#pearl your not only an amazing angst author but fluff and good at everything i do

[infinitegalahad]

hi! are you still taking prompt requests? if you are, can i please request a don malarkey one with “you wanna help me cook?” “isn’t that what i said.” ?

thank you!!

have a nice day! 🤍

prompts:  “you wanna help me cook?” “isn’t that what i said.”

don malarkey x reader

a/n: MALARKEY RIGHTS! i've been dying to write for him! here's this, without..... any angst?! i truly do not know how i managed it

taglist: @capsparkyspeirs @wecomrades @tvserie-s-world @hellitwasyoufirstsergeant

══════════════════

"What's the first thing you wanna do when we get back?" Don asked, gaze focused on the road left behind as the truck carried some of your company back to the barracks for the last time. Your days as soldiers had come to an end. The war was over and home was on the horizon at long last.

Both you and Don had long dreamed of returning home together, before you'd even really left. Together you'd wondered what life would be like after the pair of you spent so long fighting to get back. And with only a moment's thought, you had an answer for Don's latest inquiry. 

"I wanna help you cook." You said with a sly smile. Your man stayed quiet at your side for a moment- you could practically hear his thoughts processing beyond those coppery locks of his. 

"You wanna help me cook?" Don asked, after a beat. There was a curious smile in his voice, verging on laughter.

"Isn't that what I said?" You nudged an elbow to his ribs and met his warm toned eye's. 

"I think you just wanna stand by while I make a fool of myself." He did laugh, then. A small, gentle chuckle. It was music to your ears. Don hadn't laughed since the last time Skip cracked a joke.

"No," you implored, "I wanna be fools together. I wanna have some damn fun." 

Sure you dreamed of returning to steaming showers and your old cozy bed. And of all the days you'd get to look forward to without worrying over death and glory. But what you'd most yearned for the longer war raged on, was to have some fun, one day. 

But your answer wasn't one you'd thought of for longer than the second Don gave you to consider his query. You just recalled all at once, that when it came to cooking, Don was alright at throwing rations together. But he'd never been able to find his way around a kitchen. Not before the war, and certainly, you imagined, not after. The meals you'd made at the start of your knowing each other were hardly impressive. And Don would take you out more often than not, spinning off into hyperbolic worries over what might happen if he were left in charge of boiling water. Thing was, you weren't much of a chef either. So it thrilled you, the idea of throwing all caution to the wind, and diving head first back into domesticity together.

You explained as much to the man at your side; the one who'd been there for you through more terror and glee than you'd ever expected to face in your young lives yet. And you dreamed of the carefree event you'd just planned, and all the time you'd soon be allowed to waste side by side. Your time could finally be spent with Don like it had been, for a while. Like you'd always wanted it to be. Without worry. 

When you'd finished rambling and glanced over to find Don's gaze fixed entirely on you, his wide smile managed to cause your heart to skip a beat; even after all this time.

"So, is that a yes?" You snickered. If you considered the softness in his eyes for too long you were liable to burst into tears. Laughter was the best substitute.  

"The first thing we'll do is cook together." Don agreed with a crooked grin. "But the very next thing we're doing is getting married." He nodded surely, as the truck sputtered to a halt. And then he moved to step toward solid ground, reaching up to steady your decline all the while.

It was your turn to smile and lock his gaze in yours, mesmerized by Don and all the ways he still managed to steal your breath away. The man let his hand stay clasped to yours as the pair of you sauntered back toward the barracks.

"So, is that a yes?" Don mocked your earlier statement with a grin, but you heard a genuine wonder in his tone. 

"Maybe the second thing we ought to do is cook, after all." You smiled at him, imagining his hand secured in your own like this, at the altar.

One more night's sleep here as soldiers, and then you'd be home free, to do as you pleased. You'd be free to promise to forever keep navigating life at your man's side. What could be more fun?

[queen-of-deans-booty]

To Be Your Person

Characters: Dean Winchester x Reader, Sam Winchester, Reader’s Uncle

Word Count: 2.3k

Warnings: angst, minor fluff, death of a loved one, funeral angst

Request by @originalposter-96: Can I request for Dean Winchester? The reader is dating him and is close to Sam. When she receives the news that her aunt had passed away, the three of them all go visit her family. When they visit her uncle, he is quiet for most of the time but when the reader starts talking to him about a picture that she still has of them goofing off, it makes him smile. Dean thought that was really sweet because no one else has been able to do that and Dean loved the way she bonds with him.

Summary: When your aunt unexpectedly passes in her sleep, you and the brothers go to her funeral. There, you try and comfort your uncle as you two remember who she was.

hurt/comfort for @spndeanbingo

guardian angels for @teamfreewillbingo

photobomb for @spnfluffbingo

Author’s Note: This is unbeta’d and all mistakes are mine. If you have any requests, please send them in!

It’s a chill day in the Bunker which is a rarity. Usually, your days are filled with fear, terror, and ghastly things that most people just wouldn’t survive. You see so much death and destruction a day it’s amazing how you’re still alive at this point--or sane enough to function on your own. Well, you would be if you did it on your own.

Sam and Dean have been great roommates since the moment you decided to live with them. They’re men, so it has it’s downsides to living with them, but other than the usual shit, they’re pretty great. It’s hard to share a house with both brothers and not fall for at least one of them. You tried for so long to keep your feelings at bay, but you and the elder Winchester connected almost immediately.

He’s the reason why you’re here today.

Your relationship has been touch-and-go for the most part, but you’re going on four months now, and everything seems to be going great. There is still a lot of things that you don’t know about him, and there are certainly a lot of things he doesn’t know about you, but you like taking it slow and learning about each other in surprising ways.

You can trust him wholeheartedly with your life when you go out on hunts. He’s proven more than capable of holding your life in his hands. Hell, he’s had to do it a few times over the years. You can go on a hunt knowing that you’re going to come out of it okay because of Dean Winchester. He knows exactly what he is doing, and even though he doesn’t need to, he takes care of everyone when they’re hunting with him.

The problem isn’t trusting him with your life… it’s trusting him with your heart.

You’ve been hurt too many times in the past to just hand it over like it’s something he has a right to. No, he needs to earn the rights to your heart. Your relationship is still pretty new, so you’re not even close to letting him near your heart like that. It’s going to take a lot of time and effort to make your body know and understand that he isn’t going anywhere, and he is here to stay.

Right now, you’re looking through different newspapers for potential cases while Sam is on the laptop. Dean wants to help, but he’s pretending to do work on his laptop when you know he’s really just playing some meaningless game. You’re not finding anything in the newspaper, and our eyes are getting tired from staring at the same thing. You place the paper down and get up to get something to drink.

“You guys want anything?” you ask.

“Two beers,” Dean says and holds up two fingers.

You walk into the kitchen and get the beers along with a beverage of your choice. Once you grab them, you start to head back. Just before you can walk into the war room, your phone rings. Your uncle is calling, so you shuffle everything to one hand so you can answer the phone with the other one.

“Hey, Uncle Zack! How are things back home?” you ask as you walk into the library.

“Not good, Y/N. I am so sorry to be telling you this over the phone, but your Aunt Pearl died this morning in her sleep.”

You’re in the middle of handing Dean his beer when you just tense up and freeze. The beer bottle slips from your hand and crashes to the floor, shattering into pieces. The drink you grabbed for you is next, but luckily, Dean catches it before it can suffer the same fate.

“What the hell, Y/N!” Dean says, but he trails off when he sees the look on your face.

Your Aunt Pearl and Uncle Zack were the ones you went to whenever your parents were out on hunts. They left you with them because it was too dangerous to have their only kid go with them. Zack and Pearl knew of the supernatural, but they didn’t want any part of it. They supported your parents, and they would only help if research needed to be done or something that can be done from home. They wanted to live a normal life, but it’s not like Pearl was going to let her sister hunt on her own without some kind of help.

Whenever you stayed with them, you would always have the best time together. Pearl made you forget your parents were out hunting monsters and took you to the zoo, shopping malls, the amusement parks and gave you a childhood you could be proud of. Your uncle taught you more survival skills since he loved to hunt animals in the woods behind their house.

Pearl and Zack are the best couple you knew besides your parents. They knew what the other was thinking, relied on each other when they needed it, and loved each other endlessly. Most people you knew got divorced within the first five years of being married to each other, but Pearl and Zack have been married for sixty years this past month, and you’ve always wanted what they had.

You knew love existed because of your aunt and uncle. You loved your parents to death, but they were never able to give you a childhood like your aunt and uncle did. They always made sure to set aside some time to devote to you, and you always appreciate that of them.

To hear that your aunt Pearl has passed is devastating because you know just how much your uncle loves her. It brings you back to when you found out your dad had died during a hunt. That’s what it took for your mom to retire, but it was too late for her. She died a few months later from a broken heart. Pearl was old, so you knew it was coming, but you didn't think it would be here that quickly.

“Y/N, are you okay?” Sam asks, concerned that you haven’t moved for the past five minutes.

You’ve just been staring at the wall behind Dean with your phone to your ear.

“There’s going to be a funeral, and I’d like for you to be there,” your uncle says.

“Yeah,” you whisper.

“I know you loved her so much. I know how hard this is.”

“I’m so sorry,” you whimper.

“I’ll send you more information regarding the funeral later on. I just wanted you to be the first person to know. At least she’s with your mother now.”

“Yeah, okay.”

You can’t seem to form words that are more than one syllable right now, and he understands you need to take this in. He’s done enough grieving this morning to finally call someone, and now it’s your turn.

“I love you so much. I’ll call you later, okay?”

“Okay.”

There is a moment of silence before he hangs up. The phone slips from your hands just as your knees buckle. Dean is quick to catch you, and as soon as you feel his arms around you, you break down crying. Your sobs are loud, and they echo off the walls causing them to be haunting. Sam and Dean have no clue what that phone call was about, but they are going to wait until you calm down so you can tell them.

Dean sits back on his chair, bringing you with him. You crawl into his lap and bury your face in his neck, sobbing into it. His neck is wet from your tears, but he doesn’t make any move to wipe them away. The only thing he does is run his hand up and down your back trying to soothe you. Sam gets up and cleans the mess you made on the floor before scooting his chair closer to you and Dean.

“I-I’m s-sorry,” you stutter.

“It’s okay. Take a deep breath for me, okay?” Dean says.

You pull away enough to look at him, and you try to do what he asked of you. Your bottom lip trembles, but you manage to take a big breath in and out.

“What’s going on? Who was on the phone?”

“M-my uncle. My a-aunt pas-passed away this m-morning.”

“I’m so sorry,” Sam sighs.

“They gave me a ch-childhood I’ve a-always dreamed of. They were m-my second parents,” you cry. “There’s going to be a funeral.”

“Do you know when?”

“No. He’s going to call me back. God, I feel so sorry for him. They l-love each other so much. They were m-married for sixty years.”

“I know it’s rough. I wish there was something we can do,” Dean sighs.

“Will you both come with me to the funeral? I don’t want to go alone.”

“Yeah, of course. Whatever you need,” Sam nods.

“Yeah, anything,” Dean agrees.

The rest of the day was spent lying in Dean’s arms, thinking about living in a world without your aunt.

The funeral happens a week after she passes. Your uncle managed to get everything ready quickly, and you know he only did that to keep himself busy. The real struggle is going home after this to an empty house and living in that house knowing that the person you love is never going to walk those halls or sleep next to you. The hardest part hasn’t even come close, but you’re going to try and be there for your uncle through it all.

Your aunt was loved by all, so there is a lot of people at the funeral. All of your family, her family, and all of her friends are there talking about what a great person she was. Everyone is talking to someone except for your uncle. He’s just sitting by himself, watching everyone else. You leave Sam and Dean’s side to join his. As soon as he sees you, his eyes light up but not by much.

“Y/N,” he says sadly.

“I am so sorry,” you whimper.

He takes you into his arms, and you hug him tightly. He kisses the top of your head, and you pull away enough to look at him in the eyes.

“It’s not your fault, butterfly.”

That’s a nickname he loves calling you since he believes you could do much more with your life if you’d just spread your wings.

“She’s not gone for good. She’s right here,” you say and place your hand over his heart. “She will always be watching over us. She’s your guardian angel now. You know how much she believed in that kind of stuff.”

“I know she did,” he sniffles. “Excuse me.”

He shrugs out of your grasp and leaves to go upstairs. He might cry or yell, but you know he has to do it alone. Sam and Dean approach you from behind, and you turn to face them with a sigh.

“I can’t believe she’s gone.”

“I know,” Dean whispers.

He brings you into a side-hug, and he kisses the top of your head in a comforting way. Your uncle doesn’t want to be present for this part since he knows he won’t be able to survive it. Your aunt has a lot of admirers and friends, and almost all of them talk about how great she was, shared some memories, and even cried a bit. You wanted to say something, but everything you wanted to say was about the hunter’s life. You can’t bring anyone else into this life, so you’re going to say your eulogy for when you’re alone.

She deserves to hear it.

Your uncle came back down after everyone was done, but even then, he didn’t talk to anyone. He didn’t smile, he didn't laugh, and he didn’t do anything except sit at his chair and watch everyone else do what he couldn’t. Sam and Dean notice how sad he looks, but they sure as hell don’t know how to make him feel better.

You tried to make him feel better by talking about how she is always going to be here, but maybe that was the wrong approach. You decide to take a different one, and you take out your phone so you can access your photos. You leave the brothers’ side and sit next to your uncle.

“Butterfly, I’d really like to be alone,” he sighs.

“Remember this?” you ask and hold up your phone to show him one of your favorite pictures of you, him, and your aunt.

You remember wanting to take a nice picture of you and your uncle, but you two had just gotten done roughhousing with your aunt. She still wanted to play and joke around, so she photobombed the picture. She jumped on your uncle’s back, look at the camera, and made a funny face. You’re laughing at her entrance, and your uncle is just smiling because he loves his wife so much.

Your uncle takes out his glasses and looks at the picture. He remembers that day as if it were yesterday; It might as well be. He smiles at her face, and you move to sit next to him so you can show him more pictures like this one.

Sam is getting food, but Dean is watching you and your uncle. Your uncle hasn’t smiled once since this whole thing started, but you managed to get him there with one photograph. You’re the only one who got him to smile at the memory of your aunt instead of sulking in it. He wishes to be that close to you, to know you can always come to him no matter how down you’re feeling because he’s always going to try and cheer you up.

Your relationship is new, and that’s okay, but he’s in it for the long run. You’re just that special, and he’s never met anyone else like you. He wishes to be your rock, your best friend, the one you’ve been married to for sixty years. He wants to love you the way your uncle loved your aunt.

He wants to be your person, and one day, he hopes you let him.

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[bunnimew]

Starstruck 2: Lost at Sea

Fandom: Rise of the Guardians Relationship: Jack Frost/Pitch Black Also featuring: Jamie Bennett Tags: Mermaid AU, Modern Mer AU istg, jamie is a good bro, Pitch is The Most Dramatic, There is angst here, there is also fluff, Action Plot! Rating: T Words: 3601 Summary: Sequel to Starstruck Pitch is missing. Jack has to find him. Jamie has to follow Jack, just to make sure he doesn't get eaten by sharks or something.

For RotG Mermay 2021 prompt Mother of Pearl On AO3 Here.

Jack was beside himself with worry.

No one had seen Pitch since yesterday morning. Since Jack said goodbye to him before heading off to work.

Pitch never made it to the theater. No one had seen him at rehearsal the entire day. Jack only found out when he arrived home to an empty house and his agent knocking on the door to ask if Pitch was feeling alright.

Pitch was gone.

And Jack couldn't rest until he found him.

He went straight to Jamie. No one understood how much Jack needed Pitch more than Jamie. Jack talked about Pitch all the time, confided everything to his best friend, which meant Jamie had unique insight into just how broken Jack would be if Pitch never came back. Worse, if Jack didn't even try to find him and it turned out he could have.

Jack didn't know exactly how Jamie was going to help, but he maybe should have predicted that Jamie would grab his pick-shovel and demand to come along.

They were already on their way back to Jack and Pitch's house, their plan set to trace Pitch's path to the theater and start their search there, When Jack decided to try one more time...

"You don't have to come with me, you know."

"You can't stop me, you know."

"I know!" Jack said. His voice was a little high, a little defensive, and very tense. It wasn't Jamie's fault, but Jamie got to hear it anyway. "I'm just making sure. Pitch isn't your fiancé. You're my friend, but… I don't even know what I'm doing, so. I'm just making sure you know you don't have to do this."

Jamie pressed a hand to Jack's shoulder as they swam along, their pale and true blue tails oscillating in an oddly perfect tandem. There was strength in that hold that Jack was sorely missing right now. "And I'm making sure you don't do something stupid, or that at least you don't do it alone."

Jack almost stopped dead in the water, but Jamie’s firm hand kept him moving forward. “It might be better if I did it alone.”

Jamie snorted, the brat. He didn’t even look at Jack when he replied. “Yeah, no. No way. Even if I’m just a witness to what happens to your remains, it’s better if I’m there.”

Jack blinked, taken aback. So much for optimism and solidarity. “You’re just gonna watch me die?”

Jamie shrugged. “Depends on how it happens. I’ll take on a shark for you. I won’t take on twenty sharks for you.” Jamie paused. “Probably.”

It was a bad joke, but it brought the smile back to Jack’s face. He put his hand on Jamie’s shoulder in kind and made his peace with the fact that Jamie was going to waste however much time he wanted on having Jack’s back while Jack went out of his mind searching for Pitch.

And honestly, Jack was thankful.

“I’m going to stop in and change,” Jack said when they reached his door. “I should probably be wearing real clothes when I meet my doom.” That was going to be their running joke now, Jack decided. The thing that kept the tone from getting too heavy to handle. The thing that kept Jack focused on finding Pitch and not focused on the fact that he was lost. “Do you want a jacket or something?”

Jamie started to shake his head, then rethought it. “Actually yeah. Another layer wouldn’t be a bad idea.” He swam over to hold the door when Jack went through. “Got anything fashionable? Something that will make me look badass for our rescue adventure?”

Jack almost laughed. Jamie was an amazing friend. “I’m wearing the badass jacket. You can wear the sexy one.”

“You mean they’re not the same jacket?”

Jamie was right to grab his pick-shovel. It was a tool as much as a weapon, and Jack did also have one, but the only time they needed both was for prying huge chunks of rock out of the ground. The likelihood that Pitch was pinned under something large enough it would take both of them to free him…

Was not zero.

Jack grabbed his pick-shovel.

He also grabbed a bag to put snacks in and the knife North had given him. It was so beautiful and fancy that Jack had never used it before. But it was a knife meant for work, and Jack didn’t know what he might need to cut. So he was bringing it along just in case.

And, also just in case, Jack left his lovely seastar in its feeding tank for safety.

Jamie noticed all of it. “How long do you think we’ll be gone?”

Jack shook his head on his way out the door. “I don’t know. Maybe we’ll be able to come back in between. Maybe we’ll see something and… not be able to come back. I don’t know. But I’m bringing food enough for at least one night.”

“Seems smart,” Jamie agreed. His tone wasn’t in total agreement with his words. Jamie hesitated for the first time since hearing the news, on the idea that they would be at this for long enough that food would be a concern.

“You don’t—”

“Shut up and lead the way,” Jamie interrupted.

Well.

Okay.

Jack turned toward the theater and flicked his tail hard. Jamie would keep up. They had no time to waste.

-o-

“This is the longest I’ve ever swam in one day, I swear.”

Jack agreed. They were following a current that ran… somewhat close to Pitch’s path to the theater. It would have been kind of ridiculous for Pitch to have gotten caught up in it, but with his huge fins and unwieldy tail and, let’s be honest, ridiculous manner, it seemed the most likely thing to have happened.

That, and Jack didn’t have the authority to investigate other mers or search their homes, so it’s not like he could search anything but the natural surrounding area for Pitch.

Jack sighed. He felt defeated. “We can take another break soon. How far do you think he went?”

Jamie slowed and rotated upright in the water. “He could still be trapped in it, Jack. There’s no way to know.” But then he smiled and met Jack’s eyes with honest enthusiasm. “Glad you brought those snacks!”

Jamie was the best friend.

Jack laughed and pulled one out for him. “I really hope my idiot of a fiance is not still tumbling tail over fin in this current. That would be horribly embarrassing and also very inconvenient.”

Jamie nodded. “And very Pitch.”

Jack sighed again, this time put upon. It was true.

Hopefully one day this whole fiasco would be a great story to tell over the dinner table to Pitch’s latest celebrity friends and not the end of his world as he knew it. The cold hand of dread began its now very familiar clutch around Jack’s heart and he struggled to swallow down the rising anxiety and keep his tail moving.

Until Jamie wrapped his arm around Jack’s shoulders, again, and shook him just a little bit. “Don’t worry until we have reason to worry, Jack,” he said. “Let’s find him and figure it out from there.”

Jack agreed, because what else was he supposed to do? Except the nagging thought stuck with him that the hours Pitch had been missing already and the hours Jack and Jamie had spent looking for him were amounting to something to worry about.

So of course when they noticed the sudden plethora of fishing nets, Jack’s worry set sail for the stars and skyrocketed.

“Shark-eye on a woodlouse,” Jack moaned with his face buried in both hands. “They ate him!”

Jamie rolled his eyes and shook Jack by his elbow. “Don’t be dramatic. Pitch has been rubbing off on you.”

Jack shook his head, but kept on. “You know how these things are. Anything and everything gets caught in them and all of it dies. It doesn’t really matter if they ate him, although I’m really hoping they didn’t eat him. If he got caught in one of these nets, he’s gone.”

Jamie didn’t reply. He swam forward with a steady beat of his tail, and that told Jack everything. Jamie was an optimist, but he didn’t want to lie.

These nets meant real danger.

Made more and more evident as they continued to follow the current and found thousands of fish caught up in them. Jack and Jamie had to swim out of the way of sweeping nets more than once and each time, Jack thought of their agility and of Pitch’s huge, billowing tail. This was what got him, Jack was more and more sure. It had to be.

Jack closed his eyes as they swam on, letting Jamie guide their way. If Pitch did get swept up onto a fishing boat, how would Jack ever know for sure? He would just be gone, and Jamie wouldn’t let him mourn if there was still hope left because that’s the kind of person Jamie was. But Jack couldn’t just hope forever and live in that house without Pitch and pretend it would all be fixed when Pitch magically showed up some day.

Jack would hope, though. Because how could he give up when he loved Pitch so much? The whole idea made Jack fear his own future, so he just… swam. And let Jamie guide them. He needed to be in his own head for a little while.

“Spawn of a…” Jamie trailed off in a faraway, disbelieving tone, and Jack opened his eyes because that was either good or very, very bad. “Is that him?”

In an instant, Jack was scanning the seas around them. Fuck, but all he saw was nets. “Where?”

“There!” Jamie pointed, but he also started swimming. Jack hurried to keep up, and then—

He saw what Jamie saw. A small, long, black and gray thing tangled in an abandoned net caught in the current’s flow. It was anchored from below, but the line was too long and Jack’s concern was too short to give it more than the glance it took to verify Pitch wasn’t about to be swept away in the current again, this time without any hope of swimming his way out of it.

The figure wasn’t struggling against the nets at all and Jack swam faster. His huge fins, twisted and folded in the spun plastic, gave him away before anything else. It was Pitch. It was absolutely Pitch.

Jack screamed his name over and over as he swam nearer, waiting, hoping, praying for Pitch to look up at the sound. He looked so pathetic and sad, immobilized and swaying helplessly in the wake of the current. He could have been dead already, except that he finally stirred from all the noise Jack was making and looked up. When their eyes met, when Jack could see for himself that Pitch’s gaze was clear and focused and that he was just stuck, the ridiculous man, relief flooded through every part of Jack’s being so suddenly and so completely that he almost lost the rhythm of his stroke and stumbled in the water.

Pitch was alive, and, other than his current circumstances, he was fine.

Jack realized Pitch was neither trapped under nor between anything heavy and so his pick-shovel would do nothing but fill his hands. He tossed it behind him for Jamie to catch and continued on unhindered.

“Jack!” Pitch shouted to him, and the sound made Jack’s heart sing. The heavy pull of the current sent it sinking again, but Jack was on a mission and skillfully rode the tide right into his chest, where he clung with all of the accumulated desperation of the last several hours and steadfastly refused to let go.

Jack pulled the fancy knife from his hip and prayed the inset mother of pearl handle survived what he was about to do to it. He pulled the netting as far from Pitch’s skin as he could, then pressed the knife into the synthetic fibers and began to saw away at it with everything he was worth.

Pitch tried to help. His wiggling wasn’t very effective, but it did get him a little further from Jack’s blade, and that was something. “How did you find me?”

Jack smiled at him. It wasn’t really anything to smile about, but Jack was just so glad that he could smile at Pitch, so he did. “Followed your tracks. Made some good guesses. Jamie helped a lot.”

Pitch looked behind Jack at where Jamie must have been hovering with the two pick-shovels out of the current’s reach. “I thought he couldn’t stand me.”

“He can’t stand me when I talk about you. That’s different.”

“Oh right,” Pitch said absently. It was obvious he wasn’t really taking anything in. His eyes were glued to Jack’s hands slowly tearing away at the nets now, and he was biting anxiously at his lip.

“Don’t worry,” Jack soothed. His voice was tense, but Jack couldn’t help that. His hands couldn’t stop moving until Pitch was free, and the netting was stronger than it looked. “I’ll get you out of this, Tigershark. I promise.”

Pitch met his eyes again, and there was so much heat there. So much love and trust that Jack nearly forgot what his hands were doing. “I know.”

It felt like forever before the first rope gave way, then two forevers for the second. Jack’s arms were burning and Pitch’s tail wasn’t even free, yet. The pace was excruciating, and after hours of constant swimming, Jack was tired.

The thought of Pitch’s safety was all he needed to keep on.

Pitch, on his part, tried to help with every limb he could wiggle out of the way. The net had tangled around him at least three times, but Jack hoped once the tail was free, the rest would come easy. When the bottom fin finally broke through, Jack wondered if he imagined the way Pitch’s soft tail brushed against him, as if it were on purpose.

But then, as soon as Pitch’s first arm escaped the plastic cage, he pressed his fingers to Jack’s cheek, and Jack knew he hadn’t imagined anything at all.

Before the last snarl was cut, Jack made sure both of them had a firm grip on the net. It would absolutely suck to go through all of that just to lose Pitch to the current again. And then they had another problem.

Jack took hold of Pitch’s arm. “You trust me, right?” he asked.

Pitch looked very much like he did not trust Jack right now. “What do you mean? What are you doing?”

Jack sighed. Why did he have to ask questions? “I’m going to get you out of the current so we don’t start all of this over again. Do you trust me?”

Pitch’s eyes widened. He looked thoroughly unconvinced. “What about you?”

“I’m a stronger swimmer,” Jack said. Then he tightened his grip on Pitch’s arm and swung him around in the water. Pitch flailed hilariously, but let him do it and that was all Jack asked for. When he let go, the force and the pull of the current tore Jack away and spun him viscously, but the net kept him anchored just as it had done to Pitch before.

When he finally got another glimpse of Pitch, it was to see Jamie holding him back by the shoulders. The idiot had honestly turned around and tried to get back to him.

Thank the universe for Jamie.

Jack held the knife between his teeth and gripped the net with both hands. All he had to do was make it far enough out that the pull wasn’t stronger than him. That… should be easy, right?

Right.

Jack took a hard breath through his nose, then went for it. He swung on the net as far as physics would allow, then pushed hard with his tail and both arms to escape the drag of water trying to keep him in. He could feel the water he pushed against with his hands, but he could also feel the water slipping backwards over his shoulders and sides as the current slowly won.

Jack pushed harder, swam faster, felt himself beginning to thrash as he realized it wasn’t working. The current was going to take him and throw him out who knows where else? He had some food, but Jamie and Pitch didn’t and what if the current never let him go at all?

Then a hand grabbed his and Jack looked up to see Jamie, strained and panicked, reaching out for him into the turbulent water. Jack’s expression probably looked much the same, but some of the anxiety smoothed out when the two of them began to move, this time steadily away from the current that wanted to claim him.

Jack didn’t understand, but he didn’t care. He clung to Jamie’s wrists and didn’t look away until finally the pull began to loosen its grip and Jack could breathe again. Then he noticed the massive black tail swishing back and forth in the water behind Jamie. Pitch?

Jack blinked, startled, and accepted it without fuss when Jamie suddenly shot backward and Jack was flung bodily into a circle of four arms and two tails that seemed ready to crush him before they would let go.

It was Pitch. Pitch had pulled them out. Pitch had been tugging on Jamie’s tail and Jack was really going to have to treat Jamie to something nice because that probably hurt like hell but first, Jack was going to have to kiss Pitch senseless for saving him. Nevermind that Jack had saved Pitch first. Pitch could kiss Jack senseless, too. It was only fair.

Jack wormed one arm around each of them and held on. They were safe. They were finally safe, all three of them, and now they just had to get home. Jack’s eyes were burning and when he looked up, Jamie and Pitch’s were red-rimmed, too.

Yeah, okay. That was scary. Jack could admit that whole thing had been scary. He would do it again in a heartbeat, but… He was glad he wouldn’t have to.

Jamie finally loosened his hold and gave Jack some water. Jack, who immediately turned and smothered himself in Pitch’s chest because it had been more than twenty-four hours since Jack last laid eyes on him and the idiot had nearly gotten himself killed by accidentally getting swept up in a current that he had no business being that close to in the first place.

Pitch pressed his face into Jack’s hair and wrapped around him the way Jack liked, the way that made Jack feel safe. It was stupid, because obviously Pitch was a danger magnet, but the man had also proven himself to be strong and capable not two minutes ago, so Jack would take it.

“I love you so much,” Jack whispered into the water. “Don’t ever do that again.”

“I won’t, Jewelfish.” Pitch said against the shell of Jack’s ear. “Never again.”

Jack pressed his face up against Pitch’s throat. “I’m serious, Pitch. I was so worried. I thought I lost you. I thought I was going to have to—”

Pitch pressed two fingers against Jack’s lips to quiet him, then leaned just far enough away to meet his eyes. “I swear, Jack. I will be more careful. I will never do this again.”

Jack stared deep into Pitch’s gaze, judging for himself whether Pitch really meant that or not. Pitch held Jack’s stare, steady and calm. Calm, after all of that. How? But he was. Calm and sure, and Jack slowly started to believe him.

With a nip at Pitch’s fingers, Jack gave in. “Alright, Cuddlefish. Take me home.”

Pitch smiled and swam pointedly away from the current that started all of this. “Anything you wish, Nibblefish. Thank you for coming to find me.”

Suddenly Jamie was on Jack’s other side again, and his solid warmth was very much appreciated. “There was no way we wouldn’t. Seriously,” Jamie said, wide eyes fixed on Pitch. “I don’t think you really know. There was no other option. Jack was coming to find you. I only came to make sure Jack didn’t die in the process and, as it turns out, good thing I did!”

Pitch’s smile, adoring when it was aimed at Jack, shifted into a sort of baffled amusement. Jamie had that effect on people. “Thank you. Jack is very lucky to have a friend like you.”

“Yeah,” Jack agreed. He wrapped his arm around Jamie and squeezed. “I know.”

Jamie grinned and hugged him back. “Good thing. Because I am not looking forward to the hours it’s going to take to get back and watching you two be disgustingly sweet and all over each other the whole way.”

Jack bit his lip to keep from laughing.

“I’m going to see you home safe,” Jamie continued, “but as soon as we are, I am clearing out, because I know exactly what you two are going to get up to and I want no part in that.”

Pitch’s face was equal parts embarrassed and scandalized, and Jack couldn’t keep the laughter inside anymore.

Jack was incredibly lucky. He had an adoring fiancé who would give him anything, an amazing best friend who would do, for him, anything, and a future that didn’t scare him anymore.

Also, Jamie was one hundred percent right.

Jack couldn’t wait to get home.