#the hospital would keep him until hes able to walk at least. but he'd still be in pain. itd take a while to fully recover

[orcelito]

I spent a while last night researching postpartum stuff. General experiences, potential complications, etc. I'd already been thinking that vash would get postpartum depression bc he was Already largely depressed, and apparently that is indeed a possible contributing factor! Prior history of depression in you or your relatives. There's also being a single parent & general lack of support that contributes. And it's like. Damn he's gonna be roughin it.

Tho apparently doctors will generally screen for this at postpartum checkups, when they're checking on the health of the baby + parent. Asking questions and mood and such. So they'd likely catch his depression at like the 2 week mark or something. Possibly put him on antidepressants. Which could help him, but it'd take time, & he's not gonna be truly getting better until his situation gets better. But like. It'll help, maybe. At least a little bit.

Good for him tho it'll be probably a bit after this point where he ends up befriending the girls. And everything will get better from there.

[lexirosewrites]

Hello! I'm new to slick sunday, and the fandom entirely honestly, but I had been rewatching s2 and had a fic thought about Steve hiding his omega designation like his parents demanded with scent blockers and heat suppressants, but after getting his face beat in by Billy, he just...immediately hops into a tunnel of absolute nastiness with absolutely nothing properly covering all his cuts/wounds, so what if he gets an infection?

He ignores it after because of course he does, but the injuries get swollen, warm/red, and painful to the touch and he keeps feeling so sick so he takes himself to the hospital and they immediately take care of his injuries - scolding him because he couldve become septic, and then place him on a combo of antibiotics and steroids to assist. Course, he's told his scent blockers cant be taken due to contraindications with the treatment medications and how they could potentially harm him or make things worse.

Steve is then told by his pharmacist to be aware the heat suppressants may lose their effectiveness while on his antibiotics and so Steve tries to get ahold of his parents so he can stay at home away from people. They never answer or return his calls so he's forced to school monday morning as an omega.

The plot twist, Eddie has known his secret because they were best friends growing up always meeting at the park between their house. Eddie was a year older and presented as an alpha. Steve presented a year later almost down to the minute. Eddie comforted and scented him as he helped walk him home through the pain. Steve's father took one look at them and blamed Eddie for tainting his son - the senior Harrington believing the conspiracy theory that babying boys before presentation makes them omegas which is why Steve was never coddled at least not by him or his wife - but now he has a face to place on the alpha he keeps smelling on his son and blames him immediately threatening him (and Steve) if he doesnt stay away from his son so Eddie remains away.

So when Eddie catches Steves scent in the hallways, he immediately follows to find him and hes confused as hell cause wtf??? Steve had still found him a few days after his presentation to apologize profusely and Eddie had simply hugged him tight and said he'd see him around eventually. Steve spots him coming up to him and just breaks down because Eddies scent still reminded him of safety. Eddie walks him out to his van once the bell rings and they spend until lunch in there as Steve explains parts and is able to mentally prepare better and calm down.

I dont really have things planned out after this, but yeah i wanted to share and see everyones thoughts on it! 🥺 i know a lot of the fandom likes doing the hiding designation thing, but i do agree with the fandom that the Harringtons would force it highly encourage it lol

first of all, welcome to the fandom and slick sunday, we’re so happy to have you!!💛

secondly, our poor baby stevie😭 having to stay away from the alpha who makes him feel safe… i just know eddie would take such good care of him after that though!!

[koishua]

thinking about volleyball player!jaehyun in the haikyuu world, maybe playing for aoba johsai in an alternate timeline or wherever and you're his biggest supporter and lifeline :(

he had transferred schools from s. korea to japan in his first year of high school and had struggled to keep up with the language, so you'd helped him throughout the entire year, sharing notes and slipping answers from the seat right behind him. you'd tapped on his shoulder the day of his arrival, and from that moment on when he was startled awake while dozing off in a class he did not understand, the stone of your friendship started rolling. quite fast at that.

years would pass by and he'd become a sought-out volleyball player, scouted left and right for professional teams after high school and he'd always search for you in the stands. his eyes would sparkle when he spots you running inside, out of breath, clearly coming from something important and yet?? you still made time to be there for him?? jaehyun's eyes only sees you and you see your own reflection in his. no matter how much people throw themselves at him left, right, above and below, myung jaehyun can only ever look at you; the object of his desires, the center of his world, the greatest gift in his life.

meeting you, jaehyun believes, is what made his life turn for the better. along the way, he'd made many precious friends, all no thanks to his beyond charming personality and your interventions from time to time. still, not one of them come close to where you rest in his heart, the largest space reserved for you and only you.

and it's SO obvious. myung jaehyun is smitten by you. he's always been at least a little bit in love with you. everyone could tell that even if they didn't have any personal connections to either of you. and as much as he adores your very existence— myunjae practically worships the ground you walk on, is what his teammates would say— you can't help but fall in love with him as well. everything you do is for each other. out of love for one another. out of concern and worry. out of mutual respect. everything myungjae does is for you.

his fingers would point at your direction whenever he scores a point, countless pictures of this mini ritual of sorts (ever since his first match in high school up until the days of glory where news outlets would all report about his monumental achievements globally) being turned into compilations... his greatest accomplishment in life, whenever asked in an interview, would be meeting you and having you in his life. myungjae's fans are unique in a sense that they'd protect you as much as they'd protect him. even more, at times. to them, you are the sun that their planet jaehyun revolves around and they adore you for who you are and for what you mean to jaehyun :(((!

you'd once gotten admitted to a hospital because of a health issue and jaehyun, who'd scored the winning point, pointed not towards the stands, but at the camera pointing at his somber face, knowing that you'd be watching him even though you were supposed to be asleep, recuperating. fans had found out about your condition and had sent countless bouquets and notecards, wishing you a speedy recovery. not a single one had disturbed your privacy and a video would then go viral on the internet of jaehyun profusely thanking his fan for handing him a get well soon card in front of the hospital when he'd gone to visit you (able to recognize his masked face even from afar) dhfhhfhfbfb i just can't. i can't stop imagining this scenario y'all this au lives rent free in my brain someone write this out into a 50k worded fic

[ninyard]

But I wonder that if something were to happen to kevin ( not death related ) what would others feel or act like for example him breaking his hand permanently, ending up in the hospital for not taking care of himself enough and etc i really need your thoughts

See I feel like there's two different answers there for two different situations; if Kevin broke his hand again, or even just hurt it again, maybe broke a finger, or broke his wrist, it'd be awful mentally and a looong physical recovery for him. Can you imagine it? Anyone close enough to him on the court hears the snap when he goes down, and then he doesn't get back up, and Andrew sees across the court that he's cradling his hand. Kevin looks up and Andrew sees this fear in his eyes that he's only seen on a handful of occasions. It's bad, its scary for Kevin, the medics come out and everyone is holding their breath, because they're looking at his hand, his left hand, and it looks bad. There's such a weight to him accidentally injuring his hand again because every twinge of pain and every strained muscle puts his one step closer to never being able to use it again, never being able to play again. Whether its true or not doesn't matter - Kevin feels a pain that's worse than his normal pain and he's practically planning his imminent and immediate retirement in his head already. So if he walks off the court, knowing it's broken? He'd be devastated. He would be truly crushed. It's like he's started those two years of recovery all over again, and it's triggering, and it's familiar pain that he never wanted to feel again.

All of the Foxes have been injured before, to some degree. But this is Kevin, this is Kevin's hand. I think the empathy from them all would be huge, for just how devastating an accidental injury would be for him. If he could never play again it's hard to tell - his life is over. He'd go into coaching, maybe, but he'd never be happy, at least for a long time. His purpose was never fulfilled. If he'll recover from it, it's minor, it's just a sprain or a couple of months recovery instead of years, they'd all still be very careful about how they approach it with him. They wouldn't baby him, or tiptoe around the fact that he's injured, but I think they'd all know just how sensitive he'd be about it. I think until he's a while into his recovery, and a physiotherapist can say confidently that he will play again, nobody really knows how to deal with it. He'd be back to his assistant coaching cunt Kevin that they knew for those first few months into him being in PSU, so they wouldn't feel bad for him for too long, but this injury is different. The weight behind it is different. I don't know!!

As for if he wasn't taking care of himself that's a totally different kettle of fish. I'm currently working on an ask about him and Allison + their respective issues with food, and I think like... worst case there is that Kevin falls too far into disordered eating habits that he ends up making himself really unwell. That'd be different to, say, him getting himself so anxious about XYZ that he stops being able to leave the dorm. Or becoming so depressed about Riko's death that he stops looking after himself entirely.

When it comes to physically, literally physically, I don't think Kevin would ever put anything above his own health (except for if he were struggling with an ED). By physically I don't mean like... is he keeping fit or is he maintaining his muscle? I mean that he's not ignoring a pain in his hand, or physical pain anywhere in his body. If he is in pain, or doesn't feel right anywhere on his body, i think he's getting it checked out. Unless it's in tandem with something like him being depressed + unable to go to the doctors, or so anxious that he can't, if he were mentally healthy, Kevin Day is simply not neglecting his health.

I feel like that doesn't make sense at all but essentially the only reason I could see him neglecting his health is if he were suffering mentally. And when you're talking about his mental health, it's just about who would notice and do something about it, who would notice and ignore it, and who wouldn't notice at all. Andrew is clocking it straight away, same as Aaron, Neil, Wymack, Abby and Bee. Allison might notice, and Renee might notice. Depending on how bad it is, maybe they'd all realise it before it gets so bad that he ends up hospitalised or something. And all of their reactions would be different, I think. Some of them wouldn't do anything other than ask Andrew or Neil if he's okay. Some of them would go to Bee or Abby to let them know. Some of them might approach him and ask if he's okay, and when he lies and says he's fine, some of them might not push it. But in general I think Kevin is an easy read. He's just maybe not so easy to approach or help when he's in those situations.

[theseusernamesarehard]

Stuck on the puzzle: Chapter three

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pairing: Luke castellan x Olivia Messer (daughter of Apollo oc)

word count: 2,8k

summary: Luke comes back from his quest and doesn't know which is worse, the injury on his cheek or the fact that his ex best friend is the only one capable of keeping him alive.

Luke awoke with a painful groan. The last thing he could remember was barely making it up the hill to camp Half-blood before passing out. Someone seemed to have found him, since he was currently on a bed in the hospital wing. He was aware of the burning pain in his face, but it had gotten better somehow, since he'd nearly passed out on the way back from the garden. He turned his head slightly, big mistake. His cheek felt like it was on fire.

From his new point of view he could see Chiron discussing something with Lee Fletcher, one of the healers on shift it seemed.

"She's on her way. End of discussion", Chiron told Lee.

"I'm just saying she seemed pretty serious in her promise", Lee said, hesitating a little. "I'm sure I could at least stich everything up."

"I'm sure you're a very capable healer, but this is something I could only entrust to her. I'm sure she'll be able to put any personal things aside."

As vague as the conversation had been, Luke knew exactly what they were talking about. He knew it had to go this way, but he wished it didn't. But of course the one healer he didn't want to see would be the only one who could help him. Classic.

He was lying on his bed for far too long for something that should've just been a quick walk from the Apollo cabin, but he got the answer when his savior came in a dark blue prom dress instead of her jeans and worn out camp Half-blood shirt.

"Did you do anything to the wound ? Try to close it?"

She always liked getting to the point. Although she might've been more brisk now that she hated her patients guts.

"No. Just cleaned the general area. Chiron told me to lay off", Lee said, sounding a little offended.

"Good, Ladon's poison works most effectively when the wound is closed. I need to get the blood out before I do anything."

"So if I'd closed the wound he would've-", Lee sounded horrified.

She softened a little.

"But you didn't."

Luke almost smiled. Although capable and bossy, she still had a heart. Just not for him. Not anymore.

"Claw or teeth?"

He didn't realize the question was for him until she looked at him and repeated it.

"Claw", he answered, not sure how to act around her. These were the first words they'd spoken since Will arrived.

"Okay."

"Is that better?"

She shrugged.

"It's not worse. Still have to get all the poison out of your bloodstream. When did it happen?"

"Like three days ago."

"Shit."

"That's not very calming, Liv"

"Don't call me that."

"Sorry."

Luke cursed himself. It had truly just slipped out.

She directed her next words to Lee.

"Can you get me some regular clothes from the cabin, some shoes and a red bull if the Hermes cabins still have a stash."

"Sure."

"What do you want?" she asked Luke.

"A healer that doesn't hate me", Luke was getting annoyed. She didn't get to be the only one who didn't like the situation.

"I was thinking more like sugar free or blueberry."

"Why can't Lee do it?"

"I think that means sugar free", she said and Lee got out of there much too fast for Luke's taste.

"Luke-"

"You swore you'd never heal me again. You don't have to start now."

"You'll die if anyone else does it."

She held him by the chin and angled his face away from her to inspect the wound. Although the lack of distance between them was uncomfortable, Luke found it easier to talk to her when he didn't have to look in her usually kind eyes and see the hatred she harbored for him.

"And what do you care if I die? You haven't spoken to me in 8 months."

"I don't want you to die just because of some stupid fight."

"I'd love to agree on the fact that the fight was stupid, but seeing as I lost my best friend during it, it had to have meant something."

"Can you not?"

He didn't realize she'd started crying. Just a few tears, but it was still shock. Almost dumbfounding. She didn't like it when people saw her cry. Luke was the only one allowed to witness it for years. Back when they'd go by the lake after curfew and she'd sob into his shoulder while he scratched her back and told her whatever it was would pass. He didn't know if she even cried now or she'd found another shoulder, one of her siblings, perhaps. Or that Athena boy that he kept seeing with her. Not that it was even his business now.

"It's just that I'm going to have to do a very intense and long operation on you where I just might have to give blood in the middle of it cause we're running out. And you and me both have too be awake for the entirety of it."

"You can't put me to sleep?"

"Why do you think you're getting a red bull? You fall asleep, I can't tell whether the poison is slowing down your vitals or not, which I can't have, since we're probably already in a rush. As soon as I get out of this dress and these heels, I'll start extracting.

They sat in silence as she got her setup ready and gave him something to help the pain.

"It won't do much, but it's something."

"I'll be fine. I lived with this for three days."

"The poison isn't too bad going in. Your bloodstream is exactly where it wants to be. Getting it out is going to be the painful part."

"Am I going to die?" Luke's voice had gone quiet.

He knew he was lucky to be alive. He was 17 and a demigod, a lot of his friends hadn't made it past 16. But that didn't mean he wanted to die, even though he knew that was the risk with the quest. The stupid quest. It made absolutely no sense and even though he'd been excited at first for the attention he'd gotten from his father, he knew that it would be back to radio silence now that he'd failed.

"No."

"You can't be sure."

"Luke, my father is the god of healing, my blood can clear wounds and I've spent hours studying Ladon's poison. You're not dying on my watch."

"When did you study the poison?"

"When I found out about your quest."

Luke was shocked. He supposed he shouldn't have been since that was exactly like Olivia. At least like the Olivia he had known. Maybe she was coming back.

"If I don't die will you tell me the real reason we stopped being friends?" he had the impulse to ask.

Lee barged in before she could answer and she disappeared behind a curtain to change. Luke felt more at ease when she came back in the camp shirt, sweatpants and her hair up and out of the way. With the dress and open hair, she had looked like a goddess coming down to berate him. Although that might've been partly due to the blood loss. Still, she'd looked gorgeous.

Lee handed him his red bull. He opened it and almost winced (he hated sugar free, which she definitely knew).

"What do you need from me?" Lee asked Olivia.

"Just get some rest. You'll probably need to be on call tomorrow instead of me. This should be simple enough, just time consuming."

"I'll be right over in the cabin if you need anything."

"Thanks."

They were silent for the first hour, but even though she kept him on a constant yet small supply of nectar and ambrosia, the pain was getting to Luke.

"Can you distract me with something?" he groaned.

"Like what?"

"Just talking."

"About what."

"I don't know? We haven't said a word to each other in months, I'm sure we could figure something out."

"Okay, I think it would best suit us both if we went this operation acting like nothing happened. We don't mention the fight, the not talking. Just... just Luke and Liv, how it used to be."

"Deal", Luke smiled at her in an attempt to show reconciliation, but failed as the pain kicked in.

"Might want to refrain from facial expressions, by the way. I'm pretty deep into your cheek here already."

"Yeah, I figured that out just now. What are you even doing in there?"

"I'm using healing magic to get the poison out."

"I thought you had to hum spells out loud."

"Not for this. There's two main types of healing magic. One is used to speed up healing, its purpose is to assist the body in its natural process and we sometimes sing or hum for it. It's a way of being in harmony, connecting with Apollo. What I'm doing here is a more rare type. It's used mainly for viruses, but once strong enough, it can work for poisons as well. Whereas the singing is healing in the literal sense, this is a fight. Which is why it hurts so bad."

"Does it drain you?"

"Healing always drains me. But the more I do it, the better I become and the less energy it takes."

"But this is going to drain you bad, isn't it."

"It's going to be less draining if you don't bring it up."

"Okay, how was prom?"

"Interesting question."

"I'm still a little shocked you went."

"Me too. But everyone else was going and in Callie's words 'they barely ever see me' so I figured it wouldn't hurt. Plus not much was happening here anyway."

"So how was it?"

"Pretty boring, honestly. I never realized how crazy every day at camp is so I assumed that such a hyped up event would include something a little more fun than boozy punch and horny teenagers trying to grind."

"Were you expecting a lava climbing wall then? Or some impromptu sparring?" Luke smiled, even though he was just told not to.

"I was expecting something like the parties we have in the summer. Or just something with a little more adrenaline."

"That's a yes on sparring."

A pause.

"Did you go with anyone?"

"Yeah, Harry Mellows asked me."

"I hate that guy."

"Not bringing up the banned topic, but that may have been a reason I went with him. Regretted it though."

"He's just so lame."

"To put it lightly. It was so bad I was almost relieved to see Argus there early. And the feeling must've been mutual since he went to ask Helen to dance as soon as I said I have to go."

"Did Sheila go with anybody?" he felt her hand tense on his chin at the mention of his ex.

"I think she went with Brad Conover."

"They'll probably start dating now."

Olivia shrugged.

"She asked me where you were like a week ago", she replied.

"What did you say?"

"I told her you were sick with a weird bug."

"I guess you're right now."

"Well if you heal in a week and get to go to school before summer vacation you'll have some explaining to do."

"I'm sure I'll come up with an illness."

"I mean with the scar."

Luke froze. He hadn't even thought about the fact that the injury would leave a permanent mark. Then again, he had been quite certain he would die before that became a problem.

"Will it be bad?"

"Depends a lot on you. I can only say it's going to be there, but we'll see. Might be tiny. But injuries of the magical sort always leave a mark."

Luke's gaze fluttered to her waist, where he knew the scar from Olivia's entrance to camp still was. She always jokingly lifted her shirt up and said it was her permanent reminder of the day they'd met.

"Thinking about that day?"

He wanted to smile so bad. It had been forever since they'd talked without any tension and he didn't know if it would be the same. But she was still just as capable of reading his mind as always. Luke just wished he could read hers as well so he could figure out where he had gone wrong.

"I still think it should go down in history as the best entrance into camp Half-blood ever."

"I don't know, I feel like it's pretty ordinary for this scale. Most people have to clamper up the hill with a monster on their feet."

"But most people don't take spears of the campers to slay the monster themselves while being deeply injured."

"Most people don't also faint the second they set foot on the grounds."

"Most people also don't wake up with their wound mysteriously healing by itself."

"That I will admit was badass."

"It's when I knew you would fit in here."

"Self-healing is a pretty useful trick around here. Along with a proper use of a spear."

"Not just that, you were so tough. You were 14 and still managed to boss people around just a few days after you arrived."

"Although you found it incredible annoying."

"Well I had been there a year longer and I was a counselor so I was bound to be. I was supposed to do the bossing around."

"The poisons out", Olivia announced.

"Thank fuck."

"You toughed it out well. Now comes the hard part", she said as she brandished a needle.

"That is not going in my cheek", Luke felt, weirdly enough more queasy about this than anything else."

"That's fine, I can also put it in your arm. I just need a vein. Or like five, cause you're going to need a lot of blood."

"I don't think I've lost that much."

"You're running on nectar and my powers right now, so of course you don't think so. I'll give two shots and then set you up on an IV, okay? We just need to get the healing going."

"Do what you must."

"I always do."

Olivia administered the shots and told Luke to go to sleep, which he did immediately. She didn't know how he'd managed to stay awake for that long, but then again she knew the pain must've been intense, although he had attempted to hide it.

She was worried about him because of two things. First, there was the obvious question of his survival. She knew for a fact the poison was gone, she couldn't say how or why she knew, she just did. Like she knew that tomorrow was going to be a sunny day. But it was still uncertain whether or not he would survive the blood loss. She checked everything else while he was sleeping and luckily there wasn't much else. A broken toe and misaligned rib along with some unrelated scratches were quickly healed and they barely even took effort.

The camps last supply of her blood was currently slowly dripping into Luke's bloodstream from the IV so she sat down to draw some more. They tried to keep the supply quite full, but she'd had a cold in the spring that prevented her from giving for some time and they were running out now.

Olivia didn't like giving blood. It felt quite awful actually, but she was getting used to it. She didn't know if it was her or the fact that her blood had some remnants of her godly fathers power, but she felt so drained when she gave it away. The process felt agonizingly like she was giving away her life force, her essence and it always made her existential in ways she didn't fully like. Which is why she told Luke to go to sleep. She would've preferred to keep monitoring him, but she didn't know what she would've said during the process.

Which brings us to the second cause of worry, the fact that they'd had a normal conversation. She had been quite good at keeping the distance between her and Luke. If not physically at least emotionally. since they did still live at the same camp, just 100 feet from each other. She didn't particularly like being cold and unresponsive to the one person she'd always told everything to, but she knew she couldn't go back to the way things had been last fall.

But now she was left with qualm that she really fucking missed her best friend. Like missed him to a level she hadn't even understood until she'd been called from prom to make sure he didn't die. She thought never talking would make everything alright and she'd be able to live her life, but now, met with the reality that she could've lost him forever, made her realize it was the dumbest thing she'd done. And for what? So she could spare her emotions, avoid confronting them and eventually move on from the whole thing heart not quite shattered to pieces, but broken nonetheless?

She realized now, life flashing before her eyes, as it always did when the amount passed half a liter, that she'd been able to spend all this time without him just on account of her on stubbornness and the fact that eventually she forgot what it was like to actually talk to Luke. How everything flowed so effortlessly and she didn't need to sacrifice another thought to what she should say. But then he'd brought up Sheila and it'd been like a knife to her chest once again. She supposed she'd have to decide which hurt less, a life without Luke, or a life spent desperately in love with someone who only saw her as a best friend.

[dr-drckken]

The Cure All || Self Para

Dr. Drakken's No Good, Very Bad Month.

Drakken was in a very large slump. Quite possibly the biggest one he had ever entered, and this was including both his horrific lab accident and being sent to jail thanks to a teenager.

As a recap: Sarina had left, he'd had to re-renovate the downstairs lab into a bedroom for a pair of teen heroes who were practically strangers to him, and now he had a broken arm.

After the whole demon thing had cleared up, he had gone to the hospital to get his arm checked over. Drakken had, wrongly, assumed that the pain would be put to an end as soon as he reached the hospital. Instead he'd been forced to wait several more hours until someone could see him because apparently there were too many people who needed to be seen first.

Which was annoying. Wasn't this town full of Do-Gooder's like Kim Possible? They hadn't been able to keep the idiots of this town from nearly getting themselves killed? Ridiculous! So, as he had been forced to sit in the waiting room, he had called up the twins to make sure he hadn't invited them to stay in town only to get hurt or worse.

They were fine. Of course they were.

Then he had proceeded to call Sarina to tell her of his great misfortunes because who else was he supposed to complain to? Even if it was just her inbox.

Getting out of there, a bit out of it due to the pain medicine, he had been met with the Go twins who had come to walk him home. Surprisingly, they were pretty helpful. And nice about it. Most of the time. They seemed to know how to bite back when they needed to. He supposed that was something they probably inherited from their sister.

Drakken had spent the two next weeks doing absolutely nothing other than sitting on the couch, being sad and watching reality television. Occasionally one or both of the twins would join him, or check in as they passed through the house.

On the fifteenth day they decided that they'd had enough of watching him mope around. But Drakken proved to be a stubborn man, unwilling to move from his spot for any unnecessary reasons, every time sighting that he had a broken arm and couldn't do anything. They tried everything they could think of to coax him to, at the very least, go outside. He refused every attempt and they went to their room, calling uncle for the night.

It started all over again the next day. They even tempted him with his plot to take over the world! Surely he couldn't resist that! He had seemed so proud of that when he had first introduced himself.

"What's the point?" he asked, voice muffled as he was laying face first into the sofa. "My arm is broken, I couldn't do anything even if I wanted to."

The twins glanced at one another, shrugging. They'd given him every opportunity, now they were going to have to take matters into their own hands.

Literally.

Using their magic, they hauled him kicking and screaming off the couch and outside. Drakken could be seen being dragged around the Southern Isles neighborhood in his pajamas and fuzzy bunny slippers that afternoon.

"Come on," one of them had said, and Drakken still had yet to figure out how to tell them apart and didn't particularly care at the present moment to work on it. "There has to be something around here to cheer you up."

The other one echoed his brother before they started listing things off, going back and forth between one another as if they shared the same line of thinking.

"There is one thing," he admitted, making the pair perk up. "But we'll have to wait until nightfall, and you can't act sanctimonious about the rules we'll need to break!"

And that was how the Go twins were introduced to Vera, the three sneaking onto the Chakrobarty's farm at night to reach the barn where the cow was very excited to see her friend and the new company he had brought her. To Drakken's annoyance she liked the twins on sight, eating from their palms and sniffing at their hair as they pet her.

But it had done the trick. Drakken felt much better after spending time with the cow. Even just getting away from the house and the little town itself had been a much needed balm on the emotional wounds he'd taken over the last...well, year honestly.

He had returned to the task of helping turn the spare room into the bedroom, the work going by fast due to the boys' ability to turn themselves into a whole crew of workers. They were all sitting on the floor after carrying in their mattresses, eating their dinner, when Vera was brought up again. The conversation turned over onto pets in general.

"Did you ever have a pet?" one of them, Drakken was pretty sure it was Wyatt, asked.

"No," he shook his head. "Mother barely had enough money to take care of me when I was growing up. Then I...don't know. I suppose I was moving around too often to think of getting a pet. And, anyway, Vera isn't a pet. She's my friend. She lives on her own with her herd and works for her room and board."

"You have money now."

"Yeah! And you aren't moving around anymore."

Drakken looked between the pair of them, "Your point?"

"We should get a pet!" they said in sync.

"What?"

"A pet!" they repeated.

"What kind of pets do super villains usually have?"

"A cat!"

"A snake!"

"A bird!"

"...I have always wanted a dog," Drakken said, looking down at his food and thinking aloud. When nothing else was said he glanced up and had to do a double take at the wide eyes staring back at him. It wasn't until they shared a look with one another and the slow grins started brightening their faces did he catch on. "I- no! We aren't getting a dog."

"Why not?" Wendall, he was sure of it this time, pouted.

"Yeah, why not?"

"We already crossed off your previous reasons not to!"

"Come on!"

"Please?"

And, honestly, they did have a point. He had the means, he had the yard, he had the time. Not to mention coming home to a dog that would always be happy to see him felt like it would be the best remedy for anything that could have happened to him.

Zero had also mentioned that his boyfriend was the owner of that place with all the dogs just across the way from the neighborhood. It would also be helpful to put a face to his name. What was it again? George? Grant? ....Greg?

"Very well," he gave in, tone annoyed, though he was doing a bad job at hiding his smile as he watched the twins celebrate their victory.

[arobinwithoutbatman]

Tim's Family Situation

-Tim's parents were very present when he was a baby and toddler because they had to be. Can't exactly leave a baby in the hands of a nanny, that gets noticed so yes they were at least around constantly for his early years

-He was about 3 years old when he went to Haly's Circus. He remembers the colours and sounds of the whole thing more than anything else. He did have some pretty nasty nightmares about all the screaming though and was unusually clingy to his parents after the fact which prompted them to get him checked over by a professional

-They came out of it with an autism diagnosis. Sped up because comic book logic and rich people logic. Which is not what they wanted for an heir. Anyone could take advantage of a kid with a learning disability, would he even be able to understand how a company works?

-Tim's parents were back to travelling the world by the time he turned 6. He had babysitters and nannys and a house keeper for company and no one said anything about the fact that a small boy was left home alone most of the year. They were paid very well to keep their mouths shut. A hefty donation also went towards keeping Tim's diagnosis out of publically available medical records, it was a secret only for the Drakes to know

-They did the charity circuit that year with the rest of high society. Had to keep up appearances after missing the first few directly after Tim's birth. It went pretty well all things considering. Tim no longer openly fussed at the uncomfortable clothing, didn't immediately say the first thing that came to mind and didn't show any signs of distress that the lights were too bright because "of course they weren't Timothy, that's ridiuclous, you're a big boy now." He still remained glued to his parents sides but was at least subtle about holding on to whatever soft fabrics his mother was wearing to help settle his nerves. He didn't speak unless spoken to because he'd learned he was bad at talking.

-Tim didn't have many friends in elementary school. Kids are very good at clocking neurodivergent people as 'weird' so he was bullied a lot. Excluded from games, whispered about, made the butt of jokes when he missed social cues, called names when he shared his knowlwedge because this boy was so smart and he loved learning

-He got his camera for his 8th birthday with the condition that if he let his grades slip or started acting like a baby then it would be taken away for a few days. The first photo he took was through the stair railing as his parents walked out the door with their suitcases. And then of course took up his night time photography, figured out the Bat family, you know how it goes

-Janet died overseas when Tim was 10 in a dig site accident. If there was anything more to it, Tim won't say. When asked, all he says was that it was a tragic accident at one of their dig sites. Jack was hurt and had to stay in Gotham for a bit but he was soon back out in the world doing his thing and Tim continued with his studies and became Robin at 13 because Bruce was losing himself to his grief and was terrifyingly close to breaking his no kill rule

-Jack is back in Gotham as of about a year ago. Another dig site accident had him back in hospital. With things not going well and wasting a lot of money on terrible archaelogical choices, money wasn't looking good.

-Drake Industries (tech company specialising in construction tech and gadgets, the digs were their way of showing off what they had to offer) has officially been absorbed into Wayne Enterprises. Tim pulled those strings, Jack has no idea. Unofficially, Bruce was looking after it until Tim turns 21 and has a college degree and then Tim could decide what he wanted to do with it. With Bruce dead, technically Dick is looking after it now.

-Jack and Janet weren't abusive. They were absolutely emotionally neglectful and ableist as hell but the latter was 100% down to ignorance rather than genuine malice. The house bills were always paid, there was always an adult to handle the tasks that Tim absolutely shouldn't have been anywhere near (like handling bleach, cooking, replacing lightbulbs etc), there was always plenty of fresh food for him to eat, he had ways to contact his parents they just never replied because timezones and signal problems, Tim always had easy access to money for anything he needed whether it be medical bills in the event he got seriously hurt, school supplies or take out because it was one of those weird weekends where a grocery shop hadn't been done yet and he'd run out of meals

-Tim was never adopted by Bruce. His father is still alive and still legally his parent. Pays for school and other necessities. The two hardly talk. Jack is still completely in the dark about Tim being Robin and Tim hopes it stays that way. Instead, Tim organised it so that Bruce could be called upon for emergencies as a legal guardian if Jack couldn't be reached. He just... didn't mention it to Jack. If Bruce figured it out, he never mentioned it

[yoruthewardevil]

December

Plot: Shigure recalls the night Akito was born

She took her first breath in this world on a cold December night. 

He remembered every detail of that night. It had snowed so much that it had been impossible for Ren to make it to the hospital. Akito Sohma was born at home, screaming so loudly that her cries could be heard miles away. 

Shigure didn't need to hear her cries to know that she was finally here. Tears streamed down his face as he recalled the morning of her conception and all the feelings he'd felt. The feeling now was even more intense, just knowing that she now lived and breathed in the same world that he did. 

"Gure!" A voice came from the entrance-way. Opening the door, Shigure let Ayame in. No words needed to be exchanged. Both boys already knew what had taken place and how life changing that night would become. It was a night they'd remember for the rest of their lives. "She's here…" he said softly to Ayame. "At long last!" Aya chimed in, a hint of amusement in his voice. They had been waiting this entire time to meet her. Shigure had been secretly hoping that she'd come early but that hadn't been the case. 

"I want to go see her. Just to make sure she's real," Shigure said with a smile. He knew she was real but she was so special to them already and he didn't think he'd be able to sleep that night if he wasn't able to see her. "You can't see her. They don't want anyone to know that she's a girl," said Hatori who'd just made his way to the door, eyeing the other two boys. In his excitement, Shigure had failed to close the door after letting Ayame in. 

"What do you mean they don't want anyone to know she's a girl? We know. We've known." Shigure couldn't help but feel annoyed. He wondered if maybe something had been wrong with the baby and Akira had decided to keep her a secret. Something wasn't right. After a moment, it dawned on Shigure that Ren's entire pregnancy had almost seemed like a secret. They had rarely seen her around the estate. In fact, it was almost as if she was avoiding them. 

"I'm going to see her," he said, stubbornly. "You can't. Why don't you ever listen to me? You can't just show up and demand to see her." Hatori was already annoyed by Shigure's persistence and refusal to think things through. Although he was young, Hatori had already learned that he needed to be the voice of reason when it came to his two friends. Of course he and Ayame had felt the desire to meet their god as well but Shigure was borderline obsessed. At least that's how it seemed. 

"Perhaps in the morning we can all go!" Ayame always had to make sure that they heard him. “That's a better idea. Still a bit stupid but it's better than going right now," Hatori said, feeling exhausted by having to think logically for himself and both of his friends. 

Despite the plan to visit their god the next day, Shigure just couldn't let it go. Hatori and Ayame walked back to their own houses, content with waiting until morning. Shigure was too young to make sense of anything he was feeling. He was so overwhelmed and knew deep down that nothing would satisfy him until he got to meet her. Sleeping proved to be impossible despite how hard he'd tried. The boy was young and reckless, refusing to listen to reason. Driven by his own desperation, Shigure got out of bed and left his house, making sure that he didn't wake up his parents in the process. They would've been furious. 

In truth, Shigure had no idea what he would say to Akira when he arrived at the main house. Surely he couldn't just demand to see the baby. Everyone would think he was crazy. It was cold outside and he'd forgotten to bundle up on his way out. The snow was up to his knees. Shivering, the boy made his way towards the main house. As he was about to reach up for the bell, a maid came outside and caught sight of him.

"Why are you here? Are you lost?" Her tone was patronizing. Before he could speak, he heard the cries of a baby coming from behind the door. His heart seemed to pop out of his chest at that moment. He'd waited so long for her. Shigure understood all too well that his actions were foolish but he was being driven by a love he'd never experienced before. 

"May I see her? Please. Only for a moment. She's important, you know." The maid glared at him but before she could open her mouth again, Akira appeared in the entrance-way. Upon seeing Shigure, he raised an eyebrow and looked inquisitively at the boy. "Shigure… What brings you here? It's very late." Just as the boy was going to answer, Akira nodded to show he understood. He knew how important his child was to the zodiac members. "You're here for her, aren't you? I knew at least one of you boys would show up. You can see her for a moment but then you have to go home." 

Shigure's eyes lit up. He couldn't believe that he'd be the first to meet god. Following Akira into the house, he looked around for signs of Ren. "Where's…" he began. "Sleeping in another room." Although he found it odd that the baby's mother had gone to sleep away from her baby, he didn't ask anything further. Following Akira, he almost didn't notice as they approached the baby in her cot. 

To say that he was overwhelmed with emotion was an understatement. Wanting to appear more mature than he actually was, he knew he couldn't cry or show any signs of weakness. The baby wouldn't remember the first time she'd met him but it would be something he would always remember. The baby was much smaller than he'd expected her to be. Given that he had no younger siblings, he knew very little about babies. She was wearing white and had her mother's hair color. "Her name is Akito," Akira whispered to him.  Akito. He wanted to tell her that he was happy that she'd finally arrived and that they'd all been waiting for her, but she was too little to even understand how important she was. Shigure reached inside the baby's cot and stroked her cheek softly. "Akito…"

[burgers-and-french-fries]

11

The last time Jesse was in the hospital for anything, he was with Mrs. Donnely finding out that his parents had been killed. He was only 10 when it happened and Mrs. Donnely, who was a surrogate grandmother to Jesse, took him in until her death last year.

Mrs. Donnely had in her will that Jesse could stay in her house while under the care of her son, Simon, but he was a curmudgeon and didn't like Jesse in the slightest. Simon was an only child and hated the fact that he had been saddled with a teenager. Jesse had promised Simon that he'd stay out of the way, take care of the garden and keep the house clean... Basically speaking, Jesse had become Cinderella to Simon and from there, that's how he met Kenzie, who in his mind, was his savior in more ways than one.

"Why didn't you tell me all of this from the beginning?" Kenzie asked as Jesse changed into his clothes in the hospital room bathroom so that Jeff and Kenzie could take him to Liz's where he would be living at least for now.

"It never came up." Jesse said weakly, opening the door.

His hair was ruffled and sticking up at odd ends. Half his shirt was tucked into his pants and his eyes were still very tired looking. He looked as though he'd been hit by a bus in other words.

"You could've told me when we were baking." Kenzie replied before chewing her nails.

"Can we not fight? I'm not in the mood." Jesse told Kenzie as he flopped back in the hospital bed he'd been confined to for the past few days while he healed enough to be discharged.

"I'm not trying to start a fight, I'm just curious as to why you didn't tell me any of this before now." Kenzie replied.

Jesse was about to say something else to her when Jeff walked into the room announcing to the teens that they could all leave and go home.

=

Back in Jeff and Liz's neighborhood, Liz had just fired up the grill after putting the final touches on the room that was to be Jesse's.

At first Liz had no idea about how to decorate the spare room she had for Jesse but thanks to Kenzie who had been texting back and forth with Jesse when he felt up to it, she was able to work her magic and make a space for the boy that he could feel safe in.

The bed she had was adorned with the comfiest pillows, freshly washed blue sheets and the bedside table, although bare for the most part, had an alarm clock radio on it that could also be used as a bluetooth speaker should Jesse wish to listen to music. It was also a charger which would come in handy. The room also had a fun little stack of books Liz had compiled that she thought that Jesse might like to read and the walls had been decorated with various types of beach photography ranging from sea creatures to the tall weeds you could find in the sandy dunes of some of Florida's beaches.

Not only that but the en suite bathroom had been stocked with all of the toiletries Liz thought Jesse might need and the best part, she had bought him the most amazingly soft bathroom towels, hand towels and bathmat so he wouldn't slip getting out of the shower.

The woman hoped that all of this would help Jesse feel welcome and like someone cared about him enough to create his very own oasis should he need to escape from the world around him.

She wanted this room to be fully and completely Jesse's.

It felt really good for Liz to be able to help someone out. It was who she was after all.

"We're here!" Kenzie shouted as she, Jeff and Jesse walked into her house as previously arranged.

"Just in time. I just put the meat on the grill." Liz replied as she walked into the house from outside.

"I can tell. It smells way too good." Kenzie said with a smile.

"I'm glad. Now, can I get you guys anything to drink or should we let Jesse get settled and I can text you when the food is ready and you can head over?" Liz asked, looking at Jeff for his reply.

"I think we should let Jesse get settled and relax for a bit. What do you think Kenz?" Jeff asked.

Kenzie glanced over at Jesse and saw just how exhausted he truly looked. He almost looked like he could sleep for days. SHe felt bad for him. She knew how it felt to be unwell but to be put into a situation where you are staying with a practical stranger, she couldn't imagine how overwhelmed he must be feeling too.

"I think we should let Jesse settle in and relax." She said, giving her friend a warm smile.

Jesse smiled back albeit sleepily.

"Ok, sounds good. I'll text you when everything is ready and set up." Liz said as she walked Kenzie and Jeff to the door.

"See you in a bit." Jeff said, smiling at both Liz and Jesse.

"See you." Liz answered, watching the uncle niece dup walk back to their abode.

"Right, let me show you your room and then you can rest if you'd like and I can come and get you when everything is ready." Liz said as she turned to Jesse, who was looking around her house.

"Thanks." Jesse replied and followed Liz down the hallway and to his space where he just about burst into tears at how beautifully it was decorated just for him.

Jesse hugged Liz and held onto her. He felt so cherished in this moment and he was never going to forget it.

=

Pasta salad, Potato salad, Coleslaw, Garden salad, burgers, hot dogs, chicken, steak. All of these dishes sat on the picnic table in Liz's backyard. She didn't know what everyone liked for BBQ food so she decided to go all out and make everything, especially since Jesse had now moved in with her and was safe from the harm that the world could throw at him. It was a party...a welcome home party if you will.

Along with all those plentiful dishes sat a couple pitchers. One full of water and the other with Iced tea and of course if everyone wanted, there were sodas in the outside fridges and a few bowls of chips and other goodies....Ok, maybe it was a tad too much food but it would last for a while and Liz was thankful for that as she had always loved leftovers.

"You really didn't have to go to all this trouble Liz." Kenzie told her as the women watched the men tuck into their food and devour it as though they hadn't eaten in days.

"I wanted to. True I didn't know what foods you liked but this is special and I wanted it to feel special." Liz told the girl and Kenzie beamed.

"It means a lot Liz, so thank you. For everything." Kenzie said, not just about taking Jesse in but for being there for Kenzie when she needed another adult around other than her uncle.

"I agree, thank you." Jesse said as he swallowed the last of his hot dog.

"You are both welcome and seriously, let me know if there is anything else I can do." Liz said genuinely.

It was a very good for Jesse and he went to bed feeling so beyond loved, appreciated and cherished.

It was a summer that Jesse would never forget because he had met the people that meant more to him than anything in this world, even if he hadn't known them for very long. He could tell that they were genuine and wanted the absolute best for him and his life.

===

Tag List: @hauntedflamingo

[mneiai]

So I'm reading the TV tropes page for The LXD and the person writing up a part says that it's surprising Spex joins the ATD at the end of season 3 despite the shady nature of Jato's death and I'm like...no? It's not? lol

The most blatant foreshadowing for this was in The Good, the Bad, and the Ra, where they show Spex blatantly ignoring his fellow LXD members begging for his help in order to go after Jato. In his introductory episode, he's living as a Normal for who knows how long, and only seems to return to the LXD because of an assassination attempt on him (and considering we don't know Tendo's allegiance, I have some conspiracy theories about the Elders arranging that), solidified by finding out Jato was kidnapped by the OX. When speaking about the reason for training the new recruits, he specifically mentions that kidnapping as the starting point for the Uprising, not the attack on him (and, let's be honest, the kidnapping is the most important point for him).

Added to that the thing with Trevor almost certainly being the "real" Chosen One (though it would have been hilarious if they got more seasons and eventually it was revealed that it was still Spex and he was just still off his game from all the turmoil going on and the "good" side had to try to redeem their fallen "leader"), and it's heavily implied that their father and perhaps the Elders knew that and Spex was an unknowing decoy for at least the last decade plus, if not longer. He also seems to have authority solely because of respect/tradition, but not because of a real position, unable to call upon any of the heavy hitters for help and stuck with kids/new students until the Elders get involved, despite having once been in actual (supposed) leadership back in the 70s before he (mysteriously) left the LXD altogether.

There's also his connections to the ATD. He's Karey's son-in-law and we have no idea what sort of interactions they've had before, Karey seemed more than willing to just let him walk away when they first show up to fight. The Illister is supposedly motivated at least in part by killing off the Drifts, but when fighting Spex barely even hurts him. And while he was living as a Normal attorney, the Dark Doctor's hospital was one of his clients...which adds some depth to how badly he seemed to be losing to the DD during their fight just before he changed sides (and especially knowing what the DD can do to people's minds, could imply he'd already had a backdoor into Spex's mind from prior interactions and manipulated his decision). There's also a good chance he and Jasper are similar in age and possibly grew up together in the LXD.

So, anyway, I digress, Spex's motivation has clearly always been about freeing Jato, not actually stopping the Uprising, and he didn't actually want to return to the LXD in the first place, so him joining the ATD once Jato was dead was at least somewhat foreshadowed (and having the chance to blame that death on Katana, who he had been so angry at for making Jato vulnerable in the first place, no matter how unlikely--and inaccurate--was an added bonus). Certainly it was more likely he'd leave the LXD than stay with them.

(Also, of course, there's always the very real possibility he's using Jato's death as an excuse to infiltrate the ATD in order to spy on them. He did spend an unknown amount of time fitting in with the Normals, he could very well be able to fake being against the LXD, and he could potentially see it as the only way to keep Trevor safe now that the OX and DD have joined forces.)

I really wish we'd gotten a summary of what was planned for future seasons when the show was canceled. The timeline itself was supposed to span to the year 3000, so they must have had some idea how the "current" stuff was going to end (or if it was not going to).

[im-an-anxious-wreck]

Hold Out Your Hand And I'll Reach For You Too

Chapter Seven • The Prince

Word Count: 1,132

HOYHAIRFYT chapter collection

First | Previous | Next

-

Fear And Pain

-

No.

No, no, no, no, no, nO, NO!

He couldn't lose him, he couldn't be losing him. This isn't happening, it's… happening. How could he let this happen?

How could he let Chrysanthemum get so hurt?

Roman gently, but as quickly as he dared, picked up Chrysanthemum and ducked down, trying to keep Chrysanthemum, and himself to a lesser degree, under the worst of the smoke. Although with how thick it was, he wasn't really sure how much it mattered, but despite not being able to see and his eyes watering heavily with smoke, Roman pushed onward until he finally made it outside.

He shouldn't have let himself lose sight of him.

This was all his fault, if he'd just gotten Chrysanthemum away before tonight, if he'd been better at getting G to— G. This was all G. Sure, Roman should've done better… but it was G that would pay for his colossal fuck up of a mistake. Or rather, what he'd done on purpose.

How could he do this on purpose? How much of an absolute—

"Prince!" And that was… that was the medic.

Oh, right, that's where he'd been going. Of course.

"What hap— yes, put him here."

"Fire," Roman said bluntly. "He inhaled a lot of smoke, and was wearing a corset so that wouldn't— wouldn't have helped. I got it off though. Use the dragonian shed skin if it'll help. Talk to you after when… it's over."

"Okay," The medic, 'Em' as Roman had taken to calling him years prior, said absentmindedly as he got to work.

Roman didn't stumble outside, exactly, but he definitely didn't feel as coordinated as usual. He was almost floaty but in a more disconnected way, seeing that he sat on a bench, knowing time was passing, so much time where was medic why was it taking this long what if he was…

After so long, so much painful and so many agonising thoughts, Em finally exited his tiny hospital of sorts.

"Good news, he's gonna be fine."

Roman jumped up so fast the ground seemed to sway underneath his boots, but it soon steadied, so he didn't mind it. Besides, nothing in that moment was more important than— "Chrysanthemum, he's okay?"

"Yes."

"Wait, good news. Is— is there bad?"

"Well, a little yes. But let's sit."

Roman practically collapsed on the bench, both from the relief from Chrysanthemum being okay and from exhaustion that this still wasn't over. "What's the bad news then?"

Em sat down and adjusted his glasses. "There was a lot of smoke in his lungs and while the dragonian skin helped immensely, he's still in pretty bad shape. It'll be at least half a day before he even wakes up due to the sedative I've given him. It should, hopefully, do its job and speed up healing while he's asleep. But he'll still need lots of sleep and bed rest even after he awakes. I imagine he should be walking of his own accord in a week or less though. I don't know if that'll be with a bit of assistance even after a week though."

"Oh, that's fine. How long until I can move him to my house, er, or one of our extra houses, whichever he'd prefer… my point is, when can he be moved?"

"Well, I'd say certainly when he can walk with assistance. I don't have like, an exact day, so we'll have to play it by ear. But for sure when he's feeling well enough for travel. I'd like to keep him a bit longer than is actually necessary just to really make sure he's okay and isn't having any complications. And I'd imagine that he'd rather travel on his own two feet to and from a carriage than to be carried on a stretcher."

"Mm, perfectly understandable of course. I'd… I'd like to see him, if I can."

"Sure, just don't expect him to show you a dance routine anytime soon. "

Somehow despite it all, and maybe just a bit from being so relieved that Chrysanthemum was okay (he was okay, he was alive and okay), Roman laughed.

-

When Chrysanthemum finally woke up —just stirred, really— Roman wanted to sing and yet also cry at the same time, but instead he squeezed the hand he had around Chrysanthemum's, and said softly: "Hey, Chrysanth, you awake? Can you open your eyes for me?"

Chrysanthemum groaned and tried, but just groaned again at the light, turning his face away from it. He tried to say something, but it just came out a lot like his groan, gravely.

Roman turned the dial down to dim the light and assisted him in drinking some water.

After Chrysanthemum pulled back, he managed to blink his eyes open.

"There you are!" Roman praised.

Chrysanthemum smiled a bit shyly before looking around blearily. "Wh— where are we?" He croaked.

"We're in the village medic centre, my house is on the other side of town, and then the, um, ballroom… wasn't a good choice obviously, so I brought you here and had our medic take care of you. How are you feeling?"

"Like I just had smoke in my lungs," Chrysanthemum said wily.

Roman smiled a bit. Good, he felt up to joking. "I would think so. Anything else?"

"Oh, I won't bore you with the details, although, I will say that I'm a bit sore so eh, but not too bad considering."

"That's good at least. I'm glad you're not feeling worse than you are. The medic is pretty good at his job, I think."

Chrysanthemum just gave him a thumbs up as his eyelids slipped close.

A moment passed and Roman tried to keep his voice soft and quiet as he asked, "Are… are you awake?"

Chrysanthemum grunted before mumbling, "Yeah."

"You can just give me a thumbs up or down for what you think about this idea by the way, but I was wondering if— well, that's not really a good place to start, or… no, not that either. Well, once you're feeling better I can move you to my house if you'd like."

"You sure?"

"Oh, of course! I can prepare the guest house here in the village if you'd prefer, but I have plenty of room at my home."

"Well, yeah, sounds—" Chrysanthemum let out a weak cough that made him scrunch up his eyes. "—Sounds good. Whatever's easier."

"Alright, you can stay in one of my guest rooms then."

"Okay. 'ma sleep now."

"Yes, of course! Get some good rest."

He was going to be okay. Chrysanthemum was okay.

Chrysanthemum was his friend and under his protection, and Roman knew that he'd stop at nothing to keep it this way.

G would never so much as see Chrysanthemum, let alone hurt him ever again.

-

Next

[darkwants]

moving hadn't seemed like a big deal when he thought that everly was dead - it had been almost a welcome chance when she haunted so much of the house. there was the bed with the sheets he'd bought because he thought she'd like something softer than what was usually on his bed, and because he thought the color looked good against her skin. there was the backsplash he'd started to put up in the kitchen because even if he'd grown to hate his kitchen, he'd wanted it to be nice for her so that she'd be happy in it. there was the shoe rack for shoes when you entered the house, because one of the guys at the shop had told him once about his wife always complaining about him kicking his shoes everywhere. he could have gotten rid of the shoe rack, ripped out the backsplash, and changed the sheets, but ezra still would have had those memories with him, so instead he packed everything up, sold the house, and kept certain things that reminded him of everly boxed away under the excuse of not having much room.

but he'd find room now. things could be switched up and changed around, and he'd never really unpacked much beyond the essentials anyway, it would be easy to start to make the place feel like somewhere that everly could call home. maybe then it would feel like a home. "it's closer to your grandma, makes it easier to keep an eye on her." he hadn't actually expected her to ask why he moved, but ezra couldn't think of a reason not to tell her the truth. "i think you'll like it. like i said, it's smaller, but it's newer." he wouldn't be worried about everything looking outdated or old fashioned or embarrassing for her, so at least the place had that going for it.

"i can understand it feeling surreal. had a few instances of that myself with all this." being told her plane had disappeared, and not being able to believe that she was on it, having that cliche moment of 'but that's the kind of thing that happens to other people'. being told that she was dead and he had to accept it without a body, without being able to say goodbye. being told after all of that, everly was alive. but she was alive and real, the sound of her sniffling was something that ezra couldn't have made up if he tried and he made a shushing noise like you'd use to soothe a child as he held onto her tightly.

he didn't get the chance to tell everly that he wouldn't leave, the door opening up and cutting through their moment. head going up, ezra was ready to tell the hospital staff that they needed a moment and that after everly had been stuck in the wild for nine months, they could damn well give her another nine minutes, but the words died in his throat when he realized it was everly's grandma. instead he turned almost frozen, not moving or trying to explain why everly was crying as her grandma drew closer and rested a hand on him. "oh." he was going to do that, really. "guess we'll see you tomorrow." he would have walked her down, but he didn't want to leave everly even for that period of time after she'd asked him not to, and he started to rub everly's back, somehow feeling content in that moment as everly burrowed back against him.

he waited until everly's grandma was gone to drop a kiss against everly's hair, murmuring quietly against her head, "i'll call into work tomorrow, okay? i'll explain to arthur what's going on and it will be fine. i won't have to leave you, okay? and when they come to take you for your scans, i'll still be right here waiting when you get back." he didn't know if he was allowed to go for the scans or not, but at the very least, he could stay with her in her room. all she'd needed to do was ask and ezra caved to give her what she wanted, but then, he'd always tried to give everly that even if it didn't seem like it.

"you moved?" she asked, almost unsure how to process the news. of course she understood that life had to go on while she was presumed dead. yet the idea of ezra moving hadn't crossed her mind even once. even before they had been found she had imagined the house that they had lived in together. the comfort of the bed or even soaking in that damn tub with the heated towel rack. of course she knew that he hadn't done it to hurt her but she felt so conflicted. maybe he couldn't stomach the reminders in the home of her or of how broken they had been living in that house. she was almost scared to ask but the word was out of her mouth before she could take it back," why?"

he was already reassuring her that they would make room for whatever she opted to bring over. truly she knew that she was going to become overwhelmed in so many different ways. there were going to be so many things that she was going to need to wrap her head around. however, everly knew, what was important was that she was back and she was with the people who mattered. she was on the road to recovery even if she knew she was practically at the very beginning.

"maybe," she agreed, not knowing how many of the others were there. everly remembered how wren and her had both been screaming and crying as they were wheeled into the hospital. they had been clinging to each other's hands before they were pulled apart," it all just feels so surreal." even though she knew that it wasn't a dream that she had been found it still felt like it was. perhaps that was why she was becoming so worked about the idea of ezra not being there. she sniffled, already struggling to hold the tears back," i kn-i know you're here but i don't-i can't-you can't leave me, not again, please."

before she could say more she realized she heard the door opening. all that made her do was bury her face in ezra's neck even though it was her grandmother coming in. the older woman was toddling over and seemed surprised when she saw the two in the bed. everly knew she should say something but she didn't want to look up. her grandma was going to gently place her hand on ezra's shoulder," i was speaking with the staff, they are going to have to take her for some scans later but its best i be heading home, i'll be back in the morning, they already called me a cab." that caused everly's head to lift and her grandma was smiling down at her. for some reason the blonde couldn't say anything but she tried to smile back only to burrow against ezra once again.

[fezcosbluntroller]

Family protects family - Fez x reader, Platonic Ashtray x reader

Summary: After a guy tries to get handsy when Fez isn't around Ashtray takes it upon himself to protect his mother figure

Warnings: usual euphoria harm, attempted sa, groping, guns, ashtray killing a man in front of you, drugs, smoking weed

Fez sat on the couch counting his money, you being in his bedroom writing an essay for history, although the knocking at the door pulled you out of your thoughts, getting up you walked to the doorway listening in trying to see who had just come in. "Hey man...I need like...seven.." You heard a guy mumble, hearing something fall and hit the ground you rushed out standing behind the couch where Fez sat, seeing it was one of Fez's trays you picked it up setting it back on the table before he could. You shook a bit feeling the guy's gaze on you, slowly sitting on Fez's lap you rested your head on his chest as he wrapped his arm around you "Shit...uh...You know what..since I know you..stay here..I gotta go grab this shit then I'll be able to get you your shit" Fez explained, he looked down at you rubbing your back "You gonna be alright?..Or you wanna go with me?" He asked "I'm gonna finish my assignment. Don't take too long" You warned standing up with him kissing him goodbye before heading back to your shared room, Ash not far behind you standing in the doorway "I'mma be in my room..yell or do the thing if anything happens" He said sternly before heading back to his room keeping a eye on the guy in the living room, by 'the thing' he means press the volume button on your phone three times rapidly and it'd send a text to both Ash and Fez whenever you needed help (mainly being used for you being drunk and lost at a party).

It was took five minutes to be sucked back into your mind, focused on finishing this stupid ass assignment, it took Ten for the Dave to make some sort of noise, now in your and Fez's bedroom standing at the corner of the bed, you jumped chuckling a bit looking at the guy "You scared me-" You chuckled "-What's up is there something wrong?" You asked him grabbing your phone ready to text Ash, his eyes caught your movements and he coughed "U-Uh just wonderin if I could get a cup of water?" Dave asked watching you closely "Oh! yea I can get that for you" You smiled standing up, why are you so nervous around him? Stepping into the kitchen you grabbed a cup and started to fill it up. You tried to wash off the wave of anxiety you felt, turning around to hand him the water you immedietly dropped it. The sound of glass shattering and you whimper Ashtray rushed out of his room, shotgun in hand, whenever he walked in he knew what he had to do, even if it upset you at the time, Fez would be pissed if he found out Ash let another guy grab you like that without getting at least hospitalized. He put the shotgun down seeeing you on the ground curled up and Dave frozen staring at him, Ashtray lunged tackling him, the guy's head slamming off the counter as Ashtray repeatedly swung at him "Ashtray stop it! Stop it!" You yelled tugging the boy off watching as he glared at you "Y/n/n..I can't let him get away with this...Fez would never.." He whispered picking up the shotgun off the counter again, you quickly hid your face and covered your ears crying loudly, violence was the last thing you wanted, Ash was still so young in your eyes, he'd never really-

It was quiet, Fez rushing back to the house, Ash cleaning up Dave's body and blood, and you, sitting where you fell, surrounded by broken glass and faint blood colored water, Ashtray tried to talk to you, but soon enough just sat next you hugging you tightly until Fez bursted through the door, Ash standing up looking at Fez "Is everything cleaned?" He asked lowly making quick strides over to you "yea...no trace.." Ash mumbled "She hasn't said anything...I'm worried about her" He added on watched as his brother kneeled down in front of you grabbing your hands softly.

"Mama..come on back to me..let's get you outta this glass..get you in the shower..we can watch a movie?" He suggested rubbing the pads of his thumbs over your hands, you glanced up at him sniffling "I'm sorry" You whispered hugging him tightly. After Fez took you off Ashtray stood there staring at the kitchen, he grew up with you always being around, at first as just one of Fezco's friends then you became Fez's little pocket full of sunshine, growing up sheltered and never really seeing the bad in the world, and Fez understood that and would do anything to protect you, that doesn't mean you haven't been through fucked up shit though, that's why both boys loved you so much, through all the bad shit you go through it's like you come out happier than ever, like you just take in negative energy and turn it into pure happiness, you were always close with Ash, but you were close with any kid, they always trusted you, Fez always told you that they're drawn to you because you're meant to be an amazing mother, and it just proved his point the closer you got with Ashtray. He walked to his brother's room, wanting to check on you, nervous that you might be upset with him.

Instead he just went to his room, knowing he'd have to apologize to you tomorrow. The next morning though you walked out looking like a brand new version of yourself, breakfast was made, the house was spotless, and the laundry was folded to best of your ability. Fez was clung to you, making sure no threat come within a fifty foot distance of you, what was difference though was Ashtray was nowhere to be found, still curled up in bed, hidden under the covers. You gave it about 20 minutes before walking in throwing yourself on Ash's bed next to him resting a hand on his shoulder "Ashtraaaay, wake up! I made your favorite, I owe it to you for saving me" You smiled shaking him a bit, that's when you noticed the tear streaks on his face from the night before, choosing to keep it to yourself for now. "I thought you were mad at me for doing that shit" He asked nervously looking at you "I was...for a few minutes...then it hit me what was happening" You whispered hugging him tightly kissing his cheek "Come on little man, let's go eat before your brother finishes it all off" You smiled pulling him out of bed and to the kitchen "I found sleeping beauty!" You smiled walking Ash to eat breakfast at the table with you guys.

The three of you sat around the table, talking about your plans for the day, you guys weren't rich, you weren't big shots, but you had each other, that's all you needed, you took care of them and they did the same for you, you guys were family, and nobody was to fuck with your family without getting hurt.

[buzzthetower]

The first time Maverick is shot down, in between the time it takes him to fight his way out of the tangle of his chute and scramble out of the ditch he’s landed in, he’s more worried about what Ice is going to say than he is about being smack in the middle of a combat zone. Because like it or not, he has an ego and it’s almost as bruised as his knee is going to be tomorrow from landing half on a rock. And secondly, if he doesn’t get his ass handed to him by the next guy with a gun on the ground, Ice will gladly do so when he gets back. He doesn’t let that part waver too much, better to keep thinking of when and not if, because when sounds a lot more like the kind of attitude that gets him back home. Yes, when, not if he gets home, Ice will happily finish the job that no amount of enemy fighters have finished yet.

It’s another eighteen hours before he feels his way back through whatever no man’s land he’s in. It's two more on top of that before they can get an evac chopper in and one more final fuck you toward his best efforts, three more before it can land. By the time he’s been strapped into a seat, with a medic that already looks sick of him and any potential shit he might be giving in the near future, is saying something about cracked ribs, a sprained ankle, dehydration, and a concussion. That grocery list of issues explains most of the overall full body ache that set in as soon as the adrenaline left him a couple of miles into his longwinded exit. The medic is also saying something about not sleeping and tormenting him with a second canteen of water that his body doesn’t want in it right after finishing the first one. Then again, the water sounds a hell of a lot better than the IV bag of fluids that is starting to get waved around.

Maverick has never really liked flying when he wasn’t the one in the cockpit, something about not knowing what was happening next and it turns out the ride back into the nearest base is no different. He’s got a white-knuckled grip on his seat straps as the chopper wobbles its way through some turbulence and descends into a landing a little faster than his still empty stomach is happy with. It’s cold now, and he realizes he’s shivering only after the medic, whose name tag he’s just noticed reads Martinez when he’s leaning over Maverick to wrap a thermal blanket around him. Martinez is joined by a small swarm of nurses and other medics that flood out onto the landing pad once the blades stop turning. He only fights the gurney for a few seconds until some combination of exhaustion and Martinez’s shit eye that he's pretty sure could melt a hole into him right now, make him collapse onto it. The last thing he remembers is the smell of fuel and night air flooding through his nose.

He wakes up in a similar fashion to how he went out. This is to say all too aware of every battered part of his body that's gotten in line to file a complaint about his current position. The first thing he hears when he wakes up is the sound of voices in the hall outside. It's distant and muffled, but then again everything feels a little muffled right now like he’s got tissue paper stuffed up every orifice in his head. It's dim in the room, and an incessant beeping is making him wonder if laying in a ditch right now wouldn't be so bad. At least that way he'd still have clothes on and not whatever paper-thin hospital gown he's been rolled into. That's another layer of embarrassment, at least in the past he's been able to walk himself of his own volition into medical and change on his own.

The voices are getting loud now, and Maverick vaguely wonders if they’re aware that this is an infirmary, and he and what he can assume is the rest of the general populace of the sick and injured would like everyone to tone it down. At least he assumes he’s in the medical wing and not dead in the middle of a war zone because this would really have made for a shitty heaven or a surprisingly subpar hell. He examines the back of his hand, apparently in the end they did stick him with that IV. The tape is beginning to be itchy, along with what parts of his body he can feel joining it. Out, he needs to be out, and the sooner the better. He'll get right on that as soon as he can coordinate his limbs into anything more complicated than stretching.

His attention is drawn back to the voices outside, they sound a little closer now like they've moved from down the hallway to right outside his door. Really, that's just his luck. Eject out of a fighter jet, bruise half his body on the return to Earth, tramp through god knows where for a few miles, and get stuck in the loudest part of the medical wing.

Giving up on fiddling with his IV, he turns his attention to listening to the voices, because there's nothing better to do until some poor nurse shows up to coax him into what he's sure is going to be a handful of pills and maybe a longer nap. The longer he's awake the easier it is to blink away the feelings of floating back to the waking world, along with feeling the full force of the last day on his body.

Then, very suddenly one voice, the one that's been steadily getting louder and more authoritative as the not-so-quiet conversation has gone on, starts to sound familiar. In fact, it's starting to sound a lot like someone who definitely should not be here right now. Not that he should be here either, but he's done counting the technicalities of recent events.

The handle on the door dips down and the door swings open a crack, and the voices suddenly both hush like they're realizing that yes, maybe almost yelling in the middle of the night outside patient's rooms isn't the best idea. There's some quiet hissing back and forth now that he can hear, and yes, that is most definitely one pissed-off Tom Kazansky and what Maverick safety assumes is the poor orderly on duty tonight. He’s only catching the end of the discussion, but Ice is starting to throw around rank and his name like he does when he wants something his way which Maverick has always found equal parts terrifying and endearing. Terrifying to be on the wrong end of it, but endearing to watch from the relative safety of somewhere behind him.

Finally the orderly gives up, and the door comes the rest of the way open and Maverick takes that time to slam his head back down on the pillow and feign unconsciousness. That in itself was a mistake from the get-go, as even the soft pillow makes his teeth grind with the pain that rackets through his skull. Figuring it’s dark enough in the room to get away with peaking he squints one eye in the direction of the door. Ice is standing there, hair and uniform looking uncharacteristically ruffled and out of place. It might just be the light, but he looks pale too, with dark shadows creeping in around his eyes like he hadn’t slept enough. His arms are rigid at his sides like he’s torn between looking for a fight that isn’t coming and standing at attention.

“Pete,” he says finally and despite all the almost yelling in the hallway his voice barely makes it across the room now, “You’re a terrible faker I know you’re awake.”

He debates keeping up the ruse briefly to give himself a little more time to assess whatever is happening before he breaks the silence, “Well hello to you too, sunshine." His throat feels so dry it’s a wonder he doesn’t sound worse than he does. He knows he must still sound like shit because Ice's expression wavers when he hears his voice. He can milk that properly for sympathy later, right now all he would like is to get back to trying to see if he can move his legs.

In the blink of an eye, Ice is walking across the room and Maverick is in the process of fighting with the little remote at his beside in hopes of sitting up better without having to pay for it in his ribs. Expect Ice doesn’t stop to drag a chair over for what Maverick assumes to be his impending lecture on the merits of not losing million-dollar machines and interrupting whatever important Admiral business Ice has had to ignore to be here. He’s expecting all that and maybe a catalog of injuries and threats to keep him out of a cockpit until each and every bruise and scratch has healed up and then maybe a little longer just out of spite. Not that that's a lesson that ever sticks that long, but it's a song and dance he's familiar with. Because he’s punched out of things going a hell of a lot faster and walked away just fine, and sure maybe it being the middle of a war adds another layer to this, but really he’s pretty sure he’s heard this particular record before.

What he is not expecting, mouth already open to deliver what his brain has deemed the most pacifying excuses, is Ice to sink down to his knees beside his bed and grip his hand so hard he’s tempted to wonder if that’s going to go on the list of fractured bones by the time he’s done.

“You stupid, reckless, son of a bitch- flying like that when you knew there was going to be a dogfight? Alone? Are you actively trying to get yourself killed or is that just a side effect of whatever the hell back ass plan you thought you could get away with?” The voice that had woken Maverick up in the hallway is back and then some. Ice is pissed, and if it wasn’t for the death grip on his hand Maverick thinks he might wither away into the shitty bedsheets. This is the kind of talk he gets from COs who have had enough of acrobatic party tricks, usually not the lecture Ice gives him these days. Mostly they’re about putting socks in the hamper and wearing a helmet when he rides.

“Mitchell, you are an idiot and you have no idea the strings I’ve just finished pulling, no not pulling, the strings I’ve had to yank on to get over here because no one could tell me if you were alive or dead or a goddamn prisoner of war for the past twenty-four hours?” Ice is still going full tilt and Maverick suddenly understands how he managed to make Admiral in the time he did. That was not a man he wanted to fuck with.

“Do you know the shit that’s been going through my head all because you can’t follow fucking orders, Pete, direct orders on what to do so this doesn’t happen? Shot down in the middle of god knows where,” Ice has a frantic edge to his voice now and Maverick twists as best he can without feeling like he’s putting holes in his lungs so he can get a better look at him. He lets his free hand fall on top of where Ice is clasping his other, cringing when the IV tugs on his skin.

“Ice, hey, baby come on,” Maverick tries slowly, wincing again when he has to shift and something in his chest protests, “Gotta give a guy a minute to gather his defense team, I know I’m not exactly on my death bed here but-“

Ice chokes on something that Maverick clocks as suspiciously close to a sob, and he drops his head down against where their hands are still tangled. For a moment all he can do is watch Ice’s shoulder rise and fall, shaking slightly as he tries to swallow back the little sounds that are spilling out of him.

“Tommy, hey look at me, look at me, sweetheart. I’m right here, yeah? Can’t get rid of me that easy,” Maverick tries to joke, but it falls pitifully flat. He drags a hand free and reaches to cradle the back of Ice’s head, suddenly feeling too trapped by the confines of the hospital bed and the beeping machines and their offending wires that ensnare him.

“I could have lost you, you fucking piece of shit,” Ice says, but all the venom evaporates out of it with the sniffing that follows. “They told me they didn’t know where you were. Your jet went down and no one could come to get you out. I couldn’t help you, I couldn’t do a goddamn thing about it. They weren’t even going to let me in here to see you.” That explains the hallway then, and Maverick pitties whatever poor receptionist who had pulled the short straw to deal with him.

“I’m so sorry,” Maverick stops to swallow at a loss for what he should say. Guilt always dogs him after any type of mission that goes wrong, but usually, he can lick those wounds alone. He runs his blunt nails across Ice’s scalp, petting down the soft strands that have flown out to place.

He stares at his hand like it’s someone else and he’s just watching it happen from some detached third perspective. It feels just as real as it always does, and maybe that’s the only thing keeping him from floating away. He sits like that trying to think of anything to say that doesn't sound like /my bad, sorry for scaring the shit out of you and making you fly in from god knows where just to come to see me lay in a hospital bed. Oh and sorry about the jet, that would also be my bad./ He decides the groveling for forgiveness can wait until after he works whatever meds they've got him on out of his system. After what feels like an eternity or maybe only a few minutes if he bothers to look at the clock that sits crookedly on the wall beside him, Ice sits back on his haunches, his eyes red as he angrily swipes at a straggling tear that’s staining his cheek.

“Don’t do it again,” he says, throwing his chin out and Maverick is overcome with a wash of warm calm that flushes through his system. He’s okay. He made it back, he didn’t burn out in a ball of fire or get shot and left for dead on the side of some road a million miles from home. Ice is here, Ice is right beside him still holding his hand and he made it back.

“Aye, sir, got that loud and clear,” he shoots him a lopsided grin that he hopes will prevent any more tears. He swipes his thumb underneath Ice’s eye, carefully carrying away the moisture that’s spilled over. He looks even more tired up close, and Maverick starts to wonder if he'd gotten any sleep since he'd gotten the report that he'd been shot down.

“I’m so sorry, baby,” he murmurs, “you know I’ll always fly home to you.” Ice sniffs again, blinking furiously and glaring up at him like he’s thinking about a few other choice words he has to share. His shoulders slump and he leans forward against the bed with a shaking sigh.

"You're a bastard, you know that?" Ice says and Maverick can't stop himself from reaching out to touch his hair again. It's a habit that had been born out of trying to calm Ice down, but over the years had morphed into something closer to a way to calm himself down.

"Yeah, so I've heard," he says and Ice pulls back to glare at him one more time just to make sure that he gets to bear the full brunt of any and all accusations he's leveled at him tonight.

“C’mere,” Maverick huffs, scooting as best he can to the other side of the bed so there’s a spot where Ice can at least sit and get off the floor. Not that Maverick is particularly enjoying the idea of whatever Ice has been wiping off the floor with his knees joining him in the bed, but considering he’s still covered in his own blood and an impressive amount of dirt, he can’t really talk either.

Ice relents, and only because he can’t take the accompanying poke to the ribs that it would insight does Maverick refrain from commenting on the sound of his left knee popping. Ice seats himself next to him, tugging at his uniform which does little to fix his overall state of frazzled exhaustion. He gives one final sniff, squaring off his shoulders again like he hasn't just scarped himself off the floor. Grabbing the little plastic cup that's been left by his bedside he thrusts it toward Maverick with a look that doesn't lead him to believe that it's an optional offer.

"The doctor said you were lucky you didn't do more damage than you did," Ice finally says pointedly when Maverick finally pushes the straw away from his face. He's feeling a little less like something crawled down his throat and died now. However, the feeling of something crawling into his stomach to do that same hasn't quite lessened since he'd gotten a good look at Ice.

Maverick hums, letting his hand rest on Ice's thigh, running patterns over the material of his uniform. He's feeling tired again, which might have something to do with exhaustion or possibly the concussion. Either way, he yawns, and Ice's face softens again looking a little less like he wants to murder him where he lays. Which is progress Maverick will take gladly.

"I love you," Maverick says quietly when the air between them fizzles back into a silence that feels too unnatural. Ice shoots a glance behind him at the door like he's worried the orderly is about to bust back in before he leans in and presses a soft kiss again his lips.

"I love you too, idiot," he moves to kiss the corner of Maverick's mouth, then his forehead where he lingers for a moment. Maverick lets his eyes flutter closed for a moment, sinking further back into the pillow when Ice pulls back.

"Stay until I wake up again?" he asks, trying not to let it sound too desperate. He's not sure how much longer he can fight his body's demands for sleep again, but the prospect of waking up alone somehow feels worse.

"I'll stay as long as I can," Ice sighs, running a finger lightly over the bruise Maverick knows had formed on his jaw from hitting it on something. "I'm bringing you back stateside, and before you try to give me grief over that, there's no way anyone's letting you back up in the air with a fresh concussion."

Maverick frowns, hoping that he can come up with a better argument to that than it not being what he wants, but he's too tired to get his eyes all the way back open so that's not helping his case, "Only if you're going back too."

Ice smiles at him again, small and tired, and Maverick knows that he can't tell him no to everything, so this can be his win for the moment, "Yeah, I'm going back too, Mav. Now get some rest, really can't afford to lose any more brain function than you've already managed to today." Maverick flips him off, and the last thing he remembers before falling back asleep is the sound of Ice's quiet breathing beside him.

When Ice finally loosens the grip Maverick had his hand pinned to the bed with and makes it back out to the front desk, he's pleasantly surprised to find the receptionist already has all of the forms he was about to ask for drawn up and waiting for him. She gives him a look that suggests she might have him all figured out but smiles when he starts filling them out anyways.

[haechanniesunflowers]

Mafia!Ateez reaction to s/o being abused by her family

Warnings: READ AT YOUR OWN RISK domestic abuse, bruises, scars, toxic family behaviour, manipulation, torture, mentions of blood, smoking, murder, death

I'm so sorry if this made you uncomfortable, my dms are always open if you want to talk about anything

Requested by @racheloveyunho

It only gets darker and longer with the next member

Hongjoong

He came home early so you weren't prepared and were wearing a tanktop with shorts

He saw the bruises on your back and thighs

When he asked you about it later that day, you sobbed and told him that your brothers beat you because you insisted on moving in with Hongjoong

Would pretend that it didn't affect him but on the inside he's furious

He himself doesn't like to physically discipline anyone unless it is necessary or they get on his nerves and bring him to that point

How dare they lay a finger on you

He wouldn't change his behaviour with you, he'd be his usual caring self, all the while planning to knock some sense into your brothers

He laid a trap for your brothers to fall right into and met with them personally

He's a reasonable man so he started with talking to them but when they didn't listen and called him slurs he threatened to murder them

They knew Hongjoong was a part of a mafia and didn't want to anger him any further

They promised him that they would treat you better

Seonghwa

You told him you tripped and fell while you were packing your things to move in with him and that's how you got the bruise on your head and a busted lip

He bought it honestly because he's soft for you and couldn't see you like that so his focus was to get you the medical treatment you needed

You were happy with him and spent almost all of your time with him but he didn't want to hold you back form meeting your friends and family

You were ecstatic to meet your friends but not your family

They hurt you after all

So when he had someone drop you off to your family house, you were nervous but still went inside to meet them

What you got was taunts and verbal abuse

When you tried convincing them that Seonghwa was indeed very kind and loving towards you, they hit you so hard, you lost your balance and your back hit the glass corner of the table which you tried holding onto and ended up scratching your upper arm, drawing blood

You were shocked and hurt and ran out of the house

You hailed a taxi and went to your friend's house and told Seonghwa to pick you up from there

When he came home that night, you were already asleep

In the morning he woke up and found you in the kitchen at the brink of tears and you cheek was a little swollen and purplish

He asked you what happened but you said you liked hanging out with your friends yesterday and these were tears of joy and that your swollen cheek was because you ran into a glass wall

He believed you like always and wrapped his arms around you to pull you into an embrace and accidentally put pressure on the bruise on your back from yesterday

You yelped and arched your back

This time he didn't ask you but lifted your shirt to see for himself, despite your protests and was shocked to say the least

He made you feel comfortable enough to tell him that it was your family's doing

He reassured you that everything will be okay and that you could stay with him forever

That night he paid your family a visit after you went to sleep

They never contacted you again

Yunho

Your family was very religious and never really messed with you because Yunho made it very clear how protective he was towards you

Any bitter comment from your family would earn them a death glare from Yunho

He'd stare them down until they got super uncomfortable

Nobody knew what he was capable of, other than the fact that he was involved with a mafia

Your family wanted you to stay away from him but you loved him and he had promised to protect you and shield you from the mafia life

Yunho's girlfriend had no face, no one in the mafia world had ever seen you

One day you were visiting your family to celebrate your sister's birthday

You felt unwelcomed, you own blood was making you feel uncomfortable

When the guests had left and it was time to open the presents, your brother told you to go home

You were embarrassed but tried to reason with him that you guys were family

He started saying hurtful things and called you a slut and accused you of selling yourself to a dirty mafia rat who kills people for a living. He said you are nothing but his whore and he will replace you one day when he is tired of you and then you will have no one to turn to because they didn't consider you family anymore

You got up and went to the home. The home Yunho had made in the middle of a dense forest to hide you and came to see you almost every day

Yunho had decided to complete his work in advance today so he could spend more time with you in the next days, since you said you would be at your family house today

You unlocked the door and went in crying. You were wailing so hard that you laid on the floor in the lobby

You screamed when you felt someone grab you by your arms and made you sit up

Yunho looked at you in shock and worry, you nuzzled your face in the crook of his neck and cried your heart out, not caring if you were being loud and looking like a mess

You didn't need to tell him what had happened because he was aware your family had something to do with this

You woke up in bed the next day, feeling numb but had a severe headache

You looked around the room and saw a shirtless Yunho starting outside the window, you called out to him "Yunho..."

"I don't want to know what they did or said. I'm never ever going to allow you to meet them again. It took everything I had in me to stop from murdering them because I don't want to hurt you, but I can't have anyone else hurting you either"

He turned around and looked furious, you had only once seen him this angry when a spy from another mafia broke into your house and tried to stab you. Yunho had ripped his jaw off of his face with his bare hands in front of you and you fainted from shock from the intensity of the situation

Right now he had the same look on his face and you didn't want to anger him any further

Yeosang

He had never been the one to talk a lot

His calm and collected nature made people underestimate him

Your family used to love Yeosang and were supportive of your relationship with him, they were happy when you moved in with him, but that was before they knew who he was

Only you knew that Yeosang was a cold blooded killer. He was his gang's ace, he was sharp, very intelligent and very manipulative, not to mention he was the second most strongest member and was very good with weapons, his speciality being butterfly knives. He killed people the bad guys and felt no remorse. His gang members often joke that he only feels two emotions, rage when the bad guys cause menace and love towards you.

He got you pregnant and you were now worried but Yeosang had reassured you that no one in this world will ever lay a finger on you as long as he is by your side. He made you feel safe and loved. He didn't trust anyone to help you around the house so he stayed home to help you.

One day your family came over to meet you and ask after you unannounced, you being 7 months pregnant, were home alone

They wanted to see your huge house, you were nervous because you didn't want them to see some rooms but couldn't keep up with them because you got tired from walking

Then the unthinkable happened, they saw everything. They saw Yeosang's training room, his collection of knives and bulletin boards with photos of people, nasty looking people. One board had two sets of photos of the same person, one photo was for Yeosang to know who to attack and the other photo of the same person killed by him. Yeosang never wanted you to see the contents of the room, let alone your family.

They told you to come with them and to leave Yeosang but you tried to tell them that you were more than okay and wanted to stay with him

It all happened too fast, your father grabbed you by your arm, dragged you outside and forced you to sit in the car while your mother pleaded to him to not shove you around like that in this state. They didn't drive home, they were fleeing the city to get as far away from Yeosang as possible

You were screaming, your parents paid no attention to you, they thought you were protesting but actually you were screaming because of the excruciating pain you were experiencing. You were bleeding and your mom had noticed it but they were on a highway and there was no hospital nearby. They couldn't do anything about it so they kept driving out of the city, your father hoping the child would die in your womb because he now hated Yeosang and wouldn't be able to love his child either.

You fainted and after 2 hours of driving, they got to a hospital. No one knew but you were carrying twins, sadly one of them had died in your womb while the other was born healthy. You were now fighting for your life. Your parents were scared for you and afraid of being tracked down by Yeosang.

You and your baby spent a month in the hospital and recovered enough for your parents take you with them

On the other side Yeosang was on the verge of a mental breakdown. He was out looking for you, now scared and confused and in rage. He didn't know who had taken you away and was frustrated and tired but he couldn't let you go. You were the love of his life and the only person in the world who ever loved him.

He got a lead on you and within hours was outside the house where your parents were hiding you.

He broke in the house in the middle of the night and found you crying on the bed with a sleeping child by your side. He instantly became soft at the sight, all the rage he had in him was replaced by love. He softly called to you and you whipped your head up and instantly ran to him.

You begged him not to harm your parents and he couldn't say no. He silently took you and his month old son back home in the dead of the night

San

San was not one person, he had two kinds of personalities, one was a ruthless assassin and the other, a passionate lover. Both personalities had him being manipulative in common

He absolutely hated your family because you were a free spirit and liked taking risks while they were the complete opposites and often tried holding you back but you always loved an adventure and that's how you ended up with Choi San.

You dispised your family the same as they did you. You were so used to the beating that you felt nothing now. Profanities were very common too and you wanted nothing but to slap each and every one of them and run away.

You were head over heals for him the moment he crossed paths with you but you didn't show that to him. He tried manipulating you into getting you to sleep with him but you knew better and brushed him off

He was used to women being on their knees for him so you not doing that was a challenge for him and he was hell bent on getting you to like him

He was going crazy over you and started meeting you at your workplace during his missions, like he had to kill a man in 30 minutes but he just had to see you first

When you weren't giving in to his art of seduction, he tried a different way

He asked you out like a decent human being and you said yes, wow that was easy, right?

No, you made him work hard for your love and affection and he was obsessed with making you happy to feel loved by you and by the time San realized what was going on, it was too late

He was madly in love with you and practically drooling over you

He finally asked you to move in with him and you said yes even though you knew your family would disapprove. You went home and packed your stuff and tried to leave but your family members didn't let you leave and in an effort of saving you from inevitable destruction which was Choi San, they beat you to the point you passed out.

They texted San from your phone, pretending to be you and told him to stay away and leave you alone, that you wanted nothing to do with him.

San was confused and scared when he got that text from you and texted you back to take your time and rethink your decision.

You woke up in your room at some point during the night, unable to open one eye because it had been bruised badly. Your head was bleeding and the blood had dried on your face. You left leg hurt a lot because of you lying in an unnatural position. You didn't have your phone or anything else

You felt empty and all you wanted was to be in San's loving embrace

It was now or never

You escaped from your window and somehow managed to get to San's front door, it was almost morning

You knocked on his door and called for him

He opened the door after some time and took in your form

He was in too much rage but he had to tend to you first

A few weeks later he came home and told you that he made sure your family is now in another city far away from you and won't contact you again

A tear slipped down your face, you were free from their torment

You kissed San and thanked him

He would do anything to make you happy

Mingi

Mingi was the notorious mafia leader who has connections with the government and the dark world

He had money and fame (the good and bad kind) and all that was missing was love and you filled that void

He loved you too much and would never let anyone hurt you

People knew better

So your own family, your own blood hurting you for wanting to live with Mingi didn't sit well with him

He was distracted at work and all he could see was your face, your tear filled eyes, your bruised arm and your distraught state

He wished he had sent someone to get you from your family house sooner so you didn't have to go through the abuse

He wished you never told them about it and just moved in with him

You were in his home, resting in his bed, thinking about what had happened

Did they really didn't see any good in Mingi?

Did they really have to hit you?

Did you do the right thing?

These thoughts flooded your mind and you were just as distracted

Mingi came home in a hurry and told you to come with him

You asked him where you guys are going and he says we're going to get back at them

He took you to your house and barged right in, unannounced

Seeing Mingi in person was overwhelming and your family were scared, pleading to him to let them go

Mingi told them that he was going to kill them for hurting you and there was panic and chaos

You came to stand next to him, squeezed his hand and softly told him that you want to go home

He couldn't say no to you so he warned them that this isn't over and took you home

You talked to Mingi and convinced him to let them go because they were your family after all

He's the one who said that if the loved toy and cared for you, they wouldn't hurt you like this and family doesn't mean you have to tolerate this kind I'd behavior when you're old enough to make decisions for yourself

You kissed him and wondered why couldn't your family see the good in him

Wooyoung

It started off with you slowly telling your folks about what Wooyoung did for a living

You were smart, so you didn't tell them about his business until you moved in with him otherwise they would have disapproved

You didn't mention that he tortured people and killed them without remorse, no, you said that he works with an organization that eliminates evil people which was true in essence

Your family was having none of it

They wanted you as far away from him as possible

You loved him and he loved you but they didn't believe it

They kept you from leaving the house and since Wooyoung was away for some time on a mission he didn't know

It was only when he got home that he found out that you hadn't returned, but he didn't think much of it because you were with your family

You on the other hand were panicking not only because you were being forced to stay away from Wooyoung but also because you just found out that you were pregnant

You had to get back to him no matter what

You refused to eat or talk to your family members, only demanding to meet Wooyoung

When he didn't get any message from you he began to get suspicious

He sent someone disguised as a delivery boy over to your house to check up on you and got word that you were sick and locked in your room

He got up and drove to your house in the middle of the night and broke through the front door. He didn't care who got in his way and pushed and punched whoever protested

He got to your room and demanded that you open it

You did and jumped at him, told him you were pregnant and they were keeping you from going back to him and cried

He took you in his arms and was taking you back with him

Your father threatened to call the police and Wooyoung simply said "say hi to chief inspector Jeon from me" leaving the father shocked

You were happy to be back with your lover and were excited about the baby, the same as Wooyoung

Jongho

Probably the strongest man in the whole mafia world

Everyone feared him

He didn't have to say twice for what he wanted because people had heard how he smashed someone's skull open with his bare fists

He had asked you to move in with him and you happily said yes

But when you told your family about your decision they asked you if you were crazy

You didn't listen to them and started packing

They weren't going to let you go to some barbarian

But you weren't listening so they had to do it the hard way

Deep down you were happy to leave because your family had always been abusive and toxic

When you were asked to leave with your suitcases your father grabbed you by your arm and shoved you against the wall

"you bitch, you really think you can disobey me?"

Your mother held you by your hair and slapped you so hard your nose started bleeding

They beat you severely and you had stopped screaming at this point

You thought you were going to die when they left you like this on the kitchen floor

You don't know what got into you but you got on your feet and ran out the front door where you were stopped by Jongho waiting for you beside his car

He saw you and gently pushed you aside and went straight inside the house

He came out after almost 20 minutes, blood splattered on his face and clothes

You were already in shock from the beating that you didn't question him

He got in the car with you, held your face in his hands and said "don't worry, I called an ambulance for them, they just might be okay"

With that your heart sank but you were too shaken to feel sad for them so you just cried

Jongho took you home

[localwebslingers]

Peter glanced over at the sound of Harry moving once he got to the kitchen. There hadn't been any argument or protest, no push back at all, to him going to find food. He'd barely caught Harry reaching for the remote he'd had on the coffee table near the chair before going through the pantry for something. The peace was maintained then, or limbo. That still felt like the more accurate word but if Harry was willing to continue their break for civility, then Peter wasn't going to make a big deal out of it.

A can of soup was grabbed from the shelf before he went looking for a bowl that would be safe to put in the microwave, "Not long after you went out, probably cover it agan in the morning." he replied, glancing over but mostly focusing on getting the food ready, "They haven't said publically who got out. So either they're still trying to figure out who actually got away, or they're not sharing anything about it." both seemed possible, the news flashed a few photos of the building after the breakout and yeah, Peter could see how knowing who actually got away could be difficult.

Prison breakouts were always a mess, breakouts of what was supposed to be a mental hospital that was actually doing human experimentation were a whole other level.

The microwave was started and Peter leaned back against the kitchen island to wait for it, looking back towards the living room, "...try channel five, they run basically all night now." he was trying to keep himself from focusing on it until Harry was able to leave. There was nothing he could do about it anyways until then. As it was, his former friend was looking better. Able to sit upright again and had moved a short distance at least. That was a lot better than several hours ago.

It also meant, if he kept improving like this, that Harry might be well enough to be a risk soon. A threat. Assuming whatever he was injected with wasn't slow releasing or gradual to both effect and leave his system.

The bowl of soup was pulled from the microwave with a hotpad, a spoon grabbed and Peter stopping at the fridge to grab two bottles of juice. He walked back over and set the bowl of soup down in front of Harry before taking a seat in the chair again. One of the bottles was opened and he drank most of the contents quickly. He'd managed to get something down earlier himself and focused on the screen again, "...other one is yours if you want it. It's apple."

\\ @inhcursed \\

For a few moments, moments that extended into seconds and then minutes, Harry just watched. Part of it the vanishing fog of his mind, part of simply a chance he wouldn't have any other time. A chance that was wasted as soon as Peter awakened, when Harry knew he could have done something. In his exhaustion, he didn't really know what that something might have looked like... but something.

It wouldn't have been satisfying, but it would have been something.

Instead, all he had was the memory of Peter's less than calm sleep, nightmares obvious enough despite the many years between the last time any of them had been this vulnerable with the other. Not willingly, of this Harry was certain.

It should have been more satisfying, he thought, the thought that chances were he was haunting his former friend's sleep. Him and his actions, and all that happened in that reckless, desperate night. Would things have been different, if he'd managed to kill Peter? Most likely, he imagined. Harry would be where he deserved to be.

Now all he had was exhaustion, his body's winning attempts to push Ravencroft's hopefully last vengeance out of his bloodstream... and physical freedom at last.

Not that the thought of food didn't make his stomach growl traitorously, as he moved the blanket around his shoulders. He was cold, and he was tired, and he was overall feeling much better, the ever-familiar anger simmering in his bones once more.

Still he pushed away, for a moment. For the chance at food, and for the moment of quietude as he tried to decide on his next moves. Having stayed here for so long hadn't factored in his plans, but as he forced himself to stand up and found it painful and difficult -but oh so much easier than before his unplanned nap- he decided he could be reasonable. If Peter hadn't killed him yet, it was unlikely he would.

So for now, he settled for unsteadily getting to the remote, turning the TV on, and putting on the news, before carefully sitting back again.

It shouldn't have felt like such a victory.

"Is the breakout public knowledge already?" He asked Peter, even as he tried to find a channel answering that same question.

@localwebslingers