#whatever i’m going to sleep. i was supposed to be asleep two hours ago.

[glowingsand]

life is pointless (has been trying to draw an arm for the past two hours)

[fastandcarlos]

Late Cravings : ̗̀➛ George Russell

summary: what baby wants, baby gets, even if she does want it at 3am, much to george's dissatisfaction

You barely managed to walk through the door before George appeared in front of you, his eyes were wide as his hands held onto your arms, studying you closely before closing the door. 

“George, at least let me get in,” you told him, being directed by his hold. “What’s going on? Why do you look so scared?” You questioned, sliding your shoes off and kicking them to one side. 

It was only once George stood still that you could see how nervous he looked. His heart was racing as he finally let you go, brushing his hand through his hair as he took a deep breath, taking a moment to pace and compose himself a little bit once again. 

The fear of stirring in the night and not feeling you there brought a terror that George had never experienced before. He had no idea where you were, terrified that one of his worst fears during your pregnancy had come true. 

“Where were you?” George frantically asked you, “what sort of person just gets up and leaves the house at three in the morning without telling anyone where you’re going first.” 

You felt guilty as you heard the panic that was still in George’s voice, encouraging him to take a seat beside you. Your hand rested against his leg, assuring him that you were there and that you were safe. 

Your free hand reached into your bag and pulled out what you had bought on your late-night adventure, with George’s eyes watching carefully to see many of the things you’d been craving in front of you. 

“I couldn’t stop thinking about these and I knew I wasn’t going to sleep without getting my hands on them,” you told him, ripping open the packet of crisps you’d bought. 

“But I could have gone to get them for you, all you had to do was ask,” George groaned, staring across at you as you placed a crisp into your mouth, throwing your head back in satisfaction. 

The thought of waking George did cross your mind, but you just couldn’t bring yourself to do it, he was peacefully sleeping beside you and you didn’t have the heart to disturb him. 

“You were asleep and with how busy you are you need to rest as much as possible,” you told him,  I wouldn’t have gone if I didn’t feel like I was up to it George.” 

George’s head nodded, he understood where you were coming from, knowing that you wanted to remain as independent as possible, but even by his standards this was a stretch too far. 

“I could’ve sat in the passenger seat and slept,” he suggested with a smile on his face, “at least then I would have known exactly where you were.” 

“But you know where I am now, that’s the main thing, right?” 

George’s eyes narrowed on you, as safe as you were now, half an hour ago he was worried that it was going to be a whole different story. 

“I wish you’d tell me when you’re planning on giving me a heart attack,” George joked. 

“It’s all part of the fun,” you argued, resting your head down against George’s shoulder as you continued to eat. “You know I am just pregnant though George, I’m not incapable.” 

Whilst George was overprotective, you were a little carefree making the two of you a little conflicted. George wanted to know every last detail while you tended to not tell him much about what you were up to, confident you could still take on the world, even if George was a little more doubtful. 

“Maybe going out so early in the morning wasn’t the brightest idea,” you reasoned, much to George’s delight, “I suppose I could have sorted out my cravings in a little bit of a better way.” 

“I know how you get when you’re craving though,” George mused, “if there’s one thing that I know about you it’s that you definitely get whatever you want when you’re craving.” 

You nodded in agreement with him, you were determined with everything that you did, but now you were more determined than ever to do as much as you could for as long as you possibly could too. 

“I don’t mean to constantly be on your case,” George told you, kissing against the top of your head. “I need to remind myself to trust you more, to know that you know how far you can push your body.” 

“I wouldn’t do something if I couldn’t,” you assured, “and as much as you might not believe me, if I need help then I will ask you for it George.” 

The corners of his mouth slowly turned up, “I know you will, and I’ll always be there whenever you need me to step in and help you out.” 

“That’s why you’re such a fantastic husband.” 

You weren’t oblivious to how lucky you were to have George by your side doing absolutely anything that you needed. He was beyond excited to have a baby, wanting to do as much as he could to help both you and the baby out, maybe sometimes a little too much, although you knew George always meant well. 

“I draw the line at three in the morning,” George then spoke up, sending you a knowing glance. “It’s dark outside and you can’t see where you’re going. No craving can be as important as keeping you safe in conditions like that.” 

“I was driving and my lights were on.” 

“Still,” George sniggered, dismissing your protests. “From now on if you need anything in the night then you can shake and kick me awake, regardless of how sleepy I might look beside you.” 

Your eyebrows raised as George spoke, “I can kick you?” 

“That’s the bit you focus on,” George grumbled, rolling his eyes at you as you threw your crisp packet into the bin. “You got anything else in there, I’m hungry now after all the energy I’ve just exerted panicking for you.” 

“Are you pregnant and craving?” You asked him as his head shook. “In that case then you get nothing, these are mine and mine only.” 

You reached forwards and opened up the packet of sweets that you’d bought, taking one out. Luckily for George you reached across and popped one of the sweets into his mouth, much to his delight. You leant back against his chest as you started tucking in, his arm wrapping around you. 

Despite the way his heart had raced just a few minutes earlier, it was a lot calmer as George noticed the content smile now on your face. He knew that pregnancy was far from easy for you, trying his best to understand your mood and emotions as much as he could. 

“Maybe we should stock up on some of the things you crave,” George suggested, watching your eyes light up. “You know like how people how emergency rations; we could have emergency cravings.” 

“That might not be the worst idea,” you agreed, “but only if you agree that they’re for my cravings and not for you to keep tucking into.” 

“You know what my appetite is like, when there’s food in front of me then I’m probably going to eat it.” 

“Think of it like this, would you deny your child food if you ate the food that is kept in the cupboard for them?” 

“Oh wow, now that is the ultimate guilt trip.” 

˗ˏˋ 𝐌𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓 ! ´ˎ˗

[i-am-baechu]

♬ Summary: After Y/N tells him something that makes him have bad dreams, Jungkook will do anything to show her that this is the right universe for her. Even though she already knows that 

♬ Pairing: Established relationship; Jungkook x reader 

♬ Rating:  Explicit (18+) 

♬Genre: Established relationship, comedy, fluff, and smut

♬ Warnings: Smut 

♬ Part of, ‘ His Fan Girl

♬ Author’s note: Special guest lol and Part two to Seven 

♬ Playlist: POV - Ariana Grande

Y/N sat in the back and smiled to herself. This was the first time she actually met Mingyu in person. She actually talked to him through facetime on accident and him being an extrovert was happy to make a new friend. Especially if that friend is his best friend's fiancé.  

Jungkook just released his single Seven and Y/N couldn’t be happier for him. She felt bubbly at the song but she does everything in her power to ignore the explicit version. Even though Jungkook sings it to her everyday. She knew the song would do good and the music video shows how clingy he is when he’s in love. Army loved the song and the accomplishments that he did with the song amazed her. She knew Army powers but it always surprises her. 

She let out a laugh when Mingyu messed up the choreography and her laugh only got louder when she saw Jungkook glare at him, “Mingyu, I told you to learn the choreography!”

“I was learning it!”

She shook her head and stood up from the ground. She walked towards them and placed her hand on Jungkook, “Be nice to him. He has a lot of choreographers in his mind.”

Jungkook pouted at this and turned towards her, “Don’t defend him.” 

“No, Y/N, defend me.” 

She leaned forward placing a kiss on Jungkook’s cheek, “Just re-do it. No harm in re-doing it.” 

He rolled his eyes and nodded his head, “Fine but you need to film one with me.” 

“Whatever you want, love.” 

She sat back down and watched them do it again. She took out a bag of cookies from her pocket and nibbled as the two argued about the lighting. She picked up a water bottle and looked at Mingyu, “Mingyu, you should have some water.”

Mingyu smiled at her and glared at Jungkook, “At least someone is nice to me.”

“She’s an extension of me which means I’m being nice to you.” 

After an hour, they finally got the clip and Jungkook shared it on Tik Tok. The drive home was quiet and a thought came to her mind. She let out a small laugh and tiredly turned towards Jungkook, “You know...I wasn’t supposed to go to the BTS concert all those years ago.” 

Jungkook raised his eyebrow and glanced at her through the mirror, “What do you mean?”

“My cousin had tickets for Seventeen. Her mom upgraded her tickets to meet and greet tickets at the last minute.”

“Yo-You were going to meet Seventeen?” 

“I was but I declined because I had a test the next day. I didn’t really think about it until I saw Mingyu today.”

Jungkook nodded his head in a nervous manner and then looked back at her, “Who’s your bias?” 

She let out a small laugh and leaned back in the seat with her eyes slightly closed, “Why?”

“Just curious...” 

“Honestly, I like all of them. I don’t have a bias. I’m going to take a nap okay...I’m tired from work.”

Jungkook nodded his head and rubbed thigh gently as he stared at the road, “Get some sleep babe. I’ll wake you up when we get there.” 

It’s been a week since this conversation and Jungkook has been having dreams about it. What if Y/N went to that concert? He would’ve never met her and he would probably still be single. The possibilities of her being with someone else never crossed his mind because it was always them together. Nothing more and nothing less. It was another night and Jungkook was sound asleep well, trying to be. The mind is a dangerous place. 

“Jungkook, I have someone I want you to meet.”

Jungkook put down his papers and turned to see Mingyu smiling at him, “Oh? Who?”

He moved to the side and there was Y/N. She was dressed in a pink floral dress with her hair in a low pony-tail. He felt his heartbeat go faster at the sight of her, “This is my girlfriend, Y/N L/N.”

He glanced at Mingyu and then back at Y/N, “Girlfriend?” 

“Yeah, I met her at a meet and greet. I saw how shy she was and I couldn’t stop myself.”

She shyly smiled and gently smacked his arm, “Gyu...stop it.” 

Mingyu wrapped his arm around her waist and smiled at Jungkook, “Y/N, this my close friend, Jeon Jungkook.” 

Jungkook couldn’t stop staring at her and he felt guilty. This was his best friend's girlfriend and here he was looking at her like she was his. He shook his head and smiled, “He-Hey.” 

She bowed her head at him and offered him a smile, “Hello.”

Mingyu leaned down and kissed the top of her head, “I’m happy you can meet her.” 

Jungkook shot up in his bed and ran his fingers through his hair roughly, “Fuck.” He glanced to the side to see Y/N sleeping with the plushie that he won her at a festival. He smiled to himself and pushed some hair off of her forehead. His touch wasn’t light enough and she moved in her sleep. She opened her eyes and frowned at him, “Are you okay, babe?” 

He sighed and looked down at the blanket, “It’s stupid.”

She slowly got up and she wrapped her arms around his arm with a worried look, “It’s not stupid if it’s bothering you baby. Take your time.” 

He sighed and glanced down at her, “It’s something about last week that happened...I’ve been thinking about it.” 

She frowned and thought to herself, “Is it because I ate your noodles? I’m sorry-”

“What? You ate my noodles?”

She let go of his arm and frowned, “Yeah....is that not what you're talking about right now? 

“No...you owe me noodles though.” 

She let out a small laugh and pushed some hair off of his forehead, “What’s bothering you then?”

“You were supposed to go to a Seventeen concert...instead of mine.”

She nodded her head and her face shifted in confusion, “Yes? I declined it, remember?” 

“I know...but my mind is making up situations. In another universe you would’ve been with one of them instead of me.” 

She frowned at this and hugged his arm, “Well, it didn’t happen baby. It was fate for me to decline and it was fate that we met.” 

He glanced down at her, “Yeah?” 

“Yeah, you're my everything. Jungkook. Is that why you’ve been sending me flowers everyday?” 

“Well, you deserve all the flowers in the world and also yes.” 

She let out a laugh and kissed the side of his head, “I appreciate the flowers but baby, I always want you. In every universe.” 

The next moments were blurred but the only thing she knew was that Jungkook was cock deep inside of her. His body pushing hers into the mattress. His hair stuck to his forehead with sweat and she couldn’t help but admire his dark brown eyes in the lighting. She pushed some hair away and he stopped mid thrust to look at her. She smiled and leaned up the best she could, placing her lips gently on his, “How could I want someone else?” 

He brought his hand and gently touched her face like she was made out of glass, “I hate that I thought of that. Will you ever forgive me?” 

She clenched at this question causing him to moan, “I will...you have a whole lifetime with me to do so.” 

He chuckled at this and gently thrusted into her making her eyes close, “I will do two lifetimes to get you to forgive me.” 

“Jung-Jungkook, this isn’t a competition.” 

“Y/N, you are the woman that I dreamed about when I was younger. The manifestation of every thought of what I want in a partner. I love you, I love you. You are not only my garden but the sun to my garden. My wife.”

She felt her heartbeat faster at his confession and leaned up to bring him in a passionate kiss. He returned the passion (maybe even gave more) and let out a dreamy sigh against his lips, “You’ve been watching too much Netflix.” 

He let out a laugh and kissed her again, “It’s the truth. I love Jeon Y/N.”

She let out a laugh and pressed her forehead against his, “I love you more.” 

“Impossible.” 

Her eyes fluttered closed when she felt another thrust. She couldn’t stop herself from clenching and he groaned at the feeling. The pure feeling of overstimulation and pleasure was taking over, “Jung-”

“I know.” 

She let out a moan at affirmation and he placed a kiss in the crock of her neck. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he rocks against her. His hips sutter and she felt his fingers digging deep into her skin as he climaxed inside of her. 

He pushed hair away from her forehead and kissed it as she was dazed out, “This is the right universe. Always with me, always. I love you.” 

[adventuringblind]

Every Step of the Way

Oscar Piastri x Reader x Logan Sargeant x Liam Lawson

Genre: Hurt/Comfort, sick fic

Summary: With a new diagnosis, sometimes things can be confusing and scary. Oscar, Liam, and Logan do their best to help make things as easy as possible.

Warnings: Authors limited knowledge of cancer and chemotherapy

Notes: To the requester, I hope this brings you some comfort. I understand the fear of a new diagnosis. It's a difficult things to navigate.

Masterlist // Request Form // My Website // buy me a Ko-Fi

The appointment feels like it was years ago, yet she's still sitting in the office. The weight of the words sinking in, the new diagnosis still registering.

Cancer. The single word nobody wants to hear. It is a life changing thing that could pose to be fatal.

And right now, she feels alone. At the mercy of her own emotions. Her phone buzzing beside her, but her consciousness is too far away to notice it.

She hadn't been feeling well for some time. Oscar had suggested seeing a doctor, but she claimed allergies. She'll have to admit to him that he was right (again, as per usual).

The boys have been busy lately, off racing and traveling. She's been stuck home trying to get through all these appointments. The one time they are home, she wishes they weren't.

How is she supposed to tell them her body is trying to kill her? They have too much going on in their own lives right now to worry about her on top of it. The lovely anxiety she's been having over being a burden to her boys sets in once more.

She hates it. These dejected emotions want to escape from her via tears. Yet they don't come. They pool in her eyes instead, just on the cusp of sliding down her cheeks.

Her phone buzzes again. She looks at this time and sees the spam from Liam and Logan asking if she's been kidnapped or something. So much for not worrying them.

She drives him in silence. Only her thoughts to keep her company. The ones that tell her maybe she did something to deserve this. She thinks back to anything that could've cause this kind of karma.

She pulls into the driveway and tries to put a smile on her face as she walks through the door. "I'm home!"

Liam nearly tackles her to the floor as he scoops her up and tosses her onto the sofa. The one all three of the boys have turned into the perfect comfort spot with blankets and snacks and a movie already on the screen.

“Figured you might want some reprieve after your appointment.” Logan tosses a blanket over her.

“You don’t want to now the results?”

Oscar wraps an arm around her and tucks her close to his chest. “You were supposed to be home two hours ago. whatever it is, we can talk about it after you’ve had some time to wind down.”

She ends up falling asleep during the movie. the comforting presence of all three boys has her mind drifting off to somewhere that isn’t her own failing body.

She tries to soak up the normalcy of it all before things get worse. The voice in the back of her head is telling her that they won’t want her around when she’s too exhausted to do anything. when she starts draining their bank accounts because of all the medical bills.

The sleep she got was restless despite not waking up. They’d moved her to bed at some point. The cuddle pile and soft snores tell her it’s probably still early.

She maneuvers herself out of bed without waking the boys. A dance she’s done a thousand times before.

The glass of water is in her hands, but she doesn’t remember walking into the Kitchen. Everything is too much right now.

Her knees find the floor and the water spills everywhere. The glass shatters when she throws it in anger.

So much for not waking anyone.

Footsteps hastily make their way towards her. She can hear them whispering as they come around the corner and see the mess that she’s made.

“Love, I’m gonna come get you alright?” Strong arms wrap around her and bring her off the floor. She zones out listening to the song clatter of glass being picked up.

Back on the sofa again. The boys don’t push but she can tell they want answers. all three of them share nervous gazes.

“Cancer.”

She waits for anyone to say anything, to get angry and scream, maybe even cry. Instead she is hugged with such a gentle kind of love that she breaks. The tears don’t stop until she is dehydrated and choking.

“We’re not leaving you, alright? This diagnosis doesn’t stop us from loving you.”

The next week is torture. Getting ready for and starting chemotherapy is a nightmare.

It hurts, she’s sick, and the exhaustion makes everything worse.

But she also has people around her who love and care. They stick with her on the bad days and the worse days. they make the best out of the good days.

Oscar makes sure she sleeps, Logan makes sure she eats, and Liam tries to kidnap her when the other two get over protective.

It’s certainly a hard road. Some days are harder and she can barely function, but she’s trying.

Plus, it does help having people who love her around.

[lelengerine]

Can I request boyfriend!Haechan being jealous of his member after his s/o fell asleep on their shoulder instead of his

i’m so sorry i got to this late,,, college really takes the life out of u ;0; also i think i made this prompt a little more playful than just pure jealousy and i'm not sure if its entirely what you're looking for, but i still hope you like it and thank you for sending in the req!

midnights

pairing | gamer!hyuck x reader

genre | established relationship au, purely fluff as far as i can say, another round of the streamer/gamer hyuck agenda, haechan uses nicknames for reader (cutie, lovie, baby) but no specific prns are used!

wc | 1.1k

m.list

its currently four in the morning and a new game loads for the nth time on the big monitor displayed right in front of your living room. you’re not even sure what game it is at this point, feeling your eyelids droop the longer you keep them open, yet haechan and jeno are wide awake — presumably from the amount of red bulls they’ve consumed in the past hour, a couple of neon colored cans now scattered around.

haechan invited his friend group over to a game night turned sleepover at your shared apartment. it wasn’t like you minded. in fact, you enjoyed the company of his friends from time to time, and the crowd of people wouldn’t hurt considering you had a couple of guest bedrooms readily available for them.

the ones who are in the midst of playing are practically the only two standing soldiers left. jaemin and jisung had retreated to scrolling on their phones, mark passed out on the bean bag by the corner of the room who knows how long ago, and renjun’s sat on the couch — watching the (not so) friendly match alongside you.

“how long do you think they’ll be at it?” your words are a little groggy as you hug the pillow that was laying on your lap, tone laced with sleepiness.

“i bet another hour if we’re being honest here.” renjun replies back softly, letting out a small yawn after as he mindlessly continues to watch the two play.

the yelling from your boyfriend and jeno begins to sound like static noise passing through your ears, making you even more drowsy than you already were. “another hour it is. wake me up by then, would you?” 

“yeah, sure. if i don’t fall asleep either.” a small laugh resounds out of your seat mate’s chest, and you begin to bury your head in the pillow you were hugging earlier, sinking yourself into the plush fabric. 

it doesn’t take too long for your consciousness to slip away into a deep slumber, body beginning to grow heavy as every minute slowly passes by. perhaps that’s why it never registered that you were beginning to lean on your side, your head eventually landing by renjun’s arm.

though he does get startled by the sudden weight on his side, he couldn’t find the strength within him to move you back into place—the drowsiness kicking in his system as well—and so, he just let you be, deciding it would be best to succumb to sleep himself.

another hour does indeed pass by just as renjun predicted, and the two are still at each other’s throats for a final round. the room is silent, yet neither of them really cared. the only sound in the room being the mashing of controller buttons to hit combos. 

“i finally win, loser!” haechan abruptly cheers once a victory flag is displayed on his side of the screen, signaling the end of their time playing.

“yeah, after like what? five rounds?” jeno chuckles, not a dent in his pride for losing a single time to the boy beside him. 

“Whatever!” haechan quickly sets his controller down, still feeling proud despite jeno’s jab at his supposed gaming skills. “they say the last game is always the most important one.” 

“sure…” jeno eyes his competitor briefly before getting up to stretch, “anyways, i’m going to go get a glass of water.” 

“get me one too.” jaemin mumbles from the side, half-awake and still doing who knows what on his phone. “got it jaem.”

that now left haechan all to himself and his first instinct was to go looking for you, shocked that he found you right behind him, your face comfortably sandwiched between the pillow you were holding and renjun’s side.

he doesn’t know what urged him to rush over to where you were residing, completely dismissing renjun’s presence as he gently gets a hold of your sleeping figure to bring you back to the comfort of your bed. “guys, i’ll be back. just gotta bring y/n to our room.”

a responsive hum from jaemin is all he needs, and he’s already whisking you away to your bedroom, laying you on the fluffy duvet that covers the bed with care.

he crouches down to stare at you for a moment, a small pout on his face. “lovie, i can’t believe you’d snuggle with renjun. on our couch nonetheless!” he whines in a whisper, knowing you wouldn’t hear anything he’d say.

“can’t believe you’d replace me that quick.” a finger of his pokes your cheek once, then twice, then twice turns into a couple more times, and before he knew it, he accidentally wakes you up.

“hyuuuckie, why aren’t you asleep?” you prolong your speech with eyes only half way open, not really registering anything into your brain. 

your boyfriend can only chuckle at your drowsy state, finding your actions endearingly cute. “sorry, lovie. i just finished a game with jeno, but we’ve called it quits for now.” he tries to explain slowly for the sake of you understanding him. 

“then come to bed! i need my teddy bear.” you huff defeatedly, now making grabby hands his way, and haechan feels his heart bursting with giddy adoration. you weren’t one to usually act this way so haechan would cherish every moment you’d let your guard down in front of him and stored it in his mind like he was collecting a jar of water during a time of drought. this was certainly one of those times.

“you need your teddy bear?” you nod a single time as haechan repeated your words. he originally planned to help with the clean up after bringing you over to the bed, but how could he just leave you all alone after that? “okay, loviee. your teddy is going to bed with you.” he coos all giggly, easily swayed by the sight before him.

haechan lifts up the covers of his side of the bed, laying down in one, swift motion. you seek out his warmth just as quickly, shifting towards his direction to wrap your arms around his waist before falling back to sleep. 

“cutie baby.” he utters out under his breath, before letting out a yawn, already feeling himself tire out — the hours of constant gaming quickly catching up to him. soon enough, he drifts off in your embrace, forgetting his friends just outside the room.

“hey, where did hyuck say he was going again?” jeno questions as he rounds the corner of the couch, beginning to pick up the litter he and haechan had left behind on the floor.

jisung quickly points in the direction of the master bedroom, and jeno could only groan in frustration, already knowing his clean up partner wouldn’t be coming out of there any time soon (or at all for that matter).

[tinfoil-jones]

Gravity Falls: For Your Own Good, Ch. 12

Summary: A few years after moving to Gravity Falls and having his lab built, Stanford Pines happens upon his estranged twin brother, Stanley. He mentally prepared himself to be suffocated by his brothers neediness all over again - what he wasn't prepared for was Stanley walking right past him like he didn't even notice him.

Rating: M for language, violence, and adult implications

Preface: Dialogue only, but some actions will be annotated for clarity. Cross-Posted on AO3 Here

First - Prev - Next

CH.12 

“Are you working on another one of your ‘conceptual’ death ray schematics, Fiddleford?”

“I didn’t have the easiest time with Psych as a subject because of its abstract nature, I thought that if I could connect it to something more tangible maybe I could understand it better.”

“So you made a psychology gun?”

“Conceptually, think of it more as a memory gun. Most of our memories are stored in our hippocampus and temporal lobe - if I could create a device that interacted exclusively with those structures, and only for memories…”

“You could restore them?”

“Right now I’m focusing on the opposite - destruction.”

“What, Fiddleford, we’re-.”

“Don’t blow a gasket. I’m not intending to erase any more of your brother's memories. This is reverse-engineering, in a way. If I can understand how memories can be suppressed in the first place, I could perhaps understand how to bring them back.”

“Okay…”

“I know, in your own emotionally constipated way, you’re just worried about him. I’d be worried about my family too if any of them up and forgot everything. But I promise you, I’m not trying to harm either of ya’ll.”

“I trust you.”

“I’m glad to hear that, I know it ain’t easy for you.”

“Any breakthroughs during your sessions?”

“I can only possibly isolate an event happening about a year ago, but he can’t specify what type of event it was. He may have been suffocating in some way? All he could say was that he couldn’t breathe.”

“...”

“Stanford, do not go into your own head about this. What happened- whatever happened, it wasn't your fault.”

“Yes… I suppose you are right, old friend.”

“In fact, I had a question about y'all's upbringing.”

“What about it?”

“Did you two share a room growing up?”

“Yes, our home was very small because our family was low income. We shared a room until he was- until he left. Why?”

“I checked your security feed and noticed something peculiar about his sleeping pattern.”

“Were you really watching my brother sl-.”

“Don’t you start now. I sped the footage up. You spend an awful lot of time down there, right?”

“Of course, it is my laboratory after all.”

“And he sleeps a bit, you’ve noticed? Quite soundly?”

“It is not that different from when we were younger.”

“Here’s the interesting bit. The other times he sleeps - when you aren’t in the lab, he doesn’t get high quality or quantity of sleep.”

“What do you mean?”

“I expected this - he’s been in unsafe, unstable environments for the past decade. He has difficulty falling and staying asleep; he wakes up frequently throughout the night, and when he is asleep he looks like he has nightmares, because he tosses and turns, and panics himself awake sometimes.”

“I didn’t know that…”

“Of course you wouldn’t. If he falls asleep while you happen to be in the lab, it doesn’t happen. At first, I wondered if being alone put him out of ease. But one night I was down there running a few tests, and he was still waking up hyperventilating every other hour.”

“I do not understand what you’re trying to tell me.”

“Stanford, what I find most interesting about this; he does not sugarcoat that you abducted him. He has stated multiple times that he believes you are out of your mind, and that your ‘real twin’ is dead and you can’t accept that. But in spite of these things that he says, in spite of all of that; in his most vulnerable, inoffensive state, he subconsciously associates you with safety. Stan says you’re just a stranger to him, but he feels completely safe and at ease with you.”

“...”

“It may seem like we’re hitting a lot of brick walls with him, because ya’ll are just as stubborn as each other. But he remembers you, just not with his waking mind.”

“...I need to write this down in my journal.”

“I know you’re just burying your face into that thing to hide your tears.”

“I believe I have gotten ink into my eyes."

“O’ course you did.”

To be continued…

[delilaahh9]

Dial Drunk

October 5th, 2021

12:32 am

Anna had no idea what she was doing, it started off with just a shot or two, then the next minute she was chugging a bottle of… something. Mark was visiting his parents about an hour away.

She was supposed to call Jack awhile ago, but when he tried to call her, he went straight to voicemail since she didn’t feel it vibrate in her leather jacket.

somehow, she ended up out on the back patio picking at the stitching on her jeans as the phone rang in her hand.

“Belle?” Jack mumbles as he answers the phone, turning his lamp on and sits up.

“I’m so sorry- I shouldn’t have released the song I shouldn’t have gotten mad at you- I miss when we didn’t fight all the time” she sobs into the phone, he could really only hear half of it but knew whatever she is saying isn’t great.

“Bee, what’s going on where are you” he’s much more awake now after hearing his sister sob into the phone, he’s put her on speaker and is texting Luke.

“I fucked up- why are you so far away” she cries. Lately, Annabelle has been finding photos of the two wether it’s Facebook memories Ellen sends her or if she finds the physical picture, either way, she finds them and remembers when they were attached at the hip.

“Belle, I need you to tell me where you are” He says a little louder.

“I’m… outside, inside a fence… but I’m - ew there’s an ant on my leg- do you know where mark is” she asks, Jack chuckles at how dumb she is when she’s drunk but continues to text Luke.

“okay Belle, Luke is gonna go get you can yo-“

“No! Can you come get me- or momma! In gonna call momma” She starts but her visions to blurry she can’t find the buttons.

“Belle! Don’t call mom- you’re gonna be alright” assures her and a few moments later he heard Luke’s voice in the distance.

“Give me the phone. Jack?” Luke asks and steps away from Belle who Ethan is now sitting with.

“Luke, is she okay, what’s happening”

“No clue, I didn’t even know she was out here I thought she was with her friends. I’ll take her back to her dorm-“

“No- bring her home, she’s going to want mom in the morning and make sure her heated blankets on, she gets cold”

“okay, I’ll call you when we get her back home, I might have to sleep on her floor again”

“Bye Luke”

“Bye Jack”

The boy managed to get her standing but with most of her weight on Ethan, but it’s not like she weighs a lot.

“Do you wanna come with me to take her home?” Luke asks. “Yeah, I’ll call mark on the way”

“perfect, come on you” he whispers and helps Ethan walk her to the car.

They reach the car and Annabelle slumps against the seat with a tired pout on her face while Luke buckled her seatbelt.

“Where’s mark” she whispers and her eyes begin to close.

“You’ll see him tomorrow don’t worry”

about halfway through the car ride, Ethan finally called mark.

“Hey Eddie, everything alright?” Mark says as he lays in bed, ready to fall asleep.

“Yeah, when are you coming back to Ann arbour”

“Like noon or something, why what’s up?”

when the familiar voice sounded through the car, it felt like music to Anna’s ears, which is why she woke back up.

“Mark?” She croaks out making Ethan look back.

“Ethan was that Anna? Is she okay?”

“She’s alright just a little… tipsy, was just letting you know”

“Where are you guys going?”

She sighs and lays her head on the window, wiping her own tears with her knuckles.

“Luke’s driving her back to the Hughes house right now”

“I’ll be there in 20” he says and before either of them could protest mark was hanging up the phone and throwing a hoodie over his head.

Once he arrived, Luke opened the door and pointed up the stairs where she laid in bed asleep.

“Oh princess” he whispered when he saw her tear stained eyes. He brushed some hair off her forehead before going to the other side of her bed and laying next to her while listening to the hum of the heater.

[mashbrainrot]

Henry Blake in 'The Interview'

In 2006, Larry Gelbart wrote dialogue imagining Trapper, Henry Blake, and Colonel Flagg had featured in the M*A*S*H episode 'The Interview'. Here is Henry's, with the original available to read here via Google Groups.

REPORTER: How does it feel, having the responsibility for saving such a great number of lives? HENRY: We just take ’em one or two, sometimes maybe twenty at a time. The big trick is not to start thinking of ’em as numbers – as just so many stats that go into a report that winds up in somebody’s filing cabinet under “out of sight, out of mind.” You’ve gotta always remember that what you’re dealing with is hurt people, people that have been run over by a war. REPORTER: And not just �� HENRY: You gotta remember to take a peek at the odd dog tag now and then and remind yourself that that dangling leg or busted gut you’re going to try and put back together again is somebody’s dad or son or boyfriend – that all that blood and guts soiling your linen belongs to somebody that’s got a name attached to him.

REPORTER: You can’t afford to lose your sense of humanity. HENRY: There’s just so many senses you can lose over here. REPORTER: Humor not being one of them, obviously. HENRY: Around here laughter’s just crying without the tears. REPORTER: You have a family back home, sir? HENRY: In Bloomington. The one in Illinois, not in Indiana – unless things have changed since I went away. REPORTER: You keep in touch with them, of course, your family. HENRY: We write, we phone. Far apart as we are, I don’t think we’ve ever been closer. REPORTER: Would you like to say hello to them on television? HENRY: Be better if this was kissovision, but, yeah, can I? REPORTER: Go right ahead. HENRY: Lorraine? Hi, honey. Hi, kids. I got your report cards this morning and I had Radar go out post ’em on the bulletin board here so everybody can see why I’m so darn proud of you. Especially how you’re doing in math. You must get those brains from your mom. Got to be. Old as I am, I still don’t know how many tens to give someone for a five-dollar bill. (TO REPORTER) Thanks. REPORTER: That it? HENRY: That’s it. (TO CAMERA) Except I’m counting the days till we’re back together again. REPORTER: You have any idea when that will be? HENRY: I try not to have too many ideas. There’s always someone who ranks you who’s sure you’ll agree he’s got a better one. REPORTER: When you do finally get home, what are you going to tell your children is the biggest lesson being over here has taught you? HENRY: To always try to work things out, I guess. Whatever those things might happen to be. You don’t make your point killing the other guy. Even if you do it’s kind of wasted if the other guys not around to get the message. REPORTER: You seem – if all may so, Colonel – you seem near exhaustion. HENRY: What I am mostly is tired of being tired. We’re supposed to be a hospital but it’s more like a chop shop around here. We’re up to our elbows in people that other people are doing their best to chop down. REPORTER: That doesn’t lead to a lot of sleep, I would imagine. HENRY: I used to think of sleeping in terms of hours. How many did I get last night, how many will I get to steal tonight. I’m down to minutes now. It’s like somebody broke one hand off the clock. REPORTER: Does that ever affect your performance? HENRY: I fell asleep a few weeks ago in the middle of resecting a patient’s bowel. How’s that for exhausted? REPORTER: Does that fishing hat mean there are those times when you do get to get away from it all? HENRY: What it means is that I have to fish for those times. And let me say, the biting’s pretty poor. REPORTER: Business is too good around here. HENRY: Let’s just say it takes a whole lot longer to take a bullet out of a belly than it does putting one into one. REPORTER: Thank you, sir. HENRY: Can I say one more thing? REPORTER: Of course. HENRY: I just want you to know we all here are grateful for this visit you’ve paid us, this attention you’re paying to the job we’re doing. You get the feeling sometimes, being over here that, aside from our families, we’ve kind of dropped off the planet, that we’ve been kind of disinvited to the party – like everyone back home is busy living their real lives and for us to give them a call when we get back to town. (TO REPORTER) That sound too preachy? REPORTER: It sounded just fine, Colonel. HENRY: Henry. I’m a lot more a Henry than I’ll ever be colonel. REPORTER: Thank you, Henry. HENRY: Tell me the truth: didn’t that feel better? REPORTER: You’re an excellent doctor. HENRY: Hey – that’s why I’m over here getting 300 hundred dollars a month.

[keisgirl]

not gonna put a title cuz i might delete this

some random thoughts 10pm (i have an essay due tmr)

the first sign was how quiet the apartment had become. once, it was filled with laughter, shared moments, and the kind of silence that was comfortable—warm, even. now, the quiet was different, tense and cold, like an empty stage after the audience has left. and in a way, that’s what your relationship had become—an empty performance, only the echoes of what once was.

you sit on the floor, back against the couch, your knees pulled to your chest. your phone lies face down on the coffee table, the buzzing stopped hours ago. it was easier that way, not looking at it, pretending for a moment that you could be okay without constantly waiting for a message that might never come. it’s been two days since you last heard from him. two days of silence that stretch on longer than any tour, longer than any distance he’s traveled for work.

he used to text you between rehearsals, sometimes sneaking in a call late at night when his members were asleep. you lived for those moments—the stolen seconds where it was just him and you, no cameras, no screaming fans, no demands. just him, the boy you fell in love with before the fame swallowed him whole. back when his smile was yours, not something for the world to claim.

but somewhere along the way, those calls became fewer, the messages shorter, until eventually they stopped altogether. now, you were lucky if he spared a moment to leave you a quick “i’m busy” before disappearing for days.

the door clicks open, and for the first time in what feels like forever, he's home. your eyes lift, your heart torn between relief and the sharp ache of knowing that even when he’s here, he’s not really here. his shoulders are slouched, exhaustion clinging to him like a second skin, and he barely meets your gaze.

"hey," he mumbles, dropping his bag by the door.

"hey," you reply, but the word feels foreign on your tongue, like you're speaking to a stranger.

he moves past you, heading straight for the bedroom, his presence like a ghost passing through the space. no hug, no kiss, no acknowledgment that it’s been days since you’ve seen each other. once upon a time, he would have scooped you into his arms, kissed you like he hadn’t seen you in years, even if it had only been hours. but now, it’s like he’s too tired to care.

you follow him into the bedroom, leaning against the doorframe as he collapses onto the bed, his back to you. the weight of the silence between you is unbearable. it’s not just physical distance anymore; it’s emotional. it’s the way he doesn’t ask how you are, doesn’t even notice the tear-stained pillowcases from the nights you spent crying yourself to sleep, wondering if this is what love is supposed to feel like—waiting, always waiting.

"are you okay?" you ask, your voice barely above a whisper, afraid that if you speak too loudly, it’ll shatter whatever fragile connection remains between you.

"just tired," he mutters, not even turning to face you.

you nod, though he doesn’t see it. tired. he’s always tired now. tired from the schedules, the rehearsals, the interviews. tired from the weight of being an idol. and you wonder, how long before he’s tired of you too? or maybe that’s already happened.

"i don’t know how much longer i can do this," you say softly, more to yourself than to him, but he hears it.

his body tenses, and for a moment, you think he’s going to get up, going to say something that will make it all better. but he doesn’t. instead, he sighs, a long, drawn-out breath that feels like the beginning of the end.

"i’m trying, you know that," he says, his voice low, defeated.

"are you?" the words slip out before you can stop them, sharp and cutting in the quiet room. "because it doesn’t feel like it anymore. it feels like… like you’ve already given up."

he finally turns to face you, and for the first time in a long time, you see him—the boy behind the idol. and he looks lost, more lost than you’ve ever seen him. there’s pain in his eyes, but it’s different from yours. his pain isn’t from the distance or the silence. it’s from the guilt, the crushing weight of knowing he’s hurting you, but not knowing how to stop.

"i don’t know what to do," he admits, his voice breaking. "i don’t know how to make it better. everything’s moving so fast, and i… i don’t know how to keep up with it all."

"you don’t have to keep up with everything," you whisper, stepping closer, your hands trembling as you reach out to touch him, but you stop yourself before your fingers brush his skin. "you just have to be here. with me."

he closes his eyes, as if he can’t bear to look at you. "but i can’t. not the way you need me to be. and that’s the problem, isn’t it?"

you don’t answer. you don’t have to. because he’s right. it is the problem. you need him, and he’s slipping further and further away with each passing day, until you’re left holding onto memories that feel like they belong to someone else. the boy you fell in love with is still there, somewhere, but the world has taken so much from him, and now there’s barely anything left for you.

"maybe…" his voice cracks, and you feel your heart shatter at the sound of it. "maybe we’re both holding onto something that isn’t there anymore."

you shake your head, tears blurring your vision. "don’t say that. please."

he looks at you, eyes red and tired, and in that moment, you both know. this isn’t the end of the conversation, but it’s the beginning of something you’ve both been too afraid to face.

the truth is, love isn’t always enough. not when the world demands so much from him, and all you can do is stand on the sidelines, watching as he gives everything he has to everyone but you.

and for the first time, you wonder if maybe it’s time to stop waiting

--------

| andteam; koga yudai, nicholas wang, nakakita yuma

| enhypen; park jongseong, yang jungwon, park sunghoon

| boynextdoor; myung jaehyung, kim woonhak

| stray kids; han jisung, bang chan, hwang hyunjin

[moviestarmartini]

dumbass. — brahim diaz x reader

summary: brahim is a huge dumbass who refuses to admit how in love he is.

wc: 1.0k

warnings: basic sentences in spanish/light spanish, brief nsfw scene (18+), suggested unprotected sex (!!! DON’T PLEASE), brahim is a lil dense but we love him anyway, fede, jude and arda giving him shit because of that, happy ending and domestic bliss because i love !! people !! in !! love !!!!

A/N: lol this was supposed to be a really short blurb as i get back to writing + requests but my boy deserves a full thingy !! and the theme song for this one shot has me OBSESSED for the past week. enjoy mis amores xx

now playing . . . enamorado tuyo by el cuarteto de nos

Brahim was in deep shit.

It was obvious to everyone but him the type of relationship he withheld with you. One that didn’t know any actual labels or agreements, but still had you living at his place full-time ever since he moved back to Madrid leading to your reconnection.

He’d fallen right in again in a matter of days; you still had the bright eyes he’d known for years, the same ability to tease him about the inch he spared from your height, the way you melted as he placed his hand on the crown of your head and brushed the hair flat as if he was almost petting you.

“No jodas. She’s not your girlfriend?” Fede joined in the conversation between him and Jude. “No, no. You’re kidding.”

Brahim’s frown only deepened. Why was everyone surprised by that statement? Jude had been giving him shit for the last hour, Arda gave him the most disappointing side eye he’d ever seen from anyone ever two days ago. He even refused to let him elaborate further.

“That’s why I’m saying! If you could only see the way she looks at you—“ Jude stopped himself, hands up to the sides of his head in frustration, taking a second to gain back his composure. “She looks at you as if you’re the only person on this earth ever. Like you created the length and depth of the sea or something fabulous like… warm water.”

“Now you’re the one joking.” Brahim yawned, shaking his head.

“No. And you’re even worse! Your wallpaper is her. You call her during every break, you never shut up about whatever she’s doing. Vos estás enamorado— no, enamoradísimo.” Fede insisted, flicking his finger in the back of the shorter man’s head.

Brahim swore up and down he wasn’t, having the purpose of putting some distance in between the two of you before clarifying things. He carried a deep frown as he walked up to the BMW driven by you picking him up from training. But at the sight of you smiling from behind the semi-tinted window melted his heart and made him almost skip towards the passenger seat, leaning in to kiss your cheek obnoxiously as soon as the door was shut. His resolve didn’t even last two microseconds by the time he reached your side.

The realization took a few hours to settle and it hit him like a moving truck, buried deep inside you as his slow thrusts squeezed the sweetest moans out of you. And this time, he couldn’t escape it. He couldn’t convince himself when he was drunk in the ecstasy you both found yourselves in.

Brahim could read you and your body like an open book, “I know baby, I know.” He cooed at the moans getting stuck at the back of your throat, unsticking the sweaty strands away from your face. “Just give me one more…” Granting his request you’d pulled him down for a kiss, reaching yet another release, your chest heaving against his as he picked up the pace. Your tongue intertwined with his, and he suddenly felt he was going mad.

Everything about you was perfect; from the way your legs wrapped around his waist to the way you moaned and cried out his name. Your nails marking up his muscular back were enough to push him over the edge, his nose brushing against yours before your lips sloppily linked once he collapsed onto your bare chest. In no less than a five minutes he fell asleep, your heartbeat lulled him to sleep.

But his dreams were plagued with you; most importantly, what he’d experienced earlier that day replaying over and over. He woke up earlier than usual, deciding to bask in the warmth your basal temperature for a little longer. His mind decided to take over, an extensive debate of his feelings over you– characterized by a substantial sense of dread– before the alarm filled up the stale silence. “Buen día,” Your voice was raspy, but carried that sweet essence it always did.

“Buen día mi princesa.” Every doubt he ever had evaporated once more, pulling you closer and pressing a kiss to your forehead. “How did you sleep? What are we having for breakfast?” A deep laugh resonated in the four walls as he threw himself over you, peppering your face with short kisses. The way your childish giggles filled the room made his heart swell, blood flow increasing. Your happiness was more than enough motivation to get him up and going for the day.

But the second he tore himself away from you, the thoughts of uncertainty flooded the gray matter once more. You brushed your teeth at the sink, and he’d already started the shower, the whole bathroom filled up with steam.

“Are you in love with me?” Brahim wondered out loud. But you responded with silence, long enough for him to peak his head from behind the protective glass. You met him with a shocked expression, mouth agape and eyes empty from any thoughts. And even with toothpaste around your lips, he found you to be stunning. He felt his stomach dip to the floor; the irrational fear of your reaction being negative suddenly invaded him, and he felt his chest grow heavier.

“Of course I am, are you not?” Then the pressure only grew heavier at how your expression dropped, bottom lip puckering slightly. You had your doubts, even when people spoke of his infatuation towards you.

Then, Brahim Diaz realized he wasn’t in deep shit nor in any kind of trouble. He was in love.

Fully, completely, irrevocably in love with you. If not, your reaction wouldn’t have pained him so much. He wouldn’t have turned off the faucet, reaching for a towel before exiting the cabin. “No, no. That’s not it.” He breathed out, a bitter taste swirling around the back of his throat. Any denial he’d ever presented to the relentless teasing, every scrunch of his nose at the idea of being in love now made him sick, disappointed in himself for ever refusing the obvious.

“I–” He opened his mouth to say, his rosy lips parted as he thought what to say next. You loved the way his teeth showed slightly, like an American Girl doll. “Everyone kept telling me I’m in love with you. And I kept denying it because I’m an idiot but I’m just an idiot in love.” He admitted, reaching to draw you in; closer, intimately. “Te amo, te adoro— tanto que me vuelvo loco— me vuelves loco.”

Your silence yet again alarmed him, but when his eyes met your face, he found you with an expression full of bliss. Brahim just left out a soft chuckle reaching back to massage your scalp once more. “Yo también te amo pero… mami is already asking where’s the ring.”

Now, it was his turn to laugh loudly. You smiled to yourself; it was the best sound in the entire world, at least to you. “It’s coming soon, I promise! Por ti, eso y más, princesa.”

[courtingchaos]

There’s a Devil Inside of Me and You

Kas!Eddie Munson x Vampire!Fem Reader

Pt.2 of At the End of the World

Warnings: Blood drinking, animal death, human death

A/N: Ope, more of this I suppose. I have no idea what I’m doing with this sometimes the urge just strikes, you know? Also just call me the comma queen because god damn there’s too many in this.

18+ NSFW No Minors

He speaks nonsense sometimes when his eyes go black. Deep pools of obsidian that seem to take his sense away.

“Why me?” You ask him when he crawls back into the boathouse you two hide away in.

“That hand that sneaks through the cracks, it found you.” He brings a new thing each time. A deer he found wandering too close to the lakes edge, a cooler of blood left unattended at the gym-turned-first aid center. “It pointed you out in the dark.” His own spindly finger points at you, tip of an elongated nail grazing your cheek. “It showed me where to find you.”

“Then why you?”

Tonight he clutches a den of foxes in his hands, necks broken, Eddie’s sympathy bleeding through into this creature. He shifts those dark eyes to the rotting slats of wood under you, a deep frown forming between his brows.

“He played at being the hero.” The frown turns melancholic before his face hardens into a grimace and he shakes a limp body at you. “He thought he could win.”

“Against what?”

“The vines. The rot. The bats.”

The sound is always around you now, the beating of thick wings. A muffled din during the night and silent when the sun hits its peak and you fall asleep in the shade of a corner of this dilapidated shack. He huddles you into the depths first, makes sure to tuck your legs up before he pulls the blue tarp and heavy boat cover over the two of you so you’re encased in darkness and the smell of lake water.

That first morning he’d been there, all Eddie all brown eyes all sense, and he’d told you what the sun would do to you. He’d darted his hand out into a pillar of dusty light and had started burning. You understood and said nothing while he arranged the corner for two bodies now, remaining silent when he pulled you along with him.

You were hungry like you hadn’t been before, hungry for his wrist and something wet. He knew what you needed but it was too early. A promise for dusk, a whispered ‘thank you’ and his head found a home on your shoulder, dirty hair pressed to your cheek where you watched him drift off. A moment of panic however when he stilled completely and no more breath came from him.

“Eddie?” You shake his shoulder and he doesn’t react. A firmer shake and his head lolls off it’s perch. You can see a sliver of his eyes now and they sit milky white and dead. A deep feeling of dread, something you should have been feeling a few hours ago settles in your stomach next to your hunger. It twists in the endless growling ache and you can feel it pull at your eyelids. This isn’t sleep though, not in the sense you know it. Whatever this feeling is weighs you down abruptly and it creeps through your body, stilling your movements as it makes it’s way up your spine until it hits your head and the darkness takes you.

Today it’s this other being that brings you dinner. Foxes to keep you for a few days, enough to get those brown eyes back in his skull. You find yourself missing Eddie when he’s gone, replaced by this other who can’t tell you the why of it all. You’ve yet to become accustom to feeding in this new way but instinct takes over and stamps down any apprehension. Long teeth pierce cooling flesh and you have to suck deep to draw the blood to the surface. A fresh kill but still dead, something you have to work hard for to stay alive.

He watches you with unblinking black that burns holes in you. Waits for you to finish your meal before he steals back a limp body from the mound in front of you. It’s day and night with him before and after feedings. This other watches you with rapt fascination and suddenly Eddie is there with fidgeting fingers and darting eyes, small grin forming a dimple on his cheek.

“Who is that?” The blood sticks in your throat, a thick coating that makes a click when you swallow around it.

“Who?” Eddie asks, lips smeared in gore.

“When you’re not here.” You gesture at your own eyes. “When your eyes are different.”

He hums and twists one of his rings around his knuckle. “No I’m…I’m here.”

“What is it then? Am I also gonna start speaking in riddles?”

“No.” He almost laughs at that. “No I-I’m special unfortunately.”

“Special?” You finally unfold from the corner and stand eye level with him, warmth creeping from your belly out towards your limbs.

“I got bit by something else.” He rakes a hand through his matted hair and it catches. He pulls until it rips free and he hisses from the pain and there you are, reaching out a hand to help soothe. There’s a draw to his pain deep in your head, an urge to fix. It propels you forward a few steps and you reach your hand towards his flinching face.

“You need to bathe.” Your fingers rub against his scalp and he shoots you a dubious look from the corner of his eye.

“I’m fine.”

“You’re disgusting.” Your gaze drops to his shirt, front stained with blood and dirt, and then down at yourself where the sight isn’t much better. “We both are.”

He pushes at your hand on his head and you stop trying to comfort him. He’s not meeting your eyes again, instead looking past you and out the window that looks into the woods. Overgrown ivy blankets the brush and walkway to the caved in house up the way. “And where do you suggest we clean up?”

There’s no soap and it’s lake water but it’s better than nothing. The wakes sway you gently where you sit waist deep and scrub your shirt under the water in a vain attempt to get the blood out. Eddie had averted his eyes when you’d started stripping out of your clothes, a move that you’d laughed at.

“You bit my neck and fed me your blood, I don’t think this matters.”

“Still.” He mutters before pulling his shirt over his head and kicking off his shoes.

Now though he floats a few feet in front of you in just his underwear, his clothes draped over your knee to soak in the muddy water.

“Next time you go out, find us a bar of soap or something.”

“Next on my list next to ‘nourishment’.”

“I’m tired of smelling like a lake.”

“It’s a been a week, how do you think I feel?”

A week. Already? Seven days of monstrous appetite and a deadly aversion to the sun.

“A week?”

“Yeah. They’ve got your posters up at the gym.” You hear his head turn in the water and his arms splash when he sits up, the water sitting just under his chin when he crouches. “I haven’t seen your parents though.” Not cold or uncaring but pragmatic.

You can’t go home. They won’t find you.

“I’m sorry.”

“I know.” You stare through the murky water lit dimly by a crescent moon, down to your legs sitting in the silt. “I’m not mad.”

“You should be. I was.”

When Eddie stares it doesn’t burn like the glossy black does. His warm brown is almost a comfort where it flicks over you from head to hands still absentmindedly scrubbing your shirt. In another life from a week ago this could have been a normal thing to do, going for a dip in the lake. Maybe not during October but the cold doesn’t reach you the same now. You can feel it but it doesn’t get into your muscles and lock you up in a shiver.

“It’s not like you took anything of value.”

Eddie stills the back and forth swaying of his hands under the surface. “What?”

“It’s just like…it’s not a big deal. You said you needed help and I can help like this, I guess. It’s whatever.”

Silence between you two, just the splashing of water against the lake shore and the heavy sense of spilled feelings. He creeps close enough that he ends up on all fours just over your legs. “It’s not whatever, I took your life from you.”

“It wasn’t much of a life Eddie.”

“You can’t see your family again. You can’t go home.”

“I know.” You stop scrubbing and clutch your stained work shirt in your fists. His face is crumpled in pained confusion as he tries to get you to understand.

“I can’t fix this.” There’s layers to those words. “There’s no end to this, whatever this is.” He gestures between the two of you. “I-I can’t make you human again.” Panic lays under his tongue and he inches forward. “When this is all over? All the cracks and-and the monsters and him? I don’t know what happens. What’s supposed to happen.”

Eddie stands abruptly, bringing streams of water up with him that pull on his boxers. The thin fabric clings to his hips and you drop your gaze quickly. “I don’t-I didn’t think-fuck!” The echo of his voice bounces off the trees when he yells and buries his face in his hands. His distress worries at your brain again, a tether pulled taught between you and you wonder if he’d feel a reaction to your more volatile emotions. Before you can stop him he makes for the shore and leaves you staring into the glittering water.

Another week goes by and Eddie spends most of it in that other state. He makes sure you’re fed but he doesn’t stick around, just disappears until sunrise when he tucks you both in for the morning.

“Eddie?” You whisper at him under the tarp. He isn’t pressed close today and that bond you’ve felt growing in the amorphous background of your mind feels stretched. It’s a new kind of ache, one that rivals the way your stomach burns between feedings, and you pull yourself over. Shoulder to shoulder, forehead almost pressed to his cheek you ask. “What is it that found me?”

“The black hand.” He doesn’t open his eyes, breathing even and slow.

“What is it?”

“A monster.”

“Is that what destroyed Hawkins?”

“No.” He shakes his head, crown of his curls rolling against the wall. “That was Henry.”

“Henry? A man did this?”

“He’s not a man anymore. He’s vines and a hive mind.” The tarp crinkles against his hair when he shifts his head, rolling it toward you so your forehead does press into his face. “When a portal opens up I can show you where he hides.”

“A portal?”

“It’s…he can explain later.” A dismissal but he doesn’t move away from you. He drops his knees so your bodies touch from ankles to faces and you feel that tug again deep in your guts.

“You need to eat.” You whisper into the collar of his shirt, stiffened by lake water and grime half scrubbed away. “You look terrible.” His cheekbone is too prominent against you and his hands boney when he pulled your wrist to bring you under the makeshift blankets. You just need to help, you want to help. It’s why he found you right? A purpose finally for your small, now inhuman, life.

Your teeth bite through the thin skin of your wrist easily and the smell of blood floods your senses. Eddie’s eyes fly open, the all black dull when he finds your wrist held in front of him. “Eat.”

“It’s not the same.” He swallows thick and doesn’t tear his eyes away even as he tries to brush you off again.

“But it’s something.” Behind your words you feel a ripple in your intention. An urging for him to take. Not anger but intense persuasion. You picture him reaching out for you like you had to him in that alleyway. A clear snapshot and it’s gone, that small reverb in your voice diminished when that tether to your spine has an answering pull.

His palm is cold when he pulls at your wrist to bring it to his dry lips but you don’t flinch. The red pumps sluggishly from the wound against his mouth and you get to watch him take that first tentative lick. Something human in the crease of his brows, a small noise from the back of his throat. His lips wrap around to suck at the wound and you’re matching his whine. The pull of blood makes your eyes flutter, the grip of his fingers on your elbow send a shiver through you that has nothing to do with the cold. Eddie knows when to stop so you don’t worry but the slow turn to sluggishness makes you droop into him.

He breaks with a soft gasp, tongue rough against the thin skin of your wrist. “Thank you.” He runs a thumb over the bite you inflicted and it stings before it starts to close slowly. You can’t make out anything in the dark now but you can picture those brown eyes flicking between your own just like his thumb that soothes over your wrist. Your sleep catches up to you faster than normal and you can feel yourself fading when Eddie shifts you so he can bury his face under your jaw.

“We’ll go out at dusk okay?” His lips brush against your neck. “I’ll show you how to hunt, in case anything happens.” His hand snakes into your limp one while you hang on to the threads of your consciousness. He isn’t warm or cold against you, he isn’t anything really, but the tension in your belly loosens when you feel him relax into you and you can see the faint line of the sunrise along the far edge of the tarp.

Eddie expects to wake to your rising pulse against his lips as you stir back to life next to him. He’d fallen asleep pressed into you to help quell the growing gulf of pain he’d created by finding you. No food and distance from you proved to be a hindrance so it felt safer to hide in the dark behind beetle shell eyes, right until you’d forced him to eat. It felt different from the other commanding voice in his head, this one softer, no invisible hand on his neck to force his head down into blood. You gave him an offering that he could take willingly. One he could have gently.

So when he comes to with his face in the splintering floorboards he’s confused before he jolts up and has to fight his way out of the tangle of tarp. The sun leaves only a strip of gold and pink on the horizon and the trees are nothing but a black silhouette against the sky.

“Fuck.” He snaps his gaze around and up into the sagging roof. He peers into corners and finally out the window to try to find a scrap of you. Vines are trampled into a path and he’s outside before he notices the stench of copper on the breeze. Instinct draws his nose up to find the source and he knows exactly where he’ll find you.

He’s into the brush before the last bit of sunset disappears, hoping that this isn’t anyone he might have known previously. Any one of his friends who could be injured out here in the wild overgrowth about to meet his newest creation. In a deep part of his mind he laughs at the flicker of a thought that Vecna was his last played villain and here he is, accidentally siccing his companion on the unsuspecting.

There’s no sounds of struggle, just hushed words whispered harshly at each other as he makes his way through broken brush.

“There’s a curfew.”

“I know! I fucking know okay?!”

“Just get up and we can make it back to the car okay?”

“Just get up?! Just get up?!”

The voices have no body yet but a strong scent, one bleeding while the other exudes distress. The sour tang of fear sits in the back of Eddie’s throat and mingles with his own. He’d meant to show you how to hunt the animals out here, not the stray humans that still wandered too close to the lake. Past their boundaries set by intruding agents and into the woods to find whatever beasts had broken through the earth and wrecked havoc on their town.

There’s a scuff of metal and wood hitting the ground, a rifle dropped by one man to help the other stand, and a ruffling of leaves that only Eddie can hear. You stand a few feet from him, stock still except for your fingers that seem to dance along invisible strings. A flexing of your fists against your new instinct to lunge.

His appetite isn’t as new as yours, the voraciousness of it suppressed while yours beats against your teeth. He can see how you stand poised to pounce, muscles tense under your dirty shirt. He doesn’t need to call your name for you to realize he’s there, but he’s startled all the same when you look over your shoulder at him, eyes wild and deep. The black of your pupils bleeds through the color, veins of ink that creep across into the bloodshot whites of your eyes and Eddie realizes his mistake with the tilt of your head. You’d held yourself back until he’d made himself known, predator competition for a prize kill.

From his perspective your movements slow when you turn back to lunge at the two men and one of them finally notices you. He jumps when you come into focus and he jolts again when Eddie comes into view just as quick, hot on your heels to stop a slaughter. He grabs the back of your shirt and a snarl rips out of your chest, alerting the humans to your monstrousness. They freeze together, crouched on the ground surrounded by drops of blood. Even with his bearings Eddie finds it hard to focus on you, his own need clawing up his throat when the metal in the air seems to coat his mouth. He breaths heavy, panting as his ignored hunger makes its presence known and his grip on you loosens. These are not his friends, not family or even familiar in a sense.

These men have been staring for too long.

They’ll recognize his face soon, maybe even yours too.

They’ll run into town and ruin his plan, telling everyone the freak was alive and well with the newest missing girl in town.

“Eddie…” You moan and his attention breaks from the cowering men to you and the want laced in your voice. “Eddie, I’m hungry.”

You don’t need his permission, not now anyways, but you wait until he nods softly. Two screams erupt off the surrounding trees and one cuts off short into a wet gurgling when your teeth find purchase at the base of their neck. It’s a slow drag to the forest floor, your mouth anchored to this man’s juglar. His knees hit the hard ground while your fingers dig into his shoulders and you let yourself fall on top of him, his hands weakly beating at your arms. The other man only whimpers now while he tries in vain to drag himself away, gouged calf leaving a bleeding line behind him.

Eddie doesn’t find delight in this hunt. He hasn’t enjoyed any human life he’s taken thus far but he won’t lie to himself. This blood is sweeter, thicker and richer than the surrounding fauna. It fills his belly longer and sharpens his senses to fine points, sharp enough to hear the vines creeping beneath the town.

“I want you to know this isn’t personal.” Eddie says lowly and the man in front of him bables through the tears. “I can’t let you go though, not when there’s so much to finish.” He descends before this human can let out another yell, Eddie’s eyes rolling back in his skull when blood floods his mouth. He remembers that first kill and quietly wishes he’d waited so he could watch your reaction. Hot copper fills him and he works quickly, too scared of getting lost in the sensation of feeding.

You’ve stilled in his periphery, stuck staring down at the unmoving man between your knees. Your shirt is bloodied again and so soon after you’d scrubbed it ‘clean’.

“Hey.” Blood drips from his lips back down onto its previous vessel and he wipes his hand over his mouth messily. “It’s a lot, I know but you’ll see-” He really hasn’t learned as much as he thought. Your head turns to him and his sympathetic words but your eyes hold no color. Black pools stare back at him and you hiss under your breath at his outstretched hand. It’s his turn to jerk away from you but you follow him back, your victim already forgotten in the leaves.

Eddie can’t find his footing before you reach him in your crawling, crowding him down next to his own murder. He isn’t afraid but he has no idea what you’ll do. He’d really thought there wouldn’t be an other you if there was no alternate dimension, not bats or vines present but again he’s proven wrong.

You hover over him and your eyes dance across his mouth where the blood is smeared. The sudden dip of your head makes him flinch and your tongue pointing into a fine v draws his attention. You run the tip of it along the corner of his lip, through the left over blood and over his skin. A deep hum rattles through you and Eddie has to fight his baser instincts. Your tongue roves again along his cupids bow and when his eyelids flutter to close he puts a stop to it. Holds up his arm to push you back slowly but you don’t take kindly to the denial. A snap of your jaws and you’re clamped to his forearm, fangs buried deep in the muscles.

The tussle only lasts a few moments but you get him good, his arm peppered in fanged kisses and the fingers of his other hand bloody. He wedges them in your mouth at the joint of your jaw and pries you open to shake his arm loose.

“Listen to me!” Deep layers bid you to still. He doesn’t like using it with you like your a meal to be lured but his arm aches. You still, breathing heavy, mouth red with his and the strangers blood. There’s a shift in your eyes and before he can blink the black seeps away leaving your bright eyes shining and wet in the waning light.

A sharp gasp when you realize what you’ve done to his arm. He keeps you pushed away but your hands grazing over the punctures make him less tense. Worry furrows your brow and the tether anchoring you two draws closer.

“Oh…Eddie I’m sorry. I didn’t-I couldn’t see you.” Your eyes screw shut while your hands grip around your bites.

“It’s okay.” He tries to placate you, long arms pulling out of your grip to draw you down for a hug. It only feels strange for a moment before he feels you shudder and his grip tightens.

“He’s everywhere.” You sob into his chest, hands wound up in his shirt. “I can hear him winding through my skull. I hear their wings all night, the screams.”

His hands rest on your back while you try to climb into his neck. A low whine escapes from your chest and he shushes you. He won’t think about the consequences of this yet, not when you’re dealing with this intrusion. The two bodies next you can wait, the new questions he has can too. Under his back the vines inch along and the beating of wings on their search for him vibrate the earth.

[princessimotep]

Tienes Mi Corazón - Chapter 2

Moonbeams shimmered down upon the Van Der Linde camp; Horseshoe Overlook. Most of the gang members were asleep aside from a few who sat by the fire. Javier’s horse could be heard trotting into camp. The first one to greet him was Arthur, but his face quickly turned sour upon seeing that Javier had brought along the woman they had saved just over an hour ago.

“Javier…” Arthur said through gritted teeth. He was quiet with his tone, not wanting to awake the girl behind his friend; nor the rest of the camp. Javier let go of the reins and held his hands out in question.

“What was I supposed to do? She can hardly speak.”

“There was over twenty goddamn O’Driscolls trying to take her, or whatever they hell they were trying to do. Don’t you think the situation is odd?” Javier rolled his eyes and dismounted Boaz, carefully.

“Maybe they were passing through. Stumbled across her… thought they could have some kind of sick fun. O’Driscolls are scum.” Javier spat on the ground, his words like venom when he spoke of the gang’s name. Arthur leaned in closer, frowning.

“Or there’s more to the situation than we realise. When Colm realises his men are dead, he’ll come looking. With twice the number of men.”

“Then she’s safer here with us.” Javier almost hissed at Arthur, not wanting to hear of it anymore. The small commotion alerted the gang members by the fire, drawing them over to Javier. One of them was Uncle, perhaps one of the loudest members of the group who would surely wake everyone up.

“Hey fellers!” He gasped lowly, looking at the woman upon Javier’s horse. “Who you got there, Javier?” Uncle playfully elbowed the raven-head in the arm. “A lady friend, huh?”

“Shut up, old man.” Uncle’s mouth hung wide open, offended at Javier’s attitude.

“Hey, hey, that’s no way to speak to your elder. I was just saying-”

“-Well, I’m just saying, you need to shut up.”

“Mister Escuella, Mister Morgan!” Miss Grimshaw stormed over; fists tightly clenched. “What is going on over here?” Javier sighed, the voices in camp now getting louder and louder. Arthur calmly explained the situation in the background to both Miss Grimshaw and Uncle whilst Javier gently shook the girl awake.

“Hey…” He whispered. Miriam’s eyes opened just an inch to look down to the owner of the soft voice. “I’m going to lift you down, okay?” His large hands held onto her hips and smoothly pulled her off without causing too much distress. The only result of the action was him wincing at the pain from his head injury. Miriam noticed this and looked at him with big doe-eyes and held onto the sleeves of his blue jacket out of concern.

“Are you okay?” He chortled in a hushed manner.

“Sí, Señorita.” That worried look in her eyes made him swell up with confidence. “I’ll be fine.” For a moment, he forgot about the pain. What mattered to him was making sure Miriam felt safe, and much to his liking; she clearly felt most safe when around him.

“What. Is. Going. On?” Dutch exclaimed, hearing most of the members of the camp now beginning to crowd round the new blood. The only members who weren’t present were Abigail and Jack who were still sleeping, and Micah who was holed up in Strawberry.

“Javier’s bought a new girl into the camp!” Mary-Beth happily blurted out, hardly able to contain her excitement. She did love the female company she had at camp and was ecstatic of sharing it with a newcomer. “Do you like to read, honey?” Before Miriam could open her mouth, another gang member pitched in.

“Even better, can ya handle a drink?” Karen piped up.

“Will you two stop it!” Miss Grimshaw jeered, disapproving of their outbursts. “Can’t you see the poor thing is scared without you all…” She looked around at everyone else and almost hissed at them. “… gawking at her like she’s some kind of prized pony at a county fair!”

“None of us were gawking Miss Grimshaw!” Lenny called out, a hint of nervousness in his voice. Then a loud, obnoxious voice bellowed over everyone’s heads.

“Haha! Speak for yourself Mister Summers! I betcha this young lass here is indeed a prized pony if our own Javier has taken a likin’ to her, huh! I think I like her mi ‘self!” The Irishman happily chirped, seeing no harm in his words yet his eyes indeed lingered a little too long for Karen and Javier’s liking. Miss Grimshaw pinched Sean by the ear, twisting it to the side.

“I’m watching you, Mister MacGuire.”

“Ah! Let go!” Letting him squirm a couple more seconds, the older woman released him. His hand instantly went to his ear, rubbing it. “You’re a cruel woman, Miss Grimshaw! There ain’t no harm in lookin’!”

“Oh yeah?” Karen rolled her eyes, walking off. Sean walked off after her, trying to explain himself. The others, however, were glad to be rid of him, now finally able to focus on the matter at hand. Amongst the disarray, Arthur and Javier pulled Dutch aside where they joined with Hosea to discuss the situation. Miss Grimshaw put it upon herself to ‘guard’ the girl from the others. Miriam stood behind the older lady, staying close to Boaz. All the voices muttering around them made her feel as though she was stuck in cage, unable to escape. She shied away, not wanting to engage with anyone. Part of her wishing she had saved Javier the trouble and just stayed back at the cabin. She looked around for him. Soon she saw he was in deep conversation with Dutch who looked to her like the leader of the gang. Mister Van Der Linde himself. Guilt entered her heart, hoping he was not getting into trouble over her.

“Right… Miss Grimshaw!” Dutch yelled, hushing the voices of the gang members.

“Yes, Dutch?”

“Will you please take care of Miss Miriam. I’m sure you and the other girls will settle her in nicely.” The elder lady nodded her head and put her hand on the small of Miriam’s back, coaxing her away from the crowd with Tilly, Mary-Beth and Sadie. “Uncle! Will you be so kind as to set up a tent for Miss Miriam?”

“W-Why me, boss?” Dutch shot a look at the old man, stepping slowly and menacingly towards him.

“The boys tell me it was you who gave them their lead… and you didn’t go to help them?” Having been caught out, Uncle stumbled over his words, looking at Arthur and Javier who stood behind Dutch, both having lit a cigarette. The ember glows of their smoking cast ominous shadows below their eyes which made Uncle nervous.

“I… I wanted to! But my back has been hurting and someone has to stay back at camp— I’m real sorry Dutch, I wanted to help I really did but--” Dutch put a hand on Uncle’s shoulder, smiling.

“I understand old boy. So, we would really appreciate your help now in helping set up the tent for Miss Miriam.” Dutch had a haunting charisma to him which made almost anyone do his bidding for him. Nodding his head frantically, Uncle began to walk towards the other women.

“I-I understand, boss!” Hosea chuckled, patting Dutch on the back.

“That famous Van Der Linde charm, ay old Dutch?” The men chuckled amongst themselves. All but Javier who found himself watching what the women were doing; in particular, Miriam. She had her arms wrapped around one another, rubbing them to fight against the cold breeze which was running through the camp. Javier blew out the smoke between his lips. He saw how the moonlight reflected off from her hair. Although her hair was wavy like some form of mythical creature, it still held a glowing shine to it which was pleasing to the eye. Her skin looked soft to touch, like butter. And her hands looked so gentle but delicate. When he held her hand moments prior, he remembered how smooth they were. He couldn’t help but let his thoughts wander. Perhaps she used oils?

Javier flicked his cigarette ash before taking another drag of it.

His eyes looked back to her hair which was being mildly fanned back by a gust of icy wind. He found himself longing to run his fingers back through it but wanting to savour the touch. To Javier, Miriam seemed so… ethereal.

“And Mister Strauss!” Javier jolted back to his senses. He dropped his cigarette and stood on it to put out the embers.

“Yes, Mister Van Der Lin?”

“Will you please see to Javier’s head injury? He took a nasty hit tonight.” Javier waved his hand.

“I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not, son.” Dutch put his hand on Javier’s shoulder. “Go see, Strauss. For me.” Being undoubtedly loyal to Dutch, Javier followed his orders and begrudgingly walked away with Strauss to his medicine wagon. “The rest of you... back to your own business!”

Javier sat uninterested on top of a barrel as Strauss tended to his head and the others went back to bed. He picked up his shoe, resting it on the edge of the barrel and began to scrape the dirt off his shoe with a small piece of timber. Now and then he would wince at Strauss’ actions but ultimately soldiered through the pain. He had dealt with worse before. Starvation, heartache, being driven out of his country… no mortal pain could compare to the things he experienced from his past. “Well, Mister Escuella. You’re going to be alright.”

“Like I said.” Strauss ignored the Mexican’s attitude and passed him a bottle. “What’s this?”

“A health cure. Drink that and the pain will go away.” Javier shrugged his shoulders and knocked the whole thing back in one. He threw the empty bottle aside and hopped down from the barrel. He mumbled his thanks to the German and strutted over to his tent. He was about to go inside when he looked back over his shoulder having heard Miss Grimshaw bid her goodnight to what appeared to be Miriam in her tent. Miss Grimshaw closed the tent and walked away to leave the girl in peace. He hesitated. He wanted to go over there to see how she was but wondered if she would rather be left alone. He thought back to earlier when she was rubbing her arms and a smile curled up from the corner of his lips.

“No te duermas todavía cariño.” (“Don’t fall asleep yet darling.”) He whispered, now making his way over to her tent. He discreetly looked around, making sure no one was watching and to be safe he stood silently by her tent for a few moments. Bill walked past him and Javier just nodded in passing. Bill, being too drunk to notice, went straight to his bed to pass out. Javier looked around once before tapping on the sheet of Miriam’s tent. “Señorita.” He waited for a response but none came. He held his hands in front of him, still intent on making sure the coast was clear. Once more he whispered but a little louder this time. “Señorita!” He crouched down, to speak through the small opening of the tent. “Are you awake?” To his hidden delight, Miriam’s head peaked through the opening and once she saw it was Javier she relaxed, opening the tent a bit more.

“Hi Javier…”

“Hola.” He murmured, matching the quietness of her voice. He couldn’t conceal his smile upon seeing her. “Cómo estás?” She looked at him innocently yet bewildered.

“I’m sorry?” He licked his tongue over the bottoms of his upper teeth, trying to supress a snicker.

“I said…” He leaned in closer to her, his voice becoming lower in pitch. His lips were inches away from her ear. “How are you?” His voice almost made her melt due to how close he was to her. Miriam swallowed, trying to be rid of the dryness in her throat.

“Fine. Thank you.” She wiped her cheeks, getting rid of the last stains of tears. “How is your head?”

“I’ll be alright. A head injury is nothing compared to what you have gone through tonight.” She looked away, thinking back to those awful moments leading up to her rescue. Miriam reminded herself of how lucky she was that Javier came along when he did. Javier noticed the young woman seemed to be lost in her thoughts. He furrowed his eyebrows together. “Hey… you wanna talk about it?” She shook her head lightly. “I understand.” Then he put his arms around the bottom hem of his poncho and pulled it up over his head. He folded it roughly in his hands and offered it to her. “I thought you’d might want this.” Her cheeks became hot, having become flustered at the notion. “I saw you were cold earlier and well…” Miriam flickered her eyes back up to Javier which caused him to pause in his sentence. They had locked eyes for five… six… seven seconds before Javier broke the gaze. He cleared his throat and offered her his poncho once more. “Please. I’d feel better knowing you weren’t cold.” The chestnut-haired woman took the beautiful fabric from Javier’s hands, smiling deeply at the man’s kindness.

“Thank you, Javier.”

“You’re welcome… Miriam.” He smiled in relief. A bubble of pride pushed against his chest, pleased this had worked out better than what he imagined in his head. “Well then… Goodnight.”

“Goodnight.” She hummed back, her voice dripping with honey. She closed her tent, seeing Javier begin to walk away. A confident strut began to grace his steps as he walked back over to his own tent. He couldn’t describe why that interaction made him happy but it did. It felt nice to give something back to someone. To see her smile; make her feel safe. He led on his bedroll, his arms crossed behind his head and turned his head to look up to the stars.

After tonight’s events, the stars shone a little brighter for Javier. For that, he was thankful.

Previous Chapter ~*~ Next Chapter

[milkyplier]

for the WIP thing, I want to know more about Amber. I love Ninjago

I have two complete snippets for this! Let me give you the emotionally devastating one XD

TW: discussions of murder/flashbacks, I think?

Disclaimer: I know nothing about babies, so if anything regarding Amber is wrong…gloss over it 💀 I don’t need it to be really accurate, this is supposed to be for fun so I don’t wanna have to worry about research or anything XD

Kai almost doesn’t go home. The others don’t know about Amber. He isn’t looking forward to having to give them the explanation when he arrives home so late with Amber in tow. He feels torn apart, his anger squashed only by the unbearable grief in his chest, and that is only held back by Amber. She needs him. She’d been in the closet for who knows how long. She cried herself out an hour ago, but she needs food and she needs a bath and a new diaper.

Of which Kai only has what he’d had the foresight to stuff in a bag before leaving the crime scene. He’s going to need more. And there’s no crib on the Destiny’s bounty, nor any toys or clothes or anything at all that Amber needs.

He walks home. He would run, to get Amber taken care of as fast as possible, but he doesn’t want to disturb her.

It feels like it takes forever to get to the Bounty. When he finally does, the whole ship is so quiet he thinks (to some degree of relief) everyone has gone to sleep, but as he is passing through the living room to get to his bedroom, the lights flick on, blinding him.

“Where have you been? It’s one in the morning, Kai, we’ve been worried—“

Nya’s rant gets cut off when she sees the baby cradled in Kai’s arms.

“Kai, did you steal a baby?!” She demands.

“No!” He snaps. “I didn’t steal—why on earth would you think I’d steal a baby?!”

“I don’t know! You’ve done stupid things before!”

“Maybe, but I never—“

A choked sob from Amber silences him and all his anger fizzles out. He turns to her, adjusting her in his arms and bouncing her a little bit.

“No, no, don’t cry,” he coos into her hair, “it’s okay. I know, you’re hungry and you need a new diaper, and you miss mommy, I know. It’s okay, I’m here.”

Whatever she was upset about, Kai’s reassurances are enough to stall them and lull her back to sleep. Kai sighs in relief, and then glares back at Nya. Her anger is gone too, replaced by shock, confusion, sympathy.

“Is she your—“ she starts to say.

“Yes.” Kai cuts her off. A little voice tells him to clarify she’s not his biological daughter, just his daughter by every other right, but he ignores it. “She’s my daughter. Happy?”

Nya doesn’t respond.

“Skyler’s her mom.” Was. Skyler was her mom.

He feels tears pricking at his eyes, and

“Goodnight, Nya,” he says shortly, and strides down the hall. He enters his room and slides his door shut too harshly. The snap it makes upsets Amber, and she cries out anew.

“No, no, I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” he soothes her hastily. “I’m sorry, I was upset.”

She is not so easily reassured this time; and Kai tries to suffocate his rising panic as her cries grow louder. The others seemed to have been asleep, a baby crying will undoubtedly wake them.

“No, shhh, please,” he begs her, “please, shhh. Shhhh, I’m sorry, it’s okay.”

He bounces her against, and when that shows no signs of working, casts his eyes around the room for something to distract her. Before he can pick anything up, the door slides open.

“Kai, what—?” Cole’s groggy voice starts to ask.

“Nothing!” Kai says. “Nothing, just go back to bed.”

“Is that a baby?”

Amber, unsatisfied with any of Kai’s attempts to soothe her, begins to cry louder. The noise pulses in his hears to the rhythm of his heartbeat.

My heartbeat. Can she feel that? Could she feel that? Would it help?

He briefly lays her down flat on the bed—which brings her cries up another notch—and strips out his gi, and then his shirt. He unbuttons Amber’s nightgown, too. Skyler said skin-to-skin was a bonding thing parents and babies could do. He picks her up again and positions her on his chest, her skin soft against his own. He starts to rock in place, continuing to whisper reassurances to her until finally her sobs die out, maybe out of exhaustion, maybe because she really is comforted, and falls asleep. Kai would sigh again, if he weren’t afraid it would disturb her.

Out of the corner of his eye, he sees his door wide open and Cole, Jay, Zane, Nya, Lloyd, and Master Wu all gathered in the doorway as much as they can. They’re all staring at him, in some degrees of shock. Only Master Wu has any kind of poker face, but Kai still sees the surprise behind his eyes.

For several minutes, no one says anything, before finally Kai can’t help by exhale heavily.

“She’s tired. She’s hungry. She needs a bath.” He looks at them all, drawn thin. “Let me get her settled, and then we’ll talk.”

* * *

An hour later, Amber is in much better condition than Kai. He’d fed her, cleaned her, and changed her, and now he’s lying on the couch in the living room, Amber sprawled on his chest and fast asleep.

The rest of the team has settled around the living room, patiently waiting for him to start talking. He knows they’ll wait however long he needs them to, but he also knows they’re wide awake and ready to listen. He only waits a few more minutes before he begins.

“You remember about a year ago, me and Skyler got into this huge fight?”

He hears them all nod.

“Skyler…slept with some guy the next day. Her ex-boyfriend. She told me about it a month later, because she was pregnant with his baby.”

He brings a hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose. His head throbs.

“I forgave her, it was my fault. I mean, it was her choice, but…you get it. I forgave her, and I offered to help her raise the baby. The day Amber was born, she told the all the doctors and nurses that I was the father, so it’s on Amber’s birth certificate.“

Kai takes a shuddering breath.

“I guess you probably noticed a slight increase in how much time I was spending with Skyler. My every free moment. No arcade, no movie nights, no lazy days. It was all for Amber. And it’s been like that, for three months, but…”

An image flashes behind his eyes—Skyler, sprawled on the floor, eyes wide and unseeing, blood everywhere. He blinks hard and this time, the breath doesn’t feel like it helps.

“She’s dead.” He doesn’t know how else to say it, aside from bluntly. “She’s dead. Skyler’s dead. I went to see her tonight, after patrol ended, and I found her on the floor. Signs of a struggle around her apartment. Blood…she was dead. Beaten to death. And Amber…hidden in the closet.”

He swallows, eyes burning. “She’s…she’s dead.”

He feels like he’s suffocating. Amber is suddenly a leaden weight on his chest, keeping him from breathing. He sits up, holding her so she isn’t technically moved from her place but the weight is not so bad.

“She’s dead,” he gasps. “She’s—she’s dead, and I…I don’t—I don’t know—“

Arms wrap around him, gently, so as not to crush Amber. Selfishly, Kai wants to put her down so he can receive the hug properly.

“I’m so sorry, Kai.” Nya whispers. “I had no idea, I’m so sorry.”

Rather than making him feel better, it makes him feel worse. He tries to reel himself in, but his choking, ragged breathes are difficult to wrangle, and Kai worries he’ll disturb Amber.

As he thinks it, someone plucks Amber from his arms. He stands, beginning to protest, but it is Wu who now cradles Amber and Wu who silences his argument.

“No, Kai.” He says softly. “Calm yourself, first. She knows how you feel.”

Kai nods, feeling ashamed, although he knows that was not what Wu intended. He sits back onto the couch, dropping his head in his hands.

Skyler, sprawled on the floor, eyes wide and unseeing, blood everywhere. Her face is cut and swollen, almost unrecognizable if not for her red hair and green eyes. Skyler, who he loved. Skyler, lying there—

He stands up again, eyes wide open, and begins to pace. He suddenly wants Amber back, suddenly misses her familiar weight. He looks at his daughter, snuggled peacefully in Wu’s careful arms. She has red hair.

Skyler’s red hair.

A sob rips past his lips, and the rest are quick to follow, too quick for Kai to stop them. Part of him feels ashamed; he’s cried very few times in front of the team, fewer times even than Cole. He’s prided himself on that, on his stoicism, on his ability to remain at least seemingly unaffected outwardly by anything. On his ability to seem strong. Now, he feels weak. He knows he’s weak. The weakest man on earth. Hell, he’s not even a man, he’s just 17. A boy. 17, weak, and a single father to a daughter that isn’t really his.

The weakest boy in the world.

He doesn’t know when he ends up on his knees, sobbing into his palms as Cole rubs slow circles into his back. He cries and he cries and he cries until his throat is raw and his face is sticky and hot with tears. He sits back, exhausted and miserable. Nya is next to him, one arm around his shoulders. The others are nearby, clearly wishing they could express their sympathy but feeling as if there’s no room.

“It’s late. Or early, I should say. It would do us all—especially you, Kai—good to get some rest, and then have a good meal in the morning.”

No one replies, but Kai knows everyone agrees.

He stands up, refusing any help, and takes Amber from Wu. He walks down the hall to his room, and the door slides shut with a final, soft, click.

[thebookowal]

Doodle time, in class 👍

(so to clarify in my school, we have a strict rule not to bring any electronics, from home so we’re not allowed to bring our phones )

octopus, DJ by @ntls-24722

he just popped in my head doing those cool poses supposed

I think that sentence rhymes 😝 I know I didn’t make them really chubby, even though I really do I just need to practice more

oh yeah and here or there is some thing I got really inspired off by an animation called,the worm

It’s actually pretty cool and it gives you the chills not that much but the ones (want to have another episode ) kind of chills

and it had a detective that somehow give me vibes that what if Fritz before he got reincarnated what, if -what if Fritz wasn’t or didn’t go through what he did in his childhood and in fact, he lived a normal life and become a detective. He looks like a very suitable person, but of course our Fritz, insane personality makes him much suitable to be fritz ✨

edit : here he is 👇✨

NTLS!! You have to go see him tell me what do you think??? doesn’t look like friends without reincarnation (or if it didn’t happen at all) ???

Here is my fellow boy oh, by the way, I think that is inspired by Ntls as well I remembered to draw something similar to it but this guy I think he’s a lizard. I don’t know where he is yet. I just know that the colors are completely different. And his food is different. But I don’t know I named him bubbles by the way bubbles DJ what do you guys think? I don’t know yet. They already covered up that he only walks on four legs, and he rarely walks on his two back legs

Oh yeah yeah yeah yeah!!!!!

where is this? Funny thing happened as well with him every single time I try to draw him fully I don’t draw the tail full in

There is one of them

oh yeah and on top is actually the diabetes celebration day for men. My friend told me about it and it was supposed to be I think right now to other people two days ago

look at him very cute with a stormy out 😚

Here is him sleeping he like to sleep with his mouth open all the time I mean with the song out just creating a puddle of saliva And here it is this fat hundred XL ass boy dancing he was in my head, the whole entire lesson, and I said “I had to draw it!”

I have never in my life draw big shoes. I am really proud of the big shoes that I did here. Oh yeah, and this guy is name is puppet I know it’s very taking, but I thought of killing him that because I can do whatever the hell I want with him, I could create them to be a cat like in the picture down belooooow

I have been sleeping for two hours for two days now and my head is throbbing so this is one of them him checking on me

because I couldn’t handle it. I literally fall asleep. While I am writing notes.

And yeah, I was drawing this underneath the table because the teacher was right beside me and if they saw me, they might actually go through it and tell me why aren’t you writing I guess that’s all

good night everybody or good morning or good afternoon or whatever time you have right now bye I need to go to sleep. I have a lot tomorrow.(thanking about DJ will go to sleep.🤭)

guys is it normal that my body shaking it’s really shaking violently while I’m writing this I think it’s fine I don’t know. Is it ??

[andydrysdalerogers]

Sliding Into Home ~ On The Hunt For Mike Weiss

Pairing: MLB!Frank Adler x Abigail Hernandez (OFC)

Synopsis:

After a trade from Boston to Los Angeles, first baseman Frank Adler would seem to have it all. Money, women, an amazing niece, yes Frank should have it all. Except for one thing. One thing that left after a mistake five years ago. Los Angeles should be the chance to start over. Except she is supposed to be in Boston. Not his new medical director.

* A Frank Adler AU x Major League Baseball Story**

Warning: ANGST (i can't stress this enough), second chances, cheating, S~M~U~T!!, slow burn, drug use, abandonment issues, betrayal, domestic violence (i may have missed some), flashbacks

Dividers by me

I do NOT give permission for my work to be translated or reposted on here or any other site, even if you give me credit. DO NOT REPOST MY FICS. Reblogs, comments, likes, and feedback ALWAYS appreciated

Previous: Since When Is Ice Cream Evil?

Sliding Into Home Master List Main Masterlist

Mary Eileen Adler has only ever known two parents: Frank and Abby.  They were her dad and mom for all intents and purposes, regardless of the time Abby left.  She understood that her real mother was Frank’s sister, but she wasn’t her mom.  

And she understood that she had a father but that he never acknowledged her so really, he wasn’t anything to her.  

So why did Uncle Mike say he was her dad? 

As her grandparents drove them to their Boston house, Mary sat quietly, not sure how to ask the questions in her head. Uncle Mike was nice but not nice to Frank or Abby.  She remembered the bruises she saw on Abby and when she asked, she was told she was in an accident.  But she knew it wasn’t the truth.  

“Nugget, are you hungry?” 

Mary snapped her head up to Frank, who looked concerned. “A little,” she whispered.  

“Do you want...” 

“I want Abuela’s food. Because it's at home.  And I want to go home.”  

The sadness in her voice nearly tears Frank in half.  His little girl is scared and hurting. “Ok Nugget.  We’ll go home.  We have a flight to Los Angeles tomorrow.”  

Mary nodded. “You won’t leave me, right?” 

Frank almost lost it right there.  He lifted the girl out of her seat and into his lap, adjusting the seatbelt so she could sit the rest of the way home there. “I’m always going to be here for you.  And I’ll make sure nothing happens to you again, ok?  I love you Mary, so much. Abby and I are go so happy you are ok and that you are back home with us.” He kissed her temple and she snuggled into him. “You’re ours Nugget and we’ll fight every day to make sure of that.”  

May fell asleep in the comfort of his arms.  They made it to Abby’s parents' house and Frank took her right to the guest room.  Tucking her in, he moved to leave the room, but a tiny hand fisted his shirt.  “Please stay with me,” she whispered.  

Frank smiled, scooting her to the middle of the bed, took off his shoes and climbed in. Mary rested her head on his chest and went back to sleep, taking Frank with her. 

 Frank sat with a coffee, watching Mary a few hours later as she played in the back yard with Johnny, Susie, Marco and Scott, Dodger chasing her around.  He sighed as he took in the sight.  “Frankie?” He looked over to his wife, who placed some sweet bread on the table next to him.  “Are you ok baby?” 

“Yeah, Cricket, I’m ok.  I’m just wondering how I’m going to break this news to Mary.  We have to give her something and she’s too smart not to just start googling everything.”  He rubbed his forehead.  “I was hoping we could have this conversation when she was older, but I guess not.”  

“I know Frankie but its better it comes from us.” Abby kissed his head. “Our baby needs to know the truth.” She looked at the group and an idea came to mind.  “How about we do this with everyone here? If it becomes too much, she can lean on Scott or Johnny or Marco or us, whatever makes her happy. She’ll know that she is loved by everyone here.”  

“Are you ok with everyone knowing our past?” 

“I am not ashamed of how everything got out of sync, Frankie. We were manipulated and that the truth.  Is that something I wanted Mary to know? No, of course not because I never wanted her to be afraid of anything but if it makes her safer, then I will do what I need to do to protect our girl.”  She cupped his cheek and he leaned into her warmth.  

“We’ll do it when you parents come back,” he said. “I want her to have all of the support she can have.” Frank leaned into Abby for a kiss. “You said our baby. Did you mean that?” 

“Mary is ours, Frankie. Of course I meant that.” 

“No I mean, will we have a baby?” 

Abby sucked in a breath. “You think you’re ready for that?” 

Frank looked at her eyes. “Maybe we wait until this all blows over but yeah, Cricket, I want a baby with you.” 

“That good. Because if you wanted a baby with someone else, I’ll murder you.”  

After a dinner of spaghetti and meatballs, the family gathered around the living room, Mary sat between Frank and Abby, chatting with Johnny.  “Mary, we wanted to talk to you about what’s been happening.”  

She fell silent as her family quieted.  She looked around and swallowed.  “Okay.”  

Abby sighed. “You know how we’ve told you that your birth mom is Frank’s sister?” Mary nodded. “Well, we also told you that we didn’t know who your biological father is, right?” She nodded again. “The last couple of months have been enlightening to us all.”  

“What does that mean?” 

Frank swallowed. “You remember that Abby was in the hospital?” 

“You said she was in accident.”  

“She was, Nugget, but not the way you were thinking.  Uncle Mike,” he swallowed, “he...uh... he...” 

“Did he hurt Abby?” 

“No.” He said firmly. “No, he didn’t touch her, but he knew where your mother was and invited her into Abby’s old house. And she hurt Abby.”  

“Why?” Mary’s eyes filled with tears.  “Why would she do that? 

“We are not really sure Mary,” Abby said softly. “But Uncle... just Mike, sweetheart, Mike and Diane have their reasons for everything.  All we know is that the police are looking for them and they and we have a lot of questions. Do you have any questions?” 

Mary looked at all of the people in her life, her family. “Are they going to take me away?” she asked just above a whisper. “Will they...” tears trickled down her face, “will they take you and Dodger away?” She looked between Abby and Frank. “You’re my mom and dad, not them.”  She began to sob.  

Frank immediately got out of his seat in front of her. “Listen to me, Mary.” He locked eyes with her. “No one is going to take you anywhere.  You are coming home with me and Abby and Scott and Dodger.  Johnny and Susie are going to hang out with us. Your abuelos are going to visit and we ae going to visit in the off season but this right here,” he looked around the room, “this is your family. You are my girl,” he wiped around her face to remove the tears. “I won’t let anyone, or anything change that.”  

Mary threw herself into his arms as everyone calmed their own soft cries. Mary understood. Her home was with Frank and Abby.  

The two people who would do anything for her.  

The morning of their flight home, Abby and Frank sat down with the lead detective on Mary’s kidnaping case, Paul Diskant.  “I’m sorry I haven’t met with you sooner,” he said, after introducing himself. “I’ve been following up with some leads coming in.”  

“Any news on finding Weiss?” Frank asked with a hard edge. 

Detective Diskant frowned. “No, it looks like he rented a car when he arrived in Boston a week ago and turned it in, but we don’t know if he’s left town or has someone else helping him.  We found the house, just as Mary described. There were no signs that he was going to hurt her in any way. We did find some photographs, surveillance of your family. It was taken by a professional, so I am assuming Mr. Weiss hired a private investigator.” 

“Fuck,” Frank mumbled. “What is the next step? We’re flying back to Los Angeles this afternoon.”  

“Private?” 

“Yeah, after what happened to Abby, I didn’t want to risk a commercial flight.” 

“I would like to send some officers to escort your family to the airport, just as a precaution.” Detective Diskant sighed. “I’m going to contact LAPD and advise the detectives on your case, Dr. Adler, what’s happened.  I’m sure, with the coverage it received in the press, they are aware of something but not everything and I want to keep them in the loop.”  

“Alright, what do you suggest for personal security?” Frank asked.  

“Frankie,” Abby started.  

“No, Abigail, we are not discussing this again. I will not allow something to happen to you or Mary or Scott for that matter.”  

“Mr. Adler, Dr. Adler, let me make this clear. My recommendation is that your family take every precaution available.  It is clear that your sister and Mr. Weiss are not of sound mind.  He is desperate to get to you Dr. Adler.  Your husband is right.”  

Abby stared at the detective for a minute before looking at her husband. “You really think he might try again?”  

“Cricket, if it wasn’t for the fact that your entire family is with our girl right now, she would be here with us. I refuse to leave any of you vulnerable again.”  

Departing from the airport, Abby’s parents hugged their daughter, granddaughter and son-in-law hard. “Call us when you get home,” Ana said, cupping her daughter’s cheek.  

“It’ll be late, Mama.”  

“I don’t care.”  She turned to Scott and Johnny. “You boys behave. “ 

“We will Mrs. Hernandez,” Johnny said before picking up Mary and carrying her into the plane.  

Abby looked around.  “Where is Susie?” 

“I think she left her bag in the car,” Scott said.  “C’mon Dodger, let’s get on.”  

Abby walked back to the SUV and stopped. She smiled as she spied on Susie and Marco, holding hands and whispering to each other, heads bent closer.  Abby quietly moved away as Marco bent down to place a soft kiss on Susie’s lips.  

Frank waited for Abby as Susie came around the side of the car.  “You girls are always late,” he mumbled. He grunted as Abby elbowed him. “What?” 

“Leave Susie out of this. She just needed a moment,” she whispered. She pulled out her phone.  

Abby: You could always find work out in California  Marco: Why would I do that  Abby: Because a certain blonde may love it  Marco: I don’t know what you are talking about  Abby: Ok fine. Just know, Frank is looking for someone to run security for the family. This could be the opportunity you’re looking for  Marco: Really?  Abby: Call him.   Marco: I’ll do it tomorrow.  Thanks sis. 

Returning to the team and relative normalcy helped the Adlers get back into normal. Frank thought it was a brilliant idea to have Marco be the head of security for the family. He moved Marco into the guest house on his property and Marco took over interviewing and hiring security to protect the family.  

Frank had a good couple of weeks, the Dodgers on a run at the moment.  Mary was thriving with camp, Abby found time to work at USC and attend to her duties with the Dodgers and Scott had found a job that allowed him to take care of Mary and work from home.  He and Abby shared an office, which Abby loved as Scott was rapidly becoming her best friend.  

Yes, everything was going great.  

Unknown: enjoy it while it last  Frank: Who is this?  Unknown: a nightmare 

NEXT

@patzammit

@texmexdarling

@slutforchrisjamalevans

@firephotogrl74

@before-we-get-started

@tinkerbelle67

@jennmurawski13-writes

@bunnyforhim

[monkeythefander]

A Witch and a Baby

Chapter 5: A Vampire in the Library

Summary: It’s been two months since Logan became a parent, and with the help of his new friends raising Janus has become a bit easier. The witch has also had plenty of fun hanging out with his friends. All of these events seem to have caused Logan to forget something though. That something is an overdue library book. That book might just lead to another friend.

Content Warnings: Brief mention of singing lullabies (which are calming due partly to magic), nothing else that I’m aware of, but please let me know if I missed anything.

Relationships: All platonic

Click below the cut to read the fic and find links to the previous and next part

———————————————————————

It’s been two months now since Janus first arrived at Logan’s cottage. The witch feels a bit more confident in his parenting skills. This confidence is probably due to all the help he receives from his new friends. Patton helps babysit Janus during days when Logan needs a break, and Roman and Remus sing lullabies for Janus whenever Logan struggles with getting the baby to fall asleep.

Logan has also had a lot of fun spending time with his new friends. He can talk to Patton about mystery novels and gardening. With Roman, Logan can talk about Greek Mythology and poetry. Then with Remus, Logan can discuss magic and whatever other random things that the merman had questions about.

Logan even introduced Patton to the twins, and while Patton seemed a bit nervous around Remus at first, the two soon grew comfortable around each other and discussed different kinds of plants. With Roman, Patton got comfortable talking to him very quickly. The two discussed fashion and romance novels. Logan was happy to see his new friends bond and after the introduction, the friend group started to meet up at a cafe regularly. Janus seemed to enjoy seeing them all get along too, as the baby had started to smile a lot whenever the friend group hung out.

———————

One night in the cottage, when he was talking with Roman in the study after putting Janus to sleep, Logan glanced down at a piece of paper he had on his desk and remembered something he’d forgotten to do. The witch quickly grabbed the paper and began looking through the books on his bookshelf.

“What are you looking for, specs?” Roman asked, surprised by how quickly Logan stopped participating in their conversation to search through the bookshelf.

“I just remembered a library book I was supposed to return a week ago. I usually never forget to return my books. I hope I don’t have to pay too much for being late returning it.” Logan says as he keeps looking through the books, eventually finding the one he borrowed and pulled it off the shelf.

Logan then turns around to face Roman and asks, “Could you possibly stay here with Janus so I can go return the book now? It’s only eight o’clock, so I have an hour before the library closes for the night.”

“Sure, Logan. I can keep an eye on your little prince for you. I hope the returning process goes well.” The merman replies with a smile and motions for Logan to go. The witch nods his head in thanks and leaves the study with the book in his hand. Logan quickly grabs a bag and his wallet before heading out the door.

———————

Once he arrives at the library, Logan quickly enters the building and heads towards the front desk. Standing behind the counter is a tall man, dressed in ripped black jeans, a purple t-shirt, and a black hoodie with patches on it. The man is looking at something on his phone but glances up once he hears Logan’s footsteps approaching.

“Hello, what can I help you with this evening?” The man says in a customer service voice.

“Salutations. I just came here to return a book. I’m a few days late returning this though.” Logan replies and hands over the book to the library worker. The man takes the book and scans it before logging into the library’s system on the computer that’s on the counter.

“Okay, so you’re Logan Sharp then?” The man asks as he looks at the computer screen.

“Yes, that’s me.”

“Okay, your book is late by a week so you have to pay five dollars.” The man says as he glances up from the computer to look at Logan.

Logan nods and pulls out his wallet from his bag. He takes out a five dollar bill from the wallet and hands it over to the man. The man takes it and goes to put it in the cash register.

“I can’t help but be curious, how come I haven’t seen you working here until today? I’ve been a frequent visitor of this library.” Logan asks as the man closes the cash register and hands Logan a receipt.

“Oh, well my shift is from the afternoon to closing time, so if you don’t come to the library later in the day then you probably wouldn’t ever see me.” The man replies as he goes back on the computer, probably to mark down the book as returned and paid for.

“That makes sense then. I typically come here early in the day. Are you always the only worker left in the front here?” Logan gestures around him at the empty front section of the library besides the two of them.

“Yeah, it’s usually just me by the desk at this time. There are a few other workers around though to reorganize the shelves though. I don’t mind the quiet though.” The man says with a small smile on his face. The smile reveals that the man has small fangs.

“That’s good. I like how quiet it can be here in the library too. The late shift must also be nice when you’re a vampire.” Logan remarks. Vampires are known to be mostly nocturnal. They have more energy at night, so the morning and early afternoon is when they usually sleep. The man seems surprised by Logan’s last statement.

“How did you know I’m a vampire?” The man questions.

“I saw your fangs when you smiled before. So…is the late shift good for vampires?” The witch asks.

“Yeah, it is. I can get some sleep in the morning before coming into work. My shift’s ending time is also nice since I get time to myself back at home while I’m still energized.” The man says with a slight smile again.

Suddenly, another library worker comes toward the front desk and starts speaking to the man.

“Well I’m leaving for the night. See you tomorrow, Virgil.” The library worker says before walking away.

“See you tomorrow, Lucy.” The man, Virgil, replies back as he watches Lucy leave. Then Virgil seems to glance at the time on the computer and sees the library closes in 10 minutes.

“Well, looks like I have to start closing up the library. It was nice meeting you, Logan.” Virgil holds out a hand for Logan to shake.

Logan nods and shakes Virgil’s hand.

“Same goes for you. Maybe we can continue our conversation another time, during or outside of your work hours.” The witch suggests, wanting to continue getting to know Virgil. The man seems interesting.

“Maybe. I’d be okay with that.” The vampire replies.

“Okay then, I’ll see you around then. Goodnight, Virgil.” Logan says before turning around and leaving the library.

Logan smiles to himself, thinking about how he has an interesting story to tell Roman when he gets home now.

—————————————————————

Endnotes: Thanks for reading chapter 5 of “A Witch and a Baby.” Please consider leaving a like, comment, and/or reblog if you enjoyed it. There will be one more chapter after this to wrap everything up, and then this fic will be completed. However, I’d be open to writing a oneshot or two that continue this au’s story (probably focusing on Janus growing up more) once this fic is done if anyone would be interested. So let me know if you’d be interested in that.

-Monkey 💜

———————————————————————

Links for this fanfic

Link to the next part: To be added

Link to previous part: https://www.tumblr.com/monkeythefander/741723113949200384/a-witch-and-a-baby-chapter-4-a-chaotic-first

Link to this chapter on AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/52055863/chapters/138282943