#the dad oc i have 0 thoughts on; not even sure what i want him to look like

[raging-violets]

"Please never do that again." + dealers choice!

Big Time Rush: Life on the Line | Prompt | Logan Mitchell and Rhuben Jackson-McGuire (OC)

Authored by: Rhuben

A/N: SOOOO sorry it took so long to get this one done. The idea for it came very very recently. Really had no idea how to end this one, but here it is! Set during Big Time Cameo

otp prompt: protectiveness | Prompt List

“What’s everyone saying?” 

“I don’t think it’s a good idea if I show you.”

“Logan, please.”

“You just got home!” 

Rhuben let out a huff-sigh of annoyance. Partly in response to the push back, and partially in annoyance at the lackadaisical way the chair Logan was settled in slowly rocked from side to side as he pushed himself. As if none of this was a big deal.

Logan let out a quiet sigh in response. He watched her pensively as she shifted from one seated position on her bed, to stretching out her legs, to pulling one knee up tapping the mattress with the sole of her sock-covered foot, to sitting cross-legged. Even in her own bedroom, in her own home, she couldn’t get comfortable.

“I have to know. You know I’ll find out eventually.” She had figured the second she got back home from inpatient, she’d be brought into her dad’s office for a meeting on the plan for damage control. But, no.

It was all hugs (an exuberant “Yayyy” from Sydney as he pushed through his brothers and sister) the usual sibling needling, and laughs. She needed that, and wanted it, more than she thought she would for someone who was barely away from home for a week. Truth be told, she hadn’t ever been away from her family for more than two days at most. Perks of being in a family band. And liking being around her family. (For the most part. Patrick did test that pretty often.)

But sooner rather than later, she’d have to face reality. Noah had slipped a quiet “They’re talking about you” into her ear the next morning, miming holding his cell phone as they sat at the breakfast table. She had only nodded in response.

“Paps are starting to line up at the gate,” her dad had announced shortly after as he sat down at the head of the table. “Security’s making sure not to let anyone in unless they’re an approved guest.” 

“Great.” Rhuben had given the only verbal in response as her brothers and sister nodded.

Paps. Did you hear him? Paps. At our front door. Because of what you did! 

Logan had thought he had given her and her family enough time and privacy before going to visit. There was some sort of energy that was off that he could feel as he stepped into the Jackson-McGuire home. It was as noisy and crazy as usual, but there was just something in the air that struck him as soon as he stepped over the threshold. The questions had started the second he had released her from his hug, his “Welcome home” barely out of his mouth.

“Gustavo and your dad have bene talking; they’re figuring it out,” Logan explained, still twisting in the chair. “It’s ok.”

“How’s Dara?” Logan’s lips shifted upwards into a slight, sad smile. Rhuben was always thinking about others, something he really liked about her. But it was always at the expense of herself. And she was thinking about herself, as recent events have shown, it wasn’t always in a nice way.

“She’s ok. She’s safe. The conditions of the Coco.0 set are being looked into.”

“And your cameo?”

“It’s ok.”

Rhuben grabbed her pillow and hugged it to her chest. “Logan!” she said, sharply, in contrast to the pout that was coming to her face. She blinked her blue eyes at him. It was the same look her older brother had taught her to give to their parents whenever they wanted to attempt to get what they wanted. A lot of the time, it worked, too.

Logan stopped twisting in her desk chair and stretched his arms above his head. His chest lifted with a deep inhale, and upon exhaling he crossed his arms over his chest. And crossed his legs at the ankles. “We’re getting some blowback about it.”

Bingo.

Her cheeks puffed up with a heavy sigh. She pressed her lips together and grabbed fistfuls of her pillow before flinging it at the wall in a hard strike. “God…damn it!”

“Hey, stop.” Logan pulled himself out of her chair and quickly crossed the room to sit beside her on her bed. He reached out his hand and took Rhuben’s, gently squeezing it. “Fans are still excited that we have a cameo on Coco.0. And they’re excited for the new song.”

He had to bite his tongue to stop himself from rattling off everything swirling around in his head that he could find out about eating disorders. He had made that mistake after initially finding out about the Jacksons’ abuse and thinking he was helping by quoting facts, statistics, and literature to her. He wanted to be a doctor; he just wanted to be knowledgeable and have good bedside manners. And as her friend, he wanted her to know he cared.

Rhuben fought the urge to pull her hand out of his grasp. She could feel her body tensing up, her upper lip curling slightly. She didn’t deserve any of his softness or support. She had put his career in jeopardy. And Dara’s, too.

“It’s okay,” Logan insisted in her silence.

“Stop saying ‘it’s ok’,” she all but snapped. “I hate that.”

It was just as annoying as “How are you?” She had a breakdown. How did everyone think she was? And it was all said in the same soft tone, with the same stupid soft look in their eyes and ugh! It was all just so…nice. As if everyone was worried she really was as fragile as glass. Hadn’t she proven, despite everything she had been through over the years, that she was strong? Adaptable? Capable?

“But it is.”

“No, it’s not!” Rhuben pulled her knees to her chest. She pulled her hand out of Logan’s to wrap her arms around her knees, she lifted a thumb to her mouth and started biting down on the nail. “This is...” Rhuben shook her head, her words dying on her lips.

Unacceptable. 

Unprofessional 

Your outburst was inexcusable. 

That voice could’ve been harsher. It had always used to be harsher in the past. Always lurking at the back of her mind, waiting to jump out and tell her exactly what she was doing wrong, or how she wasn’t good enough. Always at just the right time. She didn’t know when, but at some point that voice had changed. It was no longer the deep, sneering, low drawl of Robert. Now it was too much like her own voice. Or maybe it had always been that way, feeding off of Robert’s words, and now that he was gone, it was just making itself heard.

Logan frowned, watching the crease that formed between Rhuben’s eyebrows as she fell silent. Watched how her eyes squinted slightly. How, at the same time, her face went blank. He recognized that look now. It was one that came to her face when the intrusive thoughts were starting in. When she became calculating. When, if she wasn’t stopped fast enough, her thoughts could take her into a tailspin.

“A blip. That’s all. Just a blip,” Logan reassured her, messing with a thread on he bedspread. “You know how quickly these things blow over. Look at all that stuff with Gustavo and Belgium. No one really remembers any of that happened.” He gave her a reassuring smile. “We’re all more worried about you than our cameo. Ok?”

Rhuben shook her head. “No,” she said flatly. “Not ok.” It was impossible to ignore how small she felt. Embarrassed. She embarrassed herself, her family, everyone that worked at Phoenix Records, Big Time Rush, Roque Records, and the producers at CoCo.0 to boot.

Logan sighed through his nose, feeling his shoulders drop. Both with the weight of sympathy for his friend and frustration of not knowing what to say. Or how to say it. Or what was even the right thing to say right now. In a way, he could understand it; the embarrassment of Gustavo’s slip up with Belgium, not to mention their gaffe with the pitched reality show, and the bad press with the proposed idea that Lucy’s angry-rock songs were about Kendall; Carlos allegedly taking his anger out his anger on older women; and Logan’s affinity for robbing older women. Only James managed a scandal that put eyes on the band in a good way.

“Just…please, never do that again,” Logan said quietly.

Rhuben scoffed through her nose. “Which part?” she asked, flickering her blue eyes towards him. “The not eating part? The not telling anyone part? Or the disappearing part?”

“All of it.” He had gone over the past years so many times. How hadn’t he noticed? He could spot a developing cold or flu from a mile away for crying out loud. Or had he become more caught up in the glamorous Hollywood lifestyle that he lost sight of his dream? Or was it just so normal in Los Angeles, New York, and this industry, to keep in top shape, and eat the right thing and follow the right diet, that he didn’t notice? Or maybe he didn’t want to see it. Or was he still annoyed that James knew before him? And he was supposed to be her best friend.

Or as was the case as he came to find out in his readings, is that it all came down to the fact that she didn’t want anyone to notice.

He bobbed his head back and forth. “The blowup part wasn’t that great, either.”

It had really come out of nowhere, and just at quickly had finished. In the silence following, the Jacksons quickly left the set, and went low contact with everyone just as fast. No call backs, texts weren’t responded to, and for a family that usually had everyone around to their home, they weren’t wanting any visitors, either.

The incident. Six million views. Across all platforms. Because she forgot that everyone had cell phones glued to their hands.

Her lips pressed into a tight line.

Often, she’d been told she was too clinical, her humor too dry, smiles too rare. That’s just how she was at work. No nonsense. Get work done now and play hard later. Her mind was usually just on her work. Others thought she was an ice queen. Or a bitch if they were more blunt. And, boy, was she blunt when telling Dara’s stepmother everything that was wrong about her and how controlling she was.

Los Angeles was where dreams came true. And Rhuben did whatever she could to help her and her siblings reach that dream. To be the best. To go as far as they could with their music the way they wanted. No one would take that away from them. And she wouldn’t let anyone take it away from her friends. It was born out of protectiveness; she couldn’t sit by watching another rising star get their dreams crushed and ground into dirt before it even had the opportunity to be thought up. Especially not by an overbearing, evil, witch of a step-mother like Dara’s. She had spent enough years witnessing that kind of treatment first-hand and she wasn’t going to stand by and watch an up-and-coming star like Dara Washington’s exuberance get ground into the dust before she even had a chance in the industry.

Rhuben hum-laughed. That was just how she was. She made sure everyone else was ok. She got her work done. She did everything to the best of her ability. She did everything as close to perfect as she could make it. She met every deadline and expectation thrown at her. All the while keeping her thoughts and feelings to herself until it came out in one blow up of carefully crafted words and anger. She didn’t want anyone outside of family to know she was in treatment, not even her closest friends.

“Sorry, Logie, I can’t promise you that.”

Logan grabbed the abandoned pillow and hugged it to his own chest. “Which part?” he asked, starting to play with the tag on the side.

“Any of it.”

Logan let out a low chuckle. “Yeah, didn’t think you could. Not now, anyway. I mean that what therapy is for, right? To get you to that point?”

“And outpatient treatment,” Rhuben agreed with a nod. She unfolded herself and settled back into the rest of her pillows, crossing her arms over her chest. She swallowed, staring up at the ceiling. “Yeah, got it in one. Something like that, anyway. It’ll be all about how not meeting expectations isn’t failing, and that no one will think less of me if things aren’t perfect. How to not get sucked in by all the pressure.”

Logan silently nodded. That he could understand. That overwhelming pressure that had been on and off ever since he, Kendall, James, and Carlos got to Los Angeles. The right songs had to be put on the album in the right order with the right person singing the right part to make a great album. Then their marketing strategy had to be top notch; interviews, television appearances, social media posts, collaborations, cameos. On and on and on. Doing more and more and more for the chance at fame.

Sometimes Logan wondered if it all was worth it; doing whatever you could for an industry that didn’t love you as much as you loved it. As he looked over at Rhuben’s solemn expression, he knew when it came to people in his life, it always was.

-

Tag List: @partiallypearl

[herofics]

Hello :D I saw that your requests are open so if that's okay with you I got a request just for Gang Orca!! Not a romantic one tho- a platonic one since y/n will be a child- lemme explain, so you see how Eri's situation used to be? Can I ask for a similar thing with F(y/n) where she gets rescued from a dark basement captured by villains? :0 so basically Gang Orca was the one who recuses her and they're kinda like a father-daughter type since she's mostly with him- and yeah- may I have some hcs? ,-, I've been imagining this with my Oc and I'm going crazy about it-

I didn't know if I should include it or if it's necessary but if in any chance you're gonna use it can y/n's quirk be like- water body? She can turn her body into water and manipulate a d control the water that she creates using her body(freezing and turning in to ice for example!)

Also, have a nice day and thanks for your time <3 sorry if I broke a rule :') and it's completely alright if you don't wanna do this request :]

A month is a pretty standard time for what it takes me to do requests, at least if I don't get an idea for it that I want to pursue immediately, but I'm still sorry this took so long. I don't write about other people's OCs, but you framed this just generally enough that I don't think of it as writing about an OC, it's just a request. I tagged this as mha x reader, since I don't have a separate platonic tag but it's still x reader

•You had been so sure you would never get sure for the villains that had taken you

•They had taken you because your parents were rich and the two villains were hoping for a pay day in the form of a ransom

•But your parents never paid, they didn’t want you back and you were left with the two villains who had no idea what to do with a kid like you

•But pretty soon after you parents denied to pay for you, you were rescued by a pro-hero and his sidekick

•It was Gang Orca, he carried you out of that basement, and you felt the sunlight in your face for the first time in weeks

•You were crying and clinging onto his jacket for dear life

•Since you’re so young, you still have a bit of a hard time controlling your quirk, so your body turned into water

•You still managed to keep your shape, but you apologized to Gang Orca profusely, because you were scared he would get angry with you

•But he just told you not to worry about it, and that you were safe now

•You never once thought he was scary, even though other people might

•When Gang Orca learned that you had no place to go, since your parents were arrested as well for severe child neglect

•He decided to take you in, because he knew what it felt like to be alone and scared and having no one to turn to for help

•So he brought you home with him, after you got some of your things from your former home

•You brought your favorite plushie, books and some toys, along with clothes and stuff like that

•You set up in his guest bedroom while Gang Orca made you some dinner

•As the days go by and you get to know each other a bit, you seem pretty meek and quiet

•You start calling him Mr. Sakamata after you ask him his name

•He notices your quirk responds to your emotions so, he asks if you’d like to learn to control it better

•You tell him no, and that your parents always told you you didn’t need to control it that well, because you’d never be a hero anyway

•Gang Orca tells you that of course you can be a hero and that even if you didn’t want to,quirk control is always important

•So you start training to control your quirk and he’s helping you to the best of his ability

•When you go out to a store or to the park, he carries you on his shoulders or you hold his hand, because you’re a bit scared of people after your kidnapping experience

•He comes to consider you as his kid and he’s like a dad to you

•He supports you as you go back to school and he’s there to help you with your homework and to cheer you on

•Gang Orca is a pretty strict parent, but he also let’s you learn from your mistakes, as long as it’s a pretty harmless mistake

•He’s not overly protective, but he is protective still, like a dad should be

[saiilorstars]

Ch. 36: Worldwide Mayhem

Fandom: Harry Potter (Hogwarts years 1-7) Pairing: Draco x OFC

taglist: @ocappreciationtag @arrthurpendragon @anotherunreadblog  @maaaaarveeeeel @stareyedplanet @foxesandmagic @kmc1989

​​​​Story Masterlist // Romina’s Masterlist

Fanfic • Ao3 • Wattpad

If you’d like to be a part of this OC’s work/edits, let me know

Romina wasn't ashamed to say that she liked the act of revenge...but she also hated karma. Because karma now made it so that instead of getting letters from Draco constantly begging her to change her mind about their bet, he was now sending her letters of him boasting about his triumph over her. She owed him a favor and he was making sure that she remembered. Romina hated his guts and wished she could see him again just to smack him. She didn't stay silent, no way. She responded to each of his letters with her own comebacks and promises that she would get him back for all this mess.

Arden saw some of those letters one afternoon in Romina's bedroom. Romina was going around packing a few things in a suitcase while Arden laid on the former's bed reading the letters like they were hers.

"You guys are so competitive, truly not well for your health," she remarked.

Romina scoffed. "Stop reading those, they're not yours."

"Au contraire, mon cheri," Arden said, raising her head for a moment to flash a smirk at Romina. "Like my French?" Romina rolled her eyes and returned to her closet.

Figured I should learn some since you're French now."

"Technically speaking, I've always been French, I just didn't know about it. Now would you please put those letters away? If aunt Sage or uncle Lyonel see them, they'll find out about everything."

Arden figured Romina was right and folded the letters again. "So what have you been telling them since these letters started showing up so often now?" She slid the envelopes underneath Romina's pillows.

"Nothing specific. Lots of people write to me so it's not like they suspect anything." Romina came back to the suitcase on the foot of her bed and slipped in another pair of jeans. "The only owl they recognize are my grandparents', Rolf's and the Weasley's."

"Ooh, better for us, I guess. We'd be dead if they figured out what we made Draco do. But I guess the punishment came with it, huh?" Arden let out a dramatic sigh. "We can never tell anyone about it. Harry would've loved it."

Romina nodded but, unlike Arden, she wasn't that sad they couldn't tell Harry about it. Harry would have had a field day with the idea of Draco being forced to spend an hour in the muggle world. It was just best to keep the animosity between him and Draco as low as possible.

"So, when are you leaving then?" Arden said as she peeked inside Romina's suitcase. "Are you and Harry going together to Ron's?"

"Er, no," Romina gave a shake of her head. She left her packing and walked over to her window that gave a view into the street. She couldn't of course get a good sight of Harry's house but she still tried. "Ron's dad is coming to pick him up at the Dursleys'."

"What?" Arden made a face, confused. "Why?"

"Well, the Dursleys are already on the fence about all the magic stuff so aunt Sage and aunt Lyonel want to stay out of it. Better for me to quietly make my way to the Weasleys'."

"Guess that makes sense," shrugged Arden.

"So I'll be leaving tomorrow morning instead, stay with them for a few days and then come back home. Harry'll stay at the Burrow until school starts again."

"Oh, good for him," Arden nodded. "Make sure to tell me how it goes then."

"Are you sure you don't want to come?"

"Nah! Just have fun and definitely stay away from Pansy Parkinson if you see her."

Romina laughed.

~ 0 ~

It was too early. Way too damn early.

Why'd I even say I was coming? The same thoughts ran through Romina's head while she mindlessly ate her breakfast at the crack of dawn. You don't even like Quidditch that much! Why'd you say you were coming? She barely registered aunt Sage telling her to be on her best behavior before she was shuffled into the fireplace. It was just so early.

Yawning and with her eyes half shut, she stepped into the Weasley's overwhelming living room and right into another mess of people being woken up and yelled at by Mrs. Weasley. Apparently, a lot of the others were thinking like her in that it was too early to be doing anything. It also sounded like the twins were already up to something.

When Mrs. Weasley saw Romina standing in front of the fireplace half asleep, she greeted the girl with a tight hug and guided her to the kitchen where the others were.

"When'd you get here!?" Harry said excitedly.

"Uuh, couple...minutes ago..." Romina yawned and languidly sat down in an empty chair. "Remind me again why we have to be awake so early? I hate you for making me come."

Across the table, the twins scoffed and reminded her that she'd chosen to come.

"Shut up," Romina then said and thanked Mr. Weasley, who sat at the head of the table, for inviting her over. "I just don't like mornings...or dawn..." She said after, making the adults chuckle.

Since she had already eaten breakfast, she got to lay her head on the table and take a short nap while the others finished. She was rudely awoken when Mrs. Weasley started yelling at the twins again about some things she pulled out of them with her wand.

"We spent six months developing those!" Fred shouted indignantly as the little things, which looked a lot like candy to Romina, went flying straight into the trash bin.

"Oh a fine way to spend six months!" Mrs. Weasley snapped. "No wonder you didn't get more O.W.L.s!"

"I'm confused, what were those?" Romina said, standing up as the others were doing the same around the table.

"We'll tell you later," Hermione said as she quickly pulled Romina with her.

They grabbed their rucksacks and headed out. Romina tugged her sweater closer around her because the air was still ever so cold. They had just made it over the crest of a hill when someone called for Mr. Weasley.

"Arthur! It's about time, son!"

"Amos!" Mr. Weasley greeted as he led the group towards another man waving at them. "This is Amos Diggory, everyone. He works for the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. And I think you know his son, Cedric, right?"

"Hi," Cedric greeted them all with a kind smile. His eyes landed on Romina specifically, to which the girl smiled right back. She still remembered his kind words about her from the last time they'd spoken. Unlike the rest of the school, he didn't look at her name, just her.

"Long walk, Arthur?" Mr. Diggory asked as Mr. Weasley.

"Not too bad," said Mr. Weasley. "We live just on the other side of the village there. You?"

"Had to get up at two, didn't we, Ced? I tell you, I'll be glad when he's got his Apparition test. Still . . . not complaining . . . Quidditch World Cup, wouldn't miss it for a sackful of Galleons — and the tickets cost about that. Mind you, looks like I got off easy. . . ." Mr. Diggory took a look at the crowd of teenagers around Mr. Weasley. "All these yours, Arthur?"

"Oh no, only the redheads," said Mr. Weasley, pointing out his children. "This is Hermione and Romina, friends of Ron's — and Harry, another friend—"

"Merlin's beard," Mr. Diggory's eyes widened as they landed on the brunette in question. "Harry? Harry Potter?"

"Er — yeah," said Harry, shifting on his feet. Oh, how he adored being the center of everyone's attention...

"Ced's talked about you, of course. Told us all about playing against you last year. . . . I said to him, I said — Ced, that'll be something to tell your grandchildren, that will. ... You beat Harry Potter!"

"Harry fell off his broom, Dad," said Cedric, who looked slightly embarrassed. "I told you...it was an accident..."

"Yes, but you didn't fall off, did you? Always modest, our Ced, always the gentleman . . . but the best man won, I'm sure Harry'd say the same, wouldn't you, eh? One falls off his broom, one stays on, you don't need to be a genius to tell which one's the better flier!"

Cedric looked like he wanted to be anywhere but here right now.

"Think we should keep going or something," Romina cut into the conversation and tapped a finger against her non-existing watch on her wrist. It prompted the two grown men to keep leading them towards the portkey.

"Life saver," Cedric mumbled to her as he walked alongside her.

"You're welcome. You can pay me back later," she chuckled.

They eventually came to the spot of the portkey, which turned out to be an old boot.

"You just need to touch the Portkey, that's all, a finger will do—" Mr. Weasley started explaining to them as they gathered around it.

Even then, with all the focus in the world, their landings were less than graceful. A full cake of grass met most of their faces. But, at last, they were a massive field that stretched God knew how long. Tents by the thousands were already standing in place.

"You alright?" Cedric, who had landed on the ground perfectly like his father and Mr. Weasley, held a hand out to Romina on the ground.

"Oh yeah, no way better to start the day than with a face full of dirt..." Romina grabbed Cedric's hand and was promptly pulled up to her feet. "Does wonders for my skin. Muggles pay for that, you know."

Cedric chuckled. "No they don't."

"Yes, they do. It's called a mud mask."

Their conversation was cut short as they were once again shuffled towards some way by the adults. As they reached some cottage, the Diggorys parted ways with them. It was then that Hermione and Ginny came to flank Romina.

"Uuh, when and how did you manage to pull that?" Ginny's voice was sharp with curiosity as they watched the Diggorys' figures disappear in the distance.

"Excuse you, he's like 4 years older than you," Romina snorted. "Down, Ginny." The redhead rolled her eyes. "And it's not like that. Cedric's very nice and he was still like that while almost everyone else was making fun of me for my name."

"Yeah, but I bet it's always a pleasure to spend time with a guy like that," Hermione smirked. "You were walking very close to each other, and the whole time too!"

Romina rolled her eyes. "You couldn't be more wrong. He's cute but that's about it."

"Oh please," they heard one of the twins scoff up ahead.

"Don't start," Ginny warned them, "You're just mad that Cedric beat Harry in that Quidditch game at school."

"It wasn't a clear win and everybody knows it!" George said with a huff.

"Well, as long as you're not bitter about it," Romina muttered.

After meeting with some poor obliviated Muggle by the name of Mr. Roberts, they were set to find their rented tent in the fields. Everyone who was already there was clearly in the party mood. Music played loudly in the air, people flew back and forth above them on brooms, and there was a strong scent of various foods being prepared.

The inside of their tent turned out to be far bigger than what it appeared on the outside. It was a splash of color everywhere, almost like the entire rainbow had thrown up inside. Mismatched furniture adorned the area but it all looked incredibly comfortable.

"Girls. Choose a bunk and unpack," Mr. Weasley instructed them. "Ron, get out of the kitchen we're all hungry!"

The twins had made themselves comfortable at the kitchen table, feet propped up and arms behind their heads. "Yeah get out of the kitchen Ron!" They chorused together.

Mr. Weasley walked past them, motioning to their feet. "Feet off the table!"

"Feet off the table!" They repeated, pulling their feet off until their father left.

"I love magic," Harry remarked with a light chuckle.

"Harry!" Ron called as he made his way to the other side of the tent. "You can sleep over here!"

Harry nodded and made his way to the bunk to unpack what he had brought. From their spot, he and Ron could hear the endless giggles of the girls not too far from them.

"Listen to them," Ron said, crinkling his nose, "Bet they're going on about Diggory."

"Sheesh, Ron, didn't know you could be that jealous..." Romina had come out of their side to smirk at the ginger.

"It's not jealousy, it's annoyance," said Ron in a mutter.

"Don't know about what since Cedric's literally never done anything to you. Is there any dinner yet? I'm starving!" And with that, Romina headed into the kitchen.

In the next half hour, the rest of them came to join for some makeshift dinner. It was there that they decided to nitpick the latest news they had discovered, which, unfortunately, meant Romina had to answer a lot more questions about her new family.

"So does this mean you're going to get snooty now that you have more class, Aline?" Fred asked and before Romina knew it,George was at her side, feigning a dramatic bow.

Romina sighed heavily. "Knock it off!" She shoved George away from her and ignored their collective laugh."Shut it, both of you," Ginny told the twins and ordered them to sit down already.

"In reality, we're very happy for you, Romina," Hermione smiled at the girl. "It must be wonderful to have more family. You even have cousins now!"

"Yeah, Rolf is really great," Romina nodded. "I'm excited for this year. We get to see each other all the time and we might even make plans to visit each other at our homes. Rolf wants to see the neighborhood."

"Just keep him away from our block," warned Harry. "Dudley's a menace."

"Yeah, well, I'm a bigger one," Romina said promptly and with a wide smirk. "Besides, maybe with a little help from two certain entrepreneurs, I might get my hands on some enlargement toffees or something...?"

The twins smirked on the spot and declared that it would be their pleasure to assist her in any future plans she had.

~ 0 ~

Many things had happened by the next day's morning. For one, they had all met Ludo Bagman, aka the man who had given Mr. Weasley the extra tickets that allowed them to come. He wasn't very impressive, at least not to the girls who thought it was a waste of time placing bets and all on the outcome of the game. Since the twins had placed almost, if not all, their winnings, they promptly told the girls to mind their business. Ron's older brothers had come to join them by lunchtime. Bill and Charlie were very much cool and fascinating to the teenagers, save for Percy of course. He was still a stickler as ever.

They had also met Barty Crouch, Percy's boss. Harry had quietly made the joke to the others that Mr. Crouch looked like his uncle Vernon in the suit he was in. Before Percy could get at any of them, Mr. Crouch had called him forward, albeit by the name of Weatherby, which then made all of them, but no one more than the twins, cackle.

Once it was finally time to go, the group got themselves ready and headed out. Every other wizard on site was heading in the same direction, making an absolute chaos. The closer they got to the stadium, the more excitement could be felt in the air. Wizards were laughing, joking, and cheering all around.

Romina was momentarily drawn to the pretty lights in the air that, if anyone asked her, resembled a lot like the twins' fireworks they had talked about earlier. She wondered if they had managed to sneak those in from home. In her distraction, she'd been bumped into by several of the other guests.

"Eughl, watch it!" she scowled at the rude group of teenage girls who, as pretty as they were, seemed like the biggest bunch of—

"Well, well, well, who do we have here?"

Romina recognized the voice before she turned around. She couldn't miss the bright blonde hair hair in the midst of the crowd. "Hey," she greeted Draco with a deadpanning look.

"Lost, Oswell?"

"I know exactly where I am, thank you very much. I'm at the World Cup, aren't I?"

Draco rolled his eyes but he still had a cocky little smile on his face. "I see we're still a little, uh, pressed about that thing that happened?"

"No, I'm totally fine. I was actually heading up with my friends—"

"What a coincidence, so was I," Draco said and a few seconds later, Romina heard someone else through the crowd.

"Malfoy, what the fuck? You left me behind and for what?" Theodore Nott was quite literally pushing his way through the crowd until he spotted Draco and Romina. "Oh, Oswell, what a surprise."

"Hi," Romina gave him a weak wave. She hadn't seen him at all through break but like the rest of the boys, he'd also grown several inches over the break. "Am I to expect Blaise and Angel too?"

"Nah, Angel's gone for Brazil and Blaise couldn't come," said Theodore. "Our families were invited by Cornelius Fudge," he gestured between himself and Draco.

"Congrats?" Romina said questioningly.

"Don't be sarcastic now, I'm not your enemy," Theodore said with a smug smirk.

Romina figured Draco must have already told everyone by know about their second bet.

"But trust me, I'm your biggest fan," Theodore said, bringing a hand over his chest. "Getting Malfoy over here to actually go to your muggle neighborhood was gold. Truly never letting that go."

And just like that, Romina liked Theodore again. "Well, it was one of my finest moments..."

Draco glared at them both. "Shut it," he ordered them. "Before my parents hear—"

But just like before, Romina couldn't not spot the same bright blondes in the crowd growing closer. "If you want things to stay quiet I suggest you stop talking," she told Draco quickly before his parents caught up with them. It wasn't just them, though. Romina spotted another man walking with them — tall and with a familiar complexion. It had to be Theodore's father.

"There you are," a woman whom Romina presumed was Draco's mother said to him and Theodore. "You got too far ahead."

"Sorry mother, we just saw a friend of ours," Draco said and motioned to Romina who, for some reason, was flushing. He gave her an odd look for it but didn't point it out.

"Hello," Romina greeted the woman, and the rest of the adults for that matter. "Romina Oswell, nice to meet you, ma'am." Her eyes flickered to Theodore's father and gave him an acknowledging nod.

"Yes, we've of course heard of you," Draco's mother smiled politely at the girl. "Narcissa Malfoy, my husband Lucius and our good friend Mr. Theodore Nott."

Romina's eyebrows raised at young Theodore and just as her lips quirked upwards, she felt the subtle nudge of Draco's elbow beside her. Better not make a comment, she reminded herself. At least not until we're alone. "It's very nice to meet you."

"Nice to see you again as well," said Mr. Malfoy, with a strange smile. "I heard you're associating yourself with a new family? We didn't know you were part of the Scamander family."

"Truthfully, neither did I," Romina said nervously. She wondered exactly how far this news was reaching.

"Well, a word of advice, I would be careful where you shop," Mr. Malfoy's strange smile grew wider. "The Scamander family is renowned for its heroic acts. Unfortunately, I don't believe they would be as understanding as we are."

"Definitely not," agreed Mr. Nott. "It's about agility, Miss Oswell. Something you have yet to master."

Romina couldn't help but gulp. She looked at Draco accusingly.

Mrs. Malfoy suggested they start heading up towards the stairs with the rest of the crowd. While the adults took the lead, the teenagers lingered a few feet behind them.

Romina could only wait so long before she threw her accusations out loud. "You git—you told?"

"Don't look at me Oswell," Draco was quick to say. "I didn't know you decided to make conversation with the actual owners of Borgin and Burkes! Who does that?"

Romina pursed her lips. That may have not been her best idea, she could see that now. "But you didn't have to tell!"

"I didn't!"

"Nobody had to," Theodore said, making Romina's head flip in his direction. "Our parents do trade with the owner. He's a chatty old man."

"So he's blabbing that I went in!?"

"Well, it's not like any of your crew ever go in there, right? Nobody's ever gonna know."

"Yeah, lighten up, Oswell," said Draco. "Everyone upheld their end of the deal. Enjoy the game already. Even from where you're probably gonna watch it. You know you could've just asked, right?"

Romina didn't care much for his smirk and picked up her pace. "I've actually got a great seat. And I should catch up; I've wasted enough of my time with the likes of you." With a huff and her nose in the air, she walked faster up ahead until she was lost in the crowd.

"Does she even know where she's going?" asked Theodore curiously. "I doubt she's ever been to something like this."

Draco shrugged. "Let her get lost."

"Oh, please," scoffed Theodore, "I'm sure there'll be somebody more than willing to help her find her way again." At Draco's questioning glance, Theodore just shrugged. "She looks different, don't you think?"

"I think she looks the bloody same," Draco said flatly. "Definitely the same type of annoying."

"Well, I think Angel would agree with me," Theodore said with a knowing laugh.

Draco did not laugh, nor did he say anything else on the matter.

~ 0 ~

When Romina caught up with the rest of her friends, they were already sitting down on the first row of the top box. Mr. Weasley expressed his concern for her lack of prescence when they had first arrived, and she apologized for getting distracted.

"Please just make sure to stick with one of us, alright?" he made her promise that she would for future moments.

She scooted towards the end where Harry, Hermione and Ron were. They were as concerned as Mr. Weasley had been, curious of where she'd gotten to. Romina glossed over it and soon noticed that there was another house elf sitting at the top of the box with her hands covering her face. It sure helped move things along because Hermione started raging again about how insensitive it was to force a house elf afraid of heights to sit on the highest box in the stadium. Winky, was the elf's name, and she was adamant that she was a good elf who followed orders, unlike one Dobby who, apparently, was demanding he be paid for his service. Romina thought it was funny but didn't dare say it out loud in front of Hermione.

The box was nearly filled, amongst them with the Minister of Magic himself Cornelius Fudge, and the Bulgarian minister as well (who didn't speak English). Romina soon saw problems when the Malfoys and Notts arrived at the same box. It seemed like Fudge was oblivious to the tension between Mr. Weasley and Mr. Malfoy as he addressed them both in casual greetings.

It was a tense stand-off between them as Fudge showed them to their seats which, of course, happened to be behind theirs. Romina looked over her shoulder as both Draco and Theodore sat down behind her.

"This is going to be a long night," she murmured.

"I'll say, your big head's in the way," she heard Theodore remark behind her, followed by the distinctive sound of Draco snickering.

She shot them both a contemptuous look then flipped her head again to face the field. She felt Hermione's hand come over hers on her lap; she was offering Romina a kind smile. It definitely helped.

The game started promptly with Ludo Bagman's arrival. The whole stadium erupted at his introduction, making it a colorful array of flags throughout the whole place. ""And now, without further ado, allow me to introduce . . . the Bulgarian National Team Mascots!"

"I wonder what they've brought," Mr. Weasley wondered curiously and leaned forward in his seat. "Aaah!" He suddenly pulled off his glasses and gave them a good polish with his robes. "Veela!"

At his exclaim, the teenagers saw what seemed like a hundred of these "veela" glide out into the field. Most of them had never seen "veela" before but they turned out to be very pretty women with white-gold hair and shining skin. A sweet melody started playing with their entrance.

"Woah, what the fuck are you doing, Harry Potter?" Romina didn't hesitate to rip the brunette away from the wall of the box and right back into his seat. He seemed to be transfixed by the sight of the dancing veela.

"They're so pretty Rom..." He said much too eagerly.

Romina exchanged glances with Hermione and Ginny who seemed about the only ones out of their group not to be losing their minds. Ron looked ready to make a dive into the field as well. The twins had the same stupid dreamy grins on their faces. Romina looked back at Draco and Theodore and saw them leaned forward with similar dazed faces.

"Honestly!" Hermione shook her head at them all.

Romina decided to flip her hair over her shoulders in such a dramatic way that it slapped both Draco and Theodore in their faces. "Oops!"

"What was that for?" Theodore leaned back in his seat with the biggest scowl on his face.

"Oswell being dramatic, I'm sure," Draco said and matched Romina's glare with his own. "We were having a good time, you know."

"Oh, we know," she said with a roll of her eyes. "Idiots, all of you," she murmured and fixed herself in her seat. She was very glad when the veela left the field.

"And now, kindly put your wands in the air . . . for the Irish National Team Mascots!"

Fortunately, the Irish did not have any Veela as part of their introductions. They had lovely green and gold comets zooming around the stadium that hurtled towards the goal posts. A rainbow appared to connect them and soon disappeared, leaving a great shimmering shamrock in the sky.

"Excellent!" Ron cried as the shamrock rained gold coins down on them.

The closer the shamrock was to them, the more clearly they could see that it was actually comprised of leprechauns. Everyone around the stadium scrambled to pick up the golden coins being left behind, including Ron who gave Harry a fistful of them and cried about a christmas present or something.

"Here Oswell," Draco dropped some of the coins over Romina's shoulder. "Maybe you could buy yourself one of those little dried fruits you like so much. Or maybe you could buy one for your Weasley group. They might need it more."

Romina grabbed the coin and tossed it over her shoulder, hitting him in the face with it. She could hear Harry and Ron snickering beside her. "I think I only need one coin to make 'em laugh, so thanks. Theodore, you want one too?"

"I'm good, thanks," said Theodore with his hands in front of him.

"Smart." Romina then held up another coin for Draco to see and raised an eyebrow, silently asking if he wanted another one to his face.

His response was a deep glare.

Ludo started introducing the Bulgarian team now. Ron was very happy about his favorite player, Viktor Krum. He was over the moon really. After the Irish team was brought on, Ludo introduced the referee who then officially started the game.

Though Romina wasn't a huge fan of the sport, she knew a good game when she saw one. These players were clearly professionals as they literally zoomed by after the balls, dodging them and throwing them. They were fast.

The Irish made a goal first. The leprechauns happily rose into the air again and formed a glittering shamrock for their team.

Later, the Iris had made two more goals, leaving the Bulgarians to race to catch up. And soon, they scored their own goal too.

"Fingers in your ears!" Mr. Weasley warned the group as the veela started to dance in the air.

This time, most of the boys stayed bright as ever now that they knew the veelas' tricks. Romina laughed as Harry re-opened his eyes; she supposed it was a good way to ensure that he didn't fall under the veelas' charms.

The bulgarians stayed in control of the quaffle, but now it seemed like the teams' seekers had spotted the snitch. Krum and Lynch zoomed after it like they were diving. Hermione screamed that they were going to crash down on the field. Krum pulled out at the last second, but Lynch went straight down.

It's time-out!" yelled Bagman over the stadium, "as trained mediwizards hurry onto the field to examine Aidan Lynch!"

It was a lot of back and forth for a while, with many more fast-paced tricks from both teams. It got to the point where the referee intervened, which then caused more problems that brought on both sides' mascots. A battle enraged between them involving not so kind words from the leprechauns and more charming dances from the veela.

Romina and Hermione, and Ginny, were not impressed by the sight.

When the game was finally started again, the teams were more furious than ever with their attempts to score. Romina was sure there was a lot more foul play now than anything else. The mascots started again, with the leprechauns forming one giant hand that was very keen on showiing its middle finger.

This time, Romina couldn't help but laugh.

The veelas lost it and went straight for the attack, throwing fire at the leprechauns. Their beautiful figures morphed into very nonhuman features with cruel-beaked bird heads and scaly wings bursting from their shoulders.

While Ministry wizards tried breaking apart the mascot fight below, the game was still going on above. Back and forth went the quaffle, scores being made on both sides. However, with more foul play, one bludge slamming right into Krum's face and breaking his nose. Even then, the game still went on. At some point, the irish seeker Lynch had spotted the snitch and took a nose dive for it. Krum went after him and somehow, Lynch managed to crash into the field yet again only this time since the Veela were still around, they stampeded around him. Krum took possession of the Snitch, but the Irish had still won the game.

"KRUM GETS THE SNITCH — BUT IRELAND WINS — good lord, I don't think any of us were expecting that!" Bagman said what most of them were thinking.

"What did he catch the Snitch for?" Ron said in the midst of his excited bouncing with applause. "He ended it when Ireland were a hundred and sixty points ahead, the idiot!"

"He knew they were never going to catch up!" Harry had to shout to be heard amongst the applause of the stadium. "The Irish Chasers were too good...he wanted to end it on his terms, that's all!"

"He was very brave, wasn't he?" Hermione leaned forward and watched Krum land to be surrounded by mediwizards. "He looks a terrible mess. . . ."

"This was the most chaotic game I have ever seen," Romina remarked with all the tude of someone unimpressed.

"It's the only game you've seen," came Draco's remark from behind.

Romina spun around that time and swiped some golden coins off the ground to chuck at his face. With all the buzz and excitement of cheers, nobody really noticed her antics. It wasn't until Bagman started re-introducing the teams that Romina gave up and turned back with her friends to continue clapping.

And of course, once the game was truly over, and Bagman was no longer talking to the stadium, Fred and George Weasley were scrambling to his seat with wiggling fingers and wide grins.

~ 0 ~

Later on in the evening, celebrations were still going strong in almost every part of the tents. In the Weasley Tent, the twins were dancing ridiculously in the middle while Ron went on about Krum to the others.

"There's no one like Krum. He's like a bird the way he rides the wind. He's more than an athlete, he's an artist!"

"Think you're in love Ron?" Ginny snickered when Ron hopped onto a chair to make his words better heard.

The twins started mocking him with their version of a song. "Viktor I love you! Viktor!" Even Harry joined in.

"When we're apart my heart beats only for youuu!"

Hermione and Romina shook their heads disapprovingly but nobody could take away their laughter, not when Ron looked so heated.

"Sounds like the irish have got their pride on," Fred remarked after a particularly loud burst from outside.

Mr. Weasley suddenly came running into the tent looking quite frantic. "Stop! Stop it. It's not the irish. We've gotta get out of here. Now!"

The group all looked at each other in concern and with a bit of fright. What could be happening at a time like this? The more they listened, the clearer things got. It no longer sounded like cheering and singing outside. Romina heard distinct sounds of horrific screaming.

Mr. Weasley was quick to get everyone out as he threw out a handful of instructions. "Stick together. Fred, George...Ginny is your responsibility!"

"But what's happening!?" Each of them would ask until they were shoved outside and could see for themselves.

The air was filled with smoke from ongoing fires. People were running all over the place, screaming, as one identifiable group in pointed hoods and flaming torches wrecked the place.

"What are they doing?" Romina was horrified when she saw four bodies in the air being controlled by the same group. She recognized the man as the same muggle they encountered yesterday — Mr. Roberts. With him was a woman and two small children, all with the same terrified faces.

Mr. Weasley, Bill, Charlie and Percy emerged behind them from the tent, wands at the ready. "We're going to help the Ministry!" Mr. Weasley told the teenagers. "You lot — get into the woods, and stick together. I'll come and fetch you when we've sorted this out!"

"Romina, let's go!" Hermione called frantically, trying to tug Romina's arm.

"But—it's a family!" Romina bit on her bottom lip so hard she drew blood in a matter of seconds. The family were muggles, so the hooded group had to be…

"ROMINA!" Hermione finally screamed and yanked Romina with her in a hasty run.

Romina swallowed hard and focused on the rhythm of her running. She couldn't afford to fall and get trampled on. But with so many people doing the same thing, she was bumped and crashed into so many times it was a miracle she hadn't already fallen. She grew alarmed when she no longer saw bright red hair ahead of her anymore.

"Hermione, where are the others!?" she shrieked.

Hermione seemed to be making the same realizations as her face grew more and more pale. "I don't know!"

"What about Harry and Ron? Where are they!?"

"I don't know!"

"Great! So we don't know anything!"

"I know one thing—we need to get out of here!"

Romina would give her that point. They ran into the closest opening of the forest they could find. At least there they would have a chance of hiding and thinking of where to find the others. Though with the darkness around them, it would be hard finding anybody.

"Crazy to think that right now I would really rather be feeding my grandfather's graphorn right now," Romina said to Hermione. With the darkness, she couldn't see the odd look Hermione was sending her.

"Why? So you can complain about it later on like before?" drawled a familiar voice behind the pair.

Romina could laugh at the dumb luck they had. "Oh for God's sake—Lumos!" Her wand illuminated the immediate area and when she, and Hermione, turned around they saw Draco and Theodore leaning against a tree opposite of them. "Bit calm there, aren't we?"

They were pretty much relaxed when there was literal chaos in the area. Draco shrugged, leaning off the tree. "Not sure you're making the right choice again, Oswell. Out of everybody you've ran off with, you chose her." He made a nod in Hermione's direction.

The brunette, in return, glared. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Have you taken a look out there, Granger? Those are Muggles. What do you think I meant?"

Romina peered around the tree. She swallowed hard. The field was much too crowded to identify anyone but she could definitely see the figures in the air. She felt sick to her stomach. "They're...they're death eaters, aren't they?" Her voice shook a bit.

"Yes," Theodore answered her, making her look back at them. "So the smart choice would be to ditch your little friend before you get caught up in this mess."

"Bet you're a little happy you didn't bring King along, though," Draco said, knowing that despite her heavy annoyance she knew that he had a point. He smirked.

Romina air strangled him with her free hand. "Where the hell are your parents?"

"I got a feeling I know where," she heard Hermione mumble.

"Lost them in the run," Draco said quite calmly. "What about you? Weasleys leave you to your own luck?"

"No," Hermione snapped. "We got split up but don't worry, we'll be finding them." She grabbed hold of Romina's arm, dragging the dark haired girl a few steps away when a strong explosion rocked them all on their feet.

"Might be a little hard, Hermione," Romina admitted.

"You're better off splitting up, Oswell!" Draco called to them.

"Shut it!" Romina snapped. She racked her mind for some good options which, admittedly, weren't very many. "Draco," she called suddenly, "Where were you guys going to go?"

"What?" Both he and Hermione sent her the exact same horrific looks.

Theodore looked between with bemusement. "We're not bringing you anywhere."

"Oh, be quiet, Nott," Romina waved him off, "And get real. You two were definitely going to go somewhere—where?"

Even Hermione wasn't all for Romina's plan. She would much rather take her chances in the forest. "Romina, we don't need them!"

"Right now, we need to take anything we can get," Romina said sharply and faced the boys again, more precisely Draco. "C'mon," she sighed, putting her hands together as she walked up to Draco, "For once, just stop being a jerk and help us out. We could die out here. Would you really let that happen?"

"Not you," Draco said with all the ease in the world.

Romina glared incredulously at him. "Oh, how special I feel right now! You idiot!" Without warning, she punched his arm with all her might.

Hermione blinked in surprise while Draco stumbled back, arm clutching what was sure to be bruised later on. Theodore's eyes widened as well but he downright laughed.

"Shut the fuck up, Nott!" Draco said lividly before his eyes landed on Romina. "Who the hell do you think you are—?"

Romina had enough and shoved him away from her. "I can't believe I ever thought you had a shred of decency! Don't you ever talk to me again!" She yelled furiously at him then ran back to where Hermione was, grabbing her hand, and continuing their run together.

Neither girl wanted to admit that they had no idea where they were going but they did agree (silently) that it was going to be better than the field. They held onto each other's hands as tightly as possible because the last thing they were going to do was lose each other amongst the chaos. They bumped into all sorts of people running as well, among those Beauxbaton students who didn't speak a drop of English. They even caught Ludo Bagman who, up until that moment, had no idea what was going on out in the campsite.

Eventually, fate took pity on them and they found—crashed face first—with Harry and Ron.

"What happened to you two!?" Harry hugged Romina tightly. "We were going mad trying to find you!"

"Yeah, where'd you get into!?" Ron was about to hug Hermione but for some reason he decided not to in the end.

"Got lost, that's all," Romina said quickly, making it clear to Hermione that they were going to leave out the small moment they had with Draco. That was fine with Hermione.

"Where are the twins and Ginny?" Hermione asked, looking around the immediate area. There was no one else but them.

"Got the foggiest," Ron said. "We're hoping we can find them when this dies down."

"How is this ever going to die down?" Romina made a gesture towards the noise of the field. "The entire Ministry is probably out there trying to get this—"

They stopped when a particular noise was just too close to them. Uneven steps were definitely close to their area. It turned out to be Winky who, despite wanting to escape the chaos, seemed to be struggling greatly to do so. It got Hermione riled up again about house elves again. They kept running, although Harry was a little slower on account of him trying to find his missing wand. They came to a small clearing that for the time being seemed safe. It was very shortlived as they thought they heard more steps.

"Who's there?" Harry called, bringing both Romina and Hermione behind him and Ron.

Nobody answered him directly. Instead, they all heard a loud scream ring through the clearing. "MORSMORDRE!"

A streak of green energy beamed to the sky. It seemed to glitter in the sky when it exploded to create a shape. They were like dancing emerald stars forming a serpent protruding from its mouth.

"What the hell…?" Romina gulped, taking a step back as if the serpent would come down for them at that very moment.

New screams erupted from the forest. Wherever it was that people had been hiding themselves was gone now.

"What? What is it!? What's going on now?" Harry looked around to make sure his friends were still with him. They were. And they were just as frightened as the others.

"Harry, it's the Dark Mark!" Hermione exclaimed. "You Know Who's sign!"

"RUN! RUN!" was all Ron's head could think of so it was the first thing that came out of his mouth. 'It didn't help that wizards were apparating only a short distance from them, each one with their wand out and aimed right at them.

Harry cried 'duck!' seconds before the wizards yelled 'stupifey!'.

Lights flashed above them, ricocheting from every angle—how none of them had yet to be struck by the lights was beyond Harry.

"STOP! That's my son!"

At the voice of Mr. Weasley, the firing stopped. The man emerged from group of wizards, looking worse for wear as he came up to group to make sure they were alright.

"Out of the way, Arthur," Barty Crouch strode up to them, wand still clasped in his hand. "Which one of you did it?" He demanded from them. "Which one of you conjured the Dark Mark?"

"You're joking!" Romina snapped out of her fear-induced trance. "We were running for our lives and you think we did that!?" She raised a finger high above her head to point at the sky. "You're out of your mind!"

"Do not lie!" Crouch said, eyes blazing with anger for the lack of the response he was searching for and for being spoken to like that by a young girl. "You've been discovered at the scene of the crime!"

"Where did the Mark come from, you four?" Mr. Weasley asked much gentler, and of course without the intention of blaming them.

"Over there!" Hermione pointed to their left. "There was someone behind the trees! They're the ones who shouted an-an incantation!"

Mr. Crouch still wasn't convinced. However, he was the only one because the group of wizards behind him didn't exactly believe four fourteen year old kids were responsible for the massive mark tainting their sky.

"You know who did it,' Romina spoke again, ignoring Mr. Weasley's look that practically begged her not to keep going. "We all do."

Crouch met her eye with nothing but disdain for her. "Oh, really?"

"I would know what that mark is—my parents had it. That's the mark of the Death Eaters. They're responsible for it, not some Hogwarts students." Romina folded her arms, mustering enough courage to keep staring at the man until he either agreed and let them go...

She would waver from a lot of things but not this. There were many pictures of Elora and Caplan around and in many of them they had the same mark tattooed on their arms. Whoever was behind all this was a Death Eater wearing the same damn mark.

The stand-off was interrupted by Cedric's father, Mr. Diggory, who in a matter of minutes managed to acquire a stunned "culprit" not too far from them. Of course when he returned with the culprit, things made even less sense. It was Winky, Mr. Crouch's house elf. And to top it off, she had a wand.

After being brought back, Mr. Diggory started questioning her.

"I — I — I is not doing it, sir!" Winky said. "I is not knowing how, sir!"

"You were found with a wand in your hand!" Mr. Diggory held the wand in question at her.

"Hey," frowned Harry as he recognized the wand, "That's mine!"

Everything stopped. All eyes turned on him.

"I dropped it!" Harry said.

"You dropped it?" Mr. Diggory said in disbelief. "Is this a confession? You threw it aside after you conjured the Mark?"

"Amos, think who you're talking to!" Mr. Weasley cut in angrily. "Is Harry Potter likely to conjure the Dark Mark?"

Thankfully, Mr. Diggory gathered his bearings and realized how unlikely that was. "Er — of course not. Sorry . . . carried away . . ."

"I didn't drop it there, anyway," Harry said, jerking his thumb behind them. "I missed it right after we got into the wood."

So," Mr. Diggory, turned to look at Winky again, "You found this wand, eh, elf ? And you picked it up and thought you'd have some fun with it, did you?"

"We're not really thinking the elf did it, are we?" Romina was not quiet at all with her scoff. "Look at her! She's scared out of her wits!"

"Winky's got a squeaky little voice, and the voice we heard doing the incantation was much deeper!" Hermione added for support. "It was a human voice."

"And a man too," Romina crossed her arms. "A grown man."

Mr. Diggory didn't look very impressed by the two girls. "Well, we'll soon see. There's a simple way of discovering the last spell a wand performed, elf, did you know that?"

"Oh, for the love of..." Romina shook her head, "Guess Cedric didn't get his smarts from his dad..." She mumbled under her breath.

Mr. Diggory performed the spell on Harry's wand and to everyone's shock, the same skull from the sky billowed out from Harry's wand like a ghost.

"I is not doing it!" Winky cried with absolute terror. "I is not, I is not, I is not knowing how! I is a good elf, I isn't using wands, I isn't knowing how!"

"You've been caught red-handed, elf !" Mr. Diggory roared. "Caught with the guilty wand in your hand!"

Winky cried about her innocence until Mr. Crouch stepped in and twisted the accusation. If Winky was the accused, then so was he and that could not be. Mr. Diggory had no choice but to let go of his accusation. Winky told the group where she had found Harry's wand which wasn't too far from them. They soon believed that whoever had used the wand had merely found it like Winky had and took advantage of it.

Mr. Crouch requested he be the one to punish Winky for her "crimes", which was not following his orders. "Winky has behaved tonight in a manner I would not have believed possible. I told her to remain in the tent. I told her to stay there while I went to sort out the trouble. And I find that she disobeyed me. This means clothes."

Winky started sobbing.

"But she was frightened!" Hermione said angrily at the same time Romina said, in a calmer manner, 'You're so delusional'.

While Mr. Crouch wasn't that bothered by Hermione's outburst, he threw a hard look in Romina's direction. "Watch your language, young lady."

"But she was literally stuck in the middle of an attack and you want to fire her?" Romina scowled. "If she had stayed back there, she would've been killed. So a dead house elf is better than this?"

"I have no use for a house-elf who disobeys me," he said coldly.

"Romina's right! You'd rather a dead house elf!" Hermione exclaimed. "Your elf 's scared of heights, and those wizards in masks were levitating people! You can't blame her for wanting to get out of their way!"

But Mr. Crouch was not swayed by either girl. In the end, Mr. Weasley stepped in to retrieve Harry's wand and get them all out of there. Though angry, Romina and Hermione followed them, leaving behind the sobbing elf and wizards. Romina gazed up at the dark sky and saw the remnants of the Dark Mark still present. She swallowed hard; she had done a great job not thinking about Elora and Caplan this summer. She should have known it would never last.

[crowsfinal-thought]

I’m bored and I’ve had a few thoughts rattling in my brain, so please welcome

Random OC facts!

Pyxis: she’s a multi! Orion still isn’t aware since she hasn’t had her second element manifest yet, but she gets it from her mother. No spoilers as to what said element is 🤭. She also has polydactyly, meaning he has more fingers/toes than normal. She has 6 fingers on each hand

Orion: one of the few ghouls who doesn’t really participate in thr packs’s polyamory. He likes staying monogamous for the most part (he has a few instances where this changes, but definitely not many). His chronic hand pain is actually inspired by my mom, who has occasional hand/wrist pain due to her job and sometimes wears a brace when it gets bad

Minnow: on the asexual spectrum, he doesnt really get aroused often, but there are times he does. I’m not sure what this would be called, feel free to let me know! Also, him and Horizon are half siblings, horizon is a few years older than him and they have different dads.

Horizon: she doesn’t have neck gills like full water ghouls, only rib gills. This does make it harder to breathe underwater so she’s always careful when in the lake. Her handwriting is either bold print, or near calligraphic cursive, no one can read her cursive except Secondo and Orion.

Valley: I have an au of him where he was summoned by Terzo as a kit and was raised by him and Omega that will likely never see the light of day. Also he has a limp on his right leg, which will be explained further in a future fic.

Ignis: this man loves to cook and was quickly appointed head chef. You ask him for a meal and by Satan he will make it and he’ll make it perfectly. He gets disgusted by the other fire ghouls who like their food to just be char, calling their requests “a disgrace to his talent.” He still makes them food but it hurts his heart to do that to food.

Crow: he was originally a full human when primo found him. He was 15 at the time and dying of tuberculosis in an old alley. Primo took him back to the ministry and did a ritual to save his life, turning him into a half-ghoul. He sees Primo as a father figure and always helps Primo with things that are hard for him in his old age.

Agnostos: this ghoul has so many little facts but they’re all SPOILERS. I can say that they are completely aroace. They don’t really have enough emotion to feel a romantic connection, and they don’t want one. They’re also derived from holy energy, and that means they have 0 sex drive, never even gets aroused. Their relationship with Phantom will never go beyond anything platonic.

[lang-rangler-enjoyer]

TELL ME ABOUT YOUR STONE OCEAN OCS I'M WORKING ON MY OWN OCS AND NEED ✨INSPO✨

(esp Canada Goose he looks so FUNKY)

OK HERE WE GO :0 I don’t have too many

Canada Goose (yeah, that’s his name. legally)

•Somewhere in his late twenties. Six foot two. Chunky boi with fat tiddies. Has a large black back tattoo of the letters “BNL” in block font

•He’s a mid-to-high level ranking gangster in Sports Maxx’s gang who’s serving a reduced sentence (like Maxx, due to mafia destruction of evidence and legal tampering) for trafficking and selling hard drugs.

•He’s a natural stand user wielding Barenaked Ladies (often abbreviated to BNL). BNL is a soft, squishy parasitic stand that enters the body through open wounds and travels up the bloodstream to your brain. Once it’s in your head, BNL attaches itself to your brain and can read and transmit weak electric signals. Basically, this allows Goose to hear all your thoughts and allows him to send you telepathic messages. BNL can’t do any physical damage to its host, but it’s a psychological weapon that also gives Goose a huge boost in combat, kind of like Dragon’s Dream.

•Not too smart, but then again he doesn’t need to be. He’s good at what he does, he’ll leave the thinking up to people like Maxx. He’s a good listener, he loves just hanging out and shootin’ the shit with people, maybe with a drink and a smoke too.

Viktor Rolf (like the fashion house Viktor & Rolf)

•I COULDNT NOT STEAL HIM HES SO PRETTY LOOK 👁️👁️ AT HIMM

•Mid twenties. No significant tattoos, marks, or piercings.

•Dropped out of university (majoring in English) in his second year due to burn out and personal issues. Got a “temporary” job at the prison and promised his family and friends he’d be back at university as soon as he was feeling better. It’s been at least four years and yeah, he’s starting to feel like that’s never gonna happen. Not that he likes his job at GD st., he fucking HATES it here, but he just can’t bring himself to change everything again.

•He’s cold and standoffish with most people. He doesn’t want to get close with any of his coworkers because it feels like settling in, admitting defeat, admitting he’s never going to leave. Not rude per say, just curt and withdrawn.

•Oh yeah, and he’s secretly dating Goose. He appreciates that Goose doesn’t judge or ask questions.

Dege Goose-Rolf and Skinner Goose-Rolf (like the fashion company Dege & Skinner)

Don’t ask how it happened. Goose would probably tell you, just don’t ask.

•I’m away right now and haven’t had the time to draw them more :( so these are just preliminary sketches

•The twins are weird. like those kids who show up at family gatherings and you’re not quite sure who they’re related to but your mom says you have to sit next to them even if they chew crayons and smell funny.

•They’re very close. Goose is trying his best but he is a first time single dad with no idea what he’s doing, so they sometimes have to rely on each other.

•They share the stand Beastie Boys. I haven’t figured out what it does yet 🤔

[aamitmorthos]

1am and i want to make ocs

[cmkamren]

ionno if ocs interests anyone in this place but I’m gonna just post like once or twice about this character—

this is Mila, ma was an imp and her dad was this 7 ft tall slavic man, Mila is ≈6 ft🧍‍♂️ (her dad saw her mom in her impish form first and boom, fell in love with her on the spot as she transformed into someone more intimidating and pinned him down, threatening his life. Mf was like ‘whoa you’re pretty’ and the rest was history)

Mila is a bit of a morally grey character, def kinda an asshole. Has manipulative tendencies and isn’t against using her transformation abilities to aid herself in getting what she wants (and has done so many times). They’re also a questioning lesbian, most of her partners have been women and she mainly feels attracted to women (booba) but has been attracted to men before too. Either way, they don’t have much of a filter (unless talking to someone they’re trying to get with) and will gladly describe to you in detail about her latest shit

last one is prolly directed to all the mcd guys (except for logan, dale, dante, n pretty much all the taken guys. Mainly, mainly directed towards garroth cause he like gets 0 bitches and won’t (prolly can’t) flirt)

After this, just gonna be lotta general stuff for them. I’ve never been given the opportunity to talk about her yet so ngl some ideas for her are prolly just general ideas and completely not fleshed out yet, just tryna make her make sense a lil n have fun with her :)

Childhood (0-15/16)

their ( parents + Mila) relationship was never abusive. But it wasn’t supportive either, they thought she (a child lolzies) could just fend for herself since the village they lived in on the island believed that they would always be protected by the warrior that fights against the Warlock (Travis’ mother I believe). Growing up, they always knew the place they lived was fuckin’ weird

like, even just her own existence was weird to them. Why were they able to become someone else entirely when dad can’t do it? Can he do it? Or has he just never shown them? And why does mom always have to look like… not herself? Even though she had so many questions, her parents would never answer and just give her the same generic explanation that people were just different. Sure, that was true but like— elaborate pls

Either way, she doesn’t really despise her parents. Kind of forgot about them after she left the island at like 16 as a stowaway. Honestly doesn’t know if her parents cared or not

they provided her with the bare necessities to survive (food, water, shelter, warmth, etc.) and let her deal with the rest. I think that’d also be the reason why she doesn’t want to settle, they don’t know the first thing about raising kids. Def thinks they’re goofy n funny though, shes the type to look at a kid and go ‘i can take candy from them’ and then watch as they cry. Only to stranger’s kids tho, they’ll probably be more sympathetic towards kids of friends

“Present” Mila (period where mcd takes place, after timeskip ig?? I confused my own timeline)

Speaking of friends, her best friend is like this raggedy homeless guy she found in an abandoned farm. He had a green bandana around his neck he refused to take off, and one day while visiting a village she decided to get one for herself so they matched bandanas. It’s like a friendship bracelet thing. Apparently the guy had kids at one point and it belonged to his daughter

Mila always made fun of him for being like 40 years old. Even though they’re just 8 years apart, he’s kinda like a dad to her, trying to be the voice of reason but also kinda on the same wavelength of stupidity as her sometimes (I need to design him gr)

also lived in O’Khasis at one point. With her scraggly friend. She encountered a rookie of the Thieves Guild trying to steal something from… god knows where in O’Khasis and tried to have some fun with it, transforming herself into an O’Khasis guard and forcing the recruit to show them the way to their base. At first, the Boss was fooled but quickly saw through her scheme, her mannerisms were too lax, plus they didn’t even seem to be trying (which Mila was kinda)

after getting found out, she revealed herself and tried to sweet talk her way out. And maybe steal something too (there were a lotta shinies and she loves shiny things okay. All her stuff are stolen goods)

in the midst of it, their first interaction ended off with this:

Boss: can’t believe you have the gaul to still steal something after threatening one of our thieves and trying to make fools out of our guild.

Mila, hoping to try to distract her from beating their ass: you better believe it. I’m afraid I just have that natural charm, people lay their eyes on me for even a brief moment and I’ve already stolen something tender and valuable from them; their heart—

Boss, points at the oblong outline in their pants: unless your genitals look like a handheld mirror, I think you should run.

and she did. Mila ran and ran, back home where their friend immediately scrunched up their face in disgust as she pulled out an object from her pants

Relations with main cast

basically none.

the only interaction she’s had with the main cast is interacting with Travis when they were kids. I’d think they were both pretty lonely, and would find each other to play games with until one day Travis just stopped coming to the village outskirts. Mila wouldn’t recognize him immediately if she saw present him, but with enough time she’d remember. Travis probably wouldn’t remember, he was 6 then and Mila was 10

Though if i did want to make her more involved with the main cast, they’d come in around the time O’Khasis is invaded by T’ula. When they heard the news of ships even bigger than O’Khasis had docked and hadn’t left in like a day, they were already packed and about to leave. Like shit bro, she could smell that trouble from a mile away cause usually traders left after a day, and they didn’t have fucking canons on the ready

I have more ideas but im fucking exhausted

im tired it’s 3 am i can’t type anymore

[floralseokjin]

;cyber sex (m)

FIRST LOVE, LAST LOVE

⟨gif credit⟩

You want to partake in some “cyber” sex...

pairing; jeon jungkook x reader  genre/warnings;  smut, fluff, skype sex, or as oc puts it, cybersex, sex toy usage (here 😘) words; 3,038

more﹆chapter index

“Are your parents in bed?” 

On the screen, Jungkook looked a little on edge, jittery almost. Like he was doing something illegal. 

“My dad is. Mom’s downstairs catching up on soap operas.” 

He still looked a little unsure. “How was your day?” 

You shifted on your bed, crossing your legs, your laptop jumped slightly, pixelated Jungkook bouncing around for a second. Internet at your parents’ house had always been shitty but he still made a bunch of cute pixels. 

“I’d love to small talk, Jungkook, I really would, but I woke up wanting sex and have been horny ever since.” 

You were expecting him to log on all eager and possibly already halfway to naked, but he’d appeared in sweats, back against the headboard of your shared bed, legs stretched out where laptop you was placed on his thighs. 

You watched him hesitate and grew annoyed. “What happened to being up for this?” 

This afternoon he’d been eager, possibly even cocky when you’d texted him over lunch. Your mom gossiping in your ear about her co-worker’s so called affair while you passively listened and arranged sex plans with your boyfriend...

There had been a time you were too embarrassed to even think about masturbating in your family home, but like Jungkook kept saying, you were a grown ass woman now, not still in high school or even in college. Those days had long past you by. You were a hot blooded female with needs. Needs for your super hot, super sweet boyfriend. There was really no need to be ashamed. You were going to participate in some cyber sex, no matter how much Jungkook laughed at your awkward phrasing. 

[You: 01:34pm]  Are you busy tonight? 

[JK: 01:36pm]  if eating cheetos in bed by 8 is busy then yes 

[You: 01:37pm]  Don’t you dare bitch 

[JK: 01:37pm]  why do you want to know if im busy? 

[You: 01:38pm]  cybersex 2300 hours 

[JK: 01:38pm]  Cybersex 😭😭 no one calls it that weirdo  but see you there my morning wood misses yoir ass 

Here right now, Jungkook made a noise, arguing with you. “I am up for this. It’s just your parents...” 

You rolled your eyes. He was a grown ass man and he was afraid of your parents. More so your dad. He’d taken a while to warm up to Jungkook—you blame the tattoos. But that was years ago when you’d first started dating. Your dad liked Jungkook now. Honest. 

“My dad’s asleep. I can hear him snoring,” you commented, giggling. 

Jungkook groaned. Way to ruin the mood, he was probably thinking. “That doesn’t help.” 

“Come ooonnn,” you whined, leaning into the screen. You knew your robe was dipping in the middle, already tied deliberately lose. He had a great view of your cleavage, however muted because of the shitty lamp lighting. “I miss youuuu.” 

Jungkook scoffed quietly. “And you’re making it worse. I wanna touch you for real.” He was speaking low, pouting really, but you caught his hand that slid across the front of his sweatpants. Was that some inconspicuous rubbing you’d spotted? Naughty. 

You leant back again and tried not to grin in triumph. Jungkook 0, your tits 1 once again. 

He carried on his rant. “I want you in this bed. In this house. I can’t wait 4 more days!” 

Diddums. He was a child, you swore. “Should’ve come with me then.” 

He was rubbing his crotch again, you didn’t think he realised he was doing it. “You know that’s only reserved for a Christmas every two years.” 

Yeah, like you said, he was terrified of your father. It was probably why he hadn’t proposed yet, too scared to ask for your dad’s blessing. Not that you would say that to his face. And not like you wanted to get married anytime soon, it was just only natural to think of those things. You had been together for years after all. 

You didn’t reply, instead shifting on the bed once more to spread your legs a little. You hiked one up, robe falling open to reveal the triangle of skin between your legs. You meant business.

“What’re you doing?” He practically stuttered, sitting up straighter against the headboard.

“I’m not wearing any underwear.” 

“I can see that.” 

You began to rub the pad of your index finger across your clit. Sensitivity shocking your body and you fought with yourself not to snap your legs closed. You softened the impact, slowly circling before slipping down your folds and collecting the moisture to drag back up to your clit. Agonisingly slow now because you wanted to tease the hell out of your boyfriend. Despite the near darkness, he had eyes like a hawk. “You’re wet already.” Maybe he could see it glistening through the camera. Or maybe he was just starting his descent…

“Like I said, I’ve been horny since this morning.” You ever so slightly dipped the tip of your finger inside yourself. You couldn’t remember the last time you’d played with yourself like this in front of him. It was fun. Especially because he was hanging onto each movement like his life depended on it. 

“Jungkook,” you nudged. 

“Mm?” It was just one sound, too far gone now. 

You murmured the next part, voice low and heavy, laced with a desperateness you’d felt all day. “Get your dick out.”

He didn’t argue. You let yourself grin in victory, ogling him as pushed a hand into his sweatpants and pulled out that thick, hot cock you’d been fantasising about since 7am. 

He ran his fist along it, definitely not lazily. Tugging at the head, his thumb rubbed the drops of precum across his slit. You clenched and pulsed down below. Unfair move. Your image of him was grainy and unlit but he looked just as hot as he always did. Maybe it was time to unveil your secret weapon... 

“Goodnight, love.” 

You jumped immediately at the sound of your mom’s voice, hand jerking away from between your legs. You’d been so distracted you hadn’t even heard her coming up the stairs. 

Your took a quick breath and tried to sound normal, praying you could keep your voice level. “Goodnight mom!” You succeeded, but only just you were sure of it. 

You heard the click of the bathroom door and turned your attention back to Jungkook, eyes wide. His were too. “Jesus christ,” he muttered, sounding annoyed. “This was a dumb idea.” He was sat forward, dick back in his pants, tops of his cheeks rosy, either from the jerking off or the near close call. Probably both. 

You tried to refrain from giggling but failed. “She wasn’t going to just barge in here.” 

Both waiting a few seconds, it wasn’t long before your mom exited the bathroom and shut the door to her bedroom. You untied your robe, relaxing into the bed instantly. You weren’t losing this moment. 

Jungkook groaned slightly, eyes apprehensively raking over your practically naked body. “This is so wrong.” 

“Relax, we’re alone,” you insisted. “Just remember to be quiet.” You’d use your earphones but you’d forgotten them, remembering as soon as you’d boarded the plane. 

“I’m alone.” He corrected, now sounding sorry for himself. Jeez, it was as if you weren’t spread out like a human buffet. “I miss you. Can’t you come home right now?”

Jungkook did not do well at being alone at all. It was cute. You smiled at him softly, running your hand down your stomach and between your legs. “But I wanna cum right nowww.” 

“Fine.” His stare hardened, watching the way you rubbed at the bundle of nerves. “You cum and then come home. Then I fuck you. Properly. None of this Skype shit.” 

You laughed, genuinely amused. He was such a baby. You watched him lift his t-shirt over his head. Taking initiative, you liked that. His hair fell in his eyes and he shook it away. He’d finally had a haircut a few weeks ago, but it grows fast, which was possibly a good thing because you really, really missed that long hair of his. 

Your eyes fell down to his chest and across his shoulders. He had a few tattoos that decorated his torso, amongst other places, but they mainly covered his arms. Speaking of which you clenched and pulsed again, just imagining those arms wrapped around you, squeezing you tight, hands pinning you to the bed... Shit. You really wanted to fuck him for real. 

You splayed around against the bedsheets, arching your back a little and Jungkook raised an eyebrow. “Take your robe off. Keep your bra on.” He sounded demanding, it wasn’t intentional, lost to the urge right now as usual, but you loved it when he ordered you about, even more so when he didn’t realise he was doing it. 

You quickly got to it, snapping at your bra straps as you lied back down, propped up by your elbows. “Is this actually sexy?” You’d done this a handful of times but that was back in college. Now older, it seemed more daunting. 

“Of course it is, babe,” Jungkook reassured. On cue he got his cock out again. He was still hard. 

You watched him rake his hand along himself a few times and then grinned. “I have something.” 

He raised an eyebrow again, curious but also clueless, and watched you pull something out from under the sheets. A glittery, rubbery thing that made his eyes light up. 

“You brought a dildo to your parents’ house?” He asked after a split second of silence. You nodded, biting down on your lip, holding the specimen up to the screen. He caught the look on your face and chuckled. “You planned this?” He sounded impressed. 

“Thought it would be fun.” You tried to sound casual but maybe you were a little nervous? Embarrassed? There was no need to be. You’d had a sexual fantasy and had acted on it... Jungkook was just as into it. Hm, maybe it was the being naked over cam that was making you feel so jittery? 

Jungkook eyed Miss Jessica Rabbit and laughed again. “Only you would arrange a visit to your parents’ place just so we could participate in some ‘cybersex’.” 

Joking aside, he was eager to begin. You could tell by the look in his eyes and by the way he’d straightened his back, leaning in closer for a better look. You didn’t feel nervy anymore. You were back in the zone. 

“Cybersex sounds cool, I don’t know why you find it so funny.” 

Jungkook rolled his eyes affectionately. “You’re adorable, that’s why I find it so funny.” 

“Lameee.” You sang. But now you were running the head of the vibrator along your slit, spreading your legs in the process.

Jungkook watched you carefully, still stroking his dick with leisure. “I’m surprised you didn’t get caught at security with that thing.” He was making casual conversation but his voice sounded strained. He kept having to swallow. “Hiding a giant vibrator in your clothing.” 

“Can you imagine?” You’d die of embarrassment right there on the spot. 

“I‘d come bail you out, don’t worry.” 

You giggled at his silliness. Who was going to tell him you couldn’t get arrested for carrying a vibrator in your luggage? 

However, soon the mood for small talk was over, only distracting at this point. Or maybe what was distracting was now the vibrator beginning to stretch out your insides. It was a little uncomfortable at first, maybe you were just too well aware your parents were a few feet away, or maybe you were just out of practice when it came to fucking yourself. 

Jungkook helped though, whispering encouragements and giving you useful tips, which only made you wetter; so yes, a huge help. It wasn’t long before you got a rhythm going, not long before your breathing quickened and you were trying really hard not to moan out loud. 

Jungkook matched your movements, now jerking himself off with vigour. You watched one another, fully at ease and lost in your own little world. 

“This is so unfairrr,” he grunted soon enough, burning a hole between your legs. His newly sworn enemy, Miss Jessica Rabbit. “I want my dick inside you, not some phoney.” 

You moaned quietly, agreeing of course. Nothing felt as good as Jungkook inside you. Nothing ever had. You clicked a button on the toy and the first level of vibrations started. 

You lifted your head a little, trying to gauge the sound. “Is that too loud?” 

He shook his head. “I think you’re good. Fuck.” He cursed because you were now grinding up against the ears of the bunny, vibrations against your clit sending you all gooey and warm. “Go faster.” 

You listened, the length of the vibrator now slipping in fully as your insides finally loosened up, no longer tense. You rolled to your side a little and like that you found your g-spot. Pleasure began to burst behind your eyes and you almost forgot Jungkook was there because now you’d remembered how to use this damn thing and there was no going back. 

You clicked another button, powering up the shaft as the pearls inside the rubber began to rotate. You bit down on your lip, desperate not to make a sound and you cursed yourself. Why did you think this was a good idea? Pleasure screamed at you but you must keep quiet. 

“Babe... Baby,” Jungkook was trying to get your attention. “Baby, get on your back again. I wanna see.” 

You slowly listened, knowing you had been restricting his view and try to fuck yourself on your back. You planted your feet on the bed, kicking the laptop to the centre in the process and hoped now that he had a good view. 

Whatever he saw, he liked, moaning maybe a little bit too loudly. You’d turn the volume down if you could move, but you can’t, too paralysed with pleasure. “This is so fucking hot.” He was legit growling, it sent a fire through your veins. 

He watched you buck your hips into the vibrator over and over again, struggling a little to keep thrusting the shaft inside of you, but you think he found that hot. You were close. You knew it. Lips spread apart, your clit was swollen and greedy for pleasure, sensitive to the titillating vibrations and your walls squeezed and began to spasm around the thick rubber, the rotating sensation you felt making you tremble all over. Your wrist hurt but it was a good kind of pain, burning, making you work hard for your release. 

“Wish you were here to fuck me better, baby,” you purred, because despite how amazing this felt Jungkook could make you feel a pleasure ten times greater. “Does your hand feel good?“

You couldn’t see him, flat on your back, eyes shut, face directed at the ceiling, but you could hear the sound of skin on skin. His palm raking up and down the rock hard flesh of his cock. 

“Don’t rub it in,” he chided, voice low. Ha. Because that was exactly what he was doing. Luckily you were too out of breath to drop a shit pun. 

Your lower half suddenly spasmed and you stifled a cry. You couldn’t hold on any longer. “Shit,” you gasped. “I forgot how strong this thing was.” 

“Yeah? I’ll cum if you cum.” 

That’s all you needed to hear. It wasn’t even five seconds later before you were coming. Like an explosion, thigh and vagina muscles clenching, toes curling into the sheets and your chest heaving, sweat beading at your hairline. Miraculously you managed to stay silent. Albeit your breathing. You ceased movement immediately, removing the pressure against your clit before turning the vibrations off. The shaft was still rotating inside you, nerves twitching in your thigh before you ended those too and slid the vibrator out with a silent pop. You threw it to your side. Your whole body tingled but you urged yourself to come to, to open your eyes and lean up on your elbows. Jungkook still needed to cum and you wanted to watch. Just like he watched you. 

“Good, baby?” He asked. His eyes were black, breathing shallow. His fist still tugged at his dick, desperate now. 

“Mm hm,” you nodded, feeling a little chilly now the thrill had worn off. 

Jungkook grunted a command. “Spread your legs a little. I’m close.” You listened without question, giving him what he wanted. 

You watched the veins protrude from his forearms, some painted black with the ink of his tattoos. The hand not wrapped around his cock cupped his balls ever so slightly, tugging on them a little before he tensed and groaned. The first spurt of cum shot out and landed on his stomach, then another, it slipped into the lines of his abs. The third load slowed and he tugged his fingers tight across the tip, over and over again, draining each drop. It thickened in the air and slid down his length, getting on his fingers too. You observed all this greedily. What a sight to behold. 

A couple of tissues later for him and your robe tied back around your body, you were both grinning and giggling like a pair of idiots together, still on a high. 

“We need to incorporate that into the real deal more,” Jungkook said, referring to the vibrator now stood on your bedside table. “Let me be in charge.” 

“It’s got to make its way back home first,” you joked. 

You had climbed into bed by now, welcoming the warmth and annoyingly your eyes started to feel heavy. 

“You tired?” Jungkook noticed straight away. 

“I can stay up a little longer,” you insisted, wanting to chat with him before you fell asleep. A text or a phone call just wasn’t the same, and even though it’s only been a few days, you missed him like crazy. “What did you eat for dinner?” You asked, making small talk. 

He raised both eyebrows, eyes wide. “Do you really want me to answer that?” 

No, probably not. You knew the answer already. 

It was always a ramen diet for Jungkook when you were away...  

Written 2020. Please refrain from posting my work elsewhere. No translations allowed. © floralseokjin 2020

[wychive]

𝙪𝙣𝙨𝙥𝙤𝙠𝙚𝙣 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙙𝙨

summary // you found your pile of ‘letters’ to hyunjin that contain thoughts that have never been said and decided to write to him one last time.

pairing(s) // hyunjin x gn!reader, hyunjin x oc, slight minho x reader

genre(s) // angst, letter fic 

warning(s) // mentions of food, themes of being forgotten, vulgar wording, humiliation, overthinking

word count // 2.0k

author's note // happy birthday @noya-sannnn​ !! im sorry this was so late hhh you know how i am irl,, but i hope you enjoy this! i love you so much, jane <3 i apologize for the many grammar mistakes gn. i recommend listening to iu’s ending scene while reading this! btw y/n/n means your nickname.

[10/01/14, 3:55am]

dear jinnie,

hi there! it's y/n <3 i hope you're doing okay - i mean of course you are pfft anyways, just writing this short letter (more like paragraph)  sort of as a venting mechanism? for things i cant tell you about lol  im not so sure how you would call it, since you're so much better at words than i am. basically were like:

hyunjin: ow a brain freeze!

me: haha brain go brrrr

anyways haha yea <3 it's 4am so like,, ill see you at school!

signed,

your loser,

y/n/n

[15/02/14, 12:34am]

yo heartthrob!

im back with this kinda stuff haha it's been a whole? week? since ive written one of these so like yes..hi! i just wanted to say thanks, for today. you really know how to cheer me up huh? you really outdid yourself by setting up that little picnic for us. congrats on making the strawberry cake so perfectly <3 this day will always stay as a core memory in the back of my brain. you're too caring sometimes,,, istg you'll pay for this [maybe hugs?] >:) 

signed,

your partner in crime,

y/n/n

[30/02/15, 01:29am]

jinnie-senpai~~

LMAO you hate me calling you that, doesn't change a thing though. hehe,, nways i hope you enjoyed your birthday present :) i got you that really cool skateboard that you wanted. i worked my ass off for that in my mother's garden so like,, you gotta thank me for that a thousand times :D nah jk, its a sincere gift, from me to you. i rarely do this for ANYONE so consider yourself lucky to have a best friend like me -3- also, seungmin is like….kinda the cutest person ever. introduce me to him pls, thank!

signed,

<your bestest friend3,

y/n

(p.s. you're kinda cute too,,,, ig,,, still stinkee tho)

[13/04/15, 9:04pm]

hey 'baby' (HAHAHA ihy for this)

i hope your day was okay! i didn't see much of you today (which was sort of a bummer but wtv) so like…. uh yea. you told me you were doing okay over text, which kinda surprised me because like?? we always video call lol this is kinda the first time,, but its okay, i trust you! (i really hope youre doing alright tho, i'll beat anyone up if they make you sad >:( ) you also called me 'sweetheart' today which was like…. omg wtf haha????????? that was so weird to me for some reason… a good kind of weird :D we haven't done those kinds of nicknames in a while so…. happy to know that they're back in session <3 i talked to the new girl today, she's really cool! like she knows the bean song on tiktok so like its a total win heh, ill introduce you to her tomorrow! you'll love her a lot

signed,

your 'lover',

y/n/n

[08/06/16, 10:23pm]

hey howl (hehe go back to that movie night we had)

this spring break sucks so much,, esp because youre not here (you still couldve brought me along :'[ ) but wtv i hope youre enjoying yourself. ive been hanging out with yeonnie lately and i found out she likes conan grey too like pls i love her sm. can we adopt her?? please???? she told me you guys have been video calling too and that makes me so happy!! you two are getting along so well aaa my precious babies </3 

what if you developed a crush on her? haha…..jk unless?? (no jk dont shes all mine, stay away >:) ) anyways, i hope the three of us hang out soon. maybe go to that ice cream parlour where they serve the best cookies and cream?  

signed,

your daisy,

y/n/n

[19/07/15, 01:23am]

peepee poopoo hello

heyheyhey!! (heh, haikyuu thingz) i hope youre doing okay! i mean sure you are, with everything going so well. also i feel like you're not telling me something. maybe it's just me? is it? i hope it is because you tell me everything,, we've been talking less these days but its okay! i know how busy you are, especially with your dad always bugging you,,

also, i think yeonbin likes you :0,, she keeps talking about you whenever we hang out. don't get me wrong, its not bad that she likes you but...something doesn't feel right. i feel like i'm being the third wheeler here and like ugh idk. haha laughs yea i think its just me.. im sorry, i didnt mean to do you like this,, anyways, ill see you soon + her too ofc- yall are inseparable lmao

signed,

your moonlight,

y/n/n

[23/07/15, 01:56am]

greetings, kind sir

lol more like mean sir but like aight KSKSK,, anyways,, how have you been? we haven't really talked in a while,, our convos are always so short with it being one-sided :/ i wish you were online more. yeonnie is ignoring me,, do you know why? i think you do,,, but when i asked you just said you didnt know. did i do something wrong? pls tell me.. 

she blocked my contact the other day and she won't even smile at me when i pass her in the hallways. its,, sad and stressful especially because she was the only one that would genuinely talk to me. i hate to say this,, but i miss you. us, hanging out like the best trio we are, yknow? but i dont think you miss me the same way. sorry, im getting out of hand. i know im just overreacting. im just gonna sleep ig,, good night! sweet dreams,,

signed,

your pink lemonade,

y/n/n

[25/07/15, 03:25am]

hi there

i heard you and her got together?? congrats, jinnie! im so proud of you,, especially because you never had even considered getting a girlfriend a few months earlier lmaO you really woo the ladies huh? anyways,, i hope you've been well since we last talked,, how many days has it been?? i would say nearly a week or so but honestly it feels like a hundred years,, considering you and i used to talk every day. but you have her now to keep you company.

keep this a secret but can you possibly tell me why it hurts when i see her? or when i mention her or even think of her?? is it because she's connected to you? but.. you're my best friend, so why? is it because i miss you? is it because im alone now? is it because you left me with a simple 'i have to go now,, bye y/n/n.'? im not sure either. im being silly, i apologize. ill figure it out sooner or later. sweet dreams, jinnie

signed,

your asswipe,

y/n

[25/07/15, 04:30am]

jinnie

it's because i love you. 

signed,

your butterfly,

y/n

[??/08/??, 05:??am]

you

i miss your lame jokes. i miss your smile. i miss your laughs. i miss your funny faces. i miss the way your eyes twinkle. i miss th way you would make me happy just by doing the bare minimum. i miss the disaster you made when cooking breakfast. i miss the night when you snuck me out just to go to that pretty lantern event. i miss when you would call out my name everytime we met. i miss when we would share earbuds in train rides. dont you get it, hyunjin? i miss you.

[??/??/15, ??:??am]

asshole.

please tell me that isn't true, please. you're too kind to do these kinds of things, right? + i was your best friend,, then, why, why did you hurt me like this. i didnt do anything wrong.. you couldve just told me you didnt like me,,, why did she have to tell me? out of all people. 

youre so pathetic for this,, i thought you were brave, bold - but youre just a fucking coward. i loved you, i really did. and i realised too late… im sorry. she,, i shouldn't have talked to her in the first place, right? i bet you knew she humiliated me, in front of everyone. of course you did, you were the only one that knew. you told her. fuck, i hate you so much (yet why do i long for you on a night like this?). you know how much that'll affect me and yet, there you are, laughing about it with her.

signed,

fuck off,

you know who i am.

[31/08/15, 03:41am]

ah, jinnie

please tell me this is just a nightmare. please, please. stop just reading my texts, please answer them. jinnie. i miss you so much. i dont care bout her, please just let me be in your arms. i dont care if you love me back, please just talk to me at least. tell me what i did wrong,, jinnie,, please,,, clear these tear stains on my cheek with kisses.

signed,

your fuck-up,

y/n

[15/09/15, 04:59am]

jinnie

why do i keep crying because of you? its been a few weeks since everything has happened. please, nothing has changed. i still love you the same even with all the hatred i have pent up in this stupid brain of mine. i wish i could just walk back in time, to where it all began.

when i first met you in third grade and you pushed me while playing soccer or maybe when we took those ridiculous prom pictures, remember those? i hope you still have them,, because i do too. i hope the pictures of us on your wall still hang there,, it'll remind you of the happy times. hm,, maybe you don't need them. 

you already have millions of pictures with you and her,, i bet you printed some and replaced those with ours right? sly dog. 

signed,

friend,

y/n/n

[04/02/16, 12:57am]

hey

i went to the park today and saw both of you being happy. it's nice to see your smile again. im sorry i didnt go up to you,, i just thought it would be awkward. when i heard that adorable laugh of yours, it made me realise that i lost something special. but it's okay isnt it? as your happiness matters more than mine. 

signed,

y/n

[06/01/20, 08:00pm]

dear hyunjin,

im doing fine here. how about you? gosh,, how long has it been? years? since we last talked to each other. i havent heard from you since. i would just like to say i still think of you sometimes, when watering the plants or dancing while making pancakes. sometimes i think you're here with me too, just being the pals we were. 

sometimes i'd see you out, just reading a book in the park or buying pasta sauce at the grocery store. it's nice to see you having a stable life. im not sure if you're still with her or not, but its good to know that you still have that large friend group. also! you're never gonna guess who im dating--

it's minho! do you remember him? the one that i used to hate,, uh yeah. he asked me out the other day- you may wonder how tf,,, i too do not know how tf but he gives the best hugs ever. he gave me the love i wanted from you. he stitched my heart back together after it broke,, i love him so much, jinnie..

it's snowing,, do you remember when we would skate on the frozen lake in front of your house? are your parents well? i wonder if your mother still has those earrings i bought for her birthday. i never told you this but your laugh and hers sound so similar. 

i would just like to say thank you, for everything. you were a big part of my life, up until now. when we see each other after this, we would just be strangers. maybe flash a little smile or give a little wave whenever we greet each other but nothing more. some memories of us would flow in every now and then but it'll just be a short teaser. well, i'll be going now. smile for me, okay?

signed,

the one that loved you the most,

y/n.

taglist // @/noya-sannnn, @crvgio​ , @neo-shitty​

reply to be in my gen taglist!

[firebuug]

for 93 fun oc asks: 9, 93, 81, 69 (im just curious abt the question OK 🤬) and 65 for Farrow and Buggy!! :0

sorry to spam questions i just happen to like that meme

NO ITS OK I LOVE DOING THESE THANKS let me put it under a cut just in case it gets long winded

9. What is their favorite color? Favorite animal?

ok so farrows is obvious possums and possum adjacent animals and rodents but his fav colors are like. yellow and red and neon blue specifically. buggy likes yellow, orange, and black and really likes every animal but specifically has chosen sheep and goats to latch onto apparently. also cats and many sea animals. he cant choose. he used to have a dolphin phase if that counts

93. What’s the most iconic line of dialogue they’ve ever said?

GOD so i dont actually write enough for buggy to actually have any Iconic Lines but lucky enough for farrow him and skuggy have years's worth of beef for him to have time to have developed an iconic line and it's just "you and i will never be a we" ndhfjkfdf. cheesy as fuck but does the job. if i were to do some digging around in the juggy event i could probably pull something i liked from buggy but nothing stands out too much for me . WAIT. ok so this is funny when compared to the weight farrow's line holds but the only line that stuck with me from buggy is "my fires are the ones that're hot" and that came from his old ask blog bc people tried to hit on him

81. Are they bothered by the sight of blood?

it'd be kind of insane if farrow were since he dies every other day in varying ways so no he's gotten pretty used to it KJHGKJH. even before that he grew up in the mafia infested city on his own without parental supervision so i. jfhd once his dad died and he saw the most blood he's ever seen in his life he started growing accustomed jhfdkjs. also he's lowkey a bit of a medic so he can handle shit like that

buggy on the other hand cannot bc while he Does like. kill ppl. theres never any blood and hes usually very far away from them. whenever he does see anything gruesome he cannot handle it considering he Was that gruesome scene a good few years ago KJDFHD. he does not like blood he wont faint but. its not fun

69. How did the people in their environment growing up affect their personality?

GOD THIS QUESTION. ok so buggy was very much molded by his experiences throughout towns. he used to be kinda standoffish and not very social but the more he lived in trial towns the more he realized he'd do much better both survival-wise and emotionally if he just. was friendlier and worked with people instead of against them kjhdff. the whole dexter ordeal happening while he was still kind of. malleable and impressionable didn't really help his self worth at all so he became kind of a doormat but since he keeps getting shoved atround THAT'S teaching him "hey maybe i should stand up for myself sometimes" but. its. its a process for sure

farrow grew up surrounded by evil people jdhfdksj i dont think he had a single person to look up to that treated him with love and patience growing up so this is why he is the way he is. like genuinely i think before he met skuggy he has never met someone who he knows is being nice to him not out of obligation or to try and get something out of him/to survive LMAO. so i. you can understand why he's so fucking mean to everyone including people he likes

65. What’s their immune system like? Do they get sick often? How do they react to getting sick?

i. HAVE NOT THOUGHT OF THIS UMMMMM like i rarely ever consider the fact my ocs can get sick like. illness is not real in salem ♥ umm i think buggy's would have a pretty good immune system he has like a 300 in constitution. what he lacks in everything else goes to his strong constitution fjdfg. and farrow would be. Fine? but i guess since he was necromanced and died for a good while thatd probably do. Something to his immune system fuck if i know. i guess it isnt as good as it used to be fkjsf. whenever buggy is sick he takes it easy and stays in bed for the most part but still. does things he needs to like cook breakfast and if he lives with anyone he doesnt want them doing everything for him he'll feel bad. farrow on the other hand will be pissed off at himself for having the AUDACITY to catch ANYTHING that makes him perform at 99% instead of 100% and will go on like he is FINE and he is NOT sick and FUCK YOU DAD I DONT NEED SOUP IM F😡😡😡😡ok maybe some soup BUT IM FINE!!!!!! until he forcibly has to keel over and rest hjdkg. even then he'll still be enraged

THANKS FOR THE QUESTIONS SORRY FOR THE ESSAYS LMFAO

[imalifegen89]

A Legacy Left Behind - Chapter - 7 - When the Past Unfurls - Part I

Rating: Mature

Category: M/M

Fandoms: Stargate Atlantis, Stargate SG-1, Hawaii Five-0 (2010)

Relationship: Steve McGarrett/John Sheppard

Characters: Steve McGarrett, John Sheppard, Danny "Danno" Williams, Evan Lorne, Bates (Stargate), Laura Cadman, Alicia Vega, Kono Kalakaua, Adam Noshimuri, PO Higgins (OC), Samantha "Sam" Carter, Jack O'Neill, John McGarrett, Dr. Lam, Catherine Rollins, Wo Fat, Original Goa'uld Character(s), Original Characters

Additional Tags: Action/Adventure, Action & Romance, Military, Hurt/Comfort, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Violence, Character Bashing, Not Catherine Rollins Friendly, No DADT, Swearing

Summary :

"Sure John, I'll call," He promised as the SUV came to a stop in front of them. He and Danny both got in and seated themselves. He then gave a short wave to John who was still standing there by the exit watching them leave. Steve hoped what John had told him would be true, that his dad would be able to make it through. He was not ready to lose his only remaining parent. ‘God please, not again! Not so soon ...' His mind was repeating the mantra as Steve let out a weary sigh and closed his eyes."

Steve will find out about what happened to his father, who was involved in it, why it happened and so much more than he ever bargained for...

Hello All, Here's the next part of the series, and it's a two-parter. There are some plot twists on the way and hope you all will enjoy it.

Aethir - Thank you so much for your hard work and for finding some time to help me with editing, commenting, and giving out very helpful tips and suggestions. Idea bouncing and snark is always so much fun with you!!!

Part 1 - Honolulu General

Honolulu General Hospital

Hawaii

The six-hour-long flight in the old and noisy Globemaster had left both SEALs travel-weary and sleep-deprived. Neither had talked much during the flight, trying to catch a few hours of shut-eye, but among the jarring engine noise, the comms chatter, the endless shuddering, and the training maneuvers, that had been impossible. At the end of the flight, they had thanked the crew and disembarked with relief, each carrying their single duffel.

They were both on leave and therefore in civilian clothes, and instead of the usual armory they carried around, they only had their handguns and with extra clips in their bags. Although they were only making a visit to the hospital, neither of them was willing to go completely unarmed.

A short taxi ride brought them to the hospital from Hickam closer to the midday visiting hours. They figured if needed, they could wait in the hospital until they could see John McGarrett.

……….

"Hello, My name’s Steve McGarrett, I got a call last night about my father. Somebody named Curtis called me," said Steve, presenting his credentials to the male nurse manning the reception area of the Outdoor-Patient-Department. The nurse - L. Rider, according to his name tag - gave Steve and his ID a once over and started accessing his system.

"Yes, Mr. McGarrett, your father's been moved from the ICU. He’s in room 308. You can take that elevator to the left," he informed.

“Thanks.”

Steve and Danny both took off towards the given directions.

The room Steve's father was in wasn't hard to find. It was located on the third floor and the room had the number and the name 'John McGarrett' on a plaque clearly displayed. It also had 'Dr. Leonard T. Lester - Cardiologist' listed as his primary care physician.

"I'm going to go look around and find some coffee. Do you need anything?" Danny asked. He was going to give his friend some time with his dad before going in.

"Yeah sure, I could use some coffee.”

……….

During the six long hours he’d had to think about what happened, Steve’s mind had been busy contemplating some horrible scenarios. He hadn’t realized that he had been subconsciously bracing himself for the worst. Nobody in his family had any history of heart attacks and he didn't know what to expect, what to do or how to prepare. Being the trained planner that he was, Steve found the lack of knowledge rather unsettling.

What the nurse at the reception told him, gave him hope though. He theorized that since his dad's already been moved from the ICU to a regular room, his condition shouldn't be that bad.

Steve took a moment to compose himself, watching Danny as he walked away. Then he took a deep breath and knocked on the door before entering room 308.

……….

He stood still by the door to take the scene in.

His dad was lying on the bed and a white and blue hospital gown was peeking out from underneath the white blanket. There was a monitor attached to his chest and Steve could see the leads disappear through the opening of his gown. The apparatus was quiet and its screen indicated a steady rhythm while John McGarrett slept. Steve noticed there was an IV connected to his dad's left hand as well. He scrunched up his nose when the strong odor of antiseptics hit him in the face, contrasting starkly with the smell of gun oil and Old Spice aftershave he usually associated with his dad.

McGarrett senior was sleeping peacefully and didn't seem to be in any pain. Steve was content to let his dad be, preferring to let him wake up on his own. As he stepped further into the room, he saw a chair by the bed and lowered himself to it slowly, mindful not to make a sound. Then he placed his duffel bag on the floor and settled in to wait.

Maybe it was his instincts of being an active duty police officer - John McGarrett surfaced from his slumber knowing that there was somebody in the room with him, within a few minutes of Steve’s entrance. The slight change in the rhythm of the heart monitor alerted Steve to the fact. Not wanting to startle him, Steve leaned forward and addressed his father softly.

"Hey dad," he reached to touch his hand, the one without the IV needle.

"Steve!" His dad's eyes went wide, realizing his son was sitting by the bed. "What are you doing here?" John knew Steve was deployed and he was the last person he expected to see in the hospital this early. He hadn’t even been in here for 24 hours.

"The hospital called me and told me you had a heart attack," Steve explained. He was relieved to see that his dad was speaking clearly and wasn't showing any signs of disorientation or pain. In fact, he looked quite normal. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm alright," John smiled at the raised eyebrow he received from his son at that. So he elaborated. "Just a little tightness in my chest area. But the doctor says it's normal after an attack. Other than that, I really am feeling fine. To be honest, I didn't even know what it was. I only knew I had a heart attack when Dr. Lester told me this morning," He was more curious as to how his son got here so quickly. "Where were you when they called you?"

"Colorado Springs." Steve smiled. He couldn't really get into details about his deployment or his whereabouts other than that, but he was glad that he was in the States to make this trip.

"Hah, and you’re here already. That was quick,"

"Yeah, I got lucky and caught a transport.”

Steve was more than happy to just sit there and exchange pleasantries all day long. But he needed to know what happened first. He got up to go and fetch a glass of water for his father from the bedside table. "Dad, what happened?"

His dad took it and drank some water before handing it back to Steve. Then he turned on his bed to fully settle on his back. Steve put the glass away and leaned towards his dad, giving him his full, undivided attention.

"It was the weirdest thing, kid," said the senior McGarrett, frowning as he cast his mind back to the chain of events that led to his sudden health failure. “I was in that small grocery shop by the filling station near home. I had just finished filling up the tank on the truck and was getting some stuff for the weekend. I remember walking towards the counter to pay and that’s it - for the life of me, I can't remember having any pain or calling for help or anything. I was standing there one moment and was waking up on this bed the next.” He paused to take a deep breath and then exhale slowly. “Then there’s this fellow - Dr. Lester - is telling me how lucky I was to come back from a severe myocardial infarction with no visible damage to my heart,” he made a face, remembering his earlier conversation with the overly cheerful doctor who described the incident in vivid medical detail.

“How’d you get here?”

“He said that the shop owner called for emergency services and sent me here. Apparently, I coded on the way, but they managed to get my heart started again without much fuss. And now, here I am.” John finished recounting the incident.

Steve rubbed a hand across his face, trying to take it all in.

“I wouldn’t obviously know what to expect, it’s not like I’ve had a heart attack before - but I'd have thought that at least you get some kind of a warning sign, you know? Like breathing difficulties, chest pain or something,” McGarrett senior continued after a moment. “Not this going about your normal day-to-day business, and then a complete blackout, followed by waking up in a damn hospital bed - it just doesn't feel normal,” his frown deepened.

Steve didn’t say anything for a long while. He just took his time to sit there and watch his dad who seemed to be doing pretty much okay after going through such an experience. He was immensely relieved and was happy to take his time to enjoy the feeling, letting go of the worry and stress that had built up since the moment he’d received the call.

A knock on the door interrupted the comfortable silence in the room and Danny Williams entered carrying two styrofoam cups of coffee.

“Ah there you are, Cap, how are you feeling?” He asked, handing over a coffee to Steve and coming closer to stand near the bed railing.

“I’m feeling alright, considering,” John smiled crookedly. “Where’s my coffee, Williams?”

“Hey, I don't think coffee is on the approved list for you,” Danny grinned. He was glad to see the man looked healthy enough for someone who had just had a serious health scare, fit to be up and making demands. “Besides, this hospital swill is so bad it might just give you a different problem or three,” he sipped his coffee and grimaced theatrically to prove the point. “So when are they letting you out?”

“Don't know yet, my doctor is supposed to drop by any time now. I don't think I need to stay here any longer at all.” John stated confidently. He was not accustomed to sitting around on a bed all day, especially when he wasn’t feeling different from any other day.

“Let’s let the doctor decide that, yeah dad? As you said, this is the first time something like this has happened to you and they just might need to keep you under observation for a bit - just saying,” Steve cautioned.

He knew his dad and he could see the stubborn man was already planning on going home, to start acting as if nothing happened. He might even insist on going to work unless the doctor gave him strict orders to rest and take it easy for a while.

“Which reminds me, do they know at the station that you are here?” Steve asked his dad before he could start protesting about staying put in the hospital. “I tried calling Kelly before I left, but it went to voicemail,”

“No, I’m on leave - only due back the day after tomorrow,” his dad replied somewhat petulantly.

The room door opened again, this time granting entry to a short, balding Hawaiian native. The name tag embroidered over the chest area of his white coat identified him as Dr. L.T. Lester. He smiled cheerfully at all of them and went to the nearest monitor connected to McGarrett senior.

“So how are you feeling today, John?” the doctor inquired while studying the monitor.

“I’m fine doc, when do I get to go home?” John got straight to the point.

The doctor continued taking readings and making notes with an amused smile on his face. Then he went to unclip the chart hanging on the bed railing and made a few notes on it. After that, instead of answering his reluctant patient, the doctor turned to Steve and Danny to introduce himself. At the end of exchanging pleasantries, he finally turned to address John.

“Well, Mr. McGarrett, I can see you’re doing quite well and your readings are good. But, as I explained to you earlier, what you went through is quite serious and you might have damage to your heart muscle.”

Then sensing the alarm from the visitors of his patient, the doctor hurried to explain. “It’s what happens during a heart attack. The blood flow into the heart gets interrupted and it goes into a sort of overdrive trying to restore the flow. This overactivity can cause damage. Your dad was quite lucky that people near him reacted quickly and sent him to the hospital on time.” The doctor smiled again.

“So, what’s next, doc?” Steve asked.

“We do need to assess the possibility of damage and the cause of the infraction. The most common reason is usually coronary artery disease, which means cholesterol clogging the arteries. There are some instances this could happen if you were experiencing a seizure with severe spasms and contractions. We’ll need to run some tests to determine the cause and then plan steps for the recovery,”

“And how long will all this take?” The McGarrett senior looked crestfallen, resigned to the fact that he wasn’t going to get out soon.

“I actually have you scheduled for some of the tests now. Some blood work, an EKG, and a scan. An attendant should be here shortly to take you for those,” Then the doctor turned to Steve and Danny. “The tests will take about an hour or so. If you need to step out and have a meal or something, now would be the time.”

An elderly female attendant entered the room quietly, pushing a wheelchair as the doctor finished, and started unhooking Steve's dad from his various monitors. Steve took the doctor's advice and took his leave with Danny, after letting his dad know that they’ll be back once the tests were done.

……….

“Well, I’ve gotta admit man, your dad’s right. That does sound weird.” Danny said after listening to Steve about what happened.

“Why?” Steve frowned.

“My uncle Mario had a heart attack a couple of years ago. The man was moving some heavy boxes around. He’d been sweating buckets and breathing through his mouth for about an hour when my aunt found him and made him take a break. Then he felt pain in his chest and aunt Rea took him to a doctor. The doctor took one look at him and sent him to an ER. He’s been suffering from a heart attack for hours by then,” Danny paused and tried to remember the exact details his mother told him about what happened to his uncle. “He is fine now. He had to have a bypass and has to stay away from all the greasy food and the alcohol, but he made it,” he said inspecting the sandwich he took from the vending machine. They were both seated in the hospital cafeteria with bottles of water and sandwiches.

It was crowded and almost all the tables were full with families huddling together having lunch - most probably waiting for news about their loved ones. It wasn’t that noisy, despite being crowded to capacity - and nowhere near cozy or inviting - as one would expect from a busy dining area. It felt as though the sense of expectation, the sense of happiness, and the overpowering sense of grief had all tangled up together to create a very subdued atmosphere. Even the smell of food mixed with the underlying odors of disinfectant contributed to the gloom that pervaded over the souls lost in their own private worlds.

“Wow, I’ve forgotten how crappy the hospital food is. This doesn't look like a roast beef sandwich man,” Danny sniffed at it. “Sure doesn’t smell like it either.” Then he shrugged and started eating. It didn’t taste much better either, but he was hungry after the long flight.

Steve didn’t say anything as he nibbled on his food. He wasn’t really hungry but knew he had to have something to keep his energy up. He was thinking about his dad’s recounting of the incident. He hadn’t said anything to his dad earlier, but the more he thought about it, the less it made sense. What Danny was telling him also made it clear how unusual the whole thing was. He made up his mind to pop into the shop his dad was in, later when they left the hospital. Maybe he could talk to the shopkeeper and even have a look at their security footage if they had any. He might even find something that could explain his dad suddenly suffering a heart attack. Maybe there was something that his dad had forgotten to mention.

He needed to get in touch with Sheppard as well, to let him know his dad’s condition. He knew that John would worry until he heard from him. Taking the last bite of his sandwich, he decided now would be the best time to make that call.

“Listen, I need to call Shep and let him know dad’s alright. I’m just gonna be over there by that balcony,” he told Danny as he stood up, fishing his phone out of his jacket pocket. Then he walked to the area he pointed, dialing Sheppard. “Be right back.”

………..

The sweet and subtle smell of her perfume reached Danny first, as he realized the lady who was wearing it was standing right in front of him. He looked up and saw the familiar, smiling face of Lieutenant Catherine Rollins looking down at him.

“Well, hello!” He grinned. “Fancy running into you here, of all places,” he gestured at the seat Steve had just vacated. “Take a seat,”

“Thanks,” Rollins smiled charmingly as she sat. “I’m just here visiting a friend of mine. She just had her second baby - a cute little baby boy,” her face took on the same expression all women wore when talking about babies. “I popped in here to get a drink and then I saw you,” she said. “I thought you guys were in Colorado? Is everything ok?” Her expression turned into one tinged with concern.

“Yeah, everything’s fine. I’m here with Steve, actually. We got a call about his dad, but he’s alright. We just saw him,” Danny explained without going into much detail. He noticed the Lieutenant perking up at the mention of McGarrett junior.

“He’s over there, on a call.” he pointed with his head.

Steve was leaning over the balcony with his elbows resting on the railing and busy talking to Sheppard. He didn’t see the new arrival as he had his back to them.

Danny saw the wattage of Cathrine’s smile go up as her eyes ran over the view the oblivious SEAL presented. He hid the grin and blinked at her innocently when she turned back to face him.

“So, will you guys be here for a few days then?” She inquired, her gaze snapping back to where Steve was, almost unintentionally.

Danny knew she was mostly interested in finding out whether Steve was going to be around for a while.

“Well, that depends.” He hedged. “We have to see his dad’s doctor and see how it goes,”

He didn’t want to give any definite answers or any other details without Steve’s say so. He opened his bottle and drank some water, wishing Steve would soon return. So that he could decide what to tell this infatuated Lieutenant who was back to staring at Steve’s ass with a dreamy look on her face. Then something started to nag at Danny about what she said earlier, but he couldn’t place it. He pushed it away to sort out later as he saw Steve finishing his call.

……….

“Yeah, so that’s what happened. He seems alright and man, that’s a relief. Depending on what his tests and scans show, it’ll be a day or two more. But I’ll message you when I find out,” Steve said to John, who was quite relieved at the fact that Steve’s dad was fine. He insisted that Steve take as much time as needed to make sure his dad got all the support he needed. He also made Steve promise to message him with updates and implored him to take care of himself before finally ending the call.

Steve put his phone back inside his jacket with a smile. He very much appreciated the time he was given to take care of his dad. Moreover, he was deeply touched by the way Sheppard sounded over the phone. He had been really worried and the relief that poured over from his lover through the call was almost a tangible thing. Steve made a mental note to send regular updates as promised. It wasn’t something he would have done for anyone else, but he knew Sheppard would stress otherwise. It felt nice to know that he had somebody who cared that much about him.

He felt the good feeling wilt away when he turned back to see the penetrating gaze of Catherine Rollins directed at him. He was pretty sure he caught her in the act of staring at his ass. She smiled brilliantly at him and waved. Steve was somewhat reluctant to wave back and tried his best to summon a smile for her. He was sure it looked more like a grimace instead.

Steve didn’t have anything against beautiful women. He was definitely not opposed to being the subject of desire of one, either. He had gone out with many pretty women and Catherine Rollins, with her long black hair, soulful brown eyes, and radiant smile was exactly his type. But he was very much invested in another hazel-eyed brunet and he didn’t see himself veering off anytime soon - if ever at all. Even if he wasn’t, Steve knew that he still wouldn’t be interested in this particular woman. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but there was something off about Lieutenant Rollins - something that rubbed him the wrong way - that made him want to be on his guard whenever she was nearby.

“Hi, Steve,” Rollins greeted cheerfully as he walked towards them.

Again, he was instantly put off by the overly friendly greeting. They had only known each other for about 48 hours, hadn’t they? He had to make a conscious effort to return the greeting without letting his true feelings show.

“Hello, Lieutenant,” He asked, more or less politely. “What brings you here?”

Danny cocked his head to the side and narrowed his eyes, picking up on Steve’s discomfort instantly.

Rollins either didn’t notice or didn’t let it bother her because she launched into the story of her friend and her cute little babies with great enthusiasm.

Steve kept the smile plastered on his face as she talked. Then he made a show of checking time and gestured to Danny. “Hey, listen, it’s nice bumping into you here. But Danny and I’ve gotta run. My dad should be done with his tests now,” he said to the woman as Danny got up from the chair to go with him. Steve didn’t want to give her any details about their visit here and hoped Danny hadn’t run his mouth either.

With that somewhat curt parting, he turned and walked out of the cafeteria, with Danny following closely behind.

“So, it isn’t just me, hah? She gives off weird vibes to you too?” Danny asked, turning his walk into a half jog to keep up with Steve’s longer strides. Steve was eager to put as much distance as possible between them and Rollins.

“Yeah, you didn’t tell her why we’re here, did you?” Steve asked while stabbing the buttons on the elevator.

“Nah, not really. Just told her that we’re here for your dad. That’s it.”

“Is she following us?” Steve was staring at the shiny surface of the elevator door.

The reflections on it were slightly distorted. But Danny could discern the shapely figure of Rollins in tight-fitting jeans and green sleeveless top, slowly making her way towards them.

“Forget this,” Steve spat, pressing a few more buttons for various floors on the keypad. Then he swiftly walked away to the nearest staircase and started climbing two steps at a time. He knew his behavior was a bit irrational; she was just a colleague after all, not another enemy combatant gaining on him. Nevertheless, he wanted to get away from her as soon as possible.

When they finally reached Steve’s dad’s room, the man was already there, enjoying his lunch. It didn’t look much better than what they had either. John McGarrett insisted that there was no need for them to hang around since he was just going to take his pills and take a long nap anyway. He could see the boys were tired and wanted them to go home and catch a few hours of sleep for themselves. Steve relented and promised his dad that they’d drop by later around dinner time. He made him promise to call them if he needed anything before that and then finally hugged him fiercely, before taking their leave.

[aximili]

drafted this from @dominocity ages ago and forgot abt it until i was procrastinating just now :0

check in tag game ✅

1. why did you choose your url?

went by axx for a very long time (incredibly this actually had nothing to do with aximili-esgarrouth-isthill even tho i did grow up loving animorphs. i had an OC who used the online handle axolotl.... something... i cant remember.... and i thought it sounded cool so i started using it. wow i had actually forgotten this info until just now! lore!) anyway someone on tumlr reminded me how much i loved animorphs and i wanted a new url at the time. someone just had it saved and wasnt using it so i was like fuck it, why not ask. politely messaged the blog and they were like oh ya i forgot abt this and freed it up

2. any side blogs? if you have them name and them and why you have them.

i have like 6 but i no longer use any of them & havent for years lmaoooo

3. how long have you been on tumblr?

i think its a decade this year. and ive never changed blogs once. im like a fungal infection here they cant get rid of me

4. do you have a queue tag?

i have never queued and i never will. you get my posts when you get em.

5. why did you start your blog in the first place?

a lot of my friends on deviantart (yes dear god) were becoming more active here and i started checking some humour blogs daily until i was eventually like why not just make an account

6. why did you choose your icon/pfp?

Him. (from the cover of #8 the alien, the first ax pov book, which i found in a 2nd hand bookshop as a kid and was soooo excited bc i could normally only read animorphs at the library, they were never in shops. still a treasured possession.)

7. why did you choose your header?

it just really describes my emotional state at any given time

8. what’s your post with the most notes?

unfortunately i believe it's this, which is not even my original content nor even the OP's original content, as it turned out. but "online job application form" dnd joke is probably second

9. how many mutuals do you have?

who the got damn hell is keeping track of this?

10. how many followers do you have?

1439. its been around this number for like 2 years i really just stagnated at a certain point but idm

11. how many people do you follow?

968. to paraphrase lydia, i suppose i should follow 1 more. (im sure that at least half of those are inactive. i have been here for a decade.)

12. have you ever made a shitpost?

by no means. none of my posts are shit

13. how often do you use tumblr each day?

uhhhhhhhh i probably open it and glance at activity/briefly glance at my dash llike 5 times a day? a lot less now that i use locked twitter for socialisation

14. did you have a fight/argument with a blog once? who won?

god no i am incredibly nonconfrontational. a couple times in my younger and more vulnerable years id post some stupid uninformed take and someone would rightfully disagree, and occasionally vice versa, but i honestly can't recall a "fight"

15. how do you feel about ‘you need to reblog this’ posts?

it's good to only follow adults the dashboard becomes a peaceful place

16. do you like tag games?

yes i like talking about myself 😊 but i never tag anyone bc im lazy oops.

17. do you like ask games?

i rarely do them bc i would usually not get any lmao, but they can be fun

18. which of your tumblr mutuals do you think is famous?

alma my friend alma seems to get a lot of nonsense in their inbox even tho they only post abt yugioh. eliza was definitely my most famous mutual but she freed herself from this place to become a real author, godspeed. and logan really blew up with "your dad looks gnc af" most recently

i think i have some more well known mutuals (again. been here 10 years.) but i cant think of them rn lmao sorry if ur a famo and i excluded u.

generally people think i have a lot more followers than i actually have? it's hard to gauge whether that's a compliment or not, but i take it as one.

19. do you have a crush on a mutual?

i have crushes on like everyone i meet it's called being bisexual </3

20. tags?

i tag...... YOU yes you. if u want!

[saiilorstars]

Ch. 17: What Happens at Home...

[Story Masterlist] // [Aitana’s Masterlist]

Fandom: Criminal Minds // Pairing: Spencer Reid x OFC 

Taglist: @ocappreciationtag​​​​​​​​​​ @arrthurpendragon​​​​​​​​​​ @anotherunreadblog​​​​​​​​​​ @maaaaarveeeeel​​​​​​​​​​ @stareyedplanet​​​​​​​​​​​​ @averyhotchner​​​​​​ ​​​​​@foxesandmagic​​​​​

If you’d like to be a part of this OC’s taglist, let me know!

Warnings: Due to the nature of the series’ plots, I do have to rate this as ‘mature’ for constant mentions of rape.​​​​​​​​​

Aitana pushed the double-set doors open and was immediately greeted by the sweet scent of bread. She crossed the room, coming up to the counter where an older woman was busy keeping tabs on the recent purchases.

"Buenos dias," Aitana expected her mother's surprised look in return but it was a pleasantly surprised expression. Aitana only just started dropping by the bakery and each time she did, her parents couldn't get over it. They were getting their daughter back, piece by piece but surely.

Pamela Serrano hurried around the counter to hug her daughter. "Good morning!"

"Where's Dad?" Aitana noted there were only a few customers around. It was pretty early.

"In the back," Pamela made a quick gesture to the door behind the counter. "What brings you around?"

Aitana shrugged. The best thing about seeing her parents again is that she didn't have to have a reason. She just wanted to see them and that was it. "On my way to work and I thought I'd stop by. Is that okay?"

"Of course!" Pamela exclaimed, giving Aitana another hug.

The latter chuckled. "Mom…"

"I'm sorry," Pamela pulled back. She patted Aitana's arms then stepped back. "It's just so good having you around again. I know that job of yours is a lot tougher than what you used to do but I'm so thankful that you're there. It's because of those people that you started acting like you used to…"

Aitana's lips pulled a small smile. "It's progress," she nodded.

"But of course it's not just because it's been. Ultimately it's you who's making these decisions. And I'm just so proud of you sweetheart!"

"Thanks Mom," Aitana said with a flushed face. No matter what she could always count on her mother to feel good about the simplest things she did.

"There she is!" Her father, Javier, emerged from the backroom. "I thought I heard your voice."

"Hi Dad," Aitana hugged him and laughed when his cinnamon scent was just a tad too much for her nose. "Baking something cinnamon-y today?"

"Pan de canela," he said proudly. "Is that what you came for?"

"No, I just came to see you that's all," Aitana shrugged, her face sheepish the more she repeated herself. "Is that okay? Or were you busy?"

"Never for you!" He took her into another hug. Just like always, she clung to him. She didn't realize how much she missed her parents until she came back to them. Things weren't back to normal but they weren't the same either. Things were a little better than what they used to be. And with time, they might get back to normal...or at least a new normal for her.

But for right now, Aitana would focus on the hugs of her parents.

~0~

Aitana arrived at the BAU just as they were gathering in the conference room. "Good morning," she chirped, an act that was immediately noted by the others. "I have a special breakfast for everybody!" Because she was waving a pink box in her hands.

"Somebody woke up on the right sight of the bed today," Morgan smiled; it widened when Aitana snapped her fingers at him.

"Yup!" She planted the box in the middle of the table. "Fresh pan dulce for everyone!"

"Oh, that sounds good," Emily rubbed her stomach. She was getting a whiff of that sweetness even before Aitana flipped the box open.

"What's the occasion?" Penelope's eyes were following every movement that had to do with the box.

"Nothing, just thought you'd all like a taste of my family's business!" Aitana pulled out a cinnamon covered sweet bread.

"Oh, that one's mine," Emily reached forwards for the pastry before anyone else had a chance.

Aitana chuckled and handed it to her with a napkin. "It's good, I promise."

"I've got a sweet cinnabon here, an old fashioned chocolate concha, a buñuelo, an oreja, milhojas, a bisquet, an apple empanada, and pay de queso!"

"Woah, woah," Morgan waved a hand for her to slow down. "I understood about a quarter of that!"

Aitana laughed sheepishly. "Sorry, those are the names. I promise it's all good."

"I didn't say it wasn't. It smells good," Morgan reached over to take a peek into the box.

"Hey," Spencer strode in and quickly spotted the commotion over a pink box.

"Morning!" Aitana greeted. She shooed Morgan's and Penelope's hands away for a second to dig out something herself. "Here's one for you, Dr. Reid!"

Spencer grinned at his favorite chocolate covered, rainbow sprinkled, donut. "Oh, thanks!"

"Wait a minute, wait a minute," Morgan's finger landed on Spencer as the young man sat down. "How come he gets a personal donut?"

"I'm sorry, did you help me restart my relationships with my best friend and parents?" Aitana raised an eyebrow at Morgan while Spencer sheepishly took a bite of his donut beside her.

Morgan glanced at the others but Emily and Penelope were smart to stay out of it. In the end, he gave in too. "Okay," he sat down again. "My bad."

Aitana playfully rolled her eyes at him and promised him that he would like one of the pastries in the box. She had just given Penelope the sweet buñuelo when her phone buzzed. "Speaking of," she laughed and waved her phone at the group. Elia was calling her. "Be back in a bit, promise!" She hurried to take the call before the meeting got started.

Morgan waited the sufficient amount of time to start with his commentary. "Okay, I see you pretty boy." Spencer's head snapped up as soon as he heard that nickname. Morgan was pointing after Aitana. "Talking it up..."

"What? No—!"

"Getting special orders…"

"I-I did not ask for this!" Spencer held his half-eaten donut in the air. He glanced at Emily and Penelope and to his dismay, they were both smirking. "I didn't!"

"It's sweet," Emily shrugged. "Makes sense why you almost asked her out."

Penelope's eyes widened to the brim. "Hold on—!"

"That was because of you!" Spencer pointed sharply at Emily, almost panicking that Aitana would overhear them.

"Did she force you to?" Morgan asked him, his lips just barely keeping away his teasing smirk.

"Well...no...but she was definitely an influence!" Spencer checked the doorway to see if Aitana was nearby. When was everyone going to stop bringing this up already!? It was like every chance they had to remind him of what he almost did was their priority!

"When did this happen?" Penelope hadn't yet gotten on the same teasing page as Emily and Morgan but it was probably because she didn't know about it. Spencer sincerely hoped he was wrong and Penelope wouldn't tease him too. She was staring at him with her big eyes, blinking quickly. "How did I miss this?"

"Garcia, drop it," he all but snapped her at which was even more surprising for her too. "It was a mistake. I've already explained this to Emily." He shot a direct glare at Emily, hoping she had the good sense to feel at least a little guilty for embarrassing him. Her smiling expression made it difficult for Spencer to decide whether or not his glare had worked.

"Why would it have been a mistake?" Morgan had to ask, partially to keep the teasing going but also out some honest curiosity. It was a rare moment to hear Spencer say he made a mistake.

"Because of the timing and—" Spencer raised a finger quickly when Morgan opened his mouth to no doubt pick on that line, "—because she has a boyfriend. I don't think I need to go further than that, right?"

Penelope scrunched her face. "She has a boyfriend? How come I didn't know that?"

"Didn't know what?" Aitana caught the last question perfectly when she came back into the room. It wasn't hard to pick up she'd missed out on an interesting conversation. "What are we talking about?"

Spencer saw Penelope opening her mouth and it didn't take his entire I.Q. to know she was going to ask about the boyfriend matter. He already made his peace with the situation but he wasn't very interested in learning more about the guy either. "The bakery," he said just as Penelope squeaked a letter sound. "She didn't know your parents owned a bakery."

Aitana smiled at Penelope. "Learn a new thing about me every day," she grabbed a seat beside her. "They've been in business for a long time now."

"I can see why," Emily raised her sweet bread. "It's really good." Her eyes flickered to Spencer, meaning for him to forgive her slight slip earlier. The good news was he forgave easily.

"I'll try to bring some more but the address is on the box in case you want to stop by one day," Aitana chuckled.

"Would they know who we are?" Morgan curiously asked.

"Umm, no not really. I'm sort of easing them into the BAU. Plus…" Aitana shifted in her seat, smiling out of uneasiness, "Our relationship is still strained, not as much as before but...slow…"

"That's good. What does Rossi say?" Spencer looked at her until she smiled more comfortably.

"Baby steps," she nodded. She reached for the pastry box to get herself something too. She completely missed the looks the others were giving Spencer, though he was very grateful she didn't see a thing. As for him, he did nothing but scrunch his face. Why couldn't they just let it go?

"Alright, let's get started," Hotch strode into the room. He took the seat between Emily and Penelope.

Penelope reached for the control to turn the screen on. "Three women murdered inside a gated community in southeastern new Mexico in the last 2 months. All 3 inside. Marjorie West was strangled in her home in the middle of the night while her family was out of town. They found her the next morning."

Aitana had to put her pastry down the more they got into detail about the case. She picked up her copy of the case to help Penelope out. "Jill Long was strangled in the laundry room while her husband and sons were camping in the backyard. And last night, Aubrey Jacobs was killed in her home office while her daughter and husband were asleep in the house."

"Occupied dwellings is as high-risk as it gets. And he's fearless," Penelope shuddered. Based on the photographs she was "lucky" to see, how could she not shudder? "Proximity, the chance he might get caught…"

"That could be part of it for him," Emily remarked.

"You said gated community," Spencer took another skim of your case. "I'm assuming that means security?"

Penelope nodded. "A small security staff and perimeter cameras. Everything's recorded 24-7, and no one has entered or left the compound since last night except residents."

"It looks like the unsub is part of the community," Hotch spoke up, his face grim as he went on, "The local Detective says that demographics, general makeup, and socioeconomic status of the residents is essentially the same."

"That's going to make a profile difficult," Morgan said. Even now the case they had didn't exactly give them any outstanding details.

"Unless we examine a different set of parameters," Hotch said, earning quite the looks from the other.

"Uh, sorry," Aitana scratched the side of her head. "Different parameters?"

Hotch nodded. "Rossi's working on that right now." That was all he was apparently going to say on the matter too.

~0~

Rossi arrived later on in the day but didn't say a word to anyone. He went straight to Hotch's office and half an hour later, that's where he remained.

"What do you think they're talking about?" Penelope asked Aitana, both lingering under the latter's doorway.

Aitana shrugged her shoulders. "I'm not sure. Does this happen a lot?"

It was Penelope's turn to shrug. "Sometimes. But usually when that happens, it doesn't mean well."

Aitana got the gist when she noticed Morgan lingering by Emily's desk, both of them staring at the closed office as well. They were all in sync and they didn't even know it.

"Oh!" Penelope exclaimed, suddenly pulling Aitana inside her office.

"What? What!" Aitana was left blinking and stumbling a few steps.

"They were coming out!" Penelope was frantic and poked her head out just to make sure. "Yeah, they're out!"

Aitana playfully rolled her eyes and headed for her desk. She assumed it was time to go so she went for her go-bag. "Oh Penelope."

"Oooh, there's a girl!"

"Mm, really?" Aitana pulled her bag over her desk then searched for a few files she would need in New Mexico.

"I've never seen her before!" Penelope tried opening the blinds a bit more. Aitana was surprised she hadn't outright pulled them by this point. "Ooh, Morgan and Emily are greeting her. Who is she!?"

Aitana slung her bag's strap over her shoulder and headed for the door. "Why don't you come out and say 'hi'?" She tapped Penelope's shoulder on her way out. She chuckled when she heard Penelope's heels clicking behind her.

As soon as Hotch saw them coming, he motioned the mysterious woman towards them. "Agent Seaver, special agent Garcia and supervisory special agent Serrano."

"Hi," Seaver shook hands with Penelope first then Aitana.

"Agent Serrano takes care of the liaison duties in the field so you might be working with her a little more," Hotch added.

"Ah?" Aitana blinked, for a moment panicking that she was being replaced. Had she finally worked the team's patience?

"Agent Seaver is on loan to us from the academy while she's in remedial training with an injury," Hotch said as if he'd read Aitana's thoughts. Aitana lowered her head as the embarrassment seeped through her face.

"Concussion," Seaver said shyly, thankfully never noticing the thoughts that's gone through Aitana. "Hand-to-hand got a little out of control. Don't ask."

"How's the other guy?" Morgan then asked, making the others laugh.

Spencer arrived having heard the gist of the conversation and made his input. "I was remediated in the academy also."

"Agent Seaver, Dr. Reid," Hotch introduced them.

"Um, what was your issue?" Seaver asked the doctor, if only to keep a conversation going.

"What was my issue?" Spencer thought, or pretended to think, before listing off the several reasons. "Marksmanship, physical training, obstacle course, hogan's alley, you know, pretty much everything that wasn't technically book related." Seaver's eyebrows raised, but she was unsure whether to be impressed or confused, until Spencer added, "They ultimately had to make exceptions to allow me into the field."

"Agent Seaver's going to accompany us to New Mexico," Hotch announced, "As a consultant."

"She is?" Emily raised an eyebrow. "On?"

"She has a unique perspective…"

Seaver stopped Hotch with a quiet question, "They don't know?"

"Well, we weren't sure how you wanted to, uh…" Rossi left it unsaid for her to make up her own decision.

She straightened herself up to address the rest. "Seaver's not my original last name. It's my mother's maiden name. Mine used to be Beauchamp. My father is Charles beauchamp." Recognition flashed through every individual, much like she expected.

"As in the Redmond Ripper Charles Beauchamp?" Morgan nearly gawked in her face.

Seaver nodded. "That's him."

"He killed 25 women over 10 years in rural North Dakota," Aitana whispered to Penelope who'd been gripping her arm since Seaver spoke. She presumed Penelope didn't know and even now, she wasn't really liking it either. Whatever it was, Aitana assumed that nobody disliked this information more than Seaver herself.

"I think that you caught him, right, Rossi?" Morgan directed his finger towards the man.

"Hotch was on that team, too. Based on her life experience, we were hoping that agent Seaver might recognize something in the family dynamics inside the community that could be helpful."

"Oh," Aitana said a little louder than she intended to. She now understood why Seaver would be working a bit more with her. As liaison, she would be dealing a lot more with families and if that unsub was amongst them, Seaver would compare her own dynamics to that of the unsub's family. Oh, that had to be hard. Aitana couldn't imagine doing that.

"We have a plane waiting," Hotch reminded the team and motioned them to start heading out. Unfortunately, only Rossi and Seaver took the lead.

"Her father was a serial killer?" Emily stepped closer to Hotch. "That's definitely a different set of parameters."

"I don't want her presence to get us sidetracked. It's a long shot that she's gonna see anything helpful. We work it like any other case."

"You got it," Morgan said, though it was still a pretty challenging thing to digest.

~ 0 ~

As soon as the group arrived at the gated community in New Mexico, they knew it would be a special type of case. For one, it seemed like everyone knew everything. Aitana got the gist when she stepped out of the SUV and scoped out at least five different houses where people were already staring at them, and she wasn't even going to start with the people on the actual sidewalks.

"There sure are a lot of people," Aitana heard Seaver remark behind her. She turned around to see the young woman naturally faltering for a moment.

"They're like hawks. They come with the job unfortunately," Aitana sighed.

"...well, the fact of the matter is, 'beam me, up, Scotty' was never actually said…" They heard Spencer's voice drifting towards them from the second car. Aitana turned around to see him animatedly rambling on behind Morgan who, despite wearing sunglasses, couldn't be more close to cracking." The closest they ever got was, "Scotty, beam us up" in "the gamesters of Triskelion" and "the savage curtain" episode, but interestingly enough—"

"Reid," Morgan finally cut him off, "Come on. Give it a rest."

With a laugh, Aitana stopped by their side, "Isn't that from Star Trek? Angel always talks about that but I'm afraid like Morgan, I'm completely lost with that."

Morgan looked at her from above his sunglasses with an expression that Spencer picked up on fast. "Angel?" Aitana nodded. "Would that be your bo—"

Spencer yanked Morgan's arm, or rather tried to, which resulted in a very awkward tug that landed him far too close to Morgan's side. "We-we should go meet Detective Ruiz right now."

Aitana only blinked at them with confusion as Spencer pulled Morgan with him into a walk.

"What's the matter, kid? I'm just scoping out for information," Morgan said with an obvious smirk on his face. That wasn't all he was doing and he knew it.

"You're trying to embarrass me, that's what. Why can't you people just let this go?" Spencer muttered. He was no stranger to their teasing and much less when it came to women but this time they were being far too persistent.

"Hey," Morgan stopped him at the end of the sidewalk. "I'm just trying to help. Plus, I was a little curious."

"Aha, 'curious'," Spencer folded his arms over his chest. "And if it wasn't clear before, I'm not looking for help. Aitana is a friend I would like to keep."

"Keep as a friend, or…?'

"Morgan."

Morgan raised his hands. He hardly ever heard Spencer's tone go that sharp with him. He must be striking up a nerve and a special one at that which would just add more fuel to the game if he was being honest. "Alright, alright, but you'll be damned upset if it turns out that you still had a chance and you didn't take it."

Spencer's face scrunched. "Chance?" he was left to say when Morgan left. What chance? There was no chance at all. He was being very honest with the team when he talked about the imprudence it would be to even think about asking Aitana out on a date. She had things going on and, the biggest thing of all, she was already dating someone!

He turned his head to see Aitana and Seaver coming his way. He panicked for a second until he remembered that they were on a case and so of course she would be heading in the same direction as him. Morgan's messing with my head! He managed an awkward half smile for Aitana when she passed by and gave him one as well.

Once they were in the community home, the team started setting up and looking at what the local cops had already gathered. Aitana made herself known to one of the local detectives.

"I'll be needing to speak with the victims' families," she said, already making a mental note of how many members that would be.

"We've already done that ma'am," the detective said, rather condescendingly too.

She wouldn't let her irritation get by without him noticing. "It's Agent Serrano, thank you, and I'll need to do it myself again. Can you get me their contact numbers or their addresses, please?" She raised an eyebrow at the man, leveling his look until he went to do what she asked. Aitana heavily rolled her eyes and turned towards one of the tables. She would wait right there until the man came back with what she wanted. If she left, the man might be capable of not bringing her anything out of spite.

"Umm…" Seaver was making her way over, naturally looking out of place. "Agent Hotchner said I should be here with you?"

"Yeah, that's fine," Aitana nodded. "I'm just waiting for them to give me the contact information for the victims' families. We're going to interview them with Prentiss and have you observe anything suspicious."

"I thought you were going to do them?" Seaver asked and only then realized how that came across as. "I mean—"

Aitana waved a hand to stop her. "Don't worry. I just started here a month ago and I'm not comfortable doing interviews all on my own just yet."

Seaver nodded slowly, her attempts to try and understand everything was both appreciated and slightly bemusing. It was like there was a new kid in school. "So you just started then?"

"It's been a while but it's always good to have some more experienced eyes too. You'll see."

~0~

"...and that is the whole kit and kaboodle on each of your 64 suspects!" Penelope finished with a hearty exclaim over the phone. "Nothing really stands out. They're all pretty plain."

Spencer pursed his lips as he went through some of the profiles the local detectives had put together for them. "That's pretty much the main issue we're going to have here."

"Yeah. Vanilla doesn't make your job any easier."

"No, it does not."

There was a small pause before Penelope spoke again, and even when she did it was too casual for Spencer not to be suspicious. "So, um, how's it going with the agent whose father was a…"

"How'd you know that!?"

"You know? I might have looked into someone's hidden background." Even though it was just a phone call, Penelope could hear Spencer's disapproval. "What? I am not gonna let some strange new person travel with my family and not find out who they are!"

"Isn't this what got you in trouble with Aitana?"

Penelope shrugged. "Water under the bridge. I couldn't help myself, okay!?"

Spencer knew she couldn't, especially when Seaver had that type of background going for her. "Well, she seems fine…"

"Hold on, what is that in your voice?"

"What's what in my voice?"

Penelope chuckled. "Oh, my God, you think she's pretty!"

Spencer wondered how on Earth she reached that conclusion. "What? I never said that!" But of course his voice decided to crack as he made that claim, giving Penelope all the more fuel she needed.

"Ho ho, you totally do! So here's a random question…" Penelope tapped her finger in the air, "Who'd you rather work the case with? Pretty Seaver or Sprinkles?"

"I…" Spencer would hate the way he automatically found Aitana close by. She and Seaver were going over something. "That's irrelevant!"

"Not to me it's not, c'mon!" Penelope wished she could see the face on him right now. It had to be priceless. "It's Aitana, isn't it? It has to be."

"I know her better, alright? Nothing wrong with that!" Spencer huffed. He had built a friendship with Aitana that started long ago in San Diego. It's why he cared so much whether or not this teasing ever reached Aitana. He didn't want her to think that he built that relationship for other reasons.

Penelope still laughed. "Glad to see where your thoughts are, lover boy! You know I'd root for you! P.G. out!"

Spencer couldn't explain the relief when she hung up. He looked over to see Aitana was still working like nothing. Good. He just had to hope that with time, everything would be normal and no one would even remember what he almost did.

"What's all that?" The security Chief startled him out of his thoughts. He was motioning towards the stack of papers in Spencer's hands.

"Oh, our technical analyst ran background checks on the suspects."

"I could have given you that."

Spencer heard the edgy tinge in the man's tone. "We typically gather our own intelligence. Our federal databases tend to have more detailed information."

"Well, how do you know they're more detailed if you haven't seen ours?"

"It's nothing personal, chief…" Spencer got the idea that no matter what he said from here on out, the chief would take it as a hostile move.

"It's just, you could have asked."

"Next time I will…" Spencer backtracked a few steps until the chief turned away completely, leaving him to make a hasty sprint towards the others. Suddenly, he didn't mind being close to Aitana. "Has anyone vetted them?"

"Garcia's doing a separate check on police and security staff," Rossi answered quietly.

Seaver looked around and noticed the mutual agreement between the group. She didn't get it. "Why?"

"Law enforcement and security are the kind of jobs that would attract this unsub," Hotch explained.

"Dennis Rader, BTK, was a compliance officer in park city, Kansas," Spencer started listing off the top of his head, and that was a lot. "Kenneth Bianchi, one of the hillside stranglers, worked as a security guard in California and Washington."

Aitana silently smiled at Seaver's reaction. No one ever expected the well of information that Spencer seemed to have. It still caught her off guard too. She cleared her throat and added, in the end, for Seaver's benefit, "Psychopaths love official jobs and uniforms." Seaver nodded. That helped a lot.

~ 0 ~

A short while later, the group had dispersed again. Seaver was still trying to catch up with everything that came their way but it seemed like some things were just a bit quicker than her. Aitana was one of them. She'd disappeared and with so many people in the room, Seaver couldn't spot her. She did, however, notice Spencer going through a few papers at a table.

She walked up to him, barely making her presence known with a light tap of her fingers on the table. "Um, so all that stuff you said about BTK and the hillside strangler, it's all in your head?"

Spencer nodded, albeit nervously. Usually these conversations ended with the other person giving him a freaky look. "I have an eidetic memory."

"So you know everything my Dad did, then…" Seaver said, taking things just a bit on the slow side that Spencer noticed fairly quick. She was trying to get somewhere with this. "I only know what I was told and what was in the papers. I don't have a lot of details."

"Uh, what sort of details…" Spencer had just started when Aitana stopped by.

"Agent Seaver!" she exclaimed, startling both of them. "We're going to have a community meeting tonight and while I'll be directing it, Hotch wants you to concentrate on family interactions from the guests."

It took a moment for Seaver to digest the plan and while she did, Spencer focused on the other part he'd heard. "You'll be leading it?"

Aitana nodded her head. She knew the intention of the question alright. It wasn't too long ago that she'd given her first press meeting. "Yeah, it'll be way smaller than the last time but...baby steps right?"

"Yeah." Spencer happily agreed. He loved watching her slowly get used to the liaison aspect of her job. Even though she didn't see it, she had talent when it came to interacting with people. She had the social skills people wished they could have, including him.

"Hotch is already talking with the Chief about setting it up," Aitana continued. "He's mentioning everything we're going to be doing, from studying body language to what Seaver will be looking for."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Seaver asked after getting the feeling this is all the Unsub would need to make a clean getaway. "Will they be able to keep that to themselves?"

Aitana exchanged looks with Spencer and smiled knowingly at her. "Hopefully not."

~0~

Emily and Morgan arrived at the church half an hour after the others. They found the group at the altar and went directly there.

"We just came from the last victim's house. The unsub used the garage as access," Emily told them. "Maybe a remote door opener made to be universal. The police are saying it's random, but how could you randomly find a woman so vulnerable?"

"Garcia's going over backgrounds again, trying to highlight anyone with tech experience," Morgan said. "She's also doing a full workup on Brinkman and Ruiz. They had that kind of access."

"Speaking of, has anyone seen Ruiz?" Hotch asked after realizing much time had passed since they last spoke.

"I saw him a while ago," Spencer said, gesturing to the entranced doors where people were still coming in. "He set up everyone filling out forms, but I haven't seen him since."

"Hey," Aitana stopped beside Hotch, "Um, I think we're ready. One of the detectives told me mostly everyone's here."

It sure seemed that way. The pillars were almost full except for a few in the back.

"Any last advice?" Aitana asked from the team. Even though it was a far different "broadcast", it still made her nervous that she would say the wrong thing.

"We need to ask for help in a different way. Tell people that we're looking for someone who might have seen something rather than someone who did something," Hotch said, purposely nodding her to finish his thought.

It took her a moment but she got it in the end. "Because no one thinks that their friends or neighbors are capable of this. Yeah." She nodded grimly.

As Aitana headed for the podium at the center of the altar, the others dispersed to their assigned spots. Emily and Morgan accompanied Seaver to the best spot near the altar where she would be able to see the faces of the community.

"Evening," Aitana started slowly. She wanted to capture the attention before she went on with details. "I'm Agent Serrano with the FBI. You all probably know why we're here so I'm going to get straight to the point. It's our hope that someone here may have seen something odd and not even realized it. Maybe you have a neighbor who takes his trash out late, works on his car in his garage, anything that might put someone outside at an odd hour, giving them the opportunity to see something."

"Isn't it your job to find out?" A man asked, raising his hand as if that would excuse the untimely interruption and the tone in which he'd interrupted.

Aitana faltered for a second there, having expected total silence since the crowd wasn't made up of bombarding reporters like the last time. From the side, Hotch, Rossi and Spencer watched the moment happen.

"Shouldn't we try to help…?" Spencer started asking but Hotch gave a firm shake of his head. They couldn't always help Aitana and besides, it was rumored (from her last conference) that she had an attitude not to be trifled with.

And just like the last time, Aitana came back from her falter. "Of course it is, but it wouldn't be that terrible if the community decided to help every now and then. Besides," she said through a tight-lipped smile, "I would think that given the closed gate situation here, everybody would want to help us find the actual culprit here. Because I do remind you that you're likely to be trusting this person. So tell me," she looked at the man who now seemed more embarrassed than ever, "Would you like to help us?" The man shrunk in his spot. His shaky nod was all Aitana got but it was all she needed. "Thank you."

Spencer smiled at her from his spot. Morgan had told them all about the way she put the reporters from the 1940s movie case in their spots. Morgan had said it was hilarious the way such a quiet looking woman had shut down the entire group of reporters with one snap. Spencer had no idea what that could've looked like but he'd been happy for Aitana because he knew how much she struggled with the liaison part of her job. But now he knew exactly what Morgan meant. Watching it was hilarious. Aitana was typically polite and easy going but it was clear now that when provoked, she was a snapper. She most certainly didn't need their help managing a crowd. JJ had made the best choice persuading Aitana to replace her.

~0~

When the meeting was done and the people had left, the team gathered around to discuss their next move and contemplate what the meeting had brought, IF if something had been brought.

"We're gonna start with the people who didn't show, cross-reference with families with no pets," Emily told the others, earning some similar confused expressions.

To ease the confusion, Seaver explained, "I remembered I wasn't allowed to have a dog or a pet of any kind. It was more than a rule. It was a big problem for us."

It was an interesting thing that none of them really considered.

"That could be something," Hotch said but Seaver felt like she'd come with little after the meeting. Aitana had kept it going for at least an hour and this is all she came up with.

"I'm sorry I couldn't point him out."

"We don't expect you to point him out. We're hoping you can help us once we have things narrowed down."

"Plus, it's physically impossible to point someone out like that," Aitana added. "If you could do that, we'd be out of a job." Seaver managed to smile at that.

"Guys," Spencer joined them with a fresh new pile of papers in his hands. "Of the 64 suspects, 18 of them didn't show up."

"Ok. Prentiss, Serrano, take Ashley back to the model home, go through the 18 names and add the pet information," Hotch instructed the pair.

"Yeah," Emily looked at the others before taking off together.

~ 0 ~

All the way to the car, Seaver kept quiet. Even when they'd started the way to model home, she'd kept her gaze straight ahead. Aitana and Emily presumed what Seaver was thinking about.

Emily checked the rearview mirror to see Seaver still sitting silently in the backseat. "That was good stuff back there, what you said." Seaver's eyes automatically flickered to the rearview mirror. "That was helpful."

"Was it?" Seaver asked with the truest of doubt in her tone.

"Yeah. Profiling is a process. It's about puzzle pieces, things that don't look like they fit until they do."

That all sounded nice but Seaver was almost sure that she'd failed the one task Hotch and Rossi gave her. "I still don't know how anything I said will be helpful."

"Believe me," started Aitana in the passenger's seat, "A puzzle piece takes time to make sense. And you can trust me, I do puzzles at home all the time. My Friday nights, actually."

Emily snorted. "You're cool." Aitana chuckled and, despite her feelings, Seaver cracked a smile too.

"Seriously though, trust yourself a little more," Aitana said after a moment. "I know it's rich coming from me seeing as I doubt myself too but...usually things work out in the end."

"But how?" Seaver asked, eyes flickering between the pair. "You kept the meeting going for an hour—something I respect by the way—and all I was able to come up with was the no pet rule."

"Not true," Emily said. "You gave us other details. Think about it this way," she said once she saw Seaver's little faith in herself dwindle even more, "If we have a subject in interrogation, knowing that he's a father who's a serial killer who might be overprotective, that could be the perfect way to get him to talk."

Aitana pointed at Emily in agreement. "Sometimes the smallest of details fit the puzzle perfectly once you turn it the right way."

Seaver sighed and leaned against the seat. She supposed that sounded right but her faith may have taken another hit when she realized she wasn't sure how to turn the detail around to fit the puzzle. They arrived at the model home a few minutes later. They walked into the empty place and went straight towards the papers they'd left earlier in the day.

"Ok, let's hope the occupancy listings show pets," Emily reached the table first and planted a hand on the decently sized pile. "This is the pile of suspects we need to weed the 18 from."

"Lucky us," Aitana mumbled and started to wonder where the coffee was.

"What are these?" Seaver moved to the edge of the table where three lonesome files sat.

"Victim information of the families of the 3 women who were killed," Emily said while she started going through some of the files.

"Families," Seaver repeated, glancing at one of the many boards behind them. She hadn't really paid attention to them up until now. She had a good reason not to but now that she was aware of it, she felt terrible.

"Yeah, families are the hardest part about this job," Emily remarked, soon earning an agreeing hum from Aitana.

"I'm still trying to figure that part out," she admitted.

Seaver picked up one of the files to find a family's report inside. A mother, a father and a little girl.

"That's Drew Jacobs," Emily said after catching a glimpse of the man's picture. "We talked to him this afternoon. His wife Aubrey was victim number 3."

"She's never going to have a mother around," Seaver remarked about the child. Emily and Aitana paused to glance at each other. Seaver put the file down and noticed a black laptop not too far from her reach.

"That was her laptop," Aitana was almost afraid to say. The more Seaver noticed things, the worse her expressions got. "Uh, Garcia, our tech, she ran a remote data sweep of it. We're gonna have to take it back to the house."

"Meeting over?" They heard far too close to them and some someone did not invited in. The trio jumped in their spots while the Chief of Security watched them in amusement. "Relax. It's just me. How'd the meeting go?"

"We missed you there," Emily remarked, eyes narrowing slightly on the man for his unexplained absence.

"Well, I thought it would be a good time for a sweep, you know, while everyone was busy. What are you girls looking for?"

"Whether or not any of the no-shows have pets."

"Pets? Those reports aren't gonna show that."

Emily lowered the file in her hand with a weary sigh. "No?"

"But I can find out for you. Got all that information in the security office at the gate on the South end. I'll show you…?"

Emily glanced at Aitana for some help but because the brunette knew the Chief had specifically looked at Emily for that trip, she smiled and stepped back. With a subtle frown, Emily was forced to follow the Chief.

"God that guy's weird," Aitana remarked once the front door had shut. "But God help him if he tries anything with Emily." Seaver half smiled. Aitana was sure that it was almost a forced smile. "You really have to be easier on yourself. I don't know if it's hypocritical coming from me or maybe even more meaningful because I'm sort of new too…"

"It's nice," Seaver settled for. "It's kind. I appreciate it."

"Buuuut you think I don't know what the hell I'm talking about," Aitana smiled with an amusement that allowed Seaver to awkwardly nod. "And you're right, your experiences are very different from mine. But just so you know, in terms of the terrible stuff happening to you...I do know about some things."

Seaver raised an eyebrow at her, clearly wondering what Aitana meant by that. Aitana decided for the sake of their case, and for Seaver's own issues at the moment, she would leave things as they were. Luckily, to help her out, her phone buzzed in her pocket.

"I'll be back," she told Seaver then went into the next room to take the call.

"Hi there, cupcake!" Penelope's cheerful greetings would never get old and since they dealt with the worst types of cases, Aitana would absolutely love them.

"Cupcake?" Aitana mused. "I thought it was 'Sprinkles'."

"Ah, well, sprinkles...cupcakes...one's over the other, isn't it?"

Aitana chuckled. "I guess so. Anything new to report?"

"Unfortunately yes. There's been a new murder."

"What? But we just had the meeting…"

"Yeah, so he's definitely one of the people who didn't show," Penelope said. "Lock your doors, alright honey?"

Aitana couldn't help the snort she did. "Penelope…"

"I'm serious, just because you're an FBI agent doesn't mean you're immune."

"Believe me, I know," Aitana turned sideways for the threshold. She wondered if Seaver was able to put herself more together by now.

"I'll keep you posted on anything new," promised Penelope before she hung up.

Aitana put her phone back into her pocket and returned to the living room. She was stumped to find it empty. "Agent Seaver?" she called, looking around to catch sight of the blonde. "Agent Seaver?" She walked around a bit. She stopped by the staircase and peered up as much as she could. "Ashley?"

She was gone.

"What…?" Aitana hoped to God that none of what she said had made Seaver leave the place. God, sometimes she really thought that JJ made the worst possible decision choosing her for this job.

That was exactly what she told Hotch when they returned from the latest murder scene.

"She probably just needed a break," Rossi said to ease her nerves. "This can be triggering a lot of things for her."

"And me not keeping my mouth shut must be helping her," Aitana shook her head and moved for the table.

"Let's focus on the job right now and we'll talk to Seaver once we have a narrowed suspect pool," Hotch instructed. He thought like Rossi. Seaver just needed a moment. "Alright, we need to look at all 71 files and eliminate suspects our way, not theirs."

"Garcia," Morgan had the woman on the line for them.

"Fingers at the ready!" she exclaimed.

Ruiz came up to the group and noticed the odd stares most of them were giving the suspect files. "What's up?"

"There are only 67 files here," Spencer noted. "Where are the other 4?"

"Well, one of them's me. And the other 3 are the victims' husbands."

Aitana made a face. "Why would they automatically be cleared?"

To his credit, Ruiz did look genuinely stumped. "Wouldn't they? I mean, if you're gonna check them, you might as well check me."

"We are," Hotch said bluntly. "Detective, where are the missing files?"

"Right over there," Ruiz motioned to the original lonesome files Aitana remembered from earlier.

It was then when Aitana realized something was missing from the table. "Oh no, no, no, no, no," she came rushing around the table in search for the missing laptop.

"What is it?" asked Rossi who noticed her first. Morgan and Hotch kept Garcia busy with new potential suspects.

Aitana went as far as checking underneath the table for the damn laptop. She could not have missed something like that. "There was a-a laptop on the edge of the table—"

"From the Jacobs' family, yeah," Rossi nodded, still not understanding.

"I thought we had that in possession," Spencer said, eyebrows knitting together.

"We did—do!" Aitana raised her head from under the table. "But it's not here anymore! I think Seaver might have taken it! How could I miss this? What kind of agent am I if I didn't notice it straightaway!?"

"Serrano, calm down before your blood pressure goes up for no reason," Rossi motioned her to breathe normally. "No need to put your agent skills in question here. Seaver obviously felt like the victims should have the laptop back. Not a big deal."

If it wasn't a big deal then why did Aitana feel like it was? She sighed heavily. "She's not doing well here and I don't think we've been able to help her so far."

"It's not our job," Rossi said, however cold it sounded. "Seaver's here to do a job like the rest of us."

"I'm…" Aitana shook her head and moved down the table. "I don't think it's that easy. Actually," she said in a quieter voice, "I know it's not."

"Hey," Spencer moved to her side, "Like Rossi said, Seaver just wanted to return the laptop to the victim's family. It's kind of nice, in a way."

Aitana could only shrug at that point. What else could she do? Get to work, that's what. She exhaled and glanced at Morgan and Hotch going back and forth with Penelope. Yeah, that's what she needed to do.

She moved on over to help them, along with Spencer and Rossi. Between them, they discovered that one of their new suspects had an interesting background.

"Drew Jacobs has a couple arrests for assault when he was younger," Penelope said. "I'll give you more details on that in a sec."

"Wait a minute…" Aitana started making the same connection that Penelope was about to.

"Is this the husband of the woman whose computer I went through?"

"Yeah," the others collectively said.

"Oh, she was really unhappy with him," Penelope remarked. "She said he was distant, he left her alone at night."

"Yeah," Ruiz said all too sure. "Wandering around outside. As a matter of fact, before his wife was killed, he was my top suspect."

"Wait, wait. He's an I. T. Expert who travels around the world!" Penelope delivered the final piece that sent Aitana into a near heart attack.

She flapped a hand to the nearest person beside her which turned out to be Spencer. Her usual caution for his personal space was forgotten during the panic. She grasped his arm. "Th-that's where she went!"

He knew exactly what she was talking about. "I, yeah, um…" He didn't want to say he was going to panic like her but he was running along a similar line.

Hotch pulled out his phone to call Seaver immediately. Thankfully, she answered after the second ring but it took very little to figure out she was with Drew Jacobs.

"She's not armed," Aitana was right behind Hotch as he hurried towards the door.

"I know," Hotch said, "But we'll make it there. Seaver's resilient. She had to be."

"This is my fault," Aitana stopped suddenly, letting the others walk past her in the process.

Emily stopped first and a few feet ahead Spencer did the same. The former started back for Aitana. "You're not at fau—"

Aitana waved a hand for her to stop. "It doesn't matter what I feel. It's not important right now," she mumbled before heading off the cars again. Even when Spencer tried to talk to her, she brushed him off. Her feelings should have nothing to do in the cases, no matter how strong they were.

They arrived at the Jacobs' residence with quiet sirens. They were suited up in no time.

"Prentiss and Morgan, take the back," Hotch instructed the pair once they were ready to go. "Reid and Serrano, stay up front. Rossi will oversee the rest. Make noise. Let him know he's caught. It may be the only chance she's got."

The team rushed towards their designated spots and did the worst thing their job commanded in these situations: wait.

After Hotch went inside the house, Aitana stepped back from the front porch and gazed up. Only one pair of windows were lit. "He's upstairs," she said through their comms.

Spencer stayed right under the doorway and motioned a couple others to stay near for backup. He glanced over his shoulder to see Aitana staring endlessly at the window. It wasn't like she would be able to see from her spot, much less hear any conversations.

"Aitana," he called quietly, startling her anyways. She hurried back to their spot but as soon as she was beside him, they both heard the bang of a gun.

"Oh God!" Aitana exclaimed and dashed inside.

Spencer was quick behind her along with the others. They didn't make it to the staircase when Seaver came running down with a blood splatter on the side of her face and part of her shirt.

"Ashley—" Aitana's call was in vain because the blonde agent zipped past her and the others all the way out of the house.

"C'mon," Spencer tried pulling her towards the stairs. She was taking it far too hard on herself for something that's been out of her hands. Aitana followed him like a robot. She had a job to do and she would do it no matter what.

[tranquil-space-ninja]

So, I had a Thought. This is a My Hero Academia thought, so if you're not into it or you don't watch it or are planning to watch it and don't want spoilers, ignore this. This also includes my OC, Remus Aizawa, who's the child of Eraserhead and Present Mic. Those two are married in this, so it's Erasermic, too. I guess people who don't like reading about other people's OCs or Erasermic should ignore this, then. But, there's some wholesome stuff amidst my usual incoherent ramblings, so if you want wholesome LGBTQ+ content, just keep reading.

So, after the dorms are instituted, but before the 1A kids take the provisional license exam, the teachers decide to have a parent-teacher conference thing where the parents come and visit their kids and stuff. This event lasts a week, and there are no classes during that week. Now, All Might's space is Friday at 6 PM, and he decides to have a group meeting where the entire class's parents come in and everybody hangs out together so the kids can show their parents what they're learning and how they interact with each other and All Might can answer any questions.

All Might has everybody sit in a circle together. Everybody sits with their parent(s). Remus sits next to Present Mic, and Mic's there holding Mr. Aizawa's hand. Because they're married. Most of the other parents are all :0 at it, but the kids are like, "This is Old News." All Might starts the meeting, and it goes smoothly for a while until Endeavor, being Endeavor, and this being before his 'I'm going to be a Good Person and New Symbol of Peace and hide the fact that I abused and neglected my wife and kids for years and expect them to be okay with that' bullshit starts, says something homophobic and enbyphobic about Aizawa, Mic, and Remus.

Remus is non-binary lesbian and uses she/he/they pronouns for projection reasons. She's only out to a few of her classmates. Those classmates are Yuga Aoyama, Eijiro Kirishima, Denki Kaminari, Minoru Mineta, Katsuki Bakugou, Tenya Iida, and Rikido Sato, 5/7 of them only because Denki was a dumbass and forgot how to knock, then opened their bedroom door while they were stuck trying to put their binder back on after a shower (Denki is also trans in this AU, and helped them get unstuck, and they've been friends ever since). As for the rest of the class, all the girls think he's a boy, and all the boys think she's a girl. (But 🎵he's not a boy, she's not a girl, can I make it any more obvious?🎵-- any Thomas Sanders fans here?)

So, when they hear this, the seven are like, "Oh, shit, Remus just got outed," and everyone else is like :0. Remus is in this weird limbo between, "Oh my god, I just got outed, what's everyone going to say?" and, "I don't care if he's the number 1 hero now, Imma punch this bitch for outing me and saying shit about my dads." She ultimately picks to punch the bitch and stands up, but Present Mic takes her wrist and makes her sit back down. After their initial shock, the other 1A kids start standing and yelling, and the parents are looking at each other like, "What do we do here?" And then, All Might yells for everyone to be quiet and tells the kids to go out in the hall while the grown ups have a Talk. They do so, mutering discontentedly.

While Mic and Aizawa are giving Endeavor the, I-don't-care-what-you-say-to-my-husband-and-I-but-if-you-come-after-my-kid-again-we're-gonna-have-a-problem talk, the kids are out in the hall talking to each other. The general consensus is that some of them are gay or trans, and it doesn't matter that they're the minority, this simply Will Not Do. They're brainstorming what to do, when Remus says, "I have Pride Flag stickers in my bag," and produces a huge-ass book of Pride stickers. By huge-ass, I mean there are 8 pages, 2 of each sticker shape, for every pride flag, with the exception of those created by TERFS and other exclusionists, in rectangle, heart, square, and circle shapes. The Ally Flag is there, too. So, after making sure if everyone who wasn't out yet was okay with it, the students start flipping through the huge-ass sticker book and grabbing their flag or flags. They each put a heart on each cheek and a big rectangle on their chest.

Denki wears the trans flag and the bi flag. Remus wears the nonbinary, ace, and lesbian flags. Mina wears the lesbian flag. Deku, Jirou, and Tsu wear the bi flag. Shoto Todoroki, Kirishima, and Bakugou wear the rainbow pride flag. Everyone else wears the Ally Flag. (This was my way of telling you how I headcanon each of the characters for the purpose of this story).

When All Might calls the students back in, they all hold hands or put their arms around each other and walk in together. The parents all stare at their kids wearing these brightly colored stickers, and All Might asks, "Um... What are you kids doing?" which is what everybody was thinking.

Mina yells, "This is a protest," and the students all cheer.

Bakugou follows that with, "That bitch--" pointing at Endeavor, "--was saying some homophobic and transphobic shit, and we're not going to fucking tolerate it! And you can't do anything about it because we all have quirks and together we can easily beat your ass, even stupid Deku over there." More cheering. Most of the parents joined in, because they're proud of their kids. Some are just shocked because holy shit their kid just came out to a whole room in protest their baby is so brave and strong and grown up now.

Then Tenya says, "As class representative, I'd also like to say something," to chants of "Speech, speech, speech!" Once that dies down, he continues, "After we moved into Heights Alliance, Remus Aizawa told me that the reason the League of Villains had kidnapped herself and Bakugou was to recruit them to their side. They tried to do so by telling her that society had no place for her, that if he ever came out to his friends, they'd alienate him, and brought up the fact that most of the world constantly misgenders and deadnames him. She declined their offer to join them, but I honestly wouldn't have blamed her if she hadn't. With all due respect, Endeavor, your actions tonight were shameful. The level of intolerance you displayed has no place in Hero Society. I want all of you here tonight to know that the League of Villains was wrong. I may not be part of the LGBTQ+ community, but I think I speak for all of my cishet friends when I say we fully support our classmates who are, and when we're Pros, we plan to make sure this world is a place where everyone can be safe to be themselves, no matter their gender or sexuality. That is all. Thank you for your time."

The entire room was silent for a moment, then everyone but Endeavor started clapping. A few of the parents even asked for some of the Ally stickers, which Momo and Remus happily passed out.

Then there was Saturday, which had a few more parent-teacher conferences, and on Sunday, Class 1A threw a gender reveal/coming out party for Remus, Denki, Todoroki, Tsu, Bakugou, Jirou, Deku, and Kirishima. There were three cakes. One was frosted rainbow, with the cake the colors of the lesbian flag, and was full of M&Ms in the bi flag colors, and two were frosted white, one cake the color of the trans flag full of blue M&Ms and one full of yellow, white, black, and purple M&Ms, with cake the colors of the ace flag. There were also balloons that said, "It's a boy," and some with "boy" crossed out and replaced with "enby" everywhere. There also chips, soda, and fruits and vegetables (at Mr. Aizawa's request).

Were they trying too hard? Yes.

Was it a sweet gesture? Yes.

Did everybody have fun and enjoy the party? Hell yeah!

Anyway, that's the thing. That's the Thought. I hope you liked it!

[melyaliz]

Past loves and future babies pt. 9

Masterlist

Fandom: Marvel (MCU) 

Pairing: Steve Rogers x OC 

Notes: I suck at action. that’s all I have to say about that 

All Masterlists @melyalizarchive​​

Connect with me! AO3 / Instagram / Pinterest

DONATE or REQUEST 

Trigger warning: Coming out and abusive parents 

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Family Dinner was a bit later than normally tonight. 7’oclock. Carol North hated eating late, she had read somewhere it wasn’t good for your digestive system to eat after 8 so dinner was normally around 5:30 or 6. However the head of the house Richard had worked late so dinner had run a bit later. 

It had worked in Dixie and Mac’s favor since they had more time to get their stuff together before they dropped the bomb. Next to her Mac fidgeted with his food unable to look at anyone else. Leaning over Dixie’s foot bumped her brother. Their eyes met for a moment and she nodded. 

You can do this

“Dad I need to tell you something.” 

“Of course what’s up?” his father looked up at his son and Dixie felt sick. She wanted to run away. A weird feeling of dread and fear flooding her system. She wanted to protect her brother from this while also wanting to run away and hide. Hide like she used to when she was a kid and her dad would blow up at their mom. Hide like she used to when her parents would fight, screaming at the tops of their lungs ending with her mother leaving for days on end. 

Dixie was good at hiding. 

“Dad, I’m gay.” Mac said, Dixie wasn’t sure why Mac wanted to leave like this. They had planed their escape for years now. Waiting until she was 18 so it wouldn’t be considered child napping. Part part made sense to her. But when Mac had told her how he planned on doing things she wasn’t sure why. Why couldn’t he just hide like she did?

But regardless she supported him no matter what. 

“What?” Richard burst out laughing, “Are you trying to get some kind of reaction out of me?” 

“No dad, I just. I wanted to be honest with you.” Mac’s face was impartial. No emotion at all. Dixie wasn’t sure how he could be so calm while her heart was racing so fast in her chest she thought she might throw up. 

“Why are you trying to do this to us?” their father’s voice was so just as calm. So dangerously calm. As if he didn’t believe him. As if he was talking to a small child who just didn’t understand that dinosaurs were dead. That Santa Clause wasn’t real. “Honestly Macklin, what have I done to make you think this is ok?” 

“Nothing dad, there is nothing you did. This is about me.” his leg was jittering under the table the only sign that he was even nervous. Only Dixie could see it. Only Dixie could feel the nerves radiating from him. 

“Like hell it is.” Richard said slamming his hand on the table, “You are just upset that I won’t pay for you to dorm at college isn’t it? Well this is clearly why you can't. Gay my ass!” 

Dixie couldn’t deal with it anymore, that was her brother Richard was talking about. This was Mac he was accusing of throwing a fit when all he was doing was telling the truth. 

“Fuck you!” She snapped jumping up. They had agreed she wouldn't speak. That Mac would handle this but… she couldn't stop herself as the words spilled out. “He’s being open and honest and all you can do is focus on you.”  

“Dixie!” her mother snapped glaring at her, “Language.” 

They still weren’t listening. It was all about appearances. Don’t swear, don’t be out of the normal. Don't do anything we don't approve of. 

“Oh please you agree with this?” Richard said to his daughter. “You're my good girl.” 

“I love Mac. What is there to agree or disagree with?” Dixie whispered slowly sitting back down, her voice breaking. Mac’s hand found her’s under the table holding it tightly. 

“You love Mac,” Richard laughed, “If you loved him you would be telling him he’s being an idiot.” 

“And how is being gay being an idout?” 

“Because it’s wrong! It’s not normal!” Richard snapped his anger focusing back on his son, “Just because you want attention or whatever doesn’t mean you should do something so… so” leaning back in his chair their father took a deep breath before cutting some meat. “Dixie go to your room. Mac if you keep spouting this nonsense you can forget college. In fact, give me your phone.” 

“Dad, I pay for my phone.” Mac chocked out a bitter laugh. 

“My house, my rules.” 

“Yeah” Mac said standing up, “see that’s the thing. I’m moving out.” 

“M… Me too” Dixie said following her brother.

“Young lady! Don’t you move!” Richard roared. Dixie flinched that feeling of fear rushing over her. She glanced up at her brother who just smiled down at her. 

“Just keep walking” he whispered, pushing her in front of him. As if he could block her from their father. 

“What? Are you punishing me now?” Richard said standing up, “What happened to my perfect little girl Dixie. My little princess.” 

Dixie felt sick. Her stomach twisting in knots. Even now, even knowing for years what her dad really was. What kind of man he was. It still hurt. 

Because a part of her wanted to be his little princess. 

But her dad had always been right about her, she was unlovable. 

Because even her own father didn’t really love her unless she was his little princess. 

And she couldn't pretend anymore. 

They both couldn’t. 

“No dad, I am going with Mac.” 

“Don’t… if you two walk out that door you are dead to me!” Richard screamed, “Try me! Just try. You will never get a cent from me. Never get anything. I’m your father. I have done everything for you. Give you everything! And you just want to rip this family apart!” 

His endless screaming continued as they walked out. A stream of consciousness that held a sting that would echo in both their brains for much longer than either of them wanted to admit. Lie that his words meant nothing while it cut deeper than any scar they would ever receive from their future life on the streets. 

The white van Mac had gotten a few weeks ago was parked a block away. Already loaded up with all their belongings. Only the ones they personally owned. They had agreed to only bring what was truly theirs. 

So that they didn’t owe him anything. 

Because they didn’t owe him anything. 

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

“Shit” Sam mumbled fumbling with his gun as he stood next to Bucky pinned against a wall. The soldiers or whatever they were came barreling down the hall. Four of them dressed to the 9s in armor ready for a fight. Where did these people come from? Why were they here?

“Bucky?” at the sound of his name Buck felt dread fill his stomach. Turning he saw Dixie walking up to him eyes wide in a cute little black dress. Her hair in a soft curl, make up done. 

The date. 

Steve was going to take her on a date. And now she was standing there in the middle of a war zone.

“Stay back” Bucky hissed holding a strong arm out trying to keep her away from the onslaught of fire that was raining down on them. His eyes shifting from her to Sam who was trying to stop the bleeding from the gunshot wound in his side. However Dixie didn’t seem to notice as she took a few steps forward. Her hands ghosting over his arm pushing it out of the way. 

“You’re toast” all three heroes (well two heroes and one guest of the avengers) looked up to see the bad guy said holding up a gun. Eyes hard ready to shot the first person who dared to move 

Dixie raised her hands up so they were visible in front of her taking another slow step forward positioning her body between the two men. “Sir, please, he’s hurt.” her voice cracked slightly, obviously frightened by what was going on. Bucky’s body grew tense, his hand slowly snaking toward the knife he had strapped to his back. If he could grab her arm and pull her back he would be able to disarm this man with minimal damage to them.  

“We are just here for the time machine.”

“We don’t have any…” Sam started but the man snarled aiming the gun at him, 

“Was I talking to you?” turning to Dixie he smiled, “Now pretty lady…”   

Bucky’s fingers gripped the knife body tense, Dixie’s shifted slightly just a bit further out of his grasp but if he was just able to-- 

His thoughts were cut off when the man’s eyes grew wide at Dixie’s face, “Wait… you’re one of them!” There was a blast of purple light causing Bucky and Sam to blink. The sound of a gun going off and the smell of burning melted metal filled the air. Dixie’s right hand fell to her side, something that looked like a glowing purple fire saber burned in her hand. Moving forward she spun into the main hallway where the other men were. Bucky runs after her only to see her wing the blades in both hands stopping the bullets before slicing through one of the guys arm and another’s other’s leg. 

Standing up she pressed her hand toward her ear “Mac, can you see Steve?” she asked as she ran down the hall leaving the two men alone. 

“She’s not just some little human is she.” Sam mumbled as Bucky shook his head. He needed to find his best friend and soon. Or the time machine. Not that it was working, but that was probably where the goons had gone. 

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Steve was in the hanger bay with Wanda. They had seen several men barging in through the open bay doors. It was hard to keep track of the soldiers, they seemed to fade in and out. When they had first arrived it looked to be about fifteen and now there was four. Two twins and a woman with a whip and a large man with two kusarigamas. Steve wasn’t sure how it was possible but he was also preoccupied with the large man advancing toward him. The chains from his kusarigamas screeching like a warning against the concrete.  

“Steve” Wanda gasped trying to block the twins that were attacking her. They seemed to be fading in and out as if ghosts. Turning Steve was about to help her when he felt a pain shoot through his back. 

Turning he saw the large man grinning at him. His silver plated teeth glistened in the light that streamed from the glass ceiling of the hanger. His blades glistening red.Next to him the woman smiled cracking her large steel whip.

“Get him lover” she hissed, licking her lips, her bloodshot eyes bright with excitement.

Some guy with a Mohawk and these huge kusarigama let out a snarling laugh bearing his silver plated teeth. Next to him a woman with a whip crackled it at Steve’s legs. 

“Come at me Mr America!” he hissed slashing at Steve again barely missing Steve’s ribs as the super soldier twisted out of large man’s way. Steve’s gaze drifted toward Wanda who was holding off the twins. It was hard to tell if she was gaining the advantage or not from where he was. 

The black steel of the Kusarigama smashed into Steve’s shield making Steve’s arms ring from the aftershock bringing him back to the fight in front of him. Before he could fight back, the man kicked him with a thick boot making Steve fall onto his back.

This wasn’t good. 

The man smiled holding up the blade bridging them down hard on Steve’s shield causing sparks to ignite against the shield. 

“I'm going to cut you open like a fish” the man howled , raising his hands again. A few feet away the woman laughed cracking her whip in a rhythmic crack, crack, crack. 

Steve braced himself as the large man lifted up his blades above his head ready to crash them back down. 

And then a bright purple light burst from the man’s chest. Burning through his sternum the smell of burning flesh filled Steve’s nose. Letting out a cough the man looked down at in shock. Blood dripped from his mouth before he stumbled backwards off Steve. Choking a few times before  he crumbled onto the floor. The life leaving his eyes

Steve sat up to see Dixie standing there, panting slightly. Blood splattered across her hands and over her chest and neck. Her eyes hard as she met him. He couldn't see any wounds so Steve could only assume the blood wasn’t hers. Another purple blade like the one that was glowing out of the man’s chest was in her left hand. 

The woman with the whip, seeing her comrade, out a screamed scream running toward Dixie. Turning Dixie held out her hand, the blade from the man’s chest faded away before appearing back in her hand. Taking a defense stance with both blades she stood over Steve. 

“DIE BITCH!” the woman screamed, swinging her whip. It was no match for the blades Dixie cut through the steel coil as if it was a hot knife through butter. Pulling out a gun the woman shot a few bullets toward Dixie but she quickly deflected them continuing to walk toward the woman. 

“Stand down” Dixie said, “and I won’t cut your arms off.” her voice filled with venom. Steve had never heard that tone before. Commanding, meaning every word. It wasn’t a threat, it was a promise. 

Something the woman didn’t seem to realize as she let out a snarl, tears in her eyes. “I’m going to kill you!” she cried grabbing a rocket launcher that was strapped to her back. As she pulled the trigger Dixie threw one of her glowing blades forward slicing the woman’s shoulder making the women scream falling to her knees. 

Moving quickly ignoring the pain in his back Steve bolted up grabbing Dixie by the arm pulling her back flush to his chest. Swinging his shield he hit the rocket up sending it spinning through the glass ceiling. 

Dixie looked up at him as shards of glass showered down around them. His blue eyes meeting her own as he held his shield up over them protecting them.

“Are you ok?” she asked, her expression softening and something in Steve shifted. He should be asking her that. He should have been rushing to save his little -not- wife. Yet here she was barging into the fight covered in who knows what’s blood checking on him making sure he was ok.

“I… yes” he said, a feeling of relief washing over him so strong he bent over gently kissing her forehead.

“Y… you weren’t supposed to be..” 

The couple turned to see one of the twins standing there with a gun in his hand. Wanda behind him, her powers holding the other, her eyes glowing as she reached up to grab the other when there was a whirring sound and a net flew out of nowhere tangling the man before electrifying him.

“Stay the FUCK away from my sister!” 

A curly haired man cried walking into the hanger, dressed in jeans and a black button up shirt, he had a pair of clear green glasses and was holding up a weird silver bracelet around his left arm. An army of drones followed him. 

“MAC!” Dixie let out a squeal pushing away from Steve crawling under his shield that was in front of both of them before dashing toward the man. Throwing herself into his arms she hugged him tightly. 

Steve knew the name. He had caught Dixie several times on the phone talking to a Mac. Her face lit up in pure joy and comfort. She had mentioned him before too. Her brother. The only person who she seemed to mention from her previous life. The one before this. 

“It’s always just been me and Mac” she would say with that look on her face. One he knew very well. It was the one reserved for those who were your family. Your most trusted. The ones you would go to the end of the world for. 

It was the feeling he had for Bucky. 

“What are you doing here?” she was asking him as Tony and a few other avengers walked into the hanger. 

“Who’s this?” 

“This is my brother.” Dixie said turning, the look on her face told Steve all he needed to know. She was worried they were going to rip them apart again. 

“He’s staying.” Steve said to Tony, “I need a shower.” 

“I… ok whatever” Tony shrugged knowing he would get all the information later. They had bigger issues to deal with right now. Like all the bleeding intruders. 

-------

Steve winced as the warm water hit his back stinging the deep cuts that were slashed across his back. They were going to be a pain (in the back) to fix up. Maybe he should go down to the infirmary… or maybe.

“Want some help hansom?” 

The sound that came out of him was that of a small child and a cat that just had it’s tail stepped on. Dixie stood there, eyebrows raised trying to fight back a laugh as she stood in front of the glass walk in shower. 

“Ok boys count chill I’m not going to jump you.” she said, “Can I come in?”

-GET TAGGED!- 

Masterlist

Forever tag:  @the-shadow-of-atlantis​​​ @coffee-randomness​​​ @0hmydeku​ @xx3fsxx​ @daisyboobear​​​  @jason-redhood​​ @hello-i-lovespiderman-blr​  @pinkwitch21 @tomhncharliep  @cdwmtjb8​ @thespacebuns​​

@itsmeeluciie​ @thefemalethatwrites​ @little-dark-empress​ @idk123906​ @evansgirl7​ @otomegamer101​

[melodylnoelle]

Thunder

Fandom: Marvel Cinematic Universe Characters: Loki x OC Chapters/One-Shot: One-Shot Words: 1029 Warnings/Notes: Fluff Summary: CO comforts Loki during a thunderstorm. Tags: @brightsunanddarkmidnight2-0 I hope you enjoy :) Comments/concerns/requests always welcome! Masterlist

Loki’s eyes darted around wildly. He took in one deep breath, then another, seeming to calm down from his heightened state.

“What is it?” I frowned, not sensing anything that could have set him on edge.

Loki schooled his expression immediately as he looked at me. “It’s nothing.”

“You’re sure?”

“I am.” He went back to focusing on the book in front of him.

It was only when the second roll of thunder and lightning came through and it happened again that I put together what was happening.

“You’re afraid of the thunderstorm, aren’t you?”

His head snapped back up. “No, of course not. Where would you get such an idea.”

“You’re jumping out of your skin every time you hear it.” When he didn’t say anything, I continued. “It’s ok, you know, I understand.”

He just stared at me.

I didn’t want to meet his eyes as I continued. “I used to be scared of them, too, you know.” My pen found my hand and I scribbled onto the page as I spoke. “I had a nightmare when I was a kid that my whole family died in a tornado, me along with them. I don’t know if the fear started before or after that, but it took a long time to go away. I-“ I paused a moment, considering whether to continue. “I remember one time I had such a bad anxiety attack during a thunderstorm that my friends had to leave and my dad had to take care of me. I just sat there with a stuffed animal and hyperventilated for a while until it was over.”

“I thought you loved the rain.”

“I do now,” I nodded, staring down at the lightning bolt I had just doodled.

Loki was quiet for long enough I thought he was done talking. “What changed?”

I considered that for a moment. “I’m honestly not sure. I think over time I just learned that they weren’t so bad, and it made the anxiety less. Somehow along the way. I started loving it. I started loving the sound of the rain on the windows, the feel of it on my face. The way the wind moves and feels on my skin, in my hair. Even lightning can be beautiful – bright as shit and it hurts my eyes,” I interjected before he could comment, “- but beautiful in its own way.”

He looked down again, clearly not finding what he was looking for in that answer.

“Hey,” I rose, moving to place my hand on his shoulder. His face came up to look at me as I spoke. “It will be ok. It will just take some time.”

He just shrugged. He seemed to still be struggling with admitting to me that he was afraid, and for some reason that stung.

I sat down onto his lap, pulling him forward into me. I rested my chin on his head as I held him there “We have many storms here on Earth, almost none of them involving your brother. And I’ll be here for every one of them until this gets better.”

I felt him flinch as the thunder rolled again.

I pulled him tighter to me. “I mean it, we will get through this together.”

Loki let out a breath, relaxing slightly. He brought his arms up to return the hug.

When the next roar of thunder came through, I kissed the top of his head and smoothed his hair. He relaxed a little faster this time. We still sat like that for a few moments more before I had an idea,

I stood, breaking the embrace. “Come with me.”

He looked up, one eyebrow arched. “Where are we going?”

"To the kitchen. Just trust me.” I took his hand, pulling him up to meet me. I did not release his hand as we made our way to the kitchen on this level.

“What are we doing?”

I smiled at him. “Getting ice cream.” At his perplexed stare, I explained. “I always ate ice cream during storms. It made it at least a little bit better for me. Though admittedly I usually also made it worse by constantly looking outside for tornadoes, but that’s besides the point.”

"I just don’t see how-“

“Just trust me,” I said again, smiling at him. “Wanna grab the bowls and spoons for me?”

Loki rolled his eyes but went to retrieve them, the tiniest smile on his face.

I scavenged through the freezer, eyeing all the different flavors. “Looks like Stark’s got vanilla, chocolate, and moose tracks in here for us. I’m sure he has different flavors on other floors, though, the sneaky bastard. We can look if none of these sound good.”

"Moose tracks?”

“It’s vanilla ice cream with peanut butter cups and fudge pieces inside.”

Loki considered for a moment. “That sounds interesting.”

“Then this you shall have.” I grabbed the moose tracks for him and the vanilla for me. Two scoops for each of us later and we were off. Loki started for the library before I stopped him. “Nope, done with that for the night.”

“Then where might we be going?”

“Just follow me.” I led us to the living space on this level, plopping down on the sofa.

He followed suit slower but sat down at my side. “And why here?”

"Because we’re done studying,” I said again, “and you and I are both behind on our list of stuff to watch.”

Loki nodded in acceptance, handing me the remote form the table. “Make your choice, then.”

“And you try your ice cream,” I teased as I opened up Hulu.

He obliged, taking a small piece of ice cream on the spoon and popping it into his mouth. His eyes closed in enjoyment. My heart leapt, glad he seemed to like it.

The storm kept going through the night. The noise of it was quieter here, which seemed to help him a little. He still flinched at the thunder when we heard it, but relaxed quicker each time as I held him tighter and kissed his head. It was a start, if nothing more, to getting him to feel better again.