#It's a miracle that they were in the same room together and NO ONE died

[tbp-but-make-it-incorrect]

Matt: Guys, your task was supposed to be a friendship building exercise. What did you do to make things worse?

Reyna:

Ray:

Astrid:

Fen: We played monopoly.

Matt:... Of course you did.

[placeinthemiddleofnowhere]

Reign down on me - Part 4

Pairing: Ghost x Hybrid!reader (eventual poly!141)

No use of y/n or mention of gender/race

Summary: Reader is a wolf hybrid in a world that treats them like second class citizens, given a horrible start in life after being thrown into the military with no preparation. After years of struggle, they're finally taken away from their base by Ghost, now a permanent member of taskforce 141 reader struggles to come to terms with the fact that perhaps there's a life there for them - if only they reach out and accept it.

Warnings: hurt/comfort, Angst, abuse mentions, self doubt

-🐺-

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing, mutt?”

Your breaths were coming in hard pants, your body was worn to shreds. It took everything in you to look up at the angry face above, and when you finally mustered enough strength to tilt your head, you were met with deeply disapproving eyes. For once they didn’t rattle you, you’d already seen something so much worse. 

“She’s dead,” you murmured, looking back down at the empty eyed body across from you. 

“And you’re about to be too if you don’t get yourself together, stupid dog!”

You’d been yanked up and forced to keep running, shoved out in front of corners and into oncoming fire. It was a miracle you hadn’t joined your old teammate on the floor - not that you really saw it that way. You drew the enemy’s fire and allowed your current handler to get to exfil unharmed, you in your sorry hollow state had been shot in the chest, or the vest rather. Either way you were terribly struggling to breathe when you were eventually lugged along into the helicopter. 

It was difficult to remember much in the days after that. Your memory was a blurry haze, tugged along and shoved into transport and various different rooms until you were abandoned in an infirmary to heal. 

The main thing you remember is how the tiger girl you’d been fighting alongside had fallen, and no one else had batted an eye. She had been one of the best hybrids you’d worked with, someone the soldiers had clamoured to get onto your team, and none of them gave a shit when she’d died. The same girl that had so earnestly been teaching you and given you valuable advice for the field was no more than a few hazily remembered lessons and an empty vessel. 

The thought burned in your mind when you’d laid on the hospital bed, keeping your eyes narrowed to tiny slits and your tail twitching as you recovered. You’d been too young to actually be assigned to a combat mission, but you’d been sent along with the unit that day because they thought they were doing a routine water run to a nearby village and they’d wanted you to observe.

Now you were marred with your first battle scar and laden with the knowledge that it didn’t matter how good you did - you’d be nothing more than a pile of bones left behind to rot. 

-

“Move along, mutt!”

Maddox loomed over you and smacked you with his club, sending you sprawling as you refused to run his training drill. You’d since recovered and been cleared for work once more, but that was just what the doctors said. You had a different opinion entirely. 

“I’m not doing this,” you said quietly, hefting yourself back up to a standing position. 

“What?” Maddox’s voice came through in a chilling growl.

The sounds of the rest of the hybrid’s running the training exercise he’d set echoed all around you. You watched them scrambling around, flying through the course like clay pigeons, and blinked slowly. They were all just training to be better canon fodder. What was the point? You were all going to meet the same end, whether you died honourably fighting or were shot down into a pink mist from where you stood, no matter how good any of you were it wouldn’t matter. You’d all just die anyway. 

“You heard me,” you growled, puppy voice still too young to actually have much of an impact. 

Maddox wasn’t used to being defied. From day one you’d all tried to do what you could to appease him, had run around trying to make sure you weren’t drawing his ire. None of you liked his horrible booming voice when he scrambled at you, you were all afraid of his club and being at the receiving end of one of his thrashings. What was the point? 

He looked incensed, he was the most angry you’d ever seen him. He smacked you a few more times, landing heavy blows onto your back, thighs and butt, but you weren’t anymore motivated to get going. Instead you lay uselessly on the ground and cried out, ears drawing back as you prepared for his worst. 

“Get the fuck up! Do as you’re told, dog, no exceptions. Now move!”

You whined, but stayed where you were. Even while your back was on fire, even while he still beat dents into you, you didn’t feel anymore convinced to go along with any of it anymore. You just wanted to give up. To stop having to live through the pain, and just accept that it would be all there was. 

In the back of your mind you registered that everyone had stopped running, could feel the ground stop rumbling with their desperate footsteps and had all stopped to watch the spectacle. Though you didn’t really think much about it. 

It took a few more blows, but eventually Maddox seemed to recognise that you were quite happy for him to mash you into a fine pulp. His lesson wasn’t having any effect. So he left you on the ground and walked away a few paces, his shadow falling over your face and draping you with the weight of it. 

You choked out a sob and watched as he addressed the room. His words weren’t immediately intelligible to you, you were too lost in your brain fog still. Everything was dull, and noises were like far away recordings playing on scratchy speakers. Your head was a swelling water balloon fit to burst. 

“-see what happens when you decide you’re not going to do what your commanding officer tells you.”

Thwack.

You heard the sound, but you didn’t feel anything. You tilted your head, ears twitching confusedly as you tried to work out why the pain didn’t reach you. The sound of the wailing banshee scream following soon after clued you into why your bones weren’t rattling with anymore pain. 

“Please, sir! Please!”

It was like a plastic sheet had been melted from your eyes. The white hot screech of the voice burned through you and you scrambled up with a shock, watching on with horror as one of your fellow hybrids was getting whacked like nothing else. A wheezing breath gushed in through your lungs and you screamed in unison with the poor boy, begging Maddox to please stop. 

“Oh now you’re willing to plead for forgiveness? Now you’re ready to participate again? Watch and let this be a lesson - You don’t decide when you’re done! You do as you’re fucking told!”

“No! Please, no! I’m sorry, I’m sorry, Sir. Please, please ple-”

-🐺-

“Hey, Pup, hey, shhh. Wake up, Pup.”

You felt raw, throat vibrating with the last of your unconscious screams, your mind raced as you struggled to register your surroundings. Soft lamplight bathed the room in a warm, hazy glow, and all around you were rumpled blankets, all thrown around the place in splatters of blue as if a tower of paint cans had exploded. Most startling of all though, was the behemoth of a man right in front of you; sitting on your bed and looking down at you with a worried expression. 

You backed away to the wall when you finally noticed him, panting and growling like hell when you searched through your bleary mind and couldn’t recognise him. His eyes were like molten gems, his long face and pouting lips drawn into a picture of concern. There was something almost familiar about him, if you squinted and ignored the shock of blonde hair that gently curled on top of his head (something told you that you weren’t used to seeing that). The only thing that stopped you from jumping him immediately was the calming scent of citrus peels. 

“Who the fuck are you?” you growled, curling your hands into fists. “What do you want with me?”

The man blinked slowly, his eyebrows raising from the gentle frown he’d been wearing and twitching up into surprise. He smiled uneasily then, the look seeming foreign on that big scarred up face, one of the scars at his lips puckered with the effort it took to move over the muscle. 

“Shit, sorry. It’s me, it’s Ghost,” the man sighed, his accent washing over you like a warm wave. “Forgot my mask.”

You gasped, feeling all your muscles release their tension at once as you slid down the wall and into a weary slump. It was ok. He wasn’t some horrible soldier come to drag you away to a new mission, or an enemy looking to startle you before they bagged a kill. It was just Ghost, and Ghost was safe. And Ghost looked… well you were too tired to really get a solid grip on what you thought of how Ghost looked.  

“What are you doing in here?” you asked, only speaking when you were confident you wouldn’t stutter. 

“You were screamin’, Pup. You looked like you were fighting off possession or somethin’, that must’ve been some bad dream you were having,” Ghost said softly, gently running a hand over the top of your dewy head. 

You gritted your teeth and used the butt of your palms to wipe the stray tears from your cheeks, still feeling your throat burn from all the shrieking. It had been a long time since you’d had one of those dreams, or rather memories, but you knew well enough you’d have been loud. You realised you’d probably woken him if he was coming to you bare faced. 

“I’m sorry,” you said quickly, tail tucking between your legs in realisation.

“Don’t worry about it,” he murmured, bringing his hand down to stroke over your cheek. “I’ve woken up with plenty of those myself.”

“But you…you’ve shown your face to me when you didn’t mean to. I’m sorry,” you sighed, looking away guiltily. 

Your toes curled and your body froze up, your instincts gone haywire as you tried to process what was happening. Was he going to punish you now? Would he beat you until you forgot what he looked like? You shuddered at the thought of your dreams piercing through into reality. 

“No, don’t be sorry, darlin’. I’d have taken it off for you sooner or later anyway,” he shrugged. 

You bit your lip, unconvinced that this was the case. Given that his team didn’t think much of the mask, it was clear that he wore it often. He probably didn’t like to be bare faced around other people. Maybe he wanted to keep his face a secret. 

“Didn’t think it’d effect you this much,” he chuckled, chucking you under your chin. “I did warn you.”

“You warned me?”

“Mhmm. Told you I was bloody handsome.”

Nothing could help the snort that burst from your nose. That then descended into full blown laughter, your body lightening from the growing load that your mind posed. You wrapped your hands round your knees, in an attempt to contain the giggles, and only stopped when you saw the gentle smile that sprouted back onto Ghost’s lips. 

“There you go. Better now, huh?”

You nodded slowly and smiled back at him. For some reason mirroring him felt like the easiest thing in the world. It was like a warm glow had burst from him to you, softening your sharp thoughts and turning your body to jelly. You’d be able to sleep again as if nothing had woken you, usually you would stay up until light broke through your curtains. 

“You wanna talk about anything before I get back to my beauty rest?”

“No, I’m good,” you said hurriedly, not wanting to relive everything you’d dreamed again. 

“Alright then…You get back to sleep, you’ve got another big day ahead. Try not to scare the piss out of me again for another few hours at least,” He sighed. 

You nodded, scooting back over so that you could lie back at the head of your bed. However before you could angle yourself down, Ghost drew you into a side hug. At first you resisted it, curled your hands around his arm so that you could stop whatever harm might come your way, but when there was none. Your eyes grew heavier as he held you, his body heat seeped down into your bones and it tempted you ever deeper into the restful darkness.

You let your hands drop and nuzzled into him. There wasn’t anything to fear. 

“S’my good, Pup,” Ghost mumbled, releasing you seconds later. 

You sank into bed afterwards, falling into a deep sleep as if a switch had been flicked. There were no more disturbances after that. 

-🐺-

“Not so hard, Steamin’ Jesus!”

Soap’s whizzed right past your ears like a bullet, you were too focused on getting to the target point. Paintballs splattered overhead, loud noises rang out from the speakers that’d been set up, and your heart was racing. Everything perfectly combined to drive you wild and send all coherent thought elsewhere. The only reason you stayed put behind your current cover was because you knew Ghost was watching - because of some foreign underlying need to make him proud. 

“Johnny, you have to take control.”

“I’m fuckin’ tryin’! Your bloody sled dog has other ideas,” Soap huffed, growling down the line. 

Ghost’s chuckle rattled around the comms like a swarm of bats. The ever present hand on the front of your neck dug into your collarbone a little, but still you persisted and pushed forward through the resistance. Soap had no idea what he was doing, had no idea how to control your advancement through the fake field. 

“Sled dog tendencies aside, you’re not holding em’ right,” Ghost chastised. “Stop the exercise!”

The splat of the last paintball echoed dully around the room and all at once your more human senses returned. The sharp fuzz in your ears dissipated and the blurring at the edge of your peripheries came staggeringly back into focus. You almost sent Soap crashing when you stopped fighting his hold, though luckily for him he swivelled just in time to keep his feet on solid ground. 

“Fuckin’ here we go,” Soap muttered, releasing your collar. 

You frowned up at him in question, but you didn’t get an opportunity to wonder what he was so pissed about. Ghost jumped into the little arena he’d created and crossed the floor, patting your vest before he took a hold of you himself.

“You’re holdin’ Pup round the front like this,” Ghost said, sliding his hand around your collar to illustrate his point. “You’re just choking them and driving them forward to get away from ya’ or get to the checkpoint.”

“Because your precious little Angel keep’s growlin’ and turnin round when I hold the collar round the back like you do. I feel like I’m about to get my face rearranged again!”

Ghost sighed and put his hand on Soap’s arm, driving the other man to give a cursory glance down at you before fixing a hard look on the Lieutenant. There was no mistaking the sharp little shake of his head he gave, no matter how much he had tried to hide it. Ghost put his hand down, holding it up in mock surrender before it fell completely. 

“It’s because you’re holding on too tight, Johnny,” Ghost explained, his voice growing softer. “You don’t have to. Pup won’t hurt you.” 

“You sure about that?”

“Johnny,” Ghost growled. “Don’t say anything stupid, now.”

You looked up, alarmed at the tone Ghost was taking. You didn’t really blame Soap, or anyone else, for being afraid of you. A lot of people were - anyone who knew your reputation at least, and from that little comment you surmised that Soap was well aware of it. Though from the way Ghost was acting, it was as if Soap had told him he was going to shoot you. His eyes were stuck in a stormy glare and his full height was rigidly stretching up over the Sergeant. 

“You know this is difficult for me,” Soap said, jaw as taught as a piano wire. 

“I know…” Ghost sighed. “But it’ll only be harder if you keep going like this, learning to control a wolf the wrong way will only get you both hurt. You’ve gotta dig deep here, push past the bad memories. This one’ll never hurt you like that.”

“So you keep saying,” Soap grumbled. “Why don’t you try tellin’ them to fuckin’ behave when they’re being handled rather’n having a go at me.”

A creeping feeling of shame crept through your mind, suddenly you felt like a very small child in the middle of a fight between your parents. The tiny little voice you hadn’t heard in so long chimed just as true as it did then, They’re fighting about me again. Your ears folded back straight against your head and you leaned closer into Ghost, accidentally catching eyes with Soap as he registered your movement. 

Soap’s eyes softened. 

“It’s not that simple. I have a plan in the works though,” Ghost said carefully, shifting his gaze to you as he felt you press against him, and then back at Soap. “It’s gonna take a bit to undo years of shit training, yeah? I told you how it’d be before, those shitheads at Branhaven always train up hybrids to look as showy as possible for their superiors. That means they pull like crazy and bark and growl up a riot while they work because it looks effective and scary to the knobheads who don’t need to handle them. I need you all to learn how to handle Pup as they are now before I’ve worked with them, and then you’ll be prepared for anything…’sides, its always you n me together, Johnny, remember? Realistically you’re not gonna have to actually handle them on the field, you just need to be prepared to.”

The ‘Just in case’ that eluded his last sentence was silent.

The whole time you couldn’t help dwelling on the fact that Ghost was unusually…tender for a man in charge over the Sergeant. Normally when people bitched at the higher ups in your base they’d be shouted at and told to man up or fuck off. Ghost was actually explaining himself to Soap, trying to rationalise what he was doing as if he somehow owed it to him. He treated Soap like he treated you, ensuring he was able to calm down and trying to fill him in so he could take comfort in knowing what was happening. 

The treatment seemed to work just as well on Soap as it did you. He huffed out a defeated breath and relaxed, looking from you to Ghost while the irate cloud above him dispersed and became lost in the gentle atmosphere. 

“Fine. Can you show me what to do again?”

“Atta boy,” Ghost said, grin evident in his voice. “Hand here, and legs nice and stable. You need to keep moving forward at a nice even pace, you have to set the right speed. Soon as Pup tries to push on ahead, you grip the back of their neck like that.”

You growled as you felt Ghost put pressure on your scruff, instinctively feeling the work drive build up within you. He just shook his head and gave you an unamused stare for your efforts. 

“The growling’s all just noise. Stupid noise,” Ghost said, intentionally setting his eyes on you, “but there’s no intention of threat behind it - not while we’re in charge.”

“What do you mean ‘not while we’re in charge’?” Soap asked, making a face. 

“Pup won’t have any reason to hurt us. We’re not gonna go yanking tails and hitting like fuckin’ children when we don’t get our way.”

“Wh- y’mean that was a commanding officer that did that?” Soap asked, motioning to your crooked tail. 

“Like I said - shit training. C’mon, take the collar.”

Soap didn’t quite look like he’d recovered from the shock of being told about your tail. He gingerly reached out and took your collar with a frown set heavily into his face. You wondered if it was because he really pitied you that much, or if it was because he thought you might take out your anger on him. You leaned more toward the latter reasoning. Despite his reservations though, he was able to do as Ghost asked this time. 

“Good, that’s it, Johnny.” 

Soap visibly puffed up from the praise. His grip on you tightened. He was more sure of himself now, he marched ahead and set you into an even pace, the rhythm catching onto your feet contagiously. Naturally there were still a few moments where you wanted to pull forward and rush through, but now that Soap was placing his trust in Ghost’s intuition, you were gently guided into keeping within his step. 

“Good Pup, keep it up!”

Soap didn’t immediately latch onto what Ghost had told him about your growling, he still wrenched himself back a few times after correcting you. The horrible tractor-like sound would comically twist his features. However this time, he was actually able to get to the checkpoint with you. Then after a few more trials, you were both flying down the course, high on Ghost’s praises and untouched by any paintball that tried to come your way. 

After the fourth time he called for a break, roughly crossing his hands into a T shape while he doubled over and panted and puffed for air. His signature sage scent wafted strongly from him now, invading your senses and forcing you back a step or two.

A discreet smile stole its way onto your face, a smug one if you were honest. There was a steady tension starting to warm in your legs, but you were no where near over extension. Apparently all the breakfast and rest you’d gotten had done you wonders, because you felt like you could keep going all day and all night, maybe longer than that. It made you wonder if maybe Price and Ghost didn’t have a point to all the nice things they were doing for you afterall. 

“You did well, Soap,” Ghost chuckled, wandering back onto the course with a swagger to his step. “You too, Pup. Reckon you’ll be nice and warmed up for Price and Garrick now.”

“Christ, Pup’s gonna do this two more times?” Soap asked, looking over at you in wonder. 

“Mhmm,” Ghost hummed.

“You not tired?” Soap asked, directing his question toward you.. 

You laughed at that, unsure as to why he’d be so shocked you were going to keep going. Normally you’d spend your whole days training when you weren’t on an active mission. Running and sparring were practically all you knew. If you were to tire out early, you’d be punished for it, blamed for not getting enough sleep or not eating your shitty MREs. Stopping wasn’t in the equation. 

“I can go all day,” you shrugged.

“Christ, and they tell me I’m hyperactive.”

-🐺-

Overall impressed with your performance that day, Ghost had insisted on dragging you out to a shopping villiage, or as you now thought of it - a torture desensitisation arena. Even later on at night, there were so many people around: screaming children that were moaning about being tired and hungry, teenagers laughing like hyenas, couples arguing over what they should and shouldn’t spend their money on. It didn’t help that there were so many busy shop fronts as well, colours and flashing lights and products you wouldn’t even know what to do with. It was a circus of too many stimuli and you were stuck at it’s roaring centre, sticking to Ghost like a fly on tape. 

As soon as he’d parked up you’d demanded to know why he’d brought you there, not able to help the rising panic at being taken somewhere new. He’d explained that it was time to buy you some much needed casual clothes. Personal items. At the mention of that dreaded subject, you’d tried to protest and remind him about getting your brand new stack of clothes from the quartermaster, but Ghost had just snorted and said that he wasn’t taking you everywhere in your uniform. He didn’t care for the looks it would get him - said the man wearing a black medical skull mask over his face.

Undeterred by your saying that he didn't need to waste money on you, Ghost all but yanked you into all clothes shops, leading you by the hand and forcing you to pick casual clothes that you liked from the small selection the hybrid sections offered. It was an exercise made to humiliate, you’d thought, you had no idea how to pick clothes for yourself that weren’t standard issue - had no idea what colours and materials and fits went together with what. He’d made you pick what felt good in the end, said that Soap had told him the important thing was picking something comfortable - it didn’t narrow your search by very much.

Propelled by the thought of getting to leave if you just compiled, you eventually settled on some blue vans trainers, a cosy pullover hoodie, two new pyjama sets, a couple of pairs of jeans and a few T-shirts that weren’t too adventurous - save for the one that had some illustrated plants on it. Even that little amount felt like far too much, overwhelming you with how much choice you’d have when your promised downtime would come. Though every time you asked if you’d picked enough, Ghost would just fix you with a stony look that told you to keep going. 

Then as if that wasn’t enough, he took you over to a bookshop as well, claiming you needed something to entertain yourself with in your downtime. Even when you told him you’d managed alright up till that point. However, when you were left to explore so that Ghost could go pick something for himself, it wasn’t the books there that you were most taken by. 

“What’ve you got there then?”

You froze, shoulders bunching as you heard Ghost’s voice softly break your awed silence and looked guiltily down at the little puppy teddy you were holding. You weren’t supposed to be looking at that- that’s what you figured when you saw his shadow cross your path. A picture of his sneering face crossed your mind’s eye, darkened by that unruly blonde fringe of his. 

What were you supposed to say to him? After blankly looking at a few of the books, you couldn’t help but let your eyes wander over to the little displays of plushies, and had slowly gravitated toward it when you saw the little dog that was now in your hands. 

The dog’s fur was so unbelievably soft and its little spotted face reminded you of one of your favourite cartoons from when you were small. It called out to you and lured you in with the reminder of some old theme song that played in your head, made you pick it up and stroke its squishy black and white tummy with a smile plastered all over your face. 

“I got distracted, sorry,” you murmured, gently placing it amongst its spotted siblings. 

Ghost came round to your side and picked up the same puppy you’d been holding. You tilted your head in surprise and watched as he did the same as you, stroking the soft tummy while inspecting it. It looked comically smaller in his hands though, like a newborn pup. 

“You want him?”

Your ears perked in surprise when he spoke. Finally you chanced a look up at him and felt your cheeks warm when you made eye contact, thoroughly embarrassed that you’d been caught. Though he didn’t look judgemental like you’d thought he would, instead he just stared at you earnestly over his black medical mask and gave you a chance to speak. 

“I…um...” you weren’t sure what to say. 

Of course you wanted him. Every little instinct in you wanted to take the toy and hold it and cuddle it and never let go. However that wasn’t the kind of behaviour befitting of a military class hybrid like you, and it was the kind of thing you’d have been endlessly mocked, if not punished for before. 

Soldiers don’t cuddle their teddy bears and blankets, they make their beds quickly and efficiently and don’t concern themselves with such stupid frivolities!

“It’s not a trick question, Pup. No wrong answer,” Ghost supplied, holding the puppy out to you encouragingly. 

You breathed out a sigh, but your chest didn’t feel any less heavy. Even if it was such a silly decision to make, it still felt like such a big undertaking. If you said yes and took it, would Ghost think less of you? You already thought less of you for wanting it. You were already filled with judgement, the voices of all the superiors that had ever disciplined you mocking you in one big evil choir. 

Stupid little baby wolf. 

You whined, but even despite yourself, you took it and held it to your chest. 

“Hey, you deserve to have things of your own, that’s what tonight’s all about,” Ghost said, gently setting his hand on your shoulder as he did so. “You deserve to exist outside of the military, to be more than a war dog. If this makes you happy, then we should get ‘im.”

You wanted to keel over then as you rolled your eyes, let your whole body collapse with the motion. This dog at least was a simple decision in terms of what you liked, much easier than when you’d been standing in front of all those dreaded clothes racks, but it didn’t make finalising it any easier. Not when your feelings were colliding like waves against a harbour wall, one side seemingly solid while the other corroded it.

“Yeah, but…”

“But what?”

“I’m not supposed to want things like this,” you mumbled, holding the teddy out in front of yourself again like it was some kind of alien object. 

“Why not?” he chuckled.

“Because it’s for children,” you said dryly.

“It’s not for children,” he scoffed. “There’s no rules on who gets to buy cuddly toys. Anyway, you clearly want the little fella, so we’re getting him.”

You frowned, looking confusedly down at the dog again. 

“But It’s a distraction…All of this stuff is,” you uttered, feeling Maddox’s voice speak through you like a spell had been cast. “It’ll take my mind off important things and get everyone hurt.”

You thought back to the kid in the bunk next to you, the one that had cried on the first day because they couldn’t have their teddy bear to sleep with. Maddox had lectured you all then and there, almost shouting the fur off your ears, saying that hybrid soldiers couldn’t let anything get in the way of them functioning. Needing a teddy bear to sleep wouldn’t fly when you were overseas and catching bullets because you were sleep deprived, reading books to escape your miserable new lives would get you killed when your heads were still stuck in them, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. 

“You don’t think we all need distractions sometimes?” Ghost asked. “Distractions make life worth living, and you’re no less deserving of that than anyone on the team. Don’t you think?”

You didn’t have an answer for that. In fact, you were arguing a point that wasn’t even yours. So, in response, you shrugged and traced one of the puppy’s patches.

“I think you care about me like…a weird amount,” you mumbled. 

“A weird amount?” Ghost scoffed, hiding a crinkly eyed smile behind his mask. “Why’s it weird to care about you, huh?” 

You shrugged again. 

“Ok, listen. You’ve been all twisted up by those idiots at your last base and I want you to know that I’m not gonna legitimise a single thing that they’ve taught you. This is what it’s going to be like now, this is what you get for coming in everyday and working your arse off. The fact that you’ve been given no compensation and been run so badly into the ground by those cretins is nothing short of appalling. Believe me when I tell you that I know it’s not as simple as flicking a switch and getting used to good treatment - it won’t happen just because I tell you it’s all over now and I understand that. Just…let me give you a little bit of comfort, yeah? Just to show you how things should be. Just enjoy a distraction or two and see that it won’t be life ending, and it’s not gonna get taken away from you. I promise you’ll be fine” 

Your throat was too thick with emotion to answer. So instead of making a fool out of yourself you nodded your assent and looked down at your new prize with wonder. How long had it been since you’d owned something that didn’t have any function or use on the battlefield? How long since you’d held something so soft?

“Now…did you actually look at any books or did you just stand and bully yourself for wanting something nice?”

You jumped when Ghost’s grizzled voice sounded out and brought your mind back to task, shaking your head of all your musings. Choosing books - right. All at once, the multicoloured aisles came back to view and all the people in them, the room filled out around you and made you hold your puppy down low at your side and out of view.

“Yeah, I um- I think I found something cool.”

-🐺-

That night Ghost let you stay up in bed for a little bit to read. Leaving you nestled in your swarm of blankets sitting side by side with your new friend as the plush sat up against the pillows with you. Your eyes poured over the artwork of your new graphic novels in wonder, admiring the bold colours and thick lines, turning the glossy pages ever so slowly as if your heart would stop beating when you got to the end of the book. 

When you ended the first chapter you smiled down at the little dog rather childishly and bit your lip. It was silly to name inanimate objects, it didn’t take someone standing over you and shouting at you to know that, though you couldn’t help it when the name seemed to cling to him with an unshakable grip. Simon. You’d name him Simon after the main character in the story. It seemed to suit the little black and white dog just as much as it did the hybrid boy, and now there was no changing it - unfortunately for you. 

[sleepyjuice]

10 + 16 with jj please? (maybe smth like going back to the chateau the night john b and sarah “die” and consoling each other with a bit of badly timed tension? or any other ideas you have!)

I loved this so much!!!! what a bittersweet concept 😭

warnings: some angst (canon events for the most part from the show), liiilll bit of fluff, smut 18+!!!!!, unprotected p in v sex, creampie, jj being an absolute dream in this<3

No one ever prepares you for what you’re supposed to do after learning that two of your best friends were most likely dead and you would never see them again.

You somewhat prepare yourself in life for moments where you are inevitably going to lose people, but once the moment is over, then what?

As you and jj walked silently back to the chateau after what had turned into one of the worst days of your life, you wished more than ever that someone somewhere had written your entire life out for you so that you could ask them for all the answers. How to just go on with your life after something so traumatic.

Pope and Kiara had gone home with their parents which left just you and your boyfriend, jj. You were sure your parents were worried about you, surely they had heard what happened, but you hadn’t checked your phone in hours.

jj opened the door to the much too quiet chateau once you arrived, tears falling from both of you once again as you stepped into a place that held some of the best memories of your lives, now empty. It just felt wrong to be there without John b and Sarah.

Everywhere you looked was a different memory. The silly arguments on the couch, the beers you all shared in the kitchen, and of course, John b’s bedroom, bed unmade from the last time he slept there, clothes on his dresser that he would never get to wear.

“It doesn’t feel right here without them.” jj broke the silence, his voice low as he removed his hat, kicking an empty beer can that lay on the floor across the room.

You nodded in agreement, stepping over to jj and wrapping your arms around his middle, your head resting against his chest as you sighed.

“It really doesn’t.” You responded, one of your hands rubbing gently against his back.

“You staying here tonight?” You asked him after a moment, tilting your head to gaze up at your boyfriend, his arms holding you close to him.

jj nodded in response, resting his chin on the top of your head, exhaling slowly into your hair as he shut his eyes. He had never lost someone in this way, and he didn’t know how he was supposed to handle it. He was a spontaneous person by nature, but this was way too much of a curveball to even begin to figure out.

You stood there in each other’s arms for a few minutes, the only sounds being the soft rain outside and the clunky AC that surprisingly still worked humming softly.

jj was the first to break the silence.

“Can you stay?” He asked quietly, pulling away slowly from the shared embrace to look down at your sunken eyes.

You met his gaze instantly, bringing a hand up to run your fingers through the bottom of his hair, nodding your head in response.

“Of course I’ll stay. I don’t think either of us should be alone right now.” You spoke softly, exhaling shakily, feeling genuinely unsure if breathing would ever feel the same again after today’s events.

So you stayed. You and jj ended up showering together, both of you eventually getting uncomfortable in your wet clothes that were dampened from the storm.

You shared a joint, both for yourselves and in john b and Sarah’s honor. John b especially would smile at the fact that two of his best friends were lighting up in his home the night he died. Regardless of why you did it, it was something at least semi normal in your nightly routine.

You and jj didn’t talk too much, but there was never any awkward silence. Finding conversation at a time like this was yet another challenge you would face.

So you called it a night at around 3 am, kissing goodnight after crawling into jj’s bed. Maybe by some miracle you would wake up to find that it was all just a super realistic nightmare. An epic prank by your subconscious.

You lay with your back facing jj, one of his arms wrapped loosely around your waist, the room just dimly lit by the moonlight that shined through the window. You focused on jj’s soft breathing, assuming that he had fallen asleep, hoping and praying that sleep would also find you soon.

That was too much to ask for, as your mind could not stop replaying the earlier events over and over, making it impossible to get some rest. You shut your eyes anyways, hoping at some point you would become too physically exhausted and your body’s need for sleep would win this battle.

You were close to giving up and allowing yourself a sleepless night, when you suddenly felt jj’s hand move softly down your waist, rubbing down to your thigh.

“You awake?” He murmured quietly, almost positive you were still awake based on your unsteady breathing, but on the off chance you were asleep, he didn’t want to disturb you.

You turned your head at the sound of his voice, meeting his tired eyes. Although he also looked like he hadn’t slept yet.

“Yeah, can’t sleep,” you sighed, pushing your body back slightly into his touch, “my mind is goin’ a mile a minute right now. Can’t think of anything else.” You admitted, watching as he nodded in understanding.

“Yeah, same.” He hummed, planting a few soft kisses on your shoulder blades before resting his head there.

“Maybe we could try and distract ourselves…” jj whispered against your soft skin, kissing it again as he awaited your response, his body now fully pressed against yours.

“What do you mean?” You questioned quietly, your voice barely above a whisper. You had an idea what he meant, and you pressed your ass back ever so gently to meet his crotch, testing the waters.

He let out a soft sigh at the feeling, tilting his head up to kiss your neck, his hand focusing on rubbing your thigh, slowly but surely inching its way towards your inner thigh.

“Just— feel something other than this pain, y’know?” He confirmed your suspicions as he began to grind his boxer clad dick against your ass, his kisses becoming a bit more lustful and his fingers now grazing against the waistband of your underwear.

“Yeah..” you breathed, nodding your head as you tilted your neck, granting jj easier and better access to kiss and nip at your sensitive skin there.

You felt him nod against you, his half hard dick now fully hard against your ass as he continued to grind against it.

He groaned softly before tugging gently at your underwear, his unspoken command leading you to pull them down off your legs, leaving you completely naked besides the shirt you were wearing. You felt jj rid himself of his boxers after you, leaving him fully naked now as they were all he had gone to bed in to begin with.

You moaned quietly once you felt him freely, your body reacting quickly to his sensual touch, arousal pooling between your legs as you pushed your ass against his fully hard cock.

“Let’s just forget for right now, yeah?” jj hummed, using his free hand to guide his cock between your wet folds, gathering your arousal to coat himself, pumping himself softly as he used both your wetness and his precum to lubricate himself.

“Mhm, let’s forget.” You spoke, barely a whisper. You hadn’t moved much from your original position. Your back was still facing jj, only now you had positioned your ass upwards just a bit so that you could align yourself to give jj access to you.

He didn’t respond verbally, pumping himself a few more times before aligning his cock with your wet entrance, slowly pushing himself inside of you.

You both let out a long, still quiet, moan at the feeling, your walls hugging his cock immediately as he began to move slowly inside of you.

The two of you had slow and soft sex plenty of times, typically after a long night when you were both super tired but still in need of a release, or early morning when you were sleepy but still needing one another. But this was a different type of need.

“So good, baby, feels so good.” jj cooed, his face pressed against your neck, eyes shut and brows furrowed in concentration, both of your minds forced to focus on the physical feeling of pleasure you allowed yourselves to feel.

You whimpered into the pillow, arching your back slightly so he could reach even deeper inside of you, reaching one of your arms behind you to caress the back of jj’s head, your fingers kneading into his messy hair.

The only sounds heard in the dark bedroom were your soft grunts and moans mixed with the sound of jj’s balls slapping against your ass. Not nearly as loud as this particular bedroom usually was during times like these, but that wasn’t what you needed right now.

jj reached one of his hands over the curve of your ass to find your clit, rubbing circles against it as he continued to thrust himself inside of you. He already felt pretty close, with his emotions being completely heightened, and he wanted to make sure you were able to finish too.

You squeezed your eyes shut as he worked at your clit, all the while his cock was hitting the perfect spots inside of you, your pussy beginning to clench around him as you whimpered, your breathing growing more ragged.

“I’m close, jay, fuck. Gonna come.” You gasped, feeling your muscles begin to contract as your body was hit with euphoria, a feeling that would be far from your grasp for a long time. After tonight you had to grieve, so you relished in this small moment of pleasure you were able to feel.

“Fuck, good baby— yeah, so good. I’m close, fuck, I’m close too, sweets.” jj grunted, your orgasm had your pussy clenching and hugging his cock even tighter, your release soaking him which triggered him to follow.

“Fuuuck, oh god,” he stammered, thrusts sloppy as he felt himself release into you, groaning loudly into your skin as he filled you with thick spurts, “yeah, yeah, perfect, baby.”

You moaned as he filled you up, your pussy fluttering at the feeling of fullness, his release feeling perfect as you came down from your own.

“So good, jj.” You said shakily as he pulled out of you, feeling him kiss the back of your neck before using his thumb to turn your head to face him.

“Thank you, baby, thank you.”

[book-place]

Freak

Warnings: maze runner series spoilers, mentions of death, let me know if I missed any :)

Pairings: Thomas x daughter reader

Request: Hi if requests are open I would like to request something for Maze Runner?? Can you please write a Thomas x daughter using the dialogue prompts 18, 20, 28 please? Ps I loved your Matt Murdock story!!!Thank you and 100% your choice

Request by: Anon

*not my gif*

Summary: Life might not have been necessarily kind to you or your father, but he would be there for you. Always.

A/N: This isn’t that good, but it’s also the first piece of writing I’ve posted in months so pls give me a break 😭- also I didn’t do one of the prompts bc it didn’t fit in, sorry!!

Please don’t plagiarize my work, you may reblog if you like but I’m asking that you don’t steal my hard work

It had been six years.

Six years since the Gladers had made it out of that godforsaken maze. Six years since WCKED was taken down. Six years since they had found the safe haven.

Six years since Tereasa died. Leaving Thomas alone to raise you, their infant daughter.

Those six years, while nothing but a blessing- a gift of being out of that maze, being free of WCKED- have been years full of hardship.

Not all of it was hardship though, of course, Thomas loved you more than anything in the world. You were a miracle in his eyes.

But after having you, he thought that it would be him and Teresa raising you- together.

Sure, he had all of his friends- his family- to help him. They had done more for him- for you- then they would ever know, but it wasn’t the same.

You never had a mother, and you never knew the difference between having one or not.

There were other children that were about your age on the island, ones from families that had been taken in by Thomas and his friends and offered sanctuary.

So when you all weren’t in the school that was set up, you were all playing off together somewhere.

To Thomas’s knowledge, that’s where you were right now.

“Where’s the little pipsqueak?” A voice sounded from behind the man.

Thomas turned, finding Minho leaning against a wall behind him with his arms crossed lazily over his chest.

The man smiled lightly, leaning back on a desk behind him, “With the other kids, where else?”

Minho's eyebrows furrowed slightly, “The other kids? She’s not with them.”

Despite not having any idea what his friend was talking about, Thomas still felt his heart stutter and pause for a beat.

“What do you mean?” He asked lowly.

It had been six years without any problems that were anything like what they had experienced in the past, but that didn’t mean that Thomas ever forgot what it felt like, ever let go of the past.

Even though he might not look it, there was a part of him that was always on alert. Always tense. Waiting for something to happen.

Minho's face grew more concerned, “All the kids were playing at the bay, n/n wasn't with them. I came over because I wanted to see if she wanted to come help me make dessert with Frypan.”

The room was spinning. The lights were too bright. The air was too suffocating-

Thomas felt for a moment as though he couldn’t breathe.

In reality, it might not have been a big deal, you could’ve just wandered off to talk to Brenda or Gally, but your felt as though he was going into full on panic mode.

Too much had happened in his life, too much had been taken from him, too much had gone wrong.

You couldn’t be next. You couldn’t.

You were the only thing that kept him going after your mother died.

Immediately, Thomas pulled himself back together, and left the room, Minho following closely behind him.

The men fell into step side by side as their heads whipped around, eyes searching for any sign of you as they trekked through the built town of the safe haven.

Frypan emerged from his home, frowning slightly as he looked at the pair and raised his hand to shield his eyes from the sun, “What’s going on?” He called out.

“We don’t know where Y/n is.” Minho answered, Thomas too focused on looking to do so himself.

That was all it took for Fry to fall into step beside them too.

That’s how it went, house after house, until all of the surviving Gladers- plus Jorge and Brenda- were looking all over for you.

You were nowhere to be seen.

The sound of laughter made the groups ears all perk up as they turned to see the kids that had been down by the water running up, shoving each other slightly.

“Kids, have you seen Y/n?” Minho immediately asked.

Quickly, all of the children glanced at each other before shaking their heads back and forth so fast that it looked as though they were going to get whiplash.

The man’s eyes narrowed suspiciously at them, but before he could open his mouth to question them further, they rushed past him and to their respective houses.

The group of adults blinked at their retreating backs.

Thomas felt his heart tighten even more in his chest.

“She’s in the woods.” A small voice spoke up.

They all whipped back around to see one little girl still standing there, kicking her toe sheepishly at the ground.

That was all it took for Thomas to turn on his heel and barrel towards the cluster of trees just on the outskirts of all of the buildings.

His heart was hammering so loudly in his chest that he was sure the others, running a few feet behind him, could hear it loud and clear.

He ran and ran, dodging trees and narrowly missing bushes until a sound other than slamming footsteps reached his ears. It was so faint that he barely even heard it.

Sniffles.

Thomas pulled himself to a stop, peering around the tree in front of him, only to see you, with your legs pulled up to your chest and your back against a large rock, crying into your arms.

He heard the others come to a stop behind him, “Thanks, guys, I got it from here.” He whispered, not tearing his eyes away from you.

They were clearly just relieved that you were there, because they nodded and went back the way they came without a word.

“N/n?” Thomas’s voice was soft as he carefully approached, “Are you alright, sweetheart?”

Your head snapped up at the sound of your fathers voice and he felt as though his heart shattered into a thousand small pieces.

Not only was your hair tousled every which way, but your eyes were red and puffy and your cheeks were tear stained.

Quickly, you tried to wipe them away, but Thomas sank into a crouch in front of you and gently grabbed your hands, pulling them away from your face, “What’s wrong?” He asked gently, eyes scanning your face.

Your bottom lip wobbled despite your clear efforts to make it seem as though you were okay, a stubborn trait you no doubt got from him.

Gently, he moved a fallen strand of hair behind your ear.

That was all it took for you to start sobbing once more.

“The- the other kids-“ You stuttered out, hiccuping slightly, “They were being really- really mean. They said it was weird that I don’t have a mom- and- and that makes me a freak.”

The sadness in Thomas’s heart was quickly met with a sea of fiery rage.

“They said that to you?” It took every fiber of the man’s being to keep himself from clenching his fists and setting his jaw.

He knew from experience that if you were upset and he got angry- even if it wasn’t directed at you- it would just make things worse.

So instead of scooping you up and angrily marching to find those other kids and their parents, he sighed gently, “Honey, can I hug you?”

He also knew that it was better to ask, just in case you reacted negatively.

In response, you fell into his open arms and sobbed into his shirt.

“Shh,” He shushed you, combing his fingers through your hair, “Hey, don’t cry on me. They don’t deserve your tears.”

It took a while until you finally calmed down, reduced to hiccups and sniffles.

And Thomas held you until you did, rocking you gently as he comforted you to the best of his ability.

“Honey, listen to me.” He pulled back slightly so he could look you in the eyes, “You are not a freak. You are the kindest, sweetest, most funny girl I know. And if your mother was here, she would think so too.”

Your eyes lit up as you stared up at your father, “Really? You think so?”

He leaned forward and placed a kiss on your forehead, “I know so.” He promised, “Now, come on.” He lifted you so you were propped up against his hip, “I think Uncle Minho would like to bake with you and Fry while I go talk to those kids and their parents.”

Bloody Shanks 🧪- @jvdethirlwall @ineedmorefanfics2 @etanordoesbullsh1t @wolfmoonmusic

[iwishiwas-anita]

My Baby

Inspired by @emzerdoo artwork of recom! Paz Socorro

(I Hope i posted this right and it doesn't look funky)

(ENJOY!)

(part 2)

They say a mother can feel it in her when her child is near, it's something instinctive, something that she creates, that they developed together throughout those long grueling but wonderful nine months, that it grows and strengthens throughout the years, binds them together for all their life.

They say a mother can feel it in her when her child is near, it's something instinctive, something that she creates, that they developed together throughout those long grueling but wonderful nine months, that it grows and strengthens throughout the years, binds them together for all their life. 

And Paz.. 

Paz wasn't a mother for very long, in fact she can count on one hand the amount of times she held her son, but she can be sure that each time, it felt like the first, that every time she looked into his eyes, she fell in love once more.

She loved holding him in her arms, being together in her room after a long day, just enjoying each other’s company. She never thought she would have a child so imagine her surprise when she found out she couldn't contain herself, something that many women on earth wanted but never could have achieved was made possible for her, it all just felt like some blessing, like a miracle, but of course there were downsides to the baby growing inside her belly. 

The first being that she slept with the Colonel— which in itself was highly inappropriate— but Miles was charming and sooner than later they were wrapped around each other together tighter than a rope.

The other being that they were literally on another planet.

But she never dared regret to cross her mind, that child will be born no matter what, and it was, she gave birth to a beautiful boy, with the brightest golden hair, the pinkest mouth and chubby cheeks that made her heart melt. 

She named him Miles. 

When Quaritch found out he had laughed at her, told her that she really wasn't planning to keep it a secret, but then for how long were they planning to keep it a secret?

The baby was here and there was no way she would ever make him feel that it was a burden, that she was ashamed of him, he was her greatest joy, her greatest love, her greatest miracle.

She loved him so much, so much that she would do anything for him, that's why she left that day, she left to fight for humanity, she wanted a home here… On pandora, where her child would grow and play and be as strong as his father, but as smart as his mother. 

That’s why she left. She left for him, to fight for him and in the end come back to him, with victory in her hands. 

She expected to win, they all expected to win, but what they didn't know, what they couldn't possibly think of was that Pandora… She was a mother too. 

She was a mother and we were hurting her children, murdering them and ruining them, 

And a mother…

A mother always protects. 

She protects her children and eliminates the threat, so that's what she did. 

Pandora saw us as the threat, we were hurting her children so she defended them, she protected them, she eliminated us. 

And so, I died,

I died with his name on my heart. 

She fell into a deep sleep, a sleep so deep and for so long that she forgot who she was, what she was and where she was. 

But suddenly, a light shined through, a light so bright that blinded her, a light so bright that had her shooting up from where she was laying and gasping for breath with a stranger's name on her lips. 

She looked around and noticed how everything seemed so much smaller but bigger at the same time, that everything became much more, every feeling, scent, sight and sound heightened. 

Her thoughts became muddled and her movements sluggish.

She looked across the room and saw a giant blue person staring back at her. She immediately tensed up. It looked like a woman version of the Navi, She took note of the blue markings and white dots on her face, when she noticed that wherever she looked teh women followed. She frowned and was confused as to why the woman copied it. 

“Hey! What’s—”

She stopped short. 

That woman was her, the blue woman was her. 

She was confused, how did she become this?

She could smell something familiar, something strong, something of love. 

There were tiny people around her in strange white clothing, asking her millions of questions at a time. She could barely keep up. Suddenly, some metal doors slid open and a Navi man came in and instead of wearing the usual loincloth and different colored beads and feathers, he wore military style clothing. His hair instead of long all around was cut short, a long strand trailing after him.

He looked familiar. 

He smelled familiar. 

The man was standing in front of her, a detached look on his face, 

His face….

His face….

The more she looked at it, the more her heart quickened, the more the memories flashed through, the more her eyes watered, the more intense a sob escaped past her lips. 

She threw herself at him, arms coming around his shoulders, his around her waist. SHe pressed her face to his neck, smelling that comforting scent. 

She blubbered. 

“Miles”

“Miles”

“Miles”

“Miles”

He pressed a large warm hand to the back of her head pressing her further into his neck. There was something missing, she could feel it, she was missing something. The more she smelled him the more her heart ached. 

Miles

Miles

Baby

That's what it was. Baby. She has a baby, but where was it?

Where was her baby?

She pulled away from him and he looked down at her, “Baby?” she whispered to him. 

His face did an ugly thing there, it twisted up into itself, a grimace taking over his face, his eyes becoming glossy, he shook his head once, and then one more time until he was just stuck shaking his head at her. 

Her lips trembled. “Baby?” 

He opened his mouth, tongue wetting his lips, His voice was gruff when he spoke, “No Paz, No baby.”

She felt her heart shatter. 

A sudden coldness creeping into it, freezing it up and then shattering into a thousand little pieces, she felt numb. Her thoughts slowed down as Miles continued to rub at her back and apologize to her. 

Her baby…

Her baby was gone…

There was no more baby. 

No more of his darling brown eyes, of that golden head of hair, that shined like a beacon under the lights. No more sweet gummy smiles or the shrieking giggles. 

“No.”

She pushed herself up and away from Miles, “No. No. No.”

“Paz, Im sorry”

She grasped at the  foreign strands of hair, gripping onto them tight, “No. No, No. No. No!”

She heaved a great sob. “Not My baby.”

“No, Not my baby”

“Miles, Please”

Tears poured down her face as she grasped at her own skin, his hands coming to her and pulling her scratching claws away from her face and arms. He pulled her into his chest as she sobbed into his shirt, wet spots forming where her face lay. 

His hand coursed through her hair, his mouth releasing, quiet ‘Shushing’ sounds. 

She didn't know for how long she cried against him, she just knew that by the time it was over her throat ached, her eyes hurt and tear marks stained her cheeks and his shirt. He still continued to caress her hair. 

She could feel each breath he took, hear his heart beating and it seemed to be lulling her to sleep until he suddenly spoke, 

“I know that… I Know that you hurtin’ right now, and trust me it kills me to see you like this, but we… we got work to do.”

“We’ve got another chance, Paz.”

He looked down and with his hands raised her face to look up at him, “I know you got that fire in your belly, itching for revenge, And don't worry, we’re going to get it, Alright?”

His thumbs rubbed at her cheeks, looking at her dead in the eye,  “I need you with me, soldier. Can I count on you?”

God, she was tired, she didn't want to do anything but lay on the ground,  curl up and die, but as she stared deep into his eyes, she could see a fire burning there, eating up at him and she bet that when he looked into hers he would see the same thing. She was tired, but she didn't want to waste this opportunity, she had a second chance and if she couldn’t win last time for her son, then maybe she can use this time to win for someone else’s. 

She steeled herself, planted her feet and stood up straight, staring deep into his eyes, “Yes, Colonel.”

A tired smile curled up on his lips, he pressed his lips to her forehead,  “Atta girl.” 

3 days after she ‘woke’ up, they were on the move, Miles had explained to her what it was they were doing, how they were here.

And… shit. 

She never would have signed that paper if she knew it would have come to this, she is grateful to be with miles once again, but it's not the same, it's not the same if it means that the only reason she is here was because she had to let go of one of her boys. 

She didnt have time to mope but how badly did she want to, the others they couldn't understand, not even Z-dog who at some point in her life must have had a maternal bone in her body. She felt as if she had eaten led, her body ached like a limb had been torn from her, but still she walked, she performed like the soldier she was trained to be. 

They were flying to the Hallelujah mountains, where their new ‘boss’ , a tight-lipped bitch called Ardmore, had wanted them in the hive’s nest, to ‘test’ how they fit in with Pandora's defensive system.

Being in a scorpion brings shudders to her arms, last time she was in one she had an arrow striking out of her chest and she was plunging fast to the ground, sometimes she could still feel the sting of it. She closed her eyes and tried to focus on the breeze that flew in, she felt something tap her shoulder and she quickly turned to look. 

Lyle was looking at her, a question in his eyes, she firmly nodded her head and turned to look back out, soon enough they were getting ready for the drop off, the team got clipped onto their harnesses and slowly slid down the rope. 

Feet touching the ground, they were off. They sneaked past animals and wandered through the beauty that was Pandora, she couldn't find it in herself to hate her, it felt as if she now understood what had happened, that they were at fault for the destruction. 

That only if they’d listened in the beginning none of this would have happened, that she would still have her… Her baby, that they could have been a happy family, if only they’d listened, which is why now that she’s here, she feels uneasy, that a cycle is just repeating and that the events might be different but the ending will be the same. 

She followed behind Miles as they stumbled upon an abandoned pod and a broken Skel suit, she stayed behind as she watched him poke around it. She moved further into the abandoned pod and looked through it, moving colorful leaves around and a few branches, in the end she found nothing special. 

She made to move out when a piercing scream echoed around the jungle, she saw Miles freeze before Ja gave his location on what he had found. They moved quickly and as a team, but the uneasiness in her grew, it rattled her heart and made it hard to focus, up ahead Miles had broken through the undergrowth onto a small clearing where Ja and the rest of the team were.

She caught up with them and saw how they had managed to catch what looked to be Navi children, she saw how they were each restrained by their Queque, she positioned herself at the back, feet steady, when a scent made her falter. 

It is true what they say, how a mother’s intuition is never wrong, how they are able to just tell when something of theirs is near. 

Paz wasn't a mother for a very long time, this body of hers didn't know what it was feeling, didn't understand why whenever she looked at this boy her heart ached, why her eyes became wet and her knees weak. 

But her soul knew.

It knew. 

Because how can this feeling be wrong, how can it just be grief being cruel once more. 

How can this scent, this wonderful familiar scent that makes her drop her gun, —something that went against her training— be wrong, be just a figment of her imagination. 

She desperately searches for it when she suddenly spots it, right there being restrained by Mansk, a boy. 

A Human Boy, dressed in Navi clothing. 

Her heart beating out of her chest as hands shake and tremble at her sides, this boy… This boy is a lot bigger than her baby.

But she knows, she knows those eyes.

She knows why her belly tightens and her heart aches, why her breath falls short.

And she knows that the feeling in her chest, the way her heart aches and tightens, is not a mistake, or hallucination.

It's real.

She can tell when the Boy notices her, notices her looking, notices the way her hands shake and her eyes are brimmed with tears. 

They watch each other, ignoring whatever is going on around them, and they know. They just do.

She wants to get closer, she wants to see him, wants to touch him. 

Her feet begin to move, as her lip wobbles and hands clenched at her side, Her voice trembles when she speaks, “Miles?”

The boy’s eyes widen just slightly, she walks over now standing in front of, “Miles?” she asks again

She can feel quaritch looking at her, She reaches over, bending slightly so she could look straight into his eyes, her palm makes contact with the soft cheek and she gasps as it tingles. 

A tear slips past the boy’s eye landing on her hand, and that’s all she needs. She pulls the boy into her arms holding him tight against her. Wrecking sobs work out of her mouth as she caresses him all over, “My Miles”

“My sweet baby.”

She cries as she touches his hair and runs her hands down his arms and neck before gathering him up in an embrace once more. 

She wants to hold on to him and never let him go. 

She holds him against her chest as she whispers apologies into his hair, the boy finally reacts and brings his arms up around her, falling limp in her arms. She can feel the tears, slipping out of his eyes and landing on her shirt. 

“I'm so sorry”

“I'm sorry.” she sobs

She pulls his head away from her chest so she can look at him, his face is just exactly the same, but god, he’s grown up so much, she’s missed so much. 

“I wish I hadn't gone. I wished I had stayed there with you” she whispered into his eyebrow.

He does say anything, just keeps on holding her tight, cheek pressed to her chest and when he speaks she can feel his lips moving against it, “Mama” he whispers. 

And she feels as if a thousand angels are roaring in her ears, as if the sun had chosen this moment to shine directly onto her, warming her up from the inside out. She breathes out, strands of his hair lightly shift, “Yes… Yes it's me” she sobs out. 

Almost as if he needed that confirmation from her, his arms tighten around her and she feels the spot where his face is pressed against her growing damp, he lifts one hand and buries her fingers in his hair. 

“My baby” she murmurs against him. 

“Mama”

Paz wasn't a mother for a very long time, some may say that she didn't spend enough time with her child to be able to have this bond with him, that he wasn't supposed to even be here, that it was a mistake, but just like the first time, he proved them wrong. 

He survived. 

He lived. 

She was given a miracle, she wasn't going to waste it. 

She wasn't going to let him go, she will stay by his side no matter what. 

[helloaft0n]

Accidents Happen

(Reader x TNMN Neighbours)

Summary: You survive a doppelgänger attack, and all of your neighbours visit you! <3

It was a rare occasion, to see a human actually survive a doppel attack. Like you, you were one of the rare ones to survive. In return, you had scratches all over your face and body, your nose was bleeding badly, and a few patches of skin was ripped off, mainly on your arms and legs. After your neighbours had heard the miracle, they instantly rushed to the hospital of where you were held to be healed.

As you wake up, slowly but surely, you can feel and see the blinding white of your hospital room, surrounding you completely. It was then followed by a massive headache, probably due to the loss of blood. But you can also hear a few, distance voices outside of your hospital room. It was muffled, but you could almost tell that some of those voices belonged to your neighbours. Relief washed over you quickly, relaxing, as you know that atleast, a few people that you care about, they also care about you.

You swore you heard a nurse say, “You can come in, they’re awake.”

After that, a few, familiar faces had entered the room. It was just a few, like about 4 or 5 people had entered. But you finally recognised the faces, as they were Angus, Steven, Lois, Roman, and Nacha. They had seemingly, a worried expression in their eyes, that was quickly removed as soon as they saw you awake. Roman and Angus took of their hats in relief, as Steven places his sunglasses over his head, a warm light in his eyes, and a soft smile plastered over his face.

“[Reader], You are finally awake!” He exclaims happily, as the other 4 frantically nod.

“We’ve heard the news… and we can’t believe that you, somehow, survived that terrible attack..” He watches you closely, as he frowns after, crossing his arms, and moving a little closer to the side of your bed.

“We were so worried!” Lois added, as she grows closer to you, holding your hand gently in her gloved hand. “We didn’t think you’d make it.. after all of those traumatic injuries.. Oh Gosh.. [Reader]…” She smiles, you imagined her eyes also smiling behind those bangs of hers. After a while, 5 more people came in. They were Afton, Mia, Izaack, Robertsky, and Albertsky. All with the same worries look as the other 5.

“[Reader]!” Mia happily exclaims, as she runs up to you, and hugs you tightly, burying her head into your neck, as Afton follows her behind, with a relieved smile on his face, as well as Mia’s.

“You are actually alive! Thank God..” Albert sighs under his breath, walking over to your bed, and sitting down on the edge. Robert did the same, on the opposite side of where Albert had sat, with the same exact sigh too.

“If you would have died, we wouldn’t know what to do next…” Izaack barges in the conversation, as he clasps his hands together, looking at you with the same, iconic, and cheery smile. You were lost for a bit, before you finally realised that you’ve been attacked by a doppel. Now, you were seeing 10 of your neighbours all in the same room. You were wondering if the other half would come too. And maybe, that would be fulfilled, as another group of people had came in. They were Francis, Alf, Rafttellyn, Mclooy, and Margarette.

“Fella, you are awake now!” Mclooy exclaims with a cheeky grin, as he removes his cigar from his mouth, blowing a small ring of smoke into the air.

“Mmm… morning.. [Reader]…” Francis quietly states, as he removes his hat from his hand, and places it against his chest. He almost had.. tears in his eyes? Along with a soothing smile plastered on his tired face. And finally, the last 5 neighbours come in. And those were? Elenois, Selenne, Gloria, Anastacha and Arnold… Elenois and Selenne loudly cheer, as they both go up to you, hugging you tightly, with tears in their eyes.

“[R-Reader!]” Elenois first replies, as she holds onto your neck tightly.

“We never thought we’d ever see your beautiful face again!” Selenne cries out, as she sobs into your cheek. Even Anastacha seemed relieved, which was rare…

Tick.. tick.. the clock went, as you can hear the faint buzzing of the lights above you, and the faint smell of… flowers.?

Suddenly, a bouquet was placed into your arms, from Nacha.

“Something to show our appreciation!” She softly smiled at you, as she gestured for you to open the card which was attached to the stems.

In the card, was a bunch of ‘get well’ and ‘we’ll miss you’ etc. inside the card, from all 20 residents. With their unique handwriting.. and just them.

But just as you placed the flowers tenderly onto one of the nightstands, everyone suddenly hugged you!

“We love you, [Reader]!” Everybody replied, as they all giggled happily, as nuzzled up against each other.

Now, it’s been weeks since the attack, and you were slowly healing from it. Many noticeable scars and marks were left on your skin, but you ignored them, as you peacefully slept in the white sheets of your hospital bed.

Everybody had left a gift for you.

A few poems regarding their love, by the Stilnskys.

A few baked treats from the Peachman brothers.

A few writing equipment from Angus.

A nice dress from the Sverchzt twins.

A few short stories from the Schmichts.

Small gifts from Izaack.

A soft cloth from Margarette.

And a few baked goods from Nacha, as well as a drawing from Anasatcha.

Books from Afton and Mia.

Milk from Francis.

A few toy planes from the Rudboys.

And finally, even more baked treats from the cappuccin!

“We wish you a well-deserved rest, [Reader]….”

<3

[berenwrites]

Caring - Stranger Things - Steddie

Rating: G | cw: none | tags: pre-steddie, fluff

Prompt: Love is letting someone take care of you (@starryeyedjanai)

A/N: Written for @steddielovemonth day 1. How could I resist?

Also on AO3 | All my other Stranger Things Fic

Caring: Now It’s Your Turn

Eddie can literally feel the nervous energy that is the only thing keeping Steve going. He’s pretty sure the other man hasn’t stopped moving since they all emerged from the Upside Down.

It’s finally over. The nightmare is finished.

By some miracle, everyone who went in this time is alive, and they brought him back too. Vecna is dead, a charred mess that Eleven made sure was never, ever coming back. Eddie isn’t sure how that happened. He isn’t sure of anything from the time he “died” to the time Steve “the hero who has zero self-preservation skills” Harrington refused to hit him with a nail bat and instead wrapped him in a hug until he stopped struggling.

Apparently, Vecna’s hold on him was worth shit when Steve was in the equation. Well Steve and possibly bats.

The fact that he has a vague sense of Steve in the back of his brain now had been freaking him out, but he is currently settling into numb acceptance. They were definitely going to have to talk about it, but that is a problem for future Eddie. He doesn’t have enough brain power to think about more than one thing at a time, and his current focus is the fact Steve is ready to drop.

Looking at Steve, no one would ever know. Except possibly Robin, because she is giving Steve worried looks too.

Apparently, Steve’s house had become the group’s base for their final offensive against Vecna. Everyone had returned there once it was done, and ever since, Steve had been running around making sure everyone else had everything they needed. They had all taken showers, had clean clothes and food, been patched up for minor injuries, and had been allocated places to sleep. All except Steve.

Eddie had had an embarrassing crush on Steve ever since his King Steve days. Their short time together before Eddie had done his own hero bit had only cemented that and made it grow. It hadn’t stopped. Maybe it is mental exhaustion talking, or the shock of not being dead finally sinking in, but he can’t take his eyes off Steve.

Before the Upside Down it had seemed like such a big, impossible thing. After coming back from the dead, nothing seemed completely out of reach.

He shares a glance with Robin as they watch Steve moving through the huge Harrington living room, checking on everyone, making sure they have everything they could possibly need, and they come to a silent decision. Standing, they both make a beeline to their target. Eddie slips one hand under Steve’s right elbow, while Robin does the same on the other side.

“What..?” Steve starts to say.

“How many fingers, Dingus?” Robin asks, holding up her hand. “I thought so,” she says when Steve squints hard, as if trying to guess.

“I need…” Steve begins.

“To sleep,” Eddie finishes for him.

“But,” is the weak protest.

“No buts,” Robin counters. “Everyone is fine, everyone is looked after. Now it’s your turn.”

Steve looks between them, clearly ready to object, but, surprisingly, sags against their united front.

It makes Eddie smile for the first time since Steve shattered Vecna’s hold on him, as Steve lets them lead him towards the stairs. He doesn’t really have a handle on the fluttery feeling in his chest yet, and he still has to let himself deal with, well, just everything, but it’s a start. That Steve is letting him and Robin do some looking after settles a place inside him.

For now, it will do.

All my other Stranger Things Fic

[geralts-yenn]

Believe In Me - chapter 10

chapter warnings: 18+, adult content, minors DNI! vaginal fingering, p-in-v sex, me taking even more liberties with Greek mythology

word count: 3,2k

Series Masterlist

“This is amazing! Thank you for bringing me here.” Aurora let her gaze travel over the dark wooden shelves, framed by golden ornaments. Thousands of ancient books were filling them. Her eyes wandered to the baroque frescoes that decorated the stucco ceiling. It was breathtaking.

“I’m glad you like it,” Erebus said, his deep voice reverberating through the room. “Your mother loved visiting libraries with me, and this one was her favorite.” A small smile tugged at his mouth as his look got unfocused. “Her eyes were sparkling whenever she could lay her hands on all those chronicles and tomes.”

After visiting libraries in Oxford, Venice and Vienna, this time Erebus had taken Aurora to Prague. They wandered through the rooms, even the ones that weren’t open to visitors, as those limitations didn’t apply to Erebus. He just took Aurora in his arms and in the next moment they found themselves wherever he wanted to take her. 

As the sun began to rise, Aurora sat with her father on a bench, overlooking the Vltava river and the Charles Bridge in the distant. Erebus read to her, a love story, centuries old, but as she listened to him, she thought how nothing ever changed. People have always loved the same way. 

Aurora had learned fast to enjoy the company of her father. He was quiet, but that never bothered her. She felt safe with him, and his serenity was a comfort she deeply needed after what had happened weeks ago. 

After Erebus had finished the tragic love story and shut the book, he looked up to watch the warm colors of the morning reflect in the calm waters of the river. His face showed melancholy, a feeling that always seemed to be present with him, but this morning it was more evident than ever.

“Please tell me about her.” Aurora demanded, and Erebus turned to her.

“Your mother?”

“Maybe, I don’t know. Tell me about whoever makes you feel like this.”

A warm smile spread over the God’s face. 

“Your mother definitely is part of that, yes. She was the one I could finally love, after a very long time. She taught me to be happy again. We had such a short time together, a blink of an eye, but the days I had with her meant so much to me.” Erebus took Aurora’s hand in his. “And she gave me you. This is the most wonderful gift I could have ever gotten. I wish I could thank her for it.” He pressed a gentle kiss on her temple.

Aurora savored his affection. She had never thought to experience love again from a parent after her mother had died, so the miracle of Erebus’ existence filled her heart with joy. 

“Do you want to talk about what made it so hard for you to find love and happiness?” She didn’t know if her question crossed a line, but she couldn’t help it. She was so curious about this mysterious man and why he always had this sadness in his eyes. 

Erebus took a deep breath. When Aurora already thought she had annoyed him, and she wouldn’t get an answer, he turned to her and watched her intently. 

“Her name was Nyx” His eyes seemed to glow golden as he remembered her. “She was like me. Ancient and powerful, goddess of the night. We erupted out of pure chaos, and from the beginning of the world, my darkness and her night were always meant to collide. The love we shared can’t be described in human words. Nyx and I, we were inseparable for eons of years. But humans feared our unified darkness, and gods feared our immense power. And so a goddess and a mighty witch united to bring the most cruel curse over us.”

Aurora squeezed the God’s hand with hers reafirmingly. His gaze dropped to their joined hands, marveling how hers looked so delicate and tiny in his huge paw. And yet, her touch gave him so much comfort. He hadn’t talked about Nyx in a long time, and it cost him a lot of strength to go on.

“The curse robbed us from sensing each other. On the worst day of my life, I woke up, unable to see my lover’s beautiful face, to hear her laughter, to inhale her scent, unable to taste her sweet mouth or feel her warmth. And it was the same for her. Hundreds of years we tried to fight it, tried to break the curse. But eventually, we both gave up, our hearts broken.”

“What happened to her?” Aurora asked carefully. She hadn’t missed that Erebus talked about her in past tense. 

“I will tell you another time.” Erebus patted her leg and gave her a small smile. “How about you? You’re still happy living with the vampires?” 

Aurora knew her father still hoped she’d live with him. But she also knew that he’d accept her decision. And she was, in fact, very happy living with Melot.

“I am. I was scared that it’d be lonely, not being able to leave the house. But there’s always someone to spend my time with, and I like all the vampires living there. They are all so kind to me. Maria spends a lot of time with me, too, which is awesome. She’s the best. And I started some online courses that keep me occupied.”

If Erebus was disappointed, he didn’t let it show. “Does Melot treat you well?” he asked, and Aurora blushed, as she thought about things Melot did to her that she really didn’t want to discuss with her father.

“He does! He loves me.” 

And that was enough for Erebus, he just wanted his daughter to be happy.

“Good! And what about August?” Erebus eyes darkened when he mentioned the vampire king. He could never hide his animosity towards him. Another mystery Aurora still had to figure out.

“I barely see him and when he’s there, he mostly ignores me. He’s a little intimidating, but you get used to him. I just hate that I’m always cold when he’s in the same room.”

Aurora bit her lip and tilted her head, not sure if she should risk another question. But Erebus was in the rare mood of talking, so she tried.

“Why do you hate him?”

“That is a very long story that I’m not willing to share with you yet. August wouldn’t be happy if I told you, either. Not that this matters to me.” The corner of his mouth pulled up into a crooked smirk. “Enough talking, let me take you home to your vampire lover, he certainly misses you already.”

“Finally!” 

Maria beamed up at them as Aurora and Melot stepped down into the lounge that was buzzed with people. “I already thought about walking into your room and dragging both of you out of your bed. If Melot wasn’t inhumanly strong, I probably would have done it.”

Aurora accepted the margarita that Maria held out for her and took a sip. Melot pressed a kiss on her forehead and left her with her friend, walking out onto the patio.

“I had an online class.” Aurora said defensively, but her blush and her eyes twinkling mischievously gave her away. 

“Like I don’t know that your course ended an hour ago. On top of that, you both have sex hair.” Maria chuckled and brushed her fingers through Aurora’s curls. 

It was a pleasant summer night, a warm breeze in the air, and apparently Will and Mike had decided to throw a party. This happened at least once a week, but Aurora wouldn’t complain. She had soon learned to appreciate the hedonistic lifestyle most of her cohabitants chose. The vampires were always up for a good time, and their human guests, most of them in some sort of relationship with the guys, were a welcome change in terms of conversations.

Maria and Aurora stepped out into the garden and made their way to Syverson, who was smiling contently while flipping some burgers on his beloved barbecue grill. 

“Why do you enjoy this so much, Sy?” Maria asked with a grin on her face. “It’s not like you guys are keen to eat this, right?”

The huge, bearded vampire chuckled. “No, sugar, but it’s kinda relaxing. And I love taking care of you little humans. Feeding you like you’re feeding me. It’s the least I can do.”

With that, he shoved a plate of food in each Maria’s and Aurora’s hands and gave them one of his awkward winks.

The girls sat down on a lounger and dug into their burgers. Aurora talked about her new classes and her last trip with her father. Maria provided her friend with some college gossip and then gushed over the date night she had with Charles. 

“Don’t know if I can call it a date, to be fair. We’re talking about Charles, and I’m not an idiot. But honestly, he really managed to make me feel like I’m the only girl in the world for him that night.” Maria sighed. 

“Where is he, anyway?” Aurora asked, looking around the garden.

“He’s still in the club, but he’ll be joining us later. He still has to feed, and he signed a contract with me, saying that we’re exclusive - in terms of feeding.” The last part of Maria’s sentence lacked the enthusiasm that she usually showed whenever she talked about her new favorite vampire.

Suddenly, Mike dropped onto the lounger between the two girls. The furniture creaked under the weight of him. His shit eating grin got wider as he saw the startled expression on the girls’ faces. He loved using his inhuman speed to spook people. 

“I haven’t seen Charlie dipping his dick in anyone else in a while now, so I think you can assume to be exclusive in every way,” he told Maria, wiggling his eyebrows.

While Maria just sat there with her mouth hanging open, Aurora laughed and pushed Mikey’s shoulder, as if she was actually able to have an impact on the solid body of his.

“Hey, you’re not supposed to be eavesdropping, Mike. Ever heard of privacy?” But Mike just shook his head and laughed.

“Sweetcheeks, do you remember you’re living with a bunch of vampires who have superhuman senses? There’s no such thing as privacy in this house.”

Aurora let out a groan. “Hate that you are right! Maria, we should probably switch our conversation to period cramps. That should scare him off to pry on someone else.”

The girls started to laugh but got interrupted by Mikey’s tsk’s. “Babycakes!” He raised an eyebrow at Aurora, biting back his smirk. “Vampires, blood. You get it!” 

“Ugh, that’s gross, Mikey!” It was Maria’s turn to shove Mike and this time it actually kind of worked because the vampire got up with more chuckles and left the girls alone again.

As the night slowly came to an end, vampires and humans left the party and Aurora found herself alone with Melot. The vampire rested his head against the lounger, his girlfriend sitting between his legs, her back against his chest. As much fun as the parties were, this part of living with Melot was Aurora’s favorite. Spending time cuddled against Melot’s body would never get boring. 

“The vampire history course I’m taking is incredible. It’s so interesting. It got me to think, how exactly did you end up with August?” She turned her head to look into Melot’s eyes. “If you want to share, of course. You don’t have to answer if it makes you uncomfortable.”

Melot gave her a soft smile. “No, it’s fine. I would share everything with you.”

He interlaced his fingers with Aurora’s and then started to tell her:

“Guess it’s easiest to start with Charles. It was around 1500, Charles was living at the court of Henry VIII. He was a close friend of the king, and let’s just say, he enjoyed his life and the attention he got from women at court just as much as you might expect.

But this led him to one decision that changed his life forever. He bedded a woman who wasn’t what she pretended to be. The woman was a vampire. And she was so enamored with Charles’ pretty face that she couldn’t stand the thought that he would get older and his beauty was supposed to fade. So she turned him, without his consent. Without telling him anything, in fact.

And when Charles noticed that something was happening to him, that his body reacted strangely,  he had no clue, and he totally freaked out. He rushed from the palace and ran through the streets of London in panic. A new vampire without guidance is something very dangerous. He might have exposed us to humans, or he might even have killed someone. 

That’s why August tried his best to get him under control. On the third night that Charles slipped through his fingers, just fast enough not to get into August’s ban, August appeared at my door step. By that time, I was living a quiet life, not engaging much in vampire society. But somehow August knew about my ability to walk through daylight.

He asked me to secure Charles while he was hiding from the sun. I was surprised to see August, I had heard about him before, he was a legend, even back then. And of course, his ability to persuade others made my decision to help him an easy one. 

The next day, I managed to get my hands on Charles and brought him to August. He took care of the confused Charles and to my astonishment, August asked me to stay with him and Charles.”

While Melot kept recounting stories from his past, Aurora was hypnotized by the way his face showed so many different emotions. His eyes morphed from dark pits to glowing fires or glassy orbs with every new memory. 

“All the things you must have seen! I can’t really wrap my head around this,” she whispered, her fingers brushing gently through the long strands of his hair. “You must have met so many gorgeous women. Is it weird that I am a little jealous?”

Aurora sank her head, trying to hide from her lover’s gaze, but Melot didn’t let her get away with it. His fingers hooked under her chin, forcing her to set her eyes back on his.

“You don’t have to be.” Melot emphasized every of his words with a soft kiss. On her forehead, her temple, on her nose, her cheek, and finally on her mouth.

“You’re the most gorgeous woman I have ever met. And even more importantly, I have never felt even close to what I feel for you, Aurora.”

His words were enough to make her forget about her insecurities. There was nothing left inside her chest than her immeasurable, all-consuming love for Melot.

Her mouth was back on his, urgently seeking his warmth and taste. The night sky slowly changed from deep blue to paler shades of purple, while neither of them could find the strength to end this kiss. 

Instead, their hands desperately sought out each other, their desire growing with every passing minute. Melot curled his fingers into the neckline of Aurora’s shirt and without hesitation he ripped the fabric in two. 

Aurora gasped.“This was expensive!” she protested half-heartedly, but Melot only chuckled. 

“August will buy you a dozen more of them.” He covered the newly exposed skin with his warm hands, while he sealed her lips with his mouth before she could object any further. 

His fingers brushed over the tight peaks of her breasts, pinching them teasingly, before they moved lower, finding their way into Aurora’s soaked panties. A deep growl reverberated through Melot’s chest, the moment he slipped one finger into her hot, wet core. A sound that spread goose bumps all over Aurora’s body and swallowed her own needy whimper.

“I need all of you, baby!” His lips brushed over her ear, sending more shivers through Aurora’s body. 

She moved to stand, dropping the ruined dress to the floor, together with her underwear. Her knees were hardly able to carry her weight, but Melot saved them from giving in. The next second, Aurora found herself back in Melot’s arms. She felt the soft hair of his chest against her back, and more prominently she felt the hard length of his cock pressing against her ass.

And even though he had told her how much he needed her, a minute ago, Melot slowed down. He took his sweet time, one hand wrapped around her heavy breast, the other playing gently with her sensitive clit. 

“Shush, darling. I can hear your heart racing in your chest.” He licked from her jaw along her throat. “I can feel your pulse below my tongue.” His words only made her heart beat faster. 

He pushed two fingers back into her, the heel of his hand pressing down on her swollen nub.

“Please,” Aurora all but begged, “take everything you need.”

Melot sucked on Aurora’s neck, his fangs scraping over the delicate skin, but he still didn’t give in to his urge. Instead, he curled his fingers, seeking out the spot that made Aurora see stars.

And when he kept pumping his fingers into her, he brought here there. The tension he built inside her core snapped and waves of pleasure rushed through her body. Aurora thought this was the best she could ever feel. But then Melot moved, and he sank his teeth into her neck and his cock into her still pulsing heat. 

The cry Aurora let out almost sounded inhuman. The pain and pleasure running through her body was all that was left from her, and it was perfect. She was floating on a high that didn’t fade and that blurred her mind in the best way. 

Melot’s thrusts got faster and harder until he shuddered beneath her, her name on his lips. It took her a while until she even noticed that Melot had stopped pounding into her. He just held her tight and pressed kisses on the wound he had left on her throat. 

Lazily, Aurora opened her eyes. The sun had risen to a big red orb, covering the mountains and all the surroundings in front of them in orange and pink light. Aurora turned and admired the beautiful face of her lover in the warm light. Melot’s eyes seemed to glow in a brighter red as usual as he looked back at her with a softness on his face that was reserved only for Aurora. 

“I am so grateful that I get to see this,” he told her, his voice hoarse. “And I’m glad I have you to join me.” The two of them shared a gentle kiss before they went back to watch the sun rise. Aurora sighed, snuggled deeper against Melot’s chest, and thought how she could spend eternity like this.

[luverofralts]

Arkhelios Adventures

When Maura opened her eyes, she didn't recognize the room she was standing in. It wasn't in the cottage or the palace. She was somewhere completely unknown to her. Where had she just been? Her brain scrambled, trying to piece together the last thing she remembered. She had been at the cottage, wasn't she? She had been talking to Adrian about parenting his strange little girl and laughing at how frustrated he felt. If one of her children could predict the future, Maura would be ecstatic instead of worried. Still, Rien was an unsettling child, even Maura could admit it. Honestly, she blamed that on Roman being her father. The poor girl was a Bellamy and even the Siew family genetics couldn't change that. There were Siews whose behaviour belonged in a horror movie, but they were never the haunted little girl that Adrianne appeared to be.

Speaking of horror movies, the decor of wherever Maura was seemed to fit right in a creepy movie. Skeletal figures and cloaked, robed beings were scattered across the room, making Maura feel like she was in some kind of evil cult building. Strangetown's coven had once worshiped and attempted to murder Death. Was this their second try? Had Edana lost her mind and followed her brother's path or was this the work of someone new? Why would Strangetown even care about the queen of Twikkii Island? This had better not be Claudia's idea of a joke. It would be just like Claudia to try to teach her cousin some misguided lesson about security or covens or whatever else Claudia had on her mind.

"Claudia? This isn't funny. You're not going to creep me out with some Gothic Halloween decorations. How did you even get me here? We promised to never use our security teams against each other, remember? Come on."

"I'm glad to hear that you and your cousin are still close. Our lives are lonely, and we need to keep our family near."

Maura spun around to face the voice coming from the next room. It was impossible. It couldn't be. It would have to be either a miracle or a tragedy for the owner of that voice to be standing behind her.

"M-Mom? Is that you?"

Impossibly, Cherry Siew, former queen of Twikkii Island, was standing in the same room as Maura for the first time in years. This wouldn't ordinarily be impossible, except for the fact that Cherry had died, leaving the throne to her daughter.

"Maura, I'm so sorry to see you here," the dead queen began. "It's so good to see you, though. I've missed you."

"Mom?"

Maura launched herself at her mother, wrapping her arms around the woman she missed every single day. She hadn't realized how much her mother had meant to her until she had been taken from her.

"You look so grown up and mature," Cherry said, holding her daughter just as tightly. "The crown hasn't crushed your spirit as I feared it might. You are carrying our family legacy well and making us all so happy."

Maura froze at these words, once again concerned about her location.

"Is this a dream? It has to be. I'm dreaming. You can't say things like this outside of dreams, you're gone. This is just me trying to rationalize the stress I've been under and fantasizing about parental acceptance. This is a weird dream though. I don't think I've ever dreamt of this place before."

"Honey, you're not dreaming. I know you're stubborn and strong-willed, but you need to accept this. You're not dreaming. You're between realms. You're dying."

Maura pulled away from her mother in an instant, suddenly taking notice of her surroundings and trying to guess where she was really being held.

"This is a trick! Who put you up to this? How did you find someone who looks so much like my mom? Tell me where I am!"

"Honey, you need to calm down. This is real and you need to listen to me. I'm here on behalf of our family. When someone dies, their soul is brought here to the office of the Grim Reaper, where they are greeted by their loved ones and introduced to eternity. Your grandmother wanted to come as well, but I overruled her. I know how you two always struggled to get along, and perhaps selfishly, I wanted you all to myself. I wanted to see the woman you've become in my absence."

All of the well reasoned arguments Maura tried to raise died under the withering glare of her mother. There was no denying that this was the same woman who could silence Maura’s childish antics while fidgeting during a royal speech with a single look. Too much evidence was piling up and it all appeared to be confirming Maura’s worst fears. If this wasn't a dream, Maura should still have a baby bump. She should be at the cottage. She wouldn't be seeing the very real ghost of her mother.

"I-I don't want to be dead," Maura whimpered. "I have so much to do still. I have a family. This has to be a mistake."

"None of that matters when it's your time," Cherry said softly. "We all had plans for how our lives would be, and being queen doesn't mean much against eternity. But honey, your life is still being written. You're dying, yes, but there is hope. You're not bound to this place yet. I'm speaking with you as a courtesy of the Grim Reaper."

"I...I'm not dead?"

Cherry shook her head. Maura had always struggled to pay attention growing up; it seemed like it was something she still struggled with.

"No, not yet at least. Your name hasn't been written in the lists of the Grim Reaper, but your body is damaged enough for your spirit to drift here. I was asked to greet you because your spirit wasn't the only one to travel here. Maura, I know this will come as an unwelcome shock, but there were casualties at the event where you were attacked. Alysiara and Spencer came to me earlier. Unlike you, their names are on the list of the lost. They wanted to say their goodbyes before joining our family in eternity."

"What? No. No, that's impossible. Those are my children. Children aren't supposed to die! Tell the Grim Reaper to fix it!"

"Mommy!"

Two familiar voices rang through the hall, breaking Maura’s heart. Those were undeniably her children, here in the realm of the dead. Her children were dead. How was she supposed to process this? How were her other children? Was Ulyssa safe? Were they at war in the living realm? She had to get back there and save her people, but she couldn't leave her children here.

"Spencer! You look so big! I love you so much." Maura wrapped her arms around her son, hugging him tightly. Behind him, Alysiara waited to do the same.

"You can look however you want here!" Spencer exclaimed. "I can look like a grown-up, but Grandma said it might be too much for you to see right now. Grandma's really nice."

"I know," Maura said numbly. "She's my mommy. She took great care of me, just like I'm sure she'll do for you."

It was all too surreal to process. Her mother, standing in front of her and two of her children, waiting to return to Cherry's side in what was apparently the world between life and death. She still half believed that this was all some kind of nightmare.

"Alysiara!" Maura hugged her oldest daughter fiercely. Alysiara remained the same as Maura remembered, with no sudden growth spouts like her brother. "Oh, honey, I'm so sorry. I couldn't protect you and-and that's the very first thing I promised to do as soon as I held both of you for the first time. This can't be happening! I...I just can't."

"We'll be okay," Alysiara promised her distraught mother. "Grandma has a lot of things to show us while we wait for you and Mommy to join us. I have a million people to meet, and they do parties here too. I can have a ball every day if I want and I don't even have to make a dress for it. You just think about what you want really hard, and it shows up. Spencer’s eaten a tub of ice cream already because he could. I'm going to ride a horse when you leave. No, actually, I think I'll ride a unicorn. I'm going to have my own castle now, filled with anything I want. You and Mommy can visit when you join us."

Cherry looked apologetically at her daughter.

"When children die, they assume an ageless consciousness, just like the rest of us," she explained, wrapping an arm around her grandson to keep him from running off. "It doesn't always kick in automatically. They'll be more mature once they get settled, but until then, there's no harm in unicorn racing. I promise that I'll take good care of them for you. I'll make sure that they're happy."

Maura wept for what felt like an eternity. She couldn't leave her children or accept their deaths. She also couldn't leave her living children and Ulyssa. She was torn between two realms, even if she knew where she truly belonged. She needed to guide her nation, at least until Adrion was able to succeed her, and she couldn't face a life without her remaining family that needed her in the living world. From the sound of it, the Grim Reaper didn't seem to expect her to die any time soon, so Maura prepared herself to leave her two children and her mother behind. She didn't want to, but it didn't seem like she was being given many options.

Maura thought of all the good times that she had shared with her mother and how often she longed to just sit down and chat with her about all the difficult things about being a queen and a mother. She hadn't realized how much she'd missed having her mother to bounce ideas off of until it was too late.

But wait. While Maura thought about losing her mother, she couldn't help but remember the difficulty of losing another parent.

"Where's Dad?" Maura blurted out. "I mean, if you're here and Grandma's here, then Dad has to be here too. Why didn't you invite him here? I want to see him too, even if it's only for a minute."

Cherry's posture immediately changed at the mention of her husband. She went from apologetic and soft to closed off.

"Your father's not here, Maura," Cherry said coldly.

"What? Where is he then? Is there anywhere else he could be? Could he be the in Void like Adrian was?"

"I don't know, and every reaper I've asked has refused to tell me. Dead people they can track, but living people? That's not their jurisdiction."

"Living people?" Maura repeated, horrified. "No, Grandma killed him. She didn't think he was right for a consort."

"My mother didn't kill my husband!" Cherry snapped. Her raised voice caused her grandchildren to flinch. "Your father was presumed dead and then declared dead so that I could remarry."

"Yeah, 'declared' dead so that you could find a new husband that Grandma approved of," Maura scoffed. "Convenient."

A darkness passed over Cherry's face that Maura had only seen when she was about to be grounded for a month as a child.

"Maura, I will not get into this while your children are here and still getting settled in. I have always told you the truth, whether you choose to believe it or not. Your father was declared dead after he left for a conference in Pleasantview and never arrived. We searched for months with the joined forces of Pleasantview and Twikkii Island. You were too young to remember that, but you can check the records yourself. My mother declared him dead after a year of searching to smooth things over with Pleasantview, seeing as he was en route there when he disappeared and some people were becoming suspicious. The Red Queen was also psychotic, Maura. We would have done anything to avoid a war with her, and you would have done the same. And yes, I wanted it to be over after months of searching. I wanted to marry the love of my life, and that wasn't your father. Iris and I were in love, and your father and I were planning to divorce. I'm sorry that I never told you that, Maura, but it's true. I never wanted to hurt you because you always spoke of your father like he was your hero and was special to you. You deserved closure and not the unhealable open wound of having a father who was missing. I tried to protect you. We all honestly thought that he was dead. The Red Queen wasn't known for keeping prisoners."

"Dad is still alive," Maura mumbled, her mind trying its hardest to piece together this new information but failing. "All these years. He could have come to my wedding and held my children when they were born. He could have walked me down the aisle. He could have called me up last week just to talk. Is he being held captive? He didn't abandon me if he's been a prisoner this whole time. I need to talk to Claudia. Maybe she has access to the Red Queen's secret diary where she confesses to kidnapping my dad!"

"Maura, don't pursue it," Cherry ordered. "Nothing good can come of this. Guide your people out of danger. Raise your children. Live your life. You can always talk to your father when you're both dead. He could be anywhere."

"How can I not?" Maura demanded. "He could be withering away in a prison cell somewhere. He could need my help. I'm sure he didn't leave us on purpose, even if you were going to divorce him. He wouldn't abandon me."

In a distant room, a large clock tolled, snapping Cherry's focus back to the matter she came to discuss.

"That's the end of your time here," she explained sadly. "I wish I could stay longer, but the kids need to get settled and you cannot stay forever in between realms. I love you. Never forget that. Don't worry about Alysiara and Spencer. They'll be happy with the family waiting for you here. I love you."

Within a blink of an eye, Maura’s mother and children vanished from sight, leaving Maura alone in this strange waiting room. She sobbed harder than she ever had in her life. For her two lost children. For the reminder of the hole in her life where her mother had been. For the cruel knowledge that her father was alive and yet absent from her life. Maura felt like curling up on the floor in the fetal position and never getting up again. Her entire life had been ruined over the course of an afternoon family barbecue, and there was no saving it. All she could do was what she always did in tough times: keep fighting until the painful knot in her stomach went away.

[urlocallesbiabs-reblog-sideblog]

so, i remember seeing a red dwarf tumblr post about how if you leave your universe, it's almost impossible to go back, because there's trillions upon trillions of them, and every minute decision branches off a new one

so what if our original rimmer spent maybe a few months genuinely being ace and enjoying the hero status, then decided it's too dangerous and scary and tiresome and wanted to go home, and spent the entirety of those nine years (between s7 and s9) looking for his home universe?

and he kept saving people along the way of course, ace duty is ace duty (half of those heroic acts were accidents anyway), but his heart wasn't in it anymore; he's found many a universe where there were still people, where he could theoretically fit in and settle and live as close to a normal life as he could hope for, but he could never stay for long, he longed for *his* home, for lister, *his* lister

and wise people told him "you'll never get there. there are too many universes, and every day that you wake up and make a choice to continue looking for home, that choice creates a new one, setting you back. you're dooming yourself.", and he answered "shut up, you stupid goit, you don't get it! get smegged to hell!"

and i imagine a scene:

it's close to the end of the 9 year gap, kochanski's already gone, lister's Not Doing Well, and it's another monster-of-the-week life-or-death situation aboard the red dwarf, a particularly nasty one: all is shit, end is near, how will our heroes get out of *this one!* this is probably it! this is it! they're all gonna smegging die! and then outta nowhere ace pops out, hair billowing in the air and all, shoots some bullets that bullshitly ricochet and perform miracles, and saves the day

after that he asks to spend the night there, because even heroes need to sleep a bit, and of course he's welcome!!

lister doesn't quite know how to approach the subject, so he goes for subtle bordering on undecipherable: asks how long has it been since this ace got the flame passed on to him? what was it like? ace deflects with a charming non-answer and a fun adventure story, and lister thinks well, that's not him, then. must be a new one. that means that his rimmer passed on the flame, that he... died.

lister doesn't know how to process the idea, so he doesn't.

he tries to stick around and listen to the stories that's gotten kryten (and even cat, a little bit!) enthralled, but quickly grows bored and goes off to wander the ship and entertain himself on his own. at some point few hours later, he notices ace out and about as well, measuring doorways with tape, comparing wall paint with color swatches, counting the rooms and making notes in his little notebook; ace doesn't notice him. kinda sketchy behaviour, lister thinks, but doesn't confront him just yet. who knows, maybe the guy just went a little bit space crazy, maybe he's preparing for some impending disaster; would be rude to accuse him of nothing, wouldn't it?

as lister returns to his quarters in the evening, he sees ace briskily walking out from about the same corridor that lister is headed to, throwing him a shining, but somewhat strained smile; ace is going to the room he's claimed for the night, which is on the officer's deck, literally on the other side of the ship (makes sense to lister that he doesn't share the room with him, since this isn't really his bunkmate. smeg knows him, maybe in his universe he actually was an officer and slept alone, not like lister cares). this feels *really* sketchy, but none of lister's things seem to have been messed with on closer inspection, so he can't really prove shit. he feels kind of paranoid, but also tired, and decides he'll talk to ace in the morning.

lister sleeps badly and fitfully, and wakes up in the middle of the night. he can't fall asleep again, and decides to go and grab a bite; maybe visit krissie in the observatory, watch stars together, have some time for himself.

the lights are on in the drive room. ace is there, talking to– *interrogating* holly and kryten, swiveling on a chair back and forth to face either of them, whisper-barking rapid-fire questions; lister is Alarmed (what is this? mutiny? a hostage situation? a threat?), so naturally he hides and eavesdrops.

ace runs them through a bunch of questions that vary wildly in immediately obvious importance, seemingly nonsensical (what fuel does this ship run on? when did the leak happen? who was assigned to fix it? how many irradiated haggies were in the ship's hold at the moment of disaster? has lister ever passed an officer's exam? on what day and what ship did they find kryten? and so on and so forth), growing more and more agitated and focused, determination so passionate it's almost angry. at last, he takes a deep breath, clenches fists, and says "now, i did notice this ship's crew lacks a usual, i'd say indespensable member, namely one arnold judas rimmer. where, pray tell, did you put the bugger?"

"arnold died in 3,002,386 from a vending machine related incident, arnold," says holly.

ace's face falls, and he laughs like someone died. "ah, of course it's like that, of course. it's always like that. well, good chat, gentlemen, thank you for humoring me." he gets up, even though it obvious his legs are weak.

noticing his distress at the information, kryten hurries to clarify, "it was the second one, though! the first one died a few months before that!"

ace falls back into the chair. "what do you *mean* the second one?!"

"the one my nanobots ressurected!" kryten clarifies with mostly pride, partially guilt.

"what smegging nanobots? what on io has happened here?" ace rimmer has to forcibly hold his horses, pulling a palm down his face. "no, forget it, doesn't matter, not right now. the other one, the first one — how did *he* die?"

"well, physically it was the cadmium 2 leak in 2181" holly helpfully explains. ace rimmer makes a dying groan. "but his hologram form was destroyed by an escaped knight from an AR camelot game."

the man perks up. "was me — well no, not exactly me, but — ugh, was ace rimmer there?.."

they confirm that yes, even though he left soon after. rimmer goes slack in his chair and puts a hand over his eyes. "so this is it?" he whispers. "so many years, and... this is it. i'm here. i can't believe it."

after a minute in weird silence, he gets up and staggers out.

lister's a few paces down the corridor, having been unsettled by the exhange and made the decision to leave.

rimmer calls out to him, loudly, with intense gravitas, "lister!"

"rimmer," he responds, shocked and disbeliving, eyes open.

"lister!" he exclaims urgently, desperately.

"you're my rimmer, aren't ya," lister states a question, incredulous.

"of course i'm yours, you stupid git!" rimmer cries out and lunges at him, crushing him in a hug. "you gimboid, you imbecile, you smeg for brains smeghead," he chatters on, out of breath, cradling him.

"i've missed ya," lister sobs. rimmer doesn’t manage to respond, only hugs him even harder.

(rimmer didn’t want to throw himself at the guy until he'd made sure it's *his* guy, didn't want to make himself vulnerable only to later make a fool of himself; too many times he let himself hope and get drunk on that hope and then had his stupid heart broken by some tiny little thing being off, inviting a flood of other little things, suddenly finding himself in an embrace with a stranger wearing his best friend's face. he just couldn't bear it anymore, not again. he needed to make sure first.)

however, this headcanon poses a problem of reconciling this with late series rimmer claiming to have saved red dwarf from the corrosive virus back then. because if our rimmer only returned during the 9 year gap (closer to end of it), he couldn't have been there at the end of s8, right?

to which i propose this: the alternative ending to "only the young" is canon, and it was nanobot rimmer who saved (or rather tried to save) the day; then he was killed by a rouge vending machine. they couldn't bring him back as a hologram though, because the holo-suite was heavily damaged by the corrosion virus and they didn't have the intricate spare parts needed to fix it. so, his memory disk stayed unused, carefully kept in the hopes of someday fixing the holo-suite (never found a suitable derelict though, not with their shit luck). then our rimmer came along, learned of the entire situation, fixed the suite using details taken from wildfire, and asked holly to merge the info from this disc onto his (because for smeg's sake, it's at least 1 year out of those hellish 9 that he can remember having spent home; he can Not pass it up). the merge was successful, but majorly jittered his vibes (since he remembered two different versions of being 32, and in one of them lister was 8 years older than in the other, and he became aware that in the same year as he was 32 for the second time he also was 40 and in another universe) and gave him lifelong memory issues. he's still happy as a clam about the result, though!

that's why other's disagree when he claims having saved the day back then — he figures that if he has that guy's memories, he *is* that guy, because that's how holograms work, but others want to argue that the alive nanobot rimmer technically wasn't exactly him; you Don't wanna be there for all of the smeg-throwing that occurs during the argument.

it all could be a fake episode (or maybe a fake two-episode special), where the first half's main gag/storyline would be lister slowly growing convinced that ace is actually evil and is in the process of brewing some Sinister Plans, and the second would be about rimmer going peculiar from the merge and randomly glitching between various remembered stages of his life (thinking he's still ace and this is isn't his lister; thinking he's nanobot rimmer and wondering what happened to the crew; a throwback to an early episode or two; thinking he's a fresh hopeful enlist on red dwarf [kinda painful in a hindsight way, but also pathetic and hilarious]; thinking he's a small child [very silly and funny, mostly cute even if a bit weird because that's a grown man's body, also an epic Rimmer Trauma Lore moment as usual]; etc), to the point that lister worries they've smegging broken him and he'll never be alright, only for him to finally cope and appear sane, only to reveal last second that parts of his memory are still kinda jumbled.

i'd call that fake episode:

"H Stands For Home"

and i imagine a scene from the second half:

rimmer sees the destroyed holo-suite (god, i really can't leave you bastards alone even for a day, let alone a decade), and finds the memory disc for the other him (wait, what is this? i clearly remember taking mine with me when i left...), and gets filled in on the whole nanobots, ressurected rimmer, corrosive virus debacle (he needs to sit down.)

naturally, he decides to fix the hologram-projecting hardware (obvious turn of events) and merge the discs' data together (man, what??)

he pops out, promises to be back in a jiffie, and returns from the hangar with a bunch of circut boards, unconneted wires and the likes, immediately getting to work

"whatcha doing?" lister asks, clearly entertained but also genuinely curious

"having a smegging picnic, what does it look like?!"

"...can you fix it, though?"

"i've serviced my own ship for a decade straight, i've prevented all kinds of disasters on dozens of red dwarves, i've saved countless city-states from technological ruin, of course i'm perfectly capable of fixing this ship's holo-suite!" (this very moment, he connects something wrong and gets a shower of sparkles right to his face, which startles him and causes him to bang his head rather hard against an open latch)

when lister's done laughing, he asks "where on smeg did you even get the details? i've meant to patch it up all these years, but just... never could find 'em." (here his voice voice grows distant and sad; he had lost rimmer *twice* in one year, and it was just unfair. it just hurt.)

"good ol' baby racehorse wildfire," rimmer slaps one of the circuit boards with pride; something falls off of it. "presume it got the upgrade sometime since the original ace kicked the bucket; something needs to keep all of us holograms going."

"wait, you tore these from your ship?"

"what, was i supposed to pull them out of my arse?" rimmer is getting annoyed by the pointless conversation

"it's just... how will ya fly it, then?"

"it's still perfectly spaceworthy, i'll let you know!" rimmer preens. "sure, no more having my arse fall asleep after one week straight in the cockpit, hauling vaccine to pluto or some such (would not recommend), but i can still give it a good run as long as my lightbee's got charge! not all that different from our other off-the-ship missions — now what are you, stupid?"

"you won't be able to travel for long," lister clarifies apprehensively. "you won't be able to have your... space smeg adventure. you won't be ace."

rimmer looks up at him like he's crazy. "of course i won't be ace." he gets up, walks weirdly close to lister. "i'm not leaving. what — what did you think this was? that i'd spent all these years looking for you, for this dimension, only to have some tea and smeg right back off?!"

"...i don't know what i thought," lister admits, half-laughing and weirdly upset and relieved.

rimmer gripes him by the shoulders very, very hard. "i'm not leaving. never."

also, he wears his hair in the classic long and free ace style until the proper Reunion, then as soon as he fixes the holo-suite and hookes his projection to red dwarf he asks holly to chop it all off (he wanted to do that immediately after confirming that this is his home universe, but he was still connected to wildfire's holo-hardware and the ship's ai wouldn't let him bc ouughhh houghhh ace but your hair is So Beautiful, i simply Can Not); between the two points, he wore a tight neat ponytail to keep all his golden locks out of his smegging face, and he looked Hot doing it

***

and another thought, that isn't directly connected to this imaginary two-episode special, but still has to do with rimmer, lister, and the 9 years gap:

(though i'm not sure if it's canon to my personal headcanonverse [...i'm not even sure i've got a personal headcanonverse here. i love the idea of them getting together in early series when he's still soft-light, or later when he's hard-light and they can touch, or after the reunion, or post-tpl; too many possibilities!] because i feel like it gets rimmer off the hook of his internalized homophobia way too easy, but anyway, just imagine.)

it's rimmer's ace years, and it's not only beautiful young birds throwing themselves at him for his sexy heroics, but beautiful young studs as well; he switches many a dimension, and what happens in a reality stays in that reality, right?; he meets many a lister, some of them openly queer, some of them in a relationship (past or ongoing) with their rimmer; he sleeps the night away with some of them. long story short, 9 years of both excessive human attention and crushing loneliness are ample time to confront one's sexuality. he's still got his hangups though, so in his mind "i am gay" and "lister is my best ever friend whom i miss terribly" don't quite cross together, not immediately.

either way, he finally gets back, they have their happy reunion, and then rimmer learns while he was off adventuring, lister had a wife and a child and loved her deeply and then she died; obviously, lister still needs some space to process all that. rimmer will talk to him about his soul-search some other time (no, he doesn't feel like he'd been replaced, he's not jealous, jeez!). lister just needs some time to move on, yea? and then it'll all be back to how it used to be, just the four of them.

and then s9 happens, and lister is obsessed with getting kochanski back, and rimmer feels as insecure as in s1 but ten times worse — there's the woman who'd been by lister's side for the last decade, there's his wife, there's the love of his life, and there's, well, just some guy. there's rimmer.

he longs desperately to be the most important person in lister's life, but he just isn't, and that's driving him mad. that's what (partially, together with all his lifetime-accumulated trauma) fuels his tpl insistence that nobody aboard red dwarf (read: lister) likes him: he knows lister doesn't love him back, and that is killing him.

[yesthisismycurrenthyperfixation]

🕷Spider becoming a Harley Queen guy.

The torture with the machine, the way of upbringing, the only person who cares about him is the villain, his fault. He begins to hear voices. And instead of helping him, they send him to the humans where they don't help him either, he ends up with the RDA again, but they don't notify Quaritch. He escapes and grabs weapons and goes on a rampage.

He locks himself in a room to send a message to the scientists. Living so many years with expert scientists in different areas has given him skills. He knows how to make a bomb.While the bomb is creating her, she makes a video, her hair is shaved, without blue markings, thinner and whiter. Maybe smoking.

And he begins to tell his truths to Jake, Neytiri, the scientists, and his adoptive parents. He was a baby when it all happened, and a child when he realized that no one really cared. Children know, children listen."You just wanted a reason to treat me badly, because you couldn't direct your hatred towards my father. yes, I called him father, because he did more in 4 months than any of you in 16 years" no 17, I have 17 years. .... I forgot my birthday.

Cries and laughs at times.

As he finishes connecting cables for the pump, he speaks directly to his brothers. He loves them, he misses them. But he is the oldest, he has to take care of them. He gives some advice to Kiri, Tuk, Lo ak and Neteyam.He repeats that he loves them. But it has to stop the RDA.

Send whatever you can get on the computers to help make plans.

And even a message to Quarith ago, he wished their time together had been longer.And he knows in his heart that he would have saved him. Trust him. see him.

He says goodbye as Grace and Jake finish their journals.

Miles Spider Socorro Quarith says goodbye.

■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■

BONUS

The message is seen by the entire Sully family, and some other Navi and scientists who had gathered at the Metkayina home to study the things that were left on the ship. Kiri was on her knees, at the end of the recording, she began to scream while being hugged by Tuk who is the same...Lo ak had to be put up with because he wanted to attack Jake, the scientists anyone. Neteyam ran out, his brother must have been dead right now but he must see. He flew off in his Ikran.

Quaritch He also saw the message, feels that a part died, hits trees, cries and screams in pain. His Ikran screams with his rider.

Anon, thank you for this prompt. I hope this is kind of what you are looking for. Also I’m assuming you meant Harley Quinn Spider so that is what this AU will be called.

I hope you enjoy these thoughts and the oneshot. Your bonus with everyone's reactions will be coming soon.

Harley Quinn Spider!

One thing to know about me is I am a huge fan of True Crime. Podcasts, documentaries, shows, movies, etc… I love everything True Crime. While reading this prompt my love of True Crime was going crazy and here is why.

People can only handle so much before they break! With everything Spider has gone through in his life; being orphaned at such a young age, the neglect, the abuse, knowing he was never loved or wanted, then add on the torture, the head trauma/injury from the machine, gaining a villain father figure, etc… it’s a miracle Spider hadn’t snapped earlier. In this prompt Spider has started having mental health issues, hearing voices probably caused my the machine and brain damage, and never received the help he so desperately needs. No instead he is shoved aside and neglected once again.

Anyone that enjoys True Crime knows that all of these things put together is a recipe for disaster. I'm not saying everyone that has suffered will become bad, infact most will not, but for the sake of this AU things will be different. Spider would have run, would have isolated himself and it was this isolation that would have given the RDA the chance to stumble upon him and capture him for the second time. And the RDA wouldn’t have given Spider the help he needed either. Quaritch would have if he had known which is why Ardmore never told him she had his kid.

It was only a matter of time before Spider escaped, taking out as many people as he possibly could before finding the perfect lab to lock himself up in. Spider grew up around RDA technology so locking and disabling the door would have been child’s play for him. Plus no one ever watched what Spider researched as a kid so the fact he could make a bomb isn’t surprising, why do you think he locked himself in a lab?

Spider knows he isn’t going to survive regardless of what happens next. This knowledge is very freeing. Nothing is stopping him from saying everything he wants to, everything he has always wanted to but has never been brave enough to say.

Opening a wideband signal, one that is being broadcast across all of Pandora, Spider turns on a webcam. The sight of himself is so shocking at first that Spider merely stares. When he was caught, for the second time, Ardmore had his hair buzzed off. She also had his stripes scrubbed off and had forced him into human clothes. White tank and grey sweatpants, both now stained in sprays of red from his escape.

He was pale, lack of sun will do that, and thinner than he had ever been before. Dark circles stood out like bruises under his eyes. A start contrast to his chapped and cracked lips.

Unable to look at himself any longer Spider looked down at the material in his lap. “For those of you that don’t know me, my name is Miles “Spider” Socorro Quaritch. I was born and raised here on Pandora. Not loved, not cared for, merely tolerated by everyone. And most of the time not even tolerated. I can’t even tell you how many times I was attacked by the mother of my best friends and siblings.” Spider looked into the camera again. “That’s right Neytiri, I’m talking to you. What gave you the right to hate me? What gave you the right to verbally and physically abuse me time and time again. I never did anything to you or the Na'vi. I was an innocent child. By your own beliefs I should have been treated differently. All children are blessings in the eyes of Eywa, I only wished you followed what you claimed to believe.”

Tears streamed down sallow cheeks, even as Spider laughed. “Not that Jake was much better. He watched me get abused time and time again and did nothing. Never made Neytiri stop, never made the scientists stop, never made the Na'vi stop. Hell, the McKoskers didn’t treat me right either. The number of injuries that were passed off as me being clumsy… how did no one question that? How did no one notice the constant injuries vanished after the McKoskers left? Seriously looking back at my life, it’s surprising I didn’t end it all sooner.”

“But I've realized, you just wanted a reason to treat me badly, all of you, all because you couldn't take your hatred out on my dad.” A smile spread across Spider face as tears continued to fall. “Yes, I called Quaritch my dad. That's what he is. Dad did more for me in 4 months than any of you did in the 16 years I was in your care. I’m only 16… no 17, I’m 17 years old now, I forgot my birthday.” A wild unhinged laugh escaped before Spider abruptly sobered.

“Dad, I just want you to know that I love you. We didn’t get a lot of time together but what we did have was the best few months of my life. Thank you for showing me what having a parent really felt like. Thank you for loving me, for putting me first, for choosing me, for seeing me. Dad, I miss you so much.”

Silence reigned for a few minutes as Spider finished building the detonation device he had been working on this whole time. With a beep it came online. Spider set it down on the table between him and the camera.

“This last bit is for my siblings. Neteyam, Kiri, Lo'ak and Tuk. The 4 of you are the best sibling I could ever ask for. I love you all and miss you. I wish I could see you again but someone has to stop the RDA, someone has to protect you. I can do that. It’s my job as the oldest sibling to protect you, my younger siblings. That’s my duty. I love you. Please, find my dad and take care of him. He'll have no one once I’m gone and he deserves a chance, a real chance. My dad was starting to see and I know he will see one day if given the chance. Please, for me give my dad a chance. Dad take this chance.”

“Well, this is my first and last video log. So, this is Miles “Spider” Socorro Quaritch signing off. Goodbye.”

The screen froze on a picture of Spider looking into the camera, face red and blotchy from crying. Eyes sad and empty with a small, lopsided smile spread across his face. It would be the last picture anyone ever saw of Spider alive. A picture of the boy so many failed and so few loved.

Bonus: coming soon

[solarisburns]

Don't think about Pandora and Remus, who were never very close, but always friendly, meeting for coffee after each funeral.

First was Regulus, none of the order could be seen at his public funeral, so they had a private one. Them meeting for coffee wasn't even intentional, Remus was trying to find something to comfort Sirius and Pandora couldn't stand the thought of going back to her and Reg's apartment alone just yet. They didn't say anything but they do smile (wince) at one another across the shop.

Then it was Evan. There were more and more funerals these days but this was the second one that really hurt. Pandora couldn't keep it together after the funeral. Two of her boys gone with in a year, her mind and her soul. All she could do was pray to a god she did not believe in for him not to take Barty, not to take her heart. To not take Dorcas who would not look her in the eyes, not to take her lungs. Remus found her crying in the safe house kitchen and made her a mug of coffee before slipping out of the room.

She did the same for him at Marlene's funeral.

Dorcas went two months later and no one surprised. Pandora had left Barty (who couldn't stop sobbing, she hoped a hot drink would help his inevitable sore throat) when she found Remus chugging whiskey. for some reason it made her start crying all over again, they didn't say anything as she she cried and made three cups of coffee. Eventually she snagged the whiskey and put it away while nudging a cup of coffee closer to the werewolf. Remus had been there when Dorcas died, it was a miracle he got out alive (remus didn't think so). they still didn't say anything.

Lily, James, and Peter were thrown the most extravagant funeral of the century. All anyone wanted to talk about was their sacrifice, the son who defeated the great evil, the order member who went down saving muggles. no one wanted to talk about the people who died, who Remus's friends were beyond their deaths. no one wanted to talk about the traitor who killed them. No one wanted to acknowledge the young boy with a lightning scar who was now an orphan. Pandora and Remus went for coffee after the funeral, they talked about anything that wasn't death for an hour, desperate to escape this crushing grief with someone who understands for just one more minute.

Remus brings Pandora a coffee after she's detained for trying to kill Dumbledore after Barty was sentenced to life in Azkaban without trial. All she could say is that Dumbledore lied, he promised to protect them now they were all dead or gone. This was as close to a funeral Barty Crouch Jr. would ever get.

A few years later Remus sits with Pandora and drinks a coffee wondering what the hell he supposed to do now.

He leaves a coffee on her grave, it only felt right.

[solivagantingrebel]

for the WIP game! Memento Mori please my liege 💖

OHOHOHO - you chose the one that I've actually written decently for. Chapter excerpt it is!

MCD & Ghost going through it incoming (it's the first chapter so yaknow, ALSO the first draft so like,,, please keep that in mind while reading)

"Johnny!"

His shout was familiar, grating with urgency and disbelief. Every nerve in his body was spiked with the returning dread that settled when he took in the sight in front of him, the pool of red that had only one point of origin; the confirmation of a kill so damning, there wasn't any other possible outcome to it.

It has happened more than Ghost could count, more than Ghost could ever have the heart to endure.

A head-shot was as sure as it got. The lifeless, motionless body that was slumped on his side, the look of shock in his eyes, permanently etched as the last remnant of his consciousness.

Ghost was always too late.

He always arrived right before he could stop it, right before Johnny's pulse waned into nothing underneath his fingertips, the lingering warmth of his skin a cruel reminder of his failure and all the promises broken from one mission gone wrong.

It must've been his stubbornness that trapped him in this hell. The ever-repeating loop of the day that should've never existed in the first place.

When Johnny's heart stopped beating, the world around him stopped existing too. It crumbled, like the fragility walls guarding Ghost's mind, his sanity scattered into pieces before it painstakingly reformed, and a small part of him wondered if he was dead too—if the world had truly delivered them the fate of being together in life and death.

But life was never kind to him like that, and death was even cruller.

"L.t?" Soap's voice was the one that anchored him back, making him blink into reality.

It always took him a while to remember where he was. The loop wasn't always the same, not really, and in his fifteenth one, where the 'beginning' was changed slightly, he'd held the naive hope that things could be different.

But that wasn't the point of this hell—the change was another reminder of everything he lost.

Of everything he couldn't save.

"You've been spaced out the entire day." Johnny was taking off his tactical gear, it was his room, Ghost had been invited over. He remembered why he was here, the smallest of mercies to his barely reformed sanity. "A penny for yer thoughts?"

He could've spilled his heart out.

He tried to do so before. But it didn't matter, the result was the same; Johnny always died at the end of it, nothing Ghost said or did changed the outcome of that grim reality.

He couldn't help being himself, as much as Ghost couldn't help loving him for it.

"You," Ghost answered, his sincerity barely hiding the aching fatigue in his voice. "Just you."

Johnny's response was almost immediate, the expression of concern that openly regarded Ghost, before a silent understanding swept it away, and his hands reached out to him. Within seconds, his face was pulled to his chest, the soft rise and fall of it anchoring him viciously to the present, where it needed him to be.

He sunk into the embrace, his own body feeling more like a dead weight as Johnny did all the work of holding both of them up. He didn't complain — never complained about anything when it came to him. It was as if Johnny already knew what Ghost was going through, a deep instinctual understanding of the horrors he couldn't speak of.

Never pushing beyond the comfort he offered, never probing beyond the silent consideration he offered through his actions alone.

It must've been his love that pulled him back to these moments.

By some miracle, the loop always started when they were alone with each other; when Johnny was right in front of him, alive and thriving; when his love didn't suffer through outside hindrance.

The tragic part of it was that he didn't know how deeply he was loved.

How much Ghost looked forward to the rewind regardless of the pain it wrought, for it was better than acknowledging the stake in his heart whenever he tried to conceptualize a world where Johnny didn't live beyond the fading heartbeat under his fingertips.

"I'm sorry," Johnny murmured, disentangling Ghost from his thoughts as he gently stroked the thick line of tension on his back. He was taking responsibility for it without knowing, shouldering the burden that Ghost was crushed under without asking for an explanation. "I'll make it up to you, Simon."

He couldn't.

Johnny didn't remember, any warning or attempt to thwart the path of fate ended up the same — with him dead at his feet. Nor could he abandon his mission so easily.

The string of fate was intertwined specifically to demand blood, one way or the other.

Ghost allowed himself to be swayed anyway, letting his eyes slip shut as he sunk into the embrace, relishing in warmth that was tentatively wrapped around him.

"Show me," Ghost rumbled.

His fingers lingered at the tip of his spine, pausing to consider his words.

"Show you?" Johnny repeated softly.

"Everything that makes you tick, Johnny." He moved to rest his cheek on the Sergeant's shoulder, dark eyes intensely studying his profile. "Show me, without hiding anything."

So that I know what they want to take from me, he thought in possessive fury, his grief tempered by the arms that lovingly held him.

He might as well have asked him to bare his soul to him.

"Everything, ye say." Johnny's voice was guarded, a barely concealed interest present despite his efforts. "Aye then, if that'll calm ya down."

He was agreeing so easily, Ghost didn't have the heart to reprimand him. "It will."

Johnny tightened his hold around him.

It started with his journal.

[roxineedstosleep]

god, gotham knights jason with battinson,,,,, the sheer cuteness of bruce having a son THAT big :'> I just know he'd be so protective over his quiet soft spoken dad!! can we get a one shot with maybe one of the batkids being mean to bruce bc he can't be there for something important to them! while he tries placating them and paying no mind to them being rude, jason is behind him entirely and glares at his sibling. he hates seeing bruce said. god help you if you make him cry in front of jason

(Jason, behind Bruce, during a discussion between he and an of his brothers)

Children can be cruel.

God, and everyone who interacts with children, knows that children are truly peculiar beings.

They are innocent, mouldable souls, have no real control over all their emotions and are always in constant development and moulding of their persons.

And well.

If a child in a structured home, no matter what form their home takes, they can be cruel at times.

Bruce can say that he was not so lucky.

I mean, he knew he wasn't the best of children. After his parents, it's a miracle Alfred didn't leave him with some distant relative or in the care of the state or in a full-time boarding school. Fuck. He had repeatedly been a walking nightmare and to this day he doesn't know how Alfred could have had so much love and dedication to him to keep him from getting lost along the way.

And after adopting, raising, and fighting with Dick? well, he learned that children are a tricky business.

And he does the best he can. He really tries.

The mistakes he made with Dick, he avoids making with Jason. After Jason died, he reframed his whole upbringing with Tim. And with Damian's arrival, he happily had all his kids to support him in the process.

"It takes a whole town to raise a baby."

It never felt so real.

Now that Dick had grown up and matured in his own way, had lived his own experiences, you could say they had a better relationship. With Jason things were tragic, but at least now they were in a safe place.

But Tim and Damian… they were something else.

He really tried, Dick and Jason were different. Each of his sons was. But the circumstances of their arrivals and the timing also played a big part in that.

Dick was basically an accidental baby. As if Bruce had gotten someone pregnant in their teens and was thrown into his care when the mother no longer wanted to raise him. Bruce was a teenage father with Dick; in the best of terms. He wouldn't eat his own vegetables and had to make sure a depressed, angry kid ate his without tearing up half the room. Without Alfred things would probably have gone south quickly.

That explains their constant bickering during Dick's early youth. It explains why they can feel close and hate each other at the same time. They were both children emotionally when they got together and one was in the care of the other. It was unfair, but love was stronger… at least until the differences came and they had to hurt each other and separate in order to get back together.

With Jason, Bruce felt like a young single father. How if in the middle of college he finds out he's a father and has to take care of it. Sure, he's more mature, knows a few parenting tricks and has more of a sense of responsibility about childcare. Thank God Jason was a good, rocky kid, but with a heart of diamond sitting down with the best of intentions.

Jason was a boy who needed love and wanted to give love to whoever had the desire to give him love. That's where Bruce comes in.

Bruce adored Jason, learned from the mistakes he made with Dick and took advantage of his maturity to do better with his new son. If it weren't for the mind game and the fact that Bruce himself couldn't get over his parents, and therefore couldn't help Jason with his own. It really would have been the healthiest relationship he had in comparison to the rest of his children.

But Bruce isn't perfect, and that along with Jason growing up in a place where Bruce and Dick had arguments and there was a lot of elite pressure in front of him. Jason left, they fought, he died and when he came back things were not good for a long time.

Now they are. Of course they are. But neither of them really want to remember those bad feelings. They have a different kind of love.

Tim and Damian are different for different reasons. Clearly and justifiably different reasons.

Tim arrived when Bruce was at his lowest point. Damian came in demanding and believing something of Bruce that he was not.

And they're still kids, still in training, and Bruce needs twice as much patience to be able to raise them both and to be able to accommodate everything he can do for them based on the needs of both of them.

It's not easy.

It's not always happy.

But he loves, LOVES, his children, and for that very reason he won't stop trying.

Even they come to hate him. He will console himself with the idea that at least he fought to the end.

And Jason, now that he's grown up. He knows that.

He knows that Bruce loves every one of them with every cell in his body. Every part of his mind and soul is dedicated to him and all his brothers. No matter what happens, Bruce will put them first in any situation.

So now that Bruce is actually an adult and can really deal with his children… it pains him to realize how unfair his siblings can be to their father.

Of course, there are things that Jason doesn't forgive his father for, and he himself accepts that he is not a complete victim of everything that happens between him and Bruce. But at least he understands that there is a backstory and tries to get to a point where they both don't lose control.

But his brothers don't seem to understand that.

He sees how his father, his poor father, tries on more than one occasion to reach out to his brothers, to argue about things that could be better, about the unnecessary risks they take. But his brothers only shout and smash everything their father gives them.

That's why, although he doesn't always get into the fray, he subtly sets the record straight.

When Bruce is away, which sadly has happened on more than one occasion, he and Dick have taken care of their younger brothers. And not having the same patience and focus as his father, he has come to have a kind of impact on his siblings. So, take advantage of that.

He casually stands behind his poor, distressed father. And he looks at the booger on duty and gives him the same look he usually uses on the fucking sons of bitches he deals with every night. He do not do any kind of harsh mad expression. Only a simple glance, thats all.

And that's what's enough.

That's all.

Of course that's enough. Bruce still gets yelled at, but at least the yelling subsides a few at a time until all that's left is apologies and a well-deserved hug.

He fucked up with Bruce before he died and then disappeared for years.

He doesn't want his brothers to experience that. No.

And he doesn't want Bruce to experience that feeling of losing a son at a bad time either.

(Jason's "you better put your fucking shit together bro, or u gonna regret it" glance)

[creelkobblelaufeyson69]

A dance with the Devil *part one of the series with the same name*

Warnings: smut

That night was so clear to me still. The breeze passing by as everyone else invited to the dance ball theme party was inside. I found myself outside staring at the stars that painted the sky. I knew no one there, and so of course I stepped outside

My black and red dress was surrounding most of the sidewalk I sat on. I didn’t care if it had gotten dirty because I bought specifically for this event. But at least the stars took over majority of the sky tonight. At least the stars have company too. Tears start to leave my eyes now

“Are you alright?” A male’s voice had asked. I turned my head around to see who was talking to me. A man with blue eyes, brown short hair, and tanned white skin was speaking to me. His suit was nothing crazy, just your classic suit. He was quite handsome too. Maybe coming here was a good idea

“Just lonely. I don’t know anyone here, but everyone knows each other” I admitted to the stranger at the time. “Well if you feel comfortable enough, you could talk to me over a dance” my cheeks felt pink. I had wished the stranger hadn’t noticed that I was blushing over him

“That would be lovely” he smiled and then reached out his hand for me to take. I take his hand, and soon we’re dancing. We exchanged names, and he asked me what I did for a living. “I’m a writer. I like to write about fantasy, horror, romance, or all three mixed together”

“Wow. Maybe I’ve read one of your books before” a blush crept onto my face now at the thought of Hap reading my books. “Well I’ve written one about my experience with near death experiences. People think it’s fake, and just another fantasy novel. But it’s not” he seemed so fascinated by the topic I’ve brought up

His eyes had a gleam to them they hadn’t before. “You know, I steady where people go when they have a near death experience” he says, which got me intrigued. Someone finally thinks I’m telling the truth! What a miracle! Oh, but what a mistake it would be. “That’s incredible!!! I could totally tell you about my experience” I confidently say at the time

He smiles, and then pulls me close. “I’d love it if you told me” he says as I felt like he was staring deeply into my soul. Fuck. How could I tell my story with the way he’s looking at me? “I saw stars. I find myself in a dark room that was lit up by those stars. That’s all I remember from my experience”

“Incredible” he says, which I knew my blush had to be obvious now. I smiled and then thanked him. “No thank you for telling me that” he says, and I could’ve sworn at the time he was staring at my lips. I noticed a shooting star in the background, which makes him also look at what I was looking at

I make a wish, and then looked back at him. He looks back at me, and then asked if I wanted to get out of here. “Yes” I said, and the next thing I know is I’m in this strangers car. I’ve clearly haven’t seen enough horror/thrillers to know this a stupid idea. Plus I don’t exactly know if he’s had anything to drink either

Luckily he hadn’t, cause he eventually told me. But that wasn’t gonna calm my nerves for what was to come. I find myself in a hotel room soon. ‘This is how I’ll die’ I thought at the time. But I find myself naked on the bed that belongs to the hotel. He’s licking the inside of my pussy; my hands were grasping onto the bed sheets as moans left me. Eventually his cock is inside of me

The bed squeaks as he’s thrusting. After all of this was over, he had his arm wrapped around me as my head was resting on his chest. A part of me hated that I let him touch me, because it was like it knew this man was bad news before I found out. I had to eventually leave his hotel room. I told him that he wasn’t going to see me again either

Yet here I stand in a different universe in front of him. The man I was warned about that night after I had died and came back

[koolcece22]

You Will Never Be Good Enough

so this short story was a Christmas collab from my Discord buddy

summary:Miguel and new baby Gabriella mostly focusing on how he feels about fatherhood and how much he loves her but maybe also some Conchata angst

You will never be good enough

Miguel can’t believe it. He is a father now. It had been almost a year since He and Xina got back together trying to rekindle their love for each other. At the same time, balancing work and being Spider-man.  When Xina broke the news that she was pregnant, Miguel was shocked, Happy, scared, and nervous at the same time.

You’ll be like him

He always wanted a family of his own, but him being a half-spider and his family track record… He doesn’t know he can do it. He made sure that Xina was taken care of as the months went by and her belly got bigger. Both of them were scared that the ultrasound would show a baby with 8 arms or a spider chelicerae. 

You're a mistake 

When the baby was born it was the best day of Miguel and Xina’s lives. It was a baby girl that they decided to name Gabriella. It was tough for them at first, taking care of a baby wasn’t easy. So far Gabriella wasn’t showing any sign of the spider's powers thankfully. And to be honest, Miguel was really glad, wanting her to be a normal child and never have to deal with the Spider-man job. 

Why bother? you’re going to fail

Miguel made sure he did all the things that he wasn’t able to do when he was a child; Give her birthday parties. Take her to amusement parks. Read her bedtime story every night—everything he can while juggling with a job and being Spiderman.

Miguel tries his best for his daughter, but sometimes he doesn’t feel like he is. He’s afraid that something bad will happen. He is a Spider-Man, and nothing goes your way when you Spider-Man. He lost so many people that he cares about for being Spider-Man. Dana, his brother, and his…mother. 

You’ll never change

One few things Miguel regretted in life, was that he wasn’t on better terms with his mother before she died. He wanted her so badly, for her to love him, to see past that he wasn’t like him . He wasn’t Tylor Stone, he was Miguel O’Hara. Conchata’s son. But she never truly saw past that,  reminding herself and him every day. He remembers one bad night in particular, his thought-to-be-real dad George O’Hara. Made her so mad that she drank. then drunk she came into his room and talked to him. She thought he was asleep, but he wasn’t. 

“You were my biggest mistake. I hope you know that. That man used me and then threw me away. Only to leave me with you. Every time I look at you…all I see is him. Why did he curse me with you?”

Miguel never forgot that night. He truly never looked at his mother the same way. He tries to provide him with nothing like his father. He has a better job, has a wife, and treats his family ten times better than his dad ever could. But looking back at it, he was similar to Tyler as much as he hates to admit it. Like he cheated on Xina with Dana and the fact she took him back was a miracle. He became the CEO of Alchemax but changed their ways for the better. And now he has a child and he was going to protect Gabriella and his wife, Xina, with his life. He was never going to let anything happen to them. 

Gabriella was the next best thing that happened to him. She has reddish-brown eyes. Not too red so she can blend in well. He checks every day to see if she gains any of his powers. She watches her get bigger, play with her, feed her, and take her to places. 

You’ll never be good enough

“Do you think I’m a good father?” 

As she puts Gabriella to bed, Xina is taken aback by Miguel's words. She knows Miguel didn’t have a good family life, and that he’s trying everything in his power not to end up like his dads and mom. 

“Why would you say that?” 

“ I feel like everything I do isn’t enough. I failed so many times and I am afraid if I can’t do this-”

Xina hugs him, quieting the worries he has, knowing the inner turmoil he has.

“Miggy, I know you’re scared about being a father. And I know you're really scared of becoming like your parents. But…” Xina grabs him by the face to make Miguel look directly into his beautiful sunset-red eyes. They were different colors when they first met, but they were still the same eyes she had grown to love. But here was so much sadness and self-loathing in them too 

“You listen to me, you are not George. You are not Conchata. And you are not Tyler. You are Miguel, the man I fell in love with and the man who’s going to give our daughter the best life that either had.”  Xina then pulls him in to kiss and smile at him as she rubs his face. 

“We will give her the best life we can give her.”

Miguel holds her hand not wanting to let go of it. Xina was always the type to speak her mind and give him the words to do more. He smiles at her, and then both look at Gabrella’s room, seeing their daughter sleeping peacefully, wanting her to have the best life. 

Lyla popped up between them. 

“Hey boss, there's trouble in downtown. I think they can use Spider-man.” Lyla said with a smirk. Miguel sighed knowing his work as Spider-man had never been done. He turns on his outfit before his masked form, he kisses Xina then turns toward the window and jumps out to swing to the danger.

You’ll never be good enough! Don’t you understand?

“I might not be good enough, but I sure as hell I can shocking try. For her. For them.”