#three days of hanging out with my dad makes me want to kill us all

[lillybean730]

going to fucking crawl in a hole and die

[long-live-astronerd-ghost-king]

DPxDC prompt: Danny is Chronos' first child.

Well, not his first child biologically, to be completely honest.

It just so happened that the Phantom very often helped/helps/will help Clockwork at different times and his presence next to the titan required an explanation.

And the opportunity to call Zeus a little brother is worth a lot, right? So when the Ancient came up with this idea Phantom did not resist just to have such a pleasant bonus from their cooperation.

However, in the time of the gods and heroes, such a solution was not a problem. But in modern times, when Phantom tries to attract as little attention as possible in order to graduate from university, such relatives are more likely to cause a lot of problems.

~~~~~

Wonder Woman: Uncle Danny?

Superman, who wanted to chase away a teenager serenely strolling through still smoking battlefield, turns to Wonder Woman, who is waving affably at excactly this guy.

Well, Fenton honestly happened to be in Fawcett City by accident, and it just so happened that by chance it was on this sunny and cloudless day that the villains decided to cause riots worthy of the attention of the founders of the Justice League.

Danny: Diana! My dear, it seems like we really haven't seen each other not for a long time! In what century was it? Ah, I honestly, I barely remember it... The speed at which children grow up defies the laws of time. I mean, look at you! Your mother must be so proud. How's Dad? Still not paying child support, arrogant bastard?

Wonder Woman: Oh, uncle, please. I'm all grown up now, don't worry about me.

Danny: Hm, well, let's get back to this question later. I didn't want to embarrass you in front of your friends. Anyway, would you like to introduce them, little princess?

Wonder Woman: Of course, meet Kal El, Batman, and Shazam. The rest of the guys have already returned to our base. Would you like to...

Danny: Ooh, you're talking about, um... What do you young people call it? The Justice League, right? During my youth, the heroes rarely united and mostly performed all the feats alone. It's good that you help each other, kids.

Danny flies up a little to pat Superman and Batman on the head.

Under the Diana's gaze full of hope that they will get along with her uncle, the men do not move.

In the background:

Red Hood and Robin who used to hang out with Danny near the Lazarus pits: *sounds of seagulls dying of laughter*

~~~~~

Flash: So you're Diana's uncle?

Danny: Yes, call me Danny.

Flash: Cool, cool...

Danny: What does the temperature have to do with it? Do you need ice? Let me make some for you.

Flash: No, it's like,um, I didn't know that Zeus has a younger brother with that name. So, it's good to know?

Danny: Hmm, thanks. Many people tell me that I look quite young, hah. But actually I'm his older brother, so...

Flash: Older? Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to disrespect.

Danny: No, it's all right. It's "cool". I rarely appear on the pages of your human myths and legends, I know it. After all this business about Chronos devours his own children, my father punished me for a long time. So, yeah...It's a funny story.

Flash: Punished for what? How?

Danny: Uh, sitting in a room at a time when there is no Internet or electricity is not fun at all. You see, I just didn't want a younger brother or sister because I was afraid that my parents would pay less attention to me. So, I made up this stupid prophecy and persuaded Gaea to tell it in order to remain the only child in the family. My father would never have thought that I would decide to kill him, that's why...Phah, it's just a bad family story. In 10 thousand years, we'll all laugh about it.

Flash: Yeah, that's... funny.

~~~~

Danny *is woken up by an emergency call from the League at three in the morning, although he fell asleep at two o'clock* (he gave his contact so as not to upset his niece): I knew this would happen! I knew it!

~~~~

Billy Batson *stands in his human form in front of the Justice League and doesn't know what to say*,*sweating nervous*.

Danny *enters the hall*: What's up, mortals, Diana and...Batman? My father said that there is something that I have to be here for. Oh! Well, at least someone in this family is also a shapeshifter. Have you decided to make a younger form so that your uncle doesn't feel lonely? What a good boy! Usually everyone is so afraid to seem like children, once they turn a couple of centuries old. Ah, youth~

Billy: Yeah, I decided to..experiment? and it seems I got stuck by accident.

Danny: It's okay, Uncle Danny will help you. Come on, let's go...

~~~~

Danny *teleports them to the Fawcett City*.

Billy: ....

Danny:

Billy: Hey, I'm still stuck!

A new portal opens and a man in a purple cape hands Billy a note. "Go to Constantine. P.S., my son always completes all assignments only by half, sorry." written on it.

Billy: Oh... OoOhHh!!!

~~~~

Meanwhile, Constantine, who is forced to do additional work: Son of a bi... beloved and respected Master of Time.

Danny: Yeap, that's me.

Constantine: Damn it. Couldn't you just let Batman adopt him like in other timelines?

Danny: And where's the fun in that?

[cjlouwho]

I expanded on this little thing I wrote the other day. It's literally just 1,000 words of Tommy and Rocker arguing with each other. Enjoy!

“We got a code four on the suspect!” Hondo called into his radio. “Sergeant Rocker sustained a gunshot wound to the leg; it's bleeding pretty good.”

“LAFD is two minutes out with the chopper,” Hicks replied from the ground. “The fire on the second floor has been contained. You guys should be able to make it down the stairwell without issue, but I want Rocker up in that bird.”

“Yes, Sir.” He walked closer to Rocker, who had the rest of 20-Squad hovering around him, Deacon helping him keep pressure on his wound. “LAFD's gonna take you to the hospital,” he explained. “The rest of us will go down the stairs once you've been taken up.”

Rocker grimaced as pain radiated through his leg. “Who's flying it?” he asked.

Hondo glanced from Rocker, to Deacon, back to Rocker. “Who's flying what? The helicopter?”

“No, the USS Enterprise!” He exclaimed, rolling his eyes. “Yes, the helicopter!”

“I don't know, Man.”

“Why does that matter right now?” Deacon questioned, lifting his hand ever so slightly to see if the bleeding slowed any.

“Just ask, please,” he groaned.

Hondo sighed, then got back on the radio. “Hey, is there a way you can find out who is flying the chopper?”

There was a pause, then Hicks replied, “Is there any particular reason?”

“Apparently. Just not sure what.”

Another pause, then, “Hang on.”

It only took a few seconds for Hicks' voice to come over the radio again, Rocker listening carefully. “Firefighter pilot Aaron Ferris.”

Rocker closed his eyes, sighing in relief. “Okay. Okay, that's good.”

“Why are you so worried about it, Rocker?” Hondo asked.

“Busy trying not to bleed to death right now, Hondo,” he bit back. “This is the last time I offer my services to 20-Squad by the way.”

“You're not bleeding that bad anymore,” Tan noted.

Rocker glared up at him. “You're still up here because?”

The sound of the chopper broke them all out of their soon-to-be argument. It hovered above the building and, a few moments later, someone began to descend from the helicopter.

Rocker eyed the person closely, especially once he reached the roof and unhooked himself and the spine board from the clips.

“Oh hell no,” he breathed out, grumpily shooing away Deacon's hand so he could press down on the wound himself.

Deacon was about to ask Rocker what the hell was wrong with him when the firefighter walking toward them took off his helmet. “What the-”

“Always knew I'd be saving your ass eventually, Donny,” The doppelgänger said as he knelt beside Rocker.

“You got something to share with the class?” Hondo asked Rocker pointedly.

“This is my twin, Tommy,” Rocker hurriedly explained. “You know what? Just leave me here,” he whined. “Let me die.”

Tommy batted Rocker's hand away from the wound, tearing his pants to get a better look. “Unfortunately, it's not that bad,” he said, noting the way it was barely bleeding now. “Dad would also kill me if I let you die. He likes you, remember?”

“Oh don't even start with that! I haven't spoken to him in like a month.”

“Ha!” Tommy laughed. “Try three years, jackass. Now shut up and let me work.” He began to wrap the leg, just enough to keep the pressure on it while they transported him.

As he wrapped, a pain shot up Rocker's leg, causing him to moan. He reached out and smacked Tommy's shoulder. “Can't you be more gentle?! I literally just got shot!”

“You're such a baby.”

“You, quite frankly, have no idea what this feels like.”

Tommy stopped then, cocking his head to the side as he stared at his brother. “I don't? Really? I don't know what it's like to be shot?”

Rocker rolled his eyes dramatically. “You were overseas then,” he said. “And that was an explosion. It's different.”

“It's worse!”

“Says you.”

“Says everyone!”

Rocker motioned up at Deacon. “Deac, shooting or explosion, which is worse?”

Deacon looked back and forth between the two of them, a thousand questions running through his mind. Mostly for Tommy. “Explosion, Rocker. It's always explosion.”

Tommy grinned. “Haha.”

Rocker glared at Deacon. “You're a traitor, and this is the worst day ever.”

“What about-”

“Do not!” Rocker warned Tommy. “Never, ever mention that.”

“Mhm. Okay, come on. Get on the spine board so we can get out of here.”

“I- What do you mean, “get on the spine board”? You're supposed to put me on the spine board!”

Tommy sat back on his calves. “Are you really too weak to scoot your butt over six inches onto the board?”

“Would you really be asking this of anyone else in my current state, Thomas?”

“Anyone else in your current state would have already walked down the stairs and exited the building like a normal human, Donovan. Now, scoot!”

As soon as Rocker moved onto the spine board, moaning and groaning the whole way, he laid down and Tommy began to restrain him.

“We'll be going to Cedars-Sinai,” Tommy informed the rest of the group. “Maybe next time I see you guys Donny will actually introduce me to his co-workers.”

“Shooting victim!” Rocker reminded him. “Plus, it's not like you ever introduced me to your coworkers. Or your boyfriend! Or should I say ex-boy- Ow!”

Tommy pulled the final restraint, right over his groin, tugging extra hard, then clipped him to the rope so they could head up to the chopper. “If you don't shut up," he warned, "I'll release the clip halfway up and watch you spin around like a propeller until you hit the ground.”

Then, with a thumbs up, Tommy and Rocker began their ascent.

The rest of the team stood in silence for a moment, trying to take everything in.

“What the hell just happened here?” Hondo asked.

“Not a clue,” Deacon answered. “Permission to head to the hospital and see how this plays out?”

Hondo nodded. “Only if you give us the play by play.”

[steddieas-shegoes]

On school picture day, Steve always gets the kids ready. It’s not that Eddie doesn’t want to, it’s that he kind of hates making them dress up for a photo when 99% of the time, they’re just kids.

Except Steve had to go to a training conference for guidance counselors this week and picture day is happening whether they like it or not.

Their oldest, Jules, can do everything herself now. Prefers it, actually. She’s been extremely independent since she turned 10 a few months ago and neither of them try to stop her.

But their twins are only six, and James and Connor are like tornadoes who interrupted a category five hurricane and wore their most stained clothes while doing it.

“Let’s at least brush your hair,” Eddie suggested, already mentally preparing for the arguments that would cause. “Just for the picture and then you can mess it up however you want.”

“But daddy lets us wear it crazy!” Connor lies.

“And he lets us take off our shirts!” James lied even more.

“You guys don’t even know how to lie right,” Jules said as she finished braiding her own hair.

“We don’t lie!” They said in unison.

Eddie used to think the twins talking and doing things at the same time was just coincidence, but now he knows it has to be some kind of evolutionary benefit to outsmart the parents.

“Let’s call daddy then and ask,” Eddie said, immediately being met with silence. “Oh, can we not? If he lets you do that stuff, then it shouldn’t be a problem right?”

The twins shake their heads.

“Great!” Eddie pulls his cell phone out of his pocket and pretends to dial Steve. Steve’s not gonna answer, so he just sends a quick text to let him know it’s fine and to let it ring to voicemail. He holds the phone up to his ear as it rings twice and then goes to voicemail. “Hey sweetheart. You know how it’s picture day? Mhm. Well the twins told me you usually let them just go without brushing their hair or even wearing a shirt! I thought that sounded silly. So you don’t?”

“Wait! Okay we lied a little!” Connor yelled, suddenly panicking at being caught.

“And maybe a lot!” James added, already trying to climb Eddie’s side so he could reach for the phone.

“I’ll go get them ready, love you, bye!” Eddie rushed out and hung up so he could hold James safely. “I think you think I’m a fool.”

“No dad, you just let us be crazy,” James said.

“So does your daddy. Just not on picture day. You know the rules. We do this for him, right? We get nice and handsome and we smile for the camera so we can hang the pictures on the fridge.” Eddie glanced at last year’s school photos, resisting the urge to cry at how big they’d all gotten so quickly. James was missing three teeth now, Connor seemingly lost a ton of his baby fat early, and Jules had started wearing earrings. “He likes seeing your faces on the fridge.”

“But can’t we just wear our regular clothes?” Connor begged from his other side.

Eddie looked down at what they were wearing. It wasn’t that bad. No stains, at least. And no holes. That was rare for them.

“You can wear these clothes if you let me make your hair look nice,” Eddie bargained.

“Daddy’s gonna kill you,” Jules said with her arms crossed.

“He loves me too much. Plus who else would do the dishes every night? He can’t kill me!” Eddie joked, tickling James before setting him down on the floor. “To the bathroom, my princes! Make haste!”

They ran for the bathroom quickly, nearly tripping over each other in the process.

Eddie’s phone vibrated in his hand with a text from Steve that just said ‘if they don’t brush their hair for pictures, Santa won’t come.’

Eddie texted back quickly: so cruel. as his most sexiest elf, I wouldn’t pass over their house.

Steve sent a ‘🙄’ and then a ‘😘’.

Eddie pocketed his phone and went to help the boys with their hair.

When they got the pictures back a month later, Steve shook his head, but couldn’t quite hide the fond smile.

James and Connor both forgot to give normal smiles into the camera.

But their hair looked almost perfect.

[neovillains]

FINDING EQUILIBRIUM · GOJO SATORU

( PLAY EPISODE 2 : GIVE ME A MEOWTINI. ) gojo’s friends have gotten tired of the constant flaking and random rain checks. and because of it, gojo's starting to see the cat miraculous more as a curse than anything else now | watch time : 3.8k words.

── chat noir!gojo satoru & student!reader, akumatized!geto, ladybug!unknown character, mentions of alcoholic beverages, slightly dramatic gojo, features geto suguru, shoko ieiri & nanami kento, etc.

note. give me a meowtini, please... shaken, not purred! pur!

Thursdays and the weekends are the only days that Gojo, Geto, and Shoko have any availability to hang out outside of classes. Unfortunately for Gojo, most of those days, Hawk Moth likes to interrupt his plans, and he always has to make a rain check. Oftentimes, he felt guilty, but Plagg would always assure him that it was for the greater good and for the safety of the world. And while Gojo couldn’t and wouldn’t question, it grew tiresome to always have to come up with an excuse for his sudden departure. 

Geto and Shoko would ask where he was going and what could have possibly come up at the last minute to send him off in a hurry, and he’d always have to throw some absurd excuse out there before running off without further explanation. He could see their growing annoyance the more time had passed. He’d be sitting down before his shoulders suddenly stiffen up and each excuse would start with an “uh.” They’d give each other an annoyed look before sending Gojo on his way, no longer bothering to ask what came up. This was typical Gojo behavior now. It’s a surprise that they still even invite him out. 

They’re sitting in this small pizzeria that looks like it has many health violations. Two boxes of pepperoni pizza, one empty and the next halfway there— most of it eaten by the two men while Shoko only got three slices. It comes to a surprise that the white-headed boy is still with them, leaning back in the cushioned booth seats as he reaches for another slice of the too greasy pizza. He should really stop, but it’s just too good to. They’ve been catching him up about all the things that he’s missed, their voices chirpy but keeping an alerted gaze on him. They’re ready for one chime from his phone, for his shoulders to stiffen and his posture to straighten. But, there’s none of that. 

It makes Geto skeptical the most, eyes squinting at his best friend in sheer curiosity and disbelief as he hums. Shoko continues on with her story about her shitty professor, reaching for her glass of lemonade when Geto interrupts her. “Are you alright, ‘Toru?”

Furrowing his eyebrows, Gojo nods. “Yeah, I’m all good. Why?”

“You’re usually gone by this time,” Geto says. “Nothing up with your dad or anything?”

“Nope,” he says, popping the ‘p.’ Then, he chuckles, knowing the direction of this conversation and where it’s going. Shoko silently listens in, clearing her throat from the tartness of the lemonade. “Nothing this time around… Unless, you want me gone.”

“I didn’t say that,” Geto frowns. “I’m just wondering if everything’s alright with you.”

“We’re wondering if everything’s alright with you,” Shoko corrects, chiming into the conversation. “This is the first time you’ve broken your streak of bailing out on us and we want to know if everything is alright.”

They’ve asked this question before— countless times over. Gojo always fanned it off and played it cool. Just telling them, You know, my dad and everything. Or, I just forgot about this one assignment I had to do and I don’t want the professors to kill me. Sometimes they’d catch him in a lie and try to press him for more information, but he’d dodge them all. Underneath the table, Gojo fidgets with his fingers as he knows he can’t keep this up for much longer. At some point, they’ll grow tired of him and that bond they both had since childhood would start to weaken. And, he’ll be all alone. Again. 

“Everything’s alright,” he grits through his teeth in a low voice. “I just—”

“You’d tell us if something is the matter, right?” Shoko leans forward. Geto knows everything about Gojo— what makes him tick, what keeps him breathing, what makes him happy or sad, and when he’s lying. And he’s lying right now. 

He’s had his suspicions for a while now. Every time he disappeared, not too long after are there news reports of Chat Noir and Ladybug fighting another villain. He’s seen the heroes in action as well. Strikingly white hair and bright blue eyes that were so unique to him that it couldn’t be anyone else. He knows it’s Gojo, and Geto knows that Shoko has her suspicions as well. They’ve talked about it— briefly, but they’ve voiced enough similarities between the hero and their friend to come up with a jurisdiction. Just, why wouldn’t he admit it? Why did he have to keep lying? “Are you hiding something from us?”

He couldn’t keep it in anymore. The question digging in his mind, begging him to ask and wait for Gojo’s answer. Gojo tenses up, holding his breath as his eyes flicker everywhere but to his two friends. His chest starts to heave and he groans inwardly at his best friend. He’s always been so intuitive and Gojo knows that he can try to diverge from the conversation all he wants, Geto will always have a sneaking suspicion. So, he sighs.

“No,” he says against his better judgment, watching as both Shoko and Geto’s shoulders drop at the blatant lie. Geto sneers at Gojo, reaching for another slice of pizza. 

As much as he’d like to continue pressing his friend for more and to yell at him for his stupidity, he decides that he won’t. Instead, responding with a nod and a mere, “okay.”

The rest of the lunch is awfully quiet, the three of them barely uttering out anything over three words. Gojo would try to start a conversation up, asking Shoko to continue on with her story, but to no avail. This time, it’s their turn to create lousy excuses as they push back their chairs. The legs crying out harshly against the tiled floors as they stand and make a beeline for the door. They leave Gojo to pay for the bill as he initially promised— an apology for all his impromptu ditchings— and without a goodbye, they leave Gojo alone. 

The pizzeria has always been a small restaurant, leaving only the college student and the employee watching the entire course of events play. He diverts his eyes when Gojo turns his head in his direction, finding work somewhere else in the kitchen to pass the time before sliding over the bill, a look of pity on his face throughout the short encounter. Sliding his card, Gojo lets out a sigh as he finishes the rest of the pizza by himself. And, Plagg— the otherworldly friend peaks out from his special spot in Gojo’s bag when the coast is all clear. He feels guilty for the sad exchange, whispering a small, “I’m sorry, Satoru.”

Gojo doesn’t answer. Just wallowing as he finishes the rest of his pizza.

—

“What’s got you feeling so fur-ocious?” Gojo chides, leaving his dimple prominent as he lands on the roof with agility. In his black suit that stretches, he’s on all fours as he stays on alert, not liking the menacing look that the akumatized villain gives him. In an all gray suit lined and threaded with zippers, an elastic balaclava to hide his features, it’s hair to detect just who the victim is today, but it didn’t take Gojo more than a couple of seconds to realize who it is. Piercing brown eyes that stare back at him with such venom, they’re distinguishing enough for him to know that it’s his best friend under that mask. 

It takes everything in Gojo not to falter and break this facade, but he straightens his posture just in time as Ladybug comes into the scene. Geto has his teeth bared out right at both of them as he has poor innocent victims running around soundless and in fear, eyebrows furrowed as his fists ball up tightly. “I bet you two enjoy lying to everyone, don’t you?”

Standing tall with her hand on her hip, Ladybug cocks her head to the side, looking down at Chat Noir. “What’s got him so mad?”

He shrugs, “From what I understand, he’s mad about liars. Been going everywhere and zipping everyone’s mouth shut the moment he detects them not telling the truth.” 

It cuts having to lie, even to Ladybug herself. However, they’ve both agreed that for the safety of each other and their identities, it best not to reveal to each other anything compromising that could detail each other’s identity on the off-chance they get akumatized. Anyone that possibly knew could breach their identity and lead them straight into Hawk Moth’s hands. 

Gojo’s imagined it before, and he’s sure that Ladybug has, too. Imagine what it would be like to tell your friends and those who you trust the most, but hasn’t every superhero movie revealed that it’s always a bad move. It puts everyone at risk— not just the heroes themselves. When Gojo was trusted with the Cat Miraculous, he thought it was a gift— an honor to be given something so powerful because of his character. However, looking at Geto, or The Zipper, he’s starting to feel like it has become a curse.

“You don’t care who you hurt in the process,” the Zipper sneers. “Just as long as it’s all about you still—” He grows angrier with every growing second, Hawk Moth egging him on through the akuma moth. He grits his teeth as all he can see is red, the controlling villain in his ear saying, Get those Miraculouses. “—Don’t worry. I’ll make sure that doesn’t happen anymore.”

Gojo can recall when Shoko was akumatized. It was over something that transpired because of a particular professor that kept on giving her bad grades. It was comical seeing her akumatized, running straight towards the old man with a vengeance for better treatment and better grades. Dr. Daisy was her villain name, a cruel weapon to the man that was allergic to pollen and had an irritated nose, but it gave Shoko the satisfaction and Chat Noir the giggles. If he could, he would never make Shoko live it down. 

However, this isn’t Dr. Daisy and the look in Geto’s eyes doesn’t speak to petty vengeances over a simple friendship squabble. This one speaks more volume as both Chat Noir and Ladybug can feel the heavy tension looming over them. Chat Noir looks over at Ladybug with a sheepish look, eyebrows furrowing as a nervous smile graces his features as he tries to ease everything down. “I guess this won’t be an easy cat fight, will it?”

With his bloodthirsty eyes, the Zipper charges at Ladybug and Chat Noir with his weapon, but just in time, the heroes dodge it, going in opposite directions. Their feet paddling on the shingles of the roof, the sliding creating a bumpy sound as they made their escape. Ladybug goes and makes a clean getaway, while the Zipper’s eye line goes straight to Chat Noir, chasing him down with the weapon. 

With every spray of the gun, they become faster and faster, a nonstop patter of the gun. And as fast and agile a cat can be, it cannot dodge every single attack made at them. Chat Noir’s eyes widen as he hears the clatter of metal inches away from landing on him. There’s no room to play any trick on the villain like this. With his heart racing, Chat Noir’s eyes dart out in every direction in hopes to find an alleyway or anything that he can escape. 

However, with the Zipper’s fixation solely on Chat Noir, it creates a simple solution that her yo-yo could conduct without much help. Chat Noir will just… have to make sure he doesn’t get caught. Gojo makes sure he doesn’t look back, keeping his eyes forward as he runs down a jagged line. He’s careful with his footing, ducking and dodging at the very last second. He’s smug when he hears a disgruntled sound from his best friend, growing cocky for the moment only for it to bite him in the ass when his foot hits a leg and leads to Chat Noir’s downfall. 

One fortunate thing is that he gains some distance, rolling down a hill as tomatoes come clattering with him during the long tumble. It’s embarrassingly, really, how the hero rolls and fumbles, unable to get any grip on the floor until there’s no longer a slope. With a final thud, Chat Noir groans while the Zipper only saunters over. He’s the one with the smirk now as he finally has a clear shot on the masked cat-hero. Panic rushes through Gojo as he tries to get quickly on his feet, but right at the last second, he sees the villain stagger. A flicker of hesitation onset in his eyes as his hand starts to shake. 

“What are you doing?” Hawk Moth sneers into the Zipper’s mind. “Get that Miraculous!”

“Wait!” the villain falters, seemingly talking to himself. “No, there’s no time for waiting! Grab his Miraculous! Remember your friend! All of his lies! Get that Miraculous and exact your vengeance upon him!”

Reigniting that anger, the villain comes back to his senses, aiming the gun right at Chat Noir, pressing his finger on the trigger, a maniacal grin gracing his face as he’s got the hero right where he wants him. However, right at the knick of time, Ladybug appears in the corner of Chat Noir’s eyes, aiming the spotted yo-yo right towards the Zipper’s feet. When he goes to pull the trigger, he misses right as Ladybug yanks on the string, making the villain stumble and fall, crashing down to the ground with a thud and joining the male hero.

When Ladybug captures the akuma and the villain is unmasked, she goes to the sulking hero in a growing suspicion as her eyes sink in on Chat Noir. “Mind telling me what that was about?”

He still plays the ignorant card, standing up tall as he shrugs. “Tell you what exactly?”

“He was too focused on you,” Ladybug frowns, propping a hand on her hip as she glares at Chat Noir. He was a great partner, but he could be so insufferable and stupid at times. “And when I came to help you out, you’re on the ground watching him— not fighting back? Yeah, what was that about? You could’ve been discovered. He could’ve taken your Miraculous! How could you be so careless?”

Chat Noir sighs, his shoulders slumping as he looks down in shame. “I thought I saw him hesitate back there— wanted to see what he’d do.”

“So, you nearly jeopardize yourself— jeopardize us both on an off chance that he’d change his mind?” Ladybug grumbles. “Y’know what, it’s obvious that you two seem to be connected in real life, so I’ll just warn you right now, if you mess up again because of your stupid feelings, Hawk Moth won’t be the person you have to worry about.”

— 

You find that one of the most appealing things that college has to offer are the vast amount of opportunities given to you. Whether it is mandatory for a grade or an optional occurrence that your professor highly recommends (and offers extra credit), you find them to be very fun. Especially the ones that offer food. 

Luckily, this conference was held inside of a restaurant. The entire building booked for the event as your professor had asked which students wanted to participate. Taking up the opportunity, you had gotten dolled up for the occasion, beating your face with a light coat of foundation, lip gloss, and mascara before putting on a buttoned-up blouse and a pencil skirt, the attire requirement— business casual. You’re one of the few students to arrive early, taking a seat towards the end with those you find familiar. Nanami Kento, someone you’ve shared a few classes with and someone you start deeming as a friend, is on your right while the seat left of you is still vacant. His blond hair styled in front of his face with his typical stoic expression as the waitress makes her way around with a jug of ice cold water.

He’s the first to reach for it, pouring a glass for himself before looking over at you. “Want me to pour you a glass?”

You nod, accepting the kind gesture. “Yeah, why not?”

Nanami didn’t seem to be a very great conversation from what you’ve noticed. Whenever you’d start a conversation, he always hummed in acknowledgement as he listened in. When you asked him a question, the responses were always short and quick. Nothing to really sustain and carry it out, but you’ve come to appreciate his silence. Because what he lacked in one area, he gave in the next. He spoke a lot of words with his actions, always doing kind gestures to make up for his silence. He was so sweet and kind that it was adoring, making you enjoy his company. However, sometimes the quiet was overbearing and you needed something to spruce up the moment.

Your foot was tapping against the floor rather fast that it called for the blonde’s attention, making him finally muster up the nerve to say something first. “I’m pretty sure it’ll be fine.”

“Huh?”

“I’m pretty sure it’ll be fine,” he repeats, looking down at your restless leg. “We’re not the ones that’ll be talking.”

“Oh,” you hum, understanding what he meant and stilling your feet. “Sorry, it’s a bad habit. I’m fine.”

“Oh,” he mimics, cutting the conversation short. It’s a nuisance, he knows. He wishes he could start up something more with you, but he begins to feel all flustered and fumbles on his thoughts. He knows if he tries voicing them, he’d only make an embarrassment of himself and you’d lose all respect for him. In silent self-loathing, he grabs the glass and chugs the water until it’s empty, reaching for the jug to pour more. 

Right as he does, you watch your professor rush in. “Sorry, guys! I was supposed to be the first one here, but some family business happened and it held me up.”

You all dismiss her tardiness as the place is still empty all things considered, but it seems like her arrival was the domino effect as people started piling in more, trickling inside. The professors sit on the opposite of you as everyone tries finding their seats. Breadsticks were brought to the table and nibbling on one now, you didn’t realize the presence of someone else until you heard the scraping of chair legs right next to you, the man with strikingly white hair pulling out the seat. “It’s fine if I sit here, right?”

Immediately, you nod, gesturing for him to take a seat next to you. The room is getting packed as the host comes to greet everyone, setting down more menus. Having already decided what you want, you watch as Gojo takes up his position. The evening goes smoothly, but you can’t help the glances you take at Gojo. You don’t know him too well, but he seems rather perplexed. 

“I might be overstepping, but,” you call for his attention, “are you okay? You don’t seem like yourself.”

His shoulders slump, making your eyes widen as you’re worried you’ve crossed a line. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean—”

“Is it that obvious?” Gojo groans, head falling forward and his styled hair falling in front of his face. His glasses tilt off his nose, nearly falling off. Your heart races, mouth falling in an ‘O’ as you didn’t mean to make him have a small outburst. He groans, hiding his face in his hands before grabbing the jug of water and pouring himself a glass.

“I need something stronger than this,” he groans, which the professor hears. She gives him a pointed look, “No drinking, Gojo.”

He grumbles, looking away. “I was only joking…”

Gojo confides in you, telling you that a friend got upset with him. Though he didn’t go into much detail about it, he was evidently hurt about the course of the situation. You tried giving him as much advice as you could, but he always had an excuse for it. You were curious about his dodginess, but thought there must be a valid reason for it if he was adamant on his stance.

“Anyways,” Gojo says, a smile gracing his features and replacing his previously glum expression. “Less about me, and more about you. Got anything more exciting than me being a shitty friend?”

“I don’t think I do,” you succumb to the discussion change. Humming out as you pondered on a discussion to talk about, you jut out your lips as you do. “I’m going out to one of those frat parties later this week. I’m looking forward to it.”

“Really?” Gojo furrows his eyebrows before chuckling. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but I didn’t expect you to be someone who likes parties.”

“I do when I need a good stress relief,” you admit. “They can be fun if you go with the right crowd.”

“And do you have the right crowd?” He cocks up an eyebrow. You giggle, shaking your head. 

“Honestly, no,” you say. “My friends don’t really like partying like that.”

“Hmm,” Gojo smiles. “How about I be the crowd you need? I’ve been needing a bit of a stress reliever, too. I fear getting wasted is the only solution possible.”

“Oh, definitely,” your eyes light up at the invitation. “As long as you’re not moping around the entire time.”

“Trust me,” Gojo throws you a sly smile. “I won’t.”

When the conference is over, the professor has all of the students gather around. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to give you a last minute assignment to tell me what the conference is about.”

Everyone chuckles, relief flooding their systems. “I just wanted to let you guys know that in one of the next few classes, we’ll have a project. You’ll need to partner up with someone else, and for this, I’m assigning the partners.”

Some people grimace at the announcement, squirming on the spot as they’re not too sure who they’ll be paired with. You start to worry, not wanting to be matched with a slacker and end up doing the majority, if not all, the work. “Don’t worry. I think you’ll like who you’ll be paired with for the most part. I was watching you all tonight and your partners will be someone within this group. I’ll let you all know right now who they are. A little VIP treatment for you all—”

Your shoulders drop with relief, knowing the probability of having a slacker has lessened. Though, you still question a few of the people in attendance, at least, you know the majority here. The professor scrolls through a list before her eyes light up with an ‘oh!’ leaving her lips. “Nanami with Haibara…”

Reading through the pairs, she goes down the list before saying your name. “You’re with Gojo.”

Standing next to you, Gojo nudges you in the ribs. He looks down happily, “That’s very convenient for us.”

You nod. “Yeah, but you better not give me all the work,” you point at him. The professor dismisses you all as he throws up his hand in defense, “I wasn’t planning on it!”

( 🐾 ) : @r0ckst4rjk @thotwiththoughts @hellokittyish @myahfig4 @kasukuna @aerareads @pixelcafe-network @fluerful @satsattoru @juneslove21 @strngegirl @etsurunii @l-ilysm @moonchhu @starriesworlds @rirk-ke

[olderthannetfic]

Being a trans man and not being an anti is also isolating, which is part of why I think trans guys gravitate towards either being an anti or reposting anti posts. If you're not an anti, you get booted from discord servers, blocked on social media at best or sent misgendering rape threats, death threats and suicide bait by other trans men at worst, and now that I'm in college I've found IRL that not being an anti makes a lot of people in queer spaces available to the average college student incredibly uncomfortable. So you have to either be entirely alone - which is very difficult when you're young, queer, and just coming into your own identity - or you have to be around it a lot without saying a word. Agreeing with it at first wouldn't even be necessary. You just have to not say anything against it, and then you'll be able to be around other people.

It doesn't help that most trans men who get sucked into anti circles are teens at the time. There's 501 proposed anti-LGBT laws right now, not counting everything that has passed, the majority of it anti-trans. If you're a teenage boy seeing all this transphobia on the rise, you're going to feel powerless. Bullying people like antis do makes you feel power over at least a few people. Being told you can consume your way into being a good person via media intake makes you feel like you have power and control over at least that.

I was sucked in incrementally because I wasn't exposed to the more violent antis who fantasized about murder and hurting people for writing fiction, I met my only friend - who was an anti - after my dad had beaten me for coming out as trans, and I was sixteen. I got out when I was eighteen because once I went to live with my mom, a psychologist, she gently corrected me when I would say things that aren't based in fact. She pointed out how upset these people were making me. She taught me how to fact-check claims and look into the veracity of claims.

And when I tried to convey to my friends that no, what they were saying wasn't supported, they turned on me. Including the only person who had been there for me when I was hatecrimed, who had reached out to me specifically because she met me what day. I lost every friend I had in roughly 30 hours.

If I hadn't had a really great mom, a very intelligent rabbi who's well-versed in psychology and is a former lawyer who saw the "fiction made me do it" excuse used to defend heinous crimes and doesn't buy it, and an older half-sister who lived through people calling her a psycho lesbian because she's a lesbian who played D&D, listened to metal and dressed Goth in small-town Montana in the 80's/90's, I would have probably killed myself. Having those three people who accepted me and did not accept this extremist rhetoric kept me sane and repaired my self-esteem enough to keep me going.

But a lot of people don't have three adults who are intelligent, supportive, and know better than to fall for this faux-psychology. A lot of people don't even have one. Often, they have unsupportive people who also believe firmly in the faux-psychology of "if you watch a thing you'll do that thing IRL". So there's not only no one hauling them out of this, it's getting reinforced.

Being a non-anti who is a trans man gets me a lot of shit from a lot of people online and offline. (As other anons have mentioned during the ace discourse, online talking points come up on college campuses and in real life, because the internet is not an alternate dimension, it is something being used by the people around you who exist in the same physical space as you.)

A reality that I don't think people want to discuss is that trans men, just like all other people of all other genders, suffer a lot of psychological distress if they're put in a position where they have no support. I sure as fuck wasn't happy being in a position where I went from having tons of online friends, discord servers I could hang out in and fandoms I associated with good vibes to none of that, plus harassment, plus massive misgendering.

It's a lot less awful of an existence to be a trans man and an anti when you're young and need community and support than it is to not be an anti and be isolated. And humans gravitate towards the least awful option 99% of the time.

--

Yuuup.

Having some kind of real support network, usually offline but at the very least not randos you met a day ago on discord, is vital and is the difference between not only whether you rot in a pit of antidom forever but in stemming the massive flood of trans teen suicides. The overall queer rates aren't great, but the specifically trans rates... they're bad. They're so, so bad.

[smutinlove]

Masterlist

Dedicated to my dirty whores <3 @jas2010 @carlsdarling @taylormarieee @loveforcarl @hiro--aoki

A cute masterlist showing ALL my dirty smut, fluff, and angst &lt;3

I'm UselessBitch4205 on Wattpad <3

rules for requesting

I write for:

-Carl Grimes

-Dick Grayson

-Jason Todd

«────── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ──────»

Suggestive—Eyes apparently don't lie

«────── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ──────»

Fluff—Reader writes a love letter/appreciation letter

Fluff-Cabin—Carl Grimes asks to marry you

Fluff—CHRISTMAS SPECIAL

Fluff—NEW YEAR SPECIAL (2024)

«────── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ──────»

Angst—Carl, Rick, and Glenn notice that the reader hasn't been eating/sleeping. They force an intervention.

Angst—Reader cries about Carl's death

Angst—Reader dies. Carl cries. (Lineup)

Angst—Reader hurts herself. Carl comforts her.

Angst —Carl comforts an insecure reader. SH WARNING

Angst leading to fluff—Carl goes on a scavenging trip but gets lost. The reader goes to look for him.

Angst—After Negan kills readers father figure, Glenn Rhee, she and Carl start to fight a lot. One day, after an intense fight, Negan suddenly arrives to Alexandria. He manipulates the reader to Carl.

Angst/fluff—Dad figure Glenn. Carl hangs out with Enid a lot, making the reader jealous. !argument

Angst/fluff—Shy/sensitive reader. Carl and reader fight because she sneaks out and Rick scolds Carl, making him apologize.

Angst/fluff—Dad figure Glenn. Reader runs away because she hates Enid and her father figure adopted her. Carl finds her.

«────── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ──────»

WORDS BURN HARD: CARL GRIMES X FEM!OC

Chapter One: The Woods

Chapter Two: Undetected

Chapter Three: Solitude

Chapter Four: a secret

Chapter Five: I watch as you're leaving

Chapter Six: Meddlsome

Chapter Seven: The Journal

Chapter Eight: A caged boy

Chapter Nine: Lavenders

Chapter Ten: Little Blue light

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

«────── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ──────»

Small Series

You were my light part 1 —The daughter of the now dead Negan Smith is walking in the woods. She thought she was alone. But she wasn't.

You were my light part 2

You were my light part 3

You were my light part 4

You were my light part 5

You were my light ALTERNATIVE ENDING—The daughter of Negan Smith wakes up from what she thought was real but was a dream. She wants to find him. Y/N Smith wants to find Carl Grimes.

«────── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ──────»

Dick Grayson

NSFW Alphabet—for the ladies who noticed the lack of dick grayson content.

King of my heart—You and him cannot be together. You two are from different worlds. !Fem!Knight!reader x !Prince!Dick Grayson.

SFW Alphabet—for the ladies who know dick grayson is just another softie <3

Breeding Kink—Dick sees how good you are with Roy's daughter and wants to put a baby in you.

Dick Grayson: first anniversary headcanons—this is cute. dick grayson is a gentleman. !gender neutral reader

College!Dick Grayson headcanon—he would do it to your fav song. he's snarky, he's THE shit. and he's mine <3

In the shower—Sex in the shower. What's better than that?

Fluff headcanons—sweet fluff

Safeword—Dick and Jason headcanons to you using the safeword.

Wayne Gala with a twist—Dick sees men staring at you but he wants them to know that YOU are HIS. (Basically hot sex in bruce's office)

Missed me?—an injured nightwing comes home... he's in a teasing mood.

Belt loops—Dick is a little handsy sometimes. PDA? That's his thing.

Insecurities —Fem!reader

Mission gone wrong—A simple mission. How'd you two end up married?

«────── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ──────»

Jason Todd

Fluff headcanons—sweet fluff

NSFW Alphabet—you know what this is, love.

Training Room—sweaty jason todd is a NEED.

More size k!!nk headcanons

The Rooftop—You convince Jason to not jump.

size k!!!nk—jason "size kink" todd headcanons. ugh, he's scrumptious.

Notebook—You're a journalist, he's Jason Todd. Do I need to say more? fem!reader

Trinity—Jason and Carl Grimes don't fuck. They fuck you. (Threesome)

Random Headcanons—a bunch of silly little headcanons

Safeword—Dick and Jason headcanons to you using the safeword.

Amusement Park—fluff. You and Jason and a few friends are at an amusement park. Jason spots a haunted house. Things turn interesting.

Wayne Gala Headcanons—Jason taking you to the Wayne Gala.

CHRISTMAS SPECIALS: 2024

MERRY CHRISTMAS, I MISS YOU—Jason Todd

«────── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ──────»

Bruce Wayne

Reacting to you using the safeword during sex—You used the safeword.

CHRISTMAS SPECIALS: 2024

MISTLETOE MISCHIEF—Bruce Wayne

«────── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ──────»

Draco Malfoy

Smut —Sex with the Slytherin prince.

Smut—Your secret boyfriend is Draco Malfoy.

«────── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ──────»

Glenn and Maggie

Fluff—It's some cute fluff. (Glenn and Maggie are badasses in this too)

«────── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ──────»

WORDS BURN HARD - BY UselessBitch4205 on Wattpad <3

[hawkeyetrained]

Favorite Niece

Derek Hale x Fem!Argent!reader

Other Characters: Kate Argent, Allison Argent (mentioned), McCall Pack (mentioned)

Warnings: cannon level violence, but nothing too bad, Derek tied up, slight S1E11 spoilers

Summary: She is the older sister of Allison Argent and, unlike her sister, knows all about the supernatural world. What happens when her aunt visits and happens to capture her boyfriend?

Word count: 1,650

My family was well known in the hunter community. Each member was trained either as a hunter, or a leader. My mother was the leader in our family, until time came for me or my little sister to take her place. Allison and I had just moved to Beacon Hills with our parents. She was a sophomore while I was a few months away from finishing my senior year. My little sister still didn’t know too much about the supernatural world we lived in, but me, my aunt Kate had been teaching and mentoring me for years.

She saw the world in a much different light than I did though. She believed that anything supernatural should be killed, while I, on the other hand, thought that those living in peace and protecting their own people and spaces shouldn’t be put down.

When we first moved here, I met Derek Hale while out in the woods, practicing my knife throwing. He had stopped running when he heard my frustrated yells and curses, coming over to investigate and make sure no one was hurt. We were instantly drawn together, neither of us wanting to stay away from each other for more than a few hours. The fact that I came from a family of hunters was one of the first topics that came up when we first got together. When I assured him that I saw the world in a vastly different way than my family, he and I became inseparable.

Everyone in the hunting world knew the Hale’s, and their story. I didn’t want to believe that someone could be horrible enough to trap a family in their house and let them burn. But when Derek opened up and told me about the night of the fire, about the pain he went through after losing his entire family, I swore off hunting completely.

Now, we had been together for nearly half a year, and when my aunt Kate came into town to visit, Derek and I had to keep things even quieter than usual. Scott and Stiles both knew Derek and I were together, but we had them keep things to themselves when my baby sister began hanging around with the three of us and Derek.

“Hi there my beautiful niece.” Kate smiled widely as she came into my room. I set my notebook down and turned around in my chair, making sure my phone was face down so she couldn’t see my messages.

“Hey Aunt Kate.” I smiled back at her, hoping she couldn’t feel my anxiety rolling off my body in heavy waves. I hadn’t been able to get a hold of Derek for hours, and with the small group of hunters in town, I was overly nervous.

“You at a good place for a break?” She nodded back to my homework. “I wanna show you something.”

“Umm.” I closed my laptop after saving my English report. “Yeah, I can stop for the night.” I slipped my boots on and grabbed by burnt orange sweater as I followed her out the front door. “Mom, dad, Aunt Kate is kidnapping me for the night. Love you!” I yelled back into the house before getting in the car. “So, where are we going?”

“I have a surprise for you.” She had been teaching me more and more about the hunting world as I had been trying to keep her off my back with my relationship with Derek. “You’ve been making so much progress in your training with me. I can’t believe how quickly you picked up knife throwing, and I swear you’re a natural shooter, so I thought I would surprise you with a very easy first hunt.”

My blood ran cold, and it felt like my heart stopped beating. “What do you mean? You know how I feel about hunting.”

Kate rolled her eyes. “I know, but you’ll have to get over it eventually. What if something comes after your baby sister one day?” Threatening Allison like that made my entire body freeze. She knew how protective I was over my little sister, how I’d do anything to keep her safe and out of the hunting world if I could. My dad had just started teaching Allison the basics, so the thought of her being thrown into hunting like I was scared the hell out of me. “You need to know how to protect yourself and your sister.”

She opened her door and got out of the car. When did we stop? “Where are we?” I followed behind her, not being able to see much as we wondered through the darkness, only to stop in the basement of what I recognized to be the Hale house. “Aunt Kate?” My heart was pounding as I followed her farther into the basement, only to come to a room with Derek chained up to a metal frame, wires connecting the metal to the circuit box on the wall, my curious eyes widening in shock and fear.

“Surprise!” She gave me a wide grin and held her arms to her side, effectively making Derek jump awake and his eyes land on my face. “What better way to kick off your hunting life than to take out one of the most famous werewolves in Beacon Hills?”

My breathing was a bit heavier as I stared at Derek. His side was bandaged up, the wires of the circuit box disappearing under the black tape, and he looked like he hadn’t sept in days. I knew Kate had been torturing him, probably sending too much electricity through his body as her way of getting him to talk and not letting him heal properly. “You...you want me to kill Derek Hale?” I looked at my aunt like she was crazy.

“Yes!” She wrapped an arm around my shoulders and dragged me closer to the werewolf. Derek bared his teeth and growled at my aunt. “See, he’s just so feisty.” She didn’t know he was trying to protect me, not himself.

“Derek?” My voice was soft, my aunt taking it as disbelief, not my fear for his life. “I can’t do this. He never did anything to me.”

Kate rolled her eyes at me, dropping her arm and going over to the circuit switch. “Sure, you can. You just have to take the first few steps.” I hadn’t taken my eyes off of his, until I heard a small click, and Derek tensed up in pain, a loud roar tearing through his chest.

“No, no, Aunt Kate, stop! Stop!” I shrieked, running over to her table, and flipping the switch off. Derek relaxed back against the metal wall, a breath of relief falling from his lips. “Stop.”

“Oh, come on sweetheart, he’s a monster. Our family, we hunt them down to make sure they won’t ever hurt anyone.” My eyes were wide as I stared at Derek, his bare chest heaving as he took in all the air he could before my aunt would turn the machine back on.

“He hasn’t hurt anyone though.”

“But he will!” Her voice was getting louder and louder, almost yelling at me. “You need to understand that werewolves are dangerous and need to be put down.”

I was silent for what felt like hours, both Kate and Derek looking at me, waiting for my answer. “Ok.” I sighed. “You want me to kill him, fine. But I don’t want you breathing down my neck telling me I’m doing something wrong. Go wait in the car.” I had to convince her that I would go through with it. My fingers trailed over the black handgun sitting beside the machine on the table, slightly trembling. “Please, just let me do this my way.”

A proud smile covered her face as my eyes dropped to the ground. “Alright! I knew you were my favorite niece for a reason.” She clapped her hands together. “I’ll see you outside in twenty minutes.” Kate turned and walked out of the house. I didn’t move until I heard the car door shut behind her, then I moved quickly up to Derek’s side.

“Derek?” I placed my hands on his cheeks, turning his face to look at me. “Look at me, please.”

“Why? You wanna look into my eyes as you kill me? I knew it wasn’t real.” The pain in his words broke my heart.

My eyes filled with tears and I held onto his cheeks just a bit tighter. “Derek, I am nothing like my aunt. She is crazy and thinks anything supernatural should be killed. I can’t do that. I could never do that, especially not to you. I sent her out so I could get you free, so I could save you.” My hands smoothed down his sweaty hair. “Please, Derek, you gotta believe me. I could never hurt you.”

“You do this, and it’s not just Kate that will come after you. It’s all her hunter friends, your mom and dad, maybe even your sister someday. You’re ok with that?” His eyes locked on mine, listening to my heart for a change in pace.

“For you?” I smiled softly, resting my head against his. “Anything.” He leaned forward, pressing a searing kiss to my lips before I pulled away. “You see a key?”

He rolled his eyes. “Move.” I listened to his order, stepping back, and watching his movements carefully. Derek planted his feet, balled his hands into fists, and threw his arms forward, snapping the metal cuffs off his wrists and tearing the black bandage from his side. “Now let’s get out of here.”

“Just a second.” My feet carried me up in front of him, my hands resting around his neck as I pulled him down for another kiss. His arms came to wrap around me, pulling me closer to his chest for a moment before leaning back and taking my hand in his. “You scared the hell out of me.”

A car door slammed outside the old Hale house. “We need to go.”

@thetallassgirl

[reasonsmandy]

A letter?

Eddie Roundtree x Fem!Reader

✧.* requested by anon — Hi!!! Love your writing so much!! Not sure if you’re still doing requests lol, butttt I have a really specific one so if you’d be able to do this I’d like actually die omg. Okay so I’m a fashion student from LA and I was thinking, the reader is like basically siblings with billy and Graham, (her dad and their mom started dating when they were kids so they were practically raised together) but she’s closest with Eddie in particular. They’re best friends. They’ve basically been attached at the hip since they were kids. They’re both secretly harboring feelings for each other and everyone knows it but themselves. She’s been there for them since the band started, like Camilla, making them outfits for gigs and stuff. and Eddie even takes her to prom when her date ends up being a jerk to her. Butttt the reader ends up moving to LA to go to fashion school (maybe eventually she can be their costume designer for the aurora tour 🙏) and Eddie slowly stops talking to her god knows why. Fast forward- The band moves out to LA and they stay with her until they’re stable enough to be out on their own. The tension is super high between her and Eddie and EVERYONE notices. Super Angsty. Ends in fluff and love confessions 🫶 maybe angry billy lol. AGAIN THANK YOU!!! I know that was super complicated. YOUR WRITING AND EDITS ARE AMAZINGGGG !!

✧.* you're reading part one, here's the sequel — You matter to me

✧.* summary — You and Eddie were a story in the making, which you were sure had been finished after the way you left. But now with your reunion, perhaps there is a reticence.

✧.* warnings — none.

✧.* word count — 3.2k

✧.* 🎸 — Eddie's masterlist

✧.* mandy's notes — I love this ask! And I'm working on part two for it already. Please, lmk what you guys think of this back and forth writing dynamics.

You drop your keys into the jar that was on the table next to the door, then hang your coat on the hanger as you try to speed up the process to finally rest from a long day. The apartment was dark and you didn't bother turning on all the lights, contenting yourself with just the orange light from the kitchen, you went to the counter, checking the letters you had received and also collecting some newspapers from the previous days to throw away.

Days like these make you miss the constant movement and excitement that your life in Pittsburgh contained, your thoughts from time to time hovered over delicious memories that you, whether or not you wanted to have a taste of once again. It had been a few months since studying fashion had brought you to LA, and even if you were satisfied with several friends and studying what you loved, there was a huge lack of what remained there.

With the feeling of nostalgia tugging at the pit of your stomach, you head to your phone to call the number you used to answer. At the end of the line you hear three rings before the hiss and finally a voice.

“Hello?” The unexpected voice makes you wonder if you had the wrong number.

“Uh, I'm looking for Mrs Dunne?” Your voice was tired, at this point you just wanted to kill the longing.

“Y/N?” You hear the questioning after a silence, and recognizing the voice makes the butterflies in your stomach rise.

“Yeah Eddie, it's me.” You say in a breath, and once again you receive silence.

“Y/N my dear, how is everything going there?” You try to avoid the feeling of sadness about what had happened, swallowing hard.

“Everything good, and things there?” You are amazed at how natural your voice sounds.

“It's actually a bit chaotic, the boys are packing everything up in a hurry to move.” She says in a nervous laugh.

“Move? What do you mean?” You try to remember having received this information before, but you can't find it.

“Didn't you receive my letter? They will try to grow the band in LA, you might even meet up. Isn't it great? Your brothers miss you.” You didn't know if you believed the last sentence, at least not in the plural. Graham and you talked sometimes, but you and Billy hadn't talked since your move.

“That's awesome! I'm happy to hear that.” You indeed were, but you couldn't help but feel the confusion of why all this was happening now.

…

You have a vivid memory of sitting on the floor of Graham's room as he murmured about how unfair life was, and at that point you tried your best to help your half brother with any advice you came up with. Your face was resting on the bed when you and he looked at the door when you heard Billy knock three times, indicating that he was going to come in. They were your brothers since you were two years old, when your father married the boys' mother you grew up together in that house mostly without any problems.

They were kind to you, they always were, even though Billy was more distant. You knew someone that he was marked by something that you weren't here to witness, but in a way you understood how much a parent was missed.

The older Dunne sits on the edge of the bed, watching his older brother frustrated, you notice that he holds back his laughter feeling the nostalgia of something that perhaps he has already been through. You thought about whether you should go out and leave them alone, but you figured that if you stayed quiet it wouldn't get in the way.

“They'll be other girls.” Billy tries to comfort him, Graham for the first time stops staring at the ceiling to look at his brother.

“And how'd you know that?” You watch them talking and try your best to go unnoticed.

Billy looks at you, his gaze urgently asking you to help him with this.

“Because you know how to play the guitar" Your voice barely comes out, since you hadn't spoken for so long. Your older brother looks at you with a subtle look of 'what the fuck?'. You shrug, completing the sentence. “What? I heard it's something girls like.”

Graham lets out a muffled laugh and you're happy to have made him laugh, Billy frowns and you can see a bit of jealousy there which makes you smile.

“And besides.” Billy continues, looking at Graham again. “You’re fourteen years old!”

You laugh and your brothers accompany you. It's a comforting memory, one of the moments when you felt welcomed and loved.

However, from that day onwards Graham's obsession with having a band was born. You thought it was a good idea, after all, you spent the afternoon idly after all your homework was done, and when you sat down to design different types of clothes and sometimes sewing something with Mrs. Dunne Graham hovered around making sounds of boredom, you knew that would be good to entertain him.

He had invited his best friends, who you had been attending since you had moved in at the Dunne house. You can vividly remember the morning you were woken up by the thunderous sound of drums coming from downstairs, you curse and mumble, getting up to find out what it was about.

When you get to the bottom of the stairs, you come face to face with Warren trying to arrange his drum kit in the living room of your house, you blink a few times trying to shake off the sleep that still resides within you, Eddie's figure appears soon after with his guitar hanging around his neck. He smiles at you and you give him an even wider one.

“Does Mrs Dunne know what you guys are doing here?” You say in a laugh, Warren turns to Eddie for that answer, his messy curls reaching his eyes.

“I guess so…” Roundtree answers you, moving closer to you. And your body demonstrates a fact that you had hidden from your brother: the girl who was attracted to men who played guitar was you, and he was the boy you felt attracted to. “Do you know where Graham is, sunshine?”

Your legs shake at the nickname that gradually became common coming from him, you shake your head, spending as much time as possible observing Roundtree closely. “I literally just woke up. But assuming that you guys already looked for him in his room, you should try the garage.”

“On it!” Warren exclaims, heading towards the garage but not before winking at Eddie who rolls his eyes.

You frown, and are slowly eroded by the silence that surrounds you and Roundtree. He clears his throat “I think they made omelets, if I were you I'd run before Chuck finds out.”

“Would you like to join me?” You ask in a whisper, afraid of the answer. "I mean, if I'm not busy with all this.” You gesture to the instruments piled up on the couch and Rojas' drums.

“I'd love that.” He smiles, leaving you with the pleasant nervousness of falling in love.

…

Now the orange light wasn't enough to make you see your surroundings without your eyes hurting, so getting rid of the vivid memory you decide to immerse your thoughts in what you loved the most ‘create clothes’. Recently you were obsessed with a specific style you had noticed on the streets of the city, and the way women in particular looked most beautiful in the prints you had in mind, your goal now was to create a line to present in the same style and this had involved your last thoughts and efforts in the last few days.

You didn't know how to shake off the bittersweet feeling of having your childhood experiences in the same city, it was good when it came to homesickness, but you couldn't shake off the thought that would always go to Eddie Roundtree. After all, even after so long you couldn't shake the love that arose in your chest when his face came back to memory.

You smile when you remember that innocent and calm love that always surrounded you two, the first of so many things for each other, your firsts were his and his were yours. And even though he seemed to try, distance wouldn't erase that, but of course, the thought that he wanted to delete such memories hurt.

Of course, you weren't sure about that, you had no way of knowing if he actually wanted to erase everything you lived through since you didn't speak to each other anymore. But it was customary for you to always expect the worst so as not to be disappointed if it turns out to be true.

…

You accompanied your brothers to band practice with your sketchbook in hand, with no other plans for the afternoon other than watching them play while using the band and their inspirational styles. You guys liked the idea that in the future you would be successful as a fashion designer and they would be the biggest band in the world with you making every outfit they would wear off and on stage.

“Hey Y/N, glad you're joining us!” Chuck says as he opens the garage door for you to enter, you smile.

“Thanks for having me.” You thank him, already taking your place on the ottoman he used to leave for you there. "Cami, You came!" You say running towards your good friend, and now, sister-in-law.

“But of course, I wasn't going to miss a preview of your prom show.” She says hugging you back, then looking at the boys.

“Yeah, about that…” Your voice makes all the boys look at you scared. "No! Oh sorry, now that I noticed what you could understand, What I meant was that I don't even know if I'm going.”

“What? Why?” Warren asks, twirling one of the drumsticks in your left hand.

“I thought you were looking forward to it.” Graham adds, intrigued along with concerned.

“She was, what happened sunshine?” Eddie asks, you could see he was very confused.

“I just don't want to be alone, you all already have dates." You try to explain, they look at you intently. "And my friends too, so..."

“I thought you liked our dates." Chuck says, trying to tell you that you would still have their company.

“Yeah, and besides, you know Amanda is looking forward to meeting you.” Rojas says, referring to his date and new girlfriend.

Eddie didn't say anything, but you feel his gaze on you the entire time, which makes you avoid his gaze.

“Are you being serious?” Billy asks, his tone sharp as usual. You shrug. “I thought that Jamie guy was going with you." You can see he's holding himself back from rolling his eyes, and Eddie stops looking at you to look at him.

“Jamie?” Warren asks what everyone was wanting. "Really?”

“You said that it was a bad idea.” You say angrily to Billy, because he was acting like he wasn't partly to blame for this.

“Yes, but if you're going to complain about going alone, you'd better accept the invitation." You suck in a breath, and Billy triggers a deafening silence in the room.

“I'm going out for a walk.” You say leaving, if you let no one stop you or ask you to stay.

“Really bro?” You hear Rojas' voice as it fades out as you move away.

You don't know how long you spent kicking pebbles on the sidewalk outside your house, slowly becoming grateful that your house wasn't so far from Chuck's and that soon you were on your own. You feel the presence of someone approaching, and decide not to look at whoever it was, it was still daytime and you didn't feel threatened by being alone on the street.

“Billy is a dick!” Roundtree speaks, sitting next to you, and you laugh melancholically. “I'm sorry about him, you know that if you don't want you, you don't have to do anything, right?”

You nod, still looking ahead and not at him. And that's why you don't notice how nervous he was, thinking minutely about his next words and how to do it. He opens his mouth and closes it without saying anything a couple of times before getting straight to the point.

“Go with me.” That's all he says, and you look at him with a frown.

“Is this a joke?” You start to get irritated just by this prospect, he holds your thigh so you don't get up.

“No.” He makes it clear, and you try to understand what the hell was going on. “I don't have a date.”

“But you said…”

“Let me be clearer." He says, holding back a laugh. "I don't have a date anymore.”

“You didn't have to do that." You say, with a bittersweet feeling of happiness.

“I wanted to, and besides, you know my times with you are always amazing.” You feel your cheeks burn as your smile widens. "So, what do you say?”

“Of course, I'd love to go with you." You hug him, feeling your body fill with butterflies. "Thank you, really.”

“I'll pick you up at eight?" He says, seeing you get up to go to your house.

“But don't you go early to check the sound?" You say holding back a smile.

“Oh yeah, forgot about that.” He says scratching the back of his head. “Then...”

“We can meet at Chuck's.” You say, completing his reasoning.

…

You take a deep breath before you knock on the door, automatically holding your folder with your drawings close to your chest, as if that would protect them from any judgment you theorized could happen.

When the wooden object opens, you can't contain your smile, and open your arms to welcome your brother in a hug. He squeezes you with longing and happiness, in the corner of your eyes you can see the rest of the band smiling when they look at you. When breaking away from the hug, everyone in the band gets their due "hi" and "I missed you!" of you, as soon as you finish talking to Karen and getting to know her you turn to Roundtree.

“Hey.” You say in a low voice, as if anything that involved you and Eddie was a secret. Perhaps a force of habit.

“Hello Y/N” His voice comes out harshly, something you hadn't imagined coming from your reunion.

“Good to see you.” By this time, you were feeling the tension building up. “Look, maybe we should talk about…”

“I don't think that's a great idea.” He cuts you off, avoiding looking deep into your eyes.

“Oye Eddie, check out this vest that I brought!” Rojas' voice calls him, and you try to ignore the tightness in your chest.

“I'll see you around.” He says, walking over to the curly-haired drummer.

“Everything alright, honey?” Camila's voice makes you jump in fright, but when you come face to face with her, your body melts.

You hug her immediately, gradually feeling calmer. "I'm so glad you're here, you have no idea”

She notices your gaze fixed on Eddie when you leave the hug, and knows (more than anyone) what that gaze held. All the history you had since that prom, which was put on hiatus due to the reticence caused by your departure.

“So you and Eddie?” She asks, looking concerned.

“I fear that's not even a thing anymore.” You swallow your upset, and put into practice what brought you there. “Hey y'all, gather here! I can't wait to show you what I came up with since I knew you were coming.”

“You know we don't even have a record company yet, right?” Billy asks, but not in a harsh, rude tone. But in fact, genuinely curious.

“I know, but you wouldn't come here if you didn't believe you were going to wear these clothes on stage one day." You smile, causing your brother to do the same. “So shut up and come and see it.”

You see they laugh with you, not noticing that Eddie was holding his.

…

Your hands shook as you positioned the letter in front of your boyfriend, if you could call him that. For everyone, Eddie had only done you a favor on the day of the prom, but in reality you had been sneaking out ever since.

The vivid memory of the cold wind hitting your skin took you to that night, ‘The Dunne brothers’ had already made the show a while ago and he didn't take long to grab your hand and guided you to the roof. You had no idea if they were allowed to be there, but fuck it, you had finished school and nothing would be important after that night.

You sat together eating some food that you had brought, and the comfortable silence hovered between you. You feel his gaze on you, and you slowly gain the courage to say what you've been thinking since that day began.

“Thank you.” Your voice comes out in a whisper. “For doing this with me.”

“Are you kidding?” He says between a laugh. "I always have a blast with you. And to be honest, I kinda want this to last forever.”

“Yeah me too.” You look deep into his eyes, and see him get closer, interspersing his gaze between your lips and your eyes.

It stops when you are inches close, You feel his breathing and his intense gaze, little by little the party music fades away, being replaced by the beat of his heart.

“Why did you stop?” You whisper, looking now at his lips.

“Your brothers are going to kill me." He says jokingly, making you smile. “But I never cared what they thought anyway.”

One of his hands goes up to your cheeks, caressing your skin before kissing your lips. You didn't know what an explosion it would be like when it happened, but your body surrendered to it every second, and since then, you two haven't been able to put an end to it. And honestly, you didn't even want to.

Eddie takes the letter in hand, knowing that your nervousness probably indicated something. He wasn't angry, but disappointed, and it broke your heart.

“You were going to leave me a letter?” He speaks in disbelief, a few tears appearing in his eyes.

“Babe, let me explain…” You say but he interrupts you.

“You were going to leave, and I was going to be the last to know…” Your voice was choked, and you felt your tears running down your cheeks. "Damn sunshine, a fucking letter?!”

“I couldn't find the right time to tell you. " You say taking his hands, sitting next to him. "I didn't want to upset you…”

“Did you really think I was going to be upset?" He looked hurt by it all, and you wanted to disappear. "That I would be upset watching my girlfriend achieve her dream?"

“When you put it like that, well.” You close your mouth before finishing your thought.

“I wish you the best." He stands up, and you watch him closely. “You will rock, I'm sure.”

“Where are you going?” You say through tears, and he turns so you don't see his.

“I need some air. " He says, opening the door, and leaving.

You didn't see him in the days after, and on the day you were all packed to leave… he left you a letter.

...

Hi, I hope you enjoyed it... If you wanted to ask for something my requests are open, and if you want to ask and don't have any ideas check out my prompt list :) xoxo

-> Part two will be out soon!

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[samgirl98]

Mending a Family 9/?

Prev | Next

Dick knows I know about you. Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me, but I don’t think they’ll ever give up.

Jason put away his phone; he would think about that later. Right now, he wanted to give Jazz all his attention and know what happened to make Danny a cute five-year-old.

“I don’t know how much you know about Danny’s and mine biological parents,” she trailed off while rocking Ellie.

“I heard enough,” Jason answered while Danny said, “Almost everything. Except how I got de-aged ‘cuz even I don’t know or the few days leading up to that.”

Jazz nodded, “good, that’ll make things easier.”

Jazz put a now asleep Ellie on the rocker and looked at Jason and Danny. They were sitting in their new living room. Jason had chosen a little house with the closest neighbor two miles away. They were still in the woods but twenty minutes from a little town with schools, a library, and a general store. Would it be easier to disappear in a city? Maybe. But Danny wouldn’t be able to use his powers as well in the city.

Plus, it’d be easier to avoid Oracle, too.

“Mom and dad were supposed to be out of the house that weekend. They were going to test a new invention. The Fenton Demoleculizer. It was supposed to tear ghosts apart ‘molecule by molecule,’ as they liked to say. It didn’t work that way.”

“Things rarely do,” Danny chirped.

Jazz sighed.

“Ellie had come that weekend to visit. They both took down a ghost and returned them to the Ghost Zone.”

“Stupid Skulker,” Danny added.

“Mom and dad caught them both transforming. They didn’t hesitate; they shot Danny first. Thankfully, I had come down the basement when mom shot Danny. If it had been dad, well, let’s say he’s a horrible shot. Thankfully, the Demoleculizer didn’t work how it was supposed to and only de-aged Danny.”

Jazz sighed and rubbed her eye.

“I was able to get Danny and throw him through the portal, which is how I assume he ended up with you. Mom and dad were furious and thought I was overshadowed. They were ranting about how they didn’t notice their baby boy was dead and were tricked by a filthy ghost. There was no talking to them.”

“In the chaos, Ellie got hit with the Demoleculizer, too. I knew there was no going back at that point, so I got her and went through the portal. Those few minutes must’ve been days here, though, because, well, you know, we didn’t land at the same place or time that Danny had.”

Silence reigned as they all digested what Jazz had said. Jason couldn’t believe any parent would turn against their child that way.

But then again, Sheila did the same to me, he thought.

“So now what,” Jazz asked, “we can’t mooch off you forever, Jason. As much as I appreciate what you’ve done, it isn’t fair that you have to feed three extra mouths now and leave your old haunt for Danny.”

“Whoa, hey, it’s no trouble to me at all. Besides, I already think of Danny as my kid, and parents are there to care for their kids.”

Jason took a deep breath, “Besides, I wasn’t in a good place before Danny. I won’t lie to you guys; I’m not a good guy. I’ve—I’ve killed before; I’ve hurt my family. If anything, I would understand if you guys don’t want to be around me.”

“When you said you’ve killed, have you ever killed innocent people or…?” Jazz left the question hanging.

Jason shook his head and told his story of how he had been killed and returned to life. The Lazarus Pit and League of Assassins were hard to get through, but Danny and Jazz deserved the truth. He told them about his return to Gotham and how he set up a criminal empire. (One that he abandoned for Danny.) He mentioned Titan Towers and his so-called revenge against Tim. He told them all his sins.

Jason turned to Danny, “Do you understand now, Danny-lad, I deserve their anger.”

Danny got up and hugged Jason tight, “You came back angry. It’s not your fault, either.”

“While I’m not too glad to hear about the killings, I understand why you did it. Besides, you’ve left that behind, and you’re taking care of Danny. I’m not here to judge but to take care of my baby brother and sister. And you, Jason, have taken in Danny and protected him. Not many people would do that. So, for that, I thank you.”

Jason almost felt like crying. The Fentons didn’t judge him, and they didn’t refuse to give him their love and forgiveness. Jason felt like he belonged to a family for the first time in a long time.

“Now, it’s time we redecorated. Isn’t that right, big brother?” Jazz asked with a smile.

____

Tim had been able to follow the cold anomaly north. It had disappeared somewhere in Vermont.

“What do you think it is,” Tim asked Barbara.

“I don’t know, but do you think it’s related to Jason disappearing?”

“It’s too much of a coincidence for it not to be.”

“Hmm,” Barbara hummed, “I’m going to set it up for the program to look for this anomaly in Canada. It has disappeared in the continental US; Canada is the only logical conclusion.”

“Should I tell Bruce?”

Barbara sighed, “Let’s give it a few more days and see if anything new comes up. If it doesn’t, we will have to tell him about it, but let him come up with his conclusions. If anything new shows up and leads to Jason, I suggest we observe him first instead of getting the whole family descending on him.”

“What, why?” Tim asked incredulously.

There was silence on the other side.

“Why, Barbara?”

“Tim, Jason left for a reason. There are no signs of struggles, and he took everything he had; he doesn’t want to be found by us. Shouldn’t we honor his wishes?”

“But everyone misses him. Bruce is going crazy looking for him.”

“I love Bruce, but he’s a hypocrite. He ignored Jason when he was right next door, and now that he’s gone, he wants him back. It sounds like he just wants some control, like usual,” Barbara said angrily.

“But Dick is also,” Barbara interrupted him.

“Dick isn’t much better. Look, I love everyone, but how we’ve treated Jason,” she sighed. “If he’s just living his life and not killing people, then I see no reason to make him miserable.”

“If that’s how you feel, why are you helping me look for him?” Tim couldn’t help but ask.

“Because I’m a hypocrite, too.”

Then she hung up.

Dick knows I know about you. Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me, but I don’t think they’ll ever give up.

Jason put away his phone; he would think about that later. Right now, he wanted to give Jazz all his attention and know what happened to make Danny a cute five-year-old.

“I don’t know how much you know about Danny’s and mine biological parents,” she trailed off while rocking Ellie.

“I heard enough,” Jason answered while Danny said, “Almost everything. Except how I got de-aged ‘cuz even I don’t know or the few days leading up to that.”

Jazz nodded, “good, that’ll make things easier.”

Jazz put a now asleep Ellie on the rocker and looked at Jason and Danny. They were sitting in their new living room. Jason had chosen a little house with the closest neighbor two miles away. They were still in the woods but twenty minutes from a little town with schools, a library, and a general store. Would it be easier to disappear in a city? Maybe. But Danny wouldn’t be able to use his powers as well in the city.

Plus, it’d be easier to avoid Oracle, too.

“Mom and dad were supposed to be out of the house that weekend. They were going to test a new invention. The Fenton Demoleculizer. It was supposed to tear ghosts apart ‘molecule by molecule,’ as they liked to say. It didn’t work that way.”

“Things rarely do,” Danny chirped.

Jazz sighed.

“Ellie had come that weekend to visit. They both took down a ghost and returned them to the Ghost Zone.”

“Stupid Skulker,” Danny added.

“Mom and dad caught them both transforming. They didn’t hesitate; they shot Danny first. Thankfully, I had come down the basement when mom shot Danny. If it had been dad, well, let’s say he’s a horrible shot. Thankfully, the Demoleculizer didn’t work how it was supposed to and only de-aged Danny.”

Jazz sighed and rubbed her eye.

“I was able to get Danny and throw him through the portal, which is how I assume he ended up with you. Mom and dad were furious and thought I was overshadowed. They were ranting about how they didn’t notice their baby boy was dead and were tricked by a filthy ghost. There was no talking to them.”

“In the chaos, Ellie got hit with the Demoleculizer, too. I knew there was no going back at that point, so I got her and went through the portal. Those few minutes must’ve been days here, though, because, well, you know, we didn’t land at the same place or time that Danny had.”

Silence reigned as they all digested what Jazz had said. Jason couldn’t believe any parent would turn against their child that way.

But then again, Sheila did the same to me, he thought.

“So now what,” Jazz asked, “we can’t mooch off you forever, Jason. As much as I appreciate what you’ve done, it isn’t fair that you have to feed three extra mouths now and leave your old haunt for Danny.”

“Whoa, hey, it’s no trouble to me at all. Besides, I already think of Danny as my kid, and parents are there to care for their kids.”

Jason took a deep breath, “Besides, I wasn’t in a good place before Danny. I won’t lie to you guys; I’m not a good guy. I’ve—I’ve killed before; I’ve hurt my family. If anything, I would understand if you guys don’t want to be around me.”

“When you said you’ve killed, have you ever killed innocent people or…?” Jazz left the question hanging.

Jason shook his head and told his story of how he had been killed and returned to life. The Lazarus Pit and League of Assassins were hard to get through, but Danny and Jazz deserved the truth. He told them about his return to Gotham and how he set up a criminal empire. (One that he abandoned for Danny.) He mentioned Titan Towers and his so-called revenge against Tim. He told them all his sins.

Jason turned to Danny, “Do you understand now, Danny-lad, I deserve their anger.”

Danny got up and hugged Jason tight, “You came back angry. It’s not your fault, either.”

“While I’m not too glad to hear about the killings, I understand why you did it. Besides, you’ve left that behind, and you’re taking care of Danny. I’m not here to judge but to take care of my baby brother and sister. And you, Jason, have taken in Danny and protected him. Not many people would do that. So, for that, I thank you.”

Jason almost felt like crying. The Fentons didn’t judge him, and they didn’t refuse to give him their love and forgiveness. Jason felt like he belonged to a family for the first time in a long time.

“Now, it’s time we redecorated. Isn’t that right, big brother?” Jazz asked with a smile.

____

Tim had been able to follow the cold anomaly north. It had disappeared somewhere in Vermont.

“What do you think it is,” Tim asked Barbara.

“I don’t know, but do you think it’s related to Jason disappearing?”

“It’s too much of a coincidence for it not to be.”

“Hmm,” Barbara hummed, “I’m going to set it up for the program to look for this anomaly in Canada. It has disappeared in the continental US; Canada is the only logical conclusion.”

“Should I tell Bruce?”

Barbara sighed, “Let’s give it a few more days and see if anything new comes up. If it doesn’t, we will have to tell him about it, but let him come up with his conclusions. If anything new shows up and leads to Jason, I suggest we observe him first instead of getting the whole family descending on him.”

“What, why?” Tim asked incredulously.

There was silence on the other side.

“Why, Barbara?”

“Tim, Jason left for a reason. There are no signs of struggles, and he took everything he had; he doesn’t want to be found by us. Shouldn’t we honor his wishes?”

“But everyone misses him. Bruce is going crazy looking for him.”

“I love Bruce, but he’s a hypocrite. He ignored Jason when he was right next door, and now that he’s gone, he wants him back. It sounds like he just wants some control, like usual,” Barbara said angrily.

“But Dick is also,” Barbara interrupted him.

“Dick isn’t much better. Look, I love everyone, but how we’ve treated Jason,” she sighed. “If he’s just living his life and not killing people, then I see no reason to make him miserable.”

“If that’s how you feel, why are you helping me look for him?” Tim couldn’t help but ask.

“Because I’m a hypocrite, too.”

Then she hung up.

Dick knows I know about you. Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me, but I don’t think they’ll ever give up.

Jason put away his phone; he would think about that later. Right now, he wanted to give Jazz all his attention and know what happened to make Danny a cute five-year-old.

“I don’t know how much you know about Danny’s and mine biological parents,” she trailed off while rocking Ellie.

“I heard enough,” Jason answered while Danny said, “Almost everything. Except how I got de-aged ‘cuz even I don’t know or the few days leading up to that.”

Jazz nodded, “good, that’ll make things easier.”

Jazz put a now asleep Ellie on the rocker and looked at Jason and Danny. They were sitting in their new living room. Jason had chosen a little house with the closest neighbor two miles away. They were still in the woods but twenty minutes from a little town with schools, a library, and a general store. Would it be easier to disappear in a city? Maybe. But Danny wouldn’t be able to use his powers as well in the city.

Plus, it’d be easier to avoid Oracle, too.

“Mom and dad were supposed to be out of the house that weekend. They were going to test a new invention. The Fenton Demoleculizer. It was supposed to tear ghosts apart ‘molecule by molecule,’ as they liked to say. It didn’t work that way.”

“Things rarely do,” Danny chirped.

Jazz sighed.

“Ellie had come that weekend to visit. They both took down a ghost and returned them to the Ghost Zone.”

“Stupid Skulker,” Danny added.

“Mom and dad caught them both transforming. They didn’t hesitate; they shot Danny first. Thankfully, I had come down the basement when mom shot Danny. If it had been dad, well, let’s say he’s a horrible shot. Thankfully, the Demoleculizer didn’t work how it was supposed to and only de-aged Danny.”

Jazz sighed and rubbed her eye.

“I was able to get Danny and throw him through the portal, which is how I assume he ended up with you. Mom and dad were furious and thought I was overshadowed. They were ranting about how they didn’t notice their baby boy was dead and were tricked by a filthy ghost. There was no talking to them.”

“In the chaos, Ellie got hit with the Demoleculizer, too. I knew there was no going back at that point, so I got her and went through the portal. Those few minutes must’ve been days here, though, because, well, you know, we didn’t land at the same place or time that Danny had.”

Silence reigned as they all digested what Jazz had said. Jason couldn’t believe any parent would turn against their child that way.

But then again, Sheila did the same to me, he thought.

“So now what,” Jazz asked, “we can’t mooch off you forever, Jason. As much as I appreciate what you’ve done, it isn’t fair that you have to feed three extra mouths now and leave your old haunt for Danny.”

“Whoa, hey, it’s no trouble to me at all. Besides, I already think of Danny as my kid, and parents are there to care for their kids.”

Jason took a deep breath, “Besides, I wasn’t in a good place before Danny. I won’t lie to you guys; I’m not a good guy. I’ve—I’ve killed before; I’ve hurt my family. If anything, I would understand if you guys don’t want to be around me.”

“When you said you’ve killed, have you ever killed innocent people or…?” Jazz left the question hanging.

Jason shook his head and told his story of how he had been killed and returned to life. The Lazarus Pit and League of Assassins were hard to get through, but Danny and Jazz deserved the truth. He told them about his return to Gotham and how he set up a criminal empire. (One that he abandoned for Danny.) He mentioned Titan Towers and his so-called revenge against Tim. He told them all his sins.

Jason turned to Danny, “Do you understand now, Danny-lad, I deserve their anger.”

Danny got up and hugged Jason tight, “You came back angry. It’s not your fault, either.”

“While I’m not too glad to hear about the killings, I understand why you did it. Besides, you’ve left that behind, and you’re taking care of Danny. I’m not here to judge but to take care of my baby brother and sister. And you, Jason, have taken in Danny and protected him. Not many people would do that. So, for that, I thank you.”

Jason almost felt like crying. The Fentons didn’t judge him, and they didn’t refuse to give him their love and forgiveness. Jason felt like he belonged to a family for the first time in a long time.

“Now, it’s time we redecorated. Isn’t that right, big brother?” Jazz asked with a smile.

____

Tim had been able to follow the cold anomaly north. It had disappeared somewhere in Vermont.

“What do you think it is,” Tim asked Barbara.

“I don’t know, but do you think it’s related to Jason disappearing?”

“It’s too much of a coincidence for it not to be.”

“Hmm,” Barbara hummed, “I’m going to set it up for the program to look for this anomaly in Canada. It has disappeared in the continental US; Canada is the only logical conclusion.”

“Should I tell Bruce?”

Barbara sighed, “Let’s give it a few more days and see if anything new comes up. If it doesn’t, we will have to tell him about it, but let him come up with his conclusions. If anything new shows up and leads to Jason, I suggest we observe him first instead of getting the whole family descending on him.”

“What, why?” Tim asked incredulously.

There was silence on the other side.

“Why, Barbara?”

“Tim, Jason left for a reason. There are no signs of struggles, and he took everything he had; he doesn’t want to be found by us. Shouldn’t we honor his wishes?”

“But everyone misses him. Bruce is going crazy looking for him.”

“I love Bruce, but he’s a hypocrite. He ignored Jason when he was right next door, and now that he’s gone, he wants him back. It sounds like he just wants some control, like usual,” Barbara said angrily.

“But Dick is also,” Barbara interrupted him.

“Dick isn’t much better. Look, I love everyone, but how we’ve treated Jason,” she sighed. “If he’s just living his life and not killing people, then I see no reason to make him miserable.”

“If that’s how you feel, why are you helping me look for him?” Tim couldn’t help but ask.

“Because I’m a hypocrite, too.”

Then she hung up.

So I don't know yet if I'm going to make that Barbara would help Jason from time to time and actually talked to him (kind of like how she helped him during the Cheers story line) or if she should also be one of the ones who ignored Jason. I'll think it through.

@idontgetpaidenoughforthisshit @skulld3mort-1fan @theauthorandtheartist @emergentpanda-blog @jaggedheart11 @fisticuffsatapplebees @booberrylizard @fantasticbluebirdfan @thegatorsgooseoose @cyrwrites @kjoboo91 @crystallicedart @amaramizuki666 @spekulatiusmuffin @meira-3919 @kilasmess @bubblemixer @lexdamo @wonderland-daisy @mj-arts-n-stuff @amyheart19 @dolfay @the-church-grimm @undead-essence @aph-mable @lizisipancardo @purrloin77 @writer-extraodinaire @charlietheepic7 @sinfulloccultist @nootherusernameworked @coruscateselene @chaoticchange @itsberrydreemurstuff @gmkelz11 @feral-bunny31 @paroovian @thatonegaybitch68 @d4ydr34min9 @overtherose @fandomwandererer @vipower001 @thordottir45 @blackrabbitt3t @rosecinnamonbun @bianca-hooks123 @epilepticnerd @dat1angel @consouling @flamingenchiladadragon

[theshadowrealmitself]

Okay my favorite batshit au for Spiderman that’s incredibly self indulgent to me is:

Peter starts out as a Spider mutant, of course no one really knows this because he’s a very quiet and cautious kid and the stuff he has isn’t that noticeable to other people

On top of that, due to the age gap between his dad and his uncle, Ben and May already old when they take in young Peter (closer to comic canon), which comes with the side effects of being raised by older legal guardians

Side effects like because of their age they’re so tired when they come home from work that they can’t really give Peter the attention and energy that he needs and they want to give him, and because they’re always so tired and old and stuff, Peter, who’s already an obedient kid, doesn’t want to make their lives harder and their health worse, hides away anything that can upset them

(This is very important because it explains how Peter gets away with so much as a kid, there’s gonna be a lot of well meaning neglect in this au, and is also the very beginning of that deep anger taking seed inside of him, he feels can’t show emotion about his parents abandoning him, can’t make a fuss about Flash bullying him because the school won’t help and it’ll only stress out his aunt and uncle, he just feels like he can’t show anything and has no outlet for it all)

So Peter, even before going to live with his aunt and uncle didn’t get much attention because his parents were focused on their research and trying not to get killed, and then after moving in with them, feels like he has to make his presence as little as possible

He becomes a very, very independent little kid, even though May and Ben keep trying to let him know he can just be a kid, it’s okay, but at some point one of them has a health scare, there’s the hospital bill from it and the possible chance of future medical bills, so both adults start working more and more hours to afford all that

Which leaves poor Peter alone most of the time, he doesn’t want to make a fuss so he just accepts, and because the adults are too busy to really sit down and coordinate their time together, they don’t even realize how much they’ve left him on his own, thinking that the other adult was helping him

Peter gets himself up for school, washes the laundry, cleans what he cans, and cooks himself breakfast and maybe makes some for Ben or May if they haven’t left yet, packs his own lunch, then he’s responsible for getting himself on the bus to school (where he gets bullied all day), and then getting back to school, then because of the hours they’re working, he usually comes back to an empty house and makes everyone dinner, eats his, then puts himself to bed early after doing homework alone

At this point, Peter is now 10 years old, he’s formed a new friendship with his next door neighbor, MJ, who’s being purposely neglected by her shitty angry drunk dad, and another boy at school, Harry, who’s being emotionally neglected by his dad

The three of them start hanging out at Oscorp and getting to see the new stuff that the company is developing before it’s put out, one of those things is radioactive spiders, and one of the spiders with specific markings becomes Peter’s favorite

After some time, Norman makes a deal with the army to sell one of the spiders to them because of their own research with radioactive bio specimens, unfortunately, the spider he sells is Peter’s favorite one

For the first time in his life, Peter decides to try and be vocal about something he wants, but he’s too scared to interrupt Norman’s conversation, too used to being quiet, so he follows Norman along, waiting for a break in the conversation to ask him to sell a different spider, just following aaaallll the way to the army base, just being so quiet that no one notices him

Norman makes the handoff and Peter ends up following the spider, eventually getting his hands on it and accidentally releasing it from its container where it then bites Peter

Now remember, Peter was already a mutant, these spider mutant powers already included super strength, climbing on walls, and being able to produce webs, and also because being Spidery was a core part of his being, he has also has a ton of spider behaviors and instincts that he has to constantly fight to appear normal in public so no one calls his relatives and stress them out

After the bite, all of the hair on his body, not just the hair on his head, but the body hair, eyelashes, eyebrows, just everywhere, becomes bright red and blue patterned, his eyesight becomes supernaturally incredible, but when he uses his eyes like that, they become entirely black, I’m talking pupil, iris, and the whites become a dark inky black, and when he’s not using it, his eyes look normal, but his eyesight is back to being crap, he also now has fangs that produce a high intensity venom, and his super strength becomes so much stronger than it was before

These effects start slowly taking over as Peter starts wandering around with his spider, that he’s already forgiven for biting him because of course the poor thing is scared, trying to find an exit, but instead he stumbles upon the other radioactive specimen in the army’s care: the Hulk

Peter, being the sweet kid he is, lets the Hulk out and the Hulk remembers that and becomes a lifetime friend of “bug-man’s” from that, and the two escape the army base with the cameras capturing footage of a blue and red spidery creature helping the Hulk, starting Norman Osborn’s lifetime hatred for Spiderman (no one notices Peter’s excursion which takes a couple of days getting back home because quiet kid, kinda being neglected, teachers didn’t even mark him absent because they didn’t notice he hadn’t actually showed up, etc)

Peter is now visibly a mutant and so his friend and neighbor MJ notices immediately when he comes back and helps him out immediately even though she likes his new look, but it gives her a chance to try out makeup looks and hair dyes on someone else, and that’s what starts them becoming best friends, MJ starts hanging out more at his house to get away from her home life, Peter isn’t so alone anymore, it works out great for the two kids and starts Peter’s huge crush on her since this is the first time he’s actually been close and open with another person

(Also cause of the neglect, man it feels awful saying May and Ben neglected him in this au but there’s no other way to put it, Peter doesn’t ever return to the doctors and get checkups, and no one investigates because fuck it they lost Peter’s file or something)

Peter and Harry don’t have that moment where they suddenly intensely bond over something, but over the next four years, the three of them slowly become inseparable, to the point that many times MJ and Peter forget that they haven’t shared their big secret with Harry

(Although Peter hasn’t become a vigilante yet, him and MJ still go off and have adventures during this time, like helping the Hulk or meeting up with the x-men, this ends up being another thing that helps him hide his identity as cameras keep picking up grainy images of him without the stuff he uses to hide his looks at school and of course no one’s gonna assume a kid is out doing these things, so Spiderman, when he makes his debut, has to be much older than the Parker kid is what everyone thinks)

So instead of the spider bite being what causes his fight with Uncle Ben leading to him running out and consequently his uncle dying, it’s Harry finding out that MJ and Peter had this secret they hadn’t been sharing with him, and Peter’s resentment at not being able to go to his relatives for advice because how would he even explain any of that to them?? He doesn’t even know how they feel about mutants much less a mutant who’s now been made radioactive!! That causes his anger issues acting up and then the origin story with Uncle Ben except now his death includes him apologizing to Peter for not being there more often and knowing that he’s a mutant (but not the other stuff) and letting him know that he’s okay with it and he’s sorry he made Peter feel like he couldn’t share that with him

This is depressing for everyone, because even though him and Aunt May dropped the ball a lot (in this specific au), he was still a great relative when he was able to be there for him, he was also a great adult figure to MJ and Harry

So after that, all 3 of them decide to get into the vigilante business, with Peter being the face of it since he’s the only one that could actually handle fights and stuff (but with Harry’s money and Peter’s smarts they do end up making equipment for Harry and MJ), just these 3 little traumatized, neglected 14 year olds forming a vigilante group together

They find an Oscorp warehouse that Norman forgot about, put it in Harry’s name, and completely reinvented it to be their base, and over time it becomes less lonely, at first it’s just the Hulk hiding out there occasionally, maybe some x-men they befriended, but once they turn 18 and Spiderman becomes less of a cryptid and starts actively putting himself out there (because Harry and MJ couldn’t stand the idea of losing him so they made him promise to stay out of the limelight) their group starts really taking off

(Getting people like Gwen Stacy, Daredevil, Nova, Iron Fist, White Tiger, Power Man, Wolverine, Venom, Squirrel Girl, etc)

While staying completely hidden from SHIELD the entire time, Nick Fury doesn’t find out for ages that all these other heroes were secretly connected to Spiderman and had a base together this whole time

And eventually of course Miles joins, with his origin story being that he found Spiderman on the brink of death, saved him, accidentally got pierced by one of his venomous fangs, which acted the same way a bite from a radioactive spider would affect him, which is not something any of them had known, apparently a full on bite would kill a person, but a tiny amount of venom makes them radioactive, so that’s something to worry about now

Miles’ uncle eventually joins their little superhero gang sometime after that because it’s my self indulgent au and I want that kid to be happy with his family

Also after Uncle Ben’s death, Aunt May makes a concentrated effort to actually full on be there for Peter and all his friends, it doesn’t magically make his childhood better, but it’s healing

And a good portion about this is: Peter’s identity being so hard to find because how he shows himself in his civilian life isn’t what he actually looks like, so when his mask gets ripped off there’s not actually much to worry about, doesn’t mean he’s not still doing The Most™️ to hide his identity to protect not only Aunt May now but also his group

And also I wanted him to be as strong as possible, like could fight Superman strong, as well as have all these abilities that would make you think he’d be a part of the avengers fighting aliens and stuff and he’s just like “I really gotta dedicate all my attention to stopping muggers and bank robbers” because that’s so him

Also I think he’d look incredibly pretty with the red and blue coloring as well as the completely black eyes, and because it’s funny to me, while the Hulk is a part of them, Bruce Banner has no memory of this in the slightest, and Johnny Storm is pissed when he finds out Spidey has a hero team with a base that he didn’t invite him to

The neglect and stuff also really ties into not joining SHIELD, because Peter is still the unofficial leader of the group and he's not used to depending on others, but also he's worried about SHIELD trying to force him to become a big named hero when he does just want to stop robbers, and he's terrified of SHIELD knowing his and his friends' identities and what danger that could lead to for them

There’s probably a ton I forgot to put down but this post is already so long 😭 lemme know if anyone has any questions!! would love to answer any

[dwobbitfromtheshire]

The Right Place in Time

Summary: What if Steve was in the woods with Chrissy and Eddie getting weed for his headaches?

@disrespectedgoatman @estrellami-1 @darkrose517 @panicatthediaz @mandriice @nightmareglitter

Chapter One - Chapter Two - Chapter Three - Chapter Four - Chapter Five - Chapter Six - Chapter Seven - Chapter Eight - Chapter Nine - Chapter Ten - Chapter Eleven - Chapter Twelve - Chapter Thirteen - Chapter Fourteen - Chapter Fifteen

18+ MINORS DNI because Steve, Chrissy, and Eddie take a shower together, but nothing really sexual happens.

Chapter Sixteen

Steve was openly crying as he and Eddie held an unconscious Chrissy in their arms. He didn't understand what the fuck just happened, only that they almost lost Chrissy for a second time. She had powers? What the fuck? Steve wasn't sure his heart could take it anymore. It was too much. They deserved to have a quiet life now.

"Son, I think the cops are coming," Wayne said. "Let's get out of here. Chrissy has your keys."

Steve could hear the sirens coming closer, fully aware of them now. He fished his keys out of Chrissy's pocket and moved to pick her up into his arms. He groaned, and Eddie made a disapproving sound before pulling Chrissy in his arms.

"We have to get you to my dad," Vickie said. "You're bleeding!"

"No hospitals," Steve said as Nancy took his keys from him.

"Okay, well, we'll get you to my house, and if he's not there, then we'll call him," Vickie said.

It was a tight fit with only two cars. Max sat on Lucas's lap in Wayne's truck while Dustin squeezed in beside them. Nancy climbed into the driver's seat while Eddie took the passenger's seat with Chrissy. Gareth was pulled into Jeff's lap while Frank politely offered his lap to Vickie. Robin crawled into next to them and pulled Steve into her lap.

"This isn't the first time that Steve’s sat in your lap?" Vickie asked in amusement as they drove off.

"Nope!" Robin and Steve exclaimed.

When they got to Vickie's house, her dad's car was in the driveway. Matthew came walking out of the house, having heard them pull up. He looked frantic.

"Vickie! Thank God! I was just about to call the police. Where the hell have you been? You know, I don't have a lot of rules, but I do ask that you call to make sure that you're not - what's going on?" Matthew rambled.

Vickie and the boys had climbed out first. Nancy helped Eddie out of the car with Chrissy while Vickie helped Steve out. Wayne walked up behind them.

"Let's get everyone inside, and then we'll talk," Wayne said.

Steve clutched Robin and Vickie, suddenly very tired as they moved him inside of the house. He just wanted this all to be over with. Matthew guided them toward the kitchen and pointed him to the kitchen table with the light hanging directly overhead. Was it really just the other day that they were here having breakfast together?

"You really should go to the hospital," Matthew frowned.

"No, no hospitals," Steve said.

"Why?" He asked.

"Jason and his friends are hunting us," Vickie replied casually.

"What?!" Matthew asked.

"They think Eddie is the one who broke Chrissy's arms with the power of his mind and that he also killed Patrick and Fred," Vickie said.

"Well, that's ridiculous. It was principal Higgins who killed those two. I always thought there was something off about him. Me and a couple of other parents tried to get him fired," Matthew said with a sigh and a pause. "It was Higgins, wasn't it?"

Steve watched Vickie look at her dad and then looked at Nancy. Nancy shook her head at Vickie.

"I can't lie to him," Vickie said softly.

"Tell me all about it while I patch up Steve," Matthew said with a sigh as he went to his med kit.

Vickie started telling him everything from the night Chrissy broke her arm, to them being hunted, to Fred dying, them being cursed, and to now, when Chrissy's powers had been unleashed. . .closing the gate. It was perfect timing, really, when Vickie finished and Chrissy woke up with a gasp. Steve was lucky that Matthew had been done stitching him up.

"What's going on?" Chrissy asked. "Uncle Matthew?"

Suddenly, Matthew was by her side and checking her eyes.

"You okay, sweetie?" Matthew asked.

"I have a little bit of headache, but I'm fine. I'm a little tired," Chrissy said as she sat up in Eddie's lap.

Matthew was about to open his mouth to speak when there came a pounding at the door. Steve watched as Wayne went to the door. The gun Nancy had given him was held carefully in his hand. Steve hopped off the table, wincing at his sore feet. He moved over to Chrissy and Eddie, wrapping an arm around them both. Wayne hid the gun behind the door.

"Can I help you?" Wayne asked.

"My name is Agent Ellen Stinson, I'm here to help," a woman with short dark hair said.

"How can you do that?" Wayne asked with a snort. "What is it that you think we need help with?"

Steve didn't blame him for not trusting the woman, especially given all the stories he had been told.

"Well, we know that the gates are opened again, and from what I just saw, you have someone else with powers on your side. You have every reason not to trust us, but your friend El, she's chosen to work with us to give you guys a fighting chance, and you need backup. She said that we should tell you one thing: friends don't lie," Agent Stinson said.

It was Dustin who pushed himself to the front of the group.

"Alright, where are we going?" Dustin asked.

"You're not going to like it," Ellen said.

"Hawkins' Lab," Nancy muttered sourly. "Well, it's not like we have anywhere else to go."

"Chrissy, Vickie, go grab some clothes. I'll go grab some clothes and medicine for you guys," Matthew said.

"You're coming with?" Chrissy asked.

"Of course," Matthew said.

When Chrissy and Vickie came back, they had a couple of back packs over their shoulders. Matthew came back in with a bag in one hand and a shotgun on his shoulder.

"Daddy!" Vickie exclaimed. "I didn't know we had a gun."

"I took an oath to do no harm when it comes to my job, but when it comes to protecting my daughter and my niece, I took no such oath," Matthew said.

"Your uncle is awesome," Steve said to Chrissy.

They didn't have to sit on people's laps this time. . .well, except for Eddie being pulled into Chrissy's lap when she crawled into Steve’s passenger seat. Steve didn't argue with Nancy when she wanted to drive and slid into the back with Robin and Vickie. Jeff, Frank, and Gareth rode with Ellen and her partner. Pulling up to Hawkins Lab, and suddenly, Steve was more scared than ever before. He wished he had gone to the hospital. For some reason, he felt like he was back in Starcourt in the underground Russian bunker. When he glanced at Robin, she was thinking the same thing.

"I'm grateful that Erica isn't here. I wish the other kids weren't here either. I wish . . . ," Robin whispered to Steve as she helped him out of the car.

"I know," Steve said softly.

"This place creeps me out," Chrissy said as she looped her arm through Steve’s.

"We should burn it to the ground," Eddie said.

"Definitely," Nancy said.

"I have a friend who works in construction," Wayne said.

"Is this the friend who likes to call you - "

"Edward," Wayne said sternly.

"No, that's my name, Uncle Wayne," Eddie grinned.

Steve and Chrissy giggled. Eddie was such a little shit but then again, so was Dustin and the other kids. Steve watched Wayne ruffle Eddie's hair affectionately much the same way that Eddie does with Dustin sometimes. He grinned at the pair of them, but the grin quickly slipped off his face when they walked into the lab. Dustin, Max, Lucas, and Nancy were rooted to the spot in the lobby as Ellen flicked the lights on.

"What?" Eddie asked.

"This is where Bob died," Dustin frowned.

"Bob Newby," Lucas said.

"Superhero," Max said.

"He gave Joyce and Hopper enough time to get out with Will," Nancy said.

"Then the demodogs got him," Steve frowned.

This place was haunted, Steve could feel it in his bones. He squeezed Chrissy to his side, his fingertips brushing against Eddie's shoulder.

"There are rooms back here, along with some bathrooms and showers," Ellen guided them after their moment of silence. "There are some more medical supplies left behind that should be good to use."

"I do need to check all of you out," Matthew frowned. "Steve, you need to get cleaned up, especially your feet and your road rash. All of you need to get cleaned up."

"Do we really smell that bad?" Dustin asked as he smelled his own armpit. "Oh! Yep! That's ripe!"

Eddie and Chrissy insisted on helping Steve shower, receiving no complaints from Steve. Matthew handed them some clothes, bandages, and ointments for Steve to use.

"I also got you some socks and shoes," Matthew said. "Hopefully, they'll fit."

"Thanks," Steve said.

"I should be thanking you for looking after my girls," Matthew said, clapping his hand on Steve’s shoulder.

Eddie and Chrissy led Steve to one of the showers. There was a small bench nearby, and Chrissy dragged it over to the shower stall, directly under the shower head. She turned it on, letting it warm up. It was quiet as they helped Steve carefully undress and set him on the bench. He sighed as he sat under the warm water, letting it wash over him. He closed his eyes for a moment and then reopened them. Eddie and Chrissy were undressing each other quickly until there was nothing left between them except for Chrissy's wrapped cast. They were both so perfectly pale and beautiful. Steve couldn't stop staring at them, particularly at the tattoos on Eddie's body. He wanted to reach out and touch them, the way Eddie was touching Chrissy's arms so gently. His gaze wandered over to Chrissy, his eyes roaming over her body, the swell of her breasts, and her soft stomach that led to her dark tufts of hair that was tucked safely between her legs. That's when he spotted the tattoo on her hip.

"You have a tattoo?!" Steve exclaimed.

"Of course, I have a tattoo. Where have you been, Steven?" Eddie asked.

"No, Chrissy," Steve scoffed, rolling his eyes.

"What?!" Eddie asked and glanced down at her hip. "A dandelion?"

"It represents freedom, survival, and rebellion. It's a plant that refuses to follow the rules. It also represents hope and healing," Chrissy said. "At least to me."

"Sexy," Eddie grinned and then he leaned down to bite her tattoo.

"Eddie!" She giggled.

"Sorry, couldn't resist," Eddie grinned. "You can bite one of mine. Go ahead."

Chrissy giggled again before she bit down on the tattoo above Eddie's nipple. Steve laughed at both of them. Chrissy grabbed the soap and shampoo they had given them and walked over to Steve. She slid behind him, letting the water wash over both of them. Eddie grinned and put his hands on his hips. He shook his waist, wiggling his dick in their direction. Steve and Chrissy laughed at the sight.

"Get over here, you idiot," Steve said.

Eddie joined them under the spray and let Steve place his hands on his waist. Steve stared at him, and he could feel his eyes growing dark.

"I don't think we have time to play, big boy," Eddie said. "Hmm. . .an apt nickname."

Chrissy's fingers curled into his hair, and she pulled his head back gently until his head was resting against her naked breast.

"Let us take care of you, okay?" Chrissy said in a soft but seductive voice.

"Okay," Steve replied, and she kissed him.

It was so intimate, the way that Eddie and Chrissy washed him carefully. They were very gentle and caring, making sure that they were careful with his stitches. Once they were done with them, he watched as they washed each other, and they were just as gentle as they were with him. They dried and dressed each other first, then did the same with him. Before dressing him, they rubbed ointments into his wounds, including the ones on his feet, and wrapped them. Once they were done, Steve stared at them fondly.

"What?" Eddie and Chrissy asked in unison.

Steve pulled Chrissy into a deep kiss before doing the same with Eddie. Once everyone was done cleaning up, they found their way to a mess hall.

"What's the plan now?" Eddie asked.

"We go into the Upside Down, and we kill Vecna," Nancy said.

"I don't think there's anything that I'm going to say or do that will stop you, is there?" Ellen asked.

"No," everyone in the room said.

"It's just as well. With Miss Hopper still trying to get her powers, she's not going to be back in time to put an end to this monster. I hate the idea of it, but I'm afraid that it's going to have to be Miss Cunningham, who has to step up," Ellen said.

"No!" Steve and Eddie exclaimed.

"Nope! Nope! No!" Eddie yelled.

"Yeah, that's a fucking hell no," Steve said furiously.

"Steve, Eddie. . . You know that she's right. No one else in this room has the power to stop him, do they? This fucker has to be stopped and it has to be me. I have to fight, not just for everyone I care about but for myself too. This is my choice. My choice," Chrissy said softly.

Steve sighed, his eyes prickling with tears. She was right. It was her choice, and there was nothing that he could do to stop her.

"I'm going with you," Steve said.

"Me too," Eddie said.

"No," Chrissy said softly.

"Our choice, remember?" Eddie asked, and Chrissy cursed.

"We're going have to do it while he's remote traveling like El," Dustin said.

"And you're going to need bait," Max said. "Which means using me to call him out."

"No!" Lucas yelled.

"My choice, Lucas," Max said softly.

Lucas deflated instantly, his shoulders sinking. Steve gave him a look of sympathy.

"You're going to need a distraction while you're in the Upside Down, and we're going to need weapons," Nancy said.

"That won't be a problem," Ellen sighed. "We'll figure the rest out tomorrow. Until then, get some rest. There's a room down the hall with beds."

Eddie and Steve watched as Chrissy pulled Max into a tight hug. It lasted a while before Chrissy was pulled into a hug by her cousin and uncle.

"We're not going to let anything happen to her, right?" Eddie asked, slipping his hand into Steve’s.

"Right," Steve promised.

His stomach churned as he watched Chrissy laugh at something that Vickie had said. Why did it feel like it was a promise that he couldn't keep? They could save the world tomorrow, but Steve and Eddie could lose Chrissy. No, he wasn't going to let that happen.

Chapter Seventeen

[ryanslaura]

the quarry - aftermath CHAPTER THREE

let's GOOOO

And still, I find it so hard To say what I need to say But I'm quite sure that you'll tell me Just how I should feel today -Blue Monday Song by New Order

RYAN

“I can't believe you weren't there to cheer me on.” Sarah grumbles for what feels like the 100th time.

“I literally was on the other side of the field, the only place with open seats!” Because you made us late! I don't add.

“Why didn't you just move to the other side?!”

This conversation has been going on since we left the game - after the walk to the car, during which she didn't speak to me at all.

My hands clutch the steering wheel as I bite back a mean remark. Why does she have to be like this? She used to be so sweet and fun when…

When our parents were around.

“What has been going on with you Sarah? Why don't you tell me things anymore?” I cut my eye at her, trying to focus on her and the road.

She smacks her lips and rolls her eyes, flopping against the passenger seat as much as she can in a seatbelt. “Because no matter what I tell you, you always make it into a lecture or a problem to solve. I can't ever just be not okay.” She sighs and suddenly she seems a lot older than her 12 years. “Ever since mom and dad left you've been insufferable.”

I shoot her a look, a little tickled at her word usage. She likes to do this thing where she brings home the words she learns by using them in conversation. It used to be an inside joke between us. Maybe it still can be.

“Insufferable? Can I get the definition please?” I give her an expectant side eye and cross into the right lane to get on the freeway. Only 40 minutes until home, yay. Maybe Sarah not attending this school anymore will be a good thing.

She's silent for a while and I notice I'm holding my breath. Is she really going to leave me hanging?

“Insufferable; too extreme to bear; intolerable as used in; “My brother Ryan is insufferable when he treats everything like it's his fault.”

I'm starting to wish she didn't give me the definition.

“But it is my fault.” I want to say. My fault I'm not enough to take care of her schooling, my fault that I can't do everything right so she's not pissed at me all the time, my fault that Chris is no longer here to give me advice to help me through all this shi-

One minute my eyes are on the nearly empty freeway, next minute that thing from camp is in front of us and I can physically feel the presence of Travis Hackett and Laura Kearney in the car with us. It's not possible that this is actually happening but I can feel my heartbeat racing and the hair on my neck standing up and the sound of someone yelling gradually making its way into my ears.

“...stop…Ryan calm down…RYAN WATCH OUT!"

Hands that aren't mine grab the steering wheel and wrench it to the right as my eyes readjust to the once empty freeway - now much more populated - and the car we just narrowly missed flies by.

Wait we? Did Laura or Travis grab the wheel? I look over to the passenger seat for a moment, ready to thank whichever one it is-

And there is my sister, gripping the dashboard and breathing hard, eyes wide with fear.

“Sarah?”

Her eyes are wide but when she looks at me her gaze is clear and straightforward. “Don't worry about it, okay? I saved the day.”

My mind feels like it's taking things in slowly but then it comes rushing back - the baseball game, the mini argument we had earlier-

-the car I would have crashed into the back of if not for Sarah.

My heart drops, my stomach turns and my hands grip the steering wheel tighter than ever. I almost killed her. I almost killed us.

There aren't any fancy words I can think of to describe how bad I feel. Silence hangs over us as we get ready to turn on our street, but even though the freeway and the almost accident are behind us, I keep reliving it each time I blink. I need to get off the road now before I cause another one.

Sarah speaks at the final stop sign before our block. “Hey so, are we still gonna watch Cloverfield later?” her voice is smaller than it usually is and I know why - she's still afraid we're going to hit something. Don't worry Sarah, I think cynically you don't have to fake wanting to spend time with me just because I almost killed us.

But then I remember that we've been doing that for a while, watching horror movies together and laughing at how fake everything looks. I never told her what happened at camp, just that it was an unfortunate situation, and when she asks about our friend Chris, I usually deflect with something like him being on a long vacation. And the horror movies help things make more sense - no way those things that happened were real. It was 4 years ago and about time for me to accept the facts; someone played an elaborate trick on us and I committed murder because of it; because that inconsiderate brat Laura was convinced we had to.

Why didn't I fight her on it? There had to have been a different way to end the carnage. Why didn't I just-

“Ryan you missed the turn. Our house is like…five houses back.” Sarah says matter of factly. At least she sounds less scared now, but the damage has been done. The least I can do is make it up to her.

“Yeah, we can still do Cloverfield tonight.” I sound almost hoarse, but Sarah just nods and says,

“And you better not cancel because of homework. You were supposed to finish it all last night.”

“No canceling from me.” I try giving her a smile but it feels like more of a grimace, especially because I left out the part about my homework still not being done. As much as I love my animation stuff, it can wait for one more night spending time with Sarah before I do the thing I promised I'd never do:

Call our grandparents to take Sarah away to live with them.

Even though she's going to hate me for it, it's the right thing to do and they've been asking me to let them help for years. They will finally get their wish.

But when I pull up to our house, I see that our grandparents have beat me to it; they're stranding in the driveway next to their ancient Cadillac and the massive mobile home they basically live in behind it, just barely fitting inside the small space.

“What are Gramma and Grandad doing here?” Sarah questions, peering out at them with a slow and definitely not genuine wave.

One thought crosses my mind as I pull up to park in front of our house; We won't even get to watch our movie.

[waitingandwishing]

(Cross posted on tumblr and AO3)

Prev - Next Chapter

Five wiped his nose and Y/N touched her forehead, great... It was bleeding. The both of them chased after their father and Five shouted something that Y/N knew far too well of. "Ἄνδρα μοι ἔννεπε, μοῦσα, πολύτροπον, ὃς μάλα πολλὰ!" Five shouted. Reginald turned to look at the two teens before going back into his car and driving off.

Five sighed and Y/N rubbed his shoulder for comfort, "We'll get him next time, Five." She said reassuringly. Five shook his head.

Diego and Lila appeared next to the duo as Five confirmed that it was, indeed, their father. "Y'know, I'm starting to get the feeling that dad's avoiding us." Five said, putting his hands in his pocket.

"Hate to be the boring one, guys, but it's time we get the hell out of here." Lila said, hurrying away quickly before getting stopped by Five.

"When you say 'we', who exactly are you referring to?" Five asked.

"Not a lot of ambiguity in that sentence." Lila said, looking between Diego and Y/N.

"Listen, I don't know who you are or where you came from, but whatever it is, I advise you to return posthaste." Five said with a fake smile.

"She's right, Five. We gotta get out of here." Diego said as more and more of the authorities showed up.

"I just saved your life, you kinder-shit." Lila defended, "If I hadn't stepped in, all that would've been left of you is a blazer and some bloody socks."

"And that's the problem. You're too good. You ask too many questions. You know too much." Five accused, scrutinizing the woman. "And you fight like you know what you're doing."

"He's got a point." Diego and Y/N both said.

"So I know how to handle myself and that makes me the bad guy?" Lila asked. Y/N sighed.

"Lila, he does have a point." Y/N crossed her arms, "No one who goes to an asylum and knows how to handle themselves can run up on walls and choke someone with their legs while hanging on a chandelier."

"I thought you were on my side." Lila said. Y/N grimaced.

"Since when were there sides?" Y/N asked.

"Well, whoever you are, you're in my way." Five said, "If I see you again, I will kill you." He said, grabbing Y/N's hand and leading the both of them away.

_____________________________________________________

"No, no, no. I don't understand." Diego said, pacing back and forth in the kitchen, "They keep following me."

"Who?" Luther asked.

"Those dutch psychopaths." Diego sighed.

"They're Swedish." Five and Y/N both said as the girl handed Luther some pepper and salt. Her forehead had a bandage on it from when the Swedish guy bashed her head last night.

"They're hired guns paid to eradicate us if we do any more damage to the timeline." Five explained.

"Makes sense, after all, they're Swedish." Y/N said and handed Luther the cayenne.

"Yeah, but why now?" Diego asked, "I mean... I'm fine for three months until you showed up."

"Yeah, I was here for a year and no one messed with me." Luther said before turning to Y/N, "What about you?"

Y/N shrugged, "I dunno. I guess I had a little trouble but other than that, I was fine."

"A little trouble?" Five asked, "What'd you mean by that?"

"Some guys showed up and tried to shoot me dead at the house." Y/N said, "Do you want spinach with that Luther?"

"No, I'm good."

"Alright- anyways, I buried them alive and no one else bothered me for a few months until Five showed up." Y/N said.

Diego and Five looked at each other before getting back to arguing once again. "Even if it was my fault, which it isn't, we only have six days before the end of the world, and the closest anyone's gotten to Dad was that driveway at the consulate."

"Well..." Luther sighed, "That's not exactly true." They all turned to him in confusion.

"What do you mean?" Five asked, stepping in closer.

"I saw him." Luther said, still cooking his eggs. He explained how he had to beg for money and how Reginald kicked him out of the house.

"That's pathetic." Diego said, sitting down as Luther brought the pan of eggs to the table and started eating them.

"Yeah, well, at least he didn't shank my ass." Luther said.

"No, dude. He shanked your heart." Diego said.

"What, like Lila did?" Y/N asked as she put away all the spices. Diego turned to her.

"Okay first of all, ouch. Second, may I remind about how you acted when Five disappeared?" Diego asked. Y/N froze before shrugging.

"Touché, off-brand batman." Y/N said. Diego scoffed as Elliot came into the kitchen.

"Is that my bathrobe?" Elliot asked Luther.

"No."

"Look, who cares what he shanked. He knows something about time travel." Five said.

"Um... Wait, why don't you just do your thing and, uh, time travel us out?" Elliot asked. They all turned to Five as Y/N sat down in between Luther and Diego.

"Anyone care to explain?" Five asked, clearly Elliot touched a nerve. He got up from the table and went to grab some coffee.

"First time he tried, he got lost in the apocalypse." Luther said, his voice muffled by the eggs.

"Second time, he ended up without hair on his balls." Diego said and Y/N snorted at the comment.

"Last time I tried, I scattered my family across three years in Dallas, Texas, possibly triggering a doomsday." Five said.

"There's no possibility, it's going to happen." Y/N crossed her arms as Five jumped to her and handed her a cup of coffee. “Thank you.” She smiled and took a sip.

"You're all missing the big picture here." Diego said, "Dad is the ringleader of a serious cabal that's planning to kill the president."

"A cabal?" Luther asked.

"Ignore him. Look, the way I see it, we only have one option." Five said, taking a sip of his coffee.

"Oh yeah, what's that?" Luther asked.

"It's time to get the Umbrella Academy back together." Five sighed. Y/N groaned.

""Last I heard, Klaus was in India. Allison had a husband which is why Luther's so mopey, Diego was suddenly in an asylum, Vanya was living a good and happy life, and you were nowhere to be found." Y/N frowned.

"Wait, that's why you're eating eggs?" Diego asked. Luther sighed.

"Can one of you three just get Allison please." He said.

"You two still a thing?" Diego asked his brother before leaning in, "Do we need to talk?"

"No, like Y/N said, Allison's married." Luther sighed.

"Whoa, dude, that's rough." Diego sighed.

"I can handle it." Luther chuckled before stuffing his face with eggs with a mopey expression. He was clearly not handling it.

"I'll get her." Five said, placing his mug on the table. Y/N stood up from the table.

"I'll come." She said before turning to Luther, "Don't squeeze Vanya until she suffocates, alright?" Luther looked at Y/N before nodding. She smiled before taking Five's hand and they both jumped away.

Luther and Diego turned to each other with a nod, "Are they...?"

"No." Diego sighed.

"But..."

"Yeah, I think we all know."

_____________________________________________________

Y/N sighed as she looked around, "Now, let's see, Luthur, Diego, Allison, Klaus, Five, Vanya. Me... We just need Ben now."

"He's here, don't worry." Klaus smiled. Y/N saw Vanya and smiled.

"I can't believe I have sisters." Vanya smiled, coming downstairs and giving the both of them a hug. Klaus came over and gave the three of them a hug.

"Oh, that's so sweet." He cried.

"No, Jesus." Allison said, pushing him away playfully.

"Hi." Vanya said, her voice muffled.

"Hey, Vanny." Klaus kissed her head and let go.

"Klaus, is Ben here?" Five asked.

"Oh, uh, no... Unfortunately ghosts can't time travel." Klaus said. Y/N sighed, he was clearly lying and she could basically hear Ben yelling at Klaus.

"Alright then, let's get started." Five and everyone else filed up the stairs to the loft.

“It’s nice to see you again, Vanya.” Y/N smiled and Vanya nodded.

“It’s nice to see you again as well. Even though I don’t really remember you, you seem nice.” Vanya said and Y/N’s heart swelled with warmth.

"Alright, first off, I wanna say I'm sorry. I know I screwed the pooch on this whole going-back-in-time-and-getting-stuck thing." Five apologized, looking at Y/N for a bit before looking at all of them. "But the real kick in the pants here is we brought the end of the world back here with us."

"Oh my god, again?" Klaus gasped before looking at everyone, "All of you knew? Why am I the last one to find out about the end of- Oh my god, my cult is gonna be so pissed. Five, I told them we had until 2019." Klaus complained.

"Klaus starting a cult was not on my list of things that we end up doing throughout the universe... " Y/N muttered to herself.

"We have until Monday. We have six days." Five said, glaring at Klaus.

"Is it Vanya?" Klaus asked, taking a drink of liquor out of a red cup.

"Klaus."

"What, it's usually Vanya." Klaus sighed.

"Do you have any leads, Five?" Vanya asked, trying to get to the topic at hand.

Diego handed him a file, "Yeah, we have one." Five said and handed the file to Allison. She gasped.

"Holy shit, is that dad?" Allison asked.

"Yeah." Diego sighed.

"That's him?" Vanya asked, surprised that her adoptive father was the cause of the world ending once again. Y/N sighed.

"Standing on the grassy knoll." Diego said.

"Diego and I have been trying to talk to dad about what this means." Five said. "So far, we g ot nothing."

"Can't I just-" Y/N snapped her fingers and the lamp next to Diego was crushed flat, "Kill him?"

"We're not killing dad, if we kill him, there's a chance that the future changes and we won't exist in 2019." Five said. Y/N thought for a moment before nodding, he wasn't wrong.

"He's planning to kill Kennedy." Diego mentioned.

"Maybe, but we don't know what or who sets doomsday into motion." Five said and placed the file back onto the table, "Could be Kennedy, could be something entirely different. But if we know something changes the timeline, we have to make it right."

"Yeah, but how're we supposed to fix it if we don't know what's broken?" Allison asked.

"Oh, come on. Do the math." Diego said. "We know dad's having shady-ass meetings with shady-ass people. We know he's on the grassy knoll in three days to kill the president. So I think we all know what we have to do."

"Find dad." "Kill dad." Both Diego and Five said. Y/N raised her hand.

"I'll kill him. Since he's trained all of us, he knows all of our combat moves which means that it can't be Diego or Luther. It can't be Allison because I believe she has a range on her rumoring and dad's pretty good with long range as well, Vanya probably doesn't remember her powers, Klaus is too high to do anything which means..." Y/N pointed to herself, "I get to kill him."

"How do you think so fast?" Diego asked.

"We're not killing dad, Y/N."

"I'm just saying that if we do, I'll kill him." Y/N shrugged, "And you guys can stab the body- if there is one left- if you wanna take your anger out on him."

"None of us are supposed to be here, right? So, what if it's us?" Vanya asked, "Has anyone here done anything to screw up the timeline?"

"Diego's been stalking Lee Harvey Oswald." Luther said after a moment of silence.

"And you're working for Jack Ruby."

"Allison has been very involved in some local politics."

"Okay, you started a cult."

"I'm... I'm just a... Nanny on a farm." Vanya shrugged. Y/N patted her back.

"Well I think we all know it's not Vanya." Y/N smiled reassuringly.

"What about you, Cici? You got any confessions?" Allison asked. The girl shrugged.

"I mean, I’ve been pretty chill. Don’t think I’ve done anything crazy recently.” Y/N frowned.

"Well, maybe you do, you just don't know it yet." Allison said.

"That could be said about each of us though." Y/N countered. Diego suddenly whistled sharply and they all turned their heads towards him.

"Listen to yourselves, everything in our lives has been connected to Kennedy's." Diego said, "That can't be a coincidence. Luther works for Ruby, Allison is protesting against the government, Dad is on grassy knoll, Klaus is... Doing something weird and pervy but probably related as well. See, clearly, we were all sent here for one special reason: saving John Fitzgerald Kennedy."

"Actually, we were sent here to escape the apocalypse from 2019 but you can think that Diego." Y/N said and Allison handed her the bottle of liquor.  “But I don’t think Five’s gonna let you save your little boyfriend.”

Diego started yelling at Y/N before Allison chimed in, Vanya tried to diffuse the tension and soon everyone was arguing. It reminded Y/N of when we were kids. The overwhelming feeling, the overstimulation of the voices... All the good stuff. 

"Guys, you all die. I was there. I saw it. And I wanna forget it, but I can't. I saw Russian nukes vaporize the world with all of you in it... In a war that never happened until we brought it here." Five said, "And Hazel gave his life to save us, so you may need to shut up and just listen to me. I don't know if the things we experienced here are all connected. I don't know if there's a reason for everything. But dad will. We need to talk to him before everything and everyone we know is dead."

"Okay, I'm out." Luther said, getting up from his chair.

"Did you even hear me, Luther?" Five asked.

"Yeah. Yeah, I did." Luther said, "I heard a 50-year-old-man who still wants his daddy to come back and fix everything. Well, you can count me out. It's time we all grew the hell up."

"I'm starting to think that we should all get therapists." Y/N sighed and downed the rest of the liquor from the bottle.

"Hey, where're you going?" Diego asked, following Luther out of the house. Five jumps in front of Luther and sighed.

"No one leaves until we figure this out." Five said. Luther stared at Five before throwing him off the railing, Five blinked away so he couldn't get hurt.

Y/N sighed as Klaus, Allison, and Vanya stood up. Vanya turned to Y/N and held out her hand for her to take, "Are you coming?"

She smiled, taking her hand. "Sure."

_____________________________________________________

Allison growled before shaking her head, "The nerve of that man. I mean, one thing goes wrong, and he's on a warpath. I mean, doesn't know who I am? No, no. No, Ray, you know exactly who I am. You just can't handle it!"

"You want some relationship advice, Allison?" Y/N asked as she spun around in the chair next to Klaus.

Klaus gasped, "Oh, yes! She gives the best advice on everything, Allison."

"Really?" Allison turned to Y/N and the girl nodded, "Wow, okay... Well, shoot."

"From what I've gathered from the thirty minutes of you venting to us, I can tell that you don't want this marriage, something you're actually happy about, to turn into your old marriage." Y/N said, "Clearly, Ray doesn't trust you because he doesn't know if he knows you." Y/N stood up, taking the bottle from Allison, "Allison, really focus on what Ray is saying without planning your response, share your feelings and thoughts openly. Honesty builds trust, but it's important to express yourself in a respectful and non-accusatory way. And also, it depends if you actually want to listen to your husband or if you just want everything to be swept under a rug.”

"Why're you so good at this? I mean, have you ever been in a relationship before?" Allison asked.

"Yes, it was her and Five for that one time, remember?" Klaus whispered to Allison. The dark-skinned woman turned to Y/N, who was drinking straight from the bottle.

"You and Five were a thing?!" Allison exclaimed. Vanya turned her chair.

"We never were a thing! Why does everyone think that?" Y/N sighed. Vanya suddenly spoke up.

"Well, you look at each other like how Sissy and I look at each other." Vanya said, "Like you guys warm each other up, like two pieces of a puzzle."

Y/N stayed silent as she spun around her chair some more, deep in thought as she remembered all those... Glances and hand holding… “We’re nothing like that.” She simply said and Klaus and Allison exchanged looks of confusion and suspicion.

"Is the world really gonna end in six days?" Vanya suddenly asked.

"Well, it did last time, and we did everything Five could think of to stop it." Allison said. Y/N pursed her lips.

"And I think you guess how well that went, Vanny." Y/N said, stopping the chair she was spinning and taking a drink from the bottle.

"Hey, wouldn't it be weird if Y/N or Five grew up all hot?" Klaus asked. Y/N turned to him.

"I'm right here, Klaus."

"Eww!" Allison said as Klaus got up from the salon chair.

"'Oh, ew, ew'. Please, Miss 'Luther was my lover'." Klaus mocked while making kissing noises.

"We have never kissed!" Allison yelled.

"Yeah, but you guys were making little moon-dog eyes at each other." Klaus said, "All through puberty and breakfast and all that."

"Aren't we all brothers and sisters? Or..." Vanya's voice trailed off and Allison tried to explain herself while Klaus made fun of her.

"Well, what about Five and Y/N?" Allison asked.

"When was I in the conversation?" Y/N asked. Klaus scoffed, clearly drunk and high.

"Well, actually, Y/N wasn't exactly adopted. She was there for 'school purposes' so it doesn't count." Klaus giggled.

"Okay, can... Can we focus?" Allison asked, "I mean, clearly we're not saving the world tonight but maybe, maybe we could at least try to save my marriage."

"You want more advice?" Y/N asked.

"No! No, because that's like... That's like asking a nun how to hump a leg." Klaus stumbled. "I mean, who in this room knows shit about relationships, this one?" Klaus pointed to Vanya, "In secret love with some farm Frau."

"Her name's Sissy."

"Which is an improvement on her previous love interest, the serial killer." Klaus said as Allison shook her head not to say anything. Y/N sighed.

"What?!" Vanya exclaimed.

"We'll tell you later, Vanya. Don't worry it's not as bad as you think it is." Y/N said reassuringly.

"Meanwhile, I'm carrying a torch... For a soldier I haven't technically met yet." Klaus raised his flask, "And Luther is... In love with his sister."

"Okay, again, we are not biological." Allison said.

"Face it, the healthiest long-term relationship in this family was when Five was banging that mannequin." Klaus said, "Or, when we were kids and Five used to hang out in Y/N's room while they were being nerds and banging each other!"

"I wouldn't say that was the healthiest relationship. If we're talking platonic-wise, it was you and Ben." Y/N smiled, choosing to ignore his comment about her and Five ‘banging’.

Klaus paused before giggling, "Thanks, Cici! See, Cici always makes everyone feel better even though she never feels good herself!"

"Okay, I take it back." Y/N groaned.

"The only thing the Umbrella Academy knows about love, is how to screw it up." Klaus raised his flask. Y/N raised the half empty bottle in her hand.

"Amen." Y/N chuckled.

"How do you guys deal with this?" Vanya asked, "I mean, all of it. The time travel, seeing the dead, the end of the world."

"Well, I get really high." Klaus said, sitting down, "Allison... Allison... Lies to herself." Allison kicked a chair towards him. "Y/N likes to... Uh... Kill people." Y/N threw the empty bottle at Klaus, which shattered on the floor. "And you suppress your emotions deep, deep down until you... Blow shit up."

"Yeah, I'd really like to not do that anymore." Vanya said.

"Well you've got six days, missy." Klaus smiled.

"What the hell are we supposed to do in six days?" Allison asked.

"Fuck up our lives in the 60s before saving the world and leaving it all behind to go back to 2019?" Y/N suggested.

"I'm gonna tell Sissy that I love her." Vanya sat up straight, "I don't want any secrets."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah! You're right." Allison realized, "Yes, cause, you know, if... If it's all gonna go tits-up, the least I could do is be honest with my husband!"

"Oh... Does that mean I'm gonna have to face my cult?" Klaus asked. Y/N sighed as Vanya smiled at her.

"And that also means..." Vanya's voice trailed off. Y/N frowned.

"No."

"Yes."

"He doesn't even like me like that!"

"So you admit that you like him?" Vanya teased, "Weren't you just saying that honesty builds trust?"

Y/N sighed, rubbing her face, "Fine. But Klaus still has to face his cult."

"I just hate group breakups. It's why I stopped dating twins." Klaus sighed.

"This family's amazing!" Vanya said, raising her arms up high. Klaus and Allison chuckled as Klaus walked up to the woman and put his arm around her.

"C'mon, Vanya!" Allison smiled, "You too Y/N!" Y/N and Vanya both joined the drunken group and laughed together as they squeezed into a big hug.

_____________________________________________________

"Five?" Y/N called out. Five turned and frowned.

"What're you doing here?" Five asked. Y/N shrugged.

"I got a letter from this old dude." Y/N said as they both walked up the glass stairs together.

"Hm, makes sense." Five nodded, "So do you think the rest of our family got the letter?"

"I dunno, I went back to Elliot's place and the letter was just handed to me." The girl explained as she entered the elevator and ruffled her hair slightly.

"Well, you look nice." Five said. Y/N turned to Five.

"I... Always look like this?" Y/N said with a slightly confused expression. Before Five could say anything, the rest of the family suddenly filed into the elevator. After a while, a foul scent filled the enclosed space.

"Oh..." Allison gagged after sniffing the air.

"Oof." Five and Vanya spoke disgustedly.

"Luther!"

"Oh, my God."

“I’m killing myself.”

"Sorry, I'm nervous." He apologized shortly followed by the elevator dinging and all of them fighting for breath to get out of the elevator and away from Luther.

"Alright, when dad gets here, I'll do the talking." Five said as they entered a restaurant called the 'Tiki Lounge'.

"I've got a few questions myself." Diego said. Y/N took her coat off and sat next Five, brushing out her hair with her fingers nervously.

"Hey, we don't wanna scare him off." Five said, "He might be able to help us stop doomsday and get home."

"No, Five. We need to figure out why he's planning to kill the president." Diego disagreed.

"This is a matter of life and death, you imbecile." Five insulted as all of their family members sat down at the circular shaped table.

"Okay, yeah, maybe we should take turns talking." Vanya said before looking around and grabbing a (probably plastic) shell off of one of the tables, "Here, whoever has got this conch shell gets to talk."

"Why is Vanya having to use her nanny skills on grown adults?" Y/N asked to herself, cracking her back on the chair.

"Vanya, we don't have time for a debate." Five said, clearly stressed. Whether it was seeing his father again or the end of the world, no one really knew. But Cici knew that he had his thinking face on.

"Maybe I should lead." Allison said, taking the conch shell from Vanya, "We all know I'm a much better public speaker than the rest of you."

"Okay, Daddy's girl." Diego commented.

"Oh, jealous, Number Two?" Allison asked mockingly.

"Hey, no numbers." Diego snapped, "No more bullshit we're Team Zero."

"Umbrella Academy sounds better." Y/N said and Diego turned to her.

"I thought you hated it?" Diego asked and Y/N shrugged with a ‘I know but it sounds badass.’

"It has a nice ring to it." Y/N said and Diego sighed.

"Uh, Diego and Y/N." Luther interrupted, "You don't have the conch." He smiled innocently. Whether it was a fake one that was mocking them or a real one, Y/N couldn't tell. Diego nodded before grabbing it from Allison's hand and launching it away, causing it to shatter. Suddenly, the door opened to reveal... Reginald Hargreeves.

The old man quickly wasted no time into getting seated, "Not only have you burglarized my lab, set my chimp loose, conned your way into the Mexican consulate, repeatedly stalked and attacked me, but you have, on numerous occasions, called me..."

Klaus sat down next to him with a martini in hand, obviously drunk, and smiled. "Hey, Pop. How's it hangin'?"

"... Dad." Reginald said with a frown, "My reconnaissance tells me you're not CIA, not KGB, certainly not M15, so... Who are you?"

Everyone opened their mouths, but nothing came out as they didn't know how to explain to him that they were his... Future children. "We're your children." Five said, adjusting himself in his seat. Reginald turned to him sharply. "From the future. In 1989, you adopted us and trained us to fight against the end of the world. Called us the Umbrella Academy."

"Yeah, and you were an asshole of a father." Y/N mumbled under her breath and Five kicked her leg. She winced and kicked him back before Reginald spoke again.

"Why would I adopt seven-"

"Eight. One of us isn't here." Allison said.

"Dead." Diego said, which seemed to speak enough words on its own, "One of us is dead."

"Yeah, ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba." Klaus suddenly said and everyone turned to each other, if he was talking to himself then Ben was definitely there... Somewhere, "Enough of that now."

"Enough of that now. Regardless, what would possess me to adopt seven ill-mannered malcontents?" Reginald asked curiously.

"We all have special abilities." Y/N said

"Special? In what sense?" Reginald asked curiously.

"In the superpower sense." Luther sighed, probably remembering how Reginald shanked his heart earlier the following year.

"Called me old-fashioned, but I'm a stickler for a pesky little thing called evidence. Show me." Reginald said.

"Everybody wants to see powers all of a sudden." Allison scoffed, taking a sip of her drink from the tiki cup.

"We're not circus animals, okay? We're not gonna bounce balls on our noses and clap our hands like seals for your amusement." Luther said, clearly aggravated. He spent so long being Reginald's number one, his top child, and then was thrown out when he went to him for help.

 Y/N felt... Sad for him. Even if she was never close to him, she'd feel bad for anyone who felt as if their life was just thrown away.

Diego suddenly throws one of his knives, aiming for Reginald, but nearly misses him as he's able to angle it to one of the wooden beams. The knife gets stuck in the wall with a metallic thud. Reginald purses his lips, clearly not fazed, before writing something down in his notebook that Y/N noticed he had earlier. "What are you writing?" Diego asked.

"You are zero for two, young man." Reginald said and Allison snickered. Diego's face turned to anger and he quickly went to go over to him before Five teleported to him and stopped him.

"Stop." Five whispered.

"Now that is interesting." Reginald commented.

"Alright, quick run-down." Five said and started to come back to his seat. "Luther: Super strength, Klaus can commune with the dead, Allison can rumor anyone to do anything-"

"Except she never uses it." Diego said as he sat down.

"I heard a rumor that you punched yourself in the face." Allison said and Diego's eyes turned white before he punched himself.

Vanya and Y/N looked at each other with a smirk before Reginald asked Vanya, "And you?"

"Uh, maybe we don't take Vanya for a test run." Luther said.

"Oh, yeah, that's probably not a good idea." Klaus said, his voice starting to slur from the drinks.

“I say it’s a great idea.” Y/N chimed in with a smile.

"It's fine." Vanya said as she picked her fork up, "I can handle it."

As everyone started to protest against it, Vanya clinked the glass and seemed to aim the sound towards the large fruit display in the middle of the table.  Y/N chuckled as Vanya looked at her with a smile before the fruit splattered on everyone, Y/N hiding herself from the fruit by ducking down. 

"Oops." Vanya said with a mischievous smile. Y/N clapped before taking a sip of her drink with a satisfied smile.

"You, young lady." Reginald pointed to Y/N, who brushed a piece of fruit off of her shoulder. "What can you do?"

"Telekinesis. Or gravity control. Whatever you’d like to call it, I suppose." Y/N said as she snapped her fingers and the exploded pieces of fruit seemed to float back onto the table.

"Impressive." Reginald muttered and wrote another note down into his notebook. For some reason, Y/N felt off. Seeing her father after years and years was messing with her head, she was older now (at least mentally) and she felt as if she knew that her childhood was... Wrong. 

And she couldn't help but use that wrongness and turn it into anger... And using that anger into her power which made it harder to control. It hurt her.

The girl's hand shook slightly as she dug her nails into her thigh. Five noticed and took her hand into his. Y/N breathed in slowly, trying not to scream as Diego argued with his father.

 "That's you. That's two days from now on the grassy knoll at the exact spot the president's gonna get shot." Diego said as he placed a picture of Reginald to the... Present Reginald? Circe was sort of confused.

"Well... I suppose you've solved it. You've single-handedly unearthed my nefarious plot. Is that what you want to hear? You fancy yourself a do-gooder? The last good man who will save us from our descent into corruption and conspiracy?" Reginald asked and Y/N watched Diego's face turn from anger to... Loneliness. To sadness. "This is a fantastic delusion. The sad reality is that you're a desperate man, tragically unaware of his own insignificance, desperately clinging to his own ineffectual reasoning. More succinctly, a man in over his head."

Y/N clenched her hand around Five's and her eyes had a slight yellow glow to it. She felt... Angry. She hadn't felt like this since Luther suffocated Vanya and locked her in a room.

"You're w... Wrong." Diego stuttered, tears falling down his eyes as he sat down. Oh god that stutter broke her heart even more... Y/N started to speak before Five shook his head. Despite her better judgment, she held her tongue. If she got too mad, she might actually blow Reginald's head off.

"Look, forget about the president. We have a catastrophic war coming in five days. We need to figure out how to stop it." Five said and Y/N sighed as she saw Diego's tears.

Y/N sucked in a shaky breath as she took a sip from her drink. Too many emotions for one to handle tonight. Maybe she should've just stayed home.

"Men will always be at war with each other." Reginald said.

"No, this isn't just some war. I'm talking about a doomsday. The end of the world." Five said.

"Well... You're the special ones, aren't you? Why don't you band together and do something about it?" Reginald asked.

Suddenly, Klaus started choking and Y/N felt something shift in the room. Like a cool breeze, but something familiar. "I'm..." Klaus gurgled.

"Out with it, boy." Reginald said.

He started gasping, as if he needed air, before saying something Y/N couldn't believe, "Ben!"

Klaus panted harshly before falling to the floor. Five felt Y/N stiffen in his hand as he saw her seem to... Freeze. As if she was deep in thought but her thoughts were going faster than she could calculate. "Well... Thank you for coming. I've seen about enough." Reginald said as he stood up and started to leave, walking over Klaus's unconscious body.

"No, I..." Luther's voice trailed off before he gritted his teeth and slammed onto the table before standing up and ripping his shirt to reveal his ape body. "Look at what you did to me! Look at it!"

"Oh, shit. Why?" Five muttered and Y/N's other hand started to dig into her thigh.

"You in the culottes and you with the short hair. A word, in private?" Reginald said to the two holding hands.

They quickly got up, Y/N pulling her hand away from his as they followed him to the elevator. Five looked at Y/N as he gestured to Reginald and Y/N rolled her eyes. Five raised his eyebrows expectantly and she sighed. 

"You two. Come." Reginald said as the elevator doors opened and they went to the bar. "You two seem to be the sensible of the bunch." Reginald said.

"That's because we're the oldest." Five said and Reginald made a confused face. "Y'know, technically, I'm older than you right now."

"Oh... That's so weird to think about... I don't wanna think about that, Five." Y/N sighed as she took a drink of her martini.

"Cognac?" Reginald asked as Five smiled slightly.

"Just a smidge."

"I think you two get along well." Y/N said, "Maybe you should've just invited him instead of all of us."

"The other night you quoted Homer at me. Why?" Reginald asked.

"You forced us to learn it as kids." Five said, adjusting into his seat.

"In the original Greek." Y/N added.

"This world ends in five days if we don't get out of the timeline."

"Worlds end. Paleozoic, Jurassic, and so on."

"We can do something about this one." Five said determinedly.

"Man's greatest flaw: the illusion of control." Reginald quoted.

"Except we're not all men." Y/N crossed her arms with a slight smile.

"We need your help, all right? You're our last sane option. Otherwise, I- We gotta make a deal that I really don't wanna make." Five said.

"She came back?" Y/N asked and Five nodded with a sigh. "I think she's still flirting with you, Five."

"Yeah, you think?" Five sighed, taking a sip of his drink before turning back to Reginald. "What do you know about time travel?"

"In theory?"

"In practice."

"I know it's akin to descending blindly into the depths of freezing waters and reappearing-" Reginald was interrupted by Y/N.

"As an acorn." She finished, "We've both heard it millions of times. Five more than me but every time he tried, I was there."

"What transpired when you tried traveling before?" Reginald asked.

"I botched it." Five admitted.

"How?"

"I jumped too far forward, got stuck in the future for 45 years in an apocalypse.

Then I jumped too far backwards... Except this time I brought my entire family with me." Five sighed and Y/N nodded.

"Maybe your appetite is disproportionate to the size of your abilities. Start small. Seconds, not decades." Reginald said.

"Seconds?"

"Mhm."

"Look, no offense, but I need a bit more time for what I'm trying to accomplish." Five said, getting a bit more agitated.

"Seconds could be good. The world could end, and you'd find out what causes it by that point. You go back in time for a few seconds, and kill it before the world actually ends." Y/N said and Five sucked in a breath. She was sort of right, wasn't she?

"The young lady is correct. So much can change in a matter of seconds. One could overthrow an empire. One could fall in love." Five risked a glance at Y/N, who smiled, before turning back to Reginald. "An acorn doesn't become an oak overnight."

[countrymusiclover]

3 - Looking for an Alliance

Part 4

Are You District or Capitol?

Pretty please leave your thoughts in the comments 🙏 😁 ❤️ Tag list ( send an ask in my ask box to be added ) @lemonluvgirl @virtualsweetsdreamer @emma-andrea1 @voiddylanobrosey @kmc1989

@agentxx92

Sitting at the foot of my bed in the fancy bedroom I just silently stared at the wall. My stomach was twisting in intense nervous knots wishing I was somewhere else. Wishing that we weren’t back home just staying away from the Capitol. I had managed to hide for so long I felt trapped here more than I ever did when I would hide on the Reaping days until a few days ago. Hearing three knocks on my locked door I got up from my spot on the bed. “What are you doing here, dad?”

“You’re mother and I want to talk some things out with you.” He explained in a long Grey tea shirt and some black pants standing in the hallway.

I clicked my tongue not sure where this would go but agreed nonetheless. “Okay. I guess it's about time I meet my mother.”

My father and I went down the hallway and into the open living room with a lot of light being provided through the large windows. “My sweet dear, I would first like to apologize for the horrible state your father must have raised you in.” My mother Effie spoke up before we had even sat down on the couches.

“I may have drank around her but I never endangered her life while doing it. I took the best care that I could manage.” My father started talking to her.

She rolls her eyes wearing a pink wig and a dress to almost match its color that was all poofy too. “You say that now but she might have just spared your feelings.”

“When you come home after winning the games and your entire family is killed a few days later then we'll talk about what I spared her from!” He raised his tone, clutching the alcohol glass he held in his hands.

She went to respond but closed her mouth. “Haymitch, I-”

“So what did you need to talk to me about or is this what you meant by talking, angrily yelling how the other would've messed up my life.” I swore the tension in the room could be cut with a knife if you tried showing there was definitely history between these two.

My father shifted next to me on the couch. “I was thinking that you should start making some allies here. I don't know why Snow wants you but we should be prepared for the worst.”

“The worst being he throws me into the arena.” I gulped the end fabric of my shirt I had on. “So who should I start with first?”

He picked up the tv remote turning it on showing me the District 4 Reaping zooming in on Mags and Finnick. “I'd suggest Mags. She's a sweet elderly woman and is a mute unfortunately though.”

“I'll figure something out. What about the Capitol Darling?” I decided to use the nickname he had mentioned to Peeta, Katniss and I the other day.

My mother clasped her hands together in joy. “Ohhh. He's quite charming.”

“I'll talk with him and I'll do my best to convince him to help you out.” Dad touched my shoulder before I nodded leaving them there heading to the training area.

Walking around I didn't focus on what Katniss and Peeta were doing considering I wasn't experienced in any of this stuff. Finding a station that had ropes hanging on it I shrugged my shoulders deciding to start there. Picking up the rope the screen showed the direction to follow so I started folding it under and over until I felt someone move their hands over mine. "What the hell!" I jumped back elbowing whoever it was in the rib.

"Sorry. I'm sorry. I am really sorry, blossom." Spinning around I saw that it was Finnick Odair. He sends me a cheeky smile now holding the rope that I was holding in his hands.

Crossing my arms over my chest I take a step back away from him. I had my hair in a ponytail where some of it fell over my shoulder. "What do you want, Capital darling. You should know better than to sneak up on someone."

"Well yes I do know that. Now we should talk about what your skills are in the arena." He nodded where my eyes drifted down to the ways he was moving the rope into a knot. "Let me show you the best knot to know in the games."

"Why do you think I want your help. For all I know the second we get in the games I am the first person you go after." I scoffed under my breath glaring at him trying to remember that my father said there is no trust in the games. You had to look out for yourself and that's it.

Finnick stepped closer to me pausing his actions on the knot where we were almost pressing up against each other. "If I wanted you to be the first one dead I wouldn't be willing to help you. It may be hard for you to believe right now but not all the carriers are assholes..not really anyway."

"I....I'm sorry Finnick." I couldn't form a sentence because I was too focused on his eyes. I could see that they were watering meaning that he was telling the truth.

He sniffed changing his demeanor when he saw that Katniss was watching us from affair. Turning my head back to focus on him he sent me a smile and a chuckle. "Alright now this is where it can get quite complicated..don't look at me. Look at the knot."

"Sorry." I apologized softly seeing that he had finished the knot.

He then put it over his neck like he was hanging himself holding the rope out to me. "You want to take me down for a walk, blossom?"

"I'm good...why do you call me blossom exactly?" I questioned meeting his gaze when he removed the rope from around his neck.

He stepped up where he dropped his hands down at his sides, sending me a smile walking away. "Cause you came out as a surprise to everyone in the districts.” He slowly began walking away towards the elevators.

"I wouldn't trust him if I were you. He is very skilled at tricking people." I closely watched him walk away until Katniss walked up to me, arms crossed over her chest, sending me a look I couldn't read.

Shaking my head at her I turned back towards the knot that he had done and attempted to repeat what he had shown me. "The only secret that I had is known by the whole country now. I am gonna need any help I can get." She walked away where I huffed feeling more nervous of the days leading up to the games.

Standing there for a few after she had walked away I noticed that Finnick had hit the elevator button about to leave. “Finnick, wait a second! I - um - could you try and find out why Snow wants me here. If not I understand with the games things are different-”

“I'll do my best, Ariyne.” He flashed me a grin and I hated to admit that I enjoyed the way he said my name with that tone of voice.

Comments really appreciated ❤️

[dib-thing-wannabe]

The Evil and The Genius

Chapter Three: The Beginnings of Change

<<<previous

(Evil Jimmy is mainly referred to as Jack in this fanfic and is wearing a maroon turtle neck, a black hoodie that has a large DNA strand branded on the front of it, a pair of loose black jeans, and a pair of dark grey tennis shoes instead of the exact same outfit that Jimmy has. Be warned that this chapter is easily the longest of the chapters so far. Also, incase you haven't read the other two chapters, this fanfic takes place a year after the show ended. Sorry about not having updated for so long, I ran out of words, aka lost motivation lol)

Today officially marks two whole months since Jimmy had officially started the process of trying to reform Jack, and since Jack has started living with him and his parents, much to both Jimmy's dismay and Jack's confusion. To say that it's also been a living nightmare for Jimmy is a severe understatement.

Despite Jack being confused as to why Judy and Hugh had decided to take him in with only a measly promise that can easily be broken, he still uses this to his full advantage, even going so far as to get himself comfortable with calling them Mom and Dad (as much as he can get comfortable, at least). He even gets to bother Jimmy every chance he gets with little consequences for it, as it just gets deemed by most adults and even some peers as 'brothers being brothers'! Like, for example, 'borrowing' Jimmy's things despite not needing to, going into his room randomly without bothering to ask first, mess with his friends whenever they decide to hang out at Jimmy's place, try to blow up the school with a nuclear hand grenade that was made out of scraped inventions and then blame Jimmy for it because he had left out uranium unattended, just the usual things that a sibling would do.

You would be extremely wrong and also incredibly stupid for even thinking that Jimmy hasn't wanted to kill Jack since day one of this new and unwanted chaos. Today, the chaos will mostly stay the same.. mostly.

Jimmy sat at the kitchen room table doing his homework, sighing occasionally as he stared down at the paper. Here he is, a super genius who has by himself made inventions that are more powerful than the government's, having to do understimulating work for something that he doesn't even need instead of doing anything that he actually wants to do.

Jack walked into the kitchen as he quietly hummed to himself, holding an Ultra-Lord comic book that Sheen had gifted him when he first came back. "Still doing your homework, whippy dip?"

"At least I actually do my homework when I first get it and not wait until the very last second, unlike you." Jimmy responded, not loosing focus on his work.

"Hey, at least I'm not wasting my time on something useless like that when I can be doing what I want instead. Besides, I don't break under pressure, so it doesn't affect anything when just I wait to do it." Jack sat next to Jimmy, putting his feet up on the table.

"Waiting? Like you have been waiting when it comes to reading the very comic book that's in your hand right now?" Jimmy responded, still not looking away from the homework.

".. Oh shut up, we both know that the comic has so many things that just aren't accurate when it comes to simple science, and it's irritating to read knowing that they could have done simple research to realize this." Jack threw the comic down on the table as he leaned back, hands behind his head.

"That's understandable, but you shouldn't continue to give Sheen false hope about you reading it sooner or later. He can be quite sensitive when it comes to all things involving Ultra-Lord."

"Ooooh, okay! Got it!" Jack pointed a finger gun at Jimmy as he chuckled, making Jimmy roll his eyes.

They both sat in silence for a moment before Jack lifted his hand and pointed his finger at Jimmy, slowly inching his finger closer and closer to Jimmy's cheek.

"Jack, don't touch me." Jimmy said, still not looking up from the paper, now having an even more annoyed look on his face.

"But I'm not touching you." Jack said calmly, now not moving a muscle. It's true, he wasn't touching Jimmy. He just held his finger veeeery close to him, yet not touching him still.

"Jack, stop that." Jimmy now demanded him, finally looking up from the paper but not directly at Jack still, instead just staring at what was infront of him instead.

"Stop what? I'm not doing anything."

"You know exactly what you are doing." Jimmy told him through gritted teeth, his eye twitching.

"Actually, You are correct! I do know what I'm doing! And that would be nothing!" Jack spoke in a smug tone as he continued to not move his finger away from or closer to Jimmy.

"DAD! JACK WON'T LEAVE ME ALONE WHILE I'M DOING HOMEWORK!!" Jimmy yelled out, turning himself towards the living room where Hugh is watching tv.

"I'M NOT DOING ANYTHING TO HIM, HE'S LYING!!!" Jack yelled out as well, finally moving his finger and hand away from him as to try and avoid getting in trouble for the third time this week.

"Settle down, boys! Jack, stop messing with Jimmy, and Jimmy, stop being so hard on Jack!" Hugh called out from the couch, not taking his eyes off the tv. Jack crossed his arms and huffed as he turned his back towards Jimmy, who rolled his eyes when his dad told him to stop being so harsh with Jack.

They once again sat in silence as Jimmy focused on his homework and Jack looked out the window. Suddenly, Jack's face had lit up as he noticed something, tilting his head slightly as he got more intrigued.

"What is Sheen doing now?.." He spoke quietly to himself, watching him through the window intensely.

"Probably nothing, Jack. How come you always watch him when you have nothing better to do anyway?" Jimmy asked, glancing up at Jack for a moment.

"His stupidity is entertaining to me. His thought process is so simple that it's also so hard to tell what it is that's going through his head." He responded as he rested his head in his hand, still watching Sheen.

"Eh.. makes sense." Jimmy shrugged as he spoke. Wanting to see just how far his idiotism went was originally how they became friends when they were young children, after all.

Jack continued to watch Sheen through the window, beginning to snicker. "Um, J-Jimmy?"

"What now?"

"Why does Sheen have the Freeze Ray 3.2 that you're still currently working on?"

Jimmy's heart dropped when he heard Jack's words, immediately looking past him to look out the window himself. Sheen was outside, carelessly and dangerously waving Jimmy's latest version of his freeze ray around in the air as Cindy and Libby are trying to physically stop him while Carl was seemingly pleading with them all to calm down as he tried to stay out of their way.

Quickly, Jimmy scrambled to get out of his seat, no longer caring about doing his homework as he sprinted towards the front door. "No no no nO NO-"

Jack, now laughing loudly and manically, quickly follows Jimmy out the door. "Oh, I gotta see this!"

"SHEEN!! PUT THE RAY DOWN!!!" Jimmy yelled and demanded at Sheen once he was outside and had him in his sights, causing Sheen to jump due to his sudden and booming voice, but immediately relaxes again as he saw that it was just Jimmy.

"Heya Jimmy! Heya Jack!" Sheen called out, waving at them with the ray still in hand, which Cindy was still trying to get out of his hands.

"Give me that, you dolt!" Jimmy quickly and surprisingly easily snatched the freeze ray from Sheen. "How did you even manage to get this in the first place?!"

"Well, your lab door was unlocked, and when I went inside I saw that your freeze thingy was out, so I thought I should show it off for ya!" Sheen says gleefully, as if he didn't do anything wrong.

"Without my permission?? Without even informing me?! Sheen, I swear, you could just simply stand still and it would still leave me bumfuzzled, that's how confusing your stupidity is!" Jimmy then sighed as he rubbed his furrowed eyebrows in frustration.

"Well, when you say words that aren't even real, it's hard to tell what your answer is half the time! So I didn't bother asking!" Sheen replied, crossing his arms as if he had a right to be annoyed with Jimny.

"It's a yes or no question, Sheen! If you hear either "Yes" or "No" in the sentence, then that's your answer!!" Jimmy yelled out as he turned away from Sheen and began walking towards his lab to put the freeze ray back.

In turn, Jack stepped closer to Sheen as he struggled to stop snickering. "A-and about that statement with him saying words that are supposedly 'not real', they are in fact real words, it's just that most simpletons like yourself don't know them."

Cindy then spoke out as she stepped in front of Jack. "Well, you can't blame Sheen for that one, because most people don't use the words that Jimmy always use!"

"Yeah, because most people are stupid and only use the words that everyone else use." Jack said casually, putting his hands in the pocket of his hoodie. "At least he's able to get creative with his words, even if only a few can fully understand him because of it."

".. Well, he's not wrong on that one." Libby admitted to Cindy as she put her hand on her shoulder, which caused Cindy to roll her eyes in annoyance.

Jimmy quickly made it back to the group once he put the freeze ray back in it's rightful place, mainly to make sure that Jack wasn't provoking anyone too much or running out of anyone's sight as to cause havock. He let out a small and quiet sigh of relief as he saw that Jack was being civil for now.

Jimmy walked over to Cindy's side, noticing his girlfriends annoyance and was about to ask what was wrong before he noticed that Sheen's face suddenly light up as he remembered something before he turned his focus to Jack and spoke up, his voice filled with his usual excitement. "Hey, did you finally end up reading that Ultra-Lord comic I got ya?! It's his first ever comic, so it should be easy for you to follow the story right now!!"

"Oh, no, no I didn't. Infact, I'm not gonna read it at all. I just can't stomach it's scientific inaccuracies for more than a few pages at a time." Jack shrugged his shoulders as he casually spoke his truth. Everyones besides Jimmy's breath hitched in their throats as the words escaped Jack's mouth, knowing how Sheen can be when it came to people insulting things that he's interested in. Jimmy shot Jack with an intense glare as his eyes dart between Sheen's and Jack's face, waiting for Sheen's reaction before doing anything about the situation.

Sheen's face dropped as he got a disappointed and betrayed look on his face before it suddenly lit up again as he got another idea. "Does that mean that you'll preserve it instead??"

Jack raised an eyebrow at the ecstatic boy before answering him, "Huh?.. Oh. Yeah, yeah, sure, why not-"

Suddenly, out of pure excitement of Jack essentially starting a comic book collection in Sheen's eyes, he picked Jack up in a tight hug, Jack's feet no longer touching the ground. Everyone else let out a collective sigh of relief, as for them, it's common knowledge that Sheen does this with anyone who's shorter than him as a way of showing affection.

Jack, however, was not at all aware of this, as he didn't even know that Sheen's strength had increased enough to so easily lift people off the ground since he got put in the dark matter dimension. Jack let out a small yelp of surprise as he got lifted so suddenly, a small blush of embarrassment appearing on his cheeks. After a second, he began to try and get out of Sheen's grasp, as he hadn't gotten physical affection that lasted for more than a few seconds for over a year and this sudden and tight hug overwhelmed him quickly.

"HEY!! LET ME GO, YOU DAMN HEATHEN!!" Jack screamed out as he kicked his feet in the air as a futile attempt of escaping. Being the clone of a super genius really did come at a cost: being short.

Sheen raised an eyebrow at Jack in slight confusion. Then, he smirked mischievously as he quickly saw an opportunity to get back at him a little for being an annoyance to him. He then began to swing Jack around in his arms as he laughed. "Awwww, but you're so light and soft! I don't think I ever wanna let go!"

Jack's kicking got even worse as he continued to try and get Sheen to let go, his face now red with embarrassment and anger as he yelled out, "I SAID LET GO, YOU IMBECILE!!"

Everyone besides Jimmy began to snicker at the seem, finding Jack's anger about the situation hilarious. Jimmy though wasn't laughing at all as he watched Jack struggle against Sheen. Dare he say, he actually felt sympathy for him at this moment. It wasn't uncommon for Sheen to do something like this to him too, and considering that he absolutely hated it even after getting used to it, he could only imagine how it felt for the one who was unaware of it in the first place.

Jimmy let out a small sigh before he spoke up, "Okay, put Jack down, Sheen, you had your fun."

"Aww, but why?"

"Because he clearly dislikes it, and will probably punch you in the next moment if you don't."

Sheen rolled his eyes as he dropped Jack on the grass. "Fiiiine, fine."

Jack groaned as he sat himself back up and rubbed his head, muttering under his breath, "Asshole.."

Jimmy went over and helped Jack off the ground, talking as he helped to brush off some dry dirt off of Jack. "Anyways, I need to go back inside and finish up my homework. See you guys later.. Oh, and Jack, try not to be a bother today, okay?"

Jack rolled his eyes as he nodded his head, clearly not going to actually listen to him. Jimmy glared at him, also know that he wasn't going to listen, but currently too tired to bother dealing with him. He waved his friends and Jack goodbye before heading back inside his house as to finish up his work.

A few hours later, Jimmy had finished all his homework, now watching Tv as he gave Goddard a quick check up on his joints. Jimmy glanced over at the clock on the wall, it reading 5:15 pm. It was.. strange. Jack hadn't come back to bother him or disrupt the house again yet, and his their mom was just about to start dinner! Not only that, but no one had called either of his their parents of him directly to complain about something that Jack did. It was.. strange, to say the least.

Suddenly, Jack busted through the front door and quickly slammed it behind himself, his back pressed against the door and using his body as to baracade it, panting heavily as he let out nervous laughter. Jimmy's eyes widened at his sudden appearance and look of panic.

"Wha- Jack?! What happened?!"

Jack let out more nervous laughter as he put up his hood and pulled the hoodie's strings as to hide his face, his hair horns poking out. "Weeeeeeell-"

Suddenly, there was loud banging on the other side of the front door as Jack yell out a small squeak, Cindy's voice booming through from the other side.

"JAAACK!! GET OUT HERE RIGHT NOW SO THAT I CAN KICK YOUR ASS!!!"

Cindy then began to attempt to break the door down entirely, prompting Jack to.. hide behind Jimmy??

"J-Jack?! What are you doing?!?"

"Hiding, what else does it look like?!"

"Why behind me?! She may be my girlfriend, but that doesn't mean that I'm able to physically stop her when she's this mad!!"

"I don't know, I'm panicking!-"

Then, Cindy was able to kick down the door, currently wearing a mint green sundress that had been drenched in a dark colored soda. Upon hearing the door slam into the ground, the two boy's jumped a little at the noise, Jack quickly hiding himself behind Jimmy more as Jimmy instinctively threw out his arms in a protective position. Cindy's pissed off and raging expression quickly shifted into a more surprised and slightly confused look at the sight of this, as she didn't expect Jimmy to have a protective instinct for Jack yet, though there was still obvious anger on her face as she panted slightly from chasing after Jack.

Jimmy then raised his hands in the air as he spoke in a calm voice. "N-now now, what just happened here? Why were you chasing after Jack??"

Cindy glared at Jack, who was peaking over Jimmy's shoulder as he tried to remain hidden from her sights, as she spoke. "He not only threw a full soda can at me, but he also slightly opened the can before throwing it, making all the soda pour all over me and ruining my new dress!!"

"Girl!! F-for, like, the fourth time, I didn't mean for that to happen!!"

Jimmy's eyes widened as he looked over his shoulder at Jack. For the first time ever.. he didn't mean to cause any trouble?? And it wasn't like he was just lying to get himself out of trouble again, as Jimmy had quickly learned all of his tells. This time, he was being genuine, even if it's being expressed in a more harsh way.

"Well.. what did you mean to happen, then?"

"S-Sheen asked me to pass him a soda, so instead of just walking towards him and handing it to him, I tried throwing it at him since he's such an annoyance!! But Cindy ended up walking into the cans line of sight at the wrong time! I-I'm not sure why or how it was opened though.."

Carl, Libby and Sheen quickly ran behind Cindy, all panting heavily from trying to keep up with the two. Sheen then raised his hand as he was still panting heavily. "I-It was me! I was the one who opened the can enough to where soda would pour everywhere! But it was meant to go all over Jack as he was grabbing it!"

Carl took a few puffs from his inhaler before he began speaking as well, still panting heavily as he spoke. "B-Both Jack's and Sheen's stories are true, I-I was a witness to both incidents!" Libby then raised her hand and held up two fingers as she continued panting heavily, silently saying that she seconded Carls statement.

Cindy's and Jimmy's eyes widened in surprise. Jack was.. innocent? He was genuinely innocent and he wasn't trying to cause any trouble?.. well, not for Cindy, at least.

Cindy cleared her throat as she tried to appear more calm and collected before looking back at Jack, who was still hiding behind Jimmy, though now looked less panicked and nervous due to the others vouching for him, even Sheen. "Well then.. I'm sorry about the misunderstanding, Jack." God, did that feel weird for her to say to him of all people.

"I-it's fine, I guess.. but giiirl, you need to learn to chill." Jack said this as he stepped out from behind Jimmy.

Cindy rolled her eyes as she mumbled under her breath, though didn't say anything about it, as she didn't want to end up proving Jack's point. "Whatever, I'm going back home, it's almost about time for dinner anyways."

The other three, still slightly being out of breath, followed suite, going back to their individual houses. Jimmy and Jack looked down at the broken down door for a few moments before Jack attempted to pick it up to put it in place, only to immediately struggle due to not having a lot of strength. Even if he's different personality wise, he still is a clone of a weak and short boy, after all. After a few attempts, Jack then gave up as he began walking towards his room as to be alone for the next 15 minutes before dinner was supposed to be ready.

"... You know.. I think that, albeit very slowly.. this reformation thing is actually working." Jimmy spoke up as he looked up at Jack, who was halfway up the stairs.

Jack froze for a moment before looking down at Jimmy, raising an eyebrow at him. "Oh, really? And how so?"

"If that very incident happened when you were first made, or hell, when we first started this reformation attempt, you would've taken all the credit for it happening, despite it being unintentional." Jimmy then walked towards the bathroom as to wash his hands, seeing that Judy was about to pull dinner out of the oven.

Jack stood there, frozen and in shock. Jimmy.. wasn't wrong. Unintentionally and unironically, he was very, very slowly being reformed...

"... Fuck..."