#should grab my tablet and actually draw outside my room for once.

[hyacinthmonster]

My brain keeps making AUs, I try to ignore because that's too many for my brain to not overload, and now I have a thought of "Mortuary assistant X Undertale" kinda AU and I just yeah. Asgore is the one that hired you so that one guy who's name escapes me. And I silly person so I want it to be sans that takes the role of the one character in the game you play as.

I might actually go with this, my brain hurts. I need to focus on my boooook.

But I keep getting silly dumb AU ideas I wanna draw neglecting all my other sanss.

Gunna rewatch mark playing the game for some screenshots so I have ref on the rooms.

I am so slow at doing things I feel I should be doing.

It probably be called MortuaryTale or UnderMortuary or something like that. Probably already exists but Ima make my own for no real reason other than stress myself out lol. I honestly just think I'd have fun. I have fun making AUs even if I struggle to work on them past a point. Probably just my depression getting to me.

Fluff depression I wanna do thing I once loved so much even if it stresses me I shall be a butt and try untill I'm outta gass unable to be motivated to even watch shows or eat.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah

I'm half asleep still, I feel.

[chimnevhan]

Mystery Man: Luke Alvez x Female Reader

Prompt: The reader has to go to a wedding and tells her mother she is bringing her “boyfriend” that doesn’t actually exist, so Luke volunteers to go.

Words: 4.7k

Notes: This is my first real fanfiction I have written in about a year! I hope you enjoy

~~~~~~~~~~~ Y/n woke up to the sound of her phone ringing. She checked the caller id to see that it was her mother. She answered the call and her mother began to yell in her ear.

“Y/n this wedding is in two weeks, and you said you were going to rsvp last week. You are cutting very close to the deadline and you know your cousin hates it when you do that. Also, are you bringing that mystery boyfriend?” Y/n’s mother yelled through the phone. 

“Good morning to you to Mother. I know I said I was going to rsvp last week, I just got busy with a new case. I will put in for the time off today and talk to my boyfriend and see if he wants to come with.” Y/n said as she started to stress over how there was no mystery boyfriend. She made it up to please her mother. 

“There is no seeing if he wants to come with Y/n. He is either coming or you are not coming at all. I can not have my only daughter come without her boyfriend. The family will think I raised you to be a joke, which I did not. Do you understand me? Send in your rsvp today and I will talk to you later.” With that, her mother hangs up leaving y/n speechless as she lay in her bed. Y/n looked at the clock and realized she was going to be late for work. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As soon as y/n sat down at her desk, Luke could immediately tell something was off about her mood. It didn’t take a profiler to tell she was upset about something. He was about to get up to ask her what was wrong but before he could Emily called the team into the briefing room. Luke walked with y/n to the briefing room. 

“Hey, do you want to talk about it on the jet?” He whispered in her ear as they walked up the steps. She nodded in response as she walked into the room. Luke took the seat next to her and opened up his tablet to see what the case was about.

“We have a case in Lewiston, Maine. Four women have been tortured and killed in the last 4 days. The local police are calling us in due to the connections each of the victims have. They are all between the ages of 21-25 and were all last seen leaving local bars. Alright, we will discuss more once we get there. Get your go bags and then wheels up.” Emily stated as she turned off the board and walked out of the room. 

Y/n and Luke grabbed their bags from under their desks and headed to the elevator. Once the elevator doors shut Luke looked at his sad coworker. 

“So what is going on in that beautiful head of yours?” Luke asked as he put his hand on y/n’s back. 

“Oh my cousin’s wedding and just me disappointing my mother again. How does she expect me to have a boyfriend with the job I have? I honestly do not understand how JJ and Will make it work. I mean they even have kids too.” Y/n said with a sigh as she looked up at Luke.

“So what about the wedding. Are you going? It will be a good chance to get out of work for a week. You do need a break.” Luke said, trying to comfort her. 

“I want to go, I think it would be nice, but I don’t have a boyfriend. I told my mom I had a boyfriend about 4 months ago. Yet I don’t, and she said if I don’t bring him with me, I am not allowed to go.” 

“I will go. You know, if you want. I mean come on. The team already thinks we are dating. We spend almost every day together, we share rooms on cases, how hard could it be?” Luke said with a smile as the elevator doors opened. 

“Luke, are you sure? I mean. It is a lot more than what we have now. You know my family.” Y/n said as she got into the passenger side of Luke’s car. 

“I am sure. I have a suit and everything. Just let me know how many days and I will request off. I have as many vacation days as you if not more. I am sure Garcia would be more than happy to watch Roxy while I am gone.” Luke replied as he started the car. “Plus, it will get you a break from your mother hounding you.” 

“Well, I guess I will send in the rsvp,” Y/n mumbled as she took out her phone. With a click of a button, she was in. “No backing out on me now Alvez.” Y/n said with a smirk on her face. 

They arrived at the airport in no time and met the rest of the team on the jet. As they walked in they received smirks from the rest of the team. 

“There are the love birds.” Rossi said as Luke and y/n sat down on the couch. Everybody laughed and received eye rolls from the pair. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 The flight wasn’t long and the team was in Lewiston within 2 hours. Emily assigned everyone to go to different offices, pairing everyone up. Reid and Simmons, Tara and Rossi, Her and JJ, and Y/n and Luke. 

On their way to the corners, Luke asked Y/n about what he should bring and what he should be expecting at this wedding. 

“Well it is in the Bahamas so bring a swimsuit, and nice dress clothes. Honestly Luke, just be yourself. My family will like you more than they like me anyway.”

“Oh, Y/n that isn’t true. I am sure they all love you very much.” Luke comforted her with a soft smile. 

“Well. We will be sharing a room, but that shouldn’t be a problem, since we do it all the time. Basically, act as my boyfriend. Kiss me every now and then, hold my hand, tell me you love me. I will play along. No one there will notice a thing, they didn’t go to school to be a profiler. They don’t notice the little things like you and I do.” Y/n told him as they pulled into the corners parking lot. 

“So you wouldn’t mind if I just-” Luke grabbed y/n and kissed her. 

“LUKE!! Oh my god- WE ARE WORKING!!” Y/n screamed as she pulled away. “But yes, do that, except when we are not working!!” As y/n got out of the car, Luke sat there in shock. After a few seconds passed he got out of the car

The two of them walked into the coroner's office, silently. Y/n was still shocked that Luke would kiss her in the middle of a case. They met up with the medical examiner and went back to the morgue. The bodies laid covered on tables throughout the room. 

“Which is the first victim?” Y/n asked the medical examiner. 

“This one over here.” She replied, leading Luke and y/n over a body. “Her name is Melissa Vernon. She is 23 and her cause of death was a gunshot to the head.”

“Was there any signs of torture to any of the victims?” Luke asked.

“No sir, they seemed to be tied to a chair, shot in the head, and then left to be found.” 

“Alright, thank you. Give us a call if you find anything new.” Y/n said as she followed Luke out of the morgue. Luke and y/n walked out to the car and headed back to the station.

“Something seemed off about the victims.” Luke mentioned to y/n while they were driving. 

“What about them?” Y/n answered. She was confused about what he was trying to say.

“None of the victims were drunk when they were abducted nor poisoned.”

“You are right, so either they all knew the unsub or he was able to seduce them to want to go home with him.” Y/n said as she took out her phone. “I am going to ask Penelope to look into the background of the victims more. Have her check past history with the victims.” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Once back at the station Luke filled Emily in with the information they gathered while y/n was on the phone with Garcia. 

“So according to their cell phone records each victim had a 2 minute phone call with the same number 5 minutes before they were abducted. Garcia tried to find the owner of the number but it was on a disposable phone, but based off of the towers the phone pinged off of. The unsub was in this area during the time of each call.” Y/n said as she drew on the map on the whiteboard. 

“If we spread out, tonight we might be able to catch him if he is around. I am sure with his killing pace, one victim a night, he will strike again. I think it is time to give the profile.” Emily stated as she texted the rest of the team to get back to the station as fast as they could. 

When the rest of the team arrived at the station, they gave the profile. 

“Alright, everyone go back to the motel, freshen up. Get some lunch and then meet back around here by 5 pm.” Emily told her team. As everyone left Luke and y/n stayed behind. 

“Hey Prentiss, I have to talk to you.” Y/n stated as she sat down at the table Emily was sitting at. 

“Alright, Luke, wait outside.” 

“No Emily, he can stay.” Luke shut the door and sat down at the table with the women. “In two weeks I need to take personal time for a week, and so does Luke.” Y/n said to Emily as she fiddled with her hands. She looked up to see that Emily had a grin on her face. “No Emily it’s not-”

“No need to explain y/n whenever we get back to Quantico I will put in both of your personal days.” Emily said as she got up from the table and led the two out of the room. 

“Do you want to go get some dinner since we have an hour to kill?” Luke said as he opened the station door so y/n could walk out of the building. “You could also tell me more about what I am getting myself into going to this wedding.” 

“Yeah, we can do that. I am starving.” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After they sat down at their table, Luke noticed something off about y/n as she looked around the restaurant. He looked around to see what she was looking at, but then suddenly her head snapped back in his direction. 

“Y/n what is the matter? Tell me what you see.” Luke questioned her. 

“Something seems off about the guy in the corner, but I am probably just over reacting. Anyways, what do you want to know about my family?” Y/n answered as she drawed all of her attention back to Luke. 

“Well I know you have one of the richest families in the Quantico area. Anything I shouldn’t say or watch what I say around them?” Luke asked as he took a sip of his lemonade. 

“Well, don’t make smart ass comments, don’t be loud, just act like my mother but in Luke form.” Y/n began. “Wait, do not act like my mother, don’t be a bitch. Basically if you just stand there and nod your head you will be fine.” Y/n laughed at the comment she made about her mother, receiving a laugh from Luke as well. 

“Alright, I won’t act like your mom. So, how long has your cousin and her fiance been together?” 

“Oh, they have been friends since highschool. They have probably been dating for years by now.” Y/n said with an eye roll as the waitress brought over their food. While eating y/n saw the strange man from the corner exiting the building. “Luke, he has a gun.” 

“Well, y/n so do we.” Luke said as he took another bite of his lo mein. 

“Luke, he has it hidden in the back of his shirt, and it is the same gun used in the murders.” Y/n said as she got up from the table and Luke followed. “Luke tells the waitress that we will be back in to pay. I am going out to talk to the guy.” With that she walked out of the building to see the man leaning against the side of the building smoking a cigarette. “Hey, do you have a permit to be carrying that firearm sir?” 

“Well hello there pretty lady.” The man said as he put out his cigarette. Luke walked out of the building right as the man drew his gun and aimed it towards y/n. Luke walked up slowly behind y/n and pointed his gun at the man. “I can take you both out in one shot, now I suggest you let me leave peacefully if you want to get back to your little date.” Both Luke and y/n lowered their weapons and let the man go. 

“If we see that man again. I-” Luke began before y/n cut him off. 

“You won’t do anything.” 

“Y/n he drew his gun on you for asking a question. You expect me to just let that happen?” 

“No, but I had it under control Luke. I am going to go pay the tab and then we can head back to the station to meet with Emily and the team.” Y/n said as she walked back into the restaurant. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The car ride back was silent because y/n was taking a short nap. Luke was going to be honest with himself. He was glad he was going to be spending the week with y/n down in the Bahamas. Maybe she will get the same feelings that he has for her while they are fake dating.  

Once at the station everyone headed out to their designated destinations. It was getting dark and the unsub should be making the call soon. Penelope was on the phone with the team and was keeping track to see when the phone would ping. Y/n was standing next to Luke when she noticed movement in a car. The car looked just like the car they saw the strange man get into at the restaurant. 

“Luke over there. Penelope, have you got anything yet?” Y/n whispered as she crouched down behind a bench as she moved closer to the car. 

“Y/n that is him. Be safe my angels.” Penelope said before she hung up. The team slowly moved in and circled the vehicle. 

“FBI get out of the vehicle and keep your hands in the air!” Luke yelled as he moved toward the drivers side of the car. The Unsub jumped out and took off in a sprint. Luke followed him down the street. 

“Agent Alvez I have a clean shot. Do you want me to take the shot?” One of the sharpshooters asked Luke. 

“No don’t shoot, I repeat Agent do not shoot!” 

“Agent Alvez are you sure?”

“Yes.” Luke groaned as he caught up to the unsub. The unsub had nowhere to go; he ran into a dead end alleyway with no escape plan. Luke knocked the guy down to the ground and cuffed him. Y/n caught up and helped Luke put the man in the car. 

“I figured I would see you around again pretty lady.” The unsub said as Luke shoved him into the back of the officer’s car. Y/n shivered over the fact that this awful man called her a pretty lady. 

“Hey Luke are you okay? That was a rough fall to the ground.” Y/n said as Luke walked over to where she was standing. 

“Yeah. I will ice it when we get back to the motel room. Speaking of the motel room, do you want to head back now? It is getting late and Emily wants to leave before 7 tomorrow.” The two of them walked over to their vehicle and drove back to the motel. Y/n asked Luke if he wanted her to drive but he insisted on driving. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Two weeks had passed and the team had been fortunate to have been doing desk work since the Lewiston case. Today was the day y/n and Luke were leaving for the wedding. They face timed the night before so they could make sure they had everything they needed for the trip. Luke arrived at y/n’s house earlier in the morning so they could leave for their flight. Y/n was tired and slept through her alarm so she didn’t hear Luke knocking on the door. 

“Y/n we are going to be late if you don’t hurry up.” Luke said as he stood outside of her door. A few minutes passed and she still didn't answer, then he remembered that she gave him a key to his apartment. “Y/n, I am coming inside.” Luke announced as he opened the door. He saw her bags on the floor in the living room but didn’t see her anywhere. He walked around for a bit looking for her, until he found her sleeping in her bed. He has seen her sleeping many times before but never in her own bed. He couldn’t help but smile. She looked so peaceful and he hated that he had to wake her up. He walked over to the bed and crouched down next to it. “Y/n we have to leave.” He said in a soothing voice trying to wake her up. It worked and she sat straight up. 

“Oh god, I slept through my alarm. Let me brush my hair and we can go. I am so sorry Luke.” Y/n groaned as she got out of bed and ran into her bathroom. 

“No no take your time, I figured we could stop and get coffee before we leave anyway, so no rush.” Luke said as he walked back into her living room. “I am going to take your bags down to my car y/n I will be back up then.” 

A few minutes later y/n met Luke down at his car. She helped him load her bags into the trunk and backseat of his car and then sat in the passenger seat. Luke readjusted some things in the trunk and then joined her in the car.

“I am so sorry Luke, I really didn’t mean to oversleep.” Y/n sighed as she rested her head against the car window. 

“Hey Y/n it is fine, really it is. You can sleep some more, so you will be rested for the trip.” Luke said with a smile as he rubbed her shoulder. The touch of his hand caused y/n to blush. She was so glad to have Luke as her friend, but she didn’t want to admit to herself that she had some feelings for him. 

“Alright, thank you for coming Luke. Honestly, what would I do without you?” Y/n chuckled as she shut her eyes. Luke laughed with her and continued his drive to the airport. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thirty minutes later Luke pulled into the parking lot at the airport. Their flight would leave in about twenty minutes. He figured he would let y/n sleep for about five more minutes so she would be well rested for their long flight. 

“Hey y/n we are here.” Luke said softly as he opened the passenger door. Y/n stretched her arms and yawned. Luke didn’t know if he had ever seen something so beautiful before. The way the sun shined in her tired eyes and her smile. He wished she felt the same way about him as he felt about her. Y/n got out of the car and grabbed her bags from the back of the car. She noticed someone standing outside of the airport, someone familiar. As they got closer she realized it was her mother. 

“Oh my god, Alvez hold my hand.” Y/n mumbled as she reached for his hand. He accepted her urgent offer and took her hand in his. “See that woman standing over there. That is my mother.” Luke nodded his head in response to her statement. Once they made their way over to the front of the airport y/n’s mother greeted them with a smile. 

“Hello dear, you must be the mystery boyfriend, my daughter has been talking about for a while.” Y/n’s mother said as she gave Luke a hug. Y/n just rolled her eyes. “What is your name, darling?” Y/n’s mother asked as she started to walk into the building.

“My name is Luke, it is a pleasure to meet you. Y/n always says such nice things about you.” Luke answered with a smile as he opened the door for y/n and her mother.

“Wait, you are Luke? The one that works with my daughter?” Y/n’s mother said in shock. Luke nodded in response. “Wow, whenever she is over she never stops talking about you. I was going to be a bit upset if you weren’t the mystery man.” Y/n’s face got bright red and she looked down at the floor of the airport. Luke gave y/n a soft grin to let her know it was okay. “Well, Luke, I apologize you couldn’t bring your dog with. Roxy is her name, correct?” Luke was surprised, y/n did talk about him a lot. 

“Yes ma’am that is her name. It is fine, she is being watched by one of our coworkers while we are away.” He answered with a smile as he loaded the bags into the bag cart. After some more small talk with y/n’s mother they all boarded the plane and they were off to The Bahamas.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Six hours later the plane landed in The Bahamas. Half way through the flight y/n had fallen asleep on Luke’s shoulder. He saw her mother taking photos of them, and to be honest he didn’t mind. Luke was glad to see that y/n was finally getting some rest, since their job didn’t allow a normal sleep schedule. After they got off of the plane they received their bags and headed to the hotel room. 

After they got to the hotel Luke helped y/n’s mother take her luggage to her room, and then joined y/n in their room. When he entered the room he was surprised to see her nowhere in sight. He laid his bags on the bed and that is when he noticed she was standing on the balcony. He sat on the bed and took a photo of her. He figured he would use it as his wallpaper while they were on vacation. Y/n’s skin glowed in the evening sunlight, her hair was moving with the wind, she was honestly the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. He got up out of bed and walked out to join her. 

“Hey sunshine.” Luke said as he hugged her from behind. Y/n lifted her head up to look at him. 

“You know you don’t have to be so nice to me when my family isn’t around.” She muttered as she turned to face him. 

“I know, but how could I not be nice to you?” He said with a chuckle. Y/n punched him on the shoulder and walked back into the hotel room and flopped on the bed. 

“Well “babe” what do you want to watch on tv?” Y/n asked him sarcastically and patted the spot next to her on the bed. 

“Whatever you want to watch is fine, and I am not Roxy, you don’t need to pat the bed for me to come over.” Luke replied as he sat down next to her gently. She smirked at his reply and started to look for a channel on the tv. “So y/n, what does your dress look like?” 

“It is a tea length lavender dress, with a lace pattern on the front. I hope whatever you chose matches well.” Y/n said as she laid back and rested her head on Luke’s chest. Luke felt his face getting hot and he could tell it was most likely red. He never imagined that y/n would use his chest as a pillow. “Well there is nothing good on tv. I think we should just go to bed because we have, well at least I do, a long day tomorrow. My cousin is already mad I didn’t come to the rehearsal tonight.” She said as she turned off the tv. Luke yawned and that was their que that it was time to get some real rest.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Luke awoke to the sound of y/n moving around the hotel room. He laid there and watched her move in and out of the bathroom. She eventually noticed that he was watching her. “Do you like what you see Alvez?” He nodded and sat up in the bed. “I am going to need your help then.” y/n said as she grabbed her dress and walked back into the bathroom. After she shut the door Luke got up and got on his suit for the wedding. He left the tie in his suitcase and kept the top two buttons on his dress shirt open. He turned to look in the mirror and caught a glance of y/n as she opened the bathroom door. She glared at him and waved for him to come over. “Keep your mouth shut Luke. I know what you are going to say. Now can you help me zipper the back of this thing.” 

“Y/n… You look beautiful.” He said as he zippered up the back of her dress making sure she didn’t get any of her hair in the way. 

“Well, this will be the only time you ever see me in a dress because it never happens.” Y/n told him with a chuckle. “Well we better get going, I don't want to tick off my cousin anymore than I already do.” Y/n grabbed her bag and headed to the door. Luke was so glad that y/n chose him to be her fake boyfriend and not anyone else. He was glad that he was able to have some alone time with her and was going to be able to treat her like he has always wanted to, plus he figured there is no one on their team here to make fun of them. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Y/n’s mother met them in the hallway and her jaw dropped as she saw Luke and y/n standing together by the elevator. Luke heard her mother approaching and figured now would be an appropriate time to kiss y/n. 

“Y/n, can I kiss you?” Luke asked quietly so her mother wouldn’t hear. Y/n could feel the heat from her stomach rising up to her chest, she could feel Luke’s lips getting closer and closer to her’s. She knew her mother was standing behind them watching their every move, but she didn’t care. Kissing Luke was the only thing on her mind. The moment his lips touched hers y/n felt a sudden feeling of relief. This kiss lasted a lot longer than the one in the car outside of the coroner's office. When Luke pulled away y/n was a bit upset, but she knew there was more to come. “We will finish that later.” Luke whispered in her ear before he hit the elevator button to go down. 

“Yes, yes we will Agent Alvez.”

Taglist- @scandinavian-punk @hotchsbabygirl @haleymalaffey @queer-rambling @gravelyhumerus @luke-alvez @thelukealvez @sunlightgalaxy

[procrastinatorimagines]

Spoken For

Fandom: Chicago Med / One Chicago

Character/s: Connor Rhodes x Reader, Will Halstead

Warning/s: none

Word Count: 2,684

Request:  Hi there, can I get a Connor Rhodes x reader imagine? Where the reader starts at Med about a year after Connor did as she was taking care of their newborn son (they're married). When she starts at Med, Will immediately takes a liking to her, not knowing she's with his rival, Connor. He starts noticing Connor cozying up to reader and reader also being affectionate towards Connor and he gets jealous until one day their son comes to the hospital (he fell), thus exposing their marriage. Thank you

You didn’t regret the time you’d taken off of work after your son was born, but stepping through the door to the ED at Chicago Med you felt an instant sense of familiarity, it was good to be back.

The pregnancy had coinsided well with the move to Chicago, your husband Connor being offered a position there while you were in your second trimester. Being well into your third by the time of the move, you didn’t see the point in trying to find a job right away, and in the end your son had been nearly one by the time you’d made the decision to go back to work.

Given that both you and Connor were doctors you had very busy and demanding schedules, and with Connor already being offered a good job at Med, it made sense for you to be the one to take the time off, but you’d been getting a little stir crazy recently so you’d started to look into jobs in the ED again, by chance ending up with an offer from Med.

Connor was happy for you to be working with him, he co-workers knew he was married, but you knew he didn’t share much about his personal life and liked to keep both separate, so you were excited to finally get to meet the people he worked with.

It felt strange to be back in a hospital, but the rush of the ED had always been where you belonged, so with one last deep breath, you headed inside to start your first day.

You were heading through the waiting room, the desk you needed to go to to sign in right through the glass doors on the other end. The seats were packed, as expected, and you could see nurses and doctors bustling around on the other side of those doors, your new co-workers too. You didn’t see Connor, he’d had an early surgery and you’d refused to let him walk you in and make a scene, wanting to make a first impression based solely on your work as a doctor, not on your husband. 

Connor understood, knowing how difficult it was for you today anyway, your first full day without your son. You silently kicked yourself for wanting to call the sitter already to check in, it hadn’t even been a full half hour yet and you needed to make it through a full day. 

A cry for help ripped you from your worries as you turned quickly to where the sound came from. An older woman and her daughter had been sat at a couple of seats nearer the entrance, and the woman had now collapsed in her seat, slidling to the floor and seizing as her daughter called out.

There was another nurse in the waiting room, and she rushed to call for aid as you doubled back, rushing to the woman.

“I’m a doctor,” you informed the petrified looking daughter as you reached them, pushing through some onlookers you had started to crowd the woman and crouching down.

“Ma’am, ma’am can you hear me?” You asked her, immediately rolling her over and positioning her head and neck so that her airway was open. She was unresponsive and thrashing violently as you tried to get people to back up and give you room.

“Is she going to be okay?” The daughter asked, distraught as you held her mother’s head, trying to stop it smacking against the floor and attempting to take her pulse as another doctor and nurse arrived.

“She’s seizing, her heart rate’s rapid and breathing’s unsteady,” you informed the doctor who arrived, a tall red haired man who immediately got down next to you.

“Has this happened before?” The doctor asked the daughter who nodded, shaking.

“It’s why we came in, they’re getting worse,” she sobbed and you looked to the other doctor.

“We need to push diazepam and get her inside,” you told him and he nodded, the nurse who arrived with him handing you the dose as she readied a backboard and guerney.

Once it was administered you and the doctor carefully rolled the woman onto the backboard. “On my count, one, two, three,” he said as you both lifted the woman up and onto the guerney, wheeling her inside quickly.

“What we got?” A nurse at the desk inside the ED doors asked, most likely the one in charge, Connor had said her name was... Maggie right?

“Woman seized in the waiting room,” you told her, filling her in on the other details as she directed you to room 3.

You moved her again onto the bed and did a proper exam, the daughter rushing in behind you as you did. Once she was stabilised and tests were ordered, you turned to face the doctor who had helped you.

“Doctor Will Halstead,” he introduced himself, offering a hand and looking at you curiously. Your new ID clearly stated that you were a doctor here, but he’d definitely never met you before.

“Doctor Y/L/N, Y/N” you told him, seeing recognition on his face as he nodded. You’d kept your last name when you’d married Connor, mostly for professional reasons, so you doubted he knew you were married to him, he must have known you were starting today.

“Ah that’s right, Miss Goodwin said you’d be joining us today,” he said, “nice to meet you, and welcome to Med I guess,” he chuckled and you smiled. Despite the fact that any illusion you may have had about easing back into work had vanished quickly, it had been just like riding a bike, you were back to your old self pretty quickly.

The nurse from earlier reappeared. “Hi, nurse Sexton,” she greeted you and you returned the gesture, “you good to work this one with Doctor Halstead?” She asked, gesturing with the tablet in her hand to your patient.

“Definitely,” you nodded as she handed you her charts, it was time to get back to work.

Okay, so you might have called the sitter a couple more times than you should, but not nearly as much as you’d expected. This case had kept you pretty busy and you’d been running around with Halstead all day, even through your lunch with Connor too. He’d been okay with it, obviously understanding how hectic it could be, but by the time you’d had a break to eat he’d been back in surgery, so by the time your shift was finishing up you hadn’t actually seen him all day.

“Hell of a first day,” Will laughed as he entered the doctors lounge, going into his locker as you finished off in yours.

“Could have been worse,” you replied with a smile, not quite knowing why Connor had been off about this guy. From what you’d heard well, you hadn’t expected to like him so much, there wasn’t anybody in the ED that you’d met so far that you couldn’t see yourself getting on with, especially Will. 

“Night Will,” you told him, heading for the door before he called you back.

“Hey,” he said and you paused, “if you’re not doing anything tonight there’s a bar called Molly’s we all go to, buy you a drink to celebrate your first day?” He offered and you shook your head.

“Thanks for the offer really, but I have to head home,” you explained and he shrugged.

“Offers on the table if you’re ever interested,” he replied and you said your goodbyes, heading to the car park where you were meeting Connor.

He greeted you by the car and you headed home, discussing your day and spending time with your son. Connor didn’t seem too impressed that Will had asked you out for drinks, but you told him he was reaching, inviting a new co-worker out for a drink was a perfectly platonic thing to do, you reassured him, not that it did much good.

-

The next few days continued the same, Connor was slammed upstairs and today had been the first day he was back in the ED since you started, no one seeming to be any the wiser about your marriage. 

You still hadn’t gone for drinks at Molly’s, too busy with your son after shift, but you’d grabbed coffee and lunch with Will over the last couple of days when you could to go over your patients’ cases, or just because he was the only other person you were really getting to know at Med. You could tell Connor wasn’t entirely happy about it, but who was he to police your friendships? Just because he didn’t always get along with Will, didn’t mean you couldn’t.

“Hey,” Connor grinned as he met you at the nurses station, a tablet in your hand to give him on your possibly surgical patient. He took it without looking away from you, enjoying how you looked in your element of the ED. “I hear you’ve made a great impression so far,” he noted, nudging you playfully.

“So far so good,” you replied as he looked at your notes, nodding along. “It was Doctor Halstead’s call for a surgical consult, but I agree,” you explained as he read, his jaw clenching a little at the mention of Will yet again, but he said nothing, “she’s in treatment 4.”

“Well I’m sure you and Doctor Halstead are right, but I’d like to go speak to her first, and then we can get her prepped,” he concluded, looking back to where the patient’s family was talking outside her room, probably worried about the prospect of surgery.

“Sounds good,” you said, noticing Will approaching, the last of the labs in his hands, “I’ll see you later,” you told Connor, who winked at you and squeezed your upper arm as he left.

Will looked between you and where Connor was walking away with a puzzled expression, “what was that about?” He asked.

“Just going over the notes on our surgical patient,” you replied and he cast one last glance between the two of you before shaking his head a little and changing to subject to the labs he’d gotten back. Was he talking about the wink? You thought after a minute, but by that point you couldn’t really say anything, oh well, they’d find out about your marriage at some point.

-

“What do you mean he fell? Is he okay?” You asked frantically over the phone, drawing the attention of a number of doctors and nurses as you answered the call near the nurses station, including Will and your husband.

“Is it James?” Connor butted in at your side, watching you nod as you carried on listen to the sitter explaining what happened, apparently he’d taken a tumble near the coffee table and an empty glass had fallen, she said he had some cuts and was crying hysterically, so she was bringing him in right away. 

“Okay, okay, we’ll be here when you arrive,” you told her and hung up, turning back to your concerned husband. “He’s okay,” you reassured him, “he’s got a few scrapes but she isn’t sure how deep they are so she’s bringing him in now.” 

Connor took a sharp breath, “okay, okay, let’s just... wait until he gets here,” he said, more to calm himself down than you.

“Guys, who’s James?” Will asked finally, having been staring at you both perplexed during the entire conversation. 

“Our son,” Connor snapped back at him with a little too much force, but thankfully you saw that he did look a bit guilty about it.

“Your what?” Will repeated, the cogs turning in his head as he looked between the two of you, before he eyes settled on you, realisation dawning, “you and Connor... wait, you’re his wife?”

“Er yeah,” you replied, Connor gesturing for you to hurry it a long a bit so you could go wait for your son, “look, I have to go, talk later?” Will nodded, understanding the urgency but still looking confused as you walked away.

You met a very apologetic sitter at the entrance, your screaming child in her arms as you took him quickly, rocking him and shushing him as you brought him inside, grateful that Maggie had left a room open for when he arrived. 

Connor was in the room when you arrived, kissing him on the head as you set him down on the bed. He had cuts on his arms and legs, and a bump on his head from where he’d made contact with the table. To both yours and Connors relief, he didn’t need stitches, but the sitter had brought some of his favourite little treats and his favourite toy to distract him as your husband bandaged him up, checking the seriousness of the bump on the head. 

You strocked his hair lightly as he did, watching as he eventually began to settle back in the company of his parents, still sobbing quietly though as he sucked his thumb, arm of his teddy bunched in his fist.

Connor wanted to run a couple of tests while you were there, just to confirm his head was okay, and eventually you left to grab drinks, not wanting to leave your son but glad Connor was still with him. 

Will met you by the vending machine as you got a couple of waters. “How’s he doing?” He asked you, giving you a comforting smile.

“Good, Connor’s with him being his overcautious self,” you chuckled, “but he’s okay,” Will looked glad as he took your space in front of the machine to grab a snack.

“Why didn’t you say anything?” He finally spoke up, and you got it, it was strange that you’d been at this hospital nearly a week and not told anyone you were married to one of the surgeons in the same hospital, a surgeon they all knew.

“I wanted to be judged by my own merit at the hospital,” you replied honestly, “not on who my husband is.” At your last hospital... you’d met Connor in your final years of your residency, and you couldn’t count the number of looks and whispers that surrounded you every time he gave you a case or you did well at the hospital, like being with him meant you were being handed success or something. You hadn’t wanted that here, and Connor had thankfully understood.

Will contemplated that answer for a second before shrugging, “fair enough.” You were about to head back to Connor and James when you saw that there was something else he wanted to say, he thought for a second before continuing: “sorry, by the way... for hitting on you,” he said guiltily.

You blinked at him, realising Connor hadn’t been paranoid afterall. “You were hitting on me?” You asked him, a little shocked. 

“Why did you think I was asking you out for drinks?” He laughed and you shook your head, you’d been with Connor so long it hadn’t crossed your mind that anyone else would be interested.

“I don’t know, to be nice?” You guessed, unable to believe that you hadn’t seen it from the start. You couldn’t blame Will, he hadn’t even known you were married, let alone to Connor.

“Yeah well, honest mistake, sorry,” he apologised again, rubbing the back of his neck, “I’d appreciate it if you didn’t mention this to Connor though,” he added and you laughed.

Telling Connor? Yeah, that wouldn’t go down well. “Already forgotten,” you told him and he look appreciative.

“Okay well, if you want to go to Molly’s as friends, I’d still like that,” he suggested and you smiled, “Connor can come too if he can stand my company,” he grinned.

“I’d like that,” you told him, glad that this hadn’t ruined your friendship with Will. Will grabbed his food from the vending machine as he got a message about a patient.

“Okay well, that’s me, glad your son’s okay Y/N,” he said sincerely, getting ready to head off down the hall.

“Thanks Will,” you replied, heading off back to Connor and James, laughing to yourself about the whole situation.

[crypticpaw]

Frozen Paws, Frozen Heart

Entrapta X Hordak fic! (with Frosta’s participation)

Author’s note: I’m very, very proud of this fic! I just like writting/drawing Hordak being a parental figure! I really hope you guys like this one! Again, I’m always open to criticism and forgive my bad grammar! Tell me what you thought about it!

WARNINGS: Swearing?? Frosta swears a lot, I think we’re all very aware of that...

Clouds of dust and snow formed where Frosta had run past, zipping through the white, cold landscape, tirelessly chasing the hare. She barked and growled attempting to grab the swift thing with her mouth or paws, but it was always a little out of her reach. Frosta almost fell, making another rough turn, following the hare, surely trying to shake her off. Her little paws ached, having run so fast for so long, but the pup ignored it with a determined look on her face. She was going to catch this damn hare if it was the last thing she did! She barked and barked, as if that would make the hare go slower. The pup had been chasing that thing for three weeks now, and she wasn't about to stop! Until a terrible smell hit her nose. Frosta stopped abruptly, sliding in the snow a little. She fell head-first in the ground, and shook it off her fur and big coat. The hare looked behind it's shoulders, stopping after realising Frosta stopped chasing it, hoping back to her. The pup raised her snout, sniffing the air. The hare raised itself on it's hind legs and sniffed. -You smell it to? -Frosta asked it. It turned to her without an answer. She slowly made her way through the snow, following the smell. She recognised it now, the smell of bitter metal scrap. She recognised it from Entrapta. From the Fright Zone. Frosta ran up a hill to see better and try to make it out where the smell came from, and sure enough: a big, steel tank, with Dryl's crest on it, slowly making it's way through the snowy territory. HER snowy territory! She growled to herself, her fur rising in her neck in anger. What was Entrapta doing in the Northern Reach?! A spark lit in Frosta's head. She remembered Adora reporting to her that Scorpia, Catra and Entrapta had attacked the Northern Reach once, when they still worked for the Horde, looking for tech. As she was about to go after the tank, she saw the lid on top of it open, and out of it, Hordak peeked his head out. Frosta growled even louder. Not thinking, she decided to run for it. As she got close to the tank, she turned to the hare who was still following her. -It's not safe for you! Go back home, I'll meet you there! The hare turned around and hoped back. Frosta climbed up the stairs and on top of the tank, where she slowly opened the lid and peeked inside before falling in. She hit the metal floor head-first, making a loud CLANG. Rubbing her head with her paws, she looked around, examining the inside filled with wires, metal scrap, tools on the floor and a pile of boxes with Dryl's crest. Pointing her nose to the floor, Frosta slowly explored around, leaving a trail of snow behind her. Her ears raised and she turned her head when she heard footsteps behind her. In a panic, she jumped behind the boxes, and hid there. Through a space between her hiding spot, she peeked to see Hordak, wearing a huge and probably very heavy dark blue fur coat, approaching the slid where she fell through. Frosta froze in place and held her breath. She couldn't let him see her! Not because she was scared of Hordak, she wasn't scared of anything! But Frosta didn't want to be thrown out yet. His eyes glowed in the dark. A red light casting on his surroundings, making him look even more monstrous. His steps slowing down as he saw the snow on the floor melting. The cat sniffed around, for sure catching her scent, as his ears drew back and he unsheathed his claws. Frosta gulped. She heard his claws could cut through pure steel. Like all the other princesses, she had heard stories about Hordak before they actually met. He didn't seem so scary up close, but she wasn't ready to find out if his claws hurt or not. He followed her scent, slowly getting closer to her hiding spot, a growl rising deep in his throat. Frosta's ears fell and her tail hid between her legs. Her paw opened as she made a snow ball out of thin air, ready to throw it in his big, scrawny face. As Hordak was about to take another step, there was a chirp from the corridor. A small kitten-bat-monkey-thing-creature flew over to him trilling and chirping, covered in snow. It stopped at his paws and shook the snow off it's little body, revealing a fluffy and wet dark blue sweater, matching Hordak's fur coat. -Aargh! Imp! -Hordak hissed. -Look at the mess you made! Your clothes are soaked! The "Imp"-thingy laughed, it's tail held high. Hordak growled again, drawing his claws back. He nudged the kitten with wings back to the dark corridor and walked with it as it took flight again. Frosta peeked her head out as their steps faded away. Slowly, she comes out from behind the boxes and scoots closer to the wall, following Hordak. The corridor is dark, she can barely see a thing, but manages to follow the cat by his scent and the faint talking from the end of the hall. There's a big room ahead, Frosta can make out more boxes, tools on the ground, computer screens and Entrapta. Sitting on her big pet robot Emily, tapping in some kind of tablet, wearing a hoodie and big ear protectors. As Frosta was about to jump her and ask what she wanted in the Northern Reach, Hordak entered the room, carrying the kitten with wings, in a now dry sweater. Entrapta's ears perked up and she stretched her paws to cradle the cat-thingy against her chest. -You're watching him! -Hordak grumbled. -He decided to go outside to play in the snow and I had to dry him! Entrapta's tail wagged. -Aaww! He just wanted to build a snowman, didn't ya, Imp? The kitten trilled back to her and nuzzled her chest, then turned to Hordak and stuck out his tongue to him. Hordak growled and Entrapta laughed. She wrapped her ear around him and pulled herself closer so she could rest her head on his shoulder. Hordak nuzzled her cheek, purring. -Blergh! -Frosta gaged. She shouldn't have done that. Imp's folded ears perked up and he sniffed around. A tiny growl rising in his throat, his tail swished as he looked directly where Frosta was hiding. She gulped. Hordak, following Imp's eyes, stepped closer. Entrapta tilted her head, holding Imp close to her, and petting Emily to calm her. The both whined and turned to her, looking for reassurance. -What is it? -she looked at Imp, then at Hordak, then back. -What's wrong? There's nothing there. It's okay. Nobody's here- -AH, YOU PEST!!! Entrapta turned to see Hordak snarling, his face covered in snow, holding a very angry, barking Frosta by her scruff. -Frosta! The pup tried to turn and run, but Hordak's grip on her tightened and Entrapta wrapped her ear around her waist, lifting her upside down. Her big coat fell in front of her face, and she had to slap it away to look at them. -What are you doing here? -she asked excited. -What are YOU doing here?! The Northern Reach is MY territory! -Frosta growled. -Is it? I didn't know that! Last time I was here, it was just unmarked land! -Entrapta said, gently putting Frosta on the ground. -Well, it's marked now! Why did you bring a tank in the middle of the snow anyway? -Our experiments do not concerns you, pup! Hordak towered over her, his ears back. Grumpy as always. Frosta wanted to throw a snowball at him everytime she looked at his stinky face, and it was very tempting to do it again. -This is no place for a child, get out of our tank and go home! -he hissed, walking back to Entrapta. Frosta jumped in front on him and growled, standing between him and the Princess. Who did he think he was?! -No, YOU go home! -she barked. -You came here out of nowhere, without my permission, with a TANK! If you wanted to start another war you could have said it to my face! -Permission?! -he laughed. -We don't need permission from a 9 month old pup! -UH, I'M 11, SO SHUT THE FUCK UP!!! They both growled loudly at each other. Frosta's neck fur was tingled and Hordak's tail swished from to side, both bearing their teeth. Entrapta pulled Frosta to sit on her lap and rested a ear on Hordak's shoulder. -Sorry about coming out of nowhere, Frosta, we didn't know it was part of your kingdom! -Entrapta pat her on the head gently. -We just need an energy source! Our old one got busted when the Fright Zone was destroyed! -Didn't you get attacked by a bunch of worms? At least, that's what Scorpia said! -Yes! But the energy sources were left intact! As long as we don't wake the worms again, we should be fine! Frosta huffed as she sat down. -Why do you need an energy source anyway? -she crossed her arms. -Are you building another evil weapon?! -Evil weapon! -Entrapta cackled. -Of course not, Frosta! You're so silly! She pat her head again, ruffling her fur, which Frosta had to fix. -What are doing so far from home? This is no place for a pup to be alone by herself! Frosta stuck her nose up and copied his accent. -My exploring does not concern you, BITCH! Hordak hissed. "YOU PEST!!!", Imp echoed Hordak's words back to Frosta and she stuck out her tongue at him. Emily looked around all of them, beeping worriedly. -You know, Frosta, for a puppy your size, you sure have a very extended vocabulary... -I say we wash her dirty mouth with soap! -Hordak growled. -That's what children like her earned for their disrespect, back at the Fright Zone! -I'M GONNA WASH YOUR MOUTH WITH SNOW, MOTHER FUCKER! COME AT ME! -Ok, you both, quit it! -Entrapta barked. She sounded serious this time. -Nobody's gonna come at anybody! And nobody's having their mouth washed! Something behind her started beeping and a little red light started flashing. Entrapta grumbled and tapped at her keyboard, making a bunch of 1s and 0s appear in one of the screens. She turned to Hordak. -I think something in the front motor froze! Hordak, can you go check for me? The cat growled softly out of frustration, his expression some-what hurt... He looked at Entrapta, looked at Frosta, and back at Entrapta. -Fine... -hesitating, he turned to walk away, shooting a nasty side-eye at Frosta. She sticks her middle finger at him as he walks away, complaining to himself. -Ha-ha! -she laughs, victoriously. She turned to Entrapta, who was still taping at her keyboard, more 0s and 1s showing on her screen. She didn't share the same smile Frosta had. -What do you see in that guy? -the she finally asked. -He's my lab partner! -Yeah, but, he's an old... Clone... Bat... Thing! -Appearances aren't everything in a relationship, Frosta. -Entrapta turned to her. -I know that, but... -Frosta tried to think of what to say, but didn't know how to explain herself. She did not like Hordak overall. -I mean... He's Hordak! And you're you! -Yeah, but we get along perfectly! -Entrapta smiled at her. -Our species don't exactly match, but we like the same things, we like to spend time together, our aesthetic is the same like our ideals and our morals! We just... Like each other! -I get why he likes YOU, I don't get why you like HIM! He's always grumpy, and bossy, and saying complicated words... -That's just how he is! I once heard someone say that Glimmer was hot-headed, stubborn, short-tempered and hard to get along with! But that doesn't mean you like her any less, does it? -NO! WHO SAID THAT?! -Frosta stood up and created a fist of hard ice around her paw. -I'M GONNA PUNCH THEIR FACE INTO THEIR SKULL! -NOT the point! -Entrapta gently pushed her paw down, and the pup melted the ice around it. -My point is: Some animals just get along... And other animals don't! -And I guess Hordak doesn't get along with Princeses. -Frosta realised. -Well... Princesses that aren't you! -Maybe... But Adora and Scorpia get along with him! I bet if you spent more time trying to talk to him, and not trying to fight him, you'd get along with him too! Frosta grew quiet, her eyes flew around the room, as she thought to herself. -And, yeah, it's easier for me in a way! -What do you mean? -Frosta tilted her head. -I have a secret! It's the reason why I get along with him so much! -Entrapta winked at her. -What is it?!? -Well... I think... He's really... CUTE! -EEEWWW! Frosta gaged again and Entrapta cackled loudly, hugging her. She blew a raspberry on the pup's cheek, making her laugh and kick her legs. They both smiled at each other. Imp trilled at the corridor and flew over to Hordak as he entered, perching on his shoulders. -The motor is functioning as expected, it was only a small amount of frost. I turned the heater on. -he said. -Are we there yet? -Yeah, are we there yet? -said Frosta. "Are we there yet?" "Are we there yet?" "Are we there yet?", Imp repeated Frosta's voice and she was taken aback by it. -Somewhat! We can't really get in because the entries were destroyed, but maybe we could crawl around the vents! Entrapta eyes twinkled with exciment, her tail wagged. -YOU can crawl around the vents. -Hordak reminded her. He shivered and curled his tail around himself. -I'll wait here if that's acceptable. I do not want to hinder you in our experiment, for I don't do well in the cold. -It's just snow! It's not THAT cold! -Frosta argued. -Maybe for dogs with thick, long fur, like you!  I don't know if you recall this, girl, but I am practicaly furless! -It's okay! I can take Imp and Emily! But we gotta be super quiet! -Entrapta turned to the pets, who chirped and beeped back at her happily. -You guys stay here and take care of the tank together! -WHAT!? No, I wanna come!!! -Frosta whined. -I will not be demoted to pupsitting! -Hordak hissed. -It won't take long, I promise! -she pointed at them with her ears. -Frosta, don't try to fight anything! And Hordak, be nice to the puppy! The both of them exchanged hostile glares. -Yeah, fuck face! Be nice! -One more curse word out of your mouth and I'm shoving you in timeout corner for the next 3 hours! -What did I just said?! -Entrapta barked angrily. She shot a last glance at them before scurrying off to the corridor leading to the exiting lid. As soon as the THUMP of the shutting lid was heard, Hordak went up to the screens and Frosta followed him. They could see Entrapta making her way through the snow, walking off with Imp and Emily. The cat settled down with a longing sigh and Frosta jumped up to sit on the keyboard. She let her paws dangle off the edge, awkwardly looking around, not knowing what to do with herself. He's just sitting there, his eyes stuck in that one screen where Entrapta was before, unmoving, as if he couldn't do anything else. -So... What do we do now...? -We wait. -For how long? -Not very long. It should take her no more than a few minutes or an hour. -An hour?! -she whined. -What am I supposed to do for an hour?! -I don't know! But if you're going to whine the whole time, I suggest you do it elsewhere! Hordak growled at her and she let herself tumble to the side with an annoyed huff. It was less than a minute before she spoke again and the cat turned to her with a frown. -Is there a bathroom in the tank? I need to go! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hordak sat outside in the snow, turned around a few feet away from the small igloo Frosta made for herself as to give her some privacy. The snow so cold beneath him it almost felt like his paws were burning, he put the hood of his coat over his ears, but they still wouldn't warm up and he was worried they would freeze and fall off. His tail curled against him, trembling as he shivered. A small cloud came out of his nose with every breath he took. He heard rustling behind him but kept himself from turning around. -Okay, I'm done! -Frosta trotted up to him. -Good! Let's go back inside, before I freeze to death! Frosta rolled her eyes, and as they walked off, she had an idea. She stopped a little behind him, made a tall snow tower beneath her paws and shot ice through her paws ahead of her, making a long slippery ramp. Hordak stopped and yelped in shock. -What are you doing?! She made a board out of hardened snow and before he could stop her, she pushed herself off. -GERONIMO!!! -FROSTA! NO, NO, GIRL! DON'T! FROSTA!!! She went so fast down, she had to close her eyes, and only opened them again to see the fast approaching, snowy earth. She went head-first into the snow, bounced and fell again, her board shattered as soon as it touched the ground. Frosta tried to get up, but got herself stuck. -You're impossible! Are you trying to get yourself killed?! -Hordak stormed up to her, grabbing her scruff and taking her off the snow. -You better have not broken anything! You crazy dog! -Did you see me?! Did you see what I did?! It was super fun! I went flying! -she exclaimed, shaking the snow off her. -And you also fell! From a dangerously high altitude might I add! -Pffft! That was nothing! I just gotta adjust the slide! -Nothing! Keep telling yourself that! -Hordak growled. -If you are to ever do that again, WHICH YOU WILL NOT, I suggest you better calculate your circumstances! -Calculate...? -she asked. -What's that? -You don't know what "calculate" means...? -Hordak stopped in his tracks and she shook her head. -Well... It means to determine the amount or number of something mathematically. -Ma... The.. Matically...? -Yes. For example, to do what you just did, SAFELY,  -Hordak looked back and pointed at her improvised ramp. -First, you would need to calculate the high of the tower you built, the angle of the ramp and if it has any friction that might interfere with your board, how much you weight and your mass... -That just sounds like a lot of work! -Frosta said, rubbing her head as if she had a headache. -It sounds a lot more than what it actually is! -Hordak kept walking to the tank as she followed him. -It is all but calculation and physics! -Physics...? Hordak's ears perked up at her sudden interest, a small smile on his lips. - A branch of science concerned with the nature and properties of matter and energy! The subject matter of physics, distinguished from that of chemistry and biology, includes mechanics, heat, light and other radiation, sound, electricity, magnetism, the structure of atoms, gravity... -What's gravity?! -Frosta struggled to keep up with him. -Gravity is what causes you to fall. -Like a stumble or a trip? -Yes- no, no! Actually, no. It's a force that pulls you downwards. -Hordak shook his head. -That's why you don't float away like you would out in space. The phenomenon that any two material particles, or bodies, if freed to move, will be exelorated towards each othe- He stopped as his nose bumped on something. That something being Entrapta's own nose. He hadn't even noticed they had already gotten to the tank. -Yuck! -Frosta gaged. Hordak took a step back realizing their proximity, so close if he had held his head a little lower, they would have kissed. He shot a warning glance at Frosta. -Where were you two at? -Entrapta said, her tail wagging and her cheeks blushing. -We came back and didn't find you anywhere! -I needed to go to the bathroom, but there wasn't any in the tank, so we had to go outside, and Hordak kept whining, and I made a super ramp, and Hordak yelled at me, and went so fast I flew off and hit my face in the snow! -Frosta jumped up excitingly, her tail wagging madly as she panted. -Did you? Entrapta turned to Hordak and Imp jumped to his shoulders. -She almost busted her head open! This girl is crazy! -Aaww! Look at you getting all worried about the puppy! -the Princess nuzzled his cheek and he blushed. -W-well, of course! If anything happened to her while we were alone, the Princesses would have blamed it on me! -his tail swished about, tying itself up with one of Entrapta's ears. -But did you find what we were looking for? -Yup! Frosta turned to the other Princess. -Can I see it?!

-Sure! Entrapta led the way back inside the tank, where she rolled a big metal sphere, with coloful glass and constellations-like markings all over it. It was quite beautiful.

-Is that it? -Frosta asked. -How does it work? Entrapta set her on top of Emily as she explained. -You see all these markings that kinda look like starts? -the dog pointed at them with her paw and Frosta nodded. -They light up and make a beaming sound when it's on! Those two holes right there are for cables! This is basically a huge battery, and it charges with the light of the sun! While the light hits it, it builds up energy, and if you plug something into it, it can generate enough energy to use for a MONTH! If we can decode the programing in this, we could create multiples and use their energy! -Woooaah! But why do you need so much energy? -Dryl is expanding, and fast. -Hordak explained. -With all of my brothers moving in, we need more housing, and more housing makes more use of energy. Frosta's ears fell. She thought to herself how all those cats must feel, being brainwashed and then getting their "home" turned into a giant tree in the sky, having to get used to a completely different culture in a completely different planet. -We can go back, now! Frosta, you want a ride home? -Entrapta asked her. -Sure! They left the piece of tech on the floor, going up to the screens again, Entrapta pulled a lever and the tank's motor roared to life. Emily looked up at Frosta and beeped, Frosta smiled and pat the bot, turning to Hordak as she felt the tank move. -So... What were you gonna say before? -she asked, surprisingly shy. -About... gravity? Hordak and Entrapta both turned their heads back, their eyes widen with surprise. Frosta's ears fell, did she do something wrong? -Gravity? -Entrapta exclaimed. -I never thought you'd be interested about that topic, Frosta! -Oh, I was explaining gravity and physics to her on our way back to the tank. She seemed rather confused. They walked up to her and Emily, Entrapta sitting right beside her and Hordak settling near the bot. -Yeah, what IS gravity? Is it like magic? -Oh, no, no! It's the universal force of attraction acting between all matter! All bodies have a weight, or downward force of gravity, proportional to their mass, which Etheria's mass exerts on them! -Entrapta gesture with her paws as Hordak nodded. -Gravity is measured by the acceleration that it gives to freely falling objects! Frosta tilted her head. -So... A force that pulls things to the ground and doesn't let stuff float? -Yeah! That's it! -the Princesses said, in a proud tone. -That sounds a lot like magic! Are you sure it's not just magic? -Yes, we are sure! -Hordak grumbled. -How would YOU know?! -Because even planets without magic have gravity, even completely deserted ones, without any intelligent life form! -the cat explained, as he paced around them. -There's planets out there WITHOUT MAGIC?! -Frosta exclaimed, looking at her paws and back at him. -What a sad life! Entrapta snapped her head around, looking at Frosta with an undignified look, putting her paws on her waist and huffing. Frosta's ears and tail dropped. -Humph! "a sad life"?! -she exclaimed. -I've got no magic and I have the best time ever practically every day, young missy! So does Catra! So does Sea Hawk and so does Bow! -Well, yeah... but... I mean... -"I fucked up!", Frosta thought. -Y-you got your tech and your bots and all... And Catra's super fast! And Bow has his arrows and... Are we SURE Sea Hawk doesn't have any magic?! I still think he's an heir to some kind of fire Princess or something! Entrapta's ears perked up and her eyes widened with realization. She rested her chin on her paw. -You know what... That's actually a very good theory! -Don't encourage her! -Hordak turned back to them as he settled a sleeping Imp on the control pannell. -Why not? Frosta actually might be onto something here! -Entrapta lifted herself and made her way to Hordak on her ears. -What if he IS some kind of great, great, great, great, great grandson to some fire dweller? What if he was just never taught to control his powers? -He is already a menace as he is, Entrapta! -Hordak's tail swished in annoyance. -He doesn't need more reasons to play with fire! Literally speaking! A whole discussion about it escalated between them. As they chit-chatted, Frosta looked at the screens showing the outside of the big metal machine, watching the snow-covered ground pass as the tank drove itself. Her eyes shot open when she noticed a frozen lake outside. -LAKE! -she pointed with her paw and yelled. -FROZEN LAKE! Can we stop to skate on it?! Please, please, please! Her tail wagged madly as she jumped around them. Entrapta looked at the screen Frosta was pointing to and hummed. -Hmmm! Yeah, it could be fun! -she said. -What do you think, lab partner? -You're joking! In this temperature?! Do you WANT our tails falling frozen, Entrapta?! Frosta growled. -Oh come on, Hordikins! Don't be a stick in the mud! -Entrapta nudged his shoulder. -It could be fun! -Pleeeeaaaaaseee! -Frosta whined. -Aargh! Fine! -the cat hissed. -But don't blame me when someone gets hurt! Entrapta laughed. -Nothing's gonna happen! Don't worry! -YEAH! Frosta barked and howled the whole way they got there. As her little legs touched the snow, she bolted straight for the frozen water. She laughed as she skated trhough the ice, spinning around, jumping, going backwards. The two adults lagged behind, their paws needing to get used to the cold snow. -I hate it here...! -Hordak growled. -I can't feel my paws! -We could get you some snow shoes when we get back! -Entrapta said as she rolled around in the snow. -HEY, SLOWPOKES! -Frosta yelled from the lake. -YOU'RE GONNA TAKE LONG THERE?! Hordak growled at the puppy's lack of respect. Entrapta just shook the snow off her fur and hopped over to the side of the lake with the cat following behind her. -Hey, Hordak, have you ever ice-skated before? You should try! It's really fun! -No, thank you! I doubt I could have even stand! -the clone shook his head. -It's not hard when you get the hang of it! -Entrapta flexed her paw so her claws were apparent. -You just gotta use your claws! When you step, instead of putting pressure in your paw pads, you put pressure on your toes, and your claws dig into the ice! That's why it leaves marks! Right, Frosta? The pup stoped in front of them, sitting on the ice, making a THUMP. -Yeah, I guess... -her ears perked up with mischief. -But he's too chicken to do it! Entrapta shot her a reprehending look and Hordak bared his teeth. -Oh, I'm a "chicken", am I?! -he growled. -Well, then! He got up and attempted to step into the ice, slippering. Frosta laughed as he slowly made his way into the frozen water, remembering Entrapta's advice to use his claws, he struggled as he dug too deep into the ice, making his paws stuck. -Yay, Hordikins! -Entrapta cheered him on. As soon as he made himself some-what stable, Frosta ran circles around him, barking teasingly, nipping at his legs and laughing. Hordak growled and hissed, nipping back at her, swipping his paws at her, while trying not to fall at the same time. -Can't get me! -she blew a raspberry. Hordak leaped at her, attempting to grab the puppy, minding his claws, of course! It quickly turned into a game of tag, if you would consider a dog pup against a full grown extremely technologically advanced clone soldier cat with razor sharp red teeth, a fair game. Frosta didn't seem to be having any problems, unlike Hordak. She ran around and pulled on his legs, causing him to fall on his side. -Frosta! Play nice! -Entrapta scolded. As the puppy turned around again, Hordak struggled to get up, she was about to give him another sarcastic comment when she noticed a crack on the ice right in front of him. Frosta opened her mouth to warn him, but he had taken the first step. The ice gave out underneath him and the cat sunk like a rock. -HORDAK! -she heard Entrapta's desperate cry. Frosta ran to him, grabing his collar and trying to pull him out. He was too heavy! He trembled and clawed at the borders in a desperate attempt to get out, but the ice broke at his sudden movements. She felt Entrapta's ears wrap around her and take her off the ground, pulling her back to the snow with Hordak. She refused to let go of his collar, even when they were on safe groud. Entrapta crawled under his chin to support his head, as he couldn't get up and kept shaking. -Hordak, are you okay? Can you stand up? -Entrapta nudged his cheek gently. Frosta looked at her for any kind of signal on what to do, but she could see tears starting to form on the corner of her eyes. -Inside... now... -Hordak coughed in a weak voice. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Frosta stared at Hordak's sleeping form, frozen in place. Guilt burned in her chest, as her ears dropped and her tail hid between her legs. "This is all my fault!", she repeated over, and over in her head. Entrapta had carried him inside and dried him up. Imp and Emily were in an absolute panic. Hordak laid surrounded in heaters, covered with a heavy blanket, cuddled with the winged kitten and the round bot, who were both also asleep. A loud growling sound came from Hordak. "He's probably mad at me!", she thought. Entrapta's paws tapped in the floor as she walked past the pup with a tray of tiny cups of hot cocoa. She set the tray aside and layed beside the clone, wrapping her ears around him and resting her head on his. The growling became louder, and Entrapta wagged her tail. Frosta took a step back and turned to walk out of tank. "I should go home...". -Frosta? She looked back over her shoulder to Entrapta. -Where are you going? -I'm... Going home... -she said in a low voice. -We're gonna take you home. -But why...? -"But why", why? -I thought... -she avoided the Princess' eyes. -You didn't want to talk to me anymore... -Why wouldn't I want to talk to you? -Entrapta raised her head, confused. -Because... Hordak fell in the ice... And it was my fault...! -I wasn't your fault! -she reached out her ears and wrapped them around Frosta again, bringing her close to them. -You couldn't possibly know the ice would break! It was just an accident! -I know, but still... -Frosta looked at Hordak. She couldn't see his face, but the growling sound echoed out off him in waves. -He's gonna be okay! He just needs to rest for a while and warm up! -Entrapta gave her a warm smile. -I just hope he doesn't get pneumonia... The pup looked back at the sleeping clone. Entrapta wasn't the best at comforting others, and Frosta felt even worst when she remembered how worried Entrapta sounded when Hordak fell in the water. Frosta was doing her best to hold back her tears, but it was very clear in her voice that she wanted to cry. And she hated it. -I don't think I want to hate him anymore... -What do you mean, Frosta? -I mean... He destroyed Etheria and... And he killed a bunch of people, but... B-but he was also nice to you... And he rebuilt Salineas... And he... And he was worried about me when I fell on the snow... -she sniffed. -But I should hate him... He did horrible stuff! Shouldn't I...? Entrapta hummed. She rested her chin on her paws she thought to herself. -I'm not good with other dogs, but I know it's hard to change your mind about someone. Especially if already didn't like them before.  -Entrapta held Frosta in a hug, in an attempt to comfort the puppy. -But if they're doing their best to change how they act, maybe you should try to change how you view them too! Like Perfuma always says: "What goes around, comes around!"! -What the fuck does that mean? -I don't know...! Frosta let her tears fall as she looked at her own paws, not knowing what to do to help. Entrapta dried her tears with her ears and planted a small kiss on the pup's head. She nudged the tray to Frosta, who took one of the tiny cups and drinked the hot cocoa. It made her feel a tiny bit better.

I really, really want to know what you guys think about my fics! I feel like I always rush everything, but I’m not the reader! Rebloging always helps!

[issabangtanfic]

[Jungkook] The Windmill House (Chapter 8)

Masterlist

Synopsis: When for once rich doesn’t rhyme with Christian Grey.

Pairing: Jungkook x OC

A/N: Feel free to submit a cover! Tell me what you think in my inbox! Enjoy!

-

Swinging my bag over my shoulder and tucking it under my armpit, pick up the large box containing my brand new set of portfolios I just picked up from the printing store. The box obstructing my vision, I trust my instincts to guide me to the office. I close my trunk with one free hand and walk a few steps, peeking to the side of the box to watch for the steps before the double doors.

I give one of the doors a great push with my feet, but it comes back too fast and slams right into me as I try to walk in. Squealing, I lose my balance and send the box flying, falling onto my butt spectacularly.

“Damn it.” I mutter to myself, looking at the dozen of my portfolios scattered next to the tipped box. I reach for one but almost grab two leather shoes.

“I can’t believe how clumsy you are.” Mr.Jeon crouches down before my eyes, all grey suit and sickening looks. I nearly jump.

“What are you doing here?” I ask, my face a mix of horror and surprise.

“I came to pay my consultation fees.” He explains, pricking up each of my photo books and stacking them. I give myself a mental slap and help him clean my mess.

“You forgot to charge me.” He adds. Yeah, that was a detail I wish no one would have noticed.

“Did I?” I feign surprise, and he answers with a soft chuckle. ’S’all good now.” He says reassuringly, getting back up with a cheetah’s ease. He stretches a hand down to me.

“I always pay my debts.” He declares.  I take his hands and try to ignore how it feels around mine and he helps me up, before handing me my box.

“Do you think you’ll be okay with this?” He asks once I can’t see him anymore, and I hear him press the button for the elevator.

“Yes, thank you.” I murmur, so glad that my crimson face is hidden from his view by the cardboard box.

“Have a good day.” I hear him say to me as I step in. Please go away. I punch the third floor button.

“You too.” I choke out as the doors close. I sigh deeply. Please let this be the last of last times I see this man.

“Hi everyone.” I call once I enter the office.

“Morning. You just missed Mr. HotButtocks.”  Jade teases, eyebrows wriggling. Oh, please.

“Who she forgot to charge for the consultations.” Fred chimes in before I can answer, appearing behind Ava with a bunch of folders in his hands. Oh, crap.

“Well, it wasn’t-“

“Save it. He tipped. A lot.” He cuts me off. I almost sigh in relief. “What’s all this?” He asks me.

“Port folios.” I reply, starting to walk to my office again. This is getting heavy.

“Need help?” I hear Ava call after me. I look at her over my shoulder.

“I got it! It’s pancakes that I need Ava!” I retort. When I turn my head back and make a turn down the hallway, I bump into a firm chest,  sending my package flying once more. The content pilled on the floor, I look up to the man in front of me.

“Oh, I’m sorry.” The tall, platinum blonde asian guy says, crouching down to clean the mess. 

“It’s okay.” I reply, more intrigued by the reason of his presence than anything.  I join him on the floor, quickly throwing my portfolios back into the box.

“Kim Namjoon.” He pauses to streatch his hand out.  “I’m the new architect.”

The new architect?

“I’m Maya Fair. Nice to meet you.” I reply, shaking his hand. 

“I had no idea Fred had hired someone.” I tell hm, unable to hide my surprise.

“He thinks it could be plus for the company to have both designers and architects.” My new colleague says to me. It’s not a stupid idea.

“He also told me you would be my partner.” He adds, lifting himself off the floor with the bax in his arms.

“Partner?” I repeat, rising to my feet.

“We have our first client who asked for both a designer and an architect.” He says as I open the door to my office. We’re already starting?!

“It’s 10 ten in the morning.” I gape at him. I’m sure Fred hasn’t communicated on it yet, how would anybody now we have an architect?

“It’s good friend of mine.” He clears up as we both step into my office. Oooh.

“Oh, Maya.” Fred calls from outside the door.

“I see you’ve met Namjoon.” He smiles at the newest employee.

“Yes, he just told me about the two-in-one.” I tell him.

“Then, you’re fine. I gotta go. Bye!” He sings, nearly pirouetting his way out of my office. Namjoon and I both chuckle at him.

“Where should I put this?” He asks, my package still in his hands,

“I could take advantage of your height and have you put it up here.” I propose, pointing at my unused top shelf reserved for my drawing equipment.

“No problem.” Namjoon replies, placing the box on the shelf with ease and grace I could never have.

I thank him warmly and ask him about our appointment today.

“It’s at 2pm, downtown near the design museum. Should we take my car?” He proposes. I don’t mind not driving for once. This two-in-one package has its perks.

“Sure.” I reply.

“I’ll leave you to it, then. See you.” He greets before leaving my office. Taking a cleansing breath, I slide behind my desk, ready to get to work.

“Cute, right?”

I look up and see Ava standing in my doorway, hip jutted ou and a plate of pancakes in her hand. I chuckle rolling my eyes.

“What about Eli?” I shoot back.

“No one’s above Elijah. But he is cute, right?” She replis, walking over to my desk. Ava is addicted to men, it’s crazy. I grab a pancake and shove it down my throat.

“M’yeah.” I mumble. He is cute, but the. real snack is that pancake for me.

“He’s from Seoul, graduated from Barlett, and worked with people like Emma Thomson and the Beckham’s.” She gives me his whole resume without me asking, raising her eyebrows in excitement. So he’s high class, huh?

“Aren’t we a little small for him?” I raise a brow, and Ava replies with a clueless shrug.

“You know, Maya.” She trails off. “I had no idea Jeon was putting you through all this.”

“It’s fine, Ava. Really.” I reply dismissively, reaching out for a second pancake. 

“It’s all behind me now.” I reassure her.

“I can’t wait to get back to work actually.” I say excitedly.

“Well, I’ll let you do just that.” She declares, turning on her heels.

“Thanks for the pancakes!” I say to her back before she exits the room.

-

“Miss Fair?”

I lift my head from my scribbles and see Mr.Namjoon standing in the doorway of my office.

“It’s Maya. We’re colleagues.” I give him a warm smile that he returns immediately.

“Okay well, you can call me Joon if you want. ” He says to me.

“Joon. Is it time?” I ask him.

“Yep.”

“I’ll be there in a minute.”

“I’ll be outside.” He says before closing the door and ambling off. I quickly gather my belongings, my portfolio, my tablet and my note bad, before joining Namjoon at the elevator.

“Who are we meeting?” I ask him.

“Choi Minah. A friend from Seoul.” He explains. I’m meeting a lot of Korean people these days. From Mr.Jeon to him to Mrs.Choi.

“Oh.”

“She’s a designer for Alexander McQueen.” He tells me, though I don’t really know what to do with this information.

“Interesting.” I say to myself. So he’s a high-class architect bringing us his high-class clients. Why did he settle for us? We are way too small of a company.

-

“A round apartment in a square building?” I utter once we're out of the appointment. Miss Choi has been very friendly with us, she's easy going, funny and very elegant as I had imagined, but she's also very edgy.

She likes vintage decors, clothes and even vintage movies. She lives in the wrong century. Her requirements were...disruptive. Not impossible to realize, just very...interesting.

“Rita doesn’t do conventional.” Namjoon explains as we walk back to his car. We both know that's an understatement. She's unique.

“Had the building been round she would’ve wanted a triangle house.” He muses.

“If she’s opting for minimalism I won’t be much help.” I retort. The project sounds amazing, but I don't see how I can ring much to it. Namjoon might as well have gone alone and asked for advice if be needed any.

“Of course you would. You’ve done plenty of such projects.” He counters.

“How do you know?” I ask, squinting my eyes at him. He gives me an embarrassed smile.

“I borrowed one of your portfolios.” He admits. 

“Borrowed?” I repeat. When did he do that.

“It fell out of your box.” He says. I lift an eyebrow. What a sneaky dude.

“I was going to give it back, I promise.” He says reassuringly. Oh, whatever.

"Well we could trade portfolios. I'd like to see your work." I tell him.

"I'll get you- Oh.” Namjoon freezes and stops in his tracks, eyes glued to a sign. Looking in the same direction, I realise we’re in front of the design museum, and he is reading the colourful banner above the entry.

“An RCR exposition?” He says under his breath.

“What’s that?” I enquire, clueless.

“Rafael Aranda, Carme Pigen dnd Ramon Vilalta, three of the best architects in the entire world." He nearly gushes, a smile stretching his face. Well, if you say so…

 “I knew they were in London to work on a house, but I had no idea they would have an exposition here.” He mumbles to himself, frowning deeply. I read the sign.

“It’s the last day.” I remark. “Do you want to have a quick look?” I propose, and he directs his frown to me.

“Shouldn’t we get back to the office?” He says. Well, we can always take the long way home.

“Fred won’t know.” I say reassuringly, I always make pit stops between meetings if I ever have to.

“I don’t know if I should be doing this on my first day.” He mumbles, scratching the back of his neck.  Don’t tell me he’s a bootlicker!

“Oh, come on.” I refrain an eye roll. “We can be out in ten minutes. Plus, it’s your last chance.” I argue, and that seems to do the trick.

“A quick look then.” He says quietly, refraining a smile to hide his excitement. 

Jeez, he must really love these guys. As an interior designer I’ve always been interested in architecture. I have always admired the way our ancestors have pushed the limits of what we could build, of how they could create entire spaces that tell stories. 

Namjoon. and I walk into the museum and amble in the middle f the exhibit. For someone so excited about these architect, my colleague seems to be skimming over each model and picture quite fast, almost as if h was looking for something.

“It’s there.” He nearly gasps, stopping in front of a replica of a cubic, rainbow-gradient coloured building.

“El petit Combe.” He says. I take a closer loo at the colourful yet minimalistic square.

“They made this in collaboration with Lego’s.” He explains to me. Now that I know that, I’m less bothered by all the squareness of the place.

“Playing with Lego’s is actually what made me want to be an architect. Before my parents would start buying me equipment to draw plans, I would use Lego’s to build models.” He explains to me. What a lovely story. And what a ingenious kid he must have been! I remember doing the exact same thing with Lego’s whenever I wanted to change the layout of my bedroom, but when I was a teen.

“And this actually is a school in Spain.” He says, pointing at “El Petit Combe”.

“Imagine going to school in a Lego building.” He whispers to himself. His passion for architecture is nearly palpable, the excitement in his eyes visible and almost contagious.

“Are they building a Lego house in London? Is that why they’re here?” I enquire, which makes him chuckle.

“I wish.” He says, walking away from his favorite piece. I follow him to wards the back of the room to see the rest of the exhibit. “I haven’t been up to date with the project, but I think they’re finishing their Mesh Manor.”

“Mesh Manor?”

“Ever heard of the Mesh House in Hampstead?”

I shake my head, and he fishes his phone out of his pocket.

“It looks like this.” He says, showing me a picture. Ah, mesh as in mesh textures in modelling softwares!

“They’re using the same concept but making it their own. On a bigger scale.” He explains. “Speaking of the devil.”

He stops in front of a replica of what would be the manor. My brain can’t really wrap itself around the idea of having such a big building built like this. The scale of this project is huge. But it doesn’t feel at all like a manor, just like a manor-size piece of contemporary art.

“You can hardly call this a manor.” I remark.

“It fits the definition.” He retorts. I mean, yeah, if it comes with enough land.

“I wonder what the inside looks like.” I muse. I am currently imagining luxurious minimalism, which of course would fit but which I am also bored of.

“I’m curious to see what they were trying to express with this.” I tell myself. “I hope it’s not minimalism.”

“Well, you could see for yourself.”

When I snap my head towards Namjoon, he’s reading a leaflet he found next to the description of the replica.

“They’re doing an inauguration party.” He tells me. Oh, do they?! I could go with Sidney. She loves acting fancy.

“Certified designers and architects only.” He mumbles. Oh, that kind of party?! 

“Proof of employment should be sent to this e-mail address for an invitation to be sent to you.” He reads. That is super selective. Well, it’s a high class project carried out by high-class architects. 

“Dress code: suit and tie or cocktail dress.” He finishes. That sounds a lot of fun, but I can’t go with my baker of a roommate.

"Would you like to go with me?” He proposes. 

What? He’s already asking me out on a date. I have nothing against him, but I’ve had enough os testosterone for at least a month. Hell, I’m so fucking blind I hadn’t noticed he was interested in me.

“Not as a date though.” He adds quickly. i blink up at him.

“I’m really not trying to ask you out.” He says. If we weren’t on the same page I’d be offended.

“But if we both enjoy architecture, we can have a good time.” He explains, and I hide my relief. This could be fun. 

“Sure!” I nod vigorously. “Sure. It’ll be fun.”

He grins, eyes almost disappearing.

“Perfect.” He pipes up. Looks like I have a not-a-date this weekend. "We should get back to the office now."

[polaroid15]

Febuwhump day 27 - “I wish I had never given you a chance”

My first fic with Morgan!!! I LOVE HER ahhh. Hope you enjoy this one- the second last :'( <3 And thank you- sincerely, for everything. 

Summary:  During a relaxing weekend at the cabin, Peter offers to help Tony with some chores. When things go awry (as they often do), they learn that under no circumstance should Peter ever pursue a career in carpentry.

Ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29138196/chapters/73158711

------

Peter enters the room with a yawn, throwing his arms back in a wide stretch. As if knowing it’ll catch him off guard Morgan launches herself at him, wrapping her tiny arms around his middle. His breath gusts out of his lungs in surprise but he recovers quickly, smiling and reaching down to ruffle her hair. “Well good morning to you too.”

“Peter!” Morgan lets go of the hug and proceeds to dance around him. “Let’s play!”

Tony smirks from his position on the couch, a tablet balanced on his knee. Him and Peter share a knowing look before Peter nods enthusiastically and is dragged off.

Later, they race back into the room, Morgan curled around Peter in a piggy back ride. He deposits her on the couch and she giggles, rolling onto her side and latching onto Tony.

“Looks like you two are having fun,” he observes.

“Yes!” Morgan says, breathless from their game. “Lots of fun.”

“Lots and lots of fun,” Peter repeats, giving Morgan a wink while she laughs. He turns to Tony. “What’re you working on?”

“Trying to find someone to fix our roof, actually.”

Peter draws his eyebrows together. “What’s wrong with your roof?”

“The wind storm last week took off a bunch of the shingles. It’s not really a big deal but Pepper keeps pushing for me to call someone. Something about not wanting a leak when it rains, yadda yadda.”

“Mom knows best,” Morgan cuts in.

Peter laughs in agreement. “Well I can fix it for you,” he says.

Tony raises his eyebrows behind his glasses before taking them off all together. “You’re telling me that you know how to put shingles back on a roof?”

The boy shrugs, his sheepish grin widening. “How hard can it be? Do you still have the shingles that blew off?”

“Yes.”

“Great! So all I need is a- a,” Peter grapples for the word, pulling his finger on an imaginary trigger in the air, “you know.”

“A nail gun?”

“Yeah! One of those.”

Tony considers it. It would be a hassle to have someone drive all the way out to the cabin to fix it, and he’s not getting any younger himself. “Are you sure? It’s almost a hundred degrees outside.”

“So?” Peter challenges, shrugging. “I’ve done worse in spandex.”

“That’s...true.”

“So do we have a deal?” Peter asks, thrusting out his hand as if it’s a formal agreement.

Rolling his eyes, Tony humours him. “Fine. I’ll go get the nail gun.”

----

The sun is blazing down on them when they make it outside and Tony uses his hand as a shield to watch Peter scale the side of the house with the last load of shingles. Advantages of super sticky powers: no ladders necessary. “Remember what I told you about nail gun safety!” he calls up after him.

“Stop being a worry wart!” Peter yells back.

Fair enough.

Tony steps back inside the house, relishing in the air conditioning and wiping his forehead on his sleeve. He doesn’t make it two steps before Morgan latches onto him, her small fingers covering his. “Play with me?” she asks.

Truthfully he has a mountain of work to do. But he’s never been one to be able to resist either of his kids requests, especially when they used their puppy dog eyes. It’s his greatest weakness and they know it. “Alright,” he concedes, “but only for a few minutes okay?”

“Deal!”

----

A few minutes turns into a few hours. Tony doesn’t realize until his watch beeps at him, pulling him out of a memorizing episode of Paw Patrol while they scribble with crayons in a princess coloring book.

“Holy- it’s almost two!”

Morgan doesn’t seem to care and continues drawing. “So?”

His mind is working too frantically to explain so he just stands, setting his coloring supplies off to the side. “Stay here, okay? Dad’s just gonna check on Peter.”

“Okay,” Morgan replies happily, picking up a blue crayon.

Heart in his throat, Tony practically runs to the back door. He skips the three steps to the grass and glares up at the roof. If possible, it feels even hotter out, and the nagging worry in his stomach triples. “Peter!” he calls up. “Peter? Are you still up there?”

There’s a long, sinking silence. Tony is two seconds away from grabbing his suit to blast up there himself before Peter’s head pokes out over the edge.

“Oh no Pete-”

“Mr. Stark!” the boy slurs, giving a sluggish wave from his perch. His face is beet red, his eyes unfocused. “Almost- almost done.”

Tony does everything within his power to stay calm. “No! Nope. You’re done, kiddo. You hear me? Time to go inside.”

“Wha- what? There’s only a- a couple more.”

“Doesn’t matter,” Tony argues, “you can barely string together sentences. Come down!”

Peter considers it as his eyes grow foggier. “Down?” he asks.

“Yes! Come down! You’re overheating up there!”

“Down,” Peter confirms.

Then he does something really stupid.

By the time Tony realizes where Peter’s boiling mind is taking him the kid has already rolled himself over the lip of the roof. He’s much too far to do anything but watch in horror as Peter plummets through the air and hits the grass with a loud oof.

“Peter Benjamin Parker!” Tony sprints towards the fallen boy, expecting blood and broken bones but instead hears laughing. He falls to the ground, the grass staining his knees and grabs Peter’s head with both hands. His skin is hot and sweaty to the touch. Too hot. Peter blinks up at him lazily, continuing to laugh.

“What’s so funny?” Tony demands breathlessly.

Peter raises his finger, pointing up towards the sun. “I just- I just fell off the roof.”

“Oh lordy. You’re out of your mind.”

“I fell,” Peter repeats, then wheezes like it’s the funniest thing in the world.

“We gotta get you cooled down pronto.”

“I’m- I’m already cool.”

“You’re killing me here, kid. Not that kind of cool.”

Peter allows himself to be hoisted to his feet and sways dramatically once he’s there. His laughing tapers off as his face turns green and he clutches tightly onto Tony’s sleeve.

“Kid?” he prompts hesitantly. “You okay?”

The answer must be no, because Peter lunges away from him and spews out his last meal. Tony moans, rubs the kid’s back, and helps steady him when he finishes. “You done?”

Slowly, Peter nods.

“Alright kiddie. Let’s go run you a bath. How does that sound? Bring down that temperature of yours.”

“Mmm. Nice.”

Tony hoists Peter into his side and by some miracle manages to maneuver him into the house. Morgan doesn’t look up when they enter and Tony sends a silent prayer of thanks to the universe. They stumble to the bathroom and Tony sets Peter down on the toilet, only moving on to turn on the tub when he’s sure Peter won’t topple over.

“Feel weird,” Peter says.

“That’s because you baked in the sun like a goddamn potato. Why’d you stay out there that long?”

Peter swallows, his red face still tinged with green. Then, he shrugs, looking guilty. “Thought I could do it. Harder than it looks.”

“Kid-”

“I should’ve been able to- to do it.”

“I wish I had never given you a chance in the first place,” Tony counters, but it just makes Peter look more miserable so he sets a comforting hand on the kid’s shoulder. “I mean don’t get me wrong kiddo. You did great. Your self preservation skills just suck.”

Peter perks up a little. “Get that from you.”

“That’s not exactly a compliment.”

“Oh. It’s not?”

“Yeah not so much.”

“Oh. Sorry.” Peter’s mouth splits into a smile and Tony feels his heart do a backflip. God, he loves this idiot child.

“The rational thoughts will come back when we get you cooled down,” Tony promises, a smile of his own tugging at his lips.

“Okay. Then I can finish the- the roof?”

“Nope. Not in a million years. Sorry to break it to you kid, but carpentry isn’t really your calling.”

And for once, Peter agrees with him.

[skinsharpenedteeth]

just a little piece...

AN: This is just a little bit of a Malex WIP. It’s actually a piece of about Kyle and Alex’s friendship which makes me smile a lot. Because honestly... Kyle and Alex in my mind are the kind of friends that are uncomfortably, intimidatingly close. And Kyle is the kind of guy who always goes OVERBOARD. So yeah. I thought it was cute and wanted to share it. 

The next morning, Alex groaned loudly into his pillow as he came abruptly into consciousness. He’d forgotten to close the curtains in his hotel room and the sun was glaring in on him as if seeking vengeance. It took him a moment to remember that he wasn’t in some other dessert half a world away and that the pounding he heard was not the distant sound of bombs dropping, but of someone knocking on his door….loudly. Way too loudly for… Alex squinted at the clock on the bedside table, 8 a.m.  

              “Coming!” Alex called, voice a little hoarse from sleep. The knocking stopped and he groped around for his crutch before hopping over to the door. He left the security chain on as he opened it and peaked outside.

              “Delivery for Mr. Alex Manes?” a short, Hispanic woman said from the hallway. Alex shifted his eyes down to look at the package she held in her hand. She was wearing the hotel’s uniform, but the package was definitely not from the hotel gift shop.

              “Yeah, okay…” he said gruffly, closing the door to unlatch the chain and then reopening it. The woman, ‘Martha�� her name tag read, thrust the object in question at him as if it were on fire. He looked down at it and realized why about the same time that she turned on her heel and all but fled down the hallway to the elevator.

              “Uh… thank you!” he called, closing the door with his foot and backing into his room. He set the… thing on the bed and went to call room service for coffee. He had a feeling he was going to need to be more awake to deal… that.

              As he waited for his coffee and fruit bowl to arrive, Alex found his eyes continually traveling back to the desk. He tried watching TV, playing on his phone, and even going out onto the balcony attached to his room, but the thing on the desk was always at the back of his mind. Sighing, he hopped into the bathroom and started up a shower. It always took room service twice as long as he felt like it should have to deliver even the simplest orders, so he was probably safe to take a quick shower and wake himself up. He grabbed a clean pair of briefs and some sweatpants before closing the bathroom door firmly and starting up the water to warm.

              He figured he knew who the gift was from, but he didn’t want to presume until he’d actually looked at the card. Scrubbing his hands over his face in frustration, he turned and hopped into the shower and sat on the stool inside. He washed himself slowly and thoroughly, trying to draw out the moment when he’d have to deal with reality of his surprise gift. Halfway through washing his hair he heard the door to his hotel room open and an indistinct voice call out “Room Service!” followed by a squeak and giggles. Gritting his teeth, he stuck his head past the shower curtain and called out a thanks. He listened for the thud of the door shutting before he continued washing out the conditioner. If he was lucky, maybe the attendant stole the damn thing and he wouldn’t have to open it.

              A ping from his phone was a welcome relief once he was out of the shower.

<Kyle> Did you get your gift? > I did. I haven’t really looked at it yet. What the fuck did you get me???? <Kyle> Text me when you’ve looked at it! And also, tell me how your date went last night? Am I too late? > Too late for what? <Kyle> Go look at your fucking gift, Manes! > Ugh. Fine.

              Alex slipped on his clothes and prosthetic before re-entering the main living area of his room. He spotted the coffee and fruit set on the desk right next to his present… from Kyle, apparently. Sighing, he stepped closer to the desk and finally gave it a good once over.

              “Where in the fuck did you find a penis shaped gift basket?!” Alex asked as he took in the shape of his present. Groaning, he closed his eyes briefly and felt a headache coming on. Kyle never did anything halfway. He was thoroughly dreading what he would find once he undid the bow and let the acetate fall away to reveal the contents. With shaking hands, he reached out and pulled at the strings of the red and pink heart covered bow. He parted the thin, crinkly grey plastic and swore under his breath, face heating up from instantaneous embarrassment.

              The box was filled to the brim with sex paraphernalia. Alex tried to suppress his horror as he slowly took out all the items. There were three different boxes of condoms, a bottle of lube with a pump handle, as well as a bag of pocket sized packets of lube, a reusable douche kit, a sex candle, a box of dental dams, a tub of something called Boy Butter, a packet of sanitary wipes called Crusty Cock Wipes, a REALLY NICE abalone cuff style cock ring, 2 or 3 silicone cock rings,  a silver butt plug with a touch-sensitive multi-color light-up flared base, some silk scarves, a tube of Nu vitamin tablets, and a bag of penis shaped THC gummies. By the end of the reveal, Alex’s face was so hot from embarrassment he wasn’t sure how the fire detector hadn’t signalled. And his coffee was stone cold.

>First and foremost, What. The. Everloving. Fuck?! >Secondly, OMG. WTF!!! <Kyle>Text leaves something to be desired. I can’t tell if you’re excited, chagrined, or furious. I’m going to call you.

              Alex glanced over his desk now absolutely covered in sex-related products and let his face fall into his hands, whining piteously. His phone started chirping that a video call was coming in from Kyle. He glared at his friend’s photo and pressed the ‘Accept’ button aggressively. Kyle face popped up smiling and excited.

              “What the fuck, Kyle?!” Alex half-yelled, gesturing towards the desktop. Kyle’s smile fell a little, but Alex could tell he was rallying to defend his gift.

              “I thought you might need some stuff! You didn’t bring a lot with you for your trip and I know you weren’t getting a lot of hot dong while in the military. That gift basket is like… amazing and I’m kind of hurt you aren’t appreciating it properly. Plus, I think it catches me up on like every birthday and Christmas I’ve ever missed because some of that shit was pricey. I almost kept that cuff cock ring for myself.”

              Alex looked at his friend incredulously. Kyle looked completely unrepentant and like he did not see where anything he’d done was crossing a line.

              “I think maybe med school has desensitized you too much. Or maybe we’re too good of friends. I have no clue which, but you bought me a BUTT PLUG? That’s a pretty personal purchase to get from someone who is not ever going to be intimate with my actual ASSHOLE,” Alex may have screeched the last word. It felt like a screech. Kyle’s cackling told him it was a screech.

              “I’m just being supportive. You don’t have to USE all that stuff. At least not in one night. I mean, that’s a lot of lube and condoms to go through. At our age, it’s a little ambitious to think you’d even finish off a full box…” Kyle trailed off and started laughing again. Alex’s face must’ve been doing something hilarious, but all he could feel was embarrassment and affection for his friend’s misguided attempts to make up for a couple shitty years of high school where he’d been a jackass homophobe.

              “Kyle… you could’ve just gone to a Pride parade with me someday. You didn’t have to… buy me weed gummies shapes like penises… or Boy Butter?” Alex picked up the tub and examined it. It was designed to look like a tub of margarine and proudly proclaimed to be water-based.

              “I have it on good authority that stuff is amazing for any sort of prolonged anal play. Good thick texture, doesn’t dry up quickly…”

              “Kyle, no! No, Kyle! I just… You just… YOU BOUGHT ME A DOUCHING KIT!!” Alex cried piteously, thumping his head onto the desk and moaning in despair. His best friend was the worst.

              “You’re being dramatic, Alex. Honestly, as the Smashing Pumpkins would say, Cleanliness is Godliness and God is empty… like your bowels will be if you use the kit,” Alex opened his mouth to protest, but Kyle cut him off quickly, “Also, everyone involved in the results will praise heaven when the time comes. Jeez, I mean, a guy tries to help a bro out in the twenty-first century and this is the kind of thanks he gets,” Kyle complained, starting to look a little hurt at Alex’s response to his gifts.

              “Kyle…. I think we may be too comfortable with each other. I’m not saying that as a bad thing, but you know this is not a normal gift for like… anybody, right?”  Alex asked, softening his tone and trying to inject some humor into it. “I mean, I’m appreciative and all… I definitely WON’T be telling you if and when I use any of this stuff… but like….”

              Alex was at a loss. It was a really nice gift and he was kind of being a dick about it. Sighing, he smiled and covered his eyes for a moment. Resting his chin on his upturned palm, he finally gave in.

              “Thank you for the gift, Kyle. Let me know next time you get in a serious relationship so I can repay the favor. And never… and I mean, NEVER…. Buy me underwear,” Alex finished, trying to look serious though he was smiling. Kyle smiled back and laughed some more.

              “I apparently didn’t do well enough picking your outfit for last night or you’d be begging to let me buy you underwear next. I take it the evening did not end up with any naked shenanigans?”

              Alex smiled and thought back to the previous night.

[medievalmonk]

The Power Within: Power Trip

You’ve stolen Loki from Avengers Tower. Now you’re teleporting all over the globe, getting practice and staying several steps ahead of Tony and Thor.  Loki is helping to prepare you to get him off Midgard. A new adventure awaits, if you manage to survive the trip.

When you teleported to your cabin in Alaska with Loki, you landed in the living room with plenty of space around you. Since you rarely practiced at it, and the last long distance trip was two years earlier when you fled New York, you felt a headache coming on, along with ringing in your ears.

“Well done,” Loki told you, while squeezing your shoulders gently.

“I don’t understand why you wanted to come back here,” you replied, stepping back from him.

Before he could reply though, a sudden thought took you, so you put your finger over your lips.

I have a computer and WiFi access here, you said, motioning with your hands. Jarvis may be listening.  

Loki nodded, then watched as you unplugged the modem and turned the computer off. Then you turned off your cell phone, tablet and any other electronic device you could think of that Tony and Jarvis might use.

Why are we here? You asked.

The immediate need is clothes for you, he responded. Go pack what you can and change. Hurry, now. If they are wise to us, it won’t take long for Thor and Stark to get here.  

You moved quickly to the bedroom and grabbed a duffle bag. After changing, you stuffed it full with pants, shirts, undies, socks and extra pairs of shoes. Then you tossed in just a few toiletries. You were also careful to put the pajamas that you'd been wearing in the bag, hoping to leave no proof that you'd been there.

When you finished, you went to the kitchen to throw in any snack that would fit in the bag. Every piece of candy you had on hand went into the duffel, along with packs of snack cakes; a couple of apples rounded out the selection.

Just as you were finishing up, you stopped suddenly and glanced at Loki. He was slightly alarmed to see a faint purple in your irises.

Someone’s here.

Loki grabbed the bag and it disappeared from his hand, causing you to do a double take before he took your arm to get your attention. He tapped his temple, indicating the location for your next jump. You nodded while slipping your arms around him again.

You both heard the noise of the front door being broken down just as you teleported out of there.

— — —

“Just missed them, sir,” Jarvis reported, as Tony and Thor were still quite a distance from the cabin. “It appears that she only took clothes and snacks.”

“Any idea where they could be now?” Tony asked.

“No, sir,” the AI replied. “I suspect that she could very likely take him back to Asgard, if he wanted to go there.”

“I suspect that you’d be right.”

When Tony and Thor reached the house, the SHIELD agents that had been sent ahead were busy searching it. They were making quite a mess of it, much to Tony’s chagrin.

“Good job, fellas,” Tony said, sarcastically. “Did you wipe your feet before coming in?”

— — —

From the cabin, Loki guided you to a manor in Italy: Tuscany to be exact. The building was isolated and closed up. Once there, he selected a bedroom on the second floor, then he cast a spell on it that would hide any light so that it couldn’t be seen from the outside.

He also placed a spell on the exterior of the house that would warn him if anyone came in. The bed in the room looked halfway decent and you hoped that it wasn’t too ruined, because you really needed to lay down.

“Careful.” Loki caught your arm as you staggered toward the bed.

“Sorry, I’m tired and my head hurts,” you breathed, while gingerly sitting on the edge of the mattress. “How did you find this place?”

He gave a wry grin. “Stark’s computer assistant is most accommodating. It showed me how to use Google Earth.”

You couldn’t help but laugh softly. “Clever, but Jarvis probably kept both our search histories, so we’d best not stay in one place too long.”

Loki nodded before he produced your duffel, then dug through it for the food you'd put in it. He gave you a candy bar and an apple, before selecting something for himself.

“It’s not much,” you said. “I wasn’t sure if anything else would keep, since I didn’t know where we’d end up.”

“It will do for now, but we do need water,” he replied.

You watched while he went into the bathroom, then heard water running. After a couple of minutes, he returned with a small glass and offered it to you.

“I’ve purified it,” he told you. “It’s cool.”

“Thank you.”

While you ate, you struggled to keep your eyes open, causing Loki to make you lay down once you finished. You didn’t protest, as you were dead tired. You didn’t realize that the purple tint from the Power Stone still reflected in your irises. Loki suspected that the close call from the cabin, plus teleporting, caused the change that would slowly fade once you were rested and no longer felt endangered.

“You’ve done well, rest now,” he murmured, after producing a clean blanket out of nowhere. “I’ll keep watch.”

You were asleep from almost the moment your head hit the pillow. Loki smoothed your hair out of your face before straightening the blanket over you. He watched you for a few minutes, then stroked your cheek.

Since he was now out of reach of his brother and that irritating Stark, he had time to think about what you'd done. It was very clear that you were capable of many things: you’d teleported with him twice, flawlessly. So far you haven’t had to use telekinesis, but he knew that it would come in handy when the situation called for it.

Now that you both were away from the Tower, he would start by having you teleport short distances, then work your way up until you both were confident that you could actually reach another planet without killing yourself or him.

Loki then began to plan how he would actually help you to teleport off-planet. He had a place in mind where he could obtain a spaceship; if he couldn’t find one to buy, he’d steal it. Then he would be free to go anywhere he wanted, although he would keep his distance from Asgard, for the time being, at least.

Once he was sure that you were sound asleep, he moved away to glance outside the window. The full moon illuminated the grounds of the old house and let him check for any movement, although his spells would alert him.

Unknown to you, Loki had your money belt in a dimensional pocket; he’d taken it after Bucky removed it from your waist. No one had asked about it, so he kept it, just in case. He wasn’t fully familiar with how the slips of paper currency worked, but he would leave that part up to you.

There was a conundrum, though. There was a real possibility that you’d both be recognized at some point. Large cities would have cameras almost everywhere, not to mention almost every Midgardian would have a smartphone and social media, and the chance was greater that they’d capture your images.

On the other hand, two strangers appearing in the midst of a remote area might draw attention more quickly. Loki weighed the choices, then decided that mid sized cities may be the best option.

Loki turned back toward the bed when you stirred slightly. When you settled again, he took another look out the window, double checked his spells, then settled beside you, although he didn’t lay down. He sat up against the headboard after pulling out a book.

— —

The next morning when you woke, you felt like you’d gone on a bender. Your headache hadn’t eased even after sleeping, and you were hungry. Plus, you’d really, really needed coffee.

Loki came out of the bathroom at that moment, bearing water for you. He was relieved to see that your eyes were their normal color.

“Thank you,” you murmured. “I wish I’d thought to bring something for a headache.”

“How bad is it?”

“Just a dull throb,” you responded. “I’m sure it will pass as soon as I’m able to get some caffeine.”

He brought out your duffel, once again searching through it for the junk food you had packed. He handed you a pack of chocolate snack cakes and then the last apple.

“You eat that,” you told him, pushing his hand away. “I’m sure you’re hungry, too.”

“Take it,” he replied. “I don't have to eat as often as you, and you’ll be doing most of the work for now. We need to decide where our next stop will be, and then you need to practice.”

“Alright,” you reluctantly agreed. “Do you know how far we are from the nearest town?”

“Not too far,” he replied. “We should be able to find lodging there.”

“I had money on me before Natasha showed up and drugged me. We could use it now. Cash means no paperwork or ID required, in most cases. I should have taken Tony’s money, too.”

Loki went quiet for a moment, then raised his hand. Your eyes opened wide when you recognized your money belt.

“Well, our situation has improved greatly, hasn’t it?” You grinned at him.

— — —

By later that morning, you and Loki had made your way to the nearest city. It was apparently on a tourist route, leaving you relieved when no one paid too much attention to you. Loki had changed his clothes so that he would fit in after you’d freshened up as much as you could in the manor.

He had you purchase sunglasses, to keep your eyes hidden in case your emotions caused them to change color. You also bought a pair for him, just because you thought he looked dashing in the pair he’d tried on then put back.

The second order of business was food. Luckily the cafe that you went to accepted American currency, so you and Loki had a substantial brunch. You could see that he was hungrier than he let on, and you felt bad about it.

I’m a poor planner, you told him. I should have thought about food.

Don’t worry about that, he responded. We’ll see about lodging next.  

You nodded while pouring yourself another cup of coffee. The waiter was kind enough to find some aspirin for your headache, and brought espresso for you. The coffee was strong and you could feel your headache easing.

When you’d been shown to the table, Loki had ordered in flawless Italian, causing you to look at him in surprise. He gave you a mischievous smile while you made a mental note to ask him about that.

After eating, you asked the waiter to point out a hotel where you could find a room. Once Loki had closed and locked the door, you sank down onto the clean bed with a sigh.

“This is nice.” You flopped backwards to stare at the ceiling. “Hey, how do you know Italian?”

“It’s the Allspeak,” he replied, while looking out the window.

“What’s that?” You got up to join him, and moved closer when he put his arm around your shoulders.

“Think of it as a type of translator. It enables me and Thor to understand and speak different languages.”

“Neat,” you smiled up at him.

He smiled back before raising his free hand in order to touch your face gently, and then turned you toward him and hugged you close. You put your head against him and closed your eyes.

“You’ve done very well, better than I expected since you weren’t exactly practicing before now,” he murmured, stroking your hair.

“Thank you, that means a lot to me,” you whispered back.

Loki held you for a few minutes, then released you, causing you to step back reluctantly. He stroked your face again before pressing his forehead against yours. He felt it when you gently reached out to touch him telepathically, just hovering around the edges of his thoughts; he could tell that you were only reassuring yourself that he was pleased with you.

“I’d like to take a bath. Why don’t you lay down for a while?” You told him, after he made no further move, which was disappointing.

“I’ll wait until you finish,” he said, after producing the duffel so that you could get clean clothes.

“Alright.”

After you exited the bathroom, Loki took his turn. When he finished, he found that you were curled up on one side of the bed, already asleep. He finished toweling his hair before laying down beside you, being careful not to jostle the bed.

He cast a quick spell to secure the room before allowing himself to sleep, then reached over to draw you into the curve of his body. You were warm and soft against him, with skin fragrant from your bath, which he found soothing.

Loki caressed your hand before linking his fingers through yours; he was then able to sleep. You woke him later when you began to move restlessly. He tried shaking you awake, but you were so tired and deeply asleep that he couldn’t rouse you right away.

Finally, you woke yourself up with a gasp. You were disoriented for several minutes before you remembered where you were. You then realized that Loki held you tightly against him in order to prevent you from rolling off the bed or running. When your eyes blinked open, he was alarmed to see that the irises were purple.

“I woke you, I’m sorry,” you said, with a soft sniffle.

“Don’t worry,” he replied. “What were you dreaming about?”

“That stupid Power Stone and the idiots who thought they could use it.”

“Do you have this dream often?” He asked, wanting to be prepared. If you hit him with lightning or teleported out of fright, his chance of leaving Midgard would be lost.

“Fairly often.”

“Go back to sleep,” he told you. “There’s no big hurry to move on. Let’s rest, then we can see about staying for a couple more days. How does that sound?”

“Marvelous,” you replied, lightly running your hand along his bare forearm.

So, you laid still, trying to go back to sleep, but unable to with Loki snug against your side, his arm across your waist, and one leg across yours. You weren’t sure if he slept, but you sure as shooting weren’t getting more sleep anytime soon.

“Not working, hmm?” He finally asked.

“No,” you replied softly.

“Let’s see what we can do about that.”

Your heart jumped to your throat when he raised up on an elbow before leaning over to capture your lips in a soft, tentative kiss meant to gauge your response. You pulled him closer, giving him your answer.

His hands made quick work of clothing, then it was skin against skin. He was gentle, and thorough; you were already drifting off before he moved to your side again.

Loki stroked your sweat-soaked hair away from your face while he studied you. You were a pretty little thing and had caught his interest the night at your cabin, when you’d knocked him on his butt.

He did like you, and thought that you’d make a perfect pair once off Midgard and able to move freely throughout the universe.

— —

For the next several months, you and Loki moved from country to country, city to city, where you would stay for a few weeks or until you felt you had to move on. With care, your cash would be enough for at least a year of moving around.

When needed, you stayed at hotels or inns; during these stays, Loki placed a spell around the room so that no one could surprise you. If the internet and a computer were available, he would research the next place to go.

The two of you grew closer day by day, and you knew that you loved him, but was unsure if he would or could return those feelings. There was something that he still kept hidden; you couldn’t find out what it was unless you invaded his mind, which he would not appreciate at all.

As far as either of you knew, Tony nor Thor had even come close to gaining on you. There hadn’t even been a close call from local authorities. You were relieved, but Loki still remained cautious; he knew that he needed you far more than you needed him, at least until you’d gotten him off Midgard.

Loki would have you practice taking a destination from him, so you’d concentrate on the picture he gave you through your telepathy before sending you off. He wanted you to be able to take guidance from him, and also wanted to establish how long it took for you to travel to the target and then back.

He knew that he couldn’t have you try reaching one of the planets in Midgard’s solar system, since they would be immediately fatal. The planet that he wanted to start with was similar enough to Earth that you wouldn’t suffer any adverse effects. It was the distance to the planet that had him concerned.

He didn’t want you to panic mid-jump, especially when you had him along for the ride. Loki wanted you to be able to focus on the destination in order for both of you to arrive in one piece.

— —

“Alright, pet, I think you are ready to get us out of here,” Loki finally told you while you enjoyed a quiet meal on the balcony of the Scottish hotel room where you were staying.

Edinburgh castle was visible from the distance; it was somewhere that you had always wanted to visit, but now was not the time.

“Ok,” you replied, uncertainly.

“Just remember not to panic, the trip itself will likely take longer than you’re used to. Keep the image foremost in your mind and trust me. I’ve been there enough times to guide you to an open space.”

You nodded before pushing your plate away. The food suddenly tasted like sawdust, and you couldn’t choke it down. Loki watched you for a couple of minutes before reaching over to take your hand.

“You’ll do fine, just trust me and don’t panic.”

You sound confident, but I can tell that you’re not entirely convinced, you tell him while trying to keep your hand from shaking.

Trust me.

Later that afternoon, you paced the floor anxiously, keyed up about what was to come. Loki had you rest a while then eat again before teleporting.

He watched you for several minutes before stopping you in order to draw you to him. He could feel your trembling in his arms.

“It’s alright,” he murmured.

“I don’t want to hurt you….” You paused before looking up at him.

They’re here!

Go!

— — —

“Damn it,” Tony scrubbed his face with both hands as he and Thor stood in the empty hotel room. “Those two are as slippery as jello.”

“What’s jello?” Thor asked.

“Never mind. I don’t think we’re ever going to catch them.”

“I’m beginning to believe you’re right.”

This was their closest call yet: they’d actually arrived at the hotel while you and Loki were still there. There had been only two other times where they’d been only an hour or so too late in catching you.

The fact that you could read minds, and would recognize them when they came in proximity to you pretty much guaranteed a successful escape.

— — —

I can’t breathe!

FOCUS!  

Loki’s voice was firm in your mind when you started to panic during the jump to Reumion, the planet he’d been preparing you for.

I’m with you, keep the picture in sight, he said, still firmly but also encouraging.

So, you concentrated hard, focusing as you’d been training to do. When your feet finally touched solid ground, you staggered and would have fallen if not for Loki.

Well done, my pet ….

I did it?

You did it. You could hear the smile in his voice.

His voice faded as you collapsed into his arms. Loki lifted you easily, then pressed a kiss against your temple while he carried you to an inn that he was familiar with. Your paper money was of no use, except as a novelty, so Loki parted with a gold coin in order to obtain the best rooms and to have a meal sent to it.

He then placed you carefully on the bed, and smoothed your hair out of your face. He could tell that you were exhausted; he felt safe enough to let you recover on your own before he started the search for a ship to buy or steal, if necessary.

Three days later, you finally stirred and sat up in bed. You had been out cold during that time, which concerned Loki, who hovered over you, guarding you. You hadn’t even woken up for food or water.

You looked around, disoriented, while trying to get your wits about you. The furniture and covers on the bed seemed familiar, yet not entirely, but you couldn’t put your finger on what the difference was.

A quick glance at the window took in a gray sky, although the light coming in was bright. You thought that perhaps a storm was brewing, but something still seemed off.

Loki?

A moment, he replied.  

You sat still, needing water but unable to get your legs to move. They felt like jelly and you were certain that they wouldn’t hold you up if you tried to stand. After a couple minutes, Loki entered the room, followed by...something you’d never seen before.

Your eyes opened wide in fright and before you could scream, Loki reached your side and shook you warningly. His fingers were painfully tight on your shoulder and drew your attention away from the alien that had carried a tray of food in.

You took a deep breath and forced yourself to relax; Loki eased his grip somewhat, then let go completely once the alien was gone.

Okay, I’m not on Earth anymore, you told yourself. They can’t all look like Loki or Thor.

“I’m okay, I’m okay,” you murmured. “Sorry.”

“It’s alright,” he replied. “Keep in mind that you may see other creatures even more startling.”

You nodded silently before scooting to the side of the bed. After another deep breath, you stood slowly, then before you could ask, Loki pointed you toward the equivalent of a bathroom.

When you returned, Loki had put the food onto a small table in the main room and waited for you. You sat down and pressed your trembling knees together.

“How do you feel?” He asked, after pouring a glass of water for you.

“Disoriented,” you replied. “Something feels off, but I don’t know how to explain it.”

He nodded while putting food on your plate. “I know that this looks different, but it should taste similar to what you’re used to.”

“Okay,” you replied, apprehensively.

You took small bites of what he’d served, finding that while it didn’t exactly taste like Earth food, it wasn’t bad. Loki watched in silent amusement before he poured a dark purple liquid into a separate glass for you.

“What’s that?”

“Wine,” he replied.

“Oh.”

You brought the glass to your nose for a sniff before taking a sip. That sip burned going down and you choked on it. Loki quickly handed you the water glass, which you drained.

“Strong!” You gasped, eyes watering.

“Are you alright?” He asked.

You had to clear your throat twice before giving up and nodding in response. He did smile when you pushed the wine glass toward him while shaking your head. You watched him drink what was in your glass before pouring more for himself.

“So, what’s next?” You asked, once you were able to speak.

“To buy a ship,” he replied.

“Too bad they won’t take my paper money,” you commented, while eating your breakfast.

“Yes,” he agreed. “But I will steal one if necessary.”

“Do you think you could do it without hurting anyone? I don’t want to hurt anyone.”

“Don’t let that concern you,” he replied. “I don’t intend to injure anyone, and I won’t steal a ship unless that is our only option.”

“Alright.”

“Now, how are you on clothing?”

The subject change caught you off guard, so you had to take a mental inventory of what you had.

“I could use a couple sets of new ones, and boots.”

“Once we’ve finished eating, we will go see what we can find for you.”

“Alright.”

— —

When Loki led you from the inn toward the merchant district, you were intrigued by the diverse alien beings that walked the street. You stayed close to him, and even took his arm a couple of times when you noticed that you were drawing the attention of some of the creatures.

“No, move along,” Loki told one brave alien, who had brazenly stopped your progress and chittered. “Yes, I’m quite sure.”

“What did he, it, say?” You asked, after Loki had guided you around the creature in order to continue toward the shops.

“He wanted to know if you were for sale.”

“What??” You squeaked, moving so close to his side that you were nearly walking on his feet.

Loki chuckled softly while gently moving you so that he had space to walk. You kept a tight grip on his arm, and he patted your hands.

“Yes, and I dare say that his won’t be the only offer.”

“You wouldn’t, would you?”

“Of course not.”

For some reason, you didn’t quite believe him, but you kept your misgivings to yourself.

He finally led you into a shop where you could get clothes and boots. You listened while he bartered with the shopkeeper; once an agreement was reached, the shopkeeper took you by the hand in order to show you garments that you could choose from.

“Pick out what you like, and try them on,” Loki instructed you. “Then we’ll get boots.”

So, you picked out clothing after trying several articles on. You also needed undergarments, but were reluctant to mention it to him. Loki’s attention was on the street outside, so you took that opportunity to look around.

“Wonder if she has underwear…” you murmured to yourself, while trying not to be obvious about what you wanted.

“Here.” The shopkeeper’s voice startled you just before she motioned you over.

You followed her, relieved to find what you were looking for. When you only picked out a couple things, she handed you several more items, including a couple of gowns.

“Paid for,” she told you.

“Thank you,” you replied.

She nodded with a smile before she moved away to package your items. When you finished, Loki paid her extra to have someone deliver them to the inn. Then he took you for boots, which were also to be delivered for you.

“Now where to?” You asked, wanting to look around.

The planet had a myriad of sights, other than the alien beings, and you wanted to see some of them. It felt like Earth, as far as the atmosphere, plants, etc, but the sky was gray instead of blue, with the vegetation having silver or steel blue coloring.

“Are those humans?” You asked Loki, indicating the humanoids that you saw.

“Only a few of them are,” he replied, while keeping an eye out for anyone who showed too much attention to you.

While you looked around while trying not to stare, you felt a tug on your pant leg. You glanced down to find that you and Loki had been surrounded by children, who looked up at you with wonder.

Some were humanoid, but they all seemed immensely interested in you. Several of them reached for your hands in order to examine them, while others gently felt the skin of your arms.

Loki managed to step out of the way, but watched closely while also giving the other pedestrians his attention; he leaned against the building, arms crossed.

“Hello,” you said, uncertain if they could understand you.

“Hello!” Some of them did understand and greeted you with smiles.

Loki watched your interaction with the little ones. He’d half expected you to take yourself right back to Midgard after the initial fright at the inn. You weren’t as wary of the children, and he expected that you would grow used to seeing other species as time went on.

“Here, see if they want these,” Loki said, handing you the small pieces of chocolate that you’d tossed into the duffel bag before leaving Alaska.

You offered the candy, pleased that there was just enough for each child to have one piece. Even Loki laughed at the expressions on their faces when they tasted it. He was less than thrilled though when small hands tried to find more candy on him; his clothing was tugged on and twisted around, much to his annoyance.

“No, sorry, all gone,” you told them. “No more.”

“More?”

“All gone,” you repeated, showing empty hands.

They made disappointed sounds while Loki reached for your hand. You waved at them as he led you down the street, then he pulled your arm through his.

“While you were resting, I’ve been asking around about a ship suitable to our purpose,” he told you. “I received word today that there is one that may be for sale.”

“Okay,” you replied.

“There may be other creatures there that will get close to you, but you are not to show any fear,” he went on. “Can you do that?”

“Are you sure you don’t want me to stay behind?”

“No, I want you close to me so that there’s no chance of you being stolen.”

That thought had never crossed your mind and it made you uneasy, but you were sure that you could protect yourself.

“I also don’t want you to reveal what you’re capable of, or neither of us will make it off this planet,” he continued, as if reading your mind.

“Alright.”

Loki moved his arm so that his hand now rested in the small of your back.

“You’re doing very well,” he said. “No one would ever suspect that you’ve never been off planet before.”

“Liar.” You couldn’t help but laugh at his teasing tone. “But thank you.”

@sadwaywardkid​ @whothehellsbucky​ @littlemissunloveable

[janaikam]

Hello, all. I’m back with a one-shot when I should probably be writing my Lila Takedown fic. I have just recently fallen in love with @firebird525 version of Ox!Adrien. Like he’s seriously so hot

I got permission from her to write a little fic based on her amazing drawings. If you would like to look at his beauty, here ya go! OxAdrien1. OxAdrien2.

I wanted to play around with an alternate universe body swap, so here it goes. I hope you enjoy!

AO3. FFnet.

“Chat! Nooooo!” A spotted hand reaches out to him only to be stopped by a bright flash of blinding white light.

Adrien jumps up in his bed, a cold sweat forming on his forehead. Faintly, Adrien hears his alarm going off, but he ignores it trying to shake off the nightmare he had. 

That felt so real. Maybe it was a memory from when I got hit by an akuma. Adrien shakes his head. 

With a groan, Adrien gets up from his bed and heads towards his bathroom. Turning on the faucet, Adrien splashes cold water over his face and washes the sleep out of his eyes. He grabs the towel hanging right next to the sink and dries his face. Sighing, Adrien looks at himself in the mirror immediately noticing something off.

There right under his nose sat a nose ring that Adrien didn’t remember getting. Thinking back to the previous night, he tries to remember if he did anything that could’ve caused him to blackout. I remember going to Nino’s, but then an akuma interrupted us. Adrien frowns as his mind draws a blank on what happened afterward.

“Hey, Plagg,” Adrien calls out for his kwami. If anyone knows how he got a random nose ring, it would be Plagg.

To his surprise, a grayish-blue kwami with two light blue horns floated into his bathroom. “Who’s Plagg, master?” Frowning, even more, Adrien attempts to remember who this kwami is and why he is calling him master.

“Stompp!” Adrien exclaims remembering the kwamis name from the time when Ladybug introduced the two of them. “What are you doing here? Where’s Plagg?”

It’s Stompp’s turn to frown at Adrien looking just as confused as he feels. “I’m your kwami. I transform you into Taureau Noir. Master, how do you know Plagg?” He questions.

At the mention of Taureau Noir, a rush of memories flood Adrien’s mind. Flashes of him as an ox themed superhero fighting alongside Ladybug remind him of his alter ego. The memories start to overwhelm Adrien and he stumbles, quickly grabbing the counter to steady him. “Right, right, you’re my kwami.”

“Master, how do you know Plagg?” The kwami nervously repeats, afraid to upset his master.

Adrien opens his mouth to respond only to struggle to answer the question. Scowling, Adrien tries to remember how he knows Plagg.

Plagg, Plagg, how do I know a Plagg? Maybe he was a cat? Yes, a cat!

“He’s a cat, I think. Black. I must’ve used to have him as a child,” Adrien states. “Why do you care about a cat?” Adrien asks it with a colder tone than he meant, and by the nervous sputtering from his kwami, Stompp noticed it too. “Sorry, I didn’t-but why do you want to know about a cat?” Adrien repeats in a softer tone.

“I...I was..uh...just curious...be..because you umm seemed to think uhh...that Plagg was here,” Adrien considers the response and accepts it. 

Instead of responding, Adrien nods and moves to go get ready. Stompp breathes a sigh of relief. “That was close.”

—

“Good morning, Adrien,” Nathalie greets him in the dining room. She is looking at her tablet, typing away at something as she approaches him. Adrien looks up from the bowl of cereal he was eating.

“The only thing on your schedule today is Chinese lessons at 5. Please be back here by then,” Adrien looks up at her confused. 

“There’s nothing else?” Adrien questions. He at least expected fencing or some photoshoot to take up his afternoon along with Chinese lessons.

Nathalie looked up from her tablet in surprise, which turned into horror as she examined his face. She quickly disguised her scream with a cough. “No, after you had a….conversation with your father last week, he decided to lessen your workload.”

Adrien tries to remember the conversation Nathalie is referring to. All he remembers is vague yelling at his father-something he normally wouldn’t do for fear Gabriel wouldn’t let Adrien go to school anymore.

“Oh, right,” Adrien responds staring at his plate. That’s weird. I think I’d remember an argument with Father better than some vague memories. Especially, if it let me be free of all my other activities. “Thank you, Nathalie.”

Nathalie exits the dining hall, but not without taking another look at Adrien’s face. “Gabriel’s gonna flip,” she grumbles under her breath.

“Stompp, do you know why Nathalie looked at me like that?” Adrien asked his kwami, who was in his bag munching on some kale chips.

“You don’t normally wear the nose ring in public, master,” Stompp informs. The kwami tilts his little head. “Why did you wear it today?”

“Why not? I can do whatever I want,” Adrien snaps, surprising both himself and Stompp. The poor kwami shrinks down back into Adrien’s bag, munching quietly. Adrien didn’t know why he snapped. All he knew was that he didn’t want to admit that he forgot what he normally does. With that, Adrien quickly finished his cereal and walked out front to get in the car.

Unfortunately for Adrien, the car wasn’t outside like it normally was at this time. Shrugging, Adrien decides to wait for Gorilla. I hope everything’s okay. Gorilla isn’t normally late like this. 

While waiting for Gorilla, Adrien thinks back on all the strange events he’s had this morning. First, it was a weird dream, then the strange thought of Plagg the cat, and now the nose ring. It was all very weird to him.

“Yo, Adrien!” A male voice yells bringing him out of his thoughts. Glancing across the gate, Adrien spots Nino waving his hands. Adrien walks up to the gate to meet him and as he does the gates open.

When Adrien gets a good look at Nino, he’s surprised by the boy’s wardrobe choice. Instead of his usual eye t-shirt, Nino is wearing a plain black shirt with a blue and red plaid flannel tied around his waist. On his red hat is a picture of Taureau Noir.

“What’s up, dude?” Nino raises his hand for a high five, then notices the new piece of jewelry adorning his friend’s face. “Woah, dude, when’d you get the nose ring?”

“Oh, this? It’s fake. I guess I wanted to give my father a little scare. I guess you could call it a little act of rebullion,” Adrien scratches the back of his head, hoping Nino would accept his answer.

“Oh nice,” Nino shrugs and starts walking. At first, Adrien didn’t move thrown off because Nino didn’t react to his pun, then realizing Nino started walking Adrien quickly ran to catch up. Looking back at the mansion, Adrien expected Nathalie or Gorilla to come after him but neither of them did.

“Wait, Nino, I’m supposed to wait for my driver,” Adrien says apologetically, once he reaches Nino.

Nino pauses, staring at Adrien. “Dude, what are you talking about? You haven’t had your driver drop you off at school in three years.”

Adrien blinks, not expecting that response. Did I really forget two years of my life? Maybe there's still an akuma on the loose.

“Oh, yeah, I know,” Adrien fakes a laugh. “I thought Nathalie mentioned something about Gorilla taking me to school this morning.”

“Gorilla?” Nino questions. “Do you mean Simon?”

Adrien fakes another laugh. “Yeah.”

An awkward minute of silence passes as the two walk. “So, did you hear what Sexy Noir did yesterday?” Nino scowls, breaking the silence.

“No, what did he do?” Adrien scrunches his eyebrows trying to think of what he could’ve done yesterday to cause this reaction from Nino, but sadly, coming up with nothing.

“He let Alya give him an interview and was practically flirting with her the whole time,” Nino grumbles. “I mean, it’s already enough that every girl adores him. Why does he have to go and flirt with the one girl I actually like?”

Adrien shrugs not paying too much attention, trying to remember the interview with Alya. It’s not like him to go flirting with girls who aren’t Ladybug. “Maybe he saw you struggling to ask her out and decided to give you a little push. I mean Alya isn’t going to be single forever.” 

Another frown finds its way to Adrien’s face as he reasons Taureau Noir’s actions. For some reason, it sounded like something that Adrien would do, yet it’s something he wouldn’t think of doing.

“Woah, dude, I know in your weird rich boy brain that might make sense, but for some hero who doesn’t know me, I doubt it,” Nino sighs. “Let’s stop talking about my problems. How was your night after you left?”

Continuing to walk, Adrien and Nino chat about random things going on in their lives. The walk was very enjoyable, but as they got close to the school someone just had to ruin it. 

He forgot they passed Lila’s house on their walk to school each morning. Most mornings Lila tended to arrive at school late claiming one of her many fake diseases kept her from arriving on time. Usually, their teachers believed her, but most of the class had learned-after a very tense ‘conversation’ with Adrien- that she was a manipulative liar. The details of said ‘conversation’ Adrien can’t quite remember, but he does remember how it ruined all of Lila’s credibility. All things considered, Adrien was surprised when she joined them on their walk.

“Good morning, Adrien, Nino,” Lila greets, a sickly sweet smile on her face. Instead of giving a polite smile like he normally would, Adrien scowls, giving Lila a nasty glare.

“What do you want?” He responds coldly, not particularly caring how she reacts. Woah, where did that come from? Am I normally this cold?

“What makes you think I want something?” Lila fakes a pout. “I was only just coming to tell you that I’ve changed for the better,” Adrien scoffs, frustrating Lila. “I’m serious! I’m not going to be in class today because I’m helping out at the animal shelter.”

“Ah, I see. Have fun convincing the dogs you aren’t an evil snake,” Adrien waves, leaving Lila behind stomping her foot in anger.

“Dude, I don’t like a liar as much as the next guy, but why are you so mean to Lila?” Nino questions, glancing at Adrien.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean for a dude who puts up with Chloé, you can’t seem to even be friendly with Lila.”

Adrien shrugs. “She threatened Marinette. Why should I be friends with someone who does such horrible things?”

When did that happen? I wouldn’t put it past Lila, but why do I know it happened.

“Woah, really!?” Nino exclaims shocked by the revelation. “That explains so much! She threatened your little crush, so you crushed her,” Nino frowns a bit. “Though, I’m not sure Marinette really appreciates it.”

“Wait, what crush?” Adrien looks at Nino confused. “I don’t have a crush on Marinette.”

“Sure,” Nino drawls. “And I don’t have a crush on Alya. Dude, every time you look at her you get these goo goo eyes. You are so whipped and you two aren’t even dating.”

Adrien’s face turns bright red at Nino’s teasing. “It’s not like she’d give me the time of day anyways.” Remembering all the times she’s stuttered around him, Adrien frowns.

“Well, you could change that’d you just apologized for that gum incident,” Nino reminds him. I didn’t apologize for that? Weird I thought I did.

“You don’t think it’s too late?” Adrien asks hopefully.

“Nah, I’m sure apologizing will definitely get you some points in Marinette’s book,” Nino grins. “Who knows, maybe it’ll help me get closer to Alya.”

—

Adrien curses Hawkmoth and his horrible timing. He had been planning on talking to Marinette during lunch, but an akuma decided lunch was the perfect time to go on a rampage. The victim appeared to be an art student from the school.

The akuma was a girl with bright purple hair in a messy bun with paint brushes sticking out in different directions. The loose strands were longer and acted as tentacles moving the akuma around. She was wearing a dress that resembled an art smock with paint stains all over it. On her wrist, she had a charm bracelet with different colored paintballs and a paintbrush.

At least it wasn’t during class this time.

As students started running out of the building, Adrien ran into the janitor’s closet.

“Stompp, Horns up!” Adrien yells calling for his transformation.

In a flash of dark blue, Adrien transforms into Taureau Noir. His transformation reveals him in a dark blue suit with black padding covering his chest and thighs. On his feet, he is wearing dark brown boots with fur on the top that resembles hooves. His shoulders have silver pads and a fur hood sits behind them. A dark brown belt and whip, his weapon, sit around his waist and two horns adorn his head, giving off Ox vibes.

This feels a bit different.

Shrugging off the weird feeling, Taureau Noir climbs through the window in the closet. Even if no one saw me go in, it’s better to be safe than sorry.

Standing on the roof of the school, Taureau watches as the akuma stands in the middle of the courtyard, slinging gigantic blobs of paint at fleeing students. The students who were unlucky to get caught in the blobs were stuck unable to move.

“WHERE IS MARINETTE DUPAIN-CHENG!?!?!” the akuma roars.

Taureau spots Marinette trying to sneak up the stairs at the same time the akuma does.

“THERE YOU ARE YOU LITTLE BRAT!” The akuma throws a paint blob towards her. Taureau immediately acts, diving to save the bluenette.

For a split second, their eyes meet and Taureau notices a slight blush grace Marinette’s features. Not looking back towards the even angrier akuma, he jumps from roof to roof until they reach Le Grand Paris.

“You’ll be safe here, miss,” Taureau gently lowers Marinette onto the roof.

“T-thank you, Hot-Tau,” Marinette’s and Taureau’s faces both turn bright red. “I-I didn’t mean to say that. It’s some stupid nickname my friend, Alya, made up. I mean you’re a hero you shouldn’t be subjected to random girls calling you hot. Not that you aren’t. And I’m rambling, sorry,” Marinette buries her face in her hands.

“Ah, it’s umm it’s no problem! Thank you for the compliment,” Taureau turns in the direction of the akuma. “Stay here until Ladybug and I have defeated the akuma.” With that, Taureau leaves a flustered Marinette and heads off to go do his duty.

—

“Nice of you to join me, Bugaboo,” Taureau greets the spotted heroine. He’s standing on the edge of a roof prepared to quickly dive to save a civilian who fell in the akuma’s path. 

“Sorry, Tau, I got a bit preoccupied,” Tau takes a glance at Ladybug’s face, noting the slight flush on her cheeks. “What seems to be their issue?”

“I’m not sure. She’s just been slinging paint, looking for a girl from Francois DuPont. Don’t worry I’ve made sure the girl is safe,” Tau doesn’t notice how Ladybug’s cheeks turn red at his comment.

“Any idea where the akuma might be hiding?” Ladybug watches the akuma as she goes on her rampage through Paris.

“I’d guess it’s in that charm bracelet on her wrist,” He points it out to Ladybug. She nods getting a good look at the charm bracelet.

“LUCKY CHARM!!” Taureau looks at Ladybug in surprise, shocked she would use her lucky charm this early in the fight. “What am I supposed to do with a pair of gloves?”

“You didn’t want to try interacting with the akuma before calling on your lucky charm?” He questions, watching as she looks for a way to stop the akuma.

“What? You don’t trust your fighting skills?” Ladybug teases.

“Pshh-no. I just mean wha-“

”I GOT IT!” Tau is interrupted by Ladybug figuring out how her lucky charm works. “Let’s go defeat this akuma!” Ladybug jumps off the roof and Tau follows suit, not really knowing what to do, but trusting his Lady.

—

“MIRACULOUS LADYBUG!!” Ladybug yells while throwing the red gloves with black spots in the air. The magical ladybugs clean the paint the akuma was throwing, releasing those who got trapped in the paint. 

Surprisingly, the ladybugs start swirling around Taureau Noir. “Woah!” 

Ladybug, who was right next to him, takes a step watching as the ladybugs cover his entire body. A bright flash of white light blinds Taureau, causing him to stumble and fall. He tries to close his eyes to block out the light, but it doesn’t do much as the light still pierces through his eyelids.

As the light clears, Adrien feels someone poking at his side. “Chat! Chat! Are you okay?” Groaning, Adrien opens his eyes to see Ladybug looking at him concerned. “Oh thank goodness! You’re okay!” Ladybug wraps her arms around him, squeezing the air from his lungs.

“Wow, m’lady, what did I do to deserve this lovely reaction?” Chat asks once Ladybug releases him. She scrunches her nose at the nickname.

“You got hit by that akuma. You were acting really strange. It was almost like you were a different person,” Ladybug recalls the strange Chat and how he was so different from how Chat normally was. Chat frowns remembering the odd day he had been having. “He was kind of rude-“ 

A beeping from Ladybug’s earrings cut her off. “Oh, I should get going,” Ladybug helps Chat off the ground. “You can get home or wherever you need to be?”

“Don’t worry Bugaboo. This Chat is feline just purrfect,” Ladybug groans at the nickname and swings away.

—

Adrien lies awake in bed, staring at his ceiling. Plagg is curled up next to him, snoring quietly.

Adrien was having trouble falling asleep due to the early weird day he was having. When he got back to his room, he immediately looked up the akuma battle from earlier. Unfortunately, there hadn’t been any videos, but Alya had set up a public forum on the Ladyblog for people to document what they experienced. Most had said the people that got hit by the akuma's blast seemed meaner than they normally were. While that was on par with how Ladybug describe Chat, he couldn’t find any evidence that anyone blasted traveled to some parallel universe. Adrien suspected that people were being smart and not saying how they probably traveled to another universe.

However, the strange experience refuses to leave Adrien’s mind. Adrien tries to chalk it up to the fact that he’s glad he didn’t turn out like the alternate him and wants to avoid becoming like that. But Adrien really knows what’s keeping him up: his crush on Marinette. 

It wasn’t until he was in the other universe that he realized he has a massive crush on Marinette. He had noticed that he had feelings for her, but he thought he was just projecting his feelings for Ladybug onto his everyday Ladybug. After his little adventure today, he realized that those feelings he had were separate from Ladybug.

Marinette probably wouldn’t go for some guy like me. Adrien sighs. Yet another unrequited love.

[theseviolentdelightss]

Counting Paths XVII

Series Summary: After a lifetime on the run from the Empire, Reader makes a move that could have drastic impacts for both friend and foe. A Reader insert/fanfic. Gifs belong to their respective owners.

Word Count: 4386

Author’s Note: Sorry again for the wait.

Part I Part II Part III Part IV Part V Part VI Part VII Part VIII Part IX Part X Part XI Part XII Part XIII Part XIV Part XV Part XVI

It was cold when you awoke. Eyes fluttering slowly as the memories came flooding back. The cantina, the code black, running yourself ragged which would explain why it felt as if someone had taken every muscle in your body and rung them out like a soaked cloth.

“Called it!” The sound of Roland's voice, while a small comfort, did nothing to stifle the pounding in your head nor the ringing in your ears. It rather enhanced it, earning an agitated groan from you as your eyes struggled to adjust. “Two hours and fourteen minutes, everybody pay up!”

All around you came the sound of grumbles. Money being dug out of pockets and wallets as Roland chuckled proudly. His paw out and ready for the taking.

“Did you seriously take bets on how long I would be passed out?” You asked coolly once the crowd had cleared. Narrowing your eyes as you stared down the older rebel, hands over flowing with newly acquired credits.

“No...” Roland stuttered. If you hadn't known better you would have sworn you saw guilt in his eyes as he adverted his gaze. Catching a glimpse of your reflection it was easy to see why.

Fainting from exhaustion and dehydration had done you no favors. The color in your cheeks had yet to return and your hands trembled as you ran them over your face. Apparently the first medic on site had struggled to find a vein, leaving the inside of your elbow an abstract mess off deep purple and sickly yellow skin. The bruise bloomed around the needle in your arm like a dying violet. Growing more gruesome by the moment.

When word first made it to Roland that you had ran out of the bunker with less than three minutes to spare he had assumed it was just another rumor. They seemed to have been following you as of late. Sprouting like weeds about your feet. It was only when Penny began to panic, pushing through the rows of bunks and cots towards the small infirmary area that he began to believe it. Nearly 30 flights of stairs and you had ran it three times in under five minutes. It was no wonder the exhaustion had gotten the better of you, not to mention the liquor. “Well maybe-”

“Give it!” You held your hand out, turning your attention away as you waited.

Dragging his feet Roland placed the pile of money into your palm. Licking your thumb you flipped through it before handing over a small percentage.

“Finders fee.” You smirked softly, feeling your head beginning to clear.

Following the IV in your arm you recognized the mixture hanging above you. A combination of saline and nutrients. Glancing around it was obvious that you weren't the only casualty of today's surprising great escape. A handful of cots sat occupied in the dimness. Strangers with swollen ankles and knees, a man with a thick piece of gauze wrapped about his head. Even from this distance you could spot where the blood had began to seep through. On the cot nearest you Penny lay dozing with no sign of visual injuries. Gently pushing aside her red curls you couldn't help but chuckle as the drool ran down her cheek. For now she would be fine, the hangover wouldn't hit her till she woke up.

“Where's Zara?”

“Off sleeping I think. Took some skinny kid half an hour to convince her you'd be fine.” Roland replied. “Want me to go tell her you're up?”

“No let her rest.”

“They need you.” Roland's eyes again shifted to the ground as he spoke. “In the control room.”

“Why?” You asked, unsure as to why the Rebellion saw need to punish you so quickly. Sure, you had disobeyed a direct order which in itself wasn't a first, but no one had gotten seriously hurt. Minus the guard you had punched but he had it coming. You still had the scar beneath your hairline from where he had struck you long ago. That was well worth a week of messhall duty. Still, that wasn't an urgent matter, not enough to warrant a trip to the control room in the middle of a code black no less.

“The hell if I know.” Roland spit bitterly. He was an amazing soldier yet for all his military prowess he hated authority more than a hormonal teenager.  “Captain Andor ordered me to stay here and fetch ya as soon as you woke up so hop to it.”

“You do see the IV in my arm right?”

Licking his thumb and forefinger Roland reached forward, snatched the plastic butterfly wings on either side of the thin needle and slid it out from under your skin like a warrior drawing a sword.

“For fucks sake Roland!” You hissed, reaching up to smack the curly haired man across the back of the head. What had only moments before been a dull ache now stung white hot. “There's a reason people don't actually do that you jackass!”

A half roll of gauze and a handful of curses later Roland was escorting you through the dark tunnels that lead to the lowest level. To keep the temperature from spiking most everyone had been spread out among the various floors. The bunker itself had seven and at its heart sat the war council. The most highly concentrated area of people and still it did nothing to stave off the cold. By the time you made it through the beehive of workers busy at various consoles and tablets you could faintly see your breath in front of your face. Wrapping your arms around yourself you tried to find some degree of warmth. Dragging the sleeves of your jacket over the palms of your hands as Roland motioned you forward.  

“Baby...” Roland muttered, side eyeing you as you began to shiver.

“Not all of us have been blessed with blubber to keep us warm.” You replied, eyeing Roland's protruding gut. Typically you weren't one to shame a person for their body but considering this was the same man who had only minutes before ripped an IV from your arm, you found it in yourself to make an exception. Thankfully it shut him up, allowing you a few moments of silence before coming to a stop outside a large set of wooden double doors. Unlike most on base these had been built in the old style that swung inwardly rather than sliding open or closed.

“From here on out your on your own kid.” Roland leaned against the wall as he spoke, retrieving a small knife from his pocket he began to pic the dried grease out from under his fingernails.

Sighing you knocked on the old wood nervously. The door opened with a low groan, kicking up a whirl of dust around your feet as you slipped inside. The space was noticeably cooler, the mood even more so.

“Sargent L/N please come forward.” Mon Mothma spoke calmly as always. She was a decent and honorable woman but that didn't mean her composed demeanor wasn't hiding an ugly truth.

Perhaps they had finally decided you were too much of a liability.

Maybe this most recent act of defiance truly was the last straw.

Stepping forward into the dim light your eyes scanned the various faces for anyone who might speak on your behalf. Cassian's dark eyes found you instantly, as if your gaze had been magnetically drawn to him. He stood with his arms crossed, jaw tense as if he were grinding his teeth. Draven sat at the large wooden table that stood in the center of the room. A massive piece carved with the same script and symbols as the door behind you. It had likely been there as long as the temple itself. Standing strong for hundreds of years. You couldn't help but drag your fingers across the surface as you made you way to your seat. 

“We have serious matters to discuss.”

The edge to the ginger haired woman's tone might have upset you if it weren't for a sickening realization, one that washed over you like an icy wave.

“Where is Theodren?” You asked instantly, trying hard to hide the fear growing inside you. The silence that followed was no help, seconds ticking by like hours as you waited. “Where is-”

“We don't know.” Mon Mothma replied, her tone gentler than before yet straight to the point. No time for curtsies. “Commander Theodren had departed for Bakura shortly before we were alerted of an Imperial patrol entering our atmosphere. Until the code black has been lifted any attempts to contact him are impossible.”

It felt as if the floor had been ripped out from beneath you. That weightless feeling of falling that jolts you awake. Surely you must be dreaming. Your luck may have been notoriously bad but this was nightmarish. Grabbing a hold of the table for support you allowed your body to slump into the chair nearest you. Mon Mothma continued to speak, for how long you can't be sure, it wasn't until General Draven snapped his fingers in front of your face that your mind cleared. Glazed eyes blinking for the first time in minutes.

“Sergant L/N?” Mothma spoke calmly, holding out a hand to hush Draven as she stepped closer. The room was dim but it may as well have been pitch black. Even with eyes open you looked but did not see. It was only Theodren you thought of and the space where he should have stood. “You're bleeding.”

The words had no sooner left the woman's mouth when you felt the first drop collide with the back of your hand. Closing your eyes tightly you allowed a second and third to fall before reaching for the source. A stream of blood trailed from your right nostril. Stickily coating your fingertips and leaving the taste of metal on your lips. Out of the corner of your eye you watched as Cassian moved forward. His face calm and composed as ever. Before he could step any further you were already standing. Hand held firmly against your nose trying in vain to stem the flow. It made sense, your tears had long ago been used up, only blood remained to spare.

“I apologize...” You muttered, pushing yourself away from the table and towards the large doors you had came in through. They sprawled open rather easily at your touch. The chill of the room a distant memory as the heat bloomed at the base of your neck and began to spread. The mix of worry and fear enveloping you as you searched for an exit, not caring where it went. It was solitude you yearned for. A space of your own where you could internalize the wars currently raging between your head and your heart.

Sighing you spotted a door that led through yet another dark hallway. Pushing your way further down till the last door stood waiting. Without so much as a knock you let yourself in. The stale smell of dust and age rushing up to greet you as you stepped inside. Rows of empty shelves lined the walls. The pale light above flickering out as you settled to the floor.

You hadn't prayed in years. After everything you had done you doubted the anyone would pay you so much as a passing thought. Still, even as the cold seeped through your bones you found yourself murmuring the words. Blood stained hands held tightly together.

“I didn't know you prayed.”

“I don't-” You replied, red eyes adjusting to the small lantern the captain held in his hands. “not usually at least.”

“Neither do I.”

“Why not?”

“Because they were never answered.” Cassian's eyed you cautiously as he knelt in front of you. Noting that the bleeding that had provided you a perfect out had yet to stop. Sitting the lantern to the side Cassian dug his hands into his pocket, retrieving a clean rag he leaned forward to press it delicately around your nose.

“Mine were never answered either.” Your voice felt small as you reached forward, trying to take a hold of the rag yourself, expecting Cassian to let go yet he held on.

“What were you thinking?”

“Excuse me?”

There was no hiding the tone to your voice. It was one thing to question yourself. The last thing you needed right now was Cassian doing the same.

“I told you to stay where you were.” Cassian replied calmly, ignoring your weak attempt at an attitude.

“I never told you how my brother died, did I?” That caught him off guard. The frustration draining from his eyes as he gazed back at you. “Come to think of it, I'm not sure I ever mentioned him at all...”

Settling onto the floor with a thump Cassian let the rag slip from his grip. His expression gentler than before, clearly this new revelation was not what he had been expecting.

“His name was Willis I had just turned eight when he was born. I was so excited. I'd finally have a friend that I wouldn't have to say goodbye to after a few months...but mama died on the birthing bed so I had to step up. It wasn't easy, especially not at first. I was still just a kid myself, and a part of me hated him for taking my mother away, but that didn't last. He was too kind, too gentle to hate and he was so smart. He could be a real brat about it too, always correcting my spelling.” You chuckled lightly, losing yourself in a memory for one brief moment.

“He heard it first, woke me up. I thought he was just having another bad dream but then I heard it too. It all happened so fast, the chaos, the slaughter. It started in the outlying villages but it didn't take long to make its way into the city. All of the sudden they were in the streets, kicking down your door, coming through your front room window. That's when the exodus started. I had never seen anything like it. All around us the buildings were going up in flames. You could hear people screaming. I passed the body of the baker who had made my bread that morning lying in a gutter as we fled. His face was gone but I recognized his apron. It felt like we were at war.”

“Antar IV.” Cassian said quietly, turning his head to face you. “The massacre. You were there?”

Nodding you tried to steady your breathing. It had been years since you had spoken about that night and for good reason. Anytime it came up you felt your pulse quicken, the cold sweat forming on the back of your neck. As if some small part of you was forever trapped in the moment and just for a second it had pulled the rest of you under. Drowning you on dry land.

“I lost my father's hand in the crowd, my brother begged me to go back, but I had promised...so I didn't. I couldn't. I wanted to more than anything but I knew if I stopped, if I looked back we would both be lost. So I lied. I told him we would meet my father at the ship. The old man had been working on the same one for ages, kept it docked at this little hole in the wall station he worked at. I thought for sure by the time we got there all that would be left was ash and rubble but there it stood. No more than twenty yards away. I was moving so fast I didn't even see him until-”

You voice hitched in your throat with a weak shudder. The hairs on the back of your neck standing on end as you began to run your hands up and down your thighs.

“I begged him to let us go. We were just children. I swore to him we wouldn't tell anyone, not a soul, but he just put us in his sights.” Turning your eyes to the ceiling you were happy not to have to look at Cassian's face as he heard what came next. “I tried to move Willis out of the way, but he had twisted his ankle during the run and I was carrying him. All I could do was turn around, try to cover him with myself but it didn't make any difference. That fucker cut us down like we were nothing.”

“How did you survive?” Cassian asked softly.

“I drove a screw driver through his eye and out the back of his skull.” You replied coolly, the sadness in your voice replaced with an entirely different emotion. “The first life I ever took and it didn't even matter. Willis died anyways. He bleed out in my arms. One second he was crying and trying to say something and then he just...went still. I had never seen someone die before but I watched as the spark drained from my brothers eyes, and that pain...”

Again you had to stop, try to calm your thumping heart as it pounded away against your chest. There was a reason you avoided this subject. It was always painful to speak of, but now with Theodren's fate so uncertain it only served to frighten you more. To remind you of what it felt like to lose someone you love.

“I didn't think I'd ever get over it so I locked that part of me away. Stopped caring about everything and everyone.”

Across from you Cassian shifted, leaning his back against the wall as he took in all you had to say. Not entirely sure if he should be relieved that you were sharing so much with him or worried. Crossing his arms to stave off the chill he watched as you fidgeted with your hands, pulling at the edges of your sleeves, tucking those relentless loose curls behind your ears. His own hands itched to reach out, take a hold of your own and still them but he thought better of it. Now wasn't the time.  

“I didn't join the Rebellion because I wanted to be a hero Cassian. I didn't give a damn about glory. A quick death was all I wanted, but then I met Theodren, and he was alone too. He was the only one that ever...he was my one true friend. I lost him once already, I don't want to lose him again.”

“You won't.” Cassian said with a bit too much certainty, overcompensating in his hopes of comforting you. “Theodren is the smartest person I know. I'm sure once this code black has lifted you'll hear from him.”

“Why are you here Cassian?” You asked suddenly, the urge to be alone over powering your usual politeness.

“I was worried about you.” He replied, not defensive in the least. A welcome surprise given your own change in demeanor.  “Didn't want you to be alone.”

“I appreciate that Cassian, truly I do, but you don't have to worry about me.” You stated, maintaining your full attention on him. Noting the subtle change in the distance between the two of you. Typically the captain preferred to put added space between the both of you yet today seemed the expectation.

“Look, I worry.” He stated simply, laying his hand out flat in a gesture to simply accept that fact and let it go. “Just promise me you won't do anything stupid.”

“Cass I-” Chewing your bottom lip you considered lying, it would be easiest for everyone but Cassian deserved the truth. “It's Theodren, if there is even a small chance I have to try.”

“Are you in love with him?” Cassian asked, his eyes glued intensely to your own.

“Who?” You scoffed. “Theodren?”

The dark haired rebel nodded sheepishly and in that moment you could have kissed him because despite everything that had happened Cassian had managed to do the unthinkable. He made you laugh. No sweeter a gift could he have given you in that moment.

“What?” You half chuckled, the very idea of it still tickling your sides. Not that Theodren wasn't a catch, it was just so far removed from anything you could have imagined. The two of you had been best friends for years and not once had there been even an inkling of romance. “No! Of course I love him but Theodren is like family to me.”

“I understand.”

“Are you alright?” You asked, watching as Cassian began to draw in on himself. Scooting himself to sit with his back straight and flush against the wall. Hands swiftly shoved into the pockets of his jacket.

“I'm fine.” He replied but you simply shook your head. How the hell was this guy a spy?

“You're a shitty liar you know that.” You nudged Cassian's knee with your foot as you spoke. Thankful that the tension had for a moment been lessened enough to catch your breath.

“Only with you.” His answer was short but it was enough to return the tension tenfold.

Whelp, that didn't last long...

“And that bothers you?”

“I'd be a fool if it didn't.” Cassian's brows knitted as he spoke, looking any where but at you.

“Why?” Leaning forward you grabbed a hold of Cassian's hand and squeezed it tightly. “What's so wrong with being honest with me?”

“You're always saving people.” Cassian said simply, at last turning his gaze to meet your own.

“What-”

“Just-just listen.” He insisted calmly and you couldn't blame him. You were well aware of your bad habit of interrupting people. It wasn't that you were rude, some people just spoke so slowly by comparison.

“You're always saving people. You saved Zara, you saved Roland, hell you saved me the night we met. Its who you are.” Sighing Cassian let his eyes drift to where your fingers sat wrapped around his own. Your knees inching closer, unwilling to give in to his poor attempt at gaining distance.  

“When I came down here I wanted to yell at you, to tell you that you were being foolish, convince you to stop...but I can't because that's not you.” Shaking his head Cassian smiled gently, his eyes warmer than before. Filled with an emotion you couldn't quite peg down but you were all too aware of how it made you feel.

“What's so wrong with that?” You half whispered.

“Nothing.” Cassian answered, turning your hand over in his own. Fingertips softly tracing along the lines of your palm. “Nothing, it just frightens me.”

“Cass I'm fine, seriously you don't have to worry-” You tried to put on your best smile as you spoke. If Cassian truly worried about you the least you could do was assure him you would try your best to stay alive. It was a bit of a priority anyways but if it mattered to someone else why not try harder?

Even if you weren't sure how to feel about it.

“And what if you weren't?” He asked sharply, turning the tables and instead interrupting you. “I know why you went back for Zara. I know why you want to go after Theodren. Because what if something happens and you could have done something but didn't? Then that's on you right? But if you go back and something happens to you then that's on me.”

“I'm not your responsibility anymore.” 

“It's not like that.”

“Then what is it?” You pushed, trying to hide the faintest hint of desperation in your voice. As if months of second guessing had inevitability lead you here. “What are you so afraid of Cassian?”

“You want to know what I'm afraid of?” Cassian eyes burned as he leaned closer, bursting the tiny bubble of personal space that existed between the two of you. “Losing you.”

And there it was. The truth you had been running from. It wasn't often that you felt vulnerable. It wasn't the sort of thing you were allowed, not if you wanted to stay alive.

“Your turn, no bullshit this time.” Cassian said, his mouth twitching as he spoke.

Taking a sharp breath through your nose you allowed yourself a moment of rational thought. To think of how very wrong this may all go. How much you could stand to lose, but that moment ended.

Unblinking you watched as Cassian's eyes flickered with longing. Something you only now realized had been there all along. They continued to follow your every move, watching as you inched closer until your knee dug into his thigh. Trembled and shifted. A pale hand snaking its way along the back of his neck. For a moment Cassian felt as if his brain had stalled, unable to process what was happening like a teenager second guessing themselves, but then you kissed him, putting those fears to rest in an instant. It was everything he had remembered from that night many months ago when he had first stolen a taste. 

Only now there was no limit. No hesitance.

It surprised you as well, how easily you melted into his grasp. Calloused hands swept along your sides until your shirt began to bunch between his fingers. The touch of his skin burning as it grazed your own. Feather light fingers threading through your hair as he pressed you against him.

Sometime later after you finally gave in to the need for oxygen did you allow the reality of what had just happened sink in. The terrifyingly true severity of it washing over you all at once. Still, it was impossible not to smile and lean into the palm of Cassian's hand as he held you close. Foreheads pressed against one another. So close you could feel his every exhale on your skin.

“That.” You finally admitted, knowing for certain that you were now well and truly fucked.

[spunky-89]

A Very Merry Christmas (Part Two)

A/N: So here is the next part. This is the part I was most excited about. I know that last one wasn’t that great, but I just had so many cute little snippets I didn’t want to leave them out. But I promise this part is much more cohesive.

Series Masterlist

Word Count: 3000

The presents were wrapped, the lights on the tree twinkling, soft Christmas music played, the fireplace roaring, and Steve, Bucky, and (Y/N) were all gathered in their living room on Christmas morning. There was a gentle snowfall outside and it felt magical. For the first time in a while, the three felt as though nothing could ruin their happy bubble. It was picture perfect. 

They decided to have some coffee while they opened presents, as (Y/N) was cold and tired, and Bucky was always grumpy till he had his caffeine in the mornings. Steve decided to prepare it for his two tired lovers. He knew how they both liked their coffees and what mugs they were to be put in. Though he didn’t put them in their normal mugs, as he decided to get them both a Christmas mug just for this reason. They were a little tacky, but they were all little kids when it came to Christmas. 

Once Steve delivered the coffees and they cooed at the new mugs, he joined them on the floor in front of the tree. They all sat there for a minute. There was no rush, no hustle and bustle, just peace. 

None of them wanted to break the bubble of peace, but they were excited to watch each other open their gifts, even more excited then they were to open their own.

“Okay, so I guess we should start on this massive pile.” You said. You then gave the boys a look and said, “Which by the way, you guys went way overboard.” 

“Can we not spoil the love of our lives,” Steve said with a smile.

“Mhmm,” You said squinting at them, their matching mischievous looks worried you slightly.

“Here, open this one first,” Bucky said gently handing you a box.

“Why am I going first?” 

“Becaaauuussseeee.” He whined.

“Okay, okay. Sheesh.”

You took a good look at the box. It was pretty big and you knew nothing you had put on your list was that big. The wrapping was also weird but you just figured they had trouble with it. You started slowly unwrapping it, trying not to jostle the box since the little Christmas label on the front said fragile. The paper gave way to a plain cardboard box. You were confused and shot the boys a look, but they were both smiling widely. You also noticed Bucky was filming you.

“Buccckkyyyyyy, no video or pictures.” You whined.

“Just this one doll, I promise.”

“Fine,” You grumbled as you started to peel the tape off the top.

As the two flaps came loose, the top pushed up a bit. You jumped from the shock, quickly looking to Steve and Bucky to make sure everything was fine, but they looked even more excited now. You looked back to the box as you watched a small head pop out. 

Tears immediately came to your eyes as you took in the small white-furred head.

“Shut up,” You squeaked out, the tears starting to stream.

“Well you always say you wanted a friend to comfort you when we’re gone, so we got you one,” Steve said softly.

“Oh my god,” You sobbed. You lifted the flaps and gently grabbed the cat from the box. The cat instantly snuggled into you. You cried louder.

You saw a note on one of the flaps and grabbed it, the cat still heald to your chest with one hand. You flipped open the letter and started reading it aloud.

Dear mommy,

I have had a lot of names in my life, but you can give me a new one. I am 4 years old. My new daddies rescued me from the shelter. They say this is going to be my forever home, but I am nervous. I have been brought back to the shelter 5 times. The nice people at the shelter take good care of me, but it’s not the same as a home. The shelter people didn’t want to let my daddies bring me home, they wanted to keep me a foster kitty, but they promised you would love me unconditionally and never bring me back. I hope they’re right. I am a very gentle and calm cat. I actually enjoy cuddles, some times. I do enjoy playing, but I don’t mind just lying around either.

I think I kept getting brought back because I have a small disability and after my third failed home, I have trouble trusting new families. I am not a vocal cat, I tend to keep very quiet unless I am in pain or distress. I guess most families want a kitty that will talk to them. Also, since I am getting older, no one wants me. They all want babies. I don’t blame them. I was once one of the cute kittens everyone wanted. 

I cannot wait to bond with you and love you for the rest of my life.

The tears just kept flowing as you finished reading.

“Oh, you poor baby. I promise to always love you. You’ll never have to go back.” You sobbed into the cat’s fur.

You looked up to your boyfriends and cried “Thank you!”

“You are so welcome sweetheart,” Steve smiled.

You sniffled and tried to start calming the tears. You noticed your new cat was trying to reach the wrapping paper so you giggled and gave them a piece. 

“Is it a boy or a girl?” You asked the boys after reading over the note again to be sure you didn’t miss that detail.

“Damn, knew we forgot something in the letter,” Bucky mumbled.

“It’s okay, I love it and will cherish it forever.” You said as you refolded the letter and put it on the coffee table behind you. 

“It is a girl.”

“She’s so beautiful, I can’t imagine why anyone would want to give her up.” You said as you stroked her fur as she batted the wrapping paper around.

“Their loss is our gain,” Bucky said with a wide smile.

“Alright, let’s dig into the rest of these while you think of names,” Steve said as he started passing presents.

“I don’t need to think, her name is Minxy.”

“Minxy?” Bucky asked.

“Yup, and before you ask why, she just looks like a Minxy to me.”

“Okay then, Minxy it is.” Steve smiled.

In the end, they had given you everything you would need for the newest member of your family. This included bowls, food, a bed, a cat tower, some toys, and a collar (with the promise of a tag with her name). They also got a few small regular gifts for you such as a new frame collage for the living room, a pair of heels you’d been eyeing for a while, and a gift card to Sephora (they said they wanted to buy the actual items but they got scared when they entered so the clerk suggested a gift card). 

Steve had gotten some new sketchbooks and pencils (he broke them so often it was a given for his birthday and Christmas), a nice watch, and a drawing tablet. He was skeptical but you were sure once he got the hang of it, he’d never put it down.

Bucky was gifted with some new colorful knitted fingerless gloves from a cute Etsy shop, a new journal, and some cologne.

“Okay boys, now I’m really happy I decided to do this after what you boys did, but I did something special for you both, well two things, but the one is kinda - well you’ll see when you open it.” You said as you grabbed your last two gifts for the boys.

You first handed them the smaller box, stealing your cat back from Bucky who was entertaining her with reflections from his hand.

“To remind us of this moment forever,” Steve read as he lifted the gift from the inside. It was a small white ornament, it was a thin circle with the words Our First Christmas. 

“I know technically this isn’t our first Christmas, but it is our first official Christmas together since we were still figuring out our relationship last year as well as you guys had to go on assignment.” You explained.

“It’s perfect darlin, and very sweet and thoughtful,” Bucky said with a smile.

“Did you make this yourself?” Steve asked.

“Well I bought the ornament but yeah, I hand-painted it.”

“Woman, you will never cease to amaze me.” Bucky exhaled.

“It’s not a big deal, nothing even in the ballpark of what Steve can do.”

“But you are just as good in a lot of art forms I am not.” Steve pointed out.

“All right, stop. Just open the next gift.” You said thrusting the bigger box towards them.

After tearing through the paper, they were faced with a faux worn leather book, colorful letters spelling out Our Adventure Book. They gave you a look and Steve lifted it out. It was a large book, thick with pages crammed in. He flipped open the first page. There was a note on it.

For the adventures we have had in the past and the ones we will have in the future ♡

They turned the next page and they found a picture of Steve and (Y/N) dancing at one of Tony’s fancy parties, they had huge smiles on their faces as they laughed. Next to the picture was the date and a small blurb of what she remembered from that night. The next page had two pictures. They were also of Steve and (Y/N), this one was clearly from the paparazzi but it was cute. It was of the two of them in Coney Island. (Y/N) was riding piggyback on Steve as she held a cotton candy in one hand and a stuffed tiger in her other. One picture was from the back and one from the front. The picture where you could see their faces Steve was smiling wide as you laughed. There were a few more pictures of the years before Bucky. One stuck out. In bold letters at the top, When I Realized I Loved You. There was a small passage below it.

I didn’t realize it at the time, but I think this is the moment where I fell in love with you. Though I think it was a gradual thing, this moment really solidified it. I think I subconsciously pushed the idea of being in love with you away in fear of ruining what we had. But as I was putting this book together, I came across this picture and I realized that this was the moment I realized. I will forever be grateful for this moment, even if it was one of the worst days of my life, I think the outcome was pretty good.

The picture was one Friday had taken. The Avengers had been off on a mission that went south fast. There was radio silence and Friday could not get a beat on any of them. By this point, you and Steve had already been friends for over a year. You had seen him off on missions before, you’d seen them go bad. But never like this. 

You were at the tower, having been escorted there for your safety. You had been watching the news, looking at the death and destruction that was occurring. Then, your heart dropped. You watched as Steve was launched through the air and off the side of a building. You couldn’t see where he landed, but it was a far drop into mass chaos. You had let out a piercing scream, collapsing to the ground. 

Luckily, he came out the other side alive. He was beaten and bruised, but he was alive. The picture captured the moment when he stepped off the plane and you launched yourself into his arms. You were both holding each other tightly and crying, glad that you both were alive and together. 

The tears were streaming down Steve’s face as he read the passage and looked at the picture, remembering vividly the day. You were crying as well, you knew which page he was on and it still hit you hard. 

Once Steve was able to see properly again and took a deep breath, they kept flipping. There were more pictures of you and Steve, then the first pictures with Bucky were actually ones you had managed to scrounge up from the deep dark web (also known as bullying Tony until he helped). It was of Steve and Bucky back in the 40s. There were a few from before the war, childhood and teenage years, then pictures of them while they were at war. You had left space so they could fill in their thoughts and feelings about each picture.

The next two pictures were from the first day you met Bucky. Near the end of the day, Bucky had lightened up (). He was smiling and laughing with Steve. That was the first picture. Steve and Bucky on your old shitty couch laughing. They both looked so much younger. Then the picture next to it was of the three of you. Steve caught you taking pictures and dragged you onto his lap and you took a selfie of the three of you. 

After that, there were more pictures of the fun times you had together and separately. 

Bucky’s breathing stopped when he got to his page. When I Knew I Loved You.

It was much quicker with you then it was with Steve. Almost instant. You were still so sad and broken, but you swore I helped you feel whole again. It was sappy and you always said it in a joking tone, but the sincerity shone in your eyes each time. And it made me so glad that I could do something to help numb some of the pain that you had been harboring for decades. On this day, it was something so small, so insignificant, but it meant everything. This little gesture, though it ended in a bit of a disaster, made me freeze. I realized I loved you. At that time I had already been playing the game with myself of ‘I love Steve as a best friend’ so I started to do the same thing with you. Looking back, I was an idiot, but that is beside the point. Loving you came naturally, and it made me work twice as hard to make you believe that you deserve to be loved and cared for.

The memory spoken of was only about 5 or so months after you had first met Bucky. You had a horrible day and were feeling like crawling into bed and never emerging. Bucky had called to ask if you wanted to meet him and Steve for dinner, but you declined. You had done your best to mask the emotion in your voice, but clearly, you had failed. 

20 minutes after your phone call, you heard a knock at the door but didn’t feel like answering. A moment later the lock clicked as the door was opened, you were worried for a minute before you heard his voice announce he was here. You heard him mulling around in the main area before approaching your bedroom. He gently knocked on the door. You let out some form of noise and he crept in. He told you he had brought some stuff and he was gonna make dinner. He picked you up and brought you into the kitchen where he sat you on a counter. You saw a beautiful bouquet of flowers on your table. When you questioned why he was doing this, he said he wanted you to feel the same support you always gave him when he was feeling down. He ended up burning the food. The pictures on the page were of that night. First was a picture of the bouquet, then him cooking, then the food burning, his flurry to try and put it out, then his pouting face at dinner while eating takeout. 

Bucky laughed, though his eyes were misty. He looked up at you and said, “Thank you, this is so…”

“Don’t worry about it, every word in there is true. I love you both so much.” You said

“And we, you,” Steve replied. 

They continued flipping through. There were more pictures, including the first day you decided to become more than friends, your first date night at home, your first date night out, and so many more. They were about halfway into the book. The flipped another page over and there was a small blurb on a sticky note and below it, three slips of paper taped to the page. The sticky note read The rest of the book is for our many adventures to come. These tickets are for the next one. They furrowed their eyebrows and looked closer at them. Their eyes went wide. They looked at you, looked at the page, you, page, you, page.

“You’re kidding me? Sweetheart,” 

“I want to. I’ve been wanting to do this for a while, this year just seemed like the perfect time.” You smiled.

The pieces of paper were fake tickets you had made. They said ‘good for one 5 day Disney World tickets, flights, and lodging’. 

“This is too much,” Bucky said.

“You got me a cat, I don’t see the difference.”

They both gave you looks. You just smiled. They both moved over closer to you and tackled you to the floor, showering you with kisses. You giggled as they did so. Even your new kitty joined in and started batting at your face. 

“Merry Christmas sweetheart,” Steve said.

“Merry Christmas my loves,”

“Merry Christmas! And if I do say so myself, I’d say it was a very merry Christmas.”

“Shut up dork/punk!” You and Steve spoke at nearly the same time.

It was a very Merry Christmas indeed.

A/N: I am sure it is obvious, but full disclaimer, I know nothing about cats. My whole family is allergic and so I can’t get one. Please, please, please, let me know if there is anything major I am describing wrong or characterizing wrong and I will adjust in future installations with Minxy. Also, for those who want to know, I picked a snow lynx bengal cat (also known as a white bengal). And if you recognize the name as a name for a different white striped cat (though my minxy is much smaller then her namesake), let me know. I’d be curious to know if anyone knows where I got the name from :)

[lovemxnot]

Secret dating [9:14 am]

“Hey, let’s skip.”

Three words.

That’s all it took for you to ditch your second period English class, skip down the empty hallways, and meet the messy blob of blonde hair and race back to his house, hand in hand.

Sheets crumbled, legs intertwined, chest on chest, your heaves echoing through the empty room, your hand was laying on his pec, feeling his fast-paced beating heart, it’s tempo matching yours.

Unwinding from your previous... activity, Your finger was drawing random shapes on his chest, while his fingers ran through your knotted hair.

You and Felix would have stayed lazing on the bed until it was time to sneak out his house again when his parents came back from work if it weren’t for the sound of keys jiggling and clicking on the front door.

You looked at Felix, perplexed. “ I thought you said no one was here” you got up from his bed, pulling his sheets with you, leaving him bare to the cold air. You set out to collect your clothes that were strewn on his carpets floor and put them on.

He got up and went to peek carefully through the door ” I did!! Both of my parents went to work! No one's supposed to be here—shit!!”

You see the problem was, both you and Felix were supposed to be at school studying actual biology, and not educating yourself in each other’s anatomy. As if that wasn’t enough, none of his parents knew of you. His parents were already fed up with his delinquency, so if they saw him at home, much less with a girl, he would surely be hung.

“Fuck she’s coming here!” He joined you in collecting his school uniform.

“Who’s she?!”

“My mom!!”

“Then just lock your door!”

“ I don’t have a lock!!”

“Fuck!”

You heard the well-known sound of wood creaking under pressure crescendoing in the empty hallway outside his door. She’s was coming closer, and neither of you was properly dressed, and this wasn’t the time for him to introduce you to them. They’d think you were the cause of his bad behavior and probably ban you from seeing him.

Panicking, Felix pulled you and whatever clothes he could manage to pick off his already messy floor, and shove the both of you in his narrow closet.

“Felix my shirt–“

“Shhh,” he shushed you, “ just Incase she comes inside.”

And come inside, she did. Through the tiny slit of the closets door you saw his mother was holding a laundry basket under one arm, while the other held a tissue that was rubbing against her nose every so often. She must’ve taken sick leave and came back home early, what a great fucking day to decide to skip school and go back to his house.

She sighed once she saw how messy his room was, his bed a mess, pillows pushed to the side some on the floor, his comforter pushed to the end of the bed and the sheet that you previously used to shield yourself with was lying forgotten on the floor.

“This boy,” she put down the basket and went to go make his bed.

Your school shirt was laying just outside the closet door, if you open the door and reach out, you would be able to grab it. This was your chance while she was distracted.

You started to put weight onto the door to open it, but Felix Stoped you.

“What are you doing?!” He mouthed.

“My fucking shirt you idiot, she’s gonna know it’s a girl's if she sees it!”

While Felix’s shirts were long sleeved with a simple necktie, yours were 10 times smaller than his in size with a pretty colorful bow tie for the collar. It’s pretty obvious it’s his school's girls uniform.

You missed your timing thanks to Your bickering, and his mother was back next to the basket, she started picking up whatever clothes that were laying on the floor and throwing it into the basket, your shirt being among them.

Oh man, you were so royally screwed.

Thankfully she seemed really tired and didn’t take notice to how different your shirt was to his and heard her murmur to herself “ I should probably get the clothes from his hamper too.”

If you thought her taking your shirt was the biggest problem then boy oh boy, were you wrong. Because right now, with you leaning against said hamper, if his mother opens this door, you were pretty sure she might suffer from a heart attack. But not before yelling both your ears off and chasing you out of her house with a broomstick like you were some pesky rat that was chewing on all her wires.

In the darkness of the closet, you caught Felix’s eyes, his expression matching yours, you were in deep shit. You had to think quick, what could you do?

Suddenly realization lit Felix’s face, and You heard, then saw, Felix fiddle with the stuff he brought with him earlier, pull out his phone and speed dial his mother’s number.

A muffled ringtone echoed throughout the empty house catching his mother’s attention, momentarily making her forget about the clothes and went outside the room to where her phone was laying in the living area.

Before his mother could pick up the line, he closed it. Quickly both of you sprang out of his closet, and he got dressed in his dress pant and shirt while you wore your skirt and socks and shoes, but your shirt still missing.

Annoyed, You slapped his biceps multiple times, “ MY FREAKING SHIRT FELIX!!” You whispered.

“ just wear this for now!” He threw at you one of his graphic t-shirts. You complied only because it was cold, and not because you liked how warm and big his shirts always seemed to be on you.

His phone started to buzz, his mother was calling back. He quietly shut his bedroom door, help a finger up at his mouth at you then answered the call.

“ why’d you call?” His mother asked.

Felix faked a cough, “ I think I caught a cold.” That was a lie, he was completely normal three seconds ago when he was all up on you.

“ you too ?” She sighed, she didn’t question it one bit because the flu has really been going around lately,“ then just walk back home.”

“ I can’t, you have to sign my sick leave paper.” That wasn’t a lie.

You could clearly hear her let out a deep sigh, a sniffle, contemplating whether to go pick her son up from school or finish her work first,” alright, I’ll be there in a few.”

He faked another cough “ Also mom,” he quickly added as an afterthought, “ could you stop by the pharmacy on the way?”

“Yeah I was thinking of going there anyway, we don’t have any Claritin tablets left.” You could hear the sound of keys jiggling on the line.” Go rest, I’ll be there soon.”

His parents might have been annoyed with his bad behavior in school, but he still was their only child, they could never stop babying and worrying over him.

“okay,” Felix replied, then ended the line.

Felix put his ear to the door, quietly listening for any queue that his mother was leaving. Once you both heard the sound of a car engine roaring to life, you exhaled in unison.

You didn’t give Felix a chance to rest when you raided him with your tiny fists to where ever you could reach.

“ THAT.SCARED.THE SHIT.OUT OF. ME!”

“ ouch ouch Y/N—“ he took hold of both your forearms, disabling you. He pulled you closer with his grip and smooched you softly. You quieted down at that, you could never get enough of him.

“ stay here” he used your quietness as an escape and went out of his room for a couple of seconds before reappearing with your shirt in hand.

You snatched it from his hand and replied sarcastically, “ my hero.”

You gave him your back while you took off his T-shirt and started buttoning up your school shirt.

You felt a weight on your shoulder and arms around your waist, pulling you backwards into a sturdy chest. “ well, that was...something.” He giggled into your ears.

You scoffed playfully,” yeah almost being sent to my grave was fun.”

He rolled his eyes at Your dramatic response,” oh, you loved it, I know you did.” He rubbed his nose along your neck.

“ you better run Felix or else your mother’s gonna be real surprised to not see her ‘sick’ son in school.”

“Ugh,” he grunted, “ see you later?”

“Of course.”

One last kiss before he broke out in a run.

[atinydroid]

Super Novae

Chapter 1

“It’s hot.”

“It’s always hot Que. Shut up about it.”

A girl groaned and flipped over onto her back in her bunk. Her legs were shoved up against the walls hoping they would be even one degree cooler than the air. Her, too long, shoulder length black hair stuck to her sweaty neck as she hung her head off the side of the bunk. “Maybe if I complain about it enough it’ll stop being so hot.” She squeezed her brown eyes as tight as she could as if it could keep the heat out.

The woman on the bunk below her growled as she kicked the bottom of Que’s bunk. “You complain about it every fucking day. If it hasn’t helped in the last year it ain’t gonna start now.”

“But Inya what about the power of suggestion and all that crap?” She knew pushing the other woman’s buttons was a bad idea but smart thinking was for not hot times.

Station 10 was a very large “common criminals” prison that was full of thieves, hackers, gang members, murderers of passion, that kind of thing. People who were criminals but like the lowest of the rung and not worth the specialized manpower. So of course whoever made the Station thought it would such a great idea to have it be orbiting a massive star. Which of course made the mostly metal station as hot as Miv87, which is an uninhabitable planet due to the fact that it’s completely desert and closer to its sun than Mercury.

She could hear Inya roll her eyes, “Use that bullshit to get the hell out of here then.” She mumbled, “Instead of annoying me to an early grave.”

Que kept her eyes closed, gently slapped her hands together twice and said “I wanna get out. I wanna get out. I wanna get out. I wanna ge--”

“4068! Get your shit you been bailed!”

Que jumped up from her weird overhang position and slammed her head into the ceiling, “Fuck!” she flipped over and slid off the bed, her hand pressed against her now throbbing forehead. “What did you say?” Inya had also crawled out of her bunk and now stood beside Que.

“You got 30 seconds 4068!” The Yevestian guard growled, clearly unaware of Que’s now massive headache.

“Holy shit kid, your bullshit actually worked!” Inya slapped Que on the back, harder than necessary, but it jump started her as she pulled her shirt back on and grabbed her toothbrush. “Who the hell would bail you out though?”

Que shrugged as she stepped up to the gate and waited for the guard to unlock it. “Stars if I know. But I’m sure as hell not staying in here.” She gave Inya a salute as the gate locked behind her. “See you on the outside.”

A cacophony of yells rang in her ears as she passed people by.“Hey! Who’s got the balls to bail your stupid ass out Que?” “You still owe me 80 bits!” “You better watch yourself Que or I’ll fucking kill you!”

“Ah the feeling of being missed.” She smiled as she either waved or flipped off her fellow prisoners as she was marched through the halls. She had made quite a few friends in her time on the inside. Well “friends” was a strong word. A lot of people knew her. And hated her but it’s their fault for being way too easy of marks.

“Shut up and keeping walking scum.” The Yvestian guard shoved her a little.

Que caught herself before she stumbled and looked back at the imposing alien woman, “My only regret was not getting closer with you, uh,” she squinted to read the name tag that looked either dirty or burned and Que was not about to figure out why, “Tel’eh.” She put on her most disarming smile.

“Why the hell would I want to be friends with a thief like you? So you can rob me blind?” She chuckled as she shoved Que again. “Lucky for you I’m not an idiot.”

Que shrugged and clasped her hands on top of her head, “Worth a shot.”

They finally got to the front desk, which sat behind unbreakable Viavial glass. It seemed that even Station 10 couldn’t be too cautious even with only “common criminals” being here. “Name.” The Earthen Indian woman behind the glass didn’t even look up from her holo-tablet.

“Que.” She said with a toothy grin.

“Full name.”

Que frowned. She hated giving out her full name to these people. “Nakayama Que.” She said as quietly as possible hoping no one but the desk lady heard her.

The Indian woman’s head jerked up from her tablet with a look of suspicion and shock. As if she couldn’t believe that man’s child could be in prison. She quickly typed out the name and frowned when Que assumed her name was confirmed correct.

The woman turned and grab of stuff that Que had on her when she had been arrested, sans most of her knives she’s assuming, and practically threw it at her through the window. “Thanks!” She smiled at the scowl the woman had on her face now. Well maybe it’s a good thing she didn’t make friends with the guards in here.

The front gate’s alarm sounded as it squeaked open. Que quickly stepped through as if she was afraid the guards were going to change their mind if she waited too long. She turned back to say “Wait, who bailed me--” but the gate shut on her face and the Yvestian turned to leave and the Earthen woman went back to looking at her tablet. “Ok then.” She said to herself and then turned back to the very small waiting room.

There was only one person sitting at one of the tables, a cup of coffee in one hand and his handheld holo in the other. Que stared at him trying to remember if she knew him from somewhere. The dirty blonde hair seemed kind of familiar but a lot of Earthens have blonde hair. The scar down the left side of his face should be memorable but she just kept drawing a blank.

“You’re not my court sanctioned therapist.” She said loudly as she walked across the room. He looked up at her with a bored but interested look.

“You have a therapist?” His smooth voice held a note of recognition with her but there was just not enough for her to go off of. She watched him practically jump out of his seat as she walked up to him and stand at the ready in a stance that was, unfortunately, all too familiar to her.

“Oh stars.” She rolled her eyes, “You’re a Federation officer aren’t you?” She dropped her stuff on the table with a heavy sigh.

He blinked his grey eyes in surprise as he looked down at his very obviously civilian clothes, “A Captain but... how did you know?”

“You stand just like my father and sister. Like a soldier who can’t think for themselves.” She rolled her eyes and started digging through the bag on the table. She pulled out her clothes from when she was arrested and laughed at the irony. Right, how could she forget that she had been caught robbing one of the UMF’s mother stations.

“Turn around would you?” She looked at the officer who just had a confused look. “I’m gonna change and as much as I don’t care if you see me naked I’m gonna assume that--” he quickly spun around, “yeah that’s what I figured.”

She changed out of the baggy, grey prison clothes and quickly pulled on the pitch black uniform. It was fitted, double buttoned and had a high collar. The trim and accents on it were gold and there were four neon blue stars on the left side of the chest. It seemed like they officers had left all the “legal” knives she had had on her person. She frowned at the lost of her Trifore blade and the Bovic knife, figures the Feds would take the two most expensive knives she had. She quickly slid each blade into its slot hidden on the inside of the jacket.

“You can turn around now.” She finished buttoning it up except for the top button leaving the collar open and shoved her hands in her pockets. She waited with an amused look as the Captain turned around and stared at her slack-jawed.

He lunged forward and grabbed her collar, oh, she noticed he had a high-grade prosthetic as he hissed in her ear, “Why the hell do you have a Major’s uniform?” His teeth bared at her and she got a good look at the scar on the side of his face. It looked like it had come from something jagged.

She pulled his hand off her jacket with a smile, “I borrowed it from someone. I’m sure she didn’t even notice it was missing.” She faked smoothing out the front of the jacket as if she actually cared about it.

The officer chewed on his lip as he stared at the jacket and mumbled to himself, “Do I really want to die?” He looked like he was either going to throw up or had to go to the bathroom real bad. Finally, after a moment of him having an internal argument he looked at her with determination on his face, “Fuck it. Let’s go.”

“I love that you think I’m just going to go with nameless UMF officer,” he opened his mouth, “Captain sorry.” She waved her hand at the useless correction. “Point still stands.”

He sputters as he waves his hands about, “B-but I bailed you out!”

“That sounds like a personal problem my dude.” She threw a finger gun at him and moved to walk passed him.

He grabbed her arm and squeezed. Apparently both of his arms were prosthetics which was very interesting but not interesting enough for her to enjoy him grabbing her. She twisted her arm in close to her body and then flipped him around so his back was to her and she had her and his arm around his neck. “Don’t do that. I’d hate to go right back to jail for something so boring as this.”

He held his one free hand up in surrender, “You do realize you’re threatening a Federation Captain and that’s--”

“A galactic offense in all-blah blah blah, yeah I know the fucking drill.” She tightens her arm around him and he stiffens but keeps his hand where it is even though his prosthetics definitely had the strength to rip her off of him. “I’ll let you go as soon as you say you won’t grab me like that again.”

He nods stiffly and wheezes out, “I promise.”

She lets go of him and instantly the two of them jump back from each other. Him holding his hands up and her straightening out her uniform once again looking like she hadn’t just committed a highly-arrestable offense in the lobby of the jail she literally just left. “Glad we got that out of the way now, thanks again for bailing me out dude. I really do super appreciate it.” She gave him a side smirk, “But now I got a date with someone’s star cruiser that I’m going to borrow with the full intention of returning.” she ended with a wink.

He frowned and moved to stand in her way, “First of all I know you won’t return it so that’s stealing.” Que shrugged, “Second of all I have a job for you.”

Que’s interested peaked from absolute 0 to 50 instantly at those words. She stared at him for another moment contemplating, “You’re not high enough on the food chain to be able to hire someone like me, but you’re no low enough to do something underhanded. So who is actually hiring me for this job? And why is the UMF even hiring a thief?” She pursed her lips and gripped her chin.

He frowned, “Has anyone ever told you you’re an asshole?”

“No I’ve gone my whole career with everyone telling me I’m the light of their life. Answer the question nameless one.”

“Kalek.” He growled, “My name is Kalek.”

She waved her hand at him with a scrunched look on her face, “Don’t get mad at me cause you didn’t introduce yourself. Now tell me who is actually hiring me for this job.”

Kalek titled his head as if he was surprised by something she had said but quirked his eyebrows slightly then shook his head replacing the surprise with a neutral expression. “Your sister.”

hope you liked it! i put it under the cut cause i hate when people don’t do that for a long post. lmk what u think. or don’t! 

tag list: @carrotgirl-1 @sleepy-and-anxious @notanotherhour @writersblockandapotoftea @shit-she-wrote @zielenheil

[canyousevmyheavydirtysoul]

Bodyguard II: Familial Ties (Part II - Chapter 2) (Brendon Urie x Reader)

Note: Listen to this when it gets to the karaoke bit. x

The ride back did not do much to help calm you down. In fact, spending four hours on a restrictively-spaced quinjet by yourself only fuelled your rage. So much so that by the time you stepped foot back on S.H.I.E.L.D property, you were practically a walking-talking pillar of metaphorical fire.

You strutted down the glass-windowed corridors dangerously, veins pulsing and glowing blue because your temper was only worsening with each second that passed. You were trapped in your own world, too lost in thoughts over how you wanted to rip Jacob Ross’ heart out to notice anyone around you, and hell-bent on getting to the training centre so that you could obliterate an army of training dummies.

“(Y/N)!”

You ignored the call of your name not because you wanted to, but because you didn’t hear it.

“Hey! (Y/N)!”

Your body was jerked to a stop by a firm hand grabbing your arm and pulling you back a little. When you turned to snap at the person, you were met with the confused face of Spencer.

“Hey, I’ve been looking for you,” he said.

“Well, you found me,” you pulled your arm back and shrugged, “What?”

Frowning a tad at your standoffish attitude, the other agent began explaining himself. “I caught a mission out in Italy. Naples. I was wanting to know if you wanted to join.”

As he spoke, his eyes caught sight of the blue glow under your skin and he frowned harder as he looked down at where your veins were protruding in your arms.

“Buuuuut now I see that that’s probably not the best idea,” he backtracked, reaching for your hand so that he could inspect your arm further; you yanked it back.

“No, actually, it’s a great idea,” you countered, “When do we fly out?”

Still unsure, given your current state, Spencer shook his head and opened his mouth with the intent of arguing that you should stay, but you silenced him with one deadly look.

Sighing in defeat, he relented. “7pm. That’s in an hour. You better suit up.”

✧ ✧ ✧

Naples, Italy.

“Shit,” you cursed, ducking behind a crumbling stone wall just before a flurry of bullets came whizzing through the air, embedding themselves in what was left of a marble statue a few feet away from you.

Taking a breather, you looked down at your hands and clenched your fists, trying to channel as much of your anger as you could. You were still inexplicably filled with fury from your encounter with Jacob Ross half a day prior and admittedly, that was the main reason you came on this mission – to get rid of it.

So far you’d taken down a fairly large percentage of the enemies, but you weren’t satisfied. The meeting with Jacob was merely a catalyst to kick start your rage, and it opened the floodgates to allow all of the emotions from the last year to come crashing through in one massive wave, drowning your logic and common sense as it did so.

You were acting like a woman possessed – taking risks without thinking of the consequences and doing things you normally wouldn’t have – all to the distress of Spencer.

This mission had become less of a work-related thing for him and his priority had shifted from taking out the bad guys to making sure that you didn’t get yourself killed.

Like right now, for instance. He was in the middle of combat with a respectably large henchman, but when out of his peripheral vision he saw you stand up and move right into the line of fire, he started panicking.

“(Y/N)!” he called out desperately, trying to get you to think clearly.

You paid no attention to him and simply proceeded with your plan. Raising both hands in front of you, you mumbled something under your breath that caused your eyes and veins to glow a bright blue and your hair to shift to a startling platinum colour, as the ocean tide began rising at the edge of the city.

Lifting your hands slowly, you began moving the water, urging the waves up to the sky. Once they were high enough for your liking, you brought your hands down in one swift motion, summoning the water forward to wash over the army that had been shooting at you; in one last show of anger, you willed the water to solidify and turn to ice.

But, your anger had influenced the strength of your powers much more than you’d anticipated, and not only did the waves wash over your enemies – it was continuing to wash over the rest of the city, too.  

With a gasp, you hurriedly extended your hands to stop the phenomenon, creating a sort of force field, so that the water couldn’t extend any further, and forced it to retreat back into the ocean.

The damage had already been done, though.

The entire coastline of the city was entombed in ice.

✧ ✧ ✧

S.H.I.E.L.D HQ. Washington, D.C.

Huddled up on the couch in The Director’s office, you pulled your knees closer to your chest and rested your chin atop them. You gazed out of the glass wall/window at the city outside, observing everything yet nothing at all.

You were so lost in thought that you didn’t even hear your godfather enter the room, and only noticed his presence when he was close enough that you could spot his reflection in the glass.

“How bad is it?” you questioned, voice barely louder than a murmur.

“Manageable,” he answered, stepping around the couch, “Fortunately, the battle forced all of the civilians away from the coastline and into the safety of the middle of the city, so they’re unharmed.”

You let out a breath you hadn’t realised you’d been holding, a warm wave of relief sweeping over you at the confirmation that you hadn’t killed anyone.

“Same can’t be said for their homes, however,” he continued, causing you to close your eyes as the relief was replaced with guilt, “Still. Could’ve been worse. We got lucky.”

With a scoff and shake of your head, you let your legs drop off of the sofa. “You mean I got lucky. This was me, all me. All of it is on me.”

“(Y/N),” Fury spoke firmly, reaching out to turn your face so that you were looking at him, “You are a S.H.I.E.L.D agent and you were there under S.H.I.E.L.D orders. Our agents are our liability and if they screw up, it’s as much our fault as it is theirs.”

“Oh please, uncle Nick,” you laughed bitterly, “You and I both know that the only reason I’m not getting suspended right now is because I’m your freaking goddaughter.”

Fury inhaled and pulled his jaw taut. “You’re right – you’re my freaking goddaughter. And it’s my responsibility to make sure that you’re okay. What happened in Italy… that was more than just an accident. It was a cry for help. And honestly, it is largely my fault, ‘cause I shoulda known. I shoulda known that throwing you into mission after mission wasn’t good for you. I shoulda known that you’re still hurting. That you’re still angry over…” he trailed off.

Your head snapped to the right to look at Fury with a challenging expression. “Over Brendon’s death?” you finished for him, voice void of all emotion. “It’s alright,” you gave a small shrug, “You can say it. There’s no need to walk on eggshells around me.”

“Clearly there is,” he countered with a challenging face of his own, “(Y/N), you’re spiralling and – believe me, sweetie – that’s not something that you wanna do. So I think it’s best if you just…” he sighed and arched his brows as he rubbed his hand over the bottom half of his face, “take a break from being an agent for a little bit, alright?”

You wanted to argue, to yell at him that it wasn’t necessary for you to go on a super-hiatus, but you knew that you couldn’t. Because he was right. You were spiralling. And if you didn’t set yourself straight, there was no telling what you would do next.

So, you nodded in agreement and let him envelope you in an embrace, as both of you pretended that he couldn’t feel the torrent of tears cascading down your cheeks.

~

“I’m so sorry.”

Closing your eyes, you carefully placed your tablet onto the tabletop and turned to look at your company with a huff.

“That’s literally the fifteenth time you’ve apologised, Aaron, and for the fifteenth time – stop saying you’re sorry; it wasn’t your fault!”

Knitting his brows together, the doctor shook his head and hurried across the room so that he was right in front of you.

“It is! If I hadn’t taken you with me to Alcatraz then you wouldn’t have seen my father and he would’ve had made you angry and-“

Holding up a hand to silence his rambling, you uncrossed your legs and leaned forward in your seat. “Hey, you didn’t force me into going, alright? I made the decision to go with you. So, this really is all my fault.”

“Yes but-“

“Stop.”

Realizing that he was fighting a losing battle, the doctor relented. With a drop of his shoulders, he shut his mouth and shuffled back to his seat at the other side of the room as both of you went back to messing around on your tablets.

At least, you did.

Aaron took to doing something much more interesting – watching you. He studied your body language and all of your subtle movements; it didn’t take a degree in psychology to come to the conclusion that you weren’t in the greatest of mental states.

After drawing in a sharp breath, he took the chance of speaking again.

“Love?”

You continued scrolling through the electronic pages as you answered. “Yes, Aaron?”

“When was the last time you had a fun night out?”

“Mm,” you pursed your lips and narrowed your eyes before turning to look at him, “does that time I turned a guy into an ice sculpture count?”

Aaron chuckled softly and skewed his mouth to the side. “Sadly not.”

“Well then we’re talking a solid six, seven months. Why?” you cocked your head to the side. “What do you have in mind?”

✧ ✧ ✧

 That night. A karaoke bar.

“Karaoke?” you sighed in disbelief as Aaron led you into the crowded bar. “Really? This is your idea of a fun night out?”

Aaron nodded as he spun around and started walking backwards, eyes darting all around the room as he threw his hands out sideways.

“Pub food, great drinks, tons of music…” he rattled off with a wide grin before cocking one brow and smirking at you, “What could be better than this?”

“Literally anything else.”

The doctor’s happy attitude faltered and he looked at you pleadingly. “This isn’t going to work if you’re going to act like a buzzkill.”

With a heavy sigh and a monumental eye-roll, you reluctantly shuffled forward – for Aaron’s sake. It was evident that he was trying hard to get you to snap out of your depressive state, and you didn’t have the heart to shut him down.

And who knows? Maybe you’d actually enjoy the night.

When you starting moving towards him, Aaron perked up immediately and took you by the hand, leading you to a table at the back of the bar, just in front of the stage. He was his usual chivalrous self, pulling out the chair for you and offering to get you a drink. You thanked him and asked for your drink of choice.

With your counterpart occupied with the task of getting your drinks, you took the time to study the little hotspot. It wasn’t too big, and it had an old-school rock ‘n roll feel to it. Framed posters of legendary artists such as Queen, Bon Jovi, Michael Jackson and lots of others adorned all four walls, and complimented the vintage furniture perfectly.

You smiled to yourself as you continued surveying the room; even though Aaron had been way off in thinking that you liked karaoke, you had to admit that his choice of bars fit your personal aesthetic perfectly.

“Here you go, love,” Aaron smiled, setting your drink down in front of you before taking a seat across from you.

“Thanks.” You took a sip, then folded your forearms on the tabletop and leaned forward. “So do you wanna explain why you brought me here?”

Aaron smiled sheepishly and took a couple sips from his glass of Jameson before answering. “You’ve had an incredibly rough time these last two years, and it’s just now starting to take its toll. You’re hurting and well…Music always makes things better.”

You arched your brows teasingly. “Yeah, not when said music is being butchered by drunk strangers up on stage,” you sniggered.

“Actually, the patrons that come here just so happen to be quite talented,” he chimed, cocking his head at the crowded tables surrounding you two.

“Oh?” you questioned in surprise. “You come here often, then?”

He scrunched his face up and shook his head, waving one hand dismissively. “Once or twice.”

A group of employees strolled past, then, all extending lively greetings to your partner, with some even slapping his shoulder affectionately. You bit your lip as you watched them walk away, then you turned to Aaron with a condescending smile.

He sighed in defeat and slumped forward. “Alright, it might have been more than twice. But tonight isn’t about me…”

You laughed.

“…it’s about you. It’s about getting you to smile and be happy – genuinely happy – for at least a few moments.”

With your heart thumping against your ribcage and a lump forming in your throat because of how wonderful the man sitting in front of you was, you gave his hand a gentle squeeze in a show of your gratefulness.

“I think we’ve made some progress already.”

 Many drinks later.

“Woo!” you and Aaron clapped and cheered loudly as the woman who’d just sung a stunning rendition of Queen’s ‘Somebody To Love’ took a bow and blew a kiss to the crowd before walking offstage.

“She was amazing!” you beamed in awe, looking at Aaron, who nodded eagerly.

“She was. See? I told you that these people are talented. Hey,” he tapped the back of his hand against your arm a few times and raised his glass, “A toast to you – you’ve been through so much shit recently; you’ve lost and you’ve pained enough to last a lifetime and yet… you’re still standing. Strong, brave, and as beautiful as ever.”

Apparently, some of the customers and employees had been listening in on the doctor’s little speech, and they showed their support in a chorus of ‘Hear, hear!’s. Tucking a strand of hair behind your ear, you averted your gaze and chewed on your lip delicately.

“To you, love,” Aaron said softly, holding out his glass for you to clink your own against, which you did.

The two of you took gulps from your drinks as the DJ approached you, stopping next to Aaron and whispering something in his ear. The doctor nodded and gave a slight smile, and the DJ patted him on the back before returning to his station, speaking into his mic seconds later.

“We’ve had an absolutely spectacular night tonight, ladies and gents,” he said loudly, in that animated voice that DJs and radio presenters use, “And you know how we do things here – save the best for last, right? So without further ado, the last performer of the night and a man that needs no other introduction – Doctor Aaron Ross, everybody!”

If you weren’t frozen in shock from the mention of his name, you were certain that the raucous applause that followed it would’ve startled you enormously.

With a smirk and a wink in your direction, the doctor stood up from his seat and crossed over to the stage, taking the mic from the outstretched hand of one of the cheering employees.

“This is for you, (Y/N),” he said into the mic as he settled himself on the stage, garnering another loud round of applause. He counted down from three, and the opening notes to Elton John’s ‘I’m Still Standing’ sounded through the air.

You watched, utterly dumbfounded, as the doctor began moving across the stage with such excellent stage presence that you almost didn’t recognise him.

“You could never know what it’s like

Your blood like winter freezes just like ice

And there’s a cold lonely light that shines from you

You’ll wind up like the wreck you hide behind that mask you use

 And did you think this fool could never win

Well look at me, I’m coming back again

I got a taste of love in a simple way

And if you need to know while I’m still standing you just fade away,” he sang, dancing around the stage as the entire bar clapped along.

Then, just as the chorus started, he hopped down from the platform and slinked in between the mass of bodies in the crowd, singing a little to random people before navigating back to you, circling the table at which you were seated.

“Don’t you know I’m still standing better than I ever did

Looking like a true survivor, feeling like a little kid

And I’m still standing after all this time

I’m picking up the pieces of my life without you on my mind

 I’m still standing, yeah, yeah, yeah

I’m still standing, yeah, yeah, yeah,” he serenaded you, getting you to smile without even thinking about it as he did so.

You had not at all been expecting this but now that it was happening… my god, it was amazing. During the small break between the chorus and the second verse, he took your hand and planted a kiss on it before bending down and using your hand to twirl him around – an action that you couldn’t help but laugh at.

“Once I never could hope to win

You starting down the road and leaving me again

The threats you made were meant to cut me down

And if our love was just a circus you’d be a clown by now,” he continued and as the chorus began again, he leapt up onto your table and sang his heart out.

“And don’t you know I’m still standing better than I ever did

Looking like a true survivor, I’m feeling like a little kid

And I’m still standing after all this time

I’m picking up the pieces of my life without you on my mind

 I’m still standing, yeah, yeah, yeah

I’m still standing, yeah, yeah, yeah.”

“Come on,” he urged; a guitar solo sounded on the track and you yelped as Aaron pulled you up out of your seat and began dancing you around the room – spinning, dipping and twirling you as you went along.

You were laughing giddily as you let him move you, feeling totally carefree and focusing on nothing else but what was happening in the moment.

When time came for him to start singing again, he went to pick up the mic from where he’d placed it on the table, but still kept you close to him.

“And don’t you know I’m still standing better than I ever did

Looking like a true survivor, I’m feeling like a little kid

And I’m still standing after all this time

I’m picking up the pieces of my life without you on my mind

 I’m still standing, yeah, yeah, yeah

I’m still standing, yeah, yeah, yeah

I’m still standing, yeah, yeah, yeah

I’m still standing, yeah, yeah, yeah.”

The song ended and the entire bar – but especially you – erupted in a huge, ear-shattering round of applause. With a smile and a short laugh, Aaron held up a hand and bowed his head a little to say thank you, not loosening his grip on your waist and quite frankly, in that moment, you didn’t want him to.

He finally focused his gaze on you and only you, and gave a smile that made your heart do all kinds of funny things.

“I- you’re-“ you stuttered with wide eyes, at a complete loss of words, “wow.”

He thinned his lips in amusement and raised one brow in question. “I’m wow?”

“You’re wow,” you nodded eagerly.

With a gloriously beautiful laugh, he reached over to grab both of your coats and slung yours over your shoulder.

“Come on, love.” He put his hand on the small of your back and gently guided you to the door, leaning close so that you could hear him over the noise as you treaded through the crowd. “Before Fury sends out a search party.”

He opened the door and allowed you to walk through into the chilly night air before exiting himself. As soon as you fell into stride alongside each other, you linked your arm in his and shuffled closer to him.

“So I know that I gave you shit at the beginning of the night buuuuut,” you looked up at him from the corner of your eye and pressed your tongue to the roof of your mouth, “I had a really, really, really good time. Especially the last ten minutes. The last ten minutes were the best ten minutes of the last two years.”

He laughed, taken aback, and shook his head lightly. “Highly doubt that that’s true, but thank you. I’m glad I could make that beautiful smile reappear.”

You were a bit buzzed from all of the drinks you’d consumed (not at all drunk, only very slightly tipsy) and you once again let a giggle slip out.

“So you’re insanely smart, wonderfully handsome and you have the voice of an angel?” you questioned, leaning against his arm. “You really are wow, Doctor Aaron Ross.”

Aaron couldn’t stop the smile that sneaked itself onto his face. “You’re wower.”

You laughed loudly. “That’s not a word.”

“’Course it is,” he frowned, moving to stand in front of you as the two of you stopped at the end of the block, waiting for a taxi, “I just said it, didn’t I?”

“Just ‘cause you said it doesn’t mean it’s real,” you argued.

“No?” he twitched his lips and took a step closer.

“No,” you whispered, moving so close to him that you could see the flecks of hazel in his green eyes, even through his glasses, and you snaked your hands through his hair and slowly pulled his mouth down to yours.

The moment your lips connected with his, you felt at peace for the first time in a very, very long time. That peace, much to your dismay, lasted a mere five seconds before Aaron pulled away.

You looked up at him with slightly hooded eyes, and he smiled adoringly at you as he brushed your hair out of your face.

“You’re definitely wower, love.”

 _______________________________

Thank you for reading x

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[bookmawkish]

"Love Me" our OTP again, since we keep putting them through stuff XD

Saved it for Valentine’s Day

When Bruce opens his door in the morning, hefinds his doorway almost entirely filled with stuffed bear. It says somethingabout Bruce Banner and his lifestyle that he reacts very little: his eyeswiden, and he rubs at them once or twice, but this is due more to the earlyhour than any real surprise.

Clint Barton’s face appears, framed by pinkplush, at the gap where the bear’s head joins its shoulder.

“You got a bear,” he says, perhaps redundantly.“I didn’t get a bear.”

“What did you get?”

“Bamboo. Six foot bamboo canes in a pot. Buttied with a red ribbon.” Clint pushes the bear’s arm down so he can look atBruce more easily, completely straightfaced. “What do you think of your bear?”

Bruce gives this important question dueconsideration.

“I’m glad it isn’t green?”

Clint nods solemnly, then withdraws. The bearimmediately springs back to fill the available space like a giant pinkmarshmallow. The faint strains of Donny Osmond singing “Puppy Love” filter downfrom the direction of the main lounge area, and there’s a subtle but definitescent of roses suffusing the corridor.

Bruce takes a deep breath and lets it outslowly. It’s going to be a long day, he can just tell.

Tony is very excited, which to Bruce is thefirst biggest indication that the whole bear thing is a Starkism as opposed toa Lokism. It’s always a close-run contest, when things are afoot at AvengersTower - does the fault lie with the god, or the engineer?

The walls and couches in the lounge weren’tpink. Again, everything pointed to Tony. Loki would have gone the whole extramile. There probably would have been actual rosebushes taking root in thefloor. Not to say that there won’t be at some point.

“Brucie-bear! No, seriously, did you like thebear? It was Hulk-sized. I mean actually to scale. I sent the precisemeasurements to the company, they were thrilled to get it, I think they -”

Engineer confirmed.

“It’s awesome, Tony,” says Bruce, getting histea tin out of the cupboard. Somehow he isn’t surprised that the sugar in thesugarbowl is tinted vaguely pink. “So, Valentine’s Day, huh? Didn’t know it wasa favourite of yours.”

Tony doesn’t respond immediately, and shufflesa little, which gives Bruce pause.

“Is this anything to do with you not givingPepper a -”

“No,” Tony shoots back, sticking his hands inhis pockets. “I just wanted to do something normal. For everyone.”

Bruce wonders in which world orderingHulk-sized teddybears and ramming them into your room-mate’s doorway isconsidered normal, but he doesn’t say anything. Because he knows what Tonymeans. Virtually nothing they do is normal by regular people standards.Sometimes it’s nice to pretend that they’re just Tony and Bruce, regular guysin a house-share doing regular stupid people things on regular stupid peopleholidays. Even if that means giant bears and pink sugar and Donny Osmond. Hestirs his tea and feels oddly content.

“I guess that means we’re watching TheNotebook tonight.”

Tony makes a face.

“When Harry Met Sally?”

“Better. Not good. But better. Only You.And I got Ben and Jerrys to make an ice cream. With pie.”

Bruce looks up as his attention is caught by ahitherto unnoticed spray of paper hearts fluttering gently in the air-con. Itturns out the ceiling is covered in them, a net of glittering red that sparklesand glimmers at every slight movement of air.

“You know,” he says, “you’ve done a great job.Thanks.”

He knows he’s said the right thing when Tonybeams. Because Tony - and Howard must take a huge part of the responsibilityfor this - is very susceptible to approval and validation from others. SeeingTony happy is important. To forestall any unwanted introspection, however, hechanges the subject again.

“I kind of don’t want to ask, but should weexpect any grand, dangerously magical gestures from the godly half of our onlyreal full-time couple? I mean, is the kitchen suddenly going to be full ofunicorns or anything?”

Tony shrugs. “Well, they’re both enormousdivas. I’m pretty sure if Heckyl doesn’t get at least a pound box of specialimport Godiva to work his way through, he’s gonna raise hell. And you know Lokican’t resist a grand gesture. I’m not ruling anything out.”

“Very wise.” Bruce sips his tea, then thephrasing of a previous statement turns round and slugs him in the brain. “Waita minute. You got them to make an ice cream? You mean a brand new one,don’t you…wasn’t Stark Raving Hazelnuts enough?”

“Nope,” says Tony, happily. “Not now I can haveI, Tony, Have Pies For You.”

As it happens, Tony and Bruce are both destinedto be disappointed: there are to be no unicorns in the kitchen. Loki and Heckylare in Loki’s room, and in fact having a difference of opinion - although it isat least Valentine’s Day related.

“Today?”

“Yes, today.”

Loki doesn’t mention the “Mister and Mister”matched ceramic cat ornaments he found outside the door on his way back fromthe kitchen earlier. Like Bruce, he suspects he knows very well who is to blamefor this and will take suitable vengeance at an appropriate point. He’s good atvengeance: where deserved, of course, because he’s theoretically a good personnow. And it’s certainly deserved in Stark’s case - those cats are hideous. Notto mention the fact that the kitchen ceiling is shedding glitter like ahyperactive toddler at craft club and Loki now has sparkly hair.

Heckyl, who is sat on the floor with a StarkPadin his hands, flipping through trash on the internet, looks up at him.

“They only have the one day here where theylove each other? Ugh. Weird.”

“Not exactly. They have the one day where eachparty is manipulated into doing things or buying things for the other by thestrategic application of guilt and emotional pressure.”

Heckyl gives him a look.

“Well, that sounds more normal,” hesays, and Loki laughs. “So? Did you buy me anything or do I need to start onthe manipulation right away?”

“I didn’t buy you anything.”

“Heartless.”

“I don’t have to buy you anything.”

“Rude.”

Loki gets down onthe floor and settles himself comfortably next to Heckyl. Without asking, hereaches out and takes the tablet from his hands (Heckyl complains loudly, butdoes not resist all that much) and sets it aside. When Heckyl playfully makes agrab for it, Loki catches his wrists instead, pulls him in against his chest,then very deliberately presses the flat of his palm against the man’s forehead.And the world goes away.

I got you this instead, saysLoki.

Suddenly it’s years ago, inside their heads. A time only afew weeks after Loki had met Heckyl and released him from that cage. They’dbeen sat together in some dive bar on a planet even Loki didn’t recall the nameof, and nothing at all of any importance or annoyance had been happening. Whichmade a change, frankly, considering that their lives since they’d met had beena riot of activity, chaos and (quite often) getting shouted at by rulingauthorities.

This was the first time we stopped to drawbreath.

They’d been left pretty much to themselves: even in a divebar it had been very clear that they were the most lethal thing in the area. Ithad been quiet, the only other patrons huddled in their own dark corners,hiding from their own crimes or demons. Heckyl had a small bruise just over hiseye, the result of a narrow escape from a stoning. And Loki had got up, headingto the counter to get food and as he went past -

It didn’t mean anything, saysHeckyl, defensive to the last.  

It meant everything, countersLoki. This was it. This was when I should have known.

- just reached out instinctively and brushed a fingertipover that bruise. Nothing suggestive, nothing sexual, a single touch.

There’d been gripped hands before, taking the other‘sweight when climbing. Helping hands, to get the other back on their feet.Defensive hands, raised in violence to protect the other. There had been allthis prior instinctive motion, without conscious thought driving it: this is mycompanion, my ally. We help each other.

But there had not been this.

Heckyl turns, his eyes wide, to watch Loki as he walksaway. His expression is caught perfectly between shock, confusion and hunger:there’s an intense and obvious vulnerability to him in that moment. It’s clearhe doesn’t understand what just happened at all, but equally clear that hewants more of whatever the hell that just was with every fibre of his being. Healmost quivers.  Loki does notlook back at him, all the dark angularity of his long leather clad spine turnedtowards him.

This is when I think you knew.

Loki pulls back his hand, and they’re both back in hisroom, still sat on the floor. Heckyl breathes out, shuddering.

“How did you - how did you do that?” he asks. “How?You didn’t even know. You couldn’t have seen.”

“I didn’t have to see it in you to know,” Loki says. “I sawit in me.”

He pauses, noting that for once the notoriously volubleHeckyl has nothing to say, then adds: “Oh. And you also get these cats.”

He summons the pair of ceramic monstrosities between themwith a flick of his fingers, and chuckles with satisfaction at the sound ofshattering as Heckyl jumps him.

[vampyr-boyfriend]

RED ICE - Ch 6

Characters: Connor x Reader, Gavin, Hank, Fowler

Warnings: Swearing, Mentions of Sex

Words: 3,322

RED ICE Masterlist

Once he was gone, Viselli buried his head in his hands and swore softly to himself. You were alive and well, and now you likely knew that Viselli was after you and your partner personally. Not only that, but your partner was in the hospital instead of in Viselli’s hands, which meant that Viselli had no leverage to use against you. This was all going horribly wrong. As long as his contact within the DPD remained loyal, however, Viselli was confident that he wouldn’t be caught and you’d be taken out of the picture. Yes… everything would work out just fine.

Chapter Six - Bittersweet Memories

Thursday January 20, 2039 // 6:00am

After waking up a mess of tangled limbs and mussed hair, you and Connor crawled from bed and he made you a healthy breakfast while you showered. After that, he insisted he drive you to work.

“I’m fully capable of driving myself, Connor,” you insisted, but he just smiled.

“I like driving,” he said simply. You shook your head with a chuckle and agreed.

Now, in the parking lot of the DPD, he helped you from your seat, opening your door and taking your hand like a gentleman. Your shoes crunched in the snow as you made your way to the front doors. You passed the receptionist, the terminal on the security gate scanned your badges, and you made for the elevator.

The doors opened to the Homicide division with a soft ding. You exited the lift side by side and barely made your way around the corner and toward Connor’s desk when Fowler’s head poked out of his office.

“(L/N)!” he called and your shoulders slumped with a sigh.

You offered Connor the worst reassuring smile he had ever seen as he took his seat and you started toward Fowler’s office. The captain’s glass door closed behind you as he sat on his desk, regarding you in silence.

Connor listened in as you summarized the previous night’s events. He picked up a tablet and got to work going through case files - Hank would be in to work soon.

After a few minutes of browsing, his LED spun yellow just as he heard you say, “Wait, what?” He set the tablet down and looked into Fowler’s glass office to see you, eyes wide, mouth agape, standing before him with slumped shoulders.

“What the hell do you mean ‘mandatory paid leave’?” you growled, fingers curling into fists.

The Captain put a hand up. “All right, all right, calm down. You’re getting upset over nothing. Just think of this as a paid vacation. Your lid is on too tight and you’re on the verge of erupting, (Y/N). Take some time for yourself. Cool off. You can come back to work in a few weeks.”

“You’re kidding me,” you said flatly, voice cutting through the air like the sharp edge of an icy blade. “You are actually kidding me. This is some sort of stupid joke.” Connor could see your jaw clenching. “You better tell me this is some sort of stupid joke,” you hissed through gritted teeth.

Fowler shook his head. “It’s not. You’re too close to the Viselli case and taking it away from you has made you… I don’t know. Nothing good.”

You took a step forward. “Then give me the fucking case back!” you shouted.

Connor was taken aback. He’d never seen you outwardly angry or aggressive until last night, when you’d rushed him and he thought you were going to smack him. Maybe Fowler was right. You were like mentos just about to be dropped into a diet Coke bottle - so close to exploding. The events of the last few days had left you frayed and you were on the verge of breaking.

“You know I won’t do that,” Fowler answered.

“Why the hell not?” you asked. “That case is soaked in my blood and sweat! Why did you even take it away from me in the first place? Because Connor crashed the party and you hate him so much that you’d hurt me just to hurt him?”

Fowler shook his head. “You’re not thinking straight, (Y/N). This is what I’m talking about. This is why you need to take a break.”

“I’ll take a fucking break when Viselli is either dead or behind bars and my brother is free!” You froze, face paling. Connor didn’t know much about your brother, though he did know that you have one. He also knew that you didn’t like to talk about him. It was a sore subject.

Fowler ran a hand down his face. “Mandatory paid leave,” he said simply, staring you down. “And I’m assigning you a police escort. You’ll have four officers with you or around you at all times.” He rose to his feet and swept around his desk to sit in his chair.

“Absolutely not,” was your answer.

Connor didn’t get to hear the rest of the conversation, as Hank walked in, urgency in his step.

“What is it?” Connor asked as the Lieutenant stopped before his desk.

The door to Fowler’s office slammed, drawing both Connor and Hank’s attention. You skipped the steps entirely, instead hopping over the railing and landing lightly on the floor. You were fuming as you stormed over to Connor and his partner.

“Reed’s awake,” Hank said, eyeing you cautiously.

Connor was also observing you. Grinding teeth, furrowed brow, fingers curled into fists on crossed arms. Where was the cool, collected (Y/N) that he knew and loved?  Was there a crack in your facade and he was finally seeing the real you? He hoped not. He hoped that it was just the stress of the job getting to you and that this mandatory leave would help you cool down.

“You all right, kid?” Hank asked quietly, leaning ever so slightly away from you.

You were breathing heavy, unable to compose yourself long enough to speak.

“She, um…” Connor cleared his throat as he looked from you to Hank. “She’s on a mandatory paid leave,” the android explained and Hank sneered.

“Fowler, that bastard,” he swore. “I’d talk to him, but it’s not like he’ll listen to a damn thing I have to say.”

The Captain’s door opened once more then and he stuck his head out. “(L/N). Your orders from before still apply. Stay away from the android.”

You spun around so quickly that Connor nearly got whiplash. “Stick your orders up your fucking ass, dickhead,” you answered and then quickly spun around again. You grabbed Connor’s hand and pulled him behind you as you made for the elevators, Fowler screaming at you to, “Come back right this instant!”.

The android was afraid the elevator would fill up with metaphorical steam with how much was coming out of your ears as you stood, livid, beside him.

A hug had worked at Hank’s house last night, perhaps it could help you here as well.

He wrapped an arm around your waist and pulled you into his side. You didn’t move, but he could feel you shaking, every muscle in your body tense. He gently rubbed your arm and you swallowed hard. It was only then that an unwelcome tear escaped to run down your cheek. You screwed your eyes shut, causing another to fall.

“It’s not fair,” you whispered and Connor turned you toward him to pull you into a full-on bear hug. You held him tightly around the waist, burying your face in the crook of his neck. The warmth of your breath on his skin was absent as you held it in, trying hard not to cry.

“We should get you a punching bag,” he suggested quietly as the elevator doors opened once more, this time to the DPD’s entrance floor.

You pulled away and wiped at your eyes, chuckling despite yourself.

“I’m serious,” Connor said, tone light and airy in an attempt to cheer you up. “If we’re not careful, you’re going to start taking your anger out on me, and there are only so many RK800’s that we can take parts from at CyberLife.

You laughed with a smile that reached your eyes as you followed Connor out into the snow. “I might take my anger out on you, but it won’t be in the form of aggression,” you stated simply, stepping ahead of him to open your driver-side door.

The android’s LED spun yellow as he stopped to process your words, trying to find their hidden meaning. “Oh,” he said, brows furrowed. And then it clicked. “Oh.” His face flushed blue as he stood there in the snow, a tight feeling in his stomach.

“Well?” you asked, poking your head out of your window. You’d already started the engine and were waiting on Connor.

“Coming,” was all he said as he rushed to get in beside you, nearly slipping on the ice.

Wednesday, January 20, 2039 // 6:36am

The door swung open to reveal a square hospital room - Gavin’s bed on the wall opposite, flanked by two curtained windows with plush chairs on the walls either side of the bed. Two of the four chairs were currently occupied by officers of the law; there were two more officers standing guard outside his room. The detective himself was propped up into a sitting position, using his fork to play in a plate of scrambled eggs setting on a wheely tray before him. There were no flowers on the stand to his right, no cards, no balloons, no stuffed bears. And, although the pastel yellow curtains made an attempt to liven up the overall dullness of the room, the rhythmic beeping of Gavin’s heart monitor and puff of oxygen every time he inhaled through his nose were a stark reminder of where he rested.

You went ahead of Connor, as per your instruction, but he entered into the room close behind, closing the door softly in his wake.

Gavin caught sight of him and scoffed, dropping his fork on the plate with a deafening clang. “Well there goes my fucking appetite,” he growled. “Your plastic toy’s face isn’t one of the first things I wanted to see when I woke up, Sweetheart,” he addressed you.

Connor stood at the end of the bed. A quick scan showed his heart beating normally, breathing even and steady, brain functioning properly. His oxygen levels were a touch low, hence the cord leading from his nose to an oxygen tank, but other than that, the detective was fine.

“I’m glad you’re doing well, Detective,” Connor offered. Gavin sneered at him.

You pulled one of the empty chairs - thankfully they had wheels - over next to Reed’s bed and sat in it. “You should be thanking Connor,” you informed him sternly. “Had he not found you and called an ambulance, you’d likely be dead.”

Reed’s eyes darted from you to Connor and then back. He said nothing, but picked up his fork once more to resume playing with his food, pushing his eggs around the plate.

After a moment of silence, Gavin mumbled, “The plastic was just doing his job.”

You tilted your head to the side. “He stayed with you to make sure you kept breathing until you were safely in the ambulance and they took you away,” you continued. “He went above and beyond to make sure you lived, Reed. He saved your life. Show some gratitude.” Your voice was soft and understanding, with just a hint of warning behind it.

Reed nodded, seemingly enthralled by the food before him, as he wouldn’t look up to make eye contact with you.

“Can I, uh-” He cleared his throat. “Can I talk to (Y/N) alone, please?” he asked.

No one moved for a moment until Connor bowed his head and took a step back, then headed out the door, followed reluctantly by the two other officers on “keep Reed alive” duty.

“What is it?” you asked quietly as Gavin set his fork down once more.

He shook his head, brows furrowed. “That android clings to you like a lost puppy,” he said quietly, disdain evident in his voice. “If I was you, I’d’a told him to fuck off already.”

You hummed. “But I’m not you, am I?”

He chuckled dryly. “No, you’re not me. You’re better than me. He’s better than me. That’s why you and I didn’t work out.”

Your brow furrowed as you regarded your partner. “Wait, are- What do you mean he’s better than you? Do you mean Connor? And what does that have to do with you and I? You and I were over before Connor showed up. There wasn’t even a ‘you and I’,”.

“No?” Reed asked, brows raised. “So those times we slept together were nothing, then?” He voice began to rise. “Those nights that I pounded into you and you moaned my name as you came were nothing?” He was practically yelling now. “The nail marks down my back the next day, the way your legs ached so bad you couldn’t walk, that was all nothing? Did I ever mean anything to you (Y/N)?” The beeping of his heart monitor increased with his anger.

“You were my best friend,” you stated simply, flatly. “It was made very clear that what we had was just a ‘friends with benefits’ situation. You knew that going in.”

Reed’s jaw clenched and he turned his head away from you. You took the tray and wheeled it over to the side, out of the way so that it wouldn’t be thrown should your partner become aggressive.

“Friends with Benefits,” he whispered, unwelcome tears pooling and threatening to spill over.

“What does any of that have to do with what’s going on right now?” you asked.

He scoffed, turning back toward you. “It has everything to do with everything. That fucking android… You and I were tight until that piece of plastic came along. You and I had something, whether you want to admit it or not, and then suddenly Connor shows up and he’s your new pal. Left me in the dust.”

You dropped your gaze to the patterned fabric of his bedding as you nodded, but you remained silent.

“What’s it got that I don’t?” Reed asked, voice trembling. “Why’d you chose it over me?” The last question wavered and you looked up just in time to see a tear escape and roll down his cheek. It didn’t get far before he reached up to brush it angrily away.

You swallowed hard. You knew Reed was in pain; he wasn’t always an asshole. You just didn’t realize that you were the reason. You should have known. The best detective in Detroit should have been observant enough to see that Reed changed when Connor showed up. He went from happy, jovial Gavin to cold, angry, aggressive Detective Reed.

“I didn’t realize…” you whispered, trying to piece everything together. “I just wanted Connor to feel welcome… like how you and Miller and Collins made me feel welcome.” You continued after shaking your head, brows furrowed. “I knew that Hank wouldn’t be happy to be partnered with an android and would likely give Connor a hard time, so I made it my mission to be his friend, even when no one else would.”

You looked up at Gavin and your heart split upon seeing all of the different emotions twisting his features. Anger, regret, sorrow, grief, frustration…

He sighed deeply and you were pleased to hear that his heart rate had returned to more normal levels, as indicated by the beeping of the monitor.

“It’s just a machine, (Y/N),” he said, voice low, but pleading.

You shook your head, more feverishly this time. “No. Why do you refuse to accept that he’s alive?” you asked. “After everything that’s happened, why can’t you see that he’s a living being with a heart that loves and a brain capable of original thought? We may not be made of the same materials, but we’re all the same, Gavin. We’re all people… people, just trying to make it in this stupid, fucked up world.”

Gavin’s gaze was downcast, studying his hands in his lap. “So why do you love him and hate me, then?” he whispered, so quiet that you almost missed it.

You felt tears pricking behind your eyes and had to take in a deep, steadying breath to compose yourself before you could speak. “I do love Connor,” you began. “But I don’t hate you.”

“Everything went downhill when that plastic prick showed up.” Gavin’s fingers curled into fists, but his heart rate stayed steady.

“See,” you said, leaning slightly forward. “That’s the problem. You’re an asshole, Gavin. I know you know it, and I’m sure you do it on purpose. You hate Connor for no reason. You decided the second he stepped into the DPD that he was your new punching bag… and I couldn’t stand for that. He didn’t deserve it; he still doesn’t.” A cool breeze ruffled the curtains as it whispered through the room. “Connor doesn’t deserve your hatred, and despite everything you’ve thrown at him, he still saved your life last night,” you whispered. “Think about that.” You rose from the chair and returned it to its place against the wall, then moved to exit the room.

Gavin’s soft voice stopped you. “(Y/N)?”

You turned back around, fingers ghosting over the door handle.

“You know I care about you, right? Even if you don’t…” he paused and cleared his throat and you could see how hard he was fighting against the tears that threatened to fall. “Even if you don’t feel the same,” he managed to finish. “I care about you and your safety… and I want you to be happy.” His voice cracked on the last word.

You offered a soft smile that failed to reach your sad eyes. “Thank you. And I do care about you, Gavin. You’re my partner, and I still consider you a very good friend, despite your attitude lately.”

He nodded and tried to find a reassuring smile to give you, but was unable. You pulled the door open and stepped out into the hall. The two policemen returned to their places at Gavin’s side and you stopped in front of Connor.

His LED shone light blue as he regarded you, a deep crease between his brow. “I, um…” he cleared his throat. Should he even be saying what was on his mind? Your searching eyes found his, ever understanding, giving him the courage he needed to ask what needed to be asked. “I didn’t know that you and Detective Reed had… sexual relations,” he said, lowering his voice so as not to be overheard.

You simply nodded, gaze falling from his to look anywhere but at him.

“If my arrival at the DPD caused a fallout between the two of you, I want you to know that I am very sorry. It was not my intention to cause discord within the department.”

You shook your head. “What Gavin and I had was just a fling. We both needed someone, but I wasn’t looking for a relationship. I didn’t realize that Gavin wanted more than just sex. It’s my fault for being so damn blind.”

“While listening, I couldn’t help but realize…” he took your hand in his and you looked up at him. “You said you loved me, on the rooftop the day that we kissed. I never said it back.” He took your other hand.

“You don’t have to say it,” you tried to reassure him.

“I need to,” he said. “You need to hear me say it so that you know for sure. And I need to say it for the same reason.”

His cool breath ghosted over your face, lips brushing lightly over yours before he pressed them together and kissed you softly. It was only when you broke away to breathe that he whispered in the air between you, “I love you, (Y/N).”.

“That’s so adorable, I think I’m gonna puke.” You broke away from one another and Connor spun around to see Hank standing behind him. The older man looked tired and worn. “Bad news, partner,” he said, addressing Connor.

The android tilted his head to the side.

“The girl that attacked Reed… She’s here in this hospital.”

Connor nodded. “I know. I’m going to interrogate her once she awakens.”

Hank shook his head with a sigh. “‘Fraid that’s not gonna happen.”

“Why not?” the android asked, LED spinning yellow.

Hank hesitated. “Because she’s dead.”

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