#she just told me she put her kid in girl guides/girl scouts and one of the ppl there was trans

[secretswiftymarvelfan]

The Demigod On Earth - Steve Rogers x Reader (Love and Thunder)

Summary: Thor pays you a visit and your family expands by one.

Word Count: 1.8k

Warnings: Light Angst! Mention of Character Death! Talk of Cancer Thor: Love and Thunder Spoilers!

Dividers by @firefly-graphics

Masterlist / Main Masterlist

Love and Thunder

Summer was probably one of your favourite times of the year, especially now that you had less work over the summer vacation and more time to spend with JJ. Today Steve also had the day off from work so the three of you had decided to spend a day at the pool. 

You were just about to leave when a spaceship of all things landed on your front lawn. 

“Were we expecting any visitors today?” Steve muttered quietly to you. 

“Not that I’m aware of” you muttered back, you didn’t even recognise the ship. 

The door to the ship finally opened and you had your answer “Uncle Thor!” JJ exclaimed running off towards his uncle before you had a chance to stop him. 

“JJ careful!” Steve shouted after him before furrowing his brows “Who’s the girl?”

“Huh?” you hummed before spotting the little girl who looked to be a similar age to Thor walking off the ship behind him. 

“Little man you’ve gotten so big!” Thor boomed as he lifted JJ up. 

“Thor, I didn’t realise you were visiting today. Who’s your little friend?” you asked as you and Steve walked over to him. 

“I did send a raven, did you not get it?” Thor frowned.

“Not a raven no… did you send an email?” Steve answered. 

“No, ravens are more reliable and faster,” Thor said shaking his head “Anyway this is my daughter”

You choked on some air “Daughter?”

“Yes, I adopted her just a couple of weeks ago and thought we’d visit for your birthday” Thor explained nodding over to Steve.

“My birthday was two weeks ago” Steve pointed out.

“Oh my apologies, it’s been an eventful couple of weeks,” Thor said with a visible gulp, his voice breaking slightly. 

You instantly picked up that something was wrong and this visit was more than just introducing you to your niece “Um Steve why don’t you take the kids out to the backyard i think me and Thor have some catching up to do” you said putting a hand on Steve’s shoulder.

“But what about the pool?” JJ pouted. 

“We’ll go later or tomorrow, why don’t you show your cousin all the tricks you’ve taught Scout?” you suggested.

JJ’s face instantly lights up “Ooh yes c’mon!” he said gesturing to the girl to follow him. The two kids hurried to the front door, Steve following closely behind. 

“Remember no lasers Love!” Thor called out as she went, making Steve look back over his shoulder in shock. 

You gave him a reassuring smile and thumbs up “We’ll keep watch from the kitchen” you told him before returning your attention back to Thor “I’m sorry I just realised I didn’t catch her name”

Thor furrows his brows in confusion “I just said it, It’s Love”

“Right my mistake” you muttered “Why don’t we go get a drink and you can tell me more about my new niece” You patted him on the shoulder and guided him inside. 

Thor followed you inside and to the kitchen. You paused by the kitchen window looking out to quickly check on the kids and Steve outside, no laxer burns anywhere yet which was good. 

“Do you want a drink or anything?” you asked turning back around to face Thor. 

He shook his head and took a deep breath “Have you spoken much to Jane recently?” he asked.

You furrowed your brows at his question, unsure of the relevance “Oh um, no not really” you said shaking your head as you moved to sit down at the kitchen island “Not through lack of trying, I reached out a couple of times but assumed she was busy, why’d you ask? I know you guys haven’t been together since before the snap”

“Ah right well um we haven't but we crossed paths back in New Asgard” Thor explained clearing his throat as he shifted from one foot to the other.

“New Asgard? What was she doing there? Research?” 

“She was looking for this” Thor answers holding out his hand, to your surprise instead of Stormbreaker appearing, Mjolnir did instead. 

Your jaw dropped as you looked at the hammer, you could see the cracks from where Hela had destroyed it yet it had been fused back together “I-I don’t understand I thought it had been destroyed” you muttered in disbelief. 

“Me too, but turns out I put an enchantment on it to protect Jane so when she touched it, it healed itself and her” Thor explained.

“Her? What was wrong with Jane?” you asked shaking your head. 

“She had terminal cancer” Thor sighed, swallowing thickly as he looked down.

“Oh gods that’s awful, it’s a good th-” you started before your brain caught up. Thor had used the past tense, he had the hammer with him now and his demeanour didn’t convey happiness that she’d been cured “Wait… you said had” you said voice becoming thicker “What-”

“She passed” Thor answered without you needing to finish your question.

If you hadn’t already been sitting, you would have needed to because you felt yourself deflate at the news “shit… I– I- Thor I’m so sorry” you muttered.

Thor gave you a small nod before letting out a shaky sigh “Yeah- um I’ve changed my mind, you don’t happen to have any ale do you” he asked weakly.

“No, and you know that would be a bad idea anyway,” you told him with a sympathetic sigh, you didn’t have alcohol in the house full stop, with you pregnant and Steve’s hiccup with Asgardian liquor during the snap you only got it in for special occasions and in small quantities “come sit down and tell me everything” 

Thor sat down with a heavy sigh but to your relief told you everything that had happened the past couple of weeks. You tried your hardest to hold back your tears as he told you everything but with the hormones, it was a losing battle. 

“I’m so sorry you went through all that Thor, you did all the right things though and I know as hard as it is to hear it but Jane is in a better place now, she won’t be suffering anymore,” you told him softly, resting your hand on top of his.

Thor nodded “She’s in Valhalla now”

“Exactly, but please reach out more if you need me, I don’t want you to go back to that dark place” you said. 

“I won’t I promise, having Love… it’s something to focus on, a light in the darkness” Thor told you making you smile softly. You knew that Steve had felt the same about JJ when you were gone. 

“She is, and if you ever need us we’re here” you promised him. 

“Thank you sister” Thor smiled. 

The backdoor opened and the two kids ran back in, Steve following close behind with an apologetic look on his face. 

“Mom, is it time to go to the pool yet?” JJ asked as he came to a stop next to you. 

“Yes sorry, we’ll just need to get Love a swimming costume on the way” you told him.

“Yes! C’mon” JJ said getting Love to follow him, Thor went with them leaving you and Steve in the kitchen. 

“You okay?” Steve asked putting his hand on the small of your back as you stood.

You took a shaky breath and nodded your head, “yeah” you said your voice breaking, it wasn’t true and Steve definitely knew that but you just weren’t ready to talk about it.

The rest of the day at the pool Steve periodically checked in on you. You stayed out of the pool on the sunloungers with your book which Steve could tell you hadn’t actually read a single page of. Whenever he looked over to you from the pool you were either looking off into the distance or watching the kids play with a sad look on your face. 

He wanted to know what it was that Thor had told you that made you so upset but he wasn’t going to push you. You clearly needed some processing time and he wasn’t going to ask Thor either.

That evening after saying goodbye to Thor and Love and putting JJ in bed, Steve found you in bed curled up as best as you could on your side. Steve climbed into bed next to you, wrapped his arm around you and pulled you gently into his side. You rested your head against his chest and started sniffling.

“You ready to talk about it?” he asked softly.

You sniffled and wiped away your tears “Jane died” you whispered.

“Oh,” Steve muttered, his shoulder dropping.

He didn’t know Jane as well as you but knowing she was gone was hard to hear. He knew the two of you were pretty close following your fight against the dark elves even if you fell out of contact throughout the years.

“Turns out she had terminal cancer, I just can’t believe I didn’t know, that I couldn’t be there for her,” you said shaking your head. 

“I’m sorry sweetheart, I know you would have done everything you could of, did Thor know?” Steve asked as he rubbed your back soothingly. 

“Not until just before,” you said before recounting everything that Thor had told you.

“Well as hard as it is to hear it seems like she didn’t want people to know and we have to respect that decision even if it hurts” Steve sighed as he held you close. 

“I know I just wish I had reached out more” you sighed as you snuggled further into him. 

“I understand, when people die it makes the people that are less behind regret all the things they didn’t do” Steve sighed “I regretted not telling you that I loved you more, I regretted everything that happened with the accords and that we couldn’t move into this house when I originally planned, I’m just glad I’m getting a second chance”

You smiled softly up at him “I love you too, every day for the rest of our lives” you whispered.

“I love you too” he smiled as he kissed you softly “And when we get an opportunity we can go visit and say goodbye” Steve suggested.

You smiled and nodded your head “It might have to wait until this one comes along but I’d like that” you said running your hands over your bump. 

“Sounds like a plan” Steve smiled. 

The two of you relaxed together, Steve grateful to feel you relaxing in his arms. He replayed the day in his mind unable to quite comprehend everything that had changed in less than 24hr. He had a niece now, something he didn’t think would ever happen. 

“I know we’re supposed to love family…” Steve started “But love is terrifying” he said making you burst out laughing. He smiled and laughed along with you, glad to see you smiling again. 

Sharing is caring so please reblog if you enjoyed this and maybe even leave a comment to make my day!

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Masterlist / Masterlist

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[joyridingmp3]

considering telling my coworker im trans fbksndksk

[aberrant-webnovel]

Chapter 2 - Interview

Chapter 2 - Interview

I tapped my feet a bit while waiting patiently. I was brought to a waiting room at one of the labs after Auntie Harper found me and Silva. I wonder if Silva is going to be upset with me for not hurrying. She didn't want to get caught by Harper.

I just stared around at the room I was in. It's a white room. Bright, enameled paneling lined the ground. Easy to clean and looked nice. The ceiling has similar paneling to the ground, but some of the panels were a bit different. An electrical charge being linked to it caused the panels to glow and produce light. This type of lighting was common in the whole of the HQ.

There's a few chairs in here, but I'm the only one sitting and waiting. There are two doors. One of them links to the hallway I was guided through to enter this room. The other door led to one of the testing areas.

In the corner of the room is a screen. It's a standard liquid crystal display, but it's an older model so the body of it was a bit bulkier. Newer model are slim and sleek, easy to mount, and don't break very often. This one seemed in good condition. The picture quality was clear and the sound coming from the speakers were easy to understand. Not distortion at all.

[Thanks to the efforts of our local Vault Breakers, another important discovery has been made. Following in the footsteps of the great 60th Chief, the 61st Chief, Harper Dirge, has found recording devices from a recent foray into a Class 3 Vault. She and her personal guard had spent two weeks inside and returned with no casualties. The tech brought back seems to be able to be reverse engineered to give us new light on the purpose of the Vaults. "It'll be a few months before the tech will be implemented," says R&D Commander Varun Dirge. "We have also collected various records from the same Vault that we hope to be able to full study." Now we just hope that more enlightening information comes in future updates. Thank you for your time. I've been Lillian Moss from Igneol Broadcasting Channel 4 News. Stay strong, Domain!]

The outro played before product advertisements began to follow. But what was that about Auntie Harper? She just got back from a two week deployment?

"Geez, Auntie really is the best out there, huh?"

"Well she did learn everything she could from nana."

I turned around to see Silva closing the door behind her as she entered the waiting room. I didn't even hear her come in. She's always been like that, though. I wonder if she's trying to join the Scout corps?

Just kidding. Her dream has always been to join R&D.

"She didn't scold you too much, did she?"

"Oh I definitely got an earful. Every time I'm scolded, I'm just thankful she's my Auntie and not my mom. I'd probably be all worked up all the time like she is if I had to put up with that at home."

"Yeah, I can see that. I don't see her very much so her scoldings are rare. Seems like she let you stay, though. She on board with you enlisting?"

"She kind of just relented. Dad came in to save me from the "Fireball" and talked her down a bit. In the end, she said that if I can prove through the testing that I can join, then it's fine. After that, I just came right over here. Testing should be starting soon."

"Nervous?"

"Yeah, I am. I'm not very strong. But I don't want to fight, anyway. I want to join dad in the R&D corp. If I can prove that I'd useful there, then I can enlist."

I'm really proud of Silva. She was just a bit older than me, but was often picked on and excluded for being smaller and weaker than others. She has long, beautiful hair that seemed to make other girls jealous, too. They'd often throw paints at her to ruin the color. One day, she dyed it all blue and yelled at the girls. She told them there wasn't anything to be jealous and mean about anymore. She was laughed off, but all of us in the family saw it as the first time she fought back. That blue hair because her signature style and frequently touched up the color with dye. Ever since she found that courage, she studied and worked hard to learn what it took to join the Vault Breakers. Being her father's daughter, it was natural that she'd pick up whatever her dad taught.

"You're gonna make it, you know? Not a single person in the family thinks you're not capable."

"Yeah? Well I guess I gotta live up to that then, huh?"

"Yup! Live up to our expectations! You owe us!

"Oh, I owe you for believing in me, now?"

I missed our back and forths. Silva was shy, but she lit up when we'd talk and play as kids. Neither of us have siblings, but she was just like my big sister.

The door to the lab area creaked open and a tall, tired man came into the room, closing the door behind him. He had a clipboard with various documents. He flipped through a few pages and then looked up at us.

"Ymir Sorenson and Silva Dirge. Legacy applicants, yeah?"

He looked at us with a cocked eyebrow. I don't have any idea what kind of opinion he had of us. Our families were famous in this place, but it's not like everyone in our bloodlines was some monster of a soldier. Both Silva and I lack any of the intimidation or coolness that Auntie Harper or Gajjet had. I wasn't really anything like my father or grandfather, either.

"Well let's see if you're up to snuff. We're going to move to another room in the labs. I'll walk you through the legal paperwork and what to expect from our testing. Oh, and I'm Dr. Clive Earnest. Nice to meet the two of you."

Dr. Clive nodded his head like a tiny, informal bow as he greeted us. Then he just opened the door to the lab area and gestured for Silva and I to go inside. So we did.

The hallway we entered wasn't as bright and inviting as the waiting room. It was a narrow path over dark steel panels and steel framework for walls. The lighting was a series of old lightbulbs. That type of lighting was only commonly used in poorer homes since they were cheap to produce.

Through the hall was a doorway that lacked any door. It was just a passage through to a large section of the lab. We passed through with Dr. Clive following behind. Stepping into the lab was exhilarating.

The room before me was massive. High ceiling and long walled areas to allow plenty of room for all sorts of machines. As I walked into the room, my eyes were drawn to a work station at the back left side of the room. Different guns were being disassembled, tuned, and reassembled by a few diligent workers. I recognized something on the work station.

A Mk.6 Caliburn. I heard stories about how Gajjet used one of those when she was trailblazing through Vaults. It's a heavy gun, fires heavy rounds, and has an imposing black steel finish. The model over there wasn't my nana's gun. But it was the same kind of thing.

"Hurry the hell up, Ymir! You always stare at things and get left behind."

Silva grabbed my hand and started pulling me along. She was right. I did have a bad habit like that. Hopefully that doesn't hurt my scores in the test.

"Yeah, yeah! Geez! I'm coming!"

We hurried along to a room in another corner of the lab. It seems like there are a few private offices over here. Some were reserved for officers, others reserved for the testing. We went to an unmarked room, but not after passing some of the others. We saw the plaque for Uncle Varun's office, but his curtains were pulled so it wasn't possible to see into the office. Knowing him, he's hiding a catastrophic mess inside there and would be embarrassed to show it.

"Both of you, please take a seat in this office here."

Dr. Clive unlocked a room with a keycard and opened the door. There were two chairs with felt seats in front of a desk. Behind the desk was a nice faux-leather desk chair.

I followed Silva into the room. We each took a seat. I was on the right, she took the left. Dr. Clive sat down in the single desk chair and began to open up drawers in the desk. After a few, I saw two stacks of documents assembled and presented to my cousin and I.

"Start by reading the liability contracts. Once you understand them, I'll collect your signatures. Then we'll fill out the personal information documents."

I started the slog of reading through the contract. A lot of your standard clauses existed. We'd sign as proof that we're consenting to the tests. They possess a risk of physical harm at times, but the safety precautions were actually very detailed. In the event of physical harm, I won't take action against the Vault Break HQ. I would also be awarded compensation for medical expenses and given personal treatment by the Medic corps if I so wished.

I continued to read. As I reached the end, I nodded to myself and resolved to sign the consent form. I looked to Silva. A cold sweat was forming on her brow. The anxiety was clearly getting to her right now. I know Silva wasn't too strong and she was already worried about the testing. Even if she was just here to study tech and join her dad's team, but she still had to go through the formalities.

"Hey, I know you can do this. Even if it's hard, I'm gonna be here too. We're gonna pass together. Okay?"

"… Yeah. If you're going to be here and you believe in me like that, then I can do this too. Yeah…"

We both were resolved now. I trusted her to have my back, too, but I wasn't going to mention it. I didn't want her to feel any extra pressure. I know she was resolved, though.

"Then if you're both ready, please sign here."

I was presented the consent form. I signed it. Ymir Sorenson.

Silva signed hers after watching me. Silva Dirge.

"Thank you. Now, let's go over the personal information. We'll begin with simple stuff. After that, I'll interview you both."

We received the next set of documents and started to fill out the blank area.

[YMIR SORENSON] [AGE: 19] [BLOOD TYPE: B-]

[HEIGHT: 68 INCHES] [WEIGHT: 136 LBS]

[EDUCATION: SECONDARY SCHOOL, GENERAL EDUCATION]

[WORK HISTORY: WAREHOUSE ASSISTANT, DELIVERY DRIVER]

[CHARACTER REFERENCE: ?]

"Excuse me, but how should I fill out this part?"

I pointed at the section for "character references" and asked this question. Dr. Clive looked at it and nodded.

"Ah, well you're both legacies. We have a bit of preferential treatment to the family of our officers. The Dirge family and Sorenson family are long-standing and both have served the Vault Breakers. Just put the names of any family currently serving as Vault Breakers and we'll just be doing a short interview with them a short time later. As long as they don't refuse you to join, we'll take that as enough."

So we were going to get special treatment because of Auntie and Uncle? I guess I can't complain about that, but I don't love it. I wanted to really earn this.

"Well I'll put down Varun and Harper then. Silva, same for you?"

"Yeah, they're the only ones in our family currently serving."

"Then let's do that."

[CHARACTER REFERENCE: HARPER DIRGE, VARUN DIRGE]

I filled out the rest of the info to the best of my ability. It was just simple things like my address and and some contact info for immediate family. I gave them Harper's contact info since my mom couldn't speak. She wouldn't be able to talk on a comm system.

Silva gave Varun's info. He was probably the best for that. He did his research here and was a Commander to boot.

"Very well. Then let's talk about why you're enlisting. I'll be jotting down notes for reference. Let's start with Miss Silva. Please tell me your reasons."

I watched her lips quiver a bit. I don't think she was expecting to go first. If Dr. Clive was testing her nerves, then perhaps the test had already begun.

"My father, Varun Dirge, is an inspiration to me, sir. As far back as I can remember, I was with my father in his workshop at home trying to watch and learn from him. I may not be fit for battle, but I want to follow my father. So my goal is become part of my father's team in the R&D corp."

"That's very admirable. But just so you know, Commander Varun doesn't have a regular team. He only ever takes on two assistants here and instead delegates tasks to other teams in his corp. He also works most closely with Chief Harper. You intend to rise up in the field to the level of assisting our top brass, then?"

"Yes, sir. I've known about that from the beginning. I won't join my father right away. I will join the corpS and prove that I'm an asset to everyone."

"Thank you very much, Miss Silva. Now, Mr. Ymir, please tell me your reasoning for joining."

It was time for me. I didn't feel too many nerves in this test so far. Not even many now. So I looked Dr. Clive in the eyes and told him my reasons.

"I grew up hearing stories about my nana. Gajjet Dirge, the Hellion of Igneol Domain. She's a legend that won't be forgotten. I want to reach her heights."

"So you want to be like the Hellion? She was trained by Yorrick Bartman himself. Not a single Vault Breaker on the continent can hold a candle to those two."

"Yes, sir. I want to follow her path. But I don't want to just follow. I want to surpass Gajjet Dirge."

"…"

A moment of silence took over. I didn't know what Dr. Clive was thinking. Only that whatever it was, he began to grow a serious demeanor. He'd been lax and friendly til now.

"So do you know what the Hellion's greatest feat was?"

"The knowledge she retrieved and used to advance our understanding of the Vaults, right?"

"She escaped a Class 5 Vault."

"What do you mean? Something like that has never been found."

"Yorrick Bartman died in that Vault. He saved Gajjet Dirge and a young woman."

"A young woman…? You mean… mom?"

"That's right. She never told you that she was pulled out of a place like that?"

"Not exactly. She said it was Class 3. Wait, what do you mean a Class 5? Doesn't that mean my mom was surviving somewhere like that?"

"I think you need to somehow get her to tell you. I've read all the files that the last R&D Commander left on the topic. But we don't know what your mother went through. Only she can really fill you in."

"…"

Mom was found in a Class 5 Vault? Isn't that some place that's so terrifyingly dangerous that creatures have never been recorded? Aren't they supposedly strong enough to break out on their own? Why haven't I heard that a place like that exists?

"I can tell you this. It's not a secret in the R&D corps. We just have a policy that we don't talk to the media. We leave all that to the Commander. So don't go talking about this with the people who don't need to know."

"Yeah, I can do that."

Silva was silent for a few seconds, but then responded the same. She hadn't made any comments so far. I wonder what she thought about this stuff.

"So Gajjet Dirge, Yorrick Bartman, and a C-Ranker Scout called Carlyle were tasked with breaking into a Class 3 Vault. An initial entry brought back a report of very little aberration activity, but the ones that were encountered were tough. They were of a type we hadn't yet identified. The crew wasn't supposed to take too long with the job since Gajjet was one of our up-and-coming elites. She hadn't met a Vault she wasn't able to learn about and conquer. From her own report, it took about three days to reach the heart of the place. That's when they discovered your mother. After rescuing her, they seemed to have triggered a defense system. The three of them took six more days to fight through the swarms of unknown enemies. They made it to the blast doors and I think we all know the rest."

"So what was going on in that Vault?"

"We later tried doing some more investigations, but we discovered that something about the Vault changed. Now, even at the safest levels of the Vault, those aberrations were swarming. Multiple parties were dispatched, but there were too many casualties so we pulled out from the investigation. It wasn't until some started escaping that we had to act with urgency. An elite Runner team dispatched the escapees and a Breaker team was sent to seal the Vault. Since that day and even now, we have it under surveillance. We refuse to allow media anywhere near it. Because of the level of power those things have and how tenacious they are with trying to escape, we had to classify it as the first Class 5 Vault in history."

"So Gajjet made it all the way through that place and still escaped? That's where they found mom?"

"Yeah. But your mom couldn't tell us about it. She didn't have the clearest memory. Even after she learned to communicate through writing, she told us only about the same as what Gajjet reported. And only the last couple days or so of the escape."

"I don't know what she'll tell me, but I'll try to talk about it when I see her."

"Maybe you'll learn something nobody else could."

"Yeah…"

Mom. What have you been through?

[rrosiepetals]

Hey hey, I'm gonna do this here, because the text would be too long for the answer box below your post and I really don't wanna spam, so I'll just... yeah, do it here, if that's alright with you ^^

So, basically I got this character in mind, that grew up in the apocalypse and is 20 by the end of the game. She had a name given to her by her parents, but after losing them in the very early days of humanity's downfall, she kinda 'forgot' it. Not really, but she just didn't use it as often anymore, since she actually almost never met any other people after losing her parents.

The only thing she has left, is her little Golden Retriever dog, that she protects with her life (and vice versa). The girl is all he knows and even though he is well trained from the start thanks to her parents, he is very protective of her, resulting in some... not so pleasant situations with strangers.

The name of the dog is still debatable xD I'm thinking about calling him Rosso or Rufus, but haven't decided yet.

Anyway, they try to survive together, living of everything they can find and taking whatever they can to live a somewhat comfortable life together.

As they grow up, with the help of a few people they meet on the way but leave again, the girl and the dog become real survivors, developing certain routines when scouting out the area or when trying to reach food, that seems a bit risky to take.

They develop a strong bond and the girl has been given many names by the people they met now, never saying what her real name was and never telling anyone, what happened to her family. She wants to leave that all behind, even though she tries to keep the memory of her parents.

At one point, the girl and the dog even meet the Ericson Kids, but after a few days of staying there, talking to them and even helping 'em out, she leaves again (making her dog pretty sad, since he got to be good friends with Rosie).

But she decided for herself, that she's not made for groups and that her dog is all she needs.

After a few more years, her dog is 14 years old by then, he becomes really sick though. He couldn't walk that much before that, but now he can barely move a muscle without feeling pain. They travel one last time together, until they reach their hometown, where everything began.

The dog passes away after a few more hours there and the girl, well, young woman, is on her own again. For the first time since the apocalypse started. She buries the dog and gives him a nice little tree for his eternal rest, then she mourns him and leaves the next morning.

After being alone for some time, she finds herself in a big city, where she's looking for food. In a dumpster, she finds a young puppy, who's been abandoned by his mother and littermates. So she takes him with her, training him, guiding him, until he's big enough to defend himself. She gives him the choice to come with him or leave, but as attached as he already is to her, he follows her.

Just like her first dog did all those years ago. And with them, the story continues.

Well, these are my thoughts on her so far, thanks for listening ^^

So sorry, I just got to this as this month has been a very busy one for me!!!

I love this!! There’s a lot to be told with this story, the poor babies. Honestly in the apocalypse things get real fucked up to where you question if you can really put your trust in humanity, however no matter the given situation you can always rely on a furry friend.

I know throughout the series there hasn’t been any good luck with animals but in a case where you can have time to form a connection with them is all the more heartwarming! Ugh it does break my heart, but I’m so glad she has another puppy to take care of here! 😭😭 Thank you for sharing! I would love to hear more in the future! <3

[biggest-stupidhead]

Hello! This is the first time I'm ever requesting something 😂

What do you think of Captain Levi taking the weak cadet reader under his ~very~ protective wing?

Thanks!

Aw thanks for sending this in! 🥺 Personally I think that at first he’d be reluctant to get close but eventually he’d feel  responsible for their safety. 

Here’s a little something sweet for the kids. 

Summary: Levi can’t bear to watch another kid die under his care.

Word Count: 1.8K

Warnings: mentions of past abuse and malnourishment 

__

When the group of teens wandered into the courtyard, Levi knew that they were no different from the previous bunch. Wide eyed, heads in the clouds, loud boisterous laughter. All the innocent traits that they should’ve possessed, being only fifteen years old. So as he leaned against the stables with Hange at his side he began to wonder which of the young soldiers would come out on top. 

There was a sturdy boy with bright blonde hair and a dazzling smile. He seemed strong, and just from looking at him Levi could tell that he was well versed in social cues. If he could prove himself strong enough to make it through the expeditions, he stood a chance at rising in the ranks. A girl with red hair and sharp brown eyes was looking around her new environment with a certain cagey manor that Levi recognized all too well. He figured that at least she was unlike most of her peers, more focused on the here and now, something that was vital outside of the walls. A brunette boy walked in along with the throng of kids, but his shoulders were pulled back and chin cocked upwards. It was clear that he was confident in his skills, more so than most of his peers. He noted the cuts on his knuckles and how his fellow soldiers granted him a wide berth, Levi figured that he must have been strong enough to demand the respect of his comrades. 

It was only Levi’s second year with the scouts, yet he could recognize these traits with ease. Cadets were chewed up in training, spat into action and then digested by titans, well of course not literally since titans don’t digest. He hated that he could recognize those who would not make it apart from those who would. 

And when he saw you, he knew that you would not be one of them. Frail and silent, almost an apparition, barely standing apart from the crowd. Levi was thrown right back into the darkest parts of his memory when he took in your malnourished state, the bones that jutted from your wrists, the way that the clothes looked too big on you. It was all too familiar, hunger had been a pain he had endured for the worse half of his life. 

He couldn’t fathom why of all the regiments, you had come crawling into the corps. Your eyes were glazed over and your face held no emotion. You jumped when the blonde boy clapped you on the back, his hands rubbing your shoulders almost mockingly. If Levi strained his ears, he could just make out the boy’s words. “-I’m still surprised you came here (Y/n)! Thought for sure you’d drop out and work in the fields.” He teased as he steered you towards the red head who was glaring daggers back at the blonde and you. 

“I’ve told you....I’m no quitter.” Your words were strained and clearly you had dealt with this tormenting perviously as well. 

“Ah but you see I’m proud of you! Our own little runt rising in the ranks.” He clapped your back once more, causing you to stumble forward and smack into the red head who whipped around and glared at the blonde. 

“Knock it off Jake, I’ll break your damn ankles if you keep messin with the lass.” Her accent surprised Levi. 

“Oh come on Red, you know I’m right.” Jake pressed as he kept a domineering hand on your shoulder, guiding you forward. Levi couldn’t tell if the banter between the three, or well two of them was friendly or hostile as they marched past the stables. 

“Interesting batch this one...” Hange commented as she angled her head down to speak to Levi in a somewhat hushed tone. 

“Hmph, I suppose.” Levi agreed, eyes still locked on the retreating cadets. 

“Since I’m a squad leader now, I think that I’ll take the blonde, he looks like he possesses a good mind.” Hange brought her knuckle to her lips to nibble the skin as her cheeks flushed with excitement. Levi rolled his eyes, he was still working directly under Erwin as a regular soldier, but he hoped to have his own team as well soon. 

“You do that.” Levi grunted, pushing off of the wall to tail the cadets into the dining hall for dinner. Hange huffed in disappointment but still followed after Levi, easily catching up to him and matching his stride. 

“And what about you? Erwin mentioned giving you some kids to watch, which would you like to have under your care?” Hange asked as she smirked down at Levi. 

“The ones that know how to properly clean their asses.” Levi grunted as he pulled the doors open and marched straight towards the veteran’s table in the back of the room, where Nanaba, Gelgar, Mike, and Ness were already gathered. He grabbed a tray of food before dropping into an open seat next to Mike, Hange falling into the seat to his right. 

“-She’s to thin I can’t believe she can even function-” Gelgar was in the middle of a rant when Nanaba smacked him in the back of the head. 

“That’s no way to speak about her! God knows what she’s been through.” Nanaba’s voice was hushed and carried an edge of scolding on it as she spoke. Levi followed their gaze back to you, sitting between Jake and the red head, their shoulders brushing against yours as the three or you scarfed down the food. Directly across was the brunette, his eyes were dull and constantly roaming across the room, almost as if he was on look out duty. 

“Come on Nan, look at the poor runt! I’m only speaking the truth.” Gelgar argued, your back was to them, jacket strewn across your lap, meaning that your spine could be seen, even from nearly across the room. 

“Who’s going to want that responsibility? It’s like sending a lamb off to slaughter!” Gelgar continued and Mike gave a grunt in agreement. 

“I’ll take her.” Levi’s voice surprised himself, the table fell quiet as they all stared at him in awe. 

“What? Clearly she has some talent if she’s made it this far.” Levi grunted, lifting his tea to his lips in hopes of deterring more questions. 

“How bold of you.” Hange said with a wide smile. 

“Shut up shitty glasses.” He scoffed and stood, eager to find Erwin and request for the mangey runt to be in his mini squad. 

__

Your feet kicked out in front of you, tapping harmlessly against Casper’s shins. You were eating slower than usual, feeling pressured by Jake and Carina on either side of you. Casper was dutifully keeping watch, something that he had done since you were children, the threat of loosing dinner to rabid street dogs or other children. The inner walls were only kind to those of status, you were examples of that. Casper and yourself had met on the streets and been inseparable ever since, picking up Jake and Carina in the cadet corps. Now you had a happy little family. 

“What squad are you assigned to?” Jake prodded your boney ribs, spitting crumbs on you as he spoke. 

“Erwin’s.” You answered, taking a chunk out of your own bread as well. 

“Ahh for real? I’m with squad leader Hange.” Jake’s chest puffed out proudly and Casper rolled his eyes. 

“I’m under Erwin as well.” He said, looking to Carina expectantly. 

“I’m under Mike.” Carina said with her mug pressed to her lips. 

“So we’ll be splitting up...” You said with a dark look on your face. 

“Seems so.” Jake agreed in a light hearted manner. 

“We’ll be okay.” Casper said to the group, but his eyes were locked on your own. 

__

As it turned out, you weren’t exactly under Erwin Smith’s care. Instead you were standing in front of his prickly subordinate, shivering in the cool morning air. 

“You lot will be working alongside me, when I say to do something I mean it. I don’t like repeating myself.” Levi paced up and down the row of cadets, only about five kids in total. 

“You want to live, train hard and trust in your comrades.” He continued, pausing in front of a girl with blonde hair. 

“Study the formations, keep your gear pristine, and care for your horse as if it was your own child.” Levi’s boots crunched on the gravel as he stopped in front of you. You were tense and your eyes were more alert than he remembered. 

“Got it?” He growled and all the cadets nodded eagerly and gave him a flurry of ‘yes sirs’ . 

“Yes sir.” He noticed how your jaw was locked and your shoulders were pulled back. Already he was seeing improvements. 

“Good, let’s get started then.” 

__

In the few months that you had to prepare for the expedition, you made slow progress. Putting on weight and muscle alike, all thanks to Levi. He often requested you to help him with his paper work and re shelving the books in the scout’s library. As a reward he would often gift you extra rations, you were grateful of course. But as the expedition neared it became obvious that he was not going to sign you off. 

“-Captain I have to go, it wouldn’t be fair to my comrades! They need me!” You begged, hands splayed out on his desktop as he leaned back in his chair. 

“Quit whining, I’m trying to spare your pathetic life.” Levi scoffed as he glared up at you. 

“But sir, it’s not fair. It’s like you said, my life isn’t worth more than my comrades’.” You argued, surprised by your own stubbornness as you glowered at your superior. 

“You’re right....but every human life is special in its own right. If you were to perish under my care....I’d never-” 

“It’s part of the job. I signed up knowing the risks, I’m sure you did too. So....let me do what I signed up for.” Your voice mellowed out and you averted your eyes, embarrassed by the outburst. 

“I won’t let you die out there. Sit this one out, work harder, gain some strength and then you can join us on the mission. If there’s one thing in this world that I hate more then filth, it would be a pointless death.” Levi rose to his feet and met your gaze once more. You couldn’t deny that you were weak, he was right, if you were to go out there now, you would surely perish. 

“Fine, just this once.” Levi felt his heart float with relief, even if it was just one mission, it was still more time that he could spend on training you. 

“Thank you, now get the fuck out of here.” He pointed at the door and you saluted him one last time before leaving him alone in his dimly lit office. He promised himself that he would do his best to prepare you, keep you safe, keep you alive. That was all he wanted, he knew that this was a dangerous wish, but he was determined to see it through, no matter what. 

[soniaxdixon]

New Girl

Okay so I actually started writing this one based off of a prompt but got way to invested so ended up turning into a one shot.

Words count: 2470

Summary: Reader has been in love with Daryl from the beginning but never told him so when he comes back to the prison injured and with a new girl by his side, her heart shatters.

Warnings: Swearing, some gore, angst and fluff.

You paced the gates of the prison, impaling the heads of walkers that stalked the living on the inside. Worry swelled in the pits of your stomach as you waited for the familiar sound of his bike, but they didn’t come.

You made your way up to the prison for dinner, grabbing a bowl from Carol and sitting next to Rick.

“He’s not back yet?” Worry obviously etched his face too.

“No. Rick it’s almost been a week. He’s never gone this long.”

“If he’s not back by tomorrow we’ll head out and find him, okay?”

“Okay.”

Seconds later the doors busted open, Glenn ran in. “Where’s Hershel? We need Hershel!” Both you and Rick shot up from your seats and ran over to Glenn.

“I’ll go get him.” Rick ran off in search of the old man

“What’s happening?” You searched Glenn’s face for a sign of anything, he looked into your eyes.

“It’s Daryl.”

“Where is he?”

“Infirmary.”

The pit in your stomach grew as you pushed passed Glenn and ran towards the infirmary. Your stomach dropped when you saw him laying still on the table, blood soaked beneath him, dripping down onto the floor.

“Oh my God.” Your voice was barely audible. Your feet felt cemented to the ground, you couldn’t move.

“Excuse me.” A girl pushed passed you, sitting next to Daryl’s bed and grabbed his hand.

“Who are you?” You found your voice and walked to stand next to Daryl on the opposite side. You ran your hand threw his hair and the girl shot you a look that sent shivers down your spine.

“I’m Bella. Daryl found me a few days back.”

Your eyes were locked where she held his hand and your heart felt like it was being squeezed. You took a step back from his body.

Rick and Glenn suddenly burst into the room with Hershel following behind them

“What happened?” Rick’s voice was barely below yelling, obviously panicking as his best friend laid still on the table.

“He found me in the woods, saved me from a group of walkers. We found a cabin and he took care of me there for a few days.” She looked at you suddenly, “nursed me back to health, kept me warm.” Your brain was frazzled as you tried to piece together what she was saying. “When I felt better we started to make our way back here but we were pinned by another herd. A few pushed Daryl up against a wall and he was impaled on a pipe. I found a car and got us here as quickly as possible. Please tell me you can save him.”

“I can.” Hershel was examining Daryl’s body while she spoke. “But I need space. Rick, Glenn, you stay, y/n, take Bella to get a plate of food, she seems quite shaken.”

You glanced at Daryl one more time before guiding the new girl out of the room and towards the kitchen.

You suddenly spoke “Where’s his bike?”

“What?”

“His bike, where is it?”

“Oh, um, I guess it’s still back at the cabin.”

You went up to your cell and shuffled through your things, pulling out a map and a marker and walking back towards Bella.

“Show me where it is. Can I walk there?”

She looked at you in disbelief. “It’s just a bike.”

“Just show me where.” Your tone was harsh. You didn’t understand why but you grew frustrated with her very quickly, like your fuse was cut short and the slightest thing she did would set you off.

She grabbed the marker from your hand and circled a space in the woods about 5 miles out.

You grabbed the map and marker from her and walked over to Carol. “This is Bella, she needs something to eat.” You stormed up the prison stairs and pulled the curtain over your cell as you packed your bag for your trip the next day.

The next morning, you woke early and got dressed quickly. You scurried down the stairs with your bag on your back. You walked hastily over to the infirmary slowing your pace as you got closer, walking in quietly. His breathing had steadied and you sat next to him for a few minutes.

“Daryl. It’s y/n. I don’t know if you can hear me but I’m gonna talk anyway.” You searched his face for any signs that he was listening but he showed none.  “I was so worried about you, I thought I was going to lose you and I think that made me realise that I care about you a lot more than I thought I did. Daryl please be okay. I need you to wake up. I need you to know how much I lo-”

You heard someone coming towards the infirmary and you stood up suddenly from your seat, wiping the tears you didn’t realise had fallen and placing the most gentle kiss on Daryl’s forehead. As you went to walk away you saw the figure who was walking into the infirmary. Bella squeezed past you without saying a word, sitting in the seat you were in just moments ago and entangling her fingers with Daryl’s. The sight sent you into overdrive as you stormed away, down towards the gates of the prison. Maggie was on watch as you walked down towards her.

“Hey, where are you going?” She stepped in front of you.

“To find Daryl’s bike.”

“Alone?”

“I’ll be fine, that girl Bella circled where they stayed and it's only about 5 miles out.”

“Show me, just so I know where to find you if you’re not back soon.”

You pulled out the map and showed Maggie. She pulled you into a hug, releasing you soon after and opening the gate. Your hand remained fixed on your knife as you began your trek towards the cabin. It took you a couple of hours but you found the place she had circled. You made your way inside, scouting the place for anything you could take home. Daryl’s crossbow laid on the table, you swung it over your shoulder as you thought about the time he had taught you to use it.

——

“Okay now put your foot here to hold the bow down and pull the string back. Put the bolt here and-”

“Daryl, I got it. I know what to do.”

“Yeah alright Hawkeye, show me what ya got.”

You aimed the crossbow at the makeshift target that Daryl had set up, you took a deep breath and readied yourself for the kickback. You squeezed the trigger as the bolt flew threw the air and pierced the centre of the target.  “Oh my God, did you see that!?” You jumped for joy before placing the crossbow on the floor and running to stand next to the target. Pointing at it with the look of awe on your face.

“Yeah yeah, I saw it. It’s cause ya had a good teacher.” He said, walking over to the target and pulling the bolt out. “Do it 1000 more times, then I’ll trust ya with my crossbow.”

You could see the visible smirk on his face. “Next you have to teach me how to ride your bike.”

——

You smiled at the memory, it felt like a lifetime ago. You secured the crossbow on your shoulder as you continued to search the house, scooping everything you needed into your bag before walking out the front door and looking for Daryl’s bike. You found where he had leaned it near the side of the house. You swung your right leg over and pulled it into the upright position. Gripping the right hand brake you kicked up the stand and started the engine. Rolling it forwards a bit until you were steady enough to begin riding, just like Daryl had taught you.

Maggie heard the bike as she ran down to the gate. “She’s back!” She yelled out to the rest of your group. Everyone started walking down to greet you, including Daryl who had managed to wake up and stand. Bella gripped tightly to his arm. The sight of you on his bike sent his mind whirling. You were so beautiful. You rode through the gate and up a bit to where your group was standing. You turned the bike off and pushed the kick stand down, climbing off it as you locked eyes with Daryl.

“Thank god you’re okay.” You threw your arms around Daryl’s neck pulling him into a hug, he pulled his arm away from Bella and wrapped them both around you, gently but enough that you could feel him holding you. You pulled away suddenly and began searching his body. “What are you doing up, you should still be resting? Come on, get back to bed.”

“y/n I’m fine. When I woke up Rick came and told me that ya went to look for my bike.”

“I had to hold him down when he found out you had gone alone.” Rick said smiling at the two of you.

Daryl chuckled at the thought. “Bella calmed me down but when I heard Maggie yell out I had to come and see ya.”

He obviously hadn’t heard when you spoke to him this morning, but that could have been a good thing. “I was so worried about you, D.”

“Yeah well then you went and made me worry about ya.”

“I brought your bike back didn’t I, both me and the bike still in one piece clearly.” You motioned towards yourself and the bike.

“Thanks.”

“I know how much the bike means to you…Oh and I found this.” You pulled the crossbow off your shoulder and handed it to him but Bella reached out and pulled it over her shoulder.

“I’ll hold onto this until you’re better, you gotta teach me how to shoot it remember.”

Your stomach twisted in knots as your walls came crashing back down.

“You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me.” You spoke barely above a whisper and rolled your eyes. You pushed passed Bella making sure to bump her slightly on your way up to the prison. Rick chased after you, noticing your sudden mood change.

“y/n, y/n wait!”

You finally stopped when you got inside the main cell block. “What, Rick?”

“Are you okay? What was that?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” You turned to face him.

“Your little outburst back there.”

“That was hardly an outburst, Rick.”

“Yeah well you seem pretty hostile towards Bella.”

“We don’t know a thing about her and now she’s sleeping under the same roof as us, already making plans for Daryl to teach her how to use the crossbow. Are you kidding me?”

“Daryl says he trusts her.”

“Yeah well I’m sure he does. I wonder how many times he’s fucked her already.”

“Y/n where the hell is this coming from!?”

“I’ve been in love with him for as long as I can remember Rick, and not once has he looked at me the way he looks at her and that hurts so much because I’m the one who constantly puts my life on the line for him. I’m the one who takes care of him when he’s hurt. I’m the one who knows how to stop his nightmares. I’m the one who loves him. Not her.” Tears were steadily flowing down your face as you finally broke eye contact with Rick.

“Tell him.”

“What?”

“Tell. Him. Because you know what. He doesn’t look at you that way, no, he has a look that is set aside specifically for you. It looks like he is seeing stars when he looks at you, like you are his entire world. That bracelet on your wrist, he almost got ripped apart for that bracelet but because it says your name, he refused to leave without it. The fact that he taught how to ride his bike, how many people does he let even touch the damn thing? His crossbow. Do you really think he’s gonna teach her how to use it. The second you stormed off he ripped it off her shoulder and walked away. You might think he likes her and who knows, maybe he does, but he loves you.”

You stood there frozen as Rick poured everything out into the open. “Are you sure?”

“I’ve never been more sure about anything in my life.”

With his confession playing over and over again in your head you raced outside the prison, into the yard where you last saw Daryl but he wasn’t there. You ran into the infirmary, he wasn’t there either. Your heart began to race as you looked everywhere for him, running in and out of the cell’s searching for any sign of him until you found him, sitting on your bed.

“Hey.” His voice was quiet.

“Daryl I-”

“Stop.” He stood up off the bed and walked over to you, he pushed away the hair that had fallen in front of your face in your frantic search to find him. “Ya know I’m not good with words, especially the way Rick is, but everything he said, is true.”

You struggled to grasp at the words that were fleeting from your mind.

“How much did you hear?”

“Everything.”

“Does that mean that you heard…”

“I heard everything. I followed you and Rick back up to the prison. I heard what you said. I went to find Bella to tell her that there was nothing between her and I and when I got back to the main cellblock, you had disappeared.”

“Daryl. I tried to tell you this morning, when you were still asleep.”

“I heard that too. I felt you kiss my forehead but I couldn’t move.”

“I was trying to tell you that…” You looked up into his eyes and placed your hand carefully on his chest, above his heart. Taking a deep breath in, you spoke. “Daryl Dixon, I love you.”

He leaned down and closed the space between the two of you, his lips pressed against yours as you melted together. Your hands wrapped around his neck pulling him in closer to you as his hands found your waist.

You finally pulled away slowly, your eyes opening and looking up into his. He looked down bashfully before speaking. “I love you too. Always have and I always will.”

You spent the rest of the day wrapped in each others arms, laying on the bed and talking about everything and anything. Rick came up into your cell to let you know that dinner was ready and at the sight of you entangled with Daryl he let out a hearty laugh.

“I was right, I was so right. You do love each other.”

You just smiled and nodded at him.

[empressofevil]

When we talk about who should and shouldn't put themselves in authority roles over children, we often boil it down to "if you don't like kids, you shouldn't work with/have them." That's true, but I'm also going to say if you don't like adults, you shouldn't work with/have kids.* Why? I mean, basically because 1) children (should) have other significant adults in their lives 2) children become adults and it's your job to help them get there.

You would not believe the number of teachers, daycare workers, etc. I've heard say things like "unlike adults, children are just innocent." Um, no, sweetie, babies learn to lie before they can talk. That's not a bad thing either, it's a vital survival skill, but how are they going to contend with their need for development and your need to cast moral judgement on the process? And how are you going to provide them adequate care and guidance if you refuse to see them as they truly are?

When I started volunteering with Girl Guides (Canadian Scouts), a lot of people in my personal life said "but you don't really like kids." To which I always said "no, I feel exactly the same way about kids as adults: when they're considerate, listening, and doing their best to improve, I adore them. When they're not, I point it out until they do better." Do you think the appropriate way to guide a group of children is to let them run roughshod over you, no boundaries in sight because you cannot treat kids like adults? Do you think the right way is to force and control them, because you cannot deal with kids having autonomy like adults? Because I might not treat kids with the extra special syrup so-called nurturers do, but kids LOVE me.

One girl in my group was a ball of ADHD energy. Always talking, running from place to place, forgetting things, drinking from her water bottle with such manic passion she'd leave a big ring around her mouth. I literally cannot describe how much I love this kid. We were outside selling cookies one day and I noticed she didn't have gloves on, so I gave her my spare pair and told her to say goodbye to me (as opposed to another leader) before her mom arrives so that I can get the gloves back. I remember her response hurt my heart, she said, "You shouldn't lend me anything, everyone says I'm forgetful." I'm there like who? Who says these things about you?? "My parents, my teachers..." Girls still don't get diagnosed with ADHD and ASD as frequently, you get all of the stigma and blame without any of the coping mechanisms. I didn't get diagnosed until I was 23. So I walked her through my coping strategies: make a list of everything you need and go through it once the night before and the day of; do a full body scan and pat down on yourself before you leave anywhere; add 15 minutes before everything on your schedule as empty time; develop routines so thorough that even when you forget, your body doesn't. "And come say goodbye to me before you go. We'll go through a list together."

I lent her things almost every time I saw her. "Can you hold onto this?" "You look cold, take my scarf." "I need you to read to the group, do you have your book? No? Take mine."

I still remember the look on the other leaders' faces when she brought out her own book and started reading. The thing is, she really, really didn't want to accidentally steal my stuff. She didn't want to disappoint someone who kept trusting her, over and over again, even if I had to remind her after every meeting to return the item. The moment she realised it was possible, she wanted to do better. It stopped being about her being intrinsically lazy, forgetful, selfish, stupid, or whatever other bullshit people lay on her and started being about skills she needed to learn.

She is probably not as good of an example of the thing I fear most in people who love children and hate adults. I probably should have used the picky eater, the crybaby, the wallflower, the pigtailed prankster; people who's behaviour was labelled cute as a child and absolutely is not going to be as an adult. I should have used them because it's a better example of loving children, hating adults; seeing a child with problems navigating significant parts of the world (food, social situations, emotions) and doing nothing to encourage them to grow, because right now, you find their flaws cute and diminutive - because you have no care or consideration for how that'll effect them as adults. I'm not really sure when talking to kids like actual people - asking them about their feelings and challenging them on their thoughts - became so taboo. But I mentioned ADHD girl because at least those other things get called cute. At least those kids get some form of adult attention. Everyone fucking gives up on the problems that "aren't cute," because the people who go into childcare 9-to-1 are there because "kids are cute and I loooove kids." I've seen so many shy kids become more shy or emphasize their own shyness because it gained them extra attention from adults (and later extra bullying from peers, imagine how well that went for their social development). Children are future adults; love them as much for who they are as for who they will be. Please.

* assuming you have a choice

[sunnyie-eve]

4 || Big River

Series: Treasure Hunt | Without a Paddle

Word count: 1.3k

( Toxic Relationship )

PREVIOUS

Soon we get to the small town and get out of the car. "Where are we?" Dan asks.

"Corner of bumfuck and you got a purty mouth." Jerry says before saying he wants to make a call, so Dan says to use his phone so he does. Tom and Dan go to check out the canoe situation.

"Can I use that after you?" I ask Jerry as he was talking to Denise.

"Of course, Park." He smiles then goes back to talking to her. I listen to their conversation but mostly his side since she doesn't talk loud.

"Thank you." I take the phone and call Rick.

"Who is this?" He answers.

"Hey, baby, it's me." I force a smile as the guys watch me.

"Where the fuck are you? I get home just to see a letter saying you went to a funeral?!" He shouts at me.

"You left for work and I didn't want to bother you. I know how you are at work, honey." I try to explain to him.

"I'm sorry, you're right. Are you on your way home?" He asks calming down some.

"No, not yet actually. Me and some friends are actually going on a small trip for a few days then I'll be back. I promise." I tell him.

"Who's your friends? Is it the guys you are seeing behind my back?!" He yells and I guess the guys heard that.

"No, the funeral I went to was one of the guys, it was Billy." I explain while he just keeps yelling.

"Hang up on him." Tom walks up to me and try to tell him to shut up.

"That was a guy! Who are you with!" He yells at me.

"I told you friends!" I shout at him.

"Parker, end the call." Tom snatches the phone from me. "Listen Dick Rick, you keep treating our girl bad, I'll make you wish you never laid a hand on her or raised your voice at her." Tom ends the call.

"Are you fucking kidding me! Tom, do you know what you just did! He's going to kill me when I get home!" I hit him.

"Tom, you shouldn't have done that. You heard how he is." Jerry agrees with me.

"After this trip when we find the money, Parker will have enough for a good lawyer to leave him and press charges against him." Tom sighs as police sirens go off.

"Hiya, boys and lady. Nice day. Just, uh, passing through?" The sheriff asks us.

"No. We're actually from UPS. Looks like someone ordered a set of teeth." Tom tells him.

"Pardon me?" He asks.

"Taser guns. Dropping them off. Anyways..." Tom stops.

"So help me out here, boys. Where was it you said you was headed?" He asks us and Dan almost says everything so we shut him up. Jerry just tells him we're taking a day trip up Spirit River and he was telling us it's pretty thick up there.

"I was a Boy Scout. Tom, you were a Boy Scout, weren't you?" Jerry asks.

"No. But I ate a brownie once. It was was from Parker's Girl Scouts troop." Tom puts an arm around me.

"You don't wanna play in the big river, boys. Especially with your lady friend." He tells us and Dan steps up but then Tom does.

"I got this. You listen to me. I know a thing or two about rapid-riding. Because I was a white-water guide in Northern California, No Cal. Here's the thing. I know how to read a river better than you can read a book." Tom tells him making me grab his arm.

"Tommy." I growl at him as we get in the car. "You are ridiculous. I know how stupid you are but really?" I hit him as we drive off.

"She's right. The sheriff, Tom?" Jerry agrees.

"Thanks for saying what you said to Rick even though it was stupid of you." I whisper to Tom.

"I meant it when I said treating my girl bad." He whispers back.

"Tom, you said our girl, not my girl." I laugh.

"Right... I think he would've thought you were cheating on him with me so I didn't say that." He explains.

"No, now he thinks I'm cheating him with three guys. Much better." I pat his leg.

"Sorry." He shakes his head. "

Hey, Jerry. I'm sorry Denise didn't take you serious with the whole treasure hunt thing." I tell him. "

You heard the part about her and the Lost City of Atlantis?" He looks back at me.

"Yeah." He just gives me a sad smile.

So we meet with the guy giving us the canoe. "Do you think we have enough booze Tom?" Dan asks as he loads up the canoe. "Maybe you wanna hire a bartender to come on the trip with us." Dan adds.

"I'll do that. I was a bartender too before teaching." I put an arm around them each.

"What's a camping trip without beer?" Tom makes a point.

"Well it's still a camping trip actually just with less vomiting." Dan tells us.

The guy giving us the canoe asked Tom about was class he is for being a river guide and I realize Tom had no clue what he was talking back. "Lie to me. I don't care. I'm not the one who's going to drown." He tells Tom.

Jerry makes a speech then brakes a beer bottle making the guy mad. "Thanks for breaking glass where my kids play." Jerry just ohs as we all get in the canoe.

"There's a transmitter in the canoe. That way, if you guys disappear, at least we'll get out boat back." He tells us as we row away.

"That's great to hear." I sigh.

"Tom what kind of fish is that?" They ask him.

"Brown trout." He looks at them.

"Hey look a deer. Right out in the open." Dan points out and it growls making me laugh while it freaks Dan out.

As we canoe I head Dan slapping himself so I look back to see Tom messing with him. He smiles at me while I shake my head. "Damn Dan, calm down with the bug spray." I cough.

"You two are in front of him! I'm behind him." Tom coughs.

Soon we all share a beer then afterwards the guys had to pee. "I really don't wanna see. Ans don't you guys play because I don't wanna get piss on me!" I shout turning the opposite direction from them.

"Tom! You guys are spraying me!" Dan complains.

"Give me a break I'm writing your name." Tom tells him.

"Can you three pee any faster?" I complain. "We're done." They all sit back down.

"Hey, don't, don't, don't." Dan tells Tom after he splashed him.

"What, you gonna melt?" Tom asks.

"No, but this water is teeming with microbes." Dan says so Tom starts more then Jerry starts then I join.

"So this is Spirt River. We take that to Widowmaker Bend. And then we hike the Devil's Staircase, and that should lead us to the top of Hellfire Ridge." Jerry reads the map.

"What's with all these Satanic names? Isn't there, like, a Fluffy Bunny Way?" Dan asks.

"No, but there's a Shut-up-you-big-baby Ridge." Tom tells him.

"Tom." I look back at him to shut him up.

"Just keep your eyes open for our first day's maker. It's a rock formation called Grandpa's Nose." Jerry tells us and Dan points it out so we get out there.

"Prepared to port. I'm gonna drink some beer!" Tom says as we get out.

"Haven't you been doing that?" I ask him.

"Hush babe." He puts his finger up.

NEXT

[capitainelevi]

93 prompt! 👀

Thank you for your ask!! ❤️❤️

Drabble challenge: Followers send a number to your ask and you write a drabble using that sentence/prompt in your piece. "You didn’t just wake me up at 2am because you were ‘in the mood’."

Hex

Ghost Petra. Canon universe.

Word count: 1542

Being a ghost had its perks.

At least Petra tried to focus on the bright side of her life. Well, life was not a proper term to describe her current state of being. Not that she could explain it.

It had been two months since her untimely demise. In the face of uncertainty, when she could feel death breathing down her neck, she saw her life flash before her eyes. The first memory of her parents, the restless nights she spent dreaming of the fields beyond the Wall, the first time she flew through the forest, the first time she felt the wings on her back, and the first time she saw him. Petra wished she could have had another day, another hug to give her father, another chance to relieve the burden resting heavily on her heart. But who was she to question fate? When darkness set in, Petra was resigned with the ending of her story.

But fate had another idea for her. Whatever deity there was out there decided to have mercy on her. Or to torment her further, as it condemned her to an everlasting journey of witnessing time pass around her.

If she were able of such human reactions, Petra would have emptied her stomach at the image of her body abandoned in the middle of a field, as it fell victim to decay. With her mind paralyzed from shock, her feet took her back inside the safety of the Walls, where Petra was put face to face with her cruel reality: she was impalpable. She yelled and yelled at the people passing by, and yet no one glanced at her.

With tears pooling in her eyes, Petra ran for the castle she and the boys had tried to make into a home for Eren. She needed to see him again, even if it were the last thing she ever did on Earth. Mindless, she barged into the kitchen, anxious to spot her captain with a cup of tea in hand.

She could still recall the utter terror on Levi`s face at the sight of his dead subordinate in his face as he threw his teacup towards her. Minutes passed in silence, both too paralyzed with shock to utter a word. Petra couldn`t stop the tears of happiness flowing freely on her cheeks from knowing that even if life condemned her to a lonesome survival, she would always have Levi by her side. Ever since laying her eyes on him, Petra knew: she would dedicate her life to that man. It was the reason why she believed she never got to move on like the rest of their comrades did. Levi still needed her.

The first days had been hard for both of them. Having to adjust to a life without the rest of the squad by their side, failing to get justice for them, and having to accept the idea that she was not there anymore. That she would never talk to her father or her friends again, or feel the wind on her hair or have another piece of cake, that she would never get to feel Levi`s lips on hers. But her captain was understanding, never making her feel odd for the situation they found themselves in.

When the 104th recruits made their way into their lives, Petra was grateful for giving her purpose. To watch over them and try to guide them as best as she could. To help Levi keep them safe. Petra was glad he was lucky enough to have them by his side to alleviate some of the pain his squad left behind in his heart. They never talked about it, but Petra knew they had been his family.

Unfortunately for the young squad, Petra`s methods of discipline weren`t always... orthodox. Her former comrades were already used to her odd sense of humor, as Petra pulled prank after prank, much to their misfortune. And getting to act on her ideas while also being invisible was proving to be her daily source of entertainment. She was starting to feel guilty for her behavior towards Sasha, but Levi had agreed that the girl could use some discipline.

Petra was lost in plotting her schemes when Levi sat down at the table next to her, with two cups of tea in his hands. She smiled as he placed one in front of her, just as he used to when she spent her nights helping him complete his paperwork on time. Despite the odd situation they found themselves in, they had never been closer, and she was grateful for Levi as he tried to maintain a sense of normality around her.

They had just settled in the small cabin with their new squad, and Petra was determined to bring them up to Levi`s standards. And him going away to Trost for the night was proving to be the perfect opportunity to achieve that goal.

"Take care of the brats while I`m gone."

Petra just nodded as she tried to keep the smirk off her face. While Levi let her do as she pleased, Petra intentionally missed going into details of her methods. Such as making the squad believe they were being haunted by an evil spirit. In her defense, she had just tried to get them to clean and to stop Sasha from stealing food when everyone was asleep.

Petra nodded, and when Levi was getting ready to get out the door, she went up to him - "Tell Commander Erwin I said hello, captain." Levi never replied, but she didn`t miss the small smile growing on his lips.

As she had suspected, the moment Levi stepped out of the house, Sasha made her way to the pantry. Petra groaned, wondering how many chairs she had to kick down before the girl learned her lesson. Sasha ran out of the room yelling for help, but still with a potato in both of her hands. Petra was determined to make the perfect Scout out of the girl.

When nightfall came, the young Scouts gathered in the common room with candles, playing into Sasha`s wild ideas to put her mind at ease. While there had been some odd occurrences since they joined Levi`s squad, they were still skeptical in agreeing with Sasha`s story.

"It`s an evil forest spirit, I`m telling you."

Jean rolled his eyes, but when Eren threw him a dirty glance, he got down on the floor with the rest of them. They gathered around a strange board Sasha had bought from the market a week before their arrival, hoping to communicate with the spirit possessing her.

"Oh, mighty forest spirit, what is it you want from us?"

Petra debated if she should play along or leave the poor kids be, but her boredom got the better of her. As the kids put their hands on the wooden piece, Petra placed hers on top of them as she began moving the object over the letters. She tried to keep her hand from shaking with her laughter, as she had an important message to convey.

"Listen to your captain."- Mikasa read, still unimpressed by the events folding in front of her eyes. Petra was feeling the tiniest bit of guilt as she glanced at the results of her work.

"What powers does the captain have?" Connie whispered, vowing never to question any order Levi would give him.

"I told you, captain Levi is something else."- Eren added, both terrified and pleased, as he was not the only one scared of the short man anymore.

Sasha threw the board away, and they decided never to speak of it again. But Petra was unhappy with her work, as she saw the disappointment on Levi`s face the next day when he found the cabin in a deplorable state. Really, who doesn`t think to wipe the surface under the table?

"Have you been on your best behavior?"- Levi asked her in the privacy of his room.

"Oh, yes, of course."- Petra hurried to reply, with a smirk on her face. But Levi trusted her enough not to ask more questions. Looking back, he wished he would have had, as he heard Petra whisper his name in the middle of the night.

"Captain Levi? Are you awake?"

Levi groaned, hoping his subordinate would get the message and leave him be. He knew nights were boring for her, and as much as he enjoyed keeping her entertained, he needed rest.

"Captain?"

"What do you think, Petra?"

He could feel Petra laying on the bed next to him, and he chose to let her talk until she got tired of asking questions.

"But, captain, it`s so hot in here. I might need to take these clothes off."- Petra whispered as she played with the buttons of her shirt.

Levi was unimpressed with her attempts to get his attention, and she whispered in his ear- "What if I`m in the mood, captain?"

"You didn’t just wake me up at 2 am because you were ‘in the mood’."

Petra couldn`t help but giggle at his gruffness, which she always found adorable. She got close to his ear again- "Sasha is stealing food from the kitchen again, are you going to deal with it?"

[hiswhiteknight]

Unbelievably Outlandish– Part 8

Summary:  Before starting down a new crossroads, the Reader goes onto an adventure of literary traveling. Suddenly tossed into an unbelievable story that has swept the world, The Outlander Series itself. How will a twenty first century woman survive?

Note: I own no characters, except reader, clearly this is based off the lovely book series Outlander by Diana Gabaldon and tv show. This follows more the tv show, but it’s far from accurate. I’m going to try to get better with using less proper English, but who knows maybe I’ll get into Scottish slang.

Pairing: Jamie Fraser x Female Reader

Words: 2345

Warning: Angst, playfulness, cursing, slow start, obviously fighting and such

What Murtagh said and how he stared at you was quite unsettling, what could you possibly mean by a ‘woman’ taking care of Jamie? You were quite sure Laohaire was a woman and could take nice care of Jamie. That thought didn’t settle well either, but you couldn’t understand why. It felt like it was something you had buried deep in your soul, so deep you could only focus on getting back home to your family – Davy. When you were preparing for the gathering, you tried to think about what your brother was doing and whether he felt alone or abandoned. The guilt of your lack of fight or focus on getting home crept into your body and weighed you down.

Angus entered the surgery, “Lass, the festivities are about to be going, let’s make our way up.”

You nodded at him and started to walk up, “Do I look like I’ll fit in up there?”

“You’ll fit in plenty enough, enough for a colony lass,” he muttered to you. “Just stay out of trouble, I’ve got my mind on-.”

You rolled your eyes, putting your hand to stop in from continuing, “Angus, I get you want to find a lady and I promise to not get in the way. I still got a ton of work to do before tomorrow’s hunt. I do not plan to stay long, which is what I told Mrs. Fitz. The laird gave me a job, I intend to do well.”

“Just do as your told,” he pushed you forward. You fought every bone and muscle in your body not to thrash him about. No matter the effort, you could not win the trust of some of the people here Angus and Dougal included. You could only kill someone with kindness so much before you take someone’s throat out with your fists.

Mrs. Fitz passed by you, “You look lovely in that dress, my dear. I told you, now some man will come and sweep you up, though I’ll hate to see the day someone takes you from us.”

You could see Murtagh rolling his eyes, as you looked down at the people prepping from the oath ceremony. You bit the inside of your cheek, “Mrs. Fitz, I told you. I do not intend to marry, I have a family waiting for me back by Inverness. I’m just buying my time.”

“That reminds me, Gale Allister left your payment in the kitchen by the flour. Thought it was best she avoids the surgery with all your business getting ready for hunt,” she shared with you.

“Thank you Mrs. Fitz, I’m not sure what I’d do without you,” you half hugged her. You tried to ignore the suspicious look from Murtagh. You had been finding little chores and such to help the community here, as well earn money that will help foster your escape home. “Murtagh, where is Mister McTavish? I’d assume he’d be here for the oath taking.”

Murtagh glanced down at you, trying to avoid making too much eye contact with you, “Leave the man be right now. He’s best to be not seen during the swearing ceremony. I feel you’ve tortured the man enough for a life time.”

“What are you on about, I do not torture anyone?” Collum entered the room starting the ceremony with Dougal. It was actually quite beautiful, full of tradition, and honor.

“You’re torturing me right now, lass,” Murtagh grumbled under his breath.

Mrs. Fitz pinched Murtagh’s arm to shush him, “If they are all the same, I’m off to get more work done. Keep me posted Mrs. Fitz,” you kiss her cheek and skip away to your work space. Angus caught sight of you and followed, “Angus, I pinky swear I will not wonder away and get you in trouble with Dougal.”

He gripped her arm, “No, no, no – you have to stay up here until I find a lady-.”

“Too much Angus, too much,” you stopped him quickly. “Here,��� you pass Angus a necklace given to you by your mother, “This is my necklace given to me by mom before she died.” Angus looked immediately concerned you were going to get emotional, “As long as you hold that necklace, I’m not going anywhere. Go enjoy the gathering.”

He looked at the necklace in his hand to you, “You sneak off girl, I’ll gut you. Stay in the surgery, no wandering off like you like to.”

You put your two fingers up like you were a scout. Angus gave you a strange look before motioning you down to the surgery, “Angus,” you called to him, he looked back at you quickly, “You lose that, I promise no laird will stop me from taking your balls.”

He waved you off, laughing to himself, “A lady with a mouth like yours.”

You were only partially concerned Angus would lose your necklace. You had made your way to the surgery, but stopped on the last stair. You had already prepared for the hunt with your materials and such. You didn’t want to stay at the ceremony because it made you think of your past with the Marines and your brother with your traditions. Davy would be so impressed by seeing some of his heritage. He would probably love this whole experience. Think of the hunt the next day, you grew sick and worried. You were never a hunter; you had a soft spots for most animals. You had trouble killing spiders, though your history with war was quite the contradiction. Your brother constantly made fun of you for it. The thought of animals made you think of your horse. Your promised Angus you would stay put, but it’s not like you planned to escape. You just wanted to drop off your medical supplies and check on your horse. The stable hand made it seem like your horse wasn’t part of the elite, which made you like her more.

On the way to the stables, you used your military expertise to get past the men. You didn’t need Angus to find out you lied to him. A few drunken clansmen tried to take advantage of you being an alone woman. This immediately made you pissed for the lady folk in the area, the amount of women who had to be assaulted made you sick. One guy had gotten a swipe at you and your lip was bleeding. You made it to the stables, nursing your lip. You were going to take your time getting back to the surgery, this was probably the safest place for you outside your surgery space. Lost in your thoughts of consequences, you tripped over a mass. You rolled onto your back with a knife in hand, pressing it to the neck of a person and they were doing the same to you, “Deoiridh.” Jamie immediately released you, sitting up to give you space, “What are you doing out here?”

“I could ask the same to you, sir,” you shot back at him. Your temper was rising with the amount of times you had to keep your guide up during this time period. Jamie stared at you a little longer than you liked, he was hoping for a better answer, “I was checking on my horse for the hunt. I have a soft spot for her and I wanted to drop off my stuff now, so I wouldn’t have to have hungover Angus complaining in the morning.”

Jamie chuckled to himself, “Thoughtful lass.” He paused for a second, “Y/N, you alright?” He put his hand up, leaning in closer to get a look at your bleeding lip, “Did that just happen,” he asked with guilt seeping off his voice.

He took out some cloth and tried to dab at your lip, “I had an issue coming over here with some clansmen,” you mumbled, trying to find the right words. You didn’t need Jamie telling Collum of your violent assault to some of their men. You didn’t kill them, but they will probably be concussed and be missing the hunt the next day.

He shot up, “Did they,” he pulled you up to closer inspect you.

You pushed him back gently, “No, no.” You hesitated and tried to figure out the best way to share it with him, “I knocked them out before anything could happen.”

Jamie’s laugh filled the room, finally dulling down to lean against the horses pen, “You’re a deadly woman Deoiridh. I’ve seen you teaching some stuff to the kids, but I didn’t think you could take out Mackenzie men without more than a busted lip. You sure your alright,” he tried to cup you neck again to look closer at your lip.

His hands were rough, but it a way you’ve never felt. It was like your body was on fire, but wanting to crave more it. Electricity surges your body, “I’m fine,” you whispered, “I’ve had plenty worse.”

“These men are lucky you got to them first,” he said trying to relax his jaw. You should tell a piece of him was bothered by you being attacked. Something inside him wanted to crash out of the stables and slaughter the men who would do such damage to his friend, at least that’s what you were telling yourself.

“Murtagh mentioned you weren’t going to the ceremony for the gathering,” you reached into your bag, “I was going to stop by your hut, residence place,” you weren’t sure what to call his little bed area. You passed him some food from the kitchen.

He shook his head, “Again with the thoughtfulness, you seem to care an awful lot about my wellbeing.”

“Shut up,” you shove him as he laughs at you. You could see he was trying to get a raise out of you since you pushed him to talk to Laoghaire, “You’re my friend Jamie. You were the first one who was nice to me here, well before you tossed me over your shoulder and proceeded to act like chauvinistic tool.”

He grinned at you, “Well, you are probably the most unique, thoughtful, and caring women I know. Besides when you are prodding me and calling me mean names.” He put the bag of food down next to his makeshift bed, “We should get you back to the castle, I bet Angus won’t be taken to kindly to your journey to the stables.”

“I can get back on my own. Murtagh told me to leave you alone, something about the ceremony, which is none of my business,” you mumbled away, trying to push whatever you are feeling way down. “I took down three clansmen and you, I think I can get back on my own,” you look down at Jamie sitting on the ground.

He pulled himself up towering over you, “Me,” he questioned, “I think I’d remember you taking me anywhere,” he pulled your shawl tighter to your body. “Now let’s go, me walking you back is not up for debate.”

You rolled your eyes and jogged up next to him, “Suit yourself, but Murtagh doesn’t like me enough as it is. If you get caught or whatever, I’m not to blame you tell him that.”

Jamie stopped you at the door, leaning in close to your face to whisper, “Murtagh likes you plenty, believe me if he didn’t like you he’d ignore you. Now let’s go before you get me caught.”

“Jamie,” you whispered harshly, holding tightly on the back of his shirt waddling after him. With your face slightly pressed to his back as you both giggled out the stables, there was something about his smell. You’d assumed he’d smell like most rotting, sweating men. Being in the marines and being in the desert for long periods of time, you were pretty much used to it. But it was different with Jamie, your psychology background pushed towards his manly man pheromones. You pushed those thoughts away and tipped toed with Jamie through the McKenzie camp. You and Jamie got back to your work space without Angus knowing any different. You stood at the bottom of your stairs, looking up at the now ever more towering Jamie, who was grinning down at you, “Do you think you can get back without being caught, remember what I said about Murtagh, you wanted me to be nice and make friends?”

He looked down, trying to hold back his amused expression, “Yeah, I think I’ll manage.”

“When are you going to tell me why you are avoiding being seen during the gathering, aren’t they your family,” you questioned, trying to change the subject to something less flirty.

“It’s a bit complicated, maybe one day I’ll tell you. But for now, I’m off before I get you into trouble with Murtagh. You should go up and spend some time with the clan, it might be worth learning a bit more,” he gestured up the stair. He leaned closer again, “Maybe you can butter up Murtagh, get on his sweet side.”

“What sweet side,” you countered. Jamie shook his head, trying his best to not be amused by you, “Plus, I wouldn’t want him to get the wrong idea. He isn’t really my type.”

The look he gave you in that moment was something you rarely got to see in men, “What exactly is your type.”

“Not a dumb brute really, I’m not a picky woman,” you shrug walking further away from Jamie’s glances.

“That I don’t believe for a second. Try to stay out of trouble, hate you save you from Angus again,” Jamie started to make his way up the stairs.

“Jamie,” you call up to him, he turns to look at you one more time before he gets on his way to his hide away, “I never need saving.” Again, he held back a smirk, before trying back up the stairs again. You didn’t know how he did it, but you got to you again with those stupid hidden smiles and teasing. It’s like he knew exactly what to say to get a rise out of you.  

Part 9

 Taglist:  @doctorwhatwhenandwhere @damnedandbroken @blushingpogue @blancastans @slytherinambitious @kinky-asher

[kaimelia]

Hi!! Could you write something of after the episode when Amelia gets home and maybe she’s a little overwhelmed and Link is there and helps her calm down and she tells him about Mer? Thank you!

Relief

a/n: hi! i have so many asks for this so I hope it’s what you all wanted 😅

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

"Well, she left her phone here, and no one is answering my texts," Link muttered, placing his head in his hands. "If I don't hear anything soon, I might go in." Maureen put the palm of her hand on her son's back, rubbing up and down softly as he breathed heavily.

"The other kids are all asleep, but I promised them you would come upstairs and tell them what's happening with their Mom."

"I'm terrified that I'll have to tell them she's dead," he let out a sigh and picked up his phone, willing a text to appear on the screen in front of him.

"Her car just pulled in," Maureen whispered, "I'll make her a cup of tea." Link stood up quickly, pushing the chair in and rushing towards the front door. He ran towards her car door to see her head in her hands.

"Oh, Amelia," he opened the door, pulling her figure into his embrace as she cried, her body shaking against his. "Hey, I've got you; you're okay." He slowly maneuvered his girlfriend's body so that he could pick her up, wrapping an arm under her legs and lifting her. "I'm gonna take you inside now, okay?" Amelia didn't respond but pressed her face into his chest, the fabric of his shirt dampening as she cried. He pushed open the front door, kicking it closed with his foot, walking over to the couch, and setting her down gently.

"I can't, I can't breathe," she cried, grasping at strands of her hair in desperation.

"Okay, put your head between your legs." Link moved next to her and placed his hand on her back, pushing her down slightly as she leaned forward. "And let's take some deep breaths, okay? In," he waited for her to follow, her breath shaking as she cried, "and out. And again, in, and out." He repeated himself until her body stopped shaking and she began to compose herself, sitting up on the couch and wiping her eyes. He pulled her jacket off gently, throwing it over the back of the sofa. "Better?" She nodded slowly while blinking away the tears in her eyes. "What happened with Meredith?"

"She woke up, but when I got there, I thought she was dead, and it was all just so overwhelming," Amelia rambled, her voice trailing upwards in pitch as she spoke. "But I'm so relieved now; I feel like we're finally going to get a break soon."

"Meredith's awake?" The neurosurgeon nodded, finally cracking a smile at her boyfriend as he pulled her into a hug and kissed her head. "Oh my god, thank god."

"She was up and talking to Zola. Maggie said she'd bring Zola home later." She leaned into her boyfriend's body and sighed at the familiar comfort of his arms around her.

"Hey, I made you both some tea," Maureen whispered, placing two mugs down onto the coffee table in front of them. "Is everything okay with your sister?" Amelia reached out for the mug and wrapped her hands around it, blowing a breath of cool air over the steam.

"She's awake and talking, her vitals are stable, and she's looking better than she has since she got sick. I don't think I've ever felt this relieved in my entire life," she shook her head, setting the cup back down and covering her mouth with her hand. "God, I'm such a mess right now; I'm sorry." Link wrapped his arm around her shoulder, pressing his lips against the side of her head as he laughed in relief, a few stray tears falling down his face as well.

"I'm so glad she's okay," Maureen smiled pleasantly, placing her hand on Amelia's shoulder and rubbing lightly. "I'm going to head out, but if you need us, we're just a phone call away."

"Thank you for staying with the kids," Amelia placed her hand over Maureen's quickly before the older woman pulled hers away and said a quick goodbye, closing the door slowly as not to make any disturbance. Amelia turned back to Link and smiled, leaning against his chest again. "I really wanna stay here with you, but I also left in such a rush that I didn't get to pump, and I feel like my boobs are about to explode." She laughed as did he before he stood up and moved to grab her pump from the table.

"Here," he sat back down, handing her the case. "Scout's been down the whole time you were gone, and I know it's gonna mess up his sleep schedule, but I'm just glad he's asleep." She hummed in agreeance while hooking up the pump, groaning in happiness as it began to work. Link laughed as he watched her. "It's that relieving?"

"Mhm, this is one of the best feelings," she murmured, leaning back into the couch cushions. "Thank you. For today, talking me down before surgery."

"I missed seeing you in the O.R. Tom told me not to tell you this, but he came up to watch you because he likes watching you operate. I do, too, for the record." Her mouth dropped in amusement, and she sat up, almost forgetting about the pump.

"I'll never get over Tom telling me I'm better than him. It makes me very happy."

"Happier than the breast pump?" Her shoulders sunk as she thought.

"Nope. A close second, though." Link breathed out a laugh, picking up his mug of tea from the coffee table and taking a sip.

"Do you know if we can take Bailey and Ellis in to see her? They're going to be extremely jealous of Zola when she gets home."

"Maggie was saying when Mer gets stronger, and we know it's not just a surge or something. Ugh, I know I shouldn't get my hopes up, but I'm so glad she's awake," Amelia wiped her eyes and began to pack away the breast pump, sealing the bags of milk closed.

"We're just taking it one day at a time. And right now, Meredith is awake and the best she's been in months, so I'm just going to focus on that," he raised his eyebrows and took another sip of his tea. Amelia groaned dramatically as the baby monitor rang on the table.

"I just pumped! You couldn't have been hungry a minute earlier?" She stood up and grabbed the monitor. "I'll get him." Link stood up with her.

"I told Bailey and Ellis I would wake them up once I knew what happened with Meredith, so I should go do that," he guided her up the stairs, parting ways in the hallway as she walked into the nursery, and he opened the door to Ellis' room. "Hey, Elle," he brushed back a strand of the girl's blonde hair, pulling the chain on her bedroom lamp.

"Morning?"

"No, it's still night," he chuckled, watching as Ellis sat up and rubbed her eyes. "I just wanted to tell you that your Mom's awake."

"Mommy's all better?"

"She's still got some more recovering to do, but she's getting better." She flashed him a toothy grin and wrapped her arms around her Uncle's neck for a quick hug. "Alright, time to go back to sleep," he whispered, pulling her blanket up over her body and kissing her forehead. "Sweet dreams, Elle."

"Nighty night." Link smiled as the girl closed her eyes again, and he left the room, quickly stopping in Bailey's room and giving him the same information. He finally walked towards his and Amelia's room, pushing open the door after knocking lightly.

"Hey, I told Ellis and Bailey, and they're both asleep." She turned to him and smiled through a teary sniffle. "What's wrong?"

"I'm just so relieved that Mer's awake, and it's been an amazing day." Link grinned and walked towards her, pulling her into a tight embrace. "I love you."

"And I love you."

[kikilefangirl]

Owed Part 2

Steve Rogers x reader

(Word Count: 2689)

(Gif not mine, but I love it)

The view from your penthouse was everything you could ask for after a long night.

“I want you and the team waiting for me in Paris by next week. You know the drill.” You said, picking up one file in particular.

You ignored Mo��s groan and whatever it was she was trying to explain. You grimaced at the photo staring back at you.

Alexander Pierce. He was long dead, but some of his associates had yet to be uncovered. The name of one in particular caught you off guard. Avon. Presumed dead, body never recovered.

The images of his face hovering over you, forcing you to use your powers bombarded your senses. You crumpled the paper out of instinct. He was too slippery to be dead, and you were going to make sure he really was.

“I have another job that requires my attention. Solo.” You told her.

Mo nodded at your seriousness and pulled out a pair of pearl earrings. You marveled at their simple beauty. After living a life filled with ugly things, you had earned each and every luxury.

“Recording device made in your style, boss. Leverage, if need be.” Mo explained. You immediately put them on and smirked.

“Thanks, Mo. Now tell me how distro went.” You sat across from her, taking time to compare notes and make sure all the money was delivered to all the right people.

You took ten percent. Your team got five per person. And the rest, went to your people. Stacks of money left on project window sills, in a fifth grader’s backpack during the afterschool rush, left in a college kid’s dorm room. The money was scattered across the city, securely in the hands of struggling black families who certainly weren’t getting help from anyone else.

You nodded, impressed with the good team you had and their dedication to your cause. It was exactly why you couldn’t let them get involved in your personal agenda.

“Lock up for me. See you, Mo.”

You grabbed your purse from the counter and headed out the door.

…

It had been one of those restless nights Steve was becoming more and more familiar with.

He and Sam stayed up all night trying to get Bucky to remember you. Anything about you, actually. Confirmation that your name was really Y/N, more clarity on your powers. Steve did not appreciate the interruption that was Tony Stark busting into the room.

“Heard you had a special night, Boy Scout. Too bad you couldn’t get laid in the process. Anyway, the bombshell you ran into stole thirty million dollars up under your noses.” Tony announced.

So that’s what you were buying time for. A robbery. Steve placed his hands on his hips in frustration.

“Anything useful, Stark?” Steve asked begrudgingly.

He was going through a dozen or more screens, his mind going a mile a minute. Tony hadn’t even acknowledged Sam or Bucky and probably wasn’t going to. His attention was solely on whatever information he was fixated on.

“Got her. She looked directly at the camera on fifteenth.” Tony said in an annoyed voice. He blew up the photo, and it was definitely you. You were dressed more casually than last night, but the way you held your chin, the slight part in your lips, everything was the same.

Steve couldn’t help the small smile that found its way on his face. You weren’t hiding from him or anyone. Bold, if nothing else.

“Find out if there are any Hydra members that were never caught and cross reference with her file. If it matches, she’s going after them.” Steve said.

Bucky had a lost look in his eyes, something Steve had learned was his knee jerk reaction to anything Hydra. His friend had lost so much to those people, and he could only imagine what Hydra took from you.

“What’s our next play, Cap?” Sam asked. Steve reached for his shield.

“Suit up. And don’t let her get a beat on you.”

…

Access to Avon’s office wasn’t hard.

You slipped into the building afternoon rush, right off the street. Using the security officers to bypass each checkpoint, making it into his private office wasn’t hard, either.

You kept your head held high as you opened the door, making sure to have each guard flank you. Avon was sitting at his desk going through papers when you strut into the room.

“Six eight three.” He said, his panic never outweighing fascination. You sat down in the chair across from him, never once breaking eye contact on the way down.

“Hi, doc. You didn’t forget about my promise, did you?” You asked.

He was much older than before. His salt and pepper hair had gone gray and he shaved off his mustache. For all intents and purposes, Avon looked like a normal old man. His unassuming appearance hid the evil he had committed in his life from plain view.

But you knew as soon the good doctor laid eyes on you, he hadn’t changed at all. The same lingering gaze still made your skin crawl.

You spurred into action. In an instant, you had Avon under your spell, guiding him towards you.

“The roof. Move.” You prodded.

As he trudged on completely at your mercy, and you knew he’d be dead by nightfall. It was the only ending you could accept. The ghost of his needles and his gloves fingers pressing into your skin over and over again...

And the memories always stayed.

You clenched your jaw as all the anger and hurt tried to bubble up to the surface. You couldn’t even lose your cool to a dead man walking. He needed to die with the image of the woman you had become in his mind, not the little girl who cried until she had no tears left.

Your little group calmly made it up to the roof. It was bare for the most part. Cold. Gravelly, too. You flinched as the strain of occupying so many minds grew the longer you held it.

“Please. Please, six eught three.” Avon cried. Bastard couldn’t even call you by your name, even if he knew it. Just an experiment number.

You reared back and decked him square in the face. Blood dripped from his nose as he stumbled back. You could see the wild eyes of a mad scientist, admiring his handiwork.

You snarled and tagged him again, forcing him to the ground. He whimpered as you squatted down next to him, knife in hand.

You were about to kill him yourself, but a wicked thought came to mind.

“You worked so hard to make me, doc, it’s only right you offer me the same courtesy.” You whispered devilishly.

As you rose to your feet, so did Avon. He trembled all over, but he had no retort, no defense, no excuse. Avon made you to his standards; he knew exactly what you were capable of and how efficient you were in the field.

You offered him the knife and he took it with shaky hands. He would die by his hands, the same hands responsible for the death of hundreds. A familiar feeling stirred within you, your powers intensifying.

Avon’s eyes glazed over with purple for a second, before returning to their usual brown. His death would dox you from the country for years to come, and if it rid him from the world, then so be it.

“Y/N! I know what they did!”

Steve.

He’d seen your little message, because he and Bucky were running full speed a rooftop away. Their powerful bodies absorbed the impact and kept them moving, with Steve pulling slightly ahead of Bucky. There had to be more.

A glimpse of movement above you alerted you to Sam. When you met him in person, he seemed normal enough, but maybe he was enhanced. That left you to deal with three bogeys alone.

Good thing you were good at improvising.

“I know what he did.” Steve said in between ragged breaths.

He had just landed on the other end of your rooftop with Bucky just a few yards away from him. The two men had their whole get ups on, minus the helmet. His blonde hair stuck to his sweaty forehead, and his chest heaved from the effort.

You didn’t respond, you couldn’t. You just stared out at Steve without releasing your hold on Avon. If he knew about the doctor, he had to know what Hydra trained you for. Violence and death was always going to be your path, at least with Avon you’d get a say about who, where, or when.

“You should’ve stayed in your tower, this doesn’t involve you.” You warned. Steve was supposed to be a story you told about the time you met Captain America, and now he was in front of you again.

Where your last meeting was fun and playful, it wasn’t just business anymore. A hardness that came from years of waiting for the chance to end your torturer once and for all outweighed any new feelings you might have had.

“You tried, Steve,” You added, just loud enough for him to hear.

Steve shook his head and a hard determination settled in his face.

“We’re not done yet,” He said. Your hair blew from the wind behind you, and your eyes glowed purple. With a wave of your hand, Avon stabbed himself in the gut.

With a strangled cry, the scientist dropped to his knees.

At the same time, you let go of the security guards and they clambered for the exit. Taking advantage of their spectacle, your powers seized on Bucky. Beads of sweat trickled down your face from the effort of Bucky’s mind alone.

The man stilled for a split second as his eyes turned purple. In the next breath he was tackling Steve, seeing his friend as Alexander Pierce.

You picked him because was probably one of the few people who could hold Steve back until the task was complete. It made tactical sense, and you had to make your little tricks last.

The irony and guilt of controlling a man who had lived a long life under the thumb of others with no free will, wasn’t lost on you. It had to be done.

Avon’s cries became louder and his blood was everywhere, the strong sickly smell burned your nostrils. You stared at the dying man without an ounce of regret.

Just before you commanded a second strike, Bucky had pinned Steve to the ground and you let go of your hold on him. Avon would be dead soon enough and it wouldn’t take long for Steve to go after you once freed.

Avon opened his mouth in a silent cry, his teeth bloodstained as he tried to stay alive. You hovered over him and spat.

“Hail Hydra,” You snarled. His gurgles were the tell tale sign he was fading fast, choking on his own blood. You wondered how many black girls Avon had deemed failed experiments until he succeeded with you.

As you began to make your escape, a shot rang out.

Avon’s body fell backwards as the bullet pierced his skull. Even though your heart raced and you couldn’t hear much of anything, looked up and it clicked immediately.

Bucky was standing with his gun still pointing at Avon. The lone shell casing laid at his feet. Everything went into an uneasy silence with each person waiting to fall off the edge.

Steve flung his shield your way, and it caught you in the shoulder. You fell backwards, and black spots interrupted your vision. For a moment you laid there in a daze.

Steve hovered over you, flipping you on your stomach, holding your hands behind your back. You struggled against him, to no avail. Taking a deep breath, you surveyed your surroundings.

“It didn’t have to go like this,” Steve said wistfully. You stilled, and only the sound of heavy breathing and the occasional gravel crunching under your weight.

Bucky was behind you somewhere, and you were eye level with Avon’s body. It sent an involuntary chill down your spine.

Sam had been circling the skies above the chaos, and he would be your way out. It was over once he landed in your line of sight.

You made Bucky the target. Sam made a beeline for the brunette with a twisted face. You bucked up at Steve, who wasn’t easily moved, but he didn’t need to be. The second he looked down, you had him under your grasp.

But once the super soldier lifted you to your feet, you let him go, indulging for one last time. No powers.

You leaned into Steve and crashed your lips onto his. In response, he gripped your waist, and held one of your hands in his. You snaked your other one up to the nape of his neck, nudging him even closer to you, if that was possible.

For at least one moment in time, the two of you were utterly and completely lost in each other.

You slowly pulled away from him, the fantasy disintegrating before your eyes and his. Phantom heat from his lips still warmed your own as Steve’s conflicted gaze stared down at you.

You blinked and quickly regained control, this time showing Steve his first love. It was a dark haired woman with bold red lipstick. She seemed strong and daring.

You regained your focus.

Luckily, Bucky hadn’t gotten to Sam yet. You broke out in an all out run, drawing him nearer. He believed he was holding Steve up instead of you, and that he was taking him to their tower. In reality, he was flying you to a drop off point at the docks. The strain of Steve’s mind and Sam’s was taking a toll. You ran faster.

In seconds he dove down towards you, taking you up in the air with him. Steve was out of range after the first block. But Bucky’s haunted gaze was stamped into your brain, even as his figure disappeared on the horizon.

The weight that he had helped you kill Avon was something you two would share forever, just like that cell. You gulped and wondered what he would tell Steve about you.

The wind whipped everywhere as you soared through the air. It was a welcome noise to black out the silence.

When you landed, you took the opportunity to make Sam sleep. When he awoke in an empty shipping container he was sure to have a headache, but he’d be fine more or less.

You stumbled to the guard, whose eyes widened at your haggard appearance. Your shirt was full of dirt stains, you had Avon’s blood on your jeans—your saving grace was the fact that you made it in time.

“There must be a mistake, this ship travels during the night shift.” He said.

You pushed a stray strand of hair out of your face and smiled.

“I’m sorry, I’m looking for the one that leaves at dawn. To see the sunrise.” You replied.

Titan and his games. You clicked your tongue, antsy at being out in the open for so long.

The guard guided you up the port, to a massive ship. As you boarded, the man led you to a room deep in the heart of the vessel.

As soon as the door opened, you smiled at the older man in a Captain’s uniform.

“You smell like shit.” He told you, motioning towards the decadent bathroom. You scoffed and rolled your eyes.

“You’re a lifesaver, T.” You said. All of your things were waiting for you in the bedroom. The guard had disappeared.

Titan walked past you, and out the door without another word. You thanked your lucky stars you had friends and favors to collect all around the world.

Finally alone and safe, you shrugged your shoulders and stripped everything off. A hot bath was waiting for you. The water swayed softly as you got in and the boat left the port.

You closed your eyes and let your muscles relax in the heat.

“Paris.”

[aggressive-positivity-network]

General Demo in a relationship Headcanons?

Demo in a Relationship

Headcanons

Meeting for the first time:

Probably either at a pub or some sort of restaurant that serves drinks.

He sees a person put something in your drink, and he absolutely loses it. He’s not even drunk (bonus headcanon: he only gets himself drunk if he’s tired or upset) but he just chews the guy out. Tears him a new one.

“YA CAN’T FIND A LASS WITH THAT WORMTOOTH SMILE ‘A YOURS, SO YA DECIDE TA GET ONE ALL DRUGGED UP AND DRAG HER HOME LIKE THE FAE?! YOU’RE GONNA BE THE ONE STUMBLIN’ AROUND ONCE I GET AHOLD OF YA!”

He starts beating the guy up, and invites you to join him. You accept, fists swinging. The manager and bartender say nothing, since they are all very good friends and they watched the whole thing unfold. However, they had to “kick” Demo and you out, since to technically caused trouble on the property. However, they were very nice about it and even got you a free drink to replace the tainted one.

Demo introduces himself and asks if you’d like some company on the way home, since it was getting late. You say yes, and he ends up sleeping on your couch. You don’t mind, and he even calls you that next afternoon to thank you and ask if you’d like to go to dinner as payment.

At first you refuse, because it was no trouble at all, but then realize that this is Demo asking for a date. You set the time, ask off work, and get yourself ready.

First date:

He’s the kind of person to just talk about anything and everything when he’s nervous. And he is certainly nervous on this date.

He’s wearing his normal clothes plus a bow tie and sans his beanie. He still has it in his pocket though - for luck.

He picks a seafood restaurant next to a pier, after making sure that you were a fan of seafood, of course.

The people at this restaurant know him too, and the waitstaff tease him about having a date. He smacks them on the shoulder and says something between his teeth, and they walk away, still laughing.

After the meal, which was comped because of the “entertainment,” they say Demo provided them with, you both walk to the edge of the pier and look at the stars. However, rather than ecstatic, you feel nauseous. The shrimp must have been bad...

You finally puke off the edge of the pier, and Demo pats your back and guides you back to the car, even offering to carry you. He apologizes profusely, and says that he will make sure it never happens again.

You wait in the car while he goes in the restaurant. He comes back with a two-liter bottle of ginger ale, a straw, and a huge gash on his knuckle that was bound up with a washcloth.

When you ask about it, he says not to worry about it and that he took care of it. You decide not to press him.

Romance beginning:

He asks you out on a park bench, on your fourth or fifth date.

“Er...I know we’ve not know each other long...but I think you’re a real bonny lass, y’know? Perhaps we can...well, I can be your lad?”

At first you don’t get it, and ask if he is asking to marry you. He stumbles and sputters.

“N-no, lass, we’re just kids...I meant...y’know...boyfriend and girlfriend.”

You smile and kiss him on the tip of his nose, which causes him to stammer even more. He didn’t think he would get this far. Embarrassed, he pulls his beanie over his eyes, his usually dark cheeks turning even darker.

You eventually say yes, but you had to wait for Demo to lift his head up from his hands.

Jealousy:

Demo doesn’t get very jealous - he has friends that are girls AND boys, so shooing other boys away doesn’t make much sense to him.

Sometimes he jokes about your guy friends, saying, “What, are ye gonna up and leave me for tall, blonde, ‘n handsome over there?”

But you know full well that he trusts you, and that he knows you can hold your own.

Even if someone flirts with you while you’re out somewhere, he’s relatively civil, even friendly.

“Aye, sorry lad, this one’s taken. Better luck next time.”

There was one time when a guy pushed it way to far.

You two were at the mall - you were looking for a certain figurine of your favorite character, and he was looking for a few...undisclosed items.

A guy asked if you were single, you say no and pointed to Demo, who said the same cheery spiel he always did.

“Huh...though he was your father or somethin’. You sure you should be with a guy that old? He’ll die before you’re in your prime.”

Demo had mellowed out, especially since he was with you, so he just shrugged.

“It’s ma beard. Adds ten years on me.”

“Shows every bit of it, huh?”

Demo begins to look physically frustrated, so you jerk your head, to signal that it was about time to leave the situation.

You guys try to leave, but the guys follow you, continuing to comment about how old Demo is for you.

Finally, the guy says, “I mean, if you guys wanted a threesome, maybe...”

Demo swirls around and punches him in the face, not realizing he still had a brass knuckle he had bought still on his fist. The guy’s nose is broken, and his left eye is bleeding.

The guy tried to sue, but because of Demo’s near immunity (the mercs have great resources), he wasn’t charged. The guy, however, was charged with harassment.

Introduction to the Mercs:

Instead of meeting Demo’s family, you meet his coworkers, which you find a little strange. Demo brushes it off by saying that these people were pretty much his family.

You enter the base’s lobby, and the first thing that you see is a tall, thin man pointing a revolver at you.

“Who are you, and whom do you work for? I’ll gladly get rid of a weak link.”

You, being a detective, cooly draw out your own gun before Demo walks in. He’s absolutely horrified.

“I told ya she was comin’, didn’t I? Ya don’t have ta give her the third degree, Spy!”

Spy raises his eyebrows, checks his watch, and puts his revolver away. “You are a bit early, oui?”

“By five bloody minutes!”

“You can never be too careful, mon ami. My deepest apologies, mademoiselle...”

Spy takes your hand and starts to kiss it, but then just touches it lightly with his forehead for a few seconds.

The other mercs trickle in, starting with Scout.

“Hey, so this is the broad you’ve been talkin’ about, huh?”

He takes a closer look at you, then grins.

“She doesn’t have a little sister, does she?”

Demo smacks Scout in the back of the head playfully. “She’d be out of your league even if she was just half as beautiful.”

“Aw, c’mon, who can resist this?” he says, gesturing to his face and winking at you.

Engineer and Heavy are next.

Engineer shakes your hand and takes off his building hat.

Heavy tries to get down to your level. “She is...small...” He glances at the gun, which is still in your hand, and laughs a booming laugh. “But she is fierce!” He glances at Demo. “Be careful with this one.”

By the time Sniper walks in, you’re wondering how many there are.

Sniper tips his hat so far down that is covers his eyes. “G’day.”

Soldier and Pyro come in together, and Soldier salutes and says, “Welcome to the ranks, maggot!”

Pyro, on the other hand, runs up and hugs you, almost lifting you completely off the ground. You’ve seen a few hazmat suits, but you’re still a little unnerved.

Finally, Medic walks in, Archimedes still on his finger.

“Ach, vhy are there alvays visitors during feeding time...?”

Six or seven doves soon follow, landing pretty much anywhere they can. In fact, one of them lands on you. It startles you a bit, but you are soon petting it’s head. Medic gently retrieves it from you.

Instead of greeting you, he looks you up and down.

“Five foot seven - a bit tall for a woman - Indian descent, I’m sure. But...there is something else...ah! Yes! African American! Your hair is straightened, but has that same texture that is common in that race. About thirty years of age. And...”

He looks at your feet.

“...slightly pigeon-toed.”

You blink, then start putting your hair in a ponytail.

“Six feet. Pure German descent. Mid-forties. Ambidextrous, though you lean more towards your right, ‘cause your callouses are bigger on your right hand. May or may not be sociopathic, since you studied everyone’s faces and matched their expressions before you talked to me. And...do you usually wear gloves?”

Medic nods, his eyes wide and his mouth on the verge of a smile. He looks at Demo, then back at you.

“God help you if you decide to cheat.”

Demo shakes his head. “I would never.”

That’s about all I have for you folks! If this is popular enough, I might make a part two!

But hey, my TF2 headcanons are always open!

[oboevallis]

lost

sorry this is so long, i don’t know if it really makes sense but i was talking with him grandmother and she told me this story about how we went to the beach with the family and we went walking and it was late and high tide and we got absolutely completely lost and she didn’t speak great english and had no phone and we were just walking trying to find the hotel which all look the same while everyone was looking for us and that kinda inspired this story (lol sorry i feel like i do a lot of stories based on events that have happened to me so idk if that’s boring or not ill stop talking now tho)

Amelia quietly slipped out of bed once she realized her son was awake and babbling to himself, and she knew if she didn’t quickly attend to him, he’d start wailing causing the rest of the house to wake up. As much as she savored her sleep she enjoyed the early morning feeds, no one else was up, allowing her to be solely focused on her son. She quietly slipped out the back door to get settled on the lawn chair, and was startled when she saw Maureen, almost forgetting the two had come to visit.

“Good morning.” Maureen smiled, nursing her thermos of coffee.

“Morning.” Amelia reciprocated settling in the chair next to her.

“Hope you don’t mind I came back here. Eric is in a work call and I tend to distract him, and I just found myself out here.”

“No not at all.” The neurosurgeon responded truthfully as she guided her son to her breast, which he eagerly latched onto. “Thanks again for taking the kids for the day, it was much appreciated.”

“Of course. We had a great time with them.” The older woman smiled kindly, putting Amelia at ease. She tried so hard to make a good impression on her boyfriends parents and now felt at ease knowing they thought she was good enough for their son. “I don’t know how you and Link do it, especially in a pandemic. I mean you can’t take em to the park, museum, or anything.”

“Me either.” The woman absentmindedly chuckled, she was just taking it a day at a time. The women turned around once hearing the door open to reveal the oldest child.

“Auntie Amelia, I have a proposition for you.” Zola smiled as she walked further into the backyard still in her pajamas.

“A proposition huh?” The woman chuckled, it always impressed her when her niece would use a vocabulary word out of reach for a girl her age in the proper manner.

“Yep, I think we should not do school today, stay in our pjs, build a fort in the living room, and have a movie marathon.” The girl announced jumping on the balls of her feet, as much as Amelia wanted to oblige she knew she couldn’t.

“We can this weekend, but I’m sorry we can’t just not do school.”

“Ugh, but mom would let us.” This caused Amelia to laugh.

“We both know your mom would not in any capacity let you miss school if you weren’t sick.”

“It was worth a shot.” Zola shrugged.

“It was, but I’ll let you pick what we have for dinner tonight.”

“Pizza?”

“You’ve got it.”

“Do you think Link will still help me with my report.”

“I’m sure he’d love to, just let him sleep a bit more and once he wakes up ask him.” Zola nodded and ran back into the house, Amelia sighed in relief there wasn’t a tantrum.

“You’re good with kids, especially remediating a situation.” Maureen commented, admiring the younger woman more.

“I try.” Amelia chuckles, Maureen has only seen the kids well behaved and not in their tantrum state.

“So, I hate to be blunt, but my son doesn’t tell me a thing, are the two of you planning on getting married?”

“Oh, umm.” Amelia blushed awkwardly shifting her son. “Not at the moment, we’re going to wait until things calm down a bit.”

“As long as it’s in the cards.”

“I think it will be.” The neurosurgeon smiled, thinking about Links plans to get married in the French Quarter of New Orleans.

________________________________________

Bailey had an hour break before his next Zoom started up, so Link took the opportunity to take him out on their daily walk and get his energy out around the block while he tried to lull his son. This time though his father tagged along, he still had a lot of resentment towards his parents but was trying his best to be civil.

“That kid almost has as much energy as you did before..” Eric trailed off, but Link knew what he meant. Before his cancer tore his family apart, and made him a shell of the kid he was,but he was determined to only talk about the good things.

“Yeah he keeps Amelia and I on our toes.” Link quickly said, so no talk of his cancer came up.

“I know your upset with your mother and I, but we just want to help. And rebuild our family.” The ortho surgeon did his best to not roll his eyes at the statement, he couldn’t understand why they couldn’t have worked it out in the first place, why they decided to track along across multiple states during a global pandemic, and why they had to keep freaking his girlfriend out with the concept of marriage.

“I really don’t have the energy to talk about this right now, why don’t we just change the subject.” Before Eric could agree his sons phone started to ring. “Crap this is the hospital, I’ve gotta go in. Bailey! We gotta get home” He called up ahead to the boy who was scootering.

“It’s alright I’ll keep walking with them.”

“You sure?” The man asked wearily.

“Of course you know me I love a good walk.” He took the baby out of his sons arms and Link wrapped the baby snug across the older mans chest.

“Thanks dad!” He smiled as he jogged back to the house to grab his car and head to the hospital, while Eric caught up along side of Bailey as he turned another corner.

________________________________________

After Amelia finished helping Ellis with her math homework she realized it had been well over an hour since the boys had gone for their walk it typically lasted 40 minutes and the house was wearily quiet. She made her way downstairs to be met with Maureen folding the pile of laundry.

“Oh I’m sorry, you don’t have to do that.”

“Please, I don’t mind.”

“Do you know where the boys are?” Amelia asked feeling her anxiety start to rise as there was no indication of them being home.

“I assume they’re still walking, they haven’t walked in yet.” The neurosurgeon pulled out her phone and tapped on her boyfriends contact to be met with a scrub nurse who informed her, he was in fact scrubbing in on an emergency surgery.

“Link is at work.” Amelia informed Maureen rather confused, Link always told her before he left the house, but assumed he was so excited by the notion of a surgery and left the boys with his father.

“I’ll try Eric.” Once the older woman dialed the number they heard ringing coming from the coffee table where he left his phone. “I’m always telling him he needs to carry his phone around, he’s terrible with remembering it.” The woman huffed obviously starting to get a little startled.

“Okay.” Amelia took a deep breath. “I’m going to go look for them, would you mind staying with the girls?”

“Not at all.”

“Thanks.” Amelia quickly made her way towards the door and grabbed her keys from the hook, noting her boyfriend failed to bring the diaper bag as it was next to the door. Nonetheless she got into her car and tried the best to calm herself down, though all she could think about were worst case scenarios.

______________________________________

“Do you have any idea where we are?” Eric asked Bailey as he walked beside him, the boy had gotten tired and now just tracked the scooter along side them.

“No we usually don’t go this far.” Baileys fearless persona faltering, he assumed by this point he was late for class and was going to be in big trouble with his aunt and teacher.

“Everything kinda looks the same huh?”

“Yeah.” Bailey nodded nervously biting his nail, a habit he’d recently picked up from his aunt.

“Hey bud, it’s going to be fine we’ll find our way home.” Internally he was cursing himself for not bringing his phone along with him. After some more walking they found themselves on a street with convenience stores, Merediths house wasn’t far from the heart of Seattle but they were definitely far from where they were supposed to be. He was tempted to walk into a store and ask someone for directions but he didn’t have a mask and had two small children so that wasn’t an option. “Alright, let’s go back to that last street and make a left, maybe that right was a bad idea.”

“We’ll never get home.” Bailey said hopelessly.

“We will don’t worry about it.” And if things couldn’t get any worse the baby had started to fuss which in no time would turn into fill on crying.

Amelia slowly drove through the neighborhood looking for the three, not knowing she was on the opposite part of the neighborhood from them. Meanwhile after aimlessly walking and multiple turns Bailey started to recognize where they were and lead the way home.

“Where the hell have you been?” Maureen immediately asked as they walked through the door taking the now crying baby from her fiancé. “You need to have your phone on you!”

“Just strolling.” Eric responded nonchalantly.

“No we were lost. Really lost.” Bailey corrected as he ran into the kitchen to find something to eat since he missed lunch. Maureen followed taking out a bottle for Scout and calling her daughter in law informing her they were home, she heard a large sigh of relief through the other line.

Amelia happened to pull into the driveway the same time as Link, she wiped her stray tears as she had gotten herself into such a state and slammed her car door.

“Hey, where were you?” The ortho surgeon smiled brightly, he had just completed a rather simple surgery but just being in the OR at any capacity was heaven.

“Where was I? I don’t know, where was I?” Amelia chuckled on disbelief. “Where the hell were you? I spent two hours driving around trying to find your father and the boys.”

“What they never came home?” Link asked in a panic.

“They just did. They were lost and struggled to find their way home so they were aimlessly walking around while I aimlessly drove around in the wrong direction.”

“Damn it, how could my dad do this?” The man ran a stressed hand through his hair.

“This isn’t your dads fault it’s yours!”

“Huh?”

“Oh don’t act stupid. First you don’t even take the diaper bag in the walk with all the essentials and a first aid kit and then you up and leave for a surgery without even texting me.” The man was about to interject but Amelia held up her hand. “And you let your father continue the walk, even though the man has been to Seattle like two times and doesn’t know his way around.”

“I thought they were just gonna go the rest of the way up the block and back, and that he’d tell you where I went. That’s what Bailey and I do everyday.”

“Have you been living with Bailey for the past four months? Or has it just been me? Bailey will just keep riding that scooter no matter what and go any which way paying no attention to his surroundings, of course Eric is just gonna follow him around since it probably seemed he knew where he was going. You know what I can’t even look at you, I don’t want to say something I’m going to regret.” Amelia walked past him and quickly made her way into the house, to be met with her sons cries and quickly took the baby from Maureen cradling him closely, the baby immediately calming.

“I am so so sorry Amelia.” Eric apologized obviously upset.

“It’s not your fault.” Amelia forcefully smiled, she wasn’t entirely mad at him mostly at her boyfriend. Link then walked through the front door to be met with his mother scolding him.

“And what the hell were you thinking? Not telling anyone you were going to the hospital, and leaving your father with two kids in a place that’s foreign to him. Is surgery really all you can think about?” For the past couple of months he’d been complaining to his mother how much he hated not being able to operate.

“She would’ve done the same thing.” Link quickly pointed to his girlfriend who was cradling their son in the couch.

“What are we five?” Amelia asked when her boyfriend accused her in such a manner. “And I would’ve had the decency to tell you I was leaving and made sure you had the kids handled before I left.” Link backtracked and took a deep breath.

“Alright how about we just take a moment, they’ve been found so it’s fine.” The tired mother rolled her eyes and walked up the stairs with her baby, not in the mood for her boyfriends best case scenario talk.

“This could have been prevented by the both of you.” Maureen pointed to the two men who’s heads hung in shame.

“You should’ve made it clear to your father it was just up the block and back, and you should’ve texted the mother of your child.” She then directed her attention towards her husband. “And you need to pay more attention and keep your phone on you.”

“Sorry.” The two men answered in unison, ashamed to have messed up so greatly.

_______________________________________

The rest of the night was foreignly quiet, Bailey was exhausted and the couple was avoiding one another. After everyone had dinner together Maureen and Eric retreated back to the RV and the kids were all tucked in their beds. Once Link walked into the bedroom after his shower he sighed realizing Amelia wasn’t there. He quietly trekked into the nursery to be met with Amelia asleep in the rocking chair and her hand inside the crib, their sons hand was loosely holding her index finger. He would’ve smiled at the sight of he didn’t know what she was doing, her plan was to sleep in here tonight to avoid having to be in the same bed as him. He carefully removed her hand and picked her up out of the chair.

“Nooo.” Amelia sleepily groaned. “I’m sleeping in here.”

“No you’re not, your going to sleep in our bed.” He softly affirmed as he laid her down on her side of the bed. Once he moved to the other side of the bed and got settled his girlfriend was now wide awake and turned to face him.

“What happened today can never ever happen again.”

“It won’t I promise.”

“You know we’re so good at communicating within our relationship but not so great outside of it.” Link chuckled nodding in agreement. “You need to tell me when you get called in, and you need to let others know what the plan is, so they’re not getting lost in Seattle woth two small children.”

“I promise.” Link grabbed her hand in a reassuring manner. “I am so so sorry for what happened today, I was just so excited to be operating and I just lost my mind and didn’t think about anything outside of that operation.”

“I know this is hard for you, your not used to kids in the capacity that I am. You didn’t grow up in a loud house and you don’t have a large quantity of nieces and nephews. Your used to dealing with the occasional peds patient for like twenty minutes. I’m not saying your bad with kids I mean the peds floor loves you, it’s just this is a lot really quickly and non stop.”

“Wow you just articulated how I feel perfectly and I haven’t been able to even form a cohesive thought of what Im feeling.”

“Hmm, maybe that’s because you just sleep so you don’t have to think about feelings.” Link chuckled, sliding over to kiss her sweetly.

“I love you.” Link affirmed. “And I’m so sorry about today.”

“Tomorrow will be better.” Amelia agreed. “And I love you even more.”

“Impossible.”

[captain-teemo-locked-and-loaded]

Jr. Scout Adventure

Part 1

Teemo had been around for a while, and had seen a lot of changes made to Bandle over the course of his life. Changes were made to the Scouts too. There were kids now, for one.

He deeply disapproved of the Jr Scouts program, not because it was a military program aimed at children, or because it could very easily lead to said children getting hurt, but because it meant Teemo would have to deal with children.

Regular grown up people were unpleasant enough, but children were irrational, unpredictable, and generally disgusting.

It was a nice day in Bandle City, with weather that was warm but also breezy and a robin’s egg blue sky with fat white clouds scooting heartily across it above. Teemo smiled warmly at the group of three Jr Scouts that were lined up in front of him, all looking up at him with such obvious hero worship it made him want to burst out laughing. Kids were stupid, but at least they were easy to manipulate.

“I’m told you did well on your last assignment, Jr Scouts,” he told them seriously and the three of them looked like they might explode with pride.

“We always do our very best, sir!” declared the leader of the Jr Scout patrol, the girl with the glasses. Teemo didn’t sigh, but the enthusiasm made him tired.

“That is the Scout way,” he said instead, nodding, “but your success means you need a new assignment.”

The three young yordles looked up at him with huge eyes and Glasses even started bouncing on her heels. Teemo smiled at them again instead of sighing or rolling his eyes. The task he was going to give them was menial at best, but they were children, so that described pretty much all the tasks they were given.

Teemo produced a sheet of paper, ostensibly a page from his journal, although in actuality it was a copy he had made for this. He wasn’t in the habit of ripping pages out of his journal. On it was a list of plants and other ingredients needed to make a sleep concoction that he sometimes used in darts when he had been ordered to go non-lethal, as well as the longitude and latitude of where to find them in the forest that surrounded Bandle. Technically he grew all of them in his greenhouse and didn’t need anyone to go get them for him, but the kids needed something to do.

He handed Glasses the list and explained their task. “Find me all these ingredients. Use your map and compass to reach each location and your field guides to identify each ingredient correctly, do not eat any of these plants, they’ll make you sick if you do.” Better safe than sorry, he figured. None of the plants were lethally toxic, but they could cause vomiting and such and Teemo wasn’t keen on getting yelled at because he didn’t warn them.

“We’ll get them all, Captain! You can count on us!” cried Glasses, and the other two yordlelings agreed fiercely.

“Good, I’ll count on you to do it then,” Teemo gave them all a stern look, “Remember to watch out for traps and other hazards. No landscape is without danger, remember that.”

“Yes sir!” The three cried in unison.

“Good,” Teemo replied with a nod, “Then off you go, you have three days.”

The kids didn’t need telling twice and with a chorus of ‘yes sir’ they saluted and then ran off.

Teemo sighed just a little and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“What’s this?” said Tristana who had been not so inconspicuously listening in from where she sat on a crate nearby cleaning her weapon, “The great Captain Teemo, tired out by a couple kids?”

Teemo gave her a wan smile, “They’re rambunctious,” he told her and she laughed.

“They love you, T,” Tristana replied with a huge amused grin, “Just keep smiling at them and say ‘good job’ now and then and they’ll worship the ground you walk on. No worries.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Teemo told her dryly. She clicked her tongue and gave him a pair of finger guns before getting back to her Boomer Cannon.

Teemo left to go do some actual work and put the kids out of his mind.

Two days later their parents reported that the three Jr Scouts hadn’t come home.

[the-hilda-librarians-wife]

A familiar Soul - Chapter Nine

Summary: Hilda decides to be completely honest with her mother, surprised when she seems to be a lot more in on magic than Hilda had expected her to be.

With her daughter’s association with witches, Johanna is forced to face some secrets of her own, bringing her back to feelings and people she’d rather have left behind

Dealing with insecurities and inner demons of her own, Kaisa finds herself face to face with the very issues that brought her to be so displeased with her own abilities

Or: the one where Johanna is Kaisa’s familiar

Notes: I suppose this is more of a filler chapter, but I hope you could enjoy some shippy fluff anyways. And look! We’re over the half way mark now :D

Read it on ao3: (chpt1) (chpt2) (chpt3) (chpt4) (chpt5) (chpt6) (chpt7) (chpt8) (chpt9)

The second time Matilda hears that story, the atmosphere is astoundingly different.

She pretends to never have heard about the recent happenings in the sewers, of course, because Frida sounded so excited about her success that she wanted to give the girl an opportunity to ramble about it all she wanted, without leaving any detail out. Tildy would be the first to admit she was no actress, but she thought she did quite well with making exclamations of surprise, worry and wonder at just the right times, all the while feeling the warmth of pride fill her chest.

Hilda had come with her that day, and even though she wasn’t as thrilled with the recent adventure as her witch, it was stark clear that she wasn’t traumatized or scarred from it like any other person would be. If there was anything bothering her, it seemed to have been her mother’s attitude, but she hadn’t talked much about it and Tildy hadn’t pressed her. Still, the sorceress couldn’t deny that the outcome could have easily been tragic had her apprentices taken any longer to arrive, and as someone who cared about Hilda that truly didn’t sit well with her. Besides, she had made a promise to Johanna, after all.

Having been told that story by Kaisa right after it had happened, she had had enough time to prepare for the girls’s next visit. On top of the small table by the door, there were two miniature drawstring velvet bags, the sort that was used to carry crystals when a witch wished to take them on a trip. Inside those two, however, there were no precious stones, and Tildy picked them up when she had finished congratulating Frida for her magic feat.

“Only one thing worries me.” As nonchalantly as she could, Tildy weighed the two bags on her hands, making sure they felt the same. “If something of the sort happens again, you might not be as close to Hilda, or vice versa. I made some of this for both of you, and it would make this old woman a lot calmer if you could promise to keep it with yourselves at all times.”

Frida took the bags from her hands and passed one on to Hilda, whose curiosity immediately led her to opening it. A bluish glow lit up the underside of her face as she stared inside, amazed. It looked like Tildy had captured all of the stars in the sky and trapped them in that tiny satchel.

“What is this?” Frida asked as she looked over Hiilda’s shoulder and into her friend’s bag. The scent of seawater tickled her nose, and traveled down to her lungs making her feel like she was on the beach on a stormy day.

“Enchanted kraken shell powder.”

Hilda gasped “Kraken shell?!”

“Enchanted powdered kraken shell. Should one of you ever be in danger, the other needs only to step on some amount of the powder and find themselves instantly by their side. Crafty, isn’t it?”

Blinking, Frida tried to get past her surprise. Yes, it was crafty, but most of all it was impossible. Wasn’t it?

“Tildy, how on earth did you get this?”

Her mentor shrugged. “I know people. And the kraken was already dead, so worry not for that.”

While Frida tried to comb her mind for any spell that had a similar end and could be manipulated to have that same result, attempting to figure out how such an awe inspiring feat was done, Hilda’s head was already filled with ideas of how useful that could come in the future.

“That’s so cool!” She exclaimed. “Could it work with other people too?”

Dialing Hilda’s excitement down, Tildy moved her head left to right in a negative gesture. “This powder only works between witch and familiar. That’s why it's so rare. Familiars are usually treated as pets, so they rarely stay away from their witch at all.”

“But how are we supposed to know when the other will need help if we’re not close by?’

“But that’s the exciting part!” Tildy clasped her hands together in glee. “I think it’s time for you two to learn about the call!”

Though she herself didn’t know what that was about, Hilda noticed Frida gasp softly; no doubt her witch had already read about that.

“That’s really true? I tried to send the call to Hilda one day to test it but… I don’t think it worked.”

“Wait, what?” Hilda turned to her friend while her mentor watched them with amusement. “I never got any call from you.”

“That’s why I’m saying it didn’t work, Hilda.”

“The call isn’t something you get, darling.” Moving past them, Tildy began walking in the direction of the room where they did their magic training. It was the girls’ cue to follow her. “It is something you feel. The bond between witch and familiar is so strong that you are able to send a signal of sorts to each other, but you have to properly learn how to do it first. Once this ability is activated, you never lose it.”

“So cool!” Both of them gasped at the same time as they followed on the sorceress’s tail.

Turning the brass knob clockwisely and sending a jolt of magic through it (after all, what kind of witch would she be if her spell room was protected only by mundane ways?), Tildy opened the door to allow them in.

“It’s good to see your excitement! Shall we begin?”

_#_#_#_

Even though Kaisa would be the first to say that rainy days were her favourite, she had to admit to being glad for the sun shining brightly that afternoon. The event would be ruined otherwise, and that would make Johanna terribly upset.

Children of different ages ran excitedly through the stands that were put up in the field near the Sparrow Scouts Hall, playing games which Kaisa couldn’t recognize or gathering close to said stands. The Raven Leader had had the idea of introducing the children to different crafts, in order to try and make them interested in parts of their culture that weren’t given much attention. Being one of the senior Sparrow Scouts, Johanna had taken upon herself great part of the responsibility for organizing that event, and Kaisa even had accompanied her to those professionals’ houses to be with her when she made the invitation. Artisans with a wide range of different abilities now showed their skills to the children, and Kaisa was sure her girlfriend must be feeling really proud of the result of her work.

As she looked for Johanna among the swarm of similarly dressed scouts, Kaisa could only imagine how livid Henrietta would be if she learned that a witch so close to being fully trained was attending such a human event; mingling with non witches was not something she was encouraged to do, and the feeling of rebellion made being there even more worth it. Of course, that still couldn’t compare to the chance of seeing her girlfriend doing something she felt comfortable with.

Kaisa found her in the middle of the crowd, giving information to a trio of children who didn’t know where to begin exploring the event. After sending them on their way to a woman who was demonstrating the making of julehjerters, little decorative hearts of weaved paper, Johanna lifted her gaze and noticed the witch observing her. With a smile on her face, she beckoned Kaisa closer and closed her in a tight hug.

“I’m so glad to see you here!” She chirped into Kaisa’s cardigan, both of them taking a couple of seconds to just hold each other.

“The pleasure is all mine.” Answered Kaisa, looking around without dislodging herself from the embrace. “Are you sure I can be here, though? I only see other scouts around.”

Granted, the witch knew she wasn't the best of influences when it came to following rules, but she still wouldn’t want Johanna to get into any kind of trouble because of her. There were no other outsiders around her, and Kaisa didn’t think stealing a sash from some random kid would be a good solution.

Johanna took a step back, though she kept herself close enough that they were still holding each other’s waits, and smiled. “Don’t worry about it! We were encouraged to call people for the event. I just asked you to come earlier so we could make the most out of it, but people will begin arriving soon enough.”

“‘The most of it?’” Kaisa lifted an eyebrow.

“Of course!” Johanna’s eyes glittered as she tugged on her hand, guiding her girlfriend through the gathering. Kaisa didn’t resist, trusting her girlfriend knew where she was going as she began feeling a scent of flour and hearth in the air, which got stronger with every step they took. “There are things we must try before there are queues! Have you ever eaten a traditional lefse?”

_#_#_#_

Johanna had been right; it didn’t take long before a crowd began gathering on the field, both people who seemed to be there for their Sparrow Scout loved ones or those who only happened to hear about the event and showed up to enjoy the activities. As she’d already worked hard to make that event happen, not much else was expected from her except helping a confused younger scout every now and then, leaving her with time to spend with Kaisa.

Already eating their second serving of lefse with butter, they were discussing a way to find the recipe (Kaisa had offered to use a spell to steal a copy from the stallman, but unfortunately Johanna had stopped her before she had the chance) when one of the faces among the ones surrounding them caught their attention. Not because it was familiar to them in any way, but because there was something unquestionably strange about it. Framed by eerily red bangs, the girl’s eyes seemed to reflect no light at all. Johanna tried to point her out subtly.

“There’s something weird about that girl.” She said, watching Kaisa’s eyes narrow as if she was staring right through the other teenager.

“She’s a marra.” The witch stated with not an inkling of doubt in her voice, even though Johanna couldn’t tell what kind of magic she might have used to reach that conclusion, and turned to her with a sly smile in the corner of her mouth. “Should we do something about it?”

“No, I don’t think we should. Let’s not ruin our lovely day.”

“Anna, where is your sense of adventure?” Kaisa lifted an eyebrow, only half joking. She had noticed that with each passing day her girlfriend became less and less excited about the things they used to do together. It didn't mean that they were drawing apart, since they still always enjoyed simply being together, but sometimes Kaisa worried that things were changing too fast; while Johanna got more mature, she still felt moved by the same things she did as a child. She could only hope Johanna would never outgrow magic. It’s not like Kaisa had anything else to offer her.

“Right here, as always.” Johanna tapped her chest playfully, making Kaisa giggle, and then slid her arm across her girlfriend’s back to keep her close. “But the only adventure I’m interested in right now is being with you.”

Rolling her eyes, Kaisa leaned her head against Johanna’s shoulder and resigned herself to not doing anything. She watched the bustling event with little interest, focusing only on Johanna’s comments about school, her family, the Sparrow Scouts and all the other things happening in her life. Adventurous or not, she would have loved to spend the whole evening like that. Soon, however, Johanna took her arm away from around her witch, which made her look up questioningly.

Johanna was wearing an apologetic expression, trying her best to not look away from Kaisa’s face. The few strands of curly copper hair falling in front of her eyes made her seem disheveled for a moment. “We should probably get going. People are leaving, the place will be deserted soon.”

“Right.” Kaisa sat upright on the bench. “Want to come over for dinner? Tildy said she was making stew.”

The smile that Johanna had managed to put up wavered. “I’d love to, but… not today.”

After so many years, Kaisa recognized that tone of voice, and her own happiness faltered. “Your parents?”

“Yeah.” As a cooler breeze brushed against their skins, Johanna shivered. “They don’t like it that I seem to be out more often than before.”

It took Kaisa effort not to huff. Of course Johanna was going out more; she was trying to get extracurriculars under her belt for when the time came to send out college applications, not to mention how she had taken to helping some of her friends with their studying. How it escaped Johanna’s parents' notice that they were lucky to have a daughter like Johanna, Kaisa didn’t know, but she did take them for fools for it. Though Kaisa had to admit that their wariness of her didn’t get them any points with her either.

She did, of course, know that Johanna was certainly more upset with this than she could be. It was her problem to deal with, after all, and Kaisa wouldn’t make it worse by protesting. As they lifted themselves up to their feet, she tried to smile reassuringly.

“You could come over some other day, then. Don’t worry about it.”

Despite her mood, Johanna’s spirits were lifted by Kaisa’s thoughtfulness, and she leaned in to kiss her girlfriend sweetly on her lips, uncaring of who could see them. She tasted of coffee and of the lefse they’d had some time before, leaving Johanna slightly breathless when she drew back. Their hands interlaced between them as their foreheads touched, they had to make an enormous amount of effort to let go.

“Good evening, then.” Kaisa whispered, wondering how on earth the day had passed by so fast. If she thought such magic even existed, she would have suspected of some wicked witch casting a spell to steal their time from them. “And good luck.”