#now i need a “meeting the pack” video for sh i need them to meet pre dead dad david and very much alive gabe

[mmmoicca]

I keep forgetting that Sweetheart most likely met Gabe before he died.

That they were probably still in the process of getting to know the most important people in Milo's life at that point.

That the alpha of Milo's pack would probably be pretty high up there as someone they would meet early on.

That chances are they would've gotten to know David as one of Milo's close friends.

That they would've gotten to know David before he lost his dad.

That they had to see how much Gabe's death affected both David, but also the rest of the pack.

I keep forgetting they've kinda been there through a lot of the packs history at this point.

[miraculous-trinity-leo]

Whacky Gotham, Goofy New York, and Chaotic Paris.

(Part 1) (Part 2) (Part 3) (Part 4) (Part 5) (Part 6) (Part 7)

Chapter 5: Then Let The Games Begin

•—–—–·†·–—–—•

Soooo, the Batfam is panicking, Gotham's confused as to why Iron Man is flying over Gotham like a madman, and Maria is with two of Gotham's Sirens (but only Ivy and Harley know this) having a wonderful time playing with Bud and Lou.

Let's start with the Sirens.

Harley is watching over Maria and Tikki as they sleep with Bud and Lou, Ivy walkes over to sit next to Harley, handing her a cup of tea.

"So, what's the diagnosis?" - Ivy

"She has some sort of trauma, has class issues... and handles more than she should, but still does everythin', on top of bein' a hero. She's been through some sh-t Pam." Yeah Harley may have found out Maria's a hero (if the tiny god and magic were anything to go by).

"Is she alone?" - Ivy

"No, thankfully, she has supportive parents, and friends that aren't little sh-ts. I think they're also heroes, she also has a lot, and I a mean A LOT of pent up emotions, she doesn't show anythin' negative, only positive things. She seems to shrink in on herself if she thinks she does somethin' wrong. Pam, we both know there's a limit to how much crap a person can take before they snap, and she's such a sweet kid. There has to be somethin' we can do to help her Ives." Ok she found out alot, but in Marias' defense, they have trustworthy souls, and they were the only other people (besides her friends) that she talked to about it, yes she had her Maman and Uncle to talk about hero stuff, but for the stuff her class does, she only ever vented (without being negative) to her friends.

"Her class is visiting the Botanical Gardens in three days, and it's a 2 part tour, so we can see just what's going on. If it's bad then we scare them a bit, if it's bad bad... they can handle a few slightly poisonous plants right?" - Ivy

"God I love the way ya think Ives, do ya think she can stay with us? I mean look at how cute she is with Bud and Lou... Oh my god, she's cuddlin' dem, and ya gave her a flower crown, how'd I miss that?! Where's the camera?"

Harley took a picture to remind her of this wonderful moment. As Ivy and Harley looked at the picture, they both promised to keep Maria safe, and maybe become sorta kinda-ish parents to her while she's in Gotham.

•—–·Now back to the Bat-Chaos Bat-Cave·–—•

Tim took over the chair and was now searching the possible locations with Jarvis, Damian was sitting on a different chair, trying to act cool, but he wouldn't stop looking over at Tim, to see his progress. Bruce was talking over the comms with Tony. Dick and Jason, weren't helping (they kept feeding each other worse and worse ideas of what could have happened to Maria). Then they heard Jarvis speak.

"I have found the most likely area Ms. Dupain-Cheng would be in. Her phone died about 56 blocks away from her hotel, if we don't count kidnapping, or murder, she would have thought about asking for directions, but may have decided not to considering the city she is in. So that leaves us with a possible 15-25 mile radius from her last known location. I think it best to divide into groups of two, have Oracle stay and update you if anything on security, and or traffic cameras happens. Bruce will be with Tony, Dick will go with Tim, and Jason will go with Damain to search within the area. Stephanie and Cassandra will search around a 5 mile radius near Wayne hotel." as Jarvis continued to explain the other details, the Batfam began to suit up, Batman met up with Iron Man, and they took the North area, Nightwing and Red Robin took the East area, while Red Hood and Robin searched the South. Steph and Cass were on foot in civilian clothes, searching the West area they were assigned.

They searched for the whole day, and came up with nothing. Until Oracle saw a video from a traffic cam around 9pm, 15 blocks away from where her phone died. She called it in and everyone went back to the cave. Once everyone was at the Bat-Computer, Oracle pressed play, the cameras didn't have sound, and it wasn't close enough to see if she was ok.

They watched as she went to an overgrown parking lot and sat down. She was looking down at the ground, and that's when they spotted two figures round the corner and spot her. They watched as the two figures approach Maria, and saw the startled reaction she had. They realized it was Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy that were talking to her, then they saw Maria collapse. They watched as Harley made sure she was ok, looking over to Ivy before looking back to Maria and picking her up. The last thing they saw, was Maria being carried away by two of Gothams' most dangerous rouges, but now they knew where to look next.

•—–· Back to Ivy and Harley ·–—•

Harley continued to take adorable pictures of the children.

"God, they're so f-ckin' cute!" - Harley for the 20th time

As Ivy continued to watch while caring for her plants, Catwoman walked in.

"Hey girls, got the stuff for movie night, so what are we- Holy mother of cats! He adopted another f-cking child didn't he! Where the hell does he keep finding them?! 7 was ment to be the god DAMN LIMIT!!!" - Catwoman

Maria jumped at the sudden shouting and may have accidentally summoned a yo-yo (one made useing creation magic and protection magic) before saying.

"Tikki where's the akuma?! How long was I out?! Forget it Tikki spot-" she then realized she wasn't in Paris, and seeing a new face, she also realized she just spilled her secret to another person within the same day... kinda

"Fffffffffffudge sunday that fell on the pavement!" - Maria shouted in baker profanities

"That's not how ya curse sweetheart. It should go more like-" Harley was cut off by a vine Ivy had summoned.

"Harley, cursing makes the plants sad, you know this." - Ivy said removing the vine

Harley just walked over to Maria and whipsered it in her ear.

"You're supposed to say it more like this, ' ..... .... ... .. ....... .. ... .....' ok?" - Harley ended with a big smile

"... I will never see this world in the same frickin' light ever again." - Maria

"ehh close enough." - Harley

"Can someone please tell me, WTH is going on here, on our special girls day off?!" - Catwoman

"She is a new member of the Sirens as of today, and as a member, she's unda our protection, so effective immediately." - Harley

"Cool." - Maria

"Harley." - Ivy

"Wut... first things first, if she is going to join, she needs to be very flexible, know how to fight, and be incredibly intelligent." - Catwoman

"She beat Ed's @ss with a gun pointed at her, and solved every riddle with ease, so I'm positive she'll be an amazin' addition to the team." - Harley

'God she sounds like a new mother now' "But we don't know how good her flexibility is." - Catwoman

"I know, hey Maria, ya wanna do some tricks with me, of course we need to stretch first, but do ya wanna give it a go?" - Harley

"Sure." - Maria

Ivy and Catwoman sat down on a couch a few feet away from where Maria and Harley stood in the empty part of the building. They started out with stretches, and to Catwoman's surprise (and Harley's delight) Maria copied Harleys streches perfectly.

"Ok, now that that's done, we'll start with some cartwheels, then move on to flips, then handsprings and so on." - Harley

Maria gave Harley a nod... and they were off... literally, Harley did a cartwheel into a handspring, and a few backflips, Maria executed it flawlessly. Harley did some more complicated gymnastics tricks, and Maria did it, Harley did triple backflips going into a cartwheel, into a summersault, and Maria did that perfectly as well. This went on until both Harley and Maria were slightly out of breath, both having massive smiles on their faces.

"Ives, please let her join, she's like a mini me." - Harley then hugged Maria and they somehow both tripled in cuteness as they both did puppy (or Puss In Boots style) eyes at Catwoman and Ivy.

"Sure Harley." - Ivy said walking over to give Harley a small kiss on the cheek.

"Okay... but she doesn't have a costume yet, and she still has to think of a name for herself." - Catwoman

"Is a mouse good, like a mouse themed costume, that or a Turtle themed one. What do you think Harley?" - Maria

"Mmmm, I like that with the mouse you can always toy with Cat, ya know, cat an' mouse stuff, turtle seems... weird even fawh Gotham, so personally I would pick mouse, just because of the cheesy jokes you could do." - Harley

"Very funny, ok then, give me a moment."  Maria then reached out her hand, her eyes then started to glow an icy blue, and a small portal opened in front of her, she reached in and pulled out a small pendant necklace. After she put it on a small mouce appeared and greated itself, Marias' eyes going back to normal after closing the portal.

"Hello I'm Mullo, nice to meet you all."

"Omg omg omg, It's soooo f-ckin' CUTE!" - Harley

"Best to assume all of them are extremely cute Harls." - Ivy

"What the Hell did I miss in the week I was gone?!" - Catwoman

"Ehh, not much, oh but Iron Man did fly aroun' Gotham a few times earlier this mornin' like a madman." - Harley

"Oh sh-t." - Maria

"Maria are ya ok? That was ya first official proper curse in my presence." Harley said looking over to the girl.

"He's gonna kill me." - Maria

"Wait, what do you mean Marigold?" - Ivy

"... He's my Uncle, and I never got to text him I was ok, since my phone died before I met you." - Maria

"Hey, I'm sure he'll understand, now what are we watchin'?" - Harley

"I think we have more important matters other than movies at the moment!" - Catwoman

"Ok, Me Myself and Irene it is." - Harley

"No! You basically kidnapped Iron Mans' NIECE!!!" - Catwoman

"Technically, she fainted and us bein' the good Gothamites we are, decided to take her with us, to make sure she was a-okay." - Harley

"I'm ganna need more than just a six pack of soda to get me through this... Just put the movie on already." - Catwoman

Catwoman sat at the far left end of the couch, next to her sat Ivy, then Maria, and then Harley, Bud and Lou by their feet. All of them sharing one big blanket (Becuase if Iron Man did show up, or any of the birds, then Maria was in a protective burrito and they may not see her right away) and they started the movie.

•—–·–—•

"Oh god, the poor cow." - Maria

.........

"Hahahaha, he stuck a whole f-ckin' chicken head in that guys @ss" - Harley

"The poor chicken." - Maria

"Maria you don't want to see this part." - Ivy then lightly covered her eyes for the ehem, chicken extraction.

.........

"Anyone up for another movie?" - Harley

"That depends." - Ivy

"Any suggestions Cat?" - Harley looked across to the other end of the couch to see Catwoman already sleeping.

"She took her cat-nap already? Seriously?" - Harley

"... What about Pirates of The Caribbean?" - Maria

"I'm good with that." - Ivy

And they started the next movie, Maria was happy, it felt like when her maman and papa would sleep with her when she made a pillow fort. It was a loving atmosphere, it felt safe, and nothing could ruin it. Marias' eyes became heavy, and she leaned her head on Harleys' shoulder, falling asleep after a few minutes.

Ivy paused the move looking over to see both Harley and Maria sleeping, soon Ivy also fell asleep in the comfortable silence.

…………………………

Around an hour later Maria woke up in a panic, she had a nightmare, and kept looking around frantically for someone with tears running down her face.

"What's the matter hun?" - Harley said looking around to see if someone had gotten in. When she looked back at Maria she saw that she was crying.

"What happened?" Harley asked in a kind voice that was filled with motherly love.

"I, just *hic* had a bad dream that's *hic* all, I'm fine." - Maira said trying to wipe the tears away.

"You're ok, I promise nothin's goin' to happen to ya as long as Ivy and I are here, ok hun?" - Harley hugged Maria, and she could feel the girl let out a few more sobs, and quick breathes.

"Thanks Maman." Maria didn't even realize what she had said, it just felt natural for her to say it.

"You're welcome hun." 'Omg I'm gonna cry, she called me maman!' Harley rubbed small circles over Marias' back, and began humming until she fell asleep, she continued to hug Maria until she also fell asleep.

•—–· Back to the Chaos Bat-Cave ·–—•

"What do you mean she's with two of Gotham City's Sirens?!" - Tony

"Tony, calm down, I'll call Selina, she can talk to them and get this all sorted out." - Bruce

"Your fiancee is a Gotham Siren too?! Why didn't you tell me?!" - Tony

"Why isn't she picking up? And unlike some people, this family doesn't like outing our secret identities... on live TV." - Bruce

"Oh well excuse me for not keeping my secret identity a SECRET!" - Tony

"I'll try calling her one more time." - Bruce

"Bruce, it's 3am. Who in their right mind ever stays up this late.... aside from this family." - Tim with a giant coffee mug in hand.

"... I'll just call her one more time." Bruce then connected it to the Bat-Computer so everyone could hear.

•—–· Back to the Sirens ·–—•

Catwoman's phone is ringing like crazy, waking everyone up, including a tired, annoyed, and confused Selina.

"Wth does he want at 3 in the morning?!" - Selina

"Just answer it so we can keep sleepin'." - Harley still hugging Maria

"I'm putting it on speaker, so you lot can testify against his @ss in court, for disturbing the peace."

•—–· Over to Batsy ·–—•

"Selina I need to ask-"

"WHAT THE F-CKING HELL DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND ABOUT A GOOD NIGHTS REST!" - Selina

"Oooooh, she sounds pissed Bruce." - Jason

"I'm sorry to call you at this hour, but we need to find a girl that looks just like every single one of my other kids." - Bruce

"Bruce... I thought we agreed that 7 kids was. the. f-cking. limit." - Selina

•—–· Back to the Sirens ·–—•

Selina looked over to Maria before muting the speaker.

"Do you want them to know you're here Kitten?" - Selina

"... I'm tired, I haven't had coffee, I have no filter, so f-ck it, act like you never saw me today, and let them drown in chaos. " - Maria

"I think I like filter less Maria." - Harley

"Okay." Selina shrugged her shoulders and then un-muted her phone, putting it back on speaker mode.

"Where was she last seen?" - Selina

"She was last seen with Harley and Poison Ivy, I want you to see if she's still with them." - Bruce

Selina looked over to Maria and Harley, both of them shook their heads with mischievous grins.

"I've been with them all day, and I haven't once seen a girl that looks like your kids. Now can I go back to sleep, and forget this ever happened?" - Selina

"WHERE IS MY NIECE!!!" - Tony

"Oh, hey Tony, didn't know you were there, don't know who, or where your niece is, but good luck trying to find her. Oh and Bruce, I'm shutting my phone off so you don't keep calling till the butt crack of dawn. And congrats it's now 4am. you owe me a lunch date, uh-ba-bye." Selina then hung up her phone and turned it off.

"That went pretty well if you ask me, now I'm going back to sleep." - Selina

•—–· Back to Batsy ·–—•

The room was silent for a few minutes before Jason spoke up.

"Does that mean that Pixiepop ran away and is even more lost now?!" - Jason

"Oh god, what do we do, what if she got hurt?!" - Dick

"What if she got kidnapped?!" - Jason

"What if she's with a big time Gotham Villain?!" - Dick

"... What if she got more coffee?" - Tim

"Oh Hell No" - Jason/Dick

"... Lets all go to sleep, and when we wake up, we'll head over to their base and double check. She could've just said that because I called her at 3am." - Bruce

"But my niece is still out there!" - Tony

"You're going to sleep Tony." - Pepper then dragged Tony to his room.

•—–· Back to Maria ·–—•

Selina went to a different part of the building, where Maria assumed the bedrooms were. Ivy had gone to the greenhouse to be with the plants, and now it was just her and Harley left on the couch, and she couldn't sleep.

"... Harley?" - Maria

"Yeah hun?" - Harley

"I can't sleep." - Maria

"Well, watcha wanna do till ya get tired?" Harley asked sitting up a little straighter to get a better look at Maria.

Maria gave a sly smile, and looked Harley in the eyes "Want to go free-running on the rooftops?"

"... Alright, but lets get some coffee, and a snack in us first." - Harley gave her a side hug, before getting up to go make the coffee, and grab some snacks.

After they had their coffee, they climbed to the roof of the base. Harley was in her outfit, bat in hand and ready to do some bonding.

"So, how does ya outfit work?" - Harley

"Like so, ready Mullo?" - Maria

"Yes Maria" - Mullo

"Ok, Mullo, Get Squeaky!" A bright light flashes, and when Harley could see again, Maria was in a dark gray suit, wearing black knee high boots, with a strip of pink at the knee, and black elbow length gloves with the same pink strip at her elbow. Her mask was a slightly lighter gray on the top part, and pink on the bottom. Her hair was pulled into two buns with pink ribbons that faded to gray, and to black at the very tip. Her jump rope around her waist forming a tail going just below the back of her knees.

"Just when I think ya can't get any more adorable. So what should I call ya?" - Harley

"You can call me Multimouse." - Maria

Soon they were racing and doing tricks off different roofs, they were really enjoying themselves. From one of the roofs they heard a commotion in one of the alleys, when they looked down they saw a man holding a woman at gunpoint.

"Not good, seems like he's got issues, probably lost his lover, most likely has additions to drugs and alcohol, and seems to be a little tipsy." - Harley

"I've got a plan." - Multimouse

…………

Multimouse droped a little way behind the guy, grabbing his attention while Harley got the lady to safety.

"You know there's a help center two blocks from here that would be more than willing to help you." - Multimouse

The crook just raised his gun to her trying to keep it steady as he spoke.

"Give me all your money little girl, or else I'll hurt you."

"1. That's not how you hold a gun. 2. That is no way to treat any girl. and 3. Instead of money, I'll give you my jump rope." - Multimouse

"Why the hell would I want your jump rope, that thing looks worthless." the crook lowered his guard enough as Multimouse pretended to hand over her jump rope, only to use it in a quick motion to dismarm the man, as Harley promptly knocked him out with one swing.

"Lets neva have ya at gunpoint again, okay hun? I'm afraid my heart can't take it." - Harley said while tying the crook to a lamppost.

"Sorry, but it was the best idea I could come up with at the moment, besides, any guy with a gun would feel like they have the upper hand if they're facing a random little girl with a jump rope, rather than Gothams' Harley Quinn with a bat." - Multimouse

"Sadly I'm just too popular with the kiddos on the street." - Harley

…………

They continued to stop a few more muggers on the way back to the base, and when they got back they peaked around the corner to see the whole Batfam plus Iron Man talking with Ivy and Selina.

"How much you want to bet we can get back out before they see us?" - Whispering Multimouse

"... Lets try hidin' in the kitchen." - Whispering Harley

As they tried to sneak by (still in their costumes) Selina just walks over and draggs them to the group.

"Here, now let me sleep!" - Selina

"Dang it Selina we wanted tah see just how long we could hide out in the kitchen!" - Harley

Selina did a double take now realizing they both went out.

"... You didn't." - Selina

"We wanted tah go free-runnin'! So what?" - Harley

"She could've gotten hurt Harls." - Ivy

"My suits magic, I am invulnerable to bullets, normal magic, swords, knifes, anything staby staby, and I can withstand any temperature in it." Multimouse said with a slight pout.

"Hold up, is she a magical girl?" - Red Hood in the background

When Selina let go both Harley and Multimouse went behind Ivy for protection.

"We can still make a run for it." - Harley whispered to Multimouse

"... Ok, I'll meet you on the roof." - Whispering Multimouse

Harley gave a nod as she slowly inched her wasy closer to the door that lead to the roof, as she saw Iron Man approach Multimouse.

"Please get out of your suit, we need to talk about why you're here-" - Iron Man

"Multitute!" - Multimouse

Harley then saw Multimouse shrink into dozens of tiny little versions of herself as her clones spread out in all directions, one of which was heading right for her.

"Wth, you never told us she could use magic!" - Red Robin

Harley picked her up, and slipped through the door without anyone noticing.

"That was great, but how do ya get back tuh normal size?" - Harley

"Simple, I just merge back with my clones." As she said this, all her clones came back, and she merged with herself, becoming normal sized again.

"Where to?" - Multimouse

………… So now The Batfam is trying to find many long gone Mini-Multimouses, and Harley seems to have disappeared with her. Harley and Multimouse are now running over the roofs, heading for Wayne Manor.

"So why are we going to Wayne Manor?" - Multimouse

"Because, Batsy will neva think of lookin' for us at his own home, at least not fawh a little while." - Harley

When they arrived at the Manor, Multimouse de-transformed as Harley knocked on the door.

"Ms. Quinn, Ms. Maria, pleasure to see you here, please come in." - Alfred

"Are any of the bat-birds here?" - Harley

"Ms. Barbara, Ms. Stephanie, and Ms. Cassandra are the only ones here at the moment." - Alfred

"Do ya think you can keep us bein' here a secret from Batsy?" - Harley

"Harley? What are you doing here with Maria?" - Barbara

"It seems that Ms. Harley and Ms. Maria are now playing hide and seek with the rest of the family." - Alfred

"Did someone say hide and seek?" - Steph

"Yes, so could we maybe try and keep this a secret from everyone else, please?" - Maria

"Sure, it was starting to get boring around here. We can all hide in the living room no one ever use. Barbara you show them the way, I'll get the food/drinks and boardgames." - Steph

"Is this alright with you Alfred?" Maria

"It's all right Ms. Maria, you can hide out in the old living room." - Alfred

"Thanks Alfie, ya the best." - Harley

"Thank you Alfred." - Maria

"Ok then, follow me." - Barbara

…………

In the old living room, Harley, Maria, Barbara, Steph, and Cass began to formulate a plan.

"Ok, so the best way for them to never find you is to have your phone off, stay away from any and all cameras, and show your face to no one." - Steph

"So, do you have anything in mind that you might want to do?" - Barbara

"Can we put them on a wild goose chase?" - Maria

Cass nodded to Marias' suggestion approvingly.

"I can hack a few traffic cams to help with that." - Barbara

"We can also throw in some useless hints, to throw dem even further off our scent." - Harley

"Good idea Harley." - Barbara

"Thanks, but how long do ya think we should make it last?" - Harley

"As long as Maria wants it to." - Barbara

"Then let the games begin." - Maria.

•—–—–·†·–—–—•

Chapter 5 complete. Hope everyone is stayin' safe, Rockin' those Positive Vibes, and havin' an absolutely wonderful day. BUG-OUT 🐞💮🐞

〜(꒪꒳꒪)〜Tag List〜(꒪꒳꒪)〜

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[hedwigstalons]

Rite of Passage

This is written for #irrelief set up by @gumnut-logic.  This is for both @tsarinatorment who wanted Scott teaching a younger brother how to fly, and @scribbles97 who wanted anything with Scott and Alan.  

xoxoxox

“Up and at ‘em, birthday boy.  These pancakes won’t last long if you don’t get down here quick.”

 Grandma Tracy’s voice reverberated down the corridor to Alan’s room, stirring him in to action.  At twelve years old he had lost the desire to be up at the crack of dawn and even his own birthday couldn’t entice him out of his room any earlier than was necessary.  Although if pancakes were on offer that could only mean one thing – Virgil was cooking.

The thought of Virgil’s thick and fluffy pancakes gave him the final push he needed otherwise he risked losing his share.  He thundered down the stairs towards the kitchen and snagged a stack of pancakes from the pile in the middle of the table.  The serving platter was loaded to overflowing and the jug of maple syrup was still full.  Despite the threats no one else had started although Gordon was practically drooling from his place at the far side of the table.

 All the Tracy boys appreciated good food.  It could be in short supply on a rescue and in even shorter supply on the island if Grandma Tracy took it into her head to care for them with a good old fashioned dose of home cooking.  Taking their cue from Alan the stack of pancakes was soon demolished.  Blocks of butter were carved in to.  Syrup dribbles were slurped off fingers.  The feeding frenzy only finished when Virgil announced that there was no more batter left, much to the disappointment of everyone present.

 With his stomach finally full Alan was able to take a proper look around the table.  For once all of his brothers were present, even John.  Comms must have been routed through to the island to allow his space monitor sibling to attend.  He appreciated the effort; having John around was a rare treat and he missed the sibling who had inspired his love of space.  He just hoped the Earth stayed quiet for a few hours.  It always hurt watching his brothers dash off in their craft to save the world.  Since Gordon earned his full IR blues last year he was the only one left behind when a call for help came in.

 There was still one noticeable gaping absence in the assembled company.  The place at the head of the table was empty.  No one yet had the heart to sit in the chair that had until recently been the preserve of their father.  This was Alan’s first birthday since the Zero-X exploded.  His first birthday without his father.  The thought made the pancakes sit heavily in his stomach, as though they had been made of cardboard.  

 All joy seemed to leach out of the day.

 Birthdays were meant to be special.  Twelfth birthdays even more so.  Turning twelve allowed a Tracy to obtain the freedom of the skies.  That magical rite of passage that was the first time being in control of an aircraft.  He was no stranger to flying as a passenger, all Tracys seemed to clock up air miles from birth, but to actually take control was a privilege that had so far been denied to him.

 It had all started with Scott.  Scott, who would bleed aviation fuel if you cut him and had been obsessed with the skies from the moment he had first been placed on a blanket outside as a baby to watch the clouds go by.  Scott, who had been asking to fly since he could talk.  Other boys might ask for bicycles for their birthday, Scott asked for aeroplanes.  And when Scott turned twelve he had been deemed mature enough, and tall enough, to move into the pilot’s seat.  

 It was a milestone that had carried on with each brother in turn.

 It was a milestone that Alan was to be denied.  There was no father around to take him up and hand over control.

 The celebration moved through to the lounge where a stack of presents were arranged on one of the sofas.  Books, video games and new clothes all appeared from the brightly wrapped parcels.  A box of snacks and candy from Gordon was quickly whisked away to his room to be hidden from thieving brothers.  Even birthday candy wasn’t sacred if left in a communal area; exhausted brothers returning from the danger zone could demolish a pack of Oreos quicker than you could say ‘Thunderbirds are go!’.

 Soon there were no more parcels left.

 “So, Alan, any plans for your big day?”  Scott asked.

 With his attention taken up with reading the back of one of the video game boxes Alan completely missed the smirks that were exchanged between his brothers.

 “Maybe play one of these.  Anyone up for it?”  He held up one of the boxes.  A space rocket filled the cover and the tagline promised intergalactic adventures that were out of this world.

 “Sorry.  Maybe later. I’ve got some maintenance to do.”

 The disappointment on Alan’s face was clear to all as Scott turned and headed off towards the hangers.

 “Anyone?” He waved the box in a hopeful manner but the lounge was already clearing as everyone went off to their respective duties.

 “Sorry, Al.  I don’t really have time for games.  Scott’s right, there is maintenance to do.  If you come and give me a hand on Three I might get done in time for a game before I head back up to the office.”

 Alan perked up at this prospect.  Thunderbird Three was his favourite craft but one he was rarely allowed near.  The mighty space rocket seemed to call out to him and he longed to one day feel her power. Every time she launched in to orbit Alan could be found drooling at the windows of the villa.  It was a sight he never grew tired of.  The thought of spending time with John was also not to be sneezed at.

 Alan willingly followed John to the elevators but instead of heading towards Thunderbird Three’s silo John started leading the way towards the private hanger.  Alan trailed along behind.  Maybe John needed to collect some tools or speak to one of the others first.  They would get to the rocket soon enough and then Alan could lose himself in the mighty machine.  If he was lucky John might even let him sit in the pilot’s seat.

 As he entered the hangar Alan found himself blinking. Bright tropical sunshine spilled through the open door, exposing the view of the runway and the ocean beyond.

 Once his eyes stopped watering and adjusted to the brightness Alan noticed his brothers and Grandma all gathered round.  There, lined up to exit the hanger, was the small two-seater propeller plane that rarely saw the light of day.  Probably not since Gordon had turned twelve.

 “You didn’t think we would forget would you?”  Scott stepped forwards, already kitted out in his blues and holding out one final parcel.

 Alan stepped forwards to meet him and accepted the gift. He peeled off the paper almost reverentially, partly because of the significance of the gift and partly because he knew better than to leave litter in the hangar that could get sucked in to aircraft engines.

 Hidden underneath the folds of paper was a familiar flash of blue.  He shook out the material and held up the small flight suit.  The stiff cotton was unblemished and still heavily creased in its newness.  He rubbed his thumbs over the material as he held the suit by the shoulders.  A patch badge on the breast proclaimed ‘A. TRACY’.

 It might not be the high-tech material of his brothers’ uniforms but it was his.  A symbol of the next stage of his life.  Each brother in turn had been gifted their first flight suit on turning twelve.  The significance of the colour was not lost on him. For each of the others the flight suit had been in the traditional green used by the US Air Force.   His was sky blue with patches of a slightly darker shade on the knees and elbows. This suit was proof that one day he would be accepted as a Thunderbird.  Provided he could actually master flying.

 He undid the velco down the front of the suit with a satisfying rip and stepped in.  The legs and arms were a little long but it gave him some growing room.  Scott knelt down in front of him and folded up the cuffs into a fetching pair of turnups while Alan rolled back the sleeves a couple of turns.

 “Can’t have these catching on the controls.”  Scott murmured and he stood up, stepping back to admire his handiwork.  “You ready?”

 Alan could only nod dumbly as Scott led him over the aircraft and helped him in.  

 The aircraft was rather more basic than anything else in the Tracy fleet.  Dual controlled with a simple stick and rudder pedals.  It was the perfect trainer plane to learn the principals of flight.  Of course it had had a few Tracy upgrades over the years.  The instruments were now more in line with those found on the Thunderbirds and the comms unit was able to connect to the secure International Rescue frequencies.  The technology was nothing new to Alan who had grown up with a lot of these features as standard but an outsider might have found the juxtaposition between high and low tech to be a touch strange.

 “At least you are a bit taller than Gordon was” Scott said as he slotted himself into the second seat by Alan’s side, “Dad had to put him on a booster wedge.”

 Alan smirked a little about this piece of ammunition. His next older brother made a big thing about Alan being the baby of the family.  Next time Gordon teased about him having homework to do or not being allowed to swim without on of the others present Alan knew just what he would throw back in his fish brother’s face.  

 Lost in his imaginings of being able to retaliate against Gordon Alan missed that Scott had stared speaking again.  Information about pitch, roll and yaw; rudders, flaps and ailerons had passed him by.

 “Earth to Alan.”

 A hand was waved in front of his face, jerking him back to reality.

 “Huh.  What was that, Scotty?”

 “Wake up, kid.  This thing won’t learn to fly itself.  I said the stick controls the flaps and ailerons” Scott gave the stick a waggle and Alan watched as sections on the wings and tail moved correspondingly, “and the pedals control the rudder”.  Alan turned around and saw the rudder section in the tail swing left and right as the pedals at his feet shifted, mirroring the action caused by Scott manipulating his own pedals.  “Now lets get this baby fired up.  Just watch what I do for now.  You can keep your hands and feet on the controls but make sure you don’t put any pressure on them, just touch them lightly so you can feel what I’m doing.”

 Scott’s fingers flew deftly over the various switches in the cockpit.  The engine stuttered in to life and the propeller began to turn until it was a near-invisible blur at the front of the plane.  A few more switches that Alan recognised as belonging to the radio and they were ready to go.

 “Trainerbird One requesting permission to take off”.

 John’s hologram popped up in the cockpit showing that he had evidently headed back to the lounge to run comms.

 “Trainerbird One you are cleared for take off.”

 Alan felt the small aircraft vibrate as Scott increased the power and they slowly rolled forwards towards the hanger doors and the outside world.  Soon they were moving at speed towards the end of the runway and Alan was suddenly struck by how short the strip was.  Normally he was the passenger section of one of the jets or they used VTOLs.  The small training craft gave him an entirely new perspective of the world.

 Scott really was a master of all things aeronautical and Alan barely felt them leave the ground despite the most basic component of the Tracy fleet providing little protection against the pull of forces.  He kept a fingertip touch on the controls and felt the aircraft turn and dip to Scott’s commands.  The ocean glittered below, blending with the crystal clear sky on the distant horizon.

 Despite normally piloting the most advanced plane in the world Alan could tell that Scott was enjoying himself too.  The small propeller plane was neither fast nor elegant but the primitive controls only served to deepen the connection between man and machine.  Every action had a reaction which was fed back to the pilot via the controls.  Every gust of wind was felt and needed to be responded to.  Pilot and craft needed to work in harmony rather than one assuming control of the other.

 “You ok there Alan?  Feel ready to take control for a bit?”

 Alan looked across at his eldest brother, his eyes shining.

 “Really?”

 “Sure.  Just avoid hitting the island and you’ll be fine.  You have control.”

 “I have control” Alan responded, parroting the interaction between pilot and co-pilot that he had witnessed so many times previously.

 And then he did.  Scott’s hands were no longer on the stick but were instead placed neatly in his lap.  Alan had no doubt that those same hands would be back on the controls in an instant if anything went wrong but for now the sky was his own.

 After a couple of minutes of level flying, circling around the island, Scott looked across at his youngest brother.  He could tell that Alan was just itching to try something a little more adventurous.  

 “Go on, put her through her paces.  I’m here if anything goes wrong.”

 Alan needed no second bidding.  Soon the small plane was dipping and turning.  First moving with the wind, then against, as he got a feel for the craft and her abilities.  The freedom of the skies was his and he could see why his brothers soon got miserable if they were grounded.  Even Gordon, whose natural habitat was in the ocean, was not immune to the lure of the skies and griped if he couldn’t get airborne.  His heart soared as he felt the shifting air currents and the pull of the forces as he coaxed the plane through progressively more ambitious and demanding manoeuvres.

 All too soon it was time for lesson one to come to an end as Scott took control again with Alan gently feeling the movements required for landing.  The short runway rushed up as Scott took the steep approach angle necessitated by their island home.  A subtle bump and bounce announced their reconnection with the ground.

 Once the craft was still Scott reached out and draped an arm around his brother’s shoulders.  In the confined space of the cockpit they had been practically touching for the whole flight and it took no effort at all to turn it in to some semblance of a hug.

 “So what did you think, Al?  Another lesson tomorrow if rescues allow?  You did great up there.”

 Alan nodded against his brother’s shoulder, not trusting his voice as an unexpected wave of emotion washed over him.

 Scott sensed the younger boy stiffen against him.  He looked down and spotted the moisture welling up in Alan’s eyes, the clenched jaw showed just how hard Alan was fighting to stay in control.

 “Hey, what’s wrong?”

 “Did...did I really do ok?”

 “Yeah.  I’m proud of you.  Dad would have been proud too.”

 And that was the tipping point.  Alan twisted in the confined space and Scott found himself wrapped in a tight embrace as Alan fully buried his face in the shoulder of Scott’s uniform, sobs wracking his body.  Scott rubbed a hand gently up and down the back of Alan’s flight suit, letting Alan have his moment and burn out in his own time.

 Soon the moment had passed.  With one final sniff Alan pulled himself out of the embrace and suddenly became very interested in the wall of the hanger visible through the side windows of the cockpit.  

 “I mean it Alan.”  Scott spoke to the back of Alan’s head.  “Dad would be so proud of you today.  I know it’s not the same for you but it was an honour to take you up today. You’re a natural up there.”

 Alan turned back to face him, a grin splitting his face.

 “So, next time you’re going to take me up in Thunderbird One?”

 “Nice try, kid.  Nice try.”

[aboyandhisstarship]

The Delta AU  (tinder AU reboot)

Notes:

Thanks to @forestwater87 for not only the name Greenwood but also a suggestion as to what Gwen’s new job should be. 

final order of business this fic poses a very serious (not really) question that i want to know your answers to so discuss 

also this bad boy is un proof read because i got a digital date tonight...also i’m lazy 

That’s right a reboot, so enjoy.

 Afghanistan:

David advanced covering the roofs Night vision googles over his eyes as he said into his radio “Sand Man to Dog Patch we are passing Salmon,” The rest of the team moving in a wedge formation towards the destroyed town.

Millers voice returned “roger  Sand Man.”

David crouched raising a fist in a stop motion as he heard a handful of voices walking in the street he whispered “Cool Breeze?”

Jasper shook his head “no weapons….”

Nurf whispered “uhhh they told us that were only dudes holding AK’s out here.”

David shook his head saying “Sand Man to Dog Patch?”

Miller returned “I heard Sand Man…Intel is saying you are Oscar mike.”

Tabii growled “we are painting a target for a bombing raid.”

David asked “Dog Patch…how sure is intel?”

Miller paused “they are saying 60%.”

David watched Kids enter the street kicking a soccer ball, one of the kids kicked the ball wide and it Hit Nurf square in the chest the kids ran up and then saw the 4 soldiers crouching on the ground.

The kids backed away scared as David lowered his weapon nodding for his team to do the same he pushed the ball back to the kids before saying “Sand Man Dog patch…Intel is wrong…we are aborting.”

David tried to smile at the kids who grabbed the Ball before running away.

The lights on the village lit up but by then the team was already gone.

North Carolina:

David stepped off the plane as Miller met him saying “Sir…you got to get those Intel guys straight.”

Miller sighed “they are not on the ground.”

David countered “maybe they should be…Sir…all I ask is that my team know that they are hostiles on the ground…before we are sent in.”

Miller sighed “I will pass on your request up the chain Sargent major, until then your team is off rotation until another Mission comes up.”

David gestured “yes sir, Jasper!”

Jasper smiled “cars running Davie.”

 The next night:

David was dressed in plaid as Jasper dragged out of the car saying “Davie, we both know you need to get out more…you work too much.”

David pointed out halfheartedly “we work the same amount?”

Jasper countered “but I have Sarah waiting for me…who do you have David?”

David sighed “Look Jasper….”

Jasper crossed his arms before saying “that’s what I thought…come on Davie let’s make you some friends.”

The bar much to David’s annoyance was busy and Jasper was waved over by Sarah Jasper's fiancee, David awkwardly stood around before bidding an escape towards the bar ordering a coke, he sat down drinking his coke scrawling through his phone, Tabii was with her girlfriend and Nurf was visiting his mother. So sadly he was stuck with Jasper and by extension all of Sarah’s doctor friends.

David took another sip as a voice asked “you get dragged here to?”

He turned to his right to see a girl about his age, wearing a sundress. She smiled “my names Gwen.”

David smiled “David.”

Gwen looked him up and down before nodding “outdoors type dragged here by a friend who thinks you need to get out more?”

David chuckled “is it that obvious?”

Gwen was about to answer when Sarah walked over “GWEN! I see you met the other recluse!”

David and Gwen said in unison “recluse!?”

Sarah rolled her eyes “Gwen this is one of Jaspers co-workers David, David Gwen was my roommate back in school.”

Gwen sighed “there goes my entire mystic.”

Sarah countered “David here has an enough for both of you!” before walking away enjoying her beer.

David took a sip of his coke asking “another doctor?”

Gwen mumbled “I’m an editor at a newspaper.”

David asked “what?”

Gwen said it again a little louder “I am an editor at a newspaper.”

David lit up “No kidding that is awesome!”

Gwen blinked “thank you.”

David took another sip saying “sounds like interesting work?”

Gwen nodded “it can be…”

She was interrupted as the TV said “breaking news at this hour, Country pop singer Cindy McGuire, has been kidnapped during her tour of South America…”

The bar tender turned off the TV as David’s phone pinged he glanced up to see Jasper pinged as well, he turned around to see Gwen was phone also went off. David opted not to question it saying “pleasure meeting you, but work calls.”

Gwen sighed “same…but I would like to talk to you again.”

David smiled before he threw some cash on the bar before holding his phone to his ear saying “go for Greenwood.”

Jasper following him out, Sarah appeared next to Gwen groaning “they just got back…but duty calls.”

Gwen glanced up from her own emails “what…oh yea…a real shame.”

Sarah smiled “so what did you think of David?”

Gwen frowned “Listen I have to go work.” Dodging the question

Sarah smiled “oh she is hooked.”

 Fort Bragg:

Nurf sat down groaning “man I had to leave my mom…again.”

Tabii groaned “And I lost date night…yet again.”

Jasper sipped some water saying “if it makes you feel any better David was making moves on a girl.”

The entire squad sat forward as David blushed “Wha…me and Gwen…no way, I mean I barely know her and…”

Tabii interrupted “Damn…he is already smitten.”

Miller burst in saying “sorry to pull you all away, but we have a developing situation, this is Cindy McGuire.”

Nurf smiled “my mom loves her stuff!”

Tabii blinked “wasn’t she in the news recently?”

Miller nodded “she was caught on video, doing a rather…caustic rant…and as such is on a tour of schools she helped build in South America.”

Jasper flinched saying “yea I remember watching the news with Sarah when the news broke, it was not pleasant.”

David reminded “we don’t have to like her, we just need to do the job.”

Miller nodded “speaking of, her publisher had the genius idea of publishing her route in advance…she got herself nabbed by a couple of wannabe El Chapo types.”

Tabii groaned “oh boy…”

David sighed “so untrained goons with Ak’s…what are their demands?”

Miller visibly scoffed “500 million dollars, and weapons…enough weapons to arm an air craft carrier.”

Japer took a sip of water “these guys need to manage their expectations.”

Miller chuckled dryly adding “since these guys have demanded weapons a rescue operation has been green lit, this job is going to be in the public eye…so make it clean.”

Elsewhere:

Gwen entered as her boss said “Gwendolyn about time you got here.”

Gwen sighed “sorry sir.”

Her boss rolled his eyes saying “Cindy McGuire got nabbed from her tour in South America, a friend of a friend in the FBI said the investigation just changed hands…and there is red tape involved! You know what that means! NEWS! So I want to know what is happening Gwen! Get on it!”

Gwen nodded “on it sir,” As she started to dive deep.

 C130:

David sat in his black camo the lights in the plane were dimmed as he napped only for jasper to loudly clear his throat “David.”

David replied without opening his eyes “Yea Jasp?”

Jasper took a sip of water before asking “sooooooo Gwen.”

David turned over and went back to sleep ignoring Jasper as Tabii grinned “I ship it.”

Nurf said “we have not even met her yet.”

Tabii exclaimed “who cares, anyone who can make the boss look like that is good in my books!”

Nurf shook his head as one of the flight engineers said “1 hour to jump get ready!”

 Peru:

David landed with a thump his night vision googles over his face as he said “dog patch we have passed RWBY.”

Miller responded “roger that Sand Man.”

The team started to advance toward the abandoned gas station where McGuire was being held as Tabii asked “RWBY? Isn’t that the name of like an anime or something?”

Nurf pointed out “it’s American so is it technically an anime?”

Everyone looked at him and he shrugged “what, just because I’m a meat head doesn’t mean I don’t dabble.”

Jasper sighed “I’m just mad they gave us cartons for this operation, come on not the coolest option.”

David dead panned “the last one was sea food.”

Jasper groaned “I know but at least it was at least somewhat cooler.”

Nurf sighed “are you going to brush past that this one is cartoons and the first one is RWBY?”

Tabii sighed “I thought you were not sure RWBY was an Anime?”

Nurf groaned “yea but…but cartoon doesn’t feel right.”

Tabii lunched into a counter point as David tuned them out. 

At this point this debate had been going on for about three hours when David signaled stop saying “Cool Breeze Dirt Diver give me an enemy count.”

Nurf and Jasper said “Wilco.”

David said “Dogpatch, we have passed…Danny Phantom over.”

David heard chuckling in Dog patch as he said “say again Sand man?”

David rolled his eyes “Dog Patch we have passed Danny Phantom.”

Miller could not keep  the amusement out of his voice having heard the previous conversation as it recorded over there com’s “roger Sandman you have passed Danny Phantom.”

Nurf smiled “now that’s a cartoon.”

David reminded “everything we say is being recorded for the record.”

Nurf paused before adding “Danny Phantoms dad is my spirit animal.”

David sighed “report on enemy Dirt Diver.”

Jasper responded “I got 4 tangos, all packing AK’s all facing east, having a smoke.”

David asked “any inside?”

Nurf this time said “negative.”

David flicked off his gun safety saying “Dog patch Sand Man…permission to engage.”

Miller answered “sand man your team has the Green Light.”

David responded already moving towards the building saying “roger.”

The goons were enjoying their smoke as David said “On my count…3,2,1.”

With that four gun suppressed shots rang out and the goons fell to the ground with holes in their skulls.

The team stacked up on the door as David nodded and they kicked the door open meeting the screaming face of Cindy McGuire.

David said “clear, Red cap.”

Tabii moved over to the tied down girl saying “Ma’am we are American’s we are here to rescue you.”

Tabii looked her over for wounds as she demanded in a high pitched voice, the type of thing you would expect from a rich snobby girl in a high school movie as she demanded “who are you people.”

David ignored her saying “dog patch we have passed courage the cowardly dog.”

Cindy called to David the clear leader saying “I said who are you! You have no right to treat me this way! I demand to speak to my agent!”

David and Jasper shoot each other a “is she for real?” glance before saying “like Red cap said we are American’s.”

McGuire furled her lips “the fuck kind of name is RED CAP!?”

Nurf pulled out his knife as she said “Woah sorry I asked sheesh!”

Nurf sighed “just relax I’m cutting you free.”

McGuire now free from her chair asked “so if she is Red Cap...” dragging on the word as if had personally run over her dog before finishing “what are the rest of you?”

David sighed “my name is Sand man that is Cool Breeze and Dirt Diver.”

McGuire looked Nurf up and down “oh you are a Dirt Diver that’s for sure.”

Nurf looked suitably offended as David said “ma’am we can’t stay here, sun comes up in 4 hours and we still have 8 kilometers to cross, to get to the chopper.”

McGuire laughed “oh that’s a short drive…wait…are you asking me to walk!? This is an outrage! Your treating me worse than my kidnappers!”

She snapped her fingers “I want to talk to this….what did you call it Dog patch…god another awful name.”

David groaned “ma’am we are in a hostile environment as such I am the highest authority you can speak to, if you wish to launch a formal complaint that is your right but will have to wait until after we are out of an active combat zone.”

McGuire groaned “I’m holding you to that…Sand Man.” She spat out the name.

McGuire started the walk as David said “Dog patch, we are passing Cyber chase.”

 3 hours later:

McGuire sat on a rock whining “ my feet hurt, is that helicopter coming or not! My lawyers will have a field day with this!”

David who was next to the girl groaned “chopper will be here in 20 mikes.”

McGuire demanded “I don’t speak baby killer!”

Tabii snapped “minutes!...the chopper will be here in 20 minutes.”

McGuire groaned “it better be, I can’t believe this happened I was supposed to get away without any consequence’s, because I’m hot popular and rich!”

The team looked at each other  yet again silently asking “is this girl for real?”

 Blackstone air force base:

McGuire was taken off the plane with a trauma blanket around her as she wailed “they were so horrible to me!” to the waiting camera’s

Gwen saw her reporters trying to get an interview with the star who clearly put on more make up before coming out to the camera’s but Gwen was more interested in soldiers in the back ground quietly slipping away chatting among themselves, including a tuft of red hear she could swear she could recognize.

 2 days later:

David plucked down on his apartment couch, the debrief for that last operation was a night mare, as true to her Diva ways, McGuire was suing the US government for her “rough treatment” everyone who had seen the transcript had determined that she in fact did not have a case, but the Army not in a mood for a long trial so they redacted anything classified and planned to release the transcript  to a news station.

David lay back already thinking of the memes that will spawn “should RWBY have been on the cartoon list?”

 News office:

Gwen re read the transcript chuckling at the teams moving in attics and groaning every time the letters HVT appeared on the transcript. She had found a picture of David on Sarah’s phone and had determined it was likely they were the same person. Gwen chuckled “I guess Sarah’s was not kidding when she mentioned mystic.”

[kezibun]

Hey guys! So Sans x self ship week?? I gotta have a piece of this. I just hope this is alright cuz I haven't written anything other that rp in ages...

@selfshipperapproved

As a lot of you know Red (UF Sans) is my husband so obviously I'm gonna focus on our story but this first one will need a quick explanation before I get to it. So Kezi (my persona) used to travel through different universes using a little device so she could compare and do research on Alternate Universes continuing work and theory's her mentor couldn't do. After arriving in the Undertale universe and finding out monsters were trapped underground (they aren't in my universe) she investigated and met Sans and Papyrus making quick friends with them, after staying with the two and collecting all the data she could, she decided it was time to move on to the next AU, and this is where we start this story. 

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

Keziha comes into the lab under Sans and Papyrus' house fidgeting with the gadget on her wrist.

"Hey Sans? I'm trying to figure out where to go next…." She asks before looking up. "Oh I'm sorry you're busy…" 

Sans turns from his computer. "Hey, na it's alright buddy, don't worry about it." 

"Who du f*** is that vanilla?" A gruff voice comes from his laptop. 

Sans tilts the cam to her. "This is the human I told you about last time." 

"She's the... um... time traveller or somethin right?" 

 "Oh um… No… I'm..  I'm a universe skipper. Though I have a couple theories on time travel." She says as she comes closer and looks over Sans' shoulder. "Is this??… Sans? Are you??" 

"Yeah this is a Sans from another universe. We call him Red." Sans explains readjusting the cam again. 

"You're video chatting with yourself from an AU and you didn't tell me?" She asks slightly annoyed but mostly curious...

"Never came up…" 

"I'm researching AUs and you just didn't think to mention this?" 

"Ya such a f***in' num skull vanilla, I mean how could ya not tell me she was a f***in' cutie? Or even tell me her name. Was wit ya?" Red chips in.

Sans just shrugs.

She blushes a little and tucks her hair behind her ear… "oh… um… hehe..." she lets out a little nervous laugh. 

"So Sweetheart ya got a name right?" He chuckles.

"Yeah…. It's um… I'm Keziha but you… you can call me Kezi." 

"Sure I can't call ya my date." He says with a wink. 

Keziha laughs her blush getting a little darker. "Y...y-you're…. you're funny, just…. just…. as m-much of a jokester as this guy." He gestures to the skeleton next to her with another little flustered giggle.

"Who said I was joking Doll?" He replies. 

"Well… uh… y-you c-can't… be serious…." She then just blushes even more as she looks down and goes to pull at her sleeve but she sees the AU jumping device on her wrist and remembers.

"Oh yeah…" She holds her arm up to fiddle with the gadget again. "Sans I came in here to ask if you had any idea which universe I should go to now I've finished collecting all the data around here…." 

"I dunno?" Sans shrugs. "Wherever you like I guess."

"Ya can come over to my place Sweetheart." Red blurts suddenly but suavely.

"Hey that's not a bad idea, what are your AUs coordinates?" 

"It's written there on the screen kezi." Sans says pointing to the numbers under the video screen.

"No, no, no… I... was…. jus kiddin' ya really can't come over 'ere, it ain't safe for ya. Forget I said anythin' Sweetheart."

"It should be fine, I'm prepared for dangerous universes, the more diverse the places the better for my research." She hums typing into the wrist device. "So… 6.5.12.12" 

"Na Kezi, I mean it, if ya come 'ere ya will f***in' die. No joke!" Red says with all seriousness. 

"But I gotta come over at some point for my research, so why not now? When I know I got at least one guy on my side. Unless.... you don't think you're strong enough to keep me alive for three days." 

"I mean I can totally keep ya alive 'ere for like a week at least." 

"Awesome!! I'll meet you in Snowdin forest in five." She giggles as she hangs up. "Oh shoot sorry… that was your call an I kinda hung up for you…" she apologises to Sans.

"No it's cool, we were pretty much finished anyway." Sans chuckles. "You go ahead and get ready to meet Romeo." 

"Romeo??" Kezi asks, tilting her head curiously. 

"Yeah he was totally hitting on you. Didn't you pick up on that??" 

"No, he was just... just joking… A-anyway… I'm gonna get my stuff and say bye and everything…" 

She packed up her things and said her goodbyes ready to embark on a new adventure. . . 

****

So there she was standing… shivering in the middle of a blizzard in Snowdin forest… everything a blanket of white... She couldn't see a thing... as she waits for the golden fanged skeleton to appear. . . 

"Ya f***in' idiot! I can't believe this sh**!!!" He growls.

"S-S...Sans?! Red? Is that you!?" She calls back as she shivers from the cold icy wind.

A figure comes closer becoming more visible with each step.

"Yeah it's f***in' me." He puts a hand on her shoulder and with a fizzle of magic the world spins as he shortcuts.

 She falls on him a little dizzy and disorientated as she now finds herself inside a messy room… and it stinks of mustard. 

"Ya f***in' idiot!!! I told ya not to come ya moron, ya stupid li'l pipsqueak! Now ya gonna get yer self f***in killed!!" 

"Has anyone told you that you have a foul mouth? You don't have to be so mean." She pouts and frowns at his rudeness but his words really stung for some reason...

"Yeah an' I kinda do cuz that's f***in' life 'ere. Anyone ev'r told ya yer a f***in' stupid idiot??? Now ya coursin' a sh** ton of trouble."

"Yeah…." She mumbles looking away and bitting back some tears... "I'm sorry… I um… got... a little... ahead of myself…" She sighs… and sniffles... "I should have listened…" 

He looks at her sad little face and feels a little pain in his soul...

I.... damn I've messed up...

"Na… I'm the f***in' idiot. I shouldn't 'ave invited ya over. It was stupid, I also shouldn't 'ave shouted at ya like that…. 'm sorry…" He sighs… "ya jus.... to cute 'n pure fer the world I live in… Ya should really leave…" 

"I can't…" 

"What? Course ya can. Just... just put in a code in ya watch thing?... damn please jus be sh***in with me."

"It… it's got to recharge… I'm stuck here for at least three days… I'm sorry..." 

"You gotta be jokin'?" 

"No I'm really not…." 

He lets out a heavy sigh... "Don't worry Sweetheart, I'll look after ya. Three days? piece a cake. This I'll be fine."

Then… it sounds like a door opens and slams shut…. "Sh**.... that's my bro…." 

[im-a-space-gay]

Gay Gamers AU!~

They're all Youtubers, GAMING Youtubers

They all have their separate channels: Prince_Of_Creativity, Mor-Pal-Ity, CoolLogic101, Anxie_Tea&Biscuits

But, one day, they decided to make a group channel: Gay Gamers

Logan, Patton, and Roman already lived in a (rather large) house before the group channel came to be

They each have their own bedroom, studio/gaming room, and still have plenty of spare rooms

The perks of being famous Youtubers, am I right?

Now, you may be wondering, where's Virgil? Yeah, about that...

While the other three had the luxury of at least starting out in the same state together, Virgil wasn't in Florida

Or the U.S., for that matter...

That's right, he's from/is in England!

My British Boyo

What, you thought I was just gonna randomly call him Anxie_Tea&Biscuits?

Actually, I always wanted him to be British in this AU, and I saw the chance to make a good username for him!

Also, this fact puts all the story line and drama into the AU

Patt wants to hug this adorable boy with a cute accent, Logan wants to properly debate him, Roman wants to touch his hair (it looks so soft in his videos), and Virgil just wants to meet his only friends in person

They're all so desperate to meet IRL that they agree that Virgil would fly to Florida and stay with them for the summer

And Virgil, being the little sh*t he is, bought a ticket for the flight a week earlier because that's an extra week to stay with them. Also he really wanted to scare them

So, he got their address (and they shipped him a house key a couple weeks ago, oh how they were gonna regret that) a week before his flight, and said he had to go "offline" for a couple days

And Virgil, he's got it all planned out. By the time he arrives at their house (after a few detours) they've gone shopping to restock their fridge/pantry

Once he gets there he hides his luggage in a hall closet, and puts a camera in the flower pot and attaches a small one to his jacket to record their reactions to his "entrance"

So with the giant box and packing peanuts, which he bought at the detours, he fills the box with packing peanuts and hides in the box, covering himself with packing peanuts and closing the lid to the box

When the others get home 20 minutes later they're like, "Why is there a giant box here??"

So, they all open it, and for a moment, all they see is pink packing peanuts before Virgil's head pokes out of the peanuts

"Guys! I found so many packing peanuts at the store! Isn't this amazing?!"

And they're just standing there for a second because dANG, this boy is even cuter in person and wHAT THE HELL IS HE EVEN DOING HERE?!

And then, Roman bursts into laughter, because of course Virge would be excited over packing peanuts, then Patton giggles, and even Logan is chuckling along

Virgil huffs and then says something along the lines of "You guys are weird, I'm taking a nap" before sinking back into the peanuts, causing them to laugh even harder

(The video Virgil posted over the whole ordeal went on his channel and the group channel and blew UP with views and likes and comments)

Then, over the summer, they all realize they're in love with the small British gamer, and sh*t when were the others this attractive too?.

Virgil, who's loved them before meeting them in person, is an oblivious f*ck while the others are trying to win his heart and realize their feelings for the entire group along the way

Then the others discuss their feelings with each other, but they decide not to start a relationship until Virgil tells them he does/doesn't want to join. But of course, they're too nervous to bring this up to him. Then, the next big issue:

Trying to get Virgil to stay as long as humanely possible (maybe forever, that would work)

This goes on for a while until Virgil catches on

"Why can't you stay with us another month?" "Because Roman, next week is f*CKING CHRISTMAS. I NEED TO GO HOME ALREADY."

Oh, and then the Christmas flights were canceled, thanks to a snow storm

"WHY IS THERE A SNOW STORM IN FLORIDA?!" " *singing in background* It's a Christmas miracle...!"

While Virgil is stuck in Florida for Christmas, he asks why they've been keeping him from going home

And then they give the answer, but dang it sounds selfish out loud

And Virgil's silent for a second before chuckling with a sympathetic smile

"I feel the same way and would love to be in a relationship with you guys, but for the LOVE OF GOD, LET ME GO HOME, AT LEAST TO PACK UP TO MOVE HERE!"

And they all agree immediately, happy to finally be in a relationship with the British boy and each other

So Virgil goes back to England for two weeks, because he couldn't get a flight back sooner

While Virgil is handling the separation just fine, the boys are so, so sad after just three days

When he comes back, they all have a cuddle party and Disney marathon

(And don't even get me started on what happens during holidays)

That's all I got for right now, hope you enjoyed this ramble!

[rpf-bat]

But, Can I Speak?

Pairing: Gerard Way x Reader

Genre: Fluff

Summary: Sequel to Tongue-Tied And Oh So Squeamish (x ). You work up the courage to call Gerard, and it goes even better than you planned. But, once you’re actually out on a date with him, you find that your speech impediment is just getting worse and worse.

You’d been staring at the phone number, scrawled on the first page of Apocalypse Suite, for over an hour, trying to summon the nerve to dial it.

Don’t get all anxious about it, you warned yourself. The more nervous you are, the more you’re going to stutter.

But, how could you not be nervous? You were calling a famous comic book writer, to ask him on a date!

You noticed, tracing his handwriting with your finger, that his number had an 862 area code. You’d Googled it, and learned that this meant he was from northern New Jersey.

I wonder when he moved out here, to LA, you thought to yourself. You weren’t famous - you just happened to have been born in California.

Someone like me, you frowned, who can’t even talk straight, could never be a movie star.

“Just c-c-call him, Y/N,” you told yourself. “Stop be...b-being a b-baby.”

You pulled up the keypad on your phone, and typed in the number. Your heart pounded as you listened to it ring.

“Hello?”

You blushed, and almost dropped the phone, when you heard his sweet voice on the other end.

“Hi, Ger….Gerard,” you managed. You hadn’t really expected him to pick up.

“Oh, hi, Y/N!” Gerard answered warmly.

He knew it was me, because I stammered when I said his name, you realized, frowning.

“How are you?” Gerard asked cheerfully.

“I’m g-good,” you replied. “How are you today?”

There, you thought. Four whole words you managed to say like a normal person.

“I’m great,” Gerard said sunnily. “I’m really happy you called. I was hoping you would.”

“R-really?” you blushed. Damnit. You’d stuttered again.

“Yeah,” Gerard replied, oblivious to your frustration. “I actually just finished a photo shoot with my band mates.”

“You’re in a ba...ba….band?” you gasped, surprised.

“Oh, yeah, I am,” Gerard chuckled. “The comic writing is actually more of a side job. I make most of my income through singing.”

“Wh-What’s your band’s n-name?” you asked.

“My Chemical Romance,” Gerard replied.

What?!

You knew that name. You’d bought their album, Black Parade, on CD, when it had come out last year. It was fun to listen to when you were flying down Mulholland Drive. But, you’d never bothered to learn the individual band members’ names.

The kind comic book nerd, who’d helped you find the book you were looking for, was also the frontman of MCR??

“I - I - I c-can’t believe I d-d-didn’t r-real...realize,” you gasped. You realized that your stutter was getting worse, now that you knew you were speaking to an intimidating A-list celebrity. “I-I’m s-so du….dumb…”

“No, not at all!” Gerard reassured you. “When I made the music videos you probably know me from, last year, I looked completely different. My hair was blonde, and really short. And now it’s long, and black. I’m not surprised you didn’t recognize me.”

You no longer had any idea, what words you should even attempt to push out of your mouth.

“....Do you want to get a coffee?” Gerard asked finally.

“S-sure,” you managed. There’s no reason to panic, you told yourself. He’s still the same person you met yesterday.

“Do you ever go to Eightfold?” Gerard asked.

“On Sunset Boulevard?” you recognized.

“Yeah. You want to meet me there?”

“S-sure,” you decided.

If you were stuttering this much, talking to him on the phone, you feared that once you were actually  on your date, you would lose the ability to speak altogether. But, summoning your courage, you got in the car, and began the drive to the coffee shop.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

You found Gerard standing outside the shop, wearing a classy white dress shirt, accentuated by a black vest.

“Hope I’m not overdressed,” he chuckled, putting out his cigarette. “I didn’t have time to change, after I finished things up with the magazine we were shooting for.”

“Y-you look gr-great,” you smiled.

“Aw, thanks,” Gerard blushed. “So do you, Y/N.”

“Th-thank you,” you replied. “Do you c-co-co-come…”

“Do I come here often?” Gerard guessed.

“Yeah,” you sighed, honestly grateful that you hadn’t had to struggle to get the whole sentence out.

“Yeah, I do, it’s one of of my favorites actually,” Gerard smiled. “I normally get the vanilla latte.”

“I like their ma-ma-matcha latte better, myself,” you compared.

“Shall we head inside?” Gerard suggested, slipping his hand into yours.

You took it, lacing his fingers with your own, and nodded. Sometimes communicating without words was easier.

It was a minimalist shop, with white walls and bare lightbulbs hanging above wooden tables. It was packed today - there were several people in line in front of you.

You didn’t say a word to your date as you waited for it to be your turn. You just kept anxiously clinging to his hand. Gerard didn’t seem to mind. He smiled at you, and affectionately stroked the back of your hand with this thumb.

“Hi, welcome to Eightfold Coffee,” the barista smiled politely, when you finally reached the front of the line. “What can I get you today?”

“H-hi,” you mumbled, your voice just above a whisper. “I-I w-would li-like….”

“I’m sorry, what did you say?” the barista interrupted. “I couldn’t hear you.”

Damn it, you thought. Now I have to start over.

“I w-w-would like a m-ma…”

“Hurry up, lady”, said a voice behind you, and you turned and saw a man in a suit, pointing at his watch.

“Just tell him what you want already,” the man snapped. “I have a meeting to get to!”

I’m making people late, because I can’t talk right, you thought nervously. They’re mad at me! Why am I like this?

“I-I’m s-sorry,” you muttered.

“Don’t apologize,” the man griped, “just order, come on!”

You turned back to the barista. “I’ll h-have th-the ma...ma...ma…”

God, come on, Y/N, get the damn word out, you told yourself, cursing your ineptitude. “Ma….ma….”

“She’ll have the matcha latte, please,” Gerard interceded, squeezing your hand tighter. “And I’ll have the vanilla latte. Thank you.”

“One mattcha, one vanilla, coming up,” the barista nodded. “That’ll be $11.41.”

Gerard pulled a twenty out of his wallet.

“I c-can pay for m-mine,” you protested.

“I got it,” Gerard assured you. “Don’t worry about it.”

“I’ll go g-get us a t-table then,” you offered.

“That sounds great,” Gerard smiled. “Thank you, Y/N.”

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Gerard sat down across from you a few minutes later, two piping hot drinks in his hands.

“This one’s got an M on it, so it must be yours,” he figured, handing your latte to you. “I got you a napkin, too.”

“Th-thanks,” you frowned.

“What’s wrong?” Gerard asked, concern in his eyes.

“I’m s-sorry that you had to ta-talk for me back there,” you sighed. “I sh-should be able to do th-that on my own.”

“It’s no problem,” Gerard shrugged. “I’m sorry that guy was giving you a hard time. It was making me kind of mad - he didn’t need to be so impatient with you.”

“It was my fault,” you apologized.

“No, seriously,” Gerard insisted, “the dude could’ve just waited. You weren’t the one being rude, he was.”

You sipped your latte, unsure what to say in response. People didn’t normally stick up for you like this. It was...nice.

“So,” Gerard asked, “did you like my comic?”

“Yes!” you said enthusiastically. “Oh, it was w-wonderful. All the ch-characters were so unique. I r-related to V-Va...Va….”

“Vanya?” Gerard supplied.

“Yes,” you nodded, gratefully. “Her esp-especially.”

“People in the story really don’t listen to her,” Gerard admitted, taking a swig from his mug. “They take one look at her, and decide, without really knowing her, that she doesn’t matter.”

“R-right.” People hear my stutter, you thought, and they just decide that it’s not worth it, to wait around and hear what I was going to say. They think that because I can’t speak very well, I must be stupid.

“But, Vanya becomes The White Violin,” Gerard reminded. “And then she shows everyone just how special she really is.”

He shot you a meaningful glance across the table, and set his mug down. Tenderly, he reached out again for your hand.

His hands were big and strong, but soft. Holding them felt good. Reassuring. It made you less anxious, somehow.

“I think you’re pretty special, too, Y/N,” Gerard said softly, squeezing your hand tight. “Please….tell me more about yourself. I want to get to know you better.”

“About my-myself?” you repeated.

“Yes,” Gerard encouraged. “What do you like to do for fun? What are your favorite places in LA? Have long have you lived here? Do you work in the industry, or…”

“Ger….Gerard,” you stopped him. “It’s g-going to take me some t-time, to answer all those q-questions, when I t-talk like th-this.”

“That’s okay with me,” Gerard smiled softly. “My schedule’s free for the rest of the day. There’s nowhere else I would rather be, than right here, listening to you.”

You beamed. He made you feel so special. He never treated you like an inconvenience - unlike the man in line, or the shopkeeper, from yesterday. He really cared what you had to say - no matter how long it took you to say it.

Suddenly feeling more confident, than you had in a long time, you began to speak.

[blue-bismuth]

"please don't cry" w/ Jeff/Avery?

this turned out a lot longer than anticipated but that’s fine

Avery was eternally glad that Saturdays were half days at Asagao.

They had been on the edge of a breakdown for nearly an hour, and by the time the bell for lunch rang, they were nearly in tears. And knowing full well how people would react to seeing them–the practical but compassionate stage manager, Jeff’s right hand man–being a tear-streaked mess?

Well. They didn’t know specifics, but Avery figured it wouldn’t go down well.

They had nearly forgotten about what was making them so upset until they entered their dorm room, opened up their bag, and let their tears flow.

Judging from how packed their homework binder was, it must’ve been a stress breakdown. But even then, Avery could barely do anything except curl up on the floor and cry, frantically rubbing at their eyes.

After lying in a puddle of their tears for a bit, they sniffled and took out their phone. They were in no condition to be at rehearsal this afternoon, they knew that. Sighing, they sent a mass text to their troupe, saying they couldn’t be there and that their group leaders would take charge of that session.

Reluctantly, Avery moved up to their desk. It was better than a hardwood floor, at least. They picked up their bag and took out their laptop, opening it and placing it on the desk. If nothing else, they could at least work on writing Jeff’s next speech.

At least, until they found the blank document staring back at them. They placed their head in their hand, looking up at their calendar on the wall. His speech was in two days. Fuck. They couldn’t do this.

Out of the corner of their eye, Avery’s phone lit up.

[12:10 PM] jeff: Hey, you alright? PBG told me you ran out of class, and I couldn’t find you in the caf

[12:12 PM] Avery: i’m fine

[12:12 PM] jeff: Are you lying to me?

Should’ve figured. Jeff knew their habits too well. Maybe if they were more nonchalant, or they didn’t take two minutes to write a two word message…

[12:15 PM] Avery: …maybe

[12:15 PM] jeff: I just finished lunch, gonna head over. Want me to grab anything for you?

[12:16 PM] Avery: no i have stuff here

They glanced at the mini fridge by their dresser. They doubted they would be completely fine if they ate something, but that didn’t matter. Avery grabbed a granola bar and tore it open, biting off a section before returning to their desk.

God, why were they like this? They were supposed to be good at this–they could handle homework and theater and video game tournaments and campaigns. They were supposed to be perfect. They couldn’t, shouldn’t be ripping at the seams like this.

Then again, they still weren’t perfect. They didn’t have the charisma to properly speak their own words. They didn’t play sports. Their grades sometimes dipped into B territory. But that never brought them hope, only a crushing reminder that they’d–

“Can you let me in?”

The muffled words snapped Avery out of their thoughts, and they turned towards the door. “Just a sec,” they called, hoping there wasn’t a sob in their throat. After wiping at their face one last time to make sure it wasn’t obvious they’d been crying, they stood up and opened the door.

Sure enough, Jeff was on the other side. Avery stepped aside to let him in. “You sure you’re okay?” he asked.

“Yeah, I’m just…stressed, that’s all.” At least they were sort of telling the truth. Avery sat back down at their desk, looking up at the ceiling. “You didn’t have to come.”

“I don’t have to do a lot of stuff, but that doesn’t mean I won’t do ‘em.” Jeff walked over to them and wrapped an arm around their shoulder. “What’s stressing you out? I can at least try to help.”

Avery gestured vaguely to their homework binder. “That’s not even all of it. I have shit online to do too.”

Jeff made a noise of sympathy and rubbed their shoulder. “Well…what’s stuff we can do quickly? We can get that out of the way first.”

“Uh…” Avery pulled out a couple sheets from their history class, and another from creative writing. “I have history first thing Monday, so we should probably get that done.”

With that, they spent the next few hours tackling Avery’s homework. Jeff sometimes needed to be reminded of what happened in classes he’d already taken, or briefed on ones he hadn’t, but for the most part he could stay back and let them work.

At some point, Avery looked out their window, seeing the barest hints of a sunset. “We should probably get dinner,” they said, more of a thought out loud than anything.

“I can see what they have at the caf. You can keep working on political science stuff, okay?” When Avery nodded, Jeff kissed their forehead and walked out, quietly closing the door behind him.

Even when he was gone, Avery still found themselves concentrating on the assignment. Maybe they just needed someone whose mind wasn’t bogged down with a recent crying fest to get them started.

It took a couple minutes for Avery’s phone to vibrate with Jeff’s text.

[5:27 PM] jeff: Looks like pasta tonight. I assume you want spaghetti?

[5:27 PM] Avery: yeah sounds good

[5:28 PM] jeff: Alright. I’ll make sure to grab some of those parmesan packets for you. ❤️

[5:28 PM] Avery: you fuckin dork

They couldn’t help but smile after putting their phone back, a warm feeling bubbling in their chest.

Even though it was immediately replaced by guilt. Jeff was going out of his way to help Avery, and they were doing the bare minimum for him. They wrote his speeches, sure, but they would be doing that even if they weren’t dating. His classes were tougher than theirs, so they couldn’t help him with homework. They didn’t even pull through their dislike of sports to help him with soccer stuff.

They didn’t realize they were crying until they heard the door unlock, and heard Jeff scrambling to set both of their trays down before hugging them.

“Hey, hey, what happened?” He pulled Avery closer, settling a hand on top of their head and running his fingers through their hair in an attempt to comfort them. They just shook their head, burying further into Jeff’s shoulder.

His other hand shifted down to lift them away from the chair–with some difficulty–and he sat down, taking Avery with him. He let them curl into him, and he hoped he was giving them enough comfort. They could hear a whispered “please don’t cry” from Jeff when they coughed out a sob, and he squeezed them tighter.

“I’m fu-cking usele-ess,” Avery managed to stammer through their tears. “I-I don’t do anyth-ing for yo-ou, but I sh-should…”

“No that’s…Avery, please listen to me.” They dared a look up at Jeff before burying their head into the crook of his neck. His hands shifted to around their shoulders and waist, slowly rocking them back and forth. “You’re not useless. And you’re a busy person, I don’t expect you to drop everything just for me. And even then, you’re still important. You’re my datemate. That’s more than enough.”

Avery sat there, looking down at their hands, afraid to meet Jeff’s eyes again. “You don’t have to believe me, but…yeah,” he finished.

It took more time spent just sitting on the floor, with him curled around Avery, for them to speak up. “Can we actually eat now?”

“Yeah, sure thing.”

[gwynne-fics]

31 Days of AUs: Apocalypse

Requested by @mrshobbes

Marriage not Dating -- Jang-Mi

one. Jang-Mi thought that the end of the world would be a lot more chaotic than it turned out. When plant-life unexpectedly exploded, both on land and at sea, she and Gi-Tae watched the television with furrowed brows. There was some panic, especially when the army was called up to try and combat the growth that felt aimed at the cities.

“I want you and So-Hee to go to my family’s vacation home out in the country,” he said. “I’m going to pack up my office and transport all of my medical equipment out there. My mother had solar panels installed so it is off the grid.”

Jang-Mi looked at their three month old daughter with a sick feeling to her stomach. She didn’t want to be separated. “What about Yeo-Rim? His cell phone is off.”

Gi-Tae didn’t have an answer for her until she was getting into a car with his grandmother, his mother, his aunt, and their daughter. Her parents were going to join them in a few days. Traffic out of Seoul had already started to build. She’d closed down her restaurant and left Yeo-Rim a message on the counters, just in case he stopped by.

Gi-Tae did the same at his office but no one had seen Yeo-Rim.

They are driving away from everything they know when an emergency announcement calls up all former military men between the ages of twenty and thirty-five to resume their military experience. Jang-Mi started crying and couldn’t stop. It took them six hours to get to the vacation home. Traffic was slow and painful.

Mother-in-law took So-Hee from her and it was a relief.

two. Mother-in-law let her cry and avoid everything but breastfeeding for the first day. Jang-Mi wondered how long she could avoid her responsibilities until her natural inner drive took over. The vacation home had a lovely garden that, like a lot of places in Seoul with plants, exploded and overgrew.

The water feature broke and turned into a natural spring of clean, pure water. Jang-Mi sat by the edge and looked into it with a sad smile. Until the government figured out what was going on and life could return to normal, she needed to help her family survive. Survival was something she was good at.

She stood up and needed to occupy her mind and body or she would go crazy from loneliness. She wasn’t alone. She had her in-laws and her parents were coming soon. The world had changed and she needed to anticipate it.

They had power and the internet but she didn’t know for how long. She found Mother-in-law in the kitchen. Auntie held So-Hee. Jang-Mi went to her laptop and opened a blank document.

“I want to walk around this town after breakfast,” she said. “We need to know what our resources are and make long term plans. We should expect to become a target for needy people because this property is large and we are wealthier than most. Until Gi-Tae is released from the military and my father gets here, we are four women alone. We need to be realistic about that.”

“There is an old rifle in the basement. I don’t know how much ammunition we’ve got.” Mother-in-law’s eyes brighten and Jang-Mi knows she needs a project, too. Auntie isn’t as sure but that doesn’t matter.

“Can either of you shoot? I can’t. My father can but he’s not here yet.”

“Not in years,” she admitted.

“Alright. I’ll put it on the list. Let’s get to work.” It only took two days, but Jang-Mi had a survival plan to take to the small community. She didn’t expect it, but the older generation, once they saw she was serious about protecting everyone and most importantly, feeding, everyone, they made her mayor. Her parents arrived safely with as much nonperishable food as they could fit into their car.

Every night they watched the news and every night it seemed to get a little worse. Jang-Mi didn’t understand why so many people were having problems with their plants. Once they started working with the strange, new plants, instead of trying to cut them back or destroy them, they hadn’t gone hungry.

Jang-Mi made sure to accept everyone who came to their area. The only people she wouldn’t accept were the military deserters. The town council supported her. Nearly every family had someone who went back when called.

She had a month to implement her plan before things abruptly changed. Then she got a surprise text message from Gi-Tae. She aching loneliness stuck in her chest reminded her it was still there, waiting for her to let down her guard.

There is a plague in the big cities. Here are the symptoms to look for. I’m sending Se-Ah with my equipment and vaccines. I can’t leave Seoul. Still no sign of Yeo-Rim. I love you. Kiss So-Hee for me.

I love you.

three. “We need to build a quarantine,” Se-Ah said. “The illness looks like the flu and it is spread the same way. It moves quickly and if we don’t have something to contain it, we will be very dead. We have a vaccine but...production is slow. Gi-Tae figured it out and gave me the formula. He put it online, along with a video on how to make it safely. Where is So-Hee?”

“Napping. What is the survival rate for this flu?” One thing they’d found at the single drug store was plenty of face masks. When news of the plague broke on television, Jang-Mi made sure everyone had one. They’d had no evidence of the sickness in their town but Jang-Mi started construction on a hospital anyway.

She didn’t want to admit they might have to build a wall to protect them at some point. She wanted an open community, ready to take in refugees, but as her mother pointed out--they also needed to be realistic about outside threats.

“One in fifty, if you are a healthy, strong person over twenty and under fifty. I have a hundred vaccines with me.”

“I have about two hundred people. How many can you make over the next few months?”

Se-Ah smiled tightly. “It’s a matter of finding all the parts. Gi-Tae had a better background in traditional medicine and that’s why he was able to be creative.” She paused and gently touched Jang-Mi’s shoulder. “He is doing important work.”

“I know.” Her eyes stung. “What about Richard?”

Se-Ah looked away. “He allowed us to test the first vaccine on him. It didn’t work.”

Jang-Mi gave her a hug. “I’m glad you’re here. We need a doctor who can help us protect this little community. Let’s get to work.”

She was glad to have Se-Ah for the second month of the end of the world. Her one time rival worked tirelessly to inoculate their community while Jang-Mi put the old men to work building simple traps and some genius young women designed a collapsible wall that was both sturdy and defensible.

Everyone came together to build anything they might need and Jang-Mi considered a kind of...side effect that came from talking to her fresh spring.

The overgrowth that destroyed their civilization gave them the resources they needed past just food and water. Because at the end of month two, a warning went out on the one news station holding the fort in Seoul.

Several military platoons have abandoned their posts. They are going to small, successful communities, especially those still with electrical power, and taking over. Beware. The government has not released them or given them the mandate to protect citizens from the Overgrowth.

It was the last message they received from Seoul. The next night, the news did not return.

four. Jang-Mi knew it wouldn’t be long until all communication between little places like hers would cease. So she pulled out her cell phone and had Mother-in-law help her film a brief message to put up.

She ended it with what she felt was the most important thing she learned. “You should have several fresh springs in close proximity to your Overgrowth. Nurture these as best you can. Protect the water and use it to care for your Overgrowth and your Overgrowth will care for you.”

It felt a little ridiculous that other people hadn’t figured that out. She didn’t like the tone in her voice but she put it up on the internet anyway. Before the internet disappeared, her silly video had over a million views and thousands of comments telling her how much easier survival had gotten once they took care of the phenomena that put them in this difficult position.

Two weeks after the news’ warning, a bulldozer was sited in the outer growth that formed a protective circle around her town. They’d started call it the Ring. The bulldozer caused a stir among her people. The Ring was rich in small, easy to hunt, prey animals and was a major source of their protein. Jang-Mi narrowed her eyes and curled her hands into fists as a military unit came out of the forest and down the only road that led into town.

“Raise the wall. I’m going down to meet them.” Jang-Mi ignored the protests and went down to the main road. Mother pushed a mask into her hands and she put it on, just in case these men carried the flu with them. She didn’t want them to think they had the vaccine. She crossed the threshold and the wall snapped up into place, startling the soldiers. She heard a nervous murmur go through them until their leader stopped in front of her. “I am Joo Jang-Mi, the Mayor of this community.”

“That’s impressive but you’re in violation of the law.”

“No, I’m not. There is no centralized government anymore. We haven’t had contact with Seoul or an official news source for two weeks now. We know we’re on our own. Deserters are not welcome here. We only accept veterans with discharge papers. If you’re looking for a place to rest, you can do so outside the gates.”

“We’re here to put you in compliance with the law. In order to control the land, we need to destroy the source of its power. I believe you have four illegal springs. Open the gate.”

She had ten, as of this morning.

“No. Those springs are the reason we’re alive.” She didn’t flinch when he pulled out a handgun and aimed it at her head. “I will not be intimidated. They won’t open the gates if you kill me or take me hostage.”

“You’re the Goddess of the Valley. I can subdue them so easily if I kill you.”

She wasn’t a goddess of anything and she almost laughed in his face. She took off her mask, mostly because she wanted to keep control over this situation, and hiding her face wouldn’t do that. “Killing me would be a mistake. You aren’t that stupid.”

He put his finger on the trigger and two things happened at once: the ground beneath him gave way and someone shot him. The soldier fell into mud, quickly sank, and the ground solidified over him. He was gone. All of the men that followed him threw down their weapons and the ground swallowed them, too.

Well, that was interesting. And a little scary.

“We don’t have discharge papers. They didn’t bother to give them to us.”

It was such a huge risk but…Jang-Mi sighed. Goddess of the Valley was such a ridiculous title. “I want you to get rid of that bulldozer and spend the night in the patch protecting our town. If you survive that, you will go into our quarantine. If you survive quarantine and our doctor clears you of communicable diseases then you can try and find a place in our community. Don’t come near the wall. It is trapped.”

She went back inside and was rushed by concerned people. “Did you see where the shot came from? I thought it went through his temple, not his back.”

The consensus was that it came from the Ring. Jang-Mi decided it wasn’t important. The idea that she had some sort of connection to the Overgrowth scared her.

“I need to feed my baby,” she said. It was one of the few times she wasn’t the Mayor and she could have a few minutes to herself. Feeding So-Hee near the first spring she found was one of her few solaces. Today, it allowed her to calm down and cry, just a little. Mother and Mother-in-law joined her but didn’t push for conversation. “I miss my husbands,” she whispered. They didn’t comment on her use of a plural. “I don’t even know if Yeo-Rim and Gi-Tae are still alive. Yeo-Rim doesn’t even know to come here.”

“If they are alive, they will come here. Everyone knows that you are the Goddess of this Valley.” Mother-in-law said it with a wry grin and her own mother snorted in amusement.

“Don’t tease me. I didn’t ask to be our destruction’s avatar.”

five. Nothing big happened in the next few months. Jang-Mi thought they would get more soldiers but they didn’t and it made her concerned about whatever happened in Seoul. Every once in awhile she would turn on her phone and show So-Hee pictures of her fathers. She would point to both of them and quietly reinforce Appa over and over even though she was only seven months.

And if no one but her knew was checking for text messages on a dead network, that was her business.

Se-Ah became her deputy. The older generation was content to let them run things. She was glad to have a friend to lean on when disputes got difficult or she had to stare down some man who thought he could come in and do it better.

Thankfully, those were few and far between, but the rumors she could control the Overgrowth were out of control.

A mail system was set up and Jang-Mi started a family search effort. She found out Hyun-Hee and Dong-Hoon escaped Seoul with their baby boy and she is relieved to know they are alive. They hadn’t seen Gi-Tae or Yeo-Rim.

Jang-Mi tells herself they are alive and making their way home as soon as they can. She will see them again. They wouldn’t dare leave her alone in this new world.

As the community started running itself, she had less to do, and the whole reason she started such an intense project in the first place, came rushing back. She woke up crying more often than she would care to admit to anyone.

She is alone in that tiny house with glass and blood on the floor.

It was nearly six months since she and her family came to this odd little vacation home when Auntie and Mother ran into the garden where she was feeding So-Hee fruit from one of the new trees that appeared that week. They are out of breath as they talk over each other. “You need to go to the quarantine right now. Go! Go! Go!”

Jang-Mi doesn’t think. She just leaves her daughter with them and hurries out to the quarantine. There were two men standing just outside the gates with Se-Ah. Their backs were to her but she would recognize them anywhere.

Yeo-Rim noticed her first. He turned just enough she could see he was missing an eye but when he smiled and nudged Gi-Tae, she didn’t linger on the eyepatch. She ran to them and flung herself at both of them. Gi-Tae’s left arm was in a sling but he still hugged her tightly.

“It took me too long to find him,” Gi-Tae whispered into her hair. “I’m sorry we kept you waiting.”

“You turned into a goddess,” Yeo-Rim teased after he kissed her. “I hear the Overgrowth obeys your every word.”

“Only because I ask nicely.” She cried and clung to both of them. She wasn’t alone. She wasn’t alone. She wasn’t alone. “Welcome home.”

[cy4658-writes]

27. Rollercoaster

°Your POV°

My alarm started ringing announcing the beginning of one hell of a week.

With my eyes still closed, I patted the left side of the bed. Dan was not there anymore.

I would be lying if I said I didn’t feel a tad sad that he decided to leave before I woke up.

Jumped off bed and went to the bathroom to have a quick shower and start my morning routine before making myself some breakfast.

As I was rinsing my hair, the smell of melting butter and sugar invaded my nostrils.

Was it possible it came from the coffee shop below my apartment building? Wherever it was coming from, it made my stomach growl.

Wrapped my wet hair on a towel and put on my robe; as I opened the bathroom door, the scent was more intense.

No way! I thought to myself.

I poked my head over the counter and there he was Dan on his flannel pajama pants and a black t-shirt. Humming AND cooking.

He didn’t hear me come out of the shower; maybe he didn’t even notice I was awake yet.

-Excuse me. I cleared my throat. What are you….?

-Pancakes! Didn’t you say yesterday you much rather be waken up with this over music? He said without even facing me, fully focused on the stove.

-I remember saying something about a kiss too. I giggled.

-Well I’m kind of busy at the moment. He turned his head towards me shooting me a smile.

I walked towards him and wrapped my arms around his waist, leaning my head on his back.

-This smells delicious. I don’t recall ever having pancakes before.

-I know! You didn’t have anything I could have used to make them. I had to go to my flat and ransack our fridge.

-Sorry! I’m pretty basic when it comes to breakfast. Coffee, toast and I’m on my way.

-I can tell. Why don’t you go get dress before you get sick again? Not that I mind the robe at all. He said with a wink.

I cupped his cheeks on my hands and planted a small kiss before heading to my room.

It didn’t take me that long to get dressed as I already knew what I was going to wear so I used the few extra minutes to put on some light makeup. There wasn’t much time to do a full face so I limited it to some foundation, concealer, and loose powder to set it all; A hint of blush and mascara.

I made it back to the kitchen and found Dan already seated in one of the stools.

Our food was served, a few pancakes for each of us, a glass of orange juice and a cup of coffee.

-Oh my god, this smells delicious. Thank you.

-Don’t thank me until you’ve tried them. He smiled.

We ate our breakfast as we talk a little. I’m telling you, it was the best breakfast I had in a long while and the fact that Dan made it for me, made it taste even better.

I caught myself staring at him a few times; he probably noticed but was too focused on his food to even say something to me.

I liked the view almost as much as the way that he made me feel. I liked him, I really did. It was bizarre, as I don’t tend to grow attached to people I barely know but there was something about Dan that would make you love him even at first glance. Well…technically, at second in my case.

-I really have to get going. I announced as I was taking our dishes to the sink.

-Yeah I know, unfortunately I can’t persuade you stay in, can I?

-I’d love to stay and hang out but I have an office to run, a dress to pick and…

-A dress? Like in…

-The dress I’ll be wearing to your gala.

­-Oh! Will you show me?

-No way in hell! It’ll be a surprise.

-I normally don’t like surprises but I guess I can live with it for just a few days. Can you at least give me a hint? He said as he put his hands together as he was praying.

-It’s purple.

I grabbed my stuff and before leaving, I put on some perfume.

-I love the smell of it. He said grabbing the bottle

-Thanks. It’s my signature scent. I’ve been wearing the same perfume for 10 years now.

He vowed down and brushed his nose through my neck so as to fill his lungs with my perfume and leaving goose bumps all over my body.

-It definitely suits you.

-Stop it, Dan! I said as felt my cheeks turn bright red.

He wrapped his arm around my neck as we walked towards the door.

I locked the door behind me as I turned back to face him. We got lost on each other’s eyes before kissing softly.

-Text me later?

-Pinky promise.

I planted one more peck before the elevator doors shut in front of me.

 ~Time Lapse~

 I was drafting a presentation for Russel as my chat lit up.

Laura:

When are we getting the hell out of here? We have a dress to pick!

You:

Ugh! I haven’t forgotten about that!!! Russel needs some stats for a meeting. I’m half way through it

Laura:

This is more important! Let’s go.

Plus my stomach is growling already

You:

I know, mine too. I haven’t eaten anything since this morning.

Laura:

Oh yeah….the pancakes <3

Bloody hell, you are lucky.

You:

Oh shut up! Last thing I need right now is to get lost in my thoughts.

Give me 30 and we’ll be on our way.

Laura:

Just 30. Not a minute more.

You:

Yes mom!

I typed as fast as I could. I don’t know if it was because of how nervous I was due to the dress or the fact that I was actually famished.

Saved and sent I said to myself as I clicked the send button on my email.

Grabbed my purse and sprinted over Laura’s spot at the front desk.

-Shall we, madam? I said as I extended my hand

-I thought you would never ask.

We got out of the office and into the tube.

I briefly told her about what happened yesterday after she left during a short coffee break, to say that she was shocked it’s an understatement, so she took it upon herself to interrogate me the entire ride.

A few minutes later, we got off on Covent Garden and walked the few blocks that separated us from the store.

I didn’t realize it was a vintage store which made me extremely happy. I love vintage clothes and thrift shopping.

The place was packed with sequins gowns, long, short, anything you can think of and it was divided by color, which I really appreciated, otherwise, I’d have felt extremely overwhelmed.

I was distracted by a text from my boss for, kid you not, a split second and when I raised my head from my phone, Laura was already diving into the hangers on the purple section.

-FOUND IT!!!! She yelled at me with the dress in hand and a huge smile on her face like if she just won a trophy.

As she approached me, I stared at the size. That’s not even going to fit me I thought to myself.

-Maybe we should contemplate others; I don’t think I will look good on that.

-Oh come on, Y/N! It’s perfect. C’mon, let’s go try it on. She said as she dragged me to the fitting room.

I never met a woman that doesn’t dread a fitting room. I was no exception. I’m mostly happy with my curves, but there is always an icky feeling when I try on clothes.

I peeled off my clothes as I stared myself in the mirror with only my underwear. Took a deep breath and put the dress over my head, making sure I wouldn’t stain it with my makeup.

It fitted and I didn’t look half as bad as I thought I would.

I put on my glasses to have a better look at it and the moment I gazed onto the reflection on the mirror, it downed upon me: I looked nice and I felt pretty.

-C’mon, mate! What’s taking you so long?

I shoved the curtain to a side and stepped out.

Laura just stared at me for a moment.

­-Mate, you look bloody gorgeous!

I smiled as kept on staring at my reflection.

-Ok, I’m taking it! Now, let’s just go and eat before I go all Hannibal Lecter on you.

I got into the small cubicle again so as to get back into my clothes.

-Y/N, your phone is ringing.

-Ugh! I bet is Russel! I bet he still doesn’t understand what I sent him. Can you please pick up for me and tell him I’ll call him right back?

What is it with bosses calling at the worst possible time? I sigh.

-Y/N’s phone, Laura speaking. I heard her as I was struggling to get back into blouse.

-Oh, Hi Daniel! Y/N is in the middle of trying on dresses, would you like to leave her a message?

I immediately poked my head through the curtain, still in my underwear the second I heard Dan’s name.

I started waving my hands and making gestures so she wouldn’t tell him anything about the dress if he asked which he did.

-I’m afraid I can’t tell you, she’ll kill me if I do but I can say one thing for certain…She will look absolutely breath taking.

-SH-SH-SHUT UP, LAURA! I shouted as she started giggling.

-You shut up, it’s the truth! She hissed. I will tell her to text you as soon as she can manage to put on her trousers again. She now burst out laughing.

-Asshole!

She stuck her tongue out.

-Pleasure to talk to you, Dan. By the way, BIG FAN of your videos! Ciao

She proceeded to hung up.

Stepped out and Laura still had my phone on her hands.

-Did I just spoke with THE Daniel Howell?

-You sure did!

-Oh girl! You are so lucky and he is even luckier! You will look amazing that night.

-For the millionth time, shut the fuck up and let’s go eat.

After paying for the dress, we headed out.

Took my phone to check my messages, Dan texted me shortly after Laura ended the call.

Ok, I know I’ve said I could wait but I can’t I want to see you in the dress.

Patience you must have, my young padawan

See you tonight?

I’m going to try. I have rehearsals

Boo! K…text ya later! :*

 As I put down my phone over the table I had a bit of a bitter feeling suddenly. Little did I know that was about to be the last time I spoke to Dan in a while.

[helstrome]

Lost Track (Pt. 1)

Main idea & storyline by just-listen-once (you know ily and i added some ~spice~ don’t kick me i’m shy)

Pt. 1, Pt. 2, Pt. 3

She had gone out of the house and live alone in an apartment near university for a while now, since everything was easier that way. She was used to it already, but she always missed the time she always spent together with her little brother and their parents when she was still living together with them. They were the kind of siblings who rarely got in fight, Jeno knew his sister was the type to cuddle and spoiled him rotten, and he cherished it. Being 5 years apart made her a lot more mature, and he loved that his older sister vibe managed to calm him down whenever he was stressed out, and her advices worked well. They were as mischievous as any other siblings could get, though, like backing each other up whenever someone got into a problem with their parents.

It had been almost 5 years since she moved out, and her little brother Jeno had grown up to be one of the most popular guy in school. She didn't know how the boy who still peed his pants at the age of 8 and was such a chubby adorable ball turned into this tall, manly boy with muscles and a face to die for. He was always interested in sports, like football when he was in elementary, swimming and basketball too as he grew older but now he focused on basketball, mainly. She knew what being a basketball player in high school meant, more popularity and attention. She was half relieved and half worried since she didn't have to deal with his fangirls, which he liked to rant to her about, but being far away meant she couldn't really take care of him either. That was why she always made time for her little brother. She occasionally picked him up from school on Fridays when she wasn't busy, having a cup of coffee with him somewhere over updating each other about their lives, especially when she couldn't come home for the weekend. Jeno would be the one to mainly dominate the conversation, talking about his passion of playing basketball. She was so proud that he got to be a vice captain despite not in his senior year yet. He was gifted in the sports department, the family always knew of it. One day he told her about the skill-up training held by inviting over two special basketball coaches from outside the school. He fell deeply for the training, boasting about the coaches with sparkling eyes and overly excited gesture after the first two weeks of not meeting her. He told her that the training sessions were held every Tuesday and Thursday, but it turned out that after the first two weeks, Fridays were added to the schedule too. He seemed like he didn't mind, though, when he ran out of the gym to ask her to wait at the school cafeteria for around 20 minutes until the training was over. He forgot to tell her about the extra day and didn't want her to leave without him, so he insisted and of course she couldn't say no. He gave her a big grin and practically rolled down the hall hurriedly back to the indoor court. The first three Fridays of the new routine, she just waited around the cafeteria, getting her papers done and surfing YouTube videos like she always did in her spare time until Jeno came to get her. At the 4th week, they were holding a practice match with students from other school, and since she rarely got a chance to actually watch Jeno play, she decided to visit the gym. She sat on one of the available spot at the bleachers, and she could see how Jeno stood out from the pack. His movements were efficient and spot on, he aced the shoots with impressive accuracy and he was certainly agile. She cheered along when the home team won, the proud feeling flooded out of her bones while seeing her little brother's grinning face. The crowd immediately dispersed into the arena, the students were flocking around both teams, especially the girls who squealed and screamed in unison, probably admiring the cool basketball players and flirting with them. She shook her head and smiled, reminiscing how teenagers behavior never changed, the good old high school days. She came down from the seats and waited for Jeno, who spotted her leaning against the wall near the exit door. "Noona! Did you watch the match?!" She grinned playfully. "Uh? No, you took a while so I decided to come pick you up here instead." His grin turned into a frown almost immediately, making her cackled. "Of course I did! My baby boy is all grown up now, huh?" She ruffled his damp hair. "Look at all those girls, cheering and shooting heart eyes to the vice captain Lee Jeno." "Noonaaaa." He whined, running his fingers through his hair to fix it. She could practically hear squeals of his fangirls somewhere behind Jeno. Girls these days.... "Noona! While you're here, I'll introduce you to my team and the hyungs! They're really cool." He suggested, grabbing her wrist and pulled her to walk with him across the court. A huge mass of students had left earlier, so the court looked a lot less cramped than before and the school team could be seen sitting around at the bench. "Mark hyung! This is my sister!" He called a boy with blonde curly hair, who turned around and grinned, standing up while wiping his hand on his shorts. "Hi, noona, my name is Mark! He told me a lot about you." The boy bowed, and she bowed back while smiling, the boy was adorable. He was startled because of her politeness toward him that he blushed and stuttered. Jeno eyed him weirdly which made him averted his gaze and cleared his throat. She shook her head lightly in amusement. "This is Renjun, and then Donghyuck, Chenle, and the maknae Jisung!" Jeno continued, pointing to the other guys who stood up and bowed, and she returned the gesture. The one named Donghyuck wiped his forehead with the towel before speaking in a hushed tone, which was still kind of loud to be heard. "Yah, Jeno, you never told us your sister is pretty!" Jeno flung his empty plastic bottle to him that hit him straight in the forehead, earning a roar of laughter from the team. The ruckus made two guys sitting on the far side with their back facing them turned their heads around distractedly. "Hyung! Hyung!" He dragged her by her wrist again to where the two guys sat. "This is Ten hyung! He's in charge of game plan and tactics. But he's also a dancer!" He beamed to her, and the guy named Ten stood up to bow and shake her hand. "Hi, my name is Ten!" He smiled brightly at her. "You're Jeno's noona? Wow, you diligently pick him up after training every Friday..." "I live alone now, so I'm trying to take care of him more on weekends." She replied, explaining the situation to Ten. He nodded understandingly, his smile back on his face again. "Are you an uni student too like us?" She got a little confused by the word 'us' he was using, but realized he was referring to the other coach at the end of the bench whose head was down, eyes glued to the screen of an iPad in front of him. "I'm attending graduate school." "Oh so you're my noona as well then!" He grinned. "I'm a last year undergrad student, noona." He spoke casually, melting the ice. "Do you always pick Jeno up after practice ends? You should come earlier and watch the training!" She playfully eyed Jeno. "Wouldn't want this one blaming me for chasing off all his fangirls, now, would we?" Jeno groaned in annoyance. "Noona!" "I'm kidding!" She giggled. "I always wait at the cafeteria or somewhere around, I'll make sure to come by sometimes, Ten." "Okay, great!" He clapped his hand excitedly. "Oh I almost forgot. This is my friend, Jung Jaehyun. We coach together." The other guy looked up and she froze right after she saw his face. She thought she had lost her mind. This Jaehyun guy looked exactly like Jung Yoon Oh, her junior when she was an undergrad student. His eyes flickered to her face for a second before calling out a 'nice to meet you' and threw his gaze down to his iPad again. She was still frozen, but she tried her hardest to conjured a smile and blinked like nothing happened. "Jaehyun hyung helps me a lot with my shots, noona! His accuracy is deadly." Jeno chirped in, clueless about what was happening. She was contemplating whether the man in front of her didn't recognize who she was, hence the cold exchange... But it was impossible, the memory was fresh on her mind. There was no way he didn't remember her, it wasn't like they were separated for the whole lifetime or anything. "There's a reason why I told you that you had to come today, noona." Jeno continued. "I want to extend the practice to Sundays too." Her mind was in a blank mode still but she slowly caught up to what he was saying. "Huh...? Oh sure, I'll be the guardian. Why didn't you just tell me beforehand, you could've just done it on your own." "The school rule need you to sign papers, noona. For the permission." He handed her a piece of paper filled with the consent to sign. She signed the paper and gave it back to a happy Jeno. "Jeno-yah!" Ten appeared from beside. "I can't coach on Sundays, though, so you're going to be with Jae alright?" Jeno nodded enthusiastically and she let her mind slipped off somewhere instead, shutting down what was happening around her, wanting to get out of the situation quickly until Jeno shook her shoulder a little and told her that he was finished. The conversation in the car steer clear from the sensitive topic as Jeno asked her about her days instead, but then he said something that made her cursed inside her head. "Noona... Can you pick me up at 5:30 p.m. on Sundays from tomorrow...?" He looked up at her in an unsure gaze. "This is another reason why I need you to sign the form, mom and dad want me to study and I go to the library every weekend but if I tell them they won't let me play basketball afterwards. Problem is public gym is not close to the library and I need a ride home... I can't take the train." She cursed again under her breath, but his pouty face made it impossible to say no, so she could not do anything but letting it happen by accepting the request. After dropping Jeno off that night, she tossed and turned on the bed, replaying the scene from the past couple hours. Holy fuck, she thought. The Jung Jaehyun was undoubtedly Jung Yoon Oh, the person who had been floating in the back of her mind along with all other not-so-good memories she had during her university life. She had forgotten about that part of hers and thing had been going well, but he decided to come back into her life just like that. She didn't even know what they had back then, was it considered a relationship? Was he her ex? Were they two even dating? She wasn't sure, maybe it was those kind of 'I like you, but I don't want a commitment' kind of thing. It never sat straight between the both of them. Back in university, she was always around with her circle of friends. She rarely mingled around that much, but how she befriended the old Jung Yoon Oh was fated by the universe. He was one of those people who liked to study in the library every so often for exams. Mostly alone, sometimes with friends. She first noticed him because every time she glanced at the direction of the windows, he would be there. The seat near the huge window felt like it was reserved for him. He looked serene most of the time, but once in a while his eyebrows would furrow in concentration. His bottom lip would jut out in a pout, maybe when he found a question difficult. If she came early, she would be granted with a view of his pale, transparent skin complemented by the sunshine flooding inside from the window. She believed they exchanged glances here and there, but no one ever initiated anything. Nonetheless, he became one of the reasons she enjoyed visiting the library. Things changed when a bunch of guys sat with him in a study group, looking as if they were just there for the sake of accompanying him. One of the friends was loud and chirpy, she noted from where her study group resided. He looked like he was bored or frustrated, and his gaze fell upon her study group. His eyes unexpectedly lit up when it locked at hers. He got up from his seat and confidently walked over to her group. "Hey! You're in Mr. Park's advance math, right?" He demanded. She probably saw his face somewhere but she wasn't sure. He maybe was her classmate, but Mr. Park's class was huge, it consisted of 100 students. Mr. Park's class was the popular one, since the professor was quite young, tall and handsome. Even people who didn't need to take advance math sometimes took his class just for the sake of seeing him. "I am... But sorry, I never saw you in class." She hit her lip, unsure about her answer. "Oh, never mind! I always come late and sit at the very back." He grinned. "I'm Johnny. We're supposed to have this exam next Tuesday right? I was studying by myself since none of my friends take the class and I got frustrated. Can I ask you some questions?" They spent the rest of the study session by him bombarding her with questions, ending up with her helping him solve all the mock test problems. He apparently found her fun to talk to, and the result of his exam that came out the next day was an A, and he was over the moon. Afterwards, he always insisted on being taught by her everything he needed to know whenever he came by the library and spotted her there. 3 weeks after the encounter that brought Johnny into her study group, someone tagged along behind him when he came to her table. "Guys, I told him to join me studying here instead of by his own but he is our junior so apparently he felt uncomfortable or whatever. This is Jaehyun, 2 years younger than us." The first impression was still clear as day in her mind. The quiet glances that she had been sharing with him for the past month suddenly turned into an actual approach. Awkward introduction, he was as shy as he looked on the outside. She thought nothing except he was adorable, and she understood completely of his reasoning. It must have felt uncomfortable for her too, if she was to join a bunch of unfamiliar seniors in a study group. The image of a young, naive freshman automatically stamped inside her brain since he spoke for the first time. "My name is Jung Yoon Oh, but people calls me Jaehyun. I always saw your group studying for a while now, but I don't want to be rude and interrupt." His face was flushed pink and his gaze was on the floor, avoiding people's stare. Everyone welcomed him warmly, and she did too. He blended in well after a while; he was just shy around strangers, but he wasn't an introvert at all. He was a little crazy, even. In an adorable way, since he was kind of the maknae in the group. Everyone treated him with care, and he returned the favor by making them laugh every so often. He lifted the mood of the study group, making the atmosphere better. She didn't have a lot of personal time with him, though, as they were always moving as a group. No one really had a close relationship with each other, everyone was just a friend who was fun to hang with. Not that she minded either, she hadn't think a lot about having a boyfriend or someone special to support her. She had her family to come back to when she felt down, and her little brother was the boost she needed to get through her dark days. Her feelings shifted, however, when Jaehyun came into the equation. He was different, it felt like he held the key to light up a tiny lamp of happiness inside her heart. Whenever he smiled at her with those dimples, sparks ignited and warmth spread all over her being. Thankfully, it seemed like she wasn't the only one feeling that way. Jaehyun talked to her about his problems, he opened up to her a lot more than when he was with others in the group. As the days went by, they naturally got closer too. That one autumn day was the turning point of their platonic friendship before it blossomed into something unexplainable. He casually invited her to study in his dorm room, only the two of them. It was nothing special, but it made something inside them clicked. He continued to invite her for the next day, and the next, and the next... Each passing day, they would sat closer than the day before. Their elbows and knees would brush each others', and the unmissable heat radiating off of his body could be felt by her, by how close they were. It turned into little gestures like resting her head on his shoulder when she was bored or she began to feel sleepy, him slipping a strand of fallen hair behind her ear or stroking her hair in hovering touches. It made her think of what they were, where they stood in the line of relationship. What he thought about them, was he feeling the same thing as she did. He didn't speak much, but his gestures showed how he distanced himself around other people, unlike when he was with her alone. It made her believe that she was somehow special to him. Memories of the past consumed her head; when one question popped up and resonated louder above the others. Was he really pretending to not know her? Like it was the first time they meet? It made her nauseous to think of all the possibilities the next day might held, she worried about meeting him again, she worried about how she should act in front of him. She worried about the day after tomorrow.

[alleiradayne]

Bang Your Head (Cullen x F!Trevelyan Modern AU) Part 79

Catch up on the previous part - part 78 | ao3 Start from the beginning - part 1 | ao3

Amallia and Cullen visit Amodisia in the hospital, keeping Alistair company until...

Amallia hefted the backpack on her shoulder, adjusting the slipping strap as they walked through the halls of the hospital. Hand over her mouth, she yawned, too little sleep the night before darkening the circles beneath her eyes and shuffling her feet. Together, they laid awake most of the evening, talking of their fears, of their worries and nightmares. And with the rising sun, they rose, sleep illusive and dread filling their hearts heavy as lead.

From her coffee, Amallia sipped a sweet, chocolate concoction Cullen had ordered for her when she’d refused to get out of the car. Red splotches lingered on her cheeks and nose, a reminder of the latest bout of tears on their way to the hospital.

Beside her, Cullen strode a brooding cloud of darkness. Her free hand reached out to him, soothing his shoulder. “You think this is your fault, don’t you?”

He grunted a non-committal sound of agreement. “Maybe. If I’d caught the bastard behind all of this sooner…”

Around a corner they turned, silent as Amallia picked her words with great care. “I understand why you feel that way, but you can’t slip into despair now. Not when you’re so close. It’s not your fault.”

Through the hospital hall they continued, nearing Amodisia’s room as Cullen hefted his own backpack on his shoulder. “I know. I’m trying to not let it get to me, but it is.”

“It’s okay,” she started, “but don’t forget you’re not alone.” Her hand slipped into his, garnering a small smile, and that simple gesture eased the lump in her throat eased, tension releasing its hold of her chest.

At Amodisia’s door, Ashara and Delrin stood guard, their shift starting an hour earlier that morning. With a nod, Amallia and Cullen greeted them, trading quick pleasantries, then turned for the room. Cullen knocked with a half-hearted flick of his wrist, and a groggy voice responded, admitting them. Amallia pushed the door aside and slipped through, Cullen swift on her heels.

Beside Amodisia’s bed, Alistair sat slumped atop the bed as he held one of her petite hands in both of his massive mitts. His thumbs worried at her skin, rubbing back and forth as if to will her awake. His disheveled hair and wrinkled tux bore the signs of sleeping in his chair, and his own dark circles beneath bleary eyes mirrored theirs.

Cullen stood beside him, a hand cupping the back of his head to run through his hair. “Brought you a change of clothes,” he said as he set the backpack beside their friend’s feet. “Thought you might want some clean underwear.”

Alistair considered the bag, then turned into Cullen’s hand, and for once, Cullen didn’t flinch away. Since November, Amallia wondered when Cullen to come to terms with his feelings for the man, and though they exchanged not a word on the topic, an unspoken understanding radiated from their easy smiles.

“You’re amazing, you know that, right? Both of you,” he stated as he stood and hefted the bag on the bed. The zippers rippled along their path as Alistair tore open the bag, then withdrew the clothes Cullen had packed. When he held up a Honnleath Community t-shirt, he glared at his friend with a sardonic frown.

“Really, Cullen?”

“What?” He shrugged with a crinkle of his nose. “I didn’t have much to spare, we’re only in town for the weekend. You’re stuck with my gym clothes until you can send someone for your own.”

Alistair gave the shirt another considering look before sniffing it. “Well, if it’s clean…” he jested as he set it on the bed, then stripped from his rumpled suit.

Amallia turned her attention to Amodisia, laying still as stone in her bed, the rise and fall of her chest the only sign of life. A large square patch askew across her forehead replaced the bandages from the night before, covering her forehead and left brow. And spread across her cheek and nose lay a garish purple bruise, relenting to a greenish-yellow on her lip and cheek. As she stared, Amallia’s teeth ground, fingers clenching into fists as her nails dug into the palms of her hands.

Wake up. Please, Sia. We need you.

“The two of you should head back to your room, get some rest.”

Amallia turned to find Alistair pulling the t-shirt over his head and Cullen staring, a pink blush coloring his cheeks. “We’re fine, Alistair,” he started, averting his gaze. “Really, there’s nothing else for us to do.”

Alistair’s head popped through the neck of the shirt, hair rumpled and eyes sunken. “Do me a favor then?” he asked, looking between the two of them.

“Anything,” Amallia quipped.

A hint of his charming smile turned the corners of his lips, but it spread no further, his eyes flat and faded as he looked between them. “Denerim PD questioned people all night. Nobody saw a damn thing. Not a single person saw Sia and Ash go into the bathroom, nor did anyone see someone follow them. Delrin said the lights in the bathroom were off when he found them,” he paused with a hard blink, tears rolling over his cheeks. “There has to be surveillance videos. Something. Anything. Find the piece of shit who did this to my wife.”

“We’ll get to the bottom of this. I promise,” Cullen replied. “I’ll head over to the hotel, now.”

“I’ll stay,” Amallia chimed. “Keep you company. You shouldn’t be alone right now.”

That drew his familiar warmth, Alistair’s smiling returning in full and golden eyes glowing despite his tears. “Thank you,” he muttered. “I owe the both of you more than I care to admit.”

With a casual wave of his hand, Cullen scoffed. “You owe us nothing.”

Alistair hesitated, mouth working for words that eluded him. In that moment’s chance, Cullen embraced him, a tight hug pinning him to his chest. There, the damn broke. Alistair sobbed into his shoulder, unrelenting gasps for breath and pitiful moans muted as he gripped Cullen’s shirt in angry fists. Tears welled in her own eyes, drowning her fury in a tidal wave of sorrow for their friend.

Parted, Cullen clapped the other man on the shoulder as he hoisted his backpack from the bed. Nods of reassurance traded between them before he rounded the foot of the bed to stand beside her. With a caress at the nape of her neck and a kiss atop her head, he spoke. “I’ll call you the second I find anything. Meet you back at the hotel?”

Amallia nodded, leaning into his embrace. “Please, don’t work too late,” she stated.

He towered over her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders for another, more intimate kiss beneath her ear. “Me, work late?”

Away she shoved him, laughing despite her despair, With that he headed for the door, quick strides seeing him over the threshold and around the corner.

Alistair withdrew into himself, the room silent but for the heart monitor punctuating each second that passed. And as the minutes ticked by, Amallia’s thoughts drifted, distracted and dangerous.

What if they never found the person responsible for everything? What if they went on, never knowing? Amodisia sleeping with a sound mind, safe and solid in her own home, required years of therapy after last night.

And what of Alistair? What of their governor, their leader, the man responsible for bringing Ferelden into a golden age of growth and prosperity and togetherness? A thrice-attempted killer going free, a heinous miscarriage of justice had chosen the worst advisory in Alistair Theirin.

No, Alistair—let alone Amodisia–demanded justice, demanded someone stood charged and convicted for their crimes. But for that, Cullen required evidence. They had little–the Warden Capitals document, Alistair’s state financials, and now the chance to interview the two detectives that had worked the case. And yet, Amallia doubted any attorney crazy enough to prosecute on such circumstantial evidence existed.

Warmth engulfed her from behind, Alistair’s massive arms wrapping around her waist. The bed sagged with the weight of him and a heavy sigh warmed her neck.

“I’m scared, Mal,” he muttered, chin resting on her shoulders. “What… what if sh—she never…”

Amallia turned to him, grasping one of his massive hands in both of hers. “You can’t think that way,” she chided. “It’ll tear you apart. Have hope. Of all the people in Thedas, you are always one so full of hope, I’m surprised there’s enough for the rest of us.”

He grunted with a sardonic laugh. “You know why I’m like that?”

Amallia nodded. “She is a rare woman.”

“Rare?” Alistair asked. “No, she’s impossible. Irreplaceable. Indomitable. There is not another person in the entire world like Sia,” he declared. “She is my world. She is my world and everything in it. Without her…”

His face fell, eyes cast to the floor and head hanging between his shoulders. Amallia wrapped an arm around his back, hugging him close. “I know, Ali. I love her, too. She is one of the very few genuine, honest, and caring people I have been so lucky to meet,” she paused with a knot in her throat. “Do you remember when you were on the RPD? What was their motto?”

Alistair huffed a laugh. “Victory. Vigilance. Sacrifice,” he stated. “In that order,” he added. “There used to be more to it. Ages ago. There are legends, fairytales mostly. The original organization was a group of elite fighters, warriors and rogues and mages, committed to fighting the Blight. Can you believe that?” he paused with a chuckle. “The Blight? Maker, what a silly story.”

“It’s not a story.”

Amallia screamed and Alistair shouted, both jumping from the bed and wheeling around to find Amodisia wide awake with a stern glare on her face.

“It’s true,” she demanded with a hand to her forehead, gentle fingers testing the bandage. “The Blight returned every couple hundred years. And the Fifth Blight was particularly memorable, because the bastard king and the Hero of Ferelden defeated the Archdemon and survived,” she continued. “They lived out their days together searching for a cure of the taint. The Hero found it but she was too late. The bastard king had died a year too soon. She sent the cure to the Magi, but did not wish to be cured. She died a few weeks later, ready to join her love in the Fade.”

Apoplectic shock gaped their mouths as they stared at Amodisia as if she had two heads. Between them she looked, emerald eyes flicking from one face to the other.

“What?” she groaned. “What happened, why am I in the hospital?”

Amallia slapped the emergency button on the remote beside the bed. “We better have the doctor look at you.”

Within seconds, a young man entered the room, tall and dark and bright-eyed. “Ms. Theirin! Wonderful of you to join us,” he jested. “How are you feeling?” He noted values on the monitor as he spoke, entries noted on the tablet he cradled in one arm.

“Like I was trampled by a herd of druffalo,” she sighed.

Amallia missed the rest of the conversation, slipping into the hall with her phone. With a quick punch of buttons, she rang Cullen, eager to tell him the news.

“Rutherford.”

“She’s awake.”

Silence, then static followed by a thump, and his gruff voice cursed. “I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

A grating itch crawled between her shoulders at his tone. “What’s wrong?”

Cullen grunted another sigh of frustration before he spoke.

“Wrong doesn’t come within a million miles of describing how fucked up this case is.”

[tonydadisbestdad]

We’re Even

Peter ParkerxReader

Dad!Tony

Word Count: 4210

Events before and during Civil War, so spoiler’s.

Parties were never really your thing. Sure you were used to them, but that didn’t mean you liked them. So here you found yourself, on the roof of a classmates apartment building.

You sighed as you looked out at the city. It was still warm from summer’s end, but there was a light breeze that blew by every once in awhile. The city was white noise as you stared out at the lit buildings. New York, like this, was your favorite place. It was beautiful and almost peaceful in it’s own unique way.

A grunt to your right made you jump.

You gripped the rail, looking to the origin of the noise.

A figure hoisted themselves up past the bar that ran around the top of the building. They were shrouded in a red and blue hoodie with a mask and goggles.

Your eyes widened, your body tensed, there was a knife in your back pocket, and if you hit the button on your phone it would page your father. You knew how to defend yourself in a number of ways, but that didn’t make this situation any easier. You wanted to run, to scream, but you found yourself frozen in place.

The figure tumbled to the roof with a groan, holding onto their bleeding side. “Fuck,” they mumbled, a small hiss escaping them.

“O-Oh my God,” you muttered. It was now that you noticed the spider insignia on his chest.

The man jumped, finally noticing you. “Sh-shit!” The bloody hand came up and shot a web out but he winced and quickly grasped his side again.

This was the small time hero that people in your school had been talking about. Video’s had started to slowly sprout up of him.

And here was, right in front of you, bleeding from his side.

With the fear that this person might hurt you gone, you rushed to his side. “How deeps the cut?” You asked, gently pulling his hand away from where he was holding.

“Wh-what are you-” He asked quickly, shifting away from you.

You frowned at him. “Dude, you’re bleeding!”

“I’m-I’m fine,” he slowly stood up. “I gotta-gotta go.”

You grabbed his arm before he could even think about shooting what you assumed to be a web from his wrist.

He pulled his arm away from you and winced.

“I can clean that up for you, but I need you to let me.” You told him.

His breathing was heavy behind the mask.

You reached up and pulled it up just above his mouth.

“H-hey, what are you-” He asked, quickly pulling from your grasp.

“You’re struggling to breathe, I wasn’t going to take it all the way off. I get the whole secret identity thing. Stay here, I’m going to go grab my bag. If you decided to go before I get back promise me you’ll get that fixed.” You said to him, as you backed up towards the door that would lead you back into the building.

The young man sighed and sat back down. He gave you a small nod before you disappeared through the door.

No one questioned you as you made your way back into the party, nor when you retrieved your things and left.

When you returned to the top of the building, he was still there. He had tugged his shirt up and was looking at the gash in his side.

You went over and dug through your bag. You removed a first aid kit and riffled through it. You quickly cleaned it, earning a sharp gasp from the masked man.

“Ow,” He complained. “You could have warned a guy.”

You rolled your eyes. “Maybe this will teach you not to get stabbed.”

“I didn’t get stabbed, it’s just a slash…” He mumbled.

He couldn’t be much older than you, you realized. Just from the way he spoke, he still sounded young. “It doesn’t look too bad, should heal up pretty quick.”

“You have no idea,” he said.

“Super healing too? What else can you do, creepy crawly?” You asked, pulling skin glue from your kit, you swiftly cover the gash.

“H-Hey, don’t call me that,” He demanded, rather cutely you thought. “And why should I tell you anything?”

“Hm,” you hummed. “Maybe because I just gave you better medical assistance than you would have given yourself.”

“Against my will,” He argued.

You laughed. “I told you you could leave,” You sang.

His lips turned into a pout. “Yeah, well- maybe I needed the help….”

You packed up your things and tossed them into your bag.

“What’s your name?” He asked.

“Tell me yours, I’ll tell you mine.” You sassed.

“S-Spider-Man,” he stuttered out.

You chuckled, one minute he was brazen and the next he was shy. You happened to like it, quite a bit. “Y/N,” You answered, offering your hand to him.

He went to shake it, but realized he was covered in blood and stopped. “Uh, sorry.”

“It’s okay,” You told him.

“Well, Y/N, it was nice to meet you. Thanks for saving my life.” He chuckled before quickly pecking your cheek.

You blushed deeply.

Spider-Man tugged his mask back down over the bottom half of his face before shooting a web at another building and swinging off.

You wanted to tell this boy that if he ever needed anything you had connections, but then you’d have to explain to your father who this boy was and what he was doing. And Tony Stark was not an easy man to reason with.

You were his big secret. He could tell the world he was Iron Man, but not that he had a 16 year old daughter. It was a big secret, the one that only the necessary people knew. The one that you didn’t mind having to keep. It made things easier. It kept you safe and out of the scrutinizing view of the world.

You sighed and looked back out at the city. You knew at some point things would come to a head.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

You couldn’t get Spider-Man out of your head. It was impossible. Every new article or video you saw of him made you think of that night.

And boy was your mind stuck on replaying his lips on your cheek. It wasn’t a big deal, but for some reason it felt different.

It was probably the last thing you should be thinking about. Your top priority should have been the problems breaking out with the Avenger’s. You knew things were turning south much too quickly. It was not going to be a good outcome. Of course you loved your father, but you also loved Steve. He was so much like an older brother to you in the time you’d gotten to know him. You were upset when he didn’t sign the accords, but there was nothing you could do to convince him otherwise.

When your father showed back up at the tower you were in the midst of watching a video of Spider-Man.

“What is that?” Your dad asked, just as he passed you on the couch.

You looked back at him and restarted the video. “Spider-Man.”

“Wait, did he really just catch that car?” He quickly ordered F.R.I.D.A.Y. to pull the videos of this boy up on the tv.

“He’s really good, dad. Maybe you should recruit him.” You offered, more as a joke, no way would this guy be ready to work with what was left of the Avenger’s.

Your dad had his thinking face on. “Maybe, once everything is settled.”

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

The next time you met Spider-Man it was not under the best circumstances.

It was a cool night, so you decided to enjoy it before cold winter air swept through the busy streets.

You kept your head down, enough, and tried to go unnoticed as you made your way home. The streets had some bar hoppers and people making their way home from very long days at work. It wasn’t like you were alone.

But for some reason you couldn’t fight the feeling that someone was following you.

You quickened your pace but suddenly you were grabbed from behind. You screamed and flailed, but you felt as if your struggle was going unnoticed. You tried everything you’d been taught to try and get the assailant off of you, but he was too strong.

And you knew if you reached your phone, your father couldn’t immediately help you, he was dealing with Avenger problems.

You tried to reach for your own knife but you were tossed to the ground in a dirty alleyway. Your dad was going to kill you if this man didn’t first, you thought.

He smirked meanly at you and opened his mouth to speak but suddenly something hit him across his mouth. His eyes looked up past you.

You almost sighed in relief.

“Hey buddy, you should really learn to treat ladies better,” Spider-Man’s sweet voice said behind you.

The man tried to run, probably having heard enough rumors that he didn’t want to mess with him. Sadly, he didn’t get far before Spider-Man webbed him to the wall.

He passed you and went over to the man. “Don’t worry the police will be here soon.”

Next thing you knew Spider-Man was kneeling in front of you, he offered you his hand.

You took it and got up. You didn’t hesitate to throw your arms around his neck.

He wrapped his own arms around your middle. “Hang on,” He whispered.

Suddenly, you were being pulled through the air past a few buildings before Spider-Man picked one to stop on.

“Thank you,” You sobbed. You hadn’t even realized you were crying until the words were out of your mouth.

A gentle hand rubbed your back. “You’re okay, Y/N,” He whispered.

You hesitantly pulled away from him. “Y-you remember me?”

He nodded and wiped your tears away. “I mean yeah, you helped me out. I guess we’re even now, huh? Not that I saved you because I felt like I owed you or anything but-”

You cut him off. You tugged his mask up and quickly kissed him. You were still running on your adrenaline and all you wanted was to show him your thanks. “Now we are,” you whispered, before moving to kiss him again.

He welcomed this kiss.and moved his lips with yours. One hand found your hip, the other your cheek.

When you finally pulled away from him your nerves had settled and you were embarrassed.

Spider-Man pressed his forehead to yours. “Well,” He whispered. “That’s the best thanks I’ve gotten.”

You smiled sheepishly. “S-sorry.”

He shook his head lightly against yours.

You tried to look at his eyes but you couldn’t see through his goggles. “How do you see out of these?”

He sighed and thumbed your cheek. “You with the questions.”

“Please,” You asked, quietly. “I need to get my mind off what just happened.”

The hero sighed. “My senses are heightened, so the goggles help me concentrate.”

You nodded and stored the information away. You immediately thought of a good way to repay your hero, by designing him a new suit.

“Let me take you home,” He whispered.

You couldn’t help yourself, you nodded.

He tugged you closer to him, one arm wrapped around your waist.

You tightened your arms around his neck before you were swinging from another building.

“Where do you live?”

Your stomach knotted nervously. “Um… you can keep a secret, right?” You whispered.

Spider-Man chuckled. “Yeah, but what do that have to do with where you live?” He asked, while swinging you both from one place to the next.

If you weren’t still down from your adrenaline rush this could have been fun. The lights passing by were beautiful and the cool air felt great on your face.

“I live in Stark Tower,” you said quietly, you felt as if you could trust him, you really hoped it was the truth or you didn’t know what you’d do.

“What?” The hero asked, almost missing his target, you dropped a little too close to the ground for your comfort but he held onto you tighter.

“Just… get me there in one piece and then we can talk about it…”

He didn’t ask anymore questions and before you knew it you were on the ground behind the building.

“Thanks for saving me,” you said, pulling just slightly away from him.

“Yeah… yeah no problem… do you really live here? ‘Cause if this is just close and you didn’t want me to know where you actually live it’s fine but I want to make sure you get in okay….” Spider-Man said, his hands on your hips.

“No,” you answered. “I live here…. with… with my dad.”

“Huh?” The spider asked, confused.

“You said you’d keep my secret right?” You asked, nervously toying with part of his hoodie.

It seemed to have clicked to the young man. “Wait, are you telling me Tony Stark’s your dad?”

You nodded.

“Whoa! That’s so cool!” Spider-Man said excitedly.

You chuckled at him. “Promise me you won’t tell anyone?”

“Of course. Wow, I can’t believe this. You aren’t lying right?”

You rolled your eyes. “No, I’m not creepy crawly.”

“Hey,” he whined.

You took a step back out of his grasp. “Goodnight, Spider-Man.”

He seemed to have looked away from you for a moment as you took a step back. “P-Peter.” He stated.

You cocked an eyebrow at him and stopped moving.

He hesitantly tugged his mask off. “My-my name’s Peter.”

You smiled gently at him. Boy, was he cute. “Goodnight, Peter. I’ll see you around.” Instead of moving towards the building you stepped back to him and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “If you ever need anything, ask for Susy at the front desk.”

Peter blushed madly before you stepped away from him and went into the tower.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

You regretted turning the news on when you made it upstairs. You couldn’t believe it. Things were bad. You had already planned on calling your father to tell him what happened, but now you just wanted to make sure he was okay.

Surprisingly when you called he answered.

“What’s going on?” You quickly asked as soon as you knew he picked up.

Your dad sighed. “A lot, sunshine. We’ll talk about it when I get back.”

“And when is that going to be?” You asked, you wanted him home. Sure your father dealing with bad guys was one thing, but fighting with Steve and the Winter Soldier, you didn’t like the feeling you got about it.

“I’m going to be coming home soon. I want to talk to that spider guy you showed me.” Your father said.

Your stomach knotted. You didn’t like the thought of your dad recruiting him now of all times. Things must have been really bad if this was the case. “About him,” You started.

“What?” Your dad asked.

“He um, he kind of saved my ass tonight…”

Your dad’s nonchalant tone disappeared. “What happened? Are you okay? Why didn’t you contact me?”

“I’m okay dad, like I said, he saved me.” You explained. “Can I ask a favor?”

“What?”

“Can I design him a new suit? He looks ridiculous.”

“Yeah, I think that’d be a good idea. He’s going to need it.” Your dad stated.

“What are you going to do, dad?” You asked, worriedly.

“I’m going to see if he’s interested in coming to Germany for backup. I need to bring Steve in and I need all the help I can get.”

You sighed, now you’d have your dad to worry about and Peter. “If he gets hurt because of you dad, you’ll be sorry.”

“Ooh,” Your dad said in a teasing tone. “Someone’s smitten with the spiderling.”

You blushed. “So what if I am? But the same goes for you too.”

“I have to go, sunshine. Please, if you go out be careful. I’ll check in with you when I get home.”

“Love you.”

“Love you.”

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

You hugged your dad tight when he finally made it home the next morning.

He returned the hug with a small sigh.

“Promise you’ll try to talk it out first.” You stated.

He nodded. “I don’t want this to turn into a fight, but if it turns out that way-”

“I understand. Please be careful.”

“Let me see what you’ve been working on for this kid’s suit.” Your dad requested.

You nodded and pulled up your prints for it.

Your dad looked through them, asking a few questions about some things.

You answered as best you could, there was no way to know exactly what he needed, but from what you knew of his powers you did your best.

“How do you know so much about this guy?” Your dad asked, adding a few of his own touches to the suit.

You blushed slightly, you may have been starting to become obsessed with Peter. But he had kissed you back so maybe there could be a chance. You pushed the thought aside. “I um,” You started. “I may have met him before that time I showed you video’s of him… He needed some help… Between then and yesterday, we talked a little bit.”

“You have a crush on this guy don’t you?” Your dad asked, a mischievous look in his eyes.

Your blush deepened. “Dad!”

He chuckled. “I’m going to look into this guy, figure out who he is. Hunt him down.”

You rolled your eyes. “His name’s Peter,” You said, then realized your blunder.

“His secret’s not a big one then if he’s telling random people who he is,” You dad commented.

“I-I mean, there’s a small chance that he told me because he knew he could trust me,” You stuttered.

Your father’s eyebrow rose, but from the look on your face he knew exactly why that was. “You didn’t…”

“I’m sorry, he wanted to bring me home and I accidently said yes and then I had to tell him, sort of. Look, it’s not a big deal…”

Your dad shook his head. “I’m going down to the lab, I’ll get someone working on the suit and I will see you before I leave.”

You nodded.

He kissed your head before going off to the lab.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Your dad had already set out for his mission, so here you were, doing work to keep your mind off of things.

“Miss Y/N,” F.R.I.D.A.Y. said. “Peter Parker is asking for Susy.”

You smiled lightly. “You can send him up, F.R.I.D.A.Y. thank you.” You left your room and went to the living room to wait.

When the elevator dinged Peter exited, dressed in a button-up and sweater. He smiled nervously at you. “H-Hey,” He said, walking towards you. “You totally ratted me out.”

You rolled your eyes. “He wanted you anyway,” You told him. “I may have just confirmed it for him…”

Peter stopped right in front of you, he looked nervous, which you found strange. But that could have just been because you’d only seen his face once. “And here I thought I could trust you,” He was teasing, much to your relief.

You lightly shoved his shoulder.

He chuckled. “So um…”

“Ready for Germany?” You asked.

Peter rubbed the back of his neck. “Uh, y-yeah. I-I can’t believe Mr. Stark asked me.”

It was your turn to chuckle. “Yeah well, you’re good. He needs all the help he can get.”

“I’m not really that great,” the brunette said, blushing.

“So, what brings you here?” You asked.

Peter shyly looked down at his feet. “Well I um… I just wanted to say thank you. For um getting him to notice me I guess. This is so big…”

“You did that on your own,” You told him.

Peter smiled and hesitantly reached out for your hand.

You twisted your fingers into his.

“So, um I just… I wanted to see you before I had to go.”

You blushed deeply, your heart fluttered. “Why’s that?”

Peter blew a breath past his lips. “I might have a bit of a crush on you…”

You chuckled and tugged him closer. “You gonna do something about it?”

The brunette blushed now. “W-well-”

You rolled your eyes before leaning up and kissing him.

Peter sighed into it and kissed back. His hand found your hip and pulled you against him.

Your free hand cupped his neck.

He broke the kiss and pressed his forehead to yours. “I-I’m probably crossing a line b-but um… If I make it out of this thing okay, would-would you maybe wanna go on a date with me?”

“You’re going to make it back okay,” You told him. “Promise me you’ll keep your distance?” You asked. “I know you’re tough but this isn’t you fighting some bad guys, this is a war between the team and if my dad’s looking for help…”

“I promise, Y/N,” Peter said, a shy smile on his face. “But will you?”

You nodded and nuzzled his nose. “You should get going. Let me know how you like your surprise. Happy has it for you.”

He pulled back from you and cocked his eyebrow. “Surprise?”

/\/\/\/\/\/\/

When you arrived at the hospital you quickly found your dad and clung to him. “U-Uncle Rhodey’s gonna be okay right?” You asked into his shoulder.

Your dad was silent. “They’re doing what they can for him… but he’s alive…”

You were worried for your father fighting, that was always a given. But all of the Avenger’s were your family. You wanted all of them to be okay. The fact that Rhodey of all people was the one to get hurt so badly, didn’t help in your worry.

“They’re still running tests on Rhodey,” Your father informed. “I have them checking Underoos out too, but if you want to go see him-”

“Is Peter okay?” You asked, quickly. Your anxiety was off the charts now.

“Nothing major… but I just wanted him looked at, don’t want to send him back to his Aunt too beat up… Come on I’ll take you to him.”

You followed your father to a room.

There sat Peter with a bruised face and a doctor bending his arm.

“H-Hey Y/N,” he said sheepishly.

You frowned at him.

“Mr. Stark,” the doctor started. “Everything’s fine here, minor concussion, should be okay in a couple of days.”

“Thank you, doctor,” Your dad said, shaking his hand.

The doctor left and as soon as he was gone you were standing in front of Peter, whose legs were dangling off the side of the bed.

“Are you okay?” You asked, giving him a once over.

“Y-yeah, I’m fine, I’ve had worse.” He said, glancing back at your father.

You lightly punched his shoulder, earning a wince in response. “That doesn’t make me feel better creepy crawly.”

Peter pouted at you. “What’s with you Stark’s and these nicknames?”

You smiled back at your father who was staring at the two of you with his eyebrow cocked. “Just our thing I guess.”

“What’s going on between you two?” Your father asked suddenly, making both of you blush.

“Can we talk about it later?” You asked.

“Fine. I’m going to go see how Rhodey’s tests are going. I’ll be back when you can see him.” Your dad said before leaving the room.

You couldn’t hold yourself back anymore. You carefully hugged Peter and hid in the shoulder the doctor hadn’t been checking on.

Peter’s arm wrapped around you.

“I’m so glad you’re okay…,” You whispered, you were fighting back tears. So much was happening, you felt like your family was falling apart. You didn’t want to cry in front of Peter, but suddenly you couldn’t stop it. A small sob left you.

Peter easily pulled you into his lap, a small grunt escaping him. “Mr. Rhodes is a tough guy, he’ll be okay… Your dad is okay… I know it’s only been a couple weeks and we barely know each other but… but I’m okay. I’m here for you too. I know this is all hard right now, but it’s gonna work out, I know it.”

You only cried for a few more minutes, Peter’s little pep talk and comforting arms helped calm you down. You sniffled as he kissed your forehead.

“Thanks for my suit by the way, it’s perfect, I love it.”

You let out a small chuckle. “How’s the tech for your eyes?”

“So much better,” he assured.

“If you want any changes made-”

“No, it’s perfect. You’re perfect…”

You gently pecked his cheek.

Peter smiled widely. His eye might be swollen practically shut but he was still so cute.

“Steve get you?” You asked, gently thumbing under the bruise.

Peter nodded. “Yeah, is it bad that it was exciting to get punched in the face by Captain America?”

You smiled and rolled your eyes at him.

He could only smile, stupidly at you.

And all you could think in that moment was that even though things were falling down around you, that smile could surely keep you up.

[kingteufel]

“So, tell me Greg. You’ve stopped coming to my office for some time now. I would like to spend some time catching up with you and to know what brings you back into my office?"

Greg paused it was a little difficult going into more details on his life to someone he only knew inside a small room someone he only spoke to two hours a day three days a week. It was part of the deal he made with Ethan. He needed to talk to someone about what was on his mind he couldn’t “what’s on your mind Mr. Teufel?” “What’s on my mind.” Greg paused Dr. Ruth knew that Greg was a bit dramatic with the way he expressed his emotions and could paint words into pictures when he wanted to but then there were times that he couldn’t sort out his thoughts or knew where to begin a conversation.

Sometimes it was hard to come up and say ‘hello,’ he sat back against his chair thumbs twirling around in his hands that were placed on his lap it was something that he did out of habit when he was nervous.

"My thoughts are stars I can't fathom into constellations."

“Care to elaborate on what you mean?”

“What I mean is that when I'm thinking about so many things and I can't get any of these thoughts straight. I want to say what I'm thinking, but I can't make out the actual thoughts. I have no idea how to describe this. I guess it’s like when you know what a word means but you have no idea how to describe it to someone else.”

“I can understand that sometimes it’s hard to pinpoint where to start when there’s so much bottled up. Why not start from the first thing that you think of.”

“Dina.” “what about Dina?” “It’s my fault she’s dead.” “why is it your fault?”

The oldest Teufel paused it was a memory he hadn’t taken a trip down since the event. Memories of Dina were starting to seep through the cracks the closer her funeral became. He was terrified of what the outcome of the funeral would do to not only to himself but to Oliver.  

“When they pulled her out of the baptism water, I was one of the ones to go up and pull her out. I remembered doing CPR once on someone at the diner and didn’t really think much of it she was my sister and I had to do something. I started and didn’t stop until the paramedics came. When they got there, she was declared dead on the scene there was nothing they could do but I can’t help but to think to myself. Was I even doing it right? Did I cause more harm than good? Did I contribute to her death?”

“You didn’t contribute to her death I can assure you did everything right.” “How do you know?”

“Because I was there I witnessed everything that happened that night there was nothing that you could have done differently to stop such a tragic event. She was a life that was taken from this world premature.”

Greg brushed some tears aside he didn’t know what to think or how to cope when it came down to talking about Dina “any time someone mentions her name I freeze I want to just choke up and swallow in my own self-pity. It doesn’t matter if it’s Ethan or if it’s my brother. Talking about her is too painful to imagine.”

“Is Dina the only thought on your mind?” “No.  Oliver is.”

“How has your relationship improved with your brother since you said he moved in with you, and Ethan?”

Greg looked down at his lap “it’s about the same. Part of me doesn’t think we’ll ever be close like we used to. There’s too much pain there’s a wall that was built so high so thick that it will take a while to knock it down. Oliver is.” Greg tried to think of the right words to describe his brother “Difficult sometimes he’s stubborn and doesn’t let too many people in. Once your out your out and there’s hardly any exceptions. Doors were closed on me when I abandoned him for almost a year.”

“But you didn’t abandon him.”

“Oliver knows but in his mind for eight months I abandoned him.” He sighed and ran fingers in his hair wanting to talk about something positive for a change not wanting his heart to ache or his mind to wonder in so many painful directions.

Tears filled his eyes “I miss when we were close, I crave being close to him he’s my best friend. At one-point people thought we were twins though we looked nothing alike. When we were little, he used to look up to me all the time even though there were times I was a piece of sh*t to him. I mean we were siblings we were going to fight and do stupid sh*t when we got mad it was our given rights as brothers.”

Greg ran sighed and leaned back against the chair putting his hands on the arm rest he started bouncing his leg. “Do you think you drifted apart because you were gone for eight months or do you think you started to drift apart when you started dissociating and your alters started to front?”

Honestly? Greg didn’t know the answer to that. Part of Greg knew that he started to dissociate from himself after their father’s death. The car accident was enough to terrify anyone. Greg was ten when Cindy packed them up and forced them to move from their home in New York to Englewood, Ohio.

Going from a city life in the big apple to a small-town boy changed Greg. He became a little more distant a little more crude and cunning. In results he hurt a lot of people along the way not just Oliver but others that he grew close with.

“I started to grow distant from Oliver after our dad died about ten years ago in a car wreck. We tried to stay close even then, but I know I kept pulling back because I was afraid. I was so scared of something bad happening to Oliver and there being nothing that I could do to fix it. I blamed myself for the accident it was a trip that I wanted to do where I wanted to go we wouldn’t of left the house if it wasn’t for my Dad wanted to do something special for all of us. When we moved Cindy just acted like nothing ever happened. When we wanted to talk about dad or bring up dad, we would get a smack in the face.”

“How did that make you feel?” “I hated her. I hated Cindy. I hated her for distancing me and Oliver. For turning me against him for making me do things to him that no brother should have done. It’s not something I’m proud of for hurting Oliver it eats at my very core every day it kills me in ways that I never thought possible. The older we got the harder it got to look at him in the face.”

“Did this happen right away?”

“No. It happened over time I was probably sixteen the first time Oliver just a few years younger. Cindy said if I didn’t do what she wanted if I didn’t punish him then she would only make matters worse for him. So, I left.”

“You left?”

“By that point I’d broken up with my girlfriend and hooked up with another girl. I was messed up in the head.” He tapped his forehead with his fingers “I cheated on the most amazing girl I’ve ever met with a devil. Sure, temptation was pretty at the time but the more I got to know Julia the more I hated her and the more I hated myself. Julia didn’t help things with Oliver.”

“The four years that we were together she never wanted me to spend time with him or Dina. Never wanted me to do any of my Jewish traditions I had to be baptized in the church in order to be with Julia so I gave up a lot but I was hooked it was like being hooked on a bad drug and every time you were just about off your high the temptation pulled you right back in.”

There was a pause talking about Julia still salted opened flesh wounds “Julia was intoxicating we did nothing but fight toward the last two years of our relationship there were so many nights that I checked myself into a hotel before I let myself crawl into bed with a snake.”

Greg wasn’t sure why he was willing to open up now but maybe he needed it. Some type of redemption for all the wrong he’s done in his past he wanted to be good. Wanted to do good. Wanted a fresh start.

A start that would never happen. In his eyes he was nothing more than a monster.

“How did Julia feel about you having D.I.D? This is the first time you’ve been willing to talk about her in the year we’ve been meeting.”

“Julia didn’t understand she didn’t want to understand any time an alter would try to front she would start screaming at me like I was about to abuse her. Would blame that Sam tried to rape her but I know Sam never fronted around Julia and I know your going to ask why. I don’t know fully why but intuition tells me that Sam hated Julia and the thought of being near her was repulsive to him. John started to think the same thing and my little? He was terrified of Julia.”

Greg bounced his leg he was getting anxious opening up so much, but he was just needed everything to be aired out.

“What was it like dissociating?”

Dissociating was different for each individual who had D.I.D he’s never met anyone else who had D.I.D but from the research and videos that he’s watched everyone’s was different though there was some common symptoms or experiences with each. Greg sat back against the chair trying to explain to his psychologist what it was like to dissociate how others around him responded.

“What is it like dissociating? It can be scary depending on who fronts and the situations that I’m in. Dissociating and having alters front is different for each person but one common side effect is migraines from hell. There’s also forgetfulness.” Greg ran fingers in his hair as he explained to the best of his abilities what it was like for him to dissociate “Explaining what it’s like in detail is just like the starred thoughts in my mind it’s hard to point out a constellation.”

“That I’m aware of I have six alters each with a mind and life experience of their own. I have John who is my protector, Sam in away is my protector but he’s more of a vigilante. Those two are my main. Jamie is my female alter I don’t know much about her still, and same for Remington. There are others that come and go they don’t always stay around. I also have a little who likes to come out when I’m out in public he can be triggered by happy thoughts or certain locations that excites him. He’s six-years-old so walking by a candy store he’ll want to go in. There’s times when I am shopping alone and I end up coming outside of stores that I don’t have any knowledge of going inside.”

“What’s your little name.”

“With all due respect I prefer not to give my little’s name for his own protection and my own sanity of keeping him safe.” Greg told her “Going out in public when my little fronts I worry about where he might end up and then there’s the fear of my little being kidnapped. I know it’s not a reality or a pretty slim reality but it’s still a thought that can be worrisome.”

“Was your little your first alter?”

Pausing for a moment he thought about it trying to rack his memories in order when his thoughts were still so jumbled up “No.” Greg said, “George Walters was the first.”

Greg could see the interest in the psychologist. “I can see now why it’s hard to pinpoint a starting position to with a conversation.” The therapist said. “there’s a lot going on inside that head of yours.”

Greg tried to smile it wasn’t the alters he was worried about. “What really brings you here?”

Greg sank into his chair there was always a reason to come back after not being there so long “the fear of Ethan rejecting me. Leaving. The fear that he won’t want to be with me. That I might be the cause to break his heart like I broke Ellie’s. I fear that I’ll unintentionally hurt him and do something that I regret.”

Using the back of his sleeve he brushed back tears. “I fear that he will grow to resent me and see me nothing short of a monster.”

[welshjule]

Doyawannarootorwhat?

January 1982

 It was snowing the day my family left Cardiff for a new life in Australia.

I was eighteen, living with my mum, dad and two younger sisters and none of us knew what we were doing!

We had never even been on a plane before and the furthest we had ever traveled was  Pontins in Prestatyn.

My dad’s brother and his family had emigrated to Perth and my parents had asked my sisters and myself if we wanted to go and live there. It all sounded really exciting at the time and we had travelled to Australia House in London about a year before and passed the interview.

But now, we were having second thoughts because the three of us had steady boyfriends and we had sworn undying love and absolute faithfulness to them, like only teenagers can. So, it was a very dramatic departure, with our ‘soulmates’ shivering in the street as we drove off.

Foreigner was playing ��Waiting for a Girl Like You ‘on the car radio and the back seat was filled with brokenhearted sobbing as the three of us tried to out-do one another in our pain and suffering.  We only got about five minutes up the road before my father turned around from the front seat and yelled:

“If you think I’m listening to this sh*t all the way to Heathrow, you can think again. If you don’t pack it in, we’re not stopping at the services.’’

We soon shut up. We loved the services.

All kids loved the motorway services. They weren’t all about petrol. There was an air of excitement, as everybody escaped from the family car and did their own thing for half an hour. The video arcades were filled with flashing lights and loud music and they were a magnet for teenagers, who lined up to play Space Invaders and drive pretending cars at 500 miles per hour.

That didn’t interest me.

I went straight into WH Smith’s and bought my two favorite magazines, ‘Jackie’ and ‘Blue Jeans’ and sat down to a breakfast of sausage, beans and chips. I was soon lost in the ‘problem pages’ and an article on smokey eye make-up tips.

Then, we were back on the road.

In 1982, flying on a jumbo jet was a really big deal. It was glamorous and exciting and people dressed up for the adventure.

It all appealed to my inner diva and I was channeling Debbie Harry, who was my idea of cool.  

So a few hours later, with my ash highlights, Adam Ant pirate shirt and a sexy Jackie Collins novel in my handbag, I nabbed a window seat on the massive plane. Pressing the button on my seat, I ordered a Bloody Mary, put on my complimentary airline socks and lit up a fag.

There was absolutely no sense of safety in the air back then; The smoking seats were at the rear of the plane but the smoke just wafted over everybody in a thick smog. The cabin crew dished out as much free alcohol as a passenger could drink, everybody had a pocket full of lighters and combined with my mother’s duty-free Opium perfume the entire place was a powder keg.

I f*cking loved the Eighties!

But most worrying was that I was invited up to the to meet the pervert pilot three times in the first two hours. Mum and Dad were completely oblivious to this man wanting me all up in his cockpit but this geezer had no chance.

He’s in charge of gravity for God’s Sake!

Why would I interrupt the deviant responsible for keeping hundreds of people 30,000 feet up in the sky? As far as I was concerned, he didn’t need any distractions. You’ve got one job. Concentrate!

Anyway, the glamour soon wore off.

The feature film was ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’ but I couldn’t tell you anything about it. With one screen up at the front of the plane, Harrison Ford was the size of a Lego block and the earplugs kept jumping out of my ears. Soon there were kids screaming, spines contorting and full-on fights over the precious arm-rests.

There were no straight-through flights then and for some reason, our journey seemed to involve changing planes at every Middle Eastern airport on our way to Australia, and thirty- eight years ago those places were intimidating. Security guards and police patrolled everywhere carrying guns and scaring the crap out of all the travelers with their blank glares.

Trying to find any kind of airport staff who could speak English was like hunting for a unicorn!

Hot, tired passengers walked around in a confused, sleep-deprived daze and we were all lugging huge suitcases (with no wheels), winter coats, overnight bags and duty-free booze. Everybody was on edge and scared they would miss their connecting flight which was a real possibility.

Walking into my first public toilet in these here parts was a real culture shock I could have done without because there were no toilets in the toilet!

I opened one door after another until it dawned on me that the hole in the floor was for squatting over. The place smelled like a sewer from the dark ages and my aching bladder dried up like a prawn cracker as I held my nose and made for the exit.

‘’You’ve got to go Ju,” my Mum warned, “We’re going to be here for hours, just hold your breath.”

“Mother, I am eighteen not ten,’’ I replied, ‘if I tried to squat on that putrid, wet floor and fell in that shit, I’d grab a gun off one of those guards and blow my brains out!”

“Oh, stop being so dramatic,” she sighed, spotting a little old lady sitting behind a wooden table counting change.

“Do you think she works here?” my Mum whispered,

“Oh my God, of course she works here, who would willingly sit in this cesspit. “

I was young and rude and had no regard for a woman who was forced to do this disgusting job day after day.

“Mum, I can’t stay here another second. I’m literally going to catch some shit-borne plague virus.’’

I ran for the exit and as the door closed behind me, I heard Mum asking for some toilet paper. I didn’t rate her chances because in those days toilet paper was a bit of a novelty and travelers caught short were pretty much up shit creek!!

Eventually, after missing a connecting flight and spending the night in Abu Dhabi, we arrived in Perth, Western Australia and were picked up at the airport by my dad’s brother and his family.

It was the middle of summer and as we walked outside to the carpark, the heat hit us like a punch and we stopped dead. We couldn’t catch our breath and I could feel my nostril hair burning!

‘’Bloody hell Tommy, how do people live and work in this?’’ asked my sweating father who was struggling with a suitcase the size of a small car. ‘It’s like being cooked.’

My aunty and uncle laughed and told us that it was about forty-two degrees. But apparently, we would get used to it.

Living with our relatives, the heat was no hardship. Their gorgeous house had air-conditioning and was as cold as a meat freezer.

Everything had a new, exciting, holiday feel and we played ‘It’s a Knockout’ for hours with our cousins in the swimming pool while our uncle barbecued steaks the size of hubcaps.

Perth is a beautiful city and in 1982 it had a very laid-back vibe. There was a strong American influence and we loved going to milk bars and drinking milkshakes from giant metal beakers. Sales assistants smiled and told us to ‘have a nice day’ and there were palm trees growing on the side of the road.

The first time I went to a drive-in movie I felt just like Sandy from the film ‘Grease.’ Waitresses on roller skates wore cute uniforms and carried trays of French fries and hamburgers. There were groups of teenagers everywhere, smoking cigarettes and sharing sneaky bottles of Jim Beam.

The movie playing was American Gigalo, but nobody was interested in Richard Gere.

Instead of cars, most boys and girls were making out in ‘shaggin’ wagons.’

These were small panel vans that were basically a bedroom on wheels. They first became popular with surfers because there was plenty of room for a group of mates with their surfboards to travel to the best beaches.

Now, horny boys all over Australia worked their butts off for one of these prized ‘sin bins’ and would pimp them out with shag pile carpet, surround sound speakers and strobe lighting. Add a mattress, a bong and an esky full of beer and it was a guaranteed shag pad.

The rule was ’If it’s rocking don’t come knocking,’ so kids waited their turn to make great memories or more often, drunken mistakes.

I thought it was a brilliant idea. A million times better than trying to mate in a sedan in the middle of winter.

Almost all the boys had a mullet haircut, which was short on the top and long at the back (think Billy Ray Cyrus) and the girls had curly, spiral but mostly frizzy home perms. The Aussie boys described their mullets as ‘business at the front and party at the back’ and they could definitely party!

The novelty of home pizza deliveries, bronzed lifeguards and breath-taking beaches made life blissful.

Had we landed in paradise?

Was this place absolutely perfect?                                                                                

Not quite, as I was about to find out.                                                                                                                

The first time my sister and I went into the city on a Friday night it was like being transported to Las Vegas. We were with a young aussie bloke called Brian who worked with our auntie and he was really excited to show us his town.

Brian was more Australian than Dame Edna and we didn’t have a clue what he was talking about. He said things like ‘crook’ and ‘mongrel’ and ‘fair dinkum’ and sounded like a seventy-year-old sheep shearer.

“Youse two are good looking Sheila’s, so if you want to crack on, go for your life” he told us.

Walking along Hay Street, the warm, balmy breeze gave the place a tropical feel and the lights from the restaurants and clubs added to the excitement. The air smelled like Chinese food, petrol and every teenager’s sexy dream.

Boys were hanging out of souped up Chevy’s and Toyota Camry’s, doing laps and calling out to all the girls while Jimmy Barnes and ACDC blasted out of their speakers.

Everybody seemed to be young, loud and ready to party and photographers were everywhere, taking pictures of the revelers for the weekend newspapers.

Beautiful bronzed girls walked around in bikinis, heading for nightclub ‘beach parties’ or Miss West Coast beauty competitions.

Pinocchio’s was the most popular place to spend a Friday or Saturday night and it blew our minds. The place was enormous with a huge dancefloor on the ground floor and two bars. Upstairs were more places to drink and dance and the place was packed.

It was all so exciting, The Police were singing ‘Don’t Stand So Close to Me’, and we were looking good.

There were dozens of blokes at the bar and we could see some of them checking us out and grinning at one another. Brian found some people he knew from work so my sister and I went and sat down in a velvet booth. Sipping our Cinzano and lemonades we looked at the dancefloor.

It was wall to wall girls, dancing around their handbags (yes, even here) and absolutely no boys whatsoever. Eventually, with Whitney Huston singing her heart out we hit the dancefloor.

Now, I was used to being wooed by Welsh boys and God love them, they had to have some bottle. If they liked a girl, nine times out of ten she was with a group of friends and the poor bloke would have to risk being ridiculed or rejected by all of them.

But many a boy took a chance and would ask for a dance or if he could buy a girl a drink, because if he asked enough girls, eventually, he might get lucky!

We danced for hours to Joan Jett, Men at Work, Adam and the Ants and Kim Wilde and I felt so happy because I loved Australia and I had just discovered B52 shots which I had been knocking back! Everybody seemed to be laughing and there was the exciting feeling of perhaps meeting someone new.

The disco lights were flashing blue and pink, the music was deafening and we were all choking on the smoke machine. It was bloody brilliant.

But, not one boy came near us

Brian was now sitting down so we went and joined him in the booth.

I had some questions,

‘’Brian, what’s going on?’’

‘’Why are all the boys standing together and ignoring the girls?’’

“Why hasn’t anyone asked us to dance?”

‘’How are people supposed to meet from opposite sides of the room?’’

‘’Is this a gay bar?’’

To be honest, I was a vain little mare.

It was all about me and I was just in a bad mood because nobody had chatted me up all night.

Brian looked at me in complete shock for a few seconds and then burst out laughing,

“Jeeze, who are you and what planet are you from?’’ he choked, ’Nobody cracks on ‘til the end of the night. Give the boys a chance, they’re drinking their grog.”

From what I could see, most of the boys at the bar were absolutely hammered and one dickhead near us had ripped off his shirt and was puffing out a skinny chest. They were all showing off, trying to out-drink one another and shouting at the top of their voices.

At about 1am the DJ started playing ‘Shut Up ya Face’ and that was our cue to leave and go next door for pizza, but before we could stand up, four young guys came over to our table.

‘’G’day ladies, how ya going?” asked the obvious ringleader with a horrible orange mullet.  He sat down next to me, grinning like a maniac and then turned to face Brian.

“Listen mate, I don’t wanna cut your grass or nothin’, so which Sheila’s yours?” he asked.

Brian shook his head, ‘’No worries there mate. They’ve just got here from England and I’m showing them the sites.”

The boy’s eyes lit up and he tried to put his arm around me,

‘’Me and the lads have been watching youse two all night. Right pair or ragers eh?’’

His mates fell about laughing

‘’Robo mate, you’re a fu##ing legend’’ shouted the boy with no shirt.

I doubted that

Robbo stank of beer and sausage rolls and his hair was dripping wet.

‘’Oh my God, stop sweating on me’’ I screamed, moving sideways along the seat.

‘’Hey, don’t spit the dummy” he grinned ‘’ I just wanna get to know ya.’’

“Well don’t come any nearer,’’ I said putting my arm out, ‘’you’re in my personal space.’’

‘’Oh she’s a pommie, ’’ shouted a tubby boy who was standing next to Robbo and seemed to be dressed as a bank manager.

“She’s well up for it. Give her the hard word.’’

Cheeky Bas##rd. I understood that alright!

Glaring up at him, I said,

“For a start off, we are Welsh not English and what are you wearing? I can’t believe the bouncers let you in here. You should be banned for life for having such hideous fashion sense. And by the way, I’m not up for anything, thank you very much.’’

But Robbo wasn’t giving in just yet and he suddenly lurched towards me, and said, ‘’Doyawannarootorwhat?

All I heard was root and what

“What is a rooterwhat?’’ I asked

Robbo threw himself back in the seat and grabbed his crotch and it seemed like everyone in the club was laughing at me.

I was over it.

“Brian, what is he talking about?  What does it mean?’’

The poor boy was starting to look uncomfortable.

“Well, a root means a sh#g, you know, getting laid.’’ he said

It was too much for me and I had to stand up.

Looking down at Robo, I couldn’t believe it.

“So, let me get this straight. You came over here to ask me to have sex with you.”.

“Bloody Oath I did. Nothing wrong with a bit of hide the sausage.” he laughed

“You must be bloody joking. You haven’t had the guts to buy me a drink or ask me to dance but you expect me to go home with you?’’

“Well not home exactly, me oldies wouldn’t like it’’, he said, ‘’but the car is parked in the multi-story on Barrack Street. We could go for it in there’’

‘’Wow, how romantic’’ I said

“Oh, so my lady wants romance, does she?’ A little dancing and some champers? said the bank manager. ‘’Didn’t realize we had Princess Diana in here tonight boys.”

“You’ve got that right,’’ I told him, ‘’I am a lady so you can kiss my arse.’’

“That’s what I’m talking about” shouted Robbo and I noticed he had vomit down the front of his shirt.

‘’We don’t want a formal introduction, just a root.’’

‘’Well I’m not interested’’ I told him, grabbing my handbag off the table.

We walked through the club and as we reached the exit, Robo’s bank manager shouted,

“Hey, Mary Poppins, no hard feelings eh! How do ya fancy a 68 and a half?

I couldn’t resist it

“What’s that?’’ I shouted back

‘’You give me a bl#w job and I’ll owe you one.”

I had to laugh.

That was the night I found out that most Australian blokes are very funny but if you want flowers, compliments and courtship, you’ll be waiting a while!

After all, there is no such thing as perfection.

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TL;DR: Back in 2018 we launched our beta. We did every possible mistake. We relaunched and so far, it is going quite smoothly. This is the story of all the f*ckups and lessons learned.---Our horrible 2018 beta launch.In 2018 we did our small, invite-only beta launch. It was the first time we ever did something like that, and of course, we walked into it blissfully inexperienced. The excitement, the stress, and stage-fright of finally pushing the product we’ve been working on to the people who signed up to our smoke tests was a fantastic rush. It ended up being one of the most enriching experiences our team ever had. We failed. Hard.Instead of folding and disappearing into the darkness, we did our post-mortem, learned and kept going. The product failed, not the idea; our approach failed, not the concept. “ What do we do when we fall? We pick ourselves up.” And that’s what we did. We came out with a stronger team. It’s more difficult to kill us now, we just refuse to die.Here’s a short story of how NOT to launch a startup:It’s March 2018 and our to-do list is almost empty. Two solid years of designing, coding, good days and bad days. We turned a few drawings into a fully functioning music web app. Music was playing through it, loops syncing… this is perfect.The interface is exactly what we need. I pushed hard for that design. I thought it was perfect. My background is in economics, I’m color-blind, and awful at drawing. Naturally, I’m the best-suited person for the job.We had thoroughly tested the idea. The first round of Smoke Tests helped us to validate the idea — before a single line of code or design meeting ever happened. The response was overwhelming: people wanted this. That was the initial spark that jump-started this madness. We lined up the core working team and plunged into work. It took time, more than we ever thought it would take. I wish I could say we are a team that goes from idea to launch in 3 days. We’re not. Most teams aren’t. We’re no exception.A month before, in February 2018, we took the app to the rehearsal studio and played with it (we’re all musicians). It worked. Did some stress tests. Worked. The browser can hold multiple high-quality audio files streaming at the same time. This works.We got an extra batch of loops from friends and users who subscribed to the smoke test, we ran a Facebook campaign to get more people for the launch. We had music, users lined up. Just a few more touches and we’d be good to go.We coded a basic admin interface, an email-based invite system and our social media was packed with content. We were getting ready to launch a rocket to the moon. And so, by early March, we could see the light at the end of the tunnel.L-Day (launch-day) was set for April 20th, 2018.We were getting anxious. I was bursting at the seams. I was very, very anxious. I was so anxious, I bought a ticket to Amsterdam (we’re a remote team, Federico, our CTO, lives in Leiden, The Netherlands) without much thought — “I’m flying over there to launch this, is going to be awesome!”. Was it my wedding anniversary around the same time I was supposed to be in Amsterdam? Yes. Was it Federico’s anniversary also around the same days I was crashing at their place? Yes. Did I think about it when I bought the ticket? Nope.During that final month we did the migration to Amazon S3, did a backend cleanup, tested the invite system, our admin system, a basic analytics Federico built and we were — almost — good to go.Spoiler alert: did I mention anything about thorough QA? No, I didn’t. Did I mention anything about UX testing for the interface? I think I didn’t. Any hints of where this is going?My ticket to Amsterdam was for April 19th, arriving on the 20th. A 90-minute flight from St. Louis, MO (where I live) to St Paul, MN; a 3 and-a-half hour layover and then 8 hours to Amsterdam. Almost 13 hours of travel time. The same day you decide to launch. This will work, of course.April 19th came. I packed, said goodbye to my wife and got on an Uber to the airport. Not before I made sure to send the first batch of “Welcome to XXX, here’s the link to log in” emails to some users. I wanted to “test” how that went, see what kind of response we’d get and iterate — on my way to the airport and flying over the Atlantic!For the following 20 hours, I behaved like a maniac. Got to the airport, checked in, went to the gate, double espresso, opened the computer and kept going. Re-read a few Paul Graham essays, my notes on 2 books on launching products and previous notes I made. Got to St. Paul, MN; another double espresso and listed all the early users, friends and family who would get the email.“Group 5 for Amsterdam Schiphol is now boarding”. Closed the computer, got on the plane, opened the small table, opened the computer and started to re-write the templates for the invite emails. “Sir, you have to close the computer and your table, we’re about to take off”… Sh*t… “We have reached 10,000 feet, it is safe now to use your electronic devices”. Opened the computer, finished the template, planned the next few days, wrote templates for all the follow-up emails, got my notes and the flow of actions for each scenario. 8-hour flight. Not a single minute of sleep. I’m on a roll.Landed in Schiphol, met Federico, got on a train, arrived at his place, said hello to his wife, fresh pot of coffee, opened the computer, sent 223 invite emails + follow-ups, ate an entire tray of lasagna together with Federico, kept going for another hour, went out for beers.System crashed. Please stand by…April 21st, 2018. Noon. Wake up. Feel I’ve been hit by a train. I need coffee and a decent breakfast.I check my emails and there’s not a lot happening. Strange… OK… we check the app analytics, a good number of sessions but not as many as users on the database. Not even half. OK, maybe it’s early. Let’s wait a few more hours. Early evening comes by, let’s apply the follow-up flow of “hey did you get our invite?” and for those who logged in, ask for feedback. Emails sent. Let’s wait.And the answers started to roll in…“None of the links have worked in the emails I’ve received… the invitation, the email login confirmation or when I downloaded a drum loop”.“I first tried on my phone and it was quite hard to navigate, there was an odd control issue that happened whenever the screen rotated. like it would get the horizontal and vertical screen controls mixed up or something. ““I was trying to access it from an android smartphone and the page was really unresponsive.. in fact I couldn’t get anything to work.”And a lot more of the like. This is not looking good.There were multiple issues that were being reported, and given the time difference between the US (where most of our initial users were) and Europe, there we were… pulling hotfixes like maniacs at 2 AM.When you logged in to our app, we used to send you to the “Profile” view, where you had to fill your personal info (name, instruments you played, your social media, etc). We realized that a lot of users were staying in that view and not doing anything, which was very strange. And then, we got an email with a video.You can watch the video here https://youtu.be/xrh7Ly_Cwk4What followed were two weeks of fantastic feedback (fantastic = you’re doing it all wrong). We fixed all (or nearly all) the bugs and let users know when they were fixed. But, there was still one problem that needed more time to fix: the interface was horrible. The same user who sent the video was kind (and awesome) enough to — instead of sending a note -, he actually sent an audio explaining why our product was not working for him.Audio here https://soundcloud.com/tomas-sawada/robinsfeedback/s-r3gVkAnd that was the case with many others. The interface wasn’t good. Users were confused.A month after the launch our engagement was almost nonexistent. It didn’t matter how much we pushed, nothing was happening.Launch: failed.We let a few days go by, but we felt strong. I don’t know why. I was brain-fried (no surprise there), but still eager to understand, learn and keep going. The team was the same. And so, we did a post mortem. An honest, as unbiased as possible, exercise to understand our next steps.Below, the main points we arrived at:What worked:We managed to generate demand and users to the application and the idea; this validates that we are on the right idea.We managed to generate feedback from users. This was vital to understand our failures.We developed an analytics system that allows us to quickly understand what’s not working.We understood very quickly that things had to change. Within a month of the launch, we were working on the redesign. This means we are being agile to understand the problems and addressing them.We reached 65% of the beta users' goal, and although the beta process is not over, we had an interface that didn’t help much. It was a good number to start.We managed to implement all the features we set out to do, with very efficient code and excellent browser load. That’s important.Users sent us music. We did not have to persuade people with money, gifts or other methods.Contacting users through email gives them the initial push to access the app. For a small launch, it is effective enough.What did not work:We did not achieve our user goal, recurrence, and engagement.Based on user feedback, the interface was not intuitive. Only 1 out of 65 users had a recurrence and solid engagement.Only 1 person used the feedback tab that we implemented.30% got trapped in the “profile” view, which led many to not return.We launched without doing QA or usability testing. The rush to launch blinded us of the obvious.The services offered were too many: Jam, Sell, Connect. We communicated everything together and tried to cover everything. It was confusing for many users.What we learned and have to change for the next versionThe interface has to be easy to understand.We have to simplify things to the fullest. From the offer to the UX, to the communication.QA Testing (cross-browser and cross-device).We have to do UX testing with users several times and fix things before launching again until we see that the application makes sense. Let’s be super critical of what we do.More personal contact with users. While we were sending emails, perhaps we lacked more direct contact, which prevented us to understand the context and use cases.Launch small and incrementally add users. Let’s never again launch to everybody at the same time, especially if we have not thoroughly tested.There’s a limit to the “launch fast and iterate”. If you frustrate your users and they hate the experience, then there’s nothing much to iterate. They’re gone.This experience could have easily killed our team. In fact, an experience like this killed the previous team that Federico and I formed a decade ago. What is most surprising to me is the fact that I repeated mistakes, especially launching like this and doing exactly the opposite of what I should have done: be calm, collected and launch in the most efficient way. A decade ago, we launched a product in some similar fashion — although it wasn’t a code-based product — and I (we) crashed and burned. I few weeks after this 2018 launch I felt like a complete idiot. It’s not a nice feeling to have. Never again.My burnout lasted for a few months, and the team rallied and pushed through like spartans. We want to keep working together. The product failed, the idea didn’t. Our approach failed, not the concept. But we had to change a lot and learn. We changed the interface, we now do thorough QAs, UX tests with users. We don’t take anything for granted.But, most importantly, we’re creating a process for launching products. We still have a lot to learn, but we’re getting closer. We’ve made tons of mistakes, and we’ll keep making them. If we’re making mistakes, we’re moving forward.This experience didn’t kill us. It made us a stronger team. In fact, as of January 2020, we are doing our second launch, incorporating 100% of the lessons we learned. So far, it is going quite smoothly. And while things took longer than expected (don’t they always?), we’re proud and happy with what we’ve learned and achieved over the past two years. We’re here. Up & running.Cherish your failures, they are amazing learning experiences!!Hope is useful for some of you before you embark on a launch spree. May the force be with you.