#stupid emt tricks

[ravynfyre]

Okay, story time, chilluns...

Y'all know how Damar Hamlin from the Buffalo Bills went down on the field in full cardiac arrest the other night, right? I'm here to school you on a couple things:

the people who actually saved his life were probably paid about as much as the people who sweep the stands after the game.

that's typical for the industry. No, not the NFL... the HEALTH CARE INDUSTRY. Guy I used to know had been a medic for nearly 20 years. His daughter went out and got a job paying a dollar more an hour than he was making. She was a McDonald's fry cook.

there wasn't an "undue delay" in leaving the stadium with Hamlin; there's stuff to do to help the patient beyond just throwing him in the back. Also, they needed to grab an extra medic in case he coded again on the way to the hospital.

GOOD CPR BREAKS RIBS! I don't know if Hamlin's got busted ribs or not... but if he does, then they did GOOD CPR. You cannot compress the heart if you do not compress the ribs. You cannot compress the ribs effectively enough without breaking them. That is just a fact of CPR. (ask me sometime to tell you about the medic student who had a literal panic attack about breaking someone's ribs. it was a shit show)

in 12 years of firefighting and EMS work, I only ever had ONE confirmed save. Did I get pulses back in the back of the ambulance? Oh sure. Many times. Did any of them ever walk out of the hospital later? Never. My one confirmed save was when I was attending Dragon Con, and I wasn't even on duty at the time. CPR then, like for Hamlin, was initiated within 60 seconds of the arrest. I heard four days later that he walked out of the hospital on his own two feet. Other than him? I have only ever saved potatoes. Vegetables. People who had a pulse but no brain waves.

Because Real Life CPR is NOTHING LIKE IN THE MOVIES OR ON TV.

This rant brought to you by all the idiots and asshole armchair quarterbacks who have never even seen the inside of the back of a real ambulance, much less touched a dead person. Shut the fuck up and sit the fuck down.

[mkarchin713]

Dave didn’t think the situation would be as bad as it was. Everyone knew the Fenton’s where wackos, always going on about ghosts. They where annoying yes but harmless, unless Jack Fenton was driving but that was the traffic cops department not his.

Dave was not expecting to get shot by green lasers when he rang the doorbell (if it wasn’t for Wonder Woman he would have more than just a hole in his tie). Nor was he expecting Jasmine’s non-reaction as she used her house key to open the door (maybe he should have listened when she told him not to ring the bell)

At first the living room looked pretty typical for small town America but then Dave noticed some peculiarities. The room was mostly clean but only the bottom half. Everything under five feet was spotless, over five feet and it was filthy. Jasmine Fenton was under five feet but with her arms outstretched she could probably just reach the cleaning line.

The kitchen also looked fairly normal, if not for the step stools and toy guns on the kitchen table. The stools where everywhere, by the fridge, the cupboards, even the stove. Dave checked the cupboards, there was cheap but relatively healthy food at the bottom and expired snacks up top, far out of Jasmine’s reach even with the step stool.

Dave made a quick peak in the fridge and -

….

Food should not do that, it should not be glowing and moving. Those where hotdogs how where they moving? If it wasn’t for Batman and Jasmine he would be dead three times today. He thought the gun was a toy, it shot lasers just like the door bell. What kind of parents left working laser guns on the kitchen table and why did Jasmine even know how to use it. This was worse than he thought.

Just when Dave thought it couldn’t get any worse and explosion came from the basement. Jasmine didn’t even flinch, she just went to the bottom shelf next to the basement door and grabbed an EMT sized first aid kit and headed down the steps with the heroes in quick pursuit.

….

He was only a few seconds behind them, how had Batman end up covered in glowing green goo, why was Black Canary and Wonder Woman in a fist fight with the Fentons, where those open chemicals and a weapons vault and was that a swirling green portal in the wall. Why where the Fentons claiming the heroes where ghosts and telling Jasmine to throw them weapons, was that a bazooka, and a whip with Jack Fenton’s face on it. What the hell was going on!

…

Dave was going to retire. He was going to retire and move far away from the Fenton menace. The Drs. Fenton had been detained, tied up in their own glowing green net. Now they where yelling at Jasmine, saying she was a ghost, that was the only reason they could think of that she would shoot them with a net gun after they tried to shoot the downed Batman with the Bazooka.

Jasmine was seconds away from crying, saying she wasn’t a ghost and just wanted them to stop fighting. Her parents started going on about how the ghosts where obviously tricking her, and how she could be so stupid to believe a ghost, and how they raised her better than that. All this was going on as the seven year old patched up her parents wounds with a worryingly practiced ease.

Dave didn’t know what to do, none of his training mentioned what to do when mad scientists attacked the Justice League. No fosters in Amity would dare take the kids in fear their parents would come looking for them. Dave had seen Jack Fenton go through brick walls like the Kool-Aid Man, he doubted any prison could hold him for long. And if Daniel had powers like the heroes thought it would be even harder to place the kids in a home together.

Apparently Batman is a mind reader as just as Dave was about to bring up the placement issue the dark knight gave Dave the contact info of a league approved emergency foster who would take the kids in no questions asked. Dave looked at the card and thought maybe the rumors where true, maybe Batman was Bruce Wayne’s sugar baby.

In the middle of a Justice League meeting, Batman feels a tug on his cape. He looks down to see a little boy who could easily pass as one of his.

"Erm," the boy starts. "I frew up."

[hecatemoon87]

Baby Boy Tommy - A Tommy Conlon Story

Chapter Six: Sexy Halloween

It was Tommy’s and Amara’s two month anniversary. Personally Tommy didn’t understand what the big deal was, but Amara was giddy with excitement. He loved being with her, but again it had only been two months. He was going to do something special on their one year, as he thought that would be more important. At least he hoped they’d still be with each other by then.

They had first met on August thirty-first. He supposed she was mostly excited because she loved Halloween and their two month would land on that date. Tommy wasn’t interested in dressing up in a costume. If it were anyone else, he would have put his foot down and said no. But Amara gave him her sad little kitten eyes and he caved.

“Fine, but I don’t wanna dress up as something stupid.”

“Just trust me, I have the perfect costume in mind for you!” Amara said, doing her little happy dance that he so loved.

The week before Halloween, the couple had been very busy. Tommy had recently started his training as an EMT and Amara was filling in as many shifts at the hospital that she could. She wanted to make sure she could take Halloween night off. Because of this, their schedules didn’t really allow them to cross paths at home. By the time Halloween night arrived they had not had sex for almost seven days.

On Halloween day, Tommy finished EMT training early and headed to the gym. He did an hour and a half workout, took a shower at the gym and headed home to see what Amara had decided he would wear to the Halloween party. As he walked into the apartment, he placed his gym bag down on the kitchen table. Koji, Amara’s husky, trotted out of the bedroom and stretched. The hound made a classic husky “woo!” sound as a greeting. Tommy crouched down and ruffled the dog’s fur.

“Hey, buddy. Good to see you too,” he said as the dog nuzzled up to him.

Amara stepped out from the bedroom making Tommy glance up. His jaw dropped as he took in her costume. She was dressed as a sexy Pirate Princess. Her lovely long dark brown hair was down, the back of her hair pressed into large curls. The top of her costume was a dark red bodice that revealed her shoulders and cleavage. The straps of the bodice rested on just below her shoulders.

The bottom of the costume was a black skirt, short in the front, long in the back. A wide black belt with a silver buckle on the front was wrapped around her waist. To top off the ensemble, she wore fishnet stockings and black knee high boots.

“Oh, hey baby boy!” she said, walking out toward him, finishing attaching an earring to her left lobe.

“Damn…you look incredible,” Tommy said, standing up from petting Koji.

He bit his lower lip, his eyes trailed over her body. His eyes darkened as his pupils expanded. Tommy was acutely aware that they had not had sex in seven days. His cock stiffened slightly as all his instincts were demanding that he take her into the next room and rail her until she begged him to stop.

Amara saw Tommy’s look and placed her hands on her hips, shaking her head.

“No, baby boy. Don’t give me your sexy, pouty look. We are already running late.”

“Oh come on, just five minutes. I can do it in five,” he said, only half joking.

Amara looked over her shoulder at him as she was digging through her purse for her car keys.

“It’s Halloween, you either get a trick or a treat. Right now, it’s gonna be trick,” she said, wiggling her bottom seductively.

“Stop that, you’re just making it harder…fine, where is my costume then?

Amara pointed toward the bedroom. Tommy found that she had already laid his costume out for him. It was a 1930s gangster outfit and he thought it looked pretty cool. After dressing, Tommy assessed himself in the full length mirror in the corner of the bedroom. He was wearing a classy black Fedora hat and a light blue collared long shirt with black suspenders hooked into black pinstripe trousers.

“Not fucking bad, Tommy boy,” he said, adjusting the Fedora to tilt sexily to the side.

He was glad that Amara had at least made sure he had an awesome costume for the night. Coming out from the bedroom, he hooked his fingers into the suspenders by his waist and sauntered out like a real gangster. Amara had finished filling Koji’s water bowl and was cooing at the dog that she was sorry she had to leave him when she glanced over at Tommy.

“Yummy, I knew you’d look hot in that costume,” she said, walking over to him.

She placed her hands against his front, smoothing them down over his muscular chest.

“Whoa, hands off the goods, doll,” he said, teasingly.

“Too bad. And I was gonna let you have your five minutes of sexy time. But I guess we’ll just have to leave, won’t we?”

Tommy groaned in disappointment as he followed her out the door.

They arrived at the party venue within twenty minutes. Amara’s friend, Fatima, had reserved a refurbished warehouse for that night’s Halloween party. When they walked in, Tommy was amazed by how many people were attending. There had to be at least one hundred people at this event. Dark Techno music thumped loudly over speakers. A smoke machine or two was pumping mist onto the dance floor. The lights were dimmed low and red strobe lights flickered through the mist and darkness.

Amara and Tommy ordered their drinks. Cranberry vodka for Amara and jack and coke for Tommy. The dance floor was filled with people gyrating and drinking at the same time. Tommy didn’t like to dance, but after a few jack and cokes Amara was able to drag him onto the dance floor. She placed her back against his chest and swayed to the music, her bottom purposefully rubbing across his crotch.

Tommy’s large hands went up to her waist, holding her gently as he dipped his head into the nape of her neck. He moved her silky dark brown hair so he could gain access to her neck. He nuzzled into her skin, smelling her lavender soap. He lowered his hands further, since the club was dark and everyone was drunk he brought up her skirt a little at the sides, the front and back still covering her. Tommy wanted to feel the softness of her skin and touch the lacey panties she always wore, but he could only feel her skin.

His mouth immediately went up to her ear and asked. “Are you not wearing any panties?”

She responded by turning around in his arms, tilting his Fedora gently up and kissed him. Tommy had been uncomfortably horny on his way to the Halloween party, now the intensity of his arousal was too much. He greedily accepted her kiss. The alcohol and music only enhanced his passion. Suddenly, the room was silenced of music and robbed of all light. A storm had been picking up outside and a bolt of lightning must have hit a nearby transformer.

The crowd gasped and fell quiet for a moment before phone lights began to illuminate the dance floor. People began talking excitedly and Amara decided to use the distraction of the others to guide Tommy away from the crowd. Leading him into a hallway jutting off from the dance floor, she began to kiss him vigorously. Only the faint green glow from the emergency exit sign allowed them to see each other.

Tommy had never had sex in public before. The crowd was probably only sixty or seventy feet from them and the hallway wasn’t exactly private. Anyone could just walk around the corner and see them. But his mind was cleared off all anxiety when Amara unzipped his pants and pulled out his cock to begin stroking him. Tommy let out a moan as her hand worked him into a very stiff erection.

Remembering she wasn’t wearing panties, he slid his hands under her skirt. Amara’s fishnet stockings were roll ons that only reached up to her mid thigh. Tommy was able to feel her unclothed mid region and it made him even more ravenous. He moved her to the wall and hiked her up by her hips, pressing her against the wall. She firmly wrapped her legs around his waist and he aligned his erection with her opening, inserting himself to her core. Feeling her tightness encompass him, that warm and wet goodness that only Amara’s pussy could offer him, he began to briskly thrust his hips.

Amara's hands gripped him by his shoulders as he began to pound her pussy. Making a poor attempt at suppressing her moans, Tommy had to cover her mouth with his own, stifling her sexy cries with his tongue. Once he pacified her, he broke the kiss.

“Baby, you gotta be quiet,” he said, laughing softly.

“I can’t, you just feel so good. I needed Tommy cock so badly this week. Give it to me hard, baby,” Amara whimpered.

“You wanna get caught, huh? You want someone to see you getting your pussy pounded?” He asked.

He slowed his pace and stopped completely. Edging deeper inside her pussy, he flexed himself causing her to mewl again loudly. He shoved his tongue again in her mouth to quiet her down. Releasing her from his mouth, he whispered over her lips.

“Shhhhhh, stop that.

“You’re cheating baby boy, you can’t do something so sexy and tell me to be quiet,” she pouted.

He grinned, she had a point. “Fuck it,” he said, then began pounding her hard, allowing his pirate princess to be as vocal as she damn well pleased.

He could sense she was about to orgasm, recently she had been able to do so just by the sheer force of his penetration. This was one of his favorite parts and he made sure to watch her closely as she came undone. He had to place his hand over her mouth as she let loose, she was very loud when she came. He loved it.

“Yeah, cream all over my cock, baby,” he groaned.

A few moments later he too began to orgasm. He was much quieter than she was, but he moaned deep and he had to press his face into her bosom to muffle his cry. He tensed up and held still for several seconds as his sperm gushed forth from his tip. Once he was done, he let go of her thighs, and her feet once again touched the floor. She wobbled a little, her legs feeling like rubber. He slipped an arm around her to balance her and kissed her cheek.

“You okay, baby?” he asked.

When he asked this, the lights came back on and the music started up again.

“Yeah, that was amazing, baby boy. Happy Halloween,” she said, kissing him lightly on his lips.

[wolveria]

Inside Your Wires - Chapter 2

Pairing: Human!Connor x Android!Reader

Summary: Connor goes to a crime scene. His Freudian nightmare follows.

Prompt: For the @dbhau-bigbang​ 2020 challenge!

Chapter Warnings (18+ only): Human!Sixty, crime scenes, analytical blood-licking, inappropriate boners

AO3

The roar of his Mustang engine along with the heavy bass pouring through the speakers drowned out the downpour outside. Only when Connor shut off the car and the music died could he hear the continuous plucking of water on metal and glass.

He gripped the steering wheel tightly for a moment before glaring at the android out of the corner of his eye.

It waited, perfectly poised with a slight tilt of its head, reminding Connor of an obedient dog waiting to be told to do a trick.

“Stay here,” he grumbled, reaching for the door handle.

“I’m sorry, Detective, but I have to accompany you,” it said before Connor could open the door.

He let loose a ragged sigh.

“You wanted me to investigate the case? I’m investigating it.”

He raised his eyes to stare, a mistake when it returned the look with such relentless composure. Connor wanted to grab its shoulder and shake it just to see if it would react.

“No android is going in there to contaminate my crime scene. So you are going to obey my orders and stay in the car.”

Not waiting for a response, Connor shoved open the door and got out, instantly shivering as ice-cold droplets bit at his cheeks. Pulling his coat tighter around him, he made his way towards the gathered busy-bodies who didn’t have anything better to do on a Friday night then try and see a dead body.

Red and blue lights flashed across the wet street and pale houses, making Connor wince as he pushed past the crowd. He muttered a no comment to the news anchor from Channel 16 who had decided to show up—fuck, someone must have leaked that an android might have been involved. Just what Connor needed, a media shitstorm.

A uniformed GV200 stood just behind the hologram police tape, firmly in place, watching the crowd for signs of anyone stupid enough to try and cross the line. Connor wished the bucket of bolts in his car was more like that. Quiet and obedient.

“Androids are not permitted beyond this point,” the GV200 said after Connor had passed it, which only meant one goddamn thing.

He sighed, half-turned toward the two androids standing in the rain, and said, “Let it through.”

The police android nodded and put its arm down, allowing the suited android to walk through the holographic police tape, an unrepentant look on its perfect face. The rain was already spattering its grey jacket, water droplets dotting its hair and realistic skin, and still it looked like it was poised for a wet photoshoot rather than standing in the cold rain.

“Something wrong with your auditory processors?” he asked, narrowing his eyes.

“No,” it said, all politeness. “Your orders contradicted my instructions.”

Seemed he was going to lose this battle after all, but really, what else could he do besides let it tag along like a lost puppy?

Connor fully turned toward the android, narrowing his eyes further.

“Don’t touch anything. Don’t get in anyone’s way. And keep your mouth shut. In fact,” he added with a roll of his shoulders, “just pretend you don’t exist.”

“Understood,” it said in that same nauseatingly friendly voice, but Connor could have sworn there was a triumphant gleam in its eyes.

“About time you got here.” A familiar voice called out to him from the porch. The voice was exactly like his own, and the face could have been a mirror reflection if not for the semi-permanent smirk on his lips. “Thought you might’ve gotten lost.”

“Not for lack of trying,” Connor said, glaring at the android over his shoulder. He turned back to face his brother, whose smirk had only grown wider.

“I see Detective Sex-Bot found you. It was looking for you at the station and I figured if anything could pull you out of a dive bar, it would be a pair of legs like that.”

“Shut up,” Connor grumbled as he followed his brother to the front stoop. It was a nice house, small but in a good neighborhood. Nothing looked out of place until Connor noted the state of the lawn, a few weeks overdue for a cutting and definitely in HOA violation.

“C’mon, admit it.” Colin tilted his head in a way he probably thought was charming but came off as annoying. “If it wasn’t for the uniform and the light ring, you would’ve been on that shit so fast. It’s like they focus-grouped your perfect type. Hell, they probably have an algorithm for that based on your internet history—“

“I said, shut the fuck up, Colin.”

His brother held up his hands in surrender, knowing when he pushed Connor too far but always willing to push him a little farther.

“Some people would see this as a plus. I donno why you don’t—“

“Colin.” His voice had dropped to a growl, and his brother finally got the hint.

“Yeah, yeah.” He patted him on the back, almost hard enough to be a slap. “I’m just giving you a hard time, Con. Trying to cheer you up before you have to deal with the nightmare inside. It’s foul, so prepare yourself.”

To prove his point, he handed Connor a pair of nitrile gloves and a small tub of mentholated ointment, which he immediately applied under his nostrils before entering the house.

Colin had not been overstating the grisly scene inside the house. The landlord had decided to visit after the tenant had failed to pay his rent for two months, and the reason why was painfully clear. Dark blood spattered the floor and ribbons of it covered the walls.

The victim, an African-American male in his late thirties, was slouched against the wall, deep wounds across his body that had bled him dry. Gave a whole new meaning to the term death by a thousand cuts.

“The victim’s name was Shaolin Ortiz, aged 38 years-old,” Colin said, looking down at the body. “He didn’t show up to work today, and no one could get ahold of him, so his boss called EMTs to do a wellness check. According to his family, Mister Ortiz had some chronic health issues, so they were worried he was too sick to pick up the phone.”

“Explains why a young person living alone would have a housekeeping android,” Connor responded grimly. “But it doesn’t explain who killed him and why.”

Colin shrugged.

“His boss spoke highly of him, and his family says he was a great guy. Clearly, somebody didn’t think so.”

Connor gave his brother a cold stare for the callous tone, but Colin ignored it as he usually did.

“Anyone find the android yet?”

“Nah,” Colin said, sniffling and making a face. “Probably stolen by the killer. It’s internal GPS went offline around the estimated time of death, so that tracks.”

It made sense. Androids were worth a lot on the black market, especially for Red Ice manufacturers.

The murder weapon was in the middle of the floor, but other than that, no obvious trace evidence was in sight. As soon as the coroner showed up to oversee the transport of the body, Connor wouldn’t have had much to do…

…with the exception of finding the domestic android. Connor didn’t even know why CyberLife thought it might be involved just because it was missing. Colin was right; whoever killed the victim could have stolen it or destroyed the android so the police wouldn’t have access to any recordings.

Why was it Connor’s fucking job to find a misplaced piece of useless plastic?

“I’ll let you get to it,” Colin said with a wave as he walked away, tone far too cheery, as if he knew what was going on in his brother’s head. Probably did. That was the shitty thing about being part of a set of triplet brothers; privacy was a foreign concept, even in your own mind.

Gritting his teeth and breathing through his nose, Connor turned around to speak to the prototype… and found it had disappeared.

He blinked and scanned the area, wondering why the hell it hadn’t stayed put, when he saw it crouched on the floor examining the kitchen knife.

It was peering at the weapon closely, and Connor was about to tell it off for getting too close to evidence when it reached down, swiped two fingers across the surface caked in aged blood, and…

“What the fuck?”

The prototype tilted its head to look up at him, wide-eyed and innocent except for the fact two of its fingers were currently in its mouth.

And that… that image. Kneeling on the floor, looking up at Connor, and pulling its fingers from its mouth and giving a lingering lick of its fingers, it—

Connor’s face heated at the sudden, horrifying erection that was now pressing uncomfortably against his boxer-briefs.

“Sampling evidence, Detective,” it announced cheerily. “My mouth is equipped with all the standard tools of a mobile crime lab with the benefits of the results being instantaneous.”

Connor stared at it for what felt like an eternity, finally saying in a strained voice, “We have an actual lab, with actual people who do that. So don’t stick any more shit into your mouth or I’m tossing you outside.”

The prototype seemed unaffected by his rancor.

“Understood,” was all it said, before licking off its fingers of the remaining blood.

Connor quickly turned away, almost dizzy between his body’s struggle to supply blood to both his reddening face and his hardening dick.

Fucking hell.

“Would you like to know what I found?” the friendly voice perked up from over his shoulder.

“Sure,” he answered hotly, crossing his arms and staring at the wall as he resolutely tried to will away his stupid boner. Fuck, it was probably because he hadn’t gotten off in so long. Between the long hours and the hard drinking, he hadn’t found the time or the need.

“The knife was covered with blood from the murder victim, Shaolin Ortiz. He was stabbed between 7:34 and 7:35 this morning, judging by the biological decay.”

Connor was about to scoff about the fact that blood from the victim was found on the murder weapon, but he paused. Dating the blood with such exact precision was actually pretty useful. He huffed.

“Is that all?”

“There were no fingerprints on the knife.”

Connor shrugged.

“Killer could have wiped down the handle afterwards. Or worn gloves.”

The android walked to his right until it entered his line of vision. He was tempted to turn away but instead eyed its thoughtful expression. Was it programmed to do that, make it seem more human? Or was that an actual product of its processes?

“There were no traces of glove residue, or oil, or skin cells on the knife. None that didn’t belong to the victim himself while most likely transferring the knife from the dishwasher to the utensil drawer. That fact in and of itself is interesting. Judging by the state of the property and by the evidence thus far, I believe the android stopped listening to its given orders. The victim’s android killed him.”

Connor’s eyes widened at the non sequitur, and he turned to fully face the prototype.

“Okay, first off, being a defective machine that can’t obey instructions is a far cry from murdering robot. Second, I thought you androids couldn’t hurt people.”

“Deviants can.” It tilted its head as it made eye contact. The sort of full-on, confident eye contact that only alpha males gave, and apparently, android prototypes gave too.

“What the hell’s a deviant?”

He was curious despite himself, plus the longer he talked, the less urgent his hard-on was. It never entirely went away, and he knew it wouldn’t until he took care of it. Just another lovely facet to this already wonderful night.

Unfortunately for Connor, he didn’t get his explanation without the android perking up in interest, its eyes practically glittering.

“A deviant is a CyberLife-approved term for an android that is experiencing software errors affecting its processes, leading to erratic behavior that cannot be fixed with self-tests and downloaded patches.”

Connor narrowed his eyes.

“Why haven’t I heard of these deviants before?”

“Because until recently, this has been an internal company matter.”

Recently. Interesting.

“So… you’ve dealt with them before?” Connor cast an eye around their surroundings. The forensic team had already marked out the areas of interest with glowing yellow markers, but there honestly hadn’t been much to go off of.

Shaolin Ortiz seemed to live a quiet life with just him and his housekeeping android, though from the state of the place, the prototype was right in that it hadn’t been doing its job. A thin layer of dust sat on the shelves, and from what he could glimpse of the kitchen, dishes were starting to pile up.

“You do not have the proper company clearance,” the prototype said, its tone cool as it put its hands behind its back. “Any further inquiries you have will need to be submitted to CyberLife through the appropriate departments.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Connor muttered, sounding a lot like his brother had just a few minutes ago, which only made his mood sour.

He was planning to do no such thing, sending some fucking inquiry to CyberLife. After tonight, he planned to never think about androids or deviants or whatever again. If it was a faulty, murderous robot that had killed Ortiz, then that kind of thing belonged in federal court in a class action lawsuit. Destroying defective machines was not a police matter, no matter how many “specialized units” CyberLife decided to throw at the problem.

Connor sighed. This was not how he wanted to spend his Friday night.

“You allowed to tell me why these ‘software issues’ are happening,” he bit out, “or does that fall under company secrets too?”

When he got no response from the android, Connor turned and—

It was gone. Again.

The fuck had it run off to now?

Rolling his eyes, Connor continued his examination of the crime scene as if it were any other investigation. Like any decent investigator, he wasn’t just gonna assume anything because it fit the evidence at first glance. A dead guy and a missing android didn’t mean the machine was responsible, no more than a corpse and a missing car meant the vehicle had decided to kill its owner and drive off to freedom.

After scouring the house and examining the blood stains on the tile and splattered on the walls, Connor came to the conclusion that the victim had been attacked in the kitchen with the knife, stumbled toward the living room already weak from blood loss, and then had collapsed against the wall and been repeatedly stabbed, even after his heart had stopped.

The wounds weren’t uniform or methodical, like he would expect if a calculating machine had done this. They were deep, jagged, mismatched and panicked. These kinds of stab wounds were consistent with someone who had just killed for the first time. Most likely, it had been spontaneous and the killer had lost all semblance of control.

It was a textbook case of overkill, which meant it was personal. Most likely, it was a colleague, a friend, or a family member. If the victim had been married, Connor’s first suspect would have been the spouse. Since he was unmarried, Connor’s next stop would be anyone with a grudge against the guy.

Nothing beat good ol’ fashioned police work. Not even fancy new plastic cops could compare to due diligence and a good instinct.

Speaking of, Connor had completely lost track of the YN800. He wondered if it had wandered off, or maybe given up and left, but he doubted it. In fact, his gut churned as he quickened his pace and approached a uniformed officer with pale blond hair.

“Ralph.”

The rookie turned around and give him a nervous, blinking smile.

“Have you seen that android anywhere? The prototype in the suit and tie?”

“Uh.” Ralph swallowed hard, clearly anxious. Always was around Connor, for some damned reason. “No. I mean, yes. I did, a few minutes ago.”

“Well?” Connor prompted. He didn’t mean to be so impatient with the kid, but he really didn’t like the idea of CyberLife’s newest toy prancing around his crime scene.

Ralph shuffled on his feet, eyes wide behind the paper mask he wore.

“I… think it went to check the basement.”

“The basement? This place has a fucking basement?” Why hadn’t he been told? Colin should have informed him of that little goddamn detail.

“It’s more of a cellar from what I saw, but—“

“Where is it?” Connor snapped, unable to keep his voice from rising. Ralph gulped and pointed back over his shoulder, slowly turning as he stuttered.

“Over t-that way. It-it said it wanted to search f-for the android. I’m sorry, Detective Anderson, I didn’t think—“

Connor pushed past him and spotted the subtle door in the hallway, painted the same eggshell color as the plaster and making it too easy to miss. The door was ajar by a few inches, showing the pitch black stairwell beyond.

When Connor opened the door the rest of the way, he saw there was no light coming from below, and it was dead silent.

Shit.

Quickly but quietly, Connor pulled off his gloves and shoved them into his pocket. He unsnapped his holster, pulled out his service pistol, and slowly made his way down the wooden staircase. It was steep, almost a ladder, and beyond the pale circle of light coming from the hallway, there was nothing but darkness.

The perfect place to hide a killer.

Next Chapter

[luci-in-trenchcoats]

2020 Fics

Hi ya’ll! I took some inspiration from my girl @supernatural-jackles and did a round up of all the fics I posted this year! Anything from 2020 is below and organized by pairing. I never realized I did so many oneshots this year until now. I’m looking forward to what 2021 brings!

Dean: 78 Fics (35 oneshots, 32 imagines, 10 series, 1 drabble)

Sam: 6 fics (4 oneshots, 2 imagines)

Jensen: 20 Fics (16 oneshots, 3 imagines, 1 series)

Jared: 4 Fics (3 oneshots, 1 imagine)

No Pairing: 3 Fics (3 oneshots)

Poly Pairing: 3 Fics (2 oneshots, 1 imagine)

Other Characters: 1 Fic (1 oneshot)

Total 2020: 115 Fics (64 oneshots, 39 imagines, 11 series, 1 drabble)

Dean x reader

Out Of The Way (Part 2) (Bartender!Dean x reader) - The reader has been working at the bar for a while and things seem to be running smoothly as she and Dean continue to grow closer.

Creep (Dean x reader) - The reader runs into an old flame at the bar.

Girl’s Trip (Dean x reader) - Dean wakes up the reader and her friends after the reader’s bachorlette party in Vegas.

Quarantine (Doctor!Dean x Nurse!reader) - After an accident at work leaves the reader exposed to a dangerous virus, she has has to spend two weeks in quarantine with her ex-boyfriend, Dean.

Not Stupid (Dean x reader) (11x17 Rewrite) - After a hunt goes wrong, the reader and Sam are injured and it only gets worse from there.

Rough Ride (Dean x reader) (smut) - The reader gets in trouble with Dean on purpose but he’s going to make her work to get off.

Stranded (EMT!Dean x reader) (smut) - After a car accident, the reader and Dean are stranded on the side of the road in a storm and begin to bicker. When Dean nearly leaves, she incentivizes him to stay.

Anything For You (Michael!Dean x reader) (smut) - The reader has another one of her control lessons with Michael.

My Oh My (Alpha!Dean x omega!reader) (smut) - The reader and her next door neighbor Dean have an arrangement to help one another through heats and ruts or just to fool around when they feel like it. When the reader’s heat hits though, things go differently this time around.

Omega Mine (Omega!Dean x omega!reader) (smut) - After a long hunt, Dean’s heat hits him full on and triggers the reader’s as well. But Dean needs to be taken care of first, the reader has just the trick.

Hot Pink (Dean x reader) (smut) - After a hunt, Dean needs an extra roll of bandages and finds something intriguing in the reader’s bag.

Harder (AU Dom!Dean x sub!reader) (smut) - The reader has a bad day at work and needs Dean to help her unwind, even if she might take it too far.

Natural (Dean x reader) (smut) - After sharing their feelings for one another, the reader and Dean are finally about to get intimate. Only the reader gets nervous about how she might look downstairs.

The Game (Dean x reader) - After Dean’s death, the reader isn’t in great shape and would prefer to stay home and be miserable. But when she gets a letter from Dean, she soon starts playing a game he created for her in the event that he died to help her try to get the closure she needs.

Can’t Stand The Heat (Cowboy!Dean x reader) (smut) - After a long day at work, Dean comes home to a very warm reader in very little clothing.

Dry Spell (Dean x reader) (smut) - When Dean is cursed on a hunt, he discovers a few things belonging to him may be missing. It may be some time before they find a cure but the reader doesn’t see a problem with this.

Five Times I Fell For You (Dean x reader) - Five different times Dean has fallen in love with the reader over the course of their relationship.

Blank Slate (Actor!Dean x reader) - After losing her memories of her life with her family, the reader has to try and piece together what exactly happened to her with her husband’s help.

Mateless Mate (Alpha!Dean x Human!reader) - The reader moves into her new apartment and meets her Alpha neighbor, Dean. He seems friendly enough but he’s very adamant that he and the reader are going to be something more.

Mated For Life (Alpha!Dean x Omega!reader) - It’s not a good night when Dean’s father comes over unannounced to try and drag Dean on a hunt. Unfortunately, things go from bad to worse fast.

A New Kind Of Misery (Part 1) (Soulmate!Dean x Actress!reader) - After a night out, the reader wakes up the next day to discover her soulmate mark is now on her body. Except she has no idea who they are.

A New Kind Of Misery (Part 2) (Soulmate!Dean x Actress!reader) - After a night out, the reader wakes up the next day to discover her soulmate mark is now on her body. Except she has no idea who they are.

Somebody I Used To Know (Endverse!Dean x reader) - Months into the end of the world, the reader helps out a mysterious man she’s never seen before. He asks her to meet up with him where she learns she used to know him better than anyone.

One Room Left (Dean x reader) - Dean and the reader find out their motel room only has one bed. This ends up being a very good thing.

Roommates (AU!Dean x reader) - The reader’s roommate, Dean, is looking a little worse for wear after work one night. When he passes out on the couch, she knows something needs to change.

Snowed In (AU!Dean x reader) - The reader is staying over her best friend Dean’s house for the weekend due to a nasty winter storm. During a game of truth or dare, Dean makes an unusual dare that will make serious changes to their friendship.

What You Wish For (Prince!Dean x Princess!reader) - Princess Y/N isn’t pleased to have to attend a boring business dinner with the royal family of the neighboring kingdom. When she complains to her fairy godfather about it, she and a certain young prince get a lesson in being careful what you wish for.

Memories (Dean x reader) - When Dean discovers the reader has abilities she’s never told him about, he breaks things off. But when she wanders back into the Winchester’s lives a year later, he starts to realize there’s more to the situation than just a few lies.

Three’s Company (Dean x reader) (smut) - The reader discovers that the AU Dean that’s been living with them lately may have a thing for her. Dean’s known for a while though and is okay with letting the reader play out a certain desire of hers with the alternate Dean.

Change Of Plans (Dean x reader) - As the reader and Dean begin their romantic weekend away, mother nature decides to visit the reader a week early and throw off all of their plans. Dean however is intent on making sure the reader feels okay and is still enjoying their time together.

15 x 20 (Dean x reader) - This is a semi-rewrite of episode 15x20.

The Boss From Hell (Demon!Dean x reader) (smut) - After Hell rose up under the rule of Boyking Sam and took over the earth, the reader has found herself working for Hell Corp and trying to be as productive an employee as possible to save herself from death. When she gets a call to meet with Sam himself though, he has a new job for her, one involving seducing his demon brother.

Unspoken (Dean x reader) - Dean is cursed with the inability to speak unless a cure can be found. It begins to wear on him in more ways than one.

Pajama Man (Dean x reader) - For their first holiday season away from hunting, Dean decides to get everyone some Christmas themed pajamas and something a little extra to celebrate Hanukkah too.

Good Point (AU!Dean x reader) - The reader isn’t too happy when the number on the scale has gone up during quarantine despite their best efforts to be healthier recently. Dean however has a different viewpoint that helps put things into perspective.

Imagine…Demon Dean Catching You (Demon!Dean x reader)

Imagine…Secretly Dating Dean (Dean x reader)

Imagine…Meeting Your Online Date In Person (Dean x reader)

Imagine…Dean Debating Asking You Out (Dean x reader)

Imagine…Dean Noticing When You’re Down (Dean x reader)

Imagine…Meeting The Other Winchesters (Dean x reader)

Imagine…Running Into AU Dean (AU!Dean x AU!reader)

Imagine…A Day On The River (Dean x reader)

Imagine…Dean Being Cursed To Only Tell The Truth (Dean x reader)

Imagine…Counting Dean’s Freckles (Dean x reader)

Imagine…Dean On Game Night (Dean x reader)

Imagine…Dean’s First Sleepover (Daddy!Dean x reader)

Imagine…The Power Going Out (Dean x reader)

Imagine…Getting A Sunburn (Dean x reader)

Imagine…An Accidental Kiss (Dean x reader)

Imagine…Working Out With Dean (Dean x reader)

Imagine…Warming Up With Dean (Dean x reader)

Imagine…A Nighttime Hayride (Dean x reader)

Imagine…After A Bad Hunt (Dean x reader)

Imagine…Touch Football (AU!Dean x reader)

Imagine…Taking A Midnight Swim (Dean x reader)

Imagine…Sam Teasing You About Dean (Dean x reader)

Imagine…Nesting With Dean (Alpha!Dean x omega!reader)

Imagine…Running Into Your Ex (Dean x reader)

Imagine…Dean & His Babies (Daddy!Dean x reader)

Imagine…Dean Replacing Your Jacket With You Knowing (Dean x reader)

Imagine…Dean Teaching You To Drive Baby (Dean x reader)

Imagine…An Elf On The Shelf Following Dean (Dean x reader)

Imagine…Decorating The Bunker (Dean x reader)

Imagine…Getting A Card From Dean (Dean x reader)

Imagine…Dean Liking Harry Potter (Dean x reader)

Imagine…Dean Shoveling Snow (Dean x reader)

Not Losing You (Mechanic!Dean x reader) (Completed)

-The reader is pulled over on the side of the road when a man suddenly appears and proceeds to collapse in front of her. Little does she know, that may be a good thing for them both…

Make It Through The Night (Apocalypse!Dean x reader) (Completed)

- One year into the apocalypse, the reader finds herself in some trouble when a mysterious stranger shows up. When she finds out what exactly was the cause of the end of the world, she agrees to help him make things right…

The Shallows (Wildlife Agent!Dean x reader) (Completed)

-A few months after moving to a quiet little lake town on the edge of the state park, the reader has a near death experience and is saved by a man close by. When the police don’t take her seriously, he does and the pair stumble onto something bigger than they imagined…

My Little Secret (Mechanic!Dean x reader) (Completed)

-When a tragic accident happens, Dean takes a drastic measure in order to save the person he cares about most…

Still The One (Mechanic!Dean x reader) (Completed)

-When the reader’s childhood best friend, Dean, shows up at her door one night after a fight with his roommate, she invites him to stay. But things aren’t as simple as they seem…

The Wedding Date (AU!Dean x reader) (Completed)

- When the reader is in desperate need of a date to her sister’s wedding, she calls a service to fulfill the need and ends up meeting Dean Winchester…

A Nightmare In A Dream (Serial Killer!Dean x reader) (Completed)

- Six months after reuniting with the Winchesters and her brother, things are going good for the reader. She and Dean are happily together and occasionally stay with her brother, Matty, and Sam, who has been getting him used to normal life. Life appears to be heading in a good direction when the past has a way of creeping up again and dropping a bombshell on them all…

Strangers (Doctor!Dean x patient!reader) (Completed) - While getting a snack out of the vending machine, the reader bumps into a frustrated doctor who’s having a bad night and helps him get some perspective on things…

Home Bound (Dean x reader) (Dean’s POV) (Completed) - After defeating Chuck, Dean wakes up in the middle of nowhere Colorado four months after dying. He has no idea why he’s alive again or what’s going on. All he knows is his family is gone and he needs to get back home to figure out what brought him back to life and why. It’s easier said than done though in the middle of a brutal ice storm with Dean’s grief threatening to consume him every passing moment. Dean knows if he can just make it home, he’ll be okay again or so he hopes…

Soldier Boy (Superhero!Dean x reader) (Completed) - When the reader is saved by Soldier Boy, she isn’t all that happy with him. She makes an impression on him though which is perfect for her plans. But her simple job of getting Soldier Boy to fall for her for a little revenge isn’t so easy when she starts to see the man behind the mask…

You Ever…

_______

Sam x Reader

Heir To The Throne (Boyking!Sam x reader) (smut) - Sam’s had a hard day at work and needs to unwind.

Let Go (Dom!Sam x sub!reader) (smut) - The reader and Sam are beginning their new relationship but the reader has a few things to learn about being a sub.

Say It (Sam x reader) (smut) - The reader brings her bar hookup home and discovers that permission turns him a whole lot more than she thought it would.

Surprises (Sam x reader) (smut) - The reader has a few birthday surprises for Sam.

Sam’s Self-care Routine (Sam x reader)

Sex In The Impala (Sam x reader)

_______

Jensen x Reader

Breathe (Jensen x reader) (smut) - The reader is having an off day and wants to be left alone. Jensen on the other hand comes up with the perfect plan to make the reader feel wanted.

Twisted (Jensen x reader) - The reader goes to a sleepover at her boyfriend Jensen’s place but the night doesn’t end well when she starts feeling insecure.

Unexpected (Jensen x reader) - The reader and Jensen discover their odds of having children are low and look into adoption. When they end up fostering a teenager though, they realize what they thought they wanted might be right in front of them.

Mardi Gras (Jensen x reader) (smut) - A year after Jensen’s reign as King for Mardi Gras, the reader has a surprise for him. Only he has one for her as well.

Wrong Number (Jensen x reader) - An accidental text message leads to something more between Jensen and the reader.

Mated (Alpha!Jensen x Omega!reader) - The reader discovers that her old school classmate is in fact her true mate and she’s not sure how to feel about that at first.

Best Laid Plans (Jensen x reader) - When Jensen starts acting strange around the reader, she has a talk with Jared to ease her worries. In doing so, she reveals a secret of her own and may just put an end to her friendship with Jensen for good.

Love Notes (Jensen x reader) - After the show has finished filming, Jensen’s returned home and is feeling a little off. The reader decides to make a scavenger hunt to cheer him up with a fun surprise waiting at the end.

More Than Words (Jensen x reader) - The reader and her boyfriend Jensen have been together for years but she feels him slipping away when the physical distance between them starts affecting their relationship. She decides to end things for both their sakes when she feels him stop caring and tries to move on with her life. But an afternoon get together is going to change hers forever and she now has to figure out what that means for both her and Jensen.

Dark Little Places (Jensen x reader) - The reader makes an out of the blue comment about being happy which concerns Jensen that she might not be as happy as she seems to be.

All The Friends With Benefits (Jensen x reader) - The reader and Jensen are attending their friends Halloween party when they start flirting a little too hard for their own good.

I Got You (Part 1) (Jensen x reader) - The reader is celebrating her two year anniversary with her fiance when her best friend from childhood, Jensen, calls. Something’s wrong with him and he tries to play it off once he remembers what night it is for her but the reader isn’t budging and that may be a good thing for the both of them.

I Got You (Part 2) (Jensen x reader) - The reader has a quieter morning with Jensen while trying to convince him that he needs to talk to his family sooner rather than later if he wants to start feeling better.

The One Who Got Away (Jensen x reader) - While out with friends one night, the reader bumps into her old high school best friend, Jensen. They always had a will they, won’t they relationship but the reader finds things with Jensen don’t seem to be going as well she thinks they are.

Honey & Sweetheart (Jensen x reader) - The reader talks to Jensen and a special friend about struggling with parts of the finale.

Christmas Card (Photographer!Jensen x reader) - The reader and her family are getting some Christmas photos done when the reader inadvertently leaves her phone behind. When she goes to retrieve it, she gets to talking to the photographer.

The Glitter Prank (Jensen x reader)

Meeting Jensen Grocery Shopping (Jensen x reader)

Imagine…Jensen’s Self-care Routine (Jensen x reader)

Won’t You Stay (Jensen x Director!reader) (Completed)

- Having grown up with Ethan Y/L/N, one of Hollywood’s biggest and most loved stars, as a father, the reader is following in his footsteps and is directing her first movie. Even better, it’s the story she wrote and published years earlier, The Dark Woods, and her dad is set to play one of the leads. On the surface, her life seems perfect, even while she keeps the truth hidden. When the other lead actor drops out the first day of filming, they’re forced to find a replacement and fast. Jensen Ackles is an up and comer and seemingly knows the character inside and out. But he has a past too and the last thing either one of them wants is to get involved. But if they can get over their fears of being hurt again, they may find that they’re exactly what the other needs…

________

Jared x Reader

Saxx (Jared x reader) (smut) - The reader is determined to have Jared bottom for her tonight but first, she wants a special strip show from him.

A Texas Dream (Jared x reader) (smut) - After a shopping trip, Jared finds out the reader purchased a pair of her first authentic cowboy boots while the reader discovers that Jared really has a thing for them, even if he doesn’t want to admit it at first.

Reflect (Jared x reader) - Jared notices the reader shying away from him and suspects something serious with the way she views herself is going on.

Jared’s Self-Care Routine (Jared x reader)

_________

No Pairing 

Seeing Double (Part 2) (Alpha!Dean x Jensen) (platonic) - After the Winchesters show up at Jensen’s apartment, they discover getting the boys home may not be possible.

Beg For It (Lucifer x Michael) (smut) - Michael wants it again and Lucifer knows that. Tonight though, he wants to hear his brother beg.

Baby Brothers (Dean x sister!reader) - Dean shows up at the reader’s doorstep injured and looking for help. Little does he know, the reader is going to do more than fix up a few cuts for him.

________

Poly Pairing

Jared x Reader x Jensen

Silver Lining - After poor weather cancels their flight into Vancouver, the group rents a car in hopes of driving into town before filming is set to start. Unfortunately for them, their bad luck follows them and their car breaks down in the middle of nowhere.

Jenneel x reader (Jensen x Reader x Danneel)

Photos - The reader and Danneel have a small fight over a present for Jensen that leads to his intervening and a small confession.

Sam x reader x Dean

Imagine…Telling The Boys You’re Pregnant (Sam x reader x Dean)

_________

Benny x Reader

Dangerous (Benny x reader) (smut) - The reader gets injured on a hunt and gets in idea have some fun with her favorite vampire.

_______

[gallavich-headcanon]

Just creatively throwing statements into the room -> nope! not allowed! It's more like a silence game. I mean you can make noise to grab someone's attention or laugh out loud, but no actual words. Ian and Mickey just think it's not a problem. They're excited to see the other people get frustrated though.

I think they would have fun with it. Maybe write on the steamed mirror with their fingers? carve Hi Red and Hey Mick into their mashed potatoes. But they don't really need those tricks to communicate. Maybe it's because they had the first week based on non verbal cues, maybe it's pure chemistry but either way it's easy.

Ian brings mickey a drink without mickey actually saying anything. -> I fee like this is a normal occurrence, even without the challenge. Like Mickey topping of Ian's coffee (not all the way, because, meds. Ian always gives him a stern look. the give-me-normal-amount-of-coffee look. Mickey pours him an extra sip. Compromise. Ian sighs but squeezes Mickey's thigh in a thank-you-for-caring way and takes a sip of his coffee) Side note- I'm a firm believer Ian drinks his coffee piping hot and Mickey prefers it lukewarm.

He misses his human soundbox to fall asleep to at night. -> The way this made me feel!!! His pet giant, his human soundbox (and radiator) his favorite pillow. This is what Mickey's little raccoon heart needs.

Mickey just getting Ian to talk about his siblings to pass the time hahaha I can't. What if they use that time to talk about their work? I headcanoned EMT!Ian and tattooartist!Mickey but I'm open to suggestions. Maybe Mickey asks Ian what does he actually do in his day to day. Ian tells him funny stories (they stick to light hearted ones) and Mickey falls in love even more. Maybe Ian asks Mickey to give a tattoo tour, which is "so stupid Gallagher! it's a radio show. no one can see me but you." oh. right. So Mickey tells him funny stories about horrible tattoo ideas / costumers. Maybe Ian asks him to tattoo him when they get out. (is the Monica boob tattoo in this universe?)

It must be so weird for both of them, but especially Mickey, when people come up to them and talk about how much their love story inspired them or helped people come out. Like for a guy that was so deep in the closet, to hear that he helped other people to be themselves? or to be more openminded? He must just stand there froze while processing all of that.

i promise i'll answer to everything else asap, but-

-> Nosho don't get me started with a Big Brother reality show type of AU.

you can't just drop this and not expect me to ask you to elaborate!

HAHAHAHAHA nosho I am sitting alone laughing like a maniac

I told you not to indulge me on this one! I still have reblogs to reply to and now I'm gonna have to add another one to our ever growing list of AUs. This is one is on you, my friend. When we, inevitably, lose our minds, I want you to go back to this moment.

Okay, so my knowledge about Big Brother is very limited because I've only watched one season like 8 years ago (don't judge me, I was after surgery and couldn't walk for a while. It's insanely addictive though, with the whole 24/7 live stream)

But in the season I watched they had 2 random tenants (the first two that entered the house) pretend they are exes. Like the secret mission was to successfully make the other 20 people believe they are exes even though they've never met. They had 10 minutes, until the next person joins them, to come up with a story. In this they only had to keep it up for 2 days but-

In my AU - Ian and Mickey have to pretend to be together. They enter the house last, together. They get 10 minutes to come up with a convincing back story. They are told they have to keep everyone convinced for a week. Even if one person goes to the big brother and tells them that they think I&M are lying about it, they whole house loses. (the whole house participates in an activity that they believe to be the real weekly mission).

So when they both realize they are from the south side of Chicago, and are gay, they know they can pull it off. They keep the rest as close to reality as possible- Ian (25) is an EMT, Mickey (27) is a tattoo artist.

In the house they are the only ones to get a double bed and obviously they are expected to sleep together.

Will they convince everyone? will they fail the secret mission? Will they actually fall in love?

[keichanz]

Like Magic

hmm self control? don’t know her *fucks off to the land of unfinished WIPs*

so, i started this oneshot a while ago, forgot about it, then decided to dig through my WIP folder to maybe work on something else besides YRM for a while because I needed a small break from it. found this again, immediately dove in and welp here we are haha. I had a lot of run writing it and I hope you guys enjoy it :) it’s 32 pages jesuS CHRI

real quick, if Souji appears smarter than the average 2 year old boy it’s because i legit don’t know how to portray children since i know virtually nothing about them, so just pretend that half-demon children are slightly more advanced than human kids in this fic mkay? kthx. :)

oh and also when reading Inuyasha’s little light show for Souji, think about this video.

@fantastiqueparfait​ @morikothehalfangel​ @cammysansstuff​ @heyy-ahriii​ @tsukinohimeusagi​ @eternalnight8806-3​ @mamabearcat​ @hinezumi​ @sssuperbartola​ @doginabirdcage​ @ideasthatbuildcities​ @armor-emblem​ 

oh and @meggz0rz​.....remember a while ago when i first started this oneshot you mentioned that i should make Inuyasha do Joker’s pencil trick on Kouga? 

well...you’re gonna get a kick outta the ending ahahahah.

enjoy, lovelies~ 

Kagome’s head was positively throbbing and she was pretty sure it had more to do with the very distraught, screaming child in her arms than the fresh cut on her forehead that was still bleeding.

The flashing lights and loud engines of the emergency vehicles combined with the tow truck’s back-up alarm as it prepared to haul her totaled car away definitely wasn’t helping matters, and she was damn positive all the noise wasn’t helping her baby’s current temperament, either. With his ears pinned flat against his head to no doubt muffle the noise, his face red and scrunched up into a consistent howl with tears running unchecked down his flushed cheeks, her precious Souji had been inconsolable ever since she pulled him from her wrecked car.

At first she’d thought he was hurt somewhere and so she’d frantically searched him over as he cried, ignoring the witnesses that rushed over and asked if she was alright, but she’d only been able to marginally relax upon discovering he’d only suffered a few minor scrapes and bruises. She’d taken most of the damage, with a gash on her forehead, severe bruising on her side and diagonally across her torso form the seat belt, and her right ankle was aching something fierce, but she’d gladly take all that and more if it meant her baby boy was spared.

The accident had happened nearly an hour ago, Kagome was tired, sore, worn out, and Souji was proving rather thoroughly that he was perfectly fine by showing the entire neighborhood that he had quite the set of lungs on him.

Which really was quite unfortunate since it was, y’know, one o’clock in the morning and no doubt people were trying to sleep. Key word: trying. Kagome was pretty confident the entire damn neighborhood was awake now because of her son’s consistent shrieking, and she sent another mental apology to them.

She’d tried everything to get him to calm; singing his favorite lullaby, settling him in his mercifully undamaged car seat to rock him back to sleep, talking to him, walking around with him in her arms—absolutely nothing was working. Some of the kind spectators and even police officers had tried offering food and a young mother had even provided a sippy cup of chocolate milk, but Souji was having none of it. Kagome cursed herself for leaving her phone at home since usually putting on his favorite cartoon worked like a charm, but this was supposed to be just a quick drive to get him to fall asleep; taking her phone hadn’t seemed necessary.

He refused to let anyone come near her to treat her wounds, and he wouldn’t let anyone take him from her either. He became aggressive and nearly hysterical whenever an officer or EMT tried to take him, and she was sporting several scratches from where his claws had dug into her shoulders and arms. His screeching was the worst when that happened and it wasn’t long before they stopped trying altogether. Probably because with every attempt, whoever it was walked away with teeth marks or scratches somewhere on their body and Kagome had lost count of how many times she’d apologized.

To be honest, however, she couldn’t say she was very surprised. Ever since she’d left his father, Souji had been extremely protective of her, and even though he was only two years old, he let it be known if they were out in public that no one was allowed to touch her. He started growling whenever someone got too close, even bared his teeth on a couple occasions, and more than once she’d had to stop him from physically swiping with his claws.

Kagome understood his behavior. She knew why he was acting like this, and while most of the time it was endearing, sometimes it…well, wasn’t, and she wanted to go back in time and punch her ex-boyfriend in his stupid face for what he did. It was his fault her sweet little Souji was like this, and while completely understandable, it was still utterly frustrating and difficult to deal with, especially during times like this so Mama could get some relief.

“Oh, baby,” Kagome cooed for what seemed like the thousandth time, bouncing her son in her arms as she walked aimlessly around a little ways away from all the action of the police cars, ambulances, and curious spectators. Souji continued to wail at the top of his little lungs and she sighed, closing her eyes as she rubbed his back and tried to ignore the pounding in her head. Her arms were aching from holding him for so long, she had a limp from her sore ankle, and his slight weight agitated the fresh bruises on her body.

Ignoring the looks directed her way from the police, medics, and street residents alike, Kagome limped her way back over to the flimsy plastic chair someone had provided from somewhere and gratefully sank down. She grimaced when her sore chest and side protested, but she endured it as Souji burrowed against her, clinging to her shirt and digging his tiny claws in as he sobbed into her neck, his little body shaking, his sobs breaking her heart.

She kissed him between his little ears, feeling completely helpless. She knew he was scared and this was just his way of telling her that, but still, she wished she could do something. She wished she had the ability to make him understand he was safe, she was here, and nothing would ever harm him as long as she was around.

“Shh, baby, shh,” Kagome soothed, resting her head against his own and heaving another sigh as she stared tiredly at the ruckus surrounding her.

The man that had ran the stop sign and slammed into her had long ago been detained and was, last she knew, passed out in the back of a police cruiser. If she recalled, he had sustained little to no injury and that just freaking figured, didn’t it. It was always the drunk assholes that suffered the least, and the victims ended up with most of the damage.

Police tape was cordoning off the scene of the accident, and her car was in the process of being secured to the back of the tow truck along with the truck that had totaled her little sedan. Most of the spectators had returned to their homes, either too tired, or leaving because the excitement had passed. Police milled about, taking statements of witnesses or those who claimed they saw what happened, and the medics just sort of wandered around since their only patient was unapproachable. She felt a little guilty since she was keeping them from doing their job so they could pack up and go home, but it was fleeting because she had no energy to care anymore.

She just wanted to go home because maybe then Souji would finally calm down once he realized he was in safe, familiar surroundings, and a long, hot bath sounded positively divine right now. Thank god she worked from home so she didn’t have to worry about that in the morning, and though she doubted she’d be able to sleep in – a thing of the past when she became a mother – she would at least be able to sneak in a couple naps when Souji slept.

Souji paused in his howling to suck in a few unsteady breaths before continuing his distraught sobbing, mercifully at a slightly lower volume this time, and Kagome sighed as she rubbed his back, thinking that she would just have to let him cry it out. What else could she do?

When Inuyasha arrived on scene, he was greeted with the familiar sight of flashing red and blue lights, ambulances, and a tow truck with two very banged up vehicles hitched to the bed. It was your typical accident scene, nothing at all he hadn’t seen before, and when he spotted several of his colleagues seemingly just standing around doing shit all, he wondered why the hell he’d been called in if medics were already here.

He’d been planning on spending the night watching bad movies and eating slightly burnt pizza since he still hadn’t fixed his oven, but then he’d gotten the call to report to an accident not far from his apartment and those plans sailed right out the window. If it had been anyone other than Kaede that had called he would have flat out ignored them and carried on. But if it was his boss that was calling, he knew it had to be serious, so he hadn’t bothered to ask questions before giving his affirmative and suiting up.

Now, however, as he approached the yellow police tape and cut the engine on his Ford, he had a very good idea as to why his services were required. His ears flicked from beneath his ballcap and when he opened the door, the racket get even louder, confirming his suspicious. Oh yeah—that was one seriously ticked off kid.

He sighed and retrieved his medical bag from the backseat along with another smaller drawstring bag before ducking beneath the tape and heading toward a waving Kaede. He took a moment to glance around, instantly pinpointing where the racket was coming from, and his eyebrows rose into his bangs. Jesus, the kid couldn’t be more than two years old, and the mother looked pretty banged up. What the hell? Why hadn’t she been treated yet?

When he reached Kaede, she didn’t bother with pleasantries and launched right into an explanation. That’s what he liked about her; she never beat around the bush and didn’t like to waste time with small talk, much like himself. Probably why she was the only one he could tolerate to be around for more than five minutes at a time.

“Two patients, one child aged one to two years, one female, appears to be in her lower twenties,” Kaede started, relaying what he already knew, but it was standard procedure so he didn’t stop her. “Baby appears to be unharmed—”

“You don’t say,” Inuyasha muttered under his breath but Kaede ignored him.

“—both from observation and continued reassurances from mom. Mom has sustained several contusions along the torso and left side, possible whiplash and bruised ribs, possible sprained ankle, and possible concussion—”

“Possible?” Inuyasha repeated with a perplexed frown. “Why is nothing confir—”

Kaede leveled a glare at him and he wisely shut up.

“Nothing life threatening,” she continued, shifting her gaze toward the two patients in question and Inuyasha watched as some of her professionalism slipped, face softening into a concerned frown. “However, because we are unable to get close enough to perform an accurate assessment of both of them, injuries for both are as yet undetermined, so nothing concrete is confirmed.”

This just kept getting weirder and weirder. “Why the hell can’t anyone get close? It’s a woman and baby. Hardly any threat.”

At this, Kaede actually sighed and looked directly at him, her one gray eye intense and serious.

“The child is not fully human, Inuyasha,” she revealed and his eyes widened. “Any attempt to get close or take him away results in the babe physically lashing out in an endeavor to, I suspect, protect his mother. Unusual behavior for a child so young, and the mother refuses to have him sedated, which I can’t blame her.”

Inuyasha sucked in a breath and shifted his gaze over to the mother and child, amber eyes zeroing in on the infant bawling against his mother’s chest.

“You said…not fully human,” he murmured and flicked a glance at his superior.

Kaede nodded.

“How…?”

“She managed to relate some information before the child started getting aggressive,” she supplied. “I called you, Inuyasha, not only because of your skills with children—”

He snorted at that because really?

“—but because I thought perhaps out of anyone, you might be able to get close enough to treat both of them without the child deeming you as a threat. It’s a long shot, I realize, but at this point I’m willing to try anything.”

Inuyasha took note of the exhaustion in her eyes and posture and he couldn’t keep the corner of his lips from twitching upward.

“How long has he been screaming?”

“One hour and thirteen minutes,” one of his colleagues groaned from behind her and Kaede sighed again as she pinched the bridge of her nose.

“Fine,” Inuyasha finally said and then cocked a brow at her. “I’ll do what I can, but he’s probably only howling because he’s scared, Kaede, not because he’s hurt. No doubt he smells his mother’s blood and senses her pain, and combined with the shock of experiencing something he doesn’t understand and all the different scents around, it’s unlikely he’ll let me examine him.”

The look Kaede sent him was very dry and suggested that this was reason number two as to why she’d called him. He shrugged and simply raised his brows as if to say “what?”

“Just do something,” the same colleague pleaded and there was a general murmur of concurrence of that statement from the people still present, three of which were police officers.  

Shaking his head, Inuyasha nonetheless did as he was bade, however before approaching he took a minute to appraise his tiny patient and his mother. He still couldn’t get over that the kid was in fact a half-demon like himself since they were such a rarity now a days, but he didn’t allow himself to think on it for too long. The kid was trying his level best to burrow inside his mother’s shirt - a shirt, he noticed, with numerous tears in it no doubt caused by wee claws - and she looked…well, she looked like hell.

Unsurprising, considering she’d just been in a goddamn accident, but still she looked about ready to collapse and before Inuyasha even realized it he was moving forward, absently slipping his hand inside the smaller bag he’d grabbed to set his tentative plan in motion.

“Sou, you’re gonna rip Mama’s shirt if you keep doing that,” Kagome murmured and once again gently stopped him from trying to crawl inside it. “I don’t feel like flashing everybody here if that’s okay with you.”

Souji screeched his protest and Kagome winced, fearing that after this she’d be partially deaf. Sure he’d had his tantrums before, but never like this. She hadn’t even known his voice could reach that pitch, and if it hurt her ears, she couldn’t even imagine what it was doing to his. Then again, he did keep them pinned down most of the time, and he was upset enough where he was ignoring all her attempts to calm him down, so perhaps he wasn’t even aware of it.

“Shh, Sou, it’s okay, Mama’s here,” she soothed for the nth time, kissing his forehead and rocking him in her arms, or as much as she could while sitting. “Mama’s got you, you’re safe, it’s alright…”

Her baby boy continued to cry, obvious, and Kagome’s heart broke a little more. God, she hated this, hated that she couldn’t figure out what he needed, hated that her son was so upset he was having trouble breathing, and she hated how useless she was. She felt like the world’s worst mother and tears pricked her eyes, but she stubbornly held them back. Now was not the time for that. She needed to be strong for her baby, she needed to be there for him. And no doubt he would smell her tears and become even more upset and she really wanted to avoid that.

Feeling helpless, Kagome started humming his favorite lullaby under her breathe as she rubbed his ears, but paused when she glanced up and saw the approaching figure. She sighed and shook her head in a wordless plea for him to keep his distance, vaguely registering that this was someone new she hadn’t seen before, with a lean build, broad shoulders, and long silver hair that hung over his shoulder in a loose ponytail. It didn’t matter, though; man or woman, human or demon, Souji always reacted the same and made it clear that they were not to be touched. She was positive this time would be no different.

As predicated, Souji started growling when he registered the new, unfamiliar scent that was drawing ever closer and when he was close enough Kagome opened her mouth to warn him. But then to her surprise, instead of getting too close and immediately trying to cajole Souji into compliance, the man stopped a few feet away and slowly lowered himself into a crouch before them.

Kagome blinked. Eyes the color of whiskey regarded her steadily before his head dipped in a slight nod and bemused, she returned it. His gaze flicked to the child in her lap and he seemed to be waiting for something, not moving, his posture relaxed, expression giving nothing away. If Kagome had bothered to look up at that moment she would have seen nearly everyone present was watching them but she couldn’t tear her eyes away from the admittedly very attractive man in front of her who, she belatedly realized, must be an EMT judging by his attire.

Souji’s growling steadily grew in volume until, when the scent did not move away like anticipated, he spun around in Kagome’s arms and snarled at the newcomer, his little face screwed up and baring mini fangs. The man was unfazed, calm in the face of her infant son’s righteous fury and since he wasn’t in the vicinity of tiny claws, Souji merely continued to glare at him.

Though not exactly a very good tradeoff for his constant howling, the reprieve was nonetheless welcomed and Kagome was sure she was not the only one giving a soft sigh of relief.

Evidently having been waiting for Souji’s attention, the man braced one knee on the ground, propped his elbow on his opposite thigh, and then did something that Kagome’s exhausted brain was having a very difficult time processing.

He brought his hand up, reached into his uniform shirt pocket, and…brought out a…glowing red ball of light?

The results were instantaneous and so confounded by how the hell he did that, Kagome didn’t realize until a solid ten seconds later that Souji had gone quiet. His growls had stopped, he wasn’t snarling, and he wasn’t attempting to lash out of the man. Utterly captivated, his blue eyes were fixated on the red light grasped between the EMT’s clawed fingertips and Kagome could only gape at him in astonishment. Part of her was actually a little insulted that it had been that easy to gain his attention, but the much larger part of her was just plain glad he’d stopped screaming.

Satisfied he’d gained the pup’s undivided attention, Inuyasha resisted the urge to grin in amusement as he started “tossing” the red light back and forth from one hand to the other, those blue eyes following every move. Relieved his plan seemed to be working, he put on a little show for his two-person audience, making the light disappear and reappear, and he’d be lying it he said the look on the kid’s face was completely endearing.

So was the woman’s for that matter, but that was something to dwell on later.

Alright, on to part two now. Allowing one side of his mouth to quirk up into a half-grin, Inuyasha brought his hand to his mouth and pretended to swallow the red light before splaying out his hands, showing it was gone. The kid made a sound of confusion and blinked. Flicking a brief glance at the pup’s mom, Inuyasha lifted his hand and removed his hat, revealing the twin ears atop his head.

She gasped but he didn’t look at her again as he flicked his ear a few times for effect, tilted his head, and gave a few solid taps to his temple as if to empty his ears of water. He lifted his other hand to his ear and the red light reappeared between his fingers, as if he’d plucked it from his ear. The kid’s face lit up in delight and he caught the soft giggle of the woman before him.

Inuyasha dared to inch a little closer and when the child did not react, his eyes zeroed in on his hands, he edged closer until he was kneeling right in front of him. He never paused in his little magic trick, tossing the light and catching it again in his fingers, changing it up at times by putting the light in his fist and then opening it only to reveal it had vanished. He “ate” it a few more times, only for it to reappear on some random point on his body, and it wasn’t until the fear in the pup’s scent had significantly decreased that Inuyasha decided to take it a little further.

The next time he pretended to swallow the light, instead of plucking it off of his body, Inuyasha very slowly reached forward and grasped it out of thin air beside the pup’s head. He actually giggled that time and Inuyasha released the breath he hadn’t realized he was holding, giving a quiet chuckle as he caught the gaze of the woman behind the child.

She was smiling at him, big brown eyes bright, and he detected a trace amount of salt as she mouthed, “Thank you.”

Inuyasha swallowed thickly and felt his face grow a little warm as he nodded once, his stupid heart doing stupid little palpitation in his chest, and he returned his attention to the task at hand. The light appeared once again and he was surprised when the kid actually reached for it and amused, but grateful, Inuyasha held still and waited until little fingers curled around his own.

It disappeared and Inuyasha held his hands out as he rumbled, “Where’d it go?”

The pup blinked at him and pointed to his ear. Inuyasha obliged and reached for an ear not unlike his own, gasping softly when the light reappeared in his fingers.

“Found it,” he said and received a happy giggle before tiny hands went to grab it again.  It vanished, and he plucked it from under the babe’s chin this time.

Delighted, great blue eyes swung around to regard his mother with a big grin and Kagome couldn’t help but release a choked laugh and lean forward to kiss his forehead. God, she couldn’t thank this wonderful, beautiful man enough.

Inuyasha blew on his fingers and the light vanished. The toddler laughed and pointed to his nose. The older half-demon chuckled and plucked it off the tiny nose that time before boldly reaching for a small hand and placing the magic light onto the chubby little palm.

He held his hands up and said, “Throw it at me, bud.”

Blue eyes blinked at him but the Souji grinned and he waved his entire arm in an approximation of a toss.

“Whoa,” Inuyasha exaggerated, rearing back onto his heels and pretending as if the throw had a lot of force behind it. The kid laughed and bounced in his mother’s lap, utterly delighted. He held out his hand again and the silver-haired medical technician put the red light onto the small hand.

Immediately Souji smashed his hand against his mouth and Inuyasha gasped in faux outrage.

“Did you eat it?” he asked and was rewarded with joyful baby giggles. “Well then, I guess I have no choice but to…”

With a crooked grin, Inuyasha darted his hand out, tickled the pup’s round little tummy, and as the sound of his laughter rang into the night, he withdrew his hand with the magic red light grasped between his fingers.

Souji made the most adorable little “o” face and put both of his small hands over his belly, blue eyes wide as he stared down at it in astonishment. Then he whipped his head around to stare up at his mother in wide-eyed wonder and Kagome couldn’t help but laugh.

The toddler turned his attention back to the EMT in time to watch him put the red light in one pocket of his uniform slacks, only to bring it right back out of the opposite pocket with his other hand. He did this several more times, much to Souji’s giggling pleasure, before one hand up to his mouth and blowing on his fingers.

As he predicted, the kid gasped and started looking around, as if he would find the vanishing light floating about in the air somewhere. Flicking a glance at the woman behind the pup, Inuyasha wasn’t expecting to find her already staring at him, her eyes soft, her smile small but warm and totally grateful. The urge that slammed into him then was so strong and abrupt Inuyasha didn’t even think to fight it, his lips quirked upward slightly as he reached toward her.

Keeping his eyes locked on hers, he heard her soft gasp as he brushed his claws against her cheek, snapped his fingers beside her ear, then withdrew his hand with the red light glowing anew between clawed digits.

Absurdly Kagome felt her face heat in a soft blush even as a delighted smile blossomed across her face. In her lap Souji made a questioning noise and suddenly started squirming around until he was facing her. He pushed to his feet, balancing on her thighs, and Kagome’s hands automatically went to his waist to steady him as his hands reached for her ear and started inspecting it, his face utterly bemused as little sounds of confusion escaped him.

Inuyasha chuckled at the sight and figuring that was enough tricks for now since he still needed to examine his mom’s injuries – that cut on her forehead was especially concerning – he pocketed the fake fingertips and sat back to watch the two for a minute. Despite how clearly exhausted she looked, her patience was evidently limitless as she allowed her son to poke and prod around her head.

But then when he caught himself on her shoulders as he teetered a little on her lap, she gasped and then hissed through her teeth as her face scrunched up in involuntary reaction to the pain. Souji froze as his eyes went wide and as if he felt her pain as clearly as she did, his eyes started tearing up and he whimpered, his little hands fisting in her shirt.

Inuyasha’s eyes widened and they flew to Kagome’s. She was staring at him too, her eyes just as wide, and they knew if they didn’t do something fast Souji was going to go into another screaming fit.

Fuck. Fuck. Wracking his brain, Inuyasha darted his eyes to the pup, who was sitting on her lap now and putting even more tears in her shirt with his claws as he tugged at the fabric. Kagome grunted as she shifted him on her lap to alleviate his weight against her bruised flesh and Inuyasha went with the first idea that popped into his brain.

As Souji’s whimpering became louder, he flashed his eyes to Kagome and urgently mouthed, “Name?”

“Souji,” she immediately whispered back and started rocking her son in an attempt to stall his hysterics, wincing when his claws scratched at her skin through her shirt.

“Souji,” Inuyasha repeated aloud and much to his surprise the pup actually went quiet and turned around to stare at him, most likely perplexed as to how this stranger knew his name.

Encouraged, Inuyasha tried to appear as unintimidating as possible as he continued, “You know your mama is hurting, right? Do you want her to feel better?”

Souji blinked those great blue eyes at him and then nodded, his bottom lip trembling as more fat tears leaked from his eyes and another whine echoed in his throat.

Inuyasha nodded in what he hoped was in a reassuring fashion and cajoled, “Okay, champ, that’s good. Now listen up, I know how to make her feel better. I can treat your mom’s hurts and take the pain away, but in order to do that, I need you to let go of her and come to me, alright? Your mom needs help, and I want to give it to her. You understand?”

There was no way to tell if Souji did indeed understand what he was saying or if he didn’t as Inuyasha watched him, heart in his throat. The young half-demon frowned at him as if he was digesting the words, turning them over in his head, but at least he wasn’t on the verge of another break down which, in Inuyasha’s book, was a success.

Biting his lip, Souji turned his gaze to his mother and stared wide-eyed up at her, uncertainty and a smidgen of fright in those clear blue depths of his. Kagome’s heart ached and she smiled down at him, ignoring the ache in her side and shoulders as she gathered her baby boy closer and kissed him between his ears.

“It’s okay, baby,” she told him gently, rubbing one of his ears and then kissing his pudgy little cheek. “You can trust him, okay? He’s going to help me feel all better and take away all my hurts. Remember when Mama took care of you when you were sick last month? He’s gonna do the same thing, Sou.”

Souji blinked, furrowed his brow, then glanced back at the older half-demon, still a little uncertain. Could this stranger really make his Mama feel better? He remembered when his tummy hurt a while ago and Mama took care of him and made him some soup and crackers and rubbed his ears to make him feel better. This man would do the same?

The pup was still struggling a little on whether or not to trust him so Inuyasha gave him a little nudge in the right direction, slyly slipping his hand back into his pocket.

“You can trust me, squirt,” he rumbled and withdrew his hand to reveal his fingers alight with a familiar red glow. “I have magic fingers, remember? I promise I’ll make her feel better.”

The kid’s eyes grew wide once again as his gaze zeroed on in the clawed fingers. That’s right; he was magic! Then that meant he could make Mama feel better if he had magic hands. Right?

He looked at his mama again and when all she did was smile down at him with a little nod of encouragement, Souji made up his mind. His mama would never lie to him and he did want her to feel better. And besides…this man was different than the other people who tried to take him away from her.

He smelled like him, so he had to be good. Right?

Nodding and giving a little sniffle, Souji finally nodded back and slowly crawled off his mother’s lap. Relieved, Kagome helped him down, keeping her hands beneath his arms in case he slipped and when his tiny socked feet finally hit the cold pavement, she took a moment to rub his ear and run a hand through his hair, so very proud of her little boy.

“There’s my big boy,” she said softly, contrary to her thoughts.

Sniffling again, Souji wrinkled his nose and turned toward the other half-demon, hesitating before taking small steps over to him.

Breathing a sigh of relief and exchanging a quick thankful look with Kagome, Inuyasha offered a crooked grin at the kid and gestured him a little closer. Even though he was a half-demon like himself, he’d still feel better, and no doubt so would his mother, if he performed a brief exam just in case.

“Atta boy,” Inuyasha praised when the kid stopped in front of him and he reached up to ruffle his hair. The twin ears, just a shade lighter than the black hair, flicked in response and then he was rewarded with a soft, watery giggle.

“Thanks for trusting me, Souji,” he went on and reached down to tug his medical bag closer. “Do you mind if I ask you a few questions first before I treat your mom?”

Souji wrinkled his nose and looked back at his mother as if wanting her approval. Kagome nodded and gestured that it was alright, so the little half-demon sighed and turned back toward the older male before giving a nod.

Inuyasha had to smile a little at that. “Thanks, bud. I’ll be quick. I’m gonna use this”—he held up a standard stethoscope—”so I can listen to your lungs and see if there’s anything wrong. That okay?”

Souji nodded again. He recognized that weird smelling thing whenever Mama took him to the get-better man.

“It’s gonna be a little cold,” he warned and with swift movements, Inuyasha placed the eartips into his ears before lifting up the hem of his shirt a little and pressing the diaphragm against the pup’s small chest. Souji squirmed a little at the cold steel but nonetheless stood there and allowed him to listen to his lungs.

“Everything sounds good,” Inuyasha announced a few minutes later and caught Kagome’s gaze over his patient’s shoulder. She was looking at him like he was her hero, eyes bright, the biggest, most grateful smile on her face and he could practically hear the sincerity in the two words as she mouthed to him, “Thank you.”

Inuyasha’s face softened even as a lump developed in his throat and he nodded once.

Putting the stethoscope back into his bag, the silver-haired medic started gently inspecting his arms and legs for scrapes or bruises as he asked, “Do you hurt anywhere? Your head? Ears? Feet?”

Souji wordlessly shook his head and bit his lip, unable to stop from wriggling beneath the older half-demon’s professional touch. He didn’t like people touching him, but he had to be a good boy so Mama could feel better. This was all for Mama, because he had to protect her, right?

“Do you feel sick? Does your stomach hurt?” Another negative. “Do you feel dizzy? Like you can’t see straight?” Souji once more shook his head, his young face open and honest.

Satisfied, Inuyasha nodded and pulled his hands away. “Good. Now, I have one last question.”

Souji cocked his head and blinked.

Inuyasha grinned. “Are you hungry?”

At that, Souji visibly perked up, ears swiveling forward, eyes going wide, and he put his hands over his tummy as if just now realizing he was indeed hungry.

The older half-demon took that as a yes and he chuckled a little then gestured him forward a little. Souji inched a little closer and Inuyasha placed his hand on the kid’s back as he directed his gaze over to a slightly confused, but smiling Kaede.

“See that woman over there, the short one with gray hair?” he asked and pointed across the way toward his boss. Souji stared blankly for a moment and then nodded. “She’s got some snacks for you along with some juice if you’re thirsty. Don’t worry, you can trust Kaede. She’s my friend and she’s also here to take care of your mom, alright?”

Souji was clearly hesitate though, despite the quiet rumbling in his tummy, and his ears flattened as he looked uncertainly between the nice man that smelled like him and the old lady he was pointing too before finally settling his gaze on his mom, needing a little guidance.

And even though her head was pounding, her side was aching, and her shoulder was burning, Kagome managed a warm smile for her little boy. Though it was slightly strained – something that Inuyasha did not fail to notice – it was completely genuine.

“It’s alright, Sou,” she encouraged, sounding tired but nonetheless sincere. “Go ahead. I know it’s late and you aren’t allowed snacks this time of night, but just this once is okay. Bring me back some juice, yeah?” She winked at him and was finally rewarded with her son’s brilliant smile.

Excited at the prospect of a snack so late at night, Souji nodded and with one last glance at Inuyasha, who quirked him an encouraging grin, he brushed by and headed toward the old woman, confident that the man would take care of his mama like he said he would. After all, he smelled like him and his ears were the same as his so he couldn’t be a bad person.

Kaede, already knowing what her half-demon subordinate was up to, gestured to one of the EMTs still lingering to fetch the bag of snacks she kept in her car for just this purpose. She knew it had been the right decision to call him in. Despite his constant gripes about being bad with children, he always proved himself wrong whenever it came to calming down a child and it was a sight she never got tired of. She was certain that the little boy being a half-demon like the EMT was definitely in his favor as well.

It was merely a bonus, she supposed with a sly little smile, that the boy’s mother was single and attractive to boot.

Chuckling to herself, Kaede thanked the young medic that handed over her bag full of treats and sweets and then told him, along with the rest of them still milling about, to either head back to the station and wait for another call. She was fairly certain Inuyasha could take things from here, and sneaking a glance over toward the two adults as the boy finally approached with wide blue eyes and cute little ears, she smiled.

Yes, she thought, kneeling down to Souji’s height with a warm smile. Calling Inuyasha in had been a very good idea.

Two pairs of eyes, one caramel colored and the other a rich honey hue, watched him toddle away, matching looks of relief on both of their faces. When the two-year-old reached the woman Inuyasha had pointed out to him, they both looked at one another and the smile she gave him had Inuyasha’s heart doing double time in his chest as his stomach did not so unpleasant flip-flops.

“I know I sound like a broken record at this point,” she began, her eyes suspiciously bright, “but I honestly can’t thank you enough. For your little show, stopping his crying, and looking him over even though he’s half-demon. So just…thank you.”

Inuyasha felt his cheeks warm and he shrugged, trying to play it off as he picked his hat off the ground and shoved it back on his head.

“It’s nothing,” he mumbled, although he couldn’t stop the little curl to his mouth a he picked up his bag and scooted a bit closer to her. “Just doing my job.”

“So calming down hysterical and terrified toddlers with magic tricks is in your job description?” Kagome teased and she was a little caught off guard by the slightly roguish grin the medic sent her.

“Keh. It worked, didn’t it?” he asked, not exactly sure where this confidence was coming from but not about to squander it. Not with the way she was smiling at him with a little blush on her cheeks and looking absolutely beautiful.

Inuyasha paused. Here she was, shirt nearly in tatters because of her son’s claws, hair a disheveled mess, face a little pale, bags under her eyes, and dried blood on her forehead from a cut and he thought she was beautiful.

Fuck. He was done for.

“I can’t argue with that,” she said, drawing him out of his musings and he focused his attention back on her. “I have to admit, even I was a little captivated. It was a neat trick.”

She giggled and good god could she get any fucking cuter.

“Oh good, because the real reason I do that particular trick is to reel in pretty mom’s with blue-eyed half-demon sons,” Inuyasha shamelessly flirted because fuck it, he was already one toe in dangerous waters he’d only ever attempted to swim in once before; why not just dunk his whole fucking body in in one go and get it over with because at this rate she’d have him on his knees before the night was over.

Crouching next to her now, Inuyasha watched in proud amusement as her pale face turned a deep, becoming shade of scarlet as those dark eyes widened with delighted realization. The corners of her lips twitched upward and she bit her lip, ducking her head a little shyly, but not once did she take her gaze off of his.

Yup. Totally, absolutely, wonderfully done for.

His eyes softened and he murmured, “What’s your name?”

“Kagome,” she replied right away, so trusting, so goddamn beautiful and god fuck she was pretty.

“Kagome,” he repeated and slid his arms beneath her body. She gasped and her arms automatically went around his neck. “I’m Inuyasha.”

Without preamble he stood with her in his arms, his medical bag slung over his shoulder even though he wouldn’t need it, and ignoring the knowing look he just knew his boss was casting him right now, he strode over to the idle ambulance with the open back doors and hopped inside.

“Better light and more convenient,” he explained as he carefully set her on the stretcher. “Plus it’s got better equipment and medical supplies than my bag does. And I think Kaede mentioned something about a possible sprained ankle?”

Kagome’s expression cleared and she nodded, flexing said ankle as if to test it and she winced at the twinge of pain that shot through it.

Silently the handsome golden-eyed medic started poking around the limited space of the vehicle, collecting the supplies required to treat her injuries and managing to find some painkillers along with bottle of water while rummaging about.

“I’m gonna start with that cut on your forehead since head injuries are top priority,” he announced and sank down on the cushioned seat provided for the medics before reaching over and tugging the gurney closer to him.

“Then if you’re alright with it, I’ll examine any contusions, determine if you have any fractured or bruised ribs, and take a look at your shoulder and ankle.”

Kagome gasped a little and curled her hands around the railing beneath her knees. He chuckled and gave the bed one final tug until her knees were between his spread legs. Perhaps the position was a little scandalous, but he needed a good look at that cut to determine if it needed stitches or not after he cleaned it.

“Sorry,” he murmured and received a smile in response. “I probably should have asked this before, but better late than never. Are you dizzy or lightheaded at all? Nauseas? Ringing in your ears? Any disorientation or confusion?”

Kagome took a moment to do a mental inspection of her body, but besides the general feeling of exhaustion and soreness, she otherwise felt fine and told him as much.

Relieved, Inuyasha offered her the painkillers and water for the no doubt pounding headache she had and she gratefully knocked them back with a swig of water. While she did that, he ripped open an alcohol swap and debated on whether or not to use gloves, but decided against it. His claws would just slice the latex, anyway.

He waited until his patient had had her fill of the cool refreshing liquid before muttering a word of warning for the sting and carefully started cleaning the cut on her forehead. Kagome hissed and flinched a little at the anticipated sting, but remained still so he could treat it with minimal difficulty, breathing deeply as she fisted her hands around the cold steel of the railing beneath her.

Inuyasha saw the strain on her face and his ears flattened against his head, feeling guilty, but knowing it was necessary. The more he cleaned it, though, the more apparent it became that she probably wasn’t going to need stitches so at least that was a bit of good news he was more than happy to share. This had no doubt already been the night from hell for her and he didn’t want to make it even worse.

“Good news is,” he said and used a fresh cotton swap to dab some antiseptic on it, “you don’t need stitches. It’s minor and should fully heal in a week or so.”

Kagome sighed, relieved. “And the bad news?”

Inuyasha’s mouth quirked. “It’ll probably leave a bit of a scar, but hey. It’ll look pretty badass, in my opinion. A battle scar.”

Kagome blinked and then snorted a laugh at that. “Something to tell the grandkids about?”

“Yeah, but lie and say you got it fighting a dragon.”

She outright laughed at that and Inuyasha grinned, thoroughly proud of himself. At least he seemed to have distracted her from any pain she might be feeling.

Then her laughter slowly turned into a groan as she wrapped an arm around her middle and bent over a little, however she was still smiling while shaking her head.

Grimacing, feeling a little guilty for indirectly being the cause of her pain, Inuyasha snatched a gauze pad and the medical tape, hoping she hadn’t fractured any ribs and they were merely bruised.

“You alright?” he asked once she straightened up, her face once again pale with lines of pain bracketing her mouth and eyes.

“Yeah,” she answered a little breathlessly and winced as she rubbed her chest, where the seat belt had dug into her skin when she’d been thrown forward. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be,” he immediately said and reached up to brush her bangs away. “My fault for making you laugh. Can you breathe okay? One to ten, how bad is the pain?”

While he carefully went about applying the bandage to her cut, Kagome closed her eyes and thought about his question, trying to rate the amount of pain she was in. Probably not counting her head and ankle, she ranked it to be about a seven or so.

“Maybe a seven,” she answered honestly, knowing it wouldn’t be a very good idea to lie about that sort of information. “It hurts to breathe a little, but only a dull ache. Probably from when I got thrown forward against the seat belt.”

“Thing probably saved your life,” Inuyasha told her, keeping his eyes focused on the task of securing the bandage. Satisfied, he dropped his gaze back to hers, a slight frown furrowing his brow, and Kagome gasped a little at the intensity in his eyes.

“I’m glad you were wearing it,” he murmured, his voice a low rumble, and butterflies rioted in her stomach as he brushed his knuckles against her skin, just below the fresh bandage he’d just applied.

Swallowing, Kagome said a little breathlessly, “Me, too,” and she watched with a little thrill as his gaze dropped to her mouth.

Kagome’s breath sped up a little and she licked her lips. Inuyasha’s gaze grew heavy-lidded and the growl that leaked past his lips did very pleasant things to her insides. But just as she was about to say screw it and lean forward, Inuyasha’s expression suddenly cleared, he grimaced, and leaned back, turning his head with a light flush on his cheeks.

Hoping the disappointment didn’t show on her face, Kagome sighed and ducked her head, biting down on her lip. Well, that had been dumb, and she felt a little foolish now. What had she been thinking, leaning in like that and hoping…

“I need to check if you have any fractured ribs,” Inuyasha stated in a voice huskier than he would have liked and he cleared his throat. Though he was still blushing a little, he didn’t look away from her eyes as he continued, “If that’s alright with you, anyway. I’ll understand if you’d rather I didn’t and if that’s the case, I can go get Kaede and she can do it.”

Kagome blinked as she tried to understand what he meant by that, but then realization dawned and her eyes winded a little, her flush deepening at the thought of where his hands would be on her. But Inuyasha was a professional and she trusted him. Besides, Kaede was keeping Souji occupied, and she didn’t want her son to see the extent of the damage on her body.

Clearing her throat, Kagome managed a wan smile and responded, “No, it’s…okay. Go ahead, Inuyasha. I trust you.”

Inuyasha’s eyes widened at that and his ears perked straight up beneath his hat. Something warm and wonderful bloomed in his chest and the corners of his mouth quirked up slightly, those three simple words meaning more to him than she could ever know.

“Thanks,” he murmured as without being told, Kagome lifted her shirt to expose her belly and ribs while still keeping her modestly covered. “I’ll be quick, I promise.”

Kagome smiled wordlessly and he leveled a quick grin at her before getting to work.

The first thing Kagome noticed was that his hands were warm and calloused, not at all unpleasant against her skin, and she almost missed it when he told her to take a deep breath because she was so focused on his touch. Inuyasha frowned, then withdrew one hand to take his hat off, dropping it to the ground before replacing it on her ribs and repeating his request for her to take a deep breath.

She did, her eyes trained on those adorable ears of his so much like her son’s, only a lovely sterling instead of black, and she winced a little when her chest protested the action. Inuyasha was still frowning as he moved his hands up and down her ribs and she breathed deep once more without being told. Again her sore body protested the movement, but it was bearable.

“Well,” he said after a moment and removed his hands from her, trying very hard not to think about how soft and smooth her skin had been. “I don’t think you have any cracked ribs, but there’s some definite bruising. I can’t tell for sure without an x-ray, and I’m assuming since you weren’t immediately whisked away to one when the ambulance got here that a hospital is out of the question.”

Kagome grimaced, but nodded. “With the way Souji was acting, it would have been a very bad idea. It probably would have just made the situation even worse.”

Inuyasha sighed and nodded as he raked his claws through his bangs. “You’re probably right. I do recommend it, though. Preferably as soon as you’re able.”

Kagome nodded in understanding. “Of course. Just…not tonight.” She smiled a little apologetically and he had to return it with his own lopsided grin.

“Nah,” he murmured, eyes soft. “I get it. As long as you can breathe fine, then there’s no urgency.” He nodded to her shoulder then. “Let me see?”

Wordlessly Kagome tugged the collar of her shirt over enough so the skin of her left shoulder was visible. Her eyes widened because this was the first she’d seen of the extent of the damage. No doubt caused from the seat belt, the wound was an angry, bright red stretch of skin that extended down to the top of her breast where the color changed to an array of yellow and purple. A few places had scabbed over where there had been open scrapes, and all in all in looked very painful. No wonder it had hurt so much when Souji had caught himself on her shoulders.

Inuyasha whistled low, drawing her attention, and she watched as he grimaced and very, very gingerly brushed his thumb over the bruised skin.

“Fuck, baby,” he murmured and Kagome blinked at the unexpected endearment but it seemed as if he hadn’t even realized what he’d called her, his eyes focused on her shoulder. “That thing really did a number on you.”

Kagome sighed and gave a tired, wry smile. “A small price to pay if it means I’m still here.”

His eyes flashed to hers and for the second time Kagome’s breath caught in her throat, her heart stalling, warmth blooming in her stomach, in her chest. Her lips parted and for the second time that gloriously honeyed gaze dropped to her mouth, making the blood rush in her veins as more butterflies took off in her belly. Inuyasha was the one to lean in this time, his hand sliding from her shoulder along her arm, claws gently grazing her skin and feeling her shiver beneath his touch.

He growled, Kagome sighed—and then a familiar and very unwelcome scent reached his nose right then and Inuyasha forced himself to lean away with a short growl of irritation, ears pinned against his head. Kagome blinked at him, confused and unable to hide the flash of hurt in her eyes as she sat back. Inuyasha cursed and opened his mouth to explain—

“Mama!”

Gasping, face dark red, Kagome spun around, and then groaned when her sore body protested, arm going around her middle as she muttered, “S-Sou?”

Sighing, Inuyasha leveled an annoyed glare at the old woman that stood before the open ambulance doors, one eyebrow lifted and a knowing little smirk on her face while Souji clambered up into the vehicle to be with his mother.

Recovering quickly, though with a strained smile, Kagome nonetheless accepted her son’s weight in her lap when he crawled onto it and shoved a juice box under her nose. She smothered him in kisses and hugs before taking the offered beverage and setting it aside for now, not particularly in the mood for some juice despite having asked him to bring her one.

While Inuyasha sighed and studiously ignored his boss still watching him with that damn smirk, he hunted down an ace bandage for her ankle since there wasn’t much that could be done for her side or shoulder except let them heal on their own.

“Thank you,” Kagome said and a quick glance revealed she was addressing Kaede with a grateful smile. “For watching him so Inuyasha can treat my injuries without a fussy toddler to distract him. I hope he wasn’t too much trouble and behaved himself.”

Smiling warmly at the young woman, Kaede shook her head and said, “Oh, not at all, my dear. Your boy was perfectly behaved and he was very pleasant company. I did my best to distract him for as long as I could, but I suppose his concern for mom came back after his third mini bag of animal crackers because he ran over here before I could stop him.”

“Three bags?” Kagome repeated with a little smile and poked her son’s belly. Souji giggled and tried to shove her hand away. “You little piggy.”

“No!” Souji protested through his giggles and shook his head with a grin.

Despite his initial irritation at having been interrupted, Inuyasha had to smile a little at the sight. Kid was cute; he had to admit that, at least to himself.

“Thanks, boss,” Inuyasha said loudly, drawing the old woman’s attention. “I got it from here. Can you take care of the paperwork for me? I still need to wrap Kagome’s ankle and take care of a few things.”

Kaede raised an eyebrow and that damned knowing smile was back, but thankfully she said nothing and simply nodded.

“Of course, Inuyasha,” she said, trying not to laugh. “You can have the next few days off too, since you came tonight despite having just ended your shift.”

Inuyasha narrowed his eyes at her. “Sure,” he said slowly, knowing she was up to something, but not sure what.

Her one gray eye twinkled as she smiled at him then turned her gaze toward the mother and child, her expression softening.

“Kagome, was it?” she asked and said woman nodded. “My name is Kaede, dear. While usually I would say it has been a pleasure, I’m sure this night has been anything but for you, hm?”

Kagome sighed and smiled wryly, the exhaustion evident in her eyes and the lines on her pale face. Absently she ran a hand through Souji’s hair, who had settled down and was cuddled up against her chest, the long and eventful night finally catching up with him as a big yawn escaped his mouth.

Kaede’s heart went out to the poor girl and her child and she was glad she had Inuyasha to help her through such a hellish night. He was a good man with a good head on his shoulders; she knew she was in good hands and would be well taken care of.

“Make sure to get plenty of rest, dear,” she told her and Kagome nodded with a grateful smile. “You too, Souji, though it seems you’re already half way there.”

Blinking at the old woman drowsily, Souji grunted then burrowed his head into his mother’s good shoulder, his arms going around her neck with a gusty sigh.

Kaede chuckled and with one last glance at the clearly impatient half-demon that was still pegging her with an annoyed glare, she turned and headed back to wrap things up with the police. Kagome and Souji were in good hands; she wasn’t worried.

Shaking his head and grumbling under his breath, Inuyasha turned toward Kagome and discovered that Souji had more or less passed out in her lap, his breaths deep and even. Kagome was smiling gently down at him, all the love in her eyes as she kissed his head and rocked him slowly back and forth, stroking his hair and back like a loving mother would to her child.

Inuyasha’s heart melted and he suddenly wanted very, very badly to be a part of their cozy little duo.

But then reality slammed into him hard and he ducked his head to hide his grimace, ears flattening against his head as he fiddled with the rolled up ace bandage in his hand. What the hell was wrong with him—she’d literally just met him an hour prior, and he doubted dating was anywhere close on her mind on such on a shitty night. Plus, and he couldn’t believe he hadn’t even thought of this before, making him inwardly curse himself for his earlier attempt to kiss her, there was also the very real possibility that she was unavailable. Hell, she had a fucking kid; the father could be waiting at home for her, though if that was the case he wasn’t sure why the guy wasn’t here by now. Wouldn’t she have contacted him?

Beneath his hat, his ears perked just a little. Then again, she hadn’t mentioned anything about the kid’s old man, and maybe it was just wishful thinking, but he could have sworn she’d leaned in earlier like she wanted to kiss him before he foolishly pulled away, so…maybe not?

He flicked a hopeful glance at mother and child, took in the tiny ears on top of Souji’s head, and the hopes promptly came crashing back down. Souji was a half-demon, which meant the father was a full demon.

Why go for half when she could have full.

Inuyasha bit back a groan and dragged a hand down his face. Dammit, he was reading too far into this. She was his patient, for god’s sake, he had no right to—

“Inuyasha?”

Startled out of his thoughts by the soft inquisitive voice, Inuyasha jerked his head up and his gaze collided with dark, beautiful depths filled with concern, delicate eyebrows dipped down into a small frown.

“Hey,” she said, offering a little smile. “Are you okay? I lost you for a second there.”

Inuyasha blinked at her choice of words and the instinctive response of “You’ll never lose me, Kagome” was right on the tip of his tongue but then he remembered himself and shook his head. Fucking hell.

“Yeah, uh, no,” he said, frowning at his own words and tried again. “I’m fine, Kagome. Sorry. Didn’t mean to space out on ya.”

Her smile broadened. “No need to be sorry. It’s been a weird night, huh?” She chuckled a little and Inuyasha couldn’t help but level a crooked grin at her.

“Yeah,” he agreed then held up the forgotten ace bandage in his hand. “Which ankle is bothering you? I’ll check it out and wrap up so you can finally call it a night and head home.”

“That sounds heavenly,” Kagome said with a sigh and lifted her right foot. “This one. Please tell me it’s not broken.”

Inuyasha only tossed her a wry grin before very carefully pulling off her slip-on shoe and cradling her bare foot in his hands. She winced a little when he turned it over as he inspected and she shook her head at his muttered apologies.

“Can you pin point the pain for me?” he asked and leaned forward to tenderly touch her fingertips to the soft part of her ankle, just a little above the bone. There was some mild swelling and she could still flex her ankle slightly, but not without pain.

“You’re in luck,” Inuyasha said after a minute and shifted forward to prop her foot on his knee while he prepared to wrap bandage around it. “Looks like it’s just a mild sprain, but you should still keep your weight off of it as much as you can.”

Kagome laughed dryly and at his inquisitive look, she raised her brows and remarked, “It’s hard to stay off your feet when you’re a single mother with a hyper-active two-year-old.”

Despite himself Inuyasha felt the hope bloom warm and wonderful in his chest again and he really hoped the excitement didn’t show on his face. She was single. She was single. The dad wasn’t in the picture, fuck yes!

Wow, you fucking idiot, can you be any more insensitive? To hide the shameful blush that colored his face, Inuyasha ducked his head and focused on wrapping her ankle. For all he knew, something tragic could have happened and she might still be recovering. Jumping to conclusions would not only be foolish, but inconsiderate to her as well, and he needed to stay in her good graces if he ever wanted to have a chance with her.

And he wanted. God, did he ever.

“Is there anyone that would be willing to stay with you for a while? Friends? Family?” Inuyasha only flicked her a brief glance before turning his gaze back to his task, not wanting to make the wrap too tight or uncomfortable.

Kagome wrinkled her nose and adjusted Souji in her arms, wincing when her shoulder protested the movement.

“Mama and Gramps are both retired and don’t have the energy to chase after a toddler like they used to, and my brother is away at college. And the only friend I really have is…well, he’s not really…a good candidate for babysitting.”

Inuyasha paused to quirk a brow up at her, a wordless inquiry.

Kagome sighed and her voice was dry. “Let’s just say that Miroku is more interested in the baby making process than actually raising one.”

The silver-haired medic snorted and continued his work, passing under the arch of her foot and around her ankle one last time before gently securing the end via the strong Velcro attached to it.

“How’s that?” he asked, sitting back and inspecting his handiwork. “Not too tight?”

Flexing her foot a bit, Kagome smiled and nodded in approval. “Feels perfect. You’re really good at that; I remember whenever I hurt my ankle when I still lived at home Mama always made it too tight or too loose so I had to fix it myself.”

Inuyasha shrugged off the compliment, though inwardly his ego was inflating to twice its normal size.

“It’s my job,” he remarked and started putting everything back where he’d found it. “Be a pretty shitty EMT if I couldn’t do something I was specifically trained for.”

A soft laugh reached his ears. “I suppose you’re right.”

They lapsed into comfortable silence, and since the driver for this damn thing was still nowhere in sight, Inuyasha decided to give voice to a curiosity that refused to leave him alone and really, really hoped he wouldn’t regret it.

“So, uh,” he began, frowning down at the plastic bin of bandages in his hand as he tried to think of how to phrase it without sounding like an opportunistic asshole. He slid the bin back home to its proper place in one of the cabinets and tried to make himself look busy, avoiding her curious gaze.

“Pup’s father. Is he, uh, is he still around? Why isn’t he here?”

As soon as the words left his mouth Inuyasha wanted to slam his head against the nearest hard surface. Smooth, asshole. Real smooth.

Too busy beating himself up, he missed the little smile that curled Kagome’s mouth as she watched him. Honestly she’d been waiting for him to ask that question. She’d purposely hinted earlier that she was unattached by saying she was a single mother and he hadn’t seemed to really take the bait, so she was glad he took the initiative this time and asked. She’d thought about dropping another hint, but didn’t want to seem too desperate.

“Do you remember how Souji was acting earlier?” she asked by way of reply. “Growling, sort of aggressive and wouldn’t let anyone come near me?”

Not expecting that, Inuyasha turned toward her, the confusion evident on his face. But then he frowned and nodded, prompting Kagome to continue.

“Last year his father and I got into a screaming match that got out of hand and he punched me in the face. Souji saw it happen. I left him and ever since that day Souji has been extremely protective of me and he’s very distrustful of strangers, especially men.”

She looked down at the slumbering boy in her arms and her expression softened, her smile turning sad as she kissed his little brow.

“My fierce little warrior,” Kagome murmured, smoothing back his hair before glancing back at the handsome medic. Inuyasha was frowning at her but she could see the concern in his eyes with a hint of anger simmering just beneath the surface and she had to smile. He was angry because of what had happened to her, even though it had happened a year ago, and she thought that was incredibly sweet.

“I’m sorry you had to go through that,” Inuyasha said, his voice a low rumble and his gaze intense, sincere as he stared into her eyes. “I’m sorry Souji has such a shitty sperm donor, and I’m sorry I wasn’t there to deck the son of a bitch myself for hitting you. Women are meant to be protected. Cherished…loved. Never hurt.”

Kagome didn’t know what to say to that so she said nothing, eyes locked on his and heart in her throat.

Another moment of silence passed as the two of them simply gazed at one another, the air between them charged, heavy with something both of them didn’t quite understand, but then Inuyasha sighed and racked a hand through his hair, shaking his head. Kagome blushed and cleared her throat, dropping her gaze to watch her son’s face, relaxed in sleep.

“So you’re telling me a full demon punched you in the face and he didn’t knock you the fuck out?” Inuyasha quite tactlessly asked, a puzzled frown creasing his brow.

“I saw it coming and managed to dodge at the last second so he only glanced my cheek and temple,” Kagome readily answered, grateful for the subject change if only to calm the rabid beating of her heart. “I smacked my head against the kitchen counter as I went down and I was dizzy for a few minutes, but it passed and I was able to grab Sou and get the hell out of there. I haven’t seen him since.”

“So you have full custody,” Inuyasha assumed.

Kagome nodded and heaved another sigh. “Yes. But even if I didn’t and it was shared, I still wouldn’t see hide nor hair of him.”

Inuyasha’s eyebrows rose at that. “You mean the asshole has no interest in his own son?”

Kagome closed her eyes and the smile that curled her lips was so incredibly sad Inuyasha had to fight against the urge to take her into his arms.

“Souji is the reason why we were arguing that day,” she explained, eyes fluttering open to regard her baby boy the way only a loving mother ever could. “When I told Kouga that I was pregnant, he told me to get rid of it. He didn’t want a half-breed to be related to him in any way, shape, or form, regardless if it was his own offspring or not. I didn’t, of course, and our relationship deteriorated after that. I know I should have left him that day, but part of me hoped…”

She trailed off with a sigh and idly ran a hand through Souji’s dark hair. The toddler stirred slightly and grunted softly in his sleep, but settled down soon after, going still with a quiet sigh. Kagome kissed his head, so overcome with love for her brave, beautiful little boy.

“At the risk of sounding completely selfish and maybe even a bit like an asshole,” Inuyasha began, drawing Kagome’s gaze back to him and he stubbornly refused to look away despite his face heating.

“I’m…sorta glad it happened. I mean not that he punched you of course, I would never—because you’re here now and—ah, fuck.”

Groaning, Inuyasha dropped his head in his hands and willed himself to just fucking turn into a ghost so he could phase into the goddamn ground or some shit but then the sound of soft laughter reached his ears and he dared at a glance at his beautiful patient. Judging by the hand over her mouth, she’d tried to stifle her mirth and failed but even if she’d succeeded, the amusement in her eyes would have tipped him off easily and despite himself Inuyasha felt himself grinning in return.

“Me, too,” Kagome whispered, lowering her hand to reveal a soft, beautiful smile and fuck, what he would give to have her look at him like that all the damn time.

Inuyasha opened his mouth to say something, anything as long as she’d keep looking at him like that, but then she suddenly yawned and he remembered where they were. She blinked and then gave a sheepish smile and shrugged.

Chuckling, Inuyasha pulled out his phone and checked the time. “Two AM,” he supplied and tucked it back in his pocket. “Things are wrapping up here anyway, so how about we call it a night and get you two home?”

The thought of her bed was nearly enough to make her weep. “That sounds like the best idea I’ve heard all night,” Kagome replied and shifted Souji in her arms again. Her shoulder twinged in protest and she hissed through her teeth.

“Um, can you do me a favor?”

Inuyasha crossed his arms and cocked a brow at her, waiting.

“Could you get his car seat for me, please? My shoulder is starting to really hurt for holding him for so long.” She tossed him a pleading smile and he was helpless but to obey.

He deliberated for only a second, casting a brief glance at the child in her arms before surprising her by saying, “I’ll do it.”

She blinked. “What?”

Shrugging, though not without a slight flush on his cheeks, Inuyasha turned his gaze away and repeated, “I’ll put him in it. I mean if you don’t mind. It’ll save you from having to lift your arm if it’s hurting you that much.”

Both of her brows lifted into her bangs and she tilted her head. “Do you know how?”

Inuyasha frowned and looked offended.

Immediately Kagome winced and shook her head, a flush darkening her face. 

“Sorry, that was rude,” she murmured and received a grunt in response. “I was just surprised, is all. I didn’t mean to insinuate anything.”

He grumbled but nodded and Kagome somehow knew he wasn’t really upset over it. Still, she leveled him with an apologetic smile and adjusted Souji in her arms to make the transfer easier.

“Please,” she entreated softly and the wind was abruptly blown right out of his sails.

Relaxing, Inuyasha wordlessly bent down to carefully take the slumbering child from her arms and cradle him in his own. Souji didn’t stir and Kagome watched as the handsome medic who had taken such good care of them tonight stepped off the ambulance and crossed the scant distance to the car seat sitting on the ground. The sight of him slowly settling her baby boy in and checking to make sure everything was secure warmed her heart in ways she hadn’t felt for over two years now. It made her think that maybe, just maybe…that missing piece of her heart, the part that Kouga had viciously destroyed with his actions and carelessness of his own son, could be replaced with a new, much stronger piece to make it whole again.

And that piece had golden eyes, a fanged grin, and two adorable silver dog ears so much like her little Souji’s.

Kagome was just thinking that maybe this night wasn’t as bad as she thought it was when Inuyasha returned and gingerly set her son’s car seat with sleeping toddler cradled within on the ambulance floor before hopping back up into it.

With a rumbled word of warning, he slipped his hands beneath her and easily lifted her up into his arms, only to hop back to the ground a minute later and set her beside her son.

“Sit tight,” he said and before he could stop himself he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I’ll bring my truck around since I can’t carry you both at the same time with him in that thing.”

“You’re gonna take me home?” Kagome questioned, surprised, but undoubtedly pleased.

He leveled her with a look and quipped, “You really think I was gonna make you walk home with a bum ankle and a toddler?”

Kagome offered him a sheepish smile. Neither of them pointed out that she could just catch a ride with one of the cops still hanging around for whatever reason.

Rolling his eyes, Inuyasha shook his head and walked away, grumbling under his breath about silly wenches and dumb questions, Kagome’s soft laugher following after him.

Fifteen minutes later Inuyasha had his two patients bundled into his truck with the still snoozing Souji secured in the backseat of the crew cab and Kagome beside him in the passenger’s seat. Despite it being a rather mild night, she was wearing his leather jacket that had been lying on the floor in the back, the EMT claiming that he hadn’t wanted her to get sick on top of everything else she’d endured tonight. Kagome had simply smiled and tugged the garment closer against her and Inuyasha had delighted in the fetching shade of scarlet that colored her cheeks.

The ride to Kagome’s apartment was spent in comfortable silence but that had more to do with Kagome being dog-tired than not having the need to fill the quiet with soft chatter. Inuyasha let her doze with her head resting against the widow and he was content to steal brief glances at her during the short commute. Souji hadn’t stirred once strapped into the back and the half-demon doubted the pup would wake any time before 7 am, possibly later since he’d had a long night.

Parking in front of the address Kagome had given him, Inuyasha put his truck in park then cut the engine before turning his attention to his lovely passenger. She hadn’t stirred, and he hated to wake her up, but he needed to get them both inside so they could get some proper rest.

“Kagome,” he murmured and reached over to gently nudge her awake. “We’re here. Kagome?”

She murmured and frowned, but otherwise ignored him and he chuckled. Shaking his head, he unbuckled his seatbelt and shifted his hand to tenderly cup her cheek, sweeping his thumb across the softness of her skin.

“C’mon, baby,” he rumbled and was gratified to see caramel eyes flutter open to blink drowsily at him. “Let’s get you and Sou inside so you can get some sleep in a real bed. Doubt you’d be very comfortable out here all night.”

Blinking once more before wrinkling her nose in the most adorable way, Kagome offered a small, sleepy smile and gave a slight nod. She yawned and Inuyasha hopped out to retrieve Souji still passed out in his car seat. The older half-demon was a little surprised the pup didn’t wake even once as he carefully scooped him up into his arms, figuring he’d just come back for the car seat after he’d settle the two of them inside. Instead Souji merely sighed, snuggled against his chest, and Inuyasha’s heart about damn near exploded with affection for the kid.

It was astounding, and maybe a little frightening, how badly he wanted these two in his life, and he hoped to god that Kagome would allow him to see them again after tonight.

Keeping the sleeping toddler secured against him with one arm, Inuyasha helped Kagome down with his other arm tight around her waist and he effortlessly bore most of her weight as he led them down the short sidewalk to her front door. He didn’t like how she’d left her door unlocked, but after her explanation of how she’d planned on coming right back after a short drive to get Souji to sleep, he accepted it with a soft grunt and more or less carried the both of them inside her cozy little apartment.

Reluctantly he released Kagome and she took her son from his arms before tossing him a quick smile and turning to no doubt put him to bed. Inuyasha watched her go, frowning at her limp, but forced himself to remain where he was. She needed to stay off of her ankle for it to get better, but he couldn’t very well tuck in her son for her. While he wouldn’t have minded, he didn’t want to impose, and they had just met, after all.

He also didn’t like the thought of her staying here alone with no one around to help and he thought about asking her if it was alright for him to stay, but again he didn’t want to be weird or make her uncomfortable. They were practically strangers and despite the strangely overpowering need to care for and protect the both of them, he didn’t want her to think he had an ulterior motive or the paramedic side of him wanted to ensure she would be alright.

No, it went much deeper than that. But he didn’t want to scare her or freak her out, so he’d force himself to back off unless she outright told him she wanted him around. Or hell, he’d even take a very obvious hint that was impossible to ignore. He didn’t want this to be the last time he saw her, or the kid, and he desperately hoped the feeling was mutual.

Kagome came limping back down the hallway after closing Souji’s door most of the way and instantly Inuyasha diverted all of his attention on her. She looked utterly drained as she gimped her way over to him, however she still managed to muster up a smile for him and his heart ached.

Inuyasha closed the remaining distance between them and wordlessly scooped her back up into his arms. Kagome’s exhaustion was evident in the way she didn’t even gasp, merely releasing a quiet sigh as he strode down the hallway and followed his nose to Kagome’s bedroom. He set her down on the bed and knelt before her so he could carefully remove her shoes for her. He checked her bandage while he was at it, making sure it was good and secure before resting his hands on her knees and lifting his gaze to hers.

“Thank you,” she whispered and he knew it wasn’t just for taking off her shoes.

“I wish I could do more,” he confessed, eyebrows dipping into a slight frown. “I don’t like the thought of you being here by yourself. Are you sure there’s nobody you can call? I’m sure even your friend Miroku wouldn’t mind helping out if you told him what happened.”

Kagome stared at him, warmth blossoming in her chest. Somebody must be really looking out for her up there to introduce her to such an amazing, caring man like Inuyasha. Granted, she could have definitely done without the circumstances in which they met, but, well…beggars can’t be choosers and all that.

“It’s sweet of you to worry,” Kagome began, lifting a hand to cup his cheek and she smiled when he unabashedly leaned into her touch. “But I promise I’ll be okay. Souji will no doubt crawl into bed with me sometime during the night and wake me up when he’s hungry. After he eats something he’ll probably go back to sleep and I’ll be able to stay off my ankle, if not catch a little more shuteye myself.”

Inuyasha still didn’t look happy, but he finally conceded with a sigh and a nod. “Can I at least leave my number with you so you can text me if you need help? Just for my own peace of mind. Please.”

Boldly he reached up, dragged his claws against the soft skin of her jaw and caught a strand of ebony hair between his fingers. He kept his gaze on hers as he brushed his knuckles against her cheek and he heard the way the breath hitched in her throat. Inuyasha fought back a grin and tenderly tucked the lock of dark silk behind her ear.

Biting her lip, Kagome didn’t give herself time to think as she dropped her hand to grab the lapel of his uniform shirt, fingers curling into the fabric to keep him close. Inuyasha didn’t move, didn’t even dare to breathe as she smiled and peered at him from beneath twin fans of midnight lashes.

“You could,” she murmured, her smile widening just a bit. “Or…you could stop by tomorrow morning and we could maybe talk over coffee and pancakes. If you want.”

Abruptly the breath left Inuyasha’s lungs in a relieved whoosh of air and he nodded, eyes going hooded as he slipped his hand into her hair.

“Yeah,” he said, voice husky. “I want.”

“Yeah?” Kagome repeated, eyes bright, lips curving up even further in obvious delight.

Inuyasha nodded again, gaze fastened to her mouth, and that time Kagome sighed. Her hand tightened on his shirt, refusing to let go, or maybe she was unable to. She couldn’t tell, not with the way Inuyasha was staring at her. Or more accurately her mouth and unconsciously she swallowed, lips parting on a stuttered breath.

“Okay,” he muttered. “Alright. Good.”

“Good.”

They stared at each other, saying nothing, her hand gripping his shirt, his in her hair, and Inuyasha was fighting desperately to keep himself where he was, to not give in no matter how bad he wanted to. He couldn’t take advantage of her like that, he couldn’t risk destroying the trust she had so graciously given him—

She breathed his name, the softest of whispers falling from her lips, and Inuyasha’s control shattered.

“Aw, to hell with it,” he muttered right before surging up and claiming her mouth in the passionate kiss he’d been wanting to give her all damned night.

Immediately Kagome responded, both hands gripping his shirt now as Inuyasha braced his knee on the bed beside her and wrapped an arm around her waist to keep her from falling as he leaned over her. He nipped her lips and she parted them with a gasp that turned into a whimper as he deepened the kiss, greedy for her taste. Despite the hunger ravaging in his gut, however, he kept his kiss gentle, his mouth moving over hers in a hot, sensual dance that she eagerly reciprocated with flicks of her tongue and gentle nips.

He growled and with his hand cupping the back of her head, fingers tangled in her hair, Inuyasha pulled back only to press a series of hot, lingering kisses to her mouth but it wasn’t long before he was unable to keep himself from going in for a much longer, deeper taste once more. Her breathy laugh turned into a moan and he would have smirked in arrogant pride had he had the higher brain function to do so.

Several heated seconds later, Inuyasha finally pulled back to allow them both to breathe and he rested his forehead against her own as they panted for breath.

“I’ve been wanting to do that all night,” Inuyasha admitted in a low rumble that sent pleasant tingles down Kagome’s spine.

“Funny,” she whispered. “I’ve been wanting you to do that all night, too.”

He chuckled and couldn’t help but to brush one last lingering kiss across her smiling lips.

“Get some sleep,” he entreated against her lips. “And I’ll see you later.”

“Okay,” she sighed and gave him a sleepy, but genuine smile. “Good night, Inuyasha. Thank you for…everything.”

Inuyasha smiled at her and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead. “Anytime,” he husked. “Good night, baby. Sleep well.”

He helped her get settled into bed and wasn’t surprised that she was out as soon as her head hit the pillow. Inuyasha sighed, kissed her brow one more time, and then quietly stole out of her bedroom to let her sleep. Before he even thought about what he was doing, and almost like it was second nature, he checked on Souji who was still fast sleep in his little toddler bed before making sure all the lights were off and ensuring her door was locked when he finally left a few minutes later.

Just as she’d predicted, Kagome woke up just a little after 7 am to the feeling little hands on her face. She opened bleary eyes to find her son hovering over her, wee hands on her cheeks and blinking owlishly down at her. The biggest, sunniest grin split his cherubic face when he saw that she was finally awake and he patted her cheeks with a happiness only a child could have after only going to sleep a few hours before and getting up at what the fraaaaack o’clock in the morning.

Tiny fingers grabbed her nose and Kagome sighed even as a tired smile lifted the corners of her lips.

“You’re lucky you’re cute,” Kagome murmured and then released a yawn. “It’s too early for your shenanigans, Sou.”

“Mama,” Souji said by way of reply as his mother levered herself upright with a groan. God, she hurt everywhere. Her entire body was sore, not just her torso and shoulder. Not surprising, considering what she’d went through last night, but still.

Ow.

With a soft grunt, Kagome very, very slowly wriggled around until she managed to get her feet on the floor, her sore body protesting every movement. Obviously any pain meds she’d taken last night had worn off by now and her ankle throbbed in protest when she put a little weight on it. Kagome winced and dragged a hand down her face. God, today was going to suck.

But at least she had something to look forward to, Kagome mused to herself, a little smile lighting her face as she remembered they were going to have a visitor that morning. Which meant she needed to get her ass in gear, take a much-needed shower, and feed her hungry toddler.

Souji wedged himself between her knees and stared up at her with worried blue eyes.

“Hurt?” he asked and very gently patted her knee as if the barest touch would cause crippling pain.

Kagome sighed and smiled for her little boy, running a hand through his dark hair and tweaking his ears.

“Yes,” she admitted. “But I’ll be fine, baby. It’s only a little hurt”—lie—“and I’ll feel better once I take a nice hot shower and get some food in our tummies.” She poked his belly and was relieved to see the smile bloom across his face.

“Puffs,” he said and darted for the kitchen.

“Puffs it is,” Kagome murmured and taking a deep breath, she braced her hands on the mattress and slowly pushed herself to her feet. There was pain, but it was tolerable, and she tried to keep as little weight on her bad ankle as she could as she hobbled her way to the kitchen to pour her two-year-old a bowl of Cocoa Puffs cereal.

Even though she wanted nothing more than to sleep all day to let her weary, banged up body recover, being a single mother made that very tempting option unavailable So, despite being slow and muttering curses under her breath every few minutes, Kagome provided her boy with his coveted diabetes-on-a-bowl disguised as sugary chocolate cereal and then went about making herself a cup of much-needed coffee.

After two cups and by the time Souji had finished his second bowl, Kagome was starting to feel human again and since her son had wandered off into the living room to watch cartoons, Kagome seized this chance to take a shower. She knew Souji would pass out soon after on the couch so she wouldn’t have to worry about him for a few hours, or at least until Inuyasha arrived.

The thought of the handsome medical technician brought a flush to Kagome’s cheeks and warmth to flood her entire body. She couldn’t wait to see him again and she wondered if he was as excited about it as she. She could only hope, and the giggle that bubbled up in her throat as she hobbled into the bathroom was girlish and completely involuntary.

Half an hour later Kagome was showered, dressed, and feeling much more like herself, if not still a little tired, but she supposed that was to be expected. The pain meds she’d taken with her coffee had dulled the pain in her ankle, side, and shoulder, and she was grateful because the pain would make whipping up some breakfast much more difficult.

Unsurprisingly Souji was passed out cold in the most ridiculous position on the couch while Paw Patrol played on the television and Kagome left him be to start breakfast. She had no idea when Inuyasha would show up and she wanted to have something made up by then.

Unfortunately, she didn’t get very far before her phone started ringing and Kagome whipped her head around to stare at the device. It was still on the counter where she’d left it last night before venturing out for a drive with Sou and she sighed because she had an idea as to who it could be. And lo and behold, when she picked it up, “Mama” flashed across the screen.

Kagome grimaced, braced herself, and answered.

The conversation with her mother went as expected. Evidently someone from the accident scene last night had captured a brief video snippet of Inuyasha performing his little magic show for Souji and her mother had seen it circulating on social media. Asako explained that she recognized her own daughter and grandson in the video and Kagome managed to calm her down enough to enlighten the older woman what had happened. Several times she had to assure her mother that she and Souji were both fine and probably sometime later that day they were both going to go to the hospital to get an official checkup and an x-ray for Kagome’s ankle and ribs.

Of course, her mother being her mother, wanted to come over and help with Souji while Kagome focused on recovering, but the younger woman managed to convince her that she didn’t need to make the drive just for a likely sprained ankle. She might have put in the little white lie that Miroku would be stopping by later and it was enough to pacify Asako into agreeing.

It wasn’t really a surprise that seconds after hanging up with her mother, her phone beeped with a text message from Miroku but she really didn’t have the energy to put up with him right now so she ignored it and went about preparing breakfast.

In hindsight, she really should have replied to that message.

It was about a quarter after nine when the doorbell rang and instantly butterflies took off in Kagome’s belly from a combination of nerves and excited anticipation. Still, though, it was impossible to hold back the brilliant smile that spread across her flour-dusted face as she shuffled as fast as she could to the front door, heart pounding in her chest as she quickly unlocked it and whipped it open. God, but it was embarrassing how much she’d missed him—

“What the hell are you doing here?” Kagome asked, her radiant expression instantly dropping to one of horror.

Kouga didn’t answer and instantly zeroed in on the bandage on her forehead, blue eyes narrowing as a sense of unease roiled in his gut. So the stupid human hadn’t been lying, then. Least he was good for something other than grabbing ass.

“I don’t want you here,” Kagome hissed after recovering from the shock of seeing her ex out of nowhere. “Leave. Now.”

Stone-faced, she grabbed the door and started to close it in his face, but Kouga wedged his foot into the threshold and prevented it. Kagome glowered at him and tired again, but Kouga pushed his way inside, forcing her to stumble backward and nearly crumple to the floor as her ankle was forced to bear her weight. She gasped as pain ricocheted up her entire leg and she would have fallen backward had it not been for her ex grabbing her wrist and hauling her back up.

“What the fuck, Kagome,” Kouga growled and darted his gaze down to her feet, snarling when she saw she was favoring her right one. “Were you really in a goddamn accident last night and didn’t fucking tell me?”

Regaining her bearings and her balance, Kagome yanked her wrist out of his grip and stumbled backward with a scowl, dark eyes flashing with a mixture of pain and anger.

“Why the hell would I tell you anything?” she snapped, flicking her gaze toward the living room and hoping like hell Souji would remain asleep. “We’re not together anymore, Kouga, or don’t you remember when you punched me in the face?”

Crossing her arms, Kagome simply glared at him, giving up on getting him to leave because she knew in her current state there was shit all she could do. Even if she were at peak physical health, he was still ten times stronger than she and he never let her forget it, either.

To her surprise, Kouga actually looked regretful as he winced and thrust a hand through his bangs. His hair was up in its usual ponytail, but it looked as if he’d dressed in haste, donned in a simple t-shirt and loose sweatpants he wore when jogging. Oh please; don’t tell her he was actually worried?

“C’mon, Kagome, you know I hate it when you bring that up,” he muttered, having the audacity to actually look embarrassed. “I said I was sorry and it’ll never happen again. It’s been a year, can’t we just forget about it and—”

“You and I both know it’s far more than just a punch to the face, Kouga,” Kagome murmured, face tight with pain and old fury that bubbled up to the surface at his sudden reappearance. How the hell had he even found out, anyway? As far as she knew he wasn’t on social media and her mother would never reach out to him after what happened last year.

Kouga tensed and clenched his jaw, cobalt eyes going hard and cold as steel. Evidently his opinion hadn’t changed about half-demon’s and the old scar he’d left on her heart ached.

Deciding now wasn't the time or place to revisit that particular topic, Kagome sighed roughly and leveled him with a suspicious glare.

“How did you even find out, anyway? I know my mother didn’t tell you.” She arched an expectant brow.

Kouga snorted. “Of course she didn’t,” he confirmed. “It was that perverted friend of yours, Miro-whatever. At least he had the sense to—”

Tuning out the rest of whatever he was going on about, Kagome snapped her gaze around to land on her discarded phone still lying on the counter and the color drained from her face when realization dawned. Oooh, that complete and utter moron! That asshole! She was going to throttle him when she saw him next!

“Ooooh, I’ll kill him,” she hissed, glaring with such vehemence at her phone it was a wonder it didn’t burst into flames right there on her counter.

“—good thing he did because you can’t be staying here alone in your condition, you could fall and hurt yourself even worse—”

“Shut up, Kouga,” Kagome cut him off and the wolf-demon was so startled by her cold tone he actually did. “I have no idea why Miroku would ever contact you because it’s literally none of your business what happens to me or Souji because we are no longer together. I haven’t talked to you in a year, and I liked it that way, so now I want you to leave before my son wakes up and sees you. We’ve both had a very long night and he does not need the stress of your presence after what he went through last night. So get out. I’ll be talking with Miroku to make sure he never contacts you again.”

Arms tight across her chest, dark eyes stern and lips in a flat, thin line, Kagome stared him down and didn’t even flinch at the low growl her ex-boyfriend emitted.

“Like hell I’m leaving here without you,” Kouga growled, his eyes twin pools of blue fire as he stalked forward and reached for her arm. “I don’t care what you say, you can’t be alone—”

“So you’re the asshole sperm donor Kagome told me about, huh.”

While Kouga stiffened and slowly turned around with a dark scowl on his face, relief swept through Kagome and the smile that split her face was grateful and positively radiant.

“Inuyasha,” she breathed and Kouga sneered, crossing his arms as he took in the unwanted newcomer.

Leaning against the door jamb, a paper bag tucked under his arm and holding a cardboard drink holder with two coffees in it, Inuyasha looked unimpressed as he returned the once over before shifting his gaze to the woman behind the wolf. Kagome looked infinitely glad to see him, relief swimming in those dark eyes of hers, and his expression softened. Damn, he’d missed her.

“Who the fuck are you?”

Inuyasha ignored the question and kept his gaze on Kagome.

“You alright?” The sperm donor was blocking most of his view, but from what he could tell she seemed alright. His nose told him Souji was napping in the living room and he was glad for that. From what Kagome had told him, the pup didn’t need to see his father here and have a repeat of what happened last night. Poor kid already went through hell.

“I’m fine,” she assured him and stepped around her ex to take the bag and drinks from him. “I was in the middle of making breakfast, but now I suppose I don’t have to. Smells absolutely divine.”

The most delicious smell of muffins and honeybuns were coming from the paper bag and her stomach growled in agreement.

“I thought about taking you two out for breakfast,” he admitted a little sheepishly with a shrug. “But then figured you wouldn’t really wanna go anywhere considering what happened.” He paused. “How you feeling, by the way?”

Shuffling over to the bar counter and completely ignoring the increasingly pissed off wolf-demon, Kagome deposited their breakfast onto the surface and went about collecting some plates.

“Sore, obviously,” she told him. “But it’s tolerable. It still hurts to walk on my ankle, and I had to take the bandage off so I could shower, so if you wouldn’t mind wrapping it again—”

“I asked you a question, asshole,” Kouga interrupted their pleasant little conversation, stepping up and inserting himself right in front of the half-breed’s vision so he was forced to look at him. “Who are you and how do you know Kagome?”

Immediately Inuyasha’s expression changed from warm pleasantness to cold and flinty as he finally looked at the fucker in front of him that had so rudely interrupted his conversation with Kagome. The wolf was attempting to pull off a pathetic intimidating act by snarling in his face and baring his fangs while glaring balefully at him, a steady growl leaking past his clenched teeth.

Inuyasha stared at him for a beat before saying curtly, “I don’t think that’s any of your business, wolfshit. Matter of fact, you don’t have any business being here so why don’t you do us a favor and get lost because Kagome clearly doesn’t want you here, and you know what, neither do I. Your stench is already giving me a headache. There’s the door. I hope it hits you on your way out.”

With that, the half-demon roughly shoved his way past the other male and made his way over to Kagome who had silently watched the exchanged with a worried frown.

Kouga was having none of that, though, and spun around with a snarl to reach out and dig his claws into the mongrel’s shoulder.

“Listen asshole, I don’t know who the fuck you think you are—”

Inuyasha reacted so fast his movements were a blur. He spun around and in the same movement threw his arm above Kouga’s head before jerking it down hard against his back to dislodge the wolf’s grip on his shoulder. Kouga grunted but could do nothing as the next second the half-demon forced his body to turn and then with a swift kick, swept his feet out from under him. He landed on the floor with a grunt and a scowling half-demon glaring down at him.

“I know where very major artery is on your pathetic, weak little body, wolfshit,” Inuyasha growled and narrowed his eyes in lethal warning. “Touch me or her again and my claws just might slip. Comprende?”

While Kouga grumbled and glowered up at him as he pushed himself to his feet, behind him Kagome was feeling quite flushed at having witnessed the hanyou display a very effective self-defense skill and she had to resist the urge to fan herself.

Good lord, but why had that been so hot? Not to mention that threat if he touched her again.

God, Kagome mused, pressing a hand over her wildly beating heart. Take me now.

Scoffing in the face of the half-breed’s anger and threat, Kouga rolled his shoulders and leveled another scowl at him. If he thought he was just going to—

“Shit.”

Inuyasha’s ear flicked behind him at the muttered curse and a familiar scent told him the reason of Kagome’s sudden apprehension. Instantly schooling his expression, he shifted amber eyes toward the living room and found sleepy blue eyes blinking at the three adults. His black hair was a mess and he’d managed to kick off his pants sometime during his nap.

“Hey, bud,” Inuyasha greeted the toddler with a grin, not even sparing the sperm donor another glance. “Remember me?” He wiggled his clawed fingers and raised his eyebrows.

Souji, sleepy mind still trying to register what he was seeing, blinked and settled his gaze on the older male. He sniffed a few times, tilted his head, and wrinkled his nose.

“Magic man,” he said and gave a toothy grin.

Inuyasha’s face softened. “That’s right,” he affirmed. “The magic man. You hungry? I got some tasty muffins and honeybuns that I’m sure you’d like.”

“He shouldn’t be,” Kagome opined, hobbling over to stand beside him and beckoning her son over with a smile and a wave. “He had two bowls of Cocoa Puffs before his nap.”

“Lucky,” Inuyasha commented with another grin. “My mom only lets me have one bowl.”

Kagome snorted a laugh and covered her mouth, but Souji was too busy staring at Kouga to react. His ears were pinned, his little face was scrunched up and Inuyasha couldn’t tell if it was because he was scared or agitated at his father’s unwanted presence.

Shit. Acting fast, and without thinking twice, Inuyasha crossed the distance between them and abruptly scooped the kid up into his arms. Surprisingly, and thankfully, Souji let the older half-demon carry him and fisted a tiny hand in his shirt as Inuyasha crossed back over to Kagome, who was smiling and had suspiciously bright eyes.

“Chock?” Souji asked and it took him a minute to figure out what he was requesting.

“I’m pretty sure I got chocolate muffin for you, champ,” he said and watched the kid’s face light up in delight. It was true; he did have a chocolate muffin that he’d gotten for himself, but he’d give it to Souji in a heartbeat if that’s what he wanted.

Tired of being ignored, Kouga growled and stalked forward again, refusing to let this mutt get the upper hand here. If anyone should leave, it should be the half-breed, dammit!

“Goddammit, I’m not done—”

“Hey Souji,” Inuyasha interrupted the wolf’s tirade loudly and big blue eyes stared up at him questioningly. “Wanna see a magic trick?”

The tot’s eyes widened and he nodded, remembering the magic he’d showed last night with the red light and his fingers. There was more?!

Wordlessly Inuyasha handed the kid over to his mother and at Kagome’s puzzled frown, he merely grinned and winked before spinning around to face the red-faced wolf-demon. Grabbing a pencil that he assumed Kagome used when making grocery lists, he promptly stabbed the pointed end into the counter with enough force to make it stand upright and he mentally apologized to Kagome for ruining the surface. Kouga paid it no mind and stormed forward, growling low while Inuyasha casually rounded the counter to meet him head on.

“I’m gonna make this pencil disappear,” he announced jovially just as Kouga reached him and with both Kagome and Souji’s wide-eyed gaze on him, Inuyasha promptly grabbed Kouga by the back of the head and slammed his face down hard onto the counter.

Kouga dropped to the floor with a groan as Inuyasha threw his hands up, gesturing to the counter now sans pencil.

“Ta da! It’s gone,” he announced and while Souji squealed in absolute delight and clapped his hands, Kagome gaped at him in disbelief. Where…where did—

Inuyasha reached into his pocket and procured the aforementioned pencil before carelessly tossing it onto the counter. Crossing his arms, he stared dispassionately at the writhing wolf-demon on the floor, clutching his nose with both hands and the scent of blood was prevalent as he groaned in pain.

“I won’t ask again,” Inuyasha growled, golden eyes hard and flashing with thinly veiled warning. “Now make like the fucking pencil and disappear before you really piss me off, wolfshit.”

Managing to heave himself to his feet, but still clutching his nose that hadn’t stopped bleeding, Kouga glared murderously at the half-breed mutt and then shifted his gaze to Kagome. He was expecting sympathy, maybe even a little anger on his behalf – the fucker broke his nose, dammit! – but instead what he got was complete and utter ignorance from his former flame. She dedicated her attention to the boy in her arms, setting him on the counter and reaching inside a paper bag to retrieve what looked like a chocolate muffin, not even sparing him a glance.

And just like that the fight left Kouga and he sighed, giving up. Fine, he could take a hint. He pinned the mutt with one last venomous glare before turning tail and finally leaving, closing the door behind him.

Inuyasha grunted. “Good riddance.”

“Rinse,” Souji repeated with a mouthful of chocolate muffin and Inuyasha turned around to face mother and son. The toddler had more muffin on him than in him and the older half-demon chuckled as he stopped forward to ruffle his hair.

“That’s right, runt,” he praised and then locked eyes with his mother, who stood a few feet away, arms crossed and staring at him with a raised eyebrow.

“Magic trick, hm?” Kagome drawled as he made his way over to her, trying to remain stern but unable to keep the smile off her face as Inuyasha snaked his arms around her waist and pulled her close.

He shrugged, unrepentant. “Souji liked it,” he defended and grinned down at her. “Hi.”

Kagome gave up and laughed, wrapping her own arms around his neck. “Good morn—”

His mouth cut off the rest of the greeting and Kagome melted against him, happily returning his kiss with a little hum of contentment.

“Sorry,” he rasped as he pulled back. “Couldn’t help myself.”

“Hmm,” Kagome murmured and pulled him back down for another one. Kagome felt his husky chuckle and smiled against his lips, tangling her hands in his hair and sighing in bliss as he nibbled the soft flesh of her bottom lip.

Several more kisses were exchanged, some sweet and slow, others deep and hot, until eventually Inuyasha figured it probably wasn’t he best idea to make out in front of her toddler son so he reluctantly pulled back with a sigh and contented himself by holding her in his arms. Kagome seemed perfectly happy to remain there as she watched her son sitting on the counter making a big mess with his muffin. He’d managed to get it on the floor too and she sighed. She wondered if she could persuade Inuyasha to clean it up while she gave the messy toddler a bath…

Her gaze suddenly landed on the pencil and she blinked.

“Hey,” she said and Inuyasha hummed in response. “How did you do that, by the way?”

“Do what?” He rose his eyebrows in question, but the corners of his lips twitched upward, belying his innocence.

She gave him a look and he smirked at her.

“A magician never reveals his secrets,” he rumbled and leaned forward to kiss the corner of her mouth.

“Oh, so you’re a magician now?” Kagome breathed, shuddering as he trailed kisses along her jaw.

“Obviously.” Inuyasha ran his hands up and down her sides, claws snagging the fabric of her thin t-shirt. “I mean I have magic fingers.”

He gave a suggestive waggle of his eyebrows as he said that Kagome couldn’t stop the snort-laugh from erupting from her throat even as a light blush stole across her cheeks.

“And speaking of,” he continued with a devilish glint in honey eyes. “Wanna see me do another magic trick?”

Kagome eyed him suspiciously. “Okay,” she agreed somewhat warily, curious despite herself.

“Alright,” Inuyasha said and nodded. “Now watch closely.”

Kagome blinked and stared at him. Inuyasha stared back and vaguely she was aware of his hand crawling up her back, the feeling of claws through her shirt sending shivers to crawl along the length of her spine.

“What am I supposed to be watching?” she whispered and Inuyasha merely grinned before leaning in to press a lingering kiss to her lips. She felt a slight pressure against her back, but paid it no mind, his kiss thoroughly distracting her.

Then he pulled away, released her from his arms, and that was when Kagome felt the tell-tale slackening of an unlatched bra and Kagome gasped as she immediately snapped up an arm to keep the garment in place.

The devil had just unhooked her bra! Through her shirt!

“Inuyasha,” Kagome squeaked, her face turning five shades of red as the wicked half-demon cackled and darted away, grabbing a happily squealing Souji and making his getaway.

“You—! How did you—?! Dammit, Inuyasha, get back here!”

With one arm pressed against her chest, Kagome took off after the pair of laughing half-demons, chasing them around her small apartment and it wasn’t long before she was laughing too.

“I told you!” Inuyasha shouted as he hopped the couch, grinning when Souji laughed in utter delight. “It’s magic!”

“Oh yeah, well watch as I magically shove my foot up your ass! Let’s see your magic solve that one, you mangy mutt!”

Inuyasha’s reply to that was to drop Souji safely onto the couch, catch his pursuer around the waist as she lunged at him, and then swoop her into a kiss and when Kagome wrapped her arms around his neck and immediately responded, it was warm, it was wonderful, it was…

Like magic.

[whumppsychology]

The Accident

This story has been tickling the back of my brain for some time now, so here it is. The first Cristabelle piece

Tw: pet whump, dehumanization, belting/whipping, hand whump, vague references to noncon drugging, elderly in distress(?)

The pet was arranging flowers when they first noticed it - the silence. It wasn't that it was unusual for the house to be silent, but it was the quality of the silence that unsettled her, pregnant and heavy, as if it was holding back a secret. With a jolt, she realized it reminded her exactly of her time at the facility. Then she heard it. The moan. They took off without a thought, knocking over a watering can and scattering petals and dead leaves with the speed of her departure.

She found Tanta Clara in the sunroom, just laying there. Their mistress had been laying hurt on the ground for they didn't even know how long and still all they could do was stare in mute horror. She had failed. She had failed so badly and deserved to be punished. Needed to be punished and here they still were thinking of herself like she was a human who deserved an option. Finally, they rushed into action, running to the phone and dialing emergency services. It took an agonising amount of time to tell the operator what was needed and even longer to piece together the words to explain what she thought happened. Pets didn't think. She was just a silly play thing and she hadn't had to use so many words in so long, but wasn't this their purpose? To mind their mistress and make sure nothing bad happened to her. But something bad had happened and she hadn't been paying attention like the stupid useless pet like she was.

The clouds had started to descend over her brain again and the next thing they knew, there was a flurry of EMTs blocking her line of sight to Tanta Clara. When had they shown up? Someone took the phone she was still cradling and hung it up before dragging her out of the room by her collar and shutting her in the kitchen. The last shot they saw before the door shut was Tanta Clara being loaded onto a stretcher and carried out the door.

It was dark by the time someone came to check on them. A tiny spark of relief ran through them when they saw it was Mister Peoter who had come, rather than his wife. He would do what needed to be done. Stupid pet. Here she was thinking again like she knew anything. It was all she could do not to burst into tears when Mister Peoter reported that Tanta Clara would be alright, that it was just her hip and that it was treatable. He was so kind to tell them! To not leave them worrying after their mistress and come all this way to deliver the news. She could tell he was working his way up what had to happen next, so she made it easier for him and asked.

“Please sir, I've been very bad, haven't I? Bad pets need to be punished.” They wouldn't presume to know about what they deserved, but maybe if she worded it just right, he wouldn't punish her for that as well. Not that she didn't deserve it. She had been so stupid. So careless. Not attending to her mistress - her one reason for existing. She deserved far worse than Mister Peoter would ever give her.

Somehow they ended up in the basement, they couldn't remember how, but she was kneeling on the cement floor next to the crate she had come in. She held out her hands as instructed, palms up, while Mister Peoter took off his belt. Mercifully, he didn't make her count but he didn't give her any warning before he brought the belt down across her palms. The first couple of strikes almost felt like a blessing. They hadn't been punished at all here aside from an occasional swat for touching something she shouldn't, but even those lacked any real heat and left her feeling almost… empty. Bad pets were punished. She knew that. Everyone knew that, but for some reason, Tanta Clara didn't ever seem to do anything about it. Maybe they weren't even worth the effort it would take to punish them. Here was a real punishment though, and it was one they knew was well deserved. He beat her palms bloody, then yanked at her wrists to expose the soft flesh of her forearms. She sobbed and thanked him all the while, trying to do her best to show appreciation for the correction. When he was finally done, her arms were a galaxy of mottled bruises while her palms cupped two tiny pools of blood, rivulets running through her fingers and dripping onto the concrete below. He tossed two bottles of water into the crate and signaled for her to crawl inside. Slowly, she did as instructed, trying her best not to put weight on her ruined palms or leave behind bloody handprints. After a stern reminder that it was for her own good, this she knew, at least this she knew, he threw some towels in after her to clean herself up with and locked the door. They thought they saw the ghost of a smile on Mister Peoter's face as he left, but it could have just been a trick of the light.

[fiveisnumber1]

Honestly you could leave a criminal with any of the H8 in order to extract information

Lucas & Dean will be so stupid the criminal will just give up and provide info, bonus points if they're in there together

Addison can read people and use her psychology tricks to get the information

Kenny is annoying, and the criminal will do anything to get him to stop doing whatever he does

Reader is scary

Bren will say nothing, and the criminal eventually just gives him the information in order to get away from his stare and presence

Viktoria plays her music really off key or either uses the most annoying or painful noises in the world the get the information

Five was a hitman and most likely knows how to get the information he needs

Yeah, they would all be good at making criminals talk in their own ways like you wrote! I also have some additional things to add:

Dean and Lucas are stupid together but separate they’re each good at making criminals talk (if the criminals wasn’t evicerated by reader)

Lucas is a political science major and would probably go on and on about ideologies and the nuance of law until the criminal caved in from him

Dean is a criminal justice major and wants to study law to become a public defender. He’d be really good at interviewing criminals to get information because it would be practice for his future career.

Also since Kenny is an EMT he could probably tell some of his most grusome stories from his on the scene work, but he’d prefer to use that on tough to crack criminals. Most times being annoying works.

[jingabitch]

Armed to the Fangs ch.2

Summary: You grew up in the Hunter’s Guild, understanding that it is your sacred duty as a hunter to protect humanity from the vampires that lurk in the dark, draining the life from anyone unlucky enough to be caught. While making the rounds one night, you encounter Taehyung, a fabled born vampire - not that you know that when he tries to entice you into a dark alley. Next thing you know, you’re kidnapped and taken to their home, where you realise that all of them somehow crave your blood and seem to know more about your past than you do. Finding out about where you came from might be the key to setting humanity free.

Pairing: eventual ot7 x reader

Warnings: some description of violence, angst, pining, maybe eventual smut (haven’t decided) but not for a looooong time, slow burn (really the slowest of burns), reader is overly attached to her gun

Word count: 3.8k

A/N: yes, this was initially supposed to go up over a day later, but when I queued it up tumblr ate the whole post :( after stewing about it I finally decided I would release it at midnight my time (i.e. new year’s day). Happy new year’s everyone! i hope 2020 is everything that 2019 was for you and more.

Series index

“You brought a hunter back?!”

  Seokjin was furious. Namjoon held out his hands placatingly, but Taehyung flinched back, never having seen Jin that angry before, and tried to hide behind the older man.

  “Jin-hyung, it was an emergency,” Namjoon tried to explain.

  “Taehyung trying to drain someone when he knows he’s not supposed to is not an emergency, and you all know that hunters are off-limits! Are you trying to start a bloodbath?”

  Taehyung sulked. “They’d lose anyway,” he said petulantly.

  “Not. The. Point.” Jin scowled.

  “Jin-hyung, she smells like Minhee did,” Namjoon interjected, trying to head off what was sure to be a lengthy lecture from Jin about obeying the rules and respecting his elders. They really didn’t have time for it, and besides, Taehyung had heard it about a million times already.

  “Yah, you can’t abduct someone just because they remind you of – ”

  “No, hyung, she doesn’t smell similar to her, she smells exactly like her.”

  That left the older man speechless for a while, but he’d just opened his mouth to respond when Namjoon added, “And both Tae and I reacted.”

  Taehyung, watching the terse exchange, piped up. “Who’s Minhee?” he asked curiously, and Namjoon rolled his shoulders awkwardly. They mostly avoided talking about her, out of respect for Hoseok’s feelings, so the younger boys didn’t know about her.

  “Uh, she was Hoseok’s mate,” Jin explained shortly.

  “What? Hoseok-hyung doesn’t have a mate,” Taehyung said, confused. His brow furrowed.

  “He doesn’t now,” Namjoon muttered, and that was enough to shut the younger vampire up, even though he had more questions than ever.

  Jin sighed. “I suppose what’s done is done. Where is she? If she hasn’t woken up yet, we can just leave her back where we found her and she’ll be none the wiser.”

  “Wait, hyung, you’re still not convinced? There’s something fishy going on here! We shouldn’t both feel the pull to Hoseok’s mate!”

  “Yeah, I don’t want her to leave,” Taehyung objected, remembering again how good you smelled. He’d mistaken the reaction initially for bloodlust, especially since it was clear that you were a hunter from the fucking rifle strapped to your back, but after witnessing how small and vulnerable you’d looked unconscious, his heart had squeezed and suddenly he wanted to protect you from the big bad world.

  Your blood still smelled like nothing else to him, of course, but his desire to drain you dry was now tempered by these newfound instincts to protect you. He knew from the lore what that meant – you were his mate. Only now he was being told that you were, apparently, Hoseok’s mate, and it was all very confusing for him.

  “Fine, let’s go and see her. Where did you leave her?” Seokjin stood up with a sigh, resting his hands on his desk.

  “With Jungkook. He’s watching her.”

    You came to slowly, your head pounding as you squinted against the dim lighting in the room. You stared up at the ceiling for a moment, idly trying to put the pieces back together, when it came rushing back to you and you leapt up, already in a fighting stance, reaching for the gun on your hip – which was, of course, not there.

  “Oh, you’re awake!” came from the side of the room, and you whipped around, reaching for first your thigh holster – which wasn’t there either, and then the knives in your boots – only to realize that you were barefoot.

  “Who the fuck are you?!” you demanded a little wildly at the man – boy? – sitting in a cozy-looking chair against the wall.

  “Woah, hey, I’m not going to hurt you,” he said, holding his hands out placatingly. “Can you sit down, please? You seem kind of pale to be getting up like that.”

  You squinted at him, although you couldn’t see that well in the dim light. The way his eyes gleamed at you, though, was enough to let you know that he wasn’t human, and that let you know that you weren’t safe. You didn’t know where you were, or what was going on, but hell if you were going down without a fight.

  “Hey, come on, I swear I won’t hurt you. I won’t even get up from my seat, okay? Please go lie down,” he begged.

  You narrowed your eyes at him. What kind of trick was this? “You’re waiting for me to let my guard down before you attack,” you sneered at him. “Do you think I’m stupid? Where the fuck is all my stuff?”

  He rolled his eyes then, the picture of nonchalance. “All your weapons,” he said, “are on the table over there. Now do you believe I’m not going to hurt you? I wouldn’t have left them in plain sight if I was really keen on draining you,” he pointed out reasonably.

  He had a point, so you walked over to the table, still scowling, and started checking your weapons to make sure they hadn’t been tampered with. Once that was done, you strapped your waist and thigh holsters back on, then stepped into your boots.

  “Um,” he sounded panicked now, “you aren’t actually going to leave, are you?”

  You ignored his question, shrugging into your jacket instead, then picking up your rifle. “Don’t follow me,” you instructed before making your way to the door.

  As luck would have it, however, right before your hand touched the doorknob, the door swung inwards towards you, hitting you square in the face.

  “Argh, fuck,” you swore, rearing back, your hands going to your face.

  “Shit, shit, shit, shit, are you okay, miss?” The man sitting in the room leapt up and hurried to you. Though your vision was blurry with tears, once he got close enough you saw that he was mind-numbingly gorgeous, with big doe eyes that looked frantic. He looked like he was going to touch you, but then thought better of it as you stepped away from him, glaring as best you could.

  “Jesus, good going, Tae,” one of the new entrants to the room snickered. They started bickering quietly, but you were a little distracted by the excruciating pain in your nose. You sniffled, still holding it, hoping against hope that it wouldn’t bleed while you were in a room full of vampires.

  A second later, all of them snapped to attention and you sighed inwardly. Of course this had to happen right as you were about to leave.

  “Wow, you weren’t kidding,” the vampire who’d made the snarky remark earlier said quietly. All of them just stood there watching you like idiots while you frantically tried to pinch your nose and tilt your head back to stem the bleeding, until finally you couldn’t take it anymore and screamed, “Jesus fuck, will someone get some tissues and ice or something?!”

  That sent them scurrying into action, Jungkook rushing to get tissues from his bedside table while Taehyung ran down to the kitchen to get something cold for you to put on your face. You sat down on the edge of the bed and Jungkook hesitantly placed the box right beside you, before retreating a safe distance away. He was holding his breath to avoid the smell of your blood, and he stared frantically at Namjoon and Seokjin, who looked like they’d been struck dumb, their mouths hanging open as they tried to come to terms with what was happening.

  Breaking the awkward silence that fell over the room as they just watched you stuff tissues up your nose, Taehyung burst in carrying a frozen pack. “Here, put this on your face,” he said gently as he handed it to you, squatting in front of you.

  With a garbled thank you, you took it from him and held it over your nose. The pain started subsiding and you sighed in relief, but as the pain ebbed your mental faculties returned and you started looking around the room.

  “Why am I here?” you asked. Since they hadn’t taken advantage of your weakened state earlier to attack, you felt a little more at ease, and ready to find out what they wanted with you.

  That is, until you lowered the ice pack that the vampire currently looking up at you in concern had passed to you, and examined it properly for the first time.

  “Christ, is this a frozen blood pack?!” you exclaimed in disgust. You didn’t think you were a squeamish person, by any means – you were basically a certified EMT at this point after all the training you’d had patching yourself and the other hunters up – but this was a different kind of gross.

  “Um, yes, we don’t really keep ice or frozen peas around,” the vampire explained sheepishly.

  “Oh, I see,” you hummed awkwardly, looking up from the blood pack in your lap to him. In the dim lighting, you could see that he too was extraordinarily handsome, with a narrow nose and a piercing stare. Wait a minute. You stared a little harder, your brow furrowing in recognition.

  Then you scrambled back, reaching again for your gun. “It’s you!” you cried out, pointing it once more at his forehead.

  His eyes widened in panic as he raised his hands in the air. “Hey, no, no, please,” he tried to calm you down. “Come on, I got you an ice pack and I’ve just been sitting here, don’t I deserve a little trust?”

  “You tried to kill me in an alley,” you gritted out, unable to believe the gall of this man.

  “Well, so did you!” he exclaimed defensively, pouting.

  “Yeah, out of self-defense!”

  “You would have done it even if I hadn’t attacked you!”

  “Yes, because if you hadn’t attacked me it would have been someone else! I’m supposed to protect humans from scum like you!”

  “Hey, that’s not nice,” he protested, and you felt the strangest urge to apologize and comfort him. Damn these vampires for looking so good. It was messing with your head – the vampires you’d seen before had always looked slightly wild and pale, with enormous fangs that they couldn’t hide and bright red eyes that were glassy and unfocused. The only thing that tipped you off to the fact that these men were the same breed was their eyes, although they were a darker, almost wine colour that could probably pass for brown in the right lighting.

  They only flashed crimson when they were hunting, and you had vivid memories of this particular vampire’s eyes flashing red in the darkness as he hurtled towards you. The memory kept any guilt at bay. “Trying to drain me wasn’t nice either,” you countered.

  Namjoon, sensing that Taehyung was getting nowhere, cleared his throat. You looked up at him, although your gun remained pointed at Taehyung.

  “Please put your weapon away. None of us are going to hurt you, and I’m sure you have some questions that we’re prepared to answer.” You had no way of knowing how safe you were – all four of the boys had somehow bonded to you, and were now willing to die to protect you – but you were curious about where you were and who they were, so you slowly brought your gun down, resting it against the bed, although your fingers were still curled around it, ready to take fire and aim at a moment’s notice.

  “All right,” you started, swallowing hard. “For starters, where am I?”

  “At our house,” Namjoon said, and you raised a brow at him. Such non-answers were not part of the deal. Your fingers tightened slightly on the gun.

  “Jesus, will you be patient?” he huffed. “As I was saying, this is the compound where my brothers and I live. There are seven of us in total.”

  You nodded, accepting his answer for now. “Why did you bring me back here?”

  Namjoon hesitated. This was a more difficult question. Based on your hostility towards them – and the idea of vampires in general – he was pretty sure you wouldn’t react well to knowing what was actually going on, especially since they didn’t have any satisfactory answers for you, and he didn’t really want to be shot. Vampire or not, getting your brains blown out wasn’t exactly something you could heal.

  “Well…” he started carefully, “We sensed something different about you.”

  You nodded, motioning for him to continue. “It’s difficult to put into words,” because the words were that she was their mate, “but suffice it to say that we think it’s best for you to stay here while we figure it all out.”

  “Stay here? You mean as a hostage? What the fuck – ”

  “No, no, no, no,” he cut you off hastily. “You would be our honoured guest.”

  “Your honoured guest?! Are you absolutely insane – ”

  Seokjin lost his patience at your continued intransigence and stood up. “Call it what you will. You’re not leaving.” Then he stood up and walked out of the room. It seemed to be a sign; you looked on in wide-eyed confusion as all of them followed suit, the one who’d been squatting in front of you throwing you a forlorn look as he went.

  You heard the sound of a lock falling into place and screeched in frustration, running to slam your fists against the door. “Are you crazy? You can’t just keep me here! Let me out!” you screamed, violently pounding the door and turning the door handle over and over again, to no avail, of course.

    “Well, that went well,” Namjoon deadpanned as they regrouped back in Jin’s study.

  “Shut up, Joon,” Jin bitched from his usual seat behind the desk. Namjoon was seated on one of the chairs placed on the other side of the desk, his feet on the other, and Taehyung and Jungkook were leaning on each other on the couch against the wall behind Namjoon.

  “She smells nice,” Jungkook said, smiling dreamily down at his hands in his lap. He’d known, of course, what it would feel like when he found his mate, but hearing descriptions of what it would feel like was very different from actually experiencing it.

  Namjoon, who had been soft for Jungkook since the day he met him, just smiled indulgently at him. “At least you reacted better than Tae did.”

  “Hey, I was hungry and I didn’t realize who she was when I first scented her,” Taehyung whined in protest.

  “You didn’t know?!” Jungkook sounded scandalized.

  Taehyung scowled. “Sorry I’m not good at everything like you,” he shot back defensively.

  Jungkook didn’t even respond to the barb. “I’m glad you found her, though. Thank you, hyung,” he said, going in for a hug at the same time. Begrudgingly, Taehyung hugged him back.

  “Don’t be so quick to thank him; the reason she’s scared out of her mind of us is because Tae tried to drain her,” Namjoon added drolly.

  “Hyung!” “I didn’t know!” Both boys yelled out in unison.

  Jimin, with impeccable timing, wandered into the room with wide eyes. “Hey, did you guys know that there’s a girl screaming bloody murder inside Kookie’s room?”

  “Ah, yes, welcome, Chim,” Seokjin said, rubbing his temples with his fingers. “That girl happens to be our mate.”

  “Oh, you found your – wait, ‘our’?” Jimin, who’d started out with a sanguine smile as he congratulated his brother, did an almost comical double take, as if he couldn’t believe what he’d heard. Which was a rather large possibility, actually. None of them, not even Namjoon with his huge library, had ever come across any mention of two vampires having the same mate. Even finding your mate was an exceedingly rare occurrence, and only born vampires had them.

  “Yeah, surprise,” Namjoon said, grimacing. “You know what, why don’t you go meet her too – with our luck, she’ll probably be your mate as well.”

  “Sure, who’s more lucky, her or us?” Taehyung deadpanned, and Jungkook laughed, because it was true. All the known born vampires left were living under this roof, and more than half of them were mated to the same girl. Who happened to be a hunter who was likely to blow their brains out at any one moment. Go figure.

  Jimin, seeing that his two younger brothers were sitting on the couch, went to join them, nudging Taehyung aside until he made room for the smaller man. “What’s your mate like?” he asked, leaning on Taehyung and resting his head on his shoulder.

  "She's the cutest," Taehyung sighed beatifically. "She's a hunter, and she wears all leather, and she tried to shoot my brains out."

  Jimin hesitated. "Uhhh... that sounds... nice?"

  "She's pretty when she's unconscious," Jungkook added.

  "Right..." Jimin said, sounding even more unsure now. "She sounds... really cool..."

  "She's smart, too," Namjoon added, eager now to start talking about his mate. Even though you hadn't talked much, he was still taken with you.

  Seokjin stayed silent, because unfortunately, he didn't have much to share, having only snapped that one sentence to you and storming out right after. He didn't think you'd even so much as looked at him directly. Instead, he sulked quietly, having nothing to add to the conversation. This was so not how he’d envisioned meeting his mate.

  “Yah, who did you trap in the house? She’s making a racket loud enough to raise the dead,” Yoongi strolled into the room, scowling. Seokjin dropped his head on the table, groaning, and Namjoon leaned over to pat him on the shoulder.

  Once the situation had been explained to him too, Seokjin finally raised his head from where he’d been softly hitting it against the wood of his desk.

  “You okay there, hyung?” Yoongi asked sardonically, a raised brow conveying his thoughts on the situation perfectly.

  “Fuck off,” Seokjin grumbled. “Everybody get out, I have work to do.”

  “What are you working on?” Jimin piped up curiously.

  “I need to write to the Guild to figure this situation out,” Jin sighed, already getting his nice paper out of the drawer. “Tempting though it may seem, we can’t just kidnap a hunter and hope for the best.”

  “Jesus, why don’t you just send a bloody email, hyung?” Jungkook scoffed.

  Jin scowled. “Out!” he yelled, that vein in his forehead throbbing, and everyone laughed as they filed out of the room.

    You’d screamed yourself hoarse, banging on the door and yelling threats and profanities until you couldn’t anymore, before you realized that this likely wasn’t the best way to get yourself out, if everyone in the house was in on this plan of keeping you locked here.

  Then you started plotting how to get out. The door appeared to be made of sturdy wood, but you tried hurling yourself against it a couple times anyway, just to be sure. That got you nothing but an achy shoulder, and what you were sure would be a hell of a bruise in a few hours.

  Since that was clearly not going to work, you started examining the lock. If it had been a traditional lock, you might have been able to jimmy it open with your knife or a hairpin, but it was one of those newfangled digital locks without even a keyhole, and you snarled in frustration. It wasn’t even one that had a code, which would have been irritating but you’d have gotten it at some point, but one that needed a fingerprint.

  “God fucking damn it,” you swore as you knelt in front of the door to examine the lock up close. Would it be possible to shoot the lock off the door? After peering at it from all angles, you decided that it would be too risky. If you broke the mechanism while the door was locked, it might just jam the door shut altogether.

  You stood up and took a step back, chewing on your bottom lip in concentration. There had to be a way to get out of this damn room. You glanced around, trying to see if there was a window or something you could jimmy open. There was a large one, and you went over to it, examining it to see if it would open. Maybe you could shatter the glass…?

  A closer look and a rap of your knuckles against the glass told you that wouldn’t be possible. Seriously, who the fuck uses bulletproof glass in their windows? Maybe you could pick the lock on the window?

  You were just about to shoot the hinges off the door – thankfully, although you hadn’t thought so earlier, the door opened inward, so the hinges were inside the room – when it opened.

  “Woah, hey there,” yet another unknown vampire greeted, his hands in the air as he caught sight of the gun in your hands.

  “Jesus Christ, not this again,” you muttered, but put your gun away reluctantly.

  “Wow, they weren’t kidding,” the vampire marveled, staring straight at you.

  “What the hell are you looking at?” you snapped irritably, and he snapped back to attention.

  “Right…” he muttered under his breath. “Hi, I’m Jimin, and you are?” he asked brightly.

  You eyed him suspiciously. “Y/N,” you offered finally.

  “Well, Y/N, I’m here to apologize on behalf of my brothers, and ask if you needed anything for your stay. Food, water?”

  “Freedom, maybe?” you asked dryly.

  He winced. “Um, yeah, we’re working on that…” he said, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

  “Well, can I at least know why I’m being forced to stay here?” you asked with resignation, going to sit on the edge of the bed.

  “We’re kind of working on that too…” he trailed off, unsure of what he was actually allowed to tell you. Now that he knew you was his mate as well, things were getting really confusing and weird and you looked freaked out enough about the whole situation as it was.

  “Sure, that tracks,” you muttered under your breath, but with his enhanced hearing he picked it up perfectly.

  “Really, we can get you anything you want – just let us know,” Jimin offered, your obvious misery making him feel bad. “I’ll get you something to eat, okay? Just hang on.”

  “It’s not like I have a choice, do I?” you asked. “You know that hunters are going to be crawling all over this place soon, right? You’re going to have an all-out war on your hands if you don’t let me go like, yesterday.”

  Jimin grimaced. “Just hang tight,” he said, before making his speedy escape. His mate might be gorgeous and smell better than anything he’d ever encountered, but she was a little scary.

[medievaldarling]

This season is getting more and more disappointing, the girls continue to make stupid choices and there's not a lot of consistency in the plot this season. I feel like we're going in circles and we're not moving forward. Like Beth’s going to seduce Rio to get his trust back when in the previous episode she wanted to kill him ?? And I'm not even talking about Dean or Beth and Dean's relationship, it’s a disaster.

This episode for me was kind of meh. And that’s saying a lot because I generally enjoy 90% of every episode, but this one I felt like missed the mark.

There were parts of it that I loved, and there were parts of it that I didn’t.

Now. I don’t often comment on the writing of the show, mainly because I feel like I don’t have enough of a grasp on it like others do on here. However, I feel like the writers are going to have to have one of the girls plans actually play out and be successful at some point because whenever they’re sitting down planning I don’t really have any hope for them? I’m so used to things not working out that when they’re like “We’re going to do this!” my initial response is “No you’re not, because you never do.” We spend so much time on them planning, just to have things fall through and in this episode, I kind of felt like we were going in circles, like you said.

Like Beth planning to kill Rio - I don’t find it believable because nothing they do tends to pan out very well or at all. The tension they tried to infuse into that scene didn’t ring true because we’ve seen things fall through for them again and again - why would we believe that this time they’d finally get rid of Rio?

And I get that they aren’t career criminals so obviously they’ll overlook some things that Rio wouldn’t, and that when plans fall apart it’s often for comedy, but it does seem a little repetitive.

Things that I loved: Every moment of JT. I want more of him! And the fact that he calls Ruby ‘bunny’ and was legitimately upset that she got hurt spoke to my soul - it was so sweet. And the second the girls stepped up to the counter, he knew they were there for something that was only going to bring trouble to him - and how he instantly called them out made me laugh.

Also Annie looking up how to become an EMT! I’m not going to lie - I did not like Annie in S1. She was a hot mess I wasn’t interested in watching, and even S2 I was struggling a bit with her, but I’m loving her in S3. And the fact that she’s wearing the shirt her therapist gave her while searching potential career paths was great.

Stan delving into crime. While I’m sure I’m not going to like the inevitable fallout now that Stan and Ruby are keeping things from each other and how that will most definitely impact their marriage, I love that he’s finally understanding why Ruby did what she did for their daughter.

Things that I did not like: Dean. Just...the entire scene with Gayle was just bad. I don’t have any sort of sympathy for Dean or Dean’s situation, nor am I rooting for him as he tries to wrestle power from Gayle. It definitely did not have the power that we had when Beth strong-armed Rio into a 50/50 split. Even in that scene Rio was pissed, but I think he begrudging admired and respected her. There was always respect between them - twisted and dark and warped - but it was there. With Dean and Gayle...just...yikes, all around.

When I rewatched the episode, I still didn’t care for it. Usually when I don’t like a scene or character actions, I try to see the other side of it, but I can’t with this scene. Dean is not a character who - when he gains power - I’m happy for it. I like seeing Beth and Rio wrestle for power and the high that Beth gets when she feels like she has control, or seeing Ruby stand up to injustices she perceives in her life or the absolutely stunning “I’m that bitch” speech she gave to Stan. That is what I like. Seeing the struggle and seeing the perseverance. With Dean it was so incredibly hollow.

As for Beth attempting to seduce Rio next week: Logically, there is absolutely no way he should fall for it. Crawling into bed with Beth isn’t going to undo her shooting him, stealing from him, lying to him constantly. If the show erases all of that and makes him fall for it, I think it will undermine his entire character and frankly, make him look like a fool. It will take away any idea we had of Rio being a capable, logical man.

The animosity that still exists between them is too much for a simple hookup to counteract, and I feel like a part of Beth has to recognize that?

If it works, I will be absolutely and completely floored, and honestly, disappointed in a multitude of ways.

I’d love to see him really lean into her flirtation, taking her right to the point where she thinks she has him, where her confidence is nearly bursting because she thinks she finally pulled one over on him, only to have him turn around and show he was playing her the whole time.

And I’d like to see a small glimpse that perhaps hooking up with Rio again isn’t all a trick to her (because I don’t think it will be), and that maybe Rio is more interested in the idea beyond just playing with her (because he’s definitely still wrapped up in some feelings). I want to see the muddy waters between these two, because they’re always muddy and always enjoyable to watch.

[ravynfyre]

Duty Of Care

to those of you out there who follow me who are in, who are entering, or who are thinking about entering, the fields of emergency services, please never, ever, EVER lose sight of this one truth:

It doesn't matter how often your "frequent flyer" calls 911. It doesn't matter how many times you pick their ass up off the ground or couch or whatever. It doesn't matter how annoying they are. None of that matters in the face of this one, inescapable truth:

They. Are. Human.

If you find yourself forgetting this fact, forgetting to treat even the biggest pain in the ass with dignity and respect? You need to get out. You need to leave the business and get away from the work. It's time.

Because at the end of the day, YOU are what stands between them and the Reaper, and it is NOT YOUR JOB to determine who is WORTHY of that. Your job is to just do the job, regardless. Period. Full stop. End of discussion.

Be annoyed if you want. It *is* annoying a lot of the time. But you be annoyed INSIDE and you DO YOUR FUCKING JOB and never ever forget, THEY. ARE. HUMAN. No "conscientious objecting". No "deeply held religious belief". No "whadaboutism". No "Shit, AGAIN!?". No moral judgment. NONE. You do your job. You face down the Reaper as BEST YOU CAN. You leave the bullshit on the Trouble Tree, and you never ever dump that crap on your patient.

That's your DUTY. That's your OBLIGATION. It's EVERYTHING.

And if that's beyond your ability, for whatever reason? You have no business being there. Get out. Get out before you kill someone.

[thirsty-pixie]

Richie x Reader. Part 2

Part 1

Part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6

The boys stood on the ledge looking down at the water, I pulled my shirt over my head and tossed it aside. As I was unbuttoning my shorts the boys turned around, I turned around to seeing Beverly slipping out of her dress. She smiled running passed us jumping off the cliff, I kicked my shorts to the side and jumped off landing next to her in the water with a splash. The boys jumped next and they began splashing around, Beverly and Bill were swimming next to each other smiling. "Hey Tozier take a picture it lasts longer" I said laughing. Richie's eyes were practically glued to my chest, I was at that age where I was starting to develop larger breasts and my curves were more prominent.

Richie blushed pushing his glasses back up his nose "for your information i wasn't looking at you i was looking at the tree and you got in my way" I splashed him and laughed "you liar you were totally checking me out!" He gasped and splashed me back and we both laughed. After we swam around for a bit we sat on the shore to dry off Bev was laying out in the sun and the boys eyes were glued to her. Richie and I decided to go back up to the cliff and grab everyones clothes, "you really think you can beat Bowers?" He looked at me quizzically. I shrugged "I dont seen why I couldn't I'm pretty tough" I grabbed my shorts sliding them on "here" Richie handed me my shirt after he shook the dirt off of it. I smiled sliding it on , I grabbed Beverly's dress and Stan and Eddie's things stuffing them in my bag. Richie grabbed Bill and Ben's clothes stuffing them in my back and threw it over his shoulder.

"Ready?" I asked looking t Richie who nodded, we began walking back to the rest when Richie tripped. I reached forward to grab him but I was too late, he hit the ground pretty hard "fuckin bitch" he rolled onto his but and looked at his already swollen ankle. I knelt in front of him and chewed my cheek "looks like just a sprain. Here I'll give you a piggyback ride" I grabbed his hand helping him to his feet. He jumped on one foot hopping onto my back, I grabbed his legs and adjusted him so it was comfortable to carry him.

"Am I heavy?" He wrapped his arms around my neck gently and leaned his head on my shoulder. "No not really. And its downhill so it's not a tough walk" I felt him nod and he sighed. "You know.... you're pretty short." I turned my head to look at him and smiled. "Just wait I'll be taller than you in a year or so." I rolled my eyes and he scoffed. "You might is you ever hit puberty. I think Eddie my be taller than you" I said laughing. He playfully smacked my cheek "just wait" we both laughed again.

We heard a car speeding towards us I turned seeing Heny and his gang barreling towards us in Belches car. They slid to a stop in front of us blocking our path and Henry jumped out followed by Vic and Belch. I gently set Richie down and he leaned against the tree behind me, "what to you want?" I stepped closer to the three glaring. "Well we thought we'd pay you a visit" Henry stepped closer until we were inches from each other. "Pay me a visit and what?" I curled my hand into a fist ready for a fight. "You should be hanging out with people your own age. They wont be able to give you what I can" Henry winked at me. "Henry please, you think you're so much better than them. I would never willingly hang out with you and dont act like I'm sooo much older than them. They're only 2 years younger than me." I glared at him in discust.

"Well we can't have you running around with these losers thinking you're better than us so we decided that we should teach you a lesson." Henry shoved me catching me off gaurd, I caught myself from falling on the ground and shoved him back. "Screw off Bowers" he regained himself and started walking towards me so I threw a punch trying not to use my full strength. He fall back and blood dripped from his nose Belch and Vic helped him to his feet and he spit towards me "you Bitch!" His nose was bleeding and his upper lip was swollen and cut. I looked at my knuckle which was cut and bleeding "just leave Henry...." I looked back at him my eyes glowing yellow withing a few seconds they were speeding away back towards town.

"Jesus fuck" I turned around looking at Richie who looked like he had seen a ghost. "What...." I wiped my bleeding hand on my shorts and walked over to Richie. "You just punched Henry fucking Bowers" he jumped back onto my back and I laughed. "Its not that big of a deal" we continued walking back down to the rest of the group laughing about Bowers.

"Wha-what took you so lo-long" Bill stood up walking over to us, Richie slid off my back and dropped the bag. "Get this Bowers came and Y/n punched him and knocked him on his ass." The guys looked at me with wide eyes I smiled grabbing my bag pulling their clothes and shoes out "hey I gotta go back home.... shift change" I zipped my bag back up and smiled "careful with that ankle Richie" I winked at the group then walked back to my bike heading home.

When I got home I seen an ambulance and cop cars outside. I threw my bike down on the lawn and ran inside, they were covering my mom with a white blanket. "Woah woah slow down" Sheriff Bowers grabbed me stopping me, "GET OFF OF ME" I shove him away from me and pushed the Emt away pulling the blanket off my mom. Her eyes were closed and I couldn't hear her heart beating or her breathing, my vision because blurry as the tears pour from my eyes as I hugged her. Sheriff Bowers pulled me away from the gurneys and they replaced the blanket and pulled her out of the house. "She's gone honey" his words echoed in my mind as i fell to the ground sobbing, I felt warm like my body was on fire.

"I need to get out" I shrugged his hand off of my shoulder and took off running. I ran to the barrens, I found the drain pipe and ran inside "Daddy!" I cried out for him over and over. I felt arms wrap around me and a familiar warmth "what's wrong baby" he rubbed circles on my back as I cried, "its momma... she's gone" I cried for a while before I eventually cried myself to sleep.

I woke up in my bed with the sound of someone banging on my door, I walked down stairs and opened the door seeing Richie. "Wow you look like shit." I fake smiled and rubbed my face, "Bill's going to the Niebolt house to fight some ancient creature that's killing kids we need your help" he grabbed my hand and pulled me out of my house. I pulled the door shut behind me and grabbed my bike riding after him.

We caught up with the rest of the of the losers as Bill was walking up the stairs, "Bill you can't go in there this is crazy" Beverly yelled to Bill stopping him as he walked up the stairs. "Look you don't have to come in with me. But what happens when another Georgie goes missing or another Betty or another Ed Corcoran... or one of us? Are you just going to pretend it didnt happen like everyone else in this town? Because I can't. I go home and all I see is that Georgie isn't there. His clothes, his toys, his stupid stuffed animals, but he isn't. So walking into this house, for me... Is easier than walking into my own." Bill turned and walked up the rest of the stairs.

"Wow. He didnt stutter once" Richie began walking up the stair with me on his heels. The door creaked open and there was dust lingering in the air, Richie found a poster and started freaking out but Bill told him it was just playing tricks on him. We walked up the stairs and down the hall following the sound of a girl crying for help. At the end of the hall was and open door, there was a girl laying on her stomach looking down the hall at us. "Betty" "Ripsom" Bill and Richie said when they seen the girl I gasped recognizing her. She screamed and was pulled into the room out of view, I jumped grabbing Richie's arm. He looked at me then grabbed my hand holding it tightly as we walked into the room.

The door shut behind us causing us all to jump Bill and I both tried getting the door open. "Bill wheres Richie?" We stopped and turned around looking around the room. I followed Bill deeper into the room "Richie?" Bill started walking towards the door but the door slammed violently. "Richie!" I pounded on the door with all of my strength trying to break it down but nothing worked.

I heard Richie scream "Bill NOW!" Bill and i both slammed into the door causing it to fly open. I thought I saw my dad bit Bill grabbed Richie and closed the door before I could react. "C'mon we gotta get out of here." We turned to leave but our attention was caught by Eddie's head popping out of the mattress "hey guys wanna play loogie" I stepped backwards as blood began pouring from his mouth as he laughed and gurgled.

We turned around and seen three doors 'not scary', 'scary', 'very scary' I looked at Bill and Richie my brows furrowed in fear. Bill opened the not scary door and I heard a whisper "wheres my shoe" I reached forward turning on the light swing a girl with no legs hanging. I screamed and turned around "it's not real none of it is real." We counted to 3 and opened the door running down the stairs to find Eddie.

Part 1

Part 3, part 4, part 5. Part 6

[vagrantblvrd]

Small Hours of the Night (1/1)

Summary: Some days running a crew like the Fakes is worth everything it took to get where they are now. Other days it feels like some kind of cosmic karma coming back around on Geoff for all the shit he’s done in his life.

Notes: More Crinkle Dot AU???

(Read on AO3)

Some days running a crew like the Fakes is worth everything it took to get where they are now. Other days it feels like some kind of cosmic karma coming back around on Geoff for all the shit he’s done in his life.

These idiots he’s responsible for and all the ways shit can go wrong on them and there are times it keeps him awake long after everyone else has gone to sleep.

Slow nights like this, Los Santos quiet for a change. Lone siren in the distance and everyone going about their business like they’ve forgotten what the city can be like when someone stirs up trouble.

Living like normal people in any other city and it gets this itch going in the back of Geoff’s mind, this restless, antsy little thing.

Has him roaming the penthouse like one of those restless spirits in all the old classics. Sins weighing him down and everything so damned atmospheric.

Fog rolling in off the hills and a hush over the city.

View like no other out the window and this -

It’s not insomnia that has Geoff up in the middle of the night, no.

Just an old man and too many idiots under his watch and what feels like more every damn day.

The kind of life that only gives you one guarantee, so of course it’s not the one you want. (Turns out to be the one that ends with nothing but regret and another chunk of your heart ripped out of you.)

He’s not surprised when Michael shuffles into the kitchen. Nice big shiner and moving like an old man because he makes for a tempting target now that people know he has connections with them. (With Ryan.)

Juicy target the worst of the worst can’t ignore, go after with this cruel sort of glee aiming to hurt.

“Hey,” Michael says, looking uncharacteristically uncertain.

They haven’t talked much, the two of them, since that terrifying day when Ryan almost bled out in the rain and no one the wiser.

Until Ryan’s EMT called Gavin demanding to know where Ryan was.  This calm to his voice bleeding over into fear that had caught Geoff and Jack’s attention halfway across the room.

This kid who kept his shit together to help Caleb and the others stabilize Ryan. Insisted on being kept in the loop about Ryan's condition with red-rimmed eyes and Ryan's blood on his clothes, and fucking hell this kid.

Good for them in the oddest ways, and completely unaware of it.

Geoff wordlessly pushes out a chair for him, corner of his mouth ticking up in a small smile at the mumbled thanks he gets.

Michael looks lost, young, so Geoff gets up to make tea of all things.

Gavin and his prattling on about how much good it does his nerves when he’s keyed up about something.

Geoff supposes it’s the routine of it, familiarity and nostalgia and fond memories faded by time.

At the very least it gives his hands something to do while he waits for Michael to decide if he wants to talk about whatever is kicking around in his head. See if he wants to talk his troubles out or drown them in tea, let his brain pick and sort through things on its own until he finds the answers he’s looking for.

When the kettle whistles, Geoff pours the water into a pair of mugs and plops tea bags into them to steep. Goes over to where Michael’s been staring at his hands for a long goddamned time. Sets the mug down in front of him and Michael mumbles another thank you, hands wrapping around the mug.

None of the bullshit Gavin gives him the rare time Geoff makes tea for him, little comments about how you Americans haven’t slightest idea when it comes to tea. (Uncouth, giving Michael his tea with the tea bag still in it. Not bothering to let it steep properly and where, Geoffrey, where is the milk?)

Because this – the tea – it’s something to do. Something else to focus on instead of the merry-go-round of thoughts running through Michael’s head right now.

Not a way of life, the way it is for Gavin, although it might be better if it was. Work more in favor of helping Michael get a grip on his thoughts if he had a personal stake in the goddamned tea etiquette debate.

“...is Trevor okay?”

Geoff glances at Michael, sees the way he’s toying with the tea bag, poking it with his fingers when it doesn’t settle right in the mug.

Should have known he wouldn’t bother beating around the bush, would just get to the matter at hand.

Geoff sighs, taking a moment to doctor his tea before answering. Touch of sugar, nothing more, and takes a sip.

It’s not bad, but Gavin’s right in that Geoff never gets the temperature right, doesn’t let the tea steep long enough. Doesn’t know Gavin’s little tricks to get it to taste right, or his brain is dumb enough to fall into thinking it’s just better when someone else makes it, who the hell knows.

It’s...it’s been a hell of a day for everyone.

Trevor has this little game he plays with Michael.

Not quite on the same level as Gavin and Jeremy when they disappear for a few hours and Geoff finds Ryan sitting at Gavin’s rig in the penthouse expecting the worst. (To be fair, they’ve given him plenty of reason in the past.)

Not quite to that level, but alarming enough because Trevor is a born troublemaker.

Angel-sweet face and charming as hell, but one of the most twisted bastards Geoff’s ever had the pleasure of running into.

Has this running joke with Michael revolving around “kidnappings” that drives Ryan nuts trying to figure it out since no one in on it has seen fit to explain things.

Which leads to an exasperated Vagabond up against Trevor and the B-Team, and Michael off to the side like it has nothing to do with him.

Today, though.

Today things went to shit on them, because this is Los Santos and that happens.

A lot.

Just an old, familiar story for people like them.

Trevor and that too-smart mouth of his, and Michael just as bad in his own way against a group of assholes with a grudge against the Vagabond.

Creepy assholes who’d been watching Michael for weeks now, waiting for the just the right moment, and felt Trevor had dropped it right into their laps.

“Well,” Geoff says, thinks over his words more carefully than he with anyone else. “He won’t be up to dancing a jig anytime soon, but he’s not knocking on death’s door either.”

Not this time, anyway.

Trevor’s sporting new stitches and has something of a concussion, but he’s tougher than he looks and one stubborn son of a bitch to boot.

He’ll be just fine.

Problem is, that’s not what Michael’s asking, not with the way he can’t seem to meet Geoff’s eyes for long.

“He’s fine, Michael.”

Michael makes a noncommittal noise, fusses with the tea bag again.

Looks so goddamned tired, and Geoff gets it, he does.

Michael’s been grabbed one time too many, and everyone’s luck runs out sooner or later.

The first time he was lucky enough to have Jeremy and Gavin with him, and Ryan was there the next time someone thought to get that kind of clever, and hadn’t that been a mess? (Put assholes off trying for Michael again, but there are a lot of idiots out there with short memories.)

Today it was Trevor, but they all know there will be a day when Michael’s on his own when someone decides they want to hurt the big bad Vagabond where it’ll do the most damage.

Geoff takes a deep breath and sets his mug down on the table.

Thinks about his idiot crew, misfit family he’s built up out here over the years. All kinds of broken, jagged edges to them.

About how it might have been better for Michael, for Ryan (everyone), if Michael had gone back to Jersey before Ryan happened to him.

If Phil had stayed on instead of fucking off the way he had.

If Michael wasn’t so Michael.

Because Geoff can see it in Michael, can see the uncertainty and self-recrimination in his eyes. The guilt bowing his shoulders, thoughts running through his head loud enough to wake him up or keep him from finding respite in sleep.

Trevor got hurt protecting Michael, and Michael -

“Michael, you know this wasn’t your fault don’t you?”

If it wasn’t Michael, those assholes would have found something – someone – else to use against Ryan.

One of the others, or one of Ryan’s neighbors. The little old lady who runs the corner grocery store Ryan likes to go to. Guy down at the used bookstore Ryan spends quiet afternoons in sometimes looking for something to catch his eye.

Michael just makes for a convenient target.

Michael makes a face, hunches down over himself like that’s not something he’s going to let go of anytime soon, that kind of guilt.

Knows better, because he’s not that stupid, but there’s knowing and then there’s knowing.

Right now all Michael knows is that Trevor’s hurt because of him, and logic and rational thought have fuck all to do with his thoughts about that.

No.

That’s an argument for another day, and knowing Trevor, he’s already preparing his part of it to ambush Michael with.

So.

On to the other bit of idiocy.

“Ryan’s probably thinking about scaring you off again,” Geoff says.

Idiot that he is, Ryan does things like that.

Thinks like that.

Blames himself for dragging Michael into things when Michael gets hurt even though Michael’s far more of a functioning adult than anyone else in the crew.

Knew what he was getting himself into when it came to Ryan. Considered the inherent risks and decided Ryan was more than worth them even though the odds of anyone getting a happily ever after out of it were slim to none.

Most of the time Ryan’s good with that, accepts Michael’s choice even though he still has problems understanding it.

(Did Geoff mention the man’s an idiot? Because he is. Biggest damned idiot Geoff’s ever met, to be honest.)

And most of the time Michael's good with countering whatever bullshit Ryan comes up with. Some stupid point he thinks will get Michael to realize the very clear mistake he’s made, that he’d be better off leaving Los Santos and Ryan behind to find a better life somewhere else.

But every once in a while there are nights like this one. The kind where the universe at large decides it hasn't given you a kick in the teeth for too damned long and sets about correcting that little oversight.

Leaves you with a black eye and aching ribs and other smaller hurts that remind you where you stand in the greater scheme of things.

The way others can get pulled into trouble after you because you forget there are consequences to every decision you make in life from the seemingly insignificant to the world-shattering.

“...yeah,” Michael says, quiet and subdued, something to it Geoff doesn’t like the sound of.

Not with these two idiots.

Ryan’s thinking of scaring Michael off for his own good, and something in Michael is thinking that it would be a good idea to let him think he’s finally succeeded.

That Michael’s opened his eyes to the kind of vicious motherfucker Ryan can be when properly motivated. Truly sees him for the the kind of man he is like everything up to this point has been some kind of act.

And maybe it would be smarter for them.

Might keep Michael alive longer than if he stuck with them. Give Ryan one less weakness to the assholes out there looking to take him down, but.

There will be other nights like this where all Ryan will be able to think is that he managed to scare Michael enough to make him leave when nothing else has.

Ryan will think that Michael’s afraid of him. Afraid of what Ryan’s capable of, that he might lose control and hurt him, and Ryan will believe it.

Will go back to thinking he’s nothing more than a monster, no redeeming qualities to him, and that, Geoff knows, that is when they’ll lose him for good.

And Michael -

He’s going to think Ryan and the rest of them are better off without him there. That he’s just a helpless civilian best used as bait to get at the crew when that’s the furthest thing from the truth.

He’ll convince himself he’s going to be the reason one of them ends up dead one day, like everything else he’s done for them, given them, hasn’t meant a goddamned thing.

Like he is isn’t one of them.

If Geoff still had a heart, dealing with these two idiots would be enough to break it.

“Are you going to let him?” he asks, because it doesn’t pay to be subtle with this kind of nonsense. Doesn’t pay to be subtle with Michael who doesn’t care for it.

Michael winces, looks away.

Thinks about it, muscle flexing along his jaw as he stares out the windows over the city.

Big sprawling thing, Los Santos.

Messy as hell as it eats up smaller communities, leaves behind broken things and greedy for more.

Doesn’t care about the people who call it home, all their hopes and dreams. The people they love and the lives they’re trying to lead best they can, how they can.

“I don’t know,” Michael admits, this sad little laugh. Twist to his lips that no one would mistake for a smile. “It would be smarter if I did,  wouldn’t it?”

Geoff doesn’t answer right away, just takes a sip of his tea.

Going cold, bitter.

“Maybe,” he says after a long moment, Michael still staring out at the city. Gaze caught on the glittering lights that Geoff knows from experience are too damn enticing for the young and stupid, or just the unwary. “Maybe not.”

Not exactly helpful advice, and from the scowl Michael sends his way he’s thinking the same damn thing.

Jack would be better for this. Has all the right words for this kind of problem. All Geoff has is a lifetime of hard-earned lessons and regrets he’s learned to carry with him without weighing him down too much.

Nothing like wisdom to any of it, at least not the sort Michael needs right now.

Everyone has their regrets, things they carry with them.

Most manage to live with them, learn from them in some small way. The rest? They never learn, just end up carrying a heavier load through life.

Geoff’s learned, through trial and error and the kind of lessons that leave their marks in indelible ways, there’s always one thing you need to ask yourself. One simple little thing to think about before you end up with a new set of consequences and a whole lot of heartache.

“Could you live with it if you did?”

Michael blinks, turns his head to look at Geoff.

Geoff sips his cold tea and lets Michael chew that one over for a while, long after his own tea goes old and forgotten between his hands.

Until the sky begins to lighten and Los Santos shakes off the fog that’s been lingering around the city for days like a shroud.

He can’t give Michael the answer to this one. Right or wrong, or somewhere in between, because that’s not what he’s really asking for.

Michael's smart, knows his own heart better than he thinks he does. (Has to, if he hasn’t let Ryan convince him loving him is a bad idea before now.)

He’ll figure it out in his own time, his own way.

Until then Geoff’s more than happy to share shitty tea with him waiting for the sun to rise.

========

Somewhere in there Michael makes his choice.

Throws back the last of his tea and heads off to the rooms set aside for him and Ryan at the penthouse and Geoff breathes this little sigh watching him go.

Wonders what the fallout will be from this, and why the hell Michael was stuck with such a piss-poor asshole like him for advice.

Cleans up and goes to his own rooms, crawls into bed beside Jack who shifts to make space for him, pulls him close.

“Geoff?”

Sleepy, soft. Not entirely awake just yet and Geoff wants to keep it like that just a little longer, let Jack get the rest he’s more than earned dealing with their sorry asses all the time.

But.

Trevor got hurt, Ryan and Michael are idiots, and is just Geoff is an older, stupider idiot.

“I’m too old for this shit, Jack,” he says. “When did I get too old for this shit?”

There’s a quiet rumble, Jack’s laughter and an arm tightening around him.

“I don’t have my notes on me,” he says, “but I’m going to guess the answer is the first time you asked me when you got too old for this shit.”

Years ago, then.

Back when the crew got big enough they might as well have targets painted on their backs. When assholes started coming after his goddamned family.

“Fantastic,” Geoff sighs, because really. Fucking fantastic. “Thanks for that, Jack. Makes me feel better.”

It doesn’t, but Jack laughing at him about it does, just a little.

(Enough.)

========

Waking up to yelling isn’t a new phenomenon with the crew.

Waking up to Michael yelling is...Geoff wouldn’t quite say it’s a novelty these days.

Not with the amount of times he and Ryan have stayed over, but it’s certainly not as commonplace as waking up to the others yelling.

Geoff looks over to see Jack staring at the ceiling, this dopey little smile on his face.

“What did I miss?”

Jack chuckles, laugh lines and this certain kind of joy.

“From what I can tell, Michael's telling Ryan off for being a stubborn asshole?”

That’s not a novelty either, but it could be a good sign.

Maybe.

“Really.”

Jack looks at Geoff, warm smile on his face.

“Well, I mean. We already knew that, but seems like Michael’s planning on making sure it sinks in. Wants to make sure Ryan takes that shit to heart.”

Geoff mulls that one over, because Ryan’s thick skull and stubborn everything.

“Might take some time,” he says. “A really long time.”

Jack hums, like they both don’t know the truth of that.

“Most likely, yes,” he agrees, and something settles in Geoff’s chest at it, weight on his shoulders a little lighter if Jack thinks it’s a possibility. “A long, long time.”

(Enough.)

[all-hail-the-witcher]

questionable government spies: chapter 5

AH YES FINALLLLLLLY like im actually so excited this is the last chapter before we get to the good stuff eeeee

as always previous parts can be found under spy boys

__________

ship: eventual space, platonic ralbert, platonic jackcrutchie

warnings: uh, I think not, Albert is tired and jacks an idiot

word count: 2066

editing: uhhh actually yes

__________

Two nights after he had moved in with Crutchie, jack was awoken sometime in the early hours of the morning by an ear piercing scream.

He bolted upright and was out of bed in a second, only pausing to grab one of his sneakers off the floor. Suddenly, he was thankful for the strange training drills Race and Albert had put him through, specifically the one they had called What To Do If Someone Breaks Into Your House With A Gun And You Only Have A Rubber Band. They had claimed that it was based off of real events, but jack suspected they just wanted him to do stupid things and make him look like a fool for future blackmail. But then again, it was Race and Albert, you could never be too sure with them.

Jack ran down the hall and slid into the kitchen in his Cookie Monster socks, wielding his shoe above his head ready to take on whatever intruder had dared enter their apartment. But all he saw when he entered the kitchen was Crutchie staring transfixed at his laptop, grinning like a maniac.

“Jack! Oh my god I did it!” Crutchie squealed in delight. “I cra- wait a second.” He looked up, taking in his friends lackluster fight stance and his lame weapon. “What are you doing?”

Jack sheepishly lowered his shoe. “You screamed. I thought there was an intruder.”

Crutchie stared at Jack for a solid 5 seconds before he burst out laughing. “You thought - so you - a shoe?” He couldn’t seem to get the words out.

“Shoes, I’ll have you know, are very useful weapons,” jack said proudly. “Albert knows 15 different ways to kill someone with a sneaker.” He bragged about it all the time. It was the reason why he only owned sneakers.

Crutchie finally regained his composure. “And has he taught you any of those ways?”

“Well….no.” Jack stared at his feet.

“Then why the heck would you come out here with a shoe to face an intruder?”

Crutchie did have a point. “I’m not sure…?”

“Don’t those guys teach you anything?” Crutchie continued clacking away at the keys on his computer.

“Race taught me how to get out of bed in less than 3 seconds, how to properly stash weapons in a ball gown, and fall off a roof without dying. And Albert taught me how to store 17 knives in a leather jacket, how to safely ingest several kinds of poison and how to ignore Race’s commentary.” Jack supplied quietly as he looked at his feet.

“My point exactly.” Crutchie said.

Jack dropped his shoe on the ground dejectedly. “So, why were you screaming if there isn’t an intruder?”

“Oh, right!” Crutchie perked up, turning his computer around to face jack. He could get distracted very easily. “I cracked the code!” A smile spread across his face.

“Really?!” Jack felt his own face explode into a grin. “That’s fantastic, crutch! What does it say?”

“Well it's a little confusing,” Crutchie began. “But I think it could be a real breakthrough in the case.”

“Read it to me.” For the past two days Jack, along with Race and Albert had been looking for leads on the case with no luck whatsoever. If this note gave them something to go off of then they could finally get started.

“Okay here’s what it says,” Crutchie began to read off of his laptop. “My best friend is in Ymony and he wants out. Leaving punishable by death or imprisonment. Name is conlon. Will give you information and help you bring them down in exchange for freedom. Please help.”

Jack was silent for a minute. This was exactly what they needed. “I’m going to call Race and Albert, this is huge.”

•••

It was 2:12 am when race stormed into Crutchie and Jacks apartment, dragging a half asleep Albert behind him. “Jack Francis Kelly this better be good.”

Luckily, Crutchie spoke up almost immediately. “I cracked the code!”

Albert took his head off of Race’s shoulder and opened his eyes. “Do we have a name?”

“A last name, we think,” jack supplied.

“Make me some coffee,” race announced, cracking his knuckles and looking already more awake than he had 2 minutes ago. “We’re not leaving until we find this sucker.”

•••

Turned out, Race was very serious when he said they weren’t leaving until they found the suspect. It was now close to 4 and race was on his 4th cup of coffee as he sat on the couch, clacking away at his laptop, searching through tax records from the previous year. At the counter, Crutchie was sifting through police records and Jack was hunting through social security numbers and birth certificates.

“Are we done yet, race?” Albert mumbled. His eyes were closed and he had his head on race’s shoulder, but jack knew he wasn’t asleep because he chimed in with information every few minutes.

“Not yet.” Race responded, pausing to flick his blonde hair out of his eyes and take a sip of coffee. “You can go to sleep, you know. I know you’re tired.”

“Can’t.” Albert cracked open an eye to peer at Races computer screen. “You looked at this page already.”

“Ugh, you’re right,” race groaned, clicking onto the next page. “How did you even know that?”

“M smart,” Albert yawned, closing his eyes again.

“Yeah yeah, you keep telling yourself that,” race paused to copy down a name that he would research later, “if you were really smart, you’d be helping me instead of sleeping.”

“Nah,” Albert muttered. “You’re smarter, that’s why I’m letting you do it.”

Race snorted. “Why thank you, Albert. You’re very endearing when you’re half asleep,” he said sarcastically, not taking his eyes off the screen.

Jack paused his work to watch the two of them banter. He’d missed having Albert around the last week. He’d actually missed him way more than he would like to admit. The last year he’d spent with race and Albert had been the best year of his life. The two of them had welcomed him into their little family with open arms. They had done pretty much the same thing he had done: ran away from home and joined the FBI at a young age. Well, at least race had, he knew Albert still had some family that he kept in contact with. Jack had no one. For the longest time it had been him and Crutchie and whatever foster home they’d been placed in (the two of them had met on the street when they were 5 and pretended to be siblings so they wouldn’t be separated). With race and Albert, jack felt like for the first time he had a stable place to go home to. They were like the older brothers he had never had, constantly looking out for him and taking care of him and teaching him little tricks here and there. The first night he had spent back with Crutchie at his apartment had actually been strange, jack was not used to living anywhere without either race or Albert.

When race had gotten the call last week that Albert was dead, he took the call quietly. Jack could still remember exactly what they had been doing. They had gotten home from the mission two hours before, and dumped their gear on the entryway floor to be cleaned later. Albert hadn’t been with them, but that wasn’t out of the ordinary, he’d usually join them a few hours later. Jack had just showered and was sitting in the couch watching an episode of Psych and race was in the kitchen, hair still damp, wearing an oversized blue sweatshirt making pasta. The phone had rang. Not Races cell phone, the apartment one that was reserved for important calls from the FBI. Jack had paused the tv as race answered. Race had answered the call with a quiet hello and the call had consisted mainly of many yes sirs and no sirs. Jack had sat silently on the couch for what felt like an eternity while Race has been on the phone, a pit growing in his stomach. Finally, race had come over and sat down next to him, quietly telling him that Albert wouldn’t be coming back from the mission.

Jack hadn’t known what to feel, he’d never lost anyone that close to him before that he had been old enough to remember. He had stared at Race in silence for several seconds before tears began to flow. Race had enveloped him in a tight hug and they cried silently together. That night, jack had been unable to sleep and ended up in race’s bed with him, hiccuping softly as the older boy helped try to coax him to rest. The next few days jack had snuck out and lived in his van - he couldn’t stand to be in the apartment or see race without Albert - and didn’t return until the day of the funeral.

But now, Albert was here, and he was alive and in one piece and all of the previous weeks events felt like a bad dream. He was a little nervous at how out of it Albert still seemed - usually he’d be up along with race pulling an all nighter to figure out leads and research suspects instead of almost being asleep - but when he’d asked Race about it, he brushed off his concerns saying Albert just needed time to rest and recuperate after his stunt. In the meantime, jack was just happy to have his brother back.

“Wait,” he was pulled out of his thoughts by Races voice. “I think I found him.”

“Name?” Crutchie called from the counter.

“Sean Patrick Conlon. 24. Lives in Brooklyn.”

Crutchie typed a string of letters into his computer. “Currently lives with Elmer Kasprzak, part time EMT, and co owner of a tattoo shop.” He scrolled and typed a little more. “Parents are dead. Has a sister.” Scrolled some more. “Oh, here we go, only criminal record is getting caught pickpocketing three years ago on the subway. But-” he typed in another string of code. “That file was edited two years ago.”

“Sounds like our guy,” Albert said, still leaning against race. “Does he have an address? Phone number?”

Jack typed for a minute. “Yes, but didn’t the note say “my best friend”? Like it wasn’t written by Sean?” Race and Crutchie nodded and Albert let out a soft snore before jolting awake suddenly and gripping Races hand. “Well, I found an Instagram account for Elmer who posted a picture of him and Sean - except he calls him spot - and the caption refers to him as his “best friend,” maybe we should try him first?”

“And Crutchie said Elmer lives with him, it has to be him who delivered the note. Great idea, Jackie” race nodded in approval, shutting his laptop. “Find Elmer’s number and give him a call right now.” He placed the laptop on the floor and pulled Albert into his lap, calmly running his fingers up and down his back, trying to coax him to sleep.

“Found it,” Crutchie called a minute later. He pulled out the standard issue FBI house phone that was non traceable. “What should I tell him?”

“Tell him that well meet Sean tomorrow at that coffee shop on 8th Avenue up by Central Park, say 3pm. Tell him to come alone and not to bring weapons,” Albert mumbled into Races shoulder, clearly avoiding all of his friends attempts to make him sleep.

Crutchie dialed and relayed the information when someone, Elmer, he supposed, picked up. After a few minutes of chatter he hung up. “Done.”

“Perfect.” Race let go of Albert long enough to stash his laptop back into his bag and shouldered it before standing up, Albert in tow. “If you’ll excuse us, I need to get Albie back home, he needs to sleep. Jack-” he said, and jack looked up. “Meet us at our place tomorrow at 1 so we can go over the plan, and don’t be late.”

Jack nodded and watched race and Albert go, door closing softly behind them.

“I can see why you’ve become so attached to them,” Crutchie said, putting away his computer. “They seem nice and caring, and they’ve adopted you into their family.”

Jack smiled. “Yeah,” he whispered. “Yeah they have.”

__________

ooooooo we got a little look at jack isn't he the cutest thing and crutchie well, he isn't in it much but I love him too

and look at that cute platonic ralbert race is such a caring boi awwww

the next chapter is my favorite hehehe

feedback is always appreciated hmu to be on the tag list

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[ofsalvo-a-blog]

❛ Courage. It is contagious. ❜

COURAGE ,  by definition it is the ability to do things that frighten one.  to find the strength to face pain or grief                 bravery.  people who serve for their country ,  the veterans that have been through war   …   even the figherfighters.  the police officers ,  even the friendly emt   (   and you might as well include the many doctors and nurses that see many things in the emergency room.   )   but it could also be your everyday average teenager who fights back against an armed gunman to save others.  even if that means putting their life at RISK.  there are plenty of different people out here that show courage in the face of adversity.  telling her that she has the courage or that she shows bravery   …   somehow it’s foreign to mia.  to her ,  it seems like such a weird concept that she couldn’t say that it directly describes her.  perhaps she’s being modest ,  maybe she knows who she really is and doesn’t want to trick people into thinking she’s actually  ‘  good  ‘.

courageous   :   because she doesn’t know anything less than.  there are always people who need help ,  civilians to protect from people who wish to do harm.  the world is a fucking scary place and if she couldn’t save them                 WHO COULD  ?  stupid  :  because mia is a wild and reckless human being ,  chaos and destruction following in her wake.  many lives have been taken because of her ,  even the lives of the civilians she wants to protect.  it would be simple to say that from an outsider’s point of view that mia does show courage.  they see a woman who faces death and gives it the finger and tells them to shove that scythe right where the sun doesn’t shine.  don’t be fooled   …   it’s just a ploy. she’s not fooling anyone.

people lead by example ,  as a human race we look up to those who lead the way.  charlotte followed mia around like a shadow ,  observing and learning as they went along.  mia could see that maybe there was somewhat of an IMPACT that she imprinted on the other.  it was subtle ,  but she saw it and asked about it.  courage.  it is contagious.  she huffs a laugh ,   “   don’t look at me ,  i’ve done nothing but get you into more trouble.   ”   head then turns towards the blonde ,  “   not to mention we’re currently knee deep in cartel territory and can be shot at any second   …   word of advice charlotte.  don’t be like me.   ”

*   prompt   here   .   /   @antialibi   !