#also found an old medical station to take over for herself

[bombz-n-bluntz]

I need to figure out my docs name

[thebeast-dennis-etcetera]

Safe and Sound

“Sweetheart, if you keep running like that, you’re gonna fall,” you advised your overly confident 4 year old as she raced through the squad room. Sure enough, just as she was about to turn the corner, her feet got tripped up and she took a small tumble. Nothing you were worried about but Tony had just happen to see and your daughter knew that if she started crying, he would come running. So that’s what she did.

“Oh no, did that evil carpet trip you?” Tony picked her up off the floor and sat her on his hip, wiping her crocodile tears away. You made your way over, smiling and setting a box of take out on your husband’s desk.

“She’s got you wrapped around her little finger Tony. All she wants are those Italian crackers you keep in your desk.”

“Crackahs,” your daughter mimicked, proving your point.

“Ah yes. The cracker tax will be paid, fear not young padawan,” Tony told her while setting her down in his desk chair and opening up his drawer to pull out the little stash. You shook your head and smiled as your toddler happily munched on her favorite snack, dropping crumbs all over Tony’s desk.

“Where’s Jethro?” you asked, also noticing the other missing agents.

“He’s with Bishop questioning some lady who might know where our suspect is hiding. Been gone a while, shouldn’t be too long of a wait.”

Jethro had told you their day was a bit slow since they hadn’t had any new leads so you decided to surprise him for a late lunch. You knew he wouldn’t want to leave the office so you brought food from his favorite Chinese restaurant. Figured you 3 could eat in the conference room or something.

“Oh, would you look at that. Bishops calling me now.” He picked up the phone while sitting at the edge of his desk. “Your ears must be burning Bishop-

He stopped his joking as his face got serious, catching your attention.

“What happened?….Did he get away?…..What hospital?”

You hoped to God they weren’t talking about Jethro as your worst nightmare started playing in your head.

“Alright. I’ll grab Ducky and Palmer and meet you there.”

He hung up the phone and you waited for his next words.

“The suspect was hiding out at the house. He shot Gibbs in the shoulder but he’s fine. They brought him to Sibley Memorial.”

Without another word, you were out of your seat and scooping your daughter up before heading for the elevator.

————

“Where we going mommy?” your little girl asked from the backseat as you drove.

“We’re gonna go see Daddy sweetheart. But we gotta be really gentle when we see him because he just got a big ouchies on his shoulder, ok?”

“Ok. How come Daddy got an ouchies?”

“Sometimes he gets ouchies when he’s working. Remember the ouchie he had on his knee?”

“From the bad guys!” she resolved proudly.

“That’s right. But don’t worry. Daddy got the bad guy.”

“Yay!”

She didn’t ask anymore questions after that thankfully. Sometimes it was difficult explaining Jethro’s job but she actually understood a lot of it, making it easier. She got all the smarts from Jethro you’re sure of it.

Once you arrived, you headed straight for the nurses station.

“Leroy Jethro Gibbs. He’s my husband, I believe he was brought in a little bit ago.”

The nurse typed a bit on the computer before nodding. “Looks like he just came out of surgery. Room 323. Third floor.”

You showed her your ID and received your visitors sticker, your daughter taking it immediately to stick it on herself. Then the two of you made your way through the hospital till you found his room. You were surprised when you saw him out of bed, buttoning up his dress shirt.

“Leaving against medical advice again Jethro?”

He looked up surprised and gave that half grin when he saw you two.

“Daddy!”

Your daughter dropped your hand and raced over to him as he crouched down to her level.

“Remember be gentle honey,” you reminded before she reached out for a hug.

Jethro picked her up easily with his good arm and gave her a kiss on her forehead.

“How’s my princess? You learn anything new at school?”

“We did numbers. And colors!”

“Wow. You are so smart, you know that? You’ll be taking Uncle McGee’s job before you know it.”

You just watched the two of them have their conversation with a smile. She loved talking with her dad. Whether it was about her favorite show or asking him what every one of his woodworking tools did. She was definitely more of a daddy’s girl than mommy’s. But you loved it. You loved the way Jethro’s face lit up everytime he saw her. He could be having the worst day at work and she would be the one to make him crack a smile.

“And mommy got you food,” she continued.

“She did? Well I’m hungry as a bear. And if I don’t eat something soon, I just might eat you!”

She squealed in laughter as he gave her kisses and walked over to you.

“You gave me quite a fright today Mr. Gibbs,” you chastened as he set your daughter down.

“I’m sorry about that Mrs. Gibbs. I’ll try harder not to.”

You two kissed deeply, happy that his injury wasn’t too severe and he was safe.

“Did I hear my daughter correctly when she said you bought me food?” he mumbled against your lips.

“Mm-hm. It’s at the office. Room temperature, just how you like it.”

He chuckled and gave you another kiss before taking your daughter’s hand in his and leading the way out of the hospital.

[hekates-corner]

The Apothecary Diaries | WN Translation | Arc 9 - Chapter 1

Hey there! Whether you found this on your own, or if you might've been redirected by a later chapter: Welcome.

For a number of reasons I ended up here. I play the wine-aunt that tells all that happens in the WN chapters, post light novel 9.

You can find a revised introduction in the Masterlist.

I relay everything from the chapters, to the best of my abilities, so be warned that all the spoilers are down below. If you'd like to get spoiled, but less? My dm's/asks are open!

Chapter 1

We re-enter the story with an explanation of it being spring - yet even in the carriage, the heat is more unbearable than in the capital at the hottest of times.. so, those that weren't in a carriage were suffering extra.

Like Chue said, as soon as they arrive they're summoned to be split into groups. One of the medical officers then explains that they'll split into three groups/groups of three before being stationed in the buildings. The confusion begins here, as they expected the groups from the ships to stay how they were.

Now it goes over to the middle ranks and Tianyu would end up with MaoMao and the quack. MaoMao agrees that she also thought he was/should be with Li/Lee.

We then get a whole paragraph about how the last name is so common that usually the people with it will just go by their first name - Lihaku is one such example.

As we already know, Tianyu/Tenyuu messed up a few times with a high ranking official that came to the medical room on the boat.bThe doctor that splits them into groups says that he can return to his original group.. if he behaves and Maomao takes silent note that the palast her and the quack are in has lower class people in it so despite them attending to more, it seemed easier.

The quack(?) then goes on to say that Tianyu should be fine with them, given that while he's bad at giving out meds, he's outstanding when it comes to surgery. Maomao mutters to herself "look at the quack.." but idk if anyone overhears it. At that point the quack's self doubt kicks in and he fidgets as he questions aloud if he can even teach Tianyu anything.

Tianyu says it's nice to meet the quack, then/while patting Maomao on the shoulder. Maomao responds with the usual “I look forward to working with you.”. She's already in front of the quack but the latter goes red in the face and shy and hides behind her xD Tianyu goes about the usual as well (calls the quack ojisan aka old man/uncle as well xD) and the quack can only shyly give back a “Ehm.. it's nice to meet you.”

I think it's the quack who then proceeds to say that while the location might change, the job of a doctor remains the same. Checking patients, that's it. If something happens, everyone has their subordinates and to contact them.

Maomao internally remarks that the person talking is an easygoing one - an understanding/easy to understand boss. She'd assumed they only picked people who could react flexibly despite a location change, but now she questions if they really have the atmosphere of people working in the field.

Tianyu then asks if they should move, he’s carrying his luggage and we get the info that the place where Maomao and the quack are meant to stay is Gyokuens villa. There’s mention of another major house that also appears to belong to Gyokuen (pls note that translators really struggle with the char names) and notes on how it shows how strong his power is that two of the three houses/palasts are his. The public office and main residence are even next to each other, with the annex being about a five minute walk away.

It then jumps to Maomao being in a room in the main residence. It’s a fancy one, a guest room that they decided to repurpose as medical room - in her eyes a tasteful room.

The palast is in the center of the town, yet it’s not as noisy as expected. Maomao mentions internally how it must be due to the size of it, as well as the walls and trees that block out the noise.

Outside of Maomao, the quack and Tianyu, there’s a messenger as well - the four were guided to their place by a local.

At long last, the quack says how it’s all exciting - “if his beard was still intact it would be swaying and dancing”. Despite being timid, the commotion of the town seems to get to him now.

Tianyu remains suspicious - while he does look around, it appears almost as if he’s judging it all instead of enjoying what he sees. Maomao ends up thinking to herself that he’s hard to grasp/understand.

The next paragraph is tougher to crack but the gist I got is that Maomao admits internally that she doesn’t know what he’s thinking. She can tell he has the personality type that would latch onto things he finds interesting and could imagine what his behavior would be like then but she can’t figure out what his interest is/could be.

There’s a “Hello?” coming from the door, Tianyu tilts his head and just as Maomao wonders what’s going on, she sees a familiar face. The other person seems to be of the same recognition impact mode.

“Long time no see” - Of course, it’s Rikuson.. who comes in, bowing respectfully. The tactician's former Lieutenant.

He’s still a good looking man, but he’s more tan than before (don’t shoot the messenger, it’s Maomaos mind and I can’t control it). His tan likely comes from the strong sunshine in the city. There are two people with him that appear to be holding documents.

Maomao & Tianyu reply with the same “long time no see” and Rikuson gives a “it’s been a while” back - the only one that gave a “who’s that” look was… the quack, of course.

Maomao wonders if Tianyu knows Rikuson.. and then kinda answers her own question by adding more filler. Tianyu is a medic student, but was already serving before her. The doctor's station is close to the military one, so it wouldn’t be surprising if they knew one another.

Maomao then glances at Tianyu, who despite saying hello doesn’t appear interested. The quack doesn’t know Rikuson so he’s shy as ever - given that they can’t just ignore him, Maomao admits defeat to the fact she has to do the talking.

She tells Rikuson that the quack is the head doctor/medical officer and she’s there to help him out and Rikusons like “head doctor?” while tilting his head as he looks at the quack.

Maomao, in her head, tries to remember the quacks name but it’s like.. not her forte. She almost forgot it again but then recalls it’s something along the lines of Guen.. and starts with a “Gu….” but just as she’s about to say it Tianyu steps up/in.

He says that the man is famous and Rikuson will understand if he says as little as that the man is a senior medical officer who’s been in the inner/rear palace for a long time. This whole thing goes back to the quack being a fake-out for Luomen/Maomaos adopted dad. Maomao was about to blow their cover but Rikuson takes the bait and is like “Oh, that guy” and kinda slaps one hand into the other.

For a moment Maomao’s confused, but then she understands what Tianyus intentions are and internally recalls that the quack is her old man's stand-in.

The next bit is another tougher one but I think it basically mentions mistreatment and that if Tianyu had the same idea as her then it would be better for Guen to be thought of as her old man rather than himself - ‘cause eunuch and all that.

Plus, she thinks that there’s no way Rikuson doesn’t know about the strategists uncle, Luomen, so Tianyus suggestive way of speaking making it clear that there’s only one medical officer in the inner/rear palace was fortunate.

Don’t ask me what that next line is supposed to be, however I look it up it’s her thinking that she doesn’t know where her eyes or ears are - I think it’s trying to say she’s confused or getting brain fog or something but like… I’m trying.

We then get a reminder that while this city is in the same country, it can be called foreign land. The two attendants Rikuson has with him are both from this town - so one has to be careful of what to say and what not to say.

Maomao then notices something, it could be Rikusons dirty clothes that we’ll come back to next chapter, but in short she ends up having nothing to say, while Tianyu doesn’t seem to have more to say either so she’s like “Rikuson-san seems busy, I’m sorry for taking up your time” aka a friendly just leave already.

Rikuson doesn’t take the bait and instead explains that he just returned from an outdoor trip. He also shares that he gets depressed if he stays in his office all the time, so every now and then he’ll go out.

Despite smiling, there was mud caked on the hem of his clothes - dried mud, though originally dark brown aka the fertile kind. Maomao wonders if he was out in the fields (throwback to locust/grasshopper mania).

We then get, you guessed it, more filler. It’s a dry city, with no puddles by the roadsides. Even if there were, it would likely be of a more whitish, nutritious color. The only place where fertile black mud would be found would be in irrigated fields. In that case, he would be on his way back from somewhere far and it would be better to think he’s not there by chance but that he purposefully came back when Maomao and the others arrived from Li/the capital.

Maomao (?) gives him a short “See you then. Your old boss will notice you if you talk too much”. It didn’t seem like Rikuson had more to say for now, but he was likely busy as well.. and Tianyu chuckles as he realizes who “the former boss” is.

While there are many things to think about, Maomao recalls the words of one of the doctors: Doctors just do a doctors work. And Apothecaries..? Well, they just do an apothecary's work.

| Chapter 2 & Masterlist

If you'd like to get notified when a new chapter drops, I'm open to sending a dm or tagging you - just let me know!

(please note that there are content differences between the web novel and light novel. I'm using the web novel, which isn't as polished as far as I've heard and doesn't have as much extra content)

[weabooweedwitch]

My sister is becoming such a hardcore alcoholic she's developing medical issues and doing brainless concerning really dirty nasty gross shit. the other week she found a random broken glass jar of pickles outside and literally brought it into our apartment to put the BROKEN GLASS in OUR KITCHEN SINK and. She ate the pickles she had no idea were out there for long or where they came from

It's after 2 in the morning on a weeknight in an apartment building and she has been continuously on and off the phone in our living room so drunk she's audibly burping and hooting and hollering and GASPING at like the top of her lungs and is continuously talking about me because she is trying to start a fight

Like literally actually not even a lie picture this: a woman who is 28 yeara old saying that she doesn't wash her hair because she dyes it (blue by the way, big shock there), so it is constantly visibly oily and greasy and literally leaving musty smells on the pillows she sleeps on. this woman then comes into the room where you are in and haven't spoken to her, haven't acknowledged her, and are clearly trying to avoid her and the person you are with is also avoiding her, and she's coming in not even needing anything, literally just coming in to tell you you're greasy because she has a disorder thar causes her to seek conflict and actually start fights where more people would walk away

Like literally actually she would be a small child and would go up to a grown alcoholic man who was known to have a violent temper and have an attitude directly to his face even knowing he hurt our mom because she literally WANTS to fight and she can't control it and actually it would be really sad if she didn't act like a white trash monster all the time

On Christmas she went to a bar and called my mom at like THREE IN THE MORNING to pick her up and a cop told my mom that a gas station attendant called 911 because she was so fucking drunk they were concerned and if my mom hadn't been able to come get her my sister would have been charged with a drunken disorderly, and if you ask her about it SHE JUST LIES, as if my mom wasn't directly told by a police officer what happened

It's just. It's so fucking hard because you have someone literally starting fights with you, like literally actually she got her feelings hurt and lunged at me and I had to defend myself and now she cries that I attacked her. I said something to hurt her feelings and she chased after me with a solid glass vodka bottle and was beating on my bedroom door screaming in rage while mom watched horrified. My mom and I are scared of her insane alcoholic mood swings and we want her to move out and we want to never hear from her again because all we hear from her is the same old story we've heard her entire life: Emily is getting drunk and emotional and constantly causing herself severe, significant problems

I have to keep working to help support my mom in case we get evicted because of, I don't even want to call her my sister anymore, but it's hard when she literally goes out of her way to try and run both of us down. Our mom is almost 60 with chronic physical pain and this loser will literally bully her for weed she doesn't even need, like literally actually waking her up for it. There's only a 20 pound difference between us and she acts like I'm over 500 pounds when she is the one who is binging so excessively when drunk that we started deliberately limiting the amount of food in the house and she just thinks we're being lazy and not going grocery shopping but it's because of her

We just want her to leave but she doesn't even realize how much money it would take to get her out of here so she's just terrorizing the entire building in the meantime. and the saddest thing is my father literally doesn't even care because my mom told me he actually never even wanted kids to begin with and it explains SO much about his behavior. He heard my sister and I gad a physical fight and he literally didn't even care, he just said we knew what my sister was like before we brought her here and we got what we asked for.

I guess we did? Because as sad as it is to say, she's literally the exact same as she was when she moved away from us over 10 years ago and we had just been expecting her to have grown up in all these years, and me and mom have realized the reason she even moved away was ultimately because she wanted to run away and do whatever she wanted and has been spiraling ever since

It's just sad. I'm still trying to cut her out of my heart because it only gets worse from here. If she doesn't get treatment she isn't going to survive and she doesn't want treatment and she doesn't want to survive either. And I have to keep telling myself and my mom.... that unfortunately there's nothing we can do about that. And it's hard.

[xanadontit]

If my mom got therapy she could easily pay for a therapist’s kitchen remodel

Family shitshow but from MY side just to switch things up. Keep it fresh!

Background: my mom found out in her 40s that she was adopted at birth. She stumbled upon her adoption paperwork and was in shock. My grandpa was long gone and my grandma was dealing with dementia. Extended family didn’t offer much help and even my uncle said “They left the house on Christmas Eve to run an errand and came back with you. They said ‘this is your baby sister, NAME’ and we never talked about it again.” My uncle was 12.

My mom found her birth mother via a PI and it turns out she was the product of an extramarital affair. Her bio mom was married with three kids and when she told her husband she was pregnant by another man (obvious because he was stationed abroad) he told her to “deal with it” or he’d divorce her and take their children. Since it was 1955 the options were throw herself down some stairs or adoption, and she asked her MIL for help. The MIL got her in touch with my grandparents (she and my grandma were cousins) and they agreed to adopt the baby with a few stipulations: 1) closed adoption 2) my grandparents would pay all medical expenses 3) none of them would speak of this again. The birth mother agreed, and a few months later my grandparents picked her up from the hospital. A couple years later my grandparents moved to the mainland. The birth mother stayed with her husband until his death a few years ago and they went on to have one more child.

Mom has been in touch with her birth mother over the years, but it didn’t really pick up until her husband died. Apparently he was still salty about the affair 60 years later, but confessed on his deathbed that he made his wife give up a baby. Mom has met two of her half siblings and is touch with all of them. Three are still in Hawaii and one is just a little over an hour from my mom in CA. They have been enthusiastic about getting to know my mom and seem nice enough.

My mom wasn’t having much luck with finding her birth father; her bio mom’s husband was listed on the birth certificate and her bio mom couldn’t remember the guy’s last name (girl, I get it) giving my mom basically nothing to go on. 23andme gave her tons of matches on her bio mom’s side, but she recently got a hit on Ancestry. Her bio dad died last year. Through some FB sleuthing she found some siblings and reached out. She’s been talking to a half brother for a few days now. No one had any idea about her existence and she seems almost...offended? When I asked her what the hell she expected the man to say she admitted she didn’t know. “I had an affair with a married woman and she gave up our baby for adoption. No idea if it was a boy or a girl or where they live. Have fun!” Like, come on, Mom. 

We’ve been invited to the birth mother’s 90th birthday party this month and we’re going. My stepdad has finals and E opted to stay home and let us enjoy the mother-daughter trip (lol he just doesn’t want to deal with my mom and I totally respect that) so it’ll be the two of us. And yes, we both have mixed feelings about visiting Hawaii knowing the native population has been vocal about not bringing Covid to the islands but this woman is turning 90 and we’re not going to have a lot of chances. Plus as she said “Well, I’m inviting you and will give you a pass for being from the mainland.” Lol. 

Obviously some nerves are kicking in and we’ve been talking about the visit and my mom mentioned that she has an old photo of her birth dad from his obituary and is planning to show that to her birth mom and tell her the man is dead. I have no idea why - other than causing drama and hurting feelings in the name of “telling it like it is” - she is planning to do this. What does this serve? Who does this help? Can I not be there when this happens so none of these people think I condone this? 

It’s so on brand for my mom to be able to turn a trip to one of the most relaxing places on earth into something anxiety-inducing. I know she’s also relying on me to be her emotional support daughter and the fun, outgoing one as we meet 40+ relatives and if I don’t perform my duties to her liking it’ll be a whole thing. She did spring for first class tickets though so it won’t be all terrible!

[mrsmaybank]

My Little Sun - Reid x Reader

“Ridiculously perfect.” I held her tighter as she looked up at me and our eyes locked, “I’ve fallen ridiculously in love with you.” “So my evil plan worked then?” She chirped.

CONTENT WARNINGS: AGE GAP, VIOLENCE, KIDNAPPING, PREGNANCY, STALKING, LANGUAGE probably the misuse of a Russian word  IF THERES MORE LMK 

A/N: Okay, let me be honest rq this idea lowk scared me but the words really just fell out of my brain really easily so, yk fuck it whatever.  ANYWAY, if you like, please let me know! 

pt 2, pt 3 “I love you Spencer.” The words immediately melted me. 

“I know so many things.” She gave me an unapproving look. 

“I don’t mean to sound cocky, but I do! Now for once in your life, listen to me.” She nodded her head in concession.

“I’ve just read more, I’ve written more, I’ve discovered and studied more than the average person. I could tell you a little bit about anything with one hundred percent certainty. I could--and want--to tell you the names of all the stars, I could recite verbatim the entirety of Prometheus Bound by Aeschylus or Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov, which you know, speaking of I will ‘cause I still can’t believe you haven’t read it,” Her smile flattened into a straight line, and I laughed. “Orrr, I could also tell you something simple, like why we get the hiccups.” I shook my head. 

“Regardless, I know so many things and I’m rarely taken by surprise because of it. Everything in life is a pattern of change, and as a human, we will always adjust and adapt to whatever situation we are in. For better or worse, we don’t feel the same thing for very long. This is why an addict takes a couple more every time, a sadist hits his second victim harder than the first, they’re searching for the high of the first time, and it will never come.”

She nodded in understanding, 

 “I know this is true, it’s factual, and yet every time I look at you it feels like the first. You’ve broken the laws of human psychology.” 

“First time you saw me was at a gas station Spencer.” 

“No. The first time I looked at you after I knew I loved you.” 

“Where were we?” 

“My car. You were dancing. You looked ridiculous.” 

“Ridiculously sexy? You mean?” She smiled. 

“Ridiculously perfect.” I held her tighter as she looked up at me and our eyes locked, “I’ve fallen ridiculously in love with you.” 

“So my evil plan worked then?” She chirped.

“It did indeed. You’ve become my solnyshko moyo.”

“Tell me that’s Russian dirty talk.” She said with a grin. 

“It’s better. It’s a term of endearment you’ve become the epitome of.” 

“And what’s that Dr. Reid?” she giggled. 

“My little sun. You’ve become my little sun. Following me around and bringing light and warmth.” She snuggled herself impossibly closer into my chest, wrapping one of her legs over mine. 

“Except for your feet!” I shrieked at her freezing toes meeting mine. 

“They’re not that cold you big baby!” she shouted. 

I laughed and kissed her sweetly, “I am not the baby here.” I said.  

“Please,” she started until I interrupted her with a kiss, “If you’re not the baby,” I kissed her again, “That implies I’M the baby,” Kiss, “And I’m not a” Kiss. 

“Shush baby.” I told her, but like always, she didn’t listen, instead sitting up to straddle me. My appreciation for her beauty was like how a prisoner appreciates freedom, and yet it was miniscule into what I found in her character. It blew my mind that a girl so perfect existed. 

“Rarely do great virtue and beauty dwell together. Francesco Petrarch.” I started, my hands making their way onto her hips, “That makes you a rarity.” 

“You’re spoiling me with nice words today Spencer.” “You’ve spoiled me. My frontal lobe is spoiled milk.” She laughed, wondering how I was going to manage to make this one romantic. 

“That’s the part of the brain responsible for sensibility and logical thinking, and you, little girl, have positively ruined it. You make me stupid.”

“I ruined the genius Dr. Reid with the 187 IQ? Makes sense. I’m like, way smarter.” 

“You are. So, so much smarter.” 

“I want that in writing.” she poked my chest. 

I pulled her down and kissed her forehead to whisper in her ear. “Not a chance.”

She pushed herself away and rolled her eyes at me like a bratty child does her nanny, and I continued, “ You’re smarter, but I’m more educated. I have more doctorates than you have years in university.” 

“Whatever…”

I brushed the hair away from her perfect face, “You tired baby?” 

She sighed and laid down, splaying herself on my chest, laying on me like I was the duvet. “Very.” 

I held her impossibly close, breathing in her scent and counting every time her heart thumped, her bpm said she was relaxed. Oh god, I wanted her like this forever. Relaxed in my arms, where nothing could touch us but each other. 

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“Must you work?” I sent the message to Spencer as I rolled over to his side of the bed in anticipation. I breathed in heavy, liking the way the pillow smelled like his laundry.

“Unfortunately.”  he responded. “Think you’ll be home this weekend?” 

“It’s not looking like it, little one. I’m sorry.” 

I didn’t reply. I was too sad to reply. I knew it’d make him feel guilty, which I didn’t want to do, cause like, his job and saving people and shit is important. But, it still wasn’t fair! At all. There was something very important I had to tell him. 

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

Total darkness, and then way too much light. My head hurt and I couldn’t move. I was handcuffed to a wooden chair. There were chains around my torso and ankles. The room was a medical sort of bright. It smelled like bleach and rotting fruit. The walls were dilapidated, seeming to be made of tiles that were once white, but have turned yellow. 

What the FUCK? 

“Hello!” I shouted. My voice was so coarse it hurt. Shit. My head pulsed so badly it practically hurt to think, but I still racked my brain. 

Where am I? 

How’d I get here? 

Why am I here? 

I woke up again. Fuck, why can’t I think? Why can’t I do anything? 

“Hey, y/n.” A woman’s voice. A very stoic, cold, sounding female voice.

I’m not alone. Thank god, oh my god, I’m not alone. 

With the little strength I had, I lifted my head to see her. She wasn’t what I thought. She was alright, she wasn’t tied. She did this to me? 

She took a sip from her silver flask, “Do you know who I am?” 

I shook my head. “No.” 

“Typical.” She stood up and grabbed me by the hair, “You fucking disgust me.” Like, she said, she threw my hair away like it disgusted her. 

She sat back down on the bench in front of the chair I was chained to, “My name is Brook Austen. I was a professor at Georgetown last year. Taught a couple seminars at your school, that little university you go to, the students there were nothing like mine. Not nearly as intelligent, but as expected, Georgetown is much more prestigious, obviously.”

I was confused, and she knew, but did not care. 

“You’re not the brightest, y/n. Only slightly above average high school grades, strikingly mediocre academic performance now.”

Where the hell is she going with this? 

“And you know it doesn’t surprise me, per say, because every man on this goddamn planet is a piece of fucking shit! But I thought that, maybe, just maybe, Spencer was different.” 

She grimaced, “I thought he’d want more than just a pretty face! ‘Cause you might be prettier y/n, but I’m smarter.” Her words were laced with utter hatred. 

Her demeanor changed, and it almost started to seem like she was talking to herself. “I'm older. I’m more successful. I’m fucking better.” 

She approached me again, grabbing my face so I was looking her in those scarily light green eyes, and she wrapped her hands around my throat.  “I’m fucking better then you! Better, better, better!” Every time she said better she shook my neck and gripped tighter so I couldn’t breathe. 

“Stop! Please! Please stop!” I shouted, “I’m-I’m pregnant!” 

She began to break down, “You’re pregnant?” A maniacal chuckle left her throat, “You’re pregnant?”  

“Is it Spencer’s?” she asked. 

I nodded. 

“Wow.” She laughed once more, “Fucking wow.” 

“How could Spencer choose this!? You’re nothing like him. You are a pathetic fucking college student. A fucking daddy issue ridden slut! I’m a celebrated academic, just like him!” Tears began to slip from her eyes, “How could he not choose me?”

This woman is NOT well in the head. 

“You--you like Spencer?” I asked. 

“You don’t get to ask the fuckin’ questions here.” She pulled a knife out of her pocket and held it to the tip of my chin, “I do. So you’re gonna answer them.” Or, she started manically laughing, “I’ll kill you.” She swallowed, “And your baby.” 

I screamed at those words, “No,” I sobbed, “NO!” 

I turned my head away so I didn’t have to look at the woman in front of me, there was a timed red dot blinking. A camera. 

“Is that-- is that a camera?” 

She nodded, “I want Spencer to see you and his child die.” 

“He….No! No, please, No!” I choked on a sob and she smiled. 

“He doesn’t know.” She paced, “He doesn’t even fucking know!” 

She waltzed over to the camera and brought it closer to us, “Hey Spencer.” She began waving, “Hey Penelope. Aaron. Derek. Jennifer. Emily.” 

Her demeanor changed once more, into that of a cheerleader of all things, “So, quick recap.” Brook pursed her lips, “Spencer your twenty three year old fucktoy is pregnant. Congrats!” 

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

Y/N was two things I didn’t know she was this morning: In serious danger, and the mother of my expected child. I felt frozen in trepidation. 

We all watched in horror as Brook greeted us. All by first name. She knew exactly what she was doing and it freaked me out even more. 

“Reid, you need to step out.” Hotch grabbed my shoulder, “Now.” 

I was sick with fear and ill with rage. I sat down because I could feel my knees go weak. Hotch started again, “We know who she is. We will find her. Y/N will be alright.” He paused, “So will the baby.” 

I replayed the events of the live footage in my head, her screams of pain and terror, her trembles and confusion. I’d failed her. I’d failed her and now I knew I’d also failed our child. 

JJ sat down next to me, “Spencer, when did you meet Brook?” 

“I uh,” I wiped my face, “A year and four months ago. I did uh, I taught uh, I taught a string of seminars at Georgetown. It was biweekly. Her office was next to mine. We spoke for the first time when she offered me a coffee.” 

“What did you say?” 

“What do you think I said?” 

“Yes.” 

“Yeah, I said yeah, I fucking like coffee.” I felt instantaneously guilty for cursing, and especially at JJ but I was too frazzled for it to last long enough to apologize. 

“I know Spence, I’m sorry. Just keep going.” 

“Then, the next week, we got lunch together.” 

“Was it, you know, friendly?” 

“What are you implying Jennifer?” I snapped. 

“No Spence, we just need to know. You know that.” 

“It was-- it was just lunch. A very normal colleague to colleague lunch. We talked about the school’s history. And uh, where we grew up. It was small talk.” 

“Ok, was this the last time you spoke to her?” 

“No. There was one more time. Y/N was there.” 

“Tell me about it Spence.” She grabbed my hand, 

I breathed out, “It was the next week I taught after lunch. About two hours before my class. I was lesson planning, and Y/N was doing homework on my desk. She came in. She asked if I wanted to go get lunch. She saw y/n and--Fuck.” 

“What Spence? What?” 

“She asked me who she was, but it was like, she didn’t want y/n to know she was asking. She thought she was…”

“She thought she was what?” 

“A student.” 

“And what did you tell her?”  

“The truth. That she was my girlfriend.” 

“Did you see her anywhere else after that?”

“No. She never came by my office again. When I would see her by chance, she would scurry away. It was strange.” 

“Think really hard Spence. Did you ever see her again after you stopped teaching at Georgetown.”

I racked my brain, “Yeah. I did. It was two months ago. Three days after I proposed to y/n. She was getting a coffee at this coffee shop by y/n’s school.. I was bringing her some lunch” 

“Spencer she's been stalking you. Your proposal was the stressor.” 

“But--I’m a profiler. I would’ve noticed.” I stood up with a realization.            “What Spence?” JJ asked, standing up as well to look at me. 

“She’s been stalking her, not me. She knew I was a part of the BAU, she knew I would’ve noticed.” 

“I’ll tell the team.” 

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A/N2:  If this doesn’t totally flop, I’ll write PT 2, that elaborates on the reader’s and Spencer’s relationship. I think through flashbacks from both Y/N and Spencer would be a cool way to explore their relationship and of course the whole reader being kidnapped thing plot could develop. Again, if you enjoyed this pls let me know!!

[andvys]

Fine line part one 

warnings: angst, enemies to lovers, slow burn, reader thinks she’s straight and has a boyfriend, cheating

pairing: Ellie Williams x reader, oc character x reader

author’s note: as requested this will be an enemies to lovers fic! also as stated in the warnings already, reader has a boyfriend and thinks she is straight, don’t worry Ellie will fix that and make her realize a few things about herself.

You were just coming back from a long exhausting and unsuccessful trip, you were assigned to look for guns, ammo and medication but you weren't able to find anything. All the hospitals and police stations where picked clean already.

Jackson wasn't in the best state lately, you’ve almost been overrun by a herd a few weeks ago, you had to use up all the ammo that you had and it was a lot, now you had barely anything left and the infirmary didn't look good either, everyone was on edge, some people died and some ended up badly injured when a part of the herd managed to get through one of the fences , one guy got his arm amputated because a runner managed to bite him. It was crazy, nothing like that ever happened in Jackson before.

You were out there looking for supplies all day, you were beginning to grow frustrated, Jackson had almost no ammo left, if the Hunters attacked, you wouldn't know if Jackson was strong enough to fight without the guns.

You were about to go home when you were stopped by Tommy.

“hey kid, did everythin’ go okay out there?” he asked.

“yeah but I found nothing except for some single bullets.” you sighed, looking down.

“it’s okay, all that matters is that you’re back.” he said, putting a hand on your shoulder.

“yeah, I won’t stop looking until I find something.” you promised him, making him smile at you.

“yeah I know y/n. Maria actually wanted to talk to you about something.” he told you.

“oh? now?” you asked.

“yeah better go talk to her now, I think she’s talking to Ellie right now.” he said. “I gotta go now though.” he said, smiling at you before he left.

Nodding your head, you watched him leave, furrowing your brows, you wondered what Maria wanted to talk to you about.

“okay then.” you sighed, as you started walking towards the bar, where you'd most likely find Maria. Her office was in the back so you knew she’d be there.

-

You didn’t know what she could want from you but you were curious as you walked into the bar. You saw her sitting on a barstool talking to Ellie, who looked pissed off for whatever reason.

The sight of her here made you roll your eyes, this reminded you of the last time both you and Ellie were called to talk to Maria when you were getting some scolding from the woman because of how careless both you and Ellie were on the group patrol and that was two years ago.

Walking over to them, you greeted Maria but avoided looking at Ellie.

“hello y/n, how was trip?” she asked, smiling at you. “find anything?”

“hi.. well I ran into a lot of infected again but I found nothing. Unfortunately. I’m sorry Maria.” you told her, feeling bad that you came back with empty hands. You looked at Ellie who was glancing at you before looking away when you saw her looking at you.

Maria nodded her head, “it’s okay, come on we gotta talk.” she said, getting up from the barstool she started walking into the backroom, motioning you both to follow her.

You glanced at Ellie, who just sighed before following Maria.

You walked into the room and closed the door, before taking a seat on the chair by her table across from her, Ellie sat down on the chair next to you and crossed her arms over her chest.

“We are running low on supplies, the armory looks bad, we barely have any ammo left and we are running low on medication too.” she said.

You knew that already but you didn't get why she was telling this to you and Ellie.

“we sent groups out to the Hospitals and old army bases closest to Jackson but there were just limited supplies and we need more but you know that already y/n.” she said, referring to your trip.

“umm okay.. and how can we help?” you asked, scratching the back of your neck nervously.

“we need guns, ammo, medication and we won't find it here. I know a place you could find everything that we need but it’s a long trip.” she told you watching your reactions closely. “I’m sending you both out for that.”

You and Ellie stayed quiet, she was the last person you wanted to go on a trip with but you wouldn't dare to open your mouth and say anything stupid in front of Maria.

You and Ellie were the worst patrol partners ever, you always got distracted from what you actually had to do because you’d always get into fights or make it a competition on who killed more infected and now you had to go on a trip together? This would end bad.

Maria looked at both you and Ellie, noticing your unimpressed expressions. She sighed, “girls. you need to put your differences aside for a second and focus on the fact that Jackson is in danger.”

“okay but why do we have to go? just us two?” Ellie asked, annoyed.

“we can’t send more people out and leave Jackson even weaker and you two are one of the fittest and strongest for the job. y/n goes on trips all the time and you are a great fighter. you’ll make a great pair.” she told you, leaning back in her seat.

Ellie scoffed at her words, she didn't want to spend time with you, especially for this long.

“you're an adult now Ellie, you need to start taking things seriously, you're not a child anymore.” Maria scolded her.

You snorted at the fact that Ellie got scolded by Maria as if she was a kid that stole someone else’s toy and had to face the consequences now.

Ellie sent you a death glare before looking back at Maria.

“and you too y/n.” she told you sternly, you straightened your back and glanced at Ellie who was smirking at you now.

“alright.” you mumbled.

“good.” Maria said, before pulling out her map. You glanced over at Ellie who was glaring at you, rolling your eyes at her you looked back at Maria.

“alright let me explain everything to you.” she said as she laid out the map in front of you and Ellie.

She explained you the road to the places you could find supplies in, she also marked up areas that you should avoid and areas that you could find shelter in.

She gave Ellie the map and gave you the list of the supplies you would have to find.

"can I trust you two to do this?” she asked, looking at you both.

Both you and Ellie nodded your heads at her, you wouldn't dare to disappoint Maria. You knew that if the circumstances were different and Jackson wasn't in danger then both you and Ellie would protest at going on a trip together but this was serious and if Maria told you to do it then you wouldn't say no to the woman.

“good, you’re leaving tomorrow.” she told you. “I want you to look after each other and I want you both back in one piece, got it?”

You knew that both you and Ellie would ignore one another and would try to get this trip over with as soon as possible.

"yes.” you nodded.

“yeah.” Ellie said.

“alright, well then. good luck girls.”

-

Both you and Ellie walked out of the bar, running into Dina on the way out, she looked between you and Ellie in surprise.

“oh hey, you two together?” she teased, knowing how much you both disliked each other.

Both you and Ellie rolled your eyes at the girl, causing Dina to laugh.

“so Maria talked to you?” you looked at her in surprise.

“huh?” you asked, how did she know about it?

Ellie looked at her with furrowed brows.

“well.. about the trip?” she asked.

“how do you know about it?” Ellie asked her in confusion.

“umm hello? I’m always going to the towns meetings, I know everything.” she chuckled.

“what does the towns meeting has to do with that?” you asked.

“well, they were talking about the limited supplies and which two people wold have to go on that trip.” she shrugged.

“and?”

“well it was decided that it would be you two.” she said, avoiding looking at you.

Realization dawned on you, “wow.. it was already decided before we were even asked.” you chuckled.

Ellie mumbled something under her breath, clearly not impressed with the situation.

You weren’t exactly fond of the idea either, you could’ve gone alone on that trip but you knew Maria would’ve never allowed it and as much as you disliked Ellie, you had to admit that she was a good fighter and you could count on her if you ended up in a bad situation. As much as she hated you, she wouldn't let you die, she’d have your back. She proved it on previous patrols, even though you butted heads back then.

“anyways what are you doing tonight?” she asked you both. “wanna get some drinks before you guys leave?”

“sure.” Ellie shrugged.

Dina looked over at you with a hopeful look on her face as she was waiting for an answer. You liked Dina and you loved spending time with her, she always tried to convince you that Ellie wasn't as bad as you thought she was but so far Ellie did nothing to prove you wrong of your thoughts about her.

“hmm I don’t know, I haven’t seen Ethan since I left and I won't see him for a few weeks now so..” you trailed off.

Ellie rolled her eyes at the mention of your boyfriend, you knew she hated him and the feeling was mutual.

“oh right.. well if you change your mind you'll know where to find us.” she told you, smiling at you “I gotta go, see you guys later.” she said before walking away.

You looked over at Ellie who looked pissed, super pissed.

You weren't happy about this situation either but being angry and mad at this situation wouldn't get you anywhere.

Ellie looked over at you when she felt your eyes on her, “what?” she asked.

“nothing.” you replied before you turned around and left to go home, wanting to get away from the girl.

Ellie rolled her eyes, looking at you for the last time before she went into the opposite direction.

-

You walked into your house and put your backpack down, you called out your boyfriends name but he was no where to be found.

“great.” you mumbled as you walked into your bedroom.

You walked over to your dresser to pick some clean clothes out, you turned around and looked around the room, something felt off but you didn't know what it was.

Everything was just like you left it but something was bothering you, as if the energy in the room was off.

Shaking your head, you convinced yourself that you were just tired and were imagining things.

You walked into the bathroom and closed the door to take a shower.

The past few weeks have been exhausting, fighting the herd, helping rebuild the fences and always looking out for supplies really took a toll on you and your body, you were exhausted but you had no time to rest, you had to stay focused and find the supplies Jackson needed, you knew that the following weeks would be even more exhausting, especially with Ellie around. You knew she’d give you a hard time.

-

Once you got done taking a shower, you put your clothes on and left the bathroom to find your boyfriend walking through the door, looking at you in surprise.

“oh hey! I didn't know you were back already.” he smiled at you, walking towards you.

“hi, yeah came back a while ago.” you told him, he kissed you and pulled you into a hug.

You gave him a small smile.

“where have you been?” you asked him. You knew he had watch duty at night so he had the day off.

“I-uh was helping out at the infirmary.” he said, scratching the back of his neck.

“infirmary? since when? you faint when you see blood.” you scoffed. 

“ah-.. it was for sorting out the meds.” he stuttered, still touching his neck.

You knew he was nervous about something, you could read him well and you sensed there was something off but you weren't in the mood to get into a fight and you had yet to tell him about the trip.

Nodding your head, you sighed “I’m leaving again.” you told him, not wanting to beat around the bush any longer.

His brows furrowed as he looked at you in confusion. “again? where?”

“yeah, Maria talked to me, she’s sending me out to a place she found a while back. It’s got everything we need, guns, ammo, medical supplies.” you told him, eying his reaction closely.

“alone?” he asked.

“..no.” you mumbled, you knew he wouldn’t be happy about it, if there was anyone that disliked Ellie more than you did then it was definitely him.

“who are you going with y/n?” he asked with a slightly aggressive tone.

“Ellie.” you told him, looking at him, you noticed how angry his face has gotten.

He scoffed, “of course..” he mumbled.

You didn't really understand his reaction, you were the one that had to be around her not him so you didn't really get what the problem here was.

“alright well there isn’t much we can do about it.. just come back to me yeah?” he said, gripping your hips tightly.

You were definitely coming back to Jackson.

“sure.” you mumbled, pushing him away when he tried kissing your neck “I'm not in the mood.” you mumbled.

“when are you ever in the mood?” he scoffed before turning around to go into the kitchen.

You rolled your eyes, it was true though, you were never in the mood to have sex with him, you didn't know why, he was attractive but for some reason you didn't like being touched by him. You don’t know if that was a normal thing in relationships to happen but you felt nothing when he was touching you and you hated having his hands on your body.

“I'm sorry, I'm tired.” you told him as you followed him.

“it’s fine, I gotta go soon anyways.” he said.

Furrowing your brows, you looked at him in confusion “where?”

“I'm on watch, y/n..” he replied in annoyance.

“at night though..” you pointed out “it’s like 6 pm right now.”

“just-.. I have to go earlier.”

“okay, whatever.” you scoffed, knowing he was lying to you.

You turned around and went back into your bedroom to put your shoes on, tying your shoe laces you thought about where he could go to, his watch started at 10 pm, clearly he wouldn't start four hours earlier.

That anxious feeling in your stomach told you what you needed to know already but you pushed that thought away.

He wouldn't betray you like this would he?

You were mad at him so you walked past the kitchen without telling him where you'd go before you left the house to go to take a walk.

-

Ellie walked into the bar, spotting Dina and Jesse sitting at a small table in the corner of the room, Jesse saw her and waved her over. 

She ordered herself a drink before walking over to them, greeting them she sat down next to Jesse, across from Dina.

“so Ellie..” Jesse started, smirking at her already. “Dina here told me about your upcoming trip. You excited?” he teased her, knowing that she was anything but excited.

She gave him a death glare before rolling her eyes. “yeah totally excited.” she mumbled under her breath. 

“oh come on Ellie, what's the problem here exactly?” Dina asked looking over at her in curiosity. 

Ellie furrowed her brows at her “umm.. y/n is the problem.” she exclaimed.

“she is actually very nice you know?” Jesse said, you were one of his best friends, so he always defended you from Ellie’s cruel words directed at you.

“..nice yeah..” Ellie muttered, taking a sip of her drink. “you wouldn't have said that if you were the ones who first met her.” 

Dina chuckled “you know neither you or y/n told us about what happened. You guys just mention it and then brush it off.” Dina pointed out.

“well it’s not worth talking about.” Ellie shrugged.

“clearly not when you mention it all the time.” Jesse replied sarcastically.

Ellie rolled her eyes, he was right, both you and Ellie would briefly mention your first encounter but would never go into detail.

“whatever, I just hope the trip goes smoothly.” she said, changing the subject. 

“maybe it’s gonna give you guys a chance to start over.” Dina said, smiling at her, she always hoped that you two would just put the “hate” aside and just give each other a second chance at becoming friends.

Ellie looked down at her glass, swirling the brown liquid around, thinking about the trip and you.

“you know I don’t think you hate her.” Jesse snapped her out of her thoughts.

“what?” she asked, as she looked at him.

“I think you’re mistaken it for something else.” he stated, taking a sip of his drink.

Dina listened to her boyfriend intently, curious about what he was gonna say next.

“and what is that?” Ellie chuckled nervously.

“well.. there’s a fine line between love and hate you know..” he stated.

Dina thought about it and nodded at his words.

Ellie scoffed and started shaking her head furiously. 

“are you telling me I love her now?” she laughed in disbelief.

“well.. not love but I think there’s a little something in you that liker her and thinks she is hot and attractive. I mean everyone thinks y/n is hot.” he chuckled looking over to his girlfriend “sorry Dina.” 

Dina laughed “it's fine, she is hot. If I wasn't dating you, I’d be dating her.” she smirked at her boyfriend who only laughed in response.

Ellie watched their interaction, shaking her head at them.

“just because she is hot doesn't mean that I like her.” Ellie scoffed making them smirk.

“so you do think she is hot?” Jesse laughed.

Ellie rolled her eyes at her friends. 

“I'm not blind Jesse, she is hot but she is a fucking bitch.” 

“Ellie!” Dina gasped at her words, she knew Ellie could be harsh with her words especially when they were directed at you but it still shocked her every time.

“damn Ellie.” Jesse shook his head at her.

“it’s the truth.” she shrugged as she got up to her herself another drink. 

She turned around her left, she did feel bad for insulting you like that and she didn't even know why she did that, all the time, it’s like you were her personal punching bag. You had never been mean towards her, you never insulted her the way she insulted you and have never really given her a reason to hate you, your first meeting was just an excuse. It was in the past.

Ellie was nervous about going on that trip with you, she knew this would change something between you, just not in the way that she expected it to be.

-

You were still walking around Jackson when it was dark out already and it got colder, you regretted not bringing a flannel with you but you weren’t in the mood to go home yet, you desperately tried to clear your head but too much was on your mind.

The summer days in Jackson were hot during the daytime but would get quiet chilly once the sun went down. 

You were snapped out of your thoughts when you saw someone walking towards you or at least into the direction you were coming from. 

It was hard to make out who it was because of how dark it was but soon realized that it was Ellie. 

Great she’s the last person I wanna see right now you thought to yourself.

You wanted to walk past her but she had a different idea. 

“your boyfriend don’t have time for you?” she asked mockingly as she stopped in front of you. 

You rolled your eyes at her and crossed your arms over your chest.

“what do you care?” 

“I don’t.” she shrugged. 

“yeah whatever.” you mumbled as you dropped your arms to your sides and went to walk past her but she blocked your way again.

“what the hell do you want from me?” you asked in annoyance, she was never this way, if anything she avoided you like the plague and would just walk past you, ignoring you. 

She was closer to you now so you could make out the whiskey smell, realization dawned on you. She was drunk.

“did you seriously get drunk a day before we have to leave?” you asked in disbelief. 

“maybe you should do that too, it would help you be less bitter.” she shrugged.

Shaking your head at her, you closed your eyes and took a deep breath. 

“I am not bitter.. you know what.. just move out of my way.” you mumbled.

“are you sure you're not? I mean with that boyfriend of yours everyone would be bitter.” she scoffed, looking annoyed.

What the hell was her problem? 

“alright, what the hell do you mean?”  

“I don’t like you but even you deserve better.” she shrugged.

“wh-what?” you asked, confused about her words.

“why don’t you see for yourself..” she mumbled, stepping aside. 

You furrowed your brows at her words, she looked at you with a serious expression on her face. 

You looked at her one last time and started walking away from her and towards the watch tower where your boyfriend was supposed to be right now. 

You wondered what Ellie meant, you were curious but nervous, something felt off but you didn't know what it was until you got closer to the watch tower and heard someone giggling and it sure as hell wasn't your boyfriend. 

You already knew what was going on up there but you still wanted to be sure, so you went over to the ladder and climbed up.

Your heart was racing in your chest and your hands were shaking as you gripped the ladder tightly. 

You climbed up just enough to see what you were already suspected, your boyfriend was there with another girl, his flannel was unbuttoned and her shirt was off leaving her in a bra, he was gripping her waist tightly and kiss her neck as he was pressing kisses on her neck. 

You were shocked and surprised but the fact that he touched her this way didn't even hurt you for some reason but his betrayal did. You hated people who betrayed you and broke your trust. 

You scoffed quietly and went to climb down the ladder, trying to avoid being seen, you weren't in the mood to get into a fight with him in front of his bitch, she clearly knew he had a girlfriend but still. 

Angry tears welled up in your eyes, as you made your way back home, you were mad and felt disgusted at what you just saw, if there was anything that you hated the most aside from infected and enemies it was cheaters, you would never forgive anything like that. 

You desperately wanted to get out of Jackson right now and were more than happy for that trip now. 

One thing was for sure, your boyfriend was now your ex boyfriend.

[doctorstethoscope]

The Right Chapter 23 || Aaron Hotchner x Fem Reader

hello my loves! Some of you may have already seen this, but I have news! This fic is officially complete. There are thirty chapters, so you still have seven left after today’s update. I’ll be keeping the usual Tuesday/Saturday posting schedule, so you have a month left of updates.

Now that I am done drafting this fic, my requests will be open while I begin to bank up new chapters of the Hotch x Reader Scandal!AU that I plan to write next. Please send in requests here. I would also LOVE if you could fill out this survey about the Scandal!AU so I can get a sense of what you all would like. I will make sure to write it in a way that makes sense, even if you haven’t seen Scandal! 

As always, thanks so much for reading, y’all are just the best. 

Read previous chapters of this fic here!

contains: canon-typical descriptions of violence, cursing, hospital mention

wordcount: 2.3k 

A little while later, Hotch sends JJ and Emily to the school to interview the classmates of the students who had been murdered, and you and Morgan head off to the medical examiner’s office. 

“Find anything interesting in the calls from the tip line?” Morgan asks you as he pulls out of the parking lot, and you shrug. 

“I need to go back through my notes. There were a couple kids' names that came up, but I want to go back and cross check for the names that came up more than once-- i figure if the name only comes up once, it’s kids pranking each other and I don’t want to waste our time on dead ends. Garcia’s looking into a teacher for me, though.” 

“We just need a couple more puzzle pieces, and then it’ll all come together,” Derek says, more to himself than to you, and you murmur out your agreement as he pulls into the examiner’s office.

“Cause of death for Mrs. Mack and Mrs. Sutton was a gunshot wound to the neck. The daughters, to the abdomen,” the doctor says, passing over her report. “The men were all strangled. The boys by hand, the men with a garrote.”

“Any idea what order they were killed in?” You asked. 

“My guess is the women first, one right after the other. Then the sons, and the husbands.” 

“How did he stop the husbands from taking him down while he killed the sons?” Morgan asks skeptically. 

The medical examiner points out a bruise on Mr. Sutton’s skull. “Looks like he was knocked unconscious, maybe by the butt of the gun or something in the home.” She explains.

“Thank you,” you said to the medical examiner, who smiled and left you both to your work.

“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Morgan asks you.

“White man in his twenties or thirties, snubbed by a woman he desired for another man, taking out the families he’s convinced he’ll never have?” 

“Call Hotch,” he said, taking off at a brisk pace back towards the car and trusting you to follow. You pulled your phone out of your pocket and discovered that Garcia was already calling you. 

“Hi Garcia, can you patch Hotch in?” You asked. 

“Already here bug, and trust me, you’re gonna want to hear this.” She told you, and you put the phone on speaker so Morgan could listen in while he drove. 

“What did you find, Garcia?” Hotch asked. 

“So, I looked into Marc Vexper, and it turns out this long-term English sub has something to hide-- he didn’t make a single card purchase on either day that he was out, and his phone was completely off from the moment he stepped off the school’s campus to the time he returned.” 

“Morgan and I are just leaving the medical examiner’s office now-- Marc fits the profile to a tee.” You interject. 

“Oh but wait, the high school of horrors doesn’t end there,” Garcia warns you. “I took a peek at Marc’s texts looking for clues about his whereabouts, and I noticed some too-friendly chats with Victoria Sullivan, a student in his AP Literature class. Her phone was on both days, and I’ll give you one guess as to where she was both days-- and it wasn’t school.” 

“You’re kidding,” Morgan sighs out. 

“So did he groom Victoria into doing it herself, or was she an accomplice?” Hotch asked. 

“The men were strangled, Aaron. There’s no way she could have done that herself.” You tell him. 

“We need an address, Penelope.” Hotch demands. 

“Already on your phone. The station’s closest.” She tells you. 

“We’ll meet you there.” Hotch says, and the line clicks. 

In a routine you’ve performed too many times to count, Morgan flicks on the lights and sirens as you mount your phone with the GPS sending you in the right direction. It’s all the same as it usually is, so why are you so nervous? 

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

Hotch elects not to put on his lights and sirens as he approaches Mr. Vexper’s house, not wanting to alert him that anyone had found him out. There are two cars in the driveway-- a modest sedan with a few dings in it, and a shitbox of an old jeep with a parking permit for the local high school on the back bumper. 

“The girl is here-- she might be a hostage.” Hotch tells Spencer, who nods. “We need to be careful. There’s no need for any other kids to lose their lives,” he says, quietly opening up his car door and gesturing for Spencer to take a back entrance while he takes the front. He climbs the worn wooden steps and peeks into the window, seeing nothing before he takes one hand off of his gun to swing open the front door of the home, where he’s met face to face with the Victoria Sullivan, standing on the main stairway of the home, gun leveled square at the middle of his forehead. 

“Victoria, put the gun down,” Hotch says slowly, raising his own hands as a sign of good faith. “I’m here to help you. Where’s Marc?”

Before Victoria can answer, Hotch hears the woosh of metal in the air and feels an overwhelming crack in his legs, falling to the ground as he yelps in pain. 

“Run, Vicky! You know where to go!” Marc yells, and the girl disappears from Hotch’s blurring line of vision as March continues to beat on Hotch with a crowbar, stomping on his legs. 

Hotch vaguely hears Spencer's running footsteps, and Marc takes off, running in the same direction as Victoria. 

Spencer falls to the ground next to Hotch, attempting to gently tend to his injuries, but Hotch weakly waves him off. 

“Go, go, save the girl, he’ll kill her next. I’m okay. Go,” he coughs out, and after a moment’s hesitation, Spencer goes. 

Hotch groans as he gropes around in his pants pocket, pulling out his cell phone and calling Garcia. 

“I need help,” he says once the line clicks.

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

If Aaron lived through this, you were going to kill him yourself. You knew you were being irrational, you knew it wasn’t his fault, and worst of all you know that he hadn’t even done something you could be mad at him for, like going in without backup. This was just the job. This just happened sometimes. And you were absolutely fucking livid that it was happening to him. Not to mention scared shitless. 

Morgan had pumped the gas as soon as Garcia called, but it still wasn’t fast enough. Your leg bounced anxiously in the passenger seat. 

“He’s gonna be fine,” Morgan attempted to placate you, but you wouldn’t have it. 

“You don’t know that,” you spat out. 

“He’s tough. He’s got a lot to stick around for. He’s gonna be okay,” He tells you, and this time you don’t argue.

When you finally pull up to the house, Aaron is on a stretcher being loaded onto an ambulance. You throw yourself out of the SUV before it’s even fully stopped, calling out for Aaron. 

“I’m okay,” he sputters out as you climb into the back of the ambulance. 

“No you aren’t, you asshole,” you scoffed at him, your voice a little watery. “Tell the paramedics what happened so they can help you,” you said, stroking at the hair at the top of his head as your chin quivered. 

“Don’t cry,” he says, reaching up for you and you see that his hands are bloody. 

“Shh, shhh. Don’t worry about me. Let them help you,” you calmed him down, trying not to let your tears interrupt the medics when his eyes roll into the back of his head and he loses consciousness.

 Aaron will live, and you suppose you won’t follow through on your threats to kill him. Once he’s in the hospital, they wheel him back to a restricted area, leaving you alone in a waiting room while the rest of the team finds the unsub. You call Jess, let her know what’s going on, but ask that she keep it from Jack until you’re back in the room with him and Hotch is able to talk to Jack himself. You didn’t want Jack to worry, and you knew that Aaron’s assurance that he was fine was the only comfort Jack would accept.

After a while-- it could have been thirty minutes or three hours, Emily appears in the waiting room..

“I was appointed to come check on you,” she says by way of greeting. “Have you seen him yet?”

“Not since they took him out of the ambulance. He looked… bad,” you struggle to find a word that explains the magnitude of it. 

“He’s gonna be fine. No gunshot wounds, just some nasty bruises. I’m sure it looked worse than it actually was.” She consoles you gently.

“I hope you’re right.”

At that moment, a doctor appears in the doorway. “For Agent Hotchner?” He asks, and you walk over to him. 

“I’m Aaron’s partner,” you explain, the word “girlfriend” feeling entirely too childish for the scenario. 

“Agent Hotchner is going to be just fine. His left leg is fractured slightly at the femur and the kneecap, but we’ve put him in a brace to stabilize the knee, and he should recover over the next eight to twelve weeks. He’ll need some physical therapy, and field work is out of the question until he is cleared, but he’ll make a full recovery.  He has a mild concussion and a few bruised ribs, but we’ve given him some meds for the pain and the concussion shouldn’t present any further complications.” 

No field work. Aaron was going to be pissed. “Thank you, doctor.” You said gratefully. 

“He’s been asking for you, if you’d like to follow me,” The doctor responds, and you allow him to lead you down a maze of hallways, leaving you just outside Aaron’s room, where his eyes are shut and his chest rises and falls slowly. Figures, you were sure he’d been up all night running through profiles in his head.

You sat on his right side, away from his injured leg, and rested your head against his mattress, near his hip bone. He looked so fragile like this, wrapped up in a thin blanket and a johnny, bandaged from his collar bone to his toes. You wondered, briefly, if he felt this helpless and frustrated the night that he picked you up from your old apartment. The tears well up against your will, but you allow them to fall, for a few moments. You had earned the right to care for him, to worry about him, to fret. You had earned the right to sit vigil at his hospital bed and try to force images of a lifetime lived without him to stop passing through your head. 

Aaron stirred, and you sucked in a quick breath, not wanting to wake him. He settled, again, and you rested your head back against the mattress, letting the gentle rhythm of his breath lull you to sleep. 

He twitches a little while later, and the sudden movement jolts you awake. His return to the waking world is slower, and you let him come at it at his own pace, not wanting to overwhelm him when he was probably already going to be in pain and disoriented. You hear him mumble out your name and you stand, placing one hand on his cheek and the other in his uninjured palm. 

“I’m right here, baby,” you whispered to him. 

“Are you okay?” He asks, trying to look you up and down without moving his neck. 

“Am I--” you chided gently. “Honey, I’m fine. Are you okay? Does anything hurt?” 

“My leg,” he tells you, trying to sit up, but you push back on his shoulders. 

“Absolutely not,” you tell him. “You broke your leg. You are staying in this bed until a doctor tells you otherwise.” 

“Fuck,” Aaron muttered out. Suddenly, a thought occurs to him. “Is Spencer okay? And the girl, Victoria Sullivan?” 

“The team took them both alive. Spencer is fine, just a little breathless from his run.” You tell him. 

“When is it gonna heal?” He switches topics back to his injury. 

“You mean, when are you going to be allowed into the field again?” You asked skeptically, and he at least has the good grace to look sheepish. “Not for at least six weeks, more than likely closer to ten, plus physical therapy.” 

“God damnit,” Aaron sighs. 

“It could have been a lot worse, Aaron,” you point out softly, and he looks up at you. 

“You’ve been crying.” He says softly. 

“No, I haven’t.” 

“Don’t lie to a profiler,” He chides you gently.

“Well, I’m the woman who loves you and I’ve earned the right to cry when you’re hurt.” You said defensively, but not unkindly.

“Hey, I’m okay. Really, I swear. Come up here,” he urges you, and you roll your watery eyes. 

“I’ll hurt you,” you tell him. 

“You’ll hurt me worse if you don’t come cuddle,” he pouts. 

“Corny bastard,” you chuckle, tenderly sliding into bed next to him. 

Unable to shift and cuddle, Aaron settles for reaching out for your hand, which you allow him to take in his own. He strokes his thumb over the back of your palm tenderly. 

“I’m sorry I scared you,” he whispers, and you might start crying again right there.

“Don’t do it again. I was ready to kill you myself,” you warned him. 

“Noted.” 

“We should call Jack. I didn’t tell him what was going on, I didn’t want to scare him. Jess knows.” 

“I just… want to hold your hand for a couple more minutes.” 

“Okay, love. A few more minutes.”

tagging:  @romanogersendgame @wanniiieeee      @zheezs14      @greeneyedblondie44 @angelic-kisses13  @baumarvel @ssamorganhotchner  @ijustwannaread2k19    @rexit-mo @shmaptainhotchnersmain @qtip-blog @averyhotchner  @the-modernmary @itsmytimetoodream @choppa-style @hotforhotchner11 @infinite-tides @isthatme-thatsme @g-l-pierce @bakugouswh0r3 @ssahotchie @sleepyreaderreads

[equestrianwritingsstuff]

Is it possible that you write a fiction in which Hero and Villain are on a road escape somewhere not their country and they couldn’t speak the local language, but Villain is hiding his injury until he passes out from fever and Hero has no idea what to do in a foreign country and in the center of nowhere?

I'm so sorry this took so long. This is a lovely ask and I hope you enjoy it.

Out of State

@the-sky-writes

Warnings: fever, delirium, exhaustion, hiding injury, passing out, pus/infected wound, injured character

*not edited*

~

Hero looked to the passenger seat only to see Villain's head hanging as he lightly dozed off. She sighed, he was exhausted, as was her, but she just woke up from her own nap so it was her turn to drive.

"Villain," Hero murmured as she pressed the gas pedal. "Why don't you go and lay down?"

"Mm," he mumbled, squeezing his eyes before opening them. "No... I'll stay... h-here wit you." His voice dropped to a drawl as his heavy tongue struggled to form the words.

"Villain c'mon," Hero pleaded, but Villain only shifted in his seat, resting his forehead against the window. Before long, any tension in his muscles dripped away and he was completely limp.

Hero sighed. She was beyond worried about him. For the past few days, after Supervillain attacked them during their own fight, Villain and Hero have been running away from the angry claws of Supervillain's henchmen. They passed through many towns and cities, briefly stopping to fuel Villain's sportcar up and get food.

But Villain had been running himself ragged- driving for hours into the night until he was practically sleeping and veering off the road, refusing to let Hero investigate a road stop before they pull in, and also his blatant stubbornness when it came to staying awake.

Though now Villain was out like a light. Not even the bumps in the road roused him from his deep slumber. Which, Hero thought with a smile, is a really good thing. He needs rest.

Hero drew her attention to the road. Reading the road signs, she found that a gas station was only a couple miles away. It would be- Hero glanced down at the sleeping villain- very nice to gather some food for him when he woke up.

Hero pressed on the pedal, mentally begging the car to go faster. She slumped into her seat, impatiently tapping her fingers on the steering wheel in an awkward pattern.

Before long, Hero pulled up to the eerie looking gas station. No cars were present- other than a old-looking navy blue van. The small building was alight with bright neon yellow lights, illuminating the small station as dusk dawned.

Hero pulled in, positioning the car to a pump and proceeded to fuel up. All the while, she observed Villain. He was still sleeping, Hero noted the obvious. His mouth was parted, hand strewn below his drooping head serving as a makeshift pillow.

Something about it bugged her. Villain should be awake now. She slammed the door shut, on accident of course, and the car started screaming at her. But he remained deeply asleep.

That was, until Hero shoved her credit card in and slipped back into the driver's seat.

Villain's eyes shot open. He looked around before racing to unbuckle himself. Hero tried to ignore the way his hands shook and focused on his utterly scared face.

"Villain calm down," Hero said, placing her hand on Villain's unnaturally sweaty shoulder.

"No, no, no," he mumbled incoherently. "Supervillain.... Supervillain gonna... onna... k-kill us." Villain slid back into his seat, eyes fluttering closed for a moment before they opened and he rushed out the door.

Hero had barely any time to react before Villain blacked out in the parking lot, his body crumbling like a collapsing brick wall.

Hero started out the door frantically, running to the side where Villain laid unconscious. Her hand rushed to his neck where she felt a steady, but faint, thump-thump of a pulse.

And boy was he burning up. It was only then that Hero noticed his pale, flushed face beaming in the early stages of the moonlight.

Hero sighed as she clenched his wet shirt with her fingers. He had a fever, a very high fever.

"Okay buddy here we go," she said absent-mindly to the unconscious man as she picked him back up and laid him in the back seat of the car. She shut the door and started to examine his weak body.

Upon rolling up his shirt, she found a deep gash running from the middle of his chest to below his right ribcage. Even not conscious, his body involuntarily stiffened under her tender touch. It was filled with pus, capped in an abscess. Hero shuddered, averting her gaze.

He must've gotten injured during Supervillain's assault and that was... four days ago?

He was hiding this for four days.

Fury raged inside Hero, along with a curt feeling of betrayal. But then she remembered that Villain wasn't doing good and it was not time to dwell on emotions. He needed help and fast.

She scrambled to the driver's seat, turned the key and sped back onto the vacant country road.

The speedometer reached 80 before Hero realized that she had no where to take the feverish villain. Her hand wavered over her phone, but then again with Supervillain's tech he could track it and find him at the hospital.

She would have to find a clean place and care for him herself.

After a long five minutes, Hero approached a quaint town. Eagerly, she literally jumped out of the car while it was still moving and galloped over to a young woman picking some basil.

"Hey, hey I need help!" Hero called, running to the white picket fence. The woman looked up at her with a peculiar look on her face, then turned around and continued gardening. She shook her head disapprovingly and tutted.

"Please, my-my...my friend is hurt. He's really sick."

"Skildu mig eftir," the woman suddenly yelled. Hero jolted backwards.

"Can you speak English?"

"Farðu með vandamál þín til lögreglu," the woman continued, waving a dirty carrot in her face. Hero took one look and headed back to the car. In a mad rush, she pulled the limp man out od the car and dragged him to the fence.

"Please," Hero begged. "He's very weak and needs medical help."

But the woman was already headed up to her house, tapping something into her phone.

Hero had thirty seconds before she heard the strident ring of a police car's sirens.

[leascorner]

j.b.b. | Safe [1/3]

Summary: “You keep an eye on her,” he ordered Alpine in a whisper. The cat only blinked at him in return.

Bucky nodded and made his way to the front door. Slowly, he closed the door of his bedroom and got his gun out. He didn’t know who could be at his door at this time of the night, and for a moment, he could only see Tom, being there to finish his work.

Pairing:  Bucky Barnes x f!reader

Warnings: Description of wounds and mention of blood, mention of violence, mention of guns, probably inexact medical facts, mention of alcohol consumptions

Word Count: 4k

a/n: Feedback is greatly appreciated. Next part published on May 29th.

Masterlist / Part 2 >

Something was wrong.

Bucky didn't know if it was the metallic taste in his mouth, the fact Alpine didn't even greet him when he had stepped a foot in his apartment like usual or the electric atmosphere everywhere around him. But all his senses had suddenly awoken. Chills down along his spine, he instinctively reached to the gun at his waistband.

Slowly, Bucky progressed through his apartment. On his left, the kitchen was just as he had left it this morning; his mug in the kitchen sink, pack of coconut sugar near the coffee pot that he did not have time to put away. Clear. He moved to the living room. Alpine was not on the cat tree near the bay window nor on its favorite spot on the couch. The blanket he had slept on last night was still on the floor. Clear. He was now at his bedroom door. The bed was perfectly made, like it had been for a couple of days since he could not bear sleeping on it. He checked underneath the bed, in the closet. Clear.Last but not least, he moved to his en-suite bathroom. The door had been put against the door frame, but it was not closed. It wasn't something that he ever did as Alpine's litter was in the bathroom. He slowly pushed the door open, ready to fight.

What he found in his bathroom was not what he had expected. Agent Y/L/N was standing right there in front of him. Messy hair. Clotted blood all over her nose and chin. Ripped up clothes. Right arm wrapped around her stomach, potentially hiding wounds from the amount of blood on her shirt and keeping pressure on it at the same time. Left arm outstretched and holding a gun. She did not look good.

At the sight of Bucky, Y/N immediately dropped the gun on the counter of the bathroom sink she was leaning against, well aware he was not a threat. She looked deathly pale, ready to pass out at any minutes. Through the fabric of her shirt, Bucky could see the distortion of her right arm; from there, he couldn't tell if it was an open-fracture or a very huge lump. Her left foot was not resting on the floor completely and she had applied a tourniquet a little above her knee to stop the bleeding of what seemed to be a bullet wound. She was gripping the edge of the bathroom sink with her now free left hand, both for support and to get through the pain.

“I didn't know where else to go.”

Her voice was hoarse and low. Bucky could not see if she had bruises on her neck, but he could tell from her voice she had been strangled. She had obviously been beating up, but all he could think about was how - and why- she knew where he lived. He could count with his right hand the number of people that knew his place and it included Sam, his partner, and Sarah, Sam's sister. She sure wasn't one of those.

He searched his bathroom, making sure she was alone, as if he was not aware his bathroom was tiny and that he could see from the doorstep if there was somebody in the shower stall. Clear. He returned his attention to Y/N, still gripped at the edge of the bathroom sink. She must have gone through his stuff as there were a bloody washcloth and a clean towel on the counter near her. A bottle of vodka was there too, for disinfecting her wounds or for pain relief, Bucky wasn't sure. Neither of that he ever needed, it was one of the perks of the super-soldier serum in his veins. Alpine was sat on the toilet seat, eyeing her carefully from afar.

Bucky finally lowered his gun.

“What happened?” he questioned, checking through the small window of his bathroom if he saw anyone suspicious roamed around the neighborhood.

“He figured it out,” Y/N mumbled, so low he barely heard her, but it still got him to look back at her.

  She had been undercover for the past two years, working on breaking up a network of handguns resale for the NYPD. Bucky joined the case only about a year ago when it turned out Tom O’Brien, the boss of the network, was also very interested in the super-soldier serum. Growing closer to Tom, Y/N had found out he was planning on creating new super-soldiers and selling them as lethal weapons to the highest bidders. At that time, Tom had yet to get a hold on the serum and Y/N's mission aim radically changed to gather any information regarding people involved in this new kind of resale.

Bucky had only met her once with Sam. It was in Mexico, last year. Y/N was accompanying Tom's right-hand man to complete a deal with some Mexican gang. They had met at her hotel spa, where Y/N was supposed to have booked a massage session. He had barely recognized her from the picture in her file. She had her hair cut shorter and dyed in lilac color. She was the exact contrary of the frail and fragile person he had imagined her to be. In reality, she was very smart and hard-working. She had let Sam and Bucky know about everything she already knew, and the duo introduced her to some new targets for her to get information on.

The encountered lasted less to thirty minutes and they never met in person again after that. However, Bucky kept an eye on her; he joined the small team that was handling the information she would gather. The team was made of Greg, the inspector in charge of the case; Marco, the IT genius; Larry, whom was an infiltration expert at the NYPD and Faith, a new recruit that came in very handy as it turned out she had an excellent memory and could recall every details in a file after just one read. They were mostly monitoring her whereabouts through CCTV. Her place was also under surveillance; there were mics in every room and a small camera in the living room. Y/N had also put mics at Tom’s places – in his office and his apartment; that was where they were staying the most.

Bucky had spent the last year or so watching or listening to her. In the street, in the train, at home - though she was not home much. There wasn’t a day he hadn’t watched her every move or listen to one of her conversations. As creepy as it may sound, he felt like he had known her for a very long time. He knew she liked to get takeout from that Chinese place near the train station. He knew she didn’t like coffee. He knew the way she would scrunch her nose when she was thinking – yes, he thought it was adorable. He knew she liked her black sneakers – the shoes she would always wear. He knew so much about her and her habits. Like her Starbucks ritual.

Every morning ever since Y/N had been undercover, she would go to the small Starbucks two blocks down from Tom’s place. Marco had hacked the boutique camera so they could watch her. She would usually order anything with tea in it and just stand there, chatting with the bartenders about how their day was going. To others, it looked like a habit of hers. To the team, it was a sign she was still alive and doing well. Sometimes, she would be abroad with Tom, doing god-knows-what, and it was always a celebration when she would be back to her morning rituals. It naturally became the first thing Bucky did in the mornings when he got to the office; get in front of his computer and watch her order tea. He knew it was stupid, and that she was more than capable of taking care of herself, but seeing her, smiling, happy, it made him feel close to her and the lump in his throat – that he recently identified as the fearof anything happening to her – would disappear a little. He cared about her so much that the three months ago, when she ordered an expresso instead of her usual tea, Bucky had to break protocol just to make sure she was okay. He had called her from a phone booth on her cell phone and made up some shitty story of being an old friend trying to reconnect. Only for her to laugh at him because she had recognized him, but she still played along. In the end, she simply hadn’t been sleeping alright and needed something to get going in her day. Sam made fun of him for days after this incident, but all that really mattered to Bucky was to know she was safe.

Tom was no angel; he was even the complete opposite, known by everyone to be pitiless. Bucky didn’t know what Y/N did to earn Tom’s trust. All he knew was that it was not romantic, nor sexual in any way, but Tom still had taken her under his wing to work for him. She truly worked wonders but also took a major risk for her life. A step wrong and he would end her like she was nothing. And all this time, she had been doing an amazing work. The amount of information she got back to the team was huge. They identified a super-soldier resale network taking place on several continents. They were just a few weeks away – days even, of the biggest good catch in the NYPD history.

Bucky and Sam had made arrangements to get her safe as soon as it was all over and planned for her to take out into the countryside before the Tom’s trial at which she would be the main witness. She would be freed of her character; she would finally be herself again. And Bucky could not wait to know the real her.

  “How could he have known?" Y/N asked more to herself than anyone else. She had gone back to whatever she was doing before Bucky went home; that was to say vigorously trying to remove the dry blood spread out all other her face. "I know he wasn't suspected a thing. Tom is not that smart. He knows his business, but he is oblivious to anything else. He didn't even know about the mic in his office.” She stopped, having a moment of clarity, realizing Tom must know now.

“We’ll worry about that later.” Bucky interrupted her. The more blood she was getting off her face, the paler he realized she was. He was pretty sure she had lost a significant amount of blood, but she was still talking and sort-of standing so he knew it was not that bad. He also knew it could worsen very quickly and that her right arm and left leg most certainly required medical attention. “We need to go to the hospital," he insisted.

Y/N did not even look at him and continued to talk to herself. “He knew my real name; it can only come from us.” She kept repeating ‘it can only come from us’ over and over, while washing her face. Bucky was not sure what that was supposed to mean because all he could see was how red the white washcloth nowwas, and how he could see all the scratches appear on her face. Her right eyebrows arch. Her left cheekbone. Her lower lips. He wondered how Tom, or whoever she had fought with, was. He wondered how she could have gotten away and made it to his place; she could have been anywhere, but she still chose to cross all Brooklyn to seek refuge to him. And he still wondered how she could have known where he lived.

Y/N hissed and threw abruptly the washing cloth in the sink, making Bucky look back at her. She was now eyes closed, her left hand holding her right elbow to keep her arm in place, repeatedly counting to ten to get through the pain. She must have had moved her right arm too much. Bucky didn’t know what was going on in her head, what she was even doing here. He knew she was more than capable of doing it herself, taking care of herself without help, but since she was there and he was there, he was going to help her.

“Let me see,” Bucky ordered.

Y/N slowly turned to him to allow him access to her shoulder. Bucky delicately lifted the cloth off her body to have a closer look. She yelped out in pain when his metal fingers got in contact with her skin, palpating her shoulder to understand what was going on.

"Dislocation." Y/N stated, already fully aware of what he just had deduced and of what he was about to do. "Please do it quickly," she whispered.

Bucky nodded and abruptly pulled on her right arm in a certain direction. The sound of her arm bone getting back in the joint made Alpine hiss; the sound was as uncomfortable to hear as it must have been for her to feel. In the contrary, Y/N did not make any sound; her left hand was gripped on his right arm, nails digging into his skin. Her eyes were still closed, and her eyelashes were wet. Whatever the amount of Vodka she had drunk it obviously had not been enough for her not to feel the pain. Bucky wished he could have taken it all away for her and cursed himself for not having any painkiller in his damn apartment. It had been a long time since he had felt any physical pain; all he felt now was brief discomfort whenever he would get injured thanks to the serum in his veins, but he knew – he remembered, deep in his guts – what it was like, and he didn’t want anyone feeling that. Especially not her.

“I am sorry,” Bucky said, brushing tears off her cheeks with his metal fingers.

Her breaths were shaky and her breathing rate erratic, as Bucky slowly bent her elbow to have her arm rested against her chest. He was trying to be as gentle as possible while manipulating her arm, remembering his own memories of what happened to his own left arm. The same memories that sometimes still kept him awake at night, even after all those years.

When he looked back at her, her eyes opened to look at him in return. Bucky could see all the details of her iris and he realized how close he was standing from her. This was what he had stupidly craved for so long, to breathe the same air as she was, and that was how life gave it to him.

“I'll get you cleaned up and changed, okay?”

She nodded, releasing his arm from her hold. The idea of bringing her to the hospital had completely disappear from Bucky’s mind. He would take care of her himself, he knew this was the right thing to do, but he would still have 911 dialed on his phone, ready to call anyway.

  Bucky started by getting back to his bedroom to pick from his closet a T-shirt and one of the few scarves he owned. When he got back into the bathroom, Y/N was standing against the sink counter and Alpine was sat on the counter just at her side, looking up at her, purring. Though it surprised him – Alpine wasn’t very fond of people just like he was, he noticed how the purring was calming Y/N down.

Bucky left his clothes on the next side of the counter and stood in front of her, wondering what he should do first. “I need to take it off,” he said, pointing to her shirt.

Y/N nodded again, and he started unbuttoning it. He discovered a lacy nude bra underneath, something he never thought he would see, but he purposely chose not to think about it and remove her left arm sleeve first; it was then easier to remove the right arm sleeve without moving her injured upper limb much.

She stood there, in her jeans and bra, looking up at him. She could have done something, but she just stayed still, letting him take care of her, like she knew he had done all those months when he was looking out for her. Though tonight, he clearly failed.

Bucky tried to ignore the fuzzy feeling in his chest by focusing on cleaning some dirt off her collar bone with another washcloth he had took from the cupboard underneath the sink. He then had a look at her cut on her stomach; the wound did not look as bad as he thought. Though it went from her right side to nearly the other side and Bucky knew it would leave a nasty scar once it had healed, it was mostly superficial. He gently cleaned it, removing the dry blood, and looked back at her. She nodded again, understanding without a single word was he wanted to do, and Bucky reached to the bottle of alcohol. She grimaced when he pressed a cotton pad soaked in the liquid to her skin.

After disinfecting her wound, he helped her put his T-shirt on and improvised a sling for her right arm with one of his scarves. He made sure not to tug on her hair when he tied the scarf around her shoulder, while she observed his every move in silence. Bucky smiled softly when he realized his T-shirt was way too big for her. Even looking like terrible, she was still looking cute.

  Once he was done with the sling, Bucky moved to the lower part of her body. He squatted down, to remove her shoes and unbutton her jeans. Before getting her pants off, he needed to remove the tourniquet. He silently prayed all the gods in the universe to not make her bleed out and it seemed for once, they had listened. By some kinds of miracle, the gunshot wound was not bleeding anymore so he continued and slowly removed her pants. Shivers run through her body at the contact of his fingers on her skin.

Bucky repeated the same actions as he did for the wound on her stomach: cleaning and disinfecting. Thankfully the bullet had gone straight through her outer thigh and didn’t touch any artery. She got lucky, a few millimeters down and it would have shattered her knee. The hole was quite big, and it would probably require stitches to heal properly, but for now, he would leave it in the open air.

Once he was done, Bucky got up to face Y/N again. She was now standing there in her underwear and his oversized black T-shirt. “Thank you.” Was all she could say.

Bucky softly looked back at her. “I’ll get you lay down, okay? You need to rest.”

She nodded again and took the hand he was offering her for support. He helped her walk to his bed, Alpine following close behind. Y/N was limping as she couldn’t let too much of her weight resting on her left leg. It took her a good three minutes to walk a total of six steps, and Bucky reallywondered how she had made it to his place. He made her sit on the end of the bed, while he removed the comforter for her to lie down.

“Did you hit your head?” She looked at him confused, instinctively touching her face as if it was going to help her understand what he was talking about.

“I need to know if you have a head trauma,” Bucky said before helping her move to the spot he had prepared for her.

“I can recall all the potato chips flavors you have in your kitchen cupboard – who even eats salt and vinegar chips?” She laughed at him slowly as he lifted her legs off the floor and put them under the comforter. When he looked at her and she saw the concern still on his face, she insisted: “I am fine.”

“Alright, missy,” he mocked her in return, putting the comforter up to her chest, carefully of not touching her right arm. “For your information, salt and vinegar flavor is the best chips flavor.” She chuckled in response, settling more comfortably into his bed, and smiled as Alpine lie down on the other pillow next to her. Short after, she was closing her eyes and falling asleep.

  For a couple of hours, Bucky stayed there, sat against his nightstand, listening to Y/N’s breathing, and making sure she was still alive. She had not moved one muscle, caught up in one of those dreamless sleeps he always wished for before falling asleep. He should have tried to get some sleep too, but instead he couldn’t stop thinking. How had Tom known? Y/N was right, Tom hadn’t suspected a thing and nothing unusual had happened these past few days. Y/N and Tom were preparing for their first super-soldier serum delivery and Bucky and the team had been busy preparing their good haul – the grand finale as Macro was calling it. There was no way Tom would have discovered the truth on his own; someone must have told him. But who?

A sharp knock on his front door brought him back to reality. His breath caught up in his throat and he looked at Y/N, just to make sure she was still asleep. Alpine, in the other hand, was now wide awake, listening carefully to what was going on. Another knock on the door and Bucky slowly got up.

"You keep an eye on her," he ordered Alpine in a whisper. The cat only blinked at him in return.

Bucky nodded and made his way to the front door. Slowly, he closed the door of his bedroom and got his gun out. He didn’t know who could be at his door at this time of the night, and for a moment, he could only see Tom, being there to finish his work.

Another knock on the door. Bucky removed slowly and as silently as he could the safety lock of his gun, ready to shoot. When he got to the door, he cleared his throat, trying to sound as normal as possible. “Who is it?”

There was some talking that Bucky couldn’t really understand through the door as the sound was muffled. It took a few seconds to realize who that was, put the safety lock on his gun again and open the door.

“Sam?”

His partner, Sam, entered the apartment as soon as Bucky opened the door, shouting: “Can’t you answer your damn phone! I’ve been trying to reach you all night.” Sam thrown, looking at Bucky, with a gun in his hands, who was checking the rest of the floor to make sure Sam was alone. “What are you doing?”

Bucky locked the door behind them and moved past Sam to open the bedroom door, showing him the person still fast asleep in his bed.

“Oh, thank god.”

Sam’s face lighted up when he saw Y/N asleep in his friend’s bed. He moved closer to the bed, eyeing her to assess her injuries and making sure she was alive. Alpine got up to greet him and Sam offered some strokes to say hello. When he was done, he got back to Bucky at the bedroom doorstep and Alpine laid down near Y/N again.

“How did you get her?”

“She was there when I got back. I had to clean her up with Vodka and I didn’t even have any band-aids and-”

“Hey, it’s alright.” Sam put a hand to his friend’s shoulder, trying to ground him in the present moment and stop the wave of panic that was starting to shake him. Bucky took a deep breath, nodding. “She is alive, that’s all that matters.”

[bonniebird]

The Lost boys x Reader / McCall pack x Reader

Requested by Anon

Masterpost

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“You sure you saw something flying out here?” You asked Liam. The night before he had been patrolling through the woods. Something had attacked Satomi’s and now they were living with Derek, temporarily.

Tha same night Liam had sworn he’d seen something giant, human shaped, flying through the sky. No one believed him until they found out what happened to Satomi and her pack. “Yes! It was over near the Nemeton.” Liam insisted.

“Well, maybe it was just something weird flying over? You know how the Telluric Current affects supernatural creatures this time of year.” You offered as an explanation.

“I’m telling you that it was…” He trailed off when he heard something. In fact you both heard it at the same time which was odd. He should have been able to hear the voices long before you had.

“We’re supposed to meet with Malia and Kira down the road. They’ll know if we’re not there in time and come looking for us. We should check it out.” Liam said firmly. You nodded, gripping the straps of your back pack and wishing you had brought the baseball bat Stiles had offered. All you had was a few jars of mountain ash and a few other ingredients Deaton was teaching you to use.

The two of you carefully trekked towards the noise. As the two of you got closer you could see the flicker of fire, several motorbikes glistened as the fire flickered. You could see two young me with boots on and from what you could make out between the tree branches, leather jackets and dark clothes. A woman was with them, she looked like the sort of person that fell out of a story book.

“Do you think they’re human?” You whispered to Liam as the two of you crouched down.

“No idea. Who do you think they are?” Liam asked.

“Well the blond one is David and the girl is Star. That other dude is Dwayne.” A blond man whispered to the two of you as he crouched beside you, joining in on the spying. Neither of you had noticed him sneak up, nor the tall blond one who was leaning on the tree behind him. You and Liam screamed, the short blond one hopped up and screamed. Then everyone hurried over.

“Marko, Paul?” David asked as he hurried through the woods.

“We’re fine. Just making some friends.” Marko answered.

“Yeah, some friends.” Paul added, he was staring at Liam in a way that made you both uncomfortable. “Sorry, we didn’t mean to intrude we were just… passing by.” You said quickly. Liam nodded. He was glaring at Paul and didn’t seem to want to take his eyes off him. “We should get going.” You said as you tugged at Liam’s sleeve and pulled him away.

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

“You’re sure that the last people you saw (Y/N) with was that David guy?” Stiles asked Liam.

“For the last time! Yes. I saw her going with him and Star down into the woods.

“Why didn’t you say anything at the time?” Scott asked quickly.

“Because I didn’t know she was going to go missing!” Liam snapped. He was getting sick of people doubting him.

You’d been missing for four days. In those four days, David’s biker crew that had become a constant fixture over the last few months, had also vanished. The Sheriff had gotten so desperate he even asked Peter and Derek to help him. When they came up with nothing, they asked Chris Argent who had rushed back into town. When Liam had mentioned that the bikers had no scent, Deaton had divulged the information that he was once carrying out a request for Talia Hale in Santa Carla and came across some scentless creatures that seemed to match vampiric lore.

“So (Y/N) either ran away or was kidnapped by maybe vampires?” Malia summed up for everyone.

“We’ll find her! I mean, she always has some sort of druid magic stuff on her. Maybe she saved herself and is just waiting for a bit of help?” Scott said hopefully.

“Wait. We can’t track the… maybe vampires. What if we try tracking (Y/N)?” Liam suggested.

“We tried that. Her scent went into the woods and we lost it.” Scott answered quickly.

“No, Peter and Derek said that the scent went up the trees and a little way off the usual scent track from where we patrol. If (Y/N) or Lydia get lost in the woods then they follow the patrol path we made. So it makes sense that she would have gone there.” Liam explained quickly.

“You think you could… climb through the trees?” Stiles asked Scott who shrugged.

“I don’t see why we couldn’t. If we have more of us tracking a faint scent then we should be able to give your dad and Argent a path to follow.” Scott summed up.

The group headed to the station with the plan. Even Derek and Peter agreed. Satomi was willing to split her pack, some helping look for you and others staying around the hospital, Lydia and Deaton were asked to stay with them, in case the vampires struck again.

“Remember, we all meet back at the hospital.” Scott said as everyone started heading out. Liam was trying to focus on the fact that he was going to find you and he was sure of it. Not on the fact that Lydia, Deaton and Melissa had prepared a room for you.

Liam managed to lead the way as the wolves throughout the woods guided everyone in and out of your scent track. Scott followed close behind Liam while Argent rode on a quad bike behind him. Liam stopped abruptly and everyone in the group stopped. “We’re stopping.” Argent said to Stiles through a walkie-talkie strapped to his shoulder.

“Liam?” Scott asked as Liam stayed perfectly still. Suddenly Liam was running. It took a few moments but Scott caught a waft of your scent too. It was maybe three days old but it was stronger than anything that had been in the woods.

Stiles had to slam on the breaks when a herd of werewolves burst out of the woods, following Liam. “What’s going on!” Stiles yelled as Malia and Derek clambered in the back of the Jeep. “Liam found her.” Derek said and Stiles hurriedly sped down the road Liam was hurtling down. He scurried into a run down building and vanished. Everyone else had stopped. “Liam!” Scott was hissing as Argent motioned for Stiles to cut his engine as he climbed off the quad.

“He just rushed in!” Scott said to Argent.

“Derek, Stiles. Hold the fort out here. Scott and I will go inside. Stiles will get the signal if we need help inside.” Chris said sternly. Stiles nodded. He hated wearing the hunter’s armor that Chris had given him. It made him think of Allison and the last person he wanted to think about right now was losing someone.

Scott headed inside with Chris close behind him. Scott heard a gun clicking as someone shuffled up ahead. “Are you ready?” Chris asked. Scot swallowed and didn't answer as they made it to the next room.

“Liam?” Scott said quickly.

“Don’t come any closer!” Liam said quickly. He had thrown his jacket over something on the floor and for a moment Scott’s heart plummeted. “The light in her is hurting her. They left her in the woods.” 

“What do you mean?” He asked Liam. Chris took a step closer as Liam lifted you up and his jacket fell down.

“Is that blood?” Scott asked slowly.

“They must have turned her.” Chris muttered bitterly.

“She hasn’t drunk anything yet. It’s hurting her but she hasn’t!” Liam insisted as he clutched you tightly, as if he was scared Chris or Scott would take you again.

“Is that good?” Scott asked.

According to Deaton, yes. But I;m going to have to do a lot of research. I wanted to have Isaac back here by now, but he’ll have to keep researching on his own. This problem isn’t over.”

“Why?” Liam asked and Chris sighed.

“Because we’re dealing with a group of vampires trying to find a new nest. One of ours is already going through the change and although there is a rumor of a cure for vampires. These are the first ones that have been seen for a good hundred years or so by genuine hunters. A few that accidentally stumbled into hunting have boasted about it. We have the disadvantage here.” Chris explained.

“But… (Y/N) will be ok?” Liam asked as Scott hurried to cover you with the jacket and added his own to cover your legs as Chris started to lead the way out to the Jeep. Liam wouldn’t let you go and when Malia had heard exactly what happened she sat in the back with you and Liam, glaring at anyone who might dare consider ‘dealing’ with your vampire problem.

“She still has a scent. That’s good.” Derek told Liam as Stiles tore through the streets to get to the hospital.

“I knew there was something wrong with them! That little one, Marko was always hanging around where she worked and the bigger one, Paul. He kept asking all sorts of questions about her family.” Liam said as he kept perfectly still so the coats wouldn’t fall off you. As soon as Stiles pulled up in the hospital parking lot, Melissa was outside with Deaton and a bed, Liam set you down as a blanket was tossed over you.

“She’ll be in the room with Lydia. Chris called us. Satomi and Deaton are going to come up with a medical reason for her to be here long term and avoid any sunlight.” Melissa explained as everyone helped rush you inside. Stiles staggered off to talk with his dad who had been looking for David and found nothing in the four days that you’d been gone.

“You did a great job Liam. Chris doesn’t think she would have held out much longer if you hadn’t found her.” Melissa said as the door shut on her, leaving Malia, Liam and Deaton in the lobby as Derek asked at the desk for the room number that you’d be in.

“We have to find them before they do this to more people!” Liam insisted angrily.

[pretchatta]

swoon june day 13: first kiss

rating: general; kanan jarrus/hera syndulla; 1350 words

---

Hera heaved herself over the ledge and sat down heavily on the rocky surface. The slight breeze that reached her up here was pleasantly cool compared to the humid air below. Leaning forwards, she rested her elbows on her knees as she caught her breath, gladly accepting the respite from her relatively short but steep climb. The view wasn’t bad either.

Spread out below her was several miles of greenish-brown swampland that gently steamed in the heat from the single sun, now at its peak in the teal sky. Here and there the waterlogged terrain was punctured by ridges of red rock that jutted towards the sky and were crowned with wisps of low cloud. It was one of these that she now climbed, up to the crest where the Ghost awaited her return.

Another cradled the target of Hera’s mission to this planet amongst its craggy outcrops. The old Republic waystation had been built during the Clone Wars as a convenient refueling location along a well-travelled hyperspace lane, but now the Empire controlled it. The addition of a communications dish turned it into a strategic base to boost transmissions to more distant sectors of the galaxy, but also an irresistible target for the people she worked for.

Hera’s hand felt for the dataspike in her pocket. Chopper had infiltrated the waystation a week ago to install it and it now held a copy of all the data that had passed through the station since. Transport manifests of the ships that had stopped here, communications that had been redirected, transmissions that had been relayed to other divisions of the Imperial fleet – Hera was eager to look through it all. That wasn’t the only reason she was keen to get back to the Ghost quickly, though.

Her journey through the base to recover Chopper’s dataspike had taken her past the refuelling hangar, where she’d spotted something that had wrenched at her heart. A prisoner transport, its hatch open and its hold packed with people in chains.

Twi’lek people. Her people.

Even from a distance, Hera had seen how their shoulders had been slumped in acceptance of their grim situation. They were the Empire’s slaves now, like so many of their people, and there was nothing they could do about it.

Though she knew the data she was extracting would help them locate and liberate many, many ships’ worth of such people, it ripped her apart to leave them behind. All through her trek back through the muddy swamp she had been turning their plight over in her mind, trying to think of how she could help them. Maybe if the Ghost could intercept the transport as it left the planet, they could grab the prisoners and get them to safety...

Her haste meant nothing if all of her crew weren’t back, however, which was why she was allowing herself a break. Kanan would still be behind her, as disabling the internal surveillance would have taken him to the far side of the base so he had further to travel to get back. Neither that fact nor her aching legs stopped her from wanting to keep going.

She settled for pulling out her comm once she had enough breath to speak.

"Kanan? Where are you?"

She absently reached up to wipe the sweat beading on her brow, but grimaced a moment later as she realised she’d smeared mud over her forehead and down one cheek. She felt like she was bringing most of the swamp up with her, caked up her legs almost to her waist.

"Just starting to climb the ridge now,” crackled his reply. With all the moisture in the air the signal wasn’t great. “This mud doesn’t exactly make things easier."

She wholeheartedly agreed with him, but it didn’t make her less impatient. "How fast can you get up here? I got the data but the sooner we leave, the better."

A burst of static sounded like a panting breath. “Couldn’t agree more. I’ll see what I can do.”

There was a pause, and then she heard a grunt of effort through the comm, followed by a soft yelp.

“Kanan?” she asked with concern. “Are you okay?”

There was another grunt before he replied. “Did I mention that I’m covered in mud? Everything’s so slippery.”

“Do not fall off this rock. I don’t think I could carry you if you broke a leg,” she warned him.

“Nah, I think you could. But if you’re sure, I can carry you instead.”

Hera could almost hear the suave grin in his voice. She rolled her eyes.

“And increase your chances of falling? I don’t think so.”

She allowed herself a small smile that Kanan couldn’t see through the comm. She’d never tell him that she secretly liked the flirty banter, or the way he sometimes looked at her. She had to keep their relationship professional for the sake of the cause she fought for, even if sometimes she wanted to do the exact opposite, so all he received in return was firm but gentle resistance.

"This is the same contact that gave us the narglatch job, right?" he asked after a few minutes of silence.

"Yes, why?"

"I don't think we should take jobs from this guy any more. I don’t like them."

"Vizago always has work and always pays fairly,” she explained patiently, “we’re not passing that up. Besides, I'm the captain here, I'll decide whose jobs we-"

She was cut off by the distant sound of a ship's engine. Her heart sank as she watched the prisoner transport from the hangar emerge from the waystation and steadily climb into the upper atmosphere. It disappeared into the clouds with no-one to stop it.

She wasn’t sure how long she’d been staring at the sky for when Kanan’s voice came from beside her.

"Hera?"

"There were twi'lek slaves on that ship,” she said distantly. “I know the ship’s flight path and destination will be in this data, but... I hoped we'd be out fast enough to save them before it left." She could hear the longing and disappointment in her voice.

"Uh, yeah, so about that ship…” Kanan began, and something in his voice made her finally turn around to focus on him. He was shifting his feet nervously and rubbing at the back of his neck with one hand. “I noticed it from the surveillance center. And I might have, uh, stopped by on the way back and… liberated the prisoners. And promised them a ride."

He was looking at her nervously. His mind was stuck on the time she’d told him “you don’t get to invite anyone onto my ship without my permission”. Her mind was stuck on “liberated the prisoners”.

Hera continued to stare at him in amazement as he continued. "They're heading for the other side of the mountain – if we can get the Ghost around there quickly we can meet them before the Imperials realise they're gone. I think one or more of them is sick, but we've still got those black market medical supplies we haven't delivered yet, and I'm sure we can skim something off the top-"

Hera had stopped listening several words ago. The feelings of gratitude, affection and awe had reached a bursting point in her chest and before she could realise what she was doing, her hands found his face and whatever he was saying was cut off as her mouth met his.

For a moment, nothing existed except the press of his lips. His skin was hot under her touch, and despite his surprise, his mouth moved automatically against hers. The gentle brush of his tongue against her lower lip sent sparks shooting through her belly and made her gasp, enough to break the kiss.

Her breathing was heavy again, and she felt slightly dizzy. From the dazed look in Kanan’s eyes, he wasn’t doing much better. It was the mud now smeared over one side of his face that reminded her of their current situation and stopped her from going back for more.

“We need to move fast if we’re going to get to them first. Come on!”

She grabbed his hand and pulled him up the mountain behind her.

[sanchoj7]

Opposite | Trent Alexander-Arnold 4

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

——————————————————————————

Saturday night was the last game till international break which meant that they had 2 weeks break. Kiara had to wear her Liverpool shirt while all her old colleagues from United walked passed her smiling and greeting her. She could feel a little tension in the air but didn’t think anything of it. She was packing a few bandages in a bag in case of emergency on the pitch when she heard loud noises coming down the tunnel.

She looked up to find two of her best friends from Manchester, Jesse and Marcus. They approached her with big smiles.“That’s a ugly shirt you’re wearing”Jesse teased pulling her in a hug.“I know right”she agreed pulling Marcus in this time.

“Do we need to kick anyone ass while we’re here or you got everything figured out”Jesse asked looking around.“Stop it, no fighting or arguments while you’re here okay”She sighed. She could feel eyes on her at all times while speaking to them.“Can’t promise you that”Marcus laughed.

They continued catching up for little while since they still had some time before the game. She eyes went to the teams changing room where a few Liverpool players were walking out and she could see Trent and Hendo looking at her while talking to her friends.

Trent face drop when he saw her with the two players and shoulders tensed a little. He was putting on his shoes making her immediately zone out of her conversation towards him. “I should go I have a lot of work to do but good luck”She smiled to her old friends. She was glad to see them walk to the changing room before she slowly made her way to the boy that sat on the bench a few feet away from her.

“Hi”She mumbled taking a seat next to Trent while Hendo stood in front of them.“I have to go talk to the gaffer but I’ll see you guys later”and he was off inside the busy tunnel.

He tied his shoes not a word coming of his mouth as she looked down.“I have so much to tell you but I’m scared you’re just going to be mad at me for saying them…”she paused looking as he turn his head to her. “Let me hear them”he replied licking his lower lip.

“Don’t hurt yourself”She whispered, he sighed and look forward.“Don’t hurt anyone….don’t get into a fight….you know how you can get out there”she said watching as he stood up.“Did Jesse and Marcus have a lecture too”he asked.

She stood up at her turn to be able to hear him around the busy area.“I can’t promise not to get mad or get hurt this the game”he said. He could see that she just didn’t want anything bad to happen to anyone, both teams.

“You’re always here if I get hurt though”He joked making her roll her eyes.“I’d say good luck but I’m sure you got some cheesy comment like I don’t need luck ”she said making him laugh.“Actually I’m was going to say thank you but thank for thinking so highly of us”he smiled making her push him slightly.“I need to go but….good luck”She said before walking away from the smiling boy that stood before her.

The moment she saw Trent’s face at halftime she knew he was mad, the score was 2-1 for United and the tension could be felt around the pitch. A fight was the last thing anyone needed but that’s what happened, Trent tackled Paul making him fall on his left foot. Everyone felt a heavy feeling when Paul didn’t stand up and kept grabbing his foot groaning in pain.

Trent grabbed his arm trying to lift him up but nothing and that action pissed off a lot of people, from where she stood she could see the disappointment in Klopp face.

Soon Martial could be seen walking over to Trent and pushing him backwards but it didn’t stop there, whatever they were saying couldn’t have been pretty because, their face got closer and you could see the anger in their eyes. Hendo grabbed a good grip onto Trent’s jersey and pulled him back trying to calm the tension.

The ref soon walked over lifting up the red card making him roll his eyes and make his way off the pitch. She watched as he walked past her not even bothering to look at her. Paul was brought back to the bench for the medical team to look at his foot and a substitute made his way to the pitch.

The game ended 2-1 with United winning. She found herself in the changing rooms as Klopp gave a speech. Her eyes didn’t leave him, he just sat down by his locker staring at some random spot on the wall. Her thoughts got cut short when Hendo appeared in front of her.“Want an Ice pack for that arm”she asked making him nod his head thanking her. She smiled and got back to packing her stuff but still looked at him from time to time.

“Is Paul alright”Hendo asked making her head snap back up.“Yeah, I talked to him earlier just a bit sore”she replied.“You know he didn’t mean too….”he whispered making her eyes look back to Trent.“I don’t think I have anything to say on that”she shrugged.“He will always be mad at me…I can already feel the dirty looks and mean comments during dinner”She replied making him shake his head.

“You have the right to be mad too”he replied before walking away. She wasn’t a player or a coach so why could she be mad. Why could he be mad at her all the time?

She had to ride with him and Hendo to dinner and all you could hear during the drive was the engine. Soon they got there and she locked herself away from them in a guest room with Rebecca.“And he didn’t talk to you”she asked.“Not a word like I was at fault or something”she sighed. The door to the room opened making the two woman sit up to Jordan and Trent walking in. 

“Babe we need to get Elexa she’s sick”Jordan explained making Beca stand up immediately.“She throw up and the babysitter thinks we should come get her”he said.“Alright can you guys wait here….we’ll be right back”Jordan said making the two younger couple look at each other before nodding their head. Soon it was just the two of them and the awkward silence took over.

She sat down on the edge of the bed and he just stood by the door awkwardly.“Are you mad at me"she asked making him sigh.“I’m not”he replied making her roll her eyes.“You’re full of shit”she mumbled under her breath before standing up to walk away but he stopped her by grabbing her arm.“I’m not mad at you…”he insisted, she looked down to his hand on her arm then to him.

“Why are you acting like this towards me then“she demanded, straight up frustrated.“Because I don’t know….it complicated”he groaned making her roll her eyes again.“You’re so confusing one minute you’re a asshole and the next you’re all sweet”.

She found herself frustrated over his attitude towards her and the way he was acting wasn’t helping.“You won’t understand”he said, his eyes still on her.“No, please tell me because I’m so tired of trying to figure you out and be okay with being use-”She was cut off by his lips on her. She was shook and couldn’t move at first but as soon as his hands found her waist to pull her even closer she let herself move, her lips and her hands going to his hair slowly tugging at his curls.

The moment she really realized what she was doing she pushed him away immediately. Her breathing was hard to control as he stood in front of her a sad expression on his face.“I can’t be normal around you….I feel like an idiot all the time and just act mean so you would get away from me, I want you so bad but every time I see you I remember where you’re from and everything just confuses me and I can’t think straight”he blurted out making her eyes go wide.

“You kissed me”she whispered her hands pressing against her lips as he took a step towards her but she didn’t like that and stepped back. She couldn’t look at him, she was still processing everything that just happened.

“I need to go…I can’t be here”she said grabbing her phone and started making her way out.“Kiara please”he mumbled from behind her but she couldn’t do it and just walked out leaving him by the front door. She walked and walked till she found a bus station and finally sat down and texted Rebecca to tell her that she had a emergency and needed to go.

But as she sat helpless in the cold at the station the only thought that came through her mind was that Trent kissed her.

He told her a lot of things tonight and the only thing that she couldn’t get off her mind was that he wanted her. After acting so cold towards her, he was just hiding a secret and she didn’t see any of it coming. The little comments and action like getting ice cream and biting his lips, he liked her but also hated himself for liking someone that supposed his rival team and he didn’t know how to react to that. He kissed her, the feeling of his lips danced on hers all night till she laid in bed in the dark…..him being the only thing in her mind.

[sarcastically-defensive17]

Yo! Wassup? I read far away today and boy is it awesome like you totally slay as sis .. btw when is part 2 coming ? Not tryna rush you or anything.. Take your time

Far too long - P. Parker (Part 2)

Read Part 1 here

ITS HERE AND I’M SUPER NERVOUS. I FEEL LIKE I RUSHED THE ENDING BUT I ALSO FEEL LIKE IT WOULD BE A FLURRY OF PENT UP WORDS AND EMOTIONS. I HOPE YOU ALL LIKE IT AND IF ITS BAD THEN LMK AND ILL APOLOGISE SINCERELY BECAUSE I’M SCARED OF THIS HAHAHA

(gif is not mine)

TW: Mentions of blood, grief, injury, abandonment, fear, angst, childbirth. If any of these themes may trigger you then, please, do not read for your own good. Your wellbeing is far more important.

My inbox is always open.

Original story by sarcastically-defensive17

It would be a lie to say that Peter hadn’t been in horrible situations before. However, with the development of his powers came the growth of thicker skin and stronger shoulders to bear the weight of his choices and others.

He fought, day after day, to withstand everything life threw at him. Heartache, mistakes, the one time he frosted the tips of his hair when he was 12 - Y/N knew that he would be alright.

He had to be alright. He had to be alive. She needed him. They needed him.

Y/N had watched him grow as a man, and watched him overcome everything. Then he was finally hers. She had everything she had ever wanted in him, and she was going to bring new life into the world with him by her side, until the missions came between them.

Now, she had been away from him for over 2 months and he was missing in action. Every news station was reporting that he was gone, but she refused to accept it. She knew Peter. She knew the strength he had. She knew that no matter what, he wanted to be a part of his baby’s life.

The minute she saw the broadcast her shaking fingers dialed Tony’s number and he was there to take her to the compound as soon as he could be.

Another three months passed.

Three agonizing months.

She gave birth in the medical bay of the compound, May by her side, welcoming her daughter into the world with a broken heart

Rosie May Parker was welcomed into the world, but the one person who was meant to be there wasn’t. She had her fathers eyes, his ferocious brown curls - but she didn’t have her father.

Y/N didnt have much knowledge of science outside of her computer mechanics degree, nor did she have any means to be a powerful superhero like the avengers, but she had fierce determination. Tony had ordered her to stay at the compound until they found peter - he was also determined that his faux-son would be okay.

Y/N harbored no intentions of leaving, more so, now that Rosie had joined her. May was there as well, watching Y/N fall in love with the small child over and over again, every day, helping where she could.

It was when they neared the day that her daughter would turn two months old, that it all happened.

Y/N had taken up residency in the lab. She was a computer science major at university, and she was able to pick up the workings of the technology Tony and Bruce utilized to keep track of mission data and surveillance measures for MIA operatives. She had spent nearly every day that she had been there inspecting every program, every website, keeping track on news outlets.

The world said that Peter was dead, but she refused to give up. He wouldn’t go down without a fight. Spider-Man wouldn’t submit.

If her eyes weren’t glued to a screen, they were on her daughter, both keeping her connection to peter alive. She monitored his Karen program for any inconsistencies, any sign that the program was online.

Karen had been offline for so long. The minute the building went down on Peter, the only thing letting Y/N and Tony know that he was alive was gone with it.

Rosie would sleep soundly in a bassinet set up next to her chair. There was a strain in Y/N’s head that hadn’t waned for weeks. Each day her head felt heavier, the harsh blue lights from the computers creating a constant reminder of her naive determination.

She was beginning to consider the possibility that he was gone, but something always made her thoughts shift in the other direction whenever the idea graced her cortex.

Her days had been filled with bouts of despondency, but the small babe that she cradled against her chest throughout the day brought light back into her life.

But still, nothing

Not until that day.

Rosie was sleeping in her crib I’m their room, recently fed, changed and cuddled - Friday monitoring the baby in all of the ways that the baby monitor she had with her couldn’t. The clock had just hit 2:38am and her eyes were heavy. She considered submitting to the crushing weight of her exhaustion, until Tony burst into the laboratory with Bruce and Natasha in tow, the woman suited up and heading towards the hallway leading to the quinjet hangar.

“Tony?” Y/N blinked, eyes darting to the baby monitor to determine if the commotion was linked to her daughter. Rosie hadn’t moved, her small chest rising and falling with each breath. “What’s wrong?”

Bruce had rushed over to the computer she was sat at, rebooting various programs that Y/N could barely recognize in her bleary state.

A vein in Tony’s forehead protruded - a clear sign that his stress levels were at a high. Bruce had been attempting to monitor his blood pressure as of late, knowing that his anxiety had been peaking with the disappearance of two of his team members.

Y/N had felt a overwhelming sense of duty to the man who had taken her in. She wanted to calm him, help ease his worries as he had done for her. He was as much family to her as he was to Peter.

His brown eyes were frantic, but there was something else hidden in the warm irises that seemed constantly framed by bloodshot sclera. Hope.

“Take off in 30, Nat.” Bruce spoke through an earpiece, connecting directly to the quinjet she assumed the Russian was boarding.

Y/N focused her gaze entirely on Tony, rising to her feet carefully and stepping towards him slowly, as one would a spooked animal.

The minute she was within arms reach, his hands were grasping her shoulders. There was no pressure under his hands, but there was comfort. “A few minutes ago, a transmission came through.” Y/N felt her eyes widen, mind racing with possibilities. The smile she received from the older man told her everything she needed to know before the words left his lips. “Pete came though. He’s with Barton, they’re safe. Romanoff’s on her way to pick them up.”

Y/N was in disbelief, tears pricking at the corners of her eyes, “The building,” she breathed. “It came down on them-“

“The kid will explain when he gets here.” His hands moved to her cheeks. “He’s coming home, Y/N. For the most part, he’s alright. I got his vitals from the Karen program and he is stable, may need some work when he gets home, but he is okay, physically.”

Tears slipped from her eyes, running down Tony’s fingers but he paid it no mind. The smile that split his face was enough of a pardon.

It was another two hours until the familiar sound of the quinjet hangar opening graced her ears.

Bruce had ordered her to get some rest while they waited, but she opted to spend the time watching her daughter. Rosie had woken for a feed, but her big brown eyes stared up at her mother with a knowing look. Y/N could do little to push down the excitement of Peter’s return, but the overwhelming fear quickly resurfaced.

They left on horrible terms. They were no longer a couple, nor did she have the chance to take back the horrible things she said about his faithfulness to their family dynamic. But there was a lingering part of her mind that pushed her to think he would want nothing to do with them.

She left her room, placing a kiss to Rosie’s forehead and asking Friday to keep a watch of the baby, clipping the monitor to her waistband and rushing for the laboratory.

She arrived in time to see the compound medical staff trailing alongside a stretcher, Barton sprawled on it with a smirk on his face and an IV cannula in his arm.

Moments later she saw him.

He looked as much a mess as he felt, he knew so. Soot and dirt coating his skin and his suit, his leg aggravated and aching from an incorrectly set break. He hadn’t expected to see her face, but when he did, it felt as if a building was falling down on him once again.

She caught his eyes darting down to her stomach then back to her face. She smiled at him softly with a nod, hoping he could grasp her meaning across the meters between them.

She hadn’t the chance to say a word to him, nor he to her. Bruce led him to the medbay, offering support where he could for the pain in Peter’s leg, and Tony went to Y/N, cradling her as the pent up grief escaped through her eyes. She wanted to follow after him, so badly.

Tony held her against his chest, sharing the grief that had been building over the months. They were beginning to think they had lost Peter, but to see him alive and standing in front of them - it was overwhelming for both.

“I, uhm,” Tony cleared his throat, his voice wet from tears. “I’m gonna go help Bruce out. I’ll send for you when he’s all fixed up. I promise.”

With a nod of her head, Y/N let him go.

Minutes after, Friday alerted her that Rosie was awake and she took her leave to sit with her baby.

Her heart was pounding in her chest as she cradled the babe to herself. She had decided that even if Peter didn’t want to see her, she would at least hand Rosie over to Tony to introduce father and daughter. Despite her previous words, she just knew that Peter would be entirely smitten with the small human, just as much as she was.

As such, it came as a surprise when Friday chimed through her P.A. System requesting her presence at the medbay.

Her feet shuffled to stop at the door for the room they were in before she knew it, and Tony had opened the door to allow her entrance. He and Bruce took their leave, allowing the former lovers to have the space to themselves.

Peter felt the air drain from his lungs and he looked at her. He had sat up on the bed, leg bandaged and healing at an accelerated rate now that it had been set correctly. He was bruised and battered but he still smiled wider than he had in so long when he saw her and the small bundle she cradled.

She was the first to speak, “You’re alive.” Her voice was choked. The past months had been hard on him, but he couldn’t imagine the pain she felt thinking he was dead. Especially when they left things so horribly.

“The building... it wasn’t meant to go down like that,” he sighed, his smile shrinking. “I took most of the brunt because I can handle more than Clint. But we managed to get out and get our target... eventually.”

His eyes were darting to the bundle in her arms, but he didn’t dare to say anything about he baby. At this point, he didn’t even know his baby’s name.

Y/N noticed his gaze, and the unspoken question that his eyes held. Without warning, she took a seat next to him on the bed, unwrapping Rosie and placing her in Peter’s arms. She silently adjusted his hands to ease his fear and discomfort in holding an infant, and she could see the emotion forming in his chocolate orbs.

“Her name is Rosie.” Y/N whispered, eyes stuck on her daughter. “Rosie May Parker.”

“You named her after ‘Love, Rosie’,” he smiled, feeling a tear slip down his cheek. He had a daughter, and she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

“It’s my favourite book. Two best friends who fell apart, only to come together and repeat it until they could finally be together.” Her fingers fiddled in her lap, picking at her cuticles. Her body was alight with nerves, her toes electric within her boots. “And I had to name her after May. She’s the only mother I have.”

“Rosie,” he tried the name on his tongue, noticing the way the baby scrunched her nose in her sleep. Her mother did the same thing.

Y/N sighed deeply, breathing out through her nose as she held back tears. “Peter, I’m so -“

“You have nothing to apologise for, Y/N.” He ran his finger over Rosie’s cheek. So soft, scared to stir her from her sleep. “Everything that happened, happened because of me.”

“Peter-“

“My list of discretions are unending. What kind of fiancé was I?” He let a soft chuckle fall from his lips, a humorless one, soaked from the sob he refused to let rip from his chest. “What kind of father was I? Who did I think I was, to keep you waiting on me, day after day. Every important event, I missed.”

“I never meant to say those things to you, Pete. To accuse you of not loving me, not wanting to be a father... it was uncalled for. But,” she sniffed, turning her head upwards to gaze at the ceiling. “I felt so alone. And then, you left, and I was alone.”

After what felt like eternity, his eyes met her face. Her skin was blotchy from tears, eyes bloodshot and red-rimmed. She was the most beautiful thing he had seen, apart from the angel in his arms. He felt almost complete, with the two girls by his side. His heart hurt a little less.

“I know. I’m probably the biggest jackass on the face of the planet, and I know that I can most likely do nothing to change that. It’s far too late for me to even begin to say the things I have wanted to say, but I can’t stand the thought of another day without telling you what’s been on my mind since the minute I left.” His body shuddered with a heavy breath, his lips kissing the small fist that rose towards his mouth as Rosie stretched in her sleep. “I have loved you for as long as I can remember. Every second I was away, I wanted nothing more than to run home and apologize for every disgusting thing I had said to you, to put my hands on your belly and promise our baby that I would never leave either of you.

“Then the building went down. I helped Clint get out, but I was stuck there for a few days. Some of our operatives were working as hard as they could to find a way to clear the debris so I could go, but it took a while. The entire time, I had convinced myself that I would never be able to see you again. It was like, like, I knew, that I couldn’t breathe until I saw you again.”

Her hand moved slowly, resting against his cheek to thumb away a tear that trailed his smooth skin.

“I didn’t know how many months had passed while I was gone, but when I got out from under the building, I realized that you were all alone to have our baby.” The sob finally broke through his chest. “I left you all alone. The small little baby that would see the world for the first time without their father.” He rubbed the side of his face onto his shoulder to not drop tears onto Rosie. “I’m a horrible father. I was so horrible to you.”

His breaths were staggered, and Y/N took the baby from his arms holding her against her own chest as she pressed her body to his side. Her free hand turned his face toward her own, but he kept his eyes squeezed shut, tears flowing rhythmically.

“I love you so much, Y/N, and I’m not going anywhere. I promise you,” he caught the way her hand tightened on his arm as he spoke. She was terrified of losing him again. “I would do anything, anything at all, to have you forgive me, but if you can’t then I understand. Just don’t make me leave your life, please.”

She felt her breath hitch, “I said horrible things to you. I told you to never come back, but I can’t stand another day without you. I need you here, with us. We need you Peter, like I told you all those months ago.” She felt his lips kiss the palm of her hand, the same one she used to brush away his tears. “I love you so much, and I don’t want you to leave. Ever.”

He pressed his forehead against hers, his lips pouting from the strength it took to resist pressing his mouth on hers. He didn’t know if she would welcome the contact. He had done her wrong.

“I’m not leaving you anymore, baby. I’m not leaving either of you, ever again.”

Y/N knew that Peter would be alright. His resilience was unmatched, his love ferocious. Y/N had began to think she would never see him again, but the image of him perched in front of her, eyes locked on the child that looked so much like him was one that she would never forget.

The tears falling were no longer out of fear, or sadness, or anger. Her tears fell out of love and happiness. She had the final piece of her family back, and she would do everything she could to see the two people in front of her smile.

“I’ve been far away, for far too long, baby. I’m never leaving you again. I’ll spend the rest of my life showing you how much I love you and Rosie. I’ll make you Mrs. Parker and buy a house in the suburbs and do everything boring house husbands do,” Y/N snickered, forehead still against his. Peter was rambling, but she knew she would never force him to give up what he loves, so long as he came home to his two girls at the end of the day. “I will love you, both, until the day I die and beyond that.”

She leaned her head forward slowly, allowing him to reject her intentions, but when he didn’t, she poured her emotions from the last half year into the kiss. The love, the fear, the anger, the uncertainty.

When they broke apart, one thing was on her lips, “I love you, Peter Parker.”

Tag List: @starshonerose @snookiebrookie @mantlereid @theanswertoeverythingisl0v3 @another-lonely-heart

@uwucorpse @timeless-crow @eridanuswave @prettysbliss @amydancypants @allycat449-blog

[dismuch47]

ADVANCED SETTINGS (Part 1)

And the winner of the Scarlet Vision Drabbles Voting is... Advanced Settings! With Custom Skin as a close second. Luckily this one is turning out waaay longer than I thought it would be, so I had to break it into two parts. Second part will come out later this week. 

It’s been awhile since I’ve fanfic dabbled, so this has felt really nice. I feel I will be writing more about these soulmates.

Advanced Settings: Wanda and Vision find there is more to iron out in making their relationship “work”. Rated Mature.

Wanda made her way down the narrow stairs, holding her two bags close to her person. The creaky boards protested against her dainty weight and brown chips of aged paint flaked away with each step of her boots. She strode to the stained plaid couch in the musty living area and plopped down her burdens. A roach scurried out from between the cushions and zoomed to the sanctuary of a hole in the upholstered armrest.

No… she would not miss this location.

“Has anyone seen my… oh, I see it.” Wanda walked to the defunct treadmill in the corner of the room, plucking her ear-pods from the treadmill’s control panel. The train ride would be long and music was the only way she would survive it. She shoved the corded earphones into her jacket pocket with her phone and smoothed the sides of her hair behind her ears as she ran through her mental checklist again.

“Got your ticket?” Natasha inquired over a near empty dinner plate, supplying the reminder, not out of real concern but rather a sense of familial normalcy. She was a stern but stunning mother hen.

“Ah… yes!” Wanda had to pat herself down and found the ticket in her back pocket. She held it up victoriously before putting it in the smaller of her bags. “I think I have everything…”

“Not everything.” Steve’s rich tenor voice cut in over the hissing and bubbling of the shabby kitchenette that occupied the same small space as the living area. He placed a plate of peppered chicken, plain rice, and steamed broccoli in front of Wanda before draping a dish towel over a toned shoulder. “No one should travel on an empty stomach. Eat up.”

Wanda scrunched her nose up at the the corny paternal grin he gave, but accepted the plate. She took her seat at one of the mismatched chairs that occupied the dingy room, refusing to sit on the couch with food. 

“Moscow… my old stomping grounds.” Nat sighed, before taking another bite of chicken. “Shto-to s chem-to.” Her Russian was comically muffled by food.

“I’ll take pictures.” Wanda promised, scarfing rice. “I’m forcing myself to take in more of scenery this time. But I swear once I’m in a hotel, all I want to do is shower and never leave the bed.”

Wanda winced as soon as she dropped that setup.

“Oooooh? Do tell…” Wanda had actually forgotten that Sam was in the room as well, as small as it was. He had been unusually quiet, nursing some leg soreness from a tech-recalibration injury. Nothing seriously hurt, save for pride. The plastic baggies of ice duct-taped to his thighs sloshed and clacked as he shifted in the only run-down chair with padding. “And when exactly are we gonna meet this mystery boyfriend of yours? Who pays your way to exotic locations and expensive hotels, hmmm?”

Wanda gave a tight smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes… and forked more food into her mouth to occupy it.

Sam chuckled at the intentional silence. “I see how it is.”

“A girl’s got to have her secrets.” Nat supplied, taking her plate to the sink to rinse. “Besides, I don’t recall you being very open about your copious tawdry affairs back at Avenger Headquarters.” Wanda smiled down at her food, thankful for the deflection of topic.

“Copious, yes. Tawdry… never.” Sam grinned back, putting his joined hands up behind his head in bemusement, leaning back in his chair. “I’m an open book about the ladies, Steve can tell yah.”

Steve shook his head, but acknowledged it was true with a dimpled grin. A far cry from his blank expression that used to overshadow his stoic face at any mention of Avengers history. It had been 8 brutal months since the fall-out with Tony Stark and the US government.

“And as I seem to recall, Romanoff, you were caught more than once coming back to the compound. Late. Shoeless….” Sam continued.

“Late night scrapbooking.” The ex-assassin responded dryly. “Scout’s honor.”

“And then we have Mr. Virtue over there. Clamped tighter than a nun’s thighs…” Sam continued.

Steve gave an innocent shrug. “Gentlemen don’t kiss and tell.” Nat was looking down, but gave a small grin, arms folded over her chest. Wanda briefly wondered if the two had ever connected on a level other than as a commander and his right-hand.

“Tony, well… Tony had Pepper.” The topic was exhausted, but he kept talking. Steve turned away, back to the grimy stove to tidy-up. “Brody,  shit, I don’t know how Brody had time for anything other than cleaning up after Stark, but he consistently wowed even me with all his ‘war stories’ in the battle of love.”

“And Clint was the honorable family-man.” Wanda said half-heartedly. She turned her wrist up to check the time on her watch.

“Yeah. Good man. Good man.” Sam nodded, respect for the settled existence that Hawkeye had found and chose over a life on the run. “And then there was Vision...”

Wanda’s grip on her fork slightly tightened. 

“Yeah, I couldn’t figure that guy out. He invited to his room, like, twice to talk about a painting he purchased. Twice. One of the three things in his room. A little odd…”

Wanda’s jaw tightened. The painting was a New York Street Artist’s rendition of the Tree of Life. The artist was also blind. He created a picture from memory, using odd colors to convey a synthetic translation to the image to stand out against what would be considered normal and correct. It created something beautiful and breathtaking in the process. It resinated with Vision deeply. The proceeds went to a medical facility that specialized in therapeutics for children with disabilities. Wanda had been there with the Synthezoid when he had become enamored with it at first sight. Had come to his room numerous times afterwards to talk about it, or just sit with him, staring at it’s mastery as he read aloud.

“I don’t think he ever…you know?” Sam finally said. It cut through Wanda’s thoughts. “I mean, how could he? I don’t think he even had the… machinery… for it. Poor guy.”

“Sam…” Steve didn’t have to look at Wanda to feel her bristling. He didn’t always understand it, but he knew that she had a close friendship with the synthezoid.

“Oh don’t tell me you never wondered about it.” Sam huffed.

“No, Sam. I don’t wonder about a teammate’s junk.” Steve turned around, impatient that his friend wasn’t picking up on his annoyance. He took a sip from a mug of black coffee.

“Or lack, there of.” Sam countered, oblivious.

“I have to go.” Wanda stated, louder than needed. She went to the sink with her plate.

“To be fair, Vision has molecular control of his physical structure and density.” Natasha continued, to Steve’s surprise. “So, in theory, he could get the job done. But it would be very one-sided.”

Sam raised his eyebrows. “How so?” 

“I imagine it would be like using an over-elaborate vibrator. All sensation for the partner… nothing for him.” Nat shrugged. “A safe and controlled simulation, where there is nothing asked of you.”

Sam blinked at the thought-out response. “Damn, Romanoff…”

Dishes clanked loudly, even angrily, at sink. Wanda didn’t meet Steve’s concerned look. “Sorry I don’t have time to clean these.” She strode to her bags on the couch and muttered a farewell before storming out of the apartment. The door slammed shut with the flick of Wanda’s wrist and a flash of bright scarlet energy. 

Sam’s brown eyes drifted from the door where the youngest teammate had just left. He glanced at Steve and Nat. “Did I say something?”

“We all did.” Steve put his mug down on the counter, brows knit in concern. “Vision is her friend. She misses him.” He gazed at the hot brown liquid in his mug thoughtfully, thinking of those who he missed. “We shouldn’t have talked about her friend that way.”

“Oh…” Sam blinked, and then frowned at himself. “I didn’t  think… Should I go and-?“

“Just stop talking for a sec and take your pills.” Nat interrupted, striding over to him to offer two painkillers in one hand and a glass of water in the other. “I’ll go talk to her. Smooth things over before she leaves.” Sam nodded sheepishly and accepted her offerings.

Steve made a noise of protest, to perhaps leave Wanda be, but Nat gave him an understanding “Time for Girl Talk” wink before stalking after her companion’s trail out the door.

It didn’t take her long to catch up with Wanda, who walking down the stretch of road to the nearest bus pick-up to take her to the station.

“Hey.” Nat called, not even out of breath after the jog. “You did forget something,” she held up a flash drive. “…with the next meet-up location, job details, instruction on-“

“How could you say all that about him?” Wanda shot back.

Nat considered her young teammate… her friend… for a moment. “Well, it’s the kind of thing I would say if I didn’t think that you had an intimate relationship with Vision going on, currently.”

Wanda’s lips thinned into a firm line. She crossed her arms and looked down at her feet.

“It’s the kind of thing that throws the boys off the trail about what I saw in the Netherlands when I tailed you.” Nat shook her blonde-dyed head. “I hate lying to teammates. Especially Steve. But out of respect for you and female bonding, I’ve kept my word. Keep yours and don’t let your feelings ruin your focus.”

“If you think my focus is a problem, why even let me go?” Wanda asked.

“I wouldn’t.” Nat retorted. “But Rogers seems to think you deserve some semblance of a young-adulthood. He thinks your mysterious Euro-boyfriend phase is healthy for you. And that’s of utmost importance, considering how closely your control is tethered to your emotions.”

Blunt, as always, but Wanda appreciated the honesty. And the freedom. She reached out for the flash drive after a moment. “I’ll keep my head down. Check in when I need to.”

Nat nodded approvingly, then turned to leave.

“Natasha,” Wanda called, halting her friend. “Did…did you mean what you said, though?” She searched Nat’s guarded blue eyes for truth. “That…he can’t feel what I...”

The silent response was deafening.

“That I’m  just… using him?” Wanda finally ventured.

“I won’t pretend to understand… any of that.” Natasha shrugged. “But what does it really matter what I think?”

It wasn’t reassurance. And the cold sentiments expressed in the apartment would loop themselves in Wanda’s head, no matter how loud she turned up her music on the bus. And then later on the long train ride.

As farmland and rolling hillsides blurred past, Wanda kept her forehead pressed against the cool glass of her window. She felt like Vision, her mind endlessly running and playing out memories and scenarios whether she wanted it or not. Analyzing and computing to try and find a solution to ease the pit in her stomach. 

She knew that Vision could feel. She had stumbled upon that realization during one of their first few kisses, 5 months ago. What linked her given abilities to it’s source in Vision’s forehead, though unexplainable, proved that what she felt for him…label-less yet profound…he definitively felt for her. And her absence from him, the lack of that engulfing feeling, caused him a wounding loneliness. It’s what had made Wanda want to give herself fully to him.

But with the introduction of intimate relations 1 month later…

Vision had learned everything there was to know about her body and what delighted it. What actions and sentiments yielded the most sincerest, and surfeited, responses. Always so lost in her desires and satisfaction, she always believed it when he said that his greatest pleasure was bringing about hers. But if she really thought about it…. really thought about it…

Wanda pulled her knees into her chest, boot heels digging into her seat. 

He didn’t moan. He didn’t sigh. He didn’t heave. He didn’t lose himself like she could completely in him. His eyes never left her face even when she had to close hers in convulsive ecstasy. His broad and handsome smile was always waiting for her when she would come back to reality. Waiting and in need of no reprieve.

She hated this feeling. This feeling that she was doing something wrong. That she was taking and taking without giving when she would literally set the world on fire if it meant Vision’s well-being.

Wanda was so consumed that she didn’t look up to take in the environment of Moscow as the taxi pulled in to take her to the hotel. She almost dreaded it. She was tugging at her sleeves to cover more of her hands. Did Vision have resentment about this? That she could flaunt how human she could be when he couldn’t? She hadn’t thought about that when she took the plunge to have him. She had followed instincts and emotion… like always. Wanda rubbed her forehead, upset with herself.

She checked in as usual, requesting a key to a room under “Victor Shade”, always left for her at the front per Mr. Shade’s instructions. The front desk clerk was beaming at Wanda, expressing how nice Victor was and how he talked about his world-traveling girlfriend with so much admiration. Wanda smiled weakly and accepted the extra $100 room credit gift because Victor was just “so sweet to hotel staff”.

Wanda stepped off the elevator and drudged down the hall to their room. She arrived and took her keycard out, ready to use it on the card-scanner, when the door swung wide open. 

Vision was there, beaming down at her stunned face, keycard still held up in her hand. Though of course, at the risk of being seen even for an instant, he was visible in his human mapping. Blonde hair smoothed with a slight, playful waive. Skin fair but peppered with human imperfections like freckles, freshly shaved skin texture. But his cerulean eyes were the same piercing blue true to his actual form.

“The front desk computer confirmed your arrival.” He said, to quell her surprise. “Wanda. Darling.” He said, deeply, and reverently. “Welcome to-“

Wanda let her bags fall to the floor and leaped up into his arms, legs wrapped as high on his torso as she could manage, lips crushing the end of his sentence. Vision grinned handsomely against her needy lips.

“I’ve missed you.” She managed finally, pressing her cheek against his.

“I reciprocate your sentiments.” He combed graceful fingers through her auburn hair. “Considerably, so.

***

Ever the perfect gentlesynthe, Vision carried his barnacle of a girlfriend to the suite’s luxury bathroom. She detached from his waist with a gasp as he showed her the candlelit bathroom, large clawfoot tub frothing with lavender scented bubbles, soft piano renditions of movie love-themes emanated from a portable radio he had relocated from the bed stand. He gave a controlled ray from the mindstone in his forehead to bring the lukewarm temperature of the bath back to a simper again.

“Vision… this is…”

“Exactly what you need after a long day of training and travel.” He placed a hand on either side of her head tenderly and tilted her forehead up to plant a kiss. His human facade shimmered away with the contact. “Are you hungry?”

“No.” Wanda then realized that she didn’t even eat her whole dinner. Hours ago. She reconsidered. “Well…”

“How about Olivier Salad? Or Shuba? Better known as ‘Herring under a Fur Coat’? A Russian delicacy, as I’m sure you’re aware.”

Wanda scrunched her nose up at Vision.

“Cocktail shrimp and cheese sticks it is. “ He grinned at her default preference.

“And wine! You know the kind I like…” She added, unzipping her jacket.

Vision smiled, emitting a chuckle. He left her in privacy to unwind and rejuvenate, while he called down to the front about room service to be delivered in 30 minutes. He then sat down to compose a note on hotel stationary, thanking the staff for the lovely presentation of the room and the warm reception for his Wanda. Satisfied with the flourish of his penmanship, he then accessed streaming guides to find vintage sitcoms that might please Wanda.

Only 10 minutes had passed when he heard his name being called from the bathroom.

The synthezoid was there in an instant, concern conveyed in his tone. “Wanda, I’m here. Are you-“

“I’m fine, Vis.” His human girlfriend peeked over the tub’s edge, visible only from her shoulders and up. Her long hair was wound in a sloppy bun, piled atop her head. “I just… wanted to look at you…”

Vision felt his lips curl into yet another smile. A frequent, unprompted state of expression when Wanda was near. “And…?” He inquired, kneeling to the floor to gain eye-level with her rich hazel gaze. 

Wanda bit her lip, taking his hands in her own, lacing her soapy fingers with his maroon digits. “And… I think you are wearing far too much. For a bubble bath.”

“You would like me to join you?” Vision asked, after a beat of processing the subtextual request. “Would that not defeat the purpose of… relaxing?”

“I’m tired of relaxing alone.” Wanda retorted, leaning her head down against their joined hands. “Come assist me.”

Vision stood, untangling his fingers from hers, and began stripping down. He could easily phase through his clothing, but he found the act of undressing much more interesting and human than being unencumbered by the physical properties of clothing. It also slowed down his naturally speedy rhythm of existence, which he observed pleased Wanda. The human drank in the sight of her nude synthetic boyfriend, mindlessly swirling her index finger around in the warm water she soaked in.

One long vibranium-infused leg stepped into the tub. Wanda maneuvered to the far end to make room, until Vision had sat down, adjusting his sculpted length to the confined space. She floated herself to sit on his lap, her back leaning heavily into his chest, auburn head resting against the dip of his shoulder. She signed deeply and emitted a noise of contentment at the feeling of him against her. Vision brought a hand up to cup her dainty shoulder. The other slipped across her belly, splayed out to absorb the toned smoothness of her.

“This feels nice.” Wanda murmured. Vision smiled into her neck, planting a firm kiss at the base. “Does this feel nice, Vision?”

Something in her tone of her inquiry sounded peculiar. As if there was an answer she was desiring. It puzzled the Synthezoid, who had most of her variations of responses and phrasings committed to his memory. But humans were complex and ever-evolving. Wanda was no exception.

“I am very content  to be a variable in your relaxation.” Vision retorted. He was met with silence. She was unable to see the smile on his face falter. “Unless… you wish for something more stimulating now…” HIs hand skimmed through the water, over slick skin, down her navel, to the her silky region. Seeking her sensitive entrance…

Wanda lightly clenched her thighs together, pulling his hand up out of the water and kissing his knuckles. “I just want to sit like this for a bit, Vis.”

There was a pause before his response. It made Wanda wince. “Of course, darling. Whatever you desire.” He wrapped his arms around her shoulders. “Is this alright?”

“Yes…it feels nice. It always feels nice.” Again, her words said pleasant things, but conveyed a tone ill-at-ease.

“Wanda?” 

She turned to face Vision, straddling his lap. Chest to chest.

“I’m sorry….I…” She sighed deeply. “Natasha said something and… it got to me.” Wanda looked up into Vision’s cerulean eyes. “I don’t… use you… do I? When we are together?”

“Use me?” What an odd statement.  His hand cupped the side of her face. “I have no qualms about being put to ‘use’ by you, Wanda. Ever. If that is what you ask.”

“No. I mean… ugh, how do I say this….”

“You know you can say anything, Wanda. I’m made of vibranium. I won’t be damaged.”

Wanda smiled weakly. He had come so fair in his speech patterns. Had learned personality traits that he obviously preferred. She could feel… him… a soul within, if that was what it was. She took comfort in that. 

“When we come together, intimately-“

“Sexually.” Vision supplied. Unabashed.

Wanda huffed. “Yes…sexually… you give so much. And I’m not complaining. At all. It’s… unreal.” 

Vision smiled tenderly, placing another hand on her other cheek, kissing her lips the way she had showed him awhile ago. He liked the little noises she made when he did so. And would watch her face as their lips departed from one another, her eyes usually heavy with serenity and arousal.

But not tonight.

“What do I give you, Vision?” Her inquiry was direct. She rested a cream-colored hand against the rich maroon and reflective vibranium of his chest.

Vision tilted his head at her. “Your pleasure and well-being is of paramount significance to me.” His eyes blinked excessively as she pulled her face away from his contact. He had said something unsatisfactory. “Is that not enough?”

Wanda’s gaze was now downcast. “I suppose I underestimated how much it would mean to me. To not be able to give you pleasure. To not see you able to take it for yourself, instead of just for my sake.”

The sythezoid’s eyes darted away as he processed. Avoiding her returned hazel glance. He knew it would betray his discomfort. But stoicism was not what he wanted with his Wanda during moments like these. He wanted her to see him… really see him… even in time of uncomfortable vulnerability. 

“This body was not made with human reproduction in mind, but synthesized evolution.” Vision said, finally breaking the silence. “Pleasure, desire… arousal… these are constructs that I loosely understand in definition only, and by observing how they manifest in you…who I care a great deal for. And that was enough for me.”

“Was?”

He finally brought his eyes back to her face. Her expression, contorted in aching sympathy, made his eyes close. The repressed hurt upon his face seemed an honest response, though he knew it would further upset the situation. He sought to remove himself before causing Wanda more distress.

“Vision, no…” She gently protested, but his form  disappeared from the tub and rose outside of it. The vibranium striations across his broad back glittered from the reflection of the flickering candlelight. “Vis…”

He turned towards her, his smile was back, as if it had never left. “Room service will be here soon. I surmise it best I not greet them naked.” He stooped to kiss her on top of her head, then collected his clothes before leaving her presence.