#pls somebody agree with me i need the approval

[mountain-mickey]

unpopular opinion maybe but i want crowley and aziraphale to get outwardly mad at each other. like they're pissed now but it's all passive aggression and snarky comments. i want these bitches to scream at each other and be so incredibly honest and direct about their feelings just so they will finally communicate.

[all-my-love-for-harry]

Delicate. — Part 1.

word count: 2.6k

a/n: Here we are fam, i gotta be honest with y’all, this is heavily inspired in the fact that i watched Miss Americana twice this month, what resulted in me going through my taylor swfit phase again. Pls bare with me, i haven’t written anything like this before.

catch up here!

They said artists become what they are because deep down they are as insecure if not more than normal people. Because they craved constant validation in what they do. 

At least it was the case for Y/n. 

A girl who has built an entire system around being accepted by the public, someone who their major source of happiness is provided by strangers all around the world. When you are living from the approval of strangers and that is where you drive all your joy and fulfillment, one bad thing can cause everything to go down. Y/n has spent her whole life trying to please the world so they would like her, so what she has achieved over the years would last. 

When the world turned their back on her, Y/n had no choice but to disappear, because she thought that was what everyone wanted. Even then, she made her choices around what she thought would make them happy.

Y/n knew she could not hide forever, but for now, it was a necessary evil she had to take. Deciding to take a break from everything was the healthiest decision she has ever made, shutting down her social media, getting out of the city and going back home with her family was exactly what she needed. 

"Mom was sad she couldn't pick you up from the airport."

Seventeen-year-old Jensen, whose driving license was still new and fresh, was the one who picked Y/n up when her flight landed. In complete honesty, she did not like using a private plane, but she could not risk someone seeing where she was going. Jensen was good at driving, well, he has not crashed into a tree yet, so they were safe. 

"She would've brought Chase and scare Pandora and Lizzie." 

Jensen chuckled. "She's obsessed with him. I haven't started college yet and she's already thinking about turning my room into Chase's." 

Her parents’ house was a gated property away from others since it was safer that way. Y/n would not stay there the whole time since she had her own apartment a little closer to town. Her luggage, as well as her cats, were picked up separately and taken to her home, she would go there after lunch with her family. Jensen parked next to a black range rover that belonged to their dad, meaning both of their parents were home. 

Y/n threw her backpack over her shoulder as she stepped out of the car, eager to finally reunite with her family, especially her mother. She is in desperate need of a tight hug, a mug of hot chocolate and a shoulder to cry on. Y/n did not realize how mentally drained she was until she saw her mother open the front door. 

"My baby!" Louise exclaimed, embracing her daughter in a tight hug. "How was the flight?" 

"It was fine. I'm starving though." 

They walked into the living room and Louise closed the door behind them. Y/n dropped her backpack on one of the couches and sighed in relief. “Where’s dad?” Jensen went straight to the kitchen and opened the fridge.

“Get the white wine.” Y/n told him.

“It’s too early to drink that.” Louise took the bottle from Jensen’s hands and put it back in the fridge. “Dad’s outside. We bought some roses that will look beautiful by the pool.”

“You’re buying a lot of plants lately.” Y/n pointed a big vase full of daisies, her mom’s favorites, on the kitchen’s island. 

“I like supporting local business.” She shrugged.

“That and she’s obsessed with the owner of the flower shop.” Jensen chuckled, cracking open a water bottle. 

“Hey! That’s not true.” 

“Mom, you there like… every day. Who needs new flowers every day?”

“Shush.” The elder woman faked offense then gigged. “Handsome young man, he is. I’ll take you tomorrow.” She turned to Y/n. 

“Oh, no, mom. I’m going to lock myself in my apartment and try to write.” She said, making Louise scoff. “I’m serious!”

“I know you are. But living like a hermit is not going to do you any good.”

“I agree, sis.” 

Y/n rolled her eyes, knowing they were right as always but did not want to admit it. The truth was, she wanted to write some songs, so badly, but could not find the right words. She was hoping to get some peace and quiet to get her ideas and emotions in order again. Before any of them could say anything else, David entered the kitchen while taking off his gardening gloves and smiled widely when he spotted Y/n.

“And who do we have here?”

“Hi, dad.” Y/n smiled at him brightly before wrapping her arms around her dad, who hugged her back just as tight. 

“Good to have you home, darling.” 

The family of four sat on the kitchen island and started to catch up. Jensen talked about his different college options and how he was considering getting a summer job this year. Louise kept talking about how nice the owner of this flower shop was, making emphasis on how he was also single. Y/n didn’t know what she was trying to do, but she didn’t pay much attention either. 

Overall it was nice for Y/n to get out of her head for a little bit, and her family was always a great help for that. She knew she still had a lot to deal with, and she would probably get a call from her publicist and a lot of other people soon, but for now, she just wanted to think about anything else that wasn't the whole world hating on her. 

"How are you doing, Y/n? Be honest." Her mom asked after they stayed alone in the kitchen.

"Been better." She sighed. "I don't want to think about it, mom."

"You have to talk to someone, sweetie. I know your team cares for you and is trying to handle the situation, but you can still talk to me."

"I know, thank you. I'm just trying to figure it what I'm going to do."

Louise sighed. "You sure you don't want to stay here? You have your room and everything."

"Thanks for the offer, mom. But I sort of want to be on my own." She said. "But I'll come for lunch every day, I promise."

Although Louise wasn't convinced by her daughter's words, she chose to not push it. She knew Y/n had her own ways to express her feelings, and she'd talk whenever she felt like it. So she let her go, making her promise she'd come to visit soon.

"Do you need a ride? I'm going to town anyway." Jensen offered, taking the keys of his car from the little plate they kept on the table beside the front door. 

"Yes, please."

The drive to her apartment wasn't a long one, and in less than ten minutes she was opening her front door and being greeted by her two beautiful cats rubbing themselves on her legs. Y/n sighed, thinking about how much she needed to unpack now that she was here. The truth was, she didn't know for how long she'd be staying here, but she figured it'd be a long time so she packed a lot. Now she kind of regretted it because she would probably be in her pajamas all day anyway. 

After cleaning Pandora and Lizzie's sandbox, Y/n decided to grab an acoustic guitar and try to come up with some melodies. She wasn't quite sure about any lyrics yet, but it was always good to have a little something to start a song. 

She went from playing the guitar to play the piano, hoping she'd get more inspirations somewhere. But she had nothing. Not even one decent note. She was empty. 

"Don't pretend is... mhmm. Think about the... No." She groaned and slammed the palm of her hands on the keyboard, growing frustrated. Why all of a sudden she couldn't even rhyme? Maybe she needed a break, or perhaps she was tired from her flight and tomorrow she'd be able to write something.

//

Turns out her writer's block was here to stay. A week has passed since her arrival and Y/n hasn't been able to finish one single song. Everything she started ended up being erased or in the middle of her living room after the ripped the page off her journal. 

"I told you, you shouldn't hurry. Inspiration will come eventually, it always does."

"I guess. I just have nothing else to do other than play scrabble with you and write songs, or at least try to."

"Let me take out then." Louise started and Y/n shakes her head. "C'mon, let's eat somewhere or buy groceries and I'll cock at your place." Y/n looked at her mom and realized she wouldn't stop until she accepted, so Y/n offered Louise a nod. "Marvelous. There's this little café that I absolutely love. You'll love the owner."

"What is it with you and the owners of local shops?"

"They're my friends. Oh! We could drop by Blossom House. You could use some flowers around your house so it would look like somebody actually lives there."

"Stop dragging me, woman."

Louise drove them to this café called Furry Cakes, which turned out to be a cat café. Y/n obviously lost it as soon as they walked in, and nearly cried when she saw all the kittens, and absolutely shed a tear when the girl behind the register said every kitty except for one named Chaster was up for adoption. She felt like a little girl all over again when her mom told her she couldn't take every single kitty home. 

Y/n was wearing a hoodie that was twice her size, plus some big sunglasses she refused to take off, even inside of the café. She was praying she wouldn't get recognized as she knew people were dying for a picture of her, see how she was after the entire world canceled her. 

"We'll leave the car parked here, the flower shop is just around the corner." Louise pulled from Y/n's hand to make her walk faster. There weren't a lot of people on the streets and she was grateful for that, she hasn't gotten a proper walk in what felt like ages. 

They stopped outside a modern-looking building with a big, bright sign that read 'The Blossom House'. It was simple yet cute. The pair stepped in and a little bell ringed. Y/n looked around, admiring how everything looked like it was straight out of a fairytale. There were little pots hanging from the ceiling and she looked up, she saw the ceiling was pure glass, which made the whole place brighter. Flowers weren't really her thing as she could barely keep them alive, but seeing this amount of flowers all in the same place... made her somewhat happy and warm inside. 

She was so deep in thought she didn't even realize her mom left her and was nowhere to be found. It doesn't look like it from outside, but the shop was actually big and very spacious. It was also empty right now, not even an employee was around, so she decided to have a look on her own. It looked like they had all kinds of flowers in here, which made her even more excited because that meant they had-

"Azaleas? They're also my favorites." A deep voice interrupted her thoughts. She jumped on her place as she wasn't expecting it, which made the person behind her chuckle. "I didn't mean to scare you, sorry."

"It's okay..." She turned around and it was fair to say that was she saw stunned her right away.

In front of her, a gorgeous looking man was standing there with a bright smile on his face. She noticed the two dimples poking at each side of his face, making his smile even more beautiful. His emerald green eyes were the greenest eyes she has ever seen in her life, she believed. He had crinkles by his eyes due to his smile being wide. But to her, the icing of the cake was the beautiful mop of chocolate curls he had on the top of his head. She suddenly felt the insane urge to run her hands through it just to see if they were as soft as they looked. 

"Harry, darling!" Louise appeared out of nowhere and wrapped her arms around the man, who only chuckled while reciprocating the greeting.

"Hello, Louise. What's it gonna be today? Tulips? More daisies?" Oh God, he's British. Y/n thought to herself. 

"Gosh, you know me so well. I'm actually here just to look around, I see you found my daughter though." She smirked.

"I surely did. I'm Harry, nice to meet you, love." He offered her a hand for her to shake.

Y/n was a little surprised by the pet name but took his hand nonetheless. "I'm Y/n, nice to meet you too."

"I want her to get some plants for her house." Louise spoke again.

"Well, you're in the right place then." He said. "Do you want them for your garden?"

"No, uhm... I don't have one. I live in an apartment."

"Personally, my favorite to keep indoors are Begonias." Harry guided the two women to a different section of the flower shop and pointed to some pretty ones in pink color. "But I also enjoy Daylilies, although they're a little harder to maintain."

"Yeah, maybe not those then. I'm not very good at keeping plants alive."

"She killed a cactus once." Louise mentioned. 

"No way." 

"I didn't know they'd drown if I watered them more than once a week!" Y/n defended herself. 

"Amateur mistake." He joked. 

The truth was Y/n was too busy to have a garden, she was always traveling and didn't stay too long in one place so even if she tries to have one, it'd be dead by the end of the month. 

"What plants are cat friendly? I have two at home."

"Bromeliads are cat friendly, they're easy to maintain too."

They looked around for a little bit. Harry said a fun fact about every type of flower Y/n pointed out, never failing to make her laugh. The funny thing was, it didn't look like Harry knew who she was. Either he hasn't recognized her, or he didn't know about her. Which by the way, not to be a narcissist, would be highly unlikely.

She ended up taking a couple of new plants home, starting to grow excited about them. It was true, her apartment could use a little more life to it, and now she was sure her new plants would do that for her. Harry was wrapping everything for them while he stood behind the counter.

"Oh, here. This one's on the house." Harry handed her a pot with some beautiful blue Azaleas. She took them with a growing blush on her face, a blush that went deeper when their hands brushed with each other. "Try to not kill them though." He teased.

Y/n rolled her eyes as her mom chuckled behind her. "I'll report their aliveness back to you, you'll see."

"You better. Have a nice day, ladies. I'm guessing I'll see you around, Y/n?"

"Sure, I'm uh... I'm living here right now."

Harry smiled at them one last time before they exited the shop. After the door closed behind them, Louise turned to Y/n. "He likes you."

"Don't be ridiculous."

"What do you say if we invite him for dinner sometime?"

"Like, at your house?" She asked surprised.

"Yeah, why not?"

"I have to keep a low profile, mother. For all I know he could be tweeting about I just exited his shop."

"Don't let the paranoia ruin the possibility of forming new friendships... or more." Louise sent her a wink.

"Okay, that's enough."

Y/n brushed her off, trying not to think much about it. A new friendship sounded impossible at this point of her life, let alone pursuing a new relationship with someone. She had made up her mind, she was better off being alone.

[ecto-american]

DannyMay 2019 themed story, I’m not late I’m just going my own pace pls be nice to me

Ectoplasm | Broken | Glass | Theory | Community | Eavesdropping | Worldbuilding | Accident | History | Shape shift | Or Read on AO3. |

Day 28: Puppet

The process felt like it would never end. The worst part was the painful lack of results. Two hours of searching through textbooks, and they found little to work with.

Jazz had been faithfully taking notes in neat handwriting on anything possibly worth referencing. She paused only to sip coffee and occasionally ask Ohmer a question. Like her, the lawyer was focused and kept her eyes mostly glued to the pages as she applied sticky notes to relevant places.

Jack couldn't concentrate at all.

He stared at the pages, his mind skipping over words and forgetting the last paragraph. The text was so small, with many words he didn't quite understand. Jack wasn't a lawyer or a brilliant teenager. He was an ecto-biologist. None of this made sense to him. He was useless. Useless to even do a basic thing to help his son. He had retreated to the lawyer's couch to properly stretch out and to give the girls more space to spread out the books.

The office phone began to ring. Ohmer's hand shot out to answer it immediately.

"Hello, this is Elizabeth Ohmer," she greeted. A weak smile came across her face as she forced a small chuckle. "Yeah, I'm still here. Did you get my message?" She sighed and leaned back in her chair, only to immediately sit up again. "Oh? Yes, I will still be here...Please drop on by!" Jack watched the lawyer curiously. "Thank you, see you in a little bit! Mhm! Goodbye!"

She hung up, and she sighed heavily in relief.

"That was one of the other lawyers I called, his name is George Payne, who'd have more knowledge," she explained to the pair.

George Payne...George Payne...that name rang a bell…Jack knew that name...

"That's V-man's lawyer," he suddenly realized. "George Payne, from Payne and Slaughter Firms?" Ohmer nodded, and Jazz went pale.

"You know him?" she asked curiously. Jack half-shrugged.

"Mayor Masters has been a family friend for decades," he explained. "He's had Payne and Slaughter representing his company for a long time, they're the only people he really trusts to represent his businesses anymore. I've never formally met George, but I know he works closely with Vlad." Ohmer seemed surprised, but she nodded.

"George and his partner are both primarily corporate law, but I know they also have a lot of experience with other legal issues," Ohmer replied. "They're a big company these days, they can handle almost any type of legal case you have anymore."

"So is Mr. Payne coming?" Jazz finally spoke up. Ohmer nodded.

"He said that he and his partner, as well as Mr. Masters, would be here very shortly," she replied.

Excitement and relief washed over Jack. Who better would help him than the family friend? A politician, a billionaire, his best friend. Even though he knew Vlad didn't know, Jack already felt at much more ease knowing that Vlad was coming to help, somebody who had more power.

"Vlad's coming too?" Jack questioned. He glanced at Jazz, smiling warmly. Their luck was turning around, but Jazz...she looked even more distressed at this. His smile dropped in confusion.

"That's what Mr. Payne said," Ohmer told them. She stood up, stretching. "In about twenty minutes, so I think I'm gonna take a break. Get something to eat."

"Yeah, sounds good. Jazz? Wanna grab something from the cafeteria?" Jack questioned. He saw Jazz smile weakly.

"Okay," she agreed.

A knock came at the door. Instead of waiting for any reply, a man in a formal gray suit and briefcase opened the door, followed by another man that also had a gray suit and briefcase. Lastly was a familiar face.

"Vlad!" Jack breathlessly called out in relief, standing up. The billionaire paused in shock at seeing him.

"Jack?" Vlad asked curiously. "What are you doing here?"

"I admitted Phantom into the hospital," Jack explained, and he took a step to Vlad, putting a hand on his shoulder. Understandably, Vlad looked skeptical and yet curious as to Jack's claims. Jack didn't blame him. Even to Vlad, he was never subtle about his...previous interests. "Please, can I have a moment? I really need to talk to you about something."

"Not now, Jack." Vlad tried to shrug off Jack's hand, but Jack clutched his friend's upper arms tightly.

"Vlad, please, it's important," he pleaded. Vlad's face scrunched up, and he silently stared at Jack. He gave a deep sigh, and he motioned for Jack to follow him.

They stepped out into the hallway, and Vlad half-closed the door behind him. Jack had no clue where to even begin. How could he explain to his best friend why, without exposing Danny?

"Vlad, it's super important that your lawyers find a way to get Phantom into my custody."

"So what?" Vlad seemed oddly...more bored than any kind of shock at this statement. "So you can dissect him? Absolutely not. I'll let you in on a little secret, Jack." He leaned into him, and he lowered his voice a bit. "Phantom's actually my son." Jack's entire body froze in horror at what he knew immediately was a lie. He stared at Vlad, wide-eyed. "He's a bit rebellious, wanting to go against me, so this is just the perfect opportunity for me to get him home, safe and sound. So no, Jack. I'm not going to entertain the idea of putting my son in your hands like that."

"Vlad, I...I don't think you understand." Where was Jack even supposed to begin?

His friend rolled his eyes at him.

"Jack, you don't understand. This is between a father and his son, and this is also politics," Vlad told him. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to make sure my boy gets home safe and sound."

Vlad didn't wait for any reply. He left a stunned Jack standing in the hallway, going into the room and shutting the door behind him. Jack could only stare at the door, his mind going a million miles. This was just an elaborate, dedicated ploy. It had to be. Vlad was just doing what he could to protect the hero of his town. This son claim, it was only to trick the lawyer into signing him over. Vladdy didn't know, he was just doing what he thought was best. But why the lie, why? Vlad had the money and power to just take Phantom, wouldn't he? Why lie about Phantom being his son?

Jack hurriedly pulled himself together, opening the door and closing it behind him. Vlad paid no attention to his presence, though the lawyers that accompanied him gave a polite headnod. They stood off to the side. Jack could barely muster one in return as he stood with Jazz. She stood in the corner of the room, holding the book she was reading earlier to her chest as she watched on in worry. A distinct fear that stirred feelings of unease within Jack himself. Vlad was standing in front of Ohmer, who continued to stay seated at her desk as she patiently listened to Vlad.

"So, if you just release Phantom into my care," Vlad seemed to be ending a small speech when Jack finally tuned in, "I will handle all the legal fees."

"I'm so sorry, Mr. Masters, but I can't do that," Ohmer lightly frowned. Vlad seemed unfazed by this, giving an understanding nod.

"I meant after his surgery and recovery, of course," he said, and he gave a dazzling smile. One that Jack was all too familiar with. A political smile. "I want my son to be safe and sound when he returns."

"No, Mr. Masters," she replied, shaking her head. Her fingers fidgeted with a pen in her hand. "Forgive me for saying this, but this confession, this, this uh, revelation of sorts, that Phantom is your son is a bit hard for me to grasp." Vlad made a face.

"Of course he's my son," Vlad insisted. Every time Vlad claimed that, Jack felt lightheaded nausea and confusion. Ohmer raised an eyebrow at him.

"Then...why would you so publicly campaign against him during your election?" she questioned. Vlad paused, observing her for a moment.

"Do you have children, Miss Ohmer?" he asked. The lawyer nodded.

"Yeah, I actually have a daughter about Phantom's age," she replied. Vlad gave a smile.

"Then you probably understand how rebellious teenagers can be," he spoke. "We have a bit of a...complicated relationship, but as you know, you always love your children. Even when they act out in such a manner against you." Ohmer leaned back in her chair. She looked obviously skeptical of his story.

"Once Phantom is out of surgery, can he confirm that you are his father or legal guardian?" she asked. Vlad sighed with obvious fake dramatics before shaking his head.

"You will simply have to take my word for it, Miss Ohmer. I'm afraid he'll deny it. You know teenagers."

Ohmer shook her head, lightly tapping her pen on the desk.

"No, Mr. Masters," she replied. "I cannot just take your word for it, especially considering that even you will admit that he will not confirm your story. And this is on top of your very public campaigns against him. You've shot at him before. And you've revealed in interviews before that you had put that million dollar bounty on him. I don't think a judge would allow for a child to stay within a home under those conditions."

Vlad's face had been dropping with every single word she said. On some level, Jack felt relief. The billionaire glanced at his lawyers with a raised eyebrows. They simply nodded to him.

"I'll sue this hospital," he threatened. Ohmer gave an exhausted sigh. "I'll sue this damn hospital for not allowing me to see my child."

She stood up, digging through a drawer in her desk for a few moments. She took out some legal looking papers, looking towards the lawyers standing off to the side instead of Vlad.

"We can do a DNA test," she suggested, and she offered them the papers. Jack could see a flash of panic run across Vlad's face. Vlad's lawyers took the paper, glancing at each other before nodding in approval. "And if that DNA test comes back as a match, then as the biological father of Danny Phantom, Mr. Masters will be given all the legal rights of parenthood."

"I shouldn't have to take a DNA test! That's my child!" Vlad spoke loudly.

"Then take the DNA test so that we can all be legally in the clear," Ohmer told him.

Vlad's eyes darkened as he stared intently at the lawyer before him. Ohmer flinched, but she stayed standing straight.

"Let me speak in a language more people can understand then," Vlad replied. He glanced to his lawyers. They simply watched him.

He reached into his pocket, pulling out a thick wad of hundred dollar bills. Jack's eyes grew to the size of saucers upon seeing it, and even Vlad's own lawyers looked impressed. That had to be thousands of dollars right there in the palm of the billionaire's hand. A drop in the bucket for him.

Vlad offered it out to Ohmer, but she kept her eyes locked with his.

"I am Danny Phantom's legal guardian, and he will be discharged into my care. If you make this happen, consider this fifty thousand dollars right here completely yours. Under the table, cash free."

The temptation to take it was there. Jack could see it in her eyes, and she said nothing for a moment. Ohmer finally glanced down at the money, the comically huge stack of hundred dollar bills.

"No."

Vlad's face dropped in surprise, and the hand around the money clenched in anger.

"What do you mean," he asked. Jack felt goosebumps at how angry and cold his best friend's voice was sounding, and an odd feeling was beginning to fill him. "No?"

For the first time since Phantom was admitted to the hospital, Ohmer looked a bit nervous. But to her credit, she stood her ground and never looked away.

"I stand by my statement," her voice quivered slightly, but she still spoke firmly. "I'm sorry, Mr. Masters."

Vlad said nothing for a moment. He kept locked in a staring contest with the lawyer. Jack could see Jazz nervously fiddling her thumbs as she watched on in worry. He squeezed her shoulders assuringly, shooting her a smile. He kept trying to tell himself that Vlad had Phantom's best interest at heart. But Jazz's glance back to him made his stomach twist, and he knew he was only fooling himself.

"A hundred thousand," Vlad suddenly spoke. Ohmer blinked.

"Excuse me?" she asked.

"I'll have a hundred thousand dollars brought here. Right now," Vlad bargained.

Vlad studied her coldly. Jack's hands squeezed Jazz's shoulders lightly as it hit him. Vlad was scaring him. He had never seen the cheerful billionaire in this kind of light. Why would he even want Phantom that badly?

Ohmer didn't budge.

"No."

"Three hundred thousand." Vlad had not wasted a second. Ohmer's lower lip quivered in temptation.

"No."

"Five hundred thousand." Jack's heart raced hard as the prices were quickly going higher and higher. He knew Vlad had no price limit for things he truly wanted. "That daughter of yours could go to any college her heart desires. No debt. Enough left over to probably pay off your mortgage, no?"

Jack's grip on Jazz's shoulders tightened, and he only loosened when she let out a small whimper of pain. He murmured an apology as he saw Ohmer staring back at Vlad. Half a million dollars. That was so much money. A comical amount. Vlad would have to deliver that much money on a rolling cart or something.

"No."

Vlad shot her a dirty look of annoyance.

"Name a price, then."

Ohmer's eyes narrowed at him, and she glared right back at him.

"Phantom's not for sale."

Vlad huffed angrily. Jazz and Jack stayed silent as they watched the affair unfold. An uncomfortable silence filled the air. Even Vlad's lawyers shifted from foot to foot as Ohmer and Vlad stared each other down.

"Mr. Masters, I am not another political puppet that you can make dance with a bribe. If you are Phantom's father, then you should have nothing to fear by taking a DNA test," she told him. Vlad said nothing for a while, but he finally seemed to break.

"Fine."

Ohmer nodded. She reached for her phone, dialing an extension for the hospital. Somebody on the other end picked up, and Ohmer spoke sweetly into the phone, requesting a DNA test to be performed. Jack could hear her briefly explain the situation. After a brief exchange, Ohmer hung up, looking up to Vlad.

"You can go to the third floor, to Dr. Bird's office. He'll perform the swap for you, and we'll get back to you as soon as possible," Ohmer told him. Vlad continued to stare angrily at her.

He snapped his fingers, and one of the lawyers stepped forward. The lawyer pulled an envelope out of his inner jacket pocket, handing it to Vlad. Vlad handed it to Ohmer.

"Go ahead and give this to my son when he wakes up. Tell him if he knows what's good for him, that he will call me when he gets the chance." His voice was chilling, and Ohmer simply nodded. "Otherwise, tell him to have fun rotting in ghost prison."

Vlad turned on his heel, and he opened the door to the office harshly, slamming the door behind him. The lawyers followed him, opening the door but closing it more gently, both of them bidding a polite farewell to Ohmer and the Fentons.

Soon as the door closed, Ohmer picked up the phone again. Jazz returned to her seat across from Ohmer, opening the book with slightly shaky hands. Jack moved to his old spot as well.

"Hello? Dr. Bird? Yeah, I just called you. Listen, can you somehow do that swab I just told you to do, but twice?...Yeah, don't tell him about the second one...Mhm, I don't trust him either...There's just, something off about his story, ya know?...Thanks, you're the best." Ohmer hung up the phone with a deep exhale. She rubbed her face, and Jack's mind raced.

Why was Vlad so hung up on this? So reluctant to take a test, his lawyers, the everything? And his behavior, he was so...stand offish. Vlad had never talked or treated him like that before. Or, well, he kind of had, but very briefly and only in passing and rarely, but now? What? Why was Phantom so important? Why was his son so important? It's not like it'd help Vlad's campaign or anything. In fact, it'd possibly be worse if the town found out that Vlad was harboring Phantom, or if he accidentally found out that it was Jack's half ghost son.

Oh god. Oh god.

No...no...it couldn't...Vlad couldn't…

Jack felt his legs grow weak, and he made himself sit down in the seat. He made no moves to grab the book had previously been forcing himself to try and read. It made so much sense. The ecto-acne...the proto-portal...the years spent ignoring him...the hesitance to become close again…

Vlad...Vlad was also half ghost, and he had to be terrified of Jack too.

It sounded so crazy, but this entire day had been a crazy one. Why not throw a little more on top of it? His son and his best friend both being half ghost. Insane right? What are the odds? High. Very high when...a lot when you caused it. Danny and the Fenton Portal...it was too similar to Vlad with the pro-portal...

But who on Earth would Vlad be? Jack tried to picture Vlad with inverted colors, like Danny, and his mind drew a blank. Nobody came to mind. No ghost he had ever seen. He was stumped immediately. But it had to be true. It made too much sense. Jack caused his best friend and son to...become the very thing he constantly hunted, dissected, talked about and experimented on.

No wonder he wasn't that close to either, much as he wanted to be and tried. Both must be terrified of him.

"Dad? You okay?" Jazz's voice broke him of his stupor, and he locked eyes with her. Without any words exchanged, he knew that she knew what he was thinking. Her eyes shied away, and Jack's gut twisted. Jazz knew. Ohmer spared only a brief glance to them before she had returned to flipping through the book before her.

"I'm...I think I need to stretch my legs a bit more," he replied, standing up. He still felt weak, but the room felt so hot and stuffy. "Get some air."

"Do you want company?" Jazz questioned. Jack shook his head as he went to the door, grasping the knob tightly. He didn't need her to come along, to confirm his worst fears and to unintentionally assure him that he was, indeed, a horrible friend and father.

"I'll just be a few," he replied. He forced a weak smile, and he left to take a much needed walk. There was just simply too much to think about.

[thoughtfullyyoungduck]

park troubles

A/N: so I’ve never done hc’s before so I hope I’m doing this right haha. Anyways I do not see enough love for this ship so I decided to write some myself haha. So yeah please me know what you though! also If you have any requests feel free to request! Oops, this was a long note lol. Also I have no idea how to choose a good title lol. 

Summary: Stan, Bill and Richie have been dating for 3 years ( they’re in college). One day a guy from Richie’s drama class kisses him and even though Richie pushes him away he feels awful and is scared that if his boyfriends are gonna find out, they’ll leave him. 

- So though Richie, Stan and Bill go to the same college they only share one class together 

- they share English 

- Richie is a drama major, Stan is a marketing major and Bill is a literature major 

- One day there’s a new kid in Richie’s drama class 

- his name is Thomas and he has blond hair and is fairly tall. He also has a charm about him and he gets along with most kids in his class. 

- He sits next to Richie on his first day and they start talking and they get along great. 

- And Richie is happy because aside from the losers he doesn’t have that many friends. Like don’t get me wrong he is acquaintances with a lot of people but he isn’t really friends friends with somebody outside of the loser club. So this new kid constantly sitting next to him in class and making jokes with him is amazing. 

- He tells Stan and Bill about Thomas and they’re happy about it too. They just want Richie to be happy. 

- They also never get jealous. They trust each other to know that they would never cheat

- So 3 months after Richie and Thomas meet the class gets assigned an assignment which they have to work on in groups. Thomas instantly asks Richie to work with him. 

- Richie is so down and they decide to go to the park because it’s an assignment for drama and they need to practice a play.

- Stan and Bill walk with Richie to the park because school is hectic and they didn’t have much time for one another so they spend as much time together as they possible can. They wait with Richie and when Thomas comes they both kiss him and wish him good luck on the assignment. 

- They say Hi to Thomas too but he doesn’t respond outside a small hum. 

- Bill and Stan kinda frown at this but decide to shrug it off because he’s Richie’s friend and maybe he’s just having a bad day.

- The entire school kinda knows the three of them are together but it isn’t really talked about much. It’s just accepted and nobody bats an eye anymore when Richie walks down the corridor and yells ‘where’s my two boyfriends? I need kisses’ 

- they never outright said they were together to the school though and Richie didn’t really outright tell Thomas either, but he did tell him story’s about date nights and cute presents they give each other 

- Anyways back to the park 

- So now Richie and Thomas are alone and they’re working on their play and everything is fine and the work is getting along great so they decide to take a break and they go grab a drink. 

- And they’re talking again and Thomas asked when he got together with Stan and Bill 

- Richie gets all heart eyes and he get’s into a really detailed story of how they have been friends since they were preschoolers and how Stan kissed Bill and Bill told him he couldn’t just be with Stan cause he liked Richie too. 

- And Thomas just nods and when Richie is done he just says: ‘but isn’t it weird? like how can you all love each other equally? Don’t you ever feel left out cause Stan and Bill really seem to particularly like each other”. 

- Richie is taking aback by this but he chooses not to respond and goes back to the assignment. 

- He’s hurt though, but he doesn't show it. He doesn’t want to lose his friend, so he just writes it off as Thomas not really understanding the relationship. Not him being rude. Plus he knows for a fact that Bill and Stan love him equally. 

- He kinda forgets about the comment until the project is done. And he’s getting his stuff ready to leave. He is supposed to meet up with Stan and Bill at the library where they would be studying, and together they would go to quarry to hang out with the rest of the losers.

- But all of a sudden Thomas gets really close in his face 

- Richie takes a step back but Thomas just follows. This goes on until Richie can’t back up anymore because he’s pressed back against the park bench. Richie is laughing nervously. 

- ”What are you doing”? Richie asks awkwardly 

- Thomas doesn’t reply but does shuss him. 

- ‘I’m gonna show you what it feels like to have a normal relationship’ 

- and then he kisses Richie 

- For 1,5 seconds Richie does nothing because he is shocked by Thomas words and the fact that he is kissing him even though he knows Richie has two amazing boyfriends. 

- But then he’s frantically pushing him away and shouting at Thomas 

- “why the fuck would you do that? You know I love Stan and Bill”. 

- Thomas kinda smirks and for the first since IT happened 10 years again Richie feels legitimate fear and dread. 

- Thomas shrugs his shoulders and tell him that he had a bet with Bowers to kiss Richie. 

- Richie feels like crying but he doesn’t want Thomas to get the pleasure of seeing that. 

- ‘Let’s see if your boyfriends still love you after they find out about this’ 

- And Richie feels with a startle that Thomas is right, even though he pushed him away he still kissed another boy, and now he can’t stop the tears because he loves Stan and Bill so much and he can’t stand the though of losing them. 

- Thomas laughs and then comes up with an idea. 

- He puts his arm around Richie even though Richie flinches back he doesn’t relent. 

- ‘hey, it’s okay. If you do whatever I say they will never find out’ 

- Richie would never lie to his boyfriends and he feels horrible for doing it now but he just can’t see another way. 

- So he agrees 

- doing ‘whatever he asks’ consist of doing his homework and giving him lunch money and stuff 

- and Richie runs home because he can’t stand the though of hanging out with Stan or Bill or really any of the losers. 

- He forgot though that to get to his house he needs to pass Eddie’s and the two cross paths. 

- Look Bill and Stan may be his boyfriends but Eddie is still his best friend (even though Bill and Stan are a close second)

- Eddie sees Richie crying and runs over to him. He grabs Richie’s face softly and starts wiping his tears away, and he asks what’s wrong

- Richie really wants to tell him, like really really, but he’s terrified of what Eddie is going to say, how he’s gonna look at Richie (even though Eddie would love him no mather what).  

- So he shakes his head and tells Eddie that he needs to go home and that he isn’t going to the quarry that day. 

- And then he runs to his house 

- Eddie is so confused and he want to help Richie, but he figures that he should best ask Stan and Bill and see what they know. 

- When Eddie get’s to the quarry he can hear Bill’s agitated voice say: 

- ‘h-h-he didn’t e-even show u-up. He wa-as supposed to meet us at the libr-rary’

- And Eddie gets even more confused bc don’t Bill and Stan know what’s going on with Richie? 

- So he gets there and tells all their friends what happened and that he saw Richie crying and saying that he wasn’t hanging out with them. 

- Stan and Bill’s faces are enough indication that they don’t know what’s going either. 

- Stan and Bill proceed to leave straight away and go to Richie’s house, where Richie is still sobbing his heart out. 

- And Stan throws a rock to his window. 

-Richie know straight away that it’s his boyfriends because one: he knew Eddie would tell them what he saw. And two they’re the only one who throw rocks at his window. Eddie always climbs it when he want to talk and none of the other losers come to his window 

- so he stands up and walks to his window, but he makes sure he remains out of sight so they don’t see them. 

-Stan and Bill see movement so Stan goes: ‘Rich baby are you okay?’ 

- And it makes Richie cry even harder, because Stan only calls him baby when he’s trying to comfort Richie. (Bill calls him sweetheart when he’s upset) 

- but he tries to clear his throat and yells back that he’s just sick and he’ll hang out with them tomorrow. 

- But Bill and Stan don’t believe him for one second. 

- ‘pl-lease sweetheart, w-we just wan-nt to hel-l-lp’ 

- So Richie goes downstairs and opens the door. Bill and Stan are fussing over him the moment he opens the door. Running their hands all over him, asking him what’s wrong. Bill kisses his cheeks while Stan pushes them up to Richie’s room. 

- They all lay in Richie’s bed and he nearly tells his boyfriends everything but then Stan kisses his forehead and Bill runs his hand through his hair and he just can’t 

- Richie just tells them he doesn’t want to talk about it 

- and even though Bill and Stan want to push they’re already happy that Richie let them in, so they decide to drop it... for now 

- For the next two weeks Richie starts pulling away from his boyfriends even more. 

-It’s in the small stuff. Like he won’t always eat lunch with the losers anymore. In English, when they have a project they have to do in groups of two, Richie goes to someone else, even though Stan, Bill and Richie have a system. (one time Stan and bill will work together, the other time Richie and Bill) and it was supposed to be Richie and Bill’s turn

- Stan and Bill get so frustrated because it seems like the more they try to talk to Richie, the more he pulls away. It’s exhausting and they just want their cute trashmounth, clingy boyfriend back. 

-Which is another thing, he barely talks anymore. His isn’t loud anymore, always quite and he barely makes jokes anymore 

- One day about three weeks after the park incident Stan is sick of it and he decides that he is done being nice about it. 

- He is about to talk some sense into Richie. He doesn’t really tell Bill because he knows Bill won’t approve of his tactic. But he’s just at his wits end. 

- Turns out, Bill had the same idea. 

- Richie is supposed to be in drama class, but he’s been skipping that class ever since Thomas kissed him. 

- He always goes to the bleachers to smoke and calm down for a bit. 

- But this time Thomas comes to find him. 

- ‘here you are Rich, I was looking for you’. 

- Richie cringes because only his friends get to call him Rich. But he doesn’t say anything

- That pisses Thomas off though. So much so that he pushes Richie into the bleachers. 

- ‘You should consider fixing that attitude you little bitch, before I tell you precious boyfriends what happened. You wouldn’t want that to happen huh? Don’t want them to leave you because you’re such a fuck up I felt bad for you and kissed you’? 

- He raises his fist to punch Richie because Richie is so stricken with fear he doesn't say anything. 

- Before Thomas can do anything an another hand grips him tightly and pushes him back. 

- Richie looks up and promptly starts crying because Stan is there, and he missed his boyfriend so much but he also knows that there is no way Stan didn’t hear Thomas speaking so know Stan and Bill are gonna break up with him and the losers are gonna be so mad at him and he’s not gonna have anyone anymore and he can’t stand that thought..

- And then two soft hand are gripping his cheeks, Bill. Bill guides Richie’s head so Richie and him are making eye contact. 

-’breat-th Rich, come on’. 

- Richie looks behind Bill and sees Stan yelling at a scared looking Thomas. He can only hears small bits though. It feels like he’s underwater. 

- ‘how fucking dare you... You’re lucky he needs us right now, I would kill you otherwise... You come close to him ever again you’ll regret it’.

- Richie’s breathing is evening out but he squeezes his eyes shut and the tears start streaming. 

- Bill’s wiping them away though. 

- Then Stan come sit next to them and Richie’s opens his eyes. 

- Stan lifts his hand to stroke Richie’s hair but Richie thinks he’s about to get slapped because he feels like he deserves it, so he flinches. 

- Stan pulls his hand away in an instant. 

- ‘Rich baby, you know me and Billy aren’t mad right? We love you, we would never hurt you”. 

- They don’t know the full story, but both of them heard Thomas plus they saw Richie being so upset and they trust Richie with their life, so they know that whatever happened wasn’t Richie’s fault. 

- Richie just cries harder and puts his head in Stan’s neck, hiding his face there. Bill nestles him into Richie’s other side running his hand on Richie’s back, while Stan brushes his hair back.

- When they finally go home (they choose Stan’s house), Richie’s tells them everything. Both of them are furious but they wait until Richie is nestled in Stan’s bed enfolded in Stan and Bill. 

- When Richie is deep asleep Bill and Stan call the other losers and tell them what happened. 

- And if the next day Thomas’s locker is filled with balloons full of paint and his car windows are smashed in then none of the losers know what happened.

[gwoongi]

𝗇𝖾𝗆𝗈 𝖾𝗀𝗀 ♡ yoongi

𝗇𝖾𝗆𝗈 𝖾𝗀𝗀 min yoongi / reader genre: mafia + parent au, fluff words: 2907

“Good day?” you ask, pulling back from his neck with your arms still around him. Yoongi settles his hands just below your ribs and looks at you, sweetly pressing a kiss to your mouth. He doesn’t pull away too far, your hands threading in the hair above the back of his neck. “Better now.”

a/n: requested by @slowlyandrogynouskryptonite. thank you for requesting! still working on the other 2 :) if you have a request pls use my ask box + be mindful of my busy school + life schedule!  request: Can i request a scenario with Taehyung, Yoongi, Jungkook or Jimin that the boys (they are very emotional) went to he’s house to visit his wife or girlfriend and his new born child. She is so tired (because of the recently birth) and he would be so protective and be complete in love with his family! Please make that the child is sleeping in his neck or somthing.

warnings: mentions of the mafia. title inspired by the finding nemo soundtrack.

“So what? I want those files on my desk by tomorrow morning, or else you’ll be out of a job and two legs short. Do you understand me?”

He pinches the bridge of his nose, something out of a habit he picked up from his father when he was younger. Presumably something was being said on the phone that he didn’t like, something that very few men in Yoongi’s line of work could say and get away with saying. With a long overdue sigh, Yoongi lifted his arm up to the door of the car and stared at the passing scenery, at how the city smudged into flickers of light, twinkling silvers and burnt oranges, the distant burst of colour from fireworks for somebody’s birthday.

The call doesn’t last for much longer; he said what he had to and threatened who he needed to, finally tossing his phone across the leather interior of the black Audi. From the front seat, Pongo glanced in the rearview mirror and raised his eyebrows. Of course, his real name wasn’t Pongo; it was something of a safety precaution, a hidden identity because once you’re in the Fireflower Mafia of Daegu, you’re never really safe. Just like how Yoongi wasn’t the name he went by during work hours- to his members and his superiors, Min Yoongi was Agust, branded worldwide as Agust D, considering his brother in the Busan branch had adopted the awfully similar Agust B, dependant on location.

“Busy day at work, sir?” Pongo asks. He was old, aged around the eyes with cobwebbed wrinkles strung across his skin. Yoongi admired Pongo’s excessive record of hard work, never missing a day of driving him around like some rich kid, which, in theory, he was. He’d worked for it, debatably, but he was still rich. Comfortable, with a few zeros in the bank for his own pleasure and for-

“Yes,” Yoongi replies tiredly, because now that he’s safe and private in the company of Pongo, he was now Yoongi, Pongo now Jimong. “It’s alright now, though.”

Jimong makes a noise of agreement through closed and thin lips. “Couldn’t agree more, sir!”

“Any plans for this new year?” Yoongi asks conversationally. He knows that his house is coming soon, just past these dense woods and near the private estate, filled with houses he owned secretly, inhabited by people who didn’t know any better. He liked it better that way, it was easier that way. Rival gangs never came looking in unsuspecting suburbs, which is why it works.

“Oh,” Jimong replies, awfully surprised that Yoongi’s bothered to ask. “Oh, yes, sir! Me and the wife are going to the Maldives. Can you quite believe it? Saved some money between the two of us, and we’re finally getting to go. A couple bloody years late, I may add. Ha. Yourself?”

Yoongi smiles in passing, listening but also vacant in his own headspace. Any lingering worries pressing down have suddenly vanished, somehow shifted away as the car rolls up in the driveway of a house near the end of the cul de sac, not directly in the centre of the curve but a little to the right, out of the way. Inconspicuous.

“That sounds lovely,” Yoongi replies honestly with a smile to match. He likes Jimong, likes that he’s happy and getting to do things he previously couldn’t have afforded doing. “As for me...I’ll be spending it quietly. With my family.”

Jimong likes that greatly. He looks at Yoongi like he would his son, a victim of The River Dragon’s crime within Seoul where he had attended University. Behind those thick frames that made his eyes bulge like a fish, he blinked once or twice and nodded, as if approving.

“That’s the way to go,” Jimong laughed. The car pauses, halts forward slightly and Yoongi reaches to grab his phone off the seat before it slides. Before stepping out, he slides his blazer back over his arms and smiles once more at Jimong. He doesn’t expect a payment, but Yoongi always gives extra, slipping a few notes into his hands as money for the Maldives. He pulls open the car door and steps out, turning back to close it when Jimong winds down the window with a fatherly look. “Congratulations, by the way.”

Yoongi bows his head as thanks. He pulls back from the car and steps up onto the pavement and Jimong begins to drive away, the window safely back up and his flat cap twisted forwards, like a disguise, a costume for a fancy dress party. Like always, Yoongi waits until Jimong’s a bit further down the vein of the road before heading inside, taking no chances. Across the street, a neighbour smiles at Yoongi, unfazed by the bitter December wind as they stand wrapped in a cardigan, a cigarette balancing between two fingers with their head tilted up towards the stars. Yoongi acknowledges them, politely, because he can’t afford to make enemies anymore, and he steps backwards onto the grass of his front lawn and towards his front door, a sunflower yellow as promised.

Inside, it smells like humbugs, the faint smell of baby powder from the back bathroom. It’s two in the morning, the clock tells him so, and as quietly as he can muster, Yoongi kicks off his shoes and steps into slippers laid out for him. The kitchen light is still on, but nobody is up; Yoongi doesn’t like when you wait up for him. He likes to get home and unwind in his own way, pouring a mug of coffee and sitting out on the back door step, enjoying the silence that the neighbourhood provides. From where the house is, Yoongi can see the lights of the city but hear no sounds- there are no party cries, or loud sirens, or gunshots. He likes it here, with the sound of cicadas and reckless night birds, the neighbour’s hot tub bubbling with quiet laughter and clinks of wine glasses. He does just that- pours himself a coffee into an obnoxious mug with Iron Man’s face on it, and takes it out onto the back step.

The door pushes open slightly, the breeze smuggling in and blowing out a candle you must have lit before going to bed. He steps out to glance up at the back bedrooms, pleased as always by the sight of closed curtains and the golden nightlight in the room above the kitchen. Yoongi has some time to sit and drink his coffee, crack the discomfort out of his bones, for about three minutes, until a loud cry resonates through the house. Yoongi pauses for a moment, as if debating on what to do. Rising to his feet, Yoongi reaches to pull the door back and locks it when it’s closed. The coffee is too cold to drink, he must have left it to cool for too long and he tips it down the sink, running the evidence away and putting the cup on the windowsill. He hasn’t got the time to wash it up, as he steps out of the kitchen and towards the staircase.

Climbing, Yoongi yawns, feeling the tiredness falling into place like pieces of a puzzle. It was probably the warmth of the house that did it, in contrast to the December bite outside. Once he’s ascended to the top, he walks briskly down the corridor and past the master bedroom, instead heading towards the room above the kitchen, decorated with bees and flowers and a little sign made out of cardboard letters spelling “SUNHEE”. He smiles to himself and pushes the door open gently.

The room smells new, and faintly like piss and shit, the disinfectant smell of marshmallow from a candle lit above her dresser. Yoongi wants to scold the idea of a candle, but he knows it’s safe- it’s one of those candles safe for babies to smell, because he helped buy it, picked out the scent. In the crib, tangled with blankets, Min Sunhee wails for attention, her little feet smacking the air violently. Yoongi wastes no time moving to her crib and peering inside. From the bulge underneath her bum, it’s evident she’s soiled herself, like all babies do, and cried to herself out of pity.

Yoongi coos, seeing her face all squishy and cute in the crib. She looks like him, in the best way, with the round and small nose but eyes like her Mommy, rounder and attentive, almost having the nerve to look like Jeongguk or Taehyung. She fists the blanket with fury, angry that she’s pooped in her sleep! Yoongi smiles.

“Oh, little girl, what are you like, hm?” he asks, in an elevated voice reserved for babies only. You liked to tease him about that, whenever he held her in the hospital and spoke to her in pouts. “Ah, let Daddy help you out of this mess, okay? Okay, it’s okay, don’t cry, baby, it’s okay. Daddy’s here, Daddy’s got you.”

He carefully collects her from the blankets and hoists her into the air. Now that Dad’s home, she’s not crying as much, just staring at him with sniffles and wide eyes filled with tears. He wants to yell with adoration, but he knows you’re sleeping in the room next door, exhausted from work throughout the day. He respects that, and knows that it’s harder for you, especially since you only gave birth a few weeks ago. She’s just passed one month.

Yoongi holds her so that he doesn’t make the mess worse, with one hand grabbing the mat used for nappy changing and tossing it onto the floor, and it sinks flat ready for Sunhee to lie on. A part of him wants to be nervous, because as of this moment, you’ve always been on poop duty, because babies poop several times a day, he’s horrified to discover. For some strange reason, he had never thought about that, not even when you sat him down with a nervous expression and told him that you were expecting. Regardless, he does his damn best, because he’s Min Yoongi for crying out loud, and he’s not going to let a nappy get the best of him. With wipes and baby powder on the scene, Yoongi cleans around the mess, discarding the nappy and replacing it with a clean one that Sunhee gargles at, her legs kicking wildly just to get a kick out of her Dad’s frustration.

“Just a while longer, angry girl,” Yoongi huffs quietly. “You’re so fussy! I don’t know how Mom does this…”

Eventually he gets the hang of it, changing the nappy within minutes and when Sunhee is finally clean, she curls into herself cutely and kicks her feet again. Yoongi suspects that she’s happy, thanking him for cleaning her, and he picks her up to balance on his hip as he carries the nappy secured in a little bag to the dustbin outside. Sunhee likes to be carried around the house, even at night when it’s scary. She stares at Yoongi’s face the entire time, her mouth hanging open like a little Pikachu. He makes sure to lock the door, and wash his hands, and then carries his daughter back upstairs to her bedroom.

Yoongi holds her for a while, because around work and unexpected phone calls, Yoongi feels as though he doesn’t have a lot of time alone with her. She whimpers, stuffing her face into Yoongi’s neck as he rocks her slightly, his arms wrapped around her and holding her up underneath her butt. As soft as silk, Yoongi finds his voice and whispers to her, pausing when he hears the faint ambience of the Finding Nemo soundtrack playing on a little monitor next to her crib.

“Daddy missed you,” he tells her quietly, his lips to her crown. “Mm, yes he did. He did! He missed you so much. Daddy wanted to spend all day with you and Mommy, but he had to go to work.”

Sunhee, of course, says nothing. Perhaps she is sleeping, buried into his neck, most likely drooling on his Alexander McQueen blazer. Course, he can’t complain. He longs for moments like this, flickers of domesticity that he misses out on when he’s busy at work. He could tell Sunhee everything, because she can’t understand what he’s saying anyway, not just yet. But, he wants to keep her as far away from his work as he possibly can. He tried to with you, too, but one photograph proved that it was no longer possible. The gang only got a glimpse of your hair, short and blonde at the time, and since then, you had dyed it dark, grown it out, wearing your own costume for the public.

Yoongi rocks her for a little bit longer, making the most of every moment when he looks over his shoulder as arms snake around his waist. From there, he sees your face, sleepy, pushed in between his shoulder blades. He can just about make out your hair, see the baby blue stripes of your bed shirt.

“Hi, baby.”

He hears you move behind him and press a kiss on his blazer. He hums quietly, pushing back into your arms as if returning the hug. “Hi, yourself. What’you doing up? It’s late.”

“Heard her,” you reply around a yawn. “Heard you come up and get her. Got impatient, I missed you.”

“I missed you too,” Yoongi says quietly. “Is she sleeping?”

You move to look at Sunhee, humming with confirmation. “Like a rock.”

“Hm, good,” Yoongi answers, holding her for one moment longer before returning her back to her crib. He sets her down like a delicate thing, because she is delicate, and tiny and light like a bag of sugar, and gently puts the blanket over her feet, because he read somewhere that if your feet got cold then so would you. The windows are shut and the soundtrack loops once more, that strong smell of urine gone with the replacement of a cleansing spray he found on the dresser. Then he turns back to you, inviting you into a hug that you accept. With one face out his neck another is added, as you rise yourself up onto your toes to circle your arms around Yoongi’s neck. He’s warm, and smells faintly like whisky and fire. Nothing unusual, if anything better than the smell of sweat or blood.

“Good day?” you ask, pulling back from his neck with your arms still around him. Yoongi settles his hands just below your ribs and looks at you, sweetly pressing a kiss to your mouth. He doesn’t pull away too far, your hands threading in the hair above the back of his neck.

“Better now,” Yoongi admits quietly. “Come on, let’s get to bed.”

You lead the way, slowly dragging your weight to the bed and sinking down on the sheets as Yoongi b-lines to the bathroom. He looks at himself for a long moment in the mirror, rubbing at his face and brushing his teeth. Yoongi doesn’t stare for too long, he doesn’t like vanity or the way he looks after a day of work. Back inside the bedroom, you’ve settled underneath the white sheets, waiting for him to join you. He does so, after dressing slowly and when he gets into bed, you shuffle close to him, inhaling his warmth. Yoongi likes to be held, and knows you do too. It’s little luxuries like this that he thinks other people take for granted. Lately, these moments and words shared in whispers are the only moments he gets alone with you. Gradually, he learned to live life in gasps, taking what he could when he could.

“You look tired, baby. Try and get some sleep,” you murmur, kissing his chest as you cuddle into his skin. Yoongi grunts as if you’ve said something funny.

“Wanna talk to you,” he insists. “How was your day, good?”

“Mm,” you yawn. “Tell you about it in the morning. You’ll be here, won’t you?”

“Yeah. It’s my day off, I’ll get Namjoon to wear my shoes for the day,” Yoongi promises. “Can finally spend some time with you and the little one.”

A hum is breathed into his chest and he looks down, noticing that you’re not looking back at him and your eyes are closed, your cheek smushed against his cotton tee. “That’s good then.”

He thinks you’ve drifted off, as you say nothing else for a few moments. Yoongi stares intently in the darkness, making shapes out of the little dots when you stir once more.

“I love you,” you mutter. “You’re a good man.”

That’s usually what he needs at night, the reassurance that what he’s done throughout the day was worth it.

“Thank you, baby girl. I love you too.”

Finally, when you’ve drifted off in his arms and the faint sound of snores meet his eyes, Yoongi pulls you closer, as if it were even possible. It’s here that he realises what he has now, and how easy it is for him to lose it. The way he holds you tighter now isn’t out of love but instead fear, fear that one day, his bad mistakes may come back to bite him in the ass, hurting the people he loves most.

He realises what he has and how he’ll do anything and everything to prevent himself from losing it, no matter what it takes.

[somethingjustsouthofbrilliance]

Heartsick (chapter 3)

@tonystark5ever and I are back with a new chapter. Finally. Progress :D

Tagging a few folks here. If I forgot somebody, pls, let me know. 

@i-fucking-love-the-avengers @random-fandom-stuffdom @keltainen13 @giulisetta @bad-days-and-beautiful-nights @ashleymarie1684 @itsafandomaddict @konoriart @swanheart69 @almhw85

Link to chapter 1 (masterlist)

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Chapter Three

“Dr. Rhodes?”

A young voice, quiet and unsure, pulls his attention away from Stark’s retreating back, stopping short his intention to follow after the man.

He turns, frowning slightly at the skinny, curly-haired teen that stands behind him, fiddling nervously with the line of his IV pole.

“I’m… I’m… I’m Peter.  Peter Parker.”

Rhodey feels his lips twitch into a smile despite his unpleasant mood.  “Ah, yes, Mr. Parker. I had the pleasure of listening to you play just now.” He nods toward the room the teen has recently vacated. “Very impressive.” And it had been, the bit he’d heard.

His grin widens as the teen ducks his head at the praise, the tips of his ears flushing pink.  Adorable, Rhodey thinks, amused, and feels the uncomfortable sting of anger at the idea of Tony Stark doing anything that might put the kid in harm’s way. “What can I do for you?”

“I...uh….” Peter starts fidgeting with the IV pole again; throws a hesitant glance at Rhodey’s face.  “I heard your argument with Mr. Stark just now and��”

“I see.” His mood sours instantly; Tony Stark is the last thing he wants to talk about with this kid. He frowns, waiting for the boy to continue with whatever was on his mind.

“You need to get him to hire you back!”

The unexpected nature of the request and the heat of the conviction behind it bring him up short.

“What?”

“I… I mean….” Peter takes a step back, flustered, his gaze dropping back down to the floor.  “Mr. Stark, he’s… he’s a really good guy.  He… he takes care of everyone around him, but he doesn’t really… he doesn’t let others take care of him.” The kid looks up again, brown eyes intent. “And he needs to,” he insists heatedly.  “Especially now. His heart-”

“You’re defending him…” Rhodey can’t quite hide the incredulity coloring his voice.  “Even after what he’s done to you. Taking your place in line?” he adds at the puzzled expression on Peter’s face.

The teen’s expression darkens, his large brown eyes hardening in clear disapproval. “That was my decision,” he says mulishly.  “Mine and my aunt’s. We came to Ms. Potts when we found out from Tony that things were getting worse. We made her agree not to tell him, as a matter of patient confidentiality. He was never supposed to find out about it.”

“Is that so?” Somehow Rhodey had assumed that Peter and his aunt had been kept in the dark. The fact the kid knew about it almost made it worse. “And why is that?”

“Because he never would have allowed it if he knew.” Peter shakes his head, heaving out a dejected sigh before he plops tiredly onto the nearby bench. “I just wanted to help him. I wanted… and now, because it’s me, because he knows it’s me, he won’t…” The teen trails off, eyes momentarily squeezed shut; wraps his fingers around the IV pole in a white-knuckled grip.  When he looks up again, the desperate intensity of his stare nearly forces Rhodey to take a step back.  

“I wouldn’t even have a place in line if it weren’t for Mr. Stark. He is the reason I have a chance to live, Dr. Rhodes! And I… I can’t be the reason he loses his!”

And that right there? Definitely not what Rhodey was expecting to hear.  He frowns down at the earnest, wide-eyed gaze that meets his; bites his lip at the guilt-tinged despair he sees there.  

“Alright, kid.” He knows he’s already given in; doubts there’s anyone alive out there who can stay strong in the face of these imploring puppy eyes.  He just really hopes he doesn’t come to regret this later. “There’s a couple things I need to get straight, and I think you’re the one to help me.”

“What do you mean?”

“How about you tell me all about Tony Stark over a cup of hot cocoa, huh? Start with why you think you owe him your place on the organ recipient list.”

Peter watches him silently for a few moments, his expression wary. Nods, his curls flopping over his forehead. “Okay.”

***

They settle on a bench outside some ten minutes later, Peter cradling a cup of chocolate ice cream he opted for instead of hot cocoa. It’s nice and quiet out here, the air pleasant, tinged with a mild spring morning chill, and Rhodey finds himself relaxing just a bit, letting go of the angry tension he’d been carrying around since daybreak.

“Thanks Dr. Rhodes,” Peter speaks up beside him, poking hesitantly at the mound of chocolate in his cup. “Dr. Banner told me to try and beef up my calorie intake since I can’t eat much.”

“Well, I hope you enjoy it,” Rhodey responds, smiling encouragingly as the teen scoops up his first spoonful.  Urges mildly, “Whenever you’re ready, Peter.” He doesn’t want to push the boy, but time isn’t exactly a luxury he has to waste.

Peter’s expression darkens, the second spoonful dropped half-heartedly back into the cup.   “I’m… I’m not supposed to tell anyone about this. I could get in big trouble, but even worse Mr. Stark could get in big trouble. I had to sign some huge non-disclosure agreements, there were lawyers there and everything, it was crazy. If anyone ever found out I told you, then they could sue Mr. Stark and he could even go to jail.” He shoots Rhodey a slightly anxious, pleading look. “So… you… you won’t tell anyone, right Dr. Rhodes?”

“I won’t tell anyone,” Rhodey agrees, his curiosity piqued.

“No, no, I need-- you have to understand. No one can know.”

“Peter. I promise. On my word as a doctor, doctor-patient confidentiality, do no harm, Hippocratic oath. I won’t tell anyone.”

This seems finally enough to reassure Peter and he leans forward, a frown of worry on his face that speaks of a lot of fear and anxiety… more than he would expect for one so young. “Okay, well. It all happened about two years ago. The hospital was losing money, all the political stuff going on right? So they hired a consulting company to come and make it profitable again. You have to understand, there were talks of closing the doors.”

“Right,” Rhodey nods his understanding. He’s not surprised, even given the hospital’s reputation for excellent care; healthcare in general was facing a major crisis and there were systems all over the world taking the same kind of steps in order to keep their doors open.

“So the first thing they do is fire all the administrative people here,” Peter goes on, ice cream forgotten. “Let them go with severance only. I remember it a little bit because the nurses and doctors were in a huge uproar about it, it wasn’t pretty.”

“I’ll bet!”

“Well yeah. So they hire this new guy, Thaddeus Ross.”

Somehow Rhodey thinks the shudder that goes through Peter at the mention of that name has little to do with the morning chill.

“Ross… Yeah, I’ve heard of him. He did some great things for that hospital system in Orlando.”

Peter scoffs. “Wherever you heard about that, I’ll bet it didn’t mention a body count,” he counters darkly.

“No… it didn’t as a matter of fact.”

“Well, I can practically guarantee you that there was one. Because Ross doesn’t come in and fix things, he comes in and he cuts corners. First thing he did after firing the administrators was fire all the experienced nurses and techs. Forced some of the higher paid doctors into early retirement -- claimed their judgement would be called into question and their malpractice insurance would go up, that kind of thing.”

“Peter,” Rhodey cuts in, trying, rather unsuccessfully, to keep the skepticism from his voice, “even if that were true, how could you possibly know about it?”

“Because I’m one of the schmucks that almost got killed!”

“Oh…” He pulls back, stunned silent by the teen’s outburst.  Motions for him to continue.

Peter nods grudgingly, huddles in on himself.  “I was born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome and had, like, three surgeries when I was a baby and all that. I was doing good, real good, until a year ago I got bit by a spider. So like, not normally a big deal, but for me it was. I got super sick. But Dr. Banner… he’s my cardiologist, right? He found a treatment, and it seemed like a miracle because there was nothing anyone else could do. I mean… it was a miracle. Only the drug I was on was crazy expensive, like $20,000 a dose.”

Rhodey lets out a low whistle and Peter huffs angrily in response.

“I have to take it every three months for three years,” he says, nodding toward his IV bag. “Obviously, there was no way for us to afford it. Our insurance wouldn’t cover it because it’s technically not even approved by the FDA. So the hospital was writing it off. You know. They were using it as a charitable donation, which means it technically doesn’t cost them anything because they get the money back in tax credits and government payouts. Only...” Peter falters, a muscle in his jaw twitching.  “Only they weren’t making money off it.” He gives a vicious stab at his now mostly-melted ice cream before hurling the cup into the garbage can with a bit more energy than was strictly necessary.

“Right.” Rhodey can already see where this is heading, and he feels his own fingers itch with the urge to curl into fists. Money. Of course. Of-fucking course! Everything always comes back to money. It was one of the reasons why he’d gone into medicine, to do something about this kind of thing, to do surgery for the right reasons and not to make a buck.

“Yeah! Right!!” The teen slaps his hand palm down on the bench, agitated. “I mean, can you believe I had the audacity to exist and want to live and not have a disease that the hospital could benefit from? Ross came through and he eliminated most of those programs. The ones that helped people.”

“Why don’t people know about it?” Rhodey interjects. “Why wasn’t any of this on the news?”

“Oh it was.” The sharp bitterness in the teen’s voice surprises Rhodey. For as broken, small, and sick as the kid appeared, he had clearly developed quite the backbone.  “The headlines were ‘Local CEO Turns Failing Local Hospital into Model of Health Care Efficiency.’ He’s a jerk but he’s not an idiot! Dr. Banner did what he could but they were threatening his license. There were a couple of assault charges thrown around when Dr. Banner got really mad during a meeting and punched the guy. Satisfying, right? Except now he was suspended and I was getting sicker and sicker because no medicine. And this is the only pediatric cardiac hospital in three states that’s able to deal with my problems. We were looking at moving to Colorado but I was too sick and May, my aunt, had been out of work to take care of me so no money. I was…”

There’s a suspicious hitch in the teen’s voice, his breath coming a little harsh, a little fast. He shakes his head viciously, swipes irritably at his cheeks where thin trails of tears cut a path across anger-flushed skin.

“I was so tired,” he admits in a whisper, “I wished I could just die and get it over with!”

“Okay,” Rhodey exhales past the stunned horror of the teen’s admission, “okay.” Reaches out haltingly to put a soothing a hand on the kid’s trembling shoulder. “Do you… uh… do you need a break from this?”

“No.” It takes him a few moments, but Peter swallows down his emotions; manages to steady himself. “Sorry. It was just… it was hard. I hated it. I was sick and things were getting so much worse. It was hard to see these things taking their toll on May.”

Rhodey gives the boy’s shoulder one last squeeze before letting his hand fall away.  “I imagine she must have been pretty upset.”

“Upset doesn’t even begin to describe it,” Peter scoffs.  “She was furious. And she wasn’t taking it sitting down either. She was calling our legislators, trying to see about the legalities, but we weren’t having any luck. She tried to go after him directly, you know, suing him for medical malpractice. Failure to treat. Medical neglect.” He shrugs, exhaustion written into every line of his body.  

“Like I said, it got ugly.  And here I am… dying because my heart is failing, and I get sick on top of it and it’s looking like the end for me. They start talking about hospice and making me comfortable, but I’m in the ICU in the meantime…”

“What happened?” Rhodey prods cautiously, afraid to push too hard because the kid is a walking war wound and it feels like even the slightest amount of pressure could cause him to bleed out.

Peter blinks as though coming out of a trance, his expression softening, pale lips pulling into a small smile. “Tony Stark happened,” he murmurs, sounding simultaneously awed and fond. “He got admitted the same time as me, just on the adult side, and he was being monitored because he was on some weird drug that was giving him trouble, but he was not so sick as me. He bumped into May in the hallway one time, and they got to know each other a bit. They had a lot in common, you know? Going through all this. Tony, see, he wanted to help, he offered to pay for everything. And May, she was real thankful and she wanted to take him up on it, but the thing is? Ross could just turn around and do it again to some other kid and their family. May said if it happened again it was because of them not fighting so she wanted to keep pushing on.”

Rhodey shakes his head, a bit conflicted. On the one hand there’s an already familiar flare of annoyance at Tony Stark, whose answer to everything seems to be to throw money at it.  Yet on the other - it was a hell of a thing for him to offer to do for someone he had just met.

He also can’t help but admire May Parker’s bravery and tenacity. To go up against the hospital with all of its money and its fancy lawyers all on her own? That took guts.

“One night, Ross himself comes by and says he has a court order to withdraw treatment on my case.”

Lost in thought, it takes Rhodey a moment to realize that the kid is talking again, and once the actual meaning of the words registers, he feels himself grow cold all over. “What??”

“Yeah.” Peter swallows hard several times, a bitter smile twisting his lips. “See… what he’s done is… he’s accused May of child abuse. For doing all these expensive treatments and prolonging my life. He got all these doctors to say that it wasn’t in my best interest, it was causing pain and suffering. He had all these records that showed it was harming me and wouldn’t save my life in the end and he said a third party should be asked to make medical decisions on my behalf. Basically, Ross made it so the government had medical decision-making power over my course of treatment.”

Rhodey sits back, stunned silent once again. He knows there are certain laws for that kind of thing, but they are meant to protect kids from abusive parents, who use medical diagnosis to harm their kids-- Munchausen by Proxy, that kind of thing. He can’t believe anyone would do what Peter’s describing.  It’s… it’s... unconscionable!

“Ross and May get into a big fight, and May… she’s in tears, alright? I hadn’t seen her like that since my uncle died. She starts pleading with him.  Promises to back down if Ross doesn’t withdraw treatment. Says she’ll stop the lawsuits and the push to get the laws changed - drop the whole thing just… just to keep me going.” Peter grits his teeth, his breath hitching once again.  “Ross was in my room, see,” he continues, voice tight with barely controlled emotions.  “He didn’t want anyone witnessing what he was doing, and he’s right in her face, laughing at her tears. And I’m… I’m just lying there like a rag doll, useless!”  

Peter’s face screws up as if in pain, eyes squeezing shut, and Rhodey can’t help reaching for the teen once more; lays a gentle hand on his back.  Peter nods in mute thanks; breathes, slow and deep, in an attempt to calm down, in and out, in and out.

“And then Mr. Stark walks into the room, out of nowhere,” he continues, hoarse, “with like three lawyers in tow. I don’t know who called him or how he got there so fast, I don’t know any of that. He’s just there, looking like a king even in a hospital gown, you know? The lawyers, they’re talking fast, serving Ross with all kinds of notices and cease and desist orders, and there’s even…”

Peter’s voice chokes up a little, and he fists his hands around the edge of the bench, white-knuckled fingers digging in.

“There’s even a restraining order, so he has to leave us alone. He can’t say anything to May or me, not ever again. And he never… he never does. Ross never has talked to us again.  And I start getting my medicine. Because of how sick I got without the medicine, I was moved way up on the list, but then thanks to Mr. Stark, I’m okay now. I’m good to wait. It’s actually good for me to wait, to get stronger, let this medicine heal my body.”

He turns, his gaze boring into Rhodey, intent, pleading.  “But Mr. Stark, he… Dr. Rhodes, he can’t wait anymore. He passes the rope again, he, maybe, won’t be around when a chance comes back up again. That’s why… that’s why we went to Ms. Potts about giving him my spot.”

Rhodey nods grimly, digesting that information.  “What about Dr. Hammer?” he wants to know.  “He did the surgery on Mr. Stark, didn’t he? How did that--”

He trails off, taken aback by the abrupt shift in the teen’s expression.  Peter’s whole face darkens, lips twisting into an ugly, bitter grimace.

“Hammer’s a hack,” he spits out with such venom that it leaves Rhodey gaping at him in frank surprise.  “He botched that surgery.  On purpose probably, too, I’m willing to bet!”

“Come on, Peter��” Rhodey shakes his head in disbelief, because an accusation like that? It’s utterly ridiculous!

“Ross threatened Mr. Stark, did I tell you that?” the teen cuts in as though Rhodey hasn’t spoken.  “When they were arguing in my room, when Mr. Stark told him to get out? Just before he left, he pinned Mr. Stark against the wall and he told him, told him Mr. Stark would regret doing this.  And you know what the last thing he did before leaving the hospital for good?”

“He assigned Dr. Hammer to do the surgery,” Rhodey guesses, feeling a horrible numbness spread forth within his chest. “But… why?”

“Hammer’s a butcher,” Peter sneers, voice dark with resentment, “everyone knows that.  He only ever got to be a surgeon thanks to his daddy’s money and Ross’s influence.  He never should have… he never should have gone anywhere near Mr. Stark.”

“He… I heard the nurses talk after. Hammer ignored the warning on Mr. Stark’s chart; gave him a drug that should never have been combined with the medicine Mr. Stark was taking.  Nearly killed him right on the operating table. It’s what… it’s what’s killing him now!”

The teen grits his teeth; drops his gaze to where his hands are clasped impossibly tight in his lap.  “I visited him the day after his surgery.  He looked… he…  I’ve never seen him look so bad.  Like… like death.  And he was in pain.  He was trying to hide it, but I could tell.”  He looks up again, his face twisting in anguish.  “He’s dying, Dr. Rhodes. And there’s no one who can help him but you.  Miss Potts, she told me, she said you’re the best in the field.  That’s why I told her to take my spot, so you could… so you could save him. And then I hear he fired you, Dr. Rhodes, and I don’t… I don’t know what to do.”

He looks at Rhodey with such raw, open worry that Rhodey wonders if he’s ever felt worse in his entire life, as if he’d kicked a puppy or pulled the wings off a butterfly. Killed a mockingbird, all that. Guilt and shame spread through his chest with hot prickles, as well as a burgeoning fear that he’d done something irrevocably foolish. He’d just thrown away the one chance he had to save someone… someone who is, despite what he’s been initially led to believe, utterly worth saving.

At the same time, he’s not sure how much he can rely on the opinion of a child, much less one so obviously emotionally compromised. There’s a chance that Stark had manipulated him, he hates to think it but it is a fact. People do... desperate things when they are desperate.

But Peter seems so damned earnest.

“Peter. I… I didn’t know any of that,” he manages finally -- as close to “I’m sorry” as he can get.

Peter nods gravely, brown eyes boring into Rhodey’s, dark, urgent. “I know, sir. I know. But… the thing is. Now you do. So what are you going to do about it?”

***

He doesn’t mean to eavesdrop, he really doesn’t.  He went looking for Pepper after he dropped the Parker kid back in his room, and he will honestly blame his conversation with the teen - the conversation that left him so thoroughly shaken and off his game that he doesn’t become aware of his surroundings until he nearly collides with a group of interns that huddle in an oddly conspiratorial-looking clique in the middle of the hallway in front of Pepper’s office. It is only then that he snaps back to the here and now.  It is only then that he becomes aware of the raised voices coming from behind the closed office door, and of the awkward glances the interns are throwing each other as they wait for Rhodey’s reaction.

“I refuse to allow it, Tony!” Pepper’s voice rages from behind closed doors, and Rhodey can see through the haphazardly open blinds as she paces angrily in her spacious office.  “I can have you blue slipped!”

“A psychiatric hold, really?” Stark sounds peeved, his temper from earlier having escalated even further. “Don’t think I won’t sue you if you pull that crap, Potts! My lawyers are faster and smarter than your corporate lackeys. I’m not your hostage or your science experiment and you agreed, you agreed! I say when I’m done. And I’m done!”

“Well I take it back! You can’t do this! I won’t let you!”

Pepper is shouting now, her voice - a heart-rending mix of anger and despair, and Rhodey doesn’t even have to pretend not to overhear them now. Everyone in the vicinity can hear their argument, and the interns once again begin talking in low voices to each other, flicking awkward glances in the direction of the office.

Rhodey has had enough.  Calling on his most authoritative tone, he shoos the interns back to work.  Waits a few beats as he watches them disperse, chastised, and then marches determinedly toward the office, trying his best to ignore the angry rise of Stark’s voice.

His ears register an abrupt, almost choked-off cessation of Stark’s response just as his fingers curl around the door handle, followed by a clatter of office supplies being knocked off the desk and a heavy thud of a body hitting the ground. Alarmed now, he yanks open the door and freezes, just out of their line of sight, struck momentarily dumb by the scene that opens before him.

Stark sits on the floor, slumped gracelessly against the desk, his legs splayed out before him. His eyes are closed, ashen face pinched in pain, his trembling left hand tugging unsuccessfully at something inside the pocket of his pajama pants.  

Pepper is kneeling before him, wide-eyed and almost as alarmingly pale as Stark himself, one hand resting on his rapidly heaving chest, the other gently pushing Stark’s hand out of the way to take out what the former has been so desperately trying to reach.

A bottle of pills.

Odd, Rhodey thinks, squinting as he tries to make out the label.  Because he doesn’t remember seeing any mention of any specific pills in Stark’s chart.  And yet...

“How many of these did you take? Tony? How many?” The undeniable urgency in Pepper’s voice cuts off his train of thought, and Rhodey notes the undisguised worry on his boss’s face.

“Three,” Stark huffs out, barely audible, eyes still stubbornly closed.

Pepper pulls back, lips pressed together into a thin white line, the bottle clasped tight within her trembling fingers.

“You know that's not safe,” she says finally, sounding like she’s pleading with Stark.  “You know they're just supposed to give you time. They’re not a cure! Tony, these damage your heart if you take them too often, you know this! You know--”

“Yeah,” he cuts her off abruptly, pain-glazed brown eyes sliding open to stare back at her with tired defiance. “Yeah, I do know Pepper. I’m the one who helped develop the damn things. Mixing Palladium and Epinephrine, not in the usual bag of tricks. So yeah. I know.”  He nods weakly to the bottle almost completely hidden within her crushing grip.  “I need one now, though.  Please.”

She watches him a heartbeat longer; sucks in a quick, shuddered breath.  “Okay,” she concedes finally, carefully jiggling one out into her hand. “Okay, Tony, you win.”

Dejectedly she hands the pill over to him; stretches to get a bottle of water from her desk, while he pops the pill into his mouth.  Reaches out to support him as he drinks, washing down the pill. It takes another few minutes before he nods to her, shifting as though to get up, and she helps pull him to standing, careful, anxious, her hands lingering on his shoulder, as if unable or unwilling to let go.

“Please, Tony, please promise me you won’t take any more of these today,” she pleads, and there’s an uncharacteristically vulnerable note in her voice, one Rhodey has never heard before. “Just… just give me some time, I’ll sort this out somehow--”

Stark smiles in response, weary and almost apologetic.  Leans in to place a soft kiss on her cheek.  

“Okay. Time. Sure,” he agrees placatingly. “All I got is time, Pep, you can take all of it you need to.”

The words sound wrong somehow, coming out of his mouth, like their meaning is different, like Stark is saying goodbye. And Pepper must sense the same thing, for Rhodey sees her open her mouth in protest…

Stark shakes his head, presses a gentle finger against her lips, silencing her.  “We both knew it was a long shot, Pep. Part of the journey is the end, all that; I've been on borrowed time, I'm not about to borrow any of Peter's. We knew this doctor was a hail mary and it didn't work out. Let me leave, Pep. Okay? Just for a little bit.  I'll see you soon.”

Rhodey doesn’t stay to hear her response.  Steps back outside, letting the door close softly behind him.  Mere moments later the door creaks open again, and Stark walks out, shuffling slowly toward the elevators.  Rhodey watches him go, wondering briefly if he should go after him and stop him.  But there are things about him he still feels he needs to know, needs to understand.  So after a moment of hesitation he turns on his heel and pushes his way back into Pepper’s office before he can change his mind once more.

***

He finds Pepper seated back at her desk, face buried in her hands, shoulders trembling ever so slightly.  It’s an uncomfortable sight, to be sure, and he has half a mind to tuck tail and run, but she raises her head just then, a pair of tear-filled blue eyes pinning him firmly in place.

“Dr. Rhodes.” She straightens out, a professional mask slamming back into place.  “What can I do for you?”

And he flinches despite himself.  Because this is Pepper.  He’s known her for years, been a close colleague of hers for years.  And he has been “Jim” or “Rhodey” to her for nearly as long.  But the look in her eyes now is cold as ice - the same look he’s seen her level at those who dared cross her, and he finds it frankly terrifying to be on the receiving end of it.

Though, to be fair, he supposes he deserves it.

“I… I formed an opinion about a man based on the word of someone I don’t respect as a surgeon and barely tolerate as a human being,” he begins carefully, stepping closer to her desk, gauging her reaction.  “What I have seen until recently seemed to have confirmed that opinion for me.  And yet…”

“And yet?” Pepper prods, blue eyes narrowing in silent warning.

“I can’t help feeling that I’ve missed something,” he admits.  “A couple people pointed out to me that maybe I was wrong in my initial assessment.  That… that I should get a second opinion.”

He takes a deep breath, trying his best not to fidget under her steely glare.  Squares his jaw in quiet resolution.  

“So this is me,” he finishes softly, spreading his arms out to the sides, “asking for that second opinion.”

TBC

[ruinmylifc]

[ MUSE 32 ] ●● is that EWAN MCGREGOR? no, that’s just james huntzberger, the 49 year old cismale who is an 𝐒𝐄𝐍𝐈𝐎𝐑 𝐀𝐂𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐀𝐆𝐄𝐑. some say they’re decadent & stubborn, but their family and friends will swear they’re dauntless & gregarious. when i think of them, i think of late night meetings, royal etiquette, destroyed crowns, silk sheets, screaming matches, family first attitude, breaking the rules & money in abundance. i wonder if HIS family knows that 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐅𝐀𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐘 𝐓𝐈𝐏𝐏𝐄𝐃 𝐎𝐅𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐑𝐄𝐏𝐎𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐎 𝐆𝐄𝐓 𝐇𝐈𝐌 𝐓𝐎 𝐑𝐄𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐒𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐎𝐍𝐄. ●●

presenting, his royal highness, james nicholas frederick renaldi, crown prince of genovia. beyonce vc: bow down bitches i had to do that ok, i had to go extra with that title deal with it.

so james has had a lil revamp ; i lost my mojo with him completely for a long time and was the main reason for a lot of my stress. so i’ve tweaked bits and pieces of him, changed fcs, age, occupation, yada you get the picture? sweet. pls enjoy my fresh prince. i tried to keep it short but uknow, things don’t work out how i want them too often so. ( pinterest )

FULL NAME: james nicholas frederick huntzberger ( born ‘renaldi’ ). NICKNAME: jim, jame, jay, dad, jimmy ( gen only ) . AGE: forty-nine years old. DOB: 28th december, 1969. ZODIAC SIGN: capricorn. SEXUAL ORIENTATION: bisexual. ROMANTIC ORIENTATION: biromantic. OCCUPATION: senior accounting manager at an accounting firm in boston.

GENOVIA.

james is the eldest son and only child of king harold philip alexander and queen anneliese mary renaldi, and also first in line for the throne. a normal life was not set out for him with his parent’s shoving his destiny down his throat and the genovian public watching his every move. 

with mention of his parents, they didn’t raise him, as much as they say they did. they spent most of their time during his childhood out with the public, attending to their royal duties while jim was left in the castle, on his own with the nannies and the staff. he doesn’t remember the first couple nannies he had, but when he was around 5, his nanny jasper was his everything. 

jasper taught james everything he knows, from royal etiquette, playing soccer, pulling apart and fixing things, how to read properly to discovering his love for puzzles and numbers, the art of flirting ( which came naturally ), exquisite music taste. he was more of a father to jim than his actual father was, and to this day he loves the man to death. 

as much as jasper made things fun while learning, his parents were too old fashioned and were rather mean in their teaching ways. during homeschooling, if they were home they would come in and if he was slumping over, they would dig their knee into his back and roll his shoulders back to sit him up straight. or belittling him when he’d forget which fork to use, or wouldn’t ace a test. they were strict, and expected too much from him. needless to say, they filled that emptiness inside of jim where his parent’s affection should have been with presents, so his love for luxury and indulgence came from there.

cliche, but once jim got old enough and was made/allowed to attend the private high school instead of finishing off with homeschooling, he rebelled. he would sneak out of the palace late at night and go drinking with the boys, or skip class to smoke behind the gym. making out with the girls and the guys at the lookout and being the main attraction at the parties. he obviously got a lot of attention, got everything he wanted at home and at school and he thrived. 

he’d show up to royal gala’s or public events where he needed to be the prince, not james still drunk or hungover and needless to say there were many screaming matches between him and his parents, all of which made him not want the throne even more. harold and anneliese came to think that it was just a phase that would die out after he was bored with rebellion, so they organised college in america for him. 

well, they shouldn’t have done that!

THEY FUCKED UP.

his parents thought that jim would grow bored and sharpen up by spending time away from home and in america, but they were so wrong. james was in his fucking element, partying every night, breaking into buildings for the sake of it, drink driving ( ouch ), rocking out to 80s rock, stick and poke tattoos, sleeping with whoever whenever. there was no slowing down for this prince. 

he’s slept with so many people like wow, he’s my biggest hoe and we thought troy was a hoe. wow. he got nothing on this bastard. he would use his title to get him laid a lot of the time. women and men. jim would do the deed, and the second he was finished, he clean up and leave without a word. he was a hump and dumper and if he saw them again, he would act as if he didn’t remember them ( half of the time he probably didn’t ) or would even go to the extent of ‘ugh you’re in my face go away’. nasty nasty. 

that was until he met his lovely, beautiful wife genevieve. this bih didn’t give into his charm and that was hot but frustrating so you know, he was in for a challenge and even to this day when is eve not a challenge? lmao no. but honestly, meeting and falling in love with gen was not what jim expected, but man did he fall head over heels. he is a whipped mofo and to this day, still is. gen could say jump and he wouldn’t even ask how high, he’d just do it. maybe probs asks how high atm considering the affair but that’s another story for another day!!

he knew he didn’t want to go back to genovia to learn to be king, but when eve came to him and told him he was pregnant, that was that. his parents didn’t approve of eve, and there was no way they would allow it to happen and with that, james disowned himself from the family or firm as he likes to call it now. sacrificed the throne for the love of his life and family and moved permanently to america. 

it is a decision he thinks about often, but he honestly cannot imagine his life any other way and with anyone else by his side. his family is everything to him, and he vowed he would not be like his parents. he wanted his kids to have a proper childhood while still involuntarily enforcing manners, etc and his high standards. but most importantly, he just wants his kids to be happy and healthy and will support them with whatever that may, even if he doesn’t quite agree.

moving to ashcroft was a compromise between gen and him, and tbh he loves it. a short drive to boston with a small town vibe, the only problem is, it’s a small town. everybody hears everybody hence why he keeps his old self locked away, no one knows his past other than gen. wbk gen knows everything ok they inlove kahfkasg

CONNECTIONS.

best friend ( 0/1 ): this is someone jim has known either since college, or even after he moved to ashcroft but they do not know he is a crown prince. they have bro/sis or bro/bro relationship and stick together through everything, but this can be plotted. this is also a confidant, js!

clients ( 0/x ): these this has to do with your muses finances and things like that so i’m sure we can come up with something. 

enemies ( 0/x ): one of these is the person gen had an affair with, but this can be somebody he had a disagreement with over their finances, maybe they have different opinions and tend to clash heads, or someone that he’s slept with in the past that he humped and dumped? possibilities are endless.

kids friends/kids relations ( 0/x ): there are obvs a lot of ppl that the huntz kids know or are friends with, but lets talk abt it! how do they know his kids? does jim like them? did they spend a lot of time at his house? did he have to crash their party to drag one of the three home? you tell me.

golf buddies ( 0/2-3 ): ppl that he plays golf with pls and thank u. i feel he likes his golf so lets do it, who else plays golf? go play with dear jim and he’s shout some alcohol. 

fix my car ( 0/x ): jim still likes to play around with cars and defs can do a backyard service or repair job on your car, so maybe this is someone that he does this for and they sit and chat with a drink after?

[andrustara]

Premier League Fixtures | Sky Sports

Epl schedule tomorrow - EPL Fixtures This Weekend |

If you have the Premier League then your app should be pristine video quality. They have eye money and the resources. NBC Sports gets a little lazy with the video quality because they know that no other tv network in the United States has any plans to buy the rights to click at this page the PL anytime in the near future. Can somebody please teach the idiots at NBC about what full match stats are. This happens quite often.

She never persists and changes the subject or cuts to a commercial epl schedule tomorrow. How lucky are you guys!!! Due to the virus, soccer watchers are at the mercy of network TV. Fun at first but boring.

A second sighting could be most instructive. Also, when the League starts epl schedule tomorrow, why not run the words the fans sing across the bottom of the screen. Is that a good idea. Rex Hearn, 89, Manchester City supporter since 7. Surely after all these years some enterprising fan has collected them in book form to which epl schedule tomorrow may refer. We understand! Rex Hearn. Love that we have epl schedule tomorrow start of a fixture list.

Just wondering about your source? Hi Ian, epl schedule tomorrow clubs and NBC Sports as well as other media outlets wait until tomorros is officially announced before publishing the schedules. Thanks again. It says that it is on Telemundo in the official Premier League app and I am just wanting to make sure that it is true. Sometimes the official Premier League app has informative post wrong listings. Yes, the Peacock games on Sunday will be on Gold as shedule.

Brighton-Newcastle will be on Peacock and Gold also. Replays for tojorrow matches will be available after 9 pm ET. I tried the Gold this year, but never had enough discipline to not look up the scores until 9 pm. I will not sign up for package next season. In total, Peacock Premium will present more than 1, hours of Premier League live match schedul epl schedule tomorrow programming — the most robust offering epl schedule tomorrow available in the U.

Included are full-event replays for all matches on-demand after 9 p. Here in the U. IT makes it very easy to track your wagers, post the odds, track different sportsbooks to select the best odds. Do you know if there is anything like that published in the U. I would love to subscribe to it as it would make wagering on the games less time consuming and more enjoyable.

I would imagine if there is they also might publish for the German, and other Premier level leagues. Thanks for any help you can give me.

Sky Sports picks the games for their television broadcasts, which sometimes require approval from police scheduoe games that are derbies or matches that are considered to be more dangerous requiring additional police protection for fans. The process takes time. I blame all three of them because they have cheated a huge number of Premier soccer fans from a great deal of pleasure.

A pox on all three of these selfish organizations! They took it away, now you have to pay to get it? I think you call epl schedule tomorrow extortion!? At least this Saturday and Sunday I actually will get 3 each day; unless that changes between now epl schedule tomorrow then!!! Can epl schedule tomorrow find a phone number to call Peacock for live help? I mentioned before to very wary of giving them sdhedule credit card information.

EPL Fixtures This Weekend

Rip off artists. So apparently, if epl schedule tomorrow want to watch the reigning EPL champs, you need Peacock at the moment. Maybe in November I can watch Liverpool. Epl schedule tomorrow noticed that!!! A real shame. Like I tell everyone, it was fun while it lasted! Looks like Christopher Harris was right. NBC is screwing over its cable subs a bit more this year. Chris: thanks for the link.

I caution people again to be wary of this vendor. Do you want the shock epl schedule tomorrow being wrongly charged? The hassle of dealing with an organization that hides its phone number?

Whose chat line appears inoperative? Other contact info made difficult to obtain? Even the investigator writing up the case noted difficulty reaching them. Do you have the time and disposition to deal with such problems for such a poor service? Will report outcome. Obviously it looks e;l an error occurred with otmorrow experience. Many companies make it difficult epl schedule tomorrow find their phone number.

I already pay for Peacock Premium but, unlike every other non-HBO service, it is difficult to watch Peacock outside of the home. My friend has an old Roku and a Amazon fire stick, so the app is unavailable. And she is a Comcast customer. But if you are paying for it then it should be available wherever you want to watch it.

But NBC is making it very difficult for me to share my love tomorroww the game with others. A quick update on my Peacock tribulation. Good news. Thanks to Chris H.

The sign up process was clunky, user unfriendly, and I had no confirmation that it epl schedule tomorrow thru. So I tried again but this time more cautiously opting for visit monthly, as my confidence in Peacock ebbed.

Premier League TV schedule and streaming links

Bingo… access to the Prem! I received the monthly charge, but later also got charged for the whole year for the failed sign up. My error was that, in my initial frustration to get activated, I must schesule entered my email incorrectly. So they were also charging me for that service, feeding to nobody or someone lucky! It was epl schedule tomorrow result of a harried fan being careless out of frustration, but why not install a system that would require email validation?

Looks like Peacock Premium subscribers have been screwed over?? How greedy is that? Just using it to force in new Peacock viewers!! I hope they lose the next Premier League contract. I only say this because there are many epl schedule tomorrow cutters that hope this same thing happens — but only so they can actually watch a top level match like this one via schedle stream only service like Peacock. Not as long as providers know that their traditional cable networks still draw a significant revenue stream, yet also can do so via their separate stream-only service.

EPL is most watched euro soccer league in the US and any provider will do what they can to maximize their revenue possibilities. If you epl schedule tomorrow a later model of the Roku devices with their latest software you can screen mirror to epl schedule tomorrow Roku. You then control the start and end of the game from your iPad but the video and sound comes from your TV.

I Have just bought a gen6 IPad and maybe this will do better. tomrorow pay for Peacock Premium on my old pad, how do I get to install epl schedule tomorrow on my new one without having to pay twice? Rebecca You should definitely be able to see an option to just login to Peacock app with your current profile do not sign up again epl schedule tomorrow the new iPad so helpful site to not be epl schedule tomorrow. Rebecca since Peacock allows multiple streams at the epl schedule tomorrow time your old iPad installation will not epl schedule tomorrow you from installing the app epl schedule tomorrow the Apple App store and than being charged again.

Just install the app and provide login credentials like email address and password. As far as your freezing problem is concerned it could be that your WiFi connection to the iPad is not very good. Make sure that your WiFi connection is excellent 5 bars. Other users did complain that Peacock does buffer the stream too many times to their liking.

So distinguish between buffering and freezing, epl schedule tomorrow will show a twirling circle. I always have to make sure not to connect to my Scyedule 5GHz epl schedule tomorrow as somehow that one is not as good as my 2. If I pay for the product I should be able to access the epl schedule tomorrow whenever I want to, how I want to and at a time that best suits me.

LTx In other topics here it was hotly debated what you mentioned. Several factors contributed to the lack of features in the Peacock App. There was no clear strategy how to present to the tomodrow the games as is evident by the dividing the matches between NBC, NBCSN and Peacock and than again a change in strategy by dropping games from the On-Demand Peacock streaming.

It all reeks a bit of an amateurish approach. Liverpool v. Now I am paying for less??? Makes you dizzy trying to figure it out each week. There is an error on the scheduling. On Sunday the 7th you show Wolverhampton v. Leeds and on Monday the 8th you show Leeds v. Crystal Epl schedule tomorrow. As s Leicester City fan I was miffed there was no game scheduled so went to their site and see they are epl schedule tomorrow to play Sunday v.

Otherwise keep up the good work! Man City game on Peacock will have spanish comm by the Telemundo crew epl schedule tomorrow for the first time. Life, for me, is more complicated with Peacock streaming more of the big games. Do the brave thing everyone and cancel Peacock! Then they will blog epl schedule tomorrow implement a scheeule model.

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Competition: Schedulr League. Saturday, April 10 am EDT. Free Trial. Browse Offers. Rex Hearn January 21, Vasil February 22, Dave L May 13, Jack July 2, Payasos February 23, Chris March 23, Rex Hearn August 7, I love your humor,! Rex Hearn 88, City fan since 7!! Sam May 29, Bruce Duffy February 17, I totally agree with Rex. FIX IT!!!! Echedule Eaker March 8, Tom March 15, Christopher Harris March 15, Mike August 12, Is there epl schedule tomorrow venue that allows for subscription?

Thank You. Mike Borelli. Christopher Harris August 13, Doc March 25, Azer March 26, JP March 26, Doc March 28, Burnley 0 0 West Ham United. Chelsea 0 0 Fulham. Crystal Palace 0 0 Manchester City. Everton 0 0 Aston Villa.

Manchester United 0 0 Liverpool. Newcastle United 0 0 Arsenal. Southampton 0 0 Epl schedule tomorrow City. Tottenham Hotspur 0 0 Sheffield United. West Bromwich Albion 0 0 Wolverhampton Wanderers. Arsenal 0 0 West Bromwich Albion. Aston Villa 0 0 Manchester United. Fulham 0 0 Burnley. Leeds United 0 0 Tottenham Hotspur. Leicester City 0 0 Newcastle United. Liverpool 0 0 Southampton. Manchester City 0 0 Chelsea.

Sheffield United 0 0 Crystal Palace. West Ham United 0 0 Everton. Wolverhampton Wanderers 0 0 Brighton and Hove Albion. Burnley 0 0 Leeds United. Everton 0 0 Sheffield United. Crystal Palace 0 0 Aston Villa. Manchester United 0 0 Tomorrod City. West Bromwich Albion 0 0 Liverpool. Chelsea 0 0 Arsenal. Newcastle United 0 0 Manchester City. Southampton 0 0 Fulham. Tottenham Hotspur 0 0 Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Brighton and Hove Albion 0 0 Manchester City. Burnley 0 0 Liverpool. Epk 0 0 Leicester City. Crystal Palace 0 0 Arsenal. Everton 0 0 Wolverhampton Liverpool full match highlights этом. Manchester United 0 0 Fulham. Newcastle United 0 0 Sheffield United. Southampton 0 0 Leeds United. Tottenham Hotspur 0 0 Aston Villa.