#that they might decide not to do season 3

[silverfairywings]

— IN THE WAKE OF FLAMES PT IV

eris vanserra x archeron!reader

summary: even before you became fae, your favourite season was autumn. it’s a little hard to hide this when your least favourite newly appointed high lord has made it his life’s mission to be the most annoying male in your life.

a/n: she's baaaack. this one made me a bit excited ngl i hope u enjoy and also the tag list is closed now sorry! thank u all for enjoying this story :) please lmk what you think <3

The first thing you become aware of is the cold. It seeps into your skin, sharp and biting as if the stone beneath you is sentient and determined to steal any ounce of remaining warmth in your blood.

For a second after you open your eyes, you start to panic when nothing but darkness comes into view and you blindly reach out for something to hold onto. Your wrists make a rattling sound with the movement and you realise there are chains around them. Blinking, your eyes slowly adjust to the darkness and it becomes apparent that the only light in the room is a dimly lit torch mounted on the wall far from where you’re sat.

When you try to move, your muscles scream in protest and you wonder if you’ve sprained your wrists because they feel like they’re on fire. The manacles are clamped tightly around them and you reach for one with your opposite hand to see if it has some give. As soon as your fingers prod around under the cold metal, you recoil with a sharp hiss of pain.

You inspect your finger as close as you can in the dim lighting and see that it’s now red and sore. Suddenly, the burning sensation around your wrists makes more sense and you lift them up to find that the insides of the manacles are lined with some sort of powder.

Ash wood.

Stomach turning, you slump against the damp wall and it’s almost as though the realisation that you’re physically being weakened has made you even more susceptible to it.

Somewhere in the back of your mind, you register that it’s going to leave scars on both of your wrists.

Despite the pain and the fear that settles on your chest, you don’t cry. You’re too distracted wracking your brain, trying to remember how the hell you got here in the first place.

The last thing in your memory is rushing out of the High Lords’ meeting with Eris’ biting words replaying in your mind. Even now you feel scorned, despite your much bigger issues. You had left the gathering in a hurry and gotten a short moment of solace alone.

You were outside. Alone. And then…

Bile rises in your throat as the memory hits you — a hand clamping over your mouth and the smell of something strong and chemical before the world faded to black.

Biting back a sob, you force yourself to take deep breaths to avoid making any noises in case there’s someone stationed outside the cell you’re locked in.

Still breathing shakily, you decide to test your limbs and shift on the cold floor, swallowing down a gasp when a sharp pain flares in your ribs. You glance down at yourself and pull up your gown to inspect your side. Even in the dim light you can see the blossoming bruise, how the colour of your skin is starkly different to the injured area.

Your pulse thunders in your ears.

Clearly, whoever has thrown you in here doesn’t care about being gentle with you. Who? You think to yourself.

You think hard for answers, for any clue that might explain your predicament. Was this about the rebels? Did they think they could use you as some sort of bargaining chip against the High Lords? You’re sorely hoping they need to keep you alive in order to do that, and that you’ve not been taken just to make a point. Because in that case… you’re disposable.

The realisation that whoever took you may not need you alive for much longer makes your skin start to become slick with sweat, despite the freezing cold.

Suddenly, the sound of footsteps echoes in the distance, pulling you from your spiralling thoughts. They’re slow and deliberate and grow louder with each passing second.

Body tensing, adrenaline surges as you scan the barren room for anything you could use to defend yourself. Using your powers is out of the question for now. The ash wood is weakening you and until each little bit of the ground wood has fallen from under your manacles, you’re powerless. You doubt whoever took you even did it for that reason. It feels more like a torture tactic.

The footsteps get closer and closer and you give up on thinking of any ideas, pressing yourself against the wall to make yourself as small as possible.

They stop just outside your door.

You hold your breath, your entire body trembling as a key scrapes in the lock. The door creaks open, revealing a figure silhouetted by the torches from behind them.

They don’t speak, but you can feel their eyes on you, taking in every detail of your weak form.

“Who are you?” you demand, your voice hoarse and raw. You hate how weak you sound, but you do everything in your power to infect as much force into the words as you can.

“Forgotten me so soon?” he says, voice flat and devoid of any emotion. Rage bubbles beneath your fear, hot and consuming.

“I can’t see you,” you growl, scowling as your impertinence makes itself known. You gesture around your cell with your hands, chains clinking. “You didn’t exactly spoil me with the warm and cosy lighting.”

The figure turns and closes the door to shut out the light that’s causing too much glare. You have to bite your tongue so you don’t beg him to leave it open, very aware that you’re at his mercy.

When he turns back around, you have to blink to adjust to the lighting again before having to squint as his face comes into view when he steps nearer the torch, silver braid glinting in the fire.

You blink, leaning back to slump against the stone wall. “Vaelith?”

Your scowl drops in favour of a confused expression that has the Spring Court official’s eyes narrowing in irritation. He was most likely expecting you to be afraid, but you’re simply baffled.

Vaelith. The same Spring Court advisor who had questioned you in the High Lords’ meeting which had prompted Eris to humiliate you the way he did.

His lips curl into a thin, cruel smile at your silence. “Surprised?”

For a moment, you can’t find the words. Your mind reels, trying to piece together how one of the Spring Court advisors — someone you’d see countless times at meeting, trusted even in a superficial sense despite him being an asshole — could be standing here as your captor.

“Slightly underwhelmed, if anything,” you mutter, only regretting your words a tiny bit when he clenches his jaw. You have to remind yourself that he’s in control of whether you live or die and it sobers you up a bit. “I don’t understand. Why?”

Vaelith sighs, as if your confusion is an inconvenience to him. “You really think that this rebellion we’re all trying so hard to stop, could have achieved even a fraction of what it has without someone on the inside?” He steps even closer, the flickering torchlight catching the cold gleam in his eyes. “You and your little circle and all the other High Lords were so focused on our precious borders… you never thought to look closer to home.”

Your ears start ringing as the pieces click into place. “You’re the one who let them into Spring. You’ve been feeding them information…”

“Clever girl,” he sneers, crouching down so he’s at eye level with you. “Not clever enough to stop this, of course. But clever.”

Your lip curls and you tug against your restraints, despite the pain. “Does Tamlim know? Or are you just another rat gnawing away at his Court.”

“Tamlin is weak,” he spits, venom dropping from his every word. “The Spring Court has been rotting from the inside for years. The rebellion is the future — Prythian’s future. And you… You and your sisters are nothing but obstacles in its path.”

You spit in his face.

Vaelith recoils, the spit glistening on his cheek, before he straightens, his lips bulling back into a dangerous smile. His eyes flash with anger, but there’s something darker, more unsettling in them as he wipes his face clean with a nonchalant gesture.

“You’re going to regret that,” he remarks, as though he’s pointing out an obvious fact.

You breathe heavily, chest rising and falling rapidly. “You going to kill me?”

Vaelith smirks. “You’re going to wish I had,” he mutters and the last thing you see is his fist flying out to connect with the side of your face, knocking you further down into the darkness of your cold, damp cell.

“I need to speak to the two of you,” Eris demands, not bothering to knock as he bursts into Tarquin’s throne room where he knew he would find the High Lord of Summer along with the Inner Circle. His eyes land on Rhysand and Feyre. “Alone.”

Eris knew something was wrong when he saw everyone departing for their own courts except the Night Court, their faces lined with worry. All except you.

You’re missing from this particular gathering too and the bad feeling in his chest progresses into a sinking feeling that has his footsteps slowing.

“And why would we allow that?” Amren asks, in a quiet voice that sounds almost challenging, if her eyes are anything to go by. She regards him like he’s a toy to be played with and he decided to ignore her completely, focusing instead on Feyre.

“You can’t find her, can you?” he says, not really asking. Eris attempt to keep his voice as composed and unbothered as possible, but the way Feyre doesn’t look surprised to see him suggests that maybe he isn’t being as subtle as he thought. “You haven’t seen her since she left the meeting room.”

Feyre hesitates and Eris doesn’t know if it’s because she deems him untrustworthy, or if she truly doesn’t know what to say.

Tarquin, who is still staring at Eris with a slight frown after he threw open his doors so unceremoniously, steps forward. “I have my people searching my court. As does Azriel,” he explains, gesturing to the Shadowsinger’s dark spies that swirl around him, whispering in his ear.

Cassian crosses his arms, glaring at Eris. “Why are you so interested? Do you know something?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Eris drawls, unable to help himself from provoking the Illyrian warrior. It works, although Eris doesn’t feel much satisfaction from knowing that, when Cassian steps forward menacingly. Mor hurriedly intercedes and whispers something in his ear that makes him hesitate and eventually allows her to lead him away.

Eris turns to the High Lord of Night again. “I need to speak to you,” he repeats. Rhysand simply stares at him, until Eris throws up his hands in exasperation. “Fine. Fine, just let me know when you find her corpse-”

“Alright,” Feyre interrupts him, holding up a hand to stop him speaking further. She sighs, turning to Tarquin with a strained smile. “May we use your room for a moment?”

Tarquin’s eyes flick over to Eris as if he’s worried that his throne room will be burnt to a crisp by the time he returns. Eris rolls his eyes.

“Of course,” the High Lord of Summer replies smoothly, giving Feyre a slight nod. He gestures for the Inner Circle to lead the way out of the room and it’s only when Rhysand nods at them that they follow. If looks could kill, Eris would be deceased six times over.

As soon as the doors shut, Eris whirls around.

“This is all your fault,” he says darkly, glaring at Rhysand. “You were the one who told us all to make her seem weak in front of the others. She never would have left if I hadn’t-“

He cuts himself off before he gets too worked up in front of them, inhaling deeply.

Rhys didn’t answer right away, instead watching him carefully. Then, with a calm that made Eris’ blood boil, he said, “You agreed to be cruel in that meeting. To deflect attention from her strength. It was a calculated risk to protect her — and you were more than happy to comply.”

Eris scowls at him. “And what good did your little strategy do? Because she left the room and disappeared into thin air. She’s gone.”

Feyre’s face tightens with concern. “Why did you wish to speak with us, Eris?” she asks, tiredly. “Do you know something?”

Eris’ hands fist at his sides. He had hoped it wouldn’t have to come to this. But the feeling of dread inside him wasn’t something he could just ignore. “I’ll help you find her. But I need something in return.”

Rhysand raises an elegant brow. “What could you possibly want from us?”

“Your silence.”

Feyre tilts her head and frowns. “About what?”

Shaking his head, Eris’ lips turn up into the ghost of a smirk. “Swear it. You need to swear it first.”

The two of them exchange a look and no doubt some words through their maddening bond. Eris nearly rolls his eyes at the secrecy, patiently waiting for them to finish talking to each other silently. Eventually, Rhysand sighs after Feyre gives him a stern look.

“If you help us find her,” Rhys says slowly, “we’ll keep your secret. Unless it becomes relevant to the safety of anyone in my court, including Y/N. And that’s non-negotiable.”

Eris meets his gaze, amber eyes blazing with defiance. “Fair enough,” he says, begrudgingly. “I accept your terms.”

As soon as the words leave his mouth, he feels the unfamiliar magic in the air arise. Eris doesn’t make oaths often. Lifting his arms, he pulls back his sleeves to look for the evidence of agreeing to a bargain with the Night Court. When he doesn’t find anything, he glances down his shirt to find inky black tattoos peeking up from his waistband and swirling up, just stopping short of his navel.

“Interesting placement,” Eris says drily, raising his brows at Rhysand. “Are you trying to hint at something?”

“Eris,” Feyre warns, gesturing at him to hurry up. “Don’t forget my sister’s life is at stake here. How are you going to help us find her?”

He wishes he could forget it.

Rolling his neck, Eris clenches his fists at his sides, his knuckles turning white. He takes a deep breath and meets the High Lady’s eyes directly. “Because she’s my mate.”

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[lamentationsofalonelypotato]

Epilogue: I Don't Want To Lose Your Lovelight

Pairing: Soldier Boy x f!reader, Reader POV, Soldier Boy POV

Summary:  When you decided to work with Butcher and his merry band of supe hunters to take down Homelander, you never expected to be saddled with a sullen, grumpy, jerk like Soldier Boy when the job was done. The more you're around him the more you hate him, but you can't help but wonder, is he really as big a jerk as you think? Reader is a supe with plant powers. This takes place in an AU about a month after the end of The Boys Season 3, in which Butcher has let Soldier Boy continue to work with him on his team. 

Tropes: Enemies to Lovers, Slow Burn, Age Difference (Reader is in her 20s), Soft Ben/ Soldier Boy, Protective Ben/Soldier Boy

Word Count: 10.8K

Warnings: I'm going to label this 18+ because Soldier Boy (he's a warning and everyone knows it), Illusions to past sex, Swearing, Mentions of Sex, Sexual Innuendo, Teasing, Fluff, LOVE, Talks of Pregnancy/thinking about pregnancy, little bit of self-deprecating thought. Ben/Soldier Boy might be a little bit OOC.

Note: This is told from Reader's perspective. Any references to the reader is made using you or your. There is minimal use of y/n. I tried my best to proofread, but nobody's perfect. If you don’t like, don’t read, but if you do like, you’re my favorite!

Internal monologue is in italics and is in first person.

Listen While You Read🪴: Lovelight by ABBA

Spotify Playlist 🪴

Series Masterlist

Main Masterlist

A/N: Well here we are... The people have spoken and I will be leaving the happy version as is! Enjoy!

One Year Later

“I don’t understand why we need to have a realtor to look at apartments. Why can’t we just camp out in front of a nice apartment building and wait for an ambulance to wheel someone out like everyone else?” You huff looking down at the apartment listing on your phone that Ben was taking you to. “Or better yet, we could use Apartments.com. I trust Jeff Goldblum with my life.”

Who doesn't? The man is a national treasure.

"The guy from the movie about the dinosaurs?" Ben asks easing his car into traffic before taking a right.

Sunlight filtered through the windshield and down onto your lap illuminating the embroidered patches of flowers on your favorite blue jeans, the same jeans that were getting just a little tight at the top and the ones you wouldn't be able to wear for the next 6 months or so. You smile to yourself at the thought, and drop your left hand to your stomach that was just starting to swell beneath your botanical printed t-shirt, brushing a thumb over the soft fabric.

This year had been full of surprises, some good, some bad, but you didn’t care. Through the good and the bad, Ben had been there for you just as you had been there for him.

If someone had asked you what you thought your life was going to look like, it wouldn't have been this, but you were so blindingly happy that you didn't care. Ben might not have been the person that you imagined yourself with, but that was the funny thing about love, it could come with whispered breaths, soft caresses, and gentle promises or sneak up behind you and hit you over the back of the head with a frying pan.

There was no in between and your ears were still ringing from when it smacked you.

Ben quit his job at Vought over the phone the morning after the two of you finally realized what you should have known the moment you let Ben stay in your apartment the first time. It had been surreal waking up with him in your bed, his body hard and unyielding, curved around yours as if he wished to protect you while he was asleep. It was the same way you remembered from the morning you woke up with him on the couch when Darren was crashing in your room.

That night had seemed so far away then, an unpleasant flicker of emotion swelling when you thought of your brother, but then dissipated the longer you stared at Ben.

In the sweet relief of sleep he looked younger. His dark hair fell forward into his face, his bearded cheek laid gently on the pillow, and his usual frown pulled down into a neutral expression, but he looked just as handsome as he always did. Ben hadn't woken up until you raised his hand to your mouth and kissed the inside of his palm gently. And the smile he gave you when he did made you wish to exist in that moment with him forever. The look on his face then was so unlike the man you'd seen in the heat of battle the first time you met and everything like the man you'd fallen in love with.

Stan Edgar had been furious, said that Ben was purposely trying to make him look bad, but Ben didn't give a fuck what Stan thought of him, the only thing he cared about was curled against his chest, and was holding his hand to her lips.

Jake opened up the new plant shop re-named "Please Don't Die The Revenge," a title Jake and you had thought up after drinking way too many brightly colored margaritas at happy hour while Ben sulked and wished he was anywhere else.

However, Ben thought it was adorable how much of a light weight you were, and lead you home while you made jokes, giggled, and whispered things into his ear that only tested his restraint. Your boyfriend might be a lot of things, but he didn't want to take advantage of you when you were like that, especially not when you couldn't remember that you had feet and wouldn't stop crying until he took your shoes off and showed you that you still had them.

When Jake re-opened the shop, he insisted that you were going to be a partner, not an employee, and when he'd told you, you'd burst into tears while Ben grumbled under his breath something not worth repeating. Ben still didn't like Jake, and despite your numerous insistences for Ben to be nice, Ben was just as sullen around him as he had been since the first day they met. However, now Jake was used to it so you no longer felt the need to apologize.

You'd also decided to retire from working with Butcher, something that Ben wholeheartedly agreed with, especially now that you were pregnant. Sometimes you'd help out with something on the computer, but never in taking down a supe. It made you happier to work in the plant shop anyway, but didn't make you worry any less about Ben or everyone else.

The shop was doing well, and on weekends the store partnered with other businesses to host a block wide farmer's market, where you sold fruit, vegetables, dried herbs, hand crocheted goods, and jars of jam while Jake took the weekend off to visit his new girlfriend that he'd met when he went home for Christmas.

Ben may or may not have encouraged Jake to call her and you were sure it was so that Jake didn't get any ideas about how much time the two of you were spending together. You had an inkling that Ben still believed that you liked Jake no matter how many times that you proved to Ben you didn't.  You didn’t think that there was any competition between Ben and Jake, not when being with Ben made you feel alive in the best way and being with Jake was like being with an overactive golden doodle.

However, despite how many times you told Ben that he didn't need to come with you on his days off, he would sit beside you frowning, but following your movements with his eyes while you helped customers. Every so often you'd see a half-smile twitch on the end of his lips, happy that you were happy- but not happy to be there. It was a theme with your boyfriend, but you knew it stemmed from how much he loved you. Being in the plant shop and seeing Jake reminded you of that, because Ben had made sure that the shop re-opened for you and he had saved Jake's life for you. Ben had done more for you in the time that you'd been together than anyone else that you'd allowed into your life and into your bed.

Ben was it for you, and you were going to prove it every day for the rest of your life to him if that was what it took.

Days at the farmer’s market were fun. You would close down for an hour so Ben and you could wander to different booths to see what everyone else was selling.

Those days always felt normal. It reminded you of the farmer's market that your hometown had each Saturday and the same ones you dragged Annie to at the crack of dawn to get the first sample of freshly churned honey butter or the first sample of strawberry ice cream. When Ben and you walked hand in hand through the crowded marketplace stopping along the way to sample fruit, cheese, honey, and whatever else you could find with the warm sun on you back, it was the happiest you'd ever felt.

It was what you'd always wanted, the kind of relationship you’d longed to have for so long, the same one you’d seen growing up with your parents and grandparents, and the one you'd thought you'd never have.

You could see yourself marrying Ben. Odd given the first time you met, you'd thought he was just a big grumpy brute of a man with the attitude of a caveman and the impatience of a toddler. But now things were different, Ben was your caveman with an impatience of a toddler, and you'd never felt this way about anyone else.

You'd never wanted anyone like you wanted Ben and couldn't see a future without him in it. Even in the earlier months the two of you were dating, you could see your life unfolding before your eyes. It felt crazy because you’d never been one to rush into anything, but with Ben the things that used to hold you back from jumping into the great unknown disappeared.

These days the unknown seemed to grow larger and larger by the minute, but instead of feeling uncomfortable about not knowing, you felt free.

Of course, the pregnancy was holding the gold medal for biggest source of the unknown.

It had been a surprise to find out that you were pregnant two and a half months ago. Not completely, given how enthusiastic, insatiable, and eager your boyfriend was when it came to sex or really how you were when it came to him.

In all honesty, you couldn't blame it all on Ben.

You were just as responsible for this as him given how much you seemed to want him all the time. Surprising, because you were never like this with your high school boyfriend or in any of the other sporadic relationships you'd had in the past, but you supposed that it was just Ben, that there was something about him that made you lose all sense of self-control. You also figured that you let the self-control drive long enough when you refused to admit how much you cared about him and now you owed it to yourself to throw it all out the window and lose yourself in everything he was.  

That being said, you were terrified the moment you found out you were pregnant. Ben had been away on a mission and you'd had to wait a week for him to get back while you sat with your grandmother on your couch for days. You hadn't wanted to tell Ben yet and especially not over the phone.

It didn't seem like something you said over the phone anyway.

Your grandmother had shown up a few hours after you took the seventh test, because you hoped that there was some kind of mistake with the first six. She'd seen the future before you had a chance to pick up the phone and give her a call, but you were grateful that she was there.

You needed her.

Annie would have come too, but she was out of town on the same mission that Ben was. And you were afraid to call for fear that Ben would hear you say it over the phone with his supe hearing. Texting her that you were pregnant meant that it would be in print somewhere with evidence and you didn't want the possibility of Ben seeing it on Annie's phone.

That last part seemed a little far fetched, because you didn't know why Ben would have Annie's phone, but you were allowing yourself to have a mini-freak out, you were pregnant.

But no matter how many scenarios you discussed with your grandmother, it always came back to one thing, you loved Ben and you wanted to have a baby with him. You just weren't sure of the timing.

The two of you had only been together for ten months then, and although you couldn't imagine yourself with anyone else, you were hesitant.

Ben was still adjusting to everything in the future and introducing a kid into his life could be chaotic and messy. You also weren't sure if it was a good idea given how insane Ben's life had been for the past forty years and how hard you were trying to give him a sense of normalcy in the time you'd been together.

But then you'd thought about it more.

The shop was doing well, you loved Ben, he loved you, you did want kids, and you were so happy that it made you believe that it was the right time.

Ben had been excited when you told him, but then you both realized the bigger dilemma, your apartment. It was already small with the two of you, Rex, and Bean. Ben didn't fit in the shower or in your bed and he barely fit in your kitchen when the two of you were standing in it, which meant that adding a kid to the mix would only make the apartment smaller.

You'd looked at an apartment five months ago, only because you saw how excited he was about something so mundane and it made your heart warm to see that he wanted to build a life with you, but you had hated the apartment. It reminded you of the terrible one he'd had at Vought.

And the one Ben was taking you to see today wasn't much better. This was number seventeen and you didn't have high hopes.

Ben takes a left turn, going over a speed bump that you somehow can't feel inside the cab.  His car was fancier than what you were used to and brand new. Ben had proudly told you that they weren't selling them in the United States yet, which begged the question: how in the hell had he gotten it? It had enough switches inside to make you fear about the probability of an ejector seat.

The first time he’d picked you up in it, you were grateful he’d opened the door for you when you tried to get out because you were sure that it would have taken you twenty minutes to figure that out on your own. You’d thought that Ben would have at least sprung for a car that was more low tech or something that reminded him of the life he had in the past, but no.

And now he was talking about getting another car for you that was higher off the ground to make sure that the baby would be safe. He kept saying how he didn't like you walking around when he wasn't there to go with you and a car would be safer, despite your protests that you liked walking and didn't need a car.

You never thought that Ben would be this overprotective, you should have, given how he acted like a helicopter parent after everything with Elijah, but he was.

The pregnancy only made it worse.

He never let you walk in your neighborhood or to work without him, claiming that it "wasn't safe" as if you weren't a supe and couldn't handle yourself. Whenever you went to the grocery store Ben tagged along frowning at whoever walked by with a shopping cart as if they were a threat. When somebody dropped a glass pickle jar two aisles over a few days ago and Ben had grabbed you and put you behind him so fast it made you dizzy.

Now whenever you tried to leave the apartment, Ben insisted that he could do whatever errand it was that you were going to do faster, and he was always reluctant to leave you at the plant shop, stating that you "shouldn't be lifting things." You'd even caught him reading one of your pregnancy books when he thought you were in the shower and he'd lied and said that it fell on the floor and he was 'just picking it up.' That didn't explain how he knew exactly what you should be eating and what vitamins you needed to take.

But instead of teasing Ben about it, you kept your mouth shut because you thought it was cute how much Ben cared about you and how excited he was about the baby.  You knew that he'd been waiting for this for much longer than you.

You'd woken up a few days ago with Ben's head on your stomach listening to the baby's heart-beat while he thought you were asleep murmuring things under his breath that you couldn’t hear.

It was those moments that made any anxiety you had about being a parent fade, because you knew that you weren't alone in this, that Ben was with you and he wasn't going anywhere.

“He’s an amazing actor and he’s definitely going on the list of people I’m allowed to cheat on you with.” You snort mind flitting to images of Jeff Goldblum lounging on a table clad in black, looking much too sexy for someone who was attacked by a t-rex.

“You realize that no matter how long that list gets you’re still not allowed to do that right?”  Ben glances over at you with a frown.

Ben looked good today. His dark hair was a little longer than usual- he kept saying that he needed to get a haircut but never did-, he was wearing a pair of sunglasses that made him look dangerous and sexy, and the blue jeans he was wearing were some of your favorites. They were worn in just right and each time Ben wore them it made it difficult for you to form a single sentence. Of course, the thing that made you want to jump his bones even more was the fact that Ben was wearing the dark green sweater you made him for Christmas.

You had been so scared to give it to him, but since that day, Ben wore it whenever he could, and whenever the two of you were out and he would get a compliment, because he always did, Ben would say proudly "my girlfriend made it for me."

“Sure. Just like I’m sure that no matter how long that list gets for you, if you ever cheat on me I’ll castrate you.” You reply, scrolling to a different listing on your phone. This one had a nice view of Central Park, but the living room looked big enough to park four SUV's in. It was too much, too big, and too cold.

No matter how many different apartments you looked at in person or online, you never seemed to find one that felt like home. In each one you'd found something that you didn't agree with, whether it be the bathroom, the lack of a washer/dryer, the neighborhood, or the layout, nothing felt right and you were starting to worry. At this rate you were sure that your child would be old enough to move out before the two of you found somewhere to live. You wanted a place that reminded you of your home back in Illinois with your grandmother, someplace that felt warm, someplace that you could see yourself raising a family, and something that felt permanent.

Your fingers go to the locket around your neck, rubbing your thumb over the cool metal surface, tracing the grooves and pattern on the front to ease your anxiety. It had been Ben's mother's, one of the only things that he had left of her, but it was something that he wanted you to have. It was the most important gift that you'd ever gotten in your entire life, because you knew what it represented. Your boyfriend might not be good with his words or expressing his emotions, but this locket said everything he couldn't.

Ben's eyes trace over where you sit. "What's wrong Petals?"

"Nothing-"

Ben sighs "You've got that scrunch between your eyebrows sweetheart. We both know you can't lie to me."

You hesitate. "I don't like that we haven't found a place yet."

"That why you can't sleep?"

You bite the inside of your cheek and look down at your lap. You didn't know that Ben had noticed how you weren't sleeping well and it had nothing to do with not being able to find an apartment.

At first you thought that it was the pregnancy, as if the almost constant morning sickness wasn't enough, making you have worse dreams than normal was the icing on top of the cake. You'd had nightmares in the past about your parents, but these dreams were different. They were all about your brother Darren and each time he stood in front of you his skin and flesh melted away leaving nothing more than a flickering outline that buzzed and popped like a hot stove before it fizzled up and disappeared.

You had no idea what it meant, but you didn’t want to bring it up to Ben, not when he was so happy. So you choose not to answer his question.

"We're going to find a place, this just takes time." He continues.

"Not for me. Not usually. I chose my last apartment within a weekend-"

"And look at how shitty it is!" Ben huffs. "I can't believe that you lived there as long as you did without getting mugged."

"I am able to handle myself. And if you recall you have seen me fight off muggers."

Ben's frown deepens. "Don't remind me." You watch his eyes flick down to where your hand rests gently on your abdomen. "Look Petals, I know you like our apartment, but it's not just us anymore."

"I know."

"I don't want to raise our kid in that building with Mike blowing out my fucking eardrums every morning. And I could do without his mother trying to hump my leg like a bitch in heat every time I take out the trash."

Your eyes water just a little when Ben says the word ‘our.’ It solidified the thought that you weren’t alone in this, that Ben wasn’t going to leave you. You didn't really believe that he would, but it was nice to be reminded once in a while.

"Aww she's your biggest fan. And I seem to remember you being into older women before we were together-"

"And I seem to remember you saying that you would castrate me if I cheated on you."

"I will castrate you, but Mike's mother doesn't count. She's your hall pass, just like Jeff Goldblum is mine."

"No, he's not."

"Debatable."

"Petals." Ben growls, throwing you a dark look from over the console that sends a shiver down your spine.

Before Ben you never thought that jealousy was attractive, didn't think that it was cute when your high school boyfriend Newton got jealous when someone else talked to you, but Ben could make even the most annoying things look sexy.

"You should keep your eyes on the road Gramps, wouldn't want to get in an accident."

"I don't fucking care. Keep talking like that sweetheart and I'm going to pull the car over and make sure that my name is the only one on those perfect lips."

You arch an eyebrow in a silent challenge. "Promise?"

"And you say it's me that always gets us into trouble." Ben chuckles with a dark look.

The car comes to a stop and you turn away from Ben's hypnotic gaze to stare out the window, expecting to see the beautiful all glass front of the apartment that was way out of your price range, but instead the car is sitting outside a house in quiet neighborhood overhung with large trees that weave together in a canopy over the street.

The house is three stories, made of red brick, the small yard in front is fenced with black wrought iron with a garden box lying beyond the metal spikes where someone has tried to grow plants, but was not having any success. There's a dark painted archway over the black door that boldly has the number of the home written in gold, and a large round window dominates the space to the left of the door cut into the red brick, that is partially obscured by a mass of tangled vines which cling to the outside of the house.

"So we're going to have sex in your car outside of this house? Feels like the homeowner's association will have a field day." You watch a couple walk past with matching dalmatians and cashmere sweaters. "Or we'd get arrested for public indecency when fido and fido's girlfriend call 911."

"Maybe later."

"Well then why did you stop? Did you get lost?" You turn to look at him. "It's okay if you did, I won't make fun of you-" You pause. "Never mind, I can't promise that."

Ben rolls his eyes. "No, I didn't get lost. I wanted you to see this place."

"Ben this is a house." You emphasize the word, your eyes widening. "Remember when we had the conversation about trying to get an apartment so I could at least help you with the rent."

It had been an awkward conversation, you felt bad about making him try to reign in something that made him so excited.

Now that you were part owner of the plant shop you were getting a little more money and didn't need to rely so heavily on Ben, but you still didn't like taking his money. Your grandmother had always instilled in you the importance of being independent and you'd never relied on someone the way you relied on Ben.

You'd always felt the need to prepare yourself for the worst, for having a back up plan if things didn't work out, and you were realizing just how much weight you put on your shoulders each day. Ben wanted to lighten the load, you knew that, but you were trying your best to put more trust in him, inching out from beneath the piano on your shoulders by letting him do more and more for you.

It was still hard.

"Petals." Ben touches your cheek, eyes softening and making your next words dry up. He didn't often do things like that in public, but each time he did it made you feel like warm butter on a hot stove.

When Ben had started calling you that a year ago it annoyed you to no end, but now he said it affectionately, with love and hope in his eyes, and it stirred something deep down.

"Let’s just look at this one. And if you don't like it, I promise I'll drive to whatever apartment you want me to okay?"

"But it's a-" You protest, but you lean into his touch.

"I know it's a house."

"Are you sure? They say that the eyes are the first thing to go, especially with someone your age Gramps."

He huffs out a breath in annoyance. "I don't know why I put up with this shit."

"Because you loooveee me." You coo poking his cheek.

The look in Ben's eyes softens again, slowly tracing down your form to your belly again, before coming back up to your face. "Only because you annoy me so much."

"Exactly." You reach for what you believe is the door handle and Ben's smile drops into a frown.

You retract your hand. “It’s not the door handle is it?”

“Not in case you want to crawl out the window.”

“I do like to make an entrance.”

“You always do baby. Even when you’re not trying.” Ben winks and gets out of the car, walking around the back to open the door for you.

“Thank you.” You say taking his hand without hesitation.

The house looks even bigger when you gaze up at it from the sidewalk, but you can't help but admit that the house is beautiful in it's own way. It has more character than the other ones on the street that look like carbon copies of one another. It wore it's weirdness like a badge of honor, just like you always had.

And even with the small garden out front filled with dead plants that rot in the wooden garden box and the tangled vines that cover the circular front window, you can see the potential it has.

"I like the trees." You say, gesturing with the hand that's not holding on to Ben's at the canopy of large oak trees over the road that block the brilliant sunlight and leave the imprint of their outstretched branches on the pavement.

"I thought you would." Ben squeezes your hand.

"So where's our realtor?" You glance around the empty road for the sleek black Mercedes that "Tina," aka the most nosy woman in the world and your realtor, drove, but you don't see it.

"She said that she wanted to give us some space." He tugs you forward, opening the gate as he does.

"Thank God. If she tried to touch my stomach one more time or eye fuck you when she thought I wasn't looking, I was going to perform open heart surgery on her with her stilettos."

"Would have loved to see that Petals. Maybe I should have let her come today."

"Do you remember how strong Homelander was? Because I'm about to show you that he was nothing compared to a pregnant woman scorned." You warn, but Ben only laughs at you.

Your gaze falls to the attempted garden. Rosebushes, lavender, tulips, and many other flowers lie in states of decay choked with weeds, while other plants that you can't identify lie shriveled up and brown on the darkened soil. It tugs at your heart to see them that way, unloved and uncared for, left to curl up and die.

You feel your eyes shift to green calling forth the flowers, bringing them to the light, drawing them upwards to unfurl in the light of the sun and absorb the healing rays. The plants brighten and explode with pops of color that fuse the front of the house with new life and jasmine flowers bloom along the ivy that crawls up the side of the house sending the comforting smell over you as it takes on a more controlled woven tapestry rather than the chaotic snarl it was moments ago. Bougainvillea stretches up to weave itself above the front door, the dark red blooms contrasting with the black door. The circular window winks at you, and through the glass you can just barely see a hint of lightly painted walls beyond.

Your gaze falls to the small area in front of the house.

You could see yourself out here wearing your gardening hat with Bean and Rex sunning themselves in the sunlight while you weed with sweat sticking your shirt to your back and while dirt stains your fingers. Your eyes flick to the empty front steps, imagining Ben and you sitting there with cups of coffee steaming beside the two of you, with your head against his shoulder reading the paper he has open in front of him.

No, not thinking that. This is a house. Ben and I are looking for an apartment.

"Couldn't help yourself could you Petals?" Ben murmurs, dragging your attention back to him.

"No. Though I might want a commission from helping the seller with the curb appeal."

Ben rolls his eyes, but pulls you up the cheerful concrete steps to the black door before he takes a key from his pocket.

You eye it suspiciously.

"Tina gave it to me." He says with a shrug.

"That better be the only thing she gave you." Your eyes narrow, thinking of all the things that Tina could have done to your boyfriend when you weren't around.

"Jealous?" Ben's smile slips into a smirk. "Need I remind you of all the things you said you were going to let Jeff Goldblum do to you?"

"Need I remind you about the threat of castration?"

Ben leans down towards you, his breath warm against your ear, so close that you could smell his cologne. "We both know that you like what I do to you too much to cut it off Petals, especially now."

A pleasurable shiver traces your spine with his words and as much as you hated to admit it, Ben was right. As insatiable as you'd been for Ben before you were pregnant, now it had only multiplied ten fold.

In the first few weeks of your pregnancy you couldn’t have imagined wanting to have sex with Ben, the near constant morning sickness, swollen breasts, and nausea left little to be desired, but as you slowly began to inch into your second trimester you felt a change. It was like a switch had flipped. Yes the morning sickness came in waves, but your hormones bumped around inside from sick, to sad, to angry, to loving, to aroused so fast it didn’t matter for long and you were both reaping the benefits. Ben was eager to help you in any way he could and due to his supe enhancements he was able to keep up and keep you more than happy.

You fist your hand in the front of his shirt to pull his face down to yours, lips inches apart, your eyes narrowed, but pupils blown with lust. "Don't tease me right now Gramps."

"Wouldn't dream of it doll." Ben purrs, his eyes darkening.

Fuck.

You didn’t want to give in, but whenever Ben looked at you like that it made your skin heat and your heartbeat feel like thunder, vibrating through your entire body.

Ben leans towards you, but just before your lips touch his, he scoops you up into his arms and crosses the threshold.

“Ben what the hell are you doing?” You laugh, pushing at his chest.

“What? Was I not supposed to carry you across?” He pretends to be surprised.

“That’s only if we’re married dummy and this isn’t our house.”

“Oh well then it’s good practice.” Ben smirks and finally kisses you, drawing you tighter against his chest for a few precious seconds. It wasn't the kiss you expected a moment ago, this kiss was hungry, but not rushed, passionate, but not aggressive, and yet it was all consuming.

You sigh into his mouth, holding the front of his shirt tightly. You’d never gotten used to how it felt to kiss him, how everything else melted away except for him and you. Even when you’d hated him, Ben still knew exactly how to kiss you to take away all your inhibitions.

You could easily see yourself spending the rest of your life with him. And given the revelation that you potentially could live forever, it meant even more. You know that it made Ben feel good too. That he was relieved that he wouldn’t have to be alone ever again, that he could love someone the way he loved you and be unafraid of losing you.

Ben pulls back a wide smirk on his face. "I'm sorry wasn't that what you wanted? For me to bring you inside?" The look in his eyes shifts to amusement with his taunt. "Or were you thinking about me fucking you against the front door for fido and his girlfriend to see?"

"Shut up." Your cheeks heat in embarrassment that your boyfriend could read you that well.

"Because I didn’t think you were into that kind of thing Petals, but if you want we can go back outside and-"

You force his face down to yours, shutting him up the only way you know how. Ben groans into your mouth as your hands work their way up into his hair to hold him in place, your lips fervently moving against his as the warmth of arousal begins to thrum through your veins and pool in the pit of your stomach.

You pull back out of breath, fingers still tangled in Ben's long hair, your gaze locking on his. Ben's eyes are dark, lips curved up into a knowing smirk that, if Ben wasn't holding you in his arms, would make your legs give out. One of his arms is underneath your knees, but the other is around your chest, and you can feel Ben's hand fitting comfortably over the bump hidden beneath your t-shirt, absorbing the steady thud of your child's heartbeat against the palm of his hand. Something lurked behind the familiar green in his eyes, something that you could feel bubbling up in your own chest the longer you stared at him.

"Come on I want you to see the house." Ben mutters pressing one more kiss against your lips before he gently places you on the hardwood floor.

"I know. Stop distracting me." You say as you flip your hair over your shoulder.

"I'm a wonderful distraction. Wouldn't mind distracting you a little longer." His arm comes up to wrap tight around your waist, pulling your back into his chest. Ben’s lips trail down to your neck, nipping at the smooth flesh of your throat.

“Ben.” You half moan, leaning back into him. "Please."

"I know baby." He hums. "But lets look at the house first. After I'll give you what you need."

"Tease." You mutter under your breath earning a chuckle from Ben.

The two of you are standing in a foyer with a large staircase in front of you that leads to the second and third story of the house. A lightly painted hallway stretches beyond it, and a living room lies to the left through a wide doorway. The interior of the house is a mix of old and new, vintage and modern, with warm colored hardwood floors running throughout, lightly painted walls, and with dark colored wooden baseboards and door frames.

It reminded you of your grandmother's house back in Illinois and even without furniture the inside of this house felt like home. It wasn't drafty, too white, too new, too old, or too cold- it existed in the perfect harmony that Ben and you had been looking for since you started looking for an apartment.

No. This is a house. This is the complete opposite of what Ben and I are looking for.

You remind yourself as you walk into the small room to the left of the front door. There's a giant fireplace on the opposite wall with neatly placed built ins on either side. Natural sunlight came through the large circular window on the front of the house, giving you a view of the garden you'd reinvigorated with new life and the quiet street overhung with trees outside.

You could see yourself reading quietly on a plush armchair in the corner while Bean and Rex sunned themselves on the wooden floors or sitting on a couch and cuddling with Ben under a blanket in front of the fireplace when it got too cold outside, nestling into his warmth to keep the chill at bay.

You drift through the other doorway across from the circular window that leads into a dining room area. It has the same wonderfully natural colored hardwood floor so soft you were sure that it would feel like butter beneath your bare feet. You run a finger tip over the wooden doorway, feeling the smooth, strong wood beneath your hand. You could still see notches in the boards from where another family had measured how tall their children were growing with every passing year and it made you smile to yourself.

This house had character, had a history. It wasn't built in haste to house a population of people who probably would spend more time out than in, it was built with love and care, and had charm. It was what the apartments that Ben and you had seen wasn't.

Ben hovers behind you silently, watching you move through the space with curiosity. He drinking in your expressions and trying to see what you thought. You had no idea how he found this place, not when the two of you had been looking at huge modern apartments in buildings that weren't more than a year old.

The kitchen is even more impressive.

It's modern, with stainless steel appliances, light granite countertops, and a dark green backsplash, but somehow still holds some of the vintage charm that merges seamlessly together with the new appliances.

You could see yourself making jams for the farmer's market at the stove, making dinner for your family or sitting with Annie at the counter with glasses of wine lamenting over everything Hughie and Ben did to annoy the two of you while secretly loving them all the more for it. You could see yourself dancing with Ben to ABBA while the lights were low and he got home from work, just as you had seen your parents do years ago and imagined a vase filled with flowers on the counter that Ben brought home just because he felt like it, not because it was a special occasion. Ben did that for you every week, brought home flowers because he knew how much they made you smile.

"This kitchen is huge!" You exclaim, spreading your arms out to twirl in a circle. "Annie and Hughie could fit in here too!"

Ben frowns at your mention of Hughie.

"What?" You lean over the counter to stare at Ben. "You know that if we get a bigger place they're going to come over for dinner more often right? I'm thinking Friday nights they could come over for dinner and a movie-"

It was a tradition that your parents had started, that Annie and you carried on when they died, and now Ben picked up the slack. Spending Friday nights on the couch under a blanket eating greasy pizza out of the box had seemed like a foreign concept for Ben, but now it was him that always made sure that he was home on Friday nights to make it to movie night so you could cuddle up against him under the warm blankets.

"I think we see them enough." Ben leans on his side of the counter across from you with a frown. "Plus, I thought that you would like a kitchen a little bit bigger to make me dinner."

“Or maybe," You tap your chin as if deep in thought, eyes narrowing. "The kitchen is big enough for you to start pulling your weight. Doing the dishes, cleaning up, trying to make dinner for your pregnant girlfriend-“ You count off on your fingers.

“How long are you going to use that excuse?”

“For the next 7ish months or so."

Ben huffs out a laugh and rolls his eyes at you, while you continue to move through the kitchen.

There's a giant living area just beyond that you can imagine Ben and you sitting on the couch in front of a TV watching another one of his ridiculous films or see you and your child sitting on the couch reading a book together while Ben sits beside you with his arm around your shoulders. You didn't know the sex of the baby, wanted to wait a little longer to see how things progressed before you found out.

But each day it became more real.

You could hear the pitter patter of feet across the floor and the squeals of an imaginary child racing through with Ben hot on their heels trying to catch them, could see a child with a smaller Rex wrapped around the back of their shoulders feeding him bits of strawberries, and could see a child in a highchair while Ben and you tried to feed them spaghetti. Your left hand drops to your belly again as you think of what the future could look like and the longer that you stand inside this house the more you can see yourself living here with Ben, having a life here together.

You hadn't seen that anywhere else that the two of you had gone to see in the past few months. It made all of this even more real.

I'm going to be a mom.

The thought lodged in the back of your throat. You were excited, but you were also a little worried. You didn't know the first thing about being a mom and no matter how many books you read or how many blogs you found, you felt underprepared.

Not to mention you could still remember all the videos that you'd had to watch in middle school about childbirth that were made to scare students into being celibate and it only made your anxiety worse.

"What are you thinking about Petals?" Ben asks, coming around the counter and turning you in his arms. His face is twisted into a concerned frown.

Tears were building behind your eyes now, your emotions getting the best of you. It was easy for you to cry about nothing at all, but this was different. Your future was slipping through your fingers, unfolding in front of you in this house. It reminded you of how you'd felt for the past few years when all you wanted was to fall in love and be loved by someone. The lovesick feeling that followed you around as you tried your best to find a man who would make you happy the way that Hughie made Annie happy, but never seemed to find the right one before you met Ben.

"This place it's perfect, but-"

"But what?" Ben's thumb brushes the tears away, eyes focused on you. Whenever Ben looked at you like that you thought that he could see through you to the pieces that no one else ever cared to uncover.

"It's a house." You breathe leaning into his touch.

"And you don't like it?"

"No, I love it." You whisper, but you feel a little frustrated. "I can see us here. See a ridiculously big Christmas tree in that corner," You point to the living room. "See breakfasts on this counter," you gently slide your hand along the marble countertop. "See us watching movies in the living room on our couch and see our kids running around outside in that back yard." You gesture to the all glass back wall of the house where there's a finished patio and a surprisingly large lawn outside, but stranger is the giant greenhouse that sits just beyond.

"So what's the problem?"

"I mean… it's not what we talked about. Can we even afford this?"

You knew that Ben could afford it, you just weren't sure about you. 

Ben is quiet for a minute, before he takes your hand and tugs you in the direction of the backyard. "I want you to see something."

"Something? The house isn't-"

"There's one more thing." He squeezes your hand and takes you outside.

There is a canopy of trees that shields the patio from the sun overhead that has begun to descend behind the houses on the street, the clouds turning a burnished gold in the light as it says goodbye. 

The two of you follow the path of stones neatly laid in the lush grass, leading to the greenhouse that looks much bigger than it did from inside. It easily reaches to the second story of the house and has a black iron skeleton that holds together the pieces of glass artfully placed in different shapes and sizes.

Ben turns to look at you. "Close your eyes."

"What?"

"Do you trust me Petals?" He looks at you, his green eyes catching yours, wide and open. You knew that he knew the answer to that question, but you also knew that Ben never believed that someone like you could or should trust him.

You promised yourself when the two of you started dating that you would make Ben feel special each day the same way he made you feel special and made Ben understand that you loved him and you weren't going anywhere.

The things that Countess did to him still weighed on his heart, but you were happy to see that after one year with you, Ben was different. He was more open to telling you what he was feeling, (one word answers), he was more open to sharing memories with you, (only a sentence usually), and Ben was getting comfortable using the word "love." It had taken him a solid three months to say it, but Ben didn't need to say it, you knew it was true long before he uttered it aloud.

"Of course I do." You lean into him, your free hand coming to rest on his chest. There was a slight chill on the edge of the wind, a promise of winter, but the warmth of Ben's body shields you from the breeze.

"Then close your eyes." He repeats.

There's something dancing in his expression that you can't place, but your gaze travels down to his shoulders and you realize that Ben is nervous. You'd never seen your boyfriend nervous in a while, the last time was when he gave you the locket that hung between your collar bones.

But you do as he says and he brings you inside. "Okay, open."

When you do, your heart stutters to a stop in shock.

The greenhouse isn't empty. There are rows of citrus trees with lemons, oranges, and tangerines, apple trees with bright red fruit, potted blueberry plants, vegetables, and herb plants sitting on low tables, woven vines of raspberry and blackberry plants on trellises that cover the walls, and a collection of potted strawberry plants one of which is in a pot that looks a lot like the one that Darren broke when he came through the window of your apartment one year ago.

There's a circular staircase to the left of the door that would take you up to a second story where there are even more plants, but also a sitting area that feels warm and bright, and has a fan hanging over to make sure that it stayed just a little cool in the warm month. It would be the perfect place to read and relax, more so than the room inside you noticed when you walked into the house.

On the bottom floor there is a potting bench surrounded by flowering plants pushed against the right wall where new tools hang and colorful pots are placed. There's also an obscene amount of bagged potting soil stacked up higher than you are tall just to the left of it.

You gently lay your hand on the wood of the bench to feel how soft it is. The wood has been sanded down to be smooth as silk and you look to the right to see that next to it, is a identical bench but smaller with tools made of plastic for a child and a small apron that matched the one hanging from a hook fastened to the greenhouse wall.

Is that for-

The thought stutters to a halt. You didn't understand why this was here. A greenhouse in New York City wasn't odd, but the fact that there was one almost two stories tall and contained everything you might need to expand the farmer's market you had grown to love so much at the back of this house was odd.

There's a potted gardenia sitting on top of the bench and the bright smell brings the gentle comfort of home as the delicate flowers bend towards you.

Being in here is the same way you feel whenever you're in the plant shop. You could feel the new life curling beneath the soul, feel the thrum of energy from the plants that turned towards you expectantly, and feel the way your powers reached out to them to offer a healing hand.

"Ben, why is this here?" You ask confused.

 Ben clears his throat. "You know I hate that fucker, but he works fast."

"Who?" You turn to him.

"Jake." Ben says simply. He's leaning against the doorway watching you with an unreadable expression.

"Jake did this?" You gesture to the greenhouse full of plants, enough plants that you would be able to supply the farmer's market each week without batting an eye. Now, you used the plants in your apartment, but there never seemed to be enough to keep up with the demand, but here-

Wait a minute this is crazy. This isn't our house. What the hell is going on?

“I thought you needed a little more product and he told me he’d take care of it.”

"But why was Jake-"

"I figured it out Petals, why none of those other places felt right." He interrupts. "I didn't get it before, why you didn't like the apartments we went to see, why you kept finding something wrong with them. Fuck, I made fun of you for saying shit like 'the ceiling is too high,' but as soon as I found this place I knew it was right."

"What are you talking about?" You still didn't understand why any of this was here.

Why would Ben want Jake to bring all these plants here if we're just looking at this house.

“I lied." Ben crosses his arms over his chest and rolls his shoulders as if it makes him uncomfortable to admit it.

“About what?” You frown.

Ben didn't like lying to you, you knew that, and you liked how brutally honest Ben was about everything.  Trust was a two way street between the two of you, and just as Ben didn't lie to you, you didn't lie to him- well… Ben always seemed to know when you were lying, but that didn't change the fact that you didn't like lying to him.

“I didn’t tell Tina not to come today and we were never going to see that apartment. I told you that to get you to come with me.”

“Why?” You draw out the word still confused.

“Because I already bought this house.” Ben smiles tightly.

“You WHAT?!” You screech eyes widening. “Why?!”

“For the same reason you said Petals, it’s perfect.”

“But- But-" You don't know how to respond to what he's admitted. "You said we were just looking! That this place is-"

Ben shakes his head with a sigh as he takes a step closer to where you stand. "It's funny that I lived this long and still somehow happened to fall in love with someone a little more old-fashioned, but I fucking love that about you, that you're not like anyone else." He reaches across the space to take your hand in his, the warm calloused palm fitting perfectly over yours.

"What does that have to do with the house?”

"Apartments don't feel permanent, not to you, they feel temporary, but a house… it makes this real." Ben swallows. "And I want this to be real."

You blink in confusion, worried about him. "Ben, what are you talking about?" You squeeze his hand trying to comfort him. "This is real." Your free hand comes up to cup his bearded cheek, that prickles against your skin. "I love you. Nothing is going to change that. Not the baby or where we live or-"

"I know that." He laughs. "I mean this." Ben gestures with his free hand to the greenhouse and then back at the home behind the two of you. "There's room for our kid and for as many as you'll let me give you. There's room for Diana, and even though I know she'd rather die in that house in Illinois than move here,  I'm going to try my damndest to get her here so she can be with you. I know how much you miss her. And as much as I hate the idea, there's even room for Annie and fucking Hughie if they want to stay the night." He grumbles with a sigh. "It's a good neighborhood, so I won't have to worry about you getting mugged or some shit when I'm stuck with that British fuck somewhere else, and it's close to schools that my old man would have probably liked, but I want our kids to be safe and have a good education."

“But-“

“I know it’s a house.” Ben breathes. “But just listen for a minute.”

You swallow the lump in the back of your throat, more tears building in your eyes. It was hard to be angry with him over something that you wanted as much as he did. And the truth was, you weren't angry with him for buying the house. It again represented the one thing that you'd told Ben that night at Vought, that you liked gifts that meant something, and standing here in the greenhouse that Ben had made sure was filled with enough plants to support your dream in the backyard of the house Ben bought not only for you but for your children, made you want to melt into a puddle.

Because Ben was ensuring the two of you had a future, that your children had a future, and you didn't think that you could love him any more than you already did.

“When I took you to Vought I didn't know any better. I was comparing you to the women I used to fuck around with and what they would have wanted, what they would have thought was special." Ben's jaw tightens and you wonder if he's thinking about Countess. "But I wanted to give you that life because I thought it's what you would want and because I wanted to take care of you, but I was wrong." Ben gestures with his free hand back to the house again and then looks at you, the sunlight catching the flecks of gold in his eyes like stars. "This is what you want Petals. This life. A house on a quiet street away from it all where you can garden and read and exist in a world that isn't fucked up with supes and compound V."

You’re speechless now, tears trailing down your cheeks.

“I’ve lived in a lot of different places and I forgot what it was like to have a home and for the longest time I didn’t understand what I was missing. I had money, I had fame, I had women willing to do whatever I wanted, and I had people worshipping me, but I was missing something.” He trails his thumb over your cheek again with a soft smile. “Turns out it was you. You’re fucking annoying, you get under my skin, you make me feel like a complete asshole when I make you cry, you somehow find some little thing to complain about when I do something for you-“

“Again why do you always sound like you’re insulting me whenever you try to confess how you feel?” You laugh, but it comes out more of a sob.

“Shut up.” Ben rolls his eyes with a sigh, but there’s not bite to his words. “You always interrupt me.”

“Because you always insult me!” You rub at your eyes with the back of your hand.

“I have told you on numerous fucking occasions that I’m not good with words!”

“But-“

“Shh.” He puts his hands on your cheeks. “You're so different than anyone I've ever met. You drive me fucking crazy. Any other man would have jumped off a building by now, but-“ He shakes his head with a wide smile. “I fucking love it and I'm so fucking lucky that you decided to love me."

"You didn't give me much choice. It was you that insisted on living in my shitty apartment." You breathe, your hands moving up the soft fabric of his t-shirt to rest against his chest. "I did my best to drive you away, but you wouldn't leave. And you call me stubborn."

"Nothing you could have done would have driven me away Petals." His hand falls to where yours rests on his chest, and gently holds your wrist. "Nothing you can do will drive me away. Not now, not ever."

The love in his eyes makes your lungs stop working. He was looking at you the way you always wanted someone to, as if he could see past flesh and bone and into your soul and saw your worth, as if Ben saw every little piece of you that you tried to hide and didn't care.

"And nothing that you've done will drive me away Ben." You whisper leaning in to him. "You can't change the past."

"I know." He swallows tightening his grip on your wrist. “And I know you keep saying that you don’t want me to pay for everything because you want to be more independent, and you’re worried that we can’t afford this, but fuck even if you told me you wanted to stay in that shitty apartment building, I’d buy the whole thing and make everyone leave just to make sure that you and our kid is safe."

Determination flickers in his eyes and you believe it, because you know that Ben would do anything for you. 

"But I knew the moment I saw this house that this was what you wanted, that this life is what you've wanted. I know that you like to do things for yourself, but I didn’t buy the house because I didn't think that you couldn’t help me… it’s because I wanted to do this for you. I like doing things for you because I love you.”

"I love you too." You smile up at him a little misty eyed, but happy.

Ben's jaw tightens for a moment before he says his next words. "I'm not going to lie, I've imagined this kind of life before when I was with Countess."

You fight the wave of anger that surges with her name in your chest. You hated her for what she did to Ben and what she did to your grandmother, and wished that before Ben blew her to kingdom come, you had an hour with her to show her what it was like to get poison ivy shoved up her ass.

But it was unusual of Ben to mention her. He didn't often bring her up in conversation.

"I started imagining it after I visited Diana. I saw how happy she was with your grandfather and with your dad when he was a kid. I wanted that. But each time I tried to imagine what it was like with Countess, it never fit, something was wrong. And I know now that it's because it wasn't with you. It never looked like the life we have together and I wouldn't trade that for another second of fame."

"Ben-" You breathe his name, tears cresting over your cheeks.

"The moment I walked in the front door of this place I knew it was right. I knew this was the place that we were going to raise our children. I see us here too Petals. I see myself coming through the front door and you fucking tackling me because you can't wait long enough for me to close the door. I see us on the couch in front of the fire making love. I see you upstairs in the nursery painting the walls with paint in your hair even though I told you I was going to do it. I see you singing a fucking ABBA song while you rock our child in your arms. And I see you out here in this greenhouse doing what you love and me being happy because I know you're safe and I don't have to worry that I'm going to get home and you won't be there or worse." Ben's jaw tightens at the thought. "I want this with you for the rest of my life and I don't care if I sound like a fucking pussy for admitting that."

Ben drops down to one knee

"Wait what are you-" You begin to say, but Ben pulls a small box out of his pocket that makes you forget how to breathe entirely.

"So I’m asking you to let me give this to you and to our children, because I feel like I’m finally coming home and I don’t want to be anywhere else, just with you."

You stand there for a moment speechless, staring down at where Ben is on one knee. "Are you asking me to move in with you?" You try to smirk at your joke, remembering what Ben asked you the night he came home.

"No." Ben smiles opening the box. "I'm asking you to marry me."

You'd like to say that the ring is beautiful, but truthfully you don't look at it. As soon as the words are out of Ben's mouth you throw yourself against him so hard that he loses his balance and tumbles back onto the pavement, while catching you on top of him to make sure that no part of you hits the ground and make sure the baby is safe.

"Wha-" He begins to say, but you shut him up, your mouth falling against his so hard that you think that you hear the click of your teeth, but you can't stop.

Not when the man below you has your whole heart and had it the second you let him spend the night in your apartment all those months ago, not when he has been everything you needed for so long that the thought of him leaving would destroy you, and not when he is the only person in the world who sees all of you and asked for more.

Ben's body relaxes under yours as he deepens the kiss, drinking you in like he can't get enough, his hands coming up to hold you tighter against him, before he flips you over onto the ground as gently as he can so he's hovering over you. His dark hair is falling forward into his face, eyes bright with mischief, as he stares down at you.

"Is that a yes?" He smirks.

"It's a maybe." Your hands entwine at the back of his neck. "If you reconsider the hall pass option with Jeff Goldblum."

Ben kisses you so hard you see stars. “You’re so fucking annoying.”

"You know you love it, and I plan on annoying you for the rest of my life Gramps. You should get used to it."

"Do you promise Petals?" Ben breathes against your lips, eyes focused on yours.

"I promise. You're stuck with me."

"I can't imagine anything better sweetheart." He kisses you again, but pulls back with a unreadable expression. "Are you mad I lied?” He breathes against your lips.

“No. Because I lied too.”

“About what?” Ben looks confused.

“All of this. It isn’t what I imagined. It isn't what I thought falling in love would look like. It isn't what I expected and it's different than what I told you at that fundraiser.” Your fingers curl into the hair at the nape of his neck to hold him above you, refusing to let him go for even a second.

Ben's smirk drops into a worried frown that you kiss away, the warmth of his body around you like a warm bath.

“It’s better.” You breathe against his lips, watching the way his eyes brighten.

When he looked at you like that it made you feel like you'd swallowed the sun and it was bursting out of your fingertips. You never wanted to lose his lovelight and you wanted to spend the rest of your life being his.

The world outside the greenhouse falls away and you're left with Ben, the man you couldn't help but fall head over heels with the night you decided to take a chance.

A/N: I'm not crying, it's just raining on my face 😭. This reader and this version of Soldier Boy hold such a special place in my heart. Oh goodness I didn't think that we'd ever get here, but wow😊. This fic series wasn't just me writing, it was me being filled with the constant love and support of all of y'all helping me towards the goal and I am so grateful for everyone who reblogged, commented, liked, and loved the story just as much as I did 💗. I could not have done this without y'all. I am going to write a mini-series for them and I have some fic ideas for the two of them, so it is not goodbye completely, it's just I'll see you in a little while. Seriously though, thank you so much to everyone 🥰

Taglist:

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[wanderingmind867]

Here's my ideas for a Season 4 of Batman 1966: Season Four would get 70-80 episodes, max. I realize I didn't use Catwoman that much, but it wasn't intentional. So forgive me for that one. I did get a lot of Riddler, Penguin, Joker and Bookworm in here, though.

Episodes 1 and 2: Batman and Robin encounter The Riddler, who's dealing with a severe sense of outrage. A popular gotham city tv show has taken to mocking him lately (treating his laughter and his riddles like a joke), and he is not going to take that kind of talk lying down. He's hijacked the TV station, and he's now planning a dramatic variety show revue.

But all is not merely as simple as a case of airwave piracy. No, The Riddler is also doing a telethon to get people to vote on the fate of the Dynamic Duo. Death by electricity? Death by axe? C'mon people, vote now! And the question on every honest citizen's lips is: how are batman and robin going to escape now!?

Episodes 3 and 4: A story involving The Joker (as played by Cesar Romero). Angry that Batman and Robin managed to catch up to him via their Batmobile, he pulls a fake burglary to trap them and steal their priceless getaway car. He then rebuilds it and modifies it to suit his purposes, letting it become a bonafide Jokermobile! Thankfully, Batman and Robin escape (and have a backup, old model batmobile in their Batcave). So now it's an all out drag race between Joker and Batman!

Episodes 5 and 6: A story featuring The Penguin (Burgess Meredith), this time as he seeks to acquire the proper social standing amongst gotham's elite. This might be the first episode where i'd touch on penguin's backstory (that of the heir to an old money family who lost everything years ago). In his quest to prove himself worthy of idolization and of palatial mansions, he ends up trying to rob from all the other millionaires in Gotham. Naturally this eventually ends up leading him to Wayne Manor, where he almost ends up discovering the batcave.

Episodes 7 and 8: Introducing Signalman to the world of Batman '66! Signalman uses his gimmicks to try and trap Batman and Robin, while stealing as many symbols of good fortune as he possibly can. He eventually tries to tie them to the bat-signal at police headquarters, but they still escape and manage to end his patterns of crime.

Episodes 9 and 10: A Batgirl solo saga, focusing on her and her new partner (who she meets in this episode): Jason Bard. Her and Jason end up on the case of Louie the Lilac, who's running an illegal smuggling ring out of flower shops all across gotham. So while Barbara Gordon and Jason Bard begin dating, Batgirl and Jason end up wrapped in the mystery of Louie the Lilac's smuggling scheme.

Episodes 11 and 12: Batman and Robin are preparing to leave for Ivy Town to go see a research seminar, but they're held up by The Bookworm and his criminal gang, who planned to rob Gotham City of a priceless manuscript stored deep within Gotham City Hall. Only the dynamic duo can stop this marvelous mastermind before it's too late!

Episode 13: While Batman and Robin are busy travelling to Ivy Town, Jason Bard ends up hired to protect Miss Harriet Cooper from danger. She's helping organize a Gotham City Policeman's Ball, and she's afraid that all the attention is putting her in danger.

Meanwhile, Barbara Gordon is investigating the same mystery as Batgirl, trying to make sure that her parents aren't hurt in any way either. Batgirl and Jason end up running into each other again, and they decide to team up to protect the policeman's ball (with Batman and Robin away, consider them gotham's new defenders)!

In the end, these two tough investigators find the real crook behind this scheme: Catwoman! The strangest thing happens, though: since Jason and Barbara split up to search seperate areas of the auditorium, they both saw different Catwomen. Batgirl sees the Eartha Kitt one, while Jason Bard sees the Lee Meriwether one. And since both Catwomen successfully escape, Batgirl and Jason are left even more puzzled than ever. And if you're puzzled too, don't worry: the riddle of the three Catwomen will be answered at some later date.

Episodes 14 and 15: Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson arrive in Ivy Town for the Ivy Town University lecture. It's in this episode that we'd learn about Dick now being in his last year of high school (which is partially why him and bruce have come to visit universities together). At Ivy Town university, Bruce and Dick wind up running into Ray Palmer and Jean Loring (neither of them guessing that Ray Palmer is Batman's fellow JLA member, The Atom).

But at the Ivy Town seminar, the university's clocktower and accompanying bell both go off in a supersonic wave, causing mass hysteria and panic. A panic which some thieves use as cover under which to steal the university's many rare and valuable artifacts.

The people of Ivy Town are quick to blame the supervillian Chronos for this disaster, but it turns out that he's still in the Ivy Town penitentiary. The police check, and he says that he was framed! By who and for what purpose, none can say. But Jean Loring is reluctantly resigned to defending him in court. Meanwhile, Batman and Robin do some investigating of their own. And eventually, the truth comes to light: The true criminal was The Clock King! He sprung himself from jail back in England, and he was all set to make his grand return to supervilliany! How was he to know Batman and Robin would show up again!?

So the Clock King is sent back to jail, and The Atom never had to lift a finger to help Batman and Robin (which is great for the show, since they'd never have had enough effects to make The Atom work). But a scene at the very end of the episode hints at The Clock King working for someone else, and that this isn't the end of the dynamic duo's troubles…

Episode 16: While Batman and Robin are off in Ivy Town, Batgirl and Jason Bard run into Cluemaster (John Astin), a strange new villian who seems to have an odd vendetta against The Riddler. Although The Riddler doesn't actually show up in this episode (beyond maybe a cameo from Frank Gorshin in the last scene of the episode), we learn that Cluemaster is a minor villain who's always held a grudge. He wants to take the title of world's biggest riddle/clue/puzzle themed supervillian away from The Riddler!

They both have different backgrounds: The Riddler was a former GCPD officer who snapped after being constantly bullied for his mental issues and weird habits; while Cluemaster was a game show host who ended up going mocking a contestant on his show to an almost traumatic extent one day, and thus had his show cancelled and his career ruined. But as kids, both these men admired The original master of crime: The Puzzler. And now Cluemaster is trying to prove he's closer to The Puzzler than The Riddler ever was. And now it lies on Batgirl and Jason Bard's shoulders to stop him.

Episodes 17 and 18: Batman and Robin return to Gotham, just in time for a late september scheme hatched by Egghead, that diabolical master of eggs-pert larceny! Batman and Robin need to enlist the end of Batgirl and Jason Bard just to get him to be defeated before he commits the greatest crime of our time and era!

Episodes 19 and 20: Batman and Robin team up with Batgirl to deal with Simon the Pieman (Jonathan Winters), a bizarre criminal with a baking motif who's planning to get vengeance on all the people who criticized his bakery over the years. Can this trio defeat him and his diabolical desserts before it's too late!?

Episodes 21, 22 and 23: This story would be used to address the three catwomen and three mister freezes. The three Mister Freezes are all different men sharing the same name, but they all hate how batman has fouled up their schemes. So they trick Batman, Robin and Batgirl into a devious trap. Catwoman I (Julie Newmar) leads Batman into a trap by Mister Freeze I (George Sanders). Meanwhile, Robin and Batgirl are tricked by Catwoman III (Eartha Kitt) into being trapped by Mister Freeze II (Otto Preminger). And so by the time the three freezes have congregated, they betray the catwomen. And then it's six against three for the last story in our set.

Episodes 24 and 25: In the brisk early October air, False Face steals a new chemical designed to make a human being shapeshift. But one of his men steals it away from him! Matt Hagen (Rich Little), a greedy henchmen of the dastardly False Face, uses the machine and turns himself into a hideous being made of Clay! Remembering the case of an old villian Batman tangled with named Clayface, Matt Hagen decides to embrace his evil side and become Clayface the second!

Episodes 26 and 27: Batman, Robin and Batgirl all end up tangling with The Scarecrow (Anthony Perkins) on Halloween Night! A washed up former psychology teacher with a love for fear, Jonathan Crane has come to haunt Gotham as the one and only Scarecrow!

Episodes 28 and 29: Batman and Robin tangle with Blockbuster (Richard Kiel), a menace who's too mindless to actually mean any harm to anyone or anything. He's being used by his mad scientist brother Roland, but the dynamic duo don't figure that out until it's nearly too late…

Episodes 30 and 31: While hosting a Gotham City Beauty Contest to mark the beginning of November and the subsequent colder season, Batman, Robin and Batgirl tangle with Poison Ivy (Ann Margret), that powerful sorceress of seduction! Using her brilliant botanical wisdom, she snares all three of them inside of a horrible death trap. But they manage to escape, and successfully bring her to Justice.

Episodes 32 and 33: Batman and Robin deal with the Polka Dot Man (Paul Lynde), a bizarre new criminal capable of using polka dots as tools for committing new crimes to bedevil and beguile the people of Gotham City!

Episodes 34 and 35: Marsha, Queen of Diamonds returns to Gotham City, yet again seeking to obtain the Bat-Diamond from the Batcave. This episode would actually show her succeeding, however. Yes, she seemingly manages to steal the Bat-Diamond at the end of part one of this episode. But then she goes to examine it at her headquarters, and she finds out it's actually a fake! An impressively well put together fake, but a fake nonetheless! So once more, the Dynamic Duo have outsmarted the Queen of Diamonds and her witch of an aunt!

Episodes 36 and 37: Batman and Batgirl have to work together to fight off a mad team up of The Penguin and The Riddler. Robin is sick with the flu, so he's unable to help them. So it's up to Batman and Batgirl to save the day this time around!

Episodes 38 and 39: Batman, Robin and Batgirl deal with a counterfeiting ring run by a man named Senor Rekoj. Little do they suspect that Mr. Rekoj is actually Joker in surprise, since he's cunningly convinced the whole city he runs a beautiful charity. And now he's planning the biggest practical joke of the century: he's going to frame the terrific trio and blame them when his counterfeiting scheme comes to light. They still manage to stop him, of course. But he very successfully damages their public perception.

It's also an excuse for me to finally see Cesar Romero star on Batman without his makeup. Because, yes, Senor Rekoj is just Cesar Romero without any of his Joker makeup.

Episodes 40 and 41: A Christmas Special, featuring a series of Christmas Capers pulled off by The Riddler! Batman, Robin, Batgirl and Jason Bard all have to team up to defeat the foe this time. The Riddler is the one leading this scheme, but he's mostly breaking in a new tradition i'd want the show to have: Christmas episodes. And plenty of them. One every year, so we can have as many villians as possible trying to ruin Christmas.

But for this debut christmas special (where our four heroes face off against The Riddler and his men), the Mall Santa who's introduced at the beginning of the episode ends up helping to save the day. And in the end, it's left rather unclear if the mall santa was just a mall santa, or if they were the real santa all along…

Episodes 42, 43 and 44: Batman is challenged by his most dastardly foes yet; a terrible trio of crooks from Gotham's distant past! The Eraser, The Getaway Genius and Killer Moth! Batman hasn't tangled with them in years, not since the days of… Batwoman. Back when Robin was younger (a few years before the show started), Kathy Kane was a rich socialite who teamed up with Batman to fight crime. But she retired after an awful case involving Killer Moth. Yet now, she may be Gotham's only hope for surviving the Triumvirate's terror!

Episodes 45 and 46: Batman was set on edge by the Triumvirate (and by Batwoman's return), so he's gone on a brief vacation to the countryside to try and clear his head. While he's off on vacation, two different teams have to protect Gotham from ill will. Robin and Batwoman are who we're gonna focus on first. While Batman's away, they end up having to deal with Doctor Double-X, a horrible foe from years past, capable of creating duplicates of himself to fight his battles for him!

Episodes 47 and 48: Batgirl and Jason Bard end up having to deal with a new scheme by two of gotham's worst criminals: The Bookworm and Mister Camera (Tony Randall). They've started a dual crime wave, wherein Mister Camera delegitimizes the Gotham City Police Force, allowing Bookworm to run wild and free throughout Gotham. Batgirl insists on taking up this case solo, as it involves people trying to frame her father (something she can't stand for). And Jason Bard is dragged into it because he's been hired to investigate it.

Episode 49 and 50: Batman was off on vacation in the countryside just outside Gotham, when he accidentally ends up getting snared in a trap set by Olga, Queen of the Cossacks! She's moved on from Batman and Egghead, however. Yes, now she's partners with Catman, a big game hunter who lives for the thrill of the hunt. Catman appeals to Olga's warrior nature, and so they make a delightful team.

Catman and Olga prepare a death trap for Batman involving a fight with a massive tiger in a steep pit, but shockingly, Catwoman (Julie Newmar) comes to his rescue. Not for any altruistic reason, but mainly because she has a personal grudge against Catman. All three Catwomen hate him, and he hates them in kind. So this is really just an alliance of mutual benefit. Batman gets to deal with Olga, while Catwoman takes down Catman.

In the end, Olga and Catman are delivered to the authorities, but Catwoman successfully escapes. Which probably means this isn't the last time we'll see her (or one of her other two "partners" before the season is out).

Episodes 51 and 52: Robin and Batwoman team up to fight against Shame and his wife Calamity Jan. They've assembled a giant underground railroad system, and they plan to use it to tunnel into all the banks in Gotham! Can Batwoman and Robin clue in to their scheme in time?

Episodes 53 and 54: Batman comes back to Gotham just in time to learn of a new scheme being hatched by The Penguin, that crooked bird of crime. Frustrated and upset that his schemes on land have all been failing, Penguin has decided to turn to the high seas, running a piracy operation just outside of gotham's territorial waters. Batman, Robin and Batgirl have to stop him, before he can become the world's biggest pirate since Blackbeard or Captain Kidd!

Episodes 55 and 56: The Joker and Simon the Pieman team up to bring bizarre chaos to Gotham City; using elaborate cakes as weapons of destruction. Batman, Robin and Batgirl have to team up to solve the motive behind their mysterious and completely illogical crimes, before it's too late…

Episodes 57 and 58: Batman and Robin end up dealing with a new scheme by The Riddler, that prince of puzzlers himself. He's hatched a new mad scheme, and only Batman and Robin can stop him from bringing it to fruition. It all involves riddles in the form of morse code, to present the dynamic duo with an extra difficult new challenge.

Episodes 59 and 60: Batman, Robin and Batgirl have to handle a new crime wave by Catwoman. She leads our terrific trio on a mad chase all throughout the city, as she's hunting for a hidden cat's eye ruby apparently buried somewhere underneath Gotham City. A harmless enough crime, one would think. But as the hunt for Catwoman continues, it becomes clear she's willing to do anything to get her hands on this statue. Anything.

Episodes 61 and 62: A new TV show is airing in cities across the nation. A show about "The Black Knight", a violent and brooding vigilante who punishes criminals with his sword of darkness. Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson watch it with Aunt Harriet one night, and they're appalled. Bruce and Dick are also shocked though, since the villians of the show appear to be modelled after Commissioner Gordon and Chief O'Hara.

Batman and Robin go to investigate the show, but they're trapped by the criminals behind the whole thing: Clayface and False Face. They were using the show's violent themes to promote a culture of violence citywide, and then they'd use their powers of disguise to instigate riots amongst the people of Gotham. The Black Knight would usurp Gotham's Caped Crusader in popularity, and then the city would be theirs for the taking! But unfortunately Batman and Robin found them out, and now all their schemes have come to naught.

Episodes 63 and 64: Batman, Robin, Batgirl and Jason Bard team up to fight off a gang war between Louie the Lilac and Poison Ivy. It turns out these two have some really personal grudges against each other, and Ivy clearly wants this man off her turf. So this tense standoff has to be resolved by our four heroes, before anything else goes disastrously wrong.

Episodes 65, 66 and 67: Batman has to go up against The Riddler, Cluemaster and The Puzzler, all of whom have gone on the attack against each other. There can only be one king of puzzles/riddles/clues, and they won't stop until one of them has successfully defeated the other!

Episodes 68 and 69: While Batman deals with the three puzzling champions, Batgirl and Robin end up fighting against The Bookworm and Scarecrow, both of whom have teamed up to try and steal some rare manuscripts for old time classic horror novels. It might be in this story that we get the first hints that robin is beginning to feel stifled by batman's authority. He wants to fly somewhat independently. To prove himself to Batman.

Episodes 70 and 71: Batman and Robin have to defeat The Joker, when he decides to challenge them to a game of wits. He commits crimes using the gimmicks of other criminals, and thusly tries to lure them off his trail. It almost works, until Batman and Robin finally get wise to the scheme.

Episodes 72 and 73: Batman and Robin have to deal with the one thing they never expected: The Penguin successfully seduces Aunt Harriet. She falls in love with him, and Penguin begins using this to try and capture a piece of the Wayne fortune. Batman and Robin have to somehow find a way to stop him, but how? When he's so close to their home ground, how can they possibly stop him!?

Episodes 74 and 75: Batman and Robin have to deal with King Tut, who's once again relapsed into his horrible criminal ways. He plans to flood Gotham City with sand, to finally bring the beautiful desert of thebes back to him. A pharaoh needs a home. And by Ra, he will make Gotham his new home!

After this, Season Four ends. Then we'd have the two animated movies (The Return of the Caped Crusaders and Batman vs Two-Face), and we'd also have the third movie which we were promised but which Adam West died before he could film (we were teased a film project with Harley Quinn, according to the Batman vs Two Face wikipedia page). So we'd have the Harley Quinn story (which might also feature Hugo Strange), and then we'd move into Season Five, where we'd introduce the League of Assassins. And after their story, I might consider having Dick Grayson leave for college. Because I want a pre-crisis Jason Todd in this show eventually, and I will reluctantly have Dick Grayson begin taking a more supporting role in order to get to that. But so far, i'm pretty happy with what i have here.

[eternal-echoes]

I can understand the animators wanting to add Miyo sympathizing with Fuyu and seeing a human side of her but it just feels awkwardly placed here at this moment of the story because Miyo is still working hard to get along with Fuyu. I kept expecting the actual dialogue from the Light Novel here of Miyo hilariously saying she'll only tell what happened with Fuyu if Kiyoka promises he won't get mad (which he broke anyway lol)

but the anime just went to a totally different direction and I was like, "what?"

I think this anime scene would have been fine if this was added at the end of their visit to the Kudo villa when Fuyu has finally acknowledged Miyo.

[wasyago]

welp, didn't manage to get everything out before season 10 started, but i gotta post it one way or another so here we go! heard there was a fandom swap game going on, wanted to do a couple promts of my own :D

[mroddmod]

little scrapped comic bc it felt a bit ooc to me in hindsight

[the-trans-dragon]

It *does* hurt that I got let go without any warning (even if I knew it was a possibility, especially since it's the slow season now and they're specifically replacing half of my department with other stuff) *because* I've been looking for other jobs with the plan to do a full two-weeks notice when I found one, and I've been secretly planning this entire time to eventually leave, making things as neat and easy as possible for whoever ends up overseeing my department. I didn't want any of the extra work to fall on my coworkers, the other department managers who have their own workloads. So it really sucks that higher-ups decided that I didn't deserve any warning, and neither did any of my teammates who will now have to pick up all the slack without any guidance from me.

[clumsycapitolunicorn]

.

[a-very-fond-farewell]

anxiety level: imma cry at the thought of finally having 1 hour to myself to just vibe 👯‍♀️

(time to write)

[heycoyotegirl]

love how the message of season 4 was that you have to have extremely good grades and have gone to parties to be able to successfully adjust to university

[you-will-return]

---

[irlwakko]

can you be robbed of something if it never actually existed. anyway we were robbed of villain zoey

[ghastbutlikegay]

Omg you talked about 2012 TMNT and I suddenly remembered how much of that show I watched when I was younger,,, oh the nostalgia. I don't remember all too much from it now but I remember loving it. I've never watched rottmnt but like. I probably should if it's as good as everyone has been saying it is

honestly i only watched a little bit of 2012 as a kid, i was never super into that style/genre of cartoon so i only watched it if it happened to come on hjsdghj

rottmnt is SO good. it's very very different to 2012 in a lot of ways, but the art and the writing and the voice acting are all sososo good. the characterization for all the turtles is super different as well so if youre used to a snarky Raph and a. well. a Rob Paulsen Donnie. you might not vibe with Rise at first

but thats one of the things i really love about the entire franchise, each version keeps the core concept (four mutant turtles raised by a rat are trained to be ninjas) and most of the characters the same while also all being really unique and having different takes on all the characters. i enjoy this aspect of the franchise to the point that im making my own fan reboots and everything hjksdhg

the main reason i initially watched Rise was because i heard Donnie was really good autistic rep and i have to agree, ive never connected with a character this much before hgjsdhg hes also a really good example of low empathy imo, and i very much feel like my own experience with low empathy is being represented here

the art is something i see people complain about a lot when theyre coming from a background of watching 2012 or 2003, and i definitely felt like the art was kinda weird at first, but it's also so fun and striking and as you get used to it and start picking up on little details it gets better and better

a lot of classic TMNT villains dont make appearances in Rise, and the ones who do are WAY different to the older versions, but they also have a whole ton of new villains who are super cool and compelling as well (Draxum and Big Mama my beloved <3)

the movie can technically be watched as a standalone but i highly recommend saving it til youve watched both seasons because HOLY FUCKING SHIT. THE EMOTIONS. the scene that always makes me cry probably wouldnt hit me the way it does if i didnt have all the background of the seasons

notes on where to watch though: netflix has season 1 and the movie, but i dont actually know how to legally watch season 2, and the site i used for it unfortunately shut down so i can provide links :(

oh god this got really long can you tell tmnt has entered special interest territory for me

[luigra]

!! what headcanons do you have for team hillscrafted? :0

the first and most major headcanon is that it's a team that exists at all

[onrainynights]

every day that goes by it feels more and more likely that I'll get this promotion and I can't believe I'm at a place in my life where that's even a possibility. like last year I had just the absolute worst time with employment and just had a horrible year in general but I feel like I got so lucky finding this job. except they felt lucky to find ME. like the hiring manager told me she was so happy to have multiple candidates and that I was easily the best out of the group (she's had to hire people out of desperation/only having one candidate before and they never worked out bc they weren't good fits at all) and my confidence has skyrocketed since I started working there because my boss and coworkers treat me like an equal even though I'm young and relatively inexperienced. they treat me like they believe I'm capable and competent and it makes me feel capable and competent and it's incredible. the idea that I could be getting a promotion for the first time in my life after only 3 months at this place is insane but I'm so hopeful because nobody acts like it's a far-fetched idea. I'm taken seriously and it gave me the confidence I needed to actually say that I'm interested in that promotion and that I know I'm capable of doing that position. plus the company itself is great honestly, I feel really lucky to work there. even as a part time employee at the lowest level I feel genuinely important and appreciated. I've already met the person who would be my boss if I get promoted and she seems just as respectful as everyone else. are all employee-owned companies like this???

[minjv]