#plus would there really be a point when we’ll be sitting at home either way

[dragonotaku-justineverything]

Naruto: *Getting dragged behind Anko by the collar around his neck* 'This woman is going to be how I die!'

30 minutes later, after things have calmed down a bit

Anko: *On her knees holding an unconscious Naruto* Come oooon Nai-chan! Pleeeease?

Kurenai: Anko no! He's not just a toy or pet!

Anko: But Nai-chan! He-

Kurenai: Stop calling me Nai-chan, you only do that when you want something or are trying to be cute so I won't be mad at you.

Anko: Nai-chan pleeeease!

Kurenai: No

Anko: Nai-ch-

Kurenai: No

Anko: You don't get it! He needs us!

Kurenai: What in the Elemental Nations are you talking about!

Anko: *Starts slowly petting Naruto's hair* The villagers were throwing and yelling shit at him! They also totally wrecked his apartment! He can’t be safe there anymore!

Kurenai: H-huh, wait they wha- wait his apartment? Wouldn't it be his parent's or gaurdia-

Anko: He doesn't have anyone looking out for him. He lived there all alone. And now it's in shambles. So see! He needs someone and we can be that someone!

Kurenai: I-I- We can't Anko! We're barely much older than him ourselves!

Anko: So? We can still be there and help him out when he needs it!

Kurenai: Ankooooo...

Anko: It's not like he's a baby or someone that needs a ton of time and attention. He can take care of himself pretty well, he just needs some support now and then. And we can be the big sisters that can provide it!

Kurenai: B-big sisters!?! 0///0

Anko: Yeah! I mean I totally thought about us being mommies instead, but I don't think we're old enough for that yet. I don’t know if Naru-Chan here would be into that sort of thing either, but you never know~.

Kurenai: ANKO MITARASHI!!!

Anko: Kidding! Kidding! mostly But seriously Nai-chan, we can do this! He really needs us, and honestly  another helping hand for chores around here would be nice.

Kurenai: You’re just saying that you can be lazier with doing your chores.

Anko: …….He can also watch the place if we’re both out on missions.

Kurenai: We don’t need a house sit-

Anko: Kurenai please just-! Think about it, about why I would want to help someone that the whole village seems to be against…

Kurenai: …….

10 minutes later

Naruto: *Waking up on a sofa slowly in a daze* H-huh? What happened?

Anko: *Leans over Naruto’s head and looks down at him, smiling brightly* Good news Gaki-kun! You got yourself a new place to live and a pair of hot big sisters to take care of you~!

Naruto: *Still dazed* ….wha?

Anko: Unless you want to call us mommy that is~.

Naruto: … *starts realizing what’s going on, looks up and sees Anko’s bust hanging directly over his face. Then what she said clicked in his head* 0///0 What!?

Kurenai: *Lightly but firmly slaps the back of Anko’s head* That’s enough out of you. Sorry Naruto, she’s incorrigible sometimes. However, she was telling the truth about you having a new place to stay if you want. She told me about what happened to your old apartment.

Naruto: Oh…

Kurenai: So… is that something you’d like? Living here with us? It’s not like we’re strangers at this point.

Naruto: …

Naruto: Y-yeah. I-I think I would. I always felt really lonely at my old place. And now I can’t say I’d feel safe there.

Kurenai: Then we’d be happy to welcome you into our home.

Naruto: T-thank you. I hope I won’t be a bother to you two.

Anko: Oooooh Naru-Chan~. This means that we’ll get to see so much more of each other now~. Great news right~?

Naruto: …. U-uh… o///o

Kurenai: Anko honestly, give the boy a break.

Anko: Whaaaaat? I’m just having some fun!

Kurenai: And giving him a heart attack while you're at it…

Anko: Oh please he can take it, plus you have to agree that he’s so cute when he blushes! Oh, and by the way Naru-Chan, call me Anko-nee or big sis Anko from now on~. Or maybe even just 'big sis' if you want to make things a bit kinkier~. I’ll take care of you whenever you need me~. Ooooor want me~~~

Naruto: *Gulps at the teasing smile on Anko’s face as she said that, her eyes flashing a bit of hunger at him* 'Yup! This woman is going to be how I die!'

Anko: *Holding a leash* Can I keep him~?

Kurenai: *Reading a book* No.

Anko: But he so cute and lonely!

Kurenai put her book down and looked at her roommate with a deadpan gaze.

Kurenai: Anko…no matter how many times you bring him here. No matter how much you wined or threw a tantrum about it. My answer will remain the same. No.

Anko childishly stomped her floor of their shared apartment.

Anko: You never let me have anything! *Stomped her away to her bedroom*

Kurenai looked at Anko bedroom door before she set her eyes on her roommate obsession.

Kurenai: I am sorry for my eccentric friend behavior. Hope this doesn’t happen to you again.

Naruto: *Nonchalant* It will happen again.

Kurenai: *Tired and Resigned* I know.

[wenevergotusedtoegypt]

Hahaha I’m so stressed about Pesach

[rayshippouuchiha]

I read “[Naruto] made budgeting and math his bitch” and all I want to say, to ask, is to consider the possibility that he’s the one in charge of Team 7’s budget? Please and thank you for your time.

It takes Naruto a bit to notice it. Takes a while for all the pieces to line up just right for him to see it.

His team, as talented as they all are, are absolute shit with money.

They're up north, huddled together on the roadside just inside of Tomi, the capital city of the midsized island that makes up Gold Country, when the truth comes out.

Their mission had been long and draining and they're all looking forward to a ship back to the mainland and a stop at an Inn for a night before they start the trek back to Konoha.

The only problem with that plan is the fact that everyone is flat broke.

Everyone, that is, except for Naruto. Which the other three would know if they'd bothered to ask him instead of assuming he was just as broke as they are.

Because Naruto's wallet is basically still as fat as ever despite the length of time they've been gone and the fact that he's done his definition of splurging at the shops in Tomi. He'd put the few hours where they'd split up before meeting again to start looking for a ship back to very very good use.

Supplies were always cheaper for him outside of Konoha proper where the shopkeepers don't know him and he's actually allowed to haggle. Plus their contractor, an ancient silk merchant named Kaede, had taken enough of a liking to Naruto to put in a good word for him at the local shops.

A courtesy that she, apparently, hadn't offered to the rest of the team or maybe just one they hadn't bothered to take her up on. Naruto isn't sure which it is exactly.

But if it's the second option then Naruto's not sure what to think. He'd never turn a discount or chance to haggle down, no matter how small it is. He knows better.

"Well," Kakashi-sensei says brightly. "Looks like we'll be running to the mainland and camping until we're back home. Let that be a lesson to all of us to bring more money next time."

Sakura looks like she's on the verge of either tears or a tantrum and Sasuke looks as blank as always except for the slightly displeased curl of his mouth.

Naruto finds himself a mix of both of their reactions because what?

Bring more money? That was Kakashi-sensei's solution? Just bring more? Like what Naruto knows was in each of their wallets before they left Konoha wasn't a good six months of Naruto's regular budget?

And they've got relatively little to show for the fact that they spent it all?

How??

It's in that moment that the truth hits Naruto directly in the face.

He's the only poor person on this Team. He's the only one of them who has ever had to actually worry about money.

Sakura has parents who actually love and house her, all her mission earnings are pure profit. Kakashi-sensei is probably the shinobi version of rich with his rank and all the high-level missions he's taken. And Sasuke is absolutely the shinobi version of rich with the wealth of an entire Clan at his disposal.

When they run out of money they just ... go get more.

Naruto, with his crumbling apartment and trap-wire thin budget, lives an entirely different kind of life.

They can probably just walk right into the Konoha bank he's sure they all use, the same one Naruto's never been allowed into, and just withdraw more money.

Not Naruto. All of his money, whatever he's scrimped and saved for, has always either been on his person or hidden away in a hollowed space beneath his bed.

For a long moment, Naruto debates with himself. Considers not saying anything and just following along with Kakashi's plan.

But, well, he does have the money and they are his Team.

So ...

"I got this," Naruto huffs out as he holds up his still bulging wallet. "But we're doing it my way and you'd all better pay me back if I spend anything."

He doesn't bother to listen to their protests or whatever they might say or do. Instead he turns on his heel and stalks off towards the docks, intent on finding them a ride to the mainland that doesn't make him want to gouge his eyes out at the price.

Half an hour later finds them settled on the deck of a small fishing vessel, warm pork buns in hand, and Naruto not missing a single yen.

The hoard of shadow clones he has practically crawling over the ship ended up being payment enough for the weathered-looking woman who'd given them passage.

He ignores the way the others stare at him and focuses on eating his lunch, mind already ticking over what Inns he remembers them passing and what he could do to get them a night's stay for the lowest cost possible.

With him in the lead, they manage to make it all the way back to Fire Country without having to pay for much of anything at all. Naruto had bartered everything from his shadow clones to Kakashi-sensei kissing the back of some woman's hand to his own help modeling a kimono while waitressing in his female form at a restaurant in Blouder City for food and lodging.

He'd actually like that last job the most since Tsubame-san had not only let him keep the kimono but he'd made a small fortune in tips as well.

It's not until they stop at the Black River Inn, the last waypoint before they reach Konoha proper, that Naruto finally steps back. Much to the puzzlement of the rest of the team, he lets Kakashi-sensei step up and rent them a room instead.

Tatsuyomi, the man who runs the inn, is the brother-in-law of the woman who runs the Tree Bud in Konoha.

He knows Naruto on sight.

It's not until they're settled into their shared room that night, the others eating a hot meal from the kitchen and Naruto eating the last of meat buns the cook Akira had slipped him before Naruto left the restaurant in Boulder, that someone finally asks.

"How'd you get so good with money, Naruto?" Sakura is the one to break the ice. "Figured you'd blow it all on ramen or something by now."

"He didn't actually pay for much," Sasuke points out quietly. "And nothing full price. He traded and haggled for everything instead."

"Still," Sakura presses. "He's the only one of us who isn't broke and he managed to get us a stay in every Inn we came across on the way home. Kind of weird."

Naruto stops, stares down that the cold meat bun in his hand, eyes squinted almost closed and shoulders tight.

He forces himself to breathe, to let the tension flow off and away.

He takes a bite of his bun.

Chews.

"I've never had parents," Naruto finds himself saying.

Around him the room goes absolutely silent.

"Don't have a Clan or a guardian or anything either," Naruto's shoulders shift restlessly, nails biting into the soft flesh of the bun in his hand. "Been living off the orphan's stipend since I was four. The pay from that is ... there's never been a lot to go around. There's always bills and supplies so I had to learn to make what I had really count. Being hungry for a long time sucks you know? Never want to do that again, not after the first few times. Not unless I have to."

"Y-You get mission pay now though right?" Sakura says, voice low and eyes wide.

"Don't get the stipend anymore though, that stopped when I got my headband," Naruto shrugs again, uncomfortable in his skin for a reason he can't properly name. "And mission pay gets split so ..."

The quiet is thick around them. Sasuke is practically glaring at his bowl and Kakashi-sensei's knuckles are white around the edges of his book.

"But yeah," Naruto finally says as he pushes himself up onto his feet, half eaten bun in hand, and turns to hop up onto the windowsill, "I learned money stuff real young. Probably the only school thing I was ever really good at."

A flex of muscle has him out the window and sitting on the edge of the roof, feet dangling and conversation officially over.

The rest of the night and the journey back to Konoha proper is quiet.

The next time they go on an extended mission outside of the village it's Naruto who's in charge of any and everything even remotely money-related as soon as they pass the border.

And if their mission pay starts getting split three ways instead of four, well, Kakashi-sensei doesn't say anything so Naruto doesn't either.

[belphies-cuhm-sluht]

Can i request the Brothers with mc who is shy and likes to hide behind them when there scared.

Brothers With A Shy GN!MC (Headcanons)

Lucifer

He wanted to start taking you with him to his meetings with Lord Diavolo. You were important to him, just as Lord Diavolo was, and he liked having the two most important people in his life in the same room. Plus, having you there would help make him feel a little less stressed and way less overwhelmed by the way that Lord Diavolo acted.

Walking to the castle was one thing, his fingers slid between your own and holding your hand tightly. He could have just zapped the two of you to the castle, but he really enjoyed the calm, quiet walks he had with you. When the two of you got to the castle, he didn’t even realize at first that you were slowly inching your way further and further behind his back. Barbatos wasn’t exactly scary, he just gave off this… vibe… it was hard to put your finger on.

Once Lord Diavolo came out though, that’s when he noticed that his arm was now completely bent behind his back, as were you, and you were holding his hand so tightly, if you were any stronger you’d probably cut off the circulation in his fingers.

He held up his finger to Lord Diavolo, silently asking for a second so that he could talk to you in private, pulling you to the side and out of earshot of everyone else in the room. His smile was soft and warm as he listened to you, nodding slowly and thinking of ways that he could make this easier for you.

“If you’d like to go back to the house, I absolutely understand, dear. I wouldn’t mind keeping you on my lap though, if that would make you feel better. Whatever makes you comfortable, I’ll do it for you.”

Mammon

You were unsure whether he was capable of being shy. It would probably be strange for someone like him to feel that way. He was a model, he was in magazines, he had photoshoots lined up for the next year and a half. You never questioned whether he felt that way because he never gave you a reason to. He was outgoing, boisterous, and easily excitable.

His modeling gigs were a big thing for him, something that he wanted you to be a part of as well. Not in front of the camera obviously, well, unless you wanted to be in the pictures with him. The main reason he didn’t want you to be in the magazines with him though is because he didn’t want any other demons looking at you. Not that he’d ever have to worry about that.

He walked into the warehouse with you, the lights were bright and everything was… so much… It was a lot to take in. You didn’t know how he could possibly handle that at all, so much attention, it seemed scary. Showing you around wasn’t bad, but then he started introducing you to people and you couldn’t handle that. You slowly moved to stand behind Mammon, holding onto his shirt and trying to hide your face in his back. He turned around to look at you, kind of confused with the way you were acting. Your voice was low and timid as you explained and his eyes went soft as he started dragging you towards the exit.

“I didn’t know yer that shy, babe. I wouldn’ta pulled ya out here if I did. We’re goin’ back home, I didn’t need those pics anyway. Come on.”

Leviathan

If there was anyone as shy as you were, it was Levi. The guy hated leaving the house and being in public settings as much as you did, but when it came up that he was meeting with a couple of the demons that he played online with and he wanted you to come you almost choked on your water.

Of all the brothers, you never once expected that he’d be the one who wanted you to go out and be around people that you didn’t know at all, like, not even one little bit. You had heard him talk to these people so many times, but you didn’t know one thing about them, and now you were supposed to sit at a restaurant with like, five of them and stay the entire time? You were already slightly panicking just at the thought of it.

You were practically shaking as the both of you walked up to the restaurant, scooching further and further behind Levi until you couldn’t be seen by anyone in front of him, and hopefully by none of his friends either. He took a second to look around the restaurant, spotting his friends who all waved in his direction, and then he looked beside himself only to see that you weren’t there. Mini panic attack, but once he sees you behind him he lets out a sigh of relief, shoving his hands in his pockets while looking back and forth between you and the table full of his online friends.

He didn’t waste a minute, shaking his head to his friends before walking back out of the restaurant with you next to him instead of behind him.

“I didn’t want to be there either. We’ll order Akudonalds… marathon an anime, alright? Just the two of us. We’re never doing something like that again.”

Satan

Interacting with people was such a hassle, and he felt like he lost half of his IQ points whenever he had to even be around any other than you and certain brothers that he can actually tolerate. That’s why when Lucifer told him about some silly formal event at Lord Diavolos castle, he did everything, literally everything to try to get out of it.

Much to both of your disappointments, there was nothing either of you could do to not go. To Satan it sounded lame, and to you, it sounded absolutely awful. Having to get dressed up and be around a bunch of people, a bunch of demons who probably didn’t like you in the first place because you were a human. Nope, it sounded like a nightmare and you’d very much like to take a sick day and just not go.

The both of you walked into the castle, arm in arm. The main foyer was already packed with demons dressed in their finest, and even if they weren’t looking at you, it sure as hell felt like they were. It was hard to move behind Satan's back with the way your arms were connected, but that didn’t stop you from unhooking your arm and moving behind him anyway. You didn’t want to be looked at by anyone but him, and now he was definitely looking at you.

Explaining to him was easy, and while he obviously cared about how you felt right now, it was also a great excuse to get out of there.

“I promise, when we get back to the house, we’ll sit by the fire in the library, and I’ll read to you all the books you want me to. But first…thank you for this wonderful reason to not have to be here. Let’s go.”

Asmodeus

The two of you were polar opposites in the social department, and while most people would think that would be a problem, it was actually really nice. You balanced each other out, and he was always mindful of how you felt in social settings.

Taking walks with him wasn’t something that you could do often considering he was a high profile demon, basically celebrity status. On the very rare occasion that you could walk together down the streets of the Devildom, he and you took full advantage of it. You knew that you didn’t have a lot of time to enjoy it though, there would always be the one fan who would cause a scene, and then a mob of other demons would start running in your direction and he’d quickly have to get you home. It wasn’t all that bad, but it did become irritating and having that many people come at you at once was always a nightmare.

This walk was no different, and as soon as you saw the first demon, heard the first squeal, you shifted yourself to stand behind him, squeezing your eyes shut and waiting for it all to end. You felt his hand reach back to grab your own, comforting you as he dealt with the fans that had circled you.

He turned to you as soon as they were dispersed, smiling sweetly at you as he brushed his thumb across your cheek.

“Perhaps next time we’ll take a stroll through the garden instead. How does that sound, my love? Just the two of us, under the stars… I’ll pick your outfit and everything! We’ll both look beautiful!”

Beelzebub

Being the center of attention wasn’t a big deal to him, it neither made him happy or upset him. His ability to focus on something that was most important to him and completely ignore the world around him was a gift, one that you wished that you could obtain.

His favorite places were either being with you and Belphie, or being at the gym, and he came up with the sweetest idea that instead of having his two favorite things at two different times, why not just bring his favorite people to his favorite place?! To him it was the best idea he’s ever had, but to you it was the craziest thing you’ve ever heard. The gym? With a bunch of other demons? Demons who might look at you? Absolutely not. You were still adjusting to being with Beel in the same room as Belphie when it was movie night… and you knew the guy!

Of course, you loved Beel, so you weren’t going to turn down his offer, especially since he seemed so happy about it. It wouldn’t hurt to test the waters a little bit, try to get used to things. No harm in trying… right? Wrong. As soon as you got in, everyone in the place came up to Beel, asking him about weights and spotting and a bunch of other gym things that you couldn’t even focus on because the only thing you could hear more clearly than their words was your heart pounding in your chest.

He could see you move behind him out of the corner of his eye and he felt bad… he felt really bad. He didn’t even question you until he got you out of the gym and back to the house.

“I’m sorry, honey… I’ll have a rest day, and I’ll spend it here with you. We can have snacks and movies, or we can just… snuggle…? Would you like that?”

Belphegor

This man hated being out in public probably more than you did. Not because he was particularly shy, he just hated people that weren’t you or Beel. It was a logical reason, one that you understood, and you didn’t blame him for it. You’d much rather stay in the attic with him all day than have to actually face anyone.

His brothers had different plans for the both of you, and by his brothers, it was just Mammon who wanted to spend time with his little brother. You were all for staying home while Mams took Belphie out, but he refused to let you stay home. If he had to leave the house, so did you. Neither of you were happy about it, but Mammon seemed so excited, and Belphie found out that he didn’t have to pay for anything, so it might actually be worth it… might. He’s not banking on it.

Apparently there was a fair going through the Devildom and Mammon thought that it would be something that Belphie would like… all the noise and lights and… He actually thought it was something that Belphie would enjoy. It’s the thought that counts though, and Mammon really wanted to spend time with Belphie so you couldn’t hate the guy for trying by good god the place was packed. It was awful, and it was loud, and there were people everywhere. It was a nightmare on steroids, the only thing worse would be having to make a public speech in front of all these people.

You didn’t just hide behind Belphie’s back, you got behind him and wrapped your arms as tightly around him as you possibly could, not wanting to get swept away in the sea of people. What better way than to become a statue in the middle of the walk way? He chuckled softly, patting your hands as he called out to Mammon to tell him he was going home before turning around and walking leaving the fairgrounds.

“Don’t change. Never change… and go with me everywhere my brothers force me to go… okay? I really like having you around.”

[obsidian-chika]

Kakashi Hatake x Male Reader

Oneshot

✼ •• ┈┈┈┈๑⋅⋯ ୨˚୧ ⋯⋅๑┈┈┈┈ •• ✼

It was like any other normal day for (M/n). Waking up to and empty bed and finding a note in the kitchen. He never wanted to hold Kakashi back from his job, but his insecurities were spiraling out of control again. With the lack to time they spent together, he was scared Kakashi didn’t love him anymore. They’ve been together for about two to three years now. He was told many time by Kakashi that he is loved, but insecurities never go away, do they.?

✼ •• ┈┈┈┈๑⋅⋯ ୨˚୧ ⋯⋅๑┈┈┈┈ •• ✼

(M/n) decided to go out around the village today. Visiting shops and simply just walking around, sightseeing. It was quite a surprise when he ran into team seven during his outing. Weren’t they out on a mission with Kakashi?

“Naruto? Aren’t you Sasuke and Sakura supposed to be on a mission with Kakashi right now?”

“We’re spying on Kakashi-Sensei, believe it!”

Staring at him dumbfounded, “he’s not on duty?”

“He was spotted with a lady. Not sure who he is, but they were together,” answered Sasuke.

“It could be his girlfriend for all we know,” Sakura added.

Going silent with the new found information, (M/n) wanted to go home now. He couldn’t blame Sakura with what she said since their relationship was never brought to the public eye, only a selective few knew about it. Now he wanted to be in bed, curled up in a ball, and cry. Turning around to leave, something gripped him arm, preventing him from leaving.

Turning around to see Naruto holding his arm, “I was planning to leave, what else did you need from me, Naruto?”

“Why don’t you join us, maybe we’ll learn more about him together!”

Wanting to object Naruto’s reasoning for you to stay, but he didn’t seem to give (M/n) any other choice, and ended up dragging him to tag along with the other two.

✼ •• ┈┈┈┈๑⋅⋯ ୨˚୧ ⋯⋅๑┈┈┈┈ •• ✼

Dying sounded so much better than hearing what was being said by the two below, or to two next to him. (M/n) wasn’t really paying attention to what was going on either way, only wanting to go home and sleep his feelings away. He told the three that he would be there, but not be there at the same time. A loud noise startled him. Only to regret looking down.

Kakashi and the lady kissed. Even if was an accident all his insecurity feelings said other wise. He was starting to slightly panic. He was still in the tree while the other three fell down. The scene in front of him wasn’t a very pleasant one to the eyes.

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura were either nervously saying something or staring. To make things worse, Naruto took the flowers from Sakura pointing it in the couple’s direction.

“Congratulations!” Shouted Naruto.

Kakashi didn’t say anything but nervously smiled, while the Lady thanked them.

Watching this made (M/n) want to crawl in a hole and die. He decided to just leave before he started breaking down.

✼ •• ┈┈┈┈๑⋅⋯ ୨˚୧ ⋯⋅๑┈┈┈┈ •• ✼

Tears ran down his face as he left. Not wanting to return to their shared apartment, the training grounds was his next best place to go. He wanted to train his body to the max. Not caring if he was injured after, he went and vented everything out. Turning his compressed emotions all into anger wanting release.

Scratches and bruises decorated his body. Tired and worn out, he sat down next to one of the many trees, gazing at the sky. He felt really dizzy. Black and white spots started to fill his vision and his body gave out. Falling to the ground, he closed his eyes.

✼ •• ┈┈┈┈๑⋅⋯ ୨˚୧ ⋯⋅๑┈┈┈┈ •• ✼

It’s been almost three days now and no one has heard from you. The hokage found it odd that you didn’t visit him like you usually do, while Kakashi was panicking on where you could possibly be. There were chances you possibly died, until Kakashi remembered that you were an a hiatus from missions. That still didn’t ease his mind about your safety.

It didn’t help him when it was reported you were severally injured and hospitalized too. He took time off from missions with team seven just to constantly be by your side and take care of you. He’s very scared to lose you like he did with everyone else. You meant a lot to him, even though he had some trouble showing it.

It’s been around a week and Kakashi wasn’t feeling so great. One week without hearing anything from you. No words. No physical contact. Not even your awesome cooking. He missed it all so much. Time seemed to be passing slower for him than those around him.

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura would sometimes drop by to visit you, along with bringing over flowers. The hokage dropped by once or twice as well. A few others also came by to visit, but Kakashi wanted you to wake up so bad. Constantly sitting by you and holding your hand.

✼ •• ┈┈┈┈๑⋅⋯ ୨˚୧ ⋯⋅๑┈┈┈┈ •• ✼

Another four days passed. It was late and Kakashi was sitting by the unconscious, bedridden male. Half way through the night, there was a slight twitch in Kakashi’s hand. He brushed it off thinking but was only his imagination playing with him. That was until there was a shift in the bed and a low sound that clearly didn’t come from him.

He stared at the male who has just awoken from being out for almost two weeks. He tackled that now awake male onto the hospital bed. He was shedding tears of relief and joy, but he was also upset with the male. What on earth did he do to get like this? We’re there people Kakashi needed to hurt in order to protect him?

“What the hell happened to you, dear? You looked really bad when they fond you, and they also said you over used your chakra,” Kakashi’s face was full of worry for (M/n).

“I don’t know . . . ” was the answer given. Kakashi didn’t like that. So, he kept pushing and pestering about it knowing the male would crack, giving in, then telling the truth.

“I- It- Well-” (M/n) stammered, “my insecurities were there. I was hoping to spend note time with you soon since we haven’t really been spending too much time together. I was planning to ask you if you wanted to go out together, but you were busy and I didn’t want to hold you back.”

There was a small silence between the two males. Taking Kakashi’s silence as a sign to continue, the male did just that.

“I know I shouldn’t be doubting out relationship, but I really can’t stop myself from thinking about the worst. I got dragged by Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura because they said they saw you with some lady and it could be good for me to learn more about you’re life. See the kiss and congratulations from your team didn’t help me any better. I didn’t want to dwell more on the thoughts and decided to train. It’s probably from my old training habits I was hurt this bad. I’m really sorry.”

(M/n) couldn’t bring himself to look at Kakashi’s eyes. He felt so vulnerable and small in front of his partner. Eyes starting to tear up as well. He was looking at anything but Kakashi, while Kakashi felt really guilty. It was hard to control what people feel and events that take place, but now that he was thinking back to the past few weeks, (M/n) and him rarely had time together.

“Dear, I’m sorry I’ve been neglecting you,” Kakashi said, wiping (M/n)’s tears, “how about be spend some time together. I’ll request a small break to stay with you. Plus, those wounds won’t heal themselves, will they?”

(M/n) smiled at Kakashi’s words. Wrapping his arm tighter around the silver haired male’s waist. Kakashi leaned in, wrapping his arms around the other’s neck, bringing each other closer until their foreheads were touching. They started into each other’s eyes, slowly leaning in for a kiss.

“You’re my only one (M/n). I won’t love someone the way I love you.”

The moonlight showered both of them in its rays as they cherished the time they were spending together in each other’s arms.

✼ •• ┈┈┈┈๑⋅⋯ ୨˚୧ ⋯⋅๑┈┈┈┈ •• ✼

[andvys]

Longing (part 1)

Warnings: “enemies” to lovers type of thing, slow burn, cocky!ellie, alcohol consumption

Pairing: Ellie Williams x reader

Ellie always thought you were the prettiest girl she’s ever seen in her life, you had the most beautiful eyes, the way they would always get lighter in the sun and the way they would always light up whenever you were happy about something. She loved how you would always put your hair into a braid and would still have strands of hair fall in front your eyes, you’d always put them behind your ears only for them to get loose again and fall in front of your eyes once more. She loved how fierce and badass you are, always ready for any situation. You are one of the best fighters in Jackson despite your age. Having seen it herself when you patrolled together, you fought skillfully, making Ellie wonder about where you have learned to fight like that. Anytime something went wrong or someone would say something about hunters or a horde of infected coming Jackson’s way, you’d always be first to volunteer to go and get rid of them. The way you held yourself, Ellie was sure that you could actually get rid of a group of people before they’d even make it to the gates of Jackson. She would never underestimate you. You really were a fascinating person.

If you just weren’t such a bitch.

You were nice to everyone but to her, well except for Seth. Always getting into a fight with the older man.

You weren’t necessarily mean to Ellie but you weren’t exactly nice either, you were sarcastic and feisty with her and you loved to push her buttons but you weren’t as good at it as she was, Ellie always had the upper hand in your little banters and she teased the hell out of you, leaving you annoyed making her smirk every time. She’d also jokingly flirt with you or make dirty jokes, leaving you uncomfortable or at least that’s what Ellie thought. She just loved getting on your nerves.

Dina would always try to convince Ellie that you actually liked her and you just had a funny way of showing that. Ellie would laugh at that every time, she knew you had some sort of resentment towards her for whatever reason.

You wanted to be friends with the girl you really did but something about her annoyed the hell out of you and she made you feel weird. You constantly bickered like little kids and you seemed to have a stand off every time you were patrolling together. She just pissed you off.

“You going to the dance tonight kid?” Joel asked you. Right now you were cleaning the rifles and shotguns in the shed you kept them in. Having injured your shoulder while on patrol a few days ago you were off patrol for a few weeks. So you were assigned for keeping the weapons clean. You were annoyed at that, you had worse injuries before and still fought but Maria wouldn’t let you out, not wanting to risk your health. So here you were boring yourself to death, at least Joel came in to keep you company.

“Umm I don’t know, it’s not really my thing.” You said. Laying the rifle on the table you looked at the older man. Since he and Ellie came to Jackson he became something like a mentor to you. You respected the older man, you already learned more from him than your own father and he was there for you whenever you struggled with yourself.

“That’s what Ellie said too.” You avoided looking at him at the mention of Ellie. You thought, he assumed that you two must be friends, considering you’re in the same friend group. You didn’t even know they were talking again.

“She did?” You asked avoiding his eyes.

“Yes.” He studied your face. He was not stupid, anytime he’d bring up Ellie you got quiet and awkward same with Ellie she reacted the same way at the mention of you.

“Are you going?” You asked him, changing the topic quickly.

“Yeah and you should come too.” He said.

“We’ll see, do I get to have a drink?” You asked, giving him a hopeful smile. He never let you drink.

“Are you 21?” He asked giving you a pointed look.

“Ugh come on Joel, I’m 19 plus I’m allowed to blow up things and kill people and infected but I’m not allowed to have a drink every once in a while?” You said shaking your head.

Joel laughed at that “well maybe you can have a little.” He said.

“Finally, I wanna get drunk.”

“You’re allowed to drink but you’re not allowed to get drunk kid.” Joel said sternly.

“I’ll take what I can get.” Smiling at him. He got up and walked towards you, ruffling your hair.

“I gotta get going, I’ll see you at the dance.”

“Ugh, see ya.” You said annoyed at him for messing up your braid.

Stepping out of the little shed once you were done with your assignment you stood there enjoying the fresh air for a second after being in that shed all day.

Deep in thought you were looking down on your way home, not watching where you were going you ran into something or rather someone, almost falling down if it wasn’t the strong arms catching you by your waist, grabbing their arms you looked up at your savior only to realize that it’s Ellie still with her hands on your waist she had a cocky smirk on her face.

“Careful there (y/n), you almost fell for me.” Smirking at you.

You groaned at that, letting go of her arms you took a step back making her hands let go of your waist.

“Do you want me to escort you home? I don’t want you tripping and falling for someone else.” She said, teasing you

“No thanks Williams, now if you’ll excuse me.” You said, trying to walk past her only for her to step in front of you not letting you go yet, probably to annoy you some more.

“You going to the dance tonight?” Ellie asked. Studying your face.

“Yup.” You replied, looking down on your shoes, avoiding looking at her pretty face.

“Nice, I’ll be there as well.” Ellie said.

“I know, Joel told me.” Shit why did you just say that, you wanted to slap yourself now she knew you and Joel talked about her. Now she would think you’re interested in her, well you are but she doesn’t have to know that.

“Oh, talking about me with Joel when you could talk to me?” She teased.

“Whatever I’m gonna go now, see ya Williams.” You said, this time she stepped aside, letting you leave.

She watched you leave, deep in thought about you she didn’t notice Jesse appearing next to her, throwing an arm around her.

“Man you have it bad for our girl here.” Jesse said, smirking at her. He was aware of Ellie having some sort of feelings for you. It wasn’t hard to see that, Ellie always looked like a kicked puppy around you.

“Shut up, Jesse” Ellie said annoyed.

“She likes you too.”

“What?! No she doesn’t. I’m pretty sure she hates me.” Ellie said, looking down, she began walking away.

Jesse followed her. “She doesn’t hate you, I’ve seen how she acts around people she hates and you aren’t one of them.” He said.

“Well I- so what she likes me now?” She asked. Not believing that you could feel anything towards her but hate.

“She likes Dina and Joel or Tommy and Maria, I’m pretty sure she likes me too, I’m awesome.” Jesse smirked at the last part. “But you? I’d say there’s a little more than “like” Ellie.”

“Are you trying to tell me she has feelings for me?” Ellie laughed at that. Jesse was ridiculous and stupid if he thought you could have feelings for Ellie. Not that she didn’t wish for that but it was too good to be true.

“You know what they say about hate. Love and hate are two sides of the same coin.” Jesse confidently said.

Ellie laughed at that, “alright whatever.” She thought about that. She genuinely couldn’t see you liking her.

It was a little crowded at the dance once you got there. You usually avoided going to these things, not liking being around many people but Dina always made you come. Looking at you with her puppy eyes, you couldn’t say no to the girl.

Looking out for Dina and Jesse you weren’t able to find them. Huh she bugged you about being there on time but she herself wasn’t even here yet. Looking around you saw Ellie standing at the bar. You stared at her for a while.

Suddenly she looked your way, catching you staring at her she started smirking, rolling your eyes at her.

She waved at you to come over. You’d rather have Dina and Jesse be there as well, not trusting yourself to be around the girl without anyone around but you didn’t wanted to be alone so you walked over to her.

“Hey (y/n), if I didn’t know any better I’d say you were just checking me out from over there, that’s kinda creepy.” Ellie said with a teasing smile. Leaning against the bar.

Feeling embarrassed now you rolled your eyes.

“You wish, Williams.” You said sitting down on the bar stool next to her.

“What if I do?” She asked you, smirking.

“I- um.” Not knowing what to say you quickly changed the subject. “I need a drink.”

“I’ll get you something, wait here.” She left you alone.

“Alright, thanks I guess.”

Coming back she gave you the drink. Taking it from her hand your fingers touched for a second, avoiding her eyes you took a sip of the drink. Almost coughing at the taste, Ellie laughed at you.

“You never had whiskey did you?” She asked.

Shaking your head “you?” You asked curiously.

“Yeah.” Nodding at her words, you looked around.

Sitting in silence for a while, you watched all the couples dance. Feeling Ellie’s eyes on you the whole time. You glanced at her, noticing that her glass is empty, you figured it’d be a good opportunity to get away from her for a second.

“Should I get you a new one?” You asked her. “A drink I mean.”

“Uh sure.” She gave you her glass, you walked towards the bartender guy. Ellie had a chance to admire you from the side.

Waiting for the bartender to bring you your drinks, you saw someone heading your way from the side, turning to look who it was you saw it was Joel.

“Hey kid.” He pulled you in for a hug. He always gave the best hugs, they were always warm and safe.

“Hi Joel.” Smiling at him.

“I see you and Ellie are alone tonight.” He looked towards Ellie, who was taking a seat at one of the smaller tables, waiting for you.

“I- yeah. We are waiting for Dina and Jesse.”

“I’m afraid they’re not coming tonight. Haven’t they told you?” He asked.

“What? But I- they told us they’d be here.” You said confused. Why would they tell you come here if they weren’t even here.

“I talked to Jesse today, he said him and Dina are having a date tonight.” Joel said.

“Oh well, I didn’t know.” You laughed. Great now you it was just you and Ellie.

The bartender brought you your drinks, putting them in front of you hitting you with the smell of whiskey, you gave Joel a cheeky smile.

He put a hand on your shoulder, “drink responsibly kid, and take care of Ellie.” He said.

“Yes of course, I promise.”

“Alright, well go on and have fun.”

“Alright you too Joel, I’ll see you.” You smiled at him taking the drinks in both hands you walked over to Ellie. Setting them down on the table you sat down next to Ellie.

“Well it seems like our friends have ditched us.” You said annoyed.

“What?” Ellie furrowed her eyebrows at that.

“Yeah Joel said they have a date night.”

“Great.” Ellie suddenly felt nervous. Being alone with you would surely end bad, she was scared that she’d accidentally confess her stupid crush on you or something.

“I know we’re not friends or whatever but I feel like getting a few drinks, what about you?” You asked. Ellie hated that you didn’t even see her as a friend but you usually avoided her like the plague and you’d never ask her to hang out with you, a year ago you’d just leave if none of your friends were here but Ellie guessed you must’ve warmed up to her a little if you asked her to keep you company.

“Yeah sure.”

Throughout the whole night you and Ellie bickered about every little thing, sarcastically replying to everything the other would say. You definitely wouldn’t be friends anytime soon but you two did kind of enjoy this night.

You were currently walking home side by side. Having a discussion about weapons. Arriving in front of your home, you talked for a few more minutes, fighting on which weapon is the better choice, in any situation.

“Alright, whatever Williams you’re right, I’m wrong.” You said, rolling your eyes at the girl. Walking backwards to your door.

“You know I’m right (y/n)!” Ellie said teasing you.

“Go home Williams!”

“Yes ma’am.” Ellie grumbled, turning around she started to walk back home.

Ellie thought about this night. It was the first time you willingly spent time alone with her. She enjoyed it even if you were still your usual sarcastic self, she still enjoyed it. Hoping to see more of you, without having the rest of your friends around. She liked to be alone with you, not that she would admit it to anyone.

[crystalninjaphoenix]

Turning Eyes

Switch AU

A JSE Fanfic

This is already a pretty short chapter, but it was originally supposed to be slightly longer. Unfortunately I burned my finger in the most inconvenient place for typing on a keyboard so I had to cut some length cause it hurt to write :( I should be fine by next week tho. Anyway, it’s late as I’m queuing this, so not much to say. Some more follow up after the Aspen Street incident, plus Anti gets a strange phone call. Happy reading.

More of this AU found here

It didn’t look like anyone was home. Sure, there was a car parked on the street, but there were no lights inside. Jack double-checked his text messages. As he did so, Sam peeked out of his pocket to look at his phone screen. “Careful,” he muttered to them, vaguely indicating the cars on the street. Sam pointed out that nobody could possibly see them here. “Well, still. Be careful.”

There was nothing in the texts indicating nobody would be home right now. So Jack put his phone back and knocked on the door. He waited for a minute, and was considering knocking a second time when the door opened. Jameson poked his head out, looking wary at first before relaxing. Hi Jack, he signed.

“Hey.” Jack waved back a little. “I got your stuff.”

Thank you. Please, come in. JJ opened the door wide enough for Jack—and the grocery bags he was carrying—to squeeze through. Again, I’m so sorry for the inconvenience, I’m sure it must’ve been difficult getting everything here.

“No, it’s fine, this is what I do.” Jack waved away JJ’s comments. “You didn’t even have that much on your list. I’ve carried more on the bus.” Once they were inside the house with the door closed behind them, Sam zoomed out from Jack’s pocket and settled in his hair.

You took the bus? JJ asked, surprised.

“Well, yeah. I don’t have a car. I can’t even drive.”

Jameson hit his forehead. Then I’m especially sorry. I don’t know why I assumed everyone could drive. Most people I know don’t!

“It’s alright, really,” Jack reassured him. “Like I said, this is what I do. I wouldn’t have done it if it was hard. Should I put the stuff away?”

No, I’ll do it, Marvin is very particular about the cabinet organization. By the way, if you want to see him, he’s in his room. JJ gestured down the hallway.

“Got it. We’ll stop by.” Jack made an okay sign with his hand and Sam flicked their nerve-tail cheerfully. “See you in a minute.”

See you.

Jack headed down the hallway until he reached Marvin’s bedroom. The door was closed, so he knocked. “Marvin? It’s Jack.”

A slight pause. “Jack?” Marvin’s voice was muffled from behind the door.

“Yeah. Can I come in?”

“...sure.”

Marvin didn’t exactly sound excited, so Jack opened the door slowly. The bedroom was dimly lit, with only the lamp on the nightstand turned on. Marvin was sitting up in bed, left leg extended out in front of him, with Mr. Fluffington sitting in his lap. He gave Jack a suspicious look at first, then eased up as he stepped inside. “Jems said he asked you t’pick up our groceries,” he muttered.

“Yep.”

“Don’ understand why he didn’ ask Anti.” Marvin idly scratched Fluffington’s chin. The cat closed his eyes and purred loudly.

“I don’t know either, but who knows?” Jack shrugged. “Maybe he did and Anti was busy.” He glanced around the room, looking for a place to sit. The closest was an armchair across the room. Well...that wasn’t entirely true. But Jack knew it would be weird to sit in the wheelchair by the bed. So he walked over to the armchair and sat down. “How’re you feeling?”

“Hmm. Not’ing hurts anymore,” Marvin said, trying to sound casual. “Well, sometimes t’ere’s a twinge with the leg. But mostly I’m just...tired. More t’an usual, I mean.”

“I think that’s cause your body is healing,” Jack said. “It’s using all your spare energy to rebuild bone and all that. You think that shit is easy?”

Marvin laughed. “No, it’s not. I’m jus’ sick of being tired. And t’is is just the start!”

“Yeah. Jameson said you got home from the hospital...yesterday, was it?”

“The day before, actually.”

Jack shook his head. “I’m sorry. It sucks that this happened to you. Whatever it was.” He had a vague idea of what the group of friends was dealing with. Sam told him it was a supernatural creature, a monster of some sort with mind-based magic. But he didn’t know the details of what it did to them. And they didn’t seem inclined to tell him, so he wasn’t going to ask.

Speaking of Sam. While the two of them were talking, they jumped out of Jack’s hair and flew over to Marvin. They nuzzled his arm affectionately, then dropped down to look at Fluffington. The cat stared at them, then reached out and batted at the strange, floating object. Sam dodged for a while before flying closer and settling against the cat’s chest fur. Fluffington looked down in surprise.

Marvin grinned. “You remember Sam, Mister? I t’ink you’ve met once. How long are cat memories? Because it was awhile ago.”

Fluffington was too busy trying to look at Sam, who kept shifting to be in his blind spot, to glance at Marvin as he talked.

Jack chuckled. “Sam, you’re bothering him.” Sam protested that they were not bothering him, they were just playing. “How do you know? You can’t talk to animals any more than I can.” Sam said that if Fluffington was so annoyed, he would get up and move. “I don’t know, he looks really comfy on Marvin’s lap.”

“He hasn’ left me alone since I got home,” Marvin said, petting Fluffington. “Ye might notice how Jems had to move his food and litter in here, it’s because he hasn’ left here except when I go to the bathroom.” He wrinkled his nose. “Smells awful, sometimes.”

“Ahhh, so that’s what the scented candles were for,” Jack said, recalling the grocery list Jameson texted him.

“T’at was my request, yea.” Marvin nodded. “Well. Don’ let me keep you. I’m sure you two have all sorts of business to do.”

They didn’t, but Jack could tell when someone was trying to end a conversation. “Alright, we’ll go, then.” He stood up. “C’mon Sam.” The little eye leapt out from their spot, causing Fluffington to jump in surprise but not leave his spot. “Bye Marvin. Hope I’ll see you later.”

“I do too. It’s been awhile.” Marvin waved him and Sam off as they left the bedroom, closing the door behind them.

Jack was planning to check on JJ in the kitchen, but as he headed that way, he passed the archway leading into the living room. And stopped. Then he backed up and looked inside. There was a woman in JJ and Marvin’s living room. She had red shoulder-length hair and wore a yellow hoodie, and was standing on a kitchen chair in the corner, bracing herself against the wall. “Uhhh...” Jack waved a little. “Hi?”

The woman looked down at him. “Oh hi. I heard you come in, sorry for not saying hello earlier.”

“It’s okay. Uh...you need...help? With...” Jack gestured vaguely at the chair situation. “...whatever you’re doing?”

“No, probably not,” the woman said. “It’s a steady chair, I’m just a little nervous about any height I can fall from.”

“Oh, same.” Jack stepped into the room. “Well, I’ll stand nearby. That might help you, if you know someone can catch you.”

“Yeah, that would be great, actually.” The woman took a deep breath, and straightened. She was holding something in one hand, while the other still rested against the wall.

“You’re...Aoife, right?” Jack asked. “I think we met once.”

“We did. You’re...Jack.”

“Right.”

Aoife nodded, then looked at the ceiling. She reached upwards, putting the thing in her hand into some sort of mounted handle that...hadn’t been there last time Jack was in the house.

“Sorry but...what the hell are you doing?” Jack asked.

“Installing cameras,” Aoife said. “Jameson’s idea. You know about magic, right?” She glanced down at Jack and saw him nod. “And the problem these guys have been dealing with?” Another nod. “Well, the reason they haven’t been getting magical help has been because the main magical organization—who I work for—won’t help until they get proof about the problem. Because we’ve never heard of something like that before.” She sighed. “I’ve tried to tell them, but that’s not proof. It’s a lot of stupid bureaucracy. So, after whatever happened recently, Jameson decided to put cameras in their house.”

“Oh.” Jack went silent for a moment, watching as Aoife stopped bracing against the wall to fiddle with some wires coming out of the camera. He instinctively went tense until she let go and braced herself again. Now the camera was attached to the mount through the wires, but still needed some connecting parts. “That’s a...you know, normally, when people put cameras in their house, they make sure they’re small models that can be ignored. That’s a pretty big camera.”

“It’s some sort of special motion detection camera,” Aoife said, taking a screwdriver and a handful of small parts out of her hoodie pocket. “I’ll be honest. This whole system is giving me a bad feeling.”

“Huh. Yeah, I can understand why.” Jack nodded. “So...why are you helping put it up, then?”

“Well, my bad feelings are tricky to figure out,” Aoife explained. “I can’t tell if the cameras themselves are causing it, or if they’ll see something terrible that’s causing it, or if I’m putting them in unsafe locations. Maybe it’s all of those. I don’t know. I only know that Jameson still insisted they go up after I told him about the feeling. So might as well know where they are, in case something goes wrong.”

Jack felt something move on his shoulder. He glanced to the side and saw Sam wrapping their nerve-tail around them. “Sam? Is everything okay?”

Sam said they didn’t like the cameras. They weren’t normal cameras.

“What do you mean by ‘not normal cameras’?”

Someone coughed. Jack turned around to see JJ standing in the living room archway. Talking about the new security? he asked.

“Yeah, I guess.”

“Hi, Jameson,” Aoife said. “Almost done here. There’s two left in the box, where are they going?”

Downstairs hallway and upstairs hallway. Thank you so much for doing this.

“Wait, Jameson,” Jack interrupted. “What are these cameras? Why does Sam think they’re not normal?”

Jameson shrugged. Maybe they can sense how advanced they are. I went shopping for the best possible cameras the day after I got back from the hospital. It took all day to find them, and it was really expensive just to get six. Imagine if a business wanted these.

“Where did you get them?” Jack pressed.

Online, from some American company. They got here really fast for the distance. I’m sorry, I don’t remember the name right now, but I know the website is in my computer browser history. I can find it and text you later.

“Yeah...yeah, that would be great,” Jack said slowly. “Thanks.”

“Done!” Aoife announced. She put the screwdriver back in her pocket and carefully climbed down from the chair. “You know, Jameson. I forgot to ask you this right when I stopped by. How are things going with the Magic Circle?”

JJ winced. I missed the last meeting because of...recent events. But the woman I spoke to said I should stop by for the next one. It’s on the full moon, apparently.

Aoife chuckled. “Yeah. Get used to that. The Circle loves the moon and sun. For good reason, it’s easier to cast group spells around certain dates on the solar or lunar calendar. Who’d you talk to? Persephone?”

JJ nodded.

“She’s great. If you’re worried about stopping by before the meeting, don’t be. Sephy will be happy to fill you in on anything.”

I’m not worried about that. I just think it will be easiest if I concentrate on the meeting.

Sam tapped Jack’s neck with their nerve-tail. They wanted to leave now. “Well, uh...sorry to leave so suddenly,” Jack said. “But I have things to do today.”

Oh, of course, don’t worry, Jameson said. You can stop by anytime you want.

“Yeah. Yeah, I’ll keep that in mind.” Jack glanced over at Aoife. She met his eyes, and for a moment, her expression became very serious. And she nodded. “I’ll see you again, then. Bye.”

Goodbye.

Jack turned and left the living room, heading straight for the front door and going right out. Once he was outside, he let out a breath, and looked down at Sam. “Worried about the cameras?”

Sam wasn’t sure. They only knew that they weren’t normal, and that kind of freaked them out.

“Well...Jameson is insisting, apparently.”

Sam said they could tell he was on edge. Whatever happened recently must have been hard. They didn’t blame him for wanting to keep an eye on things, but they still felt weird about all this.

“I’ll trust you on that,” Jack muttered. He headed down the street towards the nearest bus stop. “I think...we should check in on these guys more often. Something tells me they’ll need the extra support.”

———————

It was hard to believe that one week ago, she was stuck in a weird pocket dimension of a house. And now, Stacy had returned to her normal life as if nothing had happened.

Could this be called her normal life? She’d been staying in this city, halfway across the world from her home, for a good few months now. Was that long enough to be considered her new “normal?” It was long enough that she’d taken to renting an apartment instead of staying in a hotel room. And it was long enough that the real estate company she worked for had stopped sending her texts and emails asking when she’ll come into the office. They’d just accepted that she was going to be “working from home” for the foreseeable future.

Stacy used to wonder if she should just abandon the weird things going on here and go back to the states. But after what she saw—who she saw—at the house on Aspen Street, she didn’t have those thoughts anymore. She had to stay. She had to see this through.

But that didn’t mean life would just stop. She still had work to do. Right now, she was just finishing with the reports she’d had to write for the day, and was ready to get up from her computer, stretch, and order takeout for dinner. Before that, though, she checked her email, as she usually did this time of day.

Spam... spam... work stuff... social media notifications... spam... nothing exciting. She scanned the subject lines, scrolling through the inbox. And then she stopped. At the very bottom of a line of new emails was something... weird. A strange subject line.

Have you ever experienced a terrible occurrence that has impacted you significantly?

What was that supposed to mean? Stacy looked at the sender’s address for clues. Something about... science? Maybe some company was  looking for volunteers for a study? It was strange enough that she ended up clicking on it out of curiosity.

Have you ever experienced a terrible occurrence that has impacted you significantly? Have you ever seen anything strange that you just couldn’t explain away? Have you ever been physically or psychologically injured from something terrible and strange? We’re here to help! Our goal is to protect you from those strange and terrible things out there. If you’re reading this, we think you’d be a great help to our efforts. Just contact us at the phone number below, or click the link here to fill out an online application. Thank you!

It was a pretty bare email, and Stacy immediately went on guard. This was probably some dumb phishing scam. Vaguely worded so that anyone gullible would click on the link. She moved her mouse pointer to the delete button... but didn’t click. Instead, she read through the short message again.

She had experienced a terrible occurrence. Then again, who hasn’t? But... it felt like the email was trying to bring up a specific type of “occurrence.” Maybe something like... that house?

After a moment, Stacy closed the tab on her browser. It was just a scam. That’s all. She stood up and decided she should take a walk around the apartment building, to clear her head and stretch her muscles.

But for the rest of the night, the hairs on the back of her neck stood straight up.

———————

“Do you want anything for dinner?”

Anti blinked, shaking his head a little. “Sorry, what?”

“I asked if you wanted anything for dinner,” Rama repeated.

“Uh...” Anti straightened. He’d been spacing out hard just now, and it took him a moment to return to reality. That’s right. He and Will were visiting Rama and Michelle. He could hear the sound of the kids watching a movie in the living room. Meanwhile, he’d been sitting at Rama’s dining room table staring into space for a good few minutes. “What are you making?”

“Nothing fancy, just some empanadas.” Rama shrugged.

“Right. Sure, thanks.” Anti rubbed his eyes.

“Are you okay?” Rama asked, walking over to the dining table and sitting down in the chair next to him. “You’ve been kind of...strange.”

Anti laughed. “I’m a strange man. Thought you would’ve known this.” Rama didn’t laugh back. “It’s fine. I’ve just been fucked up since last week.” But what if it was more than just spacing out? What if it was something...more? Anti shook his head again. No. There was no guarantee that his strange mental space was anything other than his usual problems. Paranoia would just wreck him more. He didn’t have any gaps in his memory. It was probably fine... Probably.

“I know how you feel,” Rama muttered.

“Right. You’re probably fucked up too.” Anti nodded. “Did you report Jackie leaving to the police?”

“I did. But I said that it wasn’t like last time. He just left.” Rama sighed, playing with their wedding ring. “Still. Probably not in the best mental state when he did so. The police handle things like that, I think.”

“Well—” Before Anti could answer, he felt his phone vibrate in his jacket. He dug into his pocket, brushing against the folded knife, and pulled it out. “Ugh, fuck off.”

“Spam number?” Rama asked.

“Yeah. It’s this weird foreign one, see?” Anti showed them his phone screen. The number calling was +49(032)2215-1220. “I don’t know what they want with me, but I’ve been getting calls from this one number since two in the morning. Fucking annoying.” He denied the call. “Anyway. Uh...yeah, I think the police handle things like that. But I don’t count on it being handled well.”

“Who else should I call then?” Rama asked quietly.

“I...don’t know. His therapist?”

“I already did that. She works for an independent agency, and they don’t have the authority to go after someone.”

Anti fell silent. He really wasn’t sure what to say in this situation. What were you supposed to do on this end of things? Awkwardly, he reached out and patted the back of Rama’s hand.

Rama laughed. “You’re not good at this.”

“Fuck you, I’m trying.”

“I know. And thank you.” Rama gave him a small smile, then changed the subject. “How’s Will been?”

“Good.” Anti paused. “I mean...he hasn’t been sleeping well. Rama, has Michelle... has she... been having more nightmares than usual?”

Rama’s brow furrowed in thought. “If she has, I haven’t noticed it. Which is concerning about my abilities as a parent—”

“Nah, you would’ve noticed, you notice stuff,” Anti dismissed. “I was wondering if it was because of... you know. Their disappearances. But no. Just Will.” That was weird. Will had been very open with Anti recently about his dreams. Particularly the ones featuring ‘the gray man.’ They’d been happening more and more. Several times, Anti was up late recording and editing videos when he had to stop to go comfort Will, whose noises of distress could be heard even through Anti’s soundproof padding. Weird...and worrying.

He wondered, again, if there was a reason. He wondered if, maybe, it was his own fault. The thought scared him so much that he froze solid right where he was sitting.

“Anti.” Rama reached over and shook his shoulder.

“Don’t touch me,” Anti muttered, pushing their hand away.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Rama worried.

“I’m as okay as you are.” Anti poked their arm. “Don’t think I don’t notice the bags under your eyes. I bet you’ve been getting as much sleep as Will has.”

Rama chuckled. “I guess you’re right.” They wiped their eyes. “What’s getting to me is that I still have to work at a time like this. Hard to write crime thrillers when your whole life has become one.”

“Hah. Uh...sorry.”

“Don’t apologize. It’s not your fault.”

Anti’s phone vibrated again. Not the extended shaking of a call, but the short buzz of a text notification. He glanced down at the screen. It was the foreign number again. It had texted him.

Anti pick up my call right now.

His eyes locked onto the notification. He could feel his pulse speeding up in his neck, and his hand automatically slipped into his pocket and grabbed the knife handle. How did this strange number know his name? “I...I have to take this,” he said, standing up. “I’ll be right back.”

“Um...okay,” Rama said slowly, visibly confused. “I’ll start on dinner, then?”

He was already down the hallway by the time they asked that question.

Rama and Jackie’s house had a pretty big bathroom. With a solid lock. Anti shut the door behind him and twisted that lock. Just in time for his phone to start vibrating again as the mystery number called. He hesitated, then pressed the accept button, lifting the phone to his ear but saying nothing.

“Is that you, Anti?”

No.

It couldn’t be.

This was impossible.

“Henrik?!” Anti gasped.

“You never call me that.” Schneep’s voice—loud, clear, and distinct—pounded against his hearing. “Are you really that shocked?”

“I—what the fuck, Volt?!” Anti shouted. Then he glanced at the closed doorway and lowered his voice to an angry hiss. “What the fuck?! You fucking ass! Where the hell are you?! Why haven’t you fucking talked to any of us?! Fuck you, you fucking...fucker!”

“Okay, so it is you,” Schneep said calmly. “I do not think anyone else would use that number of fucks in such a short time.”

“Fuck you!” Anti said again, one more time for good measure. “Answer my questions! Where are you? Why haven’t you called or texted—and why the weird number?! Did you go to Europe or just steal a European phone?”

“I do not think I can tell you that,” Schneep said.

“What do you mean—?!”

“Anti, you have to shut up and listen!” Schneep snapped. “You could be watched.”

Anti blinked. “What?”

“Watched. They could be watching you. They watch a lot of things, you know.”

“Who?!”

The other end of the call was silent.

“Volt, don’t you fucking do this,” Anti warned. “I’ve had a terrible past few weeks. We all have! I guess you leaving was some cue for the universe to swoop in and come fuck the rest of us.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Schneep said quietly. “Really. I did not want to go. But...I had to. The police—never mind. This is not the time. All I will say is you need to be careful.”

“You need to be careful or else I’m gonna track you down and lightly stab you for all this bullshit,” Anti grumbled. “You can’t just leave without telling us! I get that you were in a tight spot, but at least say that you’re going before you do! First you, then I guess Jackie decided you were a good example and did the same thing. What’s next, J—”

“What happened to Jackie?!” Schneep interrupted, sounding alarmed.

“Good fucking question.” Anti leaned back against the wall, resting his head on the tiles. “I don’t know, he freaked out and left. Said a lot of stuff about ‘fixing’ what’s going on.”

“It might already be too late, then,” Schneep said quietly. “They could have found him. Or he found them.”

“Volt, what the fuck are you on about? You can’t keep saying shit that makes you sound like you’re in a bad movie, you have to give me solid answers.”

“I can’t, Anti. I do not know if the call is safe. For the same reason, I cannot talk too long. I will leave you with this. Be careful of any...any watchers out there. Tell Marvin and Jameson as well. But you be especially on guard. I think they have specific interest in you.”

“What? Why?”

“I do not know. But I assure you, this is all real.” Schneep chuckled, but there was no humor in the sound, only anxiety. “I-I will try to call again, but I am not sure when that will be. Be safe.”

“Volt, you can’t—”

Beep. Schneep hung up, and the call ended.

[violetlilysunshine]

Flip These Lines

Boyfriend Harry Holland x Actress Reader

Summary: Helping Harry with some work usually comes with a little loving. 

WC: 1,544

Warnings: friendly teasing, suggestiveness, one sexual-ish joke

A/N: y’all asked for it. Plus it’s nice to break up all the Chris I’ve been posting with a little bit of Harry :)

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“Hi!” you grinned as Tom opened the door for you.

“Hey, Y/N, c’mon in,” he smiled back, pulling you in for a one-armed-hug, “good to see you, ‘s been a while.” 

“Yeah, filming’s been crazy,” you answered, “glad to be back here though.”

“Well, Harry sure missed you. He hasn’t stopped talking about you since he got home last night,” Tom informed you, making you chuckle, “glad you guys got to reunite though, he’s much more tolerable now.” 

“Hey, I can hear you!” Harry called from the other room.

You laughed, shaking your head at Tom, “I’m glad we got to go out last night, but I missed you too, ya know?” you teased Tom, knowing Harry was still listening.

“Yeah? Missed you a lot,” Tom said, playing along with you, “what d’ya say we hang out later, maybe grab some dinner together?” 

“ALRIGHT GET IN HERE!” Harry yelled from the other room.

You and Tom laughed for a second before he held his arm out, gesturing you towards the living room. 

Harry flashed you a bright smile from his spot on the couch, he was resting against the corner, half on the back of the sofa, half on the arm; he had one leg tucked under the back cushions, the other bent over the edge with his foot resting on the floor. He opened his arm towards you, his smile widening even more.

You practically skipped over, sitting down in front of him and starting to pull your legs towards you.

“Ah,” he scolded, “no shoes on the couch, Tom’ll kill you.” 

You laughed lightly, knowing he was absolutely serious, putting your feet back to the floor, untying your laces, and toeing off your shoes, before pulling your legs up again and crossing them criss-cross-applesauce.

Harry was quick to lean forward, wrapping his arms around your waist and resting his chin on your shoulder. He had his laptop open on the cushion next to you, a text document pulled up.

“Watcha workin’ on?” you asked lightly, expecting him to not answer and close the lid.

“Oh just tryin’ to write a script,” he answered, snuggling into your neck, “actually,” he pulled back, “would you maybe want to read it? I’d love your input…” he trailed off.

You were stunned that he was willing to share with you; most things with him and work were kept very tight-lipped, either by his choice or the studios’. When you didn’t answer right away, he started to get nervous.

“It’s okay if you don’t want to, darling, don’t worry about it.”

“No no no,” you hurried, pulling the laptop across the couch and closer to you, “I want to,” you smiled, “just surprised you want to and can share with me is all.”

You hunched forward over the screen, resting your elbows on the cushion and your chin in your hands. He followed you, one arm still wrapped around your middle, the other on the trackpad as he scrolled around the screen. 

“Alright, so start here, love,” he whispered in your ear, “and don’t be afraid to make suggestions if it doesn’t sound good or doesn’t make sense or something,” he smiled, pressing a light kiss to your shoulder.

“Okay, babe,” you smiled, leaning back into him, taking the weight off your arms, and starting to read. 

His hand rubbed up and down your side gently, the other rested on your calf, as he hunched over you. He placed a few kisses to your neck and shoulder as you slowly read over the script. 

“So what’s the idea here?” you asked quietly, in your own little bubble as Tom, Harrison, and Jacob played video games on the TV mounted next you, “like what’s happening before this?” 

He explained a little bit, giving some character descriptions as well, before letting you read again.

You sat there quietly for probably about 10 minutes. Harry’s hands passed soothing touches to you; his lips tapped your neck, jaw, and shoulder occasionally. His eyes scanned the page as well, checking for typos and things like that because he might as well. You could feel his chest and stomach rise and fall against your back as he breathed, comforting and relaxing you. 

“Hey,” you spoke so quietly it was almost a whisper, “I think you should flip these lines,” you said pointing at the screen, “it’ll flow better and the tension will build smoother, ya know?” 

He reread the section, his hand ceasing its movement on your tummy as he focused: “Yeah, love, that makes sense, I think I like it better that way too,” he smiled, highlighting the text and flipping the lines around. 

“Okay, now I gotta read that again,” you giggled, scrolling back up to get into the scene again with the new order.

Harry chuckled at you, pressing another kiss to your cheek, “whatever you say darling.” 

He suddenly tightened his hold on your waist, giving you a small hug, “sorry,” he whispered quickly in your ear.

“For what?” you asked, turning to look at him.

“Don’t think I did that when you got here,” he smiled, “or this,” he said, just before pressing a kiss to your lips.

You giggled as you pulled back, “mmm I don’t think you did either.”

He smiled at you, nudging his nose against your cheek, “okay, back to reading.” 

You turned back to the screen, starting the scene over again and then continuing on. He smushed your cheeks together as he read with you, wanting to see the new section as well. 

You read past it, liking the new change a little better, and so did he. A little further down you highlighted a section and made a note, “sorry, this just sounds a little weird, could use some rewording.”

“You don’t have to apologize, love, I want your opinion.”

“Okay, well, just a note for later,” you smiled, “do with it as you wish.” 

He chuckled at you, “alright, darling, whatever you think.” 

You smiled, going back to reading, nearing the end of what he had.

Jacob tapped Tom’s leg, pulling his attention from the screen, “hey,” he whispered, grabbing Harrison’s interest as well: “look at them,” he said, nodding towards the two of you, hunched over the computer, curled up in each others’ space.

“I think it’s cute,” Harrison whispered back.

“God he’s so in love with her,” Tom smiled, shaking his head.

You were too focused on the script to be aware of anything else happening in the room; Harry, however, heard everything. His attention was caught as soon as the screaming at the game stopped.

“Can’t believe she’s getting to read the script that we don’t get to know anything about,” Harrison added.

“Yeah,” Tom said a little louder, pulling your attention away from the screen.

“What’s that about?” Jacob asked, nodding at Harry.

You weren’t sure exactly what they were talking about, but you clasped your hand over Harry's on your tummy, turning your head to focus on the conversation.

Harry didn’t know what to answer; this was something he told the boys that he ‘wanted to do on his own’, but he couldn’t help but bring you into the mix. 

“What can I say,” he answered them after a while, “you’re not as cute as her,” he shrugged, squeezing you lightly once more.

You smiled, sinking back against him a little further and he placed another peck on your cheek, just next to your ear. 

The three boys laughed lightly, shaking their heads and turning their attention back to the game while you both went back to working. 

You soon finished what he had written, but when you got to the end, you didn’t make any effort to move. You wanted to stay held in his grasp like this forever; you loved having him wrapped around you and were determined to soak up as much of it as you could.

“So what’d you think, darling?” he asked, pulling you to rest back on him as he settled against the arm again, “honestly?” 

“It was really good!” you answered, turning your head to look up at him, “can’t wait to see it on film,” you smiled, pressing a kiss to his jawline.

“Yeah? You think so?” he asked, doubting himself a little bit.

“Of course! It’s gonna be big, I know it.”

He smiled at you, about to say something in response, but Tom beat him to it, “would you two get a room?” he called, watching the two of you fawn over each other.

“What’du say?” he asked, passing you a wink.

“Mmm, sounds lovely,” you smiled, sitting up.

“Ewwww,” Tom groaned, scrunching up his face.

You and Harry both laughed loudly at that; you picked up your shoes and Harry grabbed his laptop before taking your hand and guiding you towards the hall. 

“We’ll try to keep it down!” he called over his shoulder, laughing loudly.

He led you into his room, gesturing you to get comfy on the bed as he turned to close the door behind the both of you, “pick a movie, love.” 

Just before the door latched, you heard a yell from Harrison, “USE PROTECTION!”

“DUDE!” Tom yelled in response, causing Harry to laugh again and finally close the door. 

TAGLIST: @xamourx @spider-barnes @hogwartsmarvelmommy @tulipholland @harryhollandsgirlfriend @cupids-crystals @sunwardsss @bvttercupbby @mcushvft @elishi03 @golden-hoax @mistakenpersonn

[drabbles-mc]

Babysitter

Angel Reyes x F!Reader

Request by Anon: If you're up for it, could you do -insert whoever you want- and the reader either talking about leaving their kid with Chucky or actually leaving their kid with Chucky. He is a sweet strange bird that we don't get enough of 🥰

Warnings: language, Angel being a protective dad, Chucky being the absolute best human on the planet

Word Count: 2.5k

A/N: I would take a bullet for Chucky with no hesitation. I love that man and I’m so glad he has found a family in Mayans. I love including him in my stories because he’s just??? The sweetest.

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Angel Reyes Taglist: @mayans-sauce @helli4nthus @angelreyesgirl @starrynite7114 @queenbeered @sincerelyasomebody @sadeyesgf @thesandbeneathmytoes @appropriate-writers-name @tomhardydallasstarsgirl @multiyfandomgirl40 @sillygoose6969 @beardburnsupersoldiers @louisianalady @gemini0410​ @paintballkid711​ @chibsytelford​ @yourwonkywriter​ @sesamepancakes​ @behindmyeyes-insidemyhead​ @plentyoffandoms​ @georgiaaintnopeach​ @twistnet​ @themoonandthewicked​ @garbinge​ @bucky-iss-bae​ @enjoy-the-destruction​ @withmyteeth​ @encounterthepast​ @lilacyennefer​ @everyhowlmarksthedead​ @rosieposie0624​ @mylittlelonelyappreciationtoo​ @mijop​ @xladymacbethx​ @blessedboo​ @holl2712​ @lakamaa12​ @luckyharley1903​ @masterlistforimagines​ @kkim120​ @toni9​ @shadow-of-wonder​ (If you want to be tagged in any of my writing let me know! xo)

“It would just be for a couple hours!” you sat on the bar stool next to Angel, “You’re telling me that she can’t stay here for a couple hours? She’s a baby, Angel. It’s not like she can get up and run off.”

“I’m not leaving her with these motherfuckers,” he shook his head.

Angel loved his brothers in the MC. He would take a bullet for any one of them. Which is why it was so surprising to you that he didn’t want to leave your daughter with them. He didn’t mind it when you brought her around the clubhouse, as long as one of the two of you always had eyes on her. He was fiercely protective of her, which was adorable, but it also made it difficult for the two of you to get any time for yourselves. She was six months old and it had been much longer than that since the two of you had some quality couple time.

“Angel, they know how to feed and change a baby. Coco has more kids than we do!”

“Then he can go watch those ones!” he was adamant, “I ain’t leavin’ her here.”

While the two of you were arguing, Chucky appeared from the back room with a few cases of beer. He saw the car seat sitting on the bar top and immediately set down the boxes to come and investigate. He’d met your daughter on a few occasions but there were always so many other people around.

He gently rocked the car seat with a smile, whispering things to her that neither you nor Angel could hear, but you heard her contagious giggles. You turned and looked to see who had her laughing like that, and you couldn’t hide your surprise when you saw the gentle, loving look in Chucky’s eyes as he let her reach and hold onto his prosthetic fingers.

Your heart melted at the way he was smiling at her and the words came tumbling out of your mouth, “You wanna hold her?”

He looked up at you, eyes as wide as his smile, “I would be honored.”

You laughed quietly as you stood up and carefully unhooked the straps that kept her safely in the seat. You lifted her up and out before passing her off to Chucky, who cradled her in his arms as if it was second nature to him. Chucky had always been a bit of a caretaker by nature but this was surprising even to you.

“Like you’ve done it a million times before,” you commented as you watched him bounce her gently on his hip.

“Maybe not a million, but close,” he didn’t take his eyes off the baby.

“Oh yea? You have kids?” you really never gave a lot of thought to what Chucky’s life was like when he wasn’t working at the scrapyard. You knew that he had quite a long history, but you never asked about the details of it.

He shook his head, “Haven’t had the good fortune of that yet. But I spent a lot of time with Jax Teller’s boys when they were babies.”

It was the first time that he had spoken to you about his life in Charming. He spared a momentary glance over at you as he said it before returning all of his attention to the baby on his hip. But even in that split second you could see the wistful look in his eyes. Sometimes you forgot about the fact that he uprooted his entire life to come to Santo Padre.

“Do you have plans tonight, Chucky?” you asked.

Both he and Angel whipped their heads to look at you, their expressions vastly different. Angel knew exactly where this line of questions was going and he wanted none of it. Chucky, on the other hand, had never looked more excited.

He shook his head, “Not a single plan in place, Y/N.”

You smiled, “You think you could watch our little pumpkin here for a couple hours while Angel and I get some Mommy and Daddy time?” you drummed your fingers on the bar, “It’d only be for a couple hours. Just to get some dinner and alone time.”

“It would be one of my life’s greatest pleasures,” everything he said always sounded so sincere.

You chuckled, nodding, “You’re a lifesaver.”

“Y/N,” Angel gently wrapped his hand around your arm, “Can I talk to you for a second?”

You nodded, “Sure, what’s up?”

He tugged you towards the opposite side of the clubhouse, getting the two of you out of earshot from Chucky, “What the fuck are you doing?”

“What?”

“You just wanna leave our baby girl here with Chucky?”

You shrugged, “Why not? He seems like a goddamn baby whisperer.”

“Yea but—”

“And you heard him—he’s been around kids a ton before. Look at him,” you nodded towards Chucky, who was pretending to do some sort of ballroom dance with your daughter, “There is not an ounce of uncertainty in that man’s body. You telling me that any of the guys are ever that confident while holding her?”

Angel sighed, not able to deny that you had a point. Your daughter could smell fear from a mile away, and she could definitely sense when her tíos were getting nervous whenever they held her. You found it amusing because you could literally see the panic set into the eyes of the very tough group of bikers once she started to sound like she was about to cry. They would instantly try to locate you and glad you down to make you put out the fire that they inadvertently started.

Despite all of that, your daughter seemed happy as a clam as she waltzed around the clubhouse with Chucky. You could tell by the expression on Angel’s face that he saw what you saw, he just didn’t want to admit it.

“C’mon, baby,” you smiled and nudged his shoulder, “They make a good pair.”

“Fine,” he grumbled, “Two and a half hours tops. We’ll skip dessert if we have to.”

You beamed, clapping your hands, “Oh this is going to be amazing.” You pressed a kiss to Angel’s cheek before bounding over to Chucky, unable to try and tone down the huge smile on your face, “You really meant it about tonight?”

He nodded, “Of course. Anything for you. For her,” he looked at your daughter with a smile.

“You’re a gem!” you immediately started formulating a timetable in your brain, thinking out loud, “Okay I gotta jet home real quick to take care of a few things. Plus I’ll pack a bag of essentials for her to have here with you. And I’ll shower and get ready for dinner. I should be able to get back here by…6ish? Would that be alright?”

“That would be perfect.”

Angel sat back, watching the two of you make plans together while Chucky held your daughter on his hip. Despite his initial urge to reject the idea, he had to admit that there wasn’t the same knot in his gut about the idea of Chucky babysitting as there had been about literally any of the other guys. Chucky’s brain operated on a different level from the rest of them for sure, but realistically he was probably the most responsible out of all of them. Which was a strange thought.

You waved Angel over so that you could have him walk out to the car with you and the baby. You watched as Chucky carefully got her situated back into her car set, buckling and tucking her under her blanket. You wrapped Chucky in a hug, promising him that you would be back by six.

Angel carried the car set and got it situated in the back seat before turning to you, a smile on his face, “Drive safe, alright?”

You raised your eyebrows, “Wow, no smart comments?”

He chuckled, pulling you into a hug, “I’ll keep ‘em to myself…for now.”

“A true gentleman,” you laughed into his chest for a moment before pulling back to kiss him, “I’ll be back in a couple hours, okay?”

He nodded, “Whatever you need. Text me when you get home. I love you.”

You gave him another quick peck on the lips, “I love you too.”

You had packed everything that you could possibly think of into the diaper bag that you were bringing to the clubhouse. You had clothes, toys, formula, blankets, pillows, and of course diapers. It was impressive how much you were able to jam into the bag. Your daughter was babbling happily in her car seat as she watched you get everything set for her stay with Chucky. It was the first time that she was going to be away from both you and Angel for more than a couple minutes, and you were much more nervous about it than you wanted to let on. Not that you didn’t trust Chucky, but it was tough to leave your baby, even if you wanted some one-on-one time with her father.

When you rolled into the clubhouse, Angel was standing outside with Chucky and a few of the guys. Taking a deep breath you threw the car in park and got out, slinging the diaper bag over your shoulder before opening the back door and getting the car seat out. All of the guys looked at you expectantly as you approached the front steps. You could tell that they all had a hard time wrapping their heads around the fact that you were really about to leave Chucky in charge of your first and only child.

“Didn’t know that this hand-off had turned into a group affair,” you chuckled as you gently set the car seat down on the deck so you could get the bag off your shoulder.

“We just didn’t think that Angel would ever let anyone watch her,” Bishop piped in with a laugh, “Had to see it for ourselves.”

You made small talk with the group of them for a couple minutes before politely hinting that you and Angel had places to be—that was the whole point of this anyway. You unclipped your daughter from her car seat and picked her up, giving her a hug and a kiss before handing her to Angel so that he could do the same.

“I’m sure things will be fine, but if anything happens or if you have any questions at all, don’t hesitate to call me or Angel,” you gave Chucky a hug, “Thank you again for doing this. If anyone has got this under control, it’s you.”

You could see the pride on Chucky’s face as he soaked up what you were saying. Angel had the baby perched on his hip as he spoke to Chucky, “Anything happens to her and I’ll gut you like a fish, got it?”

Chucky nodded, not flinching one bit, “I accept that.”

Angel gave a nod of approval before handing the baby over, giving her one more kiss before doing so. He rested a hand on Chucky’s shoulder, “Thank you for doing this, Chucky.”

You didn’t know if Chucky had even heard what Angel had said—he was already enthralled with your daughter. You chuckled and shook your head as you tugged Angel back towards the car. You could hear the guys as you walked away. Coco must’ve picked up the diaper bag because you heard him call after you to ask if you had filled the thing with rocks instead of diapers, because that’s the only way it could be that heavy.

“What’d you put in there, querida?” Angel asked with a laugh as he got into the car.

“Just the essentials.”

Dinner was quiet, and just what the two of you needed. And, much to your surprise, you didn’t spend the whole evening worrying about if things were going okay back at the clubhouse. You trusted that Chucky would call if he needed assistance. You doubted that he did, though. Angel didn’t seem too flustered over it either. He checked his phone a few times just to make sure that there weren’t any missed calls or texts, but other than that he let it lie.

When the two of you got back to the clubhouse, everything was quiet. It wasn’t nearly late enough for it to be so dead, but you didn’t hear music or ruckus of any kind coming from the clubhouse. It was almost eerie.

You and Angel walked into the clubhouse to see that a large space in the center of it had been cleared of any and all furniture. Chucky had laid out all of the blankets and pillows that you had sent and clearly had come up with some of his own, and made quite the expansive play area for your daughter in the middle of the floor. She was fast asleep now, tucked safely in her favorite blanket with stuffed animals surrounding her. Chucky was sitting cross-legged next to her, just watching her to make sure that she stayed happily in her little dream world.

The icing on the cake was all of Angel’s brothers sprawled out across the blankets as well, also fast asleep. You giggled quietly as you leaned into Angel’s side, both of you walking over attempting not to wake anyone up, but especially the baby.

“Looks like you’ve had things perfectly under control here,” you whispered as you sank down and sat next to Chucky.

“Smoothest sailor out at sea,” he said back quietly with a nod.

“The boys can stay here,” you gently nudged Chucky’s shoulder, “But this little lady needs to come home with me. I’ll come by for the blankets and pillows tomorrow.”

You carefully got your daughter situated in her car seat without waking her up. Your daughter was luckily a very heavy sleeper, which would serve her well growing up surrounded by motorcycles. She hardly even flinched as you buckled her in and draped the blanket back over her again.

You hugged Chucky tight as you thanked him again, and you could tell that he felt it with his whole body, “I really appreciate you doing this for us, Chucky. Would you mind if we called on you again down the road?”

“I wouldn’t mind at all,” he looked back and forth between you and Angel as the three of you stood on the steps to the clubhouse, “Thank you, Angel Reyes, Y/N, for trusting me.”

“You’ve earned it, man,” Angel said with a nod.

The smile that spread across Chucky’s face could’ve melted the coldest heart in the world. The three of you said one more round of goodbye’s to each other before you and Angel headed off to the car, your sleepy daughter now in tow.

Once she was situated and you and Angel had gotten buckled in, you turned over to him with a smile on your face. He shook his head, not even needing to look at you to know that you had a smug expression.

“Just fucking say it,” he said with a laugh.

“I told you so!” you said in a loud whisper as you playfully slapped his arm.

He chuckled, rolling his eyes as he threw the car into drive, “Yea, yea. You told me so.”

[clementinesjourney]

Record Shop Funk - Pt. 1 Like real people do

A.N. : Hey guys, so i had this idea yesterday, and i really hope you'll like it. <3

MINORS DO NOT INTERACT.

Words: 1,9k

Pairing: camboy!Steve x Reader, roommate!Bucky x reader, Stucky x reader (as the story goes)

Warnings: nothing yet :)

Summary: Who knew that having a secret crush, then a hearbreak will end in such a sweet thing..

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You and Bucky shared an apartment above the recordshop you both worked in. Your aunt was the owner of both, so it was a fairly good payment, and a fairly good apartment for a cheap price. It was a bright and big apartment with two bedrooms, so your decided to rent it out, all while searching for a helper to the shop downstairs. When Bucky came in applying for the job, you asked out of joke if he needs a place to live since you had seen around 5 people already and none of them felt right. His eyes lit up as he said he is in fact looking for a place. Since he was fitting for a job, and looked like a decent guy, you congratulated him on his new job, and asked if he wants to see the place today. You still had one and a half hour to close, but after it you would gladly show him the apartment.

He had nothing better to do, so he agreed to it, feeling happy about having a job he might actually like and a coworker he might actually will get along with.

-Do you drink coffee? I was thinking of getting one in the meantime. My friend works close by, and they make the best coffee in town. - He asked.

-I could go for one thank you - you smiled at him - iced cold-brew, no sugar, i'm sweet enough.. - you said with a smile.

He couldn't help but smile back at the joke. When he arrived at the café, he saw his friend Steve flirting with a girl whom he could visibly see trembling just cause he talked to her. Steve always had his way with girls, ever since the serum of course. After he broke up with Peggy, it was mostly just hookups, never finding a girl worth keeping around. Not as if they werent kind, pretty or good to him, it just never felt right. Bucky smiled at his friend, Steve immediately shifted his gaze from the girl, to a very happy Bucky.

-Did you get the job?

-Better.. I got the job, and she has a room for rent which i'll see tonight.

-Wow Bucky, i didn't know you were even better then i am.. sooo how does she look? - asked Steve with a slight wiggle of his eyebrows. He wanted Bucky to get a girl since ages and hearing this, his mind immediately ventured there.

-5'7, ginger, green eyes, freckles, curvy just the right places. why?

-Nothing Buck.. nothing.. - Steve said smirking at his friend.. Bucky never realized when he liked a girl, so he never really acted on it. He last had a woman back in the 40's.

-Sooo i know you didn't come to have chat with me, one black coffee and.. ?

-ah, iced cold-brew, no sugar..

After paying for the coffee, he hurried back to the shop, hoping to get to know his coworker a little bit better.

You thanked him for the coffee, and when you tried to pay, he refused.

-Next round's mine then. - You smiled at him with your 1000 watt smile, which again he couldn't help but smile back at.

-So tell me about you Bucky, what do you do in your freetime?

-Nothing really, just reading, spending time with my friends, kind of thats it.. I have a boring life really. What about you?

-Well, i work here, then i go home and listen to music, cook, god i love to cook, thats a big pro for the apartment.. just saying. - you said with a playful wink. - besides that nothing much. Sometimes i go to a nearby bar with my friends maybe concerts and thats it.

-I like washing dishes if that helps with the application for the room. - he said with a shy laugh which made your heart skip a beat.

- It sure does.. Do you leave your stuff around?

-No i'm a tidy person.. thank you very much. - he said cockily (just for the sake of being funny really).

-Okay okay, if you like it you can have the room, just promise to tell if you bring up a girl so i can leave. The walls are kind of thin.

-It's okay, i don't really...

-Oh um i'm sorry, i didn't meant to intrude, it just something i would really like everyone to add to their rental contracts. - you chuckled embarassed.

-Noo no, it's okay, i'm not embarassed by it. I guess i don't want hook ups, if one day there's someone i'll tell in advance.

-yea me too, i promise. If you end up renting it anyway haha. on that note it's time to close so i can show the room in a min.

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

When you opened the door to the apartment Buckyquietly took in it all. It was really bright, white walls with paintings all over the walls, plants in every corner or shelf you can put one on, a comfy looking mustard couch, aztec-y rug under the coffeetable, and a wall fully shelved, filled with books and little trinkets, it looked like a home he never had a chance to have. The livingroom had an american kitchen on the side, island in the middle of the kitchen area, it was white, and blue which reminded him of greece, down the hallway you showed him the bathroom which of course had a lot of plants that liked the atmosphere of a bathroom, a shower in the corner and a bathtub under the window. You then showed the empty room he could rent out. It only had a shelf and a wardrobe, and a queen sized bed. No decorations, no signs of anybody ever living there. You then pointed to the room the opposit of what could possibly be Bucky's in the future, saying that is yours. You didn't show your room, he wasn't gonna go in there anyway, and showing your most private space on the first day didn't seem like a good idea either. You then invited him out to the balcony, watching the setting sun, smoking a cigarette.

-So thats about it, what do you think?

-I really like it, and i mean.. my workplace is pretty close so thats a plus, also you said something about cooking all the time.. sooo if it's alright with you i would love to rent it out.

-It's settled then roomie. I'll give you the keys, you can move in whenever you want to. Tomorrow we are closed, so maybe that would be ideal.

-Yea, then tomorrow it is then. I'll ask my friend to help, then we can maybe hang a bit if you're free.

-Sure, i have nothing planned, and it's good to know who i'll be living with. - you said with a smile.

Before closing the door, you said your goodbyes, and you realized what did you just do, after he wished you good night with a killer halfsmile that almost had your knees buckle. You just agreed to living together with possibly the most handsome man you've ever seen who is also your new coworker, so you will basically spend most of your time with him.. Guess we'll see how this goes you thought to yourself.

Morning came soon enough, you were sitting out on the balcony when you saw Bucky arrive with a very tall, just as handsome man, carrying boxes of books, and bags of clothing. Bucky looked up at the balcony, waving towards you, you waved back, then moved to open the front door before going back out to the balcony, resuming your coffee and smoke.

When they finished bringing all Bucky's stuff in, it was already midday, so you decided you'd order pizza for all of you, as in like a welcome present.

-Hey guys, i'm thinking of ordering pizza, what kind would you like?

-Oh (y/n) you don't have to. - said Bucky, earning a smirk from Steve as he looked back and forth between you two.

- Noo i insist, today won't be the day i'll start to slowly kill you with my cooking. - you said giggling a bit.

- Whatever's fine peach. - said Steve with a wink, that you decided was just out of friendlyness. You didn't veen knew his name, and he seemed like a lady's man anyways. Not really your type no matter how handsome and muscular he is.

- Steve, by the way, nice to meet you.

-(Y/n), likewise. - you shook his hand.

When the pizzas arrived you called them to the kitchen, listening to all their shared stories from their early years. They seemed like really close friends, and genuinely good people. You had a really great time. It was nearly 9 pm when Steve left, for saving a dame from dying cause of boredom he said. You and Bucky chuckled, then he let him out, closing the door, locking it for the night.

-I guess i have some packing to do, so.. good night (y/n).

-Good night Bucky, if you need anything just knock. - you said with a smile, and he couldn't help but smile back. He felt at peace. He had Steve, now he had a job, and a room to make a home of, and you as a new addition. You were so kind, so eager to help if he needed anything, he loved how the scent of raspberries and flowers lingered in the apartment mixed with coffee and cigarette smoke. It seemed to have a calming effect on him.

You heard a soft knock half an hour later. WHen you opened the door you saw a smiling Bucky, awkwardly scratching the back of his head.

- Hey, um.. sorry. I forgot i didn't bring a blanket, could i borrow one until i get my own?

-Yea sure, i'll get one in a min. - You said, leaving the door open, letting him see a bit of "you" while you were searching for your spare blanket in your wardrobe. The room really was you. White, with mustardy curtains on the window, plants everywhere, books piled up here and there, a really comfy looking bed, pictures of you and your friends on the walls. And damn, your room smelled even more like you. If he wouldn't pay attention your scent would lure him into your room and never let him leave he thought.

-There you go. - you handed him the blanket smiling.

-Thank you very much.

Then he stood there for a moment drinking in the sight of you in front of him. You were wearing an oversized tshirt, that ended just around the middle of your thighs, hair in a messy bun, no makeup. He could swear he thought you were pretty before, but seeing you as you were made him fancy you even more.

With a small smile you told him goodnight again, then closed the door in his face.

You could hear his little laugh on the other side of the door, then his door closing. For the first time in months he didn't wake up in the middle of the night, and he didn't had a nightmare either. He was afraid he would, and then he would wake you up with his screaming, but looks like the blanket which smelled just like you calmed him enough.

After waking up because the rays of sunshine on his face, he smiled to himself guess i'll wait with getting my own blanket then...

[floraltypes]

Old Beginning Pt. 2

pairings - aaron hotchner x reader, jethro gibbs x reader

chapters - one 

summary - the news of a dinner party arrises, but there are some little challenges before the actually night

wc - 3k

an - sorry this took awhile, my summer is over and my writing schedule will be a little wonky now. i’m taking a break from answering requests, so I apologize if I haven’t answered yours, but i eventually will

Penelope and you both looked back at Aaron, taken back by his repeating of the word ‘boyfriend’. You didn’t plan on telling people so soon, considering he was your boss from your old line of work.

“I want to know everything about him, you have to invite him!” Penelope quickly went back into her loud chatting, attracting other faces at her comment. “I also may have mentioned to some of the team that you do have a boyfriend, it just slipped! You know I can’t keep secrets!”

“It’s okay, Pene,” You smiled softly. “I can’t invite him though, you know, since I’m not the one holding the dinner event.”

“You can invite your partner, everyone else can as well, considering it is a catch up,” Dave walked over, a cup of coffee in his own hand as he used the other to scratch at his stubble. “I’ll even invite the woman I’ve been seeing. Feel free to all bring a plus one, I have enough room and everyone deserves a taste of my Italian dishes, will change their lives.”

“Thank you, Rossi, but I simply can’t. It’s so soon, and he’s such a busy man,” You laughed, waving your hand. “It was a kind gesture though.”

“L/n, don’t tell us you’re embarrassed to show your new boyfriend to us?” Derek walked back over, poking your shoulder. “Penelope told all of us down here, just wanted to wait and see when you would tell us.”

“I’m not embarrassed, that’s absurd. He’s truly busy.”

“Invite him, I’ll make sure Will comes and hire a babysitter for Henry, so that we can truly have a adult night,” JJ chuckled. “Everyone is bringing a date, so it would be odd if you didn’t.”

“Actually, I don’t have a partner at the moment due to how invested I am in my studies and the factors of that many young woman my age only focus on the factor of conventional attractiveness rather then the complexity of brains and deep-”

“Don’t worry, Spencer, if you don’t have a date, then I’ll just bring two,” Emily joked. “You don’t need a date, I’m not bringing one either, but Y/n is for sure.”

“I’ll be like the tw-”

“You are dating someone, we aren’t, so you’ll bring that someone. Come on, L/n,” Emily continued on, grabbing your hand and pulling you away. “I’ll walk you out,” She turned back to wink at her coworkers, leading you to the elevator and soon the parking lot.

“Aaron,” Rossi looked towards his friend, a man who had his glare fixated on your exiting figure. “Will you bring Beth, the more the merrier.”

“Yeah, I suppose I will,” He answered, retrieving his cellphone from his pocket, pulling up her contact picture, thumb hovering over the call button. “Let’s finish up this work, so we call all get home.” He shoved it back in his pocket, commanding everyone else while moving back up the stairs to his office.

Meanwhile, you were outside of your car, looking at Emily still was right by your side.

“Bring your boyfriend,” She commented, watching as you fished for your keys and unlocked your car. “I want to meet him, I haven’t really talked to you in a long time.”

“We’re both so busy. Him as well.”

“Seriously, Y/n, I’m not gonna ease up on you. I’ve noticed the new tint in your eye, new considering the last time it was severely dulled. It’s amazing to see your real smile again, you closer to your old self despite the past losses. He really has helped you, so I want to meet the man who helped my dear friend so much.”

You contemplated her kind words, getting down to the point that everyone probably was happy to see you again, yourself physically and mentally.

“I’ll call him, see if he can come. Can’t promise anything, his work is very important to him, so if it needs him he’s there.”

Emily smiled widely, leaning over to kiss your cheek before you moved to open the front door and start your car.

“Great, I’m actually bringing someone. Poor Spencer might be the only one.”

“Aaron is as well?”

“Hotch, yeah,” She laughed. “Meet her at some track meet he had, Jack really likes her.”

“That’s good, I’ll see you soon then,” You smiled, shutting the door as Emily watched you back out, waving a small goodbye.

Leaving the facility, while at a stop light, you found your flip phone, finding the contact of Jethro and quickly dialing the number.

“Gibbs,” He answered.

“Hey, are you on a case?”

“No, are you driving?”

“Yes, safely. What are you doing? Building a boat,” You chuckled, imagining him in the basement with the tool and sweaty shirt.

“Yeah. Did you meet up with your old team today?”

“Mhm, all surprised to see me today. It was humorous in a sense. But, Rossi invited me and everyone to a dinner, telling us to bring a partner.”

“Who are you planning on bringing?”

“You.”

“So, we’re being more public with our relationship?”

“Just with the old team, my old team, they don’t have contact with anyone apart of NCIS, or at least not personal only professional.”

“I thought you were going to come and see me, instead of making me drive,” You could almost sense his smile on the other line, a mocking one.

Gibbs would obviously accept the offer, the man truly holding a strong affection for you, a soft spot personally for you, so he would agree to drive the hour or two.

But just because he would, it doesn’t mean he didn’t have to mess around a bit, act like he wouldn’t.

“I know, but then you can see my new apartment. And after this weekend, who knows when we’ll be able to see each other again. Both of our jobs involved sporadic cases that start and end at no specific time, hard to plan around. And, everyone is pressuring me to meet you.”

“I’m already popular, huh?”

“I suppose,” You huffed, rubbing your temple, exhaustion starting to take over you, wanting to get some rest, a calming bath to combat earlier feelings that seemed as if they were creeping up once again.

“I’ll come, don’t worry. Get home safe, call me when you have the address and date.”

“Okay, bye.” You hung up, tossing the phone onto the empty seat as you continued to drive, playing the music from the CD already inserted in your car.

Time leading up to the dinner seemed to fly by, especially considering that it wasn’t much time and you weren’t having to work. You decided to take the free time to get fully settled in, figure out your nerves, make a phone call to your therapist, and even read. Trying to get prepared for all the days that are to come.

Your hair was now being changed from its normal du to a new one, fancier in a sense. Applying a nice coat of makeup, new lip color, trying a new pallet and the old eyelash curler that hasn’t been used in a while, you finished ‘upgrading’ your face. A outfit was simple, considering you didn’t have many fancy ones, so with not much to choose, it was a quick decision.

Sliding that on and fixing the straps to be a bit tighter, messing with the bra to fit correctly, and pulling it down a bit, you grabbed your go to purse, shoving needed materials a into it as you moved to the kitchen.

Within the kitchen, there was a certain door within the wall of the pantry with a password. Quickly typing in the combination the door swung open, choosing between a small but handy knife, you put in the pocket of your bag.

You weren’t too worried about dangers at the dinner, but with years of catching/fighting murders, specific people after you, and even very powerful assassins, you carried certain weapons for safety.

Hearing the sturdy knock of someone’s knuckles on your front door, you rushed to shut the the secret door in the pantry, heading to your front door where someone was waiting.

A quick peak through the hole, your eyes widened in surprise and opened the door, allowing the man to walk in.

“I wasn’t expecting to see you, till uh, later tonight,” You mentioned, looking him up and down to see him more dressed up. “Are you not able to attend anymore?”

“No, I’m still going,” Hotch denied, sliding off his shoes and following you to the couch. “I just wanted to chat before than, a chance for just the two of us.”

“Is something wrong?” You walked over to your teapot, filling it with water, and placing it on your stove, heating up the water. “This is very unexpected.”

“Nothing is wrong. I just want to talk to you, see the apartment, hear what’s new with you.”

“Things,” You shrugged. “Obviously I’ve had a new job experience, similar in ways and also not. Grew closer with a new group of teammates, people, lost a few. Yeah, lost a few,” You repeated, remembering Jenny Shepard, even Kate, both amazing women, who did amazing things.

“That’s always hard, I guess my most recent loss was Haley,” Aaron hummed, soon the kettle making a high pitched noise, you rushing to take it off and grab some tea bags.

“She was also a amazing woman. Wonderful mother, cared so much for that little boy.”

“She really was.”

“Did you come to chat about her, it’s been a while since we had. Last time we really talked was five months after she passed, after the funeral.”

“It really has been that long?” Aaron questioned, taking the tea that you time handed him. “But it’s not the reason I came. I should have made more of a effort to keep in touch, after your transfer, after your loss.”

“You stayed with me for three months, allowing to lose some time with your son so you could change my dirty sheets and pick up all my snotty tissues,” You laughed, sitting down across from him with your own cup. “You had to get back to your family, make up for loss time.”

“You still helped me with my divorce during that time, and I still saw Jack,” He reminded you.

“I could’ve moved in with my father, but you allowed me not to do that.”

“Your father is a good man, but might not be the best to live with,” He laughed, a deep chuckle, something you didn’t see much. “You look nice.”

“Now you just notice,” You chuckle, taking another sip. “Thank you, you look nice as well. I was actually just going to call Jethro and tell him to meet me there, a bit of a drive and he isn’t happy about having to find a new team,” You spoke freely, feeling comfortable with the old friend, one you used to spill everything to years ago, him ranting to you too.

“Jethro? He has his own team? Sounds like a boss of some type.”

“Uh, technically. It’s complicated. I need to get going, to make it to the dinner on time and, finish, um, cleaning up my room before leaving.”

“I could take you there.”

“No thanks, I’ll see you there, bye.” You helped guide him to the door, a curt wave before he exited and shut it, locking it in a rush and moving back to the dining room table to clean the mugs.

You didn’t want to tell him all that, always insecure due to Gibbs being the prior boss of you and how people looked at that. Rumors were always spread about your and Aaron’s relationship, mostly about it being romantic.

Joining the team, you two easily hit it off due to your personalities. Always being filled with determination and stubbornness, refusing to give up till everything was done and right, even with files. Eventually you joined together, talked, spent most days with each other due to cases, and truly gained a very close friendship.

When rumors were getting around, glares were thrown your way, comments, left out by members who weren’t your immediate teams. People thought you were the cause of Haley and Aaron’s divorce, somehow word got around quickly, drama always does.

It was frustrating, already dealing with many different things at home, and even being in a relationship, it put so much unneeded stress and anxiety onto you.

So, getting into a relationship with Gibbs was a very reluctant thing on your part, he expressed his feelings first, but it was hard to accept them, despite the nerves he faced to do it.

Locking up the apartment, having all of your items with you, you made your way out the door and too your car, starting the drive to David’s house.

Upon arriving, you could hear light chatter in the home, lights on, and soothing music playing in the background. It sounded like everyone was having their fun, you couldn’t make out all the shadows of everyone indoors, just waiting outside for Jethro to arrive.

“Y/n?” You turned around at the sound of his voice, keys jingling in his hands as he walked up to you with a sly smile, shoving them in his pockets to place his arms around your waist. “What’s wrong, love?” Be snaked them around, a kiss to your somewhat clothed shoulder.

“Nothing, just a bit nervous to introduce you to everyone,” You smiled back at him, he squeezed a little tighter, catching your lips in a quick kiss. “Looking at your team, yet?”

“Nevermind that,” He grumbled, removing his hands to now interlace your left one with his right. “We should go in, right?”

“Maybe we could head back, to my place, say you are sick or something?” You looked back at him with a pleading look, to which he just chuckled at, starting to move to the front door, pressing the doorbell as you groaned a little.

“You’ll be fine,” He looked back at you as Rossi answered the door, cheerful smile on his lips, glass of scotch in hand as he moved out of the way to let you in.

“Ah! Y/n!” He cheered, leaning over to kiss your cheek and then pulled back. “Glad you made it! This must be…”

“Y/n! Oh where is the man?” Penelope rushed in, coming right by you with her own fruity drink, then leaning to whisper in your ear. “Is this him, oo!”

“Uh, Jethro that’s David,” You pointed to the man who first greeted you, him and Jethro shaking hands. “This is Penelope, the one kind of like Abby,” You smiled, as she gave you a little look, turning back and enveloping him in a little hug. She quickly turned back to you.

“He looks a little intimidating,” She whispered as you just laughed.

“For sure,” You nodded.

“Can I offer you a drink?” David turned to you two, gesturing to the one in his hand. “Something like Garcia for you Y/n, and what about you Jethro?”

“Just call me Gibbs, and yeah that’s fine,” He corrected Rossi, taking your hand as the two of you walked more inside of the magnificent house.

It truly was so well designed, very expensive, and the appetizers adorning the oak wood table looked very delicious. You wanted to go and grab a bite, before you were actually led to the living room where everyone was currently sitting.

“L/n, finally made it,” Derek laughed, beer in his hand as he pointed at you with a little chuckle. “You always know how to be a bit late.”

“Fashionably late, I believe that’s what it’s called,” JJ corrected them with her own wine glass in hand, Will sat right besides her on one of the couch as most of them in that room joined in laughter.

“What can I say?” You laughed, walking over, feeling less nervous with the factor of introducing your boyfriend, taking a seat on another couch in the large room, Jethro automatically sitting right besides you.

“So, introduce us,” Emily motioned over to Jethro, sly smile playing on her lips.

“This is Jethro, but he goes by Gibbs, and, uh, this is the team,” You started to name everyone off while pointing to them, leaving off a few names due to your members introducing their own partners to you.

Emily, Derek, and JJ had all brought partners. Spencer and Penelope decided to ‘go together’ as if they were partners, and Hotch hadn’t arrived yet. Rossi also had his girlfriend helping him cook in the kitchen, making drinks for you and Gibbs now.

“So, you work at NCIS, right?” Spencer questioned. “The Naval Criminal Investigative Service, very interesting considering the type of crimes you investigate. I would love to hear more about some of your cases and how you went about it,” Spencer smiled, a small notebook being pulled out of his pocket with a pen.

“Yeah,” Gibbs just nodded, looking at you a little questioning, which you just chuckled at.

“Why should we talk so much about work, it’s something we all do too much of,” You joked, everyone laughing, as Dave came back out, handing some drinks.

“Fine, fine, what do you do for fun Mr. Gibbs?” Derek asked, putting a arm over the couch and pulling his girl closer to his side, the woman just on her phone.

“I like to build boats, a type of hobbie I’ve been doing for years.”

“Building boats? Where?” Will wondered, intertwining his fingers with JJ.

“My basement, a private workspace.”

“How do you get it out then?” Penelope inquired, now back by Spencer and her face in her hand, leaning closer to show her interest in Gibbs statement.

“I’d be no fun if you knew that,” He shrugged, taking a drink with a small smile as Penelope gasped, Emily mouthing how ‘I like him’. It was sweet how everything was going well.

They all continued to converse with Gibbs, easily accepting him apart of the conversation, it was sweet and you were now on your second drink, practically all nerves gone.

“Sorry we’re late,” A voice mentioned in the hallway, dressed in a fine suit with a beautiful woman standing besides him. He shrugged off the last of his coat as he hung it up, taking her hand and walking into the hallway a little.

“This is such a nice place, Aaron. Oh! Your friend, wow, so grand,” The woman admired, now truly getting in your line of sight.

“Yeah,” He mumbled, eyes interlocking with yours before falling onto Gibbs. “I’m Aaron, call me Hotch.”

“I’m Gibbs,” Your boyfriend stood up, moving over to the other man with his hand stuck out. “Call me that.”

You had a feeling this evening wouldn’t be as smooth as you hoped.

——————

taglist - @wolviesbabes @hotch-meeeeeuppppp

(comment to be added, or a tag list for all my gibbs post)

[rosesvioletshardy]

lover - erik johnson

okay i’ve been working on this for nearly a month and hopefully y’all like it + there’s isn’t a specific time line in this fic and it’s sort scattered (i’m really sorry) also i’m sorry if it’s so 🥴🥴🥴

masterlist

ej masterlist

warnings: mentions of drinking, mentions of a not so healthy relationship, a couple of dirty jokes

# of words: 3120

We could leave the Christmas lights up 'til January

And this is our place, we make the rules

And there's a dazzling haze, a mysterious way about you, dear

Have I known you twenty seconds or twenty years?

It was already mid January. The Christmas decorations inside the house have been taken down and put away except for the lights. You knew that you should’ve taken down the lights as soon as Christmas was over, but Erik insisted that the two of you should instead leave them up until you got sick of them or Christmas rolled around again. Neither one of you minded about how late you’d keep them up, because either way it was your house which meant they were your rules. At one point he joked that you should just leave them up all year so injuries wouldn’t happen while putting them up or taking them down. Especially with him being injury prone and saying that he could do everything himself and wouldn’t let you touch anything. The most you did was put away the stuff inside the house besides the tree excluding the ornaments.

“Why don’t we just keep the outside lights out? I mean this our house, no one else makes the rules besides us.” he suggested pulling you in for a hug as he held your waist and looked down at you

“Plus, it means I won’t end up hurting myself trying to take them down like I did putting it up” he added as you laughed at the memory of him knocking the ladder over and having to push himself to sit on the roof until you came home

“That doesn’t sound too bad, until we’ll get complaints from the neighbors” you mentioned making him roll his eyes

“So what?”

“So? I can’t deal with Mrs. Harris always yelling at me. It’s like she drinks a cup of hate everyday and puts her problems onto everyone else! It’s not our fault her children don’t visit, she shouldn’t have to take it out on everyone else!”

There was something about Erik that made you drawn to him and his ways. His jokes, the way he’ll go all the way to protect his team mates in fights, even if it does mean he might get a fine or suspension.

“That’ll make it even more funny! C’mon, you don’t think that would be funny?” he asked with a serious look on his face knowing how much he loves messing with people sometimes

“You’re quite the something Erik Johnson” you laughed out

“I try to be” he smiled making you chuckle

“Fine, we’ll leave them up, but you’re going to be taking the blame if she yells at me and you’re going to be the one apologizing all the time” you finished walking away from him and into the kitchen

Times like these make you wonder as to how long you’ve known him. At times it feels like you’re meeting for the first time all over again but other times it feels like you’ve known each other for twenty years. One thing you did know was that you didn’t want to waste a single second without him. You always thought if you would’ve found each other if he hadn’t bumped his shopping cart into yours while texting.

Can I go where you go?

Can we always be this close?

Forever and ever

Take me out and take me home

You’re my, my, my, my lover

Before even the two of you started to date and were still in the beginning of your relationship, you knew that Erik had a demanding job that would take him all over the US and some parts of Canada and you also having your own career making it tough for the two of you. You always made it your job to try and at least make the home games in Denver if you managed to get off work early. He always appreciated when you did and tried his best to make sure to impress you. Even now after a few years of dating, it felt like your first game all over again and you still got butterflies every time you think about it.

One game landed on your anniversary and it was an away game. He didn’t know that you had flown out with the help of Gabe and because they were going to be there a few days before the game, they had made sure that you and Erik got a room to yourselves. No matter how far apart the two of you were, you always found a way to be close.

After the game in Washington, Erik had convinced the team to let him stay for a couple of days so the two of you could celebrate your anniversary there rather than be a little jet lag and tired by the time you got home. He took you out to places that were the team's favorites and showed places that were his favorites that no one else knew. He always took you out to so many places no matter where they were and he always felt like a piece of home away from home.

We could let our friends crash in the living room

This is our place, we make the call

The beginning of the season meant that there was going to be a kick off party before they started the preseason. This year it was yours and Erik’s turn to host it. You loved that the team did this, especially with all the new players after being traded so you got to know them better.

Even though it was still August and there were still deals being made until the preseason and regular season started, it was still nice to have a party before they have to go back to training camp to prepare for them.

The two of you have been running around all day to make sure that you had everything for the night and that no one had to do last minute shopping, more you than him. He was always trying to calm you down whenever there were get-togethers that the two of you were hosting.

Almost everyone had a little too much to drink that night when all of you were sitting around the fire pit in the background nursing your preferred drinks. All the younger players who still weren't of age in the states had left a little earlier seeing that none of their older teammates wanted to get in trouble. When the fire had died out, everyone managed to get back inside the house and back into the living room.

“Cale, we love you and we need you, but at the same time, I also don’t trust you, so you’re going to stay here tonight, alright? Same goes with you Nate” Erik told them as he tried sitting them down on the couches as you brought in the rest of the dishes, nearly tripping over Tyson

“Oh yeah, sorry, I forgot he was there and he just laid down there” EJ said as he walked over to take some of glasses from your hand to set them down on the coffee table

“Guess I have to go get the extra blankets and pillows from the closet?” you asked looking at the three drunk hockey players “Yeah, it’s better for them to stay here. I don’t trust them being in their houses in a state like this. Especially this late too.”

“I’ll go get the stuff so they’re comfortable. I don’t think Tyson’s going to be happy that we just left him on the ground without anything” you mentioned as you two walked to the hallway closet

“I mean I would’ve taken him to the guest room but he was passed out by the time I managed to get Cale and Nate to settle on the couches. Want me to use the salts on him?”

“Do not do that. He won’t be able to sleep later if you do that”

And I'm highly suspicious that everyone who sees you wants you.

I've loved you three summers now, honey, but I want 'em all

You could feel everyone who was single burning holes into you as you and Erik danced. The two of you were at a family friend's wedding and no one thought that you’d show up with someone like Erik. Due to not seeing them for a while, they all thought you were single, despite adding a plus one. Now, they were all looking at the two of you. Especially the ones who were single.

“You okay?” you heard Erik ask you, snapping you out of your thoughts

“Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking” you told him smiling but he didn’t believe you for a second. He took you off the dance floor and to the hall outside the reception

“Okay, tell me what going on in that head of yours” he asked you concerned about the way you’ve been acting

“Everyone’s just staring at us.”

“So?”

“So, it’s like they haven’t seen me with someone before and it’s annoying that they’d all think I wouldn’t show up and thought when I put down a plus one, that I was lying. And I know everyone who’s single in there wants you because they don’t believe that I was able to get someone like you.” you told him frustrated and began to walk back and forth. He smiled at you before he grabbed your hands again and pulled you into him, hoping it’ll calm you down

“Who cares what they think? You came here, you’re hot, you have a boyfriend who loves you. Just know that if it’s really bothering you, we can leave. We don’t have to stay.” he told you as you took a deep breath

“No, no I'm being dramatic. I’m sorry”

“Don’t apologize, you know that we’ve been together for nearly three summers and that you’re allowed to be frustrated about things like this and don’t need to apologize for them. It’s not your fault. It’s not my fault.” he started

“I’ve loved you for those three summers and I want to love you for more. C’mon let’s go home.” he finished, kissing the top of your head

Ladies and gentlemen, will you please stand?

With every guitar string scar on my hand

I take this magnetic force of a man to be my lover

It was an off day for the team and all Erik wanted to was relax. Despite having already working out on the said day off it was nice to have a weekend off where he wasn’t going to spend the night on the ice and rather spend in your guys house. The entire day was just spent with the two of you cleaning and spending quality time with each other before he went on another road trip.

The two of you were currently watching a movie and there was a wedding scene that made you start to dream. You wondered what it would be like on the day of your wedding and how everything would go. With Erik standing at the end waiting for you with a smile stretching across his face, ignoring everyone who was standing and only focused on you. You were soon snapped out of your thoughts when he grabbed your hand. His calloused hands from hockey with small scars from trying to learn how to play the guitar during quarantine with your soft ones.

“Whatcha you thinking about?” he asked wondering why you were so focused

“Nothing, just us” you tell him smiling as he kissed your hand

Little did you know that he had a small velvet box hidden deep within his sock drawer, waiting for the right moment to ask the question he wanted to ask since the first year.

My heart's been borrowed and yours has been blue

All's well that ends well to end up with you

Swear to be overdramatic and true to my lover

You knew wedding traditions were a thing and even though it may have looked like you wanted to do them because of superstition, everything was just calm with each of you. You didn’t need something blue from a relative to make sure that everything went the way you wanted it to go. The only blue you needed was with Erik. He always had a calm presence when it came to his personality and being around others. One of his favorite things that you joked about was that when it came to your wedding day, you wouldn’t take anything blue, because of his eyes. The thing he never misses was having a light blue detailing on your ring that you were able to see, unless you were up close to it.

Being with Erik felt like an emotional toll had been taken off you when you first met. He wasn’t like the other boyfriends or dates you had in the past. The two of you understood each other and understood that you weren’t going to be with each other every single second of the day. After you two had your first fight, you had both decided that you needed to be honest with each other and promised that you’d both would talk in a calm manner to understand why you both were mad and offered solutions to make sure that if there were a next one, it wouldn’t involve a screaming match between you two.

Something you weren’t expecting on your wedding day was drama. Someone had managed to let one of your exes know when it was, what time the ceremony was, and the location. You’ve always joked that you were never the one to start drama, but it somehow always managed to attract you.

“I don’t mean to alarm you, but they’re here.” Ashlyn had told you, walking into the room as your eyes got wide

“How?!” you asked, getting up from your seat and began to pace around

“I’m not sure. There’s something else you should know. He brought her.”

By this point you left the room, ignoring every call that was made for you. Ashlyn soon called Erik to tell him what happened and that you’d left the room. He knew everything that happened in your last relationship and would do anything to make sure he didn’t turn out the same. Giving his groomsmen the look, they nodded understanding and left the room.

He searched nearly every room in the venue for you that the two of you had rented for the occasion. Taking one last sigh and rubbing his head, he quickly looked up and remembered exactly where you’d be.

During the time of the planning, you and ej would be visiting different banquet halls and they all felt nice and looked nice but they didn’t have the views that the two of you wanted. During the visit to this particular one, you found a room where there was a balcony that overlooked a lake and you instantly felt like that was the one. That was the view you wanted to see when looking back at the pictures.

“There you are” you heard a voice say making you quickly turn your head as he walked towards you

“I know”

“You know?”

“Yeah, Ashlynn called me after you left the room” he said as you let out a sigh, leaning over with your head in your hands

“I was doing alright and having a drama free day and how did he get in here?” you yelled in frustration but not loud enough for others to hear and on the verge of tears

“Hey, hey hey. Listen to me. We are not going to let him ruin this day for the two of us. If you want, we can ask the guys and make him leave”

“No, no it’s okay. I don’t want to cause a scene

“You never cause a scene. If i’m honest i want him to leave too. Don’t be afraid to stand up for yourself and understand you can be selfish sometimes” he whispered the last part while taking you one of your hands and the other under your chin as your eyes met each other

“We probably broke a ton of rules and superstitions” you laughed, trying not to let the tears escape and making him grin

“Well, if anything bad happens it’ll be worth it if it’s with you” he smiled kissing you head

“As long as they don’t know about how we hung out together for the last time last night” he finished as the two of you left the room and finished preparing for your big day.

And you’ll save all your dirtiest jokes for me

And at every table, I’ll save you a seat, lover

It wasn’t uncommon for everyone on the team and their significant other to get together for team dinners. At this point they were considered normal. The Landeskog household was filled with chatter throughout the house as everyone was arriving and getting ready for the night. Erik being Erik was making everyone laugh. You couldn’t tell what he was saying but you knew that it would’ve made you laugh as well. Excusing yourself from talking to the others, you entered the kitchen where you were back met with Erik as he threw away some garbage.

“What are you doing here?” he asked curiously

“Thirsty. I think it’s the wine, it’s good but it’s making me want water more” you say grabbing a cup from one of the cabinets

“Does that make you an H2hoe?” he grinned as you looked at him with a shocked expression before letting out a laugh

“Where did you think of that”

“I’ve had it for a while but that isn’t even the worst one” he said grinning while walking away and back to the dining room and saving a spot for you

---

“The season has been tough so far, and we’ve had our ups and downs but we always have gotten it in the end. So here’s to an amazing year” Gabe finished as everyone clinked their glasses together

“Here’s to love, and here’s to honor. If you can’t come in her, come on her” Erik whispered in your ear making you choke on your drink, turning your head to look at him

“Told you I had something worse” he said as everyone looked over at the two of you worried as you waved it off

Can I go where you go?

Can we always be this close?

Forever and ever, ah

Take me out, and take me home (Forever and ever)

You're my, my, my, my

Oh, you're my, my, my, my

Darling, you're my, my, my, my lover

[cinnamonrusts]

sparda twins -- reactions

The Sparda twins reactions that you're pregnant with not just one, but two of their children.

DANTE-

You paced the bathroom several times as you gnawed on your thumbnail. Your eyes did not leave the plastic stick that was sitting on the edge of the sink near the toilet. The packaging read that results would be ready in five minutes, but the wait had it feeling like five hours.

Dante had left on a run for some take out and you knew that it was all the way across town, so it left you some free time to figure out your "little" situation. You hadn't told him anything. How could you? The two of you were not in an exactly "family friendly" business. Last thing Dante would need to worry about was a mini Sparda.

You had enough of waiting and snatched the test from the counter. Your eyes narrowed as they fixated on the single horizontal pink line, but widened when it turned into a plus. The blood in your body ran cold and your throat grew dry. It was as if the + sign mocked you and your stomach felt sick. You knew it would happen, Dante called himself the pull out king. Yeah - fucking - right, and this proved him to be very wrong.

The evidence needed to be disposed of, so you wrapped it several times in some toilet paper and shoved it in the trash can. Dante hardly took the trash out and it would be unlikely that he would decide to scour the garbage, so you felt safe. Now all you would have to do is just keep it a secret until you decided how to approach it.

It didn't last long and soon Nico was on the other end of the phone. She let out a happy, "'Eller!" but was greeted by a loud sob along with unintelligible babble. "Woah! Woah! [Y/N], you gotta repeat yourself. I couldn't make out a damn thing! You okay?" the brunette asked, concerned. "I'M PREGNANT!" your sobs now made sense. "Oh, shit," she replied. "Yeah, oh shit is right."

"Did you tell Dante yet?"

You scoffed, "No. I don't think I can," as you spoke on the phone in the kitchen, your eyes fixed on a photo on the fridge of you and your devil hunter boyfriend. The two of you looked so happy and Dante's smile was so bright, the vibes that radiated from the picture kind of gave you some assurance. Maybe Dante would react well to the news and maybe he'd give the same smile of glee at the idea of being a father.

"But you're going to have to at some point. How you goin' to explain a giant belly here in a few months?" Nico was right, there was no way around it. You pinched the bridge of your nose and closed your eyes tight, "Could you maybe -- I dunno, take me to the doctor?" Nico replied, "I'll be there in a jiff!"

Just as you hung up, Dante walked in with two large bags that smelled of Chinese food. "Food is here and beer is in the fridge!" he waddled into the kitchen and his happy expression turned to one of concern when he noticed you looked upset. "Hey, darlin', you alright?" he set the bags down on the floor and slid to your side, his arms around your waist. His musk along with the heavy smell of greasy Chinese food almost threw you over the edge and caused you to gag. You placed your hand on his chest to prevent him from getting closer. His brows furrowed as he tried to understand what was wrong but the loud horn of Nico's van interrupted. "I'm going out with Nico. I'll be back," you brushed past him, grabbed your coat, and dashed out the door.

You were able to take a breath once you jumped into the passenger seat and slammed the door shut. Your head rested on the back of the seat and your eyes closed, "Thanks for the ride." Nico placed a hand on your thigh and nodded, "No problem, girlfriend."

Several hours passed and you weren't home yet. Dante's mind raced with different things he could've done to make you so upset. Was it because he hadn't taken the trash out? He would do that soon. Was it because he hadn't shown his appreciation for you relationship lately? He would go tonight to get you some flowers. So, the man did just that. Dante took the overflowed trash out. Then he made sure to hurry, so, that he would be home before you. Dante chose a bouquet of white roses and a goofy card. The card had two hot dogs on the front who held hands with smiles on their faces. It read, "Hot dog! You make me happy!" Dante got a kick out of it and figured you would too. The devil hunter wrote a quick, cheesy blurb in a scribbled mess and signed with his name plus a heart.

He opened the door and was surprised to see you in a chair near the entrance. You seemed to be in a trance and were startled by Dante’s sudden appearance. “I got you these!” he handed his gifts over but his happiness was dropped when you didn’t seem very happy to receive them.

“Dante, I have something I need to tell you.” you found it hard to keep your eyes on his. “Well, here it goes---,” your nose inhaled, then exhaled deeply, “I’m pregnant.”

Dante’s face was void of emotion before he burst into laughter. You grew angry and your facial expressions matched it. “That’s a good one, babe. Whew!,” he clapped his hands and winced a bit with his hand on his side, “Ow! That laugh made me pull a muscle.”

“I’m serious, Dante. I’m pregnant.” you reiterated. “With --- emotion?” he asked as his eyes shifted side to side.

“What? No! With a baby!”

Once Dante heard it for the third time, he realized it all. He was going to be a father and you were going to be the one who would usher in another lineage of the Sparda bloodline. Dante rushed to your side and took a knee as he kneeled beside you. His palm immediately made its way to your stomach as he pictured the life that was within. “Hey there, little buddy.” You cleared your throat into a closed fist which drew his attention to your face. Your right hand raised slowly and you twiddled your two first fingers in the air with a small smile.

That same grin that shined in the photo on your fridge grew across his lips. Both of his hands grabbed either side of your lower torso and he stared at your stomach. “You mean, there’s two of me in there?!” His expressions were warm and overjoyed, relief crashed over you as this situation turned out better than you thought. 

“I’m gonna really need to get outta debt.”

VERGIL-

Your body spoke to you and told you that something was going on. Every morning you felt ill and you could devour anything in sight until nausea overtook you. Lady asked if there was any possibility that you could be pregnant. A snort left your nostrils, “Impossible. Vergil and I don’t have sex enough for that to happen.” your mate was normally not home, you often slept in an empty bed more than one occupied by his strong body. But anytime he was, the act of intimacy could tear the walls down of his brother’s building. He was a focused and controlled man, he knew what he needed to do to prevent another child in his life. You were okay with that, your job was not one that was prime for being a parent. So, there was no doubt in your mind that this was nothing but a simple stomach bug.

“I don’t know, all your symptoms point to it, [Y/N]. Maybe you should take a test,” she attempted to reason with you and you eventually gave in.

The entire time you played it off as just something you did for Lady so that she would get off your back about it. You sat on the closed toilet lid and held the test loosely in between your fingers. The box read that it would take about ten minutes for a result, so you avoided looking at it until roughly around that. But your heart dropped into your stomach when the test did not read negative, but positive. “Shit --- Lady was right.” your cursed and your head dropped between your knees as your mind raced.

Vergil just found out that he had a son, Nero, and now you would throw him the information that he would have now an infant on the way. It was a conversation that you did not want to have. Vergil was a reserved man who did not show you his emotions often or expressed them publicly. You knew he loved you but it took quite sometime for him to open up to you about the fact. He put back his one track set mind toward power and made you a priority in his life. However, he had issues with being around his brother, son, and the other’s -- so he often went off on his own. You learned that this was something he wanted and you did not want to force yourself to go with him always. 

So, this news would not be easy to break to him when he would return in about a week. With the test clenched in your hand, you opened the door to leave the bathroom to only be greeted by Lady who was leaned against the walls with arms crossed. “So, what’s the prognosis?” she pushed herself from the wall and followed you as you pushed past her. You tossed the test into the air with your fingers and she caught it, “What do you think?” you answered before she was able to see for herself. The female was shocked to see that she was correct but didn’t want to say that she told you so.

You were about to slam your room door shut but her boot stopped it, “What’re you going to tell Vergil?” Your back was turned toward her and you faced the window as you observed the rain that pattered against the window. “Fuck if I know. How do you tell someone like him that he’s going to be a father... again.” Lady was silent, you turned on your heels to face her, “Exactly.”

Lady took your hand in hers and gave you a comforting smile, “Hey, he won’t be home for like what-- another week? Let’s get you to the doctor, we’ll figure something out.” You smiled faintly in return, “You’re a hell of a lady, Lady,” she batted her eyelashes, “Oh, I know.~”

A Week Later --

Lady was in your room with you and the door was closed, the two of you spoke of your plan of how you would drop the bomb on your half demon boyfriend.

“Do you really think Vergil will accept it?” you asked just as the white haired man opened the door, “Accept what?” he asked coolly. Lady closed her mouth and first looked at Vergil, then to you, “I’ll just let you guys have some alone time,” she slinked past the Sparda man and closed the door behind her. His gaze never left you and his strong features were unmoved.

You attempted to embrace him as you wrapped your arms around his neck but he gave you a slight push away before you could place a kiss on his cheek. “Will you tell me what you were talking about?” You bit your lower lip and hesitated to confess to him. Vergil took hold of your chin with his fingertips, “Speak.”

You swallowed hard, his blue eyes did not waver and they were just so beautiful that you couldn’t hold it in any longer. “I’m --- pregnant,” you whispered. It was like time moved to slow motion, Vergil observed each syllable that came from your lips. Pregnant? Pregnant. Pregnant.

 A twitch in Vergil’s furrowed brows caught your attention, it proceeded to twitch several times before he closed his eyes and released his grip on your chin. “How?” You shrugged, “I thought we were careful every time, even with our more adventurous hookups.” He didn’t speak and just listened, “Why?”

“Why?” you repeated, “That’s what happens, Vergil. I can’t really make it anymore clear.” As per usual, you couldn’t read him and his thoughts were a mystery to you.

“So, I’ll be a father once again. At least I’m currently aware of this one.” he sighed.

“Two,” you interjected. It was as if you could see his ears perk up when you mentioned a number higher than he assumed. “Two? Another set of Sparda twins...” he was quiet before you could see a small smile on his lips. Vergil called for you to come to him, which you obeyed.

He wrapped his right arm around your upper half. His left hand rested on your stomach with a loved filled touch. His chin rested on top of your head as he imagined what they looked like and what life would be like in several months.

He thought to himself, maybe -- just maybe -- he truly deserved a happy life, despite all the things he had done. He now felt a stronger urge to want to be around you, the babies, and even Dante more. 

“Do I deserve this happiness, [Y/N]?” 

Your hand rested on his that was still on your stomach, “Of course. You always have.”

[study-coffee-chicago]

Seasons of Med: Season 2 and Seasons of PD: Season 4: Necessities, Love, & Care (A Halstead Brothers + Halstead Sister! Imagine)

Your age: 15

Jay's age: 29

Will's age: 31

You were currently sitting at the library, trying to figure out how you'd get food for dinner. It was January and you had run out of your Christmas money two weeks ago and you had burned through your money from helping with kettle corn at the beginning of December. Right now you were SOL: Shit outta luck.

Your mind wandered back to the last day you had helped working the kettle corn stand when it was a dreary late October day.

"We have kettle corn, caramel corn, cheddar, Chicago style, and a few other flavors," you explained to a customer. She picked up a medium bag of caramel corn. "That one?"

"Yes, dear. Me and my husband love this stuff," the old lady said.

"I'm sure. It's really good! It'll be six dollars." She pulled out a five and two ones. "I'll be right back with your change."

"Oh, no, keep the change, dear. Thank you for the popcorn."

"You're welcome. Have a nice day."

"Y/N," Emma said to you. "Can you grab me a lemonade from the cooler?"

"Just one?"

"Yup, just one."

You grabbed it from the cooler and were about to pass it to her when you saw who her customers were: Jay and Erin.

"Y/N?" Jay asked. "What are you doing here?"

"Working," you answered quickly. "Little bit of extra money never hurt anybody. The real question is, what are you doing here? I know Erin hates being outside when the weather is crappy."

"It's because he's annoying when he whines and begs to do something, so I figured it was just best to give in," Erin answered.

Jay rolled his eyes. "God, I can't win with either of you. Why do you always gang up on me?"

"Because, Halstead, us girls gotta stick together," Erin laughed.

"Okay, okay, fine. Y/N, what popcorn should I get?"

"First of all, it's kettle corn," you corrected. "And, I suggest the cheddar. Or, if you want a combination of both salty and sweet, then get the Chicago style. It's cheddar and caramel."

"Me and Erin like sweet, but I know you. You like cheddar. And you'll pick out the cheddar pieces when you're at my apartment, so I'll get the Chicago style."

"Or," Erin started as she picked up a large bag of caramel and a large bag of cheddar, "We could get this big bag of caramel, and then you could have this bag at your apartment for Y/N. That way the flavors aren't touching."

"Erin Lindsay and not liking her food touching. Fine, we'll take what Erin suggested and one lemonade."

"One or two straw holes?" Emma asked, picking up the lid-punching tool.

"One's fine," Jay answered.

"They swap enough spit as it is," you whispered to Emma, causing her to laugh.

"What'd she say?" Jay asked.

"I can't tell you. It's a secret."

He huffed. "Fine. Keeping secrets from your big brother? That's cold Y/N, that's cold."

"So you're saying you never kept secrets from Will?" Erin asked.

"I have the right to remain silent."

"Exactly," Erin said. "How much does he owe you?"

"Excuse me? I didn't know I'd be the one paying for all of this."

"You were the one who dragged me outside, so yes, you are paying, Halstead. Now, get your card ready."

Jay rolled his eyes and pulled out his wallet. "How much?"

You did the math in your head. "$23."

"Emma, can you check her math?" Jay asked and you rolled your eyes in his lack of faith in you.

"$10 for the cheddar and $8 for the caramel makes $18...plus $5 for the lemonade...yup $23."

You handed him the card reader. "And now it's just going to ask you a few questions," you told him after his card went through.

Without allowing him to read it all the way through, Erin hit the tip and no receipt buttons. "Hey!" Jay exclaimed.

"Don't blame me! You were the one who wanted me to come out here!" She turned to you and took the bag of kettle corn as Jay picked up the 32 oz lemonade. "Thanks, Y/N!"

"No problem! Just make sure he doesn't buy any more paintings of motorcycles!"

Man, how you wished you could work that job right now because it was only for a few hours on the weekends. But, it was winter now, so there were no street fairs, farmers markets, or festivals going on. Because of this, your money had run out. You'd have to do what you'd have to get yourself some food, even if it would leave you with a guilty conscience.

With that in mind, you got up and left the library.

***

"Pop's been complaining of chest pain and refuses to go to the hospital," Jay told his older brother as he walked through the front door and into the living room.

"Of course he did," Will grumbled. Then, he turned to his father. "This won't take long. Unless it's bad. Then you'll have to come with me and actually go to the hospital this time."

"You can't force me to do anything," he argued as he watched his oldest son open up his medical bag.

"Just let him do his job. He knows what he's doing," Jay agreed with Will. Then, he remembered something. "Where's Y/N?"

"At school."

"At school? At 5 pm?" Jay asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Sometimes she stays after school and does homework. She's always home before it gets too late so I don't ask."

It's not like Jay and Will could have known this, though. Yes, you would talk and they're obviously there for you because they're your brothers, but your dad's parenting skills--or lack thereof--hadn't ever come up. You'd get together with your brothers once a week, but it was usually at one of your brothers' places. They rarely came inside your and your dad's place.

"All units, we have reports of a robbery at 3020 East Main Street. Assistance requested," Jay's radio stated.

Jay looked to Will, silently asking if it was okay for him to take it. "I've got it from here."

"Thanks, man," Jay said, clapping Will on the back and leaving the house.

He drove to the small corner market that had made the call. It was only a block away from where you and your dad lived, but despite it usually being somewhat slow, today it was even slower. There was only one car parked in the lot, so Jay was confused as to who would even rob this place.

He put on his vest and walked into the store. "Got a call about a robbery," he said to the store manager as he entered.

"Yes, right over here."

He led Jay over to where a girl was sitting on a stool, tears rolling down her face. She held a box of pasta, a loaf of bread, and a small jar of peanut butter. Her coat was unzipped, revealing the tampons and pads she had stuffed inside her coat after she had ripped open the box.

"Y/N?" Jay asked in disbelief. "What are you doing? What were you even thinking?"

"I- I'm sorry," you sniffled.

Then he turned to the store manager. "You called the cops on a fifteen-year-old girl for grabbing what looks to me like necessities?"

"I've let her go the past two times when she needed things, but today she didn't have the money, so I couldn't let it slide."

Jay threw $30 in the man's hand. "There. Now it's all paid for." He turned to you and took the loaf of bread. "C'mon."

You followed him out of the store, waiting to be yelled at as you entered his truck, but it didn't come. He pinched the bridge of his nose as he handed you the bread. "Why? Why did you do this?"

"There- There's barely any food in the house. I was just hungry."

Jay looked you up and down. He hadn't been really looking for changes in weight like he told Natalie he would do six months ago. He kept it up for a few months and then winter came around and it was hard to tell because of bulky jackets and sweaters. But, now that he actually looked at your face and hands in an investigative manner, it was clear as day: You had lost even more weight.

"And the other stuff?" he asked.

"Dad won't buy them for me. Says that they're too expensive and to just use something else. He said that if he had had a son he wouldn't have to worry about it, like it's my fault. Usually, I take some from school, but I ran out and I needed them."

"And the food?" Jay asked as he started driving back to his childhood home.

"I get breakfast and lunch at school, but I have to eat dinner at home. And on weekends I just skip meals and eat breakfast and dinner."

"What? What about Dad?"

"He gets takeout or he goes to the bar and isn't home until late."

Jay sighed as he pulled into the driveway. "Go pack a bag, kid. You're staying at my place until further notice."

"Really? I thought you guys forgot about me?"

"We could never forget about you. It's just, work has been busy for both of us. So, sorry if these last few times we've all been together for dinner have seemed a little rushed. Now, go inside and grab your stuff while I have a chat with Will and Dad."

"Dad, Will," Jay said after you had run upstairs and they were sitting on the couch. "I need to talk to you. In the kitchen."

"Really, Jay. Why can't it be here?" your dad grumbled. "First he--" He pointed to Will. "Wants to take me to the hospital because he said I have a valve issue and now I can't even have a conversation with my sons while sitting down?"

"Just get up, dammit!"

The three entered the kitchen and sat down, but Jay stayed standing. "Jay, what's going on?" Will asked.

Instead of answering his older brother, Jay just opened the fridge. There was a half drank gallon of milk, a jar of grape jelly, and a can of pasta sauce, along with other condiments, and a lone egg sat on a shelf. "This? This is what you expect your daughter to eat? I caught her stealing from a store just so she could get food and tampons!"

"Well, I'm not gonna pay for it."

"Excuse you?" Will exclaimed, eyebrows raised in surprise. "What do you mean you're not paying for it? She's your daughter, isn't she? Then you have a legal responsibility to feed her, make sure she has shelter, clothes, and goes to school!"

"She can go get a job."

"She is fucking fifteen!" Jay yelled. "She doesn't need to be worrying about where her next meal is coming from! She's supposed to be worrying about getting a good grade on a math test or if that boy likes her or not, but not that!"

"She needs to learn to grow up someday. And she won't if you boys baby her like you always do whenever you see her."

"Baby her?" Will yelled, disgusted. "She's a kid. She needs to be babied sometimes. She needs fucking food and a nice home to come home to, not whatever the hell you think this is."

"It hasn't been a home since your mother died."

"Yeah, we gathered that," Jay scoffed. "But you don't have to take it out on her."

"Jay," your small voice said from the doorway into the kitchen. All three men looked over to you, your backpack on your back, a duffle bag slung over your shoulder, and your favorite blanket wadded up in your hands so that you could carry it without it dragging on the ground.

"Ready to go?" Jay asked, his voice immediately softening.

"Uh, yeah," you answered, unsure of how your dad would react.

"What do you mean ready to go?" Pat Halstead asked, standing up from where he had been previously sitting at the table. "She's not going anywhere!"

Will rushed over to you, placing a hand on your shoulder while Jay stalked over to be face to face with your dad. "She is coming with me until further notice. You're lucky I don't arrest your ass for child neglect!"

"You wouldn't do that to your own father!"

Jay pulled the cuffs out of his back pocket. "Oh yeah? Try me."

He sat back down and Jay turned to you. "Here, let me take that." You handed him your duffle bag and followed him and Will outside.

"Jay, I gotta go. I gotta get Dad to Med to get the valve fixed. And, I said one hour out of the hospital tops and it's been two."

Jay closed the truck door once you were safely inside with all your stuff. "Good luck trying to get Dad to go the hospital," he scoffed. "Get going. Don't give Goodwin another reason to fire your stupid ass."

"I'll call an ambulance if I have to." Then, Will smacked Jay upside the head.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"You know what it was for. And, I'm your older brother, it's my job."

"I'm your older brother, it's my job," Jay mocked. "But, in all seriousness, do me a favor and make sure Y/N's all caught up on her immune- immune--"

"Immunizations?" Will laughed.

"Yeah, those."

"I'll do that. And if she's not, I'll give them to her tonight when I come over to your place after my shift is done...which will be in like two hours...depending on how much of a pain in the ass he is to get in the hospital."

Jay nodded, and then got in the truck, both of you making your way to his place.

"I'm gonna go take a shower," Jay said after you had put your stuff down by the couch. "You have homework?"

"Yeah," you looked down, not wanting to even try and struggle through your homework...or have Jay sign the slip that said that you failed your last test.

Jay smiled. "I'll help you with it when I'm out of the shower, okay, kid?"

"How'd you know--"

"That is the universal facial expression of I need help, but I don't know how to ask for it. I'll be ten minutes tops."

And so, you tried to struggle through your homework for ten minutes. But, you ended up working and reworking the stupid algebra problem. Why did math need letters anyway?

"Okay, I'm back," Jay said as he pulled a chair out to sit next to you. "What are you workin' on?"

"Can you sign this first?" you asked, sliding the yellow paper over to him along with the pen. You hoped he'd just sign it blind, but as you saw his eyes skimming the page, you knew that wouldn't happen.

"Did you try your best?" he asked as he slid the piece of paper back to you after signing it.

"What? Yeah, of course, I did."

"Okay, then we'll figure something out. Now, how about we eat some dinner? I've got pizza in the freezer. That okay?"

"That's great," you answered.

Jay got the pizza in the oven while you went and changed into your pajamas. You decided it was in your best interest to have Will help you with your math homework.

***

"Ah! The man of the hour!" Jay exclaimed as he pulled out the pizza and Will entered the house.

You immediately noticed the red bag he was carrying over his shoulder and the two king-sized Twix bars.

"Why do you have your medical bag?" you asked.

"How did you know this was my medical bag?"

"I'm not stupid, Will."

"Okay, so you're all caught up on your shots, but I need to do a blood draw because I need to see if you're deficient in any vitamins and minerals. Have you been eating enough fruits and veggies?" he asked.

"Probably not as much as I should," you admitted. "They're too expensive unless I get the canned kind and I don't like those unless it's canned peaches. I'm sorry."

"It's okay, Short Stack. None of this is your fault. You hear me? None of it. I just need to take the blood and then get it sent to the lab to see if you need to get any specific pills to get your vitamin and mineral levels up."

"Okay. Does it hurt?" you asked. You knew what a shot felt like, but you'd never had your blood drawn before, so you didn't know what it felt like to have a needle in your arm for a long time, taking blood. You knew what it felt like to have an IV in from when you passed out at the movie theater, but you didn't know if this needle would be the same size or bigger.

"You just feel a slight pinch at the beginning."

"Like getting a shot?"

"Like getting a shot," he confirmed.

"Hey, I was thinking," Jay started as he reappeared from the kitchen area, "what if we have celery and carrots with ranch for dinner, too? You know, like when we eat chicken wings at restaurants and they bring you some veggies, except we'll have ours with pizza."

"Okay," you agreed. "I like ranch."

"So does everyone in the midwest," Will joked.

"What's the medical bag for?" Jay asked. "She needs shots? And, what's with the Twix bars?"

"No, I'm drawing her blood to see if she's deficient in anything. And, there's one Twix bar for her and one for you because we all know how you feel about needles, Jay."

Jay rolled his eyes. "We doing this before we eat?"

"Yes. And, I need you to answer some questions for me, Y/N. These are strictly doctor protocol questions, okay? You don't need to be embarrassed about any of the answers."

You nodded.

"Okay," Will started, "When did you last eat? Just need to write it down for fasting glucose levels."

"Um, lunch at school, so around noon."

"So, six-hour fast," Will scribbled down on a piece of paper. "Next one, are you sexually active?"

"Will!"

"It's just standard protocol, just in case I need to test for STDs."

"No, I am not. Next question."

"Okay, last one: When was your last period?"

"You've got to be kidding me. I'm not pregnant, I haven't had sex!"

Will chuckled. "It's not for that. Sometimes when people are deficient in vitamins and minerals, they can lose their period for months at a time, signaling that their body isn't healthy. The medical term is amenorrhea." But, what he wanted to say was that when girls are underweight, this can also happen. And, from seeing how baggy your sweatshirt and jeans were on you, he assumed that you'd lost ten pounds since last going to the doctor when you passed out in the movie theater parking lot, making your weight loss a grand total of 25 pounds, which would qualify you as being underweight.

"Oh. I started today."

"Okay, good to know. Any changes in length or heaviness of menstruation?"

"I swear, I'd rather have Natalie or April be asking me these questions," you grumbled. "But, yes, it's a lot lighter and it went from me having my periods for five days to two days. Can we please stop talking about this now?"

"Yeah, we're all done. Sorry about that, but it's protocol."

"Says the guy who's drawing my blood at Jay's apartment instead of in a hospital, where it should be done."

"Hey, I've worked in much worse conditions than this in Sudan. How much water did you drink today?"

"A lot."

"Okay, good." Will started to unzip his medical bag. He passed a Twix bar to Jay. "Here, eat this and focus on it so you don't focus on the needles and then freak out."

Jay rolled his eyes, but took the candy bar and unwrapped it.

"Do I get one?" you asked.

"Once I draw your blood, yes, the other one is for you. Now, right or left arm?"

You held out your left arm and Will moved to the other side of you so he had a better angle. He sanitized his hands and then snapped on a pair of gloves.

"So, what do you do?" you asked. "I've never had my blood drawn before."

"I just tie off your arm so that I can get the veins to show a bit better, wipe down the spot with an antiseptic wipe, stick the needle in, and then wait for the vial to fill up."

"That's it?"

"That's it. Can you make a fist with your left hand for me?"

You did as Will told you and then he tied a band around your bicep and started touching the inside of your elbow, trying to get some veins to show. He furrowed his eyebrows and moved down your arm, rubbing your forearm and then going back up to the crook of your elbow and gently pressing there.

"What's wrong?" you asked.

"You just have really small veins is all. I could take the blood from the big vein in your forearm, but I don't really want to do that one since it's so big. Can you squeeze your fist tighter for me?" You did as he said while he kept pressing on the crook of your elbow. "There we go. Got one. Now, turn and look at Jay while I get the needle ready."

You looked at Jay and tried not to laugh. "You okay?"

"Me? I should be asking you that," he replied. "You're the one who's about to get stabbed with a needle."

"It's just that you got some sweat on your forehead. You look nervous."

"They're needles. They're tiny little sharp metal objects and if one breaks off--"

"Jay, respectfully," Will started, cutting off his brother, "shut the hell up, so you don't scare my patient. You might just want to look away instead of watching me. Then you might feel fine." Then, he turned back to you. "Okay, Y/N, keep looking at Jay. Close your eyes if you want to. You're going to feel a small pinch."

You closed your eyes and took a deep breath. Then, you squeezed your eyes shut tightly and grit your teeth, trying not to yell out as the needle pierced your skin.

"Hard part's done," Will said. You nodded, still keeping your eyes closed.

"That was not a small pinch," you retorted about a minute later.

"Sorry."

You opened your eyes and watched as the blood flowed from your vein into the small tube that was hooked up to the needle.

"I thought you hated blood," Jay pointed out. "And here you are, watching the entire process."

"I'm fine when it's my blood if it's not a huge, deep cut," you explained. "It's other people's blood I don't like."

"Well, that takes any job in the medical field off your career choices," Will said.

You sat there for a few more minutes, waiting for the vial to fill up. Will pressed on your arm, close to the needle, to see if more would come out. "This vein is really small," he said.

You watched as the blood coming into the tube started becoming slower and slower, in what looked to be bubbles.

"Just a little more," Will muttered.

You started taking deeper breaths as you felt sweat start to bead on your forehead.

"Okay, let's see how much this gave me." He pressed his thumb above where the needle was and you turned back to Jay as he removed the needle.

Then, he got the blood into the vial. "Bad news," he started, "I might need to take more. Let's see how much extra there is." He put the extra into another, smaller vial. "Yeah, this one clotted too, so bad news, we need more."

You nodded and closed your eyes, feeling your face get hot and starting to feel lightheaded. You pinched the bridge of your nose, willing this uncomfortable feeling to go away.

"You doing okay?" Will asked.

"Yeah," you answered.

"Okay, I'm gonna do your right arm this time." You held your right arm out to him. "Make a fist for me." You did as he told you and he tied the blue band around your bicep.

But, you were getting even dizzier. "Actually, can I get some water? I feel dizzy."

"Course," Will said. "Jay, can you get her some water and juice if you have any?"

"Apple juice good?"

"That's fine," you answered.

Will untied the band from your bicep. "We're just going to wait a few minutes until you feel less dizzy before I take more blood, okay?"

You nodded and took the water from Jay when he came back.

"Let's have the juice after I finish," Will suggested after a few minutes had passed and you finished the water. "Feeling better, Short Stack?"

"Yeah, let's get this over with." Your forehead was still a bit sweaty, but you were a lot less dizzy.

Will repeated the same process as the last arm and it went a lot faster. Turns out he picked a bit bigger vein in the crook of your elbow of this arm than he did the other one.

"And, we're done," Will said as he capped the vial.

He handed you the juice. "Thanks," you said. "That was not fun."

"I bet. At least you didn't pass out. I've had a few patients do that when I went through my clinicals. That's why normally when someone gets their blood drawn, they sit in this chair where something is flipped down in front of them so they don't fall out of the chair just in case they pass out."

"Jay, do you pass out?" you asked.

He scoffed. "No. I don't even get dizzy. My body doesn't react like that."

"He just breaks out into a sweat whenever he sees needles," Will whispered, loud enough for Jay to hear.

"Hey! I heard that! Take one more jab at me and you won't be getting any pizza, Will. I mean it!"

Will held his hands up in a mock surrender while you finished up your juice. Then, Will started to pack up his medical stuff and Jay brought the pizza and veggies and ranch out, along with plates of course.

You ate your pizza while Will helped you with your math homework. Once you finished two slices of pizza and some celery and ranch, you said that you were done.

"You sure?" Jay asked. "You can have as much as you want."

"I'm good. Gotta save some for tomorrow." Your eyes widened as you realized what you had just said. "I'm gonna go take a shower. It's been a long day."

"Okay, clean towels are in the cabinet in the bathroom where they always are," Jay said, trying not to react to what you had just said even though he knew exactly what you were doing.

You were rationing food.

"Fuck," Jay said as he put his head in his hands when he knew you were in the bathroom and out of earshot.

"What? What did she mean by gotta save some for tomorrow?" Will asked.

"She's rationing it. I used to do it in Afghanistan. Save some of my MRE and put it in my pack to eat the next day if I was on a long trek and we knew we wouldn't get back to base. It would be cold and usually disgusting, but I'd choke it down because it was calories and I needed fuel to be sharp in case we came in contact with combatants."

"Poor kid. At least we had Mom."

Jay nodded. "What happened with Dad at the hospital?"

"Had to have a mitral valve replacement because his wasn't working properly. Told him over and over to get his checked regularly, but he didn't because he's stubborn. He went for the non-surgical option first, but then there were complications, so Rhodes performed surgery. He's fine."

"That's good... I guess." Jay glanced around and he saw your duffle bag sitting outside the bathroom door. You had grabbed your clothes to bring them into the bathroom and left your open duffle bag by the door.

Jay stood up and started walking towards it.

"What are you doing?" Will hissed.

"I need to see if she's got anything else in there that will help prove neglect. I'm assuming it needs to be proved...I only know criminal court cases, don't know much about family court cases."

"What do you mean family court? You're going to fight Dad to be able to take care of her?"

"Yeah, I'll fight to be her legal guardian. Unless you want to do it. My loan went through for a new apartment, which has two bedrooms, so I figured I might be better suited."

"Go ahead. You'd probably have a better chance anyway because you were around more when I was in New York."

Jay nodded and started to dig around your duffle bag. He chuckled and pulled out your Build-A-Bear. "She still sleeps with Beary," he said as he held up the stuffed bear. "Probably doesn't change his clothes anymore because she's too old for that, but he's in pajamas."

"Remember that military uniform you got for her bear? Mom said she barely took Beary out of that because she missed you so much."

"Yeah, and if she wouldn't have dropped him at the airport, I might not have met Mouse."

The two fell into a comfortable silence as he continued to dig through your bag. He got to a big zip-lock bag full of pieces of fabric that were stained light reds and browns.

"Will, c'mere," Jay said, waving him over. Will squatted down next to Jay. "You know what this is?"

Will sighed. "Unfortunately, yes. I saw a lot of this when I worked in Sudan."

"Well, what is it?"

"So, when girls don't have access or money to buy feminine hygiene products, they'll use scraps of fabric and wash them. Looks to me like she cut up some, um, she cut up some underwear and then used them as make-shift pads. If they aren't taken care of properly, she could end up with an infection. And, if she tried to use them as tampons instead of pads, it could lead to TSS, which stands for Toxic Shock Syndrome."

"We're gonna have to talk to her about this now, aren't we?"

"Unfortunately, yeah. She's not gonna be happy you dug through her stuff, so I'll let you explain why you were going through it. And, if she used them as tampons, I want her to get a pelvic exam, just to make sure she didn't get any infections. Much more likely to get an infection from tampons than pads."

Jay nodded. He hated having the current conversation and knew he was going to hate the next one even more, but he knew he had to do these things if he wanted to petition the court for legal guardianship.

Jay picked up your duffle bag and brought it to the living room and he set the zip-lock bag full of pieces of fabric on top.

"I can't believe we missed this," Will said. "I mean, we're both trained in how to spot abuse and we couldn't even spot it in our little sister."

"There weren't outright signs," Jay said. "No bruising, limping, cuts, burns, nothing like that. And, it's winter, it's easy to hide the weight loss. But, I still agree with you. If we would've spotted it earlier, we could've gotten her out of there."

"I'm pretty sure she's officially underweight now."

Jay ran a hand through his hair and then stood back up. "I'm gonna go put clean sheets on my bed. I'll let Y/N take it tonight so that we can keep talking out here when she goes to sleep."

"Good idea."

A few minutes later, Jay was back on the couch next to Will and you walked out of the bathroom, wearing a baggy t-shirt and some sweatpants that you had to keep pulling up because they were too big on you now, and a pair of fuzzy socks. You were cold all the time now and wanted your hoodie out of your duffle and wanted to put your dirty clothes in there, but when you looked down to the spot where you thought you had put it, it wasn't there.

"Guys?" you asked. "Have you seen my bag?"

You walked over to the kitchen table where your blanket was sitting on the chairs and wrapped that around yourself instead.

You furrowed your eyebrows as you saw your brothers on the couch, your duffle bag in front of them on the floor, and on top, your bag of ripped-up, old underwear that you used as pads when you didn't have any.

"You went through my stuff?" you asked, starting to become angry.

"Y/N," Jay started, "I know you're mad and it was me who went through it and not Will, so don't be mad at him, be mad at me. But, I went through it to see if anything was in there that could help me get you out of dad's house. Permanently."

"You- You want to have custody of me?" you asked.

A small smile appeared on Jay's lips and he nodded. "It wouldn't be considered custody because I'm not your biological parent, it would be considered guardianship, but yes, I want you to stay with me. And, my loan went through for a new apartment, so you'd have your own room and everything."

"Okay."

Jay looked at Will, not wanting to be the one to start this conversation. And, he figured Will would be the best one to start it because he was a doctor.

"Y/N, we need to ask you about these." Will motioned to the zip-lock bag on top of your stuff.

You sat in the loveseat across from them and looked down at your feet.

"It's okay, you're not in trouble," Will continued. "We just want to know how you used them in case you need to get a pelvic exam to check for infections in that area."

Your lip began to tremble as tears started to roll down your cheeks. "I used them as pads," you said quietly. "Dad wouldn't buy me any and I stopped getting them from school because I thought they'd suspect something was wrong if I- if I kept taking them."

"One more question," Will said softly. "I just need to know in case we need to take you in for this. I know you said you used them as pads, but did you ever try and use them as tampons?"

"No. I only used them as pads," you whispered. "I was scared to use them as tampons." You looked up at your brothers, who both had tears in their eyes. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," you rushed. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner I was just--" You let out a wail and Jay got up and knelt in front of you.

"Hey, hey, none of this is your fault. Do you hear me? Absolutely none of this is on you. It's all on Dad. Every single bit of it. You are not the one to blame."

You launched yourself into his arms, crying out every emotion you had felt these past few months: anger, frustration, fear, sadness, it was all coming out now.

And, Jay just held you and let you cry it out because that was what your guys' mom used to do for him. And, he knew it worked.

Twenty minutes later, your wails were just quiet whimpers and you pushed yourself back up onto the loveseat, where Will had moved to the spot next to you. He wrapped an arm around you and you leaned into him, craving the comfort that had been denied to you for so long.

"You still have that Twix bar?" you asked.

"All that crying made you hungry, didn't it, Short Stack?" Will asked as Jay got up to retrieve the candy bar from the table.

You nodded.

"Thank you," you said when Jay handed you the Twix bar. You unwrapped it and broke it into the two sticks. "You guys want any?" They both shook their heads: they knew you needed to get as many calories in you as possible.

Jay sighed, he might as well get this hard conversation over with you tonight as well. "Y/N, you can eat as much as you want. I won't say anything about you eating too much, okay?"

You looked up from your candy bar. "You won't call me a burden because I'm eating your food? Like Dad did?"

"He said that?" Will asked, giving Jay a look that read when I see him next, I can't be held accountable for my actions.

"Yeah. One time there were some leftovers he had gotten from a bar and I was so hungry and it was the middle of the night, so I took them out and heated them up. The microwave timer must've woken him up because he came out just as I was about to start eating and then he yelled at me for eating his food and called me a burden."

"Well, we don't think that. Neither Will nor me think that," Jay told you. "And you can eat as much as you want."

You yawned as you crumpled up your Twix wrapper.

"Tired?" Will asked.

"Yeah," you mumbled.

"It's been a long day," Jay said. "You can take my bed."

"Jay, it's your apartment, I can't--"

"Y/N, this isn't up for discussion. I already put clean sheets on the bed for you."

"Is- Is there a fan in your room? I can't sleep without white noise."

"There is. You want me and Will to tuck you in?"

"I'm too old for that." You stood up and Will did, too. "Jay, can you hand me Beary? He should be in my duffle."

"Here you go, kid."

You took your bear and held him loosely in your arm. Then, you enveloped Jay in a hug and did the same for Will.

"I love you guys."

"We love you, too," Will said.

"Now get to sleep. You've still got school in the morning. I'll be here when you wake up."

"Dad sometimes wouldn't be home when I woke up for school. He'd be at a friend's house sleeping off a hangover from the night before or just sleeping."

Jay furrowed his eyebrows. "Doesn't he have to work?"

"He does work, but only a few days a week. The other days, he stays out really late and then comes home either drunk or hungover."

"I see," Jay stated. "Well I won't be doing that, I can promise you that."

"I know. You aren't like Dad. Neither of you are." You yawned again. "I'm going to bed, goodnight."

A few minutes later, you were out like a light and Will was still at Jay's apartment.

"So, Abby called me the other day," Will started. "She's looking for you. Says she's in town for a few days and wants to meet up."

"Oh yeah? She say why?" Jay asked, wondering why his ex-wife--who was the result of a blackout drunk wedding in Vegas, a thing that lasted only 24 hours tops--was in Chicago and was looking for him of all people.

"She said you two are still married."

Jay threw his head back against the couch and closed his eyes. "You have got to be fucking kidding me."

***

"Morning," Jay said as he stood at the stove flipping some eggs. "Sleep good?"

"I slept really good. Didn't even hear you wake up."

"Fan did the trick then?"

You nodded and grabbed a mug from the cupboard and went to start pouring yourself a cup of coffee.

"Nuh-uh," Jay chirped, putting his hand on the handle of the coffee pot as well.

"Why not? I drank it at Dad's."

Jay raised an eyebrow. "You drank coffee at Dad's?"

"Yeah, on the weekends sometimes that would be my breakfast because it curbs my appetite and there wasn't a lot to eat."

Jay sighed. "Well, you'll have enough to eat here, I can promise you that. And, coffee stunts your growth."

"Jay," you groaned. "I haven't grown since sixth grade."

"Okay, well, then you don't want to become dependent on it at such an early age, then. Come talk to me when you're a legal adult or in college."

"Fine." You let go of the coffee pot and put the mug back in the cupboard.

"You can have juice though." The toast in the toaster popped up and Jay placed the toast on a plate and then put a slice of cheese on each piece and then an egg on top. He also put a small bowl of strawberries next to it. "I'm gonna go get dressed while you eat. And then, once you're ready, I'll take you to school."

"Okay, thanks, Jay."

"You're welcome, kiddo."

You rolled your eyes at the nickname and then went to the fridge to get the apple juice. When you opened the fridge, you saw a brown paper bag with your name on it. Curiosity got the best of you, so you took it out and looked at the contents while you ate your breakfast.

Inside was a ham and Colby jack cheese sandwich with lettuce, pickles, mustard, and mayonnaise, an apple, a coconut-flavored Greek yogurt, celery with peanut butter, and a chocolate chip granola bar. There were also two dollars at the bottom of the bag paperclipped together with a sticky note stuck to the top.

For chocolate milk. ~Jay was what the note read.

Tears sprung to your eyes as you continued to eat your breakfast. You don't remember the last time you brought a lunch to school; you'd always get your lunch for free at school. When you got the paper from school about the free/reduced lunch because teachers noticed you didn't have much to eat, you waited until your dad was hungover and it was early in the morning, and handed him a pen and he signed the paper blindly. And, that's how you got lunch and breakfast at school without any cost to you or your dad.

"Hey, I can just brush my teeth at the kitchen sink if you want the bathroom--" He cut himself off when he saw the tears in your eyes. "What's wrong?"

"You- You made me lunch?" you asked as you turned to face him.

He smiled. "Of course I did. I know how bad cafeteria food can be. And, if it tastes good, it's usually not very good for you."

"Thank you," you said as you wiped a tear away that had rolled down your cheek.

"Aww, hey, don't cry, don't cry. It's okay. You're safe now. You don't need to worry about where your next meal will come from. And, I'm going to petition a judge for legal guardianship in a few days. I just have to have a few conversations with some lawyers."

"Does this mean you have to move? I don't want to kick you out of your apartment."

Jay dismissed that with a wave. "I already put in a loan application for a new apartment. Two bedrooms. Really nice."

"Can you tell me about it? While I finish eating my strawberries."

Jay nodded and sat down in the chair across from you. "It's a two-bedroom, washer, dryer. But, I know you don't care about those things. There's underground parking. It's got a gym, a whole club level, with like a coffee lounge, and all this other stuff."

"That sounds really nice."

"Yeah, it is a pretty nice building. Coffee lounge would be perfect for you to get your homework done if you don't feel like staying in the apartment."

"I thought you said I couldn't drink coffee?" you asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I meant the caffeine in the coffee. Decaf coffee and lattes and tea lattes, that's a different story. I'm sure they have pastries there, too."

"Never pegged you for a coffee snob," you joked.

"You learn a lot about coffee and about a person when you have to get your entire unit coffee. I'll let you in on a little secret: Ruzek's coffee order is the most complicated."

"Really?"

"Really. Now, go finish getting ready. Don't want you being late for school."

***

"Hey, Er, can you meet me at the diner we usually go to?" Jay asked his girlfriend over the phone after he had dropped you off at school.

"Yeah, no problem. Give me fifteen minutes. We haven't caught a case yet, but we should keep our radios on just in case. Everything okay?"

"It's a long story. I'll explain everything in person, okay?"

"Okay," Erin answered skeptically. "I'll see you in a few."

Fifteen minutes later on the dot, Erin walked into the little diner and spotted Jay sitting in the corner booth.

"Alright, what's going on?" she asked after she had ordered her food and some coffee. "You sounded really stressed on the phone."

Jay sighed. "I'm going to fight for legal guardianship of Y/N."

"What? Why? What happened?" Erin asked as she widened her eyes.

"Our dad, he uh, he hasn't really been the greatest. Not keeping food in the house, calling her a burden when she tries to eat some of his food, not buying her products for you know...girl stuff. She's probably lost like 25 pounds since the end of last school year. And, I know that doesn't sound like a lot with the amount of time that's passed, but she's underweight. Will drew some of her blood last night to see if she's deficient in some vitamins or minerals."

"My God."

"Yeah, so, I know we were going to move into your place together, but I need another bedroom and my loan went through at that place I told you about, so I'm going to put an offer in there. You could always move in with me if you want, but I don't know if it would be a good idea for that to happen right away. I just want to get Y/N healthy again. I'm sorry."

"Jay, I get it. She's family. Do you know how you're going to go about this? Did you talk to Voight about taking any time off to sort this out?"

"Not yet. But, I think I'm going to call Antonio and see if he can help me out with getting a meeting with ASA Stone. I know he works criminal cases, but he's gotta know some stuff about family court cases. So, I figured he might be able to help me with this whole process."

"Good idea. If you need any help, just say the word and I'll be there."

Jay smiled. "Thanks, Er." He didn't want to have the conversation he was about to have, but he knew he had to tell her. "There's uh, there's one more thing I need to tell you."

"Okay, what is it?"

"About eight years ago, I was married."

"Excuse me, what? You were married and you didn't tell me?"

Jay knew this was a bad idea...which was why he hadn't wanted to tell Erin, but now that he wasn't officially divorced for whatever reason, he knew needed to tell her. "Just let me explain."

"Yes, please do," Erin sneered.

"Her name's Abby. She ran Cultural Support during my last tour in Kandahar. About a year after I came home, I saw her at a funeral in Vegas. Was... was a guy in our unit, he had redeployed, and, um, he didn't... Um, I was, like, blacking out most nights, and we were both pretty shook up. And, um, we got married." He chuckled at the thought of his twenty-one-year-old self thinking that marriage was a good idea. "It was, like, a 24-hour thing, it was a total joke, and it is long over."

Erin just stared at him, as he waited to be chewed out by her. "Jay, you married this girl. And you never told me, and you were never gonna tell me," was all she said.

"I know. And, I'm sorry. But, I'm meeting up with her in a few days to sign the documents that I thought I'd signed because she's getting married and we need to make the divorce official...even though, in my mind, it's been official for eight years.

"Er, please don't hate me, but with everything going on, with me trying to get guardianship of Y/N and me finding out that I'm somehow still married--"

"You want us to take a break?" Erin asked, finishing his sentence for him.

Jay nodded. "I'm sorry. I just don't think I can juggle a relationship with all this other stuff. And, it's not fair to you."

Erin swallowed. "Well, just tell me if you need any help with Y/N. I'll always be there for you. Relationship or partnership, I'll always have your six."

"And I'll always have yours."

Erin's phone buzzed on the table and she picked it up. "It's Voight. We caught a case."

Jay laid some bills on the table. "Then let's go."

***

"Got the results of Y/N's bloodwork back," Will told Jay over the phone while he had a quick break for lunch...even though it was four o'clock in the afternoon. But, that's the thing about the medical field: breaks are never regular.

"And? Any deficiencies?" Jay asked, walking into his bedroom as you were at the table doing homework and he didn't want to distract you.

"Yes, two actually. Iron and riboflavin. The low iron explains why her periods have become shorter and lighter, but that can also be attributed to how small she is now."

"How do we go about this then?"

"I'll send you a list of foods that have levels high iron and riboflavin. Oh, riboflavin's found in vitamin B by the way."

"Okay, care to tell me what iron and riboflavin do? I know iron helps with hemoglobin and red blood cells, but I have no idea what riboflavin does."

"You're right about iron. I'm shocked. Or, what do the kids say these days? I'm shook."

"I swear to God, please never use that phrase again. And, I know what iron does because I paid attention in high school nutrition class, thank you very much."

"If I remember correctly, I helped you with most of the homework in that class."

"Whatever, you helped me. Now, tell me about riboflavin."

"So, riboflavin just helps convert food into energy and is needed for healthy skin, hair, blood, and a healthy brain." Jay could hear a beeping in the background on Will's end. "Gotta go. I'll send you that list of foods right now, though."

"Thanks, man."

You looked up as Jay came back into the kitchen. "Everything okay?" you asked.

Jay pulled out a chair and sat across from you. "So, I just got off the phone with Will. He got the results from your bloodwork back."

"Is it bad? Am I dying?" You set your pencil down, bracing yourself for bad news.

"No," Jay chuckled, "you're not dying. You just don't have enough iron and riboflavin, which is a specific B vitamin. Will sent me a list of foods that have high levels of those in them. You up for some grocery shopping? We can also grab some multivitamins that have those in them, too, just to help your levels stabilize faster."

"Okay, we can go now. I'm due for a break."

***

"So, some foods that contain riboflavin include milk, eggs, cheese, yogurt, meats, green leafy vegetables, and riboflavin enriched grains and cereals," Jay read off his phone.

"I've had a lot of those today already," you pointed out. "Eggs and cheese with breakfast. I had that yogurt for a snack at school, and I had meat and cheese on my sandwich and I had chocolate milk with my lunch at school."

That was just standard, Jay thought. He wondered what you ate when you were at your Dad's. And, he knew that if he wanted to obtain guardianship of you, he'd need to know these things.

"What did you eat at Dad's?" Jay probed.

"I mean, I barely made it to school on time most mornings because I was trying to be quiet so I didn't wake Dad, which made me move slower when getting ready. So, I'd usually just grab a small thing of dry cereal when I got to school and eat it in my first class. I never checked to see if it was one of the enriched ones. I'm sorry."

"You don't have to apologize. There's no way you could've known. Now, what did you usually have for lunch at school?"

"I always tried to get veggies with my lunch, but most of the veggies were the gross canned ones, like canned corn or green beans. I don't like those. Sometimes, they'd have little salads as a side and I'd get those. Sometimes they'd have yogurt parfaits and I'd get those. But, I'd usually go for the pre-made subs, because at least those would have veggies on them...even if it was just lettuce and pickles. I'd usually try to get an apple or banana as my side, too." You paused. "If I was getting meat and cheese from the sub and milk from my chocolate milk, then how am I deficient in this?"

"It's probably because the meat and cheese schools use is so heavily processed that there are little to no vitamins left in it," Jay answered.

"And you know this how?"

"As you get older, you acquire a lot of knowledge and one of those things is that the more processed a food is, the fewer vitamins and minerals are preserved...and I watch a lot of The Food that Built America on the History channel."

"Oh, okay. What foods are on that show?"

"Usually it's about fast food. One episode I watched last week was about ice cream and popsicles and how they came to be in America. Pretty interesting."

"Can we watch an episode tonight? That show sounds good."

"Of course." He paused in front of the fresh produce. "Take your pick. But, just make sure you get some leafy greens for the riboflavin and some fruit and other green veggies for iron."

You picked up a few things such as more apples, a bag of Clementines, bananas, spinach, carrots, and celery, and then, you shocked your brother as you picked up a bag of kale.

"Kale?" he asked. "Didn't know you liked it."

You shrugged. "I heard it tastes kind of like spinach. And, I saw a recipe on Pinterest for a salad that has kale, lemon juice, and dates. Is it okay if we try that?"

"You know, I think that would be the perfect side for dinner tonight. I'll add lemon juice and dates to the list."

"I didn't grab too many fruits and veggies, right?" you asked, not wanting to waste food or your brother's hard-earned money. "I- I can put some back if you want me to."

"Nope, it's all good. We can always freeze the bananas if they go bad for smoothies or banana bread. And, we can always turn the apples into apple sauce. Spinach and kale freeze well, too and you can't even taste them if we put them in smoothies."

"How do you know this stuff?" you asked.

"I used to watch Mom cook a lot when I was little. And, when I moved out on my own, she gave me a copy of a cookbook she always used. Said the recipes at the beginning of the book were simple enough that I wouldn't burn my apartment down."

You laughed at the thought of your mom scolding Jay if his apartment got ruined from his cooking. "Do you still have it?" you asked. "The cookbook, I mean."

"I do."

"Can we make something out of it tonight?"

"You know, I think that's a great idea." He pursed his lips. "How about Mom's chicken pot pie? I think I have some frozen peas and corn in the freezer and we can use the carrots we just grabbed in it, too."

"That sounds really good. Thank you."

"You don't have to thank me." Jay paused. He figured now would be as good a time as any to tell you. "Uh, do you remember the day that we got ice cream and went and played soccer with Ben when you were little? The night that Mom went into the hospital?"

You nodded, swallowing the lump in your throat at the memory of that day.

"Well, she told me to take care of you. There's no way I would break a promise to Mom."

"She said that?"

"Mhmm."

"It's like she knew something was going to happen."

"Mom was a smart lady. Will had to have gotten it from somewhere and he sure didn't get it from Dad."

You laughed. "Hey, you're smart, too. Just not sciency smart. You're more puzzle smart because you put the pieces together of who committed a crime." Jay laughed at your description of his job. "Oh, is the recipe for Mom's garlic mashed potatoes in that cookbook?"

"It is. Want those as a side along with the salad you mentioned?"

"Yes, please...if it's not a problem."

"They're super simple and quick to make." He scribbled on a piece of notebook paper that he had written down a few groceries on, like the salad ingredients you had mentioned. "Alright, potatoes, a rotisserie chicken, and pastry dough have all been added to the list."

***

"I'll be back later tonight, no later than midnight," Jay told you two days later on Sunday night. "I know it's not ideal because you have school in the morning, but try and get some sleep while I'm gone, okay?"

"I'm used to being home alone at night, Jay." You shrugged. "I'll be fine."

"I know, it's just that not something I want you to get used to. Feel free to eat anything you want, cook anything you want. As long as you don't burn down the house, I don't care what you make. Oh, and remember to take your multivitamin before bed."

You rolled your eyes. "I'm fifteen, not five. Now, get going. Don't want you to be late to meet that lawyer."

"Love you. I'll be back by midnight. Lock the door behind me."

"I will. Love you, too."

With that, Jay left his apartment to go meet with ASA Stone and you locked the door behind him as he told you.

***

"So, Antonio told me you have some custody questions," Peter Stone said once he closed the door of his office.

"That's right," Jay replied as he took a seat in front of Stone's desk and turned his phone completely off and Stone took a seat in his chair behind his desk.

"Didn't know you had a kid, Halstead."

"No, I don't actually," Jay chuckled. "I have a kid sister. Name's Y/N and she's fifteen."

"Okay, and why do you want guardianship then?"

"When me and Will, my older brother, were kids, our dad kinda checked out on parenting us when we hit our mid-teens. But, we had our mom around, so it was okay. I went over there the other day because my dad was having some heart issues and I called Will. When I was there, I got a call of a robbery and it was Y/N. She was stealing food from a corner store because our dad wasn't feeding her," Jay explained.

"I see. So, other than her word and her stealing food, do you have any proof of this?"

"I know I should've called DCFS before letting her stay with me, but I couldn't let her stay there a minute longer, Peter. She's lost like 25 pounds in the past six months and she's deficient in both iron and vitamin B."

"Okay, what we have to do is petition for guardianship in front of a judge. I can help you with the documents and I can even represent you at the hearing if you want."

"Wow, yeah, that'd be great. Thank you."

"Anything else you want to tell me about your dad? Any physical or emotional abuse?"

"Not technically, but there is something else." And then Jay launched into all the information you had told him two days ago.

"Okay. And, you know your dad could theoretically press kidnapping charges against you because you took his kid without his permission?"

"I do. But he was basically starving her. No jury would find me guilty."

"I'm not going to argue with you about that one because I agree with you."

"So, do you think I have a chance of getting guardianship over Y/N?"

"In theory, yes. But, most judges like to keep the child with their biological parents. But, seeing as Y/N's fifteen, she does get some say in who she stays with," Stone explained. "When we have a custody or guardianship battle, we use the child's best interest standard. This means that you must prove that you are capable of providing food, clothing, housing, medical care, and a stable home life for Y/N. There will be one or two home visits before appearing before a judge, just to let you know."

"I'm aware of that. And, I just put an offer in on a new apartment with two bedrooms this morning and they're pretty quick in responding, so I should know in the next few days whether or not I got it."

"That's a good start. And you are financially stable to raise her until she turns eighteen, so three more years?"

"I am."

"Alright, let's start on those documents then. Unless you have any more questions for me?"

"I do actually. I, uh, I just found out that I'm technically still married. Something about me not signing the divorce papers even though I specifically remember signing them? And, before you ask, me and this girl served together, we were both twenty-one, going through rough patches and it was a Vegas wedding eight years ago. Lasted no more than twenty-four hours."

"It's really good that you told me this because any good lawyer would find that out when you file for guardianship. It's possible that she didn't co-sign the divorce papers. If that's the reason, I can help you draw up new divorce papers right now."

"Really? You'd help me with that?"

"Of course. A friend of Antonio's is a friend of mine," Stone said as he started typing on his computer. "So, what you can do is you can file for a no-fault divorce."

"You're gonna have to be specific, Stone. I know a bit of criminal law because I've had to testify in criminal cases, but like I said, I don't know family or civil law," Jay said.

"What a no-fault divorce is, Jay, is that you don't have to prove that either of you did anything wrong to get a divorce. All you have to do is state that your marriage is unsalvageable and continue filing for divorce."

"That's it? What if she doesn't sign it?"

"The divorce papers will be served to, uh...what's this girl's name again?" Stone asked.

"Abby."

"Abby. The divorce papers will be served to Abby and she has twenty days to file her response with the court. If she doesn't, then the court rules it as an uncontested divorce and then you're officially divorced."

"Me and Abby are meeting up to talk about all this tonight. But, can we just fill out paperwork for this no-fault divorce just in case things don't go as planned? I just really need to get guardianship of Y/N. The least amount of problems, the better."

"Of course. And if everything goes well with her tonight, then just give me a call and I'll shred the documents."

"Alright, just tell me where to sign."

***

"Wilson is running through the showers wearing nothing but a Kevlar vest, right?" Jay reminisced on the good parts of his Ranger days with Abby at a bar around 8:30 that night after his meeting with Peter Stone.

"Well, the lieutenant said, all outdoor activities to be conducted in body armor." Jay laughed at Abby's rendition of their lieutenant's voice. "Do you remember, he had his girlfriend's name tattooed on his ass?"

Jay set his empty drink down on the bar. "Did he tell you that was his girlfriend? That was his dog's name," Jay laughed.

"That actually makes more sense," Abby said. "I could go for another one of these."

"I, um, I shouldn't."

"Gotta get back to the barracks?"

"No, I uh gotta get back to my little sister, actually. I'm looking after her at the moment. It's a long story. Do you have the papers?"

"I, uh, I don't have them."

"Abby."

"It's just, I never told you. Even that crazy day we got married, I never told you that I loved you, Jay. It didn't feel right. But, I loved you, Jay. I do love you."

Jay sighed. "Abby, you deserve everything good. I'm just not the guy that's gonna give that to you." He brushed her hair to the side and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

After putting some money on the bar to pay for the drinks and tip the bartender, he left the bar. Guess he was going to need these no-fault divorce documents, anyway.

He was almost to his car when he heard someone calling his name. And, it was a voice he knew all too well.

"Erin?" he shouted as she came closer. "What are you doing here?"

"Would it kill you to turn on your phone? You need to get to the district. Now."

"What? Why? What's wrong?"

She got in his passenger seat. "Just drive. I'll explain on the way."

***

You were sitting on Jay's bed reading a book when you heard a knock on the door.

Slowly, you got off his bed and made your way out of his room. You took a knife out of the knife block, but you hoped you wouldn't need to use it. Jay would've told you if someone was planning on stopping over. And, if it was Will, he would've given you a heads-up.

The knocking got louder and more aggressive. "Jayson! Open this door! I have the right to see my daughter!"

Dad.

With the knife still in hand, you backed up and then, once on the carpet, ran back into Jay's room and quietly shut the door and locked it. You pulled out your phone and tried Jay. It went straight to voicemail. The pounding was getting louder. You tried Will. It went straight to voicemail because he was on shift. You thought you heard your dad starting to kick the door now instead of just pounding on it with his fists. You tried the last person you thought could help.

"Y/N?" Erin asked as she answered her phone and paused the tv show she was watching.

"Erin," you whispered. "I'm scared. I need help."

"You need help? Can you tell me why?"

"My dad, he's- he's here. He's looking for me." You heard a crash.

"Jay? Y/N? I know one of you is in here!"

"I- I think he just broke down the apartment door. Please help."

"Okay, okay, here's what you're going to do. I want you to hide somewhere and I'm going to call a patrol car over there right now. You're going to turn your phone on silent and I'm going to call you right back," she told you.

"Okay," you whispered as quietly as you could.

"I'll call you back in one minute tops."

You moved as quietly as you could with the knife and your phone still in your hands and opened Jay's closet door. You buried yourself behind the two garment bags that contained Jay's police blues and his military dress uniform, hoping against hope that your dad wouldn't find you.

Your phone lit up and it was Erin. You answered.

"Y/N, the officers will be there soon. I don't want you to talk. Just know that I'm on the phone with you."

At the same time, as she was talking to you over speakerphone, she was texting the team. She assumed you couldn't reach Jay or Will since you had called her. She told them what was happening and that a few of them needed to get to the district because they needed to find Jay's location. She also told Voight to get ahold of Sharon Goodwin so she could notify Will of what was currently happening.

"Chicago PD! Put your hands where we can see them!" you heard from your hiding place.

"See?" Erin said. "I told you that you'd be okay. I told them that you were hiding, so if someone opens the door, it's just an officer."

Just after she said that the closet door opened.

You squeaked.

"It's okay. You're safe," the officer said. "We're just going to take you down to the district. You're safe."

You peeked out from your hiding place and you saw the blues of the officers. You slowly made your way out and followed the officer out to the patrol car, the one that didn't house your dad for a breaking and entering charge at the moment.

***

"Where is she?" Jay yelled as he entered the district.

Platt just pointed to the bench next to one of the offices where you were sitting, staring at the floor, with a police jacket draped over your shoulders.

He sunk to his knees in front of you. "Are you hurt? Did Dad hurt you? Did he put his hands on you in any way?"

You shook your head.

"Oh thank God."

"I was so scared," you whispered. "When you and Will didn't answer, I thought he was gonna get me."

"I'm sorry. I turned off my phone when I talked to ASA Stone, and I forgot to turn it back on. I'm so sorry. C'mere."

You all but fell off the bench and into Jay's arms. "Is he going to jail? I don't want him going to jail."

"He was drunk out of his mind. I can ask not to press charges, though."

"Please. He needs help."

Although Jay didn't say it, he knew you were right. Jails and prisons didn't rehabilitate, they just taught criminals how to be better criminals. He knew that his dad needed rehab, a twelve-step program, anything.

"Okay, I won't press charges. But, I think we're gonna need to stay with Will for the night because our door's broken. What do you say we run home and grab some clothes to bring to Will's? And, since Dad will be here for a little longer, we can run to his house and get more of your stuff. Sound like a plan?"

"Can we get Dairy Queen on the way to Will's?"

"We sure can."

***

"I- I don't think any of these dresses will fit me anymore. They look way too big," you said to Jay as the two of you unpacked a bunch of your stuff in the guest room of Jay's new apartment. You wanted to think of it as the guest room for now instead of calling it your room just in case Jay wasn't awarded guardianship. You didn't want to get too attached.

Jay sighed. He figured you were right. He would see if Erin could take you, but their relationship was on the backburner right now. And, Erin had some stuff with Bunny she had to work out after she had brought her that pearl bracelet and said that she might be leaving Chicago. So, now wasn't really the right time for him to be bugging Erin about going shopping with you. And, he couldn't ask Kim because she was taking some furlough after finding her sister brutally sodomized after a night out.

He thought about asking Will if Nina could come, but he didn't think that those two were too happy with each other at the moment since Will hadn't told Nina about their dad being in the hospital and she had to find out from Natalie. Not Will's greatest moment.

He racked his brain for more women he knew.

Then it hit him: Gabby.

Yes, they had briefly dated, but that was five years ago. She was married now and his feelings for her were completely gone. They were civil with each other when they saw each other in the field and would chat when Gabby showed up at the district to pick up Eva or Diego.

"How about you try a few on after we finish unpacking, and then if none of them really fit, I can give Gabby a call and see if she'll take you shopping while I work on unpacking the rest of the house," Jay suggested.

"Okay. Will's gonna be over after his shift to help though, right?" you asked.

"He better be. He said he would. If he doesn't come, he better have a really good excuse."

"You can't unpack the kitchen without me," you told him.

"Why not?"

"I can't have you putting the glasses and other stuff on high shelves because I wanna reach them without having to climb on the counter."

"Okay, fine. I'll keep your short little height in mind while I unpack." He paused. "Do you want to get those fancy word stickers for your room for one of the walls?"

"Decals? And, it's not my room yet."

"Listen, after that stunt Dad pulled at my old apartment, Stone is 99.9% positive that I'll be granted guardianship. We just have to jump through all the hoops first."

"Like the home checks?"

"Like the home checks," he confirmed.

"What do I say in court?" you asked a few minutes later as you were putting the pillows on your freshly made bed.

"You just tell the truth," he answered.

"Will you be in there with me?"

"No, I won't. Stone said that usually in these cases you talk to the judge by yourself so that you can't be intimidated by either of the people who are fighting for custody or guardianship."

"So you won't be there? Will won't be there?"

"Will will be out in the hall and I will be in a different room. I'll be in like a witness room, where they make witnesses of a crime wait so that their testimony isn't swayed by what the other people are saying on the stand. But, me and Dad will be in the courtroom at the same time, just so I can see what he'll be saying."

"And, I'll be in there then, too?"

"Yes."

"What kind of questions do they ask me?"

"Stone said that since you're older, you get a say in who you stay with, so they'll ask you questions like who've you known the longest, who you feel safest with, who you want to live with, etc."

"Will they ask me questions about Dad? Like how he didn't give me food and how he broke into your apartment?" you asked.

"They will," Jay confirmed. "But, Stone will be in there for those questions just in case he needs to object to something."

"So the only time I'll be alone with the judge is when they're asking me the first few questions? Like who I feel safest with?"

"Exactly. Now, do you need help putting these books on the top shelf of your bookshelf?"

***

"Hey, how was your day?" Jay asked as he came home from work that afternoon. It was a shock that he was home by 5 pm, but you had a big day tomorrow. Not only was tomorrow Friday, it was the day you and Jay had to go to court to see if he would be awarded guardianship of you.

"We've got a problem," you stated.

"Um, I can try to help you with it, but let me go put my gun away first."

While he was doing that, you pulled out the slip of paper and the note that Gretchen Cunningham had written, saying that she wouldn't allow you to make up the test you would be missing because you had to go to court.

"Alright, what's the problem?" Jay asked as he walked into the kitchen.

"Cunningham. She's the problem...as always."

You handed him the papers and he read them over. "Yeah, this isn't going to fly. She doesn't need a judge's signature to allow you to take the test. I'll talk to the school tomorrow morning when I call to tell them you'll be absent."

"I hate her," you groaned. "She's so mean. And, I know what you're gonna say. You have to deal with people you don't like. But, she lost one of my assignments and told me I didn't turn it in and couldn't re-do it!"

"Well did you?" Jay asked. "Turn it in, I mean."

"Jay!"

He put his hands up in a sign of surrender. "I'm just saying, could be your fault."

"Yes, I turned in the stupid assignment. And, she paired me up with the stupidest kid in the class and told me to do well on this assignment because he needed a good grade to pass. It's not my fault he's failing! Don't put his grade on me, lady!"

"And she wouldn't let you re-do it?"

"Nope. But it's fine. I'm still getting an A. That might change if she doesn't let me take this test, though."

"It's like deja-vu from my freshman year all over again. Why doesn't she retire already? She's like 100."

"Or they could fire her," you quipped. "Or I could switch classes."

"I'll see what I can do. Who's the other history teacher?"

"Um, Miss Hedge."

"Hedge? As in Jayne Hedge?"

"Yeah, it's actually her. Why? Do you know her?"

"Yes he does," Will said as he entered Jay's apartment. "In fact, they went to freshman snowcoming together."

"How did you even get in here?" Jay asked, turning around to look at his older brother.

"For a cop, you're not that smart. You didn't lock the door behind you."

"I don't lock my door when I'm still awake. And, seriously? You just had to tell Y/N that, didn't you?"

"You guys can't just leave me hanging now. Tell me the story!"

"Fine," Jay grumbled and Will just laughed and sat down at the table, too. "I met her at school, obviously. She was on the freshman basketball team and I had winter weight training for the soccer team. I thought she was pretty and she was really smart, too. And, I knew that a bunch of the girls went to get Taco Bell after practice, so me and some of my friends decided to go, too."

"There used to be a Taco Bell close to school?" you asked. If there was, you'd never seen it before.

"It got torn down just after I graduated," Jay answered. "Anyway, we went to Taco Bell and I started talking to her and we talked a lot after practice. I'd walk her home sometimes. Then, I asked her to snowcoming and she said yes."

"So, why'd you guys break up? I know you dated Allie in high school."

"We realized we were better off as friends." Jay shrugged.

"And he realized he liked Allie more," Will added.

"Yeah, that too."

Will set a big bag of takeout on the table.

"Seriously?" Jay asked. "I thought we weren't going to do this that much anymore so we can get Y/N's vitamin and mineral levels stabilized."

"I'm sure she'd appreciate the break from your mundane meals," Will said. "And, I got us all side salads to go with the burgers instead of fries, so calm down." Jay gave him a look. "Fine, I got the side salads along with the fries. But, they're made out of potatoes, so they're technically a vegetable."

"For a doctor, you don't know much about nutrition, do you? And, my meals are not mundane."

"Dude, you'd have chicken, spaghetti, or grilled cheese every night."

"Not every night, just a lot of nights when I'd get home from the district late. I'll have you know me and Y/N have been making really good diners lately. Wanna tell Will what we made last night for dinner, Short Stack?"

"We made this really good pasta. We used Orzo, which looks like rice, but it's pasta. And we made a sauce out of tomatoes, onions, and orange juice. It was supposed to be lemon juice, but Jay didn't have any. We put chicken sausage in it for protein...and spices of course," you told Will.

"That actually sounds really good. Wow, Jay cooking every night, not something I expected."

"I like it," you said. "And, he lets me play whatever music I want when we cook."

Will rolled his eyes. You had Jay so wrapped around your finger that he'd do almost anything for you. Will didn't think he himself was that bad, but deep down, he knew he'd do anything for you, too...despite not being in Chicago as long as Jay had been.

***

"So I got a call from Stone this morning," Jay said around 11:30 that night when he and Will were sitting on the couch, each nursing a beer.

Will set his beer down on the coffee table in front of him. "And?"

"And, as of yesterday at midnight, I am officially divorced from Abby. Turns out, they served her the papers and, since she didn't sign them and it had been twenty days, it turned into an uncontested, no-fault divorce."

"Congrats, man. Might've been eight years too late, but you're a free man now."

"Amen to that. And it came at just the right time."

"Yeah," Will agreed. "You nervous for tomorrow?"

"Not really. More nervous for Y/N than anything. I've testified in criminal cases, so I kinda know how this goes, but she hasn't. And, before me and Dad go in to plead our cases, she has to talk to the judge all by herself. I just wish one of us could be in there with her."

Will nodded. "Know what they're going to ask you?"

"I know what Stone's going to ask me because we prepped, but I have no idea what Dad's lawyer is going to ask me. Pretty sure he's got just a public defender, though. Hopefully, that works in my favor."

"Not always, man," Will disagreed. "The public defenders who do these cases only do these cases. They've had a lot of practice."

"You really know how to make me feel better, thanks," Jay replied sarcastically.

"Rather have you hear it from me before the case than someone else after. Are you going to get cross-examined?"

"Probably. Don't know what they're going to ask me though because it's a cross. Stone set up some sample questions for me to answer with him to practice, but I'm going in blind. I'm used to it though because I've testified before. But, this feels like my biggest case."

"Because it probably is."

"Are you talking about tomorrow?" you asked as you quietly padded across the floor towards the living room.

"Y/N? What are you doing up? It's almost midnight," Jay pointed out.

"I- I know. But I couldn't sleep. I'm scared. What if I have to go back to Dad's? What if they find neither of you fit and I have to go into foster care?"

Jay patted the empty spot on the couch next to him and you sat down. "We just have to trust the system. That's all we can do."

"I know, but I can't sleep. And I'm so tired."

"I have an idea," Jay started and stood up, "stay here."

"I'm gonna go look for some melatonin," Will said after a few minutes of you two just sitting in silence. "I think Jay still has some for nights that he can't sleep."

Will was still rummaging around Jay's cabinets when Jay came back with a big black box with some cords and a cardboard box balanced against his hip.

"The hell is that?" You quickly covered your mouth when you realized you had sworn. "Sorry."

"It's okay. And, to answer your question, this is VCR. And, I have a bunch of videotapes in this box." He turned from you to face the kitchen, where Will was still opening and closing cabinets. "Will? What are you doing?"

"Looking for melatonin for Y/N. You got any?"

"First of all, it's so late that if you give it to her now, she'll sleep through her alarm and we can't be late for court tomorrow. And, second of all, I keep it in the medicine cabinet in my bathroom."

Will closed the cabinet and made his way back to the couch to sit next to you as Jay started to hook up the VCR to the tv. "Uh, Jay," Will began, "you know it's a little late for a movie right? And, I should get going in like half an hour?"

"We're not watching a movie. I recorded a bunch of the Blackhawks playoff games on one of these and I thought Y/N'd like to watch the 2010 Stanely Cup final series against the Flyers. Or, we could watch the final series against the Bruins when they won the cup last year."

"Let's watch the 2010 one," you said. "I don't think I watched it because I wasn't into watching hockey as much as I am now."

"And you have Jay to thank for that," Will pointed out.

"You can record things on there? Like an old-school DVR?" you asked.

"God, now I feel old," Will groaned. "Wait until she learns about floppy disks."

"Floppy what now?"

"Nevermind. Only 80s-90s kids would get it."

"We get it. You guys are millennials."

"Got it!" Jay exclaimed as he popped the videotape into the VCR and it started playing. "Now, shut up so we can relive this, Will."

You fell asleep before you even reached the end of the first period.

***

You rubbed your eyes and then looked around you to notice that you were still on the couch. You craned your neck to see the time on the oven on the other side of the open concept kitchen and living room and saw that it was 5:45 am. Jay was at the gym now. And, you knew you wouldn't be able to fall back asleep because you were already starting to worry about the rest of the day. You had to be in court at 8:30 and had to be talking to a judge at 9:00, the judge that would determine who you would be living with, which would inevitably determine your future.

God, you were thinking just like the teachers talked about the SATs, how if you didn't get a good grade on that standardized test that your future would be ruined.

You stood up and stretched and then went back to your room to grab the book you were currently reading. Then, you turned on a few lamps and grabbed a yogurt and fruit from the fridge, along with a glass of orange juice. After wrapping yourself in a blanket, you started to eat and read, hoping that that would keep your mind from wandering and worrying at least until Jay got back from the gym.

Half an hour later, Jay unlocked the apartment door and walked inside, confused as to why you were awake. It was only 6:15 and he had told you just to be up by 6:45.

"What are you doing awake, Short Stack?" he asked as he grabbed a banana from the bowl on the counter.

"I woke up at about 5:45 and I couldn't fall asleep. I'm sorry."

"Nothing to worry about. I just want you as well-rested for today as possible. You have your dress all ready? Know what shoes you're going to wear?"

"Jay," you whined. "I picked all of that out last night because you told me to."

"Just didn't want you to have to rush. I can turn the game back on for you so you can watch it until you have to start getting ready?"

You nodded and Jay came over and fiddled with the tv and the remote, going back to the middle of the first period where he thought you had fallen asleep.

"Okay, I'm gonna take a shower. Will said he'll be here around 7:45. Oh, and you can take that history test when you get back on Monday, in Miss Hedge's class."

You smiled. "Okay." Then, you turned your attention back to the hockey game.

***

You widened your eyes as you stood in the second bathroom getting ready. You had gotten dressed (into a navy blue, lacey dress that ended just above the knee that you had bought with Gabby a few days ago), washed your face, brushed your teeth, did your makeup, but now you were cursing yourself for being so stupid. You had no way of doing your hair. You didn't have a straightener here. And, your typical ponytail or bun wasn't going to cut it for court.

"Jay!" you yelled as you exited the bathroom and knocked on his bedroom door.

He opened it as he was tying his tie. "Yeah? Everything okay?"

"I don't have a straightener! I can't do my hair and if I wear my hair like I usually do then it will look bad on you and--"

"Hey, hey, calm down. We've still got over 45 minutes before we have to leave. I'll give Gabby a call and see if she's not on shift and can let you borrow hers."

You sighed the biggest sigh of relief. "Thank you."

Five minutes later, Jay knocked on the bathroom door as you were brushing your hair. "Gabby will be here in ten."

"Oh thank God."

***

"Thank you!" you exclaimed ten minutes later as you opened the door, revealing Gabby with her hair straightener. And, behind her, was Casey.

"No problem. Just tell me if you're not used to it and need help."

You took it from her. "No, I should be good. Thanks, though. C'mon in. I'm pretty sure Jay's around here somewhere."

They came into the apartment while you ran off to find Jay.

You knocked on his bedroom once more and he opened it, this time completely ready for the day. "Gabby and Casey are here," you told him.

"Casey's here?" he asked, furrowing his eyebrows.

"Yeah. I think he just came with Gabby."

"Okay. Go fix your hair. I'll go talk to them."

Twenty minutes later, you were finished and slipping your shoes on when you heard a knock on the apartment door. "I got it, Y/N!" Jay yelled.

Well, I hoped you would because you're closer to the door than me, you thought to yourself.

Jay opened the door, and since it was exactly 7:45, he was expecting to just see Will. But, what he saw both shocked him and made him want to cry from appreciation at the same time.

Standing next to Will was Natalie and behind them was all of Intelligence and Trudy Platt and Mouch, all of Squad 3 and Truck 81 (minus Casey because he was inside), Sylvie Brett, Chief Boden, April, Maggie, Dr. Rhodes, Dr. Charles, Reese, and Noah.

"You're all here for the court case?" Jay asked, stunned.

"Well, Natalie has to testify about Y/N's deficiencies and weight loss, but yeah. It's better if the court sees that the person trying to get guardianship has a ton of support. So, I figured I'd call in reinforcements...even though I'm pretty sure my big personality is enough."

Jay rolled his eyes. "Your big ego maybe." He paused, not knowing how he was going to fit everyone in his apartment even if it was bigger than his last one. "However many of you guys can fit inside, can come in. Um, some of you might just need to meet us at the courthouse--"

"Jay, they just came now so you could see how many people were behind you. They're just gonna meet you there. Except for me. I'm driving you two." Jay furrowed his eyebrows. They didn't talk about this. "I'll explain later."

"Gabby," you said as you walked out of the bathroom. "Can you--" you stopped as you saw everyone outside Jay's apartment.

"They're all here for you and Jay," Gabby explained as she stood up. "And, you can't cry because it'll smear your makeup, so hold back the tears."

You nodded as you held them back. "Can you, uh, check the back of my hair to make sure I got it all straight?" you asked.

"Two spots are still a bit wavy. Let's go fix it so you can get going."

A few minutes later, Gabby had fixed your hair and everyone besides Will and Jay had left and were on their way to the courthouse. You slipped on a pair of black ballet flats and your coat.

Will had explained that the reason he was driving was that if Jay didn't get guardianship, he didn't want him driving in such a distressed state. Will had worked on so many patients who were in car accidents due to their emotional state and he didn't want Jay to be one of them.

"Ready?" Jay asked you.

"As ready as I'll ever be," you said as you wiped your sweaty palms on your dress.

"All you have to do is tell the truth."

***

You thought you'd be comfortable inside a courtroom because of the crime dramas you'd seen. But, standing inside one was very different from watching a fictional tv show.

No one but you, the judge, the court reporter, Peter Stone, and your dad's lawyer could be in the room for this next part, so everyone was either in a witness room or waiting outside in the hallway for the go-ahead to be let in. You would be allowed to be in the courtroom while they were talking to Jay and your dad, but they wouldn't be able to be in the room when you talked to the judge...for obvious reasons, such as influencing what you would say.

"All rise."

You stood up next to Stone as the judge, who you now knew as Judge Callahan, entered the room.

Once you sat down, you were called to the stand. "Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth so help you God?" you were asked as you placed your hand on the Bible.

"I do," you answered.

"Alright, please allow Miss Halstead on the witness stand," Judge Callahan said. "Now, I'm just going to ask you a few questions. All you have to do is answer them. Do you understand?"

"Yes, I understand."

"Okay, first question: Has your father, Pat Halstead, ever hit you or physically abused you in any way?"

"No," you answered.

"Has he ever neglected to give you necessities, such as food, water, clothing, or shelter?"

"Yes."

"Can you please elaborate?"

You did. You explained how your dad never had food in the house and would yell at you and call you a burden if you tried to eat his leftovers.

"Is it true that your father tried to break into your brother's house to get you?" Judge Callahan asked.

"Yes."

"Who do you feel safest with?"

"My brother, Jay Halstead."

"Who would you prefer to live with?"

"Jay Halstead."

***

Jay sat on the witness stand. He had answered all of Stone's questions, including all of the questions about him finding you stealing, what you had been using for pads, and what he had been told that you had been eating at your dad's house. Natalie had testified about your physical well-being, weight loss, and iron and riboflavin deficiencies. But now, it was time for Jay's cross-examination. And, he sure as hell didn't expect this next question to be asked.

"Mr. Halstead," your dad's lawyer began, "you previously said, and I quote, that your dad clocked out on parenting you and your older brother, Will, when you were in your teens, around when you started high school. Can you elaborate on that?"

"Objection!" Stone yelled. "Relevance?"

"Speaks to a pattern."

"I'll allow it," Judge Callahan said. "Please answer the question, Mr. Halstead."

Jay nodded. "He clocked out on parenting me and Will because he said that were essentially grown men at this point in our lives, we didn't need him cheering us on or him helping us. He didn't come to a single one of my soccer games in high school. And, if by some miracle we went out for ice cream or something just me, my brother, and my dad, he wouldn't pay for ours. Said we were old enough to pay for ourselves.

"But, we had our mom. She came to all our games and school events. She made us breakfast, lunch, and dinner. If she wasn't there, I don't know what would've happened to me and Will. My dad didn't even want me to go into the military and didn't want Will to go to medical school. He said a real man went right to work. The only time I felt loved by him in all my teenage years was when I left for the military. It was like because he knew I might die over there that he figured he'd say he loved me one last time."

"Redirect, your honor," Stone said. Judge Callahan nodded at Stone. "You said that your mom made you and your brother lunch. Are you doing that for Y/N?"

"Objection! Relevance?"

"Speaks to Mr. Halstead's abilities as a parent."

"I'll allow it. Please answer the question."

"I actually do," Jay answered. "I make her a packed lunch to bring to school every day and I'm sure to add foods high in iron and riboflavin to help those levels stabilize quicker. The first time I packed her a lunch, she actually cried because she hadn't gotten a lunch from home in so long."

"Thank you."

"Mr. Halstead," your dad's lawyer started, "you were previously deployed overseas in Afghanistan for two tours of duty. While I thank you for your service, is it possible that you could have PTSD and hurt Y/N in the middle of the night?"

"I would never hurt her!"

"While you are fully conscious, maybe. But, while you are in a sleep-addled state, isn't it possible that you might think that the person waking you up is an enemy soldier and not your little sister?"

Jay sighed. No one knew this about him, not you, not Will, not his dad. No one. And now all of his family and closest friends were going to know since they were in the courtroom watching this entire thing unfold.

"I am on Prazosin for nightmares caused by my PTSD," Jay answered.

"And how long have you been on this medication?"

"For about two years."

"And this has helped you manage your nightmares?"

"Yes, very much so."

"No further questions."

***

"Jesus, Jay," Will said after you had watched your dad's testimony on why he should get to keep you. It was the usual: how he was your father, so, therefore, he deserved to keep taking care of you and it's what your mother would've wanted...despite her telling Jay to keep you safe before she died. They already had the responding officers testify about the break-in, so he couldn't deny that and he was under oath, so if anyone found out he lied, then your dad would be held in contempt.

"I'm sorry I never told you, man," Jay said. "I just, I thought of it as weak that I couldn't deal with my own shit." He grimaced when he realized he had sworn around you. "Sorry, Y/N."

"It's okay. I hear that stuff at school."

"I'm just upset you didn't tell me they were getting that bad, Jay," Will lamented. "I know I wasn't there for you a lot after Mom died, but I'm here now."

Jay nodded, and Will knew he didn't want to talk about the topic anymore. You looked through the little window into the courtroom and saw that the judge was coming back from her chambers.

"Guys, I think she's made a decision," you said nervously.

"Whatever happens, me and Jay will be there for you," Will promised.

All you could do at this point was nod, as a lump was forming in your throat from all your nerves.

Jay led you back into the courtroom and you sat at the front, between Jay and Will. You wiped your sweaty palms on your dress and Jay gave your shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

Judge Callahan stood up.

"By using the child's best interest standard of who can provide food, clothing, housing, education, medical care, and a stable home life for Y/N Halstead, I declare Mr. Jay Halstead the legal guardian of Y/N Halstead."

You could've sworn that you stopped breathing the second she said Jay's first name. You were so overwhelmed that you just turned to him and started crying as he wrapped an arm around you while he listened to the judge state your dad's visitation rights.

But, you didn't hear any of that. The only phrase that kept repeating in your head was I declare Mr. Jay Halstead the legal guardian of Y/N Halstead over and over again.

Now, you knew that you'd always have the necessities when you lived with Jay. You wouldn't have to worry about where your next meal was going to come from or if your dad would be out until 3 am drinking. You wouldn't have to worry about having access to tampons or pads and not be embarrassed anymore to ask for some from school if you forgot to put any in your backpack that day. But most of all, you knew that you would be loved and cared for.

A/N: Thank you so much for reading! Did I make anyone cry with this one??? The blood draw scenario was actually based on when I had to go and get my blood drawn the other day and thought I was going to pass out, which is why that scene was so long. Anyway, thank you again for reading, and please reblog/like and comment and tell me what you think! As always, if you want to be added to my taglist, just tell me and I’ll add you!

taglist: @theambracer88 @virtualreader @kelelas-life @celyndavies @brookerz122493 @musicismyescape27 @anotherfan07 @thexplosivegirl @dreamingwithlens @xoxmariaxox @onechicago18 @iamasimpingh0e

[justmypartner]

I’ll hold you close in the quiet

Summary: Inspired by 9x03 bts/synopsis - After moving into their new home together, Jay and Hailey find themselves struggling when buried secrets come back to haunt them. They soon realize there’s only one thing that can make things feel better - each other. 

*title taken from the song Watching You by Night Traveler 

Read on AO3 or below

Hands entwined, strides in sync, Hailey and Jay climbed the steps to the front door of their new home. Their home. It still felt so strange to say. After getting engaged and realizing they were only wasting money still paying the lease on two separate apartments, they began the hunt for a place of their own. Hailey had been no stranger to house hunting. In fact, she’d been in and out of at least three places in the past few years, but she’d never found a place as perfect as that one. The commonality among each of her previous places was that none of them ever truly made her feel like she was at home. Not in the same way she felt standing there on that stoop. 

She couldn’t quite explain it. She just knew that the feeling she had was one of certainty and peace, and she could tell Jay felt the same way. They never spoke the words, but they were each other’s home. No house or apartment would ever give them the same warm and comforting feeling they gave each other. So that’s why the shell before them, the empty structure waiting to be filled felt so much like home for them — because it was theirs together. 

“Should I carry you over the threshold?” he asked her, holding out his arms.

She let out a nervous laugh. 

“I’m pretty sure you do that after we’re married. Plus, you’re not carrying me anywhere.”

“Is that a challenge or a threat?”

“Neither,” she laughed, flashing him her best you’re an idiot smile. “I just don’t want-“

Her words were cut short with a screech as he picked her up, throwing her over his shoulder before carrying her through the doorway.

“Jay put me down!”

Their laughter was the first thing they filled the space with, and they only hoped that it augured well for their future there. 

They spent the next few days settling into that home, starting a new chapter, a better chapter, in neutral ground they were working to make their own. It was the perfect blend of his things, her things, and new things, something that only reflected the very essence of their relationship. 

Packing, moving, unpacking, it was all just the distraction Hailey needed from the Roy and Voight of it all. Putting all of her energy into the process kept her mind busy, something she was glad for considering how rampant her mind would run in the quiet. 

Voight had told her to learn to be okay with not being okay. She couldn’t help but envy how capable he was of doing that. He was back to business as usual every day since that night in the warehouse. Though, she couldn’t seem to flip that switch so easily. Insomnia kept her up most nights, her appetite was almost non-existent, and she was beginning to forget what it felt like to not be on edge at all times. She had to put on a face — a face that told the world everything was fine when really, pain and guilt had been eating her alive every second of every day since she pulled that trigger.

The job that was once the one thing that made her feel safe now felt like her biggest threat. She couldn’t bring herself to look her sergeant in the eyes. His placid demeanor only filled her with a rage she feared she’d never come back from if she gave into. She also couldn’t bear to face Kim who was struggling in her own ways, hellbent on finding the man who shot her. The man Hailey knew was already in the ground. Work was no longer her safe space. So what she was left with was Jay and the sanctuary they were building together. 

After long, anxiety-ridden days, operating on autopilot, jumping every time a stranger said her name, coming home to Jay was the only thing that could make her feel normal again. Anything as simple as his touch or the soft voice he only chartered with her was enough to cast away all of the bad and remind her that things were okay because she had him. 

What she didn’t know was that no matter how hard she’d tried to hide the fact that she wasn’t okay from him, he knew her well enough to see through the facade. He’d been watching her. He knew something was wrong, but he didn’t pry. He’d pretend to sleep when her restlessness had her fleeing from the bed in the middle of the night, and he’d pick up her favorite foods when he noticed she’d gone the whole day without eating. He knew something was eating at her, but also knew whatever it was, she would tell him when she was ready. 

So, they leaned into their new chapter together, pulling out the best moments and treasuring them amid the worst ones. Yet, as fate would have it, just as they’d reached a point of bliss with one another in their new home, old ghosts came back to haunt them. For Jay, those ghosts came in the form of an old army buddy, for Hailey, it was the FBI’s investigation into Roy’s whereabouts. 

Each struggling in their own ways, they found themselves isolating from everyone and everything, including each other. They couldn’t be the usual anchors they were for one another because they were both working to conceal the secrets they wanted to protect the other from. At work, they rarely spoke unless it was about the case. They weren’t checking in on each other, they weren’t being the support they both needed, instead they were relying on the one thing they could give: the unexplainable comfort they got just from being in the presence of one another.  

So that night, after dealing with their ghosts separately, they tucked into their shared bed in their shared home, sharing everything but the thoughts in their heads.

Late into the night, Jay woke to an empty bed. Hailey had already silently escaped hours prior. He had been so used to giving her that space, rolling back over when he realized she was gone to conceal the fact that he even knew she was. Not that night. After everything that day, that case, the ghosts he’d faced, he needed to be close to her. He needed the comfort of the other half of his heart beside him, in his arms, reminding him that everything was going to be okay. So he got up and found her in the living room. She had the corner lamp on, shining a dim glow over her head as her eyes followed the words of a small book in her hands. She wore that focused frown he’d come to love, and he smiled as he watched her unnoticed.

“You know, if you’re already sick of sleeping next to me, I don’t know how long this engagement thing is going to last,” he joked, his cheeky grin eliciting a low laugh out of her. It was the first time that day either of them felt anything even resembling joy.

“You’re not getting rid of me that easily,” she sang quietly, closing the book over her thumb to mark her position as she looked up at him. His mouth twitched up at the corners.

“What are you doing up?” his voice was tired and raspy. He tilted his head at her and slid his hands into the pockets of his sweatpants.  

“What are you doing up?” 

He smirked, moving the loose boxes from the coffee table so that he could sit on the edge across from her. They had unpacked the major things, but random boxes were still scattered about the house. It was just a reminder that things were still a work in progress.

“Do you want to talk about it?” 

She smiled, knowing he knew the question was rhetorical. Knowing he knew exactly what her response was going to be. 

“No, do you?”

He shook his head and took a deep breath, pushing on his knees to stand.

“Scoot over,” he instructed, waving a finger for her to make room for him. She put her book down at the edge of the couch and moved into the cushions, allowing space for him to join her. He settled down next to her, propping his arm up under her body as she tucked into him. He let out a breath of relief when she was in his arms. That feeling, that comfort of having her so close to him, it was like that first breath after coming up for air. It was like the weight of that day had sat so heavy on his chest that it had collapsed his lungs, and she was the air he needed to breathe again. What he didn’t know was that he made her feel the exact same way. 

“Let’s not talk about it then,” he whispered, pressing a kiss against the top of her head. 

Hailey’s right arm draped over him, pulling him closer as her left hand tapped light patterns against his chest. He reached over and grabbed her hand in his, playing with her fingers as silence fell upon them. 

“I think maybe we should consider putting something on this finger,” he whispered, the motion of his breath moving the hair on the top of her head. 

“Oh yeah? What were you thinking?” she asked, smiling as she allowed him to raise her hand in the air.

“I don’t know, something nice. Maybe a ring?”

“Hm, I like this idea,” she hummed, twisting her head so that she could place a kiss against his chest. 

“We’ll get you a ring then,” he said certainly. 

“How about a new last name too?” she added, a playful twitch in her voice. 

“Hailey Halstead… I like the sound of that,” he murmured. 

“Me too.”

She raised up to look at him and he leaned forward to kiss her. When they pulled away, her face fell back into his chest and he continued to trace her hands with his fingers.

“Hailey?” he muttered. 

“Hm?” 

“I do want to talk about it. Not tonight…but someday.”

“Same here, Jay.”

They laid like that for the next few hours, holding each other close in the quiet, surrounded by an overwhelming sense of comfort capable of hiding away all of the fears and sorrows stirred up that day. Whatever they went through, whatever weighed heavy enough on them to scare them and make them uncomfortable, they both knew all it would take was a moment like that to feel okay again. Even if it was just for the night. They were each other’s home, each other’s safe space, and they knew that as long as they were together, their actual home would always feel that way too.  

[broiderie]

Lost Princessa 2

Ok... part 2. Here it is. Remember to be gentle. 

Please do not translate, repost, or steal any of my work. My mind is deranged enough without anyone else’s help. Thanks again to @drabbles-mc for letting me bounce ideas off you and helping with plot points.

Taza x Daughter!OC

Warnings: none (Let me know if I missed anything)

Megan meets the rest of the family....

Taza re-entered the conference room smiling and made his way over to sit next to Megan. “So, what’s your plan now that you’ve found me? I know what I would prefer, but I also don’t want to jump to conclusions.”

Megan sighed and pulled her long braid over her shoulder with a rueful smile. “Honestly... I’m not sure. I don’t honestly think that I got this far by planning anything.” She busied her nervous fingers by fidgeting with the end of her braid. “What would you like me to do? I understand that you may not want me around. I can disappear if that’s what your need. I honestly don’t know why I thought you’d want to know about me...”

Taza stopped her nervous rambling by covering both of her hands with one of his. “Megan, honey, breathe.” He waited for her to take another visible deep breath. “I’m glad that you’re here. I’m glad that you found me. I want to get to know my daughter.”

She smiled shyly up at him and blinked rapidly to clear her lashes of tears.

“Now. I have a ranch outside of Santo Padre. I’d really like it if you came home with me. It’s a bachelor pad, but we can make changes... we’ll do whatever you need.”

“Really? You... you want me around?”

“Yes, Chica. I want you around. My brothers too. You have a ton of men currently waiting to meet you down in the casino restaurant. We’ll get some food and then we can go get your stuff from where ever you’re staying and head out.”

She smiled brilliantly at him when he answered her, but her face fell when he mentioned getting her things. She cleared her throat, “There’s nothing to get.” She held up her battered backpack. “I’ve got everything here. And... um... I don’t have gas money or anything to contribute to the trip back. I used the last of it to get here this morning.”

Taza frowned at the small pack. It obviously didn’t hold much. Maybe a change of clothes or two, but not much else. Certainly not enough to get her across country like she had been. “Don’t worry about the money, Chica. It’s covered. We’ll have to stop and get you a helmet and jacket too. You can’t ride like that.”

She shook her head. “I can’t let you do that. That’s a lot of money to be spending it on me.”

“Mija- you’ll have to have a helmet. It’s the law and club rules. And you need a jacket to protect you too. I’m good, but everyone lays down sometimes and things happen on the road. I promise you this- it's not negotiable.” He squeezed her fingers gently. “Let’s go get some food. You’ll feel better.”

Taza stood and offered to carry her backpack, again noticing the lack of weight to it. Then he led her out of the room to meet his brothers. Her new family.

At the door to the restaurant, he paused and turned to face her head on. He nudged her chin up to make her look him in the face. “Listen, Chica, the men you are about to meet have been my family for a long time. They’re going to be your family too in time. They look rough, but don’t let them scare you. Any one of them would do anything to protect family and that includes you now.”

She smiled shyly and nodded. “I can hold my own, I think. I’m used to some pretty rough guys.”

“Thatta girl.” He checked his phone to find a text from Bishop to let him know that they’d commandeered the smallest dining room for an impromptu family dinner. “Let’s go eat.”

He led the way keeping a careful eye on his daughter. His mind buzzing. He had so many things that he wanted to know about her. He worried about how she would mesh with his brothers. She’d seemed so nervous and shy. He didn’t want the more intimidating ones to frighten here. He’d have to speak with them at Templo and ask them to be gentle as she adjusted to life with the club. He’d also warn the young bucks to keep their hands to themselves.  

He opened the door and laughed as all heads whipped around to see them and silence fell. He guided Megan inside and shut the door putting her backpack down with their gear. Bishop must have filled the club in on what was going on. They were way too curious about this new face.  

Bishop stood up smiling. “All sorted?” At Megan’s nervous nod he motioned to Taza to bring her around to a seat at the table next to him. There was an empty seat on the other side of her apparent chair for Taza.  

Taza guided her quickly to sit. He stood behind her chair for a moment and squeezed her shoulders reassuringly. “So... this is Megan. She’s my daughter. Don’t you all swarm her at once. Give her a chance to breathe. She’s coming back with us so we can get to know each other. Mija, you already met Bishop and Hank. I’ll let you meet the rest of the guys at your own pace.”

At her tiny awkward wave, they all cheered and went back to eating and laughing. Taza seated himself next to her and Bishop resumed his seat on her other side. Across from her was a man that she didn’t know and Hank was across from Taza. The man she didn’t know had dark hair slicked back and was wearing a kutte just like all the others, but she could tell that he was different.  

Megan smiled and offered her hand across the table. “Hi, I’m Megan.”

Alvarez smiled and shook her hand gently. “Marcus Alvarez. I’m a very old friend of your dad’s and a cousin of Bishop’s.”

Megan smiled sweetly. “Are you from Santo Padre too? Forgive me... I’m not sure how all of this works.”

Marcus laughed and took a sip of beer. “You’ll get there sooner than you think, but to answer your question- No, I don’t live in Santo Padre. I ride out of Oakland.” He tapped his charter flash. “Welcome to the family, sweetheart.”

Dinner continued with Megan slowly being introduced to everyone as they came by for Taza to introduce them. She tried to keep the names straight, but her mind was so tired that she knew that she’d screw it up if asked.  

Taza kept a gentle conversation going with Megan throughout the meal. Nothing heavy. Just little things. He asked if there was anyone she wanted to contact to let them know that she was safe and she shook her head. “There’s nothing and no one left in Tennessee for me. I left my job bar tending the day before I started this way. Hoping for a fresh start.”

Taza nodded. “We can do that, Mija. Fresh start it is.”

When Taza drifted to go talk to Bishop and El Padrino, Hank noticed that Megan drank only water and hadn’t taken much in the way of food. Really only what Taza encouraged her to take some of. He leaned over the table to speak quietly to her. “You okay, Princessa? Need me to order you something else?”

She shook her head quickly and quietly murmured “I don’t have the money for this...”

Hank smiled sweetly and reached to pat her hands that were twisting a napkin on the table. “Oh! Don’t worry about that. Family dinner falls on the club’s dime.” He saw her visibly relax. “You haven’t had an easy trip, have you Princessa?”

She grinned a little as he gentled her along and started to hand her bowls to get food on her plate. “I think I currently have about five dollars in my pocket. I’m going to have to find a job quickly in Santo Padre so that I can pay Taza back for all the things that he says that I need.”

Hank shook his head firmly. “No. We’ll get you kitted out proper. Don’t you worry about that. We’re going to take care of you now. It’s what family does.”

Taza had gotten up and had his head together with Bishop and Alvarez while keeping Megan in his sight at all times. “Bish... I know we’d usually drive straight through to get home, but Megan can’t do that. She doesn’t even have a jacket, let alone the gear for that kind of ride. Plus she’s exhausted. I don’t know when the last time she slept was, but I’d bet that it wasn’t enough...”

Bishop nodded. “Yeah. I noticed that. Where do we need to go to pick up the rest of her gear?”

Taza sighed. “We don’t. All she’s got is that backpack and it’s not even half full. I haven’t gotten a straight answer as to where she’s been staying. To be honest, I’m not sure that I want to know. I get the feeling that I won’t like her answer.”

Bishop sipped his beer and kept his eye on el pacifidore as he seemed to gently urge their newest family member into eating something. “Hmmm. You’re right. She looks exhausted. It wouldn’t be a good ride for her even if she had gear. Not tonight anyway. But there’s also no sense in keeping the entire club here overnight.”

Marcus smiled. “I agree. Why not keep a small group here and the rest roll out? The smaller group can follow in the morning so no one rides alone. I’d say put her in the van but that’s not an option with the weapons currently in there. She’s family, but let’s not scare her just yet.” He stretched his back. “I’ll admit, I was dreading the night ride myself, so I’m willing to roll out with the smaller group tomorrow.”

Taza laughed. “We aren’t as young as we used to be.” He finished his beer and grimaced. “I have to take her home to the ranch in the shape I left it. I’ve been at the clubhouse so much with this Galindo shit that it’s barely habitable for ME.”

Bishop patted his brother’s shoulder. “It’s settled. You’ll stay here with El Padrino and... two others?” He looked at Marcus questioningly.

“Yeah. Two would be good.”

“So let’s say... Hank and... who else?” Bishop gestured to the rest of the table. “Hank’s good with her already.”

Taza observed the rest of the club for the moment, trying to see them from an outsider’s point of view. He didn’t want anyone too intimidating. “Can’t be Creep. Road Captain goes with the larger group so he can drive the van...”

Marcus laughed. “Can’t be the prospect either. He’s gonna go clean Taza’s house before we get there.”

Taza’s face lit up at that idea. “Yes! I want him to move my shit while he’s there. Put her in the master. Girl deserves her own bathroom.”

Bishop laughed and stroked his beard thoughtfully. “What about Coco? Hank’s supposed to be keeping an eye on him anyway.”

Both Marcus and Taza nodded. “That’s set then. Everyone else head out after dinner. The new princessa’s escort will be Taza, Hank, Coco and myself. We’ll head out tomorrow morning after a shopping spree. We’ll keep you in the loop, but we gotta take it easy on her. We may be late.” Marcus patted the table and stood. “I’ll go arrange accommodations with the tribe.”