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#HYPOTHETICALLY the next one should be out today or tomorrow
thebusytypewriter · 10 months
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Big sorry to the people who requested lmao. It's taking a while because I'm adding way more than probably necessary but look your prompts were so good and my thoughts are running wild.
Slowly but surely we're getting there. Thanks for the patience!
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kumoriyami-xiuzhen · 15 days
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Hakuoki Drama CD - Hijikata Biyori Track 25 Eng translation
For about five minutes today, I was contemplating translating all the other biyoris that I haven't translated but were translated by other people... then I put off making a decision since I've got a backlog of stuff to subtitle and I know I've been procrastinating with that. 😅
Anyway, enjoy!
Hakuoki Drama CD - Hijikata Biyori Track 25: Hanafuda
Translation by KumoriYami
Harada: Alright! Inoshikachou [raw is 猪鹿蝶 in JP. This apparently is a high scoring combo in Hanafuda*]! I win!
Toudou: Ahh, Damn it! Sano-san, one more time, one more time!
Harada: Hey, hey, give me a break! I've spent the day playing Hanafuda with you. Let's go out for drinks, Heisuke.
Toudou: Are you trying to run away after winning?
Harada: I'm not going to run away. We can do this again tomorrow.
Toudou: I got it… I just had a bad hand today, I'll definitely win tomorrow!
Harada: Hehe, who knows if that'll happen. Well, let's head out today. Let's have a drinking contest.
Toudou: That's what I want. Hijikata: What are you two doing over here?
Harada: Oh, Hijikata-san... Hey, Heisuke, this is all your fault that Hijikata-san found us. Now we can't go out.
Toudou: How is that my fault!
Hijikata: Hey, what are you doing?
Harada: No, nothing/No-Nothing.
Hijikata: Oh~ Hanafuda, huh.
Toudou: Ah, yes, that's right. I was playing Hanafuda with Sano-san just now.
HIjikata: Speaking of which, it's been a while since I've played Hanafuda. Yosh! I'm going to play too!
Harada/Toudou: Eh?
Hijikata: What, are you dissatisfied [more literally this is 'What, are you not pleased' so I guess 'got a problem' could hypothetically work]?
Harada: No, it's not like that. There's nothing to for it then/nothing that can be done. Just go along with it so we can get through this. Don't take it too seriously. Just lose to him.
Toudou: Leave it to me.
.... [I assume some amount of time passes here though the tl didn't mention it.]
Harada: Ah, Hijikata-san... isn't it about time?
Hijikata: No, one more time!
Toudou: What should we do, Sano-san! Hijikata-san is really into it.
Harad: Ah, I didn't expect Hijikata-san to be so bad at playing Hanafuda.
Toudou: At this rate, we'll be playing Hanafuda until morning.
Hijikata: What's wrong? Let's begin. Ah, but the cards in my hand are really bad.
Harada: Hehehe...
HIjikata: Oh, what's wrong?
Harada: No, it's nothing. It's just that I was thinking that we're all alike/similar.
Toudou: Alike?
Hijikata: Us?
Harada: Ah, it's not so bad for everyone to be playing Hanafuda like this. Alright, I'll accompany you until morning.
Toudou: Eh? Sano-san, wait a sec!
Harada: What is it, Heisuke. You were frusturated too, right? I won't show any mercy next time. Prepare yourself/Be prepared.
Hijikata: Haha, that's just what I wanted.
Toudou: I'm not going to lose either!
Harada: Then let's begin!
Hijikata/Toudou: Yes!
------end------
reference: https://fudawiki.org/en/hanafuda/games/ino-shika-cho
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aracelysdelusion · 7 months
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i am SO normal about your kaveh isekai story SO normal about it
I'M SO NORMAL ABOUT IT TOO LOLOL. I'M ON A SCHOOL BREAK RIGHT NOW SO DO EXPECT AN UPDATE ON AIUG THIS WEEK AFTER I POST THIS ONESHOT I'M WORKING ON... NOT TO SPOIL BUT I'VE BEEN THINKING ABOUT THIS ONE SCENE ON MY UPCOMING CHAPTER THATS SM FUN TO WRITE IT LITERALLY HAS ME REENACTING HYPOTHETICAL LINES NOT ONLY IN MY HEAD BUT OUT LOUD LIKE ITS SO GOOD AND I HAVEN'T EVEN WROTE IT DOWN ON MY DOC YET.
Anyways, I should be posting a oneshot today, (Fatui Alhaitham/ Debtor Kaveh won on my twt polls but I should be doing an Eremite Alhaitham one next time I post a oneshot) and I should be updating AIUG at the earliest tomorrow but at the latest on Friday.
psst... here's a screenshot from the oneshot... writing AIUG got me fucked up because I keep using the word "system" to describe Mehrak...
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Lilypad
LILY AND PANDORA <33
Word count: 2 200
I love em, who doesn't? There's really nothing to warn about, hopefully you like it (my first time writing them).
Lily sat down in the corner of the library, pulling her knees up to her chest and hugging them tightly. The table was in the furthest corner next to the history of magic books, a place where students barely bothered to go, so it was the perfect place for peace and quiet. Perfect for hiding. Not that she often had to hide, but when she needed to, this was the go-to place. Today was one of those rare occurrences when she wanted to hide, wanted to be away from all the people, away from all the noise and stress.
She looked out the large window beside the table, the evening sun was shining beautifully, and she had a clear view down to the castle grounds. A lot of people were enjoying the sun, gathered around the lake and sitting underneath trees. Some had books with them and were studying for the upcoming exams, some were just playing around with their friends. She should be studying too, but she just couldn't gather the strength to pull out her books and start to read.
She was supposed to study with Remus today, but he was sick, or that's what Sirius said when Lily had ran into him earlier. Now that they couldn't study together, she found it hard to study by herself, she was so used to company or someone always bothering her while studying that doing it alone felt almost impossible now.
She wanted to be alone, but at the same time, she didn't. She wanted to be alone, but with someone. Lily just wanted to sit quietly and not do anything, but she wanted someone to sit there with her so she wouldn't feel so lonely in the quietness and get lost in her anxiety inducing thoughts. Though, she hadn't told anyone where she was going since she wanted to be alone, but sitting in the quiet she realised she didn't want that after all. She could go find someone, but couldn't find herself to get up.
She leaned her head against the window, closing her eyes. Maybe she should just leave the library and go to her dorm, sleep until the morning. It was too early though, only past seven and it was Saturday tomorrow. She could sleep in any way, so going to bed early didn't even make sense; she had nowhere to be.
“Lilypad,” Lily jumped at the sudden voice, opening her eyes and looking up at Pandora, who was standing next to the table. “It's just me, darling, don't look so spooked.” She smiled softly, sliding to sit down next to her on the bench, she was smiling, but still looked worried.
“Just caught me by surprise.” Lily whispered, smiling sheepishly. “How'd you know I was here?”
“Well, you always come here when you're upset, love.” She said, reaching to brush a strand of hair behind her ear. Lily laid her head down on Pandora's shoulder, closing her eyes again, taking in the comforting scent of her perfume. It smelled like fresh flowers, sometimes it was vanilla, but the floral scent was her favourite.
“I'm not upset.” Pandora hummed, reaching around her to pull her in a sideways hug, rubbing her upper arm for a moment, then moving it to hold her by the waist. “I'm really not.”
“I believe you.” She whispered, kissing the top of her head, letting her lips linger there for a moment before speaking again. “But, hypothetically, if you were to be upset about something, it would be okay.” Lily nodded. “Do you wanna talk?”
“No.”
“Do you want to be alone, love?” Lily shook his head. “Okay.” She smiled, kissing her head again before reaching to grab something from her bag, Lily opened her eyes, watching as Pandora set her sketchbook on the table, along with a few of her pens.
“Am I in the way?” She asked, biting her lip and lifting her head up to look at her.
“Not at all, Lilypad.” Pandora whispered. “I want you right there.” Lily nodded, laying her head back down, though still a bit hesitant until she relaxed, realising that it wasn't a bad thing. She watched as Pandora balanced the book on her lap and started to sketch something onto the page. Lily closed her eyes after a while, listening to Pandora's calm breathing, and the soft scraping the pen made against the paper.
She felt herself starting to fall asleep, but every time she blinked her eyes open, watching Pandora draw before her eyes shut once again. She didn't even know why she was so tired, but she just was. “Lily, dear?” She hummed, lifting her head to look at Pandora, who smiled as she saw the sleepy expression, leaning in to give her a kiss. “You should go to bed.”
“I don't want to.”
“Why’s that?”
“I want to be with you, haven't seen you in ages.”
“You slept next to me the whole night, love.” Lily just smiled, shaking her head. “Why'd you think I wouldn't come with you, huh? I can't sleep without my snuggle bug.”
“Don't call me that.” She whispered, blushing slightly as she looked away, but Pandora reached to cup her cheek, kissing her nose, which made her blush even more.
“Oh, but you love it, don't you, bug.”
“Stop it.” Lily giggled, leaning away from her as she peppered her face with kisses, or tried to.
“Fine, fine.” She smiled, holding her hands up in surrender, sitting up straight. “But, only because we're in the library. Otherwise, you'd have no mercy.” Lily smiled, leaning back against Pandora's shoulder. “Let's go then, huh?”
“Yeah.” She nodded, watching as Pandora packed up her stuff and took Lily's hand, starting to lead her out of the library. Pandora led her down to the dungeons, let her into the Slytherin common room, and then into her dorm.
“Go sit down, I'll find you something comfy to wear.” She smiled, kissing her cheek before letting go of Lily's hand. She watched as Pandora grabbed her pyjamas from where she had folded them in the morning, walking over and giving them to her. “I'm gonna go grab us some tea from the kitchens, okay? Then, if you'd like, I can braid your hair.”
“Okay.”
Pandora kissed her forehead before making her way to the door. “I'll be right back, love.” She said before leaving. She changed into the pyjamas, starting to feel anxious now that she was alone in the quietness. None of the other girls were there yet, which she was quite glad about, she didn't really want to see anyone else right now, especially the people she didn't know as well. “I got some cookies as well, the elves said they were left over so I took a few.” She smiled, pushing the door closed with her foot as she came back into the dorm, setting the tray down onto the bedside table.
“I'll quickly change, then I'll braid your hair.” She said, walking over to her closet and pulling out clothes she could sleep in. “The green cup is yours, Lils.” She said as she pulled a new shirt on, Lily nodded, taking one of the cups as she watched Pandora go to the bathroom while pulling her pyjama bottoms on, smiling to herself at the sight.
“Sit on the floor, baby.” She said as she walked back with a hairbrush and a few ties. Lily carefully slid down the bed to not spill hot tea all over herself, sitting down onto the floor as Pandora settled down onto the bed behind her. She first tied her hair up in a bun, mainly to keep it out of the way for the night, handing Lily one of the cookies before taking one herself. Then she slowly started to brush through her hair, gently getting through all the knots that had formed throughout the day, then split it into two sections, starting to make the first braid.
“Did you do anything fun today?”
“Not really,” Lily whispered, wiping her mouth from the cookie crumbs and taking a small sip of her tea once Pandora had braided far enough that it wouldn't affect it. “I was supposed to study with Rem, but Sirius said he’s sick.”
“Aww. Hopefully, he feels better soon. Did you get any studying done?” Lily shook her head. “Well, maybe it's good to take a bit of a break sometimes. You do tend to study too much.”
“I do not.” Pandora laughed quietly, leaning to kiss the top of her head as if to say that she didn't mean anything bad by laughing, then continued doing the braid. “Did you do anything?”
“I was helping professor Sprout with one of her plants after classes.” She said while tying off the first braid. “We tried this new fertiliser I've been working with for a while now. I'm going to go see if it's worked tomorrow.” Pandora took a sip of her tea and ate the rest of her cookie before starting the second braid. “You could come with me, I could show you all the pretty flowers.”
“I'd like that.”
“Mm, let's go tomorrow after breakfast.” She smiled. “Though, none of the flowers are as pretty as you, Lils.” She blushed, looking down to her lap, though smiled.
“I'm not pretty.”
“Oh, but you are, darling.” She whispered. “The prettiest of ‘em all.” She said, tying the second braid off, before wrapping her arms around her shoulders, leaning to kiss her cheek. “Come cuddle with me, my pretty flower.”
Lily nodded, getting up from the floor, setting her cup down before coming to sit next to Pandora once she moved to sit with her back against the headboard. She first laid her head down onto Pandora's shoulder, but after a while they laid down and lily could rest her head on her chest, throwing one of her feet over hers, to curl up better to her: she just wanted to be close. It was as if being close to her would take away all the bad feelings, all the anxiety. Maybe it did. She let out a content hum when the blanket was pulled over them, and gently tucked around her.
“Are you tired, love?” She nodded, opening her eyes to search for her hand, intertwining their fingers together when she got it. “Mm, I'm too. Would you like to talk? Why were you upset earlier?”
“Wasn't.”
“Baby,” She whispered into her hair. “Don't lie to me, please love. Just wanna help you.”
“I'm just anxious.” She whispered, hiding her face more into Pandora's chest as she felt tears burning in her eyes. “It's really nothing, panda.”
“Can't be nothing if it makes you cry, Lilypad.” she said, gently rubbing her side. “It's okay if you don't wanna talk, or if there's nothing to talk about. But let me comfort you at least.”
“I'm just anxious.” She repeated, tears falling down and soaking through Pandora's shirt, but she didn't mind, just gently rubbed her back. “I-i don't know why. It's stupid.”
“It's not.” Pandora whispered, kissing her head, letting her lips linger there for a moment. “It's not stupid, baby. It's okay to be anxious without knowing why, it happens.” She nodded slightly, but that did nothing to stop the tears from falling. “And, it's okay to be upset, I don't mind. Not at all, princess.”
“I'm sorry.”
“No, no. Shh.” She soothed, running her hand over the braids she had made, letting her hand rest between her shoulder blades for a moment. “It's okay, Lils.” She rubbed small circles into Lily's wrist with her thumb, trying to calm her down. It took some time until the tears turned into quiet sniffles, and her breathing calmed down. But, she stayed there, doing her best to comfort her.
She sniffled quietly, letting go of Pandora's hand and bringing it up to wipe her eyes, but then it was gently pulled away. She looked up, smiling sheepishly as Pandora wiped the tears away with the pads of her thumbs, leaning to kiss the tip of her nose, then her forehead before she laid her head back down.
“Sleep?”
“Too early for sleep.”
“Mm no, never too early for sleep.” She whispered into her hair, closing the curtains around her bed before taking her hand back into hers. “C'mon I know you're sleepy, baby. And I'm sleepy, so let's sleep, hmm?” Lily nodded, but lifted her head to look at Pandora. “What, darling?”
“Kiss?”
“You're precious.” She smiled softly, before leaning in and giving her a chaste kiss. “Sleep now, Lilypad.” She gave her one more kiss before Lily laid her head back down, both getting more comfortable before they could fall asleep.
“Panda?” Lily whispered after a while, hoping she hadn't fallen asleep yet, Pandora hummed sleepily, running her hand down her back. “I love you.”
“I love you, Lilypad.” She smiled, kissing her head before settling back against the pillows. “Goodnight, sweet dreams. I'll try to stay awake until you fall asleep, yeah?” Lily nodded, smiling as Pandora started to hum quietly, knowing how quiet noise always helped her sleep. With Pandora, there, it actually didn't take all that long until she could drift off to sleep and let go of all those thoughts that were bothering her.
A/N:
Hellooo,
Remember the pandalily fic I was talking about in one of my latest fics, it's here :)
I hope you liked it, I've never really written them so I hope it was good, I really liked writing them and will definitely (most likely) write more in the future
Have a nice day, remember to take care of yourself <33
<3
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Easier USCG Vessel Renewal for the Journey Ahead
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successionmanga · 11 months
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Chapter 2
Belca sums up what happened at the end of the last chapter: it's all just a bad dream.
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Hector is dead. His siblings watch his body burned on his pyre with Musca trying to put the fire out, not comprehending what is happening. She manages to catch on fire and Belca moves to dunk her in water to put out the flame, cursing her out and saying if she wants to die too. Her handlers yell at him but Musca is oddly silent, watching as Belca stomps off...
On the balcony, Belca notes that today's funeral was for the relatives; tomorrow, the state's guests will be invited to the funeral rites. Looks like he won't be studying abroad either. Just when he's ruminating on always having to be stuck in the castle, Orcelita swings down from a sheet ladder above him to talk.
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He falls on him.
Anyway, Orcelita wanted to thank him for saving Musca today. Belca tells him if he's really grateful then use the damn door from now on. Orcelita counters that he had to come from the above window; his guards told him that if he just wanted to say thanks, they would tell Belca for him. Belca says that's because Orcelita is the crown prince and that with the incident, it'll be unwise if he keeps talking to the next in line in person. Orcelita says that can't be true because they're brothers and they gotta support the country together...but Belca snatches away from him, telling him to leave him alone. He shouts that no one in the castle wants him to be involved in politics. He finishes his short rant telling Orcelita that he was just giving him sweet talk and that being around him irritates him.
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Yeah, even Belca thinks that he was being too harsh, saying he was just taking his feelings out on the nearest target. Thankfully (even if Belca doesn't see it that way), Orcelita followed him out, chasing him down to talk it out with him. Belca runs into a weird bunker to hide from him, going into a weird door to hide further only to pause. Orcelita catches up and stops behind him, asking what's the deal with the door and what stinks about it. He does recognize it as an important place for the ancestors, saying that he has to find someone to clean the place for them. Belca wants them to go back to their rooms but Orcelita says it's the duty of the royal family to upkeep the place.
So...they find a body.
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Belca recognizes the skin color. It's not "human"; it's an Amontel. He carries Orcelita's fainting ass out of there while not being able to shake off the feeling of being followed. While they're walking, Orcelita discusses how Amontel are supposed to have been created by an "ancient evil" in "man's likeness" but he till can't stand to see them in pain. Belca says that that makes him just like Hector (Eh...). That makes Orcelita walk on his own and say that if he really is like Hector, then he can't let Belca do something so simple with him. Belca tells him it's too late to be acting cool now before they head into a chapel. Belca says it isn't part of the vilia's main grounds and that if they cut through the forest, they can get back to the main house.
Orcelita then brings up that this is the first time the two have talked so much...and that Belca is not using formal speech to talk to him. Belca says it's a habit he started since his last talk with Hector involved the latter telling him it's weird for siblings to speak so politely to each other. All in all, Orcelita prefers to talk to him like this. But Belca is not optimistic about getting to talk to him much anymore, considering Orcelita is the crown prince and all. Orcelita asks why, outside of the fact that other people decided it for them. Belca is eager to dismiss it as more sweet talk but Orcelita is coming off as particularly intense, saying if something can changed then someone should change it. Belca says it can't be changed...but, hypothetically, if it can be, he would like to do something about it too.
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He then says if Orcelita wants to investigate why shit is so fucked, it's fine if they do it together. Then they hear someone come inside the chapel, Belca covering Orcelita's mouth to keep him from giving away their position. After all, it's the middle of the night and the guys came in by the hidden passage. They listen in through a window and discover it's two elders, Lord Lagen and Sir Orbus. Orcelita wants to go in and join the conversation only for some other guy to walk in: it's Sir Orbus' son who discusses shipping the "goods" before sneering at the Amontels who are coming over to see Hector's funeral. Sir Orbus placates him by saying the Amontels may be monsters but their young females can be sold at a high price. Listening in, Belca and Orceita begin to suspect the body they saw earlier belonged to the Amontel who was with Hector, killed for "rising above his station". Then they reveal they're poisoning the king, the whole murder forcing them to put off the whole assassination plot a little longer.
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Oh, and they totally killed Hector.
Orcelita stomps away too loudly, signaling the elders inside to the brothers' presence. Luckily, they're mistaken for maids or tutors. Unluckily, the elders casually order the guards to get rid of them. Orcelita, being dragged away by Belca, demands to know why he's being taken away; he has every right to question them. Belca points out they weren't supposed to hear that and now they have a target on their heads. Belca wants to hide in the forest but Orcelita points away, angrily shouting that they didn't do anything wrong. When the guards levy their bows and arrows at them, Orcelita turns and faces them, loudly demanding to know why they are trying to kill the crown prince. One trigger happy guard fires his arrow at Orcelita accidentally and Belca moves in, pushing Orcelita away and taking the arrow himself.
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Belca is hanging on a cliffside and one of the guards suggests helping him, Orcelita running over to do just that. However, Sir Orcus' son walks over, telling him it doesn't matter if he and Belca are brothers: he can't associate with someone of a lower status. Orcelita screams at him to help him pull up his brother but the son calmly tells him to choose wisely who he wants to side with. Orcelita says he'll do whatever they want if they just help him pull his brother up. The son is pleased...and then Orcelita loses his grip.
Belca plummets to the bottom.
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The chapter ends with Ego somehow finding his body, saying that Belca is going to die...
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mokutone · 2 years
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i'm sending a weather balloon up 'cause i've got a newly finished comic i'm gonna load into the queue at some point today or tomorrow (it probably shouldn't post for A While) and it's like. solidly medium sized
9 images, 22 panels. so i'm not sure how i want to post it, and since as my followers u all r the lovely people whomst i inflict my artistic whims upon, i figured i'd ask for some opinions
should i post this comic as:
1) The Longpost. Because it's only 9 images, it can hypothetically be all in one post, it would just be a very long post. Not quite "do you like the color of the sky? which one." but certainly getting there
2) Separate it out into chunks, where one must click a link to be led to the next chunk (part 1, part 2, etc)
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outercrasis · 3 years
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Sessions
Pairing: College!Din Djarin x F!Reader
Rating: Mature (18+)
Word Count: 3.2k
Warnings: References to sex, masturbation (nothing actually occurs)
Summary: After meeting Mando, you just can’t seem to get him out of your head. (events directly follow Introductions)
A/N: Thanks for the kind reception to the first post of this AU! I’ll be making a masterlist soon for easier navigation :) Let me know if you’d like to be tagged in future posts or if I’ve missed a warning.
Series Masterlist // Main Masterlist
Lingering Impressions
Your day ended up being an exhausting one. Mando had been your most exciting session for more reasons than just the obvious. You'd reviewed the papers of two freshmen, a junior who wanted you to basically write their paper for them, and another graduate student who disregarded every suggestion you made. Needless to say, Mando's gratitude felt extra special after all of that.
Getting home, you're greeted with the welcome smell of something delicious coming from the kitchen as you throw yourself face-first into the couch. The open floorplan of your tiny two bedroom apartment allows Layla to spot you as you wander in.
"Hello to you too!" she calls over. "I'm making chicken marsala."
You lift your head up from the watermelon-shaped throw pillow to smile at her. "You are a saint and I don't deserve you."
"You totally don't," Layla teases back, happily returning to the stove. You flip over on the couch, mindlessly scrolling through your phone while she finishes making dinner. A comfortable silence fills the room, interrupted only by Layla's hums and the discordant sounds of cooking.
Layla has been your roommate since your sophomore year of college, randomly paired together by the dorm sorting system and inseparable ever since. The two of you clicked, a friendship forged over the awkwardness of early adulthood and a shared love of terrible reality TV. Both of you keep busy schedules while pursuing your respective master’s degrees and help each other out where you can. Making dinners for each other is just a part of that.
It’s not long before Layla brings over two steaming plates of food to lay out on your thrifted coffee table. She sits opposite you, preferring to sit on the floor rather than the couch. You’re eager to dig in, groaning at the first bite.
“I’ll take that as a thank you,” Layla grins, tucking into her own meal.
“God yes.”
“Long day then?”
You groan again, this time in irritation rather than pleasure. “Yes. I don’t know how many more know-it-all grad students I can deal with.”
She’s heard all about your nightmare sessions with students that think they already know everything. You’ve questioned more than once why they bother booking the session if they're just going to ignore your advice and decide their paper is perfect as is. It seems like a total waste of time for both you and them. 
Layla sympathizes and shares her own gripes about some of the assholes she's forced to put up with while working on her research project. After all, no group project is complete without the one person who does nothing but acts like they know everything. Giving each other time to vent another small way the two of you take care of each other.
As you think back on your day and sessions your mind inevitably drifts to Mando. He hadn’t been anything like you’d expected. He was kind in his own way and by far the most amenable session you’d had all day. Not taking off the helmet was odd, as was not giving out his real name, but neither of those had really bothered you when it came down to it. If anything, they only serve to fascinate you further.
“Did something else happen today?” Layla asks, a spark lighting up in her eyes. She can always read you, something that can be either a blessing or a curse depending on what it is you're hiding. You take a few more bites before answering, already anticipating her reaction.
“Well I might have also met Mando today,” You try to throw it out there casually, hoping that if you treat it as though it’s not a big deal she’ll follow your lead. You should have known better.
“You what!? Tell me everything,” Layla screeches at you from across the coffee table. She pushes her food off to the side, clearly deciding that your unexpected meeting with campus's resident celebrity is far more important.
"He came in for a session. His paper was really good, it-"
Layla is quick to cut you off. "I literally couldn't care less about that and you know it. Tell me about him, what's he like? Is he terrifying?"
You can’t help but snort at that. You know why she asked of course - the rumors flying around about him getting out of hand these days - but when you think about him now they all seem ludicrous. The gentle way he spoke to Grogu and offered his hand out to the kid before leaving. The sincerity in his voice as he spoke to you, eager to hear any advice you had to give him. No. Mando was decidedly not terrifying. “He’s… just a guy,” you tell her, not really sure how to explain his unique presence.
The eyeroll you receive in response is warranted. “Are you kidding me right now? You probably know more about him than anyone else on campus and you’re going to tell me he’s just a guy?”
You shrug, shoveling another bite of food into your mouth. “I don’t know what to tell you Lays, I only spent an hour with him. He was nice, really sweet with his kid, and I’ll probably never see him again.”
You’re not sure why you feel a quick sting in your chest at that thought. It wasn’t like you knew him well or that he even owed you anything. Considering the fact that you’d gone weeks without so much as glimpsing him on campus you’d probably only have another chance to see him if he signed up for another session and there was no guarantee he’d return.
“So the kid thing is true?” Layla asks.
“Yeah. Really cute kid, pretty quiet.” Very quiet now that you think of it. You don’t have much experience with kids that young, but you’re certain kids Grogu’s age can talk. He hadn’t said so much as a word, only letting out an occasional noise or two. It was odd, but then he could just be shy or something. Another question you’d probably never have an answer for.
“Is the kid his?” Layla presses.
“I don’t know, it didn’t exactly come up while we discussed his paper on unique material applications,” you snap back at her. You wince a little at your sharp reply. It wasn’t deserved. Layla was simply curious and now the victim of your long day and swirling thoughts.
You quickly follow up with an apology. “Sorry. I just- I had a long day and I really didn’t learn much about him, okay?” 
There’s a small sense of relief when Layla nods, backing down from her inquisition. “It’s cool, I get it. Just promise you’ll tell me if you see him again?”
“Yeah, I’ll let you know.” 
The rest of the night passes like usual. You wash up after dinner, a fair trade since Layla cooked, and the two of you get to tackling homework that’s begun to pile up with the semester entering its full swing. Nighttime study sessions have been a regular occurrence since your undergrad days and have only intensified while pursuing your respective graduate degrees. It’s more about solidarity and accountability than shared workload, what with your program being in English and Layla’s in Marketing, but it’s nice. Simply having company is better than doing it all by yourself.
Around 10:30 you call it, eyes bleary from staring at your laptop. Layla is deep into a PDF reading so you leave her to her work and shuffle off to the shared bathroom. While the water heats, you brush your teeth lazily, going through the motions of your nightly routine. You test the water with your hand before deciding it’s warm enough to step in.
Your thoughts drift aimlessly as you stand under the hot stream, unfocused until they land back on him. It’s like you can’t help yourself, the way your thoughts have been returning to him all night. You’ve puzzled about him before, but only in the abstract. A hypothetical more than a real person. Wondering if rumors are true isn't quite the same as wondering about the man himself. 
All throughout the night he kept popping up. One moment you would be considering the symbolic use of color in your assigned reading and the next you would be puzzling over Mando’s favorite color. Maybe orange, if his gloves were anything to go by. Layla's favorite song played and while she sang along you couldn't help wondering what kind of music he listens to. Rock probably, or was that too on the nose? As you sipped your drink you wondered what his drink of choice would be, alcoholic or not. Did he even drink alcohol at all? Something told you he wasn’t much for losing his inhibitions.
It's all the little things, all the little details that actually make up a person that no one bothers to speculate about that consume you now. Who cares about his favorite movie or favorite food when you can guess on whether or not he's been to jail?
As you wash the grime of the day from your body, your mind continues to drift further, settling onto the first thing that captured your attention earlier today. His hands. Those gorgeous sun soaked hands, how fluidly they moved across his keyboard. The firm hold of them when he shook your hand.
Eyes fluttering closed, you can't help imagining that it's his hands skating across your skin. You can almost feel the gentle roughness of them, the way he'd squeeze and hold you - tight, but not so hard that it hurts. Almost unconsciously, your hand begins to drift down your body, only to be interrupted by a pounding on the bathroom door. Your eyes snap open, confusion and embarrassment replacing your fantasy.
"Hurry up in there! I need to pee," Layla yells through the door.
You grumble in response, knowing she can't hear you, but quickly finish your shower. It's not quite as relaxing anymore, flustered by your wanton thoughts. 
Getting back into your room, you check your email before setting your alarms for tomorrow. There’s the usual spam from online stores reminding you of limited time deals, a reminder that rent is due next week (lovely), and a couple generic university emails. Your eyes fall to your new tutoring appointment emails and you flick through them mindlessly to clear them out, knowing they’ll all automatically appear on your calendar. 
Just as you’re about to close out of the app and get some well needed rest, a new email pops through. It’s another appointment alert scheduled for next week. You tap to open it and your heart flutters when you read the name on the form. Mando. No need to wonder about if you’d ever see him again now. You’d be seeing him Tuesday at 3 PM. Somehow you know he won’t miss his appointment.
×××××
Din is exhausted. Between Grogu, classes, and trying to find ways to make money, he barely has enough time to do basic functional adult things. Things like showering regularly, eating more than a required minimum of once a day, or heaven help him sleep. 
He wishes he could afford a regular babysitter, allow himself some occasional reprieve but it's not possible. He makes just enough to keep the bills paid and at least Grogu's stomach full. There's also an ever present paranoia about letting a stranger into his home, much less to watch his son. Only Paz and Cara have ever babysat for him and even that was mostly against his will.
Din slumps onto his couch, exhausted from the long day. He’d found the couch on the side of the road. It’s well worn and has a couple holes in it, but it was devoid of fleas, comfortable, and most importantly, free. His helmet is off, sitting on the kitchen table where he’d left it after getting home from campus. He’s mostly used to it these days, but sometimes it can still feel suffocating underneath the custom bucket. Taking it off at the end of the day is always welcome, especially when Din sees Grogu’s eyes light up at his exposed face.
He allows himself just a moment of rest, closing his eyes and leaning his head against the back of the couch. Grogu had finally gone to bed, demanding three stories before he fell asleep and Din not having it within him to deny the requests. A small smile rests on his lips, thinking of Grogu's excitement at his mediocre storytelling. He already loathes the day when Grogu won't ask him to read anymore.
There are about twenty other things he should be doing right now other than sitting on the couch. The apartment hasn't been cleaned properly in weeks, dishes are piling up, laundry needs to be done, he needs to find a job for this weekend, should probably find better daycare for Grogu, has an exam to study for, and a paper to finish writing. He should be doing all of that and more, and yet he can't find the will to move. He stays planted firmly on the couch, letting his thoughts drift. A few different ideas and ruminations swirl around, but his mind settles onto one. Her.
She isn't what he had been expecting. When his professor had recommended a session with a writing tutor he'd been a little miffed at first. Din knew words weren't his strong suit, but he hadn't thought he was that bad. He probably wouldn't have even considered it if she hadn't immediately assured him that it was only a suggestion because she saw potential in his work.
He had still only been considering it, form half filled out, when Grogu had hit submit. He’d looked for a way to cancel the appointment, but couldn’t figure it out with the school’s poorly designed website, so instead he had resigned himself to going. After all, just the one session couldn't hurt and he'd already be on campus.
He thought the tutor would be some irritating know-it-all, pointing out all the mistakes in his paper. Either that, or that they'd be too nervous to make any real criticisms. He’d noticed the way people froze up around him, sometimes too timid to even look in his direction. She wasn't either of those things.
She was all smiles and kindness, not hesitant around him for a moment. Even Grogu took an immediate liking to her, as evidenced by the gift of his frog drawing. Din had more of those than he could count, but very few others had been bestowed the honor of his sacred amphibian themed artworks.
She challenged him in a way he liked, not rude but still forceful. Encouraging him to figure out what it was she was guiding him towards with the paper. Not taking ownership, simply identifying where ideas could be made stronger or clearer. They’d only worked through a few pages in the session and Din already felt more confident in his writing. 
What he liked most though was that she hadn't even asked about the helmet. It was all he heard from those brave enough to speak to him. Where did he get it, why did he wear it, did he ever take it off, what does he look like underneath, and so on. Avoiding all of those questions got to be draining. She didn't even acknowledge it.
She had mentioned the rumors that were apparently swirling around campus about him but that was it. He was a bit grateful for that though, entirely unaware of how popular he'd apparently become. The stares that followed him on campus were hard to ignore, but he didn’t know about their accompanying whispers. He still isn’t sure if the rumors are a good or a bad thing. Her reaction hadn’t given him all that much to go off of. He wishes it had.
That thought stops Din short. Where did that come from? Why did her opinion of him suddenly matter after a single one hour session? Din can’t remember the last time he considered someone else’s opinion of him. Probably when he first brought Grogu home to meet everyone. Now here he is, wondering what his English tutor’s thoughts were about the rumors everyone has been spreading about him. He needs to get out more.
Din shakes his head free, trying to ponder other aspects of his life. Like when he’d be able to get the Razor Crest up and running again. She’d broken down again after only the second week of classes. Paz makes fun of him for riding on such an old bike, but she’s a classic. Din can’t get rid of her, no matter how much she likes to break down on him. In the meantime he could make due with the loaner truck from Peli.
Thoughts of his motorcycle only distract him for so long though. He realizes half-way through the fantasy that he’s imagining taking her out on his bike, feeling her hands clasped around his waist as he rides through the city. The way she’d hang on just a little tighter, pressing herself against his back, as he hits the throttle just a bit harder.
Din sits up on the couch and mutters to himself. “Come on, Djarin. Pull it together.”
She’s beautiful, yes, but to already be fantasizing about taking her for a ride? That’s a bit much. It has been months since Din has seen any kind of action, but he shouldn’t be this desperate after spending only an hour with a pretty face. Still, now that he’s thinking of it, his mind wanders to what she’d be like. 
Would she take charge, calm and in control like she was earlier today? Or would she submit to him, allow him to do whatever he wanted? A small groan escapes Din’s lips at the thought of having her beneath him, begging for him to take her. How she would look spread out on his bedsheets, how sweet she’d taste. He can already imagine how good she’d feel wrapped around him, the way her eyes would look all strung out and cockdumb. It would be a beautiful sight if he’s ever lucky enough to see it.
An alarm Din forgot he set suddenly blares on his phone. He can’t even remember what he set it for as he’s yanked from his lewd imaginings, scrambling to turn it off. There’s a small wave of embarrassment as he registers where he allowed his thoughts to drift. 
Ignoring the uncomfortable pressure in his jeans, Din pulls up the tutoring appointment form on his phone and signs up for another session. There’s an option to select a specific tutor and he’s quick to open it up, choosing her name from the drop down menu. 
There’s nothing wrong about this, right? She’d helped him with his paper and Grogu liked her. She even asked if she’d be seeing him again. That was plenty of reason to have another session. His renegade fantasies had nothing to do with his decision to go back. Din is a man in control of his urges. If anything, this next session would prove that his thoughts were all just fleeting, just a simple result of going too long without anyone in his bed.
.
.
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an icarus and his sun: chapter 4
A/N: what's this? jimmy may be finally leaving denial station? and gray-aroace jimmy because i said so? hell yeah. also more seablings pog!! i do also have the next chapter written already bc it has one of the scenes that was basically the whole reason i wrote this fic, but i'm gonna wait until tomorrow to post it (mostly bc i wanna make sure i have the chapter after that one written bc of... reasons >:) the next chapter is a tad cliffhanger-y and i just don't want y'all to have to wait too long)
Warnings: teasing/banter, flirting, realization of feelings
AO3 Link - Tumblr Masterpost
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The invitation for the House Blossom Ball arrived, with a separate handwritten note along with it from Katherine that very pointedly reminded Jimmy to dress up and maybe lose the cod head. Something about how it wasn’t “fancy enough” or whatever. Jimmy felt the cod head was acceptable for any occasion, not to mention he felt weird with his whole head being in view- but maybe he could compromise for Katherine. He’d have to figure out some sort of other headpiece… but the ball wasn’t for a few days anyway. Jimmy had plenty of time to figure out an outfit. In the meantime, he had some work to do on his slime farm. And of course, who else should be there but Scott when Jimmy came up from his farm. He was sitting on the roof of the slime farm entrance, legs swinging idly.
“What are you doing here,” Jimmy asked with a tired sigh, really hoping that he wouldn’t have to deal with another fight with Scott. Scott hopped down from the roof, gliding a bit before landing in front of Jimmy.
“Oh same as always, I was bored and you’re fun to bother,” Scott said with a shrug and a playful grin. Jimmy glowered at him, putting his hands on his hips.
“Oh no, not today! I’m not letting you get under my skin anymore!” Jimmy said, determination in his tone. Scott raised an eyebrow as his grin morphed into a smirk, and there was that squirming, fluttery feeling from their fight again.
“Are you sure about that?” Scott crooned, a clear challenge in his voice. Jimmy shut his eyes, taking a deep breath before shifting his expression into something more neutral.
“Absolutely,” he said firmly, walking past Scott towards his base. Scott seemed surprised for a moment, before getting his bearings and following after Jimmy.
"Not even over this?" Scott asked, walking beside Jimmy and tossing something green up in the air before catching it again. Jimmy stopped walking, brows furrowed in confusion. Scott stopped too, looking him in the eyes as he tossed the object again- a slimeball.
"How- where- when did you- where did you get that from?!" Jimmy demanded. The only way people got slime was from his empire.
“Got it from one of your chests- thought you wouldn’t mind,” Scott replied with a shrug, that smirk still irritatingly present on his face.
“I very much do mind! Give that back!” Jimmy demanded, lunging forward to try and grab the slimeball from his hand. Scott darted back, flapping his wings and sending a gush of wind to push Jimmy back.
“You’re gonna have to catch me, fish boy,” Scott teased, before taking off into the sky. Jimmy grit his teeth in frustration.
“I’m the Codfather!” he protested, equipping his elytra and taking off after Scott. Scott laughed, dipping and twirling in the sky while Jimmy struggled to keep up. Going after someone who had actual wings while Jimmy only had an elytra was a definite disadvantage, but Jimmy was a little too stubborn to care. Scott climbed higher into the sky with ease, Jimmy following close after- and then the sun hit Scott’s wings and Jimmy just about fell out of the sky. The sun’s rays caught the gold tips of his wings, making them shimmer. But it wasn’t just the sunshine reflecting off his wings- it was the way Scott’s whole face seemed to shine like the sun with his smile and how the wind ruffled his usually neat hair. It was how his laugh sounded as if the shimmering of gold made a sound. It was how those icy blue eyes sparkled with mirth as he held the slimeball victoriously above his head. It was how Scott’s expression suddenly melted from that of a mischievous trickster to something almost fond. All of those things caused that pleasant flip-flopping feeling in his stomach to return, and Jimmy suddenly pitched down because of it. He quickly righted himself, flushing in embarrassment and glaring at Scott’s resulting smirk.
“Guess you aren’t one of those flying fish, huh,” he teased.
“Just give me the slimeball back!” Jimmy demanded. Scott laughed, and it felt like flowers blooming in Jimmy’s chest.
“You get so fussed over the littlest of things,” he said, still laughing. Jimmy got the feeling that he should have been angry at Scott’s teasing, he was making fun of him, after all! But instead, Jimmy couldn’t help but smile back. To Jimmy’s surprise, Scott seemed startled by that, eyes going wide and a half gasp, half laugh escaping his lips.
“Sometimes you gotta appreciate the little things in life! You miss those things when you fly above everything and live up and away from the world in the mountains,” Jimmy pointed out with a laugh. Scott pondered this, slowly floating back to the ground as he did so. Jimmy tilted his head to the side in confusion, coming to a landing beside him. Scott was staring at the slimeball in his hands with a mix of wonder and bafflement. Shaking his head, Scott reached out for Jimmy’s hand and pressed the slimeball into it, both hands clasping over Jimmy’s hand for a moment. Jimmy’s hand felt fever-warm at Scott’s touch, and his heart hammered in his chest.
“You can have this back. Sorry,” Scott said, quickly withdrawing his hands. Jimmy felt horrible instantly, he clearly struck a nerve with what he said. Before Scott got a chance to leave, Jimmy quickly grabbed his hands, giving the slimeball back.
“Keep it, I’ve got plenty. You- you should enjoy the little things in life too,” Jimmy said softly. Scott’s face tinged pink, all the way up to the tips of his ears.
“I- whatever,” Scott scoffed, trying to bring it back to their teasing back and forth from before, but failing miserably. Before Jimmy had a chance to reply, Scott drew his hands back, holding the slimeball close to his chest and taking off into the sky. This time around, Jimmy didn’t bother chasing after him. He was a little too busy wondering what on earth had just happened. One moment Jimmy was irritated by Scott’s presence, and the next his heart felt all fluttery and he willingly gave him a commodity from his empire. What was happening to him?! Jimmy had a sneaking suspicion… but he had to talk to Lizzie or Joel first. He just had to be sure.
-
Jimmy flew to Lizzie’s empire, spotting her and Joel sitting together on one of her giant lilypads. They both looked at him with concern when he landed in front of them, out of breath. Lizzie was the first to jump to her feet, hands reaching out towards him and searching for any injuries. Joel followed after her and hovered at her side, looking unsure of what to do.
“What happened?! Are you hurt, were you attacked?!” Lizzie demanded, and Joel’s eyes shot to the skies as he put a hand on the hilt of his sword. Jimmy laughed, shaking his head.
“Guys, I’m fine! See, look! I’m all good. Just had to see you,” Jimmy said, holding his arms out to show that he was, in fact, uninjured. Lizzie and Joel breathed out a simultaneous sigh of relief.
“Oh thank goodness. Usually when you fly to one of us in a panic, you’re hurt or being chased, or something’s seriously wrong,” Joel said, the tension draining from his shoulders and hand dropping from the hilt of his sword. Jimmy’s smile turned sheepish.
“Well… something… might be wrong. But there’s something I’ve gotta ask you guys first,” Jimmy replied nervously. Lizzie and Joel exchanged confused glances. Lizzie stepped closer, putting a comforting hand on Jimmy’s shoulder.
“Of course, you can ask us anything,” she said softly. Jimmy took a deep breath, working up the nerve to say it.
“How did you know you were in love?” he asked timidly. Lizzie blinked in surprise, and Joel raised an eyebrow.
“Is this about Scott?” Joel asked. Jimmy’s face flushed in embarrassment.
“Please just answer the question,” he muttered. Thankfully, Joel didn’t seem to be in a teasing mood, and neither did Lizzie.
“For me it was her smile. Gave me butterflies the first time I saw it,” Joel said, unabashedly gazing at Lizzie. She giggled, and Joel’s fond expression increased tenfold.
“Butterflies?” Jimmy asked, a bit confused by the turn of phrase.
“You know, when your stomach gets all squirmy, but not in a bad way? Like a bunch of butterfly wings flapping inside you,” Joel explained, and Jimmy was hit with a sudden burst of clarity. Something in his expression must have shown it, because Lizzie gave his shoulder a comforting squeeze.
“You’re telling me that’s what love feels like? It’s that just… all the time?” Jimmy asked, his voice a little hollow with disbelief. At himself mostly, for not realizing it sooner. To be fair, he didn’t feel those sorts of feelings often. In fact, he felt it almost exclusively with Scott. So to realize this whole time what he had really been feeling wasn’t just hatred or irritation… he felt a little silly.
“Well, it’s not always like that, sometimes being around someone you love just makes you feel warm and cozy,” Lizzie added.
“Well… but I feel warm and cozy all the time with you guys!” Jimmy protested, still trying to deny that feeling just a little bit longer. Lizzie smiled, patient and understanding.
“Yes, but with this… hypothetical someone, it’s different, isn’t it,” she gently prodded. Jimmy finally gave in. It was different with Scott, and that honestly terrified him. He’d never felt this way about anyone, ever.
“Oh my god, I like him,” Jimmy breathed.
“About time you figured it out,” Joel muttered. Lizzie moved her hand from Jimmy’s shoulder to swat Joel’s arm. Jimmy was too busy having a bit of an existential crisis to really care.
“Oh my god I really like him. This whole time- but Scott hates me, what on earth am I supposed to- but he seemed kind of nice today…” Jimmy trailed off, beginning to pace back and forth. Lizzie gasped in excitement, rushing over to stand in front of Jimmy and grabbing his shoulders.
“You saw him today?! Tell. Me. Everything!” she demanded. Jimmy let out a sheepish laugh.
“Nothing really happened! He stole a slimeball from me, I chased him a bit in the sky- and oh god he was gorgeous in the sunlight- and then I said something to make him sad and let him keep the slimeball anyway. I- wow I really didn’t like seeing him sad,” Jimmy rambled, a disbelieving smile growing across his face. Joel made a mock-disgusted face.
“I think I liked it better when Jimmy was in denial, he’s getting all mushy now,” he teased. Lizzie rolled her eyes.
“Don’t listen to him, being mushy is a good look on you,” she insisted, getting a laugh out of Jimmy.
“I’m glad you think so, but maybe Joel is right. Cause now all I can think about is how Scott definitely doesn’t feel the same way,” Jimmy said with a sigh. A determined look came across Lizzie’s face, and distantly Jimmy was a little terrified.
“Oh no, you’ve activated her plotting look,” Joel said with the same distant terror that Jimmy was feeling.
“The ball is the perfect time to change Scott’s mind and show him that you are a catch, you’ve said so yourself,” Lizzie explained with a grin.
“Oh no, that is not happening, I just want the ball to be something fun, I don’t wanna make a scene,” Jimmy protested, but it came out a little weak.
“Us? Make a scene? Never. I was just thinking that we make sure to get you a snazzy outfit!” Lizzie said, and while Jimmy didn’t trust her for a second, he could concede that Lizzie had a better sense of style than he did.
“Oh, alright. As long as it’s just that,” Jimmy said firmly.
“Of course!” Lizzie said, far too innocently. Jimmy just chuckled and shook his head.
“And we should probably do something fancier than the cod head,” Joel added. Jimmy sighed, putting a hand over the cod head.
“Yeah, yeah, Katherine mentioned that too,” Jimmy said with a pout.
“Don’t worry, you’re in good hands!” Lizzie chirped, releasing Jimmy’s shoulders to instead grab his arm and pull him to where she and Joel had been sitting, rambling about outfit ideas all the while. Jimmy couldn’t help but smile and be a tiny bit hopeful. Maybe wearing something nice would catch Scott’s eye… but then what? Happily ever after? Was that how love even worked? Whatever the case, he was sure Lizzie would have a plan for that too. And maybe the ball could be the start of something beautiful.
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Humans Are Space Orcs, “The hypothetical
I decided to go back to and play around with my older style of writing today. Taking a bi of a break from the main plot line for a little bit :) 
As a doctor, I often wonder about hypotheticals. What would happen if my patient was injured in this way, what would I do. Working with humans I find each scenario has to be more outlandish than the next assuming the human is going to do something stupid.
However, in all my time with humans there is one hypothetical that I find most interesting: what would happen if early human/nonhuman communication never happened, and like animals in documentaries, or at zoos we learned about the humans purely through observation.
Humor me for a moment as I write this as I think it could be an interesting thought-experiment for the scientific community. 
I imagine we would see them as a series of logs made by the zookeeper as the humans were captured and placed into their enclosures, not knowing that the humans were sentient.
I see it going something like this.
Day 1 - we encountered the strange creature on a distant planet. We have never seen anything like them before. They tall, though that is only by way of the walking bipedally. Their arms are very long, and their eyes face forward. We were forced to capture them through tranquilization as they were uncooperative. We have a group of them, about six that we released into the enclosure. They are very agitated, and we must do what we can to calm them or otherwise worry about causing them significant stress. I can see them now lying on the ground resting their heads, they do not look well from the drugs, but we hope that the side effects will not last long.
Day 2 - We have yet to determine the genders of the creatures or even if they have any. It is difficult to tell, though there are subtle anatomical differences that we assume might have some bearing on the subject. Luckily for us they ate within the first day, and continue to eat well. As far as we understand their diets, these creatures can eat a large range of food, more than any animal or alien we have ever seen, and this including meat, plants, and plant byproducts.
Day - 4 They have a very large range of vocalizations, in a very complex structure that almost seems as if they are speaking to one another. They grunt hiss click hum, and so much more. As far as we can tell, they seem very social and tend to congregate in a small circle to commune with each other. When they sleep, they tend to sleep in a large group, or within the same general vicinity of each other. It sees they have a strong pack mentality.
Day- 3 we were forced to move them to a new enclosure as, last night one of the zookeepers ran across the creatures scaling the wall of their enclosure using the digits on their hands and feet to hold to the rough surface and pull themselves upward. I and the other scientists are a bit put out as we should have known this based on the anatomy of their flexible toes, and the sockets of their shoulders. These creatures are very good at climbing. For this reason the new enclosure is much larger, it has a pool of water and many tall branches to climb though there is a field around it to keep the creatures form climbing out.
Day 4 - The pool was a good idea as the creatures seem to enjoy submerging themselves in water. We know now that their strangely colored skin is not actually skin but some kind of artificial covering. They take off this artificial skin if they enter the water and put it back on after they leave. We also know the difference between the males and the females now as the males have more defined muscular structures and the females are more rounded with softer angles. As far as we can determine there is no behavioral difference between the two species.
Day 5 - We think they know they are being watched, as they have a habit of obscuring themselves in the furthest end of the enclosure where it is difficult for them to be seen. They have even taken some of the fallen branches and erected a bit of a screen to hide away prying eyes, or at least that is how it seems. Some of our experts assume it was actually in order to build a proper nest though we cannot be entirely sure about that.  
Day 30 - We are worried about one of the females. Her body structure has begun to change over these past few weeks, and her belly is becoming distended. We are worried about some sort of blockage or bloating caused by the misuse of food. The other creatures seem to be worried about her as well. We  might go in and tranquilize her and bring her out to examine her at some point tomorrow.
Day 31 - we had to sedate every creature in the enclosure in order to pull the female out and separate er form her pack. We tried to separate her naturally from them, pulling her to one side of the enclosure, but it seemed as if they knew what we were doing and the other large males and the one aggressive female would not allow her to go. We had to dart all five of the others to capture her, though when we pulled her out we were delighted to find the reason for her distended belly has nothing to do with the food. It seems as if we had inadvertently picked up a pregnant alien creature., which is likely why the others were so protective over her. We worry though because upon examining the internal structures we are concerned that the head of the offspring will not be large enough to fit through the pelvis. We are not sure if this is what the natural progression of their child bearing is supposed to look  like.
Day - 50 we have been doing some tests on our  creatures and have found a few interesting things. Their senses are far superior to our own.  We once thought that their eyes would be adapted to hunting and racking movement, and while that is true in low light situations, they actually have very sharp sense of binocular vision, and are very competent at guessing distances. They seem to be a primary visual creature, and we assume that their vision is even better than ours. There is some evidence that they can even see somewhat in the dark, though based on our examination of their behavior they are primarily a daytime animal.
Day - 61 We think that they can hear us talking outside the enclosure. In fact, we think they have a very sensitive set of hearing organs. They often behave in ways that make us think they might be able to hear us. They always seem to know when we are coming into the enclosure to feed them. They tend to stand very close and watch us very carefully. We are worried that they might attack, but so far they have not. The most disconcerting is the large male and the smaller female. The way they watch some of our handlers unnerves them, and I am going to have to hire new hands to help with this project 
Day 70 - They can use tools! It is an exciting and amazing discovery. But just the other day we say them begin to make things using strips of their own not-skin and some branches. They have tied rocks together and are even using them to smash up bits of food. Their hands seem very capable of doing such things as they are actually quite  delicate in their movements. Each diget can be controlled to the finest degree and the rotational movement of their wrist implies  extreme dexterity. Many of us think that this leaves them on a path towards sentience. Our scientists estimate that they have the intellectual capabilities of a five-year-old child.
Day 90 - great progress has been made! The creatures extreme vocalizations has added to their advantage, in that we have taught them how to speak! The sentences are very rudimentary of course, like a child, but they can ask for food, help, and express their displeasure. However, the problem is, they seem to have discovered greater words of displeasure from the people observing them and have taken to yelling rude slurs at the attraction goers. We think they like getting a reaction. They are very aggressive, and are becoming more so as the days go by. We worry about their health.
Day 100 - two of the large males got into a fight yesterday. We assume it was over mating rites with the remaining female, though that is only a theory. The way the creatures fight is very strange, they ball their hands into fists and then hit each other like using a club. Sometimes they use the hard bony ends of their elbows, or the tips of their knees. A few times they even used their legs to strike at the other. The feat of balance was quite amazing and the power generated from blows like that was scary. Visitors were urged away from the enclosure when wounds started appearing. Both males were covered in blood. We had gone to sedate them but by the time we came back the fight was over and the two males were sitting with each other at the edge of the pool washing their wounds. We think they find the water soothing, though we worry about sickness or infection.
Day 140 - We cannot get to them, overnight and out of sight of our keepers they have constructed a sort of den or nest surrounded by thick leaves and tree bark. There is no way to see in, and there is no way to dart one of these creatures while on the inside. We have been   to get them while they are out in the open, but they always hear when the enclosure or the windows open and have taken to carrying around large shields made of leaves and branches. None of our darts have made it through sticking uselessly into branches. We worry greatly considering the female is coming closer and closer to her delivery day.
Day 170 - We have a plan for sedation, though it will require an enforcement team armed with the tranquilizer guns to preform it. We are worried about the female and the offspring, which we intend to rear by hand. We have no idea how the other larger humans are going to react when the smaller human is brought into the enclosure. They could kill it. We do not want this happening, and besides, we think this creature could be very docile if hand raised by us. 
Day 181 - The mother went into labor last night, and we were called in by one of the zookeepers. We have to act very fast  and are assembling a team. We are worried she might die as the sounds coming from the enclosure has caused us to close down the entire zoo. She seems to be in great pain as we have never heard a creature make that sound before. All of the creatures seem agitated as well, those who are not in the enclosure with them are pacing around outside. They seem very nervous.
The team has been assembled and it has been quiet for some minute except for a distant squalling. The large ales and other creatures are encircling the little habitat as if curious. We are worried the large males will find this as a sign ofweakness and attack.
Day 182 -  please help us. We went into the enclosure as we had assumed with hour weapons ready to take the little offspring away to safer area for cleaning, however as soon as we got close to the den, the creatures attacked. We did not see them camouflaged in the leaves, and they seemed to erupt out of nowhere. Our leader was violently bludgeoned with a rock, and another was strangled manually by the small female. Each one of them was violently killed.
Two of our team managed to make it to the door of the den but as they did, the still blood covered female leaped outward and attacked screaming. She was the most violent out of all of them and practically ripped the limbs off two of our men before killing them. Protecting her young.
The large male carried the sleeping creature fin his arms as the female searched around for any more survivors. There were none and the door had been left open. One of our valiant men tried to go and close it, but he was murdered   as the door was flung open crushing him against the back wall. The child was handed back to the mother and now they are hunting about the zoo in a pack. I have locked myself in this  room hoping they will not find me, but even now I can hear a rattling outside the door.
Day of freedom - Hello you slimy bastards. Didn’t think you could talk did you. Either way you better hope we get back to our home planet, otherwise we will take this one for ourselves and make you suffer till your bones bleach dry under and unforgiving sun.
A little bit melodramatic there at the end I know, but I have spent far to long with humans, and I understand that they would probably be just as dramatic as I am making it sound. Also, I just realized that I technically just wrote some fiction, which means the humans are definitely rubbing off on me
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officialtrashbin · 3 years
Text
~* Alone & Again *~
An Edelgard x Claude ficlet for @villtura inspired by their ‘Learning to Trust’ art pieces!
~* *~
It didn’t occur to him that there was anyone else in the Black Eagles classroom until he was already half-way over the threshold and a sudden shadow breached his peripheral vision. It was too late for him to turn back now and instead he accepted Edelgard’s petulant gaze as it fixated on him with the same swift calculation he’d seen from her only once before, on the battlefield last moon: a Beast had made the mistake of flanking her from the right and he saw a lethal flash in her eyes as she felled it in one hit. It was the look of someone who'd almost been killed before. Maybe that was why she reminded him so much of a spider holed up in its burrow, watching the world’s natural motion, always poised to strike.
“Princess!” he said, assuming his casual facade as his feet carried him over scuffed floorboards to close the distance between them.
“Claude,” she deadpanned back. She didn’t step away when he came closer and he tried not to think about that too much. “What do you want?”
At that, he stopped. He squinted against the low sunlight filtering amber through the classroom window panes. Formalities were for people who hadn’t yet developed an opinion of the other, and since they were already an accidental hand brush at tea yesterday beyond being strangers, he supposed there was no longer the barrier of unfamiliarity dividing them.
“Just dropped by to ask the Professor a few questions,” he said, the lie coming to him as easily as all the others preceding it. “Lots of exams next week, as you know, and equal amounts pressure to perform at the top like the good imperial puppets we are. I figured I could butter the Professor up and get some helpful pointers—”
“Enough—please, don’t do this today.” She dug the heel of her palm into her left eye. “I’m...not in the mood.”
But he did have questions. About the church, about the Professor, about the Flame Emperor, about Rhea. Right now he wanted to ask why she sounded scooped hollow, and what she was doing alone in the classroom when sessions ended three hours ago, and if what’s bothering her would dissuade her from accepting another vicarious tea invite—but that would mean he’d have to admit to his own unlikely auspiciousness in face of it all and she already looked too worn to care. Still. He could tell, even from this distance, that she’d been crying, or something close to it.
“Did—something happen?” he asked.
“What does it matter? With all the poking around you do, I’m certain you have enough blackmail material on me as it is.”
Claude folded his arms and reminded himself not to take her tone so seriously; Dimitri had alluded to Edelgard’s rather poignant personality earlier in the semester. People who guard themselves that closely do so out of self-preservation. It’s nothing personal.
Sure as hell felt personal. “Okay, then I won’t make the mistake of being concerned for the Princess’ wellbeing.”
He appertained the resounding silence to the end of their miserable attempt at a conversation but neither of them moved to leave. Edelgard lowered her chin towards her chest in thought. Laughter and the low thrum of voices filled the courtyard outside, giving him a sense of being back home, the sound of it as bright and near as sunlight. Claude considered drawing her close to him so she might feel it too.
Finally she said, “Some days are harder than others. Especially after...”
What happened to those students. Carefully, he reached for her hand and replicated the moment they endured only yesterday, the splaying of her fingers over a shimmering spoon and his incidental misinterpretation of the ownership of silverware as it was arranged upon the table. When he took her fingertips in his palm he was surprised by her reciprocation and the subtle softening of her scowl into something blank, mendable.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “That was beneath me.”
The depressions under her eyes were made deeper and darker by the shadow cast upon her face, her back slanted away from the window. A stubborn fraction of light was lucky enough to fall across her left cheek. He wondered if she’d always been this beautiful.
“I don’t have blackmail, if that makes you feel any better.”
She said, with same casual tone she used to recommend a meal at dinner, “It won’t matter if you do.”
For the second time this week, but not in his lifetime, he became aware of the wrongness about her. More questions he needed answers to: Her denial to say things first. That shadow standing in her shadow. The unnamable tint of emotion in her eyes when he noticed once a scar on the underside of her wrist and made the irreversible decision to question its happenstance. Why those gloves seemed little more than an extension of her own flesh.
“I really did come to see you,” he admitted, treading over whether he should include the part where Ferdinand had been an octave too loud about Edelgard’s explicit gloom since Jeralt’s passing, and whether his tone just now was too dry, too wanting.
She offered nothing in repose. Instead she retracted her hand and turned to leave, and he heard himself ask, “Will you join me for tea tomorrow?”, not even dimly aware of why he sought her out so fervently that he could be persuaded by his own mind to find a fractional tidbit of disappointment in her absence, or in her hypothetical rejection. Despite her strangeness, or maybe in spite of it, he still wanted her near enough to know that if he spoke she was capable of withstanding it.
“Yes,” she answered finally. “I...I look forward to seeing you.”
She left him standing in a classroom that didn’t belong to him. He kept his head bent low, ducking his eyes away from the streams of old crepuscular sunlight falling upon everything around him and within him, turning all it touched red and gold.
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farfromtommy · 4 years
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seb being a stepdad to chris' kids or vice versa!
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not my gif
a/n: okay this is literally one of the best ideas ever and im so in love with this fic. i think this takes the cake for my favorite fic i’ve written!! this is mildly edited so pls be kind. im so proud of it and hope you guys love it <3
please reblog if you enjoyed reading and and feel free to leave any comments!!
warnings: drinking, mentions of sex, brief mention of medical procedure(s), there might be some language i dont remember
word count: 4,400
masterlist
social media au masterlist
taglist 
~~~
Chris has been your best friend since elementary school and all through middle and high school. Everyone knew how close you were to him and how deeply you loved each other. It was never in a romantic sort of way, though. Nobody really understood the relationship you had with him, they just shrugged their shoulders and minded their business.
When Chris told you he wanted to move to New York to follow his dream of being an actor, he asked you to go with him. You shared his love for theatre and the arts and always wanted to see if you could make it as a big-time Hollywood actress. You packed all your things into your tiny car and made your way to New York with your best friend.
You spent your 28th birthday sitting on Chris’s couch with a bottle of tequila and a broken heart. Your boyfriend of 3 years broke up with you on the grounds of you being “such a drag” and “not someone he wants to settle down with any more”. You had planned a life with him. He talked about marrying you and having kids with you just weeks prior. And he had just thrown it all away.
Having gone through almost half of the bottle of tequila already, Chris took the bottle from you and just looked at you with sad eyes. He ran his hand through your hair as you buried your face in your pillow and just cried. You pulled yourself together after a while and willed yourself to sit up and look Chris in the eyes.
“I know I’m kinda drunk right now but Chris, listen to me. Can we make a pact? When we’re both 30 and if we’re both still single and loveless. Let’s have a baby. We don’t have to like… y’know… do it or anything. We can do it through insemination or in a petri dish or however they do it. I’m just- I want to settle down and have kids but I don’t think I’ll ever trust anyone else.” You rambled, gesturing wildly with your hands. Chris suppressed a laugh and looked at you like you were crazy. You just looked at him questioningly until he realized this was not the alcohol talking.
“Are you serious? Like, me and you? Having a baby? Seriously?” He pulled himself off the floor and sat on the coffee table in front of you.
“I’m so serious. You can say no, Chris. This is me asking you what you think. I always said that if I don’t have a husband or have been with someone long enough to have a child with them, that I would go to a sperm bank and do it like that. You know how badly I want kids, and I know you want them too.” You moved to the edge of the couch to move closer to him. He stood up and grabbed your hand to help you up. He dragged you towards the kitchen and sat you down at the table, telling you to wait there while he grabbed something. He came back a few moments later with a notebook and a pen.
“Alright, let’s figure this out. We’re going to ask each other questions about this and write down the answers. Any conditions we have we’ll write down, if we can’t agree on them we don’t do it. I know you’re not super sober right now so we can do this now and talk about it again tomorrow.” He wrote ‘Y/L/N - Evans Baby’ along the top. You smiled a bit to yourself and waited for him to talk.  
“I don’t want to be just the sperm donor, I want to be involved in everything. From the ultrasound appointments to picking preschools. I also want to be in the room when you’re in labor.” He wrote it down as he was talking and looked up at you. You nodded with a big smile on your face.
“I would want you as involved as possible. We would be co-parenting this hypothetical child. My turn. To keep this from getting messy, we should do it through a clinic. Me in stirrups and your swimmers in a turkey baster. Sex can make things complicated and weird, I don’t want to risk something going wrong between us and then there be a child involved. Insemination isn’t as effective but we can always keep trying if it doesn’t work.” You pulled the notebook towards you and wrote down your condition.
That went on for the rest of the night. You and Chris take turns asking questions about your hypothetical baby. You had filled up pages and pages of notes about what you both want, from how you would decide to tell your families to living arrangements to if you’d circumcise or not if it was a boy.
A little more than 2 years later you and Chris found yourselves at the dining room table of his Boston home again. The notebook you had filled just a few years back right in front of you, along with 5 pregnancy tests. They were face down on the table as you anxiously waited for the timer to go off.
“Alright, Chris. This is it. It’s been 5 minutes, we can flip them over.” You released a shaky breath and stared at the tests right in front of you. Chris grabbed your hand and laced your fingers together. You looked at each other before reaching out to flip over the individual tests. Seeing all 5 of the tests with 2 solid pink lines knocked all the air out of your lungs.
“Oh my god. They’re all positive! Oh my god, Chris!! We’re going to have a baby!” You both jumped out of your seats and jumped around the kitchen before hugging each other and crying. He kept thanking you and kissing the top of your head while you sobbed into his chest, soaking his shirt. There were lots of tears over the next few weeks from you both after confirming your pregnancy with your midwife.
8 or so months later Penelope Elizabeth Evans-Y/L/N made her way into the world and the arms of her parents. The world seemed to stop when you heard the cries of your daughter for the first time. You could’ve sworn Chris stopped breathing the second he laid eyes on her when she was placed on your bare chest. He didn’t even care that she was covered in blood and other bodily fluids, he swore that she was the most beautiful human being to ever exist.
He took a lot of time off from filming and working to take care of you both. Once you found out you were pregnant, you stopped acting for the most part. You knew that you wanted to be a stay-at-home mom, at least until she was old enough to go to school, and maybe then you’d go back to smaller roles that kept you close to home.
Chris had a hard time leaving you and Penny once it was time to go back to work. He held her close to his chest and cried at the thought of leaving her when she’s still so little. Seeing the extreme separation anxiety he was already having, you offered to go with him to set and find an apartment or house to rent for the duration of the shoot. This ended up being the greatest thing you could have come up with. Every single project that took him away from Boston, you and Penny were right there next to him. You and Penny followed him to what seemed like every corner of the Earth.
The weeks leading up to shooting The Winter Soldier were the most exciting for Chris. He had been training for months to get into shape and was really excited to have you and Penny on set with him. He had also been talking nonstop about working with Sebastian and Anthony again.
One night Chris came home with Sebastian and Anthony trailing behind him. Penny had gone down for the night and you were nursing a glass of wine on the recliner, watching whatever you could find on TV.
“Hey, Y/N. I should've called ahead, I’m sorry. We’re just going to have some beers while we watch the game.” He walked in and gave you a quick kiss on the cheek. You moved the blankets off your lap and stood up to greet Anthony and Sebastian.
“I don’t think you ever got a chance to meet these guys before. Y/N this is Anthony and Sebastian, guys this is Y/N.” Chris introduced you and you moved forward to give them both hugs.
“Sorry for barging in on you unannounced, we would’ve made sure this idiot called you before to make sure it was all good,” Anthony said, taking the beer Chris handed him.
“Oh please, don’t worry about it. He used to do it all the time when we lived in New York. Sorry, the place is a bit of a mess. Didn’t get a chance to clean today, I’ve had my hands full, especially with this one” You gestured a thumb to Chris and he sent you a playful glare in return.
You offered to put together some snacks for the game, knowing very well Chris couldn’t handle his alcohol without some sort of food in his system. Anthony and Sebastian offered to help while Chris snuck off to go see Penny.
“How long have you and Chris been together?” Sebastian made some small talk while looking for serving bowls in your kitchen. Anthony leaned against the counter and continued to sip on his beer.
“Oh, we’re not together. We’ve been friends since we were kids and we actually are just uh...” You chuckled nervously, not knowing what to say to his friends. Chris walked into the kitchen with Penny in his arms at that moment. Her head tucked into his neck, hands gripping at the fabric of his shirt and his arms under her butt.
“We’re raising our daughter together. They go with me wherever I go so I don’t miss anything and so Y/N doesn’t raise Penelope by herself. We’re co-parenting in the same house.” He said, looking at the tired toddler in his arms. Sebastian and Anthony both sputtered on their beers at the same time, not believing what they were seeing.
There was no denying that she was a product of you and Chris. Even with her sleepy eyes, they could see the bright blue color that matched the man carrying her. They saw the swoop of your nose and the color of your hair. They stood there just taking it all in.
“I had a bit of a crisis when I turned 28 after my long term boyfriend dumped me out of nowhere. It was one of those ‘if we’re 30 and aren’t married’ sort of things. We turned 30 and were both still single, so we had a baby.” You shrugged, looking over at your girl.
“And it works, being parents without being together but still living together?” Anthony asked, gesturing towards the two of you.
“We had everything figured out before she got pregnant. We had conditions that we both had to agree on before we even got serious about it. We were both very adamant about not doing it the old fashioned way so things didn’t get messy. It took some time to figure out the… terms and conditions I guess.” Chris laughed a little bit. Anthony and Seb nodded in understanding and kept looking at Penny.
“I’m happy for you, man. Seems like you both are really happy. How old is she?” Anthony walked into her line of sight and waved his fingers a bit, trying to get her attention.
“She turned one a couple of months ago.” You said and watched Penny pick her head up and look at Seb and Anthony, inspecting them a bit. Her big blue eyes landed on Sebastian and she stared him down before he gave her a small smile and waved at her. She was a little shy around new people and would usually bury her face in the neck of whoever was holding her.
To your surprise, she leaned away from Chris and moved her hands out to Sebastian. Everyone’s eyes widened as she whined a little bit when he didn’t reach out to grab her. Chris moved closer and told him it was okay and let Penny make herself comfortable in his arms. She buried herself into his neck much like she does with you and Chris, her tiny fists clutching his shirt. Her eyes shut immediately and let herself fall asleep in his arms.
The next few months went on more pleasantly than expected. Chris often had late-night shoots and training, leaving you with Penny most of the day. Anytime he knew he would be home late, he’d send Seb over with dinner or just an extra set of hands to help you with Penny. She knew you were her mama and Chris was her dada, then one day she had her Seba. Anytime you opened the door to let him in with her on your hip, she immediately squealed and started to chant ‘Seba! Seba!’ and didn’t stop until he was holding her.
Sebastian had brought up the idea of taking you to dinner one night to Chris. Even though you were a single adult who could make decisions on your own, he didn’t want to disrespect Chris at all. Chris never saw you as anything more than his best friend, it had always been like that. He was ecstatic when Sebastian brought up the idea of asking you out.
“I’m so serious, Seb. I think it’s a great idea. She talks about you a lot and really loves being around you. She’s going to say yes, I promise. Y/N hasn’t dated since we had Penny, mostly because she’s scared of what someone would think about her living with her childhood best friend who happens to be the father of her child.” Chris told him honestly. You weren’t interested in dating at all since having Penny. Mostly because being a mom was your first and only priority.
Sebastian let out the breath he was holding and ran his fingers through his hair, all of a sudden nervous about asking you to dinner. Chris clapped a hand around his shoulder and gave him a quick pep talk before sending him on his way.
The 2 years between wrapping Winter Soldier and starting Civil War had been interesting, to say the least. Everything Chris did kept him in the states for the most part. You and Penny were still trailing along with him, always loving the things you got to experience as a family.
Sebastian had found his place right in your crazy life. You had been unofficially together after wrapping Winter Soldier. He went off to do his next project and you and Chris spent some time in Boston with your families. You texted him most of the day, and he called at night to talk for a few hours before you went to sleep. He always said goodnight to Penny and she blew her Seba kisses through the phone.
He flew to Boston a bunch of times to see you, even if it was only for a few hours. You flew to wherever he was for a few days at a time, most of the time with Penny. Chris somehow managed to get you on the plane by yourself a few times and promised he would FaceTime every single night and would have hourly pictures sent.
On one of your first weekend trips out to see him, he refused to let you leave without making it official with you. He had you in tears at the end of his ‘I can’t spend another second without calling you my girlfriend’ speech. When he proposed to you he had said that the only thing better than the girlfriend speech was the one he was about to give. His ‘I can’t spend another second without calling you my wife’ speech knocked that one out of the water.
Neither of you wanted to make a big fuss about a wedding. You weren’t interested in the big white dress and the stressful bridesmaids and the whole cliche wedding things. Sebastian suggested getting eloped somewhere quiet with a handful of the most important people in your life. Chris’s mom, Lisa, had offered to hold the ceremony in her backyard. Knowing very well how spacious and beautiful it was, you and Seb graciously accepted her offer.
You kept your dress simple yet elegant, a beautiful white lace dress that ended mid-thigh, and complimented your body so perfectly. Seb kept it classy with a dark blue suit and light blue button-up that brought out his eyes, no tie, because who needs one?
Right at the end of the ceremony right as the officiant was about to have you say ‘i do’, you heard whines coming from Penny, who was sitting right up front on her daddy’s lap. You looked over to see her squirming in his lap and whining out ‘mama’ and reaching out for you. Chris made eye contact with you and mouthed ‘i’m sorry’. You shook your head and let go of one of Sebastian’s hands to motion to let her go so she could walk over to you.
Everyone aww’d as she walked over to you as quickly as her legs could take her. You bent down and scooped her up, resting her on your hip and wrapping your arm around her waist to keep her up. Sebastian made faces at her to make her laugh and keep her happy for a few more minutes. Your photographer had taken advantage of the incredibly sweet moment and had made sure to get as many shots of Penny at the altar with you.
When the officiant pronounced you husband and wife, you were going to set Penny down but Sebastian was quick to pull you both close to him and go in for your first kiss as a married couple with your daughter right there. Everyone cheered and Penny was mimicking the claps of everyone around her. Before he pulled away from you two he pressed two sloppy kisses on Penny’s cheeks as she giggled, which pulled some tears out of you.
No more than 15 people were attending the ceremony. You wanted to keep it quiet with just family and a few close friends. The reception, however, was anyone and everyone you could fit into the ballroom you had rented at one of the best hotels in Boston. All your guests had filled the room before you and Seb arrived. You nervously held his hand as you heard the cheers from everyone inside after hearing the DJ announce “Ladies, gentlemen, and nonbinary friends … let’s give it up for the couple of the hour, Mr. and Mrs. Sebastian Stan!!”
No one understood how you, Chris, and Seb managed to make your situation seem so easy and flawless. He knew that living in Boston was a must, so he bought the house that sits right behind the one you shared with Chris for so many years. He never wanted to get in the way of the system you and Chris had created over the years. Somehow, he managed to make things easier for everyone.
Penny’s first day of school was emotional for all 3 of you. You were all at your front door taking pictures of Penny in her school uniform that she looks so ridiculously cute in and the backpack that was way too big for her. She insisted on getting the Avengers backpack that “has my daddy on it!”
“Okay my love, it’s time for us to go to school! Are you ready?” Chris grabbed her tiny hand and led her to the car.
“Yeah daddy, I’m ready!” Penny said as he lifted her into the car and her car seat.
“Daddy? Mama and Sebbie coming too?” She asked him when he clicked the last buckle together. Right on cue Sebastian opened up the door to the free seat in the back and climbed in right next to her. She squealed in excitement at the sight of Sebastian buckling himself in the car.
Chris laughed at her genuine excitement and made sure all her fingers and toes were inside the car before shutting the door. He saw you lock the front door and make your way to the front seat. He noticed you put a few packs of tissues in your bag before setting it on the ground and buckling your seatbelt.
“Planning on crying today, Y/N?” Chris asked in a teasing tone. You swatted his arm lightly and scoffed at his question.
“Our baby is going to her first day of school, of course, I’m going to cry! I cried last night after I tucked her in, I cried in the shower this morning, I cried doing her hair.” You heard Seb talking enthusiastically to Penny, telling her about all the fun things she’ll get to do in kindergarten.
“It’s okay, I cried in the bathroom while she ate her waffles this morning.” You snorted at Chris’s confession and looked back at your baby girl, who was not a baby anymore. She was waving her hands around telling Seb about how excited she was to see her teacher again.
Chris and Sebastian watched from the car as you walked through the front doors of the school with Penny’s hand in yours. They had agreed that it might not have been a good idea to go in with her since they might get recognized and to avoid causing a ruckus. They both waved at her as she turned around and waved one more time before the door shut.
“Did you and Y/N ever think about having more kids together? If I hadn’t started dating her, do you think you would've had more?” Sebastian asked Chris.
“We never explicitly talked about it. She brought up wanting Penny to have lots of siblings not long after you started seeing each other. She felt guilty and thought that I was going to be upset about you and her maybe having kids one day, which meant I probably wouldn’t have anymore. I told her that this was honestly the best thing that could’ve happened because I don’t think I want any more of my own. Penny is all I ever wished and hoped for, and I got it. But since you’re together, she’ll get all the siblings she could ever want, and I won’t have to change a single diaper.” Chris nudged Seb’s shoulder with his. “You guys thinking about having one?”
“Yeah... Yeah, we are.” Sebastian lowered his head and smiled a bit. “With Penny in school and everything, it makes sense. She’s ready, I’m ready.” Seb sighed and ran his hand through his hair. He looked up and saw you walking back towards them with a tissue in your hand.
“I had the morning crying shift, it’s your turn.” Seb looked at Chris.
Just as Penny wrapped up her very first year in school, you and Sebastian welcomed Beverly Olivia Stan-Y/L/N into your family. Penelope had been so excited to hear that her mama finally had the baby she had been waiting so long for. You had gone into labor in the late afternoon and Beverly made her debut in the middle of the night.
Sebastian had called Chris an hour or so after to let him know that both you and the baby were doing phenomenally and that you were asking for Penny and wanted to see her as soon as you could. Chris chuckled at the demands you were making, knowing very well how the epidural and pain meds messed with you.
Early the next morning Penny had crawled into bed with Chris, crying for you and wanting to know when she was going to see you. It was still too early for them to go to the hospital, so he called Seb in hopes that he was already going to be awake.
A very exhausted Sebastian lit up the screen and Chris heard the soft cries of the new baby in the background. Penny’s cries turned into hiccups as soon as she saw Seb’s face because she knew she would be able to see her mama, too.
“Sebbie can I see mama, please?” Penny’s little voice spoke up. Sebastian immediately handed the phone to you and whispered that Penny was on the phone.
“Hi, baby.” You spoke softly to not disturb the baby.
“Mama when you come home? I miss you.” Penny wiped her eyes with her fists to get rid of the tears stuck in her eyelashes.
“It’s going to be a few days until I get to go home, baby. But you and daddy will be able to come to see me, Sebbie, and the new baby in a few hours. You need to go back to sleep and be a good girl for your daddy. I’m sure he’ll let you have some cuddles in his bed with him and Dodger until it’s time to wake up again.” Penny hiccuped and looked at Chris with eyes that mirrored his. He nodded his head and she buried herself closer to him.
“Okay, I go back to sleep with daddy and Dodger. I love you, mama. I love Sebbie, too.” She yawned out, her eyes blinking with sleep.
“Me and Sebbie love you so much, Penny. We’ll see you so soon, I promise” You blew a kiss to her through the screen and waited for her to throw one back. She giggled when you caught it through the camera and put it over your heart.
You, Sebastian, and Chris all watched with tears in your eyes as Penny held her baby sister for the first time. Penny had jumped right up in the bed next to you the second she walked into the room and told you about all the fun she had with Chris. Seeing your girls together melted your heart into a puddle. Chris couldn’t believe his little girl was so grown up and was a big sister. Seb thought about the night he first met you and Penny and would’ve never imagined that he’d be right here at this very moment.
Everything was so perfect and you never wanted to imagine your life being any different.
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whatifxwereyou · 3 years
Text
The Oncoming Storm Part 11: Gamble and Gossip
Liu Kang x Reader and Kung Lao x Reader (gonna do both, two paths!)
Some scene setting, and fun teasing. Who doesn't like to be teased about the two hot guys that are begging for their attention? And I mean, I sure do love writing these boys! Thanks for reading. I appreciate you guys so much. It's made this experience SO much fun. Will update again tomorrow... and also maybe Monday if all goes well ;D
Part 10 Part 12 Chapter Index
Liu Kang was seated amongst a handful of other monks, undoubtedly leading them in meditation. It was afternoon and Kung Lao had some time to think over what you had said the night before. He’d since made a few decisions on the matter. Before doing anything, he had to run it by his ‘brother’. Liu Kang had always been more level-headed than he was- more careful, more studious. Kung Lao knew that Liu Kang was going to hate his idea but it had to be said. He didn’t see another way out.
Leaning against the wall near the door, he tilted his hat and waited for the monks to finish their meditation. He’d never been big on meditating either. He’d done it, obviously, but his thoughts had always run amok throughout. Liu Kang spoke with the other monks and then waited for them to leave the room before stopping in front of Kung Lao, arms folded over his chest expectantly.
“All done?”
“You could have joined in. Less distracting.”
“I’ll pass.”
“How’s she doing?”
“Later.”
“What?”
“We’ll talk about that later. It’s not why I’m here.”
“Then…?” Liu Kang sighed expectantly, bowing his head as one of the monks peeked inside to thank him for the meditation. “What?”
“I want a fair chance.”
“What does that mean, Lao?” The sigh Liu Kang gave him was a familiar one and it made Kung Lao laugh under his breath.
“It means that we should order takeout. What do you think it means, Liu? For Y/N, obviously. You knew exactly what I meant. Why waste time and make me explain it?”
“I’m sorry, what?”
He knew that Liu Kang was going to hate this. Even talking about you had made him uncomfortable.
“Don’t be sorry.”
“You know that I wasn’t actually apologizing, Lao. Get to your point.”
“We’re going to make it interesting.”
“I thought we’d already talked about this.”
“Did you think we were actually done talking?”
“I had hoped.” Liu frowned. “She can do whatever she wants, Kung Lao. You and I don’t have any say in what she does. She’s an adult. I’m not going to fight with you over her. That’s ridiculous. We’re not schoolboys.”
“Who said anything about fighting?” Kung Lao chuckled and Liu couldn’t have looked less approving.
“This is feeling very childish.”
“Oh, come on. You like her. Right?” Liu Kang said nothing in response but then when Kung Lao gave him a knowing look, Liu nodded.
“Well, so do I.” Kung Lao shrugged. It was simple. They had a problem so he had come up with a creative solution. “To be fair? I saw her first…”
“…I’m coming back to that we’re-not-schoolboys thing and find I’m having to remind you that we’re not children.”
“Fine, fine. I’m just saying that there’s no reason we shouldn’t make this interesting. We’re both vying for her attention and whoever wins? Wins.”
“Why do I feel like I’m about to call you an asshole?”
“We bet on it.”
“I was right. You’re an asshole.” Liu Kang silenced him with a look and Kung Lao smiled. “I’m not betting on someone else’s choices, Kung Lao.”
“Hear me out, Liu!” Kung Lao followed his brother out of the room and down the hall. Liu Kang stopped and turned to face him expectantly. “It could be fun?”
“Ugh. Isn’t she going through enough right now without us and… you being the way you are?”
“I’m just saying, Liu. This is happening one way or another so why not have a harmless little game on the side?” Kung Lao joined him in his walk, amused by both his brother’s disgust and curiosity.
“And what would the stakes be in this hypothetical bet?”
“That’s more like it.” Kung Lao clapped his hands together and stretched them in front of him. “Chores? Errands? Something harmless. For like a month.”
“And the other backs off. Bows out. No hard feelings.” Liu Kang suggested and stopped his walk, tapping his thumb against his prayer beads in thought.
“Finally, you’re part of the fun.” Kung Lao laughed. “Chores too, though.”
“So, what exactly would the terms be? Also, I’m throwing it out there that I do not feel terribly good about this. It feels manipulative.”
“It’s not. You like her. I like her. Neither one of us is leading her on. No one’s lying.”
“And yet now there are stakes. We’re betting over the decisions of another human. It feels… morally gray at the least.”
“What? Are you worried that I’m going to steal your girl? Who was my girl to begin with, just as a reminder.”
“No.” Liu Kang was instantly defensive. “And she doesn’t belong to anyone. I need you to stop phrasing it that way.”
“You’re worried that she’s going to kiss me first and not know what to do.” Kung Lao teased. “Worried that you might lose all that extra ground you covered while I was gone.” Kung Lao enjoyed making Liu Kang uncomfortable and was happy to see him considering his game. He wanted a fair shot and it seemed the only way without arguing with his brother. Liu Kang averted his gaze and looked far past Kung Lao who followed his gaze and then scoffed in surprise. He’d already kissed you. Well, that certainly changed things. “Interesting. So, I’m working at a bigger disadvantage than I thought.”
“Disadvantage?” Liu rolled his eyes. “You grew up together. She holds you in deep reverence. She asks about you all the time. That’s not a disadvantage.”
“Don’t pretend that being made of fire isn’t working in your favor. Neither of our standings are fair so… that makes it kind of fair, right?”
Liu Kang rolled his eyes again. “What are the terms, Kung Lao?”
“Well, first we agree not to be angry with each other no matter what comes of it.”
“Annoyed is acceptable, right? Because I’m already annoyed.”
“Of course.” Kung Lao swatted him on the back. “Well, then the only terms are her choosing one of us. Like you said. It’s not really up to us.”
“So, I’m supposed to be fine wondering what the two of you are up to. Is that the real reason you’re doing this?”
“I said that being annoyed was fine, remember? Besides, it’ll make you work harder.” Kung Lao teased, though he didn’t love the mental image of Liu kissing you either. That ship had sailed apparently and he had ground to regain. “So when she chooses, then one of us wins.”
“That’s it?”
“That’s it. No strings attached. I’m not going to even brag.”
“I don’t believe that for a single second.”
“No, really. I’m just trying to cut the air between us over it. This way we can be honest. I know that she’s attached to you and while she’s attached to me, that’s in a different sense. Also, I want you to do my chores and errands for a month.”
“Well, aren’t you confident?”
“I’m the descendant of the Great Kung Lao. What makes you think that I won’t?”
“Fine. We can have this little bet. You are, however, an asshole to think of this. When she inevitably gets angry about it? I’m deferring to you.”
“Defer away. I’m extremely charming.” Kung Lao clasped his shoulder and then gestured down the hall. “Spar? It’s been a while.”
“Yeah, sure. Why not?”
***
You slept into the next afternoon, something that you had sorely needed. When you woke up, you were alone and grateful for it. You adored Liu Kang and Kung Lao but the air had become thick with them around. It felt nice not to have to have your guard up for a few minutes. For now, you could lay in bed, curled up in your blanket like a burrito, and procrastinate on getting on with your day.
Your side was sore and you were exhausted despite the extra sleep. That was to be expected considering the blood loss and trauma of the night before. After a few minutes spent rolling around in bed, you got up, got cleaned up, and dressed. Then you made your way down to the infirmary, stopping only once to help a monk who had their hands full. You figured it was better to go make sure that your side was doing okay rather than have to break the promise you’d made to Chen the night before.
You walked into the infirmary and speak of the devil, there was Chen. You smiled and waved in greeting to you. You returned the wave shyly and stepped further inside. Chen offered you a hug, then urged you to take a seat on the bench you’d sat upon more times than you could count now. Chen took the seat next to you.
“I was hoping that you’d check in with us today before getting yourself into more trouble.” Chen looked to you disapprovingly and you pouted. “You know, it was pretty peaceful before you arrived.”
“I find that difficult to believe.”
“Okay, so it’s not much less chaotic, but still. It’s been much bloodier the last few weeks with you around. Come on, shirt up, let me see.” Chen was a few years older than you, you suspected. You hadn’t asked but the way Chen spoke led you to believe that there was a small age gap. You had worn the tank top from the night before. It was so much easier to maneuver around than the gi or the hanfu. You put it in the back of your mind to ask Lao or Liu if you could leave the temple at some point to buy some other clothing. You liked the hanfu and the gi but they were antiquated and inconvenient at times.
You tugged up your shirt and Chen pulled the gauze away from the wound. The skin around it was tender but you didn’t flinch. Chen wasn’t gentle with you anymore either. In fact, she’d told you several times that the best way for you to heal would be for you to be treated normally. You’d even heard Chen scold Liu Kang once for pampering you and had a good laugh about it.
Chen tended to the wound. You didn’t look at it. It was very sore even though it had been cauterized. It made your whole torso ache, even sitting upright was a chore. Still, at least you weren’t bleeding out anymore. You could recover from the blood loss at least. Chen rattled on about her day while she worked, talking about the walk she’d taken that morning and a delivery of medicine that had come with one of the other monks returning from a long journey.
You struggled to focus. It wasn’t that Chen was boring, just that you were exhausted and the pulling and tugging of the wound didn’t help.
“So, yesterday was interesting.” Chen shoved your shoulder when it was clear you were no longer paying attention to her stories. You pouted again.
“That’s one word for it. Miserable? That’s a pretty good word for it too.”
“Oh, I suppose that was interesting too but I meant with Kung Lao.”
You rolled your eyes so hard that Chen laughed and smacked the back of your head. “Ow! He felt guilty, okay? Your brain is constantly in the gutter.”
“I thought you were sweet on Liu Kang.”
“Could you lower your voice if you’re going to talk like that? Jeez.” You hushed her and Chen laughed.
“We all thought you were sweet on Liu Kang.” Chen lowered her voice.
“I didn’t come here to talk about this. I came here to keep my no-bleeding-in-the-temple promise. So please, please let all of that go and do the thing where you tell me to be careful but go about my day.”
“Okay, okay.” Chen continued to clean the wound and was quiet only for a second. “…but you know? That was interesting. Kung Lao doesn’t come down here often. Avoids us like the plague. Yet, he stayed here nearly all night long for you.”
“You can’t agree to let it go and then keep yammering on about it. That’s lying. You’re a lying monk. That’s probably bad. Morally gray at the very least.”
“You’re being awfully evasive.”
“Not evasive I just don’t really want to talk about it.” You laughed. You had dwelled about these things enough on your own. It was nice, at least, to know that the tension wasn’t in your head. The others had noticed it too, so you weren’t going crazy. Was that good or bad? You had no idea.
“Like hell!”
“Again? Probably bad for a monk.” You laughed nervously as others stopped to look at you with Chen’s outburst. Chen waved the other monks off and they returned to their tasks.
“This is the juiciest gossip we’ve had in so long, Y/N.”
“I thought that you were supposed to be humble and all that.”
“We’re not perfect. That’s part of the deal.”
“I’m just saying that it feels like someone somewhere is probably judging you for this.”
“We’re still allowed to experience fun and excitement, Y/N. And this is very fun. And exciting.”
“Making me uncomfortable? That’s what’s fun and exciting?”
“Yes, Y/N. So, Kung Lao. What’s going on with that?”
“It’s complicated.”
“What about it is so complicated?”
“I knew him when we were kids. Old friends, I guess? Like I said, it’s complicated.” It was so much more complicated than you let on.
“Oh, come on.” Chen laughed and you couldn’t help but laugh with her. It really was ridiculous. The whole situation was absurd. You were glad for Chen then, who brought you back down to earth. You got so into your head about everything the past few days that hearing someone else’s voice on the matter was a reprieve, even if it was terribly embarrassing. “Please tell me that you two went and had some fun.”
“Chen!” Your face turned red.
“You’ve had nothing but pain since you got here, well except for that time I caught you and Liu Kang snuggling. Sue me for hoping you got to have a bit of the opposite.” Chen considered it and then shrugged. “Well, or a lot of the opposite. With at least one of them.”
“You can’t possibly be a monk. Someone has lied to me.”
“Your face is so red. I’ve never seen it that red.”
“You’re killing me.”
“It’s delightful.”
“My face can’t handle much more of this, I swear. Are we done here? Can I go throw my head in cold water and think pure thoughts?” You dared to peek at the wound and winced at the sight of it. It was ugly but still better than it looked the night before. Chen fanned the wound with the gauze in her hand.
“You should come meet us later so that we can catch up.”
“You mean gossip. You want me to meet you to gossip.”
“Yes, that is exactly what I mean.” Chen covered the wound with the gauze and you pulled your shirt back down over it.
“We’ll see. The day’s already half over and I have no idea what I’m supposed to be doing today. If I have free time, I’ll consider coming to bother you.” You weren’t sure you’d get the chance but if it ended the torturous teasing for the time being then you would at least consider it. Besides, even with the teasing, Chen was good company.
“I could find us some wine.”
“You are the worst monk,” you whispered.
“I expect a juicy story in return.”
“I don’t have any juicy stories.” You lied. You lied right through your teeth.
“Before you run off, please just give me a few details of…”
“Y/N?” Kung Lao’s voice interrupted and Chen sat upright and pretended to be working on cleaning up the mess she’d made taking care of your wound. Your face was still red and you shot daggers at Chen with your eyes but Chen was smiling brightly and avoiding your eyes. Chen stood up and allowed Kung Lao to take the spot where she’d been seated. You took calming breaths to try and will the redness away from your face.
“What are you doing here?” You cleared your throat and Kung Lao placed his hand to your cheek. His hand was cold in comparison but took up the entire side of your face.
“Are you having a reaction? Your face is on fire.”
“Just overheated. It’s warm out today.” You urged his hand away from your cheek but his fingertips still lingered. This was the worst timing. It was as though he’d planned with Chen to embarrass you. He didn’t seem to think you were embarrassed though, instead, he was concerned.
“How are you feeling? Wound still closed up?” Kung Lao reached to tug up your shirt and you gasped in surprise and swatted his hand away. He looked wounded as he pulled his hand back then grinned playfully.
“Don’t be so grabby. It’s fine. I just wanted to check in on it before going about my day.”
“Probably hurts something fierce still.”
“Yeah, it’s weighing on me.” You breathed a sigh of relief as you managed to relieve the burning in your face.
“Can I see it?”
“Why?”
“I’m curious.”
“No.” You stuck your tongue out at him. “Not a good enough reason.”
“Wow, okay.” He patted your leg with a laugh and rested his hand there. You did your best not to stare at it and also tried to ignore Chen spying on you. “If you’re done here then why don’t we get up and practice a bit?”
“I’m not sure that’s the best idea, Kung Lao.” You stared at his hand on your leg.
“You won’t get any better if you don’t keep it up. Nothing too crazy. Won’t even use my hat.” He tapped the brim and then brushed his fingers along the side of it.
“I’m nervous.” You hated that you’d admitted it and regretted saying it immediately. Kung Lao urged his hand from your leg, tilted his posture toward you, and brushed his fingertips over your jaw and beneath your chin. You fought off another shiver and he scooted closer to you, knees just barely pressed against yours.
“I promise to protect you. Don’t worry so much.”
“I uh…” Your voice, once again, felt small, something that was becoming much more common this close to him. He smirked as if realizing you were uncomfortable. “I’m more nervous for you than me. I attacked Liu without knowing.”
“I can handle myself, Y/N.”
“Oh?”
“I’m happy to prove it to you,” he whispered in your ear. You felt your heart stop dead in its tracks. His breath was hot on your ear then suddenly he stood up and left you seated alone. “Come on. Let’s go.” He walked out of the infirmary and you watched him go, stupefied. Chen grabbed your arm and urged you to your feet and mouthed for you to go.
“This is such a mess. A complete and total mess.” You followed after Kung Lao and Chen made a joking kissy face as you walked out of the infirmary.
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doctorgerth · 3 years
Note
Hi coop! Welcome back, I have missed you! I hope you're doing all right. I hope to snatch a spot for your valentine's event UwU. Izo, Kiku or Sabo, “I didn’t take you for the settling down type.” (prompt 39) with as theme: a night in, and maybe reader proposes to take the next step and move in together? Fem reader, slight modern AU, but whichever works best for you! I trust you and your talent wholeheartedly. Sending smooches and good valentine's vibes already!
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❥ “Stay” - Valentine’s Day Event Scenario [ 3 / 14 ]
❥ prompt: “I didn’t take you for the settling down type.”
❥ theme: A Night In
❥ pairing: Izo x F!reader
❥ warnings: none
❥ word count: 1.3k
❥ a/n: this is my first time writing Izo and I’m not so sure I did that great...idk, I hope this turned out to your liking, Hazel! thanks for always being so friendly and supportive! hope you’re doing well, honey 💕
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“It’s getting late, I should probably head home.” Izo whispered against your temple, placing a chaste kiss along your skin, “I’m sure Kiku is getting tired of waiting up on me.”
You groaned loudly as you writhed in his embrace, squeezing him tighter into you and refusing to let go. Izo was taken aback, you could tell, and that only made your cheeks burn hotter.
You had always prided yourself on being independent, after all. The two of you had a healthy balance of couple time and personal time, and you usually weren’t one to question it. But after two years of dating and nearly a year of sleepovers, you were beginning to grow tired of only keeping Izo to yourself for a day or two, three days at most. It was getting harder to say goodbye lately, no matter if he was coming over the following days, and the days and nights without him were beginning to take their toll on you.
Needless to say, this all made you realize how badly you wanted Izo in your home, in a more permanent setting. But how would you ask? How would he respond? Would he think you were moving too fast? Your thoughts raced with countless what ifs, making you snuggle harder into him for comfort.
He chuckled, allowing you to entrap him as he patted your head gently, “You’ve been awfully clingy today. Is everything okay?”
Of course he noticed. You eyed up at him with a defined pout on your lips. Izo had to restrain himself from kissing those cute lips of yours back into the warm smile he adored, instead he further inquired, curious as to why you were so against him leaving. It was always within the plan that Izo would head back home for the night.  
“I want you to stay.” You whined, hiding your face in the crease of his shoulder to conceal your embarrassing confession. It was the truth, but clearly he didn’t pick up on just how long you wanted him to stay as he laughed lightly once more.
“Love, you know I’ll be back over tomorrow.”
“I know…”
He placed two fingers under your chin, lifting you up to look at him, “What’s on your mind?”
Damn him. How were you supposed to be honest when he looked at you like that? Your eyes dropped guiltily, “It’s nothing.”
He flicked your forehead.
“Ow! Hey!”
“That’s for lying. Lie to me again and your next punishment will be far worse.” Izo placed a gentle kiss along the wound to soothe the slight pain, “So, I’ll ask again. What’s on your mind? Be honest this time.”
“Promise me you won’t laugh?”
He placed his fist over his heart and stared at you sincerely, “I promise.”
You inhaled deeply as you took his hands in yours. Izo grew concerned as you were silent and mindlessly rubbed your thumb along the top of his hand. Just as he was about to speak up, you broke the silence.
“What if, hypothetically speaking, I asked you if you wanted to move in with me? What would you say? Hypothetically?”
“I’d say…” He pondered for a moment, “that I didn’t take you for the settling down type. Hypothetically.”
Well that certainly wasn’t the answer you were expecting. Was that his way of saying no?
“You think I don’t want to be with you long term?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“So...you just assumed we would live separately forever?”
“No! Okay, maybe that came out poorly.” It was his turn to hold your hands and rub at them in comforting motions, “I just know you like your space, and I’ve always been respectful of that. Are you sure you’re ready for me to intrude your space 24/7? Because you know...if we move in together…” He snatched you into his arms with a wide, mischievous grin on his lips, “That only opens up the opportunity for me to annoy you 24/7.”
You giggled, “Would it be wrong of me to say that I want you to annoy me 24/7?”
He beamed, and your heart swelled in your chest as you were convinced it was the biggest smile you had ever seen on his face, “Not at all. But you should be more careful with your words, because I will most definitely use that confession to my advantage some day.”
Izo’s body tingled with pure happiness as you laughed heartily and tangled your fingers in his hair. He wanted to stay like this with you forever. To think that you were offering him the opportunity was heartwarming, almost overwhelming. He pulled you down to rest your forehead against his, “I’d love nothing more than to move in with you, if you truly want me.” He kissed you lightly. “Waking up next to you for the rest of my days sounds like a dream come true.”
You chased after his lips, kissing him back, “Won’t Kiku be upset?”
Another loving kiss from him, “She’ll be fine. She’s been bugging me to move in with you for months now. To be honest, I think she’s ready for me to go.”
“So you’ve been wanting to move in together? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I was worried you wouldn’t want to. What with you being Miss Independent and all.”
“I’m sorry, I-…”
He squished your cheeks, preventing you from continuing. “Please don’t be, it’s one of the many, many things I love about you.” He kissed your puffed out lips, “I wouldn’t change you for the world. Just don’t be mad if I get a bit clingy and I can’t keep my hands off of you.” Just as he said that, his hands dropped from your face to rest on your waist. When you felt his fingers dig into your sides, your eyes squinted in suspicion.
“Don’t you dar- ah!”
You were thrown into a laughing fit as Izo tickled you into the couch, leaving you nowhere to flee. Your cheeks ached from laughing so hard, and when you tapped out, he relented with a victorious smirk. As you caught your breath, Izo encouraged you to snuggle into him, laughing as you were noticeably hesitant to do so.
When you finally gave in, he wasted no time in snuggling you close into his large torso, toying with your fingers as he made his claim, “I do have a few conditions, however.”
“And what would those be, princess?”
“Glad you asked. I require 2 hours minimum of bathroom time every morning in order to prepare for the day.”
“2 hours, really?”
“Do you think I can manage to make myself look this good in less time?”
“Fair, continue.”
“I need wall space.”
“For?”
“My sword collection of course!”
“Oh, that.” You giggled, choosing not to voice how you had already mapped out a perfect spot for his collection.
“And…”
“And?!” You looked at him with giddy disbelief.
He grinned at you as his fingers grazed your cheek, “I want you to kiss me and tell me you love me every single night before we fall asleep. No matter what kind of day we’ve had.”
You were captivated by the pure love reflected in his eyes. You hoped he could see your love for him reflecting right back as you smiled, “I believe your conditions can be met.”
“Wonderful.” He nuzzled his nose against yours, “But…”
“Don’t say it.”
“Love, I have to go home to pack!” He frowned as he noticed you pouting once more, “Hey, look at me. Tomorrow is the last morning you’ll ever have to wake up without me, I swear it. I’m going to spend all night getting things packed up and tomorrow, we’ll start our new chapter of infinite sleepovers. Wait for me until then?”
You nodded and he brought your lips up to his to kiss you passionately, praying that you could feel just how ecstatic he was to begin this new chapter of your lives together; how often he’d dreamt of the idea of waking up to your beautiful face every single morning. He had full intentions to pack all night long, but he also needed an excuse to browse the jewelry stores early in the morning. Just to browse of course, but Izo has always preferred to be one step ahead.
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If you enjoyed this, please be sure to leave a like, comment, and/or reblog! 💕
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the-pontiac-bandit · 3 years
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If you're still answering tortall prompts, how about Raoul + family?
wow why NOT write 2000 words of blatant, shameless fluff about families you make for yourself??? inspired by this quote from tammy: “[Raoul and Buri] have glorious sex under trees, in tents, in lakes…. In carriages. I think at some point they’ll probably adopt. By the time they’re attached Buri’s getting a little old to have any of her own. It’s not like there aren’t plenty of orphans around.”
As Raoul stretched out, trying to make himself comfortable in his too-hard, too-small desk chair, he savored the warm feeling filling his chest and threatening to spill out and take physical form in front of him. In the midst of the most head-spinning, headache-inducing, sleep-sapping, joy-filled week he’d ever experienced, he’d had precious little time to slow down and simply exist within his new reality. He thought to close his eyes, the better to feel everything, but they only stayed shut for a moment before they forced themselves back open. He couldn’t stop looking at the scene in front of him for long.
Buri lounged cross-legged on their bed, far more relaxed than he had been at any point this week. Kel sat next to her, her back straight and her long legs carefully hanging off one side so as not to get dust from the practice courts on their bedding. Both had just returned from a full morning of training, sweaty despite a change of clothes and coated in dust despite a thorough washing, courtesy of a long, hot summer that had refused to give them rain.
Between them was the baby.
His son, he reminded himself. He thought the words a few extra times, even mouthing them once, as he had a thousand times in the last five days, as if forming them on his lips might make them feel more real.
None of this felt real to him yet. He supposed most people had nine months to get used to the idea before seven pounds of screaming chaos turned their lives upside down. He’d had exactly fifty-three days—he’d counted on Tuesday—so he supposed he still had some catching up to do. His mind was still reeling from the conversation that had led them here, and he wasn’t sure yet that he’d ever catch up.
He’d been sitting in this chair and pretending to read reports while mostly thinking about his right knee, which had been bothering him despite Duke Baird’s best efforts. He wasn’t sure why he remembered so specifically, since his days were nearly as certain to contain aches and bruises as they were to contain a sunrise. Buri had returned from a meeting with Thayet and Onua, although really, the word meeting conferred far too much dignity on what was more likely a combination of trick riding and palace gossip. They’d settled into the evening routine they’d shared for nearly a decade, working in comfortable silence with candles lit between them.
“Do you want children?” she’d asked, breaking the quiet spell of paperwork that gripped their nights.
“I think it’s a little late for that,” he’d replied with a snort.
She’d thrown a pillow at him. He had caught it and thrown it back without even looking up from the thick stack of papers in his lap, with a rude hand gesture following behind.
“You know what I meant. Did you want children? Before?”
Something in her voice had shifted. He’d finally looked up to find her eyes already trained on him. Her face had been so unexpectedly earnest that he’d actually taken a pause, had slowed the speed of their consistently paced banter, to think.
“I suppose I hadn’t given it much thought. There were friends, and then there was drinking, and then there was the Own, and then there was you,” he’d told her with a shrug. “I do like children, but I’m perfectly happy where I am.”
She’d chewed on her lip for a moment. He remembered being surprised by that. After nearly thirty years of friendship, she rarely took the time to think before she spoke with him anymore.
“Spit it out.”
“Do you want children?”
“And we’re back to the start,” he’d said with a grin.
“I spat it out. Now you answer it.”
“Hypothetically, sure, I’d enjoy a child. Now can I ask why you’re asking at all?”
“I’ve been thinking,” she’d started. She’d paused for a moment, holding her breath as though she was trying to decide whether she should speak at all. And then she’d let it all spill out at once. “I’ve been thinking it might be nice to have one. A child, I mean.”
She’d held up a hand and made a face before Raoul could even begin to formulate a joke about her monthlies or her aching hips or what they might do to make that happen. “Not like that. Thayet was telling us today about homes they’re opening in Corus, for children without parents. We were thinking about the children we traveled with back in Sarain, when Alanna found us all those years ago. Gods, it was terrifying, having Thayet and an infant to protect, especially when Thayet was ready to throw her life away for the infant. And I started thinking—we have money, and safety, and love, and there are all these children who have none of those things, and—”
She’d been speaking faster and faster, but she’d cut herself off abruptly at the look on Raoul’s face. “Never mind, you can forget—”
Raoul had smiled back at her, straightening up in his chair and marking his spot in the report on his lap before putting it aside. “So you want a child.”
The weeks that followed had been ones filled with paperwork and inquiries at the palace records about the process of appointing a common-born heir to a noble house and at the magistrate’s about drawing up paperwork for adoption. There had been careful planning and hushed discussions with only their closest friends about the best way to proceed. Buri had insisted on an older child, maybe eight or nine, saying that the few diapers she’d changed on the road to Rachia were enough for a lifetime.
Instead, five days ago, Buri had entered their rooms carrying a squalling mess of blankets with an air of forced nonchalance that had told him immediately what she’d done. Instead of clarifying, or teasing her, or asking if it was the smallest eight-year-old he’d ever seen, he’d simply held his arms out. While Buri had supplied endless explanations about Thayet ambushing her with a baby, he’d stared at the squirming mess of baby in his lap, blankets already coming undone, absolutely entranced.  
“He’s tiny,” he’d commented. His voice sounded like it was coming from someone else’s body. The baby was only just too large for him to hold in one hand, although he’d never try to prove it. The fragility of the life sitting in his lap was overwhelming.
“His mother died yesterday. Childbed fever, caught too late to help. The priestesses at the Goddess’ Temple were worried he might need more than the homes could give.”
Raoul had nodded, only half listening. The baby’s eyes were screwed shut while he wailed. His fine hair was dark, his skin tanned like that of the Bazhir babies Raoul had seen in his year in the Great Southern Desert. One of the baby’s hands had broken free of its blanket. It had waved in the air, keeping pace with his cries, which were far louder than he’d have believed such a tiny body could produce. He’d intercepted the hand with one finger and then watched in wonder as the baby had grasped it.
“Does he have a name?”
“Pathom,” she’d answered definitively, before belatedly remembering that names were the sort of thing parents might choose together. “That is, if—”
“Pathom of Goldenlake,” he’d cut her off with a smile.
The days that followed had been a blur. Thayet had found a wet-nurse and supplied an endless stream of goods that they’d have never known a baby required. Alanna had ridden in from Pirate’s Swoop at full speed to pronounce in a gruff voice that the infant was in perfect health. Gary had gifted them a bassinet and more blankets than any human child could possibly need. Dom had found a way to convert a standard-issue burnoose into an excellent baby sling, while Evin had given them a congratulatory note from George, who complained that Alanna had left before he could finish writing, and a cheerful promise that he’d never touch a soiled diaper. Onua had given them a set of unimaginably soft stuffed ponies, perfect replicas of the horses that roamed the highlands of Sarain where she and Buri had learned to ride.
Kel, away on business with Second Company at the Gallan border, had to wait almost a full week to learn she had a new godsson. He’d met the company when they’d arrived back at the palace long past dark the night before. They’d groomed Hoshi and Sparrow together while he thanked the gods for perhaps the hundredth time that her “testy pony” had finally found his way out of the Own stables and into a pleasant retirement.
Finally, when the last of the men had trudged towards the barracks and a well-earned nights’ sleep, she’d turned to him.
“Well?”
“There’s someone important I want you to meet,” he’d said, shoving his hands in his pockets with a smile that was equal parts nervous and eager.
“Sir, I’ve already met your wife.”
Raoul had let out a hearty chuckle. “But you haven’t met my son.”
Kel had frozen. Her face fell back into perfect stillness, the way it did when her mind was working its fastest.
After a second that felt like an eternity, she replied, “Sir, I saw Buri five weeks ago. If you’re telling me you’ve managed to grow a baby since then—”
“We didn’t, but someone else did. We adopted him from the Temple after his mother died in childbirth.”
Understanding flashed in Kel’s eyes while her face broke into a rare broad grin. She’d wrapped her arms around him in a fast, tight hug accompanied by enthusiastic congratulations that had gone suddenly silent in surprise when he’d added, a wicked glint in his eyes, “You really should come by tomorrow to meet your godsson.”
Buri had intercepted Kel on the practice courts the following morning with the dual goals of keeping her own skills sharp and ensuring that Kel would not be too polite to visit. And so now, he watched as Kel bounced his son with the brisk certainty of someone who had held a baby a thousand times. He could hear her cooing quietly at Pathom, softening her consonants while she told him all about forest campaigns in hill country. He knew he should ask her to speak up—if she was going to give her report verbally, she could at least give it at a volume he could hear—but he found he wasn’t particularly interested in the intricacies of the Second’s bowstring supplies. Buri made eye contact with him behind Kel’s back, laughter in her eyes. Buri could laugh if she wanted, but he was taking notes on Kel’s tactics. He would have sworn this was the quietest he’d heard his son in the entirety of his hundred-and-twenty-odd hours in the palace.
As his son stared wide-eyed at his former squire, Raoul was reminded of a comment he’d heard as they’d left Turomot’s offices the other day with paperwork making Pathom officially their own. “Well, that feckless Goldenlake dolt’s managed to start a family, even if it was too late to do the thing properly,” the Lord of Genlith had muttered at their backs as they’d left. Buri had elbowed him and whispered a quick “Feckless? I’ll show him feckless,” but her heart wasn’t in it. Before she’d even finished the thought, her eyes were back on Pathom, squirming against her chest in the burnoose that bound him to her.
And now, Raoul watched his son, passed between his wife and the woman who had been like his daughter long before any papers said he was a father. Stuffed Saren ponies lined the shelf above an intricately carved bassinet filled with beautifully embroidered blankets. A protection charm had been pulled from Alanna’s packs to hang at the head, while twin leather circles bearing the insignias of the Riders and the Own, no doubt carefully cut by mischievous commanders from the saddle packs of some unprepared trainees, was secured carefully at the foot. Raoul had to smile for a moment at Genlith’s ignorance—he’d begun his family right on time.
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walter-boswell428 · 3 years
Text
Mission Recover
The Tower
“Alex?” Eliza Danvers asked, “Anything?”
“We are trying, mom, I swear we are trying?” Alex answered through gritted teeth.
“Alexandra Danvers,” Eliza said quietly, “I’m not upset with you, it’s the situation.”
“I know, mom,” Alex sighed, “we are all working on it.”
“I’m headed up to National City tomorrow, is there anything I can bring?” Eliza asked?
“No, but if I think of anything, I’ll let you know,” Alex relaxed, smiling. “Love you.”
“Love you too, honey,” Eliza smiled as well, “give Kelly a hug for me.”
Alex disconnected the call, placing her phone flat on the conference table and layed her head on the cool table top.
>>>
Forty-five minutes later she felt a hand rest on her shoulder and looked up into the weary eyes of Lena Luthor. “Kelly said your mom is coming tomorrow?”
“Yeah, she--she’s really worried, and I think she wants to help,” Alex explained, her voice hoarse and heavy with sleep.
“Does she have a place to stay?” Lena asked warmly, taking a seat in Kara’s chair, “I can put her up at my condo.”
Smiling, Alex patted Lena's hand, “she is going to stay at my place, I’m not using it right now.”
“You can’t keep sleeping here,” Lena pouted, “you need to get some real sleep.”
“I believe that would be the pot calling the kettle black, Ms. Luthor,” Kelly Olsen smiled tiredly as she entered the room. “You haven’t been home since you quit Luthor Corp.”
Alex blinked, surprised, “you quit?”
Lena hung her head, “I couldn’t work with him anymore, not after--not after what he did.” Her eyes lifted when she felt Alex squeeze her hand, “I couldn’t go home. Too many bad memories.”
Alex squeezed harder, “I understand. Hey, you want to--you want the key to Kara’s place?”
Lena’s eyes bulged, and she quickly shook her head, “no, no, no…” She turned and quickly walked away, heading towards her lab.
“She still blaming herself?” Alex asked as she looked to Kelly, her tone calm and relaxed. “She’s part of the team, none of us hold her responsible for what her brother did.”
“She’s--she’s complicated, Alex,” Kelly turned and looked at the door, a small frown forming on her face, “and she’s scared that she and Kara are going to be…”
“Broken? Again?” Alex spoke quietly as she laced her fingers into Kelly’s. “We really need to find Kara, before we all fall apart. Especially her girlfriend there.”
“Don’t say that out loud to her, she’s so brittle right now, it won’t take much for her to break, and Kara is her breaking point,” Kelly squeezed Alex’s fingers. “All her fears, hopes and dreams are about Kara.”
>>>
Lena’s Lab
Lena’s fingers flew over the keyboard, checking readings and double checking everything again. “Dammit, Kara!” she swore, “where are you?” Her fist slammed down on the panel.
“Lena?” Nia asked as she opened the door. “Are you okay?”
Lena took a deep breath, and rubbed her hands together before turning to face the young hero. “Sorry Nia, I’m frustrated.”
A nervous laugh escaped the younger woman’s lips, “that could be because you are taking all of this...” The Naltorian swept her arms around, “you are blaming yourself for everything.”
“Kara is lost, because I didn’t outsmart Lex! We are working alone because I am here and the other heroes don’t want to work with me!” Tears started to stream down Lena’s cheeks, “I have never been strong enough. I am here now, because I wasn’t strong enough to save her.”
“Lena, Kara doesn’t blame you. She never did,” Nia whispered.
Lena collapsed to her knees, ‘n-n-not Kara, I failed her, I-I-I failed my mother.” She raised her head and screamed.
Nia rushed to Lena, arms outstretched, wrapping them tightly around the woman, “I’m sorry, I am so sorry. Shhh, it’s okay.” Nia crouched down, taking Lena with her. Nia leaned against the desk, still holding on as Lena cried. In a soft whisper she started to sing, a Naltorian lullaby her mother had taught her.
The exhausted woman in her arms lowered herself slowly, sliding beside Nia and resting her head on her shoulder. “I’m so tired, so tired.”
Nia smiled, slowly weaving her power into the words as she sang. It had the desired effect, and Lena’s eyes slowly started to close, and her breathing eventually evened out. Within a few minutes, she stretched and slid her head down onto Nia’s crossed legs.
A few minutes later, Kelly and Alex entered the lab and found the two women sleeping on the floor.
“I know it looks uncomfortable, but maybe?” Kelly shrugged towards the two women.
Alex nodded, surrendering, and she and Kelly made their way over to the sleeping pair, joining them and dozing off quickly.
>>>
At Luthor Corp
Lex Luthor looked out over the city from his office, smiling as he looked into the sky. His computer beeped and he turned, talking to himself, “the Girl of Steel, waking up again.” He waved his hand and a hologram of the Phantom Zone appeared in space at eye level, a red dot marking the location of Kara Zor-El.
>>>
The Phantom Zone
Kara stirred slowly, moving stiffly as she stood up. She shivered as she approached the cave entrance pulling her cape around her shoulders. It was the first time she had slept without nightmares in several days, and she couldn’t help but think that it was because her father was not around at the moment.
She watched through the hazy, half-dark skies as a figure approached. It was Zor-El and she found herself disappointed that he had once again found his way back to her. She huffed out a deep sigh and turned back into the cave.
As she took a seat against the back wall, she wondered what her friends and family were up to at the moment. ‘How long have I been gone? Have they given up? Have they moved on? Has Lena?’
“I have returned, inah,” Zor-El’s hollow voice called out from the entrance of the cave.
Kara rolled over and rested her head on her arm, pulling the cape tighter around her as she ignored the call, and fell back to sleep.
>>>
The Tower
As blue eyes slid closed, green and brown burst open at the same moment. “We need her DNA!” Lena and Alex yelled at the same time.
Kelly and Nia jumped as the two women screamed at each and stood up, running towards the bank of computers on the wall. Alex was pulling up the schematics for a scanner while Lena was entering in hypothetical information to start modeling the software. She slowed down for a moment then, staring at the screen, then turned to Alex, “where are we going to get Kara’s DNA?”
Alex turned to the whole group, a grin splitting her face, “mom.” Then she turned back to the computer and activated the program she was working on.
>>>
Alex’s Home
The next morning, Alex and Kelly met Eliza at the front door of the apartment. She peeked in and noticed a third person, and smiled brightly as she recognized the small blonde woman. After hugging Alex and Kelly, she stepped through the door and walked directly towards Cat Grant, “didn’t think I would be seeing you today.”
“Well I figured since my ‘source’ for all news involving Kara and Supergirl was going to be in National City, I should make an appearance, especially since no one in Kara’s group, other than you, Eliza, notified me that Kara would be working with me on a special story,” Cat smirked as she looked over Eliza’s shoulder at Alex and Kelly. “Now, would you two like to tell me about the secret you have been hiding all morning. I am assuming it has something to do with your mother’s arrival.”
Alex scanned Eliza’s neck, “mom, where is the necklace that Kara and I got you for mother’s day?”
Eliza looked at her daughter, confusion obvious on her face, and reached into the collar of her shirt, pulling the small gold chain and heart-shaped locket from her neck. “It’s right here, where I always wear it.” Alex’s hands came up, and she stopped as Eliza held up a single finger and unclasped the necklace with practiced ease and placed it in Alex's outstretched palm. “Want to tell me what this is all about?”
On the back, there were raised Kryptonian glyphs, and Alex smiled as she remembered Kara’s fingers fumbling with the gold as she shaped the locket with her hands. She found the small imperfection in the glyph and pressed lightly, causing the back of the heart to pop open with a resounding click. Her smile grew even larger when she saw the braid of hair, four each of hers and Kara’s hair, pulled from each other’s head just before Kara’s first Earth haircut. She reverently removed the hair and inspected the roots, noting that all four of the lighter colored hairs were all intact. “Yes, yes, yes!” she yelled as she slid the hairs back into the locket and yanked out her phone, dialing Lena. She only had to wait less than one ring, “we’ve got four complete hairs, will that work?”
The four women stared at the phone in shock at the sheer scream of joy from the other end.
>>>
Early the next morning, Lena looked at the screen, her vision blurry, and saw what she was looking for. Reaching out, she grasped Alex’s hand, “We did it! Oh my god, Alex! We--we found her!”
Bleary-eyed, Alex looked at the screen, and there they were, the lifesigns they were seeking, one Kryptonian signature. “You did it Lena, you found her, you found her,” Alex ran to the door, screaming into the hallway, “Lena did it, she found her, she found Kara!”
Rushing back into the lab, she grabbed Lena in a backbreaking hug, “you did it, we are going to get her back.”
Lena stiffened, “you are, you’re going to get her back, Alex.”
Alex stopped, and took a step back, taking Lena by the shoulders, “we--we are getting her back, Lena. All of us! Do you understand, ALL OF US!”
Alex watched as something dawned on Lena, she felt the younger woman relax, “We are, we are going to get her back, Alex. All of us--all of us together.”
“That’s the Lena Luthor I know, the woman I admire. The woman Kara lo--cares for,” Alex smiled. “We need to prepare, we need weapons, and a portal.”
“I believe I can help with the portal,” Brainy said as he entered the room, causing the two women to separate. “The top two floors of the tower are set up for interdimensional travel and flight,” Brainy smiled, “something J’onn failed to mention when we all decided to use this location as our headquarters.”
“Up until this point, we had no use for the technology, I apologize for keeping it a secret,” J’onn explained as he and Eliza joined them.
“You really found her, Alex? Lena?” Kelly called out as she and Nia ran into the room.
Alex reached over and grabbed Lena’s hand, “we did!”
Lena smiled, “yes we did.” She started to giggle, and it was suddenly contagious.
All the superfriends were laughing, when Cat Grant peeked in the door, shaking her head at the scene. “Can we go get her now?” the reporter asked, “Now?”
Nia froze for a moment, as blue mist swirled around her. She seemed to be staring into space, but quickly recovered, “we can’t go now, in the morning, we must go in the morning. And we have to be prepared for anything. Kara is in danger from two men, one from our dimension and one is a ghost.” The young hero shuddered, as her vision cleared.
“Alex, you and Lena, need to get some rest. Brainy you too. I’ll take care of the prep work, each of you make a list of what you need, and it will be ready.”
“I’m going too,” Eliza spoke up.
There was a resounding no from the room, except for Cat, who smirked, worried for the group of Superheroes who had just told Supergirl’s mother, no.
“Oh really, and you are all experts on Kryptonian physiology and the mental aspect of what, MY DAUGHTER, is going through?” Eliza snarled, “which one of you thinks you can stop me?”
“Mom? Be reasonable,” Alex swallowed, realizing her mistake as soon as the words left her mouth.
Eliza walked up to her daughter, “Alexandra Michelle Danvers?”
Alex felt the world slowdown as her mother grasped her wrist, spun Alex around and flipped her daughter onto her back. “Oof,” escaped from Alex’s lips and as she breathlessly rolled back to her stomach, taking Kelly’s hand and standing up as everyone applauded. “I--I guess you are--are going,” she grunted out.
“Yes, I guess she is,” Cat Grant laughed, “I on the other hand will stay behind and wait for this team to recover our girl.”
The team filed out, each heading to his or her own bedroom, still laughing as Alex limped down the hallway. Lena stopped, and headed back to the lab, stopping in front of Eliza, “I haven’t had time to--I didn’t set up--we don’t have sunlamps.”
“Lena,” Eliza said, “I created the sunlamps, I will make sure they are ready by morning, okay?”
Lena nodded, afraid to speak. She swallowed, and opened her mouth to speak, but no words would come out. She closed her mouth and stared at the floor, and suddenly found herself gathered into Eliza’s arms. Soft sobbing sounds escaped Lena’s mouth, “it’s my fault, this is all my…”
“Shh, hush, Lena,” Eliza cooed, “it’s not your fault, sweetheart.” She pressed the woman into her chest, holding her gently and letting her cry. “She won’t blame you either, she believes in you Lena, she cares for you.”
“I don’t deserve her, or any of you,” Lena stuttered, settling into Eliza’s arms.
Eliza smiled, “you are absolutely just as hopeless as Kara. She loves you, Lena”
“Eliza?” Lena looked shocked.
“You are her sun, you are her everything Lena, remember that, because she is going to need us, all of us when she comes home,” Eliza said with a smile. “Go, get some sleep so we can go rescue your girl.”
>>>
The Tower
Lena stood outside the door guarding the top two floors of the tower, her hand hovering over the handle, self doubt crushing down on her shoulders. She didn’t hear the approaching steps as the rest of the Superfriends came up the hallway.
“Lena,” Alex smirked, “if you really want to go get Kara, you have to turn the handle.”
Alex watched a small smile find it’s way to Lena’s lips. Watched as Lena’s hand closed around the handle and turned, and listened as steely determination rang through Lena’s words, “let’s go.”
They all took their seats, each seemingly knowing where they should sit. At Lena’s station was a large button, obviously the one that would activate the transdimensional portal. J’onn and Eliza arrived a few minutes later taking their seats at the pilot’s station. Eliza looked over the controls, and pressed the launch button. “I wasn’t aware that you spoke Martian, Eliza?”
“I started practicing last night, I also speak French, German, Japanese and Kryptonese,” Eliza smiled. “Lena, would you be a dear, and activate the portal.”
Alex suddenly looked mortified, and Kelly felt her tense up, “what’s wrong, honey?”
“Mom speaks Kryptonese,” Alex said in a whisper, staring at the back of her mom’s head. “Kara and I used to talk to each other thinking that she and Jeremiah couldn’t understand.”
“Mother knows all, Alexandra,” Eliza said, peeking over her shoulder and winking.
Then the world broke, and the portal opened…
>>>
Luthor Corp
“Mr. Luthor,” the computer’s synthesized voice spoke through the speaker, “a portal has opened over National City. Based on your sister’s studies, the portal appears to be…”
“Shut up! Shut the hell up!” Lex growled. “Prepare my armor!”
Within minutes, Lex was suited up and launching himself towards the portal that Lena had created.
>>>
The Nightmares
Nia (A New Power Rises)
The bridge was dark, everyone was gone. Nia took a shaky breath, shivering in the cold blackness. She took another breath, then another. As her body relaxed, she tried to pull on her power. A blue glow started to emanate from her fingers, casting soft shadows throughout the dark bridge. One of the shadows came to life, walking towards her, wearing the face of her sister Maeve.
“You will fail, Nia Nal,” the shadow hissed, as it slid from shadow to shadow. “You carry the power of our mother with no knowledge of its use. You will fail your family…”
Nia tried to focus, to draw on more of her power, when out of the shadows walked Yvette's attacker, “keep trying Dreamer, you failed Yvette and it took everyone but you to find Supergirl,” the shadow’s words slid from it’s throat. “You fail, again and again…”
Nia started to raise her hands to her ears, when a final shadow appeared. “You aren’t worthy of the power Nia,” the words flowed from the mouth of the creature as its eyes opened and Nia realized she was seeing herself.
She dropped to her knees, a silent scream coming from her opened mouth. She pushed, her light slowly dimming, allowing the shadows closer and closer.
“Nia, Nia,” she heard a soft whisper in her ear, “you have always been a hero, it’s always been inside you…”. She heard the words in the voices of her family, and with each speaker her powers continued to grow, pushing against the shadows. Her eyes opened wide as Kara’s voice reached her ears, “you got this, little sister.”
With those words, a mighty roar spread through the darkness as a lioness made up of Nia’s light burst forward and destroyed the shadows.
Brainy (Form Own Destiny)
Sitting in his throne, Brainiac looked out over the destroyed planet that had once been Earth. With his enhanced powers, he could see the remains of the heroes of this petty planet, Guardian’s shield, Sentinel’s jacket, Martian Manhunter’s boots, Supergirl’s cape. Then he looked down into his hand, where he held Nia’s mask.
He sat staring at the mask for hours, running it between his fingers, relishing it weight, trying to remember the eyes that had been behind it.
“What have I become?” The words escaped his mouth in one breath.
“You have become that which you were always meant to be, offspring of Brainiac,” a shadow whispered, “you have become death, and the universe will be better for it.”
“This is not who I am?” Brainy panted, “I…”
“Ehehaha, you speak as if you can fight destiny,” the shadow laughed. “You started on this path as soon as you allied with the Earthling named Lex Luthor. He stained your soul, and now there is no turning back. You will kill them all.”
Brainy’s eyes got wide, tears started to fall, “no, I--I refuse to believe this fantasy.”
“You act as if you have a choice,” the voice whispered.
“All sentient creatures have a choice,” Brainy spoke with confidence, then felt an invisible hand take his own. “We make wrong choices. We use them to make us better, stronger…”
“IT IS YOUR DESTINY!” The voice screamed.
Gripping the hand tighter, Brainiac stood up, “logic does not dictate destiny. My friends…” the hand squeezed back, “my family forgave me, you are not by destiny.”
The lights came up, and Brainy found himself staring into the glowing eyes of Dreamer.
J’onn (Protect Your Family)
Green lidded eyes opened slowly. The Martian Manhunter shook his head, and looked around, trying to get his bearings. ‘DEO Headquarters?’ he thought to himself and attempted to move, but found himself unable to move.
Susan Vasquez and Alex walked into the room and the corner lit up showing Winn sitting at his computer. J’onn tried to speak, but no words would come. He couldn’t even move his head. Then from behind he heard booted feet approaching. He tried to turn, to fight whatever it was that had him trapped.
The first bullet struck Susan in the back of the head, the second hit Winn in the chest. The third and fourth hit Alex in the arm and then the leg, dropping her to the floor, screaming in pain and firing at her unseen enemies. The bullets passed right through him and J’onn realized it was him, he was the unseen killer.
Kara entered a moment later, shielding her sister with her body, as her heat vision fired through him over and over again.
A green round shot out, catching her in the chest, and J’onn started to breathe even harder, panic pushing him to move, but he couldn’t.
He blinked back angry tears, and felt himself starting to rise, to float away. He could see the enemy and it was Lex Luthor.
The balding man looked up at him and sneered, “running from another fight, J’onn.” Then he turned his attention back to Kara and Alex who looked up at him, fear in their eyes. Lex took a step forward, raising his arms, the noise of cycling rounds was deafening as he locked on J’onn’s earthbound daughters.
His scream gave the girls a moment but it wasn’t enough as Lex started to fire, his rounds getting closer and closer.
“It’s not real, it’s not real,” J’onn started to say to himself, “it’s not real,” He cringed in horror as the rounds got closer and closer. “IT’S NOT REAL!”
The lights came back…
Kelly (Guardian Shines)
The doors slid open and Kelly Olsen slipped in silently, moving from shadow to shadow watching and listening as an obviously controlled Lena and Eliza studied a caged phantom zone demon. As she slipped from one hiding spot, the creature spotted her and the woman froze in place.
“Kelly,” the creature hissed from the mouths of Eliza and Lena, “you should not have come here, Kelly Olsen.”
Kelly took a deep breath, getting her breathing under control, ‘this isn’t real, Nia warned us, Alex warned me, it’s all a nightmare.’
A familiar voice sounded in the woman’s ears, slurring slightly, like she had drunk one beer to many before bed time. Kelly turned towards the sound, her eyes opening wide with shock, as Alex approached, her eyes red, “Hello, Kelly.”
Stumbling back, Kelly stuttered, “what, Al--Alex?” She shifted away from the woman, holding her hands out to keep the thing that was her Alex at a distance. “Alex, this--this isn’t you, fight it, if anyone can, it’s you, honey.”
The creature began to hiss through Alex, Lena and Eliza’s mouths again, “why would we fight, we are stronger, physically and intellectually than you could ever hope to be.”
Kelly’s eyes closed tightly, ‘it’s not true, Alex would never say that.’ She opened her eyes back, and looked at the demon creature, “Alex, this isn’t something you would say. The Alex I know asked me to move in with her, she wears her fuzzy socks on a cold night in the winter. She shared her deepest secret with me and her deepest fears,” The Alex creature’s eyes flickered a moment and Kelly smiled softly, “remember the first time we met, at the hospital, how we butted heads? How we were so sure we were right and the other person was wrong? I knew then that I wanted a part of your life. All the ups and downs Alex, I can’t think of anyone else I would rather be with right now.”
Alex’s eyes closed, almost as if she was in pain, then they opened and Kelly smiled, relieved to see the brown eyes of her Alex. “Kelly, I--I didn’t mean any of that, I swear it wasn…”
Kelly smirked, “you sound just like Kara when you ramble.” Then she pressed their lips together and pulled Alex into a tight hug.
“He’s coming back, Kelly, you need to listen to Nia, let her help, trust her,” Alex said as she pulled away. “Save us, Kells. Save us…” Her eyes closed again and when they opened Kelly was once again staring into the blood red orbs of the demon.
“Nia?” Kelly gasped, backing away slowly.
“You can do this, Alex knows it and so do I,” she heard Nia’s voice whisper in her ear. “Be the Guardian your brother could never really become. Be the hero we all know you are…”
As the voice faded, Kelly saw a blue mist swirl around her, felt armor start to form on her frame. Looking down, she found herself wrapped in blue and gold, a helmet formed around her head and she watched with a smile as a gold shield appeared on her left arm.
The creature picked that moment to attack. Kelly leaped back, pressed off the wall and jumped into the air, spinning as she lifted the shield's cutting edge level with the demon’s neck. She heard it scream, landed in a crouch and turned, watching with satisfaction as it dissolved into mist.
“Good job, Guardian,” Nia said as she took Kelly’s hand and the darkness faded…
Eliza (A Mother’s Love)
Eliza stepped into the clearing, listening as Alex begged Kara to come back, to not die. Her heart clenched and she stopped. The sunlight in the plants started to move towards her adopted daughter then stopped as Snowbird swooped down from the sky and attacked Alex, driving her oldest child to the ground. The woman stopped, hovering over her girls. A growl rose in Eliza’s throat as she gathered herself up and moved out of the shadows, “get away from my girls, you bitch.”
She stopped as the creature looked up at her, red eyes, dead and uncaring staring at her. “You are weak, Eliza Danvers, not even worth my time.”
Through gritted teeth, “try me, I’ve faced nightmares worse than anything you can conjure up. Bring it on!”
The creature tilted its head away, ignoring Eliza completely and lowered itself over Alex and Kara again.
Eliza swung a tree limb at the creature's head, “I said get away from my girls!”
The creature recoiled and lost the shape it was holding, transforming into a phantom zone ghost. Eliza growled again, swinging once again at the monster’s head. She grunted as it connected with something solid and the creature howled in pain.
“Still think I’m not worth your time?” Eliza threatened.
The girls stirred and Eliza turned her head. The creature picked that moment and attacked, but Eliza was prepared and waited, raising the stick like a spear, watching in satisfaction as it impaled itself and began to dissolve into mist.
“Never doubt a mother’s love,” Eliza snarled as the light returned…
Alex (A Sister’s Bond)
Alex slowly opened her eyes and looked around. Her breath caught in her throat, as one thought came to her, ‘Kara’s apartment!’ She watched her sister’s dark shape, shooting her heat vision at the rack of clothes in the corner of the bedroom. Rushing forward, she grabbed a fire extinguisher, pulled the pin and put out the fire. Kara turned her back and strutted towards the window. “Kara?”
“Don’t even Alex,” Kara didn’t turn around, she just continued to talk, “jealousy doesn’t look good on you.”
Alex shook her head. She’d been here before. She looked around the room, at Kara’s black uniform. ‘Astra’s dead, Kara’s--she’s been exposed to--to Red Kryptonite,’ Alex’s brown eyes opened. She was reliving one of the worst nights of her life.
Kara opened the window, “how does it feel, Alex? How does it feel to be less?”
“I failed you Kara, I should have been with you, I should have protected you…” Alex cried out, interrupted.
The Kara creature turned around, now longer wearing the black, now she was beaten and bruised, “you have always failed me.”
Alex’s breath caught, it was the night Reign had beaten her. The coma, Kara’s heart stopping. “I…”
The creature stopped again, and Kara was lying in a forest clearing dying as Alex struggled to remember, to save her.
“Kara…” Alex’s breath caught, she was losing it, losing control.
Kara was trapped in the fortress, the kryptonite leaching into her system. “You always arrive too late, Alexandra Danvers.”
Now Kara was against a white wall, as kryptonite slowly killed her. She was fading away, disappearing into the phantom zone.
“NO!” Alex screamed, “I haven’t failed her, not like this. Show me the times she didn’t get hurt, show me the times I held her hand and supported her. Show me the times she held my hand and supported me. WE ARE SISTERS, we fight, we hurt each other and then we get up, wipe our hands and face the world. I will save her, she will save me, and together, WE WILL KICK YOUR ASS!” Alex shook with tears, took a deep breath and stepped forward, “you will not stop us from getting her back, so GET OUT OF MY HEAD!”
She fell to her knees as the darkness faded and Kelly wrapped her arms around her…
Lena (For Better or For Worse)
Lena could feel herself falling, plummeting through her own memories.
She was standing by the lake shore watching her mother’s hand sink beneath the surface.
She was standing in the hallway of a dark house, looking into the face of a woman who would never love her.
She sat alone in the cafeteria at the college, too young to understand why no one wanted to eat with her.
She was sitting alone in the courtroom, listening as Lex was sentenced.
She was always alone, until one bright light forced its way into her life.
“She’s Supergirl,” Lex said as she pulled the trigger.
Kara was standing before her then, her blue eyes hidden behind the red of the creature from the Phantom Zone, “she betrayed you, she doesn’t trust you, she is scared of you and you left her alone to suffer by your brother’s hand.”
Lena fell to her knees, a crushing sob rushing from her throat, “no.”
“It’s your fault Lena Luthor, all of it is your fault,” the creature said over and over again as it took the shape of all the Superfriends, Sam, Andrea, Lillian and Lex. Then it took Nia’s form and it’s red eyes shifted to purple.
“It wasn’t you Lena,” Nia spoke in a confident whisper, “she never doubted you, she never thought you failed her, she believes in you. We all do.”
Lena stood up, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand, “Kara?”
The creature screamed as it took the shape of Kara Zor-El. Blue eyes peeked out through the fingers on its face.
“Kara?” Lena’s voice cracked, “we are coming, we are coming to get you.”
“Lena? Lena, you found me?” Kara responded, her eyes brightening and her voice sounding strong.
“We will be there soon, darling. Just hold on a little longer. We are all coming for you,” Lena promised, her green eyes shining.
“Lex is here, Lena. Don’t trust my father,” Kara warned, her blue eyes slowly fading and returning to red. “Be safe Lena, be careful my Zhao.” And then she was gone.
“You failed her again, Lena Luthor,” the creature growled, and floated forward. “I will end you now,”
Lena stepped forward, “do your worst?” She held her hands out, palms facing the creature, but she wasn’t alone. Nia was standing beside her holding her outstretched left hand. She felt a grip in her right and Alex was standing there. Then Brainy, Kelly, J’onn and Eliza stepped forward.
The creature emitted a low growl and continued to move forward, expecting the Superfriends to retreat. When they failed to do so, it stopped and screamed. But the team held its ground, raising weapons and hands, all their considerable power came to bear as they fired away. Dreamer’s energy captured the monster, wrapping it in unbreakable bands of dream energy. The rest continued to flay the creature with whatever weapons they were carrying, watching as it dissolved into mist and disappeared.
>>>The Rescue
The phantom closed in on Kara, forcing the hero to duck and roll towards the other side of the cave. She stood quickly and bumped into Zor-El forcing both of them into the wall. The phantom turned, and was rushing towards them.
Kara pushed her father to the side, shoving him away, as the ghost slammed her into the stone wall, the force of the blow caused her head to crack against the solid surface, which brought stars to the Girl of Steel's eyes. She slid down the wall, the small cavern spinning under her feet. She felt the stone slice through her uniform, hissing as it ripped into her back.
The creature reared back, slicing its claws towards Kara’s face. She ducked, dropping to her side, but in doing so she caught her arm on a rough outcropping, tearing a huge gash in her arm, and leaving a huge smear of blood on the wall.
Lex Luthor stepped behind and grabbed her by the arms, wrenching them up behind her back. “I should have just killed you back in the fortress, but I guess this way, I get you and your friends.” He lifted Kara over his head and tossed her through the opening of the cave.
Kara landed on her back, the pain lancing throughout her body. She rolled over and tried to crawl away, rising to her hands and knees.
Lex, the phantom and her father closed in on her, moving purposely out of the entrance and spreading out.
Kara backed against a large outcropping, pushing herself to her feet. The phantom creature closed in and Kara locked eyes with it, daring it to enter her head. The creature froze, it had never had a willing victim. The pause would be it’s last thought.
Kara looked up as a strange shaped ship blasted through a tear in the void above. Her eyes followed a strange device that plummeted from the sky, landing about fifteen feet away. Lex and her father were so busy watching the ship, they failed to notice how close the device landed and were completely unprepared when it went off…
Pure sunlight washed over Kara and she smiled as she watched Alex and Lena drop from the ship followed by someone else. She felt her cuts start to heal and her muscles stopped aching for the first time in what seemed like forever. She stood tall as Alex dropped in a crouch at her side, the Hand of the Soldier shaping itself into a spear of some sort. Her smile grew even larger as Lena landed, wrapped in some sort of alien armor with her arm wrapped around, Eliza? Kara’s brow crinkled as she shook her head. “Eliza?” She asked, confused.
“I’ll explain later, Kar,” Alex said as she scanned her sister, noting the rips and tears in her uniform, and the blood stains.
The four women turned to face their enemies as Lex spoke, “how nice that you brought the whole family, little sister.”
Lena swallowed, speechless that Lex was actually here, her breathing sped up and her eyes were wide. “Shut up Lex, Lena’s with us, and there is nothing you can say that will ever change that,” Alex growled, as Kara stepped forward and took Lena’s fingers in her palm.
Lena stood up straighter, “Activate!”
Kara looked on impressed as Lena was wrapped in a blue suit of armor, stepping in front of Kara and Eliza.
Alex stepped up beside Lena and the fight was on.
>>>
Zor-El’s eyes became bright red orbs as he focused on Kara and Eliza, his feet lifting off the ground as he floated forward.
“Kara!” Alex yelled, “keep mom safe, Lena and I will handle Lex.”
Kara immediately stepped in front of Eliza, as Lena and Alex shot forward to take on Lex.
“How about we take care of each other, honey?” Eliza asked, as she pulled a collapsible staff from her belt, pressed the button and smiled wickedly as it extended.
Kara dropped into a crouch, her body preparing for the onslaught. “We can do this, he can shapeshift and get into your head.”
“They already tried. They’ve got no power left over us, and you just need to believe in yourself and your family, okay Kara?” Eliza responded, her eyes never leaving the creature, as she started to spin the staff in her hands.
On the other side of the field, Lex fired a rocket at Lena, and watched in anger as Alex brought up her arm, as the Hand formed a shield, deflecting the missile back at him. “Learned that one from my girlfriend, Lex,” as she rolled out of the way.
Lena rolled her eyes inside her helmet, allowing the computer to aim at the Phantom Zone projector on Lex’s back. As the tone sounded, she launched four shots, four different rockets that zoomed towards Lex at high speed. He ducked each one and rolled up to take a shot.
“Missed,” Lex laughed.
“Did she?” Alex said as she came up in front of him and sliced through his missile launcher, watching in satisfaction as it bounced away.
Lex looked confused, then shocked as all four rockets crashed into his back, detonating and tearing the projector to shreds, along with a portion of his armor.
Zor-El shot towards Eliza and was caught by surprise as Kara fired beam after beam of her heat vision at him, burning portions of his robes away. As the last shot struck him in the chest, he veered away from Eliza and focused his attention on Kara.
Kara shot forward to meet him, catching his clawed hands as he brought them down towards her face. “Never underestimate them,” she said as she held the claws back.
“Never underestimate?” the creature asked.
The staff, charged with Nia’s dream energy, came down on the monster’s head, slicing through it and turning it to ash.
“Never underestimate my family,” Kara smiled, then fell to her knees as her energy gave out. Eliza caught her and both women watched as Lex was surrounded by Alex and Lena.
Lex growled, swinging his fist, first at Alex and then at Lena. “I’m going to kill you all, do you understand, all of you.”
Lena placed a kick at the ankle of his suit, listening to the sound of crushed metal, as the boot shattered around Lex’s foot.
The Hand of the Shoulder continued to change in Alex’s skilled hand, removing power supplies with a knife’s edge and blasting away energy cores and other important components one after another.
Lex’s forward momentum stopped as his suit froze, and the maniac found himself trapped as Kara and Eliza joined his sister and Alex. He continued to spit insult after insult at each of the women, until Eliza took a deep breath and walked up to him, reared back and punched him in the nose.
Lex’s head lolled in his suit, his breathing sounding haggard through his broken nose.
An exhausted Kara looked up at the three women, “can--can we go home now?”
All three women smiled at the hero and shook their heads, leading her to the slowly descending ship.
>>>
Reunions
As the group entered the ship, they were approached by the rest of the team. Lena, still suffering from self doubt, broke off and headed towards her station. Eliza watched her go, her eyes full of concern.
Kara was barely holding herself up right, but at the sight of her friends, she opened her arms.
Brainy was the first to reach her, tears flowing freely down his cheeks as he wrapped his arms tightly around the Kryptonian. “I missed you, Kara.”
Smiling into his shoulder, Kara whispered, “Me too, Brainy.”
Kelly was next, gently pulling Kara forward, “I took care of her for you.”
“You took care of her for both of us, Kelly. Are you mad?” Kara asked softly.
“Mad about you being Supergirl? No. Mad that you got yourself into this, a little,” she smiled. They worked their way apart, “It’s good to have you back, Kara.” She leaned in and placed a light kiss on Kara’s forehead, “love you, Supergirl.”
J’onn came forward next, and everything he needed to say was conveyed in strong protective arms as they wrapped themselves around the woman he thought of as his own child. Tears fell from his eyes as he kissed the top of her head.
Nia stopped a step away, opening her mouth to speak, tears streaming down her cheeks. Kara stared back, smiling slightly, “come here, little sister.”
Nia crumbled into Kara’s arms, heaving sobs sounding from her throat, “it was you, you came to me.”
“You called, I came,” Kara said into the top of Nia’s head. Her lips brushed the other woman’s temple, “whenever you need me, I’ll be there for you.”
The hug could have lasted hours, when in reality it was just a few minutes. Then it was Eliza’s turn and tears flowed from both women. The older woman crushed the hero to her chest, pouring as much love into the hug as was possible in the moments they had.
Sniffling, Kara looked up into Eliza’s eyes and in that moment, she thanked Rao for the family she had found when she came to Earth.
Alex approached the two women next, wrapping her arms around them both, feeling her sister snuggle closer to her as Eliza pulled away, giving her daughters a moment of their own. The sister’s collapsed to their knees, refusing to let go of one another. Alex peppered Kara’s head with kisses, “she did it Kara. Lena found you. Everything you said about her was right.”
“I get to be right occasionally,” Kara smiled through her tears. “Thank you so much for not giving up on me, for coming after me, for being my big sister.”
“Always,” Alex smiled, her tears streaming down her cheeks as Kara gripped her harder.
>>>
And Then There Were Two
Kara stood up from her knees and made her way towards the striking brunette sitting at the control panel on the far side of the bridge. Unshed tears were filling Lena’s eyes as she focused on the blue eyes that were moving towards her.
Kara finally reached Lena, her breathing and heartbeat loud in her ears.
Lena stood, her hands folded in front of her, fingers twisting, her lower lip grasped tightly between her teeth.
“Hey you,” Kara whispered. “Thank you.”
Words spilled from Lena’s lips, “I’m so, so sorry. I should have known, I tried to find you, Lex is staying. I missed you so…”
Kara chuckled lightly, as tears ran down her cheeks, “Lena, I’m going to kiss you now, and if you will have me, I’m going to spend the rest of my life kissing you and saying thank you for saving me.”
Lena sucked in a breath, but once again words failed her and she simply nodded. Parched lips met hers and she snaked her arms around Kara’s neck, pulling her forward, and deepening the kiss. Kara smiled and sighed as Lena’s tongue flicked over her teeth and pushed its way deeper.
“I missed you, Kara,” Lena smiled as they broke apart.
“I missed you too, Zhao,” Kara said as she leaned in for a second kiss.
>>>
The Tower
The ship docked with the tower, and the crew disembarked, everyone heading towards the medical bay.
As Kara reached the doors, a huge grin came to her face when she noticed Cat and M’gann waiting for her to walk through...
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