#Never go in against a speedster when food is on the line | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

dracarialove · 4 months

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📄F it, I'm posting my finished fics here, too 📄

Heartfelt Holidays

*Check the 'heartfelt holidays' tag if you haven't read chapter 1

[Chapter 2: Masquerade Merriment]

Sonic and his friends - as well as Team Dark - attend a Mardi Gras ball being thrown in town, enjoying the party until an accidental stumble causes trouble for all.

A bright yellow sun shone in the clear blue sky as the world's fastest hedgehog sped through a field of wildflowers, disturbing the tall grass and budding flora. The blur of blue and red whipped a strong breeze through the air and disappeared into a forest, where it zipped around trees and bushes to emerge on the other side.

Sonic the Hedgehog stopped in his tracks and leaned one hand against a tree at the edge of the rustling woods while swinging his left leg to rest in front of the right. Looking at the city he was headed towards, the carefree speedster drew in a breath and relished one last whiff of the natural earth to cap off his morning scenic run.

'Things are only getting prettier around here,' he thought, imagining how the wildflowers would look once they bloomed. 'Wish I could stay out longer... but man, does an early jog make me hungry!'

In a flash, Sonic disappeared from the treeline and rushed into the city in search of a filling snack. He slowed his speed once he reached a populated area and looked around for a place that served chilidogs, swiping one hand across his stomach when it started to growl.

Once he spotted the brown and yellow color palette of a food stand, he grinned and rushed into line, eagerly tapping one foot against the sidewalk behind three other customers. By the time the impatient hedgehog got his food, he was ravenous, walking away from the cart with a chilidog in one hand and four more in a takeaway box.

But he only took a few steps before something caught his eye: a colorful flier stuck to a light post. He ate his snack while reading the purple-colored paper, which advertised an upcoming holiday event in bright gold writing.

'A masquerade ball?' thought the young hero, tracing green eyes over the dramatic lettering. 'Never been to one of those!'

After shoving the final bite of the steaming snack into his mouth, Sonic snatched the flier from the light post and ran off to tell his friends about it; and to hopefully coax them into attending what he thought could be an interesting evening.

***

The workshop of his best friend, Tails, was his first stop. He spotted the yellow fox in the canopy-covered space between his home and the garage, cranking a wrench around a bolt attached to some unfinished project. Sonic strolled over, his stride energetic and his smile wide, and called out to the boy genius.

"Hey, Tails! Look at what I found!"

Hearing his dear friend's voice, a perky smile spread across Tails' white muzzle, and he looked up to gaze at the paper fluttering in the hedgehog's grip. "Good morning, Sonic! What's that?"

"It's a flier. Looks like there's a special holiday coming up, and I thought it sounded like fun! I just had to tell someone about it, in case anyone else wants to check it out."

Before Tails could respond, the pair heard a peppy female voice cut through the crisp air. "Oh, Sonic, there you are!"

The fox's gaze trailed past Sonic, and the Blue Blur himself turned around to see Amy Rose approaching. She was followed by Cream the Rabbit and her mother, Vanilla; the three ladies all held dessert boxes and smiled sweetly when the boys offered a friendly wave.

"Hey, Amy," Sonic greeted. "How's it going?"

"Lovely, thanks! We did a lot of baking this morning and thought we'd come by to share!"

Vanilla added, "We visited your house, Sonic, but it seemed you weren't home. What a nice coincidence that you're here with Tails!"

"Those treats sound delicious," the speedy man replied, giving her a thumbs-up. "I'd love to have some! And I was just telling Tails about this event happening in the city soon."

"An event?" Amy asked, looking curiously at the paper in his hand. "What is it?"

"A masquerade ball! Looks like it could be a lot of fun, so I knew I had to invite my friends to come along with me." Sonic handed Amy the flier and let her read the information aloud to the others.

"Looks like it's happening a week from now, in a ballroom on the other side of town." Her smile grew wider as she continued. "This says it's a formal event where we get to dress up in fancy costumes and masks – we can dance, mingle, and there'll be great food and music!"

Cream piped up, "You were right, Sonic! It does sound like fun!"

"So, you're all in, right?" the blue hedgehog asked, flicking his gaze between all of them.

Tails nodded. "Sure! I'll go if you guys are going, too!"

Amy, Cream, and Vanilla all agreed to attend, then offered up their freshly baked pastries; Sonic stayed long enough to partake and chat before asking his flying friend to take him to Angel Island with the intent of inviting Knuckles to the upcoming party. Tails accepted and opened up his garage, soon piloting a plane into the sky with Sonic riding on the wing.

***

Chilly gusts of wind blew against the metal bird, the air feeling colder with the higher altitude, but the young pilot's passenger was unbothered as he looked forward to landing on Angel Island.

He spotted the mountainous floating mass of land in the distance and admired the view of fluffy clouds around the tall peaks – as well as the sparkling waters that spilled clear strips down the edge of the island – while they closed in on the lone guardian's homeland.

Tails flew the plane as close to the ruins of Knuckles' home as he could, slowing his speed and bringing them in for a landing on the grassy plain nearby. The second the flying vehicle's wheels touched the ground, Sonic jumped from the wing and turned to his friend.

"I'll just tell Knuckles about the party and then we can head back," he said.

"Sure thing!" responded Tails, climbing from the cockpit. "I can wait here if it won't take long. I'm realizing my plane could use a bit of maintenance."

With a smile, the spry hedgehog gave him a thumbs-up before heading off towards the raised platform in the center of the ruins, where he would find Knuckles guarding the Master Emerald.

Ascending the stairs led him directly to the red echidna, who was lounging with his back against a stone pillar. As peaceful as he looked with his eyes closed, clearly comfortable to relax in the sun without a worry, Sonic couldn't wait for him to wake up naturally.

He chimed, "Hey, Knuckles!" startling the guardian as his slumber was disturbed.

"Ah!" the redhead exclaimed, eyes shooting open. He looked up to see his impulsive friend standing tall with an expectant grin plastered on his peach-colored muzzle. "Sonic! What're you doing here?"

"I came to tell you about a party I saw being advertised in the city," he answered, pulling out the folded square of purple paper he'd brought along. He began unfolding it and added, "It looks like fun and the rest of us are going, so I thought you should know about it, too!"

Knuckles stood from the stony ground and swiftly ran his gaze over the flier when Sonic handed it to him. "Hm, a masquerade ball? Not really my scene."

"Why not at least try it?" The speedster took back the paper and folded it up again. "There'll be food and music, your friends will be there – it'll be a fun night!"

"I'll pass, thanks."

"Come on!" Sonic dragged out his tone in an attempt to plea with the echidna, throwing one arm around him. "Get out of these dusty old ruins for a night and hang out with us! You don't wanna miss out on the festivities, do ya, pal?"

His persistence persuaded the other hero to give in to his request. Agitated and pulling away from the pushy man, Knuckles blurted, "Alright, fine! But I don't dance, and if it looks like a waste of time, I'm leaving."

"Deal," Sonic replied with a smirk, grabbing the purple-eyed protector's mitt and shaking it as if they'd made a formal agreement.

At that moment, the blue hedgehog's eyes drifted towards the Master Emerald and he spotted a figure peeking around the side of it; though, he only caught a glimpse of a white blur when whoever it was quickly slunk behind the giant green gem.

"Hey, who's that?" he asked, his gaze unmoving from the spot.

Instantly, Knuckles was on the defensive, and whipped in the direction that Sonic was facing. Readying for battle, he clomped over to where the figure had been spotted, while his friend strolled around the other way. And as Sonic rounded the opposite side of the sacred emerald, he saw Rouge the Bat from behind, crouched and backing away from where she'd been standing before.

"Hey, Rouge," he said casually, smirking again and placing both hands on his hips.

Rouge exclaimed softly and turned towards him, then heard Knuckles shout, "You!"

She instantly stood and began backing away from the jewel while the pair both walked towards her. "Drat – you boys are more observant than I thought."

"Trying to steal the Master Emerald again, are you?!" the redhead shouted, his fists raised.

"You should thank Sonic for saving your precious gem – if he weren't here, I would've succeeded!" Rouge's heels stopped clicking on the gray slate when she reached the edge of the platform. She almost took flight, but hesitated when Sonic spoke up.

"Well, while you're here, I might as well tell you about this, too." He reached to retrieve the flier again, but was stopped by Knuckles grabbing his arm.

"If you two want to chat, you'll have to do it away from the Master Emerald!" He looked at Rouge, his eyes fiery. "I don't trust letting you hang around for one more minute!"

"Fine, have it your way," responded Rouge, putting her hands up defensively. She pushed off the ground and punctuated her statement with a teasing, "You're always so testy!"

As the bat flew away, Knuckles growled and shouted out to her, "You're damn right, I'm testy – when you're sneaking around trying to steal sacred relics for your own selfish desires!"

With no more reason to be there, Sonic decided it was time for him to leave, turning back around and stretching his arms. "Well, I guess I'd better head off, too. Looking forward to seeing you at that party!"

"Don't hold your breath," the guardian countered.

Returning to the plane, Sonic met up with Tails just as he finished fixing a nick in the fuselage. "Ready to go, buddy?"

"Yep, all set!" The fox loaded his toolbox back into the plane while Sonic hopped on the wing.

"I think I'd like to change our destination," the friendly hedgehog commented, looking over at Tails while he buckled his seatbelt.

"Oh, yeah? Where to?"

"Rouge dropped in while I was talking to Knuckles, but I didn't get to tell her about the party before she left." He raised one arm to point in the direction Rouge had flown. "So, I think we should track her down; she went that way."

"You got it, Sonic!"

The glass pane of the cockpit closed and the blue hero held on tight as Tails piloted the plane off the ground, taking flight to catch up with the mischievous bat.

***

Annoyed that her millionth attempt at nabbing the Master Emerald had failed, Rouge zig-zagged through a dense green ocean of thick trees in search of someone to listen to her complaints.

She kept an eye out for the only other person whom she knew to wander the woods, expertly dodging branches and bundled flora while her straightened form cut through the breezy air.

The familiar figure of black and red noticeably stood out to her the moment her peripheral caught the dark color palette against the earthy greens and browns.

Recognizing Shadow the Hedgehog's steady stroll and the all-too-neutral expression of his profile to her right, Rouge slowed her flight enough to turn smoothly in his direction, swiftly rounding a bulky tree to appear in front of the lone lifeform.

"Hey, there. How'd you enjoy your time alone?" she asked, referring to the hour she'd taken to try stealing the Master Emerald.

Shadow stopped his stroll and watched the sneaky woman land on the grass nearby. "It was peaceful; something I can't quite have when you're around."

He smirked as her hands raised to grab her wide hips, continuing, "You know, I've noticed that the more you hang about, the more jarring it becomes when I have a quiet moment to myself."

"Which means you're realizing how nice it is to be around me, right?" Rouge asked playfully, jutting her hips to one side.

The black hedgehog didn't answer, still displaying a smug smirk as he started walking again. He seemed to be in a fair mood, or at least had become more lively with her arrival.

The treasure hunter looked forward to the times when he was in a wittier mood, since it typically meant that he was temporarily more pleasant to be around. She joined him at his side and took it upon herself to fill him in on the unfortunate encounter she'd had on Angel Island.

"So, anyway, my little trip ended up being a big ol' bust."

"How am I not surprised?"

"Well, it wasn't all my fault." The shapely lady rolled her eyes and a tinge of frustration lined her tone. "That sleepy echidna was napping away, as usual – if Sonic hadn't shown up, I'm sure I would've gotten away with that emerald in the blink of an eye."

"Hmph, so the nosy 'hero' ruined yet another brilliant scheme?" asked Shadow, half-joking. He was partly using the light sarcasm to mock Sonic, as well as teasing Rouge in the way she often did to him.

Her response was to push one palm firmly against his arm, briefly nudging her friend away in a light-hearted display of amusement at his jest. "Exactly that. I don't always have to be brilliant to succeed – sometimes all a girl needs is a little luck. And when luck just isn't on your side..."

She shrugged, holding her arms up and smirking at him in a way that implied she had no control over her failed thievery. Shadow chuckled and opened his mouth to combat her claim, but was interrupted when a strong gust of wind rushed up from behind and pushed against the both of them.

The bat and hedgehog halted, their distracted gazes catching a blip of cobalt rushing ahead, and were met with the Blue Blur himself standing still before them as the leaves of trees and bushes in the vicinity rustled.

"Heya, Rouge – Shadow," Sonic greeted, lifting one flat hand in a stationary wave.

The stoic lifeform's expression instantly changed to one of irritation, his smirk dropping into a frown and his brows lowering to glare at his unwelcome rival. "Sonic! What do you want?"

"So nice of you to ask; well, since Rouge took off before I got to tell her about this..." He pulled out the flier again, unfolding it with one hand and holding it out towards them. "... I figured I'd follow up and deliver it."

Smiling confidently, the spunky man waved the paper in front of them until Rouge grabbed it, then told her, "I didn't want you to miss out on the fun the rest of us will be having. You can go too, if you want, Shadow."

Shadow dragged his burning gaze away from Sonic and towards the paper, listening to the bat as she ran teal eyes over the bright lettering and spoke, "Looks like an advert for a fancy holiday party. You and your friends are going to this thing?"

"Yep!" Sonic answered. "And you're welcome to join us!"

"Well," Rouge started, before her disagreeable friend could decline the invitation, "It's certainly an interesting offer. We'll think about it."

"Cool! Don't be afraid to let loose. Anyway, you can keep that flier – I gotta get going."

The ivory woman looked up at him just as the blue hedgehog added, "See ya!" and sped off, rustling the foliage again and leaving behind a wispy blue line that started to fade once he was out of sight. Shadow's voice then cut through the air, his tone harsh.

"There's a dozen things I'd rather do than attend any event Sonic's going to. Certainly, it'll be a waste of time."

As her eyebrows furrowed at him, Rouge replied, "I don't think so! This party looks like it'll be quite extravagant, if you ask me. We should go."

"You can't be serious." His face was stony, his scowl deepening. "Nothing good can come from hundreds of people crowded together in one space – no matter how big the venue may be. It's a recipe for trouble."

"You're being too pessimistic!" the jewel hunter piped, folding up the purple paper and stuffing it away. "Bottom line, if we go together, I'll make sure it's a fun time. Remember, you promised you would go to more of these holiday events with me!"

"I don't recall swearing on my life..."

"Please?" She took a step closer, sweetening her voice and touching his shoulder. "Everyone will be wearing a festive mask, so it's possible no one will even recognize us if we cover our faces, too. We'll be disguised the whole time."

Shadow looked away and his volume lowered. "Hmm... I don't trust it, but you seem eager for this outing..."

Staring at the ruby-eyed hedgehog, Rouge waited for him to settle on a final decision, knowing that any further comments she made might annoy him into refusing.

His expression slowly softened and his demeanor steadily relaxed; likely recovering from the tenseness he'd felt in Sonic's presence. Then, he looked back to her and spoke in a calmer tone.

"I'll go. Only to honor my word, and because you shouldn't have to attend alone – on the condition that we leave when I say so."

The corner of his close friend's glossy lips curved slightly, pleased by his answer, and she gave him an amiable wink. "Sure thing, sugar."

***

Over the next week, everyone who knew about the masquerade ball took the time to look for costumes and masks befitting the colorful holiday – even Vector the Crocodile, who'd seen the advertisements himself and was convinced that the woman he pined for would be attending.

The scaley man kicked himself for not being able to bond with Vanilla during Valentine's Day, but he was determined to make up for it if he saw her at the ball. And although the rest of his team decided not to go, he double-checked with Espio a day before the event, secretly wanting a close friend around for support.

"Are you sure?" he asked the chameleon, who was meditating in a corner. "It'll probably be a lot of fun!"

"I will be fine here," Espio's deep voice replied, his eyes closed.

"Alright, but don't expect me to help you look for a tux if you change your mind tomorrow!" The crocodile walked over to the doorway and added, "I'd better get plenty of rest if I want to be on top of my game."

Charmy piped up from his spot on the couch, "Good luck, Vector! Tell us how it went when you get back – I wanna hear all about it if you embarrass yourself!"

His boss glared at him briefly, but then transitioned his annoyed frown into a toothy smile. "Good thing I picked out the snazziest outfit in town. There's no way I could fail to impress Cream's mom with style on my side!"

Vector left the room with a confident stride, even though Charmy burst into snickers as soon as the door closed behind him.

***

The next day, Sonic was finishing up a hyperactive afternoon run, which was followed shortly after with the devouring of chilidogs leftover from that morning's purchase.

And as the hour approached when he had agreed to meet with the others, he opened up his small closet to pull out the costume he'd acquired for the evening: a plain emerald green vest with silky trim in a slightly darker hue; dress shoes colored a bright gold; and a simple masquerade mask of dark green and indigo.

He hadn't wanted to get too fancy with the dressings, not worrying about how unadorned he would look. Once he was dressed for the occasion, the blue hedgehog rushed off to Tails' house, where they'd agreed to group up before heading out.

The young fox and his friend Amy were already chatting by the time Sonic showed up, both wearing outfits a bit more festive. Decorated in different shades of purple and green, Tails sported a long-sleeved shirt with gold buttons up the middle; a pair of black slacks with gold embroidery down the sides; purple and green dress shoes; and a shiny mask carrying the same colors, the height of which covered the length of his face up to his spiky bangs.

Meanwhile, the pink hedgehog was clad in a ball gown of white and gold. A thick strip of black silk was tied around her waist, which exaggerated the curve of the dress puffing out around her legs; the skirt reached to her ankles, offering a peek of golden slippers upon her feet. The short sleeves puffed around her shoulders, and she wore a slimmer, curvier mask colored violet and covered in silver glitter.

"Wow, you guys look great!" Sonic commented, mentally preparing for Amy to respond affectionately.

She did, beaming and bounding over to him while saying, "I knew you'd think I looked beautiful! I found the best dress I could, just for you!"

"Heh, well, anyway – where's Vanilla and Cream?" He took a step back from Amy and looked around. "They're coming along too, right?"

Tails answered, "I think so. We can head over there and meet up with them!"

The speedster nodded and the three of them walked in the direction of Vanilla's home, soon spotting the two rabbits and greeting them. Cream was dressed in a frilly mint green dress with white and yellow ribbons tied around her waist, which sat a cute bow against her back; on her feet were plain yellow boots, and on her face was a mask as simple as Sonic's, colored lime green.

Her mother wore a long flowy dress similar to her typical style, with a color scheme resembling her daughter's outfit – the majority of the top and skirt were a lighter emerald green, and two golden stripes lined the rounded collar, joining into one and running down the length of her dress to the bottom.

Her long green sleeves were made of chiffon, making them see-through, and gold cuffs snapped around her wrists to hold the thin fabric in place. The woman's deep gold mask was tall enough to hide her entire face above her muzzle, and sprouted a single green feather up from the center.

Tails complimented cheerily, "Woah, nice costumes!"

Amy added, "Very beautiful, you two!"

"Thank you!" squeaked Cream, elated and blushing.

Then, Vanilla asked, "Are we all ready to go?"

"Yep!" answered Sonic, turning to lead the way as the sun began to sink past the horizon. "Follow me!"

The ballroom on the far side of the city was massive, with two pairs of giant double doors marking the entrance and exit. The outside walls were decorated in accordance with the holiday; two large pictures of Mardi Gras masks were displayed on either side of the doorways, and long paper strips in the shape of beads stuck to the dark bricks, wrapping themselves around the building's perimeter.

A white banner stretched across the front of the structure, with the words "Masquerade Ball" printed in purple to advertise the event. The party wasn't lacking attendees, as handfuls of citizens trickled in and out of the venue, lively jazz music spilling out onto the street whenever the doors opened.

And when the group of five pushed open the wide double doors, they were hit with a crisp and jovial atmosphere, the smell of catered food; as well as the energetic mix of saxophone, piano, and trumpet jumping from large speakers placed in each corner of the expansive room.

The walls were a sleek shade of pearl, the floors a shiny hue of honey, and a crystal chandelier hung from the high ceiling to glitter above dozens of dancers' heads.

The section that was considered a dance floor had been outlined with strips of white paper stuck to the gold vinyl – buffet tables covered by purple cloth were lined up on either side of the ballroom, offering different types of food and drink near the walls to guarantee sufficient space between them and the dance floor.

But as much as the venue owners had spaced everything out, the place still seemed packed, nearly flooded with masked guests all drinking, dancing, and mingling.

As Sonic's crew walked farther into the huge, singular room, he looked up to admire the decorations strewn about the higher sections of the walls. Purple, gold, and green were everywhere in the form of more paper pictures of masks, as well as streamers that spun down nearly to the floor.

"Damn, this place looks incredible!" the blue hedgehog marveled.

Tails agreed, "Whoever threw this party went all out! I guess we won't have to worry about being bored!"

Amy then turned to Sonic and grabbed his hand, her smile wide as she pulled him in the direction of the dance floor. "Come on, Sonic, dance with me!"

"Uh, could we maybe check out the buffet table first?" he asked desperately, being denied and ultimately conceding to Amy's request.

Tails chuckled as the three of them were left behind, turning back to Cream and Vanilla and suggesting they get something to eat. They made their way towards one of the tables to peruse the food and drink options.

Atop the long surfaces were assortments of meat snacks, as well as fruit and veggie platters; pastries in the way of fluffy cakes decorated with yellow and violet frosting, and fried fritters topped with a thick layer of powdered sugar; finally, sizable bowls of punch and bottles of wine for drinks.

They picked out a few of the things they wanted and stuck closely together, chatting amongst themselves and idling into conversation with other partygoers nearby.

None of them recognized anyone else behind their costumes and masks, but they took the opportunity to just enjoy the atmosphere and have pleasant exchanges with the other people having fun.

While Sonic's gang found their places in the lavish ballroom, a certain luxury-loving bat walked into the establishment alongside her uneasy date.

Adorning Rouge's curvy figure was a fancy silk dress of royal purple and vivid gold; the top formed a heart shape over her bust and hugged her waist, fanning out into a layered skirt that transitioned back and forth between amethyst and amber.

Her dress nearly touched the floor, hiding the woman's black pumps which nudged the frilled silk outwards with each step. She'd ditched her usual gloves for something fancier, choosing long black satin instead of the white cotton and pink cuffs.

Each black-clad hand held something special, the fingers of her left wrapped around Shadow's arm while the right gracefully gripped a green folding fan embroidered with shimmering yellow swirls.

Her pretty face was a mystery behind her large, curvy mask. It reached up from her muzzle to cover the length of her eyes, glittery dark purple bordered with matte black and complementing her dazzling teal irises.

The top of her mask carried a plume of tall feathers, proudly displaying all three of the holiday colors. And to add more mystery to her appearance, Rouge wore navy blue eyeshadow, which she coupled with red lip gloss instead of pink.

Less elegant was her quieter counterpart, who sported an unassuming blazer of dark, dull red – though the velvet material made it seem black under most lighting – with a subdued orange-gold ascot tucked under the collar to hide his chest hair.

His mask was the largest he could've found, unfortunately colored a warm and inviting yellow but thankfully wrapping a bit along the sides of his face. The upper hem curved into a point that cupped the top of his highlighted hair, covering some of the red stripe; it was the best way he could hope to hide his identity, unable to switch out his gloves and shoes for something more inconspicuous.

But as they stepped into the venue, Rouge wasn't worried about either of them being recognized. She guessed, by the number of people gathered in the refined ballroom, that it was unlikely for them to run into anyone they disliked. Noting all of the unidentifiable partygoers, she looked over at Shadow and squeezed his stiff arm.

"You don't have to be so tense," her smooth voice said, keeping her volume low enough that only he could hear. "No one will know who we are here. I know relaxing is difficult for you, but you're allowed to chill out tonight."

The hedgehog's red gaze shifted over to his charming companion and he forced himself to untighten his muscles, giving her a nod before silently taking in all the surroundings. As they went on into the room, steadily wading around other people, Rouge lightly fanned herself and looked up at the hanging decorations.

"Oh, it's just so beautiful in here!" she gushed, gaining an extra twinkle in her eye. "So fancy, so decorous- ooh!"

Her gaze snapped towards a well-dressed waiter making rounds through the crowd, carrying a platter of hors d'oeuvres high above his shoulder; he approached the pair and lowered the plate, offering an array of meager-portioned foods to anyone in the vicinity.

Among the gathering of guests accepting the savory snacks, Rouge happily joined in, slipping her hand off of Shadow's arm to take a tiny meat pastry. In the bustle of partiers moving about, and with his date's grip no longer holding him captive, the calculating lifeform took the opportunity to slip away from the socialite bat.

He quickly disappeared past the small mass of brightly-costumed strangers. By the time Rouge finished the delicious serving of finely prepared food, he was out of her sight, and she soon felt the annoyance of realizing that he'd escaped her.

In a sea of partying patrons, there was no way she would be able to find him as soon as she'd like – so she simply let her agitation disappear with a sigh and began meandering around the ballroom to drink in the atmosphere alone.

Arriving after Rouge and Shadow was Vector, his dapper attire a white dress shirt with a bold gold suit jacket on top. A black bowtie accented the collar and he wore a spiky emerald green mask, hoping the color would blend well enough with his scales that Vanilla would recognize the crocodile when he approached her.

Immediately, he began looking for the kind lady, honing in on any lengthy set of rabbit ears he saw amongst the crowd. And as he was too distracted to consider the fault in his plan, it didn't occur to him that his crush's attendance wasn't guaranteed.

With masks obscuring the face of every guest in the room, Vector endured a handful of disappointments as each woman he approached denied being the one he was looking for.

Regardless, he held his composure as much as possible in the face of unknown patrons and didn't let the rejection get to him, continuing to excuse himself around the other people and keeping his eyes peeled for Cream's mother.

Meanwhile, Sonic had been coaxed into waltzing with Amy to the rhythm of sweeping piano and bombastic trumpets. He humored her desire to spend the moment with him, but silently thought of how he could end their dance when her adoration became a little too strong for his liking.

Still, the blue hedgehog didn't want to ruin the girl's night, and certainly didn't want to cause a scene if he ended up being the reason for her sorrow on what was supposed to be an enjoyable evening. The waltz wasn't so bad, even a bit of fun for Sonic – so he stuck it out a little while longer to indulge her dream.

Amy's soft green eyes gazed dreamily at him as she spoke, "We really don't do stuff like this often enough. And I think we should make more of an effort to try new things together! If you would just slow down enough to give our relationship the attention it needs, we could be the strongest couple on the planet."

The speedster chuckled and exhaled nervously, then replied, "I don't know about that, Amy. Nothing's certain!"

"Oh, stop being coy!" One of her eyebrows furrowed in an amused expression and the hand that held Sonic's tightened affectionately. "I'm serious, you know. This would be the perfect time to ask me out if you were thinking about it – you don't have to be shy."

Unsure of how to respond, he opted for clamming up instead, giving the enamored dame an awkward smile and upping the tempo of their dance in an attempt to distract her from the topic.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the building, his friend Knuckles was pushing open one of the double doors to see what kind of supposedly exciting action the bustling ballroom had to offer.

His garments were of green and yellow, different shades of each crawling across his dress shirt in an artistic arrangement of stripes and diamonds; the imaginative patterns made up for the fact that he chose not to change his shoes or gloves.

Adorning the echidna's face was a wide mask, almost square-shaped, colored half-black and half-gold. He avoided bumping into anyone and looked around casually, trying to decide whether he liked what he saw or if he wanted to bail already. Secondarily, he scanned the crowds for Sonic and the others, though he doubted the probability of finding them.

Tails, Cream, and Vanilla still hung around near the buffet tables, chatting with a few other guests and filling up on delectable foods. And as Vector's search brought him closer to the tables, as well, his orange eyes spotted something familiar: a pair of yellow twin tails belonging to someone he knew to be one of Cream's friends.

His excitement rose when he recognized the young fox, looking at the two rabbits next to him and heading their way the moment he identified Vanilla standing beside her daughter. Nearly stumbling over his own feet, the crocodile tightened the bow accenting his collar, rehearsing in his head what he was going to say to her.

The group's voices became clearer the closer he got, and Vanilla's sweet, mature tone was making him more nervous than he thought he'd be. When he finally reached them, Vector cut into their conversation a bit awkwardly, nearly interrupting the end of Tails' sentence.

"Is this a great party or what?" he started enthusiastically, in an attempt to seem charismatic. "It has to be the best one I've ever been to – what about you guys?"

The other partiers, who didn't know the tall reptile, smiled and agreed. But Tails recognized him instantly by his voice alone, picking up on the throaty rasp of his intonation. It didn't take much for Vanilla to figure out his identity, either; and when she smiled kindly at him, Vector's grin grew.

He didn't know for sure if she'd seen through his costume, assuming that she would be just as polite with anyone else. So, he pretended to not recognize her either, speaking as if she were an unknown woman.

"Hey, you look like you're a great dancer," claimed the detective, trying to sound smooth. "I can't say how, but I have a sense about these things. Would you like to have a waltz out on the floor?"

Vanilla giggled warmly, amused by his attempt to sound cultured and sophisticated. "Sure! I appreciate the offer."

Turning to Cream, she spoke with affection, "Stay with Tails, dear. I'll be back soon."

"Okay, Mother!" The rabbits hugged and Tails gave Vanilla a wave as she walked away with Vector, the crocodile striding confidently.

While Sonic's friends were finding their enjoyment among the crowds attending the lively soirée, Shadow was weaving around groups of people and wandering farther into the ballroom.

He kept near the wall, not wanting to chance getting nudged out onto the dance floor, and preferring to stay along the less-occupied edges for control of his own personal space. Soon he found an arrangement of different wines taking up one half of a buffet table, along with empty glasses; red, white, and sparkling were the options, and he chose to have a drink of something on the bitter side.

After filling half a glass with red wine, the quiet hedgehog continued wandering leisurely, using his freedom to take in the sights and even mildly enjoying the atmosphere – which he found more admirable when he was merely spectating the festivities.

The other half of the neutral-aligned pairing also wandered, her fan flittering cool wisps of air at her tan muzzle. Rouge made passive eye contact with a couple of strangers as she attempted to pass around them, which the men took as an opportunity to start a conversation. The click of her heels ceased when they smiled and turned her way.

"Evening, miss," the first greeted in a melodic tone, bowing slightly towards her in a gentlemanly gesture. He was wearing a jet-black mask, which sat above a white muzzle and covered an azure-furred face, the eye holes revealing dark chocolate irises; and a stark white vest worn over a purple long-sleeved button-up shirt.

"Good evening," responded Rouge, mirroring his smile and looking at the other guest when he spoke.

"Have you been enjoying this enchanting evening? You look lovely." The second of the strangers sounded younger and moved a bit more energetically. The distinct shape of his ears gave him away as a lynx, gray fur disappearing beneath a distracting mask that hid his entire face from forehead to chin – colored white and gold, it resembled a laughing face, and only showed the heterochromia he possessed. One eye was icy blue, the other a bold shade of chartreuse.

Rouge cocked her head to one side and said, "Why, thank you. I haven't gotten to indulge in much just yet, but I sure don't plan on letting the night go to waste!"

"You'd better not!" the azure patron chuckled. "You dressed far too beautifully to not bless the dance floor with your presence."

Mildly flattered, the bat raised an eyebrow when he extended one gloved hand and asked, "I'd love to accompany you for a few twirls on the next song."

Instead of offering her own satin-wrapped hand, Rouge covered part of her face with the fan, taking a step to the side as she began the process of excusing herself. "Sorry to disappoint, but I'm actually here with someone. I'm off to find him, but I hope you boys have a wonderful time."

Both of the masked men watched her go before turning back to one another, and the lavishly-dressed treasure hunter started scanning her gaze over the gatherings of partygoers.

She hoped to catch even a glimpse of Shadow or his brightly-colored mask, making mental notes of the dance floor's ever-shifting availability. With luck, she would be able to convince the reclusive lifeform to join her for a dance, a slim possibility that she wanted to try for while she had the chance.

After all, she reasoned, there may not be another day more befitting of a friendly tango, and the likelihood of Shadow agreeing to such an activity would only get weaker as the night went on.

Out on the dance floor, Sonic had successfully taken the lead and started slowly scooting the two of them farther from the center of the room.

While he spun the pink hedgehog around other couples, he kept her distracted with conversation that toed the line of what she wanted to hear. "I'm glad the city has stuff like this going on. I was starting to think it was getting boring around here!"

"Me, too!" Amy's grip on his shoulder tightened as she relished the feeling of his hand holding her waist; it was difficult not to swoon in the Blue Blur's presence. "Especially if it means we can get closer by going out to more of these events."

"Sure! I think all of us will be able to build stronger bonds through fun parties every now and then." He smiled at her, but it soon faded when her expression changed.

"Sonic, can you slow down?" she asked, her voice a bit wavery through a half-smile. "I think we're spinning too fast."

"Whoops, sorry!" The speedy hedgehog complied, then looked to see that they were right by the edge of the dance floor, where the white line separated it from the rest of the room. "We should take a break – I don't want you to feel sick!"

Amy opened her mouth to counter his request, but couldn't do much about his hands slipping away from her. The blue man stepped outside of the dance area and ushered her towards the buffet tables, while the disappointed girl frowned and informed him of wanting another dance soon.

Sonic responded, "Sure thing, but let's grab something to drink for now. It's not a good idea to move around so much being dehydrated!"

They joined up with Tails and Cream, going as a group to partake in the flavorful punch resting in a deep glass bowl. There was another guest pouring a cup when they approached, a redhead with long locks and big plush mitts covering his hands; which Sonic recognized as Knuckles' attire.

"Hey, Knuckles, is that you?" he asked, walking up to the patron and eyeing the two-toned mask on his face.

His friend was taken a bit off-guard, not expecting the hedgehog to have found him, but soon smiled when he saw the whole group trailing closely behind. He chuckled, "Sonic? Uh, yeah, it's me. Man, you guys look so different behind those masks."

Primping her short hair, Amy replied, "We look great, don't we? Finally, a reason to wear something really nice! But I didn't expect you to show up!"

Knuckles shrugged. "Eh, I decided to come by for a look around, but I might leave soon."

"Heh, I don't think so!" retorted Sonic, raising one index finger. "You're with us – and we're having a good time! Why would you wanna miss it?"

The echidna chuckled again and smiled a little fuller. "I guess I'll stick around, then."

Tails chimed, "We're glad to have ya, Knuckles! This is shaping up to be an awesome night!"

The music bumping from the ballroom speakers steadily shifted into slower songs, lowering the energy a bit as the mood became calmer. Long, deep saxophone notes accompanied lively taps of piano keys, the more romantic vibe accented with faint sounds of trumpets.

It was a soothing break in the middle of the zestful masquerade – one that Vector was grateful for, having barely fumbled through a couple of songs without embarrassing himself.

His determination to impress Vanilla kept him more graceful than usual, doubly aware of his footfalls and the space around them. And if she was regretting accepting his offer to dance, she wasn't showing it.

The motherly woman held a serene smile the entire time, which made it easier for him to keep his nerves under control, as well. Deciding it was time to make a proper move, the scaley detective started off with a compliment.

"Your grace is fantastic." As soon as the words left his mouth, Vector felt embarrassment at the awkward wording; so much for making a fool of himself, he thought. "Uh, I mean, you're very graceful!"

His dance partner giggled and briefly squinted her eyes to a close, finding his flustered expression endearing. "Thank you! I'm glad to be attending this ball, there's so many friendly people here!"

"That's right! What better place to meet someone than at a fancy party?" He blushed when she opened her eyes again to stare a pretty caramel gaze past the green mask and at tangerine irises. "... So, does that mean you're having a good time dancing with me?"

"Of course," she answered sweetly, a tranquil lilt to her tone. "You're very nice."

The crocodile was speechless at her respectful admiration and chose not to push his luck by attempting a reply. He smiled wide and gained enough confidence from her sincerity to dance with genuine passion, rather than the timid steps he'd been taking before.

Meanwhile, a lone hedgehog had been half-mindedly watching them – as well as the other dancers – while leaning his back against a wall. Shadow finished the last sip of red wine in his glass, then felt a decisive grab on his arm as feminine fingers wrapped around the velvet sleeve of his blazer.

His head turned and crimson eyes widened, the dark lifeform being met with Rouge's smug smirk and the intensity of her teal gaze beneath navy eyelids. Her fan had disappeared, though he didn't ruminate on what she'd done with it.

"Finally, I found you!" she exclaimed, loosening her palm to reposition it affectionately on his bicep. She looked down at the empty cup in his hand and continued, "I see you've had a drink. Does that mean you're feeling a little more fun?"

He let out a breathy chuckle, confirming her sentiment without the use of words; Rouge could see in the curl of his lips that her stoic date wasn't so tense anymore.

Shadow seemed as relaxed as he could possibly be in a room full of people, relatively unbothered in his spot nearer one of the speakers. And because of that, the bat was less worried about being turned down when she offered her free hand, gracefully outstretching it and lifting her pinky finger higher to seem more elegant.

"Would ya honor me with a dance, handsome?" she asked, sliding her other palm down the length of his arm.

Shadow looked at her hand, then back at Rouge, the vague curve of his smile sticking despite her normally-unwelcome offer. He still hesitated, unsure of whether or not he wanted to commit to walking out on the floor – let alone to dancing, something he very rarely did. "You know how I feel about that. What would you bribe me with if I indulged your request?"

The ivory lady grinned, still holding out her gloved hand, and felt her cheeks flush faintly at his modest banter. It wasn't quite flirty for normal standards, and especially not when compared to her level of teasing, but Rouge saw so easily through his feigned disapproval. A dance was pretty much guaranteed, but he always had to make her work a little bit harder to get what she wanted.

"How about a kiss?" she suggested with a wink. "A pretty good trade-off, I'd say. It can even be our little secret, if you like."

The slight change in Shadow's expression was even more subtle behind the mask, thick gold material obscuring his coy acceptance of the deal. His view of Rouge as solely a teammate had been transitioning to a more personal connection since even before Valentine's Day, but especially since then.

At the end of the night, he might not go through with kissing her – silently questioning whether or not she was even serious about it – but he'd been interested to see with what she tried to entice him. In hindsight, it wasn't much of a surprise that the flirty woman went straight to romance, but he conceded to himself that he should've seen it coming.

After a moment of silence between them, Shadow pushed himself from the wall and swiftly returned his empty wine glass to the nearest table, then faced Rouge and lifted his dominant hand to take hers.

"Let's go, then, before the night escapes us."

The glamorous jewel hunter's stride quickly overtook his slower steps, until she was walking ahead of him, their gloved fingers hooked and the hedgehog being tugged closer toward the handfuls of happy interlinked couples.

As a favor to him, she scoped out a relatively spacious spot; one with plenty of clearance to not knock into the other dancers. Rouge then turned to Shadow, her shiny red lips pulled into a gleeful smile, and she put her left hand on his shoulder while the other repositioned to rest more comfortably in his palm.

The aloof guest slipped his free hand around her waist and cleared this throat, then broke eye contact and spoke uneasily, "I might not be the best on my feet tonight..."

When he trailed off, Rouge smoothly interjected, "Don't worry about it. I don't mind leading."

He didn't want to admit that he was talentless at dancing, even if it was something he typically had no interest in. But being around so many other people and having his physical movements dictated by his closest friend in an intimate context made Shadow more self-conscious about his abilities.

Regardless, he didn't let his pride push him into taking the lead anyway, instead allowing Rouge to make the first move and following her direction as they started off slow. Luckily for the couple, once they started dancing, the floor very steadily opened.

Over the next few songs, other dancers trickled out of the white-bordered area, which allowed a little more room for the bat to take her date closer to the center. So focused on keeping his motions smooth, Shadow didn't keep in mind how much of the floor they were traversing.

And as Rouge herself became wrapped up in the fun of gracefully twirling both of them around other waltzing guests, she unknowingly inched closer to the other side of the golden space.

Sonic and his friends had stepped away from the buffet table after filling their cups; the five of them beamed with conversation and laughter for a while, hovering near the white line that separated them from the dancers.

Shadow's steps were beginning to stall the longer they danced, the dark hedgehog losing his grace while his partner's pace rose. Hesitating to say something was his mistake, and when Rouge performed a twirl in which only their hands were gripping each other, the momentum of her body leaning away from him was more than he was prepared for.

Her fingers slipped from his, sending the surprised woman stumbling over the floor's white border. With Sonic's gang nearby, she unfortunately bumped roughly into Knuckles' right side, knocking his arm and spilling his punch on the sleeve of his colorful dress shirt.

"Shit!" the echidna exclaimed, looking at the stain while regaining his balance.

His gaze burned as it snapped in Rouge's direction, who was hastily backing away from him with her mouth agape. Everyone else was stunned at the sudden interruption, including a couple of nearby partygoers who'd witnessed the fumble. Sonic's green eyes shifted back and forth between the aggravated Knuckles and the embarrassed masked lady who'd run into him.

Amy and Cream were covering their mouths; Tails' expression was one of distress; and Shadow pulled himself out of the startle to silently assess the scene. A fang-bearing scowl was spread across Knuckles' muzzle and his purple eyes blazed at the adorned bat.

"Watch where you're going!" he shouted.

For a moment, Rouge's lips couldn't successfully form the words to respond, her mind indecisive between apologetic and defensive. When she did start to speak, he pointed at the white line and interrupted with, "There's a border here for a reason. You could've wrecked more than just my shirt being careless like that!"

Sonic put his hands up and chimed, "Woah, hey, relax! It was an accident-"

"Maybe you shouldn't have been standing so close to the line," Rouge retorted, her eyebrows furrowing under her mask. She recognized the echidna once she got a better look at him – the ill-tempered outburst was unmistakable as one of his trademark qualities. "Anyone can trip, even if they don't have big clumsy feet."

More of the guests' attention were being drawn to the bickering pair, including Vector and Vanilla, who paused their dance to look over with concern. The second Knuckles started to growl in frustration at Rouge's snide remark, Shadow stepped in front of her and faced the angry guardian himself.

He only saw the tension rising from there, and would rather be the one to fight if it came to blows – at the least, it would make the event more interesting, he thought.

"This argument is over," the serious lifeform stated, staring at Knuckles.

"Who are you to give orders around here?" asked the angry redhead.

Shadow's brow furrowed deeply and Rouge stepped forward to grip one of his arms. She told him quietly, "I can handle this. I'll just apologize and we can-"

"No." Offended at his refusal, the bat scoffed, and Shadow continued squabbling, "It would be best if you just went home. I would get that stain out before it sets."

"Telling a stranger to leave, as if you have the power here? How arrogant can you be?!"

The others stood by watching them argue, on edge wondering if a punch was about to be thrown – Sonic and Rouge were both on their guard, ready to jump in if either threat came true.

The echidna and the hedgehog spoke harshly back and forth for a few seconds, telling each other to back down while not willing to walk away themselves.

More masqueraded patrons became interested in the commotion, and when Rouge had had enough of the increasingly-ridiculous dispute, she approached Shadow again and grabbed his arm more firmly.

At the same time, Knuckles took a step forward, his irritation growing and his fists balling; the staunch lifeform's fists balled as well, but the echidna's advance was stopped by Sonic stepping in and gripping his shoulder.

The ivory bat spoke in a low volume once more to Shadow, solemnly urging, "Stop escalating. This isn't the place to fight."

While she talked to the glaring red-eyed hedgehog, Sonic told Knuckles, "Hey, let's all just be cool, here. There's no reason to let this little mistake get out of hand."

His frustrated friend's gaze turned to his, and the speedster offered a smile while continuing, "We can all still have a fun night. I can even help you clean up that shirt later, if you want."

"Don't bother," Knuckles responded, calming down. "I'm outta here – I didn't even want to come to this thing, anyway."

Sonic's hand slipped from the echidna's shoulder as he turned to walk away, and the rest of the group relaxed a bit when they saw the hostility between the two guests quickly dying. Shadow turned as well, walking in silence with Rouge when she tugged him towards the other side of the room.

There was a bit of whispering and speculation among the people who'd crowded around during the tension, the semi-circle of gathered patrons dispersing as Knuckles and Shadow left the area.

Still standing together on the dance floor, Vector and Vanilla responded differently to the confrontation; the crocodile let out an exaggerated sigh, while Cream's mother merely arched her eyebrows in worry.

"Man, that was dramatic!" commented Vector. "I really thought those guys were gonna fight!"

"It was quite worrying..."

He looked over at Vanilla and made his face calm when he noticed her frown, then held out his hand. "Would you like to continue our dance?"

"I'm sorry, but I should probably get back to my group," she responded, giving him a weak but polite smile. "Thank you for your company!"

She bowed slightly and he stuttered, "Oh, uh, s-sure! I mean, no, thank you!"

Vector watched his crush walk away towards her daughter's friends, then decided it was best if he went home for the night; though, as he left, he cursed the arguing guests for interrupting their moment.

Meanwhile, Rouge led Shadow to a wall far from Sonic's group, and turned to face him. Her pleading gaze met his seething crimson eyes as both hands calmly cupped his arms.

"Okay, that was tense – and I know you probably want to leave, but..." The unease in her voice made him close his eyes and let out a long, soft sigh before she finished her sentence. "... we can still salvage the rest of the night."

The black and red hedgehog gently shook her hands from his sleeves and opened his eyes again, making eye contact with the tentative woman. "You want to stay after that?"

Her hands floated towards each other and she absent-mindedly fidgeted with one pinky finger, replying, "Well, sure. He's gone, so the problem is solved now, right? I don't want you to bail just yet."

Shadow's body language calmed as his shoulders lowered to rest loosely; he looked down at the bat's hands and grabbed one, stopping her from fidgeting and holding it informally for a moment.

In a cool tone, he said, "I won't lie to you – I'm not in my element here. This place is uncomfortable for me, these people..."

He looked out at the crowd as his sentence trailed off, then looked back to Rouge. "Maybe I was a bit incensed when our dance was interrupted."

Navy blue lids raised and their hands parted. Shadow continued, "I see you trying. I may not always agree with your plans, but it's not the first time you've known what was best for us; even just as a team. So, I'll stay if you like, however obnoxious I find this event to be."

The fancily-dressed lady shook her head, lips curling into a smile. "You shouldn't have to do that, even for me. I have to be fair to my partner, which means upholding my side of the bargain. You kept your word, and I said we could leave when you wanted, so..."

She slipped one hand around his arm again, as if he was escorting her. "... we can go. Although, I wouldn't be opposed to continuing our dance elsewhere."

"A more secluded place?" he asked.

Rouge nodded, earning a half-smile from the hedgehog. With his spirit uplifted a bit, he approached the nearest buffet table and grabbed one of the wine bottles, suggesting, "How about we share one drink before we go?"

"It couldn't hurt," agreed the jewel thief, shrugging briefly before grabbing an empty glass for herself.

Vanilla regrouped with the rest of her party, which kicked off a conversation about the tiff between Knuckles and Shadow. Though they started off theorizing about the other guest's identity – getting closer to the conclusion that his mannerisms and some of his garments were identical to the Ultimate Lifeform – Tails eventually shifted to worrying about Knuckles.

"You think he's okay?" he asked Sonic. "I haven't seen him that angry in a while."

"Sure, he's okay," replied the speedster, unflinchingly confident. "That hard-headed echidna's tough as nails. But I can check on him, just to be sure."

"That might be a good idea."

Tails and his heroic friend shared a nod of understanding before Sonic turned to track down Knuckles. When he walked out into the night air, he found the guardian stomping across the street outside the bustling ballroom. "Hey, Knux!"

His companion stopped on the sidewalk and turned back to look at the blue daredevil, his face no longer covered by a mask. He wasn't fuming anymore, but still carried an unpleasant frown and stern eyes; though, he allowed Sonic to approach and chat with him.

"Sorry about that whole ordeal," Sonic spoke, smiling awkwardly. "That other guy was way out of line. Anyway, I hope you're not going home angry; Tails was worried."

Knuckles let forth a content snicker and his frown turned into a smile. "I'm fine, don't worry about me. I'll just be catching up on some well-deserved rest... and committing this event to memory for the next time you try to pressure me into attending a party!"

The Blue Blur laughed, then gave him a thumbs-up and a flashy grin. "You know what, Knux, you earned it! I'll try not to bug ya too much from now on."

Respectfully, the echidna nodded in a gesture of acceptance and farewell, then turned his back to Sonic and continued on his path home. The costumed hedgehog turned as well, heading back towards the lavish ballroom and into the party, where he met up with the rest of his group to continue the boisterous festivities.

#sonic fanfiction #ship fanfic #heartfelt holidays #heartfelt holidays chapter 2 #dracaria fics #shadouge #shadrouge #rouge the bat #shadow the hedgehog #sonic the hedgehog #mardi gras #writing

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river-bottom-nightmare · 3 years

Text

an (incomplete) list of things kon can do because lex luthor is his dad that people always forget about:

#1 : math - he's fifteen, and math comes easy to him (unlike a lot of people his age, or at least, his visible age.) a lot of things come easy to him, because when you have all knowledge in the known universe downloaded into your brain, things like advanced math don't bother you very much.

but it bothers his friends, because bart loses interest about three seconds into the assignments, cassie groans anytime "homework" is brought up in general, and tim hates the concept and execution of math so much that he'd rather hide in kon's room where he thinks no one will look for him instead of even cracking open a textbook.

but kon's pretty sure being a hero means you don't need any real world skills, and after his initial hesitation and disagreements, he realized that he genuinely wants these people to like him, to be friends with him. their math homework is easier than a breeze to complete.

#2 : tying a tie the ~fancy~ way - he's nineteen, and his fingers flow through a silk tie like a fish through water. the motions are beyond familiar, he could do them in his sleep. so is the action of pulling on a suit, pressing his collar, arranging his hair into a neat style. he's timothy drake-wayne's date tonight, and he needs to look the part. fortunately, luthor taught him how to look the part a long the ago.

the party itself is,,,,pleasant, he supposes. he spends most of the time as arm candy, tim's pretty little thing as his boyfriend sweet-talked investors and networked. but they both know that the tipsier people are, the easier they let slip secrets to someone they believe won't understand them, and kon gathers a wealth of information by the time he meets up with tim by the appetizer bar right before dinner.

tim tugs him close by his tie and kisses his cheek, then laughs when kon discreetly but disgustedly spits out the pickled salmon cracker toppings.

#3 : educated debating - he's sixteen, and in an argument with tim that's gone so off the rails that kon can't even remember what they were fighting about in the first place. wherever they started, they were here, now, kon on top of a table in an ice cream parlour screaming about how a socialist approach to taxes would boost the lower class, tim on top of a barstool screaming right back about how the middle class are the only ones paying taxes and socialism would only put more weight on their shoulders.

both of them are this close to busting out laughing, and the only reason they haven't been thrown out is because the employee behind the counter is frantically taking notes. kon can see it in tim's eyes, see the way the younger boy didn't expect to hold such a passionate and intense debate with him, didn't expect kon to be capable of it. it's a pleasant surprise, though; that much is evident in tim's barely-hidden grin.

the debate comes to a pause when bart smacks him with a spoon and tells him off for stepping on the speedster's ice cream, and the tiredness with which he collapses back into the booth is a good one.

#4 : efficient + effective workplace supervision - he's twenty, and wondering how in the hell people hadn't murdered the entirety of young justice when it was first founded. bart had graduated to being the flash's full time sidekick, and though he came to visit often, it wasn't the same. gotham was almost always on the verge of imminent disaster these days, and tim was one of the few ropes holding it together. kon missed him like crazy, but his few visits were all the boy could spare. cassie was in charge now, and she was a wonderful leader, but busy, always smoothing over relations between the team and the justice league and civilian offices.

so, somehow, that left kon to be the den mother to all the new younger kids, and somehow, kon was good at it. he knew exactly what to say to get people to listen to his commands, telling them to work on this or work on that, train for this and practice that. he tells them when to get some sleep and let the weight of the day roll off their shoulders, and when to push themselves to raise them higher than they ever thought they could go. unexpectedly, he finds himself liking it.

#5 : the splits

#6 : colour schemes + interior decorating - he's twenty-one, and tim's finally deciding to turn the nest into a home. bart, who had spent the last couple of years bouncing between allen-west-mercury households and was therefore accustomed to a home with a fire of love reaching every corner and every member of the family, was appalled. so was kon, honestly.

the penthouse that tim worked out of was cold and impersonal, sleek lines that angles that matched the limbs and contours of tim's body. but the shadows around tim's eyes had lessed over the past few years, his smile coming to his lips almost as easy as when young justice first learned how to work together. all it took was a little encouragement from cassie, and suddenly, all four of them were involved in a home renovation project.

cassie churned out ikea furniture like it was nothing, the three of them taking a break from their jobs to just watch her as she lifted one of their hardwood bookshelves with one hand. bart bought home goods and essentials from various department stores and ran around, stocking the house with them wherever he felt a saucepan needed to be hung (near the coat hanger) or a candle holder needed to be placed (on the kitchen barstools, because apparently those were decorative anyway).

kon, meanwhile, decorated. he painted rooms and bought curtains and pillows, yes. but he also sorted through every single souvenir and memory the four of them had managed to accumulate over the years, photographs and hacked-off pieces of giant robots and saved movie tickets and broken weapons. he gets his hands on everything he can find, then fills up tim's nest until it's brimming with a cosy warmth made up of the four of them.

still, it's an obnoxiously large penthouse, so there's empty and open space left over even after redecorating. it's tim who takes a breath and works up the courage to tell them, not ask but tell them, that he wanted each of them to have their own bedroom. so bart takes the largest guest room and turns it into an explosion of colour, and cassie spends too much time decorating a room that she won't even live in most of the time. kon conspicuously notes how tim doesn't bother giving kon a room, just dumps kon's backpack on his bed and clears room in his own closet. he does wrap tim in a ttk hug though, from all the way across the room, and drinks in tim's red flush.

#7 : speed reading (no powers) - he's seventeen, and just now realizing how competitive his best friends are. cassie had long since resigned herself to being the judge and the hander-outer-of-prizes (candy from the nearest convenience store) for the speed-reading competition, but tim, kon, and bart were still in the running.

eventually, though, the pressure from holding back his powers grew too strong, and bart slumped against the back of the sofa, mournfully opening his mouth so cassie could drop a candy into it.

and then there were two.

kon thought back to the confrontation that had started this contest in the first place, robin's offhand comment about how he had to be the one to collect the data files from the company office they were infiltrating, because he was the only one who could speed-read and retain information. that had spiraled into an argument, then a challenge, then a competition, with a clear rule not to use any powers.

kon darted his eyes across the page, soaking up every word, the pages like tiny knives on the pads of his fingers as he turned them. he lost track of the page count, just reading and reading and reading until he tried to turn the page and realized there wasn't a next one. he yelled in triumph, reveling in tim's defeated groan, and settled in for cassie's quiz on the contents of the book.

#8 : sophisticated meal and wine palette - he was twenty-two, and discovering that he really, really liked tim's shocked face. they'd been friends for years now, childish hatred turned into playful bantering turned into knowing each other inside out. still, every now and then, kon did something that forced tim's eyebrows high on his head, his eyes widening just the barest bit.

right now, kon was at a dinner party with the words moral support written across his forehead. tim could handle himself remarkably well, but there was tiredness lacing the smaller boy's frame, and kon could practically see the way the tips of his soul were frazzled. so kon let tim lean into his arm and whispered jokes about luna-with-the-big-ugly-purse and martonio-who-can't-do-a-combover into his ear. or, at least, he was.

somehow he'd been drawn into a good natured argument with the man sitting just two seats down from tim and kon. friendly opinions of food had been tossed back and forth, growing more and more heated until kon looked him right in the eye and said he liked prosecco with his prosciutto, internally crowing with satisfaction at their shocked silence and sighing with pity that none of the guests here would ever try that combination out of fear of deviation. once the man had regained his sensibilities, he shot back, saying the sixth course should never serve salmon, instead regaling the fish to the amusebouche or the cheese course. kon snorted and told him fish itself was going out of style, and if he wanted to impress guests at the next dinner party he hosted, he should try serving octopus.

tim's shocked face was a pleasant surprise, but seeing the stunned, controlled blinks of everyone around him as they realized he wasn't just a pretty face was satisfying as well. even more satisfying was when he and tim said their goodbyes; while waiting for the valet, tim pressed up onto the tips of his toes and whispered promisingly in kon's ear, i fucking love your competence.

#9 : manipulating people into hating him to justify his actions - he was eighteen, and he was screaming, crying, tearing his hair out. kon didn't know what he had expected. lingering fondness? grudging acceptance? maybe a small leap for a chance at love?

it didn't matter. clark didn't want anything to do with him. and he was eighteen now, which meant clark didn't need to take care of him anymore, didn't need to pretend to pay attention to him anymore. he'd made it quite clear.

maybe that was why he found himself hesitating before saying no to amanda waller's offer. he forgot about the warnings tim gave him, though, and waller pounced on that hesitation, quicker than a panther. it was easy, it was oh so easy to let himself go with her.

besides, they had a reason to hate him now. he hadn't done anything to clark. he hadn't asked to be made. but clark had wanted nothing to do with him anyway, and didn't that sting. so if people were going to turn him away now, it was going to be for something he did.

he didn't realize how bad he was spiraling, how close he was to stepping off the lighted ledge he'd been balancing on his entire life and tumbling into the darkness below. but cassie had a stronger punch than most grown superheroes, and bart had tenaciousness written into every strand of his ginormous hair, and tim gripped his jaw so hard his fingernails dug into kon's skin and told kon that he was getting his best friend back, no matter what the hell he thought he was worth.

maybe it was madness that made him throw himself forward, still wrapped in the lasso cassie borrowed from diana, practically mauling tim's lips with his own. he was pretty sure he wasn't supposed to break down crying after he kissed someone, given past experience, but the three of them, his wonderful, wonderful friends, just hugged him tight, let him fight and shake and sob until all the rage was gone. it was the first time in a long while he'd done something in hopes that someone would look at him with love, not hatred.

#10 : waltzing - he was twenty-three, twenty three and giddy with how much time he had left. conner was with tim drake-wayne publicly now, so expectations were thrust onto him, expecting to be met.

kon tended to have more fun at events than tim ever did. granted, kon didn't have to deal with all of his coworkers drinking too much and exchanging money with secrets faster than drugs and asking tim whether or not his relationship meant he was open for still-young and handsome men who needed just a small escape from their wives. but tim wasn't trying very hard to enjoy himself either.

so kon was completely justified in tugging him towards the center of the room, in a patch of floor sparsely occupied, then pulling him as close as he dared. tim's panicked whisper of what!? was overridden by kon's laughter, but he muffled his sounds for a minute, letting tim hear the quiet music playing in the background (prerecorded and playing on speakers, not live).

understanding broke over tim's face, and he arched into kon's hold as easy as breathing. kon moved one of his hands to grip tim's wrist, and he twirled the two of them effortlessly, breathless at tim's flabbergasted expression. the rhythm was simple, and tim caught on quickly. one two three, one two twist, one two three, one two step, one two three, one two switch, one two three, one two three.

kon couldn't say they danced the night away, because a little while later tim took a break for a drink, then speeches were made, then dinner was served. by then, they were both entirely too tired to dance, longing for just a bed and a soft blanket and each other. but for those few minutes in the middle of a packed yet empty ballroom, kon and tim did lose themselves in the music, just a little bit.

i don't know shit about taxes or socialism. this got way longer than anticipated whoops. i'm tagging this "long post," but if someone asks me to put it under a cut, i'd be happy to

also jesus christ this thing is almost 2.5k words. im uploading it to ao3 later if i'm in the mood

tag list: @woahjaybird @birdy-bat-writes @anothertimdrakestan @subtleappreciation @screennamealreadyused @pricetagofficial @catxsnow @bikoncon @maplumebleue-blog-blog @sundownridg @thatsthewhump @xatanna-troy

#scribbles from the swamp #kon-el #conner kent #superboy #timkon #core four #dc #kon-el headcanon #kon-el fic #conner kent headcanon #conner kent fic #superboy headcanon #superboy fic #timkon headcanon #timkon fic #core four headcanon #core four fic #dc headcanon #dc fic

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catxsnow · 3 years

Text

FREE FALLING K.K.

Request: Okay some anons were simping over kon now I wanna simp~ y/n is an archer on the teen Titans , and she tends to be shy and on the reserved side, so when kon flirts she just dismisses him every time, until another guy ( superhero or civilian, you choose ) gets flirty and he gets made protective/jealous.

Warning: fluff

A/N: I’m slowly running out of already written fics and my motivation has not come back yet. This hiatus may be lasting longer than I thought.

Word Count: 2.3k

There was nothing wrong with a little bit of flirting within the team. It kept the bond of teammates close and always kept everyone on their toes. The dynamic on the Teen Titans was always one of ups and downs. There was such an entanglement of potential relationships that everyone got confused as to what was going on.

Most of that confusion stemmed from Conner Kent, Superboy as the team knew him as. His temporary relationship with Cassie had surprised everyone. He flirted with nearly everyone on the team, Tim, Kori, you. Kon's endless flirting began the day Oliver dropped you off at the Titans Tower and left you there for good.

Kon was frustrating in the sense that his flirtation with you was nonstop. From the moment you woke up to the moment you went back to sleep, it seemed that his only mission was to get you flustered. It didn't seem that he knew that you were bothered by his comments.

Tim always scolded Kon for his behaviour. After Cassie, it was clear that relationships among teammates was dangerous. Not to mention that it was pretty obvious of your blatant ignorance of his attempts. He continued to try nonetheless - one day you would crack for him, one day.

"Good morning, sweetheart." Kon was never an early riser. At the farm, he always got up early for chores, so at the tower he took every chance to sleep in. When he started to learn that you got up early, so did he. There was always the tired look in her eyes that he admired.

Kon found you down at the range. Though your skills were nowhere near Oliver, or even Roy, you put up a good fight just as much as everyone else on this team. The early hours were always dedicated to practice, and unfortunately, Kon figured that out pretty quickly.

You were so concentrated on the shot, you hadn't heard Kon's heavy footsteps join you. The shot went askew, completely missing the target. Your body tensed with frustration at him.

"Whoops, sorry babe. Didn't realize my good looks distracted you so much," Kon grinned. You refused to show him his words got you flustered. Instead, you grabbed another arrow. Babe. It slipped so smoothly off his tongue that it forced a chill down your spine.

"It's fine, Superboy," you assured him - though you were still angered at him for screwing around with your training once again. Kon leaned against the rack that held your bows. His arms rested on the top, head on his hands. His curls were still a mess from his sleep last night.

You felt your arm shake for a split second. His eyes watching your every move, waiting for you to make the perfect shot just as you always did. There was a lot of pressure on you with his gaze. You took a breath before releasing the arrow, watching as it hit dead center of the target. It was easy, hitting a non-moving target like this. Kon was the one making it difficult.

"Superboy?" He cocked an eyebrow. "We aren't on a mission babe, you can call me Kon you know. I'd prefer it." Of course he would, he loved the sound of his name passing your lips. It was almost angelic. "You know-"

"(Y/N), Conner," Tim's head popped into the training room before Kon could tell you what he wanted. His chest fell with a disappointed sigh. "Nightwing and Flash are here."

"Is there something wrong?" You asked. They rarely showed up out of the blue without there being a reason. Usually, that reason meant that people were in trouble and lives were at stake. Tim relieved your stress with a simple shake of his head. He gestured for the both of you to follow him. Kon stuck his hand out for you to hand over the bow so he could hang it up on the rack he leaned on.

A small smile cracked as your hand brushed against his. It was cheesy, ridiculously so, but his touch was so warm and inviting even if it was just for a brief second. Kon placed the bow down and followed you and Tim out of the room. Just as Robin said, his older brother and his friend were with the others in the meeting room.

Wally's presence always lightened the room. There was something about the smile that resided on him that managed to put everyone in a good mood. It always amplified whenever Dick was at his side. The two were a dynamic pair, and when they did stop by the tower without underlying business, it was always a good time.

There were a few times that you had been alone in the tower. Tim back to Gotham, Kon and Cassie to their own homes as well. It left you and Bart with no one but yourselves to keep each other company. In those times, Wally would sometimes make an appearance. The speedsters would train but by the end of the night you would all be piling high with snacks.

As you entered the room, Wally waved at you and that smile that everyone looked forward to was released. Before you could wave back, a heavy arm was thrown across your shoulder. Kon was at your side. It wasn't the first time he had completely invaded your bubble and it surely wouldn't be the last.

"Flash, Nightwing," he greeted. You could feel the heat crawling up your neck with Kon's side pressed against yours. Hopefully, he, nor any of your other teammates, noticed your state. It was beyond annoying that he could get you like this. "What's the visit for this time? Scolding us for saving the day again?"

He dropped his arm from your shoulders but remained close to you. Kryptonians must have ran warm because you could still feel the lingering heat of his body against you.

"JL wanted an update, figured we could stop in," Wally answered. He sped over to your side and placed a hand over your ear so no one else could hear. "And Boy Wonder over there is in trouble with the Bats." Clearly, Kon heard what the speedster had to say and let out a laugh. What could Tim have done to get himself in trouble?

"Doesn't explain why you came," you joked. Wally had mimicked Kon's arm-over-the-shoulder.

"Wanted to come see you, of course," Wally grinned. His arm suddenly locked around your neck and his knuckles rubbed into your head. You struggled to pull him off you. Finally, you had managed to hook his ankle and make him fall flat on his back. "Look at that, you're making me lose my breath."

The laughter among teammates emitted from everyone besides Kon. He had an annoyed look on his face from the interaction between you and Wally, though he said nothing about it. Wally sped back up, a slight tinge of pink to his cheeks after the interaction.

Kon watched in frustration as Wally dragged you into the kitchen, likely to find himself a snack or two. Your laughs always put a bit of joy in him, but now? Hearing you laugh because of Wally? Each sound was like a knife to the heart. Pure jealously ran through him - why was it that he could never make you laugh like that?

"Calm down, Kon," Tim stood by his side. It was clear to anyone, even when they weren't raised by the great Batman, that Kon was incredibly jealous of Wally. It was only Tim that decided to speak up. "There's nothing between them. No need to be jealous."

"I'm not," Kon snapped. His reaction was enough to prove that he was in fact jealous. He let out a huff of air before walking away from his best friend. Unfortunately, the further he got from Tim, the closer he got to you and Wally just to hear the sound of your laughter once more. His chest tightened with anger.

It wasn't at Wally, nor you. It was at himself for not being able to get you out of your comfort zone as the speedster could. Since joining this team it seemed he was the only one that you remained shy and nervous around. What was wrong with him to make you feel that way?

What was wrong with him that made you not want to spend time with him?

"There you are."

Kon disappeared shortly after you left with Wally (and eventually Bart who couldn't stay away at the smell of food). Tim was with Dick all afternoon and Cassie spent her time training with Kori. Kon was nowhere to be found, and you couldn't figure out why he felt the need to leave his friends.

You searched the whole building for him, starting down at the training grounds and working your way all the way up to the roof of the buildings. He was sitting on the edge, legs dangling as the last rays of the sun fell from the sky.

Kon folded into himself: shoulders hunched, head hung low. He perked up at the sound of your voice - even more so when he saw that you were alone. You sat next to him and matched his sitting position.

"Were you up here all day?" You asked. Kon nodded, though he remained silent. It wasn't like him to skip out on a pickup line or make some sort of comment. In fact, it wasn't like him to just disappear the whole day either. He looked upset about something. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Kon was a horrible liar. You raised your eyebrows at him, indicating that you knew he was lying through his teeth. He sighed, leaning back so his palms pressed into the rough roofing. The golden rays illuminated him, creating an aura around him that made him seem godly. You wanted to reach out to him, but contained yourself.

The sunset was beautiful enough as it was, but to add Kon's beauty on top of that? Your heart was beating so fast you were sure that Kon's super hearing had him concerned.

"You don't have to lie around me, you know," You nudged his side. Kon sighed once more. He didn't want to tell you the truth, but he felt terrible for lying and making you worry. You were quick to notice a pink tinge on his cheeks. It was a turn of events, usually you were the one flustered around him. The hue looked pleasant on him.

"I'm sorry," he suddenly apologized, "I... Well, I guess..." Kon fumbled over his words. The pink on his cheeks grew brighter, even as he tried to hide it from you. There was never a day you thought you would get to see the great Superboy flushed like this. He was always the confident one. "Fuck."

Kon's hand grasped your cheeks. His split moment of hesitance made you realize exactly what he was about to do. Whether it be frozen in fear or excitement, you didn't try to move. The closer he got the harder your heartbeat until the point as if it felt like you were going to burst. The moment Kon's lips were on yours it felt as if it stopped altogether.

His kiss was soft, hesitant - nothing like the facade he always had up. Kon was delicate with you, as if he was worried he was going to break you with just a touch. Your lips moved against his with far more confidence than you had ever shown him before. You didn't realize how badly you craved for his taste until the moment you had it.

He pulled away only for a second, waiting to see if you were wanting him to quit completely. With no sign of regret, Kon pulled you in for a rushed kiss. His lips needy against yours, making up for the lost time that he wasted months on. It was only when his lungs felt like they were going to combust did he give you space.

"I-" His palm remained against the curve of your neck and jaw, thumb swiping against your cheekbone. "I was jealous today, of Wally. I've never heard you laugh so hard when you're with him and I wanted that. I'm sorry."

"You have no reason to be sorry, Superboy," you assured him. He couldn't stop his feelings, just as you couldn't deny them anymore. "I-I'm sorry I was always so distant with you. I... I guess I was too scared to admit my feelings for you."

Kon was ready to spill his heart out to you. He knew that once he started gushing about how much he adored you, he wouldn't be able to stop. Instead, he leaned into you again, smiling into your kiss with pure excitement.

His legs that dangled off the edge pushed against the siding of the building and pulling you along with him. A strangled scream ripped from your throat as the two of you free fell in the darkening sky. Kon's arm wrapped around your waist and he held you flush against his body.

Your head was buried into the crook of his neck until realizing that you were no longer falling but floating. The grip on his shirt loosened and you looked up to appreciate the new view he gave you.

Kon brushed his lips against yours once more, just to grab your attention. "Don't worry babe, I've got you. There's no need to worry whenever you're with me."

Taglist: @pricetagofficial @mora-miserium @babymango-writes @redrobin-yumm @simp-is-what-i-am @catsofsmoke @subtleappreciation @officiallydarkgeek @spiitfiires @pinkdiamond1016 @childish-kiwi @givetimdrakeacoffee @gunnedrobin @local-fandom-trashcan @bikoncon @foenixphire

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moonbaby26 · 4 years

Text

Title: First Meeting

Pairing: Peter Maximoff x Reader

Summary: Set during X-Men: Age of Apocalypse, you were with Scott, Jean, Jubilee, and Kurt on their fateful mall run, returning home just in time to meet the speedster who saved all but one from the destruction of your home.

Warnings: None really except minor violence with you also being around for the subsequent Stryker mutant-nappings.

Chapters: Next Chapter Here

Peter Maximoff x Reader Masterlist

————————

Yes, it’s true you’d been under a decent amount of stress lately. Mostly self inflicted, because you had such high expectations of how you wanted to finish out the semester. But as Jubilee rolled her eyes for the second time, you realized you were now wasting your breath trying to explain the amount of consistent studying it took to maintain the high GPA your teachers had come to expect from you.

“We are going to the mall, (Y/N).” Jubilee breathed, as if reiterating this one more time was about to take all the life from her.

Your younger friend could have a flair for the dramatic. You now looked to Jean as the last voice of reason. But you could see by the smile she was barely holding back, that you had already lost. You suspected rightly that this new student, Scott, had had a lot to do with why Jean was suddenly so eager to skirt the rules and leave the grounds without permission.

You relented, but crossed your arms all the same as you gave your terms. “Fine, if Kurt wants to see a mall, then we’ll take him. But I’m driving.” Scott deflated slightly at that, but you didn’t miss a beat. “At least that way if anything goes wrong, I’ll answer to the Professor, not you all.” Of this group, you were the oldest (though not by much), and there was no sense in them getting in trouble over something like this.

Besides, it wouldn’t kill you to get a couple new outfits. You rarely if ever bought anything nice just for yourself. But it wasn’t like you had anyone around here to impress anyway...right?

——————-

You weren’t really sure how long you’d all been gone at the mall. Long enough to grab some lunch at the food court together, and waste a decent amount of time and change in the arcade. You hadn’t bought any clothes after all, nothing had struck that right chord with you. But you just remembered a smile on your face all the same, one hand held confidently on the gearshift and the other loosely on the steering wheel as you’d rounded past the mansion’s tree line, beginning to slow the car.

You’d just pushed in the clutch, and then-

You slammed the brakes, only gasps rather than laughter erupting from your friends beside you then as you all took in the scene at once. Debris and bits of ash still floated down gently from the sky as you’d ripped off your seatbelt, jumping from the car and breaking into a run. Your heartbeat had been in your ears as you’d entered the stunned crowd.

You picked out Hank, the first staff member you’d clearly seen, grabbing his arm as you found your voice again. “What on earth happened!?”

His head turned towards you, but his mouth just started to open and you could see in his eyes that he was trying to answer the same thing in his own mind. You’d never seen the brainy “Beast” at such a loss for words.

“Um...it blew up?” A new voice sounded off so matter of factly, then suddenly beside you as you turned to look at a person you’d never seen before.

A boy? No, a man? He seemed about your own age, that kind of in between really. His silver hair framed the sides of his face as he stared back at you, his hands on his hips. It was a surreal moment, your adrenaline still in full bore as you’d looked down to a weathered RUSH band t-shirt and a cool leather jacket that at any other time you may actually have been jealous of. You looked back up to his dark eyes in astonishment.

The stranger raised an eyebrow as your eyes connected again, him seemingly still waiting for some kind of response from you.

All the while, the X-Mansion that had been your home, your refuge for so many formative years just sat smouldering in rubble behind you.

“Where’s my brother!? Where’s Alex!?” Scott’s cry had finally broken the silence as you’d turned yet again.

“Pretty sure I got everyone,” The guy with the silver hair said almost defensively.

And that’s when it first hit you, the building was in complete ruin, but you knew about how many people were there on any given day. The crowd around you, that would be about everyone. But how could they all be outside? All be alive? An explosion that large would have been instantaneous. The building wasn’t just burning, it was leveled.

Scott ran from you all, and your heart felt heavy, knowing surely not everyone could have survived. But you saw Jean and Kurt run with him, helping him, so you again looked back to the stranger.

“You got them out?” You asked incredulously, unsure what that could even mean for this person’s true abilities as you gestured to the survivors standing in equal confusion all around you.

“Of course.” Again that matter of fact tone from him, now almost bordering on smug. But the surprises just continued as he abruptly outstretched one hand to you. “Peter,” he said, grabbing your own hand before you could even react and shaking it awkwardly.

“What?” Was all you could manage, possibly hearing your own brain seize internally at last as you looked down to this stranger’s hand still clasped warmly around your own.

You were done. Really, it was already too much before the unmistakable pulse of helicopter blades broke over the treetops and the downdraft of several of the craft then circling around you began whipping your hair into your eyes.

A woman screamed in warning somewhere behind you. Her voice sounded familar, but you didn’t look back. You just felt Peter’s hand squeeze tighter around yours, why hadn’t you let go?

But you were falling now. No, not metaphorically you hoped, but maybe you would have laughed about that thought if there’d been any more time before your knees hit the ground.

The paramilitary type men now streaming from the helicopters had launched some kind of pulse over the crowd.

Reflexively your mutation flared, your own energy field trying to shield yourself and Peter, but not well enough. Not fast enough as you only succeeded in keeping him conscious just a few moments longer than your peers.

Peter was still holding onto you, the surprise in his eyes quickly fading as they closed.

But your eyes were still open, fear surely in them though as you realized you could not will yourself back to standing. Whatever weapon these men had used was clearly designed to target those of your kind, taking your energy, blocking your powers.

“Her.” “Him.” You heard distantly, but forcefully as the darkness finally began to overtake the edges of your sight. A man was now walking through the fallen mutants with authority, pointing and calling out to who he wanted his men to collect.

And within moments that man’s boots were then inches from you in the soft grass. Your free hand clung to the earth, the other still holding Peter’s hand as if that grip could somehow hold your consciousness to you.

“Resistant to the pulse? Haven’t seen that in a while.” The man commented coldly from above.

You could still just make out his features as he paused, his boot rising up suddenly to kick you solidly in the ribs. It made a sickening sound, a crack as you collapsed the rest of the way down, the air leaving your lungs with the hit.

You buried your face into Peter’s jacket with the pain, stifling whatever pitiful sounds you didn’t want the man to hear. You could smell cheap cologne against the leather then. You tried your best to focus on that scent as you closed your eyes. This wasn’t over. You were going to get out of this. Somehow, some way you were going to help Peter as he had already helped so many of you. You owed him this.

“Take both of these two.” The military man said, then stepping over you both as if he’d done nothing more than vanquish a couple insects that had crossed his path.

——————

(Continued in next chapter here)

#quicksilver x reader #quicksilver #peter maximoff #peter maximoff x oc #peter maximoff x you #peter maximoff x y/n #peter maximoff x reader #peter maximof x reader #x men apocalypse #quicksilver x y/n #quicksilver x you #x men fanfiction #x men

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pricetagofficial · 4 years

Text

Warning Signs -WW

Warnings: Language, angst, fluff, reasons to yell at me

Pairing: Wally West x Reader

Part Two

Word Count: 2.6K

Tag List: @kishony-the-geek @idkmanicantenglish @unknowntoanyone @subtleappreciation @catxsnow @nightwcngs @screennamealreadyused @river-bottom-nightmare @woahjaybird @bikoncon

A/N: Thank you to the anon who sent in this request! I hope this is something along the lines of what you wanted, and if no one is yelling at my after reading this are you even human?

Your romance with Wally was anything but slow, but that came with the territory of loving a speedster let alone the fastest person alive. You knew from the moment you met that he was going to be a part of the rest of your life, and you hoped that it would be in a good way. It was no secret that Wally West was famous with the ladies, he was as smooth as he was fast and his words had you stumbling for a response.

What was once just simple flirting, turned into tense training sessions filled to the brim with sexual tension. It got to the point that the rest of the Titans could see your obvious attraction to each other but Dick knew your past.

In fact, he was the only one who knew it.

You had a dark past, one that you weren’t proud of and was actively trying to leave it behind. Deadshot had made you a lethal weapon someone who could shoot a target from hundreds of yards away and hit your mark perfectly. That kind of skill got you noticed, and not in a good way. It was what led the Titans to you in the first place.

Deadshot had brought you along to make you see that the Titans were really just what he said, a bunch of kids who had no idea what they were doing. But to you, they were anything but. He had ordered you to take them out one by one, and that’s what you planned on doing before you were interrupted.

Your first bullet didn’t hit its intended mark, instead, it landed in the shoulder of The Flash because you were knocked over by a blur of blue and black. Nightwing had stopped you from killing his best friend that day, and The Flash never even knew about it.

The mask you wore hid your face from him, so he couldn’t see what you looked like but with one well-placed hit, he caught a glimpse of just how young you were. It stopped him in his tracks, Deadshot had brought a girl no younger than he was to murder them for him.

Nightwing had tried to make you see sense, convince you that Deadshot only had his intentions in mind and cared nothing about you. With how young and naïve you were, you refused to believe him until you were captured and he left you there to take the blame.

For someone you thought you trusted, it hurt when he disappeared from sight as you yelled for him to get you out.

Nightwing gave you an option, you could join them on the team or go to jail. Considering the better of the two options, you joined the team. Dick, as you had come to know him, gave you a new background that you needed to fool the rest of your team into thinking that you were who you said you were.

Now here you were months later passionately in love with the very same speedster that you had almost killed.

Looking over at him while he slept, you could count the freckles that decorated Wally’s face. His brilliant green eyes were hidden by his closed lids with his bright red hair spread out across your pillows. Your naked form was pressed into his side as he held you close to him in his sleep. You had never felt like this about anyone before and it scared you that you cared so much about him.

Deadshot was still out there, and he knew who you were. If you were to run into him again, there was no guarantee that he would not try to ruin the new life you had tried to build for yourself.

Wally rolled and pulled you on top of him with a groan, a soft smile on his lips. Slowly, you leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to the not wanting to wake him. But it seemed that he already was.

Feeling your lips on his, Wally’s grip on your waist tightened as he cupped your face and fully kissed you. For someone who was dead asleep only moments ago, he seemed to be very awake with the way he was kissing you.

Your free hand tangled itself into his hair, tugging it every so often causing him to let out soft groans that you loved so much.

“Hey babe, what’s got you up at this hour?” he asked, his voice filled with sleep.

You giggled and looked down at him, your hair framing your face. “I could say the same about you handsome.” You teased, brushing his bangs back.

“I was dreaming about the most beautiful girl I know, only to realize that while I dreamt of her, she was pressed against me in reality. I couldn’t pass that up.” He grinned, holding your waist. “Now, what’s keeping you up beautiful?”

You blushed at his pet name for you. “Just thinking about when Dick-“ you didn’t even get the rest of the sentence out before Wally’s face changed to a dangerous smirk.

“You mean to tell me that you are in bed with me naked, and you are thinking about my best friend?” he asked sliding his hands up your sides.

You scoffed and hit his shoulder with a laugh. “Wallace West! If you let me finish you would know that it was about when Dick brought me here to meet all of you.” You giggled, watching Wally look you over as his hand ran over your bare body.

“I remember that day too, the moment you showed up I knew that I had to have you no matter what.” He started. “It’s weird though, Dick told me that I shouldn’t get involved with you but I couldn’t be gladder that I ignored him.”

Hearing his words, your mood dropped but you refused to let your smile change. Dick didn’t approve of your relationship? That was news to you, but if you were honest with yourself you weren’t surprised. Dick was the only one who knew of your true past, he just wanted to keep his best friend safe. But he had to have known that there was nothing you would ever do to hurt Wally.

Wally noticed that you were quiet for a long minute, and his eyes filled with concern. “Y/N, babe, you alright?” he asked as he forced himself to sit up with you still straddling his lap. His large hands held your hips as he looked you over to make sure that you were alright. “Are you bothered that Dick said that?”

Quickly you shook your head and placed a kiss on his forehead before leaning yours on his shoulder. “it’s not that, I’m just really glad that I met you, Wally.”

He wrapped his arms around you and held you close to comfort you. Laying back down, the two of you drifted off to sleep while you thought of confronting Dick about what he had said to Wally about staying away from you.

The confrontation with Dick didn’t happen for another few days. He was stuck in Blüdhaven working on a case and the day he got back was when there was a threat on Jump City. Within no time, you and the rest of the Titans were suited up and ready to go. Wally gave you one final kiss before he sped out the door to head off your adversary and you ran across the roofs with Dick and Roy. Donna flew above you with Garth taking the waves from the harbor with him.

Dick could tell that there was something off with you but it was placed on the back burner when he was bolts of lightning streak across the city as Wally fended off the city as he waited for the rest of his team.

“Hey Flash, any sign on who it is?” Nightwing asked.

“It’s our favorite sharpshooter here Rob, Deadshot is back in town and he seems pissed.” Flash’s voice sounded through the com system.

The look you and Nightwing shared didn’t ease your nerves at all. Deadshot was back in town, and he was most likely looking for you.

“What’s the plan Nightwing?” Donna asked as she flew above.

“Flash, Garth and Donna, you three distract him so Arsenal, Barrage, and I try and get in close to take him out. If we play this right, we can finally put him away after months of tracking him down.”

There was a murmur of agreement as Donna and Garth shot ahead to give Flash the assistance he needed It didn’t take long for you and the other two to arrive, but the second Deadshot saw you, you swore he smiled.

Pulling out a rifle of your own, you set up in a hidden location so you could try and get a good view and possibly a few good shots in at him. The man who made you a killer was not going to get away with it this time.

The battle raged on for what seemed like hours, but finally, with a combined effort of you, Nightwing and Flash Deadshot was finally down for the count. But that didn’t stop him from talking.

“Barrage you said your name was? You remind me an awful lot about my last partner Deadeye, the last time I saw her was here in this city. Any idea where I could find her?” he asked.

Before the others could ask, you punched him hard enough that his nose broke and a couple of his teeth chipped. Giving the others the signal that you were heading back early, you disappeared down the street leaving a very confused Wally and a frowning Dick.

The second you got back to the tower, you showered and grabbed a snack from the kitchen. Moments after you grabbed a bowl of food, you felt a rush of air beside you. Within seconds, Wally placed a kiss on your lips, took a bite of your food, and promised to “be back in a flash” before zooming off to the shower and dressed.

One by one the others filtered in with Dick being the last one. His gaze went to you immediately and you followed him to the training room. Dick shut the door and stood with his arms crossed as he watched you walk towards him.

“I know you have questions, but I have a few of my own bird brain. First of all, who the fuck gave you permission to tell Wally to stay away from me when I first got here? Isn’t that a choice to be made by us, not you? I would never hurt him like that, you of all people should know this!” you snapped at him, poking him in the chest.

“Yeah, I of all people also know where you really came from. What’s he going to think when he and the others find out that you were Deadeye and almost killed us only a few months ago? I’m thinking of more than just you; I’m thinking about the entire team.” he snapped.

“I left Deadeye behind before I ever fell for him! If I was going to hurt him, I would have done it already. But what about you? How are you going to tell your best friend that you lied to him about his girlfriend? I am not the only one at fault here and if I go down, I am dragging you with me, Richard Grayson.”

You were going to say more but you caught the expression on Dick’s face. He was staring at something behind you, and you had a bad feeling about what it was. Turning on your heel, you saw Wally standing there with a look of shock on his face with the apple he was eating long forgotten about.

“Y/N, Dick, what the hell is going on?” he asked slowly.

“Walls-“ Dick started towards him only for Wally to back away and shake his head.

“Don’t, I want the truth.” He said sternly. “The whole truth.”

You dropped your head and took a deep breath. “I haven’t been exactly honest with you about who I am. I wasn’t always Barrage; I was Deadeye Deadshot’s apprentice.” You said slowly.

Wally’s eyes shifted between you and Dick. “You knew, you both knew and kept it from me?” he asked.

The look on both yours and Dick’s faces said it all. The two people he loved most in the world lied to his face about who you were and it hurt him more than that bullet wound you had apparently given him.

Dick moved to step towards his friend once again only for Wally to shoot him a glare. “I want to hear what she has to say, not you.” He snapped, only for Dick to drop his head and leave the room for the two of you to try and talk things out.

The silence that fell over you was deafening and it seemed that the tension was choking you. You loved Wally, you loved him more than anything but the way he was looking at you broke your heart. He trusted you with everything, including his secret identity only to find out that you had tried to kill them only months before was a shock.

He was the first to break the silence, “How long have you been lying to me?” he asked. The lack of response only told him that it had been from the beginning.

“I wanted to tell you Red, I really did. But I knew that if I was honest about who I was, none of you would have trusted me. Floyd left me on that rooftop knowing what could have happened to me, and Dick decided that I deserved a second chance. So, with his help, I came up with a new past and joined the team.” You explained.

Wally stood there quietly and listened. “So, you thought that lying to a whole team who trusted you was a good idea?” he asked.

“Wally, would you have trusted me if I told the truth? Would we be what we are if I was honest?”

“Dick warned me about this.” He said softly, looking at the floor.

“About what?”

Wally’s green eyes finally met your own after almost ten minutes of avoiding your gaze and you could see the heartbreak hidden behind the traces of his anger and betrayal. “You.”

His words cut you deeply, Wally’s opinion of you was the only one you actually cared about and you could see it changing in front of your eyes.

“Red please,” you begged stepping closer to him. “We can work this out, I don’t want to lose you.”

Wally shook his head, pulling his hands away before you could take them in your own the term for endearment you had for him leaving a bad taste in his mouth. “You and I both know that you lost me the second you decided to lie to me and the rest of the team.” He turned around and quickly walked out of the training room avoiding his best friend that stood right outside the door.

The gravity of the situation was crushing you, what else were you supposed to do? Wally had just broken up with you and was likely going to tell the team that you and Dick had been lying to them. So, you did the only thing left for you to do.

Before Dick could ask questions or express the guilt he felt, you darted out of the training room and ran to yours and packed. Within half an hour your stuff was packed into two duffel bags and you dashed for the elevator.

The last thing you saw before the doors closed was the look on Wally’s face before you left Titans Tower, never wanting to come back.

#Costly Affairs #Wally West #the flash #wally west x reader #wally west reader insert #wally west fanfic #wally west fanfiction #wally west fic #wally west imagine #the flash x reader #the flash reader insert #the flash fic #the flash fanfiction #the flash fanfic #the flash imagine #DC comics

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buckyssoldat · 3 years

Text

Chapter 38: Hurt

Warnings: strong language, violence, death

A/N: This is part of my series, Forsaken - The Fallen Soldier. If you wanna be tagged in this, just send me an ask or a message. Feedback is always appreciated, don’t be shy to share your thoughts on this :)

All at once

The world can overwhelm me

There’s almost nothin’ that you could tell me

That could ease my mind

Pietro’s heart pounded in his chest as he grabbed Wanda, his grip firm yet protective, guiding her through the chaos towards the core. Each step felt weighted with the gravity of their mission. With Wanda safely settled, he ran back into the city, his mind focused solely on retrieving Alice.

As he reached Alice, Pietro’s eyes met hers with a silent reassurance. Gently he set her down by the core, a brief moment of relief in the midst of the storm. His hand sought hers, offering comfort in the face of destiny.

“What’s the drill?” Nat’s voice cut through the tension as she arrived at the church.

“This is the drill,” Tony answered while pointing at the core. “If Ultron gets a hand on the core, we lose.”

“Is that the best you can do?” Thor challenged once Ultron appeared in front of them.

The evil robot raised his hand, summoning a horde of robots behind him.

“You had to ask,” Steve added.

“This is the best I can do,” Ultron answered with his arms wide open, pointing at his army. “This is exactly what I wanted. All of you against all of me. How can you possibly hope to stop me?”

“Well, like the old man said…” Tony began, determination in his voice. “Together.”

The team sprang into action, their movements fluid and synchronized, a testament of their shared purpose.

In the heat of the battle, Pietro couldn’t help but exchange banter with Alice, their words lace with a mixture of humour and admiration.

“Incredible what teamwork can do, huh?” Alice asked Steve after she tore a robot apart.

“Keep up, pretty girl,” Pietro teased, swiftly destroying three robots near her.

“I thought we were past that cheesy line!” she retorted, driving her knife into a robot’s neck.

Pietro appeared before her, a mischievous grin on his lips. “Do you like Italian food? I’m gonna take you to one of those fancy Italian restaurants.” He planted a quick kiss on her lips before darting off again.

“It’s like a couple of teenagers out here,” Tony mocked the pair.

As the battle raged on, Pietro’s determination never trembled, his focus unwavering as he fought tirelessly to protect what was dear to him. With each blow he struck against Ultron’s army, he felt a sense of satisfaction knowing that they were one step closer to victory.

Once the Hulk punched Ultron into the sky, the rest of the robots began to flee the scene.

“They’ll try to leave the city,” Thor informed.

“We can’t let them, not even one. Rhodey,” Tony called his close friend.

“We gotta move out,” Steve told the rest of the team. “Even I can tell the air is getting thin. You guys get to the boats. I’ll sweep for stragglers. Be right behind you.”

“What about the core?” Clint asked.

“I’ll protect it,” Wanda volunteered with confidence. “It’s my job.”

“I’ll stay with her in case Ultron comes back,” Alice added.

Pietro appeared once more, accidentally bumping into a robot that was on the ground, eliciting a chuckle from Alice.

“Get the people on the boats,” Wanda told her brother.

The speedster shook his head, “I’m not going to leave you two here.”

“I can handle this,” Wanda insisted, blasting away a robot that was coming her way. “You two go. Come back for me when everyone else is off. Not before. You understand?”

Pietro smiled at this sister. “You know, I’m twelve minutes older than you.”

The other twin chuckled at his words. “Go. And take my future sister-in-law with you.”

“You too, Wanda?” Alice questioned.

“You better hold on, pretty girl,” he said before he grabbed Alice and sped off with her. Pietro let Alice go once they were outside the boats. “You know, I was thinking dinner, and then maybe we could go watch a movie? Like you Americans usually do on dates, right?”

“I wouldn’t know, I never went on an actual date before,” she answered while she put her arms around his neck. “And I’m not American. Well, technically I’m half American.”

“I’m honoured to be your first date ever, then,” Pietro said, a smile playing on his lips as he kissed her again. “Maybe you can show me your apartment later that day?”

Alice lightly slapped his face. “Pietro!”

“What?” he smirked.

“Maybe, and maybe, I’ll show you my apartment once and if we get to New York, pretty boy.”

“We’ll get to New York if it depends on me. Gotta see what your beautiful apartment looks like.”

Suddenly, Ultron appeared in one of the Quinjets, hovering menacingly above the building where Clint was, firing relentlessly at the structure. Clint, driven by his unwavering sense of duty, had ventured there to rescue a child who had become separated from his mother amidst the chaos. Pietro, sensing the imminent danger, sprinted towards Clint and the child without a second thought.

“PIETRO!” Alice’s desperate scream pierced through the chaos, but he was already gone. Ignoring the barrage of bullets raining down, she raced after him, feeling the searing pain of each bullet tearing through her body. But she couldn’t weaken, she couldn’t let Pietro face this alone.

“Keep up, pretty girl,” he managed a small smile before collapsing to the ground, dead.

As Ultron’s onslaught ceased and the dust settled, Alice stumbled upon a sight that shattered her heart. Pietro stood before her, tears glistening in his eyes, his body riddled with bullets.

Alice’s anguished cry echoed through the chaos as she fell beside Pietro’s lifeless body, clutching him desperately. Clint, overcome with grief, rose to his feet, and checked for a pulse, but it was useless. Pietro was gone, leaving behind a voice that seemed overwhelming.

“Alice, we need to go… You’re hurt…. Please…” Steve’s gentle voice cut through Alice’s haze of grief. But Alice remained on the ground, unwilling to leave Pietro’s side. “Please, Alice…”

“Come on, Alice,” this time, it was Clint calling her, but it was useless too.

Minute stretched into eternity as Steve struggled to pry Alice away, eventually managing to guide her to one of the boats. He tended to her wound s as best as he could, but the pain of losing Pietro overshadowed everything else. Alice felt numb, consumed by a swirling tempest of anger and sadness.

“Alice…” Steve’s voice was a distant echo, lost amidst the storm raging within her.

Once the boat was on the Helicarrier and Steve’s attention was diverted by the unfolding chaos, Alice seized her chance. She ran towards one of the Quinjets nearby, careless of Steve’s frantic calls behind her.

“Alice!” Steve screamed while he ran after her. “Alice!”

Ignoring Steve’s pleas, Alice powered up the Quinjet and soared into the sky, activating stealth mode to evade detection. Steve’s image appeared on the screen before her, his expression engraved with concern and desperation.

“Alice, please come back,” his voice was a plea, tinged with worry. “Please, I know you’re hurt, but you’ll get over this. We’ll get over this. I’ll be there for you the whole time. You have at least two bullet wounds, you need medical care, or else you’ll get even more hurt than you are right now.”

But Alice’s response was as icy as the void that now consumed her. “That’s impossible,” she replied coldly before cutting off the communication, leaving behind a trail of uncertainty and sorry in her wake.

Despite her limited experience as a pilot, Alice managed to keep the Quinjet steady as it flew through the sky. Her hands shook with a mixture of grief and anger, but she held firm the controls, driven by an urgent need to escape, to flee the devastation and heartache that surrounded her.

Lost in a haze of pain and confusion, Alice had no destination in mind. All she knew was that she needed to distance herself from the chaos, from the reminders of loss that lingered at every turn. The world blurred around her as she flew, the landscape passing by in a blur of colours and shapes, each mile bringing her farther from the life she had known, and farther from the anguish that threatened to consume her.

A few days later, Nat and Steve found themselves reunited in the newly established Avengers compound. The atmosphere was tinged with a sense of purpose as they prepared to train the newest recruits to the team – Wanda, Vision, Sam, and Rhodey.

“Have you heard from her yet?” Nat’s voice was laced with concern as she turned to Steve.

“The last update I got from Fury was that the Quinjet was found in Brazil, but nothing besides that. I just hope she’s okay…” Steve’s worry was palpable, his gaze distant as he contemplated Alice’s whereabouts.

“Steve, it’s Alice we’re talking about. She’s resourceful, resilient. She knows how to take care of herself,” Nat offered reassurance, though her own concerns lingered beneath the surface. She remembered all too well the havoc Alice had unleashed in Sokovia, the raw power she possessed. “But she’s been through a lot. She may need more than just physical safety right now. Maybe she’s with Barnes again.”

Steve’s brow furrowed with worry. “I don’t know, Nat. This time felt different. She seemed… distant, detached. I’m afraid she might not be the same when we find her.”

“I’ll do what I can to track her down,” Nat promised, determination flashing in her eyes. “I have some contacts in South America. I’ll reach out to them, see if they can help locate her.”

“Thanks, Nat,” Steve managed a faint smile.

Alice flew the Quinjet to Europe, eventually on a landing spot in France, more specifically the town of Saint-Céneri-le-Gérei. With calculated precision, she set the Quinjet on autopilot, programming it to head towards Brazil, a deceptive move to throw off anyone tracking her. After the Quinjet situation was solved, Alice turned her attention to her injuries, grimacing as she extracted the bullets lodged in her flesh and tented to her wounds. Once she was done, she changed clothes and made her way to an electronics store. With the small amount of money she had on hand, she bought two burner phones, ensuring her communications remained untraceable. She sent a cryptic message to a familiar contact before heading to the designated meeting spot.

Meet me on the bridge over the river Sarthe. A.

Saint-Céneri-le-Gérei held significance for Alice, a place where he was, where she had found him just a few days before she went to Sokovia. She had managed to contact him through number that he left for her in a vacation forum about Saint-Céneri-le-Gérei.

Stay with me, Annie. 02 39 93 13 54

It was the song they had danced together in Berlin and ‘Annie’ was the alias she had adopted when they lived in Milan. It had to be him. No one else knew about that song. No one, only him.

As she waited for Bucky, memories flooded her mind, reminders of a time when things had been simpler, before the chaos and heartache that had defined her life.

When Bucky finally appeared, his presence elicited conflicting emotions within her. He pulled her in for a hug, his embrace immersed with warmth and emotion, but Alice remained detached, her walls firmly in place.

“Alice…” Bucky murmured, his concern evident. “I heard about what happened. I’m sorry.”

“Can you get me to Norilsk?” Alice’s voice was devoid of emotion, her gaze unwavering. “Can you get me to Norilsk or not?”

Bucky hesitated, taken aback by the suddenness of her request. “Hum, yeah, I can, but what for? I’ll go with you.”

“No, I need to go on my own,” Alice asserted, her tone firm and stubborn.

“Alice, what is happening with-”

“Just help me get there, soldier!” Alice outburst caught Bucky off guard, the sharpness of her tone piercing through the air like a blade. Something was undeniably wrong, a darkness lurking beneath the surface. “If you can’t help me, I’m just gonna leave.”

“No, wait,” Bucky reached out, grasping her wrist gently, his eyes pleading. “I’ll help you get there, Alice. But you have to promise me something.”

“What?” Alice’s response was short, her demeanour guarded.

“You’ll come back here once you’re done there,” Bucky implored, his voice tinged with desperation.

“No.”

“Alice, please.”

She sighed in annoyance, “Okay. Just get me there as fast as you can.”

Two days later, Alice stood outside the secret prison in Norilsk, her resolve unyielding. This was where she would confront her demons, where she would exact her vengeance on the one who had caused her unimaginable pain. She was going to kill Doctor Semenov, the culprit of her cursed life.

tags: @selfsun @asimovethroughthisworld

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miss-choco-chips · 3 years

Text

North star

Core disaster week Day 1: Bart’s Birthday// First kiss

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Cassie smiled, sitting down in the picnic blanket. There was so much fucking food- it was awesome.

But not as awesome as being together, all of them. It’d been a while since they managed to meet like this. Kon, particularly, had been hard to pin down and convince to come; but exceptions had to be made on certain days, and Bart’s birthday was the height of special occasions.

Tim, too. She risked a glance at him, stony and silent, and smiled sadly. It truly had been too long.

Sitting each on one end of the blanket, like a flesh and blood compass rose, she smiled again at the unintended philosophy of it all. Bart to the east, bringing the sun into their lives, his energy and warmth a hope for the new day; Kon to the south, lost in memories of the past but a steady, firm ground beneath them; She herself to the west, holding the weight of it all on her shoulders like the sky held the heaviness of sunset; And Tim, sweet, depedable Tim, was undoubtedly their north.

“Cassie? Wonder-honey-baby-dearest girl?”

Snapping out of her reverie, Cassie waved Bart’s concerned face off.

“Don’t worry, just lost in thought. C’mon dude, it’s your day, we can’t start eating until you do!”

A little unsure, Bart sits back on his spot, glancing to his right at Tim. He hesitated a bit, something extremely unusual for a speedster presented with a widely varied menu (Kon and her had flown all over the world picking and choosing his favorites from every possible country- there was a lot).

“He doesn’t mind”, interrupts Kon softly, before anything else can be said.

Taking his word as the gospel it is, Bart’s face broke into the biggest smile and cleaned up his first plate of ‘a little bit of everything’ in less than a blink, already reaching out for more. Without even pausing his chewing, he started babbling out at Tim, who for once didn’t reprimand him on his table manners, nor tried to use a napkin to clean his chocolate-stained cheek. Cassie tried very hard to hide the pang that surprise-attacked her heart.

Desperate for a distraction, she turned to her right, to Conner. He was looking at the other two fondly, a small smile breaking through his face of steel like it was butter.

She remembered back when they were younger, just children, before all the tragedies and the losses; he had smiled easier, then. Wider, unprompted, freely. Giving that handsome smirk like it was candy on halloween.

“It was a good idea to come here”, he acknowledged, once again making her snap out of her head.

“One day, you’ll just accept that all my ideas are good.”

“Do I need to remind you about the deal with the beet demon?”

“That wasn’t that bad.”

“Cassie. We had to eat borsch for every meal. For a month. I don’t think Bart ever forgave you about that.”

They both waited for a second to see if the speedster was about to interject, but he seemed to have missed their conversation, regaling Tim with a tale of his latest training session with Wally.

“Anyway”, Kon coughed, drawing her back to their moment, “it really was. I… I know I wasn’t the easiest person to convince, so..”

“‘The easiest person’? I had to track you down across an entire hemisphere, lasso you like a wild animal and drag you here kicking and screaming. Literally. My bruises have bruises.”

“Anyway, thanks. I… needed to see you all again. I never thought we’d be able to just… sit here and enjoy ourselves, without… you know, all the…”

“Angst?”

“... yeah. How did you even manage to secure us this spot?”

Cassie smiled, leaning back against her arms, enjoying the sun on her face.

“You can thank Tim’s brother for that. I made him promise to make sure no one interrupted us today.”

The other meta snorted.

“It’d be a cold day in hell before I thank Nightwing for anything.”

She winced a bit, but refused to let the implications ruin her good mood. “Come on, you know he’s not my favorite person in the world, but he’s really doing his best to be here for” -a quick glance, Bart still talking his heart out to Tim- “the new Robin. If you can bury the battle axe...he’s not so bad, nowadays.”

Unsure, he shrugged.

“I don’t really care if he discovers the cure to cancer and spends the rest of his life in seclusion as a monk. If I see him on fire and I have a big water bottle, I might help him put it out- after taking a few drinks, first. But that’s as far as I’d be willing to go for him.”

Considering the numerous times Kon had tried to outright attack the older vigilante, Cassie was going to take it.

“How's Jon?” she asked, subject change as unsubtle as a kick to the chest, taking a delicious french pastry between thumb and forefinger and examining it.

He copied her, selecting something brown and salty-looking from the assorted items

“Nothing new. He’s still a better mentor than Supes, though his choice in friends leaves much to be desired. Still, like I told you, I’m… better? I think?”

A pause, as he washed down whatever he ate with a raspberry slushie. Bart’s incessant chatter, once annoying, was now a beautiful background noise. He was just so damn happy, Cassie felt more accomplished even than the time Diana first told her ‘good job’ after a spar. All he’d asked her for his birthday, soft and broken among his tears, had been this; just the four of them, together.

And she’d done her best to make it happen, securing this place and guilting Kon into accepting. She’d done it, and the memory of Bart’s genuine laugh as he told Tim about his last caught villain would -hopefully- be enough to deter the nightmares sure to come with sunfall.

“Anyway, he’s good. What about Donna?”

Cassie let her head fall back between her shoulder blades with a groan, closing her eyes against the glaring midday sun.

“Ugh, don’t remind me. I love her to pieces, but honestly? I can see why my mom has so many grey hairs. Diana is lucky she’s perpetually young and perfect and thus doesn’t need to deal with stress lines. If this is what I was like when she trained me, I have a lot to apologize for. Starting, but not limited to, our days in Young Justice. We did so many stupid things back then.”

“So, the Titans are a riot?”

“They are a bad influence, and I hate how they taught Donna to disobey when I tell her to go to safety and let me do the fighting, but honestly, it’s so much like looking at our past, I can’t help but want to wrap them up in a blanket and wish them luck.”

“I wish you luck. This is why I refuse to take a younger hero under my wing. Too much responsibility.”

“You are a weak bitch. Even Bart is mentoring someone. We have to nourish the younger generation, Kon. Think of the children.”

“You are nineteen, stop talking like you just turned seventy.”

“Well, Cissie is retired. It’s not such a stretch.”

“I’ll tell her you said she’s old.”

“Don’t you dare.”

After those first few hiccups, the rest of the afternoon went smoothly. Uncharacteristically restrained of them, no food fight ensued, but even so it was a pretty fun day. They caught up with each other, teased about past exes and questionable fashion choices, and every silent, solemn moment was endured with joined hands and hearts, a united front against the grief.

Bart’s wet eyes shone, filled with gratitude, when he blew the candles. Cassie caught the exact moment on camera, having learnt the value of getting those precious seconds immortalized forever somewhere other than her own mind.

He kept his wish to himself, but it wasn’t really a mystery. Just by the way he glanced at Tim, they could harnett a pretty solid guess.

Heartache was a familiar, almost comforting feeling to her now, but the wave of raw emotion that almost washed her away at Kon’s crystalized eyes and Bart’s trembling hands gave her pause. Cassie looked away from them for just a second, giving herself this moment of weakness, and in the fleeting light of sunset, she could have sworn she saw a familiar face, looking over them from the shadow of a tree, smiling fondly.

But it was missing with her next blink, so she just shook her head to dispel any traces of wistfulness and turned back to her boys.

It was in silence that they picked up their stuff. Super speed would have made it a chore of just a millisecond, but none felt the urge to run away, so they took their time, hands brushing and then clutching while they cleaned up this sacred place they had borrowed for the day.

Cassie really needed to thank Damian for coming through for her on this. As much as she had despised the other vigilante in the past, a leftover feeling from Tim’s own feud with his older brother, she had learned to forgive and forget. It was, she’d come to accept, the only way she could move on.

Basket finally full with the blanket, empty plates and chocolate stained napkins (Kon’s hand had trembled as he cleaned Bart’s cheek in their leader’s stead), they stood together, arms around each other with the birthday boy in the middle. One by one, they said their goodbyes. It hurted a little less than the last time they could manage to do this, perhaps helped by the fact Kon hadn’t stormed off midway this time.

Cassie smiled. It was sad, it was raw, it was heavy. But it wasn’t broken. She-they- weren’t broken. A puzzle with a missing piece was incomplete, not shattered.

The hand not around Bart’s shoulders stretched, as Cassie’s finger traced the poem they had Bruce engrave in Tim’s tombstone.

“He was my North, my South, my East and West,

My working week and my Sunday rest,

My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;

I thought that love would last forever: I was wrong.

The stars are not wanted now; put out every one,

Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun;

Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood;

For nothing now can ever come to any good.”

The kids that had chosen that poem as immortalization of their grief had been drowning in it, she knew. Had needed a way to let the world know “we are not okay, we’ll never be okay again”. It was, maybe, what saved them back then.

But she wished she could crouch down in front of those lost, overwhelmed kids and tell them ‘you never stop missing him, but you learn to be happy again; and he brings you all together, just like the first time’.

So Cassandra Sandsmark, former Wonder Girl (now something more), lets her head fall back, looks at the setting sun and smiles. Because she can. Because she’s alive, and she’s gonna fucking smile for him, if its the last thing that she does.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

The shadows of the coming night hide him, embrace him, want to keep him; he puts a stop to that, let’s himself be kept from wandering eyes but avoids the eternal retaking. He’s seen that side of the road and is under no hurry to visit it again.

Instead, he watches the young heroes, bathed in light and laughter, sitting around a dead bird’s grave.

He yearns. He wants, more than anything, to go to them. To join them in the warmth, in happiness. To go back to the only home that never felt anything else than welcoming.

But he has work to do; there’s a new Robin in the streets, and he needs to ensure that what happened to him doesn’t happen to this frail, rough around the edges and full of life bird.

He waits until they pick up and leave, before donning his suit and walking in the opposite direction. Hopefully, a time will soon come when he can smile with them again.

But, for now, the Red Hood has a clown to hunt and a criminal underbelly to conquer.

#my writting #tim drake #kon el kent #cassie sandsmark #bart allen #core disaster week #core four #day 1 #Bart's birthday #angst #hurt comfort #kinda #don't yell at me #I'm sorry I didn't edit this #I'm in Sk8 the Infinity hell right now #no thoughts head empty only Renga from Sk8

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anxiousnerdwritings · 4 years

Note

What about Homelander or any of the seven having a platonic love for one of their bosses? Like with homelander and Madeline, except they are a little more naive but are tasked to them

I could see that being a thing. I feel the platonic relationship would be either friendly or like siblings. But there's always that line of power, for example you're the boss you tell that what to do and how to act but they have all the real physical power and strength to use against you if need be.

Maeve, along with Starlight, would actually to protect you from the terrible and cruel things in the world. She wants to be your saviour. You'll probably be the reason for her gaining back all the hope she once had and going back to actually wanting to do good instead of going along with a script, even if you had a part in writing that script. She'll know what she really needs to do and that's to protect you whether you want that or not. She knows best and she'll go with that her heart tells her.

A-Train is a little harder for me to get a feel for honestly. I think as long as you fuel his ego and give him his fill of compound v then he'll be your devoted speedster. I think his obsession and the overall platonic relationship would be more out of the benefits he'll get out of it than an actual attachment, at least at first. He's going to become close with you because of what you give to him in return. He's going to associate you with compound v in the sense of his addiction. You in some way, shape or form supply him with his fix whether that be through feeding his ego or with the compound v and therefore he's going to become just as addicted to you.

The Deep is also another one who would feed off the attention and praise you give him. He wants to be the best, he wants you to tell him how cool and awesome he is. He lives and breaths to hear you tell him how good he is at what he does, whether that's the truth or not it doesn't matter. He'll be your loyal dog so to speak. Kind of like how you leave food out for a stray aniaml and they associate you with food or taking care of them, that's kind of how The Deep is.

Starlight is probably the most genuine in her obsession for you. She thinks of you as a friend/sibling/parent and she wants to make you proud. She's just as innocent and naive as you, maybe even a little more so. She hangs on every word you say, ever move you make. She thinks of you as some higher being in a way and she wants to show and prove her worth. She'll follow you around whenever she has the free time or she'll hangout in your office with you. She'd really want to get as close to you as she can.

Translucent is an overall creep. He'll follow you around while he's invisible and he'll probably take advantage of your innocence or naivete. If you don't really know what you're doing or how to go about things in your position of power then he'll be the one to offer his 'help' to you. He'll offer his own ideas and thoughts to everything you do. You'll probably put some trust in him because of his 'helpfulness'. (Honestly, this man is my least favorite out of the Seven and I can't think too much of how he'd be.)

Black Noir is another one that is hard to get a real good feel for in the show. He never talks and doesn't even really interact with anyone at all. He goes and does his own thing and only acts when he's given orders to. When he does become obsessed he'll become act as your shadow. Wherever you go he's right there with you, whether you know it or not. He would be very territorial and possessive towards you, whether your innocent and naive or not. Whatever he believes belongs to him, belongs to him and he's not going to let anyone think otherwise. He'll always be lurking around wherever you. He's either standing guard outside your office or he's in your office just chillin as you go about work.

Homelander is another possessive one. Whatever he believes is his then it's his and anyone who disagrees will die a gruesome death. He's narcissistic and controlling, he believes that he is a god. Homelander is the one who is bound to actually overstep boundaries and test that line of authority. He knows he could easily break you yet your the one who is in position to tell him what to do and how to act. He won't kill you but he will make sure you know who holds the 'real' power.

Also, I 100% believe that Homelander is the type to fall for an innocent and or naive Reader but it's more out of him wanting to be the only one to corrupt you than him actually wanting to protect you from the 'bad' in the world. (Even though he's a main part of the bad in the world.)

#anxious answers #yandere the boys #yandere writings #yandere #platonic yandere concept

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stilloutofmyvulcanmind · 4 years

Text

The Wedding

Pairing: Earth-2 Harry Wells x Female!Reader

Word count: 3.2k

Warnings: None

Summary: Needing a date for a cousin’s wedding, you ask your colleague and friend Harry to pretend to be your boyfriend for the day. But is it really pretend when you’re already secretly in love with him?

A/N: My first fully-fledged Harry fic! Ahhhh! If you guys like it and want more, there may be a smutty sequel

"Got any plans the weekend, Harry?" Cisco asked, leaning back in his chair and stretching his arms. "Or you just gonna wait here for us to get back?"

Harry glared at him from behind his coffee mug. "Actually, Ramon, I do my best work when I don't have your incessant drivel in my ear."

"Oh yeah, hot stuff? What grand piece of technology are you gonna bless upon us on Monday then? A personality transplant?" Cisco laughed, narrowly swiveling out of the way of the pen that came hurtling towards his head.

"Nothing this week. I have other plans."

"Suuuch as?"

"Y/N invited me to her cousin's wedding and asked for me to…pretend we're together. So she doesn't get inundated by annoying questions."

"Ohhh myyy God!"

"What?"

"Look, I know my fiction tropes and fake dating? It's a classic! And it's only gonna end one way, my dude."

Harry raised an eyebrow and took a sip of coffee.

"With you two declaring your love for each other."

Nearly choking, Harry coughed up the drink, his grip on the armrest turning knuckle white. "I...are you…suggesting that I… love Y/N?!"

"And that she loves you, genius."

Spluttering, Harry shot up from his seat. "Don't be absurd, Ramon! Y/N doesn't love me! The only reason she asked me was because you and Allen are already in relationships! Th-there's no love! Or any romantic…feelings. Why would there be? She's…smart and kind and beautiful! She's brave and strong and I assure you there's no universe in which she'd ever love me!"

Cisco looked at him a moment, smile curling up on his lips. "See, I was just teasing you before, but wow, dude, you're really in love with her."

"Maybe you're in love with her!"

Cisco simply raised his own mug, failing to hide his own smirk behind it.

"... Shut up, Ramon."

"Thanks for agreeing to this, Hare," you said, smiling over your shoulder at him before resuming your task of unpacking.

"It's fine. Nice to get out of the Labs for once." Harry dropped his bag on the armchair of the hotel room you were sharing and hooked the one carrying his suit on the bathroom door frame. "But uh," he gestured to the one bed in the room, "how are we going to negotiate this?"

"I've got that covered." Reaching into your case, you pulled out the rolled-up sleeping bag.

Harry made a face. "You expect me to let you sleep in that?"

"I expect you to play me for it." Dropping the bag down, you held up a closed fist. "Paper, rock, scissors."

Harry stared at you a moment then laughed. The sound made your stomach flip in the giddiest of ways. "You should know I've never lost a game," he said, walking towards you.

"There's a first time for everything, Doctor Wells."

"Bring it on, Y/L/N."

You looked yourself over in the bathroom mirror a final time, adding the final touches to your make-up and clasping a silver necklace in place. You were ready, and looking pretty damn fine. Knee-length and with a cold shoulder, the midnight blue dress fit you perfectly. Exiting, with the intent on adding your shoes, you stopped short when you saw the sight in front of you.

Harry was dressed in a suit that matched the shade of blue you wore, an unintentional but useful detail for your ruse, the white button up standing out stark against the jacket. The most distracting detail was the fact that he'd left one too many of the top buttons undone, leaving a tantalizing amount of neck on display.

Not for the first time you wondered if asking Harry to be your fake boyfriend for the day was your smartest idea. Being forced to share a bedroom and pretend to be smitten with the man you were already in love with was definitely going to take a toll on your sanity. But showing up to yet another family event filled with happy couples on your own, and having to deflect the endless questions as to why seemed worse than having to spend forty-eight trying not to go mad.

"Y/N," Harry's voice broke you free from the trance, "you...you look…nice."

"Thanks. So do you! Who knew you scrubbed up so well." You moved around Harry quickly, avoiding looking at him too much and sat on the edge of the bed, to pull on your heels, while he tucked the sleeping bag he'd ended up using away out of sight.

"Ready?" You asked, finishing up and grabbing your purse.

"As I'll ever be." Harry opened the door for you, then locked it behind you both before passing you the key to tuck away in your purse.

Even though the hotel had been booked by your cousin for all the out of town guests, you hadn't expected to do much pretending until the reception. While guests were mingling on their way to the ceremony, there wasn't much time to chat yet, so not much time for prying questions or close observations either. Harry, however, seemed prepared to delve straight into it. He took your hand in his almost immediately, giving you a quick glance to make sure it was okay, then walked with you to the elevator. It was a simple gesture, but it sent your heart racing.

How the hell were you going to survive the day?

You were starting to think you'd accidentally brought another Wells doppelganger to the wedding. A much more polite, charming doppelganger, because it had been two hours now and Harry had yet to reduce anyone to tears or be anything more than a little sardonic.

"Who are you and what have you done to Harry Wells?" you whispered in his ear as you lined up outside the fancy hall to congratulate the newlyweds and take your seats for the reception meal.

Harry chuckled. "I don't think your family would approve of your new 'boyfriend' if I was my usual self."

"Okay, fair. Still, it's weird. I wasn't aware you even knew how to be charming."

"You don't build a billion-dollar research company by not knowing how to occasionally butter people up."

"Well, thank you. It must be painful for you, and I appreciate it."

Harry smiled at you softly. It was the same one you'd only ever previously seen him use on Jesse. It did a funny little thing to your heart and nearly distracted you from the hand that came to rest low on your back as he guided you forward.

"Annie! Congratulations!" You beamed, hugging your cousin and kissing her on the cheek. "You look beautiful!"

"Thank you!" Both she and her new husband couldn't stop grinning, and you loved how happy they looked.

"Uh, this is Harry, my boyfriend." The word sounded strange to say.

"A pleasure. Congratulations," Harry smiled, shaking both their hands.

"I could hardly believe it when Y/N told me she'd be bringing a plus one! You kept that one quiet!"

Laughing nervously, you shrugged. "We wanted to keep it on the down-low for a bit."

"Wanted to keep him to yourself more like!"

"That too."

"You know, you look kinda familiar, Harry, but I can't- oooh! I know! You look like that scientist Y/N used to crush on! What was his name again, Y/N?"

Feeling the heat rapidly spread up your neck and across your cheeks, you looked at anywhere other than Harry. "I, uh, I can't remember now."

Annie gave you a knowing look, but Harry came to your rescue before any more embarrassment could be had. "We'll let you greet the rest of your guests. Congratulations, again."

"Thank you, Harry. Talk later."

Harry led you into the beautifully decorated hall, his hand still hovering on your back as you made your way to the table. You were the first ones there to take a seat, which meant you were unable to escape the look he gave you.

"So, you used to have a crush on Harrison Wells?" He asked with an amused eyebrow raise.

You groaned, wishing the ground would open up and swallow you whole. "In my defense that was years before I joined the Team and found out about the whole evil speedster thing. Don't mention it to anyone, please?"

Harry looked at you a moment longer, then nodded. "It stays between us."

"Thank you."

Other guests began to arrive at your table, and the topic was dropped.

The food was amazing and the company just as much, and with the distraction of other people to talk to, it was easier to ignore the constant butterflies in your stomach.

After the meal and the speeches and the first dance, people began to mingle. You and Harry mostly stayed at your table, however, talking with your Great Aunt Margaret. The woman was in her nineties now, but she was just as sharp as ever, and probably one of the members of your family you were closest too.

"Another drink, ladies?" Harry asked after a little while.

"Gin and tonic for me, dear."

"Y/N?"

"Just an orange juice." As tempting as it was to just drown your feelings in alcohol, keeping a clear meant it was far less likely you'd make a fool of yourself by saying something you regretted.

Harry nodded, standing from the table and heading over to the bar.

"So, who’s he really?" Margaret asked as soon as Harry was out of earshot.

"What do you mean? He's my boyfriend." Margaret fixed you with her infamous 'cut the bullshit' look. "He's a co-worker. A friend. I asked him so I wouldn't have to show up to another family function alone."

Margaret watched you thoughtfully. "That's what I thought. You've been too skittish around him for you to be together."

"Was it that obvious?"

"Only to me, dear." She smiled and leaned across the table to you. "But you two need to talk."

"Why?"

"Because it's clear he's more than just a friend to you, and he's hopelessly in love with you."

"Wh-what? No, he's not!"

"Dear, I don't think I've ever seen a man more in love."

"I…" Looking away and down at your hands, you chewed your lip. "How do you know?"

"The way he looks at you. It's plain to see."

"No, no, I'd have noticed if he'd been looking at me like that!"

"We don't reveal our true feelings when the object of them is watching. We wait until we think they aren't looking. And the way that man looks at you when you aren't paying attention...it's like you hung the moon. I can tell you there aren't many people lucky enough to be on the receiving end of that kind of adoration."

"Oh."

Margaret's smile was kind when you met her gaze again. "Talk to Harry, Y/N. You deserve to be happy, and I get the feeling he does too."

"He does. He's been through a lot."

"Did I miss anything?" Harry returned carrying your drinks.

"Just some girl talk. Thank you," Margaret said as he set the glasses down in front of you. "Why don't you two have a dance?"

"Oh no, you know I'm not much of dancer-"

"Nonsense! I went to enough of your dance rehearsals to know better!"

"Aunt Margaret-"

"All the other couples are up dancing! You don't want to be the odd duck, do you?" To anyone else, Margaret's happy grin seemed innocent enough. You knew better. "Go on! Off with you! I'll watch your drinks!"

Before you could protest further, you were being poked out of your seat by her walking stick in your ribs.

Harry followed suit before he too came under attack, and took your hand as you merged into the crowd already on the dance floor.

"Sorry."

"It's okay. I'm the one who should be apologizing for this-" Harry pulled a few moves that could really only be described as 'dad dancing.'

Muffling a laugh with your hand, "That's…something," you giggled, swaying your own body in time with the music.

"Told you."

"Maybe one day I'll teach you a few moves. Ready for when you have to do your Father/Daughter dance with Jesse."

Harry groaned, "Don't. Don't make me think about that."

Giggling again, it turned into a squeak of surprise when Harry suddenly grabbed your hand and twirled you around.

"That's what happens when you tease," he grinned, hands landing on your hips to steady you.

"Not the worst punishment I could think of."

"Oh, and what is?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

"Maybe."

Realizing you were suddenly on the border of flirting, you shrugged. "You know, the usual. The same stuff everyone else hates as punishment," you mumbled.

"I see." It seemed like Harry was going to step back and let go of your hips when the song changed. A slow song. A slow, romantic song. Harry swallowed, Adam's apple bobbing, "We should...head back?"

You were going to nod when you looked across the floor to spot Margaret. She motioned for you to move close together. "Or...we could stay. Unless you want to get whacked with a walking stick that is."

"No. No, I don't."

It was awkward for a moment, then Harry took you into hold, one hand staying on your hip while he took one of your own in the other, with your free arm finding it's way to his shoulder.

He smiled. You returned it. Together you started to sway softly to the music.

It was way too intimate. More intimate than you really had the capacity to deal with, especially after your earlier conversation with Margaret. So you did the only thing you could think of to not have to look Harry in the eye. You lay your head on his chest.

For a split second, Harry's breath seemed to hitch, then it evened out again, though his hold on you tightened slightly, drawing you in until there was no space left between you.

Okay so maybe this was actually way more intimate. But at least now, with your head tilted away from him, you didn't have to hide the sappy smile that spread across your face.

Yet your mind was still racing. Was Margaret right? She'd never been wrong before. But that would mean Harry actually loved you in return, and that...that was nearly enough to make your brain explode.

You would have to tell him. He'd never say anything himself. But when? Now? Later? Tomorrow? Next week? That would be safest. If things went sour you wouldn't have to share a room or a car, and you could simply retreat to the safety of your apartment and eat away your feelings. Yet it felt like if you didn't say anything soon you'd implode.

It was so hard to think when he was still swaying you like this and was he…he was resting his cheek on top of your head. He was relaxed. Enjoying it just as much as you were.

The song came to an end, and Harry's grip loosened enough for you to take a step back. He didn't say a word. Just looked at you with that soft smile again.

You had to say something. Now. Just say the words and tell him. It'd be fine. You just had to say three little words.

"I...I'm really warm. I'm gonna go get some fresh air."

Coward.

Turning before you could see his face drop, you wormed your way off the dance floor and made a beeline for the door, exiting out into the garden and the cool night air.

"Stupid, stupid!" You muttered under your breath, pacing up and down the cobblestone path. How could you have chickened out like that? The opportunity was right there. And there was no way Harry would've bought the 'needing fresh air' excuse, which meant now you had to come up with something more believable or leave it feeling awkward. Why did you have to fuck it all up?

"Y/N?" Harry's voice from behind you nearly startled you out of your skin. Spinning around, you saw him approach, illuminated by garden lights that lined the path. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine."

"If I did something-"

"No! You didn't do anything. You've been amazing all day, Harry."

Nodding, Harry came to a stop in front of you. "You ran out so quickly, I thought...maybe…"

"It's not you, I just...I had to get out before I did something potentially very stupid. We both know how much you hate stupid."

"The last thing you could ever be is stupid."

"Says the man with seven PhDs. Pretty much everyone is stupid to you."

"Never you."

The way he was looking at you...it made you want to turn and run. There were too many emotions in his eyes, and it almost made you hate the hope that bubbled up in your chest.

Harry was the first to move, running a hand through his hair as he turned away. "Ramon...he said this would happen. I thought...I told him not to be ridiculous. Now here I am…he'll never let me live it down."

"What did he say would happen?" You asked, voice barely above a whisper.

Taking a breath, Harry faced you. "He said I'd end up...saying how I love you."

The world seemed to narrow down to just the two of you, the din from the party could no longer be heard, the garden disappeared, only you and Harry and the thumping of your heart remained. "You love me?"

"How could I not? You're...special. I'm not an easy person to get on with. I know I'm an annoying, cantankerous dick, and while I can act the charmer, when I'm just being…me, I can't, I don't...I don't always find it easy being around people. Except you. From the start being around you was easy. You know when to call me out or when to let me rant, and always you're kind. You're smart and brave and beautiful and I love you."

You stood in shock, simply staring at him. You'd never expected him to say anything let alone make a confession like that.

Harry cleared his throat, "Of course I value your friendship above anything else. Say the word and I'll never mention it-"

"I love you too. I wanted to say it in there, after our dance, but I couldn't…I was too scared it wouldn't be reciprocated."

For a breath, Harry hesitated, then he took your face in his hands, fingers curling around the back of your neck and pulled you into a kiss. Your response was immediate, kissing him back as fiercely as he kissed you, your own hands clutching at his arms. It was everything you'd ever imagined and then some.

Breaking the kiss Harry stayed where he was, holding you as if he were scared you'd slip away if he let go.

"Wow," you whispered, leaning your forehead against his.

"I should've said something sooner."

"I should've too, but it doesn't matter now."

"No, it doesn't."

Unable to stop the giggling like a schoolgirl, you kissed him again. "Just so you know I'm going to want a lot of these kisses."

"I wouldn't expect anything less."

"I love you, Harrison Wells."

"I love you too."

Best wedding ever.

Like what you read? Consider buying me a coffee! I’ll love you forever!

Tagging: @pinkdiamond1016

#harry wells x reader #harrison wells x reader #earth 2 harrison wells x reader #harry wells #harrison wells #harry wells imagine #harrison wells imagine #the flash imagine

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free-pool-trash · 4 years

Text

she - warren worthington iii

More Warren!!! He honestly makes me just 🥺 but also 🥵

Requested by the lovely @kurt-nightcrawler: so,,,, Warren’s writing poetry for a class and he’s really struggling,, so someone suggests he writes about what makes him happy and it’s the reader and then y/n finds out he wrote this really good poetry about them and the reader is all like 🥺🥺

This is so cute thank you for sending it in ✨💕 hope u like it boo i changed it a little i hope it’s still okay :)))

Okay but the tea is I SUCK with poetry okay so I stole song lyrics from a song that I just think is so super cute and kinda goes with the request and that is She by Dodie 🥺 (but I changed it to be more poem like)

Word count: 1,891 :)))

Warning (s): tooth rotting fluff, swearing (obviously), I'm physically incapable of not including Peter in these, that good kissing shit

masterlist

"Okay, class. Have that assignment for class on Friday." The English teacher spoke loudly to the room full of students and Warren had to fight to contain a groan.

Creative writing - poetry or the way that Warren saw it, torture. Not to get him wrong, he loved poetry. It was deep and it could say things without really saying anything at all, he was one of those people who just got symbolism, no explanations needed.

However, that didn't mean that he was any good at actually writing poetry. And this assignment was due for Friday, which meant he had four days to figure out how to write a decent poem.

The thought occurred to him to simply pull some shitty haiku out of his ass and maybe get some marks for effort, but, he dismissed it as English was pretty much the only subject that he had an active interest in, he didn't want his average falling because he handed up one shitty poem.

After the bell rang signalling the end of the class and the end of the day, the winged boy made his way to his dorm to work on his homework and make a start on the dreaded English assignment, where would he even begin?

"Hey man, you coming to hang out?" Warren's roommate, Peter, asked speeding into the dorm room.

Looking up from the blank page of his English copy, Warren cocked an eyebrow at his silver haired friend, "Who's gonna be there?"

"The whole gang." Peter replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world to which Warren nodded his head and got up from his bed, tossing his English copy onto the floor, he'd work on it some more tomorrow.

"(Y/n) was wondering where you were." Peter told Warren nonchalantly, as if it didn't even matter, oh if only he knew.

At the statement Warren's eyes widened and he was flooded with worry, "Why is she okay? Did she need me for something?" He questioned frantically, as Peter pursed his lips and made a face at him.

"No. She just wanted to know why you didn't come to hang out after class ended…" Peter replied heading out the door with Warren following behind him, a lot calmer now.

When the two boys entered the room, Warren caught sight of you immediately, the bright smile you gave him once he entered the room very nearly floored him.

It was no secret to anyone, not even you, that Warren Worthington III was absolutely crazy about you. You were soft and bright, you were the human embodiment of sunshine. To Warren you felt so familiar, like the cool release of fall coming in after a hot summer.

See, he absolutely understood symbolism, especially when it came to you: His girl that isn't actually his girl.

Warren walked over to the seat you'd saved him on the couch, beside you, trying his best to keep up his cool exterior Warren sat down and threw his arm over the back of the couch, his hand brushing against your shoulder as he did.

"Hey, Princess." He reveled in the way the nickname brought a hue of pink to your cheeks, and the smile you tried to hide from him only made him chuckle.

"Hey, War. Where have you been?" You asked, scooting ever so slightly closer to him.

At your question Warren groaned and his head fell into your shoulder in exhaustion. "Ugh, I've got an assignment due for Friday. Have to write a poem- I was trying to work on it after class. It's hell."

Laughing at him, you brought your hand up to play with his blonde curls that were brushing against your neck as he huffed about English.

"I thought you loved poetry?" You wondered out loud, frowning as he shook his head against your shoulder.

You were sure he loved poetry, something about the symbolism and depth of words.

"Not if I'm the one writing it." He elaborated for you, noticing your frown and adorable furrowed eyebrows and he didn't even realize he was staring up at you until Peter let out an exaggerated groan from the end of the couch.

"Ugh! Would you two just kiss already? The tension is k-i-l-l-i-n-g me!" He exclaimed, dragging out the word ‘killing’ for as long as he could.

"Peter! Shut the hell up they were being cute!" Jubilee shouted, throwing a handful of popcorn at the speedster who only shrugged.

Kurt looked at you, Warren, Peter and Jubilee confused as Jean and Scott watched you all in amusement.

"Are you two going out?" Kurt asked innocently, looking between each member of the group.

"Might as well be." Peter remarked causing your cheeks to heat and you only added to the teasing as you hid your reddening face in Warren's blonde curls.

"SEE!" Peter exclaimed, pointing at you and Warren accusingly.

You knew better than anybody that you and Warren acted like a couple, but you and him never had that conversation. But it's not like you needed to, it's not like you ever kissed or anything, you were just close.

"Shut the fuck up, Maximoff. You don't know what you're talking about." Warren said, irritation clear in his voice, he didn't even bother to untangle himself from you, you were both used to your friends acting like this.

He cared a little less about the teasing than you did, however. Awkwardly, you cleared your throat and eased Warren's head off your shoulder before standing up, "I'm, um, yeah I'm gonna go… do homework or something." You stuttered out before practically running out of the room.

If looks could kill, Peter would've dropped dead from the glare Warren was giving him, "Way to go, asshole."

Come the next day everything went back to normal, Peter's teasing hadn't upset you, not really, it was just that fact that you were in some weird in-between phase with Warren where you both knew you wanted to be more than friends but neither of you had said anything yet and Peter calling you out had just sent you into a whirlpool of thoughts about you and Warren that just left you wanting to be more.

It was always the same, day in day out, you hung out with your friends, you or Warren saved each other the seat beside the other and then your friends teased you about what you already knew. "(Y/n) and Warren act like a couple." This and, "(Y/n) and Warren look so cute together." That. Well you were sick of it. You didn't want to just act like a couple, you wanted to be a couple.

The cycle continued until Thursday. Warren had denied Peter's attempts to get him to go hang out as he still had to write his stupid fucking poem. He hadn't made even a word of progress since the project had been assigned. It was getting frustrating.

He'd been slumped over his English work for about 5 hours, it was late in the evening now and sometime during his struggling to write the sun had gone down.

Warren was pulled out of his trance when you peaked your head through his door, smiling sweetly and glancing to Peter's bed to make sure he wasn't in the room before entering.

"Brought you a snack." You told him, handing him the plate of food and sitting down behind him, propping your chin on his shoulder and looking over it with a sympathetic look, "Still no luck with that poem, huh Birdy?"

Warren only hummed, leaning into your body for comfort, he was stumped.

"Yeah, I've got nothin'."

"Well," You started thoughtfully, "Why don't you try writing about something you like?" You suggested while Warren closed his eyes, "Something I like?"

You nodded against his shoulder, "Yeah, like things that make you happy!" You chirped as he opened his green eyes to look at you, your face so close to his. He could smell your shampoo and see every single detail of your face, like looking at a picture.

A smile broke his face, "I think I'll be able to think of something." He told you smugly.

Looks like he'd found some inspiration.

After you left, Warren didn't waste anymore time and quickly finished his poetry assignment and handed it up on time in his class on Friday.

The stress of the previously unwritten poem had evaporated and Warren enjoyed his weekend with you and the rest of your friends, he had to thank his English teacher for handing out the assignment, though. It made him realize everything he'd really been thinking, the little things he noticed often subconsciously.

When his teacher handed him back the graded poem, he couldn't have been happier, he got an A+ and honestly, it was all thanks to you.

His final product had been about you, after all.

After class he'd walked into the common room, to see that you were the first one there and by yourself.

"Princess." He greeted happily, plopping down next to you and shoving the piece of paper with his poem on it, into your hands.

"Ohhh, A+, can I?" You asked, glancing between Warren and the poem.

Warren nodded confidently, impatient and wanting to see your reaction to his poetry.

"Go on. Read it."

"Okay." You smiled and cleared your throat dramatically before beginning to read.

"Am I allowed to look at her like that?

Could it be wrong

When she's just so nice to look at?" You read out softly, a teasing tone to your voice that soon faded away as you continued.

"And she smells like lemongrass and sleep

She tastes like apple juice and peach

Oh, you would find her in a Polaroid picture

And she...

Means everything to me" Warren was biting his lip as he watched you read with a small smile, the lines making sense to you, he hoped.

"I'd never tell

No, I'd never say a word

And oh, it aches

But it feels oddly good to hurt" As you read aloud you knew exactly what he was saying, smooth bastard.

'And I'll be okay

Admiring from afar

'Cause even when she's next to me

We could not be more far apart

And she tastes like birthday cake and story time and fall

But to her

I taste of nothing at all." You finished, looking directly into his eyes, lip between your own teeth almost mimicking him.

"Not to be seen annoyingly oblivious or anything, but I have to ask… who is this 'she'?" You asked Warren shyly, tucking a piece of hair behind your ear.

"She is you." The winged boy stated clearly and you couldn't stop the relief filled laugh that left your mouth, followed by a muttered "thank God".

Warren barely had time to process what was happening before you had practically pounced on him, legs either side of his lap, both hands on either side of his face and your lips pressing against his.

Instinctively his hands grabbed onto your ass to keep you steady as he returned your passionate kiss, lips moving frantically against yours while he pressed you closer to him.

Little did either of you know that none other than Peter Maximoff was standing in the doorway of the common room, shaking his head disbelievingly, "Fucking finally."

#warren worthington iii #warren worthington x reader #x-men x reader #x-men #x-men apocalypse #ben hardy #ben hardy x reader

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chubbyreaderwriter · 5 years

Text

I Need Friends Pt3

Barry Allen (Justice League 2017) x Plus Size/Chubby Reader

Imagine: You’re the new girl to join the Justice League and Barry doesn't hesitate to ask for your hand in friendship.

Word Count: 1.8k

Warnings: literally none, just pure fluff.

Part one Part two

Masterlist

- previously -

You were watching the screen while Barry spent most of the night looking at you and thinking about how lucky he was that he just got be this close to someone as perfect as you.

Diana was the first one to notice that the two of you were crushing on each other and she thought it was adorable and liked the idea of you two getting together. Not knowing how the others would react, she didn't tell them, deciding to let them figure it out for themselves. With all of the others being men, with you as the exception, she was always noticing the small things that others would miss. Like how Barry’s eyes lingered on you longer than anyone else and how he would stare after you when he thought nobody was looking. Or how you would get a little fidgety whenever Barry was sitting close to you and you would always make eye contact with Barry when he speaks but if the other guys talked to you, eye contact would be very limited.

Diana wanted to take it upon herself to get the two of you together, being the romantic she was, she wanted to see you both happy. Had it not been for Diana’s meddling, Bruce would've taken longer to catch on to yours and Barry’s feelings for each other. He first realised when Diana had told you and Barry that the team where going to watch a movie together but when the two of you turned up, there wasn't anyone else. The next day, Barry asked Bruce why he didn't turn up to the movie night. Bruce didn't think much of it until he overheard you asking the same thing to Diana and she replied that she forgot she made plans already. Bruce confronted Diana and she told him that she was trying to get the two of you together.

So that’s how you had Bruce and Diana meddling to try and get you and Barry together. Bruce wasn't usually one to get involved in people's private business but he had to admit, it was interesting and it would be fun to hold over Barry’s head when he’s older.

Barry was none the wiser to Diana and Bruce’s plans but you were getting suspicious. There was only too many accidental cancelled plans and scheduling changes that you could count as coincidence. You knew that they were trying to push you closer to Barry but you didn't understand why. Sure, the two of you liked each other, but just as friends. Well, you knew he only liked you as a friend, or so you thought anyway. You were deep in thought, thinking about how you were going to get revenge on Diana and Bruce when a certain Speedster got your attention.

“Hey (Y/N), you wanna go to the theme park with me? I asked around but nobody else wants to go with me. I figured you might wanna get out of this mansion. I guess there’s only so much richness you can handle at a time huh?” You gave Barry a small smile, “Sure, I’ll come with you, just gimme an hour or so to take a shower and get dressed.” Barry left and you were grateful to be alone because as soon as he left, you could feel your insecurities rise again. He asked everyone else before you, did that mean you were the last resort?

No, you weren't going to think like that, you’re just overthinking things. You got out of bed and headed to your adjoined bathroom, turning the shower on to heat up while you sorted out your clothes that you were gonna wear. Diana had taken you shopping for new clothes a couple weeks ago and you decided to use some of them, finally having an opportunity to pick out a decent outfit. You chose a black dungaree pinafore dress with a plain long sleeved white shirt underneath and a pair of white sneakers. You grabbed a random set of bra and panties, as well as ankle socks before heading to the bathroom to take your shower.

Once you were out of the shower, you quickly got dressed and brushed your hair. You decided to the top half into a ponytail to keep it out of your face and you grabbed your phone to put in the pocket of your dress. It was a little hot outside so you didn't think you’d need a jacket or anything. Looking in the mirror, you thought you looked pretty cute but then you thought that you might be doing too much. What if he thought you thought it was a date? You were starting to regret your outfit choice when your door burst open and Barry was stood there. “Sorry, you said an hour and it’s been an hour so I just came in and-...wow, you look pretty.”

You blushed and fiddled with the hem of your sleeves, looking down at your shoes, “Thanks.” Barry was wearing black jeans, a plain dark blue shirt and his signature red and black jacket. The two of you walked downstairs to head out, with Barry talking to you about all the different rides he wanted to go on. He told you that he’d never been to one before, never had the money, but this time, Bruce had given him an allowance for the theme park to use for the both of you. You tried not to laugh at how much Bruce was acting like a dad to everyone, you found it strange that he was so paternal when he doesn't have any children of his own.

The two of you were right next to the front door, seconds away from leaving without anyone noticing, when you heard, “Are you two dating or something?” You turned around to see Arthur leaning against one of the doorways, looking at you two with amusement but also curiosity. Diana, who was watching it all on the tv screens in Bruce’s ‘batcave’ gave a heavy sigh on frustration. Why couldn't Arthur keep his mouth shut for two seconds?

Barry blushed and normally would just have let it go but he saw how embarrassed you were getting and cleared his throat, “So what if we are, it’s none of your business.” Arthur raised his eyebrow but before he could say anything else, Barry grabbed your hand and sped the two of you to the end of the drive in front of Bruce’s mansion. You let go of him when he stopped but the both of you were a little disappointed to let go of each other’s hands. You were blushing because Barry didn't deny that you were dating and he also stood up to Arthur for you. Well, he took you away when you were getting uncomfortable but still, he was the closest to your knight in shining armour you’d ever gotten.

It was silent for a little while as you two started walking towards town, until Barry saw a Chinese restaurant and proceeded to tell you every single item of Chinese food that he liked and hated. The whole way there, you could tell that Barry was getting a little irritated with how long it was taking to walk there, since he couldn't se his powers in public without his suit on to protect his identity.

Barry was like an excited kid when you finally arrived and he didn't hesitate to grab your hand again to drag you through the crowds of people after paying for tickets. You would’ve blushed from the move had it not felt like your arm was going to be ripped off from how much he was pulling on it. “Barry, can you slow down? There’s plenty of time to do everything.” Hearing your voice behind him, he stopped and you had to catch your breath before he led you over to the first ride he wanted to go on. You didn't mind the rides but you always had a fear something was going to go wrong.

Thankfully, there wasn't much of a line so you two got to the front pretty quick. Barry, of course, wanted to sit in the front and you begrudgingly had to follow him, not wanting to sit next to a complete stranger. The overhead barriers came down and you clutched onto yours for dear life, using your powers to make sure that it wasn't going to come loose. Out of the corner of his eye, Barry could see your face scrunched up in fear and he nervously bounced his leg a couple times before taking your hand into his again, leaning over as much as he could, “Don’t worry, you’ll be fine.” You nodded, feeling surprisingly more relaxed after he held your hand.

The ride started and you screamed out of fear while Barry was screaming from joy, although it wasn't nearly as fast as he would’ve liked it to have been. After the ride was over, you had to pretend that you enjoyed it as much as Barry did otherwise he might think you’re being boring and dull.

For four hours, Barry dragged you around the whole theme park, trying out everything at least three times before moving onto the next one. When he was finally ready to go home (you had been ready to leave hours ago), he bought the two of you some cotton candy and a couple drinks. Barry had demolished his in seconds so you shared yours with him, “Are you sure?” “Of course, take some.”

Without realising, the two of you walked closer and closer together so that you were practically joined at the hip when you reached home. Barry was strangely quiet on the way back but you didn't mind, the peaceful silence was perfect for the journey back. What you didn't now what that Barry was looking at you, watching you pick small pieces of the edible pink fluff and thinking about how happy you made him feel. He’d never had so much fun hanging out with someone before and he wasn't an idiot like everyone thought, he knew you were faking how much you ‘liked’ the theme park but he felt touched that you put his happiness before your own.

Barry stopped you before you walked inside the house, “I had a great time today, honestly. It was one of the best days of my life. Maybe we can do it again sometime? If you're not busy or anything of course. If you have plans I wouldn’t expect you t-” You cut Barry off by hugging him, your arms around his waist and your face hiding in his chest, covering your red face. “I’d like that.” Barry hesitantly wrapped his own arms around you, not believing that this was actually happening to him.

Diana and Bruce high fived as they watched through the security camera’s live feed outside the front door, “We do great work.” Diana rolled her eyes at Bruce but smiled at the scene of you two embracing each other.

Tags:

@fear-not-just-write

#dc #dc x reader #dc x chubby reader #dc x plus size reader #barry allen #barry allen x reader #barry allen x chubby reader #barry allen x plus size reader #justice league #justice league x reader #justice league x chubby reader #justice league x plus size reader #plus size reader #x plus size reader #chubby reader #x chubby reader

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backtothestart02 · 5 years

Text

Return to Paradise - 4/? | westallen fanfiction

A/N: This is a fun chapter. I enjoyed writing it, and so, so appreciate the help of @jennlee44 and @westallen94 who were incredibly helpful in getting me to the finish line. Thanks, ladies!

Enjoy!

*Many thanks to @valeriemperez for beta’ing.

...

Chapter 4 -

After a night of board games and laughter, and alcohol – way too much alcohol – Iris was swept off her feet by her husband and deposited into their bed while Nora quietly made her way down the hall to her own room in the villa. It was quiet in the night, except for some distant rumblings of partygoers, tourists much like themselves who hadn’t yet made it to their beds or out of consciousness.

But as the hours passed, the sounds diminished until finally all was silent. Then, the sun rose.

Barry’s eyes opened at about half past six. Time to make breakfast. But he was struck suddenly by how beautiful his wife looked while she slept, and found himself thinking, Maybe Nora will make it.

She had, after all, made dinner the night before. And she’d done a damn good job of it. She was perfectly capable of making breakfast, and maybe she was even planning on it!

Don’t get your hopes up, whispered through his mind, but he chose to ignore it.

He looked across the room at the closed door and grinned. Then he looked down at Iris and gently drew the locks fallen over her face behind her ear. She moaned a little in her sleep and curled against the side of his body, her wedding and engagement rings brushing his skin.

His heart skipped a beat.

When she was like this with him, any doubts or jealousy melted away. Even the fear of Nora walking in on them was a non-issue. In fact, as far as he could tell, there was no noise going on outside their bedroom at all.

A devious smile crossed his face.

“Iris,” he whispered softly, gently moving his hand up and down her arm to caress her awake.

She moaned in contempt this time.

“No.”

“Aww, come on, Iris,” he teased, allowing his fingers to move over to her back and dip down beneath her teddy. “We’re alone.”

She snorted, coming awake now.

“But for how long?”

He shrugged happily, encouraged that she might be getting onboard.

“Long enough,” he murmured, slinking back down in bed so they were at eye-level.

She snickered. “You really want it bad, don’t you?”

“I really do,” he agreed, pressing a kiss to her cheek, then her nose, then her unresponsive lips.

“Baaarry,” she complained. “My head hurts.”

He pulled back, considering that.

“You did drink a lot.”

She groaned, pressing her face into her hand.

“Oh, why? Why did I do that?”

“Because you were losing at Scrabble,” he said easily, and she laughed.

“Or maybe I was just having a good time.” She pushed him away from her, but it didn’t stop him from coming back a heartbeat later. She sighed. “I suppose I should be grateful I have a husband that wants me so badly.”

“That wants to please you so badly,” he corrected, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively as he got beneath the covers and moved farther down the bed, parting her legs to make room for him.

She gasped. “No! Barry, no.” She tried to squeeze her legs back together, but her heart wasn’t in it. “Barry, if Nora hears-”

He popped his head up from beneath the covers as he drew her panties down her legs and pushed them across the mattress, dismissing how they dropped onto the floor in plain view of anyone who would walk in.

“So, be quiet,” he said, with a sexy grin on his face.

She scoffed. “You know that’s damn near impossible when you go down on me like you’re threatening to do!” she whisper-shouted heatedly.

His mouth fell open in mock shock.

“I would never threaten you, Iris.”

She looked at him suspiciously.

“But promise, on the other hand…” He grinned.

“Oh…you!” She grabbed his abandoned pillow and proceeded to hit him with it.

“Hey! No- Iris!”

She was merciless, but finally he got his bearings and surged up, stealing the pillow from her hands and placing a sensuous kiss on her supple lips.

Iris wrapped her arms around his neck and curled her calf around his thigh beneath the covers. Barry deepened the kiss, his hands propped up on the bed and nudged her legs apart. This time they went willingly.

“You sure it’s not just your morning wood that’s got you so excited?” She murmured between kisses.

“Definitely not,” he assured her, sliding his hand beneath her silk teddy until it reached one hardening nipple.

Iris gasped.

But she wasn’t the only one.

A silver platter, one that used to contain two make-shift menus and a vase with a rose in it, clattered on the floor; and hesitantly – very hesitantly – Barry turned around and spotted his daughter looking traumatized as she stared at them with wide eyes.

“I…um…” Nora glanced down at the mess on the floor. “I should get some towels. Yes, that’s what I should-” She turned around and bumped right into the door. “I’m okay!”

She covered one eye with her hand and then ran out into the hall, quickly speeding down the stairs and back into the kitchen where her platters of pancakes, waffles, French toast, sausage, and bacon sat, along with the freshly squeezed orange juice and apple juice she’d prepared.

By the time she returned to her parents’ bedroom with a single towel, they’d both dressed into comfortable clothes and were already wiping up the mess she’d left in her wake.

Nora winced as she approached them.

“Sorry, guys…I guess I should have expected…I mean, you are technically a young, married couple. I don’t know what I was thinking. Though I did knock first!” Her head snapped up. “And I called you guys from downstairs.” She frowned, then promptly blushed. “I guess you were too busy to hear…”

Barry and Iris shared a knowing look with Barry’s own blush creeping up his neck as his wife approached their daughter with a warm, gentle grip on her hands.

“There’s no need to apologize, Nora. We’ll just um…” She looked back at her husband, who was avoiding eye contact with his hand roughing up his bed hair even more. She turned back to Nora. “We’ll lock the door next time.”

Nora forced a smile.

“Well,” she said brightly, then pointed towards the doorway. “Breakfast anyone?”

…

After an awkward five to 10 minutes, Nora’s showcasing everything she’d made for them made the recently lived through trauma fade slowly from memory. And Iris made sure to keep it that way by gutting Barry with her elbow every time he was about to remark with a ‘you know what really tastes good’ joke.

“This looks amazing, Nora,” Iris said when they were all sitting down around the kitchen table. “You definitely got your dad’s gene for good cooking.” She shared a knowing look with Barry.

“And Papa Joe’s!” Nora pointed out. “And Grandma Esther I heard was an amazing cook.”

Iris nodded. “Her recipes are some of the best,” she said, then muttered under her breath how that gene must’ve just skipped a generation with her.

Barry cleared his throat, and even Nora could feel the innuendo coming on. She intervened.

“Why don’t you try the waffles, Mom? I think you’ll like those the best.”

“All right.”

Iris spread the butter, poured the syrup, cut the waffle and took a bite. Her eyes widened immediately.

“These taste amazing! Nora, you are making all our meals from now on.” She glanced at Barry. “Give your father a break from keeping me satisfied.”

His jaw dropped.

“Food-wise! Barry!” She smacked his arm, and he laughed, taking a bite from his stack of pancakes.

“Wow.” Barry licked some syrup off his lips. “They do taste really good, Nora. I’m impressed.”

Nora shifted a little in her seat, suddenly bashful.

“Thanks, Dad.”

Barry and Iris shared another look, but this time it was sweet, acknowledging the bond they had with their daughter and how they were going to do everything in their power to make this a day she would never forget.

“So,” Nora began, after downing some orange juice and wiping her mouth. “What are we doing today? I know you guys were already at the beach yesterday, but-”

“No, nonsense!” Iris reassured her. “We sat on the beach and did nothing.”

Barry was mid-scoff when Iris’ nails came into contact with his hand.

“We have a whole day to do whatever you want,” Iris continued. “Do you want a beach day?”

Nora bit her bottom lip and nodded.

“But first I need a swimsuit! I thought it’d be cool if I bought one from here for our trip.”

Iris beamed and released her husband to hold her daughter’s hand.

“That was my exact thought when we came here last year for our honeymoon.”

Nora’s face lit up. “Could we go to where you went?”

“It’s on the other side of the island, Nora. I don’t know if you want to-”

Nora snickered.

“Don’t be silly, Dad. We’re speedsters. It’ll take a second.”

“That’s…that’s true, but-”

Both women looked at him expectantly, and he knew he couldn’t reveal details or complaints in front of their daughter.

“Sounds great.”

“Great!” Nora cheered. “Okay, I’m going to go upstairs and get a bag ready and change clothes and look cute! Then, we can go!”

“You barely a-”

“You already look cu-”

Barry and Iris’ attempts fell on deaf ears. Their speedster daughter was already upstairs and speeding around the room she’d chosen in hopes of finding the perfect outfit to wear to go shopping for beach attire.

Back at the kitchen table, Iris was grinning fondly, and Barry’s face looked to be in a permanent pout.

“This is not a good idea, Iris.”

Reluctantly, Iris turned in her seat to address him.

“Why not? It means so much to her to be where we were when we-”

“It’s not like we conceived her on our honeymoon,” he whispered heatedly.

Iris rolled her eyes and took a sip of her orange juice.

“We may as well have.”

“That’s another thing.”

“What?”

“I’m coming around to this family vacation thing.” Iris arched an eyebrow. “I am.”

Iris was amused.

“But…Iris…” He scooted his chair the inch or two closer to hers. “If I don’t get…” He reached for her breasts, only for his hands to be pushed away deliberately. “I am going to go crazy.”

She laughed. “I’d love to see what that looks like.”

“I’m serious, Iris. Just one time.”

“Ha! One time is not enough for you, Bartholomew, and you know it.” She paused. “Not enough for me either, to be honest.”

His eyes lit up. “So, you do want to!”

“Shh!” She put her finger over his lips. “Yes, of course I do. But can you be a father for 24 hours and not a horny husband?”

“Twenty-four hours?” he whined.

“You waited for me for fifteen years,” she reminded him.

“And every day was torture.”

She rolled her eyes.

“I’m going to go get ready.”

“Iris. Iris, wait.”

“I’m hopping in the shower, and don’t you dare follow me, Bartholomew Henry Allen.”

His jaw dropped, and he immediately got up.

“Iris. Iris.”

She finally stopped. “What?”

“You know what happened in that dressing room.”

Her brows furrowed, as if she didn’t know. Barry worried for a second that she’d actually forgotten. He knew the exact second it registered.

“She doesn’t know that, and she doesn’t need to know that. It’s just a dressing room, Barry. Besides…” She walked slowly over to him and slid her fingers down his chest to his waistband. “Don’t you want to see if it’s still there? In case…” She shrugged. “You know.”

His mouth went dry.

“What…are you saying?”

She smiled serenely.

“Just that you’re a very hot father. Being a good one brings its own rewards.” She winked and sashayed over to the stairs, feeling his heated stare on her until she disappeared into the bedroom.

His sweatpants, for all their thick fabric, could not contain the result of his returned hard-on. He looked down and spotted the darkening patch immediately.

“Shit.”

He sped up the stairs, rid himself of his pants and boxers and ran to the bathroom to clean himself off.

Unfortunately, the bathroom door was closed and locked.

“Nice try, baby,” Iris said from inside under the hot shower water.

He groaned. “Please, Iris. It’s not what you thi-”

She started to sing – loud and proud and off-key.

It was adorable. He hated that it was adorable.

A knock at the door startled him, and he hurried to put on a pair of shorts while he waited for the bathroom to free up. He went to the bedroom door and opened it.

“Nora, now’s not really a good-”

He stopped. His mouth ran dry.

A flower headband in her hair, the prettiest tank and mini skirt with pretty, shiny shoes with a flower each to match the one in her hair, Barry had never been filled with so much pride to see her as his daughter.

“Is something wrong?” She frowned. “You can use my shower if Mom is taking a while.”

He approached her and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

“You look absolutely beautiful.”

She blushed beneath his gaze.

“Thanks, Dad,” she gushed, then distracted herself with the problem at hand. “Now, go! I want to go shopping!” She laughed.

“Right.” He gathered his clothes and shampoo together in a flash and kissed the top of her head. “Thank you, Nora.”

She smiled to herself and skipped down the hall to the stairs.

“No problem, Dad.”

…

A freshly cleaned, beautified Iris West-Allen in a form-fitting yellow summer dress did nothing to calm Barry Allen down. But she looped her arm through his, preparing for the run across the island, and he forced himself to focus.

“Okay, just follow me, Nora,” he said.

“Okay, okay, let’s go!” She said eagerly, making Iris giggle.

Barry shook his head at his girls and took off, making it to the vendor strip he and Iris had visited a year ago within seconds.

Nora came to a stop a beat after he did, and Barry was happy that despite all his suffering, the place looked the same as it had before. Every vendor, every salesman or woman, even the decorations and the fitting room with such a fond memory was exactly the same as the year before.

“Oh, Mom… I think I want more than just a swimsuit.”

Iris laughed, the sound effervescent to Barry’s ears.

“It’s okay, honey. Your dad is very good at holding things.”

Barry tuned back in. “Wait, what?”

A vision of the horror of last year’s shopping visit came back to the forefront of his mind. Hot sex in the fitting room aside, he’d barely been able to hold everything Iris bought in his arms. How was he supposed to hold everything both of them purchased today?

“Now, guys,” he started cautiously.

“Relax, babe.” Iris winked at her husband. “We’ll try not to go too crazy.”

He suppressed a groan and followed them into the madhouse.

At first, it wasn’t too bad, and he thought he’d been worrying for nothing.

Nora stopped at a couple vendors, eyeing pieces of jewelry, sunglasses, sandals… But she didn’t appear to be in love with anything, despite his wife’s urging that her dad would buy her anything she wanted. Which of course he would, but he wasn’t looking forward to carrying it.

Still, a couple glares from Iris, and Barry knew he was being selfish - and obvious about it too. This trip that had been intended as a romantic getaway inevitably wasn’t going to be. It was a family vacation now, and he needed to accept that, or he’d be making both his girls miserable on a trip they’d both been excited for.

Then it happened.

They wound up at the same place where Iris had found her leopard-print barely-there bikini from the year before. The one she’d used to seduce him in the fitting room hut. That should’ve set off warning bells right there, but it wasn’t until his daughter came strutting out of the hut with a bright yellow bikini on that he realized just what he was getting into and how strong his fatherly instincts were.

“No,” he said immediately.

Both women looked at him with frowns.

“Why?”

“Yeah, Barry, what the matter with it?”

Barry scoffed, as if it should be obvious.

“What do you me- How can you no-” He huffed and pulled Iris over to the side. “Look at her.”

Iris’ eyes widened. “I’m looking. She looks fine, Bear.”

He huffed and lowered his voice. “She looks like she could be on a Playboy magazine, Iris.”

Iris hit him immediately.

“She does not.”

“She does!”

“The bikini isn’t even that skimpy. It’s certainly like the one I-”

“Yes, I know. And how often do you wear that?”

“It’s not like we go to the beach all the time.”

“When did you wear it on our honeymoon?”

She scoffed. “Well, I wore it when-” She cut herself off. “It doesn’t matter when I wore it! She’s a full-grown woman. She can wear what she wants. You have to be supportive of that.”

He scoffed. “I do not have to be anything like that.”

“If you want good father points you do,” she said through clenched teeth.

“Are you threatening…celibacy?”

Her eyes narrowed.

“We don’t do threats. We do promises. Remember?”

He shook his head at her. “Oh…you didn’t.”

“I did.” She smiled brilliantly.

“What about this one, guys?”

They both turned to see Nora in a slightly more covered multi-colored bikini.

“Aww, Nora. I love it-”

“No.”

Iris glared. Nora looked hurt. That hurt him.

“Okay, look, Nora.” He walked over to the rack of one-piece suits that covered absolutely everything. He picked up some flowery options he thought looked nice and a couple that were solid colors. He asked for her size, then got the right ones and handed them to her. “Try these on. I’m sure you’ll love one of them,” he said proudly.

Nora and Iris shared a look, but Iris finally convinced her daughter with a nod to try them on to appease her father.

“She’ll like one of them,” Barry said. “You’ll see.”

Iris rolled her eyes.

“I guess this one’s…okay,” Nora said halfheartedly.

“I think it looks great,” Barry said, cheerfully.

Nora attempted to smile. Iris was boiling.

“Try on a different one, Nora.”

“But this was the only one I could-”

“One you picked out.”

Nora’s eyes widened. “Are you sure?”

“Wait, you picked out those other ones, Iris?” Barry shrieked.

“I’m positive,” Iris insisted, ignoring Barry.

“Okay…” Nora went back into the hut and changed again.

“Hey, Barry. Guess what?”

“What?”

“Our daughter’s a woman.”

“I know she’s a…woman.”

“She’s our age.”

He gulped. “I know that.”

“Guess what that means?” she whispered mockingly.

He glared.

“She has curves and long legs, and Barry.” He winced as she set her hand on his shoulder then dug her nails in. “She has boobs. You gotta get past it.”

“Okay!” Nora announced, pulling the curtain to the side.

Iris beamed. Barry’s jaw dropped in horror. He went to cover her, but Iris held him back.

“Where’s the rest of it?!”

“Do you like it, honey?” Iris asked, standing in front of Barry.

“I…do.” She turned to the side. “And the cleavage isn’t that bad, is it? I really like the colors.”

“It’s perfect.” She smiled.

She was unaware of Barry for a moment, but a sudden huge thud behind her changed that.

“Dad!”

Nora ran to him, but he was unconscious on the ground.

“Oh, for heaven’s sake,” Iris muttered, then squatted down beside him. “Barry. Barry!” She snapped her fingers in front of his eyes, then clapped a few times.

“Do you need a doctor?” a stranger asked, walking up to them, concerned.

Iris smiled serenely. “That won’t be necessary. Thank you.” She turned to her daughter. “Nora, why don’t you pick out a cover-up too? I think your dad would like that.”

“What?” Barry sprung up. “I’m up. I’m up. What did I miss?”

“Nora’s getting a cover-up, baby.”

“Oh.” He smiled brightly. “What a great idea. Did she come up with that?”

“No, I did.” She helped him to his feet. “And in exchange…” She dusted off his shirt and shorts. “You are not getting any for a looong time.”

His mouth fell open.

“Okay, Dad, how’s this?”

Iris looked at him as their daughter spun around in front of them. She smiled and directed her gaze back to Barry expectantly. The cover-up was sheer, but Nora clearly liked it, and Barry didn’t want sex sworn off from him for all of eternity, so he nodded curtly and forced a smile of his own.

“Looks perfect.”

...

*Also posted on AO3 and FFnet.

#westallen #fanfiction #westallen fanfiction #backtothestart02 fanfiction #return to paradise #chapter 4

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oudenoida · 4 years

Note

✥ - Popping a button on their shirt, showing their chest / a bit of cleavage (Hawke & Jake)

Life had a funny way of bringing this back full circle in a way nobody could anticipate. The first time they’d tried to date it had been a game of secrets. The Minister of Magic could never be seen with a member of the Department, let alone a former member of the Department who now waited tables at an Indian restaurant. Hawke’s job had been everything to him, his legacy, his reputation, his mission more important than any level of emotional honesty that he could gift to Jake. Which is why Jake had left him. Submitted a formal letter of resignation as Hawke’s boyfriend and walked out of the Ministry with his head held high. A lot had changed in the years in between leaving Hawke and the night the now-former Minister of Magic had walked into his restaurant and asked for a word with the chef. Jake had been perfectly comfortable making him wait several hours in a booth until dinner service was done and waiters were putting chairs on top of tables in preparation for the end of the night.

“You waited.”

It wasn’t a question when he asked it, but there had been a question behind it, about why Hawke had shown up, ate, and then waited until the restaurant closed down to finally talk to him.

“The food was exquisite. You used to be a great chef… I think you’re something beyond that now.”

“My Michelin Star and James Beard Award agree with you.” He’d sat down on the other side of the table as one of his staff brought him something to eat. “Doesn’t explain why you waited though.”

He’d always been the one who’d been honest between the two of them. It was time for Hawke to shoulder that burden now.

They’d talked late. He’d sent the staff home and they’d sat in that booth, and then in the kitchen as Jake made them a well-past-midnight snack, and just talked. It was the most open he’d ever heard Hawke be and in the moment it was a very sharp reminder of why he’d been so in love with the man in the first place. Hawke seemed to be heading in the direction of them getting back together and so Jake felt it the appropriate time to drop the bomb he’d been sitting on all evening.

“I’ve got a kid, Hawke. I adopted. Elimelech Alistair Conrad. Eli Jr.. If you want back in my life… you’ve gotta be ready to be a dad. Because I’m not doing this if you’re not.”

“You… adopted?”

“I asked everyone not to tell you. I honestly assumed you’d know just because you’ve got your fingers in seventeen different intelligence agency pies, but, yes. Last year. He’s three now. Eli’s mom watches him while I work, because that woman is a bloody saint.”

In Hawke’s defense he hadn’t immediately run out the door, hadn’t bolted the moment he’d heard the word “kid” like some of the other men Jake had tried to date since he’d initially left Hawke, but he didn’t look immediately at ease with the whole concept of being a father. “Well. Congratulations. I think I owe you a baby shower gift then.”

He hadn’t laughed like that in a long time, and just like that they were back on the slow road to whatever it was they were going to become.

A lot had changed in two years. Minister Ashby had become Mr. Conrad, one restaurant had turned into two, to three, and then a cooking show, and despite what reservations he’d had, Hawke had become a truly amazing father. An apartment in muggle London had turned into a penthouse in Diagon, and it was through this penthouse door Jake was walking to be immediately tackled by a slightly more than knee-high cannonball, “Daddy’s home!!”

Hawke rounded a corner shortly after their speedster of a son did, trademark wry smile on his face, “Maybe we let him get more than six inches in the door before we tackle him.”

“Papa took me to see Auntie Emma at work today! Mr. Foster had a puppy!” Leaning down Jake swept Eli Jr. off his feet, kissing him on the forehead and hugging him tightly.

“Oh Papa did, did he?”

He threw a questioning eyebrow in Hawke’s direction as he set Eli Jr. back down again and his husband gave him a gentle smile, “Weymouth had some automaton breakthrough. Wanted to drop one off, show us how it worked. He’s getting closer and closer to figuring it out… which is honestly a little terrifying. Have you ever seen a nine foot tall magitech robot take a spell to the chest and bounce it back? And before you chide me… Samuel had Eli well in another room distracted with what might honestly be the cutest pitbull puppy in all of Christendom.”

“Nana ‘nique said she’s going to take me to the museum tonight!”

Another questioning eyebrow, and another smile, a language they were slowly and methodically rebuilding, “Gramma Monique offered to babysit tonight. She said something about couples needing quality time, how she and Manu had always loved their family but cherished the moments that they had privately. Then she gave me what can only be described as the most scandalous eyebrows I have ever seen on a woman and said she’d be by, well,” he looked at the watch on his wrist that had probably cost more than Jake’s first apartment, “Any minute.”

A gentle knock on the doorframe behind him made Jake’s face split into a lopsided grin as he turned to see the willowy figure of Monique Whetu silhouetted in the light from the hall, “And here she is, as promised Misters Conrad.”

There was very little in his heart that Jacob Conrad loved as dearly and preciously as Monique Whetu. She had seen Jake at his most abject; when veins were still black as night and some days he couldn’t hold a mug for the shaking, and she had loved him ferociously anyway. It was one of Jake’s greatest sorrows that he would never have the chance to meet Manu Whetu, but from the way Monique lived her life, it was evident where Eli got his big heart from. “You didn’t have to do this mom.”

He couldn’t pinpoint exactly when he’d started calling Monique mom. There had been a very long time when she had been Lady Whetu, and then Monique, and then somewhere along the line mom. Maybe it had been before he’d knelt before the Manu-possessed Lich body of Aiden and received the blessing of the Lord of Manawa, maybe after, but somewhere along the line she’d joined Madhur and his own mother as one of the army of women he called mom, and it just felt right.

“That’s what makes it fun, Jacob. I know I didn’t have to do this.” With an effortless redirection of momentum she scooped Eli Jr up and propped him up on her hip, “You both work hard, and you deserve these moments.” Leaning in she planted a kiss on Jake’s kiss and he breathed in the smell of flowers and home, “Besides. This handsome man and I have a date with his Uncle Eli and Aunt Millie. You can’t deprive Millie of her Eli Jr time. You know how she gets.”

With another blinding smile and a wave from their son she was gone, and there was silence in the penthouse. “Well, Mr. Conrad.” Jake set his bag down and leaned against the wall, “I guess we have a free evening.”

“For the first time in what… months?” Hawke began loosening his tie, draping it over the back of a nearby chair as he unbuttoned his cuffs and popped the top buttons on the bespoke Thad oxford he was wearing, revealing a sliver of tan skin and carefully groomed chest hair.

“Mmmmm.” Pushing off the wall Jake careened gently into his partner, bringing a hand slowly up and over Hawke’s chest and cupping his cheek, “If you’re going to start a strip tease like that in our front hall you and I are never going to make it to the kitchen to start dinner.”

Hawke’s low chuckle sent shivers down Jake’s spine as he slowly unbuttoned another button, “Oh this is what does it today? Well, Mr. Conrad. You’re the one with a restaurant empire. I am fairly certain with one phone call we can have a four course meal delivered and left outside so we don’t have to put pants on for the rest of the night….”

There was an end to the sentence that Jake refused to give Hawke time to finish; lips crushing the rest of the words in their shells. “You know my love language, that’s for sure.”

Another button and Hawke smoothed a hand under Jake’s shirt and up his stomach, “There’s no rush, my darling. We have all night, Millie and Eli are hosting a sleepover… and I intend to take my time. I think we’ve earned it.”

Jake had to admit as Hawke began removing his clothing with agonizing slowness that his husband was right. They had earned it, and he intended to take full advantage of every remaining minute they had together.

#m: jake #opp: hawke #allie asks #iomadaidh

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iphoenixrising · 5 years

Text

For 800 Followers! Broken Trust: Continued

So. SO. The original Broken Trust was pretty traumatic, but I got so many wonderful comments on the post that I did write a second part. Just a warning tho, the previous part to the story contained a suicide attempt. Here’s the aftermath.

A bit of a warning: one of my babes cried when she read this. It will hit your feels.

Raven and Gar stand behind Cassie when they firmly tell the Batfamily no, none of them can come to the Tower right now.

Nightwing and the Red Hood exchange a look while B is the usual silent and stoic, the darkness of the Cave behind them.

“Wonder Girl,” N hold up placating hands palms up, noticing the way Gar doesn’t look directly at the camera, and Rave is almost completely hidden by her cloak. He gets the impression of things not good. “We only heard Red Robin is in critical condition! Can you tell us anything about what happened if at least one of us can’t come see him?”

The family of detectives can pick out all the tells.

“My hands are tied until he wakes up,” the de-facto leader of the Titans goes with, as diplomatically as possible, “right now he’s being monitored twenty-four seven while he’s comatose–”

Because Kon and Bart won’t leave him alone for a second.

“–and we’re taking care of him–”

As we have been since he finally called out to us for the fun time against the League of Assassins in Gotham.

“–I’ll keep you updated with the latest news.”

“Comatose?” All three Bats on the screen echo with different pitches to their voices.

The sigh coming out of her is just on the edge of her patience.

“How?” Dick chokes out, “what the hell happened to him?”

Cassie just stares back, lips pursed.

“That ain’t good ‘nough, y’ feel me here?” The Red Hood’s helmet is turned toward the screen, arms crossed over his chest, “Baby Bird’s a Bat first n’ foremost–”

“Not in the last few years,” Cassie counters gently, firmly, “and the last instructions he gave us? Back when there were assassins all over your city? It was to keep the Bats out of his business. I’m only calling because–”

The Batman holds up a hand, “Wonder Girl, I’m grateful you did. But. I’m still Tim’s mentor and the only legal family he has. I’m asking you, please at least let me in the Tower to see him.”

“Batman,” and she massages the bridge of her nose, “I can’t. Not until he wakes up and tells me what he wants. I’m sorry, but I can’t.”

She looks at the screen again, “please don’t try to force this. Gar’s family still owns Titans Tower, and I will authorize the security system to activate if you try anything. If–” her breath hitches, “when Tim wakes up, I’ll let you know.”

Gar finally seems to be able to move, stepping around Cassie to grin half-heartedly down at the camera. “You heard it from here. We’ll keep in touch. Tower, outtie.” And flips the button to cut the feed.

The monitor beeps steadily, the only comforting thing in the room.

Kon doesn’t need the soft noise to assure himself Tim is still alive.

He can hear it through his Robin’s chest.

For the last seventy-odd hours, he’s been sitting, laying, floating right in this spot next to the medical bed where his best friend is stretched out, comatose. He’s only takes short breaks to run to the bathroom.

The team keeps close tabs on them, bringing him food, someone always trying to stop by and stick around to keep him company.

(He knows what they’re trying to do.)

Food makes appearances and things get tucked away in the niches of the room. Tablets, books, a half-done knitting project, old school Playstation hooked up to the television, origami cranes all over the place.

The team is worried about both of them, and Kon still hadn’t told everyone what really happened out there, how he came to be flying madly in the Tower, sobbing while he carried Tim’s body, limp and still, blood everywhere. They’re worried because Kon’s been exhibiting signs of shock, white as a ghost, and quietly crying while Raven, BB, Cassie, and Miguel sprinted into action, getting their former Robin into the medical bay and working fast to try saving his life.

Kid Flash had watched from behind his working teammates, holding Kon tightly in both arms to keep the super on his feet, eyes wide when he catches glimpses of Tim’s slack, white face, blood on the pillow, on gloved hands, making everything more red than the old Robin tunic.

Since then, Kon’s been a wreck, unable to talk about it without breaking down, his immeasurable strength utterly useless in the face of whatever had happened to Tim.

(Raven and Gar went into the Safe Room of the Tower to talk it out, wondering if Luthor had some tech still hidden in their Superboy, if it was just like the time he’d broken Tim’s arm–)

So, the Titans absolutely close ranks, stay on edge, monitoring, waiting, watching, trying to be there for their teammate, trying to console him when Kon admitted he couldn’t stop Tim in time, he couldn’t stop him, didn’t know what he was going to do until it was too fucking late–

It’s enough to put the pieces together without forcing Superboy to come out and say it directly, keeping the pressure in the room for if...when Tim finally woke up.

New Protocols start appearing in the database the very next hour.

When he comes to, his mouth is so dry and his head is killing him.

Seriously.

The familiar room in the Tower’s Med Bay is soothing at least, not like he wants to be caught by the Joker right now or anything because that? Would not be conducive to Good Morning, Robin.

His senses gradually come back online, and turning his head on the pillow is just short of agonizing.

Conner Kent, Superboy, is sitting by the bed, head in his hands, shoulders shaking gently and Tim Drake’s eyes go wide, all the pain in his head forgotten when he sees his Superboy look up with red, watery eyes.

Tim shoots up in bed, can’t look away, can’t focus on the pain rolling down his spine with the movement.

“Kon?” Is a whisper, a broken sound, “Kon is it really you?”

Because fuck, he’s going to cry too, isn’t he?

(Oh yeah. Yeah, he is.)

“Tim! Oh my God, you’re awake! Tim, you’re awake!” The super barely has enough time to get to his feet before Tim Drake launches himself out of the medical bed, wires and IVs be damned, hurling himself straight at the red S shield against the black t-shirt.

Just like he expects, Conner Kent, Kon-El, Superboy, his best fucking friend–

–catches him.

Kon’s knees give out and they’re on the floor, sobbing against each other, Tim’s arms tight around him, holding on like he thought Kon would disappear the second he let him go, and all Tim is saying sounds vaguely like, “you’re alive, you’re alive! How the hell are you alive?!” where his face is buried in the side of Kon’s throat.

The camera are apparently working just fine because KF is in that room in the two seconds it took for Tim to launch himself out of bed and send the two sprawling all over the floor, ripped out wires all over them.

The speedster, his own eyes wet with relief, is gentle when he kneels next to them, when he touches Kon’s shoulder and lays a hand softly to the center of Tim’s back.

Bart’s mouth opens, ready to say something smarmy to cover up the emotions, something like, “hey, hey. Almost dead guys have to be in bed,” when Tim’s watery eyes are looking up at him and his expression is utterly fucking broken.

“Bart?” Cracks in Tim’s hitching chest, his eyes wide and wet and spilling over, and hands shaking but moving so fast to reach out and grip Bart’s shoulder. “Bart, you...Oh my God, you too! You’re back? You’re alive! You’re both alive.”

He has every intention of leaping up to throw both arms around Kid Flash as well, to bring him down and hold on to both of them forever, but when he tries to stand this time, his legs won’t hold his weight.

It’s only because the two of them are so super that he doesn’t go falling back down to the ground, both muscling a shoulder under his arms, sliding free hands around his waist. This time it’s Tim’s shoulders shaking while he bites down on his lower lip hard and tries to stop his eyes from spilling the fuck over, tries to keep the sobs trapped in the center of his chest where it won’t come out.

(Because he’s Robin, and that shit doesn’t happen…

And yet, here we are.)

He totally fails, and now they’re never going to let him live it down.

Bart darts across the room, viciously slams the intercom and yells for everyone to get to the Med Bay because their bird is awake, and someone needs to come down and put his damn IVs back in!

Then he’s hot-footing it back across the room, sliding on his knees to be right on Tim’s empty side, squirreling both arms under Tim’s since Kon’s is around his shoulders.

“I can’t believe it,” Tim sobs against the side of Kon’s face, wrapped in both of them. “I can’t...I can’t–”

“Tim, my bro,” Bart frees a hand to wipe across his eyes, “that’s our line. For fuck’s sake, you’ve been a coma for days. Do you have any idea how worried everyone is? Cassie is might literally punch you hard enough to break your head open again.”

“After you’re okay,” Kon’s voice is muffled and watery against his shoulder.

“After you’re okay,” Bart parrots back, “you asshole, you stupid, stupid asshole.”

“Asshole,” Kon chokes out, “how could you be so fucking stupid? Why didn’t you call me? Why...why didn’t–”

“You were dead. Both of you were dead, Kon. How could I have–”

And it’s a whoa moment right there.

Something very not crash.

“Tim what are you talking about? We’ve been back almost–”

With a terrible feeling in his gut, Kon cuts right in, “what’s the last thing you remember?”

With wide eyes, the super grabs both of Tim’s shoulders, “Tim. What the last thing you remember?”

“I...I moved to Blüdhaven. Because Steph. Steph...and you and you right after my dad,” He falters, pulling back, being Robin, trying to keep it the hell together.

(But he was literally the only one left standing. Just him and Dick and B, but that still didn’t make it better, didn’t make the pain go away, didn’t fill the void, didn’t bring them back.)

“What?” Kon mumbles, numb, not realizing his grip has gotten tighter and tighter until Tim flinches in his hold and Bart is pushing the center of his chest.

It takes a minute. A very long minute for him to breathe because Kon has such a bad feeling about where this might be going.

It takes Bart just a few more seconds than Kon. “Tim, Stephanie Brown isn’t dead. She’s alive.”

“Wh-what?” And even if his head is starting to hurt again, even if the nausea is building, he can push it all away with that sentence, with someone else he loved apparently alive. “She’s–she’s what now?”

Bart and Kon are looking at him intently from both sides, noticing how his expression crumbles, his shoulders slumping in shock, his eyes are blown wide, and he’s pulling back from them both, looking pale and unsteady.

Unconsciously, they tighten their grips around him, ready to catch, ready to hold him up, ready to be what he needed.

(It’s time to stop running.)

When Cassie slides almost past the door to the Med Bay, beating Gar literally by a hair, the small leopard gets with the program and leaps over her shoulder effortlessly transforming so they come to the three idiots on the floor.

“What the hell are you doing? Why isn’t Tim in bed?”

“Totes pulled out your IVs, man,” Gar tisks at him, the trembly kind of relieved to see one of his besties, a good teammate, a good leader, look up at him again instead of unmoving and unnaturally still. “Rave’s gonna get moody, right? No one wants to see that.”

He and Cassie are gentle, keeping in mind he’s the only one on the team that could get this fucked up and not die, while they get him back to bed.

Their resident supernatural specialist and part-time nurse comes in more serenely than her teammates, eyes warm when she spots Tim’s dazed eyes just watching them reinsert his IV and put patches back on his chest, a tube under his nose.

Looking up at Cassie, sees her I’m relieved you aren’t dead expression and just smiles dopily up at her (he can’t help a flash of awkward because, well, he’d kissed his best friend’s girl – they thought he’d been dead at the time, but...wait, does it still count?). His brain is fuzzy with the crazy emotional rollercoaster since he’d woken up and see his best friends alive, is still reeling a little bit from Steph. It makes him literally itch to get back to Gotham even if he’s sinking further down into the softer-than-it-should-feel medical bed with most the team scrambling around them.

He glances up when he catches Raven injecting something in his IV, smiles at her too.

But, it’s fine. He’s going to stay long enough to let them take care of him because he doesn’t have to go back to Blüdhaven and that shitty hovel he’d been holding up in after things went so, so wrong. Bruce had taken them training, had worked with Dick to bring Tim back from a terrible edge.

The three of them were working better together, and he’s staying at the Manor instead of his...his parent’s house or the Carriage House where he’d passed the heck right out more than once in his tenure as Robin.

Things are finally better.

And now? Now that he’s got Conner and Bart back, now that he can head back to Gotham and Steph...his Steph will be alive–

He’ll have cases to work and school to eventually go back to, or at least the GED test to take. He’ll have Gotham, dirty and dingy, corrupt and cold and cruel while being a beacon to the best and brightest and the dreamers and the innocent. He’ll have the Cave and his room down the hall from Bruce. He’ll sign the paperwork to change his last name–

(Drake-Wayne, who would have thought?)

–and try to make friends with Damian, again.

When it gets too much, he can come back to the New Teen Titans, and work it out with his team.

Life? Life is finally going his way.

(And if he doesn’t remember anything from before clearly enough to explain how he got hurt, well, that’ll wait until he wakes up.)

*Note: I imagine Tim’s memory is stuck on the One Year Later arc where after Tim, Bruce, and Dick went on some kind of training journey and afterwards, he comes back to reform the New Teen Titans, Cass is in the wind, probably not even Black Bat yet, and he’s sporting a red and black suit. It’s after he tried to clone Bart and Kon? I’m a little fuzzy on how the events fall, so I’m pretty much making it up as I go along :D

#winter answers #800 followers #broken trust #tim drake #conner kent #bart allen #DC comics #my drabble #my writing

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