showing her love with actions came much more naturally. Little favors, remembering things that he had a tendency to forget, asking him about his interests and listening to him tell her every little detail until she thought her ears would fall off, but enjoying every minute of it.

Paul was full of compliments, casually noting things that he loved about her. He wasn’t much for pet names, thank goodness, because Emma would have to draw a line if he started calling her sweetheart. He called her by her name, mostly. Or Em.

Emma called him by his name too, primarily. Or asshole. Dumbass. Motherfucker. Cocksucker. Babe, if she was feeling extraordinarily mushy. She didn’t think much of it, it was how she spoke to most people, and she was sure he knew that when she referred to him in those ways, it was with the love that she couldn’t express with any other words. Paul never seemed to react negatively. He responded to anything she called him. He knew her.

Still, it was a fairly new relationship, and Emma was struggling. She was sure she’d always struggle with her emotions, and especially, struggle with expressing them. Keeping up with Paul was a challenge, but she did her best. He deserved her very best.

Emma was worried about Paul. He loved Christmas, and she knew he’d rather be at home by the fireplace with a mug of hot chocolate. Instead, they had to go to his annual office Christmas party. Emma was already exhausted from the socializing, all the endless pointless chats. Emma simply couldn’t express just how little she cared about Ted’s holiday plans, or the trip to Barbados that Paul’s boss was planning. The bright lights were hurting her eyes, and Paul looked like he wanted to personally smash the speakers with a baseball bat. Was All I Want For Christmas is You playing for the second time, or was it just the songs blurring together? Paul was fidgeting with the ends of his red sweater endlessly, on the verge of fraying it past the point of return. Through her own stress, she could catch him fading out of the conversations, unable to focus. Once he started swallowing repeatedly, lifting his drink to his lips frequently in an attempt to hide it, Emma put her foot down. Fuck social obligation, this was miserable. She elbowed him in the side. He turned to face her, raising an eyebrow. “We should head home, it’s getting late.”

Paul took the cue and nodded. He turned back to Ted, who was rambling on about something or other, Emma hadn’t bothered to pay attention. She caught the word redhead and decided she’d rather stick to her own thoughts. Paul cut him off. “We’re going to head out now, I’ll see you soon, Ted.”

Ted smirked and winked. “Alright, you two have a nice night.” Neither of them dignified his implication with a response. Paul turned, heading towards the door.

“Hey, dumbass,” Emma said. Paul turned. “Coats? You planning on braving the walk to the car in just a sweater?”

Paul smiled sheepishly and made his way to the other room where their coats had been discarded. Emma was only waiting for a moment before a voice behind her drew her attention.

“That wasn’t very nice of you.” Emma turned. A woman with a festive red and green bow in hair was standing there, a glass of wine in her hand.

“I’m sorry?” Emma responded, still not entirely sure that the woman was talking to her. The woman… Charlotte! That was it. Paul had talked about her before. Charlotte looked like she regretted opening her mouth the moment Emma made eye contact, but she stiffened, steeling herself.

“I’ve known Paul for a long while, he’s a good friend of mine.” Guilt flooded Emma, she should have remembered Charlotte. “I don’t like the way you talk to him.”

Emma grew defensive. Sure, maybe Charlotte was a close friend of Paul’s, but who was she to tell Emma how their relationship should be? She hadn’t thought about her word choice until Charlotte brought it up, it had come naturally. Paul was used to it, it was fine. Wasn’t it? Emma was about to respond, but a hand squeezed her shoulder, then dropped down her side to close around her hand.

“You ready?” Paul said softly. He clearly hadn’t heard what Charlotte had said.

Emma was tired. It had been a long night, and she didn’t feel up to justifying her relationship to a woman she barely knew. “Yeah. Yeah, let’s go.”

The car ride home was silent, both of them recovering from the night. Emma watched the snow fall in the streetlights, the beauty contrasting the turmoil of her thoughts. Maybe Charlotte was right. She knew kindness wasn’t her strong suit, but she tried , at least with Paul. The words she used didn’t matter, the intent underneath them was clear. What if they weren’t, though? Social cues weren’t Paul’s strong suit, and he was always so forthcoming and frank with his words, and…

Emma wanted to groan. Great. She’d fucked everything up. Again. She knew she needed to apologize, have a genuine talk about it, but the thought alone made her feel sick. She combed through her words carefully the whole drive, and when they got inside, she closed the door a little harder than she should.

Paul got started with his evening routine, preparing for bed, and Emma wandered aimlessly, trying to put off the inevitable. She eventually made her way to his side in bed, and he subconsciously shifted to be closer to her as he read. Emma sat there and fidgeted, trying to get the nerve to start a conversation that she didn’t want to have. It would be rude to do it now, she thought. Not after he needed to wind down from the torture of the Christmas party. Or maybe it would be wrong to do so while he was reading, she knew he was enjoying that book. Excuses, excuses.

She took a deep breath. “Hey, I need to talk to you.” Paul looked up at her. “You know I don’t mean it, right?” She paused. Paul’s gaze darted away for a moment. She could see his brain processing, trying to figure out what the fuck she was talking about. “The names. Earlier this evening.” Great, right out of the gate and she’s already lost the ability to communicate in full sentences. Paul furrowed his brow. “I called you a dumbass.” Emma mumbled.

Paul was thoroughly concerned. He nodded slowly. “You do that fairly often, Em.”

Emma dropped her face into her hands in frustration. He was going to make her spell it out, then? “Yeah, and I’m sorry, alright? It’s not… Nice.” Her voice was muffled by her palms. She waited for a response, but she didn’t get one. Instead, a hand wrapped around her wrist, pulling it away from her face. He twined his fingers with hers. Emma still couldn’t look at him.

“The first time I ever saw you, I was just trying out the new coffee shop down the road. As I was leaving, you called a customer an asshole for complaining about not getting whipped cream.”

Emma huffed. “He probably was an asshole.” Paul squeezed her hand.

“What I’m saying is that I know you, and I know the difference between a genuine insult from you and a pet name.”

At that, Emma whipped her head up. He was grinning at her, the motherfucker. “It’s not-”

“Yes, it is.”

“Oh, fuck. It is, isn’t it?” Emma grimaced, but relief was seeping through her bones.

Paul laughed, finally releasing her hand. He closed his book and placed it on the nightstand, switching his lamp off. He buried himself in his blankets and lay his head on the pillow, looking up at her and smiling softly.

The stress of the night followed by an equally stressful drive home finally caught up with Emma, and she suddenly wanted nothing more than unconsciousness. As she flicked the switch and plunged the room into darkness, she decided one more moment of painful vulnerability couldn’t hurt.

“Night. Love you.” She said, trying to force the meaning into the simple words.

“Good night, dumbass” Paul replied.

She laughed so hard that her sides hurt, and as she lay down, Paul pulled her close.

Emma wheezed a last giggle and let sleep take her, letting the anxiety of the day leave her, comfortable in Paul’s arms.

[cynicalkairos]

Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting

CHAPTER ONE

Series Summary: Still early in their relationship, Ted and Henry experience another of their first times, only this time is not as pretty as previous firsts. This is the tale of their first fight. Prepare for the angst.

Chapter Summary: Everything seems normal, right? Wrong.

Warnings: Language, Arguing, General yelling, lots of anger, and self-destruction

Word Count: 1074

A/N: Title from Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting by Elton John. This was supposed to be shorter, but look where we are. I wrote some Tedgens angst, but hey, there’s some Paulkins cuteness (briefly. this is an angst fic). Don’t worry, there be some fluff later, but nOT TODAY! More chapters will be up at later times. I just wanted some angst, but like in moderation cause I love y’all too much for that.

Previous || Next

As normal as living through the apocalypse can be, this morning seemed to be the epitome of it. The sun poured through the window and caused Emma to stir. Blinking her eyes at the brightness of the surroundings, she looked beside her and noticed that Paul was still asleep. She smiled and pressed a kiss to his cheek, before leaving the warmth of the bed.

Emma then padded toward the bathroom in a slow trek across the room as to not disturb Paul and partially out of her still sleepy state. Upon entry, she moved to the mirror and evaluated herself. Her hair was in somewhat of decent shape and it’s not like she was going anywhere, so decided to put her hair up in her signature style and proceeded to the shower. After she finished and brushed her teeth, she went back into the bedroom. She changed and thought to herself about how normal the day began.

Until she went downstairs.

From about halfway down the stairs, she could hear arguing coming from the kitchen. Usually, the mornings were mostly silent as almost no one, except the professor and herself, were morning people. However, there was evidently some commotion happening in the kitchen.

“You should be thanking me for getting rid of that shit! It was disgusting!” Ted yelled, flinging his arms up in the air in frustration.

Emma couldn’t say that she was surprised that Ted was arguing with someone, but she was surprised when she discovered that the opposing force was Henry. As far as she remembered, even in the most irritating situations or when dealing with the worst students, she had never seen him as livid in her life. He was always was the one who kept a cool head and used logic to ease the other person.

This Henry was unexpected. She could tell that he was not just frustrated but agitated as well. His face was entirely red and his hands were balled into fists so tight that his knuckles were turning white. Emma also could not forget the look of pure hurt in his eyes. She sensed that Henry did not want to argue with Ted, but his partner was persistent and Henry was dramatic. And both were too prideful to let the other win.

“That ‘piece of shit’ that you so kindly discarded of took me ages of exploration into the town to obtain,” Henry responded with a tone that permeated sarcasm.

“Yeah? For what?” Ted moved his hands until there was little space between them. “One tiny piece of goo?”

“How many times do I need to explain this to you? I needed that specimen to work on the cure for the--”

“You mean, the cure that you’ve worked on for weeks with no progress?” Ted interrupted and stared blankly into Henry’s eyes. “Because, the way I see it, it’s doing jack shit to improve anything!”

Henry opened his mouth to reply, but nothing came out. Emma watched as his eyes shifted from the previous sadness to anger. In a quick moment, before she could stop him, Henry pushed himself away from the counter and moved closer to Ted, while saying, “At least I’m trying to do something, Ted! From what I recall, all you—” He jabbed a finger into Ted’s chest. “—do is sleep, drink, and bother me. I work my ass off trying to develop a way to stop the fucking world from succumbing to those aliens! Hell, I went back out there and risked my life to get that ‘piece of shit’ that you took it upon yourself to dispose of. So, don’t you dare tell me that I don’t do anything for you or anyone else for that matter!”

Silence.

No one bothered to move a single inch. Emma wanted to interfere and stopped the whole situation, but the coffee maker signaled that the coffee finished brewing and Ted looked at the machine. He walked over and grabbed his mug of coffee, turning back to Henry, adopting an eerily calm tone. “Well, don’t mind me. I’m just going to do what I do best while you shove that fucking tree further up your ass.”

As Ted walked past him, Henry turned and moved to follow him, all anger removed from his features and replaced with regret and sadness. “Ted, wait—”

“No, I don’t want to bother you anymore.”

With those words, Ted stormed off upstairs to anywhere but where he knew that Henry would be. Henry’s eyes watched him the entire way, wanting to say something without the ability to do so. Tears began streaming down his face and he slammed his clenched fist into the countertop next to him with full force, two distinct and clear snaps resounding from the collision. He cradled his hand with the other rapidly, as his face displayed a mixture of emotional and physical pain.

Emma was stunned and could not move to help. The shock from the argument and Henry’s consequent actions rendered her speechless. It wasn’t until the professor turned around that he noticed Emma was even in the room. Emma gasped and felt her heart shatter when she saw Henry’s state of complete agony in his face, his eyes, and his entire body. When he saw her, he straightened his back and tried to clean himself up, accidentally hitting his hands against the counter again. Pretending everything was fine, he said, “Emma, I didn’t see you there. Would you like some—”

“Cut the crap, Hidgens,” Emma interrupted. “I saw everything.”

Henry stopped talking and sighed, his physical state once more reflecting his emotional one. Emma walked over and pulled him into a hug, standing on her toes and wrapping her arms around his neck comfortingly. Henry froze momentarily and then gingerly returned the hug. He placed his head on her shoulder and quietly cursed when the sobs overcame him.

“It’s going to be okay, I promise,” she reassured him, before removing herself from his arms. “Let’s go fix up your hand.”

“No, no, I assure you I can fix it myself, Emma.”

“I know you can, but it was a statement, not a question.”

Henry sighed and relented, too much so in pain to fight back. When they turned to leave, a very confused and drowsy Paul stood in the way. He looked between Henry’s teary and red face, Henry’s badly fucked up hand, and Emma, before saying, “What did I miss?”

———

A/N: Hope y’all liked it! Again, this is another idea I wrote instead of sleeping (and edited the next day).

I’m sorry, Hidgens, but somebody’s gotta do it. And I had to do it to ‘em. 

If you have any questions or anything you want to see, let me know. I’m down with mostly anything.