#this kid has been told his entire life that there's something wrong with him

[atoriv-art]

what are your thoughts on the hyuga siblings and their relationship

OOF now thats one of my favorite naruto dynamics lmao. i think neji and hinata have a very interesting relationship and i say that as someone who really didn't (and tbh still doesn't) love how that relationship developed in canon

i really like the hyuga fight in the chunin exams because the way it's perceived is sooo interesting to me.. neji comes off as an outright bully and i don't even blame the kids for calling him an asshole after all of that, but from reader's perspective it's really obvious that his animosity only exists because of a larger issue...

neji shouldn't treat hinata the way he does, but he does so because of her unique position as a scorned heir. she still benefits from everything that makes his life awful - her life is still valued more than his - but hiashi hates her enough that he won't care if neji dishes out verbal abuse on her. it's an awful dynamic and definitely contributes to hinata's terrible self-worth, but it's a symptom of the life they have been forced into by the man who the manga is intent on letting escape all of the blame for this situation lmao

(hiashi himself can be a really fascinating case honestly. i think he fully means everything he says, which is what makes him so grating but fun to me LOL. his apology to neji is entirely sincere AND it completely misses the point of all of the issues, but neji is young and deprived of acknowledgement enough that he accepts it wholeheartedly. hiashi thinks he's the best uncle of all time.)

hinata herself has so little belief in her own worth that she just sits there and takes whatever abuse people throw at her... i don't actually think neji's anger towards her was a constant - i think some people interpret it that way - rather i feel like it was something that came up whenever he was pushed too far. in more normal circumstances where he's not being made to fight her directly, he was likely more detached than anything. he wanted nothing to do with her.

in one of the filler mini arcs ive mentioned before (i think. the one that focuses on hanabi and hinata) there's a scene that rang very true to me (and im gonna recount this without rewatching it atm so sorry if i get details wrong,): neji was being made to train with hinata, asked to be allowed to leave because he felt his time was being wasted and correctly noted that it doesn't have to be him here, was told no by hiashi and then he started getting vicious and violent. towards hinata, of course, not hiashi. he then got horribly punished for it LOL i think that's the general dynamic they were living in, neji reaches a limit of disrespect that he can take and explodes on the nearest most acceptable target (we loove a boy with no emotional regulation <3), goes too far and suffers the consequence of it while nothing else changes. to him interacting with hinata at all is just asking for pain, either emotional or straight up physical

But, for hinata, she saw herself and neji as similar (the black sheep of the family i suppose), and would have liked to bond over that fact; theyve known each other since they were very little and she outright refers to him as a brother. it's clear to me she's always cared a lot about neji and imo feels responsible for what happened to his father (something that hiashi doesn't help with. Dad of the year), so she saw their match in the exams as a chance to close the distance between them and get neji to see her as a person, an equal instead of a symbol to lash out on.

but, you know, she was 12 LMAO so she ended up pressing all of his buttons instead and it led to his famous outburst, which led to the famous moment of Every Single Jonin (other than asuma.) coming to stop him and further cementing his belief that her life is seen as special. i think (and this is a mix of Shit I Made up, and Me trying to make sense of the manga's insane mishandling of their plotline) that despite her trying her hardest to reach neji she didn't really grasp the horror of his situation. that's the tragedy of neji's life really LMAO, no one really tries to grapple with the severity of what having that curse mark does to a person. she thought of his fatalism as more of a psychological, metaphorical way of dealing with hurt and not like... "my life literally does not belong to me no matter how much i try to fight it"

this is loooooong take this readmore.

i think hiashi-hizashi were hoping that the cousins could have had a better relationship than they did... letting them hang out often and stuff, introducing them early, hizashi not discouraging neji from being friendly with her, to me it all reads as very "ok well this didn't work for Us, but what if it works out for them... even though literally nothing has changed". they were proper family once and hizashi wanted to die for his brother, not his leader, so that just makes sense to me.

i do nautttt like the naruto vs neji fight so to keep the post positive i will gloss over it <3 but hinata and neji's relationship post-chunin exams to me is peak like. God i wish this was done better because it could have been soooo good

neji realizes that his anger is consuming him and adjusts his behavior accordingly, getting a lot of his kindness back, and he becomes intent on fixing his relationship with hinata... i don't hate that premise at all, it's just the way it's executed that bothers me!

the impression i got (and i could be mistaken im in the process of rewatching the anime + rereading the manga) is that their relationship getting better is done exclusively through like. neji repenting for being mean to her. which, don't get me wrong, he SHOULD apologize (AND THAT WOULDVE BEEN A COOL THING TO SEE ONSCREEN, BTW) but you CANNOT divorce his behavior from the hyuga system in general. from the way they act after the exams you would think their issues were born solely from neji being a bully for no reason, and not, like... him lashing out on her because his uncle is literally the devil.

i don't think hinata has the power to change a lot in her clan on short notice (she did get disowned. did that un-happen offscreen? we will never know. Hiashi gets to be a grandfather to her children btw.) but i certainly would have liked to see her standing up for branch members and in the stuff i draw that's the story i have in mind LMAO. like, her gaining a deeper understanding of neji's situation and trying to work against her father trying to make her cousin's life better? i think that would have been really sweet and even show her gaining more confidence in herself and her beliefs. you can still have neji fussing over her and being protective because he feels bad for how they used to be, i actually really like that because neji IS a very sweet person, i just reject the idea that it's his sole Moral Obligation to put everything aside and make things better by the power of I Will Die For You Now, But This Time, For The Right Reasons

as for hanabi i wish she had more screentime soooo bad because i'm obsessed with how she gives off Haunted Child vibes lmfao. talking abt her requires me to expose myself a little bit and have to admit hiashi is kind of a blorbo to me because of how much he sucks ass, but like. Essentially his insane resentment of hinata was born when hizashi died, it doesnt matter it wasn't really her fault, he needed someone to blame and he would never blame himself, at least not outwardly lol. hiashi did genuinely love his brother, it just didn't stop him from being a monster to him, and he is certainly not gonna grapple with that now that he's dead!

(and, you know, the whole "sorry we sent a guy to kidnap an heir. you do need to die for killing him though" thing is really dumb but if we stop at every single stupid thing in naruto we will be here all day.)

with all that being said i think hiashi tries his best to make hanabi everything hinata isn't, and he has very little interest in having her and hinata have any bond at all. he just left neji and hinata to fester in that god-awful dynamic with no supervising, and took hanabi as the best direction for the clan to head towards. but, you know, father of the year is very demanding and doesn't seem to be very fatherly to her at all from the little we see of them. she's just like. a good soldier, and that's what he needs.

i think hanabi growing to resent her sister for the situation she's been put into (if hinata weren't 'weak' she wouldn't have so much responsibility) is very interesting! by the time we meet her i think she's learned that the best thing to do wrt her sister is to just ignore that she exists. as for neji he barely registers as a presence to her; neji has no reason to interact with her and hiashi has no reason to incentivize it. it's very fun to me!

in general i really like all of their dynamics can be used to explore how hurt and trauma drive people apart, i could talk about them for hourssss LMAO i love the suna family for the same reason!

[nfcv-saltmine]

I don't want to spoil your fun, but seriously? THIS is your favorite screenshot of the show? THIS is the big moment that makes you like their dynamic? It says a lot. Sorry but I'm going to be mean. It's nothing personal, I just so happen to have a very different opinion from yours.

Let me re-contextualize: Trevor just told Sypha and Alucard his tragic backstory. How he was a kid when his family got killed by the very people they were trying to protect. He spent his entire life after that, alone. No one to help him survive. He had to do it all himself, and due to this extremely difficult life, he became a rude alcoholic. But a rude alcoholic who still ended up going out of his way to help people. He doesn't know Sypha nor Alucard, and yet, he still brings them to the ruins of his childhood home, a place you can guess he doesn't visit often! And he leads them to his family's most precious secret. Centuries worth of knowledge and artefacts. This is an ENORMOUS deal. He's ready to go as far as expose his own vulnerability and risk to compromise what is left of his family's legacy, for the sake of saving people.

And what is the first thing Alucard does?

This. He insults Trevor's entire lineage. He insults his dead family to his fucking face. He sees the treasures accumulated and used to save innocents for centuries, wich was hidden behind a magic seal because of how precious it is... and he shits on it. KNOWING how damaged Trevor is after losing the same fucking family he is insulting with no remorse. And it's supposed to be quirky and funny because Alucard is Traumatized? TREVOR IS TOO. And do I have to remind everyone that Alucard himself commented on "having more of a childhood than him"? He knows what he's doing.

And the worst part is: Trevor is being incredibly calm here. He doesn't throw a punch, he doesn't scream, he just whispers to Alucard to shut up after he has been nothing but condescending to his whole bloodline, which honestly must be pretty triggering to Trevor so kudos to him for not getting more violent! But the MOMENT he stands up for himself because Alucard just can't stop spitting on him and everyone he ever loved and everything he and his family ever worked on, Sypha stops him. Trevor is shown to be in the wrong. Trevor is the one who needs to grow up and ignore his bully. He needs to be the better man. Friendly reminder that the worst thing Trevor did to Alucard was joking about Dracula teaching bloodletting to Lisa.

And that's not all! After Trevor did all this for the sake of saving the world, Alucard dares to call him, behind his back, "unreliable". AND HE ADDS MORE TO IT by calling him "emotionnally damaged" as well, because apparently that's something he should be ashamed of! Ah, but yes, it's actually funny because you see, he too is emotionnally damaged and probably projecting and scared and doesn't know how to deal with his own trauma... well I don't give a single shit because the cunt never once apologizes. We don't see him, at the end of the show, telling Trevor "btw I'm glad you're alive and so sorry for being a cunt to you back then", no. We don't see him express one bit of regret for his past behavior. In fact, not only does he make the handmade dolls of his "friends" say awful shit that shows how he's really seeing them, but he also look at himself in the mirror one day, see how dirty he is... and immediately compares himself to Trevor, showing us one more time what he thinks of his "friend".

And the term "friend" is way too big for whatever the trio has going on. The whole show severely lacks scenes of them actually bonding. We're offered a dynamic, and we're just supposed to go with it and accept that they are friends now, when they don't spend ONE moment actually growing closer as a group. It's worse, actually - we see them curse at each other and shittalk to each other... and THAT is what we're meant to see as bonding! The "eat shit and die" is a perfect example of that because Alucard and Trevor are still strangers to each other, yet they laugh at them cursing at each other as you would with your bestie. Except it works with your bestie, because you know each other very well. They don't. They did not earn that laugh. But it did establish very well that we were going to get fed an hostile dynamic between them and that we are just supposed to believe they are friends now. Despite not having any scene showing us that hey, they actually work together! They can talk nicely to each other sometimes! They care about each other! They respect each other!

And we're supposed to believe they are super important to each other? Please explain to me when, between the moment Alucard started to call Trevor's family "mentally ill hoarders", and the moment they killed Dracula, did they suddenly grow so close Trevor would give the man who has been insulting his entire legacy, said legacy?? (Especially if you think they spent two weeks being annoyed at each other.) It can be funny to see characters have banter and being overall nuisances to each other (granted character A doesn't literally shit on Character's B dead relatives!)... But unless they are supposed to be foes, you need to balance it with actual bonding moments. With actual moments of them being good to each other, to show they care. NFCV doesn't do that. And I can't for the life of me comprehend HOW are we supposed to be super happy and hyped for their reunion in s4, when it wasn't earned one bit! It was the OPPOSITE of earned! (The Arikado + Trevor reunion in Grimoire of Souls was way more impactful and heartwarming)

This is it, my favorite screenshot in the whole show.

It perfectly encapsulates their entire dynamic as a trio in the early seasons.

Sypha, she's just so sick of everybody's shit. They haven't been a group for more than two weeks at this point, and yet all she's heard from the boys are death threats and insults with a side of sarcasm. She has kicked one or both of them out of the wagon on more than one occasion.

Trevor, he's specifically sick of Alucard's shit. He's used to being the one who gives everyone else the shit. How the turn tables.

Alucard, he's learning what trauma is, and he's not taking it well. Better to entertain himself by giving Trevor record breaking amounts of shit than to reflect on his own suffering in any way, at least until the war is over.

[isolophilian]

i think we need to understand the gravity of how quickly Percy blames himself and his disabilities for the way his world is. how he's been made to believe over years and years that he's weird, that there's something wrong with him. Percy saying he should've been paying attention. Percy saying there's something wrong with his brain. Percy calling himself broken.. he's just a kid man

[madwomansapologist]

you make loving fun | nanami kento x mom!reader

after years of pain and grief, nanami found himself going home for a placed filled with love and care. he wasn't there at the start, but he will be there until the very end. it's a promise.

cw: papamin au. step!dad!nanami. kid!yuji. fluff fluff fluff. domesticity. found family. the happy ending they both deserve.

an: inspired by this post from @froody and my own experience as someone who had a dad who not only stteped up, but levelled up.

Five minutes before the end of his shift, Nanami put on his coat and muted his notifications.

Staring at the analog clock, Nanami noticed he never did that before. He was never one to rush away from the office. One to get ready, to make sure no one could bother him, and wait for his free time to finally begin.

For how long was he the last to go home? Don't forget to turn off the lights, Nanami would hear that every night from whoever left before him. And make sure to lock the doors. Did he ever said that to someone? No. Probably no.

Once if felt useful. To work overtime was to get stronger to defeat curses. And in a world you won't gain anything for free, extra hours can feel less like a option and more like a duty. Sometimes you can be guilty for not working. It can feel wrong to just live.

But back then Nanami would come back to a empty house, sleep in a cold bed and not say a single word until the next morning. Back then there was no one waiting for him by the door, smiling simply because he came back. Back then he wasn't waiting for anything expect silence.

"Good night, 'amin", and after only twenty minutes he was parking in front of your house, watching how Yuji had to stand on his toes to reach the handle of the main door.

You told him last week Yuji would turn down the volume of his shows and videogames whenever a car passed near your home. He said Nanami drives so carefully he can always tell when to open the door.

"Good night, Yuji." Nanami locked the car, now feeling how cold it was out there. It rained this morning, the road is still wet. He opened his coat to protect Yuji from the wind, and then noticed he was still wearing his uniform. "You haven't showered yet?"

Yuji gave him a bright smile. "Mom's doing a surprise for you."

In moments like that, Nanami can see your shadow lingering over Yuji. He really is a copy of his mom. That charming smile, a tendency to avoid the subject of discussion, and that trick of revealing something exciting so their wrongdoing can be ignored.

"And what's your mom doing, kid?" And just like with you, Nanami always fall for that obvious trap.

"It depends", he said. "Will you watch Caillou with me?"

Nanami blinked. That kid. "Of course", Nanami accepted the deal, stroking his pink hair as they entered the house.

"I dunno", Yuji walked straight towards the living room, leaving Nanami speachless.

He placed his glasses on the table, now working on the knot of his tie. The aroma evolving the entire house was a telltale of your baking, and the sounds coming from his belly reminded Nanami of how long it has been since his last meal.

Deep into your own inner thoughts, you didn't noticed his presence. Nanami made sure to keep quiet, admiring you as you made sure you followed the recipe correctly.

So beautiful. Unaware of his gaze, he knew there was no flourish in the way you moved or how you murmured a song playing inside your head. You weren't trying to charm him, you were just being you, and that was more than enough for Nanami to fall in love with you once more.

It still surprises Nanami. How easy it's to love you. To be in love with you. None of you are performing. There is no lies between you two. Not when Nanami holds your hair so you can vomit. Or when you hear all the complains he kept to himself for years. Nothing but truth when you worried about Yuji's grades, when Nanami cried loudly watching a k-drama with you on the couch, when you sneezed on his mouth.

You make life real. You make loving fun.

It doesn't feel like work.

But that doesn't mean things suddenly get perfectly fine when you both are together. Nanami noticed you're still wearing formal clothes. Your eyes seemed so small, glaring at the phone as if it was miles away instead of in the counter in front of you. You haven't taken your earring off yet.

This house is safe. You made sure to build it with love, brick by brick. To give your son everything a child deserves: to be happy, protected, cared for. And there is no way of doing that alone without working until exhaustion.

But you're not alone anymore.

You haven't noticed his presence, and still Nanami didn't felt you shivering when he hugged you from behind. You recognized him. Was it his perfume? The warmth of his hands? Or perhaps how they always find a way to hold you by the hips, feeling the soft skin with his fingers?

"Yuji's gonna be a attorney", he whispered against your ear. You melt against his chest, eyes now wide open and looking deep into his. Nanami wondered if you felt his heart racing.

You smiled. "Are you saying my son is an asshole?"

"Never, my dear", Nanami hid his face at the curve of your neck. Breathing deep, he felt you shivering. You were using the perfume he gave you. "You're tired."

You sighed. Nanami is a man of few words. Sadly he's also a man of surgically right few words. "And so are you."

He kissed your skin. "I can keep an eye on him", Nanami murmured. "And another on the oven. You don't need to worry."

"Are you sure?" Tempted to accept, you also didn't want Nanami to feel like you were part of his daily duties. You rather give than take from him.

Nanami squeezed your hips, slowly allowing you to go away from him. He needed you to go, but he also needed you to stay. "This house won't burn down just because you stopped working."

"Oh, but it will. I assure you", you laughed it off.

Nanami knew it wasn't just a joke. He could almost taste that bitterness that follows truth. "It won't. I won't allow it."

When he heard you closing the bathroom door—never locking because a part of you was always ready to run if Yuji needs help—, Nanami sat down on the couch. Yuji held the control, so big on his tiny hands, and put on the show he always watches when Nanami is there with him.

This time Caillou was eating some sort of chocolate dessert. Yuji moved his mouth, quietly saying the lines from every character. "Isn't it your favorite series ever?", Yuji asked, laughing as Caillou tried to eat the dessert. "Everything he eats looks so good!"

"I never watched something so great", Nanami gazed at him. It was the forth time Nanami watched this episode. "I like that one when he plants carrots. You should try eating those."

Yuji made a face. "I prefer chocolate pudding."

Nanami looked at the television. He would be free the next day. Yuji behaved well in school recently. You mentioned even thinking about buying him a new video game. "We can make it tomorrow."

Yuji turned around so quickly he almost fell from the couch. "Really?"

"Really."

Drying your face with a towel, you checked the oven. The bread you made was still growing. Good. The television had a cartoon going on, you turned it off and went after your boys.

At Yuji's bedroom, you found him deep asleep. Nanami took off his shoes and socks, covering him with a thick blanket. He was still wearing his uniform, but he looked so at peace you couldn't force yourself to care deeply about it.

You kissed his forehead, whispered sweet nothings, and went back to the living room. A few moments later, Nanami turned the lights off and closed the bedroom door.

Sitting besides you, Nanami knew.

Life was good again.

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general taglist: @lovelyy-moonlight

@ madwomansapologist.tumblr.

[enviedear]

YOU DIDN'T SEE MY VALENTINE (I SENT IT VIA PANTOMIME)

₊ ⊹ JASON TODD

🧸ྀི REQUEST | Could I request Jason Todd being jealous of Dick and reader who is slightly older and he’s harboured a crush on since his Robin days? AND jason todd/reader + jealousy

CW | jealous!jason—nothing crazy, not canon compliant but this is my tl now, some 'will they, won't they', and lots of jason being weird with feelings. 1.2k words. 🎧ྀི

in all honesty, you knew richard grayson before you ever truly knew JASON TODD. he was just a pubescent sidekick the last time you'd seen him—masked in thinly veiled anonymity. both boistful and timid, he always brought a smile out of you—teen angst and all.

but then he died. your life continued, morphing into the blissfully misunderstood present of your early twenties. heroism sits on your backburner, choosing to slow down for a career. normalcy, in a sense. and even though you've more than officially retired from your masked identity, dick grayson still remains everpresent. he offers up unrelenting friendship with ease.

normalcy has faded in recent months. reanimation of a corpse has the tendency to do that. and despite being one of the last to learn of jason's return, you were one of the first for him to turn to, to seek out. his attitude, his spirit, his mere presence—have thrown your life into a complete tailspin.

he usually stops by unannounced, often bloodied and bruised. he's gruff and pointed. no longer timid, but apathetic. far different from the young boy you remember—that scrappy, defiant, and utterly resolved mini hero. back then, you’d barely had time to catch your breath between your own assignments to make any sense of the boy glaring up at you in challenge. always like he had something to prove. his vigor had amused you then, but you couldn’t have known the weight behind it—not then.

now, it feels unavoidable. he doesn't talk about it, but he doesn't have to. it's in the way he carries his shoulders, tense and unsure. the way his once deep blue eyes have recast to a murky blend of frosted jade. he's changed, and yet you're still the one he seeks out. the thought has replayed and plagued your mind for days on end.

the kid you'd known had become something else entirely. taller, broader, with a rigid fixation toward you that feels…alarmingly familiar and unknown all at once. most times, you can't place why—that is, until he reminds you.

“dick’s taking you out again?” his voice cuts through the casual quiet of your apartment, where you’d been getting ready. the sound is rough, almost indifferent.

glancing over your shoulder, you spot jason leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed and jaw tight. you never heard him come in, but he hasn't startled you. no, you expected him. you refocus on what he has asked—his question, though simple, has an unmistakable bite to it. you don't let it affect you, not now, or anymore.

at first it was hard to come to terms with the aggravation and disdain riddled within him. it spewed out so easily. now though, you understand it. no part of you enjoys it, but you love him. much more than he can seem to realize—too fractured to see through your companionship. a role reversal of utter hell.

you hesitate, brushing off the strange weight of his stare. “yeah. just dinner. catching up. he's been at work so much recently...”

you see a flicker of something unclear cross jason’s face. it’s quick—but the tension sticks, thick and heavy in the room. it's an old grudge, somehow outliving death. you suppose it makes sense—he spent years begging to patrol with the two of you, just to be firmly told no. he always got so agitated, completely annoyed. it seems he's the same, old habits die hard.

he clears his throat, still glaring severely, “right. catching up.”

there’s that bite again, sharper this time. he’s trying to be casual, but it doesn’t land.

“is something wrong?” you ask, turning to face him fully now, eyebrows raised and tone nearly exasperated.

he shrugs, but his eyes don’t meet yours. they’re focused somewhere over your shoulder. “just seems like dick’s always around, that’s all.”

you blink, surprised. “we’ve been friends for years, jason. you know that.”

“yeah, i know.” his voice is lower now, quieter. “i just…i don’t get why you still hang out with him so much.”

that gets your attention. the tension, the clipped responses—it all clicks into place. you rise, studying him. “are you… jealous?”

the moment the word leaves your mouth, you watch his posture stiffen. his eyes finally meet yours, a mix of frustration and something softer, almost vulnerable, in them.

“no.” he mutters, but it’s not convincing.

“jason.” you sigh, shaking your head. “dick is just a friend.”

“yeah, i know. so why's he’s always taking you out?” he huffs, and there it is—the frustration that had been simmering beneath the surface finally breaking through. “ever since i was a kid, he’s had your attention. i'm just...the other one.”

his words hang in the air, weighted with years of implicit beliefs. suddenly, you understand. this isn’t just about his brother. it’s about everything jason’s never said—the way he’d always felt second to someone else.

you take a step forward, close enough now that you can see the cracks in his bitter expression. and you notice the way he wants to pull back but doesn't—can’t.

“you have never been that to me, jason.” you say softly, your voice steady.

he scoffs, but there’s a flicker of disbelief in his eyes. “yeah? didn’t seem like it.”

“maybe not then, but things are different now.” you say, holding his gaze. “you’re different. we’re different. everything, is different.”

for a moment, jason doesn’t say anything. he just looks at you, really looks at you, like he’s trying to figure out if he should believe you.

“doesn’t feel like it sometimes,” he mutters, quieter now. the tension shifts, softening slightly, though, his guard remains.

you take one last step, close enough that you can reach out and touch him if you wanted to. “jason.” you say, and his name comes out softer than you mean it to. “you have my attention now. not as a kid. not as robin. as you.”

there’s a pause, a beat of silence before he finally drops his eyes. when he looks back at you, there’s a flicker of longing in them, a look almost too vulnerable for the man he's returned as.

“you sure about that?” he asks, his voice quiet, like he’s afraid of the answer.

you nod, and this time, you close the distance. your hands gently tether to his crossed arms, “yeah, i’m sure.”

his muscles tense under your touch—but he doesn’t pull away. instead, his eyes fall to where your hands rest against him, something flickering there. you squeeze his arms lightly, attempting to ground him.

“jason,” you say softly, “i don’t see you the way you think i do. i never have.”

he lets out a rough breath, like he’s been holding it for ages. his gaze is still cast downward, jaw clenched. you wait, patient, giving him the space to find his words.

“i don’t know how to be around you anymore.” he admits, voice barely above a whisper. “i want to be around you, like how dick is. i just...came back wrong.”

the confession rings in your head. you almost feel the weight of it, pressing against the edges of your chest, and your heart aches for him. for the boy he was, the man he’s become, and the space in between where he feels like he’s lost himself.

“you didn’t come back wrong.” you whisper, stepping even closer.

his head tilts slightly, as if he’s processing your words, trying to let them sink in past years of self-doubt.

his hands uncross slowly, falling to his sides, but he doesn’t pull away from you. instead, his right hand reaches up, hesitant at first, before he gently cups the side of your face. fingers brushing your skin with a tenderness you hadn’t expected.

“you sure about that?” he asks again, but this time there’s no malice. less unease.

you nod, your hand coming up to cover his, your voice steady. “yeah. i’m sure, jason.”

almost timidly, he speaks again, "can you just... just tonight, stay here."

you study him as you answer, "why?"

he sighs, eyes flicking to a wall, "grayson's had years to spend with you, i haven't. c'mon, let me take you out instead." he shrugs, looking at you now, "call it making up for lost time."

you can't fight the tug in your chest, and you nod—relenting, "fine." you offer him a small smile, "where are we going?"

you don't catch what he suggests, nodding along. you're too hyperaware of the dimpled smile on his face now. two perfect reminiscent pictures of the sweet kids you used to be. only, this time you're choosing him—and you plan to continue to.

[darknight3904]

𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘦

𝘓𝘰𝘨𝘢𝘯 𝘏𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘵 𝘹 𝘍𝘦𝘮!𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳

𝘚𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘺: 𝘠𝘰𝘶'𝘷𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘓𝘰𝘨𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘢 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘔𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘤𝘰. 𝘋𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘴, 𝘓𝘰𝘨𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘶𝘱𝘴. 𝘕𝘰𝘸, 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘓𝘢𝘶𝘳𝘢, 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘓𝘰𝘨𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯.

𝘛𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘥𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘓𝘰𝘨𝘢𝘯 (2017). 𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘱𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘺. 𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘰𝘺𝘴 𝘰𝘳 𝘎𝘦𝘯 𝘝, 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘝𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘢 𝘕𝘦𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘳 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘦.

𝘞𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴: 𝘝𝘪𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘦. 𝘕𝘰 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘵 𝘴𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘹𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘧𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘦𝘴.

𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵: 4.1𝘬

𝘚𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘔𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵 / 𝘔𝘺 𝘔𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵

Logan was always a mystery to you. His brooding nature and gruff voice reminded you of an old tomcat that used to live in the bushes of the school.

You remember the first time you met him, he had been smoking a cigar in his room unknowingly letting the smoke waft into your room across the hall. You had told him off, telling him he was a bad influence for the kids around him and he had shrugged you off and dismissed your worries for the youth.

"I don't see any kids around here right now."

"They're all over the place, Logan. This is a school."

Most of your relationship had been like that, friendly banter, the occasional fight over something stupid, but at the end of the day friends who could trust one another.

At some point, you had grown tired of your life at the school. Tired of teaching kids Geometry and running missions that grew staler each year. Eventually, you left, packed up your junky Chevy, and bid farewell to the aging Professor with a kiss on the cheek and a warm hug.

Logan hadn't said much to you that day. Only that you ought to stay, something about the team still needing you.

"Thought you hated being an X-Man, Logan."

"I'll hate it a lot less if you stick around."

You drove south and found yourself in rural Pennsylvania. Perhaps it wasn't entirely legal, taking up residence in some old cabin that time had forgotten. Not that it mattered much since three years after leaving the school, Logan showed up at your door, pounding on the wood of your front door like the world was ending. All it took was one look at the unconscious professor in the backseat of some car Logan must've stolen for you to start packing your bags.

Now, you were sitting in Mexico, sweating your ass off daily, hoping that Charles would be alright and not kill you and Caliban while Logan was at work.

"He's late."

"Yes, Caliban, I can read the clock you know." You sigh

Logan was getting slower by the day. When he had showed up at your door four years ago you had barely recognized him. Sure, he was has muscle-filled and imposing as ever, but his face and hair had changed so much. Wrinkles and scars filled his handsome face and there was more grey than brown hair on his face and head.

"I need you."

His words echoed in your mind even now, a year later.

"What if he-"

"He's fine. He's just slow." You sigh trying to focus on the book in your lap. Caliban was such a worry wart.

"He's not. And neither are you. Both of you, there's something wrong." Caliban said, motioning to your exposed arms where your veins were purple and swollen, making your skin look hideous, "We should go to a doctor. They can-"

"Can we not have twenty minutes of peace?! If Charles isn't driving me insane with his babbling about Taco Bell, it's you with all your questions." You groan, slamming the book in your lap shut, "I am fine."

Logan's grumpy attitude had rubbed off on you it seemed. You left Caliban and locked yourself in the little bathroom you all shared.

The pale-skinned mutant was right. Something was wrong. With you, with Logan. Logan's seemingly invincible healing was failing him. As for you, your entire body had been crisis-crossed with your veins appearing like horrible bruises on your skin. In some places, like your hands they were even raised, pulsing painfully at times. Your face had been spared so far. You guessed that was due to the slow aging process you had been given as a part of your mutation. It was only a matter of time before your face suffered though, you were sure of it.

Not that it mattered though. You had given up looking pretty months ago. After you got settled in Mexico, you found yourself plagued with thoughts of Logan. Never in your life had you found yourself attracted to him, sure you were aware that he was good-looking, everyone was. The older teen girls at the school in particular would often giggle and whisper when he'd enter the room, then again he was always wearing those boot-cut jeans that made his legs look fabulous. Yet you had always been immune to that pretty face, content with simple friendship.

The first month after you finally fell into a groove with Logan, Charles, and Caliban had been tough, but after that? It was like you were losing your mind. Logan was consuming your thoughts. Even when you were at work, cleaning some shitty local motel, you thought of him. Anything would remind you of him, from empty booze bottles in the motel trash cans to a forgotten leather jacket a guest left in the closet.

Even at night, you weren't safe from him invading your thoughts. Some nights you'd wish for him to be holding you close, big arms cuddling you, keeping you safe. Some nights were less family-friendly and you'd picture him on top of you, wringing multiple orgasms out of you while he grunted about how good you felt.

The result of those thoughts? Each day when he'd return from driving that damn limo, you'd wait at the door like a trained dog, happy and excited to see him. You'd try to get him to talk about his night, what clients he drove, which were the craziest, who was loudest. Other times you'd cook a nice meal for him with whatever was sitting in the janky fridge Caliban had gotten up and running. Every once in a while, he'd even lay his head in your lap on the couch and let you weave your hands through his graying hair.

It had gone like that for about three months until one day he snapped.

"Don't you ever shut your damn mouth? Fuck all you do is talk! Can't you see I'm tired!? I don't need you interrogating me every time I come back here!"

You had taken his words harder than you expected and before you knew it, your veins were bruising and rising. Your own powers were turning on you, just like his were.

You hadn't bothered trying to pursue anything more from Logan since that day. You didn't bother with your appearance in front of him, why should you? He wasn't interested in you after all. Not to mention if he wasn't interested in you before, why would be be when your own veins were making you look like Grimace from McDonald's.

Now, you primarily had short conversations with him. Usually, they were about Charles and what meds he needed, and how much they were going to cost. Occasionally, the two of you'd sit with a bottle of booze and reminiscence over what your lives once were, as X-Men.

The sound of tires screeching had you exiting the bathroom. He might've been an asshole but you still cared about him.

Logan slowly walked in, a bit of a limp in his step from some fight he had gotten in the other day. He went right for the fridge where cold beers sat, ignoring Caliban's squawking.

"Goin' away for a bit." He said as he slumped into a kitchen chair, looking at you

"Where?' You asked curiously

"Booked a long ride. When I get back we're buying the Sunseeker." Logan said

"Who's the ride for?" You asked, curious as to who would book the world's grumpiest driver for a cross-country road trip

"Some rich lady," Logan replied, sipping on his beer.

He was definitely lying. You wanted to get out of Mexico, perhaps it was better like this. Logan would get the remaining cash and you'd finally get out of here.

"Here." Logan said, tossing the pills for Charles on the table, "Don't let him miss any doses."

Logan shuffles towards you and stops when you look up at him. Tired eyes meet your own.

"I'll be gone a few days, just a few. Then we're leavin', bub" He whispers

You nod and decide to indulge yourself by gently resting your ugly-looking hands on his chest that's covered with a white dress shirt.

Your heart skips a beat when he presses a quick kiss to your forehead before walking off to put Charles to bed. Logan's never done that before, usually, he'd reject any physical contact from you, even back in the day he was never into physical touches.

You watch as the limo disappears down the road, carrying Logan off to whatever mystery client he had, if he even had one.

"He'll be back." Caliban's voice calls, trying to assure you

"I know." You sigh

"Don't you have work?" He asked as you lay down on the couch.

"Day off. My bitch of a boss doesn't want to pay to have more than one housekeeper at the motel each day." You say

"Cheap bastard," Caliban says, shaking his head

You let out a snort of laughter.

"You're telling me. The other day he told me to reuse the garbage bags in the rooms, just to dump the trash into the outside dumpster."

"They'll be roaches everywhere." Caliban laughs

"Can't wait to clean those up too." You sigh closing your eyes

The screeching of metal wakes you up from your dreamless sleep. You slowly sit up, groaning when your arm begins to tingle, it must've fallen asleep somehow.

"It's her, she's here!"

"Professor, back to the tank." You groan at the old man, not wanting to listen to his blabbing. The dementia got worse each day.

"It's Laura!" He exclaims

You huff and slump backward into the couch. You loved the Professor but he was exhausting sometimes.

You quickly stand up and stop him from wheeling himself outside. The sound of a car door slamming has a cold sweat running down your back. Logan was gone, who could be outside? Whoever it was you prayed they were weak, you weren't even sure that you could use your powers, let alone fight someone with them.

"Stay, put. If something goes wrong, get back to the tank and lock the door." You command

"Laura," Charles says again, listening to you and remaining still

You step out into the hot sun, not expecting Caliban to be standing next to Logan. A blonde man with a metal hand and aviator glasses stands and asks about Charles. You look at the newcomer, trying to figure out what his deal was. He was human, even with failing powers, you and Logan were stronger, did he have a death wish?

"Whoo, look at that. Not one X-Man but two? The Wolverine and....I'm sorry sweetie what was your name again?" The man suddenly smiles, looking at you.

"Get out of here, asshole," Logan says, placing a hand on the blonde man's chest, preventing him from taking another step towards you

"Tell me, sweetie, do you know where the girl is? Wolverine here seems to have misplaced her." He asks

"There's no girl here." You answer

A loud shout startles you and a metal pipe whizzes past you and Logan to strike the intruder on the head.

Laura is an interesting character. You watch from afar as she shoves cereal in her mouth.

"What the fuck is this?" You ask Logan who doesn't have an answer for you.

The rumble of the train goes by and Charles calms the girl who jumps from her seat.

"Look, we're leaving. That guy who she knocked out, he knows everything about us. Get your stuff together." Logan says, handing a bag to you

You groan but listen and scamper off to your room. Your "room" was really just a small double bed surrounded by sheets Logan had strung up on strings after you said you needed more privacy from him and Caliban.

You shove clothes into the bag along with a couple of dusty books to keep you busy on the road. As much as you'd like to, you doubted Logan was going to let you drive at all.

Logan's deep voice shouts your name and you dash out to the kitchen to see Laura eating her food, unbothered. Her eyes glance at the outside world where you can see Logan shoving Charles' wheelchair into the trunk.

"What's happening?" You ask frantically, dropping your bag into the dirt, forgetting its importance.

"Get in." Logan commands

You quickly jump into the passenger seat, shoving the empty bottles of Jack Daniels aside. You'll have to yell at Logan for that later on. Drinking himself into a hole wasn't going to help whatever was happening to him.

The blonde man must have to do with the amount of trucks that are surrounding you all. Logan curses as he tries to maneuver the limo out of the smelting plant. Much to your dismay, you're quickly surrounded with nowhere to go. Charles murmurs about Laura again as Logan tells him to shut up.

If it were twenty years ago, you'd be able to make a path. Your powers had never been pretty but they were effective. If only you were able to use them now on all these men who were exiting these vehicles, they'd be nothing but blood stains in the dirt. Head popping was never pretty but it was efficient.

The blonde man is back and shouting in Spanish. You wonder what has become of Caliban as you glance at Logan whose mind is certainly racing, trying to create an escape for you all.

"Hey there, Sweetie." The blonde says leaning his elbow on the windowsill and leaning into the car, "Charles Xavier, America's most wanted octogenarian."

"I'm a nonagenarian actually." Charles quips back, proud of his old age.

"Logan." You whisper looking at him.

You're certain you can still use some bit of your powers. If Logan could cut just one of these men open, you'd be able to carve a way out of this situation. It'd be painful but you could do it. Maybe.

Logan lets out a growl and shoves his door open into one brute who steps too close to the limo. You jump out of your own door, hot on his heels as the blonde man keeps his men from gunning you both down.

You let out a loud shout of Logan's name when the men begin to beat him. One man comes up from behind you and pins you arms behind your back, he's stronger than your weak body and slams you face-first onto the hood of the limo.

"Find the girl."

The men spread out as you struggle in his hold. Logan's pinned down by the threat of at least 6 guns aimed at his face.

"Careful, Williams. You're gonna break her nose." The blonde man says looking at the way your face is harshly pushed into the metal of the car

"She deserves it. Mutant freak." The man above you, Williams, scoffs spitting down at you

"This mutant freak controls blood, you idiot. I don't wanna find out what she can do with it, do you?"

Williams looks down at you and you feel his spit trickle down your temple. He loosens his hold and lets you stand up, keeping his gun pointed at you.

The sound of gunfire breaks the tense stare-down you were having and your jaw nearly drops when you see Laura approach, a man's head in her arms.

Your jaw does drop when two silver claws appear and she begins to cut down the men. Logan tackles you to the ground and keeps you safe from the rain of bullets two men send at you.

"Get in the back with Charles, stay down." He orders, gritting his teeth as you hear the bullets pushing their way out of his skin.

Laura's feral screaming fills your ears along with the sound of flesh being cut through. The metallic scent of blood fills your nose as Logan pushes you into the limo.

"Logan I can help!" You shout

His only response is slamming the door in your face.

The limo is surely a sight as Logan speeds down the road. Charles' voice fills the silence as he talks to Laura about the X-Men. You look at Logan who looks, if it's even possible, angrier than he normally does.

"If you want me to apologize, I'm not going to. So stop pouting like a kid." You say, looking down at your blood-stained hands.

"M' not pouting. And what you did was dangerous." Logan says

"And what you did wasn't? I'm not a delicate flower, Logan. I don't need you hovering to keep me safe." You huff

"Yeah well when your brain blows up from that blood manipulation of yours, don't come crying to me," Logan grumbles

"Please, when that happens I'll die. No way for me to complain then." You scoff

Logan shakes his head and keeps his gaze on the road.

You want to slap him for his attitude. That or kiss him, you really can't tell. The angry protector vibe he had going on was as aggravating as it was attractive.

He was mad for what? You had saved him from getting an AR-15 getting unloaded into his chest. Sure, now your head was throbbing from the effort it had taken to use your powers. It wasn't even your own blood you had used, just some from a man on the ground, fashioning it into a simple tendril and impaling Logan's assailant through the chest.

"They're not normally like this." Charles whispers to Laura, "They work very well together. Good friends, sometimes I think they're more than that.

You groan at Charles' words. Something tells you you and Logan were going to be fighting a lot more now that you were trapped in a beat-up limo together.

"Don't tell her that." Logan chastizes

"Tell her what?" Charles asks innocently

"Made up fantasy shit," Logan replies

The casino Logan picks is a buzz with noise. You haven't been around this many people in years. It had a cold sweat breaking out on your skin. You wondered what was going through Charles' mind as he suddenly reached for your hand for assurance.

"You'll be alright. " You whisper to the old man who nods

A mannequin catches Laura's eye and Charles points out their lack of clothes.

You can't quite tell what's going through Logan's mind as he sits beside you on a soft sofa, waiting for Laura to come out of the dressing room. You can tell he's still upset from earlier when you used your powers to help him. You decide to throw him a bone as he taps his right foot with impatience.

"Sorry." You mumble

"What?" He asks

"I'm sorry." You say again quietly

"I can't hear you," Logan says turning your face to look at his, most likely so he can read your lips. What an old man.

"I said I was sorry. For earlier." You say, louder this time.

Behind Logan, you can see Charles inch his chair closer, hoping to eavesdrop on you and Logan.

Logan lets out a deep sigh and shakes his head. Your heart leaps to your throat when you hear the next words

"Don't worry bout' it, bub."

His big hand drops to your thigh and gently pats it assuringly.

"I would've done the same for you."

You place your own hand onto his and gently squeeze. His eyes meet yours and you swear they jump to your lips for a split second. You watch mesmerized as his tongue quickly appears to wet his lips before disappearing back into his mouth.

"Listen-"

Laura emerging from the dressing room breaks the trance he has on you and you jump up, fully flustered.

"Oh very nice." Charles coos at the little girl who is now in a unicorn shirt.

"Let's go." Logan gruffly says, brushing past you and towards the cash register.

You follow on Logan's heels as he limps to stand in line behind a little old lady. Laura and Charles are attempting to win at a claw machine that sits in the store a few feet behind you. Did Charles not see that the prize was poker chips? Laura wouldn't be able to do anything with the prize if they won. Whispers distract you from stopping the old man as he inserts money into the machine. Where did he even get the cash?

You glance to your right where three women stand. They're stylish, sleek, and vixenish with their tall heels, bodycon dresses, and sharp-winged eyeliner. You follow their pointed gaze to your own body and realize what they're giggling at. Your bruised arms, something you hadn't worried too much about before were drawing attention.

It wasn't just the women either, an older couple on your left are whispering as well.

"Oh my, what's happened to her?"

You feel a scowl pulling on your face, chasing away the good feeling Logan had left you with back in the dressing room.

You stomp over to a clothing rack filled with oversized hoodies. You snatch one off the hangers and walk back to Logan and shove it in his arms. He stumbles back a bit, not expecting you to be so harsh.

"I want this too." You demand before spinning on your heel to go find the nearest restroom.

Splashing cold water on your face is a luxury you had forgotten. Back in Mexico, the water in the pipes was always just a bit warm. Great for showers, but shitty for everything else.

You emerge from the bathroom to find your companions waiting for you. Logan tosses you your sweatshirt that stupidly says " I survived Oklahoma City Casino!".

If only you had picked out a plain one.

Logan hands you a key card to one room and then goes to open his own.

"Got a conjoining bathroom." He explains, "You and Laura can share that one."

You push the door open and are welcomed by the sight of an oversized king bed.

Laura immediately goes to the bathroom to open the doors that connect you to the Professor and Logan.

"Sit. Watch TV."

You hear Logan's stern voice speak to her. You can imagine his face as he says it. Stern, unmoving.

Logan limps into your room, shutting the bathroom door and sitting on the bed you're to share with the slightly feral child you've picked up.

Silence falls over you as you pretend to observe the ugly painting on the wall. You strained your ears trying to hear the TV next door. They'd done a good job soundproofing the rooms.

"What's wrong?" He huffs

"Nothing." You say, crossing the room to flop down on the big bed

"You've had a pissy look on your face since we left the dressing room." He points out, "More pissy than usual."

You roll your eyes but he can't see it since you've buried your face in the soft pillows.

You can tell Logan is still there, waiting for you to speak. You've got the feeling he's not going to leave you alone either, stubbornness was always a strong suit of his.

You flip yourself around and prop your head up on a pillow to look at him.

"Those women in the dresses and heels, they pissed me off." You admit

"What women?" Logan asks his face screwing up as he tries to recall who you were talking about, "There weren't any women."

"The one's in the tight dresses and heels." You say looking at him, not believing he hadn't noticed

Logan shakes his head again.

"It's my arms." You sigh, "I got comfortable in Mexico, you and Caliban never said anything about them. Not to mention Charles doesn't seem to care either."

You fiddle with a stray string that sticks out of the sleeve of your new sweatshirt. Machine-made stitching was always poor quality.

"I don't know what women you were seeing," Logan says, suddenly scooting up the bed and laying down beside you, "But I don't give a shit about what your arms look like."

"It's not just my arms, Logan." You softly breathe, thinking of the rest of you, marked with ugly bruises.

"Doesn't matter to me." He sighs with a wave of his hand

You feel tears pricking at your waterline and you willed them away. There wasn't even a reason to cry. He was just being nice, being a good friend.

"Are you crying?" Logan asks

"No." You lie

A warm tear slips down the side of your face and then all of a sudden they won't stop. You turn on your side and curl up into a fetal position. Maybe Logan will leave you alone now, he never liked dealing with his own feelings, let alone another person.

"Hey." He says, "Quit blubbering like some baby."

You're surprised when he suddenly scoops you up and places you in his lap. Big hands wipe at your tears and he hands you a tissue from the nightstand for your nose.

"Sorry." You sigh taking a deep breath to calm your nerves

Logan lets out a deep grunt and he lets his actions do his talking. One big hand rubs up and down your back to soothe you while the other is drawing circles on your knee.

"You shouldn't get so worked up about random people. Before you know it we'll be out on the Sunseeker, fishing and eating crab for dinner." Logan says

"Promise?" You ask

"Promise."

Part Two

[lucyrose191]

hey i had an idea and i love your seb x reader writing so i wanted to send this to you! driver! reader has a really big accident during a race like shes in a coma for some time seb becomes this completely closed off person but he visits you everyday so one day he comes to the hospital ig and readers heart stopped or something but then she comes back to life and wakes up or she dies idk if they have kids but would be nice if they’re married. idk i leave it up to you just give me some angst pls 🙏🙏🙏

COME BACK TO ME| S.VETTEL

Pairing; Sebastian Vettel x Wife!driver!reader

Summary; Sebastian’s world is turned upside down when he finds out the reason behind the red flag, the aftermath is just as torturous as the moment he got the news.

Warnings; Serious crash (a bit like Jules Bianchi’s), angst, coma, severe injuries, Sebastian’s sad :( Also Kimi and Seb bickering like children.

F1 Master List

It was no secret that Formula One was a dangerous sport, the fans knew it, the FIA knew it and the drivers knew it; but there are decisions that need to be made in order to protect the drivers because their safety should be the number one concern.

So when the FIA decided that that the weather in Suzuka wasn’t severe enough to postpone or cancel the race, pretty much every driver was against getting back on the track, there had already been a crash and to continue was just plain stupid.

Y/N knew that everyone, including the drivers, had their eyes on her. She had won the last few seasons and was the one to beat.

She never had a problem driving in the rain, in fact most of the time it added to the thrill of the race but when you could hardly even see the steering wheel you were holding, it wasn’t fun, it was scary.

She didn’t really know what had happened, she was battling Max Verstappen who had been recently promoted to RedBull; she’s been enjoying the challenge the younger driver is offering her but there were times that she didn’t agree with his decisions, they could be extremely risky and not in a good way, in a way that could cause some serious damage to either him or someone else and it seemed that this time was one of those times that his risks had consequences.

She had been ahead of him when she felt the contact that had been made to the back of her car, it wasn’t light at all, it sent her spinning completely off the track and with the slippery track and the rain continuing to pour she could not stop the car no matter how hard she tried to gain control.

She heard the gasps of the crowd as her car flipped and spun but it faded away as she tried to keep herself from moving about too much in her car; wondering how long it would take for her to stop.

Y/N did stop, eventually, but the moment she felt the contact she knew something was wrong. It felt like she had hit a brick wall, she heard the crumpling of the car’s structure before a pain like no other filled her entire body; her head throbbed and her eyes fluttered closed, her body shrouded by the remains of her car and the heavy rain.

"Red flag, Sebastian, you’re heading into the pits," Riccardo spoke over the radio.

"Fuck sake! I told you guys we shouldn’t have been sent back out here, what happened?" To say he was angry was an understatement, for the FIA to risk the lives of every driver on this track was ridiculous and quite frankly plain stupid.

"What happened, who was it?" He asked again when he wasn’t given an answer, pulling into the pits behind the two Redbulls.

"There’s been a crash, no response," Riccardo vaguely replied.

Sebastian sighed in frustration at the lack of information and detached his steering wheel, pulling himself out of the car, he didn’t even have time to pull his helmet off before Max was walking up to him and grabbing his arms.

"Seb I’m so sorry, I lost my grip and I couldn’t control it and we just collided-"

Sebastian shook his head, cutting Max off. "What are you talking about, what happened?"

Max simply stared at Seb for a moment, guilt filling his entire body as he realised Sebastian had absolutely no idea. "Seb, it’s Y/N…."

It was as thought the world had stopped turning, Max’s voice had faded away along with the sound of the crowds and everything else around him, the only thing he heard were his racing thoughts as he remembered Riccardo’s words.

No response

No response

No response

He looked up at the big screen that was showing the wreckage live, his heart dropped, the car was completely crushed and she was still in it.

He saw as a few of the Marshalls looked towards the ground briefly before looking into the direction of the camera as they all started making the same gesture, not even a minute later the screen was shut off so that no one could see what was happening.

Sebastian didn’t register his feet moving or the drop of Max’s hand from his shoulder but the next moment he was storming into the Mercedes garage demanding for some sort of information.

If it was any other driver entering their garage without permission they would’ve been immediately kicked out but knowing that Sebastian was here for no other reason that to know if his wife was okay they didn’t mention the red race suit that stood out against everyone else’s black and white uniform.

Seeing that Sebastian was simply stood there, seemingly not knowing what to do, Toto walked over to him and directed him away from his team so that they could talk.

"There was no response over the radio so we can assume that she’s unconscious, she went into that barrier at an incredible speed and the from the damage we can see there’s no way she isn’t injured in some way so she’s going to be airlifted to the nearest hospital, okay?" He spoke in a low voice so that no one could hear besides the two of them.

Sebastian made no indication that he had registered Toto’s words but he did swallow thickly before simply walking away and making his way into his own garage; he didn’t speak to anyone, instead heading straight to his drivers room.

He has taken the quickest shower of his life and changed into regular clothes, he had no intention of getting back into that car this weekend and if anyone expected him to then they were delusional.

As soon as he walked through the doors of the hospital he was approached by an older looking nurse that seemed to have been waiting for him and he could tell by the look on her face that he wasn’t going to hear anything good.

She gestured him to follow her; she lead him into an empty hospital room and gestured for him to sit down on one of the two chairs that were underneath the window, she took the other.

"Mr Vettel, I’m going to be straight with you because I wouldn’t want anyone to beat around the bush if I was in your position. The speed and force at which your wife crashed into barrier quite frankly should have killed her so bear that in mind when I go over her injuries with you because they might sound bad but for what happened I’d say she got out lucky."

Her words cut through Sebastian like a knife, tearing into his skin to leave him vulnerable to whatever she has to say next. Though, he’s grateful she’s telling him how it is instead of sugar coating the severity of everything just so that he’s not uncomfortable, he wants to understand and be aware of what exactly has happened so he gulped and nodded for her to continue.

She didn’t look at him sympathetically which he was thankful for but her expression was comforting. "The impact shattered Mrs Vettel’s tibia and fibula in her right leg, three of her ribs were also broken and a few of them are bruised, during the crash something must have made contact with your wife’s head because when we were cutting the helmet off the back of it was already broken through and it’s caused her some severe trauma to her head."

It was as though Sebastian felt the pain with each injury that was listed, the nurse was explaining it precise and slow so that he could probably understand it but there was really only one thing he wanted to know. "Is my wife going to be okay?"

This time the nurse did look at him sympathetically as she saw the pure worry in his eyes, she could see the love he felt for the Mercedes driver and the pain that this was causing him.

"Your wife is in surgery right now to fix both bones in her leg and suture up the injury on her scalp, her ribs should heal by themselves in at least six weeks but will most likely be longer, the thing we’re most worried about however is when she’s going to wake up. Whilst the knock on her head hasn’t caused any internal bleeding, we do think that’s the reason she was unconscious and not the crash itself."

Sebastian’s blood went cold at her words, "So-what, she’s in a coma?"

The woman nodded in confirmation. "Yes, it’s hard to determine when a person in a coma is going to wake up because each person is different when they’re in a position like this and I’m aware of how difficult this is for you to hear but whilst she’s in this state, it’s really the best time for her injuries to heal and hopefully she’ll wake after the worst of the pain has passed."

"How long do you think she’ll be in the coma for?"

"It varies from person to person but I’d say anywhere between a few weeks to a few months."

Sebastian nodded his head, glancing down to his lap where he was fiddling with his wedding ring. "Thank you." He simply muttered to the nurse who took that as her cue to leave.

"Mrs Vettel will be brought here after her surgery is complete, you’re welcome to wait until then or if you wish to go and come back after they’re finished we can give you a call if-"

"I’ll wait," Sebastian interrupted her and she nodded before leaving the room, closing the door behind her.

Sebastian sighed heavily into the silence of the room, placing his head in his hands; now that he was alone the strong front he had put up had disappeared, before he could stop it his eyes were watering and silent tears were falling into his hands.

He didn’t know how long he sat like that before he heard the doors to the room open and a bed was wheeled in by four or five doctors, once the bed was locked in the middle of the room all of them left but one.

The man was probably in his forties but he seemed kind enough as he regarded Sebastian. "You must be Mr Vettel?"

Sebastian hastily wiped his eyes before rubbing his hands on his legs, nodding his head.

The doctor smiled before speaking. "The surgery went well, both bones in your wife’s leg have been reconstructed but those pins will have to stay there for a month or two and afterwards she’ll need physical therapy to regain her strength back and the cut to her head has been sutured up with no issues. A nurse will come by tonight to check her vitals and ensure everything is okay, they usually do checkups every 6-8 hours but if you need something then feel free to press the button."

"I will, thank you." Sebastian smiled weakly.

"As you are her husband you can come and go as you like, you are more than welcome to have someone come and take your place when you want to go and shower or rest. If anyone wishes to come and visit then visiting hours are between 8am and 8pm, after that we only permit one person to stay."

The doctor left shortly after and after taking a deep breath Sebastian got up from his seat beneath the window and made his way to the bed.

The sight of her made him want to burst into tears all over again, she had cuts and bruises all over her face and arms, her right left was resting on a pillow but trapped inside a metal brace that was attached to the pins inside her leg, her head was bandaged to protect the stitches on from the pillow she was laying on.

She looked lifeless and the sight of it pretty much tore him in two.

He didn’t know what to do, he was here alone and the love of his life almost died.

He carefully leaned against the edge of the bed, making sure he didn’t budge anything he shouldn’t before carefully grabbing her left hand, it was bare of any rings and Sebastian hoped that they were in her driver’s room somewhere and not lost because she was so protective over them rings and would be pissed if they were lost.

He brought her hand to his lips and pressed a soft kiss to the back of it.

It was way too silent in here, he hated it.

He leaned his body forward and pressed his face into the pillow, being mindful that he wasn’t hurting her even if she was unconscious and most likely wouldn’t feel it.

"Please come back to me, Liebling. I need you so much."

Sebastian didn’t leave the hospital that night, he had dragged the chair across the room so he could spend the night beside his wife, he hardly slept instead choosing to sit and simply watch as she ‘slept’ hoping that if he stayed awake long enough then eventually she would wake up.

She didn’t.

He had countless messages from family and drivers but he didn’t answer them, he knew not answering her family was selfish but he found that he really only cared about Y/N and no one else, that and he wasn’t ready to talk about it.

He messaged her and his parents this morning explaining what the doctors had told him yesterday but had left the other messages unread.

Not once had he let go of her hand, not when the nurses came in every couple of hours to do their checkups or when they brought him something to drink or eat, most of which went untouched.

He couldn’t explain the heartache he was feeling, to have the person you love the most in the world be in such a vulnerable position was heart wrenching, especially when it was your job and vow to protect them.

He couldn’t have stopped that crash but he will make sure he is around for every step of her recovery process.

Sebastian was thankful that there wasn’t a race this week because there was no way he was leaving her in the hospital alone to get in the car, he wasn’t in the right mindset anyways.

It seemed silly that he was also thankful that there was only four races left and Y/N had already won the championship otherwise he would’ve been devastated for her.

A knock at the door tore him away from his thoughts and he assumed that it was a nurse but was proved wrong when Max walked through the door with flowers in his hand.

Sebastian pursed his lips and looked down, he couldn’t even look at the man knowing that he was the reason his wife was unconscious in the hospital.

He knew it was wrong to blame him because he had no grip and the weather was no help but he was aware of the way the younger lad drove and knew that he took unnecessary risks, risks that could’ve killed the woman he loved.

"Uhm," Max cleared his throat awkwardly. "I messaged to see if it was okay for me to come but I didn’t get an answer and I just needed to see if she was okay."

Sebastian bit his tongue which was hard when everything inside him wanted to turn and shout at the RedBull driver that this was all his fault and he had no right to come here when he was the reason she was here in the first place, and his wife didn’t even like fucking roses so be can shove them up his arse for all Sebastian cared.

"Is she okay?"

Sebastian scoffed at the question, looking up at Max as if questioning his sanity. "Does she look okay?"

Max looked at him guiltily before glancing away, not being able to stand the look of complete despair in the German’s eyes.

"Just leave," Sebastian shook his head. "My wife’s pretty much on her death bed right now because of you and I really don’t need you coming here pretending like you care when we both know that that the only thing you care about when you’re in that car is yourself, not anyone else and certainly not their lives."

Max bit back the retort that’s on the end of his tongue knowing that the man was not in the right place right now so he placed the flowers on the table by the door and took his leave.

Sebastian sighed and tipped his head back to try and stop himself from crying, he needed to stop crying, he hadn’t done anything else in the last 24 hours.

It had been a week and Sebastian had talked to no one, none of the drivers had tried to visit so he assumed that Max had warned them to stay away which he was glad.

He had left the hospital only twice to pack some clothes and essentials for the two of them, Y/N still hadn’t woken up but the bruising on her face and arms was going down and the doctors had said her ribs were healing nicely.

He had never realised how much he had depended on her and needed her until he didn’t have her to depend on.

He loved her so much and felt like he was going insane with her right next to him but not exactly there at the same time.

Shortly after Max had left that day, two nurses had came in with Y/N’s race suit, fireproofs, balaclava, gloves, boots, two halves of her race helmet and her rings.

Sebastian had wasted no time in placing her rings back onto her hand, he didn’t think she looked right without them and knew that if she woke up without them on her hand she wouldn’t be impressed.

He had almost cried again when he picked up both pieces of her helmet and saw the place where she had been stricken on the head, there was a gash that went right through the helmet and a large red stain on her balaclava that would be beneath where the hole on her helmet is.

He had told his and Y/N’s parents that there was no point in flying in to visit until she was awake and they agreed, he also assumed that the teams had all flown back to their headquarters or the next race location so he was here alone.

Quite frankly, Sebastian didn’t know what to do, there was a race in America this week and even though it was the last thing on his mind and the last thing he wanted to do he knew that he had an obligation to be there, he couldn’t just not show up and it seemed like Britta had the same idea as he saw her name pop up on his phone trying to call him, it wasn’t the first time but it seemed like she was unrelenting this time.

"What do you want?" He sighed as he pressed the phone against his ear, running a hand over his face.

"Oh, so you are alive!" Her surprised voice was way too loud in his ear.

"Just tell me what you want, Britta." Sebastian had no time or patience for her teasing or jokes.

"You need to be in America in three days, Sebastian, I understand that you don’t want to see anyone and the last thing you want to do is get in a car but you do have an obligation to be there." She told him sadly.

"I have an obligation to take care of my family, Britta, I couldn’t give a shit about racing."

"You can’t stay in Japan, Seb."

"What do you want me to do, leave her here in a different country by herself?"

"I think you should move her to a facility in Switzerland for starters so that you can at least be near home."

Sebastian stayed silent, he couldn’t argue with that logic, it probably would be better, even for Y/N so that she wouldn’t have to fly when she was awake and recovering.

"I’ll talk to you tomorrow," he told her before hanging up, not allowing her to say anything else.

The next day he had payed to have Y/N transferred to the closest hospital to where they lived in Switzerland and had flown out her parents so that they could stay with her whilst he was in America.

He had put his foot down on missing media day, he’d go Friday, Saturday and leave immediately after the race on Sunday and would call his in laws multiple times a day whilst he was gone, he was not happy about it but it was the best he could do.

They were currently waiting outside of the room whilst Sebastian said his goodbyes to Y/N, he had spoken to her everyday just on the off chance that she could hear everything that was going on around her, the last thing he wanted was for her to have to suffer in silence whilst she was in this position.

He pressed his forehead against hers, which was now bandage free, closing his eyes to relish in the contact that he wouldn’t have for the next couple of days.

"I love you so much, liebe and I’m going to be back as soon as I can. You better not wake up whilst I’m gone otherwise I’m going to be pissed off with you," he chuckled weakly knowing that is something she’d probably do.

He pressed a kiss to her head and one to the back of her hand before reluctantly getting up, grabbing his back and leaving the room, knowing that if he didn’t go now then he never would.

Sebastian knew he was pushing his limits but couldn’t find it in himself to care, it was Friday and he had arrived in America this morning but hadn’t shown up at the track until just ten minutes before FP1 started.

He had been on the phone with his mother in law as soon as he got off the plane and hadn’t hung up until a few hours later but the real reason he had left it so long to head to the track was so that he could avoid most of the cameras as he was walking in, knowing that they’d now mostly be focused on the team garages.

Speaking of teams, Y/N’s seat had been filled in by Esteban Ocon for the rest of the season, the smallest part of Sebastian felt guilty knowing that Toto Wolff had been trying to find out what was going on with his driver but Seb had made sure everything was kept under wraps.

The only people who knew how she was were family, Britta and Y/N’s PR manager, Freya and every single one of them had no intention of spilling any information.

He could feel the eyes on him and hear the muttering as he walked through the paddock, he hadn’t even been here five minutes and he was already getting annoyed by the cameras and how loud it was.

It pissed him off even more when he saw team members from other motorhomes coming out to watch as if he was going to stand there and make a grand statement to let them all know how Y/N was.

He just ignored them and walked into the Ferrari motor home to his drivers room so he could change into his race gear.

He made sure he had his helmet on before he left his room, making a clear statement that he was in no mood to talk to anyone, thankfully the team respected it and let him get straight into the car, just in time for FP1 to start.

It felt wrong, he and Y/N had a small ritual they did before they got into the car, they had done it for years and this would be the first time getting into the car without it.

"Okay, Sebastian, you’re free to leave the garage, just give Mattia a heads up when you’re ready. You’re on mediums for now," Riccardo spoke through his ear piece.

Sebastian didn’t answer but he did nod his head towards a mechanic to let him know he was ready.

He was top of the time sheet for both practises today, he wouldn’t say he had tried to be in that position, he had just channelled his frustration into his driving.

"Sebastian, top of the time sheet today, does that mean the car was feeling well for you?" The woman in front of him asked, holding out her microphone for him.

"It felt fine," he responded, he wasn’t even looking at her, he was too busy thinking about phoning Y/N’s parents when he got out of here.

"You’re back after a week off, did you end up doing anything interesting?" He was aware that the woman was trying to subtly pry information from him about Y/N and it pissed him off so he just scoffed and walked away, knowing Britta was going to have to do a bit of damage control.

"Hey! Seb! Seb!" He heard Lewis call after him but continued walking causing the English driver to have to run to catch up to him, clasping a hand on Sebastian’s shoulder to get him to stop walking.

"Hey, are you alright, mate?"

Sebastian rolled his eyes "I’d be find if everyone stopped asking me that stupid question."

"Alright," Lewis nodded, not one to get offended or hurt at the tone Sebastian used because he understood. "How’s my teammate?"

Seb raised a hand to his forehead in frustration at the question, he could feel himself losing it. "What do you want me to say, Lewis? She’s clearly not fine other wise you would’ve heard something so will you and everyone else just leave me the fuck alone."

He didn’t wait for a reply, instead walking away, hopefully to make that phone call he’s been wanting to make since the last one had ended but just as he was about to shut the door to his driver’s room, a hand caught it.

"For fuck sake, can I not get a moment alone around here!?"

"Don’t start your attitude with me," Kimi grunted and Sebastian sighed, now was not the time for him to deal with Kimi.

"What do you want?"

"I want what everyone else wants."

"Well I hate to break it to you but just because you’re my teammate doesn’t mean I’m telling you how she is."

Kimi rolled his eyes and made himself comfortable on Sebastian’s bed whilst the latter was looking around for his phone.

"That’s not what I was talking about, I’m talking about the mood you’re in, you need to get out of it and get a grip, that’s what Y/N would want, not you walking around and sulking ruining everyone else’s day."

Sebastian shot him a dirty look. "You don’t know what she’d want and neither do I right now because she’s in the hospital, and if anyone has a problem with my attitude I’m perfectly fine with them staying away from me."

Kimi sent him a sarcastic smile, matching his attitude. "Well I have a problem with it cause you took my personality."

"What?"

Kimi sighed and stretched out. "You know how exhausting it is to have to be the happy one out of the two of us, that’s supposed to be your job but since Y/N’s crash, I have to be that person and I’m sick of it."

"Well I’m sorry that my wife’s injuries are such an inconvenience to you," Sebastian rolled his eyes.

Kimi groaned in annoyance, "you are so fucking annoying without her."

"Thanks, I’ll tell Minttu you said that." Sebastian replied sarcastically, now having his phone in his hand.

"Go for it," Kimi shrugged. "When Y/N wakes up I’ll tell her how much of an arsehole you’ve been."

Seb ignored him and pressed his phone to his hear, waiting for his mother in law to pick up for an update.

He had finished P4 in the race that weekend and had gotten straight on a flight back to Switzerland, skipping his post race interviews in the media tent.

He hadn’t even called Y/N’s parents after the race for an update, instead settling for a simple text in the airport when he was boarding the plane; both of them were picking him up from the airport and taking him straight to the hospital, he was strangely looking forward to being able to see her again, even if she was still in a coma.

He was happy that his flight had quite literally flown by and was sitting in the car behind his in laws just twenty minutes after landing.

"How is she?" He immediately asked.

"She’s okay, the doctors have said she’s healing up nicely." Y/N’s dad told him, the news relaxing him a bit.

"Are you guys coming in?" He asked as he held the car door open, surprised when he saw them both shaking their heads.

"We’ll come by tomorrow, you should have some time alone with her."

Sebastian nodded and bid them goodbye, actually happy that they had chosen to do that because after not seeing her for a couple of days, some time alone was what he needed.

He practically ran through the hallways of the hospital, care workers saw him but chose not to reprimand him as they were aware of who he was and how eager he probably was to see his wife.

He exhaled heavily when he got to the closed door of her room, standing there for a few moments to calm down a bit.

When he pushed open the door, he got the shock of his life.

Y/N was lying there in her hospital bed with her leg still resting on a pillow as it had been for the last two weeks but this time, the top of her bed was raised to put her in a sitting position, she had oxygen tubes in her nose but her head was turned towards the door he had just walked through and she was looking at him!

She was clearly very sleepy and tired but her eyes were as open as far as she could hold them and she was looking at him with a sleepy smile on her face.

She blinked slowly at him for a moment as he stared before holding out her hand for him and he took that as his cue to move towards her.

"Hi baby," she mumbled through a smile, not really having the energy to say anything more but it was enough for Sebastian’s eyes to start watering as he collapsed onto the chair that was beside her bed, grasping her hand in his own.

He raised his other to her cheek and softly stroked the skin there, smiling through his tears as he felt her lean into his touch.

"Hi," he breathed in disbelief, "How long have you been awake?" He whispered, fearing if he spoke any louder it would hurt her.

"Before the race, I watched it," she told him as though she was proud of herself was waking up in time to see it.

"Yeah? What did you think?" He humoured her, not really wanting to talk about the race but it seemed to make her happy so he did.

"You did good," she told him, subtly rubbing her thumb across his hand.

Sebastian simply smiled at her, he wiped his face on his arm to get rid of his tears before looking back at her again with nothing but adoration in his eyes.

"I love you so much." He told her surely, as though she may have forgotten whilst she was in the coma.

"Ich liebe dich auch," she replied back softly making him laugh, she always said it in his native language because she thought it would feel more real for him to hear.

"Are you tired?" He asked when he noticed her fighting to keep her eyes open.

Y/N nodded slowly before looking at him. "Come and lay with me," she told him.

Sebastian shook his head softly even though he wanted nothing more than to cuddle with her. "That’s probably not a good idea, liebe."

"When has that ever stopped you?" She pouted but rose an eyebrow at him.

He couldn’t argue with her there so he got up from his seat, protesting when she tried to move and make room for him.

He climbed in next to her and lightly wrapped his arm around her, she scooted closer and carefully adjusted her top hand so that her head was resting against him.

Sebastian rested his head against hers, pressing a kiss into her hair. "Liebe?" He asked, earning a slight hum in return.

"Don’t listen to anything Kimi says, he’s a liar."

"Hm’kay, Seb." She muttered, already pretty much asleep.

"I missed you so much," he muttered against her, carefully tightening the arm he had wrapped around her,

He wouldn’t be letting her out of his sight again.

[helenofsparta2]

Annabeth is the strategic leader of Camp Half Blood, and Percy is the emotional one

If you have time to prepare for a battle or a quest, days, weeks or even months, the Athena cabin, and Annabeth in particular, are the obvious bet.

Camp Half-Blood has known Annabeth since she was seven years old and experienced her getting better and better at strategizing with each passing year and win victory after victory at capture the flag.

They know that she is the demigod who managed to stay alive while living on the streets with Thalia and Luke, who held the sky and accompanied Percy on most of his quests, who has been part of the prophecy of the seven, survived Tartarus and managed to follow the Mark of Athena as the only Athena kid in over 3000 years.

They know that she is going to come up with a plan that is going to give them with close to no doubts the upper hand. She has their absolute trust in that regard.

But when you're feeling hopeless in the middle of a battlefield? When your entire body is aching, and you're so close to desperation you just want to lay down your weapons or run away? Or when something somehow goes wrong, and you need to immediately improvise?

Then you look to Perseus Jackson.

The guy who has been standing on the front lines for so long, it is more familiar to him than the schoolyard, who has been fighting toe to toe with gods and titans since he was twelve years old. The guy who has successfully been part of more quests than any other demigod alive. The guy, who you know would give his own life for you without a second thought. The guy who jumped into Tartarus just so his girlfriend wouldn't have to face it alone.

The guy who is defined by his selflessness, genuine kindness, humbleness and bravery.

Mars told Frank in Son of Neptune that Percy is the glue that will hold the seven together, but it goes much deeper than that. He is the glue that holds all demigods together, be it at the Battle of Camp Half Blood, the Battle of Manhattan, or the Battle in front of New Rome, because more than any other character we have met in any of Rick’s books, Percy Jackson inspires loyalty and trust.

I’m not saying that those roles are not interchangeable.

Demigods obviously also rely emotionally on Annabeth, especially the Athena cabin, and Percy does often also come up with brilliant strategies (mind you, he was the leader, both emotional and strategic during the battle of Manhattan), but in the grand scheme of things, those are the roles the two of them have, and one of the main reasons why they are such a dangerous duo.

[literaila]

how do u think satoru would react to reader in a depressive episode, especially what do u think the kids would do

obviously, they’ve all noticed.

the past couple of weeks have not been lived through ignorantly. and you have not been acting normal.

the differences are just that, at first. tiny inconsistencies in your otherwise normal personality, your routine.

and then it becomes more than just a… change.

it starts off simple; megumi’s brows furrowing when you ask him a question—something about his teacher, or what kind of drink he wants in his lunch that day—and then forget what you’ve just said as soon as he answers.

tsumiki watching, smiling along idly, as you rub your temples, sighing with every other sentence and squeezing your eyes tight like you’ll be able to wake up if you try hard enough.

and satoru noticing when you linger in your room a bit longer, as the days pass. staring when you freeze looking at the wall in the morning, zoning out so hard that he has to shake you back to life.

just an accumulation of things that might indicate that something is up.

but as these moments—moments when you’re lost in your head, trying to conceal your entire being from all of them, and pretending that it’s all normal—increase, the three of them learn a little something about observing.

and lying to themselves, of course.

eventually, though, when megumi or tsumiki inevitably say something—usually when you’re not in the room, off hiding somewhere—satoru just shrugs.

(he’s going to lie his way through this, just like everything else, thank you).

“it’s a bad day,” he’ll say, like the two children will comprehend that. like they don’t know what a bad day means. “she’s just tired.”

he could make a million excuses for you. oh, you didn’t get enough sleep last night. oh, you’ve only had one cup of coffee today. oh, the world is a truly terrible place and it’s only natural that it runs you down.

but he leaves them with the simplest of explanations, instead. maybe it’s his subtle way of denying that there’s anything wrong. that you could be upset about something. it doesn’t matter, anyway.

and tsumiki, ever so trusting of all of you, listens to him. if satoru says that you’re okay, then so does she. she’ll draw you a picture at school or try to help you make their lunches in the morning, but you’re fine. her questions end with an answer.

megumi, on the other hand, has never believed a word that satoru has said.

so when the older man swears that you’re okay, that they don’t need to worry, megumi only begins to worry harder.

he sees that look on your face when you walk in the room, and megumi knows. maybe it’s because he’s the most attuned to you, out of everyone, in particular. maybe it’s because he’s observant, or too worrisome for his age (as you tell him).

but he knows.

and if satoru says one thing, megumi’s going to believe the other.

(plus the two of you have always had a symbiotic relationship. you worry about him, and he worries about you. you laugh at him, and he gives a little lip twitch in return).

so satoru is not surprised when megumi brings it up for the fourth time in a week.

“you want me to what, exactly?”

“you can talk to them, can’t you?” he repeats, giving satoru a bland look. something like ‘are you serious.’ “they know you.”

satoru snorts. “i don’t think my bosses will appreciate me telling them what they can or can’t do.”

megumi gives him another look.

and yeah, so satoru already does that. they still don’t appreciate it.

he sighs, smiling at the boy. anything to mess with him, really. he ruffles megumi’s hair. “kid, she’s fine. i can’t just tell them to give her a couple of weeks off. there has to be a reason. and,” he adds, cheerfully. “i’ve been told it’s impolite to speak on someone’s behalf without their input.”

“you don’t care about being polite,” megumi argues, crossing his arms.

satoru groans internally. he’s really not going to let this go.

it’s not that satoru necessarily disagrees, but anything he does to help you is going to be refuted with a “butt out,” or “leave me alone, satoru.”

“true,” he says, grinning as he mocks the boys stance. “but i do care about being yelled at. particularly by your mother.”

“she needs a break.”

satoru rolls his eyes. “she’s getting one. the next couple of days are free, and she’s taking a nap right now.”

megumi frowns, even deeper than usual, and stares satoru down until he breaks.

“megumi,” the man groans, childishly, pushing the boy out of the room. “you don’t need to worry about her. chill out. just go back to reading about rocks or whatever you were doing.”

“it’s geology.”

satoru waves a hand, indifferent.

(secretly trying to come up with a way to get you to talk to him. he can’t ask because you’ll just ignore him. he can’t force it out of you because that would get the two of you nowhere.

what other options are left, really? you’ve put satoru in a terrible position).

“then can we get something, instead?” megumi asks, almost pleading. “flowers, or… whatever girls like.”

“y/n already has flowers. i bought them.”

“buy something else.”

“who taught you to be this stubborn?”

megumi only scowls at him.

satoru sighs, scratching his head. he knows he should do something—but he’s so used to sitting around and waiting for you to fix everything.

yes, he does recognize that it’s a terrible habit, and completely unfair. he also recognizes that he is the worst person in the world.

eventually he sighs. “okay. how about i order dinner?” he asks, almost wincing. it’s the most natural response—everything can be fixed with food, in satoru’s sophisticated opinion. “that’ll be easy. want to go ask mom what she wants?”

megumi practically runs to your room, leaving satoru with no time to remind him that you’re probably asleep, knocking just briefly—from what satoru can hear—before going in.

he tip-toes up to the door, also wanting to check in.

satoru is nothing if not nosy.

and he might as well let megumi do all of the dirty work.

“um, i don’t care,” he hears you saying. “whatever you guys want.”

“it’s for you.”

there’s a pause. then, “really, megs, i’m not very hungry, so…”

megumi is frowning down at you when satoru steps in.

“good nap?” he asks, smiling and sitting at the edge of your bed.

“you don’t need to get dinner. it’s my turn.”

he waves a hand. “i feel like takeout.”

you frown, about to argue when megumi speaks up, glancing between the two of you with an almost furious expression.

“what’s wrong?” he asks, his voice soft but mad. like usual. satoru realizes that he’s been tricked into contributing to this.

“what?”

“why are you upset?”

“upset?” you repeat, eyes widening. “i’m not upset, megu—“

“are you sick?”

“no,” you say, immediately. “i’m just a little tired but it’s—“

“megumi,” satoru interrupts, trying to ignore the almost hurt look on your face—the glance you send his way, pleading and worried. he knows you hate this the most. “let’s let mom sleep some more, okay? tsumiki and you can decide what you want—“

“no.”

and neither of you can argue, or console the confused boy, before he’s climbing into your bed with a determined look on his face.

satoru tried to grab on to him, but megumi is having none of that, shaking him off before he can get a good grip. you’re looking at satoru anxiously, and this is the worst.

if satoru knows anything about you, it’s that you don’t want to be coddled. you don’t want to accept any help, even if it’s from your sweet, concerned son.

“megumi—“ you say, though, satoru notes, don’t make any attempts to move him when he struggles to get under the covers with you, or when he just sits by your side, barely touching you.

“i’m staying here.”

“really, bud, i’m okay. you don’t need to worry about me.”

“you’re sad.”

“i’m not.”

megumi looks at you, and satoru watches as you both share a glance. an internal conversation he’ll never get to be apart of.

for once in his life he’s not even jealous about it.

“it’s…” you say, but the two boys watch as your shoulders slack and your face drops. all at once, you lose color, life, and just sit there. “it’s fine.”

you say it to them, but it sounds more like a reminder to yourself.

satoru’s face falls. he has no idea what to say, what to do to help you—he’s spent so much time denying that there was anything wrong, that he could do anything to help, and now he’s got no answers.

he feels like an idiot, sitting there. megumi shouldn’t be taking more initiative, he should be the one worrying about you, the one to go to—

megumi doesn’t say anything though. he only moves closer to you, not complaining when your arm wraps around his shoulder and you hold him to you.

like a life vest. a support in all of the vastness.

he doesn’t need to say ‘it’s okay,’ or ‘i’m here for you,’ for the words to ring out across the the air.

and, satoru realizes, quickly, he’s only doing what you do for them. what you do best.

climbing in beside them and making sure they know that they’re not alone. being that support, no matter how unwanted.

megumi’s learned from the best.

“sorry,” you mutter to him. “i know im gross.”

megumi shakes his head and settles into you even further. and the boy doesn’t cuddle—or, at least, without being forced—but your face softens as he leans against you, allowing this kind of intimacy.

and, maybe, satoru thinks, that’s the problem with all of you.

no one knows quite what to say. what to do to help someone with something that they can’t understand. neither he or megumi is sure how to dig you out of this hole.

none of you are very good with words.

but, at least, satoru knows how to be good at this.

he sets his glasses on your bedside table, and he moves you both over with ease, smiling when you both grunt at his intrusion.

and then you’re a tower of people, all leaning against one another. building blocks stacked on top of each other.

you relax into satoru almost instantly and he kisses the top of your head, feeling some sort of pride—just at the fact that you’ll let him be here, with you.

maybe that’s the thing with families, he thinks. no one needs to say anything for it to be okay.

and the uneasiness sits there with all of you. the past couple of weeks—the distancing and disassociating—linger there.

there’s nothing he can say to make everything all better. he could destroy the entire world right now, save for your house, and it still wouldn’t be enough.

but this is nice. a hug might not fix everything, but it won’t make anything worse

and after a minute or two, you say: “where’s tsumiki?”

and she peeks her head out from your door, smiling at all three of you. it takes her three seconds to jump on the bed, having been waiting there the whole time, the final piece to your messed up puzzle.

[jarofstyles]

eating from each others plates plsss 🫶🏼🫶🏼

BEAUTIFUL this is bit of dadrry too actually- I kinda changed it a little by accident but I still hope you enjoy it hehe

Prompt list for these asks

Patreon!

----

It was hard to get a minute alone while being parents.

Y/N and Harry loved their children, don't get it wrong. Being a father had been one of his ultimate life goals and Y/N had fallen in love with motherhood, both of them excited to be at every play, soccer match, doctors visit, the works.

But god, was it nice to have a moment of peace.

The children were finally asleep. It had been the entire routine of homework, bath time, bedtime prep, laying out their outfit for the next day before each of them got a bedtime story. They'd gotten back late from a soccer match and selfishly gotten the kids fast food on the way home because Y/N couldn't even think about cooking.

Her own stomach had growled loudly while cleaning up the kitchen, and Harry had laughed under his breath before giving her an innocent look when she grumbled at him for the action. It was these sort of things, the domestic and somewhat unromantic aspects of having a life partner that had surprised her with how much she loved it.

It was easy. Having Harry around made everything more fun, more bearable even at the tough moments. He had always been a good partner despite their tiffs, and that hadn't seemed to change in their 10 years together.

When he had insisted he finish cleaning while she took a shower, she had finally given in and let the hot water relax her muscles, the lavender body wash aiding in the experience before she applied lotion and pulled on a fresh set of pajamas. That was famously one of Harry's shirts and a pair of shorts that could pass for underwear.

"Made us food." He said as she walked into the kitchen. It was pasta. One plate of pasta. She gave him a look as he walked over to the dining table to place it down next to her glass of wine- has she mentioned she loved him?- and sat on the chair, spreading his thighs before patting his lap. "C'mon, mama. You're sleepy and showered. Let's share."

Y/N simply did as told. Too tired to fight, she collapsed on his lap with a hefty sigh, feeling him scoot the chair further in and bring the fork to her mouth to feed her the first bite. Alfredo pasta. Creamy, rich, and something they'd definitely be having as leftovers tomorrow.

"Guess I did alright?" He laughed at her moan, the clean fork falling back to the plate to get himself a bite.

"Mhm." She confirmed before swallowing, watching as he chewed the food before nodding. Yeah, it was exceptionally good. Out of the both of them, it had always made her grumble that he was the better cook- but now she was reaping the benefits.

"Fuck yeah I did." He nodded, taking a sip of his ginger ale. "Love you too much to let you go to bed hungry. Took care of my babies so well today." He smeared a kiss to the side of her head before feeding her another bite. "So now you'll let me take care of you."

[d3wdropz]

Brothers AU! Sukuna Fluff Headcanons: Yuji crushing on Sukuna's s/o

Summary: Things with Sukuna have been going good, you're both happy and it's about time that you meet his family. The only issue is that Sukuna didn't take into account that his younger brother might take a liking to you too.

Warnings: no curses! au, fluff, swearing, some mention of deceased parents, sukuna being sukuna, hopefully that's it

Gender neutral! Reader

Lovely divider from @benkeibear !

♡- When you and Sukuna first got involved with each other, it was nothing serious. There was an understanding that you both just wanted to have fun with no commitment

♡ - This set up worked just fine- for a while

♡ - At some point, you both stopped seeing other people and became exclusive, spent more time together just talking and bonding

♡ - This is when Sukuna realizes he needs to have an important conversation with you, he's never been this into a relationship before, but he knows that he has some baggage that you should know about

♡ - On your end, you're just about ready to say 'i love you'- it's been a few months of messing around and about half of that was you both falling for each other.

♡ - So when you two are hanging out it's obvious that you both have something on your minds, it's not ruining the mood just an obvious need to talk

♡ - You both hold it off until the end of the night when you're in his car and he's dropping you off. Before you leave you give him a kiss and end up just leaning on his shoulder

♡ - It's the perfect moment to tell him, something out of a movie- so you look into his eyes and see just how soft he's become for you. Sukuna's not the type to show his love through words, even physical affection is hard for him- so he depends on small gestures; the love in his eyes, how softly he holds your hand, remembering your favorite foods and filling up your gas tank

♡ - Sukuna's thinking about just how much he wants to be with you for the rest of his life, and that means he can't keep important things from you. It's one of the few times that he's nervous, what he's about to tell you could be a deal breaker

♡ - You smile as Sukuna closes his eyes as you both speak up

♡ - "I love you/ I've got a kid"

♡ - While Sukuna is blanking at what you said, you're chewing him out

♡ - "Sukuna, wtf? You have a kid? When? With who? Where is it???" You are so confused and a little upset- this is something you can't just throw out there

♡ - When he comes back from his thoughts, he takes the time to explain everything to you

♡ - Turns out he in fact, does NOT have a child- rather he helps raise his younger brother, Yuji with their grandpa. Sukuna opens up about how their parents died when he was 10 and Yuji was just 3, that he's been helping take care of him ever since

♡ - Sukuna explains that, while Yuji is in their grandpa's custody, he's old and can't do much- so Sukuna stepped up and handles most of the responsibilities: helps with rent, cleaning, food, but mostly Yuji

♡ - It's a lot to take in, probably the most he's told you since he met you so it's your turn to be shocked

♡ - He leans back in his seat and sighs, "Listen- I get if that's a deal breaker- shit, it would be for me"

♡ - You take in the info dump before you realize just what he said at the end and you have no choice but to massage your temples, "Sukuna, babe, what the fuck?"

♡ - At that, Sukuna gives you a frustrated look before you keep talking

♡ - "First off, that was a lot to process- don't get me wrong, I'm happy you opened up to me, but damn you could've picked a better way or method or something" you sigh and grab his face "Thank you for telling me that... and no that's not a deal breaker- you're stuck with me, you moron"

♡ - The relief he feels is unimaginable, like a weight just got lifted off his entire body. Instead of saying anything, he just leans into your hands and sighs- you know just how relieved he is

♡- With that out of the way, you both go back to normal for the next few days- until you bring up Yuji

♡- "So, when am I gonna meet him?" This time you're both lounging at your place, he's in the kitchen making something while you're picking out a movie

♡- Sukuna's a little surprised before he responds "Well shit, didn't think you'd wanna meet the brat so soon." He's bringing the food over as he sits down next to you so you can both make a plan

♡ - The next day Sukuna picks you up and gives you a whole warning speech in the car: "Listen, Gramps can be an asshole, but he really does care. He'll like you, so you should be fine. Yuji's a nice kid, but he can act real immature sometimes so don't expect much from him."

♡ - By the time you make it to his place- a two bedroom apartment- you're dizzy from all the info he just gave you, again. It leaves you a little nervous as you walk up to the door and wait for him to unlock it

♡ - "Yuji, Gramps- we're here!" You take off your shoes and look around- the place is quite clean, something probably influenced by Sukuna and his high set standards. You notice an elderly man sitting in a rocking chair- Gramps you assume

♡- He looks over at you two and starts grumbling to Sukuna, "I'm right here you hellion, don't have to yell" Gramps' eyes soften just a little bit as he sees you before moving back to his grandson for an explanation

♡- Sukuna rolls his eyes and wraps his arm around your shoulders "Hello to you too- Gramps, this is Y/n, they're my partner"

♡- There's a soft smile on Gramps' face as he stands up to shake your hand "This is the first time the kid's brought someone home, nice to meet you." You two click instantly and get to talking

♡ - While this leaves Sukuna pretty happy, he's still got one more thing left to handle, "Hey Gramps, where's the brat?"

♡ - The elder of the two huffs "Who raised you to be so rude- he's in his room sleeping, you punk"

♡ - "The hell you mean 'he's sleeping'? It's almost noon he's got school tomorrow" Sukuna storms off down a hall and you hear a door slam open

♡- Gramps can tell you're a little on edge as he waves it off "That's just how he is with his brother- he can be hard on him but that's how he loves- sometimes the kid needs it"

♡ - Just a minute goes by before Sukuna comes back pulling a miniature version of himself with him- without the tattoos, height, and muscles they could be twins. Sukuna's tearing into him about how he 'needs to grow up and stop binge watching those damn worm movies'

♡ - Yuji's still half asleep as he pulls his arm free and complains about Sukuna being a meat-head, until he sees a random person in the living room "Wait- who's that?"

♡ - Sukuna massages the bridge of his nose and gestures to you "That's my s/o, Y/n- be nice and don't say some dumb shit"

♡- When you shake hands you can't help but gush over him, Yuji was like a mini Sukuna, just cuter and more soft "Hi there, Yuji- it's so nice to finally meet you!"

♡- Yuji can't help but enjoy the softness of your hand, how nice your voice sounds, how gentle you smile at him. It takes Sukuna smacking the back of his head to respond "Oh! Uh- nice to meet you too!"

♡ - Just like with Gramps, you click with Yuji instantly as he goes on and on about movies he likes, his friends at school- it's really sweet and you listen to it all

♡ - Sukuna sits himself next to Gramps on the couch and lets himself relax, the most important people in his life are getting along

♡ - The rest of the day goes great- Gramps shows you baby pictures that you gush over and Yuji seems to be glued to your side, you could be wrong but Sukuna seems a bit jealous that your attention's taken

♡ - Sukuna makes dinner but it's still the same, Yuji takes the seat next to you and Gramps talks everyone's ear off. When it's time for you to leave Yuji's like a kicked puppy until you promise to come back next week

♡ - As your boyfriend drives you home, you tell him how sweet his family is and start making plans to visit again. Sukuna's quiet though, just giving short responses until he kisses you good bye

♡ - "I'm serious, Sukuna- I'm really happy you let me meet them" you're hopping out of the car as he walks you to your door

♡ - This breaks him out of his thoughts as he squeezes your hand and gives you a small smile, "Yea, had to eventually- now go get some sleep, you work at 9 tomorrow"

♡ - When Sukuna gets home Gramps is passed out on his chair with the TV still on, it's not too late so he knows Yuji is still up and he needs to talk to the little brat

♡ - Just as he thought, his little brother is eating chips on the bed and watching some weird horror movie- that is until Sukuna steps in front of the TV and crosses his arms

♡ - "Hey! It was just getting good-"

♡ - Sukuna interrupts him by leaning down and snatching the chips, making Yuji jump "Listen, ya little shit, I saw what you were doing and don't even think about it- one: they're too old for you, two: they're mine so just drop it"

♡ - Yuji's cheeks turn pink "It's nothing, Sukuna! They're just really nice"

♡ - At that the older of the two turns to leave the room, "It better be nothing, brat" Sukuna leaves the room and mumbles one last thing "Cause you're in deep shit if it isn't"

a/n shit this took me forever! sorry- i experienced the worst writers block ever over the past few months! hopefully i'll have more energy and time to write, hope yall like this!

[klaus-littlestwolf]

I wanted to write a different kind of Alpha!Klaus x Omega and this idea has been kicking around in my head for a while.

Summary: Klaus’ father has been trying to get him for years, not wanting his son to go through the shift the first time alone but Esther always made it impossible. Now he is a werewolf being moved in with his father and his pack-a pack that every member but him has grown up in. As an Alpha and a new wolf he needs to figure out how to survive. He tries to do as his father tells him but once Klaus stumbles across the Omega that he was told to stay away from…it may all be over for him…

If you would have told Klaus 2 weeks ago that he was a werewolf thanks to his father that he had never met he would have laughed in your face.

And yet here he stands, having been moved out of his mother and step fathers home and into his real fathers house on a plot of land in the middle of nowhere.

Klaus didn’t have a problem with getting out of his abusive step fathers home of course. It sucked leaving his siblings but he can talk to them whenever he wants and he won’t have to live his life in fear of Mikael all the time. No, the main problem was moving into a werewolf pack full of people who had known what they were since birth while he has to figure it all out since his mother refused to let him even speak to his father before everything went wrong.

He had turned on his 18th birthday like every other wolf, but did he know that? Of course not, because his mother refused to let him meet his father who had been begging to know his son for years. Klaus had to give him credit, he had tried, but his mother was…his mother. If she didn’t want something to happen it wouldn’t.

And so the anger built inside of him months before his first turn and though he tried to control it, it was the cause of him finally hitting Mikael back and hospitalizing him. His mother buried it to keep their business private like always but then he turned for the first time and while he had gotten out of the house, he was left alone in the woods and in agony not knowing what was happening until his father found him already in his wolf form. He had come for him, after everything he had still tried to take care of him and it meant everything to Klaus. His fathers presence was calming during his change and it went a bit easier before spending the rest of the night on all fours.

Ansel had removed Klaus from his home immediately and he had enough credits to graduate early, so he took his son home where he now needed to live with the pack that he never knew existed but had always known him. Wolves growing up outside the pack wasn’t normal, in fact it was unheard of and he got many stares as his father drove through the settlement they had built here which was rather cozy honestly.

‘Don’t worry Klaus, everything will be alright. You’re safe here, and they’ll get over the staring, I promise.’ Ansel spoke as he helped him move the rest of his things into his room.

‘I’ve just never been the new kid before. It’s weird, in the weirdest way possible.’ He was unsure of how the others would treat him honestly.

Klaus had found out when he turned back that not only was he the freak who had grown up outside of the pack, but he was also an Alpha. His father was the Alpha of the pack, and though he had elders that assisted him in managing everything and making decisions it all came down to him in the end.

Alphas were rare, most of the pack is made up of Betas as all packs are. There were only 2 other Alphas around his age here and he knew it would make him even weirder. The only designation that was rarer still was Omegas, of which there were only 2 in the entire pack. One was a married mother of 5 and the other was a 17 year old girl that his father told him to stay away from as she already has 2 Alphas vying for her affections and adding another would be very overwhelming to her.

Klaus felt for her, he couldn’t imagine what she felt like but he knew what he felt like right now and it wasn’t fun.

‘Why don’t you go look around, get yourself used to the place. It’s not too big but it’ll take you a minute, and it’ll be good for you to get out. Your safe place has always been the woods for a reason kiddo.’ His father ruffled his hair as he walked passed making Klaus feel like a child but he was right. When he needed to get away the woods is where he went to draw or paint, sometimes just sit and think for hours.

‘Okay. Why not? Nothing better to do and I might as well get the staring over with.’ He rolled his eyes, pulling his boots on and walking back out of the house. The houses were all spread out he noted, giving everyone ample space which was quite nice. He knew the pack was very well off and they got everything they needed delivered every week, his father having promised to get him whatever art supplies he needed.

As he walked through the place every person he saw stopped talking or working to look at him, a few nice enough to wave but most just…staring. It was very uncomfortable and it was making him feel suffocated. As he walked passed the town hall there were about a dozen men outside who were joking loudly before one of them pointed at him, everyone stopping all at once to look at him and this time it was all too much.

Klaus sped up his pace and turned down a path into the trees, running as soon as no one could see him anymore and he kept running until his tight chest became too much and he tripped over his own feet. He pushed his back against a tree as his vision blurred slightly, he was gasping for breath that felt like it would never come and his head became dizzy. It felt like he sat there like that for hours before seeing a blurry shape of someone in front of him, their voice sounding a million miles away…until he smelled that lovely scent. It was like the sky after it stormed and wild berries, it settled in his chest and gave him enough to focus on that he began to hear the voice more clearly.

‘It’s okay, just keep breathing. Put your head between your knees!’ The voice was demanding but also soft and he enjoyed it a lot as he did as she said. Someone was hugging him tightly and it was amazing as nails scratched against his scalp and his breathing slowed. ‘There you go sweetie, just keep doing that. You’re safe, not a thing to worry about. Safe…’

‘Thank you…I’m s-sorry…’ he mumbled and she shushed him before he nuzzled closer to her causing her to freeze but as he just held close to her she seemed to relax.

‘Do you feel better now?’ He nodded, sitting up straight and taking a breath.

‘Thank you…I don’t know what…’ he sighed as he didn’t know what to say before looking over at her and feeling his breath stolen again.

‘You were having a panic attack, it’s nothing to be sorry about. I’m sure everyone staring at you endlessly wasn’t a very comfortable situation, they do it to me all the time so I get it. You must be Niklaus, I would like to formally apologize for my pack. We don’t get outsiders around here and a pack member outsider is even weirder. They’ll get used to you quick, and you’ll get it too, I promise it won’t be that bad.’

‘Thanks…it’s better than living with my mother and step father, that’s for sure…you can call me Klaus by the way, or Nik if you want. What should I call you?’ He inquired and she smiled.

‘I’m Y/n, it’s a pleasure to meet you.’ She shook his hand making them both chuckle before he couldn’t hold it in anymore.

‘You smell really nice…is that a weird thing to say?’ Her eyes widened a bit and she blushed.

‘Not really…you can tell you’re not from here though. Alphas are all cocky but not many of them have the guts to tell an Omega she smells good as if it’s not obvious.’ Now it was his turn to look shocked. Klaus thought back to what his father had said and he jumped up instantly startling her.

‘I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to-to bother you. I-I’m gonna go back to-fuck!’ He turned to walk back up the path quickly when his hand was caught and he felt a tingle up his arm that was wonderful.

‘Hey! You aren’t bothering me Nik, why would you think that?’ She looked a bit hurt and he felt bad, not wanting her to think he didn’t like her but also not knowing what to do in this situation.

‘No, I was just-my father…said to stay away from the Omega-he said you were already overwhelmed with 2 assholes who won’t leave you alone and he didn’t want me to make it worse. Which I thought would be easy cause I don’t even know what the fuck that means! And now I’ve done the one thing I was told not to and-‘ he stopped as he saw her staring at him as if she were annoyed.

‘He told you to stay away?’ Klaus nodded. ‘As if I’m not a smart enough Omega to make my own choice?! As if I can’t decide who I want my mate to be without the Alpha telling his son that he’s not an option when he has just as much of a right to be?! Fuck That! If you want to be near me you can and he doesn’t get to say anything about it. It’s one of the very few things he doesn’t have a say in…come with me!’ She demanded, taking his hand and walking back up the path quickly.

‘I feel that I’ve upset you and I very much didn’t mean to, I’m-‘

‘You have done nothing wrong Nik. As an Omega I get to choose between whatever Alphas want to be my mate. That means if you are drawn to me and I smell good to you, you want to be near me then you can and no one can interfere with that and the fact that your father tried is against our laws and honestly quite insulting!’ She raged, still dragging him through town now, everyone watching again.

‘You do smell good, like really good and you’re comforting. I like being with you but I’m starting to think that everyone thinks you’re dragging me back to my house to have me killed like I just tried to jump you in the woods…’ as he said that she stopped and looked around at everyone who was staring and rolled her eyes.

‘Stop staring at him! You’re freaking him out! Give him a chance to get settled, for fucks sake!’ She yelled this at a group of large grown men and they all had the intelligence to look terrified, going back to work at chopping wood which they already had a monstrous pile of. Y/n continued pulling him along until they got back to his house where she pounded on the door angrily and didn’t stop until his father opened the door.

‘Oh shit…what did he do?’ She scoffed, looking ready to hit him out right but Klaus thought that might be against the laws here, assaulting your Alpha.

‘He didn’t do anything. You did! How dare you tell him that he’s not allowed to see me, that he needs to stay away from me! As if I can’t choose my Alpha for myself, as if I’m too fucking stupid to make my own decision!’

‘No, Y/n, I didn’t mean to-‘

‘It doesn’t matter your intentions! You had no right to deny Klaus or myself a chance at that! Whether he grew up here or not, whether I hate being followed around by Tyler and Matt or not! It’s not your place and you know it!’ She was pissed and while he thought he should be uncomfortable with this, he was actually quite turned on by it. She’s hot when she’s mad.

‘You are right. Completely right and I apologize, I didn’t mean to interfere, I was more nervous that he would do something insulting without knowing it and end up with those two idiots jumping him. I’m sorry.’ Klaus had never seen his father nervous but clearly an angry Omega was not something anyone wanted, Alphas and Betas alike.

‘Let them try, I will fuck them up! Come on Nik, I’m hungry. Let’s go get some lunch.’ He loved how she kept his hand tightly in hers as she turned around to leave again. He turned his head to smile at his father who winked down at him with his own smirk before closing the door and leaving them both walking back towards the town, turning up a different path and taking him into a large house. ‘Hey mom. This is Klaus, can he stay for lunch?’

‘Of course! It’s so nice to finally meet you, your father has been trying to get you here for a long time.’ By the women’s soft smell Klaus assumed she was the other Omega his father had mentioned and she smelled lovely. Nothing like his Omega however, she smelled almost floral and motherly.

‘Thank you, it’s a pleasure to meet you, I hope I’m not imposing. She just said “let’s go get lunch”.’ He chuckled awkwardly but she patted his shoulder.

‘We always make plenty, lots of people eat with us here and we make meals for the older pack members as well. Come on in.’ He was sat on a couch beside Y/n and there was a few kids playing on the floor making him smile.

‘They’re cute but they’re annoying as fuck.’ She stated and he just snorted.

‘My littlest brother is 5, trust me, I know. I guess it’s different when they’re your own.’ He shrugged before her mother brought them both a large helping of chicken and pasta drenched in vodka sauce and parmesan cheese. ‘This smells incredible!’

‘Thank you sweetie. I hope you like it.’

‘I haven’t had a home cooked meal in…I don’t know how long.’ He admitted, more to himself than anything but Y/n had heard him.

‘Really? Why is that? What does your mom do?’ He shrugged.

‘Nothing really. She’s a rich wife, hires help to raise the kids and clean the house while Mikael works. She does her Pilates and book club and shopping with her friends.’ Klaus was practically scarfing down the food now and Y/n put her hand on his shoulder.

‘No one is going to take that from you, it’s all yours Nik. You can have seconds too, thirds if you want. Seriously, this is a wolf pack, we eat like nobodies business, my mom makes a lot of food and you can eat all you want. Please don’t choke?’ He was startled by that but chewed a bit slower.

‘Sorry…I suppose I still need to get used to not being home…my step father would take food away when I did something wrong pretty often.’ Y/n shook her head instantly.

‘You don’t need to be sorry for that. That’s fucked up…you will always have food here.’ He believed her, enjoying her treatment as she raked her nails along his scalp as he ate slower now.

‘Thank you. That feels wonderful.’ He admitted, rumbling out a pleased sound before leaning closer to her, her scent somehow improving which he didn’t think was possible. ‘Fuck, you smell fantastic!’ She blushed a dark shade as he nuzzled closer into her neck and she allowed it, seeming quite comfortable with it.

‘Thank you. You smell really good too…like heavy pine trees and paint…I don’t want to overwhelm you when you’re still getting used to being here. I don’t want you to have to figure out your feelings for an Omega when you already have to get used to being a wolf-‘

‘Don’t tell me that you want me to leave, please? I don’t think I could do that right now…’ he growled, the snarling beast in his head refusing to leave this girl even if Klaus wanted to which he most assuredly does not.

‘I don’t want you to leave. You’re the first Alpha whose affections I enjoy, you’re not rude and pushy, and I like taking care of you. I just don’t want to make it harder on you or make you enemies here by being around you.’ Klaus was confused by that.

‘Enemies? Those other Alphas, they can’t just accept that you would choose someone else…if you did of course, I’m not making assumptions on-‘ Y/n cut him off, pressing her lips to his and it felt perfect for the both of them. The kiss was everything, Klaus found excitement in it but also complete comfort at being in her arms and Y/n found her wolf purring at the idea of her mate holding her close and also felt a huge wave of safety and protection in his embrace as his arms wound around her.

‘Alphas don’t take losing very well. They would be in some pretty big trouble if they hurt you but I don’t think it would stop them and I don’t want-‘

‘Shh, it’s alright.’ Klas had this overwhelming urge to calm her worries, he wanted to protect her and make her feel safe. His wolf pushed him to let her know that she is protected and he did, kissing her head and handing her back her bowl of food. ‘Eat love, there’s nothing for you to worry about Omega.’ Klaus had no clue where calling her that came from but her eyes lit up and she seemed to love it so he let it go.

‘But Tyler and Matt are-‘

‘From what I can deduce, idiots, and if they want to jump me they can. All it’s going to do is show everyone how good a choice you made not being with morons. I haven’t even met them yet and I already know they’re stupid. Relax.’ He kissed her forehead before going back to eating once she did.

Y/n’s mother had been listening in, not yet trusting the new boy around her daughter. An Alpha that is new to his change can be a bit volatile and unpredictable so she was worried, though she quickly realized that she didn’t need to be. Niklaus was a perfect gentleman and even with of his new instincts and feelings he was protecting and looking out for her Omega daughter. He would make a good Alpha of the pack one day, though she kept that to herself for now. She was sure to tell everyone about Klaus and Y/n bonding, wanting them to know what a kind and caring boy the Alphas son really was, as well as wanting the pack to watch out for her daughter and soon to be son in law.

Klaus spent every day with Y/n from then on. He never wanted to be without her and it seemed like she didn’t either. Everyone became accustomed to seeing them around together until Tyler and Matt had to ruin it.

Klaus was walking down the path early in the morning towards Y/n’s house for their early morning ritual, enjoying breakfast in her room before going back to sleep snuggled up together for a few hours every morning. It was their habit and no one minded, Klaus’ father happy that his son was doing so well at courting an Omega despite being so new and Y/n’s parents loving to see their Omega daughter not feeling pressured and creeped out by an Alpha for the first time in her life.

When Klaus didn’t arrive on time though she was worried, she knew something was wrong as Klaus had never once made her wait and so she pulled on her shoes before walking outside to go to his house. Before she got to the town however she heard both angry and pain filled growls making her turn to find all 3 of the Alphas that have been trying to gain her favor in an all out brawl.

‘What The Fuck?!’ She snapped and they all froze, looking up to reveal their bloody faces instantly. ‘You 2 idiots think it’s okay to assault the Alphas new son just because I’ve been spending time with him?’

‘You’ve been spending all day every day with him Y/n! You have to give us some time to try and win you over, just wanted him to be in bed for a few days.’ Matt explained, the softer one of the pair not wanting to upset you but also not wanting to lose the chance at an Omega.

‘He just got here! He shouldn’t be in the running for your mate at all! He has no clue how to care for an Omega! He can go find himself a little Beta bitch to mate with and leave my girl alone!’ Tyler growled, shoving Klaus who glared back but didn’t move.

‘I am not your girl, and you know not to call me that! And you know what? You’ve been an ass since the day I presented as if you thought I had no choice but you and honestly, I would rather be alone than have you as an Alpha! You will never be my mate! You’re cruel Tyler, I don’t like that about you but even worse, your cocky attitude is such a turn off. I choose Klaus.’

‘You can’t do that!’ He raged, glaring at you, eyes fully black in his rage.

‘I can and I am. If Klaus wants me as his Omega then I will accept him, do you know why? Because he didn’t care what I was, he likes me for me, being an Omega is just a plus for him.’ She moved to help Klaus stand, pulling a twig from his hair and brushing the dirt off of him, careful not to hurt him as she didn’t know where he was bruised besides his bloody nose and split lip.

‘Are you sure? I’m still getting used to this, I don’t want to do something wrong…’ Klaus admitted but she could see how happy he really was.

‘I want you Niklaus…if you want me that is…I know I’m kind of needy and bitchy and a bit too emotional but I really-‘ Klaus cut her off, leaning down and pressing his lips to hers sweetly.

‘You are perfect. I love how much you need me, I enjoy watching you scare everyone and you’re allowed to be emotional Princess…Mine.’ He rumbled deeply in his chest which was a new noise for him but he enjoyed how much his Omega loved it. ‘Let’s get you home, breakfast and a bit of a longer nap today are needed I think.’ He declared and she nodded, taking his hand and moving to follow him before she was suddenly grabbed from behind, the tight grip hurting her sensitive skin as Tyler dug his claws into her sides. ‘Let her go!’ Nik warned but as he stepped closer Y/n cried out in pain from his claws sinking deeper.

‘You don’t get to just wander in here and have whatever you want because you’re the Alphas son! I’ve been after her for years and you take her in 4 fuckin days?! No! She’s mine and I will mark her myself!’ He smirked, leaning down to her ear to talk directly to her now. ‘How long is your perfect Alpha boy gonna want you then? Huh?’ Tyler’s fangs were out and he shoved her head to the side roughly making her cry out as he bent it painfully.

‘She doesn’t want you so you’re going to force her to take you? Spend the rest of your lives knowing she never wanted you and you had to force yourself onto a sweet little Omega just to get a girl? You’re fucking pathetic!’ Nik laughed, causing Tyler’s grip to tighten. He could hear people arriving around them now, clearly concerned including Y/n’s parents who were growling at the idiot holding their daughter. ‘You’re going to take her and do it in front of everyone so they all know that you need to force yourself onto a girl just to get someone to love you. You’ll go down in the packs history as the worlds most unlovable Alpha, that’s funny. I like that!’ Klaus laughed.

‘Klaus-‘ Y/n’s mother tried to stop him as Tyler got more and more angry.

‘You know what? Go ahead Tyler, if an idiot like you is this desperate for her then she can’t be worth much of anything at all-‘ and that was Tyler’s last straw as he shoved Y/n away and lunged for Klaus who was waiting for him, taking him to the ground before Klaus flipped them over and began beating his face in. ‘Fucking Asshole! If you ever touch her again I will kill you! I’ll! Fucking! Kill! You!’ He raged as he continued beating the boy. No one intervened, knowing that Y/n had clearly agreed to be Klaus’ Omega was enough, an Alpha killing a man who harms his Omega is a right by law and so if he wanted Tyler dead, then Tyler would die. ‘Think you can mark my Omega by force?! I’m gonna break every bone in your body!’ Klaus’ hands were around his throat as he choked the Alpha when he suddenly felt a soft hand on his shoulder.

‘Alpha? You can stop now…’

‘He hurt you-‘

‘I know, but you saved me…just want my Alpha to hold me now…you’re gonna mark me and he’ll never be able to touch me again.’ Klaus eased his grip, taking a deep breath and smelling nothing but her soft scent. She pushed herself between them as Tyler collapsed and Nik sat back on his knees, pulling her to his chest.

‘I’m gonna get you dirty Omega, you shouldn’t be dirty-‘

‘Shh…it’s okay Alpha. You’ll let your Omega clean you up, won’t you? Come.’ She pulled him up and allowed several men to come and get Tyler to move him to the Healers. Y/n led Klaus back to her house, her parents were just ahead of them and moved to open the door. Y/n’s mother checked to make sure they were fine before she led him to her bedroom where she shut the door behind them and sat him on the large bed.

‘I’m sorry…I can’t-‘

‘Shh. It’s okay Alpha, you protected me so good, even after getting hit in the head Gods know how many times.’ She pointed out as she pulled his shirt over his head and exposed his chest to her eyes for the first time. She did not expect to be so pleased at seeing all of his lean muscle, wondering how easy it would be for him to throw her around like a rag doll. ‘You’re alright now, and so am I. Now it’s your Omegas turn to take care of you. Just relax.’ She took hold of a pack of baby wipes that she had and began wiping the blood from his face gently, cleaning his head as well before taking a shirt that she had stolen from him to put into her nest, pulling it over his head. Klaus couldn’t control the snarl as he smelled her so close like this, a shirt that had been in her nest smelling so strongly of her was now on him and he yanked it back off quickly. ‘I’m sorry! It’s all I had and-‘ Klaus cut her off, pressing his lips to hers and feeling his eyes roll into his head before pulling away.

‘Come here, Omega. Your Alpha is gonna snuggle you all day long now. No one will bother us, just me and you.’ He somehow managed to lift her up and move the both of them to her nest (of which he had the privilege of being in now) to strip her down to her panties and bra. ‘You are so fucking beautiful.’

‘He almost took me from you Alpha.’ Y/n whispered as he pulled the blanket over her.

‘But he didn’t-‘

‘He could have…do…do you want me to be your Omega? You don’t have to-‘

‘Mine! All mine Omega! I may not be the most well versed in our laws and rules but I love you and you are mine now. I will do anything I have to to ensure that you are safe and happy…and mine.’ Klaus swore, kissing her head and holding her to him completely, unsure how to make her feel better before he moved to shut the bedroom door for the night and turn off the lights, deciding to stay in with her after the events of the day.

‘Mark me!’ She demanded and he froze, not moving as his brain caught up while trying to process that request.

‘Y/n, you’re mine. We’ve agreed, you are to be my Omega. I can hear your parents on the phone with my father right now talking about the celebration for us. We don’t need to rush into anything before-‘

‘What if Tyler tries again and you’re not there? I want to be yours Alpha!’

‘You are mine! Nothing will take you away again-‘

‘Yes they will!’ Y/n snapped and Klaus paused, looking back from the door and coming back to the nest instantly.

‘Omega-‘

‘No!’ She snapped, looking away from him, her eyes glazed over. ‘I see the way they look at me…not all of them of course but the other single Alphas. They want me Nik…they think about what it would be like…to touch me…fuck me…force me full of their pups knowing I could never do anything to stop it.’ Klaus was instantly filled with rage and he held her so hard he briefly thought he may be hurting her but he needed to hold her right now and he believed she needed that too.

‘Y/n, I will never let them do that to you. The wedding will be sometime next week, I’ll stay right here with you every night and be by your side all the time.’ Y/n moved to straddle him to make him look at her.

‘I know you want to do it right, you still feel like an outsider, I get it but something is going to happen Nik, please? Please?’ Her voice cracked as the tears began falling and he felt panicked. ‘I need you to do this for me, I’ll tell your father that I begged you but I can hear my wolf in my head and she’s never wrong Nik…if you don’t do this then I’ll never be your Omega…’ her admission threw him and he didn’t like it at all, scoffing in disbelief.

‘So if I don’t break tradition, something I’ve been told is sacred, then you’re not going to be my mate anymore-‘

‘No! Something bad is going to happen Nik, please? Please?! I’m begging you, I want it to be you! You’re my person…please believe me?’

Klaus considered her words for a moment before sighing. He knew that if his wolf said something that he was always right so he would trust his mates wolf as well and just take the heat. ‘Relax your muscles and just hold onto me.’ He instructed, bending her head to the side to expose her neck and licking over his sharpened fangs, tasting the venom dripping from them slowly before sinking them into her soft flesh on her neck. She hissed in pain, clutching his hair and pulling tightly as she whimpered, Nik scratching his claws up and down her back.

‘Thank you…my Alpha.’

Later that night the newly mated couple was sound asleep and completely oblivious to the window being pushed open.

The figure that slid through the window was completely silent as he stepped towards the nest, overwhelmed with the scent of the beautiful Omega, needing to stifle a moan when he inhaled it and knowing that she would be his momentarily. He could see the Alphas son in the nest with her and while he wanted to bash the boys brains in, he restrained himself for the next 5 minutes until she was all his.

Y/n was awoken to a hand over her mouth and she groaned, assuming it was Nik messing with her before feeling how calloused the hands were and taking in the foul scent that reminded her of a fishing boat. She gasped his the man’s hands tightened on her.

‘If you make a noise before I’m done I will slit the boys throat. That what you want? You wanna be covered in your little boyfriend?’ She shook her head frantically, her wolf rioting in her brain against the man. ‘I will fuck you in this nest with his blood everywhere, if you don’t want that then keep your slutty little mouth shut Omega.’ She didn’t like the way he said “Omega” as if she were disgusting but he had always been like this.

Charlie was a member of the pack that had always been very vocal about wanting an Omega, how he deserved one more than anyone else. He had harassed Y/n’s mother when she was of age before her father put him in his place and now it seems he had decided after all of his creepy touches and sniffs of her that he wasn’t taking chances with Klaus being strong enough to fuck him up.

Y/n nudged Klaus with her foot several times as Charlie turned her over with his hand still on her mouth, yanking her hair away painfully and pressing his face to her neck, kissing her soft skin on the opposite side that Niklaus had marked her.

A mark that had settled hours ago.

As soon as Niklaus laid eyes on the man with his face in his Omegas throat he lunged, grabbing him by his scruff and digging his claws deep. The Alpha cried out, giving Klaus the chance to rip him off and throw him to the floor where he promptly jumped on top and began beating the piss out of the monster.

‘What is Going on in Here?!’ Y/n’s mother shouted as her parents barged in to see Klaus beating Charlie to death, her father pulling the young Alpha off.

‘Alpha!’ Y/n sobbed, holding the bleeding side of her neck which prompted Klaus to move to her quickly, grabbing the shirt that he’d removed earlier and pressing it to her neck.

‘Don’t touch My Omega!’ The bloody mess of a man snarled.

Nik looked at his mate who was in pain and desperate for his comfort. ‘You are so fucking smart Omega, you know that? I’m sorry I didn’t believe you right away-‘

‘You did in the end…everything is okay now.’

‘Oh my baby! Let me see! We can fix this, we can! I will find a way to-‘ her mother stopped as she looked at the bloody mess before seeing Nik’s already healed mark on the other side, smelling no one but him which made the women grin. ‘I don’t like that it was before the ceremony but in this case, good job kids.’

‘Let Me Go! Give me my Omega! It’s My Right!’ The old Alpha raged as he was now held by Y/n’s father as well as Klaus’-their Alpha.

‘That may be but you forced a young girl into a mating, if you don’t think I’ll find a way to-‘

‘Actually Dad, she’s not his mate.’ They all looked over at Klaus and Y/n who were clearly in good spirits. ‘I marked her last night, all he did was bite her for no good reason which I must say, I don’t really care for. Makes me want to tie you up in the forest, cover you in raw meat and leave you for a bear to eat…I like that punishment, let’s do that.’

‘I’m sure that that can be arranged. The elders will discuss promptly. You kids get back to bed.’ Klaus’ father directed, manhandling the asshole from the bedroom.

‘Thank you for believing me.’ Y/n spoke, finger trailing over her Alphas exposed chest.

‘Always Y/n. I will always take care of my Omega. And now, since we’ve already broken the rules before the ceremony…I want every wolf at that party to be able to smell my pups in your pretty belly…don’t you?’

Klaus Mikaelson Masterlist

[reedles05]

The Responsible One

Michael had been odd ever since arriving in Santa Carla. Not a day went by where he acted like he did before the move. Being the oldest sibling meant a lot of things, one of which was taking care of the others when Mom couldn’t. During the entire divorce, you had been there to watch the other two, to make sure they were provided for while Lucy mourned her life moving on. 

And here you were witnessing the downfall of one of your brothers while the other was thriving. Sam had gone and even made friends that were as weird as he was, they had come by and gotten him to hang out while you were home. They were lovely boys, kind and respectful when meeting you. You had waved them off, telling them to be safe and have fun, the streets were dangerous after all. Normally, you would have advised against going out, but Sam needed time away from you. So, you had let him go, but not without something to have on hand in case something were to go awry. You had handed him a pocket knife, not something super dangerous, but something to fend off anyone with ill intent. He had shot you a look, the one where he was insinuating you were being overdramatic, but had taken it when you glared. You were relieved when his friends had awed at you giving him such a weapon, telling him how lucky he was for having you on his side. 

And that had put them in your good books. Sweet kids, Sam was lucky to have them. 

But Michael has been leaving in the night, not returning into early morning. You were worried, admittedly so. You were worried he was hanging around the wrong kinds of people, the kinds that had drugs on hand at any time. Even trying to confront him didn’t do anything, he only grew frustrated at being cornered by both you and Lucy. So, you did what any sane and concerned older sibling would do. 

Follow his ass. 

He wouldn’t get out of this so easily, making Lucy cry was on the list of ‘NO.’ 

And he knew that, so why was he going and doing things that were doing exactly that. 

Dressing yourself to avoid catching his eye, you listened to the tell tale signs of Michael leaving the house. The cracking of the window and the silence that followed. 

So you raced down the stairs and watched as he departed. He was quick, you’d give him that. You chased him all the way down to the Boardwalk. And watched as he met up with four men leaning on their bikes. He conversed with them, laughed and smiled until one of them wrapped an arm around his shoulders. A grimace crossed his face, and so you moved. 

Stepping with purpose, you strutted up to the men and pulled the blonde away from your lovely brother. 

“I’d appreciate it if you didn’t get your nasty hands all over my darling brother, Micahel.”

Michael had tensed, eye widening once he recognized who had saved him from David.

He stuttered, trying to push you away before the others had really gotten a chance to take a look at you. But it was too late, and the men leered. Taking in your appearance, the vampires watched as you scowled at them, especially David. He had been the one to put his hands on Michael, and you had watched it as it happened. 

“I’m sorry, doll, but who might you be? I haven’t seen you around here before.”

David leered. And the rest watched as you remained as you were. Hand still in place on Michael’s shoulder, you scoffed. 

“I just told you, I’m Michael’s older sibling. And he was clearly unwanting of your hands being all over him. Fuck. Off.” 

And David laughed. 

Paul leaned in, eyes tracking every minute detail of you that he could.

“Older sibling, huh? Mikey boy never mentioned you, babe.” 

You looked over at Michael, trying to discern the look he was wearing at the moment. 

You nudged him, prompting him to speak.

“Any reason for that? I thought I was worth mentioning to your dearest friends. You do spend more time with them than you do us anymore.”

Michael opened his mouth, but was cut off by another one of the unintroduced men. 

David interrupted him, pressing a finger to his lips to shush him. 

“He was brushing off someone so hot just to hang with us? How cruel of you, Mikey.”

Marko had been the one to speak, pushing off his bike and approaching you. 

He had gone to reach for you, but Michael’s hand intercepted it. 

God, this was going to be an experience. 

–

David opened his arms, gesturing to his band of boys. Motioning to each one as he introduced. 

“This is Paul, Dwayne, and Marko.” 

You nodded, noting their names and pulling along Michael. 

“Great, we’ll be leaving now.” 

The one said to be Dwayne had stopped you, stepping in front of you and ceasing your escape. You looked up through eyelashes at him, a scowl overcoming your face once more. 

“I’m afraid I can’t allow you to leave without knowing your name, lovely.” 

Paul sauntered over, grabbing your arm and pulling you into him. 

“So..?”

“No.”

Michael went to speak but you glared, pointer finger held up to cease his talking. 

“I refuse to give you a name until you explain what’s going on with my brother and you all.” 

David smirked, eyes sharpening. 

“Alright then, we’ll explain everything. Let’s take a ride, boys.”

And that was all they seemed to want to hear, as their laughs started to sound out across the clearing. 

Marko threw out his hands.

“Who do you choose to ride with?”

“Preferably, none.”

But you had to admit, the boys were handsome, and roguishly charming. It was just the fact that they were somehow blackmailing Michael into staying near them. If not, you would gladly spend the night with any of them…or all of them. 

David laughed under his breath, but you saw the gesture. Sucking your teeth, you pointed to Marko. 

“I choose the wild curly blonde then.”

Marko looked shocked, pointing to himself before smiling wide. Cheering, he raced to your side before hauling you up bridal style. Screeching, you held onto his shoulders before slapping his back. He laughed the whole way to his bike, and once you made it, he dropped you on the back. Dropping in front of you, he looked back and smiled. 

“Hold on tight, gorgeous, we’re gonna be going fast.”

And that was all the warning you got before he took off faster than you’ve ever gone before. 

It was…

Thrilling. 

[livwritesstuff]

not exactly a happy one, and vaguely inspired by some stuff going on in my personal life

Eddie is pretty much constantly in awe of his oldest daughter Moe.

Granted, he’s in awe of all three of his kids, albeit for different reasons across the board, but Moe in particular because of how nothing gets to her. It’s kind of crazy, honestly, the way she can roll with the punches – it’s actually very Steve-like, and she's basically his double so that makes sense, but where Steve was doing it out of necessity, Moe seems to be innately unbothered by even the worst that life has thrown at her, and in all his years of raising her, there have been only two occasions where Eddie has seen Moe unable to immediately shake something off.

The first time was when the girls got their results back from at-home genetic tests and found out that Moe has a different bio-dad from her younger sisters.

The second time is now, after Moe learned that she didn’t pass the Bar Exam.

She didn't react great, obviously, and Eddie can admit his dismissive, "No way," when she told them probably hadn't helped at all but, in his defense, she made it through law school with as close to flying colors as one can get in goddamn law school, and she's been working her ass off studying for the Bar, so none of them had expected her to not pass. When she only looked blankly at her laptop screen for a moment before saying, "Fuck, I failed," as her head fell into her hands...yeah, Eddie sort of thought she was kidding.

"C'mon Moe," he'd continued after his entirely tactless no way, "Don't fuck with us about this."

And Moe had just given him a betrayed kind of look before shoving her chair out from the table and storming away.

A moment or two later, Steve had mumbled, "Shit, she actually didn't pass," sounding a bit perplexed as he looked at Moe's laptop like the big, red FAILED might suddenly change to something else.

They gave Moe a couple minutes before following after her.

“Hon,” Steve begins when they find her sulking (in the laundry room, of all places), “I’m sorry. I remember from my psych stuff what this shit is like. I get how –”

“No, you don’t!” Moe exclaims, “You don’t get it because you passed your test on the first fucking try even though you’ve got, like, brain damage or some shit.”

Moe misses the hurt look that passes over Steve’s face for a moment before he’s able to mask it.

Eddie does not.

“That’s how low the–”

“Alright,” Eddie interrupts, and he tugs Moe back by the hood of her sweatshirt, ignoring her protests as he begins ushering her down the hall and out the door.

He corrals her all the way out to the car parked in the driveway, opens the passenger-side door with one hand and shoves Moe into the car with the other.

“What the–” Moe protests. 

“Can it,” he cuts her off, slamming the door on whatever retort she might have had for him.

Once he's in the driver's seat and the car is rumbling to a start, he turns to look at her.

“I understand that you're upset, Moe. I really do, but you do not get to take that out on Pop,” Eddie told her, “He’s way too good to you for that.”

Moe has the decency to look somewhat mollified even though she doesn't saying anything (which has always been a tell-tale sign that she knows she's in the wrong), and as Eddie throws the car in reverse and starts backing out of the driveway, she curls in on herself, leaning against the car door.

Eddie drives for a while with no real destination in mind (same as twenty-something years ago when Moe was a baby and Eddie would drive aimlessly around Cambridge in the hopes she'd maybe doze off).

After ten or so minutes of silence, Moe quietly says, “Literally everyone else I was in school with passed.”

Eddie glances at her, and does a double-take when he sees that she’s scrolling on goddamn Instagram. He reaches over to yank her phone out of her hand and toss it behind him into the depths of the back seat where it lands with a questionable clatter.

“Dad – what the fuck?” Moe looks at him, “If that’s broken now–”

“Then we get it fixed,” Eddie replied, “Or we buy another one. I don't care. Moe – when the fuck did you ever give a shit about other people?”

Moe gives a minute shrug as she looks away again.

“It’s been a point of contention with you basically since birth,” Eddie continues, “Seriously, it’s – and do not tell your father I said this, but it’s my favorite thing about you and I never want it to change.”

Again, Moe mostly ignores this.

"I get that this is disappointing and I get that it’s a setback and there's nothing any of us can say to make it better, but take it from someone who needed three tries to graduate high school — screw everyone else. Screw 'em. It's okay if something takes a little longer than you wanted it to.”

Eddie pauses, because there’s a lot he’s not saying here, stuff about how his third try at his senior year was hell on earth in pretty much every way possible, but how he also knows that if he hadn’t gone through it he wouldn’t have made life-long friends in Robin and Nancy. He wouldn’t have Steve and he wouldn't have everything about their life together the way it is today.

He settles on adding, “Sometimes you get a whole lotta good out of it in the end.”

After a moment, Moe actually nods, which Eddie takes as a victory.

"So...take the time you need to be disappointed or sad or angry or whatever. When you’re feeling better – or even when you’re not – you gotta apologize to Pop, okay?”

“Okay.”

Eddie glances at her again.

"You wanna stop and grab stuff to make margaritas?" he asks.

"God, yes."

[lenaboskow]

i'm bored at work so here's an updated list of everything tommy kinard has ever said or done that makes him a bad person who hasn't changed/learned from his mistakes (even if he's not being inherently/explicitly racist anymore) (before you come at me for saying people can change, here's my previous pinned post from 7x05 that explains how he hasn't. i go into it more here about the back half of the season, but all of these points still stand)

season two

chimney begins

the first thing tommy says to/about chimney is "did you forget to tip the delivery driver?". if it wasn't for the fact that they had asian food delivered and chimney is asian, this could've been passed off, but instead they chose to have the first act of racism/general harassment be done by tommy, not the racist captain.

then when they return from a call and see chimney dutifully cleaning, tommy says to chimney: "you're still here?". not inherently racist, but still rude

we get some montages of chimney being left out/harrasef, and tommy is always at the forefront. it culminates in the locker room scene where tommy says "i don't think about you enough to hate you", which again isn't inherently racist but it is rude.

at the end, the only way chimney manages to earn a semblance of respect from tommy is by saving his life, which is fucked up. you shouldn't have to save someone's life to he treated with dignity. but fine, maybe tommy learned his lesson, right?

wrong

hen begins

at the beginning, tommy, chimney, gerrard, and a few others are standing up in the loft while hen walks in. gerrard says a few racist/sexist words, and chim stands up for her. tommy just stands there, not even looking like he might want to say something. not saying something when it happens is almost as bad as doing, and obviously chimney, who'd been there a shorter time, was brave enough to stand up for her.

then tommy, during a meal, tommy says about hen: "new york bitchiness is a compliment?". there's no non sexist explanation for this comment

actually that entire meal, he ignores chimney's attempts move the conversation away, which says a lot

again, general enabling of the racism and sexism

during hen's "see me" speech, tommy looks pissed off to be there, and then proceeds to look annoyed when he apologizes to her at the end of the episode (if you can even call it that)

post begins episodes

now, we don't know a whole lot about how hen and chimney interacted with tommy after the events of their begins episodes, but we do know they weren't close enough to keep in touch after. chimney loses touch for two years immediately after he leaves, and by season seven hen forgot that tommy worked at harbor. i don't know about you, but that doesn't seem like behavior for people who worked closely for ten years.

season seven

7x04

this episode was from buck's pov, so it's actually the time where tommy is the most tolerable. that doesn't mean he doesn't have his moments, though:

calling buck "kid" and "evan" is a weird way to introduce a love interest. tommy calling him "kid" shows that tommy is aware of the age difference, which as i explain here is at least the same as buck and abby's (and here why that screenshot of tim saying he's 40 is irrelevant). also, tommy calls buck "evan" with no on screen explanation, and we know that lou was explicitly told tommy isn't "allowed" to call him buck. you know the only other characters who aren't allowed to call him buck? his parents. that's all I'll say.

we don't really see much of tommy again until the basketball scene, and then it's focused on buck and eddie anyways, so the next time we see him and buck really interact is the loft scene (which is telling about who buck was trying to get the attention of, but that's a different conversation). in this scene, tommy makes a condescending remark about how "we weren't trying to make you feel left out" and "eddie can have more than one friend", which... again, brings us back to the age difference because it sounds like (in context) that tommy is reprimanding a child. having them kiss right after that was definitely an interesting choice (in terms of their relationship)

7x05

oh the date. i have so many feelings about this. we know that tommy knows buck isn't out, because buck told maddie they purposely picked an out of the way spot, and despite the face tommy made at the comment, he didn't seem surprised when buck told him it was his "first date with a dude" (it seemed more like a "i already know this, you don't have to repeat it" face). because of this, the way tommy acted when eddie showed up and freaked buck out has no excuse. the closet comment? even if tommy didn't know buck wasn't out and decided he didn't want to date someone who wasn't out, he shouldn't have made that comment knowing it could out buck to his best friend, who he clearly wasn't ready to tell. lucky for buck, eddie's an idiot (affectionate) with a one track mind (buck) and didn't register the comment.

then we have tommy leaving buck at the curb. leaving the date isn't the problem, it's the fact that he didn't tell buck until he got in the uber, which obviously upset buck (though he was admittedly more upset over lying to eddie). the rest of the episode is spent on buck coming out to eddie, and we don't see tommy again until buck is apologizing for the date, which... why should buck have to apologize for not being ready to come out? buck did nothing wrong on the date. if you just figured out you were queer and hadn't had the chance to tell your best friend before they accidentally crashed your date, you'd react the same way, don't try to tell me otherwise. it was tommy who should've apologized, plain and simple.

7x06

the bachelor party. tommy's excuse for not dressing up made no sense to me... he was obviously going to have to change anyways, so why not put in a little effort for your date? i see people saying that only eddie put effort in, but henren was dressed too, just more subtly. tommy chose not to dress up, and made a half hearted excuse of "they had henleys in the 80s" (which you would know, wouldn't you, 70s baby?)

then we have tommy leaving, which fair he's on call, and we don't see him again until the hospital kiss. this is the only time we see tommy look remotely interested in buck the entire episode (every other time he has an rbf face, even when they're hugging).

7x09

we only see tommy during the medal ceremony, and he still manages to say something to piss me off. "enjoy it while it lasts" because he can't indulge his boyfriend for two seconds. it's becoming a pattern, i'm afraid

7x10

the date scene was a weird way to end their s7 relationship. buck was opening up about his trauma, tried to find middle ground by saying "so we both have daddy issues" (nothing in the context made it seem sexual, in fact i didn't realize until tommy made the joke, so it's possible buck didn't either) and then tommy says "i don't" despite admitting that he did only a few seconds before. buck says with a slightly resigned (barely there, but still there) tone, "but you think i do" and tommy responds with "god i hope so". any other context and it would've been fine, but buck had just been talking ahout how his father figure literally died and came back to life. there's a post somewhere (pretty sure it was an ask someone sent me actually, if i can find it i'll link)that talks about how buck has a habit of going along with his love interests to avoid causing waves, and how that's exactly what buck was doing in 7x10, and it makes perfect sense. if buck had a problem with it, he wouldn't immediately say. he'd sit on it for weeks before even considering bringing it up (like natalia and death, and how he avoided taylor in s5). even if he wasn't uncomfortable, it doesn't take away from the fact that the timing was weird and buck wasn't in a good headspace to respond properly.

in conclusion

tommy is repeatedly a bad person. just because he hasn't said anything racist or sexist since season two, it doesn't negate this. you'll notice that almost all of his scenes are here, if not all. the writers have chosen to have him repeatedly look bad and like someone who only cares about himself (with the way he constantly tries to defend his actions by blaming gerrard, and how he only cares about his feelings about being out), but the bt stans are too excited at the prospect of two white men kissing (or just two men and they don't care who, thus dumping eddie, it depends on the bt) that they choose to look past it and hate on ryan/eddie instead.

these last three months in the fandom have felt so different compared to the rest. the fandom i knew pre s7 would never act this way. is it because lou is a nepo baby? i know it's not because of his looks. but either way, i'm disappointed, and hope s8 treats us (fans who actually care about the characters and don't actively want less for them) better

(if i missed anything, let me know and i'll edit the post to add it)

[thevoidstaredback]

Everyone's comm beeps in their ear, drawing their attention. "Kon, Jon, Cassie, and Bart all know now. I'm bribing them with the footage of Phase One." Tim's voice says. Their comms beep again and the line goes silent.

Dick sighs. Yeah, that checks. Honestly, he's surprised those four hadn't been told way earlier than now.

"What's wrong?" Wally asks from beside him.

"Nothing," ha answers. He finishes the drink in his hand in one go.

Wally snorts softly. "Yeah, sure. I assume someone's blown it?"

"Tim and Dami. Both Superboy's, Wonder Girl, and Impulse all know now."

"Our Wonder Girl?"

"Tim's.

"Ah." A beat. "The problem?"

"No problem. Though, B might say something."

"I thought he was all for telling the teams?"

"He is! This was all his idea! But Tim's bribing the other four with the footage of the Cave."

"You mean the footage that I haven't seen yet?"

"Yep."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Wally grabs his hand, "Let's go get Donna and go watch!"

Dick sighs again and goes along. He clicks his own comm on and says, "Me, Wally, and Donna are gonna come watch, too. Wally insists."

Damian's voice comes next. "Since when does Troy know?"

"Probably since I told her and Wally."

"What?" Steph's voice whines, "You've had two people know for so long?"

Before he can respond, Barbra hisses, "Hey! This is supposed to be a distraction free line, guys."

Jason snorts, "Me, Roy, Lian, and Duke are on our way, too. You girls should come watch; we'll make a party out of it."

"Good idea," Cass says.

Dick can see Bruce on the other side of the room, unable to react to a thing that's being said in his ear. Ha!

***

Bruce watched his kids all leave the room. He's glad that their teams know, though why did they have to let it slip while the party was still going on? Oh, well, nothing to do about it now. Especially because Oliver's agreed to give a speech.

"Ollie, dear, it's time for your speech now, isn't it?"

"Ah, yes." Oliver says, light pink dusting his cheeks at the address Bruce had been using since they were in high school. He made his way to the stage, the band quieting as he took the podium. "If I may have everyone's attention for just a moment?"

Great start, Ollie.

"Like all of you, the invitation to this gala tonight came as a surprise. A welcome one, but a surprise nonetheless. Now, I won't keep your attention for long, but, on behalf of Bruce, I'd like to thank everyone for coming tonight. This Gala tonight, Charity for Justice, is a fantastic way for us to give back to the people who work so hard to save us. And it's not just the Justice League; Doctors, Teachers, Veterans, et cetera. They're all heroes who deserve all the help we can give them. Being here tonight, while it may seem superficial, is a step in the right direction to helping the heroes of the world. Now, I don't know how Bruce is going to get this money to the Justice League, but I'm not one to questions his ways or his motivations. He's been a friend of mine since we were in high school, and I trust him with my life. Thank you, Bruce, for hosting tonight; And thank you all for coming and donating." Nodding to the audience, Oliver walked from the stage as they clapped.

Bruce smiled at Oliver as they met at the bottom of the stairs leading to the stage. "Thanks, Ollie. I didn't know you trusted me so much."

Oliver matched his smile. "'Course I do, Brucie! And what you're doing tonight is really good. I might just have to steal this idea from you."

Laughing, Bruce patted Oliver's shoulder before taking his place on the stage. "Thanks, Oliver, for speaking tonight. I know it was last minute, but you did great." The crowd chuckled a bit as Oliver raised the glass he now held. "At the risk of sounding like a broken record, thanks again, everyone, for coming here tonight. I know a lot of you are far from home, but it means a lot that you made the trip out.

"Admittedly, this entire gala was a spur of the moment decision. My kids, actually, came up with the idea, so if you're going to thank anyone, it should be them. They did everything on their own while sat back and let them do their thing.

"When you think of heroes, you're most likely to think of the Justice League and their sidekicks. But, who were the heroes before the Justice League was founded? Perseus, Heracles, Aeneas, Remus, Romulus, Vldar, Ragnar Lodbrok, Hua Mulan, Guan Yu. All of them were warriors. But, does combat make a hero? I don't think so. I think the thing that makes a hero is the willingness to help; the willingness to give even if you have nothing to give; the willingness to do what it takes to make sure someone gets to live even just a little bit longer.

"Oxford dictionary defines the word 'hero' as "a person who is admired or idealized for their courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities". While I agree, I think that this is a much too niche definition. After all, I've met hundreds of people who I would consider heroes, heard thousands more stories- and not one of them has been 'admired' or 'idealised' for it.

"Tonight, I've asked for donations from each of you. All of the money will be going towards helping the heroes of the world; those who are recognised as such, those who aren't, and everyone in between. Every donation made will be matched by not only myself, but Wayne Industries as well. Then, all the money will be anonymously give to the heroes of every city represented here.

"Again, I'm so glad everyone could make it tonight, and I'm beyond glad that you've all be generous enough to help our heroes. Please enjoy the rest of your evening." The applause was loud as he walked off stage, the music picking up softly before crescendoing as the crowd began talking again.

The comm in his ear clicked just before Barbra started speaking. "That was a good speech, B. Brought some of us to tears."

He picked up a drink and sipped it as he spoke into his own comm piece. "You're watching the cameras?"

"Naturally," Damian said.

"We're all too comfortable to move," Tim explained, "So Bab's pulled the cameras up on the TV just as Oliver finished speaking."

"I've never heard Batman talk so much..." That was Bart Allen, clearly close enough to hear him over Tim's line, but not close enough to be intentional.

"Hell," Donna was probably sprawled across Dick and Wally, "I've never seen him express emotion and I knew who he was!"

Bruce hid a laugh and a smirk behind his drink. "Watch it, now."

There were a few squeaks as the comms all clicked off, Barbra taking care of his as well.

The ballroom was emptying, slower than he would like, but faster than expected. The kids (because that's what they are, no matter how old they may be) all trickled back into the ballroom, waving goodbye and joining their families as they went, though his own kept themselves near the door to say goodbye to everyone leaving. He decided to join them.

Just as Oliver, Dinah, Roy, and Lian were leaving, he stopped his old friend and pulled him aside.

Oliver's guard was still down, relaxed even as Bruce pulled him into a completely empty room and shut the door. He heard the click of a comm turning on, though no one spoke, so he could only assume it was his own.

"I was just about to head home; What's up, Bruce?"

"Oliver, there's something I need to tell you." This was gonna be so funny.

"Bruce?"

When had first started out, he knew that having the same voice in and out of costume would be a potentially detrimental mistake, so he'd dropped his voice as low as he dared and added the grit to it. Eventually, he'd gotten a voice changer, but he'd kept up the training to make sure he didn't damage his voice in case the voice changer ever broke.

Taking a deep breath, Bruce turned around and dropped his voice. "I'm Batman."

Part 16 Part 18