#ok sorry everyone i just needed to get this OUT

[musings-of-a-rose]

Meet the Millers - Chapter 13

Pairing: Joel Miller x Benny Miller x Will Miller x f!reader (coming soon - another Miller?)

Word Count: 5700+

Rating: Mature - 18+ ONLY!

Warnings: Just like ao3, “creator chooses not to use warnings.” If you click Keep Reading, that means you agree that you’re the age to handle mature themes. Also by clicking Keep Reading, you understand warnings may not be complete in order to avoid spoilers for the story. 

Notes: Well folks, it's finally here! I originally ended this series back in April 2022, nearly a year before TLOU season 1 debuted. I thought it was over, but not only did I have a few scenes I wanted to write but wouldn't fit, SO MANY PEOPLE asked me for more. No one more than @theewokingdead so I dedicate this last half of the series to her!

Posted in 2022: This is set loosely in The Last of Us universe. I’ve only played a bit of the game and watched others play (and the show isn’t out yet), so please forgive any inaccuracies. Also it’s a post-apocalyptic world so I’m taking a bunch of liberties here. Because fan fiction.

Ages at the time of this story (so you don’t have to do math):

Reader: 29

Benny: 36

Will: 39

Joel: 51

Main Masterlist

Meet the Millers Masterlist

<<Chapter 12<<

A loud BANG! Brings me back to reality and my eyes fly open. My head pounds and I gasp, reaching for my head when Will appears, his body shielding mine.

“Are there any more of them?” He yells.

“I don’t think so,” Benny answers from…somewhere.

I hear Ellie and Joel talking, but it sounds like they’re far away. I blink some more and Will’s eyes snap to mine.

“Hey, darlin’. Can you hear me?” I nod, trying to sit up. “Whoa, take it slow. Let me help you.” Will helps me sit up slowly, a spinning sensation joining the pounding one. I look up into his grey blue eyes filled with worry as he pulls out a flashlight and shines it into my eyes. “I don’t think you have a concussion. But we do need to get that gash covered.”

I attempt a smile, the spinning subsiding. “What happened? Is everyone ok?”

Will hesitates a moment before nodding. “Yeah. Yeah we’re all ok now.”

“Now?” 

Benny pops into my vision, his smile warming me. “Hey sweetheart! Did you get enough beauty rest while the rest of us were fighting?”

I punch his arm weakly. “Fuck you…but seriously, are you ok?”

He nods, leaning forward to press a kiss to my cheek. “Yeah. Joel almost got it but Ellie saved the day.”

“Which she shouldn’t have had to do,” Joel’s gruff upset voice sounds in the small space. “More on that later. We have to move.”

Will and Benny help me up, holding me while I acclimate. “I’m ok. I think.” 

“Can you walk?” Will asks, taking another deep look into my eyes.

“Yeah. I think it’s just my head.”

We manage to make our way into a building, newspaper covering the windows, thanks to the help of Ellie, who was able to squeeze into the small hole in the wall to unlock the door. We wait a while, listening to the trucks blaze past outside. 

“What happened?” I ask once the truck sounds fade.

“We were ambushed. I tried to get us out of there, but they were waiting. Had spikes in the road. We were spinning out so I drove us into the building to give us some cover. You hit your head and blacked out. Will pulled you from the truck but they were already on us. I-” Joel hesitates, looking at Ellie. “-one of them got on me. Tried to choke me. Benny and Will were already fighting off another couple of guys.” He looks at Ellie, sadness in his eyes. “I’m sorry. You shouldn’t have had to…you’re so young-”

“Not…not my first time,” Ellie says, so quiet I almost don’t think I hear her right.

Silence for a bit before Joel speaks. “Well I’m sorry for that too. You shouldn’t have to..do that. At your age.”

“But you’re glad I did, right?”

Joel’s jaw clenches and releases. “I’m glad to be alive, but I’m not happy you have that on your conscious.”

Ellie shrugs, kicking the dirt at her feet. “I’ll be ok, Joel.”

A few more moments of silence before it’s my turn. “Who attacked us?”

“Not the qz. These were homemade soldiers.” Benny says before he takes a swig of water from his backpack. “Probably whoever took over.”

“It doesn’t really matter,” Joel says nodding to the windows. “We have to get out of here either way. I have a plan.”

About a half hour later, we make it to the 33rd floor of a tall building, Joel slumping against the wall as he catches his breath. Ellie sticks her hand out in front of him.

“Come on, get up. Lazy ass.”

Joel glares at her but takes her offered hand and pulls himself up. “I’m 51 years old, you little shit.”

We all chuckle as we walk down the hall, our guard still up. Joel stops in front of an office door and smashes open the glass panel, reaching in to open the door. We all file in and take a look around. No one here but us.

We grab some cushions off the office couches and drag them into the same area, rolling up our outer shirts to use as makeshift pillows while Joel and Will spread the broken glass in front of the door. Ellie watches them, cocking her head slightly. 

“What are you guys doing?”

Will glances at her before resuming his work. “If someone comes in, we’ll hear them.”

Ellie nods. “Ah I see. Crunch, crunch. Nice.”

We all settle on our cushions, the office dark and foreboding. I curl up with Will as there weren’t enough to go around, pressing myself as close to him as I can. His hand grips my hip and he whispers in my ear. “You gotta stop pressing, darlin’. There’s a kid here.”

Heat rushes into my cheeks, but no one sees it. “Oh. Sorry, Will.”

A few more minutes of shuffling and getting settled before Joel speaks. “First light, we’ll go up and get a good look at the city. Find our way out.”

We all mumble our agreements. A few minutes later and I hear Benny and Will’s breathing change as they fall into sleep. Joel seems to hear this too and he talks to Ellie, who is closest to him.

“What you said before about…that not being your first time to..”

I hear Ellie shift around on her makeshift bed. “I don’t wanna talk about it.”

Joel shifts to face her. “You don’t have to. I’m just sayin’...it’s not fair. You being so young and having to deal with all this shit.”

“So you’re saying it gets easier when you’re older?”

Silence. “No.” It’s so quiet, I can barely hear him, despite being in a nearly silent room.

Ellie takes that and sits with it for a minute. “Make sure to lay on your right side. I noticed you don’t hear as good from it. That from when you got shot?”

My stomach flips. I know why that scar is there. But before I can say anything, Joel interrupts my thoughts.

“More like from shootin’, so keep that knife handy if you want to keep your hearing.” He shuffles around, most likely to lay on his right side. Just when I think she’s about to fall asleep, Ellie whispers.

“Joel?”

“Mmm?”

“Did you know diarrhea is hereditary?”

“What?”

“Yeah. It runs in your jeans.”

I have to bite my fist to keep from cackling, Ellie’s chuckle and Joel’s look doing nothing to help. Then I hear Joel, trying to hold back laughter.

“That’s so fuckin’ stupid.”

“You laughed, mother fucker.”

“I didn’t laugh.”

“Yes you did.”

Joel is barely holding it together. “Fuck, I’m losin’ it.”

“You’re losing it big time.”

He breaks and they both quietly laugh together, both telling the other to go to sleep already, and I can’t help but smile, their sounds lulling me off to sleep. 

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

“Joel!”

Ellie’s stern tone rips me from my sleep and I glance around, feeling Will tense behind me. A man and a smaller boy stand over us, pointing a gun at both Ellie and Joel, moving it between them and Benny and Will, who are both still laying with their hands up. The man looks at Joel.

“We don’t want to hurt you, ok? We just want to talk. Deal?”

All traces of the amusement of last night are gone as Joel looks the man dead in the eyes. “Sure.”

“Why do you sound like that man?”

Ellie desperately answers. “Sometimes he’s just an asshole. Joel, tell him everything’s fine.”

No change in his expression. “Everything is fine.”

“What the fuck, dude? Ok look, you guys need out, we have a way out. Can we talk?”

Joel stares the man down for several long seconds before nodding. The man lowers his gun and holds his hand out, shaking Joel’s before helping him up. 

“Sorry to creep up on you guys like this.”

“You’re lucky we didn’t shoot you,” Benny nearly growls from somewhere next to me.

The man nods. “Yeah. Like I said, sorry. I’m Henry and this is my little brother Sam.” He signs to the boy who points to all of us and signs back. “He wants to know your names.” Henry signs to Sam, telling him all of our names and continues to sign while we talk. We share some of our food with them, albeit a little begrudgingly from Joel, as it seems it had been a few days since they’d eaten. Henry tells us about the qz and how FEDRA was taken down and a rogue group of residents now runs the place. Within a couple hours of their abrupt arrival, the sun starts to rise, so we all make the trek up the remainder of the floors to the uppermost office, with a wall of windows down an old conference room. Henry stands at the head of the table, Benny and Will on the side across from Joel and me. Ellie and Sam are busy talking to each other using Sam’s writing board he carries around his neck. Henry gestures to a map he’s laid out on the table.

“So basically, we enter the underground through this building and we’ll pop up on the other side. No problems.”

“Then why do you need us?” Joel asks, hands on his hips.

Henry hesitates. “Just in case we run into trouble.”

“Clickers?” Will asks.

Henry shakes his head. “Nah. FEDRA cleared them out years ago. No one knows, but I heard it on the inside.”

“The inside?” Benny asks, eyebrows raised. Henry glances at Sam.

“Yeah. I uh…I gave FEDRA intel.”

We all suck in a breath but it’s Joel who says it. “I’m not helping a rat.”

“No, it’s not like that. Look, Sam got sick. Lukemia. The only drug that could save him, FEDRA had. And surprise, it was rare. So they told me I had to in order to get the medicine to save him.”

I nod. “I understand. I’m sorry FEDRA put you in that position.”

Henry looks at me and I can tell there’s a little more to the story, but I don’t push. “Thanks…so what do you say?”

“What about when we’re on the other side?” Will asks, pointing down at the map.

“There’s some buildings and shit out there. We just cross over that little bridge and we’ll be good to go.”

Joel, Will, Benny, and I exchange a look. We know each other so well that we don’t really need to exchange words with situations like this. Joel nods at us and we nod back. “Alright. Let’s go.”

We all pack up and quietly head outside, running a few blocks down and into a glass building that simply said BANK on the outside, its full name lost to time. We sound loud, our boot sounds echoing off the walls. 

“Where are we going, Henry? We’re sitting ducks here,” Joel barks out. Henry looks around and points, heading down a side hallway, which leads to another smaller hallway that is not nearly as fancy as the main entrance. He stops in front of a door that says MAINTENANCE. 

“You ready?” He asks. We all nod and Joel and Will push forward, Benny at the rear, Ellie, Henry, Sam and I in the middle. Silent, we all follow Joel as he opens the heavy door as quietly as he can, following the hall down. No one is here.

Henry whoops. “See? I told you it was empty!”

Joel shushes him. “Just because you don’t see them don’t mean they aren’t here. Quiet and silent.”

We follow Joel on constant alert, scanning the area as we move down the twisting hallway. Eventually we come to a doorway, the outside of which is painted in wonderful, bright colors, chipping away with time. A rainbow and grass, a castle and other fairy tale creatures are splattered across the walls. Ellie and Sam look around in awe before Sam presses forward, reaching for the door handle. Joel shoots his arm out, grabbing Sam’s wrist and shaking his head. “No.” Henry pulls Sam back and we give Joel some room, turning to cover him as he opens the door. 

It turns out to be an old child care room. No one is here, but more murals are on the walls, small tables with crayons and paper, some toys and books and magazines scattered about. On one wall a soccer goal is painted, a few balls sitting on the floor.

“I’ve heard about places like these,” Will says as he looks around. “Some people went to escape in the early days underground. Most of them got infected and emptied out.”

Ellie and Sam find a comic book and start eagerly chatting with each other about it. “Joel, can we stay a while? There’s actually shit to do here,” Ellie begs.

“We should get going,” Joel gruffs out. I can sense how tense he is being confined in a small room with no windows. 

Henry looks at him. “I mean, it wouldn’t hurt. We could wait out some of the daylight, pop back up with the cover of night. Let the kids relax a little.”

Joel thinks about it a moment and then tosses his hands up. “Fine.” He sits at a table with Henry, Joel crossing his arms as he watches Benny, Ellie, and Sam start up a game where they try to kick the ball past Benny, but mostly just pelt him with the ball. I notice a couple of doors, presumably leading to smaller rooms that may be makeshift storage rooms. I quietly open one, gun out, and quickly see no one in it. Clicking on my flashlight, I look around and yeah it was definitely a makeshift office or supply room. Or both. There are a few metal shelves that sit mostly empty, a box of granola bars sitting on one of them. Some more makeshift shelves litter the opposite wall and on the floor is some bedding that hadn’t been used in ages. The door clicks closed behind me and I spin, my gun rising with it as my light lands on Will.

“Fucking hell, Will. Don’t scare me like that.”

His smirk is not dimmed in the minimal lighting. “Sorry darlin’. Find anything good?”

I hold up the box of granola bars. “Just some ancient food. Might still be edible.”

Will looks down at the makeshift mattress on the floor. “Someone took naps in here.”

“Not gonna lie, Will. I was about to lay down myself.”

Will turns around and cracks open the door. “Joel, there’s a mattress in here. We’re gonna lay down a bit. Wake us when we’re leaving.”

“Yeah. Remember where you are.”

Will chuckles. “I got it.” He closes the door behind him and shucks off his outer shirt, rolling it up and setting it down on the makeshift mattress. He lays on his side and then gestures to me, opening his arms wide. I slide in next to him, my body molding to his. He pulls me close and inhales next to my ear, a small sigh escaping him. A few minutes go by before I feel his fingers popping open the button on my jeans.

“Can I help you, good sir oh!” I gasp as Will slides his hand into my pants but over my panties, slowly rubbing circles over my clit. 

“Don’t worry, I washed them. I just need you, darlin’. Can I have you?” His fingers slide lower, teasing my entrance, heat rushing between my legs as I nod furiously. “Please, Will.” 

He slides my pants down over my ass, helping me to get them around my ankles before he opens his own. I kick off one of my boots, sliding my top leg out of my pants as he pulls it up over his leg, his fingers immediately back to teasing me, tracing my clit up and down, slow circles as he grinds himself against my ass. 

“Can’t wait. Need you inside me, now.”

“Yes, darlin’.” Will slides into my wet pussy with ease, pushing himself all the way inside as I choke back a moan, vaguely remembering there are people in the next room. Will’s fingers move against my clit in time with his thrusts, back and forth, circling and tapping, the heat and pressure mourning until I can’t hold back. I bite my own hand as I come, not being able to stop myself from a desperate whisper of his name. He grips my hip and thrusts into me hard, panting my name in my ear as he spills himself inside of me a moment later. We stay like that for a while, him softening inside of me as he holds me close. 

“I love you, darlin’. Don’t you ever forget it.”

I smile, satisfied. “Never, Will. I love you too.” 

—----

A couple hours later and we’re out of the tunnel and outside, right where Henry claimed we’d be. It’s dark now and I’m glad we waited for this extra cover. 

“I delivered!” Henry says. “Take this right, down the street, you’ll see the embankment there, and then we’re out.” We all turn right, heading down another dark street. 

“So we cross this river and then what? Where are you gonna go?” Ellie asks. 

“Don’t know yet.”

“Well, we’re going towards Wyoming.” Joel shoots her a look. “What? It’s a big state!”

Henry hesitates. “Yeah maybe we just call this a success and say our fond farewells.”

“Are you worried about Joel? He’ll change his mind. He always does. He’s like-” Ellie deepens her voice. “-No Ellie. It’s never ever happening!” - her voice changes back. “But I always wear him do-”

BOOM! A gunshot rings out over our heads and we rush to duck for cover, trying to figure out where it came from. Joel, Ellie, Henry, and Sam take cover behind a car, while Benny, Will, and I take cover behind another car. Up ahead is an older house, a couple stories tall, the shots firing from the topmost window. Joel motions to get our attention and points to himself and then towards the house with the sniper. I point to myself and gesture the same, indicating I’ll move around the side of the car we’re behind, mirroring him. Joel nods to me and starts to move, Benny and Will providing cover as we both make our way to the house in a parallel move. We meet at the back door, as the front one was boarded up. Joel motions for me to move behind him, providing cover, as we proceed up the stairs. We hear a few more shots go off intermittently until we’re in front of the open doorway that leads into the room where the shooter is. I step to the side, just outside of the door, while Joel proceeds inside. 

“Put the gun down, slide it over to me, and then stay up here for another hour. That’s all you have to do.” Silence. Then Joel speaks again, sternly but also sadness in his voice. “Don’t….don’t do it. Please.” My heart breaks on that last word, the gunshot that follows it ringing in my ear.

“Clear.” Joel says quietly as I move into the room, the shooter man laying dead on the floor. I walk up to Joel, squeezing his arm.

“You tried, Joel. He made his choice.”

He sighs. “Yeah. Doesn’t get easi-”

Static from a walkie-talkie scratches out over the silent room. A female voice comes over it. “Anthony? Anthony?....Anthony hold them where they are. We’re almost there.”

“Fuck,” we both whisper in tandem. Joel and I turn to the window, both yelling as loud as we can to everyone still hiding behind the cars. “RUN! RUN!”

It takes a few seconds before they seem to understand what we’re saying, but it’s too late. Armored vehicles come flying down the street, smashing into the cars that are scattered about. Benny, Will, Ellie, Henry, and Sam run, scattering in a few different directions as the cars are forced apart. Joel takes aim beside me, several shots ringing out and the battering truck shifts to the side, the driver slumped over the steering wheel, as it slams into a house. More cars and trucks slam on their brakes as Ellie, Henry, Sam, Benny and Will continue to run.

BOOM!

The house that the truck had rammed bursts into an explosive flame, Joel and I shielding our eyes at the sudden brightness on the dark street.

“What the fuck was that?” I whisper, Joel looking through the scope towards the blaze.

“Truck caught fire.” Joel scans the street. “Ben and Will are behind the truck on our right. Henry has Sam and Ellie on the left.” Joel moves to the side of the window out of sight, and I mirror him on the other side of the window. As the blaze calms down, scattered bits of debris lighting up small fires across the road, Joel peeks his head out again and a man from the street yells “He’s up there!”

“Fuck!” Joel whispers. 

Another man yells. “Two and two, around the back. Take him out!” Joel reloads the new acquired sniper rifle while I sling mine down from around my back, desperately missing my bow. But I’m no slouch with a rifle either. I didn’t get the nickname Ghost for nothing.

A woman calls out this time. “Dead end, Henry. Why don’t you come on out and save us all some time?” No one moves, aside from the mini army striding down the street with the woman. “That’s alright. Doesn’t matter.”

“I’ll come out!” Henry yells from his position behind the car. “Just let the kids go!”

“No, sorry,” the woman replies. “The girl is with the people who killed Bryan. And Sam…well, he’s with you.”

“You don’t understand!” Henry pleads.

“I do! I know why you turned in my brother. But did you ever think that maybe Sam was supposed to die?” Confused and shocked, I look at Joel, who looks neither shocked nor surprised. Henry must have told him the full story. But I fully trust Joel and since he’s still here, so am I.

“He’s just a fucking kid!”

“Well kids die, Henry. They die all the time. You think the whole world revolves around him? He’s worth everything? This is what happens when you fuck with fate…It’s time Henry. Enough is enough!”

Joel and I slowly peek out from the window for a quick glimpse, seeing Henry come from behind the car, hands in the air. Ellie is still hiding, hand in hand with Sam, both looking like they’re ready to run. For several long moments, Henry and the woman stare at each other. Joel and I move back to our positions next to the window, our eyes on each other. 

The woman shrugs. “It ends the way it ends.” She takes out her handgun and slides it, putting a round in the chamber. She aims it at Henry. A low rumble echoes across the street, creaking and moaning coming from the house on fire. The truck that had hit it slowly tips on it’s front end, the ground swallowing it up. Joel quickly moves in front of the window to look, rifle at the ready. I’m watching him for a command, a direction, but the look of pure horror that washes over his face momentarily freezes me. But in the not too far distance, carried on the wind, I hear it. Them. The snarling.

Clickers.

I jump to the window beside Joel, bringing my own rifle up and ready, willing my heartbeat to slow even just a little. And then the ground opens up and spits out a horde of clickers, snarling, screeching, and running towards the group of people. They immediately open fire, screaming as clickers go down but also jump on them, biting and tearing at their flesh. 

“I got Ellie. Cover Ben and Will!” Joel barks out as his gaze narrows in on Ellie. 

My eyes find my husbands, who quickly move from behind their truck as a clicker climbs up the back of it and launches itself at Benny. I aim and fire, landing a shot in its head and it goes down. Benny and Will don’t question this and keep moving, firing their own shots. Another clicker comes from nowhere, grabbing at Will’s pack and he goes down, Benny fighting off another one. I aim and fire at the one on top of Will, keeping my breathing steady when I miss and have to reload, seeing the clicker’s mouth getting closer and closer to Will, who is pushing back with all his might. I finish reloading and jam the scope to my eye, take aim, and fire, my bullet exploding from the other side of the clickers neck. It goes down and Will shoves the body off himself and attempts to stand, but another clicker lands on top of him, trying to scratch at his face. I aim again and get his head, grateful for once for the large fans of mushroom that have erupted from its head as it gave me an easier target to hit. Will shoves that body off too, scrambling backwards a moment before jumping up. 

I pull my eye back and scan the moving masses for Benny, my heart racing and anxiety spiking the longer I can’t find him. A low, loud snarl comes frome the hole where they all crawled from and fear floods my system. I know that sound and I’d hoped I’d never hear it again. A bloater, big and fat and solid, comes crawling up, bellowing at the throngs of people, his eyes turning to-

Benny.

“Fuck!” I whisper, jamming the scope to my eye and lining up the sight, the bloater having only eyes for Benny, who has turned the other way and started to run, dodging around other people and clickers. But before I can fire, one of the soldiers that had come up starts shooting the bloater, drawing away its attention. Relief momentarily washes over me as the bloater barrels down on the shooter, grips him, and rips his head in two, growling out as it looks for its next victim. 

Next to me, Joel is focused but worried, shooting off a few shots before he swears under his breath. But a moment later, he breathes a sigh of relief. “She’s ok.” He says it more to himself than me, but I’ll take any reassurance for my adopted little sister’s wellbeing. Scanning the crowd, I spot Benny and Will rushing to a truck, helping Ellie take down a few clickers to rescue Sam and Henry who are trapped under the truck. Joel and I take out a few more to give them cover and they all start to run towards the path that will take them to the bridge. Joel pulls away from the window and I follow, both of us practically running downstairs as we hear more trucks pull up outside, the sounds of more guns joining the fray. I follow Joel out the back door and arond the house as we come up on Benny, Will, Henry, Sam and Ellie as they all watch in horror as the woman that had been trying to kill us all gets torn apart by a clicker who couldn’t have been more than 9 when the outbreak happened, both of their screams and screeches echoing into the night. 

“This way now! Move!” Joel yells as he practically pulls Ellie along, the rest of us quickly following him away from the clickers and towards the bridge. The roaring of the infected and gunfire gets further and further away and I realize that they must be following the people back into town, the ones that are running away. 

We keep silent as we make our way across the bridge, not stopping for at least a mile until we come upon a dilapidated motel, probably nothing fancy even before outbreak day. We clear the building, all of us aside from Henry and Sam used to our routine. We find a couple of rooms that are connected by doors and head inside, finally stopping to catch our breaths. 

“Let’s all get some rest and..take a breather,” Joel says, slightly out of breath himself. Ellie and Sam take a small bedroom, the door open wide as they snack and read their comic series they both love so much. It’s great seeing Ellie get along with another kid. She so rarely has the chance to interact with someone even close to her age anymore. Henry and Joel sit in the main room, Joel taking a few bites of jerky before passing the bag to Henry, who takes it gratefully. Benny opens the other door and peeks inside the opposite bedroom. 

“As much as I’d love to stay and discuss that, I need to sleep.” He heads into the room and Will follows, yawning and stretching as he goes. “Same. Wake us for watch?” He asks Joel, who nods at him. 

Joel turns to me. “Get some sleep. I’ll take first watch.”

“You sure? I know you have to be tired, old man.”

He gives me a stern look and I hide my smirk, holding my hands up in defeat. “Ok, ok. I’ll go sleep too.” I walk past Joel and lead down, gently cradling his face in my hands when he looks up at me, his eyes dark and sad. “You were amazing today. Really. I love you.” I gently kiss his lips before I pull back, rubbing my thumb across his cheek. 

He takes one of my hands in his, kissing the back of it, his eyes never leaving mine. “You’re amazing too. I love you.”

I head into the room and immediately notice there’s only one bed. I roll my eyes and head over to the king size bed, Will and Benny already on either side. I set my bag down and hop on the bed inbetween them. But it’s not until they both scoot closer to me that I feel the tears finally welling up behind my eyes, and I’m unable to stop them. 

“Sshh sweetheart what’s wrong?” Benny cups my face and scans it, looking for any marks he may have missed earlier. 

“I…I almost l-lost you b-both. Y-you came so c-close to d-dying,” Get your shit together, Ghost. 

They both immediately envelope me in a hug, Will from behind and Benny in the front, both of them clapping the other on the back. 

“We’re alright, darlin’. But if I’m honest, I thought I was a goner. I’m assuming I have you to thank for those killer shots?” I nod and he kisses the top of my head. “You’re an amazing shot.”

“Fuck yeah she is!” Benny says, looking me straight in the eyes. “You shot that one practically in the air! And then I thought that bloater was my end. It was comin’ straight for me. Did your shot scare it away?”

I shake my head. “No. That was one of the soldiers. I’m not sure if they were terribly familiar with bloaters, but it doesn’t matter now.” Benny cocks his head in question. “Bloater riped the guy’s head in half.”

“Yeah that does tend to make you not learn stuff,” Benny says, his thumb wiping away one of my tears.

We all fall asleep in each other’s arms, grateful to be alive.

—----

A snarling sound from the main room wakes us up, all of us sitting bolt upright when we heard it wasn’t in the room. But before we could move, a shot rings out. 

“What did I do? That was Sam…What did I do?”

“Henry, just put the gun down… no Henry!” Another shot and Will is at the door, pushing through it, gun at the ready. He slowly lowers it, his eyes casting downwards before he turns back to Benny and me.

“Henry. Sam turned, Henry shot him and then himself.”

“Shit,” Benny whispers. 

I push past them both into the room, ignoring the pools of blood on the floor. I kneel in front of Ellie, who stares at Henry’s lifeless body. I take ehr face in my hands and call her name until she finally drags her eyes to mine. 

“Ellie, did you get hurt? Are you ok?” She blinks a few times and shakes her head. I scan her body anyway, noting only a few superficial scratches. I turn to Joel, who’s standing, wiping a hand over his face.

“Are you ok, Joel?” 

He looks at me and nods. “Yeah. Fuck, I didn’t want that to happen. I tried to stop it.”

I cross the room, avoiding the blood, and hug him, his face pressing into my hair for a moment. “You did what you could. You’re not to blame here, ok?” Silence. I pull back and grip his chin to look at me, his sad, big eyes finding mine. “Ok?”

He nods, glancing down once before back at me. “Yeah. Ok.”

We spend the next few hours digging 2 graves out front, silently saying our goodbyes to the people who helped us out of Kansas City. I really wish they had made it. Sam was so sweet and he and Ellie became fast friends. Henry, despite his past, was a good protector of Sam. And wherever they are now, I hope he knows he did the best anyone could. Ellie silently puts the writing pad Sam had used on his grave and turns, stopping to look at Joel.

“Which way is west?”

 Joel nods in the right direction and Ellie starts walking. Benny and Will drop their shovels, dusting their hands off before grabbing their packs and following Ellie. Joel looks down at the notepad Ellie left as I come up next to him. I look down at it and read “I’m Sorry”, which clenches around my heart. 

“Let’s go!” Ellie yells from half a block away. Joel drops his shovel and grabs his pack and I fall into a walk next to him, all of us a little more silent on our way west. 

We found fear and death and grief in Kansas City. I can only hope whatever we find out west isn’t worse. 

—----

>>Chapter 14>>

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@mysterious-moonstruck-musings @heartpascalispunk

[ilona2nerrie]

(Bruce centric.)

I know I technically should be working on my fanfics, but I’m doing exams right now. So here I present you: JL as my favorite superstore moment! If you want a full one shot on them, tell me which one and will make a poll with the numbers you suggest and tag you in it. And I’ll do a few of the top scores. Enjoy!

coffee.

Bruce: I just wanted to make sure these pills wouldn’t be too addictive.

Dinah (drake): nope, uh, have you drunk anything today?

Bruce: just three pots of coffee.

Dinah: oh, that’s a lot but you should be fine.

 (Bruce started to walk away but turned back with a sigh.)

Bruce: no, I lied. It was seven pots. I just didn’t want you to judge me.

Dinah: …... That’s too much coffee Bruce.

2. Joint problems.

(Oliver had an arm over Bruces shoulder and one over Clarks, he had done something to his ankle mid battle. Clark was telling him it was alright while Bruce just kept walking.)

Bruce: this is what you get when you’ve got weak joints.

Oliver: ….. I:

Bruce: that’s why I have designated ankle day at the gym.

Oliver: /:

3. Box.

Hal: uhm, I’m a little worried I might run out of oxygen here?

Bruce: oh.

Bruce: on it.

(Bruce then proceeded to stab the box several times over, haphazardly with a pen as Hal tried not to get stabbed.)

Hal: …… Thank you?

4 .Cartoons.

Barry: oh, fun fact, the person who voiced that character killed himself in 1924.

(There were murmurs across the breakroom.)

Billy: no…

Clark: That’s terrible.                                                                 

Bruce: (under his breath): makes sense.

5. Truck.

(A truck had been outside the league earth base for ages, the team speculate.)

Barry: OH, maybe it’s an ice cream truck!

Billy: ooo I hope it’s a pizza truck. Sorry guys, kind of a pizza freak.

Oliver: Everyone loves pizza, it’s not a personality trait.

Hal: hey, here’s a crazy idea. Maybe it’s not a food truck.

Barry: ooo maybe it’s going to give us 50 dollars!

Bruce: (mamma instincts going off): maybe it’s planning on murdering Oliver.

6. Pizza.

Bruce: I used to tell Alfred I was eating with friends at bobs pizza, but really, I was eating alone at bobs pizza.

7. Electrocution.

(This takes place after a mission as Bruce is being wheeled out on a stretcher.)

Clark: Bruce? Honey? I found a clump of your hair; I’m just going to put it in your pocket, ok?

Diana: And again, Bruce, we are so sorry! But you are going to be fine.

She shares a look with Clark.

Diana: People get electrocuted all the time! It’s like- it’s good for you, it’s like a cleanse!

Clark: …. No? -

Diana: You’re going to feel great!                       

Hal: shit- what happened?

Clark: Diana electrocuted him.

Diana: Not on purpose. And he’s going to be fiiine.

9. Selling.

Dinah: How much do you think I could get for this?

(She asks, holding up a red leather heart bag.)

Oliver: aw, you’re selling that? But it’s so gorgeous.

Dinah: I know, but I need the money ):

Oliver: oh, God. I’m so sorry, I was being so sarcastic it came off as sincere. It’s hideous. Maybe two dollars?

It then sold for fifty.

10. Voting for new leader after Bruce went on maternity leave. (Au, don’t ask unless you want me to write.)

Barry: I just want to say, I fully endorse Clark.

Clark: thank you Barr-

Barry: He’s my best friend, and if he gets kicked out of this like Bruce kicked him out of the house, he’ll drive off a fricking bridge.

Clark: NOPE, NO-

11. Gaslighting.

Hal: Clark, calm down-

Clark: No! No, I’m not going to calm down, you calm down! You’re always starting stuff!

‘Hey Clark, lets google how to murder somebody,’ well you happy now! What’s next?!? ‘Hey Clark, let’s email the police and tell them I planted a bomb in the Justice Hall!’

The app Bruce made them download: Emailing local police station, I just planted a bomb in the store. Would you like to send it?

Hal and Clark: oh, oh uh-

Barry: Yes.

Clark: what! No!

Barry: shit- sorry! I just can’t say no!

12.  Answering phones.

Bruce: oh, hello ma-

Bruce: oh, sir.

Bruce: you have a uniquely high voice.

Bruce: oh, I didn’t know that could happen after a stroke.

Bruce: (hangs up the phone.)

Clark: (trying to be a supportive boyfriend.): oh, I don’t think I can go after that. (Chuckles awkwardly.) that was sooo good!

13. Maternity leave. (warning, very aggressive and not so family friendly.) (sorry.)

(When the league needed Bruce to fix something they messed up, a day and a half after having him and Clark’s child. Clark’s off world.)

(Bruce after Oliver tried to subdue his upset with a five-dollar bath bomb.)

Bruce: sorry, do you think a bath bomb is going to solve all of my problems?

Oliver: it’s not a real bomb-

Bruce: just kill yourself.

Oliver: what?

Bruce: Kill. Yourself.

Oliver: …. Bruce-

Bruce: NO! You don’t get to talk right now! I am SO tired! I have slept less than sixty minutes in the past three days! The lining of my uterus is coming out in clumps.

I have hemorrhoids, so big, my doctor looked at my A**hole and said ‘WOAH’. Have you ever had a doctor look at your a**hole and say that?!?

(Bruce got continuingly distressed as he continued.)

Bruce: I am wearing frozen diapers so that my Pu**y doesn’t fall out! Ok!?!?

Oliver: …. Damn, anyway-

Bruce: Why haven’t you killed yourself!

(They made Clark come back early, Bruce refused to come back to help for months, half mad, half very embarrassed. It got better eventually.)

14. Bathroom flood.

Barry: wait! Maybe I can try to fix it!

(He tried flushing the toilet again. It basically blew up.)

Barry: Nope, my bad, I made it worse.

(Clark, Bruce and Shazam walked in, coming to find Hal, Barry and Dinah in the bathroom.)

Clark: hey guys, there’s water in the hallway-

Hal: yeah! We’re aware!

Dinah: its pee-pee water! You’re going to get Hep!

Clark: Ew.

Billy: oh god.

Hal: it’s under control! No one is going to get hepatitis! I’m… almost sure of it!

(Bruce hoisted Billy up out of the water and onto a table before going there himself)

15. Comparing pictures. (SuperBat baby au again. Sorry, it’s funny.)

Bruce, seeing no one focusing and rolling his eyes: ok guys, I’m pregnant.

(There were fend noises of surprise that filtered around the room.)

Diana: oh!

Barry: aww.

Hal: oh, wow.

Aurthur: Well, I already knew. I compared the pictures.

(Bruce looked mortified and Clark turned and glared, eyes glistening.)

Clark: what pictures.

Aurthur: what pictures:

16. Clogged pipes.

Hal: if we could just find an opening I could just- like- suck out the clog!

(Barry turned to look at him with a very disgusted face, no saying anything as Hal searched the pipes. This incident may or may not be correlated to the bathroom flooding incident.)

17.  Accidentally high.

Bruce: ok, really quick. How do you walk? Or talk to people again?

18. Caught, but not guilty. (Not family friendly again.)

Hal: (walking past Barry and catching a glimpse of what he’s watching on his laptop.) you watching p*rn?

Barry: (honestly not bothered, knowing Hal won’t snitch.) yup

Hal: (staying to watch by Barry, unbothered.) hmm.

19. Weight gain.

Bruce: look, don’t worry Diana. Last month before I knew, I thought I might be pregnant. ID missed a few periods. And I was gaining some weight and-

Diana: oh no way! You were gaining weight! I hadn’t even noticed!

(She chuckled nervously.)

Dinah: Are you blind? Look at him.

Bruce: (disgruntled noises.)

20. Money.

(Billy turned to Bruce, looking confused.)

Billy: but I thought Bruce, the literal leader, would be making more than us?

Hal: he does.

Billy: I don’t think so.

Clark: How much do you make?

Billy: same thing we all make. 393,120 dollars a year?

(There were collective yells.)

Bruce: oh god, I forgot a decimal place.

(They make 18.9 an hour. Billy was making 189 an hour due to said error. He was allowed to keep the money, it was promptly corrected, Billy still makes ten dollars over everyone else. Bruce likes kids.)

Slang.

Hal: man, I hope she’s a Wilf. That’s a woman I’d like to fuck.

Bruce: (who had heard his kids use that a lot of the time.) O: That’s what that means!

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

Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed! And sorry to the people reading my fanfics who want more, I’m a procrastinator and studying a lot. Please take this as compensation. If I should write more let me know, and please say in comments what your favorite part is! Thank you!

[partiallysame]

thank you x1000 for the hand smooches and thank you for walking with me on that one!!! i fear i will be holding your hand hostage for the foreseeable future though bc i am OBSESSED with tattoo artist!simon

oooooh i just know simon felt weak in the knees at the “yes sir”. absolutely adorable how simon is this big scary military man to just about everyone else but he’s a nervous mess (internally) about tattooing you.

fun fact: i used to be a receptionist at a tattoo & piercing shop so there are moments in here that really made me giggle bc i’ve experienced them first hand. like simon spilling the tea (no pun intended) on johnny getting a smaller less detailed tattoo in a similar spot and damn near screaming bloody murder about it is so accurate. i remember a guy coming in to get a chest piece done and he was talking big shit to his girl on the phone about “yeah it’s just a black and white chest piece…nah babe i’m sitting through the whole thing so it’ll only be one session.” not 20 minutes later this man is squeezing the arms of the chair so tight they’re creaking and the artist has to stop several times to have him sit up and drink something (we had to give him a pop out of the paid shop refrigerator) bc he was about to pass out. needless to say he only got the outline done that day. meanwhile one of the other artists had a lady come in armed with a plushie and a blanket to get a sternum/under boob chandelier piece and she yapped with the artist for the entire session. they finished in one session and only stopped for a lunch break and for the artist to stretch. feeling the artist’s body heat through the glove is also very real. i’m starting to wonder if running hot is a requirement to be a tattoo artist bc istg all of mine have all felt like furnaces

it’s such a small thing but i also loved that you mentioned that reader felt comfortable with simon unlike the bad vibes they’d gotten from previous artists. some tattoo artists definitely get a big head and start thinking they’re hot shit and above abiding by social decency and respecting boundaries. they can get handsy (moreso than what the tattoo calls for), make uncomfortable and/or rude comments about your body, and just behave in an overall unprofessional manner just bc they think the type of job they have excuses shitty predatory behavior. so i love that simon makes reader feel comfortable and at ease in his chair.

johnny being a menace/gremlin is just canon in every universe and i love it

sorry i always send you the longest asks known to mankind 😅 but i did need to wax poetic about tattoo artist!simon for a minute bc 😮‍💨🤤🤪

I love the idea of tattoo artist!simon and have def thought about all of the 141s being artists. I live in their shop in my head

Ok let me flex the way one of my artists looks (with his consent) bc he’s 6’4 and giant and gives me Simon and Johnny vibes by his looks. Plus he tattooed me high hip and he asked if he could move me and mans lifted my whole body up to shift me and I was trying to keep the horny in big time when he did. This is him and he gives off you’re safe with me vibes even if the person next to him doesn’t this man has GOT you

But also yesss it’s like tattoo artist common knowledge at this point that men sit awful and women can take the pain sooooo much better. As a tatted up girl I’ve def had all the experiences with the shitty behaved artists or my friends have

[igotatasteforoldermendelrey]

Caring for you.

Pictures from contemploren (Bucky) and sydXgoldenhabit (Steve) on Pinterest.

A/N : Hi guys ! I love Stucky, like really I love them. I got this idea last week and was like why not write it. Hope you will like it!

English is not my first language, you might find mistakes in there.

Ship : Stucky x reader

Summary : you came back to the compound with an injury you hide to Steve and Bucky, not wanting to worry them. But when you can’t do simple things you have to face the fact that you might need help. How will the two super soldiers react when you tell them?

Warnings : non specified relationships (either friends or more, you decide), injury (bruise), swearing, intimacy (platonic), feelings, crying, lie, mention of being beaten up.

Let me know if I forgot something.

I do not consent to any of my work to be translated or posted anywhere else without my permission.

Banners made on Pinterest.

You knew they were going to kill you. As soon as they will see the bruise colouring your ribs a dark shade of blue and purple, they were going to annihilate you.

It all started when you were sent on a mission alone, much to Steve and Bucky protests. Fury insisted on you going alone to not raise too much attention on the whole operation. So you went. And everything went smoothly except for the part where two men beat you up right before you made sure they couldn’t raise their hands on a woman ever again. So here you were, clutching your right side in your hand, trying to walk as naturally as possible while a throbbing pain shook you every time you moved. You refused the medical examination after you came home to the compound, knowing that the two men were going to be immediately alerted of your state.

It wasn’t that bad. Sure it hurt like a bitch and you wanted to fucking scream at everyone staring at you strangely, but other than that everything was just fine. Until it wasn’t.

The two of them were overprotective of you, always making sure you were safe, ready to fight anyone that would try to hurt you. Even in mission, they pushed you in the back so you wouldn’t get shot or hurt in a fight. They both knew you were capable of defending yourself or taking care of yourself, but they wanted to do it. So when they saw you walking in the kitchen, a frown on your face and a weird way of walking they knew something was off.

Doll? Are you ok? What happened? Bucky asked, coming closer and frowning when you stepped back.

I’m fine, just tired. You replied, keeping your voice steady.

Bucky looked back at Steve who was already looking at him with a frown. They knew better than to push you to tell them what was wrong, so they let it go, just staying around you in case you wanted to talk.

You didn’t want to talk, the pain you felt as if a knife stabbed your skin every time you moved made you want to throw up. You knew they were both staring at you, analysing every of your moves if only to get a clue that might explain your comportment. They couldn’t put their fingers on what was happening but still tried, too hard maybe because none of them heard you ask them a question.

Guys? Are you listening to me? You called out, a jar of pickles you couldn’t open in your hands.

Sorry what, doll? Steve asked, blinking at you.

Can you help me open that? You asked him again, holding out the jar.

You cannot open a jar of pickles. Bucky intervened, narrowing his eyes at you.

The truth is you couldn’t get to open it because the movement alone send a throbbing pain in you spine.

I wouldn’t ask you either way. You replied rolling slightly your eyes.

What’s up with the attitude? The super soldier shot back.

Don’t start Bucky. I’m not in the mood. You warned him, taking back the jar Steve was holding back to you.

Why?

Because I just came home from a long ass mission and I have this fucking- You cut yourself short, almost spilling the truth.

And you have what? Steve replied, raising his brows.

And I have this fucking urge to go to bed. Good night assholes. You said, the noise of the jar of pickles on the counter almost making you jump.

You left the kitchen without even looking back at them. Walking fast so that they couldn’t call you back and see the glimpse of tears in your eyes. Walking in the elevator, you let your back hit the wall and take a deep breath. You knew it was shitty to not tell them what was wrong but you really didn’t want them to be worried or on your back until you healed.

The last time you got wounded, they had strictly forbidden you to do any sort of training or work while you only had a broken leg. Even filling reports. And yet you understood why they acted like that. Both fearing of losing someone they deeply cared about again. It was all linked to trauma of their past. That’s why it never really bothered you and if it did you would have tell them to slow down.

The ding of the elevator ripped you out of your thoughts, signalling you were at your floor. You took a deep breath before pushing you off the wall with a wince and walking to your room. Knowing your body needed a shower, you took of the grey sweater and jogging your threw on in the Quinjet because of the state of your tactic suit.

When you saw your reflection in the mirror you gasped, the bruise had extended from the bottom of your armpit to the top of your waist. You hadn’t it was that bad, sure the pain was worsening but you put that on the fact that your adrenaline was back to normal. Even worse, you couldn’t move you right arm, the pain too strong.

A knock on the door cut the silence, two voices behind it. You swore, putting back on the clothes you had before walking to the door and opening it.

Doll? We wanted to apologise for being like that downstairs.

Yes, we know sometimes we can be a bit too much on your back. We’re just worried about you.

And we promise we’re going to slow down a bit. But we just really want you to know that we’re not acting like because we think you’re not capable of taking care of yourself or-

Or that you’re bad at you job. Bucky interrupted his friend. Hell no you’re excellent. We just want to be there for you.

They hadn’t realised you were crying but when they did, sobs were fully coming out of you.

Hey, what’s going on, Honey? Steve exclaimed putting one of his hand your shoulder.

You shook your head, turning around and walking inside of your bedroom, the two them following you and Bucky closing the door.

I lied to you guys.

What do you mean?

When I said I was fine. I had a problem with two men during the mission, they kinda… beat me up. Yes I took care of them. And I have this gigantic bruise on my right side. I fucking can’t take a shower without getting lightheaded from the pain. You cried out, wiping the tears away with your left hand.

The fatigue got to you, lowering your guard. Their heart broke when they realised the state you were in, not having understood before that your defensiveness was coming from the fact you were in pain, not because of how they were acting.

Bucky was the first to reach out to you. Taking your left hand in his, the movement of his thumb on the back of it soothing you.

Can we take a look? He asked softly, his eyes fixated on yours. When you nodded, gently raised your sweater so that they could see the extent of the damage. Fuck doll, you should have gone to the medical staff.

I didn’t want to, still don’t.

Ok, here is what we’re going to do. Steve is going to go get an ice pack to put on the bruise while I’m going to help you get in the bath tub. If you’re ok with that. He added, making sure you knew you could say no.

You nodded, too tired to care about who was going to see you in this state. Steve left, promising to come back quickly, while Bucky gently get you in his arm to the bathroom. He then sat you on the sink, pushing back your hair from your forehead. He turned on the faucet to warm the water and then returned in front of you. He helped you out of your sweater, asking you if it was ok every times he moved. When your jogging was off, leaving you in your underwear, he helped you in the bathtub, making sure the water was warm enough without burning your skin.

Bucky gently helped you wash off the day, the mission and the blood your skin gathered, making sure you were still awake. He carried you out of the tub, wrapping a towel around your body. When you sat down on the border of the tub, he left the room to get you something to wear. The super soldier came back after a few minutes with a change of clothes in his hands. He first helped you in a long shirt, falling on your knees before helping you get your bra off, the shirt making a barrier so that you wouldn’t feel uncomfortable. Bucky came out of the bathroom to leave you the time change of underwear before coming back inside you called out his name.

After you were dressed, the super soldier helped you walk back to your bedroom where Steve was sat on your bed, ice pack besides him. He smiled up at you softly, looking at your face and at the dark circles under your eyes. He took Bucky’s place and helped you to your bed, laying you down and putting the sheets on you.

Bucky sat down on the other side, the pack of ice wrapped in a towel so the cold won’t burn your skin and handing it to you. You sighed of relief when you felt the cold on the bruise, closing your eyes and letting your body relax.

Do you think she can takes pain meds? Bucky asked to Steve.

I don’t know, have you eaten since you came back?

A pickle.

The two men laughed. Yeah that’s definitely not enough, honey. Do you want something in particular?

Just kill me already. You whined, closing your eyes tighter.

We will do that when you’re feeling better.

Baby come on… Bucky sighed, grabbing your calf through the sheets.

Stay here, I’m gonna go see what’s left in the fridge. Steve said when he got up.

I didn’t take you for a thief. That’s not good for your reputation Rogers.

It will be even worse for my reputation when I’m going to make your run a hundred times around the lake. He replied before leaving the room.

You were left alone with Bucky who was still staring at you.

Why didn’t you tell us? He asked.

Because I didn’t want you to go all super soldier for me. Like… I love it when you do it, I do. But I cannot keep counting on you, you won’t always be here.

Sweetheart… I think I can speak for Steve too when I say that we really count to be there for you as long as you will let us. There is nothing you can do that will change that. I mean unless you join Hydra of course. Bucky said, coming up the bed to sit beside you.

You slightly laughed at but when you did, the pain came back full force. Fuck.

Sorry, I probably shouldn’t make you laugh.

That’s alright it’s what I get for not paying attention to my surroundings.

What happened?

I was trying to get a man to talk, like Fury asked. But I fucking didn’t see the other two behind me and they… didn’t like the fact that I kinda beat their friend.

They surely didn’t go kindly on you.

Here I am, I took everything I could. Tony might lecture me about the fact that I took his donuts but I don’t care. Steve said when he came back, arms full of divers dishes.

The three of you ate, Bucky and Steve animating the conversation so that you could relax even more. After a while, you felt the fatigue getting to you, and lay your head on Steve’s shoulder. He let you and even sat back against your headboard so that you could be more comfortable. You passed out before you could even say thank you.

~~~~

She look so peaceful. Bucky said, watching you.

I know right. Steve answered, looking over at your head laying on his shoulder. And yet she still can’t accept people care for her.

It’s in her head, Steve. She has been confronted to that her whole life. It takes time. I know that well.

Yeah you’re right. But it makes me so angry to see her like that. She didn’t even come to see us while she was in pain.

Her brain has to understand this is real. Bucky answered, putting his hand on Steve knees. But we will make sure it does. You did it for me.

And I will do it again for her.

[circular-8]

OK, but I don't think Buck wanting to transfer is a crazy out of pocket thing for him to do. He'd tried to do it once before when he felt like everything was falling apart and this time Bobby is gone forever and, as far as he knew, Eddie was too. The show likes to be like, "Buck clings" and he does, but he spent his early twenties going from place to place. The show's never talked about what that was like, but you can easily imagine that Buck would show up somewhere, it would feel right, he would cling until it was proven that is wasn't right and he would give up and leave.

Yes, 8x17 gave us the Diaz family dinner and it was lovely, but it was temporary. As far as everyone in that house knew, Eddie and Chris were both going to go back to Texas. It wasn't something that Buck was going to get to keep. Also, as others have pointed out, Pepa encouraged him to embrace change.

As for him wanting to leave the 118 even though Hen and Chim are both still there? Sorry, but I think that makes sense too. Buck wants to be needed and I think it's really clear that he currently thinks that no one in his life needs him. "In Another Life" really put the spotlight on how Buck feels that he's affected the lives of people around him. Coma!Hen's life wasn't changed at all and Coma!Chim hadn't met Maddie – something he'd already done irl and didn't need Buck for. Buck explicitly stated in that episode that Maddie (and his parents) don't need him. The two standouts were Bobby and Eddie. Most of the episode focused on that relationship, but the complete lack of Eddie in the coma dream stood out too. They were the people in his life Buck feels need him the most. The show even ended a – at that point – series long "Buck is too reckless and not careful enough with his own life" plotline with Eddie basically telling him that Buck needs to stay alive because Eddie and Chris need him. And now Bobby is dead anyway and Eddie and Chris clearly don't need him because they moved to Texas and aren't coming back.

Also probably just being at the 118 right now is probably a constant reminder of everything he's lost in the past year and I can't blame him for wanting to get away from that.

[antheiagoddessofwriting]

Gold Rush part 4

To say that you do not get along with Jake "Hangman" Seresin is an understatement. From the first day the two of you met, you got off on the wrong foot. When both of you are called back to Top Gun for a special detachment the rocky relationship continues. Between jealousy, fights and accidents, can you and Jake see eye to eye? or will your relationship sink and fade away before it ever began?

Jake “Hangman” Seresin x Reader

Slow burn, enemies to lovers. Inspired by Gold Rush by Taylor Swift

Chapter 4 - roughly 2,900 words

Cross posted on ao3 under - AntheiaGoddessOfFlowers

Chapter 4 - I don't like that falling feels like flying 'till the bone crush

Due to the fact that the dagger squad just can't seem to get along, Maverick decides a game of dog fight football will do the trick. But will an accident in training change everything?

Hey guys warning! Bad injury, blood, bones not right, etc. Read with caution my loves.

It had been a few days since the incident between Hangman and Rooster. Things were still tense between the two of them which made the rest of the pilots tense as well. Hangman had been sticking to the slow changes in his flying and he seemed to be making progress in caring about others in the air. He didn’t show off as much and honestly it was a relief that he had your back in the air. 

However, because stress and tensions were still Maverick decided that you all need a team bonding exercise. He had said something the day before about dog fight training again but that it would be at the beach. You didn’t understand how he’d help you all with dog fighting there, but you put your faith in the seasoned pilot.

You put on a secure bikini with some shorts thrown over and headed out to the beach. When you got there it was the late afternoon and the heat had started to dissipate. Almost everyone had arrived except for Phoenix, Bob, Rooster, and Coyote. Hangman walked over to you nonchalantly as you all waited for full attendance. 

“Nice shorts” he said while trying to hide the way he checked you out. 

Feeling the heat rushing to your face you simply nodded. He was wearing nothing but shorts and seeing the sun glisten abs only added to the warm feeling you had. It must be the sun, you thought, trying to find a logical reason as to why you felt like this.

The rest of the pilots strolled up to the beach and you saw Phoenix look between you and Hangman and point it out to Bob. Oh god. Do they both think something is going on between us? In your panic at the thought you stepped away from Hangman. 

Luckily before Phoenix could comment Maverick started giving out instructions for Dog Fight Football. Apparently there would be two balls at once and both offense and defense would be happening simultaneously. According to Maverick this would mimic being in the air and encourage teamwork. 

For the first half hour of playing everyone tried their best to keep score so they could see who won. But everyone quickly gave up keeping score in favor of having fun. The sun had just started going down though, making it slightly harder to see the balls. Rooster had thrown one of them towards you and you ran down the beach to catch it. You jumped up and caught the ball, but as you descended you landed on someone and knocked the both of you onto the sand. 

“Ow” Hangman groaned as your elbow had hit his stomach. It was almost cliche that of all people to land on it was Hangman. 

“Sorry” you said sincerely while he stared up at you. Your chest was on his and both of you were breathing heavily. 

“It’s ok,” he replied with a soft smile. “The view is nice”

You laughed at his comment. A moment passed before either of you said anything. But Phoenix interrupted by yelling at you to get up so they could use the other ball. You got up and threw the ball to her before helping Jake stand up.

As he got to his feet he stood very close to you. The way he towered over you made you feel flustered. But he quickly left your side to continue playing Dog Fight Football. For the rest of the game you continued to feel flustered and nervous. You kept catching Jake glance and smile at you throughout the game. Each time you made eye contact with him you felt your heart skip a beat and your face flush. You couldn’t understand why you felt this way, you were supposed to hate him. Jake was all arrogance and self-importance who didn’t care about others. Although, he was changing… you had to admit that. 

After the game ended, you returned to base and took a cold shower. You assured yourself that it was just the sun and the exercise that had you worked up like this, nothing else. But that night you had a hard time falling asleep. Your mind was racing with thoughts of him. You realized that for the past few weeks he had been all you could think about. The thought was scary. After the horrible relationship with Sawyer you weren’t sure if you could ever trust anyone with your heart ever again. And Phoenix had made comments about how Hangman was a playboy. Surely he would just leave you heartbroken too. 

In order to protect your heart you decided that you should keep your distance. The next day you did your best to avoid his gaze and being alone with him. It had to be this way, you wouldn’t let yourself get hurt again.

Phoenix and Bob kept pestering you with questions about whether you like Hangman. Everytime you said no they both scoffed and refused to believe you. They both seemed to be convinced that you and Jake were in love with each other. How ridiculous!

A few days later you were in the hallway, taking a break from listening to the comms of everyone who was training in the air with Maverick. You were anxiously waiting until it was your turn in the air and decided you needed a breather. The mission had just been moved up. Instead of a few weeks there was only ten days until the Uranium plant would be operational. The new deadline was only adding to the stress you already felt.

Hangman followed you out into the hall with a concerned look on his face. It had been two days of you ignoring him, and he couldn’t take it anymore.

“TAG,” he started, “are you ok?”

You just nodded your head and looked at the floor.

“Don’t be nervous about the run, you’re going to do great” he said trying to reassure you.

You looked at him, causing his face to light up. “Thanks Jake.”

Suddenly you realized how much it hurt not talking to him for the past two days. But you knew getting your heart broken would hurt even more. 

He glanced around before stepping closer to you. Softly he said, “you’ve been ignoring me.”

You dropped your gaze to the floor, not wanting to look at him. He noticed what you were doing. Had you really been that obvious?

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” you said.

He sighed, “y/n. I asked you what I needed to do to get you to talk to me. I’ve been trying to change- to be a better man I-”

Before he could say anything else you both heard panicked shouts coming from inside the room. He shook his head before entering the room to see what was going on. You followed him in to hear Maverick panicking over the radio begging Coyote to wake up. He was in G-Lock and plummeting to the ground. Everyone else in the room was nervous and at the edge of their seat. Luckily, Maverick was able to get tone on Coyote, which woke him up. He lifted the plane, narrowly avoiding a crash. 

Coyote, Phoenix, Bob, and Maverick soon landed and it was your turn to fly. You Maverick, Harvard and Yale were up in the air. Skillfully, you led Harvard and Yale through the turns, making good time. But because they were going slow you reduced speed so you didn’t lose them. You dropped your missiles and missed the target. Shaking your head you tried to ignore your failure as you practiced the high G climb. It went well for you, and for Harvard and Yale. 

The planes leveled out and you all were about to turn around to return to the airstip when Maverick called out “Birdstrike!” A whole flock of birds flew at you all. Multiple birds flew into your left engine, starting a fire.

Hangman was sitting in a room with all the other pilots listening to the radio to hear what was going on. During your entire run he had been listening intently. When he heard Maverick call out the bird strike he got anxious.

He heard you say “Left engine’s on fire! Climbing”.  Jake jumped up from where he was sitting and ran to the radio. All of a sudden, his stomach was in knots and it felt like someone had stabbed him right in the heart. 

“Throttling back, shutting off fuel to the left engine.” you paused for a moment before saying, “Extinguishing Fire.”

The all knowing Phoenix immediately understood why he was so scared. “She’ll be fine,” she reassured.

However, they heard Maverick say “it’s on fire don’t start!”

But you didn’t hear him. The roar of your plane was too loud. You shouted, “throttling up”. But it didn’t work. Your engine exploded and you were sent plummeting towards the ground.

“I’m on fire!” you yelled! You stared at the screen and hit the button to extinguish the right engine.

“Oh my god” Maverick said.

“No… no this can’t be happening” Hangman pleaded after hearing the panic in your voice as well as Maverick’s. He knew you were plummeting to the ground, and here he was listening. Phoenix grabbed a hold of him as he tried to leave the room telling him there wasn’t anything he could do.

“I’m on fire!” you screamed, clearly the shock didn’t wear off yet. “Ok breathe. Extinguishing right engine” 

Jake sat back down and listened as you talked yourself through extinguishing the engine. Maybe you could save it after all?

But all his hopes were lost when Maverick shouted “Eject! Y/N Eject now!”

“I can’t control it!” You choked out. Giving up trying to save the plane, you ejected. Your body was sent flying out of the plane and you pulled on the string to launch the parachute. But by the time you ejected you were so low that the parachute didn’t help much.

Upon your crash landing in a tree you heard the crunch of branches as well as bone. Screaming in pain you tried to figure out what broke, but everything hurt. You tried to get loose, but you were stuck in the tree with the parachute holding you up. After looking up to see where the parachute was caught you started panicking even more than you already had been. It was ripped and barely tangled in the branches. If you made any harsh movements you were sure to plummet all the way to the ground, breaking more bones along the way. Besides, with what you were sure was a broken leg you definitely weren’t going to be able to climb into the tree. Your only option was to hang tight and try to ignore the horrible pain you were in. 

Tears streamed down your face as you waited for help. You tried your best to gently grab an emergency radio, but one of your arms was in agony and when you reached the other out you heard the tree branches creak. You gave up trying to reach the radio, fearing that your condition would worsen if you were sent plummeting farther down. Everything hurt, and eventually you passed out, the pain and the shock taking over your body.

In the air Maverick had watched you eject, and he saw where the plane crashed. But he paid more attention to making sure your parachute was open.

He quickly realized you didn’t have enough space between you and the ground. The parachute opened too low. When he saw that he said “we need search and rescue as well as medical”

Once Jake heard the words search and rescue he bolted out of the room and towards the runway. When he got there a helicopter was ready to take off. He forced his way in and patiently waited till they arrived in the area you crashed. He was bouncing his leg frantically and picking at his fingernails. His stomach was in so much pain and everytime he thought about you possibly being hurt, or worse- no he couldn’t think about that. God, what had you done to him? For years he had been in love with you. The first day at Top Gun when he saw you for the first time he knew. But, of course he messed it up. And then when Top Gun ended and you went your separate ways he tried to get over you, he really did. But it never worked. And now here he was, ready to jump out of a helicopter to find you. He was sure you hated him but that didn’t matter. All he cared about was finding you and getting you to safety. 

It took two hours before they finally caught sight of your parachute stuck in a tree. The woman piloting the helicopter slowly landed it. He and the medical personnel bolted out of the helicopter and towards you. They could see your parachute in the distance at the top of the tree line and followed it like the North Star.

When he saw you he almost had a heart attack. You were dangling from the tree, completely passed out. Your right leg was bent in all the wrong ways and in all the wrong places. There was a gash on the side of your head that slowly was oozing blood down your face.. He couldn’t walk any closer, couldn’t admit that this was real. Frozen in his place he watched you get cut down from the tree. The medical team set up a net to catch you in. He watched them try to find your vitals and felt sick to his stomach. If they said you were dead he was sure he’d die right then. 

Luckily, they found a pulse. You were alive, but barely. A weight was lifted off of him as they loaded you on a stretcher and into the helicopter. All he could do was stare at you and watch to make sure you were breathing. It felt like years went by before you were finally off the helicopter and being rushed to the medical bay.

Jake was standing on the runway, watching them roll you away. Suddenly it was like his feet had become bricks and his stomach had turned into cement. He wanted nothing more than to follow you to the medical bay and make sure you were ok, but he couldn’t move. His body was too heavy with his fears and dread. 

Phoenix had been the one to walk up to him. “She’s gonna be ok”

He shook his head, “you don’t know that.”

“She’s a fighter Jake, she will fight”

Jake stared at the ground fighting back the tears in his eyes.

“We’re all here for you, we know how much you liked her”

His gaze shot up to look at Phoenix. “Oh don’t act so surprised. You two are so obvious about your feelings for each other”

He laughed at her statement, “well TAG doesn’t have feelings for me. She hates my guts”

This time, Phoenix was the one laughing. “You are so blind Hangman”

He sighed and started walking towards the base with Phoenix by his side. 

“You know” he started, “I just can’t bear the thought that I never got a real chance with her, and that it’s all my fault” “What do you mean?”

“The first day I met her I made the stupidest joke because I was trying to flirt. And that got us off on the wrong foot. And then her stupid, phony boyfriend came along. I hated him. Everytime I pointed out how awful he was she defended him and we argued. And then we started arguing about everything…” 

He stopped talking, it was all too much. Had he really been so dumb for so many years? Why did he go on just letting you hate him?

“When I saw her at the Hard Deck for this mission I figured I finally had a chance. I could show her the real me but… it’s too late”

“Oh my god” Phoenix said, “She isn’t going to die”

“I hope not,” Jake pleaded.

Phoenix stopped walking to look at him. “You’re in love with her.”

Jake stopped walking too, but he didn’t turn to look at her. He sighed before saying “yeah… I am”.

Neither of them said anything, but they resumed heading into base.

“I think you should wait a few days to see her. You need to rest” Natasha told Jake. 

“You’re probably right.”

And with that they went their separate ways towards their respective rooms. He tried to sleep, to get some rest like Phoenix advised. But he just couldn’t. Everytime he got close to sleep he heard your voice, how panicked you were trying to save the plane. He saw your body hanging limp from the tree. All night he kept tossing, turning, and holding back his tears. 

Luckily, in the morning Maverick decided to give you all the day off given the events of the previous day. Jake took this opportunity to try and sleep since he got a total of zero hours of shut eye. He was able to get a few hours worth of napping in, but he kept getting awoken by a nightmare. That you died.

Heavy angst to follow!!! :) For my midwestern babes, careful in the Dust Storm :)

[fisherrprince]

Instead of writing a fanfic like a normal person this oneshot turned into two separate, contextless things,

[thekittyokat]

you ever just have a lot, a LOT of feelings all at once about a character and not even remotely enough words or brainpower to FORM the words to describe everything you're feeling. so it feels like you may explode. yeah

[weekdaysend]

My SentOpLita 1AM relationship chart I did not think I'd be psycho-analyzing this dynamic as much as I thought I would..

[angelsdean]

don't know how people multi-fandom. dipped my toe into another one and immediately backed out bc everyone there was insufferable.

[callixton]

i think the thing to understand abt martha jones is that even after she leaves she is five seconds away from dropping everything and traveling with the doctor at any given time. bc that itch to blow everything up and damn her personal duty to hell in search of a higher call never leaves her. but martha is smart. and rational. and has spent a long fucking time needing to keep herself safe. (bc he comes when she calls but never before.) and so she has gotten very good at keeping herself on the right side of those five seconds. but i do think if ten was a different person (if he could acknowledge how much he needed her instead of just how much he liked her) (if he didn’t feel this righteous martyrdom when it comes to being left alone) (if he cared enough about her to beg. if he cared enough about himself.) i think that her answer no would come crumbling down pretty quickly is all.

[gorbo-longstocking]

starting this geta and caracalla x reader fic and realizing with horror that im 2.2k words into the first chapter and not even a quarter of the way done with what i want to happen in it AND THERE ISNT EVEN GOING TO BE GETA AND CARACALLA IN THE FIRST CHAPTER 😭😭😭😭😭

anyway heres a sneak preview

[himbohimhoe]

Holding out hope that the writing in veilguard will get more bearable but rook saying to lucanis that it's "not nice that Spite hurt him" and he "shouldn't accept that it’s fine bc it wouldn't be ok if a person did that" like. That is a demon. Built off a single emotion called SPITE. Rook I am finding it really hard to believe that u have lived in thedas for more than 30 seconds.

[xxplastic-cubexx]

Still cant believe rivals charles real. Or will be in like. A year’s time.

[silvercrane14]

.

[lautity]

omg how did you guess i think about her.....steps in front of username to cover it. ignore that

edit from after this was written: i am so sorry. i am so so so sorry for this. it's like a whole fic i have no one else to say this to bc no onecares about them HAJKDSAHKSJHD i am . shaking. so sorry. omg. don't hate me

anyway you are so correct ARHJHKS pathetic autistic lesbian who grew up alienated from her peers bc she was "weird" and ppl didn't wanna be friends with her....until zoey came along and actually tolerated her (used her) and turned her into a dog basically.

she'd do anything for zoey....anything..........they are so homoerotic codependent friendship coded. zoey is MOST DEFINITELY in love with hailey but in like a very unhealthy "my feelings for you make me look weak so i need to make you weak by treating you like this" (plus zoey is just a bitch to everyone in general)

and hailey just takes it. bc she admires zoey so much. like she canonically sees her as a mentor. even though they're likely the same age. and yes yes she is in love with zoey because who wouldn't be. who wouldn't fucking fall for the only person who ever like. talked to her. who sings so well and acts so well and controls every room she enters. who has the power over people hailey could only dream to have one day......and also she's SO hot

NOW. THOUGH. it is canon that they have a third roommate. what if i told you it was greenpeace girl herself - harmony jones. (not canon. not even hinted at)

i just think. harmony is soo passionate about the environment. passionate in general. also autistic. good at masking though. but takes no shit. she's the first person zoey can't manipulate or degrade and it SUCKS. she's like 5'10 to me and basically towers over zoey of she's wearing her huge thrifted black boots. and it makes her so flustered and SO angry

and like. it is pretty funny to intimidate hatchetfield's favorite knockoff regina george. zoey passes her in the hallway and actually has to look up to meet harmony's dumb stupid sparkly gorgeous eyes......and harmony just smirks.........and zoey like. regains her composure. tears her eyes away and hisses "get out of my way" and practically sprints to her room. slams the door. and harmony calls after her "sorry princess" and zoey is so angry and flustered she bites a pillow not to scream

hailey and harmony are soo special too. harmony sees hailey, because she's willing to. she likes listening to her ramble. she likes seeing her happy & not constantly hiding herself in fear of being abandoned again. she is soooo down bad for hailey she'd do anything for her.

sounds like a pretty weird roommate dynamic right. WRONG. polyamory beam.

hailey looks at harmony like she carries the stars in her eyes. harmony looks at her the same. zoey is added into this and feels a little out of place. for the FIRST TIME in her life, zoey chambers feels out of place.

hailey and harmony make a huge effort though. because they are also still very much down bad for this bitch.

harmony just has like.....zoey on a leash. a mean lesbian with an even meaner lesbian on a leash. zoey eventually leans into it. her new role of being harmony's pretty princess........

she starts being less cruel to hailey. she's still like a bitch, that's just in her nature, but there's sweetness to it.....she makes an effort to learn stuff about hailey. hobbies and favorite musicals and all that. she learns that hailey can actually be kinda sorta cool (in a lame way) if she's not constantly biting her tongue.

staring at you really hard like a cat. they (you) could never make me hate you zazz haileydilmore.

i am actually really obsessed with 'in love with her, but not as an equal'. princess and handmaid coded. fondness but its buried under so much scorn. you Could tell her. and it'd probably make her more devoted. but she'd already do anything for you, so why give her that leverage?

there's this specific feeling some people (especially like. popular hot girls. lol) give you where they make you feel important. like. just by being around you, by deeming you worth their time, they're calling you special. even if they aren't actually being nice to you. unspoken affection of letting you stay close to them. it's like a really fun addictive feeling and i think hailey is always chasing that from zoey

harmony teaching hailey that she deserves so so much better than how zoey treats her.......i don't think that would be immediate but it would be like. a slow build-up of being less and less comfortable w/ zoey's demands before she finally flat-out refuses to do something. probably with a "you aren't even nice to me, zoey. I don't think you ever have been."

i think....zoey hates seeing harmony and hailey happy together at all it makes her So Mad because she had hailey first. and she's been stolen. by what? being kind??

the Entire Time zoey is ruminating on this harmony and hailey are both trying to kind of invite her in and be like hey we arent mad at you we should probably all talk (The Polyamory Talk™. zoey does not know this i dont think). but zoey is both upset/jealous and maybe a little tiny bit worried that she'll fuck up whatever they have. because she does maybe feel the littlest bit bad about hurting hailey. a little bit. because there is actually something nice about this happier, more confident, more assertive hailey. maybe she feels a miniscule amount of guilt that she was the reason she was miserable for so long.

they do finally ask her out and shes so out of her element waugh......because yeah harmony has her whipped.

+ ur so right zoey is never nice, persay, but harmony definitely dulls some of her edges and she's a lot more able to say things with affection rather than spite. and harmony's reign ushers in clear communication (or else), so when zoey has issues with hailey there is no more passive-aggressive comments that leave her spiralling

ugh i think zoey wld still snap at hailey sometimes and harmony always mediates.....theres something kind of fun about hamony being a protector. maybe zoey feels a little left out sometimes because of this, like she's the third or the spare or the least wanted. not a feeling shes used to! of course they reassure her that this is not true. but maybe she makes a bit more of an effort with her temper, anyways. you understand