#she can’t actually see jimmy while he begs her to open the door to the infirmary

[egotistical-cabbage]

more mediocre ending au stuff

alt versions below the cut weewoo

[huggybug]

let me fix what’s broken - brendan brisson

word count: 1.9k words

note: I DID IT. not edited because i simply cannot stare at this any longer🫠 also officially the last umich goodbye fic ugh i’m sad

"You’re leaving?” You panted when Brendan opened the door. You had gotten a text notifying you that your boyfriend had officially decided to leave Michigan and you immediately ran from your lecture hall to his house.

“How did you get here so fast? Your class ended like five minutes ago” Brendan checked the time on his phone before looking back at you.

“Ran, not important” You took a second to catch your breath before throwing your arms around him. “Congratulations, I’m so proud of you” Brendan thanked you while pulling you into the house. A few of the remaining boys were scattered around the living room and you said a quick hello before you were dragged upstairs and into Brendan’s room.

“What’s going on?” You ask, just now noticing how unusually quiet he’s been.

“I think we need to talk” Your eyes widen and flicker from him down to your hands, suddenly feeling out of place. “We should break up”

“What?” You croak, your voice was almost too small to be heard.

“It’s just a lot, you know. We’re not going to see each other for a while and I’ll be busy in Vegas”

“Brendan...”

“I’m sorry but I think we’re better off if we just leave this as what it was” Your eyebrows knit together in confusion as you struggle to understand what he’s trying to say.

“And what exactly is that to you?”

“It was a college fling, Y/n, nothing more and nothing less” His words cut right through you. A college fling? You were in love with him and had been since you first met him as soon as you met him at that freshman event last September. 

“I thought you loved me” All the talk about your future and how many kids you’d want, what dog you were going to get... it all meant nothing to him.

“I do... I-” He was dumbfounded, trying to find words that weren't there but you didn’t wait for him to figure it out.

“No Brendan, you don’t. This isn’t how you treat people that you love” You brushed by him, holding the tears back as you rushed past the boys who were sitting around the living room. They were confused when you came down alone and even more confused when they realized you were crying.

When Brendan came down the stairs only moments later, you were already gone and all he had left was his friends who were badgering him with questions. 

“What the hell happened?” Mackie asked, still absolutely clueless about what Brendan could have possibly done to make you storm out of here like that.

“You actually did it? I thought you were joking bro” Thomas said, just now understanding.

“I had to, there was no other option” Brendan answered as he sat down next to his best friend.

“Did what? What am I missing?” Mark asked Thomas who shook his head and motioned to his best friend, deciding it was probably best if he explained it for himself.

“I broke up with Y/n” His confession was met with protests and shouts of disapproval by his friends.

“What in your little brain made you think that was a good idea?” Jimmy asked while shaking his head.

“She deserves better than a boyfriend who’s across the country. I can’t put her through that. She deserves more than just me” His voice was softer than usual and while it made some of the boys feel bad, they weren’t all as easily persuaded.

“Go apologize Briss, you know you don’t actually want this. Maybe if you beg, she’ll take you back” Thomas said, shoving his best friend lightly.

“It’s too late” 

“Dude she literally just left” Luke rolled his eyes.

“I can’t do it to her, she’s better off if I just leave” He sighed before trudging up to his room to start packing. 

...

The boys stayed out of it for the rest of the day, letting Brendan sulk in his room and checking up on you via text. It wasn’t until Thomas got a threatening text from Matty to ‘fix things or else’ that the boys had to divide a plan. 

“She’s not going to want to listen to me” Thomas had just finished explaining the plan after a long conversation with Brendan, trying to convince him that he was wrong in breaking things off.

“Just let us worry about that” Ethan said, waving Brendan off.

“If this ends up biting me in that ass, I’m blaming you fools” Brendan said, hoisting himself up from the couch.

“You already broke up with her... what more do you have to lose?” Mark snickers and Ethan smacks his arm. It was all going to happen the next morning since Brendan’s plane didn’t leave until 1 which gave the boys plenty of time to set the plan in motion.

You got a phone call at 9am. “Y/n?” 

“Thomas, if you’re not dying in a ditch somewhere I’m going to totally beat your ass” You groaned. Sleep had not come easily last night so the few hours you had actually gotten were interrupted way too soon.

“It’s important I swear, come to the house” You sighed but agreed before hanging up, reminding him that if he wasn’t actually leaving today, you wouldn’t be coming. You were dressed and ready to go in record speed and you hurried over to Thomas’ house. He was standing in the yard when you got there and you looked at him, then back to the house with a raised eyebrow.

“Did you get locked out?”

“No... just- come on” He grabbed your wrist and dragged you behind him as you struggled to keep up.

“Thomas-”

“Y/n!” You heard your name chorused and you looked around at the room full of boys who were not usually up this early on an off day.

“Hi?” You said awkwardly, still not too sure what you were doing here.

“So... why was I needed this early?” You were actually planning on spending the day in your dorm or at least until you knew Brendan would be gone to the airport. 

“You can’t leave” Mark said quickly and your eyes widened slightly.

“You have to talk to Briss before he leaves” Ethan says next and you sigh while shaking your head. You should’ve known they were going to try and fix this. Your friends were nothing if not menaces and they loved sticking their noses in problems that weren’t theirs in the first place.

“No I don’t” You turned to the door, ready to make your exit.

“Just hear him out” Thomas caught your arm and when you looked back at him, you could tell he was pleading which normally would win you over.

“I don’t think this is something he can talk his way out of” You sigh as you reached for the door. “I’ll see you guys later” The boys were frozen in place as you left, closing the door quietly behind you.

“I told you it wouldn’t work” Brendan sighed, stepping out from the kitchen where the boys had sat him down before you came in.

“Alright... plan b” Jimmy said while shoving Brendan towards the door.

“What’s plan b?” He asks, stabilizing himself before he could faceplant into the door.

“Go after her!” Ethan yelled while opening the door and shoving Brendan outside. You turn when you hear the commotion and see your boyfriend ex-boyfriend stumbling down the steps. 

“Y/n!” 

“Don’t do this Brendan, don’t make this harder than it already is” You shook your head as you kept walking, you weren’t even mad at him anymore, you were just hurt. 

“Just hear me out, please” You sigh before turning back to face him.

“What more could you possibly have to say Brendan?” “I’m sorry, okay? I fucked up, I shouldn’t have broken up with you... I love you” His eyes were wild while searching your face, trying to figure out how you would react.

“Did you mean it?”

“What?”

“That this was just a fling... that we were just a fling” Your heart squeezed when you relived the moment all over again. It wouldn’t have been such a big deal if that’s all it really was but you knew it was more. The almost two years you’d spent together was definitely not just a fling.

“No... god no. I love you Y/n” You let out a breath, your wall was slowly starting to fall. “I was scared, well I am scared. Long distance is hard and you deserve better than that Y/n/n” 

“You don’t get to make that decision alone Brendan!” You cried out.

“I know and that’s why I’m here now” He hesitantly takes a step towards you but when you don’t move away, he gains a little more confidence. “I’m sorry, I swear I’ll do anything to fix it” 

“You can’t just break my heart like that and then come back right away, did you really think I’d take you back that easily?”

“Tell me you don’t want me. Tell me and I’ll drop it and leave you alone” 

“I can’t” You say quietly. “Of course I want you Bren, I love you” 

“Then what’s the problem?” He asked and you took a deep breath.

“The problem is that I can’t trust you to not do this again”

“I promise on anything babe, if you want this... I will do anything I can to make it work. I just can’t leave without knowing for sure” That’s when it hit you... he was leaving today. In just a few hours, he’d be off to the airport, gone for who knows how long.

“Promise you won’t break up with me without actually talking to me first?” You ask and he laughs softly. “Unless I do something really terrible, then it’s acceptable”

“I promise” You bite the inside of your cheek before smiling. He grins before holding his arms out for you which you don’t hesitate before falling into him.

“I hope you know that I don’t deserve anything more than you” You say as you tilt your head up to look at him. 

“Of course you do” He sighed. “You’re going to be a fucking Physiotherapist, you deserve a smart boyfriend” 

“I have a smart-ass boyfriend, does that count?” You ask and he rolls his eyes before kissing you quickly. “I don’t care if you have a degree or not Bren” It was almost laughable that he thought something like that could be a problem for you.

“You’re going to have two degrees baby... I have none”

“By then you could have two Stanley Cups and I’d have none” You point out and he gives you a look.

“Don’t jinx me like that” You were too busy laughing at him to notice the previously empty street now had a line of hockey players standing and watching you.

“I told you it would work!” Thomas cheered with the boys and you were too busy laughing at Dylan and Luke (who were doing some sort of celebratory dance) to notice the other boys coming over to pat Brendan on the back.

“Alright, it’s like 9:30 and I’m hungry so let’s go get some food” You announce to the group who’s cheering in favour of food.

“Food and then we’ve got some goodbye festivities to have” Brendan comes up to whisper in your ear and you feel your cheeks flame while you elbow his stomach which elicits a loud laugh from him.

[mrsdeanwinchester19]

The Interview

Steve x reader

Word Count: 1.7k

Summary: The Avengers have interviews with a news outlet and it doesn’t go as expected

Type: Fluff and humor

Warnings: None

Author’s Note: This was inspired by the Jiminy Glick/Jimmy Fallon interview

The Avengers compound was almost completely quiet, Steve was the only one awake.  He doesn’t normally stay at the compound anymore, preferring to stay at his house, but they got in late from a mission last night and fell asleep after taking his suit off.  The only noise came from the drip, drip, drip of the coffee maker as he mentally tried to prepare for the interviews the whole team has today.  Everyone had been assigned a journalist for a news outlet called The New York Sun.  They were doing a piece on the Avengers, hopefully they won’t try to turn it into an exposé, but it’s not like they would find any information that isn’t already on the Internet after Natasha decrypted and released SHIELD’s files.

Bucky stumbles into the kitchen in a long gray and purple striped robe, looking like he just woke from cryo.  “Good morning sunshine,” Steve jokes. ��Bucky glares at him before taking the cup of coffee that Steve had prepared for himself before walking back out.  “FRIDAY,” Steve says to the air.  “Set an alarm for everyone’s room.”  He smiles slightly when the loud alarm starts blaring in all their rooms.  

Sam slams his door open and looks around frazzled.  “What the hell, man?” He clearly woke up thinking there was some kind of attack happening.

Steve simply shrugs his shoulders in response.  “You need to get ready.”

Once everyone had gotten up and gotten ready, they all have a meeting in the common area.  Tony orders them not to say anything the people don’t know about already, don’t say anything about each other, and definitely don’t talk about relationships or family.  

The journalists are spread out around the compound, each in their own room, so Tony tells them where to go to meet their journalist.  Steve goes into the conference room to see one chair turned away from him.  When he closes the door, the journalist spins their chair around and sets their papers on the table.  Steve is immediately struck by how beautiful the interviewer is. Long Y/H/C hair tumbling over her shoulders, bright Y/E/C eyes staring into his baby blues.  She’s wearing a tight black skirt and a white blouse that Steve can slightly see her lacy bralette through.  

“Steve Rogers, nice to meet you,” she says, extending her hand.  Steve grips her soft hand in his rough one and shakes it.  He can’t help but notice the lack of a ring on the hand he didn’t shake.

“Nice to meet you too Miss…” he trails off.

“Y/N.”

“Miss Y/N.  It’s not often we do interviews, just press conferences,” he says, sitting down across the table from her.

“Well, normally I interview celebrities, so this is a nice change of pace,” she answers.  Apparently Steve isn’t a celebrity in her eyes despite the fact that he’s a national icon and has been since World War II.  

“What would you like to know?” Steve changes the subject.

“I want to know about your journey.  I want to know how-” she checks her notes, “-Steve Rogers got to where he is today; but not too much detail because I don’t actually care.  You were born where?”

“I was born and raised in Brooklyn-,” Steve explains, but she cuts him off.

“-Isn’t that wonderful? Poor Brooklyn or Newsies Brooklyn?”

“Uh, it was more poor Brooklyn.”

“Poor Brooklyn, okay. And I’m assuming from the grammar…limited education.”

Steve nearly has to keep his jaw from dropping at her audacity.  To keep his mouth from opening, he clenches his jaw as she continues with the questions.  He may not be a genius like Tony, but he’s smart.  While Tony’s head is filled with ideas for inventions, his is packed with military strategies, fighting styles, and a lifetime of wise advice that the team never wants to hear.  Then, at night, what takes over his mind is how embarrassing the Rappin’ with Cap videos about hot lunches and tooth decay are.

She continues before he has a chance to respond, “There are a lot of words you don’t say.  Rumors are you don’t swear, is that true?”  Steve nods his head in affirmation.  “Why?  Are you scared of saying the words or something?”

Steve sighs, used to this kind of response.  “I just think it sounds unintelligent and unprofessional.”

“Ah, and with your lack of education you want to sound as smart as possible.  So, moving on, you stopped producing weapons.  You said ‘I’m not gonna do it anymore’.  Why is that?”

“Yeah, that uh, that wasn’t me, that was Tony.”

“And you are…?”

“Steve Rogers.”

She gasps, “These questions are not- I’m not prepared for this!  Alright, improvising.  Here’s one, how are you alive?”

“I beg your pardon?” Steve asks, not quite understanding if she’s referring to his age or a certain mission he shouldn’t have come back from.

“You went into the ice. Human cells are mostly made of water. When water freezes, it expands. Your cells should have burst.”

“They think that the serum prevented it from happening.  The doctors said that instead of the water in my cells expanding that when it got cold it clumped together and turned solid.  I’m not a scientist though, that’s something you would want to ask Bruce or Cho, they tried to explain it to me.”

“Bruce isn’t a medical doctor, right?” she asks.

“Right.  But he studied the serum, attempting to replicate it and now that I’m here again he’s trying to learn more about it.  I was basically a pin cushion for him in the beginning, he took so much blood.”

“Alright, last question. I wanna ask you about your relationship with Bucky Barnes.”

“He’s a very good friend-“ Steve begins.

“Lover.”

“What?”

“Is he your lover?” she asks again.

“No, he’s just a friend; basically my brother,” Steve defends.

“Admit it in this interview, he’s your male lover!”

“You’re just trying to get a reaction out of me!” Steve says.  He knows he shouldn’t let her rile him up at all, but he can’t help it when the entire interview has been to hold.

“I’m not trying to get a reaction.”

“Yes you are, you’re trying to get a reaction out of me by saying ridiculous stuff like this!”

“I’ll tell you the reaction that I’m trying to get over, I’m trying to get over the fact that I thought this was with Stark!”

“You gotta be shitting me.”

“Oof, Rogers, you kiss your wife with that mouth?  Or should I say you kiss Bucky with that mouth,” she says.

Steve pulls at his own hair before walking out of the conference room.  She’ll find her own way out.  What the hell kind of interview was that?  The questions were almost nonsensical, followed no pattern or sequence, and apparently she thought she was interviewing a different person.  He’s been angered by interviewers before, especially when they try to work in “gotcha” questions, but never straight up insulted like this with the education comment.  He’s not sure if the others are done with their interviews yet but if he needs to talk to them, he can text.  He’s headed home.

  You unlock your front door and drop your purse after closing the door. Before you even get a chance to turn on the light, a voice calls out.  “Limited education?”

You jump a bit and put your hand on your chest.  You look over to see a dark figure on the couch.  He stands up and slowly walks over until he’s in the light shining through the front windows from the street lights.  “I think you deserved it,” you say.

“Oh really?” he asks.

“Yes.  Texting your wife that you’re getting in and then staying at the compound?”  You walk closer to him.  “I stayed up for hours worried that something happened to you in the last few minutes of the flight and you said I’m not allowed to call you during missions.”

“I’m sorry babe, my phone died and I passed out when I went to go take off my uniform.  Can you forgive me?” he asks, wrapping his arms around your waist.

You look up at him then at his chest.  “I mean, a massage would definitely help…”

He laughs.  “I was about to ask the same thing of you, especially after FRIDAY showed Tony the full recording of my interview and then had an almost two hour phone call with me about it.  He’s gonna kill me when he finds out the interviewer was my wife.  Actually it’s gonna be when he finds out I got married and didn’t invite the team.”

“Well don’t worry about it,” you say, setting your hands against his chest and feel his strong heart beating beneath his skin.  “He’ll understand since you two weren’t on good terms at the time. In other news, I wrote you a shining review about how you’re smart, selfless, brave, kind, and how sexy your ass is.”

He laughs and leans down to kiss you.  The kiss is chaste but sweet.  “We’re having dinner with the team on Thursday.”  

It’s Monday today so that gives me only 3 days to mentally prepare to meet the people most important to him. “Are you sure?” I ask nervously.  

“Of course!  You already know Bucky and he loves you.  I’m sure the rest of the team will too.  Besides, how else will we explain the great article about me when Tony saw the interview.”

“Did you tell them they’re having dinner with you and your wife?” I ask.  I have hung out with Bucky and Steve dozens of times.  He comes over for dinner at least twice a week and he was the best man at Steve’s second wedding.  Because Tony and Steve had been split apart, he really wanted Bucky at his wedding, even though he wasn’t fully recovered yet.  I think Steve would’ve put him in a straight jacket had it meant he could be there.  Bucky also wanted to be there more than anything, he was just terrified he would ruin Steve’s day.  So after telling Bucky, you had a small, second ceremony that Bucky was able to attend, along with Steve’s Wakandan friends. We may end up having a third ceremony that the team can finally attend.

“Nope.  I just told them team dinner on Thursday and they have to be there.  But for now, how about we head to the bedroom and get reacquainted?” he asks, wiggling his eyebrows and biting his full lower lip.

“Yeah, you need to take care of your wife that you left alone for a week.  Otherwise you’ll get an article about your secret addition to glazed donuts and soap operas!”

Taglist: @imanuglywombat​

[orange-waterfalls]

Just Dance for the Nintendo Wii

Yancy x gn!reader

ty anon for the request!

A/N: Shit was so fun to write I swear. Just Dance was my childhood. I had a thing about memorizing all the dances in all the songs in all the games I got. I also didn’t actually look at the moves in the corner I just watched the dancer lmao. And when I found out other people didn’t do that I just ???it’s so much easier???? I might’ve projected onto Yancy a lil bit. It’s a fun fic! It is a fun and light-hearted fic, I promise. Couple curse words. TW mention of smoking and cigarettes. That’s about it. I think it could be seen as platonic or romantic. Reader does call him “babe” at one point but I call my friends darling and sweetie so I think it’s fine. Might be a few typos since I never read through my fics lmao. Enjoy!

Word Count: 2.9k

Lunch ended and you immediately shot up out of your chair, making your way down the hall. Your friends stared after you, slightly offended you didn’t even bother saying goodbye. You would have any other day, but this was important.

You stomped your way to the warden's office, pushing past the guards who mostly just gave you confused looks. You would have made your way around them, asking them to make some room, but this was important. 

You kicked the door open and stomped up to the desk. The warden jumped and put a hand over his heart. You were not an aggressive person. Really, you weren’t. But this. This was important. This was the most important thing you ever came up with.

“Jesus, child, you ever heard of knocking?” He breathed, exasperated. He looked like he was gonna keep talking, so you slammed your hands on his desk. A few months before, he probably would have had you thrown in solitary for even walking in there. But you’re a good person, and you behave for the most part. So he raised an eyebrow and waited for you to make whatever point you wanted to make.

“Wii,” you said, simply. He blinked a couple times.

“Beg pardon?” He laughed. You were on a bit of a power trip and wanted to respond with “then beg”, but the conversation probably would have ended there. You made it this far without breaking down, you couldn’t stop now.

“I want a Wii,” you said, slowly. The warden squinted at you before chuckling a little. You glared daggers at him. Laugh at you, will he?!

“Now, kiddo, that ain’t--”

“Shut up. I don’t care. I just need you to listen.” He gave you a look and leaned back in his chair. You quieted for a moment, thinking about exactly what you were gonna say. You honestly hadn’t thought you’d make it this far.

“Go ahead, I’m a busy man,” He shook you out of your thoughts. You squared your shoulders.

“Yancy likes to dance,” you stated. You stared at each other in silence for a moment as you prepared your words in your head. He waved his hand, telling you to keep going. You cleared your throat, “Yancy likes to dance… and we don’t have access to the internet.”

“And you’re not going to.” He warned.

“Yeah, yeah, I figured…” You sighed. “But that’s not what I’m here for.” He knitted his eyebrows together in intrigue.

“Alright…” He leaned forward, arms on his desk.

“Yancy can’t keep coming up with songs and dances when he gets bored. It takes a long time, and he’s getting burned out. I think that if we had another- if we had access to prepared dances and songs, it’d be better.” You stuttered. That’s okay. As long as he was listening. “I think if we had a… a game, a dancing game. Like Just Dance on the Wii or something, then we’d be better. Happier? I mean, we’re happy, but… more-more happy. There’s never… too much… happy…” You lost yourself towards the end there. You started shaking a little as the whole situation hit you like a train. What the hell were you doing? This is a PRISON, not a middle school. Why would they want you to be happy? Oh, this was a stupid idea… no. You made it this far. Sure this was stupid, but you were NOT going to back down. Not until you got a-

“Ok.”

“Huh?” You asked, dumbfounded. You stared at Mr. Murder-Slaughter, and he stared right back. “What’d you say?” He stood up from his desk and walked over to you. You fought the urge to book it and stood your ground. You puffed up your chest a little to look intimidating. From the smirk he got on his face, it wasn’t working.

“I said, ok.” Your shoulders dropped and you let out a shaky breath.

“Really? I mean… really?” 

“Sure, why not. Boosts morale, stops people from wanting to escape.” He shrugged. You stood there, mouth agape, probably looking like a moron.

“Thanks.” You murmured. He smiled at you, and you smiled right back. He took your shoulders and spun you around towards the door.

“Yeah, yeah, now get outta here! You’ve got dishes to do!” He pushed you out, and you gave him one last smile before running down to the kitchen. He watched you trip over your own feet and shook his head. You ran past a guard, who heard the noise and got confused.

“What the hell was all that?”

“Fuck around and find out!”

---

You startled awake to the sound of talking coming from outside your cell. You rubbed your eyes and looked around, not seeing your cellmate. You sighed and managed to lift yourself up out of the bed. You stretched and heard your back crack in several places. That sounded… worrying to say the least, but you had other things on your mind. For example: where was everyone?

You made your way through the prison, eventually ending up in the common room where everyone was talking over each other excitedly. 

“Sorry, forgot to set the alarm!” A guard apologized. You nodded at him. You turned and saw Tiny and slid over next to her.

“What’re we doing? Is it Thursday already?” You whispered.

“Nah, warden bought a game system,” she answered. You stared at her, mouth open slightly. “Keep staring at me we’re gonna fight.”

“Uh, sorry.” You blinked and looked forward, standing on the tips of your toes to try and get a better look. “What gaming system?”

“A Wii. Warden said we each get 30 minutes per week.” She explained. She then waited for you to respond. You didn’t.

“Dude, you alright?” She gently reached out and shook your arm.

“Hm? Oh, yeah, I’m good.” You mumbled. “He buy any games yet?”

“Uhhhhh Super Mario Bros, Kirby’s Epic Yarn, Animal Crossing, Smash…”

“Mm-hm, mm-hm, as he should.”

“I think those Wii Sports games…”

“Just Dance?”

“Don’t know. Said to talk to him if there’s a game you want.” You nodded and gave her a small fistbump before walking over to the warden, who stood away from the group. You leaned over and saw BamBam and Sparkles in a heated game of Smash Bros. You stood next to the warden and watched.

“So, you actually listened to my request?” You looked up at him in slight disbelief.

“Course I did. Why not? Like I said, boosts morale.” He smiled. You nodded and you both looked forward again.

“How much was it?” You inquired.

“$100 on eBay.”

“Deadass?!”

“Absolutely. Great condition, too. Been used before, but not necessarily broken.”

“Come with the games?” “Some. Had to tell the guy I was buying it for my foster kids for him to give them to me. Them along with the Wii is what made it $100.” He explained

“So, we’re your kids now?” You snickered.

He only answered with a hum. You looked at him, blinking rapidly. 

“What?” He said in a defensive tone.

“Nothing! Don’t worry about it!” You waved him off. He crossed his arms in a huff but dropped it.

“Buy Just Dance?”

“In the back. Saving it for when Yancy shows up.”

“Shows up? He’s not here?” “No. He went to the yard when everyone gathered here.” You hummed and looked down, thinking.

Why did Yancy leave? Did he not care about it? Did he not want to play? That would complicate things a little…

“Instead of speculating, why don’t you go ask him?” He scoffed. You looked at the warden, scandalized.

“You’re an easy person to read, child.” He set a hand on your shoulder. “He might be out in the yard.” You sighed and walked away from the cheering crowd as BamBam pumped his fists triumphantly and Sparkles fell to his knees.

---

You opened the door to the yard, peeking out to see if anyone was there. Lo and behold, there he was, Yancy, sitting on the grass having a smoke. You walked over to where he was and plopped down next to him. He jumped a little, but breathed harshly once he saw it was you.

“Whatcha doin’ out here?” You queried, softly.

“Hm.” He grunted in response.

“Everyone’s inside… having some fun…”

“Hm…”

“I think Jimmy might play Animal Crossing…”

“Hm.”

“Yancy, what’s wrong?” You sighed and turned your body towards him a little.

“Nothin’, nothin’s wrong.” He lied. “C’mon, man, we both know that’s a lie.” You tilted your head to look at him. He avoided your eyes.

“Yancy.” You said sternly. He faltered a little hearing your concern. He glanced at you. Your eyes softened. “What’s wrong?”

“Is just… I never really gots to play games when I was young… and… I dunno… don’t know… how to...” He mumbled. You nodded in understanding, shifting until your shoulders were touching his. You stared at the fence while Yancy kept smoking. You tried not to cough when he exhaled his smoke, but you couldn’t help it. He looked at you apologetically before putting the cigarette out on the grass. You both sat there for a little, enjoying each other’s company. 

“So…” you breathed out after a little while. He turned to you with an eyebrow raised. “You’re upset because you don’t know how to play the games?”

“‘N I’ll look stupid while playing ‘em, yeah.” He finished with a scoff. A smile grew on your face.

“I know a game that’ll be really easy for you…” you sang. He furrowed his eyebrows at you.

“...what is it?” He hesitated. You bit your lip to keep from giggling as he looked at you worriedly.

---

“Wait, so… the hell is Just Dance?” Yancy scratched his head as you led him back to the common room. It was late, and everybody else was back in their cells. You convinced a guard to let you out by pretending you were gonna cry.

“It’s a game where you dance,” You said in a condescending tone. “Come on, Yance, use deductive reasoning.”

“I’on even know what that means,” He argued playfully. You brought him to the small TV, handing him a remote as you turned it on.

“It just… There are songs with dances prepared, and you have to do the dances as you see them on screen. Got it?” You looked up at Yancy, who was busy staring at the glowing screen of the tv. It was on the Wii home menu, so there wasn’t much to see. However, to Yancy, it was one of the coolest things he’d ever seen.

“Whoa whoa whoa, wassat?” He pointed at the screen and jumped a bit when he saw the cursor move as he moved the remote. He shifted it over until it was on the Mii Channel.

“Uh… that’s the place where you can make a little avatar of yourself. It works on some of the games, but not Just Dance.” You explained. “...you wanna make a Mii?” He pouted and gave you puppy dog eyes. You rolled your eyes and stood up, bringing your Player One cursor on the screen and clicking the channel. 

You told Yancy the mechanics, how to change everything, and what to do once he was done. You made your own Mii, explaining everything along the way, and told him to make his once you were done. Yancy, being the creative boy he is, spent half an hour on his Mii, trying to get everything perfect. You just stood next to him, trying not to yawn. Like I said, it was late. Eventually, he finished and you both got to see your Mii’s next to each other, along with some other people’s. He kept dragging his over next to you, trying to force them to interact. He got very upset when you told him they couldn’t hug or anything. He let you exit out of the channel and go into Just Dance. 

“Any particular song?” You scrolled through the songs, letting them play for a couple seconds so he could know what each was like. 

“Stop!” He called. “Go back.” You scrolled back to the last song you let play.

“Britney Spears? Serious?” You teased. It was all in good fun, you loved her too. Who wouldn’t?

He grumbled a little to himself. It sounded a little like “not my fault her songs bop”. You breathed out a chuckle and clicked the song, whisper-singing the lyrics as you did.

“My loneliness is killin’ me… Blue, green, orange, or pink?” You asked. After not getting an answer, you looked at Yancy to see the problem. He was frowning at the screen. “Yance?”

“Why’re they all girls?”

“Because it’s a traditionally girl-ish song.”

“I’m not a girl.”

“I know you’re not. Just pick a color.”

“Why are they cheerleaders?”

“Because they can be. Yancy, pick a color.”

“But why-”

“Yancy I swear to God pick a fucking color.” He hummed and then picked blue. You picked green.

You got into the same stance as the girl on the screen, and Yancy copied you. The music started up, and you started dancing. Yancy seemed a bit startled as he hurried to copy you. He wheezed out a little laugh, flailing his arms a little, trying to figure out what move you were on. You bit your lip to not laugh at him. You both kept going, and Yancy eventually got into the rhythm. He stuck his tongue out in concentration and you stared for a moment, not believing how adorable he was. Then you remembered that there was a winner in this game so you shook your head and kept dancing. 

Eventually the song ended, and you both breathed a little harder than normal. You looked at your scores, and found that you'd won. You clapped your hands and cheered. Yancy crossed his arms.

"Whatever, this is my first time!" He scoffed. But you could see the smile on his face. You stretched your arms and yawned, turning the Wii off and leaving the remote.

"Welp, we should get back--" you turned to head towards your cell.

"No!" Yancy stood in front of you. You tried to go around him, but he kept blocking your way. He grabbed your shoulders and held you in place.

"I want a rematch."

"Yancy, it's late…" you whined.

"Just one more! Please?" He pleaded. He, again, gave you those puppy dog eyes you could never say no to. You sighed loudly, grabbing the remote again and turning the Wii back on.

"I don't understand why you can't do this yourself…" you mumbled, clicking on Just Dance again.

"I… like spending time with you," he said softly. You squinted at him.

"You'd feel awkward dancing alone, huh?"

"Yeah…"

"Fine."

"Ooh! Let's do--"

"Nah, nah, nah. You're keeping me up. I get to pick the song."

"...'This is Halloween'?"

"Bet your ass."

"But that--"

"Shut it, Yancy, I'll leave."

"Okay! Sorry… 

"..."

"...can I be the pumpkin?"

"Of course you can be the pumpkin, babe."

---

You woke up really tired in the morning. You didn't know when you got back to bed, but the guard that let you out was asleep by the door when you arrived. You didn't even consider escaping, you were so tired. You just entered the cell and shut the door behind you.

In the morning, you got up and dragged yourself into the common room again. Everyone was playing the Wii again. You rubbed your eyes and stood next to Tiny.

"Fuck happened to you?" She scoffed.

"Yancy happened…" you yawned

"Ah. Long night, huh?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Ye-no. Wait, what? No, gross. We played Just Dance."

"Oh, was it fun?"

"For the first couple. The rest I was way too tired to be happy about…"

"Aw, did wittle baby need theiw nap?" She teased.

"I'm not wi-little! I'm not-I'm not little! Shut up!" You complained as she laughed.

"Well, Jimmy played Wii tennis against a guard. Now he's playing the warden."

"Seriously? Oh my God."

"He's currently the reigning champion."

"Who's going against him next?" You hear a thud, like someone fell.

"Got-dang it!" Mr. Murder-Slaughter yelled.

“That’d be me,” She patted you on the back before walking up next to Jimmy. Mr. Murder-Slaughter passed her as she walked, limping. He stood by you.

“You seem to be having fun.” You teased.

“Ah, shut it…” He growled and rubbed his arm. “How’s Yancy?” 

“He’s good. He likes the game a lot.” You explained.

“I’d hope so, otherwise there was no reason to buy this thing.” He scoffed.

“Eh… I dunno about that…” You listened to Tiny laugh loudly from where she stood in front and smiled. You turned your head a little and saw Yancy leaning against the opposite wall. You caught each other’s eyes. He nodded his head to the Wii. You shrugged and walked up. He did the same. 

Once Tiny and Jimmy were done with their match, Jimmy keeping his title as champion, you and Yancy walked up to the wii, taking the remotes and clicking Just Dance. 

“What song should we do?” You scrolled through the list.

“Avril Lavigne!” Someone yelled from the back of the room. You had a sneaking suspicion of who it was, but kept it to yourself. 

“Girlfriend by Avril Lavigne it is!” You clicked the song.

“Uh… I don’t know this song, bud,” He whispered to you. You clapped a hand on his shoulder.

“Oh you’re gonna love it.”

“I’m not sure I like that look.”

“Calm down, it’ll be great.”

“Okay… can i be the punk girl?”

“I wanna be the punk girl…”

Cue the puppy eyes…

“...fine, you can be the punk girl.”

[clumsyclifford]

lashton prompt: luke falling asleep on skype and ashton taking the opportunity to draw him, bonus if someone else finds the sketches before ashton shows them to luke

meghna this prompt is from almost a full calendar year ago. i am proud to report that after all this time i did in fact manage to set it in spideyverse because that’s how determined i am. more info in ao3 notes but it takes place in the summer before their senior year of high school, so after the events of everything else in spideyverse so far

read here on ao3

-

Ashton will have to thank Maya later for the tip about the Fine Arts Room. He jimmies the door handle and, as promised, the door swings opens to reveal a darkened room full of half-finished projects. They must really take the decency of humanity on faith here. Anyone could come in at any time and sabotage any of this work.

Ashton has less nefarious plans.

He sits at his usual spot but doesn’t turn any lights on; the big windows shine just enough moonlight into the room that Ashton can see the silhouettes of the furniture, and his laptop will be on in a moment anyway. Careful of the scattered pages over his workspace, he opens his computer and loads up Skype. 

Just in time for an incoming call.

Ashton fumbles with his headphones and plugs them in with one hand while he accepts the call with the other. The screen fills with Luke’s brightly-lit, highly pixelated face. Chin in his hands, elbows propped on his desk, hair a ruffled mess (from the mask, Ashton knows) — the sight of him fills Ashton with warmth.

“Hey,” Luke says, smiling his usual cheeky smile. They’ve been texting sporadically, but seeing Luke’s face — hearing his voice — gives Ashton a fluttery feeling behind his sternum. Calum would call that anatomically impossible, but he’d do it with a smirk. “I can barely see you.”

“I’m sitting in the dark,” Ashton explains. His voice is a hushed whisper even though he knows it’s absurd to be paranoid. They’re supposed to be confined to their bunks by now, and the staff and counselors will all be asleep. The only reason he and Luke are calling now, past midnight, is because now is the only time they’re both available. “I’m in the Fine Arts Room.”

“Ooh, can I see?”

“I don’t want to turn on the lights,” Ashton says. “There are windows and stuff.”

“Are you not supposed to be there?” Luke raises an eyebrow and grins. “Ooh, is Ashton Irwin sneaking around?”

“Well, if we weren’t calling at the middle of the night, I wouldn’t have to.”

“Don’t they lock the buildings?” Luke suddenly looks concerned.

Ashton shrugs. “Maya told me that if I jiggle the handle, the door will open. She was right.”

“Go Maya,” Luke says. “I like Maya. Who’s Maya?”

“My new friend,” says Ashton. “She mostly paints. We’ve got a challenge going on about whether she’s better at drawing or I’m better at painting, since neither of us really use those mediums. Hannah — one of the other campers — is going to find something for us to both paint slash draw and then there’ll be an unofficial panel of judges. It’s pretty stupid.”

“You’re smiling a lot,” Luke says, and Ashton realizes he is. “Doesn’t sound stupid to me. You think you’re gonna win?”

“No,” Ashton says honestly. “I’m pretty awful at painting.”

“I’m sure you’re better than you think. How hard can it be?”

“That’s very rich coming from you, Mr. I-Can’t-Draw-A-House.”

“Hey, fuck off! I can draw a house, thank you very much.” Luke looks down at his desk and his focus shifts, and Ashton watches in bemused patience. As he waits, he draws a blank piece of paper towards him and grabs the nearest pencil lying around. His hands move almost unconsciously, drawing lines and curves and sketching the outline of something Ashton hasn’t quite decided on yet. Luke finally lifts his head up. “Here, see?” He holds up a piece of paper to the camera, where he’s drawn a box with an isosceles triangle on top for the roof, complete with a little chimney sticking out. “House,” Luke proudly declares. “Boom. Get fucked, Irwin.”

“I stand corrected,” Ashton chuckles. He hums. “They’ll probably just find us equally talented because painting is different from drawing and blah blah blah artsy hipster bullshit.”

“Stop dismissing the artsy hipster bullshit,” Luke says stubbornly. “I’ll have you know my boyfriend deals exclusively in artsy hipster bullshit.”

“You think my drawings are artsy hipster bullshit?”

“No, babe, I think you are artsy hipster bullshit.” Luke grins widely and then gets cut off by a yawn. Ashton bites back a very cheesy comment about how Luke should web himself up for being criminally cute.

“You know what, I’m gonna let you have that one,” he says instead. “Since I am at an artsy hipster bullshit summer camp.”

“I miss you.” Luke pouts. It’s a funny look on him. Ashton tries to imagine Spiderman pouting and completely fails. Sometimes it’s hard for him to reconcile Luke and Spiderman being the same person. That this adorable six-foot-and-change beanstalk who yawns on Skype is the same person who can do a double-backflip and land on his feet on the rooftop of any building. Ashton’s boyfriend stops crimes. What the fuck.

“I miss you too,” he says. “You seem tired.”

“I’m not tired.” Instant karma is a bitch. Luke immediately yawns again, this time much wider. “Okay, I’m a little tired,” he admits, smacking his lips like a child. “Summer break is deceptively boring. I…I run out of things to do all day, so I just kinda…keep patrolling. I might be wearing myself out.”

“Jesus, Luke, take it easy on yourself. Queens goes the entire school day without Spiderman’s protection during the school year. You can handle a break.”

“Yeah, but I might as well patrol,” Luke counters. “I have the time, and it’s not like I’m doing anything else.”

“I thought you and Michael were working on new specs for the suit.”

“It’s mostly Michael. Also, I think he’s kind of annoyed about the whole 24/7 patrol. He can’t work on the suit if I’m wearing it.”

“That is true.”

“But he’s been spending a lot of his time with Calum, anyway,” Luke says coolly. “So I figure he’s probably got other priorities.”

“Well, if you keep blowing him off to obsessively patrol the city, I can’t possibly imagine why he’s making other plans.” 

Luke stares through the camera. His shoulders slump. “Maybe. I hadn’t thought of that.”

“That’s why I’m here,” Ashton chirps.

Luke sighs deeply. “You’re not here, Ash.”

Ashton purses his lips and frowns. “That’s not what I meant.”

“I know, but I’m just saying. I miss you. I wish you were here.”

“Yeah,” Ashton says. He misses Luke too, more than is probably healthy. That’s what he gets, he supposes, for only having a handful of close relationships; Luke and Calum are his whole life, and not being able to hug either one of them for even a week has been pretty challenging. “But look, it’s only another week, and then I am all yours, I swear.”

“Don’t enable me,” Luke says, affronted. “You’re supposed to say things like… ‘You don’t own me’ and ‘I’m my own person’ and stuff like that.”

Ashton blinks, confused. “Uh…well, yeah, but we both already know that. I’m just saying I miss you too. But if it’s any consolation, Maya has ruthlessly mocked me for all the drawings I do of you. Like mercilessly. It’s actually kind of embarrassing.”

“That is super embarrassing,” Luke says, with a small, bashful smile. “You’re so fucking lame, Ashton.”

“Wow,” Ashton says. “You even sound like her.”

Luke giggles, which turns seamlessly into a yawn. “Hey, I came first. Maya sounds like me.”

“Luke, babe, just go to sleep,” Ashton says. “We can talk another night. Maybe one where you’re more well-rested.”

“I’m super rested,” Luke says in a monotone. “King of restedness, me.”

“Wow, I’m suddenly convinced.” Luke makes a half-hearted face at him and Ashton makes one back. The sketch under Ashton’s pencil has revealed itself to be Luke, yet again. Shocker. It really is embarrassing that Ashton defaults to drawing his boyfriend. If they ever break up, Ashton will be fucked.

“Are you drawing?” Trust Luke to notice. Although the fact that it’s taken him this long to notice means he must be slower on the uptake than usual. 

“Yeah,” Ashton says, because when is he not. 

“Drawing what?”

“Guess,” Ashton says dryly.

Luke gives a sleepy smile. “At least you’re predictable.”

“Luke, I’m begging you to get some sleep. We’ll talk tomorrow or this weekend or something, okay?”

Luke yawns yet again. “Okay,” he agrees, right hand propping up his head. His eyes flutter shut and then open again. “Okay, fine.”

“And please let Michael look at your suit,” Ashton adds. “You know he’s only going to make it better.”

“I know, I know, I just…” Luke’s eyes fall shut again. It seems more out of tiredness than distress. “If I give it to him, then I can’t use it.”

Ashton’s pretty sure if Luke’s hero complex gets any bigger he’s going to have to start renting out rooms. “It’ll be two days, tops,” he says. “Take two days off.”

“I wanna wait ‘til you’re back,” Luke mumbles. “Spend ‘em with you.”

“You spend most of your time with me,” Ashton says gently. “Spend them with Michael. Hell, spend them with Cal.”

“But I want…” Luke yawns. He lists sideways a little. “I want you.”

Ashton chews his lip. “I’ll be back before you know it,” he says. “You won’t be able to get rid of me.”

Luke hums absently. “‘Kay, g’night,” he slurs, but makes no gesture to hang up the call. He probably expects Ashton to end it. If Luke is as asleep as he looks right now, Ashton kind of has to.

The graphite on the sketch paper is smudging a little. Ashton glances down at the half-assed likeness of his boyfriend and has an idea.

Quietly, he grabs another blank page, moves his laptop back a little, and starts to draw.

-

They’re up bright and early the next day, and after breakfast Ashton follows a decidedly more lively Maya into the Fine Arts Room, where she takes her place diagonally from him at their table. They’re both mid-project; Ashton stacks and sets aside his scratch papers and pulls forth the drawing he’s currently working on.

“So? You talked to Luke?”

Ashton blinks and looks up at Maya. “Yeah,” he says. “Thanks for the tip, I meant to say.”

“Hey, don’t thank me, thank Cupid,” Maya says airily. “I’m on the side of love, baby.”

Ashton snorts and rolls his eyes. “Let Cupid know I say thanks.”

Maya hums. “Cupid says you’re welcome.”

They’re quiet while Maya gets herself set up — she has to put all her acrylics back every evening only to set them back out every morning, another reason Ashton prefers pencils over paints — and Ashton picks up his pencil and starts to draw. 

“Is this yours?” Maya asks, peering at Ashton’s discarded stack of sketches.

“Yeah,” Ashton says without looking. “Just sketches and stuff.”

“Wait, this is so cute.” She’s leaning over the drawing on the top. Ashton glances up.

It’s Luke from last night, soundly asleep over Skype.

Ashton had ended the call after about ten minutes of silence, enough time to get the rough outlines of all the important shapes. The video quality wouldn’t have lent itself to a good sketch anyway if Ashton had been chasing authenticity, but fortunately he knows Luke’s face well enough — both from drawing it and gazing at it in real life — to pretend the call had had a crystal-clear picture. None of it is colored in, but it’s as obviously Luke as all of Ashton’s other drawings. Somehow, though, this one feels more personal.

“Did you draw this last night?”

“Uh,” Ashton says, reaching for the drawing. He shuffles it between several other papers so an innocuous collection of doodles is now at the top of the stack, and Maya clicks her tongue in disapproval.

“Hey, I was looking at that. It was cute.”

“Yeah, it’s— it’s just nothing.”

“It’s not nothing, it’s adorable,” Maya says. She fixes him with puppy-dog eyes. “Pleeeease can I see it? I won’t show anyone. I’m studying so I can kick your ass in our competition.”

Ashton sighs. “It’s just Luke. You’ve seen millions of drawings of him.”

“But those were obviously from memory,” Maya points out, taking his non-answer as an affirmative and sifting through the stack. Ashton doesn’t bother trying to stop her. It’s not like he has anything to hide — or at least not anything Maya could figure out by looking at the drawing.

And in her defense, Luke does look cute as fuck in the drawing, because he’d looked cute as fuck in real life.

“For all you know, this one is also from memory.”

“You drew the screen, Ash, it’s clearly from last night.”

“Well,” Ashton says diplomatically. Then he abandons diplomacy, because Maya has located the drawing and is grinning and aww-ing. “Well do you blame me? He fell asleep on our call. It was adorable.”

Maya giggles. “You guys are so fucking cute,” she says. “Y’know, most people would be insulted if their boyfriend fell asleep on a video call with them.”

“He’s been really busy lately,” Ashton says. “And it was the end of the call anyway.”

“One day, I will have someone to draw me when I fall asleep on our Skype calls,” Maya says wistfully. “I’m putting the vibes out into the universe so it’ll happen soon.”

“Maybe you’ll be the one drawing them,” Ashton points out. 

Maya finally sets down the Luke drawing. She dips her brush in red paint, clearly intending to put it into her work, but at Ashton’s words instead brandishes it threateningly at him. “I won’t be drawing anyone, buddy.”

Ashton laughs. “But you’d date someone who drew instead of painted?”

“At this point?” Maya sighs theatrically. “I’d date just about anyone who did anything.”

Ashton laughs again. They work quietly for a few minutes. Ashton starts shading.

“Why do you only ever draw Luke?” Maya asks. “You said you’ve been together for less than a year. Who were you drawing before then?”

Ashton shrugs. “Uh, anyone, really,” he says. “People. There are a lot of pretty interesting people at my school, and besides, I’m from the city.”

Maya snorts derisively. “You’re from Queens.”

“Queens is in the city.”

Another derisive snort. “Queens is in the city the same way using ink stamps is painting.”

“That’s not even a little bit the same thing, at all.”

“You’re not a city boy.”

“I am literally a city boy!” Maya waves him off, but Ashton ignores her. She’s from Massachusetts. She has no leg to stand on. “My point is that there are lot of interesting people near where I live, too.”

“You didn’t ever, I don’t know, draw your friends? Calum, didn’t you say he’s your best friend from home?”

“Ah, yeah,” Ashton says. “Calum. Didn’t like when I drew him.”

“What, seriously? Why not?”

“I don’t know,” Ashton says, and it’s true. “He just asked me to stop drawing him one day so I did.” He hesitates. “...Mostly. Sometimes I still do. But if you knew Calum you’d understand why. He’s extremely good-looking.”

“Of course he is,” Maya says. “Any chance he’s single and/or interested in women from several states away?”

“No to both questions,” Ashton says sympathetically. “But good try.”

“Yeah, I figured,” Maya says good-naturedly, and they lapse into silence again.

It’s broken by Maya, again. “Do you show Luke the drawings you do of him?”

That’s a complicated question. No, Ashton doesn’t actively show his drawings to Luke, but Luke usually sees them anyway. Some of them are more private; Ashton keeps the one of Luke in the Spiderman suit sans mask folded up in the bottom of his socks drawer where he’s pretty certain no one ever looks. There doesn’t seem to be a point to showing it to Luke now, so long after he’d actually done it. But for the most part he’s not hiding his art from Luke; Luke sees what he sees, notwithstanding Ashton’s intention.

“Sometimes,” Ashton says.

Maya nods at the drawing of Luke asleep on Skype. “You gonna show him that one?”

“Uh, probably not.”

“What, why? It’s so cute.”

“I don’t know, maybe because it makes me seem like a ridiculous lovesick borderline creepy idiot?”

“Guys love that,” Maya assures him. “Or so I’m told. C’mon, why hold out on him when he already knows you’re basically obsessed with drawing him?” She taps the drawing. “And when he looks this adorable?”

Ashton breathes a laugh. “You have a point.”

“I always do,” Maya says, and she flips her hair dramatically.

Maybe Michael would let Ashton draw him. That would be a nice change from always drawing Luke and never drawing Calum. Maybe Ashton could just do it and then ask Michael what he thinks. It would be nice to have new muses. Ashton has spent a lot of time on Luke; maybe it’s about time he branched out again.

“Hey,” Ashton says, struck with inspiration as he watches Maya make brushstrokes across her paper. “Can I draw you?”

“Hell yeah, go for it,” Maya says. “I’m not sitting still for you, though.”

“I’ll live,” Ashton says dryly. Maya grins and laughs. A fresh page before Ashton and a new pencil in his hand, he studies Maya’s profile carefully and then brings his pencil to the page.

-

“Did you break into the Fine Arts Room again?”

“I don’t think it’s breaking in if it’s technically unlocked,” Ashton points out.

Luke squints but evidently fails to argue with this logic. “How’s artsy hipster bullshit camp?”

“Really good,” Ashton says, cracking his knuckles. His parents have told him repeatedly that doing so will give him arthritis, but Ashton suspects that’s more of a scare tactic than a fact. At this point he doubts even rehab could get him to stop. It’s the only thing Ashton can think to do with his hands when he’s not drawing. “By the way, remember the other day when you fell asleep on our call?”

I fell asleep at the end of our call,” Luke corrects him. “We were done talking.”

“Okay, weirdo,” Ashton says, shaking his head. “Well, anyway, Maya convinced me that I should show you this because maybe you’d think it was cute, or something.” He holds up the drawing of Luke.

Luke leans closer to the camera. Anyone else might have trouble discerning what’s on the page given how dim it is around Ashton, but not Luke. Luke has super-senses. His visual acuity is, like, a thousand. (Rough estimate.)

So when Luke’s face splits into a grin, Ashton knows he’s seen exactly what’s there. “Oh my fucking God, you sap,” he says. “I thought you just hung up straightaway.” 

“Nope,” Ashton says. “I’m just saving moments. One day I’ll have enough for a flip book.”

Luke’s expression goes all mushy and heart-eyed. “You’re unbelievable,” he says, fond and endeared. “I can’t believe you’re not bored of my dumb face yet.”

“Are you kidding? Have you seen your dumb face?” Ashton laughs. “It’s impossible to be bored of it.”

“Ashton,” Luke says, his eyes crinkling so much that the blue all but disappears. “I love you.”

And everything makes sense.

“I love you too,” Ashton says, struck by the realization that he does. The drawings, the midnight Skype calls, the death-defying trips around the city with only his faith in Luke to keep them afloat, the fluttery feeling — all of the colors lock into place, and Ashton can see the rainbow clear as day in front of him. He’s never been in love; of course he couldn’t tell. But there’s nothing else it could be.

“Oh, good,” Luke says timidly. “I was a little worried you wouldn’t say it back.”

Ashton glances from the drawing in his hand to the look on Luke’s face on the screen, and he cracks a crooked smile. “Then you, superhero, have not been paying attention.”

[xfandomwritingsx]

Being Human - James Vega/F!Shepard

Description: James and Shepard finally stop dancing around each other. AKA; a rewrite of the Citadel DLC.

Warnings/Labels: None really. Some super minor sexual stuff.

Approx. Word Count: 4,500

A/N: Look... this is at best a rough draft that I typed up and didn’t edit, but I will forever be bitter about how they made the Citadel play out with these two. And while I know it won't happen, I really wish they'd fix it in the remaster. I mean if you're going to remaster the games, that sounds like a damn good time to fix anything inappropriate and rape-y right?! I would love to do a whole slow burn of Shepard and Vega spanning from Earth to the end of the game, but if you know me, you know I'm SLOW AS MOLASSES to update and I'm not lying when I say it would take me years to finish. So instead... have a poorly written snippet. I tried to keep it as much in “canon character” as I could. 

Shepard stands on the balcony of her new apartment, mind gently jogging around the events of the last few days which bleeds into the events of the last few years. Resting her arms on the metal railing, she drops her head and sighs, trying to pull herself from the black hole that is her memory anymore. She wants to let it all go, just for a night.

“Hey, Lola,” James calls, pulling her back to the present. She looks up briefly wondering how long he’d been there before she sees the door closing behind him. How had she not heard it? “Nice place,” he comments, looking around the open layout. “Might not look so nice after that party you were talking about.” He walks further in, headed for the stairs to join her on the balcony.

“You wouldn’t trash my new apartment, would you James?” she jokes lightly, pushing herself upright off the railing.

“Me?” He spins a little, keeping his eyes on her as he continued to travel backwards to the stairs. “Nooo. Never,” he draws it out, the sarcasm a little thick. Shepard rolls her eyes at him, but he sees the little smile at the corner of her lips too.

James has always had that effect on her. No matter what dumb thing came out of his mouth, he managed to make her smile. It was something she’d craved over the last few months more than ever. While everyone else gave her pep talks that only managed to remind her how much the galaxy rested on her shoulders, James was more likely to tell her that her pants hugged her curves just right. He let her forget about being Commander Shepard even if for just a few moments.

He whistles as he approaches her side, looking out over the balcony with her.

“Nice view. But this place?” He shakes his head just slightly. “It’s just so... not what I’m used to.” He gives a small shrug, still looking out over the scenery and the lights outside the large windows.

“Which is?” Shepard prods. They don't talk about their pasts very often. Everyone already knew hers and James was never extremely open about his own. He puts his hands on the railing and leans into his arms a little.

“I grew up on the beach in the Pacific,” he shares. “So, you know; water, sand, real air.” She thinks there’s a hint of bitterness in his voice.

“You miss it?” He doesn’t look at her this time and instead she watches as he loosens his grip on the rail a little bit and sighs.

“Yeah. And the people.” She catches the undertone, the longing that implies he’s thinking of someone specific when he says it.

“So, what’s her name?” she asks. She means it to be teasing, but there’s an unexpected pang in her gut that feels all too much like jealousy for her liking and it ruins the lighthearted joke in her voice. She shifts her weight a little and slips a hand into the pocket of her pants.

“No! No.” he clarifies through a bark of a laugh, easing her tension a little. “I stopped... fraternizing when I joined the military. The two don’t seem to go well together.”

“Hasn’t stopped you from being a shameless flirt.” It had taken a short amount of time after they’d first met on Earth for him to relax around her and once he did, the comments, the winks, the innuendos and double entendres never ceased. The only thing he never seemed to do, was be physical with his flirting. He’d never so much as run a hand down her arm or let his hands linger when they sparred. Though Shepard had found herself wishing he would recently.

“Yeah, well... that’s just my way. I don’t mean anything by it.” There’s something in the way that he still won’t look at her that makes her think maybe that’s not all true.

“Too bad.” She drops her tone a little and takes a step towards him. “I wasn’t complaining.” He cracks a smile and lets out another short laugh.

“Who’s the shameless flirt now?” He gives her a single glance and then looks back down to his hands on the railing.

“So you can give it, but you can’t take it?” The flirting had never been completely one sided, but it certainly came heavier from him and it wasn’t uncommon for him to get a little flustered when she returned it.

“No, it’s just...” He releases the railing and pushes away, adding a little distance between the two. “You’re my commander, por dios. I can never tell if you’re yanking my chain.” He looks at her, really looks at her this time and the mood shifts. The air gets thicker, heavier and it feels like an opportunity, one she doesn’t want to slip away again.

“And what if I’m not?” she asks, voice dipping down again. “Not just yanking your chain?” James swallows thickly and there’s a mumble of a noise from his lips, but he doesn’t give a response. Instead, she’s pleased to watch as his eyes travel down from her eyes to her lips, down her neck and through the valley between her breasts that he can see all too well in her black tank top. “Are you going to tell me you’ve never thought about it?”

“Uhhh… I mean you’re one hell of a woman and I’m still just flesh and blood, if you know what I mean.” She can see a bit of redness creep up his neck and Shepard wonders if the implication is just that his body reacts to her or if he’s actually done something about it when his body reacts.

“So am I, James. And you are one hell of a man yourself.” She slips in front of him, putting herself between himself and the railing, all but begging him to pin her there. He makes no move to do so however. Instead, his eyes drop down to their feet and Shepard feels like she’s sinking. “But you’re not interested.” She leans back into the railing, wanting to retreat. James snaps his eyes back to hers and his mouth flops for a few moments as if he’s going to say something, but after a minute of silence, Shepard gives up. She slinks away off to the side and as far away as she can get without feeling too awkward. “Well, now that you’ve shot me down, was there anything else you came here to talk about?”

“Uhhh, yeah,” he stutters, shaking his head. She feels a little bad to have put him on the spot, but she’s just as embarrassed as he is. “I wanted to show you something.”

He turns away from her and pulls his shirt over his head. It takes Shepard longer than she should admit to notice he’s not just showing off the well-toned muscles in his back and shoulders, but trying to show her the new and finished N7 tattoo. He looks at her over his shoulder.

“What do you think?”

“Looks good,” she says honestly. “You’ve earned it.” She sees him smile a little at her approval. She crosses her arms over her chest and tries to lighten her tone. “Though I think it’s a little mean to flaunt yourself to the woman you just turned down.” He chuckles, taking her teasing easily.

“Here I was thought I was being nice giving you at least a little something,” he jokes back before turning to face her, shirt still in his hand. “Thought you liked the show.” She rolls her eyes, but even after him turning her down, the flirting still makes her feel better. “Anyways... Just wanted to show you that bad boy.” He slips his shirt back over his head and she resists the small urge to tell him to keep it off. “I gotta get back to the Normandy,” he says. “Esteban wants my help working on the shuttle.” Shepard shuffles her feet for a moment and then sticks out her hand towards him.

“Thanks for coming by, James.” She uses a formal voice, hoping the gesture and tone will clearly communicate a no hard feelings vibe. He reaches out and takes her hand. The handshake lasts for less than a second before he brings her hand up into a fist grab and pulls her closer. He locks her eyes with his and that tension rises again.

“Lola,” he whispers. “I’m not not interested.” She loosens her grip in his, going from firm comradery to something softer. “It’s just that… you’re Commander Shepard, you know?” He watches her shoulders fall and he knows instantly it was the wrong thing to say.

“I get it, James,” she says, attempting to hide her dejection. It’s the title, the legend that again stands in her way from being a regular woman. So much for him being the person who makes her forget it all. “Don’t worry about it.” She withdraws from him quickly and a little more coldly than she intended. He again opens his mouth, but doesn’t form words. “I’ll see you later,” she dismisses him and he nods. He moves to leave before trying once more to end on a friendly note.

“This is gonna be a perfect place for a fiesta.”

~~~

For a guy who all but told her no, James is sure as shit staring at her an awful lot like he wants to rip her clothes off.

“Is constant staring customary to the human mating ritual?” Garrus teases him as he pours drinks on the other side of the bar. “Because if so, you’re doing a damn good job, Jimmy.” James grimaces and throws a peanut shell at the Turian.

“Shut it, Scars.”

“He’s still convinced regs are a problem to worry about,” Steve chimes in, clapping his friend on the shoulder.

“Regs? Really?” Garrus asks. “You realize breaking regulations is pretty much Shepard’s specialty, right?” He slides the drink towards James who just shakes his head at it and passes it to Steve. “And even if it wasn’t, we’re quite possibly facing the end of the galaxy here. Who’s kissing who isn’t something anyone’s worried about, even the brass.” James mumbles something and picks at the label on his nearly full beer bottle.

He can barely see Shepard at the kitchen entrance from his spot at the end of the bar and every time she moves, his neck cranes to follow her. He’d either purposely or accidentally kept her in view all night and has spent the better part of it kicking himself for not just throwing her against a wall earlier that day.

She catches his eye and he instantly looks away, back to his bottle. She chose to wear a dress of all things tonight. A god damned dress. A little black number that fit her better than it had any right to. The woman was trying to kill him.

“Boys,” he hears her greet them casually, having approached them at the bar while he was attempting to ignore her. “How are things going?” James doesn’t hear their response. He’s too preoccupied trying to keep his eyes off of her chest as she leans her hip against the edge of the bar. “You seem quiet, Vega,” she comments.

“Just enjoying the party.” He shrugs and takes a drink of his beer, thinking about how he could kill Garrus and Steve for the look they shoot each other.

“Steve,” Garrus interrupts. “Let me show you that data pad I mentioned earlier.” Garrus had, of course, mentioned no such data pad in their prior conversations, but Steve agreed eagerly and James really thought about strangling at least one of them when they left him alone with Shepard.

“We good?” she asks him so casually that he almost feels bad.

“Yeah, why?” He takes another drink of his beer and it quickly turns into a large gulp.

“You seem to be avoiding me,” She squints and forces a smile. “And also staring, which is odd. Just want to make sure we’re good.” She takes a sip of her own drink and shifts her eyes to the Turian alcohol bottle, investigating it curiously.

James chews on his tongue for a moment. She wants them to be good. Good means normal. Normal would mean telling her those squats she’s been doing have done wonders for her ass and that was dangerous tonight.

“It help if I tell you that you look damn fine in that dress?” He never was too good at avoiding danger.

“Maybe,” She shrugs and leans forward towards him just a little. “Probably help a little more if you called me Lola.” Damn if her voice didn’t sound husky and smooth. Despite his better judgement, he followed her lead and leaned in as well, lowering his voice if nothing more than to make sure eavesdroppers wouldn’t hear.

“Well, that dress is definitely giving me ideas… Lola.” A smile breaks on her lips and he’s not entirely sure, but he thinks he sees her shiver just the slightest. He takes another long drink, but this time doesn’t take his eyes off her.

“You going to keep a girl guessing or are you going to share with the class?” She takes a step forward, getting close enough for him to notices she actually put on a light layer of perfume too. He chuckles, but curses internally.

“You’re making it real hard to remember why this is a bad idea,” he warns.

He starts listing the reasons in his head. Fraternization regs. She’s his commander. She’s fucking Commander Shepard and he’s just a nobody lieutenant who makes a shitty leader. She’s probably looking for some kind of easy fling. Distracting her like that would be selfish. It’d look bad. The rest of the crew might start to question her judgement. The list goes on and on.

“I never pegged you to be a guy who runs hot and cold,” she says, breaking his train of thought. “And yet today you’ve given more mixed signals than a broken comm transmission.”

“Sorry, Lola.” And he is, honestly. He’s a tangled-up mess of thoughts and emotions and even the little bit of alcohol he’s consumed tonight is making him think with his dick first.

“Want me to put on a wig? Change my name? Maybe lay on an accent?” He can tell by the wiggle in her eyebrows as much as the suggestion itself that she’s had a little too much to drink, but it twists his stomach in a bad way all the same. “I don’t have to be Commander Shepard for a night.” And now he feels guilty, so much so that his neck and his face turn red and he looks down again, embarrassed at himself. She gives a quick pat to his forearm. “Come find me if you change your mind.”

She grabs her drink and leaves to mingle with her other guests, leaving him alone to feel like an asshole. He could never find the right thing to say around Shepard. Not when it came to this. He wanted her and lately he had to admit it was more than just a sexual attraction. He wanted more than that, but the idea of being selfish enough to pursue Commander Shepard was intimidating. Maybe, he admits, he needs to stop separating her and realize that Commander Shepard and his Lola are one and the same. Maybe then he can stop being a dick.

“Fucking pendejo,” he whispers to himself before swiping up that Turian bottle.

~~~

She can feel the headache before she even opens her eyes. Had she really drank much last night? No, she’s sure she didn’t. She even remembers everything, including climbing into her bed after barely having the energy to change clothes.

She throws on her N7 sweatshirt and slowly treks her way to the kitchen, making sure to note all the remnants of the party, including some of her friends scattered amongst the apartment. It makes her smile.

She smells bacon as she rounds the corner and sees James at the stove already in the full throws of making breakfast. He beams a smile at her when he sees her in the doorway and flips the pan a little.

“Lola!” he greets. “Eggs?”

“You’re awful cheery,” she comments dryly, and a little bitterly, as she steps further into the kitchen. She rounds the island the stove is on and snags a piece of bacon from the plate there.

“Been a while since you knocked that many back?” he teases, watching the way her eyes squint uncomfortably. “Breakfast will help.” He shovels some of the fresh eggs onto a plate and passes it her way. She takes them gratefully and reaches for the salt. James’ hand wraps around her wrist, stopping her reach. “You really gonna do me like that?” he scolds playfully. “Add salt before you even try them? That’s my abuela’s recipe. It doesn't need more salt.” She cracks a smile, but doesn’t move her hand away just yet, the warmth of his hand feeling too comforting to pull away from. There’s a gentle swipe of his thumb over her pulse before he lets go on his own. He empties the rest of the eggs on a communal plate before clearing his throat. “Hey, let me know when you have some time,” he says. It sounds surprisingly awkward. “I’ve got something I want to talk to you about.”

~~~

Never being one to put things off, Shepard returned to her room as soon as she’d finished eating and made the rounds to make sure everyone was awake or, at the very least, breathing.

I’m in my room. Got some time. She sends the message before even making it through the door. It doesn't take more than a few seconds for him to respond.

Be up in a minute.

She makes herself busy with her omni-tool while she waits. She feels a bit like a fool, practically throwing herself at him a second time only to be left alone again last night. She wouldn’t blame him if he came to talk to her about how uncomfortable she had made him.

She’s left the door open for him, but he still gives it a gentle knock to get her attention when he arrives.

“Nice room,” he comments, sticking his head over the threshold and looking around. “Bit different than the Normandy. Less fish.” He cracks a smile at her and the simple gesture puts her at ease a little. He can’t be pissed at her if he’s still making jokes, right?

“You’re just jealous you don’t have fish in your room.” She isn’t about to admit that she actually misses the blue glow and gentle whir of the filter when she falls asleep. Not right now at least.

“Yeah, well, maybe we should trade rooms sometime.”

Or maybe we could share mine. Shepard physically bites her tongue to stop herself from saying it aloud. Still unsure of exactly where they stand and just how awkward she made things for him, it is not the time to let the flirtations rise up that quickly.

He takes her brief silence to enter the room and close the door behind him. That makes her a little nervous, but not nearly as much as when he says, “So... we should talk about last night.”

“I owe you an apology, Lieutenant,” she says instantly, nearly cutting him off. The way she snaps back to professionalism with a straight back, pushed down shoulders, and a commanding tone makes him pause for a moment, his eyes widening just a fraction. “I was inappropriate with you and should not have taken advantage of my rank.” It takes an extra moment for her apology to sink in and his brow furrows as he sorts it through his brain.

“What? No!” he huffs and takes two large, hurried steps her way. She must not have held her surprise well enough because he suddenly stops again. “Lola,” he sighs. “I didn’t come here to... register a complaint.” His face crunches up as though he doesn’t like the way the word taste. “I came to apologize to you,” he says firmly. “And hopefully not fuck up my words this time.”

The intensity in his eyes and the way he’s not shying away from her makes Shepard feel like she’s a young girl again. Any and all experience she has with men and relationships seems to just melt away and suddenly she’s got butterflies and a blush. There’s a nervous heat in her stomach that makes it hard to regain her composure.

“Okay,” she says slowly, not completely sure of where he’s going, but hoping to every God in the galaxy that he’s not turning her down again.

“I can’t hook up with you.” The butterflies die and the excited heat turns to an anger.

“I promise you don’t have to reject me again for me to understand.” She says it harshly, bitterly even. She barely manages to contain throwing her arms in the air when she turns away from him, moving towards the desk in the corner as if she has something better to do. She hears him mutter under his breath and while her Spanish is terrible, the inflection makes it sound like a string of curses.

“Shepard!” He follows her footsteps and when she spins to sit in the desk chair, his arm is extended as though he reached out for her just a moment too late. “I can’t hook up with you,” he emphasizes. “I can’t do just one night and that’s what would have happened last night. Would have been a drunken hook up that one of us or both of us would have brushed off in the morning. I don’t want that.” Her anger starts to dissolve and her spine loses some of its rigidness as she slinks back into her chair.

“What do you want then?” she asks, voice softer and quieter now. She’s afraid of the answer. He chews on his tongue and grinds his jaw and she wonders if maybe he’s afraid too.

“You,” he finally says.

“You sure about that?” She can’t help but scoff. “I am Commander Shepard, after all.”

“Yeah, you are.” His sigh this time seems more like a pained groan. Shepard watches carefully as he turns and sits himself on her unmade bed. “Which is why it feels completely selfish and impossible to ask you to commit to anything more, let alone to an insignificant lieutenant like me.”

“Commit?” She suddenly feels lighter again.

“When I go for something, I go all in,” he tells her. “That would include you...this...us.” He waves his hand out awkwardly and avoids her eyes as though he’s nervous. She bites down on her lip to swallow down the smile. She knows it’s not exactly fair to enjoy his nervousness, but at least it’s not just her. She slowly pushes herself up from her chair.

“You’re not insignificant,” she assures him.

“I’m not some hero of the galaxy,” he admits. He doesn’t say it with a self-conscious, but rather states it just as a simple fact. “I haven’t been with you since the beginning like most of these guys.”

“You know that’s one of the things I like about you James?” He looks up at her curiously. “Sure, you’ve heard the stories, but we didn't meet on the ship in the midst of wars. We met on Earth.” She rounds the desk slowly, walking closer to where he sits still using caution in case he backs out. “You didn’t just get to know Commander Shepard. You got to know Jane, to know me. You treat me like I’m human.”

“You are human, Lola.” He’s not looking away from her now and it gives her a little burst of confidence.

“Yeah. What was it you said? Just flesh and blood?” There’s a tease of a smirk on her lips as she comes to stand in front of him, legs stopping just short of slipping between the gap of his spread knees. He chuckles and the weight of everything starts to lift.

“You sure about this, Lola?” He reaches out and curls his hand around her hip. It's the first time he’s ever really touched her and it makes her heart skip just a little. She leans into his touch, pushing her hip into his palm and leans forward to put her hands on his shoulders. He feels solid beneath her and she can’t resist the need to squeeze just a little, to feel the muscles at the end of her fingers.

“I’ve thought about it in great detail.” He cocks an eyebrow at her and tugs her in-between his legs. He watches her with an unbridled desire in his eyes and for the first time in a long time, she feels real excitement. She traces one hand up the side of his neck so she can run his fingers along his jaw. “That party shouldn’t be the last bit of happiness we get to indulge in.”

He moves quickly; his hand on the back of her neck before she knew he moved it, using barely any strength to pull her down to him. She follows him easily, all too eager to kiss him heatedly. Months of suppressed desires pour out into each other and for the first few moments, they merely hold onto each other and soak in the relief of letting go. And then James’ hands start moving, pulling her closer and sliding over the curve of her ass. Shepard is compliant and carefully climbs into his lap, one knee on either side of his hips on her bed. He bites gently at her bottom lip before using a hand on her jaw to tilt her head back, allowing him to kiss down her neck.

Eyes closed and succumbing to the pleasure he’s offering, Shepard is unprepared for when James moves again. He rolls to the side and pushes her onto her back on the bed. She lets out an actual squeak of surprise and James chuckles, still pressing kisses to her skin. With her legs still around his waist, his hips grind almost unconsciously and she doesn’t hold back her moan.

James peels himself away from her slowly, leaving a cold trail of air where his body had been on top of her. She opens her eyes and glares at him, but the smirk still on his face and the bulge she manages to catch a glimpse of through his pants, make sure no fear of rejection rises back in her.

“And where are you going?” she asks, attempting and failing to use her Commander tone. She tries again after clearing her throat and pushing herself up on her elbows. “You’re not leaving this room for a while.” James laughs and flashes her a smile as he keeps walking to the door.

“Is that an order?” he teases, pressing the lock for the door and waiting until it flashes red before turning back to her.

“You bet your ass it is.” She smiles back at him. She could have locked the door from right here with her omni-tool and he knew it. He was just being a teasing bastard. “You’re not leaving her until I say so.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he laughs again before coming back to her.

[chyrstis]

WIP Saturday

I don’t think I’ve been more relieved to see the end of the week pop up, and really wanted to take advantage of the time while I had it too. And also keep my computer from restarting in the middle of posting this, thank you very much. Geez. 

Tagged by: @vasiktomis @shallow-gravy @starsandskies @fadedjacket @faithchel @adelaidedrubman @p0lkadotdotdot which I want to thank a bunch for since I’m about to apologize for these way too early in the day tags in turn. <3

Tagging: @hunnybadgerv @painterofhorizons @cobb-vanthss @amistrio @geronimo-11 @redroci @nightwingshero @ma-sulevin @tommymillers @jackiesarch @shellibisshe @risenlucifer @jackalopestride @sneaky-apostate @tomexraider @strafethesesinners @scarlettkat86 @aceghosts @triedtriedtired @unlikelynick @siribear @weekend-writer and anyone else that wouldn’t mind sharing a WIP or two, or three, maybe? And for anyone that’s already been tagged? Don’t mind me one bit. 

How about a little bit more from the Trap fic maybe? I’m roughly on Ch. 3 draft-wise of it at the moment, but really want to start cleaning up Ch. 1 soon to post, so I’m going to see what I can do about that this weekend...

---

They ditched the van well outside of Silver Lake. Leaving it just down a dirt path in the thicker brush, Hana made sure to grab everything she could fit on her person before leaving, and gestured for Ben - the only name he’d actually bothered to respond to - to take point.

With her rifle out and in her hands, he didn’t raise any objections, and didn’t ask for a weapon either. Just looked at her for a long minute before taking those first few steps out, and she made sure to keep him squarely in her sights as they moved forward.

They’d just reached the outside of the trailer park when the radio at her side came to life.

“Deputy, are you there?”

The breath she’d held came out in a rush. Because at this point it could’ve been anyone, but Jerome’s voice was a damn blessing, and she couldn’t hold back the relief she felt.

“Pastor, goddamn is it good to hear you.”

Or the casual blasphemy, apparently. Letting go of the call button, Hana bit her tongue to keep from adding a flustered fuck to it all, but swore she’d make it up to him later.

“...Uh, sorry. After the day I’ve had, it really is good to hear a friendly voice.”

Jerome laughed. “It’s just as good to hear yours. We’ve been looking for you for the last few hours now, and with no word to go off of assumed the worst.”

“Yeah, about that. I might’ve been a little tied up.” Her wrists twinged at the memory, and she quickly shrugged it off. “But you’ve got me now. Did Dutch give you the rundown?”

---

I also might’ve been having some fun poking around in John’s head lately for the No Cult AU, and I really shouldn’t be surprised at all that it’s already shaping up to be much longer than intended. 

---

Squeaking on the leather seats, Charlemagne shifted and tried to get comfortable, only to grab for the handle above his head when John took the nearby corner sharper than intended.

He leaned right into it, laughing as John corrected for it, and almost looked pleased it had happened at all. “Damn, man. You’re no fucking slouch. Bet you’d score a record on that speed trap up north too. Beat that minute forty-five easy. Though something’s been bugging me since I got in here.”

“Do tell,” John replied, easing off of the acceleration, but only by a hair.

“I think I’ve been in here before. Which is weird, ‘cause popping or jimmying that kind of door’s a pain in the ass. Not that I tried before!” he quickly added, “Only really did that with the boat, but there was less doorbusting with it being open, and more jiggling the key trying to make sure it’d fit once I had it, but this shit,” - Boshaw leaned back in the seat and half slid down it - “I remember that. That’s shit you can’t make up without dealing with at least once.”

“You have.”

“Have what?” he asked, slouched down far enough for any reasonable person to get a cramp in their neck.

“Been in this car before.” John frowned. “Did you manage to forget already, or just succeeded in blocking that lovely little bonding experience for good?”

Judging from the strange way he was looking at him, he had. Unbelievable.

John sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose briefly before returning both hands to the wheel. “How you - drenched and soaking wet - left an inch of water behind on my floorboards, refused to buckle your seatbelt after nearly strangling yourself with it, and couldn’t stay still for a second out of the fear that you’d manage to slip out of the seat somehow?”

All while furiously apologizing and begging for mercy, but John didn’t feel the need to remind him of that particular detail. Not when everything else appeared to be clicking, judging from the way he’d frozen in his seat.

“I can imagine everything looks different when it’s morning and you’re sober.”

---

...And I might’ve started a little take on the beginning mission for Hana. I couldn’t resist.

---

“Stay on the path, rookie.”

Stay on the path.

Stay on the path.

With each step forward she repeated the words, over and over, her hand still in place on Joseph Seed’s shoulder.

Eyes forward. On Joey. On the sheriff, on the exit.

Almost there, Han. Almost there.

But the others weren’t still. Didn’t stay in place, and she moved a little faster. Knew her fingers were digging into Joseph’s shoulder as she urged him forward and found her attention drawn to the movement right out of her line of vision. The others - Peggies armed and not - closing in.

She swallowed, felt her throat nearly choke on nothing as she forced it all down, and took in a shaky breath through her nose.

Almost there. She could see the chopper now. Knew Pratt was waiting, and almost felt like she was jogging towards it.

Right as Burke raised his weapon, along with his voice, and her heart nearly stopped on the spot.

[lupinblacktheone]

The sleepless night

Notes: Hey, guys! This is a Robby-centric short story. Happy holidays!

As a child, Robby never had trouble to sleep, even when his parents left him down, the tears would help him fall asleep. But in his second night in the Cobra Kai dojo, he can’t bat his eyes.

Warnings: mentions of abandonment.

The sleepless night

What time is it now? Something between one and three in the morning.

Robby rolls over to pick up his phone. Scrolling through his social media, among worried messages, offenses and memories of a life he is not a part anymore, he finds a post with the sunset background picture, garish lettering for the inspirational message and everything.

It takes four attempts for him to get an advice out of that, a fragile foggy sentence about asking for help being the first step for actually getting help.

Well, he already is alone in the middle of the night with the floor as his bed, so he moves his finger to the message app.

I’m sleeping on the floor of my father’s old dojo. How ironic, isn’t it? I mean, it’s the epitome of my life. Left behind, surrounded by everything he doesn’t want anything to do with anymore. I would like to have a chance to be more than the son he never cared about. Can you help me?

Next step: choose who will have the opportunity to read this piece of despair. Sam? Absolutely not, he’s not ready to see her again yet. Mr. L? Idem. Johnny? Not in a lifetime. Tory? She already has a lot of things to deal with and doesn’t need Robby around to add trouble – and drama – to her life. Trey and Cruz? He doesn’t want to depend on them. Shannon? She probably doesn’t own a mobile.

As his last branch of hope, he finds Pastor Robert Brown’s personal number and… what dignity he has to forfeit now? He already lost all of it when he went to Kreese in the first place.

He presses the “send” button, puts the phone back on the pile of mats where it was charging and closes his eyes. The feeling of doing something in his own favor really causes a weird, contended vibe.

His eyelids are nearly closed, but his phone buzzling prevents him from resting. There is an incoming call from… Pastor Brown? What the heck?

“Robby Keene? Is that you?”

“Yes, it is.”

“Good. Pack up your things. We are coming over to pick you up.”

“I beg your pardon?”, he presses the block of cold metal against his ear.

“We’re rescuing you, kid.”

The pastor hangs up. Robby gets up, puts a hoodie on, grabs his bag, stuffs it with all his few possessions, writes a suitable “fuck you” note to Kreese and goes out to the street. A pickup truck approaches him and the window goes down, allowing Robby to take a look at the person in the shotgun seat.

“Let’s go, boy.”

“Ok, so what’s the plan?”, Robby puts the seat belt on.

“We’re gonna drive you to a rehab clinic focused on violence issues. While you’re there, Bobby will say some good things in your behalf.”

“And what do I do when I’m ready to leave?”

“Since you’ll be clear of public opinion charges as a rehabilitated citizen, you’ll be free to do whatever you want, as long as you stay away of violence.”

Robby wonders how the clinic is like. Pastor Brown and his chatterbox friend, whose name is Jimmy, really want him to unlearn the dangerous, toxic junk that Kreese poured into his head.

“This is it.”

Pastor Brown opens the truck door and jumps, standing firmly on the ground. Robby admires the farm aesthetic while Jimmy reaches to the doorbell.

“Sorry for showing up this late.”

“It’s ok, but don’t ring the doorbell next time. Sheila just had twins and the situation is already hard as it is.”

“Anyways, this is Robby”, Brown pats the boy’s shoulder. “He ran away from Kreese.”

“My name is Mike Barnes”, the man offers Robby a handshake. “I’ll find you a bed and we talk more later, ok?”

Robby nods and Barnes points the counter to Brown as he leaves to the dorm building. The pastor finds a check-in form and a pen. He asks Robby for his personal data and writes a short paragraph about his troubled past – emphasizing Kreese’s influence.

“Thanks for helping me.”

“Anytime, son”, Brown goes for a hug. “Get revenge on them by being more than the child they left behind.”

“I’ll, sir.”

[itsnowsnz]

The Donny Nova Band baking

I had this idea while baking cookies so enjoy

I choose creps because that’s the only thing I can do alone because I can’t cook for sh*t 

This post also has some JimmyxDonny and WaynexNick (JohnnyxDavy if you squint)

so

Julia was gone 1 hour to teach the kids choir at the church (even after Nick’s warning)

So Donny proposed to the boys to bake something at his place 

They all looked at him like “is he serious??” and were going to decline 

When Donny added that it was to surprise Julia 

They immediatly accepted 

Donny remembered  Michael saying that Julia LOVES creps but Michael could never surprise Julia with  crepes because he couldn’t be trusted around the kitchen 

And actually, neither Donny could be trusted around the kitchen

This guy can only make pasta without burning the kitchen down

But he figured Wayne and Jimmy are good around the kitchen 

After he took the eggs and milk in the fridge, he tried to take the flour

THAT WAS ON THE TOP SHELF 

Donny was sure it was Jimmy who put in there when they cleaned the house 

After 3 minutes of struggle (and cursing his boyf’s name), he finally reached the flour 

That was open 

Flour flied everywhere in the kitchen 

Including on his hair 

And of course, that’s when the band decided to come 

He cursed every god’s name he knows while opening the door 

The band laughed at him to a point Nick was rolling on the floor, tears in his eyes 

Jimmy tried to be a supportive boyfriend™ and tried to not laugh at Donny but seeing him, with a glare and his hair covered  with flour was too much so he started laughing too 

Donny tried to glare at Jimmy but he became too soft for this boi that he couldn’t be mad 

So he just ruffled his hair so the others can have flour on them too

It worked 

So Nick chased Donny while the rest of the band just walked to the kitchen, still laughing 

After Wayne swept away the flour from the kitchen because “WE CAN’T COOK IN A DIRTY KITCHEN,DONNY !”, they finally started 

Nick was supposed to put the flour in a measuring cup 

But he had to make a remark about Donny and his hair

So Donny grabbed an egg and smashed it on Nick’s head 

SO Nick threw the measuring cup’s content on Donny 

Before it goes further, Johnny took the cup,did it himself while Donny and Nick were scolded by their boyfriends “Can you stop being at each others’ throats for TWO seconds ?” “Well, it was Nick who started-” “Shut up Donny, I love you but shut up” “Yeah, shut up Novitski” “It applies for you too, Nick, shut up”

After the flour was on the bowl, it was time to add the eggs 

Davy was supposed to do it 

Even he promised the guys that he can do it and can hold the alcohol well, he craked the eggs on the sink, thinking it was the bowl “HOW COULD YOU THINK THE SINK WAS THE BOWL ?!” “Nick, do I need to remind you this time where you threw up on my shoes thinking it was the toilet” “It’s not my fault your shoes are ugly, Jimmy” “He’s not wrong” “Donny, go wash your hair then you can criticize” “Thanks Wayne”

While they talked, Johnny took new eggs and craked them on the bowl while Davy was drunkely babbling to him and Johnny nodded at him, like what Davy was saying was coherent 

The two couples didn’t notice that, too busy arguing

It was finally the last ingredient, the milk 

It was Johnny’s turn to put milk on the bowl while Jimmy was mixing

They did it calmly while Davy was sitting on the counter, watching them

Of course, Nick and Donny were still arguing and Wayne was just looking at the disaster, done with dealing with children, Grady and Emily weren’t THAT exhausting

Davy wanted to add rhum but Wayne stopped him, knowing that with Davy, there would be more rhum than crepe mixture 

Now that the mix was done, they needed to clean the kitchen up while the mixture rested (Jimmy and Wayne wished they could be this mixture so they don’t have to deal with over grown children that they love too much to even think about leaving them)

BUT Davy and Johnny thought that it would be a good idea to start a fight food

Of course, Donny and Nick immediatly joined while Jimmy and Wayne were still cleaning up 

They both wanted to join in but had a unsaid competition : Which one of the two will go into the fight first ?

Surprinsgly, Wayne lost 

But, it was Johnny’s fault if you ask him

Johnny threw an egg on him, trying to aim at Donny 

Of course, he immediatly turned around, asking who did that while Jimmy was craking up, next to him

Wayne heard Jimmy 

“You found that funny ?” “Of course not, why would you think tha-”

Wayne threw him flour on the face 

So basically, they both joinded but Wayne did first 

When Julia came to Donny’s house for practice, she opened the door and she hears laughing, screaming, and eggs craking ? 

She came to the kitchen and she saw a mess

The boys were throwing at each others, eggs, milk and flour 

She saw on the counter a bowl, what she assumed by the ingredients, with crepe mixture in it 

Then she looked at the boys,with soft eyes, so happy to see them smiling

I mean, she can see them while practicing but she had to be focused so she  can’t really enjoy 

Johnny noticed her “Oh hey, Julia!”

The others boys stopped in their tracks to look at her 

She burst out laughing at their faces and their states, priceless

“Go clean up yourselves up ! I’ll do the crepes”

So they did 

They ate in the living room, Donny and Jimmy curled up on the loveseat, Johnny sitting on a beanbag chair, Nick and Wayne were sitting close on the couch, Julia sitting on the couch, next to them, Davy was seated on the couch’s armchair 

They explained to Julia their former objetive and how they got in this situation

She hugged each of them, thanking them

But she also begged them to never go near her kitchen, which made them chuckle and agreed

Do I need to mention that I spent the entire evening writing it but had so much fun?

I had so many others ideas so that won’t be the last post like that 

Also I thank @somethingtobeholden because they made me think about Bandstand (they know why xD) I use “they” cuz I don’t know your pronouns

[slowly-writing]

Schizophrenia

Alex Danvers x Reader

Word Count: 1833

Requested by: Anonymous

Trigger warnings for Schizophrenia, brief mentions of violence and general mental health issues

“Hey babe! How was your day today?” Alex asks with a smile as she opens the door to her apartment for you.

“It wasn’t too bad, but if I have to redo one more layout because Jimmy doesn’t like it I’m gonna push him out a window,” you joke and Alex just rolls her eyes.

“You know you love him, he’s your best friend,” she argues.

“Oh, I never said I didn’t love him. I’d die for the man. But he’s literally the worst person to work with,” you say with a laugh, setting the take out you bought on the counter and pulling Alex into my arms. “Enough about my unfortunate choice in best friends, how was your day?”

“It was fine. Same old thing as always. Today was pretty boring,” Alex says and you smile. You love how brave she is and you admire her desire to help people, but her job still scares the hell out of you and you’re always happy to hear she had a boring day. A boring day meant a safe day.

“Good,” you tease and she rolls her eyes again before leading you to the couch to watch Netflix as you eat.

You absentmindedly start dumping your fingers against your leg, trying to ground yourself a bit. Alex glances at your hand and sighs quietly. This has been happening more and more recently. You seem distraught and she can’t seem to figure out why.

“Love,” she calls softly and your head snaps up to meet her eyes, “are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” you say quickly, harsher than you intend it to be, but rather than apologizing you just cross your arms to keep your hands still and turn your head towards the TV. You breathe deeply, trying to get your emotions in check and Alex can hear it. She decides it best to just give you the time you need to sort it out yourself.

“Do you hear that?” you ask after a while, walking towards the front door.

“Hear what?” Alex says, confused as you look through the peephole, seeing an empty hallway.

“Huh. Nothing I guess. I thought I heard people in the hallway,” you shrug it off and Alex seems to accept that. You know somethings wrong, because even though you know there’s nobody out there, you can still hear them.

xxxxx

“Hey Alex!” you hear Kara’s excited voice as you and Alex enter the bar. She sends you a smile but quickly begins rambling off to Alex. Alex sends you an apologetic look but you just smile, pressing a quick kiss to the side of her head and giving the sisters time to catch up.

“Damn your girl got stolen quick,” Sam says as you walk over to their table and you shrug.

“Kara missed her I guess. It won’t kill me to be away from her for a minute. She’s happy,” you glance over, grinning at the smile Alex has on her face.

“Whipped,” Lena says through a fake cough and you roll your eyes.

“Don’t think I don’t see the heart eyes you’re shooting Kara, Luthor,” you say and she raises her hands in defeat.

“I’m going to go get Alex and I something to drink, anyone want anything?” you ask but they all shake their heads. You walk over to the bar and wait for the bartender to be available. You’re glancing at your phone when you hear someone yell your name. You jump and your head whips around the room. All your friends are engaged in conversations and the only reaction you see is the people near you giving you odd looks. You shake your head and try to tune the voices out. You hear your name a few more times as your waiting but subtle glances tell you that nobody is actually calling you. As you are handed your drinks the sound of your name is getting louder on repeat. You force yourself to tune it out until you feel a hand on your arm. You spin around so fast Alex has to take a step back.

“Woah, I didn’t mean to scare you. I called your name a few times,” she says and you smile casually.

“I guess I couldn’t hear you over the music,” you play it off and she furrows her brow even more.

“Love, there isn’t any music,” she says and a look of confusion flashes across your face before you school your features, realizing the rock music playing is only in your head.

“I know that. I’m just teasing. Here, I got you a drink,” you hand her one of the beers in your hand. She gives you a questioning look as the two of you start to walk back to your friends.

“Babe, are you feeling alright?” she asks slowly, clearly worried about what kind of reaction her words may pull from you. You just smile and throw your arm around her to pull her closer.

“I’m perfectly okay,” you promise and she nods to herself, dropping the subject as you two sit down. You down your entire beer in one go, hoping it’ll help you calm down.

“She knows you’re crazy” your head shoots up at the words and Kara notices from her seat across the table.

“You alright, y/n?” Kara asks.

“She knows too. You need to stop her before she tells everyone.”

“No!” you yell, slamming your fist down onto the table and now everyone’s staring at you.

“You’re not alright?” Kara clarifies gently and you can feel anger bubbling up in you. They all share nervous glances. You’re staring at the table and miss the way they all look to Alex for help, but she looks just as lost as they feel.

“Yeah. No! I’m fine! It’s just... I can’t...yeah, I’m fine. I just...I need a minute. I’ll be back,” you get up, quickly walking back to the bar, ordering a shot and downing it quickly. You stand there for a few minutes, calming your breathing before Alex appears again.

“What do you need?” she says gently and you glance at your friends who are all watching the interaction. She sees you starting to get more agitated and grabs your chin to turn you back to her. “Hey, just look at me. Tell me what you need.”

You fall into her arms, burying your face in her neck. She holds you tight, running her hand through your hair, “just make them stop staring at me.”

“Okay. Everything’s okay. I’ll talk to them. Just come back when you’re ready,” she tells you, waiting for you to be the first to pull away before walking to the table once again. You see her talking to them. James glances towards you again and you see her glare at him. You look away, waiting a few minutes and then rejoining the group silently.

Alex puts her arm around you, pulling you closer to her in the booth. You curl into her side as the others try to keep a conversation going. You listen here and there but everything is too loud. You soon tune them out completely, focussing only on the way Alex never lets you go.

“You’re crazy y/n,” a voice whispers and you tighten your hold around Alex’s waist.

“Hey, I’ve got you,” she whispers into your hair. She can feel you trembling and it breaks her heart. “Do you want to go home?”

At your nod she bids the others goodbye, making up some excuse about being tired. You send them a smile that doesn’t quite reach your eyes as she leads you out. When you reach her apartment the two of you silently make your way to the couch and she pulls you into her lap. You curl into her again, enjoying the silence for the first time that night. You’re not sure how long you’ve been sitting there before you hear a voice again.

“You could take her. Just finish her off. You could do it. Just hurt her,” the voice sneers and you throw yourself away from Alex, scrambling to the other end of the couch and holding your head in your hands.

“What’s going on?” she asks. You shake your head but before you can say anything she’s talking again. “Don’t even start that right now. You’ve been off for days now. I don’t know what’s going on, and you don’t have to tell me, but please don’t lie to me.”

“You’ll think I’m crazy,” you whisper and when you look up at her you have tears streaming down your face.

“No I won’t. Whatever is happening we can figure it out together. Just please talk to me,” she begs and you nod, trying to find the words.

“I keep hearing…things. Noises that aren’t really happening, voices that aren’t really there. I don't want to tell anyone. They’d think I was crazy and I’m not crazy! I just...get confused. At the bar I kept hearing people talking to me. I can’t tell what was real and what isn’t,” you explain quietly as she takes your hand.

“What kind of voices, love? What are they saying?”

“At first it was just someone saying my name, or people talking in the hallway that weren’t really there. At the bar I was hearing music that wasn’t playing, and sometimes I’ll hear a knocking on my door that I know isn’t real. Then it got worse. The voices started telling me to hurt people. They…they told me to hurt you,” you finish with a broken whisper and Alex pulls you into her arms again.

“Have you ever told a doctor about this, love?” she asks and you shake your head. “This sounds like schizophrenia. I think it would help to talk to a doctor. There’s medicines and treatments that can help you.”

“They told me not to,” you whisper.

“Who told you not to?” Alex says, a shiver running down her spine as she tries to stay calm. She’s not scared of you, but the situation is unsettling.

“The voices. They say you’re trying to trick me but I don’t think you are. You’re not trying to hurt me, are you?” you ask, your eyes wide in obvious fear. She cups your cheek, looking into your eyes, you can see the love in hers as she speaks.

“No. I am not going to hurt you. I will never hurt you, my love. Do you trust me?” she asks and you nod, “then you know how much I love you. You know I would never hurt you. If somebody in the bar came up to you and told you I was dangerous, would you believe them?”

“No!” you say quickly and she smiles a bit.

“Exactly. These voices are just strangers to you. They don’t know us, they don’t know you. You do not need to listen to them, alright? We’ll get through this,” she promises and you nod. You’ll get through this.

tag list: @rvgrsbrns @rororo06 @freerebel @prizmix-and-friends @m19friend @worlds-in-words @5aftermidnight @riotmaximoff

[bubblyani]

Deeper Relations: 05

(Freddie Jackson x Reader)

A Freddie Jackson Multi Chapter Series

Chapter 05: The Denial

Summary: Being the youngest sister of Jackie and Maggie, you were quite young when Freddie Jackson went to prison. Upon his return, you cannot help but recall your innocent love you had for him back then. And surprised by your transformation into womanhood, Freddie cannot help but form a desire towards you. Will a dangerously seductive attraction grow between the two of you? What will be the consequences?

Requested by: @97freaknik​ Thank you for your detailed request 😘

Author’s Note: Finally got some time to work on this again. Sorry for the delay.  Hope y’all enjoy this!

Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4

(A week later) A week earlier, the thought of Family Dinner would have almost sent you to the brinks of hell. Especially given the events that took place right after the last one. But, to your relief, you were completely at peace this time.

With your heart as calm as the still waters, you felt like yourself once again for the past week. The version of yourself before his return, that was. Yes, you did not even dare mention his name, even in your heart. With your heart devoid of him, the chances of seeing him in public also grew almost to NIL the past week. Not even a happy coincidence. For you were not inclined to. Plus, with Marcus around, a problem that was as unnecessary as that was not in your list of priorities.

Perhaps because of the history of friendship, Marcus did not treat you as he treated other girls in relationship. You were dear to him, you saw in his eyes. You were something so precious he safeguarded with all his might. The hours spent together grew more often, yet it was spent no differently as before. Except for the occasional loving glances shared in secret, or even the sweet kisses stolen every now and then between sips of coffee and library study sessions. During all that time, Marcus made you feel safe. Excitement? Not really. Passion? Certainly not. But safety? Absolutely.

“Oh! They’re here!”

Lena Summers rushed to the door upon hearing the doorbell ring. You assumed it was Jackie and the family. Setting the table with Maggie, you took deep breaths, mentally preparing yourself with enough peace to face him, and to face whatever nonsense he will bring up this time, especially when he catches you alone. Except this time, you were not going to break down. For your heart was safe.

Looking up, you wore your brightest smile to welcome the Jacksons, only to have your eyebrows slightly furrow with confusion upon seeing him. Contrary to your expectations, Freddie Jackson appeared nowhere near conflicted nor sarcastic. He was clean and sober much more than you’ve ever seen him before in your life. Dressed neatly, his eyes was distinctly clearer, and more beautiful than ever. Certainly different from your previous memory of him. And the way he greeted you, it was evident he had remorse hidden in his eyes, silently begging you to forgive him.

You could not figure him out. Even during dinner, you could not help but wonder what had changed Freddie. He seemed more in control. Of his actions, and of his emotions. You could honestly say you blinked with surprise more than a dozen times, wondering if this was actually a dream.

“Could you pass the gravy please, Y/N?”

Freddie’s voice woke you from your thoughts. You blinked once again for a few seconds, confused by his politeness.


“Yeah…uh sure” you struggled, handing him the gravy boat, to which he smiled.


“Thank you…” he replied, in a deep tone.

Nodding, you wanted to look away. Except you were tempted to stare. All the while your sisters and mother had a conversation of their own without your slightest attention.

“…Don’t know…let me ask him…” Jackie said, looking over to her husband, “Freddie, babe…you at home tomorrow night?”


“Of course, babe…” He answered obediently, with the same smile.

“Y/N…” You looked up from your plate as your sister addressed you, “Cinema tomorrow, you coming right?” She asked, whilst Maggie and your mother looked at you excitedly. Opening your mouth, you hesitated to answer.

“No, thanks” you said, “I…uh have plans”

Which was certainly an answer that made your family raise their eyebrows.

“You never miss the cinema…”Maggie said, “You love it…it’s the Summers tradition”

She was right. You would be the first person to leap up in excitement to go see the pictures with your mother and sisters. It remained a tradition since you were young. But this time, you had become selfish enough to ignore it all.

“I uh…” you began, as everyone waited for a valid reason, “ I guess this is a good time as any to say this…uh…”. You struggled, as you continued with a deep breath: “Marcus and I…We’re seeing each other”

The reactions were so quick you barely could observe everyone else’s, but all you could remember was you mother’s, whose eyes were widened with curiosity.

“You mean…that nice boy we talked about?” She asked. You nodded.

“Yes…” you said, with a shy smile. Only then were your ears brimmed with loud, happy exclamations from everyone, even Jimmy’s.

“Oh my god-” Jackie cried out happily. “I can’t believe it” Maggie followed suite as she cupped her own face with wonder. Your mother stood up in excitement, making you walk over to her open arms. “Oh! Darling…about bloody time!” She cried out, pulling you into a hug, “Oh! I’m so happy for you…”


“Mum, relax…we’re just dating” you chuckled, being held tightly in her arms, “ And would you mind terrible if I asked him to join us for brunch next Sunday?”

You asked, knowing completely the extent of her excited squeals.


“Of course I won’t, love!”

Pulling away, you watched the others clap for you with pure excitement. All except Freddie. Though he wore a smile on his face, you could tell he was knee deep in pretense. Especially when those beautiful eyes were far from smiling.

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

“See? We always knew Marcus would be the one…”


“Stop now! It’s not like we’re getting married…”

You said to Maggie, although you could not stop smiling. The kitchen was infused with soap smell as you joined your sisters and mother clean up the dishes after dinner. Even hours after, your family still could not get over the great news you brought.

“Actually, I’m quite excited for Sunday…” you admitted, drying off your hands after washing the last plate, “I really can’t wait for him to properly meet you all”

Watching the eyes of your sisters and your mother shine, made you feel warm inside. For the first time ever, you knew what it was like to be the daughter your mother wanted, and the woman your sisters hoped you’d become. Away from all the chaos. Into a normal life that was peaceful.

The sound of glass shattering made all of you jump in alarm.

“What was that?” Lena inquired, before one of Jackie’s daughters raced in to the kitchen.

“Mommy! It’s Daddy! He’s hurt” she cried out.

Your heart sank involuntarily into the sea of concern. Suddenly, you were dying with impatience. Rushing into the dinning room together, you all found Freddie sitting there by the table, with his hand gripping on to a broken beer bottle whilst a river of crimson flowed out of it.

“Oh Freddie! What did you do?” Jackie cried, as she held his hand. Shaking his head, Freddie couldn’t care less of what happened. 


“It’s nothing babe…just a cut” he muttered coolly. Jackie scoffed, whilst taking the broken bottle out of his hand. Without any hesitation, you headed back to the kitchen.

“Just? You’re bleeding like mad” Your sister said as she put a napkin on his cut, applying the needed pressure to stop the bleeding. Returning with the medical kit, you handed it to Jackie.

“Thanks, Y/N…could you keep pressing this on his hand?” Jackie asked, before you could even object. But you were not cruel. You could not be. Not to Freddie. Not today.

“Yeah, sure…” , you said, moving towards him. Gently taking his hand on yours, you kept pressing the napkin on his cut, shyly avoiding his gaze on you.

Muttering to herself, Jackie opened the box and took out gauze and medicine. “Seriously Freddie, what happened?” She yelled with concern to which you could not blame.


“Nothing babe…” he insisted, “my hand slipped…” he added, whilst sneakily looking your way. 

As much as you wanted to avoid him, you could not help but worry for the man. What was he up to? You wondered. As you continued to press the napkin, you secretly prayed for his speedy recovery. It was secret, for you had no intention of verbally declaring. It was not your place to do so. And most of all, a simple misunderstanding could do more damage than expected.

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

(Sunday)

Excitement became you as you smacked your lips. With the last smear, you closed the lipstick while staring into the mirror. The mellow yellow cotton dress complimented with the Rouge lips, which was a special color you wore for this special occasion. Yes it was just brunch, but brunch with Marcus and the family.

“Oh my!” Maggie’s voice reached your ears with her arrival into the room, “Love this shade on you, love” she said, giving you the thumbs up of approval. You smiled excitedly.

“Thanks…” you said, feeling your curled hair, “..is everything ready?” Looking out of the room, You asked with concern, to which Maggie stopped you with a pat on your shoulder.

“Don’t worry about a thing…” she said with assurance. And you believed her.

The ringing of the doorbell made her squeal before you “Oh! It must be him”.

12pm. Just in time. You were already proud of him. Skipping lightly, you made your way to the door. Opening the door in a graceful like fashion, you curtsied in an attempt to make your boyfriend laugh.

Except it was Jimmy who stood there.

“Jimmy!” You said with disappointment, clearing your throat to change your tone, “Hey!” You greeted him, feigning enthusiasm. 


“Y/N Hey! Sorry…” he said, lowering his voice, “…is Marcus here already?” He whispered with concern. You shook your head.

“No not yet actually…” you chuckled nervously as he entered. 


“Anyways…” Jimmy began, “Freddie said he can’t make i-”

“Yeah! yeah alright…” you cut him off, having no regards to anything he just mentioned, “Thanks Jimmy…” oblivious to the entire situation, you stepped out of the house.

Hoping this won’t a sign of bad luck, you waited for Marcus.

15 minutes later, you paced around, looking to your left and right with focus. Could it be that something had come up? Impossible. It was a Sunday. “Come on…Marcus” you muttered to yourself as you kept on waiting.

Half an hour later, your foot began to tap nervously as you stood there in front of the house with your arms folded. Could it be that he got into an accident? What if he was badly injured somewhere with no access to a telephone? Shaking your head, you were convinced you were overreacting.

An hour passed, yet you held on to the little hope that managed to linger even when everything else was proving you wrong. When the second hour finally passed, you were at the brink of giving up. Slowly taking your heels off, you walked back inside with messy hair and a cold expression.

“Where is he, love?” 
Your mother asked you with genuine concern as you entered the dinning room, With the food already gotten cold in the table, you saw the pitiful looks everyone gave you. Though they were quiet, you could hear it all. You felt guilty, you were confused to the fullest. But most of all, you were heartbroken.

The friend you thought you could trust enough to love, ditched you right before your family. Coming to that realization, the tears that you fought so hard to hold in, flowed down your rosy cheeks continuously as you stormed into your room, closing it shut.

______________________________________

Chapter 6 HERE

Tagged: @starlightmornings​​ @rogerfxckingtaylor​​​ @daydreamerinadazedworld​​​ @courtney-thevixeniris​​​

Check My MASTERLIST for More:)

[johnsbleu]

Hold My Hand: John Wick x Reader Chapter 58

warnings: nsfw for a moment Hold My Hand Masterlist

John is on his way from work, and you’re currently running around the house as you try to get it cleaned up quickly. He’s only been gone for two days, but you’re surprised by how messy you can be when he’s not around.

You’ve finished your bedroom, bathroom, and the living room, but now it’s time to move on to the kitchen, and you know the mess is pretty bad in there. You’ve let the dishes pile up in the sink despite the fact that you have a dishwasher, and when you head into the kitchen, you immediately cover your nose to mask the smell.

“Oh, my god. You’re such a pig.” you say to yourself and walk over to turn on the wax burner, hoping the smell of warm vanilla will waft through the house before John is home. You turn around to see Bleu sitting next to his bowl, staring at you, “I know, I know, I’m going. I’m getting your food right now, baby.”

Bleu’s nails click on the floor as he follows you around the kitchen, and he wags his tail fast when you look down at him and smile. Whenever John is away, Bleu is stuck to your side. It’s been that way since day one. He’s very loyal and very protective, which was on full display at Tess’ wedding.

“Daddy is going to be home soon.” you say as he tilts his head. Every time you talk to him, he tilts his head and it’s damn cute, you must admit. You lean down and pat the top of his head, “Daddy and momma are going to have a baby, what are your thoughts?”

Bleu takes a step forward and whimpers as he sniffs his bowl, waiting for his food. He huffs a little and looks up at you again.

“Not ready for that talk I see. Totally understandable, the first born is usually a little jealous at first. We’ll talk about this at a later date. I’m not pregnant, so we have plenty of time.” As soon as you pour his food into his bowl, he begins chowing down. You look at the sink and sigh loudly, “Guess it’s time to clean this mess. John would be so disappointed.”

__

Just as you finish filling the dishwasher with dishes, you hear your iPad ringing in the living room, and you kick the dishwasher closed with your foot. You find your iPad sitting on top of a neatly stacked pile of magazines, and seeing that it’s John calling to FaceTime, you plop down on the couch.

“Hi!” you say excitedly, trying to brush your hair out of your face and make yourself presentable.

“Oh, you look cute today.” he says, and you blush a little. “Are…are you wearing overalls?”

“Yeah!” you stand up and point at your legs, “And they’re overall shorts -- even better!”

“I’m on my way home, I just stopped by Aurelio’s.” he says and smiles wide, “I’m gonna see you so soon.”

“I’ll be at Tess’, they’re moving in the rest of their stuff today. I was just picking up the house a little, then I’m heading over there.”

“You made a mess?” he asks, laughing. “Already? Baby, I was gone for two days.”

“Two very long days. Anyway,” you laugh, trying to change the subject and you pull your knee to your chest to rest your chin on it, “I can tell that’s not your car, so how bad is it?”

John starts to laugh, “It’s pretty bad. I was able to drive it, so that’s good. We’ll have to go pick it up in a few days, but until then he’s letting me borrow a car until ours is fixed.”

“Okay.” you say quietly and start to laugh, “I don’t want you to buy me a new car, I know you’re about to suggest it. I can see that look on your face.”

“I’m just going to say that I’m willing to buy one for you. Seriously, it’s nothing. We can get you a nice car that’s safe, maybe an SUV, something good for kids.”

You catch John smiling and you shake your head, “I know I need one, and I could totally afford one now, but I just really love you driving me everywhere.”

“I love driving you everywhere, I really don’t mind it.” he smiles, and you start to laugh again. “I’ll be home in a little bit, I love you and I can’t wait to see you.”

“I love you.” you say and blow a kiss to John as you hang up.

__

Walking with Bleu across the street, you laugh to yourself at how weird it is to think that this is now Jimmy and Tess’ house. Sure, it was always Tess’ house anyway since she lived here already, but now she really gets to do whatever the hell she wants with it. April’s parents gave her the okay to do whatever she wants. You know she’s probably already been begging Jimmy to get a pool for a few weeks now.

“Hello?” you say, opening the door and Bleu rushes past to greet Sadie.

“Hey!” Tess says, but her voice is quiet. “I’m in the pantry.”

You walk through the empty living room and take a moment to reminisce when you hear Tess grunt as she walks into the kitchen. The counters are full of grocery bags, and she’s holding a bag of oranges in her hand. “Weird, isn’t it? Seeing the house so empty?”

“Yeah,” you laugh as you look around, “I’m so used to looking over and seeing a stack of magazines and coffee cups on the table.”

“Yeah, when I went into my old room, I found a t-shirt tucked in the back of the closet. I had totally forgot about it.” she says, taking the groceries from the bag.

“Oh, I’m sure I’ve left some stuff here too.” you say and help Tess put away the groceries, “Same spots as always?”

“Yeah, I’m so used to the cups being in this cupboard, there’s no way I can change it. Sorry there’s nowhere to sit. We bought a nice new couch and chair, but Jimmy was going to wait for John to get home to help.” Tess looks up at you and widens her eyes, “Please tell me he’s still coming home.”

“He’s still coming home.” you laugh and start to unpack a box of plates. “So, how is it going?”

“Really good, actually. We just have the bed and furniture to move, so when John gets here, it’s just the big stuff to move.” she says and sits next to you on the floor. “We’re so excited to sleep here tonight. Obviously you and I lived here, but without all of April’s stuff, it’s weird, it feels like a brand new house.”

“That’s good though. And it’ll feel even more like your home when you get your pictures up. I remember when I moved in with John, it didn’t feel like my home until we had our pictures around. Now I just buy all kinds of shit, random pillows and flowers, and John, for some reason, just lets me.”

“How is John?” she asks and lays down as she rubs her stomach, “He’s been gone for two days, right? All my days are starting to blur.”

“Yeah, just two days. Quick in and out. I just talked to him before I came over, he’s already on his way home. He was just in the city anyway.”

“Quick in and out.” Tess closes her eyes and laughs, “That shouldn’t be hot, but it is.”

“Trust me, I know.” you say and hear the brakes of a vehicle squeaking out front. You stretch up to see Jimmy hopping out of a moving van. He pulls a bag out from the passengers side and heads for the door.

“Hey, babe. I bought some sandwiches.” he says and smiles when he sees you, “Hey, want a sandwich?”

“I’d love one, thanks.” you smile.

“How are you? I feel like I haven’t seen you in a few days, I’ve been moving all this shit for three days now.” Jimmy says, taking a big bite of his sandwich.

You take a bite of yours and nod, “I’m good. Just been hanging out around the house, really. I planted some flowers so the backyard looks so colorful and nice, perfect for when we have you two over to swim.”

“Oh, my god, yes, I want to go swimming so bad.” Tess says and leans her back against Jimmy’s to support her weight. “I mean, I could be swimming right now. If we had a pool.”

Jimmy shakes his head and laughs as he looks at you, “John home yet?”

“No, should be home soon though.” you say, and when you hear a car’s engine in front of the house, you perk up. “Wow.”

“On cue.” he laughs.

You quickly wipe your mouth off with your napkin and hop up from the floor, heading for the door.

John groans as he gets out of the car, and you feel your knees buckle when the sun shines on his face. Another job down, and it seems like he’s not injured since he’s walking fine. He slides his keys into his pocket, then he fixes his jeans and shirt. His dark blue shirt is tight on his biceps, and you bite your lip as you watch him. As soon as John sees you, he freezes in place and stares at you as a smile spreads across his face.

You stop walking down the walk way and laugh, “Why are you just standing there?”

He widens his legs and kneels down a little, preparing to catch you when you jump into his arms, and you quickly run up to John.

“Hi, hi, hi!” you say, jumping into his arms and wrapping your legs around his waist.

“Oh, I missed you.” he exhales, hugging you tight to his chest. “I missed you so much.”

You pull back to look at John and laugh, “It was two days.”

“Two very long days,” he says, still holding you and walking to the front door. He leans forward to kiss you, and your eyes slowly shut as he pushes his tongue in your mouth. “I missed you.”

“I missed you, too. Sad we didn’t get to FaceTime while you were gone.”

“Me, too.” John pushes your hair out of your face and smiles, “Did you get more beautiful while I was gone? Because I think you did. I didn’t know it was possible, but I’m fairly certain you did.”

Your cheeks begin to burn and you hide your face in the crook of his neck as he laughs. As soon as he opens the door, you hop down and are replaced by Bleu. He stands on his hind legs and leans up to lick John’s cheek.

“He missed you.”

“Hey, John.” Jimmy calls from the living room, and you see him laying flat on his back with Tess using his stomach to prop herself up a little.

“Hey,” John laughs, and you hand him your unfinished sandwich to eat as you both sit on the floor. “How is the moving coming along? Tiring, I see.”

“Pretty good, we just have the big stuff now.” Tess grunts as she sits up. She gasps and tries her hardest to get up from the floor, “I can’t get up. James, I can’t get up.”

“Yes, you can.” you laugh and shake your head, “You’re not even that pregnant.”

“She’s been doing this for weeks,” Jimmy says with his mouth full of food, “She thinks I haven’t noticed, but I have.”

“Thank you so much.” Tess says to you and gets off the floor easily. “Just for that, I shouldn’t show you the wedding pictures.”

“You finally got them?” you kneel on the floor and look over at John, smiling when you see he’s got a little bit of mustard on his chin. You hand him a napkin and laugh, “You’re a mess.”

“Yes, I got them, and they’re amazing.” Tess grabs her a large folder from the counter and hands it to you, “These are all for you.”

You take the folder from Tess and pull out the photos, gasping when you see the first one: you, your mom, and Tess. “This is so cute, mom looks beautiful.”

“That’s a really good picture.” John says, scooting closer to look at the picture with you, “You three look very pretty.”

“I think I’m going to get a nice canvas of it for mom. Do you think she’d like that?” Tess asks.

“Are you kidding? She’d love it.” you laugh and shuffle through more pictures, “Tess, you really looked beautiful. You always do, but you looked so happy this night.”

“Yeah, I was.” she jokes and sticks her tongue out at Jimmy, then leans over to kiss him. “The next one I believe is the four of us.”

You look at the next picture and laugh. John has you tucked into his left side and his hand is nearly on your ass. His hair is still combed back, so it was obviously before the whole fiasco with Matt. He has his right arm around Jimmy’s shoulder, and the four are smiling wide. You look like a happy little family.

John takes a longer look at the picture, then presses a kiss to your temple. “Definitely going to frame that one.”

“Oh…my god.” you gasp and hold up the next picture to show John, “Look at this.”

It’s a picture of you and John holding Harper as you danced with her. He’s holding Harper tight and his arm is wrapped around your waist as the two of you look at Harper, smiling wide.

“Yeah, I figured you’d like that one.” Tess says, watching John as he takes the picture from you.

John looks at the picture and starts to laugh, “Look at her face, she’s got the biggest cheeks.”

“She does.” you say and pull out another picture: John kissing your forehead and your eyes are closed as you smile. “This was when the photographer asked to take our picture.”

“Oh, yeah.” John says quietly and smiles when you look at him. He takes another picture from you and laughs, “You look so happy, mouse.”

Tess grabs a framed picture off the counter and hands it to John, “This is just for you. We had it framed.”

“Oh, you’re going to love this one.” Jimmy smiles.

You look at both Tess and Jimmy, then back to John as he looks at the picture. A smile spreads across John’s face and he cover his mouth as he laughs. He uses the back of his hand to wipe away a tear in his eye and he looks over at you, “You’re so beautiful.”

“What picture is that?” you try to reach for it, but John moves it out of your reach and kisses you instead. You tackle John to the ground as Jimmy and Tess laugh, and you crawl on top of John to straddle him. “Give me the damn picture, John.”

He turns the picture for you to see and you laugh as you take it from him. The sun is shining, so it’s giving you a warm orange glow, and you’re laughing at something off camera. You don’t even remember the photographer taking the picture, but you have to admit, you look pretty good. You look happy.

“Okay, but it’s just me. Literally just me sitting there. What’s so special about that?”

John sits up and wraps his arms around you, “Look how happy you are. You look so beautiful.”

“You two should get married.” Jimmy says, and Tess slaps his chest. “What? I’m just saying that they should get married.

“Shut up, James!” she says, giving him a dirty look.

“Well, tell that to him. I literally proposed to him and he ignored me.” you crawl off of John and stand up, reaching down to help John to his feet.

“Yeah, I totally ignored her.” John laughs and looks at Jimmy, “Should we move some stuff?”

You point at John and look at Tess, “See?”

__

John and Jimmy moved the furniture in just under two hours, and you and Tess sat back watching them as they argued over how to get the couch through the front door. You offered to help several times, and every time, John told you not to help.

Jimmy points to the empty bedroom down the hall and squints his eyes, trying to remember, “This…will be the playroom? I think that’s what we decided.”

“Yup.” Tess nods and points at the rooms, “Playroom, and then this room will be the guest bedroom since it has the bathroom in it. Anytime you two are fighting, there will be a bed waiting for you, John.”

John laughs, “Thanks, but I don’t think we really need to worry about that.”

You cock up your eyebrow, “You literally stayed with them a few weeks ago.”

John grabs you by your shoulders and pulls you into his arms, “Big mistake.”

“Anyway, we thought that since our room is upstairs, the baby should be close to us.” Tess says as you all file behind her up the stairs, “There’s three rooms up here, we have the master,” she points at the room in front of you and smiles, “This will be the office, and then we thought…”

“The baby should go in my old room?” you say as Tess pushes open the door. “Oh, my god.”

You cover your mouth with your hand and feel tears pricking your eyes. The room is full of baby stuff, and there’s a large rug on the floor with baby animals on it. A crib is against the wall on the left where your bed used to be and the changing table is to the right of the door where your desk once sat. In the far corner is a nice rocking chair and Tess immediately sits down in it.

“Terrible idea, I know, the staircase is right there.” Jimmy says, leaning against the door frame, “But before Tess is due, we’re planning on getting the staircase fixed, just to update it a little, some of the stairs are a bit rickety. And we’ll get a baby gate for sure.”

“We’ll have to paint in here, of course. We’re going for an animal theme, obviously.” she says, holding up a shelf that has animals painted on it.

“We got so excited the other day and just started fixing up the room. We don’t even have a picture hanging up in our room yet.” Jimmy laughs.

Tess points above the crib and smiles, “We’ll have his name painted above the bed.”

“Uh, Finny James?” you look at Tess carefully, and she smiles as she begins to tear up.

“Yeah, Finn.” she nods and starts to smile even wider, “We just found out yesterday.”

You kneel in front of Tess and rub her belly, “Finny James, I can’t wait to meet you.”

“I still hate that.” Tess laughs.

You look over your shoulder to see John and Jimmy talking in the hallway, and you wonder to yourself what they could be talking about in secret. John feels you looking and starts to smile as he looks at you.

“So, how did Jimmy react?”

“Well, funny story…” she laughs as John and Jimmy come back in the room, “Uh, the doctor literally told us that we were having a girl, then she said a boy.”

“I thought that meant twins.” Jimmy laughs, leaning against the crib.

“He started crying.” Tess smiles.

“Yeah, imagine us with twins, Tess. Horrible.” he jokes.

“Our doctor was so sweet, I couldn’t even be mad.” Tess says, getting out of the chair. “She apologized over and over, she was so worried we were going to sue her or something.”

“We would have cried no matter what.” Jimmy rubs Tess’ belly and smiles, “He’s happy and healthy in there, so that’s what matters.”

“Oh! There’s a box of your stuff in the corner, you must have forgotten to pack some stuff when you moved out.” Tess says and points to a medium brown box in the corner, “And don’t worry about all your books, we can keep them here until you’re ready to move them.”

As Jimmy and Tess leave the room, you feel John’s arms wrap around your waist. He leans close to your ear and lets out a small breath, “What are you thinkin’?”

“It’s so weird that my old room is their nursery,” you tilt your head back to look at John and smile, “Kinda puts things into perspective.”

John’s eyes dart over your face and he leans in closer, “What does that mean?”

You start to laugh when his hands move to your stomach, and you push them back to your waist, “It means that our lives are going to change in a few months. Tess and Jimmy are going to be parents, and we get to be the cool aunt and uncle who spoils their nephew rotten.”

“Oh,” he lets go of you and grabs the box of your stuff from the floor, “Yeah, that’s true.”

You slowly walk towards John and smile, “And then who knows, maybe we’ll have a baby of our own that we can spoil not long after.”

John puts the box back on the floor and pulls you into his arms, kissing you hard on the lips. “Maybe we should go home.”

“Yeah, maybe.” you say, in between kisses.

“Are you two really making out in my baby’s bedroom?” Jimmy says from the hallway, and you immediately move away from John as you two laugh.

“Sorry, couldn’t help it.” you laugh.

When you get back downstairs, Tess is trying to figure out where she wants to put a lamp and you sit down on the couch to look through your box of things you left behind. A few shirts, your favorite teddy bear that you’ve had since you were four, and one of John’s dress shirts he left after staying the night at your house.

“I completely forgot about this shirt.” he says, holding it up and looking it over. “You’ve always been a shirt thief.”

“Oh, my god.” you gasp, pulling out John’s card he gave you on your first date, and you hold it to your heart, “I thought I put this in my wallet, and then I thought I lost it.”

“I can’t believe you kept that.” John says, leaning over the couch to look at it, “That’s very sweet of you.”

“Oh, man.” you laugh and hold up a diary, “My diary.”

“You kept a diary?” John laughs and sits down next to you.

“I did. I have a lot of thoughts, you know?” you say and hold it away from John when he tries to reach for it.

“Read it.” he smiles.

“Oh, absolutely not.”

John leans closer to you and whispers in your ear, “Did you write about me?”

“Probably.” you laugh and open it to a random page. You scan through the pages, trying to find John’s name and you gasp when you see Matt’s instead. “Oh, I wrote about my date with Matt in here.”

“Oh shit, I forgot about that. April was an idiot, by the way. I never would have suggested that you go out with him.” Tess says, nudging John’s shoulder before she sits down. “See, this is why I’m her sister.”

“And this is why you’re my favorite.” John says and playfully taps Tess’ leg.

“Hey, I, uh, actually have news about Matt.” Jimmy says, looking at you and John carefully. “He came in to…press charges.”

“I knew it, I knew he was going to do this.” you sigh and look at John.

John shrugs nonchalantly and leans back against the couch, and he looks completely relaxed, “Okay. Is this a heads up?”

“No,” Jimmy shakes his head and leans his elbows on his knees, “He didn’t make it that far. He’s not pressing charges.”

Tess shifts in her seat and looks at you and John, then over at Jimmy, “So, what happened?”

“Well, the night of our wedding when everything happened, I didn’t know who Matt was. I had only heard about him from John, but I hadn’t seen him.”

Tess shakes her head, “But you did. He was at our barbecue.”

You laugh, “Which you invited him to!”

She widens her eyes and grimaces, “Yikes! I did, didn’t I? My bad.”

“April invited John, and it was the worst day of my life.” you point at the kitchen and laugh, “I was sitting over there with John and I told him that we needed to talk. I was going to tell him that I thought we needed a longer break, but I hoped that if he realized that I wasn’t going to talk to him, he would finally tell me what was going on. But instead Matt came in and interrupted us. I sat between the two of them and could literally feel the tension. Matt grabbed my hand and John just…stormed out. Slammed the door and everything.”

John reaches for your hand and presses a kiss to it, “Yeah, I didn’t like him.”

“Can’t deny how good that felt though. Knowing that you were in love with me and that you were so upset. Boosted my ego a little, I won’t lie.” you look at John and smile, “Sorry.”

John wraps both his arms around you and kisses your cheek, “Killed me seeing you with that guy.”

You sit back up and pat John’s cheek, “Then I told Matt that nothing was going to happen between us, and even Matt knew that John is in love with me.”

“Everyone knows.” Tess says and smiles at John.

“So I’m the only one who didn’t meet this guy?” Jimmy shakes his head and clasps his hands tight, “Anyway, on the night of our wedding after John, Aurelio, and I took him out front…”

“And beat the shit out of him.” you add.

“No, that was just John.” he laughs, then leans back in his chair.

John looks over at you, and he starts to smile when your eyes meet, then he playfully shrugs. He’s so proud of himself. Hell, you’re proud of him too. He did exactly what he always said he would: he protected you.

You shake your head and let out a small laugh, “God.”

“After he got the blood cleaned off his face, I recognized him.” Jimmy takes a deep breath and sighs as he looks back and forth between you and Tess, “I promised John I wouldn’t say anything to you that night. To either of you.”

“I understand.” you say, giving Jimmy a small smile.

“Matt has done this several times with women in Mill Neck. He meets them, comes off as a nice guy, might even take them out on a date or two. But…he’s a bit…”

“A bit of a stalker?” Tess asks, and Jimmy nods.

“Yeah, well, we couldn’t do much when someone would say that they ran into him at their work, or at the grocery store. He always made sure to run into them to at a public place so they couldn’t do anything about it, and so…” Jimmy shrugs as he sighs, “We swept it all under the rug.”

John reaches for your hand, then presses a kiss to your cheek, “You okay?”

“Yeah,” you nod and exhale, “I’m just…”

Jimmy moves from the chair to kneel in front of you and he reaches for your hand, “We failed you.”

“You didn’t.” you laugh and shake your head, “Don’t be dramatic.”

“We did. We should have listened more when these women came in and told us, but we didn’t and look what happened.”

“I’m fine!” you cup Jimmy’s face and kiss his forehead, “I’m fine. If anything…more happened with these other women, that’s what you need to focus on. Not me.”

“What about the shit that happened to her? The picture, the brick, John’s house?” Tess asks and reaches for your hand.

“It was definitely him.” John says, and you look over at him in shock. “You knew that. You’re a lot smarter than you think. You figured it out.”

“I…” you shake your head and shift to face John, “You told me that you looked into him and you didn’t find anything.”

“We did look into him...” he says, looking at Jimmy, “And we didn’t find anything. You heard Jimmy. No one turned him in.”

“Yeah, but you’re…”

John laughs, “Yeah, I’m John Wick. Doesn’t matter, we didn’t find anything.”

“A parking ticket from a few years ago.” you say and look up at John, “I remember our talk from Christmas. You told me you didn’t know who was doing that stuff.”

John shrugs, looking away from you, “I couldn’t be certain, so I didn’t tell you. I needed…proof that it was him, then nothing ever happened again so I didn’t want to bring it all up and scare you. We were finally good again.”

“Okay, okay, okay.” you scoot a little closer to John and nod, “Okay, I get it. It’s fine.”

“What a fucking asshole.” Tess says under her breath, and you all look over at her. She gasps and shakes her head, “Matt, not John. Duh.”

You sit back on the couch and try to absorb everything you’ve just found out, “So Matt was the reason John and I got into a…huge fight. A huge fight that nearly ended us. I mean…that picture thing was probably one of our biggest fights. Well, actually…the whole baby thing was, but we’re past that!”

“The picture thing?” Jimmy asks, looking back and forth between you and John.

Tess leans over and talks out of the side of her mouth, “A scribbled out picture of Helen was in her car, remember?”

“Oh, right. Yeah, I remember that.” Jimmy nods. “How did he even get a picture of her?”

“Town Hall, I’m assuming.” John says, and you look over at him again, “Her picture was there because she did a lot of the photography for Mill Neck.”

You shiver with disgust, and even though you’re completely safe and Matt is no where to be found, you still scoot a little closer to John for protection. John notices you fidgeting with your bracelet and he reaches for your hands, rubbing his thumbs over the back of them.

John wraps his arm around your shoulder and pulls you closer, “You’re okay.”

“I’m sorry.” you exhale and look at him, “That was just…a bad time for us, and to know that those fights we got into were basically my fault. Matt did this shit because of me.”

Tess taps your shoulder and you look over at her. “Don’t blame yourself. He’s…fucking dumb. He barely even knew you. He thought that if he threw obstacles in the way that you’d end up leaving John, and then he could have you. But that’s not your fault. He clearly has some things that he needs to work through.”

“Well, if he was trying to get me to leave John, he did a terrible job.” you laugh, squeezing John’s hand, “Because John’s house started on fire, then we got the brick, and once I got the brick, Jimmy came over and told me where John was. I found John, he told me everything, some other shit happened, but whatever, and now we’re here. So if anything he actually helped John and I. He helped push us back together.”

“And now you’re stronger than ever.” Jimmy says, and Tess gags.

She rolls her eyes, “Okay, never mind, that was super sweet, James.”

“I actually think when he found out that nothing was going to stop the two of you from being together, he backed out. Until our wedding, of course, I think he was just super drunk…” Jimmy shrugs, and you can tell he still feels bad.

Tess reaches out and pats his cheek to comfort him a little. “Babe, it’s okay.”

John sits up on the couch a little and looks at Jimmy, “Did Tess tell you that Matt showed up when the two of them were out for lunch a few weeks ago?”

“No.” Jimmy shakes his head, then looks at Tess, “You didn’t tell me that.”

“Thank you, John.” Tess says, giving him a blank stare. She looks at Jimmy and shrugs, “Yeah, I don’t know, doesn’t matter. He just showed up and gave me flowers to apologize for the incident at the wedding.”

Jimmy looks at you and you shrug, not knowing what to say. He takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly, “On Monday, you are going with me to the station. We’re getting a restraining order filed.”

“Babe, it wasn’t a big deal. I think we scared him off, to be honest.”

“Tess! Don’t fight me on this.” Jimmy says, and you freeze a little when he raises his voice a little.

You look over at John and widen your eyes a little, and the look in his eye lets you know he’s thinking about you getting a restraining order as well. You look over at Tess and pat her leg, “Tess, it’s probably in your best interest. Finn will be here soon, you don’t want to take any chances. If it makes you feel any better, I’ll go with you. I’ll get one too.”

“Thank God.” John exhales and rubs your back.

“We’re just looking out for you two, okay? You’re our girls.” Jimmy says, pulling Tess into his lap. “We want you two to be safe.”

“Tess really did go off on him though. You’d have been damn proud of her, Jimmy.”

“I bet she did.” he smiles, rubbing his thumb against her cheek, “He was probably on the verge of tears when Tess was finished with him.”

The two of them begin to kiss and you shift to face John, “Should we head home? I want to show you the flowers I planted in the backyard.”

John leans back and nods, “Yeah.”

__

Walking hand in hand with John around the backyard, he gasps loudly and walks over to the small vegetable garden. He lets go of your hand and kneels down next to a small plant and pulls a green leaf off it, then offers it to you.

“Spinach.” he says, and you reluctantly take it from him. He takes a piece for himself and when he swallows it, you finally eat your piece. “That’s good.”

“Hmm…” you nod and shrug, “Not a huge fan of spinach, but it’s pretty good. I’m super excited for these carrots and tomatoes though. Look at them!”

John spots the small green tomatoes and smiles, “Those are going to be so good.”

The day before he left, you went to the garden shop and bought a ton of flowers, wanting to give the backyard a little color. John was so helpful, and he even picked out several kind that he thought would look nice in the yard.

He spots the garden gnomes he picked out and laughs as you sit down on the patio, “I see the kissing gnomes.”

“Yeah, they’re tucked in the back there.”

He grabs the gnomes and moves them closer to the front of the garden, “They need to be seen.”

“Okay.” you laugh and watch John look at all of the flowers, “So, I just planted everything that we bought before you left. Gave me something to do, I think I might be getting a green thumb, because I want to plant more stuff. Maybe get some planters for the front door.”

“I really like these that you picked.” he points at the flowers, “Coneflower.”

“How did you know that?”

John sits down next to you and reaches for your hand, “Helen liked them. Daisies were her favorite, but she loved these as well. Plus it’s a funny name.”

“It is a very silly name.” you look over at John and smile, “They’re beautiful flowers, and they’re perennials, so they’ll come back every spring now. ”

“Nice.” he nods and leans over to kiss you, “You just planted flowers while I was gone?”

“Yup, pretty much.”

John looks around the backyard and smiles, “They look really good, I think you’ve found a new hobby. You did a great job.”

“Who knew stuffing plants into dirt could be so much fun?”

“You know what else is fun?” John wraps his arm around your waist and pulls you closer.

“What?” you feel John staring at you and you start to laugh, hiding your face in your hands, “Do you realize how nervous you still make me?”

“I do?”

You laugh loudly and nod, “Yes, you make me so nervous.”

“You actually make me pretty nervous, too.” John starts to laugh and he gets up from the porch steps, reaching out for your hand, “Come on.”

“Where are you taking me, Mr. Wick?” you tease and hold his hand as he walks over to the pool.

“We haven’t even swam in it yet.” John says and pulls his shirt over his head. He kicks off his shoes and socks, then starts to unbuckle his pants.

“You’re going to swim in your boxers?” you say and watch as John pulls his pants off.

“It’s just us.”

“Well, yeah, but what if Tess and Jimmy come over?” you say and back away when John starts walking over to you. “I know what you’re about to do, Jonathan.”

He grabs you before you get away from him and he cradles you in his arms, “Can I?”

“Throw me into the pool? No!” you laugh loudly as John starts to walk down the steps into the pool and you gasp, “Oh, my god! My phone could have been in my pocket, Jonathan.”

John widens his eyes and holds you up, but your ass is already wet, “Is it?!”

“No, but you could have at least let me take my clothes off.” you say as John lifts you up to sit on the edge of the pool.

“Take them off now.” he says and disappears under the water.

You unhook your overalls to pull them off, then you throw your shirt to the lawn chair next to you. You hop in the water and reach out for John as he walks towards the deep end. You’re much to short to stay above the water, so John holds you in his arms with your legs around his waist.

“So, how was work?” you ask, and you feel your bra become undone.

“Quick in and out, remember?” he smiles and tosses your bra to the side of the pool.

“Yeah, I only see one or two bruises on you.”

“I have bruises?” he asks, looking down at his bicep. “Oh, I do have one.”

John flexes hard, and you lean down to press soothing kisses to his bruise. You move his wet hair out of his face, and he watches as you tilt your head back into the water to wet your hair. You tighten your legs around John and he smiles as he leans in to kiss you.

“Jimmy pulled a John move earlier, didn’t he?” you say, and John furrows his brow in confusion. “Kneeling in front of me, grabbing my hands and talking to me. You do that a lot.”

“Oh.” he laughs and nods, “I do.”

“I don’t know who he was more afraid of upsetting, me or you.” you say as John sets you on the edge of the pool, “I don’t want him to drag up everything that happened, not with me at least. I put it past me, so did you, and I want to keep it that way.”

“I get that.”

“I won’t lie, I did think whoever was doing that stuff was doing it because of you. I mean, Matt was doing it because of you, but it was because he wanted to be with me.” you say, shivering a little at the thought. “I thought maybe someone from your past was trying to hurt you.”

“No, trust me, if someone was trying to hurt me, you wouldn’t be here.”

You widen your eyes, “Like I’d be dead?”

John laughs as he shakes his head, “No, like you’d be sitting on a bed in a hotel room at the Continental. I would have dragged your ass there and made you stay in that room. Thrown away the key too.”

“Hmm…” you perk up a little and nod, “The menu is really good there, so I probably wouldn’t have minded, to be honest.”

John lets out a laugh and shakes his head again, “I can’t say I wasn’t relieved to know it wasn’t because of me; I was really relieved.”

You cup his face and smile, “I bet.”

“Are you mad because I never told you?”

“What? No.” you brush John’s hair out of his face and lean down to kiss him, “No, not at all. I understand why you never told me. We had gone through…so much in such a short amount of time, and this was all new to you again. I totally understand why you never told me. Things stopped happening and everything was good again. Matt went away. You wanted everything to be good between us again. Baby, I get it.”

“I love you. I’m really happy we made it through all that shit.” he says and smiles as he throws his boxers to the patio chair. “So, what are your plans for tonight?”

“Well,” you shift in place a little as you pull your underwear off, “I plan on following you around the house like a puppy, I missed you so much.”

John stands in front of you and rests his arms on either side of you and puts his head in your lap, “I missed you, too.”

You slowly spread your legs and you hear John let out a small laugh. He looks up at you and then down at your pussy, now on full display for him, and he licks his lips as he spreads your legs further. You hike your leg over John’s shoulder and pull him closer to you as you rest back on your hands.

John smiles as he buries his face between your legs and you moan loudly watching him. He focuses on your clit and you start to tremble immediately, slowly laying down on the ground. John begins to kiss your thighs, and you look up at him as he stops.

“Just a taste.” he says, smirking.

“You tease.” you sit up and John lays his head in your lap again, “So, what are we doing tonight?”

“Well, Jimmy had asked if you and I wanted to go out to dinner with them. Just to the little pizza joint down the road. He said if we didn’t want to that was fine, he knows that we like to spend some time alone when I get home.”

“I don’t mind that, actually. I love the bread sticks there, and they sound really good.” you say, brushing John’s hair out of his face and you notice a deep red cut near his hairline, “Oh, baby, you have a cut right here.”

“I do?” he asks, pressing his fingers against it as he winces, “Forgot about that.”

“We should clean it and bandage it.” you say, and John grabs your thighs to stop you from standing up. You cup John’s face and smile, “We’ll get it cleaned up, then I’m all yours.”

“Okay.” he says, finally letting you go.

You watch John as he hops out of the pool and when you see him dripping wet and walking towards you, you start to reach for him, “Hey…”

“What?” John looks up at you, then down at your hands on his chest, “Don’t do it. If you do, you’re going in with me.”

“Oh, my god, I’m not going to push you in. How immature do you think I am? I just want to kiss my incredibly handsome boyfriend.” you say, pecking John quickly. Before he can get his hands around you, you shove him into the pool and run away as you laugh loudly, “Got you!”

John comes up for air and slicks his hair out of his face, “I am so getting you back for this.”

__

taglist: @girl-at-the-verge @ladyren33​ @avxgers​ @thelovedpessimist​ @ficsnroses​ @thepastrecedes01​ @vladimirasibirskaya @chickyan​ @sweetgoodangel​ @weird-civilian​ @dangerouslystrangecrown​ @meetmeinthematinee​ @starsstripesandthesouth​ @cheekybluefox​ @beyond-antares​ @tnu-ree​ @sanctuarygirl​ @jessicajones616​ @ou8i8​ @sterekislyf​ @celestiaelisia​ @ladiesofamidala​ @star017​

[summahsunlight]

The First Step

Word Count: 3320

Characters: Tim McGee, Tony DiNozzo, others mentioned

Summary: Sometimes we just need a friend to help us get back on our feet. Tony and McGee friendship fic.

A/N: This was the first ever NCIS fic I wrote.  Originally posted on FF (which I’m slowly moving away from to AO3). Link to the AO3 story is posted below. As I post more NCIS stories, I will create a master list. Enjoy!

AO3

Timothy McGee could not believe he was about to do this, but he steeled himself and banged on his partner's door—loudly.

It had been four days since anyone had spoken to Tony DiNozzo. He was ignoring cell phone calls, landline calls and emails. Effectively the federal agent had shut himself up in his apartment and off from the world. Abby was in tears most of the time, Gibbs snarled at McGee at every opportunity he got. The poor green agent that had been assigned to the now empty desk had only lasted a day before she ran from the building in hysterics herself.

Everything had fallen apart four days ago. And he wasn't even embellishing like Tony. Ziva's abrupt departure had thrown them all into a topsy-turvy, spiral, where some of them were fairing better than others.

"Come on, DiNozzo, I know you're in there!" Tim hissed. "Abby traced your cell."

Slowly the door to the apartment opened and all fight left Tim as a hallow look peered back at him from heavy lidded hazel eyes. It appeared Tony had not shaved—or showered for the matter—in a week. An unkempt beard covered his face, his skin, which usually had a healthy tan to it, was a gray pallor, and his breath reeked of stale beer and whiskey. "Tony?" He gasped, pale green eyes widening. "What the hell?"

"Oh, nice to see you too, McGee" Tony snapped but there was no bite behind it.

Tim realized he was looking at a man that was defeated. He wasn't sure he'd ever seen Tony quite like this. Not even after the break-up with Jeanne had the man gone on what was most appropriately deemed a bender. Tony was warped into a man that Tim didn't even know anymore. "Listen, I'm sorry. That came out wrong. But your appearance…it's not what I'm used too and we've been worried about you since we got the news that Ziva was leaving. Ducky said you needed your space. But Abby wanted to storm the gates—this was the compromise."

Tony grunted a response and threw open the door, allowing Tim access to his domain. The usually neat and orderly apartment was in disarray. Dirty clothes were tossed everywhere, pizza boxes towered on the dining room table, and beer bottles accented as many empty surfaces as possible. Ironically the only thing that could be considered clean was the goldfish bowl. Kate the goldfish happily swam around her bowl, in pristine water, and Tim realized that there was a sliver of hope that deep down Tony was still Tony—he still cared about something.

For a moment Tim watched as Tony plopped back down onto his sofa, eyes focused on the screen on some movie that the younger man had no idea about. There was a bottle of Jack Daniels on the coffee table and he winced at the implications of that. His partner had moved on from beer to the heavy stuff. He supposed that all men had a breaking point—he just never believed Tony DiNozzo was amongst them. Abby had once said that he was a solid rock. It took a lot to chip him and everything just rolled off of him and he kept going.

But was that a fair description? Tony was, despite the juvenile nature, very complex.

"So, um, Abby and I were wondering if you'd meet us for drinks later," Tim ventured.

Tony reached for his bottle of whiskey and took a swig. "Got plenty of drinks here."

Tim winced. That had been a dumb question. It was obvious that Tony had been drinking since he'd come back from tracking down Ziva. He knew it was none of his business but he desperately wanted to know what she had said to Tony to shove him on this self-destructive path. "We can do pizza and a movie. Or Chinese. It's been awhile since we all hung out. And I think…I think we all need it."

His partner shrugged his shoulders. "Don't feel like hanging out, Probie. You and Abby go and have a great time though. Suppose she's upset."

"Well, yeah, I mean she had to deal with us all resigning and we're not exactly coming back whole, are we?"

"Nope. We're not."

"Listen, if you need to talk about it."

Tony glared at him and Tim backed down. There was a dangerous look in the senior field agent's eyes and Tim was not in the mood to explore it. After all, Abby had requested that he get Tony to come out of his apartment for a few hours, not make matters worse.

Tim looked around the room, listening to the old movie playing in the background. "We can go bowling. Sister Rosita and the nuns bowl tonight. They'd love to have us."

"Sorry, but no thanks. My back hurts."

"Come on, are you going to hole yourself up here for the rest of your life?" Tim sputtered. "It's not the first time changes to our team have been made. You once told me that you suffered through a rotation of agents and then as a two-man team with Gibbs before Kate joined. We'll get through this. It's not reason to drink. We survived Kate's death, we can survive this, Tony."

"This is different," Tony mumbled.

"Of course it's different. It's better, right? I mean, Ziva isn't dead. It's not like she can't come back and visit us."

"She won't."

He was a little tongued tied. "You psychic now?"

Tony shook his head, another swallow of whiskey. "Nope. She made it clear that she needed a clean break. If she comes back, it won't be any time soon. Tell Abby she can stop emailing and begging Ziva."

"How...never mind, it's not important that you knew this," Tim said, putting his hands up in surrender. "What's important is that we get you out of this apartment and...and functioning again."

"Saying I'm dysfunctional McGee?"

Tim's mouth hung open for a moment. "Well! Look at you!" he gestured to Tony's bum like appearance. He really didn't know what else to say. It was the last card he could possibly think to play at this point.

Tony quirked an eyebrow and swirled the amber liquid around in the Jack Daniels bottle. "Guess I have let myself go."

"You guess?"

"Alright I have. Just a little."

"Just a little?" Tim spat, the pitch of his voice raising. God, I need a mirror so he can see.

His partner didn't offer any counter argument to that and leaned back into the cushions, watching the movie on his plasma television screen. He was really starting to worry Tim. Had Tony been this messed up after Kate died? Tim couldn't recall but at the time he was still fairly new to NCIS and had easily accepted whatever Tony told him. He should have known that Tony did not cope with Kate's death by eating junk food. Tim rubbed his temple for a moment. "Come on, Tony. You need to get out. Hiding away here isn't doing you any good."

Tony threw his head back and took another long swig of the whiskey. Wiping his mouth clean of the alcohol with his sleeve, he narrowed his eyes at Tim. "I know what I need—to be left alone. I'm not going to bounce back like you or Abby or Jimmy. I'm not going to let this roll off my shoulder like Gibbs or Ducky. Because it's different this time. This isn't just a partner leaving. She meant more to me than a partner, than a friend. And forgive me, if I feel like drowning my sorrows in alcohol and old movies."

Suddenly the gravity of his words hit Tim full bore in the chest. He saw the pain, the betrayal and the longing in his partner's eyes. He'd been turning a blind eye now for years. Sure, he'd always known that Tony and Ziva's relationship was different, he just didn't think-or refused to believe-Tony had actually fallen in love with her. Lord does he have a way of falling in love with the wrong woman, Tim thought as he found the easy chair and sat down. "She was Mossad, Tony. You didn't actually think…it was every going to work out in the end, did you?"

"Not when she was officially with Mossad, no," Tony muttered, closing his eyes tightly, "but she left them, to join us because…foolishly I thought it was because she wanted to start anew."

"And you thought, someday, it would work."

"Yeah. Should have known it wasn't going to end any other way. Once Mossad, always Mossad, eh?" Tony spat, bitterly. Another swig of whiskey. "Just another notch on my stupid things I've done belt."

Tim shook his head. "It wasn't stupid, Tony. We can't always control who we fall in love with."

Tony peered at him, thoughtfully. "Look at you, McRomeo. I take it that fair Delilah is treating you well."

"Don't change the subject—this is about you," Tim admonished him. "And besides, you'll bounce back—you always do."

"No, I don't just bounce back. I'm not a rubber ball."

"I don't understand."

Slowly Tony let out a breath, and looked right at Tim. "After Wendy left, I didn't eat for weeks. Gibbs almost literally had to shove food down my throat, pick me up and dust me off," Tony mused. "It was years before I actually went on a date again. Just around the time we met you I think. Oh, don't look that surprised. You've known for a while now that most of the time the women are just apart of the act."

Tim had to admit there were times he was certain that Tony's stories of his dates and his little black book were just that—stories. But hearing first hand affirmation of that shocked him. "And after Jeanne?"

Tony shrugged. "Pretty much the same, except for Gibbs picking me up and dusting me off. I kept the pain private, made it look like that I really had been acting and that I never did love her. Truth was, I loved her—a lot. If we had met under different circumstances, say, where she knew the real me, I might have ended up making a life with her."

"EJ?"

"It hurt that she didn't trust me. Ran from me all the time. But I couldn't let people see how much it hurt. Have a reputation to maintain after all, McGee."

"Tony…why didn't you…God, we would have helped you."

Silence fell between them for a moment, before the SFA put the bottle of whiskey down and looked at his partner, sternly. "You already don't think very highly of me, McGee. I didn't want to give you anymore ammunition to use against me if you saw how weak I'd become."

Tim looked away, embarrassed. It was true. He wasn't always nice to Tony but somewhere throughout their eleven years of working together, the man's goofy charm had grown on him. It was true that at times Tony annoyed the hell out of him, but as of late, he was finding that he really missed the oddball joke or movie reference just to break the tension. "Yeah. Guess I owe you an apology."

Tony shook his head. "No. You don't. I didn't make it easy for you."

"I'll say," Tim mumbled. He heard Tony chuckle for the first time since arriving.

Again they fell into silence, the only sound in the apartment that of the old movie playing on the television, and then the clunk of the Jack Daniels bottle as it was set down onto the coffee table. Tim watched as Tony rubbed his hands over his scraggly face. "What am I doing, McGee?"

Tim cocked an eyebrow in curiosity. "You mean besides locking yourself away, drinking at all hours of the day and watching old Cary Grant movies?"

Tony smiled, sadly. "Impressive, McGee. Didn't know you were familiar with Cary Grant."

"Well, Ducky says you fancy you self the modern day Cary Grant with your dress," Tim replied with a slight shrug of his shoulders. "But back to the point, since your ADD has sent us off track again. What do you mean, what are you doing?"

"I'm sitting here wallowing over a woman that I was never in a relationship with."

"Come on. Not the first time a guy has wallowed over a woman that wasn't his."

Tony grunted, lowly. "Don't try to make me feel better, because this is how I end up—again and again. In the movies it's the pretty girl crying over the jock breaking her heart. My life—it's my heart that's been broken over and over. Wendy, Jeanne, EJ—Ziva—they all left me."

Tim absorbed that bit of information. "Come on, you must have ended a relationship before."

"I've ended a lot of one night stands and long weekends, relationships that really do not qualify as one."

"I could drop a horrible cliché here and say, everything happens for a reason."

Tony shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. "Horribly cliché. Not sure the reason why my heart being broken over and over again is. Guess I should just come to terms with the fact that I'm probably going to be alone the rest of my life. I'm married to the job."

Tim didn't know why but his partner's declaration of damning himself to solo life, stung. Tony didn't deserve all that had been thrown at him over the years and as he sat there with him, Tim was beginning to wonder why the mental breakdown had taken so long to grasp him. Of course, maybe it was always that the thought that someday Ziva would feel the same way about Tony and everything was going to work out that they would get their happy ending. Who knew that the womanizing, play boy, Anthony DiNozzo was really a hopeless romantic at heart? "You just haven't met the right girl yet."

"Ya think, Probie?"

"Listen. If it's going to happen maybe you shouldn't be looking for it."

"Wasn't looking for it when I fell for Ziva."

Tim rubbed his temple. They could easily go around in circles for hours. Tony was good at that. "You said Ziva was different. She was different because she was your partner for eight years. You survived all different kinds of hell with her. There's a small possibly that you love her but you're not in love with her."

Tony reached for the bottle of Jack and took a long sip. "You're not making any sense, ."

"Hear me out."

"Fine."

Tim took a deep breath. "If you were in love with her you would have stormed off that plane in Israel and told her. If you were in love with her you would have stopped her from going on that suicide mission to Somalia. If you were in love with her you wouldn't have waited for Gibbs silent signal to go after her when she stormed out of the cabin in May. If you were in love with her you never would have let the relationship with Ray get that close to marriage and that was only stopped because the guy killed someone."

Tony looked away, briefly. "You forget I went to Africa to avenge her death, I disregarded protocol to protect her when Rivkin was in town, and I spent all those hours trying to track down those damn opera tickets but had to settle for a recording. Does someone who isn't in love do that?"

"You did all those things because you care about her. You didn't want her to lose her job when Rivkin was compromising her, we both went to Somalia to avenge her death, and we both know how much honoring Tali means to her. You leave Nutter Butters on my desk all the time, bring me coffee late at night and Chinese food. Abby gets roses and cupcakes on her birthday, and whenever she's down, I can usually find her here, curled up on your sofa with you watching a movie—does that mean you're in love with us too?"

"Don't be ridiculous, Probie. I do that because I care about you guys."

Suddenly a look of understanding passed over Tony's face. Tim finally felt he'd broken through. God, Tony was stubborn, and Abby was right that he was a rock—but he was a rock wall that needed to be chipped away in order to get to him.

In that moment the senior field agent's shoulders eased and it was as if he finally came to accept that Ziva wasn't coming back, that he needed to move on with his life no matter how much it hurt. Tim wasn't stupid. He knew that Tony wasn't going to heal overnight, but at least he could go back to NCIS and report to Abby that he broken Tony out of his fog.

Maybe now he would come back into work. Vance was being awfully lenient with all of them, giving them some days to sort everything out before returning to work. Tim and Gibbs had not taken the days offered to them, but Tony had. It had surprised them both if they were honest.

"So. What are you going to tell Abby when you go back?"

"Oh, ah, that you just need some time…and space."

His lips pulled into a small grin. "Like Abby's going to listen to that. She'll be here tonight," Tony replied.

Tim winced. "Yeah. Probably. I'm really sorry, Tony."

"Don't be," Tony said, pulling himself from the sofa. "Gives me an excuse to finally clean the place up, maybe shave and take a shower."

"Maybe? You smell like you've been lost in the desert for weeks."

Tony lifted his tee shirt to his nose and sniffed. He made a vulgar face and agreed. "Yeah, maybe I'll shower first."

Tim felt some relief wash through him. "Want me to stay and help?" When Tony threw him a questionable look, he clarified, "I mean with the cleaning."

"Put the pizza boxes in the trash chute on your way out?"

"Sure."

Tony moved towards the bathroom but paused. Slowly he turned while Tim was gathering up the pizza boxes and bit down on his lower lip. "Probie."

Tim glanced up from his cleaning and looked at his partner expectantly.

"Thanks. For picking me up and dusting me off."

"No problem, Tony."

"You do realize that if you tell anyone about our little heart to heart here I will have Abby kill you without leaving forensic evidence?"

Tim couldn't help the goofy grin that plastered his face. It was great to have a semblance of the old Tony back. "Yeah. I know."

Tony grunted and disappeared into the bathroom. Tim gathered up the pizza boxes, left the apartment with the door slamming shut behind him and tossed the trash down the chute. On his way out of the building he shoved his hands into his pockets. He knew that Ziva leaving was going to linger with Tony for a long time but at least now he was moving beyond sitting on his sofa drinking the days away.

And that, he reasoned, was a the first step.

[anotheronechicagobog]

Can you do one with Severide where he cheats and then tries to win the reader back? Lots of angst

Kelly Severide x Reader Liar Liar Pants on Fire

written by @anotheronechicagobog

warnings: cheating, swearing, mature themes, angst

A/N I hope that you like it! Sorry it took me so long, I’m just always nervous about the stuff I write not being long and/or good enough.

You were finally arriving home after a long, and fucking hard, day. You’d known when you chose to enter STEM in college that you’d be dealing with a ton of sexism, but right now you were exhausted. After graduating with a double major in computer programming and biochemistry, you accepted a job at Chicago PD in the crime lab. And today was awful because your lovely co-worker Manon was on vacation for the week and substitute, Jimmy, was incredibly sexist. He couldn’t go thirty seconds without making a remark, mansplaining, undressing you with his eyes, and belittling you. It took all your strength to not cave in his skull.  You just wanted to eat something to fill the hole in your stomach, and curl up in bed with your boyfriend Kelly. When you entered the apartment you shared with him and Shay something felt off. You heard loud moans of pleasure coming from upstairs, you assumed they were coming from Shay and her new lover Andrea. Even though you were slightly annoyed at the fact that you’d have a harder time falling asleep with those sounds surrounding the apartment. Your feeling of apprehension remained but you had no idea why. You decided to reheat some leftovers, once you finished the front door opened to reveal one Leslie Shay. You looked at her in shock as that feeling in your gut hardened. “Les? I thought that you were upstairs, with Andrea...”

“... No, I just came back from a movie night with Gabby and Casey, Kelly was supposed to come too, but he bailed at the last minute. I thought he was with you. Who’s upstairs? They’re really going at it.”

“I don’t know. As I said, I thought it was you and Andrea...” 

“Did  you just get back?”

“Yeah.”

“Do you think someone broke in just to have sex?”

“Honestly, I’ve seen crazier things come through my lab. Let’s go deal with this.” You and Leslie marched up the spiral staircase and burst through the door to your and Kelly’s room armed with a rolling pin and frying pan. What you were met with was not two strangers taking advantage of someone else’s bed, but Kelly naked on top and inside of a brunette you didn’t recognize. They were too... wrapped up in each other to notice you two at first. You and Leslie were too much in shock to react either once the both of you realized who was doing who. It was after they both came that they noticed you. Kelly rolled off of her and noticed you and Leslie standing armed at the door. “Ah! Shit! Fuck! Y/N, I can explain!” He was hurrying to separate himself and making sure he was covered up. You lowered your rolling pin and placed it on the dresser. YOUR dresser. That you shared with Kelly. “Alright,” you said slowly and restrained, letting a quiet and calculated anger flow through you “explain.” Kelly sat there blinking, opening and closing his mouth. “Well, you said you can explain so explain.”

“I uh... Don’t really... I didn’t think you’d actually let me- I didn’t think I’d get this far...”

“UNBELIEVABLE YOU MOTHERFUCKING PIECE OF SHIT! HOW DARE YOU TREAT Y/N THIS WAY!” Then Leslie turned to the girl still lying on your bed’ wrapped in your sheets, making eyes at your boyfriend. “WHAT IN THE EVER-LOVING FUCK ARE YOU STILL DOING HERE?! DO YOU NOT REALIZE YOU SLEPT WITH SOMEONE’S BOYFRIEND?! GET OUT GET OUT GET OUT!” Leslie screaming with steam coming out of her ears made the woman jump in gear, forgoing her bra and underwear and just grabbing her dress from the floor, throwing it on, and trying to grab her stuff and catch her things that Leslie was throwing at her. When Leslie and the severely underdressed woman were out of the room you turned to Kelly with tears streaming down your face. “It’s over, Kelly. I’m going to go stay at my mom’s, I’ll come to get my stuff tomorrow, please don’t be here.”  

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

Your mom had been sympathetic, she welcomed you with open arms and tubs of your favourite ice cream. She’d wrapped her arms around you and cooed promises to string Kelly up by his toes. 

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

FOUR AND A HALF YEARS LATER

“Honey, I’m home.” Your boyfriend sang out in a joking manner, you two had an Iron Man marathon last night since Tony Stark is Connor’s favourite Marvel character. “Haha, how was dinner with your sister?”

“Good. It went really well, I don’t think I can thank you enough Y/N, for convincing me to try to work on my relationship with her, I didn’t realize how much I missed her. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

“How was your day?” Connor poured two glasses of wine knowing full well that you would be ranting and raving about being ignored, underappreciated, and underpaid. You loved your job, you really did, but that didn’t mean that it didn’t have its cons. Once you finished your long rant and took the last sip of wine, you noticed Connor looking at you with a gentle intensity. “Connor?”

“Y/N, there’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you... I have tried writing a speech so many times and... I just haven’t been able to capture all of the right words. I’ve been wanting to ask you for months and I don’t think I can bear to put it off any longer. Y/N I love you so much and I want to spend the rest of my life with you, have kids, cats, grandkids and grow old together. So Y/N will you marry me?” Connor had moved off the couch and was kneeling in front of you, a modest ring being held in between his nervous fingers. You looked him deep in the eyes and set your glass down, you put your hands on both sides of his face. “Yes.”

“Really?”

“Yes! I love you so much and I can’t with to grow old with you too.” While both of you were smiling like fools he gently slid the ring onto your finger before leaning in to kiss you and you could feel the love and joy beaming out of your hearts.

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

It took less than ten minutes for the entire station to find out you got engaged. You didn’t mind, really, you just didn’t want anyone upset that all the work wasn’t done because people kept coming by to congratulate you. Hailey walked into your office for the second time that day, the first time being to see if Platt was right and that you had a ring on your finger, this time however you could tell something was wrong. She had a dark look on her face and didn’t have any evidence with her for you to test. “Hailey? What’s up?” She sighed and gave you an annoyed smile. “There was a fire at the scene, so Truck 81 and Squad 3 were there, while waiting on the sidelines Adam and Jay were gossiping about your engagement pretty loudly, Severide overheard. He didn’t react well. Sorry.”

“Don’t be, Hailey, we all work and hang out in pretty close circles, he was bound to find out.” You shrugged and continued typing up your report for the evidence from a case Intelligence solved the other day. “He still loves you Y/N, I think you should be prepared for him to-”

“Profess his love, tell me I’m making a mistake, beg me to take me back? Yeah, he’s done all that already. He cheated on me, I left him, but he couldn’t let me go.” You sighed and stopped typing on your computer for a moment and saw Hailey smile sympathetically at you. She reached for your hands and squeezed.”Want to go get lunch?”

“Sorry, Hailey, I’m getting lunch with Claire and Connor. We want to be the ones to tell her rather than her finding out from someone else. After I’m meeting with Leslie quickly to ask her to be my maid of honour.”

“Good idea.”

“I was wondering, though, Hailey, if would you be a bridesmaid?”

“Yes! Y/N you are going to have the best bachelorette party ever!” The mood in the room suddenly became joyful, filled with sounds of excitement and happiness.

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

THREE MONTHS LATER

You were buried up to your shoulders in wedding plans. Neither you nor Connor realized how much planning had to go into a wedding. Currently, you, Connor, Leslie, Hailey, Will, Claire, and Ethan were sitting in your living room with wedding plans strewn around the room. Connor and Claire were working on the guest list. “Do we really have to invite Aunt Tiffany? We haven’t seen her since before mom died and if I remember correctly, she’s a horrible person and we both hate her.”

“I know Connor, but she’s our aunt, and ALL relatives must be invited to your wedding. You will never hear the end of it if some fifth cousin three times removed is not invited.”

“C’mon, Claire, Y/N and I aren’t going to know who most of these people are!”

“Alright then, let’s take a break from our family and work on Y/N’s.”

“You aren’t going to invite all of my relatives, are you? I’m not speaking to half of them because they’re selfish and rude. I really don’t want my dad’s side at my wedding.”

“Sorry Y/N, but we have to invite everyone, but don’t worry, if they’re selfish and rude they’ll fit in well with our family.” Claire smiled at you as you groaned in frustration. You threw the papers from the catering companies on the coffee table and collapsed on the couch. You could feel a headache coming on and just wanted to close your eyes for a minute. A kiss was dropped to your forehead, you knew the feeling of those lips well and didn’t have to open your eyes. “Thanks, Connor.”

“You know I was thinking, what if we had two weddings? One small one that’s just us and the people we love, and a second one that’s large and thrown for the benefit of people we don’t like.” You opened your eyes and sat up. “That’s a good idea.”

“Y/N, Connor, you’re really considering having two weddings? That’s... Actually, yeah that sounds like a good idea. I mean it’s more work, but dad left us a ton of money.”

“How would you handle planning two weddings if you can’t handle planning one?”

“Well, Ethan, since we don’t really care about the second one we could just hire a wedding planner for that one.”

“Well since that’s settled, I’ll order dinner for all of us. Is Lebanese okay?” With a chorus of ‘yes’ from everyone, Connor went to order dinner while everyone shoved the papers into a pile in the middle of the table. When Connor returned Claire sighed. “We still have to plan one wedding, though.”

“Don’t worry about it, Claire. Connor and I can handle it. We just had trouble dealing with how big the wedding had to be, we were changing all of our plans because of it. Now that we’ve decided to have one where we actually get to make the choices we want, it’ll be a lot easier.” You felt Connor hmm an agreement from his spot curled around you. You spent the rest of the evening with your friends who you considered family, talking and laughing, eating good food and feeling loved. Without the stress of a ‘rich people wedding’, as Will had dubbed it, you and Connor felt much more relaxed and happy.

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

EIGHT MONTHS LATER

You were tired but happy. The wedding planner you and Connor hired did her job well. She understood completely when you explained that you were going to have two weddings and why. She arranged everything for the big posh events that were expected from Connor and managed to keep your first wedding a secret from those you didn’t want to know. The small wedding that you planned with your fiance was going exactly as you wanted, so far at least. You were finishing getting ready to walk down the aisle. Leslie, Hailey, Claire, along with your mom and grandmother were tearing up. Claire wrapped her arms around you. “You look so beautiful, Y/N, my brother is so lucky.”

“Don’t let Leslie hear you say that, I’ve seen what Les does when she’s jealous.” Claire laughed and took deep breaths to try and stop the happy tears. As you and Claire untangled yourselves and Hailey checked your make-up to make sure it hadn’t been ruined there was a knock at the door. Leslie answered it and let out what could only be described as a feral hiss. Everyone whipped their heads to the doorway to see one Kelly Severide. “I just want to talk to Y/N.”

“How dare you, if you think-”

“Don’t bite his head off Les. Connor invited him. Let him say what he came to, it’s probably just well wishes, right Kelly?” His breathing was rapid, his eyes looked panicked, and you felt every woman in the room including yourself sigh in annoyance. “Y/N I love you, please just-”

“No. Kelly stop. It’s been years since we were together, let me go. I am happy with and I love Connor. Please don’t interfere with my happiness.” Kelly nodded with tears running down his face. “I’ll always love you, and I know that you’ll always love me too.” Kelly stumbled away, causing you to sigh. “Hey, Les? Would you mind telling Will to keep an eye on Kelly? I mean, we told the minister to not do the whole ‘speak now or forever hold your peace’ bit, so we don’t have to worry about that, I just don’t want him to disturb anything.”

“Got it.”

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

Hailey had just walked down the aisle, which meant that in a moment, it would be your turn. You took a deep breath and let your excitement explode on your face. You saw the heavenly way Connor was looking at you and felt the aisle was too long, keeping you from him. When you finally got to the end you handed off your bouquet to Leslie and stood facing Connor. “Hi.”

“Hey.” There was a small round of chuckles from the bridesmaids and groomsmen. “Friends, family we have all come together today to watch Connor Rhodes and Y/N Y/L/N in marriage.” You focused on Connor’s face, the minister’s words became a blur, only bringing you back to reality when they said “The bride and groom have written their own vows, so let us hear their words of love” They gestured for Connor to go first, he smiled softly and began to speak. “Y/N, when we first met, you knocked me on my ass. Literally. You were rushing to get out of our favourite cafe and while trying to dodge other people, barrelled straight into me. You ended up spilling your coffee all over the floor, right next to where I was sitting on the ground. I remember looking at you and just being in awe of you. Of the way you carried yourself, how you handled the situation, and how you knocked me down without a fight, which is something that I like to think is particularly hard to do. When I asked for your number and you actually gave it to me, I felt like I’d been handed a meddle, and while it was a bit confusing at the time, it makes so much sense now. You are the most intelligent, kind, loving, strong, terrifying person I know. You fit with me in a way no one ever has and I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you.”

Suddenly you both saw commotion coming from the groom’s side, everyone turned to see Jay and Voight subtly restraining and silencing Kelly Severide. He struggled against them and looked at you with desperate, pleading eyes. You repressed the urge to march over there and slap him. You and Connor turned back to each other, your observations having taken place in three seconds. “And now for Y/N’s vows.”

“Connor, you make me so happy. I don’t want to consider a life that doesn’t have you by my side. I remember our first date, and I am so grateful that Leslie was able to talk to you at the hospital and intercept your original plans. I don’t think we would have gotten where we are now if you had actually taken me to the frufru restaurant in a limo and then renting out an art gallery. And so instead you took me to a family-owned Lebanese place and then to a board game bar. We started with Operation, because it’s one of my favourites, and you were terrible at it which is ironic because you’re, you know, a surgeon.” everyone in the room laughed. “That night was the best I’d had in a while. You made me smile and laugh and you’ve kept doing that since. I love you with every fibre of my being and I cannot wait to spend the rest of my life with you.”

“Beautiful, without further ado, I with the power vested in me by the state of Illinois, pronounce you husband and wife, you may now kiss!” A loud cheer came from all your friends and family as Connor swept you into a grand, loving kiss.

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

At the reception, you felt like you were walking on clouds. Your first dance with Connor had been slow and warm with the sound of John Legend mixed with Connor’s heartbeat encompassing you. It had been three hours and you still couldn’t stop smiling. Connor was dancing with your mom while you chatted with Claire. “Y/N you and my brother look so happy. It’s just so heartwarming to see.”

“That means so much Claire. I know-”

“Atnmentition evey- everyone! I ha- have somating to sa- aaaay” A completely wasted Kelly Severide was standing on stage with the DJ drunkenly slurring into the mic. “Oh hell.” Everyone had stopped what they were doing and turned to watch the spectacle he was making. “I lo- lobe lobe-” He turned and threw up on the stage just as you made your way over to Connor. Antonio and Voight made their way over to Kelly and started to carry him off the stage and out of the reception hall, Kelly was crying and making reaching motions for you. You just shook your head and sighed. “Well, at least that happened at the end and not the beginning of the night.” Connor was trying to cheer you up and it worked. “You’re right, besides I think it’s time for us to leave for our honeymoon anyway.”

“Definitely.” After thanking everyone for coming you got changed into a more comfortable and travel-friendly dress you met with a beaming Connor in the middle of the dance floor. You were both smiling like fools as you made the way through the crowd of people you loved most in the world and into the car that was going to take you to the airport. As you were driving away you caught sight of Kelly lying on the curb while some of the guys were trying to coax him into the back of a car. You just turned away and kissed Connor, smiling into him. Even when you heard Kelly screaming your name, you didn’t look back. Just continued to cuddle gaze into the eyes of the love of your life.

[theawkwardterrier]

Perfect Targets

Steggy Week 2k19, day 1 Prompt: Endgame

Summary: Steve and Peggy are accustomed to being interrupted.

AO3 link here.

It takes a strangely long time before a certain group of Hydra agents realizes that Margaret Carter provides too much of a stabilizing influence, that she is the lynchpin for so much, and that a neat "accident" would be very helpful.

(Perhaps the semi-anarchic "two more shall take its place" model is helpful in making the organizational spread hard to control or catalog, but it doesn't exactly lead to good collaboration, and it hasn’t gotten easier since Zola was found out and imprisoned before appointing a successor or passing on much of the organizing information.)

Once Carter has been identified as a prime target, an opening domino to continue in their efforts, things do move a little more quickly. It's decided that she isn't a particularly good candidate for an outright assassination: she spends too much time in heavily guarded SHIELD headquarters and even if a friendly agent could be found it would be apparent, too obviously revealing of Hydra’s underground efforts. (And finding a friendly agent would be very difficult. Somehow recruitment is getting harder and harder - is the current generation simply not as eager to join the cause? Obviously the Zola thing was bad publicity, but doesn’t it speak well that they still have their roots sunk deeply enough into society that they can continue onward, causing discord until they are in control?)

Without much of a social life - she seems to like staying in with her husband, so no standing engagement with a lover, no bowling league - the obvious place to eliminate Carter would be in her home. There is the small matter of said husband: surveillance shows him to be a well-built man, though it's nothing a sedative and a well-trained operative like Damian Ford can't handle. According to the tail they have on the husband, he spends a lot of his time chatting to old biddies as he walks them across the street, running volunteer art classes at the local community center, and helping to reach things down from high shelves at the grocery, so Ford figures he'll be a soft target. Nice people always spend too much time begging, or having faith that things will just turn out for the best.

Carter’s a busy woman and her schedule varies from night to night and she even goes into the office on weekends sometimes, but she’s always home for Sunday dinner. Ford arrives at the cute little house at ten past six. Twenty minutes is plenty of time to do away with the husband and fix up any mess before Carter pulls up. By all accounts she’s canny, and it’s always easier when you can get the drop on people. He'll take out the husband, wait for her, then pose the bodies and burn down the place, make it look like a house fire. A practically foolproof plan.

The neighborhood’s tightly packed, but Ford hops a few fences and is in the Carter backyard with no one the wiser. He congratulates himself as he goes over to the back door and jimmies the lock. It clicks, and there’s a little rush, that little bit of thrilling control that always reminds him of why he got into this business in the first place. People think they’re safe, that life has rules that they understand, but he’s there in the background, steering things in ways that most people wouldn’t understand.

He imagines the man inside, cooking the pot roast he can smell even through the still-closed door, listening to some radio program. He probably thinks that he has a say in his own fate, that he’s protected by playing housekeeper for his little wife. There will be just enough time for the realization that everything he ever believed was wrong before Ford strikes the final blow. Ford allows himself a bit of a smile as he begins to turn the doorknob.

“You’re finally coming in? I thought the potatoes were going to burn before you actually did something.”

Ford has never actually heard the man’s voice before. He has only a moment to register it, though, before a fist is swinging directly into his face.

"I'm home." Peggy closes the door, delighting in the solid sound of the lock clicking that signifies that her alone time with her husband has begun. She slips off her shoes and leaves them by the door, puts her case on the console table, and unbuttons her suit jacket. Her hair is sweaty, stuck to the back of her neck. She lifts it up and twists to offer herself a bit of circulation as she walks through to the kitchen. "I know that you've said that we're meant to have air conditioning in cars soon, but soon isn't soon enough."

Dinner is clearly ready - meat, potatoes, beans, salad, and rolls resting in serving dishes on the counter, the table set for two - but Steve isn't there when she arrives. She raises her voice a bit and asks, "Steve?"

"Basement," he calls, his voice distant.

She hadn't even wanted a cellar - too prone to flooding, too musty and damp to really store anything well - but they'd fallen in love with the house regardless. She hadn't thought about the other reasons she wouldn't enjoy it, but now she dreads even opening the door.

"Oh, bloody bollocking hell," she says as she comes far enough down the stairs to see. "I mean—good gracious, we’re back to this again?" They both know that children aren't in the cards for now - it's too dangerous at the moment, and they’ve been taking as thorough care as possible to avoid such an issue - but they've agreed to both try to clean up their language in preparation.

Steve, reading a book on the bottom step, snorts and stands, tucking the paperback into his rear pocket. "At least this one brought drugs. Some of them just show up thinking that they had all it would take—it's a little insulting, honestly."

"Yes, how dare they underestimate your muscles. But I'm sure the sedative will be very helpful." She eyes the man tied up on the chair they've essentially set aside for this purpose. "Not very polite of him to take the backyard route considering the way Mr. Lansing has deduced that his garden has been repeatedly crushed only since we moved here, but I appreciate him not making a mess - it would have been difficult to clean up considering how you broke the broom on the last one's face."

"He interrupted me while I was sweeping," Steve says unrepentantly. "I improvised."

"Hmm, you think they'd learn at least something about you, but I suppose communication and adaptation aren't strong points of theirs." She starts to button her jacket again, but then changes her mind. It’s too damn hot and she’s in her own home. "I should call in to request another transport, but I think we can eat while we wait - I'm absolutely famished, and the transportation team is practically part of the family now."

"I did make some chicken soup for John's mother - I know the treatment is really taking it out of her, and she gave us that great jam a few months ago." She starts up the stairs ahead of him.

"Perhaps I should start scheduling another night for them to be certain I'll be home? It would be nice to have a peaceful Sunday evening every once in a while."

"No one showed up last week. Or the week before," Steve reminds her, though he doesn't have to. She vividly recalls just how they'd celebrated both the lack of interruption for once, and also the apparent disorganization and dissolution of Hydra. "Besides, you wouldn't want to ruin a tradition, would you?"

She turns at the top of the staircase, facing him where he still stands on the step below her. "It doesn't bother you that these are our traditions, that this is what you came back for?"

He holds her face in his hands, fingertips smoothing over her cheekbones. If she blinked, her eyelashes would brush against them. "This is exactly what I came back for. I wouldn't have it any other way."

She thinks about the other men she might have been with instead, men who would have warned her off this type of charade, told her not to worry, that they would take care of rooting out Hydra from inside her agency and the others, men who would have come up with more grandiose plans for massive, public arrests and ignored her words about the way Hydra was a virus. She thinks about what could have been, and how lucky she has been with what is.

She kisses him. "I suppose I wouldn't either," she says, and goes to call the retrieval team.

[allyvampirelass29]

Chapter 8: Good Old Fashioned Nightmares

A HEROES Fanfiction   Angel Before the Fall Series By: Allyssa J. Watkins

"You know how I love a good old fashioned nightmare...... Sorry to keep you all waiting but I promise I'm worth it. Such generous hosts. I hope you don't mind that I brought a plus one. The invitation was too tempting, I couldn't resist sharing the fun........"

CLAIRE!!!! CLAIRE!!!! IT'S PETER, WHERE ARE YOU!?!? CLAIRE, C'MON PLEASE, ANSWER ME!!!!"

Peter tore down one long hallway and then the next, yelling loud over Claire's terrified screams and Sylar's taunts, feeling sick, his chest hurting like he was having a heart attack. "CLAIRE!!!! CLAIRE!!! DAMN IT, SYLAR!!!!!! Around another corner, and then another, revealing endless empty hallways, and each time his stomach clenched, so sure he was going to find her laying in a pool of her own blood, Sylar standing over her, having his sick fun, finger raised, laughing murderously.

"CLAIRE!!! TELL ME WHERE YOU ARE!!!" He screamed, his heart pounding, slamming against his rib cage. This was all his fault. He had just talked to her an hour ago. He was the one that gave Noah the go ahead, convinced him Claire was safe in her dorm. He'd been so sure...... She sounded so happy and carefree on the phone. He hadn't been worried at all. He was a damn fool. This wouldn't be the first time he'd underestimated that psycho. If Sylar had gotten to Claire that could only mean one thing...... Renee was dead.

"CLAIRE!!!!"

"Oh will you BOTH shut up? You're ruining my entrance, my ambiance. Claire, Claire, Claire, she can't hear you!!! But I LOVE that you can hear her. Shall we go louder?"

A spark of electricity over the intercom and Claire's tearful agony intensified.

"Ohhhh just listen to your daughter scream, Noah. Nice set of lungs, your little college girl. If I rip them out, do you think they'll grow back? So many possibilities. I can't pick. Do you feel it? That horror, that dread gnawing at your soul? I know, I did. Thanks for the idea, Bennet. SUCKS doesn't it? Payback's a BITCH."

Peter clenched his jaw, still running. I can't wait until you're laid out in a drawer at the morgue, you disgusting CREEP, spike nine inches deep in your skull, about to be fried alive. Then I won't have to hear your annoying as hell voice for the rest of my life!!! Every hair on the back of Peter's neck stood on end, his skin feeling like pins and needles, his stomach writhing. He'd known he was here, lurking in the shadows. He didn't know how, he just knew...... he....... felt him. They were connected somehow, maybe it was from the gruesome mistake of absorbing Sylar's powers that one time, but he could sense it. Great. I'm a Sylar Detector.

Suddenly he heard movement, running footsteps that were hurrying his way, and before he rounded the next corner, he froze. As he stopped, so did the footsteps. Matt? Claire? Or much more likely....... Sylar? Claire's screaming had stopped, and although the red lights were still flashing danger in the darkness, the sirens did not resume. It was eerily silent. He could hear his own heavy breathing, and his heartbeat pulsed along with the red lights. Man, I wish I had a gun...... he thought tremulously, wishing he'd taken Matt up on his suggestion. You were right, Parkman. I would feel better. He heard the click of a pistol right then, and flattened himself against the wall, breathless. Sylar. Peter could only heal when Claire was around, and who knew how close he was to her. Sylar could kill him, right here, right now. The element of surprise was the only weapon in his arsenal, his last ditch effort to stay alive. You haven't shot yet...... you don't know who I am. He steadied his breathing. It was time to fly into the face of danger. Literally.

He heard one tentative footstep, and he inhaled deeply. Flight then fight. One shot....... This is for you, Claire. Peter felt himself take off like a bullet, just as a fired shot sped by his head, and he collided with someone full force, knocking him down, a sigh of relief as he heard the gun clatter across the concrete. He quickly punched the shadow in the gut, but the shadow moved swiftly, easily pinning him down, hand on his throat. He waited for the finger to rise, or for the gun to fly back into Sylar's hand, but instead, the red lights glinted off of a pair of horn rimmed glasses.

"What the HELL are you doing, Peter!?!? I could have killed you!!!"

"Noah!!! I heard the gun, I thought you were him I-"

"I thought you were Sylar too."

Sylar chuckled maliciously, his voice like silk. "Isn't that adorable? Sorry Boys, but I'm one of a kind. Oh too bad, Noah, just a little to the left, and you would have shot him right out of the air! That really would have made my night! The sight of the two of you trying to kill each other has amused me so much, I'm going to do you a little favour. Besides, the kill isn't worth it, if there's no chase........"

"What the hell does that mean!? What's he going to do!? Peter asked frantically, as Noah slammed a new clip into his magazine, his eyes lethal behind his glasses.

Claire's sobs returned, as if Sylar was moving the intercom microphone toward her. "Claire, don't you want to see your daddy? Yeah? Then run, rabbit........ run."

A loud screech as the microphone fell over, a door slammed, and Sylar laughed coldly. "Claire Bear's on her way, Bennet. Follow the breadcrumbs."

"Breadcrumbs? Wait, why would he let her go!?"

"Blood, Peter. He means the trail of blood."

Peter went to take off flying, but Noah caught him fast, and clenched onto his forearm. "Noah! What are you doing!? We HAVE to find Claire!!!"

"I have to find Claire," Noah said, his voice cracking, tears in his eyes, one leaving a trail on his cheek. "YOU have to find Sylar. He let her go, because she's........ She's not healing....... She's dying slowly- bleeding to death. He's buying himself time while he hunts for Ally. It's a long story, but he injected her with Mohinder's serum, and-"

Peter felt his own tears fall, as Noah's eyes spilled over, his throat too choked up to speak, and for the first time, highly trained, expertly skilled, special agent, Noah Bennet, looked completely helpless.

"Noah....... This is my fault. I-I did this to Claire, I was so STUPID!!!"

"Don't go there, Peter. I was convinced she was safe too, thought I was just being over protective, hyper paranoid. When you're a father, you'll learn there's no such thing. I did this........" Noah's hand shook as he drew another pistol from a hidden ankle holster, handing it to Peter. "And I'm going to stop it. That sick, sadistic bastard dies TONIGHT, but first I'm going to break every bone in his damn body."

"Let me come with you! We'll find Claire, and go after Sylar together!"

"There isn't time. You have to stop him NOW, or he'll get away. I need you to go to the control room. I set up a trap of my own, after his little shop of horrors in Texas, knowing how much he loves the sound of his own voice. The minute he pressed the intercom button, nearly every door and window in the room was sealed shut, and after about half an hour, the room was sucked of all the oxygen. It's not going to last long, and it's certainly not enough to kill him, but it will slow him down. He has about ten minutes of suffocation before his normal brain function returns and he figures out that turning off the intercom opens the door. That's your window."

"Go get our girl," Peter said cocking his own pistol.

Noah turned away, and then stopped. "Peter...... if you have to kill Ally....... do it. It's worth the risk, worth the loss, if it destroys his heart."

**********

Two shots fired at the panel, and the storm door in the foyer opened to complete and total darkness. Noah burst out into the oblivion, his eyes red and swollen, both hands grasping his weapon. He remembered the secret stairwell behind the door closest to the intercom, the one door he didn't seal off. It would have appeared at the time, to Sylar, to lead out into another hallway in the building, when it actually lead outside. That must have been the door he pushed Claire out of. Once closed however, it automatically locked from the other side. Sylar, having set his distraction loose would have tried the far door, and by then the suffocation would have started. Godspeed Peter.

He sprinted through the dirt, and it wasn't long until he came across the foyer guard, his throat slit.

"CLAIRE!!!! CLAIRE!!!!" Noah shouted to the moonless night. It was so overcast, he could barely see a thing, the wind forcing him back, merciless, and he coughed, breathing in the dusty air. He ran around the right side of the building, headed toward the stairwell, his gun raised, intermittently eying the ground for blood trails. If my girl dies, I'm going to kill yours, Gabriel, right in front of you. I'm going to make her suffer, until you're desolate, out of your mind, and then I'm going to make you suffer, torture you until you beg me to take your life. I'm going to make you ask for it, say it out loud.

Noah raced past one of his snipers, dead, fallen from the roof, a bullet imbedded in his forehead, sniper rifle and attached silencer still in his hands. Darren. He ran faster. Another and another, Jimmy, Anthony, Thomas, Adrian, all five of them, murdered, and Noah felt his fury stoked as he realized, sickened, that the bullets that killed them were from their own guns. Sylar had used his powers, and forced them to shoot each other.

"DADDY?" It was faint, still far away, but Noah's heart leapt at the sound of his daughter's voice. Still alive. She's still alive.

"CLAIRE!!!! Baby!!!! I'm right here!!! I'm coming!!!!"

Noah tore through the dirt, kicking up clouds, lowering his gun, tears of joy blurring his sight, as he saw a sudden flash of shoulder length blonde hair, and a petite form staggering toward him.

"CLAIRE!!!! CLAIRE YES, Baby, you're okay!!!! I see you, Sweetheart!!!!"

Noah practically flew to his daughter's rescue, he didn't even feel the ground beneath his feet he was running so fast, didn't even notice he'd dropped his gun. But the closer he got to her, the more paralyzed he felt, assaulted by Sylar's heinous handiwork.

"Daddy!!!! Daddy something's wrong...... I'm not- I'm not healing!!!!" Claire's terrified face was dirty, streaked with blood and tears, a jagged gash the length of her forehead still bleeding, her skin fighting desperately to knit itself back together, but failing. Her dark blue University of Arlington Sweatshirt was torn, and soaked with blood, another huge cut in a half circle on her stomach. A smaller cut on her bottom lip, a few on her chin and clavicle, and one knee completely ripped open, her jeans spattered with even more blood.

Claire couldn't run anymore and she got close enough to Noah to collapse in his outstretched arms. He wrapped them around her as tightly as he could, his legs giving out beneath him, as he clinged to her, and he couldn't fight it anymore....... he sobbed and sobbed, his chest heaving, holding her closer, wiping the blood away from her face with his hand.

"You're okay, Baby, you're going to be okay! I'm so sorry, Claire Bear, I'm so sorry he hurt you, oh my God. Baby, can you forgive me? I promise, I'll never let him hurt you or anyone else ever again."

Claire hugged him back, eyes scrunched, crying into his shirt. "I'm so scared, Dad! I don't understand! Why can't I heal? It never takes this long!"

"I know, I know, Baby. Shhh, Mohinder's working right now to reverse it."

"It hurts........." Claire sobbed harder, and Noah cradled the back of her head. "It hurts so bad! She looked up at him with stricken, glistening eyes. "Dad........ am I going to die?"

Noah felt fresh tears fall, his hand shaking as he smoothed her forehead, stroking her bloodied hair. "No, Claire Bear. I'm not going to let that happen. I love you. I love you so much!"

"I know I-I don't say it enough," Claire managed tearfully, grasping his arm. "But....... I love you too, Dad."

Noah cried harder, and went to pick her up like he used to when she was a little girl, as she started to tremble, her blood dripping, staining the dirt red. He didn't know what happened next. Her shrill scream was like an arrow to his heart, as she was yanked away, pulled from behind, out of his arms as if by an invisible string. Noah's whole body shook violently, hands frozen out in front of him, eyes wide, incredulous, yelling her name as she disappeared from view.

**********

"DAMN it, Renee, you better be DEAD!!!!" Noah hissed furiously into his phone as the line picked up, back inside the outpost. "You had ONE job, KEEP MY DAUGHTER safe from that KILL HAPPY LUNATIC!!! If he hasn't taken off your whole damn head yet, believe me, I WILL!!!!!"

What Noah heard next stopped his heart mid-beat. He thought for sure he was having some kind of traumatized, psychotic break from reality.

"Wow. Overreact much? Dad, he's not dead, just discovering his long dormant love for Nicholas Sparks. C'mon don't be mad, and please don't kill him, I'm fine."

Claire's voice, which not fifteen minutes ago had been rife with tortured sobs, sounded happy and light, as she munched on something.

"Cl-Claire?" He stammered, desperately confused.

"No, it's your other daughter," she joked, crunching in his ear. You, okay? You sound weird."

"Where are you.........?" He asked breathless, his eyes darting back and forth. This...... this wasn't possible.

"Ughhh for the thousandth time, I'm watching a movie, in my dorm, with my friends! There is no alcohol, there are no drugs, there are NO boys!!! Except Renee. And that's your fault. Don't believe me? Send Peter over for a fly by, I'll save him some popcorn."

Noah's hand began to shake with dark intention, the confusion becoming wounded fury, gritting his teeth. This wasn't Claire. But he knew exactly who it was.

"SCREW you, Sylar!!! How much of an idiot do you think I am!?"

A girly laugh, and Noah's blood ran cold, disturbed that Sylar could sound so much like her, know her laugh, her humour, her mannerisms.

"Are you really sure you want me to answer that question? Another laugh and then the voice on the phone got really quiet. WAIT, hold on, why did you just call me Sylar!?!?"

Cut the act, you sick, son of a BITCH, you think I can't tell when I'm talking to my own daughter!? Oh you've got some nerve!!! WHERE'S CLAIRE!? You better hope she's alive. Either way you're screwed, because even if she is, you've PISSED me off SO much, I'm still going to torture your little girlfriend. You killed your own girl the second you touched mine!!!! Deal's off."

"Dad, are you on crack? This is me, this is Claire! What the HELL is going on? Why do you keep calling me, Sylar!? Is he there? Oh my GOD!!! I could kill Peter, he told me Sylar got away, and that you guys were just hanging out!!! I'm an IDIOT!!! I should know by now when my father and uncle "hang out," it usually means the world is going to end!"

"STOP IT!!!!! You conniving, soulless BASTARD, I said STOP IT!!!!! I just watched my daughter nearly bleed to death in my arms, don't you DARE impersonate her now, DAMN IT!!!!!"

"Dad........ you're scaring me. What do you MEAN bleed in your arms? I've been- I've been here the whole night! What happened?"

"Did you talk to Peter?"

"Yeah, earlier, I don't understand."

"Peter thought he talked to Claire, and it was YOU all along. Nice one. Well I hope you've had your fun, because I'm about to have mine."

"DAD!!!! This IS CLAIRE!!!!"

"It's not funny, Sylar. Hang up the damned phone."

"Daddy....... I swear, it's me. I promise."

"Prove it."

"I-I starred in the school play as Cinderella when I was seven, and I asked you to be the prince."

"What, did you ransack her room before you took her?"

"You helped me make butterfly wings out of paper mache for my third grade art project, the first movie you took me to see was The Little Mermaid. For my sixteenth birthday, you got me my first pair of real diamond earrings, and when I had my heart broken by Jason Mays, Freshman Year, you called in sick, and we ate double fudge ice cream and watched old Audrey Hepburn movies all day long.

"Who coached your T-Ball Team?"

"You did."

"What did I tell you the night of your Junior Prom?"

"That I shined brighter than every star in the sky, and if you could have had anyone be your daughter, it would still be me. You said you'd never been proud of anything in your life, until you looked into my eyes that first time. That you felt....... overwhelmed and terrified. Because now you had something to lose.

"Noah?"

Noah grabbed his radio, more tears in his eyes. "Do you have him?"

"No. He's not here, Noah. The doors were still sealed, but the place was empty, I had to break the doorknob to get in. According to the surveillance tapes he was never in this room."

"That's not- That's not possible."

"There's something else."

Noah heard a muffled sound and then a click.

"Hello Boys. Now it's a party, huh? So nice of you to wait up for me."

Sylar, sounding exactly as he had earlier, word for word.

"Noah....... it's a recording. The whole thing. His voice, Claire's screams. It was set on a timer. Right up until our accidental run in, and then it was relayed through a live feed, and a phone taped to the intercom. He played us.

"Dad? Dad are you there? Dad, answer me! If you need me to come I will!"

Noah raised up the phone slowly, his fingers struggling to hold onto it. "That's right, Claire Bear, you got it exactly right......... It's really you, isn't it? Stay-" Noah shook his head, wiping his eyes, trying to remember to breathe again, as intense relief flooded through him. "Stay with Renee, Baby. Promise me. I need you to stay safe."

"But Dad! I can help!"

"Promise me, promise me right now you won't come here, Claire."

"I promise. Dad?"

"Yeah?"

"You stay safe too, okay. Take that conniving, soulless bastard out. For me."

"Language, Young Lady." Noah said, half laughing, half crying. "I'll do it Claire, for you......."

<3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3