#I know I’m the second-youngest in the department I’m in but you seem to think I am Severely lacking in intellect

[waltzofcloths]

Why is management always so quick to jump to calling their employees lazy? Why do they never actually look at what’s changed as of late to find an actual explanation for the decrease in work achieved?

[corrodedcoffins-blog]

2x12

spencer reid x morgan!reader

note: i got carried away with this one...

warnings: Sarah calls Spencer 'freaky' (lovingly), murder, eating/food

wordcount: 2388

Spencer was showing the girl’s his ‘physics magic’ when he got a little too comfortable and almost hit Hotch on his way into the bullpen. The girl’s pretended to not be involved as Hotch picked up the ‘rocket’ and looked at Spencer, “Physics magic?” “Yes, sir.” “Reid, we talked about this.” “I’m sorry, sir.”

The tense air in the room dissipated when Hotch placed the ‘rocket’ on the young man’s desk and said, “You’re starting to get some distance on those.”

The girls gathered back around the desk seemingly to have forgotten whatever they were doing that made them innocent to the physics magic happening.

“So he does have a sense of humour?” “Sometimes.” Spencer replied back to Emily, him and Y/n always seemed to be able to get him out of his usual stoic nature.

“So hey. Where’s the Morgans?” The brunette woman asked, Spencer once again had the answer, “Chicago. They go every year for their mother’s birthday.”

-

Derek and Y/n were walking out of the corner store and they got a couple things for their older sister, Sarah, before heading back home.

“You really think she’s got enough butter?” “Hey, y’know Sarah, if she doesn’t put it on the list, she doesn’t need it. She doesn’t make mistakes.” The younger girl said sarcastically, before they turned the corner to see Rodney and his guys.

“Y/n! Lookin’ good. I mean, damn, you’ve filled out in all the right places since you left.” “Step off, Rodney. Y/n/n get in the car.” “C’mon, D.” “I said get in the car.” Y/n accepted the defeat, whenever they got back to Chicago it was back to when they were kids, Y/n was a young helpless girl until big brother Derek came to the rescue.

“That’s okay, baby, I’ll get with you a little later, huh?” “In your dreams, Rodney.” “Most definitely. All night long, baby girl.”

Big brother Derek made his presence known, “You better step off before I make you wish you never walked up on me.” “Oh what? You two some bad-asses now ‘cause they pay you to wear that gun, Mr and Miss F.B.I?” “Rodney, he’s proved before he doesn’t need a gun to take you out.” “Past history? That’s a dangerous thing for you to count on, baby.” “Rodney. Walk away.”

Rodney laughs in Derek’s face, “Y/n/n, I’ll get at you a little later.” “Go to hell.” Rodney and his guys left around the corner, Derek motioned with his arm to get in the car, “C’mon, I’ll take you home. Then there’s something I gotta do.”

-

The five of them sat around the dinner table as Desi brought the cake in from the kitchen and Derek counted them in. “One, two, three” And they all sang happy birthday to their mom.

Their mom, of course, couldn’t have a moment just about her, even after Derek said ‘Go ahead, momma’ she didn’t blow out the candles before praising her second youngest’s effort.

“Did you make this yourself?” Desi replied, “Oh, Sarah and Y/n helped me.” “Momma, they wouldn’t let me help so I don’t know how good it’s gonna taste.” Derek said, teasing his sisters. But Sarah always made sure to put D in his place, “Oh, no, no, you remember that Christmas fiasco of 1994?”

“I remember that.” “The fire!” “Oh, that was bad.”

“Whatever, that was 12 years ago! Let it go!” “No, no, no, we still get cards from the fire department.” “Serious?” Y/n asked from her spot next to her older sister.

“Mama, you see how they treat your baby boy?” “You be good to your brother.” “Uh-huh, what she said!” “You got the ‘baby’ part right at least.” Y/n mumbled, intended for Sarah to hear but she spoke a little loud.

“Okay you know what?” “Hey!" “You better watch out!” The siblings fought over the table. “What? What?” “All right!”

Their fighting could only be put to rest by their mom. And when she did, they got back to her blowing out her candles, “Okay, wish, a wish..”

And cheering began as their mom finally blew out her candles.

-

“What is it?” The siblings laughed from their scattered places on the couch, watching their mom open her gifts. It was Derek’s turn and he explained to their mom what he got her and how she can use it. After some teasing Sarah and Desi started cleaning up a little so Y/n and Derek could catch up more with their mom since they don’t get to see her as much.

“We miss you two around here.” “I know.” Y/n leant her head on the older woman’s shoulder as she was holding Derek’s hand. Derek usually covered this for them, he knew Y/n felt guilty for not being around more so he was always the one to explain it to their mom.

“You’re careful right? I lost your dad. I can’t lose you two.” “You won’t.” “And watch after this one she was always the trouble maker.” “I do.”

She patted her son’s hand before she got back to the teasing, something the Morgan’s were very good at, “Good, cause you owe me some grandbabies.” “Look at her, she’s got the genius wrapped around her finger.” “D, give that up!”

This was not the first time their mom had heard about Spencer. Derek loved bringing it up to deflect questions off of him.

"That Doctor you work with? Are you two together now? Why didn't you mention it, baby?"

But suddenly a loud and persistent knocking on the door broke the family from their chatter. “Saved by the bell! Get it, D, you’re closest.” Detek swatted at his little sister before getting the door. And it was Sheriff Gordinski.

“Gordinski?” “You armed?” “Excuse me?” “Are you wearing a gun?” “No, not right now.” “Then turn around.” Derek laughed, he’s an FBI agent who does Gordinski think he is? Was all Y/n could think.

“You’re under arrest, Derek.”

-

“C’mon Wally, you got to tell me something, my team is on the case!” “I don’t answer to you, Morgan.” “You called in FBI? I’m FBI.”

The woman was standing, towering over Wally as he sat on his desk not giving her a second glance, he never respected her and he wasn’t gonna start now.

“Special Agent Hotchner, FBI, I’m looking for-” He brilliant and stoic voice of her boss, Hotch, cut through the background chatter of the station.

Y/n quickly discarded Wally after seeing the team making her way over to them and interrupting an officer at his desk that Hotch originally asked, “Oh, Hotch- Chuck, I got this.” She liked Chuck. He was one the alright guys, he’d helped her get out of a lot back in the day.

“How’re you guys doing? I’m Wally Dennison, CPD.” “Unimportant. The only reason he’s left hand man is ‘cause he does whatever Gordi tells him to.” Hotch seemingly moved right past the comment, “Where’s Agent Morgan?” “Detective Gordinski’s in with the suspect now.” “I need to see him.” And for the millionth time, Wally gets in over his head and has no idea what and where his place is. As he walked away the girl mumbled, “I don’t like them calling D a ‘suspect’” into JJ’s shoulder as the older woman gave her a side hug.

-

Gordinski finally came out from wherever he was, letting Hotch go in to talk to Derek. Gordi went on to tell Gideon how helpful his profile was in arresting Derek. Worst part was he never cared to hide his distaste for the man, calling Derek a ‘son of a bitch’. That racist bastard! Was all Y/b could think.

Spencer could see the signs of anger in Y/n the way she was scratching her skin, he always hated it when she did it. Luckily she only did when she was mad, which was not a lot, but right now she was really mad. Spencer cut her off when he saw she was going to say something that definitely shouldn’t come out of an FBI agent’s mouth.

“Detective, a profile’s just a guide.” “This one guided me to him.” “They’re really more useful in the elimination of suspects-” “Not the inclusion. Gordi, you got the wrong guy.” She mumbled, not quietly.

Gordinski walked the team through his flawed work, he showed them the coincidences he’s found and the circumstantial evidence he’s collected.

Spencer reached down and grabbed Y/n’s hand from where it was scratching her skin and brought it towards him to hold, biether thought too much of the gesture, but JJ did and made sure she’d tell Garcia about it when this was all cleared up.

“There are key pieces of the profile that don’t fit, Detective. The age, 25-35, Morgan was 15 or so at the time.” “Also says that age is the hardest to predict.” He had a point there, “-And I should never exclude someone simply because of a discrepancy with the age.”

“What about the speculation that since he didn’t manage to leave any evidence at the scene of the crime that he most likely has a criminal record or previous law enforcement knowledge? Derek wasn’t even in the bureau yet when the first body was found.”

She knew Gordi was gonna break the news so Y/n did it for him, maybe that in some way will she Gordinski that Derek wasn’t hiding that, “Derek, had a criminal record.”

-

Gordinski was back at his desk now, the team had a quiet discussion without his input. Finally.

“Y/n, you bring Prentiss and Reid to talk to your family. Learn all about him, especially at the time of the first murder.”

“I don’t have a car, one of the cops brought me down.”

“I can take you.” Wally seemed to cut in out of nowhere, and with how much he annoys Y/n she was quick to jump on him for it, “Wally, we don’t need-” “No, actually, that’s not a bad idea.” Gideon said. “Right. Lead the way, Walls.”

-

“Is Derek alright?” “He wouldn’t let us go down there, Y/n luckily convinced him to let her go.” Y/n’s mom added on to her older sister's initial question “He’s fine. Our boss is with him.” “He’s okay, momma.” Y/n reassured further after Emily.

“Did they he and Y/n tell you Gordinski’s been harassing him since he was a kid?” “Whys that?” Spencer asked, innocently, not realising he was asking Sarah, “You’d have to ask the bastard.” Y/n was sat in the chair in front of him, reaching her hand back and patted Spencer’s arm in sympathy, as their mom shared her disappointment with Sarah’s harsh words.

Wally had some things to say that only made Sarah more riled up, “What are you even doing in my mother’s house?!” “They asked me.” “Not really.” Spencer mumbled, eating the piece of cake.

“I don’t understand how they could think he did this.” “Someone may be trying to make it look like he hurt those kids.” “And the police believe it?” “But he’s an FBI agent.” Desi cut, Y/n was about to gently tell her sister that in an investigation that doesn’t really matter, but of course Spencer cut in with his ever present knowledge.

“Actually, law enforcement officials are just as probable statistically to commit a crime as anyone else.” Y/n placed her head in her hands, she loved hearing Spencer talk about what he knows but sometimes- he just can’t read a room “Look at the cross-section of a society, there’s a general population and a small fraction of this percentage is-” “Momma, he’s not saying they believe D is involved in this.” “Oh, no, no! Yeah, not at all! I’m merely speaking theoretically.”

Sarah almost looks at him like he’s crazy, and Desi speaks up from where she’s standing behind their mom, seemingly only talking to embarrass her little sister. “You're Dr. Reid?” “Mhmm.” “Derek and Y/n have talked about you.” And her head falls back onto her hands. “Really?” Spencer says, smugly from his spot above his best friend.

“Derek loves kids. Every time he’s here he goes to the youth centre.” “Youth Centre?” “The Upward Youth Centre.” “Does that have some sort of significance for him?” Spencer cut into Emily and Mrs.Morgan’s conversation to ask, “What are you saying? There’s something in it for him, other than giving back to poor kids of your neighbourhood?” “Sarah, these are me and D’s friends. They’re only here to help. When they ask a question, it isn’t to denigrate or demean anything Derek’s done.” “We just have to know everything so we can figure out where to look next. Does The Youth Centre hold any special significance to him?”

“The Youth Centre saved his life.”

Sarah and their mom explained to Emily and Spencer and maybe even Y/n, since she was too young at the time, the history between Derek and the law and Gordinski.

After hearing about Carl, Emily decided she was headed there next, leaving Y/n and Spencer with her family.

-

Spencer and Y/n were left at her mom’s house till the case eventually closed, and Derek got closure and justice for the boys. But until then,

Y/n knew what the team was doing with this, Y/n was too connected to the case and Spencer stayed with her because he could keep her at a level head.

They continued looking through old stuff of Detek’s and some of all the siblings, Spencer loved seeing the pictures of when Y/n was a child. At this point their job was more so to keep Sarah from freaking and keeping her mom from worrying too much about Derek.

“What’s this one?” “Aww, that was Y/n the week after Derek left for college.” The photo was of a young Y/n with a pout on her lips, it was Spencer’s favourite, she still made that same face from time to time. It was cute.

The women slowly left the dining table and made their way to the living room, watching how the two at the table didn’t even notice. Spencer was too busy looking for more adorable photos and Y/n trying to gather the incriminating ones.

“I thought Derek was just teasing her, but she really does like that freaky genius boy that much.”

~taglist ~

@chrissyclg @pillsbury-doughgirl @the-holy-trinity-l @theillestvillain3 @random000000sblog @flow33didontsmoke

[natlacentral]

The cast of Netflix’s adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender knows they can’t please everyone.

It’s a difficult life lesson that many of the show’s young actors have come to learn since they were chosen to star in a live-action reimagining of one of the most beloved animated series of all time.

Like any great saga, the latest iteration of Avatar has taken a circuitous route to the small screen. In 2020, two years after Netflix announced that it was developing a remake, original creators Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino departed the project over creative differences. A year later, former Nikita and Sleepy Hollow writer-producer Albert Kim officially assumed the role of creator and showrunner, intending to honor the Asian and Indigenous roots of his source material.

Since the debut of the new Avatar last Thursday, longtime fans have remained divided over the many changes that were made to turn a 20-episode half-hour children’s cartoon into an eight-episode serialized drama that has multigenerational appeal. But by maintaining the essence of the original while expanding the world that Konietzko and DiMartino have created, the new creative team is hoping to recapture some of the magic that transformed Avatar into a cultural phenomenon.

Every diehard fan can recite the basic premise by heart: The four nations — Water, Earth, Fire, Air — once lived in harmony, with the Avatar, master of all four elements, keeping the peace between them. But everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked and wiped out the Air Nomads. A century later, Aang (Gordon Cormier), a 12-year-old Air Nomad frozen in an iceberg, reawakens to take his rightful place as the next Avatar. With his newfound friends Katara (Kiawentiio) and Sokka (Ian Ousley), siblings and members of the Southern Water Tribe, Aang sets out on a quest to save the world from the onslaught of Fire Lord Ozai (Daniel Dae Kim) while avoiding being captured by Ozai’s tempestuous son, Crown Prince Zuko (Dallas Liu).

Almost every Zoomer who grew up watching Nickelodeon seems to have their own relationship with the original Avatar. Kiawentiio, whose older siblings would always have the show playing in their house, recalls being drawn to its depiction of a young Indigenous girl, at a time when there was scant representation of Native Americans. Ousley credits Avatar and Star Wars: The Clone Wars for inspiring him to take up martial arts. Liu has a vivid childhood memory of watching a restless Zuko and his tea-drinking uncle Iroh’s first scene together on a boat. Cormier, as the youngest of the bunch, admits that he had not watched the show prior to auditioning. But by the time he entered production, all he could do was live and breathe Avatar.

Daniel Dae Kim, who watched the original with one of his sons when it first aired, tells Teen Vogue that he held a kind of family meeting with his now-adult children and some of his nieces and nephews after receiving an offer from Albert Kim (no relation) to star in the new version. “I called all of them, and I said, ‘What do you think about me doing a part in Avatar?’ And they were like, ‘You should do it!’ without hesitation. Then I asked the next question: ‘Well, I’m playing Ozai. He’s a bad guy…’ They paused for a second, and then they all screamed, ‘You should still do it!’” he says with a laugh.

Once the cast was assembled, the creative team began the seemingly gargantuan task of trying to breathe new life into each of the characters. While the animated series dealt with weighty issues such as genocide, war and imperialism, there is an added human component in live-action storytelling that requires a more grounded approach to depicting real-life reactions and emotions. “We were all definitely allowed to look into the darker sides of each of our characters,” Cormier says. In Aang’s case, he is tasked with a responsibility that he doesn’t necessarily want but feels obligated to assume after discovering that he is the last living Airbender of his kind.

Aang is “naturally a really fun-loving, goofy 12-year-old, so to be hit with something so serious like a genocide [affecting] all of his people, it really affects him badly,” Cormier says. “We see in the first episode where I blow Katara and Sokka off the mountain how badly it’s affected me. It hurt me so much [that] I blasted into the Avatar state and started destroying my home. I think it just shows how serious and traumatic it is for Aang, but slowly, he’ll get through it and become the Avatar.”

The themes of loss and grief remain prevalent across all eight episodes, with each of the young characters being forced to confront their own unresolved trauma.

Katara is forced to reckon with how her memory of her mother’s death has affected her ability to become a full-fledged Waterbender. “Another thing that I feel like impacted her so much, without even really explicitly touching on it, is being the last Waterbender of her tribe,” Kiawentiio says. “She really feels so deeply connected with that part of [herself], even though it’s something that she can’t really access [at first], and she feels this sense of, ‘This is what I should be doing.’”

After his father left years ago on a mission to fight the Firebenders, Sokka was forced to grow up quickly and protect his tribe, especially his younger sister, from the waterbending abilities that had caused them so much pain. “Sokka is a perfect example of somebody that is not healed, is pushing stuff down and won’t let it come out, is putting on different masks to the point where he doesn’t even know who he is when we first find him,” says Ousley, who insisted on finding a way to bring out a more serious side in Sokka without losing his signature sarcasm in this adaptation. “I think the trauma that he has is covered up by humor often and covered up by acting silly, and he will have lots of moments where he actually discovers who he is.”

Zuko, however, may have the most compelling arc of the first season. Having been banished by Ozai from the Fire Nation, Zuko has effectively lost one father but gained another father figure in his Uncle Iroh (Paul Sun-Hyung Lee), who takes it upon himself to look after Zuko on his journey to capture the Avatar. In the first season, viewers see Zuko’s Agni Kai — or traditional Firebender duel — with Ozai, who was responsible for giving Zuko his prominent facial scar.

While Ozai “may not have the tools to do it the right way,” Kim understands that his character “is trying, in his own way, to shape his children into what he feels is necessary to secure the future of not only his family, but of the entire Fire Nation.” That kind of tough love, unfortunately, has done irreparable damage to his children.

In a dramatic departure from the original series, the writers decided to introduce Elizabeth Yu as Princess Azula earlier than in the original series. In doing so, the family dynamics between Ozai, Zuko and Azula become even more complicated. “Since Zuko’s away on his ship in the first season, you get a glimpse into, while he’s away, what is going on in the Fire Nation and who’s pulling all the strings,” Yu says. “For Azula, Zuko is very much more like a roadblock than anything else. You see that sense of family is not really there.”

“I think the writers did a good job of showing a rivalry between the two fighting for the father’s approval and attention without us directly interacting or speaking with each other,” Liu adds. “Zuko is just trying to prove he is worthy of his father’s love and attention just as much as Azula is. I think people will really come to root for Zuko because of everything that he’s been through.”

The production team was also keen to honor and recreate the costumes of the original series in a way that was not only beautiful but practical for the actors; Kiawentiio and Ousley had to wear heavy coats made of suede and fur, while Kim, Liu and Yu wore layers upon layers of corseted material with large shoulder pads.

“They really helped me complete the character because there was something about when I put on the wardrobe that made me walk [and] feel a certain way,” Kim says, “and it turned my character into someone more regal and powerful.”

It’s almost fitting that the most regal character is played by Hollywood royalty among Asian Americans. For the better part of the last three decades, Kim has been at the forefront of the movement to increase the visibility of Asian Americans in film and television. “The fact that I’m still working and able to see [the change] and be a part of it makes me feel very grateful, because success is not guaranteed to anyone in this business,” he reflects.

Kim believes the new Avatar is a reflection of today’s changing landscape in Western entertainment for more diverse stories that center Asian and Indigenous communities. “I don’t think it’s any secret to say that a live-action version has been done in the past, but it wasn’t done this way,” he says, referring to M. Night Shyamalan’s disastrous The Last Airbender film, which whitewashed many key characters. “I don’t think that it would have been done this way even five or 10 years ago because there wasn’t the same emphasis on proper representation and real diversity [that there is now].”

“I feel like we fought hard for the progress that we’ve made, and at the same time, I acknowledge that there need to be others outside of those of us in the community to push things forward,” he adds. “It takes a community working together along with allies.”

As the most accomplished actor of the group, did Kim have any advice for his younger castmates? “I don’t feel like it’s necessarily my place to be giving advice where it’s not needed or wanted, but it was nice of them to ask me about my experiences and how they could chart their own path forward in a business that’s very difficult,” Kim responds. “I can tell you that I really have been impressed by all of them, and I’m so excited to see the next generation of Asian American actors in particular come in with this attitude, with this opportunity. I would really love nothing more than to see them succeed beyond what we’ve seen in generations previous.”

The first season ends with Aang, Katara and Sokka successfully helping the Northern Water Tribe fend off a vicious attack from the Firebenders. Rather than following the advice of past Avatars, who stressed that he would have to bear the burden of his title alone, Aang realizes that he needs his friends to master all four elements.

“The Avatar still has to learn other elements, so we had to get the ball rolling on water and earth. If we did reach Season 2, I believe that we’ll find Aang already practicing water just because in the group he has quite the master to teach him,” Kiawentiio says with a smile, alluding to her own character.

But the last minutes of the finale also reveal that the attack on the North was actually a decoy for the Fire Nation. Ozai, as it turns out, had his sights on the Earth Kingdom — and his daughter, Azula, has taken over the Earth Kingdom city of Omashu with her own army. Aang’s old friend, King Bumi (Utkarsh Ambudkar), has now been taken prisoner.

“You have this idea of the prodigal son and you put all of your attention to someone who, in Ozai’s eyes, is failing him,” Kim says of the state of Ozai’s relationships with his two most powerful children at the end of the season. “So when there’s another child that you are not looking at in the same way that ends up surprising you, it’s a pleasant surprise, and it changes the way that you see the future. I think Azula was a surprise to him, and it brings him some joy, and he may have overlooked her in the past, but now he sees her as a real heir apparent.”

The revelation that his father has passed him over for his sister, at least for now, shakes up Zuko’s entire world, Liu says. “He feels a weird sense of betrayal because even though it is his sister and his father working against him, they are part of the Fire Nation, and his loyalty towards the Fire Nation was something that we know he was very persistent about, even though he was banished.”

Going forward, Kim would be interested in deepening the portrayal of Ozai’s relationships with his children, as well as his older brother, Iroh. “What is the relationship between the two of them when the second son supersedes the first? And how does Iroh feel about all of that? We never really see that explored,” he remarks. “I’d also like to see what happened to Zuko and Azula’s mom. These kinds of things are crucial to deepening the character, and I would love to see a little bit more of his history and how that informs who he is now.”

While the show has yet to be renewed for a second season, the young actors all have their own hopes for future seasons. Ousley would like to see Sokka “pick up the pieces” emotionally after the beautifully tragic end of his first love, Princess Yue (Amber Midthunder). Yu is ready to “do some of the really iconic Azula lines and scenes that we all know,” especially the Agni Kai in Season 3. Cormier is most excited to potentially adapt “Appa’s Lost Days” and the final fight scene between Aang and Ozai. “Throughout the show, I feel like he's going to learn more and more about why he has to be the Avatar,” he says.

[whoredmode]

i said i would get my troy lore post out this weekend and i’m sticking to that promise for once

anyway. here’s The Bradshaw’s circa 2005-2006. i’ll talk about the general family background but a lot of this just shifts into general troy headcanons/characterization. sorry in advance i just love this guy. hope you enjoy!

Parents: Rick and Marianne Bradshaw

Children: Levi (Oldest, mid-30s), Christina (Middle, early-to-mid 30s), and Troy (Youngest, late 20s; 28 at the start of SR1)

Rick Bradshaw is originally from New York and met Marianne there, but they moved to Marianne's home state of Michigan after their first child was born. The family lived near Stilwater (less than an hour’s drive away) but not in the city itself; they’d visit on occasion and Rick himself worked in Stilwater as a cop, so he was familiar with the city. So while Rick worked in that precinct, the family lived and grew up in the quieter, more countryside parts of Michigan. 

Quick background on the family: Marianne, their mother, was a teacher but became a stay-at-home mom. Levi, the oldest, works in construction. Christina, the middle child, works in marketing; both Levi and Christina are married with their own children by 2006. Now that leaves Troy, the baby of the family (and tbh I think his mom always had a soft spot for him because of it haha).

Growing up, Troy was a slacker. Even he would admit he was directionless, but nothing ever really caught his attention. Nothing ever seemed to give him any sense of true purpose, and his father felt as if he wouldn’t amount to anything. Troy was inadvertently a bit of a troublemaker as well, with his dad having to bail him out of shit on more than one occasion. Sick of his lack of direction, Troy’s father forced him to join the police academy to give him some structure and discipline. So from the start, Troy held his sudden new career at arm’s length. He had no passion for it, and despite Troy doing well on his exams and passing, the whole thing always felt a little off to him. Regardless, he was assigned first to the local department in his hometown, but soon enough (perhaps on his father’s command) he was transferred to Stilwater. Troy’s father retired around this point, and Troy himself moved to Stilwater—he lived on Mission Beach, to be specific.

So Troy was mostly doing desk work or the occasional patrol/traffic work for awhile. However, with the growing concern of gang activity in the mid-2000s, Troy was kinda the perfect person for going undercover. He was the youngest officer there, and Chief Monroe saw him as somewhat expendable. I think Monroe and Troy’s dad had known each other for a long time and had a less-than-amicable relationship, so Monroe never really respected Troy. But Troy never respected Monroe either; not because of Monroe’s feelings towards his dad (he couldn’t care less about that) but because Troy had seen firsthand just how awful and underhanded Monroe was. So Troy was sent undercover sometime around 2005-2006. 

Julius was well aware that Troy was undercover, and Troy was aware Julius knew—with that in mind, Julius made Troy his second-in-command.  

You know how the first game plays out. While I have adjustments to the timeline of certain events, you know how the basic game events play out and how the first story ends. You also know Troy had been keeping a journal full of notes. I really suggest you go read my timeline post if you haven't before because I don’t feel like repeating myself on here. Regardless, Anteros is caught in the explosion on the yacht, Troy happened to be nearby and witnesses it. He pulls Anteros out of the water and calls an ambulance, saving his life. Mostly. He’s comatose. 

But that moment was the biggest turning point of Troy’s life. Throughout his time in the Saints, Troy began to really care for those around him. So many of them became his friends, especially Anteros. And for the first time he can recall, Troy suddenly felt like he had a purpose. He was feeling something real. And he wanted to protect that. But with the way things ended up, with the information that kept being revealed, Troy made the decision that the best way he could help the Saints was if he continued to work from the other side. So he does that, despite how much he hates it. In some ways, he sees it as a form of deserved punishment; he’d betrayed his friends, so to him it seems only fair he should be stuck there, unhappy.

This is where we’ll discuss some slighter darker aspects of Troy, so be warned. Troy’s feelings of a lack of greater purpose manifested in him behaving in ways that are decidedly dangerous.  He started drinking and smoking in his teens, and by his adult years he was a chainsmoker, as well as occasionally using other drugs like painkillers or whatever else he could get his hands on. He adopted this attitude of not really caring if he lived or died, and this both got better and worse after the events of SR1. On one hand, he wanted to protect Anteros and the Saints, and that alone gave him more resolve. On the other hand, it was not looking good for Anteros and the Saints themselves had dissolved, so…yeah, what did he have to live for? So he was in this sort of living purgatory in those five years between SR1 and SR2. When Johnny tried and failed to kill him, he always kinda wished he’d succeeded. 

But then he gets the call five years later that Anteros woke up and promptly escaped. And suddenly he feels like he has something to work towards. He works so, so hard to make things up to Anteros throughout all of SR2. Everything he does, he does for him. And obviously this develops into a relationship a little later. 

I feel like I’ve talked about this guy ad nauseam. I could go on talking about his place in my SRTT and SRIV rewrites, but I may just save more in-depth discussions of those for later. Essentially he does begin to heal though, as well as repair more relationships with people like Johnny. Also if you’re somehow unaware, he officially rejoins the Saints in SRTT. Quits the SPD and it’s like the best day of his life. He’s much more reenergized by SRTT and SRIV. He’s glad to be alive. He may have thought he’d been the one saving Anteros’ life on that street corner, but little did he know that it would end up being the other way around. 

———

also to be clear (i’ve talked about this before) i realize the story that V was trying to tell with troy (the conflicted cop etc etc) and while i think the idea he cared about his job is still an interesting story in its own right, it’s also one that’s been told a million times before and i much prefer to read him as someone who kept everything at a distance. until he met the saints ofc. i don’t think troy ever, ever wants to hurt anyone innocent. and that’s the thing: the cops are not innocent and he never saw them that way. i wrote more talking about this specifically so go check that out as well, if you’re curious. and again, this is all just my headcanons so you can interpret him however you want :]

[almostgenerallyalways]

Far from where we live / I have not learned to forgive (pt 2)

Pairing: Spencer Reid x fem reader  Category: angst / multi-chapter / case / second chance Word count: 2,1k  CW: language, canon typical violence pt 2 - Part 1 here

“I was remediated in the academy also... what was my issue? Marksmanship, physical training, obstacle course, Hogan's Alley, you know, pretty much everything that wasn't technically book related. They ultimately had to make exceptions to allow me into the field.”

Called to Texas on a case, Spencer is confronted with a ghost.

The downtown Austin Super 8 has the advantage of proximity to the police department, but its charms end there. The view from Spencer’s room is that of the other side of the elevated highway, headlights streaking the limp net curtains as cars speed by. A sign on a telephone pole at the entrance to the oil-stained parking lot proclaims Jesus Saves.  

Spencer sighs and gives up trying to fiddle with the air conditioning. Nothing he’s doing seems to make a lick of difference to the stifling temperature of the room. (“I’m sorry we couldn’t put you guys up somewhere nicer,” Nguyen had said, apologetic, “the APD’s budget mostly goes to tricked out golf carts to creep down 6th Street with so the mayor can say we’re doing something about the loud drunks. Homicide gets the scraps.”)

He decides to walk up to the second level, where a deck overlooks a pool that’s seen better days. It looks almost nice in the dark, lit from below the water’s surface, and at least the night air is a relief to feel on his skin. He sits down on a rickety lounger, thinking back to the afternoon.

The case isn’t sitting right with him. Three dead girls in three weeks, no leads. The team had spent the afternoon being briefed on the work done so far, and independently confirming information with Penelope’s help.

Sometimes, just going over the work done by some Podunk police force a second time was enough to unlock a case. Things were missed, leads overlooked, resources sometimes scarce. But everything that passed through Spencer’s hands this afternoon checked out.

He had to give it to you and Nguyen – you knew what you were doing.

Hearing footsteps on the cement stairs, he turns to find Derek rounding the corner. “Hey, kid. Too hot in your room, too?”

Spencer smiles wryly as Derek settles down on a lounger of his own, the metal creaking under his weight. “You know, they called me ‘kid’ back at the Academy too. I hated it, until I didn’t.”

Derek regards him in that pensive way of his, elbows resting on his knees. “So. Wanna tell me what’s up with you and the pretty detective?”

Spencer turns away, letting his gaze focus on some dead leaves at the bottom of the pool. “Ancient history.”

There’s no reply, and Spencer knows the other man is waiting him out, waiting for him to fill the silence. Annoyingly, he finds he wants to.

“Remember how my friend Ethan from school went to the Academy with me and then dropped out immediately?”

Derek nods, giving him space to continue.

He sighs. “That’s when I met her. Detective Valdez,” he mimes air quotes around your name, still not used to it. Truth be told, he’d never imagined you taking a man’s name.  

“We all called her Dallas back then, it was kind of a joke.” Despite himself, he smiles. “She and I were some of the youngest in the class and we just sort of bonded, I guess. We’d help each other.” He sighs, folding his hands together. “We got really close.”

Derek’s left eyebrow shoots up, but he still doesn’t say anything. Spencer feels himself coloring and looks away.

He hasn’t thought about you like that in years.

“Anyway,” He clears his throat, “Then two weeks before the end of our training, she up and left. Just like Ethan, except she wouldn’t even explain.”

He shakes his head, hoping to suppress the emotion in his voice. “I didn’t get it. She was so close to graduating, and she was good. I wouldn’t have made it through without her, and she literally just left me.”

“Pretty boy.” Derek keeps his voice low. “She never told you why?”

“No.” He leans his forehead to his clasped hands. “She called me a few times, months later, around the time I was recruited to the BAU, but I was too angry by then to hear it. I picked up one day and told her to go to hell.”

He looks up at Derek, but the other man’s eyes are unreadable. “It may seem ridiculous; the Academy’s twenty weeks, I knew her for less than five months. But at the time she was my only ally in the world. We were inseparable.”

Derek shakes his head slowly. “No, man. That doesn’t seem ridiculous to me at all.”

Spencer gets up, suddenly unable to sit there any longer. “Yeah, well. It broke my heart when she left. And now she’s here, and she’s married, and we have to spend God knows how long together solving a case that seems to be completely deadlocked.”

* * *

10 years ago, MCB Quantico, VA

It’s the Sunday of the first week of training, and Spencer is quietly marveling at the fact that he made it through the week alive.

Well, he may also be quietly marveling at you, stretched out on your stomach in the grass before him. You flip a page in the book you’re reading, propping your chin up with your elbow, which causes your Bureau-issued navy-blue t-shirt to ride up slightly, revealing a stretch of the smooth skin of your back.

Spencer quickly looks back down into his own book.

This Sunday afternoon is the first ‘free’ time the recruits have, though they have to stay on base. Leave privileges aren’t granted until three weeks in, so the two of you had decided to review coursework in a shaded spot on the lawn outside the dormitories.

This morning, the whole class got their first walk-through of Hogan’s Alley, the base’s mock training ground built to look like an actual town. Then, because there had been too much chatter amongst the group, Lemoore had sent them on a five-mile run.

Spencer had heard that people started to enjoy running, eventually. You sure seemed to have no problem with it, even getting up at the crack of dawn to run around the base for fun. For him, it hadn’t happened yet – to the contrary, he seemed to hate each run more than the last.

Suddenly you groan, and it startles him enough that he drops his book. “Spencer. I’m never going to get this. I might as well go back to Texas right now.”

He scoots over, using his hands, to examine the chapter of Forensic DNA Typing: Biology and Technology Behind STR Markers you’re currently faceplanting on. “What, this? This is easy.”

You raise your head at him, your expression miserable. “Thanks, Doctor Three-PhD’s-at-twenty-one. Some of us mere mortals got C’s in biology in high school.”

He chuckles. “No, I mean, I can help you with this. I read this book last year.”

Plucking at a few blades of grass, he adds: “I should be the one panicking, about firearms training tomorrow. You were with the Border Patrol for two years, you’ve got actual experience. I’m not sure I can even lift a gun, let alone shoot one.”

You gasp and roll over onto your back, looking up at him. “Spencer, you genius.”

He freezes, momentarily distracted by the way you look, lying down, eyes shining up at him as you bite your lip to keep from grinning. “What?”

You prop yourself up, leaning back on your elbows planted in the grass. “It’s the perfect solution. I help you with your marksmanship training, the physical requirements, whatever you need. You help me through the forensic science. We can get through this together.”

Spencer nods slowly, mulling it over. It’s not a bad plan. “We can?”

You break into a smile and hold your right hand out to him. “Together. I will do everything in my power to make sure we both see this thing through to the end. Pinky swear.”

He feels a matching grin begin to break out across his face. “I’m not sure FBI agents pinky swear.”

You hook your finger around his, and the small skin-to-skin contact makes the back of his neck tingle. “Good thing we’re only trainees then.”

* * *

Present

A short and clammy night of sleep had been interrupted by a phone call from Hotch at 6 AM, letting the team know that another body had been found.

Spencer looks at her now, strung up against the unforgiving concrete column supporting the overpass. Her head lolls to the side, eyes open but unseeing. Her arms are spread wide, tied up high with her palms up, like a mockery of Jesus on the cross.

The Texas sun is already high in the sky despite the early hour, illuminating particles of dust and pollution in beams of light reaching their feet, slanting under the tar-covered carriageway above.  

“He’s mocking us,” Nguyen says. His tone is flat, but Spencer notices the detective is clutching his hands into fists so tight the skin pales. “He’s never left a body this close to downtown before.”

Crime scene technicians and APD uniformed officers move in Spencer’s periphery, giving the detectives and agents space to make their own observations. An ambulance has taken away the gas-station attendant who found the body on his way into work, overcome with shock.

The young woman is naked but for her tennis shoes, which are streaked with blood. Spencer is used to depravity, has seen it all in his 10 years at the BAU – and yet, this scene is turning his stomach.

“No outward signs of sexual assault.” You say beside him. “We’ll have the ME confirm, but if he’s repeating the pattern of the previous three cases, there won’t be.” Your voice is steady, but Spencer still knows you well enough to hear the raw undercurrent.

He watches you roll up the sleeves of your white linen shirt and notes you look tired this morning, more so than yesterday. If he doesn’t look too closely, he can see you exactly as you were ten years ago, but then he blinks and before him is this incongruous woman, you-but-not-quite: A badge and Smith & Wesson at her belt, a semi-permanent worry line etched beside her left brow.

A version of you he doesn’t know anymore.

You haven’t looked straight at him since he got to the scene.

Behind him, Hotch is on the phone to Penelope, who is just getting into the office in Eastern Standard Time. JJ is talking to the crime scene techs further along under the overpass, while Derek comes up next to Spencer, along with two uniformed officers.

You step closer to the body. “I’m not a profiler, but the lack of sexual assault combined with the clear need to humiliate these women and put them on display is telling.” Turning to Spencer and Derek, you ask: “What would you say?”

Derek answers for the both of them: “Classic sexual sadist who can’t perform. He needs to exert control, to feel above them.”

“I’m sorry,” Spencer hears you say, but you’re no longer talking to them: You’re addressing the young woman, softly. “I’m sorry we didn’t stop this.” You take a deep breath as you try to maintain composure, and he sees your jaw clench, which was always your tell.

He watches you reach out a latex-gloved hand and close the girl’s eyes, very gently. Before he can think better of it, he says: “Don’t touch her.”

It comes out louder, harsher than he means it to, and he realizes it when you turn towards him, the expression in your eyes already shuttered and closed-off: “It won’t make a difference for the medical exam, Doctor Reid. The photos have been taken. Let her have one modicum of dignity.”

You peel off your gloves and walk away, in the direction of JJ and the crime scene techs, without sparing him another glance.

The uniformed officer to Derek’s right (Castillo, Spencer thinks, he was in the squad room yesterday) fixes him with a disapproving look. “Back off her, man.”

The officer sets off to follow you, his broad 6’4 frame brushing too close to Spencer as he passes by, causing him to step back involuntarily.

* * *

You stand facing the open door on the driver’s side of your truck, hands clutching the frame, trying not to be sick.

It’s too much. A fourth girl killed – on an accelerating timeline – Spencer being here, his presence throwing you off. No leads. No goddamn leads.

Castillo comes up behind you, announcing himself in his gruff voice: “Detective? You OK?”

You turn halfway, pulling yourself together with a deep intake of breath: “I’m fine.” Then, because he looks dubious, you muster a smile: “Thanks, Johnny.”

John Castillo has seen you on the very worst day of your life, got a real close look at it, so he knows to trust you when you say you’re fine.

He nods at you once, squinting against the sun. “We’ll get this bastard, honey. You’ll find him.”

* * *

That night, Spencer is bent over a large table in the APD’s sixth floor bullpen working on the geographical profile when Detective Nguyen walks in with fresh coffee. Beside him, Rossi is rifling through stacks of old case files the Texas Rangers sent over.

“How’s it going?” The tall man asks, as Spencer gratefully accepts a steaming paper cup.

He sighs in response, pointing at the grid-lined paper: “This guy is literally all over the map. The data points of where the victims disappeared, went to school, worked, lived, and where they were found cover almost all of the city. Almost three hundred square miles, which doesn’t really narrow things down.”

Two uniformed officers come up to Nguyen to discuss shift change logistics, and after a few swiftly exchanged words they bid the detective goodnight, nodding their heads at Rossi as well. Spencer receives only a glare before they head off.

Rossi chuckles beside him. “Okay kid, I have to ask, what’d you do to these guys? Since we’ve been here, they’ve mistrusted you on sight.”

Nguyen clears his throat, seemingly embarrassed. “Don’t mind them. It’s not you.” He busies his hands straightening a few file folders. “They got it in their heads there’s some tension between you and Valdez because you used to know each other. I told them it’s nothing.”

Spencer feels himself coloring slightly. “We knew each other at the Academy, but we haven’t spoken for years. Either way it wouldn’t impact the investigation in any sense.”

The taller man sighs. “I know, that’s exactly what Valdez said. Just ignore them and try not to take it personally. They’re just real protective of her since Adrian got killed.”

A bitter sense of foreboding suddenly fills Spencer’s throat. “Adrian?”

If Nguyen seems surprised by his ignorance, he hides it quickly. “Valdez? Her husband. He was a uniformed officer on the force here. He got shot while responding to a domestic disturbance three years ago.”

.

.

.

Authors note: soooo pt 1 of this didn’t really get any response but I have the rest of the story loosely plotted out and i’m having fun writing it so i will probably finish it anyway, just not sure on what timeline. anyway, comments/reblogs always appreciated <3

[klayleyism]

Fic idea: klayley having another child

I’m such a sucker for au fics where klayley have another daughter and hope is a big sister

Idk why I felt like a boy is better suited for this so here's an alternative universe where hayley remained a werewolf:

She watches hope make her way to her little brother's crib for what's probably the tenth time this day, she reaches out to stroke his face with her little finger as she beams with joy and she feels nothing but pure contentment

It's been six months since she and Klaus welcomed their second child, this time a little boy named Henrik,

He was named after the Departed youngest mikaelson brother, it was Klaus's idea, a way to honor his memory or out of guilt, who knows

Not that Hayley objected

Everything's been easier, better with her second pregnancy, no danger looming over them, no witches plotting revenge

And for once she could see the side of Klaus she dreamt of seeing since she first learned she carried his heir

He was present, caring, thoughtful and truly alive, he seemed to have a handle on what it's like to be a parent

Maybe that too is out of guilt

He wanted nothing more than to make up for all the time he lost trying to get the city back instead of tending to her needs,

Instead of being there for her and their unborn child

Now he stands across the room, wearing the biggest smile as he watches hope doting on her little brother before his eyes meet Hayley's.

She looks tired, understandably so

Despite his insistence on compelling someone to help her take care of their toddler she refused

Could be her way of compensating for the time she spent away from hope in her first months

He sits next to her and she looks at their kids before quickly shifting her gaze back to him with a smile

"Is it too late to accept the babysitter offer?", She jokes

"Motherhood is wearing you out I see"

She bites back a laugh before she rests her head on his shoulder, an intimate gesture she could've only wished for once upon a time

Now it's habitual ,any bit of fear, of insecurity is long gone

Now she can truly rely on him, she can truly call him her partner

A man and not a beast

A loving father, a great friend and a sweet lover

She watches hope's concerned expression as little henrik bursts out crying before she decides she's bored and exits the room

he can hear Hayley's lengthy sigh and so his hand briefly rests atop hers

"I'll take care of it" , and it's Hayley's turn to swoon over the sight of the mighty Klaus mikaelson rocking his baby in his arms, his shirt smeared with vomit and spit up as he desperately tries to soothe him

She laughs before he gives her the "I give up" look,

"That's not how you do it, here, let me show you"

He carefully hands her the boy and admires the way he instantly calms down, the sight of a small family that loves him,

One that finally gave him a way to live rather than survive melts his heart

He looks at his children's mother nursing their baby, looking absolutely exhausted and he can't think of anything more beautiful

The picture is engraved in his memory, something from which he'll draw inspiration for the many art pieces he later dedicates to her

She looks at him again with a smile

"I'm actually starving right now",

And that's his cue to take of her for a change,

Since apparently it's now a part of his "baby daddy" responsibilities to remind her to eat, drink and sleep

Not that he'll ever complain, this woman gifted him the world and then some more

He'd offer up his soul for her if she asked

"Alright then love, I'll get you some actual food instead of the convenience dung you so seem to enjoy to ring the changes"

She's busy fawning over Henrik grabbing her Finger when she feels Klaus approache her, he tucks the straying strands of hair behind her ear as to take a better look at her face and she feels herself blushing a little

No one gets her so weak in the knees as that bastard does

"Once I'm back I expect you to finish up your plate and get some sleep, are we set?"

He stands amused as she rolls her eyes at him

"Can you go back to not caring please, cause I'm starting to feel smothered" ,

"I think not", with that he gives her lips a tender kiss,

One that leaves her breathless

It's his way of getting her to stop complaining

An effective way they both enjoy

And the lovestruck teenager in her jumps out, the one who only ever wanted to matter to him

So she bites her lip and focuses all her attention back on their little boy

[crazedlunatic]

Speeding Ticket

“So… I’m pretty sure either your dad or your brother just gave me a ticket.”

Matt, who was sitting at his kitchen table and looking at his laptop, glanced up. “Hmm… wonder what that might have been for?”

Adrian gave him a look.

“How many miles over?” Matt asked.

Adrian handed him the ticket.

“12 miles?! This isn’t even on the highway! Are you trying to kill somebody?!” Matt gasped.

“Don’t be dramatic.” Adrian rolled his eyes but smiled.

Matt gave him an adorable smile.

“It was your dad or brother, wasn’t it?” Adrian sighed.

“Yep.” Matt nodded.

“Can you… take care of it for me?” Adrian winced. “Maybe?”

“Well I probably could have if it was anybody except the Chief… who is my dad.” Matt looked at it again. “He spelled your last name wrong even after looking at the license. Seriously?”

“Wait a minute… your father is the Chief of Police?” Adrian deadpanned. “Meaning you are the youngest son, the baby, of the Chief of Police?”

“Yep!” Matt gave another bright smile. “You think dating a cop is good enough for you? You hurt me and you gotta deal with my cheerful ol’ daddy.”

“I just don’t know if you’re worth all that, Matthew.” Adrian let out a long sigh.

Matt let out a loud laugh and looked down at the ticket again. “You know on the highway 12 over isn’t that bad but in a neighborhood… I mean, what if a kid ran out into the street?”

Adrian gave him another look. “Seriously?”

“The only thing worse than going to a call where an adult has been hit by a car… is a kid. Trust me. I’ve been there for both.” Matt sighed a bit.

“So, you said he spelled my name wrong. Does that mean I can fight it in court?” Adrian looked hopeful.

“Ha. No.” Matt handed it back to him. “Sorry. If it was anyone except my dad or brother I could do it but they’ll know right away if I do it. They know your name. Well, your first name. He’d figure it out pretty quick seeing my name next to yours.”

“Crap. I’ve never had a ticket before.”

Matt gave him a look.

“Well… here.” Adrian looked sheepish.

“Oh, I know.”

“What, did you look me up?”

“Yep. The day I pulled you over. Remember?” Matt nodded. “Three speeding tickets, one every three-ish years. Well, four in this case I guess.”

Adrian glared, taking the ticket back.

“Believe it or not, I was not surprised to see you sassed an officer in Utah.” Matt laughed.

Adrian sat at the table with him, choosing not to comment. Matt loved to bring how they met up.

“I’ll talk to Dad and see if he’d be too pissed if I wrote it off if you promise to quit speeding. I know 12 miles doesn’t seem like much but I’ve seen some really messed up bodies from going twenty over. In all seriousness.” Matt looked him in the eyes. “I would be devastated if you got in a wreck, I was the first one to make it there, and you…”

Adrian frowned. Because when you saw Matt with a serious, sad expression like that… it was hard not to frown, honestly.

“Speaking of, though!” Matt said cheerfully, going and grabbing his wallet.

Now Adrian was looking at him like he was crazy.

“Will you carry this in your wallet? Not in a card slot but somewhere it can actually be seen?” Matt walked back over, handing him a thin black card that was as thick as a credit card. It had Matt’s contact information on it.

At the top it said Property of the bearer Matthew Caldwell. It then had Adrian’s name and the words: The bearer of this card is an immediate family member of a police officer with the Cambridge, MA Police Department. In case of emergency please call 911 and then 617-349-3300.

“My badge number is on the back… and my personal cell phone number.” Matt added, somewhat sheepishly.

Adrian stared at it for several seconds, breath caught in his throat.

Immediate family member.

Matt had cared about him enough to have a family call card made?

“It’s not a big deal.” Matt said quickly—after Adrian had been quiet too long. “Just… just in case something happens and either you can’t call or… you know…”

Adrian gave him a small smile and nodded.

“… But don’t try to flash it if you get pulled over. Officers hate that.” Matt quickly added. “I just… want you to be safe and if anything happens… I want to be there.”

Adrian’s eyes teared up and he nodded.

“Oh God. Don’t cry.” Matt sat by him.

“Sorry. Oh my God.” Adrian wiped his eyes and took a deep breath and forced a laugh. “I think it just threw me off. We were talking about a parking ticket.”

“Adrian… I love you.”

Adrian’s tears stopped in their tracks—mostly from shock.

“I know we’ve only been dating for four months if you don’t count when you and that guy were still having sex—oh God. That wasn’t meant to sound like that. I just… I really, really, really liked you for two months and the last four months that we’ve been exclusive… I just… I’ve never felt this way about anybody. You’re the first person I want to talk to in the morning and the last person I want to talk to before bed. And when I’ve had a bad day at work and you just listen and… you are perfect to me. You can be an asshole and really difficult and sometimes I have to imagine not pushing you off a very slow moving hayride but…”

“What?!” Adrian let out a loud laugh.

“Basically, I’m falling in love with you. No. I’ve fallen in love with you.” Matt swallowed. “There’s nobody else like you… and nobody else I would want to love. I can’t imagine feeling this way for anyone other than you and I…”

Adrian ran his fingers through Matt’s hair, not knowing what to say.

Did he love Matt?

Probably not but, honestly, he didn’t know if he would ever be able to trust anyone enough to really love them after Chad.

Matt was so good, though. So kind, patient, caring, sweet. He was always smiling or laughing—or making somebody else smile or laugh. Any time Adrian needed anything at all he’d come. Even if he was at work, as soon as he had a free moment he would still come.

There was a reason Matt couldn’t go down the street without someone stopping him to thank him, to say hello, to ask how he was, so many things. They couldn’t go out together without someone stopping Matt at least once an hour.

Matt was just… good. So good. And everyone that really knew Matt could tell.

“I know you aren’t there and it’s okay.” Matt said after several seconds. “I just… please take the card. Okay? Keep it where someone can see if anything…”

“I’ll keep it.” Adrian whispered, making eye contact.

“You just… make me feel like I didn’t know I could feel… and if something happens, I just… want to be there as soon as possible.” Matt took a deep breath. “You’re so important to me, Adrian.”

“I’ll keep it… if you tell me how old you really are.” Adrian smiled a bit.

“Oh God. Why does it matter so much?” Matt groaned.

“How old? I’ve been very good. I could have checked your driver’s license so many times when you were asleep.”

“21.”

“Shut up.” Adrian’s eyes widened—because really? With that body?

“Twenty one… and six months. I turned 21 the day we met.” Matt winced. He then quickly added, “But I didn’t lie. I was 21 or older when you asked.”

Adrian shook his head and touched Matt’s face. “You are rotten.”

“Yeah, well… I am the youngest and my mother would definitely agree with you.” Matt gave an adorable smile and shrugged.

“I, uhm… you’re right. I’m not there yet.” Adrian admitted. “But you mean a lot to me and… and I think I could be there soon.”

Matt made Adrian want to believe that—that maybe he could trust someone enough to truly love them after Chad.

He’d never felt safe with anyone he had dated before but it was hard not to feel safe when he was with Matt. It was like he could feel that Matt really and truly cared for him. He felt like Matt would protect him—and he really hoped that wasn’t why he felt so attached because Matt was so good.

Also, nobody had ever told Adrian they’d loved him unless it was in the middle of or just after sex. And he could really tell that Matt meant it.

And sex with Matt felt like nothing ever had—physically and emotionally. He had never felt so connected with another person.

“Are you okay? Is it too much?” Matt looked at him, sheepish.

“The card or you turning 21 the day we met?” Adrian sniffled a bit and smiled.

“All of it.”

“I’m okay.” Adrian nodded, still smiling.

Matt let out a relieved sigh.

“You’re really special, Matt.” Adrian said, voice gentle. “You help all of these people and you see horrible things every day but you still laugh and smile and joke… you see so many horrible things daily that would ruin some people but… you keep helping and you keep smiling…  you’re a really special person.”

Matt shrugged one shoulder but gave his dopey, embarrassed smile that Adrian felt was mostly reserved for just himself. “Since we’re both so special, maybe we’re endgame?”

Adrian laughed and shook his head, putting the call card in front of his driver’s license. “To be continued?”

Matt reached over, touching his cheek with a solemn expression that worried Matt.

Had he said the wrong thing?

Matt then said, very seriously, “I’ll try to get that ticket taken care of.”

Adrian burst into loud laughter, pushing Matt back. “You jerk.”

Matt grinned and put the ticket on the counter with his work badge and ID. “No promises, though. Depends on how much he likes me when I ask. I’ll try to be a very good boy tomorrow morning.”

“You don’t have to.” Adrian watched Matt.

In that moment, he’d never wanted to love somebody more… he’d also never been so sad that Chad had been his first love. Because this was probably how it was supposed to feel.

Matt came back over and bent, kissing the top of his head. “Perks of dating a police officer. You know that and the guns… all three.”

“You are too obsessed with working out.” Adrian rolled his eyes.

“I don’t see you complaining.” Matt gave him a pointed look.

“No.” Adrian agreed. “You don’t.”

Matt kissed the top of his head again and then squeezed his shoulder. “What do you want to do today? I picked last time.”

“Can we just… hang out here and watch a movie? Then maybe go downtown and walk?” Adrian asked. “You kind of owe me a cookie. It’s been two weeks.”

“Yeah, sorry. They’ve been closed by the time I’ve made it off work. I hate midday shifts.” Matt looked at him guiltily. “That’s fine, though. What do you want to watch?”

“It’s your turn to pick.” Adrian reminded him, smiling.

“Lord of the Rings?” Matt’s expression was serious.

Adrian blinked at him. “You’re not even funny, Matthew.”

“I’m hilarious.” Matt said, going and pulling out a Harry Potter DVD.

“You’ve got a serious case of youngest child syndrome.” Adrian shook his head but smiled when Matt sat back down next to him.

“And you’ve got a serious case of oldest child syndrome.” Matt said. “How did I end up with you?”

Adrian leaned against him, pulling Matt’s jacket over his legs as the movie started. “I dunno. I guess you just got lucky.”

“That’s one way of putting it.” Matt snorted.

“Shh. My man is about to be on.” Adrian put his hand over Matt’s mouth, pulling it back quickly when Matt licked him. “You are a child.”

“Must be that youngest child syndrome?”  Matt smiled sweetly.

“God. What have I gotten myself into?” Adrian moved his head to Matt’s chest.

“A lifetime of laughter and tears—tears from laughter, that is.”

Adrian snuggled closer when Matt wrapped his arm around him. “You don’t really like Lord of the Rings, right?”

“Have you even met me?” Matt scoffed. “It’s so boring I fell asleep in the theater.”

“I’ll keep you then.”

Matt bent and kissed the top of his head. “Try and make me leave.”

[nogoodinsanebigmess]

The Smith File

Hey guys! First short story! This is a horror story, be warned. There are gory details of death in it!

Word count: 1.9k

The Smith file. I’m holding that file right now. Most other agents avoided this case, it was gut wrencher. 9 hours ago, my team had received a call from the Albuquerque police department about a triple homicide that had occurred in one of the public parks.

The victims had been identified before we arrived, Mateo, Danny and Samuel Smith. Teenagers. My partner and I got to the scene within 5 minutes.

The sign for the park, Loma Del Norte, greeted us. I deal in homicides a lot, so I would say that I’ve become pretty stone faced about everything I’ve seen. But seeing the outlined body of a teenager. God, I don’t even know how to describe how far my heart drops. And when I saw how they’d died? My heart was at my toes. Sam, the oldest, was ripped in half, his chest impaled to a tree branch. Danny, second oldest, had the best of it, only a broken neck. And Mateo? His face had been torn from his skull.

“So what’s your guys’ guess? Anything that could’ve predicted this? Possible serial killer?” My partner asked. The young officer we were talking to -- Ethan, I think his name was -- looked like he was about to throw up. This was obviously his first case with anything like this.

“We’ve got a suspect in custody.” He responded, shaking ever so slightly, “Name? Any relation to victims?” My partner asked. “Karen Smith…” He hesitated to say the next part, “Younger sister.” I had been staring at the tree Samuel had been stabbed to, “Younger sister?” I asked incredulously.

Turns out the investigators had found the youngest Smith in a pond a little ways away. Her arms were covered in blood, and she was trying to get rid of the evidence. A phone call from Danny Smith to the police had also pushed Karen’s guilt;

“Hi, uh my name is Danny Smith and we really need help!” Grunting and shouting was heard on the other side. “I don’t know how we were found! I thought we were careful!” It sounded like she was talking to someone else, “Please get here soon! I’m….” There was a painstakingly long pause at this point, the grunting and banging were so loud in the receiver, and then, “I think my sister is gonna kill us.” Then clattering. The line was dead.

It wasn’t until someone brought up what the rustling sound in the background was that I realized what I’d been hearing. They were trying to keep something out. The worst part came when we found their father. I watched through the window of the interrogation room as they questioned Hank Smith. He was compliant to the questions, quiet. A lot seemed to be going through his head. You could see it in his eyes. Turns out that family wasn’t too lucky in their past, as three other siblings had died in mysterious ways. “Please,” He had pleaded under his breath, “I can’t lose her. Not her.”

So here I am now, on the outside of the interrogation room, where the supposed killer is waiting. I heave a sigh before opening the door and my eyes fall on her. My disbelief in her guilt only grows as I stare. She’s so small, malnourished, she’d be out of breath just opening the door into here. Her brothers were nearly twice the size of her, and her sister was far too athletic. “Karen…” I cautiously say. She still refuses to meet my eye as I pull out the chair across from her. “Karen, I want to ask you a few questions. Is that alright?” Not a single peep out of the girl. I decide to try my luck and just start asking,

“What were you guys doing at the park? How did you get there?” Silence. “What were you all doing before the homicide?” Silence. “Did you guys have any enemies? Anyone who might wanna hurt you?”

“You say that like it wasn’t me.” Karen’s eyes slowly began to move as she spoke those words. Her voice was scratchy, “Like you don’t know I’m the murderer.”

“I don’t think you are.” I reassure her. Her eyes darted up to my face. “You don’t think it was me?” She asked. I hope that maybe I had gotten on her good side, that she would listen and talk to me. But as I decipher her face further, she doesn’t seem relieved, she seems… offended. “Karen, why don’t you tell me what happened, from the start?” Karen stares at me, the gears are working behind her eyes and I can tell she doesn’t think I’ll believe her.

“Did everyone really believe that Veronica, Ned and Alvaro just died mysteriously? Do you really think food poisoning was what caused Ned to violently choke on his own blood? What cancer mutilated Veronica’s face? Alvaro just happened to be pushed from the top of a dam?” I recognize those names. Her siblings.

“My siblings and I, we were never his children… we were experiments… and I was his only success.” I understand where she’s going with this, “You believe your father killed your siblings?” Karen nods vigorously, “Why?” I ask. “Like I said, we were experiments… Hank was a conspiracy theorist, he believed everyone was always out to get him… so he created us. I remember being stuck in my room with Danny, she covered my ears as he ripped out Veronica’s eye to see if he could… replace it with something better… something enhanced.”

“Why?” I interrupt, she glances at me. “You ever read Frankenstein?” She stares silently at me for a moment, “Hank thinks he's God.”

“So… he was trying to make you guys monsters?” I ask, a hint of sarcasm finding its way out, no matter how hard I tried to suppress it. Karen’s eyes filled with tears as she nodded,

“And he did… I didn’t notice the changes immediately. I thought I had gotten the rare free pass that came after his experiments. But then…” She trails off. “It was like 1 am, Veronica had died 6 days before. Sam woke us up and was saying how we need to get out of the house. It was a blur from there. I don’t know how he got us out, but I remember him saying something about the Great Escape. Hank had fallen asleep on the couch and he forgot to wash off the blood from my experiment. I think that was the first moment I felt the anger brew. I wanted to do… something bad, I don’t know.

“We traveled for a little more than a week. I learned more in that week than I ever had in my life. We had been on the bus when suddenly Danny started pointing out the window and… I saw Hank, he was staring at us like WE were the villains, like WE were the ones in the wrong. He had two of his friends with him. They weren’t any better than him. They got in his car and started following us. At the stop we tried hiding in the group of people, but he could see us. That was the second instant where I felt angry, but this one was more intense. It pounded in my head as we ran, and I almost felt like I was controlling something in me. We got into this old bar house and I felt the pounding turn into me barely breathing. I fell on the floor…

“I think Danny knew, knew that I was changing. She was trying to help me but I think she knew. From there it was only flashes. I remember Frank and Bill trying to keep the door closed from Hank and his goons, Danny on the phone. Then we were outside, they were dragging me. It felt like every sense was in overload and I was losing myself slowly, anything would throw me off -- and sure enough, my leg hit a branch and I think I turned into… it. Because the only flashes I remembered from there, was just being so much taller than everyone, and the horrified looks on everyone’s faces… except Hank’s… his face held nothing but pride… then he ran away… then Danny in my hand… Sam and Mateo yelling at me to put her down… to be myself again… then… I dropped her. I heard her neck snap as she hit the ground. Then nothing. Except waking up.”

When I said this file was horrifying, did you think I was exaggerating?

“Karen…” I start.

“Please tell me you believe me?” I didn’t.

“I do Karen… but I also do believe that PTSD can affect one’s memory…”

“So you don’t believe me.”

“Karen I just don’t see how we can compile that you had been held for monster experimenting and then suddenly transformed into said monster and killed your entire family. We have no proof against Hank to put him in jail-“

“HE SHOULD BE DEAD FOR THIS!”

“How about I bring him in for some more questioning and maybe, if you think you can, you can talk to him.” Karen stops, a horrified expression on her face, then she looks at the door, then her face becomes stoic.

“You need proof?”

I sigh, almost ready to fling the door open, but I nod.

I know what people mean now when they say that they're frozen in fear.

Because now I watch her grow taller and taller, her face morphing and her hair disappearing, her hands grow large, her legs multiply, her skin shift color, her eyes grow empty, and I can’t move. I stare directly at the monster.

Then she lunges, throwing me out of the way. I hit my head hard on the wall and I feel my consciousness start to fade. But before it does, I see her throw the door off its hinges, and I see Hank. Officers surrounding start to fire but it’s useless. Hank watches in pride as she rips officer after officer apart, my partner one of many. He smiles, a wide, proud grin.

“Finally!” He yells as she approaches him, “I made it! I MADE IT!”

The smile lasts only a second more, before a look of realization takes over.

And Karen bites his head clean off.

The last thing I see is the window breaking and her dragging off his body into the morning light before all I see is dark.

A little while later and the police station is in hysteria and shock all at the same time trying to put together what they’d just seen.

While I sit on a piece of rubble and hold my wounded head.

Will (I learned his name was Will not Ethan) comes up to me with an ice pack, “got any idea of what that was?” He asks, mimicking my partner, whose blood lay meters away from me.

“I might.” I respond, putting the ice pack up to my head.

My thoughts find Karen’s story. So it was true, Hank was the villain. I wonder where she is now. Maybe she’s looking for other goons she’d told me of, and I can’t help but hope she finds them. I hope they suffer. I hope Hank is suffering right now. Most of all, I hope Karen finds peace. But for as long as what Hank did, is still a part of her, I know the truth.

She never will.

Happy New Year guys!! And no if you’re wondering this story isn’t a Mean Girls AU

[artsybookworms]

Percabeth royalty AU where Annabeth is the Princess of Olympia, a thriving kingdom along the coast of the Aegean Sea. She’s heir to the throne and has been preparing for this role her entire life. Annabeth loves her people and firmly believes that a good ruler needs to talk with them personally in order truly understand what is and isn’t in the kingdom’s best interest. This is something she argues about frequently with her mother, as Athena thinks reports from the castle staff are reliable enough, and a Princess shouldn’t be seen mingling with peasants. After years of making little progress with her mother, Annabeth decides enough is enough. She tells Athena she’s visiting a nearby kingdom for diplomacy reasons, packs her plainest clothes, and departs on a week-long trip to live among Olympia’s townsfolk.

Percy is the Prince of Sirenius, the largest underwater kingdom of the Mediterranean. As the youngest son of King Poseidon, he’s lived in his brother’s shadow his whole life. But he doesn’t mind, for the most part. While Prince Triton has to learn lineages and history and royal etiquette, Percy has the freedom to explore the castle and surrounding villages. In fact, he’s beloved by his people since he makes regular visits to town. Still, he can’t shake his curiosity about life outside the water. Although merpeople take human form when on land, they’re forbidden to go beyond the sea’s borders. There’s no telling what would happen if they revealed their presence to the unsuspecting landfolk above. But when Queen Sally contracts an illness that no doctor can identify or heal, Percy wonders if the humans might have a cure. It’s a long shot, but it’s the only shot he has. Desperate for a miracle, he sneaks out of the castle in the middle of the night and makes his way towards Olympia.

Annabeth is wandering through an open-air market when a man approaches her to ask for directions to the nearest apothecary shop. His accent is unfamiliar, and when he steps into the light, his green eyes seem impossibly bright.

“This is actually my first time here,” she admits, “So I’m not really sure.”

He beams at her, and it’s so infectious she can’t help but smile back.

“That’s a relief; I thought I was the only newcomer here. Um… where is here, exactly?”

Annabeth tries to suppress a laugh.

“You’re really lost, huh? We’re in Olympia, the kingdom northeast of Piraneus. Where did you say you’re from?”

The man looks a bit flustered, although she doesn’t know why.

“You, uh, probably haven’t heard of it. It’s really small.”

“Try me,” Annabeth says with a smirk. She didn’t spend hours memorizing every surrounding kingdom, city, and town for nothing, after all.

“Siloneon,” he says, to her surprise. She’s never heard the name, so he’s either very far from home (and very lost)… or he’s lying. But she prides herself on her judge of character, and her gut is telling her he has no ill intentions. Still, it might be a good idea to keep an eye on him.

“Hmm, must be in the East. I haven’t heard of it. We could stick together, find directions—if you want? I’d appreciate the company.”

“That would be great,” he exclaims, relieved not only to not have been pressed further, but also to have found a companion.

“I’m Percy.”

For a second, she considers giving a false name, but hers is common enough. Besides, for as confused as he is, she doubts he’ll draw the connection between her and the Princess. She takes his hand and gives it a small shake, amused by his puzzled expression. It must not be a common custom for him.

“Annabeth. Pleased to meet you.”

[mediocre-writerr]

history has it eyes on you [jennifer jareau]

jennifer jareau x fem reader

requested by anon: Love your JJ fics ❤️❤️ I was hoping could you do another one where the reader is somewhat new to the BAU and is either dating or has a thing with JJ. But the reader is known for doing these heroic and kinda reckless acts that ends up saving the victims. And while everyone in the bureau thinks that she's an absolute badass and incredible at her job JJ can't help but love and hate it. She loves it as she's amazing at her job and always ends up saving them but she hates how she always seems to be in the line of fire and in danger. After one too many close calls JJ kinda loses it on the reader.

*not my gif*

You were nineteen when you joined the academy. However, once you got the job you were longing for you were still a bright young prospect at twenty two. The youngest on the team, even younger than boy genius. 

You always had dreams of dying like a martyr. The bravest thing you thought that anyone could do was sacrifice themself for the ones they love the most. Sure, that’s not the healthiest thing in the entire world, but it was everything to you. 

“Have you guys heard that we’re getting a new member?” Garcia asked as her, Prentiss, and JJ walked into the bureau with their coffees in hand.

Prentiss nodded, “Heard they were a part of the Navy Seals for awhile. They were known as the youngest on that squad and they’re even younger than Reid,” 

“Really?” JJ asked, slightly shocked that someone is younger than Reid. 

Hotch walked out of his office as the rest of the team gathered by their desks, you walked right behind him, his taller figuring covering you from the view of the rest of the team.

Hotch cleared his throat before looking at all of them, “I’d like to formally introduce you guys to the newest member of the team, Agent Y/N Y/L/N,” 

You emerged from behind Hotch and you gave all of them an awkward wave. Until your eyes fell onto a pair of familiar blue ones. Her face was calm and collected, but you could tell by her eyes that she was internally freaking out.

You tried to fight off a smile that was forming on your face at the sight of your old flame back in the days of Afghanistan. But by the look on her face, you knew no one else really knew of her Afghanistan days.

Afghanistan wasn’t all bad. Sure you were put there to try and take down Bin Laden, but the city that was surrounded by war was absolutely beautiful. All of the architecture and the culture, even the people. 

This was one of the days where you completely forgot that you were in the middle of a war. JJ was standing on the balcony in the city of Kabul, the capitol of Afghanistan. The sun was setting behind her as you handed her a glass of wine.

It’s illegal to drink there, but as long as no one saw you called it a win. You stood behind her and wrapped her arms around her waist. You hooked your chin onto her shoulder as you kissed her rosy cheeks. 

“This is nice,” she mumbled and you hummed in response.

“I agree. You make this whole mission so much more bearable,” you whispered.

Penelope ran over to you and gave you a big hug, “Hi! I’m Penelope Garcia, the best tech out there!” 

You laughed softly, hugging her back, “Hi!” 

Once you pulled away, you were introduced one by one to each of the team members. Until you eventually were stopped at the beautiful blonde you’ve known worlds ago. 

You extended your hand out to her, meeting her bright blue eyes. You raised your eyebrows up at her, “Y/N Y/L/N,” you formally introduced.

She hesitated before grabbing your hand, the familiar spark electrocuting your body and you could tell that she felt it too, “Jennifer Jareau,”

“I like your eyes, they’re very blue, did you know that?” you told her, recalling your first ever conversation.

JJ just gave a tight lipped smile before nodding, “Yeah, well, I kind of had them my whole life so I think I know that they’re blue,” 

“Right,” 

You were suited up in your gear as your commander walked you over to the representative from the state department. You climbed high in the rankings with all of your hard work and selflessness, you became a lieutenant commander. 

“Lieutenant commander Y/L/N, this is our state department liaison Jennifer Jareau. She will be helping assist us in communication with some of the hostages,” your commander introduced the two of you and you nodded.

You stuck out your hand and smiled at her softly, “Y/N Y/L/N,” 

She grabbed your hand, smiling back, “Jennifer Jareau, but you can call me JJ for short,” 

“Well JJ, I like your eyes. They’re very blue, did you know that?” you asked, awkwardly. You mentally face palmed yourself, realizing that you were getting nervous around the beautiful blonde.

JJ laughed at your awkwardness before nodding, “Yeah, well, I kind of had them my whole life so I think I know that they’re blue,” 

“Right,” you drew out, mentally face palming yourself harder than before. 

You let out a soft chuckle before finally dropping her hand. You knew in a room full of profilers that they would notice if a friendly handshake lasted too long, no matter how hard you didn’t want to lose her touch. 

That was the only interaction the two of you had the entire case. Most of the time you were partnered up with Prentiss. She had more experience than JJ as a profiler since JJ was a liaison first. 

For your first case, you impressed them all with how selfless you were. You would push yourself in front of the rest of the team when confronting an unsub. You would always be the one talking them down as their gun was pointed right at you. 

“Jimmy Barnes, put the gun down,” you ordered, as he held the girl by gun point, “I said, put it down!” 

He shook his head, “No! She needs to die! I need to finish what I started!” he yelled.

Jimmy Barnes, your first ever unsub was ironically going after girls who matched your description. He became so obsessed with a video game that he altered it with reality. The villain in the game looking surprisingly like you.

“Then kill me instead, you’ll win the game if you let her go and kill me,” you offered.

You could feel JJ’s eyes on you and the rest of the team gave you a quick glance before going to look back at Jimmy. For a split second you weren’t sure, what he was gonna do until he eventually threw the hostage towards Rossi, before grabbing you in the process.

He thought he had a good grip on you, but you were a Navy Seal, you know how to get out of a hold or two. Before he could pull the trigger, you elbowed his groin and threw him onto the floor. 

Jimmy landed on his stomach with a hard thump, you straddled his back before  putting him in handcuffs, “Jimmy Barnes, you are under arrest for the murders of Nicole Watkins, Macy Martin, and Leah Butler,” you told him, listing all of his rights. 

Once you got back on the jet, your eyes drifted over to JJ who was staring out of the window. You just kept staring, trying to profile her from afar. You noticed that there was no ring on her finger yet, so that was a plus. But that didn’t mean she wasn’t dating anyone.

Morgan snapped you out of your trance, “That was a brave thing you did out there. He could’ve easily just shot you dead before you could even make a move,” 

“Yeah, but it saved the girl didn’t it?” you fired back and from the corner of your eye you could see JJ let out a sigh, shaking her head. 

“It did, you’re gonna be a great part of this team!” Morgan patted your shoulder before taking a seat next to Reid. 

You took this as an opportunity to get some shut eye on the flight back to Quantico. And your slumber seemed to drift back to you and JJ. 

The two of you were tangled in the sheets of the hard mattress. The hot air of Afghanistan causing your already sweating bodies to become more sticky. JJ was playing with your hair as her head rested on your chest. 

“This is very unprofessional,” she whispered.

You chuckled softly before nodding, “Well no one has to know what we do,” you whispered back, “But if anyone were to walk into my tent they’d see your clothes all over the floor,” 

She lifted her head slightly before seeing your clothes scattered all over it. She let out a content sight before putting her head back down.

“If I'm being honest, I don’t think I’d care,” she said, kissing your jawline. 

You exaggerated a gasp, “Did the Jennifer Jareau just say she wouldn’t care if someone caught us breaking the rules?!” 

“I wouldn’t care because I’m in love with you,” 

Your ears perked up at those five words, “I’m in love with you too,” you whispered, leaning down to attach your lips together.

The more you went on cases with the team, the more reckless (well you’d like to call it heroic) you’ve become. You would run into a hostage situation with an aggressive unsub without a bulletproof vest or weapon. 

You thought that you would get a talking to from Hotch about being so reckless, but he never did. The others rarely thought anything of it and just thought you were an absolute badass. Well, everyone but JJ, you could tell your need to constantly be the hero was getting under her skin a little. 

You just didn’t think she’d care anymore. She barely interacted with you and when you did they were short professional conversations. Even when you went out with the team, she wouldn’t interact with you.

“So, what’s going on with JJ?” Morgan asked you as you and the team were flying out to Tacoma, Washington. 

You furrowed your eyebrows, “Nothing,” 

He hummed, “Well you’re staring at JJ like you’re in a romcom and just lost the love of your life. So what’s going on? You know you can talk to me,” 

Morgan had become like an older brother figure to you. He was the closest person to you on the team and you knew he could trust him with anything.

“Well, JJ and I knew each other awhile ago. We had a thing and it was really good, but you know, nothing lasts forever,” you confined in him and he nodded.

“That’s why she’s avoiding you like the plague?” he asked.

You shrugged, “I don’t know. It was a long time ago and she broke things off with me. So, I don’t understand why she’s avoiding me. If anything it should be the other way around,” 

“I would just try to talk to her. Obviously, something’s still bugging her if she’s avoiding you this much. Just talk to her,” he suggested and you nodded. 

You wanted to talk to JJ the entire case, but the unsub shortened his kill time and struck back to back. So, you were working twice as hard and twice as fast to stop them. 

And when you did find them let’s just say, you had to act quick. The unsub set his own house on fire with him and the hostage family inside of it. Hotch had called the fire department, but they wouldn’t get there for another ten minutes.

There was no way that the family would survive that. The smoke inhalation. The fire spreading quickly. Before any of the team could even react, you were off and running in to a burning building. 

“Y/N!” you heard JJ shout, but it was too late you were already in the building. 

The unsub was standing there with a sinister smirk on your face and just as he was about to attack you, you sent a bullet through his shoulder. He fell onto the floor in pain. 

The family of three were coughing up a storm. You could feel the smoke already start to fill your lungs. You gestured for the family to start running out of the house. 

“My daughter is stuck under there! You need to get her out of here!” the father yelled and you nodded.

“I’ll save her, you guys need to leave now!” you screamed. 

“I’m not leaving-” the mom begins to protest, but you cut her off.

“I promise I’ll get her out of here, but if you don’t leave she’s not going to have anyone there to take care of her!” you exclaimed. Without another word they run out of the building. You looked at the little girl who was stuck behind a piece of broken ceiling. 

You smiled at the girl who just seemed numb and you grabbed her arm, “Hi kiddo,” you finally got out between coughs, “My name’s Y/N and I’m here to save you okay? You’re safe now. No one can hurt you. Do you mind if I touch you and help you out?” 

She nodded without another word. You started coughing uncontrollably before you finally held her in your arms. 

JJ was pacing back and forth from outside. Her thoughts spinning as she just watched you run into a burning building. Two figures started rushing out of the building. JJ and Morgan ran towards the couple, leading them towards the ambulance.

“Where’s the agent who went in to help you?” JJ asked, frantically. 

“She’s still in there. She’s helping our daughter, she was stuck. She promised that she’d save her,” the mother told JJ.

Right as she finished her sentence, there was huge crash. Everyone’s head turned back to the house to see the roof caved in and the building was falling apart. 

“Y/N,” JJ whispered before raising her voice, screaming out your name uncontrollably, “Y/N!”

Her mind flashed back to Afghanistan, when the good thing the two of you had going turned sour. 

It was dark out and you, JJ, and some of trying to search an abandoned compound that you assumed the Talibans were using to help create bombs. You sensed a slight tension against your shin. 

It felt like what would happen if you rubbed your shin against a bush. But there was no shrubbery around the group, only grass and dirt. At the same time there was a pinning noise and that was the only thing you could hear. 

You had walked into a tripwire, looking down you saw the primed grenade, “Grenade! Take cover!” you yelled to the rest of your team.

You don’t know why you did what you did. Maybe it was because you felt responsible for what was about to happen. You pushed JJ towards the rest of the group as one of your fellow soldiers pulled her behind the concrete building.

You threw off your backpack and jammed it into the grenade, before lying next to it in fetal position to block the explosion from expanding towards them. You were just counting down, waiting for the consequences. 

5, 4, 3, 2,1, you counted and your whole body relaxed as the thought that maybe the bomb was a dud crossed your mind. But just as you relaxed it blew up in front of you. 

“Y/N!” JJ screamed. 

The orange sparks and the smoke cleared, but you knew you were still alive. You were so disoriented, so disoriented to the point where you didn’t even notice that you were blasted so much further away from where you originally laid. 

JJ and the patrol medic ran over to you. She put her hands on my face and noticed how disoriented you were. JJ noticed the blood pouring down your nose and ears. 

“Y/N, I need you to stay with me,” JJ told you, drawing figures on your bloody cheeks, “The doctor’s checking you out, I need you to stay awake, okay? Please, for me,” her voice cracked. 

No matter how hard you tried, your eyes just seemed to shut and you couldn’t open them again.

“No!” JJ screamed as she continued to watch the house burn down in flames. 

Tears were flowing down her cheeks. The trauma of Afghanistan and the thought of losing you flooded her mind. She always wondered why her relationships with people after you never worked. 

She made excuses for herself. The idea that her job as a profiler took up too much of her time. Or the guys or girls she dated were just bad seeds. But that wasn’t the idea. It was the idea that she was still so in love with you, maybe even waiting for the day she’ll get you back. 

JJ looked around the rest of your team. Reid was trying his best to fight off tears, but you could hear him sniffling. He always thought of you as one of his best friends. You related to him more than anyone because of how young you were. 

Morgan and Prentiss stood up tall and were staying strong. But JJ could tell from a mile away that it was getting harder every second that was going by. Prentiss thought of you as a little prodigy, you reminded her of a young Prentiss, and all she wanted to do was protect you even though she knew you didn’t need it. 

Then there was Hotch who stood there emotionless, but he was just trying to actually stay strong for the team. Hotch knew that you were the reckless type, it didn’t take a profiler to notice that. 

The last thing he said to you before he introduced you to the team was, “I see that you want to fight, you’ve got this hunger. I was just like you when I was younger, head full of fantasies of dying like a martyr. Just remember, dying is easy, living is harder.” 

But then they saw a figure emerge from the smoke. The little girl you were carrying was unconscious in your arms. You were coughing up a storm as you crashed onto the lawn. 

The team and paramedics ran towards you. JJ cupped your cheeks as your eyes fluttered open and closed. The smoke that was filling your lungs, making it hard to breathe. The paramedics through an oxygen mask on your face as they tried to help you breathe.

You pulled it off really quick, “Y/N! Put the oxygen mask back on!” JJ scolded you.

You were coughing up a storm as you finally got out what you said between your coughs, “I’m still in love with you,” you told her.

She was about to respond when you started seizing on the ground. Hotch pushed the team out of the way so the paramedics could do their job.

JJ’s mine still drifted back to Afghanistan as she watched them drag you to the hospital. It reminded her of when they brought you back to the med camp after the explosion. The fear settling into her bones that she might not ever see you again.

When you were finally more stable to understand what was going on around you, you were in the med tent of the camp. JJ was sitting next to you with her hands intertwined with yours.

You moved slightly and her head shot up to look at you, “How bad is it?” 

“Your eardrums are perforated, but there’s suspected to be no lasting damage.Your backpack and body armor absorbed most of the damage. You know the doctors say you’re lucky, but I just say you’re stupid,” she told you and you looked at her with furrow brows. 

“That was a little harsh,” you muttered.

She rolled her eyes, “What you did was stupid! It was stupid and reckless! I almost lost you today because of how stupid you were being!” 

“It was heroic!” you screamed. It didn't matter to you that your head was still pounding and your ears were ringing from the explosion, but you were being attacked after you just woke up.

“You don’t see the point! I almost lost you! There are people who care about you! I care about you and if I lost you today I don’t know what I would’ve done!” she screamed, “So I need you to promise me that this isn’t going to happen again. That you’ll start being more careful and thinking more without doing,” 

You sat there in silence unsure of what to say, “I can’t promise that,” you whispered after so many minutes. 

She bit her lip, removing her hand from yours. JJ stood up and started packing up the things that she had in the tent, “Then I can’t do this. If you’re not going to even respect a simple decision as to being less reckless for your own safety, then I can’t do this. I don’t think that what I’m asking is too hard, but I guess it is,” 

“JJ,” you whispered, but it was too late she was already gone.

She didn't come to visit you after that. As you sat there in your own silence, you realized that you made a mistake. You wanted to talk to her, but every time you asked someone to grab her she would always be busy or she’d just never come. 

Once you were finally well enough to be discharged from med tent and back to your own, it was too late. There was a little note left on the hard mattress the two of you once shared.

“Y/N, I’ve decided to leave. Another state department liaison is coming to replace me. I just can’t stay and watch you throw your life on the line anymore. Maybe in another world, but just not this one- JJ,” the note read and you let out a groan of frustration before falling onto the mattress.

You woke up from your seizure to see JJ sitting the corner of the room. She was curled up in the faux leather seat as she was sleeping peacefully. Your mouth felt dry as you reached over to grab the water that sat on the bedside table. 

All your stirring around caused JJ to wake up, her head shooting over to you to make sure you were okay. You looked at her softly and smiled, “How’s the little girl?”

“Safe and recovering,” she answered shortly.

“Where’s everyone else?” you asked.

“They’re in the waiting room. I tried to get them to go home, but they insisted on staying,” she mentioned and you smiled softly.

You could tell she was holding back from what she was going to say, so you let out a sigh, “Whatever you’re holding back, just get it out,” 

“That was stupid of you,” she said sternly, reminding you of your very last conversation before you met her again, “You almost died again! And I had to be there to witness it again!”

“I saved a family’s life today,” you told her, your voice dry, but just as stern. 

“But at what cost? Risking your own?!” she exclaimed and you pinched the bridge of your nose, putting your head down, “It was stupid!”

“Can you stop saying that?! It was brave and heroic! Why can’t you just be accepting about it like everyone else?!” you yelled back.

“There it is again! With your heroic bullshit!” she threw her hands up in frustration, walking closer to your bed, “What’s the big deal about it?” 

“I need to be remembered! I need to have my name in books and you know sacrificing yourself and saving as many people as possible gets you there! My family’s legacy is shot, I need to make a legacy of mine and if this is the way to do it then so be it! I need to be a hero, so I can be loved since my parents never did!” you finally exploded, telling her all the reasons why you are the way you are.

“You don’t need to sacrifice yourself to be loved!” she argued.

You scoffed, “Well, apparently I do since the only time you’ve seemed to want to talk to me since I’ve joined the team is when I’m recovering from almost dying. I don’t understand why you’re so angry at me right now, you broke up with me. You left me to recover from the bomb on my own! So tell me, why do you even care?!” 

“Because I’m still in love with you!” she finally screamed and your eyes softened.

“You don’t need to sacrifice yourself to be a hero or loved because in my eyes you’re already a hero. I care because the thought of living the rest of my life without you kills me. Living my life without you the last few years was the time I felt numb. Then you came back and I wanted to give us a shot again, but I was scared,” she whispered.

“Scared about what?” you asked.

“You were still as reckless as ever. You are still so obsessed with getting your name in the history books that you don’t care who you hurt in the process. I was scared that if I got too attached that one day you’d just die,” she told you, “At least with breaking up with you, I knew you were still alive and I didn’t lose you forever,”

There was a moment of silence before she spoke up again, “You don’t understand that you risking your life out like that hurts the people who love and care about. You don’t need to have millions of people know your name, all you need are the ones who matter most to you and you don’t understand that. I love how protective and heroic you are, but I hate it more. The hate overcomes the love,” 

You reached your hand out for her to come closer. You intertwined your fingers together before placing a kiss to the top of her hand. She had tears threatening to pour down her face.

You brushed a strand of her blonde hair from behind her ear before you cupped her cheeks softly, “I’m sorry,” you whispered, “I didn’t know how badly my acts affected you. I wish that we talked about this when I was still stationed, maybe I could’ve knocked some sense into myself and we’d still be together,”

“But I’d really like a second chance JJ,” you whispered shyly, the fear of rejection overtaking your promise, “I’ll make that promise I should’ve made ages ago. Be less reckless, be a hero in smaller less dramatic ways. But I also understand if you don’t, I know I’m fucked in the head,” 

JJ leaned her forehead on top of yours before kissing you softly, “One more chance,” she whispered, “No more bombs, or gunmen, or fires,”

You kissed her once more, “I just hope I can be the hero that you deserve, the right kind of hero,” 

“There’s no doubt in my mind that you won’t be,” 

[xxxsweetdreamzxxx]

warnings/tags: dom!Jaehyun sub!reader, fanfic, smut; cursing, hook up, fingering, cunninilingus, unprotected sex, cream pie

summary: a chance meeting while shopping for bathing suits turns your summer vacation a little hotter

word count: 4.4k (help)

===============================

this was interesting to write as the beginning and ending are based off of separate dreams this time, so hopefully I was able to link them in a way that made sense. please enjoy!!

===============================

"How does this look?" You asked your friend Jamie, holding a skimpy neon bikini set to your body. 

It was the first full day of your annual summer beach trip with your bestie, and you'd arrived in the seaside town you always traveled to late last night. After eating a mediocre breakfast provided by your hotel, the two of you had headed to a nearby mall to buy new swimsuits. She'd had luck finding one relatively quickly. But the reason you were still there, on the second story of a large department store several hours later, was because you had yet to. 

She made a face. "No offence, but it's not really your style..."

Sighing, you put it back on the rack. "I know."

Rounding the stand that contained the bikini you'd just put back, you briefly glanced over at the neighboring section, which had swim trunks. Movement had caught your eye, caused by three guys walking through. You barely even paid attention to them at first glance, but the one in the back caught your eye, and you did a double take. 

At this second glance, you saw they were all young, probably close to your age, and very attractive. 'Are they models?' You wondered. But again, it was the one behind the first two that really made you look on in awe. He had muted fluffy purple hair that covered his forehead, and dark eyes that shone like diamonds even from this distance. His soft features and perfect skin made you wonder if he was an angel. His thin white shirt hugged what was probably toned muscle underneath. When the taller of his two friends said something funny, he smiled and oh my God, he had the cutest dimples. 

At that moment, he shifted his eyes up and saw you standing there, staring. Like a deer caught in headlights you froze, embarrassed as fuck you'd been caught. But his smile only widened, and he gave you a slight nod in greeting. 

Ripping your gaze away, you acted like nothing had happened and tried to return to shopping. 

"Oh wow y/n, you saw those guys right?" Jamie exclaimed, following you. "Now that's what I'd call eye can-"

You interrupted her, face flushed, by holding up a pale blue gingham bikini. "What about this?"

Before she could answer, her eyes focused on something behind you, mouth falling open slightly. A deep voice then responded to your question. "I think it looks cute."

You whipped around, only to come face to face with the man you couldn't keep from staring at. Your eyes widened and you gulped, startled. Up close, he was simply breathtaking. Literally; you felt your breathing become strained as your heart pounded in your chest. 

"Th- Thank you, um..?" You stuttered before taking a deep breath.

"Jaehyun." He answered. 

"Ah, Jaehyun." Damn, even his name was cute. You gave him a shaky smile. "So I should get it?"

"Definitely." He encouraged. He then looked to Jamie, who'd been speechlessly watching the exchange. "What do you think?"

Turning around, you waited to see her response. After looking between the two of you for a couple of seconds, she grinned and gave a thumbs up. You weren't sure if she was approving of the bathing suit or... 

"Hey, what are you guys doing the rest of today?" Jaehyun asked. 

"Oh, not much." You replied quickly, not planning to elaborate. 

"We'll just be at the beach!" Jamie said louder and at the same time, speaking over you. "Wanna come with?"

You gave her a look, trying to shut her up. She looked back at you as if to say 'what?'

He smiled. "Sure. Let me ask the boys if it's okay with them."

He beckoned the two of them over, who didn't hesitate to comply. Jamie introduced you and her to the group, as you were still majorly distracted by the million thoughts running through your head. The tallest of the three then introduced himself as Johnny, a friendly guy with a round face and sculpted arms that were on full display thanks to the tank he wore. The other was Mark, who shyly said hi to you and Jamie. He had a boyish and youthful aura about him that made you immediately assume he was the youngest. They both readily agreed to head to the beach. 

Still not fully registering what had just happened, you walked to the check out in a near trance and bought your swimsuits. Then you exited the mall, and made your way to the parking lot. Jaehyun went to get his car while the rest of you waited at Jamie's. When he pulled up, the guys got in. After quickly entering her car with her, Jamie pulled out of the parking lot and followed them as they lead the way to the beach.

"Y/n, you okay?" She asked, taking her eyes off the road for a split second to glance at your face. Your prolonged silence had prompted her to speak.

You removed yourself from your racing thoughts. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just surprised."

She grinned. "Well, today's not gonna be boring, that's for sure. It'll be a lot more eventful than if we'd hung out at the beach by ourselves."

You nodded in agreement. You knew there wasn't much harm in doing this - there would be plenty of people on the beach around you - they couldn't try anything. And besides, you didn't even get those vibes from them. That wasn't what made you uneasy. It was the thought of spending a day at the beach with such attractive guys that made the tips of your ears turn pink and your heart rate increase. You just prayed you wouldn't say or do something utterly embarrassing. 

Jamie drove into the public beach parking behind their car, parking a few spaces away from them. Exiting the car, you and her first made your way to the bathrooms to change. This beach was well maintained, a stone walkway lead to them and then continued on and up to a wide bridge that arched over the barrier dunes and then down onto the sand. Palm trees provided shade, which was made good use of as it seemed wherever a tree cast a shadow there was a cool bench to sit. 

Locking yourself into a stall in the women's bathroom, you undressed and then pulled on your brand new swimsuit. Thankfully, despite not being able to try it on in the store, it fit extremely well. The gingham pattern, pale blue color, and small ruffles on the waistband and straps made you conclude this was the cutest bikini you'd ever seen. Exiting the stall, you briefly peered into the mirror above the sinks to pull your hair into two low pigtails. 

Turning back around, you found Jamie standing there in her new suit, smiling at you. 

"Ready y/n?" She asked. 

You took a breath before replying. "Yep."

Arm in arm, you walked out to meet the boys, who'd already changed and were standing there waiting, beach bags in hand. Johnny got excited as he spotted you both and practically ran towards beach, Mark trying to keep up with him. Jaehyun looked unbothered as he stayed behind to walk at a normal pace with you. By the time you'd crossed over the sand dunes and strolled onto the beach, Mark and Johnny had already found a good place a little ways away to set up. They'd brought two large towels, big enough for multiple people to sit on, and had spread them out over the sand.

Jaehyun sat down on one, then patted the ground next to him, motioning for you to sit next to him. After a few seconds of contemplation you complied, folding your legs to the side as you still kept a couple feet of distance from him. Jamie sat down with Johnny and Mark on the other towel. 

For the next hour or so, the five of you talked about various topics in an effort to learn more about each other. Gradually, you loosened up as you got used to their company. Johnny and Mark were college friends of Jaehyun's, who'd came into town a few days before you to visit him where he now lived on the coast. Funnily enough, the two boys were staying in the same hotel as you and Jamie while they did so - it was the closest to Jaehyun's apartment.

Noon came and went, and the air continued to heat up around you until it was unbearable. You looked out at the ocean water longingly,  but didn't want to leave by yourself, and the others seemed to be having such a great time...

Glancing over at you, Jaehyun made a suggestion. "Who's up for the water?" 

Despite your assumptions, the agreement was unanimous. As one, you all rose and ran towards the rolling sea, chasing each other. Diving into the waves, you ran out until the water was up to your waist. Johnny swam out farther than any of you, while Jamie and Mark stayed in slightly shallower water. 

You heard the sound of someone sloshing around in the water directly behind you. Spinning around, you were met with his chest - his white shirt was now wet and you could see some of the muscles through it - as your eyes widened and you looked up into Jae's eyes. He smiled down at your face, less than a foot away, dimples on full display. 

"Hi." He said in a way that made your heart melt. Then: "Feel better?" 

"Y- yeah, it was really hot before." Your words betrayed your body - being in the water wasn't cooling you off at all anymore. 

You stood there for a few awkward moments in silence, not knowing what to say. 

"Um-" You began. 

"Woah y/n look out!" He cut you off, sudden panic on his face as he closed the small distance between the two of you.

Suddenly, a large wave crashed into your back. It pushed you straight into the only thing that would keep you standing - his body. Instinctively, you gripped onto his shirt tightly so you didn't fall, tugging it towards you. He didn't hesitate to wrap his strong arms around your waist to steady you. Only after the wave had passed did you realize what you'd done, quickly releasing the fabric from your hands. But he didn't let go. 

"Are you okay?" He asked, worry in his tone.

You nodded, heart pounding loudly in your ears. However, you were shaking slightly. 

He began leading you back towards the shore, not convinced. Stumbling onto the hot sand, he guided you back to the towels, sitting you down once you got there. Getting a smaller towel, he wrapped it around you so you could dry off, then he sat down next to you. 

You looked at him, embarrassed. "You can go back if you want, I'll be fine here."

"No, I'm good." He leaned back a bit. "I'm not much of a swimmer anyways."

He then lifted his arm and ran his fingers through his damp hair, brushing it back off his forehead. You gulped, incredibly bothered by the motion. 

He looked at you with a slight smirk. "Thirsty?"

"Yeah." You replied. 

Smirk widening, he handed you an unopened water bottle. You drank, trying desperately to calm down. 

Jamie ran up to you, Mark following close behind. "Y/n are you okay?" She asked, confused and concerned. "What happened?"

You explained without including the details that made you blush when you thought of them. She sat on the towel next to you, deciding not to go back out. Mark followed suit and shortly after Johnny joined you again when he realized everyone was out of the water.

After a bit, you began to get hungry and got up to try and find some food. Luckily, there was a food truck nearby with some cheap lunch. Returning to the towels, you ate in relative silence as the sun moved slowly west overhead. The rest of the afternoon was spent walking, playing with a frisbee, and sunbathing. You noticed Jaehyun seemed to be keeping you within a few feet of him the entire time, never leaving you alone or with the others. Even when you went back out with Jamie into the shallow water, he followed - even though he tried to appear like he wasn't. 

            .•°•. ♡ .•°•. ♡ .•°•. ♡ .•°•.

Once the sun went down, everything was packed up and taken back to the cars. You threw back on your shorts from earlier before heading to a nearby bar, open to the sea and cool night air. It was already crowded with many tourists, and once you entered you quickly lost sight of the others,  later catching a glimpse of Jamie talking to Johnny off to the side with a drink in hand. 

Seeing the bar, you made your way over to it by yourself and sat on one of the barstools. You beckoned the bartender over to order your drink. 

"What can I get for you?" She asked, polishing a glass. 

"A margarita please." you answered.

She then looked at the seat next to you. "And you sir?"

"A margarita for me too, thanks." A familiar voice answered. 

You turned around in your seat to face Jaehyun, blinking at him.

He smiled and nodded in greeting, those adorable dimples reappearing on the corners of his mouth. Feeling your face heat up, you quickly turned to look at the bartender as she made your identical drinks. 

You cleared your throat a little. "So... you like margaritas too?"

He chuckled softly at your attempt to break the awkwardness. "Truthfully, I've never tried one. Thought tonight was good first time."

You could feel his eyes on you, boring into your soul in an attempt to get your attention. When you couldn't take it any longer and tilted your head to look at him, his eyes immediately met yours. A slight smirk spread across his lips.

When your drinks were served, he was the first to take a sip, eyes not leaving you for a millisecond. You drank and shifted in your seat, fully aware of how he was checking you out as his eyes began to roam. You wondered if maybe you should've put on a shirt over your bikini top to cover yourself better. But that thought was quickly dismissed as a new one took its place. You liked it - the way his attention was focused on no one but you. There were plenty of other hot girls there that night,  but he paid them no mind. 

The hours drifted by as those around you melted away and it felt like you and Jae were the only two in the entire world. The music and voices of patrons were only a buzz in the distant background as you focused on his soft words. You found you enjoyed each others company - he made you comfortable with the idea of spending as much time in it as possible. 

When the clock struck ten, you could feel the beginnings of fatigue creeping into your mind. An incoming text made his phone buzz. He checked it, relaying the message to you after briefly lifting up his eyebrows in surprise.

"Your friend's heading back to the hotel with Johnny and Mark, she's driving them there."

"Oh!" You replied in surprise, glancing around the bar but finding them already gone. You knew what was probably going to happen to Jamie, but you didn't voice it. 

He looked at you for about a minute before speaking again, slowly. "Do you.. wanna come to my place?"

You met his eyes again, heart and mind racing at his invitation. The implications of his question didn't slip by you, they were fully realized. Still, it didn't take you long to make up your mind - in fact, you'd already made it before he'd asked. 

"Yes." You replied. 

He smiled wide and grabbed your hand, intertwining his fingers with yours. You quickly slid off your barstool and exited the bar, making for the car. You giggled as he pulled you along. The moon shone down on you from high overhead, lighting the way. Once reaching the car, he opened the passenger door for you and you hopped inside as he then closed it and rounded the car to his seat. Getting in, he started the car and drove out onto the road towards his apartment. 

Your mind raced as you made the silent drive to his apartment, listening to the low sounds of the radio coming through the speakers. It only took a few minutes before he was parking, getting out, and coming around to help you out of the car. Grasping your hand tightly again, he lead you into the building. The lobby of his apartment had only dim lights on at this time to illuminate the room. No one was around. Jaehyun took a left after guiding you through the main doors. 

"This way." He practically whispered, taking you into the elevator. 

He hit the three and the doors closed, leaving you alone in the small space with him for a few moments. He didn't waste any time in turning you around to face him, closing the gap between you. Locking his lips with yours in a heated first kiss, he backed you up into the elevator wall, driving you up it slightly with his strong arms. You instinctively wrapped your limbs around his body to steady yourself and kissed him back. You could taste both him and the drink he'd had at the bar - the mixture was heavenly. 

A ding signified your arrival at his floor, forcing you to part. Thankfully for the both of you, his door wasn't too far away. Pulling you down the hall quickly, Jae stopped at his door and took out his keys, fumbling with them for a few seconds as he tried to rush. When the door was unlocked, he pushed it open, letting you both walk through before harshly closing it again. 

For the few seconds it took for him to throw the keys on a small table next to the door you glanced around the dark apartment. Through a cracked door to your left you could make out a bathroom. A small kitchen stretched across most of the right wall from the door, a long bar separating it from the rest of the room. In this main room was both his living area and bedroom. His bed was pushed up against the farthest wall, which was taken up entirely by two giant windows. The moonlight shone through them, illuminating a balcony on the other side that looked out into the night and the street below, where palm trees waved back and forth in a light breeze. 

The sudden grip of his large hand on your waist from behind made you jump. He spun you around, and gave you that soul piercing stare that made all your self-control fade away. You leaned in this time, seeing a smirk spread across his face right before you closed your eyes. As soon as your lips brushed against his again, he picked up were you'd left off, kissing you relentlessly and leaving you breathless. Slowly, he backed you up further into the apartment until the backs of your legs bumped up against the edge of the bed as you struggled to bring air to your lungs. 

He lifted you just enough to clear the mattress and sit you down on top of it. Climbing onto it himself, he gently laid you down onto the sheets underneath him. He kept himself up with his knees, one on each side of you as he started to move his plush lips down to your neck. He proceeded to mark you, painting several dark spots onto your skin that would surely be there the next day. 

"Ah, Jae." You moaned out for the first time, when the tenseness that had been building between your legs became too much to stay silent.

He paused. "What is it princess?" 

"I need..." You began, heating up at the petname.

"Yes?" He asked patiently, waiting for your commanding words. He smiled down at you, raising a hand to your cheek to stroke it soothingly. 

"You." You finished, meeting his gaze. "I need you."

He smiled wider. "Sure thing."

Removing his hand from your face, he moved it down to the waistband of your shorts. Unbuttoning them with both hands, he slipped them off and down your ankles with ease. Placing his strong hand on your upper thigh, he spread it away from the other and began moving his fingers closer to your heat. Shivering at his touch, you sunk deeper into the bedsheets. He let his fingertips get to the edge of your bikini bottoms, but stopped there, teasing you. 

"Hey-" You breathed, scolding him when you realized what he was doing.

He looked down at you, hair messily splayed around your head as your chest rose and fell beneath him. Your skin was beginning to glisten with perspiration, your eyelashes fluttering slightly every time you blinked your half-closed eyes. "Hm?"

You took a moment to respond. "Touch me Jae."

He smiled a dark smile as he brushed your bikini bottoms to the side. The first touch of his fingertips against your slick clit had you lifting your hips up off the bed, curses falling from your lips. He forced them back down, pinning you to the bed with his body. He quickly resumed his actions, running his fingers back and forth over your folds as you moaned at the pleasure. He then suddenly inserted a finger into your dripping core. 

"Ah-" You gasped in surprise as he continued, using his thumb to trace circles across your clit. It was all too much for you to handle. He watched as you gradually lost control beneath him, writhing about in pleasure. The dangerous combination of things he was doing to you quickly brought your first high like a rising wave that crashed into the beach before it. 

You didn't have time to warn him before your walls clamped down on his finger and your juices spilled out onto his hand, sheets, and down your legs. He let you ride out your orgasm and calm all the way down before removing his finger and sitting up, licking every last bit of you from his fingers. You peered down the bed at him, watching in fascination as he lapped it up like a man starved.

"Shit, you taste good." He complimented, making your face feel flushed. 

When his hand was clean, he bent down and stuck his head between your legs. A second later, you felt the flick of his tongue on your inner thigh. He left a trail of wet kisses up it, making his way back up to your heat. Without warning, you felt his lips brush against your folds as he proceeded to use his tongue to clean you up as best he could. His hot breath against your pussy made you squirm and draw your legs up closer to your chest. Once satisfied he sat up again, licking the last of you from his lips. 

He then repositioned himself above you. Removing his swim trunks, his hard member sprung free and stood erect, precum trickling from its pink tip. Slipping a couple of fingers into the waistband of your bikini bottoms, he pulled then down your legs, leaving them with your shorts at your ankles. Lining up with your entrance, he held himself up with his strong arms, caging you in. You looked up at him, his faded purple hair messy across his face. He gave you a reassuring smile - dimples and all - before pushing into you with ease and rolling his hips down onto yours. Matching the pace he set, you pulled his face back down to yours to kiss him again, softer this time. He complied, kissing you deeper and slower as he pushed further into you with each thrust.

When he bottomed out, he speed up the movement of his hips, gripping yours to bring them closer to his. The lewd sounds of sex filled the apartment, combined with both of your increasingly loud moans.

"Jae." You moaned out, breaking your kisses. You felt the tenseness building in your abdomen again. 

He groaned as you felt him twitch inside you. "Fuck, you sound so hot saying my name like that."

He then hit your g-spot with the tip of his cock, pushing you over the edge. You came undone all at once, flexing your walls around him, gasping for air. Seconds later, hot strings of his cum shot through you, spilling out onto the bed along with your own. Riding out your orgasms simultaneously, your heavy breathing gradually quieted until he pulled out and sat up on the bed beside you. Watching him slide off the edge and stand up, your eyes followed him as he made his way to the bathroom entrance, ducking in for a second and returning with a towel.

Climbing back onto the bed, he leaned over you and gently cleaned you up with the towel, being extra careful around your sore clit. When most of it was wiped up, he discarded the towel onto the floor and laid down next to you. You rolled onto your side to look at him in the moonlight.

His skin had a visible sheen to it and his hair was a fucking mess - it stuck partially to his damp skin. But that only made his perfectly sculpted features more beautiful. You felt him wrap his arm around your naked waist, holding you to his body. Brushing a loose strand of hair away from your face, he spoke for the first time in minutes.

"Let's do this again tomorrow."

In your fucked out state, you couldn't respond with much else than an excited nod as you snuggled up to him. He gently kissed your swollen lips, happy. 

Brushing your nose with his, he whispered: "Night y/n." 

You replied by kissing him back, closing your eyes, and drifting off to sleep in his arms. 

[mystic-shadows42]

Holding Out Hope

A/N: This was just a simple quick write so there are probably mistakes.

Pairing: Clark Kent x reader

Warnings: Language

Summary: Clark has a hard time trying to find his place in the world but when he takes a job he’s unlikely to stay in for long, there’s an unexpected person there that he can’t simply walk away from.

Joe.

That’s what he said his name was. When you first met him, you didn’t think it suited him. He was a tall dark-haired, muscular, blue-eyed man with a gentleness to him.

Right away he stood out.

Joe was brought onto the crew by your father, the captain. He was quiet but observant. He always listened and remembered things that other people would long forget about.

He wasn’t the type of man you’re used to seeing on your father’s crew. He was actually nice and not handsy like the others.

You met him on his first day and told him of the small shop you worked at and he made it a habit to go whenever he was back from his fishing trips.

During his visits, you’d both make small talk. He was private about his life but was definitely curious about yours. You wanted to respect his privacy so you told him the truth of yours.

You were the youngest child of four. All of them had left to start their own lives elsewhere but would call occasionally. The home life wasn’t too great. Your mother had left and your father was a drunk. He would only stop drinking when he had to work and needed more money for it.

There were times when you’d ramble on and sneak a look over at him to see he was hanging on to every word. 

Occasionally, you’d treat him to lunch but even then you could tell he was still putting up a front as if he couldn’t simply relax. Sometimes he’d even leave abruptly after apologizing profusely.

It was understandable but after what seemed like the umpteenth time you started to think it was because of you. Perhaps you weren’t as good company as you thought.

Joe must’ve noticed your uncertainty because he would sometimes surprise you with gifts. Needless to say, it didn’t take much for you to fall hard for him. 

There were obvious signs there for something to flourish between you both but he was always the one to pull away.

So when you were on your break outside the shop with him you asked him what you’ve been dying to know.

“So, I have to ask. Why have you stuck around doing this job? Most people leave after the first week.”

He looked away and smiled then looked back at you. At his expression, you nudged his arm playfully.

“I find that staying here a little while has its benefits.”

You gave him a look which he knew what you meant. He didn’t give you much to go off of.

“My dad doesn’t pay you enough to think like that.”

“It’s not always about the pay.” He threw you a look that simply melted your heart. “Would you believe me if I told you the best part of my day is coming into the shop and seeing you?”

You slightly tilted your head not expecting the deemed quiet man by the crew to actually say this to you. Joe was far too handsome to be into you. Just by looking at him, you knew he didn’t belong in a less than ideal place with nothing to offer him whatsoever.

“Well, I don’t actually believe you.”

He had a faint smile on his face. “Open your hand.”

You held out your hand and he took something out of his back pocket and placed it in your hand.

“A gift?”

He nodded and gestured for you to look at it. You opened the small bag pulling the strings apart to see pearls inside.

They were beautiful and bigger than any you’ve ever seen. You inspected them more closely.

“These are South Sea pearls. I only know because my father obsesses over finding some one day.” You looked up at him astonished. These pearls were worth a good amount of money. “There’s no possible way you found these fishing.”

He put his hands over yours covering the pearls.

“I’m going to be leaving soon. Use these to get out of here.”

Your heart sunk at the news of him leaving soon. He was the whole reason you got excited for the day and dressed up. 

Just seeing him affected your whole day in a better way.

“I can’t. This is too big a gift to have.”

“They’re yours now.”

He said it so calmly as if obtaining them wasn’t a big deal. Even though you knew people would kill just to get their hands on them.

“How’d you get them?” 

“I flew,” he said, a small smile gracing his face before he turned his back to you.

“Joe.”

Even as you said his name he didn’t react. He hardly ever responded to it. You always suspected he was hiding something. Nobody simply ignores their name when called.

“Wait!”

He turned and you ran to catch up to him.

“At least tell me your real name.”

He sighed and you knew then that he wouldn’t. It did hurt a little that after all these months of knowing him that he didn’t even trust you enough to know his name.

It made you sad that nothing significant ever blossomed between you both though you knew he could feel the connection too. You didn’t think it’d hurt this much to lose a person you hardly knew anything about.

He lowered his head when you started to drop yours in disappointment. He looked genuinely concerned. It was hard to determine if he would even miss you or even thought of you the way you did him.

“I promise you that one day when I’m not running anymore. When I find out who I truly am, then I’ll find you and tell you my name.”

You shook your head. “That’s impossible. How will you ever find me?”

“Don’t lose hope.”

He moved closer to you and leaned down a little to be leveled with you. Your lips parted and your heart started to race at how close he was. He had his eyes closed already so you closed yours as you moved forward.

You were finally going to kiss.

“Hey, dipshit! It’s time to go!”

You groaned and opened your eyes to see he already opened his and was watching you.

“I have to go.”

You reached out for his hand and saw him smile down at your joined hands. He gave yours a small squeeze in reassurance.

“Captains tired of waiting! Hurry it up!”

His hand slowly slipped from yours. He smiled sadly and turned his back to you as he began walking away.

****

In your time of finding a place, you were tracked down by a determined reporter named Lois Lane. Her presence took you by surprise especially when she shared her story with you.

He was going by the name Liam. She told you briefly of her findings and how he saved her life with his ‘abilities’ yet somehow you began to think over your encounters with him.

The constant short meet-ups with him weren’t excuses. He was actually going out and saving someone’s life.

It just all seemed fitting for him. 

A savior.

Lois had questioned you explaining that his time fishing was the longest job he stuck with and she suspected it was because of you. She kept smiling at the stories you’d share of her with your encounters with him. 

There wasn’t much to go off because he was so discreet but it was the way he made you feel that made it seem everlasting. That much she could tell in your eyes and words alone.

Before she departed her last words to you were that he’d definitely find you again.

The idea lifted your spirits but you certainly missed his company.

After about a month and a couple of weeks you still hadn’t found a place to settle in. Nothing ever seemed like home to you.

You felt like a ghost going from place to place. Seeing a new area was nice but there was still that never-ending feeling of being alone.

The thing you missed from your old town was the view of the ocean. So that’s what led you here, to the beach.

You were walking aimlessly on the shoreline when you looked up after a huge sudden gust of wind hit you.

You gasped at the sight of ‘him’ standing just a few feet in front of you. He was smiling once he saw your reaction. He looked the same, only he was clean-shaven and he seemed more relaxed.

He began making his way to you still having his bright smile on his face. You immediately dropped your sandals and ran into his arms. He hugged you to him feeling his deep chuckle rumble through his chest.

“I told you I’d find you.”

You pulled back but still stayed in his arms.

“Now I know how you got here. You flew,” you chuckled remembering his words from before. He brushed the hair in your face back and smiled. 

“Yeah, I did.”

“So are you going to tell me what your name is or do I have to keep calling you Joe?”

“My name’s Clark. Clark Kent. As you may have heard, I’m not of this world but raised into it.”

“I’ve heard some stories.” 

You didn’t quite know what he was or how he came to have these abilities but all you knew was that you cared for him deeply. Nothing else mattered.

“How are you liking your new life?”

“I felt like how you used to. Not really belonging anywhere. Going from place to place. Missing you and our annual strolls.”

He rubbed your arms once you started to get goosebumps. His touch felt safe and warm. Something you could get used to. Everything about him captivated you in every way.

“Close your eyes.”

You took a deep breath and closed them. 

After a couple of seconds, he told you to open them. All you did was stare at him admiring just how handsome he truly is. He chuckled seeing your entranced state and told you to look down.

Confused, you looked down and saw that neither of you were on land anymore. You were both floating and had a vast view of the landscape.

Naturally, you gasped wrapping your arms around him thinking you were going to fall. You could hear him laughing but the thought of being so high up had overtaken your thoughts.

To capture your attention, he turned your face to him and looked down at your lips as if silently asking for your permission. You nodded and that was all he needed to kiss you. 

His lips were soft but the force was rough. You both had been desperate for this moment. It had been put off for far too long.

“I’ll never let you go. Never fall, never get hurt, and never leave you all alone again.”

His words were tender and sweet.

“Would you like to come to Kansas with me?”

This time you were the one with the permanent smile on your face chuckling. You had unshed tears in your eyes at how happy you were.

“I’d love to go to Kansas with you, Clark.”

[floraltypes]

OHSHC Meeting The Parents

Who - ohshc hosts x reader

Type - fluff !

Summary - the hosts meeting your parents

AN - my requests are open so request something!

unedited :/

Tamaki

You had told Tamaki that your mother was dying to meet him

The woman wouldn’t stop asking you questions regarding him after you dropped a hint you were dating someone

So, one day she threatened to lower your allowance if you wouldn’t invite him over

Hence, why you are running around with trying to finish up your hair and the maid trying to help is stressing herself since you won’t sit down

When the doorbell was rung the butler quickly opened it and your mother and you both rushed down the stairs to try and get there first

Tamaki looked nervous in the beginning but his eyes lit up once they landed on your figure

“Y/n!” He called out, jumping a bit

Tamaki was very much dressed for the occasion, no surprise, and cleaned up well

You mother put a hand on her heart while Tamaki squished you into his arms

“So adorable, my little y/n,” Your mother cooed

“Uh, Tamaki, I can’t breathe,” He let you go quickly, put kept his arms on your shoulders

He soon realized that your mother was there and quickly turned around bowing a few times and apologizing for not greeting her sooner

“No worries dear, why don’t we go to the dining room to begin eating. Y/n’s father will be later due to work,” Your mother told him

The three of you sat at the larger table, Tamaki sitting right besides you

Your mother asked him many questions and he happily answered, staring at you most of the time and your mother could just tell how much he was in love

She thought he was so cute on how he kept asking you questions throughout dinner to involve you in the conversation like ‘what is your favorite class?’ ‘Y/n, you like that game too, as well, correct?’ ‘Y/n sure is very intelligent!’

Your father ended up being very late and didn’t eat with you three

You and Tamaki decided to go to a one of your extra rooms where there was a large TV and couch

You both sat down besides each other and watched something on the television, Tamaki holding your hand

At one point, Tamaki was trying to reach over you to reach a drink on the table besides you, but it ended up being farther than he thought and he feel ontop of you

He looked up from your legs with a awkward, yet cute, smile

At that exact moment the doors swung open and your father walked in

“I apologize for being late, your mother said the boy was in he- why are you laying inappropriately on top of my child?”

“Uh, i-, no, never!”

Let’s say your father didn’t think the highest of Tamaki like your mother did…

Kyoya

You were both working on some homework one day when you brought up the idea

“Do you think it’s about time to meet my parents?”

“Should I?” He asked back

To be honest, Kyoya knew he was a respectable man and knew how to behave, but still had some nerves

You also didn’t want to exactly have to sit through a long dinner with your boring parents who only knew how to talk about business deals and money, but it would be something your family would eventually ask you

When it came time, you were meeting Kyoya and his parents at a restaurant with your own

When the two of you viewed each-other your eyes lit up a little

“Hello, it’s a pleasure to meet you both,” Kyoya’s father greeted, bowing in front of your parents who soon exchanged the gesture

You greeted Kyoya’s father, your second time seeing Kyoya’s parents again after the dinner you had with them not too long ago

“Y/n,” Kyoya pulled out the chair for you, which you soon sat down on and he sat right beside you, your other side being taken by your mother

“Kyoya, you’re the youngest, correct?” Your father quickly asked, sending a glare

“I am the youngest son, yes,”

“Ah, so you should know what competition is like,”

“I do,”

“Good because they’re many men competing for my daughters hand in marriage,” He laughed, soon turning his attention back to your mother who was chatting with Kyoya’s parents

He mumbled something to himself and grabbed your hand, intertwining it with his

You rubbed small patterns with your pointer finger as a quiet way to reassure him, sending a small smile which seemed to lighten his mood highly

He knew that with you competition seemed worth it, something he was willing to put up with as long as having a chance with you is the prize

When the two of your guys’s families were getting to depart, Kyoya turned to your father before leaving

“I know competition, and I’m very successful in all types of it, I will win the competition for your daughters hand, I just hope you will be able to accept the victor,”

Hikaru

Telling Hikaru that your mother found it important for her to meet him seemed ridiculous to him

Both of your parents weren’t apart of the relationship, so what should it matter what they think of the other

You loved him and he loved you, he didn’t need anyone else to say otherwise

“Come on Hikaru! My mother will continue to bother me until you finally agree,”

“Only if you promise me something,” He quickly told you, snickering secretly at his brilliant plan

“Anything, I’m so tired of her complaining,”

“A kiss,”

You quickly moved your lips to hover in front of his and connected into a sweet and short kiss

His cheeks brightened to a vibrant pink and he scowled turning his head away

“Not now,” He mumbled.

A week later he was outside your door with a cocky smile and a bouquet in hand, (advice from Kaoru)

“Hello, Mr and Miss L/n,” He bowed, handing the bouquet to your mother

“It’s a pleasure to finally meet you son,” Your father put a hand on his shoulder

“Son?” Hikaru asked silently, looking at you with confusion

“My father always wanted a boy,” You tell him, laughing a little

“You look nice Miss L/n,” Hikaru complimented your mother, already

“Oh Y/n, he is so kind!”

Though at first, Hikaru thought meeting your parents was ridiculous, now he’s laughing with them at some joke your father made and being invited over next week for another dinner

Kaoru

He’s another person who isn’t so confident about the idea

You both were snuggling on his bed, his arms wrapped around your waist and head lying on your chest while you combed through his hair

“My grandma wants to meet you,”

“She does?” He looked up with a spectacle look

“She isn’t bad, much more open to things considered her age,”

“It makes sense why she would want to meet me, so I guess,” He sighed, then taking in the comfort from the position he was in.

“I don’t want to make a bad impression,”

“You won’t! She just wants to treat you to one of her iconic desserts,”

The both of you slowly got up from your spots and got ready to go to your grandmas that evening

When she opened the door, she gave you a tight hug and then soon threw her arms around Hikaru, squeezing him tightly

“Y/n says you love chocolate, I made some treats so she can show you to the dining room,”

He ended up losing all his nerves after taking a bite of the cake

“It’s amazing!”

“I’m so glad you like it. You’re such a sweet young boy, take some more,”

He felt really comforted by your grandmother and comes back next week after she sends him a letter inviting him

When you came home after a shopping trip with your friends, and saw your boyfriend chatting with your grandmother in the kitchen you were very confused

“Hikaru, I didn’t know you were coming over. Did I forget to tell you I was seeing my friend today?”

“You did,” He walked over you you and gave you a hug and small kiss on the cheek

“Then, uh, why are you here?”

“Your grandmother invited me!” Soon your grandma walked in with three cups of tea

“Oh thanks grandma, did you here me come in?” You went to take the other cup before someone came in behind her. “What are you doing here?”

“She wanted to meet Kaoru’s twin,”

Mori

The both of you were in the library doing some reading

You had recently been describing this book to him that you fell in love with and he wanted to read it for himself

You just wanted to read in general

It was a quiet time, but the both of you sat near each other and your head was lying on his shoulder

You had totally forgotten that your dad was begging to meet this man

“My dad wants to meet you,” You voiced, looking up at him while he just nodded, eyes still on the page

“Which one is that?”

“Dad is the really energetic one, papa is the really smart one,” You told him, the poor boy still having trouble with the names for your two fathers

“Ah,” He hummed, moving a hand to rest on your thigh

“Great, I’ll tell them you will be over this weekend!”

“Mhm,” He rubbed a small circle on your clothed thigh and the two of you kept reading, basking in each other’s presence

When the day came Mori wasn’t exactly nervous, but he wasn’t excited

He had brought a treat that his mother wanted him to bring over

“Mori, is it?” Your papa questioned, while your dad quickly took the treat.

Your boyfriend nodded his head, and scavenged through his pocket for a little box

He handed it to you, and you tilted you head, letting a small smile take over the features on your face

“ARE YOU PROPOSING TO MY BABY ALREADY?!” Your dad asked, jumping and trying to rush to grab the box from your hands, getting pulled back by your papa

“No, it’s a present, calm down hun,” He said with his stern voice, though your dad could easily tell her was just trying to be considerate of you and Mori

“Thank you,” You looked up at Mori and pecked him on the lips

“DID MY BABY JUST KISS HIM?!” Your dad yelled once again.

“You kissed me after our first date, remember?” Your papa reminded the man

“Mori, please come in, take a seat, eat, smile, talk, dance, sing, whatever you please,” Your dad pushed him into the living room and your papa followed

You soon pulled the two aside, sending a look to them

“Don’t be rude to him, I already told you that he doesn’t speak much and that’s his choice that we need to respect,”

You soon felt arms on your shoulder and looked back to see your boyfriends figure towering over yours

“It’s okay Y/n. I’m willing to answer questions to help soothe your parents worries and to show my love for you,” He smiled down at you and placed a kiss to the top of your head

That was when your papa and dad knew that this man was truly a good one

Honey

“Y/n-chan! I want to meet your mom!” Honey told you one day while the two of you were waiting for Usa-chan to get cleaned at the cleaners

“How come?”

“I want to meet the person who helped make you so kind!” He exclaimed, gripping your hand tightly while the two of you walked through town

“Sure, if you really want to,” You shrugged. “My mom is a big cake fan so I think the two of you would get along,”

“Yeah!!!” Honey cheered and the two of you continued your walk with grins on your face

A couple of weeks later your mom was finally home after her stressful business trip and was excited to meet the boy you had been dating

“Mother, this is Mitsukuni,” You introduced her to the childish blonde who was holding on tightly to his stuff animal

“You can call me Honey! It’s so great to meet you! Y/n-chan told me you like cake, so I brought some!” Your mother put on a fake smile and showed him to a area to place it

She soon put on her shoes and coat and the three of you took the limousine to a restaurant nearby

“So, you’re a third year?” Your mother asked once the three of you were seated at a table

“Mhm! Along with my cousin Takashi, he is one of Y/n-chan’s friend as well,”

“He’s the tall one right, I thought he was your boyfriend, someone you could depend on,”

“Mother,” You mumbled, loud enough for her to hear, hoping she would behave kindly to Honey despite the boy not acting like a normal third year

“Y/n can depend on me! I promise! I’m very dependable,” Honey placed his stuff animal on the ground and sat up straight

“You are,” You looked over at him, agreeing with your boyfriend.

The rest of the dinner was a little awkward and when Honey asked to order cake your mother shot him down, it took a lot for the boy to try and hold on his tears

He thought for sure that he would get along greatly with your mother

“Well, aren’t you a cutie?” A man walked up to you, walking alongside you with Honey on your other side holding your hand, your mother was a bit ahead on a phone call

“Um, can you please leave me alone, I’m not interested,”

“Oh come on now doll, don’t act so uninterested, don’t lie, I know you are,” He was about to place a hand on your shoulder before he was on the ground and Honey was holding him in the position

“Y/n! Y/n! I’m so sorry,” Your mom rushed to you and quickly hung up the call looking at the man on the sidewalk and pulling you into her arms.

“I’m fine mother, he didn’t touch me. Mitsukuni got him for me,” You reassured her, pointing to your boyfriend who was watching the man run away

“Oh Honey! I’m so sorry for how I behaved, you really are a good boy,” She pulled him into her arms. “Why don’t the three of us go get some cake to celebrate!”

Haruhi

It was something your father found important

You and Haruhi had been chatting for awhile and your father had overheard you on the phone many times

The poor single father couldn’t figure if your giggles were friendly ones or ones someone would have when talking to a crush

Though he was intelligent when it came to taking care of the colleges he owned, he knew nothing about girls and their crushes

So, he had to ask his secretary for advice, which he did often since he was raising a girl on his own

The advice he received was to just… ask you?

“Y/n, sweetheart, who are you chatting to?”

“Haruhi, Fujioka Haruhi,” You told him, then getting back onto the phone

He rushed to his phone and asked his secretary to found out some more

When he received the information, he rushed to you again, a bit confused it was a commoner, but open to the idea

“I want to meet this Fujioka, and their parent,”

You told Haruhi and she understood, thinking it made sense that your father would want to meet her, especially since Haruhi liked you a lot and was thinking of ways to ask you out soon!

“I’m Hiro, a pleasure to meet you….?” He looked at Haruhi’s father with confusion.

“Ranka, sorry, I’m coming back from my job,” He apologized, whipping the scarf around his neck a little tighter. “You must be Y/n, Haruhi talks about you often! You’re so adorable!”

“Thank you!” You smiled, then grabbing Haruhi’s hand and dragging her into your larger home

Haruhi was very nervous to meet your father, she didn’t want to say anything and tend to just try and stay glued to your side

“Haruhi, you chat with Y/n often, um, that’s good,” Your father was nervous as well, he didn’t want to make the assumption that you two were dating and risk embarrassing you, something he unfortunately did often

“Yeah, Y/n is nice,” She nodded, and you continued to drag her up to your room, showing her trinkets and books

Ranka and your father went to your garden to chat and have some tea

“You have such a lovely home,” Ranka complimented. “Where is Y/n’s mother, at work?”

“She actually isn’t with us,” Your father coughed. “She passed away after having Y/n,”

“I’m so sorry, Haruhi’s mother hasn’t been with us for a while as well,”

Something in common!!?!

They soon started to talk about the difficulties on raising children on there own, and found each other to be much kinder when the nervous aspect disappeared

(they end up calling each other often when they need more advice with their kids, they become good friends!)

“Haruhi is always talking about Y/n, it’s so cute! My little girl is in love..!!”

“Love?!?!” Your father choked on his tea

“Why yes, it’s so painfully obvious that Haruhi doesn’t even realize it herself! I bet it is the same with Y/n, I hear the way she chats and her giggles through the phone,”

“Y/n is in love?!?!”

“Yeah! I think Haruhi is going to ask them out soon!”

“Ask Y/n out?!?!” Your father was about to pass out on the spot

But, Ranka helped him breathe and she revealed just how great of a daughter Haruhi was that your father didn’t seem too scared

Though he didn’t chat with Haruhi too much because the both of you were too busy chatting with each other, he felt she was a good person

“Well, Haruhi, fine young woman, treat my child well, you are well, um, yes,” Your father nodded and Haruhi did the same

The two won’t go and see a movie together, but they’ll be able to get rid of some nerves soon enough and hold some nice conversations together

[starlitangels]

Shade Fight

The post-shade-fight video was actually the first Milo one I listened to (wildly out of order, because sometimes my self-control goes out the window), and upon relistening to his whole playlist (again), I figured I’d write this little fill-in-the-gap fic :-D (2.3k words—enjoy!) CW: fantasy violence, some blood

—

“They think I’m a joke,” I said, breaking the silence that had been pervading our little stakeout.

“What?” the shifter—Milo—asked.

I sighed and brushed a hand through my hair. “The investigative team in the Department. They think I’m a joke. I’m young, and I was hired even younger. My boss hired me on because... because I’m good at what I do. Being a Stealth. She was hoping to... to tease out some good results from me. But in the two years I’ve been working for the Department, all I’ve ever been given were back-burner cases. I’m charismatic enough to talk your unempowered, human landlord into letting me into your apartment, and I can phase through a wall and maintain invisibility at the same time, but no one on my team will give me a chance to—”

“Hold up, did you just say you can phasecloak?” Milo demanded.

“Oh. You do know the term for it. Yeah. Yeah I can.” I rubbed the back of my neck awkwardly.

He swore. “That’s some powerful magic you got there, sweetheart. Phasecloakin’ ain’t easy.”

“I know. Damn near makes me pass out if I have to maintain it for longer than an hour but—”

“An hour?!” Milo stared at me. “Most Stealths even capable of phasecloakin’ don’t last longer’n a few seconds a day bein’ both intangible and invisible. Yet you can do it for an hour?”

“Well, uh, yeah. I’ve told you before—couple times, actually—I’m good at my own brand of magic. Not so great at the other things. Healing, in particular, is... difficult, for me. I can do it in an emergency but if I can avoid it, I do. Buncha the other investigators are Freelancers who are better at it than me so if a lotta us get injured, I tend to not touch anyone and let the Freelancers stabilize everyone else before the Healers show up.

“But they’re all... older than me. I’m the youngest on the team. And they think I’m a joke. They put me on this case because they don’t think there’s actually a shade running amok. They think it’s a bunch of unsubstantiated rumors for me to put to bed. You asked me why I have to do this case without Department backup. What I’ve got to prove. Well, I have to prove to the rest of the team that I’m not just some young, upstart Stealth who’s only good for recon and benchwarmer, back-burner bullsh—” I shook my head, cutting myself off. I was on a job. I needed to keep my language at least somewhat respectable. “I have to prove that I’m capable of real cases.”

Milo considered me for a moment. “Believe it or not, I understand the sentiment,” he said. I nodded. “We’re adults. We deserve to be treated as such.”

“Yeah.”

Something clattered in the alleyway beyond. I put a finger to my lips, signaling Milo to be quiet. He nodded.

“Be right back,” I whispered. “I’m gonna check it out.”

He moved as though to grab my wrist, but his hand passed clean through my arm as I phased. Getting up, I turned invisible. Milo swore quietly. I ignored him and dodged out of the restaurant’s back room we’d been sitting in, waiting. The restaurant was notorious in the magical community for being a haven for empowered people in an unempowered section of Dahlia. And the owner had reported multiple customers feeling unwell despite all the food poisoning tests being negative.

Seemed as good a place to wait for a shade as any.

I slipped through the door—literally through the closed metal door—and out into the alley.

It was empty. Not even a stray, feral cat pawing through litter.

I didn’t trust that. Shades spent most of their time on our plane invisible, unless they stole enough life force to become both visible and tangible.

I’d never been great at Energetic or Elemental magic, but I knew enough to put forth a decent offense. Phasecloaking had always been my best defense. I let a bit of Electro Energetic magic idle in my hand, not releasing it, just holding it at the ready.

“I know you’re here,” I said softly to the empty alley. “Why don’t you come out, and we’ll talk like adults?”

“Can’t be seen—can’t be felt—two can play at that game!” a hissing, spitting voice whispered. It sounded like a blade scraping over stone. I ignored the chill that ran down my spine. This was what I’d spent the last seven years of my life preparing for. Working for the Department, going to D.A.M.N.—all to be an investigator on cases like this. Cases that actually helped people.

A dark shadow dodged out from behind a pile of trash cans, heading for the mouth of the alley. It passed through me, phased as I was, leaving my blood cold, and kept running.

I swore and ran after it with a brief, “Milo! It’s moving! Come on!”

My feet pounded the sidewalk. It had been a while since I got a good run during a job, and I figured I should have maybe worn something a little easier to move in.

Milo was taller than me, and with a wolf form he’d probably be faster at running than me. But I doubted he’d shift in the middle of unempowered Dahlia. Too many unempowered memories to modify and find. Shifters knew better than that.

Even with my head start, he’d probably catch up to me fairly quickly.

The shade dodged from object to object down the sidewalk, barely visible as anything other than a three-dimensional shadow. After a half-mile, my lungs were starting to burn—and I mentally added another fifteen minutes to my cardio workout routine—and my shins began to ache from the pressure of the pounding.

The shade hurdled left around a corner and I followed. My magic trail would probably be enough for Milo to track me, especially if he half-shifted.

Beyond the corner was one of the public parks. Completely abandoned at this time of night, this time of year.

Perfect. I could use magic without any unempowered people witnessing or getting caught in the crossfire.

But the trees made the shade difficult to see.

I swore under my breath and dropped my phasecloak. I needed to save my magic for what I assumed would be a fight. A pins-and-needles sensation spread over my limbs as they regained tangibility. I was used to the feeling, after however many years I’d been doing it since my powers manifested. I shook out my arms and legs and dropped into a prowl. I didn’t bother to clamp my aura down so no one could sense it. Shades could sense life, not just magic.

“Come out, come out, wherever you are,” I sang. Lightning was humming in my veins, waiting to be released.

A cold, clammy hand grabbed at my shoulder. Nothing like the soft, gentle warmth of Milo’s as it has passed through my arm. I whirled and released the lightning. The shade was blasted back, ripping a small hole in my shirt.

“Rude,” I muttered, rushing in the direction the shade had been sent by my hit. I’d repair my shirt later. No use wasting magic on it now when I’d need every bit I had.

The shade sprung, snarling, from the darkness. I swore and tried to dodge, but its claw nicked my arm. I slammed into a tree, phasing partially on instinct to let my shoulder pass through it, though not enough to avoid a bruise. I righted myself, shoulder going tangible with more tingling, and whirled, trying to follow where the shade had gone.

It had hidden in the shadows again. I hissed at the sting where its claws had scratched me and pulled off my vest, wadding it up and throwing it down. “Fine. If we’re gonna play, let’s play,” I muttered.

I let out a pulse of magic. Detection—and summoning. Milo certainly would have felt it. And so would my colleagues at the Department. They all would know where I was—and that I was calling for backup. The detection was to, hopefully, let me sense where the shade was. A blanket spell that should have alerted me to the location of any empowered human, daemon, demon, or otherwise magical creature nearby.

It pinged. Directly behind me. A dull, necrotic energy. Definitely not the feisty fire I got from Milo’s shifter aura.

I spun around, readying a fireball.

Too late.

The shade grabbed my neck, lifting me several inches off the ground. I gagged, choking for air. The fireball fizzled out. My mind went blank, apart from my survival instinct screaming, Out, out, out! Break out! 

My hands scrabbled at the shade’s arm, trying to free my throat. But the movements got weaker and the grip around my throat got tighter.

Hell of a way to go, I thought vaguely as thoughts drained out of my head like someone unplugged a bathtub. Worse ways than trying to bring down a shade, I guess.

A snarl resounded in my left ear—the one closest to where I’d pursued the shade into the park—and the pressure around my throat disappeared.

I landed hard on the ground, knees hitting the dirt, coughing to try and get air back into my lungs. I rubbed the bruising on my neck, looking up through gasps to see a massive russet-and-brown wolf sinking fangs into the shade’s neck, biting down hard. Still wearing clothes.

“Milo, move!” I said, mustering up enough concentration to reignite my fireball. The huge wolf threw the shade to the ground with a whip of his neck and bounded out of the way. I hurled the fireball.

It struck the shade in the chest, making the spirit wail and shriek. It writhed on the ground before shoving itself to its feet as the flames smothered.

The shade snarled at me. I dropped back into my fighting stance, stomping a foot and trying to draw on what little Earth Elemental magic I’d learned to try and swallow the shade into a fissure.

It didn’t work. The shade lunged toward me, claws out. 

My body tingled as it began to phase to let the shade pass through me.

A deep barking snarl made me jump as Milo tackled the shade midair, keeping its claws from getting me.

It lashed out against the massive wolf. I saw blood stain the already reddish fur of Milo’s chest. He yipped in pain but didn’t falter as his jaws tightened and his fangs sunk deeper into the shade’s side.

I ran to try to help him, stumbling as the shade kicked me, hitting me in the shin. My knee hit the dirt. I winced. The shade hit me again. I lurched back and slammed into the ground. Forgetting decorum, I swore and shoved myself to my feet.

“Milo, back up,” I warned, priming more Electro Energetic magic.

He saw the electricity arcing between my fingers, let go, and bounded a few paces away as I released another bolt of lightning. The shade wailed, but wasn’t thrown as far back, this time. Milo went after it, his own claws taking a slash.

The shade shrieked. We’re gonna draw unempowered attention if this goes on much longer, I thought. I considered sending the words telepathically to Milo, but I’d never scored terribly well in my telepathy courses and it had always been tedious to get right. Not as bad as healing magic, but still.

“Let’s finish this,” I muttered. Milo’s ear twitched in my direction. He’d heard me.

He leapt at the shade again, impacting it only a fraction of a second after my second fireball disappeared into the shade’s flesh. I saw his claws and teeth sink in. He held on tightly as the shade slashed at him, taking deep gouges out of Milo’s back leg, then his foreleg. His chest. His face.

“Let go!” I called, summoning a wave of magic. He jumped off.

A bigger arc of lightning than I’d ever been able to make before shot from both hands, combining into one, and smashing into the shade. Milo limped away from the flickering light. He was bleeding pretty heavily and the clothes he was still wearing were stained and torn. My heart ached at the sight. He was still standing tall, for a wolf—no small feat, after this beating—but I could see he was in pain.

The sounds of rifts tearing open made me start and cut off the lightning. Demons who worked for the Department. Calling my name.

I looked over at Milo. He was already gone. Running off into the night.

The demons—inchoates, probably—rushed over to me, their own magic thrumming around them. Auras burning so hot they probably didn’t notice me using a little-known Stealth skill my dad had taught me to subdue the signature of Milo’s shifter aura being present at all. They surrounded the shade, and I figured the Department human investigators weren’t far behind them.

I let them finish off the shade, trying to save a little bit of magic just so I wouldn’t feel drained and burned out by using up every last bit of my power before it could recharge.

My phone buzzed. I slipped it out of my pocket.

You know where to find me—hell, you’ve already done it twice

The number was a Dahlia area code, but the previous text thread I’d had with it had been deleted. By me. To keep my coworkers from seeing that I had help with this case.

I sent Milo a winking emoji with the tongue sticking out playfully and a brief, Be there as soon as I can.

I deleted the thread.

Then the humans from the Department got there.

After I told them the story—omitting Milo’s presence—I told them I was exhausted and I’d see them later before walking back to the restaurant to get my car.

I pulled out my phone and sent a text to a number I’d memorized. On my way.

[theshelbyclan]

Bells and Smoke

Summary: The youngest Shelby has to be send away to a convent, but you have no intention of conforming to their rules, even if you’ll die in the process

(Gif by @harmon-jane-black​) A/N: Requested by anon: Could I request a Shelby sister where she is sent off to a boarding school and is getting badly bullied by teachers and pupils for being what they think is Birmingham poor scum. Maybe she comes home or gets visited and is losing her Birmingham accent and is a little thin and tired. V Polly and tommy nun scene vibes. Only if you aren't busy ❣️ x This has gotten really long, but this request gave me SO many ideas! Warning for abuse and neglect though. And I hope you like it!

Words: 6020 *** You couldn’t remember how it had all happened. One minute everything seemed to be fine and the next, life as you knew it had ended. Maybe it was Tommy’s idea, to give you the opportunities the others never had. But he never cared much about his siblings’ education. Maybe it was Arthur’s idea, thinking you’d finally become too wild. But he was too busy fighting his own demons. Maybe it was Aunt Pol’s idea, making a woman of style and class out of you. But she’d never abandon you like this. 

All you knew was that one morning you had been in bed. As usual, you’d woken up with the workers as the factory whistles sounded, but there was no need for you to get up at five. So you’d turned around and tried to sleep on. But then Finn had come in and he roughly shook you awake. “Aunt Pol says you have to get up,” he had said, his voice filled with urgency. But you hadn’t been awake fully yet, “What… Why? It’s so early!” “You have to pack.” “For what? Where are we going?” Your brother had refused to meet your eye, “Not me. Just you.” And before you knew it, Aunt Polly had taken you and your small bag into the car and you were speeding out of Birmingham. At least Finn had come along, though Polly had forbidden him to go, but he had been adamant. “Where are we going?” you had whispered to him in the back. He had hardly replied to any of your question, but gave evasive answers like, “Away. Pol says it won’t be forever.” You remembered the all-encompassing feeling of loneliness that had washed over you in that moment. Was it something you had done? Were you being punished? Was the family giving you up? You were only fifteen, you’d never been away from Small Heath without any of your siblings by your side, and the separation had been too abrupt, too cruel. Suddenly, Aunt Polly had swerved to the right and stopped abruptly in front of the train station. “Get you bag,” she’d ordered you. Anger had flared inside of you, “No! You tell me where I’m going first!” “Y/N Shelby, I am your aunt and you will do as I say. Remember who you’re talking to and don’t think for one second that you will win this fight. Grab your bag and get out of the car.” Petrified at your aunt’s tone of voice, you’d gotten out of the car. And like a zombie, you’d walked over to the train. On the side it said Oxford. “Where do I get off?” You’d asked no one in particular. “Oxford,” your brother had never left your side, “Just sit tight until the end.” “You know what’s going on.” “I can’t change it, Y/N,” his eyes had been pleading for your forgiveness in that one moment, “I tried, I swear to God I did, but I can’t change it…” Not really understanding, you had only been able to nod, “Will you explain it to me?” “I’ll write.” Suddenly, tears had begun to fall from your eyes. The great unknown hadn’t even scared you that much, but the sudden realisation that everything had been altered had. “Here,” Finn had nudged you, as you’d hoisted your bag on board, “I nicked this for you,” and he’d handed you a hipflask, “might get you as far as Oxford. After that, you’re on your own.” His words had hit you hard, so there’d been nothing left to do but take a swig from the whiskey he offered. “What did I do wrong?” you’d asked him, uncertain. “Nothing. Don’t let the bastards tell you otherwise. You did nothing.” His voice had been so strong then. “Finn?” “Yeah?” “You can’t fucking write.” He’d burst out laughing and you couldn’t help yourself but join him. Then the train had started to depart and you’d taken one last look at the car with Aunt Pol’s silhouette inside. You’d turned to Finn and it’d been like you would never see him again. “Finn?” “Yeah?” “I bloody love you, you know?” He’d smirked, “I fucking love you too.” Eyes still locked, the train had started to move and just before it was too late, he’d added, “I’ll make sure you’re coming back home.” You’d clung to those words *** At five in the morning, the whistles sounded. Waking up this early was now your habit, as it was the habit of all the girls here. Like robots, you all climbed out of your sober beds, to put on your drab grey dresses and to stand neatly next to year beds. The dormitory looked like a prison cell and the girls’ faces were ashen. Shivering in the cold, you waited for inspection. “Adams!” “Yes, sister.” “Lee!” “Yes, sister.” “Williams!” “Yes, sister.” The first voice rang through the room like the bells of hell and the girls answered in meek tones. This was your morning ritual and there was no comfort to be found in it. Silently, you waited, while a part of you still dreamed of the horses you once loved and rode. Remember the freedom you felt, you told yourself. Remember the wind in your hair? The people who cared? The place called home? Remember Finn running alongside you? “Shelby!” You suddenly looked up, “Yes, sister,” and faced the nun who’d stopped by your bed. “What’s this?” she asked her rhetorical question. “My bed,” you weren’t supposed to answer, but it had escaped you before you could stop yourself. The middle-aged woman crouched down and tore up the neat bedding you’d just finished tucking in perfectly. Locking eyes with you, she gloated, “Look, it isn’t made properly.” “It was,” you replied through gritted teeth, “you just went and fucked it up again.” Without a warning, she struck you across the face hard. Then she flipped over the bed in one smooth motion and said, without any emotion, “Do it again.” Seething with rage, you counted to ten in your head. In your mind, you went back to Small Heath. You could feel the warmth of the fire in your kitchen, hear the men counting the money and could smell Aunt Polly’s cooking. This and only this was how you managed not to explode. “Ankins!” she continued her list. “Yes, sister.” “Elliot!” She was new here and you looked at her without turning your head, a skill you’d mastered in recent weeks. Some of the girls said she’d gotten pregnant, but she’d lost the baby before coming here. No one really knew what had happened to her. You only thought she looked too young, too fragile, like a little bird that could be squashed with a single movement of the hand. “Yes…” she mumbled, practically inaudibly. “Speak up, girl!” She hardly increased her volume, but repeated, “Yes, sister.” Just as you’d promised yourself you’d try to look out for her, evil incarnate turned around to face you again and snapped, “Shelby. You’ll report to my office after you’ve finished making your bed, properlythis time.” Great, you thought. After she’d left, you looked at your hands in resignation. Faint white lines betrayed the cane that had been on them. They’d only just healed. *** A few months earlier, Tommy was meeting a man dressed in black in an alleyway. As the rain was pouring down on Small Heath, they spoke in urgent whispers. “What did she do this time?” the concerned brother said with a slight hint of annoyance in his voice. “Theft, mainly,” the other replied, “And she was seen at the races, leaving the scene of the murder.” Tommy knew his sister hadn’t been responsible for the death that day, but none of it mattered now, “How much do they know?” “Enough.” Tommy took another drag of his cigarette and paused for a second, “Well, what do they want?” “Nothing. Leverage.” “Fuck…” “Thomas,” the informant urged, “Get her out. Out of Small Heath, and do it fast.” “Where the fuck is she supposed to go?” He shrugged, “Don’t you have family some place else?” “Can’t protect our Y/N when she’s away from here,” Tommy said coldly, not betraying the emotions he felt. “Then send her somewhere she will be protected.” Tommy sighed deeply, “I’ll ask Pol, eh? She’ll know what to do.” The man looked at Thomas Shelby: gangster, businessman, brother. His face was impossible to read and his feelings remained hidden. So he said, “Do it tonight, Thomas, if you can. He said she’d hang for it. Get her out.” ***

The first time you had tried to escape you didn’t think about it. You hadn’t even planned it and had just decided to run. With two nuns hot on your heels, you’d raced through the corridors. Pretty soon, you ran into your first locked door. You knew all was lost there and then. “Shelby…” the mother superior had mused as you stood in her office, “I knew it would be you.” “And how the fuck would you know that?” you’d replied quick as a flash. “You watch your tone, filthy rat,” she’d shouted, but added calmly, “We know of your kind, child.” Through gritted teeth, you’d questioned, “And what kind would that be?” “Gypsy scum,” she’d spat, before beating you senseless for the first time. The second time you tried to escape, you’d thought it through more. In the middle of the night, you’d crept out of bed and tiptoed across the dormitory. “Get back in bed!” one of the girls had whispered, “Remember last time?” “Yeah, I fucking remember, that’s why I need to leave!” you’d whispered back, voice filled with urgency.

Two hairpins. The day you’d found those were the day you’d planned your second escape attempt. Because if growing up in Small Heath had taught you one thing, it was how to steal and lie and cheat. And, coincidentally, how to pry open any lock. The first locked door was conquered quickly, but the second one had proven to be more troublesome. The large black doors that were said to protect you from the outside world did their job of keeping you all caged inside. The hairpins were too small to reach all the tumblers. Cursing under your breath, you’d soon realised that you disappearance had been noticed. In a panic, you’d grabbed a chandelier from the chapel and broken a window. Ignoring the shards you’d climbed through, while they tore at your skin and blood stained your nightgown. Once outside, the fresh air had an intoxicating effect on you. But you’d never gotten far. Again, you were brought to the mother superior, who stood waiting eagerly this time, cane in hand. “Go on,” you’d urged, full of defiance, “Beat me and get it over with.” “No…” she’d said suddenly, “you will tell me what your plan was first.” “To fucking get out.” “Why would you want to leave this place?” she’d questioned innocently, “Why would you want to leave the house of the Lord, where we only want to offer you safety and education? Where you can atone for your sins and regain your place in heaven?” “I’m not an animal,” you’d replied, “I need to be free.” And with that, the nun had smirked at you, “Free. You want to be free. Well, maybe this will finally break your spirit.” They’d locked you up in the cellars for three weeks. Darkness had enveloped you, only broken when she came in to beat you or feed you. You could never be sure. After every beating, she’d say, “Now, I’ll pray to God for you and ask him for his forgiveness.” “I’ll do it myself,” came your steady answer each time, “I’ll deal with him on my own.” And in the dark you’d cling onto the black Madonna around your neck, the only mother you still had left in this Godforsaken place. Now, some girls would be broken by now, but not you. If anything, you’d been more determined than ever to get out. But you had to be smart about it. Maybe Aunt Pol wouldn’t take you back and maybe you’d shame Tommy, but Finn would look out for you. Running hadn’t worked so far, so a new plan had started to form in your mind: a new plan that involved the boy that delivered the bread. Because as the days droned on after you were being released, you started paying attention to the delivery boy for the first time. You knew he’d always had a thing for you, but you weren’t interested. As a way out, you were now extremely interested. “Hi,” you greeted when it was your turn to help him unload. He was so startled by your talking all of a sudden, all he could manage was, “Bread…” “Yeah,” you smiled your prettiest smile, “Bread. That’s what you’re here for, right?” “I am.” “Good,” and you continued to unload the crates, sending him a few glances over your shoulder. He was still rooted to the spot, so you decided a bit more effort was required in this case, “You only come here for the bread?” you asked with humour in your voice. “Well, that’s my job…” he almost stuttered, but when you made eye contact, he finally relaxed a little, “What else would I come here for?” “Me?” you asked innocently. You could tell his confidence was growing, “Well, maybe a little. I mean, you are the prettiest girl in the school.” That was easy, you thought. So you flirted on and chatted him up and soon he was all yours, “Your name’s Billy, right?” “Yeah.” “Well, Billy. I need a favour…” This plan was a lot more complicated but it had a higher chance of success. And it would’ve worked too, if it hadn’t been for the younger nun who’d spotted you talking to Billy. Before the third attempt had even taken place, you found yourself back at the office. This time, the mother superior didn’t even speak. As soon as you were marched in, she’d grabbed you by your hair and attacked you with a pair of scissors. “Get off me, you crazy bitch!” you screeched, as strands of your hair fell down left and right of you. But the old nun remained completely calm in her tone, while becoming increasingly vicious in her attack, “Do you know what we do here?” You clenched your jaw for the pain, because this was no longer just about cutting your hair, but also hurting you as much as possible in the process. You had about a thousand replies to her question, but quickly weighed your options and decided not to piss off an angry old nun with a deadly weapon in her hands. So she continued, “We offer you the gift of education. Through hard labour, lots of prayer and penance the girls can find their way back to Jesus Christ. By humbling yourself, denying yourself rest, food and drink even, and working beyond human endurance one may come closer to our Lord. Save yourself from eternal damnation.” “No, thanks,” you replied inaudibly. When your hair had been cut, she crowed, “Your arrogance has been defeated and your vanity has been lifted. You will do well here now.” The fuck you would.

*** “Aunt Pol?” “What?” the woman snapped. He faltered, “Is this a bad time?” “It’s never a good time. Speak up, Finn.” “Fine,” and he took in a deep breath, mentally preparing himself, “When’s Y/N coming home?” Aunt Polly turned around abruptly and said, “For fuck’s sake, Finn.” “It’s been months!” “And we haven’t heard from her,” with a large gesture, Aunt Polly threw some more wood onto the fire, “If something was wrong, she would’ve written.” “Well, no…” her nephew started protesting. “Yes,” his aunt interrupted him, “She’s fine. It’s Y/N. She can take care of herself.” “She can’t now, can she!” Finn suddenly erupted, “Yousend her away and for fucking what?! She didn’t do anythingwrong!” Polly held up a menacing hand, “You mind your fucking tone or I’ll slap you back to where you came from.” “I’m sixteen, Aunt Pol, same age as Y/N. Remember, we’re twins?” He’d only gotten more heated, “Something’s wrong. I can feel it, alright? And she wouldn’t write to you anyways, because you’re the one that send her away! Why would she write to someone who doesn’t even fuckingwant her?” Polly paused for a moment and seemed to calm down, “What do you mean you feel it?” “I just know, Aunt Pol, like when we were little and she fell in the Cut and I couldn’t breathe? It’s like that, only… longer.” She put down her black cigarette, “You’ve been dreaming, haven’t you?” “I dream about her, but I can never see her,” he nodded, “And sometimes…”

“What?” “It’s stupid…” “Finn, you tell me, right now!” everything about her was focused on the urgency of the situation now. But he didn’t understand, “Seagulls, alright? I keep dreaming about seagulls.” “Fuck,” his aunt whispered to herself, “I need to talk to Tommy.”

“Aunt Pol, you’re missing the fucking point!” he was seething again, “I was trying to talk to you about Y/N! I just want to know why you send her away and whenshe’s coming back!” “I didn’t send her away. Tommy said we didn’t have a choice,” she grabbed her coat and continued talking to herself, “I thought she’d be safe there…” “Isn’t she?” Finn asked, panicking as a result of his aunt’s strange behaviour. “Seagulls, Finn, fucking seagulls!” *** You couldn’t understand why they hated you so much. At first it had just been the nuns, and you had a vague notion of them calling you ‘gypsy scum’ had something to do with it. From the start, they’d commented on your accent, reminded you of where you came from and told you that you were nothing compared to the others girls here. And in a way this made sense: on the one hand this school had the outward appearance of being an institution of learning for young ladies, but the reality was very different. Parents who no longer wanted to deal with them or who had ‘shamed’ their families often dumped girls here. Others were orphans. Either way, the nuns collected the large amount of money paid for each girl and treated all of you badly. And you weren’t a complete idiot and you knew you were partially to blame for the situation as it was now. You knew you hadn’t made a great entrance when you walked into the school, but even from the start they had disliked you. But your resistance had made it worse, much worse. All the girls were treated harshly, had to work and were kept in line, but you were being treated like a slave held captive. There was zero intention on your part to come into the school to make friends. From the moment you’d stepped off that train, you’d decided you were done with people. All you wanted was your brother, and the rest of the family if they still wanted you. But after a few weeks, you had started craving some connections and you had tried to make friends with the other girls. But it soon became clear that you had very little in common with them. This however, wasn’t the main problem: they feared you. Your defiance made them anxious to be around you and receive similar punishments to yours. They kept away. “Elliot!” you whispered to the new girl, who was crying in the dark. You rolled onto your other side in bed to face her and tried to ask her gently, “What’s your name, your first name I mean?” After a few residual sobs, she said softly, “Anna.” “I had a cousin called Anna,” you smiled at her, “Why are you crying? Who do you miss?” “It’s not who I miss, it’s about who doesn’t miss me…” “How do you know…” you started, but you were interrupted. “Don’t talk to her!” another girl called out and Anna turned around to look at her. The girl continued, “Yeah, I’m talking to you. Don’t talk to Y/N. She’ll get you in trouble. Just… stay away from her.” Anna looked at you for a few seconds, eyes filled with fear and then she turned onto her other side. You couldn’t even blame her really. She was new. But slowly, it only got worse. All the girls crossed the halls when you passed and not only did they begin to shun you, but they started taking your things, stealing your food at times and made you an outcast in every sense of the word. And you suddenly understood: if they made you stand out even more, all the attention would be drawn to you. The nuns would leave them alone. You were the easy scapegoat, because you’d been the most likely choice from the start. And as the months wore on, you started to wither away. Jealous or full of hatred, you couldn’t tell, but the other girls tried to hurt you as much as the nuns did. You were cold at night because they’d taken your blankets. You didn’t eat because you were being punished. You didn’t sleep because you were locked up downstairs and the beatings kept you awake. And so you fell ill, heavily. After you recovered, you stopped eating, sleeping, fighting. Not because you no longer could, but because the loneliness had finally caught up with you: you no longer wanted to. *** Tommy watched his aunt as she strode over towards him. He’d known the woman for years and usually he would be annoyed by her interrupting his meeting, but by the way she walked, he knew she wouldn’t wait for anyone right now. “Get out,” she told the man Tommy had been talking too. He left at once. “It’s Y/N,” she said as soon as he’d gone, “We need to get her out.” “She’s at the school, the one you recommended, Pol. You told me she’d get a good education there.” “We were wrong, Thomas, wrong to send her away.” “What’s all this, eh?” he frowned, “We had no choice and she alright where she is. We took care of it.” With a wave of her hand, Polly referred to Finn, “He feels she’s in danger.” And Tommy turned to his youngest brother, raising his eyebrows sarcastically, “Is that right?” “I have a bad feeling, Tom…” Finn said uncertainly. “He’s been dreaming of seagulls,” Polly emphasized, locking eyes with her nephew. “Fucking seagulls…” he rubbed his head, “More gypsy witchcraft?” Swiftly, she slapped Tommy across the face, “You’ve forgotten where you’re from.” Quickly, Tommy’s face went through a range of emotions. First there was anger and the urge to strike back. Then there was the reaction of wanting to hide, like he was being chastised just like when he was little. The hurt over her comment came next, swiftly followed by a sense of shame, because she was right. His face settled on worry over his youngest sister. “What do we do?” “What will happen if we get her back to Small Heath?”

Tommy lit a cigarette and thought out loud, “Connor wants her dead. He has high influence in the police and he’s using her as leverage, after having seen her at the races.” “Y/N didn’t kill that soldier!” Finn called out, full of indignation. “Yes, we know…” Tommy said in a low voice, “But that doesn’t fucking matter because no one’s going to believe our word for it against his.” “Who else knows?” Polly continued. “My guess is no one does yet…” “JOHN!” Polly howled suddenly and for a second Tommy could only blink. Then he continued, “If anyone else knew, we’d heard by now. I’m guessing he intends to save the information for when he can use it.” Aunt Polly bend down and started unlacing one of her boots. That’s when John walked in and he immediately paused when he felt the tension hang in the air. “Take this,” she ordered him and handed him the small revolver that she kept hidden in her boots, “Shoot Connor.” “Fucking what?” he nearly spit out his toothpick. John looked at Tommy for an explanation, but it didn’t come. Instead Tommy asked Polly, “Then what?” “We go to Oxford.” Tommy nodded slowly, “John, go on. Shoot the man. Get Arthur out of bed when you’ve done it.” Shrugging like it was just another small task he had to fulfil without much enthusiasm, John walked off with the gun in hand. But Finn said carefully, “What if I was wrong?” “Have you ever been wrong about your sister?” Aunt Polly asked, “Apart from that time you thought she was in love with that Jewish boy…” “No.” “Trust your gut, Finn,” Tommy confirmed, “Pol’s right.” Aunt Polly smiled at him with an almost motherly warmth, “Let’s bring Y/N home.” *** Eventually you were moved to the hospital wing of the school. The neglect and lack of food had caused your body to shut down and you could no longer force yourself to get up each morning. At first, you were branded lazy and got punished for it. Finally, even the nuns acknowledged this was serious and the last thing they needed was another girl dying at their school. You’d lost all feeling for days, drifting in and out of sleep. One nun took care of you and she was different from the others. During your hazy periods, she tried to persuade you to eat, but with the last strength you did have, you refused. If you were to die, it’d be your own choice. “Y/N…” someone whispered to you gently. You tried to open your eyes, but it felt like lifting bricks with muscles you did not have. “Y/N,” the voice said again, and you realised this wasn’t the nun. Slowly you opened your eyes and saw Anna, sitting by the side of your bed. “What do you want?” you croaked. She looked down and said, “I came to see you.” “Why?” “Because I’ve made a mistake.”

You didn’t care for her feelings. You knew she despised you just like the others did and you didn’t need another girl gloating by your bed. So you decided to just wait and not answer her. “The girls told me you were scum,” she continued, “that you didn’t belong here. They said that’s why you always got into trouble, because you’re just Birmingham working-class trash.” Great, you thought, and how is this supposed to help? “When they told me to not talk to you, I listened. I thought it would help, that I would fit in more and the nuns wouldn’t beat me like I saw them do with others. But I was wrong.” “The nuns don’t need a reason,” you replied before you could stop yourself, “Reasons help, but they will find a way to vent their cruelty, no matter what.” “That night,” Anna said, “you talked to me and asked me who I missed. You were the only one that asked me why I was crying.” “I didn’t want you to feel too alone…” Anna nodded, “I know. That’s why I’m here.” But you didn’t understand, “Why are you here?” “Y/N. You’re not alone. Tell me, who do you miss?” Much to your own annoyance, tears welled up in your eyes. For last couple of months you had tried so hard not to think of Finn, Arthur, John and Ada. And you tried to ban Polly and Tommy especially from your mind, always wondering why they didn’t want you. Your heart can be cruel like that: those who don’t want you, you miss the most. Anna took your hand in hers and for the first time you felt another human being without pain. And so you started telling her of your brothers, of your aunt, of the horses and factories and of the streets of Small Heath. Anna didn’t say a word, but she listened intensely. After you’d cried all your tears and there were no more stories left to tell, all she said was, “Please. Eat.” When she offered you soup, you ate. *** It was a sight to behold: Polly Gray walking through the city of academia with four brothers practically having to run after her to keep up. When she arrived at the front doors of the convent, she didn’t ask to come in, but simply walked on into the halls. “Aunt Pol,” John ventured, “What do we do?”

“Keep up,” she said simply. Arthur looked around nervously. He didn’t like nuns and convents. But Tommy and Finn scanned every room and corner for you. Left and right, girls looked up in surprise as the strange family invaded their home. “Who’s that?” they whispered. But the nuns urged them away and said, “No one. Don’t look at them. They don’t belong here.” Tommy frown deepened as he noticed the faces of the girls. These weren’t what he expected. Of course, he wasn’t familiar with schools like this one, but he knew education played a part. These girls all looked tired, downtrodden and most of them were cleaning or scrubbing the floors. He shared a look with Aunt Polly and she nodded in understanding. “How are we going to find her?” Finn asked. “Oi!” Arthur called out to one of the girls, who jumped up at his voice, “Y/N, you know her?” “No, sir…” she shook. “Listen to my voice,” John added, “What about a girl who sounds like me?” And then one other girl stepped forward and she tilted her chin up high as a sign of arrogance, “She’s not here.” “And whyis she not here?” Polly asked pointedly. The girl got nervous, but tried to keep composure, “Because she’s filth and this is a decent school.” Again, Tommy looked around at the skinny girls, all dressed in the same drab depressing dressed, “Decent, eh?” His low menacing voice knocked all the attitude out of her, so she changed her mind, “She was taken to the hospital ward a few weeks ago.” “Where,” Arthur demanded. “North wing,” she gulped.

Aunt Polly marched through the halls like a woman on a mission. Her face bore a gritty look of determination and none of the bells, smoke and threats of a holy place could make her quiver. In fact, God shook as she walked passed.

Still, one nun tried to stop her, but before she could open her mouth in protest, Aunt Polly had pushed her aside and casually commented, “Better get out of the way, sister, you certainly won’t be the first woman of God I’ve knocked down.” When they entered the hospital wing, they walked into another depressing space filled with beds in lines. Most of them were empty, but one nun stood up and walked over to Polly. Her first instinct was to actually knock down this one, but when she saw her soft face, she paused. “Y/N Shelby,” she demanded, “We’ve come to take her home.”

“You’re her aunt?” the nun asked, “She’s asked for you.” “Is she alright?” Finn stepped forward, “What was wrong with her?” “We thought she might not make it. She stopped eating, you see,” the nun explained. John frowned and protested, “That’s not Y/N. She would never refuse food, unless…” Tommy didn’t need to hear the ‘unless’; worry was already eating him alive inside. So he walked around in search for his sister. He found her in a bed, with another girl sitting next to her. His sister was asleep. “Who are you?” Polly demanded harshly. But the brothers couldn’t speak when they saw their sisters. You were too skinny, eyes sunken deep and bruises were still visible on your face. The long black hair was gone. In many ways, it wasn’t their sister anymore, just a shell. The nun answered when the other girl was too afraid to, “This is Y/N’s friend. She came to visit her every day, even though she wasn’t allowed to.” Polly lifted one eyebrow, “Then why did you allow it?” “Anna got Y/N to eat again. She’s the reason she’s alive.”

Anna. Polly walked over to her and carefully took her hand, “You watched over my niece.” “I didn’t want her to feel alone. She felt abandoned, she said…” Anna said in a soft voice. Polly shook her head in an effort to banish the emotions, “Thank you, Anna. You’re a good friend and a guardian angel.” “What did they do to her?” John asked her through gritted teeth. “She was isolated, singled out for being… different.” Anna explained without meeting their eyes, “She tried to fight them from the start, but never won. She kept trying to run away. They beat her, kept her locked up in the cellar, but when the other girls turned on her and she thought she would never leave this place, she just… gave up.” Slowly, Finn had walked over to the other side of the bed. Clumsy but lovingly, he started stroking the hair out of your face. Seagulls, he thought. “Who’s in charge here?” Tommy suddenly spoke. “The mother superior has an office down the hall,” the nun said, “Anna can take you there.” “No,” Anna gasped, “I can’t…” Fear was written all over her face.

“What’s wrong with the office?” Tommy asked her with unusual kindness. “It’s where she…” And in an instant they all understood. So Tommy demanded, “Tell that woman to come here.” “She won’t like it, sir…” “You fuckingtell her to come here,” Tommy spat filled with venom, “Or I will burn this entire place down to the ground, and don’t think for a second I won’t fucking do it.” So the nun with the gentle face nodded and walked off. Somehow, Tommy’s explosion had triggered some old memories in you. Before you were properly awake, you dreamed of being back in your bed in Small Heath. The smell of the factories penetrated your nose and you could hear your family arguing. But when you opened your eyes, they were actually there. You looked at them one by one and stopped at Finn, “You said you’d explain.” “And I will,” he said, “when we get home.” “Am I allowed to go home?” you questioned in disbelieve. Aunt Polly shook her head, “You should’ve never been anywhere else.” “Can’t protect you if you’re not at home…” Tommy added with a slight hint of guilt in his voice. “It’s safe now,” John said, “I’ve dealt with it.” And just the way he said it made you smile a little. “Arthur, John,” Tommy started ordering them in his usual business-like manner, “Take Y/N out of here.” And Arthur lifted you out of the bed into his arms like it was nothing. “Finn, you go with them. Make sure you get her things.” At that, John pulled a gun and Finn nodded solemnly. “What about Anna?” you asked, looking at your friend, “I won’t leave her here.” “Pol and I are going to have a word with the mother superior,” Tommy stated matter-of-factly. You sighed in relief, but Anna still had a look of confusion on her face, “What will that do? She won’t listen to anyone.” “She’ll listen to us, love,” Polly said to her with a reassuring smile that left very little room for arguments, “We’ll make sure of it.” You smiled at Anna too, “This convent will be closed by tomorrow. Trust me.” “We’ll see you at home, Y/N,” Tommy said, “And then we’ll talk.” Just before Arthur walked out of the door with you in your arms, Aunt Polly ran over to you and pressed a kiss on your forehead, “Safe journey, sweetheart.” Then there was just Tommy and Polly left, clearing their faces of all sentiment and hardening their features. Arms crossed, they waited and knew what had to be done, and nothing would stop them from doing it.

“Mr. Shelby, Mrs. Gray?” the hospital nun had reappeared, “The mother superior will see you now.”

***

Masterlist

[zafirosreverie]

Must be the eyes (Teacher!Agatha x Fem!Student!Reader) part 2

(Part 1)

a/n: this is long, like, really long. Uppsies

- - - - - - - - - - -

Salem ... you were going to Salem !!

Nick laughed at you when you jumped out of happiness, before wrapping your arms around him and spinning him around. You were quite excited.

"I see someone is excited" he laughed as you let him go

"Sorry" you laughed "I just can't believe it! We’re going to Salem, Nick!" you screamed with excitement

"Yes yes, I was in class too, history girl” he laughed again "But it doesn't seem a bit strange to you that just last friday you mentioned that you wanted to go, and today, monday, they tell us that they will take us on a field trip precisely to Salem? Not to mention that Ms Harkness doesn't seem like the kind of teacher who wants to take her students on trips. "

"So?" you asked. You knew exactly what he was implying, but you decided to play innocent "Maybe the universe thought it would be a good time to pay me what it owes me"

"Suuuuure. And Ms Harkness totally wasn't looking at you during the entire announcement" He said

"She wasn't" you agreed, making him roll his eyes.

Except that she totally was. Nick was right. From the moment the older woman had walked into the classroom, you could feel her eyes fixed on you. At first you felt like you were in trouble, but when she started talking about the trip she and professor Maximoff had planned, a part of you (a small and somewhat selfish part) couldn't help but think that maybe she was doing it for you.

It was silly and you knew it, why would a woman like Agatha Harkness go to the trouble of planning a whole field trip, getting a hotel, food and transportation for almost 30 students, just so that you specifically could fulfill one of your dreams? Not to mention, there was no way she knew about it.

But the feeling that you were something special to her, even if it was only in your imagination, was enough for you.

You sighed "Nick, if you're still upset about the project, I'm sorry ok? But don't get me in your business with her"

"Hey! I didn't sleep all weekend to finish it, okay?" he defended himself "I didn't even go to the movies with Dalton, Y/N. Do you know what that means? I missed a date with him!" he pouted, making you laugh

"First of all, you had almost the entire month to do the project, you shouldn't have put it off until the last minute. Second, it wasn't even a date! You haven't been able to confess your feelings to Dalton in two years"

"So? At least I'm making progress with him, you've been drooling over our teacher since the first day of college and all you've done is have these tense discussions with her."

"Shhhhh" you shut him up "shout it out to everyone, would you?"

"Hey, you started"

"It's different and you know it Nick" you sighed "You're only a year older than Dalton. There are at least 10 years between me and Ms Harkness, not to mention that she is our teacher!"

"Pfff, 10 years? Come on Y/N, we both know she's probably twice your age" Nick scoffed

"She's not that old" you blushed "And that's not the point anyway"

"Right" he nodded "the point is that your girlfriend is going to take us all to a haunted town just to make you happy" he smirked.

"My what- she’s not-" you stuttered.

Nick laughed and you flushed with both embarrassment and anger. You ran after him to try to hit him, not noticing the pair of blue eyes staring at you from a window.

________

Agatha sighed to herself as she watched you walk away with that little friend of yours. She had watched all the interaction and when she saw you blush she wished she could listen, but you were too far away.

However, what she did hear were your screams of excitement and she couldn't help but notice that her heart leapt a little at the thought that it was she who had made you so happy.

Again, she would never tell anyone, but the only reason she had agreed to accompany Wanda was because of the conversation she had overheard, when you told Nicholas that you didn't have money for two trips.

At first, it had been easy to lie to herself, saying that she was simply killing two birds with one stone: Wanda could have her field trip and you could visit Salem at no expense, that way you could save up to go elsewhere in summer.

However, when Wanda asked why she had specifically chosen your class, she hadn't known what to answer. She wanted to see you happy, she felt you deserved everything in the world, but she couldn't say that to the redhead, so she had given a bad excuse that your group was the least problematic. Wanda hadn't believed it, but at least she had the decency not to comment on anything.

She told herself that she had to be more careful. She couldn’t let anyone, student or teacher, find out that perhaps it was no longer simple affection what she felt for you.

When she walked into your classroom, however, she couldn't help staring at you from the get-go. She didn't want to miss your reaction to the news. From the sparkle in your eyes, the way the corner of your mouth lifted, how your nose wrinkled, the way your shoulders tensed, and how you clenched your hands to avoid showing your emotion.

She wanted to see all of that.

But that had made her look at you the whole time. She never once had she taken her eyes off you, almost forgetting that it was supposed to be a school trip, for all of her students, not a surprise gift specifically for you.

Even if that's what it really was. As she had told Wanda, she was more than capable of teaching Salem's history without having to take you there, but she did it for you. And a small part of her wanted to tell you, she wanted you to know what she had done, she wanted you to understand how much you meant to her, without having to use her words.

She wasn't sure if she'd made it, but your excitement was enough for her. She just wished she could be the one receiving that crushing hug, instead of Nicholas.

"Earth to Agatha" said a voice behind her, making her jump

"Maximoff" she sighed "No one told you it's rude to approach people like this" she crossed her arms and frowned.

"In my defense, I've been here for about 15 minutes, it's not my fault that you get lost in your thoughts so quickly" the redhead teased as she handed her a coffee "It must be age"

"I'm going to ignore the fact that you called me old, just because of the coffee" the brunette growled, taking it.

"Lucky me" the youngest smiled "So, ready for the trip?" she asked

"There's still a whole month to go, cutie" she said

"Don't even remind me, I was hoping they'd let us go sooner" sighed the redhead.

"Wanda, I know they are university students, but not all of them have the income, no matter how little the school charges them. We have to pay for transportation, meals and hotel, not to mention that many of them will want to buy souvenirs or do another activities" Agatha reminded her

"It's a field trip, Aggs, not a vacation."

"Try to convince 30 students of that" scoffed the older woman

"... fair enough" sighed Wanda "and we still need another chaperone"

"What do you mean?" Agatha frowned "Isn't that why I'm going?"

"Yes, but as we also take male students, by law we must bring a male teacher too"

"That’s bullshit"

"I know, but I'm not going to complain and risk losing my permit."

The brunette thought about it for a moment before sighing. Wanda was right. And she wouldn't risk having the trip canceled either, not after seeing how happy it made you.

___________

It was the longest month of your life! You were too excited, you could hardly think of anything other than the trip. You had worried a bit that it was too expensive, but were pleasantly surprised when you realized that it was less than half of what the trip would cost you alone.

Besides, Nick had told you that he could lend you money if necessary. It wasn't that you were broke, far from it, but being a college student, living alone in a rental department and with a part-time job, was difficult.

However, you had managed to save enough money to pay for the trip and still be able to even spend a little on souvenirs or other things, which would be necessary to thank your boss for giving you permission to be absent for two weeks and your friend Alisha for covering you.

"Hello" you smiled at the secretary

"Good afternoon" she replied, a little serious but at least she smiled back at you "can I help you miss?"

"Yeah, uhm, I'm here to pay for the trip to Salem, group 203" you said

"One moment please" she nodded and pulled out a couple of lists "Your name, queen?" she asked kindly

"Y/N  Y/L/N"

The woman scanned the names with her eyes, searching for the letter of your last name, but you felt your stomach drop a little when she frowned before looking at you.

"Are you sure, dear?" she asked

You blinked in surprise before nodding.

"How strange" she said "it appears that it is already paid"

"W-what?" now you frowned "It must be a mistake"

"No, Y/N  Y/L/N, paid. Are you sure you didn't forget? It usually happens" she assured you, smiling at you.

But you knew that was not the case. You hadn't paid before because you didn't have the money. Damn, you were sure you were the last to pay! You were supposed to leave in three days!

"No" you said softly "I'm sure I didn't pay for it"

The woman was about to say something when you heard a rather familiar pair of heels coming up behind you. You didn't even have to turn around to find out who she was.

Agatha smiled as she stood right next to you, her hand pressed to your lower back. She smiled at the secretary before speaking.

"Good afternoon, Lu" she said to the woman

"Good afternoon, Ms Harkness"

"Is something wrong? Or why the long face, Miss Y/L/N?" she asked, smiling at you

It took you a moment to answer, too stunned by the warm touch of her hand on your back and the smell of her perfume filling your air.

"Someone paid for my trip" you said simply

"Excuse me?" she asked confused

"Someone paid for my trip" you repeated "it wasn't me, miss"

"Well, I still don't see the problem" she smiled at you "maybe that little friend of yours paid for you, or someone is trying to win your heart" she winked

The way she said the last part sent a chill down your spine. It felt too intimate for some reason.

"Either way, I wouldn't worry about it" she said, pulling you out of your thoughts "take advantage of it, Miss Y/L/N, not all of us are lucky enough to be given a free trip, right Lu?"

"Absolutely Ms Harkness"

You weren't so convinced, but you weren't in a position to argue with a teacher and a secretary, they were two against one. That and the hand on your back was too much of a distraction to think properly.

You nodded and thanked them before turning on your heel to go find Nick, hoping it was really him who paid for you. You immediately missed the warmth of the hand on your back.

____________

Well shit.

You cursed yourself while running around your apartment. You were sure you had set the alarm, but it hadn't gone on. If it weren't for the fact that you had left the window open and the sun hit you in the face, you wouldn’t have woken up.

When you looked at the clock on your desk, you jumped up. You noticed that your phone had not charged at all and was, in fact, turned off. Double shit.

You tossed it along with the charger in your backpack, after getting out of a quick shower and bouncing around the room as you put on your floral dress and a pair of tennis shoes. You did not care about the mess you left, you would fix it when you returned.

You had 20 minutes to get to school or you were saying goodbye to Salem.

_____________

Agatha tried to appear neutral as Wanda took roll and Jimmy helped the students put their bags onto the bus as they arrived.

She supposed it could have been worse. Of all the male teachers in the school, Jimmy Woo, the chemistry teacher, was the most educated and one of the few that Agatha actually liked a little. At least the students listened to him.

Not that she was really paying attention to that, if she was honest.

Actually, the only thing on her mind was you. Nothing new, but this was different. You hadn't arrived yet and they were 15 minutes away from leaving. She was beginning to worry.

She didn't understand what was happening, you were the most excited about the trip, she had paid for you, and yet you weren't here? She had thought you would be the first to arrive. Have you regretted it? No, you would have told her or Wanda. Something happened to you? Surely Nicholas would have said something when he arrived.

So why was there no sign of your precious face? The brunette could convince Wanda to wait for you a little longer, but she wasn't even sure you were going to come. That made her sulk quickly.

She had agreed to take this trip, for you. If you didn't show up, she would have done everything in vain! She didn't even want to go to Salem to babysit! So you had better arrive in the next 10 minutes or you would be in serious trouble when they come back in two weeks.

"Smile Harkness" Wanda laughed, seeing her partner with her arms crossed and a frown "We're almost gone"

"Good, because we still have five hours of travel and I'm already starting to get tired of the voices of these children" she growled.

She really did hope her concern wasn't so noticeable.

____________

You sighed in relief when the taxi finally arrived at the school, seeing that the bus was still there. You did it!

You walked quickly, smiling at Professor Woo, who kindly put your suitcase on the underside of the truck.

"We were waiting for you, miss Y/L/N" he said kindly, helping you up the steps.

"Oh no, am I the last one?" you asked, blushing with shame.

"That's right" said Professor Maximoff, smiling at you as you went upstairs.

Well, at least no one had noticed. The rest of your classmates were all talking to each other, laughing and some flirting, not paying attention to the fact that you had just arrived. Excellent.

Except ... oh no.

You looked for Nick, to go sit with him. Sadly, it looks like Dalton was ahead of you and your best friend was too busy flirting to have saved you a spot.

"Take a seat please Y/N" Wanda told you

"Uhm ... where?" you asked, pointing to your companions.

The red-haired woman followed your gaze and realized that you were right. All the seats were taken. That made her frown. They were supposed to have all seats counted, so she, Jimmy, and Agatha had taken the liberty of using two seats each. But it seems they had miscounted.

"Well, I suppose you will have to sit with one of us" she told you.

You nodded, but didn't move, not knowing exactly which of the three to sit next to.

Fortunately for you, you didn't have to make the decision.

Agatha had kept a sigh of relief from escaping her lips when she saw you and Jimmy getting on the bus. She had been biting her nails nervously.

Your choice of clothes had not gone unnoticed and she, taking care that neither Wanda nor Jimmy caught her, let her eyes roam your body. The dress fit too well on you, hugging all the right parts, and ended just above the knees, allowing her to observe your beautiful legs.

She was so busy scanning you with her gaze that she almost missed Wanda's comment. "I suppose you will have to sit down with one of us." Her reaction was almost automatic.

She got up and motioned for you to sit in the window seat. "Take a seat, miss Y/L/N" she said, a little anxious, but with a frown so that the others would think that she was simply desperate to leave.

You blinked before nodding and scooting into the seat. You tried not to show any emotion when the older woman sat next to you and her thigh brushed yours.

You didn't know if you wanted to curse Nick for abandoning you in favor of flirting, or if you wanted to kiss him. You had five hours to think about it from here to Salem.

Wait. Five hours. Five hours trapped between Agatha Harkness and the window and without the possibility of distracting yourself with your cell phone. Oh shit.

___________

"It's not as bad as I thought" said Wanda "You were right Aggs, it's the least troublesome group" she laughed

The older woman rolled her eyes without answering. Her friend was right, most of the students were behaving quite well. There was no excessive yelling, no one was getting up from their seats or causing trouble, everyone seemed more interested in catching up on gossip.

But that didn't mean she liked being there. Her head was already spinning and there were still another three hours to go. The only good thing she had was that you were next to her.

Sure, she had to act nonchalant with you, just trying to get you talking a few times (which didn't work, but at least you had smiled at her and that was enough for her), but she couldn't help stealing glances from you every now and then.

She had given you the place by the window with the excuse that she needed to be in the hallway so she could throw death glares at others and make sure everything was in order, but the truth was, she just wanted you to be able to see everything. So that you don't miss even the entrance to the town.

It had worked for a while, because you looked quite entertained. Until that moment.

When the brunette looked at you sideways, she could see that your eyelids seemed to weigh and how you were starting to nod. Agatha had to admit that a sleepy Y/N was probably the cutest thing she had seen in a long time.

You struggled to stay awake, but after two hours of staring out the window (you were definitely not looking at your teacher through the reflection, thank you very much) your eyes felt tired. Maybe, you could sleep for a while, and hopefully when you woke up, you would be arriving in Salem and you wouldn't have to deal with the blush on your cheeks caused by the mere presence of your crush by your side.

It seemed like a good plan.

Sighing and careful not to kick the older woman, you settled into the seat better, closing your eyes and blocking out the noise around you. It didn't take you long to fall asleep.

Agatha knew the exact moment you had been lost from the world of the living, when your head began to tilt a little. She inwardly cursed you for being so cute.

However, she froze when she realized that little by little, you were sticking closer to her.

At first it was just your head leaning in her direction, but then you were leaning on her shoulder. It wasn't an entirely unpleasant feeling (actually, it was perfect), but it did make her pulse race, especially when you kept falling more and more on her, until you ended up with your head on her chest and basically using her breasts as a pillow.

"Ok, okay, don't panic, everything is fine" she thought "act normal, you are a teacher taking care of her student, nothing to see here"

But she could feel her heart racing at a thousand kilometers per hour and as much as she didn't want to wake you up, she doubted you couldn't hear it, you had your hearing just above it!

She was too busy trying not to move, not to bother you, that she didn't notice the knowing looks and smiles that her two colleagues shared.

When Wanda stood up to supervise the students in the background, she raised an eyebrow, smirking at Agatha. The older woman rolled her eyes and mumbled something about not wanting to wake you up out of mere politeness, but the truth was that her arms burned with the need to hold you and pull you closer to her.

____________

Wanda giggled and motioned for Jimmy to take a look at Agatha's seat. When the man did, he had to bite his lip to keep from laughing out loud.

At some point during the trip, the brunette had fallen asleep too, probably bored of not moving so as not to wake you up. However, it seemed like her precautions weren't working on autopilot, because the moment she fell asleep, she leaned on you, portraying a cute scene with you on the older woman's chest and Agatha's head on top of yours.

Wanda took out her cell phone and quickly took a photo of you two.

"This is gold" she whispered to Jimmy "this is valuable blackmail material, Harkness will have to do what I ask for at least a month"

"I guess I owe you 10 dollars" said the man.

When they were discussing the details of the trip, the redhead had told him her theory about how the brunette felt about you. Surprisingly, Jimmy hadn't been shocked, he didn't think the other woman had a crush on her student, but he wouldn't look down on Agatha if that was the case. They had both gambled on how long it would take for the woman to start being more obvious.

"And a coffee when we get to Salem" Wanda reminded him.

_____________

Agatha woke up when a particularly loud sound from the movie they were playing in the bus sounded from the speaker above her head. The woman blinked several times, before looking around her.

Jimmy seemed absorbed in the movie and Wanda was asleep. And God knew what the students were doing behind her.

But that was not the important thing. What mattered was the bulge in her arms.

Your hair had fallen over your face, so the older woman gently brushed it away, letting her fingers brush against your skin. You were a beautiful sight. You always were, sure, but just like that, asleep and vulnerable, you were just breathtaking.

Looking at the clock, Agatha knew that they were about to arrive in town, and although she didn't want to wake you up, really enjoying having you like this, she also wanted you to see everything. So she gently started shaking you to wake you up.

You groaned a bit at the annoyance, but in a few more moments your eyes began to open. It took a moment for your eyes to adjust to the light, but when they did, you frowned.

Why were you so low? You remembered falling asleep almost glued to the window, so why weren't you there? And why did you have a pillow? You hadn't brought a pillow with you.

It wasn't until you caught a familiar scent that you realized you weren't on a pillow. You were on top of your teacher. More specifically, on her chest. Shit.

You got up quickly, muttering an apology and trying desperately not to look at her. You just used Agatha Harkness as a pillow! What an idiot! She sure hates you now.

The older woman was a bit surprised when you jumped up, almost hitting her in the process. If it wasn't because you looked adorable with a red face, she would have tried to comfort you. Besides, she couldn't risk any of her colleagues finding out about her feelings for you.

So she didn't say anything, as if nothing had happened. But she was loving the nervous version of you more and more.

_______________

When you entered the city, you completely forgot the whole incident. Your mind quickly entertained with the landscape and you could see how all those witch tales came to life in front of your eyes. Definitely better than Disneyland.

Agatha couldn't help the pang of pride she felt when she saw your excited face. It was a good choice to sit you by the window. If anyone deserved to have the best possible experience in Salem, it was you.

She just hoped the rest of the trip would go without incidents. Not that she thought falling asleep on her was a bad thing, it was just that she trusted herself less and less to keep herself under control.

- - - - - - - - - - -

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