#you don’t cross Ben’s momma

[chrisevansonly]

Momma’s Special Surprise For Arlie (Little Duck au🐣)

pairing: Momma Evans (Female Reader) x Arlie Mae x Chris Evans

summary: Momma has a very special present for Arlie, and she got some help from some very special friends

warnings: none just fluffy goodness

a/n: i’m really excited about this little fic, i’ve been wanting to write it for a while so here it is🫶🏻

You had been planning this surprise for a few months now, Arlie was absolutely gutted when you couldn’t go see Harry Styles in concert when he was in the United States. Despite her best smiles, you knew it gutted her not being able to see her favourite singer, but thankfully you’d been talking to Chris for a while trying to plan something. Harry would start his last leg of Love on Tour in May, and you reached out to him right away asking if there was any chance he could find you tickets to watch his shows in London at Wembley Stadium.

~

“I really want to do this for her Chris, I know London is far, and it’ll be expensive…I think it would make her really happy”

Chris nodded, his arms around you as you sat out on the back patio

“Why don’t we make a family trip out of it?”

“Really?!”

You were elated, eyes wide as you looked at him, a chuckle escaping his lips

“Yeah why not, we haven’t gone anywhere in a while, Arlie’s well behaved, Wes is still small enough to keep close to us, you and duck can go to the shows and Wes and I can get up to some boy stuff”

Laughing you pressed a kiss to his lips, clapping in excitement because let’s be honest, you were just as excited to be going to see Harry Styles live on tour

“I love you, thank you baby”

“Anything for my girls”

~

That brought you to today, setting up the living room with snacks for an afternoon tea party at Arlie’s request, Canyon Moon playing softly throughout your home, Wesley down for a nap.

“Arlie my girl, everything’s all set up, and Momma’s got a surprise for you”

She came in the room helping Chris carry over the tea which was really organic apple juice

“S’upise for me momma?!”

“Yeah for you baby”

Arlie smiled and Chris set the drinks down on the table before she sat cross legged beside you, her eyes bright and full of excitement

“So momma and daddy have been planning something for us as a family, we were thinking of going away on a trip”

“Wike we did the beach?”

You nodded

“Exactly baby, but we aren’t going to the beach this time”

“Where we go momma?”

Chris had pulled out his phone to start filming secretly

“Well we are going to a city called London baby, it’s in a country called the United Kingdom”

Arlie blinked raising her eyebrows

“That the one with the big clock momma?”

“Yep, Big Ben baby, you remembered”

Arlie smiled, they���d been learning about landmarks at school, and she’d made a mental note about Big Ben, asking Chris to go through photos of it every afternoon after school

“Momma has a surprise for you though and why we are going”

“What momma!”

You swiped a loose strand of hair behind her ear leaning forward to press a kiss to her forehead

“Well, who’s your favourite singer?”

“Harry Styles!”

She’d finally managed to get the R’s in Harry down after a long time of talking about him

“Mhm, well Harry and Momma have been talking, and we’re going to go see him in concert”

“MOMMA REALLY?! REALLY MOMMA!!”

You laughed as she squealed jumping up and starting to clap

“Yes my love! He wants to have you out, and he wants to say hello to you too!”

“We gonna see Harry daddy!!”

She ran over jumping in his lap to hug him, his arms holding her to his chest

“Yes we are duck! You excited? Was this a good surprise?”

“So good! I’m so happy daddy!!”

He pressed a few kisses to her cheeks before she bounded over to you and jumped into your arms

“Fank you momma”

“You’re so welcome my baby”

She remained in your arms beginning to talk about all the idea she had and everything she wanted to see, what she wanted to say to Harry. This was priceless to see, her pure excitement and happiness at the fact that she would be seeing Harry after thinking she’d need to wait for a while. You’d do anything for your Arlie girl, and felt more than grateful to be able to experience these beautiful moments with your family.

[queenxxxsupreme]

Defender, Protector, Keeper (Arthur Morgan x f!reader)

A/N: This is one of those things I write that should have a first part but.... It doesn’t.... I do plan on making more within this little.... world??? With this mom!reader and her son Ben. So sorry for this mess. 

Word Count: 2.5k

Warnings: violence, nothing out of canon, Micah is mean to children, mute child (is that a warning?) fluff, Arthur being a father figureish thing, soft Arthur, I don’t know what else to tag, blood? it’s all canon to the game

Summary: Arthur steps in to help you with your son after a run in with Micah.

***

“Miss Y/L/N! Miss Y/L/N!”

You moved out of the tent upon hearing Mrs. Grimshaw calling your name. 

“Right here, Mrs. Grimshaw.” 

“There you are. Where is that boy of yours?” She looked around as if trying to peek into the tent. I’ve got a little chore for him and Jack.”

“He was just in here helping me with laundry, but he wouldn’t mind giving you a hand.” You turned to go into the tent. “Ben? Mrs. Grimshaw needs your help.”

Ben, your five-year-old son, put the clothing in his hand down and looked at you. 

“Come on with me, Ben. I’ve already got Jack over by the woods.” Susan gestured for him to follow her.

“What are the boys going to do?” You asked her. 

“Help Lenny and Sean pick some firewood. The little fellas ain’t gonna pick nothin’ but some small kindling. The fellas– Well, Lenny won’t let the boys hurt themselves.”

You fought the urge to volunteer to follow your son. It was just little kindling sticks and twigs. It wasn’t like they were going to chop down entire trees.

Susan, sensing your hesitation, stopped just at the edge of your tent.

“They aren’t going far into the woods at all, Y/N. Charles and Bill are on guard duty and Sean and Lenny are going to be with them. Nothin’s gonna happen to those boys.” She assured you.

You nodded your head, reaching down to run your fingers over Ben’s hair. 

“Go on and help Mrs. Grimshaw, Ben.”

He silently followed alongside her. 

You continued to fold laundry until it was finished. Once that was complete, you decided to go out and see if there was anything else around camp you could help with. 

It seemed to be a rather mellow evening. No one was out doing any jobs nor was anyone talking about any jobs, which was a rarity. In the three months that you had been staying with the Van Der Linde Gang, you had quickly realized their lifestyle was fast paced and there was almost always something to do. 

You made your way over towards the tent the girls in camp stayed in. 

“Hi, Y/N.” Tilly greeted you first. She was reading a book.

“Hey, Y/N!” Mary-Beth was also reading. Karen sat on a chair next to the two singing. “You wanna sit with us for a bit? You’ve been working hard all day.”

“That’s okay, Mary-Beth. I think I should go see if Ben is doing okay with Sean and Lenny.” You looked around towards the woods.

“What’s he doing with those two fools?” Tilly put her book down in her lap. 

“Mrs. Grimshaw had him and Jack helping them with firewood.”

“Last I saw, Lenny and Sean were sitting over by the fire.”

A knot began to form in your stomach. Why hadn’t your son returned to you?

You moved to search for Lenny and Sean, but they proved to be easy to find. They were sitting at a fire with a few other gang members. 

“Excuse me, gentlemen.” You cut off Sean. “Where is Ben at?”

“Hi, Miss Y/L/N.” Lenny gave you a charming smile. “Ben and Jack went over towards John and Abigail’s tent. Jack said they were going to play.”

“Thank you, Mr. Summers.” 

***

You did indeed find your son at John and Abigail’s tent. He sat outside of it with Jack. Jack was talking about some sort of story that Hosea had told him about a bear while your little Benny just kept playing with his half of the deck of cards. 

“Y/N.”

You looked up to Abigail. 

“Hi, Abigail.”

“I hope you don’t mind that Jack brought Ben over. I know Susan had them working earlier.”

“I don’t mind.” You shook your head, smiling. You crossed your arms as you watched Ben. Jack didn’t seem to care that Ben was silent and wasn’t responding to him. Jack had learned since you both arrived at camp that talking wasn’t something Ben did, so he usually did all of the talking for Jack. You were thankful for this. In the beginning, you weren’t sure how young Jack would react to your quiet son. 

“Do you want to sit down and have a cup of coffee with me?” Abigail asked. “I don’t usually get much down time, but neither do you. You’re always running around.”

“Have to keep busy, you know.” You chuckled a little. “Coffee sounds nice.”

The both of you got your drinks and then sat down at a table not too far from the boys. 

“They grow like weeds.” She thought out loud, shaking her head softly. “I’m gonna have to get Jack some new clothes soon. He’s about to be too big for nearly all the pants he’s got. Maybe Ben could fit into what Jack can’t wear. Ben is a little thing. That way you don’t have to go out and waste money. I mean, the clothes aren’t perfect. Jack has needed them patched more than once. But they work.”

“That’s very kind of you, Abigail. Thank you.”

She gave you a smile.

“Momma! Momma!” Jack called as he ran over to Abigail. 

Ben rushed up to you, a smile on his lips. His hair fell into his face and he tried to wipe it out of his eyes but he didn’t do too good of a job.

“Hi, love.” You smiled down at him, brushing your fingers through his hair. “Are you having fun?”

He nodded, looking over to Jack. 

“Momma, can we go give Sean his cards back?”

“Where is Sean at?” Abigail asked, looking around the camp. 

“He’s just on the other side of camp at one of the other fires.” You told her, recalling where you had seen him earlier.  

“If Miss Y/L/N says that Ben can go, then yes. You can. But you have to ask her.”

Ben tugged on your skirt as if to ask you.

“Miss Y/L/N! Can we take Sean his cards?” Jack waved the stack of cards around.

“I don’t see why not.”

“I’ll race you over there!” 

You watched as Jack took off first with Ben just behind him. 

“I’m glad Jack finally has someone to play with and keep him company.” Abigail smiled. 

“They get along so well.” You nodded. “I was a little…. worried at first, if I’m honest.”

“Oh really?”

“Just because…. Well, sometimes it’s hard for Ben.”

Abigail nodded her head understandingly. 

“He’s a sweet boy, Y/N. You raised him well.”

“Thank you-,”

“You dumb little rat! Watch where you’re going next time!”

You stood up upon hearing the sound of shouting. Feeling the urge to find out what had happened, you ventured across camp until you found your son and Micah Bell. Micah had a hold of Ben’s arm and was holding him at an awkward angle. 

“When someone speaks to you, little boy, you’re supposed to answer them!”

“Micah!” You raised your voice. 

Micah turned his head to look at you but didn’t let your son’s arm go. 

Anger bubbled in your veins. 

“Ah, the whore. Maybe someone better teach this boy manners before he ends up worse than his ma.”

You pushed against Micah’s chest. Ben was crying at this point, trying to grab onto your skirt anywhere he could but Micah was finding amusement in pulling the boy away from you. 

“Micah! Get your hands off of that boy!” Abigail shouted. 

The next few moments happened all too quickly for you to know what exactly happened. But Micah released Ben and he fell backwards to the ground. Your hand flew up to smack him and you landed a nice hit on his cheek, but he was quicker than you and far more skilled in fighting so the backhand to your cheek came out of seemingly nowhere. 

You took a few steps back to keep from falling flat on your ass. You ended up hitting something solid. A hand found your side and another your arm. 

It was Arthur Morgan. He only took a couple seconds to make sure you were steady on your feet before moving around you to deliver two punches to Micah. The nasty man fell back as blood began to pour out of his nose. 

“Y/N, are you okay?” Abigail rushed to one side of you and Mary-Beth came to the other. 

You didn’t answer them. You only pushed them away to get to your son. 

Tears streamed down his cheeks as he sat in the dirt where he had fallen. 

There was a hand on your wrist that stopped you just before you could get to him. 

Arthur turned you back around to face him. You pulled against him, wanting desperately to get to your son.

“You’ve got blood on ya, pumpkin.” He murmured quietly, using his thumb to wipe away the little bit of blood from your busted lip. “He don’t need to see that.”

“Th-Thank you.” You whispered. 

“Can I pick him up? Move him somewhere else for you?”

You nodded. 

Arthur let you go and moved towards Ben. 

“Come here, Benny. You alright?”

Ben nodded his head, shyly tucking his face into Arthur’s neck.

Arthur took him to a table and sat him down on it, then pulled out a chair for you. But you couldn’t sit down just yet. You had to make sure he was okay. 

Your hands cupped his face and tilted his head up so you could check him over for any marks. 

“Are you okay, love? Does anything hurt?”

He held up his hands to you, showing that his palms were scraped up and bleeding a little. He sniffled, his bottom lip quivering. 

“I’ll get somethin’ to clean those up, Y/N.” Mary-Beth spoke, moving towards Strauss’s wagon.

Upon seeing the scratches and bleeding scrapes from Ben falling back and catching himself on his hands, anger welled up inside of Arthur. 

He turned and started to make his way towards Micah. 

“Arthur! Arthur Morgan!” Abigail called after him, but she couldn’t stop him herself. “John! Mr. Smith! Please!”

You couldn’t pay attention to what was happening with Arthur right now. Ben was important and took priority. 

You brushed his hair back and sat down in front of him. 

“I’m so sorry you got hurt, love.” You leaned forward to kiss his cheek. 

He wrapped his arms around your neck, careful not to touch you with his injured hands, and then slid down into your lap. 

A few moments later, Mary-Beth returned with a bowl of water and a few rags. Tilly was with her too, helping to carry bandages. 

“Are you alright, Benji?” Tilly asked. He nodded his head without lifting it from your chest. “He didn’t get too hurt by that nasty Micah, did he?”

“Think it just spooked him more than anything.” You answered her. “Thank you, girls.”

The items were placed on the table and then they left. 

“Ben, I need you to sit on the table so I can reach you, love.”

He shook his head. 

“We’ve got to get these scratches cleaned up, okay? We don’t want them to get yucky.”

A hand found your shoulder. You looked to see Arthur moving around your chair. 

“Lemme give ya some help. That way Benny can stay on your lap where he’s comfortable.”

You nodded your head, giving him a little smile as a thank you. 

“Hey, Benny? Can I see your hands?”

Benny shifted around on your lap so that he could easily face Arthur. He gave Arthur one hand. 

“This might sting just a bit, but I promise it’ll be over soon.” 

Arthur got a rag wet and began to clean the dirt and little bit of blood from Ben’s small palm. 

“You’re a strong fella, Benny. You know that?”

Ben sniffled. 

“I heard you helped Sean and Lenny with getting firewood. Did you carry all the big logs by yourself?”

A little grin tugged at your son’s lips. He shook his head. 

Once he was cleaned up and Arthur had carefully wrapped up his hands, Ben looked around for Jack. He was with Hosea. The two weren’t very far away at all. Ben shimmied down from your lap but stayed by you. His eyes were focused on Jack. He wanted to go play with his friend. 

“You can go on, love.” You told him. He flashed you a little toothy smile before taking off in the direction of Hosea and Jack. 

Arthur stayed on his knees beside you for a few moments, watching Ben go. He let out a breath through his nose and shook his head. 

“That bastard is lucky I don’t put a bullet in him.” He rose to his feet, shaking his head. 

“Ben is okay, Arthur.” You turned your head to look at him. “He just…. He was just shaken up a bit. But he’s okay.”

“He hit you too. No man should ever treat a lady like that.” 

You admired his words, the way he viewed things. 

A little smile came to your lips and you watched him sit down next to you. 

“Well, Mr. Morgan. Not everyone has the same ideals as you.”

Arthur shook his head, fingers curling into a fist. He was still worked up over the situation. 

“It’ll be okay, Arthur.” You reached over to place your hand on his. “I can take a hit just fine. But I do appreciate you stepping in. It was really kind of you to help clean up Ben.”

He became a bit sheepish at your words, tipping his head down so you couldn’t see his eyes completely thanks to the brim of his hat. He cleared his throat. 

“Just-Just hate seein’ the little guy cry is all.”

You smiled a bit and gave his hand a squeeze before moving away from the table he sat at. 

Arthur watched you leave, then turned his head to watch the two youngest members of the gang with Hosea. Hosea was telling a story while Jack and Ben listened. 

Arthur turned his head back to see where you had gone off to. You were standing with Abigail near Pearson’s tent. Abigail said something that caused you to look at Arthur, a smile pulling at your lips then you looked back at her, shaking your head and bringing your hand up to cover your mouth. It was a poor attempt to hide a giggle. 

Arthur fixed the hat on his head and decided to go towards his horse. 

“When are you gonna tell her?” Charles spoke from his horse. He was messing with a strap of Taima’s saddle. 

“Tell her what?”

Charles rolled his eyes and shook his head. 

“I’m not oblivious to it, Arthur. I don’t think any of us in camp are.”

“To what?”

“That you fancy her.”

Arthur mounted his horse, shifting around in the saddle a bit.

“I don’t know what you are talking about, Mr. Smith.” He adjusted his hat. 

“Yeah, I’m sure you don’t.”

“You wanna come with me? Or keep standing there goin’ on about it?”

Taglist: @winterwolf @lauramb7 @caraqas @bluscryn @krenee1drful @zodiacaldust @nonodino @cal-lifornication @thefirelordm @sargeantsea @sokkasdarling @thecollection @mayday1284 @kashasenpai @misskrql @brooke-supernatural16 @lassiee @hocdolliday @micahs-bird 

If your name is in italics, it wouldn’t let me tag you :(

[ridiculously-over-obsessed]

The way I published ITRIYHFM? yesterday and I could’ve just saved it for this dkfljgfdlkg NEVERMIND 😅 more angst it is then, let’s hope that it doesn’t randomly spawn into yet another AU sjkjfsdlkfdg

Also on AO3!!!

DAY TWENTY SIX: SEPERATED BY WAR

“I just want you home...” Chloe sighed softly, looking at her wife through the computer screen, “I’m ready to drop, our little man needs both his momma’s.”

“I know.” Beca smiled sadly, running her hand through her hair, “This tour was supposed to be over by now, but then they went and extended it by four mouths and-”

Beca huffed, shaking her head, “It’s insane out here Chlo. I’m done after this one, I mean it. It’s hard enough leaving you, nevermind you and our son.”

“Hey, I always said it was your choice to leave as and when you’re ready, but I am not going to fight you on this.” Chloe grinned tearfully, stroking her swollen belly, “I love you Becs. You’re taking care of yourself right?”

“Yeah, of course.” Beca smirked, “As much as I can in the desert anyway... how was y-”

There was a loud bang, a high pitched ringing noise, and the screen cut to static. Chloe’s heart lept into her mouth as she simply stared at the screen for a minute.

“No...” Chloe whispered, “No, no, no... Beca?! Beca can you hear me?!”

“Chloe?” 

Her friend Aubrey had been staying with Chloe since Beca left for her tour. It was a familiar routine at this point, Chloe hated being in an empty house and Aubrey wasn’t seeing anyone since her disastrous marriage in her early twenties to a man her father had picked for her. It was just like their college years, just with less cheap beer and earlier bedtimes.

“Chloe what is it, what happened?” Aubrey had heard Chloe’s distress from the hallway as she crossed to the bathroom, immediately by her bedside. Chloe had been on bedrest for the last two months because of her blood pressure, the doctors of the opinion that it was high because of the stress of having Beca overseas in a warzone.

“T-There was a bang and- and- and now there’s nothing, Bree why is there nothing?!” Chloe’s eyes were wild with panic as she looked to Aubrey.

“I don’t know.” Aubrey moved the laptop and took Chloe’s hand in hers, “I don’t know Chloe. But you need to breathe okay? We have to keep your blood pressure low, remember?”

“I can’t-” Chloe shook her head furiously, “I can’t- I can’t breathe-”

“Look at me.” Aubrey gave her hands a tight squeeze to try and ground her, “You can do this, just copy me.”

Chloe was panting as tears poured down her cheeks, biting her lip so hard so drew blood. Aubrey squeezed her hands tighter again until Chloe looked at her.

“Come on Chloe. Breathe.”

Chloe started to regulate her breathing, but as she did she cried out in pain, clutching at her stomach. 

“No...” Chloe shook her head furiously, “No not now, please... I can’t do this now...”

Aubrey felt something damp against her trouser leg, looking down to see that there was liquid seeping through the sheets. Red liquid.

“Okay. Okay we’re going to the hospital right now.” Aubrey clenched her jaw as she pushed back her swelling panic, “It’s going to be okay Chloe. I’m right here.”

“Beca.” Chloe sobbed out as she doubled over in pain. “I need Beca!”

“I know.” Aubrey stroked her back, “But you’re stuck with me for now. I’m calling an ambulance honey.”

“I- I can’t do this-” Chloe shook her head, sobbing so hard it burned her lungs, “I can’t- I need Beca I can’t-”

Aubrey shushed Chloe gently, on the phone with the 911 operator as she tried to soothe her distraught friend.

“I need her...” Chloe whimpered, “I need her...”

-----

Chloe blinked slowly as she came to. She didn’t remember a lot, she was in pain, there were doctors everywhere, Aubrey was white as a sheet...

Her son. Where was he, where was Ben?

“Hey.” A hand squeezed hers gently, the familiar voice making her frown, “You’re okay, it’s okay Chlo...”

“B-Beca?” Chloe turned her head, eyes full of tears, “Am I- am I dead?”

“No baby.” Beca chuckled softly, kissing the back of her hand, “No you’re fine. And Ben... he’s gorgeous Chloe, you did such a good job.”

“But- but how-” Chloe swallowed thickly, “I thought...”

“Shh...” Beca frowned softly, Chloe’s eyes adjusting and seeing all the cuts and bruises that littered her arms and her face, the arm that was in a sling, “It’s okay. I’m here now.”

“Oh Becs...” Chloe croaked, “What happened to you?”

“An IED went off.” Beca seemed to stiffen a little, “Right behind the tent I-” She shook her head a little, “It knocked me out, dislocated my shoulder but... I’m good. Nothing serious.”

“Was- was anyone killed?” Chloe whispered.

“No, thank god.” Beca shook her head a little, “Jesse he... he lost his leg, but other than that we got lucky.”

“God...” Chloe pursed her lips, “God Beca you- you could’ve-”

“I didn’t.” Beca reassured her, “I didn’t Chlo, I’m here, I’m never going back.”

“Ben...” Chloe looked around her, “Where is he? Is he okay?”

“Yeah.” Beca nodded, “He’s perfect Chloe. Just like you. It’s ironic that out of the two of us, you’re the one that nearly died...”

“I did?” Chloe frowned softly.

Beca nodded, nostrils flaring a little, “You’ve been out for nearly a week Chlo. Aubrey called the base to find out what happened and they put her through to me, she told me that you’d started to hemorrhage, that you- that there was a good chance you were going to bleed out on the operating table. So I flew straight home, for Ben, for you... I had to be here just in case...”

“I’m sorry.” Chloe whispered, untangling her hand from Beca’s so she could wipe the tears from her face, “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“It’s not your fault.” Beca grinned, shaking her head a little, “And I guess it was about time I got a little taste of what it’s like to be thousands of miles away and not know if my wife was going to survive.”

“I hate that you know what that feels like that.” Chloe sighed softly, “I really do...”

“Me too.” Beca chuckled, “Now... do you want to meet our son?”

“Yes please.” Chloe nodded eagerly, wincing a little as she eased herself upright.

The sight of her son carefully balanced against Beca’s chest with her good arm made Chloe’s heart swell in her chest. Her family... they were so perfect. 

“Hey Ben.” Beca smiled at her son as she carried him carefully over to Chloe, “Come meet your momma, she’s dying to see you.”

“Hi!” Chloe beamed tearfully, “Hi Ben! My little man... you made quite the entrance didn’t you?”

Ben lay on her chest as Chloe cradled him close, kissing the top of his head. Beca was right; he was gorgeous.

“Look at him.” Beca hummed, stroking the top of his head as she looked at Chloe, “How could I go anywhere ever again?” 

[zelenacat]

Chapter 2- When We Were Young- An Obitine Story

The Duchess was careful the first four months of her first pregnancy, she wore flowing outfits with ruffles and loose-fitting sashes to draw eyes away from her stomach. Satine would appear at state events and cut ribbons, and make speeches on holidays or days of historical importance, and of course, she opened parliament. By now, she had made her political views very clear, she was a pacifist, and she supported the New Mandalorians. Those who were critical of the new Duchess' views claimed she was a shame to her clan, to her War Lord father, and that her sister should be more involved in government. That hurt Satine, but she decided that people had to let their anger out somehow. At least, none of the courtiers had claimed their dissent in her face, though Satine wasn’t sure how long that would last.

In her fifth month of pregnancy, that’s when things got harder.

“Satine?”

Sighing, the Duchess looked up, Khaami had a worried expression on her face.

“What is it?” she asked.

“The Mandalorian Society for Peace would like you to give a speech at their banquet next week.”

Fesma frowned.

Satine rested her hands on her stomach, “That will be tricky.”

“You can’t deny them,” Fesma stated, “you’ve shown yourself to be an advocate for peace.”

“A staunch one at that.” agreed the Duchess.

Khaami huffed, “We need a way to get around this.”

The room got quiet.

“Perhaps,” Satine began, “I could claim I have a former engagement but record a speech?”

Khaami brightened, “That might work.”

“But if you give too many televised speeches,” Fesma fidgeted, “won’t people get suspicious?”

Satine grinned, “Not if we implement my new idea.”

Raising an eyebrow, Fesma asked, “And what would that be?”

“Corsets.”

Khaami gasped.

“Satine,” Fesma sighed, “no.”

“We could work them into my outfits,” the Duchess suggested, “like we did with my coronation outfit.”

“The seamstresses did that.” Fesma corrected.

“And isn’t it dangerous for the baby?” Khaami added.

“I have to take some risks,” Satine swallowed, “I want this baby, but it’s going to be difficult.”

A silence once again descended over the room, Satine’s thoughts riveted through her skull.

“I’ll tell your writers to start drafting a speech then,” Khaami stood, “and I’ll stop at the tailor’s room on the way back.”

“Thank you, Khaami.”

Fesma sighed heavily as soon as Khaami closed the door.

“What is it?” Satine asked.

“This would be much easier if you,” Fesma paused, “if you-”

“I can’t,” Satine’s hands began to shake, “I don’t have the courage.”

“But this will be so much harder.” Fesma urged.

“I know,” tears sprung into the Duchess’ eyes, “but I love the baby’s father too much to get rid of it.”

“Satine-”

“Stop, I won’t have this conversation again!”

Fesma nodded, “Yes, Your Grace.”

In two days time Khaami and Fesma outfitted Satine’s newest dress. It was blue with silver embellishments and a purple sash.

“Ah!”

“Sorry, Satine.” Khaami grimaced.

“Tighter.” the Duchess ordered through ground teeth.

“Satine,” Fesma brought a mirror over to Satine, “are you sure?”

The Duchess turned sideways and stared at herself in the mirror, it looked like she had gained some weight, but it didn’t look like she was pregnant.

“You know what,” Satine gasped, “this will do.”

After recording her speech for the Mandalorian Society for Peace, Satine attended a council meeting with her newly selected advisors. They drew up a list of societies for the Duchess to give speeches at or attend, and advised her on when to hold court.

Looking around the table, Satine committed her advisors’ names to memory and thanked them for their support.

“Of course, Your Grace.” bowed the Prime Minister, Jaru Djarin.

The Duchess waited before all her advisors had left before hoisting herself upward, leaning heavily on the table. Her back hurt terribly these days, and sometimes she had trouble sleeping.

The rest of the day went by uneventfully, Satine sighed, some of these days were starting to blur together and she felt lonely. Hopefully that would change soon.

“How did it go, Satine?” Khaami asked, unbuttoning the Duchess’ dress.

“Eh, same as usual.”

Fesma frowned, “Satine, I’m worried about you.”

“Why?”

The Duchess’ dress fell to the floor.

Fesma sighed, “You’re not yourself anymore.”

Khaami met Satine’s eyes in the mirror as she undid her corset.

“Do you agree, Khaami?”

The lady’s eyes saddened, “You are a little down sometimes.”

Satine sighed as her corset came loose, standing in just her underwear, she turned and stared at herself in the mirror.

“It’s definitely noticeable now.” the Duchess observed.

“Would you,” Khaami began, “would you like to tell us about him?”

Satine blushed.

Fesma picked up the Duchess’ dress, “Satine, we know you wouldn’t do something like this without reason, tell us about him.”

Letting loose a giggle, the Duchess bit her lip and shook her head.

“Satine?” Khaami asked, shock in her tone.

“He was so kind to me,” Satiine said at last, “gentle and trustworthy, and he even had a snarky sense of humor.”

Satine watched as Khaami and Fesma glanced at each other, eyebrows raised.

“At first we only argued,” Satine admitted, “but then we agreed for Master Qui-Gon’s benefit that we should try to be civil.”

Khaami snorted, “Civil?”

“Our first kiss happened on a ledge overlooking a valley,” Satine smiled, “the sun was setting.”

“Satine,” Fesma sighed, “don’t tell me you’re a romantic.”

The Duchess laughed.

“What was his name?” Khaami asked.

Satine let her eyes fall to the floor, “I called him Ben.”

“Ben?”

“Meaning: mine.” Satine explained.

“Here, Your Grace,” Fesma said after a long silence, “let’s get you changed.”

Once Satine was in her nightgown, Fesma went for tea and Khaami clamored onto the Duchess’ bed.

“So,” Khaami grinned, “have you picked out any names yet?”

“Names?”

“You know,” Khaami crossed her arms, “for the baby.”

Satine opened her mouth to speak, the air recycler went on.

“Well I,” the Duchess paused, “I don’t even know if it’s a boy or a girl.”

Khaami was about to answer, when a vent popped out of the wall. Satine turned.

“Don’t move.” came a growl.

On shaky legs, Satine stood.

“I said not to move!”

It was a man, clearly, and he was dressed from head to toe in rusty Mandalorian armor. The man’s eyes fell onto Satine’s stomach.

“Well, Your Grace,” the bounty hunter sneered gleefully, “you certainly have something to answer for, don’t you?”

“Who are you and what do you want?” Khaami managed to stutter.

 “I’m just here for the Duchess, little lady,” the bounty hunter pointed his gun at Satine, “and if she comes with me I won’t have to kill you.”

“Her Grace is going nowhere.” said Fesma, appearing at the door, tea tray in hand.

Satine yelped as the intruder grabbed her arm and yanked her in a hold against his chest.

“Move and she dies, they’ll take her dead or alive.”

Satine could not let this happen, she decided to try a trick she’d seen Obi-Wan do before, ram your head into that of your attacker. So, she did.

“Ah!”

Satine held up the bounty hunter’s shooting hand and wrestled the gun from him.

“It’s treason to attack a monarch.” The intruder pulled a knife, “They said you were a pacifist.”

“That doesn’t mean I won’t protect myself.” Satine spat.

“You sure it isn’t the momma bear instinct?”

Satine pulled the trigger, she was lucky, the bullet lodged in the bounty hunter’s neck. Shaking, the Duchess dropped the gun.

“Your Grace?” a voice called.

Thinking quickly Satine hid behind her dressing partition, a few seconds later a guard entered.

“Where were you,” Fesma shouted, “he tried to kill the Duchess!”

“Forgive me, my lady,” the guard said entering the room, “we were in the middle of a shift change.”

The guard spoke quietly into his communication device before calmly stalking towards the intruder.

“What happened here?”

Satine peaked around her partition, she saw Harryn, the captain of her personal guard.

“This assassin tried to kill the Duchess.” answered the first guard.

“And you killed him?”

“No, sir,” the guard shook his head, “he was dead when I arrived, I heard the shot.”

“Then who-”

“I did,” Satine’s words were rushed, “but in the report I would like it said that I waited for professional assistance.”

Harryn bowed, “Yes, Your Grace.”

The Duchess’ personal guards were so focused over the next few weeks, that when a palace nurse came to them with the news of a missing medical droid, they didn’t look into it, even though they said they would deal with it.

“What are you going to do, Satine?” Fesma asked.

The Duchess and her ladies were sitting in her personal parlor, a receiving room connected to her bedchamber. This and her bedroom were the only rooms where there were no microphones, only cameras.

“I hate to do my father this dishonor,” Satine began, “but I have to do this for the baby.”

Fesma tilted her head, “What dishonor?” 

“I want to claim this child is my niece or nephew,” Satine lowered her eyes, “that they’re the child of my bastard brother.”

Khaami gasped.

“I know people who can fake the documents-”

Khaami’s mouth fell open, horrified, “You know people?”

Satine hesitated, “I’ve heard of people.”

“I agree with Her Grace,” said Fesma after a short silence, “this seems to be the best course of action.” “We’d have to pay them in kind,” Satine stated, “they can’t accept credits.”

“What could we use,” Khaami asked, “jewelry?” “I was thinking of physical monetary value.” Satine confessed.

“So,” Khaami paused, “bills?”

“Yes.”

The Duchess looked to Fesma, who was mulling over the prospect.

“I think jewelry might be best, Satine,” said the lady, “it’s easily exchangeable and has good value.”

“Alright,” Satine agreed, “we’ll pay them in jewelry, but where am I going to, you know-”

“Give birth?” Khaami whispered.

Satine flinched, “Yes, birth.”

Fesma frowned, “It has to be somewhere no one frequents, and it has to be soundproof.”

“The bombing basement?” Khaami ventured.

Satine grinned, “Unconventional, but it might work.”

By the time her third trimester began, the entire plan was in place. Under Satine’s bed lay a stolen medical droid and a bag of missing pain relievers, on her toilette in a mahogany box sat a cheap set of jewels, authentic, but not the grandest thing Satine owned. Finally, if one went into the bombing basement, they would find an old mattress covered in stained sheets and newspapers surrounded by tapestries on the walls and candles on the floor.

“Things seem to be looking up, Satine.” Khaami commented when the Duchess returned from a council meeting.

“We might actually be able to do this.” agreed Fesma.

Satine swallowed, “My advisors think I should marry as soon as possible, make a political alliance and sire heirs.”

Fesma groaned.

“Just when we thought things were looking up.” added Khaami.

“I told them I would consider it,” Satine sat down, hands on her stomach, “but I’m not sure how long I can hold them off.”

“Just until the baby is born,” Fesma assured, “then, once it’s safe, you can marry.”

The Duchess began to sob.

Khaami ran to her lady, “Oh, Satine-”

“I’m still in love with him, after all these months,” Satine choked on the air in her throat, “and he hasn’t contacted me once!”

“Satine-”

“I kriffing hate the Jedi!”

Fesma heaved a long sigh, “How very Mandalorian of you.”

Satine planted her face into her pillow and screamed.

Khaami tried again, “Satine-”

The Duchess screamed again. Then she groaned, sat up, and wiped her eyes.

“You know,” Satine swallowed, “sometimes I question my life choices.”

The Duchess was met with silence.

“Like why, for instance,” Satine continued, “did I have to fall in love with a Jedi?”

Fesma and Khaami shared a glance.

“It’s alright, you know,” the Duchess crossed her arms, “you can answer.”

Khaami opened her mouth to speak, but it was Fesma who spoke. 

“You know, Satine,” the lady placed her hands on the Duchess’, “it’s okay to be upset.”

All at once, Satine’s anger level began to lower.

“I don’t have a heart anymore,” the Duchess began to tear up again, “I’ve given it all to him.”

“That’s alright,” Khaami wrapped her arm around Satine’s shoulders, “it will come back to you eventually.”

“I’ll never stop loving him.” Satine said matter of factly.

“Then the baby,” Fesma assured, “your heart will grow again when the baby arrives.”

Satine nodded, “Thank you, ladies.”

“Of course,” Khaami kissed the Duchess’ cheek, “and now, we must think of names.”

It didn’t take much deliberation for Satine to decide that if she had a boy, she would name him Korkyrach.

“After the warrior king,” the Duchess said, “but we’ll call him Korkie for short.”

“And if it’s a girl?” Khaami asked excitedly.

Satine faltered, “I want to give her a regal sounding name, a hyphenated name.”

“Ooh.”

The Duchess blushed, “I think I like Tyra Satine.”

“Tyra Satine,” Fesma grinned, “it certainly has a ring to it.”

A month later, Satine sent Fesma and Khaami, disguised under heavy cloaks, to a seedy bar in lower Sundari with a chest full of jewels. The Duchess listened in from her room, carefully following the criminal’s instructions on how to spread the news. Then the items were exchanged, three USBs for a chest of jewels. Fesma and Khaami nodded, so did the criminal conspirator, before going their separate ways. Still, Satine was nervous until they arrived back at the palace.

“Oh, thank you,” the Duchess embraced her ladies, “thank you!”

“Of course, Satine,” Khaami smiled, “things are going to be better from now on.”

The next morning, a story broke about the Former Duke of Mandalore, Adonai Kryze, the rumor going around was that he’d had a bastard son who had died in the civil war, and that he’d left a wife and child behind. After a week, the rumors grew so big that Satine was asked about them at a press conference.

“I do not know whether or not what people are saying is true,” The Duchess said solemnly, “I learned of this possibility from the media myself.”

At the end of the press conference, Satine traveled back to her room, claiming she had a slight headache. Khaami and Fesma were waiting for her.

“How did it go?” Fesma questioned.

“Good,” the Duchess paused, “they ate it up.”

Grabbing onto the back of her chair, Satine groaned.

“Satine?”

“I think-”

A burst of water splashed onto the floor and the Duchess swayed.

“Satine!”

Fesma ran to the Duchess and pulled her arm around her shoulder, supporting her just below the arms.

“Khaami, the droid and the pain relievers!”

As quickly as they could, the trio made their way through the less populated halls of the serving corridors down into the basement. The first wave of pain hit Satine two landings from the basement door, it was as if her lower half was burning and decaying at the same time, flaring up and dissipating at the same time. She gasped heavily and faltered, but Fesma held her steady.

“I can’t feel my legs,” the Duchess moaned, “I can’t-”

“We’re so close, Satine,” Fesma assured, “we’re so close.”

Finally, when the pain passed, the Duchess and her ladies continued down the stairs. 

“Please,” Satine whined as Khaami struggled with the door, “it’s starting again.”

The door opened with a creek and Fesma flinched, but Satine yanked her forward as she made her way to the bed. Khaami set down the droid and closed the door, then she opened a metal drawer of steaming towels.

“How-”

“Stolen from the guest freshers,” the maid smiled, “I thought we’d need them.”

Satine nodded, lips drawn tightly.

Something buzzed, “I am Oiyo, the medical droid, what seems to be the problem here?”

“I’m kriffing giving birth!” Satine swore.

“Stay calm,” advised the droid, “and please answer some questions.”

The Duchess opened her mouth to yell at the droid again, but a shriek escaped her instead.

“You are a female of the human species, correct?”

“Yes!” Satine gasped.

“Is this your first baby?”

“Yes!”

The droid turned to Khaami, “Nurse, get behind the human female and support her upper body.”

The maid obeyed, and Fesma began to undo Satine’s corset.

“She shouldn’t be wearing that.” the droid observed.

The Duchess heaved a sigh of relief when the tightness left her stomach.

“Spread your legs, please.”

Shaking with the effort, Satine managed to spread her legs.

“If we have any pain relief,” the droid droned, “we should administer it now.”

Fesma stood, “I’ll get some water.”

Satine whimpered as Fesma sped from the room. Khaami rubbed her back.

“Roll up your skirt, please, I need to see my work.”

Satine pulled up her skirt and clenched her hands tightly around the material, hissing as the droid touched its cold fingers to her inner thigh.

“Contractions are progressing nicely,” the droid stated, “you should begin pushing in approximately four point three minutes.”

Satine groaned, the only thing she could feel was pain.

“I’m back!” Fesma announced, shutting the door tightly behind her.

Satine noticed the two water bottles in her ladys’ hands, and the Duchess began to pray.

“This is almost medieval.” Khaami noted as Fesma hand-fed Satine pain relieving pills.

“That will only ease some of the pain.” the medical droid agreed.

“Still,” Fesma frowned, “We agreed to help our lady.”

As the hours progressed, Satine’s throat grew hoarse as her screams grew more violent.

“What time is it?” Khaami questioned.

“Eleven o’clock on the twenty third of Mae Month.” stated the medical droid calmly.

Satine wailed. Fesma, who was assisting the droid with warm hand towels and holding its tools, ducked her head and inhaled sharply.

“What is it?” the Duchess simpered.

“I can see the head, Satine,” Fesma’s face went blank, “it’s a very messy business.”

In response, the droid leaned down and worked silently. 

“Push, please.” it beeped cheerfully.

Satine squeezed Khaami’s hands like her life depended on it, and after a tremendous heave and seven quick gasps, Satine had a baby.

“Congratulations, you have a son.”

Bursting into tears, Satine held her arms out. Fesma wiped the baby clean then placed him into his mother’s discarded corset. Khaami leaned over the Duchess’ shoulder and dabbed her eyes.

“Here you go, Satine.” Fesma grinned.

She took the baby in her arms and sniffled, cradling her son’s small body against hers.

“Korkyrach Kryze,” Satine smiled, “it’s wonderful to meet you.”

The baby giggled in response.

“Aw!”

“He should be kept in a blanket.” the droid suggested.

Fesma stood, “I’ll go get one.”

“Bring two!” Satine called, laughing.

The medical droid’s innards began to whirl and soon a piece of paper was ejecting out from its stomach.

“Printing birth certificate.”

Satine stared at Khaami, wide-eyed.

“Please input information correctly,” the droid stated, “it is a felony if you do not.”

“A felony?”

The droid handed Khaami the birth certificate.

“We have to fill this out correctly, Satine,” the lady bit her lip, “we could make a fake one and hide this one in the palace archives.”

Satine looked down at the baby, then nodded.

“I’m back!” Fesma panted.

“Wrap Korkie in the blanket,” Satine ordered, handing Fesma the baby, “we have to fill out the birth certificate.”

“Birth certificate?”

The medical droid beeped and offered Satine a pen. Turning her upper body, the Duchess pressed the sheet against the wall and wrote.

Name: Korkyrach Kryze  Date of Birth: 23, Mae, 39 BBY  Birth Time: 11:12

Home Planet: Mandalore  Mother: Satine Kryze  Father: ___________________

Satine’s hand began to shake.

“Why don’t we leave that one blank.” Khaami suggested kindly.

“Something’s wrong,” Satine said suddenly, “it hurts again.”

“Is it the placenta?” Khaami asked, taking the paper and pen from Satine.

The medical droid leaned down and examined its patient.

“Your body is preparing for another birth,” the droid observed, “you’re having twins.”

Satine’s mouth dropped open, then she began to grunt in pain.

“Lay back down,” Khaami suggested, pulling Satine’s shoulders back, “you can do this.”

Fesma offered her lady a quick sip of water before returning to help the medical droid.

“This one’s coming quickly, Satine,” Fesma stated, a mix of shock and fear in her voice, “not much longer.”

The Duchess screamed. Korkie cried, he was back in his mother’s arms now, and Satine was trying not to squeeze him too tight.

Wailing, the Duchess prayed and begged for this to be over soon. Fesma handed the droid a knife.

“One last push, Satine!”

As soon as the Duchess stopped crying, another pair of lungs did.

“Congratulations,” the medical droid beeped, “you have a daughter.”

Fesma wrapped up the baby in the spare blanket and gently placed her in her mother’s arms. Khaami rested her head on Satine’s shoulder.

“Tyra-Satine,” smiled the Duchess, “I think it fits her perfectly.”

Within the next hour, both birth certificates were filled out, and while Khaami helped Satine nurse the babies, Fesma wiped the droid’s memory and began to clean up.

[waywardnerd67]

The Queen’s Court - Chap 18 The Demon Within

Summary: When Dean comes unannounced, (Y/N) can tell immediately that something is wrong. Characters: Dean Winchester, Reader Pairing: Dean x Reader Warnings: Angst/Smut/Rough Sex Word Count: 1047 Squared Filled: Demon Dean A/N #1: This is for @spnkinkbingo​ card A/N #2: As always this is unbeta so all mistakes are mine. Likes, comments and reblogs are splendid and I will love you doubly for them! Enjoy!

Check out: The Queen’s Court Masterlist

Looking up at The Queen’s Court from her town car (Y/N) let out a sigh of relief, “It’s good to be home.”

“Rough night, Miss (Y/N)?” her driver, Ben asked.

She sighed, “It’s always a rough night when I have dinner with my financial officers. I give them all kinds of money and yet they still give me grief over my business.”

Ben pulled into the private garage below the building pulling up to the private elevator, “As long as you're making money then it’s all good, right?”

“Right! I’m going to hire you as my financial officer and fire the rest.” She reached over the seat to give his shoulder a gentle squeeze before getting out of the car.

(Y/N) stepped off the elevator walking through the nearly empty hallway only filled by the few sounds of passion going through it. Unlocking her office door, she stopped mid step inside upon seeing all the lights on.

“Hello?” she hesitantly took a step inside.

A familiar raspy voice sent her heart racing, “Hello pretty girl,” Dean spun around in her office chair.

Her eyes traveled his body as he stood up noticing little differences about him. His soft locks were longer making her fingers twitch to pull on it. He walked towards her as if the weight of the world was no longer on his shoulders. A sly smirk playing on his lips as he pulled her into the room shutting the door behind her.

“Dean, I wasn’t expecting you. If I knew you were here I would have ended my meeting earlier.” She tried to take a step away but his arm was tight around her waist.

He slipped her coat off, tossing it onto the couch, “I wanted to surprise you, but I must say I’m the one who’s surprised. You always wear such revealing dresses to business meetings?”

She felt his fingers pulling the zipper of her dress down, “I have to be very convincing.”

His dark forest eyes stared into hers unblinking as her dress pooled around her ankles. His stare was cold and distant as his hands roamed up her stomach to her bare breasts. Each hand massaged her breasts as her head rolled back against her shoulders with a soft moan escaping her lips. She jumped slightly when Dean’s lips pressed against the pulse in her neck. (Y/N) sucked in a breath as his hand traveled her body and his rough fingers slipped between her slick lips.

“Fuck…” she sighed just before letting out a high pitch squeal when Dean picked her up over his shoulder.

He gave her a firm smack on the ass, “If you insist.”

With just a few long strides of his legs, he was tossing her down on the bed and roughly pulling her ass to the edge. Pushing his jeans and boxers down around his ankles, he quickly shoved his hard cock deep inside her pussy.

“Shit Dean!” (Y/N) cried out at the unexpected force he thrusted with.

Leaving just the tip of his length in her, Dean glanced down at her, “I hope you’re ready to get fuck hard pretty girl.”

There was a razor sharp edge to his tone as he snapped his hips against her again. Her mind was screaming for him to stop but the words would not leave her mouth. Deep down, she wanted him to fuck her hard because it had always been slow and passionate between them. Dean held the back of her knees spreading her wider as he slammed into her.

Their pants and skin slapping together was all that flooded the room. Her body wound tight on the verge of snapping as his pace quickened. (Y/N) gripped the edge of the bed giving her more leverage to meet his thrusts as a same sly smirk from before curled across his lips.

“Fuck Dean… I-I’m com-” Pleasure exploded throughout her body making her toes curls and limbs shake uncontrollably.

Dean grunted hard as she felt him pull out of her quickly jerking his cock out onto her stomach. When (Y/N) looked up into his eyes she gasped moving as quickly as she could away from him.

He chuckled, “What pretty girl? Don’t like my new eye color?”

His beautiful eyes were now cold, shining, coal black, “Y-You’re a…”

“Demon… yes I am. Not just any demon, but a knight of hell to be exact. I’m glad to see my brother hasn’t talked to you yet.” He looked over his shoulder into her office.

Her phone was buzzing with a call, “Well, well I bet that’s him now. Too bad, I wanted to go for round two.”

Dean pulled his boxers and jeans up buckling his belt as he walked around to the side of her bed she was on, “Please… don’t hurt me.”

She flinched as his fingers drifted down her cheek, “I would never hurt you unless you decide to cross me. Well, then I would have no choice but to take my donkey jaw here and stab it through your pretty little body.”

He took the bone shaped knife dragging it carefully between her breasts, “Please…” she begged.

“Then be a good girl and don’t talk to Sammy until I’m long gone. I have a meeting in Beulah that I need to get to. Can’t have Sammy finding me before then,” Dean stood up walking to her door before pausing, “(Y/N), I do hope I get back here soon. I don’t think any other pussy will be a match for yours.”

A small gasp slipped from her lips as he continued to walk out of her bedroom. She waited several minutes after hearing the main door shut before scrambling off the bed to get her phone off her desk. She redialed Sam’s number with him picking up on the first ring.

“(Y/N), have you seen Dean?” he asked with a slight tremble to his voice.

She opened her mouth to speak but only an unexpected loud sob came out as tears blurred her vision. She could hear Sam shuffling wherever he was grabbing his keys.

“I’m on my way to you now.” he said, ending the call and leaving her a sobbing mess at her desk.  

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[trashmemes]

 LAST PODCAST ON THE LEFT SENTENCE STARTERS PT. 11   —   quotes from pulled from the podcast hosted by marcus parks, ben kissel, and henry zebrowski. contains nsfw content. feel free to make alterations. 

i got to yell, and you know how much i like to yell.

don't do this. don't get my wires crossed.

is it bad that i have a full-on erection?

i am too immature for anything the future brings.

yoga is nefarious.

hot chicks can still be villains.

i refuse to let you malign the dick-sucking abilities of [name].

you masturbated to "ghostbusters"?

no one is ever quiet for good reasons.

i just want italian food that somebody else makes.

every time you open your mouth, i'm concerned our careers are gonna be over.

no matter what your momma tells you, violence does solve problems.

i'm on a need to know basis, but you know what i need to know? everything.

my whole life is nothing but potential. dare some say, unfulfilled potential.

you have a wonderful face for a pornstache. 

i can't get into that speech, because this isn't a bus stop.

all of this shit comes to the surface and i was like, ‘no, no, no, no, no. hahaha, you get outta here, you funny little brain devils.’

it seems like your brain is full of weed. perhaps you're not seeing things clearly.

i'm gonna be a terrifying skeleton and i hope i'm in a middle school.

don't let people in your fucking house. ever! even family!

you don’t know a goddamn thing.

time’s a fucking construct, man.

i have a whole thing with math where i don't think it's all real.

you remember that night? we went to walmart and we played with hulk gloves.

someone told me the other day that i can't mention lizards anymore.

i gotta tell ya: i don't trust the moon.

that is scarier than after a telephone conversation with my mother.

why did you ruin my fantasy?

...i'm just so. you know. i feel weird.

the government is fucking with you. remember that.

turn your home into a vacation with booze.

i was spooked so bad i shit my pants.

whoa! that was the meanest thing you've ever said about someone.

[calpalirwin]

The Best Years

Summary: Luke and Caroline adjust to life with Charlie.

A/N: This might be my new obsession. Feel free to come chat about any ideas you have about this family so I can continue to drag this out from here until forever.

Content: *wonders why I still bother with this when we all know the content I create* Soft. It’s soft.

Word Count: 3.4k

And away, and away we go!

__

Luke rolled over in his sleep, Caroline’s side of the bed warm, but empty. His eyelids were heavy as he struggled to open them. He was about to call out for her when the green blinking of the baby monitor caught his attention. With a yawn, he pushed himself out of bed, shuffling across the hall. There, in the soft glow of a nightlight, Caroline sat up with Charlie, gently swaying back and forth in the rocking chair. “I know,” she was murmuring softly. “I know you want to be held. I know it’s scary. And I want to hold you and make you not scared. But, Charlie, Momma needs sleep.”

Luke leaned in the doorframe, the wood creaking. Caroline’s head snapped up to see him smiling at her, curls wild from sleep. “I’ll take him,” he whispered, crossing the room to her. “Go get some sleep, Care.”

“Lu, I’m fine,” she protested as he lifted the baby from her, tucking Charlie against his shoulder.

“Shh, little man. I gotcha,” he soothed when the infant let out a noise of dissatisfaction from being moved. “When did he last eat?”

“Couple minutes ago.” She stretched back into the rocking chair, her mouth dropping open as she yawned. “There’s more in the fridge if he gets hungry again. Just warm it up a little. Not too much. Just to ro-.” Her sentence got cut off as she fell asleep.

“Shit, Momma’s asleep, little man. No, I know, it’s a good thing. But I can’t leave her in the chair all night. And I can’t put her to bed while holding you. So I gotta put you down for a second, okay? Yeah, I know you’re not gonna like it, but I’ll be quick.” Luke placed Charlie in the swing, clicking it onto the first setting so it gently swayed side to side. “Right back,” he promised before turning back to Caroline. “Okay, up we go.” He placed one arm under her knees, the other just under her shoulder blades, cradling her to him.

“Charlie,” she mumbled in her sleep as her fingers bunched around Luke’s tank top.

“Shh, I got it. Just rest, Momma,” he told her as he placed her in bed and covered her with the blanket.

Caroline woke up to find both her boys asleep in the guest room, Charlie tucked safely between Luke’s chest and his boppy.

~~~

“Happy Father’s Day, Lu,” Caroline grinned as she passed him the gift after a lazy morning of breakfast in bed and plenty of baby cuddles.

Luke sat up to rest his back against the headboard of their bed, Charlie sitting on one of his legs. “Oh, what do we got, little man?” he asked, his tone high with excitement as he reached in the gift bag and pulled out a picture frame with a picture of him asleep on the couch with Charlie asleep on his shoulder already behind the glass.

“I know it’s not much, but,” Caroline started, but Luke cut her off.

“No. I love it. Thank you, baby.”

“Well, it’s your day. Whaddya wanna do?”

“Kinda liking just laying here with you guys.”

“Really?” she frowned. “Lu, it’s your first Father’s Day. I know he’s little, but if you want to go out, we can.”

“Nah,” Luke waved her off. “I got you guys. That’s all I need.”

~~~

Caroline’s pout didn’t leave her face the whole drive over to Ashton and Britt’s. “Care, he’s gonna be fine,” Luke told her, his hand giving her thigh a squeeze. “It’s just one night.”

“I’m still gonna miss him, Lu,” she sighed, looking over her shoulder into the backseat. She waved at Charlie through the little mirror, who stared back at her those grey eyes. It was a much softer grey than when he had first been born, and she reveled in the fact that he would have Luke’s eyes to go with that little pixie nose. And Luke’s curls, even if they were the same dark brown color as her own hair.

“I’m gonna miss him too, Care. But,”

“But he loves being with Britt and Ash. And we deserve a night out,” she deadpanned the reasons they’d been telling themselves for the last month.

“Hey, look at me,” he coaxed, putting the car in park in Ashton’s driveway.

Caroline peeled her eyes away from her son to look at Luke. Her bottom lip quivered. “Lu…”

His thumb caught the tear halfway down her cheek. “Do you wanna take our boy back home?”

“What?” She wasn’t sure she heard him correctly, having not expected the question at all.

“Look, I can tell Ash that something came up. I can cancel the room. And we can go back home and have a night in.”

“Lu, I- no. No, we’re doing this. The plans are already made. We’re already here. Plus, the longer we put this off, the harder it’ll be later. We deserve this. We all do.”

“That’s my girl.”

~~~

“Oh, fuck,” Caroline marveled as they walked across the lobby. “When’s the last time we stayed in a hotel this fancy?”

“Mmm, Korea. When you surprised me for my birthday that one year.”

“No… has it really been that long?”

“Nah, probably not. There were probably others. But that one sticks out.”

“Is that so?” she teased, knowingly.

“Oh, yeah,” he grinned. “Korea was awesome.”

“You call Britt damn near killing me the first day ‘awesome’?”

“Yeah, cuz that’s what made it awesome. Plus, Britt never woulda actually killed ya.” He shot her a wink before turning his attention to the receptionist behind the desk. “Hi, room for Bennett,” he said, giving forth her last name that they always booked their room under.

The receptionist tapped away at the keyboard before getting their keys. “Room 3405. Elevators are to your left. Enjoy your stay.”

“Room service or hot tub?” Caroline asked, practically skipping her way to the elevator.

“What if I told you I got us the room with the fancy tub so we don’t have to choose?”

“I’d said I love you Luke Bennett!” she laughed.

“Oh, we’re taking your name are we? See, here’s the problem with that,” he said, wrapping her close as they waited for the elevator. “Our son already has my name. And I quite like my name, too.”

She rolled her eyes playfully. “You’re supposed to say ‘And I love you too, Caroline Hemmings!’”

“How about I ask you to be Caroline Hemmings, instead?” he asked. One hand dropped from around her to reach into his pants pocket, producing the small ring box.

She whirled around in his arms to look up at him. “Lu…”

“Say yes, Care. Say yes, so I can spend all night showing you how I’ll make this the best choice of your life.”

“Yes!”

~~~

“So, how was your night, Mrs. Merch Girl?” Ashton teased when they dropped by to pick up Charlie early the next afternoon.”

“You knew?!” Caroline asked in surprise, taking Charlie from his arms.

“Course I knew,” he smirked.

“Then maybe you could have coached him better on his proposal.”

Luke crossed his arms over his chest, fake glaring at his fiancee and friend. “Hey! I did what felt right in the moment. And you said yes, didn’t you?”

��Aw, mate… ya butchered the delivery? Well, I guess not everyone has your girl’s expertise.” Ashton clapped Luke on the shoulder, his cocky smirk wide as ever.

“Don’t tease him,” Caroline defended Luke, swatting at Ashton’s arm. “At least it doesn’t take Luke forever to ask a question he knows the answer to.”

Ashton’s eyes flashed at the laughed insult and Caroline danced away from him. “Nuh-uh. Can’t hit me, I have the baby.”

“Fine,” Ashton muttered before punching Luke’s arm instead.

~~~

“Can you say ‘rawr!’?” Caroline asked, as she drew up the hood of Charlie’s dinosaur jacket. “Ready? Rawr!”

Charlie blew bubbles at her. 

“Eh, close enough.”

“Care, are you sure we can’t squeeze in just a little bit of trick or treating in before the party? Like around the block?” Luke’s voice asked as he came into the baby’s room.

“Lu, he’s only five months.”

“So? We can eat his candy.”

“We have candy here,” she pointed out. 

The man pouted. “Please, Care? We can take him over to the guys’ places and just pretend.”

“Fine. Take dino-boy.”

“Yes! You hear that, little man? You’re going trick or treating!” Luke swooped Charlie up and sat back carefully in the rocking chair while fake screaming “Aaahhhh! Dino-boy’s gonna get me! Oh no!”

Charlie Hemmings was the cutest trick-or-treater his aunties and uncles had ever seen. 

~~~

Charlie’s eyes were wide as he watched the lights twinkle on the Christmas tree at Luke’s parents house. “Yeah, they’re pretty, aren’t they Charlie?” Liz asked him as she held him on her hip. “You know I was worried you guys wouldn’t want to come this year.��

“What? Mum, I always spend Christmas with you,” Luke laughed.

“I know, but I wasn’t sure how you’d feel about flying with Charlie. It’s a long flight for anyone, much less a baby.”

“Oh I bet it was nothing,” Ben started to tease.

“Yeah, Mum. Luke’s a big shot with a private jet, remember? Had the whole flight to themselves,” Jack joined in.

Luke rolled his eyes while everyone else laughed. “Honestly, Mum, it was fine,” Caroline told Liz.

“Your parents weren’t upset?”

“Mum, we’ve been over this,” Luke cut back in. “Care’s parents get Thanksgiving. You guys get Christmas.”

“Thanksgiving...” the Hemmings shuddered collectively.

“It’s not all bad,” Luke shrugged. He had personally come to like the American holiday because of all the food.

~~~

Caroline could hear the happy babble as she walked downstairs. “Can you say ‘Dada’? Try it! Dada. Dada, dada, dada. Ow, no, that’s my nose.”

She giggled watching Charlie grab at Luke’s nose, bubbles around his lips as he tried to make sounds beyond his high-pitched coos.

“No, not ‘eeeeAH!’,” Luke mimicked the coo. “Dada. Dada. Dada. Dada. Oh! Look, there’s Momma. Can you say ‘Momma’? Momma. Dada.”

Caroline sat next to them on the couch, hand ruffling at Luke’s hair before smiling at Charlie. “C’mon, little man,” she encouraged, tickling his ribs to make him laugh. “C’mon. Momma. Mom-ma.”

“Mmmuhhh mmmomm,” Charlie babbled.

“Yes!” she cheered, snatching him close to her. “That’s right! I’m Momma. Now who’s that?” She shifted so that the eight month old boy could see Luke. “Who’s that?” she asked again, poking at Luke. “Is that Dada?”

“Ppppaaa papapapa,” Charlie shrieked happily, grabbing for Luke.

“Works for me!” Luke grinned at his son. “Yes. That’s Momma,” he pointed at Caroline. “And I’m Dada or Papa, I guess. We’ll work on that d sound. And you’re Charlie!”

Charlie responded with a babbled shriek that followed Luke’s own pitch change.

~~~

“Can you believe that we met four years ago?” Caroline asked, her eyes soft with amazement.

“And now you’re my wife,” Luke answered her, his voice thick with emotion.

She leaned her head back in the pillows, giggling. “I’m your wife! Fuck! That’s so fun to say!”

“I’m sorry it didn’t happen the way it should’ve.”

She turned on her side to face him, his hands crossed underneath his head, peering up at the ceiling. “Hey, don’t do that.”

“You deserved better than a wedding thrown together in six months. You deserve a honeymoon traveling through Europe for a month, not a weekend out of town. You deserve so much more than I’ve given you.” He kept his gaze on the ceiling, finishing his train of thought with a sniff.

“I just said not to do that,” she said as she rolled on top of him, grabbing at his chin to tilt his head so he would look at her. “It’s not about the wedding or the honeymoon. It’s just a day. It’s just a trip. You want to know what does matter?”

He looked at her expectantly.

“It matters that you’re a good dad to Charlie, and a good partner to me. And you are. You do so much for me and that little boy. And we love you so much for it. And,” she would have gone on to express that she meant every word of her vows about loving him until the end of time, but both of their phones started ringing. She checked the caller IDs, frowning. “It’s Britt, hold on.”

“Yeah, Ash is calling me, too. Take it,” he said, showing her his own phone lit up with Ashton’s contact.

“Hello?” they both answered their phones.

“Hhhheeeey, sorry to bother you on your honeymoon and all,” Britt started, much too slowly for Caroline’s liking.

She cut her friend off with a tense, “What’s wrong with Charlie, Britt?” 

“Long story short, we think he has an ear infection so we’re taking him to the doctor.”

“I'll meet you there as soon as I can.”

“I’m sorry!”

“It’s not anyone’s fault, Britt. We’re leaving now.”

“Nah, man, don’t worry about it. Shit happens. We’re on our way,” Luke was saying as Caroline hung up with Britt and started gathering their stuff. “Okay, I will definitely make this up to you,” he told her as he stepped into his jeans that were pooled up by the side of the bed.

“Did Ash tell you what happened?” She threw their belongings back in their suitcase, not caring enough to fold them properly.

“Had a fever last night. Gave him some medicine. He went down for the night. Woke up crying, rubbing at his ear, and the fever’s back.” His voice got muffled as his head went through his shirt. “You ready to go?” he asked, sitting on the edge of the bed to put on his socks and shoes.

“Yeah, I’m ready,” she nodded, eyes darting around the room. She was missing something.

“Care?”

“Yeah?”

“I know my shirt falls practically to your knees, but you wanna put some real clothes on?”

Her eyes went wide with realization before throwing the suitcase open and digging through it. “Yep. Great idea.”

After another frenzied dash about the room, her teeth worried her bottom lip as she kept her eyes glued to the numbers signally the floor level in the elevator. “C’mon, c’mon,” she hurried under her breath.

“He’ll be alright, Care.” Luke’s fingers slowly worked to unclench her fist, crescent shapes dug into her palm.

“I know. I just-”

“I know.”

Caroline wasn’t sure what was worse. The look in Luke’s eyes that went so much deeper than just concern for their son; like somehow he personally had failed his family. The slow elevator ride- did elevators move this slow all the time? Or the somehow even slower Uber ride to the airport, flight back to Los Angeles, and then the last Uber ride to the hospital. They didn’t say a word, instead communicating via worried glances, troubled sighs, and holding each other tight.

“Hemmings, Charlie,” Caroline’s voice was hurried and breathless as she gripped the receptionist desk.

A sharp whistle cut off whatever the nurse was going to tell her. “Luke, Care, we’re in here,” Ashton said.

Caroline sprinted over to Ashton while Luke muttered a fast, “Thank you,” to the nurse before following his wife who already had a- very happy- Charlie cradled to her. 

“Just a little ear infection,” the doctor was saying. “Nothing to fret over. I told your friends they were free to take him home, but they insisted you were on your way and would want to talk.”

“Dadadada,” Charlie babbled, writhing in his mother’s arms when he saw Luke. 

“Hey, little man,” Luke smiled, taking him from Caroline. “You think it’s funny scaring everyone?”

“Care, we’re so sorry,” Britt started. 

The other woman held up her hand. “There’s nothing to apologize for.”

“But your honeymoon…”

“Not important.”

“I’m gonna run over to the pharmacy to get this filled. Then Britt and I will take Charlie back to our place if you guys wanna head on back to your trip, or...” Ashton let the end of his proposition hang in the air, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

“It’s up to you, Care,” Luke told her.

Caroline looked between her friends and son. Charlie was fine. Happy even. But she wasn’t sure she wanted to deal with another flight back up to San Francisco just to fly back home again tomorrow. But they could still enjoy an empty home, knowing that if anything did happen, they’d just be a short drive away. “If you guys don’t mind taking him, that’d be great. But I just want to go home, if that’s okay, Lu.”

“Whatever you want, baby,” Luke nodded.

She smiled, reaching forward to rub at Charlie’s back. “Whaddya think, little man? Want to go back to Uncle Ash and Auntie Britt’s house?”

“Sshhhh, bbbbb!” Charlie responded, clapping his hands.

“Okay, but stop scaring people, mister!” She made a fake stern face and wagged her finger in front of him.

“Mmmuhh mmmmomm.”

Ashton took that as his cue to run over to the pharmacy while the rest of them moved to the waiting room. “Okay, seriously, can you two stop with the whipped puppy dog look?” Caroline scolded her husband and friend in a hushed whisper as Charlie started to nod off on Luke’s shoulder. “Nothing is ruined.”

“But-”

“Lu, what did you tell Ash on the phone?”

“Not to worry about because shit happens.”

“Exactly. Shit happens. Our son got sick, and we did what we do when our son gets sick. That’s all that happened. So just… stop. Whatever guilt trip you’re taking yourselves on, stop.”

~~~

Charlie’s signature high-pitched screech had Caroline’s eyes snapping open. “Ow! Geez, little man,” Luke winced, holding Charlie out at arm’s length. “I thought we agreed to go on three.”

“What are my boys upto?” her voice rasped, still heavy with sleep.

“Ha-ppy Mother’s Day!” Luke cheered as he fell backwards on the bed, still holding Charlie away from him, arms fully extended. “Oh, no! Flying baby! Incoming! Aaaahhhh!” Luke moved his arms, Charlie moving with him, as he made airplane whooshing noises, the bedroom coming to life with laughter.

“Are you ready for your present?” Luke asked, breathless, as they laid amongst the pillows and blankets after the laughter died down.

“Aw, you got me a present?”

Luke’s eyes twinkled as he reached down beside the bed, grabbing blindly for the bag he’d been hiding. “Don’t gimme that fake innocent surprise. Of course I got you a present.”

Caroline gasped happily as he dropped the bag in her lap. “Oh, Lu!” she marveled, running her index finger across the soundwaves and the translation of “Happy Mother’s Day, Momma. We love you,” underneath it engraved in the wooden plaque. “It’s perfect. Thank you.”

“Happy Mother’s Day, baby.”

~~~

“Okay, but what do people even do at a one year old’s birthday party?” Luke wondered as he tacked up the decorations around the house. 

“I- you know what, I have no fuckin clue.”

“Then why are we doing this again?”

“Because our baby is one, Lu! And it’s just family, so it’ll just be like any other family get together.”

“But with cake, and presents, and shitty decorations.”

“Exactly.”

“Hey, Care?”

“Yeah?”

“I love you. And I think you’re doing an awesome job as a mom.” With each word he took a step closer to her. “And you’re one hot ass wife,” he finished with a wink, his hands grazing along her hips before resting firmly on her ass. 

Caroline’s cheeks flushed as she swatted at him. “Stop! You’re gonna make me blush. And cry.”

“Hey, I mean it. I don’t say it as often as I should, but I do mean it. You’ve made my life better, and complete than I thought possible. And I know I technically have Ash to thank for that, it’s because of you that we made it this far. You and Charlie are the best parts of my world.”

“I told you you were gonna make me cry!” she whined into his chest, sniffing back the tears. She felt his chest rumble with his throaty chuckle as his hands ran up and down her back. “And if we’re being sentimental, then I hope you know that you are the greatest love of my life, and the best dad to our son. And, no, I don’t tell you as often as I should, either. But I mean it, Luke. And I promise I’ll try to tell you more that you’re an amazing father and husband you are, and how I’m going to love you until the world stops turning, because you, Luke Hemmings, are my best years.”

__

Tag List

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[cablecorvid]

The Night I Werked For Slenderman

Ah, the early 2010s, they were really much simpler times. I spent my days doing what most emo kids in their late teens did back then- sitting cross legged in my computer chair and scrolling through Tumblr. I would absentmindedly fiddle with the laces on my checkered Van's while I read through my friends' profiles, reblogging pictures of my favorite bands, and creating posts that were oh so relatable and original, ranging from "lol XD I'm so random" to "I'm so dark and edgy, and nobody understands me" depending on how I felt that day.

It was a night just like any other, just another Wednesday evening when I should have been sleeping before school in the morning. Me being me, the angsty 18 year old guy that I was back then, I had deliberately chosen to stay up late. I was keeping with my typical Tumblr routine, just clicking on various hashtags and hoping from topic to topic, my favorite songs streaming from YouTube on a separate tab.

I had always likened myself to the Mad Hatter, but you might as well call me Alice, because that night I fell down the most life-changing rabbit hole I would ever find. This was the night I discovered the realm of the Creepypasta.

It was like a whole new world had opened up to me. I went through so many posts, each one introducing me to or teaching me about the greatest creations of classic Creepypasta- Jeff the Killer, Smile Dog, Ben Drowned, one right after the other. After several hours of scrolling and clicking and almost a whole can of Monster, I was engrossed, disturbed and intrigued. Images of so many terrifying creatures had filled my mind; I had read just about enough on this topic for one night and was planning on finding something new to look at when I told myself I'd scroll down to one last post...

That was when I saw him. The tall man in black. The crown prince of Creepypasta. The one, the only, Slenderman. He seemed so simple, and yet so unnerving. The grainy black and white photo attached to the post sent chills down my spine. I was hooked, I just had to learn more. Before I knew it, another hour had passed. The can that once held my energy drink was empty, and I wasn't going to stop reading until I was thoroughly versed on all things Slender.

I don't remember what was on before, but I took just a moment to change the song playing on YouTube. Everyone has that one guilty pleasure song that makes them want to bust a move, and I found mine right at the top of my "recommended videos" list. Now, an important side note: the 2010s were a wild mix of pop culture advancements. Alongside the rise of the Creepypasta and the Emo genre, a new dance trend had come into the limelight: the twerk. My best friend, Victoria, who ran in the "cool" circles at school, had attempted to teach me, but I hadn't ever been what you would call good at it. I turned the song on, clicking back on the Tumblr tab on my browser, and kept scrolling, dancing in my chair and singing along while I read.

Over the sound of my music, I heard a tapping noise. I thought it must be the wind or something. I ignored it until again, I heard it, a tap tap tap coming from my window, louder this time. I turned around and felt my heart drop, letting out a scream. The pale, faceless figure I had been reading about was standing outside of my house, his long black tentacles snaking out from his body and, every so often, bumping against the glass with another tap. "This can't be real!" I said to myself, stifling another scream. I turned around to turn off my music, but instead of my regular browser the page was a background of static and, to my shock, the still image of a hyperrealistic set of asscheeks, clad in black formal trousers. It looked like they could pop out of my monitor at any time.

I jumped out of my chair and ran across the room. This can't be happening, I told myself. But, in my heart I knew it had to be. I turned around and he was still there, and he was… Shaking. His menacing form blocked the moonlight, casting a long thin shadow that wobbled through my room. We stared at one another for a little while until I caught my breath. A tendril pressed at the edge of my window, trying to open it. I realized that I hadn't locked it after my last time sneaking out of the house, but it was far too late to do anything now- eventually, after, prodding and pushing, the window gave a creak as it opened and the noodly appendage slipped inside. It curled and gestured towards Slenderman, as if it was beckoning me to come forward. I don't know what possessed me to do so, but I made the decision to go outside and face him, man to man.

I made my way through the house, through the kitchen to our back entrance, hoping desperately with each step that he would be gone by the time I got out of the house. My hopes were dashed when I threw the door open and stepped out into the chilly night air. I realized then, as I laid eyes on him, what he was doing- it was something that I can’t fully describe even to this day. Slenderman, the internet legend himself, was throwing it back in a way I had never seen before, and may never see again. He turned his head slowly, menacingly, his eyeless gaze landing upon me.

No story I read could have prepared me for this encounter, for that itty bitty waist and the round thing in my face. Slenderman, they called him? I beg to differ. Those thighs, that booty? He was thicc. So very, very thicc. He stared at me, unflinching. I stared back in shock, examining the scene before me. One of tentacle-like tendrils made its way towards me, the same beckoning motion it had in my bedroom. I took a step forward. “Okay, big guy. What do you want?” I said aloud, my own courage surprising me.

Slenderman slowed to a stop, then stood straight up. His height, his stance, it shook me to my core. Then, he slowly took his former position once more, his hands on his knees, and waited, his unseeing glare seemingly peering through my very soul. “What do you want?! I already asked you.” Slenderman tilted his head quizzically. He raised his hand slowly, gesturing to me, then returned it to its place on his knee.

My eyes widened, the realization hitting me. “Do you want….. You want me to…. Join you?” I sputtered. He nodded slowly, and I paused. What was I doing? Was I really about to twerk with a being so powerful he struck fear into the hearts of anyone who saw him and could make me disappear without a trace? I told myself that if this really could be the last night of my life I might as well have fun with it. I placed my hands on my knees as he had and nodded to him. It was then that Slenderman started to twerk once more. I slowly shook my head, he slowly shook his ass. I heard the music from my computer grow louder and he really got into it. I tried my best to keep up but there was no way I could match his technique- he was just so advanced and so fluid in his movements. His hips moved in ways that no human could ever compare to, shaking what his momma or whatever unholy creature that made him gave him.

I can’t tell you how long we werked it for, but I could feel my legs growing tired. I wouldn’t dare stop until he was ready to, though I was afraid he could go on forever. I tried to follow his form, shaking it to the beat of the music, but I knew I wouldn’t last much longer. I was almost ready to admit defeat, to collapse after the vigorous dancing that I’d been doing.

My saving grace came in the form of my mother’s voice, and I spun around just as she flicked a switch and flooded the kitchen with light. “What on God’s green Earth are you doing out here, blaring your music at this time of night?!” My mother screamed at me as I put an arm up, shielding my eyes from the sudden illumination.

“It’s not what you think Mom, it’s!-” I turned to look back at Slenderman, but, to my surprise, he had vanished. Not a fleck of dirt on the ground was disturbed where he had once stood- he had completely and utterly vanished.

“I don’t want to hear any lip from you! You get back inside this instant, turn off that racket, and get yourself to bed! Do you hear me?”

“But Mo-”

“No buts!” Mom snapped, grabbing my arm and pulling me indoors. As she shut the door behind me, I thought to myself. If only she knew what I had just experienced. Maybe she would have known that “buts” were the whole reason I was out there in the first place. I promptly went to my room, turned off the music, and slept like a rock. When I woke in the morning, I questioned myself. Could it really have been real? Did that actually happen? I knew in my heart that it could be, that it was, and that it did.

It’s been years since that night. I don’t think of it all that often, but anytime I’m in the club or dancing in my room and bussin it down, I get a chill and the memories come flooding back to me. Not out of fear, no no, simply out of my mad respect for the best in the game. If there’s any lesson that I hope you take from this story, dear reader, it’s this: If you should find yourself in the presence of the creature of your nightmares, don’t throw away your dreams. Throw some ass. You may just be alright after all.

Source: The Night I Werked For Slenderman - u/SkeletonicKeys on r/Iconpasta

[siempre-pedro]

My Kid Punched His Kid|2|

Single Dad!Teacher!Ben Hardy x Single Mom!Reader

Summary: A playground fight between two 8-year-olds bring together 2 lonely single parents. 

In This Chapter: More back story and Ben and Reader interactions. SO MUCH TEACHER BEN. Rejoice!

Word Count: 2k

A/N: The response to a part 2 was overwhelming and so positive! Thank you thank you!!!!! Please comment and let me know what you think :D  Part 3 is on its way

Taglist is open!

Y/N grimaced to self as she walked down the produce aisle of the local grocery store, half-heartedly throwing apples in a plastic bag. Today was just the worst in her mind. Normally it was fine, a few hours in the office and a few hours at home while Abby had school. It was the fact that she couldn’t shut up about Mr. Jones. Y/N grimaced and threw the apples in the cart “Ouch!” Abby yelped from inside the cart.

Y/N snapped out of it and looked down at her grumpy face “Sorry, Abs.”

“Mommy, were you listening?”

“Yeah yeah. You and Mary played on the playground.”

Abby cocks her head and her small lips form a frown in disappointment “No,” she deadpans. “Mr. Jones is talking about our class field trip.”

“Baby do we have to talk about him?” Y/N this time carefully places the head of lettuce next to her daughter.

“I like him. He’s nice.”

Y/N turns her back and rolls her eyes “At least one of us thinks so,” she mutters under her breath. The women continue through the store, every so often Abby mentions her teacher making her mothers blood boil. Suddenly Abby looks up from the tablet and stares at Y/N with wide eyes “What?” she asks worriedly, stopping the cart in the middle of the store.

“We forgot cereal, you promised we’d get Lucky Charms!” Abby announces loudly. Y/N sighs in relief and nods calmly, turning the cart around.

“You’re right, I did,” she replies, calming down from the mild panic attack.

She turns the corner and looks down at a new work notification on her phone. Abby signaled to stop and when she reached up to grab the box a hand was already on the other side. Y/N’s eyebrows knit together. Her gaze turns from the masculine hand and at its owner.

“Fucking hell,” she curses.

“It’s good to see you too,” Ben smirks. Fuck that smirk he does when his tongue ever so lightly drags along his lower lip. She hated it. That was a lie, she loved it.  The adults look back at the cereal box they were still holding onto like children fighting over a toy. It was the last box.

Y/N was the first to pull away to cross her arms “Take it,” she spats.

“No, no, Abby looks disappointed,” Ben rejects, pointing to Abagail’s puppy dog pout. Y/N turns and gives her a warning look.

“No. Take it, Ben.”

“Y/N I insist. It’s all yours.”

They look at each other with daggers in their eyes, Ben was getting fed up. He takes the box and holds it up “Take the fucking box!” he shouts out of frustration. Y/N’s subconscious kicks in when she sees the strong grip he has on the crumpled red box. She flinches and cowers away, taking a step away from him, fear took over. Ben saw the fear, his own face softened. “Y/N? I-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.”

“It's fine! B-Ben it’s fine. Take it,” She interrupts holding a hand up to him, still trying to stand strong. She shakingly turns and rushes away.

“Momma?”

“We have to go, Abagail,” she hushes.

Ben watches her race out of the aisle, his brows knit together in confusion. He places the box in his cart and runs a hand through his hair. He started to worry about her, shit he was starting to care for a woman that screamed at him the day they met. It was just the weirdest shift in behavior he’d ever seen. “James?” he calls, bringing himself out of the ocean of thoughts. The curly blond boy looks over and puts the box of oatmeal down and skips to his dad.

“Yeah?” he chirps.

“Let’s go bub. We have to get ready for school.”

James looks down at his green dinosaur watch “It’s only 6,” he looked up at his dad with a frown. Ben shot him a look and ushered him along. Tomorrow would be a long day.

Ben eagerly awaited the next morning, fidgeting in his chair before fixing the already perfectly aligned papers on the kid's desk. When the ring of the bell sounded he rubbed his nervous palms. The wheels were turning in his head on how he’d confront her. As the kids piled in he tried his best to be his normal joyous self, but his green eyes kept glued to the door.

“Hi, Mr. Jones!” Abby’s cheerful voice sounds as she enters eventually. Her purple jelly shoes lightly squeak as she rushes to her cubby. The blond frowns when he doesn’t see Y/N, even missing her scowl when she lays eyes on him.

“Abby! You mom didn’t bring you?” He questions.

“No, she had to be at work early. Aunt Lucy brought me,” she answers quickly, jetting by him to take her seat. He sighs and lets the kids take their seats, early waiting to get on with the day. Ben had thought hard about his morning project. It was mostly for personal gain, he knew he couldn’t directly ask Y/N what her home life was like without his ear being screamed off.

“Alright kids, since we’re still getting to know everyone we’re going to draw and write about our family,” he starts, pinning a piece of paper on the board “This here is my house,” he points to the decently drawn picture “and inside is me, my son James and our dog Frankie. I want you to draw your family. Take out our pencil boxes and get creating.”

Ben slowly made his way around to all the kids, crouching down to their level as they explained their families. He tried not to laugh at a few of the drawings, they were trying their best. Anticipating the back row he finally stood next to Abby’s desk and looked at her drawing. She was actually pretty talented, her people looked like people but there was a big black blob next to what he assumed was her “What’s that there Abby?” He asks kindly, touching the black blob that was thankfully done in crayon and not a marker.

She gasps “It’s not done!” She picks up her black crayon and draws two small triangles at the top of the blob. “That’s my dog Sampson, he’s a black lab,” she explains with a large smile.

“Well done. So let’s see, we have you, your mom, and Sampson?” he wonders. She nods excitedly.

“Where’s your dad?” There he did it! God, he was so proud of himself.

Without missing a beat she responds “I don’t have one. Mommy doesn’t like to talk about it.” Ben’s smile starts to fade as he could see her bright smile dim. The brit places a hand on the girls arm and rubs it comfortingly.

“You have a beautiful family Abs. Your mom and Sampson love you very much,” he tells her. She smiles and looks at his drawing up on the board, they were so similar she thinks. It gave her a little more confidence in her small little family.

“James and Frankie love you too,” she tells him. He pats her arm one last time and continues his round before the writing assignment, it was a simple 2 paragraphs of information he needed to know about the single mother. After writing ‘neat handwriting’ on the board boldly, he took his seat behind his desk and waited.

Time had passed and the kids one by one handed in their papers to him before lining up for lunch and recess. Ben took the alone time to pull out a lightly crumpled red box out of one of his storage bins and places it along with a small note inside Abagail’s backpack. Of course, he does try to be somewhat productive, deciding to put all the drawings and papers on the wall as decoration.

When the man gets to Abby’s he pauses and looks away having second thoughts about reading it. Maybe he could actually get a chance to get to know her, he nods along with his thoughts and just staples it to the wall and only reads the part about her dog and grandparents.

The day came to an end, Y/N looked like a woman on a mission as she entered with a few of the parents. No small talk, just grab the girl and go! “Abagail, let’s go,” she whispers, trying to blend in with everyone so Ben doesn’t notice her. Realizing quickly that she did decide to wear a short mustard yellow dress, but it did have her favorite bell sleeves so that it looked like she had wings…it made her daughter smile every time so it was fine. Abby grabbed her backpack and latched onto Y/N’s hand as she raced them out of the room.

But it wasn’t long after she left before Ben could hear the loud and prominent clicking of Y/N heels marching towards his room “What the hell is your problem Jones!” she scolds loudly as she slams the door behind her.

“Uh James, go see if Nurse Katie needs help with her bandaids,” he shoos off his own child before they had a brawl in the middle of a 3rd grade classroom. James nods and quickly leaves the room.

“Now what can I help you with Ms. Y/L/N?” He smirks, leaning back on his desk. Y/N’s face turns red with anger, still cute he thinks of her.

“Don’t act all innocent! You but that stupid box of cereal in her backpack, you should have left it,” she seethed, walking closer to him. All he can do is smirk at her, placing his hands in his pockets unbothered.

“It meant a lot to her, Y/N,” he reminds her calmly.

“I can afford it if that’s what you think of me,” she retorts turning her back to him to look around, she really didn’t want to see his face. Her gaze lands on the wall with the families, Abby was the only one that looked different. Tears start to well up, she hated Abby having to feel different.

“That’s not what I think of you, you’re just really fucking stubborn,” he laughs.

“Did you so this because of me too?” She blinks back the tears and turns to look at him.

Ben rolls his eyes “Not everything I do is about you,” he sighs.

“Really? The past few days have told me differently.”

Ben peels himself away from his desk and walks over to her “I am a teacher and I want to get to know my students.” His voice fills with more annoyance. She hums in a disproving tone. “What that answer not good enough for you?”

“No. You don’t get to do this,” she points a finger at him, their eyes locking in a bitter stare down.

“Do what?”

“Start a fight. I came in here to yell at you,” she scoffs.

Ben snorts and licks his lips “You’re in my territory now, Love,” he winks and walks away smoothly.

Y/N breaths heavily and clenches her fists “Please, just no more stuff in her bag. If I see one more fucking box in her bag I’ll report you.”

Ben laughs at the empty threat “I’ll be sure not to, Ms. Y/L/N,” he answers her almost mockingly, but it was also low and seductive enough to catch her attention.

“Have a good day, Mr. Jones.” Y/N forces out a half ass smile before exiting. She pulls her phone out of her pocket and dialed Lucy “I need you to watch Abby tonight, please. I really need a drink,” she pleads when her friend picks up.

“Oh? What did hot teacher do this time?”

“Lucy!”

“Fine, fine. But you need to watch Mary so Rami and I can go out Friday,” she reasons.

“Fine,” Y/N bites her lip “See you tonight.” She hangs up the phone and exits the school, cursing his name the whole time.

Ben took a seat in his chair and leaned back, rubbing his face and letting out a loud groan “God that woman. I just wanted to reason with her. Fuck, I need a drink,” he says to himself. He pulls out his phone and sends a text to his favorite confidant Gwilym ‘Will you watch James tonight?? I need a drink, probably 10.’ 

Taglist: if you have been crossed out Tumblr will not let me tag you! Im so sorry

@florenceivy//@everybodyplaythegame//@jalcolmjeed//@itstonimydudes// @sunshine112// @virtualsheepeat//@ixchel-9275//

[secondgenerationnerd]

Snowy Days

This is the request I promised earlier! a little bit of plot to move things along, but for the most part, it’s just some cuteness.

----

Milagro Reyes-Wilkes knows better than to think she can sleep in on vacation. 

“Mom! Dad! It snowed!” 

“Mami...” Milagro jerks awake as her sons burst into the room. Ten-year-old Ben dances around the bed while four-year-old Max climbs up the sheets. She shakes her head, smiling softly at her pouting baby, nudging her husband with her foot.

“Babe, the boys are up.”

Colin groans, pulling his pillow over their head, grumbling, “We agreed: before eight a.m. they’re your boys.”

Milagro rolls her eyes as Max climbs into her arms. “What’s wrong, mijo?”

“Esta muy frio, Mami,” Max shivers, clinging to his stuffed monkey. Milagro kisses his dark hair, cuddling him. “No le gusta.”

“Si, Mami lo se. But it’s going to look so pretty soon.” Milagro lets him cuddle into his arms, loving her cuddly, pouty boy.

“Dad!” Ben jumps onto Colin’s back. That wakes him up. Colin rolls onto his back, clearly groggy as hell. “You gotta get up! It snowed!”

“‘For sale: one jumpy kid, will take the best offer.” Milagro kicks him under the sheets. “What?”

“No selling my boys.” Ben crawls over to his mother, mismatched eyes shining at her. She can already tell what he’s going to ask, in the way only a mom can, “Breakfast first and then we can go out in the snow, ok?”

“Ok, Mom!” Ben bounds out of the room. 

“I’m telling you, Mil, that kid is part speedster.” Colin rubs his eyes. Milagro gets out of bed, passing him their younger son. He carries Max to the already bustling kitchen. 

“Hi, Auntie Milly!” Two little girls race past them to the kitchen table. 

“Baby Dolls!” Jai comes running down the hall, chasing a dark-haired little boy in monster jammies, “No powers inside!”

“Good morning,” Damian yawns, scratching his head, “I see your children woke you up as well.”

“Your kid is 13.” Milagro points out.

“She was complaining about her cousins.” 

“Definitely your kid.” Colin yawns. The Wayne Winter lodge is large enough that the adults get their own rooms, with a few rooms to split their kids into. Ben’s already at the breakfast bar, happily chowing down on a bowl of grits Jon made, chattering away at quiet Peter Kent. Damian’s daughter, Asha, sits with Charlie Kent, discussing the logistics of the superhero movie they’d watched the night before. Lily and Milly Harper-West giggle with M&M Kent. Their little brother, Luke, tugs on Lian’s sleep pants. Lian scoops him into her arms, kissing his little cheek.

“Welcome to the chaos.” Irey laughs into her coffee mug. “I think we all told the kids the same thing.”

“Breakfast before fun?” Milagro gratefully takes another cup of coffee from her friend. 

“Still not fair, Mama.” Asha pouts. Irey kisses the top of her daughter’s head.

“It’s my job to ruin your life, kiddo.” Irey teases. “Also, that movie didn’t take into account the fact most heroes don’t run in a straight line when something’s falling.”

“Three steps to the left and you live.” Lian laughs. 

“Asha, did you see the video with the baby elephant--”

“With its teddy bear?!” Asha squeals with Charlie about the cute animals. Damian yawns as he takes a cup of tea from Irey. Asha makes a face as her parents kiss good morning. “Mama! Baba! That’s gross!”

The adults can’t help but laugh. Mar’i makes her way into the kitchen, carrying her youngest daughter. Laney sneezes, whimpering in mar’i’s arms.

“Is Loo Loo ok, Momma?” Charlie’s dark brown eyes flash with concern for her baby sister.

“She’s ok, starling.” Mar’i runs a hand through her oldest daughter’s blonde pixie cut. “She doesn’t like the cold, remember?”

“Me too...” Max pouts at Colin, who had set him at the breakfast table. Colin chuckles at his pouting son. 

“I know, bud. Dad’s completely unfair.” He sets a bowl of grits in front of the toddler, “Eat something and then you can have all the cuddles you want.”

“Remember the last time we were here?” Lian asks her friends. “Don’t think we were up this early?”

“After the space juice the night before?” Irey laughs. “Heck no.”

“Mommy?” Lily tilts her head.

“Yeah, baby doll?”

“What’s space juice?” 

“Something that you aren’t allowed to drink until you’re thirty.” Jai tells his daughter. 

“I think it’s a grown-up thing,” Milly whispers to her twin. 

“Like when Momma and Daddy wrestle in their room?” M&M asks. Jon turns dark red while his friends and wife laugh. 

“I thought you said that’s how Lukey got in your belly, Mommy?” Milly asks her mother. “You let Daddy--”

“Who’s ready to go outside?” Lian asks. The distraction works, sending their kids flying to their rooms to change. “Jai, remind me to never let you near me again.”

The next forty minutes or so are filled with kids changing into snow clothes and searching for missing clothes.

“Mom!” Ben shouts from the front room, “ Donde estan mis botas y mi abrigo?”

“Boots are in the garage and coat’s hanging up in the front closest, mijo,” Milagro smiles down at Max, pulling on her sweater. “Don’t you want to play with your cousins, Maxie?”

“Later...It’s too cold...” Max might share more of her features but the look he gives her is pure Colin. Of course, she has to pick her sweet boy up and carry him out to the porch. She joins Lian and Irey on the porch swing, watching their husbands play around in the snow with their kids. Mar’i brings Laney out, the little girl wrapped in an extra blanket. 

“Come on, Pete!” Ben shouts to his cousin. Peter laughs and helps Ben throw snowballs at the girls. Asha and Charlie take cover, retaliating in turn. “Give up! You girls don’t stand a chance!”

“Never!” Asha shouts back, pelting him with a snowball. While the older four battle it out, the middle four are hard at work making snow babies. 

“Look, Daddy,” Luke points to the little pile of snow with two stones on it, “Look what I made.”

Jai kneels down, smiling warmly at his son, “Looks great, Little Man.”

“Daddy! Daddy! Come see our stuff,” Jai’s pulled to the side by his daughters, laughing as he goes. Jon helps M&M finish her snow baby, giving her a high five. Damian and Colin have joined opposing sides to the snowball fight.

“Some things don’t change,” Milagro notes. Laney starts coughing in her mother’s arms. 

“Loo Loo?” Max looks over at his cousin. He crawls across his auntie’s laps, patting her back. “It ok. You be ok soon.”

“Tanks, Maxie.” Laney snuggles closer to Mar’i.

“Poor thing. Is she ok?” Lian asks.

“Yeah. I mean, she was a preemie so her immune system isn’t great.” Mar’i kisses Laney’s ginger curls. “My sweet starling.”

“Uh-oh.” Milagro gestures to Colin, Damian, and Jai huddled together while Jon helps the all the kids build a giant snowman. “They’re plotting.”

“Ok, guys, let’s see who can find the best arms for the snowman,” Jon tells the gaggle of children.

“I  can!” 

“No, Milly, I can!”

“I’ll beat all of you!” Asha shouts, running ahead. Jon watches the kids head to the edge of the woods, still within sight. He doesn’t see Colin, Jai, and Damian sneak up behind him. They tackle him, which is no easy feat when dealing with a half- Kryptonian. 

“COLD!” Jon yells as his friends shove snow down his pants. Once he regains his footing and pushes them off, Damian, Jai and Colin fall to the side, laughing. Jon glares at them, “V-Very fu-funny.”

“Hey!” M&M shouts, runnning towards them, “You can’t do that to Daddy!”

“I-It’s ok, honey.” Jon heads towards the house. “I’m going to change my pants.”

The mothers notice their older children huddle together, conspiring, as their husbands stand up, still laughing.

“Daddy!” Luke starts towards Jai, before tripping. Jai’s posture immediately changes when the little boy starts crying. Ben and Asha start wrestling, too violent to be for fun.

“Hey! Ben!”

“Asha Nuri!”

The men run over to the kids, Jai stopping to pick Luke up as Colin and Damian pull their children apart. That’s when Asha shouts, “Attack!”

“AAAAGH!” The seasoned heroes are genuinely caught off guard as the eight children wrestle them to the ground, shoving snow down their fathers’ pants. Once the kids get a fair amount down, they race towards the porch. Their laughing mothers will protect them. Laney and Max giggle hysterically in Mar’i’s arms.

“Oh my god,” Lian snorts. Jai, Colin, and Damian make their way to the porch. “I’ve never been prouder as a parent!”

“Aren’t you going to punish them?” Jai grunts.

“No!” Irey laughs, “You all totally deserved that!”

Jon comes out with new dry pants as the other guys go inside. He raises an eyebrow at the women on the swing, “Do I want to ask?”

“The kids just got revenge for you.” Milagro kisses Ben’s head. “And our husbands are pouty because they deserved it.”

———

“Asha, come snuggle us!” Milly moves her stuffed puppy to the side. Sitting crossed legged between Milly and M&M, Asha smiles up at Irey, who hands her a cup of cocoa.

“Thank you, Mama,” Asha sips the cocoa, getting whipped cream on her nose.

“I supa man!” Max jumps off the armchair and onto the pile of pillows. Colin’s never looked more offended in his life. Laney jumps after Max, squealing as she lands.

“Cha-Cha,” Laney toddles to Charlie, pulling her sister’s hand, “Wights? Wights?”

Charlie looks over at her parents, a silent request for persmission. Jon chuckles, “Go ahead, cowgirl. I’ll get the lights.”

The kids squeal when he turns the overhead light off. Charlie’s dark brown eyes start to glow, changing color as she opens her hands. Sparks from the fireplace turn to flittering fairies flying across the living room. Luke giggles as a little fairy pulls on his sleep shirt. Laney and Max toddle after a pair of fairies, Charlie keeping the illusion just out of reach. 

“Ok,” Colin nods, “I’ll admit, your kid’s powers are pretty dope.”

“This is nothing.” Mar’i watches her daughter with a loving smile. “Starling, do you want to tell a story?”

“Can I, Momma?” 

“Of course.” Jon and Mar’i take pride in the way their daughter stands in front of the fire. Charlie’s gained so much confidence since they adopted her seven years ago. The living room fades away, leaving them all in the middle of a forest, trees higher than any they’ve ever seen before.

“Once upon a time, in a far off land overrun by bandits and outlaws, there were eight misfits.” Charlie retells one of her parents' old missions in the fairytale setting. Her powers allow them to see exactly what she describes. Her cousins and siblings watch in wonder. Even the adults get lost in the story.

“Alright,” Milagro notices Max yawning and rubbing his eyes. “I think it’s bedtime.”

There’s gentle whining from the kids, but for the most part, they go without too much of a fight. Milagro tucks Max into the bed he’s sharing with Luke. Lian kisses Luke’s head, chuckling. “I see Max sleeps just like Luke.”

“Butt in the air?” Milagro laughs softly as they tiptoe out, “He’s just like his father.”

“Same.” They meet their friends in the kitchen to have a small nightcap. Mar’i hands them each a glass of whiskey. “I forgot you have a thing for hard drinks, Princess.”

“Blame my parents.” Mar’i shrugs. 

The conversation isn’t like the ones they used to have. When their lives were a balance of civilian vs. hero, all that mattered was school work, bets, missions, training, and whatever weird turn their conversation took. Now, they talk about work lives, new recipes, suggestions of new places to visit, and their families. But it’s so much easier now for them to appreciate everything they’ve gone through. 

Days like today remind them why, nearly 20 years ago, they formed their ragtag team to save the world. So they could one day have them

[bethabelina]

The tale

The young padawans heard the bell ring. It was time to sleep and they started running to their bedrooms. Vetha walked through the halls making sure everyone was in their beds and she found one little twi’lek still up struggling to sleep.

-What’s wrong, Lydia?- Vetha asked as she sat in the little one’s bed-

-I can’t sleep- she replied- I miss my momma and my papa-

-Don’t worry, they’ll come to see you in two days- The little one looked down and Vetha let out a sigh- How about a story?-

-Yes, please!- Lydia said excited-

-Have you heard the story of how the Jedi Killer fell for the last jedi?

-No-

Vetha smiled and laid down by her side as she started telling a story.

-A long time ago, not far away from here. There lived a young boy, just like yourself. His name was Ben Solo, and just like you, he was force sensitive. His parents sent him to train with Luke Skywalker in the jedi way. But he didn’t wanted to be a jedi, he wanted to be a pilot, just like his father. But they didn’t listen and sent him away. Feeling abbandoned, he started hearing voices in his head. Voices that seduced him into the dark side of the force. And as he began listening to them, the darkness grew and his master felt it. Woke up one night and found his uncle with his lightsaber on ready to end him. Ben had no choice but to defend himself and destroyed the hut they were in.- The little one looked scared- He made a choice and killed all the students but six, leaving no more jedis. Then changed his name to Kylo Ren, the master of the knights of Ren...-

-I don’t like this story- Lydia said-

-Don’t worry, it’s not over yet. He grew stronger and stronger in the dark side of the force. His new dark master warned him that as he grew stronger in the dark, his equal in the light will grow as well. Thinking it might be his old master Luke. But no. It wasn’t. But a girl, living alone in the sands of Jakku. Her name was Rey. She had been left alone there when she was about your age, and waited for her parents until she was 19. Due to some events, she left her home thinking she will return to keep waiting. But instead, she was drove by the destiny to Kylo Ren. At first, they thought they were enemies. He could not believe he had found his equal in the light. They fought and she defeated him in the woods of the Starkiller base. Falling from his master’s grace, Kylo Ren started seeking for a relief to his pain and he found it in the most unexpected way. A connection unlike any other... to her. -

Lydia opened her mouth impressed and Vetha smiled.

-They talked and talked, first with questions, threats. Then there was conversations and trust. They both started to feel less alone. Kylo Ren killed his master in Rey’s behalf but he still couldn’t go with her and she couldn’t stay. They were apart once more. But their connection stayed. Silent and waiting. But they couldn’t stay silent for long. Once again their paths crossed and this time they were able to defeat lonliness, darkness and even death. They were a dyad in the force. Two that are one. Ben, once he returned to the light, gave his life for her. And she returned the favor by getting him out of the world between worlds... The both of them, knowing how people would hardly forgive him for his crimes, left to exile. To a lost planet. Lost in memory... That’s the story of how the Jedi Killer fell in love for the last jedi...-

Vetha looked down and saw Lydia asleep. Then smiled and looked through the window. Thinking where is her master and if she’s alright wherever she was.

[tomfooleryprime]

I love Sarek. But he’s really not that great.

Sarek and Amanda are my favorite couple, not just in Star Trek, but ever. I’ve written more than half a million words of fanfiction about them. I’ve watched episodes featuring them so many times I secretly worry Netflix will put me on blast.

But I am not a Sarek apologist.

I’m pretty sure what draws most people to this couple is the age-old romantic notion that opposites may attract but the power of love can overcome anything. Cue cheesy instrumental music and a torrid kiss in the rain at a train station. I imagine a lot of women see themselves in Amanda, a seemingly regular woman with a regular life. Then they see a successful guy like Sarek, a dude who’s physically fit, well-educated, powerful, and absurdly intelligent, and it’s only natural that a recipe for hotness is born.

Because I’ve devoted literally years to dreaming up various ways this couple might have shacked up and vomiting the results all over AO3, I’ve also been forced to examine the personalities of both characters in great detail, and the only consistent conclusion I come to is fanon (myself included) gets it wrong most of the time.

Their marriage can’t have always been smooth sailing. If you’re not willing to believe me, then believe Amanda. 

Oh sure, there are tons of one-shots where they have little spats, but they almost always end with both of them making heart eyes at each other and jumping into bed. I get that Star Trek originated in the 1960s, but that doesn’t mean Sarek and Amanda had one of those “golly gee” wholesome relationships that could put Ward and June Cleaver to shame. 

Whichever version of Sarek you personally subscribe to, be it Mark Lenard, Ben Cross, or James Frain, it’s entirely possible to find the actors attractive but still think the character of Sarek could use some improvement. It’s also possible to love a character and admire their good qualities while being disappointed in their shortcomings. Maybe it makes me a shitty fangirl. Maybe it makes me realistic.

Literally decades of fanfiction and fan art have polished over Sarek’s unprettier bits, often portraying him as a hopeless romantic, a tender lover, a devoted father, and a man fiercely dedicated to his wife. I’m not going to argue each of those is patently false—hell, as a fanfiction writer, I’ve bought into some of those tropes myself—but I think some are truer than others. Let’s examine the canon.  

When we first meet him in “Journey to Babel,” he’s callous and aloof. He’s Vulcan, I get it, more on that later. But seriously, the guy has a habit of summoning his wife and acts like he doesn’t even know his own damn son. No one should be standing up to enthusiastically applaud and hand the man a husband or father-of-the-year trophy. Even Amanda seems pretty resigned to the arrangement.

I already know what the pushback to this assertion will be. He’s Vulcan! You can’t judge a Vulcan by human standards! Well, his wife is human and one of his sons is half-human, so I would argue that it should at least be an option, but I wrote a whole other essay on Star Trek’s moral relativism problem. 

Long story short, Star Trek glosses over a lot of moral and ethical dilemmas by using the argument, “Who are we to judge a culture we’re not part of?” I can’t answer that, but I will say someone once gave me a great piece of advice that I think applies to this idea of moral relativism: no person’s belief is inherently worthy of respect, but every person is. Maybe to understand Sarek as a person, we should look first at Sarek as a Vulcan.

Obviously Sarek subscribes to Vulcan philosophy, and while Vulcan philosophy seems pure as hell with its pacifism and its belief in embracing Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations (IDIC), I’m going to assert the Vulcan adherence to that philosophy seems to be a little lunch counter in nature. Yes, they take two scoops of resting bitch face and they’ll pass on the extra helping of tolerance. Sarek hails from a culture that is ostensibly exclusionary, sexist, and xenophobic in its practices.

When we encounter Vulcans in Enterprise, they’re people who mock humans for being too volatile, go to war with their Andorian neighbors, and aggressively purge the Syrranites for wanting to get back to the true meaning of Surak. But you might say, but that was before the Federation! They got better when they put T’Pau in charge.

Really? When we meet them next in the chronological timeline in Discovery, they’re telling Sarek they’ll only admit one of his weird social science pet projects (or as Sarek calls them, his kids) to the Vulcan Expeditionary Group.

In the Discovery episode “Light and Shadows,” Amanda reveals that Spock had a learning disability as a young child, which clearly embarrassed Sarek. Sadder still? Amanda explains there didn’t seem to be any educators on Vulcan willing to help a half-Vulcan child with a human learning disability. 

In the alternate timeline, when Spock applies to the Vulcan Science Academy, the admissions folks give him a pat on the back for achieving so much, despite his great disadvantage of having a human mom. Replace the word “human” with any religious, racial, or ethnic group, and see how you still feel about that sentence. 

Yes, Vulcans have racists and nationalists just like the rest of us and it doesn’t seem like they’re a rare breed either. Sarek is clearly attempting to be a better Vulcan, so kudos to him. However, not being an overt racist is not synonymous with sainthood. 

It’s pretty obvious throughout canon that while Sarek loves his wife, he’s uncomfortable with humanity, and he’s doubly perplexed with the humanity she imparted in their son. She even directly accuses him of never truly respecting humanity, to which he replies:

Which, let’s be honest, sounds like the rough equivalent of the “I can’t be racist because I have a black friend” defense. So many things in canon point to Sarek being utterly baffled by humans, not cutely intrigued by them as so often seen in fanon. The only time Spock and Sarek seem chummy with each other is when they’re mocking Amanda’s human emotionalism in “Journey to Babel.” Whether or not he meant to (and he definitely meant to), Sarek raised a son who saw his human half as a thing to be overcome.

Discovery has also hammered a lot of nails into the affectionate father coffin. Up until the final episode in season 1, he never called Michael his daughter and instead referred to her as his ward. It’s nice that he finally got over that technical distinction, but it doesn’t exactly conjure up the image of him tucking her into bed and giving her a kiss on the forehead.

He seems to accept her humanity because, well, she is human, but his own son’s humanity isn’t ok? Not like it matters, because his plan was to mold Michael into a Vulcan-like human anyway, which is pretty weird when you think about it. At one point, Michael tells Sarek she knows he must have considered the effect a Vulcan education and lifestyle might have on a human child, but she wants to know what he wanted Spock to learn from the experience of having a human sibling. His reply?

Which is... nice? He doesn’t say the only reason he took Michael in was for her to be his son’s empathy tutor, but he does essentially admit he was worried Spock was becoming too much of a momma’s boy. So the theory that Sarek was just scooping up orphans all over the galaxy like some kind of Vulcan Angelina Jolie doesn’t seem accurate. It gives the distinct impression that even Sarek thought of his hodge-podge brood as an experiment, at least to a degree.

Now, some may argue that Sarek never told Spock that he had to follow Surak’s teachings, which is true-ish. But that’s like telling a kid, “You don’t have to believe in Jesus” and then sending them to a Christian school in the heart of the Bible belt. What decision did he imagine his son would choose when he decided to raise him on Vulcan and stand by when other kids beat him up for not being Vulcan enough?

Seriously, Spock was almost guaranteed to turn out one of two ways: either he would just try harder to out-Vulcan everyone, which he did, or he would give logic the middle finger, which, well, is the option Sybok chose to run with. 

Despite fanfiction and fanart imagining him as this really hands-on parent who changes diapers and decorates baked goods (yes, I wrote a story like this and I’m calling myself out), he admits he’s the kind of dad who works late in the evenings, not the kind that reads stories at bedtime. 

It’s also no secret that as a parent, Sarek holds grudges. In “Journey to Babel,” Amanda confesses that Sarek and Spock haven’t spoken as father and son for eighteen years. In “Brother,” Michael asks Sarek when the last time he spoke to Spock was and he concedes it’s been years. In “Light and Shadows,” he’s clearly [Vulcan] pissed that Amanda is harboring a fugitive, who also just so happens to be his own son.

Is Sarek just that logical that he believes in justice even at a high personal price, or is he embarrassed that his own estranged son has been accused of murder and appears to be in the clutches of a mental breakdown? As far as I can tell, it might just be a little bit of both. 

Then there’s the idea that Sarek is a caring and devoted husband. Is there actually any evidence for this in canon, other than he was married to Amanda and had a family with her? Lots of people are married and have kids and don’t have a relationship that would rival that annoying couple on This is Us. 

Their relationship doesn’t seem like an equal partnership based on compromise, but rather one where Sarek does what he damn well pleases and Amanda follows along as a dutiful wife. 

Amanda gave up a lot of things to be with him: her home, her culture, and potentially even her own son’s well-being. The woman went to extremes for love not even witnessed on the Bachelor, and why?

In some contexts, that sounds like the powerful kind of love and devotion that epic-poems would be based on. In other contexts, it sounds almost like a pathological self-martyrdom. Did Sarek ever fully appreciate her sacrifices? It’s hard to say, but if he did, I doubt he ever voiced his appreciation. 

In his later years, when Sarek is losing his mind due to an age-related degenerative disease and he mind melds with Captain Picard, he tearfully muses (as Picard), “Amanda. I wanted to give you so much more. I wanted to show you such tenderness. But that is not our way. Spock? Amanda? Did you know?”

He's strongly implying he never told Amanda he loved her out loud. I’m sure he did love her, but it hardly bodes well for the idea that he’s a flowers and handmade cards kind of guy. And as for the notion that behind closed doors, he and Amanda had a super intimate relationship that would make even characters in Harlequin romance novels swoon, please, point me to an episode that makes you think that. I will watch it every day for the rest of my life. 

In summary, between his first chronological appearance in Discovery to his death in The Next Generation, Sarek had a lot of improving to do as a person and we see evidence that he most certainly did. He came to accept Michael as his daughter. He started speaking to Spock again after wrecking his childhood and turning him over to Section 31. Even though it clearly exasperated the hell out of him, he occasionally gave into his wife’s emotional needs. 

But that’s still a pretty far cry away from galaxy’s best father, husband, or lover. I think that’s what draws me to this couple so much. Sarek and Amanda didn’t live happily ever after: they did the best they could and made it work, just like the rest of us non-fictional losers. 

What little we have of canon depicts them as a couple who likely got married before they really knew each other, probably should have spent their first few years of marriage in counseling, eventually figured one another out enough to raise three kids who could all probably benefit from some therapy, and loved each other no matter what, even if it wasn’t out loud.

[svucarisiaddict]

Hi there! How about “Let’s get one thing straight about this” with Peter?

// Foolish Pride Series//

“I’m going to go grab some snacks for the road,” you announced. The apartment was all packed, just a few more boxes to load into the truck.

“Uh, what does one usually eat on road trips?” Peter asked as he taped up the last box. He looked up at you from where he was sitting crossed legged on the floor.

“Chips, jerky, candy, soda- have you never been on a road trip?”

Peter chuckled. “Just when I was playing ball and that didn’t involve eating junk.”

“Well, Mr. Stone. Be prepared to experience an All-American road trip,” you said. Leaning over you kissed his cheek. “Be back shortly. Love you.”

“Love you too. Be careful,” Peter returned.

A couple minutes later the buzzer rang. Peter smiled to himself. “What did you do forget your wallet and keys to get in?” Peter swung the door open wide but was surprised to find it wasn’t you standing in the hall. “Mike?”

“Peter.” Mike looked into the vacant apartment then darted his eyes back to Peter. “Is Y/N here?”

Peter narrowed his eyes at Mike and stood in the doorway blocking Mike’s line of sight. “I’m pretty sure Y/N said all she had to you already.”

“She did,” Mike answered while he nodded his head. “It’s just…I need to see her before she moves to Chicago.” There was the smell of whiskey rolled off him.

Peter crossed his arms over his chest. “Let’s get one thing straight about this. If she wanted to see you before she left she would have contacted you. So, it really doesn’t matter what you want. She made her choice and it wasn’t you. You had your time with her and you squandered it. She’s finally happy and it kills you that it’s me.”

“You tell yourself that, Peter. There isn’t a person on the planet that can make her happy. She’s a cold-hearted bitch,” Mike spat.

“Don’t ever call her that again,” Peter snarled.

Mike chuckled. “Or what? Maybe you like whore?”

Peter’s eyes fired with fury. His clenched fist made contact with Mike’s jaw. Mike stumbled back but didn’t lose his balance. He surged forward tackling Peter to the ground. The two of them rolled around in the hallway punching one another in the face, stomach, and ribs.

“Stop!” you yelled dropping the shopping bags that were in your hands. You rushed over to where Mike and Peter were still exchanging punches although they had made it back to their feet. In an attempt to halt the fight you grabbed Mike’s arm. His hand flew back hitting you in the eye and cheek. It took your breath away and sent you to your knees. Your eyes immediately filled with tears.

Peter was at your side in a heartbeat. “Are you okay?” He gently moved your hand away from your eye. “Jesus.”

“Y/N! Oh my God! I’m sorry. I didn’t mean-” Mike started to place a hand on your shoulder.

Shaking your head you said with a sniffle, “I know. It was an accident. Just go okay? Please.”

“Let me help you get her ins-” he started.

“She asked you to leave,” Peter growled. “I can take care of her. You’ve done quite enough.”

Peter helped you to stand putting a supportive arm around your waist.

When you looked back Mike was watching you. His lip was busted and he was holding his side where Peter landed one of his punches. You had never seen him sadder and defeated before.  

“I think we should take you to the hospital,” he suggested once he got you inside and settled on one of the barstools.

You watched Peter fill a baggie with ice then wrap it in a clean kitchen towel. ““I’m okay. Not the first time I’ve taken a punch,” you said.

Peter visibly tensed. “Someone has hit you before?” He placed the ice pack gently to your already swollen, bruised cheek.

“Not like that. I got into a fight in high school. Got my ass kicked,” you said with a laugh then winced.

“I can get you some Tylenol. It’s safe to take while pregnant, right?” Peter asked.

“Yeah. In my purse,” you directed to the end of the counter. “Someone has been doing some research,” you said with a grin.

Peter’s cheeks pinked slightly and he nodded. “I want to learn all I can about our baby and what your body is going through. It’s fascinating. Did you know the baby is the size of a plum?” He shook two tablets from the bottle and got you a drink of water.

“A plum?” you giggled. You swallowed the pills with a gulp of the cold water.

Peter grinned. “I love that sound.”

A few months after arriving in Chicago, you and Peter got married. It was a small, simple ceremony. Just you, Peter, and the judge. Your son, Alexander, was born shortly after your nuptials. Within a year after Alex being born you were pregnant again. Everything was going so well in your lives. Your relationship with Peter had grown strong as had your love for him. You knew you made the right decision on Peter. He was an attentive husband, father, lover and your best friend.

“Hey dinner is almost done,” you said as you heard him enter the kitchen.

Peter wrapped his arms around you from behind and buried his face in your hair. He inhaled deeply and you heard him swallow hard.

Your brow furrowed. “You okay?” asking as you soothed a hand over his bare arm. With your free hand, you turned off the stove.

Peter was silent except for a small sniffle. When he finally said something it was barely a whisper. “My Dad died this evening.”

You turned in his arms and cupped his face in your hands. “Peter. I’m so sorry. What happened?”

Peter shrugged. “Jack McCoy just called and told me. I’m not sure.”

“Oh, babe,” you said pulling Peter close to you.

The next day the three of you were on a plane back to NYC. It was a long flight due to weather delays, Alex being cranky and your air sickness. Once you reached your hotel, Peter insisted you lie down with Alex and get some rest while he met with Jack about his father’s arrangements. You didn’t put up much of a fight. Both of you were out before Peter even left.

Waking up to a baby dancing on your bladder you got up. Alex was starting to stir when you came back into the room. He sat up rubbing his eyes. “Momma?”

“Right here, baby,” you answered. “You getting hungry?” He nodded his head. Picking up your phone you texted Peter to get an idea of when he might be back. He texted you back almost immediately asking you to meet him and Jack at a family restaurant a few blocks away.

After getting yourself and Alex freshened up you headed down to get a cab. It was nice being back in NYC. It was your first time back since the day you moved. “Momma used to love here before you were born,” you told a not very impressed Alex.

Peter and Jack hadn’t arrived when you got to the restaurant. You sent a quick text letting Peter know you had a table. As you looked over the menu someone tapped your shoulder. When you looked over your shoulder it was like the wind was knocked right out of you.

“Hi, Y/N,” Mike said somewhat shyly.

“Mike. Hi.” Why did you feel so awkward all of a sudden? Maybe because the last time you saw him it wasn’t exactly what you would call a goodbye. You stood to give him a hug. “How have you been?”

“I’m good. I’m sorry to hear about Ben. My Dad always spoke very highly of him.”

“Thank you. I’ll pass on your condolences to Peter.”

“Congratulations are in order I see.” You motioned to your small baby belly. “And this must be-” Mike didn’t finish the sentence as he took in the all too familiar facial features, dark hair, and green eyes. His eyes flicked back and forth from Alex to you.

“He,” Mike cleared his throat. “Is…I mean he looks-”

Slowly you nodded your head. “You’re right this time,” you whispered. “His name is Alex.”

“How could you not tell me?” The look on Mike’s face was a mix of betrayal, sadness and a glimmer of hope. “Does Peter-

“He knew it was a possibility the baby wasn’t his. And I wasn’t sure until after he was born,” you confessed.

“So you just let me walk around this whole time with a child I knew nothing about,” Mike hissed.

“Mike. Don’t. Please. I’m finally happy. Peter and I have made a family. We love one another. You never wanted kids or to even get married. So please don’t do anything and ruin my happiness,” you pleaded. “Remember when I had a miscarriage? You told me you were so relieved. That hurt me so bad. I cried for days and you acted like it was just another day.” Tears started trailing down your face.

Mike dropped his gaze to his feet. “I’m sorry.”

“I’ve heard that one too many times from you to take it seriously. Be honest. If I would’ve told you I was pregnant and I wasn’t sure if the baby belonged to you or Peter what would you have done?”

Mike turned his green eyes to yours. “Not sure.”

“When I told Peter he didn’t flinch. He was there. So, as far as I’m concerned he is Alex’s Dad. If you ever loved me you’ll act like today never happened, let me live my life and be happy.”

Mike regarded you for a few moments. “It’s all I ever wanted for you to be happy.” Mike looked between you and where Alex was sitting in a high chair.

“I am. Very,” you confirmed. “Maybe someday when he’s older…”

Mike gave you a curt nod. “Goodbye, Y/N.” He looked over Alex one last time before kissing the top of his head. “Take care of your Momma,” he said quietly.

That would be the last time you ever saw or heard from Michael Dodds again.

[dragoncat223]

Chapter One: Snow

A/N: so this is the thing I wa talking about yesterday, go ahead and read if you want!! I was kind of just blowing off steam, and this happened. Hope you like it.

When you looked at Snow, you would not think he was a spy. He was tall and well-muscled, and moved with the grace of a trained fighter. So, one may assume his occupation to a guard for royalty, a swordsman, or a mercenary, maybe. In another life possibly, but in this one, the teen was currently hidden in the shadows. He watched. He waited.

“Did you hear the Lake Base was raided last week?” one guard said.

“Oh yeah, I heard everyone drowned. They threw people into the lake with their hands and feet tied to stones, right? Bloodthirsty savages,” the other replied, shaking his head. Snow rolled his eyes and moved on, but it wasn’t their fault. They only repeated what they thought was true. Traveling from shadow to shadow, the boy caught snippets of conversation.

“Oh please, John is totally cheating on Aubrey with Kevin. I saw them making out in the hall by the dorms last week!”

“The captain said the shipment would come in two night’s time.”

“That one always jams. Here, let me.”

Finally he found what he was looking for. Snow slipped from a rafter to the top of a large bookshelf, making himself comfortable in the small space. There were only two men in the room. Between them was a large table, covered in maps. One man was young looking, in his late twenties perhaps? His dark, slicked back hair shown in the dim light. The other was in his late fifties, maybe early sixties. His hair was covered in an olive green hat, but you could still see his grey stubble. To Snow they’d be known as Steve and Bob, respectfully.

“We’ve checked here,” his boney fingers pointed to a spot on the worn out map, “and here, but found nothing,” Steve was saying. “Commander, we’ve scoured the area in a fifty mile radius. Either they are moving around or we have to widen our search area.”

Or they’re just smarter than you, Snow thought.

“Let’s not forget the those of which we are dealing with, Captain. They must be using some kind of magic to hide from us. No matter though, Princess Diane’s machine will be coming in two weeks time. Until then, we’ll keep searching on foot. Thank you, Captain Granite. You are dismissed,” Bob instructed.

Snow climbed back up to the rafters and made his way to the window he came through. His chose a long path tonight, risky and dangerous, but it let him hear more snippets of conversation.

“I hear it has spikes.”

“Laura told me she liked this!”

“Fuck! Okay, that hurt!”

“That tree looks weird. Has that tree always been there?”

Most of it wasn’t important, but still interesting to listen to. He liked to make up stories around what he heard. But that was for later.

These people thought they’d thought of everything, and yet missed one window. Well… several windows; and a spy, but we can keep that as our secret for now.

Exiting through the window, Snow dropped to the ground in front of a woman in full uniform, a gun strapped to her hip. “You get what you needed?” She asked.

Snow nodded. “Anyone suspect you?”

The woman smiled. “I’m up for a promotion.”

“Good. Now, I heard something about a device that Princess Diane made. You have anything on that?”

“There are only rumors, but I’ve heard something about it being able to suppress lay lines.” Snow grimaced and gave a curt nod.

“Thank you, Cam. Devin sent a letter with me.” Snow pulled the folded paper out of a pocket and handed to the dark skinned woman. “I know it wasn’t my place but some color caught my eye and I saw the picture Ein drew. It’s very cute.”

Cam smiled sadly at him. “Thank you Snow. Keep my boys safe, yeah?”

“Yes, ma’am. See you next week.” Cam nodded, pocketed the letter and walked back into the base. Snow slipped back into the darkness and made his way to the meeting spot. The others should be there already. The teen rounded a corner to see that yes, luckily his team was all there. Well everyone except… “Where’s Dahlia?”

“Told you,” some one hissed, and he swore he saw money change hands. “Sir, Dahlia took a small detour while scouting. She-“

“Is right here!” A voice said gleefully. A blessedly familiar voice. Snow spun around to see his sister standing there with a long, rolled up piece of paper in her hands.

“Gods damn, Dahlia, what the hell is that?”

“Oh you know,” the girl said, crossing one leg over the other and rolling her eyes to the side playfully. “Just the blueprints to the base.”

Snow sighed. “Just because you got that does not mean you are off the hook. I’m telling Blossom when we get back,” he turned to the rest of the group, “Let’s move out.”

They began walk back to the glider. Dahlia crossed her arms and muttered something about it being unfair. Snow rolled his eyes. She’d been fighting as long as he had, but gods did she act like a child sometimes. Though I guess you can’t really blame her; she was only fifteen after all.

The group found their glider and climbed onto the smooth surface. Snow a small amount of ice grow in his hand and shaped it into a key. There was a small hole in the vehicle and the ice mage inserted his new key and twisted. The engine purred to life as walls and windows formed around them. Seats fizzled into existence and the group sat. Snow discarded his creation to the hot ground below, where it would melt out of existence in a few minutes. A control panel formed last and Snow inputted the sequence that would take them home.

The glider began moving and Snow took his seat. They all faced in, towards each other. There were only five of them, six including Dahlia, though she was not a permanent fixture there. There was Zach, Robin, Rose, Calvin and Snow himself. “Report. There’s talk that Princess Diane has a new machine that suppress magic. We need more info on that. What did you find?”

“I was in the tech section this week, sir,” Rose began. “We got lucky and they were on a video call with princess herself.”

Snow leaned forwards in interest. Little was known about the girl. Just that she was young, brilliant, and the leading scientist in Powerless’ side.

“She looked about fifteen or sixteen, brown hair, blue eyes. I’m willing to bet she’s short, though it was hard to tell-“

“Rose.”

“Right. They were talking about the machine. She said that it would only be able to affect a one hundred mile radius. Currently it’s only a prototype, so only one exists. The princess is going to field test it and fine tune it here.” The woman paused, suddenly nervous.

Zach gestured for her to continue. “She will be here in two week’s time sir.”

“Blossom will be interested to hear that, thank you. Robin, go.”

“Section 7 is being transferring back to the capital. They’ll be gone within a week. I suspect they are sending troops home because they are beginning to become doubtful that we are even here.”

Snow nodded. The 7th section was the last and smallest of those that were located on the base.

“Good job. Zach, you were in the mess hall this evening. What did you find?”

Zach smiled mischievously as the rest of the squad leaned in. Was this really necessary? No. Was it entertaining? Hell yes. “Well sir, in section 3a Hudson cheated on Ben two weeks ago right? Well there’s this new guy who just transferred to the base, Arthur, who seems to have caught Ben’s attention. In section 4c Melissa and Mary broke up last week and now Melissa is dating Mary’s brother, Sam.”

He rambled on about the gossip he’d picked up for the next five minutes. Really, the shadow mage did his best work in the cafeteria. Seemed to enjoy it too. A little too much maybe, but Snow wouldn’t worry about that. For now he would listen and laugh with the others.

After a while, the vehicle slowed to a stop and the walls disappeared around them. The group stood and the chairs faded away. To any onlookers, it would look like they’d stopped in some abandoned spot on the arid plain. Snow nodded to Dahlia, who lit up. She always loved this part. The short haired girl leapt from the smooth surface of the glider to the hard dry ground below with excitement. “Stand back,” she instructed, not facing her comrades, ever the dramatic, “It’s about to get hot.”

She took a deep breath, and Snow knew she closed her eyes in concentration. She’d be fine, but on rare occasions, his sister didn’t have the best control over her power. Finally she threw her arm up, into the air in a long arc, palm outstretched. Brilliant flames followed the path of her hand, giving a moment of light to an otherwise dim evening. Snow allowed himself a small smile of pride. With the display of Dahlia’s power, the air shimmered, but not just with the heat of the flame. They had entered the shield that hid their camp from anyone without a mage with them.

They’d been here years, longer than Snow had been alive. Both his sisters and he himself had been born there. The rebel group had found these ancient ruins and made it their own. Buildings made from old, crumbling sandstone, repaired with new blocks and steel beams. Some prefered to keep the new products out of their homes and repaired holes with enchanted cloth, making them waterproof and unable to burn. Their camp was large, hundreds living here. Some were fighters, some just seeking shelter with their families.

There was a crowd to greet them. A little boy ran up to him, and jumped at him. Snow picked him up and let the child wrap his small legs around his waist and arms around his neck. “Snow! Snow! Did you see my momma? Did you give her my drawing? Did she like it?”

“Yes Ein, I saw your momma. I gave her your drawing and she loved it and says she misses you very, very much,” Snow responded, with a chuckle.

“Good to see you back safe Lieutenant,” said the boy’s father, stepping up to take the boy off his hands.

“Captain.”

“How is she?”

“Up for a promotion.” The subtext in the news was not subtle. She’s safe. Don’t worry.

“I have to go report report to the general. See you in the morning.” The man nodded and carried the little boy off. Dahlia was off talking to her own group of friends, all talking over one another.

Snow imagined them asking things like, “Where you scared?” Or “Did you see the armory?”. Dahlia had a wide smile on her face as she talked just as fast. It was times like this, that he hated to pull his sister back home. But it had to be done.

“Dahlia!” Snow called. His sister snapped to attention and turned toward him. He jerked his head in the direction of their house and she nodded.

“Coming!” The fire mage took a moment to say goodbye to her friends and rushed to catch up with her brother.

They left the crowd behind in favor of weaving through the maze of crumbling, half repaired buildings.

Next

[dangertronic]

Not A Monster Chapter 9

Chapter Length Consistency? I don’t know her. 

Ao3 Link

Tag List: @sten-bros @agrimny @creamy-brown-eyes @areyareddie @jakethezombiehunter @deamontesnothere @soomar-wine

Nine:

Richie didn’t show up for the rest of their last week of school.

Eddie had told them that Maggie had wanted to keep him off school while he recovered from Brad’s assault, and Eddie diligently took Richie’s homework to school where it would distributed between his friends to hand in and they would collect the new work which Jessica and Eddie would take to Richie.

Just because he was off school didn’t mean that his impeccably good grades had to suffer.

Eddie wouldn’t give Brad that satisfaction, and neither would Richie.

“He took on Brad?” Charlie asked, furrowing his brow as he packed up his books in literature, his attention settling onto Mike. “Richie took on Brad? The guy who is on the damn wrestling team and built like a bear?”

“Hey, I’m as surprised about it as you are.” Mike said, closing his books and shoving them into his backpack. “From what I know, it wasn’t just a random I want to get into a fight thing either. Brad was making Jess uncomfortable.”

Charlie tucked his books under his arm, grabbing the bag from the back of his chair and slinging it over his shoulder. “Man, that Tozier kid has some pretty big balls to be doing something like that. How’s he doing?”

“Oh, he’s fine now. His mom just wants him to recover comfortably at home so he doesn’t hurt himself further.” Mike said.

“Man, when I asked you why Richie wasn’t in school, I was not expecting that to be the answer.” Charlie shook his head, an amused smile on his face. “I’m both surprised and impressed with that boy.”

“What’s impressive is that Eddie was the one who actually broke Brad’s nose.”

Charlie looked over Mike’s shoulder to where Stan and Jessica were talking to Eddie in the doorway while they waited for Mike.

“That little guy over there?” Charlie asked, furrowing his brow.

“Yep.”

“Shit man.” Charlie chuckled, adjusting his backpack. “It’s always the small quiet ones who kick some major ass, huh?”

“Chaotic bundle of rage, our Eddie.” Mike said, clapping Charlie on the shoulder. “I’ll see you in Math.”

“See you there, Hanlon!”

As Mike headed to the cafeteria with the others, Jessica and Eddie in deep conversation about something, the passed Brad who sporting a piece of silver plastic taped into place over his nose, dark bruises under his eyes.

He’d told people it was from a bad wrestling practice; a misjudged move he was trying out with someone, and Troy had backed him up.

But Mike knew the truth. The ‘Loser’s club’ knew the truth. And Mike was pretty sure that Troy knew the truth too to be covering up for him.

Jessica laughed at something Eddie had said, bringing Mike back into the conversation around him. “Honestly, that boy.”

“I know right?” Eddie asked, huffing as he gripped at his bag strap. “I don’t know what on Earth gave him the impression I would even entertain the idea of dressing up as a nurse for him, much less actually do it.”

“So then what did you do?”

“I offered to blacken his other eye if he didn’t shut the fuck up, and after what I did to Brad, he wasn’t willing to risk it so he dropped the subject.”

“Brave man to be dating you, Eddie, very brave indeed.”

Stan snorted. “Richie often has a tendency to do things that will get him either into trouble or just plain hurt. He a gluten for these things and that’s my theory on why he’s dating a chaotic secret powerhouse.”

Eddie snorted this time, but didn’t deny Stan’s claim as they joined the line of students in the cafeteria.

“You’re coming tomorrow night, right Jess?” Mike asked. “To Richie’s party, I mean.”

Jessica grabbed a tray as they passed the cart. “Yeah. I don’t know about the staying over part, but I’m definitely gonna show up for the party.”

“Good, because if I don’t have you there and Richie makes a dumb comment about me in a nurse outfit again I might actually murder him unless you’re holding me back.” Eddie grumbled, grabbing one of the trays.

“I’ll be sure to try and hold you back if you try to murder him but I think you might be just a little too strong for me and I like my nose in one piece.”

Eddie shoved her playfully, Jessica stumbling into Stan who steadied her. The four of them moved with the line, grabbing their lunch before making their way over to the table where Bill was sitting across from Ben, the two boys in deep excited conversation.

“What has you all excited?” Stan asked, placing his tray down as he took a seat next to Bill who moved over for him.

“Beverly’s gonna be here tomorrow.” Ben said, sliding across the bench so Mike and Jessica could sit down with them. “Her school ended for Christmas Vacation yesterday so she’s already on her way here.”

“Oh that’s right!” Eddie said, his face lighting up as he sat beside Stan. “I can’t wait to see her again! Two visits a year is not enough.”

“She’s probably going to tease you relentlessly about dating Richie.” Mike pointed out.

“She’s allowed. She only gets to see us twice a year, Mike!”

“Honestly, I think she’ll be too busy teasing Richie about getting his ass beat.” Stan said, pushing some of the food around his tray with his fork idly. “I might have told her when she called me last night.”

“Stanley!” Eddie scolded, smacking his arm.

“Hey, I had to warn her that Richie was going to look a little shitty!”

“Yeah, we can’t have people thinking you did that to him.” Mike said.

“Though she’d probably be like: oh was this sexually or…”

“Beep, beep assholes!” Eddie snapped while Jessica giggled. “I can’t wait for you and Lucille to meet her! She’s gonna love you two!”

Swallowing her food, Jessica placed her fork down. “Is there anything I should know before I meet Momma Bear Beverly?”

Eddie grinned. “Other than she’s dating Ben here and she’s amazing? Nope!”

“Also Ben’s our mom, not Beverly.” Stan said, staring out of the cafeteria window rather than touching whatever the school passed off as food.

“I’d argue with that but Ben literally mothers us all the time.” Mike said, shaking his head in amusement. “Mike, did you remember to drink water during practice? Bill did you remember to do your homework? Stan, if you’re going to spend a whole day watching birds, make sure you have food and water with you. Richie, shut your mouth before I wash it out with soap. Eddie, did you take your pills today? Guys, its cold out there make sure you have a jacket. Richie, it’s winter. Put on a damn scarf before I put it on for you. Richie, for Christ’s sake wear some gloves or you’re going to get frostbite.”

Ben huffed, crossing his arms. “Someone has to make sure you all take care of yourself. God knows you guys don’t.”

“Should I be concerned Richie needs the most mothering out of all of you?” Jessica mumbled around her fork.

“I was thinking the same thing.” Eddie said, arching a brow. “Does he just unwrap himself after his mom makes him wrap up?”

Ben rolled his eyes. “He’s trying to defy the elements or something. I… I really don’t try to understand half the things he says.”

Eddie sighed. “Fucking idiot.”

“Hey, he’s your idiot now. I raised him the best I could.”

Jessica snickered. “Ben Hanscom: Almost Proud Mother of Richie Tozier.”

Stan snorted. “Key word: almost.”

Jessica dropped Eddie off at Richie’s after school as she had done every day that week, insisting that it was the least she could do for Richie.

“Thanks again for the ride, Jess.” Eddie said, grabbing his backpack as he climbed out of the car.

“Anyyyytime, Eddie.” Jessica said. “Hey, don’t forget Richie’s.”

“Oh, right.” Eddie said, leaning back into the car to grab Richie’s backpack.

“One track mind you. The Richie channel.”

“Oh yeah, like yours isn’t constantly the Lucille Channel.”

“Man, I wish I could deny that but that girl is the only thing that runs through my head.”

“Cute Jess, I’ll see you tomorrow night.”

“Yeah. I’ll pick Mike and Lucille up and then I’ll be here.” Jessica assured. “Make sure Richie is okay for me, yeah?”

Eddie nodded, closing the car door and jogging off up Richie’s driveway. Jessica waited until he was inside before she drove off, just in case. Eddie removed his shoes at the door, assuring Maggie that he didn’t need anything when she asked before he took the stairs two at a time, Richie’s backpack thumping against his back.

Richie was laid out on his bed when Eddie walked into the room, hands tucked behind his head and his eyes closed, foot tapping in tune with the song playing on his radio. Eddie smiled fondly, simply watching Richie for a moment.

His face still showed the signs of Brad’s assault, a deep bruising having formed around his eye; almost black in colour. Richie stretched out, and his t-shirt shifted, allowing Eddie to see one of the dark bruises on his stomach just above the waistband of his pants.

He could feel his anger towards Brad spiking again, but he pushed it aside for now in favour of just spending time with Richie.

Richie; who was still oblivious to Eddie being in the room.

Eddie crossed the room, carefully placing Richie’s bag next to the bed before climbing next to him. Richie opened a single eye, a smile coming to his face as he removed a hand from behind his head to wrap his arm around Eddie as he settled next to him on the bed.

Eddie pressed his head against Richie’s shoulder, nuzzling his nose against his jaw. “How are you feeling today?” He paused his nuzzling to press a light kiss just under Richie’s ear, enjoying the soft hum of appreciation that came from Richie.

“A lot better, though that’s probably because I haven’t been moving much.” Richie said, shifting to bring his other arm around Eddie, wincing when his body protested to the sudden movement. “Mom keeps doing everything short of actually taking me to the bathroom or bathing me so I’ve been taking it pretty damn easy.”

Eddie snorted, raising one of his arms to rest lightly against Richie’s other shoulder so he could sink his fingers into his hair, twisting the strands around his fingers. “She’s just worried about you, Rich. You took a pretty bad beating.”

“I had to defend the lady’s honour, Eds.” Richie said, eyes closing again as Eddie started to stroke his fingers through his hair.

“I never asked... how much trouble did you get into for fighting?”

“None at all.” Richie said, a grin coming to his face. “Mom said what I did was very admirable and told dad he was not allowed to ground me for getting into a fight or she’d ground him and I’m not sure I want to know how that works.”

Eddie chuckled. “It was admirable even if you did get your ass kicked. Brad’s still roaming around with that nice little broken nose.”

Richie chuckled with another wince. “That’s my boy.”

They fell silent, Eddie stroking his fingers through Richie’s hair softly.

“Edssss.” Richie whined after a few minutes of the relaxing torture. “If you keep doing that I’m gonna fall to sleep.”

Eddie laughed softly, stopping his actions. “You don’t want to sleep? How unlike you.”

“I slept enough today. There are better things to do than sleeping.”

“Like?”

Richie rolled onto his side so they were facing each other, his arms still securely around Eddie. “Kissing you is definitely better than sleeping.”

“Then why aren’t you doing it, moron?”

Richie snorted, nudging his nose gently against Eddie’s. “Because, and this is going to be a real mood killer, but there’s an invasion in the doorway.”

“What?”

Eddie shifted to look at the direction of the door, his eyes immediately widening.

Beverly Mash was standing in the doorway, her body propped up against the door frame with a grin clear on her face.

“Hey boys, did you miss me?”