#Bad really tried to stick with the tie and after it was broken he tried to be the middle ground

[qsmprambling]

Wait Bolas tried to recruit Tubbo???

Thank you Tubbo for saying you wouldn't betray your team and when Slime and Cellbit said they betrayed him he said "They're just misunderstood!"

Everyone in Soulfire had reasons for their actions yesterday, and Tubbo knows that even if he's upset/frustrated. Even if it wasn't the case, why take the leader away from a group of 12 when only 2 of them caused an issue? Don't try and break up Soulfire like that!

[toasttt11]

broken

January 5, 2024

Connie was skating down the ice with the puck against her stick and looked up right as her jaw rammed right into the Devils player’s shoulder, Connie fell over onto the ice, her hand immediately going up and holding her jaw as she quickly got back up and hurried to skate off the ice.

Connie knew something was wrong, there was to much pain and to much pain that fast.

Connie hurried off the ice right to the trainers letting them guide her off the ice and down the tunnel to the medical rooms to start looking at her injury.

She spaced out during most of the time watching the game on the tv as the trainers checked on her until she heard someone walk in and looked over seeing Nick walking in with a grin directed at her.

Connie furrowed her brows not talking as the trainers told her not to, she saw him get into the fight on the ice and he seemed to be rushing off the ice after.

“We protect our own.” Nick simply explained with a grin as he walked over to her gently ruffling her hair like he always does, he knew he only hurt her finger and a broken finger was worth getting back for Connie.

Nick smiled seeing the thankful look she gave him as she couldn’t say it, “Is it bad?” Nick felt nauseated seeing the obvious pain she was in and it felt like one of his own kids was hurt.

Connie nodded yes as it was painful and she was very uncomfortable too.

Nick’s face soften and gently squeezed her shoulder with his good hand, “What can I do?” Nick softly asked her.

Connie made a call gesture and pointed to her self and Nick thought for a moment before asking, “Call your mom?”

Connie nodded slightly, she knew her parents more so her mom would be worried seeing her going off the ice and not coming back and she couldn’t call her right now.

“I will do that.” Nick softly promised her before the trainee called for him to head to the other room so they can splint his finger.

Once the trainers finished examining her with the game still going she got to change out of their uniform and into comfortable clothes and watched the rest of the game.

She turned back to the TV and barely a minute went by before Alex got into a fight against Nate.

Connie watched his fight intently as he fought for a good few minutes before the referees spilt them apart.

The trainers allowed her to have her phone once the game was over and they waited for the team to finish up and everything gets packed up before they all head to the airport to head back to Chicago.

Connie looked up as the door opened quickly and Alex rushed in with his suit on but messily and his tie hanging from his pocket, he let out a small sigh seeing her but still rushed right over to her.

“How are you? Are you okay?” Alex quickly rushed out scanning her face worriedly seeing her face wrapped up in a bandage specifically holding her jaw in place.

Connie reached out gently grabbing his hand and squeezed his hand softly stopping his from continuing and made him look at her eyes and she gave him a small nod reassuring him that she is okay.

“Is it your jaw?” Alex softly asked letting out small sigh of relief that she told him she was okay, Connie nodded once to his question, “Do they know if it’s broken yet?” Alex hesitantly asked.

Connie tried to clenched her eyes shut but hissed at the pain it caused in her jaw making her look at Alex with teary eyes answering his question.

“Oh Bubbles.” Alex softly cooed bringing her into a gentle hug being mindful of her jaw and gently rubbed her back.

Connie never really liked hugs growing up much and they always just felt awkward but she always endured them thinking it was just her being awkward.

But hugging Alex, like an actually hug not on the ice after a goal, it was comforting and something she surprising really enjoyed.

Alex just held her softly rubbing her back letting her be comforted for a few minutes before gently and reluctantly pulling back.

Connie gave him another thankful look and he just smiled.

“Come on we got to get to the bus.” Alex softly told her and backed up letting her stand up and he saw her suitcase and back pack next to the medical bed she was sitting in and grabbed them giving her stern look stopping her from grabbing them.

Alex carried their bags as they walked through the arena and out to the bus where most of the team were already sitting in.

Alex knew Connie really didn’t want to talk right now he just guided her down the bus and gave everyone a stern glance to leave her alone and brought her to the row where Kevin and Lukas sat across from.

Connie slid into the bench first and Alex sat down after.

Kevin and Lukas gave her concerned glances and Alex grimaced shaking his head motioning that her injury was not good.

Connie stared out the bus window feeling her pain medication slowly starting to finally kick in a little but not much.

The bus pulled up to the blackhawks plane at the airport and the team all slowly started getting off the bus and helping the staff load up the converter belt with all the luggage.

Alex set Connie and his bags on the belt and guided her to the plane not wanting her to try to help.

Connie sat down on the window seat again and Alex sat on the seat next to her.

Connie was having a hard time keeping her eyes shut and Alex noticed and put the arm rest up between them and gestured for her to lay her head down on his chest.

Connie took a second looking like she was debating it before scooting closer and resting her head on his chest being careful not to touch her jaw againt him and his arm wrapped around her shoulder.

Connie was out within minutes.

“Is it bad?” Lukas whispered once Kevin and Lukas sat across from Alex and Connie giving a sleeping Connie concerned glances.

“They think it’s broken.” Alex whispered quietly back.

Kevin grimaced still looking worried at his best friend. Lukas gasped softly looking at her sadly.

Connie was fast asleep on Alex not moving at all the entire flight home.

[wutheringcaterpillar]

The One That Got Away

Summary: It had been a year since your ex-husband Tommy had seen you. He was hoping for the chance to see you again to show you how much he has cleaned up and changed for you. He didn't think that when he saw you again, you'd be engaged to one of his closest friends.

Warnings: Smut, p-in-v

Thomas thought his eyes were deceiving him.

Throughout the crowded room filled with women wearing beautiful, exemplary gowns, and their makeup and hair done elegantly, only one woman stood out to him.

The one he treated so unfairly, so immaturely but was always the most respectful, most beautiful, most hypnotizing woman in the room.

He froze in place, jaw clenched when he saw you standing there, hair flowing down, your bright red lipstick and silver dress. It shattered him inside to see your once innocent eyes that he corrupted by the way he handled your marriage.

It was as if he was seeing a ghost and it broke his heart.

He wanted to fix things, wanted to prove to you how much he’s changed and improved, all in the hopes of seeing you one day.

He just didn’t think the day he did see you again you’d be engaged to his dear friend Alfie Solomons.

“Brotha!” Alfie pulled Thomas out of his gaze, pulling him into a friendly bear hug.

“You’re engaged to my ex wife Alfie.” Alfie pulled away from the hug, taking a swig from his flask. It seems someone at this party had already beat him to the punch of telling Tommy the news.

“I am. I am.” Alfie rubbed at his beard, eyebrows etched together trying to think of just the right words to explain.

“I can’t really explain how it happened. She was looking for comfort after your divorce, right? It was all innocent, just things get a little complicated mate. Y’know what I mean, yeah?” Tommy knew all too well what he meant.

He let his business get in the way of his marriage to you, he allowed other women into his life for nights when you weren't around. He’s the one that made it complicated.

“Yeah, yeah. I know what you mean Alfie.”

Staring off into the distance, both of their eyes landed on you, mingling with strangers, and Tommy felt strange that he was doing it out of making sure you were safe even though that was no longer his job.

“I haven’t seen her smile like that in years Alfie. Not since our wedding did she have that bright, beautiful smile.” Thomas tried his best to keep a straight face but Alfie could see right through him in his broken, hurting state.

Alfie had no bad intentions and didn’t plan to fall in love with you. He wasn’t out to get Thomas,never has been, never will be.

“She’s perfect ain’t she?” Tommy looked away, pondering if Alfie would allow him to talk to you one last time.

“Do you mind if I have a word with Y/N, it will only be a couple of minutes.” Alfie extended his hand respectfully in the direction of you to where you were talking with your friend to let Tommy air his thoughts out to you.

“Just don’t try none of that charming, conning crap on my future bride to be!” All joking aside, Tommy nodded sincerely, ever so grateful that the man he still calls his friend hasn’t changed.

Alfie also knew it wouldn’t be from a bad place and his friend wouldn’t sabotage him or you. Tommy thanked him graciously before making his way to you.

Out of the corner of your eye you saw him dressed in his suit and tie, hair smoothly combed, still looking as handsome as the day you married him, making your breath hitch in your throat.

You had moved on, you were happy, but there was something about Tommy that would always stick with you.

A few of the women surrounding you giggled and blushed when Tommy approached you.

“Hello, I was wondering if I could have a moment with Y/N?” Tommy looked at you for an answer with his crystal blue eyes that looked guilty, but pleading in the hope you would give him the chance.

Alfie stood by the wall, chatting with your sister as he kept an eye from afar.

“Can we make this short?”

“One last dance. That’s all I’m asking.”

You looked over to your fiancé as Tommy extended his hand as an invitation. Alfie nodded, reassuring you he hasn’t got a problem with it.

He wasn’t the jealous type and he still trusted Tommy as a friend and you as his future wife.

Taking his hand, there was still that sense of an electric current moving through your veins when your skin touched.

His hands were cold, as they’d always been, but it still gave you the sense of being safe. Nonetheless, you’d never be able to forgive Tommy for all the things he had managed to do to you in the short one year you were married.

The music changed, into a slower tempo and you followed in Tommy’s footsteps. “So engaged to one of my close friends, eh? Didn’t see that one coming.” Tommy chuckled, no hatred in his voice. “Well there’s a lot of things we don’t see coming, isn’t there Tommy?” He sighed and his eyebrows etched in guilt when he thought of all the ways he went wrong and treated you terribly.

When he spoke his voice was hoarse, and you could tell in his eyes this was difficult for him and he was trying to keep his composure without breaking down. That wouldn’t be fair to you.

“Yes, there is. Alfie’s a good man, a much better man than I could ever be. I took the insecure way with you. I couldn’t face myself and I wasn’t there for you. I know Alfie will be.”

“I’d like to clarify neither of us wanted you to find out like this.” Tommy twirled you slowly and caught you in his arms securely. He’d never let you fall again. Your eyes connected with his. Something about his baby blue eyes always felt like they would draw you in, drag you back but you’ve made progress in the two years you haven’t see him. That was no longer possible.

“Our love went cold because of me, and it would be very unfair of me to have an opinion on your engagement. I just want you to be happy Y/N.”

“I am happy, and I just want to say, I do forgive you. Alfie has taught me so much, and made me realize in not forgiving, I will never be truly at peace.” Hearing you say you forgive him, made the growing heart inside his chest feel as if it was slowly starting to shatter into pieces.

Thomas couldn’t stop the one, singular tear stream down his cheek. He didn’t deserve your forgiveness by any means, he didn’t deserve to even have this dance with you.

The song was nearing an end but you didn’t feel like you had anymore words to say.

Maybe Thomas has changed but it was quite too little too late.

In one last twirl, he dipped you and caught you in his strong, toned arm, other hand intertwined with yours.

All time felt like it stopped when you locked eyes one last time.

As the music changed, he still had you in this position and the people around you started to disperse.

“I still and always will, love you Y/N.”

Memories of your past together flashed their way through your mind. What was a beautiful, romantic start, and the way he first asked you to join him for dinner. He was quite the gentleman and went out of his way to surprise you with small trinkets, and expensive jewelry but then the rotten memories of catching him with women and lying to you about his business affairs found their way into your mind, breaking you out of this trance you found yourself in so much.

He didn’t break eye contact once and you were still staring into his convincing, yet sincere blue eyes. He was being truthful; he was putting himself in a fragile state by speaking his true feelings.

He assisted you in standing up and guided you back to where Alfie was still talking with your sister. Tommy nodded at her.

“Allison, nice to see you again. Hope you’ve been well.” Your sister made a disgusted face, she seemed to be the only woman in Birmingham that was never affected or influenced by Tommy’s charms and looks.

Alfie pulled you gently into his side, holding you with a loving arm around your waist. He handed you your coat that he had been holding and assisted you in putting it on.

“I’ve had a grand idea, Tommy my boy, why don’t you come to our wedding, yeah? I was going to ask you to be my best man, but I can see that may be difficult considering the circumstances, right?” Tommy shook his head, not feeling as if he should be there. You both knew Thomas had grown up, but Alfie wanted his best mate there in support, he wanted Tommy’s support.

“C’mon. Past is the past yeah? I can’t have my wedding day without my best mate Tommy Shelby there, now can I? Of course, if that’s alright with you love?” You nodded in agreement.

Tommy and Alfie had known each other longer than you’d known either of them, but it would warm you heart to know that Thomas could set the past aside and move on.

Thomas wanted to be there for you, but he wasn’t sure if he could handle seeing you at the altar with another man. “I’ll sleep on it, eh?” You both nodded before Alfie noticed you were shivering.

“Are you cold love, yeah? Why don’t we get the car, and I’ll drive us home. That damn dog is probably tearing everything a part with how long we’ve been at this social shit show anyway.” Tommy said his goodbyes and went to excuse himself to go and talk to Ada but before he could, you stopped him.

“Thomas.” He looked back at you with winded, yet content eyes. “Y/N. Alfie, treat her well. Don’t let her get away like I did.” You wanted to thank him for his modesty and honesty but he didn’t give you the chance.

“Well I’m not fucking stupid now am I mate?” Thomas laughed and waved him off before bidding you both ado.

~

The rain pattered against the window of the car as you lay your head rested on Alfie’s shoulder. “You didn’t have to give him that opportunity, you’re far more gracious than I am at times, and that’s one of the things I love about you y’know.”

“I know love but who am I to deny him the chance of forgiveness.” You bit your lip, looking up at your husband to be. He leaned down and placed a kiss to your lips, his beard gently rubbing against your soft delicate skin.

~

When you had arrived home, the two of you we’re greeted with Cyril laying at the door asleep. “Lazy fuck, couldn’t even do the dishes could yuh?” You smacked Alfie playfully as he leaned down to give the sweet pup a hearty, loving pet.

Once upstairs the two of you took a hot much needed shower. The water ran down your cold skin and you couldn’t help but hug your husband around the waist, pressing your head into his firm, toned back.

Tracing your fingers around his muscular figure.

Alfie was in more than great shape, every toned muscle, curving his body just perfectly. It turned you on more knowing that this man was yours and he wasn't going anywhere.

Turning he ran his hand through his hair, slicking it back, making you bite down on your bottom lip, looking up at him with begging, lustful eyes. He stared down at you with dark eyes, as his member downstairs began to grow.

You ran your hand down his chest, further to his happy little trail where you rested your hand upon his plump tip, rubbing it ever so agonizingly slow that he was beginning to lose patience. He had been wanting to fuck you all night long seeing you in what he thought was way too tight of a dress.

“Jump.” In an instant you were wrapping your legs around his waist and he had caught you with his firm, large hands and they settled right underneath both your ass cheeks that he could devour any second of the day.

Lining himself with your entrance, as soon as you felt his tip in just the right spot, you dropped your body weight down onto his large member, forcing a throaty groan that sounded like music to your ears to escape from your husband to be’s rough lips.

You felt complete, like your body was whole when his cock was buried deep within you.

“Fuck love, you’re so fucking tight.” He couldn’t help but start to rapidly pound into you over and over again at the sight of your tits dripping with water and at the feeling of your ass cheeks cupping his hands rather perfectly. “My bride to fucking be!”

“Harder.”

“Darling if I go any harder i might snap you in fuckin half.” Tugging at his hair you aligned your lips next to his ear.

“I said fucking harder.”

Wasting no time, he slammed you against the shower wall as the water continued to fall, thrusting in and out of you, his dick hitting all the right spots, you were already feeling yourself soaking him and you were close.

Your moans began to get louder, and he demanded you look at him when you were about to cum.

The sight of your fucked out eyes, and how desperately close you were to cumming took control of him. He didn’t hold back.

His free hand found its way to one of your tits grabbing it roughly, tugging at your hardened nipple. He continued at his pace and he could feel your walls squeezing around him. Within seconds you both were cumming, his warm seed shooting up into you, coating your insides. “Fuck me! Are you alright love?” You nodded still trying to catch your breath.

“I love you Alfie Solomons.” He couldn’t help but grin and smirk to himself. “Yeah I bet you fuckin do future Mrs. Solomons. after that fucking. I love you too.”

He placed a kiss to your lips before turning off the water. “Now why don’t we get to bed, yeah? Long fucking two weeks ahead of us.”

~

The two weeks until the wedding had passed rather quickly as you had been so busy with planning and now here you were standing in your dress, awaiting for the doors to open.

You were nervous to see Alfie cleaned up, and in a tuxedo on a day like today because you were scared of crying out of happiness.

When the door opened and you were met with the room full of people the first person you noticed and was the only one that turned around was sitting in back row right by the door.

There Thomas was staring at you, taking in your white eccentric dress, and your hair pinned up in the thin white vail.

He smiled at you in adoration and you silently mouthed a thank you to him for coming.

Thomas had made a vow to himself that he had let you fall too many times, and he wanted to be there whenever you asked him, never again would he let you down.

Once you reached the altar Alfie was smiling bright, fully with his teeth showing. He was astonished at how amazing you looked, and it absolutely took his breath away. “You look fucking beautiful sweetheart.” A tear was rolling down his cheek, his eyes full of love and joy that the day had finally come that he was marrying the woman of his dreams.

Trying your best to hold back tears from ruining your makeup you thanked him as the priest began the ceremony.

The vows were exchanged, no objections said. “You may kiss the bride.”

“You bet your ass I’m gonna kiss her, and more tonight!” Everyone laughed at his joke and in a lightning movement Alfie’s hands were on both of your cheeks pulling you into his welcoming plush lips in a kiss that you wished would last forever.

Tommy stayed seated in the back row, he may be regretful but all he wanted was for you to be happy, even if it meant it wasn’t with him. He watched as you walked hand in hand with Alfie down the aisle as a newly happy married couple.

He reminisced back to the day where that was him and you, ready to take on the world, but he understood he needed to move on.

Standing up and setting the pamplet down on the pew, he began to clap for the two of you.

Tommy was proud of you for getting away from him, even if it hurt him but he felt more at ease knowing that the man you were marrying would never hurt you or even think about doing half the things he did to you.

Winking at you, he smiled. All he could now was a friend to you, continue to be a friend to Alfie, and accept the consequences of his mistakes.

[sebsallowapologist]

Little Bird || Part 2

A little jealous Sebastian 🤍

Sebastian Sallow x F! Reader • 7th Year • Friends to Lovers

warnings: cursing, feelings of insecurity

——————————

I must have made this damn potion eight hundred times. And each time it came out worse and worse. If I didn’t know any better I would say it looks like I was TRYING to do a bad job. Professor Sharp and the rest of the class had left a while ago, not willing to miss his evening meal over watching me struggle with something most students could grasp in their third year.

I stare into the cauldron of black, bubbling goo and contemplate just sticking my head in it, if I’m lucky it’ll boil my brain and then I’d never have to make another potion again.

“Oh yikes.” Garreth mutters, coming to a halt next to my table, the only one who stayed after class. I’m guessing to work on whatever his next concoction was. 

“Thanks Gareth.” I mumble, tossing in another spoonful of the ingredient closest to me, trying to make it look like I knew what I was doing and that I wasn’t some idiot staring back at her reflection in her cauldron. I stir the potion again, but this time my spoon doesn’t come back intact, the goo monster I’ve created eats away at the metal, so I’m left with just the handle. “Fuck.”

“Can I- would you like-“ he rubs the back of his neck and he tries to frame his question. “If you're offering help I’ll gladly take it.” I sigh, cutting him off. He doesn’t need to feel embarrassed, I was the one who wanted to crawl out of my skin. The quicker this potion was done the better.

“I am. Offering that is.”

“Thank god.”

I sit down on the stool next to the table and slump over as Gareth gets rid of my last horror show of an attempt. “It’s really quite easy...”

“So I’m just stupid?”

“I would never say THAT.” Gareth chuckles and starts preparing his ingredients, not even needing to look at the recipe. “Gareth, can you make me something that just fixes my brain so I understand these lessons? We’re barely at the start of term and I’m already lost. For Merlin’s sake- this is review!”

“Give yourself more credit, you missed the first four years of your education.” He said softly, not looking up from the cutting board.

“We can’t keep using that as an excuse for me.” I sigh and take off my robe. Anytime I couldnt figure something out, everyone loved using me being a late bloomer as an excuse. Magic manifested later for me, and it was like I was everyones broken doll, they all knew what happened in year five- being the hero of Hogwarts was a fluke. 

I simply hard a different magic than others- I wasn’t extraordinary, I was lucky. The shine of it had all work off a long time ago.

Gareth glanced over at me, then back and the cauldron, then back at me. “C'mon. You do the mixing, I'll do the measuring.” He pulled me up from the stool and stood me next to the cauldron, a fresh un-melted spoon in my hand.

“Bless you, Weasley.”

With his careful instructions we finally finish the potion and I tried to steadily pour it into the tiny vial, but I was exhausted, my hand was cramping from doing a hundred counter clockwise turns, and then a hundred more clockside stirs. My hand holding the tiny glass container won’t stop shaking. I take a deep breath and close my eyes, wanting to give up on the whole thing.

Garreth takes his hand and covers my own, helping me hold steady. I glance up and mumble “thank you”, before gently tipping my hand and pour the potion. Once I’m done I let out the breath I was holding out and looked up at Gareth. Before I can say anything someone clears their throat at the entrance of the classroom.

Sebastian is standing there, tie loose around his neck. “Bird, you weren’t at dinner.”

“Yeah I was busy failing potions.” I sigh and put the stopper on my vial. It’s about now when I realize just how close Gareth and I are standing. I blush and take a step back. “Thank you for your help. Maybe I’ll graduate this year.” I smile- walking over to the professor's desk to drop off my finished work.

“You could have found me for help.” Sebastian said as I walked over to him, grabbing my bag and cloak on the way. He runs his hand gently down my back in greeting. I shrug. Of course he’d be able to help. The ever- brilliant professor's son.

“I’m happy to help.” Gareth said. His voice sounded deeper than it had just a few moments ago. “Since you’re not in this potions class. You don’t know the coursework.”

“I’m taking private classes with Sharp.” Sebastian smiled. “Anything she needs help with I can pick it up.” Sebastian had a lot of those, the private lessons. After Sebastian worked to turn his shit around last year Sharp had taken an interest, impressed with Seb getting serious about training to be ‘the greatest auror the world had ever seen’ or at least that's what he said..

“Do you think they’re still serving food? I’m starved.” And tired of listening to this who’s better at potions battle. Men.

Sebastian breaks eye contact with Gareth to look down at me, frowning. “I think they’re all done serving. We-“

“I haven’t eaten either. I can accompany you to dinner. Somewhere in Hogsmeade maybe?” Gareth interrupts, looking down at me. I guess the contest wasn’t over.

Sebastian shoots him a look that could kill. I take a deep breath, closing my eyes. “That's nice of you- but I’m dead tired. I think I’ll head off to bed.”

“Right- right. Well. Goodnight then.” Gareth mutters standing there for one more too awkward second before ducking out of the classroom, leaving Sebastian and I alone. “You’re gone to bed?” he chuckles, knowing I couldn’t be serious.

I roll my eyes and grab his cloak, dragging him out of the classroom and toward the room of requirement.

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

Sensing my hunger the room had sandwiches, butterbeer and snacks laid out for our arrival. I grab a few things and walk toward my meadow. “Are you coming?” I ask Sebastian, who’s eyeing the candies the room put out.

“Sometimes I get overwhelmingly jealous of your room, you know if I ever come here alone I don’t get this kind of treatment. And Deek always gives me a look..”

“I’m glad.” I giggle “If it’s coming from Deek I’m sure you deserve it.” I walk through the door that leads me to my meadow, filled with Mooncalfs. Sebastian follows close behind.

“How were the beasties over the summer?” He asks, bending down to pat one gently on the head.

“Deek said very well behaved, but of course missed me terribly.” I conjure some treats and let all my little friends have dinner with us before settling in the grass to eat my own food.

“Smart little things.” Sebastian smiled and sat down next to me. As always we sat back to back, using each other's weight to prop ourselves up. Just like we did for hours and hours after everything that happened in year five. Facing away from each other, admitting what terrible things we had to do, those marks we carried on our soul forever. It got easier to deal with the farther away we got from it, but it was always there, the thing that always bound us.

“Thought for a thought.” I say and take a bite of my sandwich. A little game we played, passing back the things that flew through our heads.

“I'm very happy to be home.” I smile, starting us off. “I feel so empty, and lonely all summer.”

“You live in London.” He sighs. “I don’t understand how you can feel lonely there.”

Because you’re not there. Was the answer, but it was his turn to say a thought outloud.

“I’m very happy to not be alone anymore either." he mumbles, and I look down at the grass. I put my hand on top of his, curling my fingers in a comforting squeeze.

[amazingmsme]

Okay but what about some of your favorite headcanons that aren’t tickle related? For Curt and Owen, or any of Hatchetfield, whatever you wish. Just curious to hear what you’re thinkin’! 🎤

Think I’ll stick to the spy boys for now just so it won’t get too long cause I already know I’m gonna get carried away lol

So just like we see at the beginning, Curt & Owen love fucking around with the bad guys they find on their missions & “use them for sport” as Owen says. & they love to rub it in their faces just how damn good they are that they can just use them for fun in their own little games

Sometimes they get more roughed up if the other is the one interrogating them. They’re both masochists who never want to admit defeat, so yeah they’ve walked away with blood & broken bones (only minor breaks but STILL)

Curt loves playing with the spy gadgets regardless of how many times Barb tries to warn him, or how many times he ends up hurting himself with them zksvksjaz. He never tells her when he does it tho because that will just end up in a lecture

Curt & Owen will mock each other’s bosses to make each other laugh after they get chewed out for being dumb & reckless

They have to share hotel rooms quite often to “save the agencies money” & before they actually got together it was just straight up torture for them

The first time they had to share a bed on one of these missions, they were both freaking out internally & trying to play it cool. But then Owen found out Curt hogs all the blankets & suddenly he wasn’t feeling so smitten, just pissed off & cold

They flirt in the job soooo much it should be obvious at this point

One of the first epiphanies that Owen has about his partner comes when Curt fixed his tie for him & Owen was a little off his game for the rest of the night because he kept thinking about Curt’s hands so close to his throat & his lips in perfect kissing distance

They absolutely help each other pick out their outfits when they go undercover

After they get together, they play a game where they talk about what their lives would be like if they weren’t spies & they just make up a whole ass fake domestic life for them where they adopt a dog, then a cat (as practice) & when they’re “ready” they adopt a kid & have a happy lil family

They also play this game where they pretend they went into different professions & make up different ways they met each other

Curt is great at poker & wins most of the time they play

Before they met, Curt really wasn’t a tea guy, but Owen makes him “real” tea & makes him realize he actually likes it as long as it’s made right. Perks of dating a Brit

They have matching daggers carved with the other’s name. The height of romance

Cynthia has her suspicions about them, but they work so well together she couldn’t care less. That’s none of her business & tbh she couldn’t care less

Curt is actually a pretty good cook because he’s a momma’s boy & helped out in the kitchen any chance he got. But once they got together, he wanted to blow Owen away with his skills & made a candlelit romantic dinner with garlic bread & spaghetti & meatballs & a huge salad & Owen was literally speechless. YES they did the lady & the tramp thing where they kiss on the same noodle & they kept trying until they got it right!

Ok I held off long enough, here’s a few nsfw headcanons. No minors beyond this point, I’ll kick your ass

Ok but they’ve LITERALLY had a dick measuring contest. Like, they got out the tape measure to see whose is bigger. & no I’m not gonna say, y’all decide for yourselves. There’s no WAY I’m sparking that kind of debate

They legit take turns on who tops & bottoms

You’d expect it to be rough kinky sex, but it’s actually the most tender lovemaking ever ok they love each other more than anyone & they take their time exploring each other’s bodies

Of course when the time is right they absolutely get kinky with it

Their fake interrogations take a turn like 50% of the time (only after they’ve killed everyone in the building)

Even the interrogations that don’t end like that still get them both all hot & bothered. Owen especially loves the roleplay element

They kinda really like the thrill of almost getting caught so they’ve definitely hooked up when others are around

Ok that’s all I got. If you stuck around this long congrats, here’s your prize ⭐️

[mushroom-for-art]

Hehehe brain rot go brrr made another Xatt who also has interconnecting lore with the original two (Xatts species belonging to @chocodile) ft. Past vs modern form I suppose comparison

The shadow magic cave system stuff that makes these guys really just spat this one out and said fuck you you've got teeth problems XD I'm so sorry this probably isn't an actual thing that happens I'm just like this, so for some reason his mouth had too many teeth which caused many problems, he has teeth growing on top of each other and being forced sticking out, tusks growing out through his skin a broken tusk that's definitely infected, probably infections in his gums from his teeth being whack uncomfortable drooling from the pain and probably bad breath tbh not that their mouths smell good normally but extra ew. So eating is incredibly hard prey smells his mouth and is put off by it, his bulbs are weak sauce not very good glow bad illumination hard to get preys attention (sorry bout that) and honestly trapping and suffocating prey is difficult when your mouth hurts. I just made him and made his life difficult. I imagine he's got more of a weasely body shorter than Xep from feet to ears but longer than her from snout to before tail end. I think he has the biggest tail mouth so far out of all 3? I'd have to do a size chart he's definitely bigger than bun and I do want to give him the biggest chompers. I tried to keep fur color patterning realistic but plain as I wasn't sure on how far patterns could be pushed before it became a different coat type. I also tried not to give this one pink bulbs as the past two have been pink....instead he became pink and arguably purple is just pink, I can't win pink bulbs just too dang good. He was meant to have a much more blue color scheme in my mind he was blueish aligned but it didn't look nice so he pink.

As modern hes a class traitor lmao, I feel as he struggled he planned to leave caves to try life in the human society world and got snatched up by some people who saw him and went "oh poor thing look at it!" and he was promptly given drugs and veterinary care to remove his extra teeth and help with his infections. They realised after oh yea this is one of those creatures they're apparently quite smart. And he revealed yea he is. The people had already paid the vet bill by then (he had been careful to pretend to be 'knocked out' he didn't want no bills), so he was a free man. He actually keeps in touch with them they did him a solid he does appreciate it, and has his own job and such and housing ect. He went to the dentist about getting his remaining teeth straightened as they were still whack and they gave him anaesthetics to do it, which he found rude like yea sure he probably would've pretended to bite an arm off, maybe actually, doesn't mean they should give him drugs. Like sir. Sir you know fine well you would've bitten someone dont bullshit me. In all honesty I just wanted to add braces to his design to show how 'human' he is in a way how different he is to my wild Xatts, his modern design came first then I decided to give his younger self dental issues. I also love how his chest boof turned into an almost tie illusion, he also has scars from struggling in the wild before joining society which is funny the one guy doing taxes is the only one with visible scars. That's life and I wanted to do scars adds interest to character designs

Currently outside his job he engages in trade and business with Xep, this was after falling for the lure of Bun outside a cave and being a bit worried cause Xatts don't usually leave the caves are you lost do you want a help footing in the outside world? (human society seems to have made him soft). And was promptly jumped by Xep and nearly robbed before she realised annoyingly he had nothing she wanted. From then on after a bit of arguing they worked out a business deal she had human items she didn't want that he could pawn off and then use that money (keeping a percentage for himself of course) to get her things she would want. Bun doesn't think much of him, thought he was a traitor naturally at first but he quite liked her and thus immediately lied saying he in fact was not there willingly! Oh no! He had in fact been trapped-no taken by people while unconscious who were now holding him for money for doing stuff as he was unaware taking out his old teeth and he had no choice but to work to get money to pay them back. The lies coming a bit too easily and quickly, can't help it he's become a liar by habit and he does feel bad later for painting his human society companions like that but, they'll never meet so it'll be fine neither will know the truth. He's slightly nervous around Xep naturally even though he lives with humans her behaviourisms are all wrong for Xatts she's hard to read and it makes him vastly uncomfortable at times but she has things that are sellable and he likes a bit of business, nothing wrong with extra money in his pocket, and they can talk about human things sometimes and it's nice to not have to explain something in detail that she just knows what he means. Meanwhile him and Bun are civil with each other, I imagine he got a bulb cap for her chipped bulb to cover the top as it honestly probably causes sensitivity and ringing so the cover helps block that out until her bulb regrows fully or to a state that it's not hypersensitivity so she appreciates that even if it's from the people world.

But that's my new boy he's not named yet, I had actually done a quick search trying to find a name but alas short attention span nothing jumped out. For now he's probably just Weasel.

[random-snippetss]

Whumptober 2022

Day 18: "Just get it over with."

Max's face was white, covered in a thin sheen of sweat. Annie curled her fingers into fists, gritting her teeth as she looked away. "I can't believe I agreed to do this," she spat, glaring into the distance.

"Well, you did and here we are," Cody snapped back. He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "What are we gonna do? Kelly and Brian are gonna kill us."

"That's if we ever get out of here," she muttered, peering up at the mouth of the cavern Max had fallen into.

Cody started pacing the small cave they were in. "We never should've come here," he groaned.

Annie snapped her heat toward him, glaring. "This was your idea," she said, jabbing him in the chest. "Max didn't even want to come until you convinced him."

"And now he's hurt because of me!" Cody crossed his arms, looking away. "I know that! I screwed up and now he's paying the price."

A groan broke off her response and both teens dropped to their knees beside Max. His eyelids fluttered and opened, distant and dazed. "Guys?" He mumbled. He swallowed hard and went impossibly paler. "Don't feel good."

Annie only just jumped away in time for him to lever himself up and hurl into the sand beside him. It had been more than a day since they had last eaten, so there wasn't much there. Still, she couldn't help wrinkling her nose in disgust and shuffling away, letting Cody soothe Max.

Cody rubbed his back. "Easy, easy, everything's alright," he muttered.

Max tried to sit up and groaned when he jostled his arm. He tried to look, but Cody caught his chin and prevented him.

"You don't want to do that," Annie said, arms crossed tight over her stomach. "It's broken. Bad."

Max just blinked owlishly and nodded. "Okay."

"How are you feeling?" Cody asked.

"You're really gonna ask that?" Annie asked. "How do you think he's feeling, you jerk?"

"Annie-"

"I'm okay," Max interrupted, cutting off any further argument. "Um, it really hurts, but I'm- I'm okay."

Cody and Annie exchanged a guilty look. Their friend was laying there with a broken arm and they were arguing. "We should try to find help," Annie said quietly after a moment. "The cave keeps going." She pointed to a crevice in the far wall.

"You're right." Cody turned to Max. "Do you think you can walk?"

Max shrugged and whimpered, eyes shiny in the low light. "M-maybe," he whispered. "But, um, we need to brace my arm. Uh, we need to sticks and- and something to tie them with."

"What do you mean?" Cody asked, frowning.

"Mom's a doctor, remember?" Max tried to sit up, pressing his lips together hard to hide a wince. "We need to brace it or-or it'll damage it more."

"Here." Annie appeared beside them, two sturdy looking branches and what looked like one of her shoelaces. "Will these work?"

Max looked them over and nodded. "Put the sticks on either side of my arm and tie them together," he said. "Make sure they're secure so they don't move."

"Isn't this gonna hurt?" Annie asked, fretting over her injured friend.

"I mean, probably," he said. "But we need to minimize damage while we look for help."

"Okay," Cody said, kneeling beside him once again. "Okay, Annie, hold these still. Max, are you sure you want to do this?"

Max nodded, gritting his teeth as he turned his head away. "Just get it over with."

Cody just nodded, shared a look with Annie, and got to work. Max's scream echoed through the cave, but Cody ignored it in favor of finishing the task as soon as he could.

Finally, it was done and Cody and Annie sat back. Annie's face was wet and Cody's hands were shaking. Max gasped for breath, eyes closed tight as he waited for the pain to ease up. Finally, he looked up and nodded.

Standing made his woozy, but he just shook his head and motioned them forward. They'd be home soon. They just needed to take it one step at a time.

[queenshelby]

The Secretary

31 Days of Kink: Day 12

Pairing: Tommy Shelby x Reader

Warning: Smut, Dom/Sub

Words: 1567

Imagine working for Thomas Shelby and…well guess!

***

‘Come in and sit down’ Tommy instructed as he indicated towards one of the armchairs in front of his large oak desk.

You complied with his request but couldn’t help but worry. Your performance has been rather bad over the past two weeks as you and your boyfriend were fighting once again.

‘Have I done something wrong Mr Shelby?’ you asked.

Tommy settled himself in the chair opposite you, long limbs clad in his dark suit. He loosened his grey tie and took it off, placing it on the desk next to him, as he spoke to you.

‘Today? No’ he chuckled. ‘But I am wondering what a young woman like you is doing in the office on the weekend’ he added.

‘Just…I don’t know’ you said. The truth was that you didn’t want to be at home with your boyfriend.

‘Don’t you have a man?’ Tommy asked.

‘I do’ you responded with a faint pink sheen painting your cheeks.

‘You do?’ Tommy smirked. ‘Is he not treating you well that you have to hang out here?’ he then went on to ask.

‘No’ you barely managed to say as a true blush suffused your skin and you looked away from Tommy.

‘Why are you with him then, eh?’ Tommy asked as he looked at you searchingly but you didn’t respond to is question.

‘Either he is rich or the sex must be pretty good if you stick around for a man who treats you badly’ he chuckled.

You shook your head shyly in response to Tommy’s comment and Tommy’s eyes widened.

‘So, he isn’t rich and the sex isn’t good…I see’ Tommy chuckled just as he stood up and took off his black suit jacket. He then rolled up his sleeves, revealing the light hair on his forearms on his pale but beautiful skin all the while he could feel you watching him.

Tommy knew that he should really should leave you alone. But your whole manner was as if you were waving a red flag and he was the bull. He could not resist any longer.

He leaned over you, hands resting on either side of your armchair. Your breath sped up and your pupils were dilated.

‘Maybe the right man hasn't come along yet, eh’ Tommy smirked as he lowered his face to yours.

Just as you were about to say something, Tommy tilted your head up and claimed your lips. But, it wasn't a romantic kiss. It was a sexually dominant one. He licked and suckled and lightly bit your lips, before invading you with his tongue. Your muffled protests instantly became aroused moans and Tommy could feel you surrender to him.

He withdrew from you, maintaining his grip. You were flushed, your lips swollen, eyes closed your breathing fast.

‘Stand up Love’ Tommy said. His tone was commanding and you didn’t dare to argue and complied with his request.

‘Good girl’ Tommy said before he resumed kissing you, then trailed kisses down your jaw and then your neck, which where he bit you ever so gently. You moaned and melted into him. He had you by the neck and your body understood, even if your mind didn't.

Eventually Tommy lifted you up and turned, placing you on to the desk. He then nudged your legs apart and resumed kissing you, bringing your body flush with his, pressing your breasts against his hard chest and pressing his hard cock against your mound through your clothing.

You were moaning and trembling and he pulled back a little and you let out a little automatic protesting mewl. He slid his hand under your skirt to feel you through your panties.

‘You're soaked already, Love’ Tommy grinned and your eyes snapped open, looking at him dazed, a little pained "Oh!' torn from your lips.

He withdrew his hand, then encircled your waist and glided both hands down your hips. ‘Do you want me to fuck you?’ Tommy grinned.

You moaned and tried to squeeze your legs back together, remembering your boyfriend at home. But, Tommy kept them open, his hands gripping your thighs.

‘Answer me Love’ Tommy asked as his grip tightened. He already knew the answer but he needed to hear it from you.

‘I have someone…’ you said. Your tone was breathless, lacking conviction.

‘I don't think you get this wet for your man now do you, eh?’ Tommy grinned.

‘No Mr Shelby’ you said. You closed your eyes, a shamed blush painting your cheeks.

‘So, I ask again. Do you want me to fuck you?’ Tommy asked, his fingers tracing over your mound.

‘Yes’ you nodded shyly in between moans.

‘Well then’ Tommy responded before pushing you down on to the desk and pinning your arms above your head. He glared down at you. ‘Are you going to behave and be good for me, Y/N?’ he then went on to ask.

‘Yes Mr Shelby’ you moaned as Tommy brought your wrists together and secured them with one large hand, then used the other to pull down your grey skirt and white panties.

Without warning, Tommy inserted a finger into your wet entrance.

‘So fucking wet’ Tommy groaned as his finger slipped into you with ease.

You moaned loudly in response and Tommy soon added another finger before finding your G-spot. While his fingers thrusted in and out of you, he circled his thumb around your entrance to take some of your wetness and used it to play with your clit. He watched you carefully, learning you, taking pleasure from you. You were arching into his fingers, wanting more and he took away his grip on your wrists and kneaded one of your breasts, pinching a nipple as he went.

‘Oh god’ you moaned as you responded to Tommy’s actions with pleasured gasps and began to tremble. You arched, muscles tightening, trembling, holding your breath, then you let out adorable undignified sounds as you came all over his hand.

‘That's it Love’ Tommy groaned as he withdrew his hand from you and tasted you on his fingers.

You opened your eyes dazedly, not seeming quite aware of where you were just as Tommy pushed his fingers at your mouth.

‘Taste yourself’ he said impatiently and you felt compelled to obey him. You licked his fingers and then, without further instruction, sucked him of all of your juices.

‘That looks delightful Y/N. I wonder how you'd do with my cock in your mouth…Let's find out, eh’ Tommy grinned as he came away from you on the desk and unzipped his trousers, untucking his shirt and freeing his cock.

You pushed herself up slowly before dropping to your knees in front of Tommy.

‘Open’ Tommy instructed as he guided his cock into your mouth. He was pretty big and you were unsure what to do exactly as this wasn’t something your boyfriend made you do.

You bobbed your head up and down Tommy’s hard shaft several times until Tommy took hold of the back of your head, wanting you to take him in further.

Just as Tommy guided himself into your throat, you couldn’t help but gag.

Tommy sighed, taking you by the ponytail with one strong hand to pull you away and letting go again.

‘There is enthusiasm, and you are obviously trainable. But let us work on that later’ he chuckled.

You withdrew, looking at him with a slightly hurt gaze and stood up in an ungainly way.

‘Now Love, let’s make you come again eh’ Tommy smirked as he grabbed your arms and turned you around before pushing you down on his desk.

He kept you down with his hands, gripping your hips, as he slowly lined his cock up with your entrance.

Slowly, he inserted his cock into you, inch by inch stretching your tight walls as he went. You were wet and open to him and there was no special resistance to his penetration. He lost himself in how hot and tight and wonderful you felt and the half-pained half-pleasure noises you were making for him.

Tommy began to thrust slowly then fucked you harder and harder, pausing occasionally to prolong the pleasure for both of you. You were trembling and moaning and then he sensed you tightening around his cock.

‘That’s it Love, come all over my cock’ he grunted as your legs began to shake.

‘Oh god fuck yes’ you moaned as your second orgasm washed over you.

After your high subsided, Tommy finally pulled out of you and made you drop onto your knees again.

You instinctively opened your mouth as you watched Tommy stroke his cock.

‘I expect you to swallow’ Tommy said sharply just before, with one loud groan, he filled your mouth with several spurts of his warm and sweet cum.

You complied with his request and, after you let him fill your mouth, you swallowed, not spilling a single drop.

‘Right, I've got some work to be getting on with’ Tommy said as soon as he came down from his high and zipped up his pants.

You quickly got dressed and turned to go, still dazed, and you were nearly at the door before he spoke again.

‘Y/N’ Tommy said and you turned back to look at him.

‘Break up with your man and come back into the office tomorrow. This time, don’t bother wearing panties, eh’ Tommy smirked.

‘Yes Mr Shelby’ you said disconcerted and wide eyed.

Tag List (Cillian):

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[coeurdastronaute]

Atlas: Mars

Previously on Atlas

There is goodness in the heart Of every broken man Who comes right up to the edge Of losing everything he has

The front door to the penthouse loomed, an obstacle ready to be tackled, a foe worth defeating, a moment of which there was no turning back. It was just a door. A sturdy, metal thing, nondescript and imposing in the hallway as soon as one left the elevator after riding it an immensely long time to the top of the building. 

Kara clenched her jaw and stared at the door, fully aware of what it meant to be on this side of it, to come in from the front. She wasn’t nervous because of what waited on the other side. How could she? What waited was Lena, probably in a beautiful dress, and perfect lipstick, in heels. What waited was Lena, ready and nervous for the first date, excited and probably trying to talk herself out of it. What waited, Kara knew, was the rest of her life. She was just nervous that Lena wouldn’t agree. What waited was utter and complete devastation. 

But that didn’t stop her. She’d come this far. She’d danced this dance for too long, for months and years. They’d had fights and entire relationships together, without acknowledging it. This wasn’t going to be hard. She had a mission, and it was to show Lena that nothing had to change. 

So she lifted her hand and rapt her knuckles against the door, her other hand holding the flowers a little too tightly. 

The door flew open, and the metaphor was washed away in an instant. Kara held her breath and smiled, dopey and warm, at the woman on the other side before quickly jutting her arm out with the flowers. 

“I got these for you,” Kara murmured. 

Lena looked between the flowers and the girl standing in the hallway and finally relaxed a little, graciously taking them. 

“They’re beautiful. You didn’t have to,” she admonished weakly before smelling them, her eyes closing with the sweetness there. 

The reporter knew how much Lena liked flowers. Selfishly, she bought them because there was a face Lena made, a soft, silly face, where she dug her nose into the middle of the bouquet and inhaled. Kara liked that moment a lot. 

“I wanted to. I wanted to do all of this right. Show you that it’s not so bad, to date me.” 

“I never thought it was. It’s the keeping you part that terrifies me.” 

“I’m trainable and versatile, I promise. Not that much upkeep.” 

That did it, that earned the small smile as Lena turned around and moved toward the kitchen to find a vase for the flowers. Kara followed, not watching her hips as she moved. Not noticing her bare feet as she walked. 

“You look really nice, by the way. I should have said that, right?” Lena furrowed, looking over the sink as Kara took a seat at the counter. “I’m a bit out of practice with properly going on a date.” 

“Has someone not been taking you on dates? Is there someone not fulfilling your needs and wooing you? A girl like you deserves to be wooed. You should get rid of them.” 

“Tried, didn’t stick,” she shrugged, cutting the tie and slipping the flowers into the water. Kara grinned to herself and twisted a ring on her middle finger nervously. 

“I got us reservations at the Pearl. I thought we could have sushi and, I dunno. I have a place I think you’ll like. We will be overdressed, if that’s okay?” 

“Better than under, I suspect.”

“That comes after,” Kara promised, earning a bit of a blush. “You look beautiful. I should have said that, too. I kind of short-circuited when you opened the door.” 

“You’ve seen this dress,” Lena shook her head and turned slightly, looking down and making sure she was right. 

Kara’s eyes watched her body move and forgot about the dress entirely. Maybe she had seen it. It really didn’t matter. 

“Never on a date though.”

“True. Haven’t worn much to those recently.” 

“Oh?” 

“You know what I mean,” she rolled her eyes. “Can you give me a few minutes to finish getting ready? I’ll make sure we aren’t too late for the reservation.” 

“As if I don’t know you, Luthor,” Kara scoffed. “Reservations aren’t for another hour. I wasn’t going to fall for your fashionably late ruse.”

Lena bit her lips as she walked toward the hall, pausing at the edge of the counter and squished her face slightly. 

“I’m not fashionably late, I just have a schedule that gets out of control.” 

“And I accounted for you not being able to decide which matching set of bra and underwear you wanted to wear on our first date. You know, to wow me into staying.” 

“That’s not! I didn’t. I’m… not.” 

But Kara gave her a look because she knew exactly what Lena Luthor liked to agonize over, but would never admit. There was a reason some days she was wearing expensive lingerie beneath sweats when Kara came over. Because Lena thought of those things. She thought seven steps ahead and didn’t bother with fretting over what was right in front of her. So she hadn’t picked out what shoes she wanted to wear tonight, but Kara would bank her life on the fact that there were tags from her most recent shopping trip to some lingerie boutique somewhere in the trash from a week ago, or the day after Kara asked her out. 

“In your head, Lena Luthor, I’m fairly certain that’s how you categorize things. Not that I mind.” 

“Well, you might not even see if you're right, if you keep up being a know-it-all,” she taunted. 

“I will,” Kara shrugged, checking her watch. “Go finish.”

Lena shook her head and made it two steps before she backtracked. She ran her hand over Kara’s shoulder and kissed her cheek. She tugged her ear and cupped her neck before pulling away and Kara was glowing from the moment. 

There was hope. There was a glimpse of it, right there. Kara took a deep breath and listened as she heard Lena collapse against the wall in her bedroom and press her hand to her chest, her heart beating wilder than Kara’s. 

XXXXXXXXXX

It was the candlelight, surely. The warm lighting, the atmosphere of the intimate little restaurant with delicious sushi. That was what fogged up her brain so much she was having a good time and relaxed with Kara. 

It was all of that, that made Lena find it adorable, the way she broke her chopsticks apart and rubbed them together. And how she cocked her head and laughed, dimples appearing. And when she ordered too much and for Lena, apologizing after but getting it completely right. And that blush she had, that stayed low on her neck. And the ease in which they spoke. And the infuriating way that Kara spoke with her hands, and too quickly, when she got excited about something before calming herself and adjusting her napkin in her lap. And the stupidly sexy way her collar was buttoned up, hiding her collar bones. 

Kara always had a quiet confidence to her, one that drove Lena crazy because it was there, buried beneath a thin layer of apprehension and understanding. Confident Kara was on full display during dinner though. The Kara , who believed this was a good idea, who believed so fully in this relationship, that she was comfortable enough to let Lena take her time. The apprehension wasn’t about her date, just about her worry that she was doing well enough. Lena clung to that confidence and tried to muster her own kind of belief, though she was never one for faith.

There were many, undateable reasons, that Lena was feeling happier than she had in her entire life while getting dinner in public with Kara Danvers. 

All of them made her want to do it again. 

Kara held her hand from the elevator to the restaurant. She kissed her at a red light, harder than polite in public. She pulled out her chair. None of it was disingenuous. It was all just… Kara. It was natural to her, to squeeze Lena’s hand, to bite her lip after that kiss when the crosswalk told them it was safe and look a little apologetic, to demand Lena try every piece of sushi she loved, placing them on her plate for her. 

Maybe being outside, in the real world, maybe doing this stuff, the non-sex stuff, the living and breathing and existing together stuff, maybe that was doable. 

“I think you’re cheating,” Kara complained, teasing by bumping Lena’s elbow as they played Mortal Kombat at the vintage arcade. 

They were definitely overdressed, but it was the perfect date. The most perfect date Lena could have ever wanted. She didn’t care at all that she was wearing heels that cost more than the machine they were playing on. It didn’t matter because Kara nudged her elbow again, slightly competitively, as Lena KO’d her once more. 

“Just skilled. No cheating here, Danvers.” 

“Fine, but I pick the next one,” Kara shook her head, grinning as Lena finished her. 

It was sweet, that Kara tugged her by the hand toward skee-ball. Sweeter when she loaded the tokens for her and chatted about when she was a kid, and how much she wanted to go to the arcade, but the noises bothered her. So her dad bought her earplugs and noise canceling headphones just to make it tolerable. 

Lena let her win, or so she said as Kara estimated their ticket totals, earning a tongue stuck out at her followed by a smile. Lena hugged her waist at the counter while they appraised the goodies. 

“Definitely those,” Kara pointed to the temporary tattoos. “Like a ton of them.”

“Only if we can get those,” Lena pointed to the little rope friendship bracelets in bright, neon colors. “I think yellow for you and… I might want pink.” 

“Without a doubt, yes.” 

“Cool.” 

Lena smiled to herself as they received their prizes.

“Can I put them on you later?” Lena grinned as they waited in line for ice cream and Kara tried to wrangle the tattoo slips into her pockets. 

“I was hoping you would. I’ve always wanted them.” 

“For now, I hope this will hold you over.” 

She slipped the yellow bracelet around Kara’s hand, fitting it perfectly on her wrist before putting on her own and holding them together. 

“I’ll never take it off.”

“Me neither,” Lena chuckled. 

Maybe it was the fact that Kara shared her ice cream, moaning about how delicious it was, as they walked down the near empty streets. With a long lick to avoid anything melting, Lena let Kara try hers as well, earning another moan, because no one enjoyed eating more than her. 

Lena kissed her in the elevator on the way back to her place. They had enough time, even when they started on the twentieth floor. Kara sweetly cupped her neck and rubbed her thumb along her jawline. Lena didn’t even mind that she let out a whisper of a sigh when Kara pulled away and smiled, her cheeks brilliantly pink and perfect. 

“Do you want to come in?”

“My answer doesn’t depend on your answer, but do you want to go on another date with me?” 

Lena bit her lip as the elevator opened, though she only moved to hold the door open before turning to Kara. 

“I do. I was going to ask you, actually. Since you planned this, I thought maybe… I could try? I don’t know how well I’ll do.” 

She shrugged but Kara didn’t move, just grinned, her smile stretching quickly, like a wildfire until she surged forward and lifted Lena by the waist. 

“I sparked your inner Gene Kelly, did I?” Lena teased as Kara spun her slowly before holding her tighter and letting her feet touch solid ground once more. 

Kara didn’t answer either question, the date or the transformation, but rather kissed Lena again, tipping her chin up with her finger. It was debonair and vintage and insanely perfect in a way that no one had dared touch Lena in her entire life. But all of Kara’s touches were like that, this one was just laden with the perfect date now. 

“Let me figure it out,” Lena whispered. “I still might run.” 

“I’ll run too,” Kara promised again. 

It was the best offer she’d ever gotten. Lena realized her heel was kicked out and she was now leaning harder into Kara. Her lips were sweet, like strawberries and vanilla. 

“Should I leave you here?” Kara asked, not letting go entirely, but loosening her grasp on Lena’s waist. “Say goodnight and wait for your call?”

Lena shook her head. 

“Come in for a night cap?” 

“Yeah, I’d like that.” 

XXXXXXXXXX

The clothes were everywhere but the bodies in the bed, and that was just fine. Kara felt gratified to learn she was right about Lena’s choices for the night, cocking an eyebrow and earning a roll of Lena’s eyes when she taunted her, half-clothed on the bed and delicious in the low light of the lamp across the room. Red worked for her, Kara had wanted to say. Instead she stood by the edge of the bed and gazed at Lena wiggling beneath her, ran her hands along her ribs and tugged them off quickly. 

They were somewhere else now, lost to the mess on the floor of shoes and socks and shirts and dresses. 

Kara wasn’t about to try to find them, though she hoped they’d make another appearance sometime soon, if she were lucky. 

“Sit still,” Lena scolded. 

“It’s cold! Couldn’t you have used warmer water?” 

“Don’t be a baby.” 

Kara smiled and turned her head to watch her tattoo artist work, carefully lining up a small square of paper on her shoulder, legs straddling her hips as she laid on her stomach. She was certain there were faint tracts of pink down her spine, courtesy of the woman atop her now, but she didn’t care. Lena was keeping her. 

“I’m going to look so tough,” Kara grinned as Lena blew on her damp skin before patting it with a towel and peeling off to reveal a bright red heart. 

“I certainly wouldn’t pick a fight with you.” 

“Good.”

“I think the shark should go right here,” Lena decided, sizing up the next piece. 

“Can the unicorn go under it, like above my elbow?” 

“Oh yeah. I like that.” 

It was a quiet moment. It was the perfect moment. There were a dozen more tattoos that would adorn her upper arm, and she was ready to let Lena pull and direct her whatever way she wanted. 

“You know, I have thought about it before,” Lena whispered. 

Kara could only see her somewhat, the angle too sharp for her head to turn. She caught the furrow of concentration though. 

“Getting a tattoo?” 

The warmth of Lena’s breath wafted across Kara’s shoulders as she sighed and dabbed the wet towel against Kara’s skin again before lining up the tattoo once more. 

“Dating you.”

“Really?” 

“All of the time. I stopped myself from so many things that would have pushed us through this door.”

She moved with purpose, dabbing before switching to the dry towel again. Kara didn’t move an inch. 

“Sometimes we’d get into a rhythm, and I’d run. When it felt like you knew too much or anticipated something. I’d get spooked. If I’m going to do this, I’m going to do it, just so you know.” 

“Yeah, I know,” Kara whispered. 

Lena shifted, lifting herself off of Kara and motioning for her to flip over. Still naked, still tangled in sheets, she straddled Kara again and positioned the arm so she could begin the delicate work inside. Kara couldn’t get her to look her in the eye though. She was too busy with her work, which was the only reason she was probably talking. 

“Why are you still here?” 

Her hair was messy, but Lena pushed it to the side. There were bruises on her breast and black and blue marks on her hips. 

“I…” Kara furrowed herself, wondering why she was. “I don’t think I’ve ever felt more at home than when I’m with you. I felt safe, being myself. That’s never the case. You’re the person who felt like that to me. Why wouldn’t I still be here, just because you weren’t ready? Did you ever really want me to leave?” 

“Yeah, sometimes,” Lena whispered. “Not really, but yes, if that makes sense. I could never mean it.”

“Are you going to run again?” 

Kara looked at her arm, where hands peeled and she saw her arm grow colorful with cheap children’s tattoos, cartoony and perfect against her bicep. Lena didn’t look at her as she searched through the pile for the perfect piece to add to her sleeve next. 

“No.” 

“The date was that good?” 

Lena smiled and rolled her eyes before sizing up the next placement. 

“Something like that.” 

“This is going to change things,” Kara admitted. “For us.” 

The woman on top of her pressed the clover onto Kara’s bicep and met her eyes finally, bright and green, determined and searching. She sat up to push hair that’d fallen in her face and took a deep breath. 

Kara felt Lena grab her chin and hold it there. 

“If I let you love me, you can’t ever stop. No matter how you know… me, I am.” Kara smiled, though she couldn’t move her head. “If I let you love me, you have to love all of it.” 

“I already do.” 

“I’m not ready to be in love with you. I’m not saying I might not feel very strongly for you, I just.. I can’t give that… just in case.” 

“There’s no just in case,” Kara explained as Lena dropped her hands and splayed them on the hero’s chest. “But I can wait. I’m not going to push.” 

“Do you agree?” 

“I can do that. All of it.” 

Lena nodded and went back to work, peeling the most recent addition. Kara smiled and tried to hide it. It’d been a hell of a date. 

XXXXXXXXXX

By the time the tattoos faded on Kara’s skin, there’d been another date. There’d been lunch as well. In public. 

Lena liked spending time with Kara outside of her bed. She liked counting on her and getting to know her. She even liked that Kara kissed her every chance she got. She liked that Kara still wore the bracelet from the arcade, and was so sad that Lena had taken hers off until she saw her a few days later with it back on and smiled so wide and swung Kara around. 

It was all so easy. It was real and Lena was a liar. She told Kara she wouldn’t be in love with her, but that was a lie. Two months nearly after the first date, after jumping in, after trying, after doing it, Lena realized she was a liar, and the illusion of control seemed to wash away. She realized she couldn’t hold out and that she hadn’t. 

“Kara?” Lena nudged the sleeping woman’s shoulder and rubbed her ear, something that always earned a smile. “Are you awake?” 

It was the middle of the night and Kara was certainly asleep. 

“Mmm,” Kara sighed and adjusted, nuzzling closer. 

“Kara, are you still asleep?” she whispered again. 

The hero sighed and hugged Lena closer. The warmth of her skin was too much, but Lena didn’t want any space. She pressed herself against her harder. It’d been a normal night, one of a bunch of work, and Kara interrupting with dinner, sweet and kind, non-invasive. And now they are here. They hadn’t even had sex, just slipped off toward sleep after a lazy bath together. 

“I’m asleep,” Kara promised. “Are you okay?” 

“Mhm,” Lena nodded and resumed rubbing Kara’s back. 

She waited, listening to Kara’s breath even out. 

“I love you. I might have for a while now. You should know. You deserve to know.” 

It was very quiet. It was too quiet. It was hidden and honest and Lena held her breath as if the world would implode if she did this. She knit her eyes shut and waited for everything to fall apart, but she was disappointed because nothing happened except Kara tightening her grasp and tucking herself under Lena’s chin. Lips pressed against her collar bone. 

There wasn’t a rush to it. Lena took her time relaxing, melting into her girlfriend. It took a while, for her breath to calm, to sound like she hadn’t just run a mile. 

“I love you, too,” Kara whispered, softer than Lena, so she could ignore it if she wanted. It was a kindness to do that. 

Lena kept playing with Kara’s hair, rubbing the tip of her ear and the softest part of her neck, soothing there. She felt a kiss again as Kara dug deeper, pressing them closer, if it were possible at all. It was a true waste of such a large bed, for them to occupy just a sliver of it, but Lena didn’t care. 

Kara’s lips continued, migrating higher up her neck. She raked her nails lazily down her lover’s back. She leaned back as Kara pressed her into the bed, her thigh grinding against her until Kara’s hands slipped down her side. 

It was quick. Quicker than it should have been, but Lena clutched at Kara’s shoulders and her neck and felt a bruise forming on her neck already from where Kara latched. It was silent. She couldn't even make a noise when Kara built her up and pushed her over the edge with a lethal precision. 

There weren’t any more noises. It was silent in the room as Kara resumed her spot, tucking herself under Lena’s chin while she calmed her, both of their hands rubbing the other slowly, lightly. 

Lena closed her eyes again. 

XXXXXXXXX

Nothing changed. Kara made sure of it. She knew who she was dating. She knew Lena Luthor and she knew that this was more than enough. It was everything. But Kara made sure nothing changed, despite how jumpy Lena was for a little while. 

There were still dates. There was definitely more flirting and kissing. There were more sleep overs. There was even a hidden weekend in a cabin in the mountains. It was all a matter of Kara and Lena, taking their time, learning, growing, helping, showing. That was what mattered. 

It wasn’t said again. 

She wouldn’t. Not yet. Kara was more than happy to show Lena without saying it. That had always been the plan, the entire time. 

But then a hole opened up in the sky, and the entire world wanted to fall apart, and Kara had wished she’d said it every day since the moment she met Lena Luthor. Chaos descended upon the entire planet, and all she could do was fight, an entire team of the world’s mightiest rallying around her. She’d been in fights before, but she’d never been in battles. This was a battle. This was a war. 

Clouds grew heavy and thick, smoke and fires and debris. She looked toward the tallest building and saw the glowing green L there and sighed for at least a moment because it meant that the tower was still standing and that meant maybe Lena was alright. 

That was the last thing Kara really remembered before she woke up somewhere else, unsure if they’d won or lost. The room was dark and she was chained, unable to break apart from them, no matter how hard she strained, no matter what she did. 

“Lena!” Kara wailed, though her mouth was dry and her bones felt like they were breaking under the effort she put out. “Alex! J’onn! Anyone?!”

Her voice trailed away as she tried to hear in the quiet. 

Kara stared at the bracelet on her wrist and clenched her jaw before pushing and pulling harder at the heavy chains.

NEXT

[hotwings0203]

fighter kirishima who doesn't like it when other people even stare for one second at his partner, so then he just kills anyone who dares to stand less than 2ft from his darling 😌👍

Tw:noncon implication, implied murder

“Why’re you standing so far away babe?”

You’re not, he’s got his arms wrapped around your waist to the point of crushing your hips.

“‘M not, just couldn’t breathe.”

“Oh good, for a moment there I was worried you were looking at that guy again.

That guy referring to the blond haired weirdo who kept laughing and pointing at the losers of the ring like a maniac.

Right, like you were totally head over heels for the one weirdo in the entire basement.

Except your “boyfriend “ maybe. He could definitely take that title.

Well, maybe not weirdo. Maybe Possessive Controling Freak would be a better name for him, instead of Kirishima.

And just to drive the point home, he soothingly rubs his calloused hand up and down your arm while the next match rages on in front of you both.

It’s not soothing, on the contrary it seems like a threat.

He just amps it up from then on any time he feels like your attention is elsewhere or if he feels like other men are looking at you for a second too long.

First it’s taking on arm and tightly squeezing it. Then, he puts one leg of yours over his thigh much to your embarrassment.

Eventually he just picks you up and plops you on his lap. While he thinks he’s keeping other men at bay with this tactic, it’s doing the complete opposite.

Because these testosterone filled savages are quite enjoying the scene with your limbs being toyed with and thrown over a man like the rest of them, your ragdoll-maneuvered body a promise of something they might be able to one day get a taste of.

The entirety of the fight goes by dreadfully slow because all you can focus on is how long Kiri’s hands dip in and out of the crevice of your legs way too casually. His hands settle comfortably under your shirt and across your boobs, which can be seen by literally everyone when they catch a glimpse of an evident hand on your chest.

He prevents you from squirming too much with his limbs tightening around you and disapproving grunts to your discomfort. So you sit there, stewing with rage and humiliation.

Until a distraction appears.

In the midst of the next match brawling in the ring, a smaller fight breaks out amongst the raging spectators.

It only catches both your attention when the yelling starts getting close to your area and men start throwing fists and yelling until their faces tie beet-red.

Kirishima and you both crane your heads around to see the source of the commotion, but you realize quickly that it’s getting way too intense around you, so much so that men begin lifting chairs and falling over themselves in their own battles.

You try to get up but Kiri’s hands are wrapped so tightly around your midriff that you barely manage to dislodge his arm. He’s distracted and looking around curiously at the dangerous setting and you have to frantically tap his arm to indicate it’s time to go.

But he snaps out of it too late, and a body gets punched your way, his large mass descending on your weaker frame.

You shriek and try to lift your hands up to protect yourself, but it doesn’t work. You’re slammed into and knocked clean off Kirishima’s lap onto the floor laced with blood and bits of torn clothes.

There’s a loud ringing in your ears as you blearily get up and take in your surrounds, which seem to love in slow motion around you. You belatedly think that you must’ve hit your head on the concrete floor when you fell.

Your arms ache as you groan and lift yourself up on shaky elbows, the sounds around you swim in and out of your aching head when suddenly an open hand is thrust in front of your face.

“Are you alright? I’m so sorry!”

Grimacing, you tilt your head up and see the same man who knocked you down. You’re in no condition to refuse help in such a volatile area however, so you gingerly lift your hand and grasp onto his open palm.

You find yourself being pulled up easily and crushed into the man’s body. It’s hard to push back but when you see how many bloody faces and broken limbs windmill around you decide it’s best to keep close to a safe space.

The man gently starts stepping over writhing bodies and lifting you up under your arms to ensure that you don’t trip and fall again while on your way to a clearer area.

You don’t resist, only looking up at him helplessly like a kitten being dragged by its mom from the scruff. His body is warm and toned, yet plush and comfortable to lean against when you need to. Your cranium still pounds, but your head clears a bit when you look into his surprisingly concerned grey eyes.

“You alright? Hit your head a little hard, huh? My bad.”

He sets you on a perch near the office and looks around, deeming it a less loud and crowded area for your health.

He says nothing, but you don’t sense any malice from him. He doesn’t move either though, he just leans an arm on the extension and puts another hand on his hip, scanning the screaming men and casualties as if he were looking out in a snowy field.

He might be protecting you, or looking for a good place to jump in and start swinging himself, you’re not sure.

But you’re grateful for his helpful presence, nonetheless.

And then suddenly your moment of reprieve is dismantled when you hear him frantically calling your name.

You see his head hair sticking up, spiky as ever while the top of his head bobs left and right, in circles and backwards as he tries finding you.

Your head starts to hurt again.

“Y/N! Where the hell are you?”

Eventually and unfortunately he sees your figure above the fray, and he swears you look like an angel-siting above this rifraff, your body perfectly intact unlike the rest of these thugs, your expression dazed and vulnerable like it did when you were choking on his co-

He sees the man next to you, and his vision shatters like glass when he takes in the proximity of him next to you.

Kirishima sees red.

“Hey, there you are cutie! I got scared I lost you for a sec’ there. Thanks for looking out for her man,” he smiles and shakes his hand with the steel-haired guy, crushing his grip a little too hard to be deemed grateful.

“No problem. The name’s Tetsutetsu. ‘Think I’ve seen you around here, you fight pretty good not gonna lie! When’s it gonna be my turn to match that strength in the rink?” He smiles deviously and knocks shoulders with you in jest.

While you smile uncomfortably and rub your now-bruising shoulder, Kirishima’s eye twitches at the contact and his smile starts straining as well.

But this is too easy to give up.

“Hey, that’s actually a really good idea. Why don’t we have our own little practice match after the shit here clears up?” He nods around to the ongoing pandemonium.

You look at him stricken, unsure of what he’s playing at. You’re not stupid, you can tell by his off body language that he’s not at rest or relaxed at all by this conversation.

The expression he’s making, while it might fool the himbo next to you, is extremely reminiscent of the faces he pulls when he chides gently in your ear to stop moving so fucking far away from him and soothes a hand over your head.

“Sounds good, and don’t worry, I’ll take it easy on you.” The other man laughs heartily and kicks away a stray rolling body.

Kirishima merely grins gently. “For your sake, is give it my best.”

*************

He’s strapped you to the bed-check.

You’ve been spanked black and blue-check.

A lecture has been given to your sobbing body-check.

Ointment has been slathered on the bruises-double check.

And he’s out the door at exactly 9pm, jogging his way to the bar and down the steps to the basement as a light warm up. He considers calling an ambulance before-hand, but that would mean he’d give enough mercy to leave Tetsutetsu intact…and alive.

When he bounds down the rickety steps he finds that Tetsu is already there and lightly boxing a body bag that the newbies use for practice.

He has to hold back his snort and paint his usual cheery face on, but something tells him even the dim yellow light in this room would still show the dark emotion swirling in his ruby eyes.

“What’s up bro, you made it?”

“No, I’m still at home.”

Tetsutetsu laughs heartily and doesn’t catch onto the cold bite Kirishima’s words hold.

“You’re funny. ‘Wanna warm up-“

“-Nah, actually, ‘think I’m good. Let’s just get started, I’ve been waiting for this.”

“You got it boss.”

And without further ado they both shrug off their shirts in the hot basement and ready their fists in a protective stance, circling each other.

“Y’know, when I saw you next to my girl I fantasized about caving your face in,” a punch is thrown suddenly and Tetsu is thrown off guard by the surprising agility of the bully opponent and his words.

He practically eats the hit square in the nose, his head snapping back and immediately pouring blood from his nostrils.

He coughs and staggers before realigning himself the opposite end of the fighting circle. “Wha-? Why?” The victim sounds congested from the leaking blood but his focus is only on Kirishima’s change in expression.

“Yeah, and then I saw you knock shoulders with her too…maybe I’ll cut yours off and sell ‘em for a couple hundred, whaddaya think bro?”

This time when Kirishima aims for his face again he’s ready, and he quickly dodges and strikes his face fist out.

But what he doesn’t expect is the redhead to actually catch the fist in his own larger hand and hold it in midair. He also doesn’t react in time to pull his hand out and move back when Kiri’s other fist swings low and punches so hard into his stomach that he falls to the ground, hand still captivated by Kirishima’s.

He’s never seen a man with that kinda of face on while fighting. His eyes are narrowed and dark, his mouth is set in a thin like and his whole body is taut, as if holding back his own strength.

For the first time since he’s ever been in the basement, Tetsutetsu doesn’t to fight anymore.

“Look Kirishima,” he hacks and looks wildly at him. “I don’t know if you’re upset at me for something but you gotta chill out. You can’t catch my hands like that, that’s not how you’re supposed to fight-“

“You still think I give a shit how we’re supposed to fight? No ones gonna care about strategy or sportsmanship when you’re dead, Tetsutetsu.”

His last scream is so loud and so shrill that Kirishima thinks it’s a shame it wasn’t witnessed in a real match by paying spectators.

[cdroloisms]

Dream tried to stop Wil from creating L'Manburg, Phil tried to stop him from blowing it up, BOTH value people over items and builds, Phil has said that they're replaceable but people aren't, Dream traded spirit for his best friends fishes (we kno he's not someone to talk abt feelings:[) BOTH were kind and selfless but used by almost if not everyone, BOTH were ready to be THE VILLAINS if it meant everyone else could live better after. ONE of them always had someone there, ONE didn't. Intentional?

aaaa sorry for the really inconsistent posts ,, im gonna try to post a little more in the next few days. i have a few things written up, so look out for them? maybe? for now, have this *gestures vaguely* thing ,, it’s kinda a mess but *shrug*

phil is such a fun character, anon, especially for all the reasons that you mentioned in the ask!! he’s a really fun character with a lot of complexities that go (sadly) overlooked by a large portion of the fandom, but he’s super cool even tho i havent analyzed him too much. hope you enjoy (and i hope my interpretation of c!phil isnt too ooc lmao) 

tw: mentioned blood, injury, implied torture/abuse, starvation, trauma, mentioned death, prison arc/pandora’s vault

When Techno first brings Dream back from the prison, Phil doesn’t quite know what to think.

“I don’t trust him either,” Techno assures him, but there’s a flickering anger in the backs of his eyes, one that had emerged ever since he came back from the prison with the other man in his arms, and Phil knows his friend well enough to know that the words are empty in the face of the piglin hybrid’s particular brand of to-the-death loyalty. He shakes his head in reply, refusing to voice his thoughts for Techno’s sake, at least, but the look that the other slants at him suggests that he’s caught onto them all the same.

At first, the work is thankfully mindless; even if Phil has reservations on the man that Techno has more or less dumped into his house, he would hardly wish the clear suffering he’s been through on anyone. The first few days pass in a flurry of brewing potions, wrapping and rewrapping dressings, stitching up cuts and setting broken bones straight. The damage is extensive; Phil has to take more than a few breaks to just leave the house and breathe - he’s far from a stranger to blood and carnage, had received the title of ‘Angel of Death’ for a reason, but even he had never been particularly familiar with this form of cruelty. Torture was a level of violence that extended beyond what even he was willing to bestow - his hands may have caused many deaths, and the weight of each one would continue to haunt him for the rest of his life, but even those had the mercy of being a quick end. The wounds and scars that ripple over Dream’s skin, thin and stretched tightly over his bones with little muscle and fat left to cushion them, speak of horrors that were anything but merciful.

“I didn’t know they were capable of all of this,” Techno says, once, as they huddle of Dream, wringing towels in cold water to wipe his feverish skin. Techno’s hand reaches for the ribboning gold-filled scars that remain from the execution - carefully, Phil raises his hand to let his fingertips brush over them as well. “I mean, I knew he was dangerous and all, but-”

“I know, mate,” Phil looks back at Dream’s face, tight even in unconsciousness, at the darkened, hand-shaped bruises that remain around his throat, at the scar that runs over his left eye, clearly meant to mirror the same one that makes its way down the duck hybrid’s own face. “You said that Quackity and Sam were working together?”

“Yeah,” Techno’s expression darkens, eyes focused somewhere on the wall, seemingly very far away. He said that nothing happened to him in the prison, and he seemed relatively unharmed when Phil activated the stasis chamber, but ever since he came back, sometimes he’ll have moments, and Phil can’t help but - wonder. “Quackity does the dirty work, Sam gives him the way in and out, probably also the tools to do it. It’s-” he huffs a short, self-recriminating laugh. “It’s bad, Phil.”

“Mate-”

Techno shoots him a look, and Phil cringes, knowing already that he’d used the wrong tone. Even with the execution, Techno had been adamant to hide all traces of his own terror and fear away from him, masking it all with fury for Phil’s own sake. He knows, just from the way his old friend looks at the ribboning scars that remain sometimes, that he is far from as over the whole ordeal as he acts, but Techno never wants to talk and Phil never knows the right time to ask and they smooth it all behind plans and explosions and hope that the TNT can blow apart the trauma, too. He’s got a sneaking suspicion that the same thing is going to happen, here.

“As soon as we can,” Techno starts again, pointedly shifting his eyes away from Phil’s face, “we’re calling a Syndicate meeting to figure out what we’re going to do about the prison. Like- come on, man, you couldn’t make a more transparent abuse of institutional power if you tried, really-” he looks over, uncharacteristic uncertainty warring over his features. “If you think that’s good, I mean-“

“Of course, mate.” Phil’s voice softens. “Whenever you’re ready.”

‘Whenever he’s ready,’ as it turns out, is easier said than done, becoming even more evident when their charge wakes up from his days long spell of unconsciousness. The worst of his injuries have, under their careful care and the benefit of many potions, healed enough to no longer directly threaten his life, but the vast majority have quite some time to go before being healed completely. Being as the goal was torture and not death, most of his injuries weren’t made to be life-threatening, but rather to cause as much pain as possible - from the grimace that twists Dream’s face when he struggles to force himself awake, they’re doing their jobs.

“Hey, mate, slow down,” Phil murmurs, pressing the man down by his shoulder when Dream weakly tries to push himself up and off the bed, and his struggling only lasts for a few more minutes before he gives up and slumps against his pillow, eyes cracking open and seeming surprisingly lucid.

“Where-“ his voice is wrecked, and Phil reaches for the glass of water at the bedside as Dream coughs. “Where am I?”

“You’re at Techno’s house,” Dream’s eyes widen and then slip closed as he processes the information, a wrinkle forming between his eyebrows as they knit together. “We broke you out, after Techno escaped with a stasis chamber with your book. Do you remember?”

Dream gnaws on his bottom lip. “Um- yeah. I think.” His head turns as his eyes crack open again- “Techno-“

“He’s out, right now. He’ll be back in a bit.”

“Oh.” Dream falls back into the bed, strength seemingly sapped from the short conversation. His breathing stutters, then steadies. “Okay.”

Recovery is slow. Phil doesn’t actually find himself seeing the man very often; now that he doesn’t need around-the-clock care anymore, he’s moved back into his own house, letting Techno do most of the work when it comes to rehabilitating the escaped convict crashing at his house. As he begins to spend more of his time awake and aware, he brings a whole slew of new problems; Phil catches him screaming one day, blurting harsh, angry words as Techno reads, unbothered from the other side of the room, and he stops in his tracks standing awkwardly in the doorway.

“Um-“ he winces when Dream curses, smashes something against the floor, and then curls into himself at the sound. Techno doesn’t even flinch. “Am I interrupting something?”

Dream stomps away, face flushed, arms wrapped around himself. Techno raises an eyebrow.

“You lookin’ for something, Phil?” he asks, and the unpleasant knot in Phil’s chest refuses to unwind.

The episodes, unfortunately, don’t seem to get much better. Though he’s rarely outright violent, Dream looks constantly murderous, usually muttering underneath his breath about something or another while he stalks the grounds of Techno’s house. It’s not too long before Techno sends him out to work around the house instead of just moping within the cottage, which also means that Phil sees him a lot more - tending to a small farm behind the house, feeding the dogs, hacking away at mobs, and usually complaining the entire time. It’s unnerving, even as injured and unarmored as the man is, to see him walking around like this; despite his rather pathetic appearance, swamped in sweaters that dwarf him thoroughly and thin enough to look like the slightest breeze will knock him over, his eyes are flinty and intelligent and bubble with promises of revenge.

“FUCK!” Phil turns to see him slamming a shovel into the snow, stomping away into the woods, and his hands tighten around his cup of tea. Next to him, Techno shrugs.

“Nerd’s got a few issues,” he drawls, and Phil laughs shortly.

“That seems like an understatement.”

“He’ll ease up in time,” Techno sounds surprisingly confident, completely content despite the muffled curses that come from the woods next to them. He’s probably used to it, with Chat and all, but Phil can’t quite seem to find the same calm.

“I just don’t know, mate,” Phil shakes his head. “You sure having him around is the best idea? He doesn’t seem...stable.”

Techno looks up at him over the rim of his cup of coffee. His head tilts, considering, but there’s a small smile on his face that tells Phil that Techno, inexplicably, doesn’t share the same sentiments. There was always a part of him that was, for the lack of a better word, softer than the rest of the server for his self-proclaimed rival, a sort of understanding that Phil could hardly hope (nor would really want to) understand.

“Don’t worry, Phil, if he tries anything I can always just tie him up in the attic or something,” Phil huffs a small laugh, amused, and nods to concede the point. “And- well, call it intuition. You could really try talkin’ to him, you know. He reminds me of you, sometimes.”

The words stick in his head despite his best efforts, rattling in his skull when he tries to sleep, lingering when he catches glimpses of the green-clothed man stalking around their properties. He can’t imagine what would’ve prompted his old friend to make the comparison, can’t think of a single thing (besides their affinity for the color green) that would mark him as similar to the - from what he’s heard - deranged menace with a particular penchant for destruction (not that his rants and fits of anger are doing anything to correct that impression). Even so, Techno had sounded so sure when he’d made the comparison, the words offhand like he’d thought them a million times before, like it was a simple observation that held no more weight than commenting on the color of the sky. Phil watches as Dream lugs a pile of logs behind him, huffing at one of Techno’s dogs that comes to chase and nip at his feet and grumbling loudly before faceplanting into the snow. He just...can’t see it.

Days later, Wilbur comes to visit, a grin on his lips as he dramatically recounts his newest exploit: a nation by Las Nevadas, a supposed safe haven away from the glitter and glory of Quackity’s city; it sounds brilliant, it sounds lovely, and more than anything it sounds stupid, and Phil tells him as such immediately.

“You’re being reckless,” he rants at his son, wings flaring outwards and only barely noticing Dream watching from the corner of his eye, “What are you doing- picking fights with Quackity? Starting another nation- didn’t you see what happened to the first two you made? You’re going to get yourself killed, Wil!”

“Well, I’ve already seen what’s on the other side of death, and it’s really not that bad-“

“You’re my son!” The words are angrier than Phil would’ve liked, and he knows that he looks ridiculous and overbearing, criticizing the actions of his fully grown son, but all he can see is Wilbur’s face, slack with pain and grief, stained with ash and soot as his eyes flutter to half-mast in the midst of the rubble of a country he loved and destroyed and destroyed him in turn. “I can’t lose you again, Wil!”

Wilbur doesn’t quite storm out, but it’s a near thing, leaving with a clipped goodbye and leaving Phil seething on his doorstep. He spends the rest of the night pacing around the house in a sort of mad frenzy, wings stretching and folding over and over. Not for the first time, he longs for the sky, to feel the air through his wings and let the world fall into pinpricks below him; it’s this that leads him to the roof of his house, staring stubbornly at the clouds as the sun sinks down to the horizon.

“Hey.”

Phil startles; there, down below him, is Dream. He rocks back on his heels, seeming awkward, before clambering up the wall (Phil rolls his eyes at the ease with which he scales it, the feeling in his chest almost fond) and settling himself on the shingles at Phil’s side.

“Hey, mate,” Phil shakes his head. The fondness leaves, and the irritation that had risen at Wilbur’s words, earlier, comes back full-force. “Sorry- Wil came to visit, we talked. I just needed some time to think.”

Dream hums in acknowledgement, and they fall into a comfortable silence, watching as the sun dipping down past the mountains in the distance.

“You know,” Dream starts, sudden, “I told him the same thing.” He looks up at Phil, eyes faraway with old memories. “Wilbur, I mean. When he made L’manburg- I told him he was being reckless.” He shrugs. “I guess he never listened.”

Phil pauses, Techno’s words ringing in his ears. He reminds me of you, sometimes.

Dream looks surprisingly normal up close - face no longer reddened with fever or pale from blood loss, even the scars fail to really take from the boyishness of his face. He bites his lips, eyes falling away at Phil’s scrutiny, golden blond hair flopping over his forehead, newly trimmed to be something a little closer to his old length, at least in the front, the back pulled into a small ponytail. He’s young, and shockingly awkward, teeth worrying his lip, hands fiddling with each other, shifting his weight from one foot to the other several times a minute. He looks like a kid.

“He never does,” Phil lets himself smile, watches as Dream smiles back, almost like they’re sharing a joke. He wonders how well he really knows the man behind the mask. “Want to come in for some tea?”

Dream smiles wider, and something old and worn in Phils chest, knocked loose ever since he felt his son fall limp in his arms with his own sword shoved between his ribs, falls back into place.

“That would be great,” Dream replies, the words almost hopeful, and they go inside.

[lemonpeter]

🧡Day 3: S*x Work🧡

Harry has my brain right now I’m sorry lol I’m trying to think about Tony instead. I hope y’all enjoy 🧡

Warnings: Tony/Peter main focus, established Harry/Peter relationship, starker nff, s*x worker!Peter, Peter is over 18

***

Tony knew what was going on as soon as he saw the young man.

It wasn’t unusual for a host of an event to show up with someone hired. It looked good to have something pretty on your arm, and a hire was an easy fix when there wasn’t a partner in their life.

Although it did shock him to see a man on the arm of one Harry Osborn.

It was practically Harry’s coronation, a prince taking the throne of CEO. And Tony expected that he’d continue to be sucking up to his father. Doing everything just as he expected.

The looks of disdain that Norman kept throwing the two young men told Tony that he had been mistaken.

Who knew.

No matter what, the man was gorgeous. And was really good at his job.

He laughed at just the right moments, he mingled with every stuck up guest surrounding them, he gave the younger Osborn looks that could have fooled anyone into believing that they were actually in love.

Anyone but Tony, of course. He knew how it all worked.

After a while he lost track of the couple. He did some mingling of his own with business partners and former clients until the few drinks he had told him that it was time to find a restroom.

The venue was unfamiliar, so he found himself wandering down the hall and looking for signs that would lead him in the right direction.

Eventually he found a door that seemed right and he opened it before slamming it shut again. “Sorry!”

The image of that gorgeous arm candy on his knees was burned into his memory, though.

“Fuck.” He heard Harry mumble through the door. “Get up, someone’s already looking for us, Pete.”

A heavy sigh. “We’ve barely done anything. We can keep going for a minute-“

Tony was frozen, listening to them.

The door opened a moment later and he came face to face with a very flushed Osborn.

“Oh, fuck. Of course it was you.”

“I was just looking for a bathroom,” Tony blurted out. “Not looking for you.”

Harry didn’t look convinced. “Please just- don’t tell anyone. Although I know you have no reason to do me any favors.”

“Tell anyone what? Kid, I’m pretty sure that’s his job. No one cares.”

The other man stepped out, still straightening himself out. “Contrary to popular opinion, I’m not here as an escort.”

“So you’re not-“ Tony didn’t buy it. Although maybe he was just hoping for his own sake.

Knowing that the angel in front of him was out of reach just might have broken his heart. He was that attracted to him. But he just couldn’t help it.

“I am. I mean, not an escort per se...” The young man crossed his arms. “But this isn’t a job.”

Harry groaned, covering his face. “I’m pretty sure this is making it worse, Pete.”

The other man - Pete? - just looked up at Tony, cocking his head to the side. “But it doesn’t matter. Harry, we’re out tonight, we’re out. Who cares what he says to anyone?”

Tony was stuck on the previous thing. “So you are a- well, whatever you want to call it?”

“Yes. I can give you my information if you want. And I don’t need a title, just call me Peter.”

He did want. He definitely did want that. But he was still confused. “If this isn’t a job then, what-“

“We’re together.”

That definitely wasn’t what he was expecting. He might have even staggered back a bit with how surprised he was. But maybe that was just his flair for the dramatic. It really was pretty shocking, though.

“O….Kay.” He’d ask later. For now, he was sticking with the information he had. And he had to find out how to get time with gorgeous Peter.

“How much for an hour?” Tony asked.

Peter didn’t miss a beat. “A grand.” At an annoyed sound from Harry he laughed. “But I’m not available for the next few hours.”

“I’ll pay ten if you’ll be with me right now.”

The couple exchanged a look. “Half an hour,” Harry countered.

“Sure, whatever you say.” Tony grinned. “Get back out to your party. Promise I’ll return him to you in one piece.”

Peter snorted, setting a timer on his phone. “Your thirty minutes starts now. What do you have in mind?”

Harry watched them warily. He kissed Peter’s cheek, sighing. “I’ll miss you.”

“I’ll miss you too. It’ll be fast, don’t worry.”

Tony scoffed. “Was that an attack on my stamina? Because-“

“Thirty minutes isn’t long, Stark. That’s it.” Peter grinned. “So defensive.”

“You’re wasting my time, Osborn. Skedaddle.” Tony waved his hands.

Peter snorted, pulling him into the same room that they’d come out of.

Tony grinned at him. “Feisty. I like it.”

“Okay. Seriously, what do you want? Because we really don’t have that much time.” Peter was already reaching for Tony’s belt.

“First? I’m actually going to go find a bathroom. What I was trying to do before all this.” He felt a little bad about interrupting them, but figured that they could pick up where they left off later. And the thought that he once again pissed off an Osborn made him smile.

“K. Should I just wait here?” Peter moved his hands and leaned against the wall.

“Why would you follow me? Yes, stay here. Just a minute.” Tony opened the door again before pausing. “I still...don’t know where it is.”

“Maybe I should follow you.” Peter laughed under his breath. “You were, like, two doors off. To the left.”

“Thanks. Don’t go anywhere.”

Tony left and was back within a couple minutes, but he knew that he had very little time to waste. Half an hour wasn’t much at all.

Although he would definitely be getting Peter’s contact information for another time.

He was back in the small room where he left Peter, raising an eyebrow when he saw the younger man with his tie loose and shirt unbuttoned. “Eager?”

“Figured I wouldn’t just stand here while I waited. What, is this not what you wanted?” Peter teasingly moved his hands over his chest.

And how did he keep getting more and more perfect? The unbuttoned shirt revealed hard abs and a v that nearly made Tony drool. There needed to be statues of that body. He was halfway to thinking through the costs of such a thing when Peter’s laugh snapped him out of it.

“Down, boy.”

Tony snorted, a little surprised. “I’m not paying you to tell me to stop ogling. Remember, I’m way overpaying you for this.”

“It’s my personal time. I get to decide what’s overpaying.” Peter stepped forward, his fingers starting to unbutton Tony’s shirt. “Now. You have like…twenty three minutes left.”

“Half of what’s gone was because your boyfriend wouldn’t leave.”

“Mmm. You could have taken advantage of your time anyways. It wouldn’t be the first time he’s seen me with a client.”

Why was that so appealing to think about?

“Right. Well, first I actually want to talk. Is that okay?” Tony didn’t stop him from slowly unbuttoning his shirt anyway.

Peter nodded, confused. Everyone wanted to jump right into the good stuff, especially with such a short time. Although he never usually did less than two hours.

Maybe he was just curious as to what Tony had in mind.

“Alright. So you said you and Osborn are a thing, how long has that been going on?” He really had so many questions about that alone.

“Officially? Today’s our first time being out together. But we’re been a couple for a little over a year now. But we’ve known each other our whole lives. Grew up together and all that.” Peter made his way down Tony’s shirt as he talked, until it was hanging open.

“Huh. That’s interesting, I always assumed he was straight. Scandals with girls, yknow.” Tony slid his jacket and now-open shirt off.

The younger man nodded, hands on Tony’s hips. “Yeah, everyone assumed. But he hid it for a reason. His dad is pissed. And we knew he would be. So he just…tried to look one way. Threw everyone off.”

“Did a good job. I’ve never seen you before,” Tony commented. “I would have remembered.”

“That’s because I’m not associated with the company in any way. And the media isn’t interested in a random kid from Queens.” Peter shrugged, undoing Tony’s belt.

“Interesting.” The older man helped. “Well, I think that’s most of my questions. Can I touch you?”

Peter nodded, laughing a little. “You can. And happy to answer.” It was more than he would have answered with anyone else. He wasn’t really sure why he was so open with Stark. “What are you thinking you want me to do?”

“I wouldn’t be mad if you wanted to get on your knees for me, honey.” Another thing popped into his head as he watched him get down. “So he’s okay with this? Being in a relationship while being in sex work?”

The younger man nodded, pulling Tony’s pants down his hips and thighs. “Yeah. I think sometimes he gets a little jealous but we work it out. We talk. I assure him that he’s the only one I actually love.”

Tony licked his bottom lip, nodding. “That makes sense. Alright, now I’m done. I don’t want to talk about him any more, I just want to think about you, gorgeous. Is that okay?”

“Perfectly okay.” Peter got his boxers down and let the man’s cock rest against his cheek. “Let’s really get started….”

***

They went over the half hour.

Not by much, only a couple minutes, but still. Tony noticed. And he mentioned it. But Peter only waved him off and finished getting him off.

They straightened themselves out when they were done and Tony pulled his phone out.

“I should have done this first, but do you have some kind of account I need to send the money to? Or-“

Peter shook his head quickly, taking his phone and adding himself as a contact. “Just think of this as a…test run. I’d feel bad charging you all that for one bj.”

Tony blinked, taking his phone back when it was pressed into his hands. “Are you sure?”

“Yes. Now go away, I’ll come in in a minute. We don’t need to look like we’re coming in together.” Peter pulled his own phone out and winced when he saw how swollen his lips were.

“Okay. Thank you.”

The young man shot him a small smile. “No problem.”

Tony made his way back to the ballroom, still trying to make sense of everything that happened.

He made eye contact with Harry as he came in and gave him a small nod. He didn’t know what else to do, his mind still fogged by everything.

He’d definitely be calling Peter soon.

[themandylion]

97 & 41 jaytim

Oh wow, this ended up long. /o\

97 (Time Travel) + 41 (First Kiss) + JayTim

He's boosting tires in the Bowery when the thugs find him. Crowd him up against a wall and threaten him with bodily harm for horning in on their territory, even though this part of the city is a free-for-all, with no one reigning supreme. There's three of them to his one, all of them full-grown men with bulging muscles and nasty tempers and Jason knows he's in his final moments, that there's no way he's escaping this. Still, that doesn't mean he's going to go down without a fight. He squares his shoulders, plants his feet, raises the tire iron in his hand, and—

Between one blink and the next, the back-most thug is on the ground, groaning and clutching his crotch. There's a blur of red, and then the next one's down on his knees, the crowbar he was gripping half a block away and the hand that was holding it pinned to the wall by a slim, sharp-edged disk.

Silver flashes through the night, and the final guy collapses in a heap, just sprawled out on the pavement like he's not even human anymore, just a pile of discard clothes over something lumpy and unmoving. Someone lands on his back, light and nimble and impossibly tall. "You okay there, kid?" the new person asks, crouching down so he's at Jason's level and smiling.

"…Batman?" He's only ever seen the Bat from a distance before, but he's heard about the cape and cowl, and this guy has both.

The guy shakes his head. "Nope, not him. I'm his partner, though."

"Robin wears green," Jason feels compelled to point out, because he's definitely seen Robin before, though always on the TV, when the Teen Titans are fighting really scary bad guys elsewhere in the world.

This time, a shadow seems to pass over the man's face, sad and unhappy. "I'm a different kind of Robin. Red Robin. I'm pretty new, it's not surprising you haven't heard of me." He leans back on his heels and glances around at the thugs, frowning. "I've got to tie these guys up and leave them somewhere the GCPD will find them. Do you think you can get home on your own?"

Jason gulps, staring up at him, at the way all that tight leather and spandex hugs his body. Gee whiz. "Yeah, I. I can take care of myself. Thanks!" He surges forward, practically smacking his mouth against Red Robin's cheek, before running off into the night. Maybe not headed home, but to as close as anything gets, these days.

---

Two weeks later, Batman catches him boosting tires on Crime Alley. A week later, he's going home with the man. Jason asks about Red Robin and gets a confused, clueless look, which is strange. With everything else happening, he forgets about the man in the black cowl with the silver staff, but he still finds himself drawn to that one particular shade of red.

---

He forgets until the memory is jarred out of the deepest depths years later on the other side of the multiverse, when he's bound to a chair and staring down the barrel of gun. A gun held by another Batman, a different Bruce. One who did all the things he thought he wanted his Bruce to do, only to end up a broken man as a result. Jason tries to explain himself and his presence, but it's hard to when he keeps seeing that suit in the case over this Batman's shoulder.

They reach an understanding, a kind of peace. Both of them, finally, for the first time in ages. This other Bruce offers him the suit, and Jason doesn't think twice before putting it on. He's traveled across the multiverse, seen places where dead people live again, where evil people are good and vice versa. It's not too far a stretch to believe that somehow, he's going become his own childhood hero.

When he finishes pulling on the last piece, Bruce looks on him with pride and announces, "Red Robin lives!"

"Red…?" Jason murmurs, more than a little startled. It's been so long, he'd nearly forgotten the name, but it fits, it makes sense. Finally, he's back on the right path, back to being someone the boy he once was could be proud of. Will be proud of, when their paths cross again, which he's sure they will.

---

The other Batman dies.

---

They get back, finally done traveling across the multiverse, fleeing across Apokolips, running from plagues and maybes and might-have-beens. Donna and Rayner return to wherever they call home, and Jason... He thought he finally found himself when he put on the cowl and became Red Robin, but with everything that happened after that moment, all the contrition he gained has been too long stewing in a half-broken heart. He isn't sure who rescued him when he was a kid, but it wasn't him, and it wasn't the long-dead Jason of another world. Maybe it was no one at all, and he made it all up and convinced himself it was real.

He runs back to Gotham, strips off the cape and cowl, the bandoliers and leather. Throws it all in the trash and goes to knock some heads and blow off some steam, anything to escape from what the rest of the Justice League brought with them—a sob story and a broken, days-old body.

---

The suit disappears from the can where he threw it, and he thinks good riddance to bad rubbish, but the person who's wearing it now doesn't understand the significance, the legacy. Doesn't know what it symbolizes, a last chance at redemption, a final loss of innocence.

The new kid distracts him, muddies the water and still Jason doesn't see it, doesn't realize what's happening. Even when the kid takes the cowl, adds it to his green-free suit, he doesn't see it.

Jason's too busy fighting, too busy screaming, raging, being angry at himself and the world to realize how things are swirling tighter and tighter, closing in, twining together, weaving themselves in an intricate, impossible mesh that's new and old and always existing all at the same time. The three of them—him and Dick and the new kid—push and shove and fight and scream and grieve in their own ways, trying to figure out who they're going to be now, what the world is without Bruce.

He ignores overtures of friendship, leaves the kid broken and bleeding out and thinks nothing of it, still too busy hurting and too busy denying he hurts.

Thinks nothing of Robin back on the streets in red and green and black and yellow, a different boy, an actual child.

---

Bruce comes back, but he's just as stubborn as always, and Jason burned the last of his bridges while the old man was playing possum. There's nothing left for him to do but lurk in the shadows and grit his teeth and watch Drake bounce around the city in a costume that isn't his, telling himself he doesn't care, that it doesn't rub him the wrong way.

Doesn't actually realize what's happening until one day he's watching as Drake races across the city, ready to step in and stop him if he dares to cross into Red Hood's territory when suddenly—

There's no one. The roof's empty, not a soul in sight.

He swings over, investigates. There's a strange acrid smell in the air along with the faintest traces of sweat and exhaustion, but there's no clue to where he's gone, no hint. Minutes pass and the sky is getting darker as evening turns into night. Just when he's given up, Drake reappears, but still, unmoving. One hand grasping his staff while the other touches his cheek and he stares into nothing, dazed and unfocused.

His attention snaps up, and Jason is too startled to move, still standing there in the middle of the roof, the two of them locked in place.

"Holy fuck." He can't. This isn't—

He's tried to kill Drake multiple times over the years. They've barely had a conversation that hasn't ended with Jason drawing a knife or a gun, and more often than not he comes out on top. Leaves the guy knowing that he's alive at Jason's mercy.

But now he's standing there, finally grown into the Red Robin suit and name, filling it in all the right places, all the right ways, grasping a staff that Jason somehow failed to recognize until this exact moment.

"I never—" He never thought to make the connection, always assumed it had to be someone else, some one huge. Big enough to match the larger-than-life figure that dominated a half-forgotten memory.

"Huh." Red Robin collapses his staff, clips it his belt. "Random time blip? I didn't even realize."

Which would explain it. Of course he didn't realize—no way would he have helped that other, younger Jason if he'd known who it was. Why save a boy who's going to grow up to become a monster bent on destroying him over and over again. "Sorry," Jason says, startled, confused, unable to wrap his head around it all as he stumbles backwards, tries to do what he always does when he's confronted with too much, too fast—run.

Red Robin—Drake—tilts his head to the side and then does something completely unexpected. He shoves back the cowl and studies Jason with cool, clear eyes. "I have a feeling this has been a weird night for both of us. You could stick around. We could figure this out together."

So help him, Jason hesitates. "Time travel is pretty weird."

"I was thinking more being kissed by my childhood crush. But yeah, that too."

"Your… what?"

"Come on," he says, holding out a hand. "I think it's time we finally talked. Maybe without the death threats this time?"

Gulping, Jason takes that hand in his.

It's not much, but. It's a start.

(The Fanfic Trope MASH-UP is still open for asks!)

[bbrandy2002]

Fool’s Rush In

Chapter 18

Pairing: Liam x Riley

Book: TRR AU

Warnings: Language, crude talk, and the usual bad writing.

I had planned from the beginning to end this series after the next chapter and an epilogue, but call me crazy, I love it too much. So while this part of the story will end, I still plan to update with one-shots or stories from time to time. If you’re just done with it, let me know.

Also, this chapter felt a little off to me, so I apologize if it's terrible, but I think I ended on a good note.

Thanks @burnsoslow for prereading.and usage of your girl, who finally got to make her debut.

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

"Damn it, Riley! Pick up!" Liam grumbled as he lowered the cell phone from his ear and tossed it in the seat beside him. The royal jet had been in the air for a little over four hours already, and he'd grown frustrated at getting her voice mail each time. Surely, she was home by now. 

Even though it was the middle of the night in Las Vegas, it was worth interrupting her. He had tried unsuccessfully to contact Riley since he packed his bags earlier and hastily headed for the airstrip. By this point, there must have been a dozen or so messages left on her phone without so much as a hint she'd gotten them. 

While time wasn't an issue -- he'd get to Las Vegas one way or the other -- it was the desperation to hear from his new wife and tell her he knew precisely why she left. 

And that he loved her.

Tilting his head back against the headrest, he swiveled side-to-side in his luxury chair while tightly clutching his freshly poured scotch. The security footage he watched earlier that morning replayed in his mind again. There were no doubts about what it showed: Madeleine confronted Riley outside their quarters just minutes after leaving the ball. Without sound, however, no one could ascertain specifically what was said among the two women. It was clear though,  Riley was not a willing participant in that conversation. When they saw the disk held up in the Countess' hands, and the look of sheer horror on his pussycat's face, that told Liam all he needed to know. This was a blackmail situation, plain and simple, that included assault; those flowers he found scattered on the ground when he returned to his quarters last night all made sense now. This act was deliberate and treasonous, and Liam would ensure his ex-fiancee paid handsomely for it. 

After they viewed the footage several more times, the Royal Guard was immediately summoned to Krona to find Madeleine and take her into custody. Liam knew it was a long shot whether his guards could pull that sting off, but he was working with what he had at the moment.

Despite whatever happened next, there was one thing the King was confident of: He was prepared to give up his entire Kingdom to get his girl back. Returning to Cordonia without her was not an option.

Shaking his tumbler of partially melted ice cubes, Liam leaned forward and steadily poured another bottle of scotch into his glass. As soon as he sat back and raised the fresh beverage to his lips, he was startled by the ringing of his cell phone. In a rush to answer, he hastily set the drink aside and snatched his phone up from where he tossed it earlier. 

"Hello! Love?" He answered, hopeful it was her.

"Hey, little brother. Love you too ... Say, do you know if the palace has a Spanish tickler or a breast ripper? Asking for a friend."

Liam furrowed his brows in confusion before rising from his seat, plopping a knee down on its cushioned bottom, and glancing to the back of the plane. "Leo? Why are you calling me? We're on the same damn plane. I'm looking right at you."

"Nevermind that. Listen, I figured out a way to take care of Madeleine once and for all. Behold ..." Leo held up a leather-bound book and waved it over his head while Liam squinted from the front of the plane to get a better look. "... The King Constantine Guide To Fucking Torture In The 21st Century; Father gave it to me after my investiture ceremony. The way I see it, there really is no other option here than to tie her to a tree in front of the palace, invite the public to watch for a modest fee, and do some cool shit with iron rods and spikes. I got dibs on the knee-splitter, though."

"Leo ..." Liam began to warn his brother how ridiculous that plan was before stopping himself and staring off into the distance for a moment in thought. "Wait ... is there anything about flaying in that book?"

"Hell yeah there is! And if you're interested in thumbscrews, my buddy, Pete, has a trunk full of them. He uses them for ass play, but I'm sure he wouldn't mind letting us borrow them to split Maddie's thumbs in half." Leo let out a maniacal laugh.

Liam chuckled, despite the peculiarity of the conversation. "I'm not going to lie and tell you I'm not interested -- to the contrary, actually. And while I appreciate your help in seeing that Madeleine is brought to justice, I think we better stick to more lawful means."

"Boo, you whore!" The line went dead with a click. 

Liam held the phone away from his ear, watching Leo sink down into his chair in a huff. "Really?" He called back in agitation. Met with the silent treatment and a middle finger from his disgruntled brother, Liam rolled his eyes, then slumped back down into his seat. Maybe he'd try to call Riley again.

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

The phone on Riley's nightstand buzzed again. She knew it was another call from Liam, and while she felt remorseful for ignoring all of his calls and texts, she couldn't bring herself to look at or answer them quite yet. The sooner all ties between them were broken, she believed, the quicker he could forget all about her and the mess she made of everything. 

But even her willpower was slipping. Riley slid her hand out from under the pillow and reached over to pick up her phone. Holding it to her chest, she contemplated for a second just reading his texts and returning his calls, but Madeleine had warned to end all contact with him. Obviously, she was curious about what he had to say, but it was too risky. I'm so sorry, Liam. 

Hitting the power button on her cell, the light on the device faded to black before she tossed it in the nightstand drawer.

Early the next morning, Riley's eyes flickered open to the sound of a banging on her front door, followed by the incessant ringing of her doorbell. Feeling exhausted from a lack of sleep, mainly because of crying and unable to think about anything other than how she hurt Liam, Riley decided to ignore it. She just wanted to be left alone, and eventually, they'd give up and leave, right?

Except they didn't.

Annoyed, she let out a sigh and then eased herself up out of bed; the pain in her back was still a problem. Tossing a robe over her body, she slowly made her way down the stairs of her townhome -- each step excruciating -- until she finally made it to the door.

Twisting the lock, she opened the entry door, before letting out a sudden gasp at the tearful person standing on the other side. 

"Oh my God, Riley! Y-You're alive! You're really alive!"

"Alyssa?" Riley's best friend from New York pulled her into a relieved hug, nearly sobbing at that point. "What're you doing here?"

"I thought something terrible happened to you, but now that I can see you're still among the living ..." she sniffled before pulling back and narrowing her blazing blue eyes at her friend. "Where have you been? I've been trying to get ahold of you ever since you texted me that you were boarding a plane in Cordonia, and that something serious happened involving Tyler. You promised me you'd call as soon as you landed--"

"I know. I'm so sorry. It was late ..."

 " -- and you didn't. Then I worried, even more, when you didn't answer any of my calls back. I had to book the first red-eye flight here to make sure you were all right." Finished with her rant, a huffing Alyssa's jaw immediately clenched. "Now, what did that shithead ex of yours do? I'll kill him if he hurt you, Ri. I might be small, but I'm scrappy like an alleycat. You know I'll claw his eyes out."

Riley let out a light chuckle; Alyssa was always overprotective of her and had a clever way with words, but quickly, that chuckle faded into a teary frown. "Oh, Lyss," she whimpered as her face fell into her hands.

Alyssa quickly wrapped her arms around Riley and pulled her into a warm embrace. "Aww, Riley. Sweetie, it's going to be okay," she soothed. 

Stepping inside, Alyssa kicked the door shut and led them both over to the sofa. Sensing Riley was in pain -- and not just emotional -- she helped lower her troubled best friend onto the couch. "I want you to start from the beginning and tell me everything that happened."

The best friends had remained in contact over the last several weeks. It was Alyssa's frantic morning phone call over a month ago that alerted Riley to the news coverage of her impromptu marriage to Liam, having saw it on the news. 

And while Alyssa was aware of everything about Cordonia and Liam, and how Riley fit into all that from their prior conversations, she listened intently while it was revealed to her the details of the incident with Madeleine and the video her ex-husband gave to the Countess.  

Grabbing a tissue from the end table, Alyssa handed it to Riley. "So this cow confronted you with that disgusting video and basically blackmailed you into leaving, or she would release it to the press?" Riley nodded somberly.."Ugh, I want this treasonous bitch thrown in the dungeon, subjected to live-streamed daily anal fistings with giant Hulk gloves ... And Tyler, I want to break every bone in his rotten body, one at a time. And I want to leave him there afterwards, dripping just enough water on his lips, so he doesn't die of dehydration, screaming in agony for the weeks it will take to die of starvation."

 Riley's face scrunched up. "God, Alyssa."

Alyssa shrugged. "What? I don't care; it's what they deserve for hurting you. Did you at least tell Liam what happened?"

This time, Riley shook her head. "No. Madeleine warned me if I told him, she would release the video, and then the council would likely force him to step down. I won't allow him to lose everything for someone like me." 

Irritated, Alyssa pressed a palm to her forehead. "Why are you like this?"

"Like, what?" Riley asked in exasperation.

"That whole, 'someone like me,' part. He wanted to stay married to you. He made you the queen of his country. You've said he couldn't keep his goddamn hands off you for two seconds. And more importantly, you told me you have never felt more loved in your life, than you do when you're with him. The fact that you still question your worthiness to him blows my mind." 

Alyssa reached for Riley's shaky hand, able to tell by the tears sliding down her cheeks and the soft whimpers that she'd touched on something. "You're his pussycat, Riley. Liam already lost everything when you left him. Tell me you know that."

Riley wiped at her face., her voice stifled, "I just wanted to protect him."

"I know." Alyssa smiled softly. "But you needed to give him the chance to decide what he wanted. You made it for him because you know he'd choose you, regardless if he lost everything else; that's how much he loves you, Ri. You can't protect someone who loves you by hurting them. Besides, he's the King; he can simply execute the council if he wants to -- Liam’s not going anywhere."

"You just HAD to add that last part in, didn't you?" Riley laughed, feeling a sense of ease as her mood lightened. It felt good to talk to someone who could help her make sense of everything and realize she hadn’t exactly made the best call by leaving and not telling Liam what happened. "But what do I do about this video? What if Madeleine releases it to the public?"

"Yeah, a video of a married woman having sex with her husband -- Oh, the shame!" she retorted. "Look, you'll be famous on Pornhub for a few weeks, and it'll fizzle out. I know that doesn't make it all better, but you have a lot of people who love you ... we'll be there for you if that happens. Besides, it's Gonzo Dick; I doubt anyone will wanna watch anyway."

Riley snorted out at the nickname she gave her ex-husband. "Stop making me laugh." 

Alyssa cracked a grin. "Nah. If I can make you laugh at that asshole's expense and his crooked dick, then it's worth it."

"Well,” she breathed, “ I suppose I should get dressed and call Liam. Tell him what happened, and hopefully, he'll … forgive .." her voice trailed off at tasting an increasing collection of bile in her throat and a familiar rumble in her stomach. 

“What’s wrong?”

Riley frowned. "Damn it, why do I keep getting sick?"  

After rushing to the bathroom with Alyssa's help, Riley came out moments later, flushed and perspiring. Alyssa, who waited outside the door to make sure she was all right, eyed her friend with grave concern. "Ri, are you sure you don't have a concussion? You said that Madeleine caused you to fall, and you complained you’ve been getting sick a lot. Is there any chance you hit your head too?"

Riley considered for a moment before shaking her head. "I don't think so. I mean, it all happened so fast I don't really remember, but my head doesn't hurt."

"OH NO! You have memory loss too, on top of the vomiting and a hurt back? Riley, you need to go to the hospital now. This is serious."

"Alyssa, I'm fine. I don't need to go to the hospital," Riley dismissed and hobbled past her friend toward the kitchen. "You always worry too much."

Alyssa followed behind her, brows bumped together in a scowl. "Because you're a stubborn ass who never listens, that's why. You need to get checked out," she insisted. Riley paid no attention as made her way to the fridge; that reaction only served to piss Alyssa off. "You can ignore me all you want, but you know as well as I do, I'll just keep annoying the hell out of you until you do it … I'll sing every Dave Matthews song ever written -- On repeat." 

Riley shut the fridge door and turned at the threat, giving her a dismayed glare. "You wouldn't." 

Alyssa tilted her chin. "You know damn well I would. I have... so much to say, so much to say, so much --"

"Please stop! I'm going."

---------

At Valley Hospital and Medical Center, Drake sat slumped down in the waiting room of the E.R;  a thawed ice pack covered his crotch. His increasingly irritated self caught sight of a nurse escorting yet another patient back for examination. "You've got to be fucking kidding me."

Tired of waiting, he cast the ice pack aside and marched straddle-legged to the triage desk where a beefy nurse with a scowl sat filing her nails. "How much longer is this gonna take?" He demanded bitterly.

The nurse remained focused on her nails and answered in a careless fashion. "You'll get called back when it's your turn, Mr. Walker."

"My turn? MY TURN? I've been here for 15 fucking hours waiting for my turn. I've watched one person after the next walk right in, get treated, and leave. Whose ass do I actually have to lick to get treatment around here?"

Unimpressed with his theatrics, she folded her arms on the desk and looked up at Drake with a glower. "Look. You got kicked in the wang by a hooker. Shit happens. It's not the end of the world. Go home, have a beer, and a good laugh. You'll live." She resumed her filing.

Drake ran both hands through his rumpled hair, letting out a sardonic laugh. "I cannot fucking believe you just said that to me. I suffer trauma on my transplanted dick, and the greatest healthcare minds in the world tell me to have a beer and laugh about it?" his voice shrieked.

The nurse blew on her nails. "That's what I said."

That snarky remark sent him even further over the edge. A red-faced Drake pounded two white-knuckled fists on the desk and leaned down into her space. "Now you listen here, lady. I demand to be seen right now, or so help me, I'll tear this whole goddamn place apart brick-by-fucking-brick! Do you understand me?"

Having none of that, the nurse, who was several inches taller than a startled Drake expected, sprung for her chair and loomed over him menacingly. Drake flinched when she rammed the nail file at him and threatened, "Now, you listen.You can either sit your ass down, or I will sit you down. Do you understand me?"

He didn't understand. He would never understand.

A security guard who heard the commotion casually approached the agitated pair and placed a firm hold on Drake's elbow. "Do we have a problem here, Betty Lou?"

She shook her head, sizing Drake up. "No, just some whiny-ass Karen griping about his dick."

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

Several moments later, Alyssa and Riley exited an Uber and wandered into the waiting area, making their way up to the triage line -- or what they thought was a line. It was actually Drake still standing there, continuing to protest his case to anyone who would listen and demanding to speak to someone in charge.

While Riley dug through her purse to retrieve her health insurance card, Alyssa couldn't help but be taken in by the fiery debacle taking place in front of them. She inched a little closer, unable to help herself; it was good drama and sucked her right in. 

Catching a glimpse of Drake’s sour face, she cocked her head introspectively; there was something oddly familiar about the man in the denim shirt going off. Alyssa tapped her chin. Where have I seen him before?  

Before long, the realization set in, and her eyes snapped wide open. She nudged Riley with an elbow and leaned over, whispering, "Hey, isn't that the guy from the news who had the penis transplant? It looks just like him."

Knowing precisely who that was by the description, Riley popped her head up to look. She hadn't known Drake well, only that he was Liam's best friend, and after having spent time together on the plane ride to Cordonia with him, that her maid-of-honor had given him several venereal diseases. "Drake?" she called out.

While Alyssa zoned in on his groin, curious as to what was in there, Drake broke away from the dispute and turned his focus toward the familiar-sounding voice. She was a connection to home and a long-sought-after friendly face. "Riley? Liam's insta-bride, Riley?" 

She let out a light chuckle and nodded. "Yeah, I suppose that's how you would know me ... What are you doing at the hospital? Is your body rejecting the ..." Her embarrassed gaze dropped lower with a gulp. " ... thing?"

"No!" he barked. "I just got attacked by that ... uh, someone."

"You got attacked?" Shocked, Riley placed a hand over her chest. "Why would someone attack you? Are you okay?"

Feeling incensed by the memory, Drake shook his head and muttered. "It's a long story ... What about you? What are you doing here? Thought you were in Cordonia with Liam?"

She inhaled a deep breath through her nostrils and forced a smile. "It's a long story too."

Drake peeked over his shoulder at Nurse Ratchet, giving him a gimlet-eyed stare from behind her computer screen. He groused and turned to face Riley again. "I've got time."

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

Nearly 12 hours after takeoff, the royal jet touched down in sunny Las Vegas, an hour ahead of schedule. Liam and Leo stepped off the plane and strolled across the tarmac to the awaiting vehicle, where a smiling man held the rear passenger door open.

"Bastien," Liam greeted as he approached. "Good to see you again."

"Your Majesty." He bowed. "Likewise ... I have the rental car you requested, and the Queen's address is already programmed into the GPS. Should take no more than 30 minutes to get there."

"Perfect,” he replied, clapping Bastien’s shoulder.“Thanks for having everything ready to go."

Liam had contacted the head guard -- who was still jailed for non-support -- and gained him a day-long pass to provide security detail. Bastien was also to stay in contact with his guards to oversee the capture and detainment of Madeleine.

Bastien took their bags, and the brothers hopped into the back of the Escalade. Once they pulled away from the airport, the directions led the group west. The head guard glanced briefly in the rearview mirror as he drove on. “I want to thank you for giving me a second chance. It’s nice to be out of that place, even if just for the day.”

Liam smiled back. “Not a problem, good man. I can’t think of anyone else I trust more for the job than you … though I’m not sure why. Anyway, do you have any updates on the Madeleine situation?”

“Yes, sir. I contacted my colleagues again just before you arrived. Countess Madeleine was taken by surprise when our guards arrived at her family estate in Krona. Once in custody, she was immediately transported to Valtoria for detention, exactly as you requested.”

"That's terrific news ... Wait ...Did you say, Valtoria?" Liam asked with puzzlement in his tone. 

"Yes, sir. As you requested." 

"Man, please tell me Mads tried to fight them off, and they had to use the taser on her," Leo insisted as he held his crossed fingers in the air. "A billy club ... a rubber hose ... something."

"There may have been a brief verbal exchange and some threats, but the Countess promised if they permitted access to her computer to send a quick email, she would go with them peacefully and without further protest. There didn't seem to be any harm in doing so, and she followed through with her word. Sorry to break it to you, Prince Leo, but no tasers were harmed in her capture."

"Well, fiddle shit." Leo glanced over at his brother --who was still scratching his head -- in disappointment. "If only I'd been able to get that shock collar on her while I was engaged to her, you wouldn't be in this mess right now. She just squirmed too much. I’m sorry I let you down, little brother."

"It's fine, Leo; it's not the first time,”  Liam said dryly before turning his head away from Leo to face the front again. "Can we get back to Madeleine being taken to Valtoria? I never requested that. An accused of the Crown is always placed in the palace dungeon. There aren't even cells in Valtoria to hold her in. What am I missing here?"

Approaching a stoplight, Bastien lightly pressed the brakes, then met Liam’s gaze in the mirror. “The orders I was given to pass along to the guards from you earlier were clear in your text: Once she’s taken into custody, she is to be sent to Valtoria and placed in the cage with the monkey until further notice. That’s what they --”

“Mongo! They put her in the cage with Mongo?” Liam exploded before pinching the bridge of his nose, knowing there was no point in asking how that message got mixed up. “Goddamn it, Leo! Why are you, you, sometimes?” He ran a swift hand down his face and turned to glare at his brother. “Do you realize they consider that cruel and unusual punishment? Did you ever stop to consider how much shit I'm going to hear over this if this gets out?" He let out a sharp breath and threw his hands in the air."How? How did you do it?"

"It's simple pimple, Liam. When you went to the bathroom, I grabbed your phone," he replied bluntly with a shrug. "And according to page 24 of Father's torture book: It's not considered cruel and unusual punishment, as long as she has food, water, and clean shelter -- which she does. Or ... if she's housed with a member of the royal family -- which she is. Mongo is the heir to the throne, so we've got that covered too. So just relax, little bro; Leo’s got it all taken care of for you."

Liam dropped his chin to his chest, then let out a weary breath. “Bastien, call the guards and have them move her to the palace at once.” 

As Bastien placed the call, Liam shifted in his seat so that he was staring out the window. He put a palm over his mouth to conceal the curved lips that formed a devilish grin, trying to contain the unbearable urge to bust out laughing. Oh, Maddie ... I hope you and Mongo had one hell of a time together.

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

Back at the hospital, Riley situated herself on the gurney while a nurse prepared to check her vitals and ask general health questions. 

In the next bay over, separated by a thin sliding curtain, Drake was finally attended to after Riley reluctantly, but willfully, played up her celebrity status. Once she threatened to have the hospital shut down -- which she doubted was even possible on her end -- the proverbial red carpet was rolled out for both of them; she was still a queen, afterall. 

Steps were then taken to ensure they both received the royal treatment, so to speak. That wasn’t typically how Riley preferred to handle situations; she hated big fusses over her. But in the end, she did help one of Liam’s oldest friends finally get the medical attention he needed, so it was worth trying. 

The blood pressure cuff on Riley’s arm squeezed tighter just as one of the doctors stepped inside and slid the curtain all the way closed. His cheerful greeting drew Riley's fixed gaze away from the changing numbers on the monitor beside her bed, and she smiled up at him.

The doctor was tall and thin, with thick spectacles perched near the tip of his nose. He gave a brief nod to Alyssa, who was sitting in a chair at Riley’s bedside, rubbing her shoulder. Scanning the patient chart, he spoke without looking up, "Queen Riley, it says here you suffered a fall?"

"I'm just Riley,  please," she requested.

The doctor looked up from the paperwork and nodded with an understanding smile. "Of course." 

After the initial exam concluded, Alyssa remained behind after the doctor ordered x-rays and transport had wheeled Riley down to radiology. 

Bouncing her crossed leg as she scrolled through her phone, Alyssa tried to bide her time until Riley returned. An air conditioning vent overhead that she didn’t realize drowned out so much noise around her, suddenly flipped off. Able to catch the conversation on the other side of the curtain better, she listened with a broken heart as Drake reluctantly described to an attending, the worst days of his life. Alyssa shuddered as he recalled the moment his penis fell off, rolled across the bed, and dropped onto Ethan Ramsey’s leather shoe during an exam. “That poor man. I just want to hug him,” she muttered.

Her little ears perked when the doctor mentioned he was “going to have a look at it.” In her curious mind, there were no doubts that she was too. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to take a peek at the first transplant of its kind; no way was she going to miss out on that. 

Alyssa slid to the edge of her seat and raised her hand to up to the curtain, easing a tiny portion of it aside. Her blue eyes crinkled with frustration at a nurse who was blocking her view. “Move your ass,” she whispered to herself.

Unable to get a good view, she gave up that spot and eyed the other opening in the curtain at the far end of the room. Sliding off her chair to a crouching position on the floor, Alyssa crab-walked as fast as she could without falling off balance until she made it to the other side. Crooking a stealthy finger along the seam of the curtain, she hoped and prayed Drake’s genital exam wasn’t through yet. What her eyes saw on that gurney when she pulled the fabric aside caused her heart to jolt out of her chest. 

Alyssa cupped a hand over her gaping mouth before stepping back and letting the curtain fall loosely shut again.  Dropping her hand limply at her side, staring blankly at nothing, she mouthed, “Oh. My. God.”

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

Down in the radiology department, Riley sat patiently in her wheelchair, waiting for the tech to return to take the x-rays. Enjoying the lighter feeling of having an empty bladder again, she let out a contented sigh; she was about to bust earlier. That mandatory urine sample couldn’t have come at a more opportune time. 

Left alone to ruminate in her thoughts, Riley wondered about those phone calls she ignored last night from Liam. The regret she felt over her actions the last 26 hours continued to mount up. And it took a heart-to-heart with her best friend to really put things into perspective. Her decisions weren’t the best course to take, even if they were done with the most loving of intentions. 

There was a lot to make up to Liam, and she only hoped that it wasn’t too late. Could he even forgive her for all of it?

She wished he was there with her right now. If she knew him the way she thought she did, he’d be standing around telling inappropriate jokes to make her laugh or embarrass her with his silly antics. It was like Liam could be two different people sometimes: Kingly and stoic around everyone else, but the second it was just him alone with her, he was such a big kid. Somehow, she could bring out his true self; the one where he felt comfortable enough to be silly and playful. And as much as she tried to play them off, those little pet names he gave her -- she chuckled to herself as they popped into her head -- were funny. What the hell even was a knucklehead mcspazzatron? 

“Miss Brooks” Riley shook herself of her thoughts as the x-ray tech returned and made her way over. “I apologize that took so long.”

Riley smiled up at her. “No need to apologize… Are you ready for me now?”

“Not exactly,” she teased in such a cheery tone, Riley slightly lowered her eyelids, holding her gaze. “You most likely won’t be getting x-rays today, sweetie.” She held a fisted hand out to Riley and opened her palm to reveal the small object inside. “You’re pregnant.”

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

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[tinyboxxtink]

Weird Secret Friends *Chapter 3*

I fixed it!!!! Huzzah!!!

If you didn't see it earlier, it was crap-tastic on my phone.

I'm glad so far people love this. <3

Part 2

Part 4

Tag List

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@omgsuperstarg

@objection-argumentative

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

When you returned everyone was laughing at chatting, except for Sonny who was drinking vodka and soda while on his phone. He looked up and saw you both returning, he jumped up to meet you.

“Hey, counselor. I hope Y/N wasn’t too hard on you,” He half laughed.

“Are you kidding me, Sonny?” You scoffed.

“She’s fine, Sonny,” He smirked. “I like a little fire in a woman,”

“Oh?” Sonny’s eyebrows suddenly raised, causing you to give Barba a look. He was blowing your cover!

“I mean, I expect it from Jersey girls anyway,” He flipped his compliment quickly.

“God…” You muttered, looking at the floor. Pick a side, counselor.

“Anyway, um,” Sonny cleared his throat, trying not to think about Rafael and you together. “So when do we do presents and cake? I’ve kind of got an early--”

“I’m sorry, what?” Rafael furrowed his brows at Sonny. “Did you-- Carisi did you really just say that?”

“Do you see a present table? Do you see a giant rat mascot running around?”

“...What? Did I say something--?” Sonny became flustered.

“What do you think this is, a fucking Chuck E Cheese?” He suddenly snapped, causing shocked looks from both you and Sonny.

“I’m sorry Barba, I--”

“Alright that’s it,” You stepped in between the two of them, glaring at Rafael.

“Excuse you?” Rafael crossed his arms.

“Y/N, knock it off,” Sonny hit you softly.

“You have been nothing but rude to my cousin since we got here, Mr. Barba,” You pointed a finger to his chest.

“He was just trying to be nice, getting you a gift out of the goodness of his heart, something you would know nothing about!” Maybe now you were overcompensating.

“Y/N!” Sonny said through gritted teeth.

“What?!” You turned to see everyone at the party staring at the three of you in shocked silence. “Oh…” Your voice turned soft, your face turned red.

“Well,” Rafael straightened his suit and tie, recovering from your little rant. “I guess I should be a gracious host and open it then, shouldn’t I?” He gave you a look.

“...Holy shit,” You heard one of the guests gasp. “That thing is over $1,000! My wife wouldn’t even get me that for Christmas,”

“NO!” Sonny objected rather loudly,. “I mean, that’s not necessary Barba. It’s just a little something, it’s fine,”

“No no, your cousin is right,” He shook his head as he walked over next to Sonny’s chair and retrieved the large gift bag and placed it on the table. Sonny bolted over, you trailed behind quickly.

“No, seriously Barba, don’t,” Sonny began to panic. You suddenly realized how this was going to look, maybe you shouldn’t have pushed.

“Carisi why are you being like--” Rafael was questioning him but was silenced mid-speech when he pulled out the briefcase. His eyes went wide, you swore you heard a few people audibly gasp, You looked around completely lost, finally noticing the absolute horror on Sonny’s face.

“....Is this a Louis Voutton Robusto 2 in Taiga leather, Carisi?” Rafael whispered, running his fingers over the fine leather.

“Oh my god,” You couldn't watch this. Sonny had such a big heart, too big of a heart. He tried so hard...why didn’t you step in sooner?

“Uh y-yeah, sure Barba whatever you want,”

“Carisi, can I speak with you a moment outside?” Rafael blinked rapidly, trying to wrap his head around what was happening right now.

“Do you guys need somewhere to make out?!” An obnoxious man laughed, making the other guests snicker.

“Oh shove it Buchanan,” Rita hit him. “Sonny’s just his puppy,”

“Oh god,” Sonny muttered under his breath as he followed Barba outside. He didn’t know which was worse for people to think right now.

“This is totally inappropriate, why would you even--” He threw his hands over his head. God it was one thing knowing Sonny had a thing for him, but for him to finally make a move like this-- in front of his peers? His colleagues? The audacity.

You wondered if you should follow them. You were the one to cause this mess, after all. Also you really didn’t like the looks you were getting from the rest of the party-goers. You quickly began to follow after them, you could hear Rafael yelling from a mile away.

“What the hell is WRONG with you, Carisi?!”

“I-I’m sorry, Barba I--”

“WHAT?!” Sonny’s eyes instantly went to you. “W-Why would you…? Why would you say that?”

“I’m sorry, counselor I just thought--”

“You just thought what, Carisi?” He growled. “That if you bought some ridiculously expensive gift I’d suddenly realized you were ‘the one’?”

“What?!” Sonny suddenly snapped. “What the-- what the fuck are you talking about, Barba?”

“Uh I don’t know Carisi, maybe the fact that you have feelings for me?”

“What?” Rafael suddenly realized either you were wrong, or he was sticking to denial. Either way, he was probably busted.

“I bought you that briefcase because I want you to like me as a COLLEAGUE, Barba. Do you know what kind of clout you get in our field by being friends with the ADA? And-- And nothing I do ever seems to be good enough, I was afraid you’d never...accept me, unless I…”

“Bribed me?” Rafael asked softly.

“I--I don’t know, I--”

“Well,” Sonny shrugged uncomfortably. “When you say it like that it sounds dirty,”

“Right,” Rafael rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

“....But why, in the fuck--” Sonny crossed his arms now. “Would you ever accuse me of--- of that?!”

“Is it because you have feelings for me and you were hoping I felt the same way but it freaked you out when I made some ‘declaration of love’ in front of all of your work buddies?”

“WHAT?!” Rafael practically screamed. “Absolutely not--”

“I’m just gonna ask you one time, straight out,” Sonny approached Rafael, his stature over him becoming more obvious the closer he got to the ADA.

“Then why? Have I seriously given you an impression that I-- want your cannoli?” He tried to find an appropriate word. And he was genuinely asking, he had made damn sure not to act that way for so long, there was no way he had fucked that up.

“Uh...yes, yes you have,” Rafael tried to bluff. He had no idea how this situation had flipped, or if it was better for Sonny to think he had feelings for him, and not his baby cousin.

“That’s bullshit,” Sonny shook his head with a sarcastic laugh. “I have made damn sure--” He glanced at you again, he knew that look. That was the same look you had when you had broken his mom’s favorite vase and had blamed it on the dog.

“Damn sure what?” Rafael quickly tried to distract him.

“Damn sure you didn’t think that,” He answered hazily, thoughts filling his mind.

“Because you do,” Rafael tried to keep defensive.

“....This isn’t about me, this is about you,” Sonny’s eyes suddenly narrowed as he was quickly becoming aware of the glances you at Rafael were sharing.

“Ohh no I think it’s about--”

“WHY would you accuse me of trying to...seduce you?!” Sonny cut him off.

“Does that sound like something I would do, whether it was true or not?”

“So it IS--”

“DAMMIT, Rafael!” Sonny stomped his foot. He was getting bold now as the wheels started turning.

“What?” Rafael laughed like it was ridiculous, looking everywhere but Sonny’s eyes. “When would she even--”

“...Did my cousin say something to you?” His eyes were narrow, he was scowling between the two of you. Fuck. FUCK. Don’t panic. Keep your cool. Don’t move.

“When you followed her just now?” He crossed his arms again.

Whew. Well, thank God. At least that bullet was dodged.

"Was she? Because it seems like telling you was the worst thing she could do!!!" Sonny snapped.

“....She might have said something along those lines,” Rafael glanced at you with apologetic eyes as he threw you under the bus.

“Wha-- are you kidding me?!” You hissed at him, but Sonny was already fuming at you.

“Y/N!!! What the fuck is wrong with you?!” He started to stomp over to you. “You can’t just throw your assumptions at people, because you think your ‘emotionally stunted’ cousin can’t deal with some confusing feelings he has,”

“Uh…”

“Ya can’t just SHOVE someone out of a closet!” He kept yelling, oblivious to the stares he was now getting. “Especially not to my boss!!!”

“Sonny, I--”

“See I knew it!” Rafael clapped his hands together, trying to rescue you after he threw you to the sharks. “I knew you had feelings for me, I didn’t need her to tell me,”

“FINE,” Sonny threw his hands up. “Fine, Rafael. You win, okay?” He struggled with tears forming in his throat. “Yeah, I’ve had some-- weird, feelings about you. For a while,”

You and Rafael just stared at him while he “came out” to an entire restaurant.

“And alright, maybe I went a little overboard with the gift, my bad,” He shrugged. "But that doesn't excuse Y/N for telling you her conspiracy theories!"

"Carisi…" Barba sighed. "She was just trying to help."

"Y'know what YN, would you mind finding somewhere else to crash tonight, i can't really look at you right now," he sighed as he turned and walked awkwardly out of the restaurant.

"Sonny I am so--" you tried to apologize.

"Well you heard the man," He grinned, totally unphased by what just happened.

"I'm sure he'll--" his face went from a soft smile into a horrified expression.

"Are you fucking kidding me Rafael?" You scoffed at him in disbelief.

"Well at least he doesn't suspect anything between us!" He pointed out.

"Yeah just that I'm a horrible outing twat," you rolled your eyes.

"Aw carino," He pulled you into a soft comforting kiss.

"What's wrong?" You asked softly, afraid to turn around.

"How fucking DARE you say that, Barba. I'm not some fucking jealous teenager, although clearly that's your type,"

"Oh my god..." you heard Sonny's voice behind you. "Oh my God!"

You definitely didn't want to turn around now.

"Are you fucking kidding me?!" Sonny now stormed over to the two of you.

I can't fucking believe you Y/N! What the fuck is this? How did this happen?"

"Sonny I--" You tried to explain,

"And YOU--" He glared at Rafael. "You had the fucking audacity to sit there and start yelling at me for "inappropriate feelings'," he growled.

"Carisi…." Rafael put a hand up.

"What the fuck do you call seducing my baby cousin??" He snarled.

'Look Carisi I know you might be jealous, but--" Before Rafael could finish his sentence, Sonny's fist was hitting his face and he fell to the ground.

"Hey!" You exclaimed.

"This isn't about my feelings, jackass," he went to punch him again but you ran over and tried to pull him off Rafael as a crowd of spectators was forming.

"Which by the way, you have zero worry of those anymore, I'm not into perverts," he spat.

"Sonny!" You gasped. "...the hell is wrong with you?!"

"We're leaving," he instructed you.

"Like hell we are," you went to help Rafael up.

"Sonny, even if you were my dad, I'm a grown woman," you snapped. "You can't drag me out of here like a child,"

"YN," Sonny had that soft, scary, angry tone. "I practically raised you. I'm the closest thing you have to a dad. So when I say we're leaving, we're leaving."

"Either you come with me right now, or I'm disowning you," he threatened.

"Are you fucking kidding me Son?" You laughed at the absurdity of the threat.

"I'll stop paying for your classes at the community college," he threatened.

Well not only did he just threaten your academics but he embarrassed the hell out of you revealing you weren't even in a real college.

"So?" You stood your ground. "Go for it,"

"I'll stop paying your rent," He kept going.

"Well that's--" You started getting nervous.

"I'll stop payments on your car,"

"OKAY," You finally caved. You just wanted to stop revealing what a fucking sad sack you were having him pay for everything, just like a dad.

You looked at Rafael who was standing now, winding his bloody mouth with a handkerchief from a pocket in his suit.

"I'm sorry," you barely whispered with tears in your eyes and throat. The last thing You wanted to do was leave him there but as Sonny so blatantly pointed out, he basically owned you.

You gave him one last long kiss goodbye, to which Sonny made a disgusted scoff.

Rafael gave you a look of pleading, begging you to stay with him while he held onto your hand. You pulled your hand away from him and turned to Sunny

"Alright let's go Son," you said softly trying not to glance back at Rafael.

Sonny nodded triumphantly and walked out of the restaurant with you close behind, leaving Rafael alone.

[thr-333]

Drastic Measures- Part 2

@daminette-december2019-2020

~Swordplay~

To summarise: I will have the love square one way or another!

Ao3

First >Next 

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

As far as homes go it’s pretty good” Adrien stretches out, Plagg curls up next to him.

“Don't get too comfortable we’re going to be on the move,” Marinette types furiously at her computer.

“I will try my hardest,” Adrien stares blankly at her, sat atop a pile of grubby blankets next to a broken window. Marinette loses connection to her computer and slams it shut with a huff.

“Get some sleep I’m going to find an internet cafe,” Marinette stuffs the cheap laptop into her bag, amazing how something she bought at a hole in the wall place for thirty bucks didn’t work well.

“Who needs sleep when you can have coffee,” Adrian stands up, ready to follow her.

“Sleep Chat,” She pushes him down by the shoulders, “I need my partner fully operational,”

“Yeah kid, take a break, we worked hard,” Plagg yawns, turning over.

“You also worked hard Bug,” Adrien lets himself be pushed back onto the blankets.

“I won't be able to sleep until I know how everything is in Paris,”

“Neither can I,” Adrien protests, already half asleep.

“Sure you can, night Chat,”

“Night M’lady,”

Marinette leaves the same way they came in, though the window. She has to slide down the gutter to get on the street, Tikki hiding away in her bag. She has to go pretty far in town to find a suitable cafe, too far from Adrien to be comfortable. Marinette pops in her earbuds before opening her computer to let her talk to Tikki freely.

She doesn't immediately search up missing person cases. Looking instead at Paris tourist destinations and guides. Switching to the dangers of traveling to Paris; the only mention of Akuma being on obscure question and answer sites. She looks at kidnapping potential and then moves onto missing person cases. Adrien's is the first to come up, obviously. 

There was lots of outcry among his fans. Many were throwing around accusations of foul play on Gabriel's part from abuse to locking Adrien away from the world. However, Gabriel was also fiercely looking for his son. Adrien hadn’t left behind any sort of note. Well only to Nino, which Adrien had told Marinette was asked not to mention to anyone.

Marinette then feels safe enough to look up her own case. It was smaller, although was gaining attention as Jagged proclaimed it to high heavens; more so asking what they did wrong and how they could fix it and asking for any sightings of her. That could be a problem if her picture was already around. Marinette pulls her hood up higher. They might have to get haircuts and wear disguises… on second thought wearing suspicious disguises in Gotham might cause more problems.

“Tikki they seem really worried,” Marinette watches the videos Jagged posted, her parents in the background running around talking with police.

“Of course they are Mari,” Marinette feels a light tap on her side, “But you're doing the right thing,”

“No I’m not,” not when she’s watching a video of her parents crying,  “I’m doing what needs to be done, this is my responsibility, no matter what a certain someone thinks,”

She spits with venom. Maybe Adriens rant last night rubbed off on her.

“He’s the hero here,” Tiki says non accusingly, “Imagine if another hero came to Paris without asking you… remember Volpina?”

“Ah now that was an actual villain,” Marinette hadn’t trusted her from the start,  “Plus she was akumatized,”

“Marinette,” Marinette can’t bring herself to feel guilty, even under tikis scolding.

“Right but that still doesn't give him the right,” Marinette huffs, “After all would he attack Marinette? No!”

“Are you implying you would attack Lila?”

“......... no,”

“Marinette,”

Marinetti smirks to herself instinctively looking around for Adrien to share her joke. Then Marinette froze. The cafe was empty, not even a barista. How had she not noticed!?

“Wait,” Marinetti says out loud before Tiki could talk, “I’m going to have to call you back, something just came up,”

Something was watching her from the kitchen door as if she couldn’t see them. Marinette tries to act normal going for the pepper on the table and putting it on her food. They move at the same time. The attacker runs towards her, Marinette throws the shaker at- Robin?! It hits him square in the forehead, with a curse he touches his bleeding forehead.

“I am so sorry!” Marinette panics, “That was meant to explode in your face!”

“How is that better?!” Robin runs forward, sword drawn. Marinette ducks behind the table grabbing her plate and frisbeeing it towards him, he manages to dodge this one, “Draw your weapon coward!"

“I don’t have a weapon!” She grabs the table cloth ready to take the vigilante down, “What is wrong with you?!”

He doesn't answer lunging at her again with the sword. Marinette kicks up the table then kicks it towards him in one swift movement. With the impact of the table he drops the sword, Marinette jumps up landing on the table which pins Robin down to the ground with its weight and hers, with the legs sticking up.

“I knew it,” Robin spits and she presses her weight into the table to keep him pinned.

“Excuse you,” Marinette catches his wrist as he tries to pull a dagger on her using the table cloth to tie it to the legs of the table, then does the same with the other, “You attacked me,”

“-Robin!” she hears a faint call, no one is around so it must be from his communicator, “-Robin report back to the cave!”

“I’ll take that~” Marinette sings songs ignoring how he growls at her. She rolls her eyes stepping off the table she needed to get out of here now.

She steps out of the cafe throwing the communicator and likely a tracking device too on the roof of a passing car then sprints in the opposite direction. She heads for the alleys looking for an area with no cameras as she runs. When she finds a spot Marinette transforms running back to their base with record timing.

“Adrien wake up!” Ladybug jumps through the window, barely avoiding landing on him, “Batman’s after us,”

“What?!” He sits bolt upright, Ladybug pulls him onto his feet.

“Move! Now!” She grabs their bags, Adrien transforms and they take off over the rooftops.

“What happened?!” Chat shouts as the runaway, “Is Batman chasing us?”

“Yes, well kinda-- Robin tried to kill me,”

“He what?!”

“As Marinette,” She adds, slowing down as they should have put enough distance between them.

“Did they figure us out already?” Chat Noir slows down into a walk then collapses on the rooftop,

"Probably,"

“This is the worst wake up call ever!”

“Well, it's about to get worse,” Ladybug cringes feeling the distinct trace of magic she was all too familiar with.

“Akuma?”

“Akuma,”

“Great, perfect,” Chat complains standing back up.

“At least we’re not at school,” Ladybug shrugs, launching herself over a roof.

“No you’re right being chased by a masked vigilante is a massive improvement,”

---

Wow

“Robin! Get your head out of the clouds and get over here!”

Damian breaks out of his trance, regrettably tearing his gaze away from Ladybug to the much less awe inspiring sight of Batman trapped under a car. They shouldn’t be wasting their time worrying about these established amazing hero’s and worry about that assassin on the loose. Who knows who she was after. She could be planning Batman’s demise at this very moment; if she was close with his mother then surely she knew their identities which was far far more dangerous.

Ladybug could handle herself as evidence by her going toe to toe with the newest villain. In a matter of minutes, the villain was down for the count with no help on their part. 

“Ladybug!” He calls before she leaves again, maybe she could help him convince his father that he was being an absolute buffoon.

“Oh it’s you,” She says surprisingly coldly, “What do you want now?”

“Now?”

“Are, you here to attack me again?”

“... I didn’t attack you?” He had spent all morning tracking down a dangerous assassin.

“... Oh! Of course, you did- haha I just ummmm-- there must have been an… Akuma! Yes! There must have been an Akuma earlier that looked like you,”

“An Akuma was impersonating me?” Robin growls.

“Yeah, they do that sometimes,” Chat Noir pipes up, “It’s annoying,”

“Yes and if you’re here, that uh… that means the Akuma is still out there so we gotta go deal with that so-bye!” Ladybug swings off closely followed by Chat Nor; off to go save his name and reputation.

---

“So you really think that was an Akuma?” Adrien asks as they transform back.

“Maybe- I don’t know it was just an excuse so he wouldn't figure out my identity,”

“Well at least he doesn't know it,” Adrien shrugs as they walk through the alleys in search of a new place to rest that night.

“If he doesn't know then why would he attack Marinette?” She asks, “And if it was an Akuma that means Hawkmoth knows my identity which is so much worse!”

“Is it tho?”

“Chat,”

“I mean back in Paris it would have been bad,” They both cringe, “But here we have no home, no family, no friends! He cant use any of that against us now!”

Adrien beams his contagious smile.

“You always manage to find a bright side,” Marinette smirks punching him in the shoulder.

“So that's why,” They both turn around, staring in shock.

“Batman?!” Turning back their way out is already blocked by mister boy wonder. Who, by the way he is glaring at her, was not an Akuma this morning.

“I can't believe Talia called me because some teenagers were eloping,”

I know that name- WAIT!

“Eloping?!” Marinette chokes, “We are not eloping!”

“As in not at all,” Adrien blanches, “And I mean no offense Marinette you are literally the sweetest person but I can’t imagine anything more horrific!”

“Oh god, same!” At least now, “I mean once when we were younger…-- it was a silly crush!”

“Wait you had a crush on me?!”

“Yeah, well, you had a crush on me!”

“... oh god… I did, didn’t I?!”

While Adrien is dealing with that little revelation Marinette looks around for an escape. There isn’t much opportunity since both have their eyes on them, partly out of morbid curiosity at their little freakout. Well if you don't have a distraction homemade is fine.

“AKUMA!” They both look, predictably. 

Marinette grabs Adrien and runs. She goes for the side Robins guarding, sweeping his legs sending him crashing to the ground.

“I’m not sorry!” Marinette calls as they sprint down the alley.

Marinette heads for the main street, enough of a crowd to camouflage. As they are walking through as casually as possible Marinette sweeps them both for bugs putting any she finds on random passerbys. They walk sometimes ducking into busy shops in hopes of losing their trail. They come across the mall which works perfectly for them. They stay until it starts to approach closing time, it’s easy enough to avoid security and so they get locked in for the night.

“So what do you want to do?!” They walk through the empty halls Adrien skipping along and looking at each display. Marinette stops outside an electronics store, the tv’s still on and displaying the news.

“Make a plan for a way to deal with that,” On-screen are the two of them, a video of Ladybug throwing a car at Batman, “This is taken completely out of context!”

“What’s the context?” 

“Batman was being a little bitch!”

“I’m sure that will hold up in court,” Adrien laughs taking a seat in one of those massage chairs, “Besides what's the problem?”

“The problem?!” Marinette yells, “The problem is that now all of Gotham is going to hate us!”

“So? Do we really need them to like us?” Adrien gets up to stand by her, rubbing her shoulder.

“They did in Paris,”

“We’re not in Paris anymore,” Adrien says quietly, leading her towards the seats, “We have a chance to start new again, everyday something we haven't done before, a couple of pals living day to day on the edge, isn’t that exciting?”

“I just--” want to go home, “I’m tired,”

“Take a break,” Adrien sits her down in the massage chair with a kind smile, “I’ll keep watch,”

“.. ok,” Marinette curls up in the chair Tikki coming to lie beside her. With not much strength to fight it, Marinette falls asleep while she can.

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

Taglist? nope don’t have one, horrible at keeping track of them sorry~