#this explains why my mom's been woke up multiple times with readings that were too high

[hafwen]

Libre 3 Recall

[Image Description: headline "Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) Sensor Recall: Abbot Diabetes Care Inc Issues Recall For Certain FreeStyle Libre 3 Sensors due to Risk For Inaccurate High Glucose Reading" The paragraph beneath it says "This recall involves removing certain devices from where they are used or sold, and does not apply to the Libre 3 reader or app. The FDA has identified this recall as the most serious type. This device may cause injury or death if you continue to use it." End I.D]

ID by @arctic-hands

[x-chubby-reader]

Oh MY GOD what about Bakugou, kirishima, and sero who get hit by a quirk who turns them into a lil toddler or whatever and they’ve got the biggest crush on their chubby/plus size classmate 🥺🥺

A/N - I literally love this idea so much, thanks to @fandom-fander for helping out with this headcannon.

Not Prof Read

Lowercase Intentional

Cursing

Toddler!Bakugo, Kirishima, and Sero x Plus size reader

Bakugo

aizawa sure as hell didn't feel like dealing with the angry pomeranian in minature form

he decided to leave the boy with the class and let them decide among themselves on who should watch the little firecracker for the day

extra credit anyone?

everyone immediately pinned the responsibility on you

kirishima, he didn't feel like getting screeched at by a small bakugo and needed to apparently go study

he also knew that bakugo had a fondness for you in his teenage form, so why not see if he still has it

fr little bakugo pretends to hate your guts

somehow this little toddler has the most hurtful insults

“you can't even get a boyfriend? that's pretty sad.”

suddenly choking out a child is okay

do it… no one has to know how it happened

even though he had pretended to hate you, he still kept trying to show off to you 

you decided to take him out on a little bike/tricycle ride? homeboy flipped it trying to show off how fast he could go and then proceeded to complain about scraping his knee

hey at least he got your attention

he is a literal leash kid fight me oh my god

bakugo will simply run away

you expected him to listen? oh you're in for a surprise

the only option that you give him is to either wear the embarrassing monkey pack or to hold your hand

he immediately grabs your hand and is literally so giddy and its adorable my lord-

smiles for days my heart i can’t-

he may seem all happy and nice, but that can flip in a minute

he’s the biggest brat sometimes and you are literally this close to punting him across the room

you don't get him something that he wants? little pomeranian boy will turn into a velociraptor child in an instant

the decimals that that kids voice can reach up to is kind of impressive not going to lie

“no bakugo, you can't have that right now maybe later-”

screech

thankfully he tires himself out quick enough to set him down for a nap

but nothing is ever simple, is it?

he wont go to sleep without you though, claiming that there are monsters and he needs to know where you are so he can protect you

no matter how many times you had explained to him that there weren't any monsters around, you slowly succumbed to his pleas

almost feeling bad for him, he just looked so serious about how you could get hurt that it made you feel bad

you didn't notice how much taking care of a kid took out of you until now

you had made a mental note to apologize to your mom for having to deal with you when you were younger later

As soon as you settled down on the couch with the toddler laying on top of you, you almost instantaneously passed out

oh boy were you in for a surprise when you woke up to a teen bakugo, still curled into your torso

he looked up to you after feeling you stir, he almost had a smirk on his face before burying his head back  into you 

mostly to hide the redness spreading over his face, he wasn’t going to admit that he was blushing

no way in hell

he just mumbled a “later” before his breaths softened into a steady pace

yeah, you may be stuck here for a bit

Kirishima 

you were there for the whole thing

red-top had pushed you out of the way of an incoming quirk blast and suffered the consequences

he became young again, almost too young

you felt bad

and who wouldn’t

so of course you took it upon yourself to watch him until the effects wore off

the thing you learned about him was that he was an even touchy-er child

homeboy just wanted to be held all the time

just climbing up and latching himself onto your calf

it was adorable but hard to walk with

If you pick him up, you’ve basically sworn an oath with the devil himself

you cannot put him down 

ever 

he gives the most pitiful looks when you do and drags his feet when you walk

he also wont leave you alone

so curious in whatever your doing at that exact moment

and he is impressed by everything you do

“what are you doing?”

“reading”

“wow so cool!”

a bug came in through the window and he screamed

you walked in all nonchalant, grabbed your shoe, and smacked that some of a bitch into a next dimension

he lit up omfg

“wow y/n, that was so manly!”

you brought him in to class since it had been a school day and were too afraid to tell aizawa about the incident

the girls were literally all over him

i mean, who wouldn’t be all over an adorable and friendly (looking at you bakugo) kid?

and the pebble boy was lapping up the attention like a thirsty dog on a hot day

you never expected him to act like this

shy maybe, but then again he was pretty outgoing in his teenage form

he was grinning from ear to ear

literally posing like a mini body builder and making little huffing noises

even you couldn’t help it, letting a little aww out like most of the other girls

this had been causing a slight disturbance to the class

so the whole going to school thing was pointless as aizawa sent the two of you home anyways

he is already a tired dad, he dosen’t need to be dealing with a toddler right now

putting the little strongman on your back you began to walk

you had been hoping that the effects would wear off in a few more hours 

but nothing ever goes to plan dose it?

while you had been walking, you noticed a significant weight increase, but just decided to ignore it

hey you were more sturdy and thicc, you wern’t no pussy, why stop all of a sudden because of the extra weight?

the only single thing that had alerted you to kiri being fully back was the whisper in your ear

instead of a sqeaky and mousy voice, you heart a more smooth and even comment

“hey stranger”

girl you dropped him and ran, him having to catch up to you

he has the audacity to give you a heart attack, he better suck it up

Sero

this was the same situation as bakugo, aizawa just didn’t want to deal with the kid

and especially a kid who kept mixing up two languages

he really was just so one

aizawa gave him the option to go to anyone

of course he ran straight to you, clinging onto your calf, as that was as high as he could reach

hey you looked the most inviting and least scary

he was literally terrified of bakugo and almost started to bawl is eyes out when he went near him

though he calm down slightly when he went down to get to a similar height as him. 

why wouldn’t you take the opportunity to watch a cute little kid and skip class

hey, aizawa said whoever watched him got extra credit

but there soon was a slight problem that you noticed

well not really a problem, but more of a hurdle

with sero being raised in a household that spoke both english and spanish, he started to mix the two, not knowing any better

he would be asking for “leche” and you would just stand there trying to understand with your limited vocab

just the loading circle above your head whenever he started to talk

but you managed with google translate and going off of the vast amount of spanish soap operas you watched at 3 am once a week

surprisingly, he was a very artistic kid

at least every ten minutes he would walk over to you and hand you a squiggly picture of a flower, you, or him and you holding hands

and he would just giggle before running away to make another

bro heart go melt 

being pre occupied with some papers that the father teacher had sent home with you, sero couldn’t get your attention

he might of forgotten your name and got stuck in a predicament

then the most rational thing popped into his head

well his dad called his mom “mi amor” and you and his mom were both pretty ladies

it made total sense to him so he went with it

“hey...”

nothing

“hey...”

nothing again

“hey... mi amor~”

your head shot up immediately

since he noticed that the name had gotten your attention, he just started using it

when he had shifted to being a teen again, the two of you never mentioned the name again

until a few days later when he was back to normal in class

homeboy was trying to get your attention and the multiple taps on the shoulder weren't cutting it

he got an idea

“hey... mi amor~”

yep that got you immediately

and he still uses that nickname for you

[oitommothetease]

Invisible String (4/?)

Pairing:  Bucky Barnes x Female reader (Modern AU)

Description: James Buchanan Barnes, the owner of the most expensive-looking club in town and your new apartment. He was a dick and you hated him. What could possibly go wrong when you, the new girl in town, start bartending at his club to pursue your dreams?

Word Count: 2.6k words

Warning: 18+ (discussion of assault, nervous breakdown, anxiety attack, just don’t read this whole series if you are a kid)

You woke up to a night of dreamless sleep like you always did, but then the events of the previous night hit you. You wished it was a dream, but one look in the mirror and a bruise running along your cheek was enough to confirm. Not only that, but you remembered asking your boss to stay over, but you didn't expect him to. The blanket on your living room’s couch and the bowl of fruits and a glass of juice situated out for you on the kitchen counter proved that he did stay.

And then the reality sunk in, you have a decision to make. You can either go to the cops or let that guy get away. The latter sounded not so great, but you knew going to the cops isn't going to be great either. You've seen enough detective shows to know that. You've had enough, and you just wanted to forget it. 

What did Mr. Barnes mean when he said you were going to talk about this? Are you supposed to visit him before work? Is he going to come to your place?

You decided to work on your book but ended up not being able to concentrate, so you started watching a show and fell asleep while watching it. Maybe some Chinese take-out could make you feel better. It didn't. Nothing made you feel better. You wished you had some friends in this new town because you didn't want to burden your work friends. 

After a horrible day of trying to cope, when you finally made your way to the club, you noticed the security was increased. Usually, security guards weren't present inside the club, but today it was different. Everyone was so vigilant and you felt a little safer. If you didn't know any better, you'd think Mr. Barnes did it for you, but again he would have done the same thing for any other employee. 

"Boss wants to see you," Pietro told you. You were about to head for Clint's office when the blond twin spoke again and pointed his finger towards the stairs." The boss."

Okay, well maybe playing naïve couldn't avoid this meeting, so you slowly walked upstairs. How bad could this go, it's not like he saw you in your most vulnerable state? Oh, wait, he did. 

You knocked on his office door, wanting to rip the band-aid and get over with it. 

"Hey," you said, faking a smile. "Thanks for getting me home last night and for breakfast today. I didn't even know I had fruits and juice at home because let's be honest, I'm a toast and coffee kinda gal."

Mr. Barnes didn't say anything, he just looked at you as if you were a confusing puzzle that he couldn't solve. He raised a hand towards the seat in front of him and you took it, nervously fiddling with your fingers under the table.

“You do that a lot, you know?” he asked, it wasn't a question, it was merely an observation.

“What?”

“Deflecting a serious issue by using a joke.” Mr. Barnes observed as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“What are you? My therapist?”

He arched an eyebrow, indicating that you were literally doing the thing he pointed out. 

"Yeah, well, it's called having a healthy coping mechanism. You should try getting one, brooding is only gonna help you this far."

 "It's not healthy if you're not dealing with it," Mr. Barnes pointed out. 

You scoffed in incredulity and you felt very, very attacked. 

What is it? Attacking y/n day?, you thought. 

"Anyway, I think I want to press charges," You changed the subject to a more serious conversation to avoid him calling you out on your bullshit. 

"Okay, I understand.” 

“You do?” You asked, bewilderment clearly written all over your face. “I mean, letting an employee go to the cops is not gonna be great for your club's reputation and yours too. And, you know, considering the shady business, you do-” 

"What exactly do you think we do?" He asked.

And that's when it hit you, you didn't know what he did or mob bosses do in general. All your knowledge about it came from movies and Wattpad, both of them are not a great place to gain knowledge.

“What exactly do you do?” you pondered.

 He obviously wasn't expecting you to directly ask him, nobody has directly asked him or even made it known that they are aware of his work. It was kind of like a silent pact that everybody signed for, everybody except you, apparently. 

“Um, you know, I've been working for almost 2 weeks here now, and I haven't seen any drugs around here, so it's obviously not drugs. You don't look like the sex trafficking types-”

 "Jesus, woman!" He exclaimed, offended by your assumptions. 

"Then just tell me what you do."

You expected him to tell you something, but he just kept looking at you with a face void of emotions.

 "Fine, don't tell me," you mumbled, raising your hands dramatically in defeat. 

“So you don't mind me ruining your reputation by going to the cops?” 

“I told you I don't care. Your safety is my utmost priority,” your face might have given away the surprise you felt because he quickly backpedaled. ”I mean, the safety of my employees.”

“The safety of my employees is my utmost priority,” he told you, providing an extra emphasis on the word employees. “Anyway, one of my people would take you to the police station near-"

You cut him off immediately. 

"No, you can't tell anyone else. I don't want everyone hopping on the pity train. I'm already ashamed that you know about it," you pleaded but your voice was firm, telling him that this was not up for a discussion.

At this, his eyes and features softened. Bucky didn't want you to feel guilty or ashamed for somebody else's actions, but clearly, you did. 

"Okay, then I can take you. You just had to explain to the officer last night’s events, and they'll ask you to recognize Rumlow and then we can-"

Mr. Barnes’s voice faded into the background when it finally hit you.

"You know what, I changed my mind. It's too much. I don't want to press charges anymore. I didn't think this through," you backtracked. You did think this through, but now all the factors were adding up in your brain. You'd have to explain the details to a cop who is probably going to be another man and a stranger, and then they'd ask you to identify the guy. You didn't think you had it in you to face him. At least not now. 

He interpreted your thought process and promptly changed the topic. "Okay, we can work with whatever you want, and at least let Peter escort you home after work."

"What? No!” You quickly declined.

“It's for your own safety,” Bucky tried to reason. He wasn't letting you get off this easily.

 “I'm a strong, independent woman and I'm not scared of anything.” 

That was a lie. You were scared of many things like heights, dark, spiders, confrontation and the list goes on and on. 

You remembered all the lectures your mom gave you telling you that women should be scared because men are monsters, and you'd lose your honor if you are reckless and some other patriarchal crap that you didn't pay attention to. But you weren't scared, you were just always careful. You'd always put the keys between your knuckles when you went home alone. In your previous job, you used to laugh it off whenever your coworkers made a sexist joke. You'd ignore the subtle shoulder touch that your previous boss did. You told yourself that this is what it takes to make it. If you were to run away every time someone eyed you in a wrong way, then you'd spend your whole life running. 

Women usually shrug this behavior off as it is what is, but the truth is it shouldn't be like this.

“Please, I insist.” 

“I'm very capable of taking care of myself. Just because one bad incident happened doesn't mean I'll fucking break!” You stated, your voice louder than your regular voice to get across your point.

That was also a lie. You were walking on a thin line and you were ignoring your emotions. You were one outburst away from a breakdown, and you just couldn't bring yourself to feel anything. 

Mr. Barnes tried to call your name, but you were already bolting out of his office. 

You needed a drink. No, fuck that. You needed multiple drinks. It wasn't exactly wise to get drunk during work, but it couldn't get any shittier than this, right?, you thought.

Right?

 Wrong. It could get way shittier than this. Now it was almost midnight, you were kind of tipsy, and you could see two Mr. Stark, your regular customer, in front of you. 

Did he have a twin? Is he and his twin brother one of those identical twins that dress up the same? Because that's what it looked like.

 “Earth to y/n," Mr. Stark said, or was it his twin? It was getting hard to keep track anymore.

 And that's when you noticed. 

“Holy, Shit. You're triplets, Mr. Stark," you announced. 

"Okay, kid, close my tab.”

“Hey, y/n. Are you okay?” Peter asked, noticing the concerned look Mr. Stark gave him before leaving.

“Yes, I'm fine. Absolutely fine.”

***

Turns out you were not fine. You've been pretty much hammered for the past week, and you could barely get a sentence out without giggling or slurring. Your colleagues took notice of your state and whenever someone pointed it out, you'd just shrug it off as a bad day or a bad week. There was no concept of time in your drunk state.

You couldn't concentrate on your book, you could barely look at someone without squinting, and you've been eating takeout and leftovers for the past few days. 

James would have fired if someone working under him was this irresponsible, but he knew your reasons. He knew you clearly weren't coping with the trauma well. Your work ethics were shoved down the trash that even Clint asked why you weren't fired yet.

Bucky didn't want to talk to you, he thought that maybe giving you some space would do you good, but clearly it wasn't working. Usually, the mob boss didn't interfere in the affairs of his employees, it was Clint's job, but when you smashed a bottle on the head of a customer, he had to interject.

“I TOLD THIS FUCKER NO!” you yelled, Peter’s hand around your middle from behind. Another empty beer bottle was in your hand, ready to be smashed across the face of the drunk dude in front of you.

Pietro and Wanda were enjoying the show. Peter, being the peace lover he is, held you back when you smashed a bottle across a drunk customer's face. Even though Peter was younger than you, he was stronger, and he was not only holding you back but also himself. He didn't want to cause a scene and that is why he was mulling comforting words in your ear like, he's not worth it, you're gonna kill this guy.

Damn right I am, you thought.

It was ironic because everyone in that club had killed someone except you.

When Bucky walked into the room, the drunk guy turned towards him and pointed at you. ”You are hiring crazy bitches now? Just called her baby girl and she went psycho!!!”

Bucky didn't understand what was happening. He told the security guards to take that man outside his club and he walked towards you. He firmly yet gently took a hold of your left arm, signaling Peter to let go of you. Without a word, he started walking in the direction of his office, dragging you along with him.

Once near his office, he lightly yanked your hand and shoved you inside, making you stand in front of him.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" he inquired, having had enough of your incompetence.

You were seething with rage. "Wrong with me? I told him no, but he didn't listen."

Bucky stepped forward, his anger dissipating into sympathy. " I know, he mumbled, "and I'm so-"

 "No, you don't know!" you yelled, body trembling and tears welling up in your eyes. "I told him no multiple times, I even tried to push him off me, but he just kept coming back."

Bucky's eyes furrowed in confusion. He didn't understand your words, the drunk customer didn't touch you. And that's when he realized, you weren't talking about the drunk customer. He cognized that the drunk guy purely triggered something that you've been suppressing for days now. Bucky was aware that you needed to get it out of your system to cope healthily.

“I told him no, you know? But he just wouldn't listen,” you stated, trying to convince yourself that you didn't lead him on. ”And he was so…. so strong and… and then he hit me and everything just went blur, I couldn't see but... but I could still feel him with me.”

Not realizing that you were not in that place anymore, you wrapped your hand around yourself to seek some sort of protection and comfort, bottom lip quivering, the welled up traitorous tears were streaming down your face and all you could think about was that night. 

“I… I can't get his touch out,” you stammered. ” I shower, multiple times a day, but I still can't get his touch out.”

With that, you broke down completely and shattered on the floor, sobbing ferociously. Your knees ached because of the position you were situated in, but the emotional pain was enough to overshadow the physical one.

For once in his lifetime, Bucky did not know what to do. Cautiously, he made his way towards you and knelt down in front of you. He did not know what to say or do to make you feel better.

You launched your body towards him, snaking your arms around his shoulder to settle on his neck as if he was the only thing grounding you. You lurched onto him like he was your anchor, and maybe he was. It took a minute for Bucky to register your actions, and when he did, he wrapped his arms around your middle and closed the minuscule distance separating you.

He surprised himself with the way one of his hands automatically reached for your hair and whispered words of comfort in your ear. He caught you as you crumpled physically and emotionally. 

”You're going to be okay, doll,” he whispered and kissed your temple with sincerity. ”I will make sure of that.”

The second part was barely audible, it wasn't meant for you, it was a promise he made to himself.

Bucky held you tightly yet gently while you sobbed on his shoulder.

 He didn't know how long he held you, it felt like an eternity to him with the way he could feel the guilt and rage inside him. When you passed out in his arms, he gently placed you on one of the comfortable couches in his office and draped a blanket around you that he had for when he would work late at night.

An office chair might not be the most ideal place to spend the night in, but it didn't matter to Bucky. All that mattered was you.

TAGS: @bananapipedreams​ @akkinda10​  @rivers-rambles21​  @emmabarnes​@goodcleanfunsis​ @valsworldofcreativity​

[whereisten]

Forever Yours

A Xiao Jun fic that’s part of our Halloween Series!

Summary: you’re a fallen angel that can’t find her way back to Heaven, and Xiao Jun, the one person that can help you, just can’t seem to remember things. This, however, doesn’t stop him from falling in love with you more and more each day.

Pairing: Angel!Reader X Café Owner!Xiao Jun (was an angel as well)

Genre: fluff, romance, angst

Warnings: brief mention of violence, Lucifer!Jaehyun, death mention, physical illness mention, religious themes (its not deep at ALL, just mentions of God and angels tbh, please do not take offense, this is just my personal perception).

Word Count: 6.1k

(A/N: thank you all again for taking the time to read and reblog our fics!! We appreciate all the support and are having a blast with these creations! I hope you like this one and come back tomorrow for the next one! Also, I am tired and did not proofread! Sorry🥺)

——————-

You fell through the sky hard and fast with one image in your mind.

The face of Jaehyun, God’s most beautiful angel. He had turned on you, on all of you. 

“Jaehyun?! Why have you betrayed us?!” You cried as he fought you at the edge of Heaven. His eyes displayed a deep shade of red that you hadn’t seen before.

You were one of God’s most faithful warriors and so was he, yet he had turned on God and the rest of you, starting war with his own dark angels at his side.

“Because they killed her, y/n! I loved her!” He said as he grabbed your arm and swung you over the edge.

He held your arm as you dangled from the edge.

With tears in your eyes. “Jaehyun..please, stop this, think of the rest of us, we are suffering.”

Jaehyun cried as well, the two of you had grown together like siblings. You never expected this day to come. The day when you watch your family be torn to pieces and thrown from the kingdom.

Jaehyun still held your arm in a tight grip as he debated whether or not he should let you go. 

“Please..Jaehyun. I love you, we all love you. God will forgive you.”

Jaehyun’s look of uncertainty turns to one of anger, he burns you with fire from his hands. “I do not seek forgiveness..Goodbye, y/n.”

He releases you and watches you fall through the sky, before turning back to continue the fight.

Your wings could not save you as you fell too fast, like a meteor. You couldn’t see anything but his face, you couldn’t feel anything but sadness as your heart broke.

You threw your arms about for something to grab, but you only grasped the thin structures of clouds as your world transitioned from that of Heaven and then to Earth.

You couldn’t call on God or any of the other angels. All you could do was fly down through the sky and hope for a safe landing.

You should’ve died by now, the fire created by your pummeling body should have decimated you, but you weren’t shunned out by God. You were being protected by them, for being relieved by them was the only way for you to perish completely.

And then it happened. You finally collided into Earth.

But you felt no pain as the blanket provided by God offered a soft cushion to your backside.

You sighed and relaxed into the ground. You retracted your wings and turned over to your side, holding your face as you cried yourself to sleep.

————

You squint your eyes as you feel slobber coat your face.

“Hello??” You slowly open them, only to see the long tongue of..a dog.

“Uhh..hi.” You hear a male voice say.

He was so stunned by your beauty, he didn’t tell his dog to stop kissing you. You laid there barefoot in a long white silk dress . Your skin glowed brightly as a strange aura rested around you. Gold specs decorated your skin as well, making it sparkle in the sunlight. Then he saw an imprint of a hand on your wrist.

You suddenly sat up straight, quickly wiped your face. “What is this?” A look of disgust crosses your face.

“Oh! Oh, um Bella! Stop that!” The male says to the dog and pats her behind.

You open your eyes finally. The sun is bright, not as bright as it was in Heaven but still too much for you sleepy eyes.

Then you see him and gasp.

“Xiao Jun?!” You blink rapidly.

“Wait..how do you know my name?”

You stumble to your feet. “You’re here! And your brows are still bushy as ever” you laughed out, but he stood there with a look of confusion on his face.

“I’m sorry I think you have mistaken me with someone else.”

“It’s not a coincidence that I would land here. God let me fall to you!” You were beyond happy to see him, someone that knew of the world you came from and this world as well.

“Listen, I have no clue what you’re talking about, but come with me, I’ll get you help.”

He turns to leave.

“Xiao Jun, it’s me! Y/n! We grew up together! We trained together, and then you..”

He turned back to you and gave you a frightening glare.

“Listen, somehow you’ve ended up in me and my roommates backyard..which is now..ruined like it’s been destroyed by a fire. I don’t know why you decided to set fire to our backyard then proceed to lay in it’s ashes, but I’m calling the cops.”

“What?” Your face fell. You turned to look behind you and saw that the yard had in fact been ruined by your landing.

But even more surprising was the fact that Xiao Jun didn’t remember you or have his angelic identity as he did when you knew him long ago.

And then, it all came back to you, the rumor of what happened to Angel Xiao Jun.

Xiao Jun was an angel like you, he was assigned to protect a human lady on Earth, but he couldn’t keep himself from falling in love with her. He fled Heaven just to be with her, leaving you and the other angels in shock.

God was anything but happy with Xiao Jun’s decision and decided to curse him by erasing his memory. Xiao Jun landed on Earth with his wings, but God took them away along with the vision God blessed all angels with. It was rumored that Xiao Jun essentially became a normal human. He didn’t remember his human love, his life as an angel, nor how to get back to heaven.

But if he couldn’t find his way back to Heaven, that meant you wouldn’t be able to either. 

If there was a way to get him to remember , he might be able to lead you back since he landed with his own free will.

“Hello? What are you staring at?” He waved a wand in your face to break you out of your daze.

“Xiao Jun..you have to remember.”

“That’s it..let’s go.” He shakes his head and takes you by the hand to lead you out of his yard.

“Hey! You can’t do this..I’m an—“

You hesitated, you were sworn to keep your identity as an angel hidden when dealing with humans. 

“A criminal that I’m going to press charges against? Yeah, I already knew that.”

“Xiao Jun! Please, let me explain..”

He still dragged you to what you believed was his car as you whined.

“I don’t want to hear it, you pyromaniac.”

His dog, Bella, followed behind the two of you, barking her head off as you were being dragged by him.

You can feel yourself start to lose energy, your health is failing because you are on Earth. God had ensured that all angels stayed angels by cursing them with multiple ways to breathe. Of course, you had the regular way of breathing through longs like the average human, then you had the premium way of breathing through your wings.

Your wings would start to lose their feathers and you would die a little more with each loss. 

You had to get back, you had to make him remember if you wanted to live.

“Xiao Jun!” You put your feet down, and made yourself as heavy as stone.

He nearly fell backwards as he stopped and turned to you. “What the-“

“You leave me no choice..go to sleep.”

Xiao Jun scoffed. “This lady..listen, I’m not gonna—“ his eyes close suddenly as he starts to fall to the floor.

You quickly dipped down and held him in your arms.

Bella wouldn’t stop barking at the sight of her owner helpless and in the arms of some strange woman.

“Bella..I’m sorry, but you must go to sleep too.” You snapped your finger and watched as she whimpered quietly then laid down on her side.

“Good dog.”

You turned back to Xiao Jun. He was gorgeous, even in his human form. He was still beautiful with high cheekbones and the nicest eyes you had ever seen, they were deep and commanding. He was one of God’s greatest warriors as well, but then love took over. 

You laid him down on the floor gently.

“Xiao Jun..please..think of your journey to Earth..how did you get here? At what point on Earth can I access the gate? Please remember..” you whispered quietly.

“He came out of his mom, so no, I don’t think you can access the gate.” Another male voice spoke.

You stood up quickly and turned to him. A tall gentleman stood at the front door and raised his bat.

“What the hell are you doing to him and our dog?”

You shook your head. “I don’t want to do this to you too..please just go.”

“I’m not going anywhere, the police are on their way.”

Your eyes widened. You didn’t have much time, you had to get him to remember.

You dropped back to your knees and raised your hands over his head while closing your eyes. 

The other man’s eyes grew as he watched strange blue and white lights apart from your fingertips as they hovered over his head.

“Hey! Hey stop that right now!”

“Lucas! Go to sleep!”

You called out.

“Wait, how do you know my-“ the tall figure fell to the floor in a loud clunk.

You tried to see Xiao Jun’s memories, but you got nothing, they only went back so far. You couldn’t find his childhood memories, you couldn’t find the moment he woke up here, nothing was clear other than the fact that God was making this incredibly difficult for you.

But you had to prove yourself worthy of your return anyway, you wouldn’t stop.

You released all three from their sleep spells right after fleeing the scene before police arrived.

Xiao Jun and Lucas were both confused when they woke up. And when asked about the woman by police, they said they didn’t know what happened or where you went.

The police got upset and left.

That night, you tried to influence Xiao Jun’s dreams by inputting your own memories of Heaven. You laid under his bed and made sure to make yourself invisible to his dog. You raised your hands and started to manipulate his dreams as he snored.

Beautiful, majestic images flooded his brain as he dreamt. He saw what you had seen. All of the angels roaming about, speaking and laughing with each other as you enjoyed your time together. You started to cry as you saw the wonderful images of your family. You wondered what had happened to them and if they were okay, you hoped that the demons led by Jaehyun didn’t win.

———

[The Next Day]

Xiao Jun arose and went to work. He owned a café not too far from his home. 

But as he drove he couldn't stop thinking about you. How beautiful and dangerous you were. He wondered where you had gone and what you had done to make him go to sleep.

And his dreams, why were they so vivid and pretty? What was this place he dreamt of because surely he had never been to it?

He shook his thoughts off and turned his car off.

His day went on as it usually did. He served up cupcakes and biscuits with a smile.

You watched from a cloud above as he smiled at his visitors. He truly enjoyed his job and you liked that, you liked that he was attentive to everyone’s needs. Even those of the old citizens that just wanted a little more sugar in their coffee or a napkin.

You winced in pain, holding your wrist as Jaehyun’s burn mark remained bright on your skin. It was ingrained into it, like you had been stamped with a hot iron.

That wasn't the only source of your pain. You were growing weaker and to even fly to this low cloud was a chore. Your wings weren’t as efficient, you found yourself using up too much of your power to raise your body onto the cloud.

Around lunchtime when he had a break, you came back down and entered. You floated through a department store before, grabbing a large brown coat and a hat to wear over your dress. You also slipped on a pair of loafers and begged for God’s forgiveness as you manipulated the camera footage as well as the vision of the cashiers to steal without detection.

You sat down at the table he sat at while he sipped a coffee from a mug and scrolled on his phone.

He furrowed his brows and looked up at you. 

“I’m taking a break, ma’am.” He said annoyingly.

“Do you remember anything?” You raise your head slowly.

Xiao Jun puts his mug down and stands up.

“What..what are you doing here? Why are you stalking me?”

You take your hat off, revealing your sad expression and wide eyes.

“I will not put you to sleep again if you just talk to me, Xiao Jun.”

He shakes his head. “I’m calling the police.” 

“No!” You stand up and the place shakes violently. Cups clink against each other and sway back and forth, threatening to fall from the high counter tops.

He looks around in terror. “Okay, fine, what do you want from me?!”

“I need you to remember.”

“Well, I don’t, okay? I don’t know where I can from, I was adopted. I was thrown away like a piece of crap by my mother and raised by someone else. That’s all I remember! Now, get out!”

He pointed to the door, causing the café visitors to gasp. They never saw the owner get like this.

He was telling the truth, he was confused and didn’t know what you were talking about and why you were pressuring him to remember things he tried to forget. 

You nodded and accepted defeat.

So you got up and left, but you still didn’t give up.

———

[A Few Days Later]

You tried to adopt human life until you could get back.

You felt sick on most days, but tried your best to power through your pain.

You slept on the clouds and showered in waterfalls. You continued to steal clothes and shoes. Luckily, you didn’t need to eat. Instead, you’d walk around and secretly help those that needed it. For instance, you guided an old couple crossing the street, or you’d sneak some candy to a child that cried because they’d drop their lollipop.

You also did your best to heal anyone with minor health issues like the flu that you passed by. With your vision, you could see weak hearts or pulses, and to those people, you’d touch them briefly to provide a helpful spark.

Watching Earth from above and being on it were two completely different things. It wasn’t pretty and not many people were nice. There’s so much heartache and pain. It reminded you of why it is so important for you to get back and help the other angels. They must’ve been suffering right now as the humans were because of the war between good and evil.

You visited Xiao Jun once again.

He sighed as he walked over to the table you sat at while reading a book. 

And once again, you looked unbelievably beautiful. Your hair shined brightly in the sun and the aura around you never left. He somewhat believed you were otherworldly.

He raised his eyebrows. “You know, if you weren’t a weird stalker, I’d probably ask you out..”

He sat down across from you.

You smiled then put your book down.

“Who was your first love?”

Xiao Jun cackled. 

You thought maybe if he remembered WHO he fled heaven for, there’d be a chance he’d remember everything. 

“Uh..that’s a weird question, but once again, what can I expect from you..hmm..how about I ask the questions today..”

He tilts his head and points to himself.

You cough into your hands, when you look down into your palm, you see black blood. Your health was quickly deteriorating, you were giving too much of your power up by helping others while being away from heaven for so long.

You quickly grabbed your napkin and wiped it before he could see.

“Go ahead.” You nod.

He smiled and you felt your chest weaken. Why were you, an angel, feeling such childish things?

“Who are you? Where are you from?”

“My name is y/n..I’m from H—Hawaii.”

“What do you do for a living miss y/n?” He looks on you sternly.

“I save people..Um like a..like a nurse!” You grinned

“Okay, so you’ll be able to pay for the damages to my yard right?” 

Your smile fell.

Xiao Jun still smiled widely. “That’s what I thought.” He got up and walked back to the kitchen.

“Xiao Jun, we might as well be friends, I mean, I don’t have anyone..”

He stopped in his tracks and turned to you slowly, he glanced down at your wrist.

“What do you mean you don’t have anyone?” 

Quickly. You had to come up with a story, quickly.

“I-I came here to start over, I need help.”

He stepped closer to you. “Y/n..did someone hurt you?”

His eyes were sincere, you hoped once again that God would forgive you for lying.

You nodded slowly.

Xiao Jun sighed. He thought it was strange that you just popped up in his yard, but then he thought maybe you were fleeing from someone, maybe you really did need help. And he was just too kind. In an instant, he felt the urge to protect you. He didn’t know why he was like that, even though it had proven time and time again to only hurt him in the end. He was loyal and kind to the wrong people, people that took advantage of him.

“Luckily for you, Lucas is moving out this weekend so..I have an empty room in the house.”

Your eyes grew large. He swore he could see specks of silver in them, you were an anomaly in front of his eyes. There was something so indescribable yet familiar about you.

“Does that mean-?!”

“Yes...yes, strange woman, you can stay with me.. But only until you find a place of your own! I’ll give you three months to get it together.” He turned from you and headed to the back again, leaving you a jumping ball of excitement in the center of his cafe.

“Yes! Yes! Yes! I can work for you here too if you’d like!”

“No!” He quickly shouted out from the kitchen. 

You laughed and smiled to yourself.

You were happy to get closer to him, but you knew that you didn’t have three months. You’d be dead by then.

You had to get him to remember his one true love.

———

[1 Month Later]

You turned to look at yourself in the mirror of your bathroom, you released your wings. They weren’t as bright and full as they should’ve been, every day you lost feathers and every day Xiao Jun would curse as he found them on his floor.

“Where do they keep coming from?!” He said from the living room.

You stepped down the stairs in a large t shirt and shorts. “I’m sorry, I think I must’ve broken a pillow or something.”

Xiao Jun threw his head back and flailed his arms.

“How in the WORLD do you break a pillow?!”

You laughed as he made a big deal out of everything like he usually did. But you missed the last step on the stairs. You fell forward and was about to save yourself, but Xiao Jun quickly grabbed your arms and held you on him to stabilize you.

Time moved in slow motion as you gazed at each other. You had never been this close before and Xiao Jun smelled your hair. You smelled like peppermint. But your skin, it felt incredibly smooth and cool, like the finest silk in the world.

“Oh..thank you.”

You stood up straight and waited for him to remove his arms, but he didn’t. His fox-like eyes stared at your lips.

You stared at his as well and swallowed hard.. oh, how you wanted to feel his lips on yours.

But you needed to cough, you quickly brushed his hands off and ran to the downstairs bathroom.

You coughed loudly, uncontrollably.

Black blood splattered across the sink. 

“Are you okay?!” He yelled as he ran after you.

You looked up at the mirror and saw a black stream escaping out of your nostril.

You quickly washed your face. He swung the door open right after.

“Are you alright? That doesn’t sound good, we should go to the doctor.”

‘We.’

Xiao Jun was so caring, he still retained some of his angelic qualities.

You pat your face dry and look away from him. “I’m fine, it’s just a..cough.”

He still looked worried. “How do you feel? Is there anything you want?”

I don’t know, I want so much, but more than anything right now, I want to kiss you.

That is what you wanted to say, but you couldn’t.

“Xiao Jun..I promise, I’m fine.” You left the restroom sadly. 

He stood there in the doorway and looked at the sink, noting how a singular drop of strange black liquid rested on the counter.

———

[1 Week Later]

You sat and watched movies on the couch while waiting for Xiao Jun to come back home from work.

When he got home, he plopped down on the couch and sat beside you. “Whatcha watching?”

He got comfortable as you pulled your legs up to your chest to make space for him.

He pat his thighs. “Put them here.”

“Ehhh it’s called Nightmare on Elm Street, it’s pretty boring though.”

You stretched your leg back out and placed your feet on him.

“Pretty boring? This is one of the greatest horror films of all time!”

“And what’s so great about it?” You turned to him with a smirk, waiting for him to make a dramatic argument.

When you finished watching him speak softly as he explained it to you, you fell asleep.

He watched you in your peaceful state. You still looked perfect and precious, your long lashes darting across your cheeks and your lips perfectly pursed.

He smiled to himself.

You coughed a few times, but still slept.

He always noticed your persistent cough, but whenever he asked you about it, you brushed him off and changed the subject.

———

As days went by, you did your best to help Xiao Jun remember her, but he couldn’t. You tapped into his memories once again, but couldn’t gain a clear picture of who he was. He was the only one that knew deep down.

Your hope started to fade as your health did. Why didn’t any of the angels come down to retrieve you? Why did you feel alone?

Bella came up to you as you sat at a desk in your room and thought about what to do.

She rested her head on your thigh and looked up at you with big brown eyes.

You put your hand on her head and out of curiosity, you got into her mind and saw her memories as well.

You closed your eyes and saw images of her dog food, Lucas petting her or throwing a toy to her, and then her memories with Xiao Jun.

He was laughing and smiling as he let her. He walked with her on the beach, or through the neighborhood, he’d cuddle her. He looked so happy. Then you saw a memory that troubled your heart.

It was of Xiao Jun sitting on the bathroom floor and holding his head in his hands, he was sobbing. Something had hurt him deeply and Bella was the only one to see it.

You wondered what it was that made him like that.

When you let go of Bella’s head, you got up and looked for Xiao Jun.

“Hmmm..where is he?”

Bella led you outside.

Xiao Jun laid on the grass, snacking on an apple as he hummed a tune to himself and watched the stars above.

You laid down beside him.

A moment of silence rested between the two of you.

“Xiao Jun..what is it that makes you hurt?”

He chuckles. “A ruined backyard.”

Your face grew into a smile. You turned over on your side. “No, seriously. Tell me.”

He looked down at you and blushed. He couldn’t help himself. Everything you did was cute to him, from the way your eyes grew when you got excited to the way you pouted when he didn’t answer your nagging questions.

He swallowed hard and thought of your question. 

His face grew more serious. “I don’t remember much..my memory..it’s so bad..”

You knew exactly why.

“But I remember the feeling of disparity, heartache, and just pure pain. It feels like I’ve lost something, but I don’t know what it is. Some days..the pain is so unbearable, all I can do is cry.” He looks back up to the sky.

“Thank you for being honest with me, Xiao Jun. you know, living with you isn't that bad.”

He turns over to look at you as you watch the night sky. The stars dazzle in your eyes.

“Well, it sounds like you’re getting too comfortable. What can I do to make it bad enough for you to leave?” He laughs.

You laugh as well and shake your head. “I don’t know, you can start off with not looking as good as you always do.”

“You think I look good?” He put his chin in his hand and raised his brows.

“Of course, you look wonderful..” you felt your face become warm.

He leaned over you as you laughed. You stared at his lips and waited for the moment. You knew it was coming and you wanted it more than ever. He kissed you.

You felt something new in your body. A spark of energy ran through you as he caressed your lips with his.

You closed your eyes and kissed him back softly before raising yourself up on your elbows to get closer to him.

He holds your face in his hand and rubs his thumb over your cheek.

He turned his head as he deepened the kiss and enjoyed every moment. Your smell, your taste, your warmth. It was refreshing and made him feel like he was vacationing on the beach somewhere. You felt unreal, his mind went blank as he felt a strong breeze against his face. He saw sunshine and clouds, he felt silk on his thumb and joy in his veins.

And when he pulled away to breathe, he placed his forehead on yours. Both of you still close your eyes and breathe heavily.

Everything feels good and fuzzy, you feel love towards him and don’t want to stop.

Then you feel it again. You quickly turn to your side to avoid coughing up black stuff on him.

“I’m sorry.” You croak out. Your happy feeling fades as reality sets in. You’re dying. You can’t do this to him, you can’t fall in love and leave.

So you stand up and lick your lips. “I’m sorry Xiao Jun, but we can’t.”

He opens his mouth to protest but you turn away and walk into the house quickly.

———

[Two Weeks Later]

You take another look at your wings. There are almost no more feathers left. You break down in tears in the bathroom.

Your time with Xiao Jun had been wonderful, even since that night. He taught you how to roller skate, you went to the dog park on the weekends and you even got to try alcohol for the very first time with him.

There were many stolen glances and moments of admiration, but there was nothing official and you didn’t allow for another kiss even though he wanted it so badly.

Then one day, Xiao Jun is frozen in his tracks. She’s there, the woman of dreams. He feels a pull to her that is undeniable.

You walk into the cafe just as Xiao Jun begins to speak to her. You notice that change in his facial expression, the way that he is just so happy to be looking at this woman, and it clicks, for something changes in the air.

“That’s her..” you say to yourself quietly.

You feel jealousy, and it’s not good. How can an angel have any sense of that in their heart? Maybe you weren’t worthy of being an angel anymore.

Maybe you had lost your way. You should be excited, this meant that he could possibly remember everything.

Xiao Jun doesn’t notice you so you walk out of the café and head home.

You flew through the sky, dipping into it as you struggled to hold yourself up. Why were you crying? He was happy, as he should be. 

Once Xiao Jun gets home, he has the biggest smile on his face. “I met the loveliest woman today!” He yells out to you.

“I know..I saw her.”

“She’s beautiful! She gave me her number and told me she’ll be back tomorrow!”

“That’s great to hear..because..”

“Because what?” Xiao Jun sits next to you at the table.

“I have something to tell you, Xiao Jun.”

“Go ahead.” 

“I am..an angel. That day when you found me..I had fallen, or well, been thrown from Heaven. I lost my way, I needed you to take me back.”

Xiao Jun can’t hold back his laughter. “Ahhh you’re funny.”

“I’m serious...the girl that you met today..she’s the one you were assigned to protect when you were an angel too.”

“Stop it, you sound crazy.”

“You were an angel,  Xiao Jun, that’s why you can’t remember anything. You left heaven for her and God cursed you by removing your memory of everything, including her.”

He stands up from the couch. “How dare you insult me for my memory loss by creating such ridiculous stories.”

“I wish it was just a story, but it’s not.”

He starts to walk away. “This is bullshit!”

You release your things wings, causing a swooshing sound to enter the house.

He turns and looks back at you. His eyes widen when he sees your nearly empty wings, bones expand from your body as feathers dangle loosely and in sparse areas.

“This is the only way for me to prove that I am telling you the truth..”

“I-what are you.?” He says with fear in his eyes.

“Xiao Jun, if you can remember how you got here, you can help me get back. Or I’ll die..please.” You step forward and hold your hand out.

“This is crazy!” He backs away, running out as you stand there with tears in your eyes.

———

[1 Month Later]

You lay alone and gasp for air, taking your final breaths.

Things never worked out with Xiao Jun, you terrified him with the truth and ran away shortly after. You no longer lived with him, you slept in an abandoned cabin and went back to showering in waterfalls.

You hoped that he would remember everything now that she sparked love in his heart, but you were wrong and now you were left to die a fallen angel, cold and alone.

“God..please forgive me for failing you..I call on you..in my most desperate time of need, oh God.”

Your eyes close and everything fades.

Xiao Jun was now dating his first love and one night, he dreamt of everything, with some strange and possibly Godly intervention, he saw his past. He remembered everything. 

He woke up and knew he had to find you, for he knew of the gate and where it was.

He searched in his backyard for you and found nothing. He looked all over town, nothing.

Then, one day, something drew him to a particular point in town.  He furrowed his brows as he drove and looked everywhere for you.

“Ahhhh..Xiao Jun, long time no see.”

Xiao Jun nearly drove off the road when a voice spoke out from his back seat. He hadn’t noticed that someone was there. He looked into the rear view mirror.

“What the?!..who are you?!”

“Come on, Xiao Jun, I know you remember me now. Who do you think gave you your memories back?”

“Winwin?” He quickly turned to him.

Winwin nodded.

“Yeah..it took you long enough.”

“Where is she?”

“Oh, I know where she is, but God has kept me from telling you where she is..” Winwin looks out the window.

Xiao Jun scoffs. “That’s ridiculous! Tell me where she is so she can live!”

He starts to drive faster.

“It is not God’s will for you to hear it from me.” Winwin says smoothly and shrugs his shoulders.

“Okay, first of all, why are you here then? And also, tell God they can f-“ 

Xiao Jun is interrupted by a random lightning strike just a few feet from his car.

He grasps the steering wheel as the car spins and becomes unbalanced.

Winwin only chuckles. “Oh, God did not like your tone.”

Xiao Jun finally straightens up on the road and turns back to Winwin with a frustrated look.

“A little birdy tells me her time is almost up.” Winwin nods his head slightly to the right then disappears.

Xiao Jun glances to his right and sees an advertisement for the local bird sanctuary.

“A little birdy...that bastard.”

———

Xiao Jun finally finds you in the center of the sanctuary. Your wings are out and completely featherless.

“Y/n..” he shakes you gently. 

Birds fly over his head as he tries to wake you up.

“Please...God..please save her.” Xiao Jun begins to cry. He wished he had believed you, he wished he could just see your smile one more time. “I am so sorry, y/n..please forgive me.” He cries harder and rocks your body back and forth in his arms.

“Oh, Xiao Jun, this is what happens when you leave the kingdom..God has given you two options.”

He is startled by the voice and looks around for the source of the cool, low voice.

And there he is. Winwin sits on a tree branch and watches him below.

“God said to tell you to choose between staying here and living with your lover but watch y/n die, or come back to the kingdom and bring y/n..you can never leave again.”

Xiao Jun scoffs, how could God be so cruel?

“Winwin, I messed up, please take her back with you.”

Winwin flies down the two of you and lifts your arm, but it’s as heavy as stone, you can’t be moved by him.

“As you can see..it is not God’s will for me to take her back.” Winwin steps back.

“What will you decide, Xiao Jun?”

———-

You peel your eyes open as someone delicately taps your forehead with a wet cloth. You expect to see the dull world you were just in, but instead you see beautiful skylines and specs of gold in the air. You hear the singing of angels, and smell peppermint mixed with rosemary.. You’re back home.

You sit up straight, you can feel that you’ve healed a little bit.

“What happened?”

“He brought you back, y/n.”

“Who did?” You furrow your brows.

“I forgot how beautiful it is here.” A voice from beside you speaks out. You didn’t notice there was a body beside you on the recovery bed. Then you saw Bella jumping around at the foot of the floating bed.

You look over to see Xiao Jun and without much more thought, you smile widely and pull him into a strong embrace.

“Xiao Jun?!”

You look at him with his full set of gold wings and wide smile.

“What happened?”

“I remembered everything, then God gave me two options.” He still smiled while he looked at your bright face.

Your smile fell as you searched his eyes.

“No..” you said quietly. You knew him being here meant that he couldn’t be with her, his first love.

So why did he choose to be with you?

Xiao Jun nodded.

“I liked her..don’t get me wrong..but I-“

He hesitated while he looked deep into your beautiful eyes.

“I love you.”

Your mouth rose again into the sweetest smile he had seen.

The two of you lived in the kingdom, protecting and healing others together. You’d watch more scary movies and roller skate on the clouds.

And when the sun set real low, you made magical love in the clouds.

Xiao Jun kissed your cheek as you cuddled and watched the sun rise for Earth below. His wings encapsulated around your body, keeping you warm.

“I’m forever yours.”

Come back tomorrow for the next spooky story...

[spacegoatart]

i haven’t officially posted my own treasure planet headcanons, so that's what this is! some of this might be ooc but i don't really care because they are fun to think about, so yeah, enjoy!

this is gonna be long so i’m gonna put it under a keep reading

it makes me so sad that they supposedly don’t keep in touch at the end of the movie, so that's where headcanons come in. Jim and Silver went thru WAY too much to not keep in touch, Silver couldn’t leave Morph without being able to see him again either (Silver literally refers to himself as Morphs ‘dad’ in one scene!!) they at least send letters or have some sort of burner phone, with Silver being a wanted criminal and all. for a while they probably just sent letters, Jim talking about the academy and Silver sending little gifts from his escapades such as a lava rock or an especially interesting coin. Jim keeps all the gifts in a box, along with the letters but if he feels especially attached to a gift, he’ll set it on his window sill of on the rim of his mirror. as much as I like the idea of Jim getting Silver a jitterbug/ladybug, realistically Silver would be the one to set the idea into motion. Jim gets a larger gift and its a little phone, made of parts that Silver could scrap together (or on he found in a shop on a traders planet), he immediately sets it up and texts Silver. it was really nice for them to talk in real time and were probably already discussing the idea, even though Silver could get caught, so Jim was really excited about it. Jim now keeps Silver updated on life events and Silver calls every now and then to tell Jim about his travels. Silver hasn’t quite figured out how to send photos but once he does, he starts sending some everyday (including some hilarious selfies, akin to what a dad would post on Facebook).

Silver absolutely visits, for a while it was very, very scarce because he was still wanted but was sneaky enough to come and see Jim every few months. he comes and hangs out at the inn for a few days while his crew is out at bars or stocking up on items for their next adventure, as well as they know better than to fight their captain on his decisions. during these visits, Silver tells Jim (and anyone brave enough to sit near them) stories about what he had seen, creatures he had encountered and wonders they had discovered. Jim tells Silver about his time at the academy, new friends he’s made and what he’s learning, including some complicated stuff. sometimes Jim even get so into it, he brings out a textbook to express his point. while Silver is pretty smart, he has no idea what Jim is talking about (because its usually math and obscure facts) and usually just smiles and nods as Jim rambles. (lol this may be me projecting my ADHD onto Jim but i have the feeling he info dumps to people hes comfortable with)

speaking of the academy, i think despite all the combat training and captaining that Jim is learning, i think Jim would be really interested in math. like a surprising amount. it would probably be difficult to start off but once he did, hoo boy he could not stop. there were some hurdles he had to face but eventually he landed in a pretty advanced math course (not the highest but still pretty up there, maybe like calculus or applied mathematics). knowing some math was important as a captain, having to deal with probability on a ship in the Etherium, but Jim was fascinated by numbers and the way they made up the world. i think he would be really interested in physics or theoretical stuff, which is difficult but i think he could do it. he probably uses his previous experiences in space to help him visualize the math, which helps a lot.

the first time Silver came to the inn, Jim practically tackled him. which was no big deal since he’s almost double Jim’s size, Silver was more worried about Sarah and what she thought of him being a pirate and all. Jim assured him that everything was ok and he asked her but Silver still felt a bit nervous. he felt like he was intruding on her territory. but while Jim had run upstairs for something and Silver stood sheepishly in the doorway, Sarah came over with a smile on her face and shook his hand. he wasn’t expecting that at all, he was more ready for a glare from the kitchen or even a talk about ground rules. Sarah talked to him about how excited Jim was (she was also kind of excited, she had met plenty of pirates and was almost as fascinated as Jim was) and how she was grateful for Silver staying in her sons life. Silver felt much more comfortable after that and they started talking too, (not sure if it would be romantic or not, it would be cute but i love them just being friends as well) they became pretty good friends. Jim loved it, even if they weren’t married or Silver wasn’t biologically related to him, he felt like he had a full family again. when Jim was busy or sleeping, Sarah and Silver would chat over coffee or in the kitchen while Sarah cooked, Silver helping. Sarah would probably rope Silver into helping her at the inn once she learns he can cook and he kind of falls into a routine. come see Jim, hang out, when Jim is busy/out, go put on an apron.

(this one is 100% projecting lol) this is a pretty loose hc, especially since it started as a joke but now i really like it. i think Jim, as well as Silver, is transgender. Jim wasn’t really expecting Silver to be trans, as are most (he passes super well lmao). i mean, many pirates were gay, why can’t space faring ones be trans? hell, Silvers crew probably has a slew of queer folk among them, if not all of them being some sort of LGBT. body modification looks like a regular thing in their world, so i think Silver has already had top surgery, whether he was planning to or not. by that i mean that i think Silver could have been injured, woke up and found that something was missing. worried he may have become more cyborg, he checked, winced and found that bandages had been bound around his chest. ‘well that's out of the way’. despite not wanting to be vulnerable around his crew, most of them if not all of them know he’s trans since most of them didn’t see it as some sort of weakness, it was just who you were. (if ya’ll are interested, i have some crew hcs like gender and sexuality but this post is mainly about Jim, Silver and Sarah)

(continuation of the trans hc) when Jim came out to Silver, there’s a moment of silence between them. in Jim’s head it was awkward, but in Silver’s, things started clicking. Jim was worried Silver didn’t understand and quickly explain but Silver comforted him, and explained that he understood. Jim was the confused one now and Silver quickly cleared that up, explaining that he too was trans. Jim was relieved, confused and surprised. he hadn’t expected that outcome but that wasn’t bad, if anything he thought it was cool. he had more in common with his adoptee-dad than he had thought. Silver now makes sure to emphasis his compliments when Jim is working, hoping to boost Jim’s ego and make him feel better. it works and Jim feels even more comfortable in his own skin. (i have another part about Silver taking Jim to get top surgery but they would need Sarah’s permission first, not that she’d say no but Silver doesn’t want to encounter her wrath xD)

i’d like to think that Silver takes Jim up on his ship, not for plundering but just to sail around. the new crew had already seen Silver in action and decided nobody wanted to question him about Jim, especially since he was causing any trouble. eventually Jim couldn’t really visit Silvers ship anymore, being a Navy officer and all but that was ok, Silver still came to the inn and Jim had his own ship/s.

Silver knows all the drama around town, mostly because Sarah hears it fro customers and then gossips to Silver about it. Silver will come in, say hello and she’ll start, he’ll probably respond with something like ‘no way, they did that?’ and then he’d listen as she worked.

when talking to Jim, Silver refers to Sarah as ‘ma’ and Sarah starts referring to Silver as ‘dad’ since they have become Jim’s collective parents, and it doesn’t bother either of them.

after Jim lets Silver get away at the end of the movie, Silver stays on his own for a while, though no one knew that. he got a larger boat, just big enough for him and he wandered planets, drifted through space, just thinking. he wasn’t sure what to do next, he was a wanted man but he also had no crew. the thought of settling down passed in his mind but he couldn’t bring himself to do it, he was comfortable in the Etherium, he would get cabin fever after a week. so he continued being a pirate, it was rough work but he loved being among the stars, exploring the galaxy. Jim knew this and didn’t want to push Silver to stay at the inn for a long amount of time but they still made it work.

Silver has little experience with children, having none of his own until Jim (i’ve seen people give Silver children as his backstory but he doesn’t strike me as that kind of guy, not that he wouldn’t want kids but he’d have to choose between family life or pirates life. that's too much for him.) the most experience Silver had was with helping people at port and with his crew, anyone young enough to need guidance and smart enough to listen.

Silver loves music but really only know sea shanties, drinking songs and some old folk music, but he can still be found singing with his crew and humming while he’s working. Jim on the other hand listens to a lot of music, especially after treasure planet. (this is assuming they have all the music we have xD) he listened to brooding teenage music before, like Teenage Dirtbag or bands likes Greenday, but now he has a few shanties on his list as well, plus some classical music for when he’s studying or relaxing. he also listens to ABBA, either because he just likes them or because his mom plays them in the inn.

Jim, Sarah and Silver have way more pictures of each other now. the inn now has multiple family photos with Silver included, Jim has a framed image of the three of them and Silver has a little scrapbook. it’s the only thing he’s ok with having on his ship, still worried about being seen as ‘soft’ (even if he is a big softie and everyone knows it).

Silver usually wears a pretty simple working outfit with his nice coat and hat but when he does want to look nice, holy shit does he do it well. sometimes when he’s dressed up he wonders why he doesn’t do it more often just for fun but then he thinks of the countless times he’s had to throw out shirts stained with blood. he would never let that happen to his nice clothes.

i really like the idea that if things had been different, Sarah Hawkins would have been a pirate, and a damn good one at that. maybe she wasn’t in this life but that doesn’t stop the occasional daydream and questions to Silver about his lifestyle. he offers to take her on his boat when he takes Jim and she hesitates but says yes in the end. Jim definitely didn’t get his wanderlust spirit from Leland. (this is a little ooc for Silver but not for Sarah, i 100% believe she would be a pirate) maybe after Jim joins the Navy, he buys a small boat, big enough for him and his mom and they go on trips where they just enjoy the Etherium.

you cannot tell me that the second Silver was out of earshot on the long boat that he didn’t cry his eyes out. motherfucker may know how to hide his feelings but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have them, he’s a sucker and he knows it. when he gets more comfortable around Jim and Sarah, he finds himself getting way more tearful from touchy feely stuff. Morph being cute? sobbing. Jim called him dad? waterworks. literally anything that tugs on his heartstrings? has to go to his cabin to cry his eyes out. the first time Jim and Silver met up again, they both just started sobbing.

Silver, Jim too probably, has PTSD (sorry if i get anything wrong, i’m not sure what else to call it) to an extent. it isn’t intense to the point that he gets overwhelmed with emotions and has flashbacks (unless it has to do with his missing limbs) but he does have some nightmares and prepares for the worst in most scenarios. Jim has to remind him that the bang at the door wasn’t pirates, it was just a unruly customer and that the silhouette he saw outside was just a passing ship, not canon fire. Silver apologizes every time, despite not doing anything but switch to his sword and brace but he can’t help but feel bad for worrying them. i can’t imagine the kind of terrors he has about loosing his limbs.

Silver, when he detaches his arm, will forget he only has one hand. sort of like that video with the astronaut back on Earth, but instead of gravity, he keeps handing stuff to his cyborg hand, dropping the item and they being confused when he can’t find whatever he had. he’s just so used to it by now, he’ll even gesture with his missing hand and not realize he can’t convey what he’s doing. Jim has been asked to hand his stuff, Silver will try to grab it without look and ask Jim why he didn’t hand it to him. Jim has to remind him that he doesn’t have his cyborg arm, leaving Silver apologizing. its always lighthearted between them and they joke about it but Jim knows Silver is still bothered by it a little.

[we-dragons]

I'm from a different dimension actually Chapter 8 Damian x reader

The school is shut down for a week ironically because of an attack by The Joker and Two-Face, that Robin and his team took down. The teachers sent out a notice with homework attached and told us to stay inside. Nightmare came back somewhere in the morning I couldn't tell the time because I apparently fell asleep along with Boy Wonder before the end of season 1 of The Highlander. I gently placed him down on the couch, gotten dressed, and made some breakfast, I only had eggs so I made some scrambled and put them on a plate for him and me. Nightmare got the last of the bacon. I put a plate over Robins while I ate mine sitting at the small table in the kitchen going over my homework. Sadly I finished my homework before my eggs and they have gone cold. I silently morn my eggs eating the cold carcass. "You stare any harder at that screen and you might break it." I jump, my head shoots upwards and I sigh, but then my eyes drop on my cat. My jaw drops the furball is purring in the arms of a masked stranger who is petting his head. Robin was petting my cat holding him like a baby and the demon is purring. Robin still had his eyes, and limbs not even a bite mark was seen on his skin.

"You traitor, you barely know him." I playful scold the feline, he meows nuzzling his face in Robin's chest.

"Your monster seems friendly."

"Nightmare looks like he's been introduced to catnip."

"Just a few scratches here and there." He smirks taking a seat next to me."Thank you for breakfast."

"Mhm." I turn back to the screen, "Will you be going back today Robin?"

"I might."

"Hmm." I finish the last problem for today closing the device, "Well I have to go to work, your welcome to stay if you want." I smooth out my clothes tossing one last look at the melting ball of fur. I quirk an eyebrow but move out to the door. I stop Halfway through the doorway and look back putting on my meanest face. "If you break a single window in my home I will find where ever you are and break you. Bye Nightmare, love you, I'll be back in a few hours."

_____________________________________________________________

"Nightmare! I'm back!" my keys skitter across the floor but no black fur is seen. He's still in the arms of Robin though it's not Robin, Green eyes. My stomach sinks and my mouth goes dry. "Damian?" His is just as much shock as me, he puts down Nightmare and rushes to me the door slams behind me. And I'm being dragged then forced to sit, his hands grip my shoulders. "Your early, why did you arrive early, you not supposed to be back for another half hour." I hardly heard him, I scold myself now realizing the obvious. Why else would Nightmare feel comfortable around him he had been here before multiple times noticed how I treated Damian and that's why he was a purring mess in his arms. I said be nice to him when he was over not Robin, but of course, they smell the same Nightmare associated with both people. I should have spotted it sooner, the voice, the height, the tone of his speech. Dear God, I can mom telling how oblivious, like she did when she won Clue. It was right there, he asked the right question and baited me for answers. I don't know why this is a shock to me. Now that I think of it I have to stop myself from laughing

"What the hell," my voice quivers. "Damian, Damian Wayne. You help Gotham." I start snickering, pulling my hand over my face. I throw my head back laughing then fall over to the side. "Nightmare you knew didn't you! Haha, that's why you were you were melting like butter."

"Your laughing!"

"Did you assume I wouldn't!" I wheeze, my breath nearly coming out to form words. "I can imagine you fighting, but saving people that's something else entirely."

"Do you think so little of me?" He sounds disappointed.

"I don't mean it to offend you but what else can I say. I didn't expect this." I sit up, clearing my throat and looking him dead in the eye. "Can I just call you Damian now, or do I still have to you different names."

"Why aren't you more surprised?"I Smile sadly.

"I thought you would have read up on me, do you know who killed my parents that day at home." He stiffens, he opens his mouth but continues. "My Father's sister, my aunt, killed them both during dinner. All because my mother wouldn't let her see those journals you asked about. After that it many people took off their masks."

"That's all it took?"

"What should it take, she killed her own brother because she didn't get confidential knowledge. To be honest, I don't really care anymore."

"You need professional help." I shrug.

"Probably, but getting sessions is expensive and I don't enjoy answering "and how are you feeling?" questions. I had enough of that already from everyone else."

"Where's your brother, Emil?" I feel myself frown.

"He's with someone I trust, I can't tell you who, sorry."

"The file says you died, you also made a miraculous recovery, recovery from what?"

"I prefer not to answer that question, It's rather personal." I don't want to explain that either, I know the doctor was shocked to see me come back. They had to call the professor to have him take me and my brother. After that this entire fiasco.

"You know I'll find out either way."

"Listen, I don't know how I made it, I was tortured by my she who will not be named and left for dead. I prayed for anyone and everyone who would hear me, someone did, the police found me and I was rushed to the hospital. I decided to take a nap, and I woke up to the sound of Emil crying. He cried, even more, when I woke up, screaming even, the good doctor nearly fainted. I was plugged into wires of all sorts, and my uncle was holding a plug, I assume he pulled, tackled me. My body lit up in pain and felt like I was run over, the next I am separated from my family and rushed into a place where they check on me every three months. At least I got to choose the place, they pay for the school, and I cover everything else." I give in, it feels nice to tell someone, something even if it's not the whole truth. But it seems to shut him up. "Please don't go looking for Emil, they haven't caught my aunt yet. I don't know if she's looking for them next, I would prefer not to stand over another grave knowing she got them too." I stare at him gauging his reaction, his face is still stone, unmoving in the uncomfortable silence. I pick up Nightmare, who has been rubbing against my leg for a bit, and scratch his head as he wants.

"Fine, I won't push further but I have terms."

"Really?" What would he need terms for?

"1, you don't reveal my identity to anyone. 2, you will not acknowledge that you know my family’s identities. 3, I come whenever I like as Robin or as Damian. 4, I add terms whenever I please."

"Why would I agree to any of that? I'm the one who has your identity." He smiles.

"Because I will tell Batman this information, and he doesn't talk as kindly to people hiding something. You obviously still are, but for now, I'll let it slide I'm sure by now you've decided to watch the news, so you know what he does." I gulp, I did see his more recent victim and he looked traumatized.

"Alright fine, but I binge so if you fall asleep tough luck, I'm not going back."

"Fine," he reaches back and pulls out his mask which he puts back on, walking out to the kitchen. "I back in a bit, pull out your couch bed while I'm gone. I will be staying here a while." I get up after him.

"Hey, that offer is for when I thought you were some homeless bums who fights crime, gets money from villain's wallets. You have a perfectly good bed at home!" He turns back one foot on the railing and a grappling hook in hand. "Term 6, I will stay as long as I like." he jumps off like before, not giving me a chance to speak.

"Bastard! I need my alone time!" He's gone I don't even know if he heard me. I grumble pulling out the spare sheets and blankets to set up the bed. "He better be paying rent, smug rich kid."

"Meow." Nightmare looks over at the window Robin left of.

"Yes, he's coming back."

"Meow"

"No, I'm not going tell him, not until I have to."

"Merrow"

"Shut up." I kick the side of the couch holding the two large cushions that lay on it, the bed springs out and makes a satisfying thud on the floor. "Go and see if the data has finished downloading, then put it back in the box I'll make you something in a how you feel about tuna our downstairs grandparents gave me a can."

_____________________________________________________________

The sheets are made, the cat is fed and now I am going over how I was going to cover for another person. How much would he eat, can he survive on pastries, ramen, and eggs. How long was he staying, would his family come asking about him seeing as he was here before. At both times, when he broke my window, and when they came for coffee.

"Hey, open the door." The voice is cold but still recognizable. I get up slowly taking my time getting there along with opening the door. He hurries in, dressed in some normal-ish clothes that still look expensive, but he still dressed like he came out of a photo shoot. He not only has a suitcase but some grocery bags, I frown at those. He seems to notice because he forgets his suitcase and charges into the kitchen. "Hey!"

"Y/N I am not eating ramen and eggs for god knows how long. I will cook a decent meal and you will have something healthy."

"How did you know I only had eggs and ramen?"

"I went through your fridge," He places a bag of tomatoes in the bottom drawer where I see green onions and various other veggies.

"I make stir-fry once a month, you have bought enough greens and reds to make that for two weeks. I don't even have rice."

"You don't like it when people spend money on you, do you?"

"I don't need other people's money," He opens his mouth, but I stop him raising a finger cutting him off. "And before you mention Molly, she remains the exception. Not that me telling her not to stops her."

"And why is that." He stops putting the food in the fridge.

"Because I've been friends with her longer," I look back at his bags and frown. "How long do you plan on staying again."

"For as long as I please."

"Won't they come looking for you? Your family I mean, the Detective stops by almost every day."

"Grayson won't be a problem, I left them a trail that leads to several other places." He stuffs the last of the food in the fridge, getting up and looking out the balcony window. "Should take a long while." I can hear the smugness in his voice.

"Your happy you tricked your brothers aren't you." He turns around forcing himself to frown but the corners of his lips twitch.

"Ho, you're a bastard Wayne."

"You're really gonna curse me?"

"You didn't tell me I couldn't Damian." I grab my computer and open Hulu putting on Star Trek; Next-generation where I left off. "Hope you enjoy space adventure, because I'm not starting this over its seven seasons and 4 movies. I'm halfway through season 3, if you want context just ask." I glance up signaling that I am waiting for a response, he leans on the wall in front of my kitchen. I can't read his face, but his face of neutral displeasure wasn't much better. "So, your done feeling good about yourself, or is there something else you need."

"It's been something I've been wondering for a while now, those iridescent pieces you fed me."

"Part of my mother's work." Not a complete lie,

"Was that what those missing journals about?"

"No." More of a lie but not wrong. He groans anyway, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Man, you really like to cut in deep and waste time. Just come here and watch some Star Trek with me I need someone else to groan in pain about Counselor Troy's and Will Riker's on and off slow burn romance." Begrudgingly he walks over plopping down next to me.

"Your tastes in tv are odd."

"You have no idea, my tastes in something go everywhere, after this and Highlander I have several old cartoons next. First, I might have to gather what you know about the Quack pack, Goof troop, Ducktales, and all that pizazz. Though I have a feeling that you would like Darkwing Duck more, or it could possibly be too relatable." He gives me a look.

"How could I relate to a duck?"

"We are a long way from that now, at the moment we must bear witness to Captain Picard and his adventures commanding the USS Enterprise."

"Has anyone told you how unbelievably weird you are?"

"Sir, you have entered my life for what looks to be the long run. You will experience the kind of weirdness only Molly has ever seen. But now that you are basically my roommate you might see more." I pat his shoulder. "So, buckle up, because this is now you've got a seat on this roller-coaster, and you can't get off till the car reaches a complete stop. Now can we please get back to the show I want to see some cosmic action?"

_____________________________________________________________

"Was that a statement or a question?"

"He can achieve the perception of feeling with a chip that goes into his hyper-advanced brain, lets his brother take it but can't make his own."

"I lent you my computer to catch up to where I left off for one night and that's what you're hung upon."

"Yes," his eyes look serious while he shoves some oatmeal in his mouth. "You are the one who can't stand the slow burn."

"Touche."

Before we got to the last season, Damian had asked he could see the rest of the show before the finally. I didn't expect that he would binge because it was a weekend, he even made extensive notes on character weakness. He still went out on patrol every night but came back with no one tailing him. That's what he says at least. He looks tired, with bags under his eyes and just lacking energy altogether.

"While I'm at work please go to sleep, you look like you fought an energy vampire and lost."

"I wouldn’t have lost to a vampire, they’re not that hard to kill.”

“But they drink blood they need to get close; energy vampires are more psychic they don’t even have to be a real monster.” He stops eating/

“How so?”

“They could be emotionally, physically, and mentally draining people. You know like Deity Skimmer, the girl in our science class. You can’t kill the energy-sucking vibes she gives off, can you.” He snorts behind his hand.” I mean it, even creatures of the night need sleep.” I drop my dishes off in the sink. I walk off to the door putting on my boots, I hear the chair slide and I feel his judging eyes digging holes in the back of my skull.

“Once again your conditions said nothing about teasing you, suck it up.” He scoffs. “I’ll be back around 5, don’t break any more windows while I’m gone.” I close the door before I hear any remarks once more about the incident. Though I laugh to myself, I straighten out my outfit and head down to the wonderful smells of the coffee shop. I walk slowly down the stairs looking out to the crowd that had been seated in the lounge. My managers were out by the couches talking to one of the regulars. Pull me behind the counter and relieve my coworker Meg, she looks exhausted and excuses herself. She takes what I assume is her coffee and puts away her apron and rushes out the door. I finish out what she didn’t clean and wait for anyone to come up to the counter. *Ring* though it is loud I hear the bell for the door ring.

“I’ll be with you in just a moment, I need to clean the nozzle here.”

“That’s fine, I can wait.” I flinch but catch myself, so it looks like I flicked something. I turn around with the best smile I can pull off. The sleep-deprived brother of Damian, peers at me from under his hair a frown tugging on his face.

“Oh hey! You came here with detective Grayson last time. Is there anything you would like?”

“Coffee.”

“Any particular kind?”

“Anything that will keep me from sleeping on this counter.” He knocks on the surface twice.

“I Can recommend our D&D potion bottle, it’s a personal favorite of the owners.”

“Why not, how much?” He fumbles around for his pockets, I stop him.

“How about, I make get it for you, and then you pay.” He brings his hands back on the counter and nods.

“I will only be a few minutes, please make yourself comfortable.” I pull out the ingredients for our powerful concoction, the pho fried ice cream, a large potion bottle with a straw, and 20-sided dice. I place the potion bottle in front of him and the ice cream but hand him the dice. He stares at the shiny plastic unmoving.

“I would roll that.” He does what I say and lands on a nine. “Well, sir after this one you can either have another potion or chose two desserts of any kind from our display or menu.” He takes a sip from the straw rather slow; his eyes perk up a bit.

“How Much did you say this was?”

“Oh! That will be $9.23?” He pulls out the exact amount, and I put it away in the register, placing it in the compartment marked D&D.

“And I would like another one of these to go.”

“Sure, would you like it now or before you go?”

“Well now should be nice, I’m leaving in just a bit.” I pull out a cup that is relatively the same size as the potion bottle. I go to give him his cup and notice that he finished the bottle and ice cream. Confusion hits me, but I don’t stare too long to turn to clean the mess. “Have you seen Damian at all?” And there it was.

“No, not since the Gala? Did something happen?”

“There was a…disagreement so he ran out, but if you see him,” He handed me a piece of paper with a string of numbers and an email. “Tell me. That is my number and email.” He does not say anymore and walks out the door, the bell signaling his departure.

_____________________________________________________________

When I got back, I told Damian what happened, he isn’t pleased and is currently pacing the floor.

“My guess is that he knows.” I sigh over my tea and stare sadly at the replaced window.

“No doubt.”

“You know I was rather hoping not to be having another visit from the Batman. What will happen when they find out that I know about the caped crusader thing.”

“He’ll either force into secrecy, turn you into a child crusader, or confine you to the manor.”

“So in other words no privacy.”

“None.”

“As lovely as that would be you told me this was temporary, so why can’t you go back?”

“At the Gala I was supposed to keep you entertained at the table so that we could trap you into to talking about those journals.” I knew it.

“So, you lied to me.” I look at him, faking shock and betrayal.

“It was for the sake of the investigation; I didn’t think that I would end up-.” He examines my expression and face palms. “What’s wrong with you.”

“I like to call it “I laugh in the face of danger” Syndrome, in a moment of despair I crave comedy.”

“You're worse than Grayson.”

“I like him, so I’ll let this one slide.” I sip the warm liquid feeling soothed at the pumpkin spice. “What are you going to do now?” Nightmare jumps on the table noticing my concern and waiting for his answer from me. He walks to the corner where he put his bag then went to the closet pulling out my suitcase. He then grabs his outfit Robin outfit from the coat rack and his other materials. “Get packed, we’re leaving. I’ll grab Nightmare’s things gab whatever you need. And I mean need, don’t pick it up unless it’s necessary.”

“What? I can’t just leave, what about my job? School?!” He Pulls out my backpack and puts some food in it. “Damian!”

“Just trust me, I’ll take care of it! I don’t want you tangled up in my family’s nonsense.” He looks at me something odd swirling in his eyes. “Please.”

“Fine,” I grab my suitcase and pack my box and my compiece which hasn’t gotten back to me on its progress. I throw a few sets of clothes. I open the box to make sure the journals, the scales, and everything else, then I hide it under the clothing and my laptop in the front pocket. I thank myself for making sure to get a suitcase that has a double use as a backpack. In the living room, Damian is all packed the bag is strapped across his chest and he’s holding Nightmare.

“Let’s go.” He hands me Nightmare and pulls me to the balcony. He pulls out and belts with a ring pultruded out on one side swiftly put it around me connecting the loop to his belt. “Hold on tight, and don’t let go till I tell you.” I Sling an arm around him and grip on to Nightmare, he doesn’t hesitate and shoots across the balcony with his grappling gun. I screw my eyes shut. And wait to stop, my heart beats wildly in my chest Nightmare begins purring maybe in hopes to soothe me. I feel something wrong, but it would mean I was away from the Crows. I’m running again, even if it’s not me who chose this it still feels wrong. Because in the direction he’s going it seems that we were leaving Gotham. And for some reason, I feel like it would be a while before I returned.

[harvestleaves]

Parent’s Nightmare

Prompts: @parkshan820​:Hey I was wondering for your out of breath series (which I love by the way) if you could write about T.K’s first asthma attack when he was young and how Owen would react? I would love to see that 😀

anon: Maybe you could do a story about TK's first asthma attack? Like when he was a kid? You mention it briefly in your first story and I thought it would be cute to see! We'd get Little TK!

A/N: Owen’s been kind of a shit dad this season to TK, so here’s me pretending he’s not an ass for a few minutes.  Also, this is my reasoning as to why TK finds hoodies comforting.  You can also read this on Ao3 here!

Rating: G

Word Count: 1,660

Every time Owen saw TK gasping for air, it reminded him of the first attack he’d ever seen.  It was back in October of 2000, almost one full year before 9/11 and, up until that fateful day, Owen was sure that watching TK wake him up in the middle of the night unable to breathe was the scariest moment of his life.

October 2000

Six-year-old TK grinned as he wormed his way out of his mom’s arms to throw himself towards where Owen was talking with one of the other firefighters in the house.

“Dad!”

Owen raised an eyebrow when he heard TK’s voice and smiled when he got a sudden armful of his son, nodding to Gwyn when she handed him TK’s overnight bag before she headed out.

“TK, hey kiddo.  How was school?”

“It was okay.  We get to go to the Bronx Zoo for our field trip next week!  I hope we get to see the tigers!!  Mommy said you can come and chap-chap...help watch,” TK grinned, bouncing in place from the excitement of the upcoming trip.

“Mommy said I was gonna chaperone?!  I’m sure I can do that for my favorite son,” Owen smiled as he peppered kisses over TK’s cheeks.

“Daaad!!  I’m your only son,” TK laughed at the kisses, squirming away to try and avoid the kisses before his laughs started turning into coughs, causing him to wince as he caught his breath.

Owen immediately stopped his movements, his brows pulling together in concern as he watched TK’s coughing fit calm down, gently rubbing over his son’s back.

“You okay kiddo?  That was some coughing fit.”

TK nodded with a painful swallow as he finally got his breathing under control.

“Yeah, I think I choked on spit.  It was yucky,” TK said with a wrinkle of his nose after a moment of thought.  Though to be honest, he knew it was from laughing too hard, the same issue happening whenever he was laughing too hard or running with his friends at recess.

“If you’re sure,” Owen sighed softly, knowing his son wasn’t a good liar, but he trusted him to let him know if he wasn’t feeling too well.

“I’m sure dad!  What’s for dinner?” TK asked curiously, hoping that changing the subject would be enough to get Owen off of his case.

Surprisingly for TK, it worked when Owen responded with “pizza,” knowing that the kid would be pleased with the suggestion of his favorite food.

“Really?  Yes!” TK grinned, bouncing excitedly for a moment before quickly controlling himself, not wanting to set off another coughing fit.

“Can I go watch a movie until dinner?” TK asked his dad hopefully, knowing they were probably going to get a call soon anyways with how busy the city seemed to be that day.

“Sure kiddo, you can watch Aladdin with the probie,” Owen smiled as he led TK up the stairs to the common area, smiling as his kid ran over to his favorite firefighter, Luca.

“Luca!” TK grinned as he practically launched himself into the man's arms, letting out a sigh of content at the hug he received.

“Hey kiddo, I heard you’re staying the night.  I take it you’re excited?” Luca asked with a smile as he reached down to ruffle TK’s hair, looking up at Owen when the older man smiled fondly at them.

“Yeah!  Dad said we can watch a movie until dinner!” TK nodded as he pulled back from the hug before jumping onto the couch, not noticing his dad pull Luca to the side.

“Hey Cap, what’s up?”

“Hey, probie.  It’s probably nothing, but Ty was coughing earlier after I made him laugh.  But it wasn’t a normal cough.  They were really wheezy and he sounded like he couldn’t catch his breath.  It’s probably just a cold, but could you keep an eye on him?” Owen asked, hoping he didn’t sound too overprotective.  He knew kids were germ magnets, and he didn’t want to worry too much, but there was a small part of him that had a gut feeling something was really wrong.

“Sure, of course.  You know I love that kid like a little brother.  Plus, I got my EMS certification yesterday.  If anything goes wrong, I’m ready,” Luca smiled, patting Owen reassuringly on the shoulder before he sat on the couch with TK, smiling as the kid snuggled up to him.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Four hours later, and stuffed full of pizza, TK collapsed onto the couch again next to Luca, stifling a small yawn as the twenty-one-year-old laid a blanket over him.  “You want to head to bed kiddo?  You seem sleepy.”

“Noooo, we were gonna watch ‘nother movie,” TK whined softly as he rubbed his eyes, blinking tiredly up at Luca again before he pressed his face against the other’s chest to hide a yawn.

Hiding a laugh, Luca nodded before he turned on Hercules, letting TK snuggle close when he felt the kid shiver.

“Are you cold still?  Hold on,” Luca pulled away from TK for a moment to tug off his hoodie and handed it to TK, smiled when the kid pulled it on, the sleeves falling over his hands as he pushed the hood back off of his head.

“Thank you,” TK yawned, his hair sticking up in multiple places as he snuggled back up to Luca, the firefighter awing softly as TK fell asleep halfway through the movie, scooping him up in the blanket to carry him to Owen’s bunk, setting him down next to the older man, who was sitting up reading.

“Thanks, Luca.  I think you’re his favorite,” Owen smiled as he tucked the blanket around TK.

“Trust me, if Matt and I were ready for kids, We’d adopt TK in a heartbeat,” Luca smiled, reaching down to ruffle TK’s fluffy hair before heading to his own bunk to sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~

It was two in the morning when TK woke up.  Though it didn’t immediately register to him what was wrong until he tried to take a deep breath and it caught in his lungs, causing him to start coughing, eyes wide as he reached up to clutch at his chest, the breath completely knocked out of him.

Looking around wildly, his gaze fell on his dad and he shook Owen’s arm desperately to try and wake him up.

“D-dad,” TK blinked back tears as he managed to get the word out, hoping it was loud enough as he leaned forward, just barely catching the scent of Luca’s cologne on the hoodie, the smell soothing him ever so slightly as he squeezed his eyes shut.

Owen jolted awake at the shaking to his arm and sat up, his eyes darting around in panic to see what woke him up before he heard the ragged wheezing coming from his son.

“TK!  Ty, look at me kiddo, are you having trouble breathing?” Owen asked, his voice sounding much more frantic than he’d wanted it to as he helped TK sit up, turning the light on above the bunk to get a better look at him.

TK was paler than normal, his eyes wide with fear as he looked up at his dad, mouth wide as he gasped for breaths that weren’t coming.  “D-dad.  C-can’t br-breathe,” he managed to choke out, tears welling up in his eyes as the panic finally settled in.

Owen almost smacked himself at how long it took him to get out of the bed after propping TK up against the wall, but for a brief moment, he was paralyzed.   Completely unable to do anything except watch as his son suffocated in front of his eyes, the scariest moment of his life since becoming a parent.

His legs were on autopilot as he located Luca’s bunk across the room, turning the light on above him as he shook his shoulder.

“Luca!  Probie, wake up!  Tyler can’t breathe.”

Luca’s eyes shot open at those words and he sat up, grabbing for his stethoscope next to the bunk and looping it around his neck as he got up and made his way over to TK.

“Sit behind him.  Put his back against your chest,” Luca commanded Owen as he sat down gently in front of TK.

“Hey kiddo, your dad said you’re having a little trouble breathing, can you lean forward for me?” Luca said, his voice immediately dropping to the gentle voice he saved for children and animals, in that order.

TK blinked a few times before he nodded and let Luca listen to his lungs, his shoulders heaving with every gasping breath he took.

“He’s wheezing.  Everything is pointing to an asthma attack, but we won’t know until he gets looked at.  Can you carry him down to the ambulances?”

“Asthma?  TK doesn’t have asthma,” Owen frowned as he looked down at his son before nodding and moving to pick him up, holding him close as he followed the paramedic downstairs and to the ambulance.

“Alright TK, your dad is gonna set you down and we’re gonna take a little ride to the hospital.  Can we take the hoodie off so I can put some stickers on your chest?” Luca asked gently as he started to grab the supplies for a breathing treatment.

TK shook his head rapidly at the idea of removing the sweatshirt.  “N-no.  S-safe,” he choked out before coughing again, tears starting to fill his eyes.

Luca’s eyes softened before he nodded knowingly.  “It makes you feel safe?  Okay kiddo, we can keep it on for now, but lemme just stick these to you really quick,” he explained, getting the monitors onto TK before slipping the mask over his face for the breathing treatment.

“Don’t worry kiddo.  We’re not going anywhere.  You’re gonna be just fine,” Owen whispered softly to TK as he sat next to the gurney, holding his son’s hand tightly, worried that something worse would happen if he let go or looked away.

[orithereticent]

The Song and Tail Left Behind

Crossposted from ao3 chapter 5

Drake didn’t want to lie to Gosalyn, but he also hadn’t wanted to tell her why he was going and that far outweighed the moral implications of lying to his 8 year old daughter. 

He had told her that Duckburg was having problems with the Beagle boys the first time he had gone with Gizmoduck. 

In reality it was more that someone had broken into a chemistry lab and stolen about 40,000 dollars worth of equipment. 

“But that’s not the strange bit,” Scrooge had said, “the robbery happened in broad daylight, and there were no witnesses, even though there were nearly forty people at the scene,” Scrooge paused, “Gizmoduck was one of them, his armour has been put out of commission temporarily, he could do with yer help lad.” 

Darkwing dropped Gosalyn off at the McDuck manor. He was still a little worried about the fall she had taken the day before (next time he saw Megavolt he was going to kill him. Just the look in Darkwings eyes after Gosalyn had been thrown had been enough to send the supervillian running). After looking her over, she had some bruises and cuts she had gotten from playing outside, but was completely unharmed otherwise.

Everyone figured that Darkwing and Gizmoduck would solve the case by the end of the day, even with Gizmoduck’s arm and headpiece being the only part of his armour working.

Darkwing woke up groggy, with a mouth that was so dry it was like he had drank salt, and with a headache that pulsed behind his eyes. The way one wakes up after tossing and turning for hours and only getting an hour of sleep, or like he had a hangover. He didn’t remember falling asleep. That might lend credit to the hangover theory. Biggest problem with that idea was that Darkwing rarely drank, and even rarer than drinking was drinking to the point of blacking out. He had Gosalyn at home after all. 

Darkwing blinked once, his vision blurred. He blinked again, pain slowly starting to flare up. He reached a hand to his chest and brought it up to examine it. Darkwings fingers were stained red. His suit was torn in the sleeves which were stuck to his arms, sticky with semi-dried blood. He forced himself to sit up. He quickly took in his surroundings. Darkwing was in an alleyway next to a garbage bin. The shadows were long, like it was just getting dark. It didn’t appear to offer any immediate danger. A soft cry made Darkwing jump, he turned around, head spinning at the sudden movement. Gizmoduckー no, Fenton, he wasn’t wearing his suit, dirty and bruised, lay right next to Darkwing. He was curled into a ball, arms covering his face. The suit pieces lay a couple of feet away. Darkwing shook Fenton’s shoulder with his less bloodstained hand. It wouldn’t have mattered as Fenton had some bloodstains of his own, but still.

“Fenton?” Fenton didn’t even move. Darkwing shook his shoulder harder, “get up Fenton.”

“M’ma?” muttered Fenton under his breath. He opened a single eye, then closed it.

“Do I look like your Mom?”

“Sorry…” Fenton started, then he started to trail off, like he wasn’t sure who he was talking to. Finally his eyes fixed on Darkwing, “Drake.” 

“Darkwing,” Darkwing grumbled. He was in costume. He couldn’t have his identity getting out.

“Sorry,” Fenton grunted, struggling to sit up, “where are we?”

“Well, right now it looks like we’re behind a dumpster.”

“Oh,” Fenton rubbed his neck, “umm, how did we get here?”

“No idea, last I remember…” Darkwing trailed off, the last thing he remembered was dropping Gosalyn off at McDuck manor… in the morning, it was evening now. 

“You’re bleeding,” stated Fenton, snapping Darkwing out of his thoughts.

“So are you,” pointed out Darkwing. They were battered, bruised, and bleeding, but nothing too serious as far as Darkwing could tell. 

Fenton reached over for the armour pieces, “It’s dead!” he exclaimed upon further examination, “and where’s the other pieces?”

“Fenton, they’re out of commission, remember?”

“No?”

This was bad.

“What do ye mean ye don’t remember?” questioned Scrooge once Gizmoduck and Darkwing had gotten to the underwater lab, (far away from prying ears, Drake had insisted), “how can ye not remember it was nary even an hour ago!” 

Drake opened his mouth to snap back, but instead he pressed a wet cloth to a wound on his chest he didn’t remember receiving. The bright purple cloth had a dusty look to it with some red blood stains for variety. He pulled his cape over his chest.

“I remember getting to the lab today?” offered Fenton unsurely, he rubbed the back of his neck. He wasn’t quite sure he remembered that much.

“That’s not true,” Gyro said without looking up from where he was examining the Gizmoduck suit, “you haven’t been in the lab today.”

“Oh?” asked Fenton, looking over at Gyro who had coffee in his shaking hand, He seemed surprised by the Gizmoduck suit on the table, “Doctor Gearloose, what happened to my armour?”

Scrooge turned to look at Fenton, surprised but cautiously frowning, “er, lad, do ye not remember what happened yesterday?”

“What day is it?” asked Drake before Fenton could answer.

“Tuesday?”

“No, it’s Saturday,” Drake stated, suddenly sure he was right.

“It’s Thursday,” interrupted Gyro.

Manny turned around and tapped something on the ground. 

“Nay, it’s Saturday, Gyro, ye just haven’t left the lab since Thursday morning, speaking of which Della is driving Fenton and ye home after this.”

“I’m perfectly capable of working on this, Scrooge,” Gyro snapped as he tightened a bolt on the suit.

“Hmmm, ‘perfectly capable’ after being awake for the better part of 72 hours? Lad I watched ye drink caffeine like shots,”. Scrooge answered dryly then in a voice that left no room for discussion he went on, “ye are going home to get some rest and that is final,” Scrooge turned his attention away from Gyro’s death glare and looked directly at Drake, “lad, what’s the last thing ye remember?”

“Dropping Gosalyn off at the front door.”

“So ye remember everything up til a few hours ago?”

“I guess so.”

“Intern, what exactly is the last thing you remember?” asked Gyro, now a bit more interested, but he still didn’t look up from the gizmoduck suit, “you said you remember coming to the lab Tuesday. Is that your last memory?”

“I think so, Doctor Gearloose,” Fenton replied nervously. 

“Odd.”

“This entire thing is weird.”

“Ah meant that ye lost five hours and Mr. Crackshell-Cabera lost 5 days,” replied Scrooge, “let’s make sure ah have this right, ye don’t remember what ye two were doing when the mechanics was robbed.”

“No sir.”

“Ye woke up a couple of kilometers away, behind a grocers, covered in injuries.”

Fenton nodded. 

“Like yesterday,” Darkwing interrupted. 

“Exactly like yesterday lad, multiple people who should have been witnesses, and ye two wake like ye have been fighting, with no memory.”

“Are we really supposed to believe that no cameras picked up on what happened at the mechanics?” asked Gyro with an annoyed look, “I find it incredibly hard to believe that no there were no cameras anywhere.”

“Data was wiped, Dr. Gearloose,” explained Fenton, “phones too.”

That had been Fenton’s first question.

“I’ve got nothing,” admitted Darkwing, crossing his arms. There was silence as Scrooge and Fenton said nothing.

“I do,” Gyro said, setting down his wrench.

Manny, who had been quiet, spelled something out with his hooves. 

“No, not that!” Gyro pointed dramatically at Manny, “I’ve been looking for an opportunity to test some spyware for a while, this just might provide the perfect scenario!”

“Gearloose, whatever happened, whoever robbed the mechanics, destroyed all evidence. It covered it’s tracks completely. How is your spyware supposed to help?”

“Don’t underestimate me, Darkwing Duck, I know what I’m doing.”

It was decided that Darkwing would come back the following weekend, and test Gyro’s mysterious ‘spyware’. 

Darkwing left, driving Gosalyn and himself home quickly. She had a book with her, but honestly it was probably a witch's spell book or something. Just something Webby had given Gosalyn that Scrooge wouldn’t like. There was absolutely no way she was reading a joke book. Darkwing decided he would address the book after next weekend, and promptly forgot about it.

He dropped her off at school the following week and drove back to Duckburg.

It took all day, but just before sunset Gizmoduck was back to fully functioning, and a small tracker had been added to his suit. Gyro had explained that it would also record audio. 

With that, Gizmoduck and Darkwing set off.

“Where to?”

“Good question.”

“We could listen to police scanners until something suspicious happens?”

“Sounds good,” Darkwing flipped on the police scanner he had installed in his motorcycle. 

A disturbance at a local diner. 

A noise complaint in an apartment complex.

Quackerjack was spotted at an electronics store.

“So we’re going to the apartment,” Gizmoduck joked as Darkwing drove in the direction of the electronics store. 

“That’s weird.”

“What part exactly is weird?” asked Gizmoduck, who quite frankly thought the whole thing was a bit weird.

“Quackerjack never comes to Duckburg, he barely leaves St. Canard,” Darkwing answered without looking away from the road.

“So you think Quackerjack has something to do with the robberies and widespread memory loss,” stated Gizmoduck, to which Darkwing nodded.

“I have absolutely no doubt about that.”

Darkwing swerve passed a slow car then swerved back in. Then he braked rapidly. Cars had slowed to a standstill. Darkwing pulled the ratcatcher onto the sidewalk.

“What are you doing?” asked Gizmoduck in alarm. His grip on the sidecar tightened to the point that Darkwing was slightly worried he was going to bend the metal. 

“This is faster!”

“Buー look out!” 

Darkwing slammed the brakes, quickly spotting the problem.  There was a person with dark hair laying unmoving on the ground. They were laying on their back with their limbs sprawled like they had fallen quite suddenly. Laying next to them was a woman in a bright sundress. She was laying face first on the concrete with a single arm covering her face. A bit farther away was a man in a multi-colored tank top and neon green pants. Upon further examination there were about half a dozen people slumped on the concrete. Two of them were police officers. Darkwing killed the engine and dismounted. 

He walked over to the first person. They were alive, he could see their chest rising and falling. He grasped their wrist to feel their pulse. Their heart was beating slowly, but not dangerously so. Like they were peacefully sleeping. He checked the woman's pulse, same deal. Gizmoduck had gotten to a few other pedestrians and some unconscious people sitting in their cars. 

He shook the person’s shoulder, hoping to elicit a response, but they remained unconscious. 

He moved them away so that they were leaning against a wall, then he moved to do the same to the woman. Darkwing shook her shoulder as well, and she rapidly sat up.

“Where? What?” she muttered, confused.

“You were unconscious. Do you know where you are?” asked Darkwing in a hurry. He needed to get to the electronics before Quackerjack left, but it would also be uncouth to leave civilians collapsed on the sidewalk.

“No? Is this not Chickago?” she said, pushing herself to her feet and stumbling towards the person Darkwing had already moved.

“No, you’re in Duckburg,” replied Darkwing, glancing over at Gizmoduck. 

“I’m not supposed to be in Duckburg until next week!” she said, crawling to sit next to the unconscious person.

“I don’t know, but don’t go that way okay? It’s unsafe,” Darkwing told her, pointing towards the direction of the store. 

Then a wall exploded. 

“Case in point,” muttered Darkwing pointing his still extended finger at the sky. He turned away from the now screaming civilian. 

Darkwing ducked down to avoid the shower of stone projectiles. They struck the ground, parking meters and cars like bullets. Gizmoduck, despite moving quickly, was still hit. Maybe it was just more obvious because every stone made a loud clicking sound as it bounced off the armour. 

Darkwing peered over the car he had taken cover under. Out of the debris emerged Quackerjack, something was off about him though, he was wearing a mask that completely covered his face except his eyes, it had a filter on the mouth. He was driving a clown car with no windows and a ridiculous amount of electronics stuffed inside. He also had a gun of some kind. His eyes darted around, settling on Gizmoduck who still hadn’t bothered to take cover.

“Gizzy! I was hoping you’d come! Third times the charm right?” he screeched, laughing as he finished speaking. Darkwing, never one to be outdone, tossed a purple smoke bomb.

“I am the terror that flaps in the night, I am the leaking sink that always drips, I am Darkwing Duー”

“Blah blah blah, shouldn’t you be sleeping?” interrupted Quackerjack, “having some insomnia ducky? Well, I think I can help with that!” He whipped out the unidentified gun and pointed it directly at Darkwing’s head.

 Darkwing Duck ducked behind a wall for cover while wondering to himself why he had agreed to any of this. Quackerjack threw something, a yet to be identified something. Darkwing fired his grappling gun at it. That seemed to do the trick and it exploded into shards and blue mist above Darkwings head. Darkwing suddenly hit the ground. Feeling his arms and legs covered in rope. Which had come from his grappling gun. 

Gizmoduck was just as lucky or maybe he thought his armour would protect him, either way, the other projectile struck him directly in the head. Gizmoduck fell to the ground in a metallic heap.

Quackerjack stared at them for a second, unmoving, then a slow grin made its way onto his face. Quackerjack jumped back, laughing as he drove away with the stolen goods. 

He was gone before Darkwing even got to his feet.

Darkwing swore, searching wildly for… something. Nothing. Quackerjack was long gone. 

Gizmoduck hadn’t moved. 

“Gizmoduck,” he said, kicking the arm closest to him, which achieved nothing, “fantastic,” Darkwing hurried back to the ratcatcher. He tore open the glove compartment and dug through items such as an old junior woodchuck guidebook, some expired aspirin, some purple hair ties, until he found what he was looking for. 

He pushed the airhorn right next to Gizmoduck’s ear, covered his own, and pressed the button.

The loud noise sent Gizmoduck soaring into the air.

“Darkwing! Why?!” 

“Huh, I guess Gosalyn was right, this thing did come in handy,” he said, staring at the airhorn in his hand, he threw it back in the glove compartment, “so, I need to test a theory, Gizmoduck, what day is it?”

“Uhhh,” Gizmoduck said, his eyes closed tightly. Darkwing wasn’t sure if he was thinking or the air horn had damaged his ear, “it’s Tuesday? Oh no, did we lose our memories again?”

“You lost your memory, Giz, come on, let's get back before anything else goes wrong.”

[jaycewrites-192000]

Growl: Chapter 9

Warning: This chapter includes sensitive themes such as language, violence, drugging, and sexual assault (nothing too extreme though). Read with caution.

Tag List: @theravencawsatmidnight @etroman @kaariqueen

Your P.O.V

I made my way through the halls to get to my next class, all day I couldn't stop thinking about yesterday. I spent the entire day with Kyotani, it really was like we were on a date, even though we're both just friends. I hated to think of it like that, but it was the truth. And it would stay the truth until I finally confess, which is very unlikely. I already made things awkward enough last night at the restaurant. I can't believe I told some random stranger that we were "dating". God, why did I do that? I'll have to apologize to Kyotani later. Just as I turned the corner to walk down the last hall before my class, I heard someone calling my name.

"Hey, L/n!" I stopped dead in my tracks and grimaced. And just when I was in a pretty good mood too. Not bothering to turn around, I respond. "Not in the mood today Chiharu. So save me the effort of wasting my time and fuck right off." I say before I continue walking. "Oh really? That's pretty bitchy of you L/n, walking away before I could introduce my friends to you."

"What friends? You mean more of Oikawa's annoying ass group of fan..." I trail off as I turned around. Instead of girls at Chiharu's side, there were tall buff guys. They looked liked third years. "Wow Chiharu, totally didn't figure you as the type to date more than one guy at a time." I smirked. Chiharu returned the smug grin. "Can't say the same for you though, huh? I saw you hanging out with that freak that came to your rescue yesterday. I bet Oikawa wouldn't be too happy to hear you were with another man." Before I could remind her for the hundredth time that me and Oikawa were not in a relationship, she continued.

"I mean, whoring yourself out to every guy you meet is bad enough. But going so low as to date someone like that freak? Ha! Now that's just pathetic! Didn't know you needed attention that badly!" I felt a vein pop in my head. I could care less if she made fun of me, but she brought Kyotani into it. He's done nothing wrong. She had no right to talk about him like that. I stormed over to her and grabbed her by her shirt collar. "Listen here bitch! Keep Kyotani's name out of your mouth or I'll-"

"You'll what!? You won't do shit! And besides, I'm not here to fight you. Like I said before, I wanted to introduce my friends." Chiharu snapped her fingers, and two of the third years grabbed onto my arms and pulled me away from her. I was going to scream, but the third one covered my mouth before I got the chance. "Come on, I think it's time we teach this one a lesson." With that, the third year that was keeping me quite, knocked me out cold.

"Ugh...What...What happened?" I groan before slowly opening my eyes. My head was pounding, and I felt dizzy. My vision finally adjusted and I could tell just were I was. I was behind the school near the dumpsters. Why was I hear and...why can't I move!? It was then I noticed my hands were tied together behind my back. All at once it hit me. Chiharu, the third years, she had them knock me out. My breathing picked up rapidly. Why? What were they going to do? I managed to sit myself up, if I could just stand, I can run back inside the school and call for help. But I couldn't, I was so dizzy, it made standing was difficult. I felt something warm hit my knee, blood. I felt it run down my cheek this time, my head must have been bleeding.

"Come on!" I say to myself, attempting to stand once again, but again I couldn't bring myself to stand, I could hardly sit up straight. A hit to the head wouldn't do all this. "They must have drugged me..." I say breathlessly. "Right we did, sweet cheeks." I gasp and look up to see the three third years from before towering over me. "W-what do you want from me? Did that bitch tell you to do this?" I ask, glaring up at the three. "Oh, she's smart. I like em smart." Siad one of the three. "I prefer them more dumb honestly. But she'll do." Said another. "Yeah, Chiharu told us to do this. But really, we would have done it sooner." The one talking to me crouches down to my height.

He looks me up and down, practically undressing me with his eyes. It felt disgusting. "You're pretty cute. How have we not met you before?" He asks. I make sure my legs were firmly pressed together and close to my body. "I prefer to keep to myself so I don't meet people like Chiharu or you scumbags. Now let me go!" I demand. The guy in front of me chuckles. "Sorry, but no. We ain't going anywhere, anytime soon, princess." He moved his finger down my leg. I kicked at his shin roughly, making him groan in pain. The other two third years laughed at his pain.

"Damn, Chiharu was right. You are a bitch." Suddenly his hand was around my throat. He slammed me back down to the ground, hovering over me. "Hey! Make sure you leave some fun for us!" One of them called. "Shut it. There's plenty of her to go around." Says the one on top of me. his free hand tugged at my uniform's tie, loosening my blazer. "No! Stop! Stop it!" I cried.

"See, I knew you didn't give her enough. She's still bitching and moaning." One of the two said, referring to what I only assumed was the drug they slipped me while I was unconscious. "Who cares? No one's gonna hear her." I yelled and cried, but like he said, no one would hear. "Would shut up already!? I promise you'll enjoy it." The guy on top of me purred into my ear. "W-why? Why are you doing this?" I managed to croak out between sniffles.

"Chiharu figured you needed to be taught a lesson. If you want multiple guys, then that's just what you'll get." I sobbed and shut my eyes tightly. 'Someone please help me...' I whimpered in my mind. Just as the man's hand began to go up my skirt, a loud cracking noise filled my ears. Soon after was a cry of pain. My eyes shot opened when I felt the man's grip on my throat loosen. "What the fuck!?" He yelled. Another cracking sound and a cry of pain, then fast approaching footsteps, and before I knew it, the weight of the guy on top of me was gone.

From what I could see, my tears blurring my vision slightly, was someone grabbing the guy and punching him multiple times in the face before kneeing him in the gut and throwing him aside. The person who saved me walked over to the guy's limp body and kicked at it, yelling out in fury while doing so. That yelling closely resembled a man's yells.

After a few more seconds, the person hurried to my side and sat me up. Now that he was closer in view, I could make out who he was. "...Kyotani?" I whimper. "Y/n...I'm sorry I got here late..." He muttered before holding me in his arms tightly. "I'm so sorry." The dizziness that filled my mind had finally gotten the better of me, and once again I fell unconscious.

I woke up again sometime after that, there was something soft underneath my body, and something warm on top. I slowly opened my eyes, narrowing them momentarily due to the brightness of wherever I was. After a minute my eyes adjusted, I was in a room this time. Not just any room, Kyotani's room. "Kyotani." I breathed. Memories of what just happened replayed in my mind, tears begin to fill my eyes. Kyotani saved me. If it wasn't for him, I might have been...I felt sick just thinking about it. I didn't want to think about it. I just wanted Kyotani. Where was Kyotani? "Kyotani..."I whimpered pathetically. From the other side of his bedroom door, I could hear his voice. It was feint, but I could just barely make out what he was saying.

"...She's not coming today, neither am I......Look I'll explain everything later just trust me ok?....Alright, see ya." After a few seconds Kyotani entered, his expression brightening when he saw me. "You're awake!" He rushed to my side. "Are you-Did they-what happend?" He fumbled over his words. I didn't respond, I just stared at him. He's done so much for me. He became my friend when he didn't have to, he helped me study when no one else would, and now he's saved me from a very horrible situation. I rose my shaky hand and gently pressed it to his cheek. "Kyotani...thank you. Thank you so much." I say weakly.

Kyotani put his hand on top of mine. "It was nothing. Y/n, what...tell me what happened. Who were those assholes?" Kyotani asked, repressing the anger in his tone. I removed my hand and turned my head away from him, not wanting him to see me cry. "Y/n?" Kyotani speaks softly. "I really don't want to talk about that right now." I tell him as calmly as possible. I felt Kyotani's thumb gentle wipe away a stray tear on my cheek. "Ok. you don't have to right now. How are you feeling?" He asked. I only shrug, still not look at him. In honesty, I was better. That damned drug wore off, my head was a lot clearer.

I felt something press down at the foot of Kyotani's bed, I glance down to see Killer. His ears were flat against his head and he was whimpering while pawing at my leg. I smile sadly. "Aw, it's ok boy. I'm ok now." I say gently. Kyotani pet killer's head a few times. "He went crazy when he saw me carry you in here. I'm glad my mom and sister weren't here to see it. They would have started pestering me." I glanced over at him. "Asking why I'm carrying an unconscious girl into the house, then having to explain what I just had to fucking see..." His hand moved away from Killer's head, and covered his eyes. He was shaking. I sat up and wrapped my arms around him. "You don't have to talk about it either." I say softly.

His arms found their way around my waist. "Right..." I sniffled. We both sat in silence, just enjoying being in each others embrace. After a moment or two, I finally spoke. "Who were you on the phone with?" I asked. "Iwaizumi. He wanted to know why we didn't show up to practice." I shifted my position to get more comfortable. Kyotani picked this up and laid me back down on the bed before crawling in next to me. He draped his arm over me and I laid my head on his chest. "I won't say a word about this to him or anyone, until you're ready. Until then, I'll be here for you ok?" I nod and close my eyes, breathing in Kyotani's scent. He was so warm. "Thank you Kyotani."

"This will be selfish of me to ask but, can I stay here with you tonight? I don't want to be alone right now." Kyotani rubbed my back softly. "Of course you can." I thanked him again before texting my mother, letting her know I'll be staying with Iwaizumi. I wouldn't have lied but my mom trusted him the most. 'Hope you don't mind Iwaizumi.' I set my phone aside and snuggled closer to Kyotani.

Previous | Next

[flutteringdreams-matw]

Out of Time (3/?)

Link to Ecto-Storm Series

First/Last

Summary: Paradoxes are tricky things - especially when it involves a 15 year old half ghost and his dark future living outside of the timeline. Danny is faced with impossible odds, out of control powers, haunting visions and three possible outcomes in his battle against his ultimate enemy. Sequel to Making to Grade - can be read as standalone. Updates on Sundays and the occasional Wednesday.

Sam rang the doorbell at Fentonworks three times, bouncing on her feet in anticipation. She glanced up at the green dome around the town, reflecting the sun that shone higher above. It had been up for a few hours now according to the news, but no word about why the shield was up in the first place. That included the lack of response from her half-ghost best friend.

"Sam!" Tucker called from behind. She turned to see the teen running up the sidewalk toward Fentonworks, waving to indicate his arrival.

"Any word?" She asked as he came to the steps.

"Not since Jazz texted," Tucker said, frowning.

The door swung open, revealing a tired looking Maddie Fenton to the teens. "Sorry kids, I was in the lab," she told them, ushering them inside. "It's been a long night."

"Where's Danny?" The question was out of Sam's mouth before the door even closed. "What happened?"

"Upstairs," Maddie replied, pursing her lips slightly as she looked up the stairs worriedly. "We'll explain in the kitchen."

The Fenton's kitchen looked like a war zone; various books and papers were scattered across the table with multiple broken inventions and cups of coffee filling whatever space they could. Jack was on the phone, talking loudly and pacing back and forth. Jazz sat staring at her laptop screen, glancing at the pile of weapons at her feet every so often. Sensing the newcomers, Jazz looked up. "Oh good, you're here," she said.

"What happened?" Sam repeated, looking at the chaos.

"Danny had another dream," Jazz explained, her expression turning dark. "Dad managed to wake him after a while, but he freaked out. He flew up to the Ops Center and put up the shield using one of his deeper energy levels. We've been up ever since making sure all our weapons are prepared."

"For what, exactly?" Tucker asked, eyebrow raised.

"Dan."

Sam gasped, exchanging worried looks with Tucker. "How long?" she probed.

"That, we're not sure about," Maddie said, leaning against the counter with a sigh. "Danny passed out after telling us about him."

Jack hung up the phone with a sigh, looking displeased. "Mads, Vladdy's going live at 9am; we're going to need to figure out what to say about the shield. He's going against it."

Maddie frowned at the mention of the mayor. "Jack, that's in 2 hours. We still don't know why he put it up in the first place!"

"You're sure it wasn't just a bad dream?" Tucker queried hopefully.

Jack nodded grimly. "There's no question. Whatever Danny saw, he believed it was real."

The group stood in silence as that sunk in. Sam frowned worriedly as she saw the toll of the night on the other Fentons. Realizing what was needed, she looked over at Jazz. "What can we do?"

Jazz looked at the girl gratefully. "I only met him briefly after Danny got stuck in the future," she said thoughtfully. "You guys saw more of what he can do. Other the peeler, what should we focus on in terms of weapons?"

"I think defense should be the top priority," Tucker rebutted, bringing his hand to his chin in thought. "Danny's not going to be able to keep the shield up and fight; getting a strong ghost shield could help buy some time. Something for the rest of the town too in case the shield goes down. Remember the Ghost King? Those creepy skeletons caused a lot of damage."

"If we recalibrate some of the bazookas for blasting use over transferring back to the Ghost Zone, that may also help," Sam added. "Dan's strong; we'll need things that will pack a punch."

Jack frowned. "Hold on - we're treating this like the Ghost King invasion? Isn't that overreacting a little bit?"

"No."

All five occupants of the kitchen turned to Danny's decisive response. He was dressed, but pale and clammy, leaning heavily against the door frame for support. In one arm he had a USB key, the other his backpack. He grimaced slightly as sparks of green ecto-energy appeared to move through his chest before he managed to suppress them and walk toward the table, silence following him.

"I didn't think you'd be up so soon," Jazz said with a frown, eying her brother worriedly.

Danny dropped into an open seat heavily, sighing. "Neither did I," he replied honestly. He turned to his attention to the information scattered in front of him. He sighed again, putting his elbows on the table and brought his thumbs to the bridge of his nose, holding his head up.

"You look awful," Tucker stated.

"Thanks Tuck, tell me more," Danny replied cynically. Maddie frowned in concern, walking over to the teen and knelt beside him.

"Danny, you really don't look well," Maddie told him softly. "How do you feel?"

"You mean other than holding up a shield above the entire town and dealing with the fact your worst enemy escaped?" he asked drily. Maddie didn't answer and waited until Danny exhaled. "I've been better," he admitted. "The shield is taking a lot out of me."

Maddie bit her lip, unsure if she should press him further on the topic. She looked over to Jack worriedly, who answered her unasked question by shaking his head. "What happened last night?" Maddie questioned instead.

Danny scrunched his eyes tightly as another set of sparks went through his chest. Once it subsided, he exhaled loudly. "I went into my mindscape again. We were in Clockwork's tower, but Clockwork wasn't there. The thermos Dan was trapped in was cracked and then it exploded, he escaped and then that set of dreams came back," he explained slowly. "Next thing I knew, Dad woke me up."

"And then you put up the shield," Sam surmised. Danny grunted in confirmation. "Are you sure what you saw was real?"

"Yeah," Danny breathed.

Sam sighed. "How long until he attacks Amity Park?"

Danny finally opened his eyes and sat up in the chair, looking at his family and friends around him. "I don't know," he said solemnly. "But that shield will buy us some time when he does show up. It's not letting anyone in."

"Wait… you're planning on keeping that shield up?" Sam asked him incredulously. "For how long?"

"As long as it takes," Danny said. Remembering the USB stick, he handed it to his Mother. "Here. It's my ghost file on Dan."

Maddie frowned at the offered storage device. "I thought we already had access to all your files?"

"Not this one," Danny replied darkly. "It has all the information that we need to figure out how to beat him." Danny glanced at the clock, frowning slightly. "We're going to be late," he announced, standing slowly.

"You're actually planning on going to school?!" Sam exclaimed angrily. "Danny, you just had electricity running through your body a minute ago. Don't you think you should take the day?"

Danny frowned, about to argue, before his left eye turned green and he faltered, more electricity flooding his body. With a cry of pain, he grabbed the chair he was just sitting on for support, vaguely hearing his name being called.

The green shield shone brilliantly, holding steady before he felt it shudder. Someone was attacking… from the inside? His vision shifted and he saw the white cape, blue skinned ghost attacking with various forms of pink energy. Vlad? Why was he attacking-

"Danny breathe!"

Danny was brought out of his vision, gasping for air, by his mother shaking his shoulders. As he readjusted, he realized he had fallen onto the floor. Sam was next to him, Tucker and Jazz were in front, all looking very worried. "What… happened?" he asked through gasps.

"Your eye changed colour," Sam told him. Maddie nodded to Sam and the girl moved closer to support her friend. "Then you lit up like Skulker's suit when it gets hacked and collapsed. You just sort of stared into space until your Mom got through to you."

"Did you see something?" Tucker queried. Danny nodded.

"Vlad," he said simply. "He's attacking the shield."

Maddie paused from where she was in the kitchen and turned to her son. "Are you sure?" she asked slowly. "Your father was just on the phone with him – he's doing a press conference about the shield this morning."

"Plasmius," Danny corrected quickly. Maddie pressed her lips together at the swift correction but said nothing. "I think he's trying to test the strength of it and whether he could bring it down."

"Here we go!" Jack boomed as he ran up the stairs from the lab; Danny hadn't even realized the man had left until now. In his hand, he held a small silver device with the shiny green Fenton logo on it. "The Fenton E-Scanner! Good thing we finished it yesterday."

Maddie took the device from her husband and walked over to her son, who eyed the device warily. "It's just an ecto-energy reader Danny," she assured, showing him the device. "Whatever you're doing is taking more energy than you realize." Once he nodded his consent, Maddie brought the scanner to his forehead. After a few seconds, it beeped and Maddie read the readings. She frowned slightly as she looked at the teens in front of her. "No school for you, young man," she told him. "The last thing you need is to have another episode like this. We'll call Ethelwulf after we deal with that press conference – that way we can create an excuse to stop anyone attacking the shield."

Danny frowned, but nodded his confirmation to Maddie. "Just don't tell the school a ghost stole my face again, would you?" Maddie scowled at the reminder of the flimsy excuse but nodded all the same. She looked at Jack, glanced at their son worriedly, before they headed down to the lab, leaving the four teens in the kitchen.

Jazz sighed. "You guys want a ride?" she asked Sam and Tucker, standing.

"Thanks Jazz!" Tucker exclaimed happily.

Jazz waved off his gratitude. "Least I can do for calling you over so early." She turned to her brother in fake annoyance. "Don't do anything stupid while we're gone okay?"

Danny made a face. "No promises."

She gave a pointed look at Tucker before leaving the kitchen. Danny felt the eyes of his friends move toward him and readied himself for the double attack.

"You're using raw energy with the shield, aren't you?" Tucker accused.

Danny, to his credit, didn't deny it. "More like a combination of core and raw energy."

"I know Frostbite said to trust your instincts, but don't you think this is a little much?"

"You saw what he could do," Danny argued. "If I'm able to block him out, even for a bit, then I'm going to risk it."

"And what happens when you face him?" Sam asked, anger starting to lace her voice. "Are you going to try and keep the shield up too? Cause I hate to tell you, but you're barely able to stand without looking like a malfunctioning toaster oven."

Danny let out a frustrated sigh. "I don't know okay?" he said. "I just wanted to make sure he couldn't get to Amity Park."

"Gee, if only you could ask world renowned ghost hunters to put up a ghost shield around the town," Tucker said sarcastically.

"Remember, the wail can go through shields," Danny told him, voice rising. "Managed to get through the one in the future at any rate. Besides, if I learned anything from Fear's little science experiment, I know that he'll have trouble with this shield."

"Right, the shield you put up when you had lost control of your powers," Sam reminded angrily. "The one where you were unconscious for almost a week after you defeated him. The one where you almost died after discovering those powers in order to save us."

Danny flinched at the unsaid accusation. Apologetic blue eyes found fearful violet ones before the boy sighed, all the fight draining from him. "I don't want to lose you," he admitted quietly.

Sensing her victory, Sam's face softened at the admission. "Well, we don't want to lose you," she said softly. "You're not alone. I'm here."

Danny realized how close Sam was to him in that moment, still holding him upright, vaguely understanding the weight of those words. He stared at her and she stared back, almost frozen with anticipation of who would say what next.

And then Tucker coughed, making both teens jump out of their thoughts. Sam let go of Danny and looked away, blushing, while Danny caught eyes with his other best friend. Tucker's smug smile made Danny's cheeks grow warmer as he cursed his friend's presence. "I'm here too, in case you're wondering," Tucker teased lightly. Danny glared half-heartedly before the dark skinned boy continued. "Your parents, Jazz, us – we have your back. Sam's right, this shield is going to take a lot of energy from you. If you want to defeat your older jerky self, you'll need to not have your raw energy powers in that shield."

Danny sighed as his sister came back into the kitchen, backpack in tow. He pushed himself upright, Sam hovering over him like a mother hen, as he sat back down at the table. He shot a grateful smile at the girl before frowning at the information in front of him. "I guess I'll go through this stuff," he said distastefully, gesturing toward the pile of weapons at the opposite end.

"Don't hurt yourself," Jazz warned, jingling her car keys toward their backdoor.

Danny smiled wryly. "That's the point, isn't it? The best weapons against him are the best weapons against me."

:-=-:

Dome Watch – Day Three

Three days since the mysterious shield went up around Amity Park and residents are wondering why here? Why now?

Word from City Hall yesterday confirmed that town hero Danny Phantom is responsible for the shield around the town. There is still no confirmation on what warranted the attack but it's brought many residents back to last year, where the town was taken hostage by the Ghost King and again in the summer when Phantom did this last. Unlike the previous domes, residents can leave the town, but require a more forceful approach before being allowed back in.

Resident ghost experts Jack and Maddie Fenton assured the public two days ago that the shield means no harm, but many of their critics, including Mayor Masters, have questioned their authority of the matter with the truce with Phantom being quite new.

More on page 7.

William Lancer frowned as the school bell rang, putting the paper down as he watched his English Class come into the classroom in various forms of enthusiasm – most of them low. This particular class had changed quite in the past year though he supposed the now constant ghost attacks contributed to most of it. Valerie Gray, for instance, sat herself in the front corner; away from everyone she once called her friend. She was a loner, keeping her head down, doing the work and working at least 3 jobs to start saving for college.

Dash Baxter and Kwan Wu's laughter brought the teacher's attention to the A-list of the grade. They were chatting openly about something, occasionally catching the attention of Paulina Sanchez. Lancer assumed they were either talking about the dome or about Phantom. Due to the look on the latter's face, he'd guess Phantom.

He scanned the room as the second bell rang, looking for any missing seats; Only one today. "No Mr. Fenton? Third day in a row," He mused out loud. His two friends at the back looked at each other worriedly. That got the man's attention.

Sam Manson's love of protests, nature, and veganism only amplified this year, but now that they moved onto subjects that peaked her interest, she was easily a top student. Tucker Foley seemed to buckle down a little more this year, getting in nowhere near as much trouble as he did last year and continued his A streak from the year before.

Daniel Fenton on the other hand? Almost two years in High School and he was still an enigma that Lancer still couldn't crack. The only clue the man had that something was going on with him was when his friends shared that look. The one where they knew more to whatever the Fentons claimed him to miss school. The excuses were rather ridiculous – sleeping in, stuck in the weapons vault, trapped in an alternate dimension. Lancer's personal favourite was when they claimed a ghost stole his face and went across town broadcasting him missing. Whether the Fentons knew what Danny was into, Lancer wasn't sure, but that exchange between Manson and Foley, the one of worry, concern and downright fear that they exchange when he's not in the room? There was definitely something going on with Danny Fenton.

"Pens out, desks clear," Mr. Lancer announced, brushing aside his thoughts for a moment. "Test time." The groans of teenage angst and lack of preparedness reach his ears. "Essay question is on the board people. Tell me if Macbeth's choices led to his downfall or if it was all fated to happen. You have the period."

The murmurings of the teens in front of him petered out as he passed out the test, and eventually the scratching of pens to paper greeted his ears. Once the group of sophomores were writing, Lancer sat back at his desk and absently looked down out at the paper once more. The truce between Phantom and the Fentons, however new it might be, seemed to help keep most of the attacks away from the school – it had done wonders for his curriculum delivery. Thankfully, there hadn't been a ghost attack since Phantom put up the shield, but there was no sign of the ghost in question since all of this began. Come to think of it, Lancer couldn't remember when he last saw the Fentons not on a news conference.

Looking up at the empty desk, Lancer sighed as his thoughts came back to his missing pupil. Danny's attendance was far from perfect, but the boy had made a large effort to be at school more often. His random disappearances were less frequent than the previous year, and his overall grades had improved. Even his general demeanour had improved; Danny's start to the school year seemed brighter than anytime the man had seen since the boy started at Casper. The weight he seemingly carried with him was still there, but wasn't as soul crushing as it appeared to be.

"Mr. Lancer?"

The teacher jumped out of his thoughts as Danny Fenton himself stood at his desk. "Mr. Fenton!" Lancer exclaimed, surprised. Right on cue, Manson and Foley's heads flew up from their tests, agape at the teen. "You startled me!"

"Sorry," Danny said sheepishly. Lancer frowned as he noticed the bags under his student's eyes and the paleness of his complexion. "My Mom told me to give this to you." He waved a piece of paper from his hand before he handed it to the teacher.

Lancer opened it and saw the neat handwriting of Maddie Fenton. "Please excuse Danny after first period due to illness." Lancer looked the teen over again; Danny did look very ill. "You know Mr. Fenton, I would've been happy to give you a makeup test once you felt better."

Danny smiled at the man, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. "Mom's overreacting," he said with a shrug. "Besides, I didn't want to miss anymore school. This was the compromise."

Doubting the boy's words, Lancer sighed. "Very well," he said, handing Danny the test. "Essay question's on the board."

With a small nod, Danny turned to get to his desk. Mr. Lancer watched his slow, staggered steps curiously. Danny moved liked he was injured, stiffly moving as if he favoured one side. Lancer glanced at his two best friends and almost gasped at their expression. Tucker looked almost exasperated but mostly concerned. However Sam… she had so many emotions on her face directed at the boy, Lancer wasn't sure how Danny could weather it. He must have given them some sort of gesture, because both teens softened their expressions slightly, but still looked extremely concerned as Danny took his seat.

Lancer glanced at the student once more as he started writing, before looking out the window. The shield illuminated the town in a sickly green, creating eerie shadows across the school. Lancer shuddered in remembrance of how the town looked during the Ghost King invasion.

About halfway through the period, Lancer started to walk through the aisles of desks, attracting wandering eyes back to their tests. Sure enough, his star students were already finished and just waiting for the end of class. As he got the final row, he sensed something was off. Sam was still writing, with the occasional glimpses toward Danny, whereas Tucker had completed the test and was staring directly at his friend, concerned. Frowning, Lancer moved to Fenton's desk.

Danny was writing, slowly, but his body was shaking. He was paler than before and ultimately looked like he might be sick. "Mr. Fenton?" Lancer asked quietly. The boy didn't answer. Some of the students looked up and toward the commotion in the back; Lancer could swear he hear Baxter snickering slightly. "Danny?" Lancer touched his shoulder and with a soft groan Danny fell sideways. "All the Bright Places!" Lancer exclaimed, quickly moving to catch the boy. His eyes were closed, breathing ragged as the teacher tried to rouse him. "Daniel! Are you alright!?" Lancer moved the boy back upright in his seat, holding him steady. Eventually, Danny opened his eyes, blinking a few times before his gaze settled on his teacher.

"Mr. Lancer?" he asked, confused. Whispers started around the classroom.

"Fenton fainted!" Dash exclaimed unhelpfully, earning laughter from a group of his peers in his direct vicinity.

"Thank you for that, Mr. Baxter," Lancer said curtly, still looking Danny over as the boy tried to regain his bearings. "Daniel, perhaps you should go to the Nurse's office." When the teen in front of him didn't register his voice, Lancer frowned; he doubted the boy would make it on his own.

"I'll go with him!" The teacher turned, eyebrows raised at the three voices. He had expected Manson and Foley, but Ms. Gray's outburst? She hadn't shown interest in her peers since last year.

Manson and Gray were glaring at each other from across the room, some sort of rivalry shining in both their eyes. The concern for the boy was evident, but Lancer could sense the anger, worry and concern that Sam felt for Danny ooze out of her body. Mr. Foley on the other hand? It was a testament to how dire the situation must be for the teen to volunteer to go to the nurse's office.

Glancing back toward the ill teen, Lancer sighed. They didn't have time for the teacher to be suspicious. "Alright Mr. Foley, as you've finished."

Tucker hastily got out of his seat, gathered Danny's items and helped the sick student upright. Danny faltered as he stood, but regained his balance and managed to get himself out of the room, Tucker following closely behind him. Mr. Lancer watched them go, frowning slightly. There was something nagging him about this situation, but he couldn't place it. Once the students were down the hall, the teacher sighed as he pushed aside his worry yet again.

"Back at it Sophomores. The more you dally, the lower the grade."

:-=-:

The world exploded as he finally escaped that foul prison. Dan stretched, moving his stiff limbs as he looked at his surroundings. "Finally," he said, looking around the burning lair around him. "Now, where is that infernal Time Ghost." Flying upwards in the tower, Dan started to launch ecto-blasts at various clocks, trying to goad Clockwork into appearing. "Clockwork!" He yelled dramatically as he continued to destroy the lair.

A large chime made Dan stopped suddenly, enveloped in the chaos surrounding him. His eyes drifted to Clockwork's time glass as various battles involving his younger self played back at him through the blue flames. Dan frowned. "Of course, new timeline." He floated in place, watching his past self grow stronger in the time he was detained. It couldn't have been more than a year. The flames cracked the orb, running directly through an image of Danny fighting what looked like a large plant ghost.

"Perhaps I should show him what it's like to have a blast from your past," he mused, a small smile appearing at his face. He chuckled darkly as his hands lit up with green energy and broke the time glass in front of him. "Or rather, his future." Dan Phantom flew up and out of the burning tower, leaving behind a fading image of fifteen year old Danny Phantom on Clockwork's broken time glass. A few seconds later, horrific sonic waves reverberated through the tower, enhancing the flames and making the tower itself rumble. With a final crash, Clockwork's Clock Tower imploded, engulfed in flames.

:-=-:

Danny stumbled into a series of lockers, gripping it tightly as he heard Tucker come up behind him. They were out of earshot from Lancer's class and halfway to the nurse's office.

"What the hell Danny!?" Tucker asked angrily, arms crossed and a dangerous glare on his face. Danny sighed as he turned to his friend. "You're lucky you only passed out in there!"

"We still haven't gotten a hold of Ethelwulf," Danny told him, standing up straighter. "It's been three days; the school would be looking for answers if I missed another one. I needed to make an appearance somehow."

Tucker sighed, the anger still not leaving his face. "Why'd you pass out this time? Someone trying to get into the shield or another vision?"

"Vision," Danny said, looking away.

Tucker frowned. "It's another of Dan escaping, isn't it?" Tucker accused. The teen in question stayed silent. Taking that as his answer, Tucker sighed again. "Danny, that's the sixth one since the shield began! Don't you think some of these are just dreams?"

"Maybe," he conceded, frowning slightly. "But it doesn't explain why I keep getting them, or why they're appearing at random."

The two teens stood silent, waiting for the other to make the first move. Tucker sighed, his shoulders sagging in defeat as he walked closer to his friend. "Danny, you need to take the shield down," Tucker told him quietly, staring out the large window of the Casper High Hallway to their football field. Danny also turned his vision to the outside world. He felt the shield hum through his powers, frowning as he considered his friend's plea. "It's taking way too much energy to sustain and for what? Just a hunch that the worst villain you ever faced might be coming back?"

"Isn't that a reason to keep it up?" Danny refuted, eyebrow raised.

"Not at the risk to yourself!" Tucker exclaimed exasperatedly. "Let's say you're right, and he attacks the town. How are you going defend yourself? How are you going to fight?"

"It affects me less as Phantom."

"Bull," Tucker said angrily. "We both know it affects you regardless. You're using raw energy remember? There's a balance between you overextending the amount of core energy, which makes you relive the portal accident, and your base powers." Tucker's anger lessened a bit, trying to get his friend to see reason. "At least take back some of your energy; if you feel something attacking the shield then go nuts. This is too dangerous and there's no point in draining yourself."

Danny sighed, taking inventory of his powers. Tucker was right; he felt exhausted. He opened his mouth to agree, but gasped instead, doubling over in pain. Something was wrong. His eyes went green, mouth agape at an unseen foe.

"Danny!" Tucker exclaimed worriedly. The half-ghost looked up at his friend, alarmed.

"Duck," he gritted out, before the world was drowned out by a deep wail. The ground beneath them shook as Danny, biting back a scream, held the shield up. The windows shattered, leaving glass scattered around the teens as Tucker tried to keep his friend upright. After what felt like hours, the wail stopped, sending both teens crashing to the floor. Tucker looked at Danny with concern, watching his friend pant from exertion as the shield shuddered above them. Dread pooled in the pit of Tucker's stomach as he realized what that attack meant.

"Danny…" Tucker trailed off, wide eyed. Danny didn't answer; once he reclaimed his breathing, he gave Tucker a long look, causing the dark skinned teen's eyes to widen further in alarm. "Danny wait!" Tucker exclaimed, reaching out to his friend. It was too late; Danny transformed, grunting slightly, and took off, leaving his best friend behind in the destroyed hallway.

Tucker stood, watching him fly off in the distance before cursing. "Sam's going to kill me," he muttered, jumping up and running down the halls toward Jazz's homeroom.

[avocadogirl216]

Another Winchester?

AN: Hello Everyone! So lately I’ve been wanting to write a winchester x sister!reader and I got this idea. Just know that this is my first ever story that I have shared with anyone else so please let me know of any mistakes or any of your thoughts. Thank you!

Summary: You are the little sister of The infamous Winchester brothers and this is how you meet them. This is set in season six after Sam gets his soul back.

Warnings: Mentions of drinking and drugs,language, mentions of sex, some violence, mention of abusive mother, suicide by overdose, some blood and I think that’s it.

!TRIGGER WARNING! If you are easily triggered by mentions of abuse, suicide or drugs please DO NOT read this.

 Your name is (YN) Anderson. You’re 14 and a hunter. Your mother is Melinda Anderson who is a alcoholic and a drug addict. She was always either high or drunk and no matter what day or time it was. She was unemployed and brought home sketchy men almost every night.  She had an awful temper and the tiniest things would set her off and when she got angry, you didn’t want to be with her.  She would take it out on you and if she was too tired or drunk she would let her one night stands beat you until you were unconscious.  

Let’s just say you weren’t a big fan of her. You’ve tried to run away multiple times but since your mom has many drug dealers and one night stands pretty much everywhere in town you would always get caught.

Your father was John Winchester the infamous hunter. You didn’t know much about him. All that you knew was that he was in the Marines and that his wife, Mary Winchester, died in 1983. From time to time you would daydream about him, wondering what your life would be like if you lived with him instead of your mom.  

John worked a case in that town and after he finished the job he went to a bar got drunk and found your mom. Nine months later you were born.

You met your father when you were seven and there was a pack of werewolves in town that your father was hunting. He found out about you a couple years earlier and was surprised to find out that he had another child. Since he had been close to finding Yellow Eyes he didn’t have time to visit you and since him and Dean were hunting together for most of the time he didn’t want Dean to grow suspicious.

John shot a bullet in the heart of what he thought was the last werewolf he decided to finally go meet you.  He was nervous because he didn’t want anything happening to you considering his job.

He finally pulled up to your house. It was small and a little rundown but he didn’t care. All he cared about was you.

You were watching cartoons on the old TV in the living room when you heard the doorbell ring. Your little head perked up and the sudden noise.  You hopped off of the couch and walked over to the door and opened it only to reveal a man who was tall and muscular.  He looked down at you and started to take in your features.  

You were a spitting image of him except you had your mother’s chin and pale skin. You looked at each other in wonder for a good minute.

“H-hi” you squeaked. You were scared of the man standing at your door, especially since he was so big.

“Hey” John said while he was kneeling down to your height. God she is so small he thought.

“Who are you?” You said with more confidence.

John hesitated before he spoke. “My name is John.”

“What are you doing here?” You spoke while crossing your arms.

“I came to meet you.” He said

“Why?”

“Because...” he said while trying to think of the right words “I’m your father.”

You were surprised and a little confused.

You had a lot of questions. Your father? What was he doing here? Where had he been all your short and terrible life? You squinted your eyes and tilted your head a little.

John knew that you were confused “I know that this is a lot of information to take in and maybe if you get your mother then maybe she can explain things easier then I can.”

You didn’t want to bring you mother into this because then she would get furious at you about opening the door and talking to this man. You were tempted to let him in and talk to him and not caring about what her thoughts were. You knew what the punishment would be if you did that. But you were curious to learn more about this man.

“Mom isn’t home right now but you can come in if you want.”

John looked at you in shock. The way you trusted him to come into your house since you just met him made him worried. He saw how sketchy this town was and he saw some of the people, most importantly the men, on the streets and was nervous about how trusting you were.

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah”

“Don’t you think that I might hurt you or something?” He asked.

“No”

“Why is that?”

“Because you have a different look in your eyes then the other guys in this town.” You stated.

She’s smart thought John.

“So do you want to come in or...” you asked.

John hesitated “Uh yeah”

You opened the door for him and John walked in. He observed the place. It was dirty and needed cleaning, badly. You seemed to notice his eyes lingering on a certain spot on the wall.

“Sorry” you said shyly

“For what?”

“Our house is dirty” you said while tears started to form in your eyes.

John noticed this and kneeled down once again and hugged you. “It’s alright” he said. You sniffled and pulled back.

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah”

You two moved over to the couch and sat down. Y’all stared to talk and before you knew it, it was dark outside.  

You yawned.

“You tired?” John asked

“Yeah” you said while yawning agian

“Why don’t we put you to bed? Huh?”

“Will you be here tomorrow?” You asked

John sighed “I don’t think I can stay.”

“Why not?” You said sadly

“Because-“ but before he could say anything else the front door crashed opened and 3 men with yellow eyes, long nails and pointed teeth ran in.

You screamed while John hid you behind his back. The wolves surrounded the both of you.

“Well well what do we have here?” The biggest of the three said “The mighty John Winchester with a little girl. How cute.”

John pulled out his gun “How did you find us?”

“It wasn’t too hard. We just followed your scent and it led us to you.” Said another wolf.

“I’m going to enjoy ripping you apart for killing my family” said the biggest wolf.

“And the little girl will just be a bonus” snickered the smallest.

“Ok listen, you can have me just let her go” John said while you were clinging to his legs, shaking like a leaf.

“I don’t think that’s gonna happen” said the second wolf.

Then all of a sudden you screamed as you were ripped from Johns legs by a wolf that came in through the back door.

“No!” Yelled John

You were now crying hysterically. You didn’t know what was happening or who these people were. “Dad!” You screamed holding your arms out to him while struggling to get away from the werewolf holding you.

“Dad?” Said the one holding you “You have another kid?” The werewolf asked as he bent down and smelled you which was startling and made you whimper. Then the wolf stood up to his full height and said “Yep the little rugrat is yours. I can smell your blood in her veins.”

“Please just let her go” John pleaded “I’ll give you anything!”

“Now this doesn’t sound like the big, bad John Winchester that I’ve heard about.” Said the smallest one.

“How about you let her go and then I’ll show you how big and bad I am” John said with a sneer.

“Hmmm that does sound tempting but I have a better idea.” Said the fourth werewolf.

He kneeled and looked at you in the eyes while putting one hand on each shoulder. “This isn’t going to hurt for long” he said while showing you his teeth. You whimpered, still trying to get away from the monster from your nightmares.

Then a gunshot went off behind you which made you scream once again.

John was tackled to the ground by the other two werewolves and his gun slid across the floor hitting the wall to your left.

You were trying to get to him when the wolf that was holding you grabbed you tight and dug is long, sharp nails into your shoulders. You screamed in pain.

John brought out a silver knife and killed the other two wolves. He then tackled the wolf holding you and was on top of him in seconds.

They were fighting and you ran to the nearest corner watching as best that you could with the tears that were in your eyes.

The wolf then punched your dad in the face and flipped them so now he had the upper hand while your dad was struggling underneath him.

You were scared but you wanted to help so you looked over at the gun and picked it up.

You didn’t know how to use a gun but you did know that when you pulled the trigger the bullet would come out. So you pointed it at the monster that was hurting your father and you pulled the trigger.

A load shot rang off the walls and startled you. John then pushed the dead wolf off of him and ran over to you.

“Are you ok?”

You were shaking and confused “WHAT WAS THAT?!”

John sighed and debated on telling you what that really was.

“DAD WERE THOSE THINGS?” You Said sobbing.

He pulled you into a hug and picked you up. He then sat on the couch with you in his lap.

No way I’m getting out of this one John thought. He sighed. The told you everything.

You were terrified and confused.

After a while you fell asleep in Johns lap. He put you to bed, cleaned up the mess and left.

You woke up the next morning looking for your father but he was nowhere to be found.

About a week later a package came in the mail you opened it and it was a journal from him telling you everything you needed to know about how to kill monsters. That was the last time you ever saw your father.

Seven years later

(YN)’s POV

Dammit! 

You just got off of your shift from the towns diner and you were running late to get home.

Mom is going to be so pissed.

Since your Mom didn’t work you had to find a job which was the dishwasher at the local diner. You were surprised that they would hire you considering that you were only 14 but life is full of surprises.

You ran down the street at full speed and took two right turns and one left and there was your house.

You were hoping that your mother wasn’t home but your luck seems to be running out lately because her car was in the driveway.

Crap

You took some deep breaths and walked through the front door.

Something was off. You could feel it. The TV wasn’t on like it normally is or the fresh smell of weed wasn’t was strong as it usually was. But mom could be upstairs with another guy like Ace or James but there was this weird feeling in the pit of your stomach telling you different.

You pulled out your gun loaded with silver bullets and started to go though the house. Downstairs was clean. You slowly start to walk up the stairs to the second floor. She wasn’t in the bathroom or your bedroom. You took the risk of checking her room.  

You opened the door and you found her on the floor. Unmoving.

You walk over see a empty pill bottle in one hand and half a bottle of Jack Daniels in the other.

She still hasn’t moved.

You bent down slowly and checked her pulse.

Nothing.

Your mother was dead.

Dean’s POV

“I don’t know man. There isn’t any activity out there.” Said Sam

“Well I guess that we got lucky then.” Dean said as he looked over at his brother.

Sam scoffed “Dean I’m fine. I don’t remember anything about being soulless or anything about hell. So you can stop worrying about me.”

“I’m sorry have you met me?” Dean said “ I just want you to be careful and not having any activity is good because people are safe and you have less of a chance of your wall breaking and leaving you a drooling mess on the floor.”

Sam rolled his eyes “Yeah, whatever”

Dean returned is concentration to the road. He was actually glad that he could have a day off and hopefully he could stop thinking about the world ending crap that was hanging over their heads.

Another hour passed then there was a vibration coming from the glove department.

“What’s that?” Asked Dean

“I think its one of dad’s old phones.” Said Sam while he was opening the glove department. He searched through the clutter until he found the phone.

He answered it.

“Hello?” Sam Said

“Hello is this John Winchester?” Said a woman on the other end with an annoying high pitched voice.

Sam look over at Dean.

What? Dean mouthed

They’re asking for Dad. Sam mouthed back.

What do they want? 

I don’t know 

“Sir are you still there?” Said the annoying woman on the phone.

“Yeah I’m still here.”

“Is this John Winchester?” She asked again.

“Umm... no this isn’t him.” Said Sam. Dean then took the phone out of his brothers hand and started to talk.

“Why do you need him?” Asked Dean

“Sorry sir I cannot tell you unless you are John Winchester or a relative” said the woman.

“I’m his son. Now who are you and why do you need my father?” Dean said angrily.

“Apologies. My name is Cindy with Bay Area Adoption Services in Mountain View, California.  I am calling regarding John Winchester’s daughter.”

Daughter?

“Umm last time I checked my father doesn’t have another kid.” Said Dean.

“Well he does. His name is on her birth certificate and there was a DNA test done when she was born and this was the only number listed to get in contact with him.”

Dean was confused. Dad had a daughter? He had a little sister? Why didn’t he tell me about her?

“Why do you need him? Did something happen?” Dean asked.

“Yes something happened but I cannot discuss that over the phone since I have no identification on who you are. If you want to talk about the situation then we are going to have to meet up.”

“Umm ok. Where do you want to meet up at?”

“Bay Area Adoption Services in Mountain View, California” Said Cindy

They were in Nevada which was about 11 hours until Mountain View.

“What time?”

...

“I can’t believe we are doing this.” Said Dean. He was starting to have second thoughts.

“Hey it’s our sister. It doesn’t hurt to be curious.” Said Sam

“Yeah but what if she is like Adam? Huh? What then?”

“What if she’s not?” Argued Sam

“Well-“ Dean was interrupted by Cindy walking through the door.

“Hello! You much be the Winchester brothers! It’s so nice to meet you!” Cindy Said.

God her voice is worse in person. Thought Dean.

“Yup that’s us.” Sam Said

“So I’ve gone over your identifications and you seem to fit the profiles.” Cindy Said too enthusiastically.

“Good” Said Dean

“So I’m thinking that you would like to know some things about your sister.”

“Yeah” Dean said

“Well (YN) is 14 and a straight A student in all honors classes. She is actually in a grade higher than she should be. She is a little shy but who can blame her for everything she’s been through.”

“Wait. Everything she’s been through?” Asked Dean

“Well she didn’t have a father figure in life and her mother was a alcoholic and a drug addict who was also abusive.  Since her mother was unemployed, (YN) had to work two jobs after school and on the weekends. So her life hasn’t been easy.”

“She was abused? Why didn’t you do anything about it?” Asked Sam

“Believe me we tried.” Said Cindy “But every time we went to inspect, her mother would hide things, so we had nothing to report. But we could tell after the incident that (YN) was a little relieved that she wasn’t around her anymore.”

“The incident?” Asked Dean

“(YN) came home from working at the local diner to find her mother dead on the floor.”

Sam and Dean shared a look.

“How exactly did her mother die?” Asked Sam

“Overdose on sleeping pills and alcohol.” Cindy stated. “Why?”

“Just curious” Said Dean

Poor kid 

“Okay... well would you like to meet (YN)?”

Cindy Asked.

“Why not” Dean Said with a slightly fake smile.

“Let me go get her.” Said Cindy happily.

(YN)’s POV

They pulled you out of breakfast to talk to someone who might be willing to adopt you. You’ve been here for three days now and all you wanted was to get the hell out of there. Lately you’ve been planning to get out and your pretty close to a almost foul proof plan.

Cindy took you into a room with 4 chairs and a table in the middle. It looked like an interrogation room. There were also two men. One was really tall with long, shaggy hair with puppy dog eyes. The other was slightly shorter with short, spiky hair and apple green eyes. Both were muscled and intimidating to you, considering that you were only 5’1.

“I’ll leave you three to talk to each other.” Cindy Said in her annoyingly high pitched voice.

She closed the door and there was an awkward silence that followed.

You walked over to the table and sat down in front of the two of them.  You stared at each other for a little while when the taller one that reminds you of a moose decided to break the ice.

“Hi. I’m Sam and this is my brother Dean.” He Said as he held out his hand for you to shake.

“Umm hi. I’m (YN)” you said quietly, taking Sam’s hand.

You looked over at Dean to see if his hand was out to shake but it wasn’t so you just put your hand in your lap.

An awkward silence followed. “So...” you said trying release the tension in the room.

“So...” Said Dean

“Umm So where did you guys come from?” You Asked

“Northern Nevada” Sam said

“Huh. Isn’t that like 11 hours away or something?” You asked

“Yup” Dean said flatly. He looked bored. Like he didn’t want to be here but honestly neither did you.

A moment of silence followed. You kept looking around the room while wringing your hands, trying to think of a way to either break the silence or get out of there.

While you were looking around your necklace fell out of the collar of your shirt which had an anti possession symbol on it.

“What’s that?” Dean said pointing to your necklace.

You looked down and saw the necklace. “Oh umm it’s a charm that prevents possession.” You Said. Wow real smooth (YN). Now they might think that you worship Satan or something.

“Possession? Like demonic or...?” Dean questioned.

“Well yeah.” You Said.

“Huh. You believe that stuff?” Dean asked skeptically.

You looked at him in the eye. “Call me superstitious.”

Sam and Dean looked at you curiously.

These two know a lot more than they were letting on. The way that they looked at you and the way that Dean asked questions, they probably knew a thing or two about the supernatural world. You were going to ask them if they believed in the supernatural but the door suddenly opened and in walked Cindy “Well now that you’ve learned a little bit about each other I hope that the brothers have come to a conclusion.” She said hopefully while looking between you and the brothers.

“Umm...well... could we talk to you in private please:” Sam Said

“Of course! (YN) could you please come with me?”

“Yeah, sure” you said. You wanted to get out of there more than anything. You gave one last look over to the mysterious brothers who are supposedly from Nevada and you walked out.

Cindy took you to your temporary room and closed the door behind you.

Something was off about those two. I can feel it. I don’t want to stick around and find out. You decided to put your plan into action. You grabbed your backpack with your clothes, money and hunting supplies then opened your window. You were on the third floor so jumping wasn’t an option. You looked on both sides of the building noticing a fire escape a couple of feet away. The only way to get to that was to walk on the tiny ledge on the side of the building that couldn’t have been more than a foot wide. So your options were you could either go with those mysterious men who were demons or god knows what or walk down this ledge and more than likely fall and break a couple of bones. 

No competition.

You carefully put your foot on the ledge and grabbed onto the side of the building as best as you could. You started to shuffle over to carefully.  There was a large gust of wind that nearly made you topple over the edge but you quickly grabbed onto the edge of the fire escape. Breathing in a sigh of relief, you put one leg over the rail of the escape, then the other. You started to climb down the ladder until you reached the ground.

You ran down the alley and never looked back at the adoption center.

Deans POV

Cindy came back 3 minutes later.

“So have you boys come to a decision?” Cindy asked.

“Well...(YN) seems like a good kid but-” Sam tried to say but Dean interrupted him “Is there a way that we can wait on the adoption? So that we can have some time to think about this?” Sam gave is brother a look saying what are you doing?

“Of course. I can give you 24 hours to think this over. I understand your hesitation considering that adoption is a huge step in both yours and (YN)’s life.”

“Great. See you in 24 hours.” Dean said while walking out of the room.

Once the brothers were outside and in Baby, Sam had a million questions for his brother.

“What the hell Dean?”

“What?”

“You’re not seriously considering this, are you?” 

“Why not?” Dean asked

“Dean you know that this life isn’t for a kid, especially one who has barley lived their life.” Sam argued.

“Don’t you think that I know that? I’m not stupid Sam, I know how dangerous this life is, but you saw her necklace and she knew exactly what it represented. Maybe she already hunts.”

“Are you nuts Dean? She’s only 14. How could she hunt? With a fake badge? We both know that no one would buy that and not to mention that she didn’t have that look to her.”

“What look?”

“The look that every hunter has, the look of not having hope and the look of lose and pain.”

“That doesn’t mean anything. I think that she already knows about whats really in the dark and she more than likely knows how to kill almost every evil son of bitch that’s out there.” Dean said.

“We need proof Dean.” Sam said with a hint of annoyance.

“I know that. I’m still not even 100% about this yet but how about this, if we can’t find any proof in the next 24 hours then we drop it and let (YN) have a normal life and get adopted by a soccer mom or something, but if we do find any proof then we can take her and help her.  After all she is Dad’s kid, so if any monsters find out about that then we have to protect her. Deal?” Dean offered.

Sam sighed and looked out the window for a good minute before answering. “Deal”

(YN)’s  POV

You walked to the bus station and opened the door.  There weren’t that many people in there. There was a married couple arguing with the ticket agent about a refund, there was a frazzled mother and her crying child at the vending machines and there was a homeless man who was very dirty and sitting at one of the many benches.

You walked over to one of the counters to a ticket agent who looked bored and annoyed.  “Can I help you?” He said flatly. 

“Umm yeah I was hoping to buy a bus ticket.” You said

“Doesn’t everyone.” Said the man “And aren’t you a little young to be buying a bus ticket by yourself?”

You pulled out your wallet and handed the man a 20. “I don’t have to be.” You said.

The agent perked up and immediately took the money with a little too much force.  “Where to?”

“Whats your furthest route?” You asked.

“Hmm lemme see.” The man said while looking at his computer.  After about half a minute of listening to the man type he answered “Aspen, Colorado.”

“Perfect. How much?” 

“About $400.” 

Your mouth dropped open but you gotta do what you gotta do “Okay” You said while handing him the money. He counted the money out loud and when he was satisfied he pushed a button on the keyboard and a ticket printed out. He handed you the ticket. “The bus leaves here in about 5 hours.”

“Okay, thank you.” You stared to walk out but something crossed your mind. You need to cover your tracks because CPS will be looking for you and they would more than likely come here. So you turned around and walked back to the counter and pulled out a 50 and handed it to the man. “If anybody comes in here asking for me, tell them that I went to Southern California.”

The man gave you a look but took the money. “You betcha.”

You walked out of the building and you put the ticket into your left jacket pocket. You had time to kill and on your way here you saw a small diner. So you started to make your way to the diner.

...

You took a seat  at the back of the diner and sat in a chair facing away from the door. You ordered a bacon cheeseburger with extra fries and extra bacon with a cherry coke. While you were waiting for your food you heard a rumble of a car. You turned around and saw a beautiful black ‘67 Chevy Impala pulling into a parking spot.

Damn what I would kill to have that car

While you were admiring the car you didn’t see who was driving it.  When both of the front doors swung open the two men from the adoption center walked out and shut the doors.

Crap. What are they doing here?

You turned around and put on your hood on to cover your face.

I can’t leave now, they would notice me.

You tried to think of any escape routes other than the front door. The back door from the kitchen might work if you didn’t get caught which is a pretty big if. There might be a window in the bathroom but if there wasn’t then you would have to walk out and risk them seeing your face. You were trapped.

The bell above the door rung and Sam and Dean walked in and sat down at one of the tables in the middle. You moved your hair to try to cover your face more.

“What are you two fellas gonna get?” The waitress, Kacey, asked.

“I’ll have a bacon cheeseburger with extra bacon and extra fries while my brother here will have a salad with extra tomatoes.”

“Ok. I’ll get that right out.” Kacey said in a cheery voice.

After a couple of minutes of listening to Sam and Dean argue about who was better, Jet Li or Chuck Norris, Kacey brought out your order.

“Would you like to have any condiments with that?΅

“Umm, some ketchup please.” You said quietly trying not to be heard by the brothers.

“Okay! Be out in a shake!” Kacey said while walking back to the kitchen.

Deans phone rang and he answered it. After another minute of waiting, Kacey walked out with the ketchup. She placed the bottle on the table and walked away. You put some by your fries and on your burger. When you were done you screwed the lid back on it and placed it on the edge of the table. Dean hung up the call and started to talk quietly with Sam. You reached for your drink and your arm bumped into the bottle which made it topple over the edge of the table. It broke with a crash.

Of course it had to be a glass bottle.

Everyone in the tiny diner looked at where the noise came from and looked straight at you. You looked up and saw the brothers staring at you. 

Uh oh

They shared a look, stood up and walked over to your table.

Crap what do I do?

They stood at the end of your table and stared down at you.

“Well hello (YN). Fancy meeting you here.” Dean said.

You tried to play it off cool. “I know. Isn’t it a small world?” You said with a nervous chuckle.

Dean crossed his arms while Sam arched is eyebrow.

“What are you doing here?” Sam asked while taking a seat across from you. Dean followed suit.

“Umm...eating?”

“Cute. He means why are you here instead of the adoption center?” Dean said

“Well... I went on a walk and got hungry and then I came here.” You said while scratching the back of your neck.

“Huh” Sam said, not buying a word you were saying,“Some walk. Considering that the adoption center just called us saying that you were missing.” Sam said.

You didn’t know what do say so you just looked down at your hands in your lap.

“Are you running away?” Dean asked

You looked back up at them. “If you want to call it that.”

“Why?” Dean asked while looking in your eyes.

“Because I don’t want to stick around here and I don’t want to get adopted.”

“Why not?” Sam asked while looking at you with his puppy eyes.

“Because I have very bad luck that follows me wherever I go. Believe me I’m saving you the trouble.” You said while popping a fry in your mouth.

“Bad luck like...” Sam pried

“Bad luck like getting people hurt or worse.” You said a little agitated.

“Is this about your mom?” Dean asked

You tensed when he said the word mom.

“No”

The brothers noticed you tense. “Are you sure?” Sam asked.

You let out an angry sigh “This has nothing to do with my mom. I hated her and I know what you are gonna say ‘Oh your just overreacting’ or some crap like that but I did and I still do.  She was a selfish bitch who only cared about drinking, drugs and sex. So could you please drop it.” You now had tears spilling down your face and you avoided eye contact with Sam and Dean.

Silence followed for about a minute then you wiped your face and got your self situated. “I’m sorry. I-I didn’t mean to blow up like that.”

“Hey its okay. Its understandable.” Sam said

You sniffled.

More awkward silence followed. You wanted to break the silence so you asked them a question. “So I’m just wondering, why did you guys come from Nevada for me?”

“Well we got a phone call from the agency telling us about you.” Dean said

“Why? Were you guys looking for someone to adopt or what?” You asked

Sam and Dean looked at each other then Dean spoke. “No but they were looking for our dad.”

“Why would they be looking for your dad?”

The brothers were quiet for a little bit, trying to find the right words.

“Who are you people?” You asked

“We told you.” Dean said

“Yeah you told me your first names and that’s it.”

Dean sighed “My name is Dean Winchester and this is my brother Sam.”

“Winchester? Like John Winchester?” You asked

“You know him?” Dean asked

“Well yeah. He’s my dad.” You said it like it was obvious.

“Well... he’s our dad too.” Sam said

“What?!” You said. Dad had other kids? I had brothers?

“Hold on. Have you even met dad before?” Dean asked

“Once. About seven years ago.”

“What happened?”

You went quiet. “You wouldn’t believe me.”

“Try us” Sam said

You sighed. “I was seven and it was a normal day. Mom was out and I was home alone when the doorbell rang. I went to answer it and there stood Dad. We talked and hung out all day and when it was night I was ready to go to bed when...” you stopped yourself. If you told them what really happened then they would think that you are crazy.

“When what?” Dean asked

“When the door was kicked in and some... werewolves broke in.” You looked up at your brothers and they were staring at you.

“I told you that you wouldn’t believe me.”

“We never said we didn’t” Sam said calmly “What happened after that?”

You took a deep breath “Then they surrounded us while Dad got a gun out. The wolves were talking about how he didn’t seem to live up to his reputation. One snuck in and grabbed me from Dad.  It nearly bit me when dad killed the others and tackled the one who was holding me.  I saw his gun on the floor. picked it up and killed it. Then Dad told me about everything.”

Sam and Dean were quiet. 

“Then what happened?” Sam asked

“I woke up the next morning and he was gone. A week later he sent this in the mail.” You dug around in your bag when you finally found the old, leather bound journal that he sent to you all those years ago.

“This has taught me everything I know about hunting.” You said as you handed your brothers the journal.

Dean took it and flipped through the pages. “It’s in his handwriting.” He said to Sam.

Sam then took it from his brother and did the same as Dean. He handed it back to you.

Sam spoke “We have one like it.” He signaled Dean to get it out. Dean gave you a wary look but got it out and handed it to you. 

It looked just like yours but thicker and more worn.

“May I?” You asked

Dean and Sam nodded.

You flipped it open. You were hit with the smell of whiskey and ink. You flipped through the pages when a picture fell out. You picked it up and observed it. It was of a woman with a bright smile and blond hair hugging a little boy whose face was full of freckles and had bright green eyes.

You looked up at Dean and asked him “Is this you and your mom?”

“Yeah” He said with a hint of sadness

“She’s pretty.” You said as you handed him the photo and the journal.

“Thanks” He said.

“So, you hunt?” Sam said

“Yeah I do. Mostly ghosts and demons but there’s been a pack of werewolves or vamps here and there. I killed a ghoul and a witch once. That wasn’t very fun.” You told them.

They looked at you like you just grew two heads.

“By yourself?” Dean asked in shock.

“Yeah”

“But your only 14.” Sam said with the same amount of shock as his brother.

“And? Age is just a number. I know how to work a gun and I know how to kick some ass.” You said in a proud voice.

“When did you actually start to hunt?” Dean asked in a big brother voice.

“When I was 10. When I was younger I found cases and sent them to local hunters and now I hunt with cases that are near me.” You told them.

Dean shook his head while Sam’s mouth hung open.

“And another thing. How do I know if you are legit? You could be a ghoul or a shifter for all I know.”

Sam and Dean gave you a look but held out their arms for you to test. You looked around to make sure that no one was watching when you pulled out a small pocket knife made of silver and cut them both with it. When their skin didn’t sizzle you got out a flask that had a cross on the outside of it and poured it onto their skin. 

“Okay. Your turn.” Dean said.

You held out your arm and he did the same to you. When you were all satisfied you spoke. “Sorry I meant to do that earlier but I didn’t want you to think that I was trying to kill you or something.”

“We understand. It doesn’t hurt to be too careful.” Sam said with a smile.

Some time passed with silence.

“So what now?” You asked your brothers.

“What do you mean?” Dean asked

“Well I have two options. Option one is to take this bus ticket-” you pulled out the bus ticket you bought earlier “- or I could go with you guys.”

Sam and Dean looked at each other and had a silent conversation. 

“Look, I know that is a lot to ask of you guys. I mean your the infamous Winchester brothers who saved the world. You always have a world ending crisis on your plates and I get if this is too much. I can go on my way and if you like, we don’t have to talk to each other again. It’s your choice.”

They both looked at you like you were crazy.

“Would you quit hunting if you went on your own?” Dean asked

“No” You said

“Why not?” Sam asked

“Because you can’t just leave the hunting life. You can run and hide all you want but it will catch up to you. So I might as well embrace my future rather than fight it and get hurt.”

You had a point. Both Sam and Dean have tried to live normal lives but it didn’t work out and they didn’t want you to go through that pain that they went through. Although they didn’t want you to go through the pain of the hunting life, you had them to protect you. That much they knew.

After a while of thinking Dean stood up and Sam followed suit. They started to walk to the front of the diner. Dean turned around and said “You coming or not kid?”

A smile grew on your face. You grabbed your backpack and slung it over your shoulder while you threw some cash on the table and you walked towards your brothers.

Sam opened the back door of the impala for you and you slid in. Both brothers got in the front seat and Dean turned the key in the ignition which made the engine roar a beautiful sound. 

You pulled onto the highway that lead you down your new life and destiny.

The End

(Sorry if this sucked. It was my first story)

[hotchley]

the first christmas

please don’t judge the title or quaity of this, it’s 00:50 and i’ve not proofread it. we’re just going to go with it.

summary: it’s baby hotchner’s first christmas that he’s actually going to remember. it’s mostly pure fluff with like the smallest amount of angst, but the ending is happy and nobody dies or gets hurt so we’re classing it as a win. and fluffy.

trigger warnings: implied/referenced child abuse

read on ao3!

Christmas was fast-approaching, and they still weren’t ready. Initially, Dave had wanted everything to be perfect. Now… he just wanted everything to be ready before Aaron woke up. SSA Hotchner had taken a tumble into a river and emerged from it as an eight-year-old. Well, a sort of eight-year-old. He had memories of being an adult, but they were fuzzy at best. And his speech, the way he did things, and his size were that of an eight-year-old.

Jack seemed to be having the time of his life. Dave was just worried they were going to do something horrifically wrong. Like Christmas. Hotch never really opened up about his plans for the holiday season, and now, every time someone tried to get him to open up about what he wanted to do, he clammed up. Or he’d change the subject.

One time, Spencer had asked, and he’d run out the room before he could even finish the question.

They stopped trying to ask him after that. Jessica had no idea what his Christmas traditions had been growing up as her family had only moved when he was going into his senior year, and after him and Haley got married, she still never really knew what the two of them got up to. Jack had seemed uncomfortable when they asked him. After much prodding and gentle confirmation that there would be no judgement, no matter what he said, Emily managed to pry the information from him.

In the years between the divorce and Haley’s death, Christmas was spent with Haley and Jessica, with Aaron there but not really there because you could cut the tension with a knife. After she died, Hotch had always sent Jack to his grandparents for Christmas because then he could see his cousins and spend time with the family he rarely saw. Which meant Hotch usually spent Christmas as an adult alone and sad.

He couldn’t believe none of them had ever realised, but then JJ and Will would always go and see her mom. Spencer would go down to Las Vegas. Derek and Penelope would go to Chicago and then to visit her parents grave. Dave’s plans varied on who was in the area and Emily usually went as far from her family as was possible. But they had all at least had someone. Hotch had nobody.

Rossi suspected that was how he spent a lot of his childhood too. There was no other reason that he would be so small. Because Rossi remembered Jack and Henry when they were the age Hotch now was. They were both healthy and lively. Hotch seemed far too small and far too nervous for a child that was supposedly safe.

He shook his head and stared at the sight before him. The tree that he had gotten at the last minute was still bare because every time he tried to decorate it, something just wouldn’t look right. Garcia was going to come round with cookies and the rest of the team would also be arriving at various different times with assorted items. He knew that meant presents.

Garcia arrived thirty minutes early. When he opened the door to her, he was greeted by bags. Lots and lots of bags.

“Penelope, what have you done?”

She walked in with the two smallest and lightest bags. He sighed and picked up the rest, following her into the hallway as she toed off her shoes and hung up her coat.

“Well Hotch won’t open up about Christmas so we don’t know what traditions he remembers or did. Which means we need to do all of them. I have decorations, cookie ingredients, stockings, films, books and of course, everything you need for the perfect hot chocolate. And he may still believe in Santa so there are some carrots and mince pies.”

“Wait. Cookie ingredients? I thought you were going to bring them?”

Garcia didn’t respond. She’d walked into the living room whilst she had explained what was in the bags and Rossi suspected it was because she hadn’t heard him. He sighed and followed her in. She was staring at the tree.

“What is that?” she whispered, seemingly horrified.

“Look don’t judge me. I tried to decorate it. Multiple times. But every time, something just didn’t look right and I had to start over. I’m a perfectionist. Sue me.”

She turned and stared at him. “Rossi, I don’t know what planet you’ve been living on, but a Christmas tree isn’t supposed to look perfect. It’s supposed to be fun. And I know you want to surprise bossboy, but I think he should be involved. After all, he probably doesn’t remember a single Christmas fondly.”

Rossi realised she, as always, was right. “I guess I got so caught up in trying to get everything to be perfect for him that I forgot it was meant to be fun.”

“Would you look at that? He’s willing to admit when he’s wrong. Where is baby Hotchner at the moment?”

“Upstairs, napping. I don’t think he slept well last night. I also don’t think he likes being called baby Hotchner given that he’s not actually a baby.”

“Well what am I meant to call him? If I say Hotch, then it sounds like I’m referring to the big, mean to unsubs but sweet to the rest of us, federal agent. And Aaron just feels wrong.”

Rossi smiled at her antics. “Maybe. We’ll come up with a better nickname at some point. Do you want me to get him or will you be okay?”

“Oh I’ll get him! Kids that have just woken up are the cutest thing ever!”

Twenty minutes later, Garcia came down the stairs, her hand being held by Aaron.

He looked tiny, even for a child. His pyjamas, which consisted of a green dinosaur top and matching bottoms (only the bottoms had different dinosaurs all over it whilst the top was a single red one) seemed to swallow him up. His hair was falling in his face and incredibly floppy, only made worse by his recent waking up.

It was an adorable sight, watching him rub one eye to get the sleep out.

Dave crouched down, even as his knees winced. Aaron stared at him with wide eyes.

“How are you feeling little one?” he asked.

Aaron shrugged. “Miss Penny said that we were going to do something fun because of Christmas, so I guess I’m okay.”

It took Rossi a moment to understand what he was saying. He doubted any of them- aside from Will- would actually be able to understand his accent immediately for a long time.

“Yeah. We are going to decorate the Christmas tree that’s over there, and then we’re going to bake some cookies. Then, we can all sit on the couch, drinking hot chocolate and watch a film that you’ll get to pick. And after that, when it’s time to go to sleep, we’ll read a special Christmas story!” Garcia said, more excited than the actual kid.

Aaron turned to stare at her, a little disbelieving. “Really?”

She nodded. “Yeah baby Hotchner. Really.”

He still seemed suspicious. “No catch?”

Garcia’s smile faded and she sat beside him too. “No baby. No catches.”

Hotch regarded her for another moment then turned to Rossi. “Promise Mr David?”

Dave’s heart cracked a little. “I promise.”

“Okay. How do we decorate the tree?” he walked over on little legs to stare at it in awe, before moving onto the bags. He looked at Garcia for permission to look through and when she nodded, he smiled so brightly that Dave wanted to freeze the moment and live in it forever.

Garcia turned to Dave. “Rossi, I-”

“Don’t. Not now. He’s very perceptive. Aaron, we can decorate it however you want. You’re too small to put some of the stuff on, but if you tell us, we’ll do it for you. You can do the branches that are lower down.”

Aaron dropped the tinsel. “However I want?”

Garcia nodded. “It’s your tree.”

Aaron grinned and immediately started dragging all the decorations that he wanted to use towards the tree. Both adults got the hint and stood up, walked over to him and started talking about where the best place to put the various items was.

JJ and Derek came in halfway through the decorating process. Aaron froze momentarily, but when they both smiled and complimented the very hectic tree he relaxed and carried on like nothing had happened.

Morgan lifted him up so he could put the star on and Hotch let out a childish squeal that none of them were ever going to let him forget, and just like that, the tree was done. There was tinsel in all the colours of the rainbow draped over random branches, and baubles hanging off every available surface. The lights were wrapped around each section, going the opposite way to the tinsel and the star at the top was crooked. In Dave’s honest opinion, it looked horrific. But Aaron’s smile and pride in his creation made it beautiful.

When Spencer joined them, right before they started making the cookies, Aaron went into shy mode and hid behind Dave’s legs, peering out from behind him to see Spencer joking with Morgan and Penelope.

“Do you want to go and say hi to Mr Spence?” JJ asked gently.

Aaron shook his head. “Last time he was here, I ran away so I don’t think he wants to be my friend.”

JJ looked shocked. “Of course he wants to be your friend! He gets why you ran away, it’s okay darling. You don’t believe me? Okay. Hold my hand, and I’ll show you how much Spencer wants to be your friend. Come on, let’s go.”

He looked doubtful, but Hotch liked and trusted JJ so he stopped hiding and went over to where Spencer was.

“Hotch! Hi there!” Spencer greeted.

Hotch looked up at JJ who smiled encouragingly.

“Mr Spencer, are you angry at me for running away?” he asked.

Spencer frowned. “No. Of course not. I was a little bit upset, because I thought you didn’t like me, but now I get why you ran away and it’s okay. We’re still best friends forever right?”

Hotch nodded, face very serious. “Forever.”

“Well now that’s been established, lets make some cookies,” Derek said.

“You just want to eat mine,” Garcia scoffed.

“I’d rather eat something else of-”

Garcia hit him. “Not in front of baby Hotchner.”

“Miss Penny? When is Miss Emily going to be here?” he asked.

As if on cue, the door swung open to reveal her. “You really shouldn’t keep the spare key under your doormat. Anyone could just waltz in.”

Hotch threw himself into her arms and she stumbled back slightly. “Oh hello child.”

He looked up at her, cheeks slightly flushed. “Hello Miss Emmy. We’re going to make cookies.”

She smiled. “I love cookies. Do you?”

He nodded. “Miss Penny made some a week ago, but these are going to be special because they’re Christmas cookies. She decorated the tree as well, but I got to tell her what to do. Come and see it!” he said without breathing before dragging her to see it.

The others just shrugged, not willing to dampen his spirits.

“I love him as a kid,” Derek commented as they watched him explain the tree in extensive detail.

Baking cookies consisted of Garcia telling the others what to do and then doing it for them because they couldn’t do it right and Aaron giggling at all of them for being silly. His eyes lit up when Garcia gave him the bowls and a spoon before telling him to eat the cookie dough.

He watched the oven very intently. Reid sat beside him, and before anyone knew what was happening, Hotch was running over to them and asking if they wanted to hear what Dr Spencer- not Mr- had taught him.

Garcia let him decorate a whole batch. More icing ended up on his poor countertops and Aaron’s clothes than on the actual cookie, but if you didn’t look too closely, his reindeer and snowman actually looked like they were the things they were meant to be. And then Derek let him have two, which led to Spencer chasing him all over the mansion- not the house- to burn off the energy.

After several hours, they both collapsed on the couch. Aaron climbed into Garcia’s lap, eyes bright and cheeks red.

“I had so much fun Miss Penny!” he exclaimed.

“I’m so happy for you. Do you want a hot chocolate? We can put… marshmallows and cream and cinnamon in it,” she said.

He smiled. “Please Miss Penny.”

“Okay kiddo. One hot chocolate coming right up.”

He settled onto the couch, nestled in between Dave and Penelope when she came back and handed him the mug, full to the brim with cream and other assorted toppings that were definitely going to ruin his teeth.

“This is the best thing I’ve ever had,” he whispered to her, as though it was a very important secret.

“Even better than Mr David’s spaghetti?” she teased.

Aaron paled and seriously considered her question for a few moments before giving the slightest nod. Garcia squealed then went silent when Dave shot her a strange look. It was halfway through Nativity! that Aaron drifted off, the events of the day finally catching up to him.

Derek was the only one able to carry him up without waking him, so the moment they all realised he was indeed sleeping, they switched the film off. Whilst Derek took the sleeping Hotch to Dave’s guest room that they were going to redecorate as soon as possible, Emily grabbed the first book off the pile and followed. The rest stayed downstairs to wrap the presents that Garcia had left in her car, just in case.

Upstairs, Derek and Emily were watching Aaron sleep. Emily read him Stick Man, deciding it was the best story they could have picked.

“He’s so small,” she whispered.

“He shouldn’t be,” Derek said, switching Aaron’s nightlight on before stepping out the room, leaving the door slightly open.

Emily sighed. “Why are we so full of sadness on Christmas Eve?”

Derek wrapped an arm around her. “It’ll all be fine. There. Optimism.”

She rolled her eyes but smiled at him fondly. “Let’s just go help the others wrap, and by that I mean eat the mince pies meant for Santa.”

It was Derek’s turn to roll his eyes.

Dave woke Aaron up slightly later than normal, deeming the events of the previous night reason enough to let him sleep in.

“Merry Christmas little one,” Dave said.

“It’s Christmas?” Aaron said.

Dave nodded. “And I want you to come and see something. You don’t need to get dressed or anything like that. Actually, do you need to pee?”

Aaron nodded, so Dave let him go.

When he came back, Dave stood, ready to just go downstairs when he picked up on Aaron’s hesitance.

“What is it?”

Aaron stared at the carpet for a few moments.

“Little one, you can tell me.”

Aaron didn’t say anything but made grabby hands.

Dave smiled. “Of course.” He picked Aaron up, regretting it almost immediately but only setting him down when they were about to go into the living room.

“Close your eyes. I promise you it’s a good surprise.”

He only hesitated for a moment before complying and walking in, both hands covering his eyes that were almost certainly squeezed shut.

“Open your eyes,” he said, flicking the light on at the same moment that Aaron did.

“Merry Christmas baby Hotchner!” Garcia shouted.

The others chimed in with their own festive greetings.

Aaron seemed overwhelmed, so Spencer went and knelt beside him, explaining exactly what they were going to do, which calmed him down as he started smiling and seemed very excited for all the presents that were under the tree and addressed to him.

Hours later, when Aaron was resting his head on Spencer’s lap so his hair would be played with, Jessica and Jack arrived, having left her dad’s house early. They watched the scene play out from the doorway, smiling when Dave walked over. He nodded in acknowledgement, not wanting to disturb the scene they were all watching.

“He looks so relaxed,” Jack said.

“I still can’t get over how well you’re taking this,” Jessica admitted.

He shrugged. “I’m just trying to not think about it too much. If it means Dad is going to smile and have some better memories, then I’ll choose to focus on that instead.”

Dave smiled at that. They would worry about the cure later. For now, they would give Aaron some better memories.

When they were winding down for the day, Aaron went up to Dave and Penelope, Spencer holding his hand as the two of them were Best Friends Forever and had to do everything together- Aaron’s words.

“Mr David? Miss Penny?”

They paused in their washing/drying duties and turned to face him so he knew he had their full attention.

“Yes?” Penelope said.

“This was the best Christmas ever.”

Penelope scooped her into his arms, and when the others realised they were hugging a definitely touch-starved Aaron, they all came running over and in that moment, there was no evil or bad in the world because for the first time, child Aaron Hotchner felt completely and utterly safe.

[autismisaokay]

As a fair warning this post is a time where I break my NSFW rule because it has to do about my body and health. So as a warning I will be talking about some heavy stuff.

I wasn’t sure when there was going to be a good time to really bring this up. A while back I brought up that I was doing research on trans man. Lately I’ve also been reblogging some trans support and resources. I just got a question asking if I was trans and the answer is, yes I’m a man. More specifically I’m a trans man.

Honestly this whole process has been just that a process and it’s no where near from being done. I’ve been terrified to bring this up for multiple reasons that I can’t even list all here. I was going to wait until I was on T before I started to really choose. However my insurance won’t pay for my HRT until I have a psych eval and I’ve been living as a man (again without T) for 12 months. An people have really started to pick it up irl and it was only a matter of time until people started to figure it out here.

This hasn’t been fun for me and I had to come out twice in the span of three days to my mother. Who says she will not respect my pronouns or my name until I’ve gotten them legally changed and gotten the psych eval. (The fact I also need to do a psych eval in the first place is really degrading to me) She also told me that since I never played with trucks as a kid or didn’t show signs to her that I can’t be trans. She would have accepted me if I had shown the signs early on and she knows trans people and I can’t be one. I tried telling her I was scared and I hid it. She also told me that my grandmother knows and my grandmother asks that I, “Please wait until she dies.” To transition or else this will be the thing that kills her and she doesn’t have long left anyway. My grandmother was my first best friend in the world and I thought would be until the day she died and the family member I was closest to. I’ve also been told by my mother that I’m being selfish and that the rest of my family wouldn’t accept this. Which I told her I understood.

My mom thinks I’m doing this for attention, I got caught up in one of my “phases”, and because it’s a “internet trend.” When I told her this is who I am she said that, “this is who I am” is the buzzword for the trans internet right now and to try again and give her another reason other than that. She also believes being trans is a trend right now. Which is another reason why I was scared to come out here. I know a lot of people are transitioning here and I was horrified of looking like I was doing this for attention or trying to take attention away.

She wants me to go to my endo appointment and an eval and she says she’ll only accept this unless they do because “she has to” at that point. She doesn’t want to do any of this and in order for me to get any respect I have to hold her hand. I understand she’s grieving a child but I feel like my whole family just died and she kinda confirmed they did, metaphorically.

This is my coming out letter I wrote that I got to read the second time I came out that I couldn’t read to her the first time. I think it will help explain what I’ve been going through.

“I’ve been receiving a variety of questions on my appearance and mental health from multiple people. “Why did you change things up?” Or, “What’s been going on with me?” Lately I have had a lot of time to consider seriously what I’ve wanted out of life as well as my identity as a whole. What could make and, in many ways, would make me the happiest. To put it bluntly, I figured out I’m a man. I ask that you please save all questions or comments until the end of what I have said, thank you.

There was this over looming anxiety I couldn’t quite put together throughout the process of figuring this out. There was this “entity” we will call it, I had always put to the side or hid for years. Because in the end I didn’t even really have a discernible answer for it. And if I could keep pushing this to the side, it must not be that big of a deal or even affect me that badly. I would always find, or was, in some sort of distraction to keep from digging any deeper into my identity then I was ready for.

When I discovered I’m autistic for the first time for a while it seemed to solve many of my questions, and I was able to put things to bed for a while. Until those self-reflective questions, feelings, and thoughts on who I am woke up in a panicked scream again a couple of years later. Yet I still tried metaphorically placing a pillow over its head to try and force it all “back to bed.” I repeated this cycle again and again, and each time events in my life would cause those questions and feelings to resurface. Becoming worse and worse each time, until I finally had to sit down and face this.

What are these questions though you are probably asking yourself at this point? They are as follows in no order that I’ve asked myself throughout my life, and yes some even in childhood. Why have I always been so self-conscious about my image? Why did my body feel so disgusting and wrong other than inability to love myself? Why did I feel like I had too much of some parts and too little of others? Why was I angry that my voice would not get any deeper? Why did I imagine myself wearing suits but was too scared to do and say so and pushed it aside? Why did the way I pee not feel right? Why when I drew myself as a boy growing up did it feel so good but so bad enough to hide it? Why did I secretly go on boy’s puberty sites as a teenager and feel like it was a game of connecting the dots when anything matched with the boys? Why were the dreams I had as a boy feel so natural?

It all came to one answer, I am a man.

To be honest, I didn’t understand any of this fully or was able to come to terms with this up until the end of March of this year. I had always been trying to do the best with what I was given, in fact I wanted to. Somethings that are perceived as “girly” by certain people I even enjoy which made things doubly confusing.  I thought I was just over blowing things and that for a while being autistic seemed to explain many things, but not everything. Or that I had penis envy, or I didn’t think highly enough of girls and that made me bad. More than anything I was afraid to come to these realizations in fear of what people would think or what would happen. Or that it would be dismissed away, which really scared me. To figure out something as immense as this and not be able to maybe finally be more comfortable and know myself better. That terrified me.

Due to the misunderstandings of trans individuals I feared I would be thought of as a pervert. I even came to think that I was one for being this way. I feared being thought of as incompetent to decide this for myself due to being autistic. A pulsating fiery raging scream stayed buried deep in the pit of my stomach from these thoughts.I started to experiment, to be more certain of coming to terms with this.

I did research and made things like a starter packer. Which are socks bunched together to make a bulge shape like a penis and testes to wear. This gave me enough euphoria to know I wanted more. So, I bought myself a packer (a silicone prosthetic) and something called a STP (Stand To Pee device).  Which gave me so much euphoria I cried the first time I used my STP because it felt so right. At that time, I was speaking with Julia (therapist) to help sort me through this journey since around late March early April. I went on to buy men’s pants and undergarments and cut off all my hair and bought a binder. (Safely compresses my breasts) In addition, I also chose my name and came out to some friends who accepted me and used my correct pronouns. With Julia’s aid she also advised me the biggest thing I could do right now is speak with the community. So, I did and since then I’ve found an online support group and a local support group that I’ve been going to meetings for. It’s helped me place myself and instead of feeling like I didn’t belong I felt like things made more sense in many regards.

I still have many other fears and adversities I will continue to face while living as my true self. One of the things that has really challenged me is that I feel like my words do not have any bearing anymore advocating for autistic people who identify as girls. Now that I’m coming out as a man. As much as I know I’m a man I feel like I’m a bad person for identifying this way since there’s so much stuff out there saying that men are toxic, trash, and unfeeling. And I’m trying to learn how to best be a good and responsible man in this world.

The real me has always been out there and I’d like to be able to live my life the way I was meant to. As a man and on my way to medically transitioning. I am saying all of this because I care, and I want to be able to finally get this out of my system and help elevate this confusion to the best of my ability.

My name is Ren Jason P***, I’m your son, big brother, grandson, friend, colleague, classmate, autistic advocate, and fellow human being. Please don’t turn away the little boy and man, who shouldn’t be dictated by a body he didn’t ask for. 

As Princess BubbleGum says:

“People get built different.”

“We don’t need to figure it out. We just need to respect it.” “

[atlafan]

Take it Slow - Part Seventy-Four

a/n: okay this is my first shot at a harry:y/n fic, and it will be multiple parts. y/n had a bad experience with an ex over a year ago, and finally accepts her coworker and good friend Niall’s invitation to go on a blind date with his friend Harry.

Warnings: Fluff and smut.

You woke up to the sound of yelling and laughing the next morning. You went into the bathroom to wash-up, threw on some shorts and t-shirt and headed into the kitchen. Anne, Harry, and Gemma were all making breakfast.

“Mornin’, love.” Anne says. “Sorry if we woke yeh.”

“Oh!” You laugh. “No it’s fine, needed to get up anyways.”

You all sit down to breakfast. It was nice having them here. Harry was the most relaxed he’d been in weeks.

“Think I’m gonna take Buster out for a good walk, it’s so nice out.” You say slipping your sneakers on.

“Mind if I join you?” Anne asks.

“Not at all! I’d love it.” You smile. She puts her sneakers on and the two of you head out.

“What’s all tha’ about?” Harry asks Gemma as they go out to sit on the balcony.

“Don’t know.” She shrugs. “Mum gave you a bit of a talk last night, she probably wants to do the same with her. See where her head’s at.”

“You know, I appreciate everyone being so concerned, but at the end of the day it’s our life together, not anyone else’s.”

“Yeah…but you’re her only son, and she’d like for you to only get married once, so she just wants to make sure she’s the right choice. You’ve had a lot of girlfriends Harry.”

“No, I’ve just had a lot of girls.” She punches him in the arm. “Oi!”

“Don’t be a pig.”

“M’not. Just sayin’, really haven’t had a lot of real relationships.”

“Exactly. Probably another concern of mum’s. I mean, you haven’t brought a girl to meet us since you were in high school, Harry.”

“Yeah, yeah. So I suppose you wanna have a private chat with her too?”

“How often are we here to do so?”

“Well, you can do that tomorrow. She told me she’s workin’ from home a couple days to spend time with you and mum.”

“Mum’s plannin’ to go to the studio with you tomorrow so she can watch you in action. She quite likes the park across the street, she’ll probably read there while you’re workin’. So I’ll spend the day with Y/N and Buster. It’ll be nice to have some girl time.”

//

“Good boy Buster!” You say as you pick up his droppings and throw them in the trash. “So much easier when he goes right away, now he can just enjoy the walk.” Anne laughs.

“He’s a very good dog.”

“Yeah, we got lucky.”

“Whose idea was it to get him?”

“Harry’s.” You sigh. “His friend Adam called him and told him he had a fresh litter and we could have one if we wanted. As soon as he showed me the picture I couldn’t say no.” Buster yips. “That’s right, mummy knew right away you were her baby.” You giggle. Anne raises an eyebrow at you. “Sorry, that must sound weird.”

“No, it’s sweet actually. You think of him as your own.”

“It’s hard not to.”

“If you don’t mind me askin’, do you think you’ll want children, eventually?”

“Yeah, eventually. Not anytime soon though. I’m only a couple of classes into my master’s program, and I’d like to have that all settled before I even think about it. I know a dog is way different than having a kid, but it’s already so much extra work making sure he’s taken care of on top of everything else.”

“Mm, and I know my son can be a handful. Quite the baby himself sometimes.” You both laugh.

“Only sometimes, he means well.”

“Can I ask, is this your first serious relationship?”

“Yes and no. This is the longest relationship I’ve had. I’ve certainly never lived with a guy before. I can’t really explain it, Anne, everything just felt right with Harry.”

“You didn’t feel like you were rushin’ when you moved in together or anythin’?”

“To be honest with you, we were practically living together as it was before he asked me if I wanted to.”

“It’s amazing to me. You know there was a girl he was seeing a couple years ago, they were together for like seven months, and he refused to even give her a key to his apartment. Granted, he was a little younger, but still. You’ve definitely had an effect on him.”

“I also chalk it up to a guy’s maturity level. He probably saw his life flash before his eyes you know? Now I think he’s a little more grown up, that’s what Niall tells me at least.” You laugh.

“Very good point. You know we talk weekly, and he always raves about you. Even from the beginning. I could tell he met someone. He didn’t come right out and say it, but he was in such high spirits.”

“Can I ask, when was the first time he mentioned me?”

“Oh god, I think he said he had been seein’ someone, and he was havin’ trouble finding a way to ask you to be his girlfriend. Like, make things official with you. He was scared you were gonna think it was too soon.” You nod and smile. “So I asked him why he wanted to make things official so soon, and he said he didn’t want to risk anyone else scoopin’ yeh up.”

“That sound like something he’d say.” You giggle.

“How did he ask you to be his girlfriend? He never told me, he just said he asked and you said yes.”

Your mind flashes to making out with Harry, drunk, in your old apartment. You let him go down on you for the first time that night.

“Um…we were just hanging out at my place and he asked me if he was my boyfriend…something like that.”

“Not that I didn’t like you before, you know when we met and all that, but when he told me about the party you threw for him for his birthday, and the pearls, that was when I knew I could really trust you with him. He was devastated when he had to sell that necklace. I felt awful for him. He loves his jewelry. He didn’t have the heart to replace it once he could.”

“That means a lot to me to hear you say that.” You both turn around and head back the other way.

“You’re quite the party planner, clearly.”

“I know how to organize a function, that’s for sure. I try to play to my strengths.” You laugh. “I feel like he’s always really happy when he has all of his friends around.”

“Definitely. So…I know it hasn’t quite been a year yet, but I’m a firm believer in when you know you know…” You nod. “If my son asks you to marry him some day…do you think you’d say yes?” You stop short and look at her.

“You mean when your son asks to marry me?” She chuckles and nods. “I would definitely say yes, zero hesitation.” You both start walking again. “Although, I got a bit nervous last night when he called me over to him. When he does it, I don’t want it to be in front of a bunch of people like that. I just want it to be the two of us, you know?”

“Oh definitely. Don’t worry, that certainly wasn’t his plan last night. I think he just wanted you to know you deserved to be celebrated just as much as him.”

“So…from all of this, you’re okay with me becoming part of your family some day?”

“More than okay with it, love.”

You get to the front of your building, and she gives you a hug.

“I’m hopin’ to find out how your mum feels about him. I’m havin’ lunch with her Tuesday.”

“Oh, that’ll be great.” You both enter the lobby and go into the elevator.

“Your dad wasn’t at the party last night.”

“No he was not. He was invited, but he generally doesn’t go to things if my mom is going to be there.”

“Ah, that can be difficult.”

“Do you and your ex husband get along?”

“Well enough, we always put the kids first, that’s all that mattered.” You go inside and Buster goes running towards Harry.

“Hey buddy.” He says petting him. “Good walk?”

“Yup.” You smile.

//

The next day you wish Harry a good first day at the studio and off he goes with Anne. You tell him you and Gemma will be by around lunchtime with Buster.

“So, I’ll be up in the loft working if you need anything.” You say to her.

“Perfect, I’ve got my laptop, I need to work as well, so I may spend some time in the guest room. Let me know when you take him for a walk though, I’ll go with you.”

“Sounds good.”

Buster stays by your side while you work. You zoom into a couple of early morning meetings. Around ten you get the leash on him and knock on the guest room door.

“Ready for a break?” You ask her.

“Yes! Definitely.”

You get to down to the street.

“God, the weather is so much warmer here already than it is back home. Might have to start comin’ here for the summer.” She laughs. “So, what did my mum wanna talk to you about yesterday?”

“What do you mean?”

“C’mon, Y/N, she obviously wanted to talk.”

“You’re very perceptive.” You laugh. “We just talked about your brother. I think she wanted a pulse-check on where I’m at with him.”

“And where are you?” You look at her. “Sorry, I’m sure you’re sick of getting grilled by everyone…he’s just my baby brother, you know?”

“No, no, it’s fine. Basically she asked me what I would say when he eventually proposes and I told her I would say yes.”

“And you don’t feel like it’s too soon or anything? You both are still so young.”

“I know, but neither of us want to be with anyone else. Plus, by the time he does propose, and we pick a date and all that it could be another couple of years before we actually get married.”

“I’ve never seen him so in love, it’s really nice. He’s always been so sweet and considerate, an ally to women’s rights and all that. But when it came to datin’, he was like every other fuck boy out there, I’ll never understand it.” She scoffs.

“I think a lot of guys go through that phase. I had some guy friends in college that were amazing friends, but would treat other girls like shit. It’s not right, but I guess it’s good to get all that out of your system, right?”

“I’m just glad he figured his shit out. Personally, I think you have a great deal of patience to be able to even live with him. He can be a bit of baby, you know?” You start laughing hysterically.

“Your mum said the exact same thing.”

You both turn back and head to the apartment.

“All in all I’m he’s found you. I hope your family feels the same way about him.”

“I think they do…” You get inside and take the leash off Buster. “It’s a bit more complicated with me and them. They’re…a little more apprehensive to trust someone in my life.”

“Why’s that? If you don’t mind me asking…”

It dawns on you that Harry probably never told Gemma about what happened to you.

“Um…I’ve just been burned in the past, and I’m the baby, I know Harry’s the youngest too, but my siblings actually helped change my diapers. I’m more than just a little sister, you know?”

“Oh sure. Plus I can imagine it’s tough for your parents to see their last kid growin’ up so much.”

“Exactly. I think they’re happy that I’m happy. I’ll be curious to see how our moms do at lunch together.”

“To be a fly on the wall, right?”

//

At noon you and Gemma head to the studio with Buster. Him and Mariah were working in separate areas, snapping away. You walk up to Isaac.

“Got a dog biscuit for him, can I give him one?”

“Only if he does a trick for you.”

“Alright, sit Buster.” He does so. “Good boy!” He gives him the biscuit. “Got a little bed for him right here behind my desk.”

“Go ahead baby, sit with Uncle Isaac.”

Buster looks at you and then goes to plop down in his bed.

“It’s been busy all morning. Lot of senior photos. It’s great having the park right there, they’ve both been able to take pictures of the kids by the trees and stuff.”

“That’s great!”

“Thought one girl was going to wet her pants when she first met Harry, poor thing.”

“Oh no, why?” Gemma asks.

“Oh, honey, I know he’s your brother, but he’s hotter than sin. If I were a little seventeen year old girl, my god, I don’t know what I’d do if I had that man standing right in front of me with a camera telling me to smile.” You burst out laughing, which catches Harry’s attention. He looks over at you and his sister and shakes his head. “He should be done any minute. He wanted to get some inside shots with that one.”

“No problem, it’s why there’s a waiting area right?” You and Gemma sit down on the comfy chairs.

Harry walks the young girl up to Isaac.

“When’s your mum gettin’ back?”

“I’ll text her now to let her know I’m done.” She smiles. “Thanks for showing me some of them. I’m gonna tell all my friends to come to you this summer.” Isaac hands her one of Harry’s business cards. Buster comes sniffing around. “Oh!” She squeals.

“That’s my boy, Buster. You can pet him if you want.” The girl beams at him and crouches down to pet him. Her mother comes rushing inside the studio.

“Sorry, honey, long line at Dunkin. All set?”

“Yeah! They look great already.”

“When can we expect them?”

“Couple of weeks, I’ll need to sit and edit them. Then you’ll get an email with a link to our site, and you can pick which ones you want to purchase. I’ll send you the files electronically cause I know the schools prefer that for the yearbook, and I’ll email you all the actual prints.”

“That sounds great. I have to say too, you have the fairest prices for everything. I’ve told a few of the other parents about you and Mariah.”

“Thanks! We really appreciate that.” He smiles. “Isaac, m’goin’ to lunch, can you wrap this up?”

“You got it.” He smiles.

“Wanna eat outside? It’s beautiful out…mum’s already out there.”

“Sure! What she pick up?”

“Salad and sandwiches I think.” He wraps an arm around you. “Buster!” He whistles to him and grabs his leash.

You all walk across the street to the park and sit with Anne at one of the picnic benches. It’s a great lunch. You like spending time with them.

//

The next day Anne borrows Harry’s car to go meet your mom for lunch at a halfway point. Harry had Mariah come pick him up so you’d have your car to go to therapy later.

“Hi, Lynn!” Anne says to your mom.

“Oh, hi!” she laughs. “Hope this wasn’t too hard for you to find.”

“Not at all.” She smiles. They’re both seated fairly fast. “I’m so glad we could do this.”

“Me too. Y/N speaks the world of you and Gemma, I was wondering when we’d get a chance to meet you. It was such a nice surprise for Harry.”

“I felt horrible keepin’ such a secret from him. But last month when Y/N called me told me she wanted to surprise him, I had to jump in on it.”

“She’s the queen of surprises.” Your mom laughs.

“They’re a lovely couple, don’t you think?” Your mom nods in agreement. “You met my son by accident, right? At the mall?”

“God, I completely forgot about that. That’s right, we bumped into him and Niall. He was very funny, and he wouldn’t let me pay for lunch, quite the gentleman.” She smiles.

“What did you think about when they moved in together so quickly?”

“Well…to be honest I wasn’t thrilled, but it’s not my life.” She shrugs. “It wasn’t that I didn’t like Harry either, I would have been concerned with anyone she was dating.” Anne nods. “Y/N’s always been very independent, moves to the beat of her own drum. She’s got a different way of seeing things.”

“She’s very bright.”

“You have no idea! I feel like each one of my kids just kept getting smarter and smarter.” She laughs and then sighs. “I can’t get too much into it because I know she’d be upset with me if I tell you this, but my daughter has been through…something tragic…something I wouldn’t wish on anyone. Something I never thought would happen to any of my kids. She’s made it through and she’s very strong, but when her and Harry started getting serious, I did get worried. I’m not worried anymore though. I can see how much he cares for her, and she’s happy. Her siblings are very protective of her too, as I’m sure Gemma is of Harry.”

“Oh my, of course. I’m sorry to hear she’s been through something…” She looks down at her food then back to your mom. “She’s the baby of your family too, I can see you all wanting to watch her like a hawk.”

“Her father especially so.” She takes a sip of water. “I’m sorry he wasn’t there last night for you to meet him.”

“That’s alright, I’m sure in time we will. Harry told me he was a great help in gettin’ the studio together.”

“He’s nothing if not handy.” She smiles.

“Lynn…my son wants to marry your daughter.” Your mom nearly spits out her drink. “Jesus, I’m sorry.” She hands her a napkin.

“When exactly does he plan to do that?”

“I’m not sure…he’s not plannin’ to propose for another few months, but it’s comin’. I gave him my blessing. I think the world of your daughter.” There’s an awkward pause. “I hope you’ll accept my son the way I’ve accepted her.”

“It’s not that I don’t accept him…it just feels so fast!” She sighs. “But who am I to say anything? At the end of the day she’s going to be asked a question, and it’s her choice to say yes or no. I’ll back her up no matter what.” She chews on her lip. “Her father, however, he’ll be happy for her at first, but he’ll find a way to ruin it. I try not to speak poorly of my ex, but he’s an asshole.”

Anne bursts out laughing.

“That’s quite alright.”

“He just always finds a way to be negative, and he’ll ask them a million questions. Everything always comes down to money. I know she’ll want a nice, big wedding too. And he’ll say ‘well, wouldn’t you rather save that money and put it towards something important’. As if he and I didn’t have a wedding like everyone else.”

“Did you get married in a temple?”

“We did.” She smiles. “It was really informal. I wore a purple pantsuit.” She laughs. “I was already pregnant with our first daughter, Bridget, so I didn’t exactly want to be a in a white dress. It was a nice ceremony though, good reception.”

“Harry told me if they have kids they’d raise them as Jewish…”

“Are you okay with that? Having Jewish grand-babies?”

“Sure.” She shrugs. “He said they’d still do Christmas and Easter, of course.”

“My son’s wife isn’t Jewish, they make it work just fine. Erica’s boyfriend isn’t Jewish either, we’re not a super conservative family in that sense. Do you think he’d want the wedding overseas?”

“No, not with so much of your family here. We have a small family. And a lot of his friends are here now anyways, only a few he sees back home.” She takes a sip of her drink. “I know this conversation may seem a little premature, but I wanted to have it with you in person while I was here.”

“I understand completely. I’m glad we were able to do this.”

//

You and Gemma cook dinner together so Harry would have something to eat when he got home. You’d mostly likely be home after him.

“Well, I’ll see you both in a bit.” You smile. You had your gym clothes on, you didn’t really feel like explaining you were going to therapy.

“Alright dear, see you soon.” Anne says.

She told you all about her lunch with your mom and how well it went. You texted your mom a big thank you right after.

“How are you Y/N?”

“Really good actually.”

“Did you just come from the gym?”

“No, I just put this on because Harry’s mum and sister are staying with us, and I didn’t want to explain I was going to therapy…”

“Ah, I see.”

“I didn’t know if they’d ask why I was going to therapy, and I just didn’t want to get into it.”

“I understand.” She smiles. “How did the studio opening go?”

“Oh my god, it was incredible!”

//

Harry gets in around 6:30, and smiles when he sees his sister and mum. He grabs the dinner you had texted him about and sits down on the sofa with them.

“How was day two?” Gemma asks.

“Great! It was nice to have Buster with me the whole day, right buddy?” He hips and sits at their feet. “Sure he misses his mum though.”

“She’s been at the gym a while.” Anne says. “Does she always go for so long?”

“Gym?”

“Yeah, she had her gym clothes on, I just assumed that’s where she went.”

“Hm.”

You get in around 7PM and see them all watching TV. Harry gets up after you say hello and follows you to the bedroom.

“Hi.” He says.

“Hi, how was your day?”

“Good, busy.” You hum your response and find some sweats to put on.

“A.C.’s up a bit high.” You chuckle as you pulls some sweatpants on.

“Did you go to the gym?”

“So, I went to see Dr. Mara, why?”

“My mum said you went to the gym, that’s all.”

“No, I just put gym clothes on to make them think that’s where I was going. They don’t know I go to therapy Harry, and then don’t need to.”

“It’s a perfectly normal thing to say you’re doin’.”

“Yeah, but what if they asked why?” You look at him. “See? Not a good answer for that, is there. I don’t exactly feel comfortable telling your mum and sister that I was assaulted.” You whisper.

“Okay, yeah, that’s fair.” He wraps his arms around you. “I feel like I miss you.” He buries his face in your neck.

“Aw, why?” You rub his back up and down.

“I don’t know…haven’t been able to cuddle much.”

“Can’t cuddle with your mum and sister sitting on the sofa with us.” You kiss his cheek and hold him tight. “They probably think something’s going on here as it is, let’s go sit with them, hm?”

“No.”

“Harry.”

“No, I’m tired, and I’m sick of TV for the night. I feel like readin’.”

“So, we can watch TV and you can read. We’ll go to bed early so we can cuddle for a bit, okay?”

“Fine.” He grabs his book and his glasses and follows you out.

Harry sits down and yanks you into his lap.

“Harry, I-“

“S’fine, love, you can sit with him.” Anne says. “It’s your home, after all.”

The three of you watch TV for a bit while Harry reads. Around nine you and Harry tell them you’re heading to bed. You say goodnight to Buster and go into your room. You both do your usual routine and get into bed.

“Wouldja just lay on top of me?”

“I know what that’s going to lead to, and I don’t feel-“

“Y/N! I’m not fuckin’ around, come here!” He pulls you on top of him and you swat at his chest.

“Shhhh, do you want them to hear you?”

“I don’t give a fuck.” He holds you tight to his chest and strokes the back of your head. You relax into him. “See, isn’t this nice?” You both chuckle.

“Shut up.” He kisses your hairline as you nuzzle into him. “They’ll only be here two more days, Harry. You should make the most of it.”

“I am makin’ the most of it. Mum and Gem are both comin’ to the studio tomorrow since you’re back to work. I just think we should be able to do whatever we want even if they’re here.”

“Well, I feel weird about it. It’s icky.”

“Icky?” He laughs.

“Yeah, do you really want them to know what it sounds like when we’re fucking?”

“Babe, I’m sure they’ve heard me before. I used to sneak my girlfriends over all the time.”

“How nice for you.” You say sarcastically.

“I just wanna love on yeh, is that so bad?”

You smile at him and kiss him. His hands slide down to your ass, and he lightly squeezes you. You moan softly against his lips. You feel him getting hard against you and you can’t help but grind against him. He pushes his hips up towards you as you grind down again. You put your hand over his mouth just as he’s about to moan.

“We have to be so quiet.”

Harry nods yes. You tug his boxers down slightly, and move your panties over. He slides right in.

“Oh my g-“ You put put your hand back over his mouth.

“Yes, I’m really wet, we been knew, now shh.” You whisper in his ear.

You keep your hand on his mouth, and your face is buried in his neck. His hands move to your hips to rock you back and forth on him. You both were under the covers, causing you to sweat more than usual, but it helped muffle the noise.

Harry wanted it to last as long as possible, you just felt so good. He wanted to tell you how good you felt, but your hand was still over his mouth. Your other hand moves to grip at his hair when he takes a hand to rub at your clit. You bite down on his shoulder. Your hand moves from his mouth to grip the pillow bellow him. You grind against him faster and he does all he can to not let out a noise.

“I needja to kiss me.” He breathes. “Please.”

You crash your lips to his and you both moan into each other. He rubs his fingers faster on your clit. Your back arches and you gasp as you release around him. As you tighten around him he comes up inside you, causing you to moan. You clap your hand over your mouth and press your forehead to his as he thrusts up one last time.

“Shit.” You say against his lips.

“So fucking good.” He breathes.

You get off him slowly and roll onto your back. You wiggles your panties off and sigh. You get up and go use the toilet. When you’re done you come back over to him and lay your head on his chest. He rubs your back slowly.

“Do you ever think…neither of us zero self control?” You ask giggling. “I mean, we can’t go two nights without fucking? What other couples do you know have sex as often as we do?” Harry starts laughing too, and kisses your forehead.

“I hope to God we always stay one of those couples that can’t keep their hands off each other.”

//

The next morning you’re up and out early. You decide to bring Buster to work with you since you missed him so much yesterday. Anne is out on the balcony sipping her coffee while Harry and Gemma have breakfast.

“Sleep well?” He asks her.

“Yeah, it’s a comfy bed. You?”

“Mhm.”

“I’ll bet.” She smirks. Harry raises an eyebrow at her while he sips his coffee.

“What do yeh mean by tha’?” She puts her hand on his shoulder.

“I think you know.” She winks and walks out of the kitchen.

//

“Thank god you’re back.” Niall says, coming into your office. “Hate when you take two days off in a row.” He pouts.

“Technically I wasn’t off.” Buster runs towards Niall.

“I was talkin’ to the dog.”

“Oh, shut the fuck up.” You both laugh.

“So how have the last couple days been with Anne and Gem here?”

“Really good actually. I’ve had some good talks with them. I think Harry’s been enjoying spending time with them. I think it really helped relax him, you know?”

“Yeah I’ve texted him a bit, he’s really busy with work already, it’s great.”

“I’m so proud of him. I think he prefers getting to take pictures of people.”

“Oh, for sure.”

//

Before you know it, you and Harry are driving Anne and Gemma to the airport Thursday evening. Everyone hugs and kisses goodbye.

“So, we’ll see you in July?” Anne asks.

“Yup.” Harry smiles. “Have a safe flight, let me know when you land.”

You both get back in the car. Harry kisses your hand as he drives off.

“Thanks again for gettin’ them here. It was great.”

“Of course! I know it meant a lot to you to have them there for the opening.” You take your phone out and connect it to the Bluetooth. “Now, we need to listen to the Weeknd because the concert is only a month away and I want to make sure you know all of the songs, okay?”

“I know quite a few.”

“Not off his new album! We’re going to be so close to the stage, what if he looks out to us and doesn’t see you mouthing the words because you don’t know it? You’ll look like such a local.”

“A local?” He laughs. “What the fuck is a local?” You sigh heavily. “Okay, okay, why don’t we play it when we get home? I’ll fuck you to it how you like.” Your mouth falls open. “Would yeh like that?”

“Yes.” You nod excitedly.

Harry takes Buster out quick when you get home and you run off to the bedroom. You decide to put some lingerie on. The black lace bodysuit. You get the music started and lay on your stomach. Harry gets Buster tucked into his dog bed and sprints to the bedroom.

“Oh, wow.” He says. You make a come here motion with your finger and sit up on your knees.

He cups your face in his hands and kisses you, like really kisses you. His tongue molds to yours and you moan into his mouth. You tug at the hem of his shirt and he lifts it off. You run your hands over his tattoos. You felt like you hadn’t been able to really touch him for a while.

“Tonight.” He says against your lips. “We’re takin’ our time.”

[emy-loves-you]

Wrong Numbers and Useless Gays Chapter 6

Who the F*ck’s Rebecca? OR How the 3 Gays got Together

Virgil learns about Roman’s childhood, specifically his sister and how he ended up dating Patton and Logan.

Warning: Misgendering of a character (but no one knows that the character is trans)

Yes, Roman and Remus are brothers. Explanations are listed at the bottom

Chapter 5 | Masterlist | Chapter 7

V- (2:07 PM) Let it Go was the best song in Frozen and you cannot convince me otherwise

R- (2:07 PM) I respect your opinion, but hear me out: Love is an Open Door

V- (2:08 PM) No

R- (2:08 PM) What about Fixer Upper?

V- (2:09 PM) Still no.

P- (2:09 PM) I really liked Olaf’s song about Summer!

L- (2:10 PM) I personally enjoyed the reprise of First Time in Forever.

R- (2:10 PM) You like almost any song with a reprise

L- (2:10 PM)I will not argue that, as successfully executed reprises are “lit.”

R- (2:11 PM) Ah, and who among us could forget the absolute BOP that is… that weird ice-cutting song.

P- (2:11 PM) I don’t know, Roman. I think that song is, pretty COOL

R- (2:11 PM) Oh, lookout

V- (2:12 PM) What? He’s just saying it’s a CHILLED out groove.

R- (2:12 PM) Ugh

L- (2:12 PM) We might need you two to leave this chat if you don’t stop.

Virgil laughed, throwing his phone on the bed and stripping out of his clothes. He just finished jogging home from Janus’ (he didn’t own a car right now, preferring to walk or have Janus pick him up). It was a lazy afternoon in late September, and all Virgil wanted to do was get out of these sweaty clothes and maybe take a nap. He heard his phone go off multiple times as he got dressed, probably Patton and Logan arguing about the purpose of puns. He flopped down onto his bed and grabbed his phone, checking the new messages.

P- (2:14 PM) Lo, the Princes are calling.

L- (2:14 PM) Tell Roman not to answer, Patton. We’ve been over this.

P- (2:14 PM) They’re asking about us, Lo.

L- (2:14 PM) Tell Roman to hang up. They’re not worth it.

P- (2:15 PM) They’re yelling now, L. They brought up Rebecca. What do I do?

L- (2:15 PM) Just walk into another room, Patton. Ignore them. Do you want me to call you?

P- (2:15 PM) No, I’m good. Just keep texting me. I need a distraction.

Now, Virgil had no idea about what the fuck was going on. But he knew how to distract someone. He’d just have to trust them to tell him later.

V- (2:16 PM) Did you know that octopi have 3 hearts?

L- (2:16 PM) What

P- (2:16 PM) That just means they have more love to give!

V- (2:17 PM) The longest recorded flight of a chicken is 13 seconds

P- (2:17 PM) Such a good bird!

V- (2:17 PM) Babies do not regularly produce tears until they are 1-3 months old

L- (2:18 PM) Ah, I think I understand now

V- (2:18 PM) A ‘jiffy’ is an actual unit of time. It stands for 1/1000th of a second

L- (2:18 PM) Falsehood. A jiffy is 1/100th of a second

V- (2:19 PM) Sorry, my hand must’ve slipped.

L- (2:19 PM) You would be unable to walk on Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus or Neptune because they have no solid surface.

L- (2:20 PM) An asteroid about the size of a car enters Earth’s atmosphere roughly once a year. However, it burns up before it can reach us.

L- (2:20 PM) The highest mountain known to man is on an asteroid called Vesta. It is approximately three times the height of Mount Everest.

P- (2:21 PM) I think they hung up. Thanks for keeping me company, Kiddos!

L- (2:21 PM) It was not an issue, Patton.

V- (2:21 PM) Yeah, no problem Pat. Now can someone explain what just happened?

L- (2:23 PM) As you can probably tell, I am not home at the moment. Apparently, Roman’s parents decided to call him and an argument broke out. The rest is not my place to say.

Virgil bit his lip, refusing to look at his phone screen. Did Virgil have the right to ask about that. It was obviously a very sensitive topic, and Virgil had only known Roman for about 3 months now. Virgil felt like he knew a lot about his 3 crushes (their quirks, their favorite sweets, their goals in life), but he knew very little about their lives before Virgil had met them. Which was fine; they knew very little about Virgil’s life, too. But he desperately wanted to help Roman; to make him feel happy and safe and loved. Virgil sighed, setting his phone on his nightstand. If Princey wants to tell me what’s going on, I’ll listen. If not, I’ll just have to deal with it.

Virgil woke up from his nap to the sound of his phone going off. He blindly felt around for it, his face still firmly planted in his pillow. He finally found it, turning it on before he lifted his head to read the text. It was a private message from Princey.

R- (3:02 PM) You’re probably wondering what happened today.

V- (3:02 PM) I am, but you don’t have to tell me if you’re not comfortable. I’ll respect your privacy.

R- (3:02 PM) As much as I appreciate that, you still deserve to know.

R- (3:03 PM) Do you mind if I call you? This doesn’t feel like a conversation to have over text.

Virgil thought about it for a moment. He originally never wanted to call Roman, simply because he might recognize Virgil’s voice as Anxiety’s. However, not only was Virgil 99% confident that Roman had never even heard of The Dark Sides, Virgil’s head was still foggy after his nap. Before he knew it, he was already calling Princey’s phone.

“Virgil?” Roman didn’t sound as… grand as Virgil expected. His voice was subdued and slightly hoarse, probably from the screaming match with his parents.

“Heya, Princey.” Virgil cringed at how gravelly his voice sounded. He’ll need to get some water after this conversation is over.

“You sound so tired. Oh my stars, did I wake you up? I’m so sorry. I’ll let you get back to sleep-”

“Princey, it’s okay. Just finished my nap. Might not talk much, but ‘m all ears.”

“Alright. Where do I even begin?”

“Take your time. ‘m not pressurin’ you or anythin’.”

“(sigh) You’re right. I guess I should start at the beginning. I grew up in a very... conservative household. My parents expected me and my sister, Rebecca, to be perfect. ReeRee was my partner in crime. We did everything together up until highschool. My parents expected me to get a football scholarship and date the hottest girl in school. I did those things, not because I wanted to, but because they wanted me to. ReeRee was a different story. When my parents signed her up for cheerleading, she tried to join the football team instead. When they told her she should wear her hair in a ponytail, she cut it off to match mine. I didn’t understand, and it made me angry. It was like looking in a funhouse mirror; she was starting to look more and more like me, and yet each change made my parents angrier. Why was looking and acting like me a problem? I thought they liked this version of me! One night in the summer before junior year I was really frustrated and I took it out on her. I told her to stop acting like me. I knew she didn’t deserve my anger, so I went to Patton’s place to cool down. By the time I came home, my parents refused to acknowledge that I even had a sister. I pushed her away, and now I’ll never get her back.

After that, things changed. I was so angry, and everything I saw reminded me of her. I quit the football team, because every time I went down to the field I expected to see her. I dyed my hair, because every time I looked in the mirror I saw her staring back. I stopped caring about what my parents thought, ‘cause it was their opinions that dragged me into this mess!

I had already been friends with Patton since Freshman year, but me and Logan had been at each other’s throats . We were always bickering about something, and sometimes I used our arguments to vent out my anger at whatever was wrong at the time. I didn’t even realize how much I had cared about Patton and Logan until I learned about the LGBTQ+ community. My parents were super strict, and Patton and Logan didn’t exactly flaunt their relationship. I had no idea that liking guys was even an option . Once I learned about it, my parents quickly tried to shut it down. Everyday, they’d start their day telling me that ‘homosexuality is a sin’ and ‘God made you to be the gender you were born with!’ If they had told me that before ReeRee left, I might’ve believed them. But by this point, I didn’t care about a single thing they told me.

So one day, I’m arguing with Logan about who knows what, and suddenly we’re inches apart, and I remember pa saying ‘ a boy should never kiss another boy.’ And just think, ‘Fuck it.’ And now me and Pocket Protector are suddenly making out behind the school building. Microsoft Nerd asks why the hell I decided to make out with him of all people, and I break down right there. He agreed to keep it a secret, but he refused to do anything more than a simple make-out session until he had Padre’s consent to do so. Which I understood, consent is important, cheating is bad.

Now we’re having these ‘sessions’ at least once a week for almost 4 months. Patton eventually walked in on us and he was understandably upset. I explained what had happened and that I’ve had a crush on both of them for a while. And they’re like ‘cool, we’re polyam.’ And now I’m starting senior year dating two men, which mom and pa were not okay with. I told ‘em to fuck off and we moved away as soon as we graduated. They still call occasionally, asking when I’m gonna get my life together and get over losing ReeRee. I haven’t blocked ‘em yet in case they find her or change their minds.”

Roman finally took a deep breath. “Sorry about the rant. Didn’t realise how badly I needed to get that off my chest.”

Virgil snorted. “Don’t worry ‘bout it. Told ya I’d be a good ear. And Princey?”

“Yeah?”

“You don’t gotta do anything to impress someone else. You bein’ you is good enough. And if Rebecca could see you, I’m sure she’d be proud as hell. And don’t be ‘fraid to hit me up if you need someone other than your SOs to rant to; I’ll always be here for ya, Princey.”

“... Thank you, Virgil. I didn’t realize how much I needed to hear that until you said it.” He sighed, and Virgil could hear the sound of running water. “I’m gonna go drink some water. My throat burns like a bitch right now.”

“Same. Catch you later?”

He could hear Roman chuckle to himself. “I guess you shall. Farewell, Storm Cloud. And pleasant dreams!”

Virgil blushed. The way Roman said his nickname… it made Virgil’s gay heart nearly explode. He quickly hung up and buried his face back into his pillow. I’ll get water later. AFTER my heart stops racing.

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Now, for those of you wondering about why Virgil doesn't realize that Roman and Remus are brothers, I'm gonna put a quick explanation here, 'cause I don't know how to casually fit this into the story. 1.) Remus has never told Virgil his deadname or his last name. He's probably told Janus (since their pretty close) but Virgil doesn't know. 2.) Remus has never told Virgil that his brother's name is Roman. Additionally, when Virgil is talking about the 3 gays, he only calls them "Pat, Lo and Princey." 3.) Roman's parents didn't tell him that Remus transitioned, so he doesn't know that Rebecca now goes by Remus. Also, none of the characters have actually sent pictures of their faces, so none of them have any idea what the other looks like. 4.) It is a total coincidence that both twins moved to the same town. Remus believes that Roman still lives in their hometown, and Remus could be dead for all that Roman knows. There is no logical reason for them to think "maybe Virgil's friends with my long-lost sibling" 5.) Virgil would NEVER out his friends like that. He tells Janus and Remus everything, but he would NEVER betray Roman's trust like that. Same thing for telling Roman about Remus. Roman might know that Remus is trans, but he doesn't know about Remus' background. ONE LAST THING: Roman and Virgil will eventually see each other face-to-face but WON'T recognize each other's voices. This is because during the phone call Virgil is still groggy from waking up and Roman is still hoarse from screaming.

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Taglist: @bisexualdisaster106 @self-taught-mess @itawalrus @arodynamic-enby @sanderssides-angst

[fanfictionaries]

Giiiiirl, I am CRAVING some baking with Bucky. Like some good old recipe from his mom or sisters, eating half the batter, being all innocent and goofy. Maybe Reader introducing him to the world of cupcakes with a second batch of batter they make. Just a sweeeet baking day ❤️

I made myself happy sad with this one. XD 

Might be a little more angsty than you were looking for, but all the sweet fluff is there as well! 

Inspired by my own great great grandmother’s recipe. 

Orange Rolls

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x female reader

Words: 3k

Warnings: None, just the fluffiest fluff you can imagine; slight angst. 

Author’s Note: I loved doing this, so please people. Send me more requests! ALSO this is an actual family recipe of mine. I recommend trying it! 

I recommend listening to this song while reading this: https://open.spotify.com/track/7pR7yPgbYcipmTUHT5g68p?si=nQZeCOmoTcm43qOI1YRPNA

***

Step 1. Dissolve 2 yeast cakes in ¼ cup warm water.

The room was alight in the glow of soft warm sun. Nestled in your blankets, you rubbed the sleep from your eyes and yawned widely, stretching and turning to snuggle into the familiar warmth of Bucky. Firm muscle, soft skin, ticklish arm hair – all missing. Instead only cool sheets, drawn back on his side of the bed. You didn’t have to check the time to know it was early, but you rolled over to the bedside table to check your phone anyways. Five AM. Much too early to be up on a Sunday morning, even for your early bird of a super soldier. Rolling onto your back, you stayed quiet, attempting to hear any signs of life in the small apartment. Perhaps he’d only gotten up to use the bathroom. The sound of heavy items falling and a string of curses coming from the kitchen brushed away the thought. Jumping out of bed, you pulled one of Bucky’s large sweatshirts over your head and stepped into your slippers.

When you rounded the corner, the first thing you noticed was the expanse of your pantry laid out onto the floor. The second thing you noticed was Bucky, sat cross-legged in the middle of the array of flours, sugars, and spices, head in his hands. You knew this look. This crumpled, defeated look that so few had the privilege to witness. Everyone saw the stoic, cold Winter Soldier. So little saw Bucky Barnes, a kid from Brooklyn. Tiptoeing around the spilled bags of sugar, flour, and sprinkles, you stood beside him, leaning over and placing a gentle hand to his back, rubbing soft, slow circles.

“Nightmares?” you asked, moving your hand up to thread through his freshly cropped hair, scraping your fingernails against his scalp. Bucky tilted his head back, leaning into your touch like a cat leaving its scent. You could see the telltale signs; red rimmed eyes, pink tipped nose, raw bitten lips.

“No, no nightmares. I uh…I had a dream about my mom,” Bucky answered, the end of his sentence biting off in a short, harsh laugh. You held your breath. It flattered you that Bucky felt comfortable enough with you to share the gory, ugly details of his past – the things that kept him up at night. The things he thought you couldn’t love him for. But never had he talked about his family. The only memories of his past life you ever heard were the ones Steve brought up, the rowdy stories of two young men up to no good in 40’s Brooklyn. Yet on his own, Bucky remained silent about his life before the war. You never pushed him. It would be cruel of you to press a subject that was most likely too painful for him to think about. Now, the waver in his voice and the tears that welled in his eyes told you that that assumption had been correct.

“I was sittin’ in my old kitchen and uh—” he sniffed, taking a moment to clear his throat “—it was Easter. I know it was Easter ‘cause ma made orange rolls. She only ever made them on Easter. And it—it was the best damn orange roll I’ve ever had. I woke up and I remembered Steve brought over some boxes of my family’s old things, stuff Rebecca left behind I guess, and I found this.”

In his hand he held an aged recipe card, stained from years of use. The yellowed card stock was bent and torn, but the writing still held clear, thick and messy in some places as if it had been traced over multiple times. It was well used. Well loved. At the top, clearly labeled in large looped font, were the words ‘Orange Rolls’.

“I couldn’t get the taste out of my mouth. I figured I’d try to make them, but I wasn’t much for the kitchen back then, let alone now. And—and you don’t have any yeast cakes. I can’t make them without yeast cakes (Y/N). It’s the first ingredient and I can’t—” The words broke off, catching in the back of his throat. He wrapped his arms around your legs, clinging to them like a broken child. Rolling off of him in waves, the permeating sadness and longing washed over you, breaking your heart with each hit.

“I don’t think they make yeast cakes anymore Bucky—” you spoke slowly, choosing your words carefully. At the statement, you felt his arms tighten in a panic. You were quick to placate him “—but I have some dry active yeast that I think should work. Why don’t we clean this up and then see what we can do, yea?”

Step 2. Warm 1 cup milk, add ½ cup sugar, 3 Tbsp shortening, 2 tsp salt.

Turns out, a single yeast cake is equal to approximately 4 and ½ tsps of dry active yeast. After this joyous announcement and your internal praise to Google’s ever living library of knowledge, Bucky was up on his feet, standing in front of the stove over a saucepan of milk.

“How do you know when it’s warm?” he asked, looking curiously down at the pan of milk in front of him.

“Stick your finger in it, if it feels warm, then it’s probably warm,” you answered sarcastically, reaching into the depths of your pantry for the Crisco. A rarely used, but very important staple for any kitchen.

“What? I’m not sticking my finger in it,” said Bucky, watching with rapt horror as you walked up beside him and dipped the tip of your pointer finger into the warm, white liquid.

“I think it’s warm enough to put the sugar in. What?” you asked him when you saw the look of exasperation on your boyfriend’s face.

“You put your finger in the milk.”

“And? My hands are clean. You watched me wash them. Don’t tell me you’re afraid of catching cooties. Cause I hate to break it to you but, you probably already have them.” Lifting on your toes, you placed a sweet, soft kiss to his lips. Catching you around the waist before you could drop back down, Bucky kissed you back with slow purpose.

“Is that right?” he asked teasingly, breaking away from your lips ever so slightly.

“Afraid so,” you murmured against the soft, heat of his mouth.

Step 3. Beat in 3 eggs, 2 cups flour, and add dissolved yeast. Let rise for 1 hour.

The wet dough sat on the counter; a kitchen towel draped lightly over it. By this time, the sun had fully crested over the city skyline, pouring blinding light into the small space of your kitchen. The two of you sat at the kitchen island, sipping your coffee as you waited for the dough to rise. Your bare feet sat, propped in Bucky’s lap, the thumb of his metal hand absentmindedly rubbing the arch of your right foot as he spoke animatedly.

“You should have seen her. Becca was so mad; I thought her head was going to spin all the way around!” laughed Bucky, the creases at the corners of his eyes making a warm and welcome appearance as he regaled a story that you had never heard before.

“Well that’s what she got for touching your stuff,” you said, taking Bucky’s side in the long forgotten sibling argument.

“Thank you! See, you get it. I wish I could say the same for my parents. My pa gave me such a lickin’ and then ma sent me off to bed with no dinner. All for putting worms in her bed!”

“Did she get in trouble for letting your pet frog loose?” you asked, enraptured by the story.

“No! Do you know how hard it was to find a frog in Brooklyn?”

“Impossible. I don’t even know how you did it.”

“Well, really it was Steve that found him—”

“Him? Did he have a name?” you interrupted him with a cheeky smile.

Bucky scratched the back of his head, a light pinkness appearing on his cheeks, “He might of…”

“Aaaand?” you pressed, wanting to know the name even more at the prospect of it being embarrassing.

“I don’t know if I wanna’ tell you. I think you’re just gonna laugh.”

“I won’t! I promise!” you exclaimed, drawing an invisible cross over you heart.

Bucky looked at you skeptically, a raised eye trained on you before answering, “Fine. It was Mr. Ribbits.”

You tried your hardest, really you did. But a snort escaped your nose before you could stop it and then Bucky was playfully pushing your legs off of his lap and turning away from you, “See! I knew you’d laugh. You’re such a bad liar!”

“I’m sorry!” You reached for him, still attempting to stifle your giggles as you pulled at Bucky’s arm, turning him back towards you. “Really, I am. I think Mr. Ribbits is a respectable name.”

“Thank you. It is.” His tone was resolute, but it didn’t take a trained eye to spot the small smile working its way onto the corner of his lips. “But no, Becca didn’t get in trouble. In fact, my pa said I was too old to be picking up animals off the street anyways.”

“How old were you?”

“I think I was about ten.”

Step 4. Add 3 cups flour and beat in with spoon. Let raise 1 and ½ hours.

“We have to wait again?!”

“Yea, we have to let the dough rise, otherwise the rolls will be tough and there won’t be enough to roll out,” you explained, placing the towel over the bowl once again and reaching for your empty coffee cups.

“But I thought we just did that,” said Bucky in confusion. You tried not to smile at him, but the cute little scrunch of his eyebrows made you a weak and gooey fool.

“Baking is more of an art in patience than skill. Especially any kind of bread, babe. Don’t worry, once they’re done, they’ll be more than worth the wait,” you reassured him, patting his cheek gently.

“Well…can we make something else while we wait? What’s your favorite thing to bake?” Bucky asked, his innocent tone making him sound like a wide-eyed child.

You smiled, big and happy, and walked over to the recipe box that sat atop the fridge. Taking it down and setting in on the counter in front of you, you dug into the baking section and produced a handful of recipe cards.

“Take your pick soldier.”

Step 5. Roll out dough and spread on icing – 2 cups sugar, 1 orange: rind grated and juiced, 6 Tbsp melted butter. Roll, cut, and place in muffin tin. Cover and let raise 20 mins.

“Stop eating all the batter!” you scolded, whacking the back of Bucky’s hand with a spatula. The impact had no effect, the sneaking man having had the forethought to use his metal hand.

“If I wasn’t supposed to eat it this way, then why is it so delicious?” he argued, sneaking another finger into the chocolate concoction and bringing it to his mouth.

“Because it’s five pounds of sugar and fat,” you laughed, grabbing hold of his wrist and bringing the chocolate covered finger to your mouth instead. “Also – how is it gross for me to dip my finger into the milk but you can have these grubby little paws buried deep in my brownie batter?”

The question caught Bucky off guard. Raising his hand up, he wiggled the vibranium fingers in your face, “Metal arm – they’re, uh, sterile.”

You guffawed, absolutely tickled by the lame response, “Sterile. Okay. Well, preheat the oven Mr. Sterile.”

Using the spatula, you scraped the double chocolate chip brownie batter into the greased pan. Strong arms wrapped around your waist and a head came to rest on your shoulder, watching you scrape the sides of the bowl. Nuzzling his face into your neck, he placed a gentle kiss just below your ear.

“You know, you’re getting pretty mouthy these days. I have half a mind to take you over my knee,” Bucky growled playfully.

Before your brain could connect with what your body was doing, the spatula had already lifted away from the bowl and made contact with the side of his face. The wet splat of batter to skin sounded plainly through the kitchen. Releasing you from his hold, Bucky stepped back, his expression vacant and shell-shocked.  Dropping the spatula back into the bowl, you covered your face with your hands as you tried not to lose it. He looked positively ridiculous. Chocolate covered the left side of his face, dripping down from his brow bone to his chin. You watched as he brought a hand up slowly, touching his face and bringing it back down to examine it. He stared at the chocolate proof on his fingertips for a few moments as you waited with horrific anticipation.  

“Oh, that’s it, doll. You better run.”

The menacing words sent your heart rate soaring. A playful shriek escaped your lungs as you bolted from the kitchen, Bucky on your heel with a growl in the back of his throat.

Step 6. Place in the oven at 375 for 10-15 minutes. Makes around 3 dozen.

The brownies, already baked and cooling on the counter, were long forgotten as Bucky sat in front of the oven. Arms wrapped around his bent legs, he watched as the orange rolls slowly rose in their muffin tins.

“When are they gonna be done?” he asked you, staring into the depths of the oven like a fortune teller stares into their crystal ball. Like if he looked hard enough, he’d find all the answers to the universe.

“About five more minutes.” You sat down beside him, leaning into his side as the two of you watched his long-forgotten memories rise. You were excited to try the rolls. It was a recipe you had never heard of, which was a rare thing. But most importantly you were excited to try a little piece of Bucky’s life. A piece of the man, the boy, that he used to be before life happened. It felt special and intimate.

“What if they’re not as good as I remember?” The words were soft and honest. You could feel the same sadness and apprehension as earlier that morning drift from him to you. Leaning against him firmer, you took his hand into yours. Threading the warm flesh into your own, you continued to stare into the heat of the oven.

“They will be.”

Step 7. Enjoy.

The rolls were a beautiful sight. Small, golden brown swirls in a neat, compact shape. The sugar filling had melted down into the bottom of the pan, creating and thick and chewy caramel layer at the bottom of each one. A delicious detail that Bucky said was supposed to happen, but also made it incredibly difficult to pry them from their tins. Still, with the help of a butter knife and a lot of patience, the two of you were able to get most of them out unscathed. A buttery orange scent swirled through the air, causing your mouth to salivate as they sat atop of the wire cooling rack. The two of you sat at the kitchen island, staring at the rolls in silence – you with a look of anticipation, Bucky with a look of confusion.

“What is it?” you asked, wondering if he still doubted that they would hold up to his dream.

“I’m pretty sure they had frosting.”

While the recipe didn’t call for it, Bucky insisted that they always had a frosting on them. After a few minutes of questioning about what kind of frosting it was, or at least what it looked and tasted like, you came to the conclusion that it was most likely a simple glaze. A few minutes later, you each had a plate in front of you with a single, gooey, glistening orange roll sat pristinely on it.

You were starving. You’d been up for nearly five hours and you hadn’t eaten anything yet. But you didn’t dare dig in until Bucky had his first bite. Reaching out tentatively, he picked up the roll, twisting and turning it, inspecting it with a warry expression. Holding your breath, you watched as he brought the baked good to his lips and took a generous bite. He chewed, and chewed, and chewed – each second leaving you with more consternation than the last. When he finally swallowed, he set the rest of the roll down onto his plate and heaved a heavy sigh. Your heart dropped.

“No good?” you asked, fearing you already knew the answer from the way his shoulders bunched over the counter.

Looking to you, tears once again welling in his eyes, Bucky did something unexpected. He kissed you. A firm, chaste kiss that lasted only a moment but formed butterflies in your stomach before he pulled back.

“They’re even better than I remember.”

The proclamation sent your heart soaring. You let out the breath you’d been holding, feeling your own tears of relief and joy begin to well. Blinking them back, you smiled at him, blinded by the dazzling smile you received in turn.

“Well then, let’s eat them all because I am famished,” you replied, picking up your own orange roll and taking a giant bite. The mix of soft, warm bread, zesty orange, chewy caramel, and sweet frosting set your taste buds alight. As you chewed, you envisioned a ten year old Bucky sitting in his mother’s kitchen on Easter morning. Curly brown hair, all teeth and dimples in his Sunday best and as happy as a kid could be. Why?

Because this was the best damn orange roll you’d ever had.

Marvel Taglist: 

@caffiend-queen

@hidden-behind-the-fourth-wall