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nowritingonthewall · 2 years ago

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Dear Nonnie, it’s been ten thousand years, and if you are ever going to read this, I hope that you’re having the loveliest day imaginable 🥰 Thank you once again for being so incredibly lovely 💜

!Content warning for pregnancy and parenthood!

Please be aware that I am not an expert on DID.

Mostly soft and fluffy because Jake deserves it.

I am sorry to say that I have no idea who first came up with the beautiful idea that Jake LOVES cats, but I would like to thank all the amazing artists for spreading the love for cat dad Jake in the fandom 💖

👶 Family headcanons with Jake Lockley (x female reader)

- One of the most important things that you need to understand about Jake Lockley is that he cares. He cares so fricking much. He cares about Marc. He cares about Steven. He cares about you. And he cares so much about your little son and your little daughter, he is always going to put them first, no matter what. His role as protector will always come before his own emotional needs and feelings.

- The first mission, which he goes on the minute that he learns that you are pregnant and that never really ends, is to make your flat as save for your son (and later your daughter) as possible. One day you come home and are briefly convinced that your flat has been burgled. Not only are all of Steven’s books stacked neatly on the shelves, but the floor has been completely cleared of every single tripping hazard as well. Of course, convincing Steven to tidy up his own personal library and doubly securing all the shelves was the easy part. For every potential danger eliminated, it seems like Jake finds five more potential death traps for your little ones. During one particularly extensive shopping trip to B&Q, the shop assistant briefly considers asking him what he would need 20 fire extinguishers and all those smoke detectors for, but immediately changes his mind upon one raising of the eyebrow™.

It is terribly hard for Jake to face the reality that he won’t be able to keep your little ones away from harm forever. And it certainly won’t stop him from trying.

- A few weeks into your pregnancy, you are woken by a soft voice talking to your baby bump:

“Don’t worry, mi bebito. No matter what happens, tío Jake is going to keep you and your mamá and your two papás safe.”

“Aren’t you forgetting someone, mi cariño?”

“Oh, you mean Khonshu? Don’t worry, if that silly bird is going to try…”

“Jake, sweetie, I am talking about you! Our little one will have three papás!”

It doesn’t happen often that you see Jake cry. In fact, this is the very first time that he allows you to actually see the tears filling his eyes, before he pulls you into a long and warm and heart-felt hug.

The second time is the birth of your son.

- Jake is the one who fronts for most of the time, from the moment you go into labour to the moment you are both holding your son in your arms for the first time. Even if he knows how much Marc and Steven would want to be there for you, he simply wouldn’t be able to deal with their feelings of helplessness and pain on top of everything that you have to go through. He doesn’t complain when you squeeze his hand so hard that he fears his bones might break, he calmly accepts all the swear words that you keep screaming at him, he doesn’t even flinch when you start to curse him and the day that you met him.

He wouldn’t have complained about you not realizing that it is actually Marc holding you a while later, as you bury your face into his shoulder, utterly exhausted and quietly sobbing that you didn’t hate him at all and how sorry you are for everything that you threw at him earlier. But Marc nudges him gently back to the front. And so Jake gets to hold you and whisper softly how he didn’t mind at all and how he is certain that you were actually a superhero. His beautiful and amazing superhero.

He is convinced that he’ll never get used to the wonder of being allowed to hold your son in his hands. His hands that are so used to violence and death. He simply can’t believe how - amidst all the pain and destruction that played such a major part in his life - he helped to create something so perfect and beautiful.

- For a while, he actually contemplates giving up the business of protecting the travellers of the night. On the one hand, he can no longer put himself in danger without regard for possible consequences. On the other hand, his ability to heal from fatal wounds isn’t exactly something that he would like to give up, especially since he has a family to protect now.

So whenever he refuses to take on a mission now because it’s too dangerous, even for his liking, and Khonshu won’t budge, he’ll just send Steven to negotiate with the pigeon until Khonshu starts to cry.

- Your little ones love to fall asleep curled up on Jake’s chest. And somehow he manages to never ever fall asleep himself, knowing (and fearing) how dangerous that can be. Though he doesn’t mind at all watching over you, whenever you drift off with one of your children snuggles up against you. No matter where they fall asleep, somehow he always manages to move them to their crib without waking them up. Sometimes they can’t be persuaded to let go of his hand, though. Not having the heart to let go, he’ll hold their little hands for hours, as they lie in their crib right next to your bed and you gently spoon him, resting your head against his shoulder, whispering softly that you can’t believe how lucky you are.

- Jake is not the kind of father to become lost in his phone or other activities while his kids are yearning for his attention (though he tries not to judge other people for it). In fact, he gets so lost in looking after your kids, fully committing to taking part in whatever games they come up with, and making sure that they are safe on their daily adventures, that he has no trouble ignoring his notifications for hours. Unless he’s waiting for a message or a call from you.

- In those nights when your little ones refuse to go to sleep, and all your usual strategies won’t work, Jake will take them into his cab and drive them around the city for a while, as you watch over them. They are usually out within seconds. If the nights aren’t too chilly, he loves to take one of the routes that end up on Parliament Hill. Sometimes he surprises you with a beautifully prepared romantic picnic with the lights of the city sparkling around you. And sometimes you just love to cuddle together under the stars. He always keeps an extra set of snuggly blankets for you and your children in his cab. When you tease him about how he always forgets to bring one for himself, he’ll whisper that you provide him with all the warmth that he needs before pulling you in for a long and loving kiss. Snuggled up against Jake with your children peacefully snoring between you, you really don’t mind those nights when they refuse to go to sleep at all.

- Driving around in the cab with their papá Jake never ceases to be an exciting past time for your kids. They are able to name different brands of cars before they are able to walk, quickly surpassing the knowledge of both you and the boys, regularly shocking your friends and strangers with their expertise. And, of course, Jake secretly hopes that getting them familiar with the city might reduce the chances of them ever getting lost.

He lets them wear The Cap™. No one else is allowed to touch The Cap™, not even mommy. (Actually, if you asked him, he most likely wouldn’t be able to say no to you, but you love for him to have something that he shares exclusively with your little ones.)

Once a week, he takes your kids to a restaurant that they are allowed to choose for some quality bonding time. He deeply savours those moments, even in those weeks when they just seem to end up at McDonalds over and over again.

- Your flat used to have a strict no-cat-policy. As much as Marc would have loved to fulfil Jake’s dream of a fluffy little flat mate, there were just too many possible nightmare scenarios involving a cat and the Gus Gang and the inevitable tears of Steven that would follow after. That is, until your kids bring home a little abandoned kitten from the street after searching for its mother in vain for hours. Jake stays up for three days and nights, carefully nursing it back to health. When you wake up on the third morning after having fallen asleep in his lap (with Jake’s sweater thoughtfully wrapped around you), you find the little kitten all trusty and content and snuggled up right next to you, as Jake keeps on gently petting and caressing you both.

In the end, the combined power of those puppy dog eyes of you and your kids and Jake are just too much for Marc to bear and so Little Mau is adopted into your family. Not without Jake and Marc spending nearly a day turning your fish tank into Fort Knox, of course. Your flat turns into something of a home for stray kitties soon after that. And you soon get used to coming home and finding Jake under a huge cuddle pile of your cats and kids.

(The fact that birds are afraid of cats doesn’t enter into Jake’s or your love for them at all, of course.)

- The first “nonpractical” item that Jake has ever owned was a fluffy little cat plushie, which Marc and Steven gave to him on their first Hanukkah spent together. Cuddling with Little Gato warms his heart so much, that it may have inspired him to shower your kids with a number of plushies that may be considered to be slightly above average. He loves to pick out those fluffy little friends with you (and Marc and Steven always let him front in those moments), and it is practically impossible for him to say no, whenever your children find one that they would like to take home. It almost feels a little like making up for all the things that he had missed out as a child himself. And he is going to fight everyone who claims that plushies aren’t appropriate for little (and not so little) boys.

- One day Jake comes home to find your daughter crying in your arms, deeply upset because a gang of straight hair girls won’t stop making fun of the glorious curls she inherited from her father. His initial instinct to make them shut up in a very undiplomatic way is quickly shut down, of course. The other two boys aren’t exactly helpful in this department, either. Because even though Steven takes care of his curls, he pretty much lets them do their own thing, whereas Marc puts so much product into his hair that his strands would put even the most elitist soldiers to shame.

Feeling a little helpless, he begins to observe and mentally take note of all the steps that you do when taking care of your daughter’s hair. He spends days in front of the laptop, trying to learn everything there is to learn about the curly hair method. There is an uncharacteristical shyness in his voice when he asks whether he could help you during wash day. After a few slightly insecure attempts, he becomes so good at it that your daughter keeps asking whether Jake could help her to take care of her curls. And he never forgets to tell her how beautiful she and her curls are.

And somehow Jake’s interest and care and the time that he spends bonding with your daughter does make everything better in the end. It may not stop the girls’ hurtful remarks but it certainly makes them easier to deal with.

- Jake starts to give your children lessons in self-defense as soon as they are able to walk. Just because he won’t be able to protect them wherever they go doesn’t mean that he can’t at least try to help them learn how to protect themselves, right?

It’s not like he condones violence in general, no, for real, he doesn’t. Yet he can’t stop himself from being a little proud when his kids come home after successfully defending themselves against a gang of bullies for the first time. And after properly taking care of them, underneath all the worry there’s a little proud moment of “Those are my kids!” before he pulls them into a hug and kisses them gently on their forehead.

- Jake is excellent at stone skipping. As a young boy, it was the ideal hobby since it didn’t require any props to hide away and after getting involved with Khonshu, it was a perfect activity to train his hand-eye coordination without raising suspicion by the people around him.

He has never considered it to be something special until he sees the pure glee in your son’s eyes when watching him for the first time. He can delight your kids and you for hours with his skills. Sitting in St. James’s Park, he teaches them how to skip stones as you teach him how to just let loose for a little while. Making up theories about the secret agents feeding the ducks in the park. Or reading stories into the clouds that are passing above your heads, as he lies in your lap, soaking up the soothing feeling of you playing with his hair with your kids cuddled up to him on both sides.

The wonderful feeling of just being. No mission, no duty, no sense, just being and enjoying life for a while. And most of all, the endless love of his beautiful little family.

#jake lockley #moon knight #oscar isaac #jake lockley x reader #jake x reader #jake lockley x you #reader insert #fanfiction #chrissie tries to write #chrissie gifs #tw: pregnancy #tw: children #tw: parenthood

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ikleesfiction · 4 years ago

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Miss Americana

Fandom : Crossover Hawaii Five-0 x Chicago PD TV Word count : 5,610 words Pairing : Steve McGarrett x Danny Williams; Jay Halstead x reader

Summary : You met Williams-McGarrett family in Los Angeles and they introduced you to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Your boyfriend, Jay Halstead, doesn't know anything about this. Yet.

Author's note :

This is the fourth one shot of "Will you follow through if I fall for you" fic continuation. It would be better if you read it first. But if you don't, here's the quick summary.

This happened after I listened to a few podcasts (1 🞂 2 🞂 3) of Scott Caan and Alex O'Loughlin, passionately talking about Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

This fic does not comply to the canon of Hawaii Five-0 or Chicago PD. So if you don't follow one of the other, it should not be a hindrance, I think. Here's hoping that I'm right.

Disclaimer

◢◤

"Would you like another cup of coffee?

You look up from the book in your hand to the waiter addressing you.

"Oh, I would love to. But it's already my fourth cup of the day," You grimace at him. "Maybe I'll take a bottle of water, please? Cold, if you have one."

The waiter grins at you, "Sure thing," then leave with your empty cup of coffee.

You are supposed to meet your friend, Tim, at his house on The Bird Streets to work on a song. However, he got a sudden appointment and asked you to wait for his call to reschedule. So here you are, sitting at a Cafe/Bistro somewhere in Los Angeles, drinking too much coffee.

You check your watch and your phone. It's almost lunchtime, but your phone is still showing nothing. Alright then, you thought to yourself, back to the book. Your eyes immediately find the last paragraph you read on Astrophysics for People in a Hurry.

Five pages later, the waiter puts a bottle of water on your table, "Here it is. You sure you don't want another cup of coffee?" He jokes with you.

You laugh in response, "No, really, thank you."

The waiter leaves with a smile and turns to the table across from yours. That's when you notice somebody's sitting there.

"Good afternoon. Only for two?" The waiter lays two menu cards on the table.

"Four. My husband and daughter are parking the car." The man answers him with a smile. He has a little boy sitting next to him. His son, you guess, since both of them have blond hair. Their noses look similar too.

"Danno, can I have ice cream for lunch?" The boy begs his father, pointing at one of the delightful pictures on the card.

"Hmm, maybe." The father hums his reply. He exchanges a knowing glance with the waiter.

"Do you want anything to drink while you're waiting?"

"Soda!" The boy yells from his chair, who laughs at his father's glare.

"How about two glasses of orange juice?" The father checks to his son before confirming it with the waitress.

"Okay, be right back with your drinks."

After the waiter leaves, the boy begins to prattle about everything to his father. About giraffes at the zoo ("They are so tall like Dad!"), about his favorite ice cream flavors ("Cookie Dough. But I like Kame's shave ice better, Danno"), about swimming at Venice Beach ("There's a lot of people there, Danno. I like our beach more")

The boy doesn't even look like he needs to breathe. You can't help but let out a chuckle. His father looks up at you and shares a grin. "That's great, Charlie," He comments to his son.

You let their conversation become a white noise while you read your book.

At your periphery, you see someone passes by. However, you don't expect a hand to suddenly sneak your phone from the table. Your hand instantly grabs that wrist, trying to stop it from stealing your phone. But the thief forcefully pulls his hand out of your reach and moves away.

Unfortunately for the thief, he runs straight to the father at your neighboring table. The man has no problem flipping the thief over and pushes him to their table. When the thief squirms away from his clutch, the man lifts the thief's elbow high up and turns it behind his back in a very painful lock. The unpleasant sound coming out of the thief's mouth proves how excruciating it is.

The man's eyes wander. Many shocked faces are staring at him, including yours. "It's okay, I'm a cop," He explains.

In contrast to the crowd, the boy looks at his father in awe, gleefully clapping his hands.

"Charlie, why are you clapping? You're not supposed to clap at this. Oh my god, you are just like your father! Happy to see any aggression," The man rants as he takes out a cable tie from his trousers' pocket. You don't even know why he got cable ties in his pocket. He efficiently ties the perp's hands behind his back and forces him to sit.

Only then, the man addresses the crowd again, "Has anyone called 9-1-1?"

"I did. The police are on the way," One of the cafe's staff squeaks from the door, with a phone still in her hand.

"Excellent! Did you hear that? Your ride would be here soon," The man tightly squeezes the thief's shoulders. The thief could only reply with an agonized grunt.

Everybody else resumes their activities with a sporadic look to their table.

The boy picks up the stolen phone from the floor. It fell near his foot during the short scuffle. "Danno," He hands your phone over to his father.

"Ah, thanks, Charlie," The man ruffles the kid's hair and kisses the top of his head.

"I believe this is yours?" The man returns the phone to you. "Hope it's still working?" He cringes at the spiderweb marks on the phone screen.

"Thanks. Probably not. But it's alright." You smile at the man and offer to shake his hand, "Y/N Y/LN, thanks again for helping me,"

The man takes your hand, "Hey, no big deal. Danny Williams. And this is my son, Charlie," Danny brings Charlie in front of him. You extend your hand to Charlie as well.

All of a sudden, you hear voices yelling from behind you. "Danno! Charlie!"

You look back to see a tall, dark, imposing man and a beautiful teenage girl rushing in your direction. Charlie shouts back at them, "Daddy! Gracie!"

So you guess they must be Danny's husband and daughter.

This new man drops down to Charlie's level and checks on him, trying to see if he's injured. "Are you okay? Charlie?"

"Dad! Dad! Danno was soooo cool! He pushing and then flipping and then that man went aaargh!" Charlie re-tells the scene to his father, holding his elbow behind his back to show him.

Couldn't really understand his son's story, the man asks his husband to elaborate, "Danny, what's happening here? Why are you arresting this man?"

"I'm not arresting anybody, Steve. We don't have jurisdiction to make an arrest, you know? Since we are in LA, not Hawaii? I'm just holding this man until LAPD shows up," Danny clarifies to his husband, Steve.

"But why?" Steve is still confused.

"This guy here, what's your name?" Danny barks at the thief. But his mouth stays glued. "Really? Would you prefer my ex-SEAL here asking you the question?" Danny gestures in Steve's direction.

Steve stands tall. His hands are folded in front of his chest. His biceps bulge in his tight t-shirt. The thief's face turns green, looking fearful. Steve's scowl was probably not helping either.

"Danny?? What's going on here?" Steve begins to lose his patience.

"What?? It's no big deal, babe!" Danny yells back at Steve. "This guy here tried to nick this woman's phone. I'm just helping her," Danny motions in your direction.

"Y/N, here's my husband, Steve McGarrett, and our daughter, Grace," Danny continues to introduce you to his family. You shake their hands and exchanging simple pleasantries.

"As I said, I just helped Y/N to get her phone back. Now we are waiting for LAPD," Danny ends his explanation.

Shortly a police car comes, and two officers quickly take their statements. Initially, the police officers are bemused to find the thief already sat with his hands tied behind his back. After Danny explains that he is a Detective from Honolulu PD and how he prevented the attempted theft, the police officers understand the situation. They ask if you'd like to press charges on Tom Norris, that's the thief's name according to his ID. Considering you're not hurt, you decline on pressing charges. The police are gone with the thief sooner than you expected.

"Can I treat you lunch for your trouble? Shoot! A super late lunch?" You corrected after checking your watch.

"Hey, don't worry, it's no trouble at all," Danny says to you with a big smile.

"No, no, seriously. You guys were on holiday, I guess. But still bothered to help me. Lunch is the least I can do."

Before long, they arrange to get a table for five and talk a lot during the meal.

◢◤

"So you guys are from Hawaii? That's nice!" You tell the family.

"See, Danno? That's what you're supposed to say about Hawaii. You're the only one who describes Hawaii as a pineapple-infested hell hole," laments Steve to his husband.

"I'm just telling the truth, babe. How about you, Y/N? Where are you from?" Danny tries to find out.

"Originally from The Netherlands, Amsterdam. But I moved to Chicago last year," You reply.

"Now that, Steve, is a city that would appreciate seasonal changes," Danny nods his approval of Chicago.

"Only you, Danno, who whines about constant sunshine." Steve grumbles.

Grace and Charlie don't react much to their parents' bickering. Too used to their silliness. But you still find it quite funny.

"So you guys are here for vacation?" You ask the family.

"Kind of. We are on holiday. Also, we are visiting the colleges here for Grace, who will graduate high school next year," Steve throws his right arm around Grace's shoulder.

"Yes, we are on an excursion to prove to Grace that LA universities are not better than the University of Hawaii," Danny quips from Steve's left.

Grace whines at his father, "Danno..."

"Danny here doesn't want his children to be far away from him," Steve enlightens you. "But I think going to school in LA would be better than The Netherlands. Wouldn't it, babe?" Steve winks at Grace.

"Do not joke about that, Steven!" Danny elbows his husband hard.

Grace looks thoughtful for a moment, "Y/N, did you go to college in the Netherlands? What do you think my chance to study there?"

"Gracie, can I come with you to This Otherlands?" Charlie innocently chirps to his sister.

Steve is laughing so loud, even after Danny punches his arm.

"What about you, Y/N? What are you doing in LA? Are you on vacation too?" Danny questions you after the laughter receded.

"I'm here for work. Most of the time, I'd do it remotely from Chicago. But sometimes I have to make the trip here or to Amsterdam," You tell them.

"What do you do?"

"I'm a music producer," You give a simple answer.

"What instruments do you play?" Steve is curious. "Guitar?"

"Mostly piano and synthesizer. I do play guitar, but I'm just an okay guitar player. I wish I could play better,"

"Dad plays guitar too!" Charlie happily declares as he points at Steve.

You cheer at Charlie's enthusiasm, "Does he? That's great!"

"Yeah, he plays very well. Maybe Dad can teach you to play better," Charlie directs you.

"Oh, yes, that would be awesome," You wholeheartedly agree with Charlie, as the rest of the table laughing at the idea of Steve teaches music.

◢◤

"Danny, I was wondering if you could explain something to me," You turn to the man.

"Shoot," Danny nods as he puts down his juice glass.

"The arm lock that you did to the thief. Where did you learn that? Did Steve teach you that?" You ask him, genuinely want to know.

"Well, even though Steve here was the Navy SEAL," Danny glares at his husband, who replies with a smirk, "I have been working as a cop for more than 20 years now. I know some moves too,"

"But that's not a cop's move," You contradict him.

"How do you know any cop's moves?" Danny confronts you back.

"My boyfriend is a cop in Chicago," You give Danny a sheepish smile.

"Ah, I see. Did your boyfriend teach you self-defense?"

"He did. I'm nowhere near good as Jay. But it's a start," You answer Danny.

"Of course. If he's not good at it, then he's not a good cop," Danny comments without sounding too arrogant.

"Jay also taught me about guns. Personally, I don't like it, but he needs me to know about it, especially gun safety. So..." You shrug.

Danny nods his understanding, "Yeah. Be glad that he doesn't bring home grenades or other explosives," Danny gives Steve a stink eye. "Unlike some Super!SEAL here,"

Steve is immune to that look. It doesn't seem to affect him anymore.

You smile at their interaction, "Jay was an Army Ranger. After he came back, he went to Police Academy,"

"Really?" Steve looks interested.

"Oh, here we go," Danny sighs at his husband.

Steve grins but decides not to comment on it any further. He goes praising Danny instead.

"But Danny is being too modest here. He is a great fighter. Sometimes he's even better than me. Which lots of people find it surprising, considering I was a SEAL,"

"and don't you forget it, babe," Danny smirks at Steve, who returns it with a chaste kiss.

You sigh internally. Looking at the lovely couple made you miss your boyfriend, Jay.

"In all seriousness," Danny begins, "I practiced Jiu-Jitsu since high school. That's where the moves come from," He pauses to sip on his drink.

"I got my Blue Belt when I entered The Police Academy. For me, I think, I learned how to fight better in Jiu-Jitsu than what they taught us there," Danny continues.

"Do you also teach it to Grace and Charlie?" You ask the parents.

"Yeah. Danny taught them both as early as possible. Grace already got her Yellow Belt when we first met. Now she is working for her Purple Belt," Steve brags. Danny also looks so proud. Grace, though, tries so hard not to roll her eyes at her parents.

"Me too! I will get my Yellow Belt soon! Right, Danno?" Charlie exclaims.

"Of course you are kiddo. After that, you surely can beat your Dad here," Danny ruffles Charlie's hair. Steve offers his palm for a high five, but Charlie punches it instead. He giggles when Steve is faking to be hurt by Charlie's tiny fist.

"Do you think I could learn it too?" You inquire to Danny.

Danny and Steve look at each other. You're waiting for their answer, hoping that they will agree.

Before they decide anything, Grace interrupts, "We can go check out the place that Sensei Egan told us, Danno."

"Yeah, that's a great idea," Steve agrees to his daughter's suggestion. "We can check that dojo for Grace, meeting the instructor. Maybe could show some moves too for y/n,"

"Okay then. Grace, share the dojo address with y/n. We can meet you there tomorrow morning, what do you say, y/n?" Danny asks you.

You're supposed to fly back to Chicago next afternoon, but what the hell, you are very interested in this offer. "Yes, sure. If you don't mind me crashing your holiday plan again?"

"No, not at all. We need to check out that place anyway." Steve waves off your worry.

Grace passes her phone to you. "You can puy your number there. I will forward you the address,"

You tap your number to Grace's phone before groaning when you remember that your phone is dead. "Could you e-mail me instead? I don't think I could replace my phone soon,"

Danny doesn't even try to hold his laugh at your poor luck.

◢◤

The next day, you take an Uber to the gym. No, it's The Dojo. You correct yourself. When you step in, Charlie is shouting at you from across the room. "Y/N!" Standing next to his sister, Charlie crazily waves at you, worried that you could not see him.

You remove your shoes, placed them accordingly at the remarked spot. Walking towards Charlie and Grace, you see the Williams-McGarrett clan wear similar outfits with other people in The Dojo. The only differences between them are their belts. Danny wears a Black Belt with a red stripe, while Steve wears a Brown Belt. Grace has Blue Belt, and Charlie has a White one. Knowing that you will do some workout, you wear a black t-shirt and training pants. Definitely a contrast in a room full of jiu-jitsu outfits.

Danny and Steve are talking to a guy on the other side of the room. This guy has a Black Belt with more stripes than Danny's, indicating that he is the instructor here.

"Hey, guys. Good morning," You greet Grace and Charlie. They reply with a big smile.

"Just out of interest, do you guys always bring your uniform on your holiday?" You gesture to Grace's clothes.

Grace laughs at your question, "It is called Gi. Yes, we are always bringing them along on holiday," She laughs again at your shocked face. "No, I'm joking. It's because we know we will visit this dojo, so we have our Gi with us,"

Soon Danny and Steve come over to your side. "Hi, y/n. So I talked to Sensei Marcus there," Danny gestures to the guy he spoke to. "We are going to follow their training for today. You can watch from the side if you're not sure you want to do it. The first hour would be the class for Kids and Teens,"

You see Grace and Charlie lining up in the center of the room with other children. They seem to be divided by belts instead of age.

"The next hour would be the adult class," Danny pauses for a moment. "If you want my suggestion, I encourage you to join the Teens class. I hope you don't feel insulted by that."

You chuckle at his words, "Not at all. I understand,"

"If it's too much, don't hesitate to stop and move aside. Everyone will understand," Steve adds.

You exhale softly, readying yourself, "Okay," before joining the line.

The first fifteen minutes, they start with stretching. So far, you have no problems with it. You practice Yoga for the last few years. You know how to stretch.

The next one, they teach you how to fall correctly. Which turns out to be a hard thing to do. At first, an instructor's assistant helps you. After a few moments, she moves away to help others. But you're still not doing it right. So Danny pulls you aside and teaches you privately for the rest of the hour.

You fall so many times until it tired you out. You cannot even get up from the mat. Your shoulders would have been bruised with so many times you landed incorrectly.

"Still interested to learn this?" Danny grabs your hand to help you get up.

Even though the lesson exhausts you, you feel great. You learn a lot, even from doing the same thing over and over again. "Hell yeah!" You grin at Danny.

"Crazy woman!" Danny pats your shoulders. Right where it hurts the most. You can't help but flinch away.

"Hurt, wasn't it? Why don't you go sit down on the outside of the mat with Charlie?"

Charlie sits on one side of the mat, a bottle of water in his hand. He is watching Grace, who has her hands on Steve's Gi, trying to throw Steve down.

Danny silently pays attention to his husband and daughter on the mat. But you can see his hands slightly move as if he's the one sparring.

Shortly, Grace has a chance to push Steve. Steve lost his balance for a moment before countering her attack. Grace would've fallen down hard if Steve didn't hanging to Grace's Gi so tight to slow her fall.

"That's great, Grace," Steve says to his daughter as he helps her up. They bow to each other to end the spar. Danny is clapping from outside the mat, "Good job, Monkey,"

Of course, you and Charlie follow Danny's example to cheer for Grace.

You still sit on the side of the mat, now also accompanied by Grace. You watch the next class practice, where Danny and Steve spar with other students for about an hour.

After the class is done, Steve taps on Danny's shoulder, "Danny, could you help me with this move?" He nods in the direction of the mat.

Danny responds with rolling eyes at his husband's antics.

Grace runs commentary in the background, "Dad didn't actually need help from Danno. However, you're not allowed to ask a higher belt to spar with. It's a sign of disrespect. But Dad and Danno often work differently between each other,"

You see Danny and Steve taking place at a ready position. It takes time before anybody falls, or one locks each other. They move fluidly. When one throws the other, they quickly bring them down along then keep them in a lock. The locks are soon countered, and they back up again. The great thing is they look like they enjoy sparring with each other. They share a laugh whenever someone throws the other or someone holds the other in a lock. You find that very interesting.

The sparring ends when Danny makes a grappling move that Steve cannot counter, so he has to tap out.

After the sparring, Steve sits back with you and his kids while Danny goes over to Sensei Marcus. Steve asks your opinion about Jiu-Jitsu, whether you're still interested to learn it.

"Very much, yeah. The first thing I will do once I'm back in Chicago is to find a Dojo," You excitedly tell Steve.

"Well, lucky for you, Sensei Marcus here knows a lot of Jiu-Jitsu instructors," All of a sudden, Danny joins your conversation. Sensei Marcus stands beside him.

"Sure, if you want to keep learning Jiu-Jitsu, I will give you some references of my fellows in Chicago," Marcus informs you.

"That would be awesome!"

Marcus shakes your hand, "Good luck!" and moves to shake hands with the rest of the Williams-McGarrett family. "Thanks for visiting our dojo. Please come again whenever you're in LA,"

They all look tired, but their smiles beam as bright as Hawaiian sunshine.

◢◤

Two weeks later, in Chicago,

You see your boyfriend's truck parked in front of your house as you walk home from the bus stop. You walk much slower than you used to. Your body is hurting all over the place, but you feel elated.

The day after you came home from Los Angeles, Jay was caught in a hard case. He had to fly out to New York and liaised with NYPD SVU to solve it.

You missed him a lot, for sure. Jay called you whenever he could for these past two weeks. Texted you every day too. But you have not got the chance to tell Jay about your new interest in Jiu-Jitsu.

After your last trip to LA, you promptly checked out the Dojo that Sensei Marcus referred to you. You were thrilled to find out that it's only fifteen minutes bus ride from your house.

You met with one of the instructors there and asked for a private class. Because that's what Danny advised you to do. "After you have a better understanding of the lessons, then I want you to go train with other people at the dojo. But for the first five or six months, you might've been better with one-on-one lessons,"

The instructor, Professor Louisa, is delighted to provide. You work on a schedule three to four times a week. The professor initially suggested only two meets in a week. But considering your occasional trip abroad for work, you prefer to do more lessons when you're in town.

This is the third week you've been learning jiu-jitsu in Chicago. Scraps and bruises are inevitable. Jay would freak out if he saw them before you could explain to him.

Jay's flight back from New York landed about two hours ago. He must've been coming directly to your place from the O'Hare. The house smells amazing when you enter the room. Following your nose leads you to the kitchen. You find your boyfriend pulling out what seems to be garlic bread from the oven, "Hey, babe. You're back!"

"Hey, you! Perfect timing!" Jay secures the tray aside before stepping closer to you. He puts one hand on your waist, the other one on your back. Moving even closer to kiss you.

His passion makes you forget your bruises for a moment. When Jay pushes you playfully, your shoulder hits the nearest wall. You instantly cry out in pain. "Argh!"

"What's wrong?" Jay stops everything he's doing to you right away.

"Nothing, I just got some bruises," You rub the pain from your shoulder.

"How come?" Jay begins to take off your t-shirt to check on the bruises, but you move away from his grasp.

"Hold on. Let me take a shower. I must've been rank from sweat. Then I'll tell you everything," You kiss Jay one more time before going to the bedroom.

As you eat the pasta primavera that Jay made, you ask him about his case in New York, "How was it?"

"It's done. We did what we have to do,"

Not interested in talking about his case, Jay interrogates you instead, "So, where did you get the bruise? I swear, I only left the city for two weeks, and you're already in trouble," Jay shakes his head.

"I'm not! I just joined this gym. Dojo, I meant. I'm taking Jiu-Jitsu lessons!" You cheerfully tell Jay.

"You what?" Jay pauses from drinking his wine.

So you told Jay the whole story. About how someone tried to snatch your phone when you're in LA. How you met the Williams-McGarrett family from Hawaii. How they got you into jiu-jitsu.

"It's so fun, Jay. Yeah, sure, I got bruises and scraps. But whenever I got stuck with my work, I go have a practice at the dojo, and then I come home feeling energized," You confess to your boyfriend.

"Really?" Jay looks at you, disbelieving.

"Uhuh," You nod as you swallow your spaghetti. "You know what, you should come and see the dojo. It might interest you too,"

"I know about martial arts, babe. I taught you how to punch, remember?" Jay reminds you.

"Yes, you did," You say in giggles, "Professor Louisa said she won't teach me how to punch,"

"Of course, Jiu-jitsu has a different approach than other martial art, say karate. Or boxing," Jay puts down his fork on the empty plate. "You sure you enjoy it?"

You hold Jay's hand and look into his eyes, "I am. This is something I want to do seriously, Jay. I admit part of it comes from you and your job. Like you always said, I need to be able to defend myself. Because you think I could get drag into your case one day,"

Jay puts his other hand on top of yours, looking somehow regretful, "Babe..."

"No, no. But I also do this for myself. Even though my body hurts, I feel great about myself. I feel more confident. It's really inspiring,"

Jay brings your hand to his lips, "Okay then, as long as you're happy with it. But I'm still going to take you to the gun range,"

You roll your eyes in response, "Of course, you will,"

◢◤

A week later, Jay walks up to The Dojo on the second floor. Someone greets him at the entrance, "Hey, man. Can I help you?"

"I suppose to pick up my girlfriend. She is training with..." Jay tries to remember the instructor's name. "Louisa?"

"Ah, yes, Professor Louisa. You must be y/n's boyfriend. I'm Professor Andy, the head of this dojo," The man offers his hand.

"Jay Halstead," Jay shakes Andy's hand.

"I think she will finish in ten minutes. You wanna see her practice?"

"Sure. If it would not be disturbing?" Jay hesitates.

"Not at all. Y/n is the only one in there right now," Andy directs Jay inside the dojo. He asks Jay to remove his shoes before stepping into the room.

Jay watches his girlfriend silently. He winces a couple times when you fall down. But he is amazed to see you immediately stand up again.

"She's resilient, your woman is,"

Jay chuckles at Andy's remark, "Yes, she is,"

Shortly after you bow to your instructor, you see Jay standing on the side with Professor Andy.

You walk towards them with a smile, "I see you met my boyfriend, Prof,"

"I did, yeah," Andy nods. "I don't think Jay would be interested in jiu-jitsu, though," He comments.

"Correction, I'm not interested to see you got thrown down repeatedly," Jay points out.

"Hey!" You hit Jay's arms as both Professors laugh at you.

"But that's how we are supposed to learn. If you don't know how to fall, you won't get back up again," Louisa says serenely.

Andy hums his agreement before ushering you out. "Alright, get out of here, you lovebird,"

When you're in the locker room, changing your Gi, Jay approaches Andy again. But before Jay could say anything, Andy hands a leaflet to him.

"Y/N told me you're a police officer. You might be interested in these classes,"

Jay takes it with a laugh, "Thanks, man. I'll check it out," He puts the leaflet on his jacket pocket and pulls out his card.

"If anything happens when Y/N is here. Or if you need anything I can help with, please give me a call," Jay sounds solemn.

Andy takes the card, "Don't worry, man. We take good care of our students here,"

"I know," Jay nods.

Soon you come out with a gym bag on your shoulder. "See you next week, Prof!"

Andy waves to the couple, "Bye, y/n. See you again, Jay!"

◢◤

Two years later,

You step out of the record store in Pilsen empty-handed, failing to find the vinyl you're looking for. You start walking west to the bus stop when you hear a commotion ahead.

You see a guy pushing people out of his way. He keeps looking behind his back like he's running from something.

"Police! Get out of the way!" You hear other voices shouting.

So this guy seems to be running from the police, you thought to yourself.

The man tries to shove you aside, but your reflex is much better. Your hands instantly grab the front of his shirt. When he tries to push you away, your right foot finds his inner left calf and sweeps him down.

When he tries to move away from your grasp, you lean down and grip his right wrist tightly with your right hand. You put your right elbow beside his right ear while your left elbow is placed underneath his elbow. Your left-hand moves to hold your right wrist from below his right hand. His arm is essentially locked when your left bicep snugs against his right tricep. You raise your elbow slightly from the surface. The more he wiggles his way out, the higher you raise his elbow from the surface, the more painful the lock is.

You hear an impressed whistle from above. When you look up, you find Jay and Hailey standing in front of you. Jay gets a huge grin on his face while Hailey is sporting a shocked look.

"Nice takedown, babe," Jay compliments you.

"Thanks. You might wanna take over from here, though," You say to your boyfriend as you hear few more steps rushing towards you.

You loosen the lock after you are sure Jay gets his hand on the perp. He grabs the suspect up from the floor and pushes him towards the wall.

You find a hand extends in front of your face, offering to help you stand up. You look up to see it was Hailey. You take her hand with a soft thanks.

Once you're back on your feet, you look around to see the other members of the Intelligence Unit staring at you. Adam, Kim, and Kevin are mirroring Hailey's initial look of surprise. Jay's boss, Hank Voight, looks impassive as always. But you catch an amused twitch at one corner of his lips.

"Man, at least give me time to feel my hand again! That bitch could break my arm, you know!" you hear the perp complaining when Jay prepares to cuff him.

Without saying anything in response, Jay folds the perp's wrist inside. The perp yells even louder because of the wristlock.

Kevin moves to take the man away from Jay before any further damage could happen. He ushers the perp right away to a nearby cop car.

Jay turns to check on his girlfriend, "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm good." You nod back at him.

"I didn't know you could do that, Y/N," Hailey tells you. "You never tell me that your girlfriend practiced any martial arts," She continues to slap Jay's shoulder.

You answer with a sheepish smile, "It's kinda new,"

"Blue Belt in Jiu-Jitsu is not "kinda new" babe," Jay elbows you playfully.

The team boss pats your shoulder once before walking back to his car, "Good job, Y/LN,"

Kim, who's partnered up with Voight today, quickly follows. But not before inviting you for drinks, "You have to tell me all about this over drinks!"

"See? Even Voight agrees. We'll make a cop-out of you soon, Y/N," Adam offers his fistbump to you.

You meet his with your fistbump but shake your head, laughing, "Not in a million years, Ruzek,"

He only replies with his laugh and walks towards Kevin and the perp.

Jay puts his arm around your shoulders with a huge smile, "C'mon, Kev and Ruz can take care of the perp for a while. Hailey and I will drop you home."

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ladieswttda · 5 years ago

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Guns N’ Roses Daughter’s ( Dad!Axl Rose x Teenager!FemReader)

Description: ( This fic will take place in 2020, but without the virus) Y/N, the youngest and only daughter of Axl Rose, the infamous vocalist of the most dangerous band in the world, will go through the problems of adolescence, but not without the help of her best friends and their parents, that maybe ou maybe not be in the same band of her father.

Warning: None, just fluff and Axl being the sweet pie he would be as a parent.

Words: 1440

Note: Hi guys! This is my first fanfic on tumblr ( I have some on wattpad, in the future I will translate them to here. I already apologize if I commit grammar mistakes, because THIS IS NOT MY FIRST LANGUAGE :) . Another thing, this will be a series, not only a solo imagine. And lastly the band will be the CLASSIC FORMATION, as if Steven and Izzy never left the band. I hope all of you like, please reblog! Enjoy...

It was somewhere near three in the morning, when Y/N decided she was tired of turning and turning on her bed. Even Dijon, the cat ,was tired of her trying to sleep and unintentionally hitting him with her leg! She could tell by his angry mewl that it was getting on his nerves.

" I'm sorry, Diji." She murmured kissing his head and receiving a low mewl, " I won't bother you anymore, sweetie." And with that, she rolled out of her bed, walked and opened the door to see the second floor of the huge house totally dark.

Y/N new that she needed to be quiet because both of her parents had a light sleep, and the last thing she wanted was to make them even more worried by her anxious head. It was nothing too serious, but was bothering her silly mind. Y/N in less then 24 hours had one of the most important soccer games of the year, and it was driving her crazy! It was just a game? Yes. But she was still insecure of her abilities, and even if she played since a little kid, Y/N just wanted to make her family and school proud of her.

Deciding the best idea was getting down stairs and eating something to get her mind somewhere, Y/N made her way to the kitchen using her phone flashlight, and turning on the lights only when got there, still afraid of getting everybody up. She was met by the two big dogs they had, both passed out, Y/N laughed at the scene and turned to the fridge looking for a yummy treat. After a solid five minutes, she decided a diet coke and a leftover sandwich was fine for the moment, but almost dropping every thing to the ground when she closed the fridge door and met her fathers tired eyes.

" Y/N? Why are you up, darlin'? It's almost three a.m. ?" Axl said while helping her put the almost dropped containers on the counter.

"Dad? You almost killed me!" Y/N whispered yelling after her small heart attack. He smiled apologetic and guided her to sit at the table.

She started eating her food, while Axl just observed her with an unreadable face that he couldn't put a finger on what was wrong with Y/N.

" I'm just hungry..." As like she read his mind,but being always the worst liar ever, Axl rolled his eyes, and sat by her side.

"Princess, you're great at a lot of things, but lying isn't one of them." He took one of her hands in his, and looked at her big (e/c) eyes. " You know you can tell me anything."

" I know, Daddy." His face had a frown, but always hearing his kids calling him like that made his heart flutter. " I'm just worried about the game..." With that she put a huge piece of bread in her mouth.

" Why that, darlin'? You're one of the best on the team, if not the best one!" Y/N swallowed the rest of the sandwich and took a sip of her favorite drink, always having a problem with diet coke. " And you still have Misty by your side."

Mystery, more known as Misty, and known by being Slash's daughter and Y/N best friend. The other girls and Jason, Steven's only son, went to same school but only the two girls played soccer.

"Yeah, I know too. But having all the school and all of you guys watching, makes me even more pressured." She looked down at her lap, trying to hide the threatening tears to fall.

God! Axl hated seeing his baby girl like that. Which parent liked to see their kid like that?

Even if his childhood was the most fucked up one, when he and May found out they were having their first baby, Axl was over the moon and promised to her, and of course the unborn baby, he would always look after them. And after 26 years, four kids, more exactly three boys and one little girl, he still committed to his words.

"Princess, there's no need for that. Everyone is going to be there to support and cheer for you" He hugged Y/N and lifted her chin. " I know the feeling of facing a crowd, and how it can be stressful, even with all this years." Axl stroked her cheek, rubbing a tear that escaped her eyes.

" For real?" She just couldn't understand after all this years how he still got nervous about facing his fans.

" Oh, Love, you don't even know the half." He kissed her forehead. " But you know what makes me more confident?" Y/N shook her head. " The five of you, darlin'. I could never feel more confident without my family, and of course the boys..." She laughed and hugged him so strongly that almost crushed him.

" Thanks, Daddy." When she dissolved the hug, Y/N saw him almost out of breath. "Oh my god, I didn't mean to crush you, Dad."

" It's alright, Princess. You always give the best hugs." She flipped her hair and Axl rolled his eyes, Y/N totally got his attitude. " Don't get too bold, young lady..."

" It's your fault, I just got the Axl Rose's genes..." They got up to put the containers in the sink and he light pushed her shoulders with his hands.

" Shut up." He answered laughing, and then taking one of her hands. " You got the good parts of me and your mom, Y/n/N." She nodded her head knowing she would never win this argument.

Letting a small yawn and rubbing her eyes, the small midnight snack already kicking, Axl knew she was already feeling sleepy again, so both of them got upstairs till they make it to her door.

" Thanks again, I don't know how to live without you, I love you so much." Y/N hugged him again and Axl kissed the top of her head.

" I love you much more, sweetheart. If you need anything, just yell and I'll be here, okay?" Y/N answered with a small 'yes,dad', he kissed her cheek one more time and turned to go to his room, but turning again when she called him with a small and tired voice.

" Could... could you stay with me till I fall sleep?" Y/N used the biggest puppy face to convince Axl, knowing fully well he couldn't resist.

" 'Course darlin'" He smiled while entering the bedroom and took notice of the cat exactly on her side of the king size bed.

Before May, his lovely wife and mother of his four children, giving birth to Y/N was him the one the cat followed up and down, even sleeping with him! But as soon the small baby girl got into the house, Dijon didn't give a fuck about his presence. Sometimes even hissing at the singer, he still loved the cat from the bottom of his heart( not that he would admit), but now the cat was Y/N's without a doubt.

Y/N took the sleepy cat and put him besides her pillow. She got under the covers, adjusting to the middle of the bed so her father could sat by her side.

"Can you sing to me, daddy?" Of course he was going to sing to his little girl, always made her more relaxed, even since she was in her mother's belly.

" Which one do you want, Love?" Axl combed her (y/h/c) hair, the same color her mother's hair, making her eyelids even more heavier.

"Patience?" He nodded and started the slow melody, while Y/N started to drift off.

Axl didn't even got to the second verse, she was already passed out. Smiling at the scene, he gave one more sweet kiss to her forehead, adjusted the covers and got up to the door.

" Love you always, princess."

And with that he went to his room thinking how in the hell he made such a sweet creature? Laying besides his absolutely gorgeous wife, and hugging her waist.

" Where you were, honey?" May asked with a tired voice, didn't even turning to talk to him.

" Shh baby..." Axl kissed her hair. " Just taking care of our little girl" She murmured something that he couldn't understand but followed with a very low 'she's alright?' " More than okay, just her silly mind keeping her awake." May agreed with her head, but soon started to drift off too.

Axl nuzzled his head into her neck, starting to doze, thinking about his little perfect family.

F/N: This is the first chapter! Please tell me if y’all liked, every comment is valid.

#guns n roses x reader #axl rose x reader #guns n roses imagine #guns n roses #gnr imagine #axl rose #duff #slash #izzy stradlin #steven adler #guns n roses fanfic #gnr

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julessworldd · 5 years ago

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I love them Poly!Guns x reader

I seen where someone wanted more Poly!Guns, so you asked so you shall recieve. Who doesn’t love Poly!guns anyways.

Summary: The reader’s mom and sister show up unannounced, planning on taking the reader back home. Tabloids showed up her in her hometown, the family was worried about her in LA. I always wondered how Poly realtionships work when telling the parents, so here’s my take on it.

Warnings: The boys being protective, silly with the reader. Cussing, arguing, implied smut. Think that’s all, sorry if I missed any

I moved to L.A. the day after graduation from high school, and had been saving money since I was 13. Living in a small town Colorado, where you’ve gone to school with the same kids since Elementary school, becoming a townie scared me. Since then, I’ve not talked to my family that much. I met the boys one night after a show, Izzy bumped into me while walking down the strip. We all became friends and then our little thing started, we dated each other. It had been a thing for two almost three years now, I loved every minute of it, and loved my boys as well.

Duff and I were making breakfast as slowly each boy came down, pissed that they had to start their day. “Did you open that one envelope? Looked like it was from home”, Duff asked. “I’m not sure how they found me. I’ve not gave them my new address”, I laid eggs on a plate. “Why don’t you talk to them anymore?”, Duff asked again. “Just don’t. I’m the black sheep of the family, babe. I never wanted to stay in Colorado,work on the family ranch or get pregnant with a shitty high school football player. They didn’t like it so I left after graduating.”, I said. “I’m glad you left”, Izzy passed by us. “I’m not saying I’m not glad she left, but it’s weird that the envelope has stayed on the counter, unopened”, Duff said. “Fine, I’ll open it after I eat and shower”, I groaned. I know Duff was only being nice, but I didn’t like hearing from my family. There was knock on the door, “Come in”, I said, sliding into some black skinny jeans. “Hey”, Duff said, shutting the door behind him. “You’re really determined to have me open that aren’t you, baby”, I smirked. “Yes. It could be a death in the family and you wouldn't know it”, Duff stubbed up. “Alright”, I slides my finger under the seal and opened the envelope.

Jacqueline Bennett

It was my mom’s name and my childhood home’s address. “What the hell do you want?”, I groaned. The doorbell rung, “You expecting anyone?”, I asked Duff. He shook his head no. “Y/nn!”, Slash yelled. I dropped the letter on the dresser and headed downstairs. “Think it’s you with the visitor babe”, Duff said, following suit. “Who knows”, I said. I made it downstairs, in the living. I looked up, it was my mom and older sister, Kelly standing in front of the door. “Mom. Kelly. What are you doing here?”, I swallowed. “We came to bring you home”, My mom said. “No, you’re not. I have a life here and did you forget I’m 24”, I said, crossing my arms across my chest.

The boys stayed silent, watching me and my mom go back and forth. Kelly was checking Izzy out. “I left for fucking reason and swore I would never move back. Leave mother!”, I ran upstairs, slamming my door.

Izzy’s pov-

Y/n’s mom and sister stood there in shock, tension was tight. I stood up from the couch, “I’ll go check on her” I reached her door, heard crying. “Y/n. It’s me, Iz”, I said. A little ‘come in’ was said, she was crying her eyes out before I walked in. “Hey baby. Wanna talk about it?”, I said, shutting the door, her back was turned to me. Y/n jerked up, “Why does she think I need to come back home? It’s hell there, Izzy. I’m overlooked there, they forget my name, if I’m sick or not. My siblings have families and have good careers, I have five siblings, I’m just the second middle kid. Please don’t let her take me back”, She cried. “We’re not gonna let her. You’re 24, you have your own life. Screw what your siblings have, you have us, friends, free travel when we’re on tour. They’re stuck in some hick town while you get to see the world, don’t worry about them. I’m not being mean, but they really don’t care. Just worried that you’re with five guys instead of one. It’s not their business how many people you date or have kids with, you’re an adult”, I said. Here lately every magazine has been exposing our relationship with each other. Y/n has been called a groupie, whore that can’t be satisfied by one guy. Guess it made it to Colorado.

Y/n calmed down and was sitting on my lap, brading a strand of my hair. “Think I’m gonna take them on the patio, I hate that you guys were stuck between it.”, Y/n said. “Okay, I’ll have Duff take them out. Give you a little more time”, I said, walking to the door. “Thanks. Hey Izzy?”, Y/n asked. “Yeah?”, I turned back at her. “I love you”, She smiled. “I love you too, princess”, I smirked. “Hey Duff”, I said, locking eyes with the tall blonde. “She okay?”, Duff started to worry. “Y/n asked if we could take her mom and sister to the patio. She wants to talk to them in private. Can you take them out there please?”, I asked. “Of course”, Duff said. I watched as Duff brought them through the kitchen and out to the patio. Y/n’s mom gave me the stank eye. “Izzy, are they out there?”, Y/n asked. “Yeah. You gonna be okay?”, Duff answered. “I think so. I love you, Duffy”, She kissed his cheek. “I love you too, Princess”, Duff kissed her lips. We both watched her go out there. “We’re not letting them take her back”, Duff said. “Oh hell no!” Axl and I said at the same time. “She won’t go down without a fight”, Slash said. “Okay, lets quit being peeping toms”, Duff said. We all went downstairs.

Y/n’s Pov

“Okay tell me how wrong I am being with them?, I sat down at the table. “Why are you with them? Do they pay you?”, My mom asked. “Because I love them very much, I feel safe and loved by my boys. No, I don’t get paid to have sex or whatever crazy ass thing you’re thinking”, I giggled. “Are you together or it’s a groupie thing?”, Kelly asked. “What’s a groupie?”, my mom asked. “Someone who has sex with a couple members of a band or the whole band. No strings attached, some have girlfriends or are even married. But when on the road, they get lonely and their girl isn’t there to you know?”, I said. “And Kelly, we’re together”, I said. “Okay, huh. What made you get into a relationship with them?”, Mom asked. “I don’t know, it just kinda happened. Nobody hasn’t spoken up and said they wanted out and to be with another person.”, I said, looking at her face. Confusion and disgust was all over her face. Kelly was from my time, understood what groupies were and sure she’s married but she was passed around the offensive line and the quarterback in high school.

“What it is called? When you go out with multiple people, honey?”, My mom asked. “Polyamorous”, I sighed. “Poly what?” “Poly means multiple”, Kelly said. “Right. Mom, I know this isn’t something you wanted to hear that your daughter is in love with five guys. I didn’t think I would either but life put it that way. I’m happy with them, they all make me smile in their own way. I get something different from each other. You don’t have to worry, this might to be anything any longer, but let me enjoy it while it’s still a thing”, I said holding her hand. “Guess, we didn’t see that way. You do glow more, I’m sorry for never realizing how unhappy you were back home. I love you so much, Y/n. Please keep in contact with us okay?”She smiled. “Okay, you two want to stay for lunch?”, I asked. “No, thank you sweetie. We’ve been here a week trying to find you. Our plane leaves in a few hours”, My mom stood up. “Sorry, you didn’t find me sooner”, I sighed.

“Can you at least meet them? I’ve met half of their parents”, I smiled. “After our tiny argument?”, Mom asked. “They don’t care, come on”, I giggled. They were just spooked that their girlfriend was yelling at a random lady in the living room. I would be too, if their mom came in guns blazing.

“Boys. I want you to meet my mom, Jacqueline and my sister, Kelly. Sorry about earlier”, I said. They were at the table, Duff was digging something out of the fridge. “This is Izzy, Slash, Axl, Steven, and who is gonna hit his head is Duff”, I pointed at each of them. “I am not! Son of a-”, Duff groaned, after hitting his head on the edge of the counter. Kelly giggled. “You didn’t bust it open this time, bonehead”, I rubbed his head, for any nics or blood. “I hated having staples in my head”, Duff raised up, rubbing his head. “I know you did, I hated them too”, I giggled. Duff had pulled me into his side and brushed a piece of hair out of my face. I caught my mom smiling at us. “Honey, I hate to leave but we have a plane to catch”, My mom said, tearing Duff and I apart. “Right. I’ll walk you out”, I said. “Axl, what are you doing?”, I asked as the red head followed us. “I have to get something out of my car, babe”, Axl smiled, grabbing my hips. “Not now”, I whispered, feeling his bulge poke my ass. “Not my fault you and your sister have ass”, Axl smirked, passing me to go to his car. “I’ll kill you”, I mouthed as I approached their rental car. “It was nice seeing you, sis”, Kelly smiled. “You too. How are the kids?”, I asked. “Good, growing like a weed. Conor almost passes me”, Kelly said. “Wow, that means he towers me”, I giggled, thinking of my nephew. Kelly was 5’8, means Conor is at least 5’10, and I’m still 5’3. “Yeah. Annie starts 3rd grade next year, they miss their Auntie Y/n a lot”, Kelly gave a small smile. “Next time, if we’re close to home I’ll see what I can do to come see everyone. Tell everyone I love them.”, I said, pulling Kelly into a hug. “I love you, Kelly”, I whispered. “Love you too, kid”, She tightened the hug. “Okay, my turn”, My mom whined. “You’ve changed into a beautiful woman, Y/n. Your Dad would be so proud of how you’ve grown, he misses his buttercup a lot. Call him when you can, okay?”, My mom said. “I will, Momma. I love you and Dad”, I smiled.

I watched them as they drove down to the neighbor, going to the airport. “You okay, Y/n?”, Steven asked. “Mhm, oh yeah. I’m good, Stevie”, I smiled. I walked over to Steven and smiled. “You forgot something?”, Steven smirked. “My good morning kiss”, Steven pouted. “Nobody got theirs, Stevie”,I giggled, leaning up to kiss his lips. Steven opened the door, there stood Izzy with his arms crossed,pout on his face. I pulled him down to kiss him, “There you, big baby. That better?” “Very much so”, Izzy grinned. I laughed, walking upstairs. Slash pulled me to his lips, “You’re off your routine girl” “Sorry Slashy”, I rubbed his cheek. “Are you still gonna kill me?”, Axl asked, smirking. “No”, I kissed him. “Good girl”, Axl smirked, smacking my ass. Duff’s back was turned, I wrapped my arms from behind. “Hey Baby”, He said. “Hi. You wanna a kiss?”, I asked. “Mhm, I’ll take a makeout session instead”, I knew he was smirking. “Put me on the counter and I’ll deliver”, I smirked as he picked me up. I kissed him. “Hey Y/n, is it weird I find your mom sorta hot?”, Axl yelled from upstairs. “Very! She’s bitcher than I am”, I yelled back, rolling my eyes. “I like your bitchyness, it’s hot”, Duff pulled me into him more. “You’re fucking crazy”, I said. “That song is about you, you know?”, Izzy smirked. “Fuck you, Izzy”, I flipped him off before hopping down from Duff’s arms. “You did last night, hot lips”, Izzy said as he disappeared upstairs.

#poly!gunsn'roses #guns n roses x reader #duff mckagan #Izzy Stradlin #axl rose #steven adler #slash

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andrewmoocow · 4 years ago

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Steven Universe Alternate Future chapter 17: Together Forever (originally posted on July 5, 2021)

AN: Welcome back my loyal readers! Sorry to keep you all waiting these past few months, but I know the wait will really be worth it. The final two parts of Alternate Future might be some of my greatest writings yet, and I'm more than excited to share it all with you starting today. Now without further ado….

Synopsis: Steven tries to become Connie's official boyfriend.

Cast:

Zach Callison as Steven

Estelle as Garnet

Charlyne Yi as Ruby

Erica Luttrell as Sapphire

Deedee Magno-Hall as Pearl

Grace Rolek as Connie

Dee Bradley Baker as Lion

Kimberly Brooks as Cherry Quartz

Noël Wells as Black Rutile

Featuring Ray Chase as George Ikari

Pearl stood in line at the Buddwick Public Library alongside many other parents and parental figures like her, waiting as a bearded, glasses-wearing Japanese-American man signed books at a table.

"Hey, you wouldn't happen to not be from around here, right?" a single dad standing behind Pearl asked her.

"Well, technically yes," Pearl informed the father. "I come from a planet of beings similar to myself who are all based around gemstones, which explains my appearance. Also, just last week I helped save your world from a sociopathic revolutionary, so you're welcome."

"You foreigners say the craziest things!" the father giggled in disbelief of Pearl, who just groaned flatly as the line began to pick up.

Eventually, Pearl was at the front of the line and now face to face with childcare author George Ikari, who had his fingers clasped together as he gazed at Pearl.

"Let me guess, you are here because of your own son, daughter, or whatever pronouns your child prefers to be dubbed?" George asked Pearl while he took out another copy of his book, titled "When Your Child Wants Time Apart", to sign for the Gem.

"Well, he's not really my son, but Steven is the closest thing my team, the Crystal Gems, have to one after his mother died giving birth to him." Pearl explained as George got to signing. "And that's not even getting into the fact that his mother was a former despotic alien conqueror who grew tired of her life and the constant neglect from her fellow despots, so she faked her death because of how much she valued your planet as part of a big war, then thousands of years later she met a rock star and fell in love with him before they consummated their relationship and she gave up her physical form to give birth to Steven."

George just stared in shock at Pearl's tale before she tried to continue. "And just last week, there was this other Gem with a vendetta against Steven's mother who tried to destroy the planet and kill us a-"

"Stop." George commanded Pearl with a raise of his hand before handing over the signed book. "Just take the book and leave. Your tales are holding up the line."

"What did I tell ya, foreigners say the craziest things!" the single father from before laughed.

"I'm deeply sorry Mr. Ikari, it's just that Steven has been going through some rough times lately." Pearl apologized to the author.

"I completely understand miss." George said while pulling out his phone to show Pearl a picture of his own son, a young man with scruffy brown hair, a white dress shirt, and a nervous expression on his face. "My son Shane has had his fair share of troubles ever since his mother died, troubles that he insisted on running away from rather than facing them maturely."

"Just like Steven." Pearl compared the two boys sympathetically. "I am deeply sorry for your loss sir."

"Thank you for your kindness." George smiled, putting away his phone. "The best thing I feel could work for a situation like this is to let things play out and discuss his problems when the time is right."

"Thank you very much George." Pearl thanked the author as she finally began to leave the library with her new book in hand. "Though I doubt that'll be of any use to Steven."

Not too far away from the library, Steven was sitting in his room talking to Connie on the phone while she was on her study break.

"Wow Connie, looks like you got all this college stuff figured out." Steven laughed with his dear human friend over his phone.

"I've got a whole plan figured out for early admission into the University of Jayhawk, but I'm still not sure about my major," Connie explained to Steven. "Maybe I should major in political science and minor in sociology, or perhaps the other way around."

"Did all our galactic adventures together get you interested in politics?" Steven asked.

"Maybe." Connie chuckled. "But I'm thinking more down to earth, as far as long-term careers go." As the two laughed at Connie's pun, the timer on her phone began to go off. "Wow, fifteen minutes went by pretty fast."

"Aw man, these study breaks are too short." Steven complained before he realized something. "Hey wait, you left a brochure at my place last time." He stated, pulling out a brochure for Connie's college of choice to show her. "You want it back?"

"It's alright Steven, I still have two more, and the Internet too." Connie answered smiling.

"Oh, right." Steven realized. "Well, call me when you still wanna hang out, okay?"

"You know I will, silly!" Connie beamed. "Okay, for real now, bye!"

After Connie ended the call, Steven turned over on his back and gazed at the brochure in his hands. "The University of Jayhawk, huh?" he muttered to himself. "And how far is that from here?" Steven then opened up the brochure to learn how far the distance between Beach City and the university's location in Kansas was. "Oh, that far."

Once again, Steven began to glow pink as he sadly sank into his bed, fretting over how little often he'd be able to see Connie regularly. Gazing at his rose-colored hand, he then started pondering on whether he should do something about this new condition, as he had been thinking about since the titanic battle with Black Rutile.

Soon, Steven had decided to get up off his bed and walk downstairs, to which he found Garnet standing in the living room dressed in a hat and kerchief. "Oh Garnet, you're still here?"

"Steven." Garnet greeted Steven tersely.

"I could really use your advice right now." Steven declared racing over to the fusion. "It's about-"

"Not right now Steven, I gotta split." Garnet cut Steven off before un-fusing into Ruby and Sapphire.

"I'm terribly sorry Steven, but I'm running late for my lecture on alternate timelines." Sapphire apologized while taking off the scoutmaster's hat and giving it to Ruby, along with a kiss on the cheek, before racing off to her lecture. "See you soon!"

"Sapphire might be going, but you still got good ol' Ruby to talk to." Ruby said to Steven as she went to fetch a backpack. "Let's walk and talk scout, I got things to do."

"Oh, okay." Steven agreed as he followed Ruby to the Warp Pad, and the two set off.

Later that day, Steven had joined Ruby's class, consisting of Onion, Zebra Jasper, and Little Larimar, as they strolled through the woods on a gorgeous afternoon. When the class got to a good stopping point near a stump, Ruby hopped up on the stump to speak. "Okay everyone, you remember what we learned last week, right?" she asked her students. "Well, today is the day! Brace yourselves, 'cause today we're sketching nature and the animals around us!"

Onion and his Gem classmates excitedly took out their notepads to draw on as Ruby continued. "Draw to your heart's content scouts!" Ruby declared. "Feel the beauty of everything around you, and you'll have the honor of receiving this Nature Sketching Badge!" She then presented a patch depicting a paint palette and brush in front of depictions of a wolf and a bird. "Got that? Now get to drawing!"

As soon as the three pupils left to go draw the beauty of nature around them, Ruby took it as her cue to jump down from the stump to talk with Steven. "So, what did you need Garnet for?"

"It's about Connie." Steven admitted to the small red Gem. "Every time I talk with her, I feel like she knows exactly what to do with her life, mostly thanks to her parents, and I don't. When we're together as Stevonnie, I feel so ready for anything, but on my own, I feel so lost. Just, what do I want with life?"

"That's tough Steven." Ruby declared sympathetically.

"Exactly!" Steven replied. "Connie is gonna go super far away for college, and I'm gonna be stuck here in Beach City where barely anything can go right for me nowadays and I don't know what to do about them! I want to be with Connie forever, like how you and Sapphire are basically together forever as Garnet!" That was when he came to a conclusion. "Wait, if I want to be together with Connie, then she's my future!"

Steven's revelation made Ruby super excited, and she began scuttling in place with stars in her eyes, her rapid footsteps creating a small fire beneath her feet. "STEVEN STEVEN STEVEN STEVEN STEVEN!" she cheered, but stopped short once she noticed the fire she created. "Oh my gosh, one sec!" Ruby quickly ran off and came back with a towel that she used to put it out. "Anyways, STEVEN, YOU GOTTA PROPOSE!"

"Wait, propose?!" Steven exclaimed in shock. "But, we're only teenagers, we can't get married yet! But then again…"

"Don't say you haven't thought of it!" Ruby added cheerfully. "Besides, aren't there couples in this country that get married at 18 or something?"

"Y-yeah, I thought of it." Steven began blushing, which he tried to hide within his jacket. "I mean, we just had this discussion."

"Well, what are you waiting for?!" Ruby yelled happily while jumping up and grabbing onto his head. "DO IT, DO IT, DO IT! DO IT LIKE YOUR LIFE DEPENDS ON IT!"

"Are you still really sure?" Steven asked the overly eager Gem. "As I said, Connie and I are still only teenagers."

"C'mon, we told you about how it worked for Sapphire and I." Ruby responded. "And if you're successful, you'll have the honor of receiving this!" She presented Steven with a badge depicting one figure popping the question to another. "The Proposal Badge! And if you're not so sure, well, seeing the future would be really helpful here."

Steven gasped, knowing just who Ruby was implying.

Far away from Ruby, Sapphire sat down with her class, made up of the Watermelon Tourmaline fusion, two of the Nephrites, Orange Spodumene, Cherry Quartz, and Angel Aura Quartz, while drawing lines in the sand with a stick.

"Okay class, let's begin our lesson." Sapphire announced to her students when she spotted Steven racing towards her with a big smile on his face. "Ah, Steven. I've been expecting you."

"Hi, Sapphire." Steven greeted Sapphire. "I'm sorry to interrupt your class, but I got big news! I've been thinking about my future with Connie lately, and a chat with Ruby convinced me that I should propose!"

"Wait, don't you have to wait until you're a grown-up to do that?" Cherry Quartz inquired with a raise of her hand.

"Let me guess, you're here because of my future vision?" Sapphire asked. "Let's run the numbers then." She then let Steven stand next to her before beginning to speak to her class. "Okay class, let's review what we've learned today." She began while drawing complex math equations in the sand. "Using the concepts we discussed so far, let us calculate the probability of Steven succeeding in asking Connie to marry him. Let's begin with the probability that she'll want to spend her life with someone, and then we'll multiply that by the differential factor in sociocultural marriage acceptance. Next, we multiply that by a possibly happy cohabitation, the factor of fear of engagement, the intensity of the love you share, and finally the robustness of your goals in life." As Sapphire finished her equation, she finally turned back to Steven. "Are you following so far, Steven?"

"Uh, maybe?" Steven answered as he stared at the equation Sapphire had jotted down for him in the sand, but it wasn't long before the ocean tides began to wash them away. "Oh no, your work!"

"And there we have it." Sapphire declared with a chuckle. "Don't you get it, Steven? My marriage to Ruby, our fusion as Garnet, it eluded my future vision for so long, defied the odds, and perhaps even changed the course of time itself!" she declared encouragingly. "We could just write equations in the sand all day, but then a wave of chance can come crashing in and wash everything away! Love is truly unquantifiable! Even with my gift of clairvoyance, I know far better than anyone that love can make the impossible possible! And that is why I say do it! Do it, Steven, just do it!"

"Yeah, you're right!" Steven began getting pumped up before turning to Sapphire's class. "Get one last good look at me, everyone, because after today you're gonna be calling me Steven Quartz Cutie Pie DeMayo Diamond Universe-Maheswaran!"

The class began cheering vibrantly, bringing a big smile to Steven's face as he finally realized what his future now held.

As the afternoon slowly began to give way to evening, Ruby and Sapphire reunited by rushing towards each other on the sand, excited about the big proposal.

"Steven told me first, and I led him to you!" Ruby cheered, spinning her little blue wife around by the waist.

"I told him to go for it!" Sapphire laughed. "Oh, it's going to be so wonderful!"

As the two fused back into Garnet, she stood still for a few moments, contemplating her components' decisions before coming to one of her own. "I take full responsibility for their actions." Just then, Garnet heard footsteps and found Pearl walking behind her, her pointy nose stuck in a book. "Pearl, I'm guessing you want to see me about the book you're reading."

"I was just thinking about calling up you and Amethyst," Pearl announced as her gaze turned from the pages to her leader. "Where's Steven?"

"Oh, nothing much," Garnet answered. "Just going to make a rash decision that'll emotionally damage him in the long run."

"Oh, that's ni-" Pearl began before she did a double-take. "WAIT, WHAT?!"

As for Steven, he was too busy getting ready for an evening with Connie without a care in the world, picking up a cake from Spacetries that said 'Together forever!' on it, buying some flowers from Crazy Lace Agate, lighting up the glow bracelet that brought him & Connie together to begin with and dressing up in some nice clothes. If all goes well, he would soon become Steven Quartz Cutie Pie DeMayo Diamond Universe-Maheswaran.

Meanwhile, at Connie's house, Connie kept on studying for the University of Jayhawk when she heard a roar coming from outside her window. Walking over to the window, she discovered Steven parked outside her home with Lion by his side.

"Evening Connie, how are you doing?" Steven asked his ladylove.

"Steven?" Connie replied. "What are you doing here, and why are you all dressed up like that?"

"You got a fifteen-minute study break in two minutes, right?" Steven inquired, gazing at his watch to check if his timing is correct.

"Whoa, spot-on!" Connie exclaimed, gazing at her phone to learn that he was indeed right. "So, what did you come here for?"

"You want to go for a walk with me?" Steven offered. "I'm sure you could use some fresh air."

"That's very sweet Steven." Connie smiled. "I'd really love to, but I-"

"Don't worry, we can take Lion, and then I'll bring you home in fifteen!" Steven declared with a thumbs up.

"Okay, let's do this!" Connie accepted the offer and left her room to meet Steven outside, taking a moment to tell her parents along the way. "Bye Mom and Dad, I'm spending my study break with Steven!"

Once Connie was out the door, she and Steven mounted on Lion's back and he ran away from the Maheswaran residence.

"Remember when we first met here?" Steven asked Connie as they dismounted from Lion and began walking down the beach.

"You mean when you tried riding a bike in the sand and then started running away screaming?" Connie replied with a chuckle.

"Yeah, I was trying to get your attention." Steven added.

"Last I remember, I was more focused on my book than your silly antics." Connie stated.

"Well, that all happened right here." Steven declared, gesturing to a picnic at the very spot where he and Connie first met all those years ago. "You like what I have here?"

"Steven!" Connie exclaimed in awe at the picnic set before them. "I don't know what to say! I also can't believe you still remember this exact spot!"

"I just remember it like it was yesterday!" Steven exclaimed just as eagerly before running over to a nearby rock to sit on.

"This is too cute." Connie squealed while blushing.

"And without further ado," Steven announced as he picked up a guitar to play while Connie sat down. "There's something very important that I'd like to tell you today." With that, he started strumming the guitar and began to sing. "I'd rather be tall, I'd rather be smart, I'd rather be sure you know I care." He sang for Connie. "Wherever you go, wherever you start, I'd rather be sure you know I'm there. I'd rather I always be a part of whatever you do. I'd rather be me, with you."

Although Connie was a little turned off by the deeper meaning of Steven's song, she chose to just keep those feelings hidden to not hurt Steven's while he continued singing. "Wherever we go, I already trust, I'd know what to do if it were us. I'd know what to say, I'd know how to be, I'd know your entire syllabus." Steven continued as the song reached its climax. "I can't think of any other thing in the world that I would rather do. If I could be, I'd rather be me with you."

"Oh Steven, that's so beautiful!" Connie applauded the love song. "If a little unsettling, but I'd rather not say it out loud because-" Steven then got down on one knee and presented him her old glow bracelet. "Huh?"

"Connie, will you marry me?" Steven popped the question at last.

"Come again?" Connie asked, completely taken off guard by such a proposal.

"Let's get married and live together as Stevonnie, just like Garnet!" Steven reiterated for his possible wife.

"Are you serious?" Connie chuckled at the marriage proposal. "I think we should talk about this first."

"You might think I'm being sentimental, but this makes sense!" Steven exclaimed. "I don't know what you'll be studying, but I'm sure Stevonnie will! We can go to Jayhawk together!"

"I really appreciate this little date, but come on! You're still young!" Connie said as she stood up. "And acting a little clingy, I might add." She added under her breath.

"What was that?" Steven asked Connie.

"Nothing!" Connie lied. "Like I said, we're still young. And even if some couples get married at like, eighteen, I don't think we're fit to be one of those."

"So, you don't want to be Stevonnie with me?" Steven asked despondently, but Connie was there to comfort him.

"Of course I'd want to be Stevonnie, but I'd like to be my own person too," Connie answered reassuringly. "You get that, right?"

"Yeah, but," Steven began while putting the bracelet away as Connie hugged him. "Is it a no?"

"I'd say it's not right now." Connie answered.

"But if we're going to spend our lives together, why didn't you say it now?" Steven kept on inquiring fretfully.

"We got plenty of time." Connie declared, moving on from hugging Steven to holding his hands. "Don't you worry."

"I'm not worried, honest." Steven tried correcting his best friend. "I'm just happy when I'm with you."

"I'm happy around you too." Connie replied. "It's just that-" Before Connie could finish, the alarm on her phone went off. "Oh snap, my alarm!" she yelped in realization while pulling her phone out. "Forget studying right now, I don't think it matters."

"But it does matter to you!" Steven yelled.

"And you're just as important!" Connie responded, beginning to notice Steven getting more stressed out.

"I'm fine, we can talk about it later." Steven began rapidly panting. "Look, Lion's still right there, you can go now."

"Are you sure Steven?" Connie wondered sympathetically. "You're looking a little on edge. Maybe I can hook you up with a good therapist. She's a good friend of my mom named Dr. Rebe-"

"I'm sure I'm fine." Steven cut Connie off. "Now go."

"Okay." Connie obliged before giving Steven a goodbye hug. "I'll call you again tomorrow at noon." She said before walking towards Lion to have him take her home.

"Have fun studying!" Steven continued putting up a happy front as he bid Connie farewell. But as soon as she was out of sight, that front completely fell. "Nobody I love ever wants to stay."

With that, Steven fell back-first to the sand and turned pink, the resulting impact ruining the nice picnic around him as he wallowed in a crater of his sadness, and stayed there for the rest of the day.

Many hours later, Steven kept on lying in the crater long into the night with tears in his eyes, and when he finally decided to get up, Garnet was there waiting for him with the picnic basket containing the cake still intact.

"I assume it didn't go well." Garnet theorized as she helped Steven up from the crater and began walking him home.

"I don't get it," Steven muttered cynically. "Ruby and Sapphire said I should go for it, and I did, but everything went wrong."

"I apologize on their behalf," Garnet stated. "You just can't trust love advice from hopeless romantics like those two."

"Then why didn't you stop me?" Steven asked the fusion.

"I couldn't see a future where you didn't try proposing to Connie," Garnet answered. "However, there were quite a few where after she said no, you forced her to fuse with you and subsequently went insane."

"Of course." Steven moaned. "Even in alternate timelines, nothing can ever go right for me."

"Don't be so hard on yourself." Garnet comforted her half-human ward with a hug to the side. "Your soulmate should be your complement, not a missing piece. Ruby and Sapphire may deeply love each other, but they still have their own thoughts, feelings, and lives." The pair soon reached the beach house and sat down on the steps together. "Whatever hole you have in your life Steven, I want you to know that Connie or Stevonnie might not fill it."

"It's just that you guys make it so easy!" Steven revealed as he took the basket from Garnet. "Can't believe I'm saying this, but it's kinda your fault for being so dang perfect!"

"I know you're upset Steven, and I take responsibility for your plight," Garnet apologized to Steven. "but blaming others as much as you blame yourself won't help."

"Then maybe shoving this adorable cake in my face will!" Steven declared as he opened the picnic basket to reveal that the cake was in pieces.

"It probably won't." Garnet deadpanned, but Steven didn't listen and started eating the broken cake anyways.

"Well, I'm still gonna do it!" Steven exclaimed, his mouth now full of cake.

"I know," Garnet added as she gazed up at the sky. However, what she didn't catch was a fly buzzing around her and Steven, and its green eyes started blinking.

"Ah, romance. So utterly futile." Black Rutile grimaced as she watched the live footage of Steven drowning his sorrows in cake through a hard light welding mask. "Still, all that trauma could be useful in the future."

As Black Rutile was spectating on Steven's pain, she was hard at work on her plans for revenge, using a blowtorch to put together the final touches on a special wrist-mounted device. Once she was done, the villainous Rutile aimed the device at a rock carved into the exact shape of White Diamond's gem and fired. The resulting blast destroyed the rock and left a massive cloud of ash where it once was, but she wasn't satisfied with the smattering of pebbles that once made up the rock.

"Hm, need to work on the disintegration aspect a bit more." Black Rutile pondered while retracting the welding mask into her visor and began going back to the drawing board.

Guess who's back? Back again? Black Rutile's back, she's no friend! And on that rather sad turned ominous note, we conclude the first chapter of Part 3. Now that we have Steven's romance issues out of the way, expect to see the following in the coming chapters, in no particular order.

Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl re-enact Ace Attorney while Steven becomes even more scarred for life.

Viva Los Diego! Lapis & Amethyst get involved with a James Bond parody, Garnet & Bismuth solve mysteries together with a police officer who's basically the Plumber from Ratchet and Clank, Pearl matches wits with a snooty film director who's like Michael Bay, David Cage, Neil Druckmann & Zack Snyder in one, and Peridot tries promoting her CPH reboot.

Steven hangs out with Spinel and plays basketball with Wolverine.

Peridot finally gets her own song.

Jasper finally gets her own song.

A certain Stevonnie-chasing jerk dares Steven to reform him.

And finally, Black Rutile plays a role in a certain event in Fragments, the final chapter of this part.

Have I gotten your interest yet? Good, cause strap in everyone, it's gonna be nuts.

#steven universe #steven universe future #fanfiction #steven universe alternate future #steven quartz universe #connie maheswaran #garnet #ruby #sapphire #pearl #lion steven universe #black rutile

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slashingdisneypasta · 5 years ago

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Bisexual!Granny Boone x Lesbian!Reader || Drabble

Plot: I’ve been thinking about this for a while, so here it is. Just some petty bickering between you and your lover’s beard. This is what happens when a gay woman’s bisexual lover marries a straight man. There is also, of course, feelings.

Warnings: Eh, bickering. Boone does not mind seeing you and Buckman fight at all- in fact, she watches it happen. So, she’s mildly abusive.

I was fine with the men Who would come into her life now and again I was fine, 'cause I knew That they didn't really matter until you I was fine when you came And we fought like it was all some silly game Over her, who she'd choose

(Lyrics from ‘It’s Over, Isn’t It?’ From Steven Universe)

~~~

Knock knock knock!

“Aghhhh… “The primal, frustrated groan escapes you before you can restrain yourself. You both pull back at the same time, whether because you really both felt you needed to or because you knew she would and refused to endure that embarrassment of seeing her run off to him again you would never admit. You close your eyes, letting your hands fall from her soft hair to your lap, defeated for the time being. “At least he’s learnt howta’ knock… “

“That’s right.” Boone grins, eyebrows furrowing in a look caught between amusement and empathy, especially when I open my eyes and pout up at her. Her hands find your upper arms, near shoulders and holds your comfortingly. “There’s that. Wait right here, I’ll just see what he wants- it is his home.”

You take such a deep breath that your shoulders raise, and then fall dramatically as you sigh it out. “Okay… “With one final comforting squeeze to your shoulder, Boone gets up and rounds the corner from the living room to the front door. You amuse yourself with picking up your tea and dragging it to your lips as you hear the door open and quiet voices.

Like a secret. Like an inside conversation between them.

Her, and him.

Rolling your eyes and your shoulders simultaneously, trying to shake off the jealousy, you try to enjoy the feeling of steam on your face and the smell of the tea. It is nice. You brought it over from the town to the west when you went to visit and attend a ball. Its jasmine and apricot and, honestly, you bought it for the packaging on its own. A beautiful deep purple and marmalade coloured box with intricate gold designs around the label. You had felt a bit magical just buying it, actually.

As you take a sip, the conversation at the door stops and instead footfalls replace the noise- footfalls that are definitely not your lover’s. Too heavy.

You hurriedly put down the cup and the saucer back on the table because you don’t trust your suddenly icy fingers not to shake too hard and spill the drink just in time for George to stick his head around the corner and greet you. For some reason, despite him being the second, the intruder in this relationship, the whole thing between you and Boone still feels clandestine. He knows all about it, he knows his role as her ‘beard’- yet you still feel like the outsider. The other lover.

It’s not a nice feeling.

“Afternoon, Y/N. Sorry to interrupt your lil girl’s night, hope ya’ll are havin’ fun! - I just forgot my hanky. I won’t be a moment.” Oh my God, he’s so patronising. ‘Girls night’?! It’s a date, you son of a bitch! He flashes a fake smile; A politician’s smile, before popping off up the stairs to search for it.

And, hanky??? I’ve never heard anything so ridiculous or translucent. You were headed to the bar for the night, sir. You couldn’t have used a napkin for your sniffles!?

You raise the tea back to your lips, throwing your head with elegance instead of pushing back the hair. “Of course, sir… “

“I just new you would understand!” He calls back, ruffling through some draws in the room above you. Boone, looking apologetic - but, still. Half amused. Half happy. Because he’s here, - sinks back down into the couch beside you, knees touching yours. That does calm you a bit- those small bits of affection always do. The small things always still feel rebellious, even now.

“Hm, really.” You ask sarcastically, raising your eyebrows at Boone but responding to her George. She grins and shakes her head, always liking it when you’re cheeky. Finishing another sip of your tea, you set it back down again as George comes back down the stairs, pocketing a particularly gaudy napkin with G.W.B stitched into it in thick lettering.

Then, to your horror, he looks between the door and the room you and Boone are sitting in and decides to come and seat himself down on the couch across from the two of you. Boone quickly, immediately puts a hand in both of yours, in your lap and you hold onto it like your life depends on it.

Or, like Georges life depends on it- which it very much might right now.

This man just loves to toe the line with me, doesn’t he… You think, glaring daggers at him. He’s so cheery, like he really doesn’t see much wrong with interrupting like this. Like he’s just being ‘cheeky’.

Oh noooo, no, no. He’s mistaken. He’s waging war.

“So, how have you been Y/N? Boones told me you went to a Ball in neighbouring Greenvill. How was that?”

Sarcastically, I quip back. “Oh, Greenvill was fine. Grapes are good this time of year- “Immediately I snap out of my restrained silence and lean forward, pointing a finger at him. “No, no, no. Don’t do this to me. We are not going to do this. No. Walk your britches out that door right this moment!” Boone squeezes your hand and pats it, watching your and her husbands now darkening glares at each other with a cruel entertainment.

“Oh, I’m just bein’ polite, dear. Do we have a problem?”

“Yes!” Absolutely!

“Well you can talk to your community representative about that! - Oh, wait.” He makes a show of putting his finger to his chin and looking as if he has just remembered something. “That’s me, isn’t it??”

“You know very well what this day is- mine. My day. What can I do to make you leave? Do you take bribes?”

“Now sweetheart, you and I both know there ain’t nothing you can give me that I can’t get myself.”

Oh, you are going to launch off this seat and dump the tea over his smug, patronising, misogynistic head. “Oh, well, what about threats, then??”

“If you can dish it out then I hope you can take it, too, Y/N.”

Seeing the line, the unspoken line that we never cross coming fast like a steam train, you pull back. Straightening your back and taking a deep breath through your nose, you calm down. He does the same, glancing up and muttering something to God, and Boone just looks from you looking silently at your knees and fuming, to her husband rubbing his hands together and looking down at the floor; And she smiles. An evil twinkle in her eye that neither you nor Buckman catch.

“Okay, Bucky, I’ll see you later? Y/N’s right, we were havin’ a date, and its not over yet.” Boone winks conspiratorially to him and you roll your shoulders back in discomfort- so does he. Her thumb rubs gently over your knuckles, and you let out all the breath you were holding in in an attempt to be quiet and calm. “That was my polite way of askin’ for you to leave, in case you didn’t catch it.” She jokes, with a hint of seriousness- because she really was hinting for him to leave. But she doesn’t want to make a big deal out of it.

Its like the tenseness of the room doesn’t even touch her.

“… “Georges glance at either o you in turn is dark, tired, before he gets up and straightens his back again after leaning on his knees for too long. “Course. Have a good evening, you two. Uh, “You can tell he’s struggling to think of a polite goodbye as he slowly moves out of the room, and you make yourself watch for a moment. Out of respect. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t like him. There’s too much love and hope for the same woman between us for us to ever have a non-confrontational conversation as things are they this way, but we’ve both been in this horrible situation that he’s enduring right now, too many times. When you have to leave her, Boone, to be with the other. Like you’re the outsider. And I can sympathise with him… sort of… for that. “The tea smells lovely.”

Then, he leaves- but not before flashing you a look, and you share a moment. One teensy tiny moment without hostility.

A sharing of the wish that neither of you had to do that walk.

Then the man’s gone and Boone lets go of my hand, bunching her fists in your skirts to get your attention back which you gladly give with an - at first, - empty smile. “Now, where were we? Ah, I think we were just… about… here.” Our lips connect, and I forget all about what I was just thinking about.

Here. Always here.

#Granny Boone x Reader #Granny Boone x Reader Drabble #Drabble #Mayor Buckman

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star-spangled-steve · 5 years ago

Text

His New Partner

Chapter 37: The Reconnection

Series Masterlist

Previous Chapter

Pairing: Steve Rogers x Reader

Words: 2147

Warnings: Angst, a ton of emotions, lots of crying.

A/N: Sorry this took so long, I’ve been writing headcanons like crazy! And also, thank you guys so much for 800 followers. I’m very grateful!

“Need a little help there, N/N?” Steve asked his wife as he watched her wobbling on her tippy toes, trying to reach a cardboard box on the top shelf of their closet.

“I’m fine.” She was her short reply, though she clearly wasn’t making any progress as she began jumping up and down to reach it.

Steve shook his head and chuckled. “So stubborn.” He watched her struggle for a couple of seconds more before easily just reaching up and grabbing the box, watching her sigh in response.

“Thanks.” Y/N spoke, taking the large box from his arms. She nearly dropped it due to its heavy weight, but managed to get it on the bed before that happened.

Steve curiously watched her take off the lid. “What’s in there anyways?” He questioned, peering over her shoulder to get a better look.

“I don’t even know.” She answered, beginning to search through it. “I’m just trying to organize things, that’s all.”

Her husband let out a small laugh. “Never thought I’d hear those words come out of your mouth.”

Y/N lightly giggled, agreeing that she wasn’t exactly known for having great cleaning skills. “Me neither. But everybody needs a distraction sometimes, right?” She faced Steve, seeing him gulp.

“Right.” He said sadly, knowing exactly what she wanted to be distracted from and hating the fact that it had happened. “Do you need help?”

“No. But you can.”

Steve then grabbed another box from the top of their closet and began looking through it. He honestly wasn’t sure what the point was, because she didn’t seem to be throwing out anything, but still pretended to be hard at work. He was just grateful that Y/N was allowing him to spend time with her, so he wasn’t exactly going to complain.

“Steve, look.” She spoke after quite some time, holding in her hand what looked like a photo strip from a photo booth.

The man stepped closer to her, wanting to check it out, and smiled upon seeing the label on the bottom of it. “‘Y/N and Steven’s Engagement Party’.”

“Isn’t it crazy?” She spoke with her own slight grin, handing him the strip. “I don’t even remember taking these.”

The first picture on the strip was obviously meant to be the silly one, with Y/N sporting the duck face and Steve sticking out his tongue. In the second one they were both laughing, giving the camera their biggest, brightest smiles. The third image shows Steve pressing a kiss to his girl’s neck, her blushing in response. Then the fourth and final image shows the couple in what looks like a very heated kiss, Y/N arms around the neck of her man as he dipped her.

“Well,” he chuckled, “you got quite a bit drunk that night, so I’m not surprised. Remember? I explained to you the next morning that I had to carry you back to our floor because you refused to leave the party.”

“Oh, yes, yes,” she nodded with a small laugh, “that’s right. Man, those were the days, weren’t they?”

“Ya,” Steve agreed while handing the photo strip back to her, “those were the days.”

Y/N looked at it more carefully, specifically focusing on the one where they were smiling. “We-We looked so...”

“Happy.” The man finished for her. “Is that what you were going to say?”

“Ya.” She puffed out a breath, reminiscing on all of their good times. “Happy.” She put the strip back where she found it, pushing a couple of the boxes to the side so that there was an empty space on the bed. She sat down in it. “Do you ever think we can be that happy again?”

Steve nervously swallowed, not wanting yet another of their conversations to turn into a fight. “I hope so.”

Y/N nodded, staring down at her lap. “Okay. Okay, good. That’s good. I hope a too. Um...” she sniffled, trying to hold back any tears that came with having this type of talk, “d-do you think that we can be that happy together?”

Steve crouched down on the floor, right in front of where she was sitting. “Do you?”

The girl looked up and suddenly saw how close he was to her, but surprisingly not upset about it. Mad or not, she did enjoy being close to him. “I want us to. I-I don’t want this relationship to be a flop.”

“Me neither.”

“And... uhm...” she sighed, trying to find the right words, “it kind of feels like a flop right now. I really don’t like it, and I really want things to go back to normal. I know that you do too.”

“I do.” Steve replied eagerly. “I so do. That’s all I want. Especially right now, with all of this loss, I want to be there for you. I want to help you, Y/N.”

“I know. I know, and I agree because I want that for us too. Believe me, I do.” She explained to him, seeing his sad eyes begin to become hopeful again. “And it’s not that I don’t believe that you’re sorry. I know that you’re sorry, Steve. You’re too pure of a man not to be sorry. I-It’s just that I can’t let you back in until I’m certain that you love me. That’s the only problem.”

“Wha-What do you mean?” He frowned. “Of course I love you. I tell you all the time.”

“Steve-”

“Y/N, you are my whole entire world.” He continued on, really trying to get his point across. “You’re my sun, my moon, all of the stars in the entire universe; you mean more to me than any of that. I love more than I’ve ever loved anything. Anyone. Ever. In this life or my last one.”

“Steve,” she sniffled, “a person who loves another person doesn’t just leave for two years. That’s not how it works. You can tell me and tell me and tell me all of the beautiful speeches you come up with, but actions speak louder than words.” Y/N explained, now beginning to cry.

The man hesitantly brought his hands up to her face and wiped the away tears, grateful that she actually leant into his touch instead of just smacking him away.

“H-How do I know that I’m not second in your heart?” She questioned.

“Second? To who?” Steve furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, trying to come up with who she could possibly think is more important than her. “Peggy?”

“No.” Y/N shook her head. “I know that your feelings for Peggy are long behind you. I’m talking about Bucky.”

“Bucky?” He almost chuckled. “N/N, I don’t know what you heard, but I only think of Bucky as a friend.”

She shook her head at his misunderstanding of her point. “I know that. That doesn’t matter. Even platonically, he can still mean more to you than I do.”

“Y/N,” Steve sighed, now tearing up as well, “I did that for Bucky because of all that he’s done for me. That guy took care of me for the majority of my childhood, and even into my adult years; getting me out of fights, picking me up when I was down, staying loyal even when I knew that he had better, more popular options for friends. I felt like I owed it to him. He was my best pal.” The man went on, watching her begin to understand where he was coming from. “But N/N, I would not have left you if I wasn’t one hundred percent sure that you were in perfect care, that you were safe. So yes, I made a decision. A poor one. If I could go back, I’d do things differently. I swear, I would. I’m so sorry that you had to be pregnant alone, give birth alone, raise our son alone. I’m so sorry, N/N. If you would have called me, I promise you that I would have been there right away.”

“Well I would’ve, but-”

“No, don’t worry about that.” He brought his hand up to her face, stroking her cheek gently. “I’m not mad about it anymore. I get why you didn’t call, and I don’t blame you one bit. I’m just saying, I’d drop anything for you, N/N. You say one word and I’m right by your side.”

She gave him a small scoff. “I didn’t realize that I had to say a word for to not leave for two years. I thought it was kind of obvious.”

“I’m sorry, Y/N. I’m so sorry. I don’t know what to say to you anymore.” He told her, basically begging for her forgiveness by this point. “I do love you, okay? More than I care about Bucky. I swear.”

She reached over to her nightstand to grab a couple of tissues, handing one to Steve. They both wiped their face of any tears, never once breaking eye contact.

“I... uhm...” she began to speak, but realized that what she was about to say was silly.

“What?” Steve asked. “Please, Y/N, say it. Tell me what you’re thinking.”

She gulped. “C-Can you hug me?”

The man, surprised that she asked let alone even wanted that, nodded his head enthusiastically. “Of course.” He then opened his arms, letting her fall into his warm embrace.

Steve brought them up so that they were standing, keeping his arms tight around her waist. His hands stroked up and down her back, greedily touching any part of her that was allowed. Nothing could describe just how much he missed holding her, or even how much she missed being held by him.

Y/N breathed in his familiar scent before slightly pulling away, still keeping her arms in their place around his neck. “C-Can you kiss me?”

The man was at a loss for words. Kiss him? No way that he heard her correctly. Up until now, Steve was under the impression that she hated him. “Wh-What?”

“Please?” Y/N asked while her bottom lip began to tremble, all of the emotions that she felt starting to become just too much for her. “Can you? I-I just want to know if it’s still there.” She continued, seeing her husband become confused. “The spark. Our spark. I want to know if we still have it.”

Steve, now understanding what she meant, nodded his head. “Okay.” He moved a hand to her cheek, cupping it, before bringing her forward and hesitantly placing his lips on her own.

The two of them held the position before beginning to move in sync, pressing their mouths against each other slowly; savouring the moment. Neither of them had experienced a kiss in over two years, and you could definitely tell that by the desperation in their actions.

Y/N’s fingers began to run through Steve’s quite long hair, both of his own hands now holding her face, pulling her even impossibly closer. It felt so nice, so right to be with each other this way again, that neither of them wanted it to end.

Though, reluctantly, the girl placed a stern hand on his chest, pushing their mouths apart.

The sound of their heavy breathing filled the bedroom as the couple stared into each other’s eyes.

“Well?” Steve questioned. “The spark?”

Y/N gave him a small smile, moving her hand up to his jaw to stroke his beard. “I think it’s still there.”

A big grin broke out on his face at her words. “Me too.” He happily pressed his lips to her’s again, this time for a quick peck. “I missed this so much, sweetheart.” He chuckled, not meaning to let the name just slip from his mouth like that. “‘Sweetheart’. Can I call you that now? Can I-Can I call you everything that I used to call you?”

The girl shrugged. “I guess so, ya.”

“Awesome.” He stated, not being able to stop smiling. “Awesome, babydoll.”

She was now beaming too, not being able to resist that one, before she realized that she had to explain somethings first. “Wait, wait, Steve. You do realize that not everything will be able to go back to normal, right?”

The man’s face slightly fell, disappointed, but still knowing that she was correct. “Ya. Ya, I know.”

“Okay.” Y/N spoke. “Okay, I just wanted to make sure. B-Because, no matter how much I forgive you, and I do forgive you now, I’ll never be able to forget. I’ll never be able to forget what you did.”

Steve gave her a nod. “Alright. I understand that.” And he did. If his only long-term punishment was having to live with the guilt, then he was truly grateful for that; he was just grateful that she forgave him at all. “Thank you, Y/N. Thank you for letting me back into your life. I’m extremely lucky.”

“That’s right.” She stated, being sure of her personal worth for the first time in so long. “You are lucky.”

Next Chapter

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#steve rogers x reader #captain america x reader #chris evans x reader #steve rogers x you #steve rogers x y/n

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loveforpreserumsteve · 5 years ago

Text

Not Without You (Canon Divergence Stucky Fix-It-Fic)

Thirty:

Before Steve could go home, he had one more thing that he had to do. Well, two more things. While Natasha fixed the date on her Time GPS, Steve entered another coordinate. He knew that they'd arrive at the same time, but he still hesitated for leaving her for a moment.

As they got sucked into the Quantum Realm, Steve opened his eyes long enough to watch Natasha shoot off in a different direction than he went. Hoping that she wouldn't be too annoyed when they both popped up on the other side together on the new and improved tunnel platform.

For a moment, Steve had thought about taking Natasha with him, but he knew that he needed to do this alone. It had been too suspicious when he and Tony traveled there. And despite himself, Steve had this urge to see Peggy again. To look at more of her pictures and just spend more time with her since he didn't get to when she was alive. Even if that meant looking around a dark, empty office by himself.

With the suitcase in hand, Steve materialized in the warehouse. A whole bunch of dangerous junk laid around and Steve wondered how they could be so disorganized. Especially when this stuff was dangerous.

Nevertheless, Steve placed the newly restored Tesseract into its place. Letting out a breath of relief, Steve could finally breathe easier. It was done. He could go back and live a quiet, peacefu--

"Steve?"

Spinning around, Steve found Peggy standing there. Her pale skin blanched when she took him in and she quickly grabbed onto the back of a chair to steady herself. Quickly Steve rushed to her before she dropped to the floor.

"You're… You can't… I thought… No…" Peggy attempted to gather herself, but couldn't find her words.

Instead, she simply stared at him with wide eyes filled with so much awe. Of course, she never thought that he survived before he showed up in 2012. Steve's heart ached. He had been blindsided before, only… He wouldn't be able to stay the way his loved ones had.

Reaching up, Peggy touched Steve's face. Almost as though she had been expecting him to vanish. Even when his own arms were wrapped around her, holding her up.

"You're alive," Peggy finally breathed. Steve nodded, and Peggy asked, "How?"

Looking around at all the junk -- and being in a S.H.I.E.L.D. facility that had HYDRA as its under belly -- Steve shifted uncomfortably. Peggy must've understood because she instantly regained herself and removed herself from Steve's grip.

Briskly, Peggy led them out of the warehouse. There was a moment where Steve was self-conscious and worried that someone would recognize him. Especially since he wasn't exactly dressed for the time. Sure, he wasn't in one of his Captain America suits, but his tactical gear was still more modern than what others were wearing.

All but pushing Steve into her office, she closed the door behind herself and closed the blinds. The pair were in complete darkness for a moment before Peggy turned on the light. While Steve blinked his eyes until he was used to the sudden change, Peggy studied him. He wondered what she saw.

"How?" Peggy asked, incredulous that Steve was actually there.

"The ice," Steve answered, taking a seat. Since Steve did, Peggy did too. Steve scratched the back of his neck as he chuckled under his breath, "They found me in it. Thawed me out."

"When?" Peggy's brows furrowed. Anger coloring her expression, "Why wasn't I contacted?"

"Because it hasn't happened yet," Steve thickly swallowed. When confusion seeped back into her, he continued, "In 2012, they found me. Right before the Chitauri attack -- they're aliens." Peggy's brows flew up on her forehead and Steve nodded, "I know. Although that wasn't even the craziest thing that happened. There were more aliens. Gods! Robots who wanted to cause the extinction of the human race. But none of those lived up to… Thanos."

Reaching over, Peggy covered Steve's hand and gave the top of his a squeeze, "It's alright, darling. You don't have to elaborate."

"Thanks," Steve sighed in relief. Eyes flittering over to the frames on her desk, he gestured with his chin, "You have a beautiful family."

"I do," Peggy agreed, beaming. Letting go of Steve's hands, she grabbed a decorative gold frame. The picture on her wedding day. Showing it to Steve, she said, "This is my husband, Daniel. You saved him, you know. You saved a lot of people."

"So did you, Pegs," Steve replied, getting a closer look at the picture. Half-wanting to see if he could remember the man, but not wanting to spiral down into the black hole of despair that those memories caused him.

Instead of continuing that story, she picked up a frame with different buttons glued to it. A child's art project, perhaps. Steve's smile grew when he saw a picture of the little boy. He had his father's nose and Peggy's smile. Peggy told him, "This is our Steven Michael." Steve's eyes snapped up from the portrait to Peggy while she kept her gaze on her son, "He's so wildly imaginative."

"Pegs," Steve wetly said, his throat tight with emotion. Eyes roaming over the picture of the little brown haired boy as he used his fingers to enlarge his grin and crossed his eyes in a silly gesture.

"And this," Peggy handed Steve a frame decorated with lace, "Is Colleen Angela. She's the queen of pretend and even gives her god mother a run for her money."

"Oh," Steve exaggerated as he touched his heart. The little girl took after Peggy. Especially as she stood there in a power stance with one hand on her hip and the other holding a play wooden sword. Steve gushed, "She's perfect. They both are."

"We're very lucky," Peggy confirmed. After a moment, Steve tore his eyes from the photos in his grasp and looked up at the brunette. Peggy was watching him and she asked, "Are you happy?"

A smile tugged at Steve's lips as he honestly answered, "I am. I wasn't for a long time, but I am now."

"Good," Peggy's smile grew.

Handing the pictures back to her, Steve declared, "I even found Bucky."

The frames fell and clanged against the desk. Wide-eyed, she looked over to Steve again, "What?"

"He didn't die like we thought," guilt instantly coiled in his stomach, "HYDRA got him. They conditioned him… broke him to his very core… for fifty years he was their weapon."

"Steve, we ended HYDRA," Peggy was still in shock.

He shook his head, "We just cut off a head. It grew back and infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D."

"I beg your pardon," Peggy scoffed, rolling her eyes at the audacity.

"Pegs," Steve said softly.

Peggy spotted the sincerity and cursed, "Zola," before quickly jotting a note down for herself. Something about calling an exterminator, Steve smirked. Shaking her head, she teased, "If only you could forever be here."

"If only," Steve dramatically sighed, earning a giggle from Peggy.

"When do you have to leave?" Peggy asked.

"Soon," Steve reluctantly answered. Wishing that he and Bucky could've lived their lives with the friends they bonded with in the war. Wishing even more that Steve could bring all of them with him to the future. "Bucky's waiting for me."

"Then, it's best not to keep him waiting," Peggy sadly smiled, standing from her desk. Hesitantly, she held her arms open in invitation. Without even debating it for a second, Steve embraced her, holding her close. It had been far too long since he had seen Peggy, or talked to her, let alone hugged her. And really, there was no way that he'd turn down that opportunity.

Reluctantly, he pulled back, dropping a kiss to her cheek as he typed in the time and coordinates on the Time GPS. His heart clenched when tears silently rolled over her checks. His own tears started building as he told her, "Goodbye, Pegs."

"Goodbye, my darling."

#not without you #stucky #steve rogers #bucky barnes #steve rogers x bucky barnes #marvel #fanfic #wattpad #ao3 #canon divergence #post infinity war #endgame au #nomad steve #angst #hurt/comfort #fix it fic #otp #eventual happy ending #goodbye my darling

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mythicpopularculture · 5 years ago

Audio

Okay, as I (threatened/promised), here’s my silly drabble. Feel free to play the song while reading it, it kind of gives it the necessary ambience to hear the song along with reading the action. Enjoy!

High Enough

Or, How Two Lovestruck Musicians Throw a Wedding To Remember

“… brings us together today, this celebration of love and devotion.”

The words, spoken with a smooth voice like dark velvet on a cloud, reinforced for everyone present on the beach this brilliant August day what the purpose of their gathering was. The young lovers stood at the head of the makeshift aisle, a crowd of human citizens of Beach City and gem residents of Little Homeworld centering their attention on two of their own, who they had witnessed grow up, grow away, and then return. Smiles broke across the faces of all of the attendees.

On the Beach City side of the group, at the head of the aisle, stood the resplendent and smiling visage of Connie Maheswaran, almost glowing in her bridal regalia, the custom armor Bismuth had fitted her with allowing her both comfort and motion. She breathed deeply but with excitement, as this day’s plans had gone off without a hitch. She hoped that her extracurricular plans for the ceremony would as well. She shot a quick, thankful look back toward her bridesmaids, Pearl and Bismuth. Of course, she wouldn’t have had her wedding without Pearl, her favorite teacher and matron of honor, and of course she wouldn’t ask her to do it without her own spouse.

Standing on the side of Little Homeworld, slightly constrained by the formal wear he insisted he wear for the occasion, was the diamond son Steven Universe, nearly vibrating with his own excitement over the event … he had always loved weddings, and this being his own made it all the more thrilling. A gentle purple hand patted his arm to calm him down, a big reason he had picked Amethyst to be his best gem. On the other side of her, Steven caught a glimpse of his father Greg, who simply beamed. Greg had always liked Connie, and after Steven’s breakdown he had come to love her like a daughter.

At the head of the aisle, the smiling visage of Garnet warmly looked over her friends and family, her eyes visible for a change since Steven and Connie had asked her to leave her visor off for the ceremony. Not for any particular reason, just because they wanted to see her eyes. Those three eyes shone with great warmth, for Steven and Connie, for everyone present. She looked over to the assembled crowd, as Steven and Connie turned toward each other to join hands.

“And so it is now, today, we have come to witness the fusion of two hearts, the marriage of Connie Maheswaran and Steven Universe.” Garnet spread her hands widely, encompassing the two young celebrants in a visual hug. “We have known them for so long, known their friendship, known their highs and lows, and now share the highest of their highs.”

“So far!” a high pitched voice rang from the front of the Little Homeworld side. Steven chuckled as he recognized Peridot’s enthusiasm.

Garnet smiled and returned to her solemn duty. “May we have the rings, please?”

Both Steven and Connie turned to their respective parties. Amethyst extracted a small gold ring out of an inner pocket of her jacket, planting it in Steven’s hand. Meanwhile, Pearl teleported a red anodized ring out of her gem into her hand, delicately landing it in her own hand before handing it to Connie. Turning back toward each other, they deftly slipped the jewelry onto each other’s fingers. When it was done, Garnet re-established their attention.

“These rings represent your devotion and love. They are a reminder that you will always be together, even when you are apart.” She turned toward Steven. “Steven Quartz Cutiepie DeMayo Diamond Universe, do you take this woman, Connie Maheswaran, as your wife and partner, to love, honor, and cherish forever?”

Steven grinned widely. He caught a glimpse in Connie’s eyes, reflecting that same love right back at him. His voice quivered. “I do.”

Garnet nodded. “Good choice.” This brough a chuckle from the assembled witnesses as the fused gem turned toward Connie. “Connie Maheswaran, do you take this man, Steven Quartz Cutiepie DeMayo Diamond Universe, as your husband and partner, to love, honor, and cherish forever?”

Connie’s heart felt like it would burst, both with her love and with her anticipation of what she was planning. “With all my heart, I do.”

Garnet nodded reverently. “Then it shall be so.” She lifted up her hands. “Let everyone here be witness to the love we confirm here today. There’s just one more thing.” She cued Connie with her eyes, smiling.

Connie took her cue, turning back to Pearl. She was already taking action, as her gem was teleporting items out again. Two items in particular, her bass guitar and the royal blue electric violin Steven had given Connie as an engagement present.

Connie smiled. “Thank you. And Steven …” she turned to face her husband-to-be and spoke sweetly, placing the instrument on her shoulder, the bow in her other hand gently touching the strings. “Steven, this is for you.”

She began playing a gentle, sweet melody on the violin. Instantly Greg’s ears perked up, as he recognized that string line. His recognition was confirmed as Connie began singing.

“I don’t wanna hear about it anymore/It’s a shame I gotta live/Without you any more …”

Steven recognized the song too. His heart jumped into his throat, then back down, and felt like it had swelled to the size of his entire body. He turned around toward Amethyst, who stood there grinning, holding up two guitars: the striped older six string Greg had used on stage back in the day, and the streamlined pink newer axe Steven had picked up on his travels. Both men assumed control of their instruments from the gem, strapping them on as Connie reached the next lines of the verse.

“There’s a fire in my heart/A pounding in my brain/Driving me crazy …”

Steven found himself unconsciously weeping, even through his grin at the surprise. “I love you, Connie,” he whispered before jumping in and harmonizing with his bride. “We don’t need to talk about it anymore/Yesterday’s just a memory/Can we close the door …”

The sweetness of Connie’s voice created a slight contrast to the baritone Steven’s voice had developed over the years. She dropped out briefly to hear his voice take the lead.

“I just made one mistake/I didn’t know what to say …”

Okay, long enough! “When you called me baby!” Connie’s voice meshed with Steven’s like they were two strings on the same piano. She dipped her shoulder to create emphasis for a long arpeggio, leading into the next lines of the song. Steven’s guitar became more heavy, emphasizing the rock groove. He came nearly nose-to-nose with Connie as they launched into the next lyrics.

“Don’t say goodnight/Say you’re gonna stay forever/Whoa oh all the way!”

Steven answered Connie’s arpeggio with one of his own, his fingers scrambling up and down the neck of the guitar in a flash. Both Steven and Connie launched themselves into the refrain, the joy evident in their voices and their playing, the crescendo of the music matching the swelling of their hearts.

“Can you take me high enough/To fly me over yesterday?/Can you take me high enough/It’s never over/Yesterday’s just a memory …”

Steven’s eyes shone, bright and loving to his love and best friend. He brought the music back to a sweeter, more wistful level to start the next verse. “I don’t want to live without you anymore/Can’t you see I’m in misery/And you know for sure …”

Now it was Connie’s turn for heart pangs, albeit joyous ones. Tears formed in her own eyes. She had practiced the song away from Steven for weeks now, to keep this a surprise until today, and even after studying the lyric sheet repeatedly and practicing the song even more repeatedly, the next line always affected her and made her feel even more emotional toward him. “I would live and die for you/And I’d know just what to do/When you call me baby …”

Another guitar sting. This time, the rest of the wedding party joined the happy couple going into the next refrain. Greg, keeping pace with his son’s ample playing, and Amethyst, simply having the time of her life, jumped behind Steven. “Don’t say goodbye …”

Pearl and Bismuth, behind Connie, shared a loving look between themselves. Bismuth placed an arm around her partner. “Say you’re gonna stay forever …”

And then the entire group collected on the beach, Beach City and Little Homeworld together, joined in. “Whoa oh, all the way …”

The group deferred to Steven and Connie and their friends at the head of the aisle, launching into the refrain again. All except Garnet, however … she was strangely silent, though at this point in the song Steven and Connie were oblivious to anyone but themselves. “Can you take me high enough/To fly me over yesterday?”

Behind the happy couple, the party was starting to rock harder. Greg and Amethyst stood back-to-back, as Amethyst air-riffed along with Greg’s actual playing. Bismuth clung tighter to Pearl, who was getting lost in the bassline, turning from time to time to share a gentle stroke of the face. “Can you take me high enough/It’s never over/Yesterday’s just a memory …”

“I’m running …” Steven’s guitar got more insistent, his voice more intense. It was clear how much the song was affecting both himself and Connie, as she locked her eyes on her groom. “I was running for the door/The next thing I remember …”

Connie finished the line for Steven with a sly grin and publicly-acceptable bedroom eyes. “I was running back for more, yeah …”

Connie stepped back slightly, allowing the Universe men to come together on a power guitar riff that they passed back and forth, perfect harmony between the two. Greg had always waxed admiringly about this particular guitar solo, marveling at how the chord progressions were in a major key but the riff itself was in the relative minor. Both he and Steven asserted their own styles on the solo: Greg’s guitar had more of the earthy tones, lower in pitch and wider in timbre; whereas Steven expressed technicality in his fingerings, notes chirping off the strings like quick absent thoughts, absent any meaning but that which Connie gave to Steven’s life, and vice versa.

For her part, Connie held herself back, her strings maintaining the momentum of the song, backing her husband-to-be and the man she saw now as a second father figure. The solo wound down, coming back to the verse. Connie stepped back up, with more artful play on her instrument, until she was shoulder-to-shoulder with Steven once more, catching the verse.

“Don’t say goodbye/Say you’re gonna stay forever/Whoa oh all the way …”

Steven grinned, launching into another dramatic arpeggio. “All the way …”

Connie raised her voice into a rocker wail no one had ever known her to be able to achieve. “All the way, yeah!” Her own fingers joined in Steven’s arpeggio, creating a harmonic run to match the intensity of the love between them, climaxing into a shattering power chord.

“Can you take me high enough/Can you fly me over yesterday?”

Their merged voices, joined in happiness and love, caused an emotional shockwave throughout the assembled parties. Everyone present was in tears, their eyes locked on the lovers’ duet they were witnessing.

“Can you take me high enough/It’s never over/Whoa oh oh oh …”

Greg, wiping tears away, smiled at his son and gracefully backed away, bringing his guitar silent once more. Pearl took her cue from Greg and silenced her bass, though she did not automatically return it to her gem as she might have normally.

“Can you take me high enough/Can you fly me over yesterday?”

Everyone was now completely focused on Steven and Connie. They were close to each other, facing each other once again, closing the miniscule gap between them quickly as the song began winding down, the only instruments now present being Steven’s guitar and Connie’s violin.

“Can you take me high enough/It’s never over/Whoa oh oh ohhhh …”

Steven too, finally, dropped out, his guitar’s strings ringing with their last note. All that was left in the crisp sea air was the sound of Connie’s violin, concluding the song with her own soft, sweet style. Both hers and Steven’s cheeks shone with their happy tears, as the two longtime jam buds touched their foreheads together.

At this point, Garnet chose to break her own silence. Tears streamed from all three of her eyes, even as a wide smile decorated the rest of her face. “I think that will do.” She placed her hands on Steven and Connie’s shoulders, continuing quietly. “By the power vested in me by the state of Delmarva, I now pronounce you husband and wife, partners for life.” Her eyes got intense as she looked between the two young newlyweds. “Remember you two, your love is always the true experience.” Her smile turned into a grin. “You may kiss.”

They looked breathlessly at each other, still rocking the performer’s high. Instruments were cast aside as they clutched to each other and kissed, the energy built up from the song spilling out into their lips. After what felt like a pleasurable eternity, they disengaged, smoldering emotions making them both weep.

“I love you,” Connie breathlessly whispered.

“I love you too,” Steven’s voice barely squeaked back.

Garnet wiped the tears from all of her eyes, turning her attention to the witnesses. “Ladies, gentlemen, gems of Little Homeworld, please allow me to introduce to you, Mr. and Mrs. Steven and Connie Maheswaran-Universe!”

The energy of the song was built up in the crowd as well, as they erupted in joyous cheering for the happy couple, a sound that belonged more in a mosh pit than a chapel setting. After exuberant hugging from their families, Steven and Connie raced back up the aisle, to begin their new life.

Okay, please be brutal in your feedback. This is literally my first real attempt at fanfiction in nearly 20 years, so I can take the criticism.

#steven universe future #connverse #steven x connie #wedding rock #yeah I actually wrote this thing

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unofficialkfamtranscripts · 5 years ago

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King Falls AM - Episode Four: Wolves Gone Wild

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Summary: June 15, 2015 - With Sammy & Ben in contention over a forced apology regarding the Bass Tournament, a full moon causes all hell to break loose on the outskirts of King Falls.

[Podcast intro music]

[KFAM rock intro music]

Ben Top of the hour here on King Falls AM, that’s 660 on the AM dial. And we’re live here on this crisp, King Falls evening. It’s a full moon, and you know what that means, so be careful out there. It’s four AM, on the dot, and as per instructed by Merv, the station manager, who we will be—

Sammy [agitated] You’re really gonna play that.

Ben [sarcastically] Oh look who’s talking again, everybody! Sammy Stevens, ladies and gents.

Sammy Very funny, Ben. You know, we’ve played this apology enough. let’s just get back on track, how ‘bout it?

Ben Gotta do it.

[radio static as recording begins]

Sammy Hello, this is Sammy Stevens and I’m sitting here with Ben Arnold, your co-host of King Falls AM.

[record scratch]

Sammy No! We aren’t doing this, Ben.

Ben Sammy! I’m gonna have to file a report if we don’t play this apology at the top of every hour.

Sammy Write it up!

Ben I don’t want to!

Sammy Then don’t.

Ben Sammy— can we talk about this? Folks, uh, we’re just gonna take a quick break for—

Sammy No break, no apology, you wanna play that tape?

Ben No, but we have to!

Sammy Fine. You know what? We’ll do this one live, kids, and *angry laugh/huff* boy are you in for a treat.

Ben I don’t know, I—

Sammy [mildly outraged] So there’s a note, on the board, when we came in. We’re to record an apology to you, the dear listeners and residents of King Falls—

Ben Merv simply asked that we apologize for… creating a controversy at the 55th annual—

Sammy We talk about the news here. Relevant subjects that affect this town. What we don’t do- *angry laughing* What we would never do, is apologize for trying to cover a breaking news story! A dead body at a public event that King Falls AM is covering is News.

Ben Maybe Mayor Grisham went a little overboard kicking us out- I’m not saying he didn’t, but—

Sammy [outrage continues] If I owned this station! If I owned the station? I’d go after him. I mean, why isn’t Merv mad at Grisham. Why is this on us? [softer] Have you even met Merv, Ben?

Ben Yes— I mean… not in person, but— Look, we have a show to keep on track: in a few minutes we’ll be speaking with both of the winners of the 55th annual Bass Tournament—

Sammy How ‘bout this. How ‘bout we open up the phone lines and talk about how the good Mayor Grisham is strongarming the media—

[static]

Announcer This Sunday evening, at 7PM, we say goodbye to longtime host of King Falls Sewing Corner, Esther Rollens, the way she would’ve wanted us to.

Esther [old, wavering voice] Talkin’ about life, talkin’ about love, and crochetin’ a mean doily while we’re at it!

Announcer While we will all miss Esther’s sweet stitchery tips and needlepoint mastery, we’ll miss Esther even more.

Esther We’ll darn your socks, and maybe even darn your men to heck, while we’re at it.

Announcer We’ll reminisce and play clips from Sewing Corner’s illustrious twenty-four year run. As well as a live music tribute from Esther’s favourite band.

[heavy metal music] ♪WAKE UP. YOU’LL SEE.♪

Esther Ohh, I just love these boys! All possible states. [heavy metal music fades out] Always remember: bad times never last. But badasses certainly do! We’ll see you soon, King Falls!

Announcer Hopefully not too soon, Esther. 7PM, this Sunday. Help us say goodbye to King Falls’ most bitchin’ granny.

[heavy metal music resumes] ♪*SCREAMING* I WILL NEVER REESST. UNTIL I WALK IN THE SUNSET. BURN ME UP IN FLAAMES.♪

[heavy metal fades out]

Ben I didn’t cut you off, Sammy!

Sammy Real mature, Ben.

Ben You were looking right at me, I didn’t even touch the board! And you know Esther Rollens was slated for 4:32 AM! I’d never.

Sammy [sarcastically] Oh, oh, okay, it must’ve been General Abilene, right?

Ben You know he’s in Sweetzer Fore- Sheesh. Can’t you just take some calls? You’re killing me. Line 6!

Cecil Sheffield [Cecil’s voice is old and slurred] Benjamin Arnold! Mr. Sheffield here! Why’re you on- the radio?

Ben [muttered] Crap. Bass Tournament winners were scheduled for two minutes ago. I-I’m gonna call the other—

Sammy Oh! So we can talk about the tournament, we just can’t talk about the dead body.

Ben Sammy.

Sammy Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Mr. Cecil Sheffield to the show, uh, co-winner of the 55th annual King Falls Bass Tourney.

Ben It’s great to have you. Mr. Sheffield.

Cecil It’ss good to be taalkin’ to you fellas too! Benn, how’re yer grades holdin’ up this year?

Ben Uhh, I- *confused laugh* I- I graduated uh- already. Sev-several years ago—

Cecil No more late papers thiss semester, Mr. Arrnold.

Sammy Yeah, Ben! No more late papers!

Ben *deep breath* For those of you who don’t know: Mr. Sheffield was my history teacher at King Falls High School. [embarrassed and tense] Shouldn’t he be retired by now?

Cecil [singing] ♫Riiiiiising miidst the goooolden orrrange, graaandly iiin tooo th— bluuuee, reeeeeaches our dear aaaaalma maater—♫

Sammy *clapping sarcastically* There ya have it folks! Mr. Cecil Sheffield, winner of this year’s King Falls Idol.

Cecil Go Faaallls! I rreally lovve talkin’ t’ you guuys.

Ben [awkwardly] And we… love talking to you.

Sammy How ‘bout we talk about the big win at the tournament, huh? You split the grand prize, $500 and a bass boat, is that correct?

Cecil Ohh it was awwesome. Staandin’ up there at the podium with ma’ good friend Herrschel! I’m happy t’ shaare the prriize wi’ such a great man! I haven’ gotten a channce to uuse the new booat- uhh… yet—

Ben Aaand, we’ve got Herschel Baumgartner!

Sammy Sorry to cut you off, Cecil. Herschel, you’re live on King Fal-

Herschel [angry as always] You usurpin’, unsportsmanlike, son of a b[bleep]h filth! I know all you were colludin’ against me this year. It’s a conspiracy!

Sammy I’m sorry, what now, Mr. Baumgartner?

Herschel You know exactly what I’m talkin’ about, Big City.

Ben We actually don’t, Mr. Baumgartner.

Herschel Don’t mouth off to me, you conspirin’ little bag of d[bleep]ks!

Sammy Hey! Hey, hey, Herschel! No one is conspiring against anybody here! You should be happy right now, this is what, your fourth time winning the tournament? Granted, let’s be honest, a cadaver should probably give this one an asterisk.

Ben [eagerly] 1989,1992, and now back-to-back titles in 2014 and 2015. You’re the first ever to have four titles!

Herschel [hesitantly] W-wellll, when you put it like that, I guess. I never thought o’ it that way. I was just so red-faced about someone pokin’ a hole in the bottom of my boat right after I caught my last fish. Old Cecil wouldn’t’ve come close if some boobstain hadn’t’a messed with my damn boat!

Ben Kingsie got ya!

Herschel [mocking] It wasn’t Kingsie; that serpenty little b[bleep]h!

Cecil Iss that Herrschel? Hooww ya doin’ buddy? I’miss ya. Why dontcha answer when I calll?

Herschel [back to angry] Cecil! You cheatin’ dog pecker! I’d know-what-it was you who sunk my battleship! You couldn’t stand to have me win all by myself this year you limp-d[bleep]ked drunkard!

Ben Ooh-[worried]Haah! We’re gonna have to ask you. to watch your language. Mr. Baumgartner.

Herschel Now you listen here, you motherf[bleep]—

[dial tone]

Sammy Hello?

Ben Sorry Sammy. Merv’s already not happy, let’s not have the FCC[1]join him?

Sammy You know, you’re gettin’ real good with that dump button trigger finger tonight, Ben.

Ben I told you I didn’t dump you! Herschel, yes, but not you.

Sammy Y- *huff/laugh* You were so right about this full moon tonight, Ben.

Ben [mumbled] This is a nightmare.

Sammy [seriously] Hey. I’m sorry. Okay? I shouldn’t have gotten so fired up.

Ben You and Herschel both- You know how hard I work on this schedule? Don’t… puppy dog eye me, Sammy.

Sammy Hey, I’m just tryin’ to ice this apology cake, buddy.

Ben … 6:20, you buy me a stack of pancakes, at Rose’s Diner, and… we’ll call it even.

Sammy Sounds like a plan. So you’ve heard our story King Falls, now let’s hear—

Ben Good grief, we’ve got line 2, he’s in a panic.

Sammy Aren’t we all? You’re on the air with Sammy and Ben, what can we—

Line 2 [overly dramatic] No time for pleasantries- I need the law!

[small dogs barking in bg throughout call]

Ben Sir, uh, 911 is probably your best bet.

Sammy Or maybe tweet Troy and hashtag “KingFalls911” [half-muttered] I dunno.

Line 2 You silly Sallys. I’ve already called, the deputy is on the way. But I’m havin’ a terrible night, and I don’t appreciate the two of you makin’ it worse!

Ben Wait, is this- Archie Simmons?

Archie [sing-song] The one and onlyy.

Ben Is there something wrong out at the Pomchi Palace?

Sammy Pomchi? What the hell is a “pomchi”?

Archie Oh my gawd, read a book Sammy.

Ben It’s a dog— breed, half pomeranian, half chihuahua.

Sammy Oh! So Archie’s a professional dog breeder.

Archie Best bitches in the tri-state area!

Ben [flatly] That’s their motto.

Archie [softly aside, cooing] That’s a good baby, Daddy loves you! What’s that? That angry, mean werewolf violated you? Don’t you worry, Daddy will make. him. pay.

Sammy Did he just say “werewolf?”

Archie You betchyer bottom dollar I did!

Sammy Ben, I- I can’t.

Ben T-tell us what’s going on, Archie.

Archie Well, I live offa Route-72, damn near out of town. It’s usually nice and quiet [muttering](except for those damn trashy rednecks in their trailer park every damn Saturday night!)

Ben Buuut, tonight, it’s not nice and quiet?

Archie Hell no! I woke up to the most godawful squawlin’. I mean it sounded like a freight train hit a barrel a’ screamin’ billygoats. Half a step below a damn eight f[bleep] bottle rocket.

Ben That is vivid!

Sammy [being a smart-aleck] Dare I say, was it a half-man, half-wolf?

Ben [unimpressed] Good job, Sammy.

Sammy [quietly] Please don’t encourage this.

Archie It was so terrible a noise, I thought I might’a dreamed it. But then I heard it again!

Sammy Go on.

Archie So I threw on my slippers, and I went runnin’ towards the back of the house— an’ I’m scared, because I just paid— well, I paid a bundle for a couple’a these new pomchi bitches? So I’m worried that maybe Rufus (that’s my labradoodle)—

Sammy Labradoodl—?

Ben [quickly] Labrador-poodle mix.

Archie Damnit, Google it fellas and keep up. I’m worried that Rufus is maybe snuck in the backyard and roughed up the new pomchis? So I rushed toward the back and Rufus is in the Florida Room— just a-growlin’ mind you— so it wasn’t him. So I burst open the back door, and what do I see??

Ben What-ahh… wh-wh-what did you see?

Archie [increasingly distressed I see a half-man, half-dog, bent over hunchin’ the hell out of my twenty-four-hundred-dollar Princess Von Barktooth!

Ben Not Princess Von Barktooth!

Sammy Okay, so you run outside in your slippers, and you see some skeezy pervert, and he’s got your dog—

Archie In the biblical sense! But the maaan was A. Werewolf.

Sammy Are we really talkin’ about wolf-man werewolves, here? *laughs* I’m sorry Ben—

Archie You shouldn’ be sorryin’ to Beeen! He’s not the one who’s been sodomized by a damn man-wolf! And now I gotta stay up all night watchin’ the princess and dealin’ with the law! Lord knows I’m worried that this leads to long term emotional distress, or, worse. [distraught] An’ we can just throw out winnin’ the Westminster trophy!![2] That was not in our five year plAN!!!

Ben I have to. What- Was the five year plan?

Archie [soft and rushed] Princess Von Barktooth was supposed to fall in love with another purebred pomchi, who sweeps her off her feet, holds open all the doggy doors for her, shares all his treats. *giggles* [to the dog] Isn’t that right lil princess?

Sammy [derisively] This is just silly. I mean it was obviously just a creep with serious issues, not a mythical—

Archie Are you callin’ me a liar? I saw that abomination with my own two baby blues.

Ben S-Sammy likes to look at these paranormal events from all angles, Archie.

Archie Well the angle that I saw it at was a G-D crime against humanity and dogmanity alike! The beast man looked at me, evil in his eyes, and desire in his heart, tossed my princess like a ragdoll, howled at the moon like the wretched demon that he is and scampered off!!

Ben Ar-Archie have- have you had issues with the werewolves before?

Archie Oh-my-gosh, who hasn’t? Ol’ Dylan hillbilly Baxter used to pepper buckshot those chicken-thievin’ shapeshiftin’ sons-of-bitches!

Sammy Brass tacks[3] here; Is Princess Von Barktooth okay?

Archie Needless to saayy, we are more than a bit shaken by this turn of events.

Sammy Have you looked into silver bullets? eBay? Amazon Prime?

Archie You come out here the next full moon you sassy Sally and I’ll show you more werewolves than you can shake a d[bleep]k at… Aw, I just heard Deputy Troy pull up, I gotta go, boys. [click]

[dial tone]

Ben Th-thanks for letting all of us know that there’s been some activity on the wolf front, Archie.

Sam This is just too much. Look, stay safe, Archie, listening public. I’m not saying that there’s werewolves on the loose—

Ben There are.

Sammy *laugh/huff* Ben. Everyone stay safe. There’s definitely something in the air tonight.

Ben Oh no. Sammy *heavy breath* Can you take Line One?

Sammy Do I even want to ask?

Finn [panicked] Sammy?! Ben?! It’s bad! It’s real bad, y’ know?!

Sammy Are you alright, Finn?

Finn [still strained and panicked] I-I didn’t.. even see him comin’! Musta run head-long through the truck on my blind side!

Sammy Who did? What’s going on?

Ben Finn hit a dog, off Route 72.

Sammy You’re f[bleep]king kidding.

Finn [distraught, almost crying] This poor little guy! I feel so bad, y’know? [less scared, more nervous] Actually. He’s not that little.

Ben Finn, are you still in your truck?

Finn Oh yeah, but I stopped it when I hit the fella… I’ma shakin’ somethin’ awful here.

Sammy [“not” worried] I think you should start the truck up, and just keep on movin’.

Finn … I think he’s still alive! I’m goin’ out to do the right thing an’ check this out, Sammy.

Ben Sammy’s right. Keep—

Finn I’m outside the truck! Headin’ back towards the pooch!

Sammy Get back in the truck, Finn! [quietly aside] Uh, you know, because it could be a- a coyote or something, n-not a were- you know.

Finn Oh my. This poor fella don’t look too good. This looks— Whoa now!

Ben Move your maple lovin’ ass, Finn!

Finn It’s two-leg runnin’ at me boys! What the f[bleep]k!

Sammy Finn? Finn?!

[sounds of a struggle, garbled words, then howling]

[KFAM outro]

[CREDITS]

References

[1] FCC - The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States.

[2] Westminster trophy - The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show is an all-breed conformation show that has been hosted in New York City annually since 1877.

[3] Brass tacks - n. details of immediate practical importance —usually used in the phrase “get down to brass tacks”

#king falls am #king falls #kfam #sammy stevens #ben arnold #kfam transcripts #kfam ep4 #cecil sheffield #archie simmons #finn the truck driver #herschel baumgartner

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kimabutch · 6 years ago

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JLCR: kimabutch edition

To celebrate somehow reaching 1000 songs on Jam Like Critical Role, the giant fan-created playlist that I’ve been curating since February, I’ve decided to put together a mini-playlist of own, featuring two of my favourite songs for each member of Vox Machina and The Mighty Nein! Each song has a YouTube link, but you can find the whole mini-playlist on Spotify here.

By mini-playlist I meant that there are “only” 36 songs, and also that I’ve pulled out my favourite lines and explained why I associate the song with them, so that this whole thing is approximately 5400 words long. I tried to restrain myself, but, well, Jam Like Critical Role is a testament to my lack of self-restraint. If it helps, I’ve tried to incorporate a diversity of artists, eras, and genres, from folk-punk to techno, country, dream-pop, classical, and beyond. I hope you find something you enjoy.

Grog

We’re Going To Be Friends, Jack Johnson (cover of White Stripes), for Grog and Pike’s incredibly wholesome childhood friendship. While many of the lyrics describe friends at school, which is not totally accurate for them, I can just imagine the two weirdos playing among the bugs:

“Walk with me, Suzy Lee/ Through the park and by the tree/ We can rest upon the ground/ And look at all the bugs we’ve found”

Not to mention Pike teaching Grog his ABCs:

“Tonight I’ll dream while in my bed/ While silly thoughts run through my head/ Of the bugs and alphabet”

I just love these two silly monstahs.

Giant, Juno Reactor: to balance out that last song, have some techno that makes me want to yell “Vox Machina, Fuck. Shit. UP!” and split Kevdak in half with a nat 20 from the sky. Appropriately named for our goliath friend, this song always temporarily convinces me that I, too, am a seven foot tall barbarian (which is not recommended while you are trying to do anything that requires brainpower.)

Keyleth

I Lost Myself, Lauren Mann and The Fairly Odd Folk, for Keyleth’s self-doubt about whether she can do her Aramente (or whether she even wants to) and fear that she’s hurting everyone:

“I’ve got voices in my head Making me think that this is where I end Hey, what do you see, if anything What do you see in me”

This specifically reminds me of her Aramente, and how it taught her so much more than she was expecting:

“You and me we made a plan To travel from here to there and back again Somewhere on that weathered road I found the dreams that I’d been looking for”

And “Hey, we’ve got the world to see/ So let’s forget our anxieties and get on our way” makes me think of Keyleth and Percy’s friendship, and how both of their stories are about trying to figure out what to do once you’ve achieved your goals. I want to think that after the story ended, they were still occasionally able to leave behind their responsibilities and travel the world together.

Take Us Back, Alela Diane, for a post-canon Keyleth, reminiscing on the old days and eventually outliving the rest of Vox Machina. I get a strong image of Kiki coming down from Zephra to see her friends:

“Atop the crags and cliffs the air is thin/ So we’ll find a mountain path on down the hill/ Meet me where the snowmelt flows/ It is there, my dear, where we’ll begin again”

And of her listening to Scanlan’s music, centuries later; they’d be the last two alive: “I’ve a friend who lives out by the river’s mouth/ He knows the fiddle’s cry is an old sound”

And then Keyleth, alone, listening to a river’s gurgle or the wind’s howling, and almost thinking she hears her friends: “Muted voices, just beyond/ The silent surface of what has gone.”

Percival

The Devil Spoke Here, Chicken Little, which I think is actually about the aftermath of a protest, but which I feel works eerily well for Percy’s development following the Briarwood arc. The beginning reminds me of his guilt, feelings of brokenness, and anger issues after he’s cast out Orthax — right down to his guilt about guns:

“There’s bullets in the streets/ and broken dishes on the floor/ enough anger in my heart/ to take the blame for it all/ I could take every bullet back/ if I could never feel like that”

It also covers Percy’s realization, after his conversation with the Raven Queen, that he’s free from the judgment of the gods, and acceptance that he’s the one who has bad thoughts for the greater good:

“I have no god for guidance/ still I’m praying all the same/ may everything I do/ be done for everybody’s gain”

And then this, for a reason that I can’t quite explain, feels so much like Percy’s forgiveness of Ripley at Glintshore, and his death at her hand:

“May we always fail/ with the best of intentions/ with our hearts always pure/ and our souls only human”

Wandering Star, Portishead: the weird trip hop vibe to this song somehow feels appropriate to Percy, and in particular to his darkest thoughts. The song addresses the possible punishments for these thoughts: “Wandering stars, for whom it is reserved/ The blackness, the darkness, forever.” It helps that this is an allusion to a Bible passage about atheists.

The second verse makes me think both of Percy’s relationship to the concept of eternity (because of the “needle’s eye” — a parable about the entrance of heaven for the rich) and his raven mask:

“Those who have seen the needle’s eye, now tread Like a husk, from which all that was, now has fled And the masks that the monsters wear To feed, upon their prey”

Additionally, “Doubled up inside/ Take a while to shed my grief” is reminiscent of Percy’s revelation, in the last episode, that he just really fucking misses his family. This whole time, something inside of him has been curled up into a little ball like the teenager he was five years ago, grieving his family.

Pike

Holy, Jamily Woods: a song about self-love and self-assurance, underscored by Christian imagery:

“Though I walk through the darkest valley I will fear no love/ Oh my smile my mind reassure me I don’t need no one […] Woke up this morning with my mind set on loving me”

Many of the lyrics can be interpreted either as the singer being self-sufficient because her god is there — or being sufficient even beyond her god: “I’m not lonely, I’m alone/ And I’m holy by my own.”

I think both interpretations work for Pike: that she has found (or is attempting to find) peace when she’s not with her friends, or that although she worships Sarenrae, the Everlight doesn’t necessarily interfere in her day-to-day life and she makes her own happiness. Either way, the song makes me feel at peace in the same way that Pike does.

The Otherside, Ohbijou, for Pike’s feelings about Scanlan during the year gap. Particularly, I’m reminded of Pike’s attempts to talk to Scanlan on the earring: “With things left unsaid so unsatisfied/ And a burning to hear your voice just one more time.”

And in these lyrics:

“And it’s so silly for me to worry/ About situations that don’t exist/ We create these problems and try to solve them/ Why waste each passing moment?”

I hear Pike trying to figure out her feelings for Scanlan, but shooting herself down because he’s gone, why even try?

Scanlan

The Pilgrim - Chapter 33, Willie Nelson (cover of Kris Kristofferson), which really encapsulates, for me, Scanlan’s complex relationship with religion: the fact that a guy who regularly produces lightning from his dick, messes with people’s memories, and actively attempts to cultivate a drug habit finds himself praying to the Everlight at night and eventually becomes Ioun’s chosen:

“He’s a poet, he’s a picker/ He’s a prophet, he’s a pusher/ He’s a pilgrim and a preacher/ And a problem when he’s stoned”

The lines “He’s a walking contradiction/ Partly truth and partly fiction” reminds me of all the identities he’s taken on, both for fun and to shield his emotions from his friends, whereas “Taking every wrong direction on his lonely way back home” makes me think of Scanlan’s long road back to Vox Machina after leaving them.

Handle With Care, Traveling Wilburys: almost every single song on this album works for Scanlan, so choosing just one was a real challenge. But this song is so good for all the shit that Scanlan’s been through (and all the shit that he’s been), and his relationship with Pike through all of that:

“Been beat up and battered around/ Been sent up, and I’ve been shot down/ You’re the best thing that I’ve ever found/ Handle me with care […]”

“Everybody’s got somebody to lean on” reminds me of Scanlan’s feeling, in episode 85, that he’s the odd one out in Vox Machina.

The last verse encapsulates Scanlan acknowledging his own fuck ups, working to make them right, and eventually, having a healthy relationship with Pike:

“I’ve been uptight and made a mess/ But I’ll clean it up myself, I guess/ Oh, the sweet smell of success”

Taryon

Father and Son, Cat Stevens, for Tary’s relationship with his father and his decision to leave home; the song is a duet of sorts. I think the father’s part of the song is a little generous for Howaardt Darrington, but retains the message of (somewhat condescendingly) trying to keep his son at home and have him reconsider his far-reaching plans: “I know that it’s not easy to be calm/ When you’ve found something going on.”

The son’s part, though, captures Tary’s frustration with his father’s strictness and inability to actually understand his passions:

“How can I try to explain?/ ‘Cause when I do he turns away again/ It’s always been the same, same old story/ From the moment I could talk/ I was ordered to listen/ Now there’s a way and I know/ That I have to go away”

And the last verse is some real closeted gay feelings that always make me tear up:

“All the times that I cried/ Keeping all the things I knew inside/ It’s hard, but it’s harder to ignore it”

What’s It Gonna Be, Shura, not so much for the song’s lyrics, but for its music video, which is all about falling for a different gender than you expected, and which is incredibly sweet and beautiful.

That being said, you could definitely take the lyrics to be about his crush on Percy and his obliviousness about who in Vox Machina is sleeping with whom:

“Do I tell you I love you or not?/ 'Cause I can’t really guess what you want/ If you let me down, let me down slow”

Vax’ildan

Glorious, Muse, for Vax’s early relationship with faith. He can’t help but feel drawn towards Sarenrae’s light, even as he has doubts and perhaps even anger towards the gods:

Faith: It drives me away/ But it turns me on/ Like a stranger’s love It rockets through the universe It fuels the lies and feeds the curse And we, too, could be glorious”

He wants that glory that he sees in Pike, but he doesn’t know how to approach it or reconcile it with his life experiences. And then he finds his whole world shattered as he’s chosen by the Raven Queen, and he once again has to find faith, though in a way that he never expected:

“I need to believe But I still want more With the cuts and the bruises”

Fields of Gold, Sting: a song from Vax to Keyleth. I can imagine them so perfectly in this scene, perhaps during their year of downtime, with the winds of Zephra blowing through the fields and their hope beyond hope that they’ll be able to stay together:

“Will you stay with me? Will you be my love?/ Upon the fields of barley/ We’ll forget the sun in his jealous sky/ As we lie in fields of gold”

“See the west wind move like a lover so/ Upon the fields of barley/ Feel her body rise when you kiss her mouth/ Among the fields of gold”

Years later, Vax knows that Keyleth will see those fields again and think of him: “You’ll remember me when the west wind moves/ Upon the fields of barley.”

Vex’ahlia

Half Jack, The Dresden Dolls: a truly haunting song about the pain and unavoidability of being her father’s daughter — she’s always half Jill (her mother) and half Jack (her father.) The whole song is incredibly painful for Vex, and the lines:

“It might destroy me But I’d sacrifice my body If it meant I’d get the Jack part out”

always makes me think of “If I could pull the blood of you from my veins and give it back, I would.” Also,

“But if you listen/ You’ll learn to hear the difference/ Between the halfs and the half nots”

reminds me of her asking Percy if she looks like she comes from money — or a younger Vex, in Syngorn, gradually realizing why everyone looked down on her and Vax. Lastly, isn’t “I see my mother in my face/ But only when I travel” absolutely heartbreaking for her?

Fall Down or Fly, Lindi Ortega, only partly because Lindi Ortega strongly resembles my headcanon for Vex. The other part is because of my abiding love for how Vex learned to fly, and how that worked with her character arc: from the first time, in the Briarwoods arc, that she discovered her love for flying, to her flaunting convention and stealing the broom, to Percy modifying it for her, to her friends cheering her on with chicken target practice, and finally to her soaring through the skies with confidence. And the song captures that so well for me, as well as her decision to keep going even when her father, Saundor’s words, and her own self-doubt bring her down:

“This is your life/ You can fall down or fly/ You can burn out a shot if you want/ This is your life/ You can live it or die/ You can quit now or try if you want/ But don’t you give up, don’t you give up”

This also reminds me of how much all of Vox Machina adores and supports Vex (and I will join them in crying about how awesome she is):

“You said what is there to lose?/ Do it if you choose/ I got faith in you/ Everything you do/ I know you are gonna make it to the top”

(I also maintain that a modern Vex would be really into country music, particularly the genre of country song in which women tell people to fuck off.)

Vox Machina

Call Them Brothers, Regina Spektor feat. Only Son, for Scanlan’s departure from Vox Machina and the whole team’s attempts to deal with it. I first heard this song in an absolutely heartbreaking TAZ animatic, and my pain increased exponentially when I realized how much it also worked for Critical Role. It’s perfect, in my opinion, for the sense that their family, which has seen them through so much, is irreparably broken — “That’s it, it’s split, it won’t recover/ Just frame the halves and call them brothers.”

But then you also get “Over and over, they call us their friends/ Can’t we find something else to pretend?” for Scanlan’s insistence that Vox Machina doesn’t really care about him, and “Find your fathers and your mothers/ If you remember who they are” for “what’s my mother’s name?”

Maybe this should go on Scanlan’s playlist, but I think “The hunt is on, everyone’s chasing a shot” also works for the way that the rest of Vox Machina independently searched for Scanlan during their year of downtime… and the feelings of defeat in the song just feel appropriate to the whole group.

(I actually have a playlist full of songs for episode 85, because I enjoy making myself sad; it took a lot of effort not to put them all here.)

Freaks, The Hawk in Paris: I can never decide whether this is a Mighty Nein or Vox Machina song, but I’m putting it here mostly because “If you come along with us, the doors are never ending” is absolutely hilarious in for Vox Machina’s single greatest enemy.

That, and there are a lot of lines that work for individual members of the group: “We have a flair for the shade and the inbetween” (Vax); “We like to run with the wolves from the darker scene” (Keyleth); “When we turn the safety off, the shots are automatic” (Percy); “All our friends tell their friends we’re so dramatic” (Scanlan); and “We’ll make you swoon, make it hurt just a little” (Vex).

Additionally, “We have a plan, we’ve got the means for your liberation/ You’ll only have to blur the lines on a few occasions” makes me think of the Briarwood arc, and I makes me think of Percy dramatically revealing his identity to the priest — and cut to Grog pulling out a guy’s tongue.

Anyways, if I learn to make AMVs by the time that the animated series is released, this will be the first that I’ll make.

Beauregard

Saint Simon, The Shins, for Beau’s escape from the Cobalt Soul. The song expresses frustration at weighty intellectualism and how much it doesn’t teach you — which i think is something Beau felt strongly with her monk teachers:

“After all these implements and texts designed by intellects/ So vexed to find, evidently there’s still so much that hides […] Since I don’t have time nor mind to figure out the nursery rhymes/ That helped us out in making sense of our lives”

So she tries not to care about anything because it’s safer that way (“The cruel, uneventful state of apathy releases me”), and she runs away:

“I’ll try hard not to give in, batten down to fare the wind/ Rid my head of this pretence, allow myself no mock defence/ Step into the night”

I think the last part of the song could also work for her meeting the Mighty Nein and starts understanding friendship and love: “Mercy’s eyes are blue when she places them in front of you/ Nothing really holds a candle to the solemn warmth you feel inside you.”

Jonas and Ezekiel, Indigo Girls, because what kind of lesbian would I be if I didn’t put at least one gay-written song on Beau’s playlist? This one is about road trips, wandering, and looking for a purpose:

“I left my anger in a river running Highway 5 New Hampshire, Vermont, bordered by College farms, hubcaps, and falling rocks Voices in the woods and the mountaintops”

But also contains one verse that I think fits her strict family, her new family in the Mighty Nein, and the “devils” — or tieflings — of which her family would certainly not approve:

“Now when I was young my people taught me well/ Give back what you take or you’ll go to hell/ It’s not the devil’s land, you know it’s not that kind/ Every devil I meet becomes a friend of mine/ Every devil I meet is an angel in disguise”

And something about this reminds me of her journey into Xhorhas and attempts to uncover conspiracies and work out the truth: “In the war over land where the world began/ Prophecies say it’s where the world will end.”

Caduceus

Born at the Right Time, Paul Simon, for Caduceus’s belief in destiny and his place therein. The chorus describes his occasional naïveté, and the happiness of his life in the Blooming Grove, with his family:

“Never been lonely Never been lied to Never had to scuffle in fear Nothing denied to”

And then gets into his conviction that his goddess and the world itself put him where he is:

“Born at the instant/ The church bells chime/ And the whole world whispering/ Born at the right time”

The very chill vibe of the song is also very Clay, to me.

Happy All the Time, Danny Schmidt: the singer himself has said that he doesn’t know whether or not this song is ironic and/or melancholic, so I’m going to go with a sincere and cheerful interpretation for Caduceus, with maybe a hint of nostalgia for more peaceful days among his family. It’s got some incredibly lush and occasionally strange nature imagery that I think is perfect for him:

“I took the time to breathe cause I was happy all the time/ Among the rootbuds and the weeds cause I was happy all the time/ But the peat moss and the leaves took turns with both my feet/ Until my toes took root and I was happy, I was happy all the time”

I think Caduceus is still happy, but he was definitely at peace as a hermit.

Caleb

I Miss That Feeling, Tennis: a song about panic attacks and how the physical effects, when described, almost seem like falling in love. It works not only for Caleb’s panic attacks, but also, relatedly, his relationship with fire, which scares him, even as he likes the way it feels — “Something like pleasure, you’d never believe it.”

The fiery way that the singer describes panic attacks is also very Caleb:

“I miss that feeling/ Flicker hot and hovering/ Like my own discovering/ Eagerly, tenderly/ I miss that feeling/ Flicker spread into an itch/ Into a burn, into a twitch/ Slow and even”

It brings me back to the first time we saw it, in the gnoll mines. Also, “Every little thing starts trembling/ Recorded by the needle of an EKG” feels very reminiscent of his hospitalization, though from a modern perspective.

Putting the Dog to Sleep, The Antlers, for Caleb’s very tentative trust in the Mighty Nein, and in particular his friendship with Beau. I think this song really encapsulates Caleb’s pain and skittishness, especially near the beginning of their campaign, as well as his desperation (unknown even to himself) to love again:

“Well, prove to me I’m not gonna die alone/ Unstitch that shit I’ve sewn/ To close up the hole that tore through my skin/ Well my trust in you is a dog with a broken leg/ Tendons too torn to beg for you to let me back in”

And this feels like something that Beau would say to Caleb — upfront and caring all at the same time, reminding him that his actions affect everyone else and asking him not to run:

“You said, ‘I can’t prove to you you’re not gonna die alone/ But trust me to take you home/ To clean up that blood all over your paws/ You can’t keep running out […] Kicking yourself in the head/ Because you’re kicking me too.’”

By the end of the song, Caleb is starting to believe her, and even asking her to trust him: “Put your trust in me/ I’m not gonna die alone… I don’t think so…”

Fjord

Release the Kraken, The Daysleepers: I added this to Fjord’s playlist back when everyone was speculating that his patron was something kraken-like, and even now that this is clearly not the case, I think it still works for Uk’otoa (Uk’otoa) and his attempts at freedom: “It pulled the ships down/ It’s rising from the deep below.”

But also for Fjord’s relationship with Avantika — for his attempts to get close to her in order to save himself and his friends:

“Turn the lights down Careful as a serpent’s tongue Move without a sound Gentle as the cold wind moans”

I think “When you sold love/ Your heart becomes a monster” is some of what Fjord felt after those encounters: like he gave part of himself away.

21st Century Child, Daggy Man, for Fjord’s self-hatred and the masks he puts on. Many of the lyrics could fit several characters (particularly Beau, Caleb, and Scanlan), but

“I hate the sound of myself/ When I’m being honest/ Sounds like somebody else/ And I don’t wanna listen/ To the whinings of a 21st century child”

just perfectly captures his feelings about his voice and his past self — weak and whiny, and not who he wants to be. And then we get these lines, which feel like a good summary of his issues with identity and deception:

“And I’ve struggled with how/ Others perceive me/ And I can’t tell if I’m better/ Or just better at deceiving And I’ll keep going until I’m called out”

Jester

The Sweetest Sounds, Ella Fitzgerald (cover of Richard Rodgers), for pre-stream Jester barely waiting for her exciting life to begin. I first heard this song in Rodger & Hammerstein’s Cinderella, and while there is something fairy-tale-like about Jester, I think this upbeat, jazzy cover fits her well:

“The most entrancing sight of all Is yet for me to see And the dearest love in all the world Is waiting somewhere for me”

I can just imagine a 10-year-old Jester listening to the band at the Lavish Chateau play this song, dressing up in Marion’s clothes, and pretending she’s in a storybook romance.

One Hand in my Pocket, Alanis Morissette, which really captures her beautiful complexity:

“I’m free, but I’m focused/ I’m green, but I’m wise/ I’m hard, but I’m friendly/ I’m sad, but I’m laughing”

because Jester is so many things all at once, and none of them negate each other. It’s so hopeful (“What it all comes down to/ Is that everything’s gonna be quite alright”) and comforting (“What it all boils down to/ Is that no one’s really got it figured out just yet”) in a way that really reminds me of my favourite blue cleric.

The whole song has such a fun, free, summer vibe that always makes me smile — just like Jester.

Mollymauk

Carnival Overture, Antonín Dvořák (Leonard Bernstein & New York Philharmonic Orchestra): one of my favourite pieces of classical music ever — when I hear it, an entire music video about a carnival plays in my head. The exuberant theme that bowls you over from the start reminds me of Molly’s effervescent, ostentatious personality.

The slower and quieter part in the middle with the violin and woodwind solos gives me a picture of Molly and Yasha sitting alone in the evenings just outside the carnival encampment, cuddled together — Yasha talking about her wife, Molly telling jokes, and the both of them making up names for constellations and flowers. Then the quick-paced minor section makes me think of the bloodhunter tiefling in combat, deadly with his swords and vicious mockery — before the return to the joyful, triumphant original theme.

Wonderful Everyday, Chance the Rapper & The Social Experiment**: this is sort of a cover of the Arthur theme song, but in the absolute best way possible. The meandering, loose, and extraordinarily happy vocals always remind me of Molly’s way of living.

Although some of the lyrics are more optimistic than Molly (I think he’d laugh at “Everybody that you meet/ Has an original point of view” and say that their points of view are usually bullshit), the message of appreciating every single day is just wonderful for him.

And the last bit hits me like a ton of bricks:

“And when I go down/ I'ma go down swinging/ My eyes still smiling/ And my heart still singing”

“Eyes never shut,” indeed.

**not on Spotify, sorry!

Nott

The Sore Feet Song, Ally Kerr: at first it appears to be a simple song about traveling long distances to find your love, which certainly describes Nott’s search for Yeza: “I walked ten thousand miles, ten thousand miles to see you/ And every gasp of breath I grabbed at just to find you.”

But the second verse is where it really gets into Nott’s thieving, rat-eating, badass ways:

“I stole ten thousand pounds, ten thousand pounds to see you I robbed convenient stores cause I thought they’d make it easier I lived off rats and toads, and I starved for you I fought off giants bears and I killed them too”

I love this strange little goblin.

Fox in the Snow, Belle & Sebastian: this song has always been a bit of a mystery to me, but the lyrics remind me of Nott’s intense vulnerability after she was transformed into a goblin — and in particular her self-image as something animalistic:

“Fox in the snow, where do you go/ To find something you could eat?/ Because the word out on the street is you are starving/ Don’t let yourself grow hungry now/ Don’t let yourself grow cold”

The second verse, which switches to describing a human girl, reminds me of pre-transformation Veth, more acceptable in body but no less socially ostracized than Nott:

“Girl in the snow, where do you go/ To find someone that will do?/ To tell someone all the truth before it kills you/ Listen to your crazy laugh/ Before you hang a right/ And disappear from sight/ What do they know anyway?”

I can just see that exact scene play out with a young Veth, right down to the “crazy laugh.” I’m glad she found Yeza, but she must still have been pretty lonely without any other friends.

Yasha

Into the Barrens, Grizfolk, for Yasha’s years of blank wandering after Zuala’s death. This song fits Yasha so well that for months, I somehow tricked myself into believing that Ashley had put it on her playlist. But I feel like this encapsulates her hopeless feelings, away from all society, not living for anything or anyone:

“Cast me away, my shadow’s cold/ Into the barrens where I will grow old/ Well, I’m not looking for answers/ And I’m not looking for gold”

And I can see this verse for the beginning of her relationship with the Stormlord, following voices she can’t understand as she wanders, barely alive:

“The voices in my head/ They echo in the wind and I begin to sway/ I follow what they say/ I can’t see their eyes, but I hear howling through the haze”

Dreams, Fleetwood Mac: technically a break-up song, but I can’t help but think of Yasha’s ever-present guilt and her memories of Zuala when I hear:

“Listen carefully to the sound of your loneliness/ Like a heartbeat drives you mad/ In the stillness of remembering what you had/ And what you lost”

The storm imagery also works for Yasha — “When the rain washes you clean, you’ll know” makes me think of her fight with the Stormlord on the boat, which allowed her to open up to her friends. And it touches on Yasha’s opaque dreams (“Now here I go again, I see the crystal visions/ I keep my visions to myself”).

(Ally and Stevie also have a lesbian mash-up of Dreams and Rhiannon, two of the gayest Fleetwood Mac songs, that I associate strongly with Beauyasha.)

Mighty Nein

Old Black Train, The Blasting Company (from Over the Garden Wall): trains don’t exist in Exandria (yet! — Percy or Taryon should get on that) but this is more of a metaphor for life. It reminds me of the Mighty Nein setting out from Alfield, not knowing the twists and turns they were going to face, the places they’d go, nor the family they’d become:

“This journey is a long one/ It will take you all around/ Life rushing by your window/ Before it lays you down”

Then there’s this verse:

“Oh come on now young stranger/ Weren’t you someone’s son? How’d you find this depot 'Cause it ain’t where you belong”

which feels very appropriate for many members of the Mighty Nein, separated as they are from their families and wandering in lands that aren’t welcoming to them. There’s also a verse that’s reminiscent of the graveyard they passed on the way to Zadash, which more and more feels like a portent of things to come:

“You will pass a graveyard/ Stones worn by the years/ The train’ll stop a minute but don’t let it leave you here”

Sailing, Leisure Cruise: another song about transportation, although this one is a little less metaphorical. As you can probably guess, I associate it with their adventures on the Mystake and the Ball Eater, which begun by total accident but which, in my opinion, was a turning point for the group, and ultimately helped them grow closer together:

“And to our surprise we’re sailing The high seas in the middle of the ocean […] We’re sailing the wildest mystery And to our surprise we’re happy and free”

Okay, so maybe “happy and free” is a bit of an exaggeration for that arc (particularly for poor Nott) but I think there were a lot of moments in which the Mighty Nein learned unexpected lessons about themselves.

And I think this is a good summary of the Mighty Nein’s modus operandi: seize every passing opportunity, because you don’t know what tomorrow will bring:

“Maybe it’s today Maybe it’s tomorrow But we have to make a play Or the chance will fade away”

And that’s a wrap! Thanks for listening and reading. Love you all <3

#critical role #Cr music #my stuff

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mimik-u · 6 years ago

Text

Flower Child, Chapter 10, “Steven”

A/N:

Hi, friends.

I'm incredibly sorry about this long hiatus. Inspiration just... flagged, and it was hard for me to pick this fic back up after days and days of, well, not picking it up.

That being said, I still appreciate every kind word and every Kudos on this fic... and I promise, come hell or high water, I will finish "Flower Child" one day. <3

AO3

—

It was the heat, he tried to tell Pearl as she frantically worked to revive him on the wooden floor, but the words were jumbled on his tongue, stew. Steven could barely keep his eyes open, could only dimly make out her face in the darkness—pale, dripping with her tears, terrified.

“Steven!” she cried, her spidery fingers crawling across his face, his neck, his chest. The sensation was vaguely unpleasant. “Steven!”

It was the heat, Amethyst! I’m fine! I’m fine! Please don’t cry. But the gurgling and the bile percolating like acid in the back of his throat would not assume the form of these words. When he turned his head to the side, he could just make out her bare feet stumbling over one another, her apologies coming in hiccups.

“I-I’m sorry, Steven! I’m sorry! I-I just opened the window so he could hear, and—”

Pearl’s hands suddenly stopped on his chest, her sharp features turning to stone.

“You what now?”

“I-I opened the window, Pearl! He wanted to know what was going on. He had the right to know!”

“It wasn’t your right to make that call,” she snarled, her fingers twisting tightly into his shirt. “Now look at him! He’s—”

I’m fine! As he tried to speak, bile trickled out of the side of his mouth in a thin line. With a tenderness that did not befit the scary expression on her face, Pearl lifted his head gently, so he cough the phlegm out. His face was streaked with it. He was limp in her arms, a rag doll.

“Get it all out,” she whispered, her thumb brushing his burning cheek. “Shh, shh”—for he tried to talk again—“I’m here.”

“Hello, 911?! Yes, yes, this is Greg Universe. My son’s in renal failure, and he just suddenly collapsed, a-and we need to get an ambulance out here immediately…”

“Amethyst, make yourself useful and go get our overnight bags. We won’t all be able to fit in the ambulance.”

It’s not her fault, Pearl—please.

“Yes, we live at…”

“Garnet, can you call Dr. Maheswaran? She’ll… she’ll want to meet us up there.”

“Pearl,” Steven moaned, grasping feebly at her silky pajama shirt. Darkness was closing in on him quickly now, weighing down his chest, his legs, his arms. He clung tight to what he had. His hands looked as distant to him as the stars. The bruises on his arms were little blue nebulas, burning and blurring in equal turns.

Pearl’s head snapped down in an instant.

Her touch was soft, gentle, warm—and he was so cold, freezing.

When did it get so cold in here?

“I… I…”

She tried to shush him again.

“Shh, save your strength—an ambulance is on the way.”

But he wouldn’t be deterred.

His grip loosened, but his words did, too, all of his consonants and vowels slurred with sickness as they tumbled out of his mouth.

“I don’t wanna go to the hospital.”

All those needles and machines.

Poking and prodding and taking something out of him.

At that very moment, he couldn’t quite recall what they did for him.

Pearl’s breath hitched in her throat, but she never stopped dragging her thumb across the side of his face. She was insistent in her touch, almost feverish, perhaps trying to assure herself of his pulse.

“I know you don’t. I know,” she choked out, “but you have to, Steven. It’s the only way.”

He’s heard this one before—time and time again.

Maybe he even believed it to be true.

Laying in Pearl's arms, he couldn't remember if he did.

“I’m so tired,” he whispered.

It was a child’s prayer.

It was an admission.

Pearl’s eyes were wide, pale moons above him, leaking.

“I know, but you have to stay awake, please—at least until the ambulance gets here, okay?”

He swallowed thickly.

He could give her that at least.

“O-okay.”

But as much as he would have liked to stay, Steven fell away from consciousness in the way that stars fell away from the sky.

Like confetti, drifting.

—

If Steven dreamed of anything as he was being transported to the hospital, he dreamed of darkness.

He dreamed that he closed his eyes and never opened them again, his world full of blackness, devoid of any light. He dreamed that he was at his own funeral, and Pearl’s long fingers shook on top of his still chest as she attempted to straighten his little bow tie. Amethyst was crying, and Garnet was crying, and Dad was, too, his red face hidden beneath his big, calloused hands as he sobbed. He dreamed that Lapis buried her nose into Peridot’s neck and that Dr. Maheswaran gripped Connie’s shoulders as Connie gripped her thick copy of My Unfamiliar Familiar. Her little straw wrapper bookmark poked out between the pages he would never get to hear now.

They’d stopped on a cliffhanger.

Her eyes soft, her smile bright, she had promised to read him more.

He dreamed that Blue Diamond sat in the front row, her silvery hair falling across her shoulder in a thick plait.

She was wearing that silky bathrobe of hers.

She twirled a pink hibiscus flower between her fingers as a lone tear slipped down her face and collected on her pointed chin.

Steven dreamed that he was dead...

... and then he woke up.

It was dark when he opened his eyes, not in the way his dream was dark, but dark in the way nights usually were—as though the promise of day just lurked around the corner. As his vision adjusted, he discerned that he was in a hospital room, the lights off, the TV on, a square of orange light slanting in through the crack in the doorway. His entire body was heavy, as though it was weighed down with insistent hands instead of blankets. He tried to wriggle his own hand but found that it was encumbered with wires and tubing.

“Ugh,” he groaned into the darkness, subsequently discovering that his mouth was rather dry.

(Not that he liked to curse, but without a doubt, Steven felt like... poop.)

“Steven?” The mass at the foot of his bed that he originally took to be a pile of blankets suddenly shifted and said his name, which, of course, would have terrified him witless if the light wash from the TV hadn’t happen to flicker across the silhouette at just the right moment.

It was Pearl, and her features were devastated with relief.

“Steven!” She stumbled out of the chair where she’d been sitting and fell next to his head, her lanky arms encircling his neck in such a studiously gentle way that he instantly knew that she wished she could hold him tightly. She was still in her pajamas, he realized with a jolt. Silk brushed against his neck and all of the wires protruding out of it.

He didn’t dare tell her that he was a little sore there, didn’t dare hurt her just a tiny concession to his own sickness more, but fortunately enough, she fell back on her own accord, pressing her elbows into the mattress.

“That’s my name,” he joked feebly, the corner of his mouth twitching upwards into a tired smile. “Don’t wear it out.”

She laughed incredulously, tears glinting in her big eyes, but she wiped at these quickly, her mouth wobbling to keep its smile.

“Silly boy.”

“You know it.”

Steven grinned at her.

(His teeth were like concrete, aching.)

She tried to grin back.

(And that was something, an improvement, at least, on her tears.)

He glanced up at the TV then, squinting to make out the time stamped on the corner of a generic weather channel. It was almost 3AM... he’d passed out around ten if he had to guess.

So much time unaccounted for.

His gaze trailed down to his right arm where a thick tube was laden with some kind of crimson liquid—blood, he realized too many seconds too late. Pearl’s eyes followed his, and her tentative smile collapsed on itself like a balancing act gone wrong. She reached out and laid her hand on his left arm, which was considerably less machinated than the right.

She was so... warm... and he was so... cold.

“Your hemoglobin dropped to a dangerous level,” she explained quietly. “Dr. Maheswaran had no choice but to transfuse you.”

“Oh,” he said. He couldn’t quite draw himself away from the sight. “I... I guess that’s okay. I mean... we knew this was a possibility, right?”

It was a poor man’s optimism, but it was all Steven had in him right now. Pearl’s gaze dropped from the crimson tube to the place where their arms were meeting. Studiously, she began rubbing rhythmic circles into the back of his hand.

“Steven...” He barely heard her. Even the distant hum and buzz from the outside hallway was louder. Someone was tired of working night shifts, and someone needed a mop bucket in Room 11037—stat—and someone was sitting by his bedside, staring at him as though he was already a ghost.

He looked away, eyes flicking upwards towards the ceiling to abate the burning that had suddenly risen in them.

“Just tell me, Pearl... please,” he whispered to the light fixture. “Rip off the bandaid.”

I can take it.

I’ve taken everything else already.

“I… I don’t know if I…”

“Pearl.”

“You’re very sick, sweetheart.” She flinched as she said it; she couldn’t believe it for herself.

“I know.”

He had known for awhile now.

For days, weeks, months.

Tell me something I don’t know, Pearl.

Pearl’s fingers stilled on his hand.

“Dr. Maheswaran wants to keep you here for… for a little while longer.”

He did not skip a beat.

“How long?” (He did not skip a beat, and yet, he was smart, clever—he already knew the answer before it left her mouth.)

She was silent again, agonized, her eyes screwed up against the truth.

Don’t make me say it, the expression said.

With his furrowed brow and grim mouth, he shot back, Why not?

“Pearl… please.”

“Steven—”

“Please," he croaked.

She opened her bright blue eyes; it looked as though it cost her to do so.

“… until we find you another kidney.”

The if was implicit.

—

They unhooked him from the transfusion machine around five, and he fell asleep shortly afterwards, Pearl’s trembling lower lip the last sight his dark eyes lit upon before they succumbed to the utter exhaustion in his body. If Steven dreamed of anything in that lonely hospital room, he dreamed of darkness. He dreamed that he died in the hospital, that he slipped away one night when everyone else was asleep. He was alone, and the white walls were so cold, so sterile. His monitor flatlined, the insistent beeping noise shrilling across the line of his vision like a premonition, a ghost. A scream of discovery dribbled down the air.

Amethyst, he guessed wildly. Or was it Garnet? Pearl? Dad?!

Was it all of them at once?

The sound was agony.

Inhuman.

Steven woke with a start, gasping heavily. The heart monitor whirred in time with his panic, beating a frantic, insistent tattoo.

“Hey, hey, hey—breathe, kiddo!” Where there were once empty ceiling tiles, Dad’s face appeared above him, his bushy brow furrowed in concern, eyes wide with the anxiety he usually tried so hard to hide. He placed a big hand on Steven’s chest in an attempt to regulate his breathing. “Yeah, that’s it, buddy. In and out! In and out.”

In and out.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Steven feebly brought his left arm up, up, up... and let it fall against his dad’s as his chest rose and stumbled in short, staccato bursts. His head was light; the touch almost grounded him.

In and out.

Inhale.

Exhale.

In and out.

Inhale.

His fingers curled weakly against his father’s forearm.

Exhale.

Dad's eyes were the color of driftwood, burning bright.

When he could finally catch his breath, Steven did not use it to speak; rather, he closed his eyes, exhausted from even the simple act of trying to breathe. Were his dad not hovering above him, there was a good chance that he’d just pass out again—slip into the familiar nothingness that slipped into nightmares—but slowly, painstakingly, he made himself unclose his eyes.

“Sorry,” he rasped. The gray light pouring in from the window stung him. He tried to focus on his dad’s face, but everything was blurred, fuzzy around the edges. “Nightmare.”

Dad brought his hand from Steven’s chest to his head, resting his palm on top of his curly, black hair. Relief made him look ten years younger, ten years less sad, but the wetness around the corners of his eyes told a different story.

“No apologies needed, champ,” he sighed, a weak smile rippling across his mouth. “I’m just glad you’re”—he hesitated slightly—“okay.”

Of course, okay was not the right word.

Steven tried to return the smile anyway.

(It fell flat in his eyes.)

At that precise moment, though, he was spared from being caught out as Dr. Maheswaran burst through the door, looking, for all intents and purposes, harried. Her salt-and-pepper hair was tied back in a haphazard ponytail, and the usual lines under her eyes seemed harsher, as though someone had run through them with a Sharpie.

“Your heart,” she said gruffly by way of greeting. She barely threw either of them a glance as she proceeded over to the monitor mounted on the wall, arms crossed firmly over her chest as she studied it intensely. “What was wrong with it?”

“Nightmare,” Steven explained again.

“He couldn’t catch his breath,” Dad elaborated further, finally removing his hand from Steven’s curls. “Think he might need oxygen?”

Dr. M pressed a few buttons on the monitor as she nodded tersely.

“Precisely, Universe. Looks like he’s not getting enough oxygen while he sleeps. I’ll get a nurse to come set him up shortly.”

She then swooped down, in a manner vaguely if not exactly hawklike, and briefly looked at the catheter bag poking out beneath Steven’s many blanket layers. It was amazing he hadn’t woken up for that ordeal; when he was conscious, it was rather uncomfortable to say the least.

“Not as much as I’d like,” she murmured, seemingly to herself, “but I suppose that’s to be expected.”

And with that bleak assessment, she straightened back into a standing position, her brown eyes lighting upon Steven properly for the first time.

Looking closely, and knowing where to look, he observed that all of the hardness in them had seemed to melt, like liquid.

For that was the thing about Dr. Maheswaran—she was all bite and no bark—not so much of a conundrum as she was a Russian nesting doll, hiding oh-so-many layers. Her hardened facade was one, and here was another; he could see it in even the way she held her shoulders back, like she was holding something else back in the posture, too.

Something soft.

Something vulnerable.

“I’m glad to see your eyes open,” she said, tucking her hands into the pockets of her lab coat. “You scared me for a little while there.”

And maybe he had; her entire appearance certainly attested to it.

“You—scared?” But he'd try to make this old grizzly bear smile anyway; that was his wont. “I don’t believe it.”

“Believe it, Steven.” Her lips just barely twitched. (He’d take it.) “When Garnet called, I just threw my lab coat over my pajamas and hightailed it up here.” She jerked a thumb over towards his dad. “Greg was there. He can tell you.”

Dad chuckled gamely, lowering himself back into the chair next to Steven’s bed.

“Yup—she got you stabilized all while wearing a onesie.”

“It was a matching two-piece,” she corrected him, “but I digress.”

Steven laughed—how could he not at such a ridiculous image?—but even that proved to be too much on his poor chest. He winced involuntarily, and to his chagrin, the monitor called him out on it, stuttering as he did. Dr. Maheswaran and Dad both collapsed into their former sobrieties as quickly as they had tentatively shed them—stretched rubber bands recoiling.

“I’m going to find a nurse to set up your oxygen,” the nephrologist said suddenly, terse as she ever was but trying too hard to be so. “Universe.” She nodded awkwardly at Dad. “Steven.” Her incisive gaze settled on him for a brief moment before she turned away; he felt pierced through, like an x-ray.

And then she left—(fled)—her white lab coat flaring behind her as she stepped out of the open door. Dad stared at the place her back had been for only a short second more before shaking his head and returning his slow, somber gaze to Steven. There were bags under his eyes, gray whiskers in his beard.

“She was torn up last night,” he murmured, and then, as though it was an afterthought, added, “We all were.”

“I’m sorry, Dad.” It was all he could say. As much as the wires crisscrossing his torso would allow, Steven tilted his head on the pillow, so he could see his dad more easily. The man’s hands were on his lap, limply pointing to the tiled floor.

“S’not your fault, kiddo,” came the mumbled reply.

They were silent then.

It was a small comfort, but Steven’s heart monitor carried on.

—

By eight that morning, the sun was fully peeking out—warm and arresting, falling upon his swarm of blankets in little golden dapples. Steven watched these as the nurse slid the oxygenated cannulas around his ears and into each of his nostrils, and then he watched them some more as she changed out his catheter bag. She hmphed at the less than satisfactory output in the very way Dr. Maheswaran had.

Around nine, his dad left to go find them some breakfast other than the mush that the cafeteria offered, and Garnet came in soon afterwards, her bicolored eyes still edged with the dregs of recent sleep. Attached to the hospital was a hotel that visitors could stay in while they were visiting patients, and only earlier that morning, Dad had made Pearl go join the others for a few hours of shuteye as only one guardian had been allowed to stay with him while he was still being transfused.

Garnet stepped in uncertainly, her discomfort scribbled all across her person in what could have very well been neon for all of her usual subtlety. She wrung her hands in a clear betrayal of the stoicism she espoused on a day to day basis, and she stared at him for what seemed like a long time before she crossed the room and placed her warm palm on his forehead, smoothing away a few of his stray curls. She’d never particularly cared for hospitals, but even still, every time Steven landed in one, she came and stayed anyway.

She was steady like that.

Constant.

“Garnet!” He exclaimed as she patted him.

“Hello, Steven,” she rumbled, her voice rich and soft. (She tended to be the very same.) “How’s my little fighter doing?”

It was a running joke between them. Ever since he’d been small, Garnet had taken him up to the gym from time to time to help her “train” her various clients. This practice ultimately amounted to Steven taking a few concerted shots at a punching bag while his guardian awarded him with a silent thumbs up each time that he did.

You’re a fighter in a whole different way now, she once told him after the diagnosis. Her square chin laying atop of his head, she whispered it into his hair. Keep fighting. Please, Steven.

“Still fighting.” His smile was like a bruise, but it was a smile nonetheless. “But I guess I’m a little worse for wear.”

She was quiet as she absorbed the notion, her gaze flitting from his oxygen cannulas to the multitude of wires springing like roots from his chest—finally landing upon the couple of tubes snaking in and around his arms, red spots already popping up around the injection sites—promises of later contusions.

Garnet brushed her thumb across his forehead one last time before letting go and collapsing backwards into the chair next to his bed in what was more or less defeat.

“Mm, yeah.”

She looked down, her broad shoulders caved in on themselves, fingers templed and fallen between her lap.

That was another thing about Garnet.

She was present—always, without fail—but she could be so very distant at precisely the same time.

Usually, Steven took it upon himself to bring her back, his hand reaching for her hand, his smile a loud invitation home.

Sometimes, he failed.

“Garnet?”

“... yes, Steven?”

And sometimes, he did not.

“Will you come lay down with me?” It was a familiar question, one he asked every time he had a bad nightmare, or every time he landed in a hospital to live through another. In answer, Garnet would curl around his body, her warm arms holding him close.

She’d tell him stories.

She’d hum him to sleep.

She'd be there for him.

And never, would she ever let go.

She stared at him painfully now—well, not him so much as all of the machines that currently swarmed and intruded him. The oxygen filtering in through his nostrils tickled his nose.

“Please?” He intercepted her rational protestations long before she could lay them out with all of her usual practicality. “We can move all this stuff aside—just like before.”

A long pause, long enough that the hum from the outside hallway filled the gap.

Garnet rubbed the heels of her hands against her legs, pulling them back and forth as she mulled the request over.

“Okay,” she finally whispered.

“Okay.”

—

In Garnet’s arms, he slept soundly for the first time since he’d arrived at the hospital.

She was conscientious of every wire, every tube, letting them drift over her shoulder like rivers.

—

One nightmareless hour later, Steven picked feebly at his breakfast to the chagrin of the motley audience who had come to watch him do it: Garnet (still tucked next to him, propping her head upon her fist and her elbow upon the pillow), Pearl, his dad, and Dr. Maheswaran. Amethyst was… missing in action.

(“Last night rattled her,” Garnet murmured in answer to his ensuing question. “She didn’t sleep well.” Pearl was close enough to hear. She shifted uncomfortably where she stood, crossing her arms over her chest.)

“C’mon, buddy,” Dad encouraged, his beard lightly frosted with the yogurt parfait he’d gotten from McDonald’s. “Just another bite.”

Steven stared into the mostly full cup of his own yogurt and tried to envision himself picking up his plastic spoon and shoving another scoop into his mouth. Upon waking up from his nap with Garnet, his stomach had felt full, bloated, as though he’d already eaten a full course dinner.

It was just another symptom in a long litany of many.

Loss of appetite.

Something, something about cytokines, Dr. Maheswaran had wearily explained.

“Maybe later?” He shoved the yogurt backwards on the hospital tray lofted to his height. “Sorry—I’m just not hungry right now.”

He could feel Garnet’s frown better than he could see it at the angle he was laying. It leaned quietly against his shoulder; it worried for him.

He tried to ignore it as best as he could.

“Dad, do you have my phone?”

“Yeah, yeah… it’s in my pocket…”

In the corner of the room, Pearl and Dr. Maheswaran were having a conversation that they believed to be softly spoken.

“UNOS just got his blood work,” Dr. M said. “They’ve moved him up significantly on the list.”

As his dad passed him his phone, Steven worked to listen to what the two were saying, which became increasingly hard as the TV played some stupid jingle about vacuum cleaners, and as Garnet asked Dad about who was taking care of the cats.

Pearl murmured something that he couldn’t quite catch, but her thin mouth floated upwards into a weak smile that collapsed just as quickly as she seemed to realize something.

“But… but what does that say about him, how he's doing?"

Dr. Maheswaran simply shook her head.

Steven's phone buzzed in his hand before he had time to glean any kind of meaning from this tilt of the doctor's head to the shadows in the planes of Pearl's skinny face.

He looked down to see who’d texted him, surprised to find that he had more than a couple of missed messages.

(And, like, thirty notifications from Candy Crush.)

Sunday, 12:09 AM

Group name: Dork Squad

Peridot: Don’t give up, Steven.

Lapis: we’ll kick your ass if you do

Peridot: Yeah, what she said.

Peridot: Text us when you can.

Sunday, 8:24 AM

Connie: Hi, Steven. Mom told me that you were sick. Are you okay? Can I come visit you soon?

Sunday, 10:17 AM

Blue Diamond: Hello, Steven… I drank tea on the balcony this morning and, strangely enough, came to think of you. You would have loved the skyline, I think—all of its many colors. Pink, gold, and blue.

Blue Diamond: But enough about me—have you been well?

At this last message, Steven's chapped lips tilted upwards into a smile, or at the very least, the suggestion of one.

He began to type.

—

Sunday, 10:20 AM

Group Name: Dork Squad

Steven: Hi, guys. Please don’t kick me. :)

Lapis: steven!!!!!

Peridot: STEVEn!

Peridot: You're not dead!

“If we can get him to eat,” Dr. Maheswaran shrugged, “that’d be great, but if we can’t, then we’ll need to resort to something more proactive… a feeding tube, another intravenous line maybe.”

As Pearl opened her mouth to protest, the nephrologist cut across her in a manner that was both curt yet kind.

“I know it seems soon. Hell,” she laughed bitterly, “it seems soon to me… but Steven can take it, Pearl. I’m sure of it.”

If her words were surprising, her next gesture was staggering.

She lifted one of her lined hands and placed it firmly on Pearl's arm.

And to Steven's continued amazement, she squeezed.

Seemingly in spite of herself, Pearl appeared to unbend—just a little, just enough—a wry smile appearing at one corner of her mouth.

“Be careful Priyanka,” she teased. “You're verging on sentiment."

“Oh, shush.”

Sunday, 10:22 AM

Steven: Hi, Connie! Your mom’s in here right now.

“Dr. M, I’m texting Connie! Have anything you want me to tell her?”

“Tell her to tell you that you need to eat more,” Dr. Maheswaran quipped before returning to talk to Pearl.

Steven: She said hi. Come visit me when you can… I’m going to need the company. Bring the book!!

Sunday, 10:27 AM

Hi, Blue, he typed and re-typed into the box. His other well-wishers knew the state he was in, knew where he was and why he was there; Blue Diamond did not. He ate her chocolate cakes and puked them up in her gold inlaid toilet minutes later.

He hadn't told her this.

Didn’t even tell Amethyst.

What could he say?

What did he even want to say?

Hi, Blue. I hope you're doing great! Me? I’m in the hospital on the verge of dying.

No, no, too direct.

Hi, Blue. I’m doing well. How about you?

And that one was both deflective and a lie.

She didn't care much for lying, he knew.

Oh, my boy, she murmured once upon a time, her smile sad, her eyes soft, it’s been a very long time since I’ve been me… and yet, here you are, completely, unrepentantly you.

Completely and unrepentantly, he was Steven Universe... and he wasn't... wasn't doing great.

But he wanted to be.

And that made up for some of the difference.

Hi, Blue, he typed again, his mouth set in a resolute line.

He’d tell her the truth.

Steven: Hi, Blue… that sounds really cool. I wish I could have been there to see it.

Steven: But I’m afraid I have a bit of bad news. :/ I passed out last night and, well, had to go to the hospital. Still here this morning.

Steven: Please don’t worry!

He added as a hurried afterthought.

Steven: I hope you’re doing well!

“Are you feeling okay?” Garnet whispered into his ear. She’d been watching him closely, had been skimming her long fingers up and down his arm, so that he could feel something other than his own coldness. “You look sad.”

He hesitated to respond to her, didn't want to tip off everyone else in the room.

His loss of appetite was one symptom, and his sadness was another.

And it was contagious that one.

Infectious.

So he only nodded.

Garnet, if possible, held him even closer.

Sunday, 11:13 AM

Steven: Hi, Amethyst.

Steven: I miss you.

Steven: Come see me when you can?

I'm okay, he backspaced.

Promise. He deleted that unkeepable word, too.

He texted her later than he did the others because suddenly, without warning, he had begun to spew up yogurt.

#steven universe #pearl #garnet #amethyst #greg universe #priyanka maheswaran #blue diamond #connie maheswaran #lapis lazuli #peridot #s: steven universe #mimik-u #flower child #long post #holy hell - i can't believe this is out

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seashellrosekitty · 7 years ago

Text

The Last Dance | Prologue

Author’s Note: Here’s my entry to @spxderbarnes Em’s 21st Birthday Writing Challenge! I’m so excited because this is my first Bucky fic (or Marvel fic, rather)! Hope you enjoy this, Em! Happy Birthday, darling!

Plot: 1940s post-war era. Steve and Bucky are brothers and are teenagers, and they never served in the army because they were too young to join during the war. You find out you’re pregnant with Steve’s baby. Both Steve’s and your parents arrange for you and Steve to get married, but Steve declines. Ultimately, his father offers his other son, James (later known as Bucky), to marry you in Steve’s place.

Prompt: 10. “Are you flirting with me?”

Pairing: Steve Rogers x Fem!Reader, Bucky Barnes x Fem!Reader (eventually)

Warnings: 18+ content! Teenage pregnancy, arranged marriage, religious theme, sexist theme, music theme, fluff, smut (of course), angst, Steve being a cold jerk (oops), characters coming from the comics (i.e. Bucky’s family)

Word count: 1.7k

Y/N, Y/L/N = Your Name, Your Last Name

P.S. Story starts under the cut.

P.S.S. Tag list is open for this series! For tag requests, send me an Ask!

Summer 1939. Red House, New York.

Y/N Y/L/N was selling lemonade in the park for 15 cents a glass. Every other kid was playing with a loose water hose. At the corner of her eyes, she noticed a young boy her age, seated on a bench alone. He wasn’t sulking or anything, just watching the other kids play. Then she grabbed a fresh glass of lemonade and walked up to him.

“Hi. Do you want some lemonade? This one’s on the house.” The 10-year old girl offered the brunet-haired boy.

He glanced at her judgingly when he muttered, “Are you flirting with me?”

“No. Why?” she asked, expressing confusion on her face.

“My brother told me that if a girl gives me something, it means she’s flirting with me.”

The little girl laughed and placed the glass of lemonade beside the boy. “It’s just a glass’o lemonade. I’m selling these so I could buy the new Frank Sinatra record,” she stated with sparkling eyes. The boy accepted the glass of lemonade, his face still a questioning look.

“If you’re sellin’ lemonade, then why are you givin’ this to me?”

She shrugged. “I’ve made more than enough for the day. Don’t you want it?” The boy glared at her under the scorching sun, then drank the glass of lemonade.

“It’s good,” he remarked. “Thanks...er,” he trailed off to catch her name. The lemonade girl proudly announced her name. Then he responded with his.

“Bucky.”

“If you want more, I’m just at my lemonade stand. But no more freebies this time, Bucky,” she said with smiling eyes and mouth.

“I thought you said you’ve made enough money?”

“I’m runnin’ a business here, pal. Oh! And tell your brother,” she said as she started stepping away. “He knows nothing about girls.”

Summer. Eight years later.

You couldn’t believe your ears. You had yourself checked by a gynecologist. You were only eighteen, and already three weeks pregnant. The world in your head felt like it was narrowing as you tried to digest the fact that a fetus has formed in your belly. How are you going to tell Steve? Your mother? Oh god, your father? What would your siblings think?

You’re the eldest of two children, spawns of a retired military man. Your mother, a devout Christian. You were born into an ideal family, really, but what happened to you wasn’t ideal. Especially not in 1946. You frowned in shame in front of your doctor, but she assured you that you’re not the only one in this predicament. With that thought, you came home, bothered in your head as you tried to contemplate on how to tell your parents about your unborn baby. And of course, your boyfriend and the father of your child, Steve.

Steven Grant Barnes.

The two of you have been together for a year. After he smoothed his way into your heart for three months, you finally gave in. Steve was the promising son in his family. The top student in school. He worked hard in being accepted at the University of Oxford. Both of you were upcoming seniors that year. Steve was no ordinary scholar. He practically didn’t need to finish his senior year. You, on the other hand, still had a year to go before graduation. At this rate, you don’t know if finishing high school was still an option.

You knew Steve had so much to lose if your father was going to force him to marry you. But you don’t know yet for sure. Steve loves you. He’s proven that lots of times already.

You called him at home and asked him to pick you up. He was more than happy to oblige and he arrived in your lawn in under twenty minutes. You told your mom that you were going to have dinner with Steve.

He drove a blue Ford pickup truck where you spent most of your steamy makeout sessions. You didn’t wait for him to honk in your street so you rushed downstairs. He kissed you as soon as you hopped in.

“Hey, beautiful. I was surprised you invited me out today. I thought you were busy?” He hit the gas when you smiled at him.

“Well, I thought I just,” you muttered, keeping your gaze at your blonde boyfriend. “Needed to get out. Can we go to that nice little cafe we went to last time?”

“Sure darling,” Steve said then held your hand. “Is everything alright? I thought you sounded...off on the phone.” Your heart started pounding, slowly, however. You scooted across the seat and clung to him, resting your head on his shoulder.

“I’m ok, sweetie. Just glad you’re here,” you whispered. Steve’s grip on your hand tightened, assuring you that everything will turn out okay. He’ll be a good father. You said in your head with a smile.

Moments later, you arrived at the cafe and order your dinner. The cafe had a small dance floor, where Steve invited you to dance on with him. The two of you enjoyed the night, having danced to a series of upbeat and spontaneous big band songs. When you finally got tired dancing, Steve took you back to his truck and drove to your favorite after-date spot, where you either made out or just cuddled together.

That night, you were doing both. It started with a cuddle in the center of the seat. You talked about random things and recalled how fun the dance you just had moments ago. His lips reached yours in no time when you both fell into silence just after laughing about a couple who danced silly at the cafe. His lips were warm on yours, feeling velvety in their every move. They left your lips to make their way to your neck. The sensation was getting overwhelming, your insides started to clench, aching for more friction in them. And then you remembered it.

“Steve? Sweetie?” He didn’t stop kissing your weak spot on your neck but whispered, “What is it darling? Talk to me.” His hands slid on your thighs and under your skirt. One of them was already reaching the warmest spot of your body. A finger, maybe two, started fiddling with your center, making you distracted from what you just remembered. You huffed a moan and mentally shook your head. You practiced saying it in front of the mirror as soon as you got home. You tried coming up with different ways, different phrases, perhaps, to soften the blow.

But there was only one way to say it.

“I’m pregnant.” His touches halted. It hasn’t been a full second since you’ve finally uttered the sentence you’ve been practicing to say in your head, but the silence was already feeling too long.

“What?” You were about to repeat what you said but Steve interrupted you. “Are you sure?” You nodded your head and said, “I went to the doctor today. My period was delayed.” His previously lust-blown face dropped. His hands slowly moved away from you as he shifted in his seat, looking anywhere else now but your eyes. Why did he have to stop holding me? You thought.

“I’m three weeks pregnant, Steve. I don’t feel a thing yet, but darling, we’re having a baby,” you cooed, reaching for his hands again, but he flinched.

“No, no, no. This can’t happen, Y/N.” He ran a hand through his blonde hair, worries painted in his face.

“What do you mean, Steve? Of course it can. We’ve been going at it like rabbits,” you remarked. It took you a second to remember how often you and Steve have stolen moments to fool around with each other.

His brows were drawn together when he stepped out of the truck. Your head hung over your shoulders. All of the assurance you had earlier was now gone. “Darling, please come back inside.” He paced back and forth and when he heard you call for him, he stepped inside the truck and turned on the ignition and drove away to take you back home.

“Aren’t you going to say anything all?”

He drew a sharp breath and without taking his eyes off the road, he said, “Just let me think.” The rest of the drive remained quiet. His hand no longer searching for yours. They remained on the gear shift or the wheel. The gap between you two in the truck felt bigger than it looked. You don’t like the silence you had now, so you turned on the radio, only to be shut quickly by him.

“I told you, I need to think, Y/N.” You turned away. He has never been this cold to you. Whenever you had fights, you always made up before the night ended. Of course, all of those were nothing compared to this. You didn’t fight, but the distance between you two suddenly appeared. This hurt you more having him argue with you.

The cold, silent treatment has never been something that Steve had given you before. He was always the one vocal and expressive of his thoughts. And it always bothered him when you argued until you got home. He would call you to apologize and sweep you off your feet before you went to bed. Sometimes he would drive in just to see you. One of those times even led to spontaneous make-up sex in his truck.

When he pulled over to your lawn, his gaze remained forward even though it’s evident that you were looking at him and waiting for him to return your gaze. But he didn’t. You suddenly felt like you don’t know Steve anymore. This was not like him at all. His jaws clenched before finally uttering a word to you after being silent forever.

“Do your parents know?”

“No. You’re the first one I told.”

“When are you gonna tell ‘em?”

“Tomorrow.” He nodded. You couldn’t read his face, but it’s not how it was like when he picked you up earlier. You pulled the knob open, remembering that you didn’t kiss Steve goodnight, so you leaned towards him to give him a peck, but he turned his head to you and whispered, “Good night, Y/N.”

Something pointy stabbed your heart with the coldness of his ‘good night’. It was impossible that he didn’t see it in your eyes, but you saw what was in those perfectly bright blue eyes of his. Something unfamiliar to you. Something you’ve never seen in him before, or never noticed.

You barely had any energy to make a big deal of his behavior since he found out you were pregnant. All you had left to say was, “I want to keep the baby.” Then you hopped out of the truck. You remained standing on the sidewalk as you watched his truck drive away. You have never been more uncertain in your life than you were that night. Not just with how you’re going to keep the baby, how you’re going to tell your parents - but if Steve is still with you in all this.

You waited for Steve to call and swoon you over like he always did, but tonight, he broke that record. You didn’t want your family to hear you crying, so you played an Ella Fitzgerald record on your phonograph as you cried yourself to sleep.

To be continued in:

Chapter One - The Dinner

I forgot to tag these beautiful people who want to be tagged in all of my fics:

@bojabee @jurrasicpork @thejourneyofabrokenheart @sav625 @seninjakitey

#bucky barnes au #bucky barnes #bucky barnes x reader #steve rogers x reader #marvel fanfiction #ems21st #mcu #marvel comics #writing challenge #bucky barnes smut #steve rogers smut

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a-walk-in-silence · 7 years ago

Text

Just A Dream

Pairings: Steve Rogers x Stark!Fem!Reader

Word Count: 2.3k

Summary: You’re in the delivery room, having a baby, but something is just missing from your life. A dream helps you feel better about everything.

Warnings: Infinity War spoilers kinda?, semi-descriptions of birth, off-screen character death, cursing, family drama, bad parenting (smh Howard)

A/N: Y’all, ik it isn’t WCBB or my other writing challenge prompt but I saw Mamma Mia 2 and I fell in love with one song in particular just because the scene it happens in is so good and so tear worthy (I loved the whole show tho and all of the songs are 10/10). So thus, this song fic was born!

Key:

Y/N - Your Name

Y/N/N - Your Nickname

Y/H/C - Your Hair Color

Y/E/C - Your Eye Color

Song Inspiration(s):

My Love, My Life - Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again Cast Recording

I’ve never felt this strong

I’m invincible, how could this go wrong?

No here, here’s where we belong

You screamed in pain, clutching Steve’s hand for support. Contraction after contraction, it never seemed to end. Your forehead was drenched in sweat, plastering your Y/H/C to your face.

With is free hand, Steve pushed your hair out of your face. He was clearly flustered and so unsure of his movements. “It’s going to be okay,” he tried to reassure you.

“You try pushing a damn baby out of your fucking body, Steven Grant Rogers!” you practically screamed at him before grasping his hand as another contraction hit. You finally whimpered as it passed, your head slamming into the back of the raised bed. “I can’t do this...”

“No, no, no, you can do this.” Steve gave your hand a tight squeeze before meeting your Y/E/C eyes. “Come on, Tony wouldn’t want you to give up here. Besides, you’re so strong. You’re almost there. Come on, Y/N, you can do this.”

Gulping, you nodded despite the fact that you felt so much pain and a huge want to just give up. Still, you knew you had to do this, not just for your loving husband clutching your hand. You had to do this for Tony.

Tony...

Your brother was killed after the events of the Infinity Wars, as it would be come to dubbed in mainstream media, had come and passed. After everything had been fixed, everyone brought back from being turned to dust... your brother didn’t make it. And he never did find out about your pregnancy.

The thought of your brother, your last living blood relative, being gone made your heart swell. No, you would make it through this. You would make it through this god damn birth because, dammit, Tony wouldn’t give up... if he could ever have a child.

You laughed at your own thoughts, which seemed to make Steve relax. You looked towards your husband and nodded. “Okay... okay, I can do this.”

His lips pressed against your forehead before Steve smiled at you. “I know you can, doll. You can do this.”

I held you close to me

Felt your heart beat and I thought: I am free

Oh yes, and as one are we

In the now and beyond

Nothing and no one can break this bond

A cry filled the air as you relaxed back into the hospital bed, exhausted. “It’s a boy,” the doctor shouted over the cries of the newborn baby.

A small smile tugged at the corner of your lips as you looked over to Steve. His eyes were lit up, a huge smile tugging at his lips. A boy, your own little boy...

The small baby was placed into your arms, pulling you from your thoughts. Your voice choked on a small sob, looking at the small squirming baby. “Hello, my love.” You smiled brightly at the baby, your fatigue slowly edging away as he silently squirmed in your arms. With the baby pressed against your chest, you could feel his hammering heartbeat. You practically melted from the overwhelming joy that filled your body. “My boy...” you mused.

Steve smiled and kissed the top of your head as all six feet of him leaned down to your height to watch your baby move around in your arms. “He’s amazing,” he responded, almost as dazed as you were by the small infant.

“I want to name him Tony,” you quickly said, not even aware that the words had left your own mouth for a moment.

However, you were aware of Steve’s response to what you had assumed were your thoughts. “I think Tony is a great name,” Steve responded, holding you closely to him. “Tony James.”

Slowly, you nodded, silent tears falling from your cheeks. “Tony James Rogers. Named after his uncle, godfather, and you. It’s perfect,” you finally said to fill the silence, smiling down at the bundle. You held your son close to your chest, a small laugh escaping your throat. “Our parents would be proud, wouldn’t they?”

“Yeah, yeah they would,” he said, kissing the top of your head once more. “As annoying as Howard was, he would be proud of you.”

“Even if he never showed it.” You couldn’t help but sigh at the memory of your father. You had been young when he had gone from the world, and it still hurt. If only you had had more time with your father...

The doctor cleared his throat, once again pulling you from your train of thoughts. “We’re going to have to run some tests on little Tony, but we should be done soon. In the meanwhile, I would suggest you get some rest, Mrs. Rogers. Captain, you’re more than welcome to stay by her side.”

You handed the little bundle over to the doctor before relaxing back into the bed. “Please don’t leave me, Steve,” you murmured to your husband, relaxing into the bed.

In answer, he dragged the chair from the window over to the bed, sitting down and grabbing your hand. “I wouldn’t dream of leaving you, doll.”

You smiled softly to him before finally lulling off into sleep.

Like an image passing by, my love, my life

in the mirror of your eyes, my love, my life

I can see it all so clearly

All I love so dearly

You stirred gently before lifting your head to take in your surroundings. You were no longer in the hospital room in those silly gowns. Instead, you were standing in your childhood home.

“You know what?” your father said, smirking as he leaned against the piano that was in the grand foyer. “I never thought I’d see Steve with anyone but Peg. Even if she got married to someone else. Hell, I figured he was as good as dead, but then he showed up in... 2011, right? Well, rambling aside, I have to say I’m proud that he ended up with you, even if he is some 65 years older than you.” The man who stood before you was hardly the man you grew up with, he was much younger and definitely more relaxed. He was easily in his early 30′s. Still, he was definitely still your father.

“Dad?” you asked, shocked.

“Hiya, Pumpkin.” He pulled you into a quick hug before he took the time to admire you. “You sure have grown since I last saw you. You were 9 the last time I saw you in person. And I probably looked a helluva lot different, didn’t I?” He chuckled to himself before walking over to the small bar, pouring a tumbler of whiskey. “You want a drink? Childbirth isn’t an easy thing, your mother can vouch for that. She did it, twice.”

You shook your head in answer, looking around. “Is mom here? What about Tony?”

Howard only waved his hand in dismissal. “They’ll be here soon enough.” He took a seat on the white couch, patting it for you to sit beside him. “I figured I’d show up here early and get some talk time with my girl before everyone comes to congratulate you.”

“Talk?” you questioned, sitting down where he had motioned. “Talk about what?”

“You. How much you’ve grown. You know, you were a surprise to both your mother and I. You were a last minute surprise and, given both of Maria and I’s ages at the time, a complete and utter shock.” He laughed, taking a swig from his whiskey. “But you know what? I’m damn proud of you.” You scowled in response and he only sighed. “Your brother did the same thing when I told him. I know, I’m terrible at showing it. But I am proud of you. Of both of you.”

“You didn’t have a terrible way of showing it. You had a shitty way of showing it.” You cleared your throat, fully ready to mock some of the things he had said to you as a child, when a voice interrupted both of you from speaking.

“Howard, I better not see you antagonizing the poor thing,” said the soft voice of your mother. “She just gave birth to your grandson.”

Like reflections of your mind, my love, my life

Are the words I try to find, my love, my life

Yes I know I don’t possess you

With all my heart, God bless you

You stood up and turned to see your mother and brother standing there. You wanted to act normal, like you weren’t happy to see them, but the moment your eyes landed on Tony standing there, the same as you had last seen him, your heart broke.

So, instead, you ran up to your brother and wrapped your arms around him tightly, sobbing hysterically. “Tony, you’re here...”

His strong arms wrapped around you, too, holding you tightly. “If by here you mean whatever weird dream thing this is, then yeah, okay, I’m here.”

“Anthony,” said the warning voice of your mother, but you pushed her voice to the side.

“I’m sorry,” you mumbled, hiding your face in his chest. “I’m sorry I never told you about my pregnancy and I’m sorry I wasn’t there to protect you. I’m sorry, Tony... I’m so sorry.”

Suddenly, your arms were unwound from his torso as your brother held you at arms length. “Hey, none of that sorry crap. You shouldn’t have even been on the battlefield if you were pregnant, Y/N/N. Besides, I’m not sorry, especially since you named the kid after me.” He pointed a finger at your father. “You owe me money. Why the hell did you think she would name the kid after you any way?”

Howard only rolled his eyes, getting up to his feet to refill his tumbler with whiskey. Once it was filled, he turned his attention to the two of you. “I don’t owe you anything, Tony. We’re dead.”

“You made the bet, old man. Can’t pull this shit here.”

A calm hand landed on your shoulder, forcing your attention to your mother. Now she... she looked exactly as you remembered her. Her white hair was pulled back tightly in a bun, but her eyes were just as sweet as the day she left.

“My love, you need to wake up,” she said calmly, her smile soft. “Steve and Tony James are waiting for you.”

You took a step back and examined your family. Tony and Howard had finally stopped bickering and we’re giving you bright smiles. Your mother was leaning into Howard, her head resting on his shoulder. Once again, you felt tears threatening to spill

“Hey,” Tony said, pulling your eyes back to his brown ones. “Don’t cry, got it? And definitely don’t give up on my behalf. This kid needs you. You’ll see me again when you’re ready.”

“But I miss you. Why’d you have to go?” Finally, the waterworks started as tears started to stream down your face.

“Aw geez, come on, Y/N/N. What is it that Steve would say? Uh...” He racked his brain for a moment before snapping his fingers. “‘Every war has its casualties.’ Well, it sucks because it was supposed to be Pepper and I having the kid and all, but.... I suppose my nephew will have to do.” You rolled your eyes, fighting the smile that was threatening to take over your face. “Doesn’t matter. I still love you, kiddo. So go on and make the world a better place, got it?”

You simply nodded, unable to find the words to answer.

But I know I don’t possess

With all my heart, God bless you

You’re my one and only

You woke up in the hospital room and glanced over at Steve, who was on the phone in the corner of the room, talking away to whoever was on the other line.

“... Yeah Sam, I know. A boy... Yes, you can see him once we’re out of the hospital.” His eyes glanced over to you, lying on the bed, and a huge smile took over his features. “Hey, I’ll call you back, Y/N’s awake.”

He hung up the phone and returned to your side. “Hey, how long was I out?”

“Only about thirty minutes.” His hand brushed along your face, pushing your hair back behind your ear. “Doc said he’d be back in a couple minutes with little Tony and your release papers.”

You hummed in response, leaning into his hand. Your mind flashed back to your dream... dream? Was that the right word? Well, whatever it was, you thought of it, and of how your family was there and how much they loved you. And Tony... Your heart broke just a little, remembering your brother.

The doctor entered the room again, your son nestled into the crook of his arm with a stack of papers wedged between his arm and the side of his body.

“This little one is for you,” he responded, handing over the baby, “as are these.” The papers went to Steve. “All of the paperwork is signed for. You’ve given birth to a healthy baby boy. You’re set to leave whenever you’re ready.”

With that, the doctor once again left. You smiled down at your son and his brilliant blue eyes. Just like Steve. “Do you think he knows how much he’s going to be loved? And how many unofficial official aunts and uncles he’ll have?”

A chuckle came from Steve as he leaned down to look at his son. “I’m sure he does. Especially since Sam’s in the waiting room with some of the others, waiting to see the little squirt.”

The two of you laughed quietly to each other before looking back at Tony. You sighed in contentment before nodding your head. “Yeah. He’s going to be loved by everyone, I can feel it.”

Tags:

@uservalkyrie @youreafangirl-harry @thedaydreamingwriter @starksparker

#steve rogers x reader #steve rogers imagine #steve rogers headcanon #steve rogers #chris evans x reader #chris evans imagine #chris evans headcanon #chris evans #captain america x reader #captain america imagine #captain america headcanon #captain america #marvel #infinity wars #avengers 4 theories #one shot #userkavvy #emmmahi

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kingfallshistoricallibrary-blog · 7 years ago

Text

Episode Four: Wolves Gone Wild

[Podcast Theme]

[King Falls AM music]

Ben: Top of the hour here at King Falls AM, at 660 on the AM dial. And we’re live here on this crisp King Falls evening. It’s a full moon, and you know what that means so be careful out there. It’s 4 am on the dot and as per instructed by Merv, the station manager, we will be-

Sammy: You’re really gonna play that?

B: Oh, look who’s talking again, everybody, Sammy Stevens, ladies and gents.

S: Very funny, Ben. You know we’ve played this apology enough, lets just get back on track, how about it?

B: Gotta do it.

*tape starts*

S: Hello, this is Sammy Stevens, and I’m sitting here with Ben Arnold, your cohost of King Falls AM *record scratch*

S: No! We aren’t doing this Ben.

B: Sammy, I’m gonna have to file a report if we don’t play this apology at the top of every hour.

S: Write it up.

B: I don’t want to!

S: Then don’t!

B: Sammy? Can we talk about this? Folks, we’re just gonna take a quick break for-

S: No break, no apology, you wanna play that tape?

B: No, but we have to.

S: Fine. You know what, we’ll do this one live kids, and uh, boy are you in for a treat.

B: I don’t know if I-

S: So there’s a note on the board when we came in. We’re to record an apology to you, the dear listeners and residents of King Falls.

B: Merv simply asked that we apologize for...creating a controversy at the 55th annual-

S: We talk about the news here. Relevant subjects that affect this town. What we don’t do, *wry laughter*, what we would never do, is apologize for trying to cover a breaking news story. A dead body at a public event that King Falls AM is covering is news.

B: Maybe Mayor Grisham went a little overboard kicking us out, I’m not saying he-

S: If I owned the station, if I owned the station I’d go after him. I mean, why isn’t Merv mad at Grisham, why is this on us? Have you even met Merv, Ben?

B: Yes. I mean, not in person, but, look, we have a show to keep on track. In a few minutes we’ll be speaking with both of the winners of the 55th annual bass tournament.

S: How about this, how about we open up the phone lines and talk about how the good Mayor Grisham is strong arming the media- *static*

Announcer: This Sunday evening at 7pm, we say goodbye to long time host of King Falls Sewing Corner, Esther Rollins, the way she would have wanted us to.

Esther Rollins: Talking about life, talking about love, and crocheting a mean doily while we’re at it.

A: While we will all miss Esther’s sweet stitchery tips and needlepoint mastery, we’ll miss Esther even more.

ER: We’ll darn your socks and maybe even darn your men to heck while we’re at it.

A: We’ll reminisce and play clips from Sewing Corners illustrious 24 year run. As well as a live music tribute from Esther’s favorite band.

*heavy metal music*

ER: Oh I just love these boys. All Possible States. Always remember, bad times never last, but badasses certainly do. We’ll see you soon King Falls.

A: Hopefully not too soon, Esther. 7pm, this Sunday. Help us say goodbye to King Falls most bitching granny.

*heavy metal music*

B: I didn’t cut you off Sammy!

S: Real mature, Ben.

B: You were looking right at me, I didn’t even touch the board. And you know Esther Rollins was slated for 4:32 am. I’d never-

S: Oh, okay, it must have been General Abilene, right?

B: You know he’s in Sweetzer Forest. Sheesh. Can’t we just take some calls, you’re killing me. Line six.

Cecil: Benjamin Arnold, Mr. Sheffield here. Why’re you on the radio?

B: Crap, bass tournament winners were scheduled for two minutes ago, uh, I’m gonna call the other.

S: Oh, so we can talk about the tournament, we just can’t talk about the dead body.

B: Sammy!

S: Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Mr. Cecil Sheffield to the show, cowinner of the 55th annual King Falls bass tourney.

B: It’s great to have you Mr. Sheffield.

C: It’s good to be talking to you fellas too. Ben, how’re your grades holding up this year?

B: Uhh...I’ve, *nervous laughter* I graduated already, several years ago.

C: No more late papers this semester Mr. Arnold!

S: Yeah Ben, no more late papers.

B: For those of you who don’t know, Mr. Sheffield was my history teacher at King Falls high school. Shouldn’t he be retired by now?

C: *singing* Rising mists, the gold and orange, grandly into the blue, reaches our dear alma mater-

S: *clapping* There you have it folks, Mr. Cecil Sheffield, winner of this year’s King Falls idol.

C: Go Falls! I really love talking to you guys.

B: And we...love talking to you.

S: How about we talk about the big win at the tournament, huh, you split the grand prize, $500 and a bass boat, is that correct?

C: Oh, it was awesome. Standing up there at the podium with my good friend Hershel. I’m happy to share the prize with such a great man. I haven’t gotten a chance to use the new boat-

B: And we’ve got Hershel Baumgardner.

S: Sorry to cut you off, Cecil, Hershel you’re live on King Falls-

H: You usurping, unsportsmanlike, son of a b**** filth. I know all of you were colluding against me this year. It’s a conspiracy!

S: I’m sorry, what now Mr. Baumgardner?

H: You know exactly what I’m talking about, big city!

B: We actually don’t Mr. Baumgardner.

H: Don’t mouth off to me you conspiring little bag of d****!

S: Hey, hey, Hershel, no one is conspiring against anybody here! You should be happy right now, this is what, your fourth time winning the tournament? Granted, lets be honest, the cadaver should probably give this one an asterisk.

B: 1989, 1992, and now back to back titles in 2014 and 2015, you're the first ever to have four titles!

H: Well, when you put it like that...I guess...I never thought of it that way...I was just so red faced about someone poking a hole in the bottom of my boat right after I caught my last fish. Old Cecil wouldn’t have come close if some boob stain hadn’t messed with my damn boat.

B: Kingsy got you!

H: It wasn’t Kingsy. That serpenty little b***.

C: Is that Hershel? How you doing buddy? I miss you. Why you don’t answer when I call?

H: Cecil! You cheating dog pecker, I’d knowed it was you that sunk my battleship, you couldn’t stand to have me win all by myself this year, you limp d*** drunkard!

B: Uh ha, we’re gonna have to ask you to watch your language, Mr. Baumgardner.

H: Now you listen here you motherf******- *dial tone*

S: Hello?

B: Sorry, Sammy, Merv’s already not happy, lets not have the FCC join him.

S: You know you’re getting real good with that dump button trigger finger tonight Ben. B: I told you I didn’t dump you. Hershel, yes, but not you.

S: You, *laughs*, you were so right about this full moon tonight Ben.

B: This is a nightmare.

S: Hey. I’m sorry, okay? I shouldn’t have gotten so fired up.

B: You and Hershel both. You know how hard I work on this schedule? Don’t...puppy dog eye me, Sammy!

S: Hey, I’m just trying to ice this apology cake buddy.

B: 6:20, you buy me a stack of pancakes at Rose’s Diner, and we’ll call it even.

S: Sounds like a plan. So, you’ve heard our story King Falls, now let's hear-

B: Good grief, we’ve got line two, he’s in a panic.

S: Aren’t we all? You’re on the air with Sammy and Ben, what can we-

Archie: No time for pleasantries, I need the law!

B: Sir, uh, 911 is probably your best bet.

S: Or maybe tweet Troy and #kingfalls911, I dunno.

A: You silly Sally’s, I’ve already called the deputy is on the way, but I’m having a terrible night and I don’t appreciate the two of you making it worse.

B: Wait, is this Archie Simmons?

A: The one and only.

B: Is there something wrong down at the Pomchi Palace?

S: Pomchi? What the hell is a pomchi?

A: Oh my god, read a book Sammy

B: It’s a dog breed, half pomeranian, half chihuahua.

S: Oh. So, Archie’s a professional dog breeder?

A: Best bitches in the tristate area!

B: That’s their motto.

A, to the dog: That’s a good baby, daddy loves you. Oh, what’s that, that angry mean werewolf violated you? Don’t you worry, daddy will make him pay!

S: Did he just say werewolf?

A: You bet your bottom dollar I did.

S: Ben, I...I can’t.

B: Tell us what’s going on, Archie.

A: Well, I live off of route 72, damn near out of town. It’s usually nice and quiet except for those damn trashy rednecks and their trailer park every damn Saturday night.

B: But, tonight it’s not nice and quiet?

A: Hell no! I woke up to the most god awful squalling. I mean, it sounded like a freight train hit a barrel of screaming billy goats. Half a step below a damn eight *** bottle rocket.

B: That is vivid.

S: Dare I say, was it a half man half wolf?

B: Good job Sammy.

S: Please don’t encourage this.

A: It was so terrible a noise. I thought I might have dreamed it, but then I heard it again.

S: Go on.

A: So I threw on my slippers and went running towards the back of the house. And I’m scared, because I just paid, well I paid a bundle, for a couple of these new pomchi bitches. So I’m worried that maybe Rufus, that’s my labradoodle-

S: Labrado-

B: Labrador poodle mix.

A: Dammit, google it fellas, and keep up! I’m worried that Rufus has maybe snuck in the backyard and roughed up the new pomchis, so I rush towards the back, and Rufus is in the Florida room, just a growling mind you, so it wasn’t him. So I burst open the back door and what do I see?

B: What, uhh, what did you see?

A: I see a half man, half dog bent over hunching the hell out of my $2400 Princess Von Barktooth.

B: Not Princess Von Barktooth!

S: Okay, so you run outside in your slippers and you see some skeezy pervert and he’s got your dog.

A: In the biblical sense! But the man was a werewolf.

S: Are we really talking about wolfman werewolves here? I’m sorry, Ben.

A: You shouldn’t be sorrying to Ben, he’s not the one who’s been sodomized by a damn man wolf. And now I gotta stay up all night watching the princess and dealing with the law. Lord knows I’m worried that leads to long term emotional distress or worse. And we can just throw out winning the Westminster trophy. That was not in our five year plan!

B: I have to...what was the five year plan?

A: Princess Von Barktooth is supposed to fall in love with another purebred pomchi who sweeps her off her feet, holds open all the doggy doors for her, and shares all his treats. Isn’t that right little princess? *barking*

S: This is just silly. I mean, it was obviously just a creep with serious issues, not a mythical-

A: Are you calling me a liar? *howling in the background* I saw that abomination with my own two baby blues.

B: Sammy likes to look at these paranormal events from all angles, Archie.

A: Well the angle that I saw it at was a g-d crime against humanity and dogmanity alike. The beastman looked at me, evil in his eyes, and desire in his heart, tossed my princess like a ragdoll, howled at the moon like the wretched demon that he is, and scampered off.

B: Uh, Archie, have you had issues with the werewolves before?

A: Oh my gosh who hasn’t? Old Dylan ‘Hillbilly’ Baxter used to pepper buckshot those chicken thieving shapeshifting sons of bitches.

S: Brass tacks here, is Princess Von Barktooth okay?

A: Needless to say, we’re more than a bit shaken by this turn of events.

S: Have you looked into silver bullets? Ebay, Amazon Prime?

A: You come out here the next full moon you sassy Sally, and I’ll show you more werewolves than you can shake a d*** at. *sirens in the background* Oh, I just heard deputy Troy pull up, I gotta go boys. *hang up sound*

B: Uh, thanks for letting all of us know that there’s been some activity on the wolf front Archie.

S: This is just too much. Look, stay safe Archie, listening public. I’m not saying that there’s werewolves on the loose-

B: There are.

S: Ben. Everyone stay safe, there’s definitely something in the air tonight.

B: Oh no. Sammy, can you take line one?

S: Do I even wanna ask?

Finn: Sammy! Ben! It’s bad. It’s real bad, y’know?

S: Are you alright, Finn?

F: I didn’t even see him coming! Must have ran headlong into the truck on my blind side.

S: Who did? What’s going on?

B: Finn hit a dog, off route 72.

S: You’re f***ing kidding me.

F: This poor little guy, I feel so bad, y’know? Actually, he’s not that little…

B: Finn, are you still in your truck?

F: Oh yeah, but I stopped it when I hit the fella. I’m shaking something awful here.

S: I think you should start the truck up and just keep on moving.

F: I think he’s still alive. I’m gonna have to do the right thing and check this out Sammy.

B: Sammy’s right-

F: I’m outside the truck, heading back towards the pooch.

S: Get back in the truck Finn! Uh, y‘know, because it could be a coyote or something, not a were, y’know.

F: Oh my, this poor fella don’t look too good. This looks, WHOA NOW!

B: Move your maple loving ass Finn!

F: It’s too late, running at me boys! What f***?

S: Finn? Finn?

*wolf noises, Finn struggling, more noises, and a howl that is soon echoed in the distance*

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