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nighting-gale17 · 5 years

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I was wondering if you'd be interested in a prompt I've been thinking about. (So buck isn't a firefighter never was, but eddie is and he gets excepted to 118 at the same time he does in the show. And over little conversions the firefam has with eddie they release that he is married to a guy named buck and has a disabled kid). Bonus points for British buck because I live like two blocks away from were oliver stark grow up, my older sister went to school with him

Thanks for this prompt! It was really cute and tbh I had a lot of fun writing it! So basically, in this fic buck never joined the 118 and tommy is still on the team. Hope you enjoy it!

Feel free to send me more prompts you guys :) I love writing these

5 times eddie mentioned buck and 1 time the team met him in person

[1]

The first time Eddie mentioned his husband was when he first met the team and Chimney caught a glimpse of the black band with a red line on his left hand.

“Hey, man, you married?” Chimney had asked, a curious look on his face.

Hen watched as a lovestruck smile spread across Eddie’s face and he nodded, voice proud as he responded, “Yeah. Going on seven years, now.”

“Wow. Pretty impressive.” Tommy let out a low whistle. “You’ll have to bring her around some time, man.”

“Uh, him. Actually.” Eddie corrected, a nervous yet defensive tone to his voice.

Hen felt a grin spread over her face as she clapped him on the shoulder. “Even better, then. My wife would love to meet the two of you.”

At that, Eddie’s entire stance visibly relaxed and his smile turned genuine. “He’d probably like that.” He perked up even more when Tommy asked if he had any pictures and wasted no time in whipping out his phone and fondly showing off a few pictures of their happy little family.

[2]

The second time Eddie mentioned his husband was when the earthquake hit. Hen had already gotten ahold of her wife and been reassured both her and Denny were safe in the house, just a little shaken up. Eddie had been staring at his phone while they sat in the ladder truck, eyebrows furrowed together in worry.

“Everything okay?” Hen asked, shouting to be heard above the roar of the engine and the sirens blaring through the air.

“Yeah.” Eddie glanced up briefly before staring back down at his phone. “Just trying to get through to my husband.”

“I’m sure he’s fine.” Hen reassured him. “The phone lines are probably just too busy for anyone to get through them.”

He gave her a small smile but it didn’t reach his eyes.

“Where’s he supposed to be?” she asked, because some buildings in LA are more earthquake-resistant than others.

“At school with our son,” he said after a minute, his smile softening a little. “He’s a special education elementary school teacher.”

“The school buildings here in LA are the safest place your family could be,” Hen promised as the ladder truck came to an abrupt stop outside of a high-rise. “They remodeled all of them a couple years back. They’re practically indestructible.”

“Thanks, Hen.” Eddie gave her a small smile, looking a little less tense than he had moments before.

“Anytime, Eddie. You’re part of the team, now.” she gave him a cheeky grin before she hopped out of the truck to survey the damage done by the earthquake.

[3]

“Hey, Bobby, can I talk to you for a second?”

Bobby glanced up to see Eddie standing on the other side of the counter, looking a little nervous. “Sure kid,” he put the bowl of meat he had been working on for dinner to the side and wiped his hands off in the sink. “What do you need?”

“I know I’ve only been working here for a few months,” Eddie began, rubbing the back of his neck. “But I was wondering if I could take a few days off in a couple weeks.”

“Is everything okay?” Bobby asked with a small frown. It was a little unusual for Eddie to make this request—he hadn’t taken a single sick day since he started, much less ask for a day off.

“Yeah, no, everything’s great.” He smiled a little sheepishly. “It’s my husband and mine’s wedding anniversary coming up and I wanted to take him someplace special for the weekend. If you can’t give me the time off, I understand,” Eddie rushed to continue, that nervous look reappearing in his eyes. “I know I haven’t exactly been here long enough to—”

Bobby raised his hand, cutting Eddie off in the middle of his ramble. “Take the time off, Eddie,” he replied with a fond smile. His heart ached for a minute when he thought about his own wedding anniversary—how excited he always was to spend the day with his wife every year.

Eddie breathed a sigh of relief and gave Bobby a bright grin. “Thanks, Bobby. I really appreciate it.”

“No problem.” Bobby’s smile turned mischievous. “You can thank me by helping me get the rest of dinner ready for the crew.”

“Yes, sir.” Eddie laughed, rolling up the sleeves of his uniform and joining Bobby behind the kitchen counter.

[4]

“So, Hen, you and Karen are going to be— what?” Tommy asked one day, tossing a bite of popcorn into his mouth and grinning proudly when he caught it.

“We’re going to be Sally and Jack Skellington.” Hen informed them, a small smile on her face. “Denny is going to be the skelly-dog, Zero.”

“Chim and I are going baseball players.”

Chimney felt his cheeks flush hotly at the thought of the costumes Tommy had shown him the other day. He was never going to hear the end of it after the part, but, fuck, he had to admit they both looked hot in them.

“What about you, Eddie?” Tommy asked, craning his neck back to peer at Eddie sitting in the reading chair to his left. “What are you and your boo dressing up as?”

“Well, Christopher has been on a Pirates of the Caribbean kick recently,” Eddie admitted, a small smile on his face. “So we’re going as pirates. Buck is, as usual, going all out with this. He started seeing the costumes almost two months ago.”

“He’s sewing them?” Chimney asked curiously, a little impressed.

“Yeah.” Eddie’s gaze softened as he spoke. “He volunteers on the weekend at the children’s hospital to dress up as superheroes to cheer them up. He makes all his own costumes because he insists it’s cheaper for him to make them himself then buy it on the internet.”

Chimney let out a low whistle. “Damn, Eddie. Did you marry a Disney prince or something?”

Eddie let out a groan at that, a smile pulling at his lips. “Don’t say that around him—he’ll start getting ideas.”

[5]

Tommy loves Thanksgiving.

He loved other holidays as well (Christmas held a particularly special place in his heart) but at Thanksgiving, there was so much food.

“I’m telling you, man, stuffing is one of the best dishes.” Tommy insisted, twisting and turning to look at Chimney for back up.

“It’s good.” His boyfriend acknowledged though it lacked enthusiasm. “My favorite is the turkey, though.” he shot Tommy an apologetic look.

“That reminds me,” Bobby cut in before Tommy could reply. “You’re all invited to our home for Thanksgiving this year. Athena insisted and it would be nice to be with everyone outside of work.”

“Yes!” Tommy replied immediately. “We’ll be there. Athena makes the best stuffing…” he sighed, his mouth-watering slightly just at the thought of the sergeant’s cooking.

“You can count us in too, Cap.” Hen answered with a small smile.

“What about you, Eddie?” Bobby asked, wiping his hands on a kitchen towel as he finished washing up the dishes.

“I would love to, Bobby, but Buck and I are hosting my family for Thanksgiving,” he said apologetically. “Buck tends to go a little overboard on holidays. He didn’t have the best childhood growing up so holidays are always a little extravagant at our house.”

“How extravagant?” Chimney asked curiously, his curiosity only growing when Eddie’s smile turned sheepish and he ducked his head.

“Well, I have a lot of family, so we usually have to end up cooking at least two turkeys, not to mention the side dishes. My abuela usually comes over to help but Buck refuses to let me into the kitchen.” he rolled his eyes fondly. “He practically takes over our kitchen for the entire day.”

“Remind me to send you my mashed potatoes recipe,” Bobby told Eddie, a small smile on his face. “I guarantee it’ll make his life a lot easier if he follows that.”

“Thanks, Cap!” Eddie shared his smile. “Mashed potatoes are his favorite so I think he’ll enjoy it.”

“Okay, but, onto the more important question.” Tommy broke in, face serious. “Does he make stuffing?”

[+1]

The first time Hen actually got to meet Eddie’s husband, Evan, or Buck, as they’ve been told he prefers to be called, it was at the annual Christmas party in the station. She’d been chatting with Karen about what color to paint the nursery when she spotted Eddie walking up the stairs with an, admittedly gorgeous, man at his side with an eye-catching birthmark on his left eye and a young boy on his shoulders.

“Eddie!” Hen greeted, smiling as he walked towards them in the kitchen and placed a casserole dish on the counter.

“Hey Hen, Karen.” He smiled, leaning forward and hugging Hen’s wife and placing a friendly kiss on her cheek. “You look radiant.”

Oh no, Hen thought to herself, watching as Karen blinked back tears and hugged Eddie tightly before she let him go. She was extremely emotional from the pregnancy and any time someone complimented her while she was pregnant she just about started bawling. It was as endearing as it was embarrassing.

“This is my husband, Evan, and our son, Christopher.” Eddie introduced them, a proud look in his eyes and a fond smile on his face.

“Hello. It’s lovely to finally meet you both.” Buck said, a friendly smile on his face.

Oh. OH.

If Hen wasn’t so gay she might’ve swooned.

“You’re British?” Karen asked, a note of surprise in her voice.

Buck’s smile turned shy. “I grew up in London—that’s where I met Eddie, when he was overseas during his first deployment.” he turned and looked at Eddie with a lovesick expression on his face. “We kept in touch and started dating when he was on his second deployment. Then I moved here to LA with him.”

“That’s so romantic.” Karen sniffled, leaning her head against Hen’s shoulder.

“Papa, cookies!” Christopher tapped on the side of Buck’s face, pointing to the decorated sugar cookies laying out on the table.

“Yeah, I see them, buddy.” Buck laughed, reaching up to grab Christopher and set him on the ground. “But you can’t have any cookies until after dinner, remember?” he crouched down and stage whispered into his ear, glancing up at Eddie. “But you and I can split one when your dad isn’t looking.”

Christopher nodded, giggling into his hand before Buck led them away, exaggeratedly checking to see if Eddie was looking before nabbing a cookie off the counter and scurrying away towards the couches where the rest of the team was gathered.

“He’s cute,” Hen told Eddie. “Like a puppy.”

Eddie’s reply was lovesick. “Yeah, he is, isn’t he?”

#911 #911 fox #buddie #evan buckley #eddie diaz #buck #christopher diaz #hen wilson #howie han #bobby nash #911 au #i love these two dorks

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shes-an-oddbird · 4 years

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Christmas at River’s End Mall

Summary - A Christmas AU in which everyone navigates their seasonal jobs, relationships and Christmas spirit, or lack there of, through woven together tales inspired by holiday prompts.

Chapter 5 - Naughty and Nice

Summary - While on a delivery run, Bobbi contemplates why Hunter insists on earning holiday cash at the Christmas Tree Lot instead of taking a job at her coffee shop.

Prompt - Naughty and Nice Relationship - Huntingbird POV - Bobbi

“Kora, I’ll be back in thirty, okay?” Bobbi glances at Kora who is carefully testing the now working espresso machine. She twists the lever to dispense the coffee and it spurts angerly at her before filling the cup. She stares back at it terrified and Bobbi has to fight back her amusement “You gonna be okay?”

She turns quickly, smiling and nodding eagerly. “Yes, I’ll be fine.”

“Call if you need me.”

The machine spurts again. “Will do.”

Bobbi smiles and picks up her carriers of coffees and tea, places them on a pushcart and heads out of the shop. Mockingbird’s doesn’t usually make deliveries, but enough mall employees had gotten together and pleaded with her to send a coffee cart around during the hours they were too busy to get away. It had worked out well enough; bringing in extra income and tips certainly didn’t hurt this time of year. She had a long list of friends and family she wanted to get gifts for and unless some of them got bumped to the naughty list, she wasn’t going to be done in time. Something Jemma points out to her every time she delivers her tea.

“I have most of them, just a few more to go.”

If most was three and a few was something like twelve.

She runs into several shops and then drops by May’s office with the second cup of tea on her cart. May gratefully accepts it and Coulson who is sitting across from her at the desk pouts over his lack of beverage. “Daisy can show you how to get the app.” Bobbi waves good-bye and continues her route.

She swings by the North Pole with two large coffee cups, having promised Elena and Daisy the first batch once the espresso machine was back up and running. Elena practically meets her at the elevator but Daisy she has to hunt down amongst the crowd. She eventually finds her and several kids huddled around a table stacked high with envelops. Daniel, a new volunteer she’d met the other day at the coffee shop was with her, helping the kids write out their names. She’s not known him long but already he is one of her favorite customers. He took his coffee black, tipped well, and looked at Daisy with hearts in his eyes. They’d even had a long conversation about her Antique Espresso machine and he thinks he has a lead on where she could get the part she needed to get it running.

“What are you guys doing?” Bobbi asks cheerfully.

“Writing letters to Santa!” The kids answered in unison making her laugh.

“Yep, and in a few hours, we get to open them all back up and reply to them.” Daisy whispers to Bobbi as she takes her beverage. “Hey if you’re heading outside, tell Hunter to set aside a nice tree for me and Simmons, we haven’t gotten one yet.”

“Seriously, you guys usual have it up by the time the turkey’s out of the oven on thanksgiving.” Bobbi had known Daisy for years, ever since May signed her up for the Big Sis Little Sis program and they’d been paired together. Never once had December rolled around without a tree already up.

“Busy.” Is the only explanation she gives.

Bobbi waves it off and hurries out to the mall’s main entrance. Set up in a sectioned off portion of the parking lot is a white tent with a small forest spread out around it. The twinkling lights were just starting to become visible as the sun arced towards the hills in the late afternoon hour.

She couldn’t even begin to fathom why Hunter took a job at the Christmas tree farm. She offered him a spot at her shop if he needed extra holiday cash but he was adamantly against the proposition. It worried her, even if she tried not to let it. She thought they were in good place, the best they’d been since the divorce but maybe she was wrong.

She slips into the tent, dunking under the low hanging lights. Hunter is just checking out a family and she waits patiently while he helps them load it into their truck.

“I’m taking ten.” He shouts through the tent before he jogs over to her. “What are you doing out here?”

“Thought you might be cold.” She hands him the last of the to-go cups and his eyes light up.

“Someone’s trying to end up on the nice list.” He pulls off his gloves before he takes the cup and holds it tightly in his hands. She raises an eyebrow at his contented sigh. “I take it all back.” He adds suddenly.

“Take what back?”

“Every time I called you a demonic hell beast, you’re just an angel with an edge.” He takes a long swig of the still piping hot tea and clutches it to his chest. “Why is it so bloody cold all the time?”

“Because you’re working outside in December, you can still have a job at the shop, I just hired Kora but were only going to get busier, oh, you could be the delivery boy.”

“No, no, nope, no,” Hunter shook his head. “We already decided that wasn’t a good idea, but I’ll walk you back.” She frowns, because he decided it wasn’t a good idea. But she doesn’t want to start an argument, so instead she lets him take her hand and they return to the warmth of the building.

They make it up to the second floor and detour so Hunter can ask Fitz again if wants to tickets to the soccer match and Bobbi tries not to visibly cringe at the reminder. She had decided that she wanted to get him a signed jersey for Christmas, something he could wear to the game but it was pricey.

They find Fitz out front fussing with the controller of a remote-control car but not actually driving it.

“Hey Fitz, what are you up to?”

“Hiding, it’s insane in there.” He gestures at the store where a line is six customers deep and both registers are manned. Bobbi can hear the impatient babble of the customers and one man’s loud exclamation.

“Hey! Can I ask where you found that? I looked all over for it.”

“It was the last one on the shelf.” The other guy looks more than a little smug about it but the first one brushes it off.

“Could I get one of these from the back?” He shouts at the register worker.

She glances at the box and then back at him. “I’m afraid that’s are last one sir, we won’t have another shipment of them till after the holiday.”

“Sucks for them, doesn’t it, should have gotten their shopping out of the way early.”

Bobbi snorts at Hunter’s suggestion. “You’re one to talk, you’ve not bought anyone, anything.”

“Different circumstances, I don’t intend to give anyone anything.”

Bobbi rolls her eyes. She knows that’s not true or he wouldn’t be working outside in the snow.

“Gentleman, gentleman please!” There’s a crash and Bobbi looks up to see that one of the men has pushed the other, sending him into a display. The other man swings back quickly and there is a sickening thump as his fist makes contact with the man’s jaw. There are several screams and many customers run for the door while others gather around the scuffle like they’re in a high school hallway.

There is another crash as they roll into a shelf of miniature sound speakers.

“Security is on their way!” the manager who had been working the other register shouts but neither of them is listening. A mother with a screaming baby is trying to pull her older child out of the way but he only stares wide eyed at the fight until the tussle knocks over another stand that barely misses him.

“Alright, somebody’s going to get hurt.” Bobbi surges forward, grabbing the fellow who’s clearly winning the fight and hauls him off of the other guy. The second guy, instead of standing down immediately flings himself fists first at the pair and Hunter steps between them, narrowly missing getting his own lights knocked out.

“Come on gents this is ridiculous, its Christmas time, I’m sure we can work this out.” Hunter reasons as the man struggles against his hold.

“I think we’ve got a couple of names for the naughty list this year.” Bobbi’s remark doesn’t sit well with the guy she’s holding back. The man in her grasp swings his elbow back at her, trying to get free. He mumbles something crude under his breath and she tightens her grip, bringing him down to his knees. Mall security comes storming in moments later. Hunter’s detainee immediately starts to cooperate, but it takes a couple guys to restrain the man who had started the fight. As soon as he’s been hauled out of there, Bobbi finds a pair of large brown eyes staring up at her.

“Are you okay!” Jemma has rushed over from her post at the gift wrap station. She’s worriedly fussing over her while Hunter laughs it off and the manager tries to thank them both. Fitz and the other employees are attempting to right the disaster that has occurred. It takes several minutes for the pair to pull away. As exciting and adrenaline filled as the last few minutes had been, they both really needed to get back to work.

Despite this Hunter insists on walking her the rest of the way back to the coffee shop. Making her laugh the whole way about how May should fire her security staff and hire the two of them and Daisy who took down a robber the other day.

“I think she would if that was her department.”

“Oh right.” People often forgot that May didn’t run everything at the mall. “Well Love, it’s been a pleasure working with you, but I’ve got to return to the icy hell that is Kringle’s Tree Farm.” He bows dramatically and Bobbi wants to grin at his antics but instead she sighs heavily.

“So how come you won’t work with me?”

“What’s that?”

“You’re freezing your ass off out there hauling around Christmas trees, when you could be here serving up warm coffee and sweets.”

“Better tips?”

“Hunter.”

“Bob, you know what it’s like when we spend too much time together, all we do is fight.”

She shrugs. “I thought we’d been doing alright so far.”

“Yes, but were not spending every waking moment together, trust me we’re one hundred percent compatible, just fifty percent of the time, I don’t want to waste that fifty percent working with you, there’s so much better use of our time.” He steps up close to her, pressing a long kiss to her lips. Bobbi feels a smile stretching across her face. Hunter was an idiot, but most of the time he’s a well-intended idiot. “Alright that’s fair, but tell me next time, communication isn’t exactly our friend either.”

“Fair.” He agrees. “I’ll see you after work?”

“You know it.” She gives him another quick peck before stepping slowly backwards into the coffee shop. “I’m supposed to tell you to set aside a nice tree for Daisy and Simmons.”

“I’ve got commission to make, they’ll get what they get.”

#huntingbird #bobbi morse #lance hunter #aos #aos fic #christmas at the mall #25 days of christmas

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loveistherootofhappiness · 5 years

Text

Written for my Countdown to Christmas series.

Word Count: 2622

Summary: Seeing the sadness and frustration on Eddie’s face almost made Buck break his silence. Though it was physically paining him, Buck held on to the secret, more determined than ever to make this work. For them.

Also can be read here

-----

“Hey, can we talk?” Buck asked as soon as Athena’s face appeared on the screen of his phone. He felt she was the best person to talk with about this, she may know more than he does.

He could see the question in her eyes as she sat down something she was holding out of frame, “I got a minute or two, what’s up?”

“I just wanted to ask you,” Buck paused trying to find the right words, “has Bobby shown any odd symptoms at home or anything?”

He noticed the flash of worry before her expression settled into a look of determination. “What happened?” Before buck could even begin to formulate a response, Athena continued, “and before you try to lie to me and tell that me you were just curious or some bullshit, I know you called me for a reason, so what is it?”

He sighed, he didn’t want to do this to Bobby, but he was worried and wanted to see if he was on to something. He got up and fully closed the door of the room he was in, to make sure no one overheard him. “So when we were out on a call today Bobby’s nose started bleeding,” he saw Athena’s eyes widen, “now it wasn’t full on, blood everywhere it was just a couple of drops,” he clarified quickly, “I was just worried because it wasn’t hot out and he’s not the type to get them. Unless he does at home.”

“No he’s not, not that I’ve seen or he’s told me anyway.” Athena wasn’t trying to hide her worry. “Have you noticed anything else going on with him?”

“Oh, he suggested that we were getting Chinese when we work tomorrow because he didn’t feel like,” he made sure she saw the air quotes he did, “cooking. Takeout, Athena?” He knew his voice was a bit whiny, but he was more than looking forward to a Bobby style home cooked meal.

He saw a bit of amusement in Athena’s eyes, “okay, okay. Him not wanting to cook isn’t too worrisome. That nose bleed is though.”

“I’ve been keeping an eye on him, like we talked about, and haven’t seen anything until today. And I have been doing a ton of research. Did you know exposure radiation could case aplastic anemia?”

“I did know that actually,” Not expecting her answer, he wanted to ask her how, but he suspected he already knew. “I know a lot of things about... it. More than I should, less than half of it I understand completely, but, we’re not going to worry, because-”

“I know, I know. WebMD can convince you that anyone is dying.”

“That and we’re keeping the faith that he’s gonna be fine,” Athena tried her best to sound reassuring.

“It’s hard, the not knowing.”

“You know I understand. We’ll have the results soon. As soon as we know, I’m sure he’ll tell you. He’s gonna be fine,” she sounded like she was trying to convince herself more so than him, but he knew better than to say it out loud.

“Alright, I’ll let it go, for now, but if he gets another nose bleed-“

“I’ll expect nothing less from you.” Athena cut him off, already knowing where he was going.

Buck leaned back and sighed. He knew talking to her would make him feel better. “This whole thing sucks. I understand working on Christmas, it’s one of the sacrifices of the life we chose, but you just wanna spend these kind of holidays with family. Chris was so disappointed that we weren’t gonna be with him on Christmas.” As soon as he said that, an image of a disappointed Christopher entered his mind.

“Its always hardest on the kids. I have years of disappointed and angry faces under my belt.”

“How’d you handle it?”

“I just let them know how much I loved them and made it clear that I’d be with them if I could, but mom was needed elsewhere today.”

“Yeah, we know that Chris understands that we can’t always be around when he wants Eddie or me to be. It just still-“

“Sucks.”

“Yep.”

It does. I’m feeling a little of it this year, myself. It’s a miracle that I’m even off this year and we can’t even spend it as a family.”

“And that’s what I want. To spend it with my family eating good food,” he rolled his eyes, “not takeout.”

He saw the smirk forming on her face, “maybe I can do something about that.”

“What you mean? You planning something?”

Before she could respond the bell rang, signaling another emergency. He groaned, knowing he’d have to end their conversation. “We’re not done talking about this.”

“You’re right we’re not, because I’m going to need your help. Now go before you get left. Be safe.” Her face disappeared and her phone was back to it’s home screen. He pocketed the device and made a point to call her back as soon as he could.

The call they were handling was over quickly and as soon as he was back at the station, he excused himself to call Athena again. She told him that she was thinking of bringing Christmas to the firehouse, which he more than agreed with. As they planned out the logistics, Buck wondered how they would pull all of this off on such short notice. He also knew that if anyone could it would be her and he was more than willing to do whatever was needed to help.

“So what you’re saying is that there will be turkey?”

“Yes, Buck, there will be turkey.”

The more they planned, the more real it became. They were actually making this happen. They ran over the lists of who all to invite. They planned out how they were going to do the dinner. It was ultimately decided to keep this a surprise. He couldn’t wait to see everyone’s faces Christmas. They decided they were going to play the day by ear and he would keep in constant communication with her. The call ended with a game plan and heavily satisfied Evan Buckley.

As he walked out the room her was in, he ran into Bobby. “Hey, where did you disappear to?”

“Oh, ah, yeah. I just needed to make a phone call,” he said quickly, “Someone asked me to call them back.” Bobby seemed to be satisfied with his answer and didn’t question him further before walking to his office. Buck sighed in relief going in the opposite direction towards the loft.

It was an eventfully uneventful rest of his shift. He yawned as he walked to his locker to get his things, ready to go home and fall into bed. After making sure he had everything, he went to find Eddie, as he was his ride home.

“Hey, man, you ready to go?” Eddie asked as he put his bag on his shoulder.

“More than. My bed is calling me.”

Eddie chuckled, “of course it is. Do you mind if we go by and pick up Christopher first. With it being Christmas Eve, I wanna spend as much time with him as possible today,” Eddie sighed deeply, “since I can’t be with him tomorrow.” Seeing the sadness and frustration on Eddie’s face almost made Buck break his silence. Though it was physically paining him, Buck held on to the secret, more determined than ever to make this work. For them.

Buck put a comforting hand on Eddie, “You know I’m more than good with it. I’m always down to spend time with my little buddy.” Buck smiled at him. Eddie gave him small smile as they walked towards his truck. As they hopped in, Buck felt the need to say, “Everything’s gonna be okay with Chris, I’m sure of it. And hey, dude, it is the season of miracles after all, anything could happen.” Buck gave him his signature toothy grin.

Eddie rolled his eyes playfully, “wow. Sage words or wisdom there.

“Whatever, you know I’m right.” Eddie ignored him as he pulled out of the parking lot.

As soon as they walked through door of Eddie’s grandmother’s home they heard, “dad!”

Eddie ran up to his son while Buck stood back and observed, Isabella closing the door behind them. “Hey, bud, I thought we were going to have to pry you out of bed, what are you doing up so early?”

Buck hugged Eddie’s grandmother, “Buck,” she greeted kissing him on the check.

“Good morning Mrs. Diaz-Cardenas. What smells so good?”

“Buck, I’ve told you before to call me Isabella,” she corrected lightly, “and when Edmundo called me and said he was coming to get him, I thought I’d make some breakfast. And you know how niñito is, wanting to be up to see his father, he put his request in.”

“Pancakes and bacon?” Buck asked, already knowing the answer.

“You know it.” Yes, Buck did.

Eddie put Chris down and they walked towards the kitchen. “Smells good Abuela,” Eddie said as he reached the bacon on the dining table. Isabella smacked his hand immediately, earning chuckles from Buck and Christopher. “Ow!”

“You know the rule.” She said simply.

“Lavarte los manos antes de comendo,” The phrase that’s been drilled into Eddie’s head since childhood, falling from his lips with ease. “I’ll be back guys.”

Buck debated if he was going to wait to tell Isabella and Christopher now or later. He decided now was the perfect time since he had both of them in front of him without Eddie. He sat down at the table across from Christopher while Isabella was fixing his plate. “Hey, Chris, how would you feel about spending Christmas with me and dad at the firehouse?”

“Yeah!” Chris exclaimed a little loudly, eyes wide and full of excitement.

“I thought you and him had to work?” Isabella asked as she turned towards him.

“We do. Athena and I are planning a Christmas party for tomorrow, making sure everyone’s families are there. Everyone deserves to be with family on Christmas,” Buck said, smiling towards Christopher.

“That they do.” Isabella said warmly. “I think it’s a wonderful idea and we’ll most definitely be there. Right niñito?”

“Yeah, we will.”

“There’s just one thing: your dad doesn’t know about it, it’s a surprise. Do you think you can keep the secret?” Buck asked him with mock seriousness.

“You can count on me.”

“I know I can.”

“Alright, let’s eat.” Eddie said eagerly as he walked back into the kitchen.

“Alright!” Buck’s hand was reaching towards a plate when he felt that familiar stinging sensation on the back of his hand. He winced in pain as he looked up to see Isabella giving him the look.

“Don’t think that rule didn’t apply to you, too. Now go wash up before you touch any of this food.” Buck felt like a scolded child, which he found funny. He was holding back his laughter, not wanting Isabella to feel disrespected.

“Yes, ma’am.”

XXXXX

The gang’s all here. The food’s been delivered. Everything’s good on this end. Just waiting on you guys. Oh, and he did tell you right?

Great! We’re on the way back now. ETA about 10 minutes. And yeah he did. :)

Good, he knew the consequence if he didn’t. See you soon.

Buck locked his phone screen after reading Athena’s response. They’d been texting all day so she’d know when the best time to arrive was. Everything up to this had gone super smoothly. And he managed to keep suspicion down to a solid minimum, a Christmas miracle. He was ready to see the look on everyone’s faces.

It was better than he expected when they arrived back at the station and Athena made her presence known. Everyone going upstairs to be greeted by their family and friends. Karen told Athena she was going to bring the kids from the group home and they looked happy to be there as well. It was what the holidays should be.

They did this. They pulled it off.

Later, after everyone had ate until they were full, they all sat around with their respective families, enjoying the time. At this point, no one cared if the bell rang or not. Buck sat on one of the couches, watching Christopher play with the gift he had gotten him and other gifted toys with Denny, Harry, and other kids. He twiddled the mistletoe in his hands between his fingers, when he felt the couch shift as some sat next to him. He knew who it was without even looking.

“It is the season for miracles, after all, anything could happen. Eddie’s playfully mocking tone was, Buck assumed, supposed to be a bad impression of him.

“Okay, a, I don’t sound like that. At all. And b, told ya. Christmas is always full of surprises.” He said cheekily.

“Yeah, well, it’s not the one that’s full of surprises,” Eddie turned towards him and looked him in the eyes, “I can’t thank you enough for this,” the sincerity in Eddie’s voice meant everything to him, “I mean look at him,” they looked toward Chris, “I have seen him smile like this in a while. I’m probably gonna need the jaws of life to get the fire truck away from him. I can already tell how much he loves it.”

“It wasn’t just me, it was ultimately Athena’s idea. We just worked together to make all of this happen,” he looked down at the mistletoe, “I’d like to think I put the idea in her head though,” he met Eddie’s eyes again, “I wanted to do this. For you, for Christopher, for all of us. Everyone deserves to be with the people they love on the holidays.” Buck knew that even if he had to do all of this himself, he would have made it happen, just to see what he was seeing now.

Eddie reached over to the side of the couch, picked up a perfectly wrapped present, and placed it on Buck’s lap. He looked down at the bright blue wrapping paper decorated with snowflakes. He spotted the sticker in the corner that told him it was from Eddie. He looked back up at him. “Oh man, Eddie...”

“Nope, none of that. Just open it.”

Buck did as he was told, ripping the paper eagerly to see what was inside. He opened the small box and chuckled. He rolled his eyes at Eddie before holding up his present, “Mortal Kombat 11?”

“Yep, I know you haven’t gotten the game yet and you wanted to. And, when I completely mop the floor with your ass, you’ll know it’s coming from a special place in my heart,” Eddie had the audacity to shrug, “you’re welcome.”

“Okay, but you got lucky last time. And that sounds like a challenge,” Buck said as he put the game back in the box, “we’re both off in a couple of days, my house?”

“If you wanna get beaten on your own turf, that’s entirely up to you. It think we both remember our Mario Kart showdown at your place,” Eddie laughed.

“Wow,” Buck sucked his teeth, “okay. You’re on. Get ready to regret you ever said that.”

“I’ll believe it when I see it.”

Buck shook his head as he placed the game back in the box and closed it. “But thanks, Eddie. This is- this is great,” his voice caught around the lump in his throat.

“After everything, you’ve done for me, today alone, it’s the least I could do.” Buck was caught by surprise when Eddie pulled him in for a tight hug, which he didn’t hesitate to reciprocate, “Merry Christmas, Buck.”

“Merry Christmas, Eddie.”

#buddie #evan buckley #eddie diaz #christopher diaz #athena grant #bobby nash #911 #countdown to christmas #this was a joy to write #hope you enjoy #fanfic writing hell

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justsmilestuffhappens · 5 years

Text

7 Free day [Songs]

F!ve Christmasses

<*buckle up*>

A Christmas that never was

A - Another Christmas, Another empty house, Another reason,There is no Santa Claus, May all your Christmasses be white,Though mine are blue, It's just another Christmas without you

Buck took another swig from his glass that matched his eyes. Not that he could notice that with how watery they were now.

Who was he to ask them to stay though?

The music station he'd landed on was ironically perfect for how he felt but horrible at the same time.

What was he supposed to have told them even if he did? 'Take me with you'?

Buck looked at a picture of Christopher and Eddie from when they went to the zoo together a while back.

A ding interrupted the song as he saw Eddie had sent a message to everyone. It was a picture of Christopher smiling on his back holding a snowball. How cute?

A drop of water fell upon his screen and for a second Buck thought it was his A.C. until he realized no it was him.

Where did the empty hole in his chest come from?

It was just another couple of days then things would go back to normal. Right?

Maddie and Chimney were on their honeymoon. Hen and Karen had their new child who was warming to them and Denny. Bobby and Athena had May back with them and Harry and were celebrating Michael's recovery.

When would he finally be able to do something about his feeling?

Buck took the bottle and before he could have a second thought downed the half that was left, straight into the sink. He wouldn't put Bobby through seeing him like this, had to stop it now before. Just before.

He grabbed some water and began his trek up the stairs letting the darkness claim the lower floor.

Sip after slow sip Buck got his eye's clearer. He sent a "hope you're having fun, give my little bud a hug for me please" before silencing his phone.

Feeling emotional drained even when he'd done was nothing but sit around and cry for a bit Buck settled into bed. His comforter welcomed him not like a warm hug but as a hollow one.

12:01 am. The clock read. "Merry Christmas." He whispered to no one.

In the morning he'd be fine. He'd shower get to work and go to the party he'd been invited to later. Alone.

But for now he just needed to sleep. To forget about how miserable he felt for a couple of hours.

It wasn't anyone's fault.

Why did they have to leave?

He missed them so much. Did they miss him too? He wished they'd come back as his thoughts drifted into sleep.

A Christmas that was meant to be

β - Feeling Christmas all around, And I'm trying to play it cool, but it's hard to focus when I see you walking around the room, let it snow, it's blasting now, but I won't get in the mood, I'm avoiding every mistletoe until in know, it's true love that he thinks of, so next Christmas, I'm not all alone, boy

"Where did all the mistletoe go?" Chimney asked Hen as they walked upstairs.

Buck was sitting with Eddie. This two day Christmas was looking to be a dull one.

No very close or exciting calls but they weren't complaining on this Christmas eve. They'd be home for a bit tomorrow but back in later on in the day.

"Yeah. I noticed that too. Did Bobby tell you anything about it?" Eddie asked looking back at Buck.

"Huh? No. Maybe we lost a few last year or they were getting old and falling apart." Buck shrugged while sipping some hot chocolate Bobby made earlier.

They wouldn't find where Buck had stashed them. Well not till after Boxing day and it'd be too late by then. No kiss grenades this holiday season.

Eddie got up to get himself a cup as Buck's eyes never left him. Hen and Chim may have seen him but they didn't say anything though however painful it was to watch.

"So buck, you coming with Maddie and me for Christmas or ya got other plans?" Chim asked from hiding his hand of cards from Hen.

"Yeah. Probably party hop. Think Eddie's gonna have his abuela over and said I was welcome to swing by. How 'bout y'all Hen?"

"We're going to Athena's to drop off some gifts and visit for a bit then it's a movie marathon while watching Denny play with the new stuff he gets this year."

Eddie came back to sit by Buck taking a good warm gulp.

"Mhm. It's no Abuela hot chocolate but Bobby made it pretty good." He hummed sitting closer as they watched a rerun on t.v..

The alarm blared as Bobby came out of his office.

"Snow machine buried a guy who was drunk on the job. We're closest, let's go."

Buck didn't plan for the others finding the mistletoe hidden under spare heat blankets in the storeroom when they got back.

"Weren't you the last one on cleanup duty?" Hen said looking at him from over the box.

"Oh! That's where they were. I must have came to get something and forgot. Good thing too with all the cold and flu going around really." Buck looked anywhere but at the team as Bobby took the box and placed it in his arms.

"Well it's a good thing we found them before Christmas was over huh? Why don't you go finishing hanging them like I told you to before and I'll get started on dinner." His words left no room for protest even if buck never would anyways.

When he was done putting up the box Eddie laughed at him. "What's so funny?" Buck had to ask.

"This your way of telling people to kiss your ass?" Eddie asked pointing behind Buck.

He felt the mistletoe he'd forgotten in his back pocket. "No. I'm just distracted I guess" buck shook his head.

"You feeling okay?" Eddie asked coming over to feel his forehead.

"Don't dad me. I won't hear the end of it from Bobby." He joked.

"Can't wait to be off so we can relax with mi Abuela and Christopher tomorrow man."

"Well we've only got a couple hours. With any luck we'll be out before the next big call."

As fate would have it buck jinxed them with a house fire from someone deep frying their turkey in the middle of their dinner at the firehouse."I'm sorry." Buck said as they were on their way.

"Not your fault the universe likes picking the worst time Buck." With the fire out they were able to go home.

Buck went to his and picked up some clothes before going to spend the night at Eddie's to Chris's surprise. It was a good Christmas.

"Mistletoe Buck" Christopher shouted as he came back with popcorn before they opened a gift at midnight.

Buck froze as Eddie kissed his cheek then continued into the living room.

He winked at buck but before he could ask they were fully into opening all their gifts except the ones that Abuela would be bringing over. Buck had to ask him later if that was a one time thing.

A Christmas that almost wasn't

− · − · / I'll find my way back home, And light up every tree, We will hang our stockings for you and one for me, 'Cause Santa called me to make sure I'm prepared, He said "Pack your bags and tell them You'll be there",

Buck could put up with anything for them, he would put up with everything for them. Once he was done he'd be coming home.

His dad's passing right now was like one final act of spite against them. Buck didn't care about their inheritance, or the house, or the cars. But responsibility fell on him with mom gone and Maddie in her current state.

At least one of them had to come and with Maddie pregnant he'd bit the bullet. He always would.

Their dad wasn't some monster, more so a ghost before he was even dead. Buck barely remembered much of the time they spent together.

He'd been here since the beginning of December. One week became two and a half and he was getting desperate. With the funeral already long passed and only the house left he was glad they'd been understanding of Maddie skyping for the reading the will.

It was lucky someone already wanted the house and the cars weren't something he'd wanted buck to have anyways.

Now all he had to do was get to the airport for the first flight from Hershey to Los Angeles.

A snowstorm chose two days before Christmas to stop Buck's in his tracks. He stayed at the airport praying that he'd make it home but doubtful with what the news said.

He eyed one of the cleaning staff messing with a Christmas tree as he was throwing away his water.

"Come on. Please. Why do you do this every year?" The young guy had muttered as he tried turning it on again.

"Need some help?" Buck asked coming over.

"No. Sorry sir. The tree's just being finicky." He checked the plugs but it wasn't working.

"Have you seen if any of the bulbs are loose?" Buck asked whilst looking at it.

"What?!"

"If people touch it while walking by they could have messed up a bulb. All it takes is one sometimes to mess up a whole string of lights."

Buck helped him look as within a minute bits were back alight. "Holy shit. Sorry I didn't mean to say that. You know your stuff mister."

Buck laughed. He couldn't be more than a couple years older than this guy.

"Yeah. We used to have people decorate our house a lot. You pick up on things even if it's just watching people work." With that Buck moved back to his seat.

He looked at his phone to see a new message. It was a picture of Christopher standing next to a hanging shelf on the wall where their stockings were. His was on the other side of Chris's opposite Eddie.

"We miss you. Can't wait for you to get back. Christopher says to make sure to tell you we love you." Buck reads as he holds his phone closer to his chest as if it's the last source of warmth in a frozen land.

"Just my luck. Snowstorm. I'll tell you as soon as we're about to leave. I'm coming back, one way or another."

Buck fell asleep somehow in those chairs after securing his bag and phone.

He woke to a person dressed as Santa shaking his shoulder. "What?" He said groggy.

"Shh." They covered their lips and beckoned Buck to follow. Buck's body was on autopilot as he followed.

Santa silently pointing at a single present under the tree. Buck hesitated to pick it up and read his name.

As Santa urged him to open it with a wave of his hand, Buck did so.

It was a little ceramic firefighter figurine that looked like him. The kind you put in a little village on a table.

Buck looked up from his hand but Santa was gone. The next thing he noticed was waking up to people talking.

"Flight 811 now boarding." Buck jumped up too quickly as he moved to get in line. With the snowstorm subsiding even for a while he hoped they'd make it out.

He felt around for the figurine but it wasn't anywhere as he looked to where he was seated.

After texting Eddie that he'd had the weirdest dream but he had to turn off his phone soon for the flight the plane took off.

Buck made it home for Christmas eve with a few hours left to spare.

He got to the house just before 11 to Eddie already opening the door pulling him inside for a kiss.

"God I missed you."

"I missed you too. Both of you."

"Christopher's asleep. Take a shower and let's sleep. He's gonna love seeing you in the morning Buck." Eddie brought his bag over to their room as Buck hopped in the shower.

Buck was already asleep in the bed once he'd dried off in only his towel.

Eddie shook his head getting boxer briefs on him so Christopher wouldn't be seeing him naked in the morning. In their rush he couldn't ask Buck about his dream but it didn't sound bad so it could wait.

Christopher was shaking buck awake shouting you're finally back it's Christmas it's Christmas buck! It was the best way to wake up.

"Presents!" Christopher said only for Eddie to correct him.

"Breakfast first?" He said.

"Breakfast can wait. I want to see Christopher open my gift. How about only one then a breakfast break. I'll start it while you and your dad pick one each." Buck suggested kissing both of them as he got up to start.

Christopher opened a new video game as Eddie picked a dress shirt wrapped around a new thermos. Buck was given a present as he placed the food on the table. Inside was a new wallet with a gift card for one of their favorite restaurants in it.

After they quickly finished their eggs Buck went to check his stocking and froze when he looked down at the same figurine from his dream.

"Hmm. That's cute. Hey look Christopher we got our own too." Eddie said beside buck pulling their stockings to spill them out.

"I had a dream about this?"

"Your psychic?" Eddie joked.

"I dreamed Santa gave me this at the airport but I lost it." Buck said still staring at it with wonder.

"Santa brought you back just like I asked him Buck."Christopher said hugging him.

"Aww. You know I'd come back Christopher. Even if it was late I'd come back for you two." Buck said looking up at Eddie.

A knock at the door had Eddie moving to let their guests in.

A Christmas that could be

Д - singing to the deer in the sky, singing as they jingle, jingle, jingle tonight, singing to the moon, set it free, you're the angel on the top of my tree, singing to the spirit above, sing your heart out with all of your love, Santa's coming for us,

Eddie watched as the Christmas lights danced on Buck's face while they wheeled into the park set up.

"So a Santa Claus went dark side and now we've got a Krampus slasher on the loose?" Buck asked Cap while they drew closer to the crowd.

"No. The police have a very naughty Santa. We've got a stabbing victim and some decorations that have become a hazard so we need to clear them as much we can to prevent more injuries." Bobby said coming to a stop with the mess in view. Chimney and Hen pulled up beside them as they hopped out.

Eddie saw why there was a problem with finding the Santa it was like a mini convention. It unsettled him that whoever it was could possibly get away with it.

Hen was treating the stabbing victim while Chimney looked to see if any other bystanders were hurt.

"Buck, Eddie, we're getting this metal reindeer off her. Ma'am stay still until its completely off and we have you looked at. It doesn't seem you were cut too bad but you should still let us treat you. 1. 2. 3." Bobby ordered as they lifted the heavy lawn ornament.

"I'm fine that fucking reindeer isn't gonna kill me."

"I'm glad to hear you're still in high spirits miss but please let us have a look at you."

Chimney came over to check her after putting a neck brace.

"So these things were stacked?" Eddie asked as he and Buck moved the deer away from it being in the way or people touching it.

"Has to be some funky welding sculpture. Must have broken off when they bumped it too hard while evil Santa ran for it." Buck surmised.

"Alright! Santa's who have given statements and shown I.D. you are free to go. If you have any information on the assailant please call the department." Athena shouted before she came over.

"Hi Athena. Did they give a disruption." Bobby asked as she hugged him before pulling away.

"Caucasian male, thirty to forty but he'd got a forearm tattoo of a rabbit and a birthmark on his neck so that's something." Athena gestured.

"Hopefully y'all find him before he hurts someone else." Buck said.

"You know it. Strangest thing is no one in the crowd saw where he ran to. They were too shocked trying to help the victim which while making it harder is worth it since one of them was pre-med and helped as much as they could."

Buck moved with Eddie to try getting more of the heavy decorations further from the walking path that they'd been shoved into.

After they pushed the original reindeer sculpture and some other large decorations Buck heard Eddie before he felt himself being punched in the back of his head. "Ow! What the fuck?"

In the next few seconds things moved too fast. Buck whirled around to defend himself.

Eddie ran back closer from where he'd been going to regroup waiting for buck to catch up.

The anti Santa was suddenly there and pissed off. Buck got a good right hook in before there was suddenly blood.

Everyone froze or at least buck did as he took in what he saw. Eddie was finally over and checking buck before turning to the bad Santa.

A metal angel tree topper had fallen and lodged into his arm with its trumpet?

"Don't pull it out! You need to get to a hospital then you're under arrest." Eddie told him while his anger seemed to deflate.

Buck looked past Eddie's shielding him with his body while rubbing his head.

"You're under arrest. We're gonna get you treated and booked sir." Athena said coming over as the Santa gave up.

With him in cuffs and his arm wrapped until he'd gets to the hospital in a second ambulance things were finally calm again.

"Buck keep the ice. Chimney says you don't have a concussion but you feel the slightest bit bad I expect to be told." Bobby said while they packed up what little gear they used.

"Hey Eddie. Santa Claus is coming to Ow!" Buck said inside the truck earning a shake of Eddie's head while Bobby radioed that was a strike for Buck having a concussion earning a groan of I can't make bad jokes?

Eddie wanted to hit him for joking but that would contradict his desire of wanting to see buck hurt. "He was in the box. Guy must be a contortionist." Eddie told buck which only earned a shocked gasp from buck and a quiet no way.

Once they were back in the station he was watching Buck like a hawk along with Bobby as they waited for Hen and Chim.

"You know the last time someone looked at me that hard we had sex" buck joked trying to lighten the mood.

"Like you could handle me, especially right now." Eddie scoffed.

"I don't have a concussion! And I can handle a lot of things, you'd be surprised. Haven't gotten any complaints yet." Buck puffed his chest and wiggled an eyebrow.

"I'm not looking for a one night stand though buck." Eddie regretted how that sounded.

"Who said it's gotta be one. I may not be buck 1.0 but I've got his experience. Just don't go for random hookups anymore." Buck came over.

"Are you just asking me out because you got hit in the head?" Eddie turned to look buck in the eye.

"Maybe that punch was the kick in my ass i needed to finally ask you what I've been too scared to."

"Ask me later, after you're all good. If you still feel like it."

"I will. I'll ask you a million times if I have to. I'm serious. I've been thinking about us for a while I just didn't want to risk anything"

"Good. I look forward to you asking me out at the Christmas party Bobby's hosting with Athena."

With that they went back to sitting around waiting for the next call. Hen and chimney joined as Bobby finished their late lunch.

Buck wasn't lying. He'd ask Eddie again tomorrow and have Hen say he didn't have a concussion too.

But for now he was content to sit here together. At least it was out in the open now and there was hope.

How Christmas should be

5 - I found, what I was looking for, a love that's meant for me, a heart that's mine completely, knocked me right off my feet, and this year I will fall, with no worries at all, 'Cause you are near and everything's clear, you're all I need, underneath the tree

Buck felt electrified like a living Christmas light. Today was the day he'd finally put it out there. He thought Eddie felt something too and it felt right.

Once they were off he'd confess that he'd slowly been falling deeper and deeper in love with his best friend. He had to find out if they could be more.

Their shift had been long with only one major call of kids breaking a fire hydrant and causing havoc with multiple injuries but not too bad that anyone would need to be hospitalized.

As buck was getting ready for the shift to end and to tell Eddie about them the alarm blared.

The shift in temperature had caused the ground to unsettle and a couple to slide off a cliff.

They'd gotten the first woman up but her girlfriend was further down.

Buck repelled lower to get her as Eddie was set to descend with the other girl safe above now.

Buck got a harness on her and they began pulling her up along side him when a large rock fell towards them.

Before buck could think of anything else he moved to shield her and took a hit to his helmet.

Eddie screamed his name as they continued to pull her up.

Buck looked to be okay as he followed behind her being taken into Eddie's guidance.

Once they were topside Eddie was asking if buck was okay while Bobby and hen took the other girl.

"I'm fine dude. My helmet took the most of-"

Before buck could finish he was tumbling. He didn't know if it was his adrenaline leaving him or his injury finally feeling so painful but he felt as Eddie got him before he could full hit the ground.

With his helmet off they could see the lump forming.

"Damn it. Thank God you're off the blood thinners finally." He couldn't tell who said it but guessed it was Eddie.

"We'll take him in ourselves. Hen, the girls are good right?" Bobby said as they moved him over to the ambo.

"They only had a few minor scrapes. Chim and I got him. You two can follow." They were at the hospital in a blur. So much for today being the day. His plan was ruined.

"It's just a mild concussion. You'll be fine. Stay with us Buck" chimney said besides him on the way.

"It's ruined."

"What's ruined?"

"I was gonna tell Eddie"

"Tell him what? You've still got time, "

"That I-"

"Buck. BUCK open your eyes! buck buddy no, stay awake man."

He woke to Maddie sitting next to him on her phone as the tv was quiet.

"Good. You're awake." She said looking over. "You gave us a little scare."

"What time is it?"

"It's 10 thirty. You've been in here for a good two hours. Doctor says you'll be fine but don't want you pushing yourself too soon."

"I'm ruining Christmas"

"No. Christmas is fine. You might be out if your next results are good. Even if you did have to stay here, it's not a problem for us to visit you here or wait a couple days for you to get out." Maddie put a comforting hand on him.

"Is Eddie okay?"

"Why wouldn't he be? He's safe at home with Christopher. Its a little late to visit but if we're still here he said he'd stop by tomorrow. You aren't in pain and you're talking fine. Hopefully those are good enough signs towards you getting out."

The doctor explained more. Buck could leave now but they would suggest he stay. However if he's careful and being watched by others she felt he would be fine.

With Buck signed out Maddie and him got to her place where Chimney was waiting with a late dinner. "Dude I'm starving." Buck said smelling the food.

"You're always hungry Buck. Figures with how big you are your body needs the extra energy" chimney said as buck looked over to see his bag and gifts from his place in the living room.

"I got your stuff from work then wrung by yours after. You'll get to do what you said tomorrow after you rest." Chimney said knowing smirk on his face.

"What did buck say earlier?"

"Nothing mads."

"That he-"

"I had a concussion! Wasn't I a patient? Isn't this a breach of trust or something?"

"He might have said he needed to tell Eddie something." Chimney said earning an exaggerated face.

"Is that why you asked if he was okay at the hospital?"

"There's no breach of trust if you brought it up to her buck. And from what we've seen, concussion or not you two are obvious to everyone but yourselves."

"You really do have a boy crush."

"Stop calling it that. Sure Eddie's attractive, and. I may like him more than a friend should." Buck quieted at the end.

"Don't tell him this but I've caught him checking you out before." Chimney said.

"What?"

"Maybe it's not so one sided Buck. Just talk to him." Maddie looked at him with understand.

After that awkward but supportive dinner and some good sleep they were up and ready for the get together with the others.

Everyone promised to open their gifts together before some of them had duty later in the day.

Buck took a gulp of eggnog as he waited for a chance to talk to Eddie face to face.

He came in with Christopher and they helped get the gifts from Eddie's truck.

Once the kids were gleefully playing with their newest toys buck took the chance.

"Can I talk to you outside for a second?"

"Sure buck. Let me get my jacket."

So they took to the front as the kids were in the back and in Harry's room.

"Yesterday I was planning to tell you something important."

"Hen might have told me."

"What?"

"She just said we needed to talk. You said so in the ambulance before we had to leave you to finish our shift then it was too late to take Christopher for only a half hour before he needed to be in bed."

"Yeah. That's okay. It would have been nice but I still got to see him and give him my gift today." Buck said. "But about that. I know we're friends. I know I might come off as straight but I-."

"You're not the only one."

Buck continued on needed to get this out before realizing what Eddie said.

"I've been into guys before, I just haven't been into many, not as quickly as I was into you. I want that for us. I know that it might be hard but I feel like we could have something."

"I think. No. I know I'm in love with you. I'm willing to try this but I don't want to lose you." Eddie said pulling buck closer.

"You won't. I'll always be here. Its where I want to be with you. I love you two, both of you."

"We need to talk about other things. I have to tell you stuff you deserve to know and the truth."

"I'm here. Whenever you're ready. Now or tomorrow but soon if it's important. As long as we're in this together we've got as much time as you need."

Buck finally did something he'd been thinking about doing for a while. He kissed Eddie the way he wanted. The way he deserved to be kissed. They stayed there with their foreheads connected breathing as the cold air blew.

"I can't believe they knew about us wanting this." Buck admitted still holding Eddie thinking about going back in.

"I can. We see the others every day and if I look back it's been like this for a while. I felt like this."

"Let's go inside. The kids are probably already back in. I want to play with Chris's new jeep. He said he loved it because it looks like mine."

Eddie grabbed Buck's hand and led him in. They were joined at the hip like usual the rest of the afternoon. Christopher was as happy as could be and they were too.

Buck felt like this was what he'd been looking for for so long. They'd work together to make this relationship last. He was in it and he knew Eddie was too. "You feeling good Buck?" Athena asked sitting next to him.

"Better than I've ever been." Buck told her with a smile and he meant it. "Merry Christmas Athena"

"Merry Christmas Buck." She hugged him as Christopher came over with his new drone.

"Cool bud. But you know your not supposed to play with it in doors right?"

"I know buck. Thank you for the jeep."

"Sure thing superman." Buck scooted over for Christopher to sit between Eddie and him. He felt warmth fill him as Eddie and him listened to what Harry and Denny showed Christopher and played with him earlier.

#buddie #solo mio #my writing #buddiemas #12daysofbuddie #12daysofbuddiemas #long #ficlet #fic #Christmas #Buck Buckley #Eddie Diaz #Christopher Diaz #this is a monster and i need to upload it to ao3 soon because wow #tags #pushing the limit of my text posts

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delta-roseblr · 5 years

Note

I absolutely love the last prompt, but that made me think about what would happen if Will or Nico where the ones to walk in on them? I think Will would want to crave into a hole and die. It would be so hilarious. If you ever write something like that it would make my day! Thanks 💖

Hello, Anon.

And hello everyone else!

First, I originally got this prompt following the fic where Wash and Watts walked in on Dean and Felix making out at prom and really ran with the idea. That being said, around the same time another lovely follower, @lua-bruma sent me an amazing illustration she created and challenged me to write a fic based on the illustration. The picture and this prompt went together so well I just combined the two.

I will include @lua-bruma‘s illustration at the bottom of this fic.

Dean pulled up and parked outside hisaunt’s house. Felix was pretty excited about the invite to Solace familyThanksgiving, at least more excited than he had been the year before. Thatwasn’t that surprising because being there with his dad was nothing to becompared to being there with Dean. Still, with all Leonard’s stupid rules aboutwhen Felix could see Dean (and where, how, and what he could do) he wouldrather skip all the turkey and stuffing and spent the day in Dean’s bed. He hadreally tried to convince Dean to do so, and he was pretty sure that Dean wastempted, but in the end, he didn’t give in.

They climbed out of the car, and Deanpractically ran to catch up with him so they could hold hands on the way to thedoor. Naomi Solace lived in the middle of town in one of those little peoplefarms were the houses were way too close together. The risk of people seeingthem holding hands was so high Dean would have never done that before, butsince Felix had sort of kiss ambushed him at school a few days earlier they justdidn’t have to worry about that anymore. School was definitely different nowthat people knew, but it was well worth it to not have to hide.

Yeah, Felix was all for all the cutelittle public displays they could now engage in, but that didn’t make Dean anyless of a dork because he fucking looked at their hands and blushed. Thequestion became who was more of a dork, the dork or the guy head over heels inlove with the dork?

They made it to the front door, and Deangave a quick knock before pushing it open and walked in tugging Felix behindhim. That was the thing about the Solace family, everything was so open.Felix’s family was never like that, so it seemed strange to him, but he waspretty sure he liked it better.

They were just through the doorway whenDean’s aunt immerged from the kitchen, pulling off an apron as she went. Felixknew Ms. Solace from school even though he didn’t have her for English. She haddated his dad too, but she had rarely come around the house or anything whenshe did. He was used to her looking a certain way when he saw her at school.She looked like a normal teacher. Seeing her outside of school was a totallydifferent thing, not that she looked all that different at that moment, but herwhole aura was different.

She tossed her apron over the couch as shecame to greet them with a bright smile. “Oh Dean,” she exclaimed happily, “You’rehere on time!” She sounded so surprised by that fact as she pulled Dean intowhat looked like a brutal looking hug. After a minute, she released Dean fromher grasp and turned to Felix with the same bright smile. “Felix, I’m glad youcould make it,” she stated before giving Felix a quick hug.

Felix didn’t know they were at the huggingphase yet, but that didn’t mean he didn’t hug back. When she pulled back, shedid that southern thing where she patted his cheek affectionately. It was akind gesture and one that made Felix a little uncomfortable. Dean’s family wasjust so cool about everything. Felix could deal with John because it was John,but with Naomi it was different. She was more like a normal parent. Every timeshe was nice to him, Felix felt bad for how his parents dealt with everything.His mom was cool enough except that she went way overboard with what she calledsupport, but his dad was a complete dick.

Felix tried not to be too fucking awkwardas he tried to sound gracious. “Thanks for the invite, Ms. Solace.”

“Naomi,” she reminded with a soft smile.

She had been so nice to him since shefound out that he and Dean were dating. Well, she had been nice for the mostpart. She had overheard Felix cursing at school a month or two ago and hadgiven him the most unpleasant lecture of his life. Otherwise, she had beenalmost motherly to him. She checked in with him subtly during school to makesure things at home were okay. She never said anything, at least not to Felix,but she seemed prepared to offer Felix a place to stay if Leonard became toomuch of an ass about the fact he and Dean were dating. She kept insisting thatFelix could call her Naomi, but it felt weird. The fact that she was so niceonly made Felix feel weirder about calling her by her first name. “You onlyneed to call me Ms. Solace at school.”

“Um,” Felix hummed. He could tell that shewanted him to call her Naomi right then, but he couldn’t do it. It was just toofucking weird. “Okay.”

“Both you and Will,” Ms. Solace declaredwith a chuckle as she turned to Dean to pat his cheek affectionately, “Bringinghome boys who refuse to call me by my name.”

She really didn’t seem bothered. Actually,if anything she seemed amused by it, which was kind of sweet, Felix guessed.The fact that Dean also seemed amused was less sweet, but Felix was going tolet it go. There was no point in calling him an asshole when he was only goingto be home for a week. Also, Felix wanted to get laid at some point and wasn’tlooking to shot himself in the foot.

“Sorry?” Dean replied uncertainty.

Naomi just shook her head like it was afunny family joke or something as she stepped out of the doorway. “Come on in,both of you,” she ordered but in a friendly way. He and Dean did as they weretold and stepped into the house. Ms. Solace watched them enter and then lookedout the door like she was expecting someone else. “Where is your father?”

She was definitely talking to Deanbecause Leonard was not invited to the Solace house for Thanksgiving this year.“Um, he was a bit slow to get up this morning,” Dean explained. He was clearlypicking his words very carefully, so if Felix had to guess he would assume Johnwas hungover as fuck. Dean hadn’t mentioned it, but that was hardly an event inhis house. Dean just shrugged, “I had to pick up Felix, but I would guess heand Bobby will be along soon.”

Ms. Solace shut the front door and hummedthoughtfully for a moment. “I really shouldn’t be surprised, John has neverbeen a morning person,” she admitted finally.

Felix had to admit he wondered what it hadbeen like when Ms. Solace and John were younger because they were just sodifferent. While he had never had Ms. Solace as a teacher, he heard that shewas quite challenging but still fair. Even though she was a very unmarried womanin the south with a kid, she didn’t seem like the reckless or impulsive type.She had dated Felix’s dad for Christ’s sake, and that man was about as boringas dirt. Of course, she had also hooked up with a Greek god, so it was possiblethat she had simply had her fill of interesting and attractive men. John, onthe other hand, was what people liked to call a free spirit when they weretrying to be nice about it. The fact that he had hooked up with Apollo was notshocking in the least because that was a very John thing to do. How the twosiblings could get along, Felix didn’t know, but they were actually reallyclose. It was a fascinating contradiction, to say the least.

“Still not ideal,” Dean’s aunt admitted.

“Is there something we could help with?”Dean was quick to ask. He sounded so damned eager, which was just so Dean to anabsolute T that Felix had to smile a little. He had really been missing thingslike that with Dean away at school.

Of course, there were other things Felixhad been missing too. “Do you need us to pick anything at the store orsomething?” he questioned and was damn proud that he didn’t come acrosssounding overly excited at the prospect.

Felix remembered Thanksgiving when hisparents were together, and his mom always had to pick up something last minutefrom the store. That was pretty much just as much of a tradition as the pumpkinpie. And if he and Dean had to run out and they just happened to find a nicesecluded spot to pull over and fool around a little, well that was just a rewardfor being helpful.

“Oh that is a sweet offer,” Ms. Solacedeclared sincerely, “I’ve actually already sent the boys to the store.” She wasquiet for a moment, almost like she forgot they were there before snapping backto reality. “Would you mind watching all the food while I run out really quick?”she asked, and before they could even think to respond she added, “All you haveto do is watch and maybe stir.”

“Of course,” Dean assured with adismissive little wave of his hand, “I could definitely handle that.”

Felix didn’t miss the I in that statement,and he knew that wasn’t just Dean’s southern manners showing through. The Solacefamily was just full of amazing cooks (except for Will, apparently), but Deanknew Felix was nowhere near that skilled. He could fumble his way through boxedmacaroni and cheese or ramen noodles and that was about it. Dean had once askedhim to watch the onions that he was sautéing, and it had not ended well. Afterthat, although Dean never said it aloud, Felix had been banished to kitchentasks that did not involve actually cooking, like chopping or doing the dishes.Felix was fine with that too because he had no illusions about his lack ofskill.

“Thank you,” Dean’s aunt declared as shegrabbed her purse off a nearby table, “I should be back in no more than tenminutes.”

She ran out the door without saying muchelse, which left Dean and Felix to themselves. Finally a little privacy,Felix thought, but before he could suggest they could actually use that totheir advantage Dean was already heading to the kitchen.

Felix followed because he literally didn’tknow what else to do. Ms. Solace was very nice, and it was kind of her toinvite him along for Thanksgiving, but he still felt a little like an intruderin her house, especially when Dean wasn’t right next to him. As soon as hestepped into the kitchen, he was overtaken by all the best food smells. “Wow, itall smells so good!”

“It’s a kitchen on Thanksgiving,” Deancommented with evident amusement. He was lifting the lid off pots and peekingat their contents as he continued to speak, “If it didn’t smell good, I’d beworried.”

Felix could have reminded Dean that hismother wasn’t much of a cook beyond the basics, so Thanksgiving in the Jacksonresidence growing up wasn’t all that impressive, but he didn’t. He would muchrather focus on the present.

“Yes, but I also get the extra benefit ofwatching my boyfriend being domestic,” Felix commented as he eyed Dean standingnear the stove. He always liked watching Dean in the kitchen, and he didn’tquite know why. Maybe it was the potential in it. God(s) knew that when he andDean ended up living together, Felix wouldn’t be doing any of the cooking. “Ithink I like it more than the food.”

“Oh really?” Dean questioned in anexaggerated way that made Felix know he just loved the attention and praise. Hepicked up a spoon off the counter and started stirring the contents of one ofthe pots. As he stirred, he peeked over his shoulder and smirked back at Felixwickedly, “Well, if you go to Berkeley, you can enjoy that sight more often.”

Felix made a show of rolling his eyes likehe was annoyed even though he wasn’t even close. “Subtle,” he commented as hewalked over to lean against the counter so he could be close to Dean as heworked but not in the way.

Dean had recently developed a newsuperpower, and it was turning any conversation about where Felix would go tocollege. More specifically, Dean could turn any conversation into a fifty-pointthesis on how Felix should go to Berkeley. It was honestly impressive thenumber of legitimate reasons Dean could come up with, and how easily he managedto fit them into almost every conversation. Felix was pretty much used to it atthis point.

Dean replaced the lid of one pot beforelifting the lid of another. He peaked at the contents quickly before looking upat Felix and grinning wickedly. “Not what I was going for,” Dean declaredwithout shame.

Felix could have rolled his eyes again. Hecould have pointed out that he didn’t want to follow Dean to college like alost puppy or listen to Dean talk about how good Berkeley’s computer scienceprogram was. Dean was right too. Berkeley’s program was pretty fuckingincredible, and that opinion wasn’t just based on all the brochures that Deankept sending him.

Felix could point out just how much hisdad would freak out if Felix went to the same school as Dean. Of course, if(and when) Felix brought that point up Dean was quick to reason that Felix’smom would be the voice of reason since Berkeley was such a good school. Yeah,Felix could have brought up any or all of those things up, and he had plenty oftimes in the past. He could only have the same conversation so many times.Besides, things had changed a bit since the last time he and Dean had talkedabout it.

Felix gripped the counter with both handsand used that grip to heave himself up so the was sitting on the countertop. Hemade a show of peeking into the pot that currently had Dean’s attention. Itlooked like gravy, and it smelled absolutely fucking delicious. He dared to diphis finger into the pot just enough to get a bit of the fluid on the tip of hisfinger, examined it there for a second, and licked it off. It tasted evenbetter than it smelled, which was fucking impressive.

“Then you will be happy to hear that Isubmitted my application a few weeks ago,” Felix commented in the most casualand off-handed way he could muster as he made a show of looking back in thepot.

Felix didn’t need to look at Dean to knowhe was staring at him. He could feel his eyes on him just like he could feelhim stop mid-motion. “You’re serious?” Dean questioned with a sudden nervousenergy that wasn’t really like him.

Felix looked up to meet Dean’s gaze andwasn’t surprised by what he saw. Wild hope was written all over Dean’s face. Itwas the thing that Felix had been worried about and was probably why he hadn’tmentioned it yet. “It doesn’t mean I’ll get in or that I’ll go there if I do,”he pointed out sharply. It was a total fucking buzzkill, he knew, but it was awarning that Dean needed to hear. Dean, for his part, did seem to at least tryto reign in some of his visible excitement. “But yes, I applied,” he admittedbefore shooting Dean a fake begrudging look before asking, “Happy?”

Dean grinned ear to ear as he replied,“Extremely.”

Dean stepped away from the stove leavingthe spoon he had been stirring with to sit haphazardly in the pot of gravy toapproach Felix. His hands landed on Felix’s thighs and slowly slide upward ashe moved closer. Felix opened his legs to make room for him to come even closer,and he took every advantage. Even when Dean was standing as close as he could possiblyget - like his pelvis had to be jammed into the counter - Dean kept his handson Felix’s thighs. He did something between a rub and grip at Felix’s fleshythighs in the most seductive way as he admitted, “I feel a little likeChristmas has come early.”

Felix could have told Dean he wasridiculous, but he was just so fucking cute about it, he couldn’t help butsmile. “Good,” he declared before leaning into kiss Dean.

It was meant to be a quick thing, but Deanapparently had different plans. Instead of letting Felix pull away from thekiss, he pressed his lips against Felix more insistently turning the quick kissinto something hotter and more intense. Felix was far from complaining aboutthe attention. It was something he had been craving since the moment Dean hadgotten home. He kissed back happily and probably more eagerly than he should havebeen proud of.

As they continued to kiss, Dean’s handsbegan to wander from Felix’s thighs and toward his back. Dean’s aunt’s kitchenwas so not the fucking place, but Dean’s hands on his ass felt good, so Felixcouldn’t even fucking care. Or at least that was the case until Dean grippedhim and pulled him forward in one swift motion, so that they were pressedtogether.

Felix had absolutely no control over themoan that escaped him. Dean took that as a sign that he should start kissing atFelix’s throat in the most overwhelmingly sexy way fucking possible.

“Naughty,” Felix only barely managed topant out.

“Are you complaining?” Dean questionedwith his lips still so close to Felix’s throat that he could still feel his hotbreath against his skin sending chills down Felix’s spine.

Again, it so wasn’t the place, but thatdidn’t stop him from using his thighs to grip at Dean’s waist more tightly. “Notin the slightest,” he admitted.

Dean caught his lips, and they werekissing again. It was like the flood gates opened on the months they had barelyseen each other. They clearly lost track of all things that weren’t each otherbecause neither of them was aware that people had entered the kitchen untilWill spoke.

“Oh, come on,” Will declareddisapprovingly. Dean jumped away from Felix, and they both turned toward thedoorway to see Will, Nico, and Cecil standing there. “Not near the food,” Willstated in the same disappointed tone before walking toward refrigerator withthe grocery bags he was carrying. Apparently, he was already disinterested inwhat he had caught Felix and Dean doing.

“Gods,” Cecil laughed, “They are just asbad as you two,” he commented looking between Will and Nico with amusement.

“We are not that bad,” Will defendedoverdramatically. If he was trying to be taken seriously, he was reallyundercut by Nico looking unconvinced behind him.

Again, illustration is by @lua-bruma

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mosquitotoes · 6 years

Text

What Makes a Family

Chapter 5: Baby’s Firsts-part 1

Thanksgiving-Nov. 28, 1991

John was driving to Bobby’s house for Thanksgiving dinner. Usually, on Thanksgiving, he would pass out on the couch, holding a bucket of chicken but he decided to do something different this year. Besides, it wouldn’t hurt his boys or him to have a home-cooked meal.

“Alright, boys, leave your stuff in here.” He said, pulling into Bobby’s driveway and turning the engine off. “Yes sir, They said in unison, opening their doors and getting out with John. Grabbing Brooke and her stuff they headed up the stairs of the front porch “Yay, you’we back!” Called a little voice when the front door swung open.

“Hey Vanessa” He chuckled, walking up the steps with the boys. Bobby smiled “Y’all are just in time. The turkey and ham are about done.” He informed, shutting the door once they were all inside. “Good, I’m starving” Sam said, setting the diaper bag on the couch. “I’ll help you set the table, Bobby” John said, taking the cooler to the kitchen.

Once the food was done and the table was set they were all sitting around the big table that Bobby put out. “Daddy, we gots ta say what we’we tankful fow!” Vanessa reminded him from her seat between Sam and Dean. “Do you wanna start us off, darlin’?” He asked, carving up the ham.

Vanessa nodded excitedly “Yeah!” She exclaimed, kneeling up in the chair. “I tankful fow my new fwen Wooke!” Bobby chuckled, carving up the turkey “Alright, what about you, Dean?” He asked, looking over at the boy. Dean grinned, his candy apple green eyes lighting up “I’m thankful for all this food!” He said happily, making John and Bobby chuckle.

After the rest had said what they were thankful for and their tummies were filled everyone gathered in the living room to watch the Dallas Cowboys versus the Pittsburgh Steelers. “Pack your pie up, boys. It’s getting late and we need to go.” John said, getting up from the couch as Sam and Dean went to the kitchen. Vanessa toddled over to John “I have hug?” She asked, putting her arms little arms up. “Of course, sweetheart” He smiled, bending down to pick her up.

As soon as he lifted her up he felt a sudden sharp pain in his back. Quickly putting her down John groaned in pain and held his back. “You alright, John?” Bobby asked, getting up from his armchair. John slowly sat down on the couch “I think I threw out my back.” He strained, putting a pillow behind him.

“I’ll get the heating pad” Bobby said, walking off toward the bathroom. Vanessa frowned “I sowwy, Unca John.” The man looked at her “It’s not your fault, honey. I’m just old.” He assured her, earning a grin from the four-year-old.

As it turned out getting pinned to a tree and sleeping on a small couch for three days straight wasn’t a good combination at all.

December 24, 1991-Broken Bow, Nebraska

Dean looked at Sam from where he stood at the window of the motel room. “What is that?” He asked, noticing his younger brother wrap something in newspaper funnies on the couch. “Present for Dad” He replied, folding up the edge. Dean scoffed “Yeah, right. Where’d you get the money? Steal it?” Sam taped down a piece “No! Uncle Bobby gave it to me to give to him. Said it was real special.”

“What is it?” Dean asked, looking back at the snow. “A pony” Sam sassed back. “Very funny” Dean said, walking over and sitting down on the couch. “Dad’s gonna be here, right?” Sam asked as Dean picked up a comic book. “He’ll be here” Dean assured him, nodding. “It’s Christmas and Brookie’s first” Sam reminded him, nodding to the bassinet on the coffee table.

“He knows and he’ll be here like he is every year.” Dean said, going back to his comic. Sam nodded “Where is he anyway?” He asked. “On business.” “What kind of business?” “You know that. He sells stuff.” “What kind of stuff?” “Stuff” “Nobody ever tells me anything.” “Then quit asking” Dean said, getting up and moving to one of the beds. Sam kneeled on the couch, resting his arms on the back “Is Dad a spy?” Dean looked up from his comic “Mhm. He’s James Bond.”

“Why do we move around so much?” Sam asked. “Cause everywhere we go they get sick of your face and Brooke’s stinky diapers” Dean told him, continuing to read his comic. Sam hopped over the couch and leaned on the back. “I’m old enough, Dean. You can tell me the truth.” He insisted. “You don’t want to know the truth. Believe me.” “Is that why we don’t talk about...mom?”

“Shut up! Don’t you ever talk about mom! Ever!” Dean snapped at him, getting off the bed. When he yelled Brooke woke up and started fussing. Dean turned and headed for the door “Wait, where are you going?” Sam asked. “Out” Dean stated, opening the door and slamming it shut once he walked out.

Sam looked over at Brooke “What did I do?” He asked, walking over and picking her up gently “Do you know what I did?” By the time Dean came back it was somewhat dark. “Thought you went out” Sam said, looking up from a comic. “Yeah to get you dinner” Dean replied, tossing him a bag of Funyuns “Don’t forget your vegetables” He told him, heading to the beds.

Sam followed and sat across from him. “I know why you keep a gun under your pillow” He said as Dean opened a can of soda. The older boy lifted his pillow and saw his gun where he had left it. “No you don’t. Stay out of my stuff” He said, putting the pillow down. “And I know why we lay down salt everywhere we go.” Sam informed him. “No, you don’t. Shut up.”

The younger boy leaned back and pulled John’s book out from the mattress, putting it on the nightstand. Dean stood up “Where’d you get that? That’s Dad’s! He’s gonna kick your ass for reading that!” Sam looked up at him “Are monster’s real?” He asked. “What? You’re crazy” Dean scoffed. “Tell me” He urged him.

Dean looked at him and sighed “I swear if you ever tell Dad I told you any of this, I will end you.” Sam nodded “Promise.” The former sat back down on the bed “Well, the first thing you have to know is we have the coolest Dad in the world. He’s a superhero.” Dean started. “He is?” “Yeah. Monsters are real. Dad fights them. He’s fighting them right now.”

“But Dad said the monsters under my bed weren’t real.” “That’s cause he already checked under there. But yeah, they’re real. Almost everything’s real.” “Is Santa real?” Dean scoffed “No” He shook his head. “If monsters are real they could get us. They could get me or Brooke.” Sam frowned.

“Dad’s not gonna let them get you two” Dean assured his little brother. “But what if they get him?” “They aren’t gonna get Dad. Dad’s, like, the best.” “I read in Dad’s book that they got Mom.” Dean sighed sharply “It’s complicated, Sam.”

“If they got Mom, they can get Dad. And if they get Dad, they can get us” Sam reasoned. “It’s not like that” Dean told him, getting up and sitting next to him. “Okay, Dad’s fine. We’re fine. Trust me. You okay?” He asked, patting his shoulder. “Yeah” Sam whispered, looking away from Dean.

This was a lot for an eight year old to take in. Sam felt as though he had been lied to. “Dad’ll be here. Just like he always is” Dean promised. “I just wanna go to sleep, okay?” Sam sniffled, turning around and laying down with his back to Dean. “It’ll all be better when you wake up” Dean told him as Sam cried quietly. “You’ll see. Promise.”

An hour after midnight Sam woke up to Dean shaking him gently “Sam, wake up. Dad was here. Look at what he brought” Dean told him, nodding to the small Christmas tree. “Dad was here?” Sam asked sleepily, rubbing his eyes. “Yeah! Look at this. We made a killing!” He grinned. Sam yawned “Why didn’t he try to wake me up?” He questioned.

“He tried, like, a thousand times.” He replied. “He did?” Dean nodded “Yeah. Did I tell you he would give us Christmas or what? Go on, dive in!” He encouraged. Sam quickly got out of bed, excited to see what he got, and grabbed two gifts, heading to the couch. Dean picked Brooke up gently from her bassinet and sat next to Sam as he started opening the biggest one “What is it?” He asked once Sam got it unwrapped.

“Sapphire Barbie?” Sam asked, showing him the box. Dean chuckled “Dad probably thinks you’re a girl” He teased. “Shut up” Sam laughed, opening the other gift and pulled out a sparkly baton with ribbons sticking out on each side. “Dad never showed did he?” The hazel eyed boy asked, looking over at his brother.

“Yeah, he did. I swear. Maybe that’s for Brooke” He reasoned, nodding to the baby in his arms. Sam gave him his signature bitch face “And what’s she gonna do with it besides drool on it?” He asked “Dean where’d you get this stuff?” Dean looked away from him and sighed “Nice house up the block. I swear I didn’t know they were chick presents.”

“Look I’m sure Dad would’ve been here if he could” Dean reassured him. “If he’s alive” Sam said, looking down. “Don’t say that. Of course he’s alive. He’s Dad.” He told him. Sam nodded, reaching over and grabbing something he wrapped in newspaper funnies. “Here. Take this” He said, handing it to Dean.

The older boy shook his head “No. No, that’s for Dad” He replied. “Dad lied to me. I want you to have it.” “You sure?” “I’m sure.” Dean put Brooke in his lap gently and took the small package from him, opening it and pulling out a necklace with a black cord and a golden head with horns. “Thanks, Sam. I love it” He smiled, putting on.

Sam nodded “Welcome. We should wrap these back up and take them back to that house. At least they can have a nice Christmas.” He said bitterly, picking the wrapping paper up and getting started.

Little did the boys know that John was stuck on the side of the rode with no gas. Luckily he had called Bobby and he’d be by in a few minutes. He would’ve called the boys but he lost reception before he could make a second call. John waved as Bobby pulled up “Sorry to call you out here on Christmas, Bobby” He said as his friend got out of his truck. “That’s alright. Vanessa wanted to spend Christmas with the boys anyway” Bobby smiled, getting his gas can out of the back and filling up John’s car.

“Hi Unca John!” Vanessa said, leaning out the opened window. John smiled, ruffling her hair “Hey, kiddo. Excited to see the boys and Brooke?” He asked. The four year old nodded excitedly “Yeah!” Bobby chuckled, finishing up “You’re all set, John. Let’s go see those rugrats of yours.”

March 17, 1992-Akron, Ohio

John shook both his boys awake gently “Get ready for school, boys. There’s breakfast sandwiches on the table.” He said, turning on the lights. Dean rubbed his eyes “Do we have to go to school, Dad?” He asked, sitting up. John nodded as he fed Brooke “Yes, you have to” He replied. Even though they moved around alot John still wanted them to have a good education and get good grades.

After both boys ate and got ready John drove them to school. They got to Garfield High first since it was closer to the motel. “Have a good day at school, dude” John said as Dean got out. The thirteen year old slung his backpack over his shoulder “Thanks, Dad, I will.” He smiled, shutting the door and walking up to the entrance. John smiled back “Sammy, you can come sit up front with me if ya want” He said, looking at him from the rearview mirror.

Sam shook his head without looking up from his book “No, thanks” He said, turning the page. John nodded and started driving toward Robinson Elementary. Sam was still mad at John for keeping the whole monsters thing from him. And rightfully so but boy could that kid hold a grudge.

“Have a good day, kiddo” John said, parking in front of the school. Sam closed his book, nodded and got out of the Impala, shutting the door. John sighed as he made his way into the building. “I don’t know what I’m gonna do with him, Brooke.” He said, looking down at the three month old.

Brooke cooed and gave him a toothless grin as she chewed on her little gloved hand. John chuckled, driving out of the school parking lot and back to the motel. Once they were back John took off Brooke’s gloves “I know, angel. Let me get you a teething ring” He said, heading to the kitchenette as Brooke fussed. “It’s a good thing I picked some up when I got breakfast, huh?” He stated, opening the freezer and giving one to Brooke.

As soon as the ring was in her little hand she started crying and threw it on the floor. “It’s alright. Shh. We’ll go a different route” He soothed, bouncing her in his arms and opening a cabinet. John grabbed a whiskey bottle and set Brooke in her bassinet. Once he gently rubbed a droplet or two on her gums she calmed down. “See? All better” He smiled, laying her back down gently in her bassinet.

John had done that with his boys before so he really didn’t see a problem with it. “Daddy’s got some research to do so I’m sure you won’t mind watchin’ some Wiggles” He said, making a little fortress of pillows on the bed. Just as he was about to turn on the TV he heard Brooke wheezing. Walking over he saw that his little girl’s cheeks were red and splotchy and her eyes were getting puffy. “Oh shit” He whispered, grabbing Brooke and his keys.

The man bolted out the door, not bothering to lock it or put on his coat, and got into the Impala. John held Brooke close as he floored it to the hospital, praying the whole way. What would’ve been a sixteen minute drive from Econo Lodge to Summa Health System turned into only a five minute drive. John parked at the entrance and busted into the hospital, almost running into a doctor in the process. “Please help my baby!”” He said frantically, practically hyperventilating at this point.

A nurse took her gently from his arms and brought her to one of the exam rooms. The doctor put his hand on his shoulder “We’ll help, sir. Just take a deep breath and explain what happened.” When the doctor put his hand on John’s shoulder the latter felt a sense of calm wash over him. Dr. Custodio guided John to the seating area as he breathed deep “Alright, now what happened?” He asked, sitting down next to him.

Once John told him what had happened the doctor nodded “I’ve seen this pretty often. It’s likely your daughter is allergic to alcohol.” He said, standing up “I’ll go see how I can help and check back with you.” John nodded, standing as well “Thank you, Doctor” He said, shaking his hand. “No problem sir” Dr. Custodio smiled, letting go of his hand and walking off to the exam room.

“How is she, nurse?” Gabriel asked, shutting the door behind him. “A little better now. I’d do more but I’m afraid I’ll activate her powers before she’s ready.” Pele replied with her hand on Brooke’s stomach. Gabriel nodded, rolling up his sleeves “Alright, lemme take over” He said, walking to the other side of the table.

His usual honey colored eyes were bright blue as he put a glowing hand over the tiny baby before him. “Huh, not only is she allergic to alcohol but she also has asthma. Oh and Synesthesia.” Gabriel diagnosed as he continued to heal her. Soon Brooke’s cheeks and eyes were completely clear. Brooke cooed happily, grabbing at his big golden wings. Young kids and babies could see an angels wings.

Some adults could too but that meant that the angel was their guardian. Gabriel chuckled “You like those, huh?” He asked, bouncing her gently. Pele smiled “She’s growing up so fast” She remarked, playing with her curls. “Wanna hold her while I go give him an update?” Her friend asked. Pele nodded “I’d love to” She smiled, taking her gently from him.

Brooke cooed happily, grabbing at her mom’s long curls as Gabe stepped out and headed to the waiting room. John had not stopped pacing back and forth ever since the doctor went into the exam room. “How is she?” The worried father asked, chewing on his thumbnail nervously. “She’s doing just fine right now. We ran some tests and found that she is allergic to alcohol. She also has asthma but that shouldn’t affect her until she’s older.” He explained.

“Thank God” John said, looking up and breathing a sigh of relief that he didn’t know he was holding in until now. “What do I do about her teething then?” He asked, looking at the doctor. “I suggest a cool washcloth and if that doesn’t work then tray a warm one” Dr. Custodio recommended. John nodded “When can I take her home?” He asked, switching his weight to one foot. “I’d like to keep her here for a day or two to keep an eye on her. But you’re welcome to go ahead and see her” He smiled.

John nodded, smiling back “Thanks again, doctor” He said, putting his hand out for him to shake. Dr. Custodio shook his hand, patting him arm “No problem, sir” He said before walking off down the hall. The nurse walked out of the room just as John was walking over “I’ll be by later to bring her some formula.” She smiled. The man nodded, smiling back and looking at her nametag “Thank you, Ember” He said. “It’s no problem. Oh, I need your names” She told him.

“I’m Archer Yar and she’s Natasha.” He replied. Ember nodded “Alright, thank you, Mr. Yar.” She said, heading over to the receptionist’s desk. ‘Of all the names you could’ve picked, John, you decide to go with some from Star Trek? What a nerd.’ She thought, chuckling to herself. John walked in and gingerly picked his babygirl up “Hey, princess. You doin’ alright?” He asked softly, sitting down in the little rocking chair by the bed. “I’m sorry for what I did, sweetheart.” The Hunter told her, kissing her head gently.

Pele stood by the door out of John’s line of sight and smiled, knowing she made the right choice. John rubbed her cheek with his thumb gently “You don’t know how much I love you, pumpkin” He whispered as he rocked in the chair. Brooke grinned slightly, slowly dozing off. John chuckled, glancing over at the clock and seeing it was nearing three. Grabbing his phone from his shirt pocket he dialed on of his friends.

It rang a few times before a man’s voice came through “Hello?” John held the phone between his shoulder and ear “Hey, Caleb, it’s John. Are you anywhere near Summa Health in Akron?” He asked. “Yeah, I just got done with a hunt in Cuyahoga Falls, why? Something happen?” John got up, bouncing the sleeping baby in his arms “Long story short Brooke’s allergic to alcohol and they wanna keep her for a few days for observation. I just need a favor from you. Do you mind picking the boys up from school?”

“Course not. Just give me the directions and I’m there, man.” A few minutes went by and two young boys walked in with a man “Excuse me, ma’am” He smiled at the receptionist. “Can you tell me where Archer and Natasha Yar are?” The man questioned. The receptionist looked up from her magazine “Room 12. Right down the hall” She replied. Caleb nodded “Thank you. C’mon kiddos” He said, heading down the direction with the boys.

Caleb knocked on the door before opening to reveal John in the rocking chair feeding Brooke. “Hey, boys” He greeted as they ran in. “Hey, Dad. What happened?” Dean asked, getting on the bed with Sam. “I screwed up.” John said simply. “You remember when I would rub Sam’s gums with alcohol to help ‘em?” He asked. His eldest nodded “Yeah I remember” He said.

“Well, as it turns out Brooke’s allergic” John said, putting the bottle on the nightstand and patting her back gently. “Not really your fault, Dad” Sam spoke up. That was the first full sentence he had gotten from him in awhile. John smiled “Still I should’ve had her tested like I had you both tested for your allergies. I knew better but I assumed she’d be alright.” He told them. “And do you know what happens when you assume?” Their father questioned.

Both boys grinned “You make an ass out of you!” They said in unison. “That’s right” John chuckled. Caleb smiled “So is she gonna be okay?” He asked, leaning against the doorframe. John nodded “Yeah, she’ll be fine. The doctor fixed her up real good” He said. “Does that mean we have to spend the night here?” Dean asked.

John nodded “Fraid so, dude” He replied. “Or I can take em back to the motel and watch em until y’all come back” Caleb offered. “You sure?” John asked, looking up at him. The younger Hunter nodded “Positive. It’s been awhile since I’ve hung out with these brats” He said jokingly. John chuckled “Alright, thanks, man.”

Once the two days were up everything went back to the way it had been before.

Easter-April 19, 1992

The Winchesters were in Cape Elizabeth, Maine to visit John’s mom, Millie, and his stepdad, Oscar. They both owned a bed and breakfast called Sandcastle Cove. The fifty-seven year old woman waited on the front porch eagerly despite it being cold. Once the Impala pulled up Millie jogged over “I’m so happy to see you!” She smiled, hugging Sam and Dean tightly once they were out of the car. The boys hugged her back, smiling “Good to see you, too, Grandma” Sam said.

They really didn’t get to see each other very often but John tried to visit every Easter. Millie kissed their heads “You’ve both gotten so big!” She observed as John got out of the car. “Now, what’s this I hear about a new grandbaby?” She asked, turning to her son. John smiled, raising up the bassinet that had a four month old Brooke nestled inside.

Millie beamed “Oh, my goodness! She gorgeous, Johnny” She declared, gently scooping her out of the bassinet. Brooke cooed, grinning at her and showing off her first tooth. “Come on inside. There’s cookies waiting for you” She smiled, walking up the pathway with them. “Where’s Grandpa?” Sam asked, opening the door and walking inside. “He’s down at his auto shop. He’ll be back in a little bit” Millie told them, shutting the door once everyone was inside.

Oscar was the one who taught John everything he knew about cars. “If the weather permits would you two like to go hunt for Easter eggs with some of the local kids?” Millie asked, rocking Brooke gently and holding her close. “Yeah!” The boys exclaimed, munching down on their cookies. Just then the front door opened to Oscar. “Grandpa!” The boys said happily, running over to hug him. Oscar laughed heartily “Hey, boys! Have a good drive?” He asked, hugging them back.

“Yeah! We got to explore the lighthouse yesterday!” Sam grinned. “Ah, Two Lights. I know it well” Oscar nodded, smiling and ruffling his hair. Millie smiled “Ozzy, come meet your granddaughter” She said. Oscar walked over and gently took the baby from Millie’s arms “She’s beautiful” He smiled, looking down at her.

Once they all got acquainted Millie took the kids to the back porch to let them try their hand at whittling. They had learned when they were there last Easter. Millie sat in the rocking chair, feeding Brooke while they whittled. “You boys remember what to do right?” She asked. Sam and Dean nodded “Yes, ma’am” They said in unison, getting started.

After whittling their creations they showed them off to Oscar and John. “I tried to make the Impala” Dean said, holding it up to show them. John smiled, taking it from him gently “It looks just like it. Good job, son” He said, clapping his back. Dean smiled happily “Thanks, Dad” He beamed. “What’d you make, Sammy?” John asked, looking over at him.

“A box!” He smiled, holding it up for them to see. John smiled, taking it from him “Very nice, Sammy” He praised. “We’ll have to sand em down and lacquer or paint em” Oscar smiled. Millie looked out the window “You guys’ll have to do it later because the kids are coming. You boys ready to hunt some eggs?” She asked. “Yeah!” The boys exclaimed, grabbing a basket each.

Millie took them to the big backyard where the kids were gathered. “It’s good to see you all again!” She smiled, looking at them all “I only have one rule: Have fun!” With that the kids were off to look for eggs and Millie went back inside. Sam saw a bright green egg by the swing set.

Once he got close enough to it one of the bigger kids shoved him out of the way and picked it up. “Hey, that’s mine! I saw it first!” Sam glared, getting up and dusting himself off. The boy shrugged “So? I got it first, squirt” He smirked, pushing him again. “Hey! Give it to him and leave him alone!” came a voice.

The boy turned around and was met with candy apple green eyes glaring at him. If looks could kill the older boy would be dust. “Or what, freckles?” He taunted, pushing him slightly. “Or this!” Dean said, punching him square in the jaw. As soon as he punched him he felt pain in his knuckles.

The older boy grabbed his throbbing jaw and glared at Dean “You asked for it!” He declared, tackling him to the ground. The other kids gathered around chanting for them to fight as Sam ran inside to get someone. By the time John had come out Dean had the upper hand. Wading through the sea of children John pulled Dean off the other kid.

“Whoa! Whoa! Hold it!” He raised his voice, holding the other boy back with one hand as the chanting died down. “You have some explaining to do, boy” John said sternly, looking at Dean. They walked back inside with John’s hand on Dean’s shoulder. “Go back to hunting eggs, everyone” Millie said before pointing to the boy that started it all “Except for you. You can go home.”

John handed Dean a bag of ice and sat down next to him at the kitchen table. “Wanna explain what happened out there?” He asked as Dean iced his hand. His eldest son nodded, looking down. “Kid was picking on Sammy then he pushed me. So I punched him and he tackled me.” He explained.

“Am I in trouble?” He asked, looking back up at him. John shook his head “Nah” He said, smiling slightly “But I am gonna teach ya how to punch without hurting your knuckles, though” John chuckled, ruffling his hair.

That was an Easter they’d never forget.

#Supernatural #Brooke Winchester #Sam Winchester #John Winchester #Bobby Singer #Vanessa Singer #Millie Winchester #Gabriel Supernatural #Pele #Winchester Sister

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crashdevlin · 6 years

Text

Holidays, not Holy-Days

Red Queen Chronicles Masterlist

Author’s Note: Originally posted to ao3 (This is an edited and improved version) Part Two of the Red Queen Chronicles!

Summary: Cassie Campbell brings her teammates and friends together for her first ever Christmas dinner. 2 aliens, an atheist, her boyfriend's ex-wife, her ex-boyfriend and an all-American lab rat worried about her mental health. What could go wrong?

Word Count: 8148

Pairing(s): Phil Coulson x OFC (Past), Clint Barton x OFC,

Story Warnings: 18+, HERE BE SEX!!! DON’T READ IF YOU’RE A YOUNG’UN!!!, kitchen sex, protected vaginal sex, oral sex (fem rec), identity issues, panic attack,

"Because, Clint, I know that at least two of us, probably three, have never had a Christmas dinner and Wanda hasn't had one since she was orphaned. You guys are my family and I really want everyone here. I've got this big old house to myself and I don't want that on Christmas. I know Nat's not busy. You're retired. You can't say 'no'."

"What about Laur-"

"I asked Laura. She wanted nothing to do with it. Apparently, she and the kids don't leave the house much around Christmas just in case Barney comes home. I think that's probably a real depressing place to be if he doesn't show, so come to Washington. Spend Christmas with your girlfriend and your friends."

Static came through the phone as Clint sighed. "Who is gonna be there?"

"Well, Pepper confirmed for her and Tony, but I'm gonna double check with him. I think I've caught Thor's attention, or at least Heimdall's, so I'll hear from him soon. I sent Steve a paper invite via snail mail a week ago, so I'm gonna call to see if he got it. Wanda and Vision both confirmed and Sam said he has to see what's going on with his family, but he would probably stop by. I'm gonna call Phil after I get off with you, invite him and his people."

"You gonna have enough food for all those people?"

"I'm making a goose, a turkey, and a ham, three kinds of potatoes, four casseroles, homemade rolls, store-bought rolls, cranberry sauce from scratch and 6 different kinds of pie. I have a chart to make sure everything is ready at the same time. I got this. Now, I just need you."

"Oh, tug at my heartstrings. Fine. I confirm for me and Nat. See you on the 22nd, babe."

"Love you, Hawkeye." She hung up and wiped her hand down her face. "Visit or call? Visit or call?"

Cassie sighed and hit the buttons on her landline to call Coulson. "Cassie. How's Seattle?"

"Rainy, but beautiful. Exactly what I expected. So... how's the... lack of hand?" She grabbed a mug and filled it with coffee.

"It's... bad. I'm having issues. My robotics guy is behind on making a prosthetic because our biologist disappeared and they were joined at the hip, but... is that why you called, Cass?"

"No, actually. Well, kinda. I know that the last several months have sucked for pretty much everybody and I'm thinking that we all need a bit of happy. I am hosting a Yule feast on the 22nd, and I'd like you and your A-Team to come."

"Yule Feast?"

"Yeah. I'm inviting a Viking God and a couple atheists, so I didn't want to go too religious on it. That's why I'm doing it early and calling it 'Yule'. It's gonna be great and I'd really like you and yours to be there."

"Even Bobbi?"

"Uh, yeah. Actually, I have a gift specially for her."

"Really? Aren't you dating Barton?"

"I am. Since before Sokovia, actually, since I know you wanna know. No, I developed a thing in my Stark Tech lab that I think screams 'Mockingbird'. I got Tony to agree let me give the prototype to her. If she has any complaints, it'll help me tweak it before any sort of production."

"So... you're calling to invite me and mine to Yule dinner?" There was silence for a few seconds, then Coulson asked, "Are you making sweet potatoes?"

"And sweet potato pie. Mac and Cheese casserole, mashed potatoes and those rolls I made on your birthday."

"What can I bring?"

"Just you and some presents."

"We'll be there."

"Great. See you in a few days." She turned off the house phone and took a drink of her coffee. "Call Tony," she demanded of her cell phone.

"You know who you called. Leave a message."

"The Boss is unavailable. Would you like to leave a message?" The Irish accent of FRIDAY came through the speaker.

"Oh, come on! FRIDAY, tell the man to answer his phone. Tell him I burned down StarkTech Olympia and the insurance guys are gonna be calling next."

"That's not funny." Tony's voice came through the speaker next.

"But effective, wasn't it, Boss?" Cassie asked, with a smile.

"What do you need, Campbell?"

"A vacation and a raise, but beyond that... Pepper RSVP'd for the two of you and I just wanted to make sure she even mentioned it to you before she did that."

"RSVP'd... to your little Christmas thing?"

"Right."

"Yeah. I told her to. We're good."

"Awesome. Everyone's gonna be here. Well, not everyone. Still can't seem to get a bead on Banner and he doesn't really seem like the Christmas type, but... Clint, Nat, Vision, Wanda, Sam, Phil and his crew and you and Pepper are definitely coming. I have a raven to Asgard-don't ask- and an invitation traveling USPS to New York for Steve. It's an actual paper Christmas card. Hallmark just says some things better than me."

"No. You just wanted to make Rogers feel at home. All those words you throw around, no one could say it better than you."

Cassie chuckled. "I got a blank snowman card and wrote inside it. You know me so well, Tony."

"Do you need me to bring anything? I mean, do you need me to tell Pepper we need to bring something?"

"If you want liquor, you have to bring it. I've been keeping a dry house. And... I know how you are about the holidays, so... that's what you should bring."

"All right. Next week. And StarkTech Olympia better be standing and ready for a walk-through when I get there."

"You're gonna make me give you a tour of the lab on Christmas?"

"The 22nd isn't Christmas. I don't even think it's Yule this year."

"Actually, it is. I looked it up."

"Uh-oh. You aren't getting into all that occultist weird stuff that Hitler got your daddy into, are you?"

"I'm insulted, Tony. Even as a joke, that's insulting. I was trying to be more accommodating for the aliens and agnostics on our team, all right? I'm still a Christian and I will be celebrating my savior's birth, likely alone, a few days later. This isn't about the Holy-day, this is about family."

"Yule isn't about family. It's about the God of the Sun dying and being reborn. It's kinda like Easter, without the fertility symbols."

"Oi, don't shit on my religion, Stark. Easter is not about the bunny or eggs, it's about Jesus becoming the Walking Dead. Just be here on Yule and bring booze. I have the feeling we're gonna need it." She hung up before he could and stretched her neck to relieve some of the stress.

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

Clint showed up the night of the 21st, calling forth a squeal from the superheroine. She wrapped her arms around him and kissed his cheek. "House smells like pie," Clint said.

"That's 'cause there's three pies in the oven."

"Three? Thought you were doing six?"

"Apple, pumpkin and sweet potato are in now. I've got a no-bake chocolate and a lemon meringue in the fridge setting and I did a pumpkin cheesecake yesterday. Bonus, I wanted to know if I was any good at pecan, so I made an extra pie."

"Wow. You got really into this, didn't you?" Clint asked, flicking a sprig of mistletoe hanging in the doorjamb between the foyer and the living room.

"I didn't have Christmas for twenty years and then, Phil was usually working on Christmas. This is the first time I've ever had a chance to do Christmas. I bought a whole bunch of ornaments and stuff. I've got a real freakin' pine tree in my living room. Real mistletoe that I had to buy through a florist. The dinner. I'm excited."

"How excited?" Clint asked, wagging his eyebrows at her.

"Are you asking for Christmas sex, because I am severely behind on my mise en place?"

"Your what?"

"Food prep. You know, giant meal tomorrow."

"And if I help you with your preparazione del cibo, you can come take a break and show me what you've done with your bedroom since I helped you move in."

"It's been months, Clint. You think we'll even make it up those stairs?" she asked.

"Love it when you turn the modesty off for me," he said, wrapping an arm around her and pulling her into a deep kiss.

She moaned into his mouth and tried not get pulled into the feeling of having Clint's hands on her hips again. She put her hands on his shoulders and pushed back from him firmly. "No. I... Clint. There's a lot to do still."

"And sixteen hours 'til the other guests come through that door. You said it, babe, it's been months." Clint brought his fingers up and began to unbutton her green cardigan. "This is adorable on you, by the way. Can we take it off for a sex... I mean, sec."

"Clint. What if the pies burn?"

He pulled the sweater down her arms and tossed it toward the counter. It landed perfectly, hanging from the corner of a slightly open drawer. "We don't even have to leave the kitchen."

"That's not very... sanitary," Cassie breathed out as Clint pulled her camisole top over her head and threw it over to hang with her sweater.

"You have seen my apartment in Bed-Stuy, haven't you?" Clint asked, turning her around and pushing her so that she was leaning over the counter. "How much do you think I care about sanitary? Thank you for wearing a skirt." He kissed the back of her neck as his hands glided down her legs to pull her skirt up around her hips and hooked his fingers in the band of her panties.

"There's really only one thing in this kitchen I've been dying to eat, Cass, and it's not in the oven."

"Oh. Don't be vulgar."

He pulled her panties to her feet and kissed his way up the back of her thigh. "You love it when I'm vulgar." He picked her left foot up and pushed it to rest on the counter. His tongue delved quickly into her as his left hand came around to rub her clit. His right hand dug into his back pocket and tossed a condom onto the counter. It landed perfectly on the back of Cassie's hand, as Clint continued his assault.

She ripped the foil open and handed it backward to Clint, who stood, pulling his jeans down and rolling the condom over his mostly-hard length. "Wasting no time, huh?"

"Hey, you're the one that's worried about pies. And I've been thinking about this since before I got on that plane. I'm more than ready enough. You need more foreplay?"

"God, no. Just fuck me, we can do this the right way after the guests leave."

"My thoughts, exactly." He lined himself up with her, putting his left hand on her shoulder and his right on her hip. He pushed the head of him into her, both of them closing their eyes at the sensation. He swiveled his hips forward until he was completely sheathed in her. "Did I mention how much I've missed you?"

"Missed me or missed this?"

"It can't be both?" He asked.

"Such a charmer," she whispered as he pulled back until he was just barely inside her. She bit her lip in anticipation and let her head fall forward as he began a fast-paced piston motion. "Fuck, Clint."

"Gotta visit more." Clint groaned as he attached his mouth to the junction where her shoulder and neck met.

"Oh, yes. Please. I need more of this in my life." She whimpered as Clint brought his left hand around to rub furiously at her clit.

"I'm gonna cum. You gonna cum with me?"

"Harder, Clint."

"Bossy," he breathed in her ear, but his next several pumps were harder and he pressed his fingers into her clit with much more pressure. As the muscles inside of her began to clench, Clint grunted his approval and emptied into the condom.

Cassie reached forward and grabbed several paper towels, as Clint pulled the condom off and tossed it into the trash. She handed the paper towels to him and reached down to pull up her panties. "I love you and that was great, but... I have to wash my hands and check on pies. Why don't you go put your bag in the bedroom?"

"I love you and that was great." He kissed her cheek and walked out of the kitchen, fattening his jeans.

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

Thor's arrival brought rain down on the house, harder than the normal Seattle drizzle, and made slush of the December snow. "Thor! A-and Sif!" Cassie said, pulling the door open. "I wasn't expecting you to bring Lady Sif."

Thor gave a huge smile as he passed through the doorway to greet Pepper, Clint and Tony. Lady Sif stopped in front of her and smiled. "I've heard much about you, Lady Cassie. Thor has regaled us of your warrior personality and your great intelligence. You'd do well on Asgard."

"Regaled you? Wha-"

"Yes, the Allfather and I both greatly appreciate the tale where Loki came to you disguised as one of your advisors and you caved in his chest with one great kick."

Cassie blinked at the giant woman. *The Allfather. Thor still doesn't know. Shit.* "The Allfather... that doesn't seem like something he'd care about."

"On the contrary," Thor said, placing a long, poorly-wrapped pole against the wall next to the tree. "Father enjoys hearing about you. He especially loves to hear about Ulysses Klaue's ship."

"Ah, yes! How you were able to redirect the witch's influence and break out of her hold while Thor and his companions were all stuck inside their minds. That you, a small Midgardian woman, had to carry the mighty Odinson to safety never ceases to amuse."

"It doesn't strike any of you as odd that Odin would care, at all, about what some Midgardian woman's doing?"

Thor clapped a hand on her back and smiled. "You are more than just a Midgardian woman. You are my friend and teammate and, though your marriage to my brother was short and involuntary, I consider you my sister."

"I believe it is your connection with Loki, his obsession with you, that spurred Odin's interest. He's ordered Heimdall report your actions weekly."

"And the ravens are watching me. That's how I got the message to you."

"Just Huginn," Thor answered.

"Yeah, I'm just gonna say it: you ever think Odin might be Loki in disguise?"

Sif and Thor looked at each other, seriously, for a moment before filling the foyer with loud laughter. "You did not tell me she was so adept at the art of jest, Thor!"

Cassie smiled, awkwardly, as Thor put his hands on her shoulders and walked her into the living room. "What's funny?" Clint asked.

"The absurdity that my brother might've gone back to Asgard, where he is a wanted man set to be imprisoned for the rest of his existence for crimes against the Nine Realms, and somehow took over Odin's life and position as King."

"That is funny. Even Loki isn't crazy enough to go back to Asgard," Tony said, a glass of suspiciously thin eggnog in his hand.

"What if he did it when you thought he was dead; before he even came back for me?" Cassie whispered.

Everyone in the room looked around as they realized she was serious. "Kid, where's this coming from?" Tony asked.

"Odin has taken an interest in her. My tales of her mightiness have made her an interest for him. She thinks this odd." Thor responded.

"You guys are right. It's absurd. Loki would never have made it to the throne room. Heimdall would've seen. He doesn't ever miss anything, right?"

"Exactly," Thor said, with a smile.

Cassie nodded and walked toward the door as the chime rang through the house. *Planted the seed. Nothing else I can do. Except admit that I've known since I was Joanna and I should've told them when I got back from Austria and Thor needs to go depose Loki from the Allfather's throne. Which will stall their trust in me, and rightfully so. Erg. Just not on Christmas, Cassie.* "Phil!" she said, with a smile as she opened the door. She wrapped her arms around him, then turned to the tall blond. "Bobbi, nice to see you up and about. How's the knee?"

"Better than the lung. Leg only hurts when I move."

"Lung hurts when you breathe. Gotcha. Well, I don't have any medical personnel here, but I've got several scientists and Nat and Clint might have some of those SHIELD un-approved pain killers that Phil's supposed to act like he's never taken because he's Director now."

"Uh-oh, Coulson. You sure you wanna introduce us to your (super young, by the way) ex? Might learn some stuff about you." A woman with wavy brunette hair and a black leather jacket said.

"'Skye', right? Wait, 'Daisy' now. Nice to meet you. Cassie. And yeah, young, but strong and awesome and mature for my age."

"You mean, 'our age', right? I mean, if we aren't the same age, then you can't be much older," Daisy started.

"That's not- our relationsh- She's young, but-"

Bobbi laughed. "Let's get inside before Coulson pulls out the whole 'Age ain't nothin' but a number' spiel."

"Ooh, or the 'she seduced me' argument," Daisy replied, as the women walked past the hostess into the foyer where they took off their jackets.

"More likely, the 'You know how hard it is to find someone who understands the job'," Bobbi said, disappearing into the living room.

"We didn't bring any presents. Except Coulson," a sad Scottish accent said as the skinny man who owned it stepped forward.

"That's okay. Got food for you, anyway, Fitz."

"How do you know us all?" Fitz asked, stopping at the doorway.

"I have cultivated an unusual and unexpected friendship with Nick Fury. He put your team together so he told me about you."

"You're friends with Fury?" Coulson asked, surprised.

"Yeah. I showed a little due respect and he showed it back." She pushed the men toward the living room and shut the door. "You know, Fury doesn't have a problem with me dating Clint."

"Probably because Barton isn't old enough to be your father," Natasha called out as they walked into the living room.

"Nat! When did you get here?"

"She walked down the stairs a few minutes ago," Pepper answered.

"Clint left the window unlocked, didn't he?"

Natasha gave her signature smirk. "You shouldn't keep pizza in your bedroom. You'll get bugs."

Cassie turned her gaze to Clint. "There's pizza in my bedroom?"

"I got hungry after you went to sleep. Amazing Nick's is open until 3 am."

"But why is the pizza in the bedroom?"

"The real question is, how'd you miss that when you woke up?" Daisy asked.

"I fell asleep on the couch 'cause I was still cooking. So, he got a pizza at 2 am and took it up to my room to eat."

"I like to be comfy when I'm overloading on carbohydrates and cheese."

"There better not be grease on my comforter."

"Hey, calm down! It's Christmas!" Clint said, with a smile.

"Oh, you got jokes, Barton, but we all know I can kick your well-toned ass, so go get the pizza out of my damn bedroom."

Clint chuckled. "Yes, ma'am."

Daisy and Bobbi watched as he bounced up the stairs, two at a time. "Wow. It's weird that you're the grown-up in your relationship. Was it like that with Coulson, too?" Daisy asked.

"Um... Phil and I were both, kinda, the grown-up when we were together. I was grown-up about the domestic stuff and he was grown about everything else."

"Which wasn't much. He wasn't around often," Natasha said, casting her eyes on the Director.

"Fury had me running all over the world, chasing dangerous tech, people and aliens. New York for Stark, New Mexico for Thor and Dr. Selvig. Hong Kong. Portland." Cassie gave a tight smile to the room at the mention of Portland, sitting down next to Pepper. Stark patted her hand as Phil continued. "I was busy, and Cassie knew that I was going to be away a lot. She knew what she was getting into."

"At, what, twenty? She knew what she was getting into?" Pepper chided.

"All right, back off of Phil a little. This isn't the season of shaming. It's the season of giving. And I have presents for most of you, food for everyone. Speaking of, I have to go check the turkey," Cassie said, standing up and heading for the kitchen.

"Need any help in there?" Bobbi shouted.

"No, no. I'm good for now. Might need help in a while but... ooh, actually, if you wanted, I have a crudité platter in here. You could come grab it." Cassie pulled the platter from the fridge and handed it to the gigantic blond woman. "Hummus, ranch, veggies. Nothing that should be offensive to anyone... except maybe the carnivore Asgardians. I don't know if they even eat vegetables."

"I'm sure it's fine. Hey, you know we're just taking the piss out of Coulson for the hell of it, right? It's nothing against you or your relationship. I'm sure it wasn't anything sordid."

"It was true love... for a few years. And then it wasn't." Cassie sighed, pulling open the oven.

"But you've got Clint now. He's a good man. And if you can deal with the infantile way he deals with life, you'll be fine."

"I know. And I can." She stood, baster in hand, and shut the oven door. She looked at Bobbi. "You ever get that feeling, where something is great... it's amazing and awesome and you love it, but something isn't quite right? It's just askew."

"Yeah. Sometimes."

"My whole life is like that. Everything is just a little off center. And I don't know why, so I question everything now... even good men."

Bobbi opened her mouth to say something, but the bell rang again, prompting Cassie to nod at her and walk toward the foyer. "Steve! Wanda and Vision! Hey! Welcome, welcome, and happy holidays!" She stepped out of the way to let the Avengers into the house.

"Happy Christmas!" Wanda said, hugging her.

"Fröhliche Weihnachten, meine Freundin." She gave the brunette a squeeze and turned to Vision with a smile. "Great to see you. I was afraid you'd think this Christmas, or Yule, stuff would be silly."

"Wanda explained the importance. I'd never detract from your rituals. I was, admittedly, a bit lost about what to bring."

"We didn't have much money, but we think you'll be happy with zem," Wanda said.

"I'm just happy you're here. Living room is straight through there. Everybody's already here."

"Sam said he'll be here for dessert," Steve said, closing the door. He looked around the hallway, decked out in reds and greens. "The lights out there are nothing compared to this. You went big on the decorations."

Cassie shrugged. "First Christmas."

"Really?"

"Does it surprise you that Hydra didn't feel the need to tell me about Christmas?" she asked as Steve took his blue coat off and hung it neatly by the door. "I learned about it while I was in the Fridge, through books and stuff."

"You've been out for almost five years, now, right?"

"No one to celebrate with. Fury always made sure Phil was out during the holidays... and after I moved to New York... no one to celebrate with," she repeated.

"I'm sure Nick didn't do it on purpose."

Cassie smiled. "Yeah... he did. He wanted Phil out and away from me as much as possible. Nick and I have discussed this. Anyway, Merry Christmas, Steve."

"Merry Christmas, Cassie," Steve responded, eyeing the mistletoe above her head. He leaned down and pressed his lips to her cheek. "Come on."

"All right, that's everybody except Sam, who won't be here before pie." Cassie walked into the living room and stood next to the tree, Steve leaning against the doorjamb. "So, we can do presents before or after the feast. I'd recommend before, though, 'cause who wants to open presents when they're fighting a tryptophan nap?"

"Break out the presents. That big one, there, that's for me, right?" Tony asked, pointing to a large flat present.

"Actually, yes. Were you shaking gifts while I was out of the room?" she asked, handing the gift to him. He ripped the paper off to reveal a mosaic picture of Iron Man made of thousands of pictures of Tony. "I had a little time while waiting for things to finish at work, so I came up with this. Do you like it?"

"This is... amazing. Look, it's me.... made out of me," Tony said, turning the frame so everyone could see it.

"You had to play to his ego, didn't you?" Pepper joked.

"I knew what he'd like. Okay, so.... Pepper, here you go. Clint, babe. Natasha," Cassie said, handing wrapped boxes to everyone as she said their names. "Now, open them one at a time. I wanna see your faces as you open them. Pepper, you first."

Pepper smiled and tore into the box. "Oh, my. Did you make this?" she asked, pulling up a teal knit scarf.

"Yeah. I tried to make as many of the gifts as I could."

"Where did you find time to learn to knit?" Phil asked.

"Um... I learned to knit a few years ago. I was working on socks... and a blanket." She looked down, then back up with a big smile. "I was gonna do a sweater for Vision, but I decided against it. Natasha, yours next."

Natasha looked down at the long box in her lap, then ran her finger along the end of the paper and slid the box out. Inside was a knife, almost a foot long from end to end. The Russian smiled slightly as she pulled it from it's sheath. "Fallkniven A1 survival blade. 6.375 inch blade, 11 inches because it's full tang. Beautiful, perfectly balanced... this is amazing. Thank you."

"You don't already have one, do you?"

Natasha shook her head. "No. I don't. Thank you."

"Clint." Clint's box was long and when he opened it, a shiny, purple leather quiver greeted him. "I mean, it's obviously not for Tactical work, but... I like it."

"She knows your favorite color? We were married for two years before I knew your dirty secret." Bobbi seemed offended.

"Hey, there's nothing wrong with a man liking purple. I just don't tell anyone because some people disagree with me about that."

"That might be my fault. His first suit was all purple and blue, with a big mask. I told him he looked like a big, gay circus freak," Natasha responded.

"Mostly right," Bobbi responded.

"Seriously?!" Clint glared at the gymnast and the ballerina, before leaning forward to kiss Cassie. "I love it. I'm gonna use it at the farm everyday."

Cassie smiled, a blush creeping across her cheeks. She cleared her throat and walked to the tree, grabbing another object that definitely looked like a picture frame, albeit much smaller than Tony's, and handing it to Wanda. Wanda smiled and pulled open the wrapping paper. Her face dropped into a sad look as tears began to form in her eyes. Vision put a hand on her shoulder as she hugged the small canvass to her.

"Okay, knitting, I get, but when did you learn to paint?" Phil asked, deeply impressed by the detail in her painting of Pietro.

"I got the basic lessons from this little old lady in Hohenheims. She was painting a mural of the Nativity on the wall of Father Nathan's office and I just watched and learned for a while. I work on it when I have time."

"How do you have so much time? You work sixty hours a week at the lab and you go to school. When are you painting and knitting and making mosaics of Tony?" Steve asked, crossing the living room and picking up the painting to examine it as Wanda set it on the couch and hugged the artist.

Cassie smiled. "I make time for my family." She grabbed a small box and handed it across to Coulson, who shook it.

Phil pulled the wrapping off, revealing a small plastic box. He flipped the top off and gasped, "Are these-"

"Mint and vintage. The guy tried to sell me reproductions, but I could tell the difference. I've seen the real thing. I heard what Fury did to yours and I knew it must've broken your heart once you got back from TAHITI."

"These must've cost a fortune!" Phil whispered, flipping carefully through the cards.

"Well, after I caught the guy trying to cheat me, I pulled up some footage of Sokovia on my phone and showed him that I, you know, could put the hurting on him, he gave me a good deal." She smirked as she handed a box to Bobbi.

"Are you sure you wanna give me a present?"

"I'm sure. Go on."

Bobbi tore the package open and pulled out two batons and two bracelets. "Do these... go together?"

"Yeah. The, uh, the bracelets snap on and activate and that way, you can throw your batons and the magnetic pull between the bracelets and batons will bring them right back to your hands."

"That's amazing!" Bobbi exclaimed, testing out the balance of the batons. "These... if they can do what you say... when I get back in the field..."

"If," Coulson responded, still looking at his cards, mesmerized.

"It does! And you will get out in the field again. Okay, who's left? Steve! That box," she said pointing to a big box next to the tree.

He leaned down and ripped open the box, pulling out a stack of albums. "'Music Through the Decades'."

"Starts on the ‘50s and goes on through now. I also added a few albums that I really like. Green Day is real good and Nirvana."

"If there's not any Sabbath in there, then what's the point?"

Cassie smirked at Tony. "No 'Iron Man' but I'm pretty sure 'Crazy Train' is on one of those vinyls."

"This is great, Cassie. Thank you. And thank you for... picking vinyls."

"Of course. They're coming back into vogue, so it's easier to find them."

"Everything old is new again," Clint mumbled.

Cassie giggled before turning to Thor. "I'm still working on yours. It was a tall order and I thought I could get it done before now but I... just haven't had time. I'm working on a communication device that will work between Midgard and Asgard, so you can call Jane or we could call you. Not everyone on the team has Heimdall and Huginn watching them."

"A tall order? I assume this means a difficult thing and yes, that would be a 'tall order'. Even Asgard doesn't have such a device."

"If anyone can do it-" Clint started.

"I can. But if I don't care to try, Cassie's got you," Tony said, taking a drink of his nog.

"I'll figure it out. Promise."

"Wow. She's an amazing gift-giver," Daisy mused, taking one of Bobby's batons and tossing it in the air.

"Yeah. Now it's her turn. Grab a gift." Natasha pointed at the tree.

"Allow me." Thor volunteered, grabbing the poorly-wrapped pole as Sif handed her a pair of gloves.

Cassie looked between the Asgardians in confusion. "I need gloves to open my present?" she asked. They just nodded, smiling, as the SHIELD agents looked up, nervously. She pulled the gloves on and looked down.

"That's not..." Phil set down the cards and stood, looking to Thor as he handed the pole to Cassie.

Cassie ripped the paper down and gasped as she was met with a bright silver staff, etched with Asgardian runes. "Oh, my. This is beautiful."

"That's a Berserker Staff. Nobody touch it," Daisy warned.

"Are you sure that's a good gift for-" Phil started, looking worried.

"She is mighty. She can handle the Berserk." Sif answered.

"Okay, somebody explain this one to me. Berserker Staff?"

"Cass, it's, uh, an Asgardian weapon. It gives you a massive dose of adrenaline and then, it pulls on all of your worst memories to give you a rage like you've never felt before. It's supposed to be really good in battle, but you can ask May... it's pretty horrible."

"She is mighty, son of Coul. She pulled herself from the dream this witch created when even Thor could not. If there were ever a mortal strong enough to handle the Berserker staff, it is she," Sif responded.

Cassie looked down at the staff on her lap in wonder. "Horrible but really good in battle. It's the Hulk of alien weaponry. Thank you, Thor, so much. I know this must be a huge deal, to give a Midgardian one of these."

Thor smiled his bright white smile again. "You are not just a Midgardian. You are my sister. It is no huge deal, Lady Cassie."

"I don't know if she can handle-" Bobbi started.

"On the May-to-Ward scale of handling shit, where would you place her, Coulson?" Daisy asked.

"Well, I... think that's a question for Barton. 'Cause she didn't really have any rage when I was with her, so I don't know how she deals with it."

Cassie stood as Clint opened his mouth to answer. "How about that's a question for me. I deal with my considerable rage just fine. I became a superhero with it. I don't dwell on it, but I use it, every time I fight. If that's what this thing does, then good. And don't ask my ex-boyfriend if I can handle something, Daisy." She set the staff against the wall and smiled at Clint. "Your turn, babe."

Clint grabbed a box from under the tree and a Christmas card from the mantel over the fireplace. "Box is from me; card is from Katie."

"Ooh, the other Hawkeye sent me a gift? She's never even met me."

"She insisted."

"When do I get to meet Miss Bishop?" Cassie asked, opening the card.

"Uh... sometime when Bobbi and Nat aren't around. Too many of my important women in one place... three of you makes me nervous, four would kill me."

"'I know how stressful working with Barton can be, I can only imagine how dating him must kill. De-stress on me. Merry Christmas.' Holy shit. This is a wristband for Aphrodite Day Spa. This is the most amazing spa in central Washington. It's several thousand dollars for an all-inclusive wristband. I feel bad, now. I didn't get anything for her."

"Don't worry. I've told you her daddy is rich, right? What do you get the hero who has everything?"

"Wow." She set the card down and opened the box. "Oh, my. Is this a real Henkel?"

"Euroline. That's the one you wanted, right?" Clint asked.

"I... barely mentioned that I liked it. This is... awesome."

"He got you a kitchen knife? Lame," Tony muttered.

"A ZWILLING J.A. Henkel chef knife. This is, like, the filet minon of chef's knives." She defended. "Thank you, Clint. You are amazing."

"I think we should probably go next. 'Worst for last' is not the way, you know?" Wanda said, grabbing Vision's hand and each grabbing their gifts. Cassie smiled and opened the box Wanda handed over. "I know you spent a bit of time in Austria. Thought you might want to have a bit of Europe to eat."

"Hey! Mozartkugel!"

"What the hell is Mozartkugel?" Tony asked.

"It's pistachio marzipan and nougat covered in dark chocolate. It's amazing. Helga got me addicted before I could even pronounce 'Mozartkugel'. Thank you! How'd you know?" Wanda looked down, sheepishly. "You took it from my head. That's okay. Thank you."

Vision handed her a small box, which she quickly opened, pulling out a small ceramic Santa figurine. "Aww. It's cute! Thank you, Vision." He nodded at her.

"In the vein of 'let us not leave worst for last', me next," Pepper said, pushing a card into her hands. "It's just a gift card."

"To... Sephora? High-end make up. You rock, Pepper. I was just telling Clint that I need to learn how to do my makeup."

"And I was telling her she doesn't need it."

"Well, that's a thing Barton does well," Bobbi said to Natasha, who just nodded.

Cassie smiled at Barton and thanked Pepper. Steve looked sheepishly at the group. "I, uh, feel pretty horrible about my gift. All these great gifts and... I went practical with mine."

"An umbrella is very practical," Vision said, causing everyone to cast their eyes down.

"An umbrella. For Seattle. I get it. Cute, practical. Just like you, Steve," Cassie said, with a big smile.

"All right. My turn," Tony said, handing her a large jewelry box. "It was my mother's."

Cassie was breathless as she looked down at an Art Deco necklace with an opal and two large diamonds set into a platinum pendant. "Tony... you can't... I can't."

"Pepper doesn't do opal," Tony said, pulling the necklace from the box and holding it up to her neck. "It's gonna look great on you."

"But this was your mom's."

"My mom would have loved you. She was a strong woman, too, you know. Had to be, to put up with my father's bull. Look, I'm not wearing it and I've got two important women in my life and one of them doesn't do opal."

"He really wants you to have it," Pepper whispered, encouragingly.

"But, this is..."

"You always argue when I try to give you stuff. You should know it's futile, by now," Tony said, clasping the necklace together behind her neck and stepping back to marvel at how it looked on her. "Yup. I was right. Hangs just right."

"Here," Natasha said, pulling a bow out from behind the couch and handing it to Cassie. "It's a compound, not a longbow, but compounds are easier to learn on. Or so the guy at the shop told me."

"Wow, thanks so much." Cassie looked around and smiled. "Well, if that's everything, turkey should be-"

"That's not everything. Coulson brought something," Fitz said, walking out of the room.

Phil nodded and walked away, grabbing Cassie's hand and pulling her out of her house and into her front yard. "So, I remember how much you liked LOLA and how much you enjoyed that motorcycle run we did from Malibu to San Fran, so I had Mack and Fitz put together this..." He opened up the back of the black van they'd arrived in, revealing a Harley Sportster. "It's an '03 XL 1200. Still got the endorsement on your license?"

"You... motorcycle?" She was dumbfounded.

"Not just a motorcycle. You think he'd have us work on a regular motorcycle?" Fitz asked as Coulson rolled the bike out of the van. "Well, Mack, maybe, but not me."

"Fitz is the guy who made our stealth tech work," Coulson said, proudly. "And he made quick work of the science that makes LOLA hover. Meet HARLEE. Hover Aircraft Requiring a Little Extra Effort."

"That's a horrible name," Clint commented.

"It's better than his first idea. Wanted me to figure out a way to make the acronym PHIL," Fitz responded.

"Oh, like LOLA was named after his first love," Daisy said with smile.

"This is amazing, Fitz. Did you do the whole thing?"

"Well, Mack did a lot of the work on the... the normal motorcycle parts, but the... additional bits were all me," Fitz replied, leaning down to examine his work on the HARLEE.

"This is amazing," Cassie repeated, hugging the Scotsman, who stiffened. "Thank you, Fitz."

"Thank him? Where's my thanks?" Coulson asked.

"How much help did you give the poor overworked Leopold Fitz?" Cassie asked, releasing the man and turning to the SHIELD director.

Coulson lifted his prosthetic hand. "I couldn't help much with this."

"Oh, has he been using that as an excuse since Mack cut it off?" Natasha asked.

Bobbi, Daisy and Fitz all nodded. Cassie laughed. "Thank you for thinking of it, Phil. I love it! Now, let's get inside, it's freezing out here. Let's go eat some turkey!"

Steve smirked. "I'm fine in the cold. Mind if I stay back, appreciate your present?"

"All right, but don't go becoming a Cap-cicle again." Cassie smirked as she ushered everyone else into the house.

Steve grabbed Clint's arm and pulled him away from the door, close to the Harley and forced him to bend to look at the bike. "She's not sleeping."

"Yeah? How'd I sneak a large 3-cheese past her at 2 am, then?"

"There's no way she had time to do everything and still get sleep, Clint. She was either exhausted from her insomnia, or she took something to make herself sleep."

"Drugs?"

"Lorazepam. That's what Banner gave her when she came back from Austria."

Clint pulled back, standing. "How do you know that?"

"Because I was worried." Steve stood, too. "When she came back from Austria, she should've been rested. Happy. But she wasn't. She was exhausted, I could see it when you walked in, so I went to Banner after you and Natasha debriefed me and she was passed out in his lab. Bruce told me that he'd given her anxiety meds that let her sleep. He told me that she'd been having nightmares, terrors that persisted until she saw Dr. Garner."

"So, what, you think she's dreaming of Loki again?"

"I don't think she was dreaming of Loki before, Clint. What did she learn from that first session with Doc Garner?"

"That she wasn't evil like she thought."

"And the nightmares stopped. It wasn't Loki that caused her insomnia in Austria. Heck, she dealt with a Loki dream in enough time to pick me up and carry me off that ship in Africa. So, what could possibly be causing her insomnia now?"

Clint looked down, thinking of the plane ride to Sokovia. Wanda had gotten her to admit that she was afraid of whatever pieces of her were leaking. If anything was keeping her awake at night, that would be it. "She's fine, Cap. Don't worry about her," he lied as he turned away.

Steve watched as Clint walked into the house. "Fine. I'll talk to her about it."

As he walked into the dining room, Cassie held up a postcard. "So, I got this a few days ago, wanted to share it with you. Postcard, no return address, it looks like it's just blank, but... run a black light over it... Bam! QR code." She pulled her phone out and scanned the invisible code. "When scanned, it brings us to a far corner of the Dark Web housing just one video."

"Merry Christmas, guys," a familiar voice called out from her cell. "From scenic all-points nowhere. As you can see, but not enough to determine my location, I'm back doing what I should always be doing. I'm helping people, I'm not hurting anyone. I haven't had an incident since Sokovia and I'm gonna keep it that way."

Cassie paused the video as Steve sat down in the empty seat next to Natasha. "Despite the next part... I've analyzed it, of course, but I'm sure some of you will want to try it yourself."

"Please, stop looking for me. I can't be an Avenger, anymore. I can't come back because then I'd have to be Him and... I can't lose control again. Please, let me be. Merry Christmas, Avengers, and have a great New Year."

Natasha reached across Clint and snatched the card away from Cassie. "Did you analyze the paper stock?"

"I wanted to leave something for you to do, Natasha. Merry Christmas," Cassie said, walking away from the table to the kitchen. She returned with the turkey platter on one arm and the ham platter on the other. Steve stood and followed her into the kitchen as she grabbed the dishes carrying the sides. He stacked what was left onto his arms and carried them to the table behind her. "Thank you, Steve. Such a gentleman."

She walked to the head of the table and smiled at everyone. "I really wanna thank you guys for coming. You know, this is first Christmas... for a couple of us, and I..." She cleared her throat as tears started to sting her eyes. "I am so blessed to have you all. I've never had a family. Phil was the closest thing... And now, I have a... feast full of people who wanted to spend the holiday with me. I finally have people to share my life with and I could not be happier."

Clint reached out and took her hand in his, stroking his thumb across the back of it, reassuringly. "Anyway, thanks. Um, let's eat," she said, picking up a carving knife and a fork and leaning forward to cut into the ham.

"What, no Grace?" Tony smirked.

"Religious dinner shall be had at a later date." As she sliced into the meat, a flash of memory hit her. A man tied to a chair as a knife sliced through his thigh. His eyes clenched tightly in pain as he ground out 'Patrick Mackenzie, SHIELD level 5'. Cassie dropped the fork to the platter, her fingers tightening around the knife handle.

"You okay?" several guests chorused.

She blinked and cleared her throat. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. Just emotional. Somebody wanna- Wanda, stay out of my head," she instructed as she set the knife down and slipped away from the table.

Phil took over cutting the ham and Clint pulled the turkey into arm's reach, as Steve excused himself and followed the hostess. He knocked, lightly, at the bathroom door. "Hey. You all right?"

"I'm fine," she croaked.

"You're crying." It was a guess, but not a particularly hard one.

"Well, it's an emotional day."

"Are you sure it's that? Are you sure this isn't more of whatever's keeping you up at night?"

"You know, I told Wanda to stay out of my head, I figured it went without saying for the rest of you."

"Come on, Cassie. Talk to me." The lock clicked and Steve pushed in, locking it back behind him. She was sitting on the sink, eyes already red and puffy. "What's wrong?"

"Me. I'm wrong." Steve stood silently and waited for her confession. "I... I'm remembering."

"And that's not a good thing?"

She shook her head. "I'm remembering Hydra. I'm remembering being Vierhundert Zweiundfünfzig. I'm remembering who I was with them. I think I hurt people, Steve, maybe even killed."

Steve placed his hand firmly on her shoulder. "Cassie, it's-"

"Don't patronize me, Steve. Don't tell me it's okay because it's not okay," she snapped.

"It's not okay. But mostly, it's not okay because of how it's affecting you." Steve reached his free hand into his pocket and pulled out a handkerchief, sweeping it across her cheeks. "Whatever you did when Hydra had you, that wasn't you."

"You don't understand. If... if I remember that, if I remember who I was... doesn't that make me her?"

Steve sighed, pulling her down from the sink. "I think that's a question for Doctor Garner. Have you talked to him about this?"

She shook her head. "He was on vacation and... he hasn't answered my calls since he got back. He's busy helping Phil with the whole... Inhumans thing."

"And Fury? He must know who you were when he grabbed you from Hydra. Did you try him?"

"He told me not to ask. Said I wouldn't like the answers."

"Nick's never been big on questions. Look." Steve pressed the handkerchief into her palm. "You have people, you know. What you were saying about having family... you should talk to them. If there is a group of people who knows how to deal with... bad pasts and fuzzy memories, it's us. You aren't wrong. You're perfect the way you are."

Cassie nodded and smiled, slightly. "Thanks. Let's go eat."

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

As they watched everyone get into their cars, Cassie leaned her head on Clint's shoulder. She could tell by his protective and comforting stance that he knew something was wrong, but he wouldn't ask. He was great that way. "Merry Christmas, Cassie."

"Merry Christmas, Clint. You gonna stay for a couple days?"

"Of course. Long as you want me here."

"I love you. Wanna go in and call Laura, see if Barney ever showed?"

"Yeah. Come on." Clint turned and pushed her through the door.

KITCHEN SINK TAGS @heyitscam99 @wonderlandfandomkingdom @unlikelysamwinchesteronahunt @mrs-meghan-winchester @henrymorganme @lonely-skys @allykat2108

#cassie writes stuff #avengers fanfiction #red queen chronicles #clint/ofc #ofc #christmas fic

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justlookfrightened · 7 years

Text

Third part of Neighbors AU, Chapter 3, Oct. 8

Read it on AO3.

Or read Chapter 1 or Chapter 2.

Notes:

Once again, warning for homophobia -- in this case, discussions of what happened when Jack and Eric were outed months earlier. No explicit slurs or even detailed descriptions of what was said, just the fact that things were said. But also lots of fluff and cooking and bonding between Eric and Alicia, so there's that. I'm posting this more quickly than usual because, well, it was done. The next chapter will be next week sometime. I think.

Chapter Text

Jack started scanning the arrivals area at Trudeau for his father as soon as he stepped into it. He'd had to get up absurdly early to make the flight from Ottawa, and he wondered again if it was worth it.

He could have flown with the team back to Providence last night -- getting in just about the time he had to wake up to get to the airport this morning -- and spent Eric’s two days off at home with him.

But when his parents had invited them -- both of them -- for Thanksgiving, Eric had been so excited to celebrate “Canadian Thanksgiving,” as he insisted on calling it.

“Our Thanksgiving came first,” Jack had pointed out time and again.

“But we live in the U.S.,” Eric responded.

The schedule was complicated by the Falconers’ opening game in Ottawa on the Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend, Eric’s determination to not leave the bakery in Dex’s hands any more than necessary and Eric’s desire to help cook. The way it worked out, Eric had arrived in Montréal the night before, but Jack was stuck in Ottawa until morning.

He’d caught a 6:20 flight, landing just after 7 a.m., and he wanted nothing more than to curl up with Eric and sleep another three or four hours.

Instead, his dad was picking him up (so Eric could sleep? start cooking?). Jack did not resent that his boyfriend had left work the afternoon before, gone home to pack, driven to the airport and arrived in Montréal to have dinner with his parents and catch almost all of Jack’s game. He did not resent that Eric had been in bed by midnight, probably 11:30, and gotten a full night’s sleep.

And still Jack was being met by his dad. Who was great. Who was a local hero, practically a national hero, who loved Jack unconditionally and had stood behind him no matter what.

But his father wasn’t Eric. Eric who worked hard, who accommodated himself to Jack’s schedule, who took care of him in so many ways. Who deserved to sleep late on the two days a week he didn’t open Sugar ‘n’ Spice. Whom Jack couldn’t really resent if he tried.

Jack caught sight of his father -- baseball cap pulled down over sunglasses -- leaning against a pillar, his head cocked to the side like he was listening to someone. Jack took a hopeful step nearer, trying to see who his dad was talking to. First there was the top of a blue beanie (Really? It was above seven degrees), then the sparkle of the morning sun off bright blond hair and shining brown eyes looking earnestly at his dad while he talked.

Jack could tell the instant Eric caught sight of him, straightening up with face splitting in a wide grin. He didn’t call out -- they tried not to draw too much attention in public -- but as Jack approached, Eric stepped into a tight embrace and reached up to kiss his cheek.

“Hi, there, sugar,” he whispered. “I missed you.”

“I was only gone two nights,” Jack said.

“Still missed you.”

Jack let him go and turned to hug his father.

“Salut, Papa,” he said. “Thanks for coming.”

“Eric would have come on his own, but he didn’t want to drive an unfamiliar car to the airport,” his father said. “I know you’d rather have him to yourself.”

“No, it’s good to see you,” Jack said. “I didn’t think Eric was going to come at all.”

“Well, we’re not eating until this afternoon, so when Eric found out the turkey wouldn’t have to go in the oven until 11:30 or so, he decided to surprise you,” his dad said, turning to lead the way to the car.

“Surprise,” Eric said. “How’re you doing? Need a nap when you get home?”

“Yes,” Jack said. “But not too long. How was it staying with my parents?”

“Oh, Jack, their kitchen is lovely. You never told me! I’ve always wanted a double oven.”

“How many ovens do you have at the bakery?”

“That’s different,” Eric said. “Anyway, your mom and dad and I have divvied everything up and checked the supplies and I think we’ll be good.”

“What do I have to do?”

“Take a nap,” Eric said. “Then you can keep me company? Your dad’s doing the turkey and stuffing, I have the pies, sweet potatoes, brussels sprouts and rolls, and your mom volunteered to put the salad together if I make the dressing. Maybe you can help her set the table? You need to rest.”

“Fine,” Jack said. “But at least lay down with me for a little while?”

“I think I have an hour or so,” Eric said. “I stayed up after dinner last night to do the prep work.”

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

Eric padded into the kitchen, yawning.

“Morning, sleepyhead,” Alicia said, from her spot by the sink. “Again. Good nap?”

“Mmmm,” Eric said. “Jack’s still out. How much time do we have?”

“About two hours until the turkey has to go in,” Alicia said.

“And I don’t even have to time it to get the pies done first because there are two ovens. May I take a picture for my Instagram?”

“Have at it," Alicia smiled. “I’m just glad we’ll be getting to use the kitchen to its capacity. And that you talked Bob out of deep-frying the turkey.”

“Yeah, well, I’ve seen one too many turkey-fryer explosions,” Eric said. “And I’m pretty sure Bob wants to keep his eyebrows. Not to mention that cedar siding.”

“I think I have all the good dishes washed and ready to use. I’ll get Bob to help get the serving dishes down,” Alicia said. “We keep a lot of them up in the high cupboards.”

“Perfect,” Eric said, pulling a pad of sticky notes towards him. “I’ll get the labels ready.”

As he started writing each dish on a separate slip of paper, he said, “I have to thank you for rescheduling your Thanksgiving for us. It’s much easier if we can leave tomorrow during the day instead of flying late at night, especially with Jack’s home opener on Tuesday.”

“Oh, it’s not really a big deal,” Alicia said. “It’s not like American Thanksgiving when everyone has to have the big meal on Thursday. Here, maybe because the actual holiday is the last day of the weekend, a lot of people move the celebration to Sunday, or even Saturday. Or people just use the weekend for a getaway.”

“Huh,” Eric said. “Every time we talk about it, Jack makes a big deal of telling me Canadian Thanksgiving was first, like it’s a huge thing. At least y’all don’t have fights about how soon after dinner it’s appropriate to shop.”

Alicia laughed.

“No,” she said. “Although there is football on Monday afternoon. And the game is always here in Montréal. It’s kind of strange, because the jour de Action de grâce is kind of less of a big deal in Quebec than in the rest of the country.”

“Can I ask you something?” Eric said.

“Go ahead,” Alicia answered, stopping to look at him.

“How did you decide?” he asked.

“Decide what?” she asked.

“To move here and have this life,” Eric asked. “I mean, you were a celebrity in your own right. You had a life in New York, you had your degree. You’re an American. But you ended up here in Montréal with Bob and Jack, and you’ve been here for what, 30 years?”

“Not exactly here,” Alicia said. “We bought this house after Jack got out of rehab and went to Europe. But in this area, yes. I like it here. Want another cup of coffee?”

“Sure,” Eric said. “I’ll get it. One for you, too?”

Alicia nodded.

“Montréal was always Bobby’s home,” she said. “And he was playing here when we started dating, so I would come here often to watch him play, when I didn’t have my own commitments. When I did, and his schedule allowed it, Bobby would come and visit me in New York or Los Angeles or wherever I happened to be. But there were times when I was doing less modeling and more acting and I’d be on a shoot and he’d be in the middle of his season and we wouldn’t see each other for weeks. I’d miss him so much, and when I was done, I’d come to Montréal to see him, because I didn’t have a place that I was so attached to. I’d left my own hometown for work years earlier, and I couldn’t even really stay in the Boston area after college.”

She took a sip of her coffee.

“Then after we got married, Bob was traded to Pittsburgh,” she said. “He wasn’t sure he wanted to go, but the Canadiens wanted to rebuild and needed the money they were paying him, and the Penguins needed what he could do, and he always loved Mario. We kept the house we had here, but I moved with him to the condo he rented in Pittsburgh. Then I got pregnant with Jack, and Bobby asked if I wanted to buy a house there and make that home.

“I thought about it, I really did,” she said. “But this was already home. It was where Bobby and I fell in love. I’m sorry. That sounds sappy.”

“Please don’t apologize,” Eric said. "That sounds sweet."

“We knew Bob would be retiring within a few years, and I’d stopped working so much to concentrate on the foundations I was involved with, so I could live anywhere, and I told him I wanted our home to be here,” she said. “Jack was born here -- it was the off-season, after all -- but we still spent the hockey season in Pittsburgh until Bobby retired. That was right when Jack was getting ready to start school, so it worked out.”

She shrugged.

“It wasn’t like Bob told me we had to stay here,” she said. “And for what it’s worth, no matter where his career takes him, I don’t think Montréal is home for Jack anymore. It’s where he’s from. Providence is home now, after the last eight years. It’s where he became the man that he is.”

“Thanks,” Eric said. “I know it’s not really my business. But I know Jack might get traded one of these years, and I could probably get a job anywhere, but --”

“But you’re attached to your bakery?”

“It’s not mine, really, but yes. I know it’s not a big deal like playing hockey, but it’s important to me.”

“Of course it is,” Alicia said. “And that bakery is more yours than anyone else’s. Have you thought about buying Matthew out? You know you could keep the space.”

“I’ve thought about it,” Eric said. “But I can’t afford it, not yet. Maybe in a few years? I feel like I should take some business classes or something first.”

“If it’s just the knowledge and not the degree you want, Bobby and I could probably set you up with some people to help,” Alicia.

“And Jack could get traded,” Eric said. “Then what would I do?”

“Whatever you decide at the time,” Alicia said. “But you’d be able to figure it out.”

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

When Jack woke up, it took a moment for him to remember where he was. Montréal. His parents’ house. In what passed for his room, although he’d never really lived here. Eric was here. Somewhere. The pillow smelled like him.

He checked his phone for the time. 11:45. Thanksgiving. Cooking. Still time for a workout before dinner.

He got up, brushed his teeth and drank a glass of water. He pulled on shorts and T-shirt and then headed to the kitchen.

Eric was standing at the sink at the island, doing something with Brussels sprouts. The mingled aromas of turkey and pumpkin and apple pies made Jack’s mouth water. He detoured from his path to the fridge to come up behind Eric and nuzzle into the back of his neck.

“I’m not sure what smells better, you or dinner,” Jack said.

Eric wiggled his hips a bit, which felt wonderful, but said, “Hush, you. Your parents will be back any minute.”

Jack stepped back and said, “Have you eaten? I was going to get some apples and peanut butter and head to the weight room. Want some?”

“Sure, I'll have a couple,” Eric said.

They worked companionably, Jack slicing apples and Eric cleaning sprouts.

When Jack’s parents came in, his father bearing the dedicated and decorated turkey platter they found in the basement storage room, Jack was smearing peanut butter on slices of apple and hand-feeding them to Eric. He couldn't help but notice his parents’ delighted smiles.

“OK, Eric, I'm gonna get a quick workout in, then I'll come help for real,” he said, kissing a stray bit of peanut butter off Eric’s lip.

“Mind if I keep you company downstairs?” his father asked. “The turkey’s in the oven and the dressing is all ready to go in.”

“Why isn't it in the bird?” Jack asked. “Isn't that how you usually do it?”

“Eric was too concerned about food safety,” his dad said, making air quotes on the last two words.

“Seriously, it's a wonder y'all haven't been killed by food poisoning,” Eric said. “Do I need to print out some materials on bacterial growth and temperature for you?”

In the weight room, Jack set the pin on the weight stack to start bench presses and turned to his dad. “Not that you're not welcome,” he said, “but was there something you wanted to talk about?”

“Not in particular,” Bob said. “But your mom and Eric have been thick as theives up there. I think they're bonding over being NHL significant others. I thought it would be good to stay out of the way.”

“Eric and I aren't married,” Jack said.

“Neither were your mother and I, at first,” Bob said.

Jack lay on his back and started lifting.

Bob watched him, and said, “It's totally up to the two of you, of course, but if you and Eric wanted to get married, we'd be behind you.”

Jack let the weights down and paused.

“We've only known each other a year,” he said. “Eric’s only 23.”

He started lifting again.

“I don't know if that would be good for him, to make that kind of commitment so young,” he continued. “I know I wouldn't have been ready then.”

“So you have thought about it,” his father said. “And Eric’s his own man. He's a lot more put together than most of us are at his age. He seemed to deal with being outed pretty well last spring. So did you, for that matter. After Kent, I was worried.”

Jack brought the weights down and reset the machine for the shoulder press.

“Kent was a lifetime ago,” he said. “We were kids. But this spring … I mean, I knew it could happen. We weren't being very careful.”

He settled himself on the bench again.

“You’re right, though. At first I was upset, with it coming right when playoffs were starting,” Jack said. “I thought it would be a distraction, even though I knew my team was behind me. But with everyone focusing on trying to win the series, there wasn't a lot of talk on the ice or anything. Now everyone’s had the summer to get used to it. It turned out to be pretty ideal.”

He didn't say anything about the handful of less-than-kind signs he'd seen at the arena in Ottawa. None of them lasted long -- security seemed to be on the lookout for them -- and they wouldn't have been shown on TV. The rainbow flags had been much in evidence, though.

“I guess I can see how that could happen,” his father said, “although I doubt it would have worked that way when I was in the league. You played well, in any case.”

Jack grunted an acknowledgement and started another set.

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

Alicia cleared the coffee cups and prep dishes Eric was no longer using into the dishwasher and watched Eric divide dough into individual rolls to for their second rise. They would go in the oven as soon as the pies came out.

“We've never had rolls from scratch before,” she said. “It always seemed like too much work, especially with so much else going on in the kitchen.”

“It's not bad,” Eric said. “You just need to be organized. Two ovens helps a lot, of course, and you have so much space here, it's really pretty easy.”

“That's what you say,” Alicia said, pulling a bottle of wine from the rack. “Can you take a break?”

“I'm not sure how that will help my organization, but one glass won't hurt,” Eric said.

Eric didn't actually take a break, but he did sip at his glass as he kept moving, from one dish to another, checking the turkey, sliding the baking dish of dressing in with it, checking the progress of the sweet potatoes, pulling heavy cream and a chilled mixing bowl from the fridge. As the level in his glass decreased, the sway in his hips increased, and when the wine was gone, he was positively dancing to the music that came from the speaker on the counter.

Alicia couldn't help but smile at the boy who had brought so much sunshine into Jack’s life.

“I feel terrible,” she said, knowing she sounded entirely too happy for Eric to take her seriously. “We invited you for Thanksgiving and you're doing all the work. I guess we can't count you as a guest.”

“Mm,” Eric made an inquiring noise while he evaluated the consistency of the cream. “I'm sorry to take over so much.”

“No, don't say that,” she said. “It’s just, if you’re not a guest, you’re family.”

Eric went still for a moment, and his cheeks turned even pinker. Gotcha, Alicia thought.

“That’s really nice of you to say,” he said. “Y’know, my mother was tickled that I met you. She wanted to know all about you, and I told how friendly you are.”

“I wondered,” Alicia said. “I got a package with some delicious cookies and a nice note, and I sent her a thank-you note with my email address, but I haven’t heard any more from her.”

“Lord, she’s probably just embarrassed,” Eric said. “Tell me your favorites, and she’ll make those for you. Or tell her. I’ll give you her email and once she gets used to the idea that you’re like, an actual human being --”

“One who really can’t cook.”

“-- she’ll take pity on you and send more.”

He set the bowl of whipped cream back in the refrigerator and said, “Unless you’d rather not? There’s nothing that says you and my mother have to be in contact just because Jack and me are dating, and you know I’d be happy to send you whatever.”

“No, Eric, of course I’d like to get to know your mother. She must be lovely, to have raised you so well. And I know very well that you have your hands full, what with the bakery and the skating and all.”

“And dating an NHL star?” Eric said.

“It can get time-consuming,” Alicia said. “I’ve been there.”

“That’s true,” Eric said. “I never realized how many people would seek me out because people know I’m Jack Zimmermann’s boyfriend. I had one guy in the bakery who wanted me to tell Jack how they could have a better power play. I mean, really.”

Alicia laughed.

“Believe me, I know,” she said. “And I didn’t even know anything about hockey when I got together with Bobby. But at least I had my own people to run interference for me. You have to deal with the public all the time, and everyone knows where to find you.”

“Mostly it’s fine,” Eric shrugged.

Alicia poured Eric another half-glass of wine and arranged her face in an encouraging expression.

“Providence is a big Falcs town, and Jack’s a local hero, so most people are pretty positive,” Eric said. “I think a lot of them come to the bakery just because they hope they’ll catch a glimpse of him, y’know?”

He took a gulp of the wine.

“It was worse last spring,” he said. “When people first found out. There were a couple of people who just wouldn’t leave me alone. Kept asking rude questions. One accused me of turning Jack gay. Maybe Jack could turn a straight man gay, but me?”

“Eric,” Alicia tried to break in.

“And he’s not even gay, not that anyone wants to hear that, or deserves to know anyway,” Eric continued.

“Eric, did you tell Jack?”

Eric looked horrified at the thought.

“I couldn’t,” he said. “It was playoffs.”

He shook his head.

“Jack was so busy, and when he was home, he was exhausted,” Eric said. “I couldn’t make him worry. It’s not like he could have done anything.”

“Did you talk to Georgia Martin, or anyone in Falconers’ management?”

“It wasn’t really their problem,” Eric said.

“So what did you do?”

“Well, Chowder and Dex and Derek Nurse all started staying pretty much all day, and one of them would walk me home every afternoon,” Eric said. “Which they didn’t have to do, but was nice anyway. I, uh, got to know my local police real well. They would hang around at opening and closing.”

“Did you have to call the police?” Alicia said.

“There was some graffiti, a couple of times,” Eric said. “But we got it off right away, before anyone saw it. That stuff died down after a couple of weeks, though. Now it’s mostly just fans.”

“I’m glad it got better,” Alicia said, trying to keep her voice measured. “But I really think you should tell Jack.”

“Tell me what?”

Jack was in the doorway, wiping his face with a towel.

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

“It’s nothing, really,” Eric said, as Jack stood watching him.

His cheeks were pink, and he wasn’t meeting Jack’s eyes, almost like he was guilty about something. Something Jack’s mother thought he should know.

“No, there’s something,” Jack said, still standing in the door. “Please tell me.”

“It’s just about how people would come around, you know, last April,” Eric said.

“What people? Come around where?” Jack said, stepping into the kitchen and leaning against one of the stools at the island. He was pretty sure he wasn’t going to like where this was going.

“People who weren’t very nice,” Eric said. “They knew I worked at Sugar ‘n’ Spice.”

“What did they do?”

“It’s nothing,” Eric said again. “No one hurt me.”

“That doesn’t mean it’s nothing,” Jack said. “Crisse, Eric, if someone is threatening you, you have to tell me.”

“But no one is threatening me now,” Eric said. “It was six months ago. It’s over.”

“But we still need to talk about it,” Jack insisted.

“Fine, but I still need to get dinner on the table,” Eric said. “Go take a shower and then we can talk while we cook.”

Jack shook his head and left. It was only when he had to squeeze past his father in the doorway that he realized his dad heard everything too. And Jack had just been congratulating himself on how well things went, too.

He may have taken a little longer in the shower than usual, trying to calm himself by focusing on his breathing. He’d been with Eric most of a year, and he knew that if he sounded like he was angry at Eric, Eric would clam up. It had only happened a couple of times, but the sight of Eric like that -- curling in on himself, like he could make himself invisible -- it broke Jack’s heart. And he wasn’t truly angry with Eric. He was angry with himself for not noticing what was happening.

When he stepped back into the kitchen, Eric was pulling pies out of the oven.

He stopped to adjust the oven temperature, and then said, “Can you hand me those trays of rolls?” and slid them in.

Then he went to where the sweet potatoes were waiting, poured in some warm milk and started mashing, his back to Jack.

‘“Eric?”

“I’m sorry, Jack,” Eric said, still without looking at him. “I wasn’t trying to keep anything from you, at least, not forever. But you were busy with the playoffs, and really nothing bad happened. I didn’t want you to worry.”

“Why don’t you start by telling me what did happen?”

“There were just some guys who would come to the bakery and be rude,” Eric said. “We made it a point to always have at least three people there, so when we asked them to leave, they did. But then they started following me and yelling things at me when I left. One of them kept asking how I turned you gay, if you can imagine.”

He gave a weak chuckle.

“But that didn’t really work for them either, because, well, yelling stuff like that doesn’t get a lot of positive attention, at least in that neighborhood of Providence, which makes it light years ahead of high school for me,” Eric said. “So then there was some stuff painted on our windows, and Chowder insisted we call the police before we washed it off. When I explained what was going on, they started making sure someone was on the block when we opened and when we closed.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t know,” Jack said.

“It’s not your fault,” Eric said. “I didn’t tell you. You had enough to deal with. And it was pretty much over by the time your season ended.”

“I still should have known,” Jack said. “But my mom’s right -- you should have told me. And if not me, someone from the team, or even my parents. You don’t have to deal with stuff like this alone.”

“It’s nothing to do with you,” Eric said. “It’s not your fault. And I wasn’t alone. I had the guys from the bakery.”

“It’s because of me, Eric,” Jack said. “I’d say it has something to do with me. I didn’t think that being public about us could be dangerous to you.”

Eric drizzled some maple syrup over the potatoes, and resumed mashing.

“I didn’t take any of it as particularly dangerous,” Eric said. “Nobody said anything I haven’t heard before. It honestly wasn’t as bad as I thought it might be.”

“You expected this to happen?” Jack asked.

Eric just looked at him.

“I guess you’re right,” Jack sighed. “I’m more insulated. What do you want to do?”

Eric shrugged.

“Can’t put the genie back in the bottle,” he said. “So I suggest we eat dinner, and give thanks for what we have, and go for a walk later, and absolutely do not play any board games with your parents tonight.”

Jack couldn’t suppress a smile.

“Sounds like a plan,” he said. “And you’ll tell me if something like that happens again, right?”

An hour later, Jack looked around the table at his parents and his boyfriend and a truly impressive spread.

“Let me go first this year,” he said. “I’m thankful for the people who love me, who stand behind me no matter what, who encourage me to keep moving forward, and who let me love them back, even when I’m not sure how. Papa, Maman, you were always there for me, even when I tried to push you away, and I’m grateful. And I’m grateful that you still like me and want me around after all that. And Eric, words can’t express how happy I am that you’re in my life, and that you let me be in your life. You’ve spent this past year teaching me about love and care and how to express that, because you care about everyone, and you love me, and you taught me how to love you, and I can’t imagine a gift more precious.”

After they’d all taken their turns, Jack got a picture of the table, carefully set and loaded with food, his parents’ and Eric’s joined hands just visible at the edge. He waited until after dinner to post it to his Instagram account. #Givingthanks.

#my fic #zimbits #omgcheckplease #omg check please #neighbors au

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subterrenianofficeworker-blog · 7 years

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cold turkey eugogoolgolization

cold turkey writes willfully his rights inside of a compliant complaint begging sweetly for help to come for him and all his friends (or at the very least ever “her”) for who not deserves it most? well, well spaced banter means something meaningful to most. bible folk never read the book in their hands and know nothing at all but hatred. they know nothing of love, have ye ever even read that book? cold turkey rights hold his hand and cares a lot. speak easy east wind handbook can say he knows his feelings well, bobby hare krishna speaks like a strawberry brother of old but not quite, as you know, down the street, his old friend yippies determined to meet yet not hip enough for his idols and friends, brothers theyll put but unaware he even is! at all! wellneverknowtomorrowbuttodayijustgottawait. not so compliant cold turkey grants daft syllables to his darlings in the dark hoping the people play along, but the joke is all his! and so are the apples and imported strawberries. green as they come up “he just loves to wait” they think only seeing. they walk on never guessing cold turkey. he finds them again until a good time and they say spoken word blooms and they asssume its a freak of nature and a small world, hare krishna! well well well spoken blasphemy going behind me i wish everyone well. cold turkey has a middle name, it is jeremy hare. cold jeremy hare turkey dreams and then forgets them so they can come true. cold jeremy hare turkey wakes to a shouting head and gets mad that somethings repressed, nobody has anything but tea and that offends the apples, but its not bad. they assume the breeze is why as the day lates they can cheese with ease; as in smile. hoping they stay longer than their lotted while but when hope comes true secretly wishing they could go back to secreting with theirs. well i care and theres nothing that can be done! Trust me theyve tried. and easily working their way around the question. you see how everything is about you? i need to get better at the game. “get better at the game.” speaking someones language i sense pandering and slander, for no one, what should have lasted years. the song too new to be background noise. shocking and unexpected dreams never dreamt come true. cold jeremy hare turkey cant do a thing against it. cold jeremy hare turkey isnt a fan nah man not a fan at all. as it goes sipping tea saying thats enough for me. as it goes sipping tea annoyed with the noise that only been heard of until now but is shocking still. can you remember getting hurt? o you old one trick pony. saying my dread is phony, (if only) broke into the shop to wait until day to steal something. old woman proletariat rock star, i heard a story of her the other day actually from “her” actually haha oh man an old man mistook her for a boy in fact my old man mistook “her” for a boy, with bangs like that well the old man hit on her and wanted to bang a man but he learned a woman and wasnt down at all. well i heard her song on “her” friends street by the woods “we” walked through on that day. aint you heard? “i thought id kiss you then” “the way it actually happened was more exciting though dont you think?” either way i regret every time i didnt in my own small way. all histry i wish you the best. a conversation cold jeremy hare turkey overhears from his reading room under the stairs, and asks why there are criss crosses on the walls and found a ghost leaving once but word is the ghost was only in the fan club, and the fan club refuses to read the books they preach in favor of. down the road theres a ferris wheel where sommat were ki-- behind we’re not sure what happened but it was for sure cut off. we’re undergoing investigations. cold jeremy hare turkey reads from the newspaper reccomended by his friend, he tries to go back to his book but finds it hard to enjoy someone elses thoughts while his own are so abnoxious and intoxicating, man- you know how it is. on a parking meter the next day cold turkey breathes tightly and looks at the men going past, with thick black and wavy hair that might not last, with green jackets like military men but theyre literary men, only two have matching shoes and cold cant tell if its awkward for them or their friends when they make eye contact, up again after waffles for breakfast and an unexpected dinner they see the ferris wheel. free and off, cold isnt invited on this ride in particular.

#writing

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dickbaggins · 8 years

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please friends enjoy this lil teaser of what will be this year’s long fic, my novel from nanowrimo16. this is a wincest(iel? I haven’t decided but as I was writing, it took a distinct turn towards the threesome, I’m as shocked as you are) au with the Winchesters as archaeologist-hunters in 1910/20s Egypt. I’ve only vaguely researched this so if there’s any historical issues, that’s all on me. Within the week, I should start posting this for realsies, so it won’t be quite as rough.

The sky looked different, depending on where you were. If you didn't travel, you never noticed it. You saw one sky your whole life and maybe it was a pretty good sky anyway, so you didn't want for anything. But if you travelled, you knew the pang of homesickness a strange sky sometimes induced.

Dean Winchester felt like he'd been homesick since he was twenty years old. The sky in Newport never looked the same after he sped home from the docks. In a way, nothing felt real since then.

Of course, all the alcohol helped to keep the world at large to more of an unpleasant buzzing in his ears, around the periphery of his mind. Between that and work, ten years flew by with alarming speed. If he didn't stop to consider things, they fell away. If he didn't keep moving, he'd die. So move he did.

This appointment was in Egypt. That meant crossing the Atlantic, which he'd done at least once a year for the past decade. At least. The ships were better now than they used to be, catering to a different class of people. The Winchesters could no longer afford the opulence, the gold-laden dining rooms and the full serving staff but there was a burgeoning tourist class that made the ships all the more comfortable now.

Dean liked that better, anyway. They knew to leave him alone. They kept to themselves.

After that, train after train after train. He took in the sky out the windows, watched it change from big to narrow, to big again. Watched countless sunsets wink in and out of existence. He didn't keep a journal. For all Dean knew, it could have been months in those sleeper cars with his father and Bobby.

Their destination neared and Dean felt like he always did: a detached excitement at what new things they might discover, coupled with a vague, tense fear. People died on these expeditions. People got trapped under the Earth, people suffocated in centuries-old tombs. Sometimes Dean thought that wouldn't be so bad.

You'd be lauded as a hero.

You'd also be dead.

These were both pretty great.

At midnight, at the crossing of a border, the dining car lights dimmed and Dean made his slow shuffle back to the sleeper car. John snored quietly on the top while Bobby was still sat on the other bunk, books and papers spread out in front of him, dimly lit under the buzzing electricity.

“We're carrying on to Turkey tomorrow,” he told Dean. “So you alone are representing us in this excavation.”

Dean nodded blearily, undoing his tie, shrugging off his jacket.

“Your father has a few requests.”

Dean glanced up at the bunk and nodded again; this was how they communicated, these days, through a friendly intermediary, simply because it was easier. They wouldn't fight, that way. John Winchester got to hand down his decrees and Dean could only nod mutely and take them under advisement. Further to the verbalized rules, there'd be a letter set out for him tomorrow morning before he departed reinforcing all of these things.

Don't fuck up, was the general tone. Sometimes eased into don't fuck up too hard. It depended.

“This is an important post we've secured for you. Working closely with state officials is difficult to pull off. You'll be answering to Daniel and his lot. And working for them, you understand? They say jump - “

“I ask how high, yes, I've been farmed out before.”

“True, but not to these folks. They can be demanding. Not strictly treasure hunters, you know?”

Dean frowned, unbuttoning his shirt, laying it out carefully at the end of his own too-small bed. “Our kind of hunters?”

“In a way,” Bobby answered, his eyes sweeping over his papers for a nervous second before returning to Dean. “They have goals They have things they're specifically looking to find and if you're less than thorough and less than completely forthcoming in your findings? You'll find yourself at odds with them.”

“Which would then besmirch the family name even further. Understood.”

“Detailed notes, detailed drawings. At the end of every week, you'll meet with the head parties and discuss what you've found. Nothing is to be removed unless they tell you. Nothing is to be sold overseas.”

“So we're barely getting paid.”

“Experience is it's own reward,” Bobby sighed, and he didn't mean it anymore than John had earlier, Dean knew. They were all of them in a tricky situation and making the best of their skill set. “Send us copies of your notes, though. I'm curious as to what's actually going on.”

“Oh?”

That barely piqued Dean's interest; mild intrigue was something, at least, something more than dusting off old vases with a delicate brush.

“Last I heard, there was some set of magical demonic jewelry, though why a Pharoh would have that is beyond me. Rumor has it Daniel is after those things specifically. But being buried so long? It's either negated all that power or else charged it up something fierce. If you find it...”

“I won't, Bobby,” Dean sighed, slinging his legs up onto the too-small cot, folding his hands under his head and watching the lights flicker against the top of the empty bunk above him. So easy to imagine the four of them crammed into this private space, but there was only three.

And anyway, if it were the four of them? They wouldn't be nearly destitute and taking on jobs like this, whoring themselves out to lesser men for meager pay. If they were four...

No. They weren't.

“I won't find anything of value, I'm sure,” Dean sighed, “Not with how many other people working alongside me? The chances are slim I find anything at all besides dog bones and ancient wine vessels. The usual detritus.”

“That's the other thing, Dean,” Bobby said, voice low and serious, which made Dean look over at him; he scratched at his beard, shuffled his papers. “There's no drinking. It's forbidden by religion, so...if you don't want to raise the ire of your charitable hosts, you'll have to lay off.”

Dean's gut squirmed nasty, nervous already about the proposition.

“Is that why you're not joining me here? Is that why you and my father are moving on? I notice he's sleeping fairly content, got his fill before they turned the lights off, did he? Stowed something away in his baggage?”

“Now, son-”

“Don't call me that, please,” Dean sighed, squeezing his eyes shut. Had he known this was his last chance? He'd have tanked up in the dining car, beyond what he'd already had to drink. Which was a lot, by anyone's standards, but just enough to get himself to sleep. Hopefully. “I'm sure I'll manage.”

“There's coffee that'll make you see through time, if that helps.”

“That's sort of the opposite of what I'm striving for.”

“Well...there is opium, if you're really hard pressed to relax. I know how it is, Dean, believe me, I do. After everything you've been through, no one faults you and your father for your predilections. Least of all me.”

“Thank you,” Dean muttered, hoping this was the end, hoping everything else was covered in the letter he'd get later in his father's tiny, precise handwriting.

“Get some rest,” Bobby said, and that was it. All Dean heard of him until he dozed off were papers shuffling, notes being scrawled, the usual noises. He found them comforting, at least, if nothing else in the world was. And even that small kernel of home, he'd leave at the train station come morning.

It was hot. Dean knew it would be hot and he'd been through hotter but it seemed unreasonably sunny. Maybe it was just the day or the hangover he wouldn't be able to rid himself of. Although he'd found, when he unpacked, a concealed bottle of whiskey, likely from Bobby, stashed among his clothes. Here for three months, there was no clear way to ration it to last that long, unless he sipped a thimble-ful every night. And to what end would that help him?

It wouldn't.

Nothing would.

Although, riding carriage from the train station to the American hotel, he'd seen an opium den on every corner, not unlike saloons. Every place had a favourite vice. He was sure it'd be days before he started partaking. If not hours.

Dean didn't unpack.

He only had an hour to himself and he spent it washing and dressing again. He combed his hair in the gold-framed mirror on his dark-blue wall and stared at the spectre of himself there. He looked far from a legendary explorer. Far from carrying on his family tradition. He looked like a ghost and he knew that he was, that he had to be, or else why would he feel so empty?

There was a convoy out of town, set up for the first day of the expedition. The entirely of the thing took only another hour, so close that they had no need for tents or sleeping in the rough, which suited Dean just fine. No one could see him shaking, sweating and vomiting. The nightmares too; those were his and his alone, once again.

He shared an open-topped carriage with two other men and a small woman decked out in absurd clothing, heavy tweeds and whites that would get soiled within the minute. But she had a sly look to her face, like there were secrets there. She talked in low tones to the man beside her, dark haired and dark tanned but with blue eyes that glowed in the sun. He reminded Dean of a particularly unruly cat they'd had back in Newport.

Not even eight hours without a drink, and this was what his mind was doing.

It all fell away as they approached the site.

Dean had seen things before, great wondrous things and things that made his head spin strange but all of them, every single one, was eclipsed in an instant. Great hulking stone structures jutted out of golden sand, toned the same so only the shadows and the scaffolds really distinguished them. The road clogged with traffic, with yelling in a tongue he didn't yet understand and carts full of artifacts, bumping along recklessly.

And men crawled everywhere, men in great white clothes and men dressed in the western fashion too. A few women slipped among them with parasols, dressed in drab travelling clothes but occasionally, he caught a flash of bright silk, violet or peach or baby blue, in keeping with the summer season. A melting pot bigger and broader than New York City or San Francisco. Noisier and dustier than both as well; vendors prowled the crowded street, yelling their wares. They stayed out of the way of their convoy, though, owing to the armed bodyguards flanking them front and back.

Handy.

The Sphinx rose up suddenly out of the mess of the crowd, half beautiful and half grotesque, chipping and dying and glorious all at once. Pictures and other depictions, even the stereo-scope Dean had spent so much time looking at in his youth, none of that did this vision any justice. Beholding it himself was breathtaking.

Even among all the shit and the dirt, the caterwauling and the dust, there was soaring beauty.

The world was like that.

At least, the world was like that for other people.

Dean saw, after further consideration, just a crumbling facade that, centuries later, vultures like him were picking apart, in the interest of science and history. Or else just for money, if they were being honest. Most of them were not honest.

He looked back into the carriage, considered the new stain of mud on his canvas and brown leather boots. Well, things would only get dirtier from here on in.

“You're Dean Winchester,” the woman opposite him said, her voice clear and loud, accent American and untraceable, rather like his.

So they were doing this; talking. It had taken long long minutes and he'd rather have done without but it was the polite thing to do.

He nodded, felt that placid, social smile tug automatically at the corners of his mouth.

“You're well-informed.”

“I'm Meg Masters, I'm sort of the right hand man on this expedition. So, yes, it's kind of my business. Your reputation precedes you.”

“It generally does, for good or for ill.”

“A little of both, I think.”

Dean felt the corner of his mouth lift despite detesting small talk; there was more to her than appeared, and he generally liked that about women, if nothing else.

“You'll like it here,” she assured him, tilting her hat against the sun and the sand as they rounded a corner. They passed the great amalgam of stone, head of a woman, body of a lion, and other assorted things, her vague expression betraying nothing. Rather like Meg's. “You haven't been briefed yet.”

“I am due for that once we're on site.”

“Mm, not really. That's the standard fare for everyone else. But you? You're a Winchester. We don't have you sorting through the same muck as everyone else.”

Were those devil's jewels real, Dean wondered? His father's letter expounded on it; a set of necklaces, bracelets and rings that would catapult the wearer to the throne of all Hell. It seemed far-fetched but everything did about this strange, undiscovered world under the sand.

“So what am I after?” Dean asked, tilting his head, eyes swerving towards the other two gentleman in the car.

“They're privy to all my information, don't worry. This is Castiel,” Meg introduced the man with the bright blue eyes beside her, clutching at his tawny jacket with her doe-skin gloves. “And this is Brady. Both in the employ of our leader and benefactor. So you're among friends, Dean.”

Dean nodded, considered both men a little longer and without reason to distrust them or the woman yet, he eased down. Listened attentively.

It was the same general malarkey he usually heard when hunting preternatural artifacts; ancient secrets, do not disturb, on and on and on. It wasn't just jewels, though Bobby had been half right; they did exist, supposedly, they did factor into Daniel's plan quite heavily.

Which itself was suspect, but Dean wasn't in the business of questioning his employer's motives. Dean was here to get paid.

Along with the set of jewelry, there were untold bottles with things trapped inside; djinn, ghul, demi-gods, demons. Any stoppered bottle was to be suspect, was to be catalogued carefully and announced immediately to the right people, Meg and her cronies, in fact, could assess the situation.

Beings trapped in bottles was entirely too rooted in fiction for Dean's tastes. He'd never come across one in reality, and he'd come across a great many strange things. Spirits, sometimes, clung onto possessions from their lives, attached themselves to trinkets or snuff boxes or dolls. But nothing, so far as Dean knew, could be trapped in a vessel.

And he did have hundreds of years of research behind him on this.

But, he smiled, nodded, listened and considered what he might find beyond the huge structures they passed. They came out of the crowded street and carried on behind some structures, further and further out until the yelling of the vendors faded away completely. It was just their ten carts and the quiet, the wind whipping past and the sand crackling faintly.

The briefing was more or less the same. Less ghosts and monsters, more keeping things intact and being extraordinarily careful.

Dean hid his shaking hands behind his back, mopped at his sweaty brow in turns and, generally, didn't look too out of sorts for the heat of the day and how it affected everyone else.

But his stomach felt knotted hard, his mind foggy.

They had rations of water, and water would not do the trick, not for this dry mouth.

Dean fell in with the troops, so to speak. They all marched through dug-out trails, flanked by men with torches along narrow walls. There were rooms open along each side, some dim and dark and empty, others bustling with activity. They walked for sweaty ages, or at least it seemed that way. Dean was finding time falling apart rapidly as his system flushed all the precious alcohol out.

His head pounded, he sweat everywhere. Still. Two, three months of this now. He had better get used to it.

The paper in his hand said 'cavern #13' and of course it would, of course they'd stuff a Winchester in the cursed number. He found it after half an hour of drudging alongside his compatriots and found himself immediately alone as they all continued forth.

That was well enough.

Dean sighed, sagged against the inside wall out of view and took a moment to himself. Peace and quiet. It was nice, at long last, after so much jostling and shouting and close quarters sweating. Alone.

Dean prized that moment.

He opened his eyes eventually, shrugged his jacket off, laid his hat on top of it on the dusty ground and shouldered his bag of tools. It wasn't heavy but he grunted, rapidly out of shape and missing the extra boost of physical confidence from the drink. Terrible, how it changed you.

Terrible how he wasn't sure he could live without it.

“Alright, cavern number thirteen,” Dean muttered to himself, glancing around the cramped space. Here and there, things poked out of the sandy dirt. He wasn't sure what this was, whether burial or something else. He was no expert in any case.

He started in the corner, far right, and noted the proceedings, which were: dust, dirt. More dust and dirt. Broken pottery. Dirt.

This room was utterly uninteresting, uninspiring and vaguely claustrophobic. Although the walls closing in could easily be any number of horrible reactions. Dean stood with his back to everything, his arm on the wall and his head on that, wiping his sweat off for the millionth time on his rolled up shirt-sleeves.

Was the cavern spinning? Or was that him?

Did it even matter, anymore? All he had were notes on dirt and debris.

A cool wind sailed through the place and Dean spun around, frowning deep enough that it nearly hurt his face.

And now, in the center of the cavern, resting on a sealed up sarcophagus half-covered with dirt, there was a vase. Green and gold, glinting, appearing to move in the torchlight and then it did move, side to side, threatening to topple and Dean sucked in a hard breath, raced to grab the strange new artifact.

He misjudged distance, time, everything going weird as he stretched his hand out of it and brushed it too hard with trebling fingers. The vase fell, cracked loud against the slab of stone and split into two, three pieces, big and wide but pieces nonetheless.

Dean swore, reaching out to grab them when the room darkened, the torch shivered nearly out and smoke rose from the cracked vessel.

Black smoke.

You couldn't rightly call yourself a purveyor of all things mystical without knowing exactly what that meant.

Dean swore out loud, scrambled back to his starting corner, the rough stone of the cavern walls biting into his skin. He had nothing, he'd brought nothing, not so much as a grain of salt or a can of paint.

The smoke swirled around the room, filled it up huge and billowing and stopped a moment. It seemed to peer into the dimness, seemed to be looking for something and Dean prayed quietly to himself, to anything and everything that it wouldn't jam itself down his throat.

It didn't.

The smoke approached him and two hands jutted out from it, alongside Dean's clean-shaven face. He felt a chill, shook with more tremors than before when it caressed his skin and reached inside of his head. He felt that too, a cold prickle up the back of his neck, goosebumps raising on his arms, over the whole of his body.

Oh, it could see everything of him. It felt him inside and out and took him apart and put him back together, it moved with no regard for his sanity and contentment, it only sought and found and Dean squeezed his eyes shut, praying again it wouldn't take him for a host.

It didn't.

It spun around the room again, filled up every corner and dove down fast, circling the vase over and over; Dean felt it rather than saw, felt the breeze and the horrible waiting and then it whispered his name, low and sweet.

Dean opened his eyes, blinked to adjust to the brightness in the room again, the torch settled and steady.

Standing barefoot on the wide sarcophagus, the smoke had taken a form, crammed itself into a shape.

And it happened to look exactly like Dean's long-lost baby brother.

#my fic #wincest text #you asked for it friends #well #two of you did #anyway #i'm just #stalling #until #wincest #k sorry about the roughness #and vaugeries #and historical inaccuracies #it'll be better when i post it on ao3 #k bye

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