#reg Slivko x oc

[shinicalstorytime]

What if I wrote a Reg Slivko fanfic in 2024/2025 when I'm pretty sure everyone has forgotten about Kong: Skull island..

In case anyone would happen to care:

[winchesterbrotherstan]

Kong Skull Island- Childhood Homes and Childhood Traumas

Pairing: Reg Slivko x Irene Brown (OC), James Conrad x sister!OC

Summary: James and Irene are home, but they continue to relive the trauma of their lives.

Warnings: cursing, crying, nothing else i'm pretty sure

Word Count: 2358

“You feeling alright, Ire?” James asked as we stepped out of the airport, back in England.

I shook my head. “I miss them already.” I looked up at him.

He sighed and wrapped an arm around me, letting me bury my head into his shoulder. He sighed and flagged down a cab.

“Where are we going?”

“Home.” He held the cab door open for me.

I sighed as I slid in. He helped the driver with our bags before slipping in next to me. When our parents died, they had left the house to us. James had his own apartment, which is where I lived while he was gone, fighting in the war.

“Which one, Jay?” I asked after he leaned back, having given the driver a destination.

“Back to the house.”

I huffed. “Why there?”

“Because, Irene. We need to sort things out.”

“Sort what out? We went…” I lowered my voice and leaned in. “We went, we almost died, we made it out, we got paid. End of story.” I settled back. “What is there to sort out?”

He sighed and turned to look at me. “You’re eighteen. You’re not gonna live in England with me forever.”

“James…”

“Unless that was the plan, in which case, I am entirely delighted.”

I sighed, looking out the window with my chin in my hand. It was raining, as it always did in London.

“You and Slivko are in love with each other, anybody could see it. I don’t think you want to stay 4,000 miles away from him.”

Of course, I wanted to go live with Reg more than anything. I wanted to be close to Jack, close to his family, and I wanted to be able to see Stephen if things went well. But James wasn’t going to leave England. This place was, and always would be, his home.

I didn't seem to have the same luxury.

TEN DAYS LATER

“Do you think your mom would be sad if we sold this painting?” I called down the wooden stairwell, holding the large canvas in my hands.

“Which one?” James called back, probably from the kitchen.

“The one of my dad and I.” I trotted down the steps, showing him the painting.

He cringed. It was one that his mother had commissioned after Stephen was sent off to boarding school. My father and I were dressed in a military outfit and hunting gear, respectively. I had my crossbow in my hands, and my father had a rifle slung over his shoulder. I never quite understood why she had wanted it.

“No, I don’t think Mum would mind if she knew the truth about him.”

I chuffed. “Thank god, I cannot stand seeing this thing outside my bedroom door.”

James chuckled from the other side of the kitchen island and slid a mug of tea my way. I set the painting down on the ground, leaning against the counter.

“Mint tea, two sugars, just how you like it.”

I smiled at him. “Thanks, Jay.”

Since we had gotten home from the island, I had been having non stop nightmares. It felt like a terribly edited montage. One night, it would be the crash, the next I would dream that our first encounter with a Skull Crawler ended with Jack dead. Then it all melded together. Cole, the tooth through my arm, watching people get eaten. The one I had the night before was new, and I was shocked that it took so long for my brain to conjure it up.

Reg, dying, in my arms, at the hands of Packard.

It was, by far, the worst one yet. James had woken up to my stifled sobs. I wanted to call Reg, but we were five hours ahead of them, and he needed the rest, probably more than I did.

“Ire?” James called, waving his hand in front of my face.

“Sorry.” I shook my head, coming back to reality.

“You okay?”

I nodded. “Thinking about my nightmares.”

“We should get you a therapist.”

I snorted. “What’re they gonna say? Oh, you seem to be experiencing trauma. As if that’s anything new.” I shuddered, eyeing the painting.

James sighed, sitting down on one of the stools. He pulled out another one, further from the painting, and patted on it. “Come sit, Ire.”

I shuffled over and settled into the stool, blowing air onto my tea.

“So… I talked to Chapman, who talked to Cole’s wife. Stephen is still living with them. She said that he still talks about you. She suggested that we head out extra early.”

“Why?” I sipped my tea.

“So that you two can see each other, before the funeral.”

“Fuck, is that a good idea?” I felt my eyes bug out of my head.

“He misses you.” James gave me a sad look.

“God.” I pinched the bridge of my nose. “I… is he okay?”

James shrugged. “I didn’t ask much, I don’t think Chapman did either. We just all think that you two should see each other before the funeral. It might make it easier for him.” He sighed. “Less of a shock, less to process all at once.”

“Does he know?”

“Know what, Ire?”

“Does he know that our dad is dead?”

James paused.

“Does he? Because he adored that man, Jay. I don’t wanna have to be the bad guy who tells him his dad’s dead. Okay?”

James nodded. “I’m not sure if he knows. But it’ll be okay. We’ll figure it out. Okay? I promise.”

I scoffed, pushing the rest of my tea away.

“Irene-”

“I’m gonna go toss this painting into the sell pile, and then I’m gonna go shower.”

“Irene…” He reached for my hand.

“Jay, I…” I pulled my hand out of his reach and shook my head. “I’m tired, okay? I’m tired of the shocking news, and I’m tired of thinking about people who are dead. I’m tired of this already, and Stephen and I haven’t even seen each other.” I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. “Honestly, the only thing I want right now is to lay in bed with Reg and read a book.”

James sighed, holding his arm out for a hug. I trudged to his side and rested my chin on his shoulder. I began to cry the second my skin hit the fabric of his shirt. He wrapped his arms around me and rubbed my back as I sobbed.

“I feel so terrible and I don’t even know why, Jay. We survived, I should be happy.”

“You’re traumatized, Irene. A lot happened on that island. And now, knowing that Stephen is alive, it’s bringing up trauma you sustained during your childhood.”

I sniffed. “This sucks.”

“I know, Bitsy.” He cooed. “We’ll find you good help. I promise you we will. But I really do believe that seeing Stephen before Cole’s funeral would help a bit.”

I sighed in his hold, wiping my tears. “When are we leaving?”

“Tomorrow morning.”

I nodded. “Okay. I’ll finish packing my things.”

“Still gonna go shower?”

I nodded, wrapping my arms around his neck and returning the long hug. “Yeah.”

“I’ll take care of the painting. I don’t want you to worry about it, okay?”

I nodded. “Okay. Thank you, Jay.”

He kissed the side of my head, and my bottom lip quivered once more.

“Of course.”

*******************************************************************

I stepped out of the shower and shook my hair out. I tugged the plastic cover off my cast and tossed it into the sink. I no long had to wear the sling, but I still had a cast for a little bit. My first instinct was to wonder if I would be able to use my crossbow. Then I remembered that I was no longer on a deadly island, no longer with a father who thought hunting humans was a game, and no longer on my own in London.

I finished drying off and got dressed, throwing on the shirt I had worn when we had all gone our separate ways. It was Reg’s, he had given it to me before we had gotten off the ship. Most nights, I slept hugging his army jacket. It still smelled like him, even though James had made me put it through the wash. In hindsight, I probably did not want my bed smelling like the island.

The phone on my nightstand rang, and I grabbed the hairbrush from my bathroom counter before sitting on my bed.

“Hello?” I put the phone up to my ear and began to brush my hair out.

“Hey, doll.”

I couldn’t help the giggle that rose from my chest. “Hi, love.”

“How’re you feeling?”

“I’m okay.” I rushed to finish brushing my hair. “I keep having nightmares.”

I heard him sigh on the other end. “They won’t end anytime soon, doll.”

“I know.” I tossed the hairbrush onto the counter and rolled onto my stomach, kicking my legs up.

“I’m sorry, doll.”

I shook my head, even though I knew he couldn’t see me. “It’s okay, love. James said we would find a therapist, so…” I sighed, trailing off.

“That’s good, right?”

I huffed. “I think so. I’m not sure. I’ve been through so much at this point… I dunno if a therapist could be much help.”

“I’m sure it couldn’t hurt, doll.”

“Yeah, that’s a good point. What about you, how’re you doing? How’s your leg?”

“I can walk without crutches now.” I could hear his grin.

I giggled. “That’s good. I’m happy for you, love.”

There was a beat of silence, and then he sighed.

“What’s wrong, Reg?”

“I just really miss you is all.”

My heart clenched in my chest, and tears began to form in my eyes. “I miss you too.”

“You remember, how, at the airport, I said I was gonna ask you to marry me?”

I giggled, butterflies floating in my stomach. “Yeah, I do.”

“If I were to ask you… for real… would you say yes?”

“God, Reg, without a doubt. Yes, of course I would.”

He chuckled. “Still no kids?”

“No, that’s a non-negotiable.” I shook my head. “No kids, ever.”

“Never?” He repeated incredulously.

“Never. I don’t know how to be a parent.”

“Why not?” He whined playfully.

I took a breath. “Never had a good example.”

“I’m guessing that’s the reason two four year olds ended up living in the amazon with tattoos on their arms?”

I chuckled. “Yeah. My mom, she died when we were little. Less than two years old. I don’t remember her, I’m not sure if Stephen does.”

“I’m sorry, doll.”

I shook my head. “It’s okay. I don’t mind talking about it. About her.” I sighed. “My dad used to say that… the only good thing that came out of her dying was that he could travel the world with us.”

“That’s a fucked up thing to say to a kid.” Reg practically growled, and I could sense his anger through the phone.

I scoffed. “Yeah, especially when she’s only five years old and all she wants is her mom.”

“Your dad sounds like a horrible person.”

I laughed.

“Sorry, that was kinda harsh.”

“No, it’s the truth. My dad’s the reason I know how to use my crossbow. He um…” I trailed off. “Actually, no. This is kinda heavy, I shouldn’t-”

“Irene. If you’re comfortable telling, I’m comfortable listening. I’m here for you okay? No matter what.”

I grabbed his jacket from the hook next to the bed and held it to my chest, curling up tightly.

“He used to… um… when we were six, he gave us weapons as gifts. My crossbow, it used to be his. He gave Stephen… a katana that he… took from a Japanese soldier that he killed.”

I heard him mumble a curse on the other end, and I fell back into the bed, wishing he was here to hold me.

“He would set us loose in the woods, and hunt us down.” I shook my head. “He used to say that he was just trying to keep us safe. Keep us prepared. We were ten years old, I… I still don’t get it. I don’t get what he thought he was trying to protect us from. He was so messed up. I don’t know. Maybe it was the war. I just know that my parents shouldn’t have had us.”

“Don’t say that, doll.”

“Cole adopted Stephen.” I blurted out, feeling tears stream down my face.

“What?”

“My dad sent him to a boarding school. Both of us, together, we were too much to handle. So James started taking care of me, and my dad sent Stephen away. We tried to find him when my dad died, but… it was like he disappeared.”

“Cole didn’t talk about his family much. But I know that all of his kids are adopted.”

“Exactly. Stephen’s one of them. That’s what Cole told me, before…” I looked at the crumpled polaroid that was pinned to my bedroom wall. “He gave me the picture, and he said that he had a son named Stephen. That he was adopted. And that I reminded him… of Stephen.”

“Does that mean…”

“He’s gonna be at Cole’s funeral.”

“Shit.” I heard him hiss.

I looked at the time. It was 2pm here, which meant it was 9am there.

“Do you have to go?”

“I’m so sorry, doll, I-”

“It’s okay. I know you’ve got stuff to do today. We’ll see each other in a few days anyways.”

“I love you. So much.”

I smiled softly. “I love you too, Reg. Thanks for listening to me.”

He gave a soft chuckle. “Thanks for trusting me, doll.”

“Reg, let’s go!” I could hear his older brother, Kenny, on the other end.

“Go, before he takes your car and leaves you stranded.” I giggled. “I love you. Be safe.”

“Always, doll. Kenny, fuck off.” He lowered his tone for that as he hissed. “Okay, doll, I’ll see you soon. Love you.”

I hung up the phone and sighed, turning to lay on my side. These next four days could not drag on any longer.

Previous: Airport Kisses

Next: Waffles

[winchesterbrotherstan]

Kong: Skull Island- Airport Kisses

look at this bean i would give my left arm to marry this man fuck

Pairing: Reg Slivko x Irene Brown

James Conrad x Irene Brown (brother-sister relationship)

Jack Chapman x Irene Brown (brother-sister relationship)

Summary: The gang reassesses their next steps, and reassurance is given as they go their separate ways.

Warnings: cursing, crying, nothing new really

Word Count: 2300

“God, it is good to be back on solid land without giant monsters.” Mills grinned.

Reles elbowed him playfully and dropped to his knees, kissing the ground. Mills followed suit. I giggled, and Reg looked down at me with a goofy smile.

“What?” I stopped walking.

“I wish I could hold you right now is all.” He grinned.

I rolled my eyes as a blush spread across my cheeks. “Here.” I stuck myself to his side and maneuvered my arm around his crutch. I placed my hand on his bicep and smiled up at him. He bent down as far as he could and pressed a kiss to the top of my head.

“Alright, let’s keep moving.” Jack teased from behind us.

“Oh, shove it, old man.” I stuck my tongue out at him.

He flicked the back of my head as he passed by my side, a huge smile on his face. James and Mason followed, and Hank stopped to stand at our sides.

“What’s up?” Reg looked over at him.

“You two remind me of my wife and I. So young, so in love. Perfect for each other, really.”

Reg and I met eyes, both blushing. I bit my lip as Reg thanked Hank before looking down at me.

“Man, next thing you know, we’re gonna be popping kids out too.”

My nose wrinkled up and I shook my head. “No.”

“No?” He gave me puppy eyes.

“Absolutely not, love.”

He grinned and pressed another kiss to the top of my head.

“Come on, lover-boy!” Reles and Mills teased from their spots on the back of the truck.

Reg rolled his eyes, and I giggled once more, letting go of his arm so that we could catch up with the rest of the group.

                                                         ***

“Weird to be in a civilian airport.” Reles looked around, shifting in his seat.

James and I looked at each other, and he smiled softly. Three weeks ago, we had landed at this exact same airport, ready to have fun in Vietnam. Now, we were coming back with a large sum of money, and enough trauma to burn through a few therapists. Reles and Mills sat on the furthest end of the seats, and Mason and James were sitting on the ground in front of us. Hank was on Reg’s other end, and I was between him and Jack. San and Houston had to fly out as soon as possible. They gave us our money and split, explaining that they had to inform Randa’s family and catalog their results in a way that would be safe for the island.

“Alright, I know nobody really wants to talk about this, but we should.” Jack leaned down from the end of the row, sighing deeply.

“Cole’s funeral… it’s gonna be in two weeks. I already talked to his wife. She wants us there. All of us.”

I shivered, and Reg’s arm tightened around my shoulders. I hadn’t told him anything more, but he had pieced together that my brother and Cole had been connected somehow.

“So…” Mason sighed. “Are we meeting there?”

Jack nodded. “I thought we could. Just so that we can all be together. I’m sure that’ll make it easier.”

“We should get together the day before.” James spoke up. “It’ll be easier to readjust.”

Jack mumbled something in agreement, but I had tuned them out. Whatever they settled on, James and I would do. I had my head resting on Reg’s shoulder, arm still in a sling and wedged between his torso and my own side. He noticed that I had seemingly dipped out of the current plane of reality, and he pulled me closer toward him and rested his chin over my head.

I huffed, nuzzling as close to him as I could, trying hard not to think about everything that had happened to us.

“So it’s settled.” Jack’s voice broke back through my haze.

“Two weeks from today, we’ll all meet at this location, in Nebraska.”

A thick silence settled over our group, and I looked up to see Reg lost in his own thoughts this time. Reles’s face had dropped, and Mills was holding his head in his hands. Cole had loved him like a son.

They called the boarding of a flight number over the loudspeaker, and Reles placed a hand on Mills’s shoulder.

“Come on, man. That’s us.”

Mills wiped the tears from his eyes and sat up, clearing his throat. I let go of Reg, and he and Jack got to their feet along with Mills and Reles. The four of them exchanged hugs and whispers, then rough pats on the back.

“We’ll see you guys soon.” Reles saluted at Jack, and then waved at the rest of us as he grabbed Mills by the shoulder and began to lead him toward their gate.

Reg settled back into his seat, and I let him sling his arm back around my shoulders. Jack sat down again, and I looked up at him, feeling my heart begin to strain. I was, once more, faced with the question of what would happen after we all went home. He noticed this, and he whispered something to Reg, who lifted his arm away from me.

I turned from my boy and snuggled into Jack’s side, my eyes beginning to well with tears. Mason and James took the seats that the boys had left behind, with James gently touching my knee as he passed by.

“We’ll figure it out. Hell, maybe you can come stay with Gracie and I for a while.” Jack gave me a goofy smile. “I’m sure Billy would love that.”

I shook my head, wiping my tears away. “It’s not just that, Jacks.”

“Then what is it, Ira? I mean, you’re eighteen now. You can travel the world, like you’ve always wanted to.”

“Stephen.” I whispered, looking up with a sigh.

“What about Stephen, honey?” His voice softened even more as he used the nickname he had only used twice for me before.

Once, when I told him about our father, and the second time, when I told him that I was leaving with my father and Stephen.

“He’s Cole’s kid now.” I fished the picture out of my pocket and showed him.

“God…” Jack’s accent was thick, and he rubbed the back of his neck. “I… Cole was private about his family, I never knew.”

“He’s gonna be there. And… and I don’t know what I’m gonna do.”

They called for another flight over the loudspeaker before Jack could give me an answer, and Hank stood from Reg’s side. Jack looked up and nodded to him, asking for a minute.

“Look, Ira… that’s our flight, I’m escorting Marlow home, but…” He sighed. “We’ll figure it out, okay? We always have before, and we will again. I promise.” He held my face in his hands and put his forehead to mine.

I put my own hands over his wrists and nodded, taking a breath. “Okay.”

“We’ll see each other soon, Ira. Two weeks, yeah?”

I nodded as he kissed my forehead. “Two weeks. Go home to Grace and Billy, I’m sure they miss you like hell.”

He chuckled. “I’ll tell Billy that he gets to meet you soon.”

“Come on, Chapman. We’re gonna miss our flight.” Hank stood in front of him.

“Yeah. Let’s go.” Jack kissed the top of my head again before standing up.

Reg went to stand, and Jack shook his head. “At ease, Sliv.”

I smiled at the nickname, and looked at Jack with watery eyes. James stood and shook his hand, and Mason smiled warmly at both of the men.

“Thanks for taking care of our sister.”

“See you soon, Conrad.” Jack extended his arm for a side hug, the way that men usually hugged, patting each other’s backs roughly.

Reg saluted Jack off with two fingers, and I gave him a big goofy smile.

“Be safe, Jacks. See you soon.”

“Later days, guys!”

“See ya, Hank!”

“Good luck with your wife and your son!” I cupped my hands around my mouth and called after them.

Hank turned on his ankle and waved as he walked backwards, following Jack off to their gate. I grumbled as I changed spots, taking the one to Reg’s left so that I could rest my leg over his good one. He slung his arm around my shoulders, and I wiggled closer to him, practically sitting in his lap now. Mason and James were close together, Mason’s head on his shoulder and his head over hers. It seemed like they weren’t exactly at the level that Reg and I had jumped to, but they definitely had some feelings about one another.

“You okay, doll?” Reg’s voice pulled me from my thoughts.

I turned back to him with a soft smile and nodded. He put his hand on my cheek, and I leaned into his touch, letting my eyes flutter shut.

“I’m gonna miss being able to kiss you all of the time.” He whispered.

I gave a sad smile, opening my eyes. He was looking at me with so much love in his eyes, that I wanted to cry again. He caught onto it and pecked my lips, thumb holding my chin up.

“Oh, I-uh, I wanna give you something.” He pulled back, rummaging through the duffel bag at his feet.

“What is it?” I shifted, turning so that my side was completely perpendicular to his torso.

He pulled out his green army jacket and held it out to me with a big, goofy smile. “Here.”

“Wait, Reg-”

“I’m done with the army. Hell, we were supposed to be going home for good before Packard signed us up for the island expedition.”

“But… Reg, I… I can’t take it.”

“Please?” He gave me his puppy eyes, hand holding my cheek again. “I think it would look good on you. And you gave me your hair tie earlier.” He held up his wrist, the thin black hair tie still around it.

I gingerly grabbed the jacket, and he grinned, draping it over my shoulders, since I couldn’t put my arm through it just yet. I smiled and pulled him down to me, kissing him softly.

“I love you so much.” I whispered against his lips.

He ran his hands through my hair before grabbing my hand in his and kissing my knuckles. “I love you too.”

“Hey.” I felt Mason softly tap my shoulder. “Sorry, my flight is boarding.”

We both turned to her, and I grabbed her into a one-armed hug, resting my head on her shoulder. I was going to miss her over these next two weeks.

“Be safe. Please.” I begged her.

“I will be. I promise.”

“I’ll walk you to your gate.” James offered, standing up and holding a hand out for her.

Mason nodded at him and said goodbye to Reg, patting his shoulder with a gentle smile. James shouldered her bag and they walked off, leaving Reg and I alone in the busy airport.

“Hey, doll?”

“Yes?” I turned back to him, eyes wide.

“Do you wanna meet my family?”

I felt a blush creep onto my face. “Are you sure?”

“I mean, I already met half of yours.” He grinned, referring to Jack and James. “Also, I can’t wait to show my brother that I’ve got the best girl in the entire world.”

“Oh, shush.” I let my head fall onto his shoulder. “I’d love to meet your family, Reg.”

He only kissed the top of my head. The loudspeaker spat out another flight number, and Reg’s head popped up. I sighed.

“Yours or mine?”

He nodded. “Yours. Come on, I’ll walk you down to meet up with Conrad.”

                                                        ***

“Alright, Bitsy. Ready to go?” James hoisted my bag over his shoulder so that I wouldn’t have to struggle with it.

I sighed. “Yeah, just…” I looked over my shoulder to see Reg leaning against the wall.

He would wait for us to board before he went for his own flight.

“Didn’t you guys already say bye?”

“Yeah, but it didn’t feel like enough, Jay.” I mumbled.

“Go. I’ll wait here.”

I gave Reg a look, and he opened his arms, still leaning against the wall. I ran toward him the way I had in the river, which felt like ages ago. He caught me in his hold and pulled me tightly against him.

“I don’t know how I’m gonna go two weeks without sleeping in your arms.” I whimpered.

His grip on me tightened. “It’ll be alright, doll. We all just need a second to get things settled. After that, we’ll be together. Okay?”

I pulled my head back, ignoring the tears in my eyes. “How?”

He shrugged nonchalantly. “May or may not ask you to marry me, no big deal.”

“God, Slivko.” I held a hand over my mouth.

He pulled it off and kissed my lips. “I love you, but we have to go. You two are gonna miss your flight.”

“I want more kisses.” I whined, pulling him down to my level.

“Doll, we’ll see each other in two weeks.”

“I don’t care.” I mumbled in between each kiss. “I want kisses.”

“Irene! We’re gonna miss our flight, let’s go!” James called.

I groaned and kissed Reg harder before pulling back. “I’ll see you soon.”

He winked. “I’ll call you?”

I blushed. “Sounds good. I love you!” I started making my way back to James.

“I love you!” He cupped his hands around his mouth.

James grabbed my good arm and began to tug. “Come on, Bits. Let’s go.”

Reg and I kept our eyes on each other, and right before I was out of his line of sight, he gave me a wink. My heart swelled within my chest.

Previous: Tears and Worries

Next: Childhood Homes and Childhood Traumas

[winchesterbrotherstan]

hi LMAO please nobody hate me!

so anyways my boyfriend and i broke up and for some reason i resorted to my kong: skull island fic for comfort and damn i love that movie and so uh i think maybe i will.. continue the fic,,, and also probably rewrite some parts,,, so sorry for the inconvenience.. thank u all <3

[winchesterbrotherstan]

Kong: Skull Island- Brothers

Pairing: Eventual Reg Slivko x Irene Conrad Brown (OC)

Jack Chapman x Irene Brown (brother-sister relationship)

James Conrad x Irene Brown (brother-sister relationship)

Summary: An ex-mercenary and his younger adopted sister get themselves into a mess because they want money from the US government

Warnings: cursing, crying, etc

Word Count: 2777

SAIGON, VIETNAM

I caught the ball as it bounced back from the wall. James had gone out for the night, and he refused to let me come with him. It was already enough that he had brought me out to Saigon with him. The hotel room was cramped, with one bed, a wooden chair, and a TV that didn’t work perched atop a large dresser with drawers that only pulled halfway out. James and I kept our stuff in bags anyway. I had finished reading The Time Machine, and only read halfway through The Island of Doctor Moreau because it was rather horrifying. James told me he’d be back rather late, so I was to lock the door and go to sleep at a reasonable time.

I sighed deep as I threw the bouncy ball again, only this time it bounced onto the floor instead of onto the bed. I let it go and rolled onto my stomach. James had been decommissioned for the past week and a half, but he didn’t want to talk much about the war. It was understandable. I had never been to war, but I had seen things as simple as photographs that had shook me to my core. I couldn’t imagine what being out there fighting would be like.

I realized my body was falling asleep while my mind was still running, which was unsurprising. James and I had spent the day exploring the city. He had almost forced me into picking something out from a store, because my birthday was coming up soon. I responded with a cheesy classic.

“All I want is for you to stay home.”

He ate that one up. James had basically been taking care of me since I was barely a teenager. That was when my father married his mom. My father had died a year or two after, and his mother three months after, of grief. I was thirteen by the time that happened, but James was much older. He could’ve taken me to an orphanage or left me on my own. He took me in instead. He joined British Special Forces three years after he brought me to live with him. He was decommissioned two years later, which brings us to today. I had been living basically on my own for that time, but somehow my brother always found a way to make sure I had enough of everything to get by.

I jerked up when I heard the door open.

“You didn’t lock it?” Blue eyes squinted at me.

“I was going to, I promise. I’m not even asleep yet, Jay.” I stifled a yawn.

He gave me a deadpan face, locking both locks on the door as loudly as possible. His face softened as he pushed me over, making room for himself to sit down next to me.

“What’s up?” I could tell something was bugging him.

I felt my heart drop to my stomach. He wasn’t going back to war, was he?

“Irene, listen … you know I’ve been decommissioned.” He trailed off, picking stray hairs off the blanket as he avoided my glances.

“Yeah, and?”

He sighed, contemplating something. I scratched at my finger, increasingly nervous.

“I’ve been offered a job.” He blurted.

I looked up. Why was he so slow about telling me that?

“Where?” I heard the weak sense of betrayal in my own voice.

He looked up to meet my eyes. I felt like I was on the verge of holding back tears as he stuttered.

“A-ah-an island. An uncharted island in the South Pacific.” He averted his gaze back down.

I paused before speaking, more aggressive than I wanted to be. “You’re ex-special forces, what do they need you for? Who even needs you?”

He sighed. “It’s a group of scientists, Ire. Look, they need me to be their tracker, essentially. It’s only supposed to take a week, and I could leave you wi-”

“No.” I stopped him, feeling my own face contort into one of despair.

“Irene.” He raised an eyebrow at me.

“You did not already say yes.” I felt the tears well in my eyes.

His face mirrored mine, sadness and what was probably regret on his features.

“Jay, you’ve only been back a week, and you’re leaving again?” I cried.

“Irene, I didn’t think it would upset you so much.” He pulled me to him, hugging me.

I slumped against him and whimpered. If he was going, he was taking me with him. I would guilt him into it if I had to.

“Irene, I’m so sorry.” He mumbled, rubbing circles on my back.

I curled up tighter. “James, please don’t leave me.”

“Bitsy, I-I…” He trailed off.

I pulled back far enough to look up at him.

“Take me with you.” I urged with tear-stained cheeks.

He met my eye, which was a mistake on his part. I frowned again, letting my shoulders drop. He sighed through his nose before finally breaking.

“Fine. I’ll tell them you’re good with jungles and animals.” He let his hand drop on the bed.

“And?” I smiled a little.

“And that we’re a package deal.” He narrowed his eyes at me.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” I threw myself at him, hugging him tightly.

He hugged back with a grunt, taken off guard by my excitement.

“We’re leaving in a few hours, so pack up whatever’s lying around.”

I finally pulled away from the hug, ready to shove my toothbrush and two books into the bag.

“And the island might be extremely dangerous. So when we get there, stick to me, okay?” He was serious about that part, because he grabbed my hand and practically made me promise.

I nodded. “Okay.”

He broke into a smile. “Now pack and get some sleep, I have a feeling you aren’t going to like the plane ride.”

BANGKOK, THAILAND

“James Conrad. This is my younger sister Irene. I need her skill for the biological aspect of tracking.” James spoke to the blond man in a Landsat uniform.

“Oh, no. You can’t bring her with you.” The man answered rather snarky.

“I don’t think you understand. We’re a package deal. If she can’t go, you don’t get me.” James reached back to grab my hand, which I gladly gave with a squeeze.

The man eyed me before sighing. “Fine, whatever. You take responsibility for her.”

James scoffed. “Of course I will. She’s my sister.”

The man rolled his eyes, but James just pulled me past, pushing me ahead of him and holding onto my hand.

“Jay, I don’t know which way we’re going.” I mumbled back over my shoulder.

He pointed ahead, “Follow the soldiers.”

I caught sight of who he was talking about, the group of tall men dressed in army green. I followed loosely, but I stopped when they did. I looked back at James, then to the man that was standing at the start of the boat’s ramp.

James took my hand again, this time leading the way. I stood off to his side as we waited for the men to finish talking to him. As they began to walk away, and James approached the man, one of their hats fell to the ground. I bent down to pick it up before the wind could take it away. I realized how close I was to the guy who’s hat it was once I stood up. I bit my lip, suddenly anxious.

“Here.”  I pushed the hat in his direction.

He grinned toothily before taking it. “Thank you, miss.”

I felt my cheeks heat up, but I was sure that he couldn’t see considering it was dark and he was at least half a foot taller than me.

“Slivko, stop flirting with the girl and get! We’ve got things to do!” The man that James had been talking to yelled.

The guy, who was more likely my age than actually a man, winked before scampering off, following the rest of the army men. James pulled on my wrist, breaking my attention.

“You’ve just gotta stick with me, but other than that Colonel Packard over there don’t care that you’ll be joining us.” He explained.

I nodded, following him up the ramp and avoiding the glare of the colonel.

                                                            ***

I leaned against the same wall James leaned against. I scratched at my wrist, uncomfortable around all the Landsat people and the soldiers. I wasn’t sure what we were waiting on, and the loud cranking of the projector in the middle was making my skin crawl. James noticed this, and ruffled my hair.

“This should only take a few minutes, and it’s just a briefing. After this you can hole yourself up in the room if you want to.”

I scoffed and pushed his hand off, narrowing my eyes at him. “I don’t want to hole myself up. I’m just a little antsy.”

“Almost done, Bitsy.” He motioned at the man who had taken his place at the front of the room.

“Hello and welcome. I’m Landsat Field Supervisor, Victor Nieves.” He had an awkward posture, but smiled anyway as he pointed to the blond guy from earlier.

“This is my colleague Steve Woodward, our data wrangler.” There was a light chuckle from the Landsat team, but James remained stoic and I noticed a few soldiers roll their eyes.

The projector cranked again. “Our expedition takes us to a place every nautical trade route known to man has avoided for centuries.”

An image of an island popped up, shaped somewhat like a skull.

“As our satellites show, the island is surrounded by a perpetual storm system, allowing it to remain hidden from the outside world.”

That doesn’t sound right.

I felt James shift his posture, but my eyes remained on the projections as they changed.

“But with Colonel Packard’s helicopter transport, we will be the first to break through to the other side.”

My eyebrows furrowed. This sounded very much like something out of a twisted horror movie.

“We’re also pleased to be joined, for the first time, by the resource exploration team, led by Mr. Randa and accompanied by biologist Miss San and geologist Mr. Brooks.”

“Aren’t those the guys that hired you?” I whispered over my shoulder at James.

“Yeah.” He whispered back, eyes still narrowed.

He didn’t like this either.

Nieves continued, “Our focus will be on the island’s surface, theirs, what lies beneath. Mr. Brooks.”

The man with glasses stepped up to the front of the room.

“Simple, really. We’ll use explosions to shake the earth and create vibrations, helping us to map the subsurface of the island.”

The projection changed again.

“We’ll fly in over the south shore and then strategically drop seismic charges to better help us understand the density of the Earth.”

I hadn’t exactly gone through any type of geological science in high school, but I understood the words “seismic charges” and it raised some concern.

“You’re dropping bombs?” James spoke up.

All eyes turned to him, including mine. I would’ve never actually spoken aloud in a room full of people, but James didn’t care. And I trusted him to make sure things were safe before getting involved.

“Mmm.. S-scientific instruments.” Mr. Brooks countered.

“You hear that, boys? We’re scientists now.” A voice called from the rows of soldiers.

Even though he was sitting low in his chair, I could tell it was the one that had dropped his hat earlier.

Slivko, I think?

The soldiers laughed, but the Landsat people didn’t seem amused. I’m sure James would have laughed, had Mr. Brooks not dodged his question about the bombs.

“You guys are not scientists.” Steve muttered.

I rolled my eyes.

“We’ll then land and make basecamp for ground excursions led by Mr. Conrad and Miss Brown.” Nieves gestured our way.

I glanced up at James. He met my eyes, his face softer now. I shot a face at him, one screaming “I am definitely not a tracker!!” He only shook his head.

“Major Jack Chapman.” Nieves stepped aside.

My eyes snapped up.

Before my father had married James’s mother, he had dated a few women. One of those women had been Elise Chapman. They dated for a few years, during the prime of my childhood. Her son Jack had become my best friend. My dad moved me away after a few years, never really telling me what had happened between them. Jack and I would write each other letters, but after a few years he stopped answering. I hadn’t talked to Jack in two years.

But here he was now, about to tell us whatever it was he had to tell us about this possibly lethal island.

He stepped up and took the pointer from Houston, “All right, once on this island-” he caught my eye.

I shivered, seemingly unable to pull my eyes away. James clasped a hand onto my shoulder. He knew all about Jack, just like he knew about every detail of my life.

Jack snapped himself out of it and started talking again.

“Once on the island, the storm’s interference will block all radio contact with the ship. That means we’ll be by ourselves.”

The projector again. I swallowed hard.

“Three days later, the refuel team will meet us here on the North end of the island. That may be our only safe departure window for an unknown period of time.” He glanced back my way.

“So, tip for everybody. Don’t miss it. Please.” His eyes came back around, but it seemed that James caught him this time.

Jack looked away, and he didn’t look back again.

                                                           ***

“James, where are you going?” I asked as he turned to leave the room.

“I want to check something out. Why don’t you stay here, catch up with Chapman?” He tried to pull himself from my grip.

“James, I haven’t seen him since I was a kid.” I grabbed at his wrist again.

He sighed and faced me, hands on my shoulders. “It’ll be okay.”

I bit down hard and closed my eyes, sighing hard through my nose.

“Okay.” My voice was quiet.

“I’ll see you up in the room later?” He patted my cheek.

I nodded, slowly letting go of his wrists.

“Be careful.” I mumbled.

He kissed my forehead. “Of course, you too.”

I heard someone clear their throat from behind me. I breathed hard before turning myself around.

“Hey Irene.” Jack stood there, a gentle smile on his face.

I looked up at him. “Hey, Jack.”

“How’re you, kid?”

I broke into a grin, unsure of what else to say. He gingerly pulled me into a hug.

“I missed you, ya know.”

I hugged back, nodding even though I knew he couldn’t see it. “I missed you too.”

“Colonel told us ‘Conrad’, but I didn’t even think it could be your brother.” Jack finally pulled away, hands on my shoulders.

I only shrugged. “I didn’t exactly think I’d see you here either.”

He chuckled and shook his head. “You haven’t grown since you were twelve, have you?”

“Shut up.” I shoved him, laughing.

We both quieted down quickly. I sighed, twiddling with my fingers.

“How’s Billy?” I asked. Last time Jack had written to me, Billy was four years old.

Jack perked up at the mention of his son. “He’s doing good. Gracie’s sent me a few photographs. I can show you later if you’d like. He looks just like his momma.” He gushed.

“Well I would hope so. Jack, you’re uglier than a dog. I would feel bad if the poor kid looked like you.”

It was a teasing lie, of course. Jack was what I considered pretty, with dark hair that he always styled up at the front, tiny freckles that you could only see if you were close enough, and eyes that switched between shades of green like nobody’s business.

He narrowed his eyes at me. I narrowed mine right back before breaking out into another fit of laughter. He messed my hair up.

“Where’d your brother go? I was planning on introducing myself.” He hesitated on the word brother, but forced it out anyways, looking around the room.

I wasn’t exactly about to tell him that James had gone to snoop around the ship, so I just shrugged again.

“Not sure, he told me I should stay and talk to you. I don’t really think you need to formally introduce yourself, though. He knows all about you.”

Jack nodded. “I see. Do you wanna meet the rest of the boys? I’ve got a feeling they’ll just love you.” He extended his hand to me.

I smiled and took it. “Sure.”

Previous: N/A

Next: Photographs and Flirts

[winchesterbrotherstan]

Kong: Skull Island- Photographs and Flirts

Pairing: Flirty Reg Slivko x Irene Brown

James Conrad x Irene Brown (brother-sister relationship)

Jack Chapman x Irene Brown (brother-sister relationship)

Summary: Mason breaks out her camera, Slivko and Irene flirt, and the entire gang spends a peaceful day before disaster strikes

Warnings: cursing probably, etc

Word Count: 3701

“They’re probably upstairs. You know how boys are. I think one of them’s your age, actually.” Jack told me as he led me around the ship.

“I think I know which one you’re talking about.” I answered, grabbing onto the back of his sleeve so he would slow down.

“Yeah? His name’s Slivko.”

“Yeah,” I nodded “He dropped his hat.”

“Here they are.” He opened up a door and led me inside, closing it behind us.

I suddenly felt awkward, especially when I caught Slivko’s glance.

“Guys, this is Irene. She’s the tracker’s little sister.” Jack grinned.

“Weren’t you Chapman’s sister for a while too?” One of the men asked, his face unreadable.

“Reles, watch yourself.” The oldest of the men called out, never looking up from his book.

“It was an honest question, Cole.” Another one defended his friend.

“Mills, back off.” Slivko mumbled, eyes wandering around Jack but not landing on me.

Jack rolled his eyes and shook his head as he pointed to each of the men - boys?- that were in the room.

“That one over there is Reles.”

“Hey, sorry for the oh so intruding question.” He grinned.

I grinned as Jack introduced the other ones, “That’s Mills.” He pointed to the one that had stood up for Reles.

“Cole.” To the older man, who was reading a book, and had finally looked up to meet my eyes with a heartwarming grin.

“And that there is Slivko.” Jack pointed to the boy I had already interacted with.

Slivko grinned the same goofy grin, brushing a hand through his hair as his leg began to bounce up and down. “You can just call me Reg. And you saved my hat.”

I only nodded, crossing my hands behind my back and looking down, feeling the heat creep up my neck.

Get it together, Ira. He dropped his hat and winked, it’s nothing special. It’s stupid.

I scolded myself, tuning them out as they spoke to Jack. It was dark outside, probably around two in the morning, and the lights inside the room were dim. The door swung open, hinges screaming. All heads perked up, looking over. James stood half in the doorway, scrutiny on his face as he scanned the eyes trained on him. He tensed when he made eye contact with Jack, but eased up by the time he reached me.

He gestured his head back, a silent Let’s go. I nodded, smiling at the soldiers as I made my way toward James. Cole kept the grin, which made him grow on me within a matter of minutes. Reles and Mills paused their card game to wave me off. Jack smiled back, and Slivko - Reg? winked.

I shook off the feelings that made my heart swell with and stepped out, standing at James’s side. He waved politely, muttering something about it having been a pleasure, calling them gentlemen, and then shut the door before Jack could say anything else.

“What’d you find?” I asked after a moment of quiet.

He led me to our room, eyes out for anyone who would also like the answer to my question. He reached for my hand and pushed me in first, shutting the door and flicking the lights on. I eyed him wearily as I popped onto the bed, going to untie my shoes.

“I don’t think this is what we thought it was.” He finally grumbled, sitting next to me on the bottom bunk.

“What do you mean?” I tugged off one boot and went to work on the other one.

He sighed. “We found explosives downstairs.”

My heart stuttered, and my mind itself buffered for a minute. I chose to pick at the lesser of two possible evils.

“We?” I pulled too hard at my other boot and it went flying, bouncing off the wall.

“Mason and I, yes.” He scoffed, already dissecting my fearful tactic of looking at what didn’t matter to avoid looking at what did.

“Mason, the photographer, Mason?” I inched off the bed, rummaging through our bag to find a shirt of his I could steal to sleep in.

“Mason Weaver.” He sighed, almost dreamily.

I snorted a laugh, but then he shot me a look.

“Oh my god, you’re serious.” I stared at him, doe eyed.

He only rolled his eyes, standing and shoving me away from the bag, pulling out his own clothing. I saw him pull out a grey shirt and I snatched it from him. He eyed me, looking disgruntled.

“Jay, do you have a crush?” I stretched out his name, shuffling back onto the bed and against the wall.

I got hit in the face with a folded pair of socks. I struggled to get a grip on them, but when I did, I hurled them back across the room, hitting James square between the shoulders.

“I don’t have any particular feelings, no… But let’s talk about you. Who’s the kid that keeps winking?” James picked his clothing and padded off to the bathroom to change, leaving the door cracked open so we could keep talking.

I became flustered at the thought of James catching onto any feeling I may or may not have had. I fumbled with my clothing before changing into the stolen grey shirt and a pair of shorts to sleep in.

“Don’t ignore me, Bitsy.” James called out.

“Are you talking about Slivko?” I found my hairbrush and sat down on the bed again.

James came back, having neatly folded up his clothing before setting it down next to our bag. He shoved at my leg so I would make room for him on the bed.

“Slivko, that’s his name?”

I rolled my eyes, dropping my hand down, hitting his knee with the brush.

“I literally just met him, Jay.” I scoffed, going back to brushing my hair.

I thought about Reg, with big brown eyes and soft looking brown hair and his height making up for his scrawny seeming build.

“Either way, he’s a soldier. You know I don’t go for that type.”

Soldiers were hard. It was already enough that my father was never around, but my brothers growing up had gone off to war. I had issues with male figures as it was, I didn’t need to add to it by dating a boy who would also go off to war. James knew all this, which is why I was a bit bothered by him insisting on Slivko.

“Ya never know, Irene. He did seem to be looking at you a special type of way.” James teased, leaning back on his hands.

I scoffed. “They’re all girl deprived. I’m sure Slivko would look at any girl like a piece of meat.” I leaned over to run the brush through his hair.

He grabbed my wrist softly, pulling it back down.

“Don’t try to brush the gel out of my hair. I’ll never get it back up tomorrow, and I want to be able to look around early in the morning. I’m sure you’ll want to get to know Slivko a bit better.”

I groaned, placing my feet against him and shoving as hard as I could. “Get off my bed, wake me up tomorrow morning.”

He let himself be moved off, laughing as he grabbed our toothbrushes from our bag and walked back to hand me mine. I rushed to brush my teeth before him not wanting to talk about Slivko anymore. I tucked myself in bed as he brushed his teeth, squinting at me. I rolled my eyes and turned my back to him, rubbing my hands together under the blanket. I always got cold at night, and blankets rarely seemed to help anymore.

James came back quietly, flicking both lights off before coming to kneel by my bed. I turned back around, confused.

“Just promise me one thing.” He reached for my hand with both of his, his tone serious.

I gave him a hand, squeezing. “What is it?”

He closed his eyes tightly, squeezing my hand. “You’ll stick with me no matter what happens.”

I nodded. I could read the regret in his eyes. He was wishing he hadn’t brought me with him.

“Okay? I can’t protect you if I’m not there.” His voice was small.

I sat up and threw my arms around his neck, nodding. “I promise.”

He patted my back and stayed like that for a minute. James usually didn’t have an issue crying in front of me, because his masculinity wasn’t fragile, but today he stayed stiff. He pulled back and kissed my forehead before mumbling goodnight and climbing up to his bunk.

I sighed as I settled back into bed. Maybe he would want to talk tomorrow. If anything, I could always try to bother Slivko.

                                                         ***

“Wake up, I want you to meet Mason and stay with her while I do some more investigating.” James tugged at my blanket.

I groaned, hit with the sudden remembrance that we were on a ship on our way to a likely lethal island. Then I remembered James teasing me about Slivko. I huffed into my pillow before sitting up and throwing the covers off. It took a second for the dizzy feeling to go away, and I shuffled to the bathroom to wash my face and brush my teeth and change. I pulled on the green jeans, which I would probably regret later on. But hey, if it covered more of what mosquitos would want to target, then I was down for it. I slid a loose grey t-shirt on before shoving my feet back into my black boots and lacing them up.

“Good choice.” James stopped in the doorway.

I arched an eyebrow, clearly confused by what he thought was a good choice.

“It’ll be easier to be treated for something like dehydration rather than some kind of bug bite.” He pointed to the long pants and the high boots. I scoffed and rolled my eyes, following him down to the cafeteria.

“Now.” He stopped me, hands on my shoulders and looking me square in the face.

“What?” I asked, a bit weirded out.

He was acting as if nothing had happened yesterday, as if he hadn’t begged me to stick to his side for my safety.

“I know you won’t want to eat, because you don’t get hungry at this time of the morning. But, you have to eat something and you should probably drink some coffee.”

“I can do coffee, for sure.” I replied.

“Good. Now I’m going to introduce you to Mason and I’d like you to stay with her until I come back to get you.” He pulled me through the cafeteria.

“You’re just gonna leave me with her? What if something happens?” I asked, beginning to think that I had dreamed up last night’s situation.

“Nothing will happen. I promise.” He squeezed my hand before stopping at a table.

“Mason, this is my little sister Irene. Irene, this is Mason.” He gestured back and forth.

I dropped into the seat across from her, smiling. She grinned right back, a warm and reassuring sense to the air around her.

“I’ll get you coffee and something to eat and then I’ll be off.” James shook me by the shoulders and ran off.

Mason laughed. “He treats you like a princess, doesn’t he?”

I chuckled in return, letting myself slump forward and stifled a yawn.

“He’s only doing it because he knows I won’t do it myself. It’s too early to eat.” I rubbed at my eyes.

“You’re not gonna eat what he brings you then?” Her smile remained.

“Nah. Gotta stick it to the man somehow, ya know?” I grinned.

She laughed again, nodding.

Although James and I always took a few days before deciding how we really felt about people, Mason seemed to be the exception. James had already developed an affinity for her, and I felt safe around her. She seemed to be exactly what I hadn’t been able to grow up with. A kickass woman who was the perfect role model.

James slid a plate with food in front of me, followed by a coffee. I smiled sleepily as he kissed my forehead and waved Mason goodbye.

“Do you have any idea where he’s going?” I asked, keeping my voice low.

I was sure that James could get in serious trouble with all his snooping, and it was exactly what neither of us needed at the moment.

“I don’t know. We found explosives downstairs yesterday, but I guess that fits with the seismic charges they were talking about.”

Mason and I talked quietly while I drank my coffee. She managed to convince me to eat some of what James had brought over. She had a very maternal presence. I decided I liked her. Her eyes followed something as she spoke about photography. I turned around to follow her line of sight. The group of soldiers I had met yesterday, Jack’s boys, were walking out of the cafeteria, joking amongst themselves. I caught sight of Slivko, tall and messy haired, and my fingers went numb.

He must’ve felt my stare, because just as they were outside the doors, he turned around and gave me his seemingly classic grin. I giggled, biting down on my lip. He winked before being dragged off by Mills and Reles, who turned to wave at me. Mason snorted.

“You ready to go explore this ship?” She asked, breaking my attention.

I realized how stupidly public I had just been about whatever it was I was feeling for Slivko. The blush on my cheeks got worse, and my ears were burning. I turned back to Mason, nodding. She smiled.

“You like him?” She led the way.

I shrugged, rubbing my arm. “I barely know him.”

“Something tells me you like him. And I don’t just mean physically.” She spoke to me over her shoulder as we pranced down the stairs.

“Could be just physical.” I shrugged.

She stopped and shot me a look as we reached the bottom of the stairs.

“Hey.” I said defensively. “He’s cute.”

She made the face again, eyebrows arched like nobody’s business.

I sighed. “Okay fine, he winks at me every time I see him. It messes with my head.”

She chuckled, throwing an arm around me as we walked. The boys had set themselves up in the middle of the ship, music blasting as they danced. Reles was cutting Cole’s hair and Cole had pulled out a book. I searched for Reg, only to find him pulling his shirt off. My breath hitched in my throat. Mason noticed and laughed, pulling her camera up with one hand.

“Come with me, this is perfect.”

She dragged me along with her and I forced myself to close my mouth, which had been left hanging open. Mason started to photograph the boys as they danced. I made myself comfortable by Cole’s feet as Reles continued with his hair. Cole was the calmest of them all, which made sense, as he was the oldest.

“Your name’s Irene, right?” Cole spoke to me, eyes on me even though he couldn’t move his head much.

I nodded. “Yeah.”

I felt eyes on me. I glanced over to where I had last seen Reg, seeing him staring right back at me. He smiled softly before winking. I blushed hard, my mouth dropping open again ever so slightly. I heard the click of a camera, breaking my thoughts. I looked over to see Mason pull her camera back down, smiling widely.

“Mason!” I hissed, unable to hide the smile on my face.

She came to kneel by my side. “Trust me, Irene. There’s something going on between you two.”

I shook my head, negating everything swirling around inside my brain. He was cute. He seemed sweet. He was probably funny, considering he always had a goofy grin on his lips.

Stop it, you’re going down an endless rabbit hole.

I shook my head, as if that would clear my mind. My eyes darted back to Slivko, who was sort of dancing and talking to Mills, but he had his eyes on me. A small part of me felt like I could pass out then and there.

“You know,” Cole spoke to get my attention. I forced my gaze off Reg’s and looked up at Cole. “He wouldn’t shut up about you last night. Did you see how pretty she was? Do you think the name Irene means anything? Do you think she’s always so quiet? My god, he would not stop.” Cole smirked.

I felt my heart beat faster than normal. Was Cole telling me the truth or did he just want to mess with my head? I looked back at Slivko, whose eyes were wide. He was mouthing words at someone in this direction. I looked up at Reles, who was saying something back. I met eyes with Cole, who was still smirking. I heard footsteps coming toward me, but I refused to break eye contact with Cole. He was up to something. My head turned as someone sat beside me. I smiled shyly, breaking out into a blush for the fifth time today.

“Hi.” He whispered unintentionally.

Cole and Reles mumbled something to one another before leaving.

“Hey.” I couldn’t wipe the smile from my face.

Reg leaned back on his hands, placing one behind me so he could lean closer. I bit my lip, knowing he was watching me blush harder with every single one of his movements.

I screamed at myself in my brain. Why couldn’t I think of anything to say?

Mason’s camera clicked again. Both Reg and I looked at her, eyes wide. She grinned at both of us.

“Why don’t you two get a little closer? For the photo, of course.” She winked at me.

I looked up at Reg, who was smiling wide. “For the photo, come on. Please?”

I still hadn’t found my words, but I nodded up at him, cheeks stuck red and in a smile. He scooted closer and rested his hand on my side gently. He looked at the camera, a cheesy smile on his face. For a second, I forgot that he had moved closer for Mason to take a picture. I gingerly leaned my head back against his bare shoulder, eyes closed and a smile on my face.

“How about a few more?” Mason’s voice broke through.

I felt mortified. Why would I just lean on him like it was nothing? What if I made him uncomfortable?

“My turn.” Reg whispered before letting go of my side and lying down, settling his head in my lap.

I giggled, a hand going up to ruffle his hair. He reached for my free hand and held it against his chest, holding his over it. His eyes held mine, a smile on his face.

Click.

“One more? Pretty please?” Mason’s voice came through but neither of us looked away from each other.

“How do you want us to pose?” Reg called out to her, hand still on mine, over his heart.

Pose. That’s all this was. Just a dumb little photoshoot for Mason to have against me forever. It didn’t mean anything.

“However you guys want.” Mason’s smile was evident in her voice.

I pulled myself back up, sitting straight.

“I’ve got an idea.” Reg pushed himself up and to his feet, holding a hand out to help me up.

I took it, letting him pull me onto my feet. He was definitely stronger than he looked.

“What’s your idea?” I asked, hand still in his. He took my free hand and slid it up to his shoulder before grabbing my waist.

“Well, it’s kinda intimate.” He pulled me against him, bringing our hands out to the side so it looked like we were dancing.

I heard Mason’s camera click, but we both pretended we didn’t hear it. Mason kept going too.

“How intimate are we talking?” I asked, letting myself be pushed out of the camera’s sight.

“Like, sit-on-me intimate.” He showed a hopeful smile.

I laughed, letting my hand that wasn’t trapped in his slide down to his chest.

“Sure.”

“Awesome.” He nudged his nose into my hair before letting go of me all together and sitting on the ground.

I covered my mouth as I laughed, and he wrapped a hand around my leg, gently pulling at me so I would sit down.

Click.

“Sit, come on.” He patted his legs, which were extended in front of him.

I grabbed one of his shoulders as I sat down on his thighs, my front to his. Reg was quick to pull me as close as possible, hands on the small of my back as I wrapped my arms around his neck.

“You guys are adorable.” Mason smiled as she took pictures.

Reg laughed, his chest moving against mine in a way that set my skin on fire. I ducked down to hide my face in the crook of his neck, blushing and embarrassed once again.

“I think she’s just doing this on purpose.” Reg whispered into my ear, running a hand up and down my back.

I shrugged, keeping my face down against his cooler skin. He didn’t seem to mind. Afterall, the pose itself had been his idea.

“Okay, I’m almost done, I promise. Can I ask one little favor though?” Mason bent over to speak to us.

“What is it?” Reg asked, hand still on my back.

“Can you kiss his cheek?” She asked me.

My head jerked up so fast that my ear hit Reg’s. I glared at her, ears burning. Reg shrugged, causing my other arm to link tighter around him.

“I don’t mind if you don’t mind.” He whispered to me.

I let out a breath, still glaring at Mason. She smiled. I couldn’t help but crack a smile back. She was just trying to help me get Slivko, after all. I settled comfortably in his lap, one hand on his neck while the other arm remained around him. I leaned my forehead against the side of his face, breathing for a little before closing my eyes and kissing his cheek.

Click.

Previous: Brothers

Next: Family

[winchesterbrotherstan]

Kong: Skull Island- Family

Pairing: A little itty bit of flirty Reg Slivko x Irene Brown

James Conrad x Irene Brown (brother-sister relationship)

Jack Chapman x Irene Brown (brother-sister relationship)

Also Stephen Brown was physically based off of Nick Robinson

Summary: Conrad interrogates Chapman and Irene flips through old family photos and memories come back to haunt her

Warnings: mentions of basically abuse, probably cursing, crying, etc

Word Count: 1696

James had come around right as I got off Reg’s lap and he stood. Reg cleared his throat and I avoided my brother’s glance. He settled next to Jack, who was writing something. My stomach turned quickly at the thought of them talking. I had been bumped around so often as a kid that I really liked to keep all the parts of my life separate. Mason and Reg both picked up on my discomfort, sending me concerned glances.

“I have to go.” I mumbled softly, brushing past Mason toward my brothers.

James raised an eyebrow at me, “So that’s Slivko, huh?”

Jack perked up at the mention of one of his men. He looked back to see Reg rejoining the original group, Mason following with her camera. I only nodded and sat next to Jack, positioning myself between the two.

“Slivko is a good kid.” Jack said, the smallest hint of defense in his tone.

“It’s just harmless fun, Jay.” I placed my hand on James’s shoulder.

“Right.” His voice was serious as he turned in our direction, “So, Jack. Tell me about yourself.” His accent thickened, and I got the feeling it was some sort of intimidation trick.

Jack shrugged, setting aside his notepad and pencil. I could read as far as the Dear Billy in his scratchy handwriting.

“What do you wanna know?” He asked, making no move back to intimidate James.

“Where are you from?”

“Tennessee.” Jack’s southern accent rang true, and the contrast between their voices would’ve made me smile had I not been tense.

“Family?” James shot right as Jack finished speaking.

“My wife’s name is Grace and I’ve got a little boy named Billy.” A smile grew on Jack’s face and his voice was softer. He missed them, it was obvious by the way his eyes glazed over.

“How old is Billy?” It was like an interrogation from James’s side.

“He’s turning six in a few days. He’s got the same birthday as Irene.” Jack bumped my arm with his fist and I smiled at the both of them.

James didn’t crack. I began to fiddle with my own hands, nails scraping along my bones in an effort to keep calm.

“So how long have you been in the military, Jack?” James asked.

“A few years now.”

I tried to catch Mason’s attention, but she was too caught up in taking pictures to notice. I made eye contact with San and Houston instead. They would be more help than no help. I motioned them over subtly, eyes wide. San realized faster than Houston did that I needed help, and she pulled him over.

James was in the middle of shooting off another question, something about why the hell Jack would agree to dragging his men out here for a last minute mission to an unknown island. San elbowed Houston, who stuttered his question out.

“Major Chapman? I’m so sorry to interrupt you, but I had a quick question about the helicopters we’ll be flying in tomorrow.”

“Excuse me.” Jack smiled politely at James and patted my head before leading Houston away to answer whatever questions he could.

“Uh, I had a few questions of my own as well.” San directed herself to James, who was now looking at her with raised eyebrows, motioning for her to ask away.

“You’re a tracker, but Randa told us you have military background.” She spoke hesitantly.

“Yes.” His reply was curt.

“What was your official title? What did you do? Has any of that contributed to your skills as a tracker?” She rapid fired before catching herself, looking down at her hands shyly.

“You conducting an interview or something?” He laughed, his harsh demeanor breaking as he patted the spot between me and him.

She laughed, “No, sorry. I’m just very curious. I don’t know much about how the armed forces of other countries operate.”

“Well come sit and I can answer whatever questions you have. The official title was Commander James Conrad, but the friends I had liked to tease me by calling me the Commander of the Air.” He kept talking, San listening intently.

I gave her arm a nudge, a thank you, without distracting her or James. I slunk off to our room, dropping myself on the bed. I hoped Houston and San could keep them apart long enough that James would have decided to drop whatever he was trying to do. Jack posed no threat to him, so why would he go after him like that?

I moved off the bed and grabbed my journal from my bag. I opened it and shook it out, letting photos fall out from between the pages. I had taken pictures with everyone I had ever allowed myself to call family. The only reason I kept them was because my father ripped me away from any place I grew comfortable enough to call home.

There were six pictures total, including Jack and James. The first was from when we lived in the Amazon. I had a brother then, a biological one. We were twins; he was only an hour or two younger than me. He apparently looked just like our mother, but I couldn’t remember. She died when we were three, and it broke my brother. He had turned to my father since then, but the man was the definition of psychotic, and he burrowed his way into Stephen’s head by the time we were twelve. Things were never the same, and when we hit age thirteen, our father decided Stephen needed to go to boarding school. Our father died months later, and then our step mother. From there on out, I was left with James. We never found my twin, so I forced his memory to the back of my mind and James had seemed to purge it from his own.

Stephen and I were four in the picture, which had been taken the same day we got the tribal tattoos. My smile was wide and I was excited, brown eyes large and gleaming. Stephen was curled up next to me, crying hard enough for his face to be tinted pink. The picture didn’t do either of us justice.

The next picture was from the first time I could remember being in the United States. From age five to age six, we lived in Philadelphia, with a woman named Janice and her two kids, Alice and Michael. They were much older, and we never felt right with them. They weren’t in the picture. It was me and Stephen, both smiling this time, eyes larger than life at the birthday presents our father had given us. Mine was a crossbow, hand carved. It was the one I took any time James and I traveled. Stephen’s was a katana, longer than he was tall.

The third picture was when we were seven, when we lived in Virginia with Louise and her son Casper. He was a year younger than us, and the three of us fit together like a puzzle. Once we grew close enough to call him our brother, our father picked us up and moved us to Tennessee.

That was the fourth picture, from age eight to age ten, in Tennessee. Our father really liked Elise Chapman, so we stayed for two years. Jack loved us the minute he saw us, and we warmed up to him fairly easy. I liked having an older brother instead of a younger one, and Stephen liked having another brother regardless. The three of us lived attached at the hip.

Once we hit age ten, our father started trying to “train” us in his ways. What he was really doing was giving us our weapons, setting us loose in the forest, and trying to hunt us down. Stephen, so parent starved and desperate to please, went with it. I didn’t think it was okay, so I told Jack about it. My father gave me the option to stay with the Chapmans or to come with him and Stephen to France. At the end of the day, I had picked my younger brother.

The fifth picture was from the mother and daughter we had only lived with for a year. Her name was Marie, and she was five years older than us. I liked her. She was calm and quiet, with long dark hair and big dark eyes. She was smiling wide in the picture, and Stephen was fixed next to my father, staring up at him in adoration. My eyes didn’t shine. I had ripped my father’s head from the picture long ago.

Our training continued, and I never spoke a word again. When we turned twelve, we moved to England, and our father finally got married. I bonded with James quicker than I had with Jack, maybe because I had felt like I had lost Stephen. Either way, you know what happened from there. The sixth picture was just James and I, after Stephen had been shipped off to another part of Europe. I looked happy in this one, and I actually was.

There was a knock on the door. I gathered the photographs into a stack and put them in the journal. The door cracked open.

“Are you awake?” It was James.

“Yeah.” I answered with a scratchy voice.

He came in and shut the door behind him, leaving the lights off. He sat in front of me, pushing the journal over to my side.

“Looking at old photos?” He asked, already knowing the answer.

I only nodded, chewing at the inside of my cheek. He knew how I felt about Stephen, and he knew how guilty I felt about not staying with Jack.

Neither of us spoke. I picked at my nails and he rested a hand on my knee.

“Do you want to come eat lunch?”

I sighed and nodded, taking the journal and shoving it back into our bag before taking his outstretched hand and following him to the cafeteria.

The rest of the day went spent in silence between the two of us as we sat high up on the ship and watched the neverending ocean and the drowning sunset.

Previous: Photographs and Flirts

Next: Handholding and Flushed Cheeks

[winchesterbrotherstan]

Kong: Skull Island- Irene Brown

Irene Conrad Brown. Daughter of Robert and Betty Brown, step-sister of James Conrad. She’s always loved animals, and she could probably tell you more about the South American rainforests than an actual scientist could. She’s close to the average 17 year old girl in the 1970s.

But she never thought she’d actually ever like a soldier.

[winchesterbrotherstan]

Kong: Skull Island- Rescued

Pairing: Reg Slivko x Irene Brown

James Conrad x Irene Brown (brother-sister relationship)

Jack Chapman x Irene Brown (brother-sister relationship)

Summary: They make it to the ploat, and now they have to make it to the exfil location

Warnings: cursing, screaming, wounds, etc

Word Count: 2392

“Come on!” James called as he ran to the ploat, pulling me with him.

San was steering, and she brought the ploat closer to us.

“Come on, hurry!” She beckoned.

“Slivko first!” James shouted, pointing.

Jack jumped up to help Reg up, then Hank was on. Jack helped Reg lean against the frame before giving me his hand. I hoisted myself up, groaning. I felt dizzy again. Reles and Mills climbed on after me, and I looked to James expectantly. The machine gun stopped and Houston shouted. My eyes went wide, meeting James’s.

“Marlow, a little help here!” Houston called.

“I got it, she’s temperamental, watch out!” Hank pushed him out of the way, taking over.

The Skull Crawler got closer as Kong pulled himself up slowly. James was still in the water, eyes trained on the scene before us.

“Jay!” I cried, feeling my bones ache.

Another explosion went off, and I looked over to see the Skull Crawler with a flare in its eye. My smile lasted for a split second, wiped away as the Skull Crawler looked to where Mason stood. Hank got the gun working again, and everyone but me was shooting at the Skull Crawler. I watched with tears in my eyes as James turned and ran the other way.

“Irene, don’t!” Reg shouted over the gunfire.

I sniffled as I loaded my bow and shot rather aimlessly at the Skull Crawler. It turned its head and then its direction entirely. I followed its line of sight.

“James!” I let out a scream, then a sob.

Jack grabbed me by the shoulders and pulled me to him, trying to calm me down. Everything within me itched to follow my brother out there. The Skull Crawler went down, taking a propeller to the back. Kong was on his feet again. The Skull Crawler screeched as Kong wrapped the chain around its neck, choking it. It broke free but Kong grabbed it by the tail, body slamming it into a mountainside.

We watched breathlessly as Mason fell down its side. James sprinted to her, screaming her name. She landed in water, but she didn’t come back up. The tears strolled down my cheeks again. Kong turned, eyes almost human with concern. The Skull Crawler lunged at him, grabbing him by the neck with its teeth. He slammed it off and they continued their fight. I cried as James was out of my sight and Kong sliced the Skull Crawler’s throat open with the propeller.

I watched as he moved to where Mason had fallen, carefully dipping his hand in the water and coming back up with Mason in his palm. She wasn’t moving. He let out a chuff. He went back down, and I saw the Skull Crawler on his arm.

“What the hell?” Reg shouted and I felt my heart drop for the third time in the last minute.

I moved to him, pushing my head into his chest and wishing the world would stop. He winced but wrapped an arm around me, breathing heavily. His chest rumbled as he cursed loudly, gasping. I looked over to see Kong’s hand (including Mason) now halfway down the Skull Crawler’s throat. My own throat went dry. Kong tugged back, but it was no use. He finally grabbed the Skull Crawler by the neck and pulled his other hand back, tongue and internal organs following. He slowly turned and opened his palm on the ground, easing her off of his hand. James popped back into sight as he reached her, shaking her and picking her up so she could cough up water. They held each other as Kong looked at them before walking away.

Reg’s pained grunt brought me back to reality and he sunk the floor of the ploat, gritting his teeth. I dropped next to him, ignoring the pain that shot through my arm.

“What’s wrong?”

“It burns.” He mumbled, hands going for the blood-soaked bandana.

“You shouldn’t take it off.” I grabbed at his wrists.

He met my worried gaze before shutting his eyes and pushing his head into my chest and sighing.

“We have to get him out of here, now.” I spoke to Hank, who was the only one without tears in his eyes.

He nodded. “Let’s go.”

                                                            ***

James was steering the ploat toward the exfil location. San and Mason rewrapped Reg’s leg with Jack’s other sleeve while I held his hands, his head rested back against my chest. We stayed like that, stretched out as the ploat moved. Hank was off to our side, looking at the picture of his wife.

We were silent, some of us crying while others stared blankly. I tried to block my mind off as I felt Reg’s back move with his breathing. Over the last five or six days I had almost died at least three times. I had gotten separated from my brothers at least twice. I had seen people I thought were dead, alive. I had seen people get eaten. I had watched a man get his arm torn off. I had thought about things from my childhood that I had buried inside. I had put my crossbow up to my brother’s face.

I heard a few clicks as Mason fiddled with her camera. I looked over to see James moving his head side to side softly. I saw Jack writing something in his notepad. Hank was still looking at the picture of his wife. Reg breathed deeply in front of me, closing his eyes as he settled back against my chest.

Over the last five or six days, I had also expanded what I considered family. I had met a woman to lead me the way I had needed since I was born. I had been reunited with the boy turned man who I had trusted with my life and my little brother’s life. I had met two guys a few years older than me who showed me what being brave actually was. I had used my crossbow flawlessly. I fell in what felt like love with a boy. I had combed my fingers through soft brown hair more times than I could count.

“Irene?” Reg’s voice was scratchy.

I brushed his hair back with my free hand. “What is it?”

“Cole gave you something, didn’t he?”

“Yeah. I think it was a picture.” My voice trembled as I remembered what Cole had told me.

I was afraid to look, afraid the picture would be related to it, afraid to face my fears. Reg picked up on this, because he squeezed my hand and craned his neck back to look at me.

“Are you okay, doll?”

I let my head fall back against the frame of the ploat as I sighed.

“I’ll be fine.”

The sky was clear now, sun shining as it would at the beach. I grunted as my arm throbbed momentarily. Houston had an arm around San, reassuring her with whispers in her ear. Reles and Mills had sat on top of the ploat, both quiet. Mason was trying to fix her camera, which had been slightly smashed and fully submerged.

“This place will change.” James spoke up, breaking the calm silence that had settled over all of us. “Word will get out. It always does.” He looked to Mason.

“Well, it’s not coming from us.” Mason sent a small smile back.

My brother smiled back before eyeing me, sadness back on his face. I half smiled, wanting him to cheer up but at the same time understanding what was going on in his mind. We had almost died. He had almost died. I had almost died. We had promised each other to never leave after Stephen went missing. We had almost broken that promise, both of us had.

I shifted to pull the picture from my pocket. Pain moved through my arm like a storm, but my desire to know the truth was greater than it. I slung my bad arm around Reg’s chest, moving the picture to my good hand. I shook it open, resting my chin on his shoulder. I felt my heart thump, tears welling in my eyes.

Stephen, sitting with a few other kids that looked just as adopted as him, in front of a Christmas tree. He was looking at Cole, but even sitting, he was taller than the army man. Stephen was smiling, happy. The kids around him looked happy. They all looked happy. Better yet, my baby brother was alive.

“We’ll meet again. Don’t know how, don’t know when…” Hank sang softly.

Mason took a picture, smiling sadly. I looked back to the piece of paper in my hands and shuddered. I dropped my head against Reg’s shoulder, burying my face into his neck. He only grabbed me the best he could and shushed me, head leaning against mine. I heard Mason’s camera click again.

“What do you think, kids?” I heard Jack’s gentle voice come from beside me.

I brought my head back up, sniffing and wiping at my dirty face. Reg kept his hands on me and Jack smiled softly.

“This way to Key West?” Mills asked as he and Reles made their way down from the top of the ploat.

Reles laughed happily, and soon the four surviving soldiers had grins on their faces as they sat around us.

“As soon as Slivko gets better, I think we’re good to go.”

I tuned them out and watched James make his way to the front of the ploat with Mason. They hugged again, swaying slightly. We settled back into silence as the ploat came into an opening in the river. The exfil. The sound of helicopters came over our ears and I had never been more relieved.

“We have to find a way to signal to them that they’ll have to bring one down. Slivko can’t climb with his leg like that.” Mills spoke out.

There was a thudding noise and it took us all a few seconds to realize it was coming from behind us. We turned to see Kong hitting his chest, taking a moment, then roaring. Mason’s camera clicked, and I felt Reg’s grip on me tighten.

“We still have a few flares left.” James noted.

He walked over to us, practically ignoring Reg as he grabbed my face and squished my cheeks. “You ready to go home, Bitsy?”

“Bitsy?” Reg repeated, incredulously.

“Shut up or you’re dead to me.” I squinted at him.

He turned his head against me, hair tickling my skin. He looked me in the eye before faking an awful laugh. I pressed a kiss to his cheek before turning back to my brother.

“Hey, what day is it today?” James asked, nodding at Reles to fire off the flare.

Reg jumped before checking his watch. I laughed, only to receive a head thumped against my collarbone.

“It’s the fifteenth.”

James’s eyes widened and he grinned at me, squishing my face again. “Well look at that. You’ve officially made it to eighteen.”

“You’re eighteen now? Man, I don’t know if I can handle a relationship with an older woman.” Reg sighed, but I could practically see the teasing smile on his face.

I patted James’s face with a smile. “You didn’t let me die before turning into an adult. Thanks.”

He kissed my forehead before standing and going to steer the ploat to the shore, where one of the helicopters had landed. I sighed happily before ducking my head into the crook of Reg’s neck and kissing his skin.

“Wait!” Mills broke my little cloud of heaven.

“What?” Reg grumbled back, also upset.

“How are you two gonna explain the holes in you?” He pointed.

“Anaconda.” I shrugged.

“I thought they didn’t bite.” Reg spoke to me over his shoulder, confused.

“They’ve been known to bite if they can’t get a good grip on their prey at first, actually.” San stepped in, also shrugging.

“Well, I think it’s believable.” Jack shrugged too.

James sighed loudly. “It’ll have to do because we have to go.”

I looked at the riverbank next to us to see two helicopters on the ground. Jack let out a holler, and Mills and Reles helped Reg stand. I folded Cole’s picture up and shoved it in my pocket. I looked up to see James’s hand in my face. I smiled as I took it, pushing myself to my feet. He pulled me into a hug as we watched everyone left get off the ploat.

The boys helped Reg into the helicopter before getting into the one with San and Houston. Mason climbed in across from Reg, and Hank took a spot next to her. Jack was half in and half out, hand on a rail as he looked at us, head tilted. He hopped back out and beckoned to us.

“Come on, I don’t wanna stay on this island forever.” I mumbled, breaking the hug and pulling him by the arm.

“Don’t strain your arm, Ire!” He scolded.

I rolled my eyes as my feet hit the ground and I practically ran to the helicopter, letting go of James and pushing myself into Jack’s open arms. He squeezed before lifting me up and dropping me into the helicopter. It took a moment for the dizzy feeling to go away, and then I sat myself next to Reg. He hooked his arm through mine and sighed as I dropped my head on his shoulder. I felt James settle in next to me and watched through half closed eyes as Jack across from me, next to Hank. He bumped his foot against mine. I smiled before letting out a breath.

“Alright guys. Let’s get out of here.” He raised his eyebrows before patting one of the pilots on the shoulder.

The rotors started to swish and the machine rumbled to life. Reg winced, moving his leg. I looked up at him, still against his shoulder.

“You okay?”

He met my eyes and nodded softly. “I’ll be fine.”

I didn’t take my gaze off him as he smiled and leaned down, lips meeting mine. Mason’s camera clicked, but it blended into the shouts of disgust from my brothers and another unheard comment from Hank. I pulled back and put my head back against his shoulder, closing my eyes. I felt like I could breathe now.

Previous: Wounds and Shrieks

Next: Surgeries and Cover Stories

[winchesterbrotherstan]

Kong: Skull Island- Villagers

Pairing: Reg Slivko x Irene Brown

James Conrad x Irene Brown (brother-sister relationship)

Jack Chapman x Irene Brown (brother-sister relationship)

Summary: The gang is reunited and brought into civilization

Warnings: cursing... fighting?

Word Count: 3575

“That’s them!” I heard Mason’s voice.

Jack had a grip on my wrist, keeping me stuck behind him. I jumped, trying to see over his shoulder.

Mason, James, Houston, San, and Reg. All on canoes with people that seemed to be from a tribe. There was a man in an army uniform, an old one. He had a beard down to his chest.

“Slivko!” Jack called out and Reg popped out of his seat, practically sending him into the water. His brown hair fell around a dull red bandana.

James was in the river already, knee deep and moving as fast as he could. I yanked my hand away from Jack and all but sprinted at James, who had a wide smile on his dirt stained face.

“Jay!” I shouted as I reached him, jumping into his arms as he lifted me by the waist, gripping me tightly.

“You’re alive.” He whispered.

I nodded and he let me back down, the water to his knees and my thighs.

“Are you okay?” I asked, grabbing at his wrists.

He nodded. “Dazed is all. You’re bleeding.” He rubbed at my cheekbone.

I shrugged. “I think I’m okay.”

“She might have a concussion.” Jack said from behind me, holding my crossbow out for me.

“Chapman.” James stuck his hand out for Jack to shake.

Jack took it.

“Thanks for taking care of her.” James spoke, genuine.

“She actually took better care of me.”

They talked between themselves and I slipped away, leaving my bow to James. Reg was standing by his canoe, hands hooked in his pockets. He grinned goofily, pure enjoyment on his face.

I pressed myself to him and leaned up, pecking his cheek before wrapping my arms around him. He hooked an arm around my shoulders, holding my head against him with the other hand.

“You okay?” I mumbled against his shirt.

“Better now that I know you’re alive.” He whispered and I could hear his heart thumping.

I pulled my head back to look at him. He had a cut on his right eyebrow, along with horizontal scratches down the side of his face and neck.

“You’re hurt.” He cupped my cheek.

I kissed his palm. “I’ll be fine. What’s with that?” I pointed to his head.

His fingers brushed around the red fabric and he laughed.

“It’s my lucky bandana.”

“I wish you would’ve put it on sooner.” I grinned.

“You and me both, doll.” He smiled.

“Marlow. This is Major Jack Chapman and Irene, my little sister.” The boys had come back around to the canoes.

Reg kept his arms wrapped around me and turned us to the side so I could see who James was talking to. It was the man in the old army uniform. I knew that uniform. I had seen it on my uncles and my older cousins and at one point, on my father.

“Have you been here since World War Two?” I asked.

The man snorted in laughter. “Yes I have. Lieutenant Hank Marlow of the 45th. I was a pilot.”

I nodded, looking over at Jack. “He’s here thirty years and he’s alive. We’re here three hours and a lizard tries to eat us.” I shrugged nonchalantly, an everything’s fine tone to my voice.

Jack laughed. “You’re right.”

“A lizard?” James asked.

“Are you guys alright?” Mason’s voice was laced with concern.

“Long story.” Jack sighed.

“But we’re fine.” I smiled over at Mason.

“Ah, those things are the devil themselves.” Hank sighed. “But we’re burning daylight. Let’s keep moving, we’ve got room for two more.”

Reg squeezed my hand. “Stay with me?”

I looked to James, who nodded before settling back down next to Mason, my bow tucked between his feet. Jack took the canoe with Nieves, sticking his tongue out at me and gently placing his bag at his feet. Reg helped me into the canoe before getting in behind me, pulling me to lean back against him.

“Did you and Chapman acknowledge the giant ape? Because Mason and your brother refused to.” Reg spoke softly as his arms wrapped around my middle.

I let my head rest against his shoulder. “No. We kind of accepted it and moved on.”

Reg scoffed, pressing his lips against my forehead. “You’re all crazy.”

I smiled. “I seem to be the common link between James and Jack.”

 “I don’t think it’s your fault. You lived in the Amazon, remember?” He moved to rest his chin on my shoulder.

I chuckled. “You just want me to tell you about it, don’t you?”

He laughed, his chest rumbling against me and his breath tickling the side of my face. “A little, yeah.”

I smiled. “I’ll tell you about it tonight. I promise.”

He kissed the shell of my ear. “I’m just glad you’re okay.”

I laced my fingers through his. “I know. Me too.”

                                                           ***

“You’ve probably noticed a lot of weird things on this island. As long as we stay in here where the people live, we’ll be alright.” Hank spoke as we stepped out of the canoes.

James helped me out of mine and handed me my bow. I slung it over my shoulder. I noticed the lack of arrows and I mentally groaned. I was too stunned to retrieve the ones Jack and I had used to kill the lizard.

Hank looked to me, “That thing can’t be new.”

I realized he was talking about my crossbow. “It was my father’s.”

“He fight in World War Two?”

I nodded skeptically, thoughts broken as James slung his gun across his back and grabbed my hand, gripping it tightly.

“That wall…” Mason pointed to the wall made of logs, sharp at the end, dozens of feet high above our heads. “Is that supposed to keep out that thing?”

“Nah.” Hank said dismissively. “He’s not the one they’re trying to keep out.”

He walked away, expecting us to follow.

“What?” Houston was confused.

I looked at Jack over my shoulder as we turned to follow Hank. He tilted his head at me, lips in a tight line. I shook my head, serious. Something was weird here. It must’ve had something to do with the lizards. Hank had been dismissive the time Jack and I mentioned it before.

“These people live up on top of the trees while we’re down on the roots. Some of them don’t even seem to age. No crime. No personal property. They’re past all that.”

The people watched us as we walked by. They were cooking their food, building new shelters, weaving cloths. I pulled my hand from James’s to slide the hair tie off my wrist and tie it up. Hank stopped in front of two people. A woman, with blue paint on her face and her dark hair tied into a bun atop her head. Next to her, a man, bald with the same blue paint, a different pattern on his face and down his torso. These were the people in charge of the village. Their leaders. A group of what seemed to be guards came after them, some with spears and others with blades of sorts. These people had yellow paint, like the rest of the village.

Hank made eye contact, and there was some unspoken form of communication as they bowed a nod at him. I stared at Hank’s back. Looking the leaders in the eye was received differently depending on the culture of those people. I didn’t take any risks.

“Thank you.” He said softly to each of them individually.

They both nodded once more before walking away, their group of guards walking behind them.

“So good news.” Hank turned to us, but spoke mostly to James. “They say you can shack up here.”

He began to move, and so did the rest of us. James seemed confused, Jack shot me a look and Reg tilted his head. I shook my head at Jack. In some tribes, communication had nothing to do with verbality. Sometimes it all had to do with the look in somebody’s eyes.

“I didn’t hear them say anything.” James questioned.

“Oh they don’t speak too much.” Hank explained.

I grinned to myself. It was starting to look like my so called jungle expertise wouldn’t be needed. We had Hank now.

“When you’ve been here as long as I have, you start to understand. You’ll see.” Hank continued.

“Wait, wait, wait!” Nieves made his way to the front of the group, and for a moment I had completely forgotten he was with us.

“We can’t stay here. We have to get off the island, we have lives, I have a life.” He objected.

I shook free from James as he stepped in to stop Nieves. The villagers had stopped their work and looked at our group. I moved closer to Mason, whose eyes were wide. She noticed me immediately and turned, hugging me. I hugged back, my head fitting right under her neck. I didn’t realize how easily I had taken a liking to her until the possibility of her being gone presented itself. I pulled back and she brushed at the stray hairs in my face, a hand on my shoulder.

“You’re gonna have to tell me all about that lizard. Yeah?” She smiled.

I nodded. “Okay.”

“Nieves.” I heard James just as Nieves was starting to groan. “Now is not the time, alright?”

“What lands here tends to stay here.” Hank commented gravely.

I saw Reg visibly tense up at that. I gave Mason’s hand a squeeze before moving to Reg, a hand on his arm. He looked down at me fearfully. I shook my head.

“We’ll get home. I promise.”

He said nothing as he shifted his rifle to the other hand, grabbing my hand in his. Nieves stood there, a look on his face. James pulled him out of the way and let Hank lead us forward. The group stayed silent as Hank led us to a large ship, rusted and broken down.

“As far as I can tell, this ship washed up about ten years before I did.”

“You’ve been here since ‘44?” Mason lowered her camera and moved to catch up with him and James, who were at the front of the group.

“How’s she doin’ math right now?” Jack mumbled at me, eyebrows furrowed and a hint of a smirk on his face.

“Hey what happened with the war, did we win?” Hank asked.

I could see James physically recoil and Reg spoke up next to me. “Which one?”

Hank grumbled something back, but it was too quiet to hear from so far. He ducked into the ship, and James and Mason followed without hesitation. Jack looked at me cautiously before following. He wanted me to stay behind him just in case. I shook my head.

Hank led us deeper into the ship, which had a tunnel leading into a pit of darkness. I heard Nieves sigh from behind us. Houston whimpered. I looked up to Reg. He squeezed my hand before stepping in front of me, following Jack. I took my hand back and grabbed at my crossbow.

“This is all hallowed ground to them, so if you like your hands don’t touch anything.” Hank ordered.

My grip on my bow tightened and I heard Nieves grumble from behind me. San spoke to Houston in a hushed tone. She was quiet and calm. It was reassuring. Hank led us to a doorway, where he stopped and took off his hat. It was the inside of the boat, emptied out and lit by torches and the broken spots in what was now the top of the ship.

“Oh.” Mason gasped, following behind Hank.

Reg turned to look at James, a weary look in his eyes. I reached for his hand and he took it quickly, without even looking.

“Look at that.” She whispered, mesmerized.

An old man stood in front of a young girl with long hair and a young man with a blue fabric around his neck and head. The three of them had the same blue paint on. They turned and walked forward, and the group of villagers that had been in the ship now made their way to the sides. James took the lead, walking over to stones lined up in groups.

“The way they tell it, for thousands of years, the people on this island lived in fear. It’s a hell of a long time to be scared.”

I slipped my hand from Reg’s as I walked to my brother’s side. The white patterns on the stones formed an image. It was two lizard heads, with sharp teeth, trying to eat the people. I reached out for Jack, eyes trained on the picture. He came to stand behind me, gasping when he realized what I had. We kept walking.

“And then one day the damndest thing happened.”

The next set of stones was the ape from earlier, with people bowing to worship him. I looked to Jack, who shrugged. He had been within a hundred feet from us and all he did was unknowingly throw something in our direction. Maybe he wasn’t all that bad.

“Some of the things they were afraid of started protecting them against the things that were eatin’ them. But nothing lasts forever.”

The same ape, kneeling by two skeletons of his size.

“His parents?” Jack whispered to me, and I stared, confused.

James walked ahead of Hank, to the small fountain made of bricks and stones, in front of a drawing of the ape and the people bowing before him.

“This is where they honor the last of their saviors.”

We all stood in awe, necks craned up to see the picture. I expected a click from Mason’s camera but it never came. I shook my head. We shouldn’t have come here. It wasn’t our business.

“Yeah…” Hank came up between James and I. “That’s Kong. He’s king around here. He’s God to these people.”

I looked at James and he was already looking at me. I scanned his confused face, eyebrows furrowed and jaw set. I felt myself making the same expression. I shook my head.

I don’t know what’s going on.

The air was tense and I felt like we were in danger.

“Kong’s a pretty good king.” Hank poked James in the back before walking behind him. “Keeps to himself, mostly. This is his home. We’re just guests here.”

I heard Nieves scoff from behind Houston. I noticed San give him a scowl out of the corner of my eye. Hank circled us, passing behind Reg before standing between us and the alter.

“But you don’t go into someone’s house and start dropping bombs unless you’re picking a fight.” Hank pointed an accusatory finger at us.

Jack cleared his throat and I moved a hand back to my bow, gripping tightly.

“Wasn’t Kong the one who killed your friend?” Mason asked.

I looked to Jack, confused. He only shrugged. It must’ve been something they talked about before we found them.

Hank’s expression changed from angry to upset. “No. One of them did.” He pointed to another picture of the lizards. I pulled Jack toward it, not caring about unsettling the silence. A lizard with two legs. I felt my shoulders drop.

“Kong is God, but the devils live below us.”

Jack tugged on my shoulder, bringing me closer to James and Mason as James questioned Hank.

“And what are they called?”

Hank hesitated before whispering, “The Iwis won’t speak their name. But I call them Skull Crawlers.”

James stayed tense. “Why?”

Hank’s voice came back to a normal volume. “Cause it sounds neat.”

James nodded shortly before turning to Mason, who had sent him a scrutinizing look. She opened her mouth to say something, but James cut her off with an “okay”.

“Look, I just made that name up. I’m trying to scare you.” Hank grumbled.

“I’m fine calling them that. Are you cool with that?” Mason spoke to James, who mumbled an agreement.

“I’ve never said that name out loud before, it sounds stupid now that I say it. You call them whatever you want. The big lizard things. Nasty. They come from the vents, deep down. That’s why Kong got so mad.”

The green creature flashed in my mind again. It smelled horrible. Now it made sense why. Jack clasped a hand on my shoulder, bringing me back to reality.

“The bombs woke them up. Didn’t they?” I asked.

Hank nodded. “That’s exactly what happened. I’ll tell you what, you’re lucky he’s out there too, or you wouldn’t have made it this far.”

Jack snorted loudly. Hank looked at him, angry and confused.

“One came after us.” Jack announced.

Hank shook his head. “It must’ve been something else.”

I shook my head, ponytail swinging against my neck. “No.”

“How did you make it to here then?” He questioned us.

I felt all eyes on me, and Jack standing behind me. I gripped my bow so tightly I thought it would snap in two.

“Irene killed it.” Jack stated.

I tilted my head, “More of a team effort.”

“How in the hell did you kill one of them?” Hank asked, stepping closer. His emotions were a mixture of anger and disbelief.

Jack took a step back, pulling me along by the shoulders. He squeezed my shoulder, telling me to speak. I glanced at James and his instructions rung in my head once more. He grinned, knowing what was coming. He was proud.

“I cut it open.”

Hank stared, mouth dropped open. I felt Reg staring at me too, the same expression as Hank, only a warmth to it. I grinned a bit as Jack leaned forward, both hands on either shoulder. He usually didn’t act this cocky, but I found it amusing.

“But please. Keep telling us about your story.” He spoke.

Hank sighed, turning back to his original spot. “They’re crafty bastards. Mean as hell. Now he can handle them as long as he gets to them when they’re still small. Now you don’t wanna wake up the big one.”

“How big is it?” San asked.

I looked off to the side to see that Reg had sat on the floor, a horrified look on his face as Hank answered.

“It’s bigger. It wiped out his whole family.”

Reg tilted his head, looking back at me and breathing hard. I shrugged. He shook his head, disgruntled. I moved away from Jack and over to him slowly. He dropped a hand from his knee to wrap around my ankle. I rested my hand on his shoulder.

“Now Kong’s still growing. And you better hope he does, because the Iwis say once Kong goes, then the big one comes up. Then it’s goodnight Irene.”

It was just a song, but it made everyone tense up. Reg’s hold on my ankle turned into a grip, and his shoulder seemed to turn to stone. James’s eyes flicked back at me. I shook my head.

I looked out at all the people that were in the room with us. Kids my age, kids younger. Generations upon generations. This wasn’t a small family. This was a people.

“Listen. There’s a refuelling team coming to the North end of the island in three days.” James explained.

“You should come with us.” Mason spoke.

“To the North end of the island?” Hank began to laugh, grabbing James’s arm.

James took it positively and began to laugh back. I sighed, knowing that Hank was only laughing at us.

“Yes. We’re going to get out of here.” James tried to reassure him.

Slivko dropped his head, sensing our most likely impending doom. I wiggled my leg and he let go of my ankle. I dropped down to kneel between his legs, hands on his wrists.

“Are you okay?”

He chuckled bitterly, quietly. “We are seventeen. And we are going to die here.”

“No we won’t. We are not going to die. Not here.” I shook my head, trying to get him to look at me.

He didn’t respond.

“Reg.” I sighed.

He brought his head back up, finally meeting my eyes. His were red and watery and he looked afraid and angry.

“Hey. I killed one before. I can just do it again.” I smiled softly.

His lips turned up into his goofy grin. He brought his hands up to grab my face and pulled me closer to him, pecking my lips. I pulled away with a smile and stood up, holding my hand out for him to take.

Hank was still laughing, only now he began to pat James’s face. It evolved into a slap. I shoved my crossbow off my shoulder. The villagers noticed, and the air grew tense. Mason looked between Hank and James and me. She shook her head, teeth closed and eyes wide. James had stopped laughing.

“You can’t get to the North end of the island in three days. It’s impossible. That’s it. No way.” Hank began to walk away.

I slung my crossbow back over my shoulder, making my way to James, Reg following close behind. I remembered the pictures we had been shown.

“The river runs clear from South to North!” I called after Hank.

He turned back to me, a grin growing on his face.

“Now we can’t do that on foot.” I started, grasping at James’s hand.

“But you could on a boat.” Hank smiled wide.

Previous: Rivers and Creatures

Next: Kisses and Skies

[winchesterbrotherstan]

Kong: Skull Island- Surgeries and Cover Stories

Pairing: Reg Slivko x Irene Brown

James Conrad x Irene Brown (brother-sister relationship)

Jack Chapman x Irene Brown (brother-sister relationship)

Summary: Reg and Irene are taken to a hospital. They can be fixed, but can they come up with a story for their wounds?

Warnings: hospital, mentions of surgery, wounds, cursing, etc

Word Count: 3041

I focused my ears on the mechanical hum of the metal fan in the ceiling above me. James was holding my good hand, and Jack was absently running his fingers through my dirty hair. He had promised me we could wash it later, but my mind was too gone to care. I had passed out on the helicopter, curled up against Reg. I had woken up about ten minutes ago, in a bright white room on an uncomfortable hospital bed. The doctors were explaining what they were going to do with my arm. I zoned out again, mind spinning lazily. They must’ve given me some sort of pain killer.

“Irene.” James broke my trace, his face positioned over mine.

I blinked, brain fumbling for words but coming up blank as I stared at him. Jack’s hands brushed my hair away once more.

“They’re going to fix your arm. Chapman and I will be here when you wake up. Okay?”

I blinked again, time slowing down. I nodded and mumbled a noise of affirmation. I got two kisses on the forehead and a hand squeeze before a lady with scrubs on smiled with her eyes and told me to count backwards from ten.

                                                            ***

“I need to talk to Reles and Mills.” A voice drowned in a southern accent lured me out of my haze.

My ears processed something about a report, but everything was muffled. Someone snorted. I tried to reach out for them, but my arm felt heavy. I mumbled something but my tongue and brain were disconnected, and I wasn’t sure what really left my lips.

There was a laugh, and then someone squeezed my right hand. I grumbled at the realization of the uncomfortable pressure in my left arm. I tried to sit up, but my body wouldn’t cooperate with me. I groaned loudly, pushing my head back into the pillows. The same laugh as before came again.

“Just hang on, Bitsy.” The hand squeezed mine again.

I felt the bed whir under me as I was moved to sit up. I sighed before opening my eyes, adjusting much easier to the dim yellow lighting than the sharp white one from earlier. I blinked a few times before realizing I was looking at James, who was leaning in expectantly, hands clasped around one of mine.

“Hey kiddo.”

I turned to see Jack leaning against the wall at the feet of the bed, arms crossed and a soft smile on his otherwise drained face. The bags under his eyes were prominent, and his eyes looked tired.

“How’re you feeling?”

I turned back to James, who was now smiling. I shrugged as the numb feeling in my arm threatened to spread back into my mind.

“I’ve been better.” My voice cracked.

I frowned, clearing my throat. It was dry, and my efforts doubled as I broke into a cough. Jack rushed to my other side with a cup of water that seemed to come out of nowhere. I tried to chug it, but he pulled it away with a look of disapproval.

“Take it slow, kiddo.”

I let out a breath through my nose, sitting back and looking down at my arm, placed cautiously in a blue sling that suddenly felt like it was digging into my neck. My arm was wrapped from my wrist to just before my elbow in a white bandage.

“You have to do your best not to move it for a little while, okay?”

I scoffed, annoyed. How was I supposed to do anything with one arm?

“Don’t worry, Ire.” James read the look on my face. “We’re all more than happy to help both of you with your recoveries.”

Both. Both? Both! My eyes widened and I sat up straight.

“Where is he?”

“Calm down.” Jack laughed, both hands up.

“He’s in surgery. We asked them to let us know when he’s out.” James placed a hand on my shoulder, easing me back into the bed.

“How long has it been?” I asked, anxiety ramping.

“An hour or so.” Jack leaned against the wall opposite to James now.

I sighed. “Do you think he’s okay?”

“I’m sure he’s fine.” James’s tone was soft.

Before I could ask anything else, there was a knock on the door. Jack called out to let them know they could come in. A tall girl a few years older than me walked in, dark hair tied into a bun on her head. She smiled, keeping her clipboard tucked under her arm as she squirted hand sanitizer into her hand.

“Hi Irene, Mo-” She cut herself off as she saw that I wasn’t surrounded by a pair of parents.

I watched as she struggled to find a word. We were all too different to be siblings. The boys had eyes too light and I had a button nose and lips too full and I was beyond small compared to both of them. Not to mention, we each spoke with a different accent.

“They’re my brothers.” I croaked.

“Oh. Well, my name’s Jenna. How’re you feeling?” Her smile was polite.

I nodded. “I’m okay.”

“Good, I’m glad to hear that. I just need to take your vitals, and then the doctor will be in in an hour or two to let you know about the care for your arm. How does that sound?” She pulled a pair of blue gloves on and I shifted uncomfortably.

I hated hospitals, and the noise of the gloves slapping against her skin only made me hyper aware of the fact that I was indeed in a hospital and I wasn’t going to get out any time soon. Jack sat next to me on the bed, giving my knee a reassuring squeeze. James kissed the side of my head before moving aside so Jenna could do her job.

She took my temperature and the metal of the thermometer hit my teeth. I cringed with my entire body, shoulders shaking and toes curling tightly. Jack squeezed again, sighing sadly. Jenna took my blood pressure and I felt ready to pass out as my arm was squeezed harder than I wanted. She pulled a stethoscope out, slipping it under the collar of the gown to put it on my skin. I flinched at the cold.

“Take a few deep breaths.” She spoke softly.

I complied, closing my eyes in hopes of it going by faster. I shuddered as she took it back, cold gloves brushing my skin. I made eye contact with Jack, who was full of sympathetic smiles.

“It looks like you’re doing fine. The doctor will be in soon.” She smiled, tossing her gloves in the trashcan before leaving the room.

I sighed. “Hospitals suck.”

They both nodded, eyes trained on something in their own minds. I shifted onto my good side with a grumble. I pushed at the pillow until I was comfortable, then I closed my eyes. My brothers were thinking of whatever else. James was probably on the subject of the island, of the Skull Crawlers and the other animals. Jack was probably on Gracie and Billy. I picked Reg.

I smiled to myself. Eyes so dark you couldn’t tell what color they really were. Floppy brown hair that was super soft. Pink lips that weren’t perfect, but I could’ve kissed them all day long.

There was another knock at the door. I rolled my eyes, train of thought gone. James called out this time, and a man their age walked in, smile more genuine than Jenna’s had been.

“The test results came back. Neither of you have anything to worry about. Also, your warrant officer is awake and he’s asking for you, Irene.”

I sat up, looking between my brothers.

“Thank you, Charlie.” James nodded, smiling.

Charlie nodded back before leaving the room.

“What was he talking about?”

“They had to make sure neither of us had any diseases. Now. Do you want to see Slivko or not?” James stood.

“Yes I wanna see him.” I scoffed.

“Come on then.” Jack held a hand out for me as they both helped me up.

My legs worked better than I expected them to, but I was still a little woozy and my arm felt weird in the sling. I held onto James’s hand for support as we shuffled out of the room. The tiles of the floor were cold under my feet, and I looked down at my toes to see them paler than my legs were.

“You tanned with boots on.” James laughed into my ear.

I looked up to scowl at him as Jack talked to one of the nurses. He turned back to me and brushed my hair out of my face as she got up, ready to lead the way to my boy.

“You’re clean now.” Jack grinned, turning to follow the nurse.

“Jay?”

He hummed in response, eyes wandering around the hospital hall, decorated with thank you cards and pictures of patients, and a section with different animals on it.

“Where’s everyone else?”

“Reles and Mills are still on the ship in Thailand. They rushed Slivko out of there and well obviously, you, because you were both losing blood fast. Chapman had to practically force his way out, because he wanted to be with you.”

“Okay, but what about Mason and Hank? And Houston and San?” I stopped, almost running face first into Jack.

“They’re getting tested for diseases too. Marlow has to go through a whole legal process. You’ll see them in a bit.” James squeezed my hand.

Jack said something to the nurse and she smiled back before leaving. Jack turned to look at me, gesturing to the open door.

“Here’s your boyfriend.”

James snorted and I only smiled. I took my hand back from my brother and walked through the doorway, thrown back into dark, soft lighting. My ears picked up the beeps of machines and a small sigh.

“Hey doll.” His voice cracked in the middle of the words, but I was relieved to hear it nonetheless.

“Hi.” I moved to his side, pushing my fingers through his hair.

“Sit.” He patted the space between his side and the edge of the bed.

I sighed, settling against his hip. He let his hand fall in my lap, giving me his grin. He looked over at Jack and James and smiled.

“We’ll be outside if you need us.” Jack said before pulling James out of the room and closing the door.

“How are you?” He brought his hand up to my cheek.

I leaned into his touch, sighing again. I pressed my lips against his hand before pulling it back down to my lap, scooting closer to him. He sat up straighter, wincing slightly. I looked at his leg over my shoulder. It was wrapped up, propped up over the blanket. He pulled at my hand, bringing my attention back to him. I put my hand on his shoulder and leaned closer, pushing my lips against his. He hummed happily, snaking one hand through my hair while the other slipped between my knees, pulling me closer to him.

“You never answered my question.” He mumbled as I pulled away.

I laughed, hand trailing down his arm to his wrist.

“I’ll live. Are you okay?”

He nodded. “Better now that I know you’re okay.”

I rolled my eyes but I couldn’t stop the smile growing on my face. “You always say that.”

“It’s the truth.” He shrugged, smiling again.

There was a knock on the door before it cracked open, Jack sticking his head in.

“Good, you’re both still wearing clothes.” He let the door swing open and James came in behind him.

“Just in time too, these hospital gowns are such a turn on.” Reg squeezed my knee with a wink.

I laughed again, readjusting myself so that my back was against his side and we were both facing my brothers. He hooked an arm around my waist, sighing happily as I leaned back against him.

“Alright. Slivko, you know we’re all gonna have to write a report.” Jack sighed as he sat in one of the chairs next to the bed.

His face was clean, a bandage over the cuts on the side of his head and his eyebrow. He was still in his now sleeveless uniform, which was ripped in places. His arms were dirty, and his hair was sticking up at an odd angle. I looked to James, who had stubble growing on his face, which was still dirty. Neither of them had stopped to clean themselves up.

“Yeah, how exactly are we going about that?” Reg asked, breaking my train of thought.

“We all have to come to an agreement on what can and can’t be said about the island, for starters. Which means we have to talk about everything that happened.” Jack explained.

“Doesn’t that mean we have to all be in the same room? Or at the very least, all talking to each other?” I spoke up.

Jack nodded. “As soon as Weaver and the others are done with their tests, we’re gonna meet up and get Reles and Mills on the phone. I already talked to Jackson in communications, and he said he can get us a secured line.”

“We’ve already decided that the injuries you two have are from an anaconda. How exactly did it go down?” James started.

“We have to decide which kind of anaconda first.” I cut in.

“But it’s just … an anaconda.” Reg mumbled.

“There’s different classifications. Yellow anacondas are more likely to bite, but green anacondas are generally larger. Either way, I don’t think their fangs could cause bites like this.” I shrugged my shoulder, gesturing to my arm.

“Okay, what if it wasn’t an anaconda then?” Reg shifted behind me.

“What other snake could cause a wound like that?” James asked.

I bit at my lip, running through large snakes that lived in tropical environments.

“I mean, there’s pythons. They’re big too. They have bigger fangs than anacondas. But still, I don’t …” I sighed. “I don’t think they could cause anything like this either.”

“What if it wasn't a snake? Komodo dragons are essentially huge lizards, aren’t they?” Jack offered.

I shook my head again, sighing. “No, their bites are toxic. Reg and I would both be way worse if a komodo dragon hurt us.”

I felt my arm pulse as we all spaced out, thinking of what could’ve done this to us that wasn’t a Skull Crawler. I had gotten bit, but Reg had gotten torn by a claw. The hole in my arm was too big to be from any snake.

“If only lions lived in the jungle.” Jack huffed.

“Tigers!” Reg shouted from behind me.

My mind skipped to him and Hank’s disagreement about who was a better baseball team. I only nodded slowly, piecing together the facts in my head.

“A tiger works.” I mumbled.

“A tiger?” James gave me a skeptical look.

“It’s more believable that we took down a tiger than an anaconda. Tigers have the longest fangs in the animal kingdom.”

“How long?” Reg asked.

“Five inches.” I turned to him, then back to James. “Five inches could go clean through my arm, no doubt.”

“What about the claws?” Jack asked.

“Four inches. Enough to tear into his leg like that.” I nodded again.

“Okay. What type of tiger?” James again.

“Siberian would be ideal, but they don’t live in the tropics. Bengal tiger’s believable anyways.”

“Alright. We got attacked by a tiger. How did we take it down?”

“Let me guess, having pushed it off a cliff isn’t believable.” Jack snorted.

I shook my head. “No, but we can tie up other loose ends there.”

Reg sighed, a somber look on his face. He knew what I meant by loose ends. We had lost people, and we needed to find a way to explain it.

“Cole gave himself up for us. Stayed behind to distract the tiger. Didn’t make it. That’s how we got away.”

Jack and I nodded in agreement, but James stared for a few seconds.

“Wouldn’t a tiger have followed us into the water?”

“Usually it wouldn’t but … that’s how we lost Nieves.” My head bopped back and forth. “It dragged him off the ploat. It was distracted long enough for us to get away.”

“How’d we get it off Slivko? How come it didn’t eat him?” Jack started to grill us, but I knew it was to cover their own asses.

“I shot it, that’s why it bit me.”

“But it didn’t kill you either. What happened?”

“That’s when Cole ran at it with his rifle. The tiger let Irene go before whipping around to attack him. Marlow and Mills picked Slivko up, you picked Irene up, and we ran.” James jumped in.

Jack nodded. “Okay. We got attacked by a tiger.”

I nodded too, followed by James and Reg.

“Sounds good to me.”

Somebody knocked on the door.

“Come in!” Jack shouted.

The door opened and a woman in scrubs walked in, a professional air around her.

“I’m Dr. Ramirez. I did your surgery, officer.” She smiled politely, talking to Reg.

“Nice to meet you, doc. Thanks for fixing up my leg.”

She nodded, pulling a pair of gloves on. I went to get up, but Reg’s arm tightened around my waist.

“Is she in the way here?” He asked her.

She looked up and eyed me, before realizing what his question was. “No, she can stay.”

She checked what she had to check in silence, and James and I kept making eye contact. His leg was moving up and down, and Jack was picking at his fingernails. Reg threaded his fingers through mine.

“Your friends are waiting outside. Would you like me to send them in?” She asked as she pulled the gloves off.

Reg looked down at me and then up at Jack. We both shrugged.

“Yeah, please.”

She nodded before opening the door and motioning to the people outside. She left and a second later the door opened and Mason and the others flooded in. They smiled before settling around the room.

Jack sighed before sitting up straight. “So here’s the cover story.”

Previous: Rescued

Next: Next (literally it’s just called that)

[winchesterbrotherstan]

Kong: Skull Island- Wounds and Shrieks

Pairing: Reg Slivko x Irene Brown

James Conrad x Irene Brown (brother-sister relationship)

Jack Chapman x Irene Brown (brother-sister relationship)

Summary: The gang has to fight for their lives in order to get off the island

Warnings: nastiness, cursing, fighting, getting hurt, screaming

Word Count: 3043

“Kong’s still down, we’ve got to move!” James’s voice reached my ears as we made our way through the jungle.

“What about Packard?” Jack shouted over his shoulder.

“Wouldn’t come!” James yelled back.

“Where’s Mason?” I asked, looking around.

“I thought she ran first!”

“She isn’t here!” Reles shouted from the front.

My eyes met James, wide and stinging. He shook his head at me, breathing heavy. I shoved my bow into Jack’s hand before running back to James. I yanked him by the wrist and ran back the way we came from, finding Mason standing at the opening of the clearing, camera up. James grabbed her by the waist the same way Jack had grabbed me and ran. She shouted in surprise, but hit the ground running once James put her down.

I ran ahead, hoping to catch up to Jack in time to get my bow back. I pushed past Reg, only to be pulled back by my neck. I turned and realized everyone had stopped a few yards before a clearing, quiet and tense. I shot Reg a questioning look. He took his hand off my neck and leaned down.

“There’s more of them.” He whispered.

“Why’re we stopping?” Mason panted.

“How many more?” I asked.

“Two.” Jack sighed, handing me back my bow.

I turned to look at James, and we were all breathing hard. He furrowed his eyebrows, eyes on the ground as he tried to think of something.

“Our guns didn’t do anything to it last time, how’re we gonna get through two?” Cole grunted.

“If your guns didn’t do anything, why did her arrows?” Mason asked, pointing to my bow.

“Aerodynamics, her arrows are sharper.” James scoffed with a wave of his hand. “We have to get past them at the very least.”

Trees rustled nearby, followed by the cry of the big Skull Crawler. I felt my heart tighten and I looked at James, antsy.

“How many arrows do you have left?” He asked.

“Fifteen last time I checked.” I answered, eyes on the forest in the opposite direction.

“Can you make it with that few?” His voice was filled with scrutiny.

“We don’t have a choice, that thing is coming.” I panted.

“We just have to make it to the boat.” Hank spoke.

“Is this even the right way?” Mills looked at James.

I looked at him too as realization dawned. Jack let out a breath and Reg scoffed. Mason shook her head.

“No. The boat’s the other way.”

Cole muttered something, and the movement in the trees seemed to get closer.

“Well we can’t go back that way. I’d rather take on two small ones.” I rushed out.

James closed his eyes and another shriek came.

“James, we gotta go.” I stressed, clenching my hand as I felt my jaw shake.

He sighed hard, opening his eyes. “Let’s go.”

“Guys, it’s dawn.” Mason broke in.

“Shit.” I whispered.

A tree cracked, not far from us.

“Shit!”

“Come on!” 

We sprinted to the clearing, greeted by two very angry looking Skull Crawlers. James stepped ahead of the group as one creature snapped its jaw at us.

“Cole, Reles, Mills, Chapman. You take the one on the left. Marlow, Slivko, Irene, you’re with me on this one right here.” James spoke calmly.

I put my bow up and stepped to his side, overwhelmed once more by the stench.

“Irene, can we do what we did last time?” Jack called over to me as his group stepped aside, guns up as the animals eyed us.

I shook my head. “Three times sounds too easy to me.”

Mason stepped behind us, followed by Reg.

“What exactly did you do last time?”

“Ran at it with a knife.” I swallowed hard.

The Skull Crawlers moved forward, herding us all together into a circle in the middle. They howled at us. Someone whimpered, and I heard Hank say something in Japanese.

Death before dishonor.

“Right on, Hank.”

He lunged, slicing at one’s leg like he had in the graveyard, eliciting a screech from the animal. I got it in the mouth with an arrow, followed by the neck. It howled, shaking its tail at us. Jack and his boys were shooting at the other one. The Skull Crawlers moved in on us, shrill cries ripping at my ears.

“Aim for the eyes!” I shouted, doing exactly what I said.

I nailed the one assigned to me in the corner of its eye and it threw itself back and yelped.

“I got it!” Hank yelled as he saw me aim for it’s side.

He ran over and swung the katana, raking at the Skull Crawler’s green skin and exposing its ribs and insides for all to see. It stopped screaming, but we only seemed to make the other one angrier.

“Slivko!” Mills screamed.

I heard Reg grunt, then yelp. The remaining Skull Crawler had circled back around us, staring down Jack. James cocked his rifle from next to me.

“Irene, help Slivko.” He ordered, slowly stepping in front of me.

I sighed deep in my throat, sliding my bow down. I glanced between Jack and the Skull Crawler before walking backwards to where Reg was. I turned around to see Reg lying on his back and Mills hovering frantically.

“We’ve seen injuries before but I’ve never had to handle one like this.” He explained, his voice weak as I kneeled by them.

The Skull Crawler had dug its claw into Reg’s leg and yanked. From half calf to ankle was torn open and bleeding. I was thankful that his bones weren’t visible, but they might’ve just been hidden by all the blood.

“How’s it look?” James called out over his shoulder.

“Fuck if I know, I’m not a doctor!” I shouted back.

“Just stay calm, Ira.” Jack spoke this time.

Mason scrambled to our side, taking control of the situation. “Do you know what you’re doing?”

I shook my head. “I don’t know anything about this stuff.”

I heard James scream something to Jack, and the ground felt like it shifted. I looked over my shoulder to see the Skull Crawler snapping its jaws at Jack, who practically stumbled backwards onto the floor.

“We have to tie it off.” Mason said, eyes flickering between the creature and Reg’s leg.

My eyes snapped up to Reg’s red bandana. I crawled over him to take it off and toss it back to Mason.

“Reg, you need to stay awake.” I patted his cheek.

He groaned as I moved off to his side. I settled his head in my lap, grabbing his hand and squeezing.

“Reg, please.” I brushed his hair back, ignoring the dirt and sweat in it.

“It hurts.” He whispered, closing his eyes tightly.

“I know, Reg. I’m sorry.” I looked up at Mason, who I was waiting on my signal to wrap the bandana around his leg.

I nodded to her, squeezing Reg’s hand again and running my thumb across his forehead. He cursed, trying to pull his leg back. Mills called to Cole, who came running to hold him down.

“The Amazon.” Reg mumbled, eyes still closed.

“What?”

His eyes opened, lighter than I had seen them over the last few days. They were almost green.

“You never told me about the Amazon.” He grinned, but it turned out more like a grimace.

“What do you wanna know?” I asked, eyes darting up to see Mason getting ready to tie the knot.

“Everything.”

“I’m scared of spiders because my brother threw a tarantula in my hair when I was getting it braided.” I smiled sadly.

“How old were you?” He spoke through a wince, hand squeezing at mine, knuckles white.

“Five. It bit the girl that was braiding my hair.” I whispered as Mason tied the knot once more.

His face was pale and he cursed again, pushing his head back into my leg.

“That sounds horrifying.” He mumbled.

I looked back up to see that the boys were much closer, and the Skull Crawler now had eyes alternating between Jack and I. It growled.

“Stay awake. Please.” I leaned down and kissed Reg softly before moving his head off and springing to my feet.

I took my crossbow off and aimed at the Skull Crawler. It roared as the floor shook.

“Do you think that’s Kong coming to kill it?” Jack asked, voice trembling.

“What if it's the big one?” Reles piped up.

“I don’t know and I don’t care.” I hissed.

“I don’t want to be in the way.” James added.

“We have to get out of here.” Reles was behind us, but he had his gun up.

“No shit.” I growled.

I glanced at Jack, who was breathing heavy. He looked down at me, then back at the Skull Crawler. I looked at it. It wouldn’t break eye contact with him.

“We could just try that again.” I shrugged.

“You’re insane.” James scowled.

“You’re both out of ammo. Whatever is holding it back won’t last. We don’t have any other choices.” I aimed for the eye, the same as last time.

“Irene, I don’t-”

I cut James off with a shot to its eye. It howled. I shot at its throat. Reles shoved himself between James and I, shooting at its throat too.

“James, knife.” I held my hand out.

He sighed loudly before shoving the knife handle into my open palm. I shot the second of the final dozen of arrows, landing near the middle of its stomach. It screeched, throwing itself to its side.

Perfect.

I handed my bow off to James. Jack slung his gun over his shoulder. He grabbed my hand, pulling me to his side. We ran to it together, knives in hand. It thrashed as Jack pulled the arrow from its stomach, tossing it back to our group.

It flipped its arm around, sending Jack onto his back about a yard away. It was enough wiggle room for the Skull Crawler. I tried to find the hole my arrow made, but the creature flipped itself over and got to its feet, snapping its jaw at me.

I backed up slowly, holding the knife up as if it could protect me.

“Irene, cliff!” I heard Mason scream.

I didn’t dare take my eyes from the Skull Crawler, but I could hear the water rushing below.

“How far?” I shouted back.

“Maybe five feet!” Mills yelled this time.

I breathed deep as I stared the Skull Crawler down. I poised myself before running backward and throwing myself flat on the ground. It lunged at me before trying to skid on its claws, throwing its teeth into the ground in an attempt to catch itself from certain death.

I felt the muscle between the arms of my bone slice cleanly. The pressure made my brain boil as I let out a scream, throat burning. I flipped the knife in my sweating hand that wasn’t pinned down, jamming it into the creature’s snout as hard as I could.

It opened its jaws and left its tooth behind, screeching before falling down the cliff. I cried out for Jack and James, and then in my hysteria, Stephen, all while gripping the knife in my hand as my arm throbbed. There was bile rising in my throat as they ran over.

“Ire, I’m gonna need to stop the bleeding, okay?” James shushed.

I heard Jack mumble something about a tooth before pulling me to sit up, cradling my head to his chest. I felt James grab my quickly numbing arm, prying the knife from my fingers.

“This is going to hurt.”

My ears muffled themselves as James tore the offending reptile body part out of my arm. My scream diminished itself into a sob as I clutched at Jack’s shirt, the knife long forgotten. I felt him take an arm away, only to return it a second later, sleeve gone. James wrapped something around my arm, tying it tighter than Mason had tied Reg’s. Jack held me close and shushed me as my cries turned down to whimpers.

“You’re okay. You’re okay. I promise you’re okay.”

“Is it dead?” I finally asked after my breathing evened out.

“Lemme see.” Jack leaned to the side, and I looked up to see his leg hanging over the side of the cliff.

James was still grabbing my wrist, gentle with every controlled movement. Jack grinned, moving to squish my cheeks between his hands.

“Irene two, Skull Crawlers none.”

I heard Mason’s camera click twice before she spoke. “Let me see the tooth.”

The trees near the opening of the forest crashed, revealing the big Skull Crawler.

“No time!” Hank shouted from Reg’s side, pulling him to stand.

Reg let out a strangled cry as he tried to balance himself, letting his toes touch the ground before pulling his leg right back up.

“Let’s go!” James shouted, yanking me up from Jack’s grip and onto my feet.

He led us through the forest, crashing through branches and bushes and what I was hoping were not spider webs. Hank and Cole had Reg, but they were behind and couldn’t move any faster. Mills shouted for us to keep going, he would wait for them. Jack barked something back and Mills came with James, Mason, and I. Jack stayed to wait.

My arm throbbed and acid ate at my throat as we ran. The floor was shaking under us, and for a minute I felt like I was dreaming. My ears tried to muffle themselves over, but it didn’t work. We reached a clearing to the river. It wasn’t where we had left the boat.

“This is the edge of the island.” James panted. “Weaver, get up on those rocks and fire a flare.” James motioned to the rocks up the side of the mountain. “With any luck, Brooks will see it.”

The sound of more trees cracking came from behind, along with the shriek that would haunt me forever. James said something to Mason and they both nodded. She took the flare gun and ran. Reg grunted from between Hank and Cole. I looked over to see his leg bleeding hard. I felt my arm pulse.

“This way!” James started off along the edge of the jungle.

“Honestly, just leave me to die.” Reg moaned.

“Shut up!” Mills and I shouted at the same time, taking off after my brother.

James broke through the forest, and we were near the water again. He stood for a minute, before taking off again. “Come on, every second counts.”

As if on cue, the monster roared, closer to us than last time. Cole grabbed Mills by the shoulder and switched places with him, no longer holding Reg up. He motioned for them to go. Reles had already taken off with James.

“Cole, what’re you doing? Let’s go!” I panted, heart on fire.

“Go.”

“Cole!” I shouted, voice breaking.

“I’ve got a son that reminds me of you. He’s adopted. His name’s Stephen.” Cole let his gun drop and he pulled a paper from his pocket, shoving it in my hand.

“Cole man, come on. We gotta fall back!” Mills called out.

“Go live your life. Get out of here.” Cole smiled, turning around.

I lost my sense and tears welled in my eyes. He pointed again, telling me to go. He pulled explosives from the belt around his torso and took a deep breath. I sniffled before turning tail and running, crying the whole way. I heard the boys scream for him, but it was soon drowned out by an explosion and a shriek. I looked over my shoulder to see the fumes by the edge of a mountain. The Skull Crawler was unscathed and coming toward us. Jack pulled Mills back by the jacket. My ears finally went deaf as Mills cried beside me.

I shoved the picture in my pocket. Those were two hits I wasn’t prepared to take. James tugged me by the arm that wasn’t hurt, dragging me along in the water. I caught sight of Mason, climbing up the rocks like nobody’s business.

The water rushing behind us turned into small waves, and my hearing came back just in time for the cry of the Skull Crawler. We stopped and turned, eyes wide and mouths dropped open. James pushed me behind him. I gasped, looking to Jack. He was crying, holding onto his dog tags and aiming his gun with shaking arms.

Kong popped up from the side, out of nowhere, and hit the Skull Crawler’s head with a rock. It turned into dust and the Skull Crawler went down.

“Run!” Hank shouted, basically taking all of Reg’s weight onto himself and still moving faster than I could.

James pulled on me again, and I was essentially flying through the water alongside him. A symphony of shrieks and roars came to my ears, and I so desperately wanted to turn to see it. James kept his grip on me tight, and kept us moving. There was louder roars, more pain in them than before. The water rushed over us, almost dragging me down. My arm stung and I heard Reg wince. My heart pounded.

The flare went off and we all turned again, seeing Mason at the tip top of the rocks. I marveled at her. She would be my favorite woman from now until the day I died. The ground thundered again, and I looked at the fight to see Kong pulling a tree from the ground, using it as a bat. He hit the Skull Crawler in the face, sending it back against rocks. It was quick to bring itself back up, lunging at him and shrieking when it was caught by the neck. It wrapped its tail around Kong’s neck, sending him flying into a pile of rusty boats. He tried to bring himself up, but he had gotten caught in the chains of the anchors.

The Skull Crawler climbed over him, double tongue slipping over Kong’s snout. There was the sound of a machine gun, and the Skull Crawler turned in anger. I looked over to see the ploat, Houston shooting. I shouted out of joy, and James grabbed me by the wrist again.

Previous: Kong

Next: Rescued

[winchesterbrotherstan]

Kong: Skull Island- The Ploat

Pairing: Reg Slivko x Irene Brown

James Conrad x Irene Brown (brother-sister relationship)

Jack Chapman x Irene Brown (brother-sister relationship)

Summary: The gang gets moving, only to realize how dangerous the island actually is

Warnings: death, cursing

Word Count: 4485

I wiggled out of Reg’s grip and sat up, scooting to the edge of the bed. I grabbed his wrist to check what time it was. I wasn’t completely sure that it was accurate for the island, but after reading 3:25 AM, I decided it was. I found my pants, which had been tossed to the feet of the bed. I slipped them on with a sigh. I fiddled with the hem of Reg’s green shirt before changing back to my grey T-shirt. I didn’t need either of my brothers to question me or Slivko.

I shut the door behind me as I padded out of the room. I rubbed at my eyes and yawned. The music had been turned off, and there was a single lamp in the main room lit. It looked like it was made out of clay. I brushed my fingers through my hair before turning my attention to the balcony.

“What are you doing awake?” James asked, breaking the quiet.

I shuffled over to sit next to him, leaning against his shoulder. The breeze outside ruffled the trees and made me shiver. He wrapped an arm around my shoulders and breathed heavily. I yawned again, rubbing my eyes harder this time.

“Do you think we’ll make it in time for the exfil?” My voice was crackly.

He sighed, rubbing my arm. “I hope so, Ire.”

I cleared my throat, mind dancing between him and Jack. They seemed so different, but in reality they were so similar. I would’ve died for either of them in a heartbeat. I looked up at him, his face outlined in the dark. His eyes were sunken and his lips were drawn in a tight line. The stars reflected in his eyes, but they seemed vacant.

“Do you regret coming yet?” I asked.

“I wasn’t in danger besides being attacked by Kong, but …” he looked down, now picking at his pants, “Knowing that you could’ve died makes me think I’ll never regret anything more than saying yes to this mission.”

I noticed he said saying yes to this mission and not letting you come with me. Something told me that putting me in danger wasn’t his only regret. Maybe it was Reg. Or Jack.

“Hey, at least we’ll get paid.” I tried to grin, but I was too tired and he wouldn’t have seen it anyways.

“If we make it back.” He mumbled.

I grabbed at his hand, receiving a quick squeeze in return.

“We’ll make it back, Jay.” I whispered, suddenly feeling so small and insignificant to the world.

He sighed, looking down at me. “What’s eating at you?” He asked, eyebrow arched.

A weight dropped itself in my heart, and my eyes began to burn. He didn’t take his gaze off me.

“Maybe, if I had been more careful telling them wh-where to drop the bombs…” I trailed off, my voice weakening with every word.

My head dropped and I sucked in a breath, holding back a sob. He was quick to sit himself up straight and tug me into his side, hugging me and pulling my head to his shoulder.

“None of this is your fault.” He spoke firmly, but there was a softness in his voice.

“It feels like it is.” I replied between gasps for breath, hands curling into his shirt as I cried.

“It is not.” He shushed, pulling my head back to look at me.

My lips trembled and I sniffled, meeting his eyes. He shook his head, wiping at my tears.

“I promise you. Look at all the good you did today.”

“Like what?” I wiped at my face, but it only seemed to spread the tears around.

He looked up before sighing and looking at me with furrowed eyebrows and a playful smile. “Of course there’s no tissues here.”

I let out a small chuckle before wiping my hands on my jeans. “I’ll be fine.”

He nodded, brushing my hair behind my ears before grabbing my cheeks. “You saved Chapman’s life.”

I shook my head the best I could, still trapped between his hands. He let me go before patting the ground next to him and holding his arm out. I sat as close as possible and curled up to him, feeling my own tears on his neck as I pressed my forehead against it.

“I know your story was toned down. I talked to Jack after you went to bed. He told me what happened.”

“Ja-” I tried to explain that Jack had always liked to exaggerate stories.

“He was practically bragging about you.” He finished.

“Jay, are you jealous?” I asked.

He sighed sharply. There was a minute or two of tense silence and I kept my head down, picking at my own fingers.

“A little bit. I just- I’m scared he was a better brother than I am.”

I laughed softly before shaking my head. “No. I think I like both of you equally. Couldn’t pick a favorite if I tried.”

He snorted. “I don’t believe that.”

I pulled my head back and nodded. “I’m serious. You both have different traits that I find endearing. You’re two different people. I love both of you.” I shrugged.

He looked down at me and patted my head. I smiled, bopping my head up into his hand.

“You should go back to bed. Slivko’s probably wondering where you went.” He teased.

I rolled my eyes. “You guys are insufferable.”

He laughed. “It was Chapman’s idea, not mine.”

I shook my head, pushing myself to my feet. James only grinned, tired eyes glowing. I patted his head, pushing his gelled hair down.

“You need sleep too.” I held my hand out for him.

He opened his mouth to object, but I cut him off.

“If you don’t go to sleep neither will I.”

He squinted at me before taking my hand and standing, practically towering over me. He clapped his hands on my shoulders before bending down and kissing the top of my head. I smiled and dragged him to the hall, pushing him to the last free bedroom. San had stayed with Mason, Brooks had stayed with Nieves, and Jack had settled in with Hank. We had piled our things into the last bedroom, the only one with a hammock.

“Goodnight, Jay.” I smiled.

He smiled before shutting the door halfway. “Night, Bitsy.”

                                                           ***

“Are you two decent?” I heard James call through the door.

It was followed by a rhythmic knock, then Jack, “Slivko, if I find you without pants on, I swear.”

The door opened and I peeled my eyes open to see Mason. I smiled at her and she grinned before pulling her camera up. I heard the click before I could react. I groaned as she winked at me, leaving and closing the door behind her. I heard her speak to James and Jack, and whatever she said convinced them, because their boots thundered in the hall as they walked away.

“Reg?” I asked but got no reply.

I felt his steady breathing on my neck and felt his arm around my waist. I knew I would fall back asleep if I closed my eyes, so I turned around. His arm tightened and his breathing broke the pattern.

“Reg, wake up.” I moved my hand to rest on his bicep, lightly scraping my nails against his pale skin.

“I don’t wanna.” He mumbled, voice husky.

I pushed my head into his bare chest, relishing the warmth. “You have to.”

He snorted, arm tightening again. “Never.”

I groaned again, pushing at him. His grip stood firm as he moved his other arm around my back, hand coming to play with my hair.

“Reg.” I pulled his name out into a whine.

There was a knock on the door again, the rhythmic one. I smiled before pressing a kiss to Reg’s collarbone.

“Come in!” I called.

The door burst open and Jack’s boots thudded against the floor.

“Slivko! What’re you doing with my baby sister?” He barked out.

Reg shot straight up, hands off of me in seconds. I rolled over, laughing. Jack came down to kiss my forehead with a smile before staring Reg down. He broke into a smile before closing the door behind him.

Slivko was still straight as a pin, breathing heavily with pink on his cheeks and the tips of his ears. I smiled as I sat up, turning to him. He glared at me.

“That was horrifying.”

I laughed, “That was hilarious.”

He shoved me lightly before grabbing my knee and pulling me back to him. I shook my head as he fixed his bandana.

“I can’t believe he kissed your forehead.” He scoffed.

I shrugged. “I didn’t do anything wrong.”

He scoffed, grabbing my knee again and moving closer. “Neither did I.”

I bit at my lip. “You’re the one that’s shirtless.”

He was pressed to my side now, hand squeezing my leg. “That isn’t my fault. You got cold last night.”

“God, you’re such a gentleman.” I teased.

He smiled, leaning in. “Damn right I am.”

I leaned up, placing my hands on his neck. He pressed his lips to mine, pulling me closer by the knee.

He pulled away with a smile, cheeks pink. I felt my ears get hot as he grinned.

“Can I have my hand back?”

“What?” My smile dropped.

He wiggled the hand on my knee. I looked down to realize I had trapped him between both knees.

“Sorry.” I mumbled, dropping one knee so he could move his hand.

He kissed the side of my head. “All good, doll.”

“Put a shirt on.”

I whipped around to see Mason again, camera in hand. Reg scoffed, flexing his arms. I rolled my eyes as I pushed myself out of bed, balling up Reg’s shirt and throwing it at him. He caught it with a wink.

I grabbed my shoes from beside the door and pulled them on. I dragged Mason along with me to the main room. I sat on the bench, next to San. She broke her gaze and looked from Houston to me.

“Morning.” I grinned at the two of them.

San blushed and Houston averted his gaze to Nieves, who was next to him. Jack slid into the seat across from me, bumping his boot against mine. Mason sat next to San after setting her camera down on the stand that was still on the balcony. Reg sat down next to me, hitting my shoulder with his. I looked the other way as James dropped a plate in front of me, pushing another one over to Jack. He glared at Slivko as he rounded the table, grabbing another plate from Hank and setting it down in front of San. She thanked him softly.

“Does he hate me now?” Reg asked quietly.

I looked at him and shook my head, smiling.

“No. He’s just protective.”

“Alright, we don’t have coffee here but there is water.” Hank smiled as he passed around cups.

“You might as well dump it on Irene.” I heard James. “She doesn’t wake up without coffee.”

I stuck my tongue out at him as he sat down next to Jack. I felt Reg stiffen beside me. I pressed my knee against his and left it there. He reached a hand down to squeeze my leg, also leaving it there. James and Hank planned the day out as we ate.

“We’d have to leave by eight thirty in time to get to the exfil location.” James stood up, collecting the empty plates.

I shook my head as I finished my water. “We have to leave earlier.”

“Why?” Houston asked, pushing his glasses back onto his nose.

“Because chances are, we’ll run into other people that crashed. That’s gonna take some time.” I turned my head to James.

He raised an eyebrow before nodding. “She’s right.”

“When would we have to leave then?” Mason started packing her photography things back into her bag, camera strapped around her neck.

“Seven?” Hank suggested.

Jack looked at me and I shrugged.

“I think seven sounds good.” He said.

“Seven it is then. We better get to work.” James sighed.

“I assume we need all hands available?” Houston asked.

James nodded.

                                                          ***

“What time did you get up?” I asked as I shuffled into the small bathroom, inspecting myself in the mirror.

“Five, just like everyone else.” James answered, looking above my head, fixing his hair.

“So you only slept like an hour forty-five?” I sought his eyes in the mirror.

He avoided eye contact as he pulled a brush out of his bag and handed it to me. I scoffed. He was always prepared.

“I’ll be okay. Don’t worry about me.” He said dismissively.

“That’s not how it works but fine.” I finished with my hair and shoved the brush back into the bag.

“So what’s going on with you and Slivko?” He asked.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I leaned over the sink to wash my face.

My brother scoffed. “Please. I wouldn’t be surprised if you two did unholy things in that bedroom last night.”

I ran more cold water over my face, hoping it would ease the blush creeping up from my neck.

“Don’t do soldiers.” He mocked.

“Shut up, Jay. Mason said there’s an exception to everything. Speaking of Mason, how’s the crush going?” I stepped aside to let him use the sink as I dried my face off with a cloth.

“Oh, I don’t know.” He said in a teasing tone. “I don’t think my monkey brain would be able to handle two strong women at once.”

I flicked the back of his head as he washed his face.

“What was that for?” He called.

“Hurry up, I think they’re waiting on us.”

                                                          ***

“This man’s name was Gunpei Ikari. If you take away the uniforms, and the war, he became my brother.”

Hank had brought us to his friend’s grave. He was kneeling over it as he spoke to us. I had wrapped an arm around Reg’s, holding his hand.

“And we swore we’d never leave each other behind.” Hank’s voice broke.

I closed my eyes, reminding myself to breathe. So far, he had talked about Gunpei the way I talked about Stephen, which I rarely did. Reg noticed, squeezing my hand. Hank took a minute before rising to his feet.

“Let’s get off this island.” He pulled a katana out and sheathed it.

My heart seemed to turn ten pounds heavier.

                                                          ***

James grunted as he moved the lever up. Nieves was fiddling with switches, Reg was working the wires again, and I was helping Mason with a covering. Nieves flipped a switch, and the engine roared before dying down.

“Ow!” I heard Slivko shout. “Not yet!” His head popped up and he heaved himself out of his spot.

“Prime the lines.” Houston called out.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah!" Reg shouted back, distracted with something else.

Mason and I worked quicker, San now by our side to help.

“Wind it up!” James called, and the three of us looked up to see that nobody was by the crank.

“I got it.” Mason ran over, grunting as she moved it.

San and I finished as Hank came over and flipped the rest of the covers that were already on.

“Keep going!” Reg called.

I watched the veins on James forehead pop as he pushed the lever up. I ran back to Reg.

“Do you need anything?” I asked.

“Hold this.” He pointed.

I hopped down next to him and put my fingers over the spot he showed me.

“Third time’s the charm, here we go!” He yelled.

I could hear Houston chanting and Mason and James grunting. I felt Reg slip his free hand into mine and squeeze. I closed my eyes and hoped as hard as I could. I heard the engine spin and Reg let out a breath from beside me.

“Yes.”

The engine rattled, and smoked, and did a list of other concerning things. I heard Hank laugh and Reg shouted yes again from beside me. I opened my eyes and breathed, met with Reg’s wide grin.

I threw my arms around his neck and kissed his cheek. He laughed, hugging me tightly. I heard Nieves laugh, along with practically everyone else. Mason’s laugh sounded like something out of a fairy tale and it cut short. I looked up to see the villagers lined up by the water’s edge.

“Reg, look at this.” I slid out of his grip and turned him around, standing in front of him.

He wrapped his arms around my waist and sighed deeply. They were all solemn, staring at Hank. He seemed to visibly deflate as he made his way to the front end of the ship, to where the leaders stood.

He held his hands out, “I guess this is goodbye. Thank you.”

Their faces remained stoic, but I was sure that if I had been close enough, there would’ve been a twinkle in their eyes. They slowly bowed their heads.

“If you’re ever in Chicago, look me up, I guess.”

The boat started to drift away, and I peeked over our shoulders to see James steering it. I grabbed Reg’s wrist to look at his watch.

6:55.

Mason moved from beside us, camera in her hands as she carefully took a picture. Hank stayed on the end until we moved to the wall, which they raised for us. James moved over and let Hank steer. I watched the little kids who had seen my tattoo run toward the water’s edge, only to be pulled back by their mothers.

They waved, smiling wide. I laughed as I waved back, hand shaking. I heard the click of Mason’s camera and then the wall was lowered and they were gone. I couldn’t imagine how Hank felt right now. Twenty eight years with these people, and now he had to say goodbye. I had barely managed thirteen with one person, I couldn’t think about twenty eight with a village.

Houston shuffled from his spot first, coming to stand with San. They leaned against the side of the boat, silent. Jack settled against the frame, staring out at the water before pulling out his notepad. Mason and James moved to stand at the front, talking quietly. Nieves stood by Hank, talking to him.

Reg and I stayed standing, his arms around me and his chin on my shoulder. I sighed as I stared into the water.

“What’s on your mind?” He whispered.

I shook my head. I wasn’t about to tell him about my very possibly dead twin brother.

“Nothing.”

He tsked in my ear, brushing his nose against the side of my face.

“Do you wanna come sit on the top with me?” He asked.

I scoffed. “You wanna go sit up there?”

He turned me around. “Yep. You coming?”

I watched him through narrowed eyes as he moved away, reaching for my hand. He flexed his fingers at me, putting on a puppy dog face. I squinted at him, tilting my head as my hair moved with the breeze. I shook my head.

He let his shoulders drop and he rolled his eyes playfully before walking over to Hank. I moved to Jack, resting my head against his arm as he took a break from writing.

“Hey kiddo.”

“Hey Jack.” I mumbled.

“You alright?” His arm moved steadily with his breathing.

I nodded. “I just wanna get off this island.”

He nodded. “We will. I’ve got a question.”

I moved my head to look up at him, eyebrows furrowed. “What is it?”

“Do you wanna meet Billy and Gracie?” His tone seemed to soften even more at the mention of his family.

I nodded, now smiling. “I’d love to.”

“Irene.” Reg called out, practically whining my name.

Music started to play as I clung to my brother, squinting at the brown haired boy. Jack laughed.

“He doesn’t know how to share, does he?”

I chuckled, hugging his arm. “I’ll be back.”

“Have fun.” He patted my head.

“Love you.”

“Love you too, kiddo.” He went back to his writing.

Reg reached for my hand as I walked up to him, leaning my head against his chest.

“What do you want?”

“Come sit with me.” He begged.

“Fine. You go first.” I murmured into his shirt.

He did as told and climbed up first, taking the radio with him. I sighed before following him up. He grinned and patted the spot between his legs. I made myself comfortable, pulling his arm around my shoulders from the front and leaning my cheek against him. He chuckled and kissed my shoulder, placing the radio between my legs, which were hooked around his.

I heard Houston yelp from under us. I turned to face Reg, confused. He only shrugged.

“Must’ve hurt himself flirting with San.”

I chuckled, turning my sight back to the jungle far ahead of us. There was a flock of birds that seemed to be more like pterodactyls. It made me uneasy.

“Jay?” I didn’t take my eyes off the birds.

“What is it, Ire?” He hesitated in the middle, probably about to call me Bitsy.

“Can you hand me my bow?”

“Why do you need your bow?” He asked, already climbing halfway up with my bow in hand.

I stretched for it, resting it between my leg and the radio. I pointed to the flock.

“Those things look more like dinos than birds.”

“Precautionary?” He asked, squinting.

“Yeah.”

He nodded before climbing back down.

“I got a wife.” I heard Hank talk.

He leaned against the frame, where we couldn’t see him but we could hear him.

“Had a wife?” He questioned. “Guess I don’t know anymore. Got hitched right before I deployed. Got a telegram from her the day before I got shot down. She said we just had our baby boy.” He paused, a long sigh.

He must’ve been looking down at a picture.

“I got a son out there. Grown man I’ve never met.”

“Yeah, she definitely thinks you’re dead, man.” Reg piped up.

I elbowed him in the stomach, “Reg!”

“Hey!” James shouted before hitting the covering under us.

“I’m just saying.” He defended himself, grabbing my arms and trapping them against my own stomach.

“You don’t know that. You’d be surprised how long people wait.” James reassured.

I smiled. His own mother had waited over ten years before getting married to my father. That was five years after they found her husband’s plane.

“Eh. Truth is, I don’t expect her to be waiting. I’d be fine either way.” Hank spoke.

I felt my heart crack. He was so sweet.

“I just want one last chance to see her. That would be good enough for me.” His voice seemed distant.

“We’re gonna get you home.” Mason stated.

“I promise.” I called out.

James had always told me that promises weren’t supposed to be made, because they were always broken. I usually stuck to that. But Hank deserved better than that, and I would do almost anything to get him home to his wife and son.

“Fox five, come back. Is there anyone out there?” The radio crackled to life.

Reg was quick to respond, hand flying past my face. “Hey, this is Fox five, we hear you.” His voice jumped, and I saw his arm shaking.

“Yeah, we’re on a boat. We’re on a boat headed up north on the river.”

I grabbed his arm, looking up at him.

“A boat? Where’d y’all get a boat?” I heard Mills through the radio.

“We met this like crazy, Santa-Claus, time traveller guy from World War Two. You’ll meet him.” Reg slid his arm out of my grasp, only to replace it with his trembling hand.

“What kinda boat y’all got?”

I laughed. What did it matter what kind of boat?

“It’s more of a plane than a boat, really. Let’s call it a ploat. We’re on a ploat.”

I heard Jack laugh loudly from beneath us.

“We need their location, Slivko.” James called up.

“Uh, send up a flare so we can find you.”

“Roger that, Fox five.” Packard was on the other side now.

I felt my smile drop and my stomach churned in disgust. There was something off about him. We all waited for the flare, looking in all directions.

“There!” Nieves shouted.

“Where?” Reg looked around.

I grabbed him by the chin and made him look straight ahead, pointing with my other hand. James laughed, and Mason cheered.

“We have a visual! Two clicks to our North.” Reg spoke to Packard.

“Roger that, Fox five. Fox one, out.” Packard spoke and then the static ended.

Reg laughed joyfully, letting go of the radio and squeezing me, ducking his head into the crook of my neck. I laughed, his breath tickling me.

“We’re going home-” Nieves cut off with a scream and I tore myself from Reg, realizing the animals from earlier were now swarming around us.

“Get down!” I yanked on Reg’s wrist and I dropped myself down, fingers slipping around my bow.

James shouted my same order as he and Jack grabbed their guns, aiming. Mason, Houston, and San had ducked under the frame. Reg reached his gun and aimed. Another one grabbed Nieves by the arm, tearing it off of him. I felt my stomach swirl as all my blood seemed to drop to my heart, thudding in my ears.

“What the hell, man?” Reg’s voice went up a few octaves.

James lowered his gun and stretched out a hand, blindly trying to grab at me. I caught his wrist as I put my bow down, breathing heavily.

“He’s gone. Everybody, grab your gear. We have to keep moving. We’ll go ashore, meet with Packard.” His voice was calm, but his accent with thick and his skin was burning under my fingers.

“No! Wait a minute, wait a minute!” Houston shouted. “Is nobody gonna say anything about the...?” He motioned to the sky frantically.

“He’s gone. And he ain’t coming back, there’s nothing to say.” Hank all but growled as he walked off.

I felt myself sway, tightening my grip on James’s wrist. He let out a breath and everyone moved to get their things together. Reg ran his hand down my back as he crossed behind us. James turned to me, grabbing my face.

“Are you alright?”

I stared at the ground. “I should’ve paid attention.”

He grabbed my face in both hands, forcing me to look up at him.

“No.” He spoke firmly, teeth bared.

I only looked at him, and he shook his head again.

“No.”

I closed my eyes and breathed.

“No.” He shook me gently.

“Okay.” I finally agreed.

“No, okay?”

I looked up and nodded, gathering the strength to hook my bow over my shoulder.

Previous: Kisses and Skies

Next: Poison Gas and Dog Tags

[winchesterbrotherstan]

Kong: Skull Island- Bombs

Pairing: Reg Slivko x Irene Brown

James Conrad x Irene Brown (brother-sister relatioship)

Jack Chapman x Irene Brown (brother-sister relationship)

Summary: They fly into the island and drop seismic charges, but all does not go as planned. At all.

Warnings: panic attack, cursing, crashes, etc (also bombs obvi)

Word Count: 2438

“We did ask to arm those helicopters. Shouldn’t they know why?”  I heard Houston speak to Randa as they loaded their things onto the helicopter.

I yanked on James’s wrist, pointing to my ear and then them.

“Why? And raise an alarm? Purely precaution, Brooks.” Randa hit his arm before walking ahead.

James looked at me, eyebrows furrowed. Why would they arm the helicopters? He shook his head, pulling on my arm.

“I don’t think I want you to come.” He whispered.

I shook my head, gripping the strap of the crossbow my father had given me when I was a child. “You aren’t going out there on your own, I already told you.”

He sighed.

“Look. I’ve got you taking care of me, Mason probably will too, and now I’ve definitely got Slivko watching my back.”

He chuckled. “I saw. That was quite a kiss for a girl who ‘doesn’t do soldiers’ don’t you think?”

“Yeah, I’m a goner. But if you die in there, I die in there. Deal?”

“No. If you die in there, I die in there. But if I die in there, you make it out alive, marry Slivko, kick everyone’s arses and take the money. Okay?” He clasped a hand on my shoulder.

My throat seemed to close off for a second, so I shut my mouth and I nodded. That was the least likely scenario. Chances are I would die out there, but James was practically a survivalist, so he would be fine.

“Irene.” Jack broke from his stride next to the Colonel, his demeanor softening.

“What’s up?” I asked as James subtly pulled me closer to him, hand still on my shoulder.

“We need a biological expert to direct us on dropping the explosives. Miss San needs to be with Mr. Randa and Mr. Brooks. Will you come with us?” He put air quotes around ‘biological expert’ before gesturing to his helicopter.

My eyes widened and I looked at James, who has stiffened significantly. His eyes were trained on Jack, a horrifying fire in them. Jack cleared his throat awkwardly, shifting his weight to one side. I shrugged James’s hand off. He looked down to me, eyebrows furrowed.

“Yeah, I’ll go.” I nodded to Jack.

He nodded politely before taking a few steps back, giving us space.

“You’re seventeen.” James tugged my arm back.

“I know. I’ll be fine. We’ll land and then I’ll stay with you. But I can’t exactly say no.” I scoffed.

James breathed hard, shakily. I softened, grabbing at his hand.

“Jay. I’ll be alright. Don’t worry about me. It’s fifty or so miles out there. I’ll tell them where they should drop the bombs. Jack’ll land me, Reg will land you and Mason. The four of us will stick together. Okay?”

He bit at his lip before nodding. He sighed.

“Fine. Fine. You’ll be fine.” He mumbled, more as a reassurance for himself than me.

“Yeah. I’ll be okay.” I patted his arm.

“Here, I’ll take your bow so you can talk to Slivko.” He held his hand out for it as I tugged it off.

I pushed myself into his arms for a hug. He chuckled and kissed my forehead.

“Everything’s gonna be alright.” He whispered with a soft tone.

I smiled in agreement before heading off to meet Reg. He didn’t notice as he shut his record player and shoved it into the back of his helicopter.

“Hey.”

He turned around with a grin on his face. “Hey doll.”

I smiled and took his outstretched hand.

“You riding with Chapman?” He twirled me around, pulling my back to his front and wrapping his arms around my waist.

I nodded, leaning my head back against his shoulder. He sighed, dropping his head against my neck. His breath tickled my skin. We stayed like that for a moment before he kissed my jaw, pulling away. I sighed at the loss of warmth as he turned me around, hand guiding my waist.

“I’ve gotta move, or Packard will be on my ass.” He smiled gently.

I grabbed his face between my hands and pulled him down to meet my height, “Be careful. Okay?”

He smiled again, taking my hands in his and kissing each of them. “I’ve done stuff like this a million times before. I’ll be alright, don’t worry about me.”

I sighed. “Fine.”

He grinned, ghosting his lips over mine.

“You be careful. Alright?”

I smiled. “I’ll be fine. I was practically raised in the Amazon, and I know Jack would do anything to protect me.”

“The Amazon?” He raised an eyebrow. “You’ve gotta tell me all about that.”

I grinned as I saw Packard approaching. I pressed a kiss to Reg’s lips.

“I will, I promise. But later.” I smiled.

He winked as I turned to leave. Jack smiled at me, holding out a hand. I took it and walked with him to the helicopter.

“He’s a good kid.” Jack said nonchalantly.

I shrugged. “He’s cute.”

Jack laughed and shoved me lightly.

“Alright. Get in.” He motioned, helping me up.

I settled into the seat and strapped myself in as he climbed into the front. Jack tossed me back a pair of headphones, and I slipped them on with shaky fingers. The helicopters started up and the commands came over the speakers. The noise was too much for my brain to remain attentive to. I glanced at the helicopter next to me. Mason leaned into my frame of sight and waved. James shot me a calming smile. I forced a smile back before placing my foot in the middle of my crossbow. I didn’t want it to fall out, and I needed something to focus on.

I was anxious. Incredibly anxious. I didn’t like the idea of explosives in the first place, especially since we had no idea what was on this island. But James and I could use the money, and there was at least a sixty percent chance that we would be perfectly safe.

The helicopter took off, and the thunder from the island’s storm rumbled in my ears. I looked over at the soldiers stationed on either side of me. One of them had his gun ready and the other had a pile of boxes on hand. Probably the bombs. I ran my hands over my neck, feeling my pulse become erratic. It felt like my artery would pop out from under my skin at any minute.

Jack peeked at me from the corner of his eye. “You doing alright kiddo?”

I snapped my head up, forcing another smile.

“Yeah. I’m fine.”

He gave a curt nod before diverting his attention back to piloting. I saw Mason leaning out of their helicopter, camera in hand. The helicopter began to shake harder as we got closer to the storm. My leg began to bounce up and down. I wish I could’ve ridden with James. Maybe even held his hand. I never wanted to do anything like this again.

I braced myself, gripping the sides of my seat and stiffening my legs as alarms went off and lightning cracked by us. I sucked my lower lip between my teeth and shut my eyes. If I had been religious, I would have prayed.

I begged my brain to calm down instead. I could hear Jack grunting as the helicopter rocked violently, but all the sound was muffled. I opened my eyes, but my vision was spotty. I felt sick, and my head was filled with the lightest form of air possible. My leg bounced harder as I realized that I was having a panic attack.

I could hear Packard talking about Icarus through the headset, and I wished I could’ve heard Reg instead. I wondered how he handled stuff like this. I felt like I was going to die; I couldn’t imagine doing this a million times.

“But the exhilaration was too great. So he flew higher and higher until the sun melted his wings … and he fell into the sea. But the United States Army is not an irresponsible father-”

I felt myself choke. I needed James. I needed to calm down. I was going to hurt myself if I couldn’t calm down.

“... So they gave us wings of white, hot, coal rolled, Pennsylvania steel! Guaranteed not to melt.”

My chest clenched.

And then we broke through.

The fog seemed to melt away as we flew by it. I was shaking, and it felt like each cell in my body was vibrating. I timed my breathing, wishing there was something alcoholic to take a whiff of.

One of the first times I had a panic attack around James, he opened my father’s prized bottle of whiskey and asked me to smell it. It helped snap me back to reality.

The sun shone bright, and the island below was beautiful. Smaller pieces of land sprinkled in the water below us, which looked as blue as the sky. Lush, green jungles covered what seemed to be every inch of land. My breath hitched again, but this time from the wonders of nature.

“Oh hey, that’s pretty, huh?” Jack’s voice came through the headset.

I only laughed, looking out again. Packard issued orders, and we began to get lower. I watched the trees blend together as we passed by. It reminded me of the place where I had been raised. Of the Amazon, where I had lived for the first few years of my life.

A large group of seagulls flew past us. I looked out to see if I could see James. He caught my eye and smiled softly. It was reassuring beyond belief. One the helicopters began to play music, but I didn’t recognize it. I was too awestruck to care. Packard gave the order to split up, and I watched as three of the four people I cared about flew in a different direction.

I looked down at the animals. I couldn’t see specifics, but there were a few herds of what looked like deer. Their brown heads popped up when they heard the helicopters, and they ran.

“Ready for seismic charges.” Nieves’s voice came through the headset.

I felt my heart drop again.

“Irene.” Jack broke my thoughts. “You just tell us when.”

“Okay.” I breathed out, shaking once more.

I looked down. The animals had cleared out, and it was one part of a large, empty field.

“Now.” My voice came firmer than I had thought it would.

I watched the bomb drop down, cringing when it exploded. There was probably animals down there I hadn’t seen. Smaller ones for sure. I wiped it from my mind, hearing someone cheer. I could only imagine the faces James and Mason were making at each other right now. None of us thought bombs were the best idea.

We passed a grove of smaller trees, by the edge of the river. I sighed. They had at least six bombs.

“Again.” I ordered.

It fell into the trees. There were definitely animals we were killing.

“Hey Randa, you’re not gonna believe this.” Houston spoke, and it came through. “The bedrock? It’s practically hollow.”

I wrinkled my nose and Jack stole a glance back at me, a questioning look on his face. I shrugged. I gave the order to drop the explosives a few more times, guilt washing over me with each.

“Incoming!!” The shout came through.

I looked around. A helicopter went down. I felt my chest tighten. Screams began to pour out, and my head flipped back and forth, trying to find whatever the threat was. I heard the crash of another helicopter. Packard yelled over, shouting out which helicopters had come down.

Shouts came through again, but this time they were ones of surprise. I leaned into the helicopter to look through the window.

“Holy shit.” I mumbled.

“Is that a monkey?” Jack’s voice sounded so far away.

An ape. Easily a hundred feet tall. Standing there, silhouette against the sun. He had brought down the helicopters. This was his home. We had bombed it. He was angry. The soldiers kept talking, voices frantic.

“Somebody talk to me, man.” I heard Reg’s distressed voice.

My mind spun as I tried to think of something to tell him, calm him, reassure him. Nothing came. I took in a shuddering breath. I watched the ape clench his fist. Packard shouted orders. I lowered my head and I felt the sting of tears in my eyes.

We were going to die.

“Fox leader to Fox group. Fire at will!” Packard yelled.

“No!” I shouted back.

“Excuse me?” Came his reply, above the sound of gunfire.

“Shooting him won’t help! You’re just gonna make him angrier!” My voice was frantic and I felt as if I were choking.

“What the hell is that?” Cole’s voice.

“I don’t know!” Mills.

Shots fired. The ape roared. I cried. He punched a helicopter. It exploded. He pounded his chest and roared again. Nothing felt real. I wished James were next to me.

“Pull out now! Pull out!” I could hear James yelling, but it was more muffled than the rest.

“I don’t take orders from you!” Reg yelled back.

I thumped my head against the headrest. Goddammit. Another helicopter went down. Randa shouted over the radio. Our helicopter jolted, and an immense pressure felt like it came down on us. The ape roared again. Alarms began to go off, and we spun out of control.

“Fox six, we’ve got nominal control.” Jack announced. “We are going down.”

I felt my heart crush itself to nothing. We were going to die. James and I were wrong. Nothing was alright. I could’ve sworn I heard Slivko say my name before I pulled the headset off. I didn’t want to die with other people screaming in my ears.

“Irene!” Jack yelled, and suddenly he was next to me.

I met his eyes, horrified. His eyes softened and he reached for me, pulling me into his chest.

“Jack, I don’t wanna die!” I whimpered, sobbing.

He shushed me, rubbing circles onto my back. This is how I was going to die. Come to think of it, it could be worse.

“Ira, you need to hold on. Okay?” He spoke directly into my ear.

I popped up and nodded. He gripped my arm tightly, hooking his other arm around the seat he had just been in. I ducked my head again, making a conscious effort to breathe. We hit trees. My bow had made its way up to my knee. The metal surrounding us seemed to crumple like paper.

The world went dark.

Previous: Hand Holding and Flushed Cheeks

Next: Rivers and Creatures

[winchesterbrotherstan]

Kong: Skull Island- Waffles

Pairing: Reg Slivko x Irene Brown (OC), James Conrad x sister!OC, Jack Chapman x sister!OC, sibling OC pair

Summary: Irene finds her long lost brother.

Warnings: mentions of child abuse, cursing, probably some crying

Word Count: 2807

The flight to Omaha, Nebraska took eleven hours without connecting flights. I now understood why Reles and Mills had kissed the ground. I tried to sleep, curling up against James and shutting my eyes, but it evaded me.

I felt sick to my stomach. Was I really about to see Stephen, after five years? Silvie, Cole’s widow, had said that Stephen still talked about me. The thought made me even more anxious. What if I was nothing like he remembered?

James and I were now in a taxicab, only ten minutes from our motel. The rest of the group would meet us there in two days. I was excited to see them again. I looked over at James, who had bags under his eyes. The jet lag was catching up to him, and I would surely be next.

“Hey.” James tugged on my shoulder, and I looked up. “Let’s go.”

I shuffled out of the car, helping James by grabbing my own bag from the trunk. He circled back around to the driver and paid him. I followed his lead as he walked into the motel, checking us in. He took the keys and gave me a soft smile, holding a hand out for me to grab.

We settled into our room in silence. It was decorated brightly, two beds, and a sunshine yellow on every surface I could see. I sat on the bed further away from the door and sighed. James looked my way.

“What’s wrong, Bitsy?”

“I’m nervous.”

“To see Stephen?”

I nodded. “So much has changed in the last five years. What if he doesn’t even recognize me?”

James chuckled. “Your face hasn’t changed that much.”

I sighed again. “That’s true.”

“It’ll be okay. I’ll be around. If anything goes wrong, I’ll come get you.” He shrugged.

“You think something’s gonna go wrong?”

He sat next to me on the bed and wrapped an arm around my shoulder. “No, Ire. Absolutely not, no. But I know that you like to think about worst case scenarios. So, if anything does happen to go wrong, I’ll just get you out.”

“Okay, but what about Cole’s funeral?”

“We won’t go.”

I snorted. “Like hell I’m gonna let Reg, or any of the boys for that matter, sit through that funeral alone.”

James grinned. “They won’t be alone, they’ve got each other.”

I deadpanned, and his teasing grin eased into a reassuring smile. “I promise things will go okay.”

“You’re making a lot of promises, Jay.”

He rolled his eyes. “Okay, moment’s over. Go get changed, we’re leaving in ten minutes.”

I gigged as he began to rummage through his own bag. I followed suit, and we kept our backs to each other as we changed.

“Don’t get me wrong, as excited as I am at the prospect of having Stephen back in my life, I sure as hell miss the others.”

James huffed. “I know. If I can be honest with you, I miss Mason.”

“Ohh, Jay has a crush!”

“Shove it!” He tossed a pillow toward my head.

**********************************************************************

I rang the doorbell, feeling like I was going to faint. Inside, I heard the bark of what was most likely a big dog. A small smile broke onto my face. Stephen had wanted a dog for as long as I could remember.

The white door opened, and an older woman with greying hair and a polite smile stood there. “Can I help you, dear?”

I swallowed, eyeing her through the screen door. “I uh… My name’s Irene. I was on the expedition with your husband, I-”

“Oh, you’re here to see Stephen!” She whispered. “Come in, come in.” She pushed the screen door open and ushered me inside.

“I’m really sorry for your loss.” I shuffled inside.

She shook her head. “Thank you. Here, you can get comfortable, I’ll call him.”

A St. Bernard came my way, tail wagging. I giggled as the dog licked my hand, then butted its head into my torso.

“Oh, Presley, leave her alone.” Silvie pulled on the dog’s collar. “Sorry about that, he just gets excited.”

“His name’s Presley?”

“Yeah,” Silvie nodded, “as in-”

“Elvis Presley. I named him myself, actually. Who is this, mom?”

I looked up, and it felt like looking into the mirror of an alternate universe. He was here, looking healthy and happy. If we would’ve had normal childhoods, this is what we would both look like right now.

Silvie spoke up, gesturing between us. “Stephen, this is-”

“Reen?”

“Hi, Stevie.” I gave the boy standing in front of me a soft smile.

I tried as hard as I could, but I couldn’t help the tears that began to brew in my eyes. Silvie excused herself, saying that we would be in the kitchen if either of us needed her. She pulled Presley along with her. Stephen looked at me, his eyes sad, but the smile on his face wide.

“What happened to your arm?” He pointed, voice weak.

I laughed through my own tears. “There was a tiger. No biggie.”

“What were you doing around a tiger?”

The smile dropped from my face and I looked down, sniffing. “I… I was on the expedition… with your dad.” I looked up at him. “I’m sorry, Stephen.”

He gave a soft shrug. “Thanks.”

There was silence, and then he pointed to my arm again. “You gonna be okay?”

I nodded. “Yeah, it’ll heal soon.”

“I really missed you, Reen.”

I nodded. “I’m sorry we couldn’t find you.”

He shook his head. “It’s not your fault. Dad just kinda dropped off the face of the earth, ya know.”

I felt sick to my stomach once more. “Stevie, I…” I sighed. “Dad… dad’s dead. He died a few months after he sent you away.”

A look of shock spread over his face, and he took a step forward. “Shit.”

“I’m sorry you didn’t get to say goodbye.”

He snorted. “I’m not.”

It was my turn to be shocked, and I felt my eyebrows furrow. “What?”

“God, Irene, after all he put us through? I’m glad he’s gone.”

A weight seemed to come off my chest, like a curse lifted. I looked at Stephen, crying again, and opened my arms wide. He grinned at me and pulled me in for a hug, resting his head on top of mine.

“I’m so glad you’re here, Reen.”

**********************************************************************

“Oh, it is pretty up here.” I huffed as I settled on the tree branch.

“Good for sunsets.” Stephen let out a burp from beside me, and I leaned away, laughing.

“You’re gross.”

He shrugged, a smile on his face. He had led me out to the backyard, where there was a huge tree that he loved. He had convinced me to climb up it, telling me that the view was one he knew I would appreciate.

“I used to spend a lotta time up here.” He sighed, leaning against the trunk of the tree.

“Why? You’ve always been scared of heights.”

He chuckled. “Yeah, I know. Still am. If I fall from here, I could break my neck. That’s scary.”

“You’re not gonna fall, don’t worry.”

“Promise?” He looked over at me with raised eyebrows.

I nodded. “Promise. So why did you spend so much time up here?”

“It was when they first adopted me. I felt so out of place, and so lonely.” There was a long pause, and I looked down at my feet, swinging in the air.

“How old were you? I mean, I know we had just turned thirteen when Dad sent you away, but…”

“Fifteen.”

I sucked in air through my teeth. That age was tough for me, but at least I had the comfort and security of James by my side. I couldn’t imagine what it was like for him.

“I just wanted to go home, man.” He shook his head, as if clearing his thoughts. “Fuck, not even home. I just missed you. I mean, our whole lives, we got shuffled around from place to place…” He sighed. “It was always you and me. I didn’t even miss Dad. I just didn’t wanna be alone.” He was looking down now, face sad and shoulders dropped.

“Stephen… how did you even end up here?”

He furrowed his eyebrows. “Um… I mean, I walked for a while. Jumped on some buses. I got on trains when I could afford it. I didn’t really know where I was going. Just away.”

I squinted. “Wait, what?”

“What?”

“How did you end up in the states?”

“Irene, Dad sent me here.” Stephen looked down at me, confused.

“No, he…” I trailed off.

“What’re you talking about, Reen?”

“He told us that he sent you to boarding school.”

“Us?” Stephen repeated, eyebrows still furrowed.

“James and I. He told us that you… that you were at a boarding school. But he wouldn’t tell us where.”

Stephen shook his head. “He lied to you.”

“Yeah, no shit.”

“He put me on a plane to Brooklyn, New York. Said that I was gonna go live with his cousin. Only, nobody showed up for me.”

“Wait, Brooklyn?”

“Yeah!” He grinned. “Apparently we’re from Brooklyn.”

Reality set in again and I rubbed my forehead. “This doesn’t make sense.”

“I did my best on the streets for as long as I could, but… I ended up in foster care within the year.”

My shoulders dropped even further. “He just wanted to split us up.”

Stephen frowned. “Why?”

“Cause he knew we would both hate him when we grew up. And since James and I were close, he just decided to get rid of you.” Tears came again.

“God, fuck him.” He spat, angry.

I sighed, watching as Stephen’s young adopted siblings ran around in the yard below us.

“I’m sorry, Stevie. I’m sorry I let him, I’m sorry I couldn’t find you.”

“Hey, no, it’s not your fault.” He inched closer, throwing an arm around my shoulders lazily. “It’s not your fault, Reen. We were kids. You couldn’t have done anything.”

“All of this time, I just, I thought that we couldn’t find you. I thought that… that we didn’t do enough.”

“No, Irene.” He shook his head. “I’m sure you did everything you could.”

I sighed. “I don’t get it…”

“Don’t get what?”

“Why he did any of it.” I shook my head. “Why did he do any of it? Who the fuck gives six years olds weapons? Who sets them loose in the wo-” I cut myself off mid-word, looking the other way. “I just don’t get it. I’ve spent the last eight years trying to figure it out. And I still can’t.”

His arm tightened around me. “I don’t think we’ll ever understand, Boo Boo.”

I chuckled, wiping my tears away. We had grown up on Yogi Bear, and at age three, still struggling to speak, Stephen could only call me Boo Boo until we were five.

“Hey, do you still like waffles?”

He looked up at me, making a face. “I fucking love waffles.”

“You have a dirty ass mouth, kid.”

He grinned. “Had to make up for you not being here.”

I rolled my eyes with a goofy smile on my face. “You wanna go get waffles? My treat.”

“I know a good diner, actually.” He perked up. “Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure. It’s just gonna take me a minute to get down.”

“Hey, who’s Slivko?” He leaned closer, reading the name off of Reg’s army jacket.

I had been wearing it non-stop, like a security blanket. I hugged myself, and the smell of Reg hit me. I grinned.

“He’s my boyfriend.”

“Oh?” He raised an eyebrow.

“It’s been an eventful five years, Stevie.” I winked.

*********************************************************************

“This is my favorite place. Oh, and their pancakes are pretty good if you still like them.” Stephen grinned as we looked over the menus in front of us.

I smiled. “I do still love pancakes. British pancakes suck.”

“Yeah, wait, so you’re still with James?” Stephen cocked his head.

I nodded. “Yeah. Um, after Dad died, I just kinda stayed.” I shrugged. “There was no one to pick me up and move me to the next place.”

“So then how did you end up on the expedition that…” He trailed off, and I watched as his eyes glazed over.

It was like he kept forgetting, and then kept remembering. I knew the feeling all too well, and it was one that made my insides churn.

“Uh, James became a tracker. I-I mean, he fought in the war obviously, but… the people who hired your dad’s squadron, they hired James too. And we don’t leave without each other, so…”

He looked at me with a knowing look. “It wasn’t a tiger, was it? I know, you could take a tiger out from a hundred feet away. How did it get that close?”

I looked around, making sure that we hadn’t caught anyone’s attention. I leaned in and shook my head. “Not right now.”

He scowled. “Irene, how-”

“Not here.” I repeated, clearing my throat as the waitress came to our table.

“What can I get for y’all?” She was an older woman, and she seemed to recognize Stephen.

“Uh, can I just get my usual?” He smiled smoothly.

She nodded. “Of course you can, Stephen. And for you?” She turned my way with a smile.

“Could I please get an order of chocolate chip pancakes?”

“Of course! We’ll have everything right out for you two.” She gave Stephen a knowing smile, and his eyes went wide.

“Oh, uh. No, actually, uh, Miss Betty, this is my sister. Irene.”

Miss Betty’s eyes went wide, and a smile came onto her face. “The famous Irene?”

I chuckled awkwardly, looking back at Stephen. “I guess so?”

“He talks about you all the time, honey. I’ll have your things right out for you, alright. Very happy for you, dear.” She patted Stephen’s shoulder as she made her way to another table.

“You talk about me?”

“Yeah. All shit, though.” He broke into a huge smile.

“Good. I don’t talk about you at all.” I gave him a playful scowl.

“I know you don’t. As if you would tell anybody about your past.”

I scoffed. “Hey!”

The family at the booth next to us turned and shot us a look. I turned back to Stephen and lowered my voice.

“That was uncalled for.”

He stuck his tongue out at me, and I repeated the motion, taunting him as if we were both children.

“Put your tongue back in your mouth, Stephen.”

I looked up to see James sliding into the booth, next to Stephen. I grinned.

“What’re you doing here?”

“Brought you a surprise.”

I tilted my head. “What?”

“Close your eyes, Bitsy.”

I sighed and did as told, hearing Stephen and James whisper between the two of them. Someone sat down next to me, tossing their arm over my shoulder. I was hit with the smell of pine wood and oranges. My heart fluttered as I realized it was Reg. I melted into his side, my eyes still closed.

“Hi, doll.” He pressed a kiss to the top of my forehead.

“So, who are you?”

“Stephen.” I hissed, opening my eyes to shoot him a look.

“My name’s Reg.”

Stephen squinted, holding a hand out across the table. Reg shook it, and I looked back up at him with a goofy smile on my face.

“Hi.” I whispered.

“Hi, doll.” He repeated, grinning right back. “Nice to meet you.” He spoke to Stephen, who was still staring.

I kicked him under the table, and his facade broke. He choked, presumably on air, and began to laugh.

“I’m just messing with you, man. Nice to meet you too. James.” He turned. “Long time, no see.”

“You’ve grown.” James chuckled, and from there, the two seemed engulfed in their own conversation.

I was sure that James felt as much relief as I did, now knowing that Stephen did not, in fact, hate us. Reg’s arm tightened around me, and I looked back at him, the stupid smile on my face once more.

“What are you doing here?”

“I wanted to surprise you.” He smiled softly. “I missed you.”

I felt myself melt even more into his hold. “I missed you, too. You look weird in normal clothes.”

He chuckled. “You look beautiful in my jacket.”

A blush rose on my cheeks, and he winked. I snuggled up to him as close as I could, and he kissed the top of my head once more.

“I’ve got your pancakes and your waffles. Are you guys gonna need some more menus?” Miss Betty asked, putting our plates down in front of us.

Stephen and I looked at each other, and he broke into a snort. I looked back at her.

“Yes please, Miss Betty.”

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