#one time my boss accidentally asked me for a doctor's note and i was like EXCUSE ME??? MY HEALTH IS MY PRIVACY?????
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thebendsbyradiohead · 18 days ago
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does the healthcare in the netherlands suck? yes. but do they also have fantastic labor rights & i can just call in sick for 2 weeks paid in full without providing any proof of sickness until i am legally required to? also yes.
so you see my conundrum re: moving
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bonjourxrenae · 10 months ago
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🇮🇪 🇵🇱 IREPOL FANFIC ARCHIVE 🍀 👑
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Scéalta le Casadh by bonjourxrenae (@bonjourxrenae)
A historical one-shot about their first meeting - what starts as humble research becomes a quiet whirlwind romance:
Doctor O’Connor figured the best way to learn more about a nation was to glean that information from another nation. It had been the only reason Ireland came to Warsaw: to interview Poland, gather information, and help edit the manuscripts. In truth, he had become enchanted by the land during the few months he had stayed in Warsaw. The people were kind and devout, the kind of people Ireland felt warmest around. He had brought his flageolet and played for the children on the streets. The food and the folk dances comforted him, sunrises and sunsets were clear, and the reflection of the moon on the waters of the rivers and lakes had all but taken him under. He had become enamored. He understood what the doctor meant. He had to know more.
M’fhíorghrá / My true love by Felicja_Julieanne (@felicja-j)
A soft one-shot, wherein the two have other plans that don't involve staying at the UN formal:
“You’ve talked with your boss already, right?” “Yeah, but he ditched me the first occasion he had. Why?” Ireland smiles at him. “In that case, he knows you’re here. No one said we have to stay til the very end.” He pulls Poland a little closer, and lets himself rest his head against Poland’s hair. No one is looking in their direction anyway. “How about you run away with me, love?”
Of Irish coffee and milk tea by Felicja_Julieanne (@felicja-j)
A collection of drabbles, ranging from soft and domestic, to angst with character death.
A Game of Guinness Telephone by Husaria (@lithuanias)
Meet-cute Human AU one-shot, in which a stranger buys Ireland a pint at the pub... then promptly leaves before he can get a word in:
Alfred returned with another Guinness. Seán blinked. “Thanks, but I’m not even done—” “Oh, I know,” said Alfred. “This is from—” He gestured towards an empty barstool at the end of the car. “—he just left.” Seán swiveled around to look at the front door. “Who left?” “Some guy. He ordered you a Guinness. I…I thought he wanted to talk to you.” “Who was he?” “Beats me,” said Alfred. “First, he asked if we carried…a…I can’t even pronounce it and then just ordered a Guinness. I think we carry the beer he mentioned…Do we—?” Seán sipped his stout. “Did you get a name?” “Nope. Had an accent. I think he was Polish.” “What’d he look like?” “A bit shorter than you. Blond. He couldn’t have been older than twenty-five. Oh, and he had a white cat with him.”
The Seal Lord by bonjourxrenae (@bonjourxrenae)
Fantasy AU multi, featuring Ireland as a selkie and Poland as the young dignitary who accidentally summons him:
It was hard to say how much time had passed, or how many tears he’d wept. Get it together, he told himself, slapping his cheeks until his senses returned. Feliks breathed in the salty air, filled his lungs with the chill so deep it almost hurt. While he had the time, he listened to the hush of the waves against the shore, the cry of the gulls overhead… The airy sound of a tin whistle playing close by… Feliks turned toward the sound. In the haze of sundown, he saw him: a tall man with copper red hair bent over a stone, his feet buried in the sand. He was soaked to the bone, dressed in nothing but what appeared to be a large fur skin, glossy from the salt water. As he played, his thin fingers fluttered over the sound holes, trilling every other note. It was a song Feliks did not recognize, yet felt drawn to all the same. As he approached, the sand shuffled noisily beneath his shoes. The strange man drew away from the flute and looked over his shoulder at Feliks, a boyish smile curled on his lips. “Ah, so you’re the one what called for me.”
Sleepless by Felicja_Julieanne (@felicja-j)
A deeply emotional Human AU, in which Feliks realizes he's asexual and comes out to his partner:
Seán walks up to him, and sits on the other side of the windowsill seat. The moonlight shining on his face makes him seem more pale than usual, but it accents all the right angles, and seems to highlight all his freckles. Feliks almost wants to ask to paint him like this. Maybe another night. “Are you okay?” “Yeah,” Feliks answers. Too quick, he then realizes. “I just, uhm. Can’t sleep, I guess.” Seán raises his brows, and smiles. “And my guess, is that you’re lying.” Feliks feels his breath catch in his throat. “Y’know… whatever it is, you can tell me.” “There’s not-,” his first instinct is to defend himself, but then… he doesn’t. Avoiding this conversation has been draining him mentally. As much as Feliks is terrified to bring it up, he wants to talk to someone. He needs to. “I’ve- … It’s been a weird couple of weeks, I guess.” “Is everything okay?” Seán asks with concern. He leans forward, his hand on Feliks’s leg. He smiles with reassurance, but Feliks sees something else in his eyes. He must be worried, and Feliks doesn’t exactly blame him. He’s been way too distant lately. No wonder Seán knows something is going on. Feliks is terrible at hiding things. He turns to the window, resting his forehead against the cold glass, and closes his eyes for a moment.  “No, it’s not.”
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cupidlovemail · 2 years ago
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( genshin impact ) tighnari x reader
reader :: gender-neutral, trainee doctor
genre :: angst, fluff
word count :: 2.9k
warnings :: tighnari gets struck by lightning, severe injuries, burns, blood, scars, mentions of being unconscious
characters :: tighnari, dehya, lumine, collei
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Living in the rainforest had its ups and downs. It was fascinating to get first-hand experience and witness all of the flora and fungi it had to offer, however it was also possible that something would go wrong and you would get a very stern lecture from your boss. As a trainee forest watcher specializing in medicinal herbs and remedies, excelling at your job was critical. If something went wrong it was up to you to ensure the safety of the group and keep the situation under control. That is why today, after accidentally spilling a bottle of medicine you had been working on into the river, Tighnari sat you down to discuss the problems you were having.
"Do you have to be so clumsy? What if someone's life was on the line and you dropped all of the available medicine?"
"I wouldn't! It was an accident, the ground was just softer than I thought it would be and-"
Tighnari's sigh interrupted you, causing you to look at your feet in shame. He was a great boss but sometimes you felt like he was harder on you than the others. If Collei accidentally leaves something in camp it's because she is swamped with work, if you do it it's because you're scatterbrained. If another forest ranger trips and drops their food rations it's because the vines were dense in that area, if you do it it's because you're clumsy. Even if you think you are improving Tighnari always manages to find something to nitpick about your performance.
"Well, I guess it'll have to be fine. The medicine didn't contain anything that isn't native to this area so it shouldn't pose any environmental concerns. Just don't do it again." He makes quick notes in his pocketbook, likely documenting everything you did wrong today.
"I'll do better next time!"
"You always say that."
"I really, really mean it this time!"
"You always say that, too. Look, being a doctor is a hard discipline. These negative traits are not going to help you, institutions in the city won't accept it. You can't spill things, you can't panic under pressure, you can't-"
"Do you not trust me, Tighnari?" You ask quietly, cutting him off mid-sentence. You had listened to this speech many times before and did not want to hear it to completion. "I have helped people, I haven't harmed anyone in the entire time I've been here! You make it sound like I can't do anything right!"
"I'm not saying you're useless, I'm just saying you have a long way to go before you can become a real doctor."
"But I am a real doctor! I'm helping people, I'm making my own medicine, and I'm learning so much by being in the forest!"
"You're going to need a lot more experience, but that's why you're here. The other forest watchers are learning too, you're not the only one who needs to improve before they can succeed."
"Sometimes it feels like you don't want me to succeed at all." You mumble, low enough that any normal human would not have been able to pick up on it. Upon noticing Tighnari's ear twitch, however, you sense you've made a mistake and he lets out a long sigh.
"Look, I'm sorry. Why don't you take tomorrow off? Come back feeling refreshed, we all deserve a break now and then."
You decide to take Tighnari up on his offer, slowly trudging back to your house in Gandharva Ville. This time you wait to grumble under your breath until you are a safe distance away from his ears that pick up everything you don't want them to. With your back turned you don't notice the way Tighnari watches you leave, his tail swishing behind him and a worried expression on his face.
You collapse onto your bed, not realizing how tired you really were after a long day of getting in trouble. It takes all of your willpower to unpack your medicine bag onto your desk and change out of your adventuring outfit before falling asleep as soon as you get under the covers.
You wake up at the crack of dawn out of habit, ready to head into the forest on patrol as usual. You yawn, noticing a note left on the nightstand beside your bed.
"I'm going to Pardis Dhyai for the day, I've left Collei in charge. If you need anything, ask her.
Don't forget you have the day off.
- Tighnari"
You have to reread the note twice in order to comprehend what it was actually saying. It was rare for Tighnari to suddenly leave on such short notice, he liked to create a schedule and stick to it so you imagined something urgent must have come up. This, however, was your excuse to fall back asleep without being bothered. If Tighnari was being so insistent that you get some rest, why not take him up on his kind offer? You quickly fall back asleep, excited to have the rest of the day to yourself.
The curtain on the front of your home was frantically pushed aside, a flustered and panting Dehya leaning against your door frame. The commotion caused your eyes to snap open and you sat up, rising instantly from the bed to meet her where she stood. Forest watcher training taught you to be quick on your feet in an emergency, something that was paying off now.
"You," She paused, gasping for air. "You need to come now."
"What happened? Who's hurt?" You ask, watching as Dehya hunched over to rest her hands on her knees. "Did you run here? Where were you?"
"Pardis Dhyai. It's Tighnari." As soon as his name left her lips you were already hurriedly shoving herbs and other medicinal materials into your knapsack. Trying to be gentle with them was out of the question, the mere thought that Tighnari might be in any sort of danger left you to throw all rationality out the window. Just as you swung one strap of the bag over your shoulder Dehya grabbed your wrist, pulling you behind her and insisting that there was no time to waste.
The two of you sprinted as fast as you could down the dirt path that led from Gandharva Ville to Pardis Dhyai, the dust gradually turning into heavy mud at your feet. Dark storm clouds billowed above your heads and the crackling of thunder grew louder the closer you got. Despite not being as athletic as Dehya due to your different lines of work, the anxiety welling up in your heart caused you to keep a steady pace with her the entire journey. When the large arch marking the entrance to the research facility finally came into view the hair on your arms was standing up due to the electric charge in the air. Leading you to the main building, Dehya stepped aside to catch her breath as you were greeted by a worried Lumine.
"You're here!" She exclaimed, motioning toward an injured Tighnari on the ground.
Rushing over, you instantly dropped to your knees beside him. His breathing was ragged and he was struggling to keep his eyes open. His hair was frizzier than you had ever seen it but his ears still flicked toward the sound of your footsteps.
"He was fighting the Fatui with Dehya when..." Lumine trails off behind you, sighing quietly. "Lightning."
"Oh, thank the Archons that you're conscious." You breathe out a sigh of relief, digging around in your bag. "Where was he struck? Did he walk here? Did someone carry him?"
"He walked, Dehya only helped steady him. Why?"
"I'm checking for broken bones, if he can walk his lower body should only be fractured at the worst." You run your hands along Tighnari's arms, feeling for anything out of place. Moving up his body, you take his face in your hands and slightly move his head back and forth to test his neck. "Does this hurt?"
He quickly averts his gaze and shakes his head. You pull both of his pant legs up to see blood already scabbing from his knees down, likely due to the impact of hitting the ground after the initial shock. Tighnari shook in pain slightly as you cleaned the numerous cuts along his legs and applied medicinal bandages to stop the bleeding before you began working on the rest of his injured form. Lumine watched silently from behind you and Dehya stood near the doorway, seemingly keeping her eye out for anything else that could go wrong.
You could feel Tighnari's eyes watching you as you worked, expert hands moving their way up his body to search for any imperfections that needed to be addressed. Your normal nervousness had completely faded away and you acted like a professional. If he didn't know better Tignari would have assumed you were a licensed doctor and not still in the middle of your training. Each time you glanced up to make sure he was still conscious he looked away, refusing to meet your gaze for even a second.
By the time you got to his chest you requested that he remove his top to ensure you were not leaving any part of him left untreated. As soon as he shrugged it off, however, you could not stop the gasp from escaping your mouth. Starting from his right shoulder was a large, burning lighting strike pattern carved into his skin. The top of his shoulder was the worst, his skin was charred and peeling heavily due to the friction from his shirt. The lines trailing onto his back and chest got less severe the further down they stretched, but they were still a horrid color and smelled of burnt flesh. Tighnari tipped his head backwards and screwed his eyes shut, giving you full access to begin applying the medicinal poultice to his burns.
Lumine had stepped out of the building at this point, whether it be from the smell of burning flesh or because she was unsure how to help was unclear. The storm began to settle, the sound of thunder fading into obscurity in the background. Dehya took Lumine's place, kneeling beside you and occasionally passing more sterilized gauze when the ones in your hand became too dirty to use. Tighnari squirmed each time you touched the medicine to his wounds and you almost felt bad for him. Between the reassurance that he was still alive and your rigorous training taking over you had no time to focus on how either of you was feeling, the anxiety in your chest had long since faded and your job was the only thing on your mind. You silently thanked yourself for pulling so many all-nighters in the Akademiya reading textbooks and taking practice quizzes. While nothing could come close to hands-on experience, being able to recall specific information just when you needed was proving to be very useful. Once the final dressing was applied to his chest, you wiped your hands on your pants and let out a long sigh.
"That should be okay, the bleeding has stopped and I've looked at every part of the burn I could see. I'll have to change the bandages later but for now... for now, he's okay."
"Do you think it would be alright for us to take him back to Gandharva Ville?" Dehya asked, standing up and stretching her arms above her head.
"I think so, as long as we're careful. I don't want him walking alone though, can you help me Dehya?"
"I'm injured, not dead. I can walk." Tighnari says, speaking up for the first time. He stubbornly rises to his feet, leaning against the wall to steady himself as he catches his breath.
"You could be dead." You say, frowning at him. "Dehya and I will help you."
Still not meeting your gaze, Tighnari latches himself solely onto Dehya as she wraps her arm around him to hold him upright. You pause, quickly packing any unused materials into your bag and safely discarding what you didn't need. With the sun almost peaking through the clouds now, it was hard to imagine that such a terrible storm had occurred just brief moments ago. Or had it been hours? You reach up to rub your eyes, feeling as if you were waking up from a long nap. Being focused for so long in such a tense situation drained much of your energy and the trip back to Gandharva Ville was long and arduous.
Tighnari lay in his bed with a light blanket pulled up to his chin. His ears were flattened against the pillow and his normally soft hair was sticking out in all different directions. His breathing, while still ragged and uneven, had calmed down significantly since being in Pardis Dhyai and he was less restless overall. You had stepped out of the room to fetch clean water in order to change his bandages that had already been soaked through with blood. As you re-entered, his head turned away and he began to stare blankly at the wall. Sinking into the chair next to his bed with a sigh, you reached forward to move his bangs out of his eyes.
"How are you feeling, Tighnari?"
"Fine." He says curtly, still making no effort to look your way.
In the entire time you had known him he had never been this cold toward you and, with less of a life-threatening situation on your hands, your emotions began to re-emerge. He constantly told you that you needed to practice more before becoming a real doctor. Your emotions got the better of you, you could be clumsy at the worst times, and it was not uncommon for you to panic when the situation was tense. All of these factors were unfitting for a doctor, he insisted, so you continued to train in Gandharva Ville. And now, just after the two of you had an argument, you were the one sitting beside him as he slowly healed from his burns. What made you think you had the right?
"Tighnari?" You ask quietly, waiting for a response that he never gives. You notice the way his ear flicks as you talk, your only indication to keep going. "I'm going to go to the Akademiya tomorrow. I'll see if they have any doctors available to come and help you recover."
"No!" His gaze finally snaps to yours, a pained expression on his face. "You're my doctor."
"That's exactly why I'm going to see if there's anyone better available-"
"You just saved my life, what makes you think you aren't a good doctor?" He fully turns to face you now, wincing when the right side of his body touches the bedding.
"W-well, I'm still nervous. I almost panicked when I saw you on the ground, I didn't know what to do. I-"
"But you didn't. You didn't panic. You did everything exactly like you were supposed to, I couldn't have done better myself." Words of praise were rare from Tighnari and it caught you off guard. This time you were the one to look away from him, suddenly feeling embarrassed due to the intense way he was staring at you. Shuffling your feet, Tighnari let out a sigh when you didn't answer and relaxed back onto the bed.
"Do you know why I was so hard on you?" He said after a few moments of silence, his voice unusually soft. "Because you have so much potential. If you keep working I have no doubt that you'll be one of the best doctors Sumeru has ever seen. And... I was being selfish. If you're a full-fledged doctor, you're going to have to leave Gandharva Ville someday. There are much better opportunities in the city, it would be a waste to not take your talents there."
"Tighnari..."
"Well, now you know. Can we get this over with, please?" He gestures towards the pile of bandages sitting in your lap, pulling the bed sheet down to reveal what little part of his chest wasn't covered in either scars or gauze.
"Tighnari, I wasn't planning on leaving Gandharva Ville." You say, causing him to stop moving. He balls up the blanket in his fists and you can see the flaky skin move against the dressing on his shoulder. At least his home smelt less like burnt flesh, you opened every window he had to ensure it didn't become suffocating.
"That wouldn't be smart." Is all he says, now staring directly at his hands. "You have no reason to stay here."
"I have you."
His cheeks flushed a visible shade of pink and his ears began to twitch before he brought his left hand up to his mouth, trying to cover his face. "You can't just say things like that."
"I mean it. I'm happy staying here for the rest of my life. I love being so close to the forest, and I love working with you." Your eyes meet and you hope that he can see the seriousness in your expression. You stare at each other in silence for a moment, Tighnari's face getting redder with each second that passes.
"If you wanted me dead you should have just left me on the floor at Pardis Dhyai." He joked, something he always turned to when conversations became too serious for his liking. You decided to let him get away with it this time, he was going to be bedridden for weeks to heal from his burns and you did not want to add any more stress to his situation.
"Don't worry, I'll stick around. I am your doctor after all."
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monin1ca · 2 years ago
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Hey Monica!
I read the Big Bro!Yoru fic that the anonymous sent in and I was wondering if you can write something similar for Chamber or Phoenix as The older sibling for the younger sibling![Reader] [Gender] [Obviously Platonic]? Or maybe both? You don’t have to feel pressured if doing both characters are too much on your plate. I’m fine with either one.
I don’t want you to feel overwhelmed when doing this request.
Word count: 595
Warnings: nothingggg fluff to the max^^
Synopsis: Let’s find out what life is like when Chamber and Phoenix (separately) are your big brothers!
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Chamber
Big Bro! Chamber makes sure you never wear non-branded clothes.
Big Bro! Chamber also makes sure you are always happy
Big Bro! Chamber who usually has a private chef personally cooks for you. He doesn’t want someone messing up the dish!
You got 100 on your test? What do you want to eat? Japan cuisine or perhaps his specialty ‘Boeuf Bourguignon?’
Big Bro! Chamber lets you know your word is absolute; you don’t like this particular person? They’re dead in seconds.
Big Bro! Chamber hates it when people call you spoiled; he knows you work for your stuff
Contrary to what others believe, Big Bro! Chamber doesn’t spoon-feed you everything. Before he came to the era of spoiling you, you both had to work hard to get what you want.
Big Bro! Chamber, who visibly softens when you enter the room. His smile becomes more genuine, and the atmosphere of the room also becomes lighter.
As much as Big Bro! Chamber loves talking about himself. He loves talking about you as well!
“Ah! Mon Ange, you came at the right time. I was just talking about you…”
Big Bro! Chamber, who has so many framed portraits of the both of you in your mansion, from baby to what you are now!
Big Bro! Chamber loves it when you dominate the battlefield; he’s pleased to know all that training from all those years ago helped you slay the area.
Big Bro! Chamber who hates himself when he fails to protect you when you get shot.
Big Bro! Chamber won't let anyone tend to you unless it's his trusted family doctor, Sage or Skye.
Big Bro! Chamber always wants to know everything that’s going on in your life, no matter if you consider it “unimportant.” He loves hearing you tell stories :))
Phoenix
Big Bro! Phoenix enjoys bothering you at every moment possible, but it’s actually his way of checking up on you
Big Bro! Phoenix, who loves cuddling you, sometimes accidentally eats your hair while sleeping.
Big Bro! Phoenix who lets you win at every arm wrestling contest you two have
Big Bro! Phoenix, who wasn’t that rich before you guys joined Valorant, always bought you tiny packets of your favorite candy any time he had spare change
Big Bro! Phoenix can’t stand you being sad, and always  finds ways to see you smile or laugh
Big Bro! Phoenix, who’s absolutely fantastic at singing, asks for song requests from you
Big Bro! Phoenix has a big box full of polaroids of you two
Big Bro! Phoenix, who tells you to do his eyeliner and hair, no matter how good or bad it turns out, will keep it on ‘till the end of the day. Brags that “My sibling did this, fam! Look how talented they are!”
Big Bro! Phoenix loves it when he’s on missions with you, cause it means ‘more bonding with Y/N!’
Big Bro! Phoenix exchanges guns with you when your mag runs out of bullets and reloads it for you
“We can’t risk you having an empty gun for you, yeah? Me? Don’t worry about your big bro; he’s got this in the bag!”
Big Bro! Phoenix shows them who’s the boss when you get hurt on the battlefield.

Author’s Note: I HOPE IT WAS GOOD ENOUGH FOR YOU HUHHUHUHU AND NO, I WAS NOT OVERWHELMED!!! I BELIEVE THIS WAS SHORT FOR TWO CHARS SDKBHAKLDJH
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lubdubsworld · 3 years ago
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The Devil’s own.
Jungkook x OC
Mafia Au!
Warnings : Non-Con ! Manipulation, Degradation, Shitty hero with no redeeming Qualities you have been warned. ( i mean he does get better but not much.)
Summary : Just Mob Boss Jungkook doing mob boss things.
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
I wasn’t sure how long I stayed there , staring at the ceiling and trying to come to terms with what had just happened. It was revolting. It was nauseating. It made me want to claw my own skin off. I stared at the intricate designs , carved into the ceiling, the panels that reflected life and made the room seem bigger than it was. The scent of jasmine and rosemary clung to the sheets and the drapes in the room, cloyingly sweet and meant to arouse the occupants.
I wondered how I’d got here.
I had memories of satin silk sheets and bright lights. My father had always spoiled me, the best of the best only for his only daughter and I’d indulged in luxury to my heart’s content. More shoes than I could possibly wear in a life time. Every season’s collection, straight into my wardrobe whether I asked for it or not. Diamonds and rubies and emeralds set in platinum and gold , jewelry to match my clothes and even my car if I felt like it.
I shut my eyes in despair. I didn’t miss the luxury as much as I missed the solitude. The option to just not do anything. My father hadn’t cared enough to see what I was upto and everyone knew that I was betrothed to Jungkook.
And that meant no dates or party invites because after the third guy got his arm in a sling after accidentally brushing past me , word kind of spread.  Stay away from Elena Gong or the Jeon kid will break your bones.
I shuddered. It had been an obsession, I thought vacantly.
Jungkook had been obsessed, even back then. I just hadn’t paid much heed to him. Because Jungkook back then had been terrifying but also ridiculously endearing in some way. He had seemed for lack of a better word…..insignificant. I was beautiful and rich, never lacked for attention and he was just one among the dozens. Even if I was betrothed to him, I hadn’t given much thought to him.
And Jungkook had taken my indifference in stride. He’d laughed and played around and I hated to admit it, treated me like a queen. Flowers, chocolates and gifts every other day . He would follow me around like a puppy , and I wondered if perhaps my dismissive attitude towards him back then had been a mistake. Did it push him over the edge?
My heart ached fiercely and when I finally willed myself to move, my body protested.
Every inch of me was sore and aching. My head because of how hard he’d gripped my hair. I sat up on shaky legs, fingers trembling as I pulled my shit up to stare at my body. Bite marks littered my skin, marring the smooth surface and I felt bile in my throat at the memory of his teeth on me.  Finger shaped bruises were beginning to bloom around my thighs and I couldn’t breathe over the agony ripping up my insides.
I glanced down between my thighs, at the sticky mess of his release dripping down into the sheets, staining the sheets a murky pink. I shuddered, disgusted. God, I hated him. Where was my phone? My clothes were still there at the foot of the bed and I noticed the small door on the right wall. Crawling off the bed on shaky legs , I limped carefully to the bathroom.
I took Hoseok’s shirt off dropping it in the corner before turning the showers on.
The water felt like a whip on my skin as I sat on the tiled bathroom floor , a small washcloth gripped tight in my hand as I carefully cleaned myself up. I had no idea what the time was… It must be very early or very late. No matter. I had to get out of here and get to Jisoo. I swallowed, imagining her alone all this time. The doctors had said she would be up in Guilt churned as I quickly grabbed a towel from the closet and wiped myself down.
It took me another ten minutes to finish dressing up and just as I finished slipping into my shoes, the door opened.  I glanced up, catching sight of Hoseok as he leaned against the door. He looked a little haggard, a black silk shirt unbuttoned to his chest and tucked into fitted jeans. I stared at him, watching the way his gaze roved over every inch of exposed skin, looking just a tad bit worried.
“The Hospital called. “ He said gently, “ They’re ready to release you sister. They want to know if you can come pick her up. The baby’s going to have to stay in the NICU for a couple of weeks.”
I groaned. Great. More bills.
“I need a job. “ I said miserably. “ Help me out.” I stared at him beseechingly and Hoseok gave me a look.
“you know the kind of jobs I provide. You’re not built for it. “ He said shortly and I shook my head, impatient.
“that’s not what I meant and you know it. You and your friends pretty much own every club in the city. Get me a job ….” I whispered, moving to stand in front of him and he recoiled.
Just as always, I thought bitterly. Coward.
As much as a coward now as he’d been ten years ago, when he’d pretended that he didn’t have any feelings for me. Pretended that he didn’t give a damn about me.
The throb in my skull grew in intensity.
My throat was dry and I felt my vision swim a bit. I was tired. Exhausted . I hadn’t slept in….how long really? I hadn’t eaten in a day…for sure… And I likely wasn’t going to be eating for a long while, let alone feeding Jisoo if I didn’t get a job right away. I had twelve thousand won to my name and that was it.
“Jungkook-“ He began but I was sick of his name so I growled.
“Fuck, do you want me to beg Hoseok? I will… I can’t … I need a job… Please.” I said desperately, staring at him and his gaze softened.
“Elena, stop looking at me like that, fuck.” He swore, turning and punching the wall hard. “ fuck.”
“Just help me get a job. I’m not asking you to give me money or something.  You don’t even have to get it for me… Just tell me who’s hiring ? Somewhere away from Jungkook and his men.” I whispered , and the sheer irony of it didn’t escape me. Jung Hoseok was possibly one of Jungkook’s main men.
He ran his hand over his forehead, shaking his head.
“You’re going to get me killed someday.” He muttered, “ Fine. There’s a club down in Itaewon. It caters to cops and lawyers exclusively so Jungkook and his men usually keep out of it. My friend owns the place. His name is Im Jaebum.  I’ll get you a job there , waitressing. Is that alright?” He said softly and I wanted to sob in relief as I nodded. Itaewon meant pretty close to where the bakery was. I could take the bus.
“Fine. I’ll talk to him and call you. Here…” He held out a wad of cash and I took it greedily, eyes widening at the 100,000 written on the margin of each note. This was a lot of money.
“Hoseok…”I said stunned and he shrugged. “ Get food and baby stuff for Jisoo. If she’s going to feed the baby she needs to eat well. Fruits and veggies and lot of protein. If you run out, tell Jaebum you need some advance. He’ll pay you well.”
I nodded, stuffing the money into my pockets quickly . I swallowed when my insides throbbed, aching something fierce.
“Thank you.” I said softly, staring up at him and he hesitated, before reaching out and gently cupping my face in his palm. I flinched at his touch and he recoiled.
“Was he… Did he hurt you?” He whispered quietly and I smiled bitterly.
“Wasn’t that the whole point?” I sighed, shaking my head . I hesitated . I wasn’t sure if Hoseok would listen to me but I had to try at least.
“ Can you not tell him? That… That I was a virgin?” I asked quietly and he nodded.
“Wasn’t planning to.” He said casually.
I stared at him. I’d always found him handsome. Beautiful. Perfect . And I wondered where we had gone so wrong.
“Do you regret it.” I whispered. “ All those choices you made.”
“Which ones? …” he asked bitterly.
“you know… “ I snapped. “ the ones that lead us here. You and me…. Standing here like strangers. “
“I wouldn’t risk my life for a stranger. Which is what I’m doing every time I help you .” He said quietly.
“So what are we then?” I demanded.
“Old friends” He said casually.
I snorted.
“Fucking coward.” I whispered , loud enough for him to hear as I brushed past him and walked away.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I trudged all the way to the VIP room in the hospital flinching because that was probably a lot of money to be repaid , now owed directly to the devil spawn that was Jeon. I had grabbed a small meal on the way before quickly getting the bus to the Hospital. It was little past eleven in the morning and the hallways were packed with people. Sighing, I moved to the room where Jisoo was, slowly opening the door.
Min Yoongi sat on the chair next to the bed, gazing idly at my sister in law.
To say that I was shocked would be the biggest understatement of the century. My lips parted in shock, panic bubbling up inside me as I exhaled sharply.
“What-“ I swallowed gazing between him and my Jisoo, who was sitting up against the backrest on the bed, a tray of food on her lap and a small smile on her face.
“Lena!! You’re here!” She cried out softly, tears filling her eyes at once as she held both her hands up. I moved to hug her but my mind stayed on the man near the bed, his sultry feline eyes trained unblinkingly on her. I wrapped my arms around her, trying to get my breathing to regulate but it was impossible.
What on earth was Yoongi doing here?
“Mr. Min came to see me. He told me he knew Daehwan.” Jisoo said softly, looking sad but hopeful and I felt my heart turn over as I turned to stare at him.
Min Yoongi knew Daehwan as a target . A hit he had carried out himself.
But I couldn’t say a thing. Not in front of Jisoo.
“I’m only here to offer my help. It pains me to see you suffering, Jisoo. I know your husband would want you to be taken care of.” He said softly, his gaze still fixed on her and I didn’t like it. At all.
Bile rising, I gave him a glare.
“I’ll take care of her. Please don’t trouble yourself.” I said shakily and he glanced at me, lips parting a bit, turning into a smirk.
“You look… well rested.” He smirked and I flushed.
“Lena, come on… I know all this…this must be expensive. We can use all the help we can get and Mr. Min-“
“Please call me Yoongi, sweetheart.” Yoongi said charmingly and my sister in law blushed. I felt my skin crawl.
“Y-Yoongi said he has a spare room. I can’t stay in the bakery.  And it’s not like he’s a murderer or anything. He showed me his card. He’s a lawyer.” She said softly and I sighed in despair. Jisoo was naïve bordering on stupid and I wasn’t equipped to deal with this.
As I watched she went back to the food, eating ravenously and I felt my heart clench. I could see the twin damp spots at her chest and I noticed the breast pump on the table. It looked brand new. I hadn’t even thought about things she may need after the baby, too preoccupied with all the hospital bills and medicines I would have to pay for.
Diapers. Baby wipes. Those little flannel pieces mothers used to wipe down the baby. I felt my head spin, turning to Yoongi who was staring at me casually.
“Can we talk?” I said quietly and he straightened.
“Jisoo ssi… Please enjoy your meal. And here…” He gave her his phone. “ If you’re done, just give me a buzz on this.” He showed her something on the phone .” Go on try it.”
Jisoo pressed down on the screen curiously and Yoongi’s watch rang .
He grinned as she smiled.
“See? One touch and I’ll be here yeah?” He said softly, and I felt like I was stuck in some kind of drama, glancing between the pair of them.
“Are you leaving?” She asked curiously and he shook his head.
“I’ll be right here, outside. Having a word with Elena. You can finish your food and I’m guessing it’s time for you to pump again? The pediatrician said you’d have to pump every two hours with the milk so… if you get it ready, I’ll drop it off at the NICU.” He said calmly.
Jisoo nodded, staring at him with wide eyed gratefulness and I sighed in despair.
Yoongi moved to the door and I gave her a small smile before following him.
I waited till the door had closed behind me before turning to him, furious.
“What do you think you’re-“
“I want her.” He said shortly.
I felt my jaw come unhinged.
“No.” I hissed, furious and helpless with rage. “ Yoongi-“
“Don’t make me put a bullet in your head for this, Elena.” He said calmly and I exhaled shakily.
“She’s… You know she’s not like us. She doesn’t know anything about this life. As far as she knows my brother was a surgeon who got killed in a hit and run. You want to …. What do you really want? Did Jungkook put you upto this?”
“If Jungkook would have his way, your sister in law and your new nephew would both be dead. You know this.” Yoongi said casually. God, could I ever have a conversation with anyone without Jungkook being dragged into it? When did my life get twined so intimately with him?
“Where is he?” I asked quickly and Yoongi shrugged.
“He’s out of the country. He left an hour ago.”
“Switzerland….” I said before thinking and Yoongi stiffened.
“How did you know?” He demanded and I froze.
“I… I overheard …..someone.” I muttered and Yoongi moved so fast I barely caught it. The next second I was pressed up against the wall, his forearm pressing into my throat and holding me down while he held a knife right against my jugular.
“Nice try. Now the truth.” He hissed.
“Ouch..” I choked out , coughing  a bit. “ Fine.. Hoseok.. Hoseok told me.”
Yoongi pulled back.
“You fukcing him?” He asked casually and I glared at him.
“none of your business.” I snapped.
He laughed at that.
“I know you aren’t. Hoseok loves his dick too much to risk having it castrated.”
I sighed, shaking my head. I wasn’t here to talk about these bastards.
“Just leave Jisoo alone.” I said quietly and Yoongi sighed.
“What are you going to do with her, Elena. You can barely afford to feed yourself. You should be thankful I’m taking her off your hands.”
I ignored his nonsense and moved till I was pressed up against him, fingers curling into his chest. Yoongi looked surprised, lips twisting in displeasure when I blinked up at him.
“please.. Yoongi…” I begged, “ Don’t do this to me.” I said quietly. “ I … she’s all I have… She… My brother had nothing to do with any of this. You know that….He left this life decades ago. I don’t… I don’t know why Jungkook wanted him dead in the first place. I loved my brother and my brother loved his wife. I owe it to him … Please…just…Please leave her alone.” I whispered softly, letting my fingers drop to grip his arm.  
He tugged his arm away at once.
“ She needs more than empty platitudes and good intentions. She needs food and a place to stay with her baby. I’m giving her that.”
“And what do you get in return?” I demanded angrily. “ She just gave birth, fuck you. You can’t touch her , not unless you’ve lost the last shreds of humanity in that conscience of yours.”
He rolled his eyes.
“I’m not doing this for sex, Elena. If I wanted easy pussy, I would have come to you…” He smirked.  “ Don’t forget that Jungkook and I share our toys, yeah?”
I opened my mouth to retort before remembering that I was trying to get him to listen to him.
“Then why? What do you want…tell me?”
“I told you. I want her. As she is.” Yoongi shrugged.
“You killed her husband.” I said , voice shaking as I remembered what Jungkook had said. About my brother begging for his life because Jisoo was pregnant. And how Yoongi hadn’t given a shit and shot him anyway.
“A minor inconvenience. Trust me if I’d seen her before I killed him…” He sighed, shaking his head in regret and I frowned.
“You would have spared him? “ I asked bitterly and Yoongi laughed.
“No.. I would have killed him sooner.” He smirked. “ Is there a point to this whole conversation… I’m getting bored and Jisoo’s waiting inside.”
“We’re supposed to get her out of the hospital today and-“
“I’m taking her home.” He said briskly. “ I’ve already spoken to her. And She’s agreed that a ramshackle , dilapidated bakery isn’t the right place for a new mother and a tiny baby.”
And the worst part was that I couldn’t even disagree.
And I couldn’t help but feel angry, betrayed. Jisoo was…. How could she? She hadn’t even bothered to talk to me about it… Just agreeing to move in with Yoongi. She was older than me. Supposed to be the smart one. My body ached. If that was the bed she was going to make , she could lie on it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Going somewhere?” Jungkook’s voice made me freeze.
I swallowed, straightening and stepping back almost instinctively. He stood in the doorway, a cigarette held between his teeth as he stared at me . He looked like he’d showered as well, hair still damp and the smells of citrus and mint permeating the air around him.
It was exactly ten days since I’d last seen him and I’d settled into a routine of sorts. Im Jaebum’s bar, Venom was an exclusive club in Itaewon and I could easily disappear into the shadows, staying low and using the beret ( a part of the uniform ) to keep my face hidden as I served the patrons. Like Hoseok had said, the place was filled with cops and lawyers. Yoongi was a frequent fixture here , stopping for just a drink on most days before heading home to my sister in law.
It made me sick but there was nothing I could do about it. Jisoo and little baby Yunsu were both home and needed a l,ot of care. And Yoongi apparently had a cook, a housekeeper and a nanny who helped her out. Jisoo was wary, her senses finally returning but she was also clearly glad to be out of the streets.
“I’m going home after I finish my shift. “ I said softly, trying not to stare as he stepped into the room. I turned away from him moving to the shelves and pushing the small canister in place.
“Where’s home?” He asked casually. I flinched when he stepped right behind me, fingers reaching out to curl on my shoulder, pulling me back till I was flush against his chest. The heat of his body seeped in through the thin fabric of my blouse and I felt my body heat up.
“You got what you wanted.” I said shakily. “ Let me go.” I whispered, dropping the cleaning cloth in the tray on the lower shelves, before moving to grab the mop. I just had to finish mopping the floor . And then I could leave.
But his grip on me stayed firm. I couldn’t move. Foreboding rose inside me.
Jungkook hummed at that, stepping closer, till I felt his chin brush the top of my head as he bent over me, arms coming around me  and fingers lightly unbuttoning the first two buttons of my  shirt. I stared at the dark ink on his forearm. , swallowing as he kept coming closer.
“What I wanted? That pathetic little display ten days ago?”  He whispered softly “ Just think about this Elena ……  I’ve been chasing you for years, I got rid of your entire family and yet I let you live. Why do you think that was, huh? “ He shook his head, “ For two minutes of you lying underneath me like a frigid bitch? You think that’s what I want Elena? Think I’ll be satisfied with that? ” He laughed.
I stared at the wall in front of me  and I couldn’t do this. Couldn’t play this sick game with him. Not when he kept changing the rules . Not when there was nothing left for me to gamble or lose.
“Jisoo. I have to go see her. Just… Just let me go see her. I need to see if she’s alright and then we can talk. ” I whispered. Jungkook smiled, tilting my  head to the side with his fingers. I felt the damp press of his lips against my jaw and my skin crawled.
“Don’t worry, Yoongi’s taking care of her.” He whispered softly and I felt my heart turn over in my chest at the reminder. I’d been forced to relent because Yoongi had taken her home to a fully finished and decorated nursery , a closet full of baby clothes for her son and nursing clothes for her. She had been bowled over and when I’d told her to think about the why of it…she’d given me a helpless sort of smile. . As far as she was concerned , Yoongi had been nothing but generous and kind… And she wasn’t going to say no to him because she couldn’t afford to..
“I… he promised me he’d let me see her. And the baby…every day. That was the deal.”
Jungkook laughed.
“I thought I made this clear . You don’t get to make deals with anyone because you belong to me. I get to decide what happens to you. Anytime. Anywhere. Do you need another demonstration , Elena?” His hand moved to my breast, groping the flesh, fingers rough and hard and I whimpered in pain.
“No..” I choked out , eyes widening in terror and he made quick work of the rest of the buttons on my blouse. Junkook hummed, kissing the back of my neck and slowly turning me around in his arms.
“Relax. You don’t have a job. How are you going to feed her and the kid? Yoongi isn’t like me. He doesn’t hold a lot of grudges. And for some reason he seems to have a hard on for your sister in law. He wants to marry her. ” He chuckled and I felt nausea bloom.
“No.. Don’t… Don’t do that to her. She’s not like us. She doesn’t know… She doesn’t have anything to do with this life.” I begged, heart racing at the thought of Jisoo, helpless and scared and alone with a baby , trapped with a fucking assassin. Yoongi killed for a living . That was his job. Jisoo was delicate and sensitive.
“She still needs to eat and live right? With what?  He’s feeling particularly generous so he’s taken her home . You don’t have to worry about them anymore… Isn’t that nice?” he smirked and I felt my throat go dry.
I clenched my fists, feeling my breath catch.
“The only person you need to worry about yourself is yourself. Isn’t that how you prefer it anyway? Beautiful selfish Elena who never gave a fuck about anyone but herself. Isn’t that who you truly are, angel?” He smiled.
“Not anyone…. Just you… I don’t give a fuck about you.” I said defiantly, staring right up at him.  
Jungkook stared at me and stepped closer, reaching out and running his fingers up and down my cheek. I flinched because he still held the lit cigarette.
“None at all?”  He asked curiously, lightly tapping on the end of the cigarette, and I flinched when the hot ash spilled onto my shoulder.
“Did that hurt, baby?” He whispered, leaning in and pressing the cigarette to my lips.” I’m sorry. Breathe in for me.” He stuck the cigarette into my mouth and I pulled away , coughing and disgusted.
I closed my eyes as his free hand went to my wrist, tugging me closer. I stiffened as he wrapped his arms around me, drawing me in till my face pressed against his chest, his body flush against mine, one hand moving back to stroke my back.
“I missed you. You’re terrible at pleasing me but I think…with a little bit of training, you can make me cum… ” He smirked. “ Let’s start with a blowjob, yeah?”
I stiffened.
“No.” I said softly and he smirked, pulling back.
“No?” He asked softly. . I felt my throat go dry in fear as I noticed the way his gaze shifted.   I bit my lips to stifle the pain as He carefully pressed the lit end of the cigarette right against the curve of my breast , pressing in for a couple of seconds and pulling away just before the skin began to singe. He glanced up at me, and I blinked through the tears, pain spreading all over my chest at the burn. That would leave a scar, I thought miserably.
“Wrong answer. Try again.” He whispered.
“Go to Hell.” I choked out.
I flinched when his fingers slipped up into my hair, gripping hard. My scalp burned, sharp and insistent and instinct made me grip his wrist, trying to get him off but it was impossible.
“Let me go..” I snapped, glaring at him. God, How I hated him.
“Was I your first??” He whispered, dragging me close enough that his lips brushed my ear. “ Never had a cock before? Was that why you were so fucking tight?”
I bit my lips, glaring at him, defiant and furious. Did Hoseok actually tell him? That two faced snake…. God , why did these fuckers never leave me alone?
“Seokjin hyung told me…Told me he was looking forward to breaking a virgin and that made me think….God, I was the first cock she ever had….” He hummed, looking infinitely pleased.
“Yes. And I got to say… I don’t know what the fuss is about. You couldn’t even make me cum.” I snapped and Jungkook grinned, grip tightening and the other hand moving to curl around my waist, squeezing hard.
“Did I make you bleed from between your legs Elena? Tell me I did….Cause that’s fucking hot. ” He whispered, voice low and gruff.
Jungkook, I thought vacantly, was a psychopath.
“Go to Lisa. Go fuck her and make her bleed if that’s what gets you off….  and leave me alone.” I whispered and he smiled, bending down pressing a kiss right where he’d burned my skin.
“I don’t need you to tell me that. She’s my fiancé. The woman I’m going to marry. And you know what that means? I actually give a shit whether she cums or not. And trust me she does. Multiple times. Sometimes so hard she passes out.”
“Or maybe she fakes it. Maybe she passes out because she can’t stand your touch either.” I shrugged. “ Because we all know that’s what she’s good at Jungkook. She faked her friendship with me , she’ll fake her loyalty to you.”
“Always got something smart to say, huh Elena? Let’s see how mouthy you get when I’m shoving my cock down your throat.”
I flinched when he pushed me, hard enough to send me sprawling on the floor. I caught myself with difficulty , throwing my hands out to keep my head from hitting the floor. I flinched at the pain that shot up my body, every inch throbbing because of how rough this fucker had been with me.
Ten days and the aftermath of that night still lingered on me.
And it was three in the morning  and I’d spent eight hours on my feet bussing tables , I was exhausted.
I closed my eyes, before pressing my palm against the floor, trying to pull myself up when I felt the press of his shoe at the base of my spine, pushing me down.
I whimpered in shock, my hands giving out and shoulder crashing down into the floor.
“Stay down for a second, baby.” He whispered and I exhaled.
I pressed my palm against the floor, head dropping on to the carpeted floor . I whimpered when I felt him crouch down, foot digging in harder into my back and I curled my fingers into the carpet to swallow the pained sound that bubbled up in my throat.
“I’m going to fuck you again. And this time I want you to do all the work.” Jungkook’s voice came from over me and I flinched. I considered the odds of me putting up a fight and actually winning. It was laughable. I wasn’t going to fight a force of nature. And that was what Jeon Jungkook was.
“ You can’t make me do anything Jungkook.” I whispered finally. “ You can hit me and rape me and kill me but you can’t make me do anything to you. You just have to live with that.”
His foot lifted off my spine and I felt hands on my arms, pulling me up till I was kneeling. I watched as he moved around to stand in front of me.
“Look at me.” He said carefully.” From now you only speak when I tell you to.”
“ Whatever.  Let’s get this over with so I can go see my sister and my nephew.“ I said shakily.
He sighed deeply at that, shaking his head.
“See, if it was upto me, I’d just put a bullet in both their heads. Cos at this point they’re just proving to be a nuisance.”
My blood turned to ice in my veins.
“ But,  Yoongi’s just getting to know your pretty little Jisoo…And he’s my favorite hyung. So I’m going to let her live. But, let’s not invade their privacy for a while.” He began unbuckling his belt and I felt nausea rise inside me.
“Jungkook?” The voice came from the door and I stiffened.  Jungkook groaned.
“Baby, what the fuck are you doing here?” He said gruffly, standing up and using his knee to push me out of the way roughly. I swore, gripping the edge of the table near me to steady myself before turning around to stare at the woman at the door.  I stumbled to my feet, still feeling a little out of it. I needed food. Before I collapsed in a heap on the floor.
“You were supposed to come see me tonight. I went looking for you everywhere and I find you here about to get with some common whore?”  she shouted and I stiffened, glaring at her.
She stood framed in the doorway, staring at me for a second before letting her gaze wander all over the room. She stared at me, eyes taking in the unbuttoned blouse and I quickly moved to put the buttons back on.
“Did you fuck her?” She demanded angrily and Jungkook hummed.
“Since when did I owe you answers, angel?” He asked casually and I watched the woman’s eyes widen, before her brows furrowed in a frown.
“ So what, I can’t ask you who you’re with ?” She asked angrily and Jungkook groaned , kicking out at the nearest stand with enough force to send it toppling over the side, crashing to floor and breaking on impact. I stumbled, back, wrapping my arms around myself as he fairly growled.
“What the fuck is up with all you cunts today?” He demanded, glancing at me in distaste. “ I come back after busting my ass at work for ten entire days . I just needed to get my dick sucked and you two.” He shook his head, hand reaching into his jacket and I felt my eyes widen when he pulled his glock out, releasing the safety and loading the gun before pressing the muzzle right against her skull.
The woman whimpered, hands held up as he tapped the firearm against her.
“You. You don’t come anywhere near me unless I send for you. Is that clear?” He asked sharply and she nodded frantically, abject terror written all over her face.
He turned to me.
“And you. You’re coming with me.” He said quietly and I felt my eyes widen. I opened my mouth to protest but the girl at the door beat me to it.
“I think not…. You’re not taking her anywhere, Jungkook, I’ll-“ She began, reaching forward to grab him and Jungkook moved so quickly, I could barely blink.
The shot rang out , making me jump and I watched as she crumbled to the floor, crying out in pain. I stared in horror, watching the hole in her arm, spilling blood all over the floor and the hallway and my throat went completely dry,  staring at the girl on the floor and the blank, absolutely merciless look on his face.
“Just because I let you sit on my cock once in a while, doesn’t mean you get a say in how I live my life.” He said quietly, using his foot to prod her hip. He glanced at me and I felt my throat go dry as he pulled the glock back to reload it.
He aimed the gun right at me, eyes dark and heavy.
“Are you going to be good for me, baby? Or do you need a physical demonstration as well?” He tilted his head to where the girl was on the floor, pressing her palm against her arm.
“She’s  bleeding out.. “ I choked out. “ you need to get her help, Jungk-“
Another shot rang out and I jumped, heart in my throat as I tried to understand what had happened. It took me a second to realize that he hadn’t shot me. That he had fired at the ceiling.
“Answer the bloody question Elena.” He growled and I flinched, nodding.
“I… I’ll listen… Just…” I glanced back at the poor girl on the floor.” Get her some help.”
Jungkook smiled a little. He turned to the girl on the floor and shook his head.
“Get up baby. Go find Hoseok and get that patched up, yeah? And don’t provoke me the next time, yeah? ” He said casually and she stumbled to her feet, looking disoriented and scared as she moved out of the door.
“ And you. “ He glared at me. “Finish dressing up and follow me.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Where are we going?” I asked nervously, fighting the instinct to just take off at a sprint, as we walked down the road to where his Mercedes was parked.
“My home. Where else?” He said casually and I stiffened.
“Jungkook-“
“Didn’t I tell you not to speak unless I ask you to, Elena? I’m jet lagged and angry. Trust me , you don’t want to piss me off now.” He said casually and I swallowed.
He opened the door for me, the polite gesture so at odds with what he was doing that my head began to throb.
But I climbed in nonetheless. I stayed quiet for the short ride to his apartment , eyes fixed straight ahead and Jungkook was quiet too. I was too exhausted to be scared, I thought despondently, my eyes drooping because of how long I’d been up. Glancing out the window, I watched the cars whizz by, people living their lives, completely unaware that almost all of them were merely tiny little gears in a machine run exclusively by men like Jungkook. That all their lives, spent working and earning and dying…it was all meaningless. They had no say in anything. People like Jungkook were the ones who got to shape the world to their liking. The ones who got to play God.
And Jungkook was definitely the closest to an omnipotent human I’d ever come across.
Powerful, untouchable and terrifying.
So perhaps, it was a little flattering, that I was the one thing he couldn’t get out of his head.
I glanced at him discreetly.
He was beautiful, I thought with a pang. One of the most beautiful men on this planet. Despite the years, his boyish charm was still right there on his face and he could slip on a plaid shirt , a white t shirt and stone wash jeans and pass off as an innocent college student. I stared at the taut jaw, the long column of his neck and the broad back. His biceps bulged when he gripped the steering when and my eyes lingered on the long fingers curled around the wheel.
I jumped when his hand moved to grip the stick shift , curling on the knob and yanking it back with force. I swallowed, thighs pressing together as my mind shifted to that night in Hoseok’s club. I hated myself for how often I relived it. And not always with disgust.
My fingers fell on the ring on his finger. His engagement ring, I thought with a pang. Lisa. Beautiful, wonderful Lisa who had been a dear friend . Once. For all her shortcomings I knew she loved the man who sat next to me. Cared deeply for him, even. Why else would she do this to me? She must have strong feelings for him , if  it had prompted her to throw away our friendship of over a decade.
“You’re cheating on her then.” I said quietly.  His reminder to not talk to him rang in my head but I couldn’t stop myself. He wasn’t a stranger. And that ring…the ring that promised to bind two people forever….. I’d worn it too. For him.
Jungkook didn’t reply, merely glancing at me in passing.
I sighed, looking at my knees, feeling my shoulders tremble a bit.
“Is she going to be there?” I asked quietly.
He exhaled sharply. I noticed the way his grip on the steering wheel tightened.
“No.”  He said shortly.
“She lives with you right? You said we’re going home ….then where is she-“
“What is this, twenty fucking questions?” He snapped and I swallowed. “ I’m not taking you home to my fiancée Elena, do I look like a fucking idiot? “ He shook his head.
Before I could demand more answers, he was pulling over into a side alley. I watched as he carefully parked the car before stepping out.  Second later, he was coming around and opening the door.
I stared at him, gripping the hem of my blouse, tight. My stomach twisted into knots.
“Can’t you just let me go?” I whispered softly, pride forgotten in the wake of my tiredness. Jungkook stared at me, face eerily blank.
“Get out of the car.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Like it?” He asked softly and I stood on the threshold, taking in the lavishly decorated apartment on the top floor of the building. I noticed the portrait right up front, a large full sized photo of me and Jungkook from nearly a decade ago, wrapped around each other in a hug , showing off our engagement bands.
“What is this?”
“It was supposed to be your wedding gift. From me. I bought it for you. Nine years ago. Thought you should see it.” He said quietly.
I stayed perfectly still , as he wrapped his hands around me in a hug.
“Why did you leave me, Elena?” He asked quietly and I felt my throat go dry.
“Why do you still have this place? Get rid of it.” I snapped. He laughed at that , pulling away and turning me around till I stared at him.
“ Will you stay here, with me?” He asked softly and I froze.
“You’re out of your mind.” I said shortly.
He hummed.
“Possibly. But then, the problem is this. If I tell you , you can’t leave this place ever again….There’s not much you can do about it, right?” He said thoughtfully and I felt a sob building in my chest.
“I… Don’t.” I said shakily.
“You should see the bedroom. Come.”
His fingers wrapped around my wrist dragging me past the lavish couch and sofa, past a well kept bar onto a wide hallway dimly lit. He stopped at the second door on the right, reaching out to open the lock.  The room was plunged in darkness and I hesitated.
“Go on… After you, Mrs. Jeon.” He said softly . I could feel distaste creeping up my spine at the name, shivering a bit as I stepped into the darkness.
“Can you imagine, if we’d gotten married. This is what our first night together would be like…” He pressed against my back, arms coming around me , so gentle that I shivered.
“Jungkook…what are you doing?” I asked shakily.
“Shush…. “ He whispered, moving to unbutton my blouse again. I grabbed his wrists quickly.
“We aren’t married. I’m not your wife.” I said sharply and I felt him go still behind me.
“Shut your mouth and play along like a good girl.” He said quietly. He shook my hands off, moving to undo the buttons again.
Not sure what he expected, I stayed perfectly still as he hummed, pressing soft feather light kisses down my jaw and past my shoulders. His hands stroked up and down my arm as he laughed .
“Did you miss me Elena…..all these years…” He said quietly. “ Because I missed you. So much.”
He hugged me close, tight and hard.
“Are you scared?” He whispered, “ honey?”
“Oh, God…” I choked out, nausea rising up in my throat at the endearment.
“My wife…” He whispered, pressing a few more kisses against my skin before pushing me a bit towards the bed. “ Should I turn on the lights? I wanna see you.”
He nudged me towards the bed and my legs gave out when I hit the edge of it, legs turning to jelly as I sat on it, shaky and creeped out and terrified. Jungkook moved to turn on the lamp on the bedside table, a soft golden glow lighting up the bed .
“Look at you… so beautiful.” He whispered and I watched as he tugged off his shirt, before moving to his belt. He was watching me like I was something precious. Like I was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.
“What are you doing?” I asked quietly and he smiled, running his fingers over the tattoos decorating his chest. He stopped at a large ornate tiger lily, inscribed right over his heart.
“Do you like it?” he said softly. “ I got this for you. My Elena…. As delicate as a lily and as brave as a tiger.”
I stared at him in disbelief.
“Either fuck me or let me go, I’m not here to talk about-“
He slapped me, so hard that my head whipped to the side, my face feeling like it had caught fire. I gasped, the pain spreading all over my jaw and I couldn’t quite grasp what had just happened. I pressed shaky fingers to the throbbing skin near my mouth, eyes watering at the sting.
“Didn’t I tell you to play along, angel?” He whispered sharply and I closed my eyes , shuddering.
Play along. Do it if you want to get out of here alive. ‘
Fucking psychopath.
“ It’s beautiful, Jungkook.” I whispered softly, glancing at him with teary eyes. He nodded.
“We’ll get one for you too. A wolf. With the initials JK on it…. Right here…” He lightly traced a path over my collarbone and I hoped to God, this was some sick fantasy. That he wasn’t seriously considering tattooing his initials on me.
“Strip for me baby… All of it. I want to see you.” He whispered and I hesitated just long enough to take a deep breath. I reached back, quickly undoing my bra clasp and pulling the fabric off.  I hooked my thumbs into my skirt and my panties, tugging both of them off me, swiftly. I dropped all of it on the floor next to the bed, before moving to kneel in the middle of the bed, staring at him with a smile that felt physically painful.
“I’m going to make you feel good, baby.” He whispered quietly, crawling over on top of me.
“Lay down for me.” He said, and I felt repulsed, as he kissed my lips, soft and gentle, pressing in till I was flat on my back, legs parted so he could lie in between.
It was so different from last time and somehow ten times worse.
Jungkook pressed kisses all over my face, whispering gentle words against my skin that felt like acid.
“So beautiful…. Mine. You were always mine Elena. Mine to touch and mine to break . Mine to love and mine to fuck.”
I stared as he loomed over, his face inches from mine, his gaze deceptively affectionate, his eyes warm and almost soft. I watched as he came closer, his lips closing over mine. Instinctively I kept my lips together but his fingers curled around my thigh, squeezing hard enough to make me whimper, lips parting . He pressed his tongue in then , licking into my mouth and I brought my hands up, instinctively wrapping around the bare skin of his shoulders and my body thrummed at the feeling of his muscles under my fingers.
Curiosity made me foolish, and I found myself tracing the hills and valleys of his skin, fascinated by the way the muscles flexed, every time he moved his arm.
“You like that? I worked hard on those…” He chuckled, watching me curl my fingers around his biceps. He was so… big. I moved my fingers up to the hardness of his chest, splaying my palm on his pecs and my fingers caught a hard little scar, almost perfectly round and deep.
“What is this…” I asked , curious my finger dipping into the healed skin and he hummed.
“Your father . He shot me when I was chasing his car down in Jeju Do. Foolish bastard. Thought he could outrun me.” He laughed .
I glanced at him, catching his eyes and the ebbing laughter , my heart twisting.
“Then why am I here? You hate my father. You killed my entire family. So why am I here, Jungkook?”  I asked foolishly, my heart breaking a bit and he hesitated.
“Because you’re mine.” He said simply.
I closed my eyes in despair.
“If this was our wedding night…. What would you say…?” He asked suddenly.
I stared at him, confused.
“What?”
“If we got married back then… When you were eighteen. And it was our first night together….. what would you say?”
I sighed.
“I’d ask you to ….to be gentle.” I whispered.
He nodded.
“Tell me , then.”
I stared at him, feeling helpless.
“Go on, Elena.” He said again.
“Jungkook…” I began but he shook his head.
“Ggukkie.” He said softly. “ Call me GGukkie… That’s what you used to call me …when we were young.”
I clenched my fists, on his chest, resisting the urge to push him off. That wouldn’t end well for me.
“GGukkie…” I whispered, finally, glancing up at him, licking my lips and parting them gently, eyes as wide as they could go, “ you know its my first time right?”
Jungkook’s eyes fairly danced at that and he hummed, leaning closer.
“Is it, baby?” He asked, reaching up to brush my hair away, fingers gentle on my face.
Get into it. Get into it and get it over with.
“You know it is…” I pouted, “ No one else can touch me. I’m yours , aren’t I GGukkie…”
He laughed, rubbing his nose against mine.
“That you are, kitten.”
Kitten? That’s a new one.
Shut up and stay in character , fuck.
I was so fucking screwed.
“ So… will you be gentle?” I whispered , “ I don’t want it to hurt.”
Jungkook wrapped his arms around me rolling over and taking me with him till I was lying flat on top of him.
“Then how about this angel? You can ride me…. As slow and gentle as you like. Make yourself feel good on my cock, yeah….?”
I stared at him.
I’m gonna fuck you and you’re going to do all the work.
He’d played me like a fiddle.
“Well baby? Go on…. Take my pants off.”
I exhaled angrily, before moving down, to tug on his pants. He helped me take them off kicking off his boxer briefs as well.
That’s a beautiful dick. Objectively. Very pretty.
Shut the fuck up.
“ Get it wet for me baby….” He said softly. I glanced down at the hard length of it, jutting out of the small thatch of hair and felt my mouth go dry . Which would be counterproductive if I wanted to get it wet. So I swirled my tongue around my mouth, trying to get my mouth moist, before leaning down and carefully wrapping my lips around the head.
Fuck, he tastes good.
I shook my head a bit to clear the voice in my head, glancing up at him with my lips stretched around the soft pink head and he was looking right back at me, eyes heavy and dark .
“Go on baby, take more of it in, use your tongue…make me feel good.”
I closed my eyes, letting the spit coat the hard length of his cock, sinking down till the tip began to inch down my throat. I sucked lightly, running my tongues back and forth on whatever skin I could touch and it was like sucking a lollipop except the lollipop was thick enough to stretch my mouth wide and hit the back of my throat.
I felt his hand reach into my hair, gripping hard and I whimpered.
“Be gentle…” I whispered, pulling off and his eyebrows shot up , clearly in surprise . He stared at me for a second, as though considering my request and then his fingers loosened , threading through the strands soothingly.
“I’m sorry, baby.” He whispered . I went back to sucking him off, somehow my natural tendency to work hard making me bob up and down, using my tongue and taking him as deep as I could. I felt a sick sort of satisfaction when he moaned in pleasure and for some damn reason I wanted to draw more sounds out of him.
This is a dream. Either that or you tripped over a pothole and fell into another dimension.
“ Are you wet ? Come here, so I can check….” Jungkook said softly and I pulled off moving up to straddle his hips. I flinched when he reached down, tracing my slit with carefully fingers before slipping in two. I tightened against the intrusion, still sore on the inside and he pulled his fingers out, bringing them up to my mouth.
“Suck…and get them nice and wet if you don’t want it to hurt.” He said quietly and I wrapped my lips around his fingers, letting my spit coat the slender digits.
When he pushed them back into me, the slide was easier , wetter and I gripped his shoulders, trying to relax around him. It felt foreign but also good… I felt good…
I stared down at him, the broad muscled body and the handsome face and for a crazy moment I imagine what it would have been, if I had married him. Would it have been this….this… weird pleasure that was somehow both painful and exhilarating at the same time. I bit my lips as he curled his fingers inside me, rubbing at some spot high up inside me that sent heat shooting straight up my spine, slick dripping out of me and onto the hard planes of his stomach like honey from a comb.
“Now sit on my cock.” He said quietly. I trembled, reaching down to lightly grip his cock, moving till the head lined up right against my slit or where I thought my slit was. Biting my lips, I lowered my body, feeling my body cleave to let him in, his cock pressing in and in and in.
My knees gave out and I slid down the length of him, the sudden, incredible fullness knocking the breath right out of me.
“ Fuck…baby….you alright?” He whispered and it messed with my head, the way he actually looked concerned and worried and I couldn’t take anymore of it.
“Please… Please… I just… I want to go home…” I whimpered, feeling full and stretched out, my thighs trembling and my insides wet and warm and somehow stuck between wanting more and wanting it to end.
Jungkook grunted, fingers curling over both my hips and lifting me lightly and with ease.
“Come on baby…. Ride me….” He whispered, “ Put your hands on my chest and roll your hips, up and down .”
I did as he said, one hand braced against his chest, the other gripping his shoulder as I tried to move on him but it was hopeless. I had no energy or inclination to do this and the pleasure was fast ebbing into frustration. Jungkook seemed to sense it because he growled.
“Fuck, you’re so fucking bad at this… Fine… Just lay there and let me use that stupid cunt of yours.” He snapped,  gripping my waist and folding his knees just enough to brace his feet on the bed. I gasped as I got lifted a bit , his cock slipping in impossibly deeper , the tip nudging close to my cervix , the lightest brush of it send sharp jolts of electric pain pleasure up my spine.
“Oh fuck,..” I breathed as he pistoned into me, hips hitting my ass with brutal force as he fucked up into me and I could only tremble, eyes fluttering shut, fingers going numb from how hard I was gripping him.
“You’re gonna cum today… I’m gonna make you cum on my cock…” He growled, reaching down and pressing his thumb against my clit, rubbing softly, slow circles that were almost gentle compared to the brutal pounding oh his hips and I felt my mouth go slack, wetness slipping out of my tongue and dripping down my chin because of how excruciatingly good it felt, having him so deep, pressing in against the edge of my womb and I and to press my palm, right up against my belly , stunned because of how my body seemed to open and shift to make room for him.
“I’m gonna cum inside you, right inside your womb, fuck…. Gonna carry my babies for me, right sweetheart? Gonna watch you get round and full with my seed , watch you drip milk all over me with those beautiful tits….fuck…”
The shock of his words sent me over the edge, my body clenching down on him as I came, my orgasm so strong that I felt like I was cramping up on the inside and I toppled forward onto him, landing on his chest and bouncing a bit. Jungkook grunted a little, wrapping both his arms around me, holding close as he fucked me right through the aftershocks, body stilling only when I stopped shuddering and I felt warm wetness spill inside me, so deep that I knew I would have to swallow three morning after pills after this, although I was on birth control.
Because one could never be too sure with these things.
Jungkook stayed still under me and it took me a few seconds to catch my breath. I finally levered myself off of him, legs shaking as I rolled over and onto the bed before breathing in huge lungfuls of air.
“Can I go?” I choked out.
Jungkook grunted. “ Get the fuck out of here.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When I stumbled out of the cab, exhausted and out of my mind with self loathing, I didn’t expect to see Hoseok sitting on the pavement outside the bakery, leaning against a streetlight, face warm but determined.
“Hobi?” I asked stunned. “ What are you-“
He cut me off with a kiss.
I stared wide eyed as he pulled me into an embrace, wrapping me in warmth and scent of his cologne, his hands impossibly gentle around me as he all but cradled me against his body, his lips moving gently against mine.
“Elena…” He breathed against my lips, eyes glinting . “ I love you. I’ve been in love with you for years. I’m so fucking sorry for being such a coward but you deserve to know… you deserve to know how I feel about you.”
I stared at him in disbelief, my heart pounding as I punched his chest in desperation.
“No… No fuck you… what are you doing…. He’ll kill you…” I hissed and he tightened his arms around me.
“I don’t care.” He hissed. “ I don’t… I can’t just… I can’t let him hurt you like this. I won’t. I’m going to tell him. I’m going to tell him to let you go or lose our friendship.” He said angrily and I trembled.  
My heart raced because Hoseok was the only one I’d ever loved. In every way a girl could love a boy. He was and had always been this confusing breed of brother and friend while everyone had drooled after Jeon Jungkook , I’d always been drawn to him…drawn to his quiet strength and to the way he had always treated me as an equal…
But… but Jungkook…. Jungkook who would put a bullet in his brain without a thought if he thought that Hoseok was trying to move in on something that belonged to him…..
“Hoseok…just… Don’t. I… I love you too…” I breathed out, tired and scared and so fucking worried because what if someone was listening even now..what if word got to Jungkook and he tried to hurt ….i couldn’t even think it.
“Come find me when Jungkook is busy . When he can’t find us…” I said softly, reaching out and pressing my palm against his face.
“I’m not scared of him.” Hoseok growled  and it was ridiculous.  
“But I’m scared of losing you. “ I said quickly. “ We can’t… He can’t know. Ever.”
Hoseok nodded before pulling me close again.
“Was he too rough?” He whispered and I blinked, flushing. I shook my head.
“No.. I. No. I think…”
“I hate that he was the one to touch you, first. You.. You deserve to know how good it can be…. How gentle.. I want to… fuck…” He shook his head pulling away and I wrapped my arms around myself.
“We can’t…” I said quietly. “ you know we can’t.”
He glanced at me, eyes blazing and lips parted and I groaned.
“Don’t look at me like that Hobi…” I whispered, shaking my head.
“Tomorrow. He’s going to Jeju Do , to inspect a new resort. He won’t be back till the day after. Call in sick at work.” He said quietly and I bit my lips, feeling a bit like a whole idiot.
I nodded.
He reached forward and pressed a kiss to my forehead.
No self preservation skills at all, I thought miserably.  
If Jungkook found out…….
Author’s Note : I’ll add the taglist here tomorrow
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pancakeke · 3 years ago
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Did you get diagnosed with adhd as an adult? I ask because I'm an adult woman of color that can get up and go to work and can kind of interact with people around me, so I feel like I'll never get it
I got diagnosed when I was 29 but looking back I should have been diagnosed when I was in middle school lol. When I sought out a doctor I was technically functioning at my job and home but I was doing piss poor work and was stressed out beyond my limit 100% of the time.
I have a really hard time talking to doctors because I get anxious and forget what I want to highlight a lot so it may be helpful for you as well to list out your struggles and how they are negatively impacting your life. then you have a point by point list your doctor can use to help with diagnosis
for examples, a bunch of stuff I listed:
Work:
I forget to follow up on problem orders constantly, creating larger problems for myself later
I have to keep ridiculous amounts of notes to keep myself on track, but then the amount of notes becomes overwhelming and they become impossible to use
I question my memory at all times which keeps me in a high level of stress and anxiety
After dealing with some extra temporary responsibilities I hit a wall and have not been able to bounce back and do my normal duties very well anymore. Even my boss has noticed that I have had a hard time keeping up and talked to me about it. Nothing has permanently changed with my work, the problem is something with me.
home/personal life
I volunteer to help people with plans often but very quickly forget my responsibilities and only remember when reminded at the the last minute, putting myself in the position where I have to work until 2 or 3am to prepare for what we're doing
often I feel very creative and have the intention to work on home improvement or personal projects but either cant force myself to initiate a plan or after starting a plan I can't focus enough to get remotely close to completing it
along with the above, when actually starting a project it's generally on impulse and as soon as the impulse dies down I cant force myself to continue no matter how hard I try
I create constant messes and always feel disorganized no matter how hard I try to maintain an acceptable living space
I buy things on impulse for personal projects but then can't bring myself to work on the projects, meaning I often waste money on impulse buys that never go anywhere
I have a difficult time remembering to pay bills
General
forgetfulness causes me to accidentally procrastinate almost constantly, always putting me in a position where I have to rush while fueled by anxiety to get anything accomplished.
I basically rely on anxiety to push me to complete anything. if I'm not afraid of failure or causing problems it's almost like tasks don't exist
there isn't a day where one or more of the above things causes me problems.
kind of overboard but you get the idea. take some time over a week or two and note every time your ADHD symptoms affect your quality of life, and also add to your notes that all these things are negatively impacting you on a daily basis (if its true, which I don't doubt it is). If you share any of these problems with me feel free to tell your doctor you know someone diagnosed with ADHD who had the same problems to emphasize that you don't just have generalized anxiety.
My doctor made a copy of my notes to keep on file which I greatly appreciated. I've had a LOT of problems with doctors in the past not taking me seriously for physical problems I had so I'm like extra aware and suspicious of how doctors behave now.
I was genuinely surprised at how serious my doctor took all my issues. She didn't dismiss anything and agreed this sounded like ADHD. I'm white and can't talk to the issue of being POC and trying to get taken seriously by medical professionals but my generic advice is: don't be afraid to fire a doctor who doesn't seem to listen to you or is dismissive of your struggles. You don't even need to tell them they're fired, you can just cancel your next appt right after you make it and then ghost them. I went through 5 doctors (and hundreds of dollars....) getting a physical problem diagnosed once. I seriously wish I'd jumped ship on two of these guys sooner and stopped wasting my time and money on morons who had no investment in my health.
Also if possible, talk to local people you know or check out support groups (there are a lot of various ones on FB. also there may be forums out there for this kind of thing) for POC who struggle with finding doctors who actually listen to them. There may be recs you can use.
One more little bit of advice, if you're more comfortable with video chat than going to see a doctor in person you can do telehealth visits to speak with psychs about mental health issues and even get a diagnosis. It's what I did at first because it was easier to fit into my schedule. The only caveat is they can't prescribe you any medications for controlled substances (like adderall) without seeing you in person at least once. So if they do diagnose you with ADHD you'll have to go see them in person one time to get a prescription.
I always rant when I get asks for advice aaaa but I hope this helps at least somewhat!! If you have any other questions or want to talk feel free to send another ask or DM me!!
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whump-a-la-mode · 3 years ago
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Hi! Can I ask for a continuation to the supervillain finds drugged and terrified villain on doorstep? Maybe (idk where you’d wanna take it but ig this is just a suggestion) sorta fluff but the villain is terrified of supervillain? Idk where im getting at lmao just write what you wanna write and have fun with it :)
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Of course! Thank you both for the asks. I loved that prompt and found it really cute. This one has about the same balance of fluff and angst as the first part, so I really hope you enjoy!
Continued from here.
CW//Medical mentions, past trauma, past drowning, past torture, injuries, food
The medics had left far too quickly.
At least, that was Supervillain's impression of the situation. Only perhaps half an hour after they had been called, their medical team had arrived in full force. Upon the injured villain they had swarmed like flies, with stethoscopes and thermometers and tools that their boss had no clue at all how to identify.
And then, they were gone. The leader of the team made a full report on Villain's injuries, and the care that they would require. Strangulation wounds, malnutrition, half-healed frostbite, and, of course, the beginnings of hypothermia had all stricken the heroes' victim.
But, so the leader had stated, none of these afflictions would require hospitalization. In fact, hospitalization would have likely produced a more negative outcome. With weakened lungs, on account of repeated and merciless strangulation attempts, even the most common of hospital-borne respiratory illnesses could send them to the grave. After all, the whole purpose of a hospital was for it to be full of sick people.
That was all that they had said, before piling up into their emergency response vehicle and leaving the premises.
Leaving Supervillain alone with nothing but a page of written instructions, and a half-dead Villain upon their couch.
Would it have been simple to pass the job onto a henchman? Or even better, a villain with genuine medical knowledge? Perhaps. But every last villain had scrambled off into hiding, and as smart as their henchmen were, this was not their responsibility.
It was the responsibility of a leader to take care of their sick.
And that was exactly how Supervillain had ended up in their kitchen, gingerly spreading butter of two pieces of steaming toast. Though the scent of freshly-toasted bread was nearly irresistible, the food was not for them. The whole situation had left them far too nauseous to even consider food.
But Villain was starving.
Placing down the knife into their sink with a clatter, Supervillain took the plate in one hand, and a topped-off glass of water in the other. They had taken the liberty of warming it-- though a cool glass of water may have been a mercy to some, to the pyrokinetic, it would have, in the best case scenario, caused discomfort. In the worst... Well, they didn't know.
After all, they weren't a doctor.
But, doctor or not, public enemy number one still moved gingerly across their kitchen floor, through the hallways, and all the way to the room where their new, accidental, ward had been settled. So it seemed, the medical examination they had been through had drained whatever energy that Villain had had remaining, seeing as afterwards they had immediately passed out upon the couch. Given that Supervillain was far from the kind of host to allow their guest to sleep on the couch, they had-- gently, of course-- carried them to one of the home's many spare room, and settled them upon a bed.
When Supervillain had left the room, Villain had been neatly tucked beneath the covers, snoring peacefully, if not a little shallowly.
Now, when they entered, toast and water in hand, the bed was empty. Instead, the sheets lay bare, blanket torn away.
They soon discovered why. As slight as the movement was, it was not difficult to tell that the blanket laid in a corner was breathing. The slightest flutter of sympathy danced within their chest-- why was their ward hiding?
"Villain?" They did their very best to make their voice quiet, hospitable, even though they were neither of those things. "I brought food. Are you hungry?"
There was no reply.
Supervillain realized in that moment that, throughout Villain's entire, brief, stay in the home, they had yet to speak a single word. Come to think of it, actually, they had hardly even been awake earlier. Though the medics hadn't believed a blood test to be necessary, the effects of heavy sedation were rather obvious.
This was the first time that Villain was awake, and they had awoken alone. Dammit.
With a soft clack, they set the plate and the glass upon a bedside table, moving towards the shuddering blanket in the corner. The combination of wool socks and carpeted floor made their footsteps almost silent, leaving the room quiet as they knelt down before the blanket. Up close, it was rather simple to see the form of the villain that had hidden themself beneath it.
As much as they would have liked to leave Villain alone and to their own devices, according to the doctor's words, 'they won't be able to survive on their own for a while.' They would need a caretaker, and, through chance alone, Supervillain had wound up in that role.
They grabbed the bottom of the blanket first, about where Villain's feet would be, and gently began to drag it off of their form. As soon as their head was uncovered, they stopped, leaving the fleece to protect the rest of their body.
Anyone could tell that Villain had been crying, sobbing, even. Half of their face was covered in dried tears, cheeks red and eye whites a similar color. As soon as their face was revealed, they struggled to cover it with their hands, revealing the shivering in their limbs.
"Hey, hey." Supervillain reached a hand slowly forth, but stopped short of actually laying it upon Villain, believing that that likely wouldn't aid in their terrified state. "You're okay. I know you're scared, I know. But you escaped. You... You can tell me how you did that later. But you're safe, now. You're in my house.
It's me. It's Supervillain."
That only served to send another wave of terrified shivering through their body, as though they had been struck by a cane.
"If you don't want to talk, I won't make you, okay? But you're hurt. Will you at least drink some water?"
It was as though an emotional grenade had gone off.
In an instant, Villain curled in on themself, burying their face in their knees and curling almost to a fetal position.
"No no no no please no- Please, no. Please let me breathe please I'll behave please not the water please please please no no no."
Supervillain stopped, and noted with a start something they had not made much notice of beforehand: When Villain first arrived, their upper body had been soaking wet.
Someone had tried to drown them.
"Villain." They struggled not to allow their to crack, but fury and sorrow combined were making that a nearly impossible task. "No one is going to hurt you. No one is going to hurt you ever again, okay?"
From the tear-stained blanket, Villain lifted their head, shaking, pinprick pupils staring up at them.
"T-Then." They sniffled. "Then why are you here?"
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plsbyallmeans · 3 years ago
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For your little challange:
47 + 100 (Bodyguard AU and accidently saving the day)
47: Not a Date + 100: Accidentally Saving the Day + Bodyguard AU? (I'm not sure if I understood the request but I'll do my best) I still have two more requests will do one again tomorrow. :)
----
Agent William Jefferson Clinton is assigned as Secretary Hillary Rodham's personal unit when her former agent got assassinated.
"Hill, here's your new personal guy, Agent Clinton," Says her chief of staff.
Hillary looks up from the notes that she's reading and sees Agent Clinton standing in front of her desk.
"Agent William Jefferson Clinton, Ma'am," He says in a thick Southern Arkansan accent.
Agent Bill is just like any other agents however what makes Bill different is that he has this very charismatic persona, friendly, and easy on eyes despite his premature grey hair.
Bill's friendliness made it easy for Hillary to be open to him. She has learned that Agent Bill is still single at age forty-two while Bill knew that Secretary Rodham is a single mother. Agent Bill understands the boundaries of his relationship with his boss but he just couldn't help being friendly with her. Secretary Rodham is beautiful and even funny. He is lucky that he has the opportunity to see this side of her often times. The attraction didn't happen over night. It built as days go by with him always being around her. Both of them tries to ignore their growing attraction because that would be embarrassing, right? Besides, what would the President say if he finds out something is going on between his Secretary and her Agent? That would be just inappropriate. So what Hillary did? She jumped back in dating game. She started seeing Doctor Sullivan. Friend of her daughter's pediatrician. She isn't exactly crazy about Doctor Sullivan but she wanted to be distracted. Agent Bill, however, ignored the jealousy that he feels. He tells himself that he's being stupid for even allowing himself to feel something for his boss. Hillary notices that Bill is no longer the usual cheerful self and has treats her like any other agents that protects her. She should be fine about it but she actually kind of misses him. So one night when Hillary went to have a dinner she asks Agent Clinton if he can join her for a dinner. "Are you asking me to have a dinner with you, Ma'am?" He asks. "Yes," Hillary responds without looking up. Bill balances on the sole of his feet wanting to ask her why but kept his mouth shut. As if she heard his thought, Hillary adds, "It's quite lonely to eat alone so I would really appreciate it if you can join me for dinner." "Like a date?" He asks. Hillary finally looks up, her mouth slightly opens, "Oh, no, not a date." She laughs nervously, "It's definitely not a date, Bill... it's just...." She tries to find the right word, but Bill beats her to it, "Just a dinner." Hillary nods. So Bill and Hillary enjoys a dinner (not a date!) and they both discussed each other's personal life and Bill asks about Doctor Sullivan. Hillary got interested when he asks about Doctor Sullivan. Bill pries if they are dating to which Hillary tells him that it isn't his business to know. Bill shuts up and Hillary asks Bill if he's dating anyone. Bill lies and tells her that there's someone he likes - a childhood friend in Arkansas. He tells her that he wants to return to Arkansas soon so he could pursue her. Hillary feels a little uncomfortable listening to his story and feels jealous of this faceless woman. Hillary tells Bill that he should go back to Arkansas to marry the girl but Bill the jealousy in her tone. He wants to confront her about it but didn't do so. Hillary's mood turns sour because of the turn of their discussion so when they finished their dinner, Hillary asks for the bill so they could leave. They didn't talk again until they stood outside of the restaurant while waiting for the limousine to arrive. While waiting, someone tries to harm Hillary, Bill covers her and got shot instead. Hillary visits the hospital where Bill is being treated. It surprises Bill and tells her that she doesn't have to visit him because it's part of his work. Hillary tells him that he has grown to be a friend so he should stop saying that he's just her bodyguard. "So you care about me?" Bill teases. Yes, she thoughts but then she shook her head and calls him "Silly," instead. After the incident, they got closer and the attraction the feel towards each other is no longer undeniable. They both are aware about this. However, to deter the people from speculating about her and Bill, she agrees to go out again with Doctor Sullivan much to Bill's annoyance. Bill plays it cool and has reverted back to being stoic, however, when Hillary and Doctor Sullivan's date ended and Hillary goes back home, Bill talks to her and in one heart stopping moment, he finally takes the plunge and kisses her. Did it surprise her? Yes, but finally
admits to herself that it's what she has been waiting for.
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worfs-fabulous-hair · 3 years ago
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It's been so long , star trek my beloved I'm back.
Another note that I'm making from later on after I started making this post, is that apparently I miss numbered one of my posts a while ago and I'm on episode ahead of where I thought I was so my last post says 01X23-01X24 but should be 01X24-01X25 , sorry I didn't catch that it was the wrong numbers before now.
Series I'm currently on : The original series
Episodes watched: 01X26 - 01X27
Episode names:
The Devil in the Dark
Errand of Mercy
Thoughts:
The devil in the Dark
A bunch of men walking around searching for a monster to dramatic music that almost deafened me because my tablets volume was all the way up and I didn't realize.
They left a singular person alone while they investigate some more I wonder what's going to happen /j
He got eaten all he wanted to do was see the enterprise, also these guys have to go how could this happen even though they left him alone knowing that something was killing everyone
Conveniently walks into a room right as your needed for part of the conversation
I love these neon colored jump suits
These monsters are a mafia bosses wet dream a walking version of a barrel of battery acid that destroys and dissolves absolutely everything it touches.
It fucked up the reactor that controls everything on the planet like life support and this has happened so many times that I question why they have no back up systems on these colonies
Scotty throwing shade at how old the reactor is
" we asked for your help and for you to take us off of this planet but now that you're here we don't want your help. And by we I mean I don't want your help but I'm going to make this decision for thousands of people because of my pride as the person in charge "
I love how Spock went " what if it is this theoretical cryptid being" and Kirk immediately went yes absolutely I am 100% behind you
Oop they just sent a bunch of red shirts in the tunnels to look for the creature you know what that means
Red shirt #1 has died , he also has the most 70s christian youth pastor hair cut I have ever seen
That is not how the monster was described as looking earlier on at all
This creature is made out of corrosive materials that have dissolved people alive and your just gonna bare hand pick up part of it that fell off when you shot it with your phaser not 5 minutes before ?
A crime against science ?
" I'm sorry if it makes you sad Spock but we're gonna have to kill the creature even if it is a crime against science"
More red shirts being sent into the tunnels to split up
Nah you can't tell me this isn't flirting like kirk's pulling that face again the one he only ever does with Spock you know
Spock being forced to squat to fit in the tunnel in his high heel channel uniform boots
Spock was about to go full Vulcan strength when he thought jim was hurt
These ball thing are eggs aren't they? I bet this is the trope of accidentally stealing an egg of a unknown creature and then they hunt you down because they want the egg back
Look at this thing :
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Does this look sparkly and glowy like it was described ?
Spock was all for making sure that the creature stayed alive but now that Jim is in danger he's going " kill that bitch , no hesitation just shoot it you have to stay alive"
Jim is like that cat bug meme of " we're friends now we're having soft tacos later"
Spock's gonna mind meld with the creature
It's calls itself the hort
" nonsense Spock, McCoy is a doctor he can heal anything "
No wonder he's always so done with kirk's shit
Oh my God the colonists just murdered the red shirts
They were the hort's eggs and she was killing them because they smashed her eggs and killed her babies
No one is acknowledging that they killed the red shirts
McCoy healed the hort !
What was left of the babies hatched
Mama hort had the hots for Spock
Errand of Mercy
They are mentioning the Klingon , ay !
Now they are being attacked
Sulu is in charge now
" we have no people in charge but we have a council that makes all of the decisions , you may speak with them "
So you do in fact have people in charge
There is no war in ba sing se
Spock and Kirk are now stranded because they made Sulu leave
Also the council members have the ability to see premonitions
Early Klingons look so weird
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This particular Klingon ( the one pictures above ) is almost obsessed with Kirk and it's so funny
Cause like all that Kirk has done is be silent and sassy
Spock has been arrested for being Vulcan
Now he is free after they probed his mind
Kirk and Spock are talking mighty loud in front of the Klingons for two people putting together a secret rebellion plan
I like how literally all of the people on this planet are fine with being taken over but Kirk is just sitting there yelling at them going " fight back, come on , care about this man. I know what's good for you and you don't ."
Kirk has been betrayed by the council
The Klingon dude is still obsessed with Kirk
I like how Kirk and Spock's clothes look like their uniforms
The council betrays the Klingon to help Kirk and Spock
Klingon phasers sound like magic tricks in cartoons
" if you don't let me stop violence then I will harm you "
These actors are so dramatic when there only job is to walk around and pretend to pass out or die , they really had to make sure they were gonna get that money huh ?
Klingons really came a long way development wise from this episode
So the council are alot more powerful than they let on and made everything extremely hot and shut off all of the ships and are trying to end the war
Now Kirk and the Klingon general are arguing like kids that got into a fist fight in elementary school
Is this a planet of Qs ?
Now everything is back to normal
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Wormhole | Spencer Reid x Reader Platonic
WC: 10k
A/N: This is a comfort fic disguised as a CM episode. Also, I had a lot of fun writing this.
WARNINGS: Kidnapping, murder, general CM things, hospitals, mentions of blood, psychopaths
You weren’t normally nervous to talk to Agent Aaron Hotchner. Sure, he was your boss, but he had also been leading the BAU for so long that you always trusted his reactions and motives. Still, the reason you had asked him to meet was so far out of left field that you were nervous he would tell you you were insane.
You were the first one in the office for the morning, perching on your desk in the empty bullpen while you waited for Hotch to arrive. You stood up when he entered the office, but waited to move until he made it to his office door and beckoned you to follow him inside.
“Good morning, (y/n).”
“Morning, Hotch,” you stood awkwardly in front of his desk, clutching the file in your hands.
“Please, sit. Is everything ok?” As soon as you made eye contact with him, your nerves settled. Everything about his behavior showed that he was genuinely concerned for you and interested in what you had to say. You took a deep breath, sliding the file onto his desk.
“I was looking into this cold case from the eighties, in Illinois. Mia-Rose Horn, 16, found murdered under a bridge. I have a theory, and I was hoping I could take a couple of days to go check it out.” You bit your lip while he picked up the file, thumbing through it.
“What’s your theory?”
“The only suspects considered were older transients in the area because the town was so biased against migrant workers. My preliminary research shows that the unsub profiles as younger, someone who knew the victim and her family personally. It feels like there’s a piece of the puzzle missing, and I think victimology can really help this case. I’d like to visit the dumpsite and walk the crime scene. I’d also like to go through the evidence to see if I can narrow it down a little more, and possibly do updated DNA analysis. I’ve already contacted the lead detective, he said it would be fine if I went out there.”
Hotch was quiet for a minute, reading the case information from the file. The longer you sat in silence, the more you feared he would say no. Finally, he closed the file and handed it back to you, “the FBI wasn’t invited in on this case when it was active, how did you find it?”
You blushed, hard. “I was watching a cold case documentary and when they talked about this one it just didn’t feel right, so I asked Garcia to pull the file. Once I looked it over more I realized my hunch was correct. They barely built a profile and the one they did make was wrong.”
“Do you work on cold cases often?”
“I’ve only worked on it when we don’t have an active case and I’m caught up on my paperwork, it makes me feel like I’m still making a difference when things are slow here.”
Hotch nodded, “you’re a good agent, (y/n). I trust that you’ll represent the BAU well. I can’t let you take the jet but you’re welcome to an SUV. However, as soon as we get an active case it takes priority. Do you understand?”
You stood up quickly, excitedly gripping at the file, “Yes sir, of course. Thank you so much. I promise I wouldn’t be asking if I didn’t think I could do something. I won’t let you down, sir.” Hotch smiled softly at your energy. You had reached for the door handle before he spoke again, calling after you.
“(y/n),” you turned, hand still on the doorknob, “take Reid with you, I assume he knows the details of this case, too?” You nodded quickly, practically bouncing back to your desk with excitement. You checked the clock, Spencer would probably arrive in the next ten minutes or so, giving you time to arrange everything you’d need for the trip.
As soon as he stepped out of the elevator, you were waiting for him, go bag in hand.
“Hotch said you could go?”
“Not only that, he said you could come with me,” you smirked, falling in step next to him as he walked to his desk.
“Really?”
“We’re leaving now, so get your go bag.” You did a little happy dance as he started to gather his things.
“Ooh! Where are you going?” Penelope joined you at Spencer’s desk, hot cup of coffee in her hands.
“(y/n) is solving a cold case, we’re going out to Illinois to get more information.”
“The one I pulled for you? You actually solved it? Is there anything you can’t do?” Penelope asked in disbelief. Just last week she had explained to you why she was convinced you were a superhero.
You laughed brightly, “I don’t know if I can solve it yet, that’s why I need to go check it out for myself. Yes, I’ll call you if I need anything,” you answered when she opened her mouth to speak again. She hugged both you and Spencer before you left, making you promise you’d call her with updates and letting you know she’d call the detective to let him know you were on your way.
In true Spencer fashion, he had brought enough audiobooks to last the whole drive. You didn’t mind, your brain was more focused on driving. You didn’t talk about the case until you were nearing the end of the twelve hour road trip. Spencer was the one to bring it up, turning down the volume knob on the console.
“How are you feeling about this?”
“To be honest, Spence, I haven’t really been listening.”
“I meant about the case,” he chuckled.
“I’m trying not to get my hopes up. It’s been a cold case for over three decades for a reason, you know?”
“We wouldn’t be in Illinois right now if you weren’t on to something. Instincts exist for a reason, and your instincts are usually right.”
You fiddled with the air conditioning vents absentmindedly, “I don’t want to dredge up old wounds for the family and the town unless I’m absolutely certain I can bring some closure to them as well. The detective is the only person who knows we’re coming. I don’t want to start interviewing witnesses until I know I can do something to help.”
Spencer nodded, “I’ll follow your lead, you just tell me what you need.”
You spent the rest of the time discussing the details of the case, Spencer looking over the file again while you navigated to the police office. Having Spencer with you made you feel a lot better. You knew the case front to back, but this was your first time leading an investigation and you didn’t want to accidentally miss something in the file out of nervousness. Spencer’s eidetic memory and genius brain would keep you on track and ask you questions you knew would only help you in the grand scheme of things. Spencer was also your best friend, your biggest supporter. Any considerations he had would always come from a place of love and mutual respect.
When you arrived at the police station it was late in the evening, but the detective was waiting for you. He was an older man, tall and mostly bald.
“Hi, you must be Agent (y/l/n). Nice to finally meet you in person.”
“Detective Reeves, nice to finally meet you, too. This is my partner, Doctor Reid.” Spencer brought a hand up to wave. “Thanks for letting us take a look at this.”
“Thanks for making the drive out here. This case…” he sighed, “Mia-Rose went missing two months after I started this job and I’ve been hunting her killer ever since. It’s been thirty two years, a fresh pair of eyes will do this case good. It’ll do the whole town good if you can see somethin’ I haven’t.”
“We’ll see what we can do,” you said, not wanting to promise any results to him. “Is there a room we can set up in?”
“I’ve brought all of the evidence to our conference room. Use it for as long as you need.”
“Thanks,” you took off to the door that he had pointed at, Spencer on your heels. He shut the door behind you, dropping his bag on a chair while you picked up examination gloves.
The next few hours were spent meticulously going over the evidence that had been collected. You occasionally made comments to Spencer about where the item had come from and any notes that had already been documented about it.
The clock had just passed midnight when you were ready to move on to the next part of your investigation. You wanted to walk the dumpsite, but it would be useless to go while it was still dark. Instead, you retreated to a small motel at Spencer’s insistence that you needed sleep.
“I don’t think I’ll be able to shut my brain off enough to actually sleep,” you confessed once you were wearing sweatpants and leaning up against the headboard of the bed.
Spencer wandered out of the bathroom, giving you the softest look as he sat down next to you.
“What are you thinking about the most?”
“The evidence told me exactly what I thought it would, but I can’t build a decent mental picture of what happened until I see the dump site. What if I get there and it still doesn’t make sense? What if I’m in too deep on this one, Spence?”
“This case has been cold for thirty years, it can wait one more night. You are an incredible FBI agent. You’re an incredible human, at that. I know you can handle this, and Hotch knows you can handle this, too. If you aren’t able to solve it, you’re not letting anyone down. It’s been a cold case for a reason, I’m sure you’ll solve the next one.”
“Logically I know you’re right, but that isn’t making sleep happen any easier,” you sighed, sinking down onto a pillow. You could tell from Spencer’s expression that he had an idea when he reached up, turning off the lamp beside him and laying down next to you in the dark.
“This is called Image Distraction, all you have to do is close your eyes, try to relax, and listen to my voice.”
“Are you hypnotizing me?” you giggled into the darkness, feeling like a small kid at a sleepover with their best friend.
“No, it’s just a strategy to help you fall asleep. I’m going to describe a scene to you and the idea is that it takes up enough space in your brain to prevent you from re-engaging with other thoughts. Hypnosis doesn’t actually put you to sleep, just in a trance that seems like you’re sleeping. It’s been proven to help change habits and thoughts around sleeping though. There was a study done in 2010-”
“Is that what I’m supposed to be picturing? I’m seeing dudes in lab coats and creepy hospital walls.”
You felt the mattress shake next to you as Spencer laughed.
“No, that wasn’t it. I’m going to start now, picture a waterfall. As you walk closer it gets louder, pounding onto the rocks below it and spraying a mist into the air. The droplets of water stick to your face. You can see a rainbow that touches the pool at the base of the waterfall. The plants growing around the pool of water are greener than emeralds, bright and shining in the sun…”
That was the last thing you remembered him saying before succumbing to sleep. You had a very vivid dream while you were sleeping, not uncommon for someone in your field, but it wasn’t one you had had before.
There was a teenage girl walking in front of you down a long hallway. You instantly recognized her as Mia-Rose. She turned around every so often, beckoning you to come closer, but no matter how fast you tried to move your feet it was impossible for you to catch up. The hallway was familiar, you realized it was one in Quantico that you walked down every day to get to the elevator. It took longer than normal to reach the end, and just when you thought you could catch up to Mia-Rose, Hotch stepped out in front of you, holding Spencer with one arm and holding his gun to your best friend’s temple with the other.
“You have to choose, (y/n).”
“Choose what?”
“One of them has to die. Him or her?” he moved his gun to point the barrel at Mia-Rose.
“I don’t understand, why can’t I save them both?”
“One of them has to die.”
It only took you a moment to consider, “me. Shoot me. Let them live.”
“Brave choice,” Hotch’s gun came to point at you and his finger squeezed the trigger.
You woke up.
Soft morning light was coming in through the window and Spencer was already awake, quietly tying his tie while perched on the edge of the bed.
“Morning,” he grinned when he noticed you watching him.
“Morning,” you panted, sitting up and rubbing the sleep from your eyes.
“You were dreaming.”
“Yeah.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“Hotch made me choose between him shooting Mia-Rose or shooting you.”
“What did you choose?”
“I made him shoot me instead.”
You expected Spencer to launch into an analysis of your dream and what it meant, but instead he asked another question, changing the subject.
“Can we stop for coffee before we walk the dumpsite?” he pulled a blue cardigan out from his go bag and stuck his arms through the sleeves.
“Sure,” you said, stretching as you stood up. While you got ready, Spencer found the nearest place to get coffee, and you stopped there before continuing on to the bridge where Mia-Rose’s body had been found thirty years ago.
“I’m too used to walking active crime scenes,” you murmured when you pulled over to the empty dumpsite. Normally dumpsites like this were taped off with officers present, as well as some news reporters and civilian gawkers. You were sure that it had looked like that when the crime had first happened, but now it was just a bridge that nobody thought about.
When you stepped out of the SUV you noticed a small memorial for Mia-Rose nailed to a tree, wilted and weathered flowers around it. You stopped for a minute to look at it, then continued through the brush to the overpass.
Mia-Rose had fallen off of the bridge onto the ground beneath, where you were standing now. Her death was originally ruled a suicide, which had slowed the investigation until her parents insisted she wasn’t suicidal and had her autopsied, revealing ligature marks and evidence of assault. Just from reading the file, you knew that her parents were right. She didn’t profile as suicidal, and if she was she could have jumped from further down the bridge into the flowing river to your right, not onto the ground where she likely would have survived.
“Mia-Rose was found right here,” you pointed, “and her belongings…” you turned to your left, Spencer moving from behind you to stand where the girl’s school backpack and shoes had been found, a handful of yards away.
“They were found next to this rock.”
“That doesn’t make sense,” you said, facing him from where you stood, “the ME found traces of motor oil on her skin, so she must have been transported in a car. That means the unsub was driving on this road, stopped here by the bridge, then tossed her over the side. Why not just toss her stuff after her?” After thinking in silence for a minute, you started moving. “Stay where you are,” you instructed Spencer as you climbed the embankment. Once you reached the bridge, you stood on the edge so you could see both locations of dump sites.
“Spence,” you called to him, “how long is the average car?”
“Anywhere between 10 and 18 feet, depending on the size of the vehicle,” he answered quickly. You positioned yourself in line with where Mia-Rose’s body was found, then paced out roughly fifteen feet, landing you almost squarely in line with where Spencer was standing down the hill.
“What are you thinking?”
“This might sound kind of out there, but what if there was a partner?”
Spencer furrowed his eyebrows, trying to figure out how you had gotten there. He climbed up to where you were standing before asking you about it, “what makes you think that?”
“Eyewitness accounts said they saw Mia-Rose in a car with a man the night she went missing, and they were both sitting in the front of the car, but that’s about all anyone can agree on. What if there was a second unsub sitting in the back? If I’m the unsub getting Mia-Rose out of the front, you’re taking her stuff out of the trunk and tossing it over the side,” you acted out.
“Which means my DNA should be on her belongings,” Spencer concluded, finishing your thought, “I’ll call the lab and start getting things processed.”
“Good idea, I’m going to call Garcia and then we can head back to the station,” you said, pulling out your own phone as Spencer took a step away to make his call.
“Crimefighter! What have you’ve got?” Garcia answered her phone quickly.
“Hey Penelope, can you go through the list of Mia-Rose’s family members and get me some updated contact info?”
“Of course! Did you get a lead? I knew you could solve this,” she rambled. You could hear the clicking of her keyboard as she multitasked.
“Not quite, just a better understanding of the situation. I want to start interviewing family members to really nail down victimology and see if they know of anyone who fits my profile. Spencer’s calling the lab to get some evidence re-examined. When they send you results can you run them through CODIS?”
“Absolutely. Anything else?”
“That’s it for now, thanks Garcia.”
“Anytime, my love. I just sent the updated contacts to your tablet. Garcia out!”
Spencer was waiting for you in the SUV, once you finished your call with Garcia you drove back to the station. Detective Reeves assigned an officer to help you call the family members and invite them in for interviews.
“Mrs. Horn, thank you for coming in to talk with us,” you said gently to the elderly woman sitting across from you.
“Anything to help you find my little girl’s killer. Do you really think you can solve it?”
“We’re trying our best. Any information you can give us will make our job easier. Mia-Rose was walking home from school when she went missing, and was later seen getting into a blue car. Is there anyone she would have willingly accepted a ride home from?”
“No, she always walked, rain or shine so she could say hello to the neighbors on her way home. Except for Tuesdays, my brother Dylan would drive her home from band practice on Tuesdays because it was after dark.”
You exchanged a glance with Spencer, silently acknowledging that Mia-Rose was abducted on a Friday.
“Did she have any enemies? Anyone who would want to hurt her, bullies or friends she might have had a falling out with?”
“No, she was sweet to everyone. That’s why it was such a shock to the town when she was killed. There wasn’t a soul who hadn’t been touched by her kindness.” Mrs. Horn spoke so highly of her daughter, further validating your theory.
“Let’s take a break,” you said, noting the way she was tearing up, “excuse us.” You stepped out of the room with Spencer.
“We should talk to Dylan,” he said once you were out of earshot of Mrs. Horn.
“I agree. He was interrogated by police when Mia-Rose first went missing, but I don’t think he’s a suspect. His alibi was rock solid, but he might know something about what happened.”
You had the detective bring in Mrs. Horn’s brother, Dylan Godfrey. While he agreed to an interview, he was much less cooperative than Mrs. Horn.
“I told the police thirty years ago, I had nothing to do with it,” he drawled, “I was at home with my wife, God rest her soul. I didn’t even have my car to kidnap Mia if I wanted to.”
“Where was your car?” Spencer asked quickly.
“My boy had it, out with his friends. He had just gotten his driver’s license. You know how kids are, impossible to control.”
This was the first you were hearing of his son. Nowhere in the records from the original investigation did it say Dylan Godfrey had a son, let alone a son who’s whereabouts were unknown on the night of the crime.
“Mr. Godfrey, let me ask you this. How old was your son the year Mia-Rose was murdered?”
“Eighteen.”
“Do you know where he was that night?”
“Out, like I said. He didn’t come home until after two o’clock in the morning.”
“Do you know where he is now?”
“Last I knew he was working on a farm just out of town, the McGilroy’s place.”
As soon as Spencer had gotten the information out of him, you were firing off texts to Garcia. She sent you the address of the farm, and you called her once you were en route.
“You’re on speaker, Garcia. What have you found about this guy and why didn’t we know about him before?”
“I’ve been asking myself the same question. He wasn’t included in any of the original witness statements. I’ve barely been able to find information about him online. I know he’s still alive because I don’t have a death certificate, but other than that no home address, no phone number, no nothing. Everything I know about him is from his childhood, before Mia-Rose went missing.”
“Something is better than nothing, what did you find?”
“Daniel Godfrey, born in 1965 to Mary and Dylan Godfrey. He was a decent kid from what I can tell. He got good grades in school, even got a scholarship to a college in Chicago but he turned it down at the last minute. I’ll hit you back if I figure out why.”
“Thanks Garcia,” you chirped before she hung up. You pulled up the long dirt drive of the McGilroy’s farm, putting the SUV in park and getting out. Spencer was by your side in an instant, you noticed the way his hand rested on his revolver.
“My goal is to get him in for a voluntary interview. If we can get him talking, we can figure out what happened that night and why his known locations on that night fit our timeline. Best case, we get a confession and the name of his partner, worst case, he had nothing to do with it and we’re back where we started.”
Spencer nodded, so you reached up to knock on the door. After a moment, a blonde woman opened the door.
You flashed your credentials, “hi, I’m SSA (y/l/n) with the FBI, we’re looking for Daniel Godfrey and we were told he might be here.”
“He’s out back in the barn,” she said, pointing down a gravel path.
“Thanks so much,” Spencer said as you stepped off the porch. You reached the barn and pushed open the large door, revealing a man inside. He was carrying a bucket of water that he poured into a trough for a horse before acknowledging you.
“What can I do ya for?”
“Are you Daniel Godfrey?” you asked.
“Depend’s who’s asking,” he chuffed, wiping his hands on his dirty coveralls. You held up your credentials.
“I’m Agent (y/l/n) and this is Doctor Reid. We’re with the FBI investigating the murder of your cousin, Mia-Rose Horn. We were hoping you’d come in to the station so we could get some more information about her.”
“What kinda information? Mia’s been dead a long time now.”
You had to play this carefully, one wrong word and he wouldn’t voluntarily interview with you, “your father told us you were out with friends the night she disappeared. We were hoping you could tell us what town was like that night and if you saw anything unusual.”
“You talked to my father? I can tell ya right now, it was quiet. Just like any other night in this town.”
“Great, that’s exactly the kind of information we’re looking for. Would you be able to come with us to the station so we can get that statement through the official channels? While we’re there I’d like to ask you a few more questions, if that’s ok.”
“Are ya saying I’m being arrested?”
“No, not at all. This is completely voluntary.”
Daniel fell silent, considering your offer. When he finally spoke again it was gruff and hostile, “will my old man still be there?”
You exchanged a glance with Spencer, hoping he had a better read on what answer would be your best choice. Spencer’s tongue flickered over his lips, then he cautioned a response, “he’s there right now, will that be a problem?”
Daniel looked dejected, scuffing his feet in the hay below his boots, “not unless he makes it a problem.”
“We’ll make sure that doesn’t happen. Our car is out front, is there anything you need to do before we go?”
Daniel shook his head and quietly followed you and Spencer back to the SUV. He didn’t say much while you were driving back to the police station, and neither did you. You escorted Daniel inside the station, walking quickly past where his father was sitting, still talking to the officer Reeves had assigned to your case. Dylan stood up when he noticed his son, but Daniel just kept his head down and quickened his pace. You brought him to an interrogation room, a small space with just a table and a couple of chairs.
“You can wait here, we just have to go collect some materials and then we’ll be back, alright?”
“Whatever,” Daniel said, taking the seat closest to the door. You stepped out, shutting the door behind you.
“Did you see the way Dylan reacted when he saw Daniel?” you asked Spencer quietly. He nodded.
“Did you see the way Daniel reacted when he saw Dylan?”
“Do you think it’s relevant to this case? I don’t want to waste time asking about it if it’s just some squabble they had once. Hotch said I could only work this case until we got an active one back at Quantico, and you and I both know serial killers don’t take extended vacations.”
Spencer considered the situation, you could almost see the gears turning in his mind, “it might be a way we can get him comfortable talking to us, irrelevant or not. This is the best lead we have. Just like you said earlier, you have to get him talking.”
You trusted Spencer’s opinion, not just because he was your best friend, but because he had led his fair share of interrogations during his time in the FBI. He was really good at it, his accelerated mind picking up patterns of words and behaviors that you could only be envious of.
“What do you mean ‘I’ have to get him talking? I thought this was a team effort.”
“It is, but you have to lead this interrogation.”
You weren’t surprised at his statement, but you resented the fact that he was right. Your favorite part of your job was the quick thinking, the on-the-fly deductions you had to make in the field that helped you put all of the clues together. You liked helping people and actively putting bad guys away for the greater good of the country you served. You were good at your job, too, having spent so much time developing your skills with arguably some of the best agents in the Bureau. You couldn’t not be good at your job surrounded by minds like the ones at the BAU.
Like everyone though, there were some aspects of your career that you were better at than others. You usually excelled in the takedown and arrests of suspects and left the mind games to your colleagues that were much better equipped to handle them. Sure, you could talk a suspect into putting their weapon down instead of pointing it at you or a victim, but that was a heat of the moment interaction. Cool, collected interrogation rooms just weren’t your strong suit, and nothing during your time at the BAU so far had changed it.
“You really think I can do this?”
“Absolutely. You have the skills, knowledge, and rapport to conduct this interview,” Spencer showed no hesitation in his answer.
“Promise to let me know if I’m going down the wrong rabbit hole?”
Spencer smiled, “of course. Let’s go solve this case.” He handed you a sheet of paper, a form for Daniel to sign with his Miranda rights on it.
Once you were seated across from Daniel, you handed him the paper and read him his rights.
“If you don’t mind me asking, Daniel, what happened between you and your father?”
Daniel’s eyebrows furrowed as he looked back and forth between you and Spencer, “what kind of FBI agents are you?”
“We’re with the Behavioral Analysis Unit in Quantico, Virginia. We use psychology to solve crimes. I hope my question wasn’t intrusive, Doctor Reid and I both just noticed the way your behavior changed when you saw your father. He’s been helpful in our investigation and I don’t want any family conflicts to interfere if you’re going to help us too.”
“We had a disagreement.”
“Just a disagreement?” you pressed carefully.
“Just a disagreement.”
“Alright,” you said, deciding to leave it at that and move on. He was giving you too much resistance for the direction you had wanted to take the conversation, so you changed the subject. If his disagreement with his father was relevant to the case, you’d have to get that information out of him another way.
You started off by asking about Mia-Rose and gathering any information Daniel had about her. At first he was reluctant, just explaining that they saw each other during family gatherings and when his father would drive them both home from band practice.
“You went to the same high school then, if you were in band together?”
“Uh huh. It’s a small town, everyone goes to the same school.”
“Can you tell us about who Mia-Rose spent time with? Who were her friends?”
“Everyone was her friend. She was the friendliest kid in school.”
“Who were your friends?” Spencer asked, tilting his head. It wasn’t a question you had thought to ask, but as soon as he did you saw where he was going.
“Does it matter?”
“It does to me,” Spencer answered.
“Alec Krause, Markus Sparrow, Nicolas Rush,” Daniel listed.
“Where are they now?” you asked while Spencer pulled out his phone, presumably to text Garcia for a background check, “are you still in contact with them?”
“They all moved out of town for college. Haven’t seen or talked to ‘em since,” Daniel shifted uncomfortably in his chair.
“You were supposed to go to college, in Chicago, right?” you prompted. Daniel’s eyes flickered between you and Spencer, probably wondering how much about him you knew.
“Yeah.”
“Why didn’t you go?”
“Got a job at the farm,” he shrugged.
“Daniel, I’m going to be real with you,” you squared up, “I’ve seen plenty of small towns in this job. I’ve talked to many people from small towns just like this one, and almost all of them in your position would have taken the out. They would have moved to the city as soon as they got the chance, so why didn’t you? Why did you choose to stay in this town?”
“I didn’t have a choice,” Daniel was quick to correct you.
“You didn’t?” Now you were on to something.
“The disagreement I had with my father was about me leaving. He wouldn’t let me leave, so he got me the job at the farm.”
“Alright, let’s take a break,” you said, standing up and stepping out of the room. Spencer exchanged a few words with Daniel, then followed you out.
“That was big,” you panted, trying to shake out the jump of adrenaline that you were feeling.
“You’re doing great,” Spencer confirmed.
“When Dylan was talking about his son earlier, during his interview, it seemed like he didn’t have control over Daniel. What was it he said, ‘you know how kids are’? Something must have changed to make Daniel listen to his father telling him to stay, something that changed after Mia-Rose was murdered.”
Right before you were going to go back into the interrogation room, your phone rang. Hotch’s name lit up the screen.
“Hold on, Spence. (y/l/n),” you answered, praying that Hotch wasn’t going to tell you to abandon the case and get back to Quantico right when you were making strides.
“I’m just checking in to see how things are going.”
“We’re talking to a person of interest right now, it’s just very slow going. We think he had been working with a partner when the murder took place, but he’s not giving up names,” you explained, “please don’t tell me we have a case that we have to come back for, we just got a break that might open this case up for us.”
Hotch chuckled on the other end of the line, “no, we don’t have a case. Garcia told me you had a lead and I was curious.”
“Honestly, I don’t know how you were a prosecutor before joining the BAU. This is exhausting, and every time I say something I feel like he’s going to invoke.”
“You’re doing fine,” Spencer whispered reassuringly.
“Spencer says I’m doing fine,” you relayed to Hotch.
“I’m sure you are. Sometimes unsubs like this take time to crack,” he reminded you.
“It’s already been thirty years, I’d like to close it now,” you decided, squaring your shoulders. “I’m going to go back in there and wrap this up. I’ll call you back when we’re done.” You hung up with Hotch, then turned to Spencer. “Let’s do this.”
Daniel seemed to tense up when you walked back in, sitting down across the table from him once again.
“Thanks for being patient, Daniel. I’d like to know why your father wouldn’t let you leave town. From what he told us, he gave you a lot of freedom in high school. What happened?”
“We had a disagreement, like I said.”
“Right, we’ve covered that. It must have been hard going from being able to do whatever you wanted to working a farm job under your father’s thumb. I was hoping you could tell us exactly what kind of disagreement. Was it because Mia-Rose was murdered?” Daniel nodded, “ok, that’s a start. Was there a specific reason beyond Mia-Rose’s murder?”
Your tactic was deliberate, validating his feelings before pressing harder in hopes that he would give something up.
“He didn’t want me getting into more trouble.”
“More trouble? As in, you got into trouble here first?”
“Correct.”
“We don’t have any police records for you, Mr. Godfrey. Usually that’s the kind of ‘trouble’ that stops kids from going to college,” Spencer chimed in.
“The police don’t know I was there.”
“Where?” Your question was burning hot, and you watched Daniel squirm as he realized he had dug himself into a hole.
“I was in the car.”
“Which car?” you hoped he meant the car you thought he did, but you needed a true confession.
“My father’s car…” you chose not to say anything and instead let him sit in uncomfortable silence, “the night Mia was killed.”
“With her? Was Mia in the car with you?”
“Yes, she was.”
You had to maintain your composure, even though your insides were doing cartwheels out of excitement. This was exactly the kind of lead you were looking for, you couldn’t blow it now.
“Your father said you were out with friends, were any of the people you mentioned earlier with you? Alec, Markus, and Nicholas?”
“No, it wasn’t with them.”
“Who else was in the car then, Daniel? It wasn’t just you and Mia-Rose.”
“I don’t remember,” he started backpedaling, a clear sign that you were closing in.
“We’re going to step out and give you some time to think about it, see if you can try to remember,” Spencer interrupted before you could say anything, nodding towards the door when you made eye contact with him. You followed him out, turning to him abruptly once the door was shut behind you.
“I was getting somewhere with him.” You were fired up, to say the least. Now that you were in the comfortable privacy of Spencer’s company, you could let your emotions come forward.
“I know, I know,” Spencer smirked, “Garcia got a hit with Daniel’s friends, we should call and see what she has so we have more leverage when we go back in there.”
You took a deep breath, pulling out your phone and calling Garcia.
“Boy Wonder got my text!” she answered after the first ring.
“What did you find, Garcia? We’re really making strides here and anything you’ve got could really close this for us.”
“I ran the names of Daniel’s friends, like you asked. Almost all of them checked out, normal guys with normal lives.”
“Almost all of them?” you caught the specificity of her words.
“Right. One of them, Markus, he checks out too… but his brother, oh my his brother has done some stuff.”
“What kind of stuff?” Spencer asked, brows furrowed in thought.
“Kyle Sparrow. When he was 11 he attempted to rob a bank, and not just as a joke. When he was 14 he was suspended from school after locking students in storage closets. He’s been in and out of jail his whole adult life. He got out a year ago and hasn’t been back since.”
“That fits our profile. How old was he when Mia-Rose was killed?” Spencer followed up.
“That’s where things get weird, I was hoping you guys would have a good explanation because this really doesn’t make sense.”
“Garcia,” you called, refocusing her.
“Right. Kyle Sparrow was 10 years old when Mia-Rose was murdered.”
“What?” you whipped around to look at Spencer incredulously, hoping he would have some kind of information about child serial killers that would clarify the situation. Instead, he just frowned and shook his head. You had to decide if it was worth bringing up to Daniel and risk wasting precious time. You considered for a moment, then spoke. “Send us his address, we’re going to ask Daniel about him. If he seems like a viable lead then we’ll head out there. Thanks Garcia.”
“Done and done. You’ve got this, crimefighters!”
“Are you ready to go back in there?” Spencer asked when you reached for the interrogation room door handle.
“Do I have a choice? This case just took a turn that I wasn’t expecting.”
“It’s been four hours and thirty six minutes. We can take another minute to get coffee if you need a longer break,” he suggested.
“I’m too close to cracking this. I can feel it,” you confessed. Spencer nodded, acknowledging that your gut feelings were usually right. You opened the door, sitting back down across from Daniel. Spencer stood in the corner behind you, hands in his pockets.
“Did you remember who was in the car with you the night Mia-Rose was murdered?” Daniel shook his head. “Ok, that’s fine. I have some names that we’ve collected as people of interest for this case. I’m going to read them off and you tell me if one sounds familiar, ok?” Daniel nodded, so you opened your file and pulled out a blank piece of paper, holding it so Daniel couldn’t see the lack of information on your side.
“Emily Prentiss.”
He shook his head.
“Derek Morgan.”
Again, nothing.
“Penelope Garcia.”
Your list was intentional, listing people you were certain Daniel wouldn’t know so you could get a baseline for his behavior. It paid off when you listed the next name, “Kyle Sparrow.”
You could practically see Daniel tense up. Though he shook his head, his leg started bouncing nervously and his eyes were flickering frantically around the room, looking anywhere but at you and Spencer.
“Daniel,” you started, keeping your voice low, “remember when I told you Doctor Reid and I use psychology and behavior to solve crimes? You may not have noticed it, but your behavior shifted when you heard Kyle’s name. You know something about him, don’t you? Was he in the car with you that night?”
Daniel finally looked up at you, eyes watering, “I’m not a criminal.”
“I didn’t say you were. Was Kyle in the car with you the night Mia-Rose was murdered?”
“He was just a kid, my best friend’s little brother. We were out in my dad’s car, I had just gotten my license so I skipped class and took Markus and Alec for a spin around town. When I dropped them off back home Kyle said he was lookin’ to go across town to the library so I offered him a ride. I even made him sit in the back because he was still just a small kid. Then we saw Mia walking home. It always took her longer because she stopped to say hi to everyone she passed. Kyle suggested we offer her a ride too, so I did.
“It all happened so fast, first she was getting into the car and then Kyle had a knife at her throat. He told me he’d kill her if I didn’t do what he wanted. He made me drive out of town to the woods and watch as he tied her up and did horrible, horrible things to her. I didn’t even know a kid was capable of doing those things. When he was done with her he made me help put her back in the car and drive to the bridge. She wasn’t dead when he made me push her over the edge, that’s why I didn’t throw her in the river. I thought she’d survive it without Kyle knowing because he was too busy getting rid of her stuff in the trunk. He still made me drop him off at the library after, even though it was closed on account of it being real late at night, and swear that I’d never tell anyone what we did or he’d kill me too.”
“How did your father find out?” you asked.
“He found blood in the car the next morning. I told him it was from Markus, that he had gotten scratched up while we were messing around in the afternoon. He made me clean it out with bleach, told me I’d have to learn responsibility if I wanted to move out. When my auntie called him later and told him about Mia being missing, he connected the dots. He told me he didn’t want to know what I had been doing the night before, but if I tried to move away it would make me a suspect. He got me the job at the farm and I’ve been there ever since.”
“Thank you for your honesty, Daniel. We’ll tell the court how cooperative you’ve been, they might ease your sentence because of it.”
“The court? What?” Pure fear crossed Daniel’s face. It didn’t sit right with you that he had to be arrested, knowing he had been coerced into helping murder his cousin, but he had still committed a felony. You had to let the court decide his fate.
“Daniel Godfrey, you’re under arrest for accessory to the murder of Mia-Rose Horn,” Spencer moved behind Daniel, taking his hands to cuff them. As soon as he was done Daniel was passed off to an officer and you and Spencer took off, SUV keys in hand.
You sped towards the home address Garcia had sent you for Kyle Sparrow, wishing the rest of the team was there so you could split up in case he was at work. This part of your job was where you felt the most comfortable, the tactical side of an arrest that was more physical than the mind games you had just played in the interrogation room. It was just starting to rain, a light drizzle that darkened the skies as you drove to what you hoped was your final location for this case.
“Is there Kevlar in the back?” you asked, realizing you hadn’t gotten vests from the police station before you had left. Spencer turned around in his seat, checking around the vehicle.
“Nope.”
“Great,” you sighed, “let’s try not to get shot at then, alright?”
“Sounds good to me,” Spencer agreed.
You pulled up to Kyle’s house, which was more of a rundown shack on the outskirts of town. You drew your weapon as soon as your boots were on the ground, approaching the door cautiously.
“Where’s Morgan when you need him,” you mumbled, hoping you wouldn’t have to kick the door down, “Kyle Sparrow, FBI,” you announced, knocking on the door. A gunshot flew through the window next to you, shattering the glass. That was all the invitation you needed to bust open the door, but Kyle wasn’t in the room inside. You moved quickly through the maze of rooms, taking one side while Spencer took the other.
“Clear,” you called every time you ensured a room was empty. You heard Spencer clear a couple of spaces, then fall silent. You worked your way to the kitchen, finding him in a standoff with Kyle.
“I’m not going to jail again. You can’t make me,” Kyle seemed unreasonably calm, grinning slightly to himself while he pointed a pistol at Spencer.
“You’re wanted for the murder of Mia-Rose, Kyle. There’s no way to get out of this one,” you had to keep things simple for him and talk him down as quickly as possible before he shot at you again, “let’s just talk about it.”
“I don’t want to talk about it. I’m not going to jail for a person I killed thirty years ago.”
“There’s no other option. We know it was you, this ends here.”
“If I have to go back, it has to be for something better. You’re right, this ends here, but not because I killed Mia-Rose Horn.”
“How does it end, Kyle?” Spencer asked. You noticed the glint in Kyle’s eye, giving you a split second to push Spencer out of the way and get hit with a searing pain in your side. You heard Spencer’s revolver fire as you hit the floor.
“Get him first,” you grunted, putting a hand on your side to try to stem the bleeding. Spencer crouched next to you, worried eyes looking you over before he pulled your handcuffs out of your pocket. Your ears were ringing, but you could just make out the sounds of Spencer talking before you blacked out.
You woke up in the hospital, an all too familiar experience. Spencer was beside you, nose in a book. You weren’t sure how much he was paying attention to it though, considering the way his brows were furrowed and his fingers were tapping against the cover. He was lost in thought somewhere, you just didn’t know where.
“Spence,” you managed to croak through your dry throat. His eyes shot up from the page, lips turning up in a small smile when his gaze met yours.
“Hi,” he practically whispered.
“Is Kyle dead?”
Spencer hesitated, no doubt weighing the value of telling you the outcome now or waiting until you were better rested. He chose the former, shaking his head.
“I did what you would have done and shot him in the hip. He’s not dead, and once he’s healed he’ll go to trial. You did it, (y/n). You solved the case.”
“We solved the case. I couldn’t have done this without you.”
“You also wouldn’t have gotten shot.”
“So?” you shrugged, “I lived. Where’s Garcia? Usually she’s the first one at the hospital.”
Spencer’s smile returned, “she wanted to but a case came in right right after you went into surgery. She sends her love and said she’d make up for not being here when we get back to Quantico.”
“A case? We should get back to help,” though you were exhausted, you brain immediately went into profiling mode.
“No, you’re going to stay here and rest. You should be staying for longer than you’re going to, but I was able to convince your doctor that I was more than capable of making sure you got home safely.”
“I didn’t realize you were a rule-breaker,” you teased, feeling your eyelids droop.
“I’m not, I just thought you would want to go home as soon as possible. You’re not the kind of person who likes being away from their family, and we’ve already been gone three days. Staying here doing nothing, although it would be good for you, would just torment you more.”
“Thanks, Spence,” you murmured, falling back to sleep. You dozed on and off for the better part of the day, Spencer staying by your side the whole time. Towards the end of the afternoon, you woke up to his seat vacant. The immediate panic you felt was squashed by calculated thoughts, he’s probably getting food or in the bathroom. You fought to stay awake while you waited for him to come back. He surprised you by returning with someone behind him.
“Mrs. Horn wanted to talk to you, if you’re feeling up for it,” he said, resuming his position in the chair next to you. You nodded, watching the older woman enter the room from where she had been standing in the doorway.
“I wanted to thank you for finding my daughter’s killer, even though it put you in the line of danger.”
“I’d do it again in a heartbeat,” you reassured her, sitting up a little against your pillows.
“I wish her father could have been here to see it solved. He always told me not to lose faith, that a blessing would come our way. You were our blessing,” she dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief.
“I was just doing my job, I’m sorry it took so long for someone to figure this out.”
Mrs. Horn tutted, telling you she was just glad that her daughter could rest in peace now. Before she left, she made sure to tell you that if you were ever in Illinois you and Spencer were welcome to come over for dinner, and that she hoped you got better quickly so you could go help other victims.
Once she was gone, your doctor came in to follow up with you. You had been shot in the side, the bullet passing through and exiting out of your back without hitting any major organs. Spencer did most of the talking for you, asking questions you couldn’t make sense of and checking over your chart for what was probably the hundredth time that day.
“You seem to be healing well and have a… knowledgable… support system, so I’m going to clear you for discharge. If anything changes you’ll need to go into the nearest hospital, ok?”
“Yes ma’am,” you answered. A nurse came in later with your discharge papers, which you signed before Spencer helped you in a wheelchair and out to where the SUV was parked.
“Are you sure you want to drive in this rain? I can-“ you winced in pain, hand flying to your side, “I can do it if you don’t feel comfortable.” Spencer stifled a laugh, reaching his hands out to give you something to brace yourself against as you moved from the wheelchair the SUV.
“I don’t mind driving,” he said simply.
“Yes you do,” you quipped quickly, exhaling as you settled into the passenger seat.
“Ok, yes. Under normal circumstances, I do mind driving, but I think I can make an exception when my favorite driver has been shot.”
“Don’t let Morgan hear you say that,” you smirked, still struggling to breathe in a way that would make your side hurt less.
“Are you warm enough?” Spencer fiddled with the heating knobs once he was settled behind the wheel. You nodded, but the shiver that ran down your body betrayed you.
“You’re the one driving. I want you to be comfortable,” you mumbled.
“You’re the one who just got shot. Here,” he reached behind him into the back where both of your go bags were stored. He unzipped his own and pulled out a cardigan, then leaned over the console to drape it across you. “The wool will help you retain heat.”
“Thanks,” you sighed, relishing in the comfort of his gesture.
“You didn’t have to take that bullet for me.”
“I did. I pulled you into this mess, I wasn’t going to let you get hurt because of it.”
“Hotch sent me with you so that you wouldn’t get yourself hurt,” he rebutted.
You brushed him off, “I’ve been shot before, I’m going to be fine.”
“I’ve also been shot before, you didn’t have to push me out of the way.”
You were quick to counter, “you didn’t have to push Blake out of the way either.”
It was an unnecessary squabble, a fact you both caught onto quickly once you realized the direction the conversation was going. Instead, Spencer changed the subject to explain the history of the small towns you were passing through on your way to the interstate.
Miraculously, once the car was comfortably cruising on the highway, Spencer fell silent. You suspected it had to do with his intense concentration on driving in the elements as the rain got harder, though he also could have been giving you the space to sleep if you needed to.
It wasn’t until you were over an hour into your journey that he spoke again, after a quick glance at you revealed fresh tear tracks down your cheeks under the passing street lights.
“(Y/n), are you crying?” His question was so soft you almost missed it, “is it the pain? You’re not due to take your meds for another three hours but I know you have ibuprofen in your bag that would be ok to take now. I can pull over-“ his hand was about to move back to the steering wheel from where it had come to rest on the console, but you reached out to grab it instead.
You and Spencer didn’t really ‘do’ physical contact. You both had reasons not to, instead finding comfort just in proximity. As long as he was around, you were happy. This time, though, it was different. Maybe it was because you were touch starved, or because you had just been poked and prodded at all angles while in the hospital. Whatever the reason, the light grip you had on Spencer’s hand to stop him from pulling over was enough to make you feel the tiniest bit better. He was there with you, he was real.
“It’s not the pain,” you managed to hold your composure, knowing that letting any kind of sob escape the confines of your soul would only physically hurt you more.
“Are you tired? I drank enough coffee to get us home by morning but if you really need to sleep we can find a hotel somewhere. There are three off the next exit.”
“Spencer,” you ran your thumb over the prominent vein in his hand, “it isn’t something you can fix.”
“What do you mean?” He was puzzled, and by the way his hands were twitching you could tell he was deciding whether or not to stop the car anyways.
“There are hundreds of thousands of cold cases. Hundreds of thousands of families that don’t have closure. Hundreds of thousands of victims that haven’t gotten justice.”
“There’s one less because of you. You made a difference to Mia-Rose’s family, you got her the justice she deserves.”
“She deserved justice thirty years ago. I feel like the system failed her, the very system I work for. She was just a kid, and the answer was right there the whole time. Why did I have to be the one to figure it out, thirty years too late?”
Spencer’s response was soft and gentle, “because you’re exceptional, (y/n).”
“I didn’t have to be exceptional to solve this case, though. That’s what I’ve learned from all of the cold case documentaries I’ve watched. The ones that get solved are because someone knew what happened and didn’t come forward about it until years later. There was a psychopathic kid on the streets for thirty years because the police didn’t think to talk to Daniel Godfrey.”
“We can’t change what happened in the past, but we can make a difference in our futures.”
“I’m just so tired, Spence. I chose this job, I love this job, but it’s exhausting.”
“Then rest, (y/n). It’s ok if the only person you save some days is yourself.”
He was right, of course. You wanted to keep saving others, but you couldn’t do that if you didn't make time to save yourself too. You finally closed your eyes and pulled his cardigan up to your chin. Though you were still conscious, limiting your sensory input helped calm you down enough that you found yourself flitting in and out of dissociation. Even when Spencer’s hand gently moved out from under yours to answer his phone, you kept your eyes closed.
“Hey JJ,” his voice was quiet, barely audible over the rain pounding against the windshield, “they’re doing ok.” He paused while he listened to JJ’s response. “No, they keep reminding me that it’s not the first time they’ve been shot. I’m worried about them though.” He trailed off.
“They’ve been shouldering this burden of over 185,000 cold cases since we started working on this one, and now that it’s solved they’re finally feeling the weight of it. I don’t want them to drive themselves crazy trying to solve all of them on their own. We deal with enough active cases as it is.”
Though you were barely in a state of mind to process his words, he had hit the nail right on the head.
“How is the case you’re working on?” You presumed JJ was filling him in on what they knew, “have Garcia look into large purchases of triacetone triperoxide… Call me if anything changes. We should be back by morning.”
“Yes,” his change in tone indicated that JJ had asked him a question, “that would be great, JJ. Thank you so much.”
He must have hung up with JJ because his hand found yours again, fingers just barely touching. It was a simple action, loaded with a lot of meaning. Spencer was your best friend, and would always be your best friend. Bullets, cold cases, marriages, there was nothing that could break the bond you had with him.
You didn’t understand why people called their significant others their “better half”. It insinuated that you weren’t a whole person to begin with, a fractured existence that only found completion by the means of someone else. The idea that your life couldn’t be fulfilling until someone else made it whole was a concept that was set up for failure and self-loathing.
Instead, you believed that you were a whole person who could live a fulfilling life without the necessity of another. Instead, you surrounded yourself with people who lifted you up and helped you achieve your goals without being the direct cause of your success. Instead, you followed your dreams and somehow found Spencer Reid along the way.
Spencer was your best friend, your confidant, the one person who you knew you couldn’t live without, but he was not your other half. He was his own whole person, a mirror image of your own being. You found solace in his companionship, safety in the complexities of his brain. When the stress of your job got to be too much, you could reliably turn to each other and exist in the little slice of the world you called yours for a moment.
No, he was not your other half. He wasn’t even yours, for that matter, but he was there. He was there in a capacity that nobody else could achieve.
This is part of my GALAXY universe! If you liked this relationship, check out the MASTERLIST for more content!
Galaxy Taglist: @kermitsaysgayrights @niallthedancingharry @shadyladyperfection  @thatsonezesty13  @lexshead @ceeellewrites @howdycharlie @girlycakepops @fantastic-fans @canimarrypizzaornah @daisyflower138 @dyingrexx @taylormobley @bazzleslynn @tj-drinks-tea @willa-wonky @eddiesbifocals @tee-mbrown @reniescarlett @bone-hurty-bitch @messyacademia
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43sparrows · 4 years ago
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satisfied - {Five x Reader AU}
Read Part 1 & Part 2 & Part 3 / Part 3.5 & Part 4
Warning: a rollercoaster from start to end
Word Count: 4,512
Note: Here it is. The final installment. I'm also impressed I've managed to pull off my own little goal which was to make each chapter longer as we go deeper and deeper into this relationship. It was fun to write, and I hope you stick with me for my next series
You've ignored four of his calls.
Well, technically, you've only ignored one, deleting the message from the answering machine after a short but brutal internal war. The other three times he's tried to get in touch with you were on the typical ripped out notes taped to your mirror. Each one was plucked down, scanned for words you didn't really expect to find (sorry, mistake, asshole), and then tossed into the waste bin.
You know that even as fucked up as your last encounter was, he deserves more--an explanation or at least a clean break--but you can't bring yourself to give him either. And you hate that about yourself. You hate it because you know why you can't do it, and the feeling that comes from this fact is worse than any of the ways Five's ever made you feel.
So, you don't call him. Instead, you work to erase the little traces of him you find in your apartment and in your thoughts until at last you're faced with something you can't just stick in the garbage: the man himself.
He's standing at the foot of your bed, hands on his hips and brow knit together. The look stops you dead in your tracks as you enter the room.
"You're avoiding me."
You feel like you're going to throw up. The thought briefly crosses your mind that if you do, you might get out of having this conversation. But instead you take a few more steps into the room and close the door behind you. When you face him again, you find his finger tapping at his waist. Your eyes remain on the finger instead of his face and you stay silent. This isn't an admission of guilt, but he seems to take it as one.
"Why?" he demands.
Objectively, you know the words. You're proficient in more than one language, so frankly you have more than enough words to use. But you can't seem to piece them together quite right, and so, no sound comes out. Instead you turn your gaze to your right and it lands on the candle on your bookshelf. The flame flickers, dancing in a breeze you can't feel yourself. You feel like there's a metaphor somewhere in there.
"Look--"
"Why would you do that to me, Five?" Your voice is soft, but the interruption effectively cuts him off. If you were looking, you'd imagine you'd see his eyes squint at you in frustrated confusion. His mouth would be slightly open, and you'd want to kiss it closed. So you can't face him. Your gaze stays fixated on the candle.
"Do what?"
You wet your lips as if that will help get out what you need to say. It doesn't work, but it does buy you a bit of time and makes the tension in the room that much more palpable. You wonder if that's what's guiding the flame through its movements.
"You brought me to Howl's just to fuck me in front of my ex."
Five's quiet now, and you chance a look at him from the corner of your eye. He doesn't look frustrated, but he does look like he's working a math problem and each time he comes to the end he gets a different solution.
He notices you're looking and tries to catch your eye, so you turn back to watch the candle burn it's way down the wick.
"You said you wanted something to shove in his face."
You don't remember saying that, but it's true. You did want something to shove in his face. But not like this. You shake your head at him.  "Not that." Your voice is both airy and tight, and it's not a good sign. "That wasn't anything worth shoving in his face."
"What?" There's heat in Five's voice now, and you can tell that something you've said has pushed a button. "He's working two jobs so he can get married to some boring elementary school teacher, and you're having mindblowing sex with the closest thing this city has to a goddamn superhero. Who came out on top there?"
"You," you say, simply.
"Me?" he repeats, and you finally find the strength to turn and face him. His eyebrows have shot up so high, you're surprised they're not touching his hairline.
"You're the one who got what they wanted out of that show Five. Because he's still happily getting married having been proven right that I'm nothing more than a call girl dumb enough to work for free."
Five narrows his eyes at you, and there's nothing confused about the look. Instead, he looks downright mean. You realize in that look, that he's missed the point completely. He's not listening to you. He's not seeing you. And you're starting to realize that he may not even want to. The realization hurts. It fucking hurts. Like you're being ripped apart from the inside. And the worst part is that you really should have known this.
Before he can get any words out, you beat him to the punch. It's the only way this argument was ever going to end.   "I can't do this anymore, Five."
The look shifts into one of incredulousness and then disgust and then stoniness. And then, without a word, he vanishes.
You feel like you've collapsed on the inside.
Apparently, you look like it too.
Your boss had taken one look at you and tried to send you back home. You'd told her that you were fine to work and made it half the day before she insisted you looked truly terrible and needed to go home. And maybe see a doctor.
Judging by the look on your roommate's face, you look even worse now that you've made it home.
"Are you alright?" she asks, peering up at you from the couch.
"Got sent home early," you mumble. It's not exactly an answer to her question, but you hope that it gets you out of having to talk anymore. It's not that you don't love your roommate. But you'd rather crawl in bed and stay there for a month if it meant that you didn't have to socialize with any humans in the meantime.
You successfully shuffle all the way into your room and drop your things next to your desk before the TV shuts off. Your roommate's footsteps echo throughout the apartment, and then there's silence and the feeling of someone hovering in the doorway behind you.
"I'm worried," she says, and you sigh, your shoulders dropping as you turn around.
"I'm fine."
She hums a no and gestures at your room.  You've let piles of dirty clothes take over most of the floor. There's about six different cups scattered on different surfaces, all with varying levels of water in them. Only one of the candles is lit. Her eyes find yours again, and you can't help but look away. "You've been locked in here all weekend. And most of last week too. I know he hasn't been by. He hasn't even called. What's up?"
You shrug helplessly, and the same way they do any time you think of Five, your eyes betray you and start to water.
"You don't know?" she presses, and you shake your head, looking off to the side, trying to get yourself under control. She walks into the bedroom then, coming around to sit on the edge of your bed and stare up at you. "Talk to me, Y/N. Seriously, I'm worried about you, and I don't know what to do."
"I--" your voice feels too thick, and you're having a hard time keeping it even as it comes out. "It's over." Your roommate's eyebrows draw down in sympathy as do the corners of her mouth.
"He ended it."
You shake your head and swallow. "I did." The pitch is too high now.
"Why?" your roommate's voice softens in response to yours, and it's then that you break, face crumpling, tears falling, and a broken sob escaping. She doesn't say anything more, instead rising from the bed and wrapping her arms around you from the side, leaning her head against your shoulder.
It takes an embarrassing amount of time to stop crying. Then again, any time spent crying over a boy who you weren't dating and never made any promises in terms of feelings or commitments was embarrassing. But, when you do slow down, you finally find the words to tell her everything. What happened while she was away. Your trip to the bar and what you discovered. Your fight. She listens and doesn't say anything, instead doing the one thing that you need most from her: she doesn't let go.
You look less like shit.
But you still feel awful.
It's been just over a week since your fight with Five, and you feel like you should be over it by now. The disappointment, the embarrassment, the hurt. But you're not. Sure, you don't exactly feel like an open wound anymore. But you feel a bit like someone's just put a single layer of gauze on top, and that's not nearly enough.
So, you decide there's only one course of action that will make you feel better on this Saturday morning: Griddy's Doughnuts.
Just walking into the shop makes you feel lighter. The sweet smell of the different glazes and jellies wafts through the air, and kids are crammed up against the doughnut case and perched on stools with their parents. Walking into the place is like a time warp--it feels exactly the same way it did all those years ago when you were the kid tugging at her mom's hand.
And then you make accidental eye contact, and it all shatters. Because the brown eyes you're staring into belong to none other than Vanya Hargreeves.
You pull over to the side of the line to do the right thing and make brief small talk. If it hadn't been for two occasions where she'd come home sooner than planned, you wouldn't be in this situation. She wouldn't recognize you. But this girl's seen you half naked and spoken to you several times over the phone. She knows more of you than you wish she did. She probably feels the same way. Regardless of the willingness either of you have to engage in this conversation, she's coming over, bag of doughnuts and tray of coffee in hand.
"Y/N, hi," she greets, offering a nervous looking smile.
"Hi," Your own attempt at a smile is disastrous. It's too tight and it doesn't reach your eyes. It hardly even reaches your cheekbones. "Seems like we had the same idea for breakfast."
She nods, looking down at the bag in her hand. "Yeah. We have this family tradition to grab Griddy's whenever one of us--"  she stops then, seeming to remember who she's talking to and restarts with a safer question. "How are you?"
Vanya's voice sounds the way Griddy's smells--like nostalgia and comfort and it makes you ache inside. You want to know how her sentence was going to end, but you want out of this conversation more.
"I'm fine," It comes out more of an exhale than a word, and she seems to see right through it.
She nods, her smile taking on a sad quality. "You and Five both then. Guess we did get the same memo about Griddy's."
A silence seeps in between the two of you, and you hate the way this feels--like you're drowning in the middle of a swimming pool and trying not to call attention to it.
"I don't want to pry--" She must see you go rigid because she seems to decide on a different route. "I don't know what happened, but I'm sorry it didn't work out. I know you guys cared a lot about each other."
You don't know how to respond to that. You're not sure if you want to be the fool who fell in love with her friends with benefits or the slut who was just in it for phenomenal sex or the bitch who points out Vanya's brother is a heartless bastard and doesn't deserve doughnuts because he clearly never gave a damn. She must catch the crease between your eyebrows, your lips instinctively puckering into a qualification, because she saves you from responding.
"Look, I know Five can be...a lot. And I don't know what he did, but I can tell it was big and it wasn't good." She looks like she wants to reach out and touch you, but her hands--thankfully--are full. "But you should know, he checks the answering machine every day."
It stings. He still thinks you'll call.
And you almost have.
You can't look at her open and earnest face any longer, so you look down at the ground and nod dumbly. "Thanks." She stays in front of you, and you can feel that she wants to break the silence again.  You swallow hard and force yourself to meet her gaze once more. "Well, I don't want your coffees to get cold. It was nice to run into you, though, Vanya."
She nods, her mouth settling into a line. "Take care of yourself, ok?" she asks, and you lift your lips into half a smile because it's just about as much as you can manage. She nods once more and then turns and leaves the doughnut shop. You get in line.
Your roommate decides it's time for you to leave the house.
You point out that you leave the house almost every day.
She argues that leaving for work doesn't count. It's been two weeks and you need to have fun.
You insist that if you're going to have fun, it's not going to be on a Tuesday.
She informs you that there will be dollar tacos where she's going.
That's how you end up at Don Pablo's at eight o'clock on a Tuesday night with your roommate and two other friends all crowded around a table. It's hard to say what it is, the dollar tacos, the strong margaritas, the good company or the Spanish covers of pop songs, but whatever the reason, you're feeling lighter than you have. You're even laughing as your friend, Faith, updates you on the latest antics of the passive aggressive post-it queen at her work.
"That is...one hell of a story," someone to the right of your table says, and the eyes of the group look up to a lanky man with shoulder length brown hair. He's wearing a mesh crop top that sparkles a little under the light and leather pants that leave absolutely nothing to the imagination, a fact that's captured Sam's attention.
The man pushes off from where he's leaning against the coat rack, and it's a testament to Faith's storytelling prowess that not a single one of you noticed him lurking there until this point. He motions for Faith to budge over, and the motion is so familiar and friendly that she scoots without protest.
"So," he says, resting his chin in both of his palms. "Which one of you radiant young ladies is Y/N?"
The words are objectively skeevy, but much like his admittance to the table, this earns nothing but a few snorts and smiles. He's also smiling like he's in on the joke, and it's genuine and sparkling rather than leering. You're half tempted to tell him, but your roommate stops you.
"Why?" Nasreen asks, raising an eyebrow.
"Because she's the one person who will save us from my brother's broody pining," he says with a faux pout.
Nasreen's eyebrows lift even higher. "Isn't it a little middle school of your brother to send you over here for him?"
He chuckles and lifts his head, shaking a finger at your roommate. She grins back at him. "Yes, it would be, but he very expressly told me not to come over here. I'm here looking for Y/N of my own free will." He glances around the table and steals a chip out of your basket, dipping it into the salsa. "Technically," he says, crunching down on the chip. "I'm risking my life for this."
Sam laughs and the man grins, reaching for another chip. "It's true. He said, and this is a direct quote, 'Klaus, if you go over there, I will drive this tiny umbrella through your eyeball until it hits that thing you call a brain and puts us all out of our misery.'" He pops the chip into his mouth and gives a dramatic eye roll. "Very eloquent, my brother."
Your friends laugh at this, even Nasreen, but you grow cold. Because you know one person with a brother named Klaus.
"So," Klaus bounces his shoulders once, sitting up straighter. "Who am I sacrificing myself for?" He looks around the table pleasantly just as Sam glances at you. It's a small motion, but Klaus latches onto it. "Ah," Klaus says gesturing toward you. "I'm going to need you to come fuck my brother."
Faith spits out her margarita. Sam barks out a sudden laugh. Nasreen blinks and draws back into the booth.
"I know he's an emotionally stunted little asshole, but he's been even more insufferable than usual, and Vanya says it's because of you." He drops his hand onto the table, relaxing back into the booth. "Obviously, he's the one at fault--you seem like an angel. But it would mean the world if you would come fix our little shitheel."
It's the name Vanya that brings Nasreen up to speed.
"I'm vetoing this right now," your roommate says, shaking her head. Klaus presses his hands together and points them at her.
"Your objection has been heard and noted, but let's hear from Y/N."
All of the eyes on the table are on you, and dollar tacos isn't enough to redeem this moment. You shake your head slowly. "No."
"No," Klaus repeats. He seems surprised.
"No, I'm tired of being fucked over so Five can feel better. No." Your roommate's approval radiates over you, strengthening the feeling. Faith and Sam straighten up at the mention of Five.
Klaus heaves a sigh and leans back to rest his head on the top of the booth's cushion. "I don't blame you, but I don't want to go back over there," he says to the ceiling. "Not only is he going to publicly murder me, but he'll probably drive me up this stucco painted wall with his moodiness before he does it." He lolls his head to turn to Faith. "Can I stay here with you?"
Faith laughs a little, looking at the rest of you.
"Depends," your roommate says, leaning on the table.
"On?" Klaus raises an eyebrow.
"If the next round is on you."
When you stumble into your apartment, it's a little past 1 am, and you're not so much as drunk as you are high on a good time. Allowing Klaus to stay at your table had been the best decision you'd made in the past...month? Maybe longer. Not only had he supplied you with enough good stories to take your mind far away from Five (whose gaze you could feel once you knew it was there) but Klaus had also pulled each of you up to salsa with him despite the fact that it wasn't a dance bar at all. Still, several other couples from different tables had followed his lead, and you'd allowed yourself to be spun and turned about until your legs were ready to collapse.
It's hard to imagine that anything can bring yourself down from this feeling as you place a kiss on your roommate's cheek and thank her for dragging you out.
Then again, you hardly imagined Five would be popping into your bedroom at 1:30 in the morning.
His hair is wild, eyes are hazy, and he looks more disheveled than you've ever seen him. "You were there. You were there and Klaus came over, and what the fuck?"
You've never heard so many nonsensical words come out of his mouth.
"Are you...drunk?" you ask, dumping your clothes at the door to your closet.
"Figured that one out," he says, gesturing flailingly at you.  "I got drunk because that's what you do when the one person in this world who doesn't make your life worse won't even look across a bar at you." He says.
You, for your part, remain silent, head tilted, trying to make sense of what's going on--how much of this is him and how much of it is the alcohol. Because you can't believe he's this upset--Five doesn't seem to do emotions other than stressed, horny, and smug.
He sways a bit. "You were right there. Right there. And you didn't even look at me. Not even when fuckin' Klaus went over."
"I didn't realize you cared that much," you say quietly.
Five scoffs. "Why else would I spend five days hunting down your ex just so you could get your closure."
You blink several times at this fact, but you don't have time to formulate some sort of response before he continues. "Do you know how many Jordan Millers there are in this city?"
"You--what?" The words come out as hardly more than a disbelieving whisper.
"Five days and perfect planning to get you there and have it all work out at just the right moment, only for you to end it. No reason. You just ended it."
You swallow hard and then fix him with a stare. Because he's right--he should at least have a reason. "I didn't end it because of Howl's." You pause, and he takes it as the end of the sentence because he continues on.
"I don't even know what happened. I keep trying to work it out. It's all I can fucking think about, and I can't figure it out. You wanted just sex, so I gave you just sex. You wanted to show up your ex, so I made sure you could show up your ex." His voice takes on a hysterical quality as he starts to pace the room. "What am I missing? Please, enlighten me. Because Vanya and Allison are up my ass about trying to fix things with you, and hell if I know where to begin."
"You can't fix this," you shake your head and then wet your lips, steeling yourself up for the most embarrassing truth. "I ended it because I wanted more, and you didn't."
He pauses and then lets out a manic laugh. "So you left because you wanted to be with me?"
"I left because I thought it was just sex to you, and that's all it would ever be."
"That's all it was supposed to be," he says, not stopping his pacing.  "That's what we both wanted."
"Wanted," you repeat, quietly. "Wants change."
He lets out a manic laugh. "Oh, I know that," he says and stalks closer to you. "Why else would I be here right now, still trying to figure out what you want so I can give it to you instead of fucking any of the girls who came up to me tonight?"
You blink a few times, and this has to be an exhaustion induced delusion, because there's no way he's saying what you think he's saying.
"What are you talking about?" you ask, quietly. He doesn't answer, instead closing the remainder of the distance, pulling your body flush against yours and kissing you.
He tastes like margaritas. His kiss is as intoxicating as the alcohol itself, the sensation rushing through your body and urging you to relax into him. He's only kissed you four times before, and all of those were different. In those kisses his hands ran over your body, pushing at your clothes, his frame walking you back towards the bed. But now he's solid, and his hands are still, a vice keeping you close to him as his lips remain on yours.
It takes an extraordinary strength of will to extract yourself from his kiss. "Don't do this," you whisper, your lips brushing his since he's chased after your kiss.
"Why?" he pulls you even closer, pressing another kiss to your lips.
"Because you don't mean this," you say, bringing your hands in between your bodies to push him away. "You're drunk and you're lonely and…"
"And I want you," he says, not moving, ducking his head to kiss you again.
"No you don't."
The words make him step back angrily. "I don't know how to make it any fucking clearer," he says, raking a hand through his hair. "I want you. I want you Y/N. I wish I didn't. I wish things would go back to being just sex. Because my life was so much easier then. But they can't. Not for you and not for me. You want more. I want you. So why won't you just accept that and let me kiss you?"
As far as romantic speeches go, it's pretty shitty.
"Fine," you say.
It's an equally shitty romantic response.
But then he's kissing you again, and you let yourself lean into the hope that maybe, come morning, he'll still mean what he said.
When you wake up, Five's gone.
The other side of the bed is tucked in tightly, like he was never even there. But you know he was. Because if he wasn't, there's no reason for your whole body to ache inside and out. It's tempting to stay in bed and throw yourself a mix of pity party and roast. After all, last night you exhibited top tier dumbassery.
But you're tired of feeling like shit. So you drag yourself out from under the covers and towards your door, hoping that some coffee and a warm breakfast will help you to feel better.
You pad out the door and down the short hallway to come out to the kitchen where your roommate is pouring herself a cup of coffee.
“My head hurts like a sonofabitch,” she says, reaching into the cabinet to grab down a mug for you. “You?”
You give a rueful smile and head over to stand next to her by the coffeepot. “Surprisingly, I’m ok. Better than yesterday.”
“Good,” she says, filling your mug up.
Your toilet flushes, and both you and your roommate look at each other. The silent question is answered not long after as there, appearing in the doorway, still wearing yesterday’s clothes and looking a bit disheveled, is Five.
It’s the first time your roommate has ever seen him.
“Uh…hello?” your roommate says, and Five nods at her, moving forward to steal your mug of coffee. He lifts it to his lips and takes a long sip.
“You’re…here,” you say dumbly, and he nods, drinking some more coffee.
“It’s where I want to be.”
Your roommate looks between the two of you. “And you are…”
“Five,” he says over his coffee, and your roommate looks between the two of you wildly before finally settling you with a significant look.
“You’re going to have to make more coffee, and explain all of this to me,” she says, circling a finger at Five.
You look at him, a small twist of a smile on your lips. “Fine with me.”
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ravennm84 · 4 years ago
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The Laptop
So, I read a prompt from @charming-mage about Lila’s laptop being damaged and her mother finds out that Lila’s been lying to her and the school. I thought it was a cute idea and the girl would have no way of trying to turn things onto Marinette, so I went with it. Warm-Fuzzies and please enjoy!!
It was a silly little accident that ended up exposing everything. Lila had accidentally spilt coffee on her laptop and caused it to short out. Her mother, being terrible with technology, had taken it to a repair shop to see if it could be saved. 
Greta Rossi had taken her lunch break and gone to the repair shop to check on the state of the laptop. The woman behind the counter, Evelyn, gave her head a shake, saying there was too much corrosion and the damage to the motherboard. “Best I can tell, you didn’t unplug it, take out the battery, or tilt it to let the liquid drain out away from the main components. That was pretty much a death sentence to this thing.”
Greta groaned at that. It would be expensive to buy her daughter a new laptop, but it was necessary so she could do her homework and communicate with her friends when akuma attacks were so bad that the school shut down. “Were you able to save anything?” She asked the woman.
“Some things,” she nodded, handing Greta a flashdrive. “Mostly your photos, some saved documents, I also noticed that you were emailing your daughter’s school when the laptop was damaged. I was able to save that conversation for you.”
Her hand froze as she stared at the woman. “Are you sure? I only ask because that wasn’t my laptop, that was my daughter’s laptop.”
Evelyn’s eyes widened slightly before nodding. “It was the first thing I was able to recover since it was mid-correspondence. I assumed it was your laptop since the emails were addressed to you and were signed by you. If that’s not the case… I think you should probably read those emails and talk to your daughter’s principal as soon as possible.”
A little uncertain of what the woman just told her, Greta called the Embassy to tell them she would be taking the rest of the day off. Going home, she plugged in the flashdrive and started looking over the emails that Evelyn had mentioned. Sure enough, they were between Principal Damocles and supposedly signed by her. The first emails were dated the day Lila had told her the school was closed due to akuma attacks, only the email said that she was pulling Lila out of school to go on a diplomatic trip to Achu. 
A little taken aback, Greta looked up the akuma incidents to see just how bad things were. She normally wasn’t permitted to look up these kinds of things at work, nor did she ever have the time since she had to make sure the Ambassador’s days were scheduled down to the minute and all the paperwork was ready to be signed. But now that she had a moment to look, she could see videos of Ladybug and Chat Noir defeating every akuma… and two of the akumas had been her own daughter! This meant that Lila had been lying to her for months!
The next email was from the day of the Scarlet Moth incident, she remembered her co-workers talking about it. That email to Damocles said that her number had changed and gave a new number, which just happened to be Lila’s number.
Another email requesting doctors notes for Lila’s numerous injuries and disabilities: tinnitus, a sprained wrist, a dislocated kneecap, and tonsolatius. Lila had responded with photocopied doctors’ notes that even Greta could tell were fake, and the principal had responded with gratitude for the prompt response.
Some of the more recent emails spoke about Lila being pushed down the stairs by another student and how a family heirloom had been stolen by the same student! Only to be followed by another email requesting another doctor’s note referencing a disease Lila claimed to have that makes her lie uncontrollably. Was the principal a total idiot? 
The most recent email, the one Lila had been working on when the laptop was destroyed, stopped mid-sentence as Greta Rossi told Damocles that she and Lila would be going on another extended diplomatic trip to London, as she would be working personally with the Queen of England. If Greta hadn’t been furious at her daughter before, she sure was now. 
Still, part of her wanted to have some faith in her daughter, so she would set up a test when Lila got home. Which, coincidentally, wouldn’t be long as she had spent a good few hours reading over the emails and she had finally looked into akuma reports that had occurred since they had moved to Paris.
Lila came home about half an hour later, texting on her phone with a cruel smile, but abruptly stopped when she saw her mother. “Mama, you’re home early. Is it because of the akuma attacks?”
“No, mia bella. I was just given the afternoon off, so I decided to spend it with you. How was school?”
Watching her daughter carefully, she saw her change in posture and expression as she began to do the same fake crying she did when she was 6 years old. “Oh Mama, it was terrible. The school got attacked by another akuma and Chat Noir was just so reckless, his Cataclysm destroyed half of the school. It got closed down until repairs can be completed again.”
“Mia Bella! You weren’t hurt, were you?” Greta asked, faking shock and worry. She suspected that Lila had completed the email on her tablet or a computer at school and sent it to Damocles. Now, her daughter was trying to make an excuse as to why she was staying home. But Greta wasn’t about to be fooled again. Oh no, she had given her daughter a chance and now she was going to make her pay. “That’s it, I can’t allow you to keep attending such a dangerous place.”
Lila stopped mid-sob to look at her mother in surprise. “W-what are you saying?”
“Lila, from what you’ve told me about Hawkmoth, the akuma’s, and those terrible vigilanties; I can’t force you to stay in such a dangerous place due to my job. Go to your room and pack, I’ll call your Zio e Zia in Italia and ask if they can take you in while I finish my assignment here in Paris.” Greta continued to watch her daughter as she spoke, her expression becoming more and more panicked and upset as she spoke. Lila had never liked staying with her uncle and aunt because they lived on a farm that was far from everything, had no internet or cell service, and Greta’s brother was of the mindset that if you didn’t work on the farm, you didn’t eat.
“Bu-but Mama, you can’t just send me away like this! What about school-”
“You just told me that the school was shut down again due to the attacks, and after all the other times the school has been closed, I doubt if you’ll be able to graduate with the other schools or even be accepted into lycee at this point. At least if I send you back to Italia, you’ll be safe and be able to go to school without worrying about being attacked.” Reaching forward, Greta took Lila’s hands firmly between her own. “Please understand, mia bella, I am your mother and I love you more than anything. Even if you’re upset with me, I must do what is best for you and your future.”
Lila didn’t bother hiding her scowl as she tried to tug her hands from her mother’s grip. Then the girl really looked at her mother’s face and realized something was wrong. “Mama?”
Greta returned her scowl. “I am very disappointed in you, young lady. I was giving you a chance to come clean and tell me the truth.” Lila’s eyes blew wide open and was about to say something, but was cut off. “I saw those emails between myself and M. Damocles on your computer. Funny thing, I don’t remember writing them. I also don’t recall changing my contact number, going on a diplomatic trip to Achu, or telling him about a bunch of injuries, disabilities, and diseases that you don’t have. I also don’t remember my bosses assigning me to go on another diplomatic trip to London to work with the Queen of England, seeing as I’m not an ambassador.”
“Wait, Mama! I swear, I can explain-”
“You’ve already said enough! You and I are going to the school right now to speak with M. Damocles. You are going to tell him everything that you’ve been lying about and I’m going to have a talk with him about your supposed fall down the stairs since I’m pretty sure you lied about that as well since I was never notified and you were never taken to the hospital.”
“No, Mama! Please-”
“Be quiet! If you dare try to fight me on this or say one more lie, you will be on a plane back to Italia tonight and spend the rest of your school career with your Zio e Zia, understand?
Pouting the entire time. Lila went back to the school with her mother and was forced to confess to everything she had lied about. M. Damocles also ended up looking at the CCTV footage, something that Greta thought he should have done in the first place, and showed that her daughter had not been pushed down the stairs and had planted the not-family-heirloom in the other student’s locker. Greta demanded that he tell Lila’s class exactly what her daughter had done and that he apologize to Mlle. Dupain-Cheng for getting her expelled. She also demanded the student’s information so she could speak with the girl’s parents and force Lila to apologize. Damocles, still thinking that Greta was an ambassador, told her about the bakery and promised that he would alert the class to Lila’s misdeeds before the two Rossis were out the door. 
Greta thought the Dupain-Chengs were wonderful people, offering them pastries as soon as they were upstairs and listened intently to her when she described the things that her daughter had been lying about. When she asked Marinette for her side of the story, Greta got even angrier at Lila. Threatening, bullying, and framing that poor girl when all Marinette had done was tell Lila to stop lying to her friends. Not only had she been lying to the school and her classmates, but all of Paris, if she were to go by the posts on the Ladyblog that Marinette showed her. She had never been more disappointed in her daughter. 
Once they got home, Greta forced Lila into her room and confiscated her phone and tablet. “I thought it was bad when you were lying to the school and playing truant, but now I find out that you are being a bully, and tempting a terrorist to attack you! How foolish are you?”
“Why are you believing that goodie-two-shoes ove-”
“I believe her because there is literally video evidence of you setting her up and trying to get her expelled! After what you’ve done, you’ll probably get expelled!”
“What!? But I didn’t do-”
“You bullied a student, committed months of truancy, forged signatures on doctors’ notes, and changed my contact information so the school couldn’t contact me. Any one of those are grounds for expulsion!” Greta shook her head in disgust when she saw the shock on her daughter’s face. Lila actually believed that she wouldn’t be punished for all the things she had done. Well, that was not something that she was going to allow, and she didn’t trust the principal or Lila’s teacher to do the right thing by her daughter anymore. “You know what, pack your bags right now. I’m calling my brother and putting you on a plane tonight. It’s clear that you need to learn some responsibility, and I highly doubt that you’re going to do that here.”
Lila tried to argue with her, but no amount of begging, pleading, or threats was going to change her mind. Lila was on a plane back to Italy within a few hours and Greta would be spending the next month cleaning up the mess her daughter had made in Paris. She was fortunate that she was able to keep her job. Luckily for her, her boss was a big fan of the Dupain-Cheng Boulangerie and she had told him when she had brought in a big box of the pastries. That smoothed things over a bit, although she was no longer permitted to bring her daughter on assignments anymore. Greta considered that a small price to pay to keep her job, and maybe her daughter would learn that her actions have lasting consequences.
Taglist:
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artobotsrollout · 4 years ago
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Explosive Personalities: TfP Episodes I Wish We Got
I wish we had an episode of Wheeljack and Knockout shenanigans. 
At first glance there’s nothing there but looking closer they actually have similar free spirit, go where the wind takes them, type personalities.(At least IMO. I need to properly write down my headcanons and thoughts about Knockout and also Wheeljack some time cause I have opinions) Also I seriously should mention that I absolutely love the character analysis of Knockout by @nekkyousagi​ and I very much subscribe to it so my Knockout content will reflect that. Meaning his interests and favoured jobs are around weapons creation and dealing /tinkering/body modding etc etc FIRST over medical stuff. The breakdown (heh) of why, in that post, is freaking brilliant and makes a lot of sense based on heavily hinted dialogue and actions in the show and toy product descriptions.  I very much believe that this analysis explains what the writer’s intention for Knockout’s job, backstory, and character were intended to be canonically if not very very close
Please give it a read: Knockout…Doctor & Designer?
I hope it’s chill if my content with Knockout is made with this analysis in mind heavily cause it’s so good and really seems to explain so much in the show and I have a hard time seeing him any other way now jwaj;ralweras. Note: Some spoilers for TFP below so open and read at your own risk.
OKAY HEAR ME OUT:
They both get stuck in the shadow realm or something.
The first hour is both yelling threats at each other, Wheeljack whipping out a grenade and Knockout screeching at him to STOP cause they BOTH ARE STUCK in an ALTERNATE DIMENSION where they have no idea if it’s a closed space because of the repeating loops and what that would MEAN FOR LETTING A GRENADE LOOSE. 
Both try and do the whole casual/ nonchalant banter and demeanor they both are known for on their respective teams but quite accidentally dip into their nerdier scientist/tinkerer/weapons specialist sides
Discussing ways to get out but both being grumpy because they are weapon specialists. Complaining that Shockwave and Ratchet didn’t end up here instead since hand wavy space and dimensional travel was more their expertise.
Knockout asking for a closer look at the grenade and complimenting the craftmanship. Wheeljack eyeing his mods and being like “I don’t remember seein’ those available back on Cybertron” and Knockout getting to preen that he designed them himself. BEGRUDGING RESPECT ON BOTH SIDES.
Both spend an hour brainstorming the worst best nicknames for everyone they know. Wheeljack comes back at the end of the episode calling Optimus the “Big O.”  Knockout starts calling Starscream “Sunshine” just to see if it gets the same reaction from him as it did from Ratchet. Note: It absolutely does. Both team’s grumps hate it so both terrorize them more with it. They are somehow more insufferable to their teams.
Knockout and Wheeljack oddly working REALLY WELL together and lowkey pumped that they finally met another person like them who is brilliant at their work but also doesn’t know (and doesn’t really care about) the proper names for anything     “Wheeljack can you pass me the long doohickey?”     “Which one KO? The one that looks like a spoon or the one that looks like your boss’s ugly mug?     “Neither. It’s the pointy one that looks like a torture device. I call it ‘Starscream’s Personality.’”      “I am absolutely going to call it that from now on you know.”     “You’re welcome.~”
Segue into a nudge for Knockout’s redemption arc because I’m really sad about the one we got. LISTEN I JUST WANT KO TO KEEP RUNNING INTO AUTOBOTS ON NEUTRAL GROUNDS who just by existing are automatically nicer to him than anyone on the Nemesis and makes him have a mild but character building existential crisis. Wheeljack and Knockout if they managed to find some common ground and combine their forces would be an absolute chaotic MENACE okay!?
KO and Wheeljack combined making way way over the top weaponry and mods together. I’m talking Borderlands level shiz. Guns that curse you out. Canons with a machete attached. Absolutely bonkers. Megatron secretly is cursing because “oh no their guns are cooler than ours” even if said guns blows up in their faces sometimes. (Listen on KO’s toy description it says he’s a weapons specialist and his guns blow up on the user a lot. Wheeljack blows things up a lot and in older generations tend to not have the most reliable equipment.) Together this pair of “slap shit together and hope it works” troublemakers would somehow create functioning explosive weaponry. YES IT DOESN’T MAKE SENSE! NO I DON’T TAKE CRITICISM!! /j
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angry-geese · 4 years ago
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(Platonic) Giorno Giovanna x Reader
Warnings: None! sfw. mentions of violence and injury. Gn!Reader
Notes: Giorno gets injured during a job, reader patches him up.
I have a few other posts with basically the same prompt as this which you can read here: Bruno's, Risotto's, Mista's
Giorno was someone you still had your reservations about.
To you, Passione was doomed to be the way it was. And you were fine with that. Is it a horrible organization- yes. Does it ruin lives- also yes. But it works. Structure is something you need, and under the gangs you have purpose. Passione gave you a life- a family- you never would have had without it. Maybe it's some sort of Stockholm syndrome grasp it has on you, but you aren't eager to see it under new management. Don't fix something that isn't broken.
So when some newbie showed up on your doorstep with plans to reform the gangs, you weren't very impressed.
Giorno was either the luckiest or the dumbest man you've ever met. Maybe both. Putting it lightly, he was reckless. The kid had some sort of angel sitting on his shoulder because he could walk off a building and still land on his feet. He's had enough near-death experiences to last him a lifetime. It was almost respectable. Almost.
It was rare you were ever paired up with him. Or anyone for that matter. Your stand meant you could work solo. Often times you preferred it that way. As much as you cared about the others, they were more like annoying little brothers to you than proper coworkers.
The job was simple, and not particularly time consuming. Get to a drop off point, find a dead drop, get back to the hideout in one piece. Giorno was sent along as backup- and partially because his very presence had pissed off Abbacchio earlier in the day. Having not spent much time around him, you were surprised to find that he wasn't as intolerable as you expected. Not that you'd give him the satisfaction of knowing that. You didn't want to inflate the newbie's ego too much. He seemed rather apathetic about things, up until his "I, Giorno Giovanna, have a dream" speeches.
It was a freak accident, really. The kid wasn't after the dead drop, he only wanted to mug you. As far as you could tell, he had no gang affiliation. Children and firearms don't mix- he accidentally pulls the trigger aiming right for you.
And Giorno made the mistake of jumping in front of you.
If you had been hit, you'd probably have been fine. You could have gotten Gold Experience to heal you.
The bullet struck the outer part of his thigh, missing anything vital, but he struggles to walk. Out of pity, you half drag/half carry him back to the car. The wound doesn't look too deep, but it should be checked out. Figuring he could take care of it, you toss him into the back seat, heading around towards the front.
It's when you get in that you realize he's not doing anything.
"Why can't you heal yourself?" You ask.
"My stand doesn't work on me."
"That's unfortunate," you climb into the back seat, "you're not going to like what happens next."
You motion for him to put his leg in your lap. He grimaces at the movement, but complies. His pale skin only adds to the strange, ethereal look he has. Hopefully Bucciarati won't mind all the blood in his car. You get Giorno to hold a spare t-shirt against the wound while you search around for a first-aid kit. There's no bullet to pull out. It looks like it barely grazed him, though he's bleeding a lot. Maybe it hit a vein- you're no doctor, you really can't say. Going to the hospital would draw too much attention- and he needs help now. People are going to ask questions if you just walk in with a bullet wound.
From the first-aid kit you produce a needle and thread, and something to sterilize the wound. Your stitching needs some work, but it'll do. You're a bit rusty. It's been a while since you've had to do this to anyone. Which is probably the last thing he wants to hear.
"This is going to hurt. A lot." You warn.
He nods. To your surprise, he remains stone-faced as you pull through the first stitch. By the third, his breathing is shaky, and his face is nearly white, though he doesn't say anything. He grips onto your wrist hard. He needs a break.
"That was reckless." You say, sitting back on your heels. You'll just give him a moment to breathe.
"You would have done it for me."
"Maybe. Maybe not." Probably not. But he doesn't need to know that.
His grip on your hand tightens. You run your thumb over his knuckles. Comforting people isn't exactly your strong suit, but he's still just some kid thrown into Passione. He closes his eyes, leaning up against you. Maybe it's the blood loss. He sits still long enough for you to finish the last few stitches.
"I don't think you're inherently bad, Y/N." He says. "You let that boy run. Anyone else would have killed him."
You decide not to tell him that you probably would have, had he not gotten shot. Better to let him believe it.
"There is literally nothing more stupid than going after the boss." You say.
"I see." Strangely enough, he doesn't seem disappointed.
"I'm in," you say, "but if I get killed, I'm haunting your ass."
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stxphxn-strange · 4 years ago
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(no) rest for the innocent
summary: Tony wasn’t even on trial, but the jury found him guilty and he couldn’t disagree.
a/n: idk last night i was thinking about tony dealing w survivor’s guilt after endgame (and IW) so i threw this together, tw for mention of death and implied thoughts of suicide
“Good evening, Doctor.” FRIDAY’s warm, pleasant voice always reminded Stephen of home and cinnamon scented candles. “How was your trip?” 
“Too long for a meeting that could’ve been handled over email. Or through carrier pigeon, as Tony would say,” Stephen replied as his cloak sailed off down the hall. 
He washed his hands carefully, drying them on an Iron Man dish towel that Peter had given them as a joke wedding gift before putting the kettle on. 
As the water was boiling, he noticed a covered plate on the kitchen counter. There was an obnoxiously orange piece of paper in front of it, which made Stephen smile. Tony always left him little notes on purposefully electrifying paper, that way they were easy to find. 
The sorcerer’s smile only widened as he read the note. 
Steph— 
I wasn’t sure when you’d be back, but I decided to make you dinner anyway. But not because I’m missing you and wanted to surprise you, I just accidentally cooked too much. You know how that happens sometimes and you just end up with an ungodly amount of chicken parm? Life’s funny like that. 
Anyway, I’m in the lab. I had some good ideas earlier and I wanted to start them while I still felt productive. Welcome home sweetheart, and if you go to bed before I do (because you probably will, you responsible asshole you), sweet dreams and goodnight. 
Love, Tones
PS— Orange you glad you met me? … don’t answer that, I just couldn’t help it and had to write that down. 
Stephen rolled his eyes fondly. “Fri, will you tell Tony that even though he’s not funny, I’m very glad I met him?” 
FRIDAY was quiet for a few moments before responding. “Boss says, quote, ‘fuck you Gandalf, I’m hilarious,’ unquote.” 
Stephen smiled, heating up his meal before sitting down to eat. He flipped through a magazine while he ate, FRIDAY turning on some soft jazz music as background noise until Stephen cleaned up and left the kitchen. After a refreshing shower, the sorcerer found himself in his most comfortable pjs and slippers as he walked through the house. Stephen wasn’t sure if he was going to bed yet, but he wanted to see Tony (and maybe he wanted a kiss or two or even three). 
The music in the lab automatically lowered when Stephen shut the door behind him, and Tony looked up with an expression that could only be described as tired. 
Actually, he looked exhausted. Weary. Barely holding himself together. Stephen wasn’t a thesaurus, but very concerned about his husband. 
Tony was trying to smile, but he seemed too exhausted to do that and just gave up, not saying anything as Stephen sat beside him. 
“Hi.” Stephen leaned over and softly kissed his husband’s temple. “Thanks for cooking for me, you didn’t have to.” 
Tony shrugged. “I had a lot of energy earlier, and I accidentally cooked way too much. Maybe it was intentional, you know I’d take any excuse to go out of my way for you.” 
His words said one thing, but his tone betrayed him. His voice was brittle, hard, and almost staticky. Stephen thought he sounded like a rusted hinge that was trying not to cry out for repairs… or maybe that analogy only made sense given where they were. 
Stephen kissed him again as Tony sat back at his desk, closing his well-used sketchbook. “You alright?” 
“Yeah. Tired I guess.” Tony sounded as unconvinced as Stephen felt. 
“Come to bed with me,” Stephen offered. “I’ll bore you to sleep by telling you about the meeting.” 
Tony laughed hollowly. “That bad?” 
“I don’t know how to describe it, but it was a waste of time. Even Wong was bored, and he watches the Antiques Roadshow remake for fun,” Stephen replied. He yawned and leaned against Tony’s side. 
“I see what you’re doing,” Tony murmured, trying to be lighthearted. He was just feeling some kind of way right now, he felt serious and was so endeared by his husband that it hurt. 
“What am I doing?” Stephen asked, resting his head on Tony’s shoulder. 
“Being cute and sweet so I’ll go to bed and let you be the big spoon,” Tony accused. “And maybe I just really fucking need a hug, but… it’s working.” 
Stephen shifted and pulled Tony into his arms, holding the mechanic close as he went lax. 
“My Boss Is Singing Closing Time Protocol please, Fri,” Tony mumbled. 
“Goodnight Boss, goodnight Doctor,” the AI replied, beginning to run the lab’s standard closing protocol. 
“Portal?” Stephen asked. Tony was getting better with going through portals, but some days were harder than others. Stephen didn’t know what tonight would be like and opted to ask, selfishly wanting to make sure Tony got some rest as soon as possible. 
He was so out of it by that point that Stephen wasn’t sure if Tony registered the question, but he nodded slowly and trusted Stephen to lead him through it and into their bed. 
Despite “resembling a sloth clinging to a tree bough,” (Tony’s words) Stephen was intuitive and knew when not to hug Tony. Even when he was asleep, if Tony woke up thrashing or fighting against something in a dream, Stephen let him go. 
Tonight was a bit different. Stephen wasn’t brought to the edge of reality by Tony thrashing in their bed or accidentally tangling himself in their sheets, so he assumed everything was fine. That was until the sorcerer hugged his husband closer, still mostly asleep and just following his instinct, and Tony outright begged Stephen to let go of him. He wasn’t quite awake, but Stephen backed off immediately and heard Tony trip over his own feet as he left the room. The sorcerer fell asleep again after that, trying to stop the sound of Tony’s broken plea from cementing itself in his memory. When Tony climbed back into bed some time later, Stephen was stirring a little bit more. Tony hid his face in Stephen’s collarbone and said nothing, his breathing still slightly erratic. 
“Sorry if I woke you up,” he mumbled. 
“Don’ be,” Stephen replied, his voice unsure whether or not to wake up. 
“Will you hold me again?” Tony asked pleadingly, his voice almost imperceptible. 
Stephen wordlessly obliged, kissing the top of his head. “Whatever’s bothering you… you can talk to me about it. When you’re ready. And you don’t have to, but I’m here for you.” 
Tony nodded. “It feels like too much right now. What I’m thinking about, I mean. I need time to process, I guess.” 
“Okay,” Stephen said simply. “But I’m here for you whenever.”
“I know. I love you,” Tony replied. 
Stephen began to trace soothing patterns on Tony’s back. “Love you Tones.” 
++++
Tony didn’t seem any more rested the next day, but his confident Tony Stark™ pose seemed natural. He’d easily be able to fool people who didn’t know him as well as his family did. So it was a “fake it until you make it” kind of day, and Tony’s energy was on a strict schedule. There was only so much he could take today, and if his teammates wanted to call him selfish then that was their choice. 
It would just go in one ear and out the other, especially this late in the day and after brutal team training. Tony was close to skipping the meeting, but a cutting remark in the hallway made him change his mind. Why did they always act like it was breaking news when Tony needed to step back from something anyway? He was just as human as anyone else, and the world was happy to throw responsibilities on his unenhanced, steady shoulders just because he was a natural caretaker. 
The arguments about Tony’s quiet, withdrawn demeanor started two minutes into the meeting. Stephen was ready to defend his husband as soon as they got to the conference room, Tony collapsing into a chair and leaning his head against the cool metal of the table. 
He didn’t want to talk today, and Stephen didn’t want him to. 
“It’s not nap time, Stark.” There was a small hint of fondness in Natasha’s cold, clipped voice. 
Tony was already regretting his decision to show up, wishing he hadn’t told Stephen again and again that he was fine. He wasn’t, and they both knew it. Everyone knew it, but Tony knew better than to advocate for himself in front of his… colleagues. 
“I don’t even remember what we’re meeting about,” Tony muttered, looking up enough to address whoever was talking to him. 
Rhodey took a seat beside Tony, encouragingly patting his back. “You good?” 
“I’m fine, Honeybear,” Tony replied. He was sitting between his two favorite people, and that helped him feel a little more grounded. “I just didn’t get a lot of sleep last night.”
Someone scoffed. “I don’t think anyone’s slept right in months. And don’t say you haven’t slept in years, Stark. We don’t need a story about how everything you’ve ever done has led to years of sleepless nights. We know already. Put it in a book or something and make the team more money so I can have better arrows.” 
Stephen was two seconds away from dropping the archer into the Dark Dimension, or flipping a table. He wasn’t sure how to handle the man yet, still taken aback by the rudeness and stupidity of his comment. “Barton, what the fuck—” 
“Steph, don’t bother with him,” Tony said. He stood up, forcing his tiredness into a corner and giving his coworkers a confident glare. “Pardon me for giving it my all and being a bit tired as a result. Now I’m going to get an ice pack for my shoulder and maybe a cup of coffee. Does anyone want anything?” 
“I’ll take a—”
“Get it yourself, you know where the kitchen is.” 
For dramatic effect (and moral support), the cloak landed on Tony’s shoulders and billowed out as he left the room. He returned with the aforementioned ice and coffee, and a mug of tea for Stephen. 
“You didn’t have to do that sweetheart, but thank you,” Stephen said appreciatively. 
“That’s why I wanted to,” Tony replied. He relaxed a little into his chair, starting to believe he could get through the meeting. 
Then, like clockwork, Clint opened his mouth to complain. 
“Why did you bring him tea and nothing for the rest of us?” He whined. 
“Doesn’t Tony do enough for you?” Stephen asked, innocently taking a sip of his tea. It was his afternoon green tea, made exactly the way he liked it. 
Tony was always so sweet and attentive with his loved ones, it warmed Stephen’s heart. The sorcerer stifled a laugh as Rhodey poured half of Tony’s coffee into his own empty mug. 
“Thank you,” the colonel said impishly. “Consider the roommate tax paid for this month.” 
Tony tried to smile at the old inside joke, but Stephen noticed that it fell flat. 
“Are we done with the interruptions? We need to talk about what’s out there. We don’t know if Thanos is the exception or the rule, and—”
Tony stopped listening. Clint’s snootiness was doing his head in, but the idea of another threat, another thing, another colossus he’d have to conquer and survive if his luck had anything to say about it… that was the breaking point. 
Tony didn’t have a good relationship with luck. He didn’t really believe in it, but apparently it believed in him. Because Tony was lucky. It was true that he was lucky in meeting his husband, his friends, and his family, but this was a different kind of luck. Tony was intelligent and skilled, shrewd and savvy, and there was virtually nothing he couldn’t do or solve, except for one thing. 
He was constantly lucky, constantly cheating death. 
And he didn’t realize that he was hyperventilating, didn’t recall dropping his head into his hands. He didn’t recall that he’d just walked out in the middle of the meeting after a minute, didn’t realize that he was home when he opened his eyes. 
Tony was home, in his spot on the couch in Stephen’s library. Stephen was sitting beside him, quietly watching a documentary or something like that. Tony was laying down, his head in Stephen’s lap with the cloak draped over him like a blanket. The crimson fabric continued to cling to him as he sat up, further proving Tony’s point that Levi liked him best, but he wasn’t in the mood to banter now. He just appreciated the support and the warmth of his sorcerer and their shared, sentient blanket.
With some hesitancy, Tony leaned over and rested his head on Stephen’s shoulder. They locked eyes for a minute, Tony’s gaze deliriously bright and vacant. 
Stephen didn’t know what to say or do to make the man trembling in his arms feel better, but started by hugging him closer and softly stroking up and down his spine. 
“I’m sorry,” Tony whispered, lowering his head and hiding against Stephen’s chest. 
“No apologies,” Stephen reminded him. “I don’t want or need them, and you don’t have to explain yourself.” 
“I have to give a good reason,” Tony said, his voice beginning to shake. “Everything I do needs a reason.” 
“Why? Says who?” Stephen asked. He was more thinking aloud, half expecting Tony to leave the question unanswered. 
For a while, he did. He just sat, furiously trying to blink back tears and gather his thoughts as Stephen held him protectively. 
“Sometimes I think about… things,” Tony began vaguely. “And people. And places. I guess I just like nouns.” 
At this point, he didn’t even know if he was trying to deflect or just tell a joke, but his attempt at humor fell flat. He tried to force a laugh, but halfway through it turned into a painful sob. He cried harder with each breath, ignoring the ache in his chest. Tony barely listened when Stephen encouraged him to breathe, but eventually he gave into his exhaustion and listened to his lungs. 
His stupid lungs, which apparently were just as stubborn as his brain. 
“I can’t keep doing this,” Tony whispered. “I shouldn’t have survived Afghanistan, New York, Sokovia, Siberia, or Titan. I can’t keep cheating death, Stephen. I don’t want to. I don’t want to be lucky and survive when the damage I’ve caused, the damage I claim full responsibility for, has taken so many lives. I don’t want anyone else to get hurt or killed for me.” 
Stephen pressed a soft kiss to his hair, feeling Tony’s guit and fatigue as if it was his own. 
“I don’t want to do this,” Tony repeated. “I’m probably just spiraling or being needlessly selfish, but  I… I don’t know.” 
“You’re taking on too much responsibility where you don’t need to,” Stephen said. “I know that’s easy for me to just say from the outside, but you aren’t the only Avenger. It’s about time the team, if you can even call them that, takes accountability for their actions and stops bulldozing you with their problems. You aren’t selfish, Tones. You’re tired and overworked, and you deserve a break. You deserve to breathe, to just exist without feeling like you have to look over your shoulder or justify your every step.” 
“I don’t think I know how to even do that anymore,” Tony replied. “And I don’t deserve it.” 
“You do,” Stephen argued. “And rest assured I’ll keep telling you that. And I’ll keep telling you how much I love you, because I really do.” 
Tony smiled sadly, trying to press himself closer to Stephen if that was even possible. “I love you too.” 
He was starting to settle down, soothed by a flurry of soft kisses in his hair and the gentle brushes up and down his spine, when FRIDAY quietly spoke up. She almost sounded remorseful. 
“Mister Parker is requesting one or both of you in the lab, whenever it’s convenient,” she began. “And he’s asked me to assure you that it’s nothing major.” 
Tony sighed, sitting up again. “I’ll investigate.” 
Stephen shook his head. “No, let me. I’ll tell Peter that you’re resting, and he’ll understand.” 
“I don’t want him to think I don’t care,” Tony whispered. 
“He would never think that. You know how he gets about making sure you take care of yourself, and Peter knows with certainty that you care about him. Our son is much more mature than the Avengers,” Stephen replied. 
“I still feel bad,” Tony said. 
“I know. I can promise him Thai food if that’ll make you feel better?” Stephen suggested, half jokingly. 
“It actually would,” Tony admitted. “FRIDAY, will you schedule a Thai food delivery for 6:30pm please?” 
“Scheduled,” she replied simpy. She still sounded apologetic for disturbing them right as Tony was falling asleep, but maybe Stephen imagined that. 
The sorcerer stood up gracefully, covering Tony with another blanket as the cloak wrapped a bit tighter around him. “Look after yourself and relax, or get some sleep. No one’s expecting anything from you right now Tones, alright? I love you.” 
Tony nodded, a little smile on his face as Stephen kissed him again. “Love you.” 
He really wanted to sleep. He actually put effort into falling asleep, which was something he never thought he’d do, and of course sleep didn’t come easily. Sleep never came easily, but the memories did. It was all too easy for Tony to get caught in a thought stream, whether he was planning a surprise, inventing, or remembering unpleasantries. Today he was overwhelmed by guilt, readily convincing himself that he was a selfish failure like Howard Stark and his teammates liked to say. It was too easy to get lost in their ire and wanting to please everyone, and Tony had given up so much of his agency just to try and make other people happy. 
It was exhausting, and he didn’t even feel like he’d succeeded at that. 
The mechanic started tearing up again as he continued to think in a circular pattern, faintly aware of the Cloak trying to comfort him. It was a sweet, welcome gesture, and Tony let it happen and let himself cry. He was still laying there in tears when Stephen came back in half an hour later.
“Pete says he hopes you feel better,” Stephen said, returning to his spot and pulling Tony close. “And I told him to just go ahead and eat whenever he’s hungry, or when the food gets here.” 
Tony just nodded, feeling relieved and supported in Stephen’s arms again. He nodded again, as if trying to shake the unending self-deprecating thoughts from his head, before saying anything. “Sounds good.”
tags: @salty-ironstrange-shipper @stark-strange-love2 @chocopiggy @katninjagirl97 @kitkatfat15 @taruyison @funkylittlebidiot
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palbabor-writes · 4 years ago
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So, uh, I got excited with this ask
Anonymous said:
so what if, and I’m just spitballin’ here, you wrote a little something for Tomura, a jealous!reader x Tomura, perhaps? Ik there probably wouldn’t be an actual situation where somebody would try to steal him away or anything but just a little something on the reader seeing something that wasn’t what it looked like and Shiggy kind of reassuring her in his own special way? 😌 pls &thank you sm in advance, but you of course absolutely don’t have to write it if you don’t want to (: love your work!
Pairing: Tomura Shigaraki x Gen!Reader
Warnings: Adult language, angst, jealous feelings, mentions of past relationship and heavy petting, mm, imma say it’s rated T, for the teens and upper betweens
Word Count: 4387
Notes: Lol. I’m pretty sure this was meant to be like, a drabble or head cannon in your mind nonnie. Me, being me, I stretched it out into a freaking fic. I can’t shut uppppp sometimes. First time trying for a Gen!Reader, so hopefully it’s a thumbs up. Not beta edited, so any mistakes are mine, and mine alone.
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“O, beware, my lord, of jealousy; It is the green-ey'd monster, which doth mock The meat it feeds on.” ― William Shakespeare, Othello
It’s been two months, two freaking months and you’ve hardly gotten two texts strung together, let alone a call, from Tomura. 
While he’s never been what anyone would call a frequent texter, your last message has sat, unread, on his phone for the last 3 days. You know he’s busy, you know he said he’s got shit to take care of, but you can’t help the angry pit of worry that simmers in your gut. He could at least tell you something. Like, hey, I’ll be out of touch for a few days, talk soon. Is that too much to ask? 
Apparently it is.
The two of you have always been a quiet item. Most of the League knows, or at least, heavily, heavily suspects. It’s not like you tried to keep it a secret, it’s just the way you both are. Besides, you usually liked how the arrangement worked.
You’d met him through your job. You worked with Giran as a courier of sorts. Sometimes you’d lug shipments back and forth, sometimes you’d make deliveries. It was one of these deliveries that introduced you to Tomura. He was quiet, sulking toward the back of the bar, but you’d managed to strike up a conversation with him as Compress double checked his requested items. 
He was waspish, sharp. At first, you worried that your questions had only managed to pissed him off. But then, just as you started to chat with another guy in the bar, a snarky fellow, who was covered in some serious, serious burns, Tomura tugs your attention back to him with a pointed question. 
“Can you tell Giran that you’re only one who’s permitted to transport the deliveries to the bar?”
That one query had started a landslide. 
You were summoned to the hideout frequently, practically on the daily after that. Giran just shook his head and asked you not to fall too deep. You didn’t know what he meant then. Two months later you understood his meaning perfectly. 
How could you not fall head over heels for this guy? Fuck, he was so desperate, so wanting, so fucking needy for you. God, you missed it now that you didn’t have it. After the Kamino incident, he’d called on you even more and you loved that you could help him. He honestly seemed, in his own, gruff way, appreciative. 
But, then he’d said he needed to leave the city. 
At first, your contact with each other had maintained some semblance of normalcy. You would text and he would reply. You could call and he would answer. Often, he sounded tired, strained, but every once in a while you could pull a laugh from him and all would feel right with the world. 
Now? 
Now nothing feels right and the only link you have to him is Dabi. He’s the only person in the League that’s responding to your emails or texts. Even Giran isn’t answering anything. That’s not normal either because Giran always, always answers. What the fuck is going on?
It’s starting to feel like you’ll never know. This is mainly due to the fact that Dabi is a shitty, shitty font of information. At first, you’d eagerly taken his calls and texts. In lieu of a tip, you asked him about this mission Tomura was on. He fed you vague, flippant, answers. 
“Tch, this again? I already told you, they’re all fighting this giant. It’s some pet of the doctors.”
“And like I said the last, oh, I don’t know, twelve times, giant makes no sense to me. Can you expand on that a little bit? Like, what the hell does that mean? They’re fighting a fucking giant. Is that supposed to be some kinda bizarro hint? Cuz’ it sounds like you’re giving me shoddy information to get me off your back,” you snap, placing your foot on his box of requested medical kit supplies. 
Dabi practically keeps you on standby now. The guy has gotten more aggressive in the last month, and the heavy price his fire quirk extorts on his body meant he needs a steady flow of burn cream, meds, stitches and pain relievers.
“Fuck, look, I don’t know how else to explain that fucker. I didn’t give a shit about boss man’s little mission to tame him, so the doctor and I worked out something else for me to do. I’m not around those guys right now, I’ve got other things I’m working on. Now give me my shit and get out of my face. Ask Toga about your little fuck buddy, I could give two shits about his well being.” 
“Why follow him if you hate him so much?” God, this asshole is such a prick.
Dabi considers you for a long moment, his vibrant blue eyes lingering on your scowling face. “He’s a means to an end. I’m just here to see this society fall to its knees. Boss wants the same thing, so, for now, this arrangement works for both of us. Now, if I have to ask you to give me my fucking shit one more time, I’m gonna’ singe you where you stand.” 
Sucking your teeth, you kick the box toward him and turn on your heel, slamming his door behind you. If he’s not going to be useful to you, why be useful to him? We’ll see how he likes it when you accidentally miss some of his shipment deadlines. 
You pace out into the night, shrugging your jacket up on your shoulders. If they’re so far out, if they’re fighting something that sounds like an impossibility, why not ask you to bring them some supplies? Why haven’t they reached out to you? 
As you wait for your train, you pull your phone from your pocket, your cold fingers resting against the glass. There’s a missed call from another contact, but no other notifications. You swipe over to your messages from Tomura. Your last text sits, still unopened, unread, uncared for, in his box. It’s not fair, you think, sliding your phone back and pressing your hands into the meager warmth of your pockets.
Tomura used to confide in you and you felt close to him. And not just in a physical sense. At first, the relationship between the two of you was just that, something that eased an itch. But you kept asking him things, liking the soft tone his voice could take on when he lost some of that anger. 
Then, he started to wordlessly ask you to stay a little longer, his arms wrapping around your bare form, holding you against his warmth. It was nice. It was so, so satisfying and now it’s gone. Is this his way of moving on from you? You would have thought that he would have said something. He’s never struck you as someone who hides from a confrontation. So why the radio silence? 
Another week passes and Dabi keeps calling. He’s practically got your entire schedule blacked out now with deliveries, upcoming shipments and transports. What. The. Fuck. It’s gotten so frustrating that you’ve started to waffle on picking up his calls, sending him straight to voicemail. 
“What kinda courier leaves their fucking name on their voicemail? Stop ignoring my calls, (Y/N).”
Yeah, he’s a real charmer. At least he answers your messages though. It’s better than nothing, you keep telling yourself, trying to ignore the gnawing, munching feeling of bitterness that keeps rising. Yeah, Dabi’s gotten to be such a constant in your life that your phone keeps recommending him as a new favorite. 
Would you like to add the contact: Dabi, to your favorites list? No, no you would not.
Then, suddenly, out of the blue, Dabi’s not answering you either. Your first, gut instinct, tells you that he’s likely annoyed with your spotty replies or he’s busy with...”Dabi things”. He’s always reminding you about the oh, so important “Dabi things”. ‘Don’t pester me with your shit, (Y/N). I’ve got something big I’m working on.’ 
But now? Fuck, now you’d kill to hear from him. 
There’s absolutely nothing. No response from Toga, Compress, Spinner, Dabi and most important of all, Tomura. 
He’d finally read your text. After two whole days had passed from the sent time stamp, he’d read it, and then opted to not respond. It stung. You can still feel that tightening emotion of dread, of abject hurt, that had radiated from your chest when you saw that he’d finally looked at your message and then just decided you weren’t worth his time. 
Yeah, after seeing that, the last few days have been nothing but a full tilt boogie of emotions for you. 
This must be a planned thing. Why else would they all coordinate their ghosting. He must have wanted to leave you behind and now, this distance has made it possible. 
He’s been changing a lot lately. 
Even before he left for this, whatever it was, he’d grown in confidence and skill. Fuck, he’d taken on a Yakuza boss and won. He’s becoming a leader, a competent force to be reckoned with. He doesn’t need you to bounce ideas off of anymore. A courier picked up at the start of his career isn’t a necessary piece to add to his collection. 
Yeah, chances are, he’s moved on. He’s out of your reach now and you can’t help the thoughts that rise in the back of your mind. What if he’s found someone else? What if he just got bored with you? Did you put too much thought into this relationship? Well, that question has kinda answered itself. You put way too much into this. You had planned for things, hoped for…
Your phone rings and the noise startles you out of your head. You fumble for your vibrating device and lift the screen up before swiping to answer the call. Oh, it’s Toga. Fingers shaking, you lift the phone to your ear and are so happy to hear her babbling voice. 
She tells you that she’s been meaning to call you, but, gosh, everything has gotten in the way. Plus, she took a bad hit in a fight. Oh, she’s ok, but it’s been a crazy week for her. 
As she chatters about some random series of events that you can’t string together, you let out a long sigh. That coiling that’s been building in your stomach loosens and you’ve never been so relieved in your life. There’s still a chance. Maybe he hasn’t decided to leave you in the dust. Maybe...whoops, Toga asked you something. 
“Deka City? No, I’ve never been there.”
“Oh good, well, I wouldn’t try and go now. Tomura sorta, mmm, crumbled it to bits.”
“What?”
“Oooh, and we’re part of a bigger group now…”
She tells you about something called Gigamantia and their new connections. Apparently, Tomura’s made another step up in the world. Now he’s leading something called Meta Liberation? What is that? It sounds kinda familiar, but where have you heard it?
Toga is winding down her conversation, her voice smoothing out. She promises she’ll answer your other texts soon and emails you a set of coordinates, saying they’ll see you there and clicks off. 
You lower your phone to your lap, biting back the grin that won’t stop spreading across your face. Ok, so, maybe you’re not as abandoned as you thought. Maybe they, no, maybe he still needs you.
******
You found the building alright. It was impossible to miss. This place is massive, fit for an army. The security is tight, so tight that you’d even been screened by a guard at the door. Once they confirm that you are who you say you are, and you know who you say you know, you’re permitted entrance.
Who are all these people?
As you enter the “meeting room,” which is really a space that looks like a concert area, complete with a well lit stage, you’re pressed into the mass of bodies. There must be hundreds of people here and there’s some hulking creature, dozing in the corner. 
Is this that giant Dabi mentioned? You totally thought he was making that shit up. And, wait, wait, is that a pro hero a few spaces away? What is this? Where is the League?
The overhead lights dim and your attention is drawn back to the sage. People are bustling around the elevated area and a plush chair is placed in the center. Looks like the show is about to start. 
A loud, booming voice announces the arrival of a man called Redestro. He must be that long faced guy in the motorized chair and, oh, there he is. 
He walks up slowly, it looks like he’s leaning on something, but you can’t see clearly. The crowd shifts around you and an inordinately tall man is blocking your view. Huffing out a sigh, you try to maneuver yourself to a better vantage place.
He’s seated now, his long legs spread out in front of him. Fuck, he looks both wonderful and terrible, at the same time. Wonderful because it’s Tomura, terrible because he’s covered in bandages and he’s got a brace on his leg. What happened to him? 
Your eyes can’t stop roving over him, trying to drink in everything. He looks like he’s on edge, his fingers clutching at a small slip of paper, as his good leg jiggles against the chair. Why...ah, he’s being introduced. Wait. He’s being introduced as the leader of the Paranormal Liberation Front? So...so all these people...this entire organization...is his to command? 
He clears his throat and you hear his voice for the first time in months. He’s halting at first, but as he continues his speech his tone deepens, strengthens, losing that early hesitation. He sounds good, powerful and confident. 
You tear your eyes away from him and give the crowd a quick glance. They’re enraptured. A few paces away you can hear people whispering to each other, their voices low, awed. 
“He took down Redestro…”
“He’s so young.”
“He’s kinda...I don’t know...handsome.”
“You’re right, he looks regal.”
That coiling, trembling feeling is making a strong comeback. It’s an ugly return and it makes your flesh prickle and cool. He’s left you in the lurch for months and now he’s become some sort of leader, of an entire, what is this...a cult? An organization? An army? How the fuck, would you know? No one, least of all Tomura, has told you anything, about any of this. 
When the address and introductions (the League had made a, uh, flashy entrance) are over, someone comes up and taps you on your shoulder. It’s another one of those security guards. She says you’ve been requested, the League wants to see you. 
She takes you past the stage and down a long hallway. It’s quiet back here and the silence doesn’t soothe your frayed nerves. You’re pointed to a large set of doors and you bite your lip before pushing them open.
Another large room greets you. This one is filled with plush couches, elegantly carved tables and multiple chairs. There’s so much to look at, you don’t even see them at first. No, you hear him before you see him. He’s talking with a tall woman, who is writing down what he dictates, her pen moving rapidly across her paper.
Fuck, you’ve missed his voice. 
It’s quiet now, a little hoarse from his speech and you want to step closer. He’s standing next to some large windows, his back turned to you. He hasn’t even noticed you. What were you thinking? He’s this...God, leader now. What are you? Just a nobody he met when he was still pounding the pavement, looking for anyone who could help their cause, their mission. There’s nothing for you here, he’s…
“(Y/N).” 
Your eyes snap up to his. Tomura has turned, one arm braced heavily on his crutch, and is looking right at you. His eyes are hooded, dark, you can’t get a read on him from here. You want to step closer, but that sickening feeling is falling, like a stone, into your gut. Despite your turbulent emotions, you can’t stop staring at him.
The thick bandages are off and his hair is longer, the white strands hang close to his collarbone now, gleaming and pearlescent. He looks, damn, he looks tired and...what’s that? There’s something dark on his hand, it’s black and it covers three of his fingers. Why is he wearing that half glove, oh, oh no. It’s not a glove you realize, horrified, it's a prosthetic. He’s lost some of his fingers. 
“It took you long enough, come here, (Y/N).” 
His voice has dropped an octave, lingering in that distant tone that he would use when he dragged his lips across your neck, rumbling and murmuring against your skin. He knew that you liked that, he knew that it would make you so desperate for him, your hands pawing at his shoulders, pulling... 
No. He’s ignored you for weeks, no, months. You’re not about to just fall to pieces at his feet, crawling and begging for him to want you. Your eyes latch onto his and you minutely shake your head at his request, fingers squeezing into your palms. 
The woman, noting the tension that’s suddenly entered the room, looks between the two of you, and abruptly makes herself scarce, her heels tapping against the floor as she walks to the door. Once you hear it close behind her you unstick your mouth, your tongue heavy against your teeth.
“Who was that?” you ask, your voice croaking, thick with disuse. You can’t help the question. It tumbles from your mouth before you can stop it. You’d meant to ask him something else, but the query just, pops out, angry and trembling. 
“I don’t know. One of Redestro’s cronies. Why-” His face scrunches abruptly and a wince of pain passes of his features. “Why does it matter?” He finishes, his hand gripping a little tighter against his cane.
“You didn’t have to send for me, you know. It looks like you’ve upgraded everything else, why not me too?”
A scowl echoes across his lips. “What-”
You won’t let him finish his question, you can’t stand it anymore. You also can’t seem to stop. All of the emotions, the anger, the betrayal, the fucking, God, jealous thoughts that you’d slip into, alone in your cold bed. No, you’re not going to back down.
“You didn’t call, you didn’t text, and when you did, finally, manage to remember that I exist, the texts were so far and few between...fuck, sending a letter would have been faster. The only link I had to you was Dabi-”
“What?” He snaps, repeating his question, his red eyes, flashing, gleaming, glaring. “What does he have to do with anything?” His face is set in a deep snarl, his scar lifting along his white teeth. His fingers coil into his crutch, one digit arched away, and he begins the long journey to where you’re stubbornly standing. 
You watch him on bated breath. The sheer excitement of his renewed presence is making you shake. The warring feelings that are rising inside you are too much. It’s too much, it’s, oh...he’s right in front of you now.
“Answer me, (Y/N). What the fuck does Dabi have to do with anything?” 
You gulp. Tomura has never, ever liked you interacting with Dabi. It was that first subtle flirtation between you and the flame user that had set Tomura off in the first place. He had barely given you a second glance that first time you met him, but once your attention wandered over to Dabi, suddenly he was all ears. That animosity grew as time wore on. 
If anything, Dabi took advantage of it. He liked to press you, corner you, it was one of the many things you disliked about him. He was a selfish ass, only manipulating things for his own, twisted amusement. 
It’s a low blow for you to land on Tomura, to play up his own jealousies, but turnabout is fair play, right? 
“He’s the only person I could reach. You want to know who my phone keeps asking me to favorite now? Fucking Dabi. I kept asking him about you, about what was going on, but he never knew.
So, then I tried reaching out to you, directly. But then you decided to conveniently lose my fucking number, or something. You didn’t answer a single thing after that last text I sent you, what, two weeks ago? You didn't call. You didn’t even act like I exist, it-”
“I told you it would be a while.”
“Yeah, a while doesn’t typically mean two months. And how do you come back to me? With a broken leg and, fuck, three missing fingers? What is going on Tomura? You’re a different person now. Do you even want me anymore? You don’t have to ghost me. You could have just told me that you were moving onto bigger and better things. 
Congratulations, by the way. You’re the leader of a cult. Now, you can cut off all those lousy loose ends, like me-”
“You’re jealous.”
His voice has dipped into that low octave again, rasping, deep, and oh, fuck. You sputter at his assessment, your hands clenching into your pants. You need something to tether you, to keep you from reaching for him. You’re angry, remember? He’s left you, all alone, so alone and... 
He’s shifted to lean into you, the warmth of him rolling over you in waves. You can hear his breathing, if you move a little bit closer you could feel it, too. He knows what he’s doing. He’s used this tactic on you before. It’s very effective. His crutch taps him nearer. He’s practically flush against your heaving chest and your eyes flick up to his. 
The red is dark, tempered, and that swirling agitation has left him. He looks…
No, no, he left you for months, he can’t look at you like that. You shake your head, your eyes wincing shut, blocking him from view.
“I’m not...I-I’m not jealous, I was just-”
“Come here, (Y/N). Don’t make me ask you again.”
His new, half prosthetic hand reaches for your neck and traces over your trembling throat, ghosting over you, forcing you to press toward him. Once he’s satisfied you’re not going to reject his touch, he lets the digits tap onto you, gently, slowly, like he’s coaxing you out of your temper. The contrast of cool metal and warm skin makes you gasp, your eyes fluttering open. 
He’s curved over your lips, his white hair drifting softly around your face. Unthinkingly, unquestioningly, you reach for him. Your fingers lace into the silken tendrils and he lets a slow exhale wash over your face. His verdant eyes are so close. They’re fixated on yours, refusing to let you slip from his gaze again. 
You can’t breathe. There’s something else you want to scold him for, but...but his lips are so close. His nose bumps against yours and you bite your lower lip. He’s so warm. He smells nice too. It’s a rich smell, earthy, thick with some enticing aroma that’s all him. It floods your senses and you’re downing, distracted and lost. 
Tomura’s won this little stand-off because you reach for him first. Your fingertips urge him to you, one thumb dragging a familiar trail across the mole on his chin. His lips are chapped, rough, but oh, oh you’ve missed this. 
He lets you lead him, your lips pressing and lifting, planting feather light caresses against him. Your tongue swipes across his lower lip and he groans. It’s a husky, broken sound and it makes you yank at his clothes. His new suit crumples under your hands. You’d almost feel bad, if he hadn’t been such a neglectful ass to you. You’re nipping at him now, your kisses losing that sweet vulnerability.
Tomura approves of this frantic pace and one arm cages against your back, lifting you closer and dragging you against his front. His crutch clatters to the floor, but neither of you have the wherewithal to care. 
Besides, you think happily, you can be his crutch now.
He’s biting and sucking, his teeth drifting from your trembling lips and pressing into your pulse. One particularly hard nip has you arching into him, a gasping whimper on your lips. His tongue laves over the hurt, lulling the nip. 
Your hips instinctually lean into the his and you moan when you feel the hardness that is waiting for you there. Tomura presses back, dipping his nose into the juncture of your shoulder, his lips distractedly kissing against your skin. Your fingers trace down his front again and one hand goes lower still, running along his pants until you find what you’re searching for. 
He growls when you apply just the right amount of pressure and he’s pulling your lips back to his, demanding more. You’re skirting your other hand to the clasp of his belt when someone barges in the door.
Gasping, you start to pull away, trying to turn, but Tomura holds you to him, lifting his chin until it’s resting against your shoulder. He’s glaring out at whomever the fuck is standing in the doorway, but his fingertips are moving against you, pressing and soothing down your fevered skin.
“Hey boss- ah…” Dabi is brought up short by the sight that greets him and you can hear the sneer that he must have thrown Tomura’s way. 
Tomura, for his part, is quiet, content to silently stare down the man who stupidly interrupted him. He turns his head a fraction of an inch, but it’s enough room for him to drag his rough lips against your neck. You quake at the stimulation and hear Dabi let out a barking laugh.
“Ew, well this is fucking disgusting. Looks like the two of you can go back to fucking normal, eh (Y/N)? You and boss man can bone and get all that pent up insecurity out of your-”
“Get the fuck out,” you and Tomura say in unison.
You hear another scoffing chuckle and then the door slams shut.
Notes: The Dabi bits miiiight be in there because I finally got my belated birthday present of his Banpresto figure in today ԅ(≖◡≖ԅ)  
Tags: @spicy-skull, @xwildskullx​, @yixxes​, @ghstmthr​, @evesmores​
*I think that’s everyone for now. If you wanna be added to a list just drop me a line & I’ll get you on the Google Doc: Shigaraki works, Dabi works, Hawks works, BNHA works, All works...works, works. There’s likely more to come, but that’s what I got for now. k byeeee.
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