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dickspeightjrs · 4 years ago

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Show Me How Big Your Brave Is (au / 4.8k words)

Prompt 17 from my ‘30 Destiel Prompts’ for @eccentriccas

ao3 link

It stared at Dean from the fridge, tacked up by a Stanford University magnet gifted to Dean by his brother, Sam.

He’d known his high school reunion was coming up at some point but seeing it embossed in gold lettering created a pit in his stomach.

High school wasn’t the best time for Dean for a few reasons. First, his dad had died in freshman year, which Dean had had mixed feelings about if he was honest. He was mostly concerned about his mother. She didn’t take it well. And then there was-

Dean was torn from his stare down with the invitation by the door bell. He trudged over to answer it. His best friend, Charlie, came bounding in with all the energy of a labrador puppy.

“Hey, friend!” She exclaimed, pulling Dean into a tight hug. “Are you ready for our movie night?”

Dean let himself be infected with Charlie’s excited energy. “Of course, dude! Give me superheroes in spandex already.” He laughed.

“You go set up the first movie and I’ll put the beers in the fridge, okay?” Charlie instructed.

“Sounds good, Bradbury.”

Dean lucked out when he’d met Charlie. They’d been assigned as roommates in college. There had been a mix up with the room allocations. Dean had been a little confused when he’d turned from his boxes to find a tiny red-head standing in the doorway of his dorm.

Charlie had taken a step into the room, let her backpack fall to the floor, and said, “Don’t even think about trying anything. I’m gay as the day is long and I’m not afraid to punch a guy back into his place.” Dean hadn’t known how to reply so he’d just nodded and silently gone back to unpacking his things.

It was when Charlie had put up a Star Wars poster above her bed that Dean knew he was about to make a best friend.

“Ooh what’s this?” Charlie’s voice came from the kitchen.

Crap. Charlie had probably found the invite. He should have hidden it when he had the chance. He sighed and moved into the kitchen.

Charlie had an extremely mischievous grin on her face, and that was saying something for her.

“When were you going to tell me about this?” Charlie asked.

“Urm, never?” Dean mumbled, reaching to snatch the paper out of Charlie’s hand.

But Charlie was too quick and dodged Dean’s grasp.

“Come on Dean. You have to go!” Charlie implored. “It’ll be fun!”

Dean gave his friend an unimpressed look. “Charlie you know how much I hated high school.”

Charlie’s face softened. “I know, it sucks that you got outed before you were ready. No one deserves that. But, it’s been ten years. Things have changed.”

“You don’t know the people I went to high school with.” Dean scoffed.

Charlie rolled her eyes. “Stop being dramatic, you nerd.”

“Dramatic or not, I ain’t going.” Dean plucked the invite out of Charlie’s hand and tore it in two.

Charlie stuck her tongue out at him. “Party pooper.”

* * *

A few hours later, Dean and Charlie were deep into their annual ‘NerdFest’ movie night.

“I swear, if I didn’t bat for the best team, I’d be so down for a bit of Black Wing.” Charlie mumbled around a mouth full of popcorn.

Dean couldn’t help but nod in agreement. Aside from Captain America (because, hello Chris Evans!), Black Wing was Dean’s favourite superhero. But he’d only appeared in ensemble movies. There had been rumours of him getting his own solo movie after fans online had campaigned for it but nothing ever seemed to come of it. The guy who played him seemed to just drop off the map.

Shame, Dean thought as he watched Black Wing kick ass on-screen, that dude was hot!

“Take someone like that to your high school reunion and it would make those dicks’ jaws drop.”

“Drop it, Charlie.” Dean groaned, glaring at the red-head.

“Just saying. Get a hot date and you’ll win the game of life in their eyes.” Charlie raised her hands in defence.

“Noted. Let’s move on.”

“Fine.” Charlie pouted.

Dean nodded and turned back to watch the screen, content that the subject had been dropped.

“OH MY GOD!”

Dean jumped out of his skin, sending popcorn flying through the air. “What the hell, Bradbury?” He exclaimed.

Charlie started excitedly slapping Dean on the arm. “I have the best idea.” She practically squealed. “Put an ad up on Craigslist for a hot date.”

Dean’s eyes went wide. “No fucking way. Never happening. Now stop.”

“But-”

“No!”

Charlie sulked for the next half an hour, all through the iconic fight scene with Black Wing and his fellow team of superheroes. She stopped eventually after Dean offered her a piece of pie as a peace offering.

* * *

After a couple more movies, Charlie had to leave. Apparently, being an adult meant that you can’t just spend all night watching with your best friend anymore - who knew? So with a ‘see ya later bitch’, Charlie was gone.

Dean felt the aches from being sat on the couch for hours and he was looking forward to laying out on his bed for a good night’s sleep.

He sighed to himself and tidied up the last remains of the movie snacks. He was ready for sleep but he had to work early in the morning and he wouldn’t have time to clean up before he left.

Shuffling into the kitchen to put the rubbish in the trash, Dean spotted his reunion invite where he left it on the counter. Except, it wasn’t ripped in two like he’d left it. It had ‘mysteriously’ been taped back together. He dragged a tired hand down his face in exasperation. Charlie just didn’t know when to quit. She was the bratty little sister he never wanted.

He plonked himself down on the chair at the counter and stared at the white paper for a few moments.

Fuck it!

Charlie was right (though he’d never admit it to her face). He was determined to prove to the assholes he went to school with that the shit they threw at him didn’t stick. It didn’t matter that Dean didn’t really believe it to be the truth,’ fake it til ya make it’ as they say.

Before he could chicken out, Dean had Craigslist opened up on his phone. Thinking back to Charlie’s suggestion earlier, Dean decided against asking specifically for a ‘hot’ guy. He dreaded to think what kind of douchebags that would answer the ad proclaiming themselves to be an adonis.

And, despite knowing since he was young that he was bisexual, he decided to aim the ad towards guys. His few relationships with women had never worked out. Even though this was all going to be fake, Dean would like to be able to at least get on with the person.

In the end, he decided on a short and simple ad:

‘Hi, I’m Dean (28M) looking for a guy to take as my date to my stupid high school reunion next Saturday. Message if interested (no weirdos)’

He posted the ad and then spotted the time at the top of the screen.

Midnight. Shit.

He closed the website and dashed upstairs as fast as his tired legs could carry him.

* * *

The next morning, Dean got woken up by the feel of sunlight shining on his face. He must have forgotten to shut the curtains before he passed out last night.

His blood ran cold when he realised that the sun shining on his face meant only one thing. He was late for work. He scrambled around looking for his phone to check the time but it was nowhere to be found.

Suddenly, it came to him. He must have left his phone on the counter in the kitchen, meaning he didn’t hear his alarms going off.

He cursed himself and sped to get ready. Quickly sniffing a shirt to check it was okay to wear, he got dressed and raced downstairs. Sure enough, his phone was sat on the table where he'd sat the night before.

When he picked it up he found that it had also run out of battery overnight.

Great. As if this day couldn’t get any worse.

Forgetting all else on his mind, Dean grabbed his phone and dash out of the front door.

* * *

The ad remained forgotten until a few days later.

Dean was just about to sit down and relax with a beer when his phone lit up with a notification. He put his beer down on a coaster to check it out.

It was a message from Craigslist telling him someone has been trying to contact him about his ad.

Dean’s eyes went wide. He’d completely forgotten about the ad for a date after being late for work and being chewed out by his boss. He couldn't believe someone had actually responded. He looked at the date for the first message. This guy had contacted him like an hour after he’d posted the ad.

He opened the message.

(01:28) BlueEyesAndBlackWings says: Hello. I saw your ad for a date to your reunion. It says I’m only 10 miles from your location. I’m interested in helping you out. Are you still in need of assistance?

(10:11) BlueEyesAndBlackWings says: I assume, as you haven’t replied, that you’ve decided to go with someone else for your date.

(11:20) BlueEyesAndBlackWings says: On second thought, this ad was probably a joke. Please ignore my messages.

Wow. This dude talked funny. And reading that last message, Dean felt a little sorry for the guy too. He seemed lonely. But beggars can’t be choosers, so Dean prepared to reply.

As he went to type, he noticed the guy’s username and smiled to himself.

(19:37) impala67 says: don’t worry dude! the position as my date is still open. you’re the only one who has responded.

PS. I like your username. you a Black Wing fan too?

The reply was almost immediate.

(19:41) BlueEyesAndBlackWings says: Okay. What information do you need from me?

PS. You could say so.

‘You could say so’? Was this guy purposefully trying to be mysterious? Either way, Dean was intrigued.

(19:45) impala67 says: idk dude, just the basics I guess. how old u are, what u look like

(19:53) BlueEyesAndBlackWings says: I’m 30 years old. I have blue eyes and dark hair. I’m 6 feet tall. Anything else?

Dean hummed to himself. The guy sounded pretty average, which was okay with him.

(19:55) impala67 says: nah, that’s awesome dude. anything you want to know?

(19:58) BlueEyesAndBlackWings says: I suppose it would be nice to know what you look like too. Also, if you don’t mind me prying, I wondered why you need to have a date for a school reunion. And why have you turned to Craigslist to find it?

Dean was set aback by this guy’s forwardness. But, he did have a right to know what he was getting into Dean supposed.

(20:05) impala67 says: you already know I’m 28. I have green eyes. sort of light brown hair and i’m around 6’2”. as for the other shit. high school was a shit show. I’ve always been a bit nerdy i guess. people didn’t like it. then I realised I’m bi (hope that’s not a deal break btw). tried asking this guy out senior year. got outed to the whole school. got a lot of shit for it.

(20:11) BlueEyesAndBlackWings says: I’m sorry to hear that happened to you. No one deserves that. Why do you want to go back? No one would blame you for leaving and never going back. (Again, if you don’t mind me asking.)

Dean blinked at the screen. His forgotten beer was getting warm but he was fascinated by this guy. He seemed genuine and Dean felt himself wanting to share the darkest parts of himself with a complete stranger. He sighed and typed.

(20:20) impala67 says: I guess I want to prove to those assholes that the things they said didn’t affect my life. even tho that’s not always the truth. I still struggle to accept myself i guess.

Dean chewed his lip, debating whether to include that last line or not. But, hey, he was asking this dude to be his date, the least he could do was be honest with him. He pressed send.

Blue Eyes didn’t reply instantly this time and it made Dean nervous. He wished he could take back the last bit of the message.

After a few anxious moments, Blue Eyes still hadn’t replied so Dean gave up, figuring he’d scared the guy away. He cursed himself and moved to put his Doctor Sexy DVDs into the player. He’d never admit it to anyone, not even Charlie, but Doctor Sexy was his comfort show. It provided him with a much needed distraction.

A couple hours later, Dean was beginning to doze. The extra few beers he’d had cushioned him into a deep sleep.

When he woke, surrounded by darkness with only the DVD menu playing to no one lighting the room, Dean rubbed his face tiredly and went to check his phone for the time.

Instead of looking at the clock, Dean’s eyes were distracted by the Craigslist notification. Blue Eyes had messaged him back! Feeling a little foolish that he’d reacted too quickly before, Dean opened the message.

(23:23) BlueEyesAndBlackWings says: You’re incredibly brave, Dean. Not many people would be able to do what you’re doing.

Dean blushed in the darkness. Why were a random internet dude’s words affecting him so much? He didn’t really know what to say in response so he just sent a quick ‘thank you, dude.’

* * *

Over the next few days leading up to the reunion, Dean carried on messaging Blue Eyes just to get to know him a little more. Turns out the dude is dorky as hell. And, despite the original impression he gave with the Black Wing username, the guy didn’t understand any of Dean’s other references.

It had occurred to him after they’d been messaging for a while that Dean still didn’t know his name.

When he confronted Blue Eyes about it, the man had taken a while to respond again and answered only with ‘I’d rather not disclose my full name at this time. But, you can call me C.’

Dean had been a little skeptical of the guy’s response at first. But then, he figured the worst case scenario was the guy turned out to be a catfish and Dean would just blow off the reunion altogether and go get drunk. And he couldn’t blame the guy for not wanting to give out personal details over Craigslist.

The day before the reunion, they agreed it was probably best to meet somewhere a couple hours before so they had time to get to know each other in person and iron out the final details they’d need to know about each other.

* * *

Dean sat in the coffee shop they’d agreed to meet at (public and easy to escape if things went south). He tried to stop his leg from trembling under the table.

He was nervous for a couple of reasons. The obvious: this guy could turn out to be a creepy old dude stalking men on the internet. And the less obvious but more surprising to Dean: he actually wanted this to go well. Without even knowing what he looked like, Dean had found himself beginning to like the guy. Even if he wasn’t attracted to him when he finally saw Blue Eyes, Dean would be cool with being friends with him.

His eyes were following the patterns in the wood on the table top when a deep voice came from above him.

“Dean?” It asked, with nervous uncertainty.

Dean swallowed and looked up to the source of the voice and-

Holy shit!

It was him! It was the Black Wing!

What was the guy’s name? Cas- something? Castile? Casteel? Castiel! That was it!

Holy fucking shit! This couldn’t be happening.

Dean realised he’d been staring wide-eyed during his internal freak out and Blue Eyes, Castiel, was stood looking as nervous as Dean had felt before the surprise adrenaline took over his body.

“Sorry, dude. Please sit down.” Dean gestured to the chair opposite him. He wiped his hands on his jeans, nerves starting to take over once again.

Neither man spoke for a few moments.

“So I-” Castiel began.

“I don’t-” Dean spoke too.

Both men chuckled. “You go,” Dean told Castiel.

Castiel smiled softly, “I suppose, from your reaction, you know who I am.”

Dean blushed. “Yeah. For what it’s worth, I’m a big fan.” He scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

Now Castiel blushed, “Thank you, Dean.” His expression turned serious. “I hope you understand now why I didn’t give you my full name while we spoke online.”

“Yeah, of course, dude. Don’t want any crazies hunting you down.” Dean chuckled.

Castiel chuckled with him. “Yes, something like that.”

“So, um, before we get into the details for later, I was wondering if I could ask you a question?”

“Of course, Dean. You were honest with me, it’s only fair I return the favour.” Castiel smiled.

“It’s only because I watched one of your movies the other night with my best friend, Charlie-” who was totally gonna freak out when Dean told her about this “-but wasn’t there meant to be a solo Black Wing movie? Everyone in the fandom was talking about it and then suddenly you seemed to disappear. I guess, I’m just wondering why you changed your mind?” Dean asked, nervously. He was waiting for Castiel to tell him to go fuck himself (though Dean knew that Castiel wasn’t really that kinda guy).

Castiel cleared his throat and met Dean’s eyes. “We were just about to go into production for the solo movie when my brother and his wife were killed in a head-on collision with a truck.”

Dean’s mouth dropped open. But, he could sense Castiel hadn’t finished so he stayed quiet.

“The only blessing was that it was instant, so they didn’t suffer. That, and luckily their daughter, Claire, was at the babysitter’s at the time.” Castiel smiled, melancholy whispers gracing his features.

Dean knew he barely knew the guy but he could sense when someone needed comfort so he reached across the table to place a soft touch on Castiel’s hand.

“I took Claire into my care. And that ended my career as I knew it.” Castiel shrugged. “I was deeply disappointed to have to leave the movie, but Claire came first. And I didn’t want her to grow up in the spotlight, with people using her parents’ tragic death as a way to sell magazines. So I left the industry. That was three years ago and I haven’t looked back. Claire is five now and she’s all I could ever want.”

Dean was awestruck. “Wow.” He breathed. “I can’t believe it.”

“What?” Castiel asked, head tilting in confusion. (If the situation wasn’t so serious, Dean would have struggled not to comment on how adorable he looked.)

“Dude.” Dean choked. “You called me brave for wanting to face a coupla high school assholes. But you - you gave up your entire career to give the best life to your niece.” He shook his head in disbelief. “You’re amazing.”

Castiel blushed again (and Dean found he was slowly falling in love with that look on Castiel’s face). “I don’t know that I’m amazing, I just want a normal life for Claire and I.” He shrugged.

“A normal life, huh?” Dean asked. “Well, I can try and help with that.” He lifted his hand from where it had been placed on Castiel’s and held it in the air between them. “I’m Dean Winchester. I’m twenty eight. A bit of a nerd and in need of a date this evening.”

Castiel huffed a laugh and placed his hand in Dean’s, shaking it. “I’m Castiel Novak. I’m thirty. Uncle to a beautiful niece and I would be honoured if you’d let me be your date for this evening.”

Dean’s face broke into a smile, which turned into a laugh that caused a smile to spread across Castiel’s cheeks.

They let their hands settle naturally on top of the table.

Now, with their barriers down, they began making plans and ideas for that evening. Though, if Dean were being honest, it felt like he’d known Castiel forever already.

Eventually, after what felt like hours of talking, Castiel got up to finally get himself a coffee. It wasn’t until Castiel’s hand left his that Dean realised they’d been holding onto each other the whole time.

* * *

Dean and Castiel ended up talking for so long in that coffee shop that they were late for the reunion. The party was in full swing when they arrived.

Just before they entered the hall, Dean stopped in his tracks.

“What’s wrong, Dean?” Castiel asked, worry etched into his features.

“Are you sure about this, man? There’s a chance someone in there could recognise you or something. It’s not worth ruining your life plan over just for me to say ‘fuck you’ to a couple of dicks.” Dean stressed.

Castiel reached to take Dean’s hand in his. “Some things are worth a little risk.” He whispered and walked with Dean through the hall doors.

It seemed Dean had had nothing to worry about in the end. They’d spoken to a few people who had seemed genuinely interested in that Dean had been up to since graduation. And they barely batted an eye when he’d introduced Castiel as his boyfriend. (He’d meant to just call him his date but clearly his mouth had had other ideas.) Castiel himself had just placed a soft hand around Dean’s waist - stopping Dean from an internal panic.

It was all going so well and Dean was starting to think Charlie had been right (again, damn her!). Maybe everyone had just grown up and moved on.

Once they’d finished a conversation with the guy Dean sat next to in English class senior year, Castiel went to the bar to get them some drinks, whispering in Dean’s ear that he’d be back in a moment. Dean was a little sad Castiel hadn’t gone a bit further and placed a kiss on his cheek.

“Well, well, if it isn’t Dean Winchester.” The voice of Bela Talbot came from behind him. Dean turned with a scowl on his face.

“Hello, Bela.” He said through gritted teeth. She’d been one of the main people instrumental in his forced coming out.

“Goodness me, Dean. If I’d known how pretty you’d turn out, maybe high school could have gone a lot differently.” She practically purred, running a perfectly manicured finger along Dean’s cheek bone. “But, hey, there’s still time now, I could be the one to knock you straight again.”

Dean was frozen to the spot. He was back to being a scared kid, dealing with the loss of a parent and being taunted daily for his sexuality. He knew he shouldn’t have done this. He wasn’t brave. He was pathetic. He couldn’t even stand up to a school bully ten years later.

“Excuse me.” Castiel appeared suddenly at Dean’s side. “What did you say to him?” The look on his face was nothing short of murderous.

“I’m just getting reacquainted with an old friend.” Bela answered, sickly sweet. “And who are you?”

Castiel’s eyes narrowed. “I’m Dean’s boyfriend and I don’t appreciate the way you’re speaking to him.”

Dean’s eyes went wide. Earlier it had been a slip when he’d called Castiel his boyfriend but now Castiel was purposefully saying it? Dean didn’t dare to hope.

Bela laughed, causing Castiel to glare even harder (honestly, if looks could kill, she’d be in hell). “Ah! So he’s definitely still gay then.” She said, lip curling with distaste.

“Not that it’s any of your business, but he’s bisexual, not gay. I’d tell you to educate yourself, but clearly, after ten years you’re still the same bitch you’ll always be.”

Bela looked taken aback, like no one had ever spoken to her like that before.

Castiel didn’t wait for her response. Instead, he grabbed Dean’s hand and stormed out of the building.

It wasn’t until the cool evening air hit his face, that Dean finally snapped back to himself. They’d ended up in the parking lot, stood next to Dean’s car.

“Cas..” Dean breathed.

“I’m sorry, Dean.” Castiel said, begging for forgiveness. “I just couldn’t stand the way she was speaking to you.”

“Cas-” Dean spoke.

“She was just so rude a-and small-minded. I hated it.”

“Cas!” Dean raised his voice. Castiel snapped his jaw shut. “It’s okay. Thank you for sticking up for me.” Dean stepped closer to Castiel, playing with the lapel on Castiel’s suit jacket.

Castiel looked into Dean’s eyes but Dean couldn’t hold his gaze. “I’m just embarrassed that I froze up. After all of this, I failed at standing up for myself. I’m pathetic.”

Castiel placed his hands on Dean’s cheeks, forcing Dean to look at him. Green eyes finally met blue. “Dean, listen to me. It was incredibly brave to walk into that room tonight. You are the bravest person I’ve ever met.” He said earnestly.

Dean couldn’t hold it in anymore. He hoped he wasn’t about to ruin this before it even started. But, as a wise man told him recently: some things are worth a little risk.

Wasting no more time, Dean pulled Castiel into a deep kiss.

Once Castiel was on board, he pushed Dean up against the car behind them.

After a few heated moments, of what can only be described as heavy making out, Dean growled at Castiel to get into the car before they got arrested for public indecency.

They somehow made it back to Dean’s house but their clothes only managed to stay on long enough to get through the front door. Dean directed them to his room and threw Castiel down on the bed.

He took in the sight of the beautiful man laid out under him before kissing up Castiel’s chest and took over his mouth again. The only words said between them were muttered assurances that they were on the same page. Dean could never have dreamed this is how this night would end but he certainly wouldn’t change a thing.

* * *

The next morning, Dean and Castiel laid in each other’s arms, content to be together in the quiet.

Suddenly, a thought occurred to Dean. “What about your niece?” He worried. “Don’t you need to get back to her?” He sat up frantically.

“Dean, Dean, don’t worry.” Castiel raised his hands to calm the other man. “I texted my babysitter yesterday at the coffee shop asking her to stay with Claire for the night.”

Dean relaxed into the bed, smirking a little. “So you knew how the night would end even before we got to the reunion.”

Castiel blushed. “I wouldn’t say I knew. But I did hope.”

Dean smiled, pulling Castiel closer to place a tender kiss on the side of his head. “I hoped for it too.” He whispered.

They settled into silence again, warm in each other’s company.

A short while passed before either of them spoke again.

“Thank you, Dean.” Castiel murmured, breaking the quiet.

“For what?” Dean frowned.

“For thinking of Claire.”

“Well, she’s important to you. She’s your whole world.” Dean shrugged.

“Maybe my world could get a little bigger now.” Castiel suggested, smiling nervously up at Dean.”

“Yeah, I think it could.”

* * *

Later, as they dug into a couple of burgers Dean threw together, another thought crossed Dean’s mind.

“Cas?”

“Hmm?” Castiel hummed around the burger in his mouth.

“Why were you looking through Craigslist ads in the first place?”

Castiel swallowed and chuckled to himself. “Sometimes I look through to find funny ads people put up.”

Dean was beginning to get a little offended when Castiel reached across the table to hold his hand.

“But, the night that I saw your ad, I had just put Claire to bed and I was feeling lonely. I took a risk. And I think it worked.” Castiel smiled shyly.

“Hell yeah, it did!” Dean grinned from ear to ear.

* * *

Charlie’s phone vibrated next to her. She paused the video game she was playing to pick it up. Seeing it was a text from Dean, she opened it immediately.

On her screen was a selfie of Dean with another dark haired dude captioned:

‘I should take your advice more often Bradbury.’

Her eyes turned to saucers and she looked at the image again more closely. She frowned slightly, looking at the man whose cheek Dean was kissing.

Wait- That totally looked like-

Her phone dinged with a new message from Dean.

‘And yes, it’s exactly who you think it is.’

HOLY FRIGGIN SHIT!

A/N: Hope you enjoyed it Taylor!

If you liked what you saw, REBLOG! and consider reserving a prompt from my ‘30 Destiel Prompts’ challenge, or just send me your own prompt you’d like me to fill!

TAGS: @eccentriccas @starrynightdeancas @credentiast @imbiowaresbitch @starclaire @cockleslovesdestiel @bend-me-shape-me @destielfactory @dea-stiel @wendeano @wingsandimpalas @aggressivedean @flowersforcas @chill-legilimens @pancakesofthelord @saltnhalo @caslikescoffeeandfreckles @assbuttboyfriends @jhoomwrites @breathingdestiel @simplymisha @thekingslover @aelysianmuse

(once again tagging my faves, let me you if you’d like to be removed from future fics - or added if you’re not already there!)

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livesincerely · 4 years ago

Text

it’s so easy (too easy) to love you, ch. 1

Also on Ao3

00000

Davey’s just gotten out of class—literally just walked out the door—when his phone starts ringing.

“Davey,” Tony says the moment he answers, not even giving Davey time to say hello, “can you swing by the apartment real quick?”

Davey sighs. “Are you locked out of the house again?”

There’s a guilty silence. Then, “Or maybe I just wanna see you, huh? You don’t know.”

“Tony.”

“Charlie’s the one that lost the spare,” Tony capitulates immediately, there’s an indignant “Hey!” somewhere in the background, “and I left my keys in my locker ‘cause I thought Charlie had his—”

There’s a scuffle of noise, then Charlie’s voice breaks in, “—don’t listen to him Davey, I asked him before we even got on the subway if he had his keys and he said he did but he didn’t even check—”

“—well, I thought you had yours, didn’t I?—”

“—and he was twenty minutes late picking me up from band practice because he was too busy making out with Spot Conlon to come help me carry my stuff—”

“—that was supposed to be a secret you little shit!”

“—you started it!”

Davey pulls the phone away from his ear as the other side of the line descends into a mess of indistinct yelling. He thinks about trying to get their attention, but he decides to just start heading towards the apartment, muting his side of the call while he waits them out—they’ll remember him eventually.

In the meantime, Davey sends a quick text:

Tony and Charlie locked themselves out of the house again

He’s not expecting a response, but Jack must be in-between projects because he gets one almost immediately.

jc again?

And you’re going to have to get a new spare made

fuck okay i’ll take care of it. are you heading over?

I’m walking there now

ur the light of my life dave

Davey can’t help but smile at this, a soft feeling fluttering in his chest. Before he can write back, Jack sends another text:

how did ur midterm go?

I feel good about it! Def did better than I thought it would!

duh youve been living in the library all week ofc ur gonna do great. ill swing by the grocery omw home and pick up some ice cream to celebrate. do we need anything else while im there?

Get a bell pepper and some tomato paste, I’m going to make spaghetti for dinner. And we need more laundry detergent.

fuck yes im starving! can we do garlic bread too?

Come home on time and we’ll see.

u drive a hard bargain. kerian owes me a favor so he can stay late tonight lol

“Davey?” The sound of Charlie’s voice, tinny and muffled, prompts Davey to lift his phone back to his ear; it seems like he might’ve been calling Davey’s name for a while. “Are you still there?”

“I’m still here,” Davey confirms.

“So are ya comin’ or what?” Tony cuts in, ever impatient. “I’m roasting out here!”

“Well, I was thinking about leaving you to ruminate on your poor life choices,” Davey responds dryly, “but I guess I can come let you in, since you asked so nicely.”

“Thanks, Davey,” Charlie says.

“I’ll be there soon,” Davey confirms.

“Hurry, will ya? Much longer and I’m gonna get heatstroke and die,” Tony declares.

Davey rolls his eyes. “Goodbye, Tony.”

00000

When he arrives at Jack’s building some twenty minutes later, Davey finds Tony and Charlie right where he expects them: crowded together in the little bit of shade the roof’s overhang offers, wearing identical grumpy expressions that brighten immediately when they spot him approaching.

"Finally!" Tony exclaims, shooting to his feet. "What took you so long?"

“Stop losing your keys and you won’t have to wait for me,” Davey counters, slotting his key into the deadbolt and hefting open the heavy exterior door. He props it open with his hip and lets Tony and Charlie scurry past him into the AC. “You couldn’t get anyone to buzz you in?”

“Old Man Davis hasn’t gotten his hearing aid replaced yet,” Charlie explains as they climb the stairs up to the second floor, “and Mrs. Ikeda isn’t home.”

“She joined a new book club,” Tony adds. “She won’t be back till late.”

“Oh, I’ll have to ask her about it when I see her next,” Davey muses.

He gets the apartment door unlocked and the boys pile inside, tossing their backpacks down with dramatic groans of relief. Charlie makes a beeline for his bedroom; Davey expects Tony to do the same but he takes a seat at the kitchen table instead, booting up his laptop with a couple of keystrokes.

“I’ve got a paper due in English tomorrow,” Tony explains. “Can you look it over once it’s finished? Maybe later this evening”

“Of course,” Davey replies. “What’s it on?”

“Lord of the Flies.”

Davey’s nose wrinkles up. “Oh, I hated that one. What’s the essay prompt?”

“Identify Golding’s argument about human nature as proposed in Lord of the Flies,” Tony reads off the top of the assignment outline. “Then make an argument agreeing or disagreeing with his assessment, using evidence from the text.”

Davey rolls his eyes. “Good to see that high school literature classes haven’t changed much in the last few years,” he says with a sigh. “How much have you written so far?”

“Oh, I haven’t even started it yet,” Tony casually rebuts.

“Is everything going okay?” Davey asks, frowning slightly. “If things are getting worse we can make an appointment—”

But Tony waives his concerns aside. “Nah, this is regular old procrastination, not ADHD procrastination. Like ya said, Lord of the Flies sucks ass, so I just didn’t want to write it.”

“Well, let one of us know if you start having trouble,” Davey says.

"Okay, mom,” Tony agrees, somewhat distracted. He’s already got a blank document pulled up on his laptop, a battered and thoroughly dog-eared copy of the book laying open beside him.

Davey looks at him for another moment, then he shrugs and continues making his way into the kitchen—he figures there’s no need to worry unless Racer starts actually missing assignments. And he’s right: Lord of the Flies does suck ass.

By the time Jack gets home they’re each fully entrenched in different activities: Davey’s washed a sink full of dishes and is working on drying the last few pieces of silverware, Tony is still posted up at the kitchen table, carefully hammering out a draft of his paper, and there are the familiar sounds of Charlie working through different musical scales on his oboe in the back bedroom.

“Honey, I’m home!” Jack calls jokingly as he enters. There’s a rustle of plastic and soft thunk of the front door closing behind him, then he comes around the corner into the dining room with an armful of groceries.

“Hey, Jack,” Davey greets absently. He starts rifling through the bags almost before Jack can finish putting them down. “Did you get the tomato—?”

“I got the tomato paste,” Jack says, kicking off his shoes and leaving them in the entryway with all the others, “and I picked up some more of that fancy coffee you like from the place around the corner, even though it’s expensive as all hell.”

“Don’t judge me,” Davey replies, gathering up an armful of vegetables and carrying them further into the kitchen. “You spend a semester grading 'Intro to Shakespeare' homework and tell me how much caffeine you consume.”

“I’m just saying, the rest of us schmucks drink regular coffee and do just fine,” Jack continues. “You can feed your crippling caffeine addiction just as well with Folgers and it’ll cut down on the grocery bill.”

“Watch it, Kelly,” Davey says, pointing a finger teasingly in Jack’s direction. “Smartasses don’t get dinner.”

“‘s that so?” Jack asks with a grin. “Then why the hell are we still feeding Tony?”

“I heard that,” Tony grumbles from the kitchen table.

“Yeah, you were supposed to,” Jack says, moving over to Tony and slinging an arm around his shoulders, pulling him into a side hug. Tony bats at Jack’s hand but makes no real attempt to get away. Then Jack says, “So, I hear you and your brother lost another set of keys.”

Tony throws Davey a look of the deepest betrayal. “You told Jack?”

“Of course he did,” Jack says. “Someone’s gonna have to get new ones made, and it sure ain’t gonna be either half of the dynamic duo.”

“Charlie lost the spare,” Tony says, mercilessly throwing Charlie under the bus while he’s not in the room to defend himself. “And I didn’t lose my keys, I just left them in my locker.”

“Uh huh, save it for the judge,” Jack responds, ruffling Tony’s hair. “Just know if I end up having to change the deadbolt, it’s coming outta your subway money.”

“Jackie, leave Tony alone,” Davey comments mildly over Tony’s spluttering protests. “He needs to work on that paper and you’re distracting him.”

“Yeah, Jack,” Tony repeats, a little smug. “You’re distracting me.”

Davey turns to look at him, one eyebrow raised. Tony quickly busies himself with his homework.

Davey makes quick work of washing a green pepper and peeling an onion, then starts dicing both into small, neat pieces. He feels more than hears Jack sidle up behind him: the familiar weight of his gaze, the solid presence at his back. He stands there quietly, leaning against the counter-top and just watching Davey cook; unbothered, Davey leaves him be for the moment and moves to the stove, scraping the chopped vegetables off the cutting board and into a pan to start softening.

After a few minutes of comfortable silence, Davey glances over his shoulder at Jack and says, “Are you just going to stand there or are you going to help me with this? You know there’s no loitering in my kitchen.”

“Well, I’m nothin’ if not a law abidin’ citizen,” Jack drawls in answer, the corner of his mouth quirking up. He rolls up his shirt sleeves, exposing the long, muscular line of his forearms, and washes his hands in the kitchen sink. “Where do you want me?”

Davey licks his lips. “Think you can handle browning the hamburger?”

“I’m sure I can manage,” Jack responds with a smirk.

Davey steps out of the way, letting Jack take his place in front of the sauce pan while he gets a pot of water set up on a different burner, salting it so it boils faster. They settle into their familiar dinner-routine, moving around and past each other with ease as they work on getting everything ready, chattering idly all the while.

“I’ve gotta head back out this evening,” Jack says at one point, as he sets the tray of garlic bread in the oven to toast. “Johnson’s got me working a night shoot and I have to be downtown by 9.”

“How long is the session?” Davey asks. “Here, will you open this?”

“We’re scheduled for five hours, but we might get to wrap it up early if everything goes well.” Jack’s hand brushes against the small of Davey’s back and they trade places again, Davey stepping back up to the stove-top and Jack rifling around in one of the drawers for a can opener.

“Are ya spendin’ the night or are ya headin’ back to campus?”

“Depends on how much help Tony needs with his paper,” Davey replies, shaking his head. He takes the can when Jack hands it back to him and empties it into the saucepan, then gives the whole thing a good stir. “We might be at it a while.”

Jack huffs out a laugh. “Well, if you do spend the night, go ahead and take the bed. The extra blankets are in the usual place.”

Davey sets down the spoon he’s holding, crossing his arms across his chest. “Jack,” he says warningly.

“Davey,” Jack echoes back in the exact same tone of voice. In the background there’s the faint sound of Tony muttering, “Jesus, not this again.”

“Jack, I’m not gonna kick you out of your bed,” Davey says, rehashing the same old argument for what feels like the millionth time. “I’m perfectly fine taking the couch.”

“Or you could do the smart thing and just take the bed,” Jack counters as he always does. “I’m not even gonna be here to use it.”

“You’ll want an actual mattress when you get home, especially if you’re out late.” Davey argues. “I don’t even have class tomorrow, it’ll be fine.”

“If you don’t take the bed I’ll just carry you in there once I get back,” Jack says, as if that's a perfectly reasonable course of action. “So you might as well save me the trouble.”

Davey sputters. “That’s not— You can’t just— That only happened a couple of times!” he finally gets out.

"Well, actually, it's been more like four or five times," Jack says with a smirk. "But hey, who's counting?"

"That trick won't keep working," Davey grumbles, feeling the back of his neck start to heat up.

“You sleep like a fucking rock, Dave,” Jack says, rolling his eyes. “Why wouldn’t it keep working?”

“No, see, that’s exactly why I should take the couch,” Davey insists. “It’s not like the sound of you coming in will wake me up—”

Jack turns to face him. Davey cuts off, slightly startled—he hadn’t realized they were standing so close to each other.

“Just take the bed, Davey,” Jack all but orders, and those dark eyes with that low voice are a heady combination. “Please?”

Davey bites at his lower lip, suddenly flustered. “Fine,” he reluctantly concedes, hoping Jack will attribute his flushed face to the heat of the kitchen. “Just this once.”

"Thank you," Jack says with a dramatic heave of his chest, looking much too pleased with himself. "Now that wasn't so hard, was it?"

"You're letting the garlic bread burn," Davey answers tartly.

"Oh shit—!"

00000

Later that evening, after they’ve all finished eating and have cleaned up, Davey, Tony, and Charlie are still gathered around the table, working on various assignments.

Davey is finishing the readings for his Monday lecture in between helping Tony finalize the exact wording of his essay. Charlie sits opposite him, working through his geometry homework and every so often there’s a huff of breath and the rubbery scratch of an eraser—Davey makes a mental note to swipe some more pencils and notebook paper from the grad lounge when he’s there next.

Davey notices the time and frowns. “Jack,” he calls out, “it’s already 7:30. If you don’t leave soon you’re gonna be late for work.”

There’s a clamor of noise from down the hall, then Jack appears, freshly showered and fumbling to put on his socks and button up a clean shirt at the same time.

“Fuck, Johnson is gonna kill me,” Jack grumbles. He pats down his pockets, then groans. “Christ, has anyone seen my—”

“Your wallet and keys are on the counter by the microwave,” Davey says, pointing. “And take a jacket, it’s supposed to rain later.”

“Great, I’m sure the models will love that,” Jack says with a groan. “Hopefully we’ll be able to get through everything without getting rained out.”

He meanders his way over to the table, peering at Charlie’s homework from over his shoulder. “If Tony is still busy and ya get stuck, text me,” Jack tells him. “I probably won't be able to answer right away, but if ya send me a picture of the problem I can probably talk ya through it between shots.”

Charlie hums his acknowledgment, still scribbling furiously. Jack turns to Tony.

“Listen to whatever Davey tells you about your paper,” he advises. “The only reason I got through undergraduate writing was ‘cause Davey proofread all my shit before I turned it in.”

“I thought I was s’pposed to always listen to Davey,” Tony says distractedly, tongue poking out between his teeth as he types.

Jack pauses, considering. “Yeah, just do that.”

“Jack—”

“Oh, and Dave cooked, so you shitheads better do the dishes, get me?”

“Jack, you’re gonna be late,” Davey cuts in firmly, holding out Jack’s jacket for him.

“Alright, I’m going,” Jack says, shrugging it on, and he finally starts making moves towards the door.

He gives Charlie one last pat on the shoulder and cuffs Tony lightly across the back of the head in a slightly rougher, but no less affectionate goodbye, which is per usual. Then he turns to Davey, tips his chin up, and kisses him right on the mouth, short and sweet.

“Lock the door behind me and don’t forget to—” Jack stops mid-sentence, then turns bright red.

“Um,” says Charlie.

“Holy shit,” says Tony.

Jack’s mouth opens and closes soundlessly. Finally, he stammers out, “I u-uh— I-I d-didn’t mean—“

Davey doesn’t respond. He couldn’t, even if he wanted to—he’s frozen in place, his mind a sudden wash of static. For a moment, they just stare at each other. Then Jack blurts, “gottagoseeyoulaterbye,” and bolts out the front door.

Davey’s not sure how long he stands there, staring blankly into space, utterly dumbfounded.

“Davey?” Charlie asks hesitantly. “Are you okay?”

There’s a strangled, choking noise. A split second later, Davey realizes it’s coming from him.

"...What just happened?"

#newsies #javid #jack kelly #davey jacobs #*final cut #*the writing desk #*editor's note #the one where it's domestic #oof this was a long time coming #this au might become its own series #the javid coparenting vibes are REAL and i NEED them #btw there will be a couple more chapters of this so stay tuned

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kinglazrus · 5 years ago

Note

For the prompt list thing any chance you wanna do random, #5?

Random #5 - “I would call you an imbecile but that’d be cruel as you wouldn’t be able to spell it.”

It Could be Weird

Danny’s life is weird. Everybody knows it. Even if they don’t know about his part-timejob of being dead, they know about his eccentric ghost-hunting parents, and his uptight psychology obsessed sister, and his own eternal fascination with space.

They know the food in his lunchbox is sometimes alive. They know the lump in his backpack’s water bottle holder isn’t a water bottle but a compact ectogun. They know Danny sleeps above a portal to another dimension.

But they don’t know the weirdest thing about Danny’s life which, amazingly enough,is not the fact that he’s half-dead. It’s that for the past five nights Danny has come home from ghost patrol to find Dash Baxter sitting in his living room, wearing glasses.

Tonight, Danny sneaks in through his bedroom window, phasing through the class. He dumpsthe thermos on his bed—he’ll empty it out later—shakes out the dust and dried ectoplasm from his hair and transforms. Snatching a hoodie off his chair, he fires a harmless ectoblast at his radio on his way out the door, cutting off the music he put on to make it seem like he was home.

He hops down the stairs, tugging the sleeves of his hoodie over his split knuckles, and pauses on his way to the kitchen. Just like yesterday, and the day before, and the day before that, Dash sits cross-legged in front of the coffee table. His homework is spread out before him, a textbook at his elbow, a pencil in his hand, and a frown on his face.

Jazz sits on the couch holding an identical textbook—Danny’s copy, he recognizes thebloodstain on the spine—and quietly talks Dash through a lesson on cellular development.

Despite coming home to a similar scene four days in a row, it’s still so bizarre thathe stares too long and Jazz catches him watching.

“Did you do your homework?” Jazz asks. The unspoken before ghost hunting lingers between them.

“No.”

“Liar.”

“Fine. I’m going to do it now,” he says.

“You’re still lying,” Jazz singsongs. She slips a page in Danny’s textbook and glances up at him. “You need to keep your grades up if you want to keep…”

She glances at Dash, who’s pencil has stopped moving and is sitting oddly still.

“… making friends. After school.”

“Making friends.” Danny raises an eyebrow at her. He wishes that’s what he was doing after school. It’d be a hell of a lot kinder on his bones.

Jazz flushes but refuses to be cowed. “Get your stuff, you’re working in here.”

Danny tips his head back, groaning, and heads back upstairs to get his backpack.

—

Danny hasn’t touched his homework in five minutes. He gnaws on the end of his pencil,the metal band squishing between his teeth, flicking the eraser with his tongue to make the pencil swing back and forth. Every few seconds, Jazz sends him an admonishing look over the top of Danny’s textbook.

“That’s not working,” she says.

“I’m contemplating the philosophic implications of my assignment,” Danny says.

Jazz doesn’t look impressed.

Danny doesn’t really blame her. His chin is resting on a math textbook.

“It’s important,” he says. “How can I figure out how many pounds of fudge Anabelle has leftover without first considering why she has it? Or where she got it from? Or what the hell a triangle has to do with it?”

Maybe she’s a distant relative of their father’s.

Jazz rolls her eyes and leans over Dash’s shoulder, scanning the questions he’s working on.

“This one’s wrong,” she says, pointing halfway down the page.

Dash huffs, scowling, and furiously erases his answer.

It fascinates Danny. He’s never seen Dash so focused on something that didn’t involve a football or beating Danny up. Not to mention the glasses. Since when does Dash have glasses? They’ve been in the same class since kindergarten and he’s never seen them before.

Not to mention, Dash hasn’t insulted Danny once since he sat down on the other side of the table. Maybe Dash got hit in the head by a stray ectoblast when Kitty showed up during gym class.

Danny spits his pencil out of his mouth, ignoring the disgusted look Jazz gives him,and says, “I thought you already proved you could tutor the ‘untutorable.’”

“I did,” Jazz says. Shaking her long sleeve out over her hand, she reaches out and swats Danny’s pencil back toward him. “I thought you were being philosophical about brownies.”

“Fudge,” Danny corrects her. “And I decided the Fenton appetite is beyond the comprehension of even the greatest philosophers.”

“Anabelle’s a Fenton now?”

“My favourite cousin.”

“Uh-huh.” Jazz closes her borrowed textbook and sets it down on the cushion beside her, folding her hands in her lap. “If you aren’t going to do your work you can just–”

“Jazz!” Their mother’s voice echoes up the basement stairs. “Can you come downhere for a moment?”

Jazz sighs but gets up without a fuss. She points at Danny before heading downstairsand says, “Be nice. Don’t distract my student.”

“Me? But he's– wait, your student?”

Jazz turns away, leaving Danny sputtering and alone with Dash.

It takes Danny a moment to compose himself. When he does, he shoves his homeworkaside, slams his hand on the table, and leans across it into Dash’s personal space.

“Okay, what the hell, why do you keeping coming here?” Danny asks. “Are you hitting on my sister again? Because she already said no, don’t be a creep. I sent the last guy who messed with her to the Ghost Zone.”

Rather than leaning away, Dash gets in Danny’s face and sneers. “Chill out, Fenturd, don’t be an ass.”

“If you're–”

“I said chill out.” Dash shoves Danny’s face away. “You’re sister’s pretty smart, okay? And I need help with science.”

“You really think I’m gonna believe that?” Danny sits back and crosses his arms. Like hell. He remembers how gross Dash was hitting on his sister in ninth grade. Two years was not long enough to recover from that emotional travesty.

“I’m failing the class, okay?” Dash snaps, cheeks red. “I gotta pull my grade up to a C or else I’m off the football team.”

“Oh.” The fight goes out of Danny pretty quickly. He scratches his head and looksaway. “Okay, whatever. My grades aren’t that great either.”

“Yeah, but you’re a loser.”

“Seriously?” Danny glares across the table. “You can’t be civil for two seconds? I wastrying to be nice or whatever, but if you’re just gonna be an ass about it, fine. Wonder how you’re friends’d react to that.”

Dash wrinkles his nose. “What? They already know.”

“And they didn’t kick you out of your little club?” Danny asks flippantly.

“You think we’re that shallow?”

Danny stares at Dash. He can’t be serious. He can’t be that oblivious. All the A-listers care about are looks, money, and popularity, and Danny knows that firsthand.

“I bet Valerie does.”

Dash at least has the mind to look ashamed, and Danny feels a little vindicated at the sight of his downturned eyes.

“You guys were pretty damn cruel to her after she lost all her money. Are you telling me that wasn’t shallow?” Danny asks smugly.

“Like you’re so great, Fenton.”

“A hell of a lot better than you.”

Dash laughs. It’s loud and mocking, and he throws his head back as he does it. “Oh my god. You know how many times I’ve seen you brush off those friends of yours? Didn’t you, like, ditch them to go to a party freshman year? And you replaced them with robots once.”

“Hey, there was more going on there!” Danny defends himself. He doesn’t even know how Dash heard about the robots, but there was more to it, a ghost that could make you greedy.

Danny took care of it pretty quickly once he realized what was up, although that didn’t stop him from feeling like a massive jerk afterwards. But at least he didn’t mean it, and he knew he was a bad friend at that time.

“I don’t think you realize how much I don’t give a shit,” Dash says. “Just leave me alone, Fenton. And if you tell anyone besides my friends about this, I’ll shove you in so many lockers.”

Danny scowls. “Fine. Don’t flirt with my sister though.”

“No problems there. I’m not into girls.”

It takes Danny a second to process that. “Huh.”

“You got a problem with that?”

“What? No. Like, pretty much everyone I’m friends with is in the queer community,myself included. I thought you liked Paulina. And, you know, you flirted with my sister? And pretty much every single cheerleader.” Danny thinks back, trying to remember if there were any hints. Dash used to flirt with girls a lot, but he can’t actually remember him hitting on anyone in the past year. “You know what that is? Growth.”

“Don’t quote gifs at me, loser.” There’s less bite in Dash’s insult and more resignation. The sound of a man who will put up with what he hates for something he needs.

Danny almost smiles. Almost. Dash is still a massive dick, but Danny hates him a little less than usual right now, if only because he isn’t trying to get with Jazz after all.

They fall silent, Dash returning to his work while Danny just sits there and thinks. He glances toward the stairs once, wondering what’s taking Jazz so long, but doesn’t totally mind it. Being alone with Dash isn’t as horrible as he thought it’d be.

He gets bored pretty damn quickly though.

“Okay, the glasses, you have to tell me,” Danny says.

Dash groans, closing his notebook. “They’re glasses. I wear them and stuff gets less blurry. Fascinating.”

“Yeah, but I mean!” Danny waves his arms in a meaningless gesture. “Since when do you have them?”

“Since I got them.”

“Oh my god, I hate you.”

“Feeling’s mutual.”

“I’d call you a sap, but I think you’d punch me for it,” Danny quips, unable to resist.

“I’d call you a loser, but it’s redundant.”

“I can’t believe you know what redundant means.”

Dash glares at Danny. Normally that look makes Danny nervous, because it’s usually followed by a punch to the got or some other, equally painful retribution, but right now Danny’s actually enjoying himself and Dash doesn’t look like he’s about to snap.

“Quick, write the word down before you forget it,” Danny says, tapping Dash’s notebook.

“Shut up, you moron.” Dash swats Danny’s hand with his pencil.

“Oh no, you’re backsliding. Write it fast.”

“Shut up!”

“Want some help? Here, r-e-t-”

“You are such a fucking idiot.”

Danny beams. “I’d call you an imbecile, but I think that’d be cruel since you probably can’t spell it.”

“I swear to god, Fenton.”

“Hey, don’t be mean to my brother!”

Danny ducks his head to hide the shit-eating grin on his face as Jazz returns. She’s glaring at Dash, who sputters as he tries to defend himself, and Danny silently vows to join them for tomorrow’s study session, too, if this is what it’s going to be like.

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alexthepartyman · 4 years ago

Text

Fine Line

I’m hoping.

“Fuck you, I’m not the tie-dye king!” I proclaim, pulling my knee up to my chest.

“Says the boy wearing tie-dye,” Lilly jokes, stretching her shoulders across her chest. “When are you coming back full time?”

“After Thanksgiving Break. I think I’m fine. Hey, is Connor doing okay?”

“Yeah. You think we’ll be on the same team?”

“Well, we gotta figure out how they’re choosing.” I bend down, touching the floor with my fingertips. “If it’s birth month again, we should be good...oh, shit, it’s hockey.” My smile grows as Mr Hubert sets out the hockey nets.

“Oh, fuck yeah,” Jasmine adds. “And you got Edmonton, nice. Ooh, it’s Gretzky, too.”

“You know I only worship gods,” I joke. “And Oveckhin is not a god.”

“You don’t ever wear Caps.”

“Well, yeah, the Caps are bullshit, only teams I hate more are the Penguins, the Flyers, the Flames, and the Rangers. I better get ahold of Pedro and make sure I’m a centre.”

“Yo, Gretzky, it’s middle school, not the Stanley cup,” Jasmine jokes.

“Oh, you got jokes?” I tease. “You got jokes, Aetos?”

“You three! Team up! Seventh vs eighth!

“Later, dude. Try to not get your ass kicked. Vaqueros, we got this,” I say as we head over to the hockey stick pin, pulling out two plastic sticks and taking a centre spot.

“This isn’t real hockey, Gretzky. This is a shitty gym floor.”

“You should really see what shit is,” I retort. We start the game, I slam the puck across the floor and run after it, immediately ramming into someone to hit the puck towards the goal. We run around the gym, and I see the puck going towards our goal. Shit! Defense won’t get that! I easily pivot and dash over, slamming my side into the wall as I swing my stick, sending the puck away. I feel the reverberation through my body, but I just shake it off. Can’t be that bad. Can’t be that bad. I’m good. I’m good. I make my way to the other side of the gym as the puck slides my direction. Pedro runs towards the puck, and we swing, our sticks smashing up against each other as my body collides with his, before I end up on the floor with an aching head. Ow, fuck! Fuck! Oh, god. Oh, god. I just did it again. Did I just get another concussion? Who’s the president? What month is it? Uh, uh, uh, shit. Shit, shit. Shit. That...that’s hot. Is that the sun? I open my eyes immediately shut them again, the feeling in my back slowly returns to me. Jesus, that light hurts. I am staring into the...no...that’s not the sun...I...I’m in a gym...yeah...how did I get down here? I pull myself up onto my feet, using the stick as a support, as well as Pedro helping me up.

“You good?”

“Yeah,” I grimace, my hands on my knees. “Just, give me...just give me a minute…” I bend back up, before my knees buckle underneath me, and my eyes roll into my skull.

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

I grimace as the pain returns, I can’t pinpoint where it is.

“Oh, hey, he’s back. Hey, Jamie. You wanna tell us what happened?” Someone asks from above me. I weakly reach for my ears, my eyes, my eyes burn, I gasp for air, my mouth not moving. Pedro! Pedro! Pedro! Pedro...was it Pedro? Dark skin...dark skin…”

“It’s okay, it’s okay. Rossi, breathe. How far away are they?”

“Five minutes. Jamie, it’s Mrs Sykkuno, no, no. Don’t hit yourself, you’re already hurt pretty bad.”

“How did you two not notice?” A gentle hand grabs my arm and rotates it away from my head.

“He’s in here. We didn’t move him. We called his family, one of his guardians will meet you there, an SSA Aaron Hotchner.”

“Daddy…” I whisper.

“Do we know what happened?”

“No, he was unconscious.”

“For how long?”

“Twenty-ish minutes.” Twenty minutes? Twenty minutes? Twenty minutes?! I could have sworn I sat for like three seconds.

“Mu...mu-mu-mu…” I struggle to speak.

“Hey, it’s gonna be okay. My name is Michelle, we’re gonna take care of you. It looks like you got hit pretty bad, do you remember what happened?”

“...fell...crashed...someone...”

“It’s okay, it’s okay….no...Jamie…” Her voice fades away again into the midst of the ringing. “Jamie, stay with me. Get him on the stretcher now. Are there any drug allergies we should know about? Don’t move your head.” I feel something rigid and tight become attached to my neck. “Are you on any medications?”

“Yeah, Nurse Thatcher has his list.”

“Are there any conditions we should know about?”

“I think I should escort him. We called his father and Aaron…” I let out a whine, slowly moving my fingers.

“That’s good, that’s good. We’re gonna load him up right now. I need you to hold his neck straight and keep his spine aligned.” I whine as someone places their hands on my neck, on my back. “This is going to hurt a lot, Jamie, and I’m sorry…” I harshly gasp for air as something gets placed on my face. “It’s okay, it’s okay, we need you to stay calm.” My eyelids fly open, and I stare into the white oblivion, before letting every muscle fall limp again. Help me.

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

I stir awake to the sound of repeated beeping and hushed voices, something rubbing against my face, a hand holding mine. “His hand’s so small,” a man heartily chuckles. “Jason, should we be bringing him out into the field with us? He’s just a baby.”

“He’s fourteen, Hotch, and you know he’s intensely interested in what we do.”

“It’s not safe out there. Elle and Reid were nearly shot a couple of days ago.”

“He doesn’t go far with us, anyways. This wasn’t our fault, Hotch. This is like when he was eight, and he got that concussion from football, or when he got kicked in the head, or when he took that football to the head...god, how many concussions has he had?” I slowly blink my eyes, leaving them closed, and weakly turning my head towards Aaron’s voice.

“Hey, Jamie, how was your nap?” Aaron asks me. “We’re glad you’re back.”

“I got here as soon as I could. He’s awake?” I hear Dad ask from across the room.

“Aa...y…” I softly whine, feeling the familiar coarseness of Dad’s hands on my skin.

“Hey, mio caro ragazzo. How are you doing?” He gently asks. “Jason, go get Jenny and the doctor. Did you get hurt again, JJ? Huh?” Dad coos, gently stroking my scalp. “You can tell me what happened to him, Aaron. I’m his father.”

“We haven’t gotten anything yet. The principal rode with him to keep an eye on him, but I haven’t seen him since, he said he’d come back after the school day ends with any new knowledge of what happened.”

“You should go home, Aaron.” I hear a female voice say.

“You’re right, Jen. I’ll be back in the morning before work.” Aaron says. I slowly blink my eyes open, seeing little lights sparkling in the dark room. “Hey, there. You’re awake. I was about to go home to Haley and Jack.” He smiles down at me, gently rubbing my head. “I’m gonna go home now, Mr Johnson should be by soon to check on you. He rode along with you in the ambulance.”

“Woo-woo?” I ask.

“Yeah, the woo-woo,” Dad replies. I look over to him, his brown eyes gently smiling down at me.

“Aaa...aaadd...addy…” I whine.

“Ssshh, it’s okay.” I turn my head back over to Jenny as she takes my vitals. “Jenny, how are you and the baby?”

“We’re good, good, everything is fine. How are you doing?” Bright light, bright light, bright light. “Do you know where you re right now?” I quickly sign ‘yes’ and spell out ‘h-o’ before I trail off, trying to think of the next letter.

“I’d be better if my son wasn’t lying in a hospital bed with no idea what happened to him.”

“Of course. His vitals are good for right now, we’re gonna do some more testing, and then the neurosurgeon will come in and discuss what he thinks should be done now.” Neurosurgeon? “My shift ends at seven, so I will be available until then. I will call Aaron and tell him to get his ass down here, I’m sure he’ll tell the rest of the family. I’m going to write down a list of the entire team assigned to him so you guys have it, so you won’t worry about anybody not knowing his history and his conditions, and the team will know that only you guys, his school team, his family, and his therapists will have access to him.”

“Thank you, Jenny.”

“Of course. You guys are family. Are you still awake, huh? Are you still awake, Jamie?” Jenny asks, and I open my eyes again and give her a goofy smile. “You’re such a brave boy, yes, you are. Yes, you are. Haley and Jack came by earlier, and so your blanket and turtle are here. Do you know what happened to you?” I close my eyes and try to think, prompting a headache very quickly. “You were hit in the head very badly, Jamie, and it’s okay if you don’t remember.”

“Seepy...seepy...seepy…”

“I know, ragazzo, I know. You’ll get to go back to sleep soon, I promise.”

“But I’m afraid that’s not right now. You’re back again, Jamie, and you’ve done worse this time.” A man says. “Mr Rossi, I thought we were taking it easy.”

“Another school accident. Nobody knows what happened this time. He hasn’t been able to respond much.”

“He woke back up in the ambulance and then he fell asleep again in the middle of the CT scans. He broke his nose pretty good, along with some facial bones. We just did what we could with our team until the specialist we called gets here from Los Angeles. He’s an amazing plastic surgeon, don’t worry. We just want to make sure Jamie’s face is fixed properly, you get me?”

“Yeah, I get you.” I let my eyes close, and a finger ghosts over my nose and face.

“The fracture is mostly the nose, but it does span the cheeks, and I worry about the eyes. There were also breaks in the forehead, and as you can see, I’m not actually touching his face, I don’t think he would like it, and it might make this situation worse. The most significant injuries were the nose, and the back of the skull. As you can see, we took out some of the skull to drain out his brain, there was a lot of blood and fluid, and we don’t like blood and fluid floating around in the brain, that is not good.” The doctor says. “We’re leaving a drain in there in case there is more, but we put the skull back.”

“I agree with everything you’re doing, Doctor. I have heard that the school principal, Mr Johnson, is coming by, he’s investigating what happened. How much blood was lost?”

“More than what we would have liked, we have been doing transfusions. We can get a nurse in here so you don’t have to leave him while prepping a bag of blood for him. Of course, we will instate the highest level of security we can for him, and the entire team has been briefed on how to properly handle Jamie, but I will do it again if you feel it is necessary. It also helps that Jenny is here. Call for me when Mr Johnson arrives, I want to discuss with him how to prevent this from happening again and what the school can do for him when he returns...oh...oh...don’t touch your face…” the doctor says, gently pulling my hand away from my face.

“We’re doing what we can, Dave. He’ll be alright.”

“Gonna wrap him in bubble wrap, just like his brothers,” I hear Dad retort, and I whine at him. “Yes, bubble wrap. You and your brothers, Aaron and Eddie, you three need bubble wrap.”

“Don’t I know it,” Jenny laughs. “I’m gonna need so much bubble wrap to deal with him and the baby.”

“Ba….ba...ba...ba...by?” I ask.

“Yeah. Your brother and I are going to have a baby. And they’re gonna be a menace if they’re anything like him and you.”

“Aaa...aaddy…”

“Mr Johnson, hello. I just saw you last month at the parent teacher conferences.”

“Yes, yes, yes. Tight ship you guys run here. Doctor Sinclair, Mrs Wallace.”

“Mr Johnson, hello. Do you know what happened?”

“I brought along a student who may know what happened, and Jamie’s friends have been dying to see him. Mr Meza, please be careful. This is Pedro, he was in the gym when Jamie was hit.” A bright light floods my eyes again, dark skin in front of me.

“No, no, no, no, no, no, Jamie. Jamie, stay down.” Dad says, pushing me back down. I force my eyes open and cry out.

“Eeeeh...ehhh...ehhh...ehh…”

“Pedro, I...I...I advised he shouldn’t come, I’m sorry. He was really concerned.”

“It was an accident. I didn’t see Jamie approaching me - or…” I give him a big smile. “He’s not mad?” I’m trying to piece together what happened...did he hit me?

“I’m sure he’ll understand you didn’t mean it. Here, here, come say hi.” My hand weakly shoots to the side as Dad pulls away. “I’m here, just someone coming to say hello. Here, Pedro, take his hand, it’s okay. He’ll squeeze as tight as he can. Jamie, someone from school came to visit you. His name is Pedro, he’s in some of your classes.” An unfamiliar touch hesitantly arrives, and I cling on as well as I can.

“Hi, Jamie. I just wanted to say that I’m sorry, I should have seen you there, and I shouldn’t have left you like that.”

“I….I….wha…”

“Does he remember what happened?”

“He said he fell and crashed into someone.”

“He crashed into me, trying to get the puck away from me, and I...he told me to give him a minute, but I didn’t see the blood until he fell. I’m sorry, sir, truly, I am.”

“It’s okay, Pedro. Accidents happen. He’s going to be okay, he’s a fighter.” I squeeze Pedro’s hand before letting go, his hand slowly leaves mine, Dad’s hand returns.

“I’m gonna go, now. I should head home. Thank you, for letting me see him.”

“Of course. Agent Greenaway will escort you out and take you home. You’re not in trouble, Pedro, it was an accident.” The room falls silent for a few moments.

“You can go back to sleep, we’ll wake you up when Dr Nassif gets here.”

“Saaayyyyy….ssaay…” I whine, reaching for Dad.

“Of course. I wouldn’t leave you. Ti amo così tanto, Jamie.”

“Tiiii….ammooo…” I smile, letting myself fall limp.

“He’s not sleeping.”

“How can you tell?” Mr Johnson asks.

“Half of my grey hairs are watching him sleep in hospital beds, praying he’d make it through the night. His breathing pattern hasn’t changed yet, and he doesn’t sleep without music.” I feel my blanket being adjusted and my turtle being placed in my arms. “Nor does he sleep without his blanket and turtle.” Dad gently kisses a part of my head that isn’t damaged. “He’s a special boy, Tom.”

“Of course. He’s fourteen?”

“Surely, you know autistic kids are vastly different.”

“Of course. Mrs Sykkuno should be on her way in, she stopped to talk to Jamie’s friends in the waiting room.”

“His friends are here? Why didn’t they go straight home?”

“I don’t know. Dr Roman had Lilly and Jasmine all day, they were in no condition to go on with the day. Rumours flew, and we ended up having a bunch of inconsolable kids.”

“Send them home.”

“Of course.”

“Oh, is he okay?” I hear another voice enter the conversation.

“He’s surviving. Mrs Sykkuno, I presume?”

“Yes. You guys run a tight ship here.”

“This is a military hospital. Jenny, would you please go inform Jamie Rossi’s friends that they should head home, and then go do your rounds?”

“Yes, of course. Mrs Sykkuno, it’s lovely to meet you. I’m Jen Wallace, Jamie’s lead nurse.”

“Oh, please call me Charlotte, you all can.” I smile at her voice, she always sounds so happy and lovely. “Agent Rossi, these are from some of the Special Ed students at the school. They really love him.”

“Of course. Thank you, I’m sure Jamie will love these. He’s doing okay, tell the kids he’ll make it out of this.”

“If there is anything we can do, you just let us know.”

“Thank you. This is Dr Sinclair, he is the head neurosurgeon here at Walter Reed.”

“I was just telling Agent Rossi about the injuries Jamie has sustained. There is a very complicated facial fracture spanning across his face, but it is mostly his nose and his skull. I would pay attention to his eyes, the area of his brain where he took the most impact is the lobe in the back of the brain, where all the vision is processed…”

#adoptedbydavidrossi #davidrossi #Criminal Minds Fanfiction #criminalminds

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jisungsmochi · 5 years ago

Text

shining star - chenle

literally came up with this idea at 2am and just kept writing so i’m posting it bc it’s my first chenle imagine and i am pretty proud of it hehe, hope you all enjoy, idk how long this is but its very fluffy and has some angst in you squint.

prompt(?):

“you have detention?” you question the boy.

“and you’re in a musical?” he strikes back, followed by a small grin.

highschool!au , friends to lovers?, musical themed hehe

————-

“all students who are taking part in the next musical production, please meet in the theatre after school for your first meeting” the announcement over the speakers echoed through the halls and in classrooms.

“imagine being in the school musical” you heard boys behind you tease, followed by obnoxious laughter. you turned around to see who they were, not to your surprise it was chenle, and his group. chenle’s eyes met yours, he saw the expression on your face and instantly stopped smiling.

what a jerk, you thought to yourself.

you turned back around and resumed listening to the lesson, taking down notes before placing a reminder on your phone that you had a meeting for the musical. you weren’t the lead, this time. but you were hoping that in the next production, you will be. you were happy with playing the supporting role, just as long as you had some lines. the musicals at school were a safe haven for you. you were supported by people who had the same passion and the activities your drama teacher allowed you guys to participate in, made you enjoy lessons even more. although most of the school focused on the sporting teams, you were pleased with the theatre group. aside from occasional teasing, such as from chenle and his friends, you adored being in musicals.

“you haven’t handed in your assignment from two weeks ago, despite the extension. i have to put you in detention” your english teacher shook his head in disappointment as chenle groaned. you weren’t sure if he was annoyed or upset that he was in detention. you could never really tell.

your eyes met his again, he immediately broke the contact and made his way back to his seat.

the bell rang, signalling the end of school. your phone dinged with the reminder for the meeting. you rushed to the theatre, placing your bag in the designated spot and focusing on your teacher’s instructions.

“okay, today will be quite an easy day since it is our first meeting. i will be going over the opening scene with the leads so all other crew members, please begin to brainstorm costume ideas and set designs!” your teacher ordered, and immediately everyone dispersed into their designated roles. you decided you were going to read over your lines and highlight them in some pretty pastel colours. you situated yourself near the steps on the stage, legs crossed and focusing on reading.

after a few scenes, you decided to take a break, something caught your sight on your left. you furrowed your eyebrows and followed your senses. before you knew it, you were met with chenle towering over you, with a blank expression on his face.

“what are you doing here?” you spoke.

“what do you think?” he crossed his arms and looked at his feet.

“you have detention?” you questioned the boy.

“and you’re in a musical” he strikes back, followed by a small grin. you couldn’t help but crack a small smile.

“so what? you’re here to help with the sets?” you questioned him further, honestly trying to pass time.

“i’m more of just a stage hand i guess.” he shrugged, finally looking you in the eyes.

it wasn’t like you hated him. you didn’t really hate people. but sometimes, the things he said just got on your nerves.

“are you the lead, in the musical?” he loosened up, standing more comfortably in front of you as you continued this casual conversation.

“um no i’m not. i’m the supporting lead, it’s still something!” you smiled shyly, afraid he might tease you.

“what? you’re not the lead?? and soojin is? but you’re a great singer” his face was contorted in a confused expression.

“how would you know that?” you perked up, while smiling.

“i’ve heard you at the talent show, and you do know that you post singing videos on instagram?” he chuckled softly, making you pout.

“oh right, well i don’t know, maybe she’s just better at acting!” you tried to excuse, but he wasn’t convinced.

“possibly, well um, while we’re talking, do you mind if we just chill during these meetings? until my detention is lifted and all, i literally have no one” chenle proposed, which made you quite flattered that he enjoyed your company.

“oh yeah sure! i’ll teach you about stage directions and stuff, just so you’re not confused and all” you offered, which caused him to smile widely and nod.

“thankyou so much” he held his hands in a prayer pose.

“my pleasure” you laughed before telling him where to move certain objects.

——————

two weeks passed by and you’d say that chenle had picked up the theatre terms pretty quickly.

“you sure you don’t wanna be in the musical?” you joked as he was playing around with the microphone settings.

“oh yeah for sure, can’t believe i missed auditions” he joked in return, shaking his head before handing you the microphone.

“should be good to go” he smiled before giving you a thumbs up. you mouthed a quick ‘thank you’ before facing your teacher. you began singing your duet with the supporting male lead. it was going smoothly until you completely blanked and forgot the next lines. the music automatically stopped,

“y/n! what’s going on? you’ve had 2 weeks to prepare so far” your teacher sounded disappointed and slightly annoyed. you sighed quietly before apologising and running off stage. chenle was about to stop you before you shoved past him, tears leaking from your eyes. he heard your sniffles and ran after you. you stopped running as you left the theatre, backing yourself against the wall. chenle caught up and faced you.

“i can’t do it” you sobbed. your chest was heavy and your breathing was irregular. he noticed and placed a hand on your arm.

“look at me, just calm down first okay? breathe with me. in.... and out” chenle tried his best to help you.

you followed his orders before speaking again.

“i can’t freeze up like that in the real show. i just can’t. i need to keep singing. even if i fuck it up” you sighed to yourself, sliding down the wall to sit on the ground. he copied you and sat next to you, your shoulders touching.

“hey, at least this was rehearsal. you’ve kicked ass, all the way up to now. don’t let this scare you!” he spoke to you in such a lovely manner, it eased your worries.

“i know i know. i just can’t help but feel this way” you look at him. your face stained with tears, but you still gave him a small smile. he wiped some of the tears with his thumbs, before saying,

“let’s cut this rehearsal short. you deserve some ice cream” he pulled you up from the ground and pulled you in for an embrace. you would admit that you had come to a liking of chenle. he was so helpful as a stage hand, and always showed up on time. he always gave you a small thumbs up before you were about to sing, and always waited for you when rehearsal was finished to catch the bus home. you nodded at his offer, grabbing your bag you had placed in your locker and walked out of school with chenle by your side.

—————-

chenle had served his detention, but still remained as a stage hand, in which your teacher didn’t mind as he was genuinely helpful with the props and tech equipment. it was two weeks before opening night. after almost every rehearsal, chenle would be right by your side when going home. the entire time you both had been working together, he hadn’t said one negative thing about musicals. he had become accustomed to the quick paced yet laid back nature of the theatre. but what he wouldn’t admit, is that he enjoyed watching you on stage. you smiled so brightly, you sang like an angel. he couldn’t get enough. his friends often teased him for wanting to remain a stage hand, but he ignored them, knowing it was worth it.

after this particular rehearsal, you ran up to chenle and hugged him tightly. he was taken aback, slowly placing his arms around you and patting your back softly.

“i didn’t make any mistakes today!!” you cheered, pulling away from him, still leaving your hands around his forearm.

“i know! you were great, as usual” he complimented, which made you blush. you shook your head before speaking,

“thankyou for always having my back. i’ll treat you to an early dinner. what do you want?” you offered kindly.

“actually, i have to get back home, but how about, this weekend? we can go out for lunch or something” chenle crossed his fingers in his mind that you would agree. you nodded immediately,

“yeah sure!! message me when you’re free!” you smiled before completely letting go of him and leaving the theatre.

he couldn’t control himself, as he fisted the air and cheered quietly.

————-

saturday afternoon, you had agreed to meet with chenle at your local bowling alley, as the onion rings were to die for there.

you were onto the eighth bowl, chenle leading by 40 points.

“this isn’t fair! you’re too good!” you complain, poking his sides.

“am not! just know where to focus that’s all!” he defends before taking a bite of an onion ring. you giggled before taking your turn.

“here i’ll show you” he came up behind you, helping you position yourself properly.

you felt his fingers touch yours and you couldn’t help but blush.

“okay so you see that middle pin? just try your best to aim there and keep your arm steady!” he looked at you for assurance as you nodded in response. he left your side to watch, as you did exactly what he had said. you both watched as the ball rolled right towards the middle pin, although you did not get a strike you still managed to known down nine pins. you ran over to chenle, arms wide as he embraced you warmly and spun you around shortly.

“did you see that?!” you were ecstatic, he admired your excitement.

“i know!! you’re a pro already” he smiled.

“ah you’re too kind!” you complimented.

on the way back to your house, chenle had been walking close to you, where your shoulder touched and at any moment your fingers would link.

“thank you so much for today!! only a week or so until opening night!! this really helped calm my nerves. i appreciate your support over these past few weeks. i hope we still stay friends after this” you didn’t know why that last sentence felt so uncomfortable to say. you didn’t want to be just friends.

“oh yeah no problem!! you really kept me sane. i’m sorry for talking bad about musicals before, i just never really paid attention to them! you’ll smash it on opening night! i’ll be cheering! and yeah, we will be friends” a part of him felt hurt to finish off that sentence as well.

you gave him one last hug, which lingered for longer than your normal hugs.

“see you next week” you waved before entering your house, watching as he returned the action. what did you get yourself into?

—————-

it was the afternoon of opening night, everyone was running around everywhere. you had just finished the final rehearsal and were currently resting. you sat with chenle outside of the theatre again.

“you nervous?” he questioned, looking over at you.

“a little, i just don’t want to make any mistakes!” you sighed.

“and you won’t! here’s something to make you feel better” he pulled out a small box from his jacket pocket. you raised your eyebrows before opening the box, it was a key ring that had a star hanging from it.

“you didn’t have to get me something oh my god, flowers would have been perfectly fine!” you pulled him closer to you, listening as his laugh filled your ears.

“it’s okay! you deserve it. you’ll still be a star, even if you mess up. you’re such a good performer i can’t stress that enough” he avoided your eyes. you tried to gain his attention again, in which he complied.

“can i tell you something?” your stomach was going so many flips, you couldn’t contain yourself. he nodded slowly, allowing you to continue.

“without you, i would have probably given up by now. thank you for staying by my side. i can’t thank you enough for how nice you’ve been to me. and i think it would be a good time to say that, i really like you. like a lot. like i think about you after every small positive thing that happens to me because you are just such a positive person! and this gift is just so meaningful. you are such an amazing guy, and i hope you like me too” you blurted out , watching as his face became stunned. words refused to leave his mouth. you pouted softly, feeling slightly embarrassed.

“i was going to tell you that i liked you after the musical but you beat me to it. if it weren’t for you, i would have quit being a stage hand after my detention. but i really wanted you to see how amazing you are. i’ve known how amazing you were since the talent show. i was surprised to see that you were a supporting role. you deserve so much more. i admire all of your confidence, and i can’t get enough of you” he spoke with such admiration you began tearing up. you hugged him tightly, refusing to let go, mumbling ‘i like you so much’ in his chest. he softly giggled, “i like you too cutie”.

———

opening night was a success. as the final bows were being taken, you looked over at chenle and ushered him to join you on stage. he quickly shuffled to you and took a bow with the rest of the crew.

“congrats on everything” he whispered to you.

“you’re adorable” you mumbled before placing a quick peck on his cheek. he looked over to you in shock. you were unpredictable, quick witted and he was completely whipped for you.

musicals weren’t so bad after all.

#nct imagines #nct dream imagines #chenle #nct chenle imagine #chenle fluff #chenle fic #chenle imagine #nct dream fic #nct dream fluff #jisungsmochi masterlist #jisungsmochiimagines

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dracolucius-abraxusmalfoy · 6 years ago

Text

@drarryismehotp

Prompt: What’s tying us together? Soulmate AU

____________________________________________

Harry wakes up to burning pain just under his diaphragm and on his wrist. For a moment he thinks he’s hungover, that he’s going to throw up, but the pain doesn’t fade and resurface like a wave, and there’s a suspicious lack of pounding in his head.

He can’t quite remember what happened. Can’t quite put his finger on why he should be feeling this way. He wonders if maybe he really did get drunk and he just can’t remember, wonders if maybe he was injured or attacked, but he’s not in the infirmary, can tell by the light behind his eyelids and the clean soft smell of linen instead of the sharp pungent antiseptic smell that lingers in the sheets there, lingers in his clothes or pajamas long after he’s left.

There is sunlight hitting him directly in the face, and even though he’s almost certain he is indeed in his own bed, the sun doesn’t usually flow through the window at quite this angle. With a groan, he reluctantly pulls open his eyes, grainy and scratchy and aching for more sleep. If the sun is streaming through the window at all it’s far too late to still be in bed. He’s not really awake yet despite this, can’t process anything beyond the too bright too backlit to see brilliant morning sunlight that has him kicking off the covers and swinging his feet over the edge of the bed.

The minute he’s upright he realizes why the sunlight is entering the room at such an unusual angle; Draco has left his bed hangings open.

His roommate is sprawled, limbs across the bed, long limbs dangling over the edges, hair soft and falling across his pillow and face in a way Harry has never had the opportunity to see, in a way Draco would never allow it to be in his wakeful hours.

It had gotten long, during the war, during the summer before students returned, one year behind and war quiet. It’s long enough that Draco ties it at the base of his neck in a knot that doesn’t require a hair tie. Harry had thought it would make Draco look more like Lucius, cold and severe. Had thought it would accentuate his angles and make him look distant, pretentious: it doesn’t. Long hair on Draco does everything the opposite that it does on his father. It softens his cheekbones, his jaw, the sharp, piercing look in his eyes. Makes him look almost feminine, like his mother, and Harry can see Andromeda in there too, warm smiles and warmer hands. Harry smiles at him and takes the step that separates there beds to reach the side of Draco’s. He doesn’t sit, knows it wouldn’t be appreciated, doesn’t touch either, not the way he wants. He pokes him on the shoulder and whispers his name.

“Draco.” His roommate doesn’t stir, doesn’t even twitch, and Harry sighs. He’s been notoriously hard to wake up in the mornings, and even harder to make go to bed at night. He never would have thought, three two one years ago that he would be privy to the knowledge that Draco Malfoy is an unapologetic night owl, but here he is.

He moves from poking to shoving, pushing on his shoulder until he flops over onto his back. There’s no way he’s not awake now.

“Draco. We’re going to be late get your lazy ass up.”

He doesn’t budge, but Harry can see the way his breathing has changed, sees the way the fingers on his left hand twitch just so, one two three four lightly on the sheet, the same way he does when he’s annoyed at something Harry has said. He’s playing opossum. Harry thinks anyone but himself, who has spent an inordinate amount of time studying Draco’s... everything, might even have fallen for it.

“Merlin, Draco, it’s late, we don’t have time for this. We’ve been sharing a dorm for 8 months I know what you look like when you’re sleeping.”

Without opening his eyes, Draco snorts and swats a hand in Harry’s general direction.

“You know what I look like when I sleep? Little odd that don’t you think Potter?”

Harry rolls his eyes, turns away, decides not to dignify that with a response. “I’m going to pop over to Ron, ask him to bring up some breakfast, then shower. Just get up.”

Draco groans dramatically, end-of-days, this is murder, torture, I hate you sort of groan that always leaves Harry struggling to hold in a laugh because he’s always known Draco was an overdramatic git but he never really imagined it bleed over quite so thoroughly into all aspects of his life.

Ron’s dorm is right across the hall, so it only takes a couple of steps once he’s out the door to be close enough to knock, knock because he learned his lesson about not knocking the hard way.

“Come in, mate!”

When he opens the door he is immediately confronted with a bed-headed Hermione wearing one of Ron’s too big school shirts that’s barely buttoned and what he’s fairly certain are a pair of Ron boxers. She stares at him, in the eye, as if challenging him to say a word about it, and he nods acquiescingly and deliberately turns to face Ron, who is leaning over the desk in the corner shuffling through what looks like an explosion of parchment.

“Mione where’d you put my charms assignment? It was here last night!” He turns around to ask but seems to get caught on Harry first.

“Oh, right, hey mate.”

Harry smiles and holds out what he is pretty sure is Ron’s charms assignment, which had been on the chest of drawers just to his right.

“I woke up late this morning, I was hoping you could bring up a plate of food for me so I can eat before class?”

Ron has grabbed the parchment and is scanning his writing even as he nods. “Sure, no problem. I’m already bringing some up for Hermione.”

Harry nods, even though Ron’s not looking, and glances awkwardly to his left, wondering how he can ask Ron to bring enough for two without sounding terribly suspicious. His brain is feeling even fuzzier than it had when he’d woken up, and the burning pressure in his stomach hasn’t eased up, it feels like it’s getting heavier, and it’s all making it rather hard to think.

“Er... ah, well, Ron, would you.. mind bringing up a bit extra? I’m feeling very hungry this morning.” It feels like an awful lie, his appetite is basically non-existent, has always been small, and saying he’s super hungry feels obvious. He doesn’t look towards Hermione. He’s certain she’ll have it all figured out in a second if he looks her in the eye.

Ron has looked up from his assignment, and the expression on his face, a mixture of surprise and delight makes Harry feel a little bit guilty because he knows he won��t be eating it all.

“Really? That’s great! I’ll be sure to put extras of all your favourites, sound good mate?”

Harry nods and is suddenly struck by the urge to hug his friend, to tell both of them everything.

He can’t to one, it’s not just his secret to tell, and he understands that, he does, but he does do the other, wrapping his arms around Ron’s chest and squeezing as Ron’s arms come around his shoulders, startled.

“Thank you. You’re a really good friend”

“Harry. Are you alright?” Ron sounds worried, so Harry pulls back far enough that he can put his hand on Ron’s shoulder and nod.

“Yes. Yes, I’m just happy. And I felt like it.”

Ron looks a little bemused but seems to accept his answer without complaint, slapping a bracing hand against Harry’s back, hard enough to knock his breath out of his lungs a little, a large grin, before he strides out the door.

“Righto mate! Breakfast foods for all!”

Hermione looks a little confused and a lot unconvinced so Harry grins at her, gives a jaunty little wave, and sprints back to his room after assuring her he loves her too and getting a pillow chucked at his head.

Draco’s sitting on the edge of his bed when Harry comes back in, looking a little rough around the edges, looking much like Harry feels.

“I feel like I’ve been run over by the knight bus. What did we do last night?”

Harry shrugs, “I don’t know, as far as I’m aware nothing. I feel like crap too though, maybe we’ve caught a bug?”

Draco looks at him in disbelief. “A bug? Harry have you ever even been sick in your life?”

Harry opens his mouth to say of course he’s been sick, everybody gets sick, but if he’s being honest, he doesn’t remember.

“Right, of course, you haven’t. You’re a powerful wizard Harry, you probably won’t ever get sick.”

Harry isn’t sure what having power really has to do with anything, but arguing with Draco, especially in the morning, especially when he’s feeling snappish, is never a good idea.

“Right, sure, then I have no idea what’s going on.” He rubs his wrist, where the burning-tugging-tingling feeling has finally started to subside a little and turns towards the bathroom.

He showers as quick as he can, but he still hears Ron voice drifting through the half-open bathroom door. He’d started to feel dizzy the moment he’d stepped into the tub, so he gets out then, even though he hasn’t actually washed his hair yet, and dries off quickly before pushing the door open.

A door that immediately hits a solid object.

“Ow! Merlin Potter careful. That door never did a thing to you there’s no need to go throwing it open and hitting people like that.”

Harry raises an eyebrow. Draco is sitting on a chair, looking rather shaky and pale, which shouldn’t be unusual, except the chair is practically in front of the door to the bathroom.

“What are you doing?” Ron and his breakfast are momentarily forgotten.

“What are you on about? I’m talking to Weasely. What are you doing?”

Harry doesn’t respond, just shakes his head and turns his attention towards Ron, who has a plate piled high with breakfast foods in hand.

“Godric, it’s too early to be dealing with you two bickering. Here’s your food.” He holds out the plate and rolls his eyes.

“Thanks,” Harry says, ignoring the bit about bickering. Mentioning it will just make Ron repeat himself, you fight like my parents. Harry’s been ignoring a lot of things lately, he should honestly be getting an award for how tight a leash is temper has been on. Hermione’d be impressed, except she doesn’t know how much he’s been ignoring things.

“That’s a lot of food.” He’s a little intimidated that I’m hungry today somehow translates into I could eat enough for four of me in Ron’s brain, but Ron only shrugs, and jerks his chin towards Draco in his chair.

“You asked for extra food anyways so I figured I’d bring enough for ferret over there.” Despite the name, Harry smiles and holds in a laugh at the strangled, indignant noise Draco makes. “There’s an extra plate underneath.”

“Thanks, Ron.” Who nods, and closes the door behind him.

The burning feeling has lessened again and been replaced by a warm feeling that pools in his chest. Ron doesn’t much like Draco still, despite Harry’s friendship with him. Doesn’t quite get the bone dry humour, and tends to think the arrogant better-than-thou attitude is annoying rather than amusing, and Harry can’t really blame him, was right along with him at the beginning of the year, and yet he’d brought extra food anyways, just because Draco is Harry’s friend, just because Ron knows that Draco is important to him. Not for the first time, not even that morning, Harry wonders if it would be so bad to just tell them, everyone already knows they’re friends, good friends even, and he knows that being gay in the wizarding world isn’t taboo the same way it is in the muggle, isn’t even something that is considered minority, but he knows Draco’s worried, and for the most part he doesn’t mind it. He rarely has to lie about anything, and neither of his best friends will be terribly upset he kept it from them, they know him well enough to understand why he couldn’t. It’s Draco’s decision and he doesn’t want to push.

“If he gets to call be ferret I get to call him weasel.” Harry glares at Draco, who has gone from poised to sprawling in the seconds since Ron left the room, and raises an eyebrow. He doesn’t need to say anything, because he knows Draco won’t. He also knows that Hermione has ears like a hawk, and depending on her mood, might already be giving Ron hell for it.

“Come on then, we need to eat before we have to leave.”

Draco reaches for the bowl of fruit first, to no surprise of Harry’s, but he slaps his hand away from the slice of melon. “Oi! That’s mine and you know it. Eat your greengages and raspberries.” Draco snorts but complies, and Harry grins, victorious.

It doesn’t take them long to eat, the plate still filled with food neither of them could possibly ever have the room to eat, but Harry’s rather proud of his three sausages and egg, so he chooses not to feel bad.

They have their first class together, and they race along the halls towards transfigurations and slam into their desk at the back, just behind Hermione and Ron. The burning in his chest has eased to almost nothing, so Harry thinks that maybe their room was just a bit dusty. The class is as boring as ever, the new teacher Mcgonagal hired as her replacement is too focused on theory, in Harry’s opinion, but he’s amused himself with annoying Draco by poking his boots under the table and trying to grab his left hand, which is busy tapping out a rhythm on the side of his chair.

Draco huffs at him annoyed and swats his hand away, the sharp thwack bouncing around the room, but everyone seems busy gathering up their things, too busy to notice Draco and Harry, especially when it probably looks like they're just fighting again.

Harry grins at him, and slides away, surprisingly gracefully, before Draco can get at him, and follows Ron out of the classroom.

He and Ron have care of magical creatures with the seventh year Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors while Draco and Hermione are busy in Arithmancy. Harry sighs, wishing he could skip this class, just for today, and just go right onto charms, which is their last class before lunch, and the class where their all back together.

He rubs at his wrist again, the burning tugging is feeling back, and tries to clear his head of the sudden dizziness. He went from fine to barely able to breathe in a matter of minutes. He can hear Ron saying his name, and he realizes he’s stopped moving.

His last thought before everything goes black is of Draco, he thinks he hears Hermione's voice yelling too, bouncing off the stone walls of Hogwarts corridors.

#I’m sorry this took so forever! It got unreasonably long so I decided to split it into two part. Part two should be out soon.#harry potter #drarry #draco malfoy #drarry squad #fanfiction #writing #hc #my writing #soulmate au #ask #prompt #i wrote this all on tumblr mobile which i never do so i guess i apologize for any mistakes.#i never even write on browser so like

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eottoghe · 6 years ago

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Little Boxes - Thirteen

A Jeonghceol Domestic AU where they live in suburbia with their six year old son Chan. Jeonghan is an active member of the PTA, a soccer dad and chauffeur, and a supportive parent all around. His loving husband cares deeply for his passions and will follow him to the end of the world if it keeps him and his family happy. Follow their journey as they get caught up in fun and zany adventures when they fall outside of the guide lines of your average neighbor. Don’t really know where I’m going with this, but I want to see how many different domestic prompts I can get out of this AU before I run out of steam.

First Chapter

Previous Chapter

________________________________________________________________

It’s Monday. Chan usually doesn’t like Mondays all that much because they mean having to restart his routine of waking up too early and sitting through reading time for what seems like foreeeever. There’s no Saturday morning cartoons on Mondays and no Seungcheol-appa to cuddle with on the couch while they eat Cocoa Pebbles. But today is a special Monday. Why?

Because he is officially turning seven years old today!

He doesn't feel any different. Not yet anyway. But he's excited, nonetheless. He likes holidays. All kinds of holidays because most of them only come once a year. And this is the one time a year he gets a holiday all to himself.

At school, Jeonghan shows up right before lunch time with two rectangular boxes nestled close to his chest and a red tote bag hanging off his shoulder. The classroom instantly goes mum at the spectacle before them, thrilled whispers and inconspicuous glances being passed around the room. They know the drill.

They’re all getting really good at math so they can easily spot the solution to this equation. If they sang Happy Birthday to Chan at the start of the class and his parent comes to the classroom during lunch time, then the boxes in his hands must be cupcakes! It happens often enough for them to know, but the excitement never really wears off.

“I can help you, Mr. Choi!”

“No, me!”

“I can get the napkins!”

The kids jump at the opportunity to help hand out the goodies. It’s a great feeling because Jeonghan knows in a few years, it’ll be torture just asking for a simple chore to get done. For now, he revels in the kindness that they exude and smiles the same gentle smile that won them over during the first fundraiser event he’d helped with.

Chan gets out of his seat, running to his dad. He hugs his thighs and Jeonghan has to re-balance himself to make sure the cupcakes don’t go flying due to the sheer magnitude of the impact. Chan showing public affection? He’s put aside his childhood bravado just for this sweet moment and Jeonghan couldn’t be more soft for it.

“Please stay in your seats. I’ll choose a couple of you to hand out napkins and Mr. Choi and I will pass out the cupcakes.” Their teacher calls out to the class. Chan is reluctant to pull away but thinks about getting a red sticker on his birthday. He would hate hate hate getting a red sticker any day for not listening and even more if its on this day so he scurries off to his table and plops back down in his mustard yellow, plastic seat. He is beaming at his dad with rose dusted cheeks as his classmates say happy birthday to him and high five him from where they sit. He loves the attention even if he still gets shy sometimes.

Once they’re back settled and the two designated helpers pass out all of the napkins to each kid, Jeonghan and the teacher divide and conquer. Jeonghan was smart and decided to purchase cupcakes that were as uniform as possible. He knows how picky kids can be and wanted to avoid arguments over who got what.

Chan gets first pick though and his table is glad to have the birthday boy in their assigned group because that means they get next pick. Jeonghan and the teacher go table by table, weaving between the chattering children bouncing in their chairs. The chirped thank you’s rang out in high pitched squeals as they dug into the sugary sweet cupcakes, blue frosting staining their tongues. (Probably the best kind of treats are ones that can be shown off by their visual residue).

As they eat and talk amongst themselves, Chan’s teacher starts up a conversation with Jeonghan standing shoulder to shoulder, looking out across the classroom. “Thank you for coming in today. The kids just seem to adore you, Mr. Choi.” The teacher is a bit new and exultant in her teaching methods. She hasn’t been beaten down by the hardships that come along with the job yet so every moment she sees the kids smile is a win in her book.

“I do my best. I love kids. In another life, I could see myself as a teacher at a school like this one.” He laughs to himself thinking about how completely exhausted he’d be with small aged children filling up every corner of his life. It’s not much different from now only he doesn’t have to deal with the responsibility that accompanies teaching at a public school.

“I could see that too. Chan is always talking about you and your partner like you’re the best things that ever happened to him. We’re so lucky to have Chan and you both as his supporters. He’s got lots of friends here and he’s such a cheerful kid.”

Jeonghan, try as he may, is unable to stop the proud smile from spreading across his reddening face. He feels his ears tingle, looking at the ground to avoid the eyes of the grateful woman.

“Thank you. I feel secure with him in your care.” He nods his head in mutual appreciation. He definitely doesn’t pop in to the classroom nearly as much as he did in the beginning of the year when he couldn’t trust any teacher to govern over his one and only child for such a significant portion of the day. He thinks she’s done well.

She reminds the class that they should RSVP to Chan’s birthday party by tomorrow after Jeonghan mentions it in their casual talk. She also gives her thanks to Jeonghan for giving an invite to every kid as feeling left out in this age is such a saddening thing to see on a child’s face. Invitations were handed out a week ago and Chan was happy to report that everyone seemed eager.

They close out the mini celebration with Chan being wished happy birthday one more time in a cacophonous harmony. Jeonghan kneels and gives him a quick kiss on his forehead before the now seven-year-old decides it’s too embarrassing. The extra cupcakes are left for the other teachers Chan might want to share with and Jeonghan hands over some extra hand sanitizer bottles and tissues he bought for the classroom. The teacher thanks him once more and he’s off.

Chan still has a couple hours left of school so he decides to stop by a Michael’s craft store to avoid the drive back home just to turn around and fight traffic back. There’s still shopping to do for the vast decorations he has yet to gather. He was so inspired, he even made a moodboard from various Pinterest posts he’d come across. Chan wanted a Jurassic Park theme and it allowed Jeonghan to let his creativity set sail.

He’d picked up the plates, cups, and utensils all in a convenient party pack from Party City along with table cloths and enough supplies to craft some pretty kick ass goodie bags. What he’s most excited about though is the zookeeper outfits they’d come across. It took lots of asking around, but they’d found some. The adult size was definitely going to fit Seungcheol better than himself (He was biased. He thought Seungcheol was smoking in everything he wore), but it worked out well enough that when they all stood together, they looked like they were off on an expedition, slashing through vines and palm fronds deep in the jungle. Chan loved it (He was biased. He loved everything).

He’d also already ordered the “party hats”. Of course, they weren’t any regular party hats. If Jeonghan had been any regular person or a part of any regular family then maybe he would have done the regular thing. BUT he’s Yoon Jeonghan and decided that the “party hats” would in fact be Safari hats and made sure to order them in bulk early.

So now he’s pushing a cart through the crowded aisles of Michael’s with Jisoo balanced between his head and his shoulder, speaking animatedly through his cell phone.

“You invited the entire class and the soccer team?” Josh stresses. He wishes Jeonghan would have mentioned the number of expected guests before he signed on for this project.

“It’s not that bad. Not everyone will show up. You know how these things go.” Jeonghan shrugs his shoulder as if the other can see him, brushing off his questioning tone. He’s cutting his eyes back and forth between two very different styles of leaves. Leaves larger than his head surround him in the plastic flowers section. He picks up a handful of both under the guise that the jungle has many different types of plants. He doesn’t have to be climatically accurate. These children won’t be able to tell the difference when they’re maxed out on sugar.

“It’s Valentine’s weekend. Literally everyone is coming because parents are going to dump them for a few hours of alone time.”

“Oh… I forgot to get Valentine cards for the class. Thanx for the reminder.” Jeonghan answers, his mind drifting a few aisles down to where he remembers inflated, pink balloons and mega stuffed teddy bears. He considers getting one for Seungcheol. Seungcheol’s a lot softer than he looks.

“Hannie… This is going to be really expensive… Seungcheol does know all that you’ve planned right?”

“Yah! Stop scolding me. I’m a grown man.” Jeonghan feigns exasperation, but he bursts into a fit of giggles before he can finish. “It’s fine. I’ve been saving up. And don’t try and turn my husband against me. He’s very much so on board with me…” He mumbles after, “…sort of.”

“So on top of helping you set up, you’re calling me in to babysit too.”

“It’ll be fun. Your daughter and Chan can have a play date while we get ready and she’ll pretty much babysit herself at the party. It’ll be great.”

~~~~

Great is an understatement.

From the front of their home, much isn’t revealed to the expectant children being dropped off. In fact, the house is still difficult to find due to the 50 other ones built with the exact same model. What sets it apart are the shiny apple red and onyx black balloons tied to the mailbox and the sign hanging on the door saying, “Welcome to Jurassic Park”.

The kids are met at the door by Jeonghan (the responsible one who is actually paying attention to the doorbell) and are led through the simple living room, hopping along plastic dinosaur tracks that are set out. The sliding door leading to the backyard is opaque, covered in a dark backdrop, obscuring the view to the party happening just on the other side. But they can hear music and laughter and the anticipation balls up and rolls through their tummies.

When the door finally draws opens, it attracts them in like a beacon, beckoning forth the tiny adventurers into the wonderful world of dinosaurs. Joshua stands at the entryway with safari hats to hand out. It’s such a funny thing to see the kids blank, sensory spasms making it hard to decide what to avert their attention to first.

There’s greenery everywhere and it truly feels like their own little contained jungle. Wooden planks jut out on display with caution tape strategically draped over them; the fraying at the tips looks like they’d been ripped through. Beware posters tie in the setting.

A table is filled with snacks and foods all made to fit the theme. White chocolate covered pretzels transform into dinosaur bones, doughnut holes dusted with sugar mimic unhatched eggs. Pudding cups with dirt-like, cookie crumbles sprout miniscule palm trees and the tiniest dinosaur figurines. And there’s chicken nuggets! There’s a tyrannosaurus and brachiosaurus and some other saurus they still can’t pronounce. Seungcheol has the grill going and the smoke makes it look like a volcano has erupted in the background.

And is that… a bounce house? In the backyard?!?!

(Jeonghan may or may not have rented that one without Seungcheol’s knowledge but when the crew came knocking to set it up, there was little he could do to argue about it.)

And yes, Jeonghan will admit he outdid himself this time, but he was damn proud of his work. They all were impressed. “You should consider party planning. This looks great!”, his husband said in awe when he’d seen the finish product of Jeonghan’s creation. But with great power comes great responsibility. And responsibility brought big headaches.

The night before, he got the minimum amount of sleep preparing. Everyone helped, but once it got late, he coerced them into bed while his hyperactive, perfectionist mind fussed over the most minute details. He’d ended up finishing the goodie bags, creating labels for the food and pre-made all the snacks he could get away with. He’d hit the bed at around 4 a.m. and woke up hours later to get the backyard ready. On top of mild sleep deprivation, the inevitable over protective side of him resurfaced as the children ran freely, playing make believe. He was stressed™.

“You look like you need a nap.” Joshua sidles up next to him, poking his cheek.

“I just want everything to be perfect.” He admits with a sigh and a tired smile.

Joshua pans over the immaculate scene of their movie-set-ready layout. Seungcheol cooking on the grill as he nods along to the music, the kids—Chan cheesing so hard, letting forth such an innocent, unbridled laugh that breaks the heavens open to let pure sunlight spill down upon them.

Joshua thinks this is perfect. The party. Their family.

“You’re doing amazing. Everyone is enjoying themselves. You should too.” Joshua rubs his hand on his shoulder in a comforting manner. “I’m listening out for the door, go talk to Seungcheol and grab something to eat. Relax.”

Jeonghan takes his advice.

He opens his mouth to say something and instead gets it filled with a piece of meat hot off the grill.

“I just finished up. How’s it taste?” Seungcheol already knows the answer but asks anyway with a knowing smirk.

“It’s haa… Whew. It’s hot.” Jeonghan speaks around the beef burning his tongue. The flavor is savory, but when he says hot off the grill he means it in its entirety. “Yummy.”

Seungcheol kisses him on the cheek, pulling him into a side hug with one arm loosely around his waist.

“I can’t believe I’m really going to do this.” Seungcheol speaks after a minute of watching the kids play.

“It’s really adorable what you’re doing. They’re going to love it.”

“Sure hope so.”

“Hurry up and go! I wanna cut the cake.” He honestly doesn’t mind what time the cake gets cut. The younger brunette is finally starting to relax and knows that this portion of his day will be the most iconic. Although Jeonghan had planned the majority of this party, Seungcheol planned something of his own. And this one was a surprise.

“Oh no! Kids watch out!” Jeonghan shouts a warning to the crowd playing in the patch of grass. They all look up, startled and Jeonghan makes sure he has the camera rolling.

In less than a second, their attention focuses in on the person(?) standing by the sliding door. It’s…

A dinosaur?

They don’t move or speak for a second.

And then they hear a roar. The dinosaur darts out toward their huddle. They scatter, screaming like they’re being chased by an actual creature and not a grown man in an inflatable dinosaur suit. Screams melt into giggles and the laughter builds as the kids continue to run away from who they’ve now realized is just some clumsy person fumbling around in a costume.

Chan doesn’t know who it is until the dinosaur trips over its own feet, landing ungracefully in the grass. His yelp is distinguishable even between the screams and laughs and music.

“Daddy!” Chan runs up to the dinosaur, any possibility of him being afraid flying out the window. By the time Seungcheol finds his way back up, Chan runs into his legs with a tight hold. It sends the dinosaur back to the ground and soon all the kids are piling up on the lump of dino dad roaring unconvincingly.

Joshua and Jeonghan stand by each other, every single second of it caught on video. They’re holding their stomachs with how hard they’re laughing. He imagines this being one of those clips that end up on AFV.

It takes a while to get everyone to calm down. Eventually, they make it to the table to eat and sing happy birthday and share slices of cake. Pictures were taken. So many pictures. And the night ends with children slowly being picked up while they cuddle around the couch and watch the latest Jurassic World movie.

Right before Chan falls asleep, he pulls both of his dads in for a hug, an arm around the neck of each.

“Thank you for the best day ever.” He yawns with the same smile he’s adorned all day. Truly, it hasn’t left his face once.

Jeonghan thinks he can finally rest now. A successful weekend it was.

~~~

Finally got to posting the birthday chapter on here. Tumblr has... changed? There’s not a function to add a line to separate things anymore??? Oof. I’m on twitter now :) @eottoghe

#jeongcheol #seungcheol #jeonghan #coupshan #seunghan #dino #lee chan #fanfic #seventeen

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extrasteps · 7 years ago

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Cold Little Heart

For @bisexualmctatenski Thiam Secret Santa

Written for @laugers

She gave me the prompt: I would love to see something to Cold Little Heart by Michael Kiwanuka. (I know it’s angsty, but i love angst sorry aksdgsbn)

Merry Christmas Yana!!!! Welcome to the angst fest, I hope you enjoy it <3

Scott, Stiles, Lydia, Malia, Derek, Peter, Jackson, Ethan, Hayden, the entire McCall Pack, were all gone. Off to college, or a job, or just travelling, to all the corners of the world

The only line of protection left in Beacon Hills was a beta werewolf with IED, a chameleon chimera, and a human with a misshapen bat. To be fair, most days it was enough. The Dread Doctors were gone. The Ghost Riders were gone. The Anuk-ite was gone. No supernatural being was quite willing to risk it, these days.

But for Liam it was still hard work, keeping the hunters at bay while trying to maintain his GPA and lacrosse captaincy. If there was just someone else to help out with patrols, maybe it would not be so hard, but there was no one else.

Every now and again Liam thought about Theo, had wondered what he was up to, finger hovering over the call button, staring at his name. But every time he had slowly lowered his phone and put it back in his pocket, something stopping him from reaching out.

Theo had been through so much, and though he was no longer pretending to be the embodiment of pure evil, he had left, claiming that he had needed some time to get his head screwed on right.

Now, though, Liam did not have the luxury of giving Theo space.

The phone rang four times before it picked up. “Hey Liam.”

“Theo,” Liam said urgently. “I need your help.”

He heard the sound of the truck starting up in the background. “Text me the address,” Theo instructed, and then hung up. Liam pulled the phone away from his ear, mouth gaping open. That was it? No ifs, buts or maybes? Just, text me the address?

Liam shot off the text and paced as he waited for Theo to arrive.

Five minutes later Theo pulled up in front of him, and Liam jumped into the passenger seat.

“What happened?” Theo asked.

“Hunters. They took Corey and Mason,” Liam said, putting his seatbelt on.

“Where are we going?” Theo asked.

Liam pulled out his phone, showing Theo the address that the hunters had texted him. Theo put it into his GPS and took off. “You know it’s a trap, right?” Liam said.

“Of course it is,” Theo said grimly. “We can handle it.”

Liam stared at him, taking in the minute changes from the past few months. His hair was longer, curling around the nape of his neck. Theo brushed at it impatiently, pushing it out of his face. He had stubble, like he had not shaved for at least a week. It made him look older. He was also wearing a brown leather jacket that looked fairly new, and dark jeans.

He looked healthy, rested.

The last time Liam had seen Theo he had looked pale, with dark bruises under his eyes from lack of sleep. Something had been haunting him, but he had never talked about it, and Liam had never asked.

Liam had been afraid that Theo dying was becoming unavoidable with the way he had thrown himself into fight after fight, with no care for his own wellbeing and no sense of self-preservation. He had lost count of the amount of wounds Theo had taken for him. He had been heartily sick of seeing the chimera bleed for him.

He had been sad to see Theo go, but now that he was looking at him and could see how it had helped, he knew it had been the right decision.

“I missed you,” he said suddenly. Theo’s hands tightened on the steering wheel and then relaxed.

“Yeah?” He asked.

“I nearly called so many times,” Liam said, looking away, a light blush dusting his cheeks.

“I wouldn’t have minded,” Theo smiled.

“Oh,” Liam said, feeling foolish. “I didn’t want to disturb you.”

“Liam,” Theo scolded, glancing at him and then back at the road. “Why would you think that?”

“I know you needed to leave, needed some space,” Liam said quietly, biting his lip.

“Not from you,” Theo said softly. “From the fighting, from the nightmares, from the pain.”

“Pretty well sums up my life these days,” Liam said bitterly. Theo pulled over and looked at Liam sharply, eyes intense as he looked Liam up and down, leaning closer to inhale his scent, sifting and categorising his emotions.

“Maybe I should have taken you with me,” he said after a moment. Liam’s heart thudded, and he ducked his head.

“You look great,” Liam said after a moment of gathering himself. “You have to tell me your secret.”

“Get the hell out of dodge,” Theo said simply, still watching him. Liam looked everywhere but at Theo.

“That’s not really possible. Scott left me in charge.”

“Fuck Scott,” Theo said, raising an eyebrow at him. “You have to look after yourself. Let him worry about guarding the nemeton.”

“Tempting,” Liam sighed, staring out the window.

“He’s the alpha,” Theo said, grabbing his arm and making him turn to look at him. “It’s his problem, not yours.”

“He trusts me,” Liam said, his eyes pleading with Theo, begging him to understand. He could not just disappoint his alpha.

“Fuck this,” Theo growled, dropping his arm. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and started a video call, tapping his finger on the steering wheel while it rang.

“Theo?” Scott said, his face scrunched up in confusion as he answered the call.

“Scott,” Theo said, nodding at him. “We need to have a chat.”

“What’s going on?” He asked, eyes sharp.

“Your little beta is working himself to the bone looking after this fucking town, and it needs to stop,” Theo said. He glared at Scott, jaw set in a determined manner.

“What are you talking about?” Scott asked. Theo turned the camera on Liam so that Scott could see him.

“Hey Scott,” Liam said quietly, lower lip wobbling at the concern in Scott’s eyes as he searched Liam’s face.

“Liam, what- why didn’t you tell me?” Scott asked.

“I didn’t want to let you down,” Liam said, shifting in his seat.

“Theo,” Scott growled. “Why didn’t you tell me it was getting this bad?”

Theo turned the camera back on himself, suddenly looking guilty. “I didn’t know. I haven’t been around for awhile. I was dealing with my own shit, putting myself back together. I was a fucking mess.”

“It’s true,” Liam agreed. “And I didn’t call him.”

“You guys should have been looking out for each other,” Scott sighed. “You’re pack. And Liam, I told you to call me if you needed help.”

“I thought I could handle it,” Liam muttered.

“So, what’s going on right now?” Scott asked. Liam and Theo jumped, remembering their purpose. Theo handed Liam the phone so that the beta could talk to Scott while he drove.

“The hunters have captured Mason and Corey, they texted me an address. I called Theo to help,” Liam explained.

“How many hunters?” Scott asked.

“I have no idea,” Liam said, shaking his head. “I didn’t even know they were gone until they didn’t show up for school and I got the message.”

“Alright,” Scott said, going into alpha mode. “Text me the address they sent you. I’ll get Argent to back you up. Derek’s not too far away either, so I’ll see if he can get there in time to help you. Can’t hurt to let the Sheriff know, too.”

“Ok,” Liam nodded.

“And Liam?” Scott said. “Be careful, both of you. Look out for each other.”

“We will,” Liam nodded.

“We’ll talk about the other thing once Mason and Corey are safe, I promise,” Scott said. Liam nodded, giving him a weak smile.

“Bye,” Liam said.

“We’ll talk soon,” Scott promised, ending the call.

Liam sent the text and then handed Theo his phone back. He leaned back into the chair, sighing.

“That wasn’t so bad, was it?” Theo asked, glancing at him.

“I suppose,” Liam said, fidgeting in his chair. He felt raw, exposed. There was nothing he hated more than feeling like a disappointment.

“Hey,” Theo said, shaking him out of his reverie. “You have nothing to feel bad about. It’s ok to need some time to look after yourself. Do you feel like I let anyone down because I had to leave for a bit?”

“No,” Liam responded, shaking his head vehemently.

“Then why is it different for you?” Theo said gently.

“I don’t know, it just is,” Liam growled.

“Look, Liam, you and I, we make a pretty good team. We’re gonna go to this stupid little hunter base, kick some ass and save Mason and Corey,” Theo said, determination shining in his eyes as he glanced at Liam. “And then after that, I’m taking you on a fucking holiday.”

“A holiday?” Liam asked, his lips twitching into a smile.

“Yep, wherever you wanna go,” Theo said.

“I have school, and lacrosse,” Liam pointed out.

“Who cares? The way you look, I doubt you’ve been excelling at either recently,” Theo said, raising an eyebrow at him.

“That’s true,” Liam admitted, his shoulders slumping. He had been so tired, always falling asleep in class and forgetting about assignments, and Coach was starting to threaten his captaincy if there was no improvement in his effort in the games and at training.

“One week off won’t hurt,” Theo said with a shrug. “Then you’ll be back, good as new, and you can go back to being Liam Dunbar, history nerd and superstar athlete,” he said with a mocking grin.

Liam rolled his eyes. “Yeah, whatever, let’s just focus on finding Mason and Corey.”

“For now,” Theo said, smirking at him.

***

They pulled up about a kilometre away from the address that had been given to Liam and got out of the truck. They were on the very edge of Beacon Hills, where there was mostly old farmsteads and shacks.

“We’ll go cross-country,” Liam said.

“Avoiding the roads,” Theo nodded. “Good idea.”

Liam set off, checking Google Maps on his phone periodically to make sure he was heading in the right direction.

“I think that’s it,” he whispered to Theo.

Ahead of them was a huge barn, with at least four or five cars and trucks parked in front of it.

“That’s a lot of hunters,” Theo said, narrowing his eyes as he counted heartbeats. “At least seven, if we assume that two heartbeats belong to Mason and Corey.”

“They’re definitely here,” Liam said, scenting the air. “I can smell them.”

“We should wait for Argent,” Theo said.

“Yeah, let’s go around the back and see if we can pick any off while we wait,” Liam said.

“Bloodthirsty,” Theo smirked. Liam rolled his eyes, walking away, Theo following him.

They made sure to stay out of sight, eyes glowing and ears peeled for the slightest noise. They could easily have placed sentries and traps in the trees. If they were hunters worth a damn then it was almost inevitable.

Theo’s phone buzzed just as they reached the other side.

“Argent says he’s ten minutes away,” Theo whispered, showing the text to Liam.

“Perfect,” Liam said. “If we get caught, he can bail us out,”

He went to step forwards, but Theo held him back. “You’re being reckless, why?”

“Those are my best friends in there,” Liam growled.

“Getting yourself killed won’t help anyone,” Theo said, eyes narrowed in anger.

“I don’t care about that,” Liam said dismissively. “As long as they’re ok, it doesn’t matter if I get hurt.”

“It does fucking matter,” Theo snarled, shoving him against a tree, his hands bunched in Liam’s jacket. Liam struggled, trying to get away, but Theo was a lot healthier than him at the moment, whereas Liam was running on three hours of sleep and a protein bar.

“What do you care?” He muttered.

“Of course I fucking care,” Theo hissed.

“You left,” Liam said, looking at him, his eyes finally showing the pain he had been swallowing down for months.

“I needed to,” Theo said, his hands soothing down Liam’s chest. “But I would have come back in a heartbeat if you asked me to.”

Liam stared at him, mouth gaping open like a fish. “Why?”

“You’re so fucking dense,” Theo scowled. And then he was leaning forwards and kissing him with all the passion he could muster. It lasted for maybe ten seconds, and then he pulled away. Liam gasped for breath, feeling like he had run a marathon.

“Oh,” Liam said, one hand reaching up to rub at his sensitive lips.

“No suicide missions,” Theo growled, turning away and walking a bit closer to the barn.

“Ok,” Liam whispered, following after a few moments.

On this side of the barn, they could see an open door. From it they could hear the low hum of conversation, though they could not pick out individual words.

“We just need to wait a few more minutes,” Theo said in a low voice. “Argent is nearly here.”

“I don’t know if I can,” Liam said, restless, his eyes intent on the barn, fangs bared, claws digging into his palms. It was like the closer he got to the barn, the less control he had. Theo grabbed his hand, soothing his thumb over Liam’s palm, rubbing small circles.

“They’ll be fine,” Theo said quietly.

Liam took a deep, shaky breath and nodded.

They watched the barn. There was no movement inside, only the hum of conversation and nine steady heartbeats. Liam jumped when Argent seemed to materialise beside him.

“This is the address they sent you?” He asked. Liam confirmed with a nod.

“It’s a fake,” Argent said.

“How can you tell?” Theo asked urgently.

“I can see the flicker of the TV through the door,” Argent said, pointing. “Which accounts for the conversation. They probably have something rigged to play heartbeats.”

“I can smell them,” Liam said, frustration seeping into his tone.

“Oh they were here at some point, definitely,” Argent agreed. “But it’s just a giant trap. I can tell you that as soon as you touch that door handle, something would explode.”

“So if they’re not here, then where are they?” Liam growled.

“Somewhere close enough that they would hear the explosion, but not so close that you could hear or smell them,” Argent mused.

Liam pulled out his phone, checking the surrounding properties on Google Maps. Argent and Theo looked over his shoulder.

“That one, maybe,” Argent said, tapping the screen. It showed a large farmstead a few kilometres away.

“Alright, let’s go check it out,” Theo said.

“What do we do about the barn?” Liam asked. “Do we just leave it?”

Argent frowned. “I’m not sure. On the one hand, if they don’t hear anything they’ll be suspicious, but on the other hand, they might just kill Mason and Corey if they think they managed to kill you.”

They all paused as the heard the sound of a vehicle pulling up, circling back around the house, they saw that it was Parrish and Stilinski.

“Hey,” Argent said, moving forwards and waving, getting their attention.

They met halfway, and Argent relayed what they had discovered.

“I’ll get the bomb squad in,” Stilinski said with a scowl, pulling out his walkie talkie and barking orders into it.

“I guess that answers that question,” Theo shrugged.

“I’ll go with you guys,” Parrish said.

“Alright,” Argent nodded. “Let’s go.”

The four of them headed out, following Liam’s phone to the new destination. After half an hour of light jogging, Liam picked up Mason and Corey’s scent again.

“I can smell them,” he said quietly, stopping as he inhaled deeply.

“I can too,” Theo said, standing beside him.

“We must be getting close,” Argent said grimly. “Keep an eye out for traps.”

They fanned out, moving through the forest carefully. Liam stepped carefully over a hidden bear trap, having spotted a glint of metal just in time.

“Careful,” Theo warned, his eyes sharp as he glared at Liam.

“I know,” he said.

He was hyper aware of the chimera as he continued to track through the forest, his spicy scent swirling around him, intoxicating him. His lips still tingled from where Theo had kissed him, and he licked his lips, chasing the taste. Theo’s heart jumped and LIam turned to see him staring at LIam’s lips, eyes wide.

“Pay attention,” Liam scolded.

Theo jumped, startled. “Right,” he muttered, turning away. Liam smirked. At least Theo was just as affected as he was.

The four of them circled around the homestead. There were two hunters standing at the front door, large guns held in their hands lightly as they talked in low voices. Liam sent out his senses, trying to tell how many hunters there were. There had been a lot of cars back at the abandoned warehouse, and there was no telling how many people they had packed into each car.

“Four maybe,” Theo whispered, “or five?”

“The rest must be in the woods then,” Liam whispered back.

Suddenly, they heard a voice cry out in pain and rage flooded through Liam immediately. He barrelled towards the house, fangs bared.

“Liam,” Theo whispered angrily.

“That’s Mason,” he cried out. He paused just out of sight of the house and Theo ran towards him, fisting a hand in the back of his shirt.

They tilted their heads, listening.

“No, please,” they heard Corey beg. “He’s human, leave him alone.”

“Theo, let me go,” Liam snarled.

“You’ll get yourself killed,” Theo snapped.

“Mason won’t heal, I will,” he pointed out, straining forwards.

“Liam,” Theo said softly.

“Yeah, yeah, I know, you’re not dying for me,” Liam said, eyes glowing gold as they focussed on the house with a single minded intensity.

“You fucking idiot,” Theo growled. “I was lying, obviously. I’d do anything for you, up to and including dying.”

“What?” Liam said, whirling around finally.

“Was it not clear before?” Theo rolled his eyes. “I’m head over heels in love with you.”

Liam’s mouth gaped open.

“Who are you and what did you do with Theo Raeken?”

“He went on holiday for two months and realised a few things,” Theo shrugged.

Another scream echoed through the forest and Liam flinched.

“I have to,” he said, eyes pleading with Theo. His heart sank as he stared into Theo’s eyes, a horrible sense of wrongness and fear lancing through him. Why did he feel like this was the last time he would ever see him?

“Ok,” Theo whispered, letting his hand drop. Liam was gone before his hand even fell to his side, a sense of loss settling inside him. The last thing he wanted to do was turn away from Theo, but Mason needed him.

He was on the two hunters before they could even turn, let alone raise their weapons. Liam tried to dispatch them quietly, but the second guy yelled as Liam punched him and his gun clattered to the ground. Shouts could be heard from inside, and Liam burst through the door, roaring his fury.

Three hunters rose to their feet from the lounge room, turning to stare at him, eyes narrowed as they cocked their weapons. Liam’s eyes flashed.

“Kill them,” one of the hunters yelled.

Mason’s screams increased and rage and adrenaline blinded him. And then Theo was there, shoving him towards the hallway as he bared his fangs at the three hunters.

“Liam, go,” Theo roared.

Liam stumbled as he heard gunshots behind him and Theo’s pained grunt but he ran on, kicking down the first door he came across.

He came to a stop as he saw a hunter with a blade held against Mason’s throat, beady eyes fixed on Liam.

“One more step, wolf boy, and he dies,” he spat out.

Liam glanced at Corey, who was chained against the wall, tears streaming down his cheeks. He looked untouched, but Mason, Mason was a wreck. He was tied up in a chair, his clothes ripped and torn, rope burns clear on his wrists and legs. One eye was closed over, an ugly black bruise surrounding it. There were shallow cuts up and down his arms, oozing blood that dripped and lay in a pool at his feet. From the amount of it, it was clear that this torture had been going on for hours.

“Liam,” he whispered, his breath coming out of him in shaky pants.

Suddenly, his rage cleared, and he saw with perfect clarity. The man’s arm tensed, and a rivulet of blood leaked onto the knife, and then Liam was wrenching him away, shoving him up against the wall.

“I’ll kill you,” he said in a low voice, eyes sparking with the promise of death and destruction. “I’ll fucking kill you for what you did to my friend.”

“You can’t kill him,” Parrish said from the door, gun levelled at Liam’s back.

“Look at him, Parrish,” Liam said. “They did that, to a human.”

“And he’ll be going to jail for a very long time,” Parrish promised, “but I’m not gonna go and let a kid become a killer over it.”

“He’s not a kid,” the hunter muttered. “He’s a fucking monster.”

“You’re the monster,” Liam hissed, the hunter groaning as he pressed his head into the wall. One little push, and his skull would split open like a watermelon. His wolf snarled, begging for violence and blood.

“Liam,” Parrish warned.

“He deserves to die.”

“Yes, but you don’t deserve to kill him,” the hellhound said in a gentle voice. He stepped closer, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Let him go.”

“Liam, please,” Corey begged.

Liam closed his eyes, trying to get himself under control. He let the hunter drop and took a step back. Parrish pushed past him and wrapped the hunter in handcuffs, hauling him back up to his feet.

Walking over to Corey, he ripped the chains from him, and the other boy fell to his knees in front of Mason, crying as he brushed a hand over his cheek and took his pain. He pressed his forehead against Mason’s, whispering his name.

“Come on,” Parrish muttered. “Theo needs you.”

“What?” Liam said, eyes widening as he whirled to look at Parrish.

“He’s hurt,” the hellhound said.

The gunshots, the pained grunt, Liam realised. They’re hunters, they would have been poisoned bullets.

He rushed from the room and almost skidded on his knees as he fell to Theo’s side. Hands shaking, he ran them down Theo’s chest.

Theo’s eyes were closed, a thin layer of sweat beading his pale skin, barely breathing. Blood pooled underneath him, soaking into Liam’s jeans. So much blood.

“Theo,” he whispered. “Theo wake up, look at me.”

“I’m sorry,” Theo muttered, a frown creasing his face, his eyes still closed. Liam carded his hands through Theo’s hair, pulling him up and into his lap. Theo whimpered, and Liam pressed a hand to his cheek, pulling away the pain in thick black bands. Tears welled in his eyes, dripping down his cheeks and landing on Theo’s face. His vision blurred and he bit through his lip, holding in his sobs, but they wracked his body anyway, making him shake.

Liam kept watch over him, leaching his pain, listening to his weak heartbeat flutter in his chest, staring down at his lips to make sure he was breathing. When the ambulance finally arrived, Theo already looked like he had one foot in the grave. The paramedics lifted him onto a gurney and took him away, and Liam stayed in the same spot as the sound of sirens echoed and then drew away.

There was so much blood.

“They took Mason as well,” Argent informed him, pulling him to his feet. “You need to get cleaned up so that we can go to the hospital.”

“I can’t,” Liam said, eyes still glued to the puddle of blood.

Guilt wracked his body. Theo had been safe, had gotten away from all this supernatural bullshit, until Liam had called him. He had looked so healthy and happy, but now all he could think of was the pale, gaunt look of death shadowing his face. What if he didn’t make it? Theo had told him he loved him, and Liam hadn’t said it back, had abandoned him to save Mason. And mason, he would never have been tortured if he wasn’t friends with Liam.

“This is my fault,” he whispered.

“No, Liam, it’s not,” Argent said firmly, shaking him. “Snap out of it, kid.”

“My fault.”

“I’ll take him,” Parrish said.

They bundled him into the cruiser. Parrish must have gone to fetch it. In the back was the hunter. Argent was keeping watch over the others while they waited for the Sheriff. He laughed, fingers curled into the bars of the cage that separated them.

“Only good wolf is a dead one,” he whispered gleefully.

Liam ignored him, staring down at his hands, covered in blood. It was all he could smell, the metallic tang of Theo’s blood, soaking into the fabric of his jeans.

***

His mother screamed when she opened the front door.

“What happened?” She shrieked, pulling him into a bear hug, staring over his shoulder at Parrish.

“A friend of Liam’s was shot. He’s at the hospital,” he explained.

There was more conversation but Liam tuned it out. It didn’t feel real, like he was disconnected. At some point someone stripped off his clothes and shoved him under the hot spray of water. He stared down at the drain blankly as red swirled through the water and down the drain.

The water shut off and he was wrapped in a towel. He should be embarrassed that someone was drying him off and dressing him, but he felt numb.

He laid in his bed and stared at the ceiling, his mind empty.

Houses flash past as he stared out the window of the car. Someone was saying his name but it echoed, like he was hearing them down a tunnel, making his ears ring.

One foot in front of the other, and finally there are signs of life as he halted at the door, pushing back against the hand guiding him. He doesn’t want to go in that room, doesn’t want to see Theo with a million tubes pouring from his body, keeping him alive. He had heard enough to know that Theo wasn’t healing, that he was in a coma and that there was nothing anyone could do now but wait, wait and see.

“Liam,” Corey whispered from inside the room.

He closed his eyes, taking a shuddering breath and then stepping through the door.

“How is he?” He asked, his voice hoarse, eyes clenched shut. It’s his fault, his fault, his fault, and he didn’t want to see.

“No change,” Corey said. “Liam, it wasn’t your fault.”

“Yes, it was,” he said quietly. How could they even look at him? How could they stand to look at him? It was his fault, they were hurt because of him, because of what he was.

“No,” Mason croaked. Liam’s eyes flew open, seeing Mason lying in the bed, staring at him. He focused on him, ignoring the other occupant of the room lying unmoving on his bed.

“Mason,” he said, moving to his bedside. “How do you feel?”

“Between the drugs and Corey, not much,” Mason muttered, speaking slowly. Corey ran a hand through his hair, smiling weakly down at his boyfriend.

“I’m sorry,” Liam said, eyes downcast as he stared at his clenched fists. He had washed his hands so many times, but he could still feel Theo’s blood under his nails, still see the blood coating them, pooling on the floor at his knees. It haunted him.

“Nothing to be sorry for, you saved us,” Mason said, coughing at the end of the sentence. Corey hushed him, helping him sit up and sip at a cup of water he held to his lips.

“Sit with him,” Corey said quietly, looking at Liam. “He’d like that.”

Liam nodded, the numb feeling rising in his chest again as he moved over to finally look at Theo.

He was still pale, with tubes down his nose, the machine rattling with each breath. There was a large drip attached to a needle in his wrist. A grey clamp around one of his fingers lead to a machine that measured his heart rate, beeping with every pulse of blood that ran through his body. Another machine monitored his brain activity, wires connected to his temples with small round white patches. He looked away from it, swallowing past the lump in his chest, unable to stare at the thin wavy line.

Lying over the top of it all was the scent of bleach, a sickening sweet sour smell that burned at his nostrils.

Liam sat down in the chair at his bedside, his legs shaking, unable to hold him up a moment longer. It didn’t look like Theo. Didn’t smell like him. This was a stranger lying in front of him. His wolf whined in his chest, unnerved.

Reaching out, he took Theo’s hand in his. The skin was cool to the touch, his hand limp. Despair flooded him.

“Please don’t die for me,” he whispered helplessly. “Theo.”

The only response was silence, that and the sound of the machines keeping him alive.

Liam bowed his head, resting it against Theo’s hand, praying to any god that was listening, begging, pleading.

Save him, save him and I’ll do anything.

His chest cracked open, his heart cold as it law open, raw, exposed.

Please.

He had to tell Theo, tell him that he was sorry, tell him that he loved him too, tell him that he needed Theo just as much as Theo needed him, tell him that he wanted nothing more than to drive off into the sunset with him and never ever return.

But now, now he may never get that chance.

He pressed his lips to Theo’s hand, and waited.

Scott, Stiles, Lydia, Malia, Derek, Peter, Jackson, Ethan, Hayden, the entire McCall Pack, were all gone. Off to college, or a job, or just travelling, to all the corners of the world

Theo had been through so much, and though he was no longer pretending to be the embodiment of pure evil, he had left, claiming that he had needed some time to get his head screwed on right.

Now, though, Liam did not have the luxury of giving Theo space.

The phone rang four times before it picked up. “Hey Liam.”

“Theo,” Liam said urgently. “I need your help.”

Liam shot off the text and paced as he waited for Theo to arrive.

Five minutes later Theo pulled up in front of him, and Liam jumped into the passenger seat.

“What happened?” Theo asked.

“Hunters. They took Corey and Mason,” Liam said, putting his seatbelt on.

“Where are we going?” Theo asked.

Liam pulled out his phone, showing Theo the address that the hunters had texted him. Theo put it into his GPS and took off. “You know it’s a trap, right?” Liam said.

“Of course it is,” Theo said grimly. “We can handle it.”

He looked healthy, rested.

The last time Liam had seen Theo he had looked pale, with dark bruises under his eyes from lack of sleep. Something had been haunting him, but he had never talked about it, and Liam had never asked.

He had been sad to see Theo go, but now that he was looking at him and could see how it had helped, he knew it had been the right decision.

“I missed you,” he said suddenly. Theo’s hands tightened on the steering wheel and then relaxed.

“Yeah?” He asked.

“I nearly called so many times,” Liam said, looking away, a light blush dusting his cheeks.

“I wouldn’t have minded,” Theo smiled.

“Oh,” Liam said, feeling foolish. “I didn’t want to disturb you.”

“Liam,” Theo scolded, glancing at him and then back at the road. “Why would you think that?”

“I know you needed to leave, needed some space,” Liam said quietly, biting his lip.

“Not from you,” Theo said softly. “From the fighting, from the nightmares, from the pain.”

“Maybe I should have taken you with me,” he said after a moment. Liam’s heart thudded, and he ducked his head.

“You look great,” Liam said after a moment of gathering himself. “You have to tell me your secret.”

“Get the hell out of dodge,” Theo said simply, still watching him. Liam looked everywhere but at Theo.

“That’s not really possible. Scott left me in charge.”

“Fuck Scott,” Theo said, raising an eyebrow at him. “You have to look after yourself. Let him worry about guarding the nemeton.”

“Tempting,” Liam sighed, staring out the window.

“He’s the alpha,” Theo said, grabbing his arm and making him turn to look at him. “It’s his problem, not yours.”

“He trusts me,” Liam said, his eyes pleading with Theo, begging him to understand. He could not just disappoint his alpha.

“Fuck this,” Theo growled, dropping his arm. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and started a video call, tapping his finger on the steering wheel while it rang.

“Theo?” Scott said, his face scrunched up in confusion as he answered the call.

“Scott,” Theo said, nodding at him. “We need to have a chat.”

“What’s going on?” He asked, eyes sharp.

“Your little beta is working himself to the bone looking after this fucking town, and it needs to stop,” Theo said. He glared at Scott, jaw set in a determined manner.

“What are you talking about?” Scott asked. Theo turned the camera on Liam so that Scott could see him.

“Hey Scott,” Liam said quietly, lower lip wobbling at the concern in Scott’s eyes as he searched Liam’s face.

“Liam, what- why didn’t you tell me?” Scott asked.

“I didn’t want to let you down,” Liam said, shifting in his seat.

“Theo,” Scott growled. “Why didn’t you tell me it was getting this bad?”

“It’s true,” Liam agreed. “And I didn’t call him.”

“You guys should have been looking out for each other,” Scott sighed. “You’re pack. And Liam, I told you to call me if you needed help.”

“I thought I could handle it,” Liam muttered.

“So, what’s going on right now?” Scott asked. Liam and Theo jumped, remembering their purpose. Theo handed Liam the phone so that the beta could talk to Scott while he drove.

“The hunters have captured Mason and Corey, they texted me an address. I called Theo to help,” Liam explained.

“How many hunters?” Scott asked.

“I have no idea,” Liam said, shaking his head. “I didn’t even know they were gone until they didn’t show up for school and I got the message.”

“Ok,” Liam nodded.

“And Liam?” Scott said. “Be careful, both of you. Look out for each other.”

“We will,” Liam nodded.

“We’ll talk about the other thing once Mason and Corey are safe, I promise,” Scott said. Liam nodded, giving him a weak smile.

“Bye,” Liam said.

“We’ll talk soon,” Scott promised, ending the call.

Liam sent the text and then handed Theo his phone back. He leaned back into the chair, sighing.

“That wasn’t so bad, was it?” Theo asked, glancing at him.

“I suppose,” Liam said, fidgeting in his chair. He felt raw, exposed. There was nothing he hated more than feeling like a disappointment.

“No,” Liam responded, shaking his head vehemently.

“Then why is it different for you?” Theo said gently.

“I don’t know, it just is,” Liam growled.

“A holiday?” Liam asked, his lips twitching into a smile.

“Yep, wherever you wanna go,” Theo said.

“I have school, and lacrosse,” Liam pointed out.

“Who cares? The way you look, I doubt you’ve been excelling at either recently,” Theo said, raising an eyebrow at him.

Liam rolled his eyes. “Yeah, whatever, let’s just focus on finding Mason and Corey.”

“For now,” Theo said, smirking at him.

***

“We’ll go cross-country,” Liam said.

“Avoiding the roads,” Theo nodded. “Good idea.”

Liam set off, checking Google Maps on his phone periodically to make sure he was heading in the right direction.

“I think that’s it,” he whispered to Theo.

Ahead of them was a huge barn, with at least four or five cars and trucks parked in front of it.

“That’s a lot of hunters,” Theo said, narrowing his eyes as he counted heartbeats. “At least seven, if we assume that two heartbeats belong to Mason and Corey.”

“They’re definitely here,” Liam said, scenting the air. “I can smell them.”

“We should wait for Argent,” Theo said.

“Yeah, let’s go around the back and see if we can pick any off while we wait,” Liam said.

“Bloodthirsty,” Theo smirked. Liam rolled his eyes, walking away, Theo following him.

Theo’s phone buzzed just as they reached the other side.

“Argent says he’s ten minutes away,” Theo whispered, showing the text to Liam.

“Perfect,” Liam said. “If we get caught, he can bail us out,”

He went to step forwards, but Theo held him back. “You’re being reckless, why?”

“Those are my best friends in there,” Liam growled.

“Getting yourself killed won’t help anyone,” Theo said, eyes narrowed in anger.

“I don’t care about that,” Liam said dismissively. “As long as they’re ok, it doesn’t matter if I get hurt.”

“What do you care?” He muttered.

“Of course I fucking care,” Theo hissed.

“You left,” Liam said, looking at him, his eyes finally showing the pain he had been swallowing down for months.

“I needed to,” Theo said, his hands soothing down Liam’s chest. “But I would have come back in a heartbeat if you asked me to.”

Liam stared at him, mouth gaping open like a fish. “Why?”

“Oh,” Liam said, one hand reaching up to rub at his sensitive lips.

“No suicide missions,” Theo growled, turning away and walking a bit closer to the barn.

“Ok,” Liam whispered, following after a few moments.

On this side of the barn, they could see an open door. From it they could hear the low hum of conversation, though they could not pick out individual words.

“We just need to wait a few more minutes,” Theo said in a low voice. “Argent is nearly here.”

“They’ll be fine,” Theo said quietly.

Liam took a deep, shaky breath and nodded.

They watched the barn. There was no movement inside, only the hum of conversation and nine steady heartbeats. Liam jumped when Argent seemed to materialise beside him.

“This is the address they sent you?” He asked. Liam confirmed with a nod.

“It’s a fake,” Argent said.

“How can you tell?” Theo asked urgently.

“I can see the flicker of the TV through the door,” Argent said, pointing. “Which accounts for the conversation. They probably have something rigged to play heartbeats.”

“I can smell them,” Liam said, frustration seeping into his tone.

“Oh they were here at some point, definitely,” Argent agreed. “But it’s just a giant trap. I can tell you that as soon as you touch that door handle, something would explode.”

“So if they’re not here, then where are they?” Liam growled.

“Somewhere close enough that they would hear the explosion, but not so close that you could hear or smell them,” Argent mused.

Liam pulled out his phone, checking the surrounding properties on Google Maps. Argent and Theo looked over his shoulder.

“That one, maybe,” Argent said, tapping the screen. It showed a large farmstead a few kilometres away.

“Alright, let’s go check it out,” Theo said.

“What do we do about the barn?” Liam asked. “Do we just leave it?”

They all paused as the heard the sound of a vehicle pulling up, circling back around the house, they saw that it was Parrish and Stilinski.

“Hey,” Argent said, moving forwards and waving, getting their attention.

They met halfway, and Argent relayed what they had discovered.

“I’ll get the bomb squad in,” Stilinski said with a scowl, pulling out his walkie talkie and barking orders into it.

“I guess that answers that question,” Theo shrugged.

“I’ll go with you guys,” Parrish said.

“Alright,” Argent nodded. “Let’s go.”

The four of them headed out, following Liam’s phone to the new destination. After half an hour of light jogging, Liam picked up Mason and Corey’s scent again.

“I can smell them,” he said quietly, stopping as he inhaled deeply.

“I can too,” Theo said, standing beside him.

“We must be getting close,” Argent said grimly. “Keep an eye out for traps.”

They fanned out, moving through the forest carefully. Liam stepped carefully over a hidden bear trap, having spotted a glint of metal just in time.

“Careful,” Theo warned, his eyes sharp as he glared at Liam.

“I know,” he said.

“Pay attention,” Liam scolded.

Theo jumped, startled. “Right,” he muttered, turning away. Liam smirked. At least Theo was just as affected as he was.

“Four maybe,” Theo whispered, “or five?”

“The rest must be in the woods then,” Liam whispered back.

Suddenly, they heard a voice cry out in pain and rage flooded through Liam immediately. He barrelled towards the house, fangs bared.

“Liam,” Theo whispered angrily.

“That’s Mason,” he cried out. He paused just out of sight of the house and Theo ran towards him, fisting a hand in the back of his shirt.

They tilted their heads, listening.

“No, please,” they heard Corey beg. “He’s human, leave him alone.”

“Theo, let me go,” Liam snarled.

“You’ll get yourself killed,” Theo snapped.

“Mason won’t heal, I will,” he pointed out, straining forwards.

“Liam,” Theo said softly.

“Yeah, yeah, I know, you’re not dying for me,” Liam said, eyes glowing gold as they focussed on the house with a single minded intensity.

“You fucking idiot,” Theo growled. “I was lying, obviously. I’d do anything for you, up to and including dying.”

“What?” Liam said, whirling around finally.

“Was it not clear before?” Theo rolled his eyes. “I’m head over heels in love with you.”

Liam’s mouth gaped open.

“Who are you and what did you do with Theo Raeken?”

“He went on holiday for two months and realised a few things,” Theo shrugged.

Another scream echoed through the forest and Liam flinched.

Three hunters rose to their feet from the lounge room, turning to stare at him, eyes narrowed as they cocked their weapons. Liam’s eyes flashed.

“Kill them,” one of the hunters yelled.

Mason’s screams increased and rage and adrenaline blinded him. And then Theo was there, shoving him towards the hallway as he bared his fangs at the three hunters.

“Liam, go,” Theo roared.

Liam stumbled as he heard gunshots behind him and Theo’s pained grunt but he ran on, kicking down the first door he came across.

He came to a stop as he saw a hunter with a blade held against Mason’s throat, beady eyes fixed on Liam.

“One more step, wolf boy, and he dies,” he spat out.

“Liam,” he whispered, his breath coming out of him in shaky pants.

“I’ll kill you,” he said in a low voice, eyes sparking with the promise of death and destruction. “I’ll fucking kill you for what you did to my friend.”

“You can’t kill him,” Parrish said from the door, gun levelled at Liam’s back.

“Look at him, Parrish,” Liam said. “They did that, to a human.”

“And he’ll be going to jail for a very long time,” Parrish promised, “but I’m not gonna go and let a kid become a killer over it.”

“He’s not a kid,” the hunter muttered. “He’s a fucking monster.”

“Liam,” Parrish warned.

“He deserves to die.”

“Yes, but you don’t deserve to kill him,” the hellhound said in a gentle voice. He stepped closer, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Let him go.”

“Liam, please,” Corey begged.

Liam closed his eyes, trying to get himself under control. He let the hunter drop and took a step back. Parrish pushed past him and wrapped the hunter in handcuffs, hauling him back up to his feet.

“Come on,” Parrish muttered. “Theo needs you.”

“What?” Liam said, eyes widening as he whirled to look at Parrish.

“He’s hurt,” the hellhound said.

The gunshots, the pained grunt, Liam realised. They’re hunters, they would have been poisoned bullets.

He rushed from the room and almost skidded on his knees as he fell to Theo’s side. Hands shaking, he ran them down Theo’s chest.

Theo’s eyes were closed, a thin layer of sweat beading his pale skin, barely breathing. Blood pooled underneath him, soaking into Liam’s jeans. So much blood.

“Theo,” he whispered. “Theo wake up, look at me.”

There was so much blood.

“They took Mason as well,” Argent informed him, pulling him to his feet. “You need to get cleaned up so that we can go to the hospital.”

“I can’t,” Liam said, eyes still glued to the puddle of blood.

“This is my fault,” he whispered.

“No, Liam, it’s not,” Argent said firmly, shaking him. “Snap out of it, kid.”

“My fault.”

“I’ll take him,” Parrish said.

“Only good wolf is a dead one,” he whispered gleefully.

Liam ignored him, staring down at his hands, covered in blood. It was all he could smell, the metallic tang of Theo’s blood, soaking into the fabric of his jeans.

***

His mother screamed when she opened the front door.

“What happened?” She shrieked, pulling him into a bear hug, staring over his shoulder at Parrish.

“A friend of Liam’s was shot. He’s at the hospital,” he explained.

The water shut off and he was wrapped in a towel. He should be embarrassed that someone was drying him off and dressing him, but he felt numb.

He laid in his bed and stared at the ceiling, his mind empty.

Houses flash past as he stared out the window of the car. Someone was saying his name but it echoed, like he was hearing them down a tunnel, making his ears ring.

“Liam,” Corey whispered from inside the room.

He closed his eyes, taking a shuddering breath and then stepping through the door.

“How is he?” He asked, his voice hoarse, eyes clenched shut. It’s his fault, his fault, his fault, and he didn’t want to see.

“No change,” Corey said. “Liam, it wasn’t your fault.”

“Yes, it was,” he said quietly. How could they even look at him? How could they stand to look at him? It was his fault, they were hurt because of him, because of what he was.

“No,” Mason croaked. Liam’s eyes flew open, seeing Mason lying in the bed, staring at him. He focused on him, ignoring the other occupant of the room lying unmoving on his bed.

“Mason,” he said, moving to his bedside. “How do you feel?”

“Between the drugs and Corey, not much,” Mason muttered, speaking slowly. Corey ran a hand through his hair, smiling weakly down at his boyfriend.

“Nothing to be sorry for, you saved us,” Mason said, coughing at the end of the sentence. Corey hushed him, helping him sit up and sip at a cup of water he held to his lips.

“Sit with him,” Corey said quietly, looking at Liam. “He’d like that.”

Liam nodded, the numb feeling rising in his chest again as he moved over to finally look at Theo.

Lying over the top of it all was the scent of bleach, a sickening sweet sour smell that burned at his nostrils.

Reaching out, he took Theo’s hand in his. The skin was cool to the touch, his hand limp. Despair flooded him.

“Please don’t die for me,” he whispered helplessly. “Theo.”

The only response was silence, that and the sound of the machines keeping him alive.

Liam bowed his head, resting it against Theo’s hand, praying to any god that was listening, begging, pleading.

Save him, save him and I’ll do anything.

His chest cracked open, his heart cold as it law open, raw, exposed.

Please.

But now, now he may never get that chance.

He pressed his lips to Theo’s hand, and waited.

#thiam #thiamsecretsanta #thiamsecretsanta2k17 #liam dunbar #theo raeken #it's christmas in australia so it counts #enjoy #sorry for the ending?

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kitanoko · 7 years ago

Note

How about todomomo getting caught (either by aizawa-sensei or another student) making out? I think this would be hilarious XD

Note: Hope you enjoy! School festival version :) Sorry its been eons since this ask was sent and I only finished it now. Mainly humour + fluff

In which Class A does a maid cafe

“So it’s time for our last annual school festival,everyone,” Iida fixed his glasses as he slid the door behind him to a close.All eyes were on him. Through the window, crisp autumn fog and dewy grassgreeted the start of their morning.

“Iida spill it,” Kaminari called out, “What are we assignedthis year? For the past two years, we weren’t able to get what we wanted.”

“I don’t want anything to do with this,” Bakugou added, chinon his desk, “I fucking hate school festivals. Last year, we had to do the shitty…what was it again? Julio and Romiette?”

“Romeo and Juliet, Kacchan.”

“Shut up Deku, I knew that, I fucking played Julio.”

Iida tapped his fingers impatiently on the wooden surface ofthe podium, waiting for the troublemakers to quiet down. When he saw Bakugousnap his mouth shut with boredom emitting from his expression alone, Iidastraightened up.

“This year, we got EXACTLY what we wanted. After all, we arethird years, so we get first choice.”

Kaminari’s gasp was the start of the domino effect. Everyone cheered and clapped with happy facesall around. The Class President held his hand up to calm his audience down,clearly having anticipated their uproar.

“Since, we will be doing the ‘maid café’ theme this year,why don’t we start by delegating tasks?”

“Hurry! Kirishima, please set up the rest of the tables onthe left side of the class!”

“I got it Iida. Let Hagakure and Ojiro know that they forgotcandles on some of the tables.”

With only 15 minutes to spare, their class was almost ready.A makeshift tent, which was really just a bunch of chairs stacked up with alarge curtain hanging over, collapsed; yells of profanity broadcasted acrossthe room. Under the chair tetris came Bakugou, pulling his black tight skirtdown to hide more of his skin. His bare shoulders were covered with white laceand frills while the rest of him became adorned with flowers from his floralapron.

“Oh my god, he actually wore it,” Kirishima mused, tearsfalling from laughter. His eyes widened at the idea that just popped in his headand took out his phone to snap pictures along with a few others. The subject ofentertainment was wrestling around like a wild beast in a cage.

“STOP LAUGHING. SHUT THE FCK UP,” Bakugou yelled, fingerspointing, “NO PICTURES. WHAT ARE YOU DOING MINETA, IMMA CRUSH YOUR GRAPES SOHARD YOU-“

“You reap what you sow,” Jirou raised her arms, securingher own apron, “who told you to fall asleep when we were discussing the roles.It’s your bad luck that the only position left was the sixth maid.”

The boy was red with anger and embarrassment, “WHY CAN’T IJUST BE A HOST LIKE ALL THE OTHER SHITHEADS.”

Jirou shook her head, the knot behind her neck finally madetight enough, “Because the maid outfit was the only thing that’s left! How manytimes did Iida tell you, holy crap!”

Bakugou didn’t bother to reply and grunted. In the corner ofhis eye, Kirishima pushed his phone in front of Kaminari, pointing at thescreen. Kaminari covered his mouth, chuckling, and whispered into his friend’sear, prompting the latter to nod incessantly. Something was brewing amongstthose two and Bakugou wasn’t ready to find out.

Jirou looked over to the back corner of the room. Below thedangling banners, portable stove tops and grills now replaced the normal deskformation. Yaoyorozu stood there, fixing Todoroki’s uniform. Todoroki, beingone of the hosts along with Kaminari, Kirishima, and Midoriya, donned a silverneck tie over a white dress shirt with black pinstripes. Opposite of him wasYaoyorozu wearing the same outfit as Bakugou (except looking a thousand timesmore attractive, Todoroki must say) and she had her hair done in a bun.

“Todoroki, I think it looks better now,” Yaoyorozu pressedthe wrinkle out of the front of his tie, “If you have trouble with it again,let me know.”

“Thanks,” The fire and ice hero said, “Sorry, I’m not reallygood with ties. My sister used to always do the Windsor knot. I have no clue asto what it even is.”

It’s these types of small talks with him that made herhappy.

“Of course! I’m always here to help!” Yaoyorozu answered, cheeksglowing, “I must allow Tokoyami and Sato to take their positions now.” She dida slight bow out of habit and continued, “Let’s have fun together!”

“Ah, sure,” Todoroki smiled back.

The two stepped away from the cooking station just asTokoyami and Sato entered. No one knew how good Tokoyami’s yakisoba and Sato’sdorayaki was until they were the first to volunteer for the chef roles. Afterthe first taste test, everyone knew they were fit for the job.

When Kaminari opened the door signalling the start of theirbusiness, there were already parents and students from other departments inqueue, waiting to be seated. Iida was in his element, shuffling his ‘staff’along (he insisted that he was the café manager) and made sure operations wentsmoothly. Midoriya had a crowd of girls surround him whenever he took orders toUraraka’s obvious dismay, who acted like she didn’t give a rat’s ass butactually did. Bakugou kept screaming at Monoma to leave but achieved thereverse effect instead.

“When will I ever get the chance to see YOU OF ALL PEOPLE ina maid outfit?!” Monoma had said with anarrogant grin chiselled onto his face. If it weren’t for the law, Bakugouwould’ve straight up strangled him alive.

Around 1pm, the smiles began to peel off their faces. Rushhour was still in session and everyone was beyond fatigued.

Tokoyami was running out of soba noodles too, which was thebestselling item.

“Can someone run to the storage,” the birdman was stirfryingwhile speaking, eyes not leaving the pan, “I’m almost out.”

Bakugou scoffed, “Hell no, I ain’t leaving this mothereffin’room in this girly shit.”

Tokoyami wiped the sweat with the back of his hand, “Come onman, I need it.”

“I’ll get it.”

It was Todoroki.

He pushed away his many fangirls who had their notebooks andpens extended in hopes to get his autograph, and Yaoyorozu came forward also,noticing Tokoyami’s concern.

“I can help you carry as well, Todoroki.”

“Just stay here,” the boy suggested. Thinking about how moreguys would ogle Yaoyorozu in maid attire irked him. She should stay here, awayfrom the halls where the perverts roam. Though he still had Mineta to worryabout.

Yaoyorozu blinked a few times, unsure of why he was soadamant on her staying.

“You two should both go. I saw two big boxes of noodles inthere and one guy can’t carry them all,” Tokoyami replied, obliviouslydestroying any forms of hope that Todoroki had.

He wanted to object some more but that would make it toosuspicious. Todoroki sighed. Guess there was no other way.

“Yaoyorozu, do you see it?”

The two of them were scrutinizing every word that wasprinted on the cardboard boxes which lined the shelves. None of them said soba.

“No,” the girl tiptoed a little, “if you don’t mind, howabout I climb onto your shoulders and you lift me up? I think that’d beeasier.”

Did she forget about how short her skirt was? Being in sucha small room made every motion of their bodies graze against each other. Hecould feel the warmth of her breath tickle his neck.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Todoroki quickly turnedhis back to her, afraid he might say something stupid. Images of Yaoyorozu in my head, begone!

“Why not?” Yaoyorozu was pouting, “Tokoyami is relying onus! We must find it!”

Her sense of responsibility would be the end of him. Andher.

Before he could prepare a counter fit for a lawyer,Yaoyorozu let out a surprised yelp, arms swinging to maintain balance.Todoroki’s fast reflexes caused him to spin around, reaching to catch herflying form. Falling face first, her body weight settled on him. Given thegravity of the situation, it was lucky that Todoroki plunged backwards onto apile of empty flattened boxes with Yaoyorozu (skirt lifted and her apron indisarray, amongst other things) in his arms.

“Crap,” Todoroki rubbed a growing bump on the back of hishead. That hurt more than when Bakugou kicked him in the shin yesterday.

Yaoyorozu supported herself up from his chest, accidentallypulling his tie loose, “I’m so sorry! Are you alright? I tripped over a brokentile on the floor and –“

“Don’t worry, it’s not a big deal, “Todoroki grumbled, “Justbe careful next time.”

The girl’s gaze lowered, having no care for herself, andnoticed that they were literally pressed together, faces barely centimetersapart. She picked up her head, examining his translucent irises. They were theprettiest thing she had ever taken a note of, and he stared back at her. They wereso close and in such a compromising position. So damn close.

Her mouth began to open agape, wanting to bring thediscomfort to a permanent close. But rather than listen to whatever she had inmind, Todoroki leaned forward, pressing his lips against hers. Yaoyorozu’schest heaved once. Her eyes grew wide, thoughts spiralling into a mess that shehad no desire to reorganize. The boy held onto her waist tighter, as if hewanted her to know that she was his alone, and after a minute, he pulled back.Both of them hurried to catch their breath, smiles teasing.

“I want…more, Todoroki, “Yaoyorozu gasped, “Please-“

Her sentence fell to an abrupt silence as he flipped herover.

“I guess Tokoyami’s gonna have to wait awhile.��

His tone was sensual and his voice aroused her interest evenmore than usual. Within seconds, their lips touched again. She wanted to askhim if he was enjoying it himself, but decided the way he let out the deep moanjust now answered her question. Annoyed at the tie that fastened around hisneck, her nimble fingers untwisted the knot, hauling it off him. He lookedrelieved at the sudden freedom and found his hand trailing up her skirt.

The tips of his fingers stopped right below the string ofher thongs and both of them reciprocated their horror in the middle of tuggingbreaths.

What is that horrifyingsound outside the door?

The door slammed open, hinges about to give in.

“YO GUYS, DID YOU-“Bakugou cried out, right leg lifted from the kick on the door. He still had hismaid outfit on but that wasn’t what he had issue with at that very moment.

“What the actual …fck,” His voice became feeble. The two,still lying on top of each other, stared back at their intruding guest,wondering what to do next.

Bakugou’s fight orflight response surged, retreating away from the obscene sight that he justlaid his bare eyes on.

“Wait!” Yaoyorozu cried as Todoroki scrambled to get himselfupright, “It is not what you’re thinking!”

“WHERE THE FCK IS THE BLEACH, WHAT THE SHIT JUST HAPPENED,WHAT THE-“

“Calm down! Nothing happened!” Yaoyorozu said again, takinga glimpse at a quiet Todoroki. She extended an arm to catch Bakugou’s shoulder,“Could you listen?”

“BIRD GUY SAID YOU TWO SHITS WERE GETTING THE BOXES AND YOUGUYS FRIGGIN’ GO MISSING FOR TWENTY MINUTES,” Bakugou shoved her hand away asif she had the plague, “AND TURNS OUT YOU TWO WERE STICKING YOUR TONGUES DOWNEACH OTHER’S THROATS?”

Disgust was etched deep on his face and Todoroki finallytook a step forward, hands reaching down to grab the tie under him. Bakugoudidn’t faze him one bit.

“If you choose to tell the others, I don’t really care,” wasall Todoroki uttered, and began to drag Yaoyorozu along the halls; she,however, was flabbergasted at his implication.

Bakugou watched as they left, silenced by Todoroki’sstraightforwardness. He thought for a second whether he was trying to provokehim. Bakugou could make anything related to Todoroki a challenge.

The reflections from nearby windows that whirled by the two madeYaoyorozu even more stunned. They were a mess. Unkempt hair and clothes dishevelled.Frankly, everyone else was upstairs enjoying the festival so they had time togussy up.

She took a glance back at Bakugou’s receding figure and wantedto giggle. He looked like an angry lost lamb in an apron about to explode.

“Job well done, everyone!” Iida shouted as he did a bow infront of the class. The students slumped down on chairs and empty tables withhowever much energy they had left from the day’s work. Smiles gleaming, a fewpeople gave each other a thumb’s up.

“Tokoyami, we are so sorry,” Yaoyorozu turned to apologize andTodoroki did a nod, “And Bakugou, thank you for grabbing the boxes at the end.We couldn’t find it at all!”

Bakugou didn’t face them, arms crossed. Yaoyorozu was quitegood at acting.

“They were underneath the shelf, not on the racks,” Bakugougroaned, and his voice turned more like a whisper, “not that you two werelooking for them anyway.”

“What did you say? I didn’t quite hear you.”

“Shut it, I didn’t say nothin’.”

Todoroki did a lopsided grin. Bakugou was probably too embarassed to tell anyone about his encounter. Either that or he actually had a heart.

“Speaking of which, you knowthat your picture is being circulated as the newest mobile wallpaper right?”

“WHAT?” Bakugou shot up from his seat, “FCKING SHIT. GREATNOW I GOTTA DEAL WITH THIS TOO? KIRISHIMA WAS IT YOU?!”

Yaoyorozu and Todoroki exchanged knowing glances as Bakugouchased the red riot hero down.

Their secret should be safe for awhile.

#todomomo fanfiction #todoroki shouto #yaoyorozu momo #bakugou katsuki #todomomo #todoroki x yaoyorozu #fanfic request #bnha #mha #todobakumomo

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freakishlemon · 7 years ago

Text

I’ve been thinking a lot about the gendering and socialization of work lately with regards to my growing frustrations with my youngest brother, so I’m throwing words at this screen. Might be interesting to you folks, might not, so I’m putting it behind a cut below.

((Read More should start here, mobile users))

So some basic background, I’m the oldest of 4 kids in my family and we live in a rural town that’s been start-stopping it’s way to suburbia sorta kinda maybe, so our upbringing is pretty squarely centered in this little corner of the world. There me (trans-masc genderqueer) born in ‘88, there’s my sister (woman) born in ‘90, middle brother (man) born in ‘92, and the youngest brother (man) born in ‘96. Myself and the middle brother both still live at home, but we are employed and are paying off loans or looking into continuing education, so we’re doing pretty well. My sister has been moved out with her fella and their co-owned pets and she started her own business last year, in addition to subsidizing her income with part-time bar-tending/restaurant gigs when she needs to. All three of us have completed the middle-class white person requirement of earning a Bachelor’s degree (yay debt :/ ).

My youngest brother has a chronic gut illness and had to have surgery on his intestines last December, which prompted him to really think about his college education (that he was failing) and opt to not finish school. I think that was a surprisingly mature decision for this brother. So he takes the time to recover from the surgery and he’s been back to his normal for a while now, so my parents have been prompting him to start seeking employment since about March-ish.

He’s still unemployed, which does not surprise me based on our location/job market/the incredible hell that is Finding A Job, but I find myself and I see my parents becoming more and more frustrated with him.

Now, my parents’ frustration I understand because they’re in their late 50s/60s and they do all those prior generation stereotype things like tell you to make a million follow up calls and go bother the management and just start asking businesses for jobs, which is what they know. The rest of us sympathize with that portion of my brother’s current position, but... it occurred to me that my youngest brother is doing nothing to alleviate this from my parents because he hasn’t learned how to deflect them.

Because he’s looking for his first job.

His. First. Job.

It hit me this morning that the way our society socializes work for afab folks starts so god damn early. If we define a job as Somewhere You Are Scheduled To Be To Perform Work, I started working at 11 at my local library as a volunteer. I outgrew the summer reading program for the young kids and there was nothing for the older kids. I had to be there for my siblings because I was too young to stay home, so I was shelving books or assisting at the Scholastic book fair. Listen, I worked at this library as a volunteer for so long that the retiring children’s librarian had me run the summer reading program for two years, then she retired and there wasn’t a children’s librarian for a year so I ran the summer reading program, AND THEN I TRAINED THE NEW CHILDREN’S LIBRARIAN ON HOW TO RUN A SUMMER READING PROGRAM. It was her first librarian job and I was sixteen.

My sister started doing the same thing when she aged out of the summer reading program. My brothers didn’t.

But if we count paid work, my sister and I took our first job together at 14 and 12 when we were offered a pretty sweet babysitting gig. We’d finish middle school, walk over to the elementary school down the street to pick up this first grade girl, and hang out at the library doing homework for an hour and a half until the girl’s mom could come pick her up. Three days a week, paid on Thursday like clock work.

And we both did things like that until we were old enough to be legally hired - babysitting gigs, pet sitting, helping older people with physical tasks (I mean, mostly my grandma just having us doing a day’s worth of chores for pizza and ten bucks, but it’s still work).

And we applied for jobs all through high school and if we didn’t have jobs during the school year, we went for summer jobs. The only time either one of us was without something for at least part of the summer was my summer before senior year of college when I was s c r a m b l i n g for an internship to meet my graduation requirements (the coordinator at my school was no god damn help and I’m still mad about it).

Neither of my brothers was prompted to find paying work until after highschool, except when family friends needed pet sitters and my sister and I were already working. They were only encouraged to do volunteer work during highschool because it was a graduation requirement.

I was unemployed for a few months after graduating college, which is pretty normal, and that’s when I learned to balance out the actual reality of job hunting and my parent’s expectations of it. And you know the easiest way I found to do that? Work around the god damn house. Do all the dishes. Sweep floors. Vacuum. Is there a junk closet mom’s been meaning to go through? Empty it out, clean it, and go through what needs to be done with the stuff, and then do it for her so that she only has to make the decisions without taking her two days off to do it herself. Shit like that. Honestly? Yep. Yeah mom, I put in nine applications today, one of the places I applied to last week should be calling by the end of the week, and look at your sparkling kitchen. Done. I acknowledge my advantage of being a physically healthy person to pull this off and the amazing support of my friend who would call me at six in the morning to wake up my ass to take a walk, talk shit out, and then start the day with a scheduled thing. I know that’s not in the cards for all of us, but even doing a few simple chores like wiping off the flat stove top did a lot to get my parents off my back.

(Once my sister started working for actual paychecks, she’s pretty much always been employed because she rocks at this stuff. When she got her at-time-dream-job-in-her-actual-degree-field at a photo studio for $50k a year, she had three part time restaurant jobs and still managed to have more of a social life than I’ve ever had. And then when she hated that job, she started her own business and is making it work. She’s a rock star. It’s amazing.)

So my middle brother was unemployed for the better part of a year after his retail summer job stopped giving him hours and he was searching for a job in his field-ish. He wasn’t socialized to pick up housework the way my sister and I were, but due to his recently-diagnosed-bipolar-flavoured mental illness (i’m not sure the exact diagnosis, but it’s in the bipolar type family) he would have manic episodes and needed shit to do to manage his brain so it quickly became a thing that mom would leave him a list of shit that had to be done around the house each day/week and he would get it done (less done on depressive days, but still to the point of acceptably done). He built the routine and when he couldn’t get calls back for interviews, he sought out gig jobs from friends and family, which is how he ended up in his current job. And even now after lots of balancing acts and sorting himself out, he’d on a pretty even keel these days, but if he’s got fewer work hours than the rest of us that week and mom leaves him a list, he gets the must-dos done.

My youngest brother was diagnosed with his gut illness at 9, which is a shit hand of cards to be dealt. Flare ups are bad and can lay him out for days. I know that’s a part of his life and is probably affecting how he’s looking for a job and all, but... it’s very frustrating to me that this is his first job hunt (or temporary gig hunt) and he’s 21.

He was prompted to get summer jobs while he was in college and relatively healthy, but it wasn’t enforced by my parents on him the way it was on the middle brother and certainly not the way it was enforced on my sister and I. It’s very frustrating to me that my mom will leave a list for my youngest brother with things like 1) empty dishwasher, 2) do your laundry, and 3) play with the dog outside for 20 minutes, and not a single one of those things has been done by the time my mom or I get home (we have similar work schedules). And my mom’s response is to just roll her eyes and grudgingly do it or ask me/middle brother to do it. She doesn’t make him do it. She’s never assigned him to make a simple dinner for the rest of us, the way she has middle brother and myself. She’s never assigned him big projects (clean the basement, vacuum the whole house, scrub out the refrigerator) the way she has middle brother and myself, even as something to be done over the course of the week instead of that day.

It’s just super frustrating to hear him snap at my parents when they pester him about getting a job because mom, dad, middle brother, and myself are doing full time jobs plus sometimes side jobs (middle brother is running a daily livestream and/or podcast, I’m slowly working fiber work business stuff into my life, mom’s starting a yarn dyeing business) PLUS ALL THE HOUSEWORK and he’s sitting there in his room all day filling out applications for a bit and then playing video games for fourteen hours.

Like... I’d feel less frustrated if I knew or suspected it was the gut illness or something that was kicking him all the time, but I don’t think it is. We learned to recognize that kind of stuff when he was in school because there were times when he could only do a half day or couldn’t go at all. Honestly? I just don’t think he knows how to work. Not the way my sister’s and my gendered upbringing taught us. Not the way my middle brother’s mental illness and brain coping taught him. We ended up as people who need stuff to do during the day. It just looks to us like he’s not trying when the reason he hasn’t emptied the dishwasher in two weeks without my mom standing there making him do it is “I forgot."

Just... ffffguh. Venting.

#real life stuff #frustrated #family things

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girlwsoftsound · 7 years ago

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Calculus || Adam Hann Oneshot

Word Count: 2,133 Summary: When exams come around, you need your boyfriend Adam to help you through the panic that comes with them. Author’s Note: I feel like I added a bit of my hatred of Calculus in this fic subconsciously lol. I love it, though. Be sure to throw in a like or comment if you liked it! I love seeing feedback from you all. Please feel free to read my other work here! Enjoy!

There’s a special feeling of existential and emotional dread that likes to rear its ugly head every time exams come around.

It’s not like you are a bad student. No, you try hard and usually it pays off for you, at least well enough to pass your classes and maintain a steady GPA above or around a 3.5. You have no idea why you worry so much about your exams. You most likely will be find. But, you do. Obsessively so. So much that sometimes, while you are cooped up in the library nearest your campus apartment, you book a private reading room just so that you do not annoy those also trying to study with your crying and panic-fueled pep talks that often do more harm to your mental state than good.

It’s not that you want to be the best. It’s far from that actually. You could care less what you personally ended up with, so long as you passed and were able to continue on. C’s get degrees, the mantra goes. What you care about, what drives you to put so much pressure on yourself, is your parents. More specifically, their intent to hold everything you hold dear riding on your grades. Your car, your tuition, your money...even your boyfriend.

Yes, your parents dictate your ability to have and stay with your boyfriend based on how well you did in school. It is just as archaic and silly as it sounds, but it’s life.

Adam’s a great guy. Chill, sweet, a downright gentleman - in any other world, with any other set of parents, he’d be the guy they would be pressuring you to keep. He comes from a well-to-do background and is incredibly smart - the man majors in Biochemistry, for pete sakes. He is a strict parent’s wet dream, and a charmer to those who could normally care less. Yet, your parents have to be annoying. They have to make things hard on this boy, make his attraction to you a flux arrangement pinned on whether or not you are able to pass random courses assigned to you over semesters. He tells you it’s fine, but you feel it’s not. You hate it. You hate that your precious man, the boy with the softest touches and the sweetest of kisses, can go away if you forget to study a certain aspect of history, or misinterpret a writing prompt. It only adds to the anxiety.

That, and your complete inability to understand Calculus.

Seriously, what is up with this satanic subject?

It’s the last Math class you have to take, and it’s kicking your ass. You know it is. Every bit of your mind cries out when you fumble through the problems, and even the concepts you do get present themselves in completely different ways on exams, so it hardly is rewarding when something isn’t mentally tasking for once. It throws you into a huge tailspin of dread every time you work on it. Adam tries to help, but his brain works faster than you do, and despite his kind nature, it frustrates him. You can tell it does, which is why you never bring it up to him anymore. You simply sit, paralyzed in your room or your lecture hall or the library, and let panic take over. It’s easier that way, isn’t it? For him, at least. For your family. Nothing to worry about if you don’t really know how your daughter is failing miserably.

It all comes down to one exam. One final Calculus exam. You aced the other exams, but this one is the one for all the marbles. If you fail it, you are toast. Actually, if you get anything less than a 76, you are toast, because that gets you a C in the class, and your parents started off by saying that a B or higher is what is required to keep everything. It terrifies you. It brings you to such a panic that, once locked away in your favorite reading room, you send Adam a text claiming you are going off the grid until after the exam, because you could not stand to see him get worried over the fragile mental state you could feel yourself slipping into. He is too pure, too gentle to see that.

Studying starts out like it always does. Fear in the pit of your stomach, but determination winning out. You take a practice test and give it your all. After this is when thing start to change. Each red X next to a problem chips away at your determination. Each red X makes you shake, makes your brain unable to think. Each red X makes you want to stop existing, just long enough until the exam didn’t matter. Each red X makes your eyes turn to look at your phone, Adam’s face lighting up your lock screen and reminding you of what is good in your world, what there is to live for. But, his face only reminds you to keep studying. He reminds you of what you have to lose.

More studying, more frustration, more panic. You would be pulling your hair out by now if it wasn’t for the fact that Adam likes your hair. He tells you all the time. If you don’t get higher than a 76, you won’t hear him say it again. Ice cold, piercing fear hits you. Suddenly, the room is too small. Suddenly, you feel like exploding right then and there is a great option. Hands shaking, you take your pencil and, letting out a shriek, throw it as hard as you can against the wall. It hits and clinks down, barely causing the uproar you felt it did. Your breathing is rushed. You can’t really form perfect thoughts, or instruct yourself to so much as move to not be in the middle of the room. You sink to the ground, curl up, and let the thoughts eat away at you. You can’t do it. This is pointless. You’re going to fuck your life up just like they know you will.

“{Y/N}?”

The sound of his voice startles you, rattles something in your brain that screams for you to stop acting so childish and look up from your blank stare. He looks hurt, confused, ready to drop the coffee cup in his hand at your command to comfort you. Everything screams for you to get up and run into his arms. But, your everything is also paralyzed in fear. He takes one glance at your Calculus work on the table and, after setting your coffee and the food he brought along for you on it, kneels down to your level. His eyes are soft, saddened, yearning to meet yours. You can’t properly do that, though. Not now. Not when it feels like everything is too much. He seems to come to this realization fast, because he drops the attempt to meet them to instead hold you. His arms are warm, stable. Everything you are not. You don’t remember how you start to cry, but notice the way Adam’s fingers gently wipe them away when they cloud up your face with their trails.

“Hey,” he says gently, knowing anything more would be too much, “hey, it’s okay. I’m here for you, love. I’m here.”

He is. For now.

“A-Adam, I-”

“Shhh,” he replies, and you want to slap him because no, you don’t understand, this may be the last chance I have to talk to you alone because of my shitty parents, but your willpower only lets you whimper. “It’s alright. Do you want me to help?”

“B-But you h-hate-”

“We’ve had hard times trying to do this before, but I can shove that aside for today,” he tells you, and you believe that he’s right. You believe he’s going to hold up his end of the bargain, because he’s Adam. He would never lie to you, could never lie to you. “Can I pick you up, love?”

Yes, but don’t let go of me. “S-Sure.”

He brings you to your feet, holding you still seeing as your legs have grown wobbly from shaking. It’s the worst feeling coupled alongside the best. You want to cry again. Ushered over to your chair, he slides you in and pushes the coffee your way. Taking a sip, it tastes like Vanilla. Very sweet. Much like Adam. You thank him meekly, and he replies with a smile that takes what little breath you have left away.

“Looks like you have trouble with differential equations.” He has been looking through your practice test for the past few minutes, scanning the obnoxiously long 135 question exam carefully. He does not sound as frustrated as he normally does. He sounds calm, understanding. Getting up, he goes to the whiteboard in the room and brings one of your books to get problem ideas.

“Let me teach you a few tricks. These always tripped me up when I took Calc I.”

It is amazing. With few slip ups, he actually conveys those tricks to you, and they work. It is as if he found the Rosetta Stone and suddenly could speak your language. It’s not perfect, because Math still hates your brain and your brain hates it, but it helps. The rest of your studying goes much the same way. By the time you are finished with him, and the clock reads thirty minutes until your exam, you actually feel somewhat ready. Anxiety at a new low. Heart not racing wildly like normal, caffeine being all that is causing it to beat differently. He walks you to your exam room, hand in hand, and gives you a soft kiss at the door.

“Good luck,” he says, effortless, not knowing the risks behind this exam. You thank him, just as breathy, but less confident. Going into the pale room and getting your exam, you feel like dying. You wish he could stay by your side. You wish he could ease your nerves like that, like a service dog. A service person. A good boyfriend.

He’s out front when you leave the exam.

The next few hours are spent in his house, with tea in your hands, soft pillows beneath you, and cheesy romance movies playing on loop on the TV. Adam’s lips are on your neck, and you let them roam without question. You let him feel and explore, because perhaps this is the last time they can. Perhaps this is his last chance to let them taste your skin. You consider perhaps making tonight your first time being intimate with him, but quickly shove that thought away. As much as you want to, it will only make things worse if it turns out you have to break things off.

You settle for falling asleep in his arms, letting sleep take you and mend your frazzled body. Adam pets your hair until he too succumbs to sleep. You wake up early in the morning with his head resting gently on your shoulder. His soft breaths fill the air. You smile and gently shake him up. His beautiful green eyes flutter open, curious, happy to see your face staring back at him.

“Hello beautiful. Have you checked your grades yet?”

Shit. In your morning daze, you have forgotten that grades are probably out by now. Fear hits your stomach like a wrecking ball. Your mouth grows dry as you take out your phone to check. Adam is nervous beside you, but hardly in the same way you are. He doesn’t know how much it means to you. He doesn’t realize how close you are to panicking, to having your life crumble before you. The system is slow, and you forget your password out of fear, but eventually you get into your grades. A deep breath. A leap of faith. Shaking fingers. Loss of breath.

A 78.

Your hand clasps over your mouth as the tears start uncontrollably. You just made it. Adam can barely ask your grade by the time your arms are around him, smothering him close to you, happy sobs hitting his ear.

“I passed.”

“That’s my girl,” he tells you with a kiss. He hardly knows how grateful you are, truly. His help helped you just make it. He saved you. He saved the both of you. You would cry harder, but you can’t. It’s impossible for you to feel any more emotional.

Kissing him fully on the mouth, hungry, desperate, grateful, you look into his eyes and break out into a toothy grin.

“I love you so much, Adam Hann.”

It’s the first time you’ve ever said it.

He replies with the biggest smile you’ve ever seen him make.

“I love you too, {Y/N}, my incredibly smart, incredibly beautiful girlfriend. And I always will.”

#adam hann #Adam Hann fanfiction #Adam Hann imagine #Adam Hann Preference #Adam Hann writing #Adam Hann oneshot #The 1975 writing #oneshot #The 1975 Oneshot #the 1975 fanfiction #The 1975 fic #The 1975 imagine #The 1975 #Calculus

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japriet · 8 years ago

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A Drop in the Ocean

Prompt: Can we get shipped wrecked Japril… (high school trip, a prank goes too far April falls over board and Jackson jumps in to save her they end up on a island together?

Ok so here is my attempt at this prompt I received! High School, Ship Wrecked Japril! I hope you like it and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!!

A Drop in the Ocean ~ Ron Pope

A drop in the ocean, A change in the weather, I was praying that you and me might end up together.

“Who in their right mind takes a group of high school kids on a summer trip to Hawaii anyway?” April muttered angrily to herself as she sat on a rock in the tree line near the beach.

A string of loud hammering-like noises are let out beside her as she continued, “Who let’s kids go out on their own on a strange island? How is that safe? Are the teachers even allowed to do that? Isn’t there a policy against it?” The hammering got louder and louder every time she spoke, as if it was to purposefully over-power her voice.

“What the heck are you doing, anyway?” She snapped at the boy that was seated on the large rock beside her.

“Would you shut up? I’m trying to be useful and make a shelter, unlike your whiny ass that’s just sitting there!” He snidely replied to her, holding up a make-shift hammer he created with a rock, a stick and some palm leaves to keep it together.

A few hours ago, she was having the time of her life. She was hanging out with her friends on the beaches of Hawaii, but now? She’s stranded. On an island. With him, of all people! It could be worse, but it’s still pretty awful.

A large commotion interrupted her thoughts, followed by a string of curse words from the guy’s mouth. April glances over at her sole companion. Out of all the people, she just had to get stranded with the most egotistical, arrogant person she had ever met. He was the school’s heartthrob, ‘big shot’ athlete, Jackson Avery. This couldn’t have been worse. This couldn’t be happening! But it is, because she’s stranded on an island, for crying out loud!

How did this even happen? To her, of all people? Oh, she remembered well, and her friends were going to get it when she got back. Well, if she got back, but she wasn’t going to think about that possibility.

“April, please! Canoeing is so much fun! Plus, it’s so pretty out there! You need to get out and experience the world!” Her friend Arizona begged her, but April just adjusted her sun hat on her head and continued to read her copy of Romeo and Juliet, while propped up on her purple-striped beach towel.

Arizona suddenly took the book out of her hand and threw it on the beach towel beside her, which caused April to shriek, “AZ, I have to read that book for our summer assignment! Be careful with it!” She reached her hand over towards the book but Arizona intercepted her attempts, grabbing April’s arm and lifting her to her feet in the process.

“Oh hush! Everyone knows the story of Romeo and Juliet! You have all summer to read that book! We aren’t in Hawaii all summer, so enjoy it while you can.” Arizona replied and kicked the book to the side, off into the sand.

“I was having fun and enjoying the beach, until you came over here.” April pouted and crossed her arms over her chest.

“Reading a book on beach is not something I would call ‘fun’,” April opened her mouth to argue with her, but Arizona wasn’t finished, ”And take off that silly hat! It’s covering your whole face!” Arizona reached out to take the large yellow sun hat off her friend’s head but April gripped tightly on to it, “You know how much I need this hat! The sun hates me!” April heavily depended on shade, sunblock and her large sun hat to protect her from the horrible UV rays that the sun radiated. Her fair skin was no match for them, and since she didn’t want to turn out as red as her hair, she stayed covered up.

“April! Arizona! Are you coming with us? We need two more people!” They were interrupted by a voice calling over to them. Lexie joined them on the crowded beach where all the students beach towels laid on top of the sand, “I’m just grabbing some water bottles before we go!” She told them as she opened a blue cooler sitting next to April’s book, which was carelessly thrown on the ground and half buried in sand along with her gray, old navy flip-flops.

“Of course, we’re coming!” Arizona looped her arm with April’s and smiled brightly.

“Awesome! This is going to be so much fun!” Lexie lifted her head up and beamed at them, “Do you want some water too?” She gestured to the cooler that she was currently rummaging through.

“Sure!” Arizona responded. Lexie tossed a water bottle over to her and then they both turned to April expectantly.

Arizona elbowed April in the side and prompted her to answer, “Oh, yeah, that’s probably a good idea. Thanks, Lexie.”

Lexie walked over to them and handed April a bottle of water, “I think everyone is ready to go then. Are you?”

“Yeah, let’s go!” Arizona grinned and nudged April again. April moved to get her shoes and clothes off of the beach towel beside hers.

Arizona followed her and whispered, “Will you at least try to have a good time, please?”

April rolled her eyes but smiled, “Okay, fine. I will try. I make no promises though.” She slipped on a blue tank top over the floral, two-piece bathing suit that Arizona had insisted she wear. She admitted that canoeing did sound like fun, and she was a little excited to hang out with her friend’s on the water.

“Oh! Should we grab snacks?” Arizona asked as April finished getting dressed.

Lexie nodded in response, “That’s probably a good idea. I will grab some granola bars, but I have no idea where we are going to put them.”

April picked up her drawstring backpack and offered it to Lexie, “Here, we can use my bag.”

Lexie took the bag from her and smiled, “Are you sure?”

“Positive. I don’t mind. I have to carry around my sunscreen anyway!” She laughed along with the other two.

They filled up the bag with a granola bars, one for each member of their group, and the water bottles they had grabbed too.

They were almost ready when Meredith hollered, “Lexie! Hurry up!” from across the stone pathway that lead up to where they were standing in the sand.

“Looks like Mer is getting impatient,” Lexie chuckled, “Are we finally ready to go?”

Arizona and April nodded and started to walk along the cobblestone path where the group had been waiting.

“Finally!” Meredith shouted when her sister and her friends reached the end of the walkway, “Ok. We are dividing into couples for canoeing.” She explained to them.

Everyone stood around her in a semicircle and shook their heads as she continued, “Obviously, Derek and I will go together, Christina and Owen, and then Lexie and Mark. Alex isn’t going with us, so the rest of you will have to pair up.”

April looked at Arizona expectantly, “We’re going together, right?”

Arizona sighed and gave her a guilty look while pulling her aside from the group to talk with her privately, “Apes, I was going to canoe with Callie.”

“Um, what?” April sputtered in complete shock. She couldn’t believe she was going to get ditched by her best friend, on an outing she didn’t even want to go on!

“I’m sorry! You can go with Jackson!” Arizona explained to her while pointing to the boy of discussion, who was standing beside Mark and Lexie, at the other end of the semicircle.

“You mean to tell me that you forced me to come with you, and you aren’t even going to go with me?” April questioned her, anger evident in her voice and arms flailing as she spoke in exasperation.

“Jackson is available for a partner, so don’t worry!” Arizona tried to reason with her, but April wasn’t buying what she was trying to sell her.

“He’s the only one left! I can’t believe you!” April shuffled her feet in frustration.

Jackson noticed the bickering and walked over to the two who were conversing a little further behind the group. He smiled at Arizona and then looked to April, “Hey, April, I think we are the last picks.”

“Bet this is a first for you then.” She replied to him snottily, in hopes that he, and Arizona, would understand that she in no way, shape or form, liked this arrangement.

“Well, you must be used to it.” He fired back at her, not quite getting why she was being rude to him.

Arizona noticed April open her mouth again, no doubt to continue their bickering, so she butted in, “Okay, then! This is going to be a lot of fun! April is very excited, Jackson.”

April glared at them both and Jackson looked at the blonde with a puzzled expression. Arizona looked at Jackson and smiled, “Why don’t you go with the group, and we will meet you down there?” Jackson agreed and went to catch up with the others.

“Behave, will you? This is supposed to be fun!” Arizona scolded her.

April rolled her eyes in protest, “Well it was, until you decided to kick me to the curb!”

“Please, it’s two hours! You said you would try to have fun.” Arizona recalled their earlier agreement. She was determined to spend time with Callie, as well as her best friend, but she didn’t want April attached to her the whole time. She knew that the only way to get April to put herself out there, was if she shoved her. That’s what had to be done.

“That was before you decided to leave me, with Jackson!” April whisper-yelled at her, and with that, she stormed off towards the rest of the group, whom were already grabbing oars by the dock.

When Arizona reached the dock, Callie passed her an oar and pointed out the canoe that they would be taking. The canoes were two person, so they weren’t very big, but they were metal and very uncomfortable looking.

April stood away from the water with her backpack over her back. Jackson walked up to her and tapped her on the shoulder, “I think our canoe is over there.” He pointed to the boat next to the one where Arizona and Callie had just climbed in. April just nodded in response.

“Look, I’m sorry if you didn’t want to go with me. We don’t have much of a choice.”

She sighed and immediately felt bad for being rude to him. He genuinely looked sorry, “It’s not your fault. I just thought Arizona and I would get to go together. She failed to mention that she was going with Callie.”

“Well, you have to admit, they are pretty cute together,” He teased, “Are you jealous?”

He finally earned a laugh and a smile from her and she swatted his arm, “No!”

“If it makes you feel any better, I was supposed to go with Alex, but he wanted to stay on the beach. I think he was distracted by all the girls in bikinis.” Jackson laughed again and April joined him.

She could definitely see Alex trying to charm some college girls on summer vacation, and epically failing, because he didn’t have much to offer them, only being an almost senior in high school.

“Imagine that!” She joked along with him. Maybe this wouldn’t be that bad, if they could keep getting along like they were now.

They stood there silently laughing until the instructor was ready to get them loaded up and called them over to the end of the dock.

Jackson clambered in to the back of the boat, following the instructions of the guy at the loading dock. Once he was settled in the back, he reached out and took her bag off her shoulder and set it between his feet. He offered his other hand out to April in order to help her in the boat as well. She hesitated, but took his hand and set one foot in the middle of the canoe. The boat started to rock with the uneven weight and her breathing caught in her throat.

She slightly panicked and went to step back completely on the dock, but Jackson stopped her, “Hey, its okay. Just put your other foot in to even it out.” He tried to calm her down. She followed his directions and quickly stumbled into the canoe and Jackson steadied her so they would stop rocking. She gripped his arms so tightly that her knuckles turned white from the strain. He gently lowered her down to sit on the front seat, and then he plopped down on his own. The motion jarred the boat again, and April jumped slightly in her seat.

Her skiddishness didn’t go unnoticed by Jackson, “Are you ok? If you don’t want to go, we don’t have to.”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” She reassured him, “It’s nothing.”

He looked at her with a questioning look and April sighed, “I just, I don’t know how to swim.” She admitted and hid her face behind her hands, to keep him from seeing the deep red she was turning. She was humiliated to have to admit that she was almost 17 years old and she couldn’t swim, especially in front of a boy on their school’s swim team.

“You don’t?”

April’s face turned a darker shade of red as she shook her head no. As embarrassing as it was, she never really had a reason or the need to learn. Sure, she had grown up on a farm in Ohio, but the only place they had to swim in was a shallow creek she could stand up in. When she moved to go to boarding school in Boston as a freshman, she didn’t have enough time, and by then, she felt like it was too late to learn anyway.

He leaned over in front of her, causing the boat to sway and the water to slosh up the side. April gripped her seat tightly and looked at Jackson with wide eyes, clearly startled by the sudden motion. He reached for her shoulders and steadied them once again. He looked directly in her eyes and gave her a reassuring smile, “Everything will be fine. You don’t have anything to worry about. I’ve got you.” He said with a serious tone that made April’s body flood with relief. He wasn’t going to pull anything over on her. She thanked him silently and turned around to face the front where their friend’s were already paddling farther away from the shore and into the deep ocean.

“April! Jackson!” Arizona hollered back at the two and waved her hand at them, motioning for them to follow the group.

“I guess we should go before we get left behind.” Jackson sat back in his seat and then handed April an oar. His paddle entered the water and he started to push the boat forward. April looked back at him and followed his actions. They both began to paddle, but were completely out of sync. April would paddle a couple times, then Jackson would paddle, then April again. They were going back and forth, but going nowhere. They just ended up floating in a zig-zag then a circle only a little ways away from the dock.

“You’re rowing too fast!” April complained, throwing her oar down at her feet.

He rolled his eyes and argued back, “I’m not rowing too fast, you’re going too slow!”

“I am not! I have little arms! I can’t go that fast!” She flailed his arms to emphasize their size. His arms were obviously a lot buffer than hers and could paddle with more force, she guessed he didn’t quite understand that.

“Well, maybe if you stopped taking so many breaks, then we could catch up.” He snapped back at her, frustrated that they couldn’t get anywhere. Yeah, he definitely didn’t understand.

“You know what? No. You do all the work then, if you think I’m not doing it right!” April hollered at him.

“No! We are both going to do this! I’m not here to do it all for you!” He stomped his foot and started rowing faster, causing the water around them to rougher and water started sloshing up the edges of the canoe.

“Jackson! Stop!” She screamed, terror filling her body. Just the thought of him tipping the boat made her want to throw up. She had no idea what she would do if that happened.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to.” He noticed the horrified look she shot him and immediately regretted his actions, “Look, let’s just – we can work together, can’t we?” He sighed in defeat.

April’s breathing slowed and she picked up her paddle again, “Yeah, we can. Um, lets just, talk it through? Maybe? Out loud, so we know when to go?”

They both placed the oars in the water and then they began giving each other verbal signals on when to paddle. Eventually, they caught up with their group, who just sat in a circle out on the open water.

April chatted with Arizona, whose boat sat beside their own, while Jackson talked with Derek and Meredith on his end. They all sat in awe of the wonderful weather and beautiful island they were on. April couldn’t believe the sight of God’s beautiful creation. The sight took her breath away.

Owen broke the silence and addressed the group, “I heard there was a sea cave over there,” He pointed to an alcove in between the shore and a line of trees, “we should go check it out.” He suggested.

The members of the group all grinned and shook their heads enthusiastically. They all hurried to grab their paddles, eager to explore the rest of the island on the water.

Before they could start moving though, Mark and Lexie brought their canoe to a stop next to Jackson and April’s.

“Race ya!” Mark yelled as he gripped the side of their canoe. He started to rock it side to side and Jackson immediately realized what he was about to do.

“No! Please, Mark don’t!” April pleaded at the same time as Jackson yelled to his friend, “Mark, don’t do that!”

It was too late. Mark had already turned the boat completely on its side, and it rolled over upside down.

April started screaming bloody murder and flailing around in the water as she sank lower and lower. All she saw was blue, dark blue, and all she felt was cold and wet. She kept her mouth clamped shut and bubbles rose around her. Fear engulfed her, much like the water had and she started to tremble. She reached out in front of her, in attempt to grasp on to something to hold her up. She just kept falling deeper to the ocean floor.

Jackson grabbed her by the waist and jerked her up to the surface. He held her close to his chest as she coughed up water. She was trembling with fear but managed to choke out, “My bag. I need my bag!”

Jackson looked at her terrified face as she frantically flailed in his arms, in search of her black drawstring backpack, “Jackson, my bag!” He nodded to her and then let go of her waist so he could dive back under the water to look for her bag, but she tightened her arms around his neck, almost choking him in the process.

“No, please don’t let go,” She begged him as tears brimmed her eyes, “It - Its s-stuck to my shoe. The string is. Please don’t let me go!” Tears started spilling down her cheeks and mixing with the salty ocean water.

Jackson pulled her closer and looped his arms around her waist once again. He guided them back to their overturned canoe, in intent of flipping it back over. Unfortunately, flipping it back over would be out of the question, with April’s death grip on him. They treaded in the water for a few minutes, until Jackson got tired of holding them both up in the water. His only option was to have April hold onto the bars inside the canoe, to give his arms a break to look for land to swim them both to. He glanced back at April in his arms, her eyes shut tightly, but the tears had almost stopped as soon as they started. You could almost mistake them as water droplets on her face. He lifted one arm from around her body and gently wiped his fingers across her cheeks, sweeping away the last tear. She opened her eyes and her face scrunched up in confusion. Their eyes met and he smiled softly at her, before he told her his plan, “I’m going to swim us under the canoe, and you’re going to hold on to the bars for a few minutes, okay?”

She frowned at him but nodded and he told her to hold her breath while he ducked them back into the water. A few seconds they emerged into the complete darkness of the canoe’s inside. April held her arms up while he connected them to the bar in the middle of the canoe. He made sure she was secure, before he let go of her completely. Once he was detached from her, he could see her eyes widen even in the dark.

“You’re fine. Hold on tight, and I will be back in a few seconds.” He reassured her but she was still worried about falling back in and not making it out.

“What if I slip? My hands are wet!” She tried to get him to come back, but he had already swam back under, to the outside of the metal shelter.

Once outside from under the canoe, Jackson realized that their canoe was alone, floating in the open, with no one insight. It was like their friend’s had vanished, or they had floated farther out to sea than he had realized. He hadn’t really paid attention to the passing time as he tried to save April, and himself, from drowning in the open water.

“Oh, Mark is going to get it!” He cursed his friend out loud. He should’ve seen this coming from him. Mark would’ve done this if it was he and Alex in the canoe, but April had gotten caught in the crossfire of his antics. If she didn’t before, she surely hates him and his friends now.

“What? What’s wrong?” April’s worried voice could be heard from inside the upside down canoe. Their friends left them there. In the middle of the ocean. One of them couldn’t even swim!

“Uh, not to alarm you, but, no one is out here. They’re gone.” He informed her, while still floating outside, in the open water.

“WHAT?” She shouted, her shrill voice echoed and bounced around the metal walls of the canoe.

He swam under water and joined her inside the dark, upside down boat He held his hand out revealing her black bag that he had plucked from her foot when he was underwater before he explained, “Ok, just stay calm. I see land. We can go there.”

He moved closer to her so he could scoop her back into his arms but she stopped him by kicking her feet in his direction, “Oh, that’s a great idea, just one tiny problem.”

“Wha-”

“I can’t freaking swim, Jackson! This is my worst nightmare. Stuck in the middle of the ocean and I can’t even freaking swim!”

He rolled his eyes at her. He couldn’t see her very well, but he bet she was doing the same. Instead of arguing with her more, he adjusted her legs around his waist so when she dropped her arms, she would be in piggyback position. It was easier for him to swim with her a long distance this way. He never realized how hard it was to swim with another person attached to him, especially when that particular person had a death grip on your neck. It was quite difficult, which caused him to need frequent breaks that caused said person’s grip to tighten. He might’ve been on the swim team, but he wasn’t used to being a lifeguard, for goodness sake’s! She definitely wasn’t having the time of her life either on his back. Her fear of slipping back into the water heightened with each short break he took. She just wished she could swim on her own and get to the shore as quickly as possible, so she could rid herself of Jackson Avery.

“Ow! Ow! Ow! Holy mother of –“ Jackson’s shouting pulled April back to reality, a sad reality at that, and she remembered where she was, and unfortunately, who she was with. Getting rid of him didn’t actually happen. He was still there, and very much around her. He had saved her life, she supposed, which made it worse because now she felt like she owed him something.

April rolled her eyes as he hopped around cradling his arm to his chest, “What is your problem, now?” She asked him, obviously annoyed.

He ignored her comment but sat back down beside her while grasping his hand. Blood started to trickle down his visibly smashed thumb. His “hammer” was dropped at her feet, where she can see the faint red marks on the bottom of it. Before she can make a remark about his horrible aim, he bent over again with a grimace on his face.

She sighed at him, partially in annoyance, partially in sympathy, then she took his hand in her own, “You need to wash this off in the water.” She had always been taught by her parents to have a kind heart, and love your neighbor. April was always willing to help those in need, no matter how awful they might seem. She had to admit, he wasn’t that bad, after all he did help her, so the least she could do was help him. She wasn’t even mad at him, just their situation, but she had to have someone to blame. Unfortunately for Jackson, he was the only one there for her to be angry with. Mark would get the rest of it, once they got off this stupid island, at least.

Still holding his injured hand, she led him the water’s edge and then crouched down to cup some of the water in her hand as the waves wash back up to the shore. She sprinkled some over his hand and he hissed as the salt water washes over his wounded thumb.

“Sorry,” She mumbled to him a short apology, “I should’ve warned you that the salt water might sting.”

“It’s ok. S’not that bad.” He winced again as she guided his hand to the edge of her shirt and started to lightly wipe the excess ocean water off of his thumb, “Now that it washed off, what do we do next?”

“Take off your shirt.”

“Um – what?”

“I said, take off your shirt.”

“Oh. April, I didn’t know you were that kind of girl,” He wiggled his eyebrows at her suggestively, “but if that’s what you want, I mean, there isn’t anyone else around –“

“Ew! No! I mean so we can use your material to wrap around your thumb! You know, this is why I didn’t want to help you in the first place!”

“Relax! I was joking. Maybe you should lighten up!”

“Lighten up? Lighten up! Oh that’s golden. Maybe you should stop acting like such a cocky, pretty boy!” April screamed at him, “You know what? Fix your stupid thumb by yourself!” With that, she stormed off into the trees and started running, to who knows where.

She heard Jackson shouting at her to come back, but she didn’t turn around, she just kept running. She ran through the trees until she reached a small clearing, and only then did she stop to catch her breath.

“Shit, April! April, slow down!” Jackson yelled as he tried to run after her, but eventually lost sight of her. She was an insanely fast runner, for a small girl who wasn’t all that athletic. Granted, running wasn’t Jackson’s forte either. He was a swimmer. The water was where he was at his best. Land, not so much. He did enjoy basketball, and he was on the starting line on their school’s football team, but that didn’t make him the best on his feet. He just mostly tackled people, or played hoops with his friends.

He walked further into the trees in the direction he thought she was headed, but he couldn’t quite remember. He wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do in this type of situation. They weren’t really friends, not due to lack of trying on his part, but he felt like he couldn’t leave her out here alone. Plus, he had just saved her life, and if she goes out and gets herself killed now, then what were his efforts for earlier? Okay, no, he really likes her as a person, that’s why he doesn’t want her to leave him. She was a genuinely nice person, with the most beautiful hair, and her smile could light up a room. Not to mention her personality was so genuine. The thought of her made his heart soar and his eyes search for her a little more.

Okay, so maybe he had a crush on her, but that didn’t really matter anyway, because she practically loathed him, which was something he didn’t understand. All he knew was that he needed to find her so they could stick together, and maybe they could make it off this island alive. If not, he was going to make her tolerate him, because what if they had to make a life on this island? Make a life? Populate the island? He shook his head quickly to rid him of those types of thoughts. He had to focus on the task at hand, because he definitely didn’t need to think of that while they were alone, stuck on an island paradise. April surely wouldn’t appreciate him thinking of anything other than finding her.

An hour passed by, with no sign of April and Jackson was utterly baffled. He kept hollering out her name, but to no avail. He didn’t realize how fast or how far she could run. He was getting lost himself. Nothing looked different. He just saw tree after tree and it was starting to get on his nerves. He walked a little further and spotted a small stream in the distance. He decided that it would be best if he took a break, after all, the trees that surrounded him were starting to give him a headache. He could only hope that, maybe, April had found it too.

April heard rustling in the trees behind her, and she waited for Jackson to appear behind them. She had heard him hollering out for her for a while, and it had recently gotten closer to her, so she knew it was him. In the clearing she had stumbled across, there was a small, shallow stream that led to a small, circular lake with large rocks positioned around the bank. She sat with her legs dangling in the shallow edge of the stream when he approached her from behind. Although she was expecting his arrival, the tap she received on her shoulder still startled her.

Jackson let out a sigh of relief as he breathed out, “Thank God, April, I’ve – I’ve been looking everywhere. ” He plopped down next to her and stuck his feet in the water as well. He hummed as his sweaty body felt the cold water connect with his legs. He reached down to stick his arms in as well, but a moment to late did he realize he was still injured. He hissed in pain and jerked his arm back a little too quickly, his elbow colliding with April’s shoulder, which caused her to shout as well. He mumbled an apology to her but she scooted away from him anyway, creating a small distance between them.

April rubbed her sore shoulder and glanced back over at Jackson, just in time to see him take off his shirt, “Wha- what are you doing?” She sputtered frantically.

Jackson smirked to himself at her hesitation, before he turned to face her with a soft smile, “I’m going to wrap my thumb up? Isn’t that what you said earlier?”

“Oh. Uh, yeah.” She responded slowly. She was much too distracted by his shirtless body. This was the first time on their trip that she had been around him shirtless, and she had to admit that swimming was definitely doing wonders to his body.

She snapped out of her daze when she realized how much he was struggling to wrap his own thumb. She quietly moved back beside him, close enough that their thighs slightly touched each other. She set her hand on his arm to stop his movements, then she gently took the shirt from his hand and sat his other hand on her leg.

“Uh – thanks.”

“No problem.” She responded awkwardly as she finished tying it in a knot to secure the shirt around his thumb.

“How’d you know what to do, anyway?”

She blushed and stared at her feet that were still dangling in the water, “I – uh – I want to be a doctor. It’s silly, I know, to learn about it now when I still have a while but I just think it’s so fascinating. It’s partially why I moved to Boston in the first place, so I have a chance at Harvard. Sorry, you probably don’t care – ” Jackson put his hand on her knee to interrupt her rambling. He thought it was endearing that she was that passionate and certain about her future, “It’s not silly. It’s not,” He reassured her, “It’s amazing actually. I wish I could be like you.”

“What do you mean?”

“That certain. I wish I could be completely sure about my future. About being a doctor, even.” Jackson leaned back onto his elbows and closed his eyes as he spoke, a pained expression present on his face, “My whole life, I have been told that I’m supposed to go to Harvard, go to Med School, become an amazing doctor like everyone else in my family. It’s my ‘legacy’, my destiny, I guess, and I just wish I was so sure of it, like you are.”

She grabbed his hand and pulled it into her lap, careful not to bump his injured thumb. He looked up at her and she patted him hand affectionately, “Then make sure. Make your own destiny.”

Jackson held her hand and she gave it a small squeeze in attempt to reassure him that everything would turn out fine in the end. He gently nudged her shoulder with his, causing her to grimace from their earlier collision. He quickly got tired of the silence he had caused and leapt up from their spots on the edge, splashing water everywhere. April lifted her head at the sudden movement, “What? What are you doing now?”

“Come on! Let’s go swimming!” He yelled at her as he walked further into the shallow stream.

She rolled her eyes at him, but remained at the edge. He obviously must have forgotten the major problem in him plan, “I can’t swim, stupid.”

Jackson turned around to face her, and she immediately noticed the smirk on his face, “No, Jackson. Whatever you’re thinking, stop.” She pointed her finger in his direction as he made his way back to her. He stopped in front of her and couldn’t help the huge grin that spread across his face. In one swift motion, he grabbed her waist and pulled her into the water. She shrieked as her whole body is suddenly immersed in the water and her arms loop around his neck to keep her above the surface. He helped her out of her tank top so it didn’t get wet and then he slung it to the grass next to her backpack.

“Calm down. I’ve got you.” He reassured her in a low tone as he submerged them further. His voice and the cold water caused a shiver to run up her spine. Jackson mistook it as a tremble in fear, so he soothingly ran his hand up and down her back as he moved them deeper into the little lake.

She instantly relaxed in his arms and he took it as a good sign, “See, the water isn’t such a scary place. Nothing to worry about, here.” He then guided them toward the edge of the rocks so she could hold on and stand up.

When they reached the edge of the lake, he noticed she couldn’t actually touch the bottom. That’s when he realized how short and petite she was compared to him, and he found it endearing. He propped her up on the side and then let her go. April quickly reached out to grip the rocks in order to keep herself from falling in. She gave Jackson a confused look and started to reprimand him, “Jackson, wha-” He cut her off before she managed to get anything out, because he wanted to explain his idea.

“I’m going to teach you how to swim,” He stated matter-of-factly. She shot him a look of uncertainty but nodded her head to show him that she was listening, “It’s not that hard and I will be here the whole time.” He promised her. Then he took her into his arms once again and slowly lowered her into the water on her back. He kept his good hand underneath her to keep her above water, his other hand rested on her belly causing her to jolt at his touch. He steadied her in the water and instructed her to slowly move her arms and legs. Once he felt she was ready, he removed his hand out from under her.

“And now, you’re floating.” He grinned down at her, but her face twisted in fear. He noticed her terrified look and helped her back up, “See, that wasn’t so bad. You did it!” He smiled at her again before he asked if she wanted to try it on her stomach.

She was hesitant at first, but he was very patient with her. He lowered her down on her stomach before he explained how she needed to kick her legs and move her arms right. She started with little arm movements before he stopped her, “No, don’t doggy paddle. Wider.” He let go of her with one hand to show her how it was done. She mimicked his movements and rotated between both her arms and he nodded his head in approval, “Good! Just like that! With a little more practice, you’ll be able to go on your own!” He pulled her up from her stomach and they grinned at each other. April was giddy at her new ability and Jackson was astounded at how fast a learner she was. She swung her arms around his torso and pulled him into a hug to thank him. When they leaned away from the hug, they were eerily aware of their close proximity. Their noses were close to touching, and Jackson could see every freckle on her face, and her light sunburn that was starting to form on the bridge of her nose and cheeks.

She, too, could see every freckle on his nose, and the small frown lines on his tanning cheeks as his face inched closer to hers. She was captivated by his eyes right in front of her. She was hypnotized by their crystal blue color that put her in a trance. They pulled her in like magnet. They were the most beautiful shade of blue April had ever seen and she couldn’t look away. At this point, she could feel his slow, hot breath dance across her lips. Her warm vanilla sent mixed with his as he exhaled. He leaned closer to her and her heart started to speed up. He reached between them to brush away a single curl, his soft fingers stroked her cheek before their lips finally collided. April's heart skipped a beat at the sudden and intense contact. Their lips were pressed so tightly together that April's whole body tingled and she let out a whimper, which elicited a growl from Jackson in response. Jackson reached out and tangled one of his hands in her red curls, while the other gripped her waist and pulled her closer to him. The skin on skin contact caused both of them to shutter in delight and their bodies hummed in pleasure. Jackson lifted April’s legs around his waist and she wrapped her arms around his neck for better access. After a few minutes, April reluctantly had to pull away. His lung capacity may be large from his swimming career, but hers was not.

Once they pulled apart, they stood there in the water, slowly panting to catch their breath. Neither one broke contact with the other, nor could they look away. Silence over took them once again. The tension between the two had finally broken them. They stared into each other’s eyes until Jackson’s stomach growled, breaking them out of their trance.

April giggled at him but opened her mouth in shock as her stomach growled in return, “I think we need to take a break from swim lessons and get some food.” Jackson chuckled at her and nodded in agreement. He swam them back to the other side of the little stream where they had left their clothes. He lifted April out of the water by her waist, before he climbed out to sit beside her. April leaned over the edge and rung her hair out before she grabbed her black drawstring bag from the pile of clothing, “All I have are these granola bars that Lexie packed for a snack.” She picked two out of the bag and handed one to Jackson.

They sat on the grass eating their melted chocolate granola bars while they watched the sky turn from light to dark. She watched the sunset over the trees, and he watched her. He saw the sunset reflected on her hair and in her eyes, and he had never seen anything more beautiful and perfect.

Soon, the darkness engulfed them and they could only see what the moon illuminated. April decided it was best if they got some sleep. Jackson insisted on trying to build them a shelter again, but April refused to let him. She said his injured thumb made him quite useless. Instead, they curled up underneath the trees and a couple bushes. April started shivering as a light breeze passed between the trees. Jackson shuffled closer and took her into his arms to keep them both warm. He kissed her hair lightly and she fell asleep to his steady heartbeat.

April woke up to the sun shining down right in her eyes. She blinked a few times to fight off the sleep before her vision became clear. Jackson was still asleep and she was still snuggled up in his arms with her head on his chest. That's when she heard it. The rustling of leaves caught her attention and she sat up quickly, causing Jackson to stir at the sudden movement. He mumbled in his sleep, but she just patted his chest in an effort to lull him back to sleep.

She turned her head and listened closely. Then she heard the noises again, followed by some mumbling. That’s when she knew they weren’t alone anymore. More people were here, or even better yet, someone had come to find them and get them off this horrible island! April jumped up and out of Jackson’s grasp, careful not to wake him up in the process. She followed the voices she heard, leaving Jackson asleep on the ground behind her. She only made it a few steps out of the clearing they had fallen asleep in when she saw a flash of familiar blonde hair, "April! We looked for you guys all day yesterday! Woah, you are majorly sunburned! Where is Jackson?" Arizona popped up in front of her out from behind a tree just a few feet ahead and started immediately hounding her with questions.

April was baffled at her friend’s first statement, "What do you mean? We've been stranded out here all day and night!”

"Stranded? What do you mean?" Arizona looked at April in bewilderment. Surely April was kidding, right?

"We've been stuck out here on this island this whole time! And you-" April pointed her finger when she saw Mark emerge from the trees behind Arizona, “This is all your fault!”

Mark held his hands up and shot her a defeated look before he backed away and hollered for the others to join them. April glared at him, fury in her eyes. He had absolutely no idea the trouble he had caused. She had almost drown, but he didn’t know that. No one knew that, and she wasn’t about to tell everyone about her swimming troubles, so she turned her attention back to Arizona, “We could’ve been lost forever!”

Arizona laughed at how silly April was acting. It wasn’t the end of the world, but she made it seem that way, "April, how do you think we got here?"

"I don't know! Canoeing?" April huffed in annoyance. The answer seemed logical to her, since that’s how she and Jackson had gotten there in the first place, sort of.

Arizona couldn’t hold back her smile any longer, "We're about 20 minutes from the resort... How far did you think you could go in that tiny canoe?"

"You walked here?" April asked, confusion laced in her voice.

"Yes..."

"You're telling me we're within walking distance of our hotel?" April quirked her eyebrow at Arizona in complete disbelief. Her face contorted as she tried to figure out what her friend was telling her.

"Yes..." Arizona responded slowly. She was expecting April to have seen the hotel, but she realized now that the trees were too tall to see over.

"Oh for the love of- I have to go get Jackson!" April exclaimed then she turned on her heel to go retrieve Jackson from their sleeping spot.

"Wait, what happened to you two? You seemed pretty cozy!” Arizona stopped her before she could leave them and sent her friend a suggestive look.

Once again, April was dumbstruck by her friend’s antics, “You saw us and didn’t bother to – wow, Arizona. Just, wow.”

Arizona opened her mouth to explain that she had planned on waiting until they woke up, but she was cut of by Mark’s cheering, “Ha! That’s my boy! I knew you would be good together!" Mark grinned at Arizona and held out his hand for her to high-five him.

"I - I can't believe you! You all planned this! You tipped our canoe on purpose! So you could, what? Play matchmaker?"

"Well, you were both there, and single, and you're not denying it worked, so ha!" Arizona high-fived Mark back and he looked at her smugly. They knew exactly what they had done, and they were proud of it.

"Shut up and let's just go, I'm hungry." April grumbled as the rest of the group joined them among the trees.

All the commotion and chattering had caught Jackson’s attention. He had woken up alone, without April anywhere in sight, which caused him to wonder if it was all a dream. He followed the voices and as he got closer, he immediately recognized them as April’s and his friends.

"Dude, what happened to your thumb?" Mark spotted him first and wasted no time in questioning him.

“Uh – long story…” Jackson smiled nervously, paying no attention to Mark. He was too occupied as he searched the group for April. He saw her standing with Arizona near a tree and he caught her eyes, sending a confused look in her direction before he decided to join the two.

He grinned at the two girls as he made his way to them, and Arizona decided to ask him about his thumb as well. The only response she received was an eye roll from Jackson and a giggle from April. She shook her head and left them alone after that. She rounded up the group and made her way to the front of them. She was the one who led the group here, so she had to lead them back out.

Jackson glanced over at April and pulled her closer to him as they walk hand in hand behind their friends, "I'm glad I got ‘not’ stranded with you." He tells her with sincerity, his voice just above a whisper.

"Me too." April smiled softly at him as he reached out with his other hand to tuck a piece of her red, curly hair behind her ear and out of her face. His hand lingered on her chin.

"And if we ever were to get stranded, I'd want it to be with you." Jackson moved closer to her and his voice got softer as he lowered his face to hers. He captured her lips quickly and softly. April jumped back from him and swatted at his chest, the blush rising up her neck to splay across her face. She was embarrassed that her friends were right in front of them, but they didn’t seem to notice

April stopped walking and her face turned serious, "Um- I think I will pass on that. You were pretty bad at everything we needed to survive."

Jackson gave her a fake-offended look before he grabbed her waist and squeezed it, causing her to squeal. He started to tickle her sides as she squirmed in attempts to get out of his grasps but he was too strong for her to escape.

"Okay, fine! I would love to get stranded with you!" Jackson, satisfied with her answer, stopped tickling her, but she wasn't finished, "but I hope that never happens again." Jackson grinned at her as they caught up with the rest of the group.

“So what really happened to your thumb, Jackson?”

“I was trying to build a shelter, Mark, now shut up.”

#japril #japril fanfiction #grey's anatomy fanfiction #april kepner #jackson avery #april x jackson

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