#rocking back and forth crying and cramping hours boys | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

honeybeefae · 2 years ago

Text

Bigger Than The Whole Sky (Cassian x Reader)

Summary// This entire year had been devastating for you and your mate. On more days than not you found yourself laying in bed, the pillow wet with tears, while Cassian stroked your hair and whispered soft words into your ear. You were so ready to give up, to crumble away like sand against the waves of grief, until you discover something that gives you and him hope.

(I know this is a few days late but I wanted to get it right! This is very angst heavy, I’m just going to warn you. It has a happy ending but it deals with the loss of a child, miscarriage, etc. As a mom who lost her first child, this fic is almost cathartic to me. It was years ago but that kind of pain never leaves you and although I don’t know if anyone who reads this has gone through this, statistically 1 in 4 women will suffer through this. This is for you, or for anyone going through grief)

@starfallweek Prompt: Character A swears they recognize one of the stars blazing past when Character B is trying to tell them something important.

WARNINGS: Angst, Miscarriage, Blood, Death, Vomit, Pregnancy, ending is hopeful

The curtains in the room billowed in the calm breeze, the sun streaming into a room that was full of darkness. You stared blankly at the door of your bedroom, listening to the soft snores of your mate while you furiously rubbed at your eyes to keep yourself awake.

It was the same every single night. You would try to sleep, your entire being exhausted from just existing, only to be plagued by the nightmares that replayed the night over and over again. No tea, herb, or medicine seemed to help, and every night you were edging closer and closer to the edge.

You quietly got up when your eyes tried to shut once more, walking over to the open balcony doors and stepping into the outside air. The warmth of the sun warmed your skin and kissed your face, making you briefly smile, until you laid a hand over your empty womb.

“Cassian! Cassian, help me!” You screamed from the bathroom, blood covering your legs as you fell to your knees in pain from the sharp cramps that were stabbing into your stomach. “Please…please no…”

Footsteps thudded loudly outside, your mate frantically searching for you, until he barged into the bathroom and saw you crumpled on the floor. “Y/N, what happened? What’s wrong?” He asked, kneeling in front of you despite the blood to grab your face. “Are you hurt? Where are you bleeding from?”

Your eyes were red from how hard you were crying, half from the pain and half from the realization of what was happening. It was the same thing you had seen your mother go through when you were young. You remembered hearing her screams, her prayers to the Mother to save her child, and then silence.

“I…” You started to say before sobbing again, his arms immediately pulling you into his chest as he cradled you closely. He shushed you, rocking the two of you back and forth as you cried and cried and cried.

Cassian figured out what was happening quickly, his heart shattering right along with yours. His tears fell onto your head, holding you to him as if you would also disappear. You stayed that way for hours, not moving until Feyre had come looking for you and immediately turned to go grab Madja.

She had to pry you from his arms to examine you, grimacing as she glanced at you in sympathy. Cassian’s hands never left yours as you lay on the bathroom floor, laboring for a few hours until you birthed your sleeping child. It was a boy, his wings so tiny as was the rest of his body, and you just sat there gazing at him until Madja gently took him and wrapped him in a blanket.

“Y/N?” Cassian called, pulling you back to the present. He looked over your sunken face, and your cracked lips, and felt as if he were looking at a ghost. “How long have you been out here?”

“Just for a few minutes.” Your voice was hoarse as you wrapped your arms around yourself, looking out towards the bay. “Did you sleep okay?”

“Did you?”

You looked away in silence, his face softening as he reached out to touch you. It felt foreign though like you were out of your own body.

“Y/N…you need to rest. Please.” He pleaded but you shook your head, looking up at him sadly.

“I can’t, Cass.” You mumble, the memory still burning in the back of your mind. “Every time I close my eyes, every time, I just see him and-”

Before you could break down, you snuggled into his chest, his lips pressing on the crown of your head to comfort you. Although the pain was still there, being in Cassian’s arms made it dull. You both had lost your son, you both were mourning and even though it had been a year of this agony, you at least knew you had someone to hold you in the dark.

After a few minutes, he pulled away, brushing the tears from your eyes. “You know tonight is Starfall, princess. Rhys and Feyre said they understood if we couldn’t make it but maybe it would be nice to get out for a while? See everyone?”

If you were being honest it was one of the last things you wanted to do but deep down you missed your family, and you knew your mate did too. He was always the social bat, the life of the party, and ever since the incident he changed, and became more withdrawn and sad. You hated how it had changed him, wishing you could take that pain away so his heart wouldn’t be marred by it.

Of course, it was impossible, you couldn’t change the past. However, maybe tonight was the first step you both needed to start healing. Starfall meant so much to both of you and while you definitely wouldn’t stay for the whole thing, an appearance was something you could manage.

“I don’t know if I can handle the entire party, but I think it would be nice to get out for a change.” You said, the corners of your mouth slightly turning up when he grinned from ear to ear.

“Of course, we don’t have to stay long. Just say the word and we can leave.” He affirmed, surprising you with a soft kiss on your lips. “I love you.”

“I love you too. Now go spread the good news while I go bathe.” You shooed him, watching him throw on his clothes and walk out the door at breakneck speed. It reminded you of your old Cassian.

You started to draw a bath, letting the hot water almost sear your skin as it began to fill up. As you started to realize what you had just agreed to, you found yourself growing nauseous at seeing everyone again. It was no secret what had happened and while you were safe inside your room, out there you would be opened to the prying eyes and gossip of everyone else.

Could you handle it? What if it was too much? What if it was a disaster?

The contents of your stomach started to rise in your throat without warning and you barely had time to make it to the toilet before throwing it all up. It made your eyes sting as you gripped the bowl, blindly reaching for a towel to wipe your mouth as you slowly slid to the floor groaning.

Perhaps it wasn’t a good idea to go tonight. If your nerves were already giving you this much trouble, you couldn’t imagine-

“Y/N?” Madja called from the bedroom, her voice laced with concern. Your brows furrowed in confusion as you quickly wrapped yourself in a robe and peeked out, surprised to see her already halfway across the room.

“Madja? What are you doing here?” You asked as she seemed to examine you with her eyes, trying to decipher the look in her eyes.

“Are you feeling okay?”

She must have heard you throwing up. “Yes, yes, I just was worried over Starfall tonight. It will be the first time I’ve been out in public since…” You trailed off, looking past her as the painful memory threatened to surge forward again.

Madja watched as you closed your eyes and breathed through your nose, calming yourself, before opening them once more. “I’m okay, just feeling a little sick. Do you think I could have some tea to settle my stomach?”

“I…I don’t think that would be wise, child.” She answered, brushing past you and into the bathroom to turn off the water. “Nor this hot of a bath.”

“Madja I assure you I am fine, I just wanted to relax and-”

“That’s not what I am concerned about.” She interrupted, crossing her arms as the wrinkles around her face softened. “Y/N, do you know when the last time you bled was?”

“It was…” You began, stalling when you couldn’t recall. After your loss, you hadn’t had your cycle and thought it was normal, you were grateful for not having to go through it on top of the trauma you had already endured.

But as Madja stood there, watching as you pieced together what she was asking, you stumbled back in disbelief, hitting the doorframe behind you. She immediately rushed forward, calling your name, but all you could hear were the screams and the sobbing of yourself and your mate.

“Y/N! Y/N!” She shouted, grabbing your face and making you meet her gaze. Your eyes were already welling up with tears once more, feeling as if your heart was about to fly out of your chest. “Y/N, you need to breathe. Breathe.”

Her hands were comforting as she grabbed one of your own and put it against her chest, letting you feel her breathe until you slowly started to match it.

“Please…please tell me it’s not true.” You whimpered, your bottom lip quivering as she shushed you and placed her hand over your womb. It was a few minutes before she pulled back, her lips tightened as she only gave you a slight nod of confirmation.

It felt as if the entire world was crashing down upon you. She did not stop as you buried your face into her neck, shaking in fear at the news. In your grief, you had only had a few brief moments of intimacy with your mate, mainly as a distraction to pull yourself out of the hole if only for a little while.

Madja softly ran her fingers over your head, shushing you, like a mother to a child. She was usually professional with the rest of your family but after what she had witnessed with you, she looked after you more closely.

“I can’t do it again, Madja.” You cried, shaking your head. “I’m so afraid.”

“Hush now.” She soothed, rubbing small circles into your back. “I know it is frightening, the unknown and the known, but you are already farther along than with your last.”

You were shocked to hear that, pulling away to see if she was serious. All of the symptoms you had had before were missing but you supposed with how you had been feeling and how overwhelmed you were, you probably just brushed them off just as you had this morning.

She wiped away your tears and used her magic to examine you once more, taking in the position of the growing babe. “I cannot guarantee you there won’t be any problems, this will be a higher-risk pregnancy, but I do have faith in the Cauldron and my hands.”

“What if it happens again?” You whisper, placing your hand over your belly. “What if I lose them? What if there is something wrong with me? If I cannot carry this baby, Madja, I fear that I will not be able to handle another death. My soul is already weary.”

“If you go throughout this life always worried about the what-ifs, you will never live, child,” Madja spoke softly. “Be afraid, grieve, feel whatever it is you are feeling, but also rejoice in this news and try to find the light in the darkness. That is what this child is.”

You let her words stew in your head, trying to sort through each of your emotions one by one as she wrote down a time and date for you to come visit her. “We will be doing weekly meetings to check, and if you have any worries come find me.”

As she started to walk out the door you called out for her, fiddling with your fingers as you asked, “Can you not disclose this to Cassian? I want to tell him.”

Madja smiled and nodded, holding a finger to her lips, before disappearing from your sight. You walked backward until your knees hit the bed, sitting on the edge as you processed what had just happened.

Anger, worry, guilt, and hope were the four biggest emotions you were working through. Anger that your body had allowed this to happen after what happened with your first, worry that you would lose another child, guilt that you got pregnant again so soon and that you were replacing your first, and a small hope that you would actually get to bring a child into this world for you and Cassian to raise.

It was a lot. What would Cass say? Would he be angry at you, or would he be excited? What about everyone else? What if your first son, wherever he was, was angry with you for replacing him? Were you being irrational?

The sun was already high in the sky and since your mate wasn’t back yet, you knew he probably wouldn’t return until later tonight. You had to tell him soon, it was a miracle that he hadn’t been able to smell it on you already.

Your bath was sure to be at least lukewarm by now so you decided to go ahead and start getting ready, finding yourself gazing at your stomach every time you passed the mirror and imagining who was inside you.

Later that day, 30 minutes to Starfall

The dress you put on was one you had worn before but it was still as beautiful. You had styled your hair in your favorite way, your makeup light, and your shoes comfortable. After making sure everything looked good, you turned to the side and stared at your abdomen once more. There was a small swell that you could easily hide if you tried.

You were dreading talking to Cassian, your mind racing with what could happen. Although he seemed more okay than you, you knew it was just a mask. He was grieving just as hard as you, tossing and turning at night and trying his best to hide the pain from you.

If he wasn’t happy with this…you didn’t know what you would do.

As the sun disappeared underneath the sea you finally found the courage to step out of the door, heading upstairs to the balcony where you could already hear the party starting. You had told him to meet you there when he tried to get you to walk out together, assuring him you just needed more time.

Your heart was beating as loud as your heels against the floor as you stepped out into the world for what felt like the first time in forever. Everyone was dressed beautifully, some of them conversing with each other while others were grazing the food table and bar.

Thankfully no one looked toward you, gawking or pointing like in your nightmares. It took you a minute to find Cassian but when you did you beelined to him, blushing when he pulled you into his arms and kissed you sweetly.

“You look beautiful, princess.” He murmured against your lips, kissing you once more before pulling back. “I was worried you were going to miss the start. I think the first one just streaked across the sky.”

“Well, I’m glad I came when I did.” You replied, snuggling into his side as you glanced up at the sky. You heard your friends behind you, laughing about something, and you were thankful they hadn’t spotted you yet.

You needed to tell him now, while you had alone time, but when you finally found the courage to speak everyone begin to cheer and toast as the first couple of souls appeared in blazing lights. It was enchanting to watch, distracting you for a moment as Cassian kissed your forehead.

And as you stood there beside him, his arm wrapped around you while you were surrounded by the beauty of the night and the liveliness of the party, that small spark of hope grew brighter and brighter. It was like the Mother herself was assuring you everything was going to work out.

“Cassian, I need to tell you something.” You said, turning to look at him. However, he seemed to be focused on something past the horizon. “Cassian?”

“Did you see that?” He asked breathlessly, his eyes wide in disbelief. “D-Did you see?”

“See what?” You turned to try and look at what he was staring at, only seeing the bright streaks of green. “I don’t see anything, Cass.”

“I swear, Y/N, I thought-” He paused, looking down at you with a mixture of happiness and sorrow. “One of the souls, I swear….”

You held your breath, your hand flying to your mouth as you squeezed his arm as hard as you could. There was no way, it couldn’t be. It was just your brain trying to make you feel better about your situation, he couldn’t have possibly seen what you thought he did.

Still, you couldn’t stop yourself as you whispered, “Our son?”

He nodded once, his large hand cupping your cheek as you drew in a shaky breath. “It could have been a trick of the light, or something else, but I saw a small soul, it looked like he had wings and I just felt it. It felt like him, Y/N.”

However you knew it wasn’t, you knew Cassian would never joke or say something like this unless he fully believed it. And hearing him say that, looking at into his eyes, you knew this was a sign.

Your son had come down to visit you, he knew you needed him even if he never got to see you. It was destiny.

You quickly grabbed his hand and placed it over your stomach, tears freely falling as your voice wavered. “No, no it wasn’t a trick Cass. It was him.” You affirmed, smiling more than you ever had before. “He came to tell me, to tell us, that everything will be okay.”

“What do you mean?” He breathed, his gaze flickering between you and your conjoined hands over your womb. “Is this…are you…?”

Cassian couldn’t even finish the sentence as you nodded, biting down on his bottom lip to stop himself from sobbing in front of everyone. You rubbed your thumb over his knuckles, laughing incredulously as you said, “He wanted to visit his sibling.”

It took two seconds for him to digest your news before you were lifted into the air and spun around in his arms, grinning as he hollered in delight before bringing you into a crushing kiss. You felt warmth blossom in your chest where you had thought it never would again, your fingers tangling in his hair.

Everyone was probably wondering what had happened but for the first time in a year, you didn’t care. You didn’t care about the worries of tomorrow or of others, about the what-ifs, all you cared about was now.

Starfall had blessed you with your mate, your son, and your new babe all in one night. It was a happiness you never thought you would have again and you weren’t going to waste a moment of it.

#acotar fic #acotar angst #starfall week fic #starfall week #cassian x reader #cassian x reader acotar #cassian x reader angst #cassian acotar #cassian #angst fic #acotar #acomaf #acowar #acofas #acosf

495 notes · View notes

technowoah · 4 years ago

Note

Wait imagine a fic where Jack and the reader are long distance or something and when Tubbo and Tommy are doing the man hunt irl the reader surprises Jack.

That would be cute I think 🤔

Just One Livestream

You surprise Jack with a spontaneous visit to the UK, little did you know that they were livestreaming.

- Jack Manifold x gen neutral!reader

- Anon Requested!

⚠︎ swearing, fluff!, not proofread

an// I hope yall enjoy! Much love! And sorry it came out so late I have no inspiration rn but imma get it done! Also I used the difference of American hours to London hours so sorry of

Navigation!

"Love, why are you up early?" Jack asked through the phone.

You two were facetiming eachother as he propped his phone up on his dashboard while he started to drive. It was around 1 am for you and 6 am for Jack. Sadly you two were in a long distance relationship. You had met Jack when you were on a college trip to London to study abroad for 3 weeks. You were sad that you had to leave your home country, but this was a opportunity you couldn't oppose.

During this trip you had found a cafe that you would go to often. The first time you sat at the cafe alone you always noticed it was only you and this other man in the cafe. He was always on his computer and sat by a window, he always came early too, even earlier than you. As the days went on you continued to see him around more and he seemed to notice you as well. You made a note to yourself to always try and show up a tad bit earlier to the cafe to stay around the same time as he did.

You two got to know eachother throughout the three weeks you had to stay in London. The small nods became hellos, and the hellos turned into full on conversation by the window. He had told you his name was Jack Manifold and was kind of surprised when you didn't immediately know who he was. To him it was refreshing not to be immediately noticed based on his appearance. You both had exchanged numbers one day and after each morning you two would text non stop even during your classes. Luckily trying to get to know Jack changed your sleep schedule and because of that you always made it to class on time.

Jack was such an amazing guy to you, but during the first week you had developed a small crush on the man, and he had developed a crush on you too. The second week you two had ventured out onto different territory than the cafe. Jack started to call those small outings after class, dates and you weren't opposed to the dates at all you loved them. The second and third week were mostly dates and the night before you left he asked to be your boyfriend and of course you accepted not knowing the pain of a long distance relationship.

You had to answer his question on why you were up so early. "Yeah- Um, Im up because of you." You chuckled. "You changed my sleep schedule ever since I met you."

"Well you're welcome, because before me I heard you were missing classes." Jack payed attention to the road but still talked to you.

"Because I told you! And I am grateful, but there is nothing to do at one am here." You sighed while you started to walk around your room as you lied to him.

Jack was talking to you while you did a clean sweep around your house to check if you had everything for your trip.

Two weeks ago you had decided to pack your bags and take a trip back to London. Right now your flight will be leaving early in the morning and that's why you are up so early.

You wanted to surprise Jack instead of straight up telling him that you will be in the country. You missed him dearly, and this will be a great way to spend time together instead of seeing eachother across a screen. One of you had to make that sacrafice and that would be you.

While Jack continued to talk you checked everywhere to make sure you arent leaving anything behind.

"What are you doing, darling?" Jack asked and that snapped you out of your trance. "Are you even listening to me? Im hurt." Jack faked being hurt.

You smiled at him and shook your head. "Im sorry I wasn't listening. What were you saying?"

"I was saying, when you were ignoring me, that I'm going to the cafe right now and that we should plan a trip soon. I miss you." Jack confessed and you awed.

"I miss you too Jack! I hopw we can see each other soon." You tried to contain your smile as you hid your surprise.

"Me too."

Your plane finally landed as you let out a sigh of relief. You had collected all of your shit fast so you could finally get off of that horrible plane. Every stereotypical airplane scene happened to you in the hours you were on that plane. You had a child crying behind you with a mother who couldn't keep that child calm, you were sat next to a man who snored the whole ride here and you just felt cramped.

Sadly you couldn't return any of Jack's messages or calls that you saw when you were in the airplane terminal. You tried calling him twice but they both went to voicemail while you rolled your bag through the huge building. Finding yourself outside you ordered an Uber and once you did that your phone began to ring showing Jack's name and picture of you two together on the screen.

You quickly answered the phone. "Hey!"

"Hi!" Jack chuckled. "I called like, 17 times!"

"I know! Im sorry. I was busy." You weren't lying getting a plane and basically leaving early in the morning and arriving in the afternoon in London. "So, what are you doing today?"

"I am hanging out with Tommy and Tubbo at the park! Im picking them up now!" Jack responded and you heard him close his car door.

"Which park?" You asked quickly as you saw your Uber arrive.

Jack started to laugh. "Uh I'll text you the park I guess. Why would you want to know?"

"No reason! I just want to make sure you are safe. Dont make me call 999." You tried to joke around and take the attention off of your question.

"I cant believe you still remember 999." Jack laughed.

"I still do!" You said as you got inside your Uber and gave the driver the directions to your hotel forgetting that Jack was on the other line.

"Wait hotel?" Jack questioned through the phone.

"Hotel? What are you talking about?" You acted oblivious.

"I- I thought you were talking about a hotel." Jack hesitated.

"No!" You tried to cover up your mistake.

"Well Im going to pick up Tommy soon. I'll talk to you later okay? Answer my calls this time!" Jack chuckled.

"I definitely will!"

You had recived the name of the park you were surprising Jack at. You began to walk around the parking lot after you got dropped off and noticed his car sitting there. There were tons of people at the park today and you didn't know where he would be. As you walked on the dirt trails of the park your thoughts took over, what if you made a mistake and should've told Jack that you were here in London and wanted to meet up at the cafe?

You looked at people as they passed by you ok the trail wishing that you had that energy that you had before, thinking that you would find Jack easily when in reality you were in a busy part of the park and he could be anywhere.

When you thought all hope was lost you heard some loud voices on the trail to your right. You were already walking aimlessly through the park and your first instinct was to go left and walk away from the loud voices, but then you heard something.

"Tommy this was a bad idea!"

"I dont think it was!"

You stood in the "intersection" of the dirt trails thinking that you heard those voices right. You rounded the corner and followed right to see Tommy and Jack doubled over, out of breath while Tubbo was still standing up breathing heavily. There were far away from you, but not far away that you couldn't see them clearly.

You began to call out to them. "Tommy! Jack! Tub-"

They quickly turned around and took off running. Confused on why they were doing that you took off running after them trying to tell them to stop. They were yelling and you were yelling and getting weird glances from stangers, and you dont blame them. You're chasing after your boyfriend and his two friends in a quiet public park. You continued to hear their groans of tiredness and their speed started to slow down.

"Jack! Tommy! Wait up!" You yelled out of breath as you slowed down as well.

"We give up! We give up!" Tubbo yelled and came to a complete stop while trying to catch his breath. He turned around to finally face you. "Y/N?!"

"Wait what?!"

"You're here?!" Jack ran up to you and gave you a bone crushing hug, rocking you two back and forth.

"I am! And Im our of breath thanks to you three." You said while still hugging Jack.

"M'sorry I thought you were a fan and I took off and they followed suit I guess." Tommy rubbed his forehead.

"A fan?" You questioned and Tommy and Tubbo lifted their phones up gesturing that they were recording.

"We're doing manhunt in real life, darling." Jack kissed your temple and wrapped his arn around your waist, holding you tight.

"Next time look before you run okay." You smiled still out of breath while kissing Jack's cheek.

"Enough with the PDA!" Tubbo yelled still recording you two.

"We havent even started!" Jack yelled back giving you a huge hug. Jack closed the distance between you two and gave you a passionate kiss on the lips while the two boys groaned in disgust.

"I think that's enough streaming for today boys." Tommy sighed.

"Sorry again, love. That won't happen again."

You and Jack walked hand in hand down the streets of London. People had to walk around you two because you were basically taking up the whole sidewalk and you weren't letting go of his hand anytime soon.

"It better not! I dont want to run after you again." You smiled as you bumped shoulders.

"And you wont have to!" He smiled back at you as you two continued to walk and people dodged the two of you.

"Have you ever thought of moving here?" Jack asked out of nowhere.

"I have actually! On the plane ride here I thought of leaving and moving to London." You thought about it constantly. It was nice being close to Jack and it was a major risk.

"Well wherever you're ready, I'll be here for you." Jack kissed your cheek. "And I wont run away when you come here!"

You two finally made it to your destination which was the cafe you two met at. It was busy at this time because it was the middle of the day and not the beginning. You two entered and took your seats by the window where you two usually sat.

"I love you. I missed this." Jack said.

"I love you too! And of course I missed this. Maybe you can show me more places around London and convince me to stay longer." You gave him a proposal.

"Longer than what?" Jack asked.

"Four weeks." You grinned.

Jack grabbed both of your hands and kissed the back of them. "Hell yeah. I get you for more than four weeks?!"

"That's if you show me places to stay longer." You teased.

"Okay babe. You like ferris wheels?"

669 notes · View notes

laskyy · 4 years ago

Text

Hey guys! I was finishing up the Keeho imagine and realized I had a request in my inbox! I didn't see it until now so I'm not sure when it was sent so I'm really sorry I didn't write earlier if you sent it a long time ago! This was requested by @ipupwkr! I hope you like it! And sorry for the wait!!!

×××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××

P1harmony when they realize they love their s/o

Tw: kissing (as always lmao), stress, crying (let me know if I missed something)

Genre: fluff

××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××

Theo:

Theo had been working nonstop since their comeback was very near and it was clear that he felt absolutely drained in every aspect possible.

You of course weren't oblivious. You did notice that your boyfriend was overworking himself. So you wanted him to relax a bit.

It was almost 2 am when you went to fnc and found him in a practice room, dancing alone. You felt the vibrations of the music coming to an end and you took this as an oportunity to come in and take care of your boyfriend.

(rest of Theo and the other members under the cut!)

"Hey babe!" You said softly as you closed the door of the practice room and put the food you brought on a nearby table.

"Oh hi, baby! What brings you here?" He asked as he pecked your lips and gave you a quick hug.

"Well, you've been very stressed lately and I also noticed that you haven't taken some time to rest! So I'm here to make sure you relax! You need to be healthy and you probably have only been eating junk food so I also cooked some food for you! And you also need to slee-"

You didn't get to finish the sentence because Theo tackled you in a hug. Theo looked you in the eyes and he almost teared up. How could he be so lucky! You cared about him so much like no one has before. You weren't someone to mess up your sleeping schedule and he knew it, but you came here to him in the wee hours of the morning. He realized at that exact moment that he loved you and you were definitely the one for him.

Keeho:

Keeho was thrilled because he hadn't seen you in quite some time because of his busy schedule, but today he was free and you decided to meet him in the dorm to spend some quality time together and he was more than excited to have you in his arms.

"Baby!" He said as you arrived and hugged him tight.

"Hi bub!" You said as you kissed his cheek tenderly.

"Let's go up to my room!" Keeho said as he excitedly extended his hand out to you (a/n: as I was writing this, Nemonade started playing hsisjs this is unrelated to the imagine, but just wanted to said this song is a certified bop lmao) and you took it immediately.

You guys went up to his room and as he closed the door he started kissing you all over your face, something he did when he had missed you.

"I missed you sooooo much! You have no idea!" He said as he planted a big kiss on your lips and you giggled while reaching into your bag.

"I missed you too you big baby! And by the way, I got you something!" You said as you gor a pair of sunglasses out of your bag.

"OH MY GOD! HOW DID YOU KNOW I WANTED THESE GLASSES? I LOVE THEM!!!" He said as he gladly took them and put them on while striking random poses and making you laugh.

"Well, the last time we went on a date I remember you looking at them while we were shopping and you looked at them with stars in your eyes, so how wouldn't I know!" You said as you wore an expression of endearment as you looked at your boyfriend who managed to look fine in everything.

"You're the best really! I aprecciate you so much!" He said as he hugged you lovingly. He hadn't said it to you but at that moment he felt gos heart beat faster than It ever had before. It wasn't the fact that you brought him something. It was the fact that you noticed the small details and that you could read him so well. At that moment Keeho knew. Keeho knew he was in love. Keeho knew you were the love of his life.

Jiung:

You were sleeping over at your boyfriend's dorm. It was the first time you slept in the same bed as Jiung, but honestly it was so cozy. He was so warm and his embrace just made you feel inner warmth as well and you swore that was the best sleep you've ever had!

You woke up before Jiung and took your time in admiring his features. He was so ethereal even when he was sleeping. You couldn't believe how lucky you were in finding such an amazing guy. Jiung was everything to you and you couldn't imagine your life without him.

You got up without waking Jiung up and decided to head to the kitchen to make breakfast as a way to thank him for everything! You went to the the kitchen in Jiung's oversized shirt and shorts and as the others weren't home you decided to play some music while cooking.

You were so into dancing and singing happily to End it (a/n: A BOP) while making breakfast that you didn't notice Jiung standing behind you as he watched you with heart eyes.

He looked at you with so much love. At first he was kind of sad that you left the bed before him, but all of the sadness left his body as he observed you being so immersed in the music while wearing his clothes.

He couldn't thank his lucky stars enough. He was so happy to have found you. And right now, as you were in such a domestic moment he couldn't help but realize that he loved you. You were the love of his life. And he wouldn't have it any other way.

Intak:

You and Intak were hanging out in his room just talking and cuddling, when you got into a conversation about how you guys were feeling about work and stress.

As Intak started speaking of the stress he was feeling with the comeback being so near he couldn't help but start crying because of feeling so overwhelmed.

"Oh Tak! Come here baby!" You said as you hugged as tight as you could while rocking him back and forth while kissing his head.

"I can't even begin to imagine how stressed you feel. I wish you could just pass the burden to me! I hate seeing you so upset! But, in the end, all of your hard work will pay off! It always does, and you know why?" You asked as Intak looked at you in the eyes as you wiped one of his tears with the pad of your thumb.

"Because you're Hwang Intak! You're an amazing artist! You're incredibly talented and passionate. You love what you do and it shows! You're going to rock this comeback like you always do! And I'll be here to help you throughout everything!"

By the end of your little encouraging speech Intak started crying harder. Don't get the poor boy wrong though. He started crying because your words made him so happy. He knew you cared about him, but he didn't know that you vocalizing it would make him realize everything. He realized he loved you and that he wanted to be by your side forever.

Soul:

You and Soul were watching a movie and honestly you guys weren't that interested in it. You were talking about your goals for the future and whatever went through your minds at that moment.

The conversation went on for a while until you felt Shota's head laying heavily in your shoulder and realized he fell asleep. God he looked so cute! You played with his hair softly until the movie ended and then you decided to make him comfortable on the couch or else he would wake up with a cramping neck.

You layed him down gently on the couch and you might not have noticed, but when you went to get a blanket to cover him he woke up and looked at you. When he saw you coming back he decided to close his eyes and pretended to be asleep to see what you would do.

You came back and tucked him in the blanket so that he could sleep well. You squatted on the floor and caressed his cheek softly for a while. You were about to get up when Soul spoke.

"Stay with me!"

And you couldn't say no to your cute boyfriend so you layed down next to him and cuddled him while listening to his steady heartbeat.

Soul looked down at you and and kissed your forehead softly while thing about how much you cared for him. Just thinking about it gave him butterflies. He was still young and had a lot of things he didn't understand, but one thing he did understand was that he was in love with you.

Jongseob:

You and Seobie were playing some video games in his room while catching up on what you guys have been doing lately. Jongseob suddenly cuddled closer to you and you could feel that he was shivering.

"Seobie you're shivering! Let me get you a hoodie." You said as you grabbed your bag and handed him his hoodie that you loved wearing.

"But you said you weren't going to give it back!" Seobie said kind of confused as he put it on.

"Well, I'm not giving it back. But you're cold and the hoodie is loosing your smell so it's a great oportunity to kill two birds with one stone!" You said as you played with the strings on his hoodie.

"So you wear my hoodies because they smell like me?" Jongseob asked as his smile grew wider.

"Of course I do! They help a lot when you're working and need to be away for a long time. That way one part of you is always with me and I feel safer in a certain way." You said as you grew shy of your sudden confession.

"Just when I thought you wouldn't get cuter!" Jongseob said as he kissed your cheek and hugged you tight.

No one ever made Jongseob feel this way. You always made Jongseob learn new things and today he leaned that he loved you dearly.

×××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××

So guyyyys, DID YOU SEE P1H'S COVER OF GOOD 4 YOU BECAUSE I DID AND I DIED DHKDBDJJD LIKE I DON'T EVEN HAVE WORDS SO HAVE SOME NUMBERS 288292829288282892.

Anyways, Keeho's imagine will ho up tomorrow because I drained my energy with this request! But I think you guys will like it! Love you guys! Pray for Ni-ki's recovery!!! 💖

#p1harmony #p1harmony fluff #p1h imagines #p1h scenarios #yoon keeho #hwang intak #choi taeyang #keeho fluff #jiung fluff #intak fluff #theo fluff #haku shota #Shota fluff #kim jongseob #jongseob fluff

143 notes · View notes

six-sanctuary · 4 years ago

Text

Homecoming (Will Miller x Reader)

Author’s note: I’ve never written a fic before but was HEAVILY inspired by all the amazing content @lucrezia-thoughts and @charnelhouse generate (Super hope that's okay!) and wanted to try my hand at it and contribute to Triple Frontier Fr-saturday. (I know I'm a day late whoops)

Also I suck at proofreading I’m so sorry for any errors and hope someone enjoys this. Lowkey proud of myself for not being obnoxiously shy and just saving this to my desktop somewhere for eternity.

Anyways here we go no more rambling this is the fic. If I still dig it later on I might write some more in this lil universe either with Will/Reader or throw in some Benny/reader. Maybe even Santiago/reader if I can get his voice right.

Below the cut is 18+ only please and thanks!

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

You’d always been there, and you always would. It was the sort of realization that crept up slowly on Will. Looking back he wishes he could count the times he counted on you. He wishes he could put it into something concrete like numbers, something that he could wrap his head around, but you were there even before the numbers.

You were there before he was shipped off to war, before he had to learn to count as he breathed, in… two… three… four… five… hold… two… three… four… five…. out… two… three… four… five…. You were there before he broke and crumbled, falling into a million little pieces he didn’t know how to put back together again.

He wished he knew the number of warm smiles you’d given him. He wished he knew what number it took for him to fall in love, whether it was the hundredth or hundredth thousandth soft smile. All he knows now is that so much time was wasted, and he didn’t want to lose a second more.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

You’d moved to Colorado a few months ago. It had always been part of the plan but that timeline got moved up when Will’s parents announced they were selling the house in favor of something smaller now that they were empty nesters. For a solid week, Will hummed and hawed about it, flip flopping back and forth. The thought of giving up something that was so integral to his childhood, something that had always meant home for him, was hard.

After weeks of his thinly veiled discontent, you came to a solution. After one of his talks, you sat him down in the dining room table of your apartment together and laid out the documents one by one. Rather than explain right away, you let Will take them all in, grabbing each one and skimming it before moving on to the next piece of paper.

“This is…. To buy the house?” Will’s thumbs smoothed over the paper as if in need of a reminder that they were real, that this was real. “My parent’s place?” His voice was thick with emotion, which never failed to bring it out of you. Rather than answer in words and risk your voice failing you, you nodded.

From there it was a lot of packing, a lot of hard work, but with the Delta Force boys help you two managed to get everything packed up in a hauler, ready to make the trek halfway across the country. The thought of being holed up in the car for hours on end with Benny made you the slightest bit nervous. The younger Miller was a bundle of energy and while you appreciated that most of the time, you were wary about being stuck in cramped quarters with the lightning bolt of a man. In the end the cars were split with you and Santiago taking Will’s Ford and Will and Benny driving the Uhaul.

You had a week of the gang’s help, well the gang minus Frankie. He had to head back a few days early to his wife and daughter. The others stayed, even Tom, though he was quick to point out several “serious”problems with the house that you’d need to look into. Despite that, it already felt like home. Sure it needed your and Will’s touch on the place, and a number of things had gone into disrepair as the Millers got older. At some point it had become too much for them, but it was the perfect project for a newlywed couple.

Not once did you regret it. Not when you were lugging heavy boxes up the stairs nor when you learned the roof needed to be replaced. No, each problem was taken in stride because you knew with Will by your side, you’d get through it. There was nothing the two of you could not conquer.

Soon the novelty of the new house wore off and with Benny back at his apartment down the street and Santiago and Frankie back home, you and Will fell into a quiet domesticity. You lived in pieces, your life wrapped up in boxes while you made repairs to the house.

Will, though he meant well, was not as handy as he claimed to be. After the shower incident that required a late-night call to an emergency plumber, your big Delta Force husband was relegated to the simpler tasks, or the ones that required his muscle. If a dresser had to be moved, he was your man, rolling up his sleeves and making it look easy. The same went for anything that required reaching high places (the uppermost cabinets in the kitchen were a real bitch). In the end, Will ended up spending more time turning the side yard into a garden while you turned this old house into your home.

After a month, Will had to go back to work. He’d been requested to give a speech in D.C., back to the other side of the country. As much as you wanted him to stay, you knew that this was important to him. You knew how much it mattered to him to feel useful, to feel good about what he did and so with a kiss to the cheek, you promised him that you’d have the kitchen cabinets all painted by the time he came back.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Classic rock was softly playing out of the radio you had set up on the counter. Painting was boring work, even more so all by yourself. The radio made you feel less alone and so you hummed along as you worked. Stroke after stroke of paint was rolled onto the cabinets, breathing new life into the space. It was really mindless work and so your thoughts wandered as you painted. You thought about the home, what other projects you had in mind. If you finished the cabinets quickly enough you wanted to tackle the downstairs bathroom too before Will got back.

He'd called every night but it wasn’t the same as him being here. If you were lucky, you got him on FaceTime and got to see his face light up when you appeared on his screen. Even with the small image of him on your phone he was so handsome, golden and bright. You’d called him your Apollo once, god of the sun, and he’d found that funny. Ben was picking him up from the airport tomorrow and driving him home and then you’d have your sun again.

The opening of the front door snapped you out of your thoughts, your head whipping around. “Honey?” His gruff voice was unmistakable to you. Without a second thought your paintbrush was set down, dripping slightly off the drop cloth though that was a problem for later. Your feet carried you to him, flinging yourself into his arms when you saw him standing there in the foyer. “I thought you were coming back tomorrow.” You nuzzled into his neck, breathing in the smell of him as his arms wrapped tightly around your waist. “We finished early and I wanted to surprise you.” It was definitely a surprise.

His hand moved from the small of your back to your chin, gently lifting it to place a soft kiss on your lips. “I missed you,” you breathed before stealing another. “I know.” He always knew. He knew every time he left you would miss him and he would miss you. You’d play this game and then he’d come home and reclaim you. One kiss turned into two, which then turned into three and four. Your hands moved to his short blonde hair, moving to the back of his neck to pull him closer, ever closer.

Leaving his bags at the door, you two tangled, desperate for contact, desperate for two to become one again. He picked you up, something you’d normally protest as your feet worked just fine, but instead you let him carry you up the stairs, deeper into your home, to your bedroom.

With a playful grin he tossed you onto the bed, nearly chuckling at the way you almost bounced. His amusement only lasted a moment before lust and his need to have you took over. He descended on you on the bed, lips crashing into yours for a heated kiss as his tongue grazed against your lower lip. He was everywhere at once, overwhelming all of your senses as his name repeated over and over in your head like a mantra.

Will… Will… Will…

His large hands held your wrists above your head, somehow managing the dichotomy of being gentle but firm, while his lips retraced every curve of your skin. Every time he came back the routine was the same. Will wanted, no needed to learn you again, to cover every soft spot that made you sigh to ensure you were the same as when he had left. He needed to know and so he kissed you, his trimmed beard tickling as he slowly made his way down your body earning soft moans along the way.

He only left your wrists when he got to your legs, separating them and placing one over his shoulder as you laid back on the bed. There he paused, looking down at you so bare and exposed and wet beneath him. It was hard not to move under his gaze. “God you’re so beautiful.” You felt heat rise in your cheeks as you whined out his name. He placed a less-than-chaste kiss on your inner thigh before moving closer, breathing in your heady scent. Licking your folds, he let his tongue circle your clit, smirking at the sounds leaving your lips.

He knew your body like the back of his hand and it took no time at all for him to bring you to that peak of pleasure. Closer and closer, more and more you felt your body respond to him, your hips rolling up against his tongue, hands fisting in the sheets or his hair whichever was closer. “C’mon baby,” he coaxed, slipping a finger into your slick heat, curling it to stroke the soft spot that made you cry out and shudder around him.

“That’s one.”

And you knew your husband would follow through with another. He collected your orgasms like some collected baseball cards, counting each and every one. No night ended with just one, leaving you spent exhausted and so satisfied at the end.

Wiping the wetness from his face, he kneeled next to you, watching as your breathing rate came back down, waiting for the sign that he could have you again. As you blinked the haze away, his hands trailed up and down your side, drawing absent patterns against your soft skin. The look in his eyes of restrained hunger made your mouth go momentarily dry, reigniting the flames of passion within you. Propping yourself up on one elbow, you used your other hand to reach for him, pulling him over you.

It was all the encouragement he needed. After tossing his shirt away, his calloused hands move to your thigh, hiking it up over his hip. You had only a moment to take in the sight of him, the well-toned muscle, the scar on the left side of his stomach, before you two crashed together once more. Your hips ground against the hard bulge in his pants, leaving a dark patch in the denim. You needed more, more friction, more him.

He pulled away only long enough to unbutton his pants, kick off his boots and rid himself of the rest of his clothing. Standing at the edge of the bed, he stroked his impressive length a few times as he admired your naked form. Then the wait was too long and crawled over you, lining himself up and so agonizingly slowly pushing himself into you. You tried to be still but it seemed your body had something else in mind as your legs wrapped around his waist pulling him ever closer.

“Someone’s eager,” he breathed, both of you knowing full well that neither of you had the patience to wait much longer. Pressing his lips firmly against yours, he moved, hips snapping into you at a quick pace, his size stretching you in ways no one else ever could. Your body molded to fit around him, your leg wrapping around him once more in an effort to guide him ever deeper. He bottomed out in you before pulling out and pressing into you again and again and again. Each motion put stars behind your eyes, the fireworks building to another crescendo.

You felt him get closer, the rhythm of his hips losing itself as he continued to thrust into you, hips stuttering as the pleasure overwhelmed. “One more honey, I know you have one more.” His low throaty growl in your ear was enough to push you over the brink, your hands clamoring for purchase on his back and shoulders as you cried out once more. Your core clenched down on him and it took only a few more hurried thrusts before you felt his hot seed shooting into you as he let out a low grunt.

His forehead rested against yours as he remained where he was, not wanting to pull out of you just yet. A thin sheen of sweat covered the both of your bodies and despite that you didn’t think either of you were finished quite yet. You had a full week of time apart to make up for. Will pulled his head back from your forehead to give you another soft kiss, this one lacking the passion and lust but more than making up for that with the love and affection he poured into it. “It’s good to be home.”

#kiki writes #triple frontier #will miller #will miller x reader #will miller x you #will ironhead miller #triple frontier fanfic #triple frontier fanfiction

88 notes · View notes

destiniesfic · 4 years ago

Photo

132 Hours, Chapter 12

No, Cardan doesn’t hate the smell of cinnamon. And maybe somehow, inexplicably, he doesn’t hate me.

Note: This chapter contains explicit content. Proceed with caution!

Read chapter 12 on AO3, or read below:

I don’t know when I decide it.

Maybe it’s in that moment, curled up on that mattress, clutching at his shirt and wishing it wasn’t empty. That a boy was there to fill it with warmth and body, the shape of his kiss lingering on my forehead, the ghosts of his fingers in my hair. I stay like that for a long time, marveling at his gentleness. Then I peel off my dress and pull on his shirt. It’s big. It makes me wonder about the way he’d fit on me, against me.

Maybe it’s later, when the Bomb comes to check on me and sits down with me for a while, talking to me as I swallow my pride and blink back tears. “You’re doing so well,” she says, with her knees pulled into her chest, rocking back and forth on her heels. “You’re great. Not too much longer now.” And when she puts her hand on my shoulder, I wish she was Cardan, that her small hand was his larger one.

Maybe it’s after that, when the Ghost hangs out with me for a little while, standing, not sitting, propping himself up against the wall. “You want to watch anything?” he asks, as I blink at the glare in his palm and realize this is the first phone I’ve seen in almost five days. “News? Bachelorette season recaps?” I ask him to play an old episode of Buzzfeed Unsolved if we have the bars for it, and he does, tilting the screen in my direction. I appreciate his aloofness—it makes me feel like my situation is less dire—but I wish I were watching it with Cardan.

Maybe I never decide it. Maybe it was always decided for me, all the way back when I hit puberty, when I came back to school and suddenly he was the only thing I ever wanted to smell again. I don’t know. I don’t want to believe that biological determinism runs my life, that all our choices are coded into our genes. I want to have free will. Yet maybe it does all come down to that moment, when I scented him, and then a breeze picked up my hair and drove him absolutely bananas.

Because that must have been what happened. Because Cardan doesn’t hate cinnamon at all. Because he was just in here to help me drink down my water and tell me I was good. Because he tucked my hair behind my ear and seemed so sad when I asked him not to hurt me on purpose. Because he sat in the chair outside and rattled off a list of supposed achievements of mine, things he admired me for.

No, Cardan doesn’t hate the smell of cinnamon. And maybe somehow, inexplicably, he doesn’t hate me.

I don’t know when he decided that any more than I know when I decide this. Maybe it’s the spur of the moment. By the time Cardan returns that night, I am once again drenched in my own sweat and various other fluids, I am just about on the verge of screwing anything or anyone, and it feels like fire ants are crawling all over me. Still, I think I can push through it. My symptoms have been steadily escalating, so it’s not like any of this is new, just worse.

“Hi,” Cardan says, folding himself up in his usual corner. Lavender lingers in the air, riding the coattails of his scent. “How goes it?”

“Bad,” I manage. Single syllables are about my limit, even though the worst of my cramps have subsided for the moment.

“Yeah. I could’ve guessed.” He pauses, wrestling with himself over something. “Um, this is going to suck, undeniably, but I’m kind of glad to be back in here.”

“What?” I pick up my head. “You’re crazy.”

“For sure. You knew that already, right?” He laughs at himself, tilting his head back, exposing his throat to me. I think my mouth starts watering. God, I need this to be over. “But out there I kept wondering how you were doing. I was really distracted. I wanted to keep checking on you, make sure you were okay.” He shrugs. “It’s just… like, alpha stuff. Hardwired, instinct stuff.”

“Yeah,” I say mildly. I put my head back down.

“I can’t wait for this to be over.”

It’s weird how his words echo my thoughts. Feeling defensive, I say, “So you can go back to just caring about yourself?”

He raises an eyebrow. “Jude, if you think I care much about myself, your brain really is scrambled eggs.”

“I think you’re vain.”

“You would be too, if you were me. I like to look hot and wear nice clothes, so what?”

I roll my eyes.

“Vanity’s not what I’m talking about,” he continues. “Self-preservation, either.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I don’t know.” He runs a hand through his curls, distracted, restless. “I don’t know. But I don’t think either of us are very good at it.”

I turn over then. I don’t want to talk to him anymore. There’s a feeling in me, like smoldering embers, that has very little to do with my heat, with fever or desire. It takes a little prodding to realize that it’s annoyance, or even anger. I’m angry with him. Why am I angry with him?

Because I remember Cardan saying he wanted to take care of me. And the part of me that I tamp down on, the omega part, the vulnerable part, the part that is now exposed and very naked, very raw, wants that so much. If he doesn’t hate me, what is he waiting for? He’s the alpha. Everything points to him making the first move, and he is not moving.

Is he going to make me do it? He’s going to make me do it. Well, I hate him for it. I refuse.

Except when the next cramp rolls through me, it decimates my self-control.

“Cardan,” I whine.

Cardan has not said anything in a few minutes, so I think he might be sleeping, but he picks up his head immediately. “What, what is it?”

“Come here.”

I hear him inhale sharply. “Oh, fuck. Jude, no.”

“Why?” On the verge of tears, I try to twist toward him and end up with my shirt—his shirt—hiked up, my body tangled in the blankets. They scrape at my skin, but if I throw them off I’ll be too cold. Everything is discomfort, everything hurts. “Why not?”

He doesn’t answer.

“You think I’m disgusting,” I say for him. Some part of me is aware that I am babbling. Some part of me is aware that none of this is true. But it’s what I know. It’s what I revert to. And it’s easy to believe. I certainly feel disgusting. “You hate me.”

“No,” he says again, more quietly now.

“I know you hate me. You don’t want to want me. It’s okay. You don’t—have to like me.” My body spasms again. I thrash in the blankets. “Just touch me.”

“Jude.”

“It hurts so much.” My face is wet. Have I started crying? I rarely cry at pain. It must be sweat.

“You’ll hate me.” He’s trying to hold firm, but his voice shakes.

“I hate you a-already.” I duck my head into the pillow. I am not sure that’s entirely true anymore.

There is a long silence. In between my shivering and snuffling, I can hear the sound of Cardan’s breathing, ragged and heavy. “Are you sure?”

I nod, then remember he can’t see me very well. “Yes, yes. Just—”

I don’t know how he crosses the room so quickly, but one minute he is there, and the next he’s climbing on top of me, pulling down the blankets I’ve swathed myself in. I’m lying on my stomach, so I can’t see him, see what his face is doing, but I feel him. His hands are warm when they brush my skin. They do say alpha blood runs hot, don’t they? I feel a spark with every touch and can’t help writhing, trying to pull closer to him. My legs are still caught in a sheet.

“Okay, okay,” he says. “Okay. Just—hold still, okay?”

That’s easy for him to say. I growl, but still as best I can. With him so near, I am shaking.

Cardan pulls the borrowed shirt up over my head, the skims a hand down my bare spine. “God,” he says, and it’s kind of a sigh and kind of a growl in return. “You, I mean… Jude…”

“Hurry up,” I snap.

He takes his hand away, and I nearly sob. But then I hear fabric rustling behind me and realize he’s just pulling off his own shirt. He practically falls on top of me after, and when he slides a hand around me to rest against my lower abdomen, I can feel him trembling too.

“Oh, fuck,” Cardan breathes, when that hand trails into my shorts, between my legs, and he feels how absolutely soaked everything is —which would make me want to die of embarrassment if I wasn’t aching to be touched. I press into his hand, rub into it, and bite into the pillow under my face to keep from being too loud.

I kind of expect Cardan to pull out some of the cheesy lines alphas are supposed to say, like to tell me how wet I am or chuckle and say that I want it so bad, don’t I? But he’s as quiet as I am and just as desperate. His breath is hot and ragged on my neck. He makes a cursory effort to finger me and then abandons it, pulling my shorts down instead and positioning himself behind me. Maybe I should care that the foreplay’s cut short, but I don’t. Fingering’s not going to help me feel any better, I just need him to—

And then he does.

Oh.

I bite down hard again and accidentally catch my tongue in my mouth, tasting blood. That hurts.

“Jude?” Cardan asks, breathless. I must have made a sound.

I shake my head; isn’t he supposed to be so flooded with hormones that he’s incapable of coherent thought? I certainly am. “Go, go,” I urge him. It’s the only thing I can seem to say.

He starts moving his hips against mine. At first I think he’s trying to take it slow, but he quickly loses the plot. Both of his hands grip my waist, pulling me into him, pulling us together and apart, and I hold onto the pillow for dear life to muffle the sounds I know I’m making.

It doesn’t hurt, not after the first couple of thrusts. Does it feel good? It’s hard to say. It feels necessary. It feels like so much. And just when I think that maybe being filled up by him isn’t so bad, that maybe it’s actually kind of good, I am caught unawares by an orgasm that’s more like a full-body convulsion. There’s not a lot of pleasure in it, but at least there’s something like catharsis.

Cardan moans and surges forward, his chest pressing against my back. He isn’t done yet, but his rhythm is breaking, his hips rolling into mine at desperate, uneven intervals. I can’t think about what any of that means as I let my own climax work through me. All I know is that he’s suddenly gripping me tighter, and he presses in—all the way, all of him—and his teeth sink into my neck, just above the juncture with my shoulder.

“Ow!” I yelp, jamming my elbow back into his side. “What the hell?”

He comes back to himself and releases me. “Sorry, I’m—sorry,” he says, and I’m surprised how easily the words fall from his lips. He nuzzles the place where he bit me, then lets out a nervous chuckle. “That, oh, that wasn’t on purpose.”

I am confused for a moment before I remember what I had asked of him, just before all of this started. It is hard to think. “Are you trying to end up with a mate at nineteen?”

“Twenty.”

“Whatever. Get off of me.”

Now he pauses. “I… can’t.”

I kick myself. Of course he can’t. We had discussed this, and both of us know the logistics of it. We’re stuck like this for a while. I am uncomfortable and relieved at the same time; a choice has been taken away from me, but maybe it’s okay. The heat rolling off of him is keeping me comfortable, and he is trembling, oddly vulnerable. I’m not alone in that. Even better, my brain is no longer clouded by fever. It must have broken while we were distracted.

“Here,” he says, and he rolls us onto our sides, which is a little better. His arm is draped over my waist, and his skin is still warm—warmer now that I don’t feel so feverish. I can feel his face pressed to my hair, hear his breathing, so when he inhales deeply, there’s no hiding it.

“Are you smelling me?” I mean for it to come out hard, annoyed, but instead I feel like it sounds curious and calm. I am so tired, and a little achy, but water has been thrown over the frantic fire in my chest.

“What?” Cardan’s voice is soft and sleepy.

“Never mind.” I shift, settling against him. “You were definitely smelling me.”

“Mmm.” He noses at the nape of my neck. “You smell good.”

“The pheromones must be going to your brain, Greenbriar. I could have sworn I reeked.”

Now Cardan outright laughs. “You’re the worst omega I’ve ever met, you know.”

“You’re not such a great alpha either.” I turn my head to try to look back at him. “You don’t hate me?”

It comes out as more of a question than I mean for it to be. Cardan shifts uneasily behind me. “You should try to get some sleep. It’s probably going to start again soon.”

“Can you sleep like this?” I ask, incredulous. He is very hard and still very inside of me. But I think I had expected that to feel worse than it does, awkward and invasive. Instead, I am strangely comfortable. I got used to him quickly, and now he fits.

“Well, I guess I’ll find out—ah.” He presses his forehead to my shoulder and I feel his cock twitch inside me which is, frankly, weird. His hand grips my bicep, hard, and he shakes all over again. “Oh.”

“So that seems like a ‘no,’” I manage, feeling flushed all over. I had almost forgotten the purpose of knotting us together like this was to lock in semen and ensure a better chance of pregnancy. Ugh. I should be getting some of those spontaneous, rolling orgasms, too, but I don’t know if I want them. I mean, yes, in theory, orgasms are good, but not being able to control when they hit…

“I’ll get used to it.” His voice is strained.

“All I’ve done is sleep for two days,” I say, but I have to stifle a yawn as I say it. I also sweated, and shivered, and maybe cried. Plus, it’s not like any of the sleep I got was particularly restful. But I won’t admit he has a point about trying to sleep. “So you… do you like me?”

Cardan smooths his hand over my side. His trembling has subsided, and he turns his head to rest his cheek against my shoulder. “That’s what I was going to tell you,” he says, “when I followed you to the beach. Before we got taken.”

Nothing, not even the fact that I just had sex with Cardan Greenbriar—something that hasn’t really sunk in yet—could have shocked me more than that admission. “What?”

“Yeah, I was going to say, uh, sorry, and that I thought you were cool, and that maybe we could start over. Locke said Taryn said you’d be there, and I figured I wouldn’t have a chance once you got busy with college, so—”

I cut him off, because it seems like he might go on forever if I don’t. “So you were going to be like, ‘Sorry for the years of psychological damage, I actually like you, can I make out with your face?’”

“Yes?”

I laugh wildly. It’s like someone’s stuck a key in my chest and unlocked it. “Wow, you are really bad at this.”

He groans. “I know.”

“I would probably have punched you.”

“You’d be well within your rights.”

I pause. “Are you into that?”

“Huh.” Cardan considers this. “No, I don’t think so. I don’t actually know. I’m going to go with ‘No, I’m probably not into erotic face-punching.’ Except maybe if you did it.”

“Oh my god.” I hide my face in the pillow even though he can’t see me. “Terrible alpha.”

“The worst.”

“You like me.”

He drapes his arm over my waist. “You’re okay.”

“You do,” I insist, more to contradict him than anything else. Do I believe it? It is so hard to believe. And yet… “It’s the most… it’s the most stereotypical thing in the world. It’s a cliché. Alpha likes omega, alpha makes omega miserable over it.”

“Alpha and omega get locked in a basement together for a few days.” He nuzzles my shoulder. “That’s how that normally ends up, right?”

I shake my head. I don’t understand how I feel so different. Our circumstances haven’t really changed. Sure, I’m not in excruciating agony anymore, but we’re still kidnapped, waiting for ransom or rescue. And yet it’s like every part of me that was coiled up has come loose in his arms. I blink. “We had sex.”

“Yeah, I noticed.” I can picture his brow furrowing as he asks, “Wait, did you somehow not notice?”

“I should be freaking out,” I inform him. “I mean, this is—you’re—”

“Your body’s flooded with happy chemicals right now,” he reminds me. “Dopamine or whatever. If you’re going to freak out, it’ll happen when your heat’s over. All the way over.”

“Yeah, right.” I shiver, but pleasantly. I’m not sure if it’s an aftershock or something else. The mattress is still grody, the blankets are still scratchy, but I am somehow more cozy, more at ease, than I can remember being in a long time. I yawn again. “Cardan?”

“Mm-hm?”

“I think I could sleep like this.”

His hand brushes my hair away from the nape of my neck, and I feel his lips come to press against it. “You should,” he says. “I’ll make sure to wake you up before it starts again.”

Again. There’s going to be more, at least a few hours more. I don’t know what to do with that information, so I don’t do anything with it. That’s a problem for the Jude who’s had a little bit more rest. With Cardan’s face against my hair, and with his body fitted against mine, I steal a precious few minutes of real sleep for the first time in days.

#jurdan #jurdan fanfic #judecardan #jude x cardan #jude duarte #cardan greenbriar #tfota #the folk of the air #the cruel prince #the wicked king #the queen of nothing #mine: fic #fic: 132 hours

75 notes · View notes

chickensarentcheap · 4 years ago

Text

Never Gonna Be Alone -Chapter 26

Title: Preparations

Warning: it’s filler. I figured we needed some cute daddy Tyler. lol

Tagging: @c-a-v-a-l-r-y, @innerpaperexpertcloud, @alievans007, @miss-smutty, @tragiclyhip

“When you met mumma, you guys were working together, right?”

Addie poses the question as she sits atop the kitchen island; legs swinging back and forth as they dangle over the edge, the heels of silver and gold glitter infused jelly sandals lightly thumping against the wood. She insisted on bringing one of her favourite pairs of shoes from home; arguing that she didn’t care that they were ‘out of season’ and that she would wear what she wants, when she wants, and no one could tell her otherwise. In the end they’d gone perfectly with the new ‘Christmas’ dress she’d picked out Bloomingdales; a vibrant yellow concoction with capped sleeves embellished with strips of lace, a sash around the waist that ties in an enormous bow at the back, and an elaborate tulle skirt several layers thick that shimmers in the light. Forgoing all the burgundy, emerald green, and red dresses that had lined the regular priced racks in favour of an outfit from the leftover and highly discounted summer section. It was a hill Esme hadn't been willing to die on; preferring that Addie showcase both her independence in choosing her own outfit, and being proud of her personal style and preferences. And it suits her; as bright and adorable as her personality with just enough ‘no fucks given’ sprinkled on for good measure.

While tiny and seemingly fragile, she can be extremely assertive and adverse to any form of compromise; tenacious to a fault and digging her heels in and sticking to her guns when she feels she’s one hundred right about her stance. Even if there’s mountains of proof to show that she is, in fact, completely wrong. Someone so stubborn and feisty lingering inside that cute, wee package; able to hold her own while out playing with her older siblings and not afraid to get a bloody nose or a fat lip or a black eye. And not deterred in the slightest when she DOES get injured; right back to what she was doing only hours after getting stitches or a cast removed. Not shying away from climbing trees or splashing in mud puddles or helping muck out the goats stalls while wearing clunky rubber boots paired with a Disney princess dress. Very much like her older sister had been at that age; enjoying being physical and active and playing sports and rough housing one minute, then showcasing her more ‘girly side’ the next. Loving trips to the salon with mummy for manis and pedis; enjoying picking her own shade of polish and then getting to sip orange juice from a champagne glass while getting a facial and her hair trimmed. Collecting dolls along with various rocks and shells and beach glass. Superhero figures taking up residence on her bedroom shelves right alongside stuffies of her favourite animals -koalas, sloths, and kangaroos currently at the top of the list- and snow globes from different parts of the world. Her closet filled with not only frilly dresses and sparkly leggings and colourful sweaters emblazoned with unicorns and french bulldogs and flamingos, but old hand me downs from her brothers; ripped and faded jeans and tattered t-shirts and board shorts.

“Right,” Tyler confirms, as he tends to running a brush through her waist length hair; damp from misting it down with a spray bottle in order to easier part it into sections.

It’s a far cry from his old life; his beaten and busted up hands with their multitude of scars and calluses once used to being soaked in blood and caked with dirt. Large and weathered with misshapen knuckles, they’d long ago gotten accustomed to hard, manual labour and the brutality that he’d had to inflict on others; fists that pummelled bodies and faces and fingers that pulled triggers and wrapped around throats and choked the life out of combatants. And while they still get caked in mud from working around the house and they’re still entrusted to load magazines and are capable of taking a gun apart in thirteen seconds flat, they’ve morphed into other uses. Beginning with diapering babies and tending to the impossibly tiny snaps on jumpers, buttons on little sweaters, and zippers on sleepers. Moving on to tying kid sized shoe laces and cleaning and patching up skinned knees and elbows. Advancing to far more difficult hair styling techniques than the simple ponytails he’d began affixing on Millie when she was a toddler; various styles of braids adorned with ribbons, and snapping barrettes and clamping clips into place.

Being a girl dad is unlike anything he’d ever experienced before. The six short years -despite the little time he’d actually been home- he’d spent with Austin had prepared him for raising boys. His son, when healthy, had been extremely active and fearless and full of curiosity and energy; getting as messy and as dirty as possible and loving every second of it. Obsessed with superheroes and sports and always clad in clothing that displayed his favourites; football jerseys and baseball caps and sweats emblazoned with Superman or Batman logos. He had been terrified twelve years ago when the news had come in that Millie was in fact going to be a girl; not only envisioning frilly dresses and a closet full of pink and those ridiculous headbands parents insist on putting on their infants, but thinking back to his own treatment of women. The days when he’d used them for nothing more than sex; random strangers picked up in bars or that he’d meet on the street in whatever city a job sent him to. A failed marriage; putting more of a priority on the military than he did on treating his wife properly. And all he could think about was how having a daughter was somehow a punishment for the bad shit he’d done. A little girl that he’d have to protect from guys like him.

It was hard to get used to; big fingers having to master putting in tiny earrings and tending to impossibly small zippers and buttons , getting comfortable with the amount of pink and purple in their rooms and closets. Eventually graduating into attending tea parties and playing with Barbies and helping make crafts; getting used to paint on his palms and between his fingers and glitter stuck under his nails and in his hair and beard. Determined to be a hands-on father even if its activities are way outside of his comfort zone; gymnastic meets and dance recitals as opposed to lacrosse matches and football games. Being a girl dad isn’t for the weak; having to worry about your little girls’ hearts being broken and if the guys they pick will treat them right and if they themselves will make smart and responsible choices as teenagers. And the hormones; the up and down emotions and the drastic switch from bitchy to overly sensitive. Having a wife go through it once a month is enough. never mind the thought of three other girls. The worry of how he’ll handle not only the emergence of puberty, but if all four female ‘clocks’ decide to sync up. He doesn’t know if he’ll be able to handle THAT; all the women in his life going through the cramps and the moodiness and the demands to be coddled and babied one minute and left the fuck alone the next.

“Does that mean mummy beat up and killed bad guys too?”

“No. She never did any of that stuff. That was my job, not hers.”

“What did she do?”

“She tracked down the bad guys. And where they were doing mean things to good people. Then she told me...or guys like me...where they were so we could go and take care of things.”

“So you could go and kill them?”

“You don’t always have to kill people. Sometimes it’s enough to just rough them up a bit.”

“And other times they fight back and try to hurt you and you have to hurt them first?”

“Pretty much.”

“Have you killed a lot of people?”

“Not that many," he lies. It's actually a staggering amount; the death toll -from his hand alone- in Dhaka putting the count well over three hundred.

“How many is ‘not that many'?’”

“I don’t know, Peanut. I’ve never kept track.”

“But you’ve helped more people than you’ve hurt. That’s what mummy said when I asked if it was true. If Tyler was lying when he told me you kill people for a living.”

“That’s a while ago. That you asked mummy that.”

“I was three. That’s a whole two years ago. But sometimes I think about it. Especially when you go away. I think about you having to kill people.”

“And what do you think WHEN you think about that? About what I sometimes have to do?”

“I dunno know,” Addie shrugs, and then lifts the spray bottle clutched in both hands and holds it towards her face; giggling when she pulls the trigger and catches some of the mist in her mouth.

“Does it bother you? When you think about it? That I’ve killed people? That sometimes I still have to?”

“Why would it bother me?”

“Kind of a hard thing to hear, don’t you think? That daddy has to do stuff like that?”

“It’s your job. It’s what you do. You have to hurt people to save other people. And sometimes, if they try and hurt you first, you have to kill them. Because if you didn’t, they might kill you and then you never come home and we never get to see you again. It’s not THAT hard to hear. I’d rather you kill someone and come home than never see you again.”

“You know,” he plucks the spray bottle from her hands and dampens a section of hair. “You’re pretty smart for only five.”

“Smart like mummy.”

He leans in to press a kiss to her cheek. “Cute like her too.”

“Are you going to get in trouble? For killing people?”

“Who would I get in trouble with?”

“God. Isn’t that one of the things we’re not supposed to do? Kill people?”

“How do you know about that? We don’t talk about that stuff at home.”

“I hear things. At school. Some of the older kids talking. Are you? Going to get in trouble? For killing people?”

“Probably,” he admits. “I’m sure I’ll face some kind of judgement for it. When my time comes.”

“But wouldn’t it be okay ‘cause you only kill bad people? That were hurting good people? Wouldn’t that be allowed? And if you had to kill someone so you could come home to us, wouldn’t that be okay too?”

“I don’t know,” he snags a yellow cloth ribbon off the island and begins braiding a section of hair around it. “I’ve never thought that far ahead about things.”

“It would suck if you got in trouble for helping people. That wouldn’t be fair at all. If you got sent to hell for doing stuff like that. I mean, you were doing something GOOD. You weren’t doing something bad. You HAD to kill evil people to help good people. And to make sure you come home to mummy and us kids. I can’t see you getting in trouble for something like THAT.”

“Doesn’t make much sense to me either. But not a lot does anymore.”

“I’ll be really mad if you get in trouble and sent somewhere different than me. I don’t want us to be in two separate places. I want us to be together. All of us. You and mummy and all us kids. I don’t want us to all be separated. Well, maybe Millie could be. Because she’s mean to me. All the time.”

“Millie is going through some stuff. She’s going to be a teenager soon. A lot of drama leading up to THAT.”

“She says I’m annoying. That she used to really like me when I was a baby and couldn’t do anything. But now I can do lots of stuff and I can talk and she says that pisses her off. That I’m a bratty little sister.”

“You are NOT bratty.”

“Right? That’s what I said. She’s bratty if anything. Am I annoying, daddy? Don’t lie. You can tell me the truth.”

“You are not annoying. If anyone is annoying, it’s Millie.”

“I said THAT too! But she’s mean. She even threatened to cut my hair off. Shave it. Because I couldn’t find my brush and I borrowed hers and she didn’t like that. So you know what I did? While you were gone?”

“What did you do?”

“I took the tops off two Oreo cookies and I ate the middle and then I put in mayonnaise and I put the tops back on and gave them to Millie. I told her I was being a good little sister and bringing her a snack. And she put a whole one in her mouth! She almost puked!”

He can’t help but chuckle. “You actually did that?”

“Yup. It was awesome. I laughed so hard, I almost peed! But then she started chasing me around the house threatening to kill me. Mummy was screaming at her to lighten up, that it was just a joke. And then she told mummy to shut up and Tyler got mad. REALLY mad. He tackled Millie and grabbed her by the hair and pushed her face into the carpet. Then he put her in a figure four leg lock and made her cry.”

“Millie told your mom to shut up?”

“Oooops…” Addie tilts her head back to look at him, a sheepish smile curving her lips. “....I wasn’t supposed to tell you that part.”

“Who told you not to tell me? Millie?”

The five year old shakes her head.

“TJ?”

Another shake, followed by a tiny “No.”

“Addie…”

“It was mummy! She said not to tell you because you’d get pissed off and you didn’t need to. Because she took care of it right when it happened. Well, Tyler did. He was really, really, REALLY mad. She learned her lesson. I’m sure of it. He made her cry. Lots.”

“Did that happen a lot? Millie getting mouthy with your mom?”

“Not really.”

He stares pointedly down at her.

“A few times,” she reluctantly admits. “She said some things that were really mean. To mummy. And she said the F word once, too. Mixed with the B word.”

“She said that ? To your mom?”

Addie chews nervously on her bottom lip. “Yeah, she called her an f-ing B word.”

“What did mummy do?”

“She didn’t get a chance to do anything. Desi freaked out. And he’s really big and he can be really scary when he wants. Like you. Desi told her that she should never, ever talk to her mum like that. And that you’d be really mad if you found out. And that she’d rather deal with him than you. Which is true. Desi might be bigger than you, but you’re definitely tougher. I mean, he doesn’t kill people for a living. You do.”

“Things were pretty bad, huh? While I was gone.”

“A little. Millie went off the reservation. Big time. She’s lucky she’s even breathing. ‘Cause Tyler was ready to kill her. And I don’t blame him. You’re mad, aren’t you. Are you mad, daddy?”

“A bit.”

“You know how I can tell? That you’re mad? Your neck moves. Right here,” she reaches up to press to fingertips against the side of his throat. “Where the bad guy shot you a long time ago.”

“How did you know about that?”

“Mummy told me. I asked her how you got that scar. She said that a long time ago, her and Ovi were in trouble and you had to get them out of a really bad place. And then you made sure they were safe and sound, but a bad guy shot you. In the neck. And that’s why you have the scar there.”

“Did that scare you? Hearing that?”

“A little, I guess. I mean, you could have died, right?”

“I could have, yeah.”

“And then you and mummy never would have gotten married. And had kids. Millie would be the only one to exist. None of us would. So yeah, that part scared me a bit; that the bad guy could have killed and none of us ever would have been born. Did you kill him?”

“Eventually.”

“Mummy said she stayed with you. After it happened. And that she went back to Australia with you and that’s how she ended up there. It’s where you guys got married. And had Millie and me and Kota and Brookie. That we were the ones born there. So we’re REAL Australians, like you. Everyone else is American.”

“Everyone else WAS American. You’re all Australian now.”

“How does that work?”

“A lot of papers you have to fill out. To become a citizen. But you all are. Mummy and I made sure of it.”

“Is mummy an Australian too?”

“By marriage, yeah.”

“It’s a good thing she married you. You’re a lucky guy, daddy. That someone like mummy fell in love with you.”

“I am,” he confirms. “Very lucky. She’s a pretty good mummy, huh?”

“She’s the best mummy EVER. If we could pick our mummies, I’d pick her. Because she’s nice and she gives good cuddles and kisses and she tells the best silly jokes. And she’s super smart and really cute too. And little! Like me!”

“That’s where you get from. Being so cute and wee. You’re just like your mumma.”

Her eyes sparkle as she smiles broadly up at him; the corners and the bridge of her nose crinkle. “And that’s a good thing, yeah?”

“A very good thing,” Dropping a kiss on her forehead, he brushes the tip of his nose against hers; smiling at the way she throws her head back and giggles.

He’s seen her mother do that exact movement and expression a number of times; excitement while on the rides at Disney World with the kids, when she’s had one too many glasses of wine and even his terrible ‘dad jokes’ are suddenly hilarious, when they’ve been on one of their ‘mommy and daddy’ vacations and she’s gotten up the guts to try something new and exciting; emboldened by his encouragement and forever feeling safe and secure as long as he’s by her side. So much of Esme in the tiny little girl in front of him; tenacious and ferociously intelligent and loving deeply and fearlessly. Knowing the darkness and the horrors that exist in the world but not allowing herself to be tarnished by it; always finding ways to smile and laugh and find the beauty in every day.

“What do you think mummy would have done if she didn’t do the job she did?” Addie inquires, when she finally drops her head back down and he’s able to return to tending her hair.

“I don’t know. Teach? Be a nurse? Maybe a doctor?”

“How would you have met her? If she didn’t do her old job?”

“Maybe I would have met her on the beach. In Australia. Maybe she would have come there on a vacation.”

“Maybe. Or maybe you would have gone to where she used to live. In Chicago.”

“She used to live in Colorado. That’s where she was born and where she grew up. Chicago is a totally different place.”

“She used to live by the mountains. When I was in her tummy, you guys lived on a hobby farm. And you had goats and chickens. Mummy says we still own that house.”

“Yup, we do. We rent it out.”

“Can we go there one day? I’d like to see it. I’d like to see where you guys were living when I was in mummy’s belly. Is that where I was made?”

“We’re pretty sure that’s where it happened. Not many other places it could have been.”

“Maybe we can go and visit. And I can see where I was made. That would be fun. I want to see the mountains.”

“Maybe one day.” He finishes up the first braided pigtail, securing it with an impossibly small elastic before turning his attention to the other section of hair.

“If you met mummy a different way, would you have still liked her? Would you have still fallen in love with her?”

“Yup. Why wouldn’t have I? She still would have been mummy. She still would have been the same person. Still would have been the most beautiful girl ever.”

“Do you think she still would have fallen in love with you?”

“I sure as hell hope so. Would sure suck if she didn’t. Your mumma is pretty special, Peanut. She’s the love of my life. Took me until I was thirty five to meet her.”

“You were married before, though. To Austin's mom. You didn’t love her?”

“I did. But not in the way I love your mum. Your mum? That’s who I want to spend the rest of my life with. Grow really, really, REALLY old with. It’s a whole other kind of love. And you know what? It’s not easy to explain. You just know what you feel.”

“Imagine if things were opposite? If you went to Colorado and met mummy instead of her meeting you in Australia and working with you? And then you would have stayed there; where the snow and the mountains are instead of the beach and the ocean. How come you moved? Why didn’t you guys stay? Where the mountains are?”

“Things changed. We weren’t happy there anymore. We needed to get away. Go back to the place where we were the happiest.”

“In Australia?”

“Yup.”

“That’s where I’m happiest too. I love it there. I love how warm it is; the sun and the sand and the water. I like the sound it makes; listening to it when I’m trying to fall asleep. And I like how the beach feels; between my toes and when I let it run through my fingers. And I love my room and my toys and my school and my friends and all the goats and our pigs and our chickens. And Charlie. I love him the most. I love making him peanut butter sandwiches. I’d miss him the most. If we had to leave. We won’t have to leave will we, daddy?”

“I don’t see why we would have to.”

“I don’t ever want to leave Australia. It’s perfect there. It’s where I was born. And where you were born too. We have that in common. We were BOTH born there.”

“Yeah…” he grins, and presses a kiss to the back of her head. “...we were.”

“I mean, we have other stuff in common too. Because you’re my dad and that means you helped make me so that means half of me is half of you. The other half is from mummy. And we both love surfing. And animals. And Vegemite. I LOVE Vegemite. It’s sooooo good.”

“Speaking of Vegemite, was it you that left the Vegemite and Nutella sandwich for Santa?”

Addie giggles. “Maybe…”

“Why would you ever put the two of those together?”

“Tyler made it for his school lunch once and he let me try a bit and it was really good! So I thought Santa might like to try it. Part American, part Australian.”

“You know, that’s pretty genius. And it worked. I tried a bit and it wasn’t bad.”

“Right?! You wouldn’t think it would work, but it does. Somehow. Kind of like you and mummy.”

“What’s THAT supposed to mean?”

“You and mummy are so different. You’re really tall and big and she’s really short and small. Like, you know how mummy is a morning person? She’s always really cheerful and smiley? And you’re not? You’re moody and miserable. A total grump face! And you don’t like to talk until you’ve had your first coffee. With three shots of espresso in it.”

“You notice all that stuff?”

“I notice everything. Mummy says I’m very observant. And that I have really good instincts. Like you. She says ‘cause my tummy tells me if something is right or wrong. And yours does too. You know how else you and mummy are different?”

“How?”

“Mummy talks to everyone! She’s very talky talky. A chatterbox.”

“Geez,” Tyler grins, and tugs playfully at the completed pigtail. “I wonder who ELSE is a chatterbox?”

“She’s a social butterfly. She makes friends everywhere she goes. People like her. Because she’s so bubbly and cute and she makes peoples hearts feel warm because she’s so nice to them. You’re more serious. You don’t talk a lot. At least not to people you don’t know. People are scared of you sometimes. Because how big you are and because you got all the drawings on you and the scars and stuff. They think you’re mean. ‘Cause of all that.”

“And what do you think?”

“I think you’re just daddy. I KNOW you’re not mean. I KNOW you’re a nice guy. I KNOW you give awesome hugs; your arms are big but they feel nice and they wrap all the way around me! If people really paid attention, they’d see that you’re nice. You have soft eyes. They’re blue and they’re pretty and they’re kind. Especially when you smile and they go all crinkly. If people really gave you a chance, they’d see you’re not scary at all. You’re only like that if you HAVE to be. If bad people are near mummy or us kids.”

“Are you ever scared of me?” It’s a recurring thought; if his children ever pick up on the worry and the tension and the fear that comes with his issues. It’s a feat some days; forcing himself out of bed and putting one foot in front of the other. Wanting nothing more than to stay under the covers and surrender to the exhaustion that comes with doing battle with his own mind every day. But his family is his number one priority, whether it’s a good day or a horrible one. And he’ll ‘fake it until he makes it’ as long as his children and his wife know that they’re loved; provided and cared for and made to feel safe and protected.

“Why would I be? Why would I be scared of my daddy?”

“Well, you know what I do for a living. You know what I’ve had to do to people. Does that scare you?”

“Nope. Because that’s just your job. It’s not who you are. When you come home, you’re just daddy. You take us bike riding and hiking and swimming and surfing. And you help us find rocks and shells and you let me sit on your shoulders when we walk on the beach or go into town. And we take naps. On the hammock. I love our naps on the hammock.”

He smiles. “So do I.”

“Sometimes I get a little worried. When you get upset. Or you and mummy argue. I don’t like when you guys argue. I always worry that you’ll hate each other. That you’ll get a divorce. And then you won’t live with us. It makes me sad when I think about that.”

“You don’t need to be sad, Peanut. That’s never going to happen. I’m never going to go and live somewhere else. I’m going to stay right where I am; with you guys and your mumma. And just because we argue? That doesn’t mean we’re going to hate each other. I could NEVER hate your mum. And I’m pretty sure she’d say the same thing about me. We love each other. Very much. Divorce is NOT something you need to think about. But do I ever scare you? Have I ever?”

“I don’t have a reason to be scared of you. Because you love me. You’d never hurt me. I never worry about that. Not even when you yell and your voice gets REALLY loud. I know you’d never do anything mean to me. Just to bad people. And I’m not a person. I’m a GOOD person.”

“You definitely are. You’re a VERY good person. An amazing little person.”

She smiles. “Like mummy.”

“Just like her. More than even I ever realized.”

******

“Addie…” TJ singsongs as he saunters into the kitchen, both hands tucked behind his back. “...what are you doing?”

“Tyler!” She cheerfully greets, and excitedly waves to him with both hands. Her entire face lighting up at the sight of her second favourite male in the house

She’s become extremely close to her oldest brother during her five years on earth; idolizing him and turning to him for help and comfort when daddy is either caught up with one of the other kids, tending to work related matters, or out of the house -and sometimes even the country- all together. And TJ dotes on her in return. Spoiling her and babying her ever since she was an infant and he was always more than willing to help change her diapers and give her feedings. In awe of how tiny she was and how she’d look up at him with so much adoration. He’s the quintessential older brother; patient and loving and ready to kick anyone’s ass that dares messes with her.

“Look at my dress! It’s the one I picked out when I went shopping for mommy. That I kept a secret. Isn’t it awesome?”

“Awesome just like you. It’s really pretty, Ads. Your favourite colour too!”

“Yup! Mummy bought it for me. She said it’s perfect for me. For my personality. It reminds me of Belle’s dress. From Beauty and the Beast.”

“Looks a little like it, I guess. But you know what? It’s even prettier. And you’re more beautiful than Belle. WAY more beautiful.”

“Really?” she gasps, and a noticeable blush creeps into her cheeks, spreading all the way to the tips of her ears. “You really think so?”

“I REALLY think so. Belle has nothing on you. You’re the prettiest princess EVER. Way prettier than ANY of them.”

“Oh goodness!” She clamps both hands over her mouth in embarrassment, then giggles into them. “Like mumma? Just as pretty as her? Mumma is the prettiest EVER.”

“Just a smaller version of her.” TJ leans in close and presses the tip of his nose against hers. “Guess what I have? What you forgot in my room?”

“Adeline!” she cries, when he reveals the item he’d been keeping behind his back. And she snags the doll from him and showers its head and face with kisses as she clutches it tightly to her chest. “Adeline! I’m sorry I forgot you! I didn’t mean to!”

“I kept her safe for you,” TJ says. “So Declan wouldn’t grab her. You know how he likes to get a hold of dolls and torture them. I didn’t want him getting her. She’s way too pretty and I know how much you love her.”

“He’s mean to my dolls! He’s always taking their heads off and putting their arms where their legs should be and crazy shit like that.”

“Hey,” Tyler frowns, and tugs on the half braided pigtail. “What did I say?”

“No bad language. Especially on Christmas Day. I can’t help it though; sometimes it just slips out. If you didn’t swear so much around us kids…”

“That’s it. Throw me under the bus.”

“You swear A LOT, daddy. Especially in the car. When other people don’t drive fast enough or use their blinkers. If mummy knew exactly how much you DO swear around us, she’d be mad. REALLY mad.”

“Your mum has a worse mouth than I do.”

“As if!” Addie scoffs, and he can’t help but smile; easily hearing Esme’s voice and picturing the expression on her face; the corner up her mouth and her nose scrunched up in disgust, eyes slightly narrowed. “Thank you, Tyler!” She curls an arm around her brother’s neck, squeezing as tight as she can. “You’re the best! Thank you for keeping her safe from the Ginger. You’re the best brother EVER! I only trust you with her. And daddy. That’s it. You guys are big and strong and will keep her safe no matter what.”

“What the hell are you wearing?” He addresses his son as the latter moves to the fridge, pausing in the braiding of Addie’s hair to survey TJ’s wardrobe a pair of ill fitting and impossibly baggy jeans, an enormous untucked dress shirt with its sleeves rolled to his elbows, and a loose pink, purple, and grey striped tie.

“Your pants. And one of your shirts.” TJ reaches into the fridge and grabs a carton of chocolate milk and a jug of white. Closing the door with his hip and carrying them to the counter by the sink; pouring a mix of both into a plastic tumblr retrieved from the dish rack and then snagging two straws from the cupboard. “Mum told me to. She said none of my clothes were good enough for Christmas dinner. All my jeans have holes in them and all t-shirts have to do with surfing. We’ve never had to dress up for Christmas dinner before. Why do we have to start now?”

“Your mum’s trying to make things perfect. To avoid drama. With your grandmother.”

“Too late. Grandma brings drama with her. And drops it on everyone else.” He drags a bar stool across the floor and places it in front of his little sister. “Here Ads,” he holds the cup in front of her. “A yellow straw just for you. So you don’t have to share my germs. Let me hold it; so you don’t spill anything on your dress.”

Giving a delighted squeal and a smile of appreciation, she takes a pull from the straw. “I think you look handsome, Tyler. You’re growing up. You’re going to be as big as daddy soon.”

“It’s going to be a while before I’m THAT big. But I’m going to work on it. As soon as I’m allowed, I’m going to lift heavy too and put on ALL kinds of muscle.”

“Then you can go after bad people too. And beat them up and kill them when you have to.”

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Tyler suggests. “Something tells me mummy might have an issue with that.”

“Why doesn’t mum just tell grandma to get lost?” TJ inquires. “It’s not like they like each other. They never have. They’ve always fought. I remember how they’d get into it at Christmas. When we were still living in Colorado. Grandma would get drunk and she’d pick fights with mum and mum would fight back and cry and then you’d go off on grandma. Is that going to happen this year? ‘Cause it’s been nice and quiet at Christmas. Do we HAVE to listen to grandma's shit?”

“What did I just tell your sister? About the language?”

“She’s five, but she’s right. It IS hard to stop and it does just come out. But do we, dad? Do we really have to put up with her?”

“It’s one night. I think you can manage. If I can grin and bear it, so can you. Suck it up.”

“If she starts in on mum about ANYTHING, I’m going to lose it. That’s my mum. No one talks to my mum like that. I almost taught Jacobi a lesson. For calling mum cute and wanting to ask her out. I’ll teach grandma a lesson too. I’m not afraid of her.”

“If anyone is going to teach her a lesson, it’s going to be me. You stay out of it. Your mum wouldn’t want you getting into it with her. You’re TEN.”

“Doesn’t matter how old I am. That’s MY mum. And no one is going to treat her bad. We’re supposed to protect her, remember? You and I.”

“You’re supposed to be a kid and stay that way as long as you can. I’M supposed to protect your mom. And I think I’ve been pretty damn good at it for the last twelve and a half years. And if your grandma starts? I’ll stop it. You don’t have to worry about that.”

“Why does she hate you so much anyway? Is it still the same crap? How she’s pissed because you stole mum away from her family and moved her all the way to Australia? ‘Cause you got her pregnant before you married her?”

Addie scowls. “Who cares? Lots of people have babies and they aren’t married. And so what if mummy didn’t go back home and she stayed with daddy? She’s an adult. She can do what she wants. And she wanted to be with daddy. None of grandma’s business. I’mma tell her that too. If she starts saying mean things about daddy or mummy. I’mma tell her what for.”

“You’re not going to do a thing,” Tyler informs her. “You’re going to leave all the telling off to me, got it?”

“I don’t like her,” Addie says. “She’s not a nice person. She has a mean smile. And her eyes are empty. They don’t sparkle or anything like that. Are you sure that’s mummy’s mummy? Because when mummy smiles, her eyes sparkle. She LOOKS happy. Grandma? She just looks mean.”

“No one likes her,” TJ grumbles. “Best thing we ever did was get away from her. But IS that why, dad? Is that really why she doesn’t like you? Because she still thinks you stole mum and took her all the way to Australia?”

“It’s a few things.”

“I bet it’s the job too. I bet she really has a problem with THAT.”

“Again…” Addie huffs dramatically. “...who cares? So what if daddy kills people? They’re BAD. They deserve it. He helps good people and sometimes when he’s helping them, he has to kill the bad guys. I don’t see a problem with that. If they try and hurt him or kill him, he HAS to kill them first. So he can come home. To us. And mummy. It only makes sense.”

“If Ads can get it, ANYONE can,” TJ says. “She’s only five. What’s grandma? A hundred? If a five year old can get it…”

“Daddy makes the world a better place because he gets rid of the bad people,” Addie continues, as she takes another sip of the drink her brother offers her. “If we had less bad people, everything would be great. There’d be less wars and less people getting hurt and everyone would love one another and be happy. Daddy’s doing a good thing. By sticking up for people. Like you do. At school. You beat up the bullies when you have to. Remember the older kid that tripped me and shoved my face in the mud? Remember him? He’s in grade eight AND you kicked the crap out of me. Because he picked on me.”

“You’re my sister. It’s my job to protect you.”

“And remember that other guy? On the playground by mummy’s store? The one that pulled my hair and told me I was adopted because I’m small and I don’t look like any of you guys. You freaked out on him and made him apologize and scared him away. He’ll cross the street now if he sees you coming.”

“You can’t let bad people get away with doing bad things,” TJ reasons. “If you don’t stop them, they’ll just keep doing bad stuff.”

“Exactly! So it’s a good thing that daddy goes after the bad guys. Grandma needs to learn. And she needs to learn TODAY. You should tell her, Tyler. You should tell her off. You’re not scared of anyone.”

“Not being scared of anyone or anything is not always a good thing,” Tyler informs her. “If you’re not scared, you don’t take a situation or people seriously. That’s when you get hurt. And you know what? No matter how big of a bad ass you think you are? There’s always a bigger one out there somewhere. Believe me. I’ve learned THAT lesson the hard way.”

“The guy who shot you just got a lucky one in,” TJ reasons. “You were already hurt. You weren’t one hundred percent. Some guy had already shot you, hadn’t he? A sniper?”

“What’s a sniper?” Addie inquires. “Is it like Swipper on Dora? Something like him?”

“We don’t need to talk about that,” Tyler says. “You don’t need to know that stuff. Not until you’re older. WAY older.”

“A sniper’s a guy that hides somewhere and shoots you,” TJ replies. “Somewhere where no one sees him. It’s why they’re so dangerous. You don’t even know where they are. They just shoot you. And they kill you before you even know what happened.”

“But daddy didn’t get killed. If a sniper shot daddy, shouldn’t he be dead?”

Combing his hand through her bangs, Tyler tips his daughter’s head back. “What did I just say? About you not needing to know about this stuff?”

“I’m curious now. Tyler said they hide and shoot people and kill them. How come you didn’t die? If a sniper shot you?”

“I guess he didn’t manage to get a good shot in.”

“It was the other guy that almost killed him,” TJ says, and takes a sip of the concoction in his hand. “The one that got him in the neck. That’s when he almost died. Mum saved him.”

“How? How did mummy save daddy? Daddy…” she swivels around in her stool to face him. “...how did mummy save you? Did she shoot the bad guy back?”

“Mum stuck her fingers in his neck,” TJ says. “To stop the bleeding. Or he would have bled to death.”

Addie’s eyes widen. “She DID?”

“When you’re older, MAYBE I’ll tell you more more about it. But for now…” Tyler places his hands on her shoulders and gently turns her back around. “...you don’t need to know this stuff. And you…” he stares pointedly at his son. “...don’t talk about this around her. She doesn’t need to know about this. She’s a baby still.”

“I’m not a baby!” Addie objects. “I’m five! I can almost ride my bike without training wheels. Babies can’t do that.”

“Just don’t, alright?” He addresses TJ. “Don’t talk about this stuff around her. Because she’s going to repeat all of this and she’s going to repeat it to your mum and that won’t end well. For you OR me.”

“It happened though. I mean, it’s part of how you guys met and got together and ended up getting married and stuff. It’s your history. I don’t see why…”

“I said ENOUGH. No more. Not around her. Got it?” He’s on edge; the mere mention of Dhaka and the incidents on the bridge playing straight into the anxiety and the panic he’d felt the night before; when he’d woken up from the nightmare and been on the verge of losing control and had turned to the fentanyl for relief. And it scares him; how easy it had been to not only access the powerful med, but actually take it. He’d encountered no resistance or hesitation; remorse and guilt not setting in until the following morning when he’d woken up and it had been the first thing on his mind. It’s alarming how quick things can return; an addict’s mind and behaviour.

Nodding, TJ holds his hands up in surrender.

“You’re both going to be nice tonight,” he says, and finishes Addie’s final braid. “To grandma. Because your mum is already stressed out enough and we don’t need to make it worse for her. So if the best you can do is smile and nod, just do that. I’m not asking you to kiss her ass. I’m just asking you to be civil. Can you handle that?”

TJ nods.

“You?” He tugs on one of Addie’s pigtails. “Can you do that? Be civil?”

“Do I have to be near her? Or sit on her lap? ‘Cause I draw the line there.”

“You don’t have to do anything that makes you uncomfortable. Just don’t be a little asshole, alright?”

“Me? I’m Mary Freaking Sunshine, remember? That’s what Grandpa Koen calls me.”

“Well then live up to it and be nice to your grandmother. Smile until your face hurts, got it?”

“What do I get out of it?”

He smirks.

“Mummy says to always negotiate. Never settle for the first offer. Can I sleep in the big bed tonight? For being nice to grandma?”

“No.” Wrapping an arm around her waist, he lifts her off the stool; pressing a kiss to her cheek before setting her on the ground.

She turns to face him. Head cocked to the side and one hand clutching her doll, the other planted firmly on her hip. “Can I have ice cream for my bedtime snack?”

"Maybe."

“Maybe isn’t good enough.”

“You ARE just like your mom, aren’t you.”

“I’ll be nice if I can have ice cream for my bedtime snack and you snuggle with me and draw on my back for half an hour. And that’s after FOUR stories.”

“You're bossy, you know that? Two stories.”

“Three. That’s as low as I’ll go.”

“I will give you two stories, ice cream for your snack, and forty five minutes of snuggling and drawing on your back. Instead of half an hour. We got a deal?”

Her eyes narrow as she considers it; nibbling on her bottom lip and swishing her hips back and forth. “You’re good at this.”

“This isn’t my first rodeo, Peanut. I’ve dealt with tougher than you. What do you say?” He offers a hand. “Deal?”

“Deal!” she agrees, his hand easily swallowing hers as they shake on it.

Grinning, he runs a hand over the top of her head and then drops a kiss on her hair. “You really DO have a lot of your mum in you.”

“Great things come in small packages,” Addie reasons, standing on her tiptoes as he leans down and pecks her lips. “Thank you, daddy!” she chirps. “My hair looks beautiful. You always do it perfect.”

“Pretty hard not to when my subject is so cute. Good thing I married your mum, huh? So I could have a kid as cute as you?”

“You really are a lucky man!” she declares and then cheerfully skips out of the room.

“I hope grandma is on her best behaviour,” TJ says, as he finishes the drink in his hand and then slides off the stool and returns it to its place at the island. “Because if she DOES start on mum, it’s going to be a wild night. I really hope she watches her step.”

“My too, kiddo,” Tyler sighs, and reaches out to tousle his son’s hair. “Me too.”

#Tyler Rake #Tyler Rake fan fiction #Extraction fan fiction

22 notes · View notes

honey-dewey · 4 years ago

Text

The Unbearable Pain of Life Itself

Pairing: FtM Trans Frankie ‘Catfish’ Morales/Reader

Word Count: 2,385

Warnings: Frankie’s in pain from his period. Lots of tears, one mention of blood, nausea and vomit, and boy oh boy I cannot seem to write Frankie without making him cry.

I just want an excuse to write the reader comforting Frankie okay? He’s had a hard day because of his period and all he wants is cuddles! Am I projecting? Yes! Do I feel any shame at this point? No!

Permanent taglist: @phoenixhalliwell

You knew Frankie woke up feeling like shit the second you rolled over in bed. How? Because he hadn’t left you coffee before leaving.

Should that be a sign of health? Not really. But whenever you didn’t wake up next to your boyfriend, or cuddled up on top of him more accurately, he left you a cup of coffee and a post-it note with a heart on it as a way to say ‘I love you’ when he left early for work.

Sitting up and rubbing your eyes, you listened intently for any sign of your boyfriend throughout the house, wondering if he’d only just woken up and needed something. He wasn’t in the kitchen, as you’d originally thought. No, if he was, there would’ve been more crashing around and the distinct smell of coffee, considering he needed almost three cups before he was functional. But instead of a clumsy, sleepy Frankie, there was nothing. No usual cup waiting for you on the nightstand, no goodbye text or note from Frankie that he usually left whenever he had to leave for work early.

Flinging the covers off you, you realized exactly what was plaguing Frankie and why his normal morning routine had gone out the window, sympathy immediately flooding you as you crawled over the blood stain that was slowly drying on the sheets.

Slowly stripping the bed of the sheets and blankets, you headed into the kitchen, finding a half made pot of coffee and clear evidence that Frankie hadn’t been in the right headspace when he left for work. The bottle of knock off midol that worked just as well as the name brand shit was sitting next to the coffee pot, Frankie’s truck keys were still on the key hook, and he’d somehow managed to leave both his glasses and his hat at home. His birth control pills were sitting beside his empty coffee mug, the ring of spilled coffee making you wince as you put the mug in the sink.

You sighed. Today was going to be long.

All morning, you texted Santiago, who worked with Frankie and had picked him up that morning. According to Santi, Frankie was a mess, slowed by his pain and almost losing his meager breakfast multiple times.

Eventually, you two reached a conclusion. Santiago couldn’t make Frankie go home and rest. No one could. Well, no one except for you.

Around lunch, maybe five hours later, when you knew he’d be at his worst as the pain pills wore off, you scooped up the midol bottle and Frankie’s keys, getting into his truck. It was a bit bigger than your car, but was familiar territory for you all the same.

Driving out to Frankie’s work, you worried about him so much you almost crashed. He very rarely got his period, considering the pills he was on and the extensive hormone changes he’d been through. But every six months, it was hell on earth for a week. He had every symptom under the sun, and they were all horrible. He was essentially bedridden for seven terrible days. Most times, he tried to power through it, but he couldn’t fight himself for very long.

Pulling up to the building, you didn’t even bother locking the truck as you walked through the front doors.

Santiago was with Frankie in the small break room, Frankie’s palms pressed to his eyes in an attempt to block out the headache-inducing lights.

“Hon?” You murmured, crouching in front of Frankie’s bent form. “Oh honey, c’mere.”

Frankie surged forward, blindly falling into your open arms. He shook, body trembling with pain, core pulling tight in regular intervals.

“It’s okay,” you comforted, smoothing up and down his back. “I know, Frankie. Let’s go home, okay?”

A tiny whimper spurred you up, you supporting Frankie’s right side and Santiago coming over to support Frankie’s left as you headed back towards the front doors.

When he was finally in the truck outside, Santiago helped you buckle him in before stepping back and waving. You waved back, handing Frankie a water bottle and the midol. “Two more Frankie.”

He nodded, taking the pills and leaning back, breathing rhythmically, his left hand clutching your right. It wasn’t wisest to drive the truck with only one hand, but for Frankie, you bent the rules.

Getting him into the house was a trip. It took twenty minutes due to the cramps and the headache and the God forsaken nausea, but he was finally breathing heavy on the couch, near tears but at least lying down.

You wordlessly grabbed a few blankets and began to help Frankie out of his work clothes. He didn’t say anything or move much, only slowly thumbing over your wrist whenever it came near his hands and sleepily blinking at you as you draped the soft blankets over his body. You grabbed a heating pad, warming it in the microwave and placing it between Frankie’s hips. “Sleep,” you murmured, kissing his forehead and poking his nose. “It’s soup for dinner. Want a documentary?”

Frankie nodded, the pills and the exhaustion from a night of sleeplessness finally crashing down on him and causing him to flicker in and out of sleep as you set up a few episodes of Our Planet to play. He liked the ocean ones the most, so you made sure they were first as you walked away from his slumped form. You slowly headed towards your office, fully intent on getting a few hours of work in before clocking out early.

Two hours later, you sighed, leaning back from your computer and running your hands over your face. The documentaries in the background had been too distracting, so when you took a break to reheat the heating pad and check on Frankie, who was still asleep, you grabbed your headphones before shutting yourself back in your office. As you tugged said headphones off while scrubbing over your ears, you heard it. Sobbing.

Immediately abandoning everything, you raced out of the office and into the living room, where Frankie was laying, collapsed on the floor in tears, shaking violently and hiccuping on his own breaths as he cried.

“Frankie!” You fell to your knees, checking him over frantically. When you finally concluded that nothing was broken or hurt, you gathered him up in your arms, rocking slowly back and forth on the uncomfortable kitchen hardwood. “What’s wrong? Is it the cramps? The headache? Are you okay?”

Frankie shook his head, still sobbing. “You-“ he stuttered, breath shuddering. “You weren’t. I thought. You were gone!”

You stopped breathing, unable to exist beyond the pain in Frankie’s words. He hadn’t seen you, didn’t know where you’d gone, and for all he knew, you’d left the house completely. “Oh Frankie. I would never,” you breathed, smoothing over his hair. His hands, those damn shaking hands, gripped tightly at your shirt, as if you’d disappear if he let go.

“Frankie, darling,” you said, feeling a full body chill racing across his skin and knowing his body was swinging wildly from feverish and freezing. “Let’s go have a bath.”

Frankie didn’t object, allowing you to help him up and lead him to the bathroom. He was quiet, watching as you filled the tub with water and epsom salt. You left for a minute to grab a glass of cold water before hurrying back to the bathroom, not wanting to leave Frankie for any longer than you had to.

The entire time you and Frankie lounged in the tub together, your back against his chest, he was calm. Much calmer than he’d been earlier, so you could only assume the pills were starting to touch his pain.

Eventually, after both yours and his fingers had turned pruney and Frankie smelled like epsom salt and lavender soap, you hauled him out of the tub. He yawned, grinning sleepily as you handed him a warm towel and his favorite old pyjamas. So yes, the pills were finally working if Frankie was actually smiling.

“Nap time?” He asked as he shuffled after you into the living room.

“Snack time,” you corrected, grabbing one of the everything bagels Will had dropped off the other day and slicing it. “At least half of this, and then we can nap.”

Frankie pouted, but waited patiently for you to toast and butter the bagel. Usually, he insisted on a load of cream cheese, but his stomach wouldn’t be able to handle it right now. Hell, you even were hesitant to use too much butter.

You made yourself a bagel as well, also only using butter. When both were done, you and Frankie cuddled up on the couch and continued the documentary he’d been watching earlier. It was about sharks, something Frankie was surprisingly eager to watch. He absently ate the required half a bagel before he slumped against your side and then scooted down so he could lay his head in your lap. You smiled, humming Billy Joel and eating the other half of his bagel, knowing he probably wouldn’t.

About halfway through the Disney nature Oceans documentary, you felt Frankie shift. He rolled to his side, then to his back, and then sat up and bolted for the bathroom.

You paused the TV, following after Frankie with matching urgency. As he threw up the half a bagel he’d eaten, you rubbed his back, just waiting for it to be over.

When he finally sat back, he was sweaty and panting, eyes full of tears. You sighed, handing him a cup of water. “Drink. You need to rehydrate.”

Frankie nodded, accepting the water and taking small sips, slowly draining the cup over the course of a very agonizing forty five minutes, during which Frankie almost threw up again twice.

When it seemed his stomach had finally settled, you helped him up and onto the couch once more.

He was exhausted, immediately cocooning himself in the blankets and falling asleep again. You didn’t even bother with the documentary, instead grabbing an old book and reading out loud in an effort to keep Frankie asleep.

The book wasn’t a favorite of yours, but Frankie really liked it, so you indulged him. Eventually, when it seemed he was well and truly asleep, you detangled yourself from him, getting up to grab two cans of soup from the cabinet and putting Frankie’s heating pad through the microwave again. Normally, you’d make the soup, but with how Frankie was, you didn’t want to risk being away from him for too long.

Sure enough, when you sat back down, Frankie’s eyes blinked open slightly and he snuggled close. “Warm.”

You smiled, the rasp to his voice incredibly endearing. “Mhm. I know. Here.” You pressed the heating pad to Frankie’s body, and he made a small noise of bliss.

“What would I ever do without you?” He mumbled, sliding against your body and practically molding himself to you.

Reaching an arm out to wrap Frankie in a one-sided hug, you shrugged, kissing his forehead. “I have no idea.”

While he dozed, you texted the boys, who were all periodically texting you and fretting over Frankie. You gave them the run down, skipping over the more horrible bits. Will and Benny both wanted to visit, but you and Santiago decided that probably wasn’t the best idea tonight. Agreeing on tomorrow night, when some of the worst pain would be fading, you put your phone down and shook Frankie awake.

“Huh?” He grumbled, rolling and glaring at you. “Why?”

“Dinner,” you said, helping Frankie sit up. “The boys are coming around tomorrow, by the way.”

Frankie shrugged. “Why do I have to eat dinner?”

“You don’t,” you said, setting a bowl of canned soup in front of him. “Just drink some broth. Eat some of it if you can.”

The rest of the night was spent on the couch, Frankie slowly drinking the broth out of his soup and you monitoring him. He didn’t throw up again, which was a blessing, and you were able to get a cup of tea into him as well before he finally asked to go to bed.

“Sure thing,” you said, standing and stretching. Frankie watched, tiredly admiring your body. He grinned when you helped him to his feet, hands wandering, causing you to laugh.

“Francisco Morales!” You scolded through your laughter, swatting his hand away from your ass. “That is rude!”

Frankie pouted, his adorably crooked grin returning within seconds. “I’m in pain babe. Indulge me.”

You rolled your eyes, smiling and helping Frankie into the bathroom. “I washed the sheets from last night,” you said, handing him his toothbrush. “And you are absolutely calling in sick tomorrow. No ifs, ands, or buts.”

“Okay,” Frankie said, sticking his toothbrush into his mouth. “I love you.”

You smiled, wiping toothpaste foam off Frankie’s face. “I love you too.”

That night, you listened absently to the hum of the cicadas, cuddling Frankie, who was curled around you and his heating pad, his soft breath tickling your bare arm. He wasn’t asleep yet, but he was close.

You took a deep breath, looking over Frankie’s head and staring at the moon, high in the summer sky. On nights like this, you cracked the window open to let the air in, with the precaution of multiple bug screens.

“Babe?” Frankie mumbled, rolling a bit and pulling the heating pad out from between you. “You up?”

“Yeah.”

Frankie tossed the heating pad aside, making a face as it hit the floor with a heavy thump. “You good?”

You nodded. “Yeah. Just can’t sleep.”

“That’s not good,” Frankie mumbled, scooting around until his face was six inches from yours. “Penny for your thoughts?”

You smiled, kissing Frankie lightly. “Go to sleep, Catfish.”

Frankie grinned. “Ooo, busting out the nicknames. Seriously, what’s on your mind?”

“Nothing,” you answered honestly. “You’re just super warm.”

Humming, Frankie wrapped you in a hug, the absence of the heating pad making it much more comfortable. “Better?”

You melted into his chest, tracing a feather light finger over his top surgery scars. “Much.”

Frankie kissed your forehead, head falling back to the pillow as exhaustion threatened to overtake him. “Get some sleep babe.”

Nodding, you moved Frankie’s arm so you didn’t accidentally cut his circulation off. “Right back at you Frankie.”

#Triple Frontier #francisco 'catfish' morales #frankie morales #frankie morales x reader #frankie morales x you #Pedro Pascal #My writing

35 notes · View notes

groovinrightalong · 4 years ago

Text

IT IS TIME

That special content I promised!!!

Little prologue for Rocks Wolves and the Moon that’s set back in season 1!

Synopsis: Following his encounter with the Wolf’s Curse, Varian’s starting to believe the whole thing was a dream, or some big hoax. Then the full moon comes around.

Varian was beginning to lose hope. Just this morning, his elderly neighbor had been out for a walk, and a black rock had come only inches from running her through. He’d been there to help her over the fright afterwards, holding her hand and walking her home, but it had still happened! The entire situation was getting so, so much worse. And Dad wasn’t lifting a finger to help.

Then, there was that whole ‘wolf spirit’ thing that happened a month ago. It had promised to give him a voice, to help him get their problems noticed. Here they were, weeks later, and everything was just as bad. Nothing had changed. He certainly didn’t feel any different. He wouldn’t believe it had happened at all, if not for the strange blue mark on his palm. He’d tried washing it off, to no avail. That was the only indication that he hadn’t dreamed it all up, and even that was starting to not be enough.

“I just don’t get it!” He exclaimed, pacing back and forth in his lab. Beside him, Ruddiger sat patiently on his stool, watching him curiously. Ruddiger, too, seemed to have remembered the incident, if the way he’d acted for the day after was any indication. His best friend had practically walked on eggshells around him, terrified by every sudden movement. It was like he hadn’t even recognized him. But now, the raccoon seemed to be used to whatever had spooked him, perfectly content to be in close quarters with the boy.

One of the only positive things to come of the past weeks.

“He acknowledges it’s a problem,” he grumbled, scratching at his chin. “He’s told the people he’ll help. He keeps telling me he’s helping. Yet the evidence is against him. And that whole- whole thing with the king last month? Asking for more land? What, does he just plan to run away?” He scoffed, crossing his arms and turning to Ruddiger with an irritated frown. “What’s he going to do when they show up there too?” His lab assistant just shrugged, clearly as lost as he was.

Varian huffed, resuming his pacing. The sun was low in the sky. Not quite sunset, but past dinner time. His dad was probably out in the fields right about now.

“I-“ He cut off with a soft moan, pressing a hand to his stomach. It was upset all of a sudden, burning in his abdomen and leaving him a little nauseous. “Oh. Okay, maybe I got a little worked up.” Ruddiger regarded him with concern, chittering worriedly, but he waved him off with his free hand. “I’m fine, buddy. Just a bit of stress.” He sat himself down on the stool by his desk, rubbing at the spot over his roiling stomach.

Through the window, he could see so many rocks, some growing right before his eyes. The sight only made him feel more ill.

“Varian!”

“Down here!” He called, lacking his usual energy that backed the response. His father emerged from a door to his left, eyes scanning the room before entering, as though gauging whether or not it was safe. He seemed relieved when he saw the black rocks in the middle of the room, untouched and roped off, just as he’d left them.

“I just wanted to check in on you,” he explained, stepping inside and strolling over. “There’s a council meeting this evening, and I have to head out soon.”

“Don’t let me hold you up,” Varian grumbled, feeling a bit snippier than usual. His father frowned at him, furrowing that impressive brow, but he didn’t address it.

“Are you feeling alright?” He asked suddenly, sternness giving way for concern when he noticed his son’s posture. “You’re looking a little pale.”

“I’m fine,” the boy insisted, straightening up a bit. “Just tired.” His dad’s frown only grew, and for a moment Varian thought he’d fight him on it. But the man just let out a resigned sigh.

“Very well,” he relented. “Don’t wait up for me. It’ll go past nightfall. And please, be in bed when I get home.”

“Gotcha,” Varian replied with a wink, shooting him weak finger guns. A tired smile graced his father’s face, and he reached out to ruffle his hair. Varian leaned into the touch despite himself, finding great relief in the physical contact. But then the hand pulled back, and his dad backed away toward the door. He hesitated in the threshold, looking at his son, then the rocks, before smiling again, this time more strained.

“Goodnight, son.”

“Night, Dad.” The door echoed when he shut it, and his footsteps thundered up the stairs, then disappeared outside. Varian let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. His gaze trailed to the rocks in the room, and his face hardened into a determined glare. He turned back to his desk, pushing a few papers out of the way, and forcing himself to ignore the ache in his gut.

“We’re gonna find a way to fix this, Ruddy,” he announced, reaching for a clean beaker and his sheet of theoretical formulas. “With the power of alchemy, we’re gonna fix all of it!” Ruddiger squeaked nervously, eyeing his boy with concern, and something else. Like there was something wrong. Varian didn’t even notice.

He got to work with his chemicals, hyper focused on the movements of his hands and the way the formulas reacted when mixed. As he slaved away over his desk, the light began to dim in the sky, shrouding his workspace in darkness, save the glow of the compounds in the flasks and beakers. He lit the candle in the window mechanically, eyes still glued to his papers and experiments.

Eventually, Ruddiger started to grow tired, eyes drooping despite the early hour. He’d been up all night with his friend the night before, and as much as he wanted to be here for him now, he was starting to hit his limit. He curled up on the stool, tail tucked over his nose, and began to settle into a light nap.

But the sound of glass shattering startled him out of any contemplation of sleep, nearly jumping off the stool from the fright. A glowing blue compound had spilled on the floor, the flask that had held it in pieces within the mess. Over it, Varian stood, convulsed inward. Both his arms were wrapped around his stomach, eyes squeezed shut. His forehead was pressed against the surface of the desk, and his large front teeth were digging into his bottom lip, almost drawing blood.

Ruddiger squeaked with fright, moving to run to his friend, but something made him hesitate. His instincts were telling him to get as far away as possible. But that didn’t make any sense! This was Varian, his best friend! He won his internal battle and bounded over, climbing onto the desk and resting a paw on the boy’s head. Varian hissed in response, not moving a muscle.

“Just- just give me a second,” he wheezed, curling in further. “It’s just a-“ He gasped, arms wrapping tighter around himself. “Just a cramp.” Ruddiger chittered anxiously, pawing at his hair again. Varian’s breaths heaved in and out, back raising with each shaky gust of air. One hand uncurled from his torso and he winced, but he managed to get a grip on the table, righting himself. His face was pale and sweaty, eyes looking a bit glassy with fever. Ruddiger rubbed his nose against the bare skin between his sleeve and his glove, and found it startling hot.

“Gah!” Varian coughed, curling forward again, but his fingers stayed looped around the edge of the desk. The wood groaned under the pressure. He choked on another cough, tears gathering in his eyes. “It’s a- a really bad cramp.” Ruddiger squealed, frantically pointing his paw at the door. “No, don’t go get Dad! I’m fine. I’m just-“ He cut off with a loud cry, slamming his head down onto the table, then collapsing onto the ground. Ruddiger watched helplessly as his boy cried, curled into fetal position below the desk. He jumped down to help, but nothing he did worked.

He should really go get his dad.

He turned to leave, but another cry made him freeze, guilt consuming him. He couldn’t just leave his friend. Not like this. He trotted back over and curled up next to him, pressing his warmth into the small of Varian’s back. It seemed to help at least a little, as the tense muscles he felt through the alchemist’s thin shirt loosened some, but it wasn’t enough. Fat tears were streaming down the boy’s face, landing in a slowly forming puddle on the floor.

A loud popping noise cracked right by the raccoon’s ear and he yipped, jumping back. Varian was openly sobbing now, writhing as he tried to get comfortable, but couldn’t even get close. He ended up on his backside, feet digging into the stone floor as his back arched painfully. A hand landed close to Ruddiger, curling as it tried to anchor him on the ground, and he caught sight of sharp nails, almost claw-like. And they were growing, longer and thicker, until they really were claws. Ruddiger took a startled step backward, staring as the alchemist’s clenched teeth did the same, growing longer and sharper until his cries started to mix with snarls.

Something snapped audibly, and Varian let out an agonized wail. His eyes flew open, flooded with tears, and giving off an eerie glow. The irises flashed blood red, illuminating the room, then his entire eyes were swallowed by the color, leaving them blank and terrifying. Ruddiger cowered into the corner as Varian’s sobs morphed into growls, deep and feral. More snaps and pops filled the air and Varian’s entire body shifted, bones moving about underneath his skin. He almost seemed to stretch, horrifyingly slow, as his hair turned gray from the roots. It dimmed the blue stripe to the same color then spread, patches of fur sprouting in random places and evening out with the boy’s hair.

Varian’s face was lost in the fur, replaced with a snout and a wet dog nose. The alchemist’s entire body seemed to have been swallowed whole, because that couldn’t be- it couldn’t be him. The panting beast left behind was so unlike his friend, so large and scary where his human was small and kind. Every instinct Ruddiger had told him to run for the hills. But below the terrifying exterior, he could pick up Varian’s scent. And Varian couldn’t have just… disappeared, could he?

The Wolf- Varian?- was out of breath, staring at the ceiling with wide, bright red eyes. That huge chest rose and fell unsteadily, pain still evidenced in his posture. But then, he turned onto his front, climbing onto four wobbly paws. He looked awkward and confused, not right. It was Varian. Ruddiger chittered worriedly, one paw slipping into the light, and Varian’s eyes snapped in his direction. They locked gazes for all of five seconds, then the wolf turned and ran out the door, disappearing into the night before Ruddiger could do anything.

—

When Varian woke, he was cold. Not for lack of clothes, he could feel them clinging to his lean frame. But he wasn’t in the comfort and safety of his home. He peeled his eyes open, head splitting with a dull migraine, and stared up at the forest canopy. He was outside.

And he remembered everything.

Panic was the first thing to come back, overactive mind reeling as it recalled all the events of the night before. He- he was a monster. A full blown, scary story, fanged and hulking monster. He’d gone wild in the empty streets of the village, ravaging chicken coops and frightening livestock.

He’d chosen for this to happen.

Of course the scary wolf spirit was a curse! How could anything offering to help him for a price not be?? And now he was- he was stuck like this, and it was terrifying.

“Oh no,” he breathed, one hand clamping over his mouth as he just laid there, back against the earth. Tears were gathering on his lower lashes all over again, but not from pain. He’d done this to himself.

He turned over onto his side and curled in on himself, sniffling against the tears. What would everyone think of him now? Being the ‘wizard’ was bad enough, even when it was clearly false. Now he was an actual monster, in every iterence of the word. He’d wanted to help his village, and he’d only added onto the burden.

What would Rapunzel think? The princess had been nothing but kind to him since they met, and she’d trusted him. She’d promised everything would be alright, that they’d work together to find a solution to the rocks. If he’d just listened to her, maybe this wouldn’t have happened! But no, he had to go and make impulsive decisions, and try to take matters into his own hands.

What would Flynn think? He was a hero! Monsters were always the villains in storybooks. The hero vanquished the villain. And Cassie? After they’d just started to get to know each other? The monster never got the girl!

And Dad. Oh sun, Dad. Dad would never look at him again. He’d lock him away for good, and throw away the key. He’d look at him and only see an abomination, not a son.

That’s what you wanted, a voice in his mind supplied. You were willing to risk it all to save them. No backing out now.

But it was right. In that single moment, a month before, he’d decided that whatever the wolf brought was better than what was happening. He’d believed, with a furious vindication, that it would be the perfect turn around. Finally, he’d understand why Dad pushed him away. He’d know the reason, because he chose the reason.

He cried quietly, hiding his face in the moist grass.

After what felt like hours, he felt something nuzzle into his side. He flinched away, fear still gripping his heart, but it only followed, rubbing with more persistence. He turned his head just a little and found a fuzzy face staring up at him, worry evident in those beady eyes.

“Ruddiger,” he whispered, realizing what a mess he must look like, crying on the ground with grass stains on his clothes. The raccoon didn’t mind, chubby face lighting up with delight at the realization that Varian was okay. He jumped at him, purring and sliding himself in between the boy’s arms, cuddling into his chest. Varian couldn’t help the weak laugh that escaped, one arm wrapping around his friend.

Ruddiger had seen him last night. He’d been there for every moment, every gruesome detail. And even after all that, he was still right here beside him.

“What’d I do to deserve you?” He croaked, burying his face in his soft fur. “I’m so sorry. I’m so, so sorry. That must have been so scary.” Ruddiger just chirped, nuzzling his little nose into the crook of Varian’s neck. The boy let out a shaky sob, hiding in the soft comfort his friend provided. If only for a moment, he could pretend everything was alright. It was just him and Ruddiger. There were no black rocks. There were no judgemental neighbors. There were no disappointed fathers. There was no Wolf Curse. Just a boy and his best friend.

Eventually, that moment had to come to an end, as the rest of him started to catch up. It was early morning, perhaps early enough for him to slip back home and pretend nothing had happened. Maybe, maybe he’d be able to sleep it off. Maybe he’d find a solution somewhere else. Or maybe he’d learn to live with it. He couldn’t do any of that laying on the forest floor.

“C’mon,” he mumbled, crawling onto his knees and hoisting the raccoon into his arms. Ruddiger was surprisingly light all of a sudden, easy to carry despite that extra weight he’d put on since moving in with the alchemist. Varian pushed it from his mind, turning all around. Somehow, he knew which way to go. He could hear the townsfolk, even from out here. He could smell the bakery, and the market, and the deli.

He pushed that out of his mind, too.

Upon arriving back at the village, he found himself in the midst of chaos. People were out in the streets, yelling at one another and frantically hurrying about. He could gather a few things they were saying, hearing sharper than it had been last he was here.

“My sheep-!”

“-something out there-“

“-the King!”

From over all the voices, he could hear his father, waving his hands for the crowd to calm. As usual, he got barely half the response he’d hoped for, only some people quieting to listen. Varian fought his way to the front, ignoring the harsh looks sent in his direction. He didn’t quite make it to his dad, but he got a clear view of the man.

“Everyone!” He boomed, hands outstretched in a placating gesture. “Don’t work yourselves up over nothing! A few wild animal attacks will not ruin our harvests.”

“I lost everything, Quirin!” A woman up front yelled, shaking a slaughtered chicken in her fist. “It could take me years to get it back!”

“It’s far too much destruction for just one night!” The short, burly man a few rows back cried. “The King needs to be notified of a potential threat!” More voices joined the cause, calling for another trip to the King. Quirin was fighting a losing fight.

Despite the situation, Varian felt something lift off his shoulders. No one had been holding his dad accountable for the rocks. With these so-called ‘animal attacks’, people were growing more desperate. They’d demand more results. Maybe, just maybe, this was what was needed to force his father’s hand.

Varian let out a sigh, arms wrapped around his chest. This was… this was good. If being a werewolf was the way to get results, then it was what he’d do.

At this point, he had nothing left to lose.

#rapunzels tangled adventure #tangled the series #varian #tangled varian #tangled au #prologue #season 1 au #RocksWolvesandtheMoon #quirin #ruddiger

19 notes · View notes

ilikeoneshots · 5 years ago

Text

Keep Moving - Bakugou Katsuki

I had thirty minutes left on my patrol shift so I started making my way back to my agency. I hadn’t been feeling too hot the last couple days and I was completely exhausted.

I was about two block away from the agency when I heard the explosions behind me. I quickly turned and saw smoke billowing into the sky from the business district. I quickly launched myself into the sky and made my way toward the havoc.

“(H/N) in business district. Three unknown assailants caused an explosion of some kind. I don’t see any injured civies,” I call into my radio.

“Copy, (H/N). We’re sending someone in to cover you,” dispatch responded. I nodded to myself before descending upon the villains.

I dropped soundlessly behind one and rendered them unconscious with a rudimentary sleeper hold. As the man collapsed, the other two took notice of me.

“What the fuck, dude?! You didn’t say this bitch would be around!” One said to the other.

“Yeah, well, how the fuck was I supposed to know?! Just take the bitch out!” The other man exclaimed.

“If you boys are done with this little show, we can do this one of two ways. One, you give up on this sad excuse of a robbery and come away quietly without any injuries. Two, I kick your asses and make a pit stop to the emergency room before going to jail. Which will it be?” I asked, boredom lacing my voice.

“Fuck you, you stupid bitch! You think you can take both of us?!” The first man screamed at me.

“Option two it is then,” I sigh before using my speed to appear behind him. He could barely turn to look at me before I kicked him into the wall they blew up moments ago. He groaned from his place on the ground. I turned toward the other man, “Would you like to reconsider?”

He snarled at me before using his quirk to shoot something at me. Did this dude have bullets coming out of his fingertips?!?

I dodged quickly and flipped over his head and landed behind him, catching him in a sleeper hold like the third member of their party. He flailed around, sending shots around wildly from his hands before he slumped into the hold. I restrained him quickly and went to make my way to the man I had kicked when I noticed he was gone.

“Dammit!” I groaned. It wasn’t more than a minute later that the police showed up to cart the two men away, “I’m sorry sir, the third man ran off. I’ll see if I can locate him quickly,” I said to the supervising officer.

I was about to go for the sky when I heard my name being called, I look around and see a familiar head of blonde hair and sharp red eyes. I smile and wave, my smile quickly turning into a look of confusion when I saw him blasting off full speed toward me and screaming something. I couldn’t figure out what he was screaming due to his explosions. I went to look behind me when I felt something sharp hit my side.

It felt like everything was going in slow motion. I look down and see the abdomen of my suit growing redder. I look back up and see the man from earlier holding an insanely long knife in his hand. He had a crazed look in his eyes. He was quickly tackled to the ground. I stumbled a bit before feeling arms wrap around me.

“(Y/N)! Hey, hey, hey. Look at me,” his voice sounded weird. I try to focus my eyes on him.

“Katsu? Did he just fucking stab me?” I groan.

“Shut up, stupid woman! We have to get you to the hospital!” He’s yelling, fear evident in his voice. He picks me up and I groan in pain once more.

“What a dick... who just stabs someone like that?” My voice comes out in a mumble. Katsuki isn’t paying my ramblings any mind as he runs me to the nearest hospital.

My mind is going in and out of consciousness as they place me on the gurney. I look over in one last moment of lucidity and see Katsuki with tears running down his cheeks and then I’m out.

I don’t know how long I’m out for but when I come to I instantly want to go back to sleep. The bright fluorescent lights make my head pound and I groan at the feeling. I feel something grab my hand and I force my eyes open again. The image of my husband comes into view.

“(Y/N)? Can you hear me?” I nod and motion to my throat, “Oh water! Hold on,” Katsuki leaves for a moment only to reappear moments later with a glass. I down in in seconds.

“Oh my God, that’s so much better,” I sigh.

“How do you feel?” He asks me in an uncharacteristically soft tone.

“Like I got stabbed with a machete,” I humorlessly laugh, “Okay, fill me in on what happened after they took me back?” I grunt as I try to sit up. Katsuki quickly helps me adjust before holding my hand in his vice-like grip again.

“Babe... something.. let me go get the doctor,” Katsuki said before leaving the room. I’m so confused, he’s not acting normally... I didn’t have time to ponder his odd behavior because he returned just as quickly has he left, doctor in tow.

“Morning, Mrs Bakugou. I’m Doctor Lin, I did your surgery last night,” The woman stated as she sat in the seat across from my bed, “A couple things happened while you were in surgery. Nothing life threatening but it is serious.”

I sit in silence as I listen to the woman drone on and on about what happened. She explains my wound, my blood loss, how I was lucky the blade didn’t actually hit any internal organs, but what really got me was a question.

“Ma’am, did you know you were pregnant?” I blinked at her a few times.

“What do you mean?” What did she just ask me??

“Oh, dear... I’m so sorry,” she stammered for a moment as she looked at the clipboard in her hands, “You were twelve weeks pregnant, Ma’am. I regret to inform you, but due to the blood loss, shock along with anesthesia and the surgery the fetus did not make it.”

I numbly look to Katsuki, he’s just staring at the doctor in front of us.

“I’ll give you two a moment,” she says before leaving the room. Katsuki is still frozen, staring at the seat the woman was just occupying.

“K-Katsu?” I whisper and he jumped back into reality and is holding me close to his chest, “I d-didn’t know! If only I had known! How did I not realize?!” I cry into his shirt. He’s rocking me back and forth, careful not to hurt my stitches.

“It isn’t your fault, you were doing your job. If I had gotten to you sooner, I could have kept that guy from getting away,” he’s mad at himself now... I pull away and place my hands on either side of his face, making his look at me.

“If I can’t blame myself, you can’t blame yourself,” I wipe the tears from his cheeks and he does the same for me. He kisses me softly as I sniffle.

“I’m sorry, you’re right,” he holds me close again, “I haven’t even really thought about wanting a kid, but hearing that we could have and now their gone...” I nod against his shoulder.

“I know what you mean...”

Two days later, I was discharged. The doctor informed me that I shouldn’t be surprised at any heavy bleeding and eventually I will ‘pass’ the baby. My anxiety levels were at an all time high, the thought of having to ‘pass’ my baby overwhelming.

I called my boss and informed her of my situation, we’re pretty close, and she gave me four weeks off. Enough time for the physical side of my miscarriage to end.

“Katsuki.. I know you don’t want to talk about this but...” I stop myself. I can’t bring myself to ask this, but I know I have to, “W-When it happens-“

“We’re going to bury it,” he says softly, he can read me like a book. He knows how hard this is on me, it’s hard on him too, “We can bury it underneath the cherry blossom tree in the backyard.” I nod silently.

“Do you think it would have been a boy or a girl?” I ask after we arrived home and settled on the couch, just wanting to hold each other.

“Not sure, why?” He hummed as he rubbed my shoulders

“I want to give them a name...” I say, fiddling with the end of my shirt.

He was quiet for a while and I assumed I went to far with the morbidity of the situation. I was about to say ‘forget it’ when Katsuki started to speak again.

“I’d like to think it would have been a girl. She would have had my eye color but your eye shape,” he smiled to himself as he imagined what our baby would have looked like, “I’d want her to have your hair texture and color too.”

“So you’d only want her to have your eyes?” I asked.

“I’d be perfectly happy with that,” he smiled down at me.

“I’d want her to have your smile,” I say as I turn slightly to give him a kiss.

“Sappy woman,” he grinned.

“Did you forget what all you just said?” He chuckled and playfully flicked my forehead.

“That’s besides the point, what name would you give her?” I hum as I think about it.

“We could call her Sakura, because of the cherry blossom tree,” I offer the idea.

“I do like that name, but are you sure you want to name her after the tree?”

“I know it’s not very original...” I mumble as I rest my head against his chest.

“No, I like it. We can call her Sakura,” he kisses my hair. I nod. We fall into a comfortable silence, every now and then I tense when I feel a cramp.

“I wish the other day had been different... if it had only happened an hour later... I would have been home and then we would have been able to meet Sakura in a few more months,” I say as the tears start flowing again. Katsuki rubs my back and shushes me softly.

“We can’t think about ‘what if’s. What happened, happened for a reason. It may not make any sense right now, but we can’t change it even if we wanted to. So now, we have to keep going forward and in the future if you want to we can try again,” his voice calms me.

“I love you, Katsu. I’m glad you’re with me. But, if I’m being honest, hearing you say such soft things is odd,” I admit. He scoffs at me.

“I’m not soft, I just love you,” he gently moves me as he gets off the couch, “You keep resting, I’m going to start dinner.”

It’s been almost a year since we lost Sakura. If I’m being honest, I still get sad about it. I think Katsuki does too. But like Katsuki said, we can’t change the past so we have to keep moving forward. Which is what we’ve managed to do.

“Mrs Bakugou? Are you there?” The voice called out through the phone I had dropped. I scrambled to pick the device back up.

“Y-Yes! I’m here! I’m sorry, can you repeat that?” My heart feels like it’s going to beat out of my chest.

“I said, the results came back. You’re pregnant.”

#bakugou katsuki x pregnant reader #bakugou katsuki x reader #bnha x reader #bnha #mha x reader #mha

150 notes · View notes

untaemedqueen · 6 years ago

Text

SaB Series

Werewolf!Taehyung x Mate!Reader

Chapter 2.

Warnings: Graphic birth.

No sex in this chapter, sorry folks, wait until the next chapter. Oh-ho boy. Get your eye bleach ready.

Within moments you were up in your bedroom as Jimin gently places you on your bed. “Fuck, I-I don’t know what to do!” Jimin whines loudly, he paces back and forth as you grip at the comforter sheets. Your mind reeling at the sudden contractions, Taehyung said the pups wouldn’t come today! How wrong he was!

Namjoon runs into the room, “I can smell you from the forest, you okay?” You glare up at him as he crouches down in front of you. Your hand landing on your back as you groan.

“No, Kim Namjoon. I’m going into fucking labor.” He blanches before clearing his throat.

“What do we do, hyung?!” Jimin cries putting his hand on your shoulder. Namjoon stands up tall assessing the situation.

“Taehyung is at the ritual... This isn’t good.” You give him a fake clap, “Thank you! Captain Obvious! You’re so good at this!” You yell before throwing your head back, your forehead and scalp beginning to sweat.

“Oh God!” You whine as another contraction hits you.

“I’ll run to him. Tell him you need him here.” Namjoon decides.

“What?! It’s like an hour and a half run to the gymnasium!” Jimin says shocked as he grabs a towel, dabbing it to your forehead. You wish you could just go to the hospital. But, alas, it was against the wolf code which Taehyung made very clear. When pups were born of course they looked like normal babies but they had canine teeth which would shock an obstetrician, never mind that newborn pups eyes were pitch black, the whites of their eyes completely dark. Kind of like how actual wolves are born deaf and blind.

“He needs to be here.” Namjoon says before leaving the room.

“What am I supposed to do?!” Jimin yells out, “Stay with Y/N. And, if those pups come. You better do a good job or Taehyung will fucking kill you.” Namjoon calls back up the stairs before the glass sliding door slams shut.

“Oh, good. Comforting. No pressure.” Jimin and you lock eyes before he whines loudly.

“It’ll be okay Chim.” You say trying to comfort him. Wait, why are you comforting him?! You’re going into labor without your mate and on top of it Jimin might be the one to deliver these children. He’s your best friend, yes, but is he the brightest? No. No he isn’t.

“I’m going to get some hot towels.” Jimin says looking up from his phone, you grit your teeth as you rub your stomach.

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever.” You groan shooing him away. Your eyes find the clock on the wall and you sigh. Namjoon had only been gone 40 minutes. He was probably still running. Who knows if Taehyung would even be able to leave. You’re going to give birth by yourself. With your dumb best friend who has to literally look up what to do on the internet because he couldn’t be bothered to pay attention to Taehyungs lecture last week. Too busy thinking about his stupid wolf gonorrhea. You groan loudly as a pup moves inside you as a contraction begins again. They were getting closer together, not good. You just need to hold on. Just hold on till Taehyung gets here. If you could even try.

Branches smack against Namjoons furry face as he runs at full speed towards the gymnasium he used to frequent when he was Alpha.

“TAEHYUNG!” He calls out in his mind. Silence. He stops before sitting on all fours and howling loudly. He needs to get to Taehyung, he got his best friend Y/N into this situation and he wouldn’t let her go through this alone without her soulmate. He begins to run again, his rough, hot ragged breaths creating puffs of smoke in the cool night air. He was close to the gymnasium but not close enough. His paws bouncing off rocks as he runs at full speed.

“Please!” He screams out in his mind to silence.

Taehyung sits back in his throne rolling his eyes as Jungkook finally finishes his knotting. “Finally, fuck.” Jungkook sniffs the girl below him before grunting and grabbing his boxers. The small werewolf girl spent on the floor, pools of wolf cum beginning to surround her body. That was it, no one in Taehyung’s pack impregnated the bitch. A sigh of relief escapes his lips as Jungkook slips on his boxers and stomps angrily back to his pack.

“Maybe she’s sterile.” Hoseok blurts out as he picks his head up off his hand.

“You would be able to smell it if she was, your semen just sucks.” Taehyung says quietly making Yoongi snort. Taehyung picks up his head as his heart begins to hurt.

“Something isn’t right.” His head getting cloudy as he sniffs the air.

“What’s up?” Yoongi asks concerned. Taehyung tilts his head before looking at his friend.

“I’m not sure. Something is wrong.” As a foreign pack member begins his process on the small black haired girl Taehyung hears screams within his mind.

“TAEHYUNG!” He hears Namjoon scream faintly in his mind. The pack stand up quickly, gaining attention from the other packs.

“THE PUPS ARE COMING!” He hears and he curses loudly. He looks at his pack as they stare at him wide-eyed.

“How could this happen, you said they weren’t bearing down low enough.” Hoseok asks surprised.

“Do I look like I have the answers to everything?” Taehyung growls through gritted teeth. Taehyung swings his long trench coat behind him as he walks towards the doors of the gymnasium. A large man stands in his way, his bald head shining from the bright lights.

“I’m sorry, pack-leader. The ceremony is not over. You cannot leave.” Taehyung advances, a loud growl emitting from his throat as his canines drop down, sharp and ready to pierce skin.

“My mate is giving birth. I must go.” He says as his pack backs him up. The man does not move as he looks down.

He shrugs uncaring, “Get back to your throne before I make you.” The man says bending down to Taehyung’s height. His jaws snap as a feral snarl begins within him.

“Oh, Jo. Let them go. Would you let such a happy occasion be wasted because you would not move your body?” Taehyung’s head snaps towards the feminine voice, the older Korean woman he has known his whole life smiles warm-heartedly at him. Her white hair in a kept bun, her black dress pooling around her feet. Taehyung clears his throat before standing up tall.

“Nephew, give the pups a kiss for me.” His aunt whispers as she opens the doors for him. He gives a curt nod before leaving stripping his clothes off in the process as he busts into the cool night air as a wolf. His pack mates just behind him.

“Your aunt is the chairman of the FWWA?” Hoseok asks within his mind as they begin to run.

“Surprise.” Taehyung grumbles as they speed through the treeline. Namjoon greets them on their run back.

“She’s going to have those pups soon, when I left she looked like death.” Namjoon calls to them.

“Hold on baby, I’m coming.” Taehyung howls as he runs with all his might home.

“Okay, okay. I’m going to change the wet towel now.” Jimin says carefully as you scream in pain.

“I DON’T CARE!” You yell grabbing his shirt pulling him close to your face.

“Stop talking Park Jimin. I’ll fucking kill you, you hear me?” He nods as his lips form a straight line as he ‘locks’ his mouth and throws away the key.

“WHERE THE FUCK IS HE?!” You scream leaning forward. You find the courage to stand beginning to pace the room, your body doubled over with a hand on your clammy back. Jimin walks with you, his hand on your elbow as he bites at his full lips nervously. He whines quietly and you narrow your eyes at him.

“I want drugs!” You whine as another contraction hits so hard, your knees go weak. Jimin grabs you with a grunt as you begin to fall, his weight holding you easily as you lean on him.

“Sit down.” He says helping you back to the bed. You sit down with a groan. As you put your hand under your stomach, the utter pain you feel makes your mouth go dry. As if getting your period and getting cramps before wasn’t enough. This was one hundred times more painful.

“Taehyung better get his fucking ass back here. This is the worst.” You cry out, tears starting to well up in your eyes. Jimin cards his fingers through his hair before clearing his throat.

“I really hate to bring this up while you’re this emotional but... it says I should check how dilated you are.” You choke on a sob before crying harder.

“You are not shoving your hand up my vagina.” You yell at Jimin, he looks at you wide eyed.

“No! No, I was just going to check and see with my eyes.”

“That’s not how it works you fucking idiot!” You cry harder before biting your bottom lip. Jimin rocks back on his heels awkwardly, “I’ll go get a new hot towel.” He mutters meekly.

“We’re almost there!” Taehyung shouts to the pack, his furry body smacking against low hanging tree branches as he barrels towards the house.

“I’m comin’ baby, I’m comin’.” He whispers as your screams begin to fill his ears.

Water slides down your legs as you feel your water burst. “Oh Christ.” Jimin says as he lays another towel on the floor. Your throat hoarse and burning as you scream again. Jimin’s small hand in yours as you squeeze with all your might.

“FUCK!” You yell out taking in shallow breaths, the room feeling was too hot as you lurch forward.

“Turn on the air conditioner!” You beg of your best friend and he does as told. You hear the glass door smacking open. You begin to cry with relief.

“TAE!” You yell out, Jimin thanks God as the french doors of your bedroom slam open.

“My babygirl.” Taehyung says eyeing over the situation. He’s on his knees in front of you in seconds. His hands rolling up your dress. He leans forward to give you a large sloppy kiss, your sweat smearing on his forehead as he bends down.

“What the fuck have you been doing? This room isn’t ready for a birth at all!” Taehyung chides Jimin. He looks at Yoongi and Namjoon and they spring into action.

“Take this off.” Taehyung says pulling at the nightgown. You look around at the guys before whimpering at the pain.

“I’ll be naked.” You whisper to Tae who smirks.

“You’ll be fine. They could care less. Their nephews are coming. It’s tradition.” Taehyung says tugging once more. You concede sitting there fully naked, you look down at your stomach as the veins turn black, you sit in a trance watching them as they swirl and jut out upwards towards your breasts.

“This isn’t normal.” You whisper frightened, Taehyung kisses the top of your head quickly before grabbing two marble stools and placing them underneath your legs.

“Yes, it is.” You suddenly realize you have no idea about any of this and it frightens you to your core.

“I can’t do this!” You gasp shaking your head.

“Y/N. Look at me. Baby, look at me.” You look up meekly and Taehyung gives you a smile.

“You can do this. I have no doubt. Your doing great.” Yoongi and Namjoon enter the room quickly bringing supplies before closing the doors behind them. Taehyung sticks his arms in a yellow viscous liquid before drying them with a freshly opened towel out of a package.

“Pick two guys to stay.” He says, his fingers feeling at your vaginal opening.

“What?” You ask shocked as the six other men stare at you.

“Pick two, a caretaker for each pup.” You swallow before another contraction hits, this one hard making you scream throwing your head back.

“Good job baby, just breathe, you’re doing so good my girl.” Taehyung praises you as his hand enters into your vagina. You gasp loudly as he prods at you. The embarrassment you feel could not be topped and yet, it was incredible to see how knowledgeable he was and how loving he was being.

“They’re coming, you must pick Y/N. We don’t have much time.” You look at the six men, all smiling at you.

“But-But it’s not fair.” You say looking over your friends.

“You’ll be having more pups. You can pick more then. Just pick two now.” Taehyung says grabbing towels and placing them carefully on the floor below you. He pulls you towards the end of the bed grabbing pillows next. He props you up and rubs your stomach.

“Pick, Y/N.” You close your eyes.

“Namjoon and Jimin.” You mutter feeling badly.

“Good girl.” Taehyung says as he strips to his boxers. He crouches down in front of you and you couldn’t help but let out a small giggle. He smirks at you and tilts his head.

“What?” He asks as Namjoon and Jimin get on either side of you taking your hands into theirs.

“This is just the strangest thing in the world.” Taehyung laughs loudly and it makes your heart flutter.

“Yeah, if I didn’t know about this tradition, I’d say it was strange too.” You groan loudly as a contraction smacks you like an oncoming train, tears spilling over your cheeks instantly.

“FUCK!” You scream loudly as you clutch at your best friends hands.

“You’re doing amazing baby. Good girl.” Taehyung kisses up your thighs as he dunks his hands into the yellow liquid again.

“It’s sterilizer.” He clarifies as he opens up another plastic wrapped towel.

“Gotta stay clean.” You didn’t care, you truthfully just wanted this pain to subside. You wanted these pups out of you. Taehyung’s hand sides into your vaginal opening again and you gasp at the feeling. He retracts his hand quickly and locks eyes with you.

“Push.” He says placing a hand on your stomach. You grit your teeth as you begin to push, veins in your temples bulging as you gasp for air.

“Good job, baby!” Taehyung cheers as he looks down at you. You had forgotten about the two men at your sides as they stand their in silence. Namjoon kisses the top of your head and you look up at him nervously. He winks at you and gives you a long, closed mouth smile. His chin dimpling as you take a deep breath.

“Again, push.” You do as told pushing with all your might.

“I see hair! Keep going baby. You’re doing amazing!”

“You see one?” You ask excited and Taehyung looks up at you, his eyes welling up with happy tears.

“Keep going, my love.” You push again, the pain sharp in your mind as you scream as you feel everything. The feeling so raw. Feeling every small limb and bone push through you. Taehyung sobs gently as cradles one of the pups heads.

“You got this.” Jimin cheers silently next to you.

“One more push.” Taehyung announces clearing his throat. He sniffles as you give another push. He catches the first pup beginning to cry.

“Namjoon.” Taehyung whispers as he cleans the first child with a new towel. He unwraps a large clean syringe and cleans the baby’s airways before a loud cry emits through the room. You blink back tears as pain defeats your happiness.

“He’s beautiful.” You cry putting your free hand to your mouth, watching as Taehyung cuts the umbilical cord. Taehyung cries loudly falling backwards as Namjoon lifts him up, he sniffs the pup before his canines drop.

“Namjoon!” You cry out as he brings the child to his mouth. Your fear growing as he opens his mouth.

“What is he doing?! Stop him!” You yell out as you feels the next baby being pushed downwards by your muscles.

“It’s okay, Y/N. He won’t hurt him.” Namjoon bites down gently on his thigh. Blood beginning to leak from your newborn baby.

“Namjoon!” You yell loudly as the baby cries.

“It’s the mark, the mark of his protector.” Namjoon retracts his canines before handing the pup back to Taehyung.

“Shhh.” Taehyung whispers in the ear of the wailing child, the babies voice becoming quiet.

“Good boy.” Taehyung praises before sniffing the pups head and kissing it.

“Namjoon, hold him. The next one is coming.” Taehyung was right about that as you scream loudly. “Push for me, baby.”

You lay in bed utterly spent as Taehyung cleans you. His tongue caressing your thighs as he cleans up around you. You stare at the ceiling in a pained daze.

“Y/N. I am going to take your pain away. Okay?” Taehyung asks, your eyes slowly gazing towards him. You mumble as tears stream your cheeks silently. You look back up at the ceiling before releasing a shaky sigh. Everything was numb and so incredibly sharp at the same time. The pain pulsing through your veins while your limbs were dull. Taehyung looks you over again, his heart breaking watching you lay there like a rag doll. He lifts your arm as he sits on the bed. The dipping of the bed moving your body slightly and you whine at the pain.

“I’ll make it all better.” He bites your wrist and you cry out, your head lifting off the bed. Taehyung stays like this for a few seconds, his fangs still in your skin. He pulls back before licking his bite, it heals within seconds and you begin to radiate with energy. It begins in your heart and spreads to the rest of your body, your black colored veins turning back to the original blue color. You head begins to clear of the fog that was present seconds before. A sleepiness taking over you as you look up at your mate.

“Sleep now, you’ve done so well, my girl. What a great mommy you are.” You fade away as your eyelids become heavy.

Taehyung sighs loudly before standing up. He slips on his sweats before padding over to the two cribs at the left corner of the room. He peers down at his pups and smiles widely. They looked like Y/N. How gorgeous they were, his own spawn. His children of the night. He falls to his knees as one begins to move around. He bites back a sob as his large hands run over their now clothed bodies.

“My pups, how daddy loves you.” He lifts one pressing him to his chest. The warmth of the small child making him cry harder. He stumbles over to the large wooden chair next to the cribs. He sits down and rocks back and forth. His lips pressing against the pups temple.

“Mommy and Daddy will take care of you for all your days. Like how the moon loves the sun. I will love you always.” His thumb caressing the small back of his child. He looks over at Y/N as she sleeps and he smiles. Nothing in the world could ever compare to this feeling.

You wake up rubbing your eyes as you hear cries. You sit up without a twinge of pain and you look down at your body. It was like nothing had happened.

“Wow.” You whisper standing up. You waltz over to the crying pup before scooping him up. The twins were identical aside from one beauty mark on the tip of their nose like Taehyungs. You kiss the beauty mark of the pup you were holding. His cry was loud making your ears ring.

“Here goes nothing.” You mumble bringing the pup to your breast, hoping he would take to it immediately. You had read online that it was difficult for babies to nurse. You smile with relief as the pup takes to your breast like a duck to water. The french doors open and you turn to your incoming mate. He smiles before leaning against the wall, his arms folding as he watches you.

“I knew I would be jealous.” He chuckles as you giggle.

“Well, it doesn’t feel as good as when you did it.” You admit making him snort.

“I’d fucking hope not.” He strides over to the opposite crib lifting the other pup.

“What shall we name these two princes?” Taehyung asks sitting on the bed, he places the pups head on his bare shoulder as he rubs the baby’s small back. You ponder for a second before sitting next to him. You look down at the baby at your breast.

“Chanhyeok” You say aloud, the words flowing off your tongue. Taehyung hums in agreement.

“That’s a beautiful name, illuminating, bright.” Taehyung mutters listing the meaning. You smile at him and nod. Taehyung sniffs the pup in his arms before smirking.

“Baekhyeon.” He says before looking at you. You nod happily before looking at your family. Taehyung looks at your body before leaning in and kissing your cheek.

“You know what I was just thinking?” Taehyung whispers in your ear, his tongue licking up your earlobe.

“Hmm?” You ask as Chanhyeok finishes feeding. You begin to burp him before looking over at Tae.

“You look too skinny. I need to give you more pups.” You snort before looking down at your pups.

“You promised me two months.” He looks over your naked body before biting his bottom lip. “Two months. No more than that.”

#silver and blue series #kim taehyung #taehyung #bts v #Werewolf!AU #werewolf!taehyung #bangtan boys #bts #yoongi #jungkook #jimin #namjoon #hoseok #bts werewolf au #bts story #bts imagine

618 notes · View notes

ambientstars · 5 years ago

Note

Could we please get 12 from the prompt list? ❤️

“I’m going to take care of you, okay?”

Thank you for the request! It may not be what you had in mind, but I still hope you like it :)

Gif credit: @thelvadams

Note: everybody say it with me! Fluff fluff fluff angst fluff! I apologise for the sloppiness of this, but sometimes my brain just doesn’t cooperate yknow?

- - -

The streets were busy, filled with countless creatures and species, all bustling about in their daily commutes, market shopping and socialising.

The Doctor had taken you to a planet you couldn’t quite pronounce, promising colour and vibrancy from not only the people who lived there, but also the planet itself. The grass sparkled, clear like diamonds and shining brilliantly under the turquoise sun. The air tasted sweet, faint traces of sugary sherbet on your tongue every time you took a breath.

Beside you The Doctor rambled on about the planet’s history and the life forms that inhabited it, but her words went in one ear and right out the other, your focus too captured by the way the pavement beneath your feet hummed a tune with each step you took forward.

The strangers around you smiled, greeting each other politely as they crossed paths. The atmosphere felt welcoming and warm, inviting you deeper into the intriguing world you had been brought to.

To your left were stalls of different kinds, selling everything from odd looking food you imagined were types of fruit to livestock consisting of animals that talked and hovered and danced. On your right stood a tall and proud building containing restaurants of all kinds of cuisines, all of them unfamiliar to you, it’s walls covered with glorious art, colours you’d never seen before enveloped each brick right to the edges.

Out of all the places The Doctor had taken you before, this was by far the best. Here you felt calm and delighted, and with so much to see and explore, you never wanted to leave despite the fact that eventually your real home would be calling you back.

“And that’s why they call it the-“ The Doctor stopped dead in her tracks, her arm reaching out in front of you as a signal for you to also stop walking. “Do you hear that?”

“No…” you listened out for something, anything that seemed out of the ordinary. But it was so busy around you, voices and laughter filling your ears, it was hard to make out just what The Doctor was talking about.

“Listen.” She twirled on the spot, focussing her ears in different directions until she narrowed down the location of the sound she was hearing.

“Doctor, I don’t hear-“

She took off running before you could finish your sentence. You forced your feet to chase after her even in your moment of confusion. “Doctor, wait!”

She continued running quicker than you’d ever seen her run before, darting from left to right, in between stalls and pushing past pedestrians in her way, mumbling a sorry to them as she stayed in motion.

Your legs began to cramp up, your chest heaving for a proper breath. You kept up as best as you could, almost losing her in crowds a few times, but ultimately spotting her in a different spot not even seconds after and following in the seemingly uncoordinated and unplanned path.

She came to a standstill once again and you almost crashed into her in surprise, your breathing laboured, but hers barely above average. She looked around in the new place you had found yourselves in, a different part of the endless market and still just as busy, watching The Doctor’s face contort into something of discomfort as she kept an ear out for the sound you couldn’t hear.

“Doctor, where are we-“

“There!” And she was off again.

You huffed in irritation, your burning lungs silently pleading to The Doctor to slow down and give them a chance. You followed, pushing through the pain of exhaustion, and found her crouched down in an alleyway behind what looked like a generator for the building it was attached to.

“It’s okay, I’m here now.”

She stood, a bundle of blankets in her arms. She slowly walked over to you, never once taking her eyes away from whatever she was holding, her expression soft and a small smile on her face.

“I’m going to take care of you, okay?”

The blankets moved and out popped an arm. The arm of a baby, it’s skin a shade of pink, it’s tiny and chubby hand reaching out to touch The Doctor’s face. You watched in awe as the timelord bounced in her spot, rocking the cooing baby back and forth, keeping it calm and content.

“So that’s what you heard? A baby?”

She nodded, finally looking up at you. “He was crying.”

You frowned, still confused. “But how did you hear him from so far away?”

She shrugged, returning her gaze back to the baby. “Parental instincts, I suppose.”

You opened your mouth to speak, to ask even more questions, but she began to walk off before you could.

She spoke to the baby as she made her way back through the crowd, asking him questions about what his family looked like and what his name was, all the while keeping an eye out for distressed parents looking for their son.

The baby gurgled back and she nodded in understanding, replying to him as she understood exactly what he was saying. You, of course, had absolutely no idea at all.

You twisted and turned through the market streets, searching for a clue as to who this baby belonged to. According to The Doctor he had been taken from his crate by someone who mistook him for goods at a stall and left behind when the thief had peeled back the blanket and realised their mistake. You assumed ‘crate’ was an alien word for cot, although you never could be sure with other planets and their odd ways of living.

“Here, hold Rax for a moment while I use my sonic to scan the place.”

“Rax?” You held out your arms to receive the baby, bringing him close to your chest.

“That’s his name.”

“How do you know that?” You looked at the baby now known as Rax, admiring his emerald green eyes, watching as they sparkled under the light of the sun. He gave a toothless smile and made grabbing motions with his hands, something that made you return the smile.

The Doctor span in a slow circle, her sonic buzzing with life and searching for the child’s parents. “I speak baby.”

You gave her an incredulous look, not that she saw it, and sighed. “Of course you do.”

She gave her sonic a once over and huffed when it came up with no answers. She took the baby back from you and set off in the direction of the TARDIS, leaving you to follow in tow.

- -

You sat against the blue box, your eyes closed and your face pointed towards the sky, the warmth of the sun on your skin. Beside you sat The Doctor and her new best friend, the baby.

You’d been sat there for hours waiting for the crowds of the market to thin out as the day went on, deciding it would be easier to spot the parents with less people around, and the entire time the timelord had chatted away to the baby and laughing when he replied back.

You tried not to feel annoyed by the lack of attention The Doctor was giving you in favour of talking to a baby, but it was proving hard. After all, it wasn’t the baby’s fault you couldn’t understand it and join in on the conversation and The Doctor was completely oblivious to how she had shut you out, but after spending so much time travelling with her, just the two of you, you’d come to enjoy and crave her constant attention.

You hadn’t noticed before now that your entire life and all your feelings revolved around her, your entire being consumed by her. You wanted, needed, her approval on everything, your whole self subconsciously begging her to stay near, your mind twisted into thoughts of her and only her.

It was a wake up call for sure, but you mentally hit the snooze button. You’d come back to that another day, someday in the distant future.

The baby began to cry and was passed over to you once again, The Doctor announcing that he was hungry and going into the TARDIS to make him food. You sent a quiet prayer that her food would be edible and wouldn’t harm the defenceless soul in your arms. The Doctor was a lot of things, but a good cook wasn’t one of them.

She returned with a baby’s bottle filled with an orange liquid. On Earth babies drank milk, but here you weren’t sure if this was the normal thing to give to babies or if The Doctor had gotten it completely wrong.

“Where did you get a baby’s bottle from?” You quizzed, watching her cradle the boy and feed him carefully. “And what did you mean by parental instincts?”

“I was a father once.”

Your face must’ve been quite the picture if anyone was looking, your brain almost fizzing out in an attempt to process the information you’d been given.

“No, seriously.”

She turned to you and looked you dead in the eye, her face displaying no signs of joking around. “Seriously.”

“Don’t you mean you were a mother?”

She shook her head, her eyes returning to the baby to make sure he was drinking properly. “No, I mean father.”

“But you’re…” you gestured at her broadly. “You’re a woman.”

The Doctor used the corner of the boy’s blanket to wipe at his mouth, clearing away what had slipped from his tiny lips. “And before I was a man.”

“Okay.” You took a deep breath and decided to change the subject slightly, realising you were getting nowhere. “What do you mean was a father?”

“Look, there!”

The Doctor sprung up from her spot, her eyes focused on a creature made of what looked like pink pliable stone. She cried loudly and searched frantically for something, or someone.

The Doctor ran in her direction, clutching the baby tightly so that he didn’t slip from her hold. You stayed behind and watched from the TARDIS, your eyes fixed on the timelord as she handed back the baby and was immediately pulled into a hug that looked somewhat uncomfortable.

After she said her goodbyes and wished Rax and his mother well, The Doctor came back to you. She smiled at you as she went inside the blue box, heading straight for the console to fly you away.

You followed quietly, observing as she flicked switches and turned dials on each of the control panels. The machine came to life, groaning as she took off, taking you somewhere new.

“Doctor,” her eyes fell on you, ready and waiting for your question. “Why aren’t you a… father anymore?”

Her hands stilled for a moment. Her face remained soft, but her gaze was vacant as if she was remembering something. She shook her head and smiled with tight lips the way she does when she doesn’t want to talk about something, and continued her sequence of lever pulling and button pressing.

“Why are you still asking questions? And anyway, you need to tell me where you want to go next!”

You bit your lip to refrain yourself from pushing the topic further. She was clearly uncomfortable and not likely to talk, so you thought for a moment and gave your answer.

- -

The fire in the library roared with life, it’s heat reaching you and The Doctor on the couch you shared. Your head rested on her shoulder as she read aloud to you a book she had chosen from her endless shelves of reading material, her hand placed on your leg as a form of comfort.

You sipped on your hot chocolate, the marshmallows bobbing against your nose, your eyes following each sentence as The Doctor spoke them quietly. The evening was peaceful and calm, uneventful for the most part compared to the pace of the day, but it was welcomed gratefully by the both of you.

Her thumb stroked the skin of your knee absentmindedly, her mind seemingly drifting away as her words began to fall into silence. You lifted your head to look at her face, the reflection of flames in her eyes as she stared into it.

She nodded slowly when you asked if she was alright, never looking away from the fire. She seemed distracted and somehow nervous, something you hadn’t seen in her before.

“You know, you looked good with a baby in your arms.” You nudged her playfully, smiling brightly to lighten the mood.

She finally tore her attention away from the fireplace and looked at you, a small smile of her own being offered back to you. “As do you.”

She kissed your forehead and returned to the book, picking up from where she had stopped. You placed your head back onto it’s spot on her shoulder and closed your eyes to focus on the words, relaxing at the sound of her voice.

#13th doctor #doctor who imagine #dw imagine #thirteeth doctor #jodie whittaker #13 x reader #13th doctor x reader #thirteenth doctor x reader #thirteen x reader

61 notes · View notes

tu-sonrisaaa-te-amooo · 5 years ago

Text

Butterflies // Zabdiel de Jesús

Reader x Zabdiel de Jesús

Author’s Note: This is my first time publishing a fan fiction! In this AU, the boys of CNCO aren’t famous but are all friends, and Joel and Erick are the reader’s brothers <3

Date written: Sunday, April 19, 2020

Word Count: 1,630

Warnings: Nothing but fluff :)

~BUTTERFLIES~

You were wearing a cute dress and your favorite lip gloss at a friend’s party, surrounded by people you knew. Inside their living room, loud music played over the sounds of chatting and laughter.

Across the room Richard was dancing vigorously in a group, giving you a smooth wink when he saw you watching. Christopher was telling a gripping story to a crowd of eager listeners. Your brothers Joel and Erick were each smiling at pretty girls. And you were ---

Stuck in the corner with period cramps. You wanted to be out there with everyone, but the pain in your abdomen made it difficult to move, so you just hung back watching and trying not to cry. You were vaguely wondering how long your brothers planned to stay at this party when you felt a strong hand gently reach for your own.

You looked up, and there was Zabdiel, like an angel who just came from the clouds. His brown eyes were warm with concern and he said, “Are you all right, mamí?”

“I think so,” you said faintly. “I’m just not feeling well.”

“Do you want to go sit down somewhere quieter?” he asked softly. You nodded, and he led you by the hand to the back porch of the house where all the stars were out and shining brightly. You two sat down on the steps of the porch, and he said, “Take all the time you need. I will wait here with you.”

The darkness hid your blush as you said, “Thank you, Zabdi.” So you sat there silently, gazing at the stars. The pain in your abdomen was still there, but somehow lessened by the affection you felt for him. After a few minutes in the chilly night air, however, you were shivering.

A little nervously, you whispered, “Zabdiel?”

“Sí, mi amor?”

“It’s so cold, papí. Will you put your arm around me?”

You saw his expression soften as he smiled. “Of course,” he said. He pulled you close to his side and you curled into him, resting your head on his shoulder and placing your hand on his chest. He leaned down and kissed the top of your head, and you could have sworn that your heart had melted.

You stayed that way for half an hour, close enough to Zabdiel’s heart to hear it beating while Venus shone above you. Then suddenly, the porch door opened behind you. You looked up, and there was your older brother Erick.

“Thank goodness!” he said, smiling. “Joel and I were looking for you everywhere.”

“I’m sorry,” you said, untangling yourself from Zabdiel’s strong arms and standing up slowly, the pain striking your abdomen again. “Are we leaving now?”

“Yes, Joel and I were thinking we could go out to eat and then catch a movie,” he said brightly. Then he caught a glimpse of your pained face. “Are you crying, mamita?” he asked tenderly, taking a step forward. You nodded. “What’s wrong, honey?” he asked.

“I’m in a lot of pain from… cramps,” you said, embarrassed that Zabdiel now knew what was wrong with you.

Erick kneeled down in front of you and looked in your eyes. “Are you going to be okay to come with us tonight?”

“Well, I don’t want to stay in the house all alone,” you said. “Could we pick up some pain medication while we’re out?”

“Of course we can… but we didn’t bring the car. Will you be all right to walk that far?” The thought of walking made you feel sick.

“I have my car,” said Zabdiel, standing up. “I’ll drive her… I could drive all of you if you’d like.”

“Thanks, Zabdiel! I’ll go get Joel and let him know,” said Erick. And he slipped in through the door of the house again.

“I’m sorry you’re in so much pain, mamí,” Zabdiel whispered.

“Thanks, Zabdi,” you said, commanding your voice to be steady and trying to wipe your tears. “And thank you for taking care of me.”

Joel came out a minute later. “My poor baby,” he cried, seeing your tears gleam in the moonlight. At the sight of your sweet older brother, all the tears you had been trying to hold back poured out and you cried silently into his chest. “Why didn’t you come get me?” he asked gently.

“Zabdiel was looking after me,” you said as Joel stroked your hair and rocked you back and forth like a mother calming her baby.

“Thank you, Zabdiel,” he said, looking up over your head.

Zabdiel nodded. “Of course.”

“And why don’t you have a jacket on, mamita?” Joel asked you.

“You don’t have one on either,” you said.

“I am not as precious as you are,” he said. “Erick?” At once Erick pulled off his grey hoodie and handed it to Joel, who helped you put it on. “There, is that better?” Joel asked. You nodded; it really was better. The hoodie was big and cozy and smelled like men’s cologne. “Are you ready to go to Zabdiel’s car now?”

“Yes, but, oh Joel, please let’s not go through the house again. I don’t want all those people to see I’ve been crying.”

“I understand,” he whispered. “We’ll go around the house. Ready?”

You nodded, and Joel picked you up bridal style, carrying you through the grassy yard. You clung to his shoulders, vaguely remembering the days in your youth when he would carry you home if you skinned your knee. Zabdiel opened the back door of his car when you got to it and Joel set you down gently on the seat.

“Are you all right?” Joel asked as he buckled your seat-belt. You nodded. “Good,” he said, and hopped in the front seat next to Zabdiel, while Erick took his place next to you.

It was a five minute ride to the store, but it seemed twice as long because you felt as if you were being stabbed in the back with a dagger. Erick tried to soothe you by singing softly all of your favorite songs, while Zabdiel and Joel talked about soccer in the front seat.

Once you arrived at the store, Joel and Zabdiel jumped out and told you they would only take a minute. Erick began to make up little stories for you to take your mind off the pain. They were all funny and cheerful, and the dashing hero was always suspiciously named Erick.

Meanwhile in the store, Joel had grabbed the medicine and Zabdiel had grabbed some chocolate when Joel said, “Thank you for taking care of my sister. She means the world to Erick and me.”

“It was my pleasure,” said Zabdiel.

“Listen,” said Joel, taking a deep breath. “I know how much you like her.” Zabdiel’s cheeks turned rosy but he kept a straight face. “You’re my good friend,” Joel continued, “and I know you have a heart of gold. If anyone does love her, I’m glad it’s you because she deserves the world. But I am obligated to tell you that if you harm her in any way, I will personally kill you.”

“I would never dream of harming her,” said Zabdiel earnestly, almost hurt that Joel would imagine that he would.

Joel smiled and put his hand on Zabdiel's shoulder. “I know you wouldn’t,” he said. “but I will be watching.”

They returned to the car, and by the time you reached the restaurant the medicine had started easing your pain. At the booth you sat next to Joel and across from Erick, but you kept stealing glances at Zabdiel. He really looked angelically handsome, and his smile was illuminating. The way he looked at you gave you butterflies; his eyes became so tender when they met yours. You started to feel that you might even be falling in love with him.

The boys decided to go to the drive-in movie theatre after dinner, and the four of you crawled into Zabdiel’s trunk where, luckily, he kept blankets. You all snuggled up, and you ended up between Joel and Zabdiel.

The opening sequence of the movie began to play, and you settled in to watch it. But sitting so close to Zabdiel, you couldn’t help but wish that he was holding you the way he did on the porch. Being too embarrassed to verbally ask him to hold you in front of your brothers, you just set your head on his shoulder and hoped he’d understand. He did - and he put his arm around you so you could snuggle up into his chest. His body was strong and warm, and so big that you felt like you were encompassed by him. It seemed like his arms were the safest place in the world, like he was a shield that protected you from every bad thing that existed.

Eventually you stopped paying attention to the movie altogether and just thought about how happy you were until you fell asleep on his chest, which rose and fell with his steady breathing.

When the movie ended, Joel and Erick looked over to find you asleep in their friend’s arms. Zabdiel smiled shyly at them, but Erick gave him a thumbs-up and a wink over Joel’s head. Tears, however, were forming in Joel’s dark eyes.

“My baby sister,” he said, brushing some hair off of your forehead so that he could kiss it. “Make sure you take care of her, Zabdi,” he said.

Zabdiel smiled softly down at you. “I will, always.”

-m.n.

#cnco #cnco x reader #cnco fanfic #zabdiel de jesus #zabdiel de jesus x reader #joel pimentel #erick brian colon #richard camacho #christopher velez #cncomusic

71 notes · View notes

wordlessbabbling · 5 years ago

Text

Gun Metal and Daisies (Thomas Shelby)- Chapter 24

Isolation is not safety

Masterlist

Only priests and fools are fearless, and I've never been on the best of terms with God.

"It's Tilda! She's shaking! She's shaking real bad!"

Thomas and Charlie exchanged glances before bolting down the street. Thomas tried his best to keep the baby from jostling about too much.

When they entered the cramped walkway, they heard crying and frantic movements.

"Oh, Bubs, thank God you're here! She's got a raging fever but she's freezing to the bone."

Dorothy was trying her best to to get the girl warm, her eyes had tears building up in the corners as she desperately tried to get the girl warm, "I'm so sorry Matilda! I wish I could take you home, but it's just not safe. You'll be fine, I promise!"

By now Dorothy was humming old lullaby's that Thomas also knew. Thomas had learned it was something she did when the ringing got bad; the ringing got bad when she got stressed.

Thomas gave the baby to Theo and shrugged off his blazer, he draped his coat over the violently shaking girl who was sobbing loudly, probably at the sheer discomfort that came with these sorts of illnesses.

Before Thomas really knew what was going on, Dorothy was getting under the coats and jackets with the girl, rubbing her hands up and down the girls arms, trying to get the blood flowing.

"Bonny, what are you doing? You can't get too close, you'll get sick!" He tried pulling gently on her shoulders, trying to manoeuvre her away from the contagiously sick girl.

Thomas knew Dorothy had a poor tolerance to anything, really. He'd seen her get colds from being outside for moments and sometimes collapse from pure exhaustion. He supposed that's what living her in condition would do to a person.

It pained him badly that he had no way of helping. He couldn't make everything better, he couldn't silence the ringing or give her everything so she could have the fullness in her cheeks and the satisfied feeling of a full belly. He couldn't give that to her.

"No, Bubs! She needs to get warm, I'm not just going to sit here and do nothing!" She shrugged her shoulders out of his grasp.

She lowered her voice to a hushed whisper, "I'm not letting this girl DIE, Shelby."

Thomas stepped back. Far back. He wasn't used to her using his name, his real one. Maybe her language is what made Thomas take a step back. He supposed it was only now that the severity of the situation kicked in.

He'd seen people do this in France. Men would lie next to each other as a way to make sure the other wouldn't freeze to death in those trenches. With a huff and a sigh, Thomas turned to the other children, "okay. Until we get Matilda sorted out, you kids need to keep your distance, yeah? Can't have you getting sick either. Now where do you lot sleep?"

Theo picked up the box Tammy was sleeping in and lead Thomas to a small nook in the side of the walkway. It looked to be the remains of a living room of sorts. The front door had seemingly been taken off its hinges completely, leaving the 'living room' of sorts to just be used as a means of protection front the elements.

They had mats and cloths on the floor, the whole 'house' seemed to cave in on itself. The stairway had collapsed completely so it appeared that this was the only room they stayed in.

Thomas nodded slightly, trying to get his bearings.

The three children bundled up close to each other, Charlie took a blanket that was much too small for the three of them and draped it over Leah and Theo. He then laid down next to Leah who laid her head on Theo's shoulder. Charlie then took Leah's box and huddled it close to his body, keeping a protective arm wrapped around it.

Thomas grimaced at the sight of the children who were desperately trying to stay alive.

Reflecting a bit now; Thomas looked at the children and saw them like his own at this point. A mix between sibling and children, he saw them as extended family in a way.

The children, though wary at first, accepted him with open arms the moment Dorothy gave the word.

On the surface level of things, people might think Dorothy was a mother-figure to these kids, when really- she just empathised so deeply for them that she became part of their peculiar family.

"Tell us a story, Tommy?" Leah's small voice called out through the bundles of blankets.

"Oh yeah, please Tommy!" Theo chimed in.

Thomas chuckled and shook his head, he settled next to the children on the floor, lying on his back next to Theo.

"Have I ever told you about the story of the princess and the common boy?"

"No! What's that?" Leah giggled at the premise. She liked Princesses, always wanted to be one. Thomas had seen Bonny tell her many times when Leah talked about her dreams that one day she would definitely be a princess and live in her castle with all her friends. Thomas remembered times when Leah would turn to him and ask him if one day she'd be a princess, to which Thomas' heart swelled; he'd nod his head and ruffle her hair, telling her that she'd have lines of princes stood at her door.

"Well, I'll tell you now: Once upon a time, there was a princess who always roamed the forest of her Kingdom. She took a little device with her that allowed her to save the moments and sights she saw-."

"Like a camera?"

Thomas smiled, "exactly like a camera! And one day, she came across a boy who was on the run. The two were similar ages, but didn't instantly get on very well. At first they fought and butted heads, but sooner or later, the two started to fall in love with each other."

Leah gasped a little at the story, she would have squealed with excitement if Theo wasn't already snoring in her ear, fast asleep.

Thomas continued the story until he heard soft, deep sighs coming from Leah who had surely fallen asleep.

"And the two got married and lived in the palace for ever more and went on all kinds of adventures." Thomas sighed hand sat up. He collected himself and got up, dusting off his trousers.

"What kind of adventures did they go on Tom?" Charlie whispered.

Thomas raised a brow at the child who was supposed to be asleep, but was not for whatever unjust reason. "All kinds of adventures, now go to sleep." Thomas chided quietly.

"Is that story about you and Miss. Dotty-Anne? But just this time you guys finally got together?" Charlie smiled cheekily up at Thomas.

"Now that's none of your concern, and for the record, she and I have no kind of feelings like that for each other, now zip it and shut your eyes."

Charlie's grin only widened more, "I never said anything about feelings, Tommy."

Thomas eventually gave up with the staring match when he heard distant humming coming from the walkway. He pointed at Charlie, "If you're not asleep by the time I get back, then I'm going to let Bonny have you, and I don't think you'd appreciate her nagging."

Thomas waltzed out of the door, slightly amused at the conversation. He stopped and contemplated his day for a moment. He really didn't have so much as a clue as to how Bonny had turned his life on it's head. He did not expect to be doing any of this today.

But he'd let her drag him anywhere if it meant following her.

——

Thomas approached the sound of humming and shuffling. He peeked his head around the corner and saw Dorothy holding Matilda in her arms, rocking back and forth with the shaking girl singing lullabies. She had streams of tears running down her face as she desperately tried to warm the girl up.

Thomas' heart broke at the sight. He wasn't a doctor nor had he any idea how to combat illness. In a feeble attempt at trying to be useful, Thomas sat down on the other side of Matilda and tried his best to use his own body heat to warm her up.

Maybe the sight would have been endearing to a passerby, but if you looked closer, it's was a picturesque sign of tragedy and heartbreak. If it wasn't for the violent shaking coming from the girl, you would have thought her dead.

Tragedy isn't beautiful. The misfortunes of Dorothy's life are not beautiful. The turmoil that plagues Thomas' mind is not beautiful. The tumultuous sound of Dorothy's sobs was not beautiful. The laboured breathing that Thomas harboured was not beautiful.

People are not rain; or snow; or autumn leaves. They do not look pretty when they fall down.

——

Matilda's shaking finally ceased in the early hours of the morning, her body seemingly passed through the hardest part of her fever. She was still asleep, but she was still breathing.

That's all that mattered

Her hair was matted to her scalp and tear streaks from the discomfort ran down her face like train tracks through rolling fields.

Dorothy and Thomas finally sat back a bit and breathed deeply. The long night exhausting both of them.

The panic in the air settled into a distant hush as Dorothy only continued to stare at the girl in front of her. She leaned forward and felt her forehead; her fever had finally broken.

She finally looked up at Thomas and nodded, to which he dipped his head against to wall and sighed.

He looked back to her frame that was covered in goose bumps and chills. She had long since pushed her fringe back so it now sat haphazardly on the top of her head, unkempt.

She too had tear streaks and red eyes, her lip was bleeding from her biting down on it in frustration. She started tapping her fingers on the back of her right hand in unrhythmic patterns.

Thomas leaned over Matilda slightly, careful of the girls sleeping form. He put his hands on top of her own, trying to stop her nervousness, "it's alright. She's going to be okay. You did good and now she's going to be fine." His voice was scratchy and and gruff, but it was quiet and caring to the anxious girl.

Dorothy nodded and leaned her head against the wall behind her, taking deep breaths.

Thomas found the cramped walkway to be suffocating. It was only now that the panic had stopped did his own claustrophobic anxieties kick in. "I'm going to go check on the small ones. Make sure they're sleeping alright." Thomas excused himself. His hips creaked and his knees cracked and popped at the stiffness of his body. He winced at the sounds and hobbled down the walkway to the makeshift bedroom the children created.

He slowly entered the room and sat down at the foot of where they were sleeping. Making sure they were sleeping fine and peering into Tammy's box, he sat back a bit and took a breather.

After his mind had cleared a bit he looked at the faces of the kids in front of him. They all looked truly peaceful. Their faces ignorant to the horrors that had occurred outside of the abandoned house.

They appeared innocent, like the hardships that they faced in the day did not run with them to their dreams; that is something Thomas envied.

He wished for the day when his own night terrors would stop and he too, could sleep through the night.

Thomas had a small epiphany as he sat in the cold room. He looked at the children and saw a family. They were a peculiar and odd, misfit family. But they were together. They stuck with each other, they communicated and loved one another.

Thomas' night terrors were not a product of him being haunted by demons that held him close, but rather a result of his rejection of company.

Isolation is not safety, it is death. If no one knows you're alive, you're not.

This new notion resonated with Thomas as the events of the past several weeks caught up with him. When he met Bonny he started to live again for the first time since the war.

His mind kept going back to a conversation they had when they discussed their fears. Bonny admitted that her worst fear was losing Thomas and by association, her chance to live.

Thomas finally understood what she meant. When he was with Bonny, he was no longer surviving on borrowed time, he was finally breathing again. That's why they craved each others presence. That's why they demanded each other's full attention because if they didn't have it, then they had no chance of feeling the air in their lungs that they quickly became addicted to.

Thomas found himself smoking less when she was around. She gave him air, real air; that wasn't tobacco and nicotine rolled up in a nice sheet of an early grave. She breathed life; much like he did the same for her, surprisingly.

His thoughts were interrupted by Bonny peeking her head around the door and whispering his name. She gestured for him to come back out to which he pushed up and followed her back out.

"I reckon it's going to rain soon. Mind helping me move her? I wish I could, but I can't do it by myself."

Thomas nodded silently. Exhaustion was clear on both of their faces as they decided they no longer wanted to speak any more.

Thomas, without a word, gently scooped up the small girl, trying his best not to disturb her sleep and carried her to the lodging area.

Thomas placed her down on a mat a bit farther away from the sleeping children and he re-tucked the blankets around her.

He quickly ventured out again into the walkway, he found the scrap crates that held small slats of wood. He took them back inside and lit a fire with his matches; small enough to not burn the room down, but enough to provide warmth for Matilda and the other small children.

He wandered over to where Bonny was sitting. She was curled up against one of the brick walls, her head was resting on her knees.

Thomas sat down next to her and put his arm around her shoulders, "how did you know that the mouldy bread worked?"

Bonny moved her head up so it was now resting on his shoulder, "read a paper on it. Flemmings. Works as and anti-something." Her exhaustion was clear in her voice.

Both of them were highly fatigued, it was only now when Thomas checked his pocket watch did he really understand how much time the two had been dead on their feet, going from lying down, to standing up, to changing the towelette and repeating it all again.

Thomas, with his own weights on his eyelids, wrapped his other arm around Bonny and pulled her down to the side. They shuffled about to a position where Thomas was on his back and Bonny's torso was resting on top of him; her face nuzzled deeply in his neck. The small weight on Thomas' chest relaxed him as his breathing became deeper and he drifted off with his favourite person in his arms.

As the two slept, unmoving and relaxed; the rain started pouring, only adding to the ambiance of the nights cruel events.

The rain and the wind said,

"You push and I'll pelt."

They so smote the garden bed.

That the flowers actually knelt,

And lay lodged—though not dead.

I know how the flowers felt.

Slowly the rain became torrential, but it did not touch the sleeping children.

The minuscule fire they constructed provided light and warmth.

The rain also did not touch the unrequited lover, for he held his own sunshine in his arms.

——

THE FEEEELLLLLS.

Thomas having emotional breakthroughs is my kryptonite and you can quote me on that.

Thanks for the love.

Feedback and comments are wanted.

See ya next time!

#tommyshelby #peaky blinders story #peakyblinders #thomas #thomas shelby #thomas shelby fluff #thomas shelby x oc #tommy shelby #tommy shelby x oc #peaky blinder fanfic #thomas shelbys a dick #thomasshelbyfluff #thomas shelby fic #thomas shelby fanfic #thomas shelby imagine #peakyblinderstv #peaky blinders #peaky fookin blinders #peaky blinder imagine

13 notes · View notes

secondgenerationnerd · 5 years ago

Text

Cadmus

This literally took multiple months to write. I hope y’all like it!

-----------------------------

These days have become more common the last few years. Summer sun shining overhead. Shrieking kids racing around the backyard, throwing water balloons at each other. 18-month-old Laney Kent and 19-month-old Max Wilkes splash in their water table and babble nonsense to each other. Despite the cute swimsuits their mothers tried to dress them in, the two prefer their swim diapers and nothing else.

“Cha-Cha! Cha-Cha!” Laney waves to her big sister as she runs by.

“Hi, Loo-Loo!” Charlie blows her a kiss and shrieks as her best friend tackles her. “Asha!”

“Don’t get distracted, Kent!” Asha teases. She helps her friend up before taking off again. Their parents watch from the back porch, shaking their heads at the gaggle of kids.

“See Asha already does Damian’s ‘call them by their last name’ thing.” Milagro bumps Irey’s hip with hers. Irey sticks her tongue out at the Lantern, grabbing a glass of lemonade as Damian walks by.

“Like how Max and Ben do Colin’s ‘if I smile like this, you won’t be mad’ thing.”

“Sh!” Colin gestures to Irey to stop, “She doesn’t need to know that, Ires!”

“Wilkes, you did that to Father once and thought it would work.” Damian points out.

“It technically worked on him. Alfred, on the other hand...” Cracking up at that image, the heroes can’t imagine a worst position to be in.

“To be fair,” Mar’i giggles, “Alfred had to raise my Dad and Jason; so, he’s definitely seen it all.”

They love how common these days have become. Reminds them of the past summer days when they were kids. Of course, in the past Damian would never kiss Irey like he does now. Jai would never call Lian babe or say he was going to get something from inside their house. Milagro would never laugh as Colin catches their boys, carrying them over his shoulder, all three of their skins beautifully mismatched. Jon would never wink at Mar’i as he makes some flirty joke, only for her to laugh and remind him that they already have four kids.

Things have changed, in all the best ways possible.

“Alright, let’s eat!” Lian calls to the kids in the backyard. Jai and Irey disappear with cracks. Mini Omega, as their parents call them, run as fast as they can to avoid the older speedsters. Jai and Irey stop beside the back fence as the kids run to the porch.

“Mom would love this.” Irey says simply, watching her daughter jump into Damian’s arms. Her husband kisses Asha's freckled face and spins her around.

“She would.” Jai agrees as his kids crowd around Lian. Her warm laugh at the six hands grabbing at her jeans, babbling at her, makes him fall in love again, “Ok, Sissy, let’s eat.

As they take a step forward, they feel something hit the middle of their backs. Their cries of pain make their families look up. Horror spreads through the group as the twins’ bodies seize. Eyes rolling back, the two collapse on the ground, taser poles embedded in their backs.

"Mama!" Asha gasps.

“Daddy!” Lily and Milly Harper-West speed from the back porch to their father. As the girls reach him, a figure jumps from their big oak tree. “MOMMY!” “BABY DOLLS!” Lian grabs a plate and throws it at the figure advance on her girls, hitting him in the face, “BACK HERE! GIRLS, RUN BACK HERE!”

Before the girls can take a step, the fence beside them crashes down. A truck drives through it, hired guns spill out of the back, one of them grabbing the girls.

“MOOOMMMY!” They struggle in his arms, tears rolling down their faces, reaching for her.

“OMEGA, GO!” Lian shouts. None of them hesitate. They know what to do. Colin and Damian make the other kids hide under the table, telling them to close their eyes.

The others jump over the railing; Lian grabbing a knife as she goes, Jon and Mar’i flying into the air. Lian runs straight for the goon holding her daughters. Someone swings a baton at her face. Hitting the ground baseball style, Lian stabs his ankle, scrambling to her feet as he goes down. Milagro kicks one away as someone grabs her from behind. Dropping down, she throws him over her shoulder. Sucker punch to a third’s face. Jon and Mar’i grab the hired guns in pairs, knocking their heads together.

That’s when things go wrong.

“Gah!” Jon yells as one of the guns opens a pocket. The bright green rock inside makes his body burn.

“Jon!” Mar’i shouts, watching in horror as her husband falls to the ground. She lands next to him. Their attackers throw caninsters at them and onto the porch. Emmitting a white gas, the heroes know they’re losing. Colin and Damian yell as they’re tased too.

“BABY DOLLS!” Lian’s close enough to touch them when she’s hit from behind. She falls to the ground, head throbbing. The last things she hears are her friends coughing, kids crying, and her children screaming for her.

Hours later, in a cramped room with a military grade door, miles and miles away, Mini Omega tries not to panic. Of course, that’s easier said than done when the average age is six. Any hope they might have of their meta cousins’ powers died when they woke up and saw the power dampening collars.

"It's okay, Charlie..." Asha tries to soothe her friend. As soon as Charlie and Peter realized what was on them, their minds brought them to the Bad Place. The last place the siblings would want to be.

"Nonononononononononono," Rocking back and forth, the 11-year-old covers her ears, eyes squeezed painfully tight. Nearby, Ben pulls on the metal collar around Lily's neck.

"Owie!"

"Sorry, Lil." He takes his hands away. "It's not gonna come off."

"Pete?" M&M pokes her big brother's face. Peter sits silently, arms wrapped around his legs, shaking. “Pete?”

“M&M, are you sure your powers don’t work?” Asha asks the young technopath. Face screaming up in concentration, M&M stares at the collar around her brother’s neck before deflating.

“They won’t work.”

“It okay, bubba.” Milly promises, letting Luke lay his head on her little lap. Laney and Max shiver in the corner, babbling away. Too young to know what’s going on. Ben finds a blanket in a pile on the ground. Wrapping it around the youngest two, he hugs his brother.

The toddler tilts his head, “¿Dónde están Mami y Daddy?”

“No lo sé, pero estoy seguro de que vendrán a salvarnos.”

“Ben,” Asha shakes her head, “They have to find us first.”

“They will.” Ben looks at her, “They promised.”

When Lian wakes up, her husband shaking her, the first thing out of her mouth is, “Where are the kids?”

“We’re trying to figure that out, babe.” Jai assures her as he helps her up. Leaning against him, she limps up to the porch. Their friends look about as good as she feels.

Even though it’s been a while, they fall into their normal habits. They circle around the back table. Remnants of their planned dinner litter the ground. Damian nods at Lian, “Good, you’re up. You alright?”

“Killer headache, but I’ll live,” She rubs the back of her head, “What do we have?”

“Mercenaries.” Milagro says, tossing a few weapons on the table, “From the looks of these, I can at least confirm they’re earth based.”

“They knew who they were coming for.” Colin notes. “My question, why didn’t they go for any of us? We’ve got two types of alien and a good variety of metas. Plus, Damian, Lian, and Mil are all experts in their areas of fighting.”

Jon and Mar’i share an uneasy look. Mar’i sighs, “If I had to guess…it was Cadmus.”

“What makes you think that?”

“Do you remember the mission where we found our older kids? Li, I know you were still on leave.” Jon runs a hand through his hair, “We found files that called that particular project Exodus.”

“Exodus?” Mil frowns.

Damian asks, “Does that mean something to you?”

“Well, that’s the chapter with Moses’s story.” She explains, “Just seems strange to choose that for a project trial.”

“Maybe not.” Irey looks at Jon and Mar’i, “Did Charlie tell you all how she got the burn scars on her back?”

“Just that she was told to do a-a trial. She was five, I think?” Mar’i says, “In her file, it said she was locked in a weather room. They wanted to see how different powers would react to extreme weather—”

“‘There was hail and fire flashing continually in the midst of the hail, very heavy hail, such as had never been in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation.’” Colin looks at his wife, “Those fuckers used the plagues for inspiration.”

“None of this tells us how to find them.” Jai points out, “And that information isn’t exactly helping ease the worry.”

“There’s a way to find the kids.” Jon glances at his wife again, then looks down, “Charlie and Peter both have trackers in their legs—”

“WHA—”

“Cadmus put them there.” Mar’i cuts off the others’ panic. “When they were little. M&M didn’t have one, but she was only there a few months. The ones in Charlie and Peter are too close to the femoral artery, and the muscles started growing around it.”

“Is that how they found us?”

“No, Mil. Babs was able to turn them off and regularly checks in.”

They’re quiet only for a moment. Damian plays Devil’s Advocate, “Can she turn them back on?”

Jon nods. “We need to hurry though.”

“Well, duh—”

“Charlie’s powers have started changing.” Jon cuts Jai off. “Her illusions are becoming…real. Last time she had a nightmare…I felt it when one of them touched me.”

The group takes that in. The three leaders look at each other. Then the group. Communicating in a way that nearly two decades of fighting together can give them. Irey nods at Mar’i and Colin, “You two are retired still—”

“If you think some League bullshit’s gonna keep me from saving my sons, you’re dead wrong.”

“Same with my starlings.”

“Everyone have their spare uniform?” Damian asks. The others nod. “Suit up. Mar’i, call Oracle and see if she can activate the trackers. We leave in five minutes.”

The cell door creaks open. Charlie immediately goes silent, though her shaking doesn’t stop. The group of scientists come into the room. There’s four of them—two men and two women— dressed in white coats and donning badges with six letters that Peter and Charlie see in their nightmares. C.A.D.M.U.S. Barely breathing, Peter curls up tighter, Ben scoots in front of him, mismatched eyes meeting the scientists’. Asha glares at them when they glance at Charlie. Then they look at the younger kids.

“That one.” The lead man points to Laney. “Initial blood tests show signs of Kryptonian and Tamaranean blood.”

“Really?” One of the women sounds impressed. Laney tilts her head to the side at the woman, blinking her too blue eyes at the group. “She’s still young.”

“Given what we’ve seen people with her lineage do, I’m not sure that matters.”

“In that case we might consider more physical trials—”

“No!” Charlie jumps to her feet, brown eyes wide. The older kids look at their usually meek friend in shock as she pulls on the lead man’s arm, “Me! Me! I’ll do a trial! Not her!”

She doesn’t see his hand, but she feels it across her cheek. As Charlie falls to the ground, Asha’s on her feet in an instant, eyes burning. The lead scientist turns on her.

As if a mean glare could stop a girl raised by heroes.

Asha surges forward. Jumping to kick the lead man in the face, rolling over him as he stumbles. Ben helps Charlie up as Asha elbows one of the females’ stomachs, kicking the other in the knee. The second male scientist grabs her dark curls, yanking her backwards.

“You little bitch—” He doesn’t get the chance to finish. Grabbing his wrist, Asha throws him over her.

She blows hair out of her face, grinning at her cousins, “Uncle Jason taught me that when I was 6.”

“The door’s open!” Ben shouts. The kids start to move forward when guards appear. Before they can get too close, alarms start going off.

Alert: Metas have infiltrated the facility. Full evacuation. Repeat. Metas have—

The room shakes as something explodes above them. The twins turn to the guards, narrowing their dark eyes, and growl together, “Mommy and Daddy are gonna kick your asses.”

Being helped by the guards, the four scientists glare at the kids.

“Take her,” The lead male growls, pointing at Asha. “We know she’s Bruce Wayne’s granddaughter. Once we’re on the plane, we can negotiate for her life.”

“No!” Charlie tries to push the guards away as they come for her friend.

“Take her too!”

“NO! ASHA!”

“CHARLIE!”

The kids fight as best they can, but they’re only children. Grabbed around the middle and held tight, Asha and Charlie scream for the others. Peter snaps out of his silence and races after his sister. Then a guard points his weapon at the little boy. Ben jumps in front of Peter, arms held out.

The door slams shut. The screams fade away, replaced by familiar voices a few minutes later.

“STARLINGS!”

“BABY DOLLS!”

“LITTLE MAN, WE’RE HERE!”

“We’re in here! We’re in here!” Ben shouts as he and Peter band their hands on the door. “We’re in here! Mami! Dad!”

Familiar faces peer through the window. Even in their hero apparel, the kids would know their parents anywhere.

“Dad!” Peter shouts, “You have to save Charlie and Asha! The bad people took them! They’re going on a plane!”

“Jon, Mar’i, Irey, with me!” Damian shouts, “We’ll get the older girls! The rest of you, get the kids to safety.”

Four sets of feet race off in another direction.

“Guys! Way from the door!” Lian shouts, "To a side wall!"

Ben and Peter pull the other kids to the back corner, shouting when they're in position. A brief pause. Then door flies back with a blast of green energy, their parent spilling into the room. As always, the Harper-West kids are the first to move, "Mommy! Daddy!"

"Baby dolls! Baby Jedi!" Lian catches Lily and Luke as Jai scoops up Milly. The three children cling to their parents, shaking as Jai and Lian check them for any bruises. "It's okay, we're here. Mommy and Daddy got you."

"Mami!" With his little brother's hand in his, Ben runs to their mother's arms, crying. Milagro catches her boys and holds them close. "Where's Dad?"

"I'm here, buddy." Colin backs into the room, “We need to go now.”

“Hallways?” Lian asks, picking Laney up in her other arm.

“Clear. You all stay behind me.”

"Okay, guys, let's go! Fast, fast!" With some trading around, the other three get the youngest kids in their arms. Colin clears ahead of them before the group moves on.

As they round a corner, a group of guards comes out of the elevator. Colin barrels ahead. Much to his sons’ horror. Ben races forward. Only for his mother to grab him around the middle. Max cries in her other arm.

"DADDY!" Ben fights Milagro. “NO! DADDY!”

"AAARGH!" Colin's body ripples, muscles swelling and growing as he mutates. The familiar burn hurts more than it had in when he was younger. That doesn’t matter to Colin. All that matters are the people behind him.

Abuse slams into the guards. Throwing them into walls. Into each other. He catches sight of the children looking at him in horror. Ben and Max’s faces. Pushing it down, Abuse keeps fighting. There will be time to explain later. Passing Laney to Jai, Lian draws her bow. An arrow appears in a guard’s leg as he tries to hit Colin from behind.

“Jai, put kids behind me!” Milagro orders. The speedster sets the kids in his arm behind her, lightning dancing under his skin as he races down to join the fight.

“Mami?” Max reaches for his mother as she sets him down.

“It’s gonna be okay, mi amor.” A glowing green dome appears around the kids. Lian at her side, the two women join the fight.

The kids had heard the stories of their parents fighting. Laughed at details that got fought over. Watched their parents spar, tossing playful insults at each other.

But seeing them in a fight is something else.

Lian spins on her heel, firing an arrow into one guard’s shoulder. Swings her bow and smacks another in the face. Someone tries to fire at her, only for the bullet to disappear and the guard crumple to the ground in a flash of lightning. Jai comes in and out of focus, socking guards in the face. His skin ripples with electricity. Abuse throws a guard to his wife, who slams her fist into his face. Milagro grabs a wrist and flips the man over her shoulder.

All the time maintaining her concentration to protect the kids.

In a few minutes, the area’s clear. The dome dissipates, parents reaching for their kids. Abuse lumbers ahead again. He needs to focus, and seeing his boys horrified faces, knowing they must hate him. No. Worse. They must be afraid of him.

In another part of the facility, a group of guards and scientists struggle to get the two oldest girls onto the plane. For once, Charlie fights back as hard as her cousin. Screaming at the top of their lungs. The collar around Charlie’s neck presses against her burn scars.

“Let go of me!” Asha bites at the guard holding her. “Let go of me!”

“Get them on the plane!” A guard snaps. The door below them blasts open. A crack of lightning and two figures fly into the room, a fourth following seconds later.

“Mama! Baba!”

“Momma! Daddy! Help!”

“Girls!” Damian shouts.

“Freeze!” The guard holding Asha jerks her up. His arm tightens around her neck

“LET HER GO!”

“BACK UP OR I KILL HER!”

“Jon, her collar.” Mar’i murmurs. He sees the collar around their daughter’s neck, but hears her rapid heart beat too.

“Her powers—"

“PUT HER DOWN—”

“BACK UP!”

“BABA!” Asha screams. Jon hears the gun click.

A split-second decision.

His heat vision cuts through the wiring.

Then all hell breaks loose. With a deafening scream, the guard holding Charlie is pulled away by a twisted claw. Monstrous figures—doctors in blood stained scrubs and sharpened scalpels, headless guards with mangled guns—appear around them. Asha’s guard yells as a doctor slices his gun hand off. In his shock, he drops Asha, who scrambles to the railing.

“GO AWAY, GO AWAY, GO AWAY!” Charlie covers her ears, her voice otherworldly, “I’M NOT GOING BACK!”

The monsters move. Slicing through skin. Firing bullets into heads. Their parents can’t move. Charlie curls up on the ground, still screaming. Pulling away from the railing, Asha crawls under the monsters to her. A body flies over head, hitting the ground with a sickening thud. Blood drips down the side of the platform.

As quickly as it starts, it stops. Unfreezing, their parents race to them; Mar’i and Jon flying up to the girls. Asha covers Charlie with her body, both girls shaking.

“It’s okay now. We’re gonna be okay.” Asha promises, protecting her cousin’s head.

A few hours later, in a hospital that specializes with heroes, the kids have been mostly cleared by the doctors. They’ll have to stay the night for observations, but that’s nothing compared to what they could be going through. In an empty hospital room and answering the League’s questions, the three leaders try not to lose their minds.

“Are you three seriously suggesting we dismiss—”

Lian cuts the senior hero off, “We’re saying given the circumstances, we made a judgement call.”

“You three know that family members are not allowed to be on missions to rescue each other—”

“Given that most heroes are related through marriage at this point,” Damian scowls, “That’s damn near impossible. Our children were in danger. That’s not a matter any of us can simply stand aside for.”

“More than that, we were attacked in my home.” Lian snips, “I don’t need to remind you all about Thawne taking my children from their beds, do I?”

“Of course not. This is simply routine.” Wonder Woman assures them, “What about the authorization of Abuse and Nightstar?”

“Emergency authorization Delta.” Irey taps her foot, “We knew the risks. This isn’t a choice any of us made lightly—”

“There’s also the matter of Charlotte Kent.”

Damian scoffs, “Asha’s life was in danger. More than that, the people that kidnapped them are part of the group that kept her captive for her early formative years. If you need her medical files, I’m sure Jon and Mar’i can provide those to confirm her diagnosis of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.”

“So, in your eyes, her killing a dozen people is okay?”

��“In our eyes,” Lian grits her teeth, “Charlie’s a traumatized little girl who lost control of her powers. What happened is horrible, none of us are saying otherwise, but what would you have us do? Throw her in Belle Reve?”

“No! Of course not! But—”

“I think,” Irey cuts Hal Jordan off with a cool look, “We reconvene another time. We’ll have our team fill out reports on what happened and provide whatever information we need when we meet. But right now, Lian has three kids that need her, and we have a daughter to check on.”

Signing off, the three leaders look at each other. Lian rubs her face, “Fuck me.”

“It will be alright, Lian.” Irey promises, “We did what was right for our kids.”

“I know, but I keep thinking about what could have happened. Especially to my dolls.” Lian grits her teeth. Damian rests his hand on her shoulder.

“Like Irey said. They need their mother right now.” He opens the door to the empty room they’d been using.

Across the hall, Milagro and Colin sit on a hospital bed together. Their sons cling to Colin, whimpering. They recognize the pain in his face, but that doesn’t stop him from holding Ben and Max close. Milagro hums softly as she runs her fingers through Max’s hair. The sight makes Colin’s worry during the kids’ checkup seem…misplaced.

In another room, Jai sits with his trio of monsters on one of the hospital beds, half signing. The tension in Lian’s chest loosens seeing all her kids snoozing on their father. Asha naps on the other bed.

“Mama?” Asha yawns, rubbing her eyes as Irey picks her up to settle down with her and Damian. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, Bug.” Irey kisses her 11-year-old’s head. “Baba, Aunt Li, and I took care of things.”

“Mommy,” Lily hiccups, reaching for Lian. Picking up both her daughters, she sits next to her husband and their son.

“I’m sorry, baby dolls. I’m sorry the bad people got you earlier.”

“It okay, Mommy,” Milly looks up at her, “We knowed you and Daddy’d save us.”

“Always.” Lian promises, kissing their heads. She holds them tighter, “Daddy and I will always save you.”

While the other families reunite, and their younger children sleep, Mar’i and Jon are having a much harder conversation down the hall.

Charlie sits beside Mar’i, her mother’s hand running through her hair, while Jon sits in a chair in front of her. One of his strong hands holds hers tightly.

“Charlie. Momma and I need to talk to you. Is that okay?”

“I guess…” Charlie sniffles.

“Hey.” Mar’i tilts her head up. “Starling, if this gets to be too much, you tell us. No questions asked. Okay?”

“Yes, Momma.” Charlie rests her head on Mar’i’s chest. Mar’i and Jon share a look. He takes a deep breath.

“First, we know you’re scared. We know there’s a lot of confusing stuff in your head. What we need you to know is that we love you and we’re not going anywhere, ok?” Jon waits until she nods, “Okay. That’s the most important thing we need you to know. No matter what we love you.”

Mar’i strokes Charlie’s hair, “The other kids said…when the bad people came and tried to take Laney, you asked them to take you. That you’d do a trial for her.”

“Yeah.”

“Baby, why would you do that?” The burn scars on her back come to mind.

“’s what we did before.” Charlie mumbles. “Before you saved us…the big kids would protect the little kids. Do more trials. Keep them safe. I did it for Peter before.”

“Oh, Charlie…” Mar’i hugs her daughter a little tighter.

“They were gonna hurt her, Momma.” Charlie hides her face. “They were gonna hurt Loo-Loo.”

They stay quiet and listen to her cry into Mar’i’s shirt. The dark bruise on Charlie’s pale cheek makes their stomachs churn. Makes them want to go out and take Cadmus down by themselves. But they stay where they’re needed for now.

“Baby,” Mar’i kisses Charlie’s head, “We need to talk to you about what happened in the hanger.”

“When I killed those people?”

“When your powers acted up.” Mar’i corrects. “You know what happened was bad, right?”

Charlie nods, showing her face to them, “Are they sending me to jail?”

“No.” Jon speaks firmly. “No. Charlie, what do you think would have happened if your collar didn’t come off?”

“I dunno…I didn’t want them to hurt Asha.”

“Why?”

“She’s my friend, Daddy. They were going to hurt her like they hurt me.” Charlie sniffles, “They were going to kill her.”

“Charlie, do you know what self-defense is?” Jon asks. Charlie shakes her head, “It’s when someone uses force if they think that they are in danger. What happened in the hanger was self-defense.”

“I killed them, Daddy.” Charlie whimpers, fresh tears filling her eyes. “I’m a bad person.”

“Charlotte Elisabeth Kent, you look at me right now.” Mar’i waits until Charlie meets her impossible green eyes. “Your powers made something bad happen. People died. That’s true. But you are not a bad person. Not even close.”

Charlie wiggles out of Mar’i’s arms, not meeting her parents’ eyes, “I don’t want to talk anymore.”

Jon nods, “Ok. No more questions. Do you want Momma and I to sta—”

“I want to be alone.” Charlie squeezes her eyes shut tight.

“Can Daddy and I tuck—”

“I want to be alone, Momma.”

Jon and Mar’i don’t let her see how much that hurts to hear. Mar’i gets off the bed, pulling the sheets back, “Daddy and I are going to check on your siblings. If you need anything, we’re right down the hall. We love you, Charlie.”

Charlie nods, keeping her eyes squeezed shut. When the door shuts, she opens them. The hospital sheets feel funny as she hides under them. They don’t feel like the ones at home.

Fresh tears fill her eyes. Home. She doesn’t have a home anymore. Momma and Daddy won’t want her around her brother and sisters. Her brother and sisters are going to hate her. So will her aunties, uncles, and cousins.

It’s all her fault.

This is why her tummy Mommy didn't want her.

“Charlie?”

She didn’t hear the door open, but Asha stands at the foot of her bed. Sitting up, Charlie wipes her tears away. Please don’t let Asha ask. Just let her tell Charlie she’s an awful person and she hates her. It’s what Charlie deserves—

“Chocolate or vanilla?” Asha holds out two pudding cups.

“W-wha—”

“Do you want the chocolate or vanilla? I picked last time.”

“…Halfises?”

Asha smiles. Sitting side by side, the girls trade the cups back and forth. When Asha gets up to throw them away, she notices Charlie curled up on the sheets again. “…Baba did bad things too.”

“Huh?”

“Before he went to live with Jid and met Mama. He did really bad things too.” She shrugs.

“…Why are you telling me that?”

Climbing back onto the bed, Asha says, “Because when Baba told me about the stuff he did, he said he wouldn’t who he is now without people loving him.”

“I could’ve hurt you—”

“I wrestle Gracie all the time. If she hasn’t killed me yet, I think I stand a good chance with you…Do you want me to go?”

Looking down, Charlie shakes her head.

“Can I lay down?”

Nodding, Charlie moves the covers back for Asha to crawl under. Laying in silence for a while, the two just exist together for a while. When their parents check in on them later, they find the two girls sleeping. Asha snores gently, arm flopped over her cousin. Charlie lays curled up. Letting Asha protect her. Neither pair of parents can find it in their hearts to separate the two. Just covers them with an extra blanket and kiss to their heads.

Let them get whatever sleep they can.

13 notes · View notes