#she had died in the hospital only hours after she was hit

[asukafigure]

Kindest Girl I Knew (Went Out For a Run)

[cranberryjuice-posts]

Abby Anderson modern day head-cannons

Parings - Abby Anderson if the apocalypse never happened

Tw- some nsfw at the end

An- this is both In general headcannons and relationships

Abbys father is a neurosurgeon so mans is loaded bro 😭- abby def went to one of those hella expensive private schools.

She’s kinda old and new money

So Abby can go three ways ok

The typical basic blonde IT girl

Straight girl on the weight lifting team

Muscular masculine lesbian

I think we all know which one makes the most sense.

Abby wouldn’t come out to her father about being a lesbian until like high school

I’m pretty sure her mom died in the beginning of the apocalypse but it could be safe to assume that she’s also a doctor in modern day

Abby would of gone to a really good university and become a neurosurgeon like her father

While in medical school she met Nora and Mel - they knew Owen and manny and that’s how the group all met

She would of definitely done sports - so sports Abby did would be

Weightlifting

Basketball

Ice hockey

She’ll go online and see the thirst edits and comments about her and laugh because she’s not only flattered but she’ll find multiple women who are her type and like their comments.

HEAVVVYYY against college parties like girly is a student athlete and on a scholarship for her medical degree — she’s always studying and doesn’t want to do anything to ruin her scholarship

After she gets her degree she works in a well known and high paying hospital

Got a German Shepard and named her Alice

Graduated top of her class

A big football fan and if her school has a football team she would go to every home game.

You and Abby most likely met in college.

you two met after both taking a same extracurricular.

she had to actually prep talk herself into actually going up to you and talking to you

once she actually asked you out she was freaking out over wether or not you actually liked her (she had Nora help her pick out an outfit)

after a few dates she awkwardly asked if she could be your girlfriend. You said yes of-course

At first you thought the relationship would be hard since Abby’s always busy but much to your surprise she always made time for you

After like a week together she took you to meet her parents, you were anxious as her parents were well known medical professionals but they welcomed you with open arms

Once she introduced you to the friend group you knew you were stuck with her.

Is overly protective of you- a guy hits on you she’s passive aggressively getting into his face. Some girls are starting drama with you - she’ll tell them to fuck off . A teacher is refusing to take your paper late - Abby will go have a one on one possibly bribe the teacher to take your paper.

If you did well on exams she’ll take you out to a nice resturant however if you did poor she’ll reassure you take you to a comfort food restaurant and help you study next time.

Outside Abby’s the sweetest most gentle person you’ve ever seen however in the bedroom it’s completely different

Abby is the type of woman to take her time devouring you. She would spend hours between your thighs with her tongue on your clit and her thick fingers pumping in and out of you painfully slow

She can either be soft and loving whispering sweet nothings into your ear taking her time with you compaired to when she lost an important game or is stressed out about exams she’ll fuck you like no tomorrow, denying you your orgasm and degrading you, with her thick strap deep into you

[unknowntoyou2205]

1, 2, 3

Info: Y/n suffers with panic attacks, and counting seems to help

Relationship: Halstead brothers x sister

From a young age y/n had always been an anxious child. While her class mates ran around the school yard playing, y/n opted to spend her time curled up in a ball at the corner of the yard, avoiding the concerned looks of teachers. The teachers never bothered her, she was a troubled kid who had good grades so they saw no need to chastise her. She lost her mum early on, and it was no secret that her father was found of the drink. Bother her brothers left home even before their mother died, so the young girl only had herself really.

When Jay returned, he seen the way his sister was and tried to get her out more often. He’d bring her to the park and try encourage her to play with the other children. It always ended in tears, so Jay ended up leaving it, thinking his sister would eventually come out of her shyness and find friends of her own. However in high school y/n became the loner of the class, no one went near her until class projects were due. She was known as the smart one in class, so naturally everyone wanted her on their team to get the good grades. So it was no surprise when she graduated all honours, even became the top of her class. The young girl got scholarships for 4 out of the 5 colleges she applied for, and she started studying forensics and lab.

It was during her early college years when Will came back. Being a doctor, he seen the signs and approached y/n, suggesting she went to get checked out for anxiety. It was in the hospital that y/n had her first panic attack. She was waiting in the waiting room, fiddling with her hands when Dr Charles called out her names. Not being good at talking to people., she often went hours without talking to her brothers, her anxiety hit the roof, and her chest collapsed in on itself. Dr Charles had seen the young girls reaction and called for her brother, before telling him that his sister had anxiety. She winded up in hysterics, and her brother and Charles struggled to help her, before Will started counting their breathing, and the girl started to calm down. Figuring out that counting helped the Halstead girl was a relieve for her brothers. She was given medication to help her, but the odd flare up did happen.

Y/n’s job as a crime scene analyser was a stressful job, but Jay seen his sister become more lively. Her old shy self-became a more energetic young woman, and even though Jay knew that a lot of that was due to the medication Dr. Charles put her on, he could never stop the smile when he seen her passion grow for the work she did. Majority of the crime scenes were never nice to see, but y/n always came with a smile, and left with the attitude to work. Gone were the days Jay would see her sister come to the crime scene with a slouched appearance, staying away from her coworkers and detectives. She begun talking and explaining things to Hank, leaving even Hank impressed with the new y/n.

She’d even spend nights out in Molly’s with Will & Jay after tough cases. Which was where she was when things came down on her. An arson case had just been solved, and y/n had been head of the forensics team for it. It wasn’t often that y/n took the top for cases, due to her anxiety she’d often turn down opportunities like that, but with her anxiety under control she decided to take a chance. Yet the added pressure of meetings with her team and taking control of what went on, y/n couldn’t help the feeling that started to build in her chest.

The Halstead siblings sat in their usual booth at the bar, Jay & Will joking with Severide after coming out of another big case. Many victims had been lost within the fires, and multiple casualties from the fires. Med & 51 had been run off their feet the past few days saving all they could and trying to prevent the fires from spreading, while Pd had been trying to figure out who the person was, and why they were doing it. Multiple charcoaled victims were brought to y/n to analyse, and many scenes were left with little to go by. The big hit was when the arsonist got sloppy, and 51 had gotten to the scene on time to stop the fire, leading to forensics to find his DNA on the letterbox of the front door.

The first sign of y/n’s anxiety would be her being quiet. Having not seen their sister having a panic attack in a while, they never noticed how she stayed away from the conversation, offering a weak smile that they put down to tiredness. The second was when y/n began to pick at the bottles sticker and fidgeting with the bottle. Severide glanced at the younger Halstead as the bottle was heard moving from one hand to the other. The tired sign became evident as y/n cleared her throat and tucked her hair behind her ear before moving in her seat, pushing at Jay slightly to get out.

The fourth sign was the one the Halstead brothers caught onto. Y/n staggered off the booth, hand on her chest as she moved to hold into a stool for balance. Y/n wasn’t one for much drink, so her brothers knew straight away that something was wrong. Glancing at his brother, Will excused himself for Severide to get up before walking towards his sister. Those around them watched as the Halstead sister’s breath became evidently sharp as she made her way to the bathroom. Not caring about it being the women’s bathroom, Will entered after her just as she locked the door to the stall she entered.

“You good?” Jay asked, seeing the slight distress on y/n’s face.

“Bathroom.” Y/n muttered to him ,rushing to get out of the booth and head to the bathroom.

Y/n held her chest as she rushed to close the toilet seat before sitting on it, leaning forwards. Tears streamed down her face as she gasped for breath, and she ignored the knock that came from the door.

Jay had walked to the bar and asked for Stella to help him get into the women’s bathroom. Wanting to be a little sensitive to the fact that it was the women’s bathroom, he got Stella to open the door for him before he went in to his brothers side. Will glanced at his brother with sad eyes, and Jay nodded in understanding.

“Y/n open up please.” Will’s soft vice was heard.

All Will could hear was y/n’s staggered breathing.

“Y/n, let me help.”

“Y/n, I’m going to kick the door in alright.” Jay spoke into the door towards y/n, knowing their sister would probably be in a ball of herself.

Lifting his foot, Jay held onto the sides of the stall as he turned to kick the door, muttering an apology to Stella as he done so. With the door opened, the Halstead’s hearts clenched at the sight of their sister with her knees to her chest, head ducked down. Deciding to move towards their sister, Will gently placed a hand on y/n’s chin, and she flinched at the contact. He forced her to remove her hands from her face and held them in his. She glanced at him with the hood of her eyes, and he smiled reassuringly as he brought her hand to his chest.

Jay watched as Will coached their sister to breath in time with him, and rolled a hand through his hair as she began to breath with their brother. Her breathing turned to hiccups as she started to breath slowly, and Will smiled at her as he placed a hand on her cheek gently.

“We’ll take this slowly Alright?” Will offered, and y/n nodded slightly.

“One.” Ill started, breathing in dramatically, “two.” He repelled his breath, watching y/n try to do the same. “Three.” In “four” out.

Y/n smiled and looked down, wiping her hands before dabbing at her face.

“There you go, that’s it.” Will smiled, talking to her as if she was a child as he wiped a stray tear that fell.

“I’m sorry.” Y/n whispered, looking down.

“It’s okay.” Will reassured her.

“You haven’t had one of them for awhile.” Jay observed, causing his sister to look at him.

“What brought it on?” Will asked, as he moved out of the cubicle so y/n could move to the sink.

“I think taking the lead on the analyses team was a big step, I got a bit freaked out I guess.” Y/n shrugged, cupping water in her hand before splashing her face.

“You were great. But don’t feel you have to continue it now that you’ve done it. What you done was a big case, maybe do a few small ones instead.” Jay stated, kissing the back of her head as he placed his hands on her head and looked at her through the mirror.

“We’re proud of you y/n, you did good. Take it easy on yourself. You took a big step this time, it’ll always be up and down, but your doing amazing regardless.” Will stated, leaning against the sink beside her as he spoke to her.

When y/n left the bathroom she seen Jay talking to a less than impressed Hermann and Will laughing beside him. Seeing the look on her older brothers face, she could tell Hermann was giving out to him about the bathroom door, but it quickly stopped when Stella hit Hermann on the back of the head.

“Take your time and come out when your ready. We can head home and have an early night if you’d like.” Jay stated, running his hands through her hair to get rid of the knots.

“Maybe another drink first.” Y/n smiled weakly, and Jay hugged her from behind.

“Whatever you want.” He smiled at her, kissing her cheek before leaving the bathroom, Will following in toll.

Y/n could only smile at Jay as he turned to face her, and he winked back, letting her take a beer from him before they sat down at their booth, talking with Severide about the time fire department was called to save a cat.

“He was worried about his sister, let him be.” Stella spoke to the older man.

“I’m just saying, you know, there are better ways to getting in than kicking the door in.” Hermann defended himself.

“Sure Hermann, I’ll take it easy next time my sister locks her self in for a panic attack.” Jay stated, rolling his eyes as Stella gave him the three beers.

[maslows-pyramid-scheme]

The household was fast asleep when the six men broke in. They sought out Sobia Batool Shah, 22, and one of them attacked her with a hatchet, chopping at her limbs in an effort to sever her legs. “He was relentless and must have hit me at least 15 times,” she says. “I screamed in pain and pleaded with him to stop, but he was like a man possessed,” she adds. “I even told him I will not seek a divorce.” Shah was attacked by men from her own family – including her father, Syed Mustafa Shah, her uncle and cousins – who broke into the house, in Naushahro Feroze, in Pakistan’s Sindh province, as “punishment” for refusing to withdraw her application to divorce her husband. ... “It’s all about power control,” says Dr Summaiya Syed Tariq, chief police surgeon in Sindh’s capital, Karachi. Syed Tariq, who also heads the Sindh police medico-legal department, has seen hundreds of women physically and mentally abused, raped, burned and murdered over the last 26 years. “We are nurturing abusers who are worse than animals,” she says. On an average day, the department receives reports of about six cases of sexual violence and 10 to 15 cases of domestic violence across the medico-legal centres at three public hospitals in Karachi. “In the case of sexual violence against minors, my assessment is that for every three cases that come to us, seven more go unreported. And I am not counting the dead bodies that we receive,” Syed Tariq adds. Gender inequality is a global problem, but Pakistan’s indicators reflect especially alarming rates of disparities and violence faced by women. According to this year’s World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap report, Pakistan is ranked second from bottom out of 146 countries, behind only Sudan. It ranked 164 out of 193 countries on the 2023-24 UN gender inequality index. Abdullah Lakhair, deputy superintendent of police in Naushahro Feroze, says the victim’s father admitted the attack, telling police his daughter had brought “dishonour” to the family by filing for divorce. She had asked the authorities for protection after her father threatened to kill her previously. “Earlier last month, the district judge had referred her to a women’s shelter, where she stayed for two weeks, but then decided to return to her mother. The incident happened soon after,” Lakhair says. Shah says her father had left her mother and siblings and cut all ties with them. “Had it not been for my maternal grandfather and my uncle, we would not have had a roof over our head all these years. How dare he talk about his honour being sullied by my divorce,” she says. Lakhair says Shah’s father is awaiting sentencing and could face up to 14 years in prison. The incident has sparked angry reactions from the public and civil society organisations in Pakistan. Anis Haroon, a women’s rights activist and former chair of the National Commission on the Status of Women, travelled from Karachi to visit Shah in hospital. She is sceptical about the case sparking any meaningful change. “Like so many harrowing incidents in the past, this will soon be forgotten,” she says. Pakistan has the laws but no “political will” to implement them, she adds. “The legislators think their work ends after laws are passed in assemblies. They fall short of putting efforts towards their implementation,” Haroon says. After the attack on Shah, her mother went to neighbours for help, thinking her unconscious daughter had lost so much blood she must have died. “After giving her immediate medical help, we sent her to Nawabshah, an hour and a half from here,” says Lakhair. “She had to be given 10 bags of blood, which the police arranged. She is in safe hands, for now.” Although her father is in prison awaiting sentencing, Shah has been provided with round-the-clock police protection in the hospital. “My father has been apprehended but his brother has been granted bail. I am very scared,” she says.

[xoxotria]

grief | c.sc

pairing: choi seungcheol x fem!reader

tw: mentions of death, depression and cancer

themes: angst, fluff

note: this one really hits close to home as i wrote it knowing the pain it feels to lose a loved one to breast cancer. remember that it’s okay to grieve longer than others. we all heal at our own pace but don’t be afraid to let yourself be comforted by the people around you.

—cheol knew that you were still grieving the loss of your mother. it had been a couple of months since she had passed and slowly the light that used to shine in your eyes had dulled down. he knew you was hurting and it hurt him to see you hurt..

losing someone was never easy, he knew that but it pained him to see you that way. you and your mother had been very close. you lived a four hour drive away from your mother in which made their time together even more precious as you were always a momma’s girl growing up.

her mother’s diagnosis had shaken their family as her mother was always known to be healthy and someone who took care of themselves. she was there through every doctor’s appointment, the surgery itself, the follow up check ups, the radiation treatment—everything. she was there when her mother’s four year battle ended as she died surrounded by loved ones.

cheol had been there when his mother-in-law passed away peacefully ending her painful battle with the disease, whispering promises of taking care of you before he let you whisper your own promises to her before she took her final breath. he had comforted you as he took you in his arms as he reassured your mother was finally at peace and pain-free with the creator.

he took it upon himself to plan and arrange the funeral and let you spend the last few days with your mother before she was buried. you thanked him endlessly for that as you exchanged tearful kisses during the first night after your mother died. he had given you time to process the events, doting on you for everything you needed.

but it had been months and you were not getting better. sleep was a rarity for you and he could see the circles under your eyes darken with every passing day. you had lost so much weight as your appetite decreased.

“baby, please. you have got to eat,” he begged as he lifted a spoonful of your favorite food to your mouth.

“i’m not hungry right now,” you whispered as you leaned on the couch.

“you haven’t ate anything. it’s already past noon! you can’t starve yourself like this i won’t let you.” his eyes softened as he watched your eyes fill with tears.

“your mom wouldn’t want you to do this baby.”

“what do you know? you aren’t the one who lost her mom!” you snapped as your tears rolled down your cheeks.

“that isn’t fair—”

“life isn’t fair! it wasn’t fair when she got diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer. it wasn’t fair that it went away only for it to reoccur months later. it wasn’t fair when she lost her appetite after rounds of radiation and chemo therapy. it wasn’t fair when she spent days or months in the hospital to get treated only for it not to work and it wasn’t fair that she was in pain for so long! nothing is ever fair, cheol.” you had tried to move on as everyone in your family did but it was so hard—a part of you died along with her when she took her final breath.

you had known she didn’t have much longer in this earth, her doctors told you as much the week leading up to her death. it did not make losing her easier though knowing her end was near. it was the opposite. knowing she was dying and there was nothing you could do to delay or stop it. guilt drowned your heart as you recalled your moments with her from childhood to early adulthood.

“i promised your mom i would take care of you! i know this is a hard time for you baby but you cannot let yourself waste away like this.” he cooed softly bringing you into her arms as he kissed your temple. “your mom would want you to take care of yourself the way you took care of her all those years.”

“i failed her cheol. god—i shoud’ve done more. i didn’t even speak at her funeral…” your chest heaved as you sobbed harder into his chest. his fingers running through your hair as his other hand rubbed your back comfortingly.

“hey, hey, hey…you did not fail her. you did what you could do with the resources you were given. you may not know it but your mom was strong because of you—not just the thought of you but you. she wanted to beat cancer’s ass because she wanted more time with you.” he reassured her as she pulled away sniffling.

she looked adorable despite her puffy red eyes and runny nose. to him, she could be wearing a potato sack and still find something to complement her and praise her for. he was that in love with her.

“you think so?”

“i know so.”

she thought back to the last few months and realized how selfish she had been. she wasn’t the only one grieving—cheol was too. he loved her mother just as much as she did. he drove her to doctor’s appointments and therapy sessions when she had work and couldn’t. he was at her bedside when she had just gotten out of surgery and helped her around the house as her mother recover for a few weeks. he was there through everything at her side never once complaining about being tired.

“i’m so sorry baby.” you had wrapped your arms around him pulling him down on the couch as sniffles escaped him.

“i can’t see you like this, it hurts me. i promised mom i’d take care of you yet you push me away. i only want to be there for you. let me be there for you, please.”

it was rare that he broke down. your heart broke as cheol wrapped his arms around your waist as he buried his face in the crook of your neck. you realized how much you’ve ignored his feelings whilst drowning in your grief.

“i’ve been selfish baby. i should’ve been there for you the way you were for me. fuck—i’m so sorry cheol.” you kiss the side of his head as you mutter apologies to him.

you don’t know how long you two spent crying and whispering to each other on the couch; minutes or hours? you genuinely didn’t feel the time pass until your stomachs grumbled in hunger. you watched your boyfriend get up to grab his phone and order food with a soft gaze.

cheol was too good for you but you were glad to have him. because in this life, you wouldn’t want anyone else to witness your highs and lows with and he’d say the same.

[midnightstar-90]

Payback

Eddie Diaz x Fem! Reader

Taglist | Request | Wattpad

Main Masterlist | 9-1-1 Masterlist

Request from Ella: Reader either dating Eddie, best friends with Hen or a member of the team. Reader faints and whoever you choose helps out. They’re okay just a scare. Maybe some home cooked food and juice afterwards? Hurt/comfort please. Thank you.

Summary: After fainting, Eddie looks after the reader.

Warnings: Angst, Fainting, Fluff

A/N: My Buck and Eddie fluff and angst fanfics are some of my favorites to write. It’s a shame that there isn’t a lot out there.

Words: 1.1K Words

I walked into my apartment after a long HOT day at work. L.A. had recently been hit with a heatwave, and the office building where I had worked’s AC didn’t help with the 110-degree weather.

I placed my purse on the kitchen counter, along with my keys, before getting a cup out of the cabinet. Before I could even get a drop of water into my cup, I heard a knock at the door. Annoyed, my head fell back as I released a loud groan. With each step I took to open the door, a clicking sound from my heels, meeting the hard flooring, echoed through my apartment.

“Who is it?” I asked, now at the door. 

I heard a male voice call out, “It’s Eddie.” I looked through the peephole, finding that the name and voice matched the face. I opened the door finding Eddie in jeans and a button-down shirt. In his hands, he carried groceries from my local supermarket. 

He looked at me with a smile before his eyes met my face. My face was red, with sweat pouring down my face. “Are you okay?” He asked as I let him in. I went to close the door, stumbling over myself, as I heard the click of my door shut. “Yeah, I’m alright,” I said with a slight slur.

Eddie swiftly placed the groceries down on my kitchen counter, next to my keys and purse, before making his way to me. “Y/N, are you sure you’re okay? You look a little pale,” He said. Eddie placed his hands on each side of my face, observing me to see if I was alright. I nodded my head, “yes,” but Eddie didn’t believe me. “Y/N, your eyes are dilated, your skin is pale, and you’re sweating like crazy. I think you should sit down.”

“Here,” Eddie directed, pulling me over to my couch. He helped me sit down before he said, “I’m going to get you some water.”

I felt myself become dizzy. Black spots took over my vision, and soon it became hard to breathe. “Eddie,” I mumbled loud enough for Eddie to hear. He turned around, and his eyes went wide before all I saw was black.

“She’s going to be just fine, Mr. Diaz,” I heard a voice say, but everything was still black. I tried to open my eyes, but it was no use. Nothing happened. ‘Am I in a coma?’ I asked myself frantically. “Your wife suffers from dehydration, which is common on days like this. She should wake up soon, but we want to keep her a little longer after she wakes up to make sure that nothing else is wrong with her,” the mystery man said.

I heard some shuffling and a door open and close before my eyes began to flutter open. A bright light took over my vision, causing me to groan in discomfort. “Y/N,” I heard next to me. As soon as I was fully conscious, I turned my head to face the voice, only to see Eddie staring down at me in a slight panic. I felt his hand tightly grip mine. “I’m so glad you’re okay,” He said, giving me a sad smile.

“Where am I,” I spoke groggily.

“Well, you passed out, so I brought you to the hospital. You’ve been out for a few hours, but the doctor said that you were fine. You’re just suffering from a case of dehydration,” Eddie said, leaning down to kiss my hand. “I was so worried,” he added.

“This is payback for all those times you’ve almost died on me. This is nothing compared to when you got shot,” I state, earning a small laugh from Eddie. 

“I’m so happy you’re okay. When we get home, I’m going to make that dinner I was going to make earlier, and we can binge any show you want tonight.” I beamed up at Eddie’s words, knowing exactly what we were going to watch tonight.

“Supernatural?” I asked, looking up at Eddie with a gleam of hope in my eye. 

“Sure,” Eddie chuckled at my child-like behavior and nodded his head.

Eddie and I sat in the hospital room for about half an hour before my doctor came back. He took a sample of my blood to make sure everything was fine, and when he came back, he gave me the all clear to go home.

When I got back home, I flopped on the couch. “Ahh,” I moaned. “It feels so good to be home!” I exclaimed, earning a laugh from Eddie.

From the kitchen, Eddie began to speak, “I’m glad you’re happy because I’ve got a very special dinner planned tonight.”

Standing up from the couch, I walked into the kitchen. I went over to Eddie, who was putting pasta into boiling water, and wrapped my arms around his waist. I turned my head and placed my face against his back. “I love you, my husband,” I joked, feeling his muscles tense.

“You heard that?” Eddie asked, his voice shaky.

“I heard what the doctor called me. I assumed you told the doctor that,” I said smugly. 

“They wouldn’t let me back unless we were immediate family, and I panicked,” Eddie spoke as he stirred the pasta.

“Hmm. I like the sound of that,” I mumbled against his back.

“What?”

“Mrs. Diaz,” I responded.

“Maybe one day,” Eddie said, putting a gleeful smile on my face.

When Eddie was done cooking, he made both of our plates and sat them on the table across from each other. He had made spinach and chicken alfredo with garlic bread. I sat at one of the seats where a plate was placed, and Eddie made his way back into the kitchen.

“They didn’t have that supper fancy wine that you like, so I got apple and grape juice,” He said, walking out of the kitchen with two juice containers and two wine glasses.

“Apple,” I said with a laugh.

He poured apple juice into both of our cups before sitting down across from me. My head shook up and down as I spoke with an amused smile. “I’ve got to give it to you, Eddie. This is the most special dinner I’ve ever had,” I said as I sipped my juice.

“Well, I hope so because Chris is gonna be pissed,” He said, sending us into a frenzy. Our laughs echoed through the apartment.

When the laughs began to calm down, Eddie calmly stated, “I love you, Y/N. And I’m glad you’re okay.”

“I love you too, Eddie. And I’m also glad I’m okay, so I can do this.” I stood up. Leaning over the table, I gave Eddie a small kiss on the lips and sat back down. “Now, when can we watch our show?”

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[honey-minded-hivemind]

I worked out that timeline for the Haunted Mansion Au. I tried to include everyone but let me know if I missed anyone.

Trigger warning cause uuuhhh, there is obviously a lot of death and these could be considered graphic, especially with the teens.

1800s: If Creed! Reader is ther, they freeze to death first. Laura goes insane from grief and eventually passes due to a fever. Logan nearly drinks himself to death after his daughter and nibling are gone, but a snake beats him to it. Victor Creed goes insane after losing everyone and spends over half the family fortune on seances, fortune tellers, mystics, anything to try and bring back his family. Eventually, he dies of old age. Ororo, a family friend, inherits the house but is fatally struck by lightning only 7 months after. After that, the mansion is constantly switching owners.

1870s: Kurt and Rogue die at the Circus they both work at. Kurt's trapeze breaks mid show and he dies as soon as he hits the ground. Rogue's trickshot act goes horribly wrong and she bleeds out in less than an hour. There were some rumors of sabotage, but nothing was ever proven.

1900s: Tragic house fire takes the life of young Roberto, who was trying to save his family, not knowing they already got out.

1910s: Bobby Drake goes missing from home in the dead of winter, presumably running away after a fight with his family. His body is found after the lake thawed the following spring.

1930s: A heist goes wrong for the thief "Gambit", who is shot fatally by the police after being sold out by his cohorts. They never did find where he hid all his stolen money.

19540s: Charles Xavier returns home from war, paralyzed from the waist down but alive. When going to see his "good friend" Erik, a jewish refugee, he is mugged and dies from the injuries. Everything he owns is given to Erik.

1950s: The Summers family is in plane accident that takes the life of their oldest son, Scott. A year later, Scott's girlfriend Jean quietly in her sleep. Doctors report she had a brain aneurysm in her sleep.

1970s: The chandlier of the mansion falls and stabs the master of the house Erik, who inherited it from Charles. His two children inherit it from him. His son, Peter dies two years later in a car crash due to his speeding. His daughter, Wanda, dies 6 months after that from a laced drug during a protest.

1980s: Town Troublemaker Lance is crushed during an earthquake after it destabilized part of the school. Later reports say he could have still been alive for a few hours after he was buried by the rubble.

1990s: Local Scientist, Teacher, and former high school wrestling champ Dr. Hank "Beast" McCoy passes away during an failed chemistry experiment that shuts down the school for a month. Three weeks later, one of his students, Todd, dies after touching a poisonous frog previously owned by McCoy. Six years after, Up and coming actor Kevin "Morph" Sydney dies unexpectedly after a severe allergic reaction to special SFX make-up used when making a film about the Mysterious Creed-Howlett family. A year after that Evan Daniels is attacked by a porcupine that escaped from the local zoo and animal hospital. He was a descendent of one of the town founders, Ororo Munroe.

2003: A young girl by the name of Jubilation Lee passes away when her and her friends mess with illegal fireworks one night and one gets stuck on her coat. Two weeks later, her classmate Kitty Pryde is dared to spend the night in the supposedly haunted mansion by her friends. While exploring, the rotting wood in the attic couldn't support her weight, and she fell through down to the first floor.

XXXX: The mansion hires a new groundskeeper, who looks awfully familar...

That is perfect. Just- it's perfect.

This is now the official timeline of the Haunted Mansion AU.

(Wait until Reader see ls the old family portrait of young Creed Reader... or finds Kitty's body... or a snake...)

[unfinishedslurs]

stobin kidnapped- no upsidedown

Robin doesn’t know why she comes out to Steve Harrington of all people. 

It could be the drugs. It could be the way he’s been pretty good-natured about her ribbing all summer. It could be the fact that they’ve bonded, painfully and irreversibly, in the last 24 hours in a way she never has with anyone else and hopefully never will. It could be that she’s almost certainly going to die in this tiny, awful basement, and Steve fucking Harrington’s shitty homophobic spiel won’t matter because they’ll be dead. 

Tammy Thompson won’t matter, either. She’ll never, ever look at Robin now. Probably won’t even think about her as she cries over Steve Harrington’s tragic fate. 

“Have you ever been in love?”

They’re pressed back to back next to the hole that serves as their toilet, even if they’re not tied together that way anymore. Something about being able to see from all angles is comforting. No surprises. 

It also means she doesn’t have to see Steve’s face when he tells her how amazing this new girl is.

“Robin?” He asks when she doesn’t respond. “You OD on me?”

“I’m alive,” she confirms. Unfortunately. 

Nope, too soon to be making jokes about wishing she were dead when there’s a high possibility she ends up dead before she gets out of here. 

Steve’s presence leaves her back, and she almost panics before she realizes he’s scooting backwards until he can meet her eye. She scoots back until her back hits the wall, and he does the same. 

“This floor’s disgusting.” 

“Yeah, well, I’ve already got a bunch of blood and puke on my shirt, so…” he points out. “What do you think?”

“About?”

“This girl.” Why are his eyes so big? Is it the drugs in her system making her hallucinate again? Some great, cosmic consequence for being the kind of girl who can’t fall in love with this apparently amazing guy who protected her the best he could? She feels like she’s going to vomit again.

Eventually their singing dies down, and they exist in comfortable silence for a moment. 

It’s Steve who breaks it. “You know Jonathan Byers?”

“Didn’t he punch you and steal your girl?”

“Yeah,” he says. “I lied.”

“About what?”

“Only ever having been in love with Nancy.”

She blinks at him, squinting in concentration until he shifts uncomfortably and she gasps. “No,” she says. 

“‘No�� what?”

“You were not in love with Jonathan Byers.”

“Okay, yeah, I wasn’t in love with him,” he protests, squirming. “But, like, he’s cool, right?”

“No!” She exclaims. “No, he’s not cool, Steve. I can’t believe you made fun of me for Tammy, at least she didn’t give me a concussion!” 

“I deserved that concussion,” he protests. “Besides, it was a tiny one! That was, like, nothing compared to what Billy gave me.” Or the one he probably has right now, but neither of them point that out. 

“He stole your girlfriend.”

“Why do you keep saying that? There was no stealing anything. Nancy’s a human being, with, like, agency and shit.”

“Didn’t he take naked pictures of you guys?”

“What?” He sounds alarmed. “Is that what you heard?”

“Did he not?”

“Well…”

She laughs, disbelieving. 

“He apologized!” He says. “And he’ll never do it again, and I broke his camera for it anyway, so I kind of got retribution. Maybe too much retribution. I cannot overstate how much I deserved that beat down, I was an asshole to him.”

“God, you are not helping your case at all,” she giggles. He pouts at her, until he starts giggling too, and then they’re both laughing their asses off on the shitty basement floor until they lose their breath. 

They get lucky, she’s told while they’re in the hospital for smoke inhalation and a dozen other things. They were only in that basement for 24 hours until the police (re: Dustin and Erica) found them. It felt like a lifetime. 

She gets to sign out after six hours. Steve has to stay for two days. 

The nurses have to practically boot her out the door before she’ll leave his side. 

“I’m fine, Rob,” he says, rolling his eyes. “I’ve had worse.”

“I sure hope not!” The nurse exclaims as she’s checking over the monitor. “Young man, you are suffering from a Grade 3 concussion, bruised and broken ribs, smoke inhalation, multiple lacerations—“

“Jesus, okay, we get it!”

She gives him a scathing look before sweeping out of the room. Robin raises her eyebrows. “You’re fine, huh?”

The look he gives her could kill a lesser man. “Go home, Robin.”

“I’m staying the night.”

“You’re definitely not doing that.”

[smallvictorianchildwhofoundwifi]

When the fighting ceased and the war was officially considered over, all heroes were checked and tended to. Afterwards, the students were given the go-ahead to return to their families but most of the students of Class 1A and B wanted to reconvene at the dormitories to check on their classmates first.

The class of 1-B had tearful and heartwarming reunions with each other, but silently worrying for everyone they had yet to see after a period of time. Logic said that the few might still be in the hospital or had returned to their families after all. Koromi recalled Kendo and Fukidashi together after everything ended, and Awase and Tsunotori joining the group- and that was the last she saw of the four of them, but they looked okay. Shoda decided to text Kendo to put all their worries to rest, but was left on delivered.

Most of them decided to stay at the dorms until they got confirmation of the safety of their missing classmates, which took hours. Kuroiro appeared suddenly and explained he was with his family and was checking up on everyone, before returning with his sister to the temporary living quarters of their family.

After a few hours without word from about six of Class B’s students, the doors to the dormitory suddenly opened, and six figures walked through- four of their classmates, and 2 familiar Pro-heroes: Mt. Lady and Present Mic.

Fukidashi announced he was going to his dorm room and walked away with barely having changed his shoes. Awase and Kendo seemed ready to join him, but decidedly didn’t, and Tsunotori was staring off into space, making a hole in the ground with her gaze.

“Hey!” Tetsutetsu started. “Glad to see you guys are okay!”

“What’s Mt. Lady doing here?” Togage meant as a whisper but was louder than she intended.

Present Mic took it as an opportunity, “Mt. Lady helped me gets these kids home from the hospital… and also to help me share the news on your classmates conditions.”

Everyone tensed at that and Shoda did a mental count on all his classmates. Excluding Kendo, Tsunotori, Awase, and Fukidashi, who were all now accounted for, the only two he hasn’t heard anything from is Shiozaki and Monoma.

“Miss Shiozaki had breakage in her leg that will take a while to heal, but she will be expected to make a full recovery.”

Everyone took a sigh of relief at that, but took notice to Kendo, Awase, and Tsunotori’s still miserable expressions.

Tsunotori had made her way over to where Honenuki sat on the couch and stood next to him, clinging onto his shoulder and arm, trembling. Her melancholy, practically heartbroken look, left the surrounding classmates tense for the last of the news.

Kendo shot her head up and took a deep breath, but nothing came out of her mouth for a second. “M-“ a hand jumped on her shoulder and she quickly looked to her left where Mt. Lady stood, who placed her other hand on Kendo’s other shoulder to turn the student towards herself.

“You don’t have to be strong right now,” Mt Lady whispered, “let the adults handle this.” The two stared into each other’s eyes for a moment before Kendo rushed into an embrace with Mt. Lady, holding tightly and not letting go. She cried no tears but her eyes were squeezed shut and she didn’t move.

Present Mic and Mt. Lady looked at each other for a moment before the giantess hero spoke up, still holding Kendo with one hand holding cradling her head.

“Monoma was stabbed on the battlefield which hit in-between his ribs and pierced a lung.” there were several gasps and hands flew up to mouths “-he also suffered a traumatic brain injury.” There were a few beats of silence: the classmates of 1-B processed that information and the heroes figured out what to say. “It was a miracle he lived through the ride to the hospital, but he lost a lot of blood.”

“But he's okay?” Kodai asked.

Present Mic continued what Mt. Lady was saying, “The doctors said he died at 16:13, about 3 hours ago.”

Most of the few students who were standing sat down on the couch or dropped to the floor. Dead? Monoma? No…

“What?” Komori's brittle voice echoed like a pin dropping.

“There’s no way… right?” Tetsutetsu was the quietest he’s ever been and his voice broke at the end.

“I’m so sorry.” Mt. Lady whispered.

Hokenuki looked up at Pony, who was still clinging onto his arm. She was biting her trembling lip looking like she was trying hard to not cry again. Suddenly his sight of her got blurry, and the ceiling started to rain.

[ravennaortiz]

“Skipping and dancing your way” ……. Girl I need a romantic/fluffy or smutty with Dom Juicy boy!!! Maybe they elope? PLEEEEEEASE!!!

From Prompt Ravennas OG Prompt List

19. Let’s get married

22. Make me

25. Don’t act shy now

32. You’re mine.

Thank you! I can’t wait!!!

I got you love!!!! As always 18+

Runaway Love

Present Day

The last few hours had been a blur.  You had never felt freer than you did now on this roof. After years of being controlled and ordered around you had finally gotten the courage to run away. The fact you could do it with the love of your life made this freedom even sweeter. Goodbye charming and hello to the rest of our lives you thought as your eyes fluttered closed.

Past

Your rebellion had ramped up  the minute you set eyes on him. He had joined your dads MC around the time you were starting to resent him and the club. Treated like a princess, a damsel always in distress and that needed watched over and handled with delicate white gloves. A rage boiled in you with every rule laid down. Your stepbrother ratting you out about dates and boyfriends. The golden child to your black sheep. Your mom interfering and sticking her nose where it didn’t belong. Never ceasing to hide her bitterness of having a daughter.

Her dislike had only gotten worse as you aged. Jealously and envy lurking under the mask of a perfect mother façade. You loved riling her up. Hitting where it hurt. You couldn’t help yourself when club runs happened. Asking how many other women she thought your dad would bang this time? Or how many would come back to Charming to take her spot? You loved reminding her that she was just as replaceable as your mom had been to him. The last fight you two had had landed you in cuffs and her in a hospital bed. Your dad livid when he bailed you but he had thought better about laying a hand on you in front of the MC.

Your punishment was being kicked out. Not that it was a punishment as it was what you wanted. You hadn’t expected Golden child to open his home though. The two of you had managed not to kill each other. He let things slide, looked the other way as long as you told him where you were going and when you would be back. Letting you taste freedom without getting hurt. You were thankful but weary. Especially as he and your dad began to butt heads more frequently.

You were thankful for the solace you found with Juice during this time. More often than not your free time was spent with him. Either at the clubhouse or at his place. The classic tale of friends to lovers unfolding in a dusty little town. The way his brown eyes melted you in more ways than one was something you had yet to experience with someone else. Sure you had somehow managed to have a handful of relationships much to the ire of your dad, but nothing held a candle to what you had with Juice.

It was magical. Absolutely a fairytale that you feared you would be awakened from. Cast back into the void of what you called life before him. You had always thought there was nothing perfect in life until you met him. He was utter perfection in camo pants and a white tee. A perfect smile that brightened the stormiest of days. A perfect easy going, incredibly smart, sweet guy in a chiseled body that fit into yours like you two were pieces of a jigsaw puzzle.

He treated you like a queen. Doting on you with flowers, coffee, and your favorite books. Anything you wanted he would move heaven and earth to give it to you. No matter how many times your father tried to step in and forbid your two from having anything but a friendship the two of you kept pushing. You both were addicts high on the love, safety and peace one can only find in their soul mate.

You thought you had died that day laying on the tattoo bed as Happy worked on placing Juices crow on your hip. A tattoo you had been forbidden from getting once your dad had realized how intensely you two were involved. While Juices words had pretty much stopped your heart, Happy had continued working as if he hadn’t heard. If you hadn’t seen the small smile flash across his face you have thought he hadn’t heard. A whole sentence in three words. “Lets get married”. You had locked your eyes on his pretty brown ones as he kissed the hand he held. Slipping a ring on your finger as a needle pierced your skin. Staking his claim on you in two ways that would never fade lie the bites and other markings eventually did.

You thought you could never love two simple sentences more. That was until after weeks of constant fighting about getting married with your parents. Your dad keeping Juice out on long runs in the hopes for him to lose his taste for you. Your mom trying to force you into the bed of other higher ranking members. “Lets just elope” Juice had murmured after a late night sex talk. The two of you blissed out and minds hazy with sleep. “We can run away. Just start over” he had continued as you sat up in the bed you two shared. “Lets do it” you had stated as you nodded and bit your lip. Thirty-six hours later you were in Vegas with the same love of your life but a new last name.

Present Day

“Focus” growled Juice as he delivered a smack to your ass that brought you back to the present and sent you sailing over the precipice he had had you teetering on since he had slid into you a while ago. You bit your lip to surpass your moans as your body contorted under him. Juice stilled as you came around him, waiting for your unearned orgasm to pass.

“Look at me” ordered Juice as he tapped your crow tattoo. His voice low but stern. You almost followed the order but the bratty side of you figured you may as well go all in. “Make me” you stated a grin on your face as you heard him huff behind you. Juice slipped from you making you whine. “Should have listened love” he chuckled as he walked in front you. You licked your lips as his cock came into view and your mouth started to water at the thought of him pushing it into your mouth. Tasting the exotic mix of the two of you. The idea had more of your arousal leaking down your thighs onto the roof below you.

Juice rummaged through the clothes that lay scattered around the two of you. Finding the matching leash that went to the collar you now wore with his name he walked back to you. Without saying anything else he clipped the leash on and gave it a slight tug as he walked away. You started to scramble up but a sharp tug and a raised brow kept you on your knees. You crawled along on all four, leaving a trail of your arousal as he led you to the railing that overlooked the Vegas strip below.

Once you were at the edge he prompted you to stand up. Kissing you deeply as he wound his hands around your neck. You moaned as he pushed his thigh into your core, unable to help yourself as you grinded on it. You could feel his grin as he kissed along your jaw line as his fingers slipped down onto your breast. Pinching and flicking your nipples as he turned your collar around and tightened it some. Your breath hitched and your eyes flew open as he let one hand drift to your back before giving a tug to the leash that hung just above your ass now.

“Think you need a lesson on who’s in control here babe” murmured Juice in your ear as his tongue lapped at your ear lobe. You smirked and rolled your eyes as his met yours. “Starting to think you like it rough” he joked as he pushed you onto the railing making you gasp as he slid into you in one swift thrust. The flashing lights below and the sound of voices and music could be heard much clearer on the edge. While you guys had snuck onto the roof you were only on the first floor. Anyone who looked up would see you being fucked. You felt nervous as you tried to contain the moans and curses that threatened to spill out of you as Juice slammed into you as his fingers lazily circled your clit.

“Don’t be shy now. I want everyone to know you’re mine” growled Juice as he jerked on your leash making you gasp and clench desperately around him. Your vision started to tunnel as the familiar coil built in your lower abdomen. Your moan came out choked and feral as he wound you up. “Please…please. I’m yours Juice” you begged as you tried to contain your growing orgasm. “Cum” demanded Juice as he yanked your body back up to his chest and bit down on your shoulder. You saw stars as your body contorted and spasmed around him. Juice moaned your name as your body milked his release from him. You collapsed against the railing your eyes fluttering and a smile creeping onto your face as you caught sight of a couple people looking up and cameras flashing. The sound of clapping had Juice laughing before pulling out of you and pulling you from the edge.

“I love you Mrs. Ortiz” he murmured as he pulled you into his arms planting kisses along your sweat dampened forehead. “I love you Mr. Ortiz” you replied as the two of you swayed to the music. Lost in your own world. Perfection.

Want more Juice? Click here

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[applejuicefruit]

this might be a similar request to your previous kylian fic but with a twist...

plot idea: kylian and reader gets into an argument in the car after attending an event and because of that, kylian isn't focusing on the road and a vehicle runs into the reader's side of the car and badly injures her.

reader gets taken to the hospital and is in the intensive care unit / coma and kylian spirals into depression and guilt and never leaves the side of the reader.

whether she survives or dies can be your choice!

thanking you in advance if you take this fic idea! ❤️

I’m so good at writing about car accidents that’s the main reason I don’t have a driver license 🤭🤭

I’m sorry in advance but this one is pure angst!

Reader’s being mean in this one I’m sorry

Don’t leave

“I honestly can’t believe you” Kylian shouted at you while he was driving through the street of Paris

“What?” you said back

“What? You let him touch you the whole night and now I shouldn’t be mad?”

“He didn’t touch me the whole night! We just hugged! He’s a friends, what’s wrong with you?”

“A friend who touched your boobs? I didn’t know friends touch each other’s boobs!” he kept shouting and honestly you were getting scared

“It was an accident Kylian! He didn’t mean to! His drink almost fell on me and he tried to catch it!”

“By touching your boobs?”

“I can’t believe you right now! You’re making a drama out of nothing! And please slow down you’re driving too fast!” you said back

“So it’s okay if I go and touch my friends boobs ah?”

“I don’t want to talk about it anymore Kylian and for my sanity can you fucking slow down?”

“No we’re gonna talk about it! My girlfriend, my future wife is letting other men touching her boobs. What about all the promises you made? You told me I was the only one for you and yet you’re here acting like a whore I thought I could trust you!” he shouted at you.

He was very pissed.

But what he said hurt you.

You’ve never seen him like this.

You stayed in silence for a few minutes before he spoke again.

“I’m sorry…I didn’t want to call you a whore but…what you did…”

“What I did?” you screamed back now on the verge of a mental breakdown “I simply hugged a friend and you got jealous for nothing! I’m so tired of this!”

“Don’t play the innocent card with me y/n, it doesn’t work, if you only told him to stop we wouldn’t be in this postitio-“

Then everything happened so fast.

Kylian was driving so fast he didn’t see a stop sign and a van came in full speed into his car, hitting your side.

You remembered the car crashing and going outside of the road and then everything came black.

“Babe?” Kylian said a few minutes later. He was sure he fainted for a bit but when he opened his eyes again his main focus went on you “mon amour?” he said again trying to move even if his legs were stuck “honey please open your eyes” he grabbed your face gently and moved you a bit but you wouldn’t wake up. Instead he saw a big scratch on your forehead, a few bruises on your face and arms and your lips bleeding. But what he made him worried the most was your head which kept bleeding.

“No no no” he said putting one hand behind you head trying to stop the bleeding “wake up baby please, wake up”

A few seconds later he saw the lightings of an ambulance coming towards them. He was to tired to even speak or move so he simply gave up, laying next to you and holding your head.

Both of them got carried at the hospital.

They were admitted into the E.R. with code red, meaning it was a serious situation. Luckily Kylian wasn’t too injured. He only had a few broken ribs and a mild concussion. But you were in a worst position. Your left arm was broken, your shoulder dislocated, your pancreas got injured during the crash and you lost a lot of blood from the head. You were hardly breathing by yourself. The doctors wanted to wait for you to wake up before doing anything.

Kylian woke up only a few hours later. His family and his friends Neymar and Hakimi in the waiting room attending news. You, on the other side had no one waiting for you. Your family lived in an other country. You were all alone fighting for your life.

“Where is she?” Kylian asked one of the doctors “where is she?”

“She’s still under our care”

“How’s she doing?” he asked preparing himself for the worst

“She’s not out of danger yet, we are keeping her under control”

“What?” he barely whispered “I need to see her…”

“I’m afraid you can’t to that now…”

“No you don’t understand she’s in this position because of me! I almost killed her…I need to see her”

“As I said before, I’m sorry but you can’t see her” the doctor said leaving his room.

That night Kylian cried in the arms of his mum, his brother and his friends. They didn’t blame him for what happened, he, otherwise, was blaming himself and he wished he was in her position.

The morning after Kylian asked again if he could see y/n but the doctors wouldn’t let him near her. He thought it was the price he had do pay for almost killing you. He felt so guilty. He tried to spoke with a therapist but he would end up crying everytime. He just needed you.

A few weeks later in came back home but without you. You were in a coma. He was finally able to visit you so he did, every morning and every night after practice. He would tell you about his day.

One day he spent the whole morning with you.

He grabbed your hand and begged you to wake up.

“Please baby” he said tearing up “I need you, I need you back in my arms” he dried his tears “I need to hold you and telling you how much I love you and how much I’m sorry, please, wake up for me, I miss you so much.”

He waited a few hours, your small and fragile hand still in his hands, sometimes he would kiss it, sometimes he would gently caress it.

But he felt your hand moving a bit. He thought he was crazy but then he felt it again.

“Babe?” he called you when he saw you were waking up “honey can you hear me? Mon amour?”

“Kylian…” you said in a very raspy tone, your throat still sore from the accident “what-what happened?” you asked confused

“We-we had an accident” he said, voice full of guilt and regret “don’t you remember?” he asked hoping you wouldn’t remember that night and the argument you were having

“We? Oh my…Kylian are you okay?”

“I’m good honey” he said mesmerised by your kindness and care “how are you feeling? I’m going to call a doctor” he said before leaving the room and coming back after with the doctor and a nurse.

They did all the exams they had to do and they thought it was a miracle you woke up since you weren’t properly breathing on your own. You thanked your lucky angel for this miracle.

After the check up Kylian came to see you only to find a very hard look on your face.

You remembered.

Kylian sat next to you on the bed and tried to grab your hand only for you to move it away.

“Babe I’m so sorry for the accident-“

“I’m not mad at you for the accident, I’m mad at you for how you treated me, we wouldn’t have been in this position if you had just listened to me…” you said now crying.

His heart broke seeing you crying.

His eyes were glossy too but he tried to be strong and not crying in front of you.

“I know I was a piece of shit. I didn’t have the right to say those things”

“But you did” you said back. Now you were the one who was mad

“I know I messed up but-“

“Messed up? You called me a whore, you said you didn’t trust me! How am I supposed to marry you when you can even be right with me? You know what I remember? I remember asking you to slow down, because I was scared and you didn’t! Does my family know I’m here? Did someone call them?” you asked almost shouting

“You said you weren’t mad at me for the accident…”

“I’m not! I’m mad at you because you never listen! You’re ego’s too big you always have to be right!

“Baby please…I’m so sorry…I know, I know my ego’s too big I let it inside my head most of the time but I promise you I’ll change” he said now fully crying. He didn’t like the look on your face, you were crying but you showed no emotions.

“You said that so many times I’ve lost count, guess what? You’ve never changed…”

“I’ll do it for you. Please y/n”

“You know what…when they discharge me from the hospital I’m gonna get all of my things from home and disappear for a bit…I think a break would do us some good” you said now in a low tone

“What?” he asked completely shocked “you-you can’t be serious”

“Oh I’m deadly serious” you said removing your engagement ring from your hand “I can’t do this, I need time to think…”

The moment he saw you removing your ring he swore he felt his heart going in million pieces. His face full of tears. He might have not killed you that night but now he wished he was the one who died.

“Babe…”

“No Kylian…I won’t change my mind, if you’ll excuse me, I’d like to rest now”

With that he left your room.

Completely breaking once he was outside.

He didn’t care if doctors and nurses saw him. He just lost the greatest thing ever happened in his life.

[mana-jjk]

thinking really hard about a college au because i enjoy them a lot more than high school aus.

yuuta - pre-med, in school to become a doctor

toge - divided between computer science and dropping out of college to pursue opening his own café with a garden.

maki - pre-law, in school to become a lawyer

panda - zoology

yuuji - business degree that he’s just doing for his grandfather, will graduate but goes on to be a firefighter.

megumi - animal sciences, going on to enter veterinarian school to become a vet.

nobara - fashion design/marketing degree

gojo - a sadistic physics professor with multiple degrees, both through education and honorary, because he got bored. sometimes he picks students out to give full-ride scholarships, because he self-proclaims having too much money.

getou - philosophy professor that enjoys playing the devils advocate and watching his students squirm.

shoko - oversees the university hospital and occasionally recruits for the pre-med program

nanami - graduated with a business degree, agreed to give yuuji an internship

ijichi - gojo’s overworked TA

i just think maki and yuuta would struggle through graduate school together. their cabinets would be full of instant ramen, cabbage, junk food, and ungodly amounts of coffee. the only real food they get is because toge cooks for them and gives them the stink eye every time he opens their cabinet.

toge doesn’t really have room to talk though, he overworks himself and ends up going far too long without sleep. hours on assignments that make him miserable, burned out from the moment every semester starts. too often does yuuta find him dissociating, something he’s all too familiar with. yuuta himself suffers from insomnia, so it’s not uncommon for him to settle on the couch and run his fingers through toge’s hair until his eyes close.

toge probably had a really difficult time getting the courage to either drop out or just really not use his degree as intended. i can’t picture him genuinely enjoying higher education. even in this happy, no one dies world, his family is with the second years for a reason. computer science was appeasing enough, but the unhappiness is so draining that everyday getting up and going to class feels so impossible. he feels his happiest at the gardening club, cooking for his friends, not sitting in a lecture hall with a preview to what awaits him. but ultimately, i think the independence and knowledge that he wasn’t alone or abandoned was enough to push him into the decision. luckily enough he was a scholarship winner (gojo lol) so he wasn’t in debt, and gojo even offered to fund him through culinary school with the promise of free sweets forever.

with yuuta, i think his history of being hospitalized and the accident with rika (who is not dead here !! but she was paralyzed and had to move with a different family member who was able to support her) definitely pushed him to medical degrees. he was probably stuck between being a physical therapist, nurse, and full-fledged doctor. he still keeps in contact with rika, who is one of his biggest supporters when it comes to his goal, but he has a mental breakdown every week thinking about getting a medical degree. shoko definitely takes notice of his talent, and has extended opportunities to intern with her. gojo also found that they were distantly related, and not only paid for his entire education, but also the apartment he rents with maki and toge. he tried refuting, but gojo kept insisting that he was tapping into the family inheritance that technically belonged to both of them.

toge is more than a little devastated when yuuta decides to study abroad in their undergraduate, i actually think that’s when the fully misery of college hits him. not having an unhealthy classmate and friend to look after forced him to focus on himself, his least favorite pastime. having the first years helped, but it also forces him to reflect how much he cared about yuuta past being a friend too.

anyway, i have so many ideas for this au so um please ask me so i can word vomit everywhere. also normalize more college aus so people like me can still relate lol <3

[mightyflamethrower]

Two members of the Illinois Prisoner Review board have stepped down after granting the release of a man who allegedly stabbed his ex-girlfriend’s 11-year-old son hours after gaining freedom.

The board was hit with backlash after freeing Crosetti Brand from his 16-year prison sentence for home invasion and aggravated assault just a month after his ex-girlfriend, Laterria Smith, filed a protection order against him. 

The pair had not been together in over 15 years, but Smith, 33, still feared Brand, 37 — with good reason.

“B​​rand was convicted of domestic-related crimes involving the woman several times between 2006 and 2009, including three violations of orders of protection,” CWBChicago reported.

The felon was originally freed from prison in October with a protection order put in place against contacting Smith, but he was jailed again after being accused of sending her a threatening text and attempting to make entry to her home on February 1, Breitbart News reported. 

Just a day before the latest protection order case was to be heard in court, Illinois Prisoner Review Board member LeAnn Miller approved Brand for parole, according to the New York Post.

On the same day that Smith, who is pregnant, was to argue in court why Brand shouldn’t be allowed near her, he allegedly attacked her family with a knife at their Edgewater home. 

The outlet reported that Brand allegedly “ambushed” Smith’s young son, Jayden Perkins, as he attempted to protect his mother and unborn sibling.

Jayden died after being violently stabbed in the chest while trying to intervene. 

Once the boy’s mother got away and locked herself in another room, the suspect tried to enter but eventually fled. He was later located and arrested at his mother’s home.

Brand now remains in custody on charges of “first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, three counts of home invasion with a dangerous weapon, armed robbery, aggravated domestic battery, unlawful use of a weapon by a felon with a previous conviction, and violating an order of protection,” the CWB Chicago report said.

Not only has Miller resigned from the board, but Chair Donald Shelton also stepped down, the Post reports.

“The Prisoner Review Board must be able to operate independently as they review enormously difficult cases, but I believe LeAnn Miller has made the correct decision in stepping down from her role,” the Gov. JB Pritzker said in a statement.

“It is clear that evidence in this case was not given the careful consideration that victims of domestic violence deserve, and I am committed to ensuring additional safeguards and training are in place to prevent tragedies like this from happening again,” Pritzker said.

He announced the resignation of Shelton in an online press release.

“Donald Shelton served the state of Illinois in his role with the PRB for over a decade, providing a model of dedication to public service,” he said. “During his time with the Champaign Police Department and with the PRB he worked diligently to keep Illinoisans safe and uphold our justice system, and I thank him for his service.”

Smith is still hospitalized in critical condition following the attack, but she and her unborn baby are expected to live, NBC News reported.

Gus Giordano Dance School mourned the loss of Jayden, a star pupil, on social media.

“Jayden Perkins brought the brightest light to GUS. We are incredibly blessed to have been apart of his life. We love you Jayden,” the dance school wrote on X.

[sjsmith56]

On the Road

Summary: Bucky takes a witness to a murder on the road to keep her safe. Over the long trip, they become close.

Length: 9.8 K (I know, it’s a long one.)

Characters: Bucky Barnes, named OFC, Sam Wilson, Yelena Belova.

Warnings: Memories of Bucky’s time with HYDRA, violence causing injury and/or death.

Author’s notes: Inspired by a song Los Navegantes by Hermanos Gutierrez which had me thinking of spaghetti westerns (also referenced in the story). Bucky definitely has a bit of the vigilante in him.

It had been an hour since Taylor Hollis was brought to the Avengers Tower. Placed into witness protection after she witnessed a mob hit, the Federal Marshals on her detail had little time to prepare for an attack on their safe house. While three of the officers stayed to fight off the attackers, the fourth Marshal successfully managed to get her to a motorcycle stashed in a shed at the back of the property then drove through the thinnest part of the gauntlet where his colleagues had focused their counterattack. He brought her to the safest place he could think of at that moment, Avengers Tower in the heart of Manhattan. After flashing his ID at the security desk, he pulled Taylor forward, asked them to protect her, then collapsed, dying in hospital later from the bullet that pierced his spleen, slowly bleeding to death on the desperate drive into the city.

Now she sat on the couch in the communal living room in the residence section, her trembling hands grasping a cup of tea given to her by Sam. He stood with Bucky and Joaquin out of earshot.

"What have you found out?" asked Bucky.

"They were betrayed," replied Joaquin. "Someone in the Marshal's service gave up their location. Someone wants her dead, which likely means whoever gave their location up was involved in the murder she witnessed."

"Fury spoke to a trusted source, and they want us to take over her security while they try to uncover the mole." Sam shook his head. "She could stay here but I'm guessing they'll try again. His source said not to trust anyone from the Marshal's service."

"I'll take her," offered Bucky. "There are lots of former HYDRA safe houses we can hole up in. They have cash, weapons and functional surveillance systems I can access."

Sam looked doubtful. "Weren't those sites all exposed in the info dump?"

"No, there were just as many off the books as those that were documented." Bucky gestured to her. "You know that I can keep her safer than anyone else here. Bring in a SHIELD agent that's built like me, put a nano mask on his face and arm so they think I'm still here. I'll take a burner phone and check in only with you, Sam. Keep it compartmentalized."

As Bucky laid out his complete plan both Sam and Joaquin nodded their approval, even though there was some risk involved. With Sam leaving to inform Fury and Joaquin continuing to monitor surveillance channels, Bucky approached the woman, who had the thousand-yard stare.

"Hey," he said, calmly, offering her his hand. "I'm Bucky. What's your name?"

"Taylor," she smiled grimly. "What's going to happen to me?"

"We were just discussing that. There's concern that your safe house location was compromised by a mole in the Federal Marshal's service." She looked alarmed. "Not the four that were there but someone higher up who may have been involved in the hit you witnessed."

"Is Jerry, okay? There was so much blood, but he never said a word while he brought me here."

"I'm sorry but he didn't make it. None of them did."

She put her cup down and buried her face in her hands, crying. Bucky shifted to sit next to her, putting his arm around her shoulder. As the sobs shook her body he held her, allowing her the time to grieve for the federal agents who died protecting her. Eventually she regained control, and he gave her his handkerchief, telling her to keep it.

"What now?"

He looked at her reddened eyes and swollen cheeks which didn't hide the fact that she seemed like a good person. At that moment he knew why the four Marshals sacrificed themselves for her. It made his offer feel even more righteous.

"I have skills that include staying off the radar," he replied. "You and I are going on the road to some undocumented safe houses. No one will know where we are and I'll only check in with one person, Captain America. We'll stay off the grid as long as we need to. When they arrest the mole, we'll come back in, and I'll stay with you until you testify."

For a moment she glanced away, then she looked back at Bucky.

"How good are you, Mr. Barnes?"

A smile flickered across his face at her using his last name. She knew exactly who he was.

"The best and I'm not bragging. You know who I am and who I was before. I'll protect you as if you were the most important person on Earth. That's my promise."

"When?"

"We need to get some things set up, clothing, transportation, and cash. They won't be here but at a drop off point, although I'll take clothing and weapons from here. We'll use a quinjet in stealth mode to get there. Then we'll be on our own." He looked at his watch. "I think we should leave just after sunset."

"I have nothing with me," she said.

"Don't worry, it's already being taken care of." He took her hand in his right one, squeezing it gently. "Would you like to take a shower or a bath and relax before then?"

Taylor nodded and he stood up, still holding her hand. Taking her to his quarters, he showed her the bathroom, explaining the shower and bathtub controls, then gave her a bathrobe to wear while her clothing needs were sorted out. As he left her there, he came out of his door to find Yelena approaching with an assortment of clothing.

"She's having a shower," he said. "Be kind to her. She's an innocent and feels guilty about the deaths of the Marshals on her detail."

"You're a good man, Yasha," she said. "She needs the best for this, and I know you won't allow anyone to hurt her."

He nodded and sought out Sam. Together they worked out what Bucky wanted; a reliable vehicle that couldn't be hacked or tracked remotely, and any maintenance on it could be done by Bucky, burner phone, $10,000 cash in assorted bills, nothing larger than $20 in denomination, non-perishable foods, camping gear for two, and the weapons that Bucky would choose from the armoury. Anything else could be found in the safe houses or picked up along the way.

"Fury gave a code word for when the mole is arrested and you need to come in," said Sam, handing Bucky a folded piece of paper. He read it and tore it up into bits, then put the pieces in a metal dish and pulled a lighter out of his pocket, lighting it on fire. Even Friday wouldn't know what the code was. Not that Bucky thought it would be needed if the mole used his sources to search for them. Sam then handed him two other devices. "This is a GPS locator. One time use, and then the device scrambles and won't work anymore. If you find yourself in trouble, activate it and stay put. A portal will open to bring help. This other one is a scanner so you can quickly determine if anyone put a tracker on your car. You know the drill."

Bucky nodded. "Stay away from anywhere there are security cameras, no speeding, no drawing attention to myself. I'm going to grow a beard and use a nano sleeve on the arm. I guess I should build a cover story for us."

"Boyfriend and girlfriend taking a trip across America," suggested Sam. "Lots of people do it." He put his hand on Bucky's shoulder. "Stay safe."

A slight smile was his response, and he headed to the armoury, picking up his preferred selection of weapons, including an M249 Saw, two Glock 17s, two SIG-Sauer P226s, and an assortment of combat knives. He added as much ammunition as he could, then tossed in several holsters the pistols and sheaths for the knives. Zipping it all together, he left it in his locker, making sure his tactical suit was folded up and slid into a carrying case along with his combat boots. From there he went to the operations centre and requested a nano sleeve and a couple of ball caps. After checking the sleeve's function, he placed it back in its storage case, taking it with him. On his return to his quarters, he unlocked the door and announced he was coming in.

"We're all packed," answered Yelena, who was sitting with Taylor on the couch in his living room. She turned to the woman. "You're in good hands with Yasha. He is the best."

After she left, Taylor looked at him. "Yasha?"

"Russian nickname for James," he explained. "I just have to pack some clothes. Are you hungry? We should eat first as it might be a while before we stop."

"I guess I should." She stood up. "How are we going to do this? Every movie I ever saw where an agent had to protect someone, they came up with a cover story in case they were stopped."

"We'll keep it simple," replied Bucky. "Boyfriend and girlfriend taking a road trip, so we'll have to hold hands and be somewhat affectionate when we’re in public. I'm going to stop shaving as my beard should grow in enough to disguise me within a couple of days. We'll use ball caps and sunglasses outside as much as we can. The rest we can talk about on the quinjet, then in the vehicle."

She nodded and followed him to the communal kitchen, where someone had laid out several different orders of takeout. Bucky handed her a plate, but no one asked who she was, as they already knew. It was a quiet meal and Taylor put her dirty dishes in the dishwasher after rinsing them in the sink. Together, she and Bucky returned to his quarters, where she waited while he packed a bag of clothes. Finally, he came out of his room with his things.

"Bring your bag and follow me," he said. "I have to make one stop."

At the locker room, he went inside and got his weapons bag and tac suit bag, handing the former to Sam, who was waiting with Taylor.

"Jesus, did you bring everything?" he grinned.

"Just the essentials," answered Bucky. "Too heavy for you?"

"Too heavy for everyone except the cyborg," he answered.

"Not in front of company, Sam."

Taylor smiled shyly at the banter between the two men, recognizing it as two friends expressing themselves before a mission. They took the elevator to the launch pad for the quinjet, which was invisible, except for where the ramp was lowered, exposing the inside of the aircraft. She touched the invisible edge beside the ramp, her face showing her disbelief that she could feel the metal but just couldn't see it.

"It's cloaked," said Sam. "Just in case anyone is watching. They won't see you take off. The ramp is facing the door so from any other angle it's invisible." They stowed their bags inside, then Bucky sat at the pilot's seat, gesturing to Taylor to sit next to him. She buckled in. "Fury remotely programmed the coordinates of the car. As soon as you're off, enter the Recall command on a timer so it returns here. Take care. Miss Hollis, you're in very good hands."

"That's what I understand," she replied, then she looked at Sam. "Thank you for your kindness."

He smiled, then squeezed Bucky on the shoulder and left the quinjet. The ramp closed and Bucky went through his checklist.

"Ready?"

Nervously, she gripped the arm rest, then laughed at herself as she didn't even feel it lifting into the air. Even as Bucky applied the throttle, it was so smooth that she wondered why all aircraft weren't like this. An inquiry from Air Traffic Control about their flight had Bucky responding in a coded message that took a moment for ATC to answer. When they did, they responded with another code and Bucky was given clearance to a secure altitude.

"We're off their radar," he answered to her unspoken question. "Because of the classified nature of some of our missions, they can't know where we're going. This is one of those situations." He flipped a switch. "That's just to make sure. That repels any attempts to track us by radar." He set a timer and then the automatic pilot. "We've got time to talk now."

For the next hour she told him about being a server in a restaurant in Manhattan, one of two jobs she had. She had just finished her shift then realized she forgot something at the restaurant she needed for her other job. Returning, she went straight to the back room, to retrieve it, then heard several loud pops. Cracking the door open she saw several armed men surrounding a table of men who arrived shortly before she returned. One of them at the table was dead, his head facing sideways on the table. She gasped, a sound that one of the armed men heard. Closing and locking the door, she went out the back and into the alley, trying to stay behind the various dumpsters and garbage cans that blocked the view of anyone coming into the alley. Coming out near a subway entrance, she went down the stairs and used her transit card to get onto the platform, desperately waiting for the next train. As it arrived, she saw several of the same armed men from the restaurant coming down the stairs, looking for her. Trying not to stare she boarded the train and prayed they wouldn't get on. They didn't but when the train passed the men, one of them stared right at her and she realized he knew she saw them.

"I didn't notice that I dropped the package for my other job, but they showed up there, and got my address. I was already at the police station then, filing my witness statement. Right away they called the Federal Marshals, and I never went home after that. That was a week ago."

"Our director thinks one of the men who was there is a mole in the Federal Marshal's Service," said Bucky. "Did anyone have you look at mug shots or employee records?"

She nodded. "They're associated with the Umberto crime family. They didn't mention looking at employee records."

They spoke some more about their cover. It was important that they not spend too much time in a single place ... no more than a few days.

"Do you know how to fire a gun?" he asked.

"Not really," she answered. "My ex was into guns and tried to show me, but he wasn't a very patient man. He made me more nervous than anything."

"Okay, I'm a good teacher and I'd like you to know how, just in case I need you for backup."

An alert sounded and they returned to the cockpit, seeing they were within minutes of their destination. Taking control, Bucky used the sensors on the quinjet to locate the vehicle, its ghostly image showing up on the screen. Another vehicle was nearby, and it flashed its headlights in the Morse code configuration for 73, meaning Best Regards. Bucky flashed a light under the quinjet with CFM for Confirm. He landed, then put his hand on Taylor's arm when she started to rise.

"It's better if they don't see you," he said. "I'll get the keys and anything else that needs to be handed over then send them on their way."

He turned the lights inside down low then went to the ramp and pressed a control to lower it, then raised it again when he was outside. A holographic screen came on in front of Taylor showing him talking to two agents. One of them handed him the keys to the car, while the other gave him a sealed envelope. Then both agents got into their car and drove away. Bucky watched until they were out of sight before he returned to the quinjet and opened the ramp, entering.

"Friday, lights please." He pressed his thumb on an outline on the envelope then waited as the sealant on it dissolved before he opened it. There were several sheets of paper that he scanned quickly. "Looks like they figured out who the mole is. He's a Marshal, John Patterson, who was assigned to guard a witness in another Umberto trial. They were attacked and everyone except him was killed. They did a forensic audit of his finances and found an offshore account using an alias from when he was a regular police officer working undercover. A deposit of $5 million was made three years ago when he was head of the detail for that witness. There was another $2 million deposited last week just before the hit, and $2 million yesterday. He's definitely after you." He heard a gasp from Taylor and looked up. "Sorry, I'm not trying to scare you but it does mean we may have to improvise and change the existing plans a little. If they gave him that kind of money it means they can buy off other law enforcement. Now that he's been identified I have permission to take him out if you're in danger. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a stone-cold killer anymore but if I must, I will."

Together they transferred everything to the Toyota 4Runner, a 2002 model that had no tracker installed. Bucky ran the scanner over it to be sure. Inside the back was everything he asked for. He took some of the money out, placing it in his wallet then put the clothing bags on the back seat, but everything else fit into the back. He also slipped the nano sleeve onto his arm; in case they were stopped for any reason. Finally, they were ready to go and put their seatbelts on.

"I can stay awake for long periods of time so I'm going to drive for as long as I can," he said. "You might as well sleep."

"I'll try," she answered. "Do you know where we are?"

"Yeah, I know exactly where we are, but we'll be far away from here by morning."

She smiled at him, then as he pulled onto the highway, she turned slightly towards him so she could pull her knees up onto the seat. When he looked again her eyes were closed and her breathing steady. It made him feel good inside that she trusted him enough to sleep.

🌅

A hand on Taylor's arm woke her up; she opened her eyes to Bucky's blue ones.

"We're getting close to the safe house," he said. "When we get there, you stay in the vehicle while I check to make sure it's safe for us to go in. Keep the doors locked." He looked at the road again before glancing back at her. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah, I usually can't sleep in a car, but I guess I was more tired than I thought."

He pulled into the driveway of an overgrown property and got out. Grabbing a gun, he gestured to Taylor to lock the doors and walked to the door of the house, looking for any signs of a surveillance camera. Not finding one, he examined the door, searching for an input device. He found it behind a false panel that popped its cover when he pressed gently. Looking at the keypad he studied it for several long moments then entered a code based on his memory, certain he had been in this building before. A click, and the door opening confirmed it. Carefully, he stepped inside, placing a chair in the doorway to keep it from locking behind him.

It smelled musty inside and there was a thick layer of dust on everything. The fridge was empty, but the door was propped open and the power to it was off, as was the power to the light switches. After checking every room, Bucky was convinced that the house had sat empty for a long time. Coming out the door, he motioned to Taylor to unlock the vehicle.

"It seems clear," he said. "No power but I'll check to see if it was turned off at the panel. We'll bring the sleeping bags to sleep in, and the camping lanterns if I can't get the power to run."

Together they took some of the food, their clothing, weapons, and the sleeping bags inside. Bucky went back out and switched the vehicle's position closer to a door at the back of the house, in case they couldn't get out the front door. Using one of the camping lanterns he went down to the cellar and found the electrical panel. It was turned off, so he flipped every switch over.

"The lights work!" yelled Taylor from upstairs.

He nodded to himself, then turned on a light switch down there and double checked the cellar. Like the rest of the house, there was no sign of anyone being there for some time, making him wonder if any HYDRA stragglers had already cleaned it out of weapons and cash. Searching the walls for any signs he noticed a shelving unit and stood in front of it, noticing it had a backing. Sliding his fingers along the back edge he found a small depression and pressed it. The shelf moved towards him, revealing a storage room behind. Turning on the light he saw there were heavy drop cloths over everything, and pulled them off, revealing an assortment of weapons.

"Jesus, I've never seen that many weapons in one place," said Taylor, who stepped in behind him. "Who left these here?"

"HYDRA," he replied. "They have places like this all over; some documented, some secret. I knew of many of the secret ones because they wanted me out of the public eye and would bring me there after a mission to lay low until it was safe for us to leave." He picked up a Skorpion sub-machine gun, examining it closely. "I remembered being here and actually fired this one. As soon as the mission was complete, I had to hand everything over to my handler."

He took it and some ammunition, then looked for a gun cleaning kit and two sets of noise canceling headphones, handing those to Taylor. Heading back upstairs, he put the gun and kit on the kitchen table, then looked at her.

"Hungry?"

She nodded, but pointed to the tap. "No water."

"Should be a pump out in the yard," he answered. "Have to let it run for a while and the water will taste metallic but it's potable, at least it was. We can boil it to make sure."

He took care of that, coming back ten minutes later with a full pail of water. He looked through the dehydrated camping meals provided for them and picked out an oatmeal one, then found some instant coffee, a small tin of evaporated milk and some sugar. After boiling some water for ten minutes he poured some into the oatmeal package, stirring it with a spoon that was in a package with the food, and filled their camping bowls.  He spooned some coffee into their mugs and poured more water into them. It was quiet as they ate, neither feeling the need to talk. When they were finished, Bucky cleaned the Skorpion while Taylor watched.

"You seem to know what you're doing," she noted.

"I've handled a lot of different firearms," he shrugged. "They're a tool, nothing more. I use them for work, but I don't keep one on me." He grinned slightly. "A knife is a different matter. I always carry one in a custom-made sheath built into my boot." She looked at him questioningly. "It's quiet, better for closeup fighting, and just as deadly for someone that knows how to use it, which I do."

She chuckled and it was his turn to look at her for enlightenment. "That ex I told you about was fixated on guns. He was constantly wanting to go to gun shows and buy the newest thing always saying he was doing it to protect me and the house. I swear that he cared more for them than he did about me. It bothered him that I didn't like having that many guns in the house. Yet, seeing you cleaning this one, and knowing what's sitting in that room below us doesn't seem to bother me like that."

"Did he ever shoot anyone?" Bucky looked directly at her as she shook her head. "I was a sniper in World War II. They called us marksmen but my job with the Howling Commandos was to kill anyone who pointed a gun at Steve Rogers, or any of the other guys on the team. I was good at it, but I didn't like it. Even though I wasn't religious it seemed a sin to kill indiscriminately like that, but it was wartime, and I knew my duty. When HYDRA got their hooks in me, and realized how good I already was, it was like they won the lottery. All those calculations that I needed to work out in my head for trajectory, wind speed, and everything else was so ingrained that all they had to do was add to my arsenal. Every new firearm that came out was brought to me and I was expected to become an expert in it. I couldn't say no or object. It was master it or be punished." He breathed out heavily. "I find that the guys who have never had to pull the trigger on someone are the ones who love their guns the most. Maybe it makes them feel more manly. I never intend to kill anyone when I fire at them but the instinct to make it count is too strong." He looked her in the eyes. "I'm not a killer but I do kill when I have to. Then I try to live with what I've done."

He stopped talking and finished cleaning the gun, reassembling it. Standing up, he gestured to her to follow and went outside with the Skorpion, the Glock he still had in the back of his pants, and ammunition. For the next half hour, he showed her how to fire the Glock, standing behind her and reaching around her to position her hands properly on it, aiming at several signs he found in the barn and propped against the fence. His method was calm and measured, and Taylor found herself appreciative of how he let her take her time before firing. By the end of the half hour, she was able to hit smaller targets, like old oil cans, mason jars, and the odd tin can.

"How are your hands?" He took them in his, gently massaging them. "If you're not used to it your hands can start to feel numb."

"Not bad," she admitted, appreciating how he seemed to look after the little details. She looked at the Skorpion. "Are you going to let me try that?"

"That was my intention," he answered. "You want to give it a try?"

Taylor nodded and he walked her through the parts of it, then let her feel how light it was. He put the larger signs up again, then they put their headphones on, and she fired a short burst. Her first time brought a shriek, then laughter from her which made him smile. Once that was out of her system, she got serious and tried it again. She hit the target on about half the shots before they had to reload. Bucky made some suggestions then let her try again. This time she did better. He didn't bother putting the smaller targets up.

"If you can hit them anywhere in the body, they should go down. I think that's enough for today. I'm going to go back down to the weapons locker and figure out what else to take with us. There should be a safe on either the main or second floor with cash in it. If you could look behind the pictures and see if you can find it, I would appreciate it."

She did find it and when Bucky came up with an armful of weapons to clean, she showed him, then watched, mesmerized, as he bent his head to the safe door and listened to the sounds of the dials inside the safe to unlock it. Inside was more cash, several passports, including some old ones of him and Rumlow, and several printed pages. He looked over them, learning of several more previously undocumented safe houses. They would take the list with them. He burned the passports as they were all expired anyway.

They ate again, choosing a package of beef stew that was decent enough. When it got dark Bucky set up their sleeping bags on the bed in two of the rooms, wrapping the pillows that had been left on the beds in some sheets he found in a linen closet. There were no mice, thank goodness, but he didn't want to take any chances of anything crawling out during the night. During the night, he was awakened by Taylor appearing in the doorway, holding her sleeping bag and pillow in her hand.

"I'm sorry but I'm cold," she whispered. "Can I sleep with you?"

Without answering he opened his sleeping bag up then zipped hers to it. Laying back inside he held the top open while she climbed in, and they zipped the sides up.

"Better?" he asked, as he pulled her towards his body and rested his arm around her.

"Much. You're very warm."

"Yeah, it's a super soldier thing," he replied. "Close your eyes. I'll keep you warm."

They spent three days and nights in the safe house, sharing the same bed for sleeping. On the fourth morning Bucky turned on the radio in the 4Runner and heard an odd news report.

Authorities are still looking for several men who shot up a tailor's shop in New York City. The men are believed to be in Pennsylvania, near the Scranton area, according to federal authorities. Residents in the area are to be on the lookout for anyone in plain clothes identifying themselves as law enforcement. According to spokesperson Detective Wilson of the NYPD they are considered to be armed and dangerous and may be headed towards Philadelphia.

Recognizing it as a planted warning to him, he informed Taylor it was time to go. Within 20 minutes they were on the road.

"Which way are we going?" she asked.

"West," he answered. "Ohio, but I have to get gas first."

Once that was done, he drove through Pennsylvania and most of Ohio for over nine hours, stopping a couple of times for a bathroom break and to pick up food, before he pulled up in front of a motel on the outskirts of Cincinnati. Paying cash for a double room, they took their things inside where Bucky offered the shower to Taylor first. Using the landline in the room while blocking the phone number he called Sam.

"I got your radio message," he said, by way of greeting. "Any updates I should know about?"

"Some informants have confirmed there's a hit out on Miss Hollis," replied Sam. "They know you're with her. The SHIELD agent who impersonated you wasn't exactly up to the task which didn't impress Fury. Plus, there are probably police on their payroll who have been watching for you. There's a bounty out on you, to bring you in alive."

"Let me guess, the Russian bratvas." Bucky ran his hand through his hair. "They worked hand in hand with HYDRA when it suited them. Well, we'll stay mobile and hopefully avoid them until I can get them into an area where no one else gets hurt."

"How is she handling it?" asked Sam.

"Not bad," he replied. "I like her. I've taught her to shoot. She's a pretty calm person considering what she's been through already."

"Alright, we'll try to insert more coded messages in the radio broadcasts if it looks like they're congregating in an area," said Sam. "Stay vigilant and let me know when you're close to your destination. I assume it’s western Kansas.”

"You know me too well," smirked Bucky, hanging up.

The bathroom door opened to Taylor in sleepwear with a towel wrapped around her head. He grabbed some things from his bag and took his turn, coming out to her watching TV. Sitting on the other bed he gestured to the screen.

"What are you watching?"

"Old movie, The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly," she answered. "Clint Eastwood."

"Don't think I've seen that," said Bucky. "Any good?"

"Kind of, in a weird way," she answered. "It's called a spaghetti western because it was an Italian production, filmed in Spain, about the old West, done in a very stylized method. There were three movies in all, and they made Clint Eastwood a star. Everyone knows the music as parts of it have been used in all sorts of different commercials, TV shows, and even other movies."

He watched for a while, then grinned at Taylor when the distinctive music played during a scene. Leaning back against the headboard, he watched the movie, scoffing at some of the scenes in it. It was quite ridiculous, but he could see the appeal to others. They slept in their separate beds, then headed out right after breakfast after he told her what Sam had revealed.

For the next week they alternated between a couple of days in a safe house, then a night in a motel to shower, always listening to the news on the radio for the next message from Sam. They even did their laundry in a rundown laundromat that was out in the middle of nowhere in Missouri. As they drove through Kansas, Taylor sat with her feet pulled up onto the car seat and turned so she could lean against the door.

"Don't you get tired of driving?"

Bucky shrugged. "There were times I was up three days straight waiting for my target to show up. Falling asleep would get me punished. At least driving gives me something to do." He gestured towards the windshield. "Besides, we're seeing America."

"Maybe you could do it with your girlfriend sometime." She looked steadily at him. "Is there someone?"

"No, there's no one," he answered. "I'm not prime boyfriend material."

"Why do you say that?" Bucky shrugged, feeling uncomfortable. "Hey, we've shared a bed platonically. I think I'm beyond being a person to protect. I like to think that we've become friends." His mouth was clamped shut but she could see a muscle twitch on his jaw. "Ah, we're not even that in your eyes." She turned back to looking forward out of the windshield. "Forget I said anything."

A few miles up Bucky pulled into a rest stop, then turned off the ignition. He got out, went over to her side of the vehicle, and opened it, offering her his hand. Not letting go he took her over to a stand of trees that provided some shade. Sitting down on a bench while he still held her hand, he studied her face carefully.

"I do like you, more than like," he said gently. "It's been hard for me to keep my mind on my mission, which is to protect you from harm. I have issues, a lot of emotional baggage from the years I spent as a prisoner. Around you, I feel better, and it becomes easy to think of us as something more. There have been times when I've wanted to wrap you up in my arms, kiss you like I want to kiss you, then to share a bed with you in a very non-platonic way. But I can't, not while those guys are still out there, looking for us. If I do give in to what I really want, then my focus is divided, and it could end up costing us." He caressed the side of her face, then kissed her lightly but with enough feeling behind it for her to know he was being truthful. "When this is over, we can decide where we want this to go."

She gazed up into his blue eyes. He was right. Still holding hands, they returned to the 4Runner, and kissed again, before getting inside. After another day of driving, he turned onto a dirt road, following it for several miles until he turned off onto another road. A barely legible sign pointed towards an upcoming town. When they got to its outskirts he stopped and turned off the 4Runner, stepping out and walking forward a little, placing his hands on his hips. Taylor joined him, squinting her eyes in the bright sun.

"What is it?" she asked. "Why are we here?"

He took out his cell phone and shook his head at there being no signal. It meant he would have to use the GPS locator to bring in help. There was little to no cover, not for them and not for the people who were tracking them.

"I haven't been entirely honest with you," he said, still looking out over the still and desolate landscape. "The thing about having a corrupt Marshal on your payroll is that he usually isn't the only one. Russian bratvas have put a bounty on taking me alive, just as the Umberto family have put out a hit on you. They have corrupt officers all over the place who have been reporting our location to them as we drove. I tried to stay clear of populated areas because they don't care who else they hurt when they're after someone, so I've been leading them here. It's a ghost town but there is a HYDRA facility here. You'll be safe inside while I deal with them."

"By yourself?" She touched his arm. "Why would you go after them yourself?"

He smiled sadly at her. "It's what I do. But once I'm out there I want you to press a button on this." He showed her the GPS locator. "It will bring help and hopefully get you to safety." She looked at it in his hand, not wanting to take it. "I told you that my mission is to protect you from harm. The only way I can do that is to get them all in the same place then go after them and hunt them down. Believe it or not, the odds are in my favour."

"I don't believe it," she snorted, stepping back. "You're one man. How many are you expecting?"

"Dozen, maybe more."

"Bucky, what if you get hurt or killed?"

He smiled at her and caressed her face. "I'm too valuable to kill but I might get hurt. They really don't know my capabilities, especially when I'm motivated. Come on, we need to get ready for them."

He drove the 4Runner to a large rundown building, stopping in front of a garage door. Under a flap on the frame was a keypad. Noticing the wear on the number pads he entered a number, but it didn't open. Once more he tried but it didn't work again. With a sigh, he used his knife to pry off the number pad covering and pulled two wires out, connecting them. A grinding noise signified the door opening but it stopped halfway, and he had to push it up the rest of the way himself. It dropped down a little, so he looked inside the garage for a piece of steel to prop it open. Then he drove the vehicle inside.

After finding the electrical panel he flipped the rest of the switches on, hearing Taylor confirm that the lights worked. While she made something to eat, he searched for the weapons locker. He noted a door marked as the Operations Centre, then saw a door marked Treatment Room which made him pause. As he opened it, he immediately relived everything that ever happened in that room. He flashed back to when he was last here, in this particular base, being wiped then programmed for a mission in Denver. Rumlow had done terrible things to him before wiping him, then taunted him about it afterwards.

"Bucky, are you alright?" Taylor's voice drew him out of his memories. She came further into the room, looking at the memory processing machine with trepidation. "What is this place?"

"This is where they erased me, then programmed me for my missions," he replied, after a moment.

"They hurt you here," she stated. "I can see it on your face. Does anyone else know about this place?"

"No, just Sam, me, and you."

"Then we destroy it. All of it, so no one can use it again."

He looked at her with fondness then nodded, turned around and left. She closed the door behind them. With a promise to come up to eat as soon as he found the weapons locker she left him to continue his search. Ten minutes later he brought a large box up, filled with an assortment of items. Serving out the food, she watched as he ate while he took the things out and laid them on the table.

"We're going to make IEDs," he said. "Bury them in the roadways into town. It will take out their vehicles and maybe a few of them at the same time. Then I'm going to clean some weapons and place them in various hiding places throughout the town. I'll leave you the Skorpion, a Glock and plenty of ammunition. You'll stay here and if anyone tries to get in you shoot them."

"Anyone?"

"Unless they're Avengers," he grinned. "Don't shoot them."

They worked until after midnight assembling IEDs and Taylor began to fall asleep as she sat at the table.

"Come on," said Bucky, picking her up in his arms. "Bedtime for you."

She snuggled into his arms as he carried her to an interior room with a cot. Noticing it was a single, she looked at him drowsily.

"You're not going to sleep with me?"

"No, I have work to do," he answered. "Don't worry, you'll be safe." Kneeling down as he tucked her into the sleeping bag, he stroked her hair. Then he kissed her forehead. "I'll check in on you later."

Turning off the light, he left the door open a little then went back to the assembled IEDs. Carefully, he put the first one in the treatment room, using a timer on it set for later in the day. The rest of them were placed in a box, then he put their detonators in another container. Carrying both to the 4Runner, he placed them in the back then drove to each end of the single road in town, using the camping shovel to dig a hole for them by the beam of the headlights. He placed them in random spots so that it would slow them down. With precision, he inserted the detonator then used his hands to cover them up with the dirt. When that was done, he looked to the east, and saw the ribbon of orange along the horizon, realizing that sunrise was on its way. This had taken longer than he estimated, and he still had to put weapons in hiding places. There was no time to clean any from the weapons locker so it would have to be the ones he already had. Driving back to the HYDRA base he grabbed the weapons bag and some duct tape that he picked up along the way. At each building he taped two guns in a hidden location, placing them methodically in spots up and down the street of the ghost town. When that was done, he looked to the east again then at his watch. Sunrise was in an hour. Perhaps he would have time for a catnap.

Returning to the base, he removed the piece of steel from where it propped up the door and pulled it down, then jammed the steel into the bottom, keeping it from being opened from the outside. Turning off the lights, he used a camping lantern to find the room where Taylor was and toed his boots off, climbing onto the cot behind her. She whimpered a little, but he shushed her and stroked her hair as he spooned her from behind. Then he closed his eyes and listened to her breathing, falling asleep quickly.

It was the sound of an IED going off that woke both of them. Checking his watch Bucky swore at how late it was. Quickly, he climbed out of the cot and put his boots on then ran to the operations room, turning on the surveillance cameras there. Taylor joined him. The sun was well up showing everything brightly. There was a car burning at the same entrance they came in from. Several cars were behind them, with more people stepping out, to survey the scene. Switching to the other side of town, he saw several more vehicles there, waiting. No one got out of them until a big man stepped out with a machine gun and sprayed the roadway in front of them with bullets. Remarkably, he didn't hit a single IED and walked confidently forward, stepping directly on one of the hidden bombs.

"Don't look," said Bucky, turning Taylor around. "It's not pretty. They'll be more cautious now."

"What do we do?"

"I give them a target," he said. They went back to the kitchen, and he put the GPS locator in her hand. "You lock yourself in the operations centre with the Glock and Skorpion. As soon as you see me on the screen you press that button. Then watch what happens. You'll know when it's safe to come out. If anyone tries to break down the door you wait until you see them then shoot at them with the Skorpion using short bursts."

Bucky went to the 4Runner and took out his combat gear. With a shrug, he stripped down to his briefs then put his tactical suit on, before putting the last of his weapons into their holsters and sheaths. Then he cupped her face, kissed her lightly on the cheek and headed over to a ladder that led up to the roof. Climbing up, he went out a door at the top and left her alone in the building. She went back to the operations centre, locked the door, and checked all the different screens until she saw him appear on the one screen, heading towards the centre of town. Pressing the button on the GPS locator she watched Bucky do what he did best. The strange thing was, is that she wasn't afraid for him anymore. The way he walked and looked showed he knew exactly what he was doing.

Out on the street, Bucky strode to where he was visible to both groups of men at each end of town.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" He shouted out. "I'm here, come and get me."

As they came out of their vehicles he shot at them, taking fire in return. After hitting two of their men, he ran towards the nearest building, making his way to the roof and firing on them from there. They scattered, taking cover and he jumped onto the lower roof of the next building, then down to the ground, hitting someone who came out from behind his cover. The sound of an IED at the other end distracted the intruders and Bucky ran right past them, firing until he was out of ammunition. Sliding into one of his hiding spots, he pulled the duct tape off the two guns there and waited to see what the others would do first.

The Russians were yelling instructions to each other making him shake his head as they were revealing their next moves to him. Standing up, he fired at two of them before they got under cover, sending them down, then he ran behind the building towards another, coming to the corner of the structure. Taking a peek drew some fire so he ran back to where he had been, hoping they would draw closer to where he had peeked out. Sure enough, two were approaching his old position and he shot at the back of their knees, crippling them. Running towards them he stopped to give each man a punch, knocking them out, then took their guns, slinging them over his shoulder.

As he ran across the street he heard a gunshot, then felt the burning in his leg, ignoring it as he reached the safety of another one of the gun hiding places. Grabbing them, he went inside and up the stairs to the second floor, breaking a window so that he could shoot at anyone who approached. A sound behind him made him turn and he fired, killing the man who didn't have time to fire first. Listening carefully, he heard a creak on the landing and repositioned himself to just inside the door. When he saw the gun he pulled the man into the room, throwing him against the wall and aiming his shots into his knees before punching him senseless. As he was taking his gun, he noticed the man was wearing a comms piece and pulled it out, putting it into his own ear. There was a mixture of Russian and English on the channel, as the two sides were obviously working together.

"Where's the girl?" asked someone.

"Don't know," said another. "He just appeared in the middle of the street."

"You and Patterson check each building. She has to be hiding here somewhere."

Then he heard another voice. "What the fuck? What is that? Take cover!"

With a grin, he realized a portal had opened and Sam was likely flying in. Striding over to the window he saw both Sam and Joaquin, swooping down and firing at anything that moved. They were followed by the quinjet which hovered just above the ground releasing Kate, Yelena, Shaun, Scott, and Hope. It went back up in the air and began targeting the other vehicles, destroying them so the intruders had no means of escape. The chatter on the comms pieces died out until he heard an explosion and a sentence that chilled him.

"Found her."

Racing down the rickety stairs he ran towards the HYDRA building, then heard several short bursts of shots from inside. The garage door had a hole blown into it. Crawling through the hole he approached the operations room, the door ominously open but badly damaged. He listened carefully, finally hearing the sound of someone crying.

"Taylor?"

"In here."

Her voice was strained. Slowly, he approached the door, then he saw the two men on the floor, both dead. She sat in a chair, still holding the Skorpion submachine gun. He removed his guns and approached, kneeling in front of her.

"I had no choice," she whispered. "They blew the door, and I just fired in short bursts like you taught me. They went down and didn't move." She looked at him with reddened eyes. "Are they dead?"

"Yeah, sweetheart, they're dead," he answered, then he put his hands on the Skorpion and took it, putting it aside. "But you're alive and they're not going to come after you again. Come on."

He helped her up, keeping his arm around her as they left the room and went to the garage area. He took a moment to raise the garage door manually, putting the steel piece back into place to keep it open. They both came out into the blazing sun, then heard the sound of wings above them. Taylor cowered against him.

"It's okay," he said, holding her closer. "It's Sam."

Lightly, Sam landed and looked appraisingly at Bucky. "You were supposed to let me know when you got here."

"No cell service," replied Bucky. "It's a ghost town for a reason. Who's flying the quinjet?"

Sam smiled. "Clint. He was visiting."

"There are several IEDs at each end of town that haven't been activated yet. He should probably explode them before the authorities get here. Patterson is dead. Taylor shot him in self-defence."

"Well, there are others who are still alive and we have enough evidence to link them to the Umberto family and the bratvas. I don't think they'll come after Taylor or you, anymore. We also tracked their phone calls and found the police officers who were passing on your location to them. Uncovered quite a few, so Fury's happy about that." He noticed Bucky's leg. "You get shot?"

"Just grazed. It'll heal on its own."

Sam passed on the information about the IEDs to Clint and they soon heard explosions as he used the aircraft's sensors to locate them. When FBI helicopters and vehicles began arriving, Bucky took Taylor back inside, making her sit while he brought her some water. She was better but still quiet for some time.

"Bucky? Is it like that for you all the time?"

"No, not like this," he replied. "It's been a long time since I took on this many people on my own."

She nodded then spoke in a small voice. "I killed two men."

"Yeah, you defended yourself. They would have killed you."

"I think I'm going to be sick."

She ran from where she sat but didn't make it to the bathroom, landing on her knees just outside the door, dry heaving. Bucky kneeled behind her, rubbing her back, then drew her into his arms when she began to cry again.

"It's okay, you're going to be okay."

"Can we go now? I don't want to stay here anymore."

"Let me check. Why don't you pack your bag, and I'll come for you."

Nodding her head, she allowed him to help her up and take her to the room where she slept. He left her then noticed Yelena and asked her to watch Taylor while he checked on some things. When he found the FBI agent in charge, they discussed Bucky taking her back to Avengers Tower. Discussed, as in had an argument over who had jurisdiction. Fortunately, for them, Fury was listening in and pulled rank, claiming that Taylor Hollis was placed in the custody of the Avengers and would stay in their custody until she appeared in court. As the FBI agent ordered his men to search the building Bucky shook his head.

"You don't want to be here any longer than you have to," he began, then looked at his watch. "In about an hour, this building is going to blow up. There is nothing here that should be of interest to you or to anyone else. I'm taking my things, my vehicle, and Taylor out of here. I would suggest you do the same." The man stared at him. "Did I say an hour? I meant twenty minutes, I think, but I didn't check my watch when I set the charge."

Bucky didn't wait for his response but did pack his bags. Then he found Taylor and together they went to the 4Runner. After driving it out of the building he stopped at where he hid the rest of his weapons, adding them back into his arsenal. When the last one was packed away, he pulled up to the quinjet where the other Avengers were waiting.

"Tell Fury that we'll be back in about a week, maybe ten days. Taylor needs the time to decompress."

"You'll need this," said Sam, reaching into one of his flying suit pockets and pulling out a smartphone. "Stay in touch."

Bucky took it then looked over at the HYDRA building, noticing there were still FBI agents going into it. "Tell him that I wasn't kidding. That place is rigged to go up. They had a functioning treatment room, Sam. There was no way I was going to leave it intact."

"I'll tell them," he replied, then he looked at Taylor. "You'll be okay. Bucky will help you. Take your time and stay at some nice places."

She smiled wanly, then he and Bucky shook hands before he stepped back, letting the vehicle pass by them. As they drove out of the ghost town, Bucky reached out to Taylor's hand, grasping it in his.

"Wherever you want to go I'll drive there. We really don't have a timeline now. It's just you and me."

For several miles she said nothing, then she looked over at Bucky.

"Can we go to Iowa? I want to see the Field of Dreams."

"You mean, like the movie? The baseball diamond?" She nodded. He reached for his smartphone and handed it to her. "Find it for me."

She looked it up, an almost 13 hour drive non-stop.

"We can stay overnight in Kansas City," suggested Taylor. "It's a 6 ½ hour drive from there, closes at 6 pm."

"Sounds like a plan," smiled Bucky. He reached out for her hand and squeezed it. "Why don't you find a nice place to stay?"

"One bed or two?"

"Whichever you want," he answered.

When they pulled up to the premium motel in Kansas City, and presented themselves at the counter, Bucky gave his name for their reservation for a single room, king-sized bed. The clerk asked how long they were staying.

"Two, maybe three nights," answered Taylor, before Bucky could say anything. "We've been on the road for a while and need to relax." She wrapped her arm around his waist. "Is that okay, honey?"

He squeezed her back. "Whatever you want, sweetheart." As he signed the register, he looked at the clerk. "Two things. Can you keep our presence here quiet? Do you have room service?"

The clerk glanced at the name again, recognizing it.

"Yes, sir, we'll make sure you have your privacy. Room service goes until midnight. There's a menu in your room. We also have liquor delivery, if you're interested."

Bucky smiled at him, then took the key cards. At the door to their room, he stopped, looking at Taylor in a very non-platonic way. She took the key card, held it to the reader and entered the room, immediately putting the Do Not Disturb sign outside on the door handle. No one at the motel saw either of them until an order for room service and liquor was made an hour before the midnight deadline. Bucky answered the door wrapped only in a towel, gave the two delivery people a big cash tip then disappeared back into the room. They looked at each other, having noticed the perfect physique and metal arm, then returned to the lobby, where they were warned again about keeping quiet. Considering what Bucky gave them for a tip, it was the least they could do.

One Shots Masterlist

[n3kk1tty]

" Hawkins held so many bad things and memories you just had to run away so you could actually live your life before It was cut short. In your new home you expect the paranormal not to find you but what happens when four vampires fall madly in love with you. "

(Y/n) - Your Name. (E/C) - Your Eye Color

Stranger Things ( Reader ) x Poly! Lost Boys

Fic requested by @whatchamacallthis

As soon as you graduated you hit the road running. Just as far as you could go, as far as you could get away from the cursed town. The last few years of your highschool life in Hawkins had been filled with other worldly phenomena, blood, and the loss of one of your closest friends. All you got for your troubles was your life, a gnarly scar, and enough trauma to last you a couple lifetimes . You had gotten your huge four clawed scar from taking a hit from the demogorgon for good old Steve Harrington. Even though at the time the dude was another one of those school bully dick heads you knew Nancy cared about him and you didn't even think before you took a slash to the back like a champ.

It haunts your nightmares that fucking monster, but you knew it was dead. It has to stay dead. That thing took a sawed off shotgun to the face and you riddled it with bullets till Nancy had to stop you as you cried and screamed. Your childhood friend Barb was dead. Your friend was never coming back and that scar just burned that truth into your brain every single day you breathed. You'd never spend another night with her using face paint to paint sunflowers on her arms or telling her about how Munson got you to paint him miniatures for his hell fire club. You, Nancy, and Barb could never go back to that time in the past but you tracked on. That cursed night you were lucky to be wearing the heavy duty leather jacket your dad gifted you, the doctors said if it wasn't for the thick padded jacket the slashes would have done life threatening damage to your back and you would have died or been crippled for the rest of your life. Sometimes you wish it had but I mean I guess there was some kind of luck watching over you.

Oh your poor lovely father though. It had only ever been you and him since your supposed mother dropped you off at your father's gun shop and shooting range not but six hours after you were discharged from the hospital as a baby. Your dad never talked about her and you never cared to ask but the woman was a real piece of work. He said he didn't even know she was pregnant but the tests proved you were his so he built his life around you. Growing up with a gun shooting, alcohol drinking, motorcycle riding mean son of a bitch for a father meant most of Hawkins thought your dad would have been tough on you. He was notorious for being a town hard ass like Hopper but the day he picked you up was the day he raised you with the kindness of a gentle giant. It broke his heart to see the wounds on your back as you fought blood loss in the hospital.

The man sobbed like a baby as he didn't know if you'd come out alive. He didn’t even understand what had happened to you and your friends wouldn't say anything. Needless to say he almost killed Johnathan and Steve as they stood in the hallway of the hospital as you fought for your life that night. It was worse though when you came out broken something fierce. When you first woke up all you did was cry and scream like the heavens had wronged you. You wailed until you couldn't no more as you screamed that it had to be dead and that you should have been there to save Barb. Nancy could only calm you down by holding you as you to cried into each others arms until your shirts were soaked and nothing but whimpers came out. You never once blamed your friend or anyone else but that monster for what happened but you wished so much that you had been there that night or had taken her place. While Barb was being killed you were at a Hellfire DND game and it hurt you ever day to know.

You eventually started healing, moving on in your friend's name but you were still facing troubles. Your scar became something you didn't want anyone to ever see and it took you ages to repair your jacket. You remember how long it took you to repair it. Nights spent cleaning and cutting new leather for the scratches before you finally decided this was gonna be your permanent battle jacket. Something Barb would have loved to see you in. You had used one of Barbs red flannels to fix the slashes as you tried healing your pain. This way your friend could live on with you. You’d give everything to swap places with her and give your amazing friend your life but the more you cried and screamed and begged the more you knew Barb would have been sad to see you like this.

Then you got into tattoos to help with your trauma and eventually it became your passion of sorts. You were on the track to a normalish life but before you knew it Hawkins was under attack again. All your old wounds turn to anger and an urge to protect your friends like you'd give your life every time you walked out the door. While you grew distant from your friend Eddie and the hell fire club because they couldn't understand what you went through Nancy and Steve grew even closer to you. It led you to once again blindly charging into battle armed with your sawed off shotgun and other weapons strapped to you. You crawled through hell and back, you knew they closed the portal to the upside down but just like the feeling that told you Barb was gone the same feeling told you this cycle wasn't gonna end that night.

When you graduated your dad gifted you a truck with a RV attached to it. He told you to get the fuck outta dodge. That he didn't want you charging into trouble no more after he discovered the truth. He knew that you'd die for your friends if they asked but all he wanted was for you to actually live before dying. That next week you were gone in the wind with your motorcycle and things in the back. Having said your goodbyes and making sure they knew you were a call away you ran to find some sense of calm. That's how you ended up in Santa Carla, the most unconventional choice you could have made but something called you here. It had just enough life and charm for you to enjoy but none of the other worldly danger like you had in Hawkins. Maybe more populated cities would be safer, you thought. 

You had spent some time in Santa Carla truly finding your place amoung the weird, blooming into the person you always wanted to be but felt too restricted to  in your small town. Piercings, tattoos, and punk rock T-shirts is all you paraded in down the boardwalk to the tattoo shop your dad's old biker friend owned. The man took you in allowing you to park your home on wheels on his land with all the hookups you'd need for free as long as you worked in his shop. You'd spend most the time running the counter or getting or giving tattoos and not a paranormal on sight. It was bliss. That was until one night a fight broke out outside the shop and like your nature in the past you didn't hesitate to come outside barreling to break it up. You remember slipping on your brass knuckles from your pocket and running outside charging as the others followed. 

Needless to say to have a bunch of punk rocker tattoo artists come barreling out a shop to break up a all out brawl between these bikers and surfer Nazis was a hell of a way to meet your future boyfriends. Pulling a curly haired dude out the onslaught shoving him into the shop before socking an aggressor left quite the impression on the boys. They remember hiding in the back as security came and the whole  store covered for them. When you came to the back they were hooked on sight. You stood before them rocking a killer leather jacket with this cool claw mark design on the back. Your hair messily tied in a bun with snake bite piercings and tattoos covering you sporadically. 

From that day on you didn't know a moment of peace again as these four men tried desperately to pick you up. They always came to the shop to see you. Even Marko begged for you to give him a tattoo and of course he got one where you'd have to be touching him constantly on the chest. The curly blonde flirted the whole time telling you how good you looked or how he'd let you use his body for practice any day. They would sit in the lobby hanging out shooting the shit going through your art books you brought for hours to the point the shop owner gave up trying to shoe them off. They became a permanent staple in your new life and every time they asked for a date you turned them down. It didn't matter you were playing hard to get it's not like when you went home from your shifts they didn't follow behind you or stalk outside your trailer ever night.

They were obsessed with you and wanted you. They wanted to comfort you on the nights you wailed and cried your eyes out, you would always end those nights with calling back home. Eddie didn't know why you left so suddenly or what happened to you so you couldn't lean on him for support. He hated how close you got to Steve Harrington after your attack but Eddie, Nancy, and Steve would always call you no matter what. Sometimes you'd get a call from Johnathan but it wasn't consistent. Tonight though you were having such a hassle with your trauma worried something was gonna happen to your friends as visions plagued your brain that you called out from work entirely. You sat at the secluded beach by your trailer. Sawed off shotgun by your side unloaded with rounds carelessly tossed in the sand you sat by the water in a bikini as you kept just your legs in the cold water.

You had made a fire and sat with a picture of Barb next to you as your scar sat exposed for the world to see. You couldn't go to the beach during the day or when anyone else was around. It's the same reason you kept turning down the boys even though you wanted nothing more to run into their arms. It was your scar. Your trauma. Your demons. You were too afraid something was gonna come back. All it took was some fucker opening that portal again and everyone you loved could be in danger. You knew though, everyone knew, even though you ran away from Hawkins all it took was a call and you'd be speeding down to the nearest airport and sprinting home to protect everyone. It was just the person you were.

You cried talking to Barb telling her you had been doing good and how you wished you could have at least brought her body back. You wanted nothing more than to bring her home one last time like the good old days. This time she wouldn't be cautiously riding on the back of your beat up motorcycle in the middle of the night as you took her home from a party but you'd make sure to bring her back one last time. Healing was hard, it was even tougher alone but you isolated everyone just for their safety. The first the boys noticed when they pulled up that night when you called out was the stereo and fire in the distance. When they got closer there was their new love interest so weak and small crying next to a picture and a shotgun. Anyone seeing this would have been exactly like David who damn near tore down the sand to stop you from what he thought you were gonna do.

Then the boys froze in place and were shocked running from your right shoulder to left lower back was this gnarly almost beastly looking scar. Matching almost one for one the design on your jacket. It looked like something huge had attacked you and with how you'd been known to cry about your friend and screaming in nightmares about killing the thing it's like puzzle pieces clicking into place. Something had attacked you and had killed your friend. Something had damaged you in a way the boys had been known to do to others. David couldn't stop himself before he was calling to you trying to get the gun away from you. When the boys words startled you it was like lighting and practiced motion took over. You loaded the gun quickly before pointing it straight at them, caulking it ready.

“ Hey! Yo freeze, we come in peace. “Marko says, jumping back. You pause before running to hide your scar tears welling in your eyes mumbling you were sorry and you knew it was hideous before Dwayne grabs your jacket. “ Your breathe taking (Y/n) if you want to cover it you can but I think it makes you look so strong and beautiful. “ Paul gently touched your arms trying to take the gun from you as you unarm and unload it. “ It's okay you don't have to be alone. “ Paul rubbed circles on your shoulders as you fell apart against David's body that night. You told them everything. You told them you liked them but was terrified your past would come back to hurt the ones you love. They held you as you told them the unbelievable life you had lived in your home town of Hawkins Indiana. You told them about the beast that took so much from you and the thing threatening your peace every day. You thought they wouldn't believe you and would think your were crazy but all the boys did was mumble praise against your skin promising you'd never be harmed again.

After that you started dating the four bikers. They were chaotic but they loved you dearly. It didn't take you long to figure out their secret though. I mean you can only dodge so many day time date nights with out someone from back home making a vampire joke and well Hawkins taught you anything was possible. At first you tried avoiding them when you figured it out. You didn't want any part in any more crazy but having your boyfriends show up to your job confused and then you ditching work till they are banging on your front door. Let's just say David was not pleased to have the door swing open and his beloved girlfriend pointing a sawed off shotgun to his face.

You shot it in the air to prove you meant business. “ I know your vampires boys. I don't know if this will kill you but sure turned the demogorgon into ground beef. So y'all and your fucked up game is over. “ Lots of flowers, jewelry, chocolates and apologies and explanations later you took your boyfriends back into your heart. I mean at least you could reason with them and you had worse problems to worry about in Hawkins so truly while it was fucked up they were the lesser of two evils. “ Just knock the people out then eat from them. Try leaving them alive and if you're gonna kill people be it bad people please. I don't have the energy to fight you and I ain't got nowhere safe to go. Plus I know you'll chase me wherever I do run so what's the point fighting my love for you fanged idiots” You and the boys were laying in your trailer's bed one day when David popped the question. “ Join us (Y/n) and you'll be stronger than ever. You can protect everyone with the powers vampirism gives you. We won't ever have to worry about time, sickness, or danger taking you from us. We love you too much, to let you go. Please be ours till the sun gives out”

You sit up in the bed throwing a pillow at David. “ Way to ruin the moment dude that's like asking me to marry you goof and what a bad proposal.“ Marko sat up cuddling into your side. “ What you don't love us enough to be ours forever. “ “Maybe we should have gotten rings “ Dwayne smiles. You shake your head at them. “ We haven't been together for a few years yet. Nor have you met my father or friends. So no weird vampiric wedding bells yet.” Paul jumps up to blocking you from leaving the room. “ Hey you said yet! So does that mean you will some day. “ You laugh scooping his face up as you put a slow lazy kiss to the man's face. “ Maybe after you actually meet the other people in my life who I care about and ask my dad to marry me. Though if you really want me to follow you to the ends of the earth you'll have to be prepared for when I probably go running off into the hordes of hell again. “

Dwayne and David look at you as you say that statement. “ Your thinking of putting yourself in danger again. “ You freeze in Paul's arms as you think back to your nightmares. They were like visions of Hawkins under attack again and Barb calling you home. What was worse was seeing Eddie standing dead before you wailing for you to save him. You try to clear your head before David can see but it's to late. Vampires are pulling you into a pile kissing you gently and whispering praise. A tangle of limbs and heart beats; kisses and fangs. It was like you couldn't think when all four boys worshiped every inch of you, chasing away the pain of the past before tears could fall from your ( E/C) eyes. You felt so unbelievably loved and pampered every night by them it made it hard to remember you were sleeping with monsters.

To others they were beasts feasting on carnage while to you they guarded you like loyal guard dogs. Vicious and aggressive to others while kind and caring to you. As you slipped back into consciousness from your blissful sleep the boys cradled you in their arms. “ We will follow you through hellfire.” Dwayne whispered as he kissed your neck. “ We will kill anything that harms you. “ Marko said as he placed a kiss on your thighs. “ We will love you no matter your past or your future. “ Paul said, kissing a trail up your arm. Finally David placed a kiss to your cheek as a tear fell from your eye, joy filling your heart. “ Our hearts, bodies, and souls belong to you (Y/n). If our princess of the dark decides to charge into hell we will make sure she will rule all the damned. “

The next day you and your lovers were on your way to Hawkins in a moment's notice. Your vampires would always treat your worries and intuition as truthful gospel as they knew you'd never lie as long as you breathed. If you were set on chasing what was coming to Hawkins that was plaguing you with nightmares, your four lovers of the night were going to make sure to follow you. After this battle was over they were sure to follow through with making you their queen of the damned and you promised to cherish them for your future eternal lives. Not before you could produce them heirs though of course as what was the point of having vampiric lovers if you couldn't have your own vampiric family someday? Soon Hawkins world would be rocked by the creatures heading straight for it again. This time though you had the damned on your side.

This was written based off a request in my ask box. I hope people can enjoy it even if it is a one shot fic.

[albertasunrise]

Oops Baby - Broken Heart

Masterlist

Summary: Being best friends with Frankie meant movie nights, drinks with the guys and a shoulder to cry on when you got your hear broken. He is head over heels for you but you don’t feel the same… yet a drunken mistake will tie your lives together forever!

Relationships: Frankie Morales x Reader

Warnings: Like AO3 I choose to give none. Read at own risk. 18+ (I apologise in advance for this trip you're about to take 😬)

Series Masterlist - Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

Frankie needs a transplant.

Those words had been circling in your head from the moment the doctor had uttered them. He was in severe heart failure and only a new heart was going to save him. They could control it with medication. But there was only so much time he could live like that before his time was up. So now he was on a waiting list.

A long waiting list.

You were sitting at his bedside as he slept. The machines whirring around him letting everyone know that he was still here. Still breathing. It had been a few days since he'd collapsed. He'd spent 48 hours in an induced coma before they'd finally brought him around again and after another long, gruelling day, he'd opened his eyes and smiled at you.

Mary had been there whenever she could. Fussing over him in every way she could. Marking her territory and making sure you knew that Frankie was hers and that when this was over, it wouldn't be you he’d be with.

The Miller brothers had also been by most days to see him but Benny was the one that struggled to keep himself together whenever he was around his friend.

You were a little shocked that they discharged Frank after two weeks in the hospital. He had, more or less, died two weeks prior. So for him to be discharged with a new mix of meds and instructions not to do anything too strenuous seemed to be a little crazy to you.

You had agreed all those months ago that he would move in with you for a while when the baby was born so now seemed as good a time as any. He was weak in his first few days out but as the days went by, he got a little stronger each and every day. You had to learn how to accept the fact that Mary was now a constant in your life. It was clear that she wasn't happy that Frank was not staying with you and not her. You couldn't even start to understand how she must feel having to share the man she cared for with a woman who was about to have said man's baby. It was a mess.

She never outwardly made you feel like you were a burden to her and Frank but you knew you were. You were getting in their way and you were more and more conscious of that the more time you spent with them. She never stayed the night but she certainly made sure she spent as much time as she could with him. Fussing over him when he was having a hard day and cooking dinner for him almost every night. You hated how she had so consciously inserted herself into your situation without any thought for how it might be affecting you.

And Frankie said nothing.

He just wanted to keep the peace. To weak and tired to argue with Mary but the truth was he was getting fed up with her mollycoddling. He wanted to spend some time with you. He wanted to just enjoy these last few weeks with you until your daughter made her entrance. But as the days merged into weeks, she didn't back off. Then before either of you knew what hit you… You were staring down the barrel of your due date.

3 days to go.

Mary was puttering around in your kitchen as she prepared lunch. Another meal she'd found that was supposed to help keep Frankie healthy. Well as healthy as he could be despite needing a new heart. You were sat on the couch, rubbing your swollen belly as you watched her move from beneath your sundress.

"So I was thinking that we could maybe go out this weekend." She piped up as she started to dish the food up onto two plates "Get out out and about."

"It's Titch's due date this weekend Mary." Frankie groaned "We can't be going anywhere for a while."

"No… Right… Of course." She muttered as she picked up the plates and placed one on the table in front of Frank before placing the other down and sitting "Just thought it would be nice to spend some time together before the baby comes and steals you away from me." She chuckled as she dug into her food.

"All we do is spend time together." He muttered, eyes his plate of food before his eyes drifted to the counter "Didn't you make some for Titch?"

"She's so picky with her food." Mary shrugged "I just assumed that she'd make herself something."

"She's 9 months pregnant Mary!" Frank scolded.

"It's fine Frank." You piped up as you waddled into the kitchen "I have leftover pasta I can eat." You said as you opened the fridge and grabbed the plate of leftover Mac and cheese from the other night.

"Let me sort that for you." He said upon noticing that you were struggling to stay on your feet.

"I'm okay Frank." You assured him as you held onto the counter to aid your walk to the microwave.

"No, you're not…" Fish trailed off as he got up and swooped to your aid "Go sit… I'll sort this for you."

"Your food's getting cold Frankie." Mary piped up and Frank felt his blood boil.

"It'll be fine." He snapped at her before helping you over to a seat at the table.

"You shouldn't be overexerting yourself." Mary stated as she watched Fish practically carry you to the table "Remember what the doctor said-"

"I know what the doctor said and helping the mother of my child sit is not over-exerting myself." He growled, "Now shut up and eat your food."

Both you and Mary were a little taken aback by his sudden change of tone. Her green eyes started to fill with tears as she nodded at him a returned her attention to the food on her plate. Frankie felt a twinge of guilt at snapping at her but he was tired. After sorting your food and eating his own, he helped you up to your bedroom so you could take a nap. The last few days of this pregnancy zapping you of all your energy.

And that left him alone with Mary.

"I'm sorry for snapping." He said as he walked into the kitchen to see her finishing off the dishes "You just need to understand that Titch and I are having a baby and she needs my help right now."

"I get that Frank." She sighed as she gripped the counter and let her head fall forward "But you need to understand how much it hurts to know that I won't get to be the person to experience all this for the first time with you."

"What do you?…"

"I mean that I love you, Francisco!" She groaned as she finally turned to face him "And it's killing me that I won't get to be the woman to give you your first child. That it won't be me you get to experience all those firsts with… It'll be here."

"Mary-"

"And she doesn't even deserve it!" She shrieked "She broke your heart, Frank. Took it and stomped on it and yet she gets to have this with you."

"She made a mistake." Fish sighed "We were drunk and she was feeling shitty and the more I think about it… the more I realise that I took just as much advantage of her as she did of me!"

"Frankie-"

"I need you to back off a bit." He piped up, wincing at the heartbroken expression that then filled her features but it had to be said "We are literally just about to become parents and I need to focus on her for a while."

"What about you?" She asked and his brows furrowed "Who's going to take care of you?"

"I'll be okay." He tried to reassure her but she scoffed.

"You need a new heart, Frank!" She growled "You are so far from okay."

"I know that." He groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose as he squeezed his eyes shut "I appreciate everything you do for me but baby I need to prioritise her and my baby right now. You told me you would be okay with this when we first talked about this!"

"I did!… And I do it's just… I just love you okay."

"I know." Frankie said softly as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close "We will get through this I promise." He whispered against her brow as he pressed a kiss there "But I need you to just give us some space okay?"

She nodded, knocking a few tears free.

"Okay." She said letting out a stuttered breath.

"This isn't us breaking up okay?" He assured her "This is just me focusing on my baby okay."

"Okay."

…

You were slow getting down the stairs. Having to stop halfway to the kitchen to take a breather. When you finally made it, you found Frankie standing at the stove stirring the most mouthwatering-smelling sauce.

"What'cha cooking?" You asked as you waddled to his side.

"Homemade Turkey meatballs with a tomato sauce." He replied as he looked over his shoulder to smile at you "Thought seeing as all you're craving these days is pasta… You wouldn't mind more of it."

"Mmmm, daddy's too good to mummy." You cooed as you lowered your face a little to talk to your bump.

Frank's heart skipped a beat at your statement, his eyes widening a little as he watched you rub your belly.

"Where's Mary?" You asked, snapping him out of whatever reverie he was in.

"She uh… Well, we had a chat earlier and she's agreed to give us some time. She was getting a little-"

"Much?" You interjected and he chuckled.

"Yeah." He replied before returning his attention to the sauce "She meant well."

"I know." You replied as you gave his arm a friendly squeeze before waddling over to the kitchen table "Just wish we'd had a little more time to enjoy these last few weeks together."

"Enjoy them how?" Fish chuckled as he glanced at you.

"I dunno… Start sorting the baby's room. Organising the drawers and choosing a name. That sort of thing."

It suddenly dawned on Frankie that you and he hadn't had a chance to sit and discuss potential names for the little girl who was due any day. He was hit with an immense wave of guilt at the realisation that he had been neglecting you and his baby. Sure he'd been sick but he had been neglecting you long before his heart attack. He needed to do better by you.

"Why don't we do that tonight?" He stated, grabbing your attention.

"Do what?"

"All that stuff you mentioned. We can get the clothes done then sit and read through that book of baby names my mum sent."

"Oh.. the 'Spanish Baby Names' Booked she mailed you literally a month after we told her?" You chuckled and he grinned.

"Yeah… That one!" He grinned at you and you smiled warmly at him.

"Sounds like a plan."

So that's exactly what you did.

You ate the wonderful dinner Frank had prepared for you. Sorted the baby's outfits into the chest of drawers he and Ben had assembled for you just before his incident and then sat down on the couch, giggling at some of the names you came across.

"What about Leticia?" Frank asked and you snorted "What's wrong with that one?"

"It sounds like Lettuce!" You chuckled "We can call her Leticia Salad Morales."

Frank's heart practically stopped at the mention of his daughter taking his last name. That also wasn't something either of you had discussed. He had hoped you'd give his daughter his name but he hasn't wanted to push the subject.

"Okay well… have you seen any you like?"

"Hmmm… Let's see." You said as you flicked back a few pages "What about Mercedes?"

"Pass!"

"Why?"

"Because I went to school with a girl called Mercedes and she is now an escort!" He stated plainly and your jaw dropped.

"Okay… No to Mercedes." You replied before looking back a few more "What about Esmeralda?" You asked and Frankie's eyes widened "Esme for short."

"I uh… I…" He was lost for words.

Something you mistook for embarrassment.

"Nevermind we can-"

"It's perfect!" He interrupted, stopping you in your tracks "I love it."

"You do?" You grinned at him and he nodded, smiling wildly.

"Yeah." He confirmed as he placed his hand on your bump and leaned in close "How about you Emse? You like the name?" He chuckled as he felt the baby shift under his palm "I think she likes it." He said as he looked up at you, freezing in place when your gazes locked.

The air seemed to crackle as the two of you looked at each other with such intensity that the air seemed to be sucked from the room. Neither one of you could be entirely sure who made the first move, but the next thing you knew the two of you were kissing each other breathless as Frank pulled you to straddle his lap. You groaned at how your huge bump seemed to get in the way of your core seeking the relief it needed and upon noticing this, Frankie's deft fingers slipped into your shorts and started to circle your aching clit.

The moan that slipped from your lips was bordering on pornographic. His fingers pushing into your core had you screaming his name as your hips rocked in an attempt to gain more friction.

"Fuck Frankie." You whined as you felt yourself hurtling towards your release.

"Cum for me Hermosa." He purred "Let Papi make mummy feel good."

That statement was all it took to send you hurtling over the edge. You came with a cry, panting against Frankie's lips as you smiled sweetly at him.

"That was… Wow…" You panted and Frank smiled sweetly at you.

"Glad I could help." He chuckled "Do you wanna?…"

He left the question open but you knew what he meant. You nodded before letting him help you to your feet. Smiling as he kissed you deeply before pulling you in the direction of the bedrooms.

"Oh!…" You gasped, stopping in your tracks as you looked down to see the small puddle that had formed at your feet.

"What?" Frankie asked as he looked back at you, his eyes then following yours and widening at what he saw "Did you?… Did your?…"

"I think my waters broke." You gasped, looking up at him with eyes the size of saucers "I think our baby's coming." You grinned at him and he chuckled as he cupped your cheek and pulled you in for a kiss so sweet you could practically taste it.

"Great timing baby girl." He chuckled as he looked down at your bump before returning his gaze to you "You ready?"

"Definitely."

…

Frank wiped your brow as you collapsed on the bed, panting as you readied yourself to push again. Tears stained your cheeks as you looked up and Frankie, your whole body shaking with the effort of pushing your child into the world.

"You're doing so well sweetheart." He said sweetly as he looked down at you and kissed your brow.

"Right one more big push for me." Stated the doctor, pointing at you when it was time and cheering you on as you pushed like your life depended on it "She's here!" The doctor announced and then the room was filled with the wailing cries of your newborn daughter.

"She's here sweetheart." Frankie sobbed "She's here and she's perfect."

"Mmmm." You replied, unable to string a sentence together and unable to keep your eyes open.

"Titch?" Frankie said as he shook your shoulder and then suddenly alarms started to blare "What's happening?" He asked panicked as he was pulled back.

"She's haemorrhaging." Stated the doctor "We need to get her into surgery!"

Frank was dragged from the room as it erupted into chaos.

…

Ben's knee bounced nervously as he sat there with his brother waiting on news of the new member of the group. He couldn't believe that there was going to be a baby. That he was going to be Uncle Benny!

"You think she's here yet?" He asked his brother as he looked nervously at the clock.

"I'm sure we'll hear news soon."

They both sat up straighter when they saw Frankie step into view. Both Millers stood in unison as they studied their friend and noted that he wasn't smiling.

"Is she?…"

"Esmerelda's here." He said, a small smile gracing his lips "She's perfect!"

"What's wrong?" Will asked and Frankie sobbed, throwing his head into his hands as he allowed his emotions to flow freely.

"Is Titch okay?" Ben asked, his blue eyes filling with tears.

"She's in surgery." Frankie managed to force out.

"Is she going to be okay?" Ben all but whispered, his knees going weak when Frankie looked up at him with bloodshot eyes and tearstained cheeks.

"I don't know." Fish replied as he shook his head.

Ben didn't stop the tears then. He had come to consider you his best friend. The sister his parents never graced him with and now he was facing the possibility that he would never see you again. That idea that he might never get to see your smile or hear your laugh again, killed him.

"I don't know." Frankie repeated as his hand went to his chest.

"Frank?… You okay?" Will asked, managing to grab the man in time before he hit the ground.

Then everything went dark.

Next

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