#also me: tries to go for an handshake with the doctor

[sunshineandspencer]

Has to be a joke (Iridescent, Part 1)

A/N: I will be writing more based on these two (I'm currently writing a fic but wanted to put the ideas out) and wanted to show their first meeting :) I hope you enjoy <33 also this is set for postprison!spencer, except I'm too much of a wuss to go past season 10, so expect inaccuracies into how that all goes down.

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Fem!BAU!OC.

Summary: Spencer doesn't like the name of his new partner.

Word Count: 1.2k

Warnings: swearing, spencer is an ass™ (I have no idea I've never done this before sorry)

Parts: Pt2

Let me stress, this is not Maeve from the show, but my own Maeve just named the same to send Spencer into hell whenever he thinks about it.

In all the mind-fucking ways that the BAU have slowly tried to help her adjust - by that, her very first case was a misogynistic cannibal that seemed to like her a touch too much - this had to be the worst.

Granted, she is a pushover, and so she agreed to do this, so honestly she brought this upon herself.

Spencer Reid, the man she had been acting as a ‘replacement’ for while he was in prison, was finally coming back. Some might assume, ‘oh- this means you’re going back to cyber crimes right’. A fair enough assumption, and one she had made herself.

However, Emily, her Unit Chief, liked her work so much that she was asked to stay permanently. Of course, blaming the pushover-ness again, she agreed.

Now, not only did she find herself potentially becoming Spencer’s partner but she was tasked with cleaning his desk before he got back.

For the most part, they kept it clean in his absence, but an uptick in cases and zero free time meant that it became neglected. Everyone quickly agreed that the germophobic man would not like to come back from prison to a dusty desk. In comes his new partner, agreeing with a self-depreciative laugh as she stayed behind to dust off the desk and array of personal items.

Not that it’s wholly surprising that she was the one left behind. She is the newest member, had never met Spencer, and a massive sucker.

Just as they walked out JJ mentioned that he had an eidetic memory, so everything had to be put back perfectly or he’d notice. The last thing she wanted was her new partner, the sought after and beloved Doctor Reid, to hate her.

Quietly grumbling to herself as she dusted and set back the third Doctor Who figurine, very nearly done.

But she heard voices from beyond the bullpen and swore. Doing a final sweep with the microfiber cloth and then chucking it behind her onto her desk. Reaching out to spin a pen back into place and stepping back to stand beside her own desk, wondering if she looked as insane as she currently felt.

Thankfully it seemed like they’d had a good drive in, after all, he’s only coming in to get reinstated properly and then he has to take thirty days off. Emily’s rules to make sure that he gets to stay for good.

Nervously, she pulled on a bright smile, lacing her hands together painfully to stop herself from reaching for a handshake. Germaphobe, she reminded herself, don’t offer your fucking hand.

Spencer, as he walked over, must’ve either sensed the pure waves of anxiety crashing off of her, or just profiled his way to the conclusion that she was losing her mind, because he put on a soft and welcoming smile.

Right in character for the man Garcia had painted him out to be.

Once she realised he was waiting, so damn patiently for her to start talking, she blinked softly and seemed to restart with a friendly smile.

“Hi! I uhm.. I was your replacement while you were.. Gone. But they-- Emily, liked me and asked me to stay on as your new partner. I hope that’s alright, I’m still kind of new here.”

Oh thank God he seems like an absolute sweetheart right now, because she honestly couldn’t have been able to cope otherwise. She’s not good with confrontation or high emotions.

“That’s completely fine, as long as you don’t mind an ex-convict.”

This man, immediately, had a giggle bubbling up in her throat. A giggle. She’s a fucking grown woman.

So she stamps it down, to maintain her own image and save face in front of this downright gorgeous man.

“Of course not! I’ve read your work thousands of times, and everyone here has told me so much about you. A little jail time isn’t going to scare me off.”

Soft banter, she can do that, that’s something normal and socially inclined people do. Even with very attractive people that kind of look at them as if they clearly know how they turn people’s brains to mush. Like he’s doing right now.

Penelope and JJ had shown her so many photos of Spencer so that she’d know exactly who she’d be covering for - and then working with. And honestly, she’d been absolutely destroyed by him in sweater vests and looking like he doesn’t know how to use his own limbs. They’d described him as a ‘human bambi’, but clearly they still had rose tinted glasses on.

Because somewhere in the last decade they seemed to have missed the way their little sweater-vest-wearing boy completely grew into a man, and decided to use his Godhood to pick on his new partner.

When she finally stopped thinking about all the ways she was going to murder Garcia for not preparing her for this, she caught movement on his face. His eyebrow raising and the corner of his lips seemingly unable to decide whether or not he wants to smile.

“Wh- What? Sorry, I didn’t.. I didn’t catch that.”

He smiled, clearly fully aware of himself and how he’s destroying her ability to think, and she nervously returned it, wondering how hard she’d have to jump for the floor to crack open and let her drop.

“Your name, angel.”

Angel?! Oh, she’s fucked.

“N-Name? My name? Right, sorry. I’m Maeve Donnelly, but no one really-”

He visibly jolts, small but she’s hyper-aware of his every move right now, and that one certainly didn’t look positive. His eyes finally moved from her face to look up at Emily’s office, and she had to be careful to remind herself to breathe.

When he looks back, all signs of willing friendliness have gone, and suddenly she’s being scowled at, causing a lump to rise in her throat.

Confrontation is a bitch, especially when she doesn’t know what she’s done.

“Your name is Maeve Donnelly? Is this a joke?”

“I- no?” She was the one to flinch this time, by the sound of his voice and just how harshly it met her ribs clack against her lungs. “It’s- It’s my name, what’s wrong with my name?”

Tossing his bag onto his desk, he shoved past her to sit down, and she’s trying to piece together what had happened to make him react like this, completely unprompted. All she did was say her name, he’s the one that asked her to.

Still scowling at her as he starts packing away case files to work on at home, clearly not wanting to be around her anymore.

“What isn’t wrong with your name?! Honestly, if this is your idea of a joke, I don’t think we’ll be together for very long.”

Storming past her again, he starts the walk up to the chief’s office, and she’s slowly coming to terms with the fact that she might not actually have a job after today. Especially when he turned back one last time.

“And I know you touched my fucking desk, my stuff has been moved. Don’t fucking do that again.”

Just like that, as he stormed into Emily’s office and she stayed feeling small and entirely unwelcome by her new partner, she reminisced on the brief moment that she found him attractive and how she’ll never get to feel like that again. Considering he’s a massive arse who just judged her entirely by her name and refused to elaborate.

Damn, at the very least, she won’t have to deal with him for long if he gets his wish of getting her kicked off the BAU, maybe then she can finally go back to cyber crimes.

Want more?! Good!

[makeyoumine69]

Flesh n' Bones | Hospital AU (INTRO)

PAIRING: Doctor!Patrick Bateman x gn!Nurse!Reader

SUMMARY: My name is Patrick Bateman. I'm 27 years old. I live in the American Gardens building on West 81st Street in New York City. I work as a surgeon at St. Pierce's Hospital—one of the most upscale medical centers in Manhattan—which happens to be owned by my father. And even though I hate my job, sometimes I can find a little bit of fun in making the experience of my patients in the hospital really unforgettable. Not to mention the dozens of missing nurses who definitely regretted crossing the threshold of St. Pierce's Hospital, but who cares—I was the best thing that ever happened to them.

CONTAINS: Swearing, medical procedures, evil plans, gaslighting, pain, blood and injury, interns & internships, power dynamics, flirting, perversion, pet names, Patrick Bateman's POV.

WORDS: 2.4k

A/N: Hello my dears! This story is based on Hospital AU by @peepoo79! Since the first day I saw her Hospital AU comic I was obsessed with this idea so I decided to write it! Since I am not a doctor myself, some things might not be that accurate to medical standards, but I am always open to critique. As always, I hope you enjoy it! Also, many thanks to @mothhmannn for the amazing Patrick art!

LINKS: [MASTERLIST]; [AO3].

October 28, 1987.

Today started so shitty that I didn't even want to go to work, but how could I? I was a fucking surgeon who was supposed to save lives, and when I finally arrived at St. Pierce's Hospital, several nurses crowded around me and started bitching about some shitty stuff I didn't even care about.

"Dr. Bateman, your intern has arrived and is waiting for you in your office," one of the nurses said, handing me a folder of papers. "They seem to be very shy, so please treat them right."

Scowling, I took the papers and nodded. "Uh…Thank you."

Without further ado, I walked past another nurse and down the long corridors, avoiding all of my coworkers as I tried to concentrate on the music blaring from my Walkman headphones. Stopping at the door to my office, I made sure my hair was neatly slicked back before opening the door and stepping inside to see a beautiful person sitting in the chair. The blue medical uniform fit them so well that I even wanted to compliment them, but I stopped myself and just offered them a handshake instead.

"Well, hello there, my name is Dr. Bateman," I smiled and continued to examine my new plaything. "It's...uh...nice to see some young blood in our hospital these days."

You were embarrassed so quickly, probably from such a warm welcome, which was more of an exception for me than a regular thing.

"Thank you, Dr. Bateman...it's an honor to be your intern," you replied politely, trying to hide your nervousness as your hands visibly shook. "This hospital is so...amazing! Literally everything I have seen so far is amazing...including this office!"

The office did look luxurious. Everything screamed wealth and prestige, including the wooden desk and a high-end clock on it, the way you looked at the white leather couch in the corner of the room probably sent shivers down your spine, and somehow I really hoped it did.

"So...when can we start?" You asked as you watched me flip through your portfolio, my face stoic, blank, and absolutely unreadable.

As I stopped flipping through the documents and frowned to add some tension between us, I looked at you stealthily out of the corners of my eyes, and when I saw you chewing on your lower lip, I smiled in wicked satisfaction, but that smile never reached my eyes.

"It's very inspiring that you're so eager to get started," I said, placing several pages on the desk, then picking up my Montblanc pen to make some notes. "I see you've been studying pretty well...considering your grades."

Another shy chuckle fell from your lips at my words. "Oh, I did my best," you replied, settling more comfortably in your chair. "Although I didn't really want to reflect on my college years."

"Why?" I asked, writing down all the personal information I could get from your file, including your address, phone number, blood type...

"It was..." your voice wavered and you paused, causing me to look up at you again. "...hard as hell."

"As it should be. Our jobs require hard work as we carry a huge responsibility on our shoulders," I grinned, closing the folder before I could see the name of the college.  "So where did you study exactly?"

Just as you were about to answer, a loud knock on the door rang through the office and I couldn't help but grumble in anger.

Can I have a break, for fuck's sake!

"Come in," I almost barked, my attention shifting away from you as I saw a nurse - one of the hottest hardbodies in our hospital - walk in. "Courtney? What happened?"

"Dr. Bateman..." She walked over to my desk, completely ignoring your presence. 

"Yes, Courtney?" My patience was about to explode if she didn't answer right away.

"I know you told us not to bother you with non-emergent cases, but other surgeons are busy," she stammered as our gazes met, her blue eyes seeming to brighten even more. "We have a girl whose hand is so full of broken glass, can you please examine her?"

I sighed before glancing quickly at you, a little impressed that you still hadn't said a word. "Does she have insurance? How old is she?"

"Uh," Courtney hiccuped, looking at the patient's medical card. "I checked her insurance, it's valid and... she's nineteen."

"Nineteen?" I replied, suddenly feeling excited. "Well, I think this can be a good start for your internship. What do you think?"

Courtney seemed to finally notice that we were not alone, her plump lips pursed back into a thin line, and I really wanted to laugh at her reaction, but I told myself to stay professional. 

"I'm ready when you are, Dr. Bateman," your suddenly confident voice sounded so challenging that it struck a chord in my chest and brought back a long forgotten feeling of thrill. "I'm sure we'd make a great team under your guidance."

How sweet.

I managed to hold back puke at such a silly, saccharine statement. It reminded me of the cliché every doctor used whenever someone asked them why they chose to work in a hospital.

'Oh, we want to save people's lives! And we're not doing it because doctors have almost the highest salaries in the country!'

I grinned insistently, reveling in my own sense of superiority.  "All right then," I stood up and put on my doctor's coat over my custom-made scrubs with my initials on them. "Courtney, give the medical card to the intern."

The woman froze in shock. "But...but I thought I would assist you..."

I rolled my eyes as I checked myself in the mirror, adjusting the collar of my scrubs and pulling up the sleeves a bit to reveal my Rolex. "I think I made it very clear that your help won't be needed this time.”

If we were alone, I would probably just boff her before doing my work and that would help me get rid of her until the next time, but hell no, now I had a pain in the ass. And why should I have to teach an intern when I didn't even ask for one?

Meanwhile, you were waiting for me at the door, holding a medical card to your chest as if Courtney or I were about to snatch it from your hands. After I was completely satisfied with my appearance, I pinned my ID badge to my chest and walked to the door, trying not to stare too much at Courtney's ass while she was doing something at my desk that I never really bothered to know.

"You know what," I stopped suddenly before leaving. "Wait for me here," the blonde nurse turned to look at me, still bent over the table. "We'll discuss your new assignment."

A few minutes later, we finally entered the Surgery Division, and since you were a newbie here, I had to guide you all the way, telling you some things from time to time, and at some point I realized that I didn't really hate it, because I could blather on about being a super professional surgeon, and this whole place being mine.

Just like the whole hospital.

"I think this is our ward," I muttered and opened the door to let you in. " C'mon, don't be shy." I pushed you forward a bit before closing the door behind you.

The patient—a young red-haired girl with big green eyes whose tight top stuck to her chest so that her nipples poked out—looked at us the moment we entered the ward. 

"Oh, finally," she mumbled in sheer annoyance, her right hand covered in blood-stained bandages. "I was beginning to think everyone had forgotten about me."

Still nervous, you cleared your throat and quickly looked down at the medical card. "Sorry for the long wait, Miss...Miss Ray," you managed to smile, even though you looked like a patient who was afraid to get treatment, but not her, "My name is (y/n) and this is Dr. Bateman, he's one of the best surgeons in this hospital."

One of the best?

Your slightly incorrect comment made me furrow my brow, but in the next second I was smiling seductively at the girl whose scrutinizing look I couldn't miss. She was pretty attractive, hell, just the fact that she wasn't wearing a bra made her attractive. 

With practiced ease, I put on medical gloves after washing my hands very meticulously. Then I glanced at the patient's medical card, not taking it in my hands, but letting you hold it for me.

"Can I take a look?" I finally asked, taking a seat next to the examination table and putting the mask on. Carefully I began to unfold the bandages, the little whimpering the girl made gave me undeniable pleasure. "Well, that doesn't look too bad," I said when I could finally see the wound, and several pieces of glass had sunk quite deep into her flesh. "How did you manage that?"

The girl blushed as I began to examine her forearm, moving higher up to her shoulder, though it wasn't really necessary. I just loved how soft her skin was, as much as I could tell by feeling it through the elastic material of my gloves.

"I...I accidentally broke the mirror." She replied, her breathing uneven and her pulse quickening as I took a moment to check her. "My name is Liza, by the way."

I chuckled charmingly before turning to look at you, as you stood behind my back, watching my work very intently. "Can you bring me forceps? And...a scalpel?"

"Scalpel?" You replied a little confused.

"Yes," I confirmed and repositioned Liza's arm for better access. "And I'll also need a suture kit."

The girl tensed at my words that I would need a scalpel. "Is it...necessary?"

"Hmm?" I hummed, asking her a silent question while you busied yourself with preparing the instruments. 

"A scalpel...are you going to make an incision?" Liza asked, giving me a pleading glare, her fear was palpable in the air and I couldn't help but savor it.

"I just want all the instruments to be close by in case I have a need for them, that's all. Now please relax." I murmured this with fake sympathy before resuming the examination, pressing down on one of the shards and making Liza whimper. "Shh, it's okay."

The redhead frowned in pain. "It hurts...doctor...it hurts so much!"

When I heard you return, I removed my fingers from the wound. "All right, no nerve damage and that's good." I smiled, obviously lying, my hand was already extended, ready to take the forceps.

"Your forceps, doctor," the way you said 'doctor' made my eyes glow with a mischievous spark. "Clean and sterilized, just like the scalpel and suture kit."

"Very well," I replied, feeling a chill in the metal in my hand. "Put them here," I tapped the spot on the examination table, wondering how you would do that. "And where's your mask?"

Confused, you stuttered. "Oh...yeah...sorry," you mumbled in embarrassment before putting on a mask. "I'm still a little nervous."

Liza knitted her eyebrows in a skeptical way that almost made me burst out laughing.

Okay, now I'm really starting to like this.

"Don't worry, my pill fairy," I watched you place a metal tray with instruments on the spot I showed you. "It's your first day in the hospital...it's...always a little nerve wracking."

As soon as I said it, you stopped in your tracks, and even though your face was covered by the mask, I was pretty sure you were so damn embarrassed that I was going to burn my finger off your cheek. You didn't make any comments though, which made me a little frustrated, but I didn't show it, I took the forceps more comfortably in my hand and began to remove the broken glass from Liza's shaky arm. The way I used the instruments was always mesmerizing - a work of art - as some nurses said, including Courtney, but today I was trying my best because I wanted to impress you. Shard by shard, I took them all out without causing any pain, something I usually couldn't find anything to be proud of.

"Done," I muttered, throwing the last piece of glass into the steel bow. "You took it so bravely."

The redhead smiled tiredly, trying not to look down at her hand. "Thank you, Doctor."

"You're welcome, sweetheart," I allowed you to clean the wound with the antiseptic and dab it with a swab. "It's my job, after all. Now, (y/n), can you please show me how you were taught to make stitches?"

"Of course, Dr. Bateman," you replied without hesitation, and this kind of obedience seemed to become my personal drug.

Standing up, I took a moment to admire how your uniform accentuated all of your curves, especially the roundness of your ass and the arch of your hips.

Shit, maybe I shouldn't have let Courtney stay in my office?

With these thoughts I leaned against the white wall and took off my mask as I suddenly felt a strong urge to smoke, luckily I still had the box of cigars my father had brought me from Cuba. I imagined inhaling the sharp scent of snuff when Liza's sudden whimper pulled me out of my trance.

"Can I have an anesthetic?" She asked, squirming in her place as she watched you prepare a suture kit.

"Just a local one," I muttered, a bit annoyed. "That will be enough. (Y/n), what should you do before using anesthesia?"

My question made you freeze. "Ask the patient about any allergies?"

"Right, but in this case you can find all the information on the medical card," I took off the gloves and took the card in my hands. "Well, I don't see anything that would prevent us from using bupivacaine."

As Liza sighed with relief and I watched you take a syringe, I had to admit that I was amazed at how carefully and attentively you worked.

Maybe you're not gonna get kicked out of the hospital as fast as I thought.

P.S. Thank you for reading until the end! I don’t have a taglist. You can follow my side blog @makeyoumineagain and turn on notifications to know when I update!

[angelwiththeblue-box]

lrmmef hcs

- all of them are super physically affectionate, tending to squish on the same couch or stand shoulder to shoulder (all pretty touchstarved)

- adam leaves flowers everywhere, whenever he visits ef headquarters he makes fresh bouquets, and replaces the ones in mission creek weekly

- kaz and skylar bicker constantly but are super protective of each other and also platonically hold hands all the time

- speaking of skylar when she came out to bree bree got her a little lesbian pin and skylar started collecting them, amassing a large collection (for her bday one year bree got them a button maker. it’s skylars favorite present to this day)

- kaz loves giving people nicknames, it’s his way of showing he trusts them

- bree superspeeds to mission creek weekly so she and leo can keep up their gossip and nail painting sesh

- leo chase (and occasionally kaz) build robots for the annual robot fighting ring (kaz and leo always come up with flashy ideas that chase adds reluctantly)

- adam teaches chase how to make a bouquet for kaz for their first date and kaz pressed and saved one of each type so he never forgot (that was the date where adam gave the shovel talk, and also the one where he realized maybe he didn’t need too)

- all of them added personalized features to their mission suits (both elite force and lab rats suits) to better match skill sets and personal aesthetics

- chase absolutely adores romcoms, he and tasha will watch them together and cry (at ef chase and oliver watch them together)

- leo taylor and logan have their own official bionic team which the president calls on every so often. leo unofficially calls it leo and the heartbreakers (he also wanted them to start a band but taylor said no)

- kaz has the best music taste (according to him) and has so many playlists and djs whenever the team does road-trips or hangouts

- megahertz and tecton are kazs father figures and when kaz introduces chase to them megahertz loves him while tecton is skeptical (techertz and chaz are mirrors fight me)

- chase and bree get mistaken for being twins all the time, that one time for halloween bree made them go as the shining twins

- kaz and oliver have had a secret handshake since they were six

- kaz and chase got mistaken for being a couple long before they ever got together

- leo is douglass favorite (with chase in second) not that he’d ever say

- leo uses a mobility aid to get around on most days since it takes the pressure off his bionic leg

- leo and janelle are in a qpr and were childhood best friends turned acquaintances turned friends to qpr

- for the longest time in middle school people thought oliver and kaz were dating bc they only hung out with each other and they were super physically affectionate (they always discouraged the rumor but allos are on something else)

- douglas fidgets with his jewelry constantly

- when bree and chase were working at tech town adam and leo would come in all the time to annoy them

- kaz has tried multiple times to get a job at the domain but wallace and clyde do not trust him to work there and not slack off

- jordan and skylar still meet for the monthly gng game and the two meet up outside of that to work on characters and play with the rest of the mighty mice

- chase has been collecting books since he left the basement and keeps them stashed over his room at ef the academy and his room back at mission creek

- chase has had so many breakdowns about being not human enough and being called robot and unfeeling (not to project onto him more-)

- the rats and the mice love to watch shows together (their favorite is doctor who)

- douglas and horace watch reality shows together and spend the entire time throwing popcorn at the screen and yelling at characters for being dumb (donald banned baking shows from his the ef hqs and his house since tvs kept getting broke from either the rats or douglas or tasha getting angry and throwing something. the house almost burned down once since adam tried to prove a point and failed)

pt. 2 will probably be coming since i cant stop thinking about these shows

tagging the gang: @blueskiesandstarrynights @thedragonemperess @depressedtransguy @lab-trash @tronagon

[rainythefox]

After Midnight

Sequel to Nightfall - AO3 Link

Summary: Three months after her near-death entanglement with Albert Wesker, Claire Redfield remains fettered to him as both lover and prisoner. As such, he once again pulls her into his dark games of power and control. Adamant at having her all to himself, Wesker's hold on her tightens as he pulls them both towards an unsatiable holy grail. But this is to be just the beginning of what would become an absolute nightmare...

Claire/Wesker, Chris/Jill, slight Claire/Leon and Ada/Leon. (also big focus on Wesker and William's friendship and past). Pre-RE1- Code Veronica time frame.

Chapter 1: Behind Blue Eyes

November 4th, 1971…

“The world needed your mother. She was essential. To modern science. To the future. Not you. You are disposable. An expedient…no, an anathema upon this world.”

His father’s last words to him repeated in his head, again and again. 

Then he was left behind at this strange facility with all the white coats.

That was after spending his birthday two days ago flying across the Atlantic Ocean to the United States.

Chicago, he recalled. That’s where he was. A research facility in Chicago. His father had spoken with the man in charge here…something about compensation for his “participation”. Anything to get that funding he always talked about for his research…

The doctors here poked and prodded him. Drew a lot of blood. Ran numerous tests. Nothing he wasn’t used to.

The young boy sat on an examination table in a small white-walled room for what felt like hours, the lights irradiant, just like the rooms he had often found himself in back home. The brightness hurt his eyes. He winced and squeezed his blue eyes shut. If he didn’t, he felt he would go blind.

He didn’t bother checking the door. He knew it would be locked. Everything in his life was controlled. When he could eat, when he could sleep, when he could leave. Isolated. All alone. Although that wasn’t anything new. He had always felt this way. His father abandoned him years ago, even if he had seen him every day of his life up until now.

Anathema…anathema, he thought over and over. He knew the word. A curse. Abomination. Something consigned for sacrificial offering and destruction.

The door opened. Instead of the usual apathy that accompanied him, always knowing it to be his father, a fleeting anxiety passed through him as two strangers entered.

One was the man in charge here his father had spoken to for “compensation”. He was quite important, a lord he’d overheard, but the boy knew nothing of who he was. The other man was a doctor and seemed to be friends with the lord. They both looked to be in their late 40s, although it was just a guess.

The lord wore a proud, triumphant smile, looking the boy over as though he was a prize of sorts.

“Hello, Albert,” he greeted politely, kneeling beside the boy. “It’s an honor to finally meet your acquaintance. I am a longstanding colleague of your father, Andric. My name is Lord Ozwell Spencer, but you may call me Ozwell.”

The lord extended his hand. Albert stared at it. Clean, soft skin. No scars. No calluses. There was a big ring with a familiar crest on its face. It made his head hurt as he tried to recall where he’d seen it. They had never met before, but the boy felt this man somehow knew all about him. He didn’t take the offered palm. The smile was camouflage, the handshake a venomous bite.

Ozwell’s British accent carried a mix of elegance and power. It was more evident than Albert’s father’s accent, which had lost much of its original Germanic cadence from working in England.

The lord didn’t seem displeased when Albert didn't take his hand. He softly chuckled, his eyes still not leaving the boy. “Strong, silent type, I see. I like that in a young man.” He motioned to Albert’s face. "Did you get into a fight at school?”

He was so used to it that Albert had forgotten all about it. “My father never appreciated me challenging him.” Albert glared at the lord. “Tell me, did my father get his just compensation for dropping me at this hellhole?”

Ozwell glanced back at the doctor with a pleased smirk. His friend didn’t smile back, looking more surprised than anything, and scribbled on his clipboard.

“I assure you, young man, that ‘compensation’ was for something else…something before you were born that I owed him. His research is valuable to my company. And so we thought it best I take you in for a bit so he could work away on a very important enterprise.”

Why did adults always lie? Did they think him gullible?

“Something tells me you aren’t so heartbroken over it,” Ozwell said softly, offering the boy a friendly, reassuring smile. “Trust me, you’ll be far happier here. My dear friend Dr. Hensley will just run a few more tests to make sure you are in good health, and then we can get you situated, alright?”

Albert didn’t bother nodding or answering. He didn’t have a choice. They escorted him through the bright, winding hallways of the medical facility. His head hurt. He spotted other children here but never crossed paths with them.

“Are you alright, Albert?” Ozwell asked.

“The lights hurt my eyes.”

The lord slowly nodded, seemingly logging it away with a quick side glance at Dr. Hensely.

When they got to their destination, it wasn’t another patient room, it was a fully functioning laboratory, similar to his father’s. They took him into the back where Dr. Hensley carefully performed a set of tests, including drawing more blood. Afterwards, he was left alone so they could talk in the room next door.

Albert hopped down from his seat and padded over to the cracked door to eavesdrop.

“I told you he was a beautiful specimen, didn’t I?” Ozwell stated. “I’m eager to see him as an adult after the indoctrination and training. He will be the perfect candidate for the next evolution of my project. Tell me the results you’ve received.”

“He’s in impeccable health, my Lord,” Dr. Hensley answered. “He’s developing how we had anticipated and his new genetic screening results are what you were hoping for.”

“Perfect to pair with Alex in the future, then?”

Alex? His sister he’d recently found out about? Pair with her how?

“Without a doubt. However, I am concerned with his lack of socialization and interpersonal skills.”

“He was raised that way on purpose. Don’t worry, he’ll gain those with James.” The lord paused, thinking, and then asked, “Was the light sensitivity listed before on his genetics? This is the first I’ve heard of it.”

Dr. Hensely shook his head. “No, but it’s a common condition when breeding for the Aryan characteristics that you desire. Nothing to be concerned about.”

“Does he remember anything outside of Andric?”

“He does recall the boarding school with the other Wesker children, but not enough that concerns me. The mind manipulation and synthetic memories are solid. If we continue doing what we are doing, he will never remember it all on his own.”

What?!

“Excellent,” Ozwell praised. “Start the next process immediately. I’m leaving for home to meet with Lord Ashford, Lord Henry, and Lord Beardsley tomorrow. James has already been informed and has prepared for Albert to stay with him. Just make sure to wipe his memories of the last few days and reprogram him before handing him over.”

“As you wish, my Lord.”

“And I mean it, Theodore. The utmost care and diligence in handling Albert. His value is beyond estimation. He is one of the most important assets of our future.”

Asset? His father had called him the opposite…yet the same, gut-churning feeling came from the word. The same bad taste in his mouth as though he was just something to be used. A tool, a weapon, but in the end, thrown away. 

Panicking, the boy raced to the door, knowing full well it would be locked. He turned the knob and tugged on it anyway. I have to get out of here! 

It didn't budge. Trapped like always.

He didn’t want to forget. He didn’t want his mind manipulated. He didn’t want to be controlled. Ruled. If only he was stronger…

What had he done to deserve this? His father’s voice played in his head, blaming him for his mother’s death, day after day after day. Was it that? He didn’t mean for it to happen!

Albert moved away from the door when Ozwell and Dr. Hensely emerged from the back room. The boy pretended to be interested in the x-rays on the wall, feigning composure.

“Well, Albert, my boy,” the lord sighed, the same creepy smile and watchful eyes on him, “I must take my leave. I have important duties to attend. Dr. Hensely will take good care of you. Please behave for him. I'll see you soon.”

Albert stayed silent, a growing knot of disgust and hatred twisting in his stomach. He thinks I belong to him. I’m not his. I don’t belong to anyone!

After Ozwell left, Dr. Hensely patted the examination table with a warm smile. “Okay, buddy. Just one shot and you’re good to go! I’m sure you’re ready to get out of here. We have a nice room and meal ready for you.”

Albert didn’t move. It came rushing back to him. The shot wasn’t an immunization of any sort. It was to put him to sleep. Then he wouldn’t remember when he awoke.

They’ve done this to me before…multiple times. He couldn’t recall how many. It was all too fuzzy. His head pounded.

Albert shook his head. “No.”

Dr. Hensely was surprised by his answer, putting his clipboard down and rubbing the back of his head. “Oh come now, Albert. Surely a strong, brave young man such as yourself isn’t afraid of a little immunity boost?”

“Liar,” Albert hissed. “It's anesthesia. You want to knock me out and make it so I don’t remember.”

“W-What? No! That’s absurd! I’m only here to help you.”

The boy refused to move, glaring at the doctor.

Dr. Hensely sighed. “Look boy, you’re doing this whether you want to or not. It’s out of your control. Either you come over here willingly or I have thirty employees outside this room that will hold you down. You wouldn't want another blackeye, would you? So which one is it?”

Albert kept his challenging gaze, one fist balled, his chest a tight knot. No choice. No control. They controlled him. They did own him.

Never breaking eye contact, Albert slowly approached the doctor and sat on the examination table. Dr. Hensely, tense and agitated, let out a deep breath and picked up the syringe.

“Get used to the fact that you will never be in control, kid. That’s how it is here. I’m sorry.”

You will be sorry…

He had to remember. No matter what. He couldn’t let them do this to him…again.

Dr. Hensely leaned in and injected Albert’s arm with the drug. The boy winced, glaring at the doctor in growing hatred…until he snatched up a scalpel on the nearby tool tray, and stabbed it into Hensley’s jugular vein.

Blood sprayed all over Albert just as the world started to spin. Dr. Hensely crashed backwards onto the floor with an agonized cry, gripping his throat.

Just before the world went black, Dr. Hensely bled out all over the floor in front of him. He heard the gurgled curses, felt the warm blood that drenched him, tasted it in his mouth. None of those things compared to the satisfying rush of power and victory he felt in that moment. He had overthrown a ruler. He could conquer them. He would conquer them all.

He should’ve done it to his father, but it was a start. They would not be able to suppress his awakening forever. One day the blinders would be removed and he would remember…and then everyone would be sorry.

The blue eyes, astute and austere, burned into his very soul, seemingly reading his deepest, darkest thoughts. The smile, proud and valiant, hid depravity within an invisible mask of dignity and power.

He couldn’t understand this feeling of being revolted by this man, yet, concurrently, being drawn to him.

“Albert?”

Albert looked away from the eerie oil painting of Lord Ozwell E. Spencer, not realizing he had lost himself in thought under the sharp gaze. He glanced up at Dr. James Marcus…his new guardian. The man was in his fifties with graying brown hair and wore a brown suit. Composed and shrewd, he was a bit harder to read compared to most adults for Albert. He still didn’t know what to think about his new guardian, but for better or for worse, the boy was stuck with him. For now.

It had been a long week. His father had dropped him off here in the States to live with Dr. Marcus, although he couldn’t remember much of the trip or the days after. Has jet lag affected me this acutely before? James had briefly shown him around the large mansion that belonged to Ozwell, before proceeding to the Umbrella Executive Training School. Apparently, James resided here in his laboratory, with his own living quarters, which is where Albert would mostly be staying. Soon, he would be attending the school as well.

James approached Albert when he didn’t move, he himself looking upon the portrait.

“My dear old friend,” James said with a wry smile. “He’s done so much for me…he will do a lot for you as well, Albert. Just remember he is the same as the Snake in the Garden of Eden. Watch his tongue…and certainly watch his bite.”

Albert wasn’t religious by any means, but he knew the stories. “You attribute your friend to the Devil?”

James smirked down at him, delighted. “Better to acknowledge you’re friends with the Devil than to deny it. Come along. There’s someone you need to meet.”

Albert hesitated, his eyes lowering to the floor. His polished shoes matched the equally polished floors of the school. His head hurt so bad. He tried to remember what happened before coming here, but it was all a haze. He recalled his father on the plane. He had said something to him before leaving. He just couldn’t remember what. Ozwell had told him his accommodations were temporary before handing him over to James, but this didn’t feel temporary.

“My father isn’t coming back for me…is he?”

James paused, frowning. He considered his next words. “No. He got what he wanted out of you. And in time, so will Ozwell and myself. But no worries, my boy. You are where you are meant to be. Trust me. In time, you will make them all pay. I’ll show you how.”

What an interesting response from an adult. Albert then followed him closer than he had on the whole tour. James led them to his living quarters nestled adjacent to the laboratory of the training school. It was a nice-sized apartment, modern and clean…a little more room than what Albert and his father were accustomed to.

“William, come out here,” James called. “There’s someone here you need to meet.”

Albert looked around the living room. Spacious. Hardwood floors. Brand new furniture. Paintings and photos adorning the walls. It hardly looked lived in. There was a wall dedicated to a trip to Africa and James’ doctorates. He settled on an intriguing photograph full of beautiful red and gold flowers with peculiar shaped petals, nothing like he had ever seen before.

Soft footsteps rushed into the living room. When Albert turned around, he was surprised to see another boy, having expected William to be an adult. The boy was smaller than him, maybe a year or two younger, with short blonde hair and blue eyes, just like him.

William looked just as surprised to see Albert as he was to see him, but the shock quickly turned into a big, toothy grin and he nearly hopped over to Albert in excitement.

“No way! You got me a brother?!”

“William, settle down. I don’t care what you call yourselves. Just get along. William this is Albert, Albert this is William. You’ll be roommates so get used to each other. I have to make a phone call.”

He was never informed there would be someone else while living with James, let alone someone his age.

Albert tensed and moved away when William eased closer with hushed excitement, especially now since it was only them. Albert had never mingled with other kids before and was unsure of the formalities.

“Nice to meet you, Albert! Can I call you Bert? Oooh, how about Al? I like Al!”

“No. Just Albert,” he grumpily answered, already irritated with the other boy’s whimsical behavior.

“I like your accent Al, are you not from the U.S.? You’ll like it here. James is alright, I guess, but the school is amazing! I’m the youngest child prodigy to be studying under Umbrella!”

This boy was a child prodigy as well? Albert looked him over skeptically. He decided to move away, giving into instinct instead of attempting conversation. He had no clue how to handle this interaction.

William followed, his excitement waning only slightly, instead a mild diffidence forming. “So uh, where are you from?”

“Not here.”

“What happened to your family?”

Albert clenched his jaw. “None of your business.”

“Oh, it’s okay,” William reassured. “I’m an orphan too. It’s why I’m with James. Been here for about a year. I never knew my parents.”

When Albert didn’t answer, William gasped and ran around to block his path.

“Wait a minute! Are you a prodigy too? No wonder James took you in! Oh, this is exciting! Finally, some competition! We could test each other’s limits and push ourselves further! Granted, that’s likely why they put us together to begin with, but just think of all the fun it will be. I mean, I’ll probably win, but it’s-”

Albert punched William hard in the nose. Partly to make him shut up…mostly to establish dominance.

The younger boy yelped, his nose busted, blood pouring out of his nostrils. He cupped his face, staring at Albert in shock as his eyes watered from the sting. “Ow!”

“Well, I just tested the limits of your face, and I must say…you need some work,” Albert sneered.

“What the hell is going on here?!” came James’ angered voice as he rushed into the room, practically yanking the two boys apart.

“I’m fine!” William blurted through his fingers.

Their new guardian sighed, shaking his head. “Why did I agree to this?” He headed for the door, snapping his fingers at William. “Come along, both of you. William, we need to do an x-ray.”

“Oh, it’s definitely broken,” William stated calmly and obediently followed after James.

“Albert, come,” James ordered in the doorway, glaring back at him.

“He brought it on himself,” Albert grumbled, and begrudgingly followed.

“Did not!”

“You did so!”

“BOYS!”

A few months later…

There was a chill to the air, but Albert was numb to it, lost in thought as he waited. Continuous mumbles soon interrupted his thoughts and he glared over at his “roommate”.

William had perched himself so he was lying upside down, halfway off the examination table, his blond hair hanging from his head and brushing the tiled floor. His face was turning red from all the blood rushing to his head.

Albert sighed. “What are you doing?”

“I’m bored! Why do you have to come for tests more than I do?”

“I don’t know, and who said you had to stay behind?”

“And go with James to that old person meeting? No thanks! You’re way more fun, Al.”

“How fortunate for me.”

The lights were burning his eyes as they waited. He squeezed them shut…and tried to tune out William in the process.

Albert was still settling in with James and William. He’d excelled in the boarding school since day one, enjoying it immensely compared to the one his father had sent him to. As annoying as his little roommate was, Albert found himself minding his company less with each subsequent day. Maybe he was building a tolerance to him…or maybe William was growing on him a little, although he refused to admit it.

William started humming, his fidgeting rustling the paper on the exam table. Albert opened his eyes and glared, witnessing his roommate attempting to slide down into a handstand, using the table as a brace to keep his balance.

Albert stood and reached over, grabbing William’s leg and yanking. With a startled “Ack!”, William toppled over. “You just had to do it, didn’t you,” he groaned as he got to his feet, dusting himself off.

“My head is killing me. I’d appreciate it if you stopped being bothersome,” Albert replied, cupping his fingers over his eyes.

“Ohhhh, it’s the lights again. Hmm.” William stood there thinking hard, glaring up at the bright lights while rubbing his chin. “I know!”

He headed for the door. The locked door. The one that always contained Albert. “It’s locked.”

“Psh! That doesn’t stop the great William Birkin!”

The nine year old prodigy procured a key out of his pocket and unlocked the door…just like that. Albert jumped to his feet when the door opened. “Where did you get that?!”

William looked confused at first. “Oh. I stole it from James. No locked doors for us, buddy! Come on, I have something for you!”

William stepped out of the room without a care in the world. Albert hesitated at the threshold. The fuzzy memories, the consequences, they stifled him for a moment before William snatched his arm and yanked him forward.

“Come on, slow poke!”

Albert followed William through the hallways. He had most of it memorized now, but was still not as familiar with it as William. The adults didn’t pay them much mind, too busy with their own duties down in the executive school’s research facility. William slipped into a smaller laboratory and beckoned him to follow.

By the time Albert caught up, William had snatched something off of a researcher’s desk and shoved it into his hands. “There! Now when you’re in the room with the bright lights, they won’t bother you! And you’ll look cool in the process!”

“Sun…glasses?”

“Yeah!”

Albert sighed. “Whose even are these?”

“Who cares? They’re yours now! Trust me, he won’t miss them.” William smacked Albert’s shoulder as he headed out. “Let’s get back before they miss us though.”

Albert nodded, slowly following after him, looking the sunglasses over. They looked positively ridiculous to say the least. He wouldn’t wear them unless he absolutely had to…but…it made him recall that no one bothered to help him with his eyes in all the years he had complained about the pain.

They returned to the patient room to wait. William sat down beside him, a few feet away, as he knew Albert didn’t like anyone close to him. But he slowly and quietly inched himself closer, and then presented something else to him when Albert didn’t snap at him to move away.

It was the key that unlocked the door. “I have another copy. This key is a master key for most of the facility. I…understand. I’ve been in locked rooms my whole life, too. But um…we can help each other not be controlled so much by them, yeah?”

Albert slowly took the key, peering at it as though it was invaluable treasure. He nodded silently in reply, squeezing his fingers around the brass.

Wincing from the lights, Albert slipped on the sunglasses. They were too big for him, but they did help tremendously against the bright glare. 

William tittered next to him. “You look dashing!”

Albert snorted a suppressed laugh. And honestly, he couldn’t remember if he had ever laughed before.

March 19th 1998…

You can wait on me for once, asshole.

Wesker scowled at Claire’s text. It pertained to their established assignation tomorrow. She certainly enjoyed testing his forbearance at times. Not for the first time, he questioned his decision to gift her the PDA for maintaining contact.

His response would have to wait, however. He glanced at his watch after stepping foot into the Circular Café near Clock Tower Plaza. It was a popular bistro nestled right on the river. He soon spotted his quarry waiting for him at a booth.

The information broker, Aaron Roth, stared out onto Circular River, the water absorbing the morning hues of golds, purples, and reds. On the other side of the river, Raccoon City was a resplendent backdrop to this first act, towering, shadowy buildings in fresh dawn under a canopy of sun-tinged clouds. 

Like most prey that had advanced senses to detect prowling predators, Roth caught sight of Wesker halfway towards the booth. Guarded, the broker inched his steaming coffee closer when Wesker sat across from him.

Nothing was said at first, even after Wesker pulled off his shades and stared his emissary down. A young waitress soon arrived at their booth.

“Good morning, Captain! Your usual?”

Wesker broke off his staredown long enough to give the girl two seconds of his time, direct eye contact, an artificial smile, and one nod. “Yes, that will do.”

“On it, sir!”

Wesker leaned back, leering at Roth. “Didn’t expect to find yourself back in Raccoon City so soon?”

“Yeah, something like that.”

“How was your trip?”

Roth snorted, half-rolling his eyes while sipping his coffee. “Let’s skip the bullshit smalltalk, yeah?”

“Straightforward and efficient, as always. Good. It plays in your favor to keep me happy. Now proceed.”

Roth picked up a large white envelope that had been lying next to him. He pushed it across the table to his master.

“Well, the confidential data you and Birkin blackmailed out of Bard is correct. Christine Henry does have a secret project in the works. Laboratory Six in Paris. Derived from the Nemesis Project that’s been around for nearly a decade. Evidence suggests that it is in direct competition with Sergei’s pet project, T-ALOS. That explains why she wanted all the info on it three months ago.”

Wesker opened the envelope and flipped through the documents enclosed inside. Nemesis T-Type. Yes, this was it.

“Another tyrant-based project? It seems both Umbrella USA and Umbrella Europe cannot shake their unbridled rivalry.” Wesker enclosed the stolen research safely back inside its envelope. “All the better for me, I suppose.”

Instead of answering, Roth stared behind him, his usual composure becoming strained. By the time Wesker noticed, it was too late.

“The nerve you have to meet him here.”

Wesker sighed. “Sit, William. And be nice.”

“I was hella nice to Bennett. I’m still finding pieces of him, by the way,” William growled like a feral cat, and frankly, he kind of looked like one too after three nights underground.

His partner sat beside him, but looked like he wanted to reach across the table and scratch out the eyes of their liaison.

“Will, in just the span of a few months, Aaron has compensated us far over what he stole from you years ago. Let it go.”

“But he sold it to Alexia.”

Wesker glared at him.

William sighed like an indignant teenager. “Fiiiine.”

“Here you are, sir!” came the bubbly voice of their waitress, and she sat Wesker’s coffee in front of him. She then quickly presented William with a wide smile. “Dr. Birkin, you too? Do you want your usual?”

“Nah, Al’s paying today. So get me three orders of biscuits and sausage gravy, an everything bagel with avocado, a Spanish omelet, a side order of bacon, and a large triple shot caramel latte with extra whipped cream. Oooh actually, add another shot to that because I’m beat.”

“You got it, Doctor! I’ll get that out to you pronto.”

Wesker glared at William after the waitress bounded away, although Roth was left looking a little confused. 

“What?” Will asked. “I’m hungry. Plus, I have a family to feed. You just keep drinking your sad black coffee, my friend. It will never be as black as your soul.”

“Actually, I am drinking a macchiato.”

“Aw, look at you giving yourself a little light. I knew Claire would be good for you!”

“Wait. Claire Redfield is still alive?” Roth asked.

Both Wesker and William broke off their repartee to glare at the info broker at the same time. He had unceremoniously readjusted their focus. Roth quickly regretted asking, as Wesker’s glare alone could kill.

“Why do you care, Aaron?” Will asked.

The information broker, calm and sly, lightly shrugged, feigning skepticism. “I just figured she’d long served her purpose by now.”

Such a clever rat.

Wesker scratched the top of his hand, an unspoken, discreet message to William. “What else do you have for us? Good news, I hope?”

Roth slowly nodded after swallowing. “Yes…She has agreed to meet you both. Unfortunately, the arrangements are a little tight because of her schedule. In two weeks. It’s the only time I could secure from her. But if you’re wanting to get info on her secret project and any of her other dirty little secrets, I suggest you take advantage post haste. I’ve already spoken with Alex and she has Daniel on board to help.”

“Two weeks?! There’s no way!” William grumbled. “You couldn’t make it in a month or so?”

The broker shook his head. “Dr. Henry is of noble blood. Very proud. Very secretive. Quite powerful and influential. She’s also quite fickle. She usually only gives out opportunities like this once. I highly suggest you take it while it stands, or you might lose her as an ally completely.”

“It won’t be an issue,” Wesker calmly added.

“Speak for yourself, I’m way busier than you!” Will scoffed.

“If I may,” Roth cleared his throat. “Will this not catch the attention of those above you? A UID agent and the Chief Researcher going on a trip to Paris to meet one of Umbrella Europe’s executives? Surely that will catch Spencer’s attention?”

William frowned and looked at Wesker, who didn’t even blink, but merely passed Roth a condescending smile. “I appreciate your ‘concern’, Aaron, but I already have it resolved.”

“Of course you do.” Both Roth and William said in unison, only to give each other weird looks.

“Proceed forward and tell Daniel to contact me. We’ll be there.” Wesker smirked. “It will be a pleasure to finally meet Christine Henry in person.”

Roth dipped his head and rose. “I’ll get it done.”

The info broker left without another word. William watched him depart completely from the café while Wesker took a long drink of his coffee.

“Such a good, obedient little puppy,” Will scoffed. “Until he shits in our shoes.”

Wesker smacked him with the envelope. “Stop your caviling.”

His partner took the envelope and stood just about the time their waitress returned with William’s order.

“Here’s your food all bagged up and your caramel latte with four shots of espresso! You might have a hard time sleeping tonight.” She giggled.

“Sleep? What’s that?” Will joked and winked at her. “Thanks, doll. Come on, Captain, let’s go!”

Wesker yawned and followed William out to his car. After the Chief Researcher secured his food on the back floorboard, he slid behind the wheel while Wesker waited in the passenger seat. Wesker finished his coffee while his partner took the time to go through the documents inside the envelope.

“Hmm, so after nearly a decade of impasse, it seems their ‘Nemesis Project’ has finally been redeveloped. You know, I met Henry briefly when Spencer imported one of their Nemesis Alpha parasites a decade ago. Remember that trip I made to Paris with Spencer like a week after we filled Marcus full of holes? Anyway, her father was in charge then. And since there were no BOWs at the time that could survive the parasite, I took the liberty of implanting it into Lisa. I got my beloved G-Virus out of it! I can only imagine what these new parasites could do if injected into Lisa now…But it seems they plan on implanting them into the next-generation T-103 Tyrants they want to mass produce on Sheena Island. They don’t even have the bugs worked out of the Epsilon strain or the T-002! Cart before the horse much?”

“They wish to test the T-002 on live combatants and use the data towards the final improvements for the new models. That is nothing new,” Wesker explained. “It will be machine versus organism in the coming months on which project will helm Phase Three and determine the future of the Tyrant line.”

“My money’s on this bad boy,” William replied with a child-like grin, staring at the prototype’s design in his lap. “Such intelligence! And look at that artillery!”

“Nature will always prevail,” Wesker agreed.”That is one constant in this world. T-ALOS may have a highly confidential A.I. nexus, but its advantages do not outweigh its disadvantages compared to the Nemesis Alpha parasites.”

“I do spot an error in this blueprint, though.” Will tapped the diagram. “Given how the parasite grows and attaches itself to the central nervous system and brain, I highly predict the cranial and facial tissues will have to be stapled or stretched. He won’t be this pretty.”

“What does that matter?”

“It doesn’t. I'm just pre-bragging how I’ll be right. You’ll see.”

“I will get in contact with Ada. She can come along with us and oversee Daniel.”

“Um…isn’t she on assignment in South America?”

Wesker frowned. He’d been so busy these past few weeks it had slipped his mind. He thought it over. “Alex is also unavailable. It would be in our best interest to have someone else we can trust on this trip. Unfortunately, we might just have to make do with Daniel.”

“Hey, didn’t you say Claire speaks French?”

That’s all it took for Wesker’s brain to do what it did best. Calculate, plot, scheme, orchestrate…

In that same moment, his phone dinged, and a familiar name read across the screen. Claire, sending him another text in response from earlier.

I’ll be there.

Wesker stared at the words, his lips spreading into a wide, devilish grin.

[scifrey]

Cling Fast

By Losyark

Read below, or read the updated/edited version over on AO3.

The Sandman (Netflix with some sprinkling of comics canon, and Gaiman Cinematic-Literary Universe canon) Dreamling (Hob Gadling x Dream of the Endless | Morpheus) Complete Mature Unbeta’d

Hob Gadling is a clingy bastard, and he’s not ashamed to admit it. He clings to life. He clings to hope. He clings to his love of humanity. He clings to his Stranger. He also, unfortunately, has a habit of clinging to his name.

Which means, when the BBC is looking for a new pet history expert to appear in their educational docudrama series “Elizabethan Manor,” they’re overjoyed to find a professor of domestic history who, according to their meticulous research, is actually descended from the Master of the National Trust building they’re filming in - Gadlen House.

Only Hob knows how right they are.

Picks up a few hours after the end of Episode 6.

*

Author’s Note: I don’t know what I’m doing. New to this fandom, new to this ship, and this is the first fanfic I’ve written in over a year. I am just coming back from a creative burnout so bad that I ended up leaving my literary agent.

I haven’t written anything that isn’t loosely connected drabbles in literally years. So, I don’t know what’s going to happen with this fic. It may get written, it may fizzle. I have the idea plotted out, but I’m trying to approach it cautiously, with my eyes averted, in case it spooks and bolts.

That’s why I’m posting this here instead of AO3, I guess. I want to see if it’s something that resonates with people, and me, before I commit to posting it there.

*

Prologue

"One hundred years, then?" Hob's Stranger asks, hours later, when Hob's talked himself hoarse and his business partner is flipping chairs onto tables to mop. Hob's marking has been jammed unceremoniously into his briefcase and completely forgotten, and there are three empty pint glasses at his elbow. The wine glass in front of his Stranger is still full.

"2089 or 2122?" Hob asks, through disappointment like broken glass on his tongue.

Chapter One

The problem with Hob Gadling is that–and he will admit to this–he really is a bit clingy. Always has been. And sometimes it bites him straight in the arse.

Chapter Two

“Remarkable,” Doctor Harriet Butler says, freezing mid-handshake when she meets Hob’s eyes. “Just remarkable, the resemblance–”

“I’ve heard that a lot today,” Hob tries to interrupt, embarrassed by how much two separate BBC Historics production assistants have already gushed over him in the short walk from the Broadcast House lobby to this back office. 

Chapter Three

It's a diary. It's Eleanor's diary. Hob hadn't even known El had kept a diary.

“It’s her handwriting,” is the first shaky thing he says, flipping open the cover. “I… I never thought I’d see it again, I never…” the rest of the sentence is lost in an ugly, phlegmy hiccough.

Chapter Four

Hob spends the next month finalizing deal memos outlining compensation and percentages, which Lucienne helps him parse, and then quibbling with the legal department of the BBC on the actual phrasing of the longform contract to ensure he’s not accidentally signing away his soul. He’s already done one deal with an all-powerful, unknowable entity without being aware of what he was agreeing to. He’s not keen on doing it again.

Chapter Five

Either out of pity for his exhaustion or because he had duties of his own to prioritize, Morpheus doesn’t appear to Hob during his sleeping hours in this week. Hob only manages to concentrate enough to relocate himself to the castle only the one night. He finds himself alone in the throne room, and enjoys the opportunity to spend some time with his own company, after so many hours being crowded by the rest of the Historics team.

Chapter Six

Hob's house used to smell of—of flowers from the garden, and good clean horse sweat from his rides, and El's sweet perfumes, and the waft of fresh bread or sugar-and-rosewater from the kitchens, and the fatty funk of tallow candles burning, and whatever Robyn was into lately, mudpies or oil paints, and the polishing oils the servants used on the wood and boots, and the gentle fragrance of whiskey and porto after dinner, and… And now it just smells like aggressively, astringently nothing. Like a museum.

Chapter Seven

Hob wakes up with a splitting headache, but otherwise no other effects from his hangover. Except for the sinking feeling that comes with remembering that he screwed up his 1589 feast again. Would it be pathetic to try a third time? Especially knowing now that Morpheus rarely eats, and when he can be persuaded to, it's never British fare. Yeah, it would be pathetic.

Chapter Eight

For the first time in six hundred and seventy-two years, Hob is genuinely angry at Morpheus.

Chapter Nine

Hob throws the door of the flower shop open hard enough that it rattles in its frame. “Sorry!” he shouts. “And sorry, I know you’re about to close, I was stuck at work for hours and I just–” He looks around the shop, realizing that he is utterly, utterly out of his depth. “I need help.”

Chapter Ten

Today is the day that Hob drowns, and on the whole he's feeling pretty sanguine about it.

Chapter Eleven

Somehow, the summer and Hob's brush with the glitz and glam (more like the sleep deprivation and hurry-up-and-wait) of The Biz comes to an end. The first week of classes start up, and as he promised Morpheus, Hob eschews sleep in order to review the texts, and write the syllabuses and prepare the lectures that he didn't have time to over the summer. Morpheus only throws sand in his face and drags him down into the Dreaming twice, when Hob hadn't caught so much as a cat-nap on his junky office sofa in over forty-eight hours.

[vickyvicarious]

JONATHAN HARKER'S JOURNAL. MY BOY IS BACCKKKK

omg it's been so long

"all I wrote down was... true." and then the pause... ajfklasdf

the HESITATION before "the Count" and the HATRED ohohohohoho

ooh somehow I always missed that Jonathan went to pick van Helsing up from the hotel. no wonder he was surprised to see him

heehee, Jonathan being charmed by van Helsing being charmed by Mina

that sting of music at "you have cured me." is spooky!

Love the delivery of "Doctor, you don't know what it is to doubt everything, even yourself. -No, you don't!... you couldn't... with eyebrows like yours!" Jonathan sounds almost lost in his own head/memories at first, and then like he's cutting van Helsing off forcefully, too forcefully. He realizes how intense he's being, tries to save it by turning things into a lighthearted joke

ohh, van Helsing has such a fun laugh when he isn't King Laughing.

Jonathan: "<3 I would listen to him go on praising Mina for a day <3"

more HANDSHAKES OF FRIENDSHIP I love them so much

ohhhh, Jonathan's voice when he says it made him choky. So cute.

Jonathan's ferocity on "I am with you heart and soul."

""The Westminster Gazette"—I knew it by the colour" Jonathan is so observant. I wonder if he went home and bought his own copy to read for what affected van Helsing so much. but he might be too busy with Count preparations

"Mein Gott! Mein Gott! So soon! so soon!" THIS DELIVERYYYYYY and the repeated "so soon"s continuing under the train noises. agonizing

I never realized that van Helsing didn't expect Lucy to be risen yet! This is the first he knows of her hunting down kids!

"Truly there is no such thing as finality." god Jack sounds so exhausted. He's had more sleep in the past few days than in ages but he sounds tired and miserable still. And once again he's isolating himself in work, not reaching out to friends for comfort.

"I had a letter from Arthur," the wistful almost laugh, and god everything that comes after about Art and Quincey. It is so apparent that he wants to be there with them, that he wishes he could be receiving comfort too, but he doesn't feel like he is the one who deserves it.

"he will only let out enough at a time to whet curiosity." he sounds tired here. in an annoyed way, but mostly just tired. he doesn't seem to have the energy to feel curious anymore, because what's the point? Lucy is already gone.

van Helsing STILL refusing to speak first, buddy he is outright asking you to just tell him. start with the vampires!

every single "____? no?" is so funny. he says it almost the same way every time, trying to find his baseline for Jack's skepticism

"For, had she live one more day, we could have save her." oooof

"Do you mean to tell me that Lucy was bitten by such a bat; and that such a thing is here in London in the nineteenth century?" van Helsing, this was your opportunity! if only he knew that Jack has noticed Bat Weirdness already, it would have been a great opening

so much corn

"Here I interrupted him. I was getting bewildered;" he sounds it, oh my goodness. Also still just upset and distressed by all this

"[harsh sigh] To believe what?" SO frustrated, ahhahaha I love it, and I totally get it

""In God's name, Professor Van Helsing, what! do! you! meannnn?"" bwhaahahahaa omg Jack Has Had Enough

"Oh, my friend, why, think you, did I go so far round, why take so long to tell you so simple a thing? Was it because I hate you and have hated you all my life? Was it because I wished to give you pain? Was it that I wanted, now so late, revenge for that time when you saved my life, and from a fearful death? Ah no!" VERY dramatic wording, some more Miette energy here

but seriously, Jack is so loyal, and willing to go so far for the people he loves

Dr Vincent sounding American is funny because that means so far the only people in London to namedrop vampires are all American. I guess that fits with vampire bats being from South America

"he said he wanted to play with the 'bloofer lady." so at least we can assume Lucy has that vampire charm going on pretty well. She isn't hunting via scare tactics or stealth. She's playing with them, or at least they think she is. thoughts about vampire hunting strategies...

"and standing back, politely, but quite unconsciously, motioned me to precede him. There was a delicious irony in the offer, in the courtliness of giving preference on such a ghastly occasion." this is funny for other reasons too if you think about how nervous van Helsing probably is too. also how he is trying to make sure Jack can't just leave

Jack is great at setting a spooky/sad scene.

the bag rustling noises! the coffinlid creak!

Jack's whisper... and his protectiveness over Lucy...

van Helsing's bone saw gets a lot of use for non-bone purposes

"all the dogged argumentativeness" ohohoho he's feeling so stubborn and almost petulant sounding. I love the sarcasm in van Helsing's "That is good logic."

the strong threat of breakdown of trust in van Helsing offering the key, so Jack will know he isn't messing with the coffin/corpse. And Jack just stubbornly refusing because that wouldn't be enough to stop van Helsing anyways

and yet despite his anger, his frustration and exhaustion and disbelief, he still doesn't leave. he willingly stands vigil.

the music as Lucy comes through. oh, I love it

"Are you satisfied now?" van Helsing has an edge of guilt and horror, the tired almost sigh on the last word. And yet this entire situation has NOT been predisposing Jack to buy in so he just gets even snippier and more sarcastic ("yes, it is a child!")

Jack and van Helsing sneaking up and dropping a little kid in the path of a policeman is such an absurd image. but it's really sad at the same time. I feel awful for these poor kids.

[kabie-whump]

Hell yeah I got excited (if you don't want to reply to all of them that's completely fine. I love ya)

For Onthyes - How is your oc about medical care? Do they avoid any form of healthcare that they can, do they seek it out over every little scrape? Do they treat their injuries/illness all by themselves?

For Ventis or Onthyes - Is your oc afraid of touch or do they actively seek it out? Is there a reason for this? What are the exceptions?

For Ventis - If you had to choose a single object to act as a symbol for your oc, what would it be? Why?

For Onthyes and Ventis - What five ingredients would you throw into a cauldron to make a potion based on your oc? How would you cook/mix them? What would the potion do?

For Onthyes and Ventis - How easily does your oc get attached to things? Does everything have a sentimental value to them, or do they see nothing as more valuable than its practical use? What about with people/animals?

For Ventis - Are there any habits your oc has picked up from people around them? Do they know where they’re from? Does your oc try to stop themselves from doing it?

Thanks for all the questions this is exactly the distraction I need. Fuck organic chemistry am I right ladies?

(cw child abuse mention)

Onthyes is 1000% the kind of guy to like never go to the doctor cause he was raised in a toxic environment where needing medical attention makes you look weak. His mom learned healing magic for that very purpose, since he kept getting hurt while training with his father and then just not going to a doctor. His father’s a big fan of “just walk it off you’re fine” meanwhile Onthyes is actively bleeding out from a stab wound or something.

I think Ventis and Onthyes are both super touch starved, but they handle it differently. Ventis tries to avoid touching others too much and he’s shy about being touched, but it’s just out of fear that he’s gonna get too excited or something. He doesn’t wanna get caught grinning and blushing over a handshake. When Ventis gets really comfortable with someone he’ll start touching them a lot more but it takes him a long time to get to that point. Onthyes is super touch starved and he makes it everyone else’s problem. He’s pretty touchy, like he’ll give hugs or pat your shoulder or put his hand on your back if he needs to get behind you for some reason.

Ventis is like,,, a super expensive vintage designer sweater or something. Or a carved sodalite dragon’s skull. But for symbols I usually use clouds and lightning to represent him.

I answered this one for Ventis eariler so I'm just gonna do Onthyes (and @sapphicccici you can correct me if I'm wrong about anything at all Onthyes is technically your son not mine). Ingredients: lemongrass, fresh squeezed orange juice, your own blood, your lover's blood, campfire ash. Put it in a bowl under direct sunlight in the middle of summer and inhale the vapors to instantly disappoint your father.

Onthyes tries not to get attached to things and especially people out of fear of losing them. He has this silly little curse on his bloodline or whatever where he's destined to lose his first love and I'm sure it gave him some attachment issues. Even though he tries really hard not to form attachments he can't help but do it anyways. It's a hard question to answer for Ventis. His dragon blood gives him some serious hoarding instincts so he definitely likes to have Stuff even if he isn't using it. But I think after getting banished from his home he stopped hoarding objects so much and started hoarding love. He gets really attached to people and doesn't like to let them go even if they're not good to him. He does have that aloof 'black cat energy' as well, so he acts like his friends don't mean a lot to him but they really really do.

I've also already answered this for Ventis so I'm doing it for Onthyes- Onthyes's father used to hit him with 'surprise training sessions' aka he would just attack him with no warning or anything, so Onthyes is really obsessed with watching his back and sleeping with his sword and shield within reach. He's also picked up a lot of military-ish habits from his time in the guard, like waking up stupid early. Ventis is trying to teach him how to relax and sleep in every once in a while, but he's not super successful.

Thank you friend this was fun!

[justmochi]

I posted 1,504 times in 2022

That's 1,017 more posts than 2021!

1,259 posts created (84%)

245 posts reblogged (16%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@justmochi

@cafemilk-tea

@jisoossmirk

@ikissvernon

@joshuas

I tagged 1,387 of my posts in 2022

Only 8% of my posts had no tags

#floofs - 485 posts

#mochi sh!tposts - 365 posts

#justmochi: rosie - 297 posts

#justmochi: eden - 185 posts

#justmochi: jenn - 175 posts

#daisie - 169 posts

#rosie.love - 154 posts

#fake kpop idol - 148 posts

#fake kpop addition - 145 posts

#aesxocnet - 141 posts

Longest Tag: 69 characters

#jenn and rosie rly would throw their life on the line for their lover

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

be the sun

pairing :: eden x seokmin

word count :: 1.0k

synopsis :: eden visits seokmin backstage after his concert.

time :: june 26, 2022

Eden stood awkwardly against the wall, twirling the light stick in her hand. She watched the 97z reuniting, not wanting to intrude on their moment. Just as she was about to check her phone for the time, she felt a hand on her shoulder, scaring her.

“It’s just me, no worries.” Seungkwan took his hand back, furrowing his eyebrows in concern.

“Don’t sneak up on me like that!” She playfully slapped his shoulder, rolling her eyes.

“My apologies.” He bowed his head causing her to chuckle. “Did you enjoy it?”

“You know I always do. You don’t even need to ask.”

“Ahh, right.”

“How do you perform for four hours straight? Aren’t you exhausted?”

“It’s definitely exhausting, but our fans give us enough energy.” He nodded with his hands on his hips, smiling towards her.

“And you cried a lot tonight. You okay?”

“I’m alright, Eunhye. Thank you for asking.” He smiled towards her, holding his hand out for their handshake. She smirked, following his lead and leaning back against the wall as soon as they finished.

“Is Jeonghan recovering well?” She made small talk while waiting.

“He’s doing okay, but I think he’s at his limit tonight.”

“Well yeah, did you see him last night in his cast? His doctor is not going to be happy.”

“Oh for sure.” Seungkwan laughed at her joke, shaking his head. “I think he’s kept you waiting long enough. I’ll go get him”

“I don’t mind waiting-!” She tried stopping him. She was enjoying his company, but she also didn’t want to seem impatient. She was okay with waiting if it meant Seokmin could catch up with his friend.

She kept her head down until she heard the man calling her name. It seemed Seungkwan had taken his members' place to talk with their guests, sending him to his girlfriend.

She turned her head, a relieved smile finding it’s way onto her face. Seokmin held his arms open, approaching her before engulfing her in a hug. Eden wrapped her arms around his waist, patting his lower back. He rested his chin in the crook of her neck, inhaling her scent that literally smelled like candy.

“Hello beautiful.” He kissed her forehead, patting the top of her head with his hand. “I’m sorry, did you wait long?”

“No no, it’s okay.” She shook her head, bringing her hand up to caress his cheek. “Did you have fun?”

“So much fun.”

“Then that’s all that matters.” She readjusted his bucket hat, rearranging his hairs that laid on his forehead.

“Did you have a good time? No troubles or anything?” He used his fingers to massage her shoulders, giving her that familiar, welcoming grin.

“It was perfect. It’s been forever since I’d seen you all perform like that. I loved it.” Eden perked up, finding his gaze. She puckered her lips, asking him for a kiss which he gladly obliged. Seokmin kissed her lips, proceeding to give her one on the cheek too.

“I just gotta pack up some of my stuff, then we can head out.” He reached for both of her hands, drawing his fingertips against hers before intertwining them. “Come with me.”

And she knew deep down, she’d follow him anywhere.

See the full post

80 notes - Posted June 28, 2022

#4

Resurfacing

pairing :: eden x seokmin

word count :: 3.6k

synopsis :: eden visits seventeen at the hybe building.

warnings :: really bad angst. domestic abuse. toxic relationships. ptsd.

A/N :: ❗️ THIS IS A WORK OF FICTION! ❗️ Please don’t assume that this is what said idol is like irl. It is not meant to defame or make anyone look bad. Please let me know if there are any other warnings I should add. This one gets really heavy.

She never thought the day would come that she’d find herself standing in front of the hybe building. She much rather preferred the old practice room that Seventeen used, it was cozy and wasn’t too overwhelming to navigate. The only thing holding her back was her own anxiety. Seokmin would come to visit her in his spare time, the least she could do was get over her own fears and see him too.

Seokmin had been waiting on the first floor at the doors for her, quickly letting her in and wrapping his arm around her. “It may look a bit overwhelming but just follow me.”

She nodded, locking her arm around his waist. She had a knot in her stomach until seeing his smile, her nerves being eased little by little. It was all so high tech and fancy.

Getting to Seventeen’s practice room, they were all stretching and messing around with one another. Seokmin clapped, making his presence known and all the boys waved towards her.

It had been what felt like ages since seeing them like this. And they were all still the most welcoming. Seungkwan approached her, holding his hand up for a high five.

“It’s been forever, welcome back!” He smiled, looking at his member before back at her. “What do you think?”

“It’s huge. Has anyone gotten lost yet?”

Seungkwan looked at Seokmin, laughing before he shut up quickly because of the glare he was giving him. “Yeah, all of us have had our fair share of problems.”

“It’s the same as it’s always been. Just a bit more space, that’s all.” Seokmin smiled down at her, rubbing her shoulder while pulling her closer to his chest.

“So I guess I can just chill on the sidelines and be your guy's cheerleader?” She flattened her lips, raising her eyebrows at the two men.

“You can do whatever you want.” He reassured her. There weren't too many rules that changed, so she took it as her sign to behave like she always had. It had been years since she saw the group practice like this, she almost forgot what she would do when she visited him regularly.

“Well Eunhye, you know we’d love nothing more than to keep chatting with you, but your man has to stretch. I’m sure you don’t want her to be looking after you when you get a cramp.” Seungkwan’s eyes were strict, raising his eyebrows as Seokmin sighed.

Eden turned in his grasp, feeling him perfectly rest his chin on top of her head. She hugged him, patting his back before pulling away and smiling at him. “Go do your stretches.” He didn’t want to let go of her hand, his body turning into putty as she slipped from his fingers. Seungkwan put his hands on his shoulders, pushing him to where his members were stretching on the floor.

The girl walked toward the perimeter of the room, finding a free bench to sit and watch.

See the full post

80 notes - Posted June 20, 2022

#3

Babying

pairing :: rosie x dino

word count :: 0.8k

synopsis :: rosie takes care of dino on their tour.

warnings :: mentions of overworking oneself. rosie being a good maknae. fluff

The tv played faintly in the background as the young couple got comfortable in their hotel room. It was another night after their show that Rosie was taking care of Chan. She always found herself watching him while onstage, making sure he was okay. She was in good health minus her ankle. She was doing all she could to look after herself, now she wanted to make sure her members were healthy.

She stayed close by as he showered, knowing how dehydrated he was he could have an accident. He could dress himself for the most part, but after coming out of the bathroom, he was exhausted. He plopped down on the bed, taking a few minutes to catch his breath.

Rosie took a spare towel, patting his head with pressure to dry his hair. She pressed the back of her hand against his forehead, frowning as he still had his fever. “Still feel bad?”

He nodded, contorting his face in discomfort as all the stress from the day came pouring down on him.

“I have your medicine ready.” She helped him sit up, grabbing the water bottle from the nightstand and making sure he had a tight grip on it. She grabbed the assorted pills in her hand, Chan holding his hand out for her to pour them into his palm.

He quickly popped them into his mouth, taking a drink of water to get the pills down. Rosie supported his hand holding the bottle, looking down at him attentively. “Do you need a straw? I can get you one.”

He shook his head, waving his hand as he took another swig.

“Drink up. Even just the tiniest bit can help your body right now.”

He exhaled heavily, mentally beating himself up. Even though he didn’t desire water, he knew that it would give her some peace to see him drinking.

She crawled into the bed next to him, getting comfy against the headboard with pillows stacked. She held her arms out as her sign he could relax against her. He sighed, shifting around until he laid comfortably between her legs, his head against her tummy.

She wrapped her arms around him, hugging him close while swaying side to side. She felt so helpless.

“I don’t know what’s wrong with me. It’s so frustrating.” Chan sighed, patting his hand gently against her knee. She softly patted his chest while humming.

She pouted, knowing there wasn’t much she could do to ease his worries. She hoped that her hugs and affection could at least give him some clarity. “I’d take it all from you if I could.”

Her finger traced over his inner arm where he was given an IV. The site was bruised already and she couldn’t even begin to imagine how he felt.

“How’s your foot?” He considered her state too. He knew she didn’t think of it as big of a deal compared to the other members. He was still worried.

“I’m fine. I can tolerate a lot. Don’t worry about me. I just want you to look after yourself.” Rosie flattened his hair down, kissing the top of his head.

He wanted to say he was trying, but he was still blaming himself for being so weak during this time. She watched him push his limits so many times while on tour.

“It’s not a crime to rest, Chan. We understand if you need to take time to catch your breath.” She reassured him, her fingers brushing through his hair.

“I’m sorry.”

“What are you apologizing for?”

“Everyone is worried about me. I feel like I’m dragging you all down with me. You shouldn’t have to take care of me like this.” His hand found hers, rubbing circles around her wrist.

“Are you kidding? I love taking care of you. You’re my baby.” She chuckled while Chan smiled for the first time in days. “Everyone’s been taking care of me for years. It’s my turn now.”

“Of all times I had to get sick.” His grin faded, the guilt creeping up on him again.

“It’s okay. It is what it is and we just gotta focus on getting you better. This will pass.” She shimmied out from underneath him, helping him cover up with the blankets. “I’m gonna take a shower. Just try closing your eyes, you need all the rest you can get.”

He knew it was gonna be difficult to fall asleep on his own, but he couldn’t ignore her demands no matter how hard he tried. She stroked his cheek, pushing his hair out of his face as she kissed his forehead.

See the full post

81 notes - Posted January 25, 2022

#2

IN THE SOOP EP. 1 + 2

pairing :: rosie x seventeen

word count :: 2.0k

synopsis :: seventeen get settled in in the soop

a/n :: Italics = interview parts

“I don’t really remember much from my trainee days. I feel like my brain was still developing and therefore can’t remember even the simplest things. Memories were made when I debuted. I remember everything from then on. I can’t sympathize with the members when they say it’s hard for them to take breaks. I trained with girls so we had a different regimen.”

“Even with TTT, our instinct is to be funny. We still have cameras around us and sometimes scripts. I just hope this will truly be a time to rest and rejuvenate ourselves.”

Seungkwan set his bag on the floor, watching as Rosie sat across from him and buckling their seat belts. “Wonwoo fighting!”

“It’ll be tiring, but you can do it.” Seungkwan encouraged him, yawning and pressing his head against the window.

She played games on her phone before Dino spoke up. “Did Seungkwan sleep late last night?”

She looked over at him, knocked out asleep. “Don’t you think he’s gonna wake up with a cramp?” She chuckled before looking out the window.

The girl was the first one to hop out of the car when they arrived. She took a good minute to stretch her legs and arms from being confined for so long.

[Q. Your first impression of “In the SOOP”?]

“The minute I stepped out of the car, I suddenly got really paranoid. Like am I gonna get a bunch of bug bites? It was very overwhelming. I didn’t know how to feel. I don’t ever get homesick but I just kinda felt out of place. Maybe it’s because I’ve never gone camping before.”

She skipped over to the pond where DK and Jeonghan were singing a jingle. “There’s tadpoles.”

She squealed, kneeling down and taking her phone out to take pictures of the tadpoles.

“Jeonghan loves catching tadpoles.” Wonwoo sat back and observed Rosie and Dino who got closer towards the water.

“You can pick them up? Is that safe?” She turned around at the older member who then nodded back at her. She put her phone back into her pocket, rolling up her sleeves and cupping her hand and carefully scooping one of the tadpoles.

“Awe! They’re so cute!” She gently put it back into the water, picking up another one.

“I wanna try.” Dino pouted, getting scared as Rosie and Jeonghan picked them up effortlessly. She giggled at him, taking his hand and helping him catch one in his hands. He tensed up, afraid he would hurt the tadpole or it would hurt him.

“It’s okay, they don’t bite. They’re just trying to grow up.” He smiled back at her as they continued to catch tadpoles.

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85 notes - Posted March 10, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Mirrors

pairing :: rosie x dino

word count :: 0.7k

synopsis :: rosie and dino are left alone in the practice room.

time :: april 2018

warnings :: suggestive, comedy, floof

Chan finished vacuuming the practice room, unplugging it from the outlet and putting it in the closet. It was another day where he would be a good maknae and offer to tidy up. He knew that whenever he would do that, Rosie would stay back behind with him to keep him company.

That’s exactly what she did today. She helped him by dusting and wiping down the mirrors so they were spotless. She finished up by packing up her backpack that she had for the day. She had nothing more to do, so she stood up from the floor and started piecing together some of the choreography they learned today.

She made sure her limbs were precise, emphasizing each move slowly. Chan slipped back in the practice room, watching her from afar. He crossed his arms, biting his lip while watching her reflection in the mirror.

When she finally felt his eyes in her, she looked at him in the mirror and got flustered. “Am I doing something wrong? Did I mess it up?”

He chuckled, shaking his head while walking behind her and wrapping his arms around her waist. “No, you’ve got it down perfectly. I just can’t believe how pretty you are.”

She felt her cheeks and ears ignite with heat. Between his affirmations and arms around her, she thought she could combust at any moment.

He pushed her hair to the other side, revealing her neck and placing delicate kisses. Something about it felt so wrong but exciting to her at the same time.

He turned her around in his grasp, one hand on her hip while the other caressed her cheek. He carefully backed her up against the mirror, her skin making contact with the chilly glass.

“Chan, I-I just cleaned these.”

“And?” He flashed her a cocky smile, caging her between his arms as his hands pressed against the mirror.”

“Come on, your fingerprints!” She furrowed her eyebrows, knowing well she couldn’t stay mad at him just for that reason, not when the tension in the air was overwhelming.

“I’ll clean them, don’t worry.” He almost towered over her, leaning down and capturing her lips in a kiss. She would be stupid not to kiss him back. She lifted her arms to wrap around his neck as his tongue slipped past her lips, causing another strike of electricity to course through her veins.

It felt so liberating to Chan that they were finally alone together, somewhere that wasn’t their bedrooms. The mirrors were starting to fog up as each kiss deepened and it was getting harder to breathe.

“What the hell are you two doing?” The familiar voice of Jeonghan echoed through the practice room. Rosie quickly opened her eyes, pushing Chan off of her to see him and Joshua dumbfounded. She put her hand on her hip, using her other to cover her mouth to hopefully hide her swollen lips. The long, heavy breaths they both took was enough proof they were making out.

Chan was shaken, scratching the back of his head while stuttering on his words. “I thought you guys had left? Why are you back?”

“Joshua forgot something. Are you busy? Should we go?”

“I presume Chan finally confessed his love to you?” Joshua teased the boy, watching him widen his eyes as if to tell him to shut up.

“Hyung!” He blushed while whining at him.

“You knew?” Rosie butted into the conversation, looking back and forth between a chan and the older men.

“Please, he would never shut up about you.” Jeonghan watched as Joshua went to find what he forgot.

She snickered, looking over at Chan who was trying to get them to shut up. “No, I confessed first. Give me some credit.”

They were shocked once again, their jaws hanging low trying not to laugh at Chan.

Joshua patted Jeonghan’s shoulder before pulling him to the exit. “Well don’t be out too late, guys. Don’t do anything stupid and be safe. The eldest winked at Chan.

“Maybe calm down on the pda too.”

See the full post

88 notes - Posted May 18, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[viky2318]

Chapter 5: family.

Alphys seemed concerningly nervous. She kept looking around for the Lab to see if everything was alright and fixing things that were already good, her small clawed feet rapidly tiptapping up and down. the moment she stopped anywhere she just quickly checked her cellphone, stood still a moment glancing around and then went back walking around. Duo tried to tell her a few times that everything was fine, but she almost ignored him every time. After a while the skeleton gave up and started reading a book. He didn’t have many other things he could do, so in those few days he just read books. They were interesting, and the skeleton could spend whole afternoons just reading. The only thing that he didn’t like about it was the fact that he knew that the books on the shelves weren’t infinite, and so one day he would need to find something else to do. Sure, Undyne started coming over from time to time, but he couldn’t count on her presence forever… 

Alphys was still walking up and down nervously.

Maybe she needed a break? Sure, the King was going to be there that day but- geez, she sure was exaggeratingly nervous! The days before she seemed overly joyful about this meeting and now she seemed about to explode in anxiety. The skeleton had no idea why she was like that, but he didn’t like that. Before he could try again to talk to her though, someone knocked on the door. “Oh- I- uhm- I’m coming!!” the lizard nervously exclaimed as she almost ran down the escalator and went to the door. It wasn’t closed, but for some reason the person on the other side didn’t open. Duo decided to get up and reach her, just to make sure everything was fine. The door opened, and a tall goat came in. He wore a long purple cape that partially hid a metal armor, and had a fluffy yellow beard that seemed made of cotton. A small crown, symbol of his status as the King of the underground, was placed on top of his head between a pair of well-kept horns. The old man had a quiet and warm smile, and his eyes, one orange and one light blue, seemed the ones of someone who saw everything in his long life. His face didn't hide the concerns of someone with an important role as his own, but there was also the satisfaction of knowing his people were well and safe. He looked exactly like last time…

Wh- again?! What was that continuous feeling of knowing this and that despite never having seen any of it? Geez, it felt so bothering…

“Good afternoon, doctor. May I come in?” The goat asked despite it not being necessary, his voice low and gentle. Alphys nervously stuttered a quiet “of course” and moved aside to let him in. The King walked inside, and the door slid closed behind himself. The old man's eyes moved to the skeleton, that seemed almost short compared to him, and smiled warmly. “Howdy young one. You're Duo, right? Doctor Alphys told me many things about you”, he greeted, offering a handshake. Duo took the goat’s hand and shook it lightly, his thin skeletal fingers almost disappearing in the soft fur. “Yes, that is me. It is a pleasure to meet you, Asgore”, he replied, not remembering Alphys ever mentioning the King’s name. “The pleasure is mine, young one” the goat commented, releasing the skeleton's hand. “Now, do you mind if I ask you a few questions?”.

The three monsters sat at Alphys’ table, ironically the only thing that actually remained quite messy, and Asgore started making him questions. He asked about general things: how he was doing, what he usually did during the day, if he liked staying at the lab. He never forced Duo to reply right away, and his tone was always warm and friendly. The skeleton most of the time, surprisingly, had a reply that was clear and defined. Even about preferences, he had clear tastes and opinions. This surprised mostly Duo himself, since he tried almost nothing of the things he said he liked or preferred. He felt as if those preferences got defined before he could experience them, or as if he did but then permanently forgot about it. It was such a weird feeling, Duo simply couldn't help wondering what that was from. Maybe those were caused by the “mistakes” Alphys made as he created him? But then what about all the things he felt he knew about people? So weird…

After a while, the King had to go back to the capital. He asked for Duo to accompany him outside for a moment, as he wished to talk to him in private. The skeleton never stepped out of the Lab, but he didn't get too surprised as he saw the astounding lava falls of Hotland and felt the immense heat of the place.

“You know”, Asgore started as the door slid close, glancing at Duo with a quiet smile and a thoughtful look. “Alphys is a brilliant mind, but her self confidence isn't really the highest. She once had an assistant that helped her with that, but after he passed away she almost completely closed herself. Not even Undyne, the Captain of the Royal guard, had been able to help her much…”. The skeleton frowned a little. She had an assistant? What happened to him? And most importantly- what happened to Alphys? Was she alright?

“she may not clearly show it, but from the way she spoke to me about you she seems to care for you dearly. I'd like you to understand it and to help her when you can. I know it may be a lot to ask from someone you barely know, but…”. Duo remained silent for a moment, but then smiled at the old goat. “Of course, I'd love to help her with what I can. It's not a problem”, he replied. The King smiled wider, taking one of the skeleton's hands in his paws and giving it a gentle squeeze. “Thank you, young one. This means a lot to me”.

That evening, as usual, the flower popped out from the floor of Duo’s room. “Howdy there, friend! How was your day? I heard the King himself came by! Is that true?” he joyfully asked, climbing up a leg of the bed and placing himself in a sitting-like position next to the skeleton. “Yeah, he did. He's a really nice guy. Hey, uhm- you said you have known Alphys for a long while, right?” Duo quietly asked back. Flowey tilted his head, giving him a curious look. “Yes, I do. We have known each other since ages by now! Why do you ask?”. “You know, Asgore said something about an assistant she used to have. Do you know anything about this person?”. The flower frowned a little in a thoughtful expression, but then his face lit up. “Oh, I knew the guy! He was truly a nice person, you know? Smart, creative, supportive, patient… he was the best! Such a terrible loss… His name was-

Duo opened his eyes, quickly getting used to the dark of the room. Kate was still asleep, and the house was silent. Papyrus floated next to him, quietly murmuring a “good morning”. The skeleton silently got up and walked downstairs, the floating skull following him close. The clock in the kitchen read 6:15. Finally, a decent hour to wake up at. After a half hour he prepared breakfast for himself, Kate and Napstablook, making order in his papers (which remained scattered on the table until then) and placing the cups on the table. He almost automatically sat down with a cup of tea in his hand, taking with the other one of the papers and reading what was there all over again.

Why was the Barrier made like that? The human mages must have done it on purpose. He heard they were able to do anything, so why not make the Barrier with a regular thickness? Why make a space thin enough to let humans through?

...

Did they…

Nevermind. What mages from hundreds of decades ago wanted to do wasn't something he should care about.

With the new information he had, it was all different.

He lost so much time at New home when he could have just gone to the Ruins… 

A whole year wasted…

No, dammit- focus!

He had the data he got from New Home. He just needed to analyze them from another perspective. So maybe in a few months-

No. 

No no no. 

Not “a few months”. 

He had to go back to the Ruins and make a new analysis.

If it was as Paps said, Kate could go back home in less than a week.

In no time she could be again with her family.

“Paps, do you think I can reach the ceiling of the room with the flowers and take a look at the Barrier myself?” the skeleton asked the floating skull. Papyrus thought about it a moment. “Hmmm… I suppose you might be able, if you use a few bones as ladders or something like that”. Duo smiled, content with the answer. “Very well then. I know what we'll do today”.

The skeleton placed the paper back in the small pile as Kate sleepily walked downstairs. "Good morning buttercup”, he quietly said as he raised his gaze to hers. The small human walked to him with a small smile, sitting on a chair next to him and Papyrus. “ ‘Morning Duo… ‘morning Paps…”, she replied, taking a few cookies to eat with her cup of milk. “Hey, would you like to go to the Ruins again? Paps and I want to check a few things, and I thought you might want to come over”, the skeleton asked the little human as he stood up and went to the TV, opening the drawer under it. “Oh, of course! I'd love to!” Kate joyfully replied, completely waking up all of the sudden. The skeleton smiled a little more at her reply, taking out from the drawer some instruments and putting them in a backpack before closing the drawer again and looking at the human. “Very well then. This week we'll skip the visit to New Home”.

Soon enough, Blooky came by. This time he politely declined the offer, saying he had to keep an eye on his farm, but this didn't bother any of them.

Around 8:30 they started walking, and by 11:15 they were in the room again. Kate sat down in the middle of the flowers, curiously looking at the skeleton. Duo took a deep breath, then with a swift gesture he summoned a bone attack. It was long and thin, like a tibia, but as big as a human sword. It had been quite a while since he summoned one of those… he tightly held it with both hands, then made it move towards the top of the room. The attack lifted him without a problem, quickly bringing him higher and higher as Paps followed him close.

Duo lifted himself on the bone as soon as it reached the Barrier, sitting on it as he took a careful look at the magic shield. The Barrier here surely looked different from the area he used to see at New Home… it was completely transparent, and the skeleton could see a small cavern over the barrier. On one side, a hole showed the outside. He could see a glimpse of what seemed like a light blue ceiling (the sky, if he remembered correctly) and a bunch of… trees? Bushes? Something like that. And from that hole a pure, bright light illuminated the whole little cavern, resembling the light of New Home but with something that made it completely different. There were some noises from outside, partially muffled by the Barrier. He could hear the rustling of leaves in the wind, a sound he knew well from the forest that surrounded all Snowdin Town, and multiple curious sounds, composing what could be considered some sort of melody, but not made by instruments. Was it birds? He couldn't be sure. After all, all he knew about them was from old books.

The skeleton took out an electronic tool from his backpack, a small device  that resembled a voltmeter but with only one cable that ended with a small needle. He stuck a metallic ring on the needle and laid it flat on the Barrier, then turned on the device and changed the settings to “flow”. The device was made to detect the magic power of things and measure it, either by sensing the radiation of the thing or by measuring the flow of magic at the contact. The two methods were both valid, but depending on the situation one was better than the other. For example, detecting the magic radiation of a thing may be better than checking the flow itself if the object you're analyzing is rather small or if their magic quantitative is low, while the flow is easier to detect in big objects or things with a high amount of magic.

The device started beeping, a number on the small screen of it getting higher. After a while it made a loud noise, and the number ceased to grow. The magic power of the barrier, obviously, was higher than anything else in the whole Underground, but in that specific area it was lower than in New Home. He quickly put the device back in the bag and took a small notebook, then wrote down the numbers and confronted it to the others he had: a human soul (Kate lend her own to take the measurements), a monster soul (Napstablook and Papyrus' ones) and a theoretical being with both souls (estimated through the others’ souls and the magic of the Barrier at New home).

He remembered seeing Alphys working on the Barrier from time to time. She said that a soul could go through the Barrier if it had around 50% of its magic (see how a single human soul, which is around 14.3% of its magic, can't go through and how 7 human souls, the equivalent of 100% of its magic, can break it). Comparing the data he had with what Papyrus said, that theory could be confirmed, and this meant that he could actually find a way to go through himself… if he found a way to collect the equivalent of a whole human soul in there.

Now though, he had to actually try making a human soul go through.

Sadly, he knew Kate wasn't the kind of person to take such an important decision all of the sudden. The human was smart and brave, but to make choices she always needed a little while. Not only that, but Duo was pretty sure she wouldn't leave the Underground all of the sudden.

“What now?” Papyrus asked all of the sudden, taking the skeleton by surprise. “Now… Now we gotta hope Kate won't do anything dumb when we'll tell her we might have a way to send her home”.

With a quiet sigh, the skeleton went back down to the floor of the room. The young human was drawing things on her little notebook, a focused frown on her face. As soon as he stepped down the attack, Kate stood up and went to him with a big smile. “What have you found? Anything new?” she asked with a curious look. Before Duo could reply, the floating skull turned himself into letters that said “we found a way out for you”. The skeleton didn't want to be so direct… the little human, as Duo expected, made a little confused frown. “... For me? Like- only for me? Why can't you and Blooky come?” she asked, a hint of concern in her voice. “Because of the Barrier, buttercup”, Duo started to explain. “If monsters could go through it, we would have got out long ago. Apparently humans are able to pass through it in this area, but only humans”. “But why is the Barrier there? Monsters are nice, why did they close you down here? You did nothing wrong!” The young human exclaimed, starting to get bothered. The skeleton sighed quietly, feeling that the discussion would end up getting pretty long. He crouched in front of her, directly looking at her big orange eyes. “I thought I already explained this to you… more than once… Long ago, Monsters and Humans fought against each other, and after a terrible war the Humans won and banished the Monsters because they didn't like what was different from them. They put the Barrier all around the Underground so that Monsters couldn't escape. Dozens, maybe hundreds of expert  Monster magicians and scientists worked on it, trust me, but they simply didn't find a way to take it down or to escape from it”.  “But then how did all the other monsters go away? You said they went away but we've seen all the Underground and didn't find anyone else! A-and then! I never saw a monster on the surface? Where did they actually go?” The girl stubbornly continued.

Well shit.

“... I…”

That wasn't a subject the skeleton wanted to deal with.

She was so small, so young, so innocent…

“I don't know. I really don't know”, the skeleton quietly lied. He simply couldn't bring himself to explain to her what actually happened.

“Then there MUST be a way out! A secret passage or something like that for a place with all the other monsters! And I'm not gonna leave any of you until we find it!” Kate declared, an almost stern look on her face.

…

“... Sure thing kid. We just gotta find it”.

START PREVIOUS NEXT

[primadonnaromance]

Prima Donna Romance Season 1 Episode 8: Charlotte's Web

Previously On Prima Donna Romance: Leslie De Brosse is believed to be dead from a vicious earthquake, angering Keshin into going after Jacob LaFierre, who seeks out Doctor Jones for his own personal aid. Doctor Jones is a CCA agent, and Leslie lives?

Bob Marley pushed through the school doors with a scratch on his arm and Shelby followed him with a bruise on her cheek. Both walked past students that stared at them as if they were crazy, as if they knew their secrets. Bob Marley grabbed Shelby's right hand.

Shelby looked up at Bob Marley, her eyes pleading with him to release her. He pushed Shelby against the wall of the locker, admiring her face.

Keshin De Brosse grabbed Bob Marley from behind, pulling him away. Instead of helping Shelby, he pulled at her shirt, lugging her off into the men's bathroom. The walls in the men's bathroom were grimy, and the floors smelled like poo. Keshin pushed her against the wall, and as he was about to kiss her, he was pushed to the floor by Leslie De Brosse.

"Take my hand," Leslie said, holding her hand out to Shelby, who, knowing that Leslie was Jacob's girlfriend, was reluctant to take it. Also, rumors circled the school that Leslie was sucked into a tornado. Shelby deemed her respectable for that, though, so she took Leslie's hand. "Come with me, we'll eat lunch at my table, with my nephew."

"You have a nephew that goes here?" asked Shelby.

"My sister was an adult when I was born. Mom and my sister gave birth at the same time, mom giving birth to me and my sister giving birth to my nephew." Shelby and Leslie walked down the hallways, getting pushed around by other students trying to get to class. "Crazy story, my mom was sixty when she gave birth to me."

Leslie and Shelby squeezed between a long lunch line, a trail of students bundled in thick scarves and winter coats leading to the self-serve salad bar and the snack bar. They came upon a lunch table that seemed to stretch into nowhere.

At one end was a man—a man considered by his classmates to be shorter than average height, wearing a black tie and black suit, lettuce and ranch smearing his face—and there was a group of bullies standing on the other end, shouting, mocking, making noises, and generally being irritating.

Another man, a senior dressed in red of equal stature to the other man, a junior, walked up behind the bullies. "What are you doing?"

The bullies continued to cry out remarks about the junior's height, and also now began to mock the senior's height. "So what if he's short?" The senior dressed in red walked up to the man the bullies considered short and patted him on the back. "He's good. Do you have a problem?"

The bullies made the sounds of elves and goblins, waggling their ears with their pinkies.

Leslie tried to step in, but Shelby calmly held her by the arm and walked ahead of her. The bullies didn't dare look at her even before she gave the most calculated retort to their bullying. Every word she said hit them how she wanted it to, her words like arrows hitting dartboards. She sent the bullies away crying, then introduced herself to the man in red and the short man in black. "My name is Shelby Denningford. You two are alright."

"My name is Rasheb Nevim," said the man in red. "My mother is a counselor at this school."

Shelby accepted Rasheb's handshake and the handshake of the other man, the junior wearing the silver tuxedo and black tie. "My name is Djorrhan Djorrhar—d, j, o, r, r, h, a, n." Leslie walked behind Shelby, giving fistbumps to Joey and Red Freddy. "That's my sister Leslie."

"I like you, Djorrhan," Rasheb said, scratching his chin with his thumb and his index. He adjusted his red jacket, hiding a black shirt under it with the Led Zeppelin emblem. "I think I'll call you Joran—j, o, r, a, n."

"Because it's easier to spell?" Djorrhan rose from his seat as the bell rang, students pushing past him and almost trampling Shelby, Leslie and Joran. Shelby and her new acquaintances formed a barrier with their bodies, forcing the others to walk around them. "Really?"

"No, I just like giving my friends nicknames." Rasheb helped Djorrhan—Joran—to his feet, and eventually Shelby and Leslie.

"Why not Joey or Joe then?" Joran asked, biting his lips. Teachers and students shuffled to and fro the hallways, windows framed by dirty green walls and stuffy air hanging above their heads. The constipated hallways were a fishing net for litter and trash. Joran fell back in the crowd. "If we're doing dumb, obvious nicknames," Joran called out. "you're getting called Guy Red!"

"Guy Red and Joran" Shelby repeated to herself with a laugh. walking away with Leslie. "Hey Leslie, thanks for helping me out."

"No problem," said Leslie. "Remember, we both dated Jacob. I know what it's like to be cheated on." Jacob cheated on Leslie too? Shelby never remembered Jacob being up for three relationships at once. "Yeah, Jacob cheated on me with a girl named Charlotte."

"He cheated on you with the Charlotte Charlotteson?" Shelby was shocked. The Charlotte Charlotteson had the hots for the likes of Jacob LaFierre? "She's the most popular girl in the school!" The conversation led to gossip... "so, he did all of that for her?"

"Yeah, it's crazy," Charlotte said, walking up behind them. "He cheated on me with another girl. Caroline, my archnemesis who perpetrated the chess team scandal." Charlotte held her purse in front of her, scoffed, spit on the ground and walked down the hall.

She walked into a classroom, Class 101, sat at a chair and waited for class to start. Shelby sat to her left, Leslie to her right, Bob Marley in front, and Corey Wesner, Charlotte's ex, behind them. Charlotte laid back in her seat, hands on the edge of her desk, and smiled.

The class' teacher, Dr. Brehenmann, walked in, lab coat drawn to a near-close, and safety goggles over his eyes. He limped, moving his left foot before his right, but he was fast. Words left his throat before his mouth could form the syllables, and he still managed to scamper to his swiveling chair and sit down. "Today we're talking about chemical equations. Class, please open your textbook to page..." Charlotte tuned him out, thinking about how Jacob cheated on her.

Corey Wesner leaned forward and whispered, "Hey, Charlotte." Charlotte scooted her chair into her desk, the same desk as Leslie's and Shelby's. The desk the three were seated at seated three only. Corey Wesner climbed over the table while the teacher scribbled on the blackboard with his stick of red chalk, leaving red marks on the board. "Hey Charlotte." Corey Wesner handed her a note her suitor, Bandwhammy, handed him, the header reading "Dear Charlotte,".

Charlotte turned her seat over, staring at Bandwhammy, whose cheeks were a blushing red. Charlotte red the note further: "Dear Charlotte, my beloved," She stopped, having enough of this malarkey. She marched to the desk behind her, where Corey Wesner, Horton Bell, and Stairs hung out. Like an eagle, she struck Corey across the face.

Corey fell out of his chair, turning eyes.

The teacher walked to the back, pausing his explanation of balancing equations, pausing his scribbles on the chalkboard, pausing his reserved smile and shifting eyes, and asked Charlotte to leave the classroom through the door behind lab station 5. Charlotte obliged, calmly gathering her things and exiting the classroom. The whole class watched.

Jacob watched from a distance.

Coming Up On Prima Donna Romance... Shelby breaks up with Bob Marley; Keshin and Jacob both see a chance!

[farleygranger]

holy sHIT I'M SO FUCKING EMBARASSING-

[women-are-hot]

If It Weren’t For You  (Sydney Lohmann)

Summary: At the semi-final against Bayern Munchen, Y/n gets her head injured quite badly and Sydney starts panicking.

Warnings: injury mentions, fluff, angst.

Later today I’m playing in the freaking Champions League Semi-final, but sadly it's against my former team, Bayern Munich.

and my girlfriend, Sydney Lohmann… 

I know how much her and her team wants this, but we want this too, so it's going to be a very tough game.

"I can feel you’re going to score tonight" Sam said as we were on our way to the stadium.

"Yeah. You’re going to be on fire"  Erin said as I took my headphones off.

"I don't know, maybe?!" I replied and then the two girls looked at me like I was crazy. 

"Seriously?! You’re going to show everyone in the world who you are. You’re going to score one goal, maybe even two, but you will for sure score one goal. I promise you that '' Erin said.

"How can you promise that I will score?" I asked, looking at her confused.

"We’re just too smart" Sam answered and they did a very weird handshake.

“Well, I’ll try to score,” I said, putting my headphones on again.

"Oh, we know" they said in sinc as I rolled my eyes at them.

—

We had been on the field, just looking around for a few minutes and then I saw the Bayern Munich girls come into the field too. My eyes felt immediately on my girlfriend and when I locked eyes with her, I saw that she was already looking at me with a big smile.

Sydney and a few of my old teammates walked over to me with bright smiles.

When they reached me, Sydney quickly put her arms around my waist while mine came behind her neck.

"No matter what happens tonight, I will be proud of you, okay?!" she whispered in my ear. 

"Okay. I love you" I responded.

"I love you too," she said, kissing my forehead.

"We’re also here" Sarah said, making us all laugh as she all catched up a bit.

I remember my time at Bayern Munich was amazing. It was hard, but it helped me become a better player and I got friends for life. 

The most amazing thing about Bayern tho, was that I got the most amazing girlfriend in the whole world. Sometimes it's hard to not wake up with Sydney beside me. I miss her a lot everyday, but we make it work.

—

The game started and there was already a lot of pressure. I got the ball and kicked it down to Fran, she was luckily not offside as she took a hit and scored. 

I runned down to her and celebrated with her and our teammates.

"That's what I'm talking about," Sam yelled, picking me up.

"Just remember, next time you are going to score" Erin said, I rolled my eyes at them.

After some time, I guess the girls were right, because as Maren kicked the corner, I jumped up and did a bicycle kick. 

I heard the girls yell and celebrate, but all I could think about was how my head hurts like shit.

"Y/n, are you okay?" I could hear someone ask.

"W-who are you?" I stuttered out, taking my hands to my head.

"It's me, Sydney, your girlfriend. Does your head hurt?" The person, named Sydney said.

"My head. It’s screaming inside" I said and tried to get up, but my body said no.

“Y/n, please listen to me and lay down” I was tol.

I laid down again, then some people, I think are doctors, I don't really know, but yeah some people came and took me off the field.

The next thing I remember is, me getting in an ambulance…

—

Sydney's Pov:

I cried into Sarah''s shoulder as I watched Y/n getting taken off the field. 

She didn't remember who I was and now she is going to the hospital.

"Why me?" I whispered into Sarah's shoulder.

"I don't know, but one thing I know is that Y/n is going to make it. She is strong and I know you are too. Alright?!" Sarah said as I looked her in the eyes. 

I nodded softly and Sarah opened her arms, I hugged her tight.

"It's going to be okay," she said.

—

I was finally at the hospital. London traffic is shit! 

I got inside and asked if I could see my girl.

"She had a bad landing at the field, so we have had some looks on her. Her head is completely fine, she will maybe just forget a few things. Then she also had a broken hand from the landing" the lady said.

I took a deep breath that I didn't even know I held on 

"Can I see her?" I asked.

"Yes, come with me and we will find her," the lady said with a friendly smile.

We walked into Y/n's room and she looked so tired. I actually felt a little bad for coming in, but I really wanted to see her even if she doesn't remember me.

"Hey, Y/n" I said softly as I sat down on a chair beside her.

She looked at me like I was a stranger.

Please god, don't do this to me!..

"Sydney?" Y/n said confused. I smiled at her, because she remembered my name.

"Yes. I’m Sydney, your girlfriend" I replied with a nervous smile, hoping that she will remember me.

"Sydney Lohmann. You're my girlfriend, living in Germany" she said and smiled a bit.

"That's right. I miss you every day, when you are in London" I responded and wiped a tear away.

"I miss you too, but don't cry. I am right here" she said and opened her arms.

"No, love, I don't want to hurt you," I replied.

"It doesn't matter, come here!" Y/n said with a serious tone. I laughed at her and laid down beside her with my arms around her.

—

Y/n's Pov: (Champions League Final)

I was right now sitting watching the Champions League Final with Sydney in the crowd.

Since I couldn’t play, because of my head. I also still have a broken hand that I’m beginning to annoy.

There were 10 minutes back and Chelsea was in front with one goal.

"Hey, come down. They can do it" Sydney said, putting her hand on my tight. I smiled at her and laid me in her arms.

"I know" I replied.

After 10 minutes, where Sydney had probably thought I was annoying as hell, because of how nervously I was talking, Chelsea had done it. They won the Champions League.

We had freaking won the Champions League!..

I wished I could have played, but I still get a medal that says I have won the Champions League.

"Congrats, babe!” Sydney said and kissed me. I tried to kiss her back, but Sydney stopped me.

"Now, get down on the field and get the medal you deserve so much, okay baby?!" she said with a big smile.

"Okay. Thanks for always believing in me" I replied.

Sydney just smiled then she freaking pushed me away.

"Go out and celebrate, '' she ordered with a laugh.

"Okay, okay" I replied and walked down to the field.

The girls actually don't know I’m here watching them, cause I wanted to surprise them.

I jumped down to the field and, of course, Sam and Erin were the first one to see me.

"Y/N, YOU ARE FREAKING HERE" they yelled as they ran to me while I just laughed at them.

Then the rest of the team runned to me. Damn, I feel like I’m the main character in a movie right now.

Sam and Erin hugged me or more like jumped on me, so I fell to the ground, then all the other girls jumped on me too.

"Okay, girls, I know you love me, but I’m injured if you didn't know," I said with a laugh.

They all got off me and I got a hug from all of them.

"We missed you so much on the field in the last minutes," Magda said.

"Oh, I know," I replied sassy.

"Sassy queen is back, WOOHOO" Sam yelled.

I looked up at Sydney and made a heart with my hands, cause I’m romantic, you know…

"Oh, you lovergirl is also here" Erin teased with a laugh.

Yes Erin, she is and it's amazing…

—

[baejl]

the blip

red velvet 6th member au / superm 8th member au

jaein and jaebeom find out their baby's gender

WARNINGS: none. just be ready to cry.

masterlist 🦋 requests are open feedback is always important to me!

"Kim Jaein?"

Jaein looked up from the baby magazine she was reading.

"Yes?" she answered the nurse.

"You're up next. As you guys chose the 4D ultrasound, today's appointment will happen in another room. Can you please, follow me?"

"Sure."

Jaein got up, placed the magazine in its place and intertwined her hands with Jaebeom's, following the nurse. On the way to the room some people recognized the idols, and they just waved at them, too anxious to do anything else.

Today was finally the day. Yeah, that day. The day when her baby would officially stop being just 'the blip' or 'little bean' to finally be 'baby girl' or 'baby boy'.

All these months, Jaein tried to feel and show that she was okay with all of that. That the fact of having a life growing inside her didn't scare her, but every time she had an appointment felt like a huge reality shock.

She loved her little 'blip', of course. There is never a single day of her life since when she figured out the pregnancy that Jaein doesn't ask herself why it didn't happen earlier, but at the same time, deep inside her subconscious, a part of her still asked why it even happened at all.

Jaein and Jaebeom had a whole year scheduled ahead. Comebacks, new contracts, new content, new features. Now, they were married and pregnant.

Married and pregnant. Two things Jaein did not expect to be before her 25s.

Even though she wasn't in a total hiatus and still participated in some content, Jaein missed the stage so, so much. She watched closely, the girls promoting their comeback, recording dance practices while she was still fighting to choose the baby's name.

Like he could read her mind, Jaebeom lightly squeezed Jaein's hand.

"Hey." he called her, putting her face between his hands and bringing her closer. "Everything will be okay."

At that moment, she felt like crying. Why did she have to be so selfish and forget about the amazing man supporting her?

Placing her hands on his waist, Jaein closed her eyes, feeling Jaebeom's lips on her forehead.

"That's just hormones." Jaein answered him, pouting. "I can't believe we'll finally see her."

Jaebeom scoffed, kissing the top of her head as they watched Seoul from the doctor's office view. He couldn't wait to show all of this to his 'blip'.

"How do you even know it's a girl?" he asked Jaein.

She laughed and shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't. But I feel it."

Listening to the door opening, they backed up just enough to look towards the sound.

"Hello there, lovebirds." Dr Lee said, getting in the room. Dr Lee was Jaein's mom's long-time friend and radiologist. He was there when her mom figured out her gender and was now Jaein's doctor. "I've heard we're finally getting to know the gender of the healthiest baby I've ever seen!"

Jaein smiled, feeling proud of herself for taking good care of her and her baby. At first, they had some trouble figuring out what would work for both, especially with food. Her baby would give her strange cravings - like eating sweets with wasabi. But now it's like they've fallen into place, their bodies and souls connected.

"Yeah, finally!" Jaebeom said, greeting the man with a warm handshake.

"And I'm also happy you chose the 4D machine. I'd hate to wait for some more months to see who it is going to look like." Dr Lee told them, showing them a big smile.

"Oh, me too!" Jaein answered him, playfully rolling her eyes. "I had a dream, and it was a girl. She looked exactly like Jaebeom."

"Well, moms are 99% of the time correct." the doctor joked. "I don't think we need this machine at all!"

"We absolutely need it." Jaebeom said, a bit desperate, making Jaein and the doctor laugh.

"Well," the doctor said, still giggling and pointing at the stretcher - that looked more like a bed. "you know what to do, Jaein."

"Okay!"

Jaein excitedly yet carefully laid down, comfortably positioning all the pillows behind her back.

At their first appointment, Jaein didn't know how things would happen. So she dressed in more than complicated clothes, totally forgetting that she had to expose her belly. It was in her second month. Now, three months later, she learned her lesson.

She put her leggings down just enough to show the end of her belly and cropped up, holding its flap with the bra. Her belly now was totally exposed.

Jaebeom would joke it's perfectly rounded, almost like the letter O, and he'd spend his days running his hand through it. Last night, when Seulgi passed by to bring the baby a little gift - its first Converse sneakers - she said Jaein looked like she had swallowed a whole balloon.

"So, tell me. How have you two been this last month? Anything to worry about, any pain?" the doctor asked, applying the gel to the probe.

"Thankfully, no." Jaein told him. "I honestly think it loves to kick me. Especially when I'm almost sleeping."

"You're telling me we're having another dancer in the family?" Dr Lee joked. Jaebeom and Jaein laughed.

It'd be fun if their baby followed their path, but it'd be even funnier if it didn't. That was something Jaein was letting the time tell them.

"But that is good news. I'm happy you're having such a healthy pregnancy given the circumstances. I'd freak out if I were in your place. You guys deserve only the best."

"Thank you, doctor." Jaein beamed at him.

"The gel is cold, so you're probably going to feel it." the doctor warned before placing the probe on Jaein's belly.

Jaebeom came closer to Jaein, placing a hand above hers and caressing her hair, his heart almost exploding with excitement.

The doctor started passing the probe through Jaein's belly, trying to locate the fetus, and it was enough to make Jaein start crying.

"Okay..." Dr Lee hummed, finally finding the baby. Jaein and Jaebeom looked at the display showing the exam in front of them.

It took them a few seconds to realize that the little blur was their baby. It was significantly bigger than the last time, and they could see the shape of its body. 

"Look at that beautiful thing!" Dr Lee said, excited. "Let's see its face first."

The little blur soon started getting shape and was now a face. Jaein and Jaebeom still couldn't tell much, but they could see it had Jaebeom's nose.

Jaein's heart was about to explode. She thought she knew what love was, but now, she had no doubt about it.

Growing up, she always thought of the idea of unconditional love as a joke. After all, how could someone love another person forever? Don't people change? Do we really love people, or do we love what we personify them?

But that concept fell apart as soon as Jaein saw that little being inside her. People could turn their backs on her, and people could say whatever they wanted about her, but people wouldn't dare do the same with that baby.

"Oh, my God. It's so beautiful." she sniffed. Jaein looked up at Jaebeom. "It has your nose, honey."

"I know..." Jaebeom said, holding back his tears. "It's beautiful."

"Have you already decided on his name?" the doctor asked.

"No. We're actually in between-" Jaein stopped talking when she realised. "Wait. What?"

"His?" Jaebeom asked, his eyes glowing. Now, he couldn't stop himself from crying. "I-Is it a boy?"

"Definitely. A healthy boy!" the doctor answered, almost as emotional as the parents. 

Jaein and Jaebeom looked at each other, shocked. Jaebeom hugged Jaein's torso and let out all his emotions. Although they would love their baby either way if it was a girl, Jaebeom always had more hope to be a boy. 

"We're having a baby boy. A baby boy!" Jaein said, amazed. "A baby boy!" 

"The blip is a mini-me!" Jaebeom said, still crying. Jaein and Doctor Lee laughed at Jaebeom's reaction. 

Jaein ran her hand through Jabeeom's face. 

"I'm the luckiest woman in the world." 

[serxeinxx]

ଘ੭:: week four: — ; 𝐌𝐄𝐋𝐀𝐓𝐎𝐍𝐈𝐍 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐒𝐀𝐋𝐄.

ଘ੭:: pairings: shinsou x fem!reader

ଘ੭:: summary: cliche as you may say, shinsou, a kid with an insomnia, happen to stumble a part-time seller at a drugstore. Making his life more... interesting to dream about.

ଘ੭:: wc: 2.2k

ଘ੭:: warnings: violent words, first tine writing shinsou hehehehe, FLUFF!! + some minor typos :'))

— reblogs are highly appreciated!!

— thank you guys for sticking up with me even though the week three is superrr delayed omg i'm ashamed for that JAJSHDHJAJAJA + enjoyy the last story of the event!!

THE BELL CLANGED— as the door opened. Shinsou came inside with his eyes wide awake but the bags under it were visible. He's lucky enough to find a pharmacy just 4 blocks away from his home. His walk would've been shorter if the pharmacy he used to go to was open. But then again it was 1 am and most of the shops were closed.

He scanned through the pharmacy shop. From what he remembered. When he was about to go inside the store, the store is sort of like a business on the first floor which is connected to the second floor as a home. Some sort of family business.

'bother me, tell me awful things.'

'you know I love it when you do that

'helps me get through this without you'

The song made him nod along with the beats and hummed as the song continued to stream. He was familiar with the song. He saw you on the phone with your foot on the table, and you also lip sync to the song. Shinsou examined you. Based on his judgement, you're older than him.

You noticed a purple haired guy who is about to approach you. "Hey."

"Uh..hey," he responded.

You got off from your seat and leaned on the counter. "Say you know the song? I saw you nodding to it," you started the conversation. “Yeah, lil peep. I know him”, he replied. You smiled at his reply. “Wow, finally someone who knows him. Tell me, are you the guy from the sports festival? Correct me if I’m wrong, I tend to forget things very easily.”

“That was me, what about it?” 

You shook your head. “Nothing, I just wanna make it clear that I'm not mistaking someone. It’s really embarrassing to do if you think you know the person and it turns out you got it wrong,” you replied to his question. “So, what can I help you with?”

“Do you guys sell melatonin?”

“I think we do have those, hold on…”

You went from the back and started to look at some melatonins. After you find the melatonins, you put them right in front of him. “Before you buy this, do you have a prescription? I can't let you purchase this unless you don’t have one.”

Shinsou pulled out a paper on his jacket and handed it out to you. You scanned the paper and gave it back to him. “Hm, I'm glad you have a prescription. Unlike the other dudes i encountered, they’re—”

“Irresponsible?”

You chuckled. “Yeah, they are.”

You clicked your tongue after he purchased his melatonin. “You know, I kinda like you. You have good taste and your sarcasm is absolutely cool. Oh, I like your rings by the way. Is it thrifted?”

Shinsou never had this straight up compliment that slammed over his face. Just like midoriya, you had the nerves to tell it. “Huh, thanks, and yeah it’s kind of thrifted.” he replied. “Mhmm. say, what's your name? The name’s l/n y/n.” you reached out your hand for a handshake. He held your hand and shook your hands. "Shinsou Hitoshi"

Shinsou left the little shop and went straight home. He plopped himself to bed and stared at his ceiling. He never knew why he couldn't sleep at night. He tried ASMR's, and other meditation methods. His parents got worried for him and went to the doctor. Thankfully, the doctor prescribed him to take melatonin to help him. He drank one pill and laid down, waiting for the medicine to kick in and sleep. If he could use his own, he would’ve done it a long time ago just for him to sleep. His classmates would ask for his help to fall asleep, of course he has no problems as long as his classmates asked for him, it was helpful though. It’s nice to help others in need but who will help him?

“Ugh come on, let me sleep geez,” he complained. It took him half an hour to finally feel sleepy. He slowly closed his eyes and began to fall asleep.

The next morning, his phone rang. His eyes were still partially closed, he grabbed his phone and turned off the alarm ringing. Luckily it's the weekend today, he could probably sleep in but he couldn’t do that. He got out of his house, with a  coffee in his hand. He looked like a grandpa if he was sitting on a wheelchair on the porch. His parents left already since they had work, his mom left a little note and with a sandwich on the table, and probably his dad left him with some money. He understood the situation he was in and he’s pretty chill about it. 

The sound of rolling wheels on the road made him pay attention to it. What he didn’t know, You were skating on it. 

‘You lack attention, i find it obvious’

‘She makes it obvious for me’

He forgot to blow off his coffee and burned himself. “Shit!—”

You stopped your tracks to hear a faint voice. You pulled out your earphones to see a very familiar purple hair. You waved to get his attention from afar and Shinsou also raised his hand slightly. You turned your board to his direction and went towards him. “Yo, shinsou.”

“Hey,” he greeted back.

“Did the medicine kick in?”

“Yeah, it did.”

You put down your skateboard and sat on the little stairs. “Say, I've been skating here quite a while and I've never seen you. Are you new here or something?” you asked.

“No, I have lived here since I was a kid, I just don’t go out often, not like I had any places to go.”

You nodded at his answer and began to ponder. “Hmm, wanna hang out? It’s okay if you’re not up to it, it’s just- you look.. Lonely, that's all. No offense though.” you invited him. He shrugged his shoulders. "Is that a yes or a no?”

“Nah, I'm cool. Hold on,”

He went inside his house and began to change his clothes. He was thankful enough that his dad left some money for him. He opened the door to see you trying out something. “Hey, let’s—”

You were caught off-guard to hear a voice, your momentum was off and you tripped. Doing an ollie was a hard one. “Ow.. fuck!—”

“Are you okay?”

You grunted and sat on the board while holding your ankle. “Yeah, yeah. I’m fine. So, let’s go?”

Shinsou stammered a bit at your response. “Uh, sure,”

While you two were walking down the street, he couldn’t even forget how you tripped over, that was painful to see but you, it is nothing. Most sketches experience way more than that, some we’re really hurt when trying out new staples, and sometimes, they even manage to break their bones. “Are you sure you would be walking when you tripped earlier?” he asked.

“It’s fine, it’s not that hurtful or whatever. Anyways, we’re here!” you said. He thought that you were just changing the topic but it turns out, you were right. He never knew that there was a place like this in the neighborhood. Some of them were skating on an empty pool, some of them were playing cards, and some of them were just chilling. And to his surprise, most of the songs were streaming were mostly the ones he used to listen to.

“Hey!”

A yellow haired bump on you two purposely causing you to yelp and shinsou almost fell down along with the guy. “Not cool y/n,— oh? Shinsou?”

You scrunch your eyebrows in confusion. “Wait, you know him denki?”

He nodded his head. “Yeah! We used to train from schools and until now! Wait— are you? His.. you know- girl ow!”

“Idiot I'm not, I just happened to see him drinking coffee on his porch. Don’t get any weird ideas,” you deadpanned. Meanwhile, Shinsou was quite awkward with the two of you. “Oh, you two know each other right?”

Kaminari chimed in your conversation. “At first he said ‘I'm not intending on making friends here’ HA! Jokes on him now he’s a friend in our class!” you snorted to kaminari’s story. 

“Hey, it’s not funny.” Shinsou commented.

“Come on—”

Kaminari stopped talking. “He didn’t use his quirk but why did he-” you turned your head in Shinsou's direction. He shrugged his shoulders. “Someone’s gonna take one for the team.”

“Thanks for the help.. But, how can this stop?”

Shinsou patted his shoulder and he’s back to normal. Kaminari knew what happened and gave Shinsou puppy eyes. “Man! We’re best friends right? Why would you do that??” he faked and cried. “You said that you can tolerate me!”

“Yeah, yeah! You're making him uncomfortable denki! Or you want me to tell kyouka about this!”

He groaned in defeat. “Fine. I'll let you slide this time, blee!” He sticks out his tongue. You never know how kyouka manages his childish attitude, despite his cheery and energetic attitude, kaminari is the type of friend you can trust your life with. “l/n.”

“Hm?”

“I- it’s nothing, you don’t mind me hanging out here right?”

“Nah, you’re cool in here.” you sat down on the floor and gestured to him to sit down with you, he sat down and looked at the palace.. “This place, and everyone here has their own issues,” you picked up a stick and pointed it out to the people around you. “Take a look at that dude, he protected a girl but ended up being framed, and that girl there, she vandalized a public wall because she wants to prove to everyone how beautiful her art is, and lastly that dude there with an eye bags twice as bigger than yours.Just like yours too, some we’re having trouble with ourselves,and others, take me for instance, my family has their expectations on me getting in U.A but i miserably failed and started skating. But I assure you, you’ll be sleeping in your bed when you get home like a baby. It worked for me,”

‘It's just the two of us, it's just the two of us tonight’

He got home, his mom greeted him while cooking, meanwhile his dad practically joked about him having a date. Their dinner ended just fine and soon, he was about to sleep. He took one pill and drank it. Out of all the experiences he had, this day wasn’t so bad and boring at all, he tried skating, laughed, talked about his interest with others, he never was this sociable, when he’s with you. It just feels right, that’s all. 

He turned around from another side of his bed and began to close his eyes.

“But I assure you, you’ll be sleeping in your bed when you get home like a baby.”

How can you be so sure? It took him hours before sleeping, and you just said it like it was that easy. “What the hell,” he said to himself. “I didn’t know she was the one who helped me sleep or the pill,” then he fell asleep.

Days, turned into weeks, and weeks turned into months, you two had a good relationship to start it off. You two will often meet and go to the usual or just hang out in the convenience store.

‘Speeding away, the city in the rear view’

‘Heart racing whenever I'm near you’

“Holy shit, for real? Why are we here?” you asked. He brought you to the arcade. It’s not that you were complaining, you were surprised at this point. You bought tokens and played some games, but until a black cat key chain caught your eye. You tried a couple of times until you ran out of tokens. “Fucking jammed, they did this on purpose,” you murmured.

After minutes of finding you, Shinsou saw you with your head leaning against the machine. “There you are- what happened?” he noticed your disappointed face written all over you.

“I couldn’t get the cat.”

“You couldn’t get the cat?”

“Yeah.”

He looked at the machine, to see the cat. You really wanted it so bad that you ran out of tokens. “Move over. I’ll get it for you.”

Your eyes widened, “hold on, don’t do that! It’s a waste of tokens! Use it for your own good!” He cracked a playful smile. “If I get that, those will be yours or mine, it’s your call.”

“-it’s not like you would get it in an instant.”

“We’ll see about that”

Shinsou inserted two tokens and the machine started on its countdown. Without a sweat, he won. He crouched down to get the prize and show it off to you. “See? Easy as pie”

“It’s just pure luck,” you commented.

As you two soon got home, you plopped yourself on the bed. You groaned in your tiredness. All the way home, Shinsou ended up teasing how you were not planning things, and you knew it was a joke but you couldn’t handle the teasing he’s been lately throwing at you. Your phone vibrated from your bag, probably denki, you thought. You opened the bag to see the key chain. In your reaction, your hand was already in your mouth, covering your slightly opened mouth. There’s also a note beside it. 

“I still don’t know what made me fall asleep so fast recently, you or the pill? (this sounds so cheesy. Kaminari helped with that), enjoy the keychain by the way :P”

ଘ੭:: taglist!:

@triviajeongin @izukus-gf @smashboxgirl26 @uxavity @fluffieveggie @sscarchiyo @mrsbrandoxxx @sanemishina @meliii0 @bubble-bootie @hirugummies @uwiuwi @5sos-wdw @purpi-narwhale @lazyafgurl @meqgumis @markleepooh @nicci08 @siyas-map @uravichii

© 2022 serxeinxx. All Rights Reserved. Do not plagiarize. Do not steal. Do not repost by any means.

[randomshyperson]

Wanda Maximoff x Reader - Sorry for your lost - Part I “I will grieve”.

Serie Masterlist here || Part II|| Read on AO3 

Summary: When your wife Natasha passes away in a car accident, a part of you dies with her. It takes a few months of mourning for your psychiatrist thinks the best alternative is for you to join a grief group. And there you meet Wanda Maximoff, and learn to live again.

Warnings: (+16) mentions of death, panic attacks and anxiety, grief, self sabotage, mentions of abusive family background, mutual attraction, explicit consent, therapeutic conversations about death, self-deprecation, healthy methods of coping with grief, possible triggers about anxiety, hurtful behaviors, domestic wanda.

Chapter warnings: Heavy angst, death.

Author’s notes:  Hello readers! I'm finally back to posting something, but I disappeared for a good reason, I was writing three new series. And here is the first of them. I really enjoyed this work and it's something I've been trying to write since I watched WandaVision, and only now I've managed to put it into words. I am not finished yet, but there is only one chapter left, so your reading will not be affected. Pay attention to the warnings, and good reading!

Tag list (let me know if you wanna be tagged) 

@mionemymind​ / @abimess​ / @stephanieromanoff​ / @yourtaletotell​ / @tomy5girls​ / @justagaypanicking​ / @thegayw1tch​

//-//

Chapter One - I’ll grieve.

You wished you could go back to sleep as soon as you opened your eyes. The sound of your alarm buzzed loudly throughout the room, and after putting it on snooze mode at least four times, you finally got annoyed enough to grab it and throw it across the room. But the sound continued.

Letting out a grumble of dissatisfaction, you pushed the comforter off you, and sat up in your bed. Your room was a mess, but you just skipped through the clothes on the floor to reach the phone, turning off the alarm through the new crack you made in the screen.

"Honey, are you up?" you heard your mother's distant voice calling you through the door, probably from the living room or the kitchen. "Don't forget your therapy today."

You sighed impatiently, running your hands through your hair. The damn group therapy. 

Grumbling lightly, you forced yourself to take a shower, not wanting "poor hygiene" to end up on your progress report card. 

A while later, when you were finished, you went into the kitchen. Your mother was using her laptop on the counter, and just waved at you.

"Are you going to take me?" You asked her with your hands in your pockets. Your mother took her eyes off the screen to evaluate the sweatshirt you were wearing, and you rolled your eyes at her disapproving expression. 

"You know, you could try driv-"

"Mom" You cut her off in earnest, your heart racing momentarily. You don't drive. An she knows. Your mother sighs, putting her hands up in a sign of surrender.

"It was just a suggestion dear." She retorts as she stands up, reaching for her car key on the key rack exiting the kitchen. "But I'm busy with the store, you'll need to take the subway next time."

"Thanks for the support." You grumble as you step out in front and your mother lets out a wry chuckle.

You frown and let out a dissatisfied exclamation as you step outside feeling the sun's rays on your face.

"You're not a vampire, cut the drama." Mocks your mother by pushing you lightly to get you out of the way. 

You grumble  as you walk to the car. And when you are sitting on the seat, your mother is starting the vehicle and she asks:

"Are you sure you're not going to eat anything?"

Looking out the window, you just mumble that you're not hungry, and she shakes her head in disapproval before you back the car up. You don't speak any more on the way.

//-//

Your mother dropped you off in the parking lot of a gymnasium where the therapy group would be meeting. You sighed as you got out, and thanked her for the ride and the money she gave you to eat, even though you probably weren't going to use.

Resisting the urge to run away, you forced your feet to walk toward the place.

There were a few people at the door, but you didn't smile at any of them, entering the place with your head down and your hands in your pockets. 

And then a woman greeted you, and put a little sticker with your name on your shirt when you gave her your papers. 

Then she signaled the way you should go, and you ended up on the gymnasium court, where there was a wheel of chairs, and a table with food and drink, and several people scattered around, who you thought were part of your therapy group. 

Sighing impatiently you made your way to the bleachers of the venue, hoping to be alone until the session started and you could leave.

Fortunately it wasn't long before the leader signaled for everyone to sit in the circle, and you sighed as you stood up. You ended up with one of the chairs on the far left opposite the therapist, which could be bad since he would see you clearly.

"Thank you very much for coming." Said the therapist smiling gently as his gaze roved over everyone in the circle. You kept your gaze on your shoes. He made a noise with his throat. "Who would like to start today?"

The silence lasted for a few seconds, but then someone was speaking. You forced yourself to come back to reality and pay attention.

"[...] and this is my fourth week around here." Said a woman in a leather jacket. You noticed the army lanyard around her neck. She was talking about an accident when you got distracted again. Lightly poking your eye with your finger, you tried to focus again, letting out a low sigh. And then the therapist was talking again.

"We have new faces today." He said and you felt your heart speed up. You absolutely did not want to talk in front of strangers. "Why don't you share with us, miss?"

You raised your gaze to meet that of the therapist, smiling gently at you. The rest of the group looked at you as well. Taking a deep breath, you began to wiggle your fingers on your leg.

"I don't... I've never been in a group." You say clumsily. "What should I say?"

"Whatever you wish to say." He answers with a smile. You swallow the urge to tell him you didn't want to talk at all. Realizing your lack of response, he is quick to add. "Why don't you tell us why you are here?."

You let out a dry laugh. 

"I really didn't have much choice." You retort wryly. The therapist looks slightly surprised, but makes no mention of interrupting you. You let out a sigh before clarifying. "My psychiatrist, she...she didn't approve of my social ratings. She wanted me to talk to other people. People who... went through the same things I did." You count staring at the floor. When you look up again, the group still waits for you to continue, and you sigh, running your hands through your hair. "I haven't... I... I haven't talked to other people outside of my family in six months. Not since..."

You move your head, sniffling slightly as you straighten your posture. The therapist clears his throat.

"You just need to share whatever you are ready to tell us." He says gently, you nod slightly feeling extremely vulnerable. "But remember that this is a safe space. There is nothing to fear here."

And then he is talking about methods of easing the guilt, and dealing with the pain and you were distracted again. You would like to go back to bed. It must have taken a while, but the session is finally over.

The group dispersed around the room, and you went toward the therapist's desk to have him sign your schedule. He smiled as you approached.

"Miss Y/N/L, I was happy to hear that you would be joining us today." He said greeting you with a handshake. You nodded, taking the paper from your pocket. He chuckled, but accepted it. "You know, I'd like you to try to have a partner in the group, it's recommended for cases like yours."

"What do you mean cases like me?" You ask snidely, but he doesn't care.

"Doctor Harkness gave me your chart." He explained as he signed the paper you gave him while you frowned. "Extreme Social Anxiety in the first few months of treatment. Tendency to complete isolation, introverted..."

"Yeah I know my problems, buddy." You interrupt him with irritation. "You don't have to list them for me."

The therapist gives a lopsided chuckle, and holds out the signed paper to you. But he adds with a serious look:

"I'm here to help you, Y/N." He says. "Don't forget that."

You don't respond and take the paper, turning toward the exit. 

//-//

Your week passes slowly and tortuously. Which is surprising because you barely get out of bed. And then it is group therapy day again, and you are making a new crack at your cell phone screen.

Your mother greets you with a pat on the back as you enter the kitchen, and she is walking past you toward her own room.

You know you have to take the subway today, and you are trying not to think about it too much. As you are walking out the door, your eyes pass quickly over your car key, and you think you have a flash of memory, but you shake your head quickly, pushing the thought away. And then you walk forward.

And you are late for the session, because you can't take the bus to the station, since your feet simply didn't obey you. But that's okay, you don't really care.

You weren't the only one who was late. When you went to enter the door, a red-haired woman bumped into you, also running to get in. She smiled slightly as she apologized, and you just made room for her to enter first.

"Sorry Stephen." She said to the therapist as soon as you two entered the gymnasium, "I had an emergency with the kids."

The man just shook his head with a smile, and waved for you both to sit down.

"And why were you late today, miss Y/L/N?" He asked you. You shrugged your shoulders.

"I didn't wanna come." You retorted and the group giggled, and the sudden sound startled you slightly, but you just sat with your arms crossed. 

"Do you want to try again?" He retorted with light humor in his voice. And you bit the inside of your cheeks. And then you looked down at the floor.

"I couldn't get on the bus." You confessed next. Stephen looked at you tenderly, though, and you didn't like the feeling of your chest heaving slightly.

"And why do you think that happened?"

You shrugged, uncomfortable. 

"I don't know. I... There were too many people." You said embarrassed. And then you started twiddling your fingers, feeling all eyes on you. "I just... I knew I'd have to say hello to the driver, and the conductor. And then I would pass strangers in the hallway, and one of them would sit next to me. And I just... I couldn't."

Stephen nodded slightly in agreement.

"It's okay, Y/N. " He stated. "No one is judging you here."

You let out a dry laugh, and Stephen blinks in surprise, which spurs you to explode.

"Everyone is judging me, Doc." You say through gritted teeth, swinging your leg. "It's as if I can hear the gears in people's brains forming opinions about me." You state with a sigh. "Like my mother for example. She...she...acts like I'm past the time of mourning." You explain with tears in your eyes. "Like there's a limit, and I'm extending her goodwill. Because it's been six months, and she doesn't want me to be sad anymore. But guess what? I don't know how to move on!" You state angrily. "I can't! If I don't miss her, what's left for me? If I don't... God, I can't do this."

And you stand up, wiping your tears away, and walk out of the gymnasium, heading for the restrooms. You feel your heart racing, and it's hard to breathe. 

As you rest your hands on the sink, your brain starts to wander back to the day of the accident again. You choke, because it feels like you're sinking again. You see the water rising through the metal of the car. Your hands on the steering wheel, and then on the seat belt. You shake your head, pushing the images away, and rush to turn on the faucet in front of you and pour the water on your face.

You take a deep breath, trying to stop the tears. And then there is someone entering.

"Are you okay?" Stephen asks and you nod lightly, ignoring the trembling in your hands as you stare at him through the reflection of the mirror. "I gave a break to the group, wouldn't you like to walk with me?"

"I'm not good company right now." You grumble but he smiles, nodding slightly as if to repeat the invitation. You take a deep breath before turning around.

You walk silently and slowly to the outside of the gymnasium, and then he is speaking again.

"You were very brave today."  He comments, and you let out a dry laugh. "Why don't you believe me?"

"I panicked today." You say. " It doesn't sound very brave to me."

Stephen smiles guiding you through the gymnasium entrance toward the parking lot.

"You talked about a trauma to a group of people." He says. "That takes a lot of courage, even if you don't believe it."

"I don't believe in anything." You grumble, but Stephen doesn't mind your hostility. He stays with his friendly posture.

"I would like you to accept my request from before." He said after a moment. "About a group partner."

You let out a sigh.

"I don't even know what that means." You retort with slight impatience as you reach the edge of the parking lot. You notice the garden a few feet ahead of you.

"It's like a therapy buddy." He explains with a smile. "We encourage socializing here. That's why Agatha recommended this group to you."

"Oh, of course you do. Agatha is a bitch." You wryly wipe your hands across your face. Stephen laughs lightly. "How does that work anyway? Do I have to hold someone's hand? Exchange friendship bracelets?"

"No, it's much better." He says with a chuckle. "You talk to that person. You exchange experiences with them. You learn to trust somebody else again."

"My god, it looks like a fucking Disney movie." You retort with irritation and Stephen lets out a laugh. And then you let out a sigh, shrugging your shoulders. "Okay, I'll do it. I have nothing to lose, and it seems that neither you nor Agatha will leave me alone if I don't agree."

"We want you to feel better. Don't take this as a punishment." He says, guiding you back to the gym. You nod slightly, thinking that it really does feel like punishment anyway.

//-//

You see Agatha the same week. Your appointments have been switched to monthly meetings instead of weeks as they were at the beginning of treatment, and while you appreciate the familiarity of seeing her, you can't help but feel irritated with her.

"Someone's grumpy." She comments as soon as you sit down on the couch in the room, to which you roll your eyes.

"You are always so very tender, Agatha." You mock as you cross your legs, hoping the time will pass soon.

Agatha laughs lightly, finishing tidying up a few things on her desk. And then she gets up and sits down in the armchair a few feet in front of the sofa where you are, carrying a small notebook in her hands.

"So, why don't you tell me how your your first two sessions in group therapy went?"

You let out a dry laugh.

"Like Stephen didn't tell you everything." You sneer and Agatha just smiles, waiting for you to speak. You let out an impatient sigh, before stating wryly. "It was amazing, doc. It only took two sessions for me to have a panic attack, so thank you for that."

"Why do you think that happened?"

You squeezed your eyes.

"I have no idea." You retorted. "I'm not the doctor here." Agatha laughs lightly, and then opens her notebook and starts writing something. You sigh impatiently. “Really, you're going to start that again?”

"If you don't talk, I write." She states simply, and you roll your eyes, shifting on the couch uncomfortably.

"Agatha, I just... I couldn't get on a bus, okay?" you tell her, and she closes her notebook to look at you attentively. You take a deep breath. "There were a lot of people. I don't mind walking anyway. It helps me think."

"You don't mind walking eight blocks?" She asks with a slight irony. "That's pretty athletic of you."

"It's weird that you know my address off the top of your head." You play lightly, and she just laughs, straightening her posture. 

"Why don't you just tell me what you want to tell me?"

"Why don't you ask me what you want to ask?"

Agatha blinks slightly in surprise, and then she shakes her head slightly, opening her notebook again. You sigh.

"Okay, sorry." You say, and she looks at you for a moment before closing the object again. I... I thought I was drowning again.”

"Are your nightmares back?" She asks seriously, and you deny it with your head.

"I feel too anxious to sleep." You tell. "And then I black out from exhaustion in the night or in the morning. I don't dream anymore."

"Have you been taking your medication?"

You sigh.

"Of course I have."  You say. "I don't... I'm having trouble keeping my mind still. Like the first few months, you know. Everything seems so noisy now."

Agatha nods slightly, becoming thoughtful for a few moments. 

"I know it may sound strange to hear that, but that means you're getting better." She declares and you frown in surprise, then let out a dry laugh.

"How is my peak anxiety a good thing?"

She opens the book again, but before you can ask what you said wrong, she is reading.

"The first day you were here, you said you felt like you were empty." She narrated and you swallowed dryly. "During your first two months, you continued to describe that you felt like an empty shell. And that you no longer had any dreams, thoughts, or opinions. Without your wife, you said you were no longer here."

You felt your eyes fill with water at the mention of her. But you swallowed your emotions. Agatha turned a page, and read for a few seconds, and then looked at you.

"With your history of anxiety, your mind was remarkably quiet after the passing of your wife." She says. "But now that you're on medication, and therapeutic treatment, plus you're socializing even superficially with the world again, you're starting to feel things again. That's progress."

You look away from her, nodding slightly, trying to believe her words, and trying not to be so terrified at the thought of learning to live again. Without Nat.

You choke slightly, holding back a sob, and then Agatha hands you a box of tissues, but you refuse with a nod, wiping away the tears that have slightly escaped.

"What do you want to talk about now?" She asks after a moment. You take a deep breath, still trying to calm yourself.

"Last week I took a cold bath." You count. "It was snowing."

Agatha blinks in surprise at the information and then lets out a giggle.

"You want me to write it in the book don't you?"

You laugh, wiping away the last of the insistent tears. You just hope Agatha could help you.

//-//

You hate coffee. But you barely slept last night, and now you need to stay awake during the group meeting, so instead of walking to the chair in the corner like you used to, you detour your way to the food and beverage table as soon as you arrive at the gym.

There are a few members around, but you don't look at them, just sidestepping as you extend your arm to the coffee bottle. You pour some, and as you touch the cup, you notice. It's cold.

"Hey sorry about that." Said a girl you thought was named Val or something, as soon as she saw you touching the cup. "We mixed up the shifts yesterday and nobody made new coffee."

You rolled your eyes, picking up the cup and throwing it in the trash. Then you forced a wry smile on the girl and walked outside. 

It was cold, but you are boiling with rage. It was just a damn cup of coffee, you thought as you closed your eyes and tried to reduce your anger. Just coffee. 

You stumbled with fright when Stephen called out to you.

"We'll get started in a minute." He said looking at you curiously. You just nodded, following him after a few seconds.

You bit the inside of your cheek when you noticed the same coffee girl as before, now sitting where you usually sat. The universe was testing you today. 

You just sighed, twiddling your fingers inside your pocket, and walked over to one of the free chairs.

After Stephen gave the briefing, he asked if everyone was all right, and the group lied in unison. You were almost asleep when he called your name.

"I would like to choose your partner today." He says and you feel your heart racing as you straighten your posture. "But I want to know if you have any preferences."

You blink in confusion, and roll your eyes.

"I don't know anyone here, but I'm sure they will all hate me equally, doc." You tried to joke, but Stephen only looked at you with concern.

"No one does or will hate you." He says and you swallow dryly, looking away as you mumble that it was just a joke. Stephen pauses momentarily before continuing. "You know that everyone here has their own experiences of loss and they are unique in their own way, even if they have similarities." He begins and you just wish he would speak soon who your partner is at once. "Usually we don't put new members together, but with the release of one of our members, the number ended up getting odd." He explains. "Anyway, I'm sure you and Mrs. Maximoff will get along very well together."

You frowned slightly at the whole explanation. Then you looked around the group, and realized that this Maximoff woman was the late redhead from the previous session who looked at you curiously. You looked away from her to Stephen.

"Thank you, doc." You said with a slight irony and Stephen just nodded smiling.

"Partners are grieving companions ladies." He says. "We will assess your progress at each session, and then switch partners once the necessary improvement has been achieved."

You grumbled in understanding, and looked away to your lap. When Stephen began to ask about the stories, your mind wandered to the departure time.

And when the session was over you wished you could go to sleep. But Stephen made a slight movement of his head in Maximoff's direction, and you understood that you should talk to her.

Ignoring the urge to show Stephen the middle finger, you just sighed as you got up from your chair and lazily walked over to the woman at the exit. She was talking to a man, and you were even more anxious to address not one, but two strangers.

"Hi." You greeted awkwardly, and both of them turned to you with mild curiosity. 

"Hey, you're Y/N, right?" Said the man with a smile as he held out his hand to you. "I'm Bucky. James Barnes actually, but everyone calls me Bucky." He said and you shook his hand, smiling awkwardly. Then he quickly pointed at the woman.  "And this is Wanda Maximoff, your grief partner."

"Hi." Wanda said shyly as she offered her hand to greet you. You accepted as clumsily as she did.

"Sorry, I don't know how this works." You say. "Should we exchange numbers or something? Or is that just a therapy thing?"

Bucky gives a little chuckle.

"Oh believe me, they'll know if you're not making it work." He counters. "My first partner was Sam Wilson and we wanted to jump on each other's necks whenever we saw each other. And then Stephen asked us to move in together." He says and you blink in surprise. "We're married now, but that's not the point. I guess I'm getting off topic..."

"Bucky." Wanda interrupts with a smile, and he smiles half-heartedly as well. You frown, annoyed by Bucky's story. You didn't want to marry anyone. "I guess we'll make it work, I hope you don't mind having the company of two tiny restless creatures on our walks."

You look at her with confusion and then you understand, smiling shyly.

"No, it's okay." You say. "I like children."

"Really?" She asks in surprise.

You nod slightly. "Unlike adults, they tell the truth."

Wanda seemed to be thoughtful, but then Bucky lets out an exclamation.

"As group guide, I have to pass the to-do list to you ladies." He says pulling a small notebook from the back pocket of his pants. He pulls out a sheet of paper and hands it to Wanda. "Partners need to develop these habits of socializing and coping with grief together. And yes, there is a test."

You sigh impatiently, tucking a loose string behind your ear. 

"That sounds fun." You mock lightly making them smile. 

"Anyway, good luck to you two." He says tenderly. "And Wanda, call me if you need help with Tommy. I know a good therapist."

You frown slightly, not understanding what he is referring to, but you prefer to stay out of matters that are none of your business. And then Bucky kisses Wanda on the cheek in farewell and waves to you smiling before leaving. You switch foot weights when you are alone with Wanda. Talking to other people is not exactly your strong suit these past few months.

"So..." You start clumsily when she turns to you. 

"So." She repeats equally embarrassed. You then clear your throat and rush to pull your cell phone out of your pocket and hand it to her.

"Give me your number." You say. "That way we can arrange...whatever this is." 

Wanda smiles weakly as she accepts the device, and you ignore the curious look when she notices the cracks in the screen. A moment later she hands the cell phone back to you.

"I gotta go." She says. "I need to pick up my kids from school."

You nod slightly and force a smile to say goodbye, and Wanda copies your movement before leaving.

You stare at your cell phone next, noticing the slight anxiety in your stomach as you read the contact "Wanda Maximoff" on the screen.

//-//

By the weekend, you are miserable. Just like the first few months.

You spilled some tea under your bed, and when you went to clean it up, you ended up taking the objects that were lying there. And then you found a crumpled piece of paper.

It was your farewell speech. The words you wrote down to speak on the day of the funeral. The paper you pulled out of your pocket when you got home from the ceremony and probably fell under the bed when you collapsed on the floor from crying so hard.

Suddenly your chest tightened and you couldn't breathe. But you didn't want your mother to worry, so you concentrated on remembering the exercises your therapist had taught you.

And when the room started to get too small, you left.

But because it was cold and rainy, you had just taken a hot shower and had decided to brew tea before you finished putting on a sweater, you had bent down to pick up your socks, and the liquid fell on the floor. 

You went outside without your shoes, and your mother let out a worried exclamation when she saw you standing outside, staring at nothing.

"Honey?" She asked walking out the door after seeing you through the kitchen window. "Honey, what is it?"

You didn't answer. Your face was wet. Your mother's hands wrapped around your shoulders, and she gently pushed you inside, worried that you would end up getting hypothermia.

"I'm fine." You gasped as she led you inside, but she just shook her head. "I'm fine."

"No, honey." She retorted making you frown. "You're not."

"Mom."

"Sit down." 

And then there were blankets around you, and socks on your feet. And your mother was in the kitchen, on the phone, but everything seemed stuffy. You began to be absent again. Thousands of memories flashing through your eyes.

An image of yourself on that living room floor, laughing while your girlfriend had her arms wrapped around you. Your mother was pouring a glass of wine for each of you, and you were happy to tell her about your engagement.

Then an image of you running across the room, trying to dodge the tickles your father tickled you while you laughed.

Then a puppy in your hands on the floor. You looked at it fondly, laughing at how cute it looked. 

Looking down, you saw a hand on your thigh. It was your wife's, the ring on her finger. She smiled at you. You were happy because that was the day you told your mother about the house purchase.

You gasped slightly when you felt someone's hand on your shoulder suddenly.

"I need you to tell me three things you can see." It was Agatha. God, you should have been out of reaction long enough for her to get here. Wiping away your tears, you took a deep breath, trying to reason straight.

"I... I..." You started, but your brain didn't seem to obey you. You took another deep breath. You could see the carpet, so you told her so.

"Two more." Agatha asked tenderly, her hand caressing your back from top to bottom. 

"The... table." You replied crying. "I can see the table."

"That's right, honey." She said. "Just one more now. Tell me what else?"

"My feet." You add breathlessly. "I can see my feet."

"Now breathe with me, okay?" She asks. "Like I taught you."

The exercises help you to calm down again. You apologize for scaring your mother, and for making Agatha drive to your house, but neither of them is upset with you. You feel exhausted, but the doctor wants to talk to you after she accepts the cup of coffee your mother offers her.

"Do you want to tell me what happened?" She asks as you sit on the covered porch, fluffy pillows around you.

You lower your gaze to the floor, sniffling lightly.

"I found my grief speech." You count. "Under my bed. The next minute I was outside."

Agatha sighs.

"You ready to talk about the accident."

You raise your eyes quickly, frowning, because it wasn't a question.

"W-what?"

She takes a deep breath, crossing her legs.

"It's suffocating you." She clarifies. "You need to talk or these attacks will happen again."

"I-I don't..."

"It won't be today." She interrupts with a tender smile. "Tonight you need to sleep. But we won't prolong this any longer. You need to talk about it, even if it’s only to scream."

Clenching your jaw, you hold back your tears as Agatha takes one last look at you before getting up. She murmurs that she will see you on Monday, but you don't look at her.

//-//

You don't sleep well on Sunday. And it's definitely because you can't stop thinking about your appointment.

And it goes well for the first twenty minutes. Agatha doesn't pressure you, and agrees to hear about your week, without mentioning the incident on Thursday.

There is a pause after you have told her about the dog barking noise in the early morning and then you know it is time to speak up.

"I was driving." You say softly suddenly, ignoring the feeling that your throat wants to close up. Agatha has her hands folded in her lap as she listens to you. "She...she was sleeping in the passenger seat." You swallow dryly, trying to count and not get caught up in the memory again, your heart racing. Talking is almost like going back there. "I looked at her for a moment and I got distracted... and then... we just..."

You only realize that you are crying because tears fall on your hand. You blink, sniffling. Taking a deep breath, you continue.

"We fell into the water, and Nat...she just...I couldn't get her belt off." You gasp breathlessly. "The water just...kept coming up around us. And she looked at me, and... she just shook her head like she knew what was going to happen." You tell between sobs. Agatha's eyes water, but she doesn't interrupt. "I just...she pushed me. She pushed my hands away and she told me she would follow me. And god... my dumb brain believed her!" You confess angrily. "She told me she was right behind me! And I swam out and when I came up she wasn't with me."

You shut up, not being able to tell anymore through the sobs. You can't even see the office clearly because of the tears.

It takes a moment for you to speak again, your head down.

"When I swam back, the car was completely covered with water everywhere" You recount. "I...I was going to dive again.... I wanted to get her out of there. But the people who saw the accident jumped in after us. And they pulled me out of the water. And I kept thinking that if I hadn't been distracted, she...she would be...."

"No." Agatha interrupts by offering you a tissue. "Natasha had a stomach injury, don't you remember?" She counters and you gasp, the words echoing in your brain. "That's why you couldn't remove the belt."

And then you were remembering clearly now.

Soft music echoed in the car as you hummed the tune and drove to your friends' house. Your wife mumbled softly beside you, making you smile as you watched the sleeping figure. The red hair in front of her face.

"Hey sleepyhead." You called softly, looking away from the track for a moment. "We're almost there."

Nat muttered in agreement. You bit your lip, thinking she looked beautiful. And then you heard a noise, and a white light in the window. You barely had time to frown when the impact threw your car off the road.

Your body tensed immediately as you sat up, looking around with desperation. The car was sinking fast and you turned to Nat.

A wound on her forehead was bleeding, and she was clearly disoriented as you touched her hands. You hurried to unbuckle her belt, but it was jammed tightly in her waist, and you gasped in shock at the wound.

"N-no." You grumbled, trying to move the metal, but Nat gasped in pain, pushing your hands away. You could barely breathe in desperation. Your feet were freezing, because the water was already at your ankles. "Babe, move please. We have to get out."

Nat advanced toward you, taking off your belt. You tried to touch her, but she pushed your hands away again, intending to guide you out.

" Sweetheart, go! Open the door! " she commanded and you shook your head, the water on your knees. Nat forced a smile, the tears in her eyes made your stomach turn. "Don't worry love. I'm right behind you."

As you opened the door, the water moved all the way into the car, and you held your breath Nat repeated the words "I'm right behind you" one more time. And then you swam out.

When you reached the surface, you were alone.

Sobbing, you couldn't say anything else to Agatha, and she proceeded to stroke your back, trying to soothe you with words of affirmation.

"I need you to remember some things honey." She says tenderly. "You couldn't have helped Natasha. She got stuck. You have to stop blaming yourself for what happened." Agatha whispers to you, and you sob. "Remember the investigation, okay? The police said that the driver of the truck was drunk and hit your car after he fell asleep. It wasn't your fault." Agatha says trying to remind you. You gasp, countless memories flooding your head at once. "Say that for me, will you?" She asks and you gasp. "Tell me it wasn't your fault."

You sob, burying your face in your hands. It takes a moment, but you repeat the words.

"It wasn't my fault." You whisper breathlessly. "It...it wasn't my fault."

When you leave therapy that day, you feel different.

You think that it is the healing process that is beginning to work. You still have a long way to go, but you have the feeling that a weight has been lifted off your back, because you have started to believe your own words. You could not have saved Natasha.

There is still a deep sadness in you, but you still buy your favorite drink on the way home, and try to stay in the living room for a few hours before going to your room when you are inside.

[reidsmemory]

Daycare

Fandom: Criminal Minds

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Reader

Summary: Y/N is a high school teacher and Hotch’s niece. She meets the BAU one morning and feels a connection with one of the agents. A few weeks later she is involved in a kidnapping and has to get her students to safety. 

Genre: Action with some fluff

Quinn Speaks: Okay so I kinda got off track here and it’s more of a bad ass reader fic but I wrote the bulk of this at like 2 am. I hope you all enjoy and let me know if you want a part 2!!

not my gif!

     Your day started at 3 am. That’s right, 3 am. The buzzing noise of your phone woke you out of your slumber as you picked up the device and brought it up to your face, the blinding white light made your eyes adjust immediately. Uncle Aaron was listed as the caller ID and a picture of him, Jack, and yourself was also shown on the screen. 

     “Hello?” you said in your best ‘you totally didn’t wake me’ voice which really ended up being your ‘I’ve been dead for 5 years and been just revived’ voice instead.

     “Y/N, I’m really sorry, but I need you to come in to BAU. We just caught a case and I can’t a sitter for Jack so he’s here with me and-” the man would have kept rambling about the situation if you hadn’t cut him off.

     “No problem, Uncle Aaron. I’ll be there in 25 minutes.” You threw off your covers and began to walk over to your bathroom. 

     “You’re a lifesaver, thanks Y/N.” You hummed and he promptly hung up the call. You flipped on the light switch and saw that you had indeed looked like you had been dead for 5 years. You sighed and got to work. 

     You usually babysat Jack when Aaron was out of town for a case and your flat had become a second home for Jack. It wasn’t like that hadn’t happened before, him calling you about a case and needing you to watch Jack, no of course not. But he would usually call you a couple hours in advance or it would be during hours of the day when you were actually awake and running around. 

     You finished getting your hair to look quite decent all things considered and your teeth brushed and your face was washed. You decide to just throw a cardigan over your tank top and shorts and you made your way to the front door, grabbing your keys, phone, and some snacks for Jack as well as slipping on your strappy, tan sandals. 

     You locked your door and walked to the elevator on your floor and pressed the parking garage button. The elevator hummed as it went down and you yawned, stretching a bit as well.

     The doors dinged open and you made your way to your car and started to drive off. To keep your eyes awake, you played a classic rock station that was full of guitar solos and drum bangs that would surely keep you up. You pulled into a little drive through and got some coffees for yourself, your uncle, and his team as well as a hot chocolate for Jack.

     “25.96 is your total,” the cashier at the window said as you handed her your card. She was still ringing it up as she turned to you, “so, what’s got you up at 3 am and grabbing a shit load of coffee?”

     You chuckled lightly at her words, “babysitting emergency.” 

     She gave you a grin and handing you your card. “Well, good luck,” she said while handing you the holder for all the drinks as well as the drinks themselves. 

     “Thank you, have a good morning,” you said with a light smile.

     “Ditto.” She closed the windows and smiled as you drove off, you still had about 10 minutes to get to the BAU. Traffic was light which worked in your favor as well as living pretty close to the building. 

     You parked and started to get out with the coffees as you made your way to the entrance. You stepped inside as the security guards scanned you and checked the drinks and you were finally able to make your way up to the designated floor with a visitor pass.

     A woman with black hair came into elevator as well and you both exchanged good mornings and a light smiles. She was no doubt judging the outfit you were wearing, wondering where in the federal government you work that allowed you to come into work wearing your a sleep top and shorts as well as a big cardigan. 

     You both stepped out on the same floor and you made your way through the bullpen and straight to your uncle’s office.

     Emily watched you walk off and she furrowed her eyebrows, she had never seen you at the BAU before and now you were walking into her boss’ office with coffees and in your pj’s. “Do you know who that is?” she asked Spencer as he looked up from some paper work.

     “Who?” he asked as Emily discreetly pointed in your direction. Spencer furrowed his brows as he had never seen you before. He watched you walk up the small amount of stairs to Hotch’s office and noticed that you also had a visitor pass in you hand as well a some coffees. 

     “Spencer?” Emily said as he continued to watch you. “Reid!” she snapped in front of his face as he finally brought his attention back to Emily. He looked at her and quickly stole glances at you when he though she wasn’t watching. 

     She noticed. 

     Emily grinned at the younger man as he turned his attention back to Emily and blushed lightly, deciding to return to the papers in front of him, but not without sneaking another glance at you. 

     Your uncle opened the door and ushered you into his office where Jack was sleeping on the couch. “Thank you for coming,” his voice was quiet and you just smiled as he brought you into a hug. 

     “I got coffees for you and your team; needed one myself and figured you guys would want some too,” you whispered as Hotch smiled lightly and took the carrier from you. “So what happened?”

     “Missing child in Louisiana. He was over at a friends for a sleepover and was nabbed about an hour ago.” You nodded and frowned a bit as did your uncle.

     “Well, good thing they’ve got the best on the job,” you tried to lighten the mood as he held a closed lipped smile. “Don’t worry about us, we’ll be fine.” 

     He nodded his head and grabbed some files from his desk and headed to the door of his office. You smiled at him as he said his goodbyes to Jack, waking him. 

     Hotch closed the door and was met by the stares of his team, “we’ll have to brief on the plane. There’s been a missing child report in Louisiana so wheels up in 10.” The team nodded and started to pack up and get ready. “My niece got us all fresh coffee as well,” he walked down the stairs and put the tray on an empty table. 

     “Y/N’s here?” Morgan asked as Hotch nodded. “She is a lifesaver.”

     “My words exactly,” he said and walked away as the team went to grab the drinks. 

     You put Jack on your hip and started to walk out of the office. You closed the door and turned around as you were greeted by the warm smile of Derek Morgan.

     “Morning, Hotcakes,” he teased as you smiled widely. You walked down the stairs as he pulled you into a side hug seeing as Jack was clinging to your other side. You both pulled away as he started up again, “thanks for the drinks.”

     “Course, I figured you guys would be as tired as me,” you said nonchalantly as he nodded. You saw the other pairs of eyes on you and quickly introduced yourself, “sorry, i’m Y/N. Aaron’s niece.”

     They nodded at your words as Rossi made his way over to you. “Nice to see you again, Kiddo,” he hugged you the same way Morgan had and you smiled at the older man. 

     “Jennifer Jareau, but I go by JJ,” she stuck out her hand as you smiled at her and shook it. 

     “Emily Prentiss.” The raven haired woman did the same as JJ as she shook you hand and smiled.

     “Uh, Spencer Reid,” the taller brunette man told you as you shot him a small smile seeing as he didn’t offer a handshake. “I wasn’t aware that Hotch had a niece,” he said.

     “Oh, yeah. I moved out here a few months ago for Hotch and Jack,” you told them.

     “Where do you work?” JJ asked.

     “I’m a teacher at Philip Moore High School.”

     “Yeah, Miss. Y/N is the best history teacher,” Derek teased a you rolled your eyes with a small smile on your face. 

     “Alright, I better get out of your guys’ hair and get this little one out of here,” you told them as they nodded. “Good luck with the case.” You smiled at them and gave Morgan on last side hug before you were walking through the bullpen and towards the elevator. 

     Spencer watched as you went and felt a clap on his back from Derek. He whipped around and saw the older man smiling. “Somebody got a crush on the teacher?” he singsonged as Spencer’s cheeks flamed pink. 

     “From the minute I pointed her out to him,” Emily recalled as she chuckled a it, “the chatty doctor turns into a gaping teenage boy.” Spencer heard JJ snicker as he felt his cheeks heat up even further. 

     The door of the BAU opened as they all whipped around and saw Hotch standing with his go bag and some files, “lets go.”

***

     It was a few weeks later and the case had gone great from what your uncle told you. They had found the kid and caught the creep who took him within the 24 hour rule they set up. 

     You stood by a yellow school bus and held a roster of names in your hand. “Alright!” you yelled out as mostly all the kids quieted down. “I’m gonna let everyone sit where they want as long as the volume doesn’t get too loud, yeah?”

     There was a mix of yes’ and okay’s in the crowd of 25 or so sophomores. Today you were taking a trip to the nations capital, a tradition for this school. The kids would go see a historical museum and take a tour of the White House, then you all would eat lunch downtown and then the kids go to vote on whether they wanted to go to another museum or go see a historical show. 

     “Lets get going then.” The kids filed onto the bus as you marked the names to the faces. Your co-worker was standing next to you and handing kids their badges and name tags. 

     Once everyone was on the bus, you turned to the slightly older man. “Ready to go?” he asked you as you nodded. Both of you climbed on the bus and the kids quieted down as Mr. Greene opened his mouth, “Alright you all know the drill, no wondering off, no yelling or running, and stick with your partners!” 

     They all nodded and said a variation of yes.

     “I can take the middle if you want the front,” you told him as he nodded and you headed towards one of the benches you had put your bag on. A mix of girls and boys were around it and you were glad that you were on the younger side so that you could somewhat understand what they were talking about. 

     “Miss. Hotchner!” a boy called as you turned to face him. “Do you have any games for the ride?” This got the attention of the kids around you. 

     “Sure,” you started, trying to think of something to keep the teen engaged and interested. “Whoever can spot a red car with the letter q in the licences plate will get ice cream for them and their seat partner. Same thing goes for blue cars with a y.” The kids nodded and started conversing strategies on how they would do this. 

     You knew it was silly, but you would’ve loved if a teacher did this during your school trips. The bus started moving and you were soon pulling away from the school. 

***

     JJ walked into Hotch’s office, “We’ve got a case and need to go now.” He put down his pen and and grabbed his jacket from the back of his chair. 

     “Fill me in,” he said to JJ as he motioned for the rest of the team to get up. 

     “A bus full of high schoolers on their way to a field trip in DC. They never checked in to their morning tour or any other events. Parents can’t get a hold of kids and faculty can’t get in touch with the teachers on the trip.”

     “So it’s local. How long ago did the high school contact us?” he asked.

     “Not even 15 minutes ago,” JJ told him as he nodded. 

     “Let’s take the SUVs and set up at the high school,” he told the team as the nodded and grabbed their things and headed for the doors. They sped to the cars and split up; Hotch, Reid, JJ, and Morgan in one while Rossi, Emily, and Penelope were in the other. 

     “Alright,” JJ set up her phone so it was on speaker and connected to the other car. “26 kids and 2 teachers along with a bus driver were heading out for an annual field trip the school does for sophomores. No one on the bus has been able to be contacted and were supposed to be back at the school 45 minutes ago.”

     “What time did they take off?” Morgan asked.

     “7:15 am and their first activity was at 9:50 am which they never checked in for according to the museum,” JJ explained. 

     “Garcia,” Hotch started, “can you pull up the bus GPS?” 

     “On it, Sir!” she replied. They kept driving to the school and were within 7 minutes of the destination seeing as they had sped all the way there. The team talked more as Garcia was pulling stuff up. Hotch pulled into the school and payed no attention to the sign as they did so. 

     They hopped out of the car and were met with the principal who had a grief stricken face. “Thank you so much for coming,” he spoke, “James Randalf, I’ll take you guys to the room we’re set up in.”

     “SSA Aaron Hotchner,” he said as he stuck out his hand. The man shook it but held a weird look on his face. “What is it?” Hotch asked.

     “You said Hotchner?” he asked as Aaron nodded, “Any relation to Y/N Hotchner?”

     “Yes, she’s my niece. This is Philip Moore High School?” The principal nodded as they walked through the hallway. He opened to door for the team swiftly as he stepped in. 

     “She’s one of the teacher’s that was on the bus.” Hotch paled at the man’s words as the rest of the team did a double take. Spencer had been to immersed in the case file and hadn’t seen the name of the high school as they pulled up or he would’ve at least connected the dots a bit faster. 

     “Get started,” Hotch said as he pulled out his phone rung your number up. The phone stayed ringing and no one picked up as Aaron cursed under his breath. “Garcia I need you to get the GPS of this number,” Hotch read your number and thought to himself that you always kept your GPS on and he urged you to do it one day as you took Jack.

     “Just in case anything happens, alright?”

     “Nothing will happen to us, but okay,” you said with as smile as Jack giggled in your arms.

     “Got the location, Sir,” Garcia said as Hotch snapped out of the trance he was in. 

     “Call for a SWAT car. Morgan, Emily, Reid, Rossi lets go,” Hotch ordered as they all nodded and followed the man out of the building, all hoping to find you and the kids.

***

     “Everyone just stay calm!” the man yelled as he entered the bus with another man behind him. The bus driver reached for his walkie-talkie and the second man shot him right in his forehead. The kids around you were whimpering and crying as you tried to be discreet about your movements.

     You grabbed the pepper spray from you bag and put it down your bra as well as taking your small pocket knife and putting it in your shoe. Students looked to you as you held up a finger to your mouth and nodded at them, gesturing for them to listen and stay quiet.

     “We don’t want to hurt anyone else,” the first man started, “we just want everyone to stay calm and stay quiet. We won’t kill you.”

     “Phones now,” the second said as he came around with a sack as kids put their phones in. You kept your head down and did the same, he didn’t seem to realize you were a teacher. He walked back up the aisle and pointed his gun at Mr. Greene. “Red, up,” he said referring to the color of the man’s shirt. He instructed Greene to move the bus driver out of his seat and onto the side of the road. Once he was finished he stood back up and both men stepped outside and shot him as well as dumping the phones.

     You took this opportunity to turn to the kids next to you. “Only call me by my first name, Y/N,” you told them as they nodded, “pass it on.” They whispered to each other and you were pretty sure that all the students knew what to do now.

     They stepped back on the bus and one of the men got into the driver’s seat while the other stepped to the aisle at the front of the bus. “Everyone is gonna quiet up. You all are a special bunch, parents in high position, rich, and willing to do whatever they can to get back their precious children.” The other man laughed as he started up the bus. “If I see anyone trying to communicate with the outside I will not hesitate to blow your head off. No talking and we wont have a problem.”

     He sat where Mr.Greene did as the other man started to drive off. Some kids kept their heads down and others near you looked to you. You signaled that everything was going to be okay and that you would kept them safe. 

     There had to be a way to warn you uncle where you were going. 

***

     At the sight, the team found two bodies and all of the cellphones. Hotch cursed silently as did the rest of the team. Spencer walked up and down the road as something had caught his eye. He picked up a folded piece of paper and opened it carefully. 

     “Do you have something, Kid?” Morgan asked as he nodded and walked over to the agents. 

     He unfolded the note and showed them as Hotch spoke up, “that’s Y/N’s handwriting.”

     2 men, White. 5′11 & 5′9. 190 and 170 lb. Aggressive and passive. Friends.

     The note had the team smiling as you had been able to give a clue of what they had to look for. “Definitely a Hotchner,” Rossi joked as Aaron smiled lightly at the man’s words. 

     “Lets get this back to Garcia, see if she can get a match.” The team nodded at their section leader’s words. 

     Spencer held the note in his hand and smiled to himself, he had only met you once, but you were proving to be very resourceful as well smart. This made his small crush grow into a full blown one and now he just had to get you back.

***

     They had taken you all to an abandoned barn about 3 hour drive at top speed. They tied you all up and made you all sit as they quickly made their way to a van that was parked in the barn. They had taken the boys to another location and left the the girls in the barn.

     As soon as you heard the car pull away you looked around for any cameras and saw that their were none. Girls whispered to each other as you soon gained their attention, “everyone listen up,” their eyes where on you. “We are going to get out of here alright?” They nodded as you quickly assessed the situation. 

     “What are you going to do, Miss. Hotchner?” one of the girls asked.

     “Get out of these.” You took the pocket knife from your shoe and switched it open. “Here,” you said handing it to one of the girls, “cut these open.” She nodded and did as you told her. Soon the zip ties where off your hands and you took the knife back from her and cut the zip ties around your feet. 

     You quickly did the same to the rest of the girl as you were all free now. “We move together. If they come back I’ll hold them off and the rest of you run and get help. Get my uncle, his name is Aaron Hotchner and he works for the FBI. Take this,” you grabbed the pepper spray and handed it to one of the girls, “use it if you have a good shot and pick up anything you can defend yourself with.”

     They nodded and you lead the way out of the barn. The van was no where in sight and you were good to go. You started going a different path than the main road in as to avoid the men. 

     You were able to walk with the girls for a good couple hours as you soon saw a gas station. You walked in with the girls and told the man behind the counter your predicament, he was about to dial the police as the door opened and a man walked in. One of the men who kidnapped you all. 

     He shot the man behind the counter and the girls froze. “Thought you could get away that easy?” he said as you gripped the knife in you hand behind your back. He came closer and pointed the gun at you all. “Lets go!” he yelled as some of the girls flinched. He got closer as you were able to tackle him the the ground. 

     His gun went off and slid to the side as the girl watched you and him fight.  You were able to flip him on his stomach and grab the keys out of his pocket. You threw them at the girls direction and yelled, “go! Like we talked about! Get to a big city and don’t stop!” He manged to flip you over and push you to the ground as you gritted you teeth and saw the girls run out of the shop and to the van. 

     You kneed him in the sweet spot as he crumbled above you and you got up on your feet and went to the gun but were tackled to the ground as your face slammed down. He turned you over and held down your hands as he delivered a punch to your face.

     This went on for a while; you and him struggling and giving each other bruises that would hurt for days. You were finally able to knock him out, by slamming his head against the hard floor. 

     You stood up and took the gun and knife as you were able to make your way out of the store and to the little car sitting outside. You broke the passengers side window and unlocked the car and made your way over to the drivers side to hot wire the car. You fumbled with wires and finally got the car to start as you heard a chime from the store entrance. The man was coming out as you pulled out as he tried to chase you as you stuck the gun out your window and were able to hit him in the leg as he fell to the ground. All those times training with your uncle had finally paid off. 

     You knew it was stupid, but you couldn’t help but go back to the direction of the barn. You hadn’t seen any structures where they could’ve keep the boys and you had to get them to safety. You had promised them. 

***

     A white van pulled up to the front of the school about 2 hours after the BAU had gotten there. The girls filed out and made their way inside the building as they saw the cars parked out in front and figured their would be someone there. The doors were open and they walked in and were met with shocked faces of the staff. 

     The staff got the agents as they made their way to the front of the school. Aaron watched as the girls look around clearly nervous and distraught. “We need to conduct interviews now.” The team nodded as they each took one of the girls into a classroom. JJ gathered all the parents with daughters and told them the good news. 

     Spencer and Aaron sat with one of the girls. “Start at the beginning.”

     The girl told them about the barn and how you had gotten them out and then the walk to the gas station and how you had fought with the man as you told them to go and get help. “Do any of you know Aaron Hotchner? Miss. Hotchner told us to get him and he would know what to do.”

     “That would be me,” Aaron spoke as she nodded. 

     “She saved us and I feel so bad for just leaving her there, with that man,” she shuddered at the thought. “Do you think he killed her?” she whispered to them as both Spencer and Hotch paled at the thought.

     “I don’t think so,” Spencer spoke honestly, “Miss. Hotchner is very resourceful and you said she had the upper hand, right?” The girl nodded as Spencer smiled. “I’m sure she’s fine and you did just what she told you. You don’t have to feel guilty.” 

     She left the room and was soon reunited with her parents. 

     “We need to get to the gas station,” Hotch said as Spencer nodded. “Half of us will go there and the other half to the barn. We can have Garcia see if the car had GPS and if she can retrace where it’s been.”

     The team regrouped and Garcia was able to get 3 locations in the vicinity. They split up accordingly and headed out to the locations.

***

     You had scoped out a small building. It had no cars in front of it and was the the closest building to the barn you had been in earlier. You knew you could either go in guns a-blazing, but the man inside would have the kids as leverage and you knew you had to take him out as soon as possible or at least injure him. 

     You held the gun in your hand and quickly made your way to the building as you looked into one of the windows and saw the boys all tied up and the man sitting with as concerned look on his face. You devised your plan and figured it would be easier to lure him out. You walked back to the car and put pressure on the horn as it continued to make noise as the heavy stick pressing against it held.

     The man came out as you hid behind a tree and waited for him to have his back to you. Once this happened you fired your gun and hit him in the back of his leg. He dropped to the ground and his gun went forward. You ran over and picked it up as he cried out and started cussing at you. 

     “You stupid bitch! You’re gonna pay for this!” he screamed.

     “Sure, buddy,” you said in an amused voice. You put the guns down as you turned him on his back and took the branch for the car and hit his jaw with it as he passed out. You put it down and checked his pulse, still alive. You opened up the trunk of the car and held him in an army carry as you put him in the small space as you closed and locked the trunk. You jogged over to the building and opened the door to see around 17 teenage boys looking at you with more fear than you had ever seen. 

     “Miss. Hotchner!” one said as you smiled and got out your knife and began getting the zip-ties off of them. 

     “Is everyone okay? Anyone hurt?” They all said no to your question as nodded and finished getting everyone free.

     “What happened to the girls?” one boy asked. 

     “They are hopefully with my uncle and making sure someone comes for us soon,” you told them as they nodded. “You’ll all get the full story when we get out of here, okay?” 

     You lead them out of the small building and told them to stay there. They did as told as you brought the car over and made sure to keep an eye on the man inside if he did manage to escape. 

     After waiting for a hour or so in the dark, a black SUV pulled up along with a swat car. 

     “Everyone put you hands up, it’s alright,” you told them as you placed down the gun and knife and put you hands above your head. The boys followed in suit and you soon saw your uncle get out of the car.

     “Guns down! It’s just the kids!” he made his way over to you as you hugged him tightly. You groaned lightly as he pulled away. “Are you alright?” You nodded and gestured towards the kids as your uncle understood. 

     Spencer came over to you as smiled lightly at him. Your face was littered with cuts and bruises and even a bit of blood that was dried on your face. “Hey, Spencer,” you said as he smiled lightly. “There’s one of the douche bags in the trunk.” You pointed as he nodded at you words.

     “Can I get some cuffs and a guy over here!” he yelled out as he made his way over to the trunk. A SWAT guy had his gun up as you unlocked the trunk and the man tumbled out. 

     He immediately started yelling, “where is that bitch!” he lunged at you from the ground as the SWAT cuffed him and brought him into custody. You closed the trunk and swiftly sat atop it. You winced slightly as Spencer was quick to come by your side. 

     “You’re hurt,” he said frowning as you nodded at his word. 

     “Got thrown around a bit,” you joked. He quickly went over to the SUV and got back to you as he was now holding a first-aid kit. He set it down on the trunk and quickly got to work on your face. 

     You cuts had stopped bleeding by now, but they were still open and Spencer delicately wiped them down and placed a few bandages on your face. You swore he was blushing, but it was too hard to tell in the dark. 

     He finished cleaning up your face and Hotch quickly thanked him. You got into the stolen car as 3 of the boys got in with you as well as Spencer and he started to drive off to the school.

***

     Spencer pulled up to the school as you all got out of the car. Parents were waiting outside the car and the boys rushed to them as they all let out cries. You smiled at the sight and had also asked Spencer about the fate of the girls earlier and were grateful for that as well. You made your way over to a paramedic and she checked you out and quickly realized that you had in fact a minor dislocated your shoulder. 

     “Seriously?” you asked as she nodded.

     “It was probably the adrenaline that allowed you body to over look it. That with the other bruises all over your body, your mind probably thought it was just one of those,” she explained. “I’ll have to pop it back in place.” You grimaced and nodded as she made her way over to your side. 

     Hotch was by your side as you stuck out your hand and he took it. Some of the students were watching, worried for you. 

     “Big breath in,” she told you as you followed her instructions and she quickly popped it back into place. You shoulder cracked loudly and you yelped a bit and turned some heads. “Alright, you’ll have to treat it with care and it might swell, but you are good to go Miss. Hotchner.”

     “Thank you,” you told her with a light smile and you hopped of the back of the ambulance. Your uncle rubbed you back as you looked to him. “How’s Jack?” you asked as he smiled at your question. 

     “He’s fine. Will, JJ’s husband, is watching him.” You nodded at his response and made your way to the school as he still had to pack up some stuff. “I’m driving you home and don’t even think about coming into work tomorrow.” You laughed as he smiled at you. 

     “Miss. Hotchner!” Your name was called you looked to your uncle and quickly departed to got talk to the families. 

     “Is everything alright?” you asked the father as he nodded. 

     “We,” he gestured towards all the parents, “wanted to thank you for saving our kids and keeping them safe.” A few mothers and fathers were crying and kids were smiling at you lightly.

     “Of course, i’m just glad that everyone is okay,” you told them truthfully. A girl came up to you and hugged you tightly as more kids came up and eventually the whole class was in a big group hug as some of them cried a bit, you surely teared up. They pulled away when your uncle came out and you bid the adieu and goodnight as you made your way over to Hotch. 

     “Ready?” he asked as you walked to your car. 

     You bit your lip. “One moment.” You made your way over to the young doctor and tapped him on the shoulder as he whipped around.  “Spencer,” you spoke softly as he looked at you and paused on working on your face. “Would you want to get dinner on Friday?”

     Spencer looked at you with wide eyes and couldn’t help but smile widely at your question.         

     “It’s just, I almost died a few time today and I don’t want to do anything that  would regret, which would include not asking you out. I know it’s bad timing and it’s totally fine if you don’t want to and-”

     You would’ve kept rambling, but Spencer cut you off, “I would love to have dinner on Friday with you.” You smiled at the man as he smiled back and now you were sure of the blush on his cheeks. 

     “Cool, um, do you have a pen?” you asked as he nodded and fumbled to get a pen from his bag. You smiled at him and took his palm as you wrote out your phone number and handed it back to him. “See you on Friday.” You smiled brightly as he nodded. You pecked his cheek and turned around quickly and was met with a surprised look on your uncles’ face.

     Spencer blushed brightly and brought a hand up to his face to check if that had actually happened. Derek came up behind him and smiled widely as he clapped him on the back. 

     “Finally got the girl! Good job man!” Derek told him as he smiled widely and was met with happy smiles from the rest of the team.

     “Dinner on Friday!” he gushed as they cheered and clapped a bit. All happy that the man had gotten some good new for once. 

      Dinner on Friday.