#thinking about this nearly kept me up when I first woke up at 5am

[lavenoon]

@naffeclipse realized it's criminal I haven't drawn him with claws so far, since I love inflicting retractable claws on any version of the dca I touch

*self insert is not a girl (he/she)

og detective au by sunnys-aesthetic!

[flowercrown-bard]

It's 5am and I just woke up from a dream featuring the words "As soon as their eyes met, his heart congealed and with it all feelings he had had for her." And I couldn't not write that.

Pairing: Geraskier

Content warnings: not a happy end

Word count: idk. It's the middle of the night, I wrote this on my phone and I hope I can fall back asleep as soon as I post this

---

"Such beautiful eyes." The back of the fae's hand hovered above Jaskier's face for a moment, before it made contact, caressing his brow as gently as a lover would and yet the touch left a burning cold in its wake. "No one could look at them and help falling in love with you."

"Not everyone does."

The bitter words left Jaskier's lips without giving him time enough to think better of it and hold his tongue. Then again, what more had he to think about? This was what he had come here for.

As soon as Geralt had parted from him for the winter, Jaskier had done what he always did when he was left to roam the Continent alone while bitter winter winds tore at him and only the burning ache in his chest kept him warm: he had searched for the Winter Court, for a fae that would help him. For the first time since he had started his search nearly two decades ago, he had found one, so what use was it, doubting his words now?

"There is one who doesn't love me." Quieter he added, "He doesn't love me back. I loved him from the moment I saw him and yet he... he... I wish for his or my heart to change. Please, I cannot look at him as I've always done and know that he does not look at me the same way."

The fae tilted their head and studied Jaskier like one would study a piece of poetry, uncovering all secrets, reading between the lines. Like with a poem, it was far too easy to twist the meaning of the love-tinted words.

"It is a burden," the fae said finally. "To fall in love at first sight with you, when you only have eyes for one. I shall help you." The fae cupped Jaskier's hand and leaned forward to press a soft kiss that felt like frost spreading over a blossom, onto Jaskier's eyelids. "The next person who will look into your eyes, shall be free from the shackles of love your gaze would lay upon them. The second they behold your eyes, their heart shall congeal within their chest. Use my gift wisely, you may only do it once."

It was as if ice spread through Jaskier's veins. He froze, before breaking away violently.

"That's not what I want!" Jaskier's voice broke and he stumbled back. "I don't want to kill with my gaze!"

"Don't you already?" The fae asked, their brows drawn together curiously and the corners of their lips tilting up. "Is not the hopeless devotion others burn with for you a slower and crueller death than a heart that would simply freeze over in an instant?"

Jaskier opened his mouth to protest, but no words came out. His own burning heart that would only stop scorching him if Geralt returned his love, reminded him of why he had come, of the grain of truth embedded in the fae's words.

Still, he could not let the fae's blessing or curse come to pass.

With shaking hands, Jaskier tore off a long strip of fabric from his chemise and wrapped it around his head. As long as no one could see his eyes, they would not die from it.

When Jaskier found his way across the Winter Court's borders, he didn't need to see to know how much time had passed in the human realm while he had been gone.

The smell of blossoming flowers and the birdsong in his ear was enough to tell him that spring had arrived. It was time to meet Geralt again and pray his witcher would find a way to break this curse.

--

As soon as the snow had thawed, Geralt had left the mountain. Perhaps it had been foolish to look forward to seeing his bard again. Perhaps it had been madness to follow his heart's siren's call and let it chase him out of the keep. Perhaps.

And yet, the burning in his chest left no doubt in him that it was worth it, if it meant that he got to see Jaskier again at the foot of the mountain, to see his eyes crinkle at the sides when he laughed, to feel their softness on him when they sat beside each other and marvel at the dancing flames of a campfire reflected in the endless blue. Most of all, Geralt was longing for that first moment, that second in which Jaskier lay eyes upon him after having been parted from him for months and Geralt would feel every bit of love that he had only had in memory return to him full force.

Yet, as Geralt reached their usual meeting place, Jaskier wasn't there.

He waited for three weeks, days and nights, dawns and dusks, and still no sign of Jaskier.

The birds returned from the south as did the blossoms from the cold ground and yet, Jaskier, the buttercup, the songbird, didn't return with them.

Geralt waited until he couldn't wait anymore. Then, he began hunting. For any word of the bard, any rumour, any sign that he still lived and had simply chosen not to see Geralt again.

The thought made his heart clench and yet it was better than the alternative. He would rather be hated and rejected by Jaskier than know that his heart had stopped.

It was Belleteyn when Geralt finally realised that his search would remain fruitless. It was that very same day, that Geralt, slumped over on top of Roach and fighting the burning pain in his chest, saw something strangely colourful in the distance.

A doublet, red as blood. A feathered hat, as ridiculous as it was endearing.

Jaskier.

Without wasting a second, Geralt spurned on Roach, jumping off without halting her when he got close to his best friend and the man who held his heart in the palm of his hand.

Jaskier's back was to him, but when Geralt called out his name, he turned. Geralt didn't wait for long enough to notice that anything was wrong. He grabbed the bard's shoulders and pulled him against his chest, embracing him as tightly as he could. Tentatively, Jaskier's arms wound around Geralt, pressing himself even closer. Close enough that Geralt imagined Jaskier could feel the way his heart warmed at the contact.

It felt like an eternity and no time at all, before Geralt finally pulled away again. His hands remained on Jaskier's shoulders, the contact being physical proof that Jaskier wasn't dead, that he wasn't gone.

Still, the worry didn’t leave Geralt and his eyes roamed across Jaskier's body, searching for any sign of injury. Not for a moment did the thought cross his mind that something could be wrong with Jaskier's eyes, so he didn't notice the blindfold covering them, until he was sure nothing ailed his bard.

When Geralt's eyes finally reached Jaskier's face he sucked in a sharp breath of air.

"Jaskier..."

His hand came up to cup Jaskier's cheek, his other going to the blindfold.

Jaskier's hand found Geralt's, stilling it.

"Don't." Jaskier's command was gentle, his voice broken. "Don't, Geralt. Not you."

But Geralt needed to see Jaskier's eyes. Needed to know how bad the damage was. Needed to see if the blue he would give his life for would ever be able to see the sky again.

Gently, Geralt untied the knot of the blindfold. The fabric fluttered to the ground but still, Jaskier's eyes didn't meet Geralt's. He kept them closed, squeezed tightly shut, like a child having woken from a nightmare, afraid of opening their eyes in fear that the monsters of the nightmare would stand in front of them.

"Jaskier," Geralt's hand caressed Jaskier's cheek, trailing down to his chin and tilting it up slightly. "Open your eyes. Please."

Jaskier shook his head, the movement small and afraid.

"I can't." Jaskier's lips trembled and he pressed them together. "I can't look at you."

A crack went through Geralt's heart. "I need you too. I can't help you if I don't know what's wrong. And I need to help you."

"Why?" Such a simple word, a question impossible to answer without deepening the cracks in Geralt's heart.

And yet, he answered.

Slowly, Geralt closed the gap between them. Their lips met and Jaskier's tasted like snow and frost and winter.

Jaskier gasped into the kiss, his hands found Geralt's hair and he pulled him impossibly closer. Geralt's heart felt like it was burning like a sun, like a lighthouse guiding Jaskier safely home.

Geralt broke the kiss just enough to whisper his answer against Jaskier's lips.

"Because I love you."

Jaskier's eyes snapped open, wide and surprised and so full of awed love. In the next moment, horror flashed through them.

Geralt had but a moment, nothing more than a heartbeat to understand what was happening. In his last moments, he couldn't blame Jaskier for opening his eyes. He would have rather have the last thing he ever saw be the love in Jaskier's eyes than love forever and never feel Jaskier's eyes on him again.

He didn't have time to say any of that.

For the moment their eyes met, Geralt's heart congealed in his chest. It hardened, froze completely, and with it all feeling, all the love he had ever felt for Jaskier.

He pulled away from the bard, his face a blank mask. Only, it no longer was a mask. For the first time, it reflected exactly what he was feeling. Nothing.

Geralt of Rivia, the White Wolf, the Muse, the man who saved elves and fell in love with a bard had died.

Geralt of Rivia, the Witcher, the Butcher of Blaviken lived on. Finally, Geralt was what people had always known him to become one day. Unfeeling. Uncaring. Without a heart or any trace of emotions.

The fear in Jaskier's eyes flickered when Geralt didn't drop dead, hope lit up in them instead and he came a step closer, reaching out a hand.

Before Jaskier could touch him, Geralt turned away.

[upthenorthmountain]

The One That Got Away

Konmari-ing my Google Drive and found a few things that are a lot more written than I remembered - this one only actually needed a paragraph or two, which I managed to do, so here we go.

This is Flatmates nonsense, but it’s Flatmates that took a trip down a different leg of the Trousers of Time - after chapter 9 or so, say. So if you haven’t read that one then you should probably read that first, but if you have, you’re good to go.

Enjoy!

The One That Got Away

Two weeks before Sven and Jessica’s wedding

Sunday morning, 5am

“Kris? Kris.”

“Hmm?” 

Kristoff woke, blinking. Anna was sitting on the side of the bed, leaning over him. “What’s up?” he said, peering at his alarm clock.

“I have to go to Japan.”

“...right now?” She was fully dressed, and now he could see her wheeled suitcase in the doorway.

“Yes, Elsa’s not well - she’s in the hospital - her boss rang me, I have a flight at nine -”

“Right now, you’re going to Japan?”

“Yes. I’m sorry to wake you, but my cab will be here in a minute, and I thought I’d better say -”

“It’s fine.” He sat up and rubbed at his eyes. “The hospital? What happened?”

“I don’t know, I think - sometimes she thinks she’s fine and she stops taking her medication. She doesn’t like taking it, but she needs to….I have to go. I’ll call you, okay?”

“Okay…”

The doorbell rang. “That’ll be the minicab,” Anna said. She hopped up and went over to her case. 

“Take care,” he said. “If there’s anything I can do, just say.”

“I will. Goodbye,” and she left, shutting his bedroom door behind her.

-----

And just like that, it was over.

Anna stayed in Japan for nearly two weeks. When she came back she brought her sister with her, and they shared Anna’s room until Kristoff found somewhere else. They didn’t kick him out, exactly, but he’d been saving up for a deposit anyway, and when he found an end-of-terrace a couple of miles away in his budget that just needed some TLC there seemed no reason to wait. Anna made him a housewarming cake.

She was always with her sister, following her around anxiously. If he invited Anna over, Elsa would come too; or, more often, Elsa wouldn’t feel like it, so they would both stay at home. When they were all invited to Sven and Jessica’s for dinner, Anna and Elsa came, and Elsa sat in the corner for half an hour, and then she was tired and wanted to go to bed, so both sisters went home. 

And when Elsa got a new job, in New York, Anna went with her.

-----

Three years later

The rain started just as Kristoff was heading out of the town centre. Just a drizzle, but the clouds told him it would be a lot more soon, and he hadn’t brought an umbrella, or the car for that matter. He turned up his collar and increased his pace.

“Kris! Kristoff! KRISTOFF!” He turned, just in time to duck and avoid being stabbed in the eye by a bright yellow umbrella. And Anna - Anna was here, and she was flinging her arms around him, her umbrella in his face and her shopping bags swinging round to smack him on his back. “It’s you!”

“It’s you,” he replied, stepping back. “I didn’t know you were back in the country.”

“I am, well, obviously I am -” She peered up at the sky. “Ugh, the rain - do you have a minute? Come on,” and she was leading him through the door of a nearby cafe.

-----

Kristoff had a minute. He had all the minutes, with Anna sitting opposite him in the warm fug of the cafe, humming while she stirred marshmallows into her hot chocolate.

They talked. It was as easy to talk to her as always, and that seemed both amazing and obvious. She was clearly happy to be back; she kept saying things like ‘Now I’m home I need to see if I can find my library card,’ and ‘It’s so nice to be home and to be able to get all my favourite snacks.’

“How long have you been back in the UK?” he asked.

“A month or so. I only just moved back to Arundel, though. It took me a while to find somewhere, and it’s a tiny little bedsit but it’ll do to get me started. I start my new job on Monday. And I was thinking about how to get back in touch with everyone, and here you are!”

“Here I am - and I still have the same phone number, you know.”

“I don’t, I got a new contract when I came back home, let me ring you and you’ll have it - there you go. How’re Sven and Jessica?”

“Really good. Ben’s nearly eight months now.”

“I know, I can’t believe they have a BABY - I need to meet this baby, I love babies, you have to hook me up.”

“I expect I can manage that, they’d love to see you. How’s your sister?”

“She’s fine, she’s really great. Really settled. She likes America. Or at least, she likes where she works, she likes the people. I’d be surprised if she ever comes back home, if I’m honest.”

“But you didn’t? I mean, you didn’t like America?”

Anna shrugged. “I liked it well enough…well, Elsa had this job with her company sponsoring her and everything, I had problems with visas and stuff...and I missed the UK. And.” She fiddled with her spoon. “I realised that - I saw a therapist for a while and I realised that I needed to get back to my own life. It’s not my job to follow Elsa around and make sure she’s alright. It’s Elsa’s job to make sure she’s alright. She’s my sister and I love her but she’s a grown up.”

Kristoff hesitated for a moment, not sure what to say.

“I mean, I left my whole life behind, my job, my friends - with and without benefits,” Anna said, and grinned at him. 

He smiled back, trying not to blush. “That seems like a long time ago, somehow.”

“That was good, though, wasn’t it?” Anna said. “That summer. So much fun. I hope you realise you ruined me for other men.”

He laughed. 

“No, I’m serious. I slept with - not like a lot of people, but a couple - like I’d go out with someone a few times, they’d seem nice, then we’d do it and I’d be like - it was better with Kristoff, so why am I even bothering? I know it can be better than this, why settle? You ruined it.”

“I’m sorry.”

“You should be.”

“I’m sorry I’m so good in bed that I ruined your dating life forever.”

“You should be. This is the part where you return the compliment.”

“I haven’t really been out with anyone since you left. Not that we were going out. You know what I mean.”

“Really? Not anyone?”

He shrugged. “Maybe you did ruin me. It wouldn’t be as good as with Anna, so what’s the point.”

“Huh.”

Their drinks were finished. Anna scraped the last dregs of hot chocolate out of her mug and said “The rain’s stopped. I should get back, I have things to do, all my stuff is still in boxes...”

“Oh, sure. Well, it was lovely to -”

“Walk me back? It’s just around the corner.”

-----

It was actually about half a mile, but Kristoff didn’t mind. Anna kept turning and grinning up at him, and then he would smile back, and it felt like being bathed in sunshine. He’d missed her so much.

Anna’s bedsit was on the second floor above a newsagents, up a narrow flight of stairs stacked with bound newspapers. 

“Home sweet home,” she said brightly as she unlocked the door. “Well, it’ll do for now.” 

She smiled at him again. “I bet your house is looking pretty good after three years.”

“It’s alright, yeah. You’ll have to come over and see it some time.”

“Try and stop me.”

Kristoff wasn’t sure, afterwards, who kissed who. He just knew that her lips were on his, and he was pulling her into his arms, and it was so familiar that he didn’t even need to think about it, just revel in the warmth of her skin and the taste of her mouth, her little gasping moan as she pressed herself against him. She pulled away to say his name, and he kissed her neck, in just the spot that he knew she liked; and she sighed and said his name again, more firmly. “Kristoff.”

“Yeah?”

“Kris, I don’t want…”

Shit. He’d misread that. He pulled all the way back, letting her go, embarrassed.

“No, it’s okay,” she said. “I just don’t want - it to be like it was before. I don’t want - just that.” She tugged on his hand until he met her gaze. “I thought about it a lot, and - I think, if I hadn’t gone away, we would have been together, properly. That’s what I wanted, then, but I didn’t say anything because I didn’t know if you felt the same way.”

Kristoff couldn’t help it. He started laughing. “I’m sorry - I’m sorry. But. I didn’t say anything. Because I didn’t know if you felt the same way.”

“Really?” Anna started laughing, and buried her head in his chest. He wrapped his arms around her. “Really.”

“What a pair of idiots,” she said.

Anna rested her cheek on his chest and he stroked her hair. She sighed, then murmured something to herself; and he couldn’t quite make it out, but he was pretty sure she said ‘...it’s good to be home.’

[alternateafterthought]

Arcane - Part 11

Ø  Meaning: Secret, Mysterious, Understood only by few. MAGIC

Ø  Pairing: Panther Hybrid Min Yoongi x Reader

Ø  Summary: Some secrets are kept for the good of people. Some secrets are kept for abuse or power. Yoongi had been a victim of abuse and power, and he wasn’t going to let anyone else use secrets for that purpose. So, when Y/N comes into his life with secrets, he doesn’t want to fall into that rabbit hole again. He doesn’t want to give all his trust to someone who will abuse their power over him. But maybe Y/N’s secrets are a good thing.

Ø  Genre: Hybrid!au, fluff, angst, eventual smut

Ø  Warnings: I know in the last part I warned that it was more intense this part but I somehow left that out and wrote it in a way that it isn’t bad, Of course dealing with this subject there is a small trigger warning... What the character did is not right, and no one should ever have to be put through something like this!! Stay safe out there!

Ø  Word Count: 1625

Ø  A/N: Hey guys… here is the next part of my Min Yoongi fic!! I am back with another part of Arcane!! It has been so long since I posted anything or written anything so I really hope you all like this part and understand that sometimes I just don’t have inspiration to keep writing!! So, I really hope you guys love and support this fic like you did with GOLDEN TIME!! If you want to be added to a tag list, message me or leave a comment or ask!! I would love and appreciate your feedback!! Thank you so much

PREV / NEXT

Y/N couldn’t concentrate.

She wouldn’t lie to anyone and say that she was interested in the paperwork in front of her. In actuality, she couldn’t tell anyone who asked what it was she was supposed to be concentrating on. Her mind was completely preoccupied with the events of her tragic and questionable weekend.

Monday mornings were always hard, coming off a good weekend. Try a Monday morning coming off a horrible weekend. It was currently 11:02 on Thursday after the horrible weekend and no amount of coffee, even the 8 cups Y/N had been through since 5am when she woke up, or distractions would take her mind off of her Hybrid at home.

Said hybrid had been hiding, completely avoiding the outside world, more importantly avoiding Y/N, for days now. Saturday, Sunday, Monday, all the way until today being Thursday and Yoongi still hadn’t come out of hiding.

Every morning Y/N would knock three times on Yoongi’s door, letting him know she was there. She’d leave him a tray of food outside his door before leaving for work, texting him routinely through the day at 11am, 1pm, 4pm just before she would return home to what was pretty much an empty house. It was always so cold, all the lights were always off, no heat, no Yoongi at the door to greet her home.

Every afternoon Y/N would hang her coat and bag, walk to the hall, and see that the tray off food she’d left in the morning had been completely untouched. It was concerning, Y/N didn’t know if Yoongi was eating or not, and from the looks of the cold, untouched food, it didn’t look like he was.

After taking the food back to the kitchen and throwing it out, Y/N would start to fix dinner for the both of them. Leaving a tray at Yoongi’s door before going back and sitting by herself at the table, hoping that maybe Yoongi would join her.

He never did.

And she could blame no one except herself.

Y/N was supposed to help him, protect him. She had promised that no harm would ever come to him. And yet, she was the reason that he completely hid from her, from the world.

She could see it as if it were happening in the moment. Pushing open the door, seeing Yoongi laying on the bed, arms up, eyes wide, begging for help. She could see Hye-Jin looking annoyed as Y/N stood in the door, straddling Yoongi’s waist.

Y/N would never forget the panic that flashed through Yoongi’s eyes, even as Y/N acted. Y/N didn’t waste any time in pulling Hye-Jin off of Yoongi, not saying anything as she threw the girl out of her house, slamming the door in her surprised face as she raced back to Yoongi’s room. She wanted to check on him, make sure he was okay, reach out to him.

But when she finally got back to his door, it was shut, closed off from the world.

Y/N was pulled out of her constant worrying by the ringing of her phone. Shaking her head, she looked at the caller ID, not recognizing the number.

“Hello?” Y/N spoke into her phone, thanking the fact that her office door was closed.

“Hello? Miss Y/N?” A familiar voice asked, though Y/N couldn’t place it.

“This is her? May I ask who this is?”

“Miss Y/N, it’s Jung Hoseok, from HOPE Sanctuary.” The voice cheerfully answered.

“Oh, J-Hope, right?” Y/N smiled widely at the memory of the man who helped her to adopt the hybrid currently hiding from her

“Yes. How are you? How’s Yoongi?”

The question was a dangerous one. How could Y/N explain to the man that had entrusted one of his friends to her, that she had completely and totally fucked up? She didn’t like the thought of lying to him, didn’t like the position she was already in, but how could she tell him what had happened? How could she tell him she was probably the worst thing that could happen to Yoongi?

“Y/N? Are you still there?” J-Hope asked.

“Oh yes, I’m still here.” Y/N forced a laughed. “Sorry just a lot on my mind with work. But I’m good, Yoongi is good.”

“Well that’s good to hear.”

Y/N could hear movement in the back of the phone call, J-hope wasn’t alone, and she could guess just how many were there. 5 hybrids missing their panther and a human who was so much better equip to this job then she was.

“Hyung, ask her…” Y/N heard a small, muffled voice.

“It would seem I have some impatient hybrids with me.” J-Hope’s cheerful voice came through with a laugh. “But they were wondering if that offer still stood? If they were able to come and visit their Yoongi Hyung?”

“Hey, I’m his Hyung!” Y/N heard a protest coming from behind J-Hope.

“Of course, you can.” Y/N heard herself saying without missing a beat. “I’m sure Yoongi would love a visit from you all.”

“Really?” Someone else spoke, seeming to have taken the phone off J-Hope. “We can come visit?”

“Of course, you can visit.” Y/N really just couldn’t stop herself, anything that will ease Yoongi would be welcomed. “I know Yoongi has been thinking about you guys. I was actually going to offer Yoongi if he would like a trip back to the city to see you all.”

“Oh perfect. It seems I have good timing.” J-Hope’s voice was a little distant from the phone, meaning the phone was on speaker now. “When would be the best time for us to come down?”

“You can come down any time you’re ready to.” Y/N moved around some paperwork, looking for her journal.

“We could fly in tomorrow afternoon?” J-Hope proposed, she could feel the nerves of them all.

“Perfect.” Y/N wrote a little note into her journal, noting they would be here. “I’ll clear out the other rooms for you all tonight. Will you be coming with them J-hope?”

“If it’s not too much trouble? I would like to be with them?”

“Of course.” Y/N hoped she could talk to Yoongi tonight. “I’ll make sure to have lots of food ready for you all. I know Yoongi will be happy.”

A cheer rang through the phone, letting Y/N know they were excited for the chance of a trip. She would just hope that Yoongi would be excited to see his brothers after nearly 2 months.

“We should let you get back to work now Y/N.” J-Hope seemed to have finally taken the phone back, placing it to his ear. “I’ll text you the details of a flight, so you know when to expect us.”

“Sounds good.” Y/N smiled, nodding. “I’ll see you all soon.”

“See you tomorrow, Y/N.”

Finally hanging up, Y/N let out a deep sigh, her head in her hands on the desk in front of her. She didn’t know what to do, she had a problem to solve at home with Yoongi and now his brothers were coming to see him. Finally sitting back up she pushed her hair out of her face, picking up her phone and ringing the familiar number, only for it to ring out.

Said hybrid sat in his room, staring at his phone as Y/N’s name lit up the screen in his pitch-black darkness. It’s not like the darkness actually affected him anyway, but still it was dark. Dark enough that he knew if Y/N was home and had walked through his door, like the many times he’s hoped she would in the past week, she’d have tripped.  

Yoongi would never straight up admit it, but he seriously missed Y/N. He knew it was his own doing, hiding himself away from her after what someone else did. But he couldn’t help but feel betrayed that she had let someone like that into his territory.

She had to know. Yoongi couldn’t help but think that Y/N had to know that he wanted to do nothing but protect his territory, and that meant her as well. He just wanted to protect the woman who gave him a change, but she was the one bringing dangers into his territory.

He couldn’t exactly forget it, what that girl felt like pressed against him. Yoongi could never really forget the pure look of lust in her eyes as he tried to get away from her. She had stalk him as if he were the prey and she were the predator, she had used his past against him, and it had won.

He would truly never be able to forgive himself for falling, failing to stop himself from feeling sorry for himself. He already knew that hiding and curling in on himself was wrong, and yet here he was, lying in the dark, staring at a black screen, hoping, praying for Y/N to reach out to him.

They were truly words that would haunt him, words that were whispered into his ear. Words that he had buried deep within his mind and now…

“Your just a pet… this is what your made for.”

“She’ll never please you the way I will.”

“Come on, this is what we got you for.”

“She’ll never love you.”

Again, and again. It was like a broken record playing for his downfall.

Hye-Jin’s words weren’t the first to tell him that, they were a constant in the last few homes he had been in. He just never thought they’d be words he heard while here with Y/N.

Now he just stared at the screen as it lit up again with Y/N’s name. He couldn’t bring himself to answer it, couldn’t bring himself to hear the broken words leave her mouth as he tried to call for him.

PREV / NEXT

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[poppys-writing]

Tonight is the latest night hero has been out in a while. Almost 3am, and nothing from Hero. Caretaker had tried to sleep earlier, since Hero very sternly reminded them as they walked out to stop worrying, dear, I’ll be home before you know it. Just another night on the job.

Even though Hero had insisted they go to bed right after they left for work, and even convinced them to take a melatonin, Caretaker kept waking up at odd intervals in the night, something just feeling wrong. They would glance over at the empty half of the bed beside them, give the dog a few scratches, check their phone for any notifications only to be disappointed, and then turn back over. Every time Caretaker woke back up, it was harder to fall back asleep; their anxiety was shooting through the roof, and they wanted nothing more than for Hero to crawl back in bed safe and sound beside them. 

So, when Caretaker woke up for at least the 5th time tonight, they didn’t even want to check the clock beside them. Eyes drifting slowly to glance, their sleep deprived gaze immediately widened at the sight. Almost 5am?! Even as a protector of the city, Hero always makes it back before now. Come on, where could they be?!

Caretaker scrambled out of bed, tripping over dirty clothes strewn across the ground as they shuffled over to their phone. The sudden rattling of the dogs collar nearly caused them to drop their phone out of their hands, cursing slightly under their breath as the lifeless rectangle illuminated a bright blue light...and no notifications. “Come on, Hero! Where could you be?!”

Against their good judgement, Caretaker sent Hero a quick text, heartbeat drumming in their ears. The cats apparently got word of the action, a small fluffy body rubbing up against their legs in an oddly comforting manner. 

Where are you??

Message failed to send. 

Shit, shit, shit, shit! Caretaker began to throw her stuff together into the go-bag that she never leaves packed. Seemed like packing it would be a bad omen. 

Throwing socks, IDs, notebooks, anything useful she could think of into the bag, Caretaker speed-dialed Sidekick’s S/O. A couple rings, then a quick pickup. “Thank god,” Caretaker exhaled. Maybe everything will be alright after all! Maybe it was just a rough night and they crashed at Sidekick’s to lay low before Hero comes home. Maybe-- 

A static sound on the other end of the phone. Rustling, the distant sound of voices. Caretaker’s heart drops. Something is wrong. “Caretaker! Go, now! We’re compromised!” A second more of rustling, then the dull drone of a dead line. 

“SHIT!” Caretaker shouted at the top of their lungs, nearly throwing their phone on the ground in frustration. Nervous hands raked through their hair as they tried to remember what all Hero had said they’d need to bring and fortunately remember to leave their sister a message with careful instructions to take the pets until further notice. They couldn’t seem to think straight, even though they had talked about managing a crisis like this. This isn't their first rodeo with trouble, but it’s their first rodeo where the rider was completely bucked off, trampled, then trampled again. 

Some time had passed - they weren’t sure, they didn’t have a need to look at the clock anymore now that they knew Hero wouldn’t be coming home and they wouldn’t get any sleep. Tossing off their pajamas and throwing on their sneakers, jeans, and Hero’s hoodie. Sweeping over their home one last time, they ended up at the front door. Who knows if they’ll walk back into it ever again? 

They threw the door open, and were automatically met by a large figure. Their heart immediately and naïvely leapt for joy - Hero! - but the lack of greeting or familiarity caused their heart to fall in fear. 

“Going somewhere, Caretaker?” Villain purred, stepping into their home as Caretaker scurried back. 

This can’t be happening. This isn't real. It’s a dream, I’ll wake up next to Hero! “You’re a fucking moron,” Caretaker mustered a chuckle, putting on the fake bravado that they'd displayed in front of villain in the past. “We both know what Hero will do once they find out you even set a foot in this house,” they bravely and boldly lied, having no clue what state Hero was even in right now - or if they’re even alive. 

“Oh, you poor pretty thing!” Villain laughed, backing Caretaker closer and closer to the wall. “I’m so sorry to break it to you, but there’s no Hero to help you out this time. Finally, I have you all to myself!” 

Thump. Caretaker’s back hit the wall. Their eyes locked with Villain’s as both realized that they were momentarily trapped. Villain strode forward, closing the distance between them and Caretaker, and Caretaker instinctually swung at them with the go bag. Villain swat it away as though it were nothing, instead grabbing Caretaker’s wrist and pulling it behind their back to then slam Caretaker back up against the wall with a muffled yelp. 

“You’re lying,” Caretaker mumbled weakly, still struggling against Villain’s tightening hold. “Hero's going to-” a wheeze, then a wince, “fuck you up.” Still seeing stars, Caretaker hardly noticed the prick in their neck. The world began to get heavier, and heavier, and heavier...as though they were trapped in slow motion. Please, no. “Wha’d you jus’ do to me?” Caretaker slurred, slumping closer to the ground. 

“My dear, I only made you agreeable,” Villain smiled, eyes glinting in the rising dawn. “Something you’ll learn very quickly if we’re to get along.” 

Caretaker’s eyes fluttered shut (in such a beautiful way, if you ask Villain), and they went fully limp in Villain’s arms. Admiring their catch, Villain brushed a stray hair out of their face and hauled them into their arms bridal style. “If only Hero could see you like this,” Villain awed aloud, meandering toward the front door. “His precious Caretaker, all mine! To do whatever I want with! Oh, it’ll infuriate him. But me, you ask?” Villain paused for dramatic affect, “I’m going to have fun!”

[[ continuation ]]

[jamie-leah]

Love Is Not Enough

Bucky x Reader 

One Shot 

Summary: The aftermath of finding out Bucky has cheated on you 

Word Count: 2935

Warnings: Cheating, mentions of sex, violence, swearing, major angst 

A/N: I don’t normally like cheating stories but I have a lot of angst in me right now so this popped out. Enjoy Lovelies! 

Oneshot Masterlist       Series Masterlist 

“Where have you been?”, Bucky asks, arms folded looking like an angry and disappointed parent.

You walk straight past him, wobbling on your feet as you swing your shoes in your hand. You walk into the kitchen, going straight for the not so secret stash of alcohol hidden behind the cereals.

You can feel Bucky follow you and its confirmed when he adds, “don’t you think you’ve had enough?”.

A burst of bitter laughter explodes from your mouth, “I have not had nearly enough. All I can think about is you and…”.

It was enough to make you want to vomit but you swallow the bile and take a swig of pure, straight vodka. You wince after you swallow but savour the warmth spreading down your throat and into your stomach. Almost soothingly.

“Seriously Y/N, I think you’ve had enough. Where have you been? It’s 4 in the morning and I’ve been worried sick-“.

You cut him off in another burst, anger bubbling to the surface, “don’t you dare. Don’t you dare say that you were worried about me. You gave up that right the moment you stuck your dick in another woman’s vagina”.

Bucky cringes at your terminology. It makes you feel victorious for a split second, but it only serves to make you feel worse for hurting him which in turn makes you angry for still feeling anything loving towards the man in front of you.

Bucky sighs, his expression turning desperate just like it did before you stormed out of the compound, “you haven’t given me a chance to explain”.

You throw your shoes on the floor and watch Bucky close his eyes against the loud noise. You slam a glass down on the kitchen counter and pour a healthy amount of the fiery liquid before replying, “well go on then James, enlighten me, tell me how good she was, tell me how she made you feel, tell me how much better she was”.

Bucky shakes his head violently, taking a step towards you as if to stop the thoughts from strangling your soul himself. He almost reaches out but thinks better of it before heaving a sigh, “I…it wasn’t…”.

He sighs again, collecting his thoughts before looking up from the ground, “we had a party here, I don’t even remember what it was for, but it was that time you went on that recon mission by yourself. I was having nightmares again, only they weren’t about me but you. You were gone so long, longer than any of us had anticipated-“.

Your voice cuts him off again, but it’s a quiet sort of hurt and seething, “so it was my fault”.

Bucky balls his fists, “no! I just need you to understand what kind of state I was in. Every day that mission went longer than planned was a day I kept thinking you were hurt or worse and the rule was minimal contact…if anything, I think Tony threw that party to take everyone’s mind off of you”.

You take a deep drink from the glass. You remember checking in from that mission, asking Tony how everyone was. You remember the way he hesitated to tell you. The way you wore him down until he confessed that everyone was worried, that there was a sort of dark cloud over them while you were away taking all the risks. He told you that everyone’s life felt on hold ever since the mission was extended.

You remember telling him to host a party, to get everyone to have fun, let loose and stop thinking about you for five minutes. Tony refused at first, but you asked him to do it for you and he couldn’t refuse any longer. Plus, it’s Tony, any excuse for a party.

You zone back into Bucky as he says, “I didn’t want to go. I thought it was just wrong, all of us having fun while you were out there, in danger. I moped for most of it, the alcohol wasn’t even helping, it doesn’t last long enough. I wanted to have just one night without nightmares. I just wanted one night of peace and I thought Thor’s stupid drink would do the trick. I thought it would just help me black out”.

You pour more vodka into your glass, hoping for this drink to do the same before Bucky gets to the part you can’t stop playing over and over and over in your head, like a video tape stuck, like a broken record.

“I drank and I drank, and I drank some more. Everyone was dealing with their own issues, so no one was paying attention to anyone, none of us were really looking out for each other. I don’t remember getting back to our…room”.

Bucky pauses, swallowing how “our” gets stuck in his throat. He swallows a few times before continuing, “the next thing I remember is waking up from another nightmare about you, only this time there were hands on my face and soft shushing. There was a figure in bed next to me and as I was coming back from the dream there were lips on mine, and I thought they were you. I thought for a few brief and blissful seconds that you had come back to me. But she said my name and I knew it wasn’t you. I pulled away, I did-“.

“Then how come we’re here now Buck? Having a conversation, I never thought I would have to have with you?”, your voice breaks and anger floods your system to stop the tears from overwhelming you.

Bucky looks away from you, shame is written in every ridge of his body, “I…I don’t know what to tell you”.

Another gulp of vodka later has you saying, “tell me the truth Bucky, you’ve already hurt me. So just tell me the truth”.

Bucky turns away from you, as if it were too much, as if he were trying to protect you from the blow of his next words, “I was still drunk, I could feel it running through me. She started kissing me again and being touched like that, comforted like that again just helped patch over the rough. My clouded judgement thought I could pretend that it was you”.

Bucky turns back around, “when I woke up in the morning, I was sick, and it had nothing to do with Thor’s weird drink. I told her to leave the moment I could. I could barely look at myself in the mirror”.

You feel a tear slip and slide down your cheek before you swipe at it irately. You finish the drink in the glass, both of you silent for a time.

When the clock in the kitchen chimes at 5am Bucky decides to take a step towards you, “please say something Y/N”.

You sigh and breathe out, “who is she?”.

Bucky looks confused at first before shaking his head.

“Come on Bucky, you wanted me to say something. I’m asking you who she is, who this woman is and why she was worth jeopardising our relationship for”.

“Y/N, I-it doesn’t matter-“.

You throw your empty glass across the room and let the sound wash over you as your heart splinters with the glass. It rains down on the floor. Bucky doesn’t even flinch.

“Of course it fucking matters! Bucky, you slept with someone else and not only that, you slept with someone that works in this fucking building. I know that party was for employees only, it wasn’t an open invitation event!”.

You ball your fists as your stomach tightens, “she works in this building. I may have to walk past her every day, talk to her, I may even class her as a fucking friend and it makes me sick to think I could be talking to this woman and she’s touched you and kissed you and felt you inside her…”.

Another tear escapes unbidden down your cheek, but you let it fall this time, feeling the weight drip from your jaw, joining your heart on the floor.

“Please don’t do that to yourself”, Bucky says softly.

You take a step back from him, “I didn’t, you did Bucky, you did that, this, not me. And there is nothing I can say that will make you feel any better”.

Bucky goes back to looking desperate, “you think I don’t know that!? I never would have done this if I were in my right mind-“.

You point your finger at him, “that’s where you’re wrong, you should have never done this, period. If you can’t handle your drink, then don’t drink it”.

Bucky’s shoulders slump in defeat, “there’s nothing more I can say except I love you with every fibre of my being Y/N”.

You screw your face up to try and stop the wave of tears you’ve been holding back but it only serves to blur your vision as they fall anyway.

Bucky closes the gap between you, his flesh hand reaching out to swipe the tears away on both sides before cupping your cheek. His thumb strokes your cheekbone and you let your resolve crumble just for a few seconds. You close your eyes to soak in the familiar feeling that felt so much like sunshine.

You let it wash over your body and soothe the brokenness that will take you years to fix. You let it patch up your bruised heart and hug your damaged soul. You were selfish for just a few seconds before you lay a hand on his chest and push.

When Bucky can’t bring himself to move away from you, you do it for the both of you. You step away and walk around the island in the kitchen to the other side.

You pick up the vodka bottle and leave the room, past Steve, Nat, Sam, and Wanda listening in the hall. Past the room you shared with Bucky. Past even the room you used to have before you and Bucky became more.

You walk all the way down the hall, as far as you can go until you reach the last spare room. You waited until you closed the door. You waited until you took just one more gulp of mercy the vodka seemed to promise. You waited until your chest hurt so much that you couldn’t help but double over before you let the thoughts overwhelm you. Before you let the tears drown you like the sea trying to drown a sailor that dared to conquer its oceans.

------------------------------------Bonus Material-------------------------------------

Steve gives Bucky a stern look, “its spreading and if you don’t tell her soon, she’ll find out on her own and we have no idea how that will go down. At least if you tell her and we all know you’re going to tell her we can control the situation”.

Bucky nurses a coffee, not having slept since your argument, “I know that Steve, I do. I just, you didn’t see her face. She’s going to hate me even more when she finds out who it is”.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You woke up with the biggest headache known to man, but you still got up and dressed and headed for the gym. You needed to get some of these feelings out in a way that was constructive, healthy.

You could feel people looking at you on your way down and it wasn’t your paranoia, you clocked people’s eyes multiple times staring.

You ignored them as you entered the gym. But you almost retreated back to your room when you saw which recruits were there. You never got on with Adele and the group that gravitated towards her. Her arrogance and pettiness are what stops her from being a great recruit. The type of bitchy that just never grew out of her from school.

She smirked when she saw you which told you that she knew all about what happened. You suppress the urge to roll your eyes and make your way to the treadmill.

Just as you brush past her, her cheery voice booms in the large space, “I heard there’s trouble in paradise?”.

You ignore the question, stepping up on the treadmill and start setting it up. She continues, “it was a wild party, shame you weren’t there. It was nice to see all the Avenger’s let loose a bit”.

The treadmill starts up at a slow pace as you adjust the settings.

You start to break into a jog when she raises her voice an octave to be heard over the machine, “when he was stumbling out of the door, I thought it was only the right thing to do to help him”.

When the words penetrate through the fog in your brain you press the emergency stop button on the running machine. It stops immediately and so do you, your back still to her.

She knows she has your full attention now, “he could barely stand so I helped him to his room”.

In your head all you could think was ‘our, our, ours. Our room’.

“I helped him into bed, and I tell you what, I was going to leave but the moment my skin left his he whimpered. He obviously wanted me to stay and how could a girl refuse those baby blues”.

Your heart is beating hard, like a fist asking to break free of its cage. Your breathing is ragged with the struggle of keeping it back.

“I slept next to him for a few hours and when he woke up, he called for you. I couldn’t help but comfort him…and by the end of the night he was saying my name instead”.

You blinked and then you were standing in front of her, anger seething from every pore of you as you shake with restraint.

You hiss, “come on darlin’, hit me, because I’m about to start a fight you can’t win and want to give you your one and only shot before I do it”.

To your surprise she doesn’t hesitate. Her fist comes flying, catching you in the mouth. You stumble back a step and relish the feel of blood slide down your chin. It was a welcome change to the feeling of tears.

You smile at her viciously, showing your teeth smeared with blood and you fly at her with no mercy. The punch is returned twice over until you feel her nose break and the crunch echoes in the gym.

She muffles a scream as you bring a knee up to her stomach. As she doubles over you feel Steve hauling you away from her. You let him take you away because you don’t trust yourself not to stop.

“You broke my fucking nose!”, Adele’s voice comes out nasally.

You take some grim satisfaction in that fact, “be thankful that was all I broke. You come near me again and we’ll find out what else I can break”.

“Y/N!”, Steve shouts your name, chastising you like a parent. He drags you out the gym just as Sam runs down the hall.

Steve doesn’t give Sam time to talk, “go check if Adele is okay. Take her to med bay, her nose might be broken”.

Just before Sam heads off, you add, “her nose is most definitely broken”.

Sam takes off into the gym. Steve waits for the door to close before turning you around to look, “what the hell was that all about? What the hell were you thinking?”.

You poke your finger into Steve’s chest, hard, “you know exactly what that was about Steve. You know exactly what that was about and you’re lucky all that happened was a broken nose”.

“Y/N, that isn’t you”, Steve tries to reason.

“You’re right! That isn’t me. I never thought that ever would be me, I never thought this would happen but here we are Steve! Living in a world where the love of my life not only sleeps with someone else but someone I despise”.

Steve pulls a tissue from his pocket, concern etched into his features like stone, “your lip looks bad, I’ll take you to med bay-“.

Bucky’s voice shouts down the hall, “Steve? Y/N?”.

Silence stretches in the hallway, razor thin. One false move and it could cut you in two.

When Bucky reaches you and Steve, he looks to Steve first. You watch his eyes glance to Steve, then to the bloody tissue and then to you.

Alarm made him more alert as he reached out both hands to your arms, “Y/N, are you okay? What happened?”.

You look into his eyes, his “baby blues” as she called them, and your mind betrayed you. You saw his lips on hers. His fingers brushing over her skin, making her moan his name. You saw her, making him feel good, making him moan her name…

You push Bucky away with every ounce of emotion in you. It causes him to stumble back so much that if Steve hadn’t caught him, he would be on the floor, “what happened? What happened?! You fucked Adele, that’s what happened Barnes!”.

Bucky looks at you like he got slapped in the face, “I was going to tell you”.

“When? When were you going to tell me Bucky? You know what, don’t. Please just stop talking. I can’t do this-I can’t even look at you without seeing her all over you. Without thinking about you and her-. If you ever loved me, if you still love me…you’ll stay the fuck away from me”.

You walk away from them both, the silence cutting into you more than if he had called your name.

[chilling-seavey]

Hey! You're a really good writer and I love the ABM series. maybe a blurb of the seavey daughter's first day of school

Aw thank you!! I always see you in my notifs and it makes me smile 😋💕

I liked this ask idea; it was super cute!! Thank you for it!!

Clementine

Clementine has always been ready for new things and kindergarten was no different. That little four-year-old was thrilled to get new clothes and new crayons and a backpack of her very own for school. Daniel and Florence sat down with her to try and get her prepared for what to expect, telling her all about the friends she’s going to make and the pictures she was going to draw and all they were met with in response was an eager little girl who could hardly sleep the night before her first day.

Clementine was up at 5am, rushing into her parents’ bedroom and climbing up onto the bed to jump up and down between them, “Wake up! Wake up! School today! Wake up!”

Daniel managed to grab her arm while still half asleep and tug her down onto the bed between them to get another good hour of sleep before it was actually time to get up. Their alarm went off at 6am and Clementine was shooting right out of the king size bed, shaking her parents awake in the process.

“Calm down, Clem, my gosh.” Daniel grumbled as she tugged at his hand to nearly drag him out of bed after her.

“Come on! Come on!” Clementine rushed around to her mother and pulled on her arm.

“Okay, baby, okay.” Florence sighed, rubbing her eye with one hand through a yawn before getting out of bed.

Clementine pulled her mother down the hallway to the kitchen for breakfast and Florence started on chocolate chip pancakes after turning on the tv for the four-year-old. Daniel came in a little bit later, already dressed for the day, and he slid an arm around Florence’s waist, peppering gentle kisses against her neck.

“Good morning.” he whispered against her ear.

“Morning, baby.” Florence smiled, leaning her head back a little to welcome a kiss to her lips.

Daniel glanced over to the living room where Clementine was slouched back on the couch, staring intently at the kids show playing on the tv with her mouth hung open slightly.

“Can you believe we have a kindergartener now?” Daniel sighed, resting his chin on Florence’s shoulder as they watched their daughter peacefully.

“Not really.” Florence mumbled, setting her hand over his. “I might cry today.”

“Me too.” Daniel breathed, giving her hip a small squeeze before letting her get back to breakfast prep.

By the time Penelope woke up – trudging sleepily into the living room and reached up her little grabby hands to Daniel for him to pick her up – breakfast was ready and they all sat around the table to eat together. Clementine nearly scarfed down her food in mere minutes, thinking that the faster she got ready, the faster school would start. Daniel got her dressed after breakfast in an outfit that Clementine picked herself (and Daniel helped convince her that a light pink shirt and bright purple shorts were not a good idea so they agreed on light blue denim overalls with the pink shirt instead) and brushed her hair, tying it into a single braid down her back.

Daniel had booked that day off work in advance so both he and Florence could take her to her first day of school. They left early to make sure they arrived on time – and because Clementine was literally sitting by the door with her backpack and shoes on impatiently. So they headed down to the car – stopping in the hallway for a first-day-of-school picture – and Florence buckled her into her car seat, Daniel getting Penelope into the car as well, and soon they were heading towards the elementary school. Clementine filled the whole drive of all the things she was excited to do at school and everything she was going to learn and she had her face pressed up the window as they pulled into the parking lot.

It was raining that day so Daniel opened Clementine’s little pink umbrella for her and helped her out of the car with a steady hand and she took the umbrella with a quick, “Thank you!”

“Wait for us.” Florence grabbed her daughter before she could run off across the parking lot towards the building. Clementine held her hand as they waited for Daniel to get Penelope from the car and, with the youngest on his hip, they headed for the school.

It was already a bit busy with parents dropping their kids off for the first day and Florence and Daniel kept close under the bigger umbrella she held, Clementine trying to tug her mother forward the whole way into the school yard.

The teachers were already outside with their own umbrellas and were signing kids in and meeting the parents. There were a lot of tears from kids around them and Florence tried desperately to hold onto their actually excited child who seemed to want nothing more than to go inside already. Daniel and Florence introduced themselves to the teachers and got Clementine signed in.

Well, the four-year-old sort of did it herself, looking up at the teacher from under her umbrella and saying a solid, “Clementine Seavey is here for school!” through her gap-toothed smile.

With the contact information confirmed, Clementine was allowed into the classroom and she turned to her parents to say goodbye. Florence passed Daniel the umbrella so she could bend down first, pulling her daughter into her arms for a lingering hug.

“Love you so much, sweet girl.” she whispered, pressing a kiss to Clementine’s head.

“Love you too, Mama.” Clementine nearly pushed her away before reaching for Daniel.

He set Penelope on her feet and Florence took her little hand as Daniel crouched down to hug his eldest.

“Kindergarten already, huh?” he sighed.

“Yeah. Love you, Dad.” Clementine pressed a kiss to his mouth before rushing into the school.

“I…what?” Daniel frowned, looking up at Florence with surprise at how fast that went. “What just happened? ‘Dad’? What the-”

“Some kids are more ready than others.” the teacher said with a light laugh. “She’s the oldest of her peers too so it’s not doubt she is more than ready.”

“I see.” Florence sighed, biting on her bottom lip as she turned to Daniel.

His concern mirrored hers, “That was…easy.”

“Yeah.” Florence breathed.

“Four-and-a-half years of giving our life to the kid and she runs off like we’re taxi drivers.” Daniel mumbled.

Florence chuckled sadly and leaned into him, both of them looking through the open door at their eldest already busying herself at one of the tables with another little girl.

“Rain is itchy!” Penelope’s small whine broke them from their sad trance, her hands furiously rubbing over her arms that were starting to get hit by the rain.

“Come here, you.” Daniel scooped her up to his hip and tucked his jacket around her as an extra layer of protection. She cuddled into his neck and he pressed a kiss to her head, taking one last look into the classroom and Clementine’s perfect single dark blonde braid before they were heading back to the car silently.

Penelope

Daniel and Florence prepped Penelope for kindergarten the same way they prepared Clementine; telling her everything she could expect a good week in advance. Clementine was a good help too, now going into senior kindergarten, she could tell her younger sister everything she had to look forward to in the junior room. Penelope honestly thought they were just making up stories and listened politely but didn’t give it a second thought.

So when the day came, Florence and Daniel thought their second daughter was perfectly prepared but it was much the opposite. Penelope was a sensitive little girl and her parents knew that well, so everything had to be taken with care when it came to her. Florence had cut off all the tags from her clothes and made sure everything was perfectly organized in her brand-new backpack in preparation for school, down to her lunch being packed in separate containers so no food was touching. It was going to be fine.

That morning went on like any other – except that Daniel had the morning off to help drop off Penelope for her first day of school – and Florence got breakfast ready with the three-month-old in her arms while Daniel got the older two dressed a ready.

Clementine was more than thrilled for another school year and got ready with ease but Penelope needed a bit extra care, staring silently at her father as he got her into her skirt and shirt like any other morning. Penelope stood on the step stool in the bathroom as Daniel brushed her dark hair out and parted it into two pigtails just how she liked it, the four-year-old staring at his every move through the mirror.

“All done.” Daniel smiled at her softly, twirling his fingers around her pigtails before leaning down to kiss her head. “Good?”

Penelope nodded.

They all ate breakfast together and then headed out once everyone was ready to go. Penelope and Clementine stood in the hallway for the annual first day of school picture; Clementine’s beaming grin outshining Penelope’s timid half smile. Penelope stayed quiet in the car, tucked in the middle of the backseat between her older and younger sister, twisting her hands around the bottom of her shirt like she always did.

Clementine was an easy drop off, the parents saying a quick hello to the teacher before they were saying their goodbyes and she was rushing off inside. Florence pushed the stroller with sleeping Lucy in it while Daniel held Penelope’s hand, her pink backpack tucked over his opposite shoulder as they walked a few steps down to the next classroom.

Penelope was an observant child and she new from the first glance at the other crying children that something wasn’t right. She wrapped her arm around Daniel’s leg and buried her face in his thigh as they checked her in with the teacher. Her little hands clung onto his jeans, peeking out at the other kids and their parents as they were left behind in the colourful strange room.

“Daddy.” Penelope whimpered, holding up her arms to him desperately, her bottom lip trembling.

“Okay, bug.” Daniel sighed, slipping her backpack off his shoulder and tucked it over her own arms, the thing nearly bigger than her entire body almost.

“Up, Daddy.” Penelope tried again, making little grabby hands at him.

“You’re gonna stay here at school for the morning, okay?” Daniel spoke softly, taking her hand in his and pressed a kiss to her fingers.

“Mommy!” Penelope tried, grabbing onto the hem of Florence’s shirt, reaching up to her. “Please!”

“It’s only for a little bit and then you’ll be home again.” Florence assured her softly, bending down beside Daniel in front of their frightened daughter.

Penelope let her first tears fall from her blue eyes with a small sob, throwing her arms around Daniel’s neck, “No!”

“Oh, baby, don’t cry.” Daniel sighed, rubbing a hand over her back as she curled into the crook of his neck. “We wouldn’t leave you somewhere that isn’t safe or fun.”

“You’re going to make us so many pretty pictures.” Florence added.

“All sorts of pretty paintings we can put up in the house, right? We can even send a few of the best ones to Uncle Chi-Chi if you would like.”

“I can make pictures at home!” Penelope protested through her tears, pulling back to look at her father.

“You gotta go to school, bug.” Daniel breathed, trying his best to keep a comforting smile on his face.

“Right after lunch mommy will come get you, okay?” Florence promised, wiping her daughter’s cheeks free of tears with her thumb.

Penelope sobbed louder.

Daniel reached over her and pulled open her backpack to take out the stuffed dog and offered it to her, “You have Puppy right with you, okay? He’s holding lots of kisses from mommy and me.”

“No!” Penelope cried loudly as her parents stood up again and she grabbed furiously onto them.

“We love you, baby.” Daniel said, his voice starting a waver at his shy little daughter was sobbing and desperately reaching for him.

“Daddy!” she wailed.

The teacher sent the parents a reassuring smile and nod and started to lead the crying four-year-old into the classroom, the young parents waving through their incredibly forced smiles after her. Penelope’s sobs could be hear even as they walked away back to the car and Daniel nearly choked over his breath as he held back his tears.

“Dammit.” Florence breathed shakily as they reached the car, resting her back against the metal and rubbed the tears from her eyes before they could fall as Daniel got the baby buckled into the backseat.

With the rest of the stroller loaded, he walked around to her and pulled her against him in a tight embrace, both of them crying silently against the other’s shoulder.

“She’ll be okay, right?” Daniel breathed.

Florence nodded.

“That wasn’t evil of us, right?” Florence asked softly.

Daniel let out a breathy chuckle, “No but it sure felt like it.”

Lucy

Lucy was the perfect mix of her sisters. She got her excitement from Clementine, that was for sure, and getting new clothes and supplies was amazing to the youngest. The week before was filled with the usual stories to get her prepared for starting kindergarten and her two older sisters were well accustomed to school by then so they were a big help too.

Florence and Daniel were sure they had another Clementine on their hands as Lucy was beaming with excitement the morning of, even dressing herself before her parents woke up. Daniel had to lead her back to her room to put her dress on the right way around and put her shoes on the proper feet. Lucy wanted to brush her hair herself so Daniel stood beside her in the bathroom mirror and watched the four-year-old drag the brush through it messily until he finally took over to get her hair tied back. Her blonde waves were pulled into a half-up-half-down style and finished with a little bow at the back of her head.

The family ate breakfast together, Clementine already going on about everything she wants to expect out of fourth grade through mouthfuls of pancakes. With each daughter set with her own backpack and lunch box, and the annual picture taken in the hallway of all three girls together for the first time, the family of five headed down to the car for the last first ever day of school.

Clementine shot right out of the car the second it was parked and shouted her goodbyes over her shoulder as she rushed into the school, Penelope taking her time to talk with her parents and her little sister towards the building. When she saw her friends, she kissed her parents and her sister goodbye and rushed off to meet them.

Around the corner was the kindergarten classrooms that hadn’t been visited in a few years by the family. Lucy skipped between her parents, holding one hand each as they walked towards the doors. The teacher was outside to greet them as usual and the adults shared long awaited hellos.

“Tell your teacher who you are.” Daniel encouraged, giving his daughter’s hand a little tug to get her head up from kicking a pebble across the pavement.

Lucy looked up at the older woman and gave her a small smile, “Lucy Seavey. This is my Mommy and Daddy.”

“Nice to meet all of you.” the teacher laughed lightly. “You must be Clementine’s sister. I was her teacher in kindergarten too!”

Lucy grinned up at her parents before looking back to the lady and nodding excitedly.

“Well let’s get you inside!” the teacher said.

Lucy got her hesitation from Penelope; when she realized that her parents weren’t allowed to come inside with her. She tried pulling them after her into the classroom, but they didn’t budge.

“Let’s go!” Lucy turned around to them.

“We’re not coming with you, princess.” Daniel chuckled.

Lucy’s face fell and she looked between her parents like she was just told earth shattering news, “Huh?”

“We already went to school. Now it’s your turn.” Florence said.

Lucy turned to look back into the classroom and then faced her parents again, “No.”

Daniel bent down in front of her first, “Give us a kiss goodbye.”

Lucy pressed a small kiss to his lips before doing the same with her mother, staying strangely silent.

“Ready?” Florence asked.

“Yep.” Lucy nodded, although her hand tightened around the material of Daniel’s sleeve as if to keep him with her.

“Gotta let go, baby.” Daniel said, prying her hand off his shirt.

“Can you stay five minutes?” Lucy pouted, holding up five fingers to them in front of those pretty blue eyes.

Daniel and Florence looked at each other and then back to their youngest, sighing in unison.

“No, princess, we can’t stay. Grownups aren’t allowed.” Daniel explained gently.

“Daddy and I will pick you up for lunch and we can go get chicken nuggets if you’d like.” Florence offered.

Lucy’s face brightened up at her mother.

“But you have to go into the classroom and have fun, okay?” Daniel said, peppering kisses over her tiny hand in his.

“Okay.” Lucy nodded. She threw her arms around his neck for a hug and then gave one to her mother before she was shuffling off into the classroom. She stopped just inside the door and looked back at them, uncertainty all over her little face.

“This is killing me inside.” Daniel said sideways to his wife through his smile towards his daughter as they waved to her.

“Me too.” Florence agreed quietly.

When Lucy finally disappeared inside and sat herself down on the mat with a few other kids, Daniel and Florence started the walk back towards the car, hand in hand, no more kids to take home with them that time. They sat in the car in the parking lot for a few long minutes in silence, just soaking it all in.

“Last time we have to do that.” Florence sighed.

“Yep.” Daniel breathed. “I need a distraction.”

“A day off and an empty house a distraction enough for you?”

Daniel put the car in reverse without missing a beat, “Definitely.”

[elm-lawrence]

MUTANT: THE BEGINNING // Chapter One: The News

Stephanie stifled a yawn as a customer walked to her register. This was her first customer in hours which, she mused, was the side-effect of working at a twenty-four-hour corner shop. As she rung up the sale and exchanged pleasantries with the middle-aged women, she glanced at the clock and groaned inwardly when it only read 2:23am. Only an hour and a half left  

she thought to herself in an effort to lift her own spirits, but only succeeded in driving them lower than they were before.  

She handed the lady her change, bid her a good night and then watched her wander slowly out the door. A blast of chilled wind snuck its way into the shop, for the brief moment the door was open. Stephanie shivered, and tried not the think about her walk home. Having had enough of standing still, and seeing no more customers, she decided to go for a stroll around the isles. As she walked, she made mental notes of what needed restocking, all while very conscious of the fact she would never remember them all.

She heard movement behind her and turned. Jed, the only other staff member working this late on a Thursday, was struggling with a heavy box at the door to the stock room. She ran to help him.

“I’ve told you before, J, it’s bad for your back to lift these on your own!” Jed was a 40-something year old man with tanned skin, dark hair and the bushiest eye-brows Stephanie had ever seen. He had been off with a bad back no less than 6 months ago and had come back with strict instructions from his doctor to take it easy but seemed to take this more as a suggestion than an order.

“I’m fine, Steph! It’s not even that heavy!” He said, huffing slightly, once they’d set it down.

“Really? So, the hyperventilating is just, what, your normal reaction to movement?” She said, fixing him with her best withering stare. She got a playful glare in response.

“You ought to learn to respect your elders, young lady. You’re, what, 20? 21?”

“23.”

“23! That’s still a baby, if you ask me. Far too young to have such an attitude.”

“And you’re far too old to be lifting heavy boxes by yourself, clearly.” She teased back, enjoying the only source of entertainment she had.

“Why, you cheeky-” He cut himself off when the bell over the door rang out, signalling someone entering the shop.  

“Go on, run along now.” He gestured at her dismissively as he pulled out his box cutter and began stocking cans onto the shelves beside him. She sighed and hurried back to her post, smiling as she passed the customer but got no acknowledgement in response. Stephanie frowned as she moved to her counter and continued to keep an eye on the man. He was around 25-ish, dressed in black jeans, a dark blue sweater and a grey beanie. He seemed dazed and unfocused as he searched the shelves. As she inspected him, she could see sweat on his skin despite the cool March night temperatures and the shops general lack of insulation. Stephanie almost classed him as suspicious but having worked the night shift so many times over her year and a half of employment, it took a lot more than knitted headwear and unseasonal sweat to peak her interested. Afterall, most who did their shopping at corner shops at 3am where not what one would consider ‘average.’

He approached the counter with a few bags of crisps, a fizzy drink and some painkillers. She rung him up, keeping an eye on his. For his part, his own eyes were rapidly darting back and forth, seemingly unable to focus on any one thing for more than a few seconds.  

“That’ll be £5.40, please.” She said, watching him warily now. The neighbourhood the shop was based in had a bad reputation which, in her opinion, was not completely true, but the occasionally unsavoury character found their way through. The man did not seem to hear her, his eyes fixated now on something just over her left shoulder. She fought the urge to turn and remained her composure.

“Sir?” His eyes focused on her now, seeming to realise for the first time that she was there, waiting for his response.  

“Huh?” He asked, and even from this she could tell he would slur his words if he was able for form any sort of coherent sentence.

“That will be £5.40, please.” She repeated, gesturing to the items on the counter.

“Oh! Yeah, yeah.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a crumpled £10 note and dropped it on the counter. “Keep the change.” He said and gathered his things in his arms before unsteadily stumbled out into the street, the bell chiming his exit. Stephanie put the money in the till and glanced up as Jed walked over.

“He was a strange one.”

“Looked like he was high on something. And he got sweat on my counter.” She grimaced at the droplets and fished around under the desk for the disinfectant and cloth she kept there. She was no stranger to strange people, and she did not particularly mind most of them so long as they kept their strange off her counter.

“What time you here till?” Jed asked her as she swept the cloth over the counter.

“Four am, almost home time. You?” Jed scowled at the glass window looking out onto the dark empty streets, as if blaming his work life on the night-time sky.

“Six. Josh said he couldn’t start any earlier so Bossman's got me pulling his weight.” Stephanie shook her head.

“Typical.” She sighed.

#

The clock struck 4:00 as she clocked out, yelling her goodbye and good luck to Jed, she shrugged her coat on and shivered when she stepped into the cool night air. Stephanie lived relatively close to her work which, when her boss seemed to have sealed her fate to work until stupid hours of the morning until her death, was a blessing.  

Pulling the coat tighter around her and shoving her hands in her pockets, she walked quickly through the streets, which already had the beginnings of a frost settling upon them. She turned the corner, sped up the streets and reached her apartment building in no more than ten minutes. She took her keys from her pocket, freezing night air immediately seizing her skin in its icy grip, unlocked the door, shut it heavily behind her and climbed the stairs to the fourth floor. She stopped outside apartment 130 and unlocked the door before hurrying inside.

Once safely inside her home, she shed her coat and jumper, cranked up the heating a tad, and sat heavily on her sofa with a sigh of relief.

“God this sofa has never felt so good,” she murmured, flicking the TV onto the late-night news channel. After allowing the news to sufficiently scare her about the current state of the world, Stephanie decided food would make her feel better again and muted the TV as she moved to her kitchen. Unfortunately, she discovered, for someone who worked somewhere people buy food from, she was horrendously understocked.  

“What a terrible excuse for an adult I am.” She scolded herself, slipping some partially stale bread in the toaster and plunging it down as she rooted the butter out of the fridge. She quickly got changed, slipping her pyjama shorts on just as the toaster popped. She sat back down, having completed her gourmet meal, and glanced back at the TV. The presenter was the same as before; a middle-age white man with greying hair, slicked back to give the illusion of volume. This time, however, he looked worried. His eyes held uncertainty as they moved across the page, and his mouth was moving quickly. Stephanie frowned, then unmuted the TV while she ate and his words flooded the room, like a tidal wave of bad news.

“-urging people to stay in their homes. The illness seems to spread via contact with body fluids, however nothing is confirmed. As of yet, the illness seems to be confined to Russia, with their borders being shut down and any and all British personnel of importance transported via private airways back to the safety of the United Kingdom. These officials are being closely monitored and quarantined for clinical signs. Any updates will be broadcast as soon as we have them.” With that, the broadcast cut off abruptly and adverts began rolling across her screen.

Stephanie muted the TV again and sat back, crunching into her last slice of toast. Just then, a clattering from her bedroom, and movement towards her sofa.

“Bout time you woke up!” She called light-heartedly, as her Siamese cat hopped up onto the back of her sofa, mewing and purring. She moved the plate on her lap to the coffee table and picked him up, cuddling him into her body.  

“Good morning handsome boy, I take it you enjoyed your time alone? No parties while I was gone?” Her purred in response, rubbing up against her. Technically speaking, Sye was not her cat per say, rather one that seemed to invade her home every few days for a nap while she was at work. Stephanie assumed he lived somewhere in the building, probably a loud apartment with annoying kids, and her bed was more his nap pad than anything else. When she first saw him in the halls, he’d followed her back to her flat and even since then Sye would show up, completely randomly and out-of-the-blue like the terrible house guest he was.

“You hungry?” She asked him, and he meowed loudly at her, jumping onto the arm of the chair and flicking his tail.

“An enthusiastic yes, then!” She pushed herself up, shoved some cat food onto a plate and put it on the kitchen floor. While Sye inhaled his food, she went to her bedroom and flicked the lights on, sighing at the phone charger that was now on the floor.  

“I invite you into my home, feed you, keep you warm, let you nap… and this is how you repay me?” She muttered, picking it up and placing it back on her nightstand. “Typical.”

She grabbed her laptop, plopped down on her bed and opened it up. She noted dully that it was nearly 5am.  

As she settled into her nightly routine of aimless scrolling, she heard a loud meow followed by the faint sounds of claws on her rug.

“Hey!” She yelled as she cast her laptop aside and ran to her front door. “We will have none of that in this home, sir.” She scolded Sye, as he sat down in front of her doors, eyes wide and expecting.

“I do hope you behave better for your real family. Go on, shoo.” She opened her door and he meowed once before strolling slowing down the hallway towards the stairs. Shaking her head, she flicked the sound back up on the TV.  

“A press release from Government officials has been released.” Stated the white-haired news caster. “Much like earlier, people are being urged to stay in their homes, however those in the centre of heavily populated areas are being urged to find refuge in less densely populated areas if it is safe to do so. Public transport may be affected. It has been released that this new pandemic can turn people violent. There have been reports of random attacks on strangers, wives attacking husbands, even children attacking parents. I will reiterate at this point to stay inside. The virus is spread through contact with those already infected. Research into this new virus is being conducted, but due to the large number of people reporting symptoms the work is moving slowly. Please, if anyone near you is presenting symptoms, restrain them for their own safety, until medical officials can reach you. Do not take them to the hospitals yourself, for your own safety. Be safe.”

And with that, the broadcaster disappeared off screen and was replaced not by the usual music, by but a black screen. Stephanie stood still, staring at the dark TV screen, giving herself a few more moments to properly absorb the story.

Suddenly, from outside there came the sound of squealing tires and metal scraping.

She ran to the window, broken from her fear by the thundering noise, peering outside into the streets. This early in the morning, the run-down area was relatively quiet, with the occasional noise of traffic from the nearby main roads. With the sun rising over the city, casting it in an eerie early morning shadow, Stephanie saw a car on the pavement, a lamppost bent over the dented bonnet. She watched for any movement, reaching blindly for her phone to dial for an ambulance, when someone stepped out from the wreckage.  

As she called for an ambulance, someone emerged from the building opposite hers, rushing towards the accident. The driver was leaning against their car, head slumped with a hand over their chest. The concerned stranger reached them, reached out a hand, before the driver’s head snapped up. Stephanie could not see the expression on either face from her vantage point, however she got a bad feeling about the exchange by the way the stranger froze a few feet from the driver. She fought the irrational urge to go outside and see if he was okay.

The phone was still ringing. She had been so wrapped up in watching the scene unfold she’d forgotten she was calling the ambulance. Why was it still ringing? She’d dialled minutes ago, how long did the emergency services take to answer the phone?  

Then the ringing stopped, and she took her eyes off the scene before her to frown at her phone, checking if she still had power. She did. The call had dropped, her signal had dropped. She heard a scream and looked back to see the driver running after the stranger, arms outstretched and movements wild like a starved predator. Even from her room, she heard his growling, like a rabid animal. Eyes wide, heart racing, she drew the curtains.

[remywrites5]

Please, please, if it's not too much trouble, could you write a fluffy Stucky soulmate au?? Thanks!

           Bucky’s eyes flew open, taking in the almost sickening hospital white of his apartment ceiling, and groaned so loudly he was sure everyone in the building could hear it. He pawed around his bed in search of his phone, finding it rolled up in his duvet. He winced slightly as the screen lit up and his eyes took a moment to focus enough to read the time.

           5:45 in the morning.

           If Bucky ever found his soulmate he was absolutely going to kill him. Whoever it was kept a rigorous schedule, waking up early nearly every morning. The latest Bucky had ever slept in was 7am for the past five years. He would have preferred a soulmate that was an insomniac. Just last Friday night Bucky had gone out to the club and ended up falling asleep by 10:30pm with Nat having to carry him home. He hadn’t even had a chance to get drunk or hit on a few hot guys.

           Bucky was starting to think his soulmate was an old man. It was the only explanation for his soulmates complete lack of any apparent social life. 

           Knowing full well he wouldn’t be able to fall back asleep, because his asshole of a soulmate apparently was a morning person, he stumbled into his kitchen in search of coffee. He leaned against the counter and yawned as he watched it brew, dripping slowly into the pot. Bucky thought he might drink the whole thing.

           He rubbed his eyes and sighed heavily. If he ever met his fucking soulmate he was going to have a long talk about having a little consideration.Although that wasn’t exactly fair as Bucky was already planning on getting him back by taking a midafternoon nap. Hopefully his soulmate didn’t have any pressing plans.

           He downed his first cup of coffee for the day and went off to shower. Might as well wake up properly.

                                                           ***

           Steve was in the middle of teaching his self-defense class when he hit the ground hard. He came to an hour later on the sofa in his shared office with Sam. “What happened?” he asked, scrubbing his hand over his face.

           “Your soulmate being a dickhead as per usual,” Sam answered from his seat behind his desk. He gave Steve a pointed look.

           “Don’t call them that,” Steve said, sitting up quickly and resting his elbows on his knees. “It’s my fault. I woke up early this morning.”

           “You wake up early every morning,” Sam reminded him. “They should be used to it by now.”

           Steve shrugged. “I can’t exactly be mad, can I?”

           “You can,” Sam said, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning back in his chair. “But you won’t.”

           Steve smiled to himself. Sam had a point there. No matter how his soulmate retaliated, Steve just couldn’t bring it in him to be angry about it. Sure, he’d prefer not fainting like a maiden during work, but he knew he kept strange hours. He had probably inconvenienced his soulmate more than a few times. A part of him was amused in the ways his soulmate chose to get back at him for being an early riser. Steve always woke up early for a run before he had to come open the gym. He knew it wasn’t ideal considering he had no idea what kind of life his soulmate led.

           Maybe he would let his soulmate sleep in tomorrow.

                                                           ***

           Bucky was surprised when he didn’t wake up until 7am. He could tell his soulmate had done it on purpose. He only woke up that late on weekends. Bucky could only hope it had something to do with his job because otherwise there was no excuse for not sleeping in late on a Sunday. Bucky would have if that was still an option for him.

           His hope that his soulmate was switching to a different sleep schedule was short lived. The next morning he found himself awake at 5am. Bucky was murderous as he got his usual pot of coffee and practically down the whole thing. Feeling on a rampage, he got dressed and went out for a walk. His heavy boots helped alleviate some of his anger as he stomped around in the early morning dew.

           He let his mind wander as he walked and nearly missed the guy out for a jog who was headed straight towards him, their paths about to collide unless one of them moved.

           It didn’t matter in the end because as soon as their eyes met, both of them collapsed on the bridge.

           Bucky sat up a moment later, his head hurting from landing on the pavement, and he rubbed it sourly. He looked over and got the first proper look at his soulmate. He’d heard stories of people meeting their soulmates, the force of the connection making you pass out from being close for the first time. Even after regaining consciousness, Bucky could still feel it drumming through him.

           “Please tell me you haven’t been waking me up this early every day for the past five fucking years just so you could go for a run!” Bucky said accusingly at his soulmate. Back when he was a dumb kid who dreamed of meeting his soulmate he would imagine what he would say to them. Now he was too annoyed to say anything else.

           Instead of being offended, his soulmate just laughed and hopped up onto his feet. He held his hand out for Bucky to help him up off the ground. “Sorry about that,” he said, hauling Bucky to his feet. “I like to jog before work and I have to open up by eight.”

           Bucky dusted himself off to stop himself from looking into those amazingly clear blue eyes. He wondered what he must look like to his soulmate, tired with bags under his eyes, probably half-dead. “And you couldn’t jog after work?” Bucky asked petulantly, trying his best to ignore how breathtaking his soulmate was and just concentrate on all the grievances he had against him.

           His soulmate grinned, showing off his perfect teeth.“Couldn’t risk it with those late afternoon naps you like to take,” he ribbed Bucky gently.

           “I only took those because you kept waking me up at the crack of dawn,” Bucky shot back, raising an eyebrow.

           “Steve Rogers,” his soulmate said, holding out his hand. “It’s nice to meet you, finally.”

           Bucky took his hand and shook it. “Bucky Barnes. Any chance I could bribe you into sleeping in past noon one of these days?”

           Steve considered it, scratching idly as his chin. “I don’t know, it would depend on what you were planning to bribe me with.”

           Bucky huffed, tucking his hair behind his ear. “What do you want?”

           Steve smiled in a way that was positively wicked. Bucky was starting to like him already. “I’m not sure it’s polite to say for our first meeting.”

           Bucky barked out a laugh. “You’re something else, Rogers.”

                                                           ***

           Bucky groaned as his eyes fluttered open. “Go the fuck back to sleep, Stevie,” he grumbled, burying his face away in Steve’s warm neck.

           Steve carded his fingers through Bucky’s hair. “Gotta get up, Buck.”

           “No,” Bucky said stubbornly. “I have ways of keeping you in bed, Rogers.”

           Steve laughed and put his arms around Bucky. “I know you do,” he said fondly. Already he was so used to this, the push and pull he had with Bucky. The way they teased and taunted each other like school children. A part of him felt like if they had met as kids they would have been best friends, even though sometimes they drove each other up the fucking wall.

           He knew Bucky didn’t really mind the early morning starts anymore. After all, they went to bed together early every night and woke up at the same time every morning.

           “You know you’re physique isn’t going to crumble if you skip a run every once in a while,” Bucky mumbled grumpily.

           Steve pressed a kiss to Bucky’s head to placate him. “You could always run with me.”

           “Ugh,” Bucky said, tightening his grip of Steve. “Hard pass.”

           “Fine then, lazy ass,” Steve said, extracting himself from Bucky. “Just wait until we’re old and I’m in peak physical condition and you’re a potato.”

           Bucky snorted. “Good, then I’ll die first and finally get some fucking sleep.”

           Steve frowned. “That’s not funny, you know.”

           Bucky sat up and looked thoroughly chastised. “Sorry,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck self-consciously. “Bad joke.”

           Steve walked over and cupped Bucky’s face in his hands, smiling at him affectionately. “All your jokes are bad jokes.”

           Bucky brought his hands up and curled them around Steve’s wrists. “Watch it, pal,” he said but the words had no real bite to them. Bucky knew Steve was going in for a kiss and met him halfway there.The kiss was soft and sweet, perfect in the way kissing Bucky always was. 

           “Did you just friend-zone me?” Steve asked in amusement after breaking the kiss. 

           Bucky rolled his eyes. “And you think my jokes are bad?”

           Steve chuckled and kissed Bucky again. “Must be why we’re soulmates.”

           Buck smiled at Steve in a way he’d never seen Bucky smile at anyone else in the three months since they’d found each other. The sight of it made warmth bloom in Steve’s chest knowing that smile was just for him, a secret the two of them shared. “Yeah,” Bucky said softly, pulling Steve into another kiss. “Must be.”

[crazy-little-cool-cat]

Hand in Glove - Chapter 25 | Ben Hardy x OFC

A/N: I am determined to get as many chapters out as I can before it’s time to get back to the daily grind of work, so I’m both sorry and not sorry at all for all these updates because after today, they’ll be weekly, at best. 

Warnings: I don’t think there are any, actually. 

Word Count: who even cares anymore. 

Chapter 1, Chapter 2,  Chapter 3,  Chapter 4,  Chapter 5,  Chapter 6,  Chapter 7,  Chapter 8,  Chapter 9,  Chapter 10,  Chapter 11, Chapter 12, Chapter 13, Chapter 14 , Chapter 15 , Chapter 16 , Chapter 17 , Chapter 18 , Chapter 19 , Chapter 20 , Chapter 21 , Chapter 22 , Chapter 23 , Chapter 24

“I look like a gargoyle.”

Annie huffed at her reflection in the mirror in her trailer as the wardrobe ladies put finishing touches on her costume. For some reason, someone thought that making her wear an all grey silk and taffeta dress would be a splendid idea, but Annie just found it bland.

“You look lovely, Banana.” Clara rolled her eyes as she helped the wardrobe girls by holding Annie’s hair up and out of the way.

“This is not what Anne would’ve wanted.”

“Fortunately, she’s been dead for, what, 500 years?” one of the wardrobe girls said. “She has no say in this.”

Annie sighed and smoothed down the front of her dress. Ben had been gone for just over a week. Rory had started daycare, now that the guys were away and couldn’t babysit. Frankie was acting out like a petulant child. They were all missing Ben.

“How many extensions have they added?” Clara asked, lifting Annie’s hair up and down in her hands to weigh it. “Jesus.”

“It’s like wearing an octopus on my bloody head.” Annie commented. “That’s some heavy stuff.”

“You’re just moaning and bitching because you miss Ben and you’re PMSing.”

“How do you even…?”

“My sweet, deliciously ripe Banana.” Clara carefully put Annie’s hair down and let it cascade onto her back. “I know everything.”

###

Ben sat in his home-away-from-home, pushing his food around his plate with his fork. Bracing his elbow on the table, he idly scrolled through Instagram at 2AM. If he thought leaving Annie, Rory and Frankie the first time was hard - leaving after his visit nearly broke him to pieces. He was in a foul mood ever since the plane landed back in Phoenix.

As if that wasn’t enough, the pictures Joe and Gwilym posted on their accounts from the press tour with the cardboard cutout didn’t help make him feel any better. They were having a blast while he was stuck, alone.  

He dropped his fork and bit his bottom lip, opening his WhatsApp chat with Annie. A small smile tugging at his lips because she was online.

‘I miss you.’

The response he got almost made him choke. Annie sent a picture from set. She crouched down with a menacing look, her hands spread to her sides like wings, on what looked like a stool. She looked like an Eagle about to take flight, wearing a beautiful, Renaissance-styled grey dress that somehow made her turquoise eyes look even brighter than they already were.

‘I look like a gargoyle.’

‘You’re the most beautiful gargoyle, then. And regardless, I miss you.’

‘Can’t sleep?’

‘Just having a late dinner. Got home not too long ago.’

‘Home, huh?’

‘You know what I meant. Smartass.’

‘I had the strangest dream last night.’

‘Yes…?’

‘Yup. I’ll tell you about it when we FaceTime. Off to film a scene now. Text you later. Love you.’

###

When Ben woke up after his alarm went off, he groggily took in his surroundings. No matter how much time passes, it seemed like he’ll never get used to being away. His heart dropped every time. No patter of Frankie’s clumsy running, no cooing and babbling from Rory. No Annie in his bed. He rubbed his eyes with a sigh.

Looking at the time, he quickly did the math. 5AM, his time; which meant 1PM, London time. Although he only got just under two and a half hours of sleep, he smiled as he pulled up his contacts and hit the little video camera icon next to Annie’s name. When Annie didn’t answer, he thought nothing of it. She was either at lunch or filming - preoccupied with something or another.

‘Call me back when you can, love.’ He texted Annie and rolled out of bed to start his day.

He brushed his teeth and did his usual morning ritual - alone. Then he had breakfast - alone. Slipping in his joggers and runners, he yawned. Earbuds in, he strapped his phone to his bare arm and stepped outside to the cool Arizona morning. The sun was just dawning, painting the sky a beautiful crimson. After a quick stretch, he hit ‘play’ and started his morning jog.

###

“Right, got it!” Mike chuckled and passed the phone over to Annie and Clara. “This is one for the Pantheon.”

It was lunch break, and Mike, Annie and Clara went off to have some Italian food. As soon as Clara’s spaghetti and meatballs dish was placed in front of her, she knew what needed to be done. The picture was perfect. Annie and Clara sharing a string of spaghetti, Lady And The Tramp style, lips puckered and eyes closed, faces a safe distance away.

“I need a caption!” Clara snapped her fingers. “Quick!”

“A lady and a tramp?” Mike suggested. Clara and Annie looked at each other briefly before snorting and giggling.

“Perfection!” Clara furiously typed the caption and went about choosing a filter. “See? This is why we like you.”

“Because I take good pictures?”

“Because you play along with our nonsense.” Annie winked and wolfed down a mouthful of lasagna.

“It’s what royal siblings are for.”

“The fans will have a feast over this one.” Annie mused.

“So will Ben, apparently.” Mike muttered and dodged an arm punch from Annie.

Their chatter was cut off by Annie’s phone ringing.

“Hm, strange. That’s Rory’s daycare. Sorry.” She mused before answering and getting up from the table. She came back minutes later, her face pale. “I need to go pick Rory up.”

“What, now?” Clara frowned.

“As soon as possible.” Annie sat down. “Rory’s running a fever.”

“Uh oh.”

###

“Annabelle, we can’t just stop everything because your daughter is sick.” The producer and director said coolly. “Find some other arrangement for her. You’re not going anywhere until you’re done for today.”

“There is no other arrangement.” Annie said with a clenched jaw. “Her dad’s in the United States. His parents are in bloody Dorset.”

“We’re very sorry, then.” The director squared his shoulders. “Call the daycare and have them take care of her until you, or someone else, can come pick her up. Now go change back into your costume and get over yourself.”

“Are you bloody serious?!”

“Yes.”

Annie looked like a raging bull. Her face red with anger, her nostrils flaring.

“I’ll pick her up.” Jamie said. “Just finished filming a scene, don’t think I have one scheduled for about an hour or two. I’ll pick her up and bring her here.”

“Jamie -”

“It’s the best arrangement we can come up with, right?” He placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll change, go get her, bring her over.”

“You don’t have a car seat.” Annie slumped.

“I’ll take your car, then.”

“You really don’t have to do this.”

“Keys.”

“Jamie, seriously.”

Jamie held his open palm out. Annie reached into the back pocket of her jeans and dropped the keys into his waiting hand.

“I owe you.”

“Yeah, no shit.”

###

Hours have passed without a single word from Annie. Not a text, not a picture, not a call. On the one hand, he knew how hectic every day was for her. She was alone, juggling work, parenting and dog-parenting. Her social life was limited to her work friends, if anything. With no one to help her now that the rest of their mutual group of friends is gone, and his parents living too far out of the way, he knew this silence would happen sometimes.

The problem was, knowing didn’t make him feel any better about it. He’d already sent her three texts and kept checking his phone to see if she replied. One in the morning, after he tried calling her; one over his lunch break; and the last one just as he finished working for the day. When his phone finally rang, he couldn’t pick up fast enough.

“Finally!”

“I’m so sorry.” Annie’s frazzled voice came through. “You won’t believe the day I’ve had.”

“Is everything alright?” Ben looked at the time and frowned. “Did something happen at work?”

“She’s got a fever.” Annie plopped down on the bed. “Finally got her to sleep.”

“A fever?” Ben’s confusion was audible. “Who?”

“Rory, your daughter. Remember her?” Annie snarked. “Got called in to pick her up from daycare in the middle of lunch.”

“Is she alright?”

“Yes. I guess. I don’t know. I gave her some baby Tylenol. Her skin seems to be breaking out in hives.” Annie yawned. “Stupid people at work wouldn’t let me go get her.”

“Wait, what?”

“Yeah. Jamie offered to pick her up for me and bring her to set.” Annie rubbed her eyes. “Ben, I am so tired.”

“You could have called me, I would have…”

“What? What would you have done, Ben?” Annie rolled her eyes, knowing what she had said was a low blow but she couldn’t stop the words from tumbling out. “FaceTimed her back to health?”

###

Ben tossed and turned. His baby was sick and he was nowhere near her and the guilt eating at him was unrelenting. Annie was in the same predicament - sleepless, freaking out and so very angry at being alone. This is the first time Rory got seriously ill Ben was nowhere near her. Near them.

Ben kept staring at his phone, willing it to ring but not doing so himself in case Annie was sleeping. What she said when they last spoke was like a kick to the balls. It was mean, it was rude - and it was very, very true. What could he have done from so far away? A dinging noise and his screen lighting up broke his train of thought.  

‘We’re going to see Dr. Uhllman in a bit.’ A camera icon appeared at the end of the notification text.

Ben clicked on the notification and felt his heart shatter. Annie had sent a picture of Rory, sitting on her changing table with the deepest frown on her face, eyes red and cheeks shiny from fresh tears. Her face was covered in little red bumps, making him wonder if “fever-rash” might be a thing babies get and he made a mental note to look it up on Google later on. As heart-wrenching as seeing his baby so sad was, he couldn’t help but melt at how cute she looked, still.

‘Is it weird that I find the face she’s making stupidly adorable?’

‘Not really. I sent the pic to your mum and she called me back howling with laughter.’

‘Thank God.’

‘Go to sleep, Ben.’

‘No.’

‘Staying up all night isn’t going to help her when you’re in Arizona.’

‘My brain won’t shut off. Too worried.’

‘We’ll call you after the doctor’s visit?’

‘Please.’ 

###

“Have you lost your bloody mind, Annabelle?”

Annie took a deep breath, exhaling sharply.

“You are not leaving Rory with Jamie’s fake fiancée!”

“Ben, there are no other options.” Annie said for the third time. “I can’t take the day off, Clara’s filming with me today -”

“Annie, she’s a stranger.”

“So were the daycare people!”

“They’re trained to handle toddlers and babies!”

“Ben…”

“No, don’t Ben me. If you do this, we’re going to have a problem.” Ben warned. “We don’t even know what her bloody name is, for fuck’s sake!”

Annie stepped back, as if she was physically pushed.

“Hello?!”

“I’m here. It’s Alison. Her name is Alison… or Madison, maybe?” Annie’s mind caught up with Ben’s threat and her voice turned ice cold. “We’re going to have a problem? You seem to think you have any say in this matter?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Ben, you are a fucking ocean away.” Annie stated. “You have no say about this. Whatsoever.”

“What did you just say?”

“Did I fucking stutter?”

“Annabelle, I’m her father. She’s my daughter, too!”

“Well, then, leave work and come take care of your daughter. Bloody tosser.” Annie barked at the phone and ended the call.

###

“So, make sure you wash your hands before and after you apply the Hydrocortisone cream and make sure she keeps her hands off it.” Annie instructed Madison, Jamie’s allegedly fake fiancée. “Make sure she doesn’t scratch at the pox, too. If she has a fever, give her baby Tylenol once every 6 hours or so. The dosage is written on the box. It’s strawberry flavoured but she still hates it.”

“Got it.”

“She’ll probably sleep most of the time, so you should be fine. If she does wake up and is in a good mood, you can put some music on for her and play with her. She also likes stories.”

“Annie, relax. I have nieces and nephews. I can handle this.”

“Right. Okay.” Annie kissed the top of Rory’s head one last time. “Call me if you need anything. Anything at all.”

“Will do.”

“And keep her away from Frankie’s dog food!”

“Not a problem.”

“Right. Well then.” Annie reluctantly passed Rory over to Madison’s waiting, tattooed arms. “Call me. Call me if there’s anything -”

“Say ‘bye bye, mum!’” Madison held one of Rory’s hands up to wave. “Have a good day at work!”

###

‘The least you could do is fucking text me.’

Annie scoffed at the message Ben had sent and tapped out of the app.

‘Leave me on read again and we’ll definitely have a problem.’

“Trouble in paradise?” Jamie tapped a cigarette out of the box, sitting on the stairs to Annie’s trailer. He extended the box, offering a smoke for Annie. She pondered for a few seconds and shook her head, sighing. “S’going on?”

“He’d livid because I left her with Madison.”

“Fuck this chap.” Jamie said around the cigarette in his mouth as he lit it. “What a resentful little cunt.”

“Do not call him that.”

“Madison is fucking great.”

“I’m sure she is.”

“What’s that?” Jamie looked up, squinting as the sun hit his eyes.

“I don’t know her. At all.”

“Then why would you leave your baby with her?”

“Because I’m alone in this, you turd!” Annie’s voice cracked. “Ben is not here. FaceTime and texts and calls are great, but he’s not here. I have no one to help me. God forbid I take a few days off.”

“You know how far behind schedule we are.”

“Sorry for having a baby, then.” Annie snarled.

“What are you snapping at me for?” Jamie furrowed his brows. “I’m not a punching bag. Sort this out with Ben or suck it up and get over yourself.”

###

Five days.

The longest Ben and Annie hadn’t spoken since he left for Arizona. She texted him little updates and pictures of Rory, but never engaged in any further conversation. So when the FaceTime call came in, he was truly surprised.

“Mumumumum!” Rory mumbled happily as he clapped two wooden blocks together.

“Rory, love?” Ben’s voice made Rory turn her head towards the phone Annie was holding. “Hi, sweet girl!” Rory smiled and cooed, waving the blocks about. “Are you having fun with your toys? Are you feeling better now?”

Rory nodded.

“Can I see mummy, please?”

Rory nodded again.

“She has spoken, Annie. Let me see you.”

Annie switched to the front facing camera, her face even; but Ben saw love flashing in her eyes.

“I have news.” He said and sat down. “We’re filming in Florence for a couple of weeks. Leaving the day after tomorrow. I’ll be home for those specific weekends to visit. After that it’s the final stretch and I’m coming home.”

“Yeah?” Annie feigned boredom. “That’s nice.”

“Come on, Annie.” Ben drawled. “Don’t be like that. I know you’re happy.”

“I’m still angry.”

“Of course you are.” He shrugged. “But you’re also so bloody happy. I can tell.”

“You really had no business criticising my parenting decisions from that far away.”

“Like I’ve said, she’s my baby too.”

“You’re not here.”

“Because I’m working. You know I want to be there.”

“I don’t know if I can do this much longer.” Annie sighed. “Ben, I can’t be alone for months on end like this. I need you here. Or at least on the same bloody continent, maybe?”

“Let’s not do this right now, please?”

“When, then?”

“When I’m home. Soon.”

“Ben, I-”

“Listen. You’re the strongest person I’ve ever met. We’ll get through this. We got through much, much worse, right?”

“Well, yeah, but -”

“No buts. Well, butts? Yeah, always. Yours in particular. Buts? No.” Soft smiles tugged on both their lips. “I’ll be home soon.”

“You’re so irritating…” Annie muttered, a chuckle escaping her.

“What was that? Was that a giggle?!” Ben gasped dramatically.

“Shut up.”

“Never.”

###

“Annie?” Clara called after letting herself in and petting Frankie for two minutes straight, since she was the only one to greet her. “Where are my two favourite girls at?”

‘Upstairs. Rory’s sleeping.’ Annie texted back.

Clara climbed up the stairs and peeked into Rory’s room.

Annie sat on the rocking chair, humming, with Rory asleep in her arms.

“Is that…?” Clara spoke in a hushed voice. “Is that We Will Rock You?”

“It’s her favourite song right now, don’t judge.” Annie whispered and quickly hummed again when Rory stirred.

“Is it alright if I stomp-stomp-clap?” Clara giggled. Rory stirred again, her eyes fluttering open. “Hi, girly!” Clara cooed and pouted when Rory turned her head the other way, suddenly shy.

“Let her wake up first.” Annie smiled.

“I see we’re all feeling a lot better and cheerier.” Clara noted.

“Cheerier.” Annie agreed. “She’s still a bit poxy.”

“Oh no, my love. She’s Foxy Poxy!”

“You are such a bloody dork.” Annie laughed. “Anyways, Ben’s coming home for the weekend. Not this one, obviously, the one after. We need just one night to-”

“Say no more.” Clara held up on hand. “Try not to hurt yourselves, please.”

“Jesus, Clara!” Annie tutted. “I wasn’t going there at all!”

“Of course you weren’t.”

“God you’re the horniest person I have ever met. Is Gwil not taking good care of you anymore?”

“Oh, he takes the best care of me.” Clara grinned mischievously. “The night before he left we -”

“Nope! No!” Annie grimaced. “Do not finish that sentence. I beg you.”

“Oh, alright.” Clara pouted. “Whatever. Just drop her by after her bath and don’t worry about it. I’ll get her high chair and collapsible crib from Gwil’s sometime during the week.”

“You really are the best, you know.”

“Oh, I know.” Clara nodded. “Your cousin said so, too.”

“For the love of God, please,” Annie shuddered. “Knock it off, will you?”

##########

TAGLIST:  @ramibaby @xgoingdownx @qweenly @violetpond @sweeterthancheese @drummerqueenrmt @westansstuff @justgivemethekeys  @blondecarfucker @cheeseedreams47 @deacy-dearest @pinkmarvel @onceuponadetectivedemigod

[lynati]

Personal venting, tw for anxiety, job insecurity, and vomitting:

Home early from work today because I still physically feel awful and kept having to take breaks to dry-heave, and my ability to concentrate had frsgmented. Also, because I keep getting *really* anxious placing orders for stock because I don't know if my boss is going to be able to cover them when they come due if our Amazon storefront gets shut down.

She seems to think it will still be resolved and as much as I want to believe that I'm terrified she's wrong and we're basically going to lose the source of 90% of our profits within the next two weeks.

... In the middle of when she has a business broker actively trying to sell the company so she could retire. There may not functionally *be* a business to sell two weeks from now, and the bigger chunk of my stress is on her behalf, because I don't know how, or if, she can recover from the worst if it comes to pass; not at her age and not with all her current health problems. And the fact that I can't stick with her to help for very long if that happens because I need a paycheck and she's not going to be able to afford to pay me anymore if we lose the Amazon storefront is making me feel worse than even the thought of job-hunting in this economy does.

And they won't tell us what the specific issue is, so they keep rejecting our appeals and saying they need more info and a more detailed plan of action but they won't say what we've submitted is missing, and there's no individual human being we can talk to, no number we can call for help in getting it sorted out, so it's like we just keep lobbing darts in a pitch-black room and hoping we make three bullseyes.

I swear, it's like they're using Kafka's The Trial as a template on how to "handle" stuff like this.

I think the only way I'm going to be able to get through this, physically, is to resign myself to assuming the absolute worst is going to come to pay and that I'm going to be out of a job in the next three weeks, because everytime I start thinking about it my brain does some of chemical dump that makes first my head and then my entire body feel hot and freezing at the same time, like a fever. My stomach feels like a clenched fist nearly all the time, and in there moments when it doesn't I still feel too naseus to eat.

I got soup down last night and it had moved far enough along that by the time I woke up this morning (at 5am) with the need to get all the sourness out of my stomach, none of it came back up. Which is good because it had been all I'd eaten the previous day outside of a cup of tea.

I managed a cup of applesauce over the course of an hour and I picked up a Gatorade on my walk home, and my boss sent me home with chicken soup for later, so we'll see what I can keep down over the next few hours and what is going to repeat on me.

And if a miracle happens at work.

Nobody should have to feel like this, and I'm 100% certain that there's far more people feeling far worse of than I am right now over much bigger issues and my heart (and my stomach) go out to all of them because nobody deserves to feel this way, not for a day let alone months or decades, and I can't fix it for any of them, either.

It feels like everything is crumbling for just about everyone I know, and that feeling of the bottom of your stomach going out only it doesn't*stop* dropping, it just continuously feels like it is.

If you can say or do something tonight to make any of your friends feel good, even just for a bit, please reach out to them. I'd like to imagine that not everyone out there is going to have a miserable night feeling adrift in all of the current ongoing fuckery that's happening everywhere.

[officialtrashbin]

please tell us the wind chime story

f u c k okay, so for some backstory, I’ve got a Boxer dog named Bailey who’s a good girl and this happened like, four years ago. I live in a valley town so all the houses are mostly secluded in the woods and it gets really quiet at night aside from insects. There aren’t any streetlights. My house has an open front porch, and if you’re standing on it, there’s a bunch of bushes and trees leading to the back yard to the right, and the driveway to the left, and the road is dead straight ahead. Across the street is a neighbor’s house. On the right, right before the trees, is a big fence we put up, and then more shrubs, and then another house.

For additional content, Bailey doesn’t bark, whine, or growl, for any reason ever. @a-q-u-a-s can vouch for me, this dog is quiet aside from her bell and panting. 

So it was 2-3am, and I woke up to Bailey whining by my bed side. Sleepy as shit, I got up and took her to the front yard and stood on the porch while she peed. I’m standing there, front porch light on (it’s only strong enough to illuminate the front yard, not the side, keep this in mind), and then I hear it.

Wind chimes, coming from the darkness to the right.

immediately I notice three things:

1) it’s spring time (about May), but there’s no insects or birds, it’s dead silent.

2) there’s no wind. So how the hell are the wind chimes going off?

3) Bailey is ramrod straight, staring into the trees to the right, into the darkness. 

Bailey, as stated above, is a quiet, gentle dog, so I knew something was wrong when her shackles went up and she started snarling. I mean, dead ass, threatening posture, about to fight something she sees that I can’t. I have NEVER seen her act like this, not even when she saw a coyote under my car once, and it scared the shit out of me.

Then I realized it sounded like the wind chimes were getting closer. Like someone was carrying those things towards me. Bailey is fixated on the darkness, I can’t see shit and was too afraid to move (flashlight was inside on the table by the front door), and whatever the fuck is in the dark scaring the shit out of my dog is coming towards us.

I said, “Bailey, come inside.”

She moved her ears but kept growling.

I said again, “Bailey, NOW.” By this point I’m looking out into the dark and the wind chimes sound like they’re coming from around the back yard, and I’m in full panic mode, full flight mode because fuck all of that. I ain’t about to get snatched at 3AM from my own front porch.

Third time, “Bailey, get inside!” and my dog takes one look at me, looks back at the dark, and then runs inside the door as I open it. I bolt the fuck in right behind her, slam the door shut and lock both locks. I can hear right outside my fucking door those fucking wind chimes, and I’m freaking out, too scared to look. I immediately go get my mom, waking her from her sleep, and as she’s waking up, I hear Bailey snarling at the door.

My mom sits bolt upright because she knows something has to be wrong if our dog is growling, and she and I go back to the front door. I’ve never seen my dog look so unsettled before. However, we didn’t hear anything, and about half an hour later mom went back to sleep (neither of us were going outside fuck that) and I followed because Bailey by this point had stopped growling. She remained sitting there though, almost all night, watching the door, and woke me up at about 5AM when she came into my room to lie down next to me in my bed.

So the next morning my ass is outside, looking around. I don’t see any animal tracks, I don’t see anything that could have indicated someone tried to break in from the front or back door. I went across the street and then next door, and neither of my neighbors have wind chimes. I start to feel better, thinking whatever it was moved on, until midnight that very night.

And the night after that. And the night after that for nearly a week. Without fail, sometime between 12-3am, Bailey gets up, goes to the front door, sits down, and snarls. She gets absolutely ready to tear something to shreds, and I can’t get her to move. I sit with her, I pet her, I try to give her treats to leave the door, but she’s fixated on whatever it is that’s making her uneasy and literally acts like I’m not there.

Then, a week later, she stops going to the door. Eventually I forget the event ever happened, EXCEPT THAT, YOU GUESSED IT, the next spring rolls around. Around the same time time of the spring month (very early May) Bailey goes to the front door, 12-3am, every night for about a week, and sits at the door and becomes transfixed and snarls like something is trying to get in and hurt us. 

Fast forward another year: we adopt a bull terrier named Jaxon, who barks aLL THE TIME. He doesn’t shut up. Sees a squirrel? Barks. Hears a car honk? Barks. It’s his first year with us, and May rolls around, and I know for sure at this point that Bailey is going to sit by the door for a week and snarl. So imagine my surprise when I wake up, 1am, hearing Bailey snarling? I go to the front door, and there’s BOTH my dogs, shackles up, sitting, transfixed. Bailey is snarling terribly. Jaxon though? Dead silent. His fur is bristled and he keeps moving his ears, listening to something, and Bailey is next to him ready to pounce through the door.

So this past May, they did the same thing again. I don’t know what the fuck keeps coming to my house that makes wind chime noises but if my dogs don’t fucking like it, I sure as hell don’t want to find out what it is.

[breg21]

Ladynoir Month: Hairstyle

@ladynoirjuly2019

Ao3 FFN

Usually, my husband edits and I write most if it. Today, that was in reverse.

And for that, I am truly sorry. Lol

Also…. This prompt might've gotten away from us…. sorry?

It was getting close to their one year anniversary, and they could count on two hands the number of actual dates they had been on.

Which, in all reality, kinda sucked.

While they have tried different tactics, they tried to keep their public appearances few and far between, that was until Rena had suggested something. "Listen, LB. You know my identity, so there's no harm in telling you that I'm part of the school drama club, and since I'm a part of it, I have access to things like props, sets, and even costumes. I know how much you want to keep things on the down low, and between you and me, I am very forgetful and might just leave the room with the costumes open when I leave."

Yeah, that was Alya alright, about as subtle as a metalhead in a church choir.

Ladybug sighed, weighing her options. "I don't know, Rena. That stuff belongs to the school."

In response to her, very logical and ethical point, Rena waved off her notation, simplying replying with. "You know, for all the times you've saved this city not to mention that school, I think people won't care too much if you borrow some cheaply made costumes, so long as you bring them back, that is. I don't need to get into trouble for losing costumes again."

Ladybug dug her feet into the ground, avoiding the smug smile that had made its way onto Rena's face. "I'll make sure to bring them back as soon as I can, 5am at the latest."

"Whatever helps you sleep, LB."

She looked off into the distance, as thought bounced around in her head. It had been so long since they went on a proper date and with the time constraint. She didn't even know where to start. But it had to be somewhere. "Hey, Rena, could you do me a favor and be my… girl in the chair?"

Rena's face lit up with pure joy. "You mean, the member of the team who is involved with all tech and research? Why yes, ma'am! What's my first assignment, create an algorithm to determine who is going to get akumatized, triangulate Hawkmoth's location based on recent akuma sightings?"

Ladybug looked at her nervously and with great care added. "Actually, I was just wondering if you could help me find places that are open from midnight to 5 am. It's hard to find a good place for a date and I know you are great at finding things."

Rena's eye began to twitch ever so slightly. "So, you're telling me that you want me as your wing girl, and help you find dates? She paused before bursting out with: "That is so much better!"

Oh, thank gosh! Ladybug thought to herself.

Rena continued on as of she hadn't noticed Ladybug slumping in relief. "You know, things may have just lined up for you. We just finished a play at school based on the 1950's and there is this really nice 24-hour diner that opened up last month. If you and Chat make the date in the next week the costumes will still be made up and everything. I may have even seen a red and black spotted dress that would look great on you."

"Wait, you said, Chat too. So you already told him this idea? When did you get to talk to him this when I just came up with the idea?"

Rena laughed. "You know how that cat is. They way I saw it, you were the one I need to sell on this idea."

"He agreed in an instant, didn't he?"

"Like a cat to a can of tuna."

"Five dollars for a milkshake?" She felt her nerves begin to flare.

"Is that too expensive, because I can get something else."

He calmly placed a hand up in protest, his eyes never leaving the image of the shake on the menu. "For five dollars that has to be an amazing shake. What flavor do you want, I'll get a different flavor and we can see which is better."

She let out a sigh of relief, brushing the sweat off her forehead, making sure not to bump her sunglasses in the process. When they arrived, she was surprised to see how nicely dressed Chat was. Not that she thought he dressed badly, but to see him in a pinstripe suit brought a little heat to the room, that and the fact that he was the only person she had ever seen actually pull off a fedora was astonishing.

Of course, they were both fitted with a stylish and identity concealing, pair of sunglasses. It was a nice surprise to see him so dapper, and from the way his breath hitched, she was pretty sure her choice in dress was just as good.

As she sat there, she looked at Chat perform the same ritual he always did before eating a meal, making sure to place his silverware in the exact right place, not a centimeter out of place, while he folded his napkin in the perfect triangle. For someone so wild, it was hard not to notice these little quirks.

She didn't mind them by any means, but it was just odd that after ten and a half months of dating that he was still so proper when it came to eating. But she was slowly growing accustomed to it, and actually found it enduring that she got to see this side to him, too.

Before long, the waitress made it to their table asking for their order. "I'll have a tuna melt with a side fries and a strawberry milkshake."

The waitress turned to Ladybug, "And you, sweet thing?"

She looked at the menu one last time. Well, let's hope this works. Because, yes, while they had been to many restaurants together on dates in the past, he was always so careful with eating. Primed to a T. And while she knew his proper side was a part of him, so was his wild side.

Something told her, that that side was locked tightly away when doing something so social as eating.

And she was gonna fish that other side, the Chat side that she knew so well, out.

She kept her voice innocent as she turned to the waitress and ordered. "Yes, I'll have the double burger with everything on it and a side of steak fries, with a chocolate milkshake."

The waitress smiled as she wrote down the order. Before heading back to the kitchen she placed a hand on Chat's shoulder bringing her voice down so just the two of them could hear. "You keep this girl."

He looked back at her with an awkward smile, lifting his thumb up. "That's the plan."

A couple minutes passed when the waitress brought their meals out. Both plates looked delicious but Ladybug's was practically falling off the plate with how large it was. She picked up the mess that was the burger in front of her and stare Chat directly in the eyes sent him a soft smile, before taking the first bite causing the contents of the burger to erupt on her face.

Chat nearly spat out his milkshake upon seeing his lady's face covered in sauce and toppings.

With her mouth half full, Ladybug broke off a piece of burger that had not yet been devoured and extended it to him. "You wanna try a bite? It's really good?"

She could see the nervous look he was trying to hide. But he let out a small sigh and bit down nearly grazing her finger in the process. Yes! She thought.

When he was finished his eyes lit up with glee. "You're right," He grabled out between large bites. "that was great."

She looked down to see sauce all over his suit, and had to bite down the giggle that wanted to pop through. Her goofy kitty. "Um, Chat, your suit."

He glanced at the numerous stains that the burger had caused and surprisingly, he just gave a shrug of his shoulders. "You know what, that's what dry cleaners are for. Now, I believe we made a plan to share these milkshakes?"

Ladybug sent her kitty a soft smile.

There we go, kitty. There we go.

Adrien woke up to the sound of an angry T-rex snoring on his couch.

Thankfully, upon getting out of his bed, Nino soon woke as he rubbed off his migraine from the night before."Thank you for letting me spend the night, dude. The walk home was just a little to far with how little sleep I've been getting the past month."

Adrien poured out two glasses of orange juice as he glanced back at his sleep friend. "It's no problem, man, at least you're getting it figured out tonight."

Nino rubbed the back of his head. "Speaking of the appointment, give it to me straight, how bad was I?"

He placed the drinks on the table in front of them. "Like a rhino constantly stubbing its toe."

Nino flinched at the image it brought to his mind. "Yikes, man, I'm sorry. I must have kept you up all night."

"Nah," Adrien reassured him. "I've slept through worse. What time's your appointment?"

He pulled out his phone,m looking at the time."I'm supposed to get there at sundown so they can," Nino froze for a minute as his face contorted in horror. "Awe, man!"

"What's wrong?" Adrien asked in concern.

The DJ sighed, pocketing his device. "I have this client who wanted me to come by tonight to get the feel of his heavy metal show. He gave me a VIP ticket but now I can't make it because of my appointment. I don't suppose you know anyone who would be interested, because no offense but I don't exactly see you being the metal type."

He took the ticket to see the name Jagged 'Metal' Stone. The gears in his brain started to turn quickly. "Okay then… Sure, thanks, Nino. I think I know just the person."

"So, what you're telling me is that you have a ticket to Jagged stones new concert."

She could hear his hesitation in his voice, he clearly felt a little weird about the circumstance of how he got the tickets.

But she was excited, nonetheless."I'd love to go, and you know what, you don't even have to buy my ticket. I saved the girl who does his graphic work and she gave me her ticket as a thank you. I just can't believe I'm gonna have somebody to finally go with. Thank you so much, kitty. Love you."

With that, she hung up the phone. "Tikki, time to bust out the makeup and eyeliner. We've got a date tonight!"

Chat made it to the concert after trying his hardest to think of what a rockstar would actually wear.

In the end, he chose a pair of black jeans that were torn to no tomorrow, a faded t-shirt, spiked bracelets, and a black wig with a pink bandana wrapped around the top. To complete the look, he had a pair so star shaped sunglasses that were so large they nearly covered half his face.

It wasn't long before he felt a tap on his shoulder. A smile spread across his face but he was stopped before he could turn around. "Promise you won't laugh when you see me. I may have overdone it a bit on this one."

Even though she couldn't see it, he broke into a smile as if to put her fears to rest. It was a treasure to know when his lady let her guard down and did something out of the norm for herself, something crazy and wild. "M'Lady, I would never laugh at you for something so-"

His eyes nearly popped out of his head when he turned to see her hair straight up in a sequence of spiked mohawk and her face painted pure white with black markings around her eyes in place of a mask. Below, she was wearing a maroon leather jacket, a black crop top and torn blue short shorts.

The lump in his throat bobbled a few times as he tried to swallow the water that had gathered in his airways. Suffice to say, it didn't work well. He pulled on his neck collar, trying to let cool air pass through. "I… I really like the look."

There was a look on her face as his flooded with heat. A look that he couldn't mistake for pride screaming in her eyes. "Are you okay, kitty?" She asked him in a sing song voice. Her tone showed no evidence of her not understanding what she was doing to him. She was basking in it too.

Well, if that wasn't something. Forget his shy bugaboo. She might as well have the claws in the relationship.

But he was still trying to stand firm. "I'm fine, it's just really warm in here with all the people."

Before she could make her response the lights faded as smoke filled the arena. The sound a sick guitar riff soon followed and out came the star, the one, the only, Jagged Stone.

The crowd went wild as he walked out on stage, wearing three-foot purple pumps, his leather jewel studded cape following his every step as Fang rushed out on stage in a pair of green sunglasses swiping his tail at his master's pumps, causing him to fall flat on his face.

The crowd looked on in horror but to they're amazement he got right up wiping the blood from his nose. If one thing was clear, Jagged was metal. He clearly trained fang to trip him only to hype up his fans, even more, when he rose from the ashes of his gnarly fall. Surely, the news will be reporting this awesome spectacle for weeks to come.

Both Ladybug and Chat let out a triumphant yell, cheering on the rockstar as the show got started.

With all the times they had gone out in the past two months, he wanted to make this special and he had, with the help of bribing the homeowners with a future visit from both Chat, and his good acquaintance Adrien.

But luckily, he got the entire rooftop to himself to prepare for tonight's date. Their one year anniversary. And this time, no silly disguises, just them as Chat and Ladybug. He had spent the entire day working on this, even taking the day sick from school, just to get things right. It was a small rooftop where he set up a table with a dozen red roses placed in the center, her favorite cupcakes from one of the local bakeries, and even found a branch of her favorite pizza place that moved locations two years ago.

Everything was perfect and now all he had to do was wait for nightfall.

She didn't know what that kitty was up to but she knew it had to be something. All she got was a good morning text and an address followed by 'midnight'.

Yeah, after a day of total silence, she knew he had something up his sleeve and she was ready for it. He wasn't gonna catch her off guard. The days of her becoming a crumbling mess around the people she loved were over.

For the past month, she had been giving Tiki special designs just for this night. Her costume would be transformed into an elegant red dress with bold black highlights laced throughout.

When he got one look of her in it, his face would match the red of the fabric. This night would be one to remember.

"Plagg, You remembered the gift right?"

Adrien looked down at the little creature who was halfway through his wheel of cheese.

"I think so," Plagg said around his food filled mouth.

That did nothing to reassure him, if anything, it only worried him more. "What do you mean you think so?! I spent all day working on this and I gave you one job, the simplest and most important job."

Plagg's face could be the posterboard for bored. "See, that was your first mistake."

Adrien was about to lose his cool when the clock struck eleven. "Plagg, we have one hour. Where did you see it last?"

Plagg rubbed his head thinking of all the possibilities. "I think it's where I have my upper northwestern cheese stash."

Adrien's face went deadpan at that. "How many different stashes do you have for there to be an upper northwestern stash?"

"85 at least?"

"In Paris!?"

"No!" Plagg shook his head. "In your house. Do you realize how big that place is."

Adrien made not a word until the little creature got the hint. "I'm going to get that present now."

"Yeah, you should do that."

Midnight had finally come as he waited for her appearance and without a second to spare she landed on the rooftop, her scarlet dress shimmering in the candlelight.

His entire face rushed into a soft flush as his cheeks burned with a fiery passion. He took a step forward, nearly tripping over the air itself in the process. She giggled as he caught himself even letting out a tiny snort in the process. "H-hey, kitty."

There was a huge grin slapped on his face at that. Oh, goodness she's stuttering. Yes!

It was so cute knowing that he could cause that kind of reaction from her every now and again.

They sat down at the table that had been set up and he could see her eyes light up at the freshly made pizza that sat between them.

"Is that….?"

He nodded. "Yep, Luigi's. It was a pain in the butt to find but once I did I knew it had to bere here tonight."

She looked touched, amazed that he would do something so sweet."Thank you, kitty. This is all perfect." There was a small tear in his eye seeing her so happy. Everything had worked out, for once, he had planned something entirely romantic and it worked.

After the meal was finished, and the cupcakes devoured, he took her hand as his batton began to release a sweet song he had found just for the occasion. "May I have this dance?"

She smiled. "Only if it's light on the cheese."

He snorted. "Am I ever?"

She rolled her eyes, but allowed him to pull her into his arms as they just swayed lightly to the music. With her so close, his ears picked up on the distant sound of her heartbeat beating against his as they were chest to chest, and he let it calm him, as it always did.

When she brought her head to rest on his shoulder, he breathed in her imprinted scent and it caused him to smile, because this was just everything he ever wanted. Her in his arms as they just forgot the world around them.

Because, as long as she was in his arms, she was his world. He didn't need anything more.

That was when he realized he had almost forgotten the present. He pulled back, ignoring her questioning stare for the time being, before pulling the wrapped gift from his pocket. "At first, I couldn't find it, Plagg had placed it somewhere and had forgotten where he had put it, but we found it."

The tears in her eyes were filled with happiness, but he still wiped them away. "Kitty, you shouldn't have. Halfway here, I realized I forgot your present at home, I was so nervous."

He shook his head. "No worries, bugaboo. There's always later. Now open it. I really want you to see it."

His excitement caught on as she slid her finger under the wrapping and tore it open. When she lifted the lid of the small cardboard box, she gasped as her eyes came into contact of what laid inside.

Gently, her fingers scooped up the silver chained necklace. The jewel was a gold heart shaped locket, just big enough for one picture to be placed in. Her tears grew, but so did her smile. "Kitty, this is beautiful." She whispered. "Where in the world did you get it?"

He turned sheepish, hand going to run the back of his neck. "It was my mothers, actually. She gave it to me when I was young and told me to give it to the girl that I wanted forever with."

Her mouth bounced open and closed a few more times before it settled back into that beautiful smile of hers. "I love it." She handed the locket to him, and turned her back so he could clasp it around her neck. He did so without thought. "And I know exactly what picture I'm gonna put in it, even though it may be awhile."

His eyebrow arched in question as a goofy lopsided grin overtook his mouth. "And what picture is that?"

She cupped his jaw, leaning up to press one, two, three kisses to his lips, each lingering a little longer. "Our family, of course."

And that, he knew, would be the best picture in existence.

Until next time! Lots of love! Please lemme know your thoughts

[the-bark-is-worse]

HumaniTea- Rivetra

Chapter 6- Of First Days and First Customers and First Dates

Read previous Chapters of HumaniTea here on AO3!

Their day of rest had been just that. Though Petra had hoped to have spent the day in town visiting the shops, she quickly found she had been exhausted, drained from her episode the night before, with only enough energy for a trip to the bakery and a few household errands.

Levi had not brought it back up after their talk that morning; it was something she was thankful for, not only for her embarrassment, but to spare herself of the awkward realization she had asked him to share a bed with her. There was no denying the fact she felt something for him, and while her request for him to stay had no venereal backing to it (quite the opposite, in fact,) it still was a thought that made her cheeks feel warm with embarrassment, for herself and for the position she had put her captain in.

But…it was comforting…

She had always felt safe with her captain, but she had never felt safer than she did in his hold; a feeling and thought that caused those butterflies that danced the night she kissed him to flutter in her stomach once again.

And while Levi seemed to keep his focus on what waited for them the next day, he too was quietly thankful the subject did not resurface.

—————

“Alright, so let’s go over this once again…” Petra started, causing the man across from her to look up from his meal. His expression, seemingly masked, was a mix of amusement, disbelief, and if Petra was paying any sort of attention, she might have caught a slight roll of his eyes.

“Again…”

“Yes, again; we can never be too prepared,” she popped a chopped piece of carrot into her mouth, making sure to finish chewing and swallowing before speaking again.

“Now…wake up at 5am, get dressed, eat, and be downstairs no later than 6am…you’ll make sure everything is clean and in order and…’reclean as necessary,’” she mimicked his earlier words, and this time she caught him rolling his eyes.

“I’ll get started on the first couple of batches of tea biscuits and keep enough dough on standby in case we need to make more later in the day. 7am, we’ll make sure the stove is lit and the kettles filled and ready for heating, and by 8am we should be ready to open the doors…does that sound right to you?”

His gaze bore into her over the teacup he held before his face, gently blowing into the liquid to cool it down.

“…well?”

He took a sip, swallowed, and kept his cup suspended as he spoke.

“…you forgot to add in time for us to go over this plan again in the morning.”

Petra’s shoulders slumped, a long, exasperated sigh escaping her as she leaned back into her chair. She set her fork down on the edge of her plate in favor of picking up a cloth napkin.

“Look, I’m just nervous, okay? This is your shop, and I don’t want to let you down,” she said, wringing the napkin in her hands, gazing beyond him and into their kitchen.

“Petra…”

Her eyes glanced to meet his which were staring right into her. His cup had been set down on the table, no longer obscuring his face, though his features revealed nothing but his typical, stoic expression.

“In all of the time we’ve worked together, you’ve never let me down once.”

She opened her mouth to argue, but before any sort of noise could pass between her lips, Levi stood from his seat and carried his empty dinner dish to the sink.

“Including the 57th.”

Her lips pressed into a fine line, watching as he began cleaning his dishes. He knew her well, though he knew all his soldiers well. Perhaps that too was what made him so admirable to them as their captain…

——————

“Petra-“

Her eyes twitched, rolling over in the bed and mumbling out, “Just five more minutes, please-“

“…it’s 5:45…”

Her eyes flew open, an expression of panic plastered on her face, similar to what Levi would see when she would often show late to their early morning trainings. He had always found it to be amusing, though never could admit or express such in a superior position.

Quickly, she rolled out of bed, not bothering to straighten her appearance before the man as she began to make the bed.

“I can’t believe I woke up late!!” she exclaimed, smoothing out the blanket on top of the bed.

“I just knew this was going to happen,”

“Petra-”

“-and now I won’t be able to take a shower-“

“Petra-”

“-and I was hoping I could at least make you breakfast before we-“

“Petra!”

She glanced up to him, oblivious to the fact that he must have crossed the room towards her bedroom door while in her panic induced tirade. His face betrayed no emotion, no hint of annoyance or disappointment, though she thought she may have spotted a bit of weariness from lack of sleep.

Petra looked to him expectantly when he did not continue to speak, her brows raising in hopes to prompt him so that she may continue to do all she needed to in less than 15 minutes.

“I’ve got breakfast handled…,” he spoke his eyes casually looking from her to the clock on the dresser, “and it’s only 10 after.”

She was quick, though not as quick as him. Before she knew it, he was gone, the pillow from her bed landing on the floor where he once stood with a thud as she vowed to get him back at some point.

——————-

Despite Petra’s ‘late start,’ she and Levi had managed to start their preparations for the shop as planned. Levi took to making sure everything more or less gleamed while the shop filled with the warm scent of baking biscuits.

Time seemed to pass quickly, and with each passing second, that bubbling feeling of nervousness came over Petra once again. In just a few moments, they would open thee shop doors to the public for the first time.

“Are you ready?” Levi asked, standing a few feet beside Petra as he wiped his freshly washed hands on a towel.

“I- well…I’ve no choice but to be.”

Levi hummed in acknowledgement, folding the towel over a hanging bar and walking towards the shop’s front door. He placed a hand on Petra’s shoulder as he passed behind her, giving it a gentle squeeze. He understood. But he also knew what she was capable of. After all, a few old biddies coming in for morning tea was nothing compared to the war she had lived through. The war which she saw to the end and survived.

He tuned the lock on the front door, propping it open with a door stopper and set out a wooden sign Petra had decorated a few days before, indicating that HumaniTea was open for business.

No sooner had Levi turned his back and made his way to the counter again, it seemed that those biddies he thought of just moments before had trickled in, eager to put their long noses into the shop for something to gossip about later.

“My, it smells heavenly in here,” one of the older women spoke.

“Clean as well; certainly more of a refreshing look compared to the ale house here before,” another commented.

Petra looked to Levi, who stood beside her with his arms folded, leaning against the back work countertop. She gave him a quick, half smile, drinking up enough confidence just by looking at him before turning towards the women and smiling wider.

“Welcome to HumaniTea.”

Her voice was warm and melodious, able to melt any frozen heart that had the fortune of witnessing such a tune.

“Tell me about this shop, young lady,” one of the group of four spoke, standing closest to the counter while the others continued to hobble their way in.

“Well, it’s a tea shop,” she started, a slight and subtle clearing of Levi’s throat he was somewhat amused by her obvious response. Of course, she had no intentions of being rude to their first potential customers, and with a genuine smile she continued.

“There are plenty of different varieties to choose from, many imported from outside the walls.”

A hum of interest sounded from one of the women, two others listening as they squinted their weathered eyes to read the selections, while the fourth kept her focus on Levi.

“You can either sit in the shop while we brew tea for you to drink here, or you can buy leaves to take home.”

Another hum, and this time a different woman spoke, “Do you own this shop, dear? It seems like quite a feat for such a young woman.”

Scratching her cheek, Petra turned her gaze from the women to Levi, “Actually, it’s-“

“Co-owner; we manage the shop together,” Levi cut in, “would you like to order some tea?”

Nosy women were some of his least favorite people to deal with. Nosy women were all he ever dealt with at the height of his military career. They were unavoidable, that much he knew; and he’d have been a moron to think this business would not attract such women these. So for the sake of the business, he’d muster just enough politeness rather than telling them in his crude fashion just where they could stick their long beaks.

“What would you recommend?”

“Well,” this time Petra cut in, “my personal favorite is black tea. And we have plenty of different blends of that, though the last week or so I’ve been drinking a cup of green tea in the mornings. It’s refreshing, energizing, and a good way to start the day, I think.”

The four women began to lightly chatter amongst each other, and within a few moments, one of them spoke again.

“Very well; we’ll each have that then.”

Petra beamed, excited for their first sale.

“We’ll get started on that then. Pick a table and we’ll have it brought out to you,” she said, before turning towards Levi to speak, brows raising in surprise as she hadn’t even noticed the couple that had come in, now discussing their orders with him.

--------------

The day had kept them busy, a handful of townsfolk passing through just for a look, while majority of their visitors came for both a look and a taste of what HumaniTea had to offer. It was nice, Petra had thought, to see so many different faces, and yet she realized just how exhausting meeting so many new people could be. Exhausting, but exciting to see just how well their first day had gone, and how many people left satisfied and eager to return another day.

It was nearly 3pm, closing time for their shop, their last customer, another older woman, paying for the tea and biscuits she had just finished.

“You look quite familiar, young man, have we met before?” she asked Levi, handing over a few bills and coins.

“No, don’t think so,” he responded, placing her payment inside the till.

The woman looked him over a few long moments, sure she had met or even seen him previously, though could not place her finger on where. Her eyes glanced from him, to Petra, and with a smile, she spoke again.

“Your wife is lovely, and has excellent taste with her tea recommendations.”

“Ah-ha, I-oh no, ma’am, I’m not his wife,” she managed to quickly say, her cheeks hot and heart thumping in her chest. Dumbfounded at the woman’s words, she was unsure whether to be flattered by her compliments or embarrassed by her assumptions.

“Oh, what a shame. You’d make for such a lovely couple. Perhaps there’s hope for the future,” the woman said with curl of the corner of her lips and a hint of amusement in her eyes as she left the shop.

 After what seemed like an eternity (granted, the woman did walk with a cane and very slow at that,) a cough sounded from the raven haired former captain, snapping Petra out of her mortified trance.

She turned to him, face still flushed and unsure of what to say.

“I-“

“Let’s start cleaning up,” Levi said, walking towards the entrance to bring in their sign and lock the door.

Petra sighed, picking up a cleaning cloth for the tables to start working, too preoccupied with her own embarrassment to consider that perhaps he was just as equally.

Silently they worked, washing and wiping and prepping for the next day. It had taken them another hour and a half, but once again, the shop was in the same pristine shape it had been the moment they opened the doors that morning. Petra’s embarrassment was long gone, instead now replaced by the joy and sense of accomplishment that came from a successful first day.

“We did it,” she spoke, looking out the shop’s window as Levi counted out the money in the till.

“We did.”

“Everyone seemed to really like the shop as well.”

“They did.”

Silence fell over them once again, Petra watching fondly as a young boy walked past the shop, hands clutching the side of his mother’s skirt.

“I know this was only the first day but…I’m really glad I came with you,” she said, a soft smile gracing her lips.

He did not respond, continuing to count out the day’s earnings. Petra remained at the window, watching, a few minutes passing before finally turning away, stepping back in slight surprise to see he had finished counting and had started to approach her.

“Do you…” he started, taking pause in his words for a moment and tucking a leather pouch in his hands under his arm.

“I know we had already planned for dinner tonight but if you wanted, we could go somewhere…nicer than the pub…”

Petra bit her bottom lip before curling it into a grin.

“Captain…are you asking me out on a date?”

“Call it whatever you want, just give me a damn answer.”

She chuckled. Clearly he had used up all of his patience for the day.

“Yes, I would love that,” Petra said, her excitement for their success bubbling into excitement for something else.

[behardonyourself]

The Wildest Month

Although I’ve been in the midst of training for Ironman Waco and Waco 70.3, I haven’t allowed myself to shy away from challenges. In fact, I decided to test myself more over a one month period mere weeks out of my back to back races.

It all started on August 8th, 2022.  I was, quite frankly, bored with the regular progressive training of Ironman.  So, I decided to push it and set out to run a marathon in peak, August in Texas heat of 111 degrees.

At the marathon mark, I was feeling great, and thought “why not go 5 more miles and hit a 50km?” and after just 3 hours and 55 minutes, I finished 31.1 miles.

While I was proud of what I had done (this was the furthest that I had run in nearly two years), the thought was in my mind: What have I been leaving on the table?

That haunting idea lingered in my head for a few days - until that following Sunday.  I decided that I needed to really test myself and run 100 miles.  No crowds, no medals, no trophies - just me and Texas.  

So on August 18, I woke up at 2:30am and set out.

I actually Live-Tweeted it.

Through Texas heat, torrential downpour, excruciating blisters, chaffing, a broken foot and a lot of suffering, I kept my commitment to myself and finished the 100 miles in 25 hours (the first 76.5 miles took only 15 hours - and then I took my shoes off - the last 23.5 took 10 hours).  

Fortunately, my friends Chris and Brian showed up to help get me through those last excruciating miles.

While my feet were decimated, I was happy to have finally put myself into the crucible once more and force myself to push beyond my known capabilities.

But it still wasn’t enough.

Ten days later, I though to myself “Why don’t I just do an Ironman as well?”

And just 13 days after the 100 mile run on August 31st, I was at the pool at 5am, ready to do a self-staffed full Ironman.  Except I swam 3.6 miles instead of just 2.4.  Due to storms, I was forced to do the ride on my indoor bike trainer.  I had forgotten that the AC repair guy was coming that day, so there I was, 6 hours on the bike trainer, upstairs in my house where the thermostat read 91 degrees (which is like 200 outside).  

Shortly into the 26.2 mile run I realized how terrible of an idea this was and how bad my feet were busted, but I pushed on.  Even with oozing blisters and throbbing feet, I still finished the marathon portion in 4 hours.  

I also Live-Tweeted the Ironman as well.

So a 100 mile run and an Ironman+ in 13 days.  Considering that less than 4 years ago I couldn’t run 1/4 of a mile, you’d think I’d be satisfied.  

Not quite.

After about a week and a half, I was reading through Twitter and noticed how nearly every person on Fitness Twitter pretends to live like a month.  Actually, they make it seem like it’s required to do anything substantial.

Well, I’m a bit of a fuck up, so I began to wonder how degenerate I could be and still do something physically exerting.  That’s when I hatched the idea to run a marathon and simultaneously drink at least one case (24) of beer.  

Oh, and I live tweeted the disaster on September 13th.

While it was obviously one of the dumbest things I’ve ever done, I did manage to drink over 30 beers and run a marathon.  While I don’t remember much of it, I think I proved the point that fitness doesn’t require you to live like a saint or be perfect.  

If I didn’t get that point across, I still had a lot of fucking fun.

Now, here I am 17 days out of Waco, where I’ll be doing the full and half Ironman on consecutive days as the Gold Star Initiative representative, where I’ll be carrying full sized American flags on the run portions of each race to give to families of fallen military members at each respective finish line.

After that?  I don’t know for sure.  But I do know this - I’ve only begun to scratch the surface of what is possible for me, and I know that if I can do some of these things, absolutely anyone can.  We are capable of more than we know.

Keep moving forward, gang.

[georgialouisea]

The One - Part 4

Characters - Derek x Reader, Ex Dean x Reader, Sam, Doctor Bailey. Word Count - 2890. Warnings - Angst, Fluff, Hospital situations, sad Dean, unrealistic hospital discharge times.  Summary - One phone call is all it took for Dean’s life to come crashing down. He thought he was over her? Think again. A/N -  I’m so glad you’re all enjoying this series. 

Part 3 - Masterlist

Sam and Dean after nearly 30 hours of staying at your bedside went back to the motel to shower as you rested. After 20 minutes of convincing you that you weren’t, in fact, dead you finally beloved them and fell back asleep, Derek took their numbers and ensured he would call when you woke up.

After so long of not seeing you, Dean saw you everywhere now, riding shotgun in the Impala, walking out of the store snacks in hand, lounging on one of the motel beds, coming out of the shower in a towel surrounded by a plume of steam. Dean snapped himself from his memories as his phone rang.

Caller ID read an unknown number.

“Derek?” Dean answered the phone.

“Who?”

“Never mind who is this?” He asked running a hand down his face. Dean zoned out as he listened to a cop who knew what they do who needed help, their kind of help.

“Sam and I are busy right now but I can give you a hunter who can help you.” Dean hung up as Sam entered the room from the bathroom.

“Seriously Dean? You’re throwing hunts away to inexperienced hunters to what? Stay with her?” Sam growled at Dean for putting people in danger. “She left, you chose hunting over her she begged you to leave with her and now you think what? She’s going to throw her new life away to get back with you and hunt again?” Sam asked his voice bellowing through the cheap motel’s walls.

“Shut up.” Dean snarled as he grabbed his coat from the chair slamming the door shut behind him.

“Derek stop fussing I’m fine!” Your protests filled Dean’s ears as he approached the room you were in.

“You thought you were dead.” Derek’s voice sterner than it had been anytime with Sam or Dean.

“Well, that was a weird drugged up haze, baby I promise I’m okay.” Your voice soft and soothing. Dean would have smiled at the soothing voice he adored for years If it wasn’t for a single word that made him want to throw up ‘Baby’.

Dean remembered the first time you said it, you were both sat in a diner booth, Sam sat opposite them.

“Baby, will you pass me the sugar?” You asked glancing up at Dean as Sam choked on his toast.

“Baby?” Sam echoed. “Are you two?” Sam waved his toast at you both.

Dean didn’t respond instead he took your face in his hands and kissed you.

“Guys I’m eating here.” Sam rolled his eyes.

“Sir?” A voice pulled Dean from his flashback. “You can go in.” The nurse encouraged Dean.

“Thanks.” Dean smiled at her, walking into the room Dean kept up his smile as he looked at you, you looked a lot better than you did a few hours ago. “Hey.” Dean’s smile grew to a grin as he stepped further into the room.

“Dean, hi.” You smiled at him, trying to sit up you groaned when a pain shot through you.

“No, don’t sit up.” Dean held his hands out to push you down but stopped himself.

“I’ll give you two some time to catch up, I have rounds and surgery but if you need me get someone to page me.” Derek stood up kissing your forehead to avoid the bruises and bust lip before he left the room, leaving you alone with Dean.

“What brings you to Seattle Winchester?” You asked resting your head back on your pillow, you finally had a chance to look at him, to drink him in. He looked tired, his eyes had lost their sparkle, he had a few more wrinkles and a few extra scars.

“You actually, I was your emergency contact number,” Dean spoke realising he had jumped straight in.

“What? No, you’re not Derek is.” Your eyebrows knitted together searching the blanket for your phone. “See, in case of emergency, Derek, his sister Amelia and my friend Amanda.” You explained confused why Dean was even called.

“I got a call at 5am a nurse asked for me… well, Dean Smith…”

“Oh, wait.” You stopped looking down at your cracked phone and scrolled to the ’S’ section. “You are here, well Dean Smith is.”

“Derek seems nice.” Dean switched the conversation as he pulled the chair around to face you.

“He is, Dean we don’t have to…” You began as Dean’s look cut you off. “Where’s Sam?” you asked shifting in bed, wincing in pain as you did.

“Back at the motel.” Dean sat back in his chair, both of you not wanting to pull up the past. “He’ll surface soon.”

“How’ve things been?” You asked your eyes searching Dean’s for the truth.

“Let’s not, not right now.” Dean smiled attempting to reassure you. “You look tired.”

“I was in a car crash Dean.” You smirked making Dean chuckle.

“I don’t mean that just take a nap,” Dean mumbled as he slouched further into his chair resting his head on the back of the seat.

Minutes later your eyes fluttered shut, your breathing fell into a slow pattern as you slept. Dean watched your chest rise and fall as Doctors and nurses checked on you more frequently than a normal patient would be monitored.

Doctor Bailey returned to the room waking you up to give you a quick checkup. “Miranda?” Your voice was groggy as you tried to sit up.

“No stay still, lay back down.” She insisted and you obeyed collapsing back down into the pillows. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m fine.”

“You’re still a shit liar I see.” Dean raised his eyebrow as he looked at you.

“Fine, I hurt.” You gave in trying to put a brave face on it. “God I hate you sometimes Winchester.” You groaned flashing him a quick smile.

“Here, this should help.” Doctor Bailey spoke as she injected more drugs into the IV.

“How am I doing?” You asked her with a smile.

“You’re doing well!” Miranda smiled as she gave your hand a squeeze. “As long as you keep healing how you have been you’ll be home soon!”

“I miss my bed.” You sighed.

“Well, rest up and you’ll be home soon, Derek should be around soon.” Doctor Bailey added before she left.

“You know no one has even told me about the other driver or my car, I bet it’s totalled.” You mumbled your hand flopping over your eyes a few wires hitting your face.

“Want me to try and find out?” Dean asked his elbows rested on his knees.

“If you want to, but dear Lord don’t use a fake ID here.” You removed your hand and rolled your eyes knowing where Dean’s thought process was going. “Use Derek’s name, say you’re asking for him.” You warned Dean. “I’m going to sleep while I don’t hurt.”

“Okay, get some rest.” Dean left the room rolling his own eyes at thought of Derek being popular here.

When Dean returned to your room you were fast asleep. Derek was slumped over in the chair previously occupied by Dean, opposite him sat Sam flicking through what Dean could only assume was a lore book.

“Hi, Sammy,” Dean whispered unsure of Derek’s sleep situation.

“He’s asleep Dean,” Sam answered bluntly.

“Don’t get all butt hurt, sure I left you but you’re here right, how’d you get here?” Dean asked his brother.

“Uber.”

“What are you reading?” Dean questioned attempting to diffuse the situation.

“Research on a case you palmed off on another hunter.” Sam glared at Dean.

“Okay, let’s talk about it later.” Dean gave up not wanting either you or Derek to hear the conversation even subconsciously.

8:30pm

Derek had returned to another surgery leaving you, Sam and Dean alone. At each of your checkups, you had been improving every hour. Doctor Bailey returned to the room your file in hand.

“Doctor Bailey, please tell me I can go home soon! I’m going crazy!” You groaned sitting up.

“Derek’s surgery ends at 1am, I feel confident you can go home and recover with him then.” She advised.

“Can I not go home now? If Sam and Dean stay with me?” You blurted out, giving her a smile.

Doctor Bailey glanced at Sam and Dean. “If.” She raised a finger to each man. “If you two check on her regularly and one of you is with her at all times.” Doctor Bailey concluded.  

“Thank you!” You grinned at her. “One last thing, I don’t have my house keys, they were on my car keys.”

“I’ll ask Derek for his,” Miranda added as she left the room.

50 minutes later you had officially been discharged, you were now sat in the back of the Impala, Sam by your side you were using him as support. Dean pulled out of the Hospital car park, you were dressed in Dean’s borrowed sweats and plaid.

“So where do you live?” Dean asked as he drove down the highway.

“About 20 minutes away.” You spoke shifting against Sam’s chest “Wait you mean address?” You realised.

“Would help.”

“Well just carry on until you reach the 5th diner on the left.” You replied handing Sam your busted up phone with 2 notes on it.

The first

Sammy -

How is he? After I left? What happened? How are you? Fill me in.

Sammy -

My address.

Sam grabbed your phone turning down the brightness before clicking on the address note, reading it aloud to Dean. He then switched to the first note.

- He’s never been the same when you left he fell apart, he wasn’t himself yet he couldn’t leave. He should have left the life, gone with you, got married, had kids.

Sam put your phone back in your hand, reading it you tried to ignore the sinking feeling in your gut, deleting the note you typed again.

I’m sorry I ruined things.

- You didn’t. 

Sam typed back before switching off your phone, avoiding pulling Dean’s attention towards him.

“How are you feeling?” Dean asked looking in the rearview mirror.

“I hurt but I want to get into my own bed.” You sighed cringing when you moved.

“Okay?” Sam asked his hand found yours giving it a reassuring squeeze.

“Yeah, I’ve had worse.”

“Don’t lie.” Dean almost argued.

“Shut up Winchester, where are you two staying?” Looking at Dean in the mirror you rested back on Sam’s chest in a new position.

“A motel about 40 minutes out from the hospital, actually it’s an hour out, Dean sped when he got the call,” Sam laughed.

“You both have clothes?” You asked.

“Yeah we’re wearing them,” Dean smirked.

“Did you leave anything in the motel?”

“Erm, no actually,” Sam added.

“Stay with me and Derek then, if you’re sure you didn’t leave anything you can stay tonight.”

“No! We’re fine in the motel.” Dean built up a defence instantly.

“Dean it’s going to be late by the time we get to mine, then another hour before you get back to the motel.” You insisted, you knew this was a bad idea, there was no way this could end well.

“Dean we could just stay the night,” Sam suggested.

Sam’s words were met with a grunt by Dean.

“Well then it’s settled! You’re both staying at mine.”

“I hope you have more than one sofa.” Dean sounded almost bitter.

“You can both have a room.”

“Someone’s fancy.” Dean rolled his eyes.

“Dean,” Sam warned.

Shutting your eyes you took a deep breath before opening them again. “It’s your next right, the road is a little rough but you should be okay.”

Everyone sat in silence as Dean turned down the road towards the house Derek had built. The ½ a mile road was rougher in the Impala maybe because Baby’s an older car? or lower down? Either way, you winced as Dean hit each bump and pothole.

As Dean pulled up outside your and Derek’s house a whisper of ‘shit’ and ‘holy fucks’ left Sam and Dean’s lips.

“Here.” Sam held his hands out to help you out of the car, Dean had the bag of your salvageable possessions, which included your busted up handbag and a few files from work.

Unlocking the door with Derek’s keys you were helped over to the sofa as you explained the layout of the house from downstairs.

“Come here.” Dean insisted picking you up bridal style.

When Dean shifted you against his chest you suppressed the scream when you felt a shooting pain roll through you. “No, fuck.” You gasped.

“Shit I forgot about your stitches.”

“It’s okay, just don’t drop me.”

“I won’t,” Dean promised. “Where are we going then?”

“Upstairs.”

“Well then?” Dean winked looking down at you.

“No Dean.” You groaned. Dean carried you up the flight of stairs towards the bedrooms. “Okay so you can put me down now.” You whispered as Dean reached the first room.

“You sure?” Dean asked as Sam appeared upstairs, Dean lowered you to the ground slowly.

“So bathroom, bedroom, study, bedroom, 2 more bedrooms, bathroom and mine and Derek’s room.” You concluded your finger pointed tour with the room closest to them.

“Want a hand?” Sam asked holding you up by your elbow.

“Please.” You whimpered as Sam helped you to your room. “Fuck.” You hissed as Sam’s hand slipped from your elbow making you fall slightly.

“Sammy be careful with her!” Dean snapped he was close behind you both, his hands ghosting over Sam’s.

“Dean I’m fine.” You reassured as you reached the bed. “God I wish I had never gone out.” You groaned resting your head in your hands as Sam helped you lay down.

“At least you’re okay.” Dean smiled as he sat next to you. “This house is amazing.” Dean continued.

“It is.” Sam echoed. “Want a hand getting into bed?”

“Please. Dean, can you get me some water please?”

“Sure.” He spoke before leaving the room.

“Thank….You…” You tried to shout after Dean but your voice cracked, Sam’s head snapped up from the sweatpants he was currently untying the knot of.

“Did I hurt you?” Sam crawled towards your head.

“No.” You whispered as you began to cry, dragging an arm over your face to cover your tears, Sam watched helplessly as you cried, his hand rested on her arm.

“Hey calm down.” Sam soothed as he stroked your hair. “Shh.”

“I…I’m sorry…” You gasped for air through your sobs.

“It’s okay!” Sam smiled down at you. “You’ve been through a lot in the past few days, you need some sleep, let’s get you sorted.” Sam insisted as he began opening a few drawers in the room searching for clean clothes, Dean reappeared with a glass of water in hand. After they’d both helped you change into your pyjamas, they settled you in bed propped up by pillows.

“One of you need to stay with me.” You mumbled through half-shut eyes. “Where’re the painkillers?” You asked shifting in bed wincing in pain with each movement.

“I’ll stay?” Dean offered as he perched at the end of the bed. “Here you can have two of these.” Dean handed you 2 tablets and the glass of water

“Thanks.”

Sam dragged Dean off the bed and from the room before closing the door, leaving you alone. “What the hell are you doing? She’s engaged.” Sam growled.

“Yes Sammy, I know that I’m here for her not me,” Dean argued keeping his voice low.

“Just don’t hurt her Dean,” Sam warned.

Dean opened the door and walked back in, you hadn’t moved from your spot keeping your eyes on the closed door as you listened to the Winchesters argue, giving Dean a little smile.

“What time’s Derek home?” Dean asked.

“Around one in the morning.” You replied with a yawn. “Get in.” You patted the empty bed space next to you in bed, feebly trying to pull back the covers.

“Are you sure, you’re hopped up on painkillers and this is yours and Derek’s bed.” Dean protested.

“Fastest way to know if I’m dying.”

“Don’t say that.”

“Fine.” Your voice was getting quieter.

Dean crawled into bed next to you, your head rested against his arm. “Don’t fall asleep.” You whispered.

“I won’t.”

Dean watched as you took each breath, he watched your chest rise and fall next to him. He watched your eyelids close as you fell asleep. Dean was instantly transported to years ago the nights he spent watching you, making sure you were okay after a hunt. 

Yet the one night he realized he loved you everything was different.

He watched as you slept, a hand tucked up under your cheek, your knee touching your elbow as the other leg stretched out on the bed. After the hunt you’d you were visibly beaten and bruised, you all were. Yet you had thrown yourself into the line of fire to save Sam and Dean. As he watched you sleep he soon realised he loved each breath and each bruise.

Years later he watched you sleep once again bruised, yet this time you weren’t with Dean. Dean hadn’t spent every hour of every day with you for the past few months.

Dean once again began to realise with each breath he was falling in love with you. 

Part 5

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