#and all my other coworkers scattered and left me alone with her for an hour

[gossip-girl-of-middleearth]

Omgggg the bitch who fucked the boss and broke up an engagement came back to the workplace today applying for the job again after a year

[mythicalgemwrites]

Selkie x F! Reader (Linn) Part 1

Sorry for not posting earlier guys! I've been very busy with online classes.

Warnings: mentions of drowning. Pics are not mine, all credits go to the owner!

M! Selkie X F! Reader

Living on an island your whole life has its perks. From the fresh scent of the salty ocean air to the calming sounds of the waves crashing lazily, it never failed to wake you up with a serenity that could be found nowhere else. You had lived alone with your Toller pup for the past couple years, in the house that your grandparents had left for you. You grew up with them, as your parents always had to move from town to town due to their profession. They were both marine biologists and had taken up a job at a top secret research facility when you were 12, so they decided to let you stay with your beloved grandparents. However, on a stormy day a couple years ago, when you were 19, both your grandparents got caught in a storm while they were out fishing, and they never came back. During the funeral, you had found out that in their will, they had stated that you should get the house, in the event of something tragically happening to them.

And that’s how you got the house three years ago. When it became too lonely, you decided to adopt a Toller puppy for company, and you had named him Sam, which was your grandpa’s nickname. He provided good company and unconditional love, which is important in every home. The house had its own dock leading to the beach, so every morning, after your walk, you’d put Sam’s retriever genes to good use and play fetch with him, fetching the ball from the ocean was one of his favorite past times. Whenever you brought him to the beach, you sometimes feared he was going to be the reason why someone almost drowned. To date, you were grateful nothing like that had ever happened, but you sometimes couldn’t brush off that fear. You were a writer, and sometimes, you couldn’t control how far your imagination went, and sometimes, the words you put on paper would be some of your worst fears, if they were to come alive.

As the days go by, and the weather gets chilly, you would often take Sam on a walk to the nearby cove, usually in the warmer months it would be filled with children playing by the beach and in the waters, but as the weather got cooler, it was mostly couples going on romantic walks, or some who preferred the solitude, just came to enjoy the sunset. On this particular day, there weren’t many people by the cove, just a couple strangers. It was around 6:15 when you threw the ball the last time, and waited for Sam to retrieve it. You closed your eyes and took a deep breath, fully inhaling the chill autumn air, when you heard a whelp coming from the water. Opening your eyes, you saw Sam caught on a wave, and struggling to get back to you. In a panicked state, you took off into the water, not worrying about the growing current, but more worried about your faithful companion, struggling in grasps of strong waves, at least for a dog his size. As you grab him by his collar, attempting to pull him out, another wave comes crashing into the two of you, causing you to go under. Trying to call for help, and failing, as the water fills your lungs, you stop struggling, knowing it might make your situation worse, however, Sam starts barking, with his head barely above the water.

Suddenly, you could feel yourself being pulled out of the water, and being held against a broad chest by strong arms. Once you reached the water, you looked at your savior, beautiful greenish-blue grey eyes met yours, and you saw a cute familiar face looking back at you. It was Linn, the barista in the cute local café. You had to admit, you’ve always had a crush on him, but from afar. You didn’t know anything about him, except that people claimed that his family had lived on the island for years, centuries even.

He had shaggy brown hair, and small freckles were scattered along his face. With his help, you got up from the ground and called out to Sam. “Are you alright? I saw you getting pulled under and saw your dog barking. Do you want me to call someone?” he asked , in a boyishly deep smooth voice. Gaping like a goldfish out of the water, it took you a few seconds to process what was said. Coughing, you rasped out “ Yes… I’m fine, thank you! My dog , Sam, got caught in the waves, and I tried to get him out.” you started babbling like a lost child. “ Can I call someone to come get you?” He asked again, a hint of concern in his eyes. “ oh, no… no it’s okay, I live alone, well with Sam. There’s no one to call.” you said, trying not to act like a 15 year old who just couldn't help but be nervous around her crush. “I’ll be fine, really, I just need to walk home and dry out. Thanks again for helping!” you exclaimed. Calling Sam to you, the both of you started to walk home. “ Hey! Wait!” you heard Linn calling from behind, “ I’ll walk you home, if that’s okay. It’s getting dark anyway. I’ll see to it that you both get home safe,”. Before you could say anything, you felt him putting his jacket over you, helping with the chill. You didn’t realize you were freezing until he wrapped his jacket around you.

When the three of you reached your home, Sam was happy to be back in the warm embrace of his bed. Standing by the door “ Would you like to come in? Maybe a cup of coffee… or tea or anything else, if you prefer?” quickly giving him the option of whatever he preferred, to make sure you didn't seem ignorant. Sure, he worked as a barista in the local café, but that doesn't mean he loved coffee, right? “ Um, sure! Anything will do,” he said, as he followed you in. Looking around, you kicked yourself in your head, not keeping up to the schedule you set yourself for cleaning up around the cottage. Sure, it was decent, but paper everywhere? A heaping amount of mugs were strewn around your coffee table, as you sat there working on your next work.

Quickly picking them up and moving them to the sink, you filled up the kettle and turned it on to boil. “ There’s tea and coffee in the cabinet above the kettle, feel free to help yourself. I’ll go get dried up,” the words left you, as if you were telling them to an old friend, hoping to not make a fool of yourself anymore, you gave him a sheepish smile and made your way upstairs to your bedroom.

(Linn pov)

I made my way to the cabinet, looking through the various tea blends. Something which would help with the cold temperature would be nice. There in the right corner of the cabinet, was a box of peppermint tea. It would definitely help make her feel better, since she was soaked to the bone. I can’t help but feel a sense of concern for her. This beautiful strong woman that I always encounter in the café I worked in, and possibly have a crush on, I can’t believe I never spoke to her. I’ve always seen her writing in the corner of the café, in her spot, as my coworkers and I have labeled it. She always seems so sure of herself, and always seems ready for anything, but today, out in the water when I saw her struggling, something came over me. I had to save her, felt a sense of protectiveness for her, hence why I offered to walk her home. Taking two bigger than average mugs from the cabinet, I filled them up with the boiling water, after placing a tea bag in each and placing them on the coffee table before the couch. Her dog was in front of the heater, longing for some warmth and hoping to dry off. I heard soft footsteps coming down the stairs.

As I got to the bottom of the stairs, I saw Sam laying before the heater, trying to get warm. Making my way to the tiny laundry room, I picked up Sam’s towel. Making my way to him, from the corner of my eye I saw Linn, sitting on the couch, two steaming mugs of what seemed to be one of my teas in front of him.

“ I made some peppermint tea, it helps with colds, we don’t want you to catch one now do we?” grinned Linn.

Thanking him, and taking the mug he held one, I sat next to him on the couch. Keeping some distance between us, I asked him if he wanted to use the bathroom to clean up.

“ If you have any spare clothing that might fit, I’d like that! It’s okay if you don’t though!” he nervously exclaimed. “ I do have some spare clothing that belonged to my grandpa, they should fit. Gimme a sec! I’ll go grab ‘em, and a towel too!” I exclaimed, leaving the cozy embrace of the couch.

Making my way to my room, where I kept a spare drawer full of my grandparent’s clothes, I dug out a jumper and a pair of pajama pants which belonged to my grandpa.

When I went down, I saw Linn drying Sam with the towel that I had left by his dog bed, and Sam being the belly rub loving dog he is, happily accepted Linn drying him with the towel, belly rubs being a necessity. Letting out a chuckle at the scene before my eyes, I held out the spare clothes and a fresh towel to Linn.

“ There’s a bathroom two doors left from the stairs upstairs,” I exclaimed, reaching for the doggy towel he left by the couch and chucking it in the laundry room. “Thank you,” he exclaimed, leaving to go to the bathroom.

Once Sam was dry enough, I picked up my mug of tea, making myself comfortable on the couch. Looking out the living room window, rain droplets trickling down the class, I sip on my tea, waiting for my guest to arrive from the bathroom. A couple minutes passed, looking up when I heard soft footsteps heading towards me, I offered Linn a smile and patted down the space next to me on the couch. “ Here, you can leave once the storm stops,” I handed him the mug.

We both sat beside each other, talking about what we remember about my grandparents and how we never spoke to each other when we were younger. Sam sitting at our feet. The dying fire casted a warm allure on his face, illuminating the soft scattered freckles. Hours passed as we enjoyed each other's company over another mug of tea, laughing at all the brief mutual moments that were shared between us. He mentioned that he would always get excited to see me whenever I visited my grandparents by the docks. I didn’t want to admit it, but I always loved to catch a few glimpses of him, whenever he wasn't looking as well.

I laughed at his words, tired but somehow feeling rejuvenated. It had been a long time since I last laughed with someone. It felt good to let go.

His expression of awe paused me mid laughter. He was gazing into my eyes, as I his. For a brief moment, his gaze averted to my lips. Moving his gaze up to my eyes, as soft as a whisper “ May I kiss you?” he asked, a foreign emotion lingered behind his now soft eyes.

Giving him a gentle nod, I felt him place his hand at the nape of my neck. Inhaling a deep breath, his scent which reminded me of the sea with a hint of musky peppermint enveloped my senses.

Linn leaned in, gently bringing my face towards his. He closed his eyes, and for a brief few seconds I admired him until mine shut involuntarily as I felt his lips on mine. After a few seconds, he pulled away, still gazing into my eyes, “ I’ve been wanting to do that for quite a while now,” he said, with a sheepish grin, before kissing me again.

He deepened the kiss a little, giving my bottom lip a light lick before pulling away. “ I regretted not telling you how I felt about you earlier… I did ask permission from your grandpa before he passed. The last thing he said to me was, he’d be happy if you chose me,” he paused for a second, a hint of sadness and regret casting a shadow on his blue eyes. “ I… I need to tell you something. I might … might not be who you expect. And I understand if I’m not who you want,” he stammered. Grunting, “ The rain’s about to stop. I should probably get going,” he said as he started to get up.

Grabbing onto his hand, “ No...don’t! Please… It’s late, you should stay!” I stopped him. “And I’ve had a silly little crush on you too… I just never knew how to tell you” I whispered. He sat next to me, slowly, as if I were made of fine china. That, at any moment, I might crumble. “ You did?” he breathed, his breath close enough that I could feel it on my face.

“ I also know what you are. Grandpa made sure to educate me on myths, and he said some were not myths. I’ve seen you carry your pelt around sometimes,” I closed his hand between mine. “I know you’re a selkie, Linn. I don’t want you to hide that from me.” I breathed, gazing into his eyes. I could catch a glimpse of adoration in them. “Thank you… for not running away, even when you knew what I was,” he sighed. I gazed at his lips, before catching them with mine, a soft peck, to let him know I accepted him for who he is.

[deanwithscissors]

Home Sweet Home (Part 1)

Title: Carpool

Pairing: Jensen x Reader (OC)

Word Count: 1700

Warnings: Swearing, mention of alcohol and drugs, anxiety, mention of panic attack, implied smut

Summary: Two actors carpool to set for the first time, after making out drunkly at a party

A/N: i write for myself. i don’t post/publish my stuff usually, but honestly i just want advice and tips on writing. i know most people prefer to read as the reader, i’ve altered this story to fit, but the oc is based on me, so i know descriptions are tailored which kinda pulls you out, but if you read it anyway, thanks! feedback is 100% welcomed, but BE KIND, i suffer with severe anxiety! *all mistakes are mine*

Despite the hot Texas night, the water clogged air could not dampen the reach of the blaring beat, bass and rhythm rumbling from oversized speakers scattered around the multi-million dollar mansion. 

The chocolate brown-haired girl meekly clasped her coworkers hand as he escorted her through a sea of people. Reaching a below average height of five foot one, she was unable to see anything besides chests, shoulders and heads, he was her life jacket, helping her bob along the surface. The hazel-eyed charmer used his larger presence to make space between bodies to slip her through. 

Finally reaching the shore of strangers, he pulled her from the water and they ascended the disgustingly oversized staircase. Nine foot wide stairs, most of them were draped in drunk twenty-something year old kids and the rest were plastered with an unholy concoction of alcohol and probably drugs too.

Split between terribly shy and desperately horny, the units of alcohol circling [Y/N]’s body pushed her beyond her introvert boundaries. She allowed a filthy grin to mark her face as the five foot eleven, shoulder-length haired boy sought some privacy in the anonymous mansion. Her inner temperature and core burned when they tumbled into a dark untouched bedroom. As per usual she was untouched for less than a minute due to clothing being removed.

“Those tiny tits are mine!” He growled as he shoved her onto the bed. 

[Y/N] ejected from the dream into reality. Her throat ceased. Her mouth bone dry. Her palms clammy. And a cold sweat soaked skin. The familiar melody of Juke Box Hero by Foreigner echoed around the room as her phone alarm buzzed. Wishing she could hide under the duvet all day, she gently sobbed to herself. ‘Get up, get ready, go to work, get home. That’s it. Step by step and then you’re home and alone for the night,’ she attempted to psych herself to face the world.

It took [Y/N] an hour long shower, a couple of panic attacks, a few meltdowns over clothing and a smashed glass to get ready. Dealing with the symptoms of anxiety was an everyday occurrence for [Y/N], but this morning, her anxiety levels were beyond the average day.

Hidden in a grey oversized jersey, she tugged at the rolled up sleeves while darting from one foot to the other on the sidewalk. Gushing with sweat she stood in the early morning air and begged for today to be over. 

[Y/N] could have said no to Jensen being the person she had to carpool with. That would have been the sensible option. Jensen was a pretty boy, and [Y/N] had slipped for him while at a party, she gave him permission to explore her mouth with his tongue, and it had been an amazing make out session.

The morning after, [Y/N] scolded herself for being easy and careless. She focused on spending less time with him, on and off set. She had attempted to say no to the offer, but the thought of being alone with Jensen twisted her insides in an aching need, so she had said yes.

When the Dodge Hellcat pulled up, she double gulped and shakily clenched the door handle. Staring at her reflection in the window, [Y/N] questioned if she had looked this bad when she had left the apartment. She instantly regretted her decision to carpool with Jensen as a gentle breeze blew stray hairs across her face.

A natural smile spread across her face when Jensens blazing green eyes captured hers. His K9's were prominent and she could see through the tiniest slit that his tongue was pushed against the back of his teeth. Soft dimples imprinted his cheeks and the extreme scent of his cologne swamped the car and assaulted her nostrils. The hint of fresh zesty mandarin sent a shiver down her spine and the sandalwood aroma created a twinge between her legs. She stifled a quick moan by biting her lip as she was thrown back to being in his arms at the party. Their tongues on an adventure, then their hands joined in too, they groped hungrily and tipsily at one another in the corner of the kitchen.

He side-eyed her as she slipped into the Dodge. Her slim pins were covered by skinny light blue denim jeans and she wore a black and white pair of Vans. The rest of her small frame was hidden by an oversized jersey. “Scooby-Doo? Good choice,” he smiled at her.

“The best,” she beamed. The passengers seat swallowed her, the seatbelt swamped her and she naturally tucked the belt under her arm. “Oh no, you're not one of those guys with all those strict car rules, are you?” she asked nervously as he watched her.

“No, I'm actually a really cool guy,” he said without an ounce of arrogance. 

“Oh, you are?” She teased.

“Yeah. For one, my shotgun has input on what music plays,”

“Wow, you're too good to be true,” she chuckled.

“Couldn't have gotten a better carpool buddy huh?”

“Apparently not,” she blushed. Jensen had the ability to make her feel extremely on edge, but also at ease, she felt comfortable and safe around him, but also as if she might throw up at any moment. He made her want to run as far away as possible from him, but also run straight into his arms. He was a deadly combination; funny, sweet, talented and good looking, although [Y/N] presumed the sweet would be pushed out by ego the more she got to know him.

Pretty boys, don’t do down to earth, it was always a front and she had already slipped into his sweet boy act once. He probably revelled in knowing she found him attractive, as well as every other girl out there. She would be just another kiss for him to tell. She was not unattractive, but she was at the base, a plain Jane, the girl next door. Five foot one, barely one hundred pounds, flat chest and ass to match, pale, with a freckled face. She did not stand out in a group of women, she did not exude sexy. Her legs were short, she had hip dips, her breasts were slightly too far apart, her nose was not a sharp button, but rounded, her top lip was thinner than her bottom and her left ear stuck out unevenly and boldly.

Jensen on the other hand, was a walking model, his face was almost perfectly proportioned, he had a strong jawline, slight butt-chin, a chiselled nose, scorching green eyes, perfectly styled dirty blonde hair, supple plush lips and a sprinkling of freckles. He was six foot one, broad shoulders, tight biceps, toned abs and bowed legs, that somewhat made him even more attractive.

“I ah, got you coffee,” Jensen mumbled. Even when he was being quiet, his tone was rustic and deep. “I hope I got the right one. Iced blonde vanilla latte?”

“How, do you know?” A giddy cheeriness flooded her body.

“I did the coffee run one time,” He shrugged nonchalantly before he checked the side mirror and pulled away from the curb when it was clear. 

“Thanks.” [Y/N] sucked her iced coffee through the green plastic straw. “It’s the only thing that wakes me up in the mornings. Well, besides sex, but I’m not getting that, so.” [Y/N]’s mouth moved faster than her thoughts. When her brain caught up, she bit her tongue while an inferno flushed her face. Her skin was on fire, perspiration gathered around her hairline and beads of sweat laced the crease of her spine. Avoiding Jensen’s eyes, she nibbled the end of the straw. The air was as thick as porridge, the carseat was covered in glue and she was firmly stuck to the spot as she bit her tongue.

“I don’t do mornings either,” Jensen broke the silence with a soft alleviating tone, that somehow made her feel calmer, but also more uptight. Subconsciously [Y/N]’s knees started rattling against one another. Jensen could not only see her anxiety, but he could feel it, it seeped from her like radiation. “Coffee is good, but yeah, morning sex is better.” He tried to brush past her comment which had obviously embarrassed her, but she kept rocking. “So shotgun, what do you want to listen to? I hope you have good music taste.”

“I have the best taste in music,” [Y/N] announced proudly, “But do you?” she cocked an eyebrow directly at him. “CD’s are in the glovebox, judge for yourself,” Jensen tried to hide his anxiety through playful teasing, but his voice did waver for a second and she had caught it, but she brushed it off.

The apprehension had dissipated from inside the vehicle and [Y/N] was now more relaxed, she had her legs crossed on the seat and placed the bulky case of CDs on her lap. “So, are you the type to order your CDs, or, are you messy?” She analyzed his sculpted face with soft features, but he kept a strong poker face. “Well, I think, you’ve got to be a chaotic mess.” [Y/N] flipped open the case, the first CD presented to her through the clear plastic was; Pieces Of Eight by Styx. A pleasantly surprised ‘Oh’ fell from her mouth. Flipping again, Edge Of The Century and Paradise Theatre by Styx were displayed, another ‘oh’ popped from [Y/N]’s mouth. “Foreigner, Journey, AC/DC” she continued as they pulled up to a red light. “Dio, Motley Crue, Ratt, Metallica, Def Leppard, Led Zeppelin, Warrant, Poison, Dokken, Kiss, Deep Purple, Europe, Boston...” she further listed, flicking through the CD case randomly. “I can’t drive, but if I did, this would totally be my CD collection.”

“So you approve?” Jensen asked. For almost a full minute [Y/N] and Jensen’s matching green eyes remained locked on each other.

“The first thing I see is Styx, they’re my favourite, so yeah,” she beamed. “You do have good taste in music Ackles. I’m a little surprised you’re a neat guy though. But I like it.”

“You struck lucky getting me as a carpool buddy huh?”

“Coffee and classic rock, so far, yes. No complaints.” The traffic light flashed green and Jensen pushed his foot onto the gas pedal. Each minute with Jensen eased her tight muscles and stiff bones as he continuously made her laugh on the way to work.

[morizoras-cave]

Sleepyhead (Request)

MCU cast x gn!teen!co-star!reader, Benedict Cumberbatch x gn!reader

Genre: Angst, fluff

Request Description: Hiya♥️could i please request a teen x marvel cast were they always find her sleeping and taking naps everywhere around set and they confront her about it and she says something about having to take care of her little siblings because her parents are never arohnd do she gets no sleep. Sorry if its to long.❤❤❤❤❤😍🥰

Warnings: irresponsible parents, negligence, slight insecurity, stress

(A/N): sorry this is kind of centered around benedict, i find these mcu cast x reader ones difficult. also im watching a belarusian war-movie from 1985 about the holocaust. its absolutely terrifying (im very serious, i’d be cautious for trigger warnings). if you’re looking for a horror movie or something, search “come and see movie” on youtube and you’ll find the entire thing there (:

At first, it had been sweet. A testament to the insomniatic youth, if you will. In every closet, behind every door, and on every soft surface, you could be found in between takes, snoring away.

They all agreed you were probably watching movies or playing games up late at night, computer screen illuminating your face. Or maybe you were chatting with your faraway friends. Either way, it was almost endearing to find you drooling on the couches scattered around the set.

Sweet and endearing at first, yes. But then the feelings about it, the longer it went on, the more your mature and well behaved personality clashed with the idea of you staying up all night, the more the feelings about your frequent naps changed.

To the set workers, the coordinators and overseers of the countless tasks on set, it became an issue. 

“Where’s Y/n? We need them for the next scene!” 

More often than not, several people would be running around set in search of you. And of course you apologized profusely when they found and woke you, but it didn’t matter when you never changed.

But to your coworkers, the talented actors and actresses on set of this huge movie production, it was concerning. Because you were their friend, undoubtedly. 

When you would be pulled out a distant break room, rubbing your dark and drowsy eyes, mumblings would start among them. 

“Are they okay?” 

“They just seem so sensible, I don’t understand why they would stay up like that.” 

And then there was you. Young and unfortunate you. Just trying to do your best, trying to please everyone. It was impossible for anyone to know how much you were juggling with. 

You felt like a bird with a broken wing, still flying but bound to fall to its death. You knew it was too much. You knew it was only a matter of time before you broke. 

Most teens felt stressed with just schoolwork, and then there was you. Battling long set days and huge mounts of schoolwork. And then the family.

Your parents that never seemed to be around. They were both working all the time and often left you and your siblings to yourselves. The problems with that was that you were the eldest, and your siblings were too young to take care of themselves. You were the one left to bring home groceries, to make dinner, to bring them to bed, and to help them with any of their schoolwork or difficulties. 

And it was too much. Simply put it was too much for you. You had managed back when you were just another teen at school, but now you were in a movie, you had a JOB.

Usually you’d go to set and work your ass off, get home and help the kids all day, and then do your schoolwork in the night. You almost never got more than an hour or two of sleep, which was why you settled for small naps during your filming sessions. 

You were so stressed, and you wanted to be angry, because in truth you had every right to. But you were too tired and too busy to be angry. Too focused on your siblings and doing good as an actor. But you would never want to involve your coworkers. You thought it would be embarrassing and unprofessional to involve them. So you carried the weight all alone.

“Wake up! Wake up!” 

Someone was shaking you awake. You blinked your eyes open. A redhead set assistant was yelling in your face, grasping your shoulders. 

She stopped when she saw your eyes turning to slits, before widening to look at her. 

“Am I on?” you mumbled, rubbing your eyes. The lady scoffed.

“Are you on? Yeah, you’re on,” she spat and swung around, heels clicking on the floor, as she exited the break room briskly.

You were ashamed. Of course you were. You were so unprofessional and problematic. But you knew you had no other time to sleep, so this was your only option. The thought made you want to cry. 

Instead, you stood up and walked to where the scene would be filmed, through several hallways and technical rooms, before you arrived to the large set. 

Benedict, Robert, Tom (Holland), Chris (Pratt), Pom, and Dave were all gathered and ready to film. Your face was on fire, so you avoided their gazes, and just got into position to film the next scene. 

Benedict and Robert exchanged glances as you yawned, but before they could talk to you (as it seemed everyone was getting fed up with your constant sleepiness) the director yelled “action”, and the acting resumed. 

You all did the scene and you, surprisingly, did okay for having woken up about five minutes earlier. You continued doing several scenes for the movie all together, going through about three full scenes.

When the director was satisfied, everyone started scattering. You, rubbing your tired eyes, was already beelining for the break room, hoping to see an empty couch for you to crash.

However, before you could sneak off to catch some z’s, you felt a firm hand on your shoulder. You blinked, turning around and gazing at the person who had grabbed your shoulder. It was Benedict, Robert, Tom and Chris not fat behind him. He had a stern look on his face. 

“Y/n, we need to talk.”

“Yeah, sure, what’s up?” your tone was casual, or perhaps too exhausted to express any real emotion, but inside you felt your stomach churn with anxiety. 

“Why are you always sleeping?” Robert chimed in. 

“Yeah, because if you’re up watching Youtube or whatever, you probably shouldn’t!” Tom said.

“Not that we’re assuming that that’s what you’re doing! It’s just- You know..,” Chris explained, voice full of panic.

You smiled softly. You recognized that they were coming from a place of worry. Then, your heart sunk slightly. You could cry. Again. Over the thought of your lack of time and your endless responsibilities. 

“It’s nothing serious, it’s just..” you trailed off, trying to figure out how you could make it sound less sad. Things always sounded worse when spoken out loud, you found. “I have two siblings, and my parents are never around, so I’m kind of the person taking care of them.” 

Your coworkers in front of you fell silent. You could see it on their faces. They didn’t like it. 

“You?” Robert said finally, and you just nodded. 

“So, you’re doing a movie, doing school, and taking care of your siblings at the same time?” Benedict repeated slowly, and once again you just nodded. There was nothing more to say. 

“Why aren’t your parents there?” Chris asked in his serious-unserious voice. 

“They’re working a lot,” you mumbled, disliking the collective attention on you. The thought of the couch made you yearn for some rest. You could tell that there were many things they wanted to do in that moment. They wanted to fix it all. 

“Can’t you tell them you don’t have time?” 

“I’ve tried that already. They say they don’t have a choice,” to this, both Robert and Benedict scoffed and shook their heads. You just watched with heavy eyes. 

“Alright. Here’s what’s going to happen,” Benedict said quietly, eyes boring into yours, “I’m going to call a nanny to look after your siblings for a couple of days, don’t worry I’ll pay. You’re going to back to the hotel and sleep for at least 10 hours. When you’ve done that, and only when you’ve done that, will we talk about how we’ll move forward with your parents.” 

You were quiet. You couldn’t stand up to your parents like Benedict wanted you to. You just couldn’t. They were busy and that was understandable. 

Although, you had to admit, the thought of sleeping for 10 hours was enticing. Heck, worst case scenario, you could settle for 5! Your tiredness was like heavy cuffs and chains on your body, and Benedict stood with the shining, golden key right in front of you. 

“Benedict, I- I can’t do that to my parents-”

“No, your parents can’t do this to you! This is absolutely outrageous!” He was frustrated you could tell. Robert seemed upset too, while Tom and Chris stepped back and let the adults handle it. Though, they seemed sad for you. 

You went quiet. 

“I just-” 

“I don’t want to hear another word about how they’re somehow excused for their behavior. This is negligence, Y/n! This is too much for you and you know it! You’re exhausted and it’s so painful to see, so please. Just take me up on this.”

You sighed.

“Alright, then.” you said, body finally giving in to the attractive offer. Benedict’s face carried the ghost of a satisfied smile, before going back to the stone cold determination. 

You drove to the hotel in Robert’s car and they booked you an extra room, knowing that your siblings occupied the other one. As soon as you could fall back on the bed, you were gone, body screaming for rest. 

You woke up 14 hours later, feeling happier, brighter and well-rested. That feeling had been forgotten by you, but it was alright, you decided. Every inch of you blossomed with energy now. 

As promised, Benedict had ordered a nanny for your siblings (the nanny was a lovely human being, and simply amazing with kids). Benedict, Robert, Chris and Tom has split the bill. 

You called him when you woke up, and he dragged you to a restaurant, where the two of you had a long, long talk about why what your parents were doing was serious and unacceptable. He could tell he needed to explain it to you, because you, like many children, were ready to defend your parents’ at all costs. 

Needless to say, after Benedict’s advice you didn’t have to go through that kind of thing again. You settled it with your parents (as well as your siblings), and after that you were so grateful that Benedict helped you out of that responsibility, because it wasn’t yours to have. 

Benedict was just happy to help, the memory of seeing you sleep everywhere, now less endearing and simply painful. He didn’t like thinking about it, and so he tried not to, but rather focused on your laughter and bright smile. In truth, that’s the only thing that really mattered. 

___________________________

Tag List:

@hera-the-writer @marvel-madness @40srogcrs @whatthefuckimbisexual @snarky–starky @garbage-potato @eviemarvel @lozzypoz321 @allthecreativeonesaretaken @missamericana713 @rororo06 @shady80smusicsingercolor @ireadfanficforfun

[ivyyreid]

greek tragedy

description: breakups are hard. but you usually don't completely change who you are and start killing, right?

category: angst

tw: mentions of self harm, eating disorders, breakups, knives, mentions of stab wounds, death, suicide, blood, men, guns, self-loathing, one-sided love.

masterlist

sometimes, i don't know what haunts me more.. the memories of you... or the happy person i used to be.

--

two years and two months ago.

spencer came into the bullpen with a gleam in his eye. a shy kind of happiness. the kind that makes you blush, and makes you embarrassed. the kind that makes people feel like kids again.

vivian came in with the same smile. the same red on her cheeks, the same glint in her eyes.

they both felt like kids again. happy, and in love.

they held hands under the table in the conference room. everyone noticed. and everyone smiled a bit more, knowing that two happy people are now making each other happier.

the night before, vivian and spencer had kissed in the rain under the stars. after an eternity of falling for each other, they finally gave in.

when they came in the next day, vivian's blonde hair seemed a little more golden, her eyes a little more warm. spencer's face seemed softer, and relaxed.

they played in the park, and watched nineties movies, and ate thai on the roof while watching the stars. all with the biggest goofiest smiles on their faces.

because you're nothing if not crazy when you're in love.

two months ago

blonde hair stained brown.

pink lips turned red.

a realtionship gone sour.

they broke up last week. they stood in the rain once again. but this time the rain didn't bring hope, and a new start. this time the rain fell, tainting the blue sky gray.

the girls heart shattered onto the pavement. pieces on the sidewalk, pieces in the grass. pieces being washed away by the rain.

no one knows what they said to each other, how it ended.

all they know is that the cuts on vivian's wrist are fresh, and that the numbers on her scale have rapidly declined.

she came into work on monday, her golden blonde hair painted dark brown, her young pink lips stained blood red. everyone stared, except spencer. she stared at no-one, but spencer.

she was there for a day after the breakup. maybe two. long enough to know that someone else had already brought a gleam into spencer's eyes. that someone else was already making him happy.

no one saw her after that. she left quickly and quietly. one day, her desk was personalized and filled with framed pictures, the next it was empty and bare. you could say that her desk matched her heart.

now, she lies on the floor of her bathroom. head pounding, rivers of red seeping onto the tiled floor.

one month ago.

seven men stabbed twice in the heart, all dead, over the course of two weeks. all left with red carnations.

the bau accepts the invitation to take on the case.

vivian watches the news coverage announcing the bureaus involvement, a smirk dancing on her face as she applies a new coat of lipstick.

one week ago, at the bar.

the bar is full of bodies. bodies against bodies. dancing, sweating, living.

the tall brunette, with the red lipstick and cold eyes slips off her coat, revealing the small black dress underneath. the heartless predator.

a drunk mans eyes follow the woman's every move. analyzing her every curve, watching the way her lips part. he sets down his glass and walks over. the unsuspecting prey.

he makes his way through the crowd, licking his lips as he nears vivian. her blonde hair, now turned brown, and her blood red lips enchant him.

her finger plays with her straw, spinning it around in her drink as she makes eye contact with him. she tilts her head slyly, and smiles a bit. egging him on.

"jonathan," he says, standing over her.

"cleo," she responds, flipping her dark hair over her exposed shoulder. she stands up, hand on his tie, and leans forward to whisper seductively in his ear:

"let's get out of here, jonathan."

three days ago, at the bau.

"we have a new body," hotch announces as he walks into the room. he pins a few pictures to the board. the first, an image of a smiling man. dark brown hair, dark eyes, and a square jaw. the next few are the body. dumped carelessly in an alleyway. two stabs to the heart, and red carnations scattered onto the body.

"woah," emily says, concern lacing her voice. "that makes fourteen bodies now."

"she's devolving," morgan adds. "speeding up the kills. her last kill was only one day ago, she's getting more dangerous. but she's also more likely to slip up."

the team nods to this, each thinking their own separate thoughts. eventually, they will all come to the same conclusion. the same suspect. but they won't share their ideas until it's too late.

the teams profile:

the unsub is female.

she recently suffered heartbreak, and has a newfound prejudice against men.

she changes her appearance each time. wigs, makeup, etc.

she stabs each victim twice in the heart, which must mean something.

she leaves red carnations at each scene, which means "alas for my poor heart, my heart aches," in some cultures.

she is highly intelligent, driven, but also depressed and self-loathing.

she is likely to have self-inflicted wounds, and possibly try and kill herself.

one day ago, vivian's apartment.

vivian stares in the mirror, and the woman in the mirror stares back at her.

a blonde wig is tossed carelessly on the floor, and boxes of colored contacts join it.

these objects are supposed to be able to change who you are on the outside, but to vivian, they're crushing her even more on the inside.

she doesn't recognize the woman in the mirror. the dark straight hair, red lips, and hollow eyes. the woman in the tight dress and heels.

she looks down, trying to hold back the tears that threaten to spill over her face. this isn't the girl that spencer loved. she isn't the girl that spencer loved anymore.

and then she looks back up, and her heart stops. because there she is.

the girl in the mirror has long, wavy blonde hair and sparkling green eyes. her eyes are full of life, not hollow and lifeless. her lips are pink, her cheeks flushed, her face innocent. her sundress hangs perfectly around her frame, and underneath her bright converse her socks mismatch.

the girl that spencer loved. the girl vivian stopped being when spencer stopped loving here.

the image takes vivian's breath away for a second, and a tear slips down her face, but she doesn't stop staring at the reflection, hoping that if she stares hard enough the girl will die and leave vivian alone.

her stare turns into a smirk. smirking at the innocent, dumb, oblivious girl. laughing silently at her.

the girl was oblivious to the heartbreak that awaited her. the emptiness that would creep into her soul.

the girl that was so blindly in love with the man that didn't care for her, even though he acted like he did.

maybe she was still in love with him. just a bit. even after he broke her heart, she still loved him. but she also hated him.

fuck spencer.

a couple of hours ago, bau.

vivian's face is front and center on the tv. her blonde hair, green eyes, and large smile.

the team sits around the table, shocked at the conclusion they came to.

vivian, their ex-coworker who always seemed so perfect and happy, is the unsub? vivian killed fifteen men?

they may want to deny it, but they all know it makes sense.

she broke up with spencer and completely fell apart. she quit her job. spencer says she was angry and sad and completely broken, hence the hate towards men. and the killings started around the time her and spencer broke up. even the number of stabs on each body makes sense. two stabs for two years her and spencer were together.

they're all shocked, but most can still talk, and move, and discuss. spencer is just frozen.

how could vivian have killed someone?

forty-five minutes ago, vivian's apartment.

spencer looks around the apartment, flashlight held and gun drawn.

when he used to come over, the apartment was homey and life like. plants would hang from the ceilings, and would sit on shelves. books were scattered on tables, and the floor to ceiling bookshelf would be disorganized. she used to have pictures of her and the team, and of spencer everywhere. but now it's bare, and empty. if spencer knew any better he would think no one lived there at all.

the team does a quick search, clearing all the rooms before gathering again in the living room.

"she's obviously not here, but she knows that we know it's her. she's been wanting us to know." derek says, and glances at spencer. "spencer, is there anywhere she liked to go, anywhere close?" he asks, and spencer furrows his brow.

"the roof! she liked to watch the sky!" he says suddenly, and hotch nods. the team climbs up the flights of stairs to get to the roof, which at first glance appears to be empty, until spencer notices a woman sitting against the chimney.

"spencer no way, she's armed man," derek says as spencer moves forward, but spencer tells him it's ok. he knows her. she has no intention of hurting him.

vivian stares at him, a tears falling down her face. spencer sits down next to her, eyes widening when he notices the knife in her hands. pointed at her own heart.

"vivian..." he says cautiously, taking in her died hair and red lips, "this isn't you. put the knife down." at this, vivian collapses into a fit of sobs, trailing mascara down her cheeks.

"i'm so sorry spencer," her voice is shaky and she's crying, but she keeps the knife pointed upwards towards her heart.

"please vivian just put the knife down," spencer whispers, his voice cracking a bit.

"i can't spencer, i have to do this," she sobs. "i killed....i killed so many people and i can't stop myself and i still love you but i hate you and you broke my heart but i have to do this spencer."

the boys eyes are sad, because deep down he knows he can't stop her from doing this. but he'll still try,

"please vivian, i-i love you," he pleads, but vivian just shakes her head, and laughs through her tears.

"no you don't spencer," she whispers, smiling a bit. "but it's ok. you will never have to hurt the way you know that i do," she says, and spencer knows whats coming. her grip on the knife tightens, and in a flash she jams it into her heart, gasping a bit as it deepens.

"no!" spencer yells, as she slumps and collapses. blood trickles from her lips, and her tears spill from her eyes. but still, she smiles. because it's finally over.

her final breath isn't sad, it's relieved. because she doesn't have to suffer anymore. the sadness, pain, and anger is finally gone.

spencer is tearless. her death was shocking, sad, but it was truthful. maybe she deserved it, even wanted it, but spencer knew she was going somewhere where she was happier.

happier without him.

as spencer stares at her body, laid out on the concrete, he sees the girl he loved. the blonde hair, sea green eyes, and the innocent face.

innocence, purity.

and all he can think about as she's wheeled into the ambulance, covered by the blanket is who she used to be. who she really is.

the beautiful, happy girl.

maybe one day, in another life she'll find true love.

who knows?

all anyone knows is that the day that her heart poured a red river onto the concrete, she started over. she began anew.

and maybe that was better for everyone.

[resident-leevil-old]

okay well anyways somebody asked me if i felt like talking about my raccoon city survivors au with mia and ethan again and the answer is YES.

> AU MINI FACTS <

- Ethan's mother died while giving birth.

- Ethan Winters and his father moved into Raccoon City when Ethan was a baby, around 3-4 years old.

- Ethan trans ftm because im trans and i said so.

- Mia trans mtf because im trans and i said so.

- Ethan & Mia are childhood friend to lovers in this au.

- Ethan's father worked for Umbrella, and Mia's father worked for the Connections while her mother also worked for Umbrella.

- Mia was born in Texas, but her family moved to Raccoon City after she was born. They still owned property in Texas, though.

- Mia & Carlos are related because I said so.

- so yknow the "dude its been three years" guy? that's their childhood friend and his name is Kyde because i said so.

- Albert Wesker Personally was ordered by Spencer to kill those scientists btw.

- a lot of this au is because i said so tbh

> AU SUMMARY <

Ethan Winters, Mia Oliviera, and Kyde Wells work together to survive six days of the Raccoon City Outbreak. In the process they uncover secrets and encounter many obstacles that just nearly cost them their lives.

> CHAR.BGROUND <

ETHAN W, SR - A scientist who worked for Umbrella. He lost his wife during the birth of his child E///// Winters. Struggling with the death of his wife and the harsh decline of his mental health, he began to experiment with viruses and vaccines in an attempt to bring his wife back, even using his child as a subject at certain points due to the child having strong genes from the mother. He acknowledged that he was a horrid father, but justified his actions by claiming he would bring back a better mother. He thought of Albert Wesker as a friend, and told him the truth of his research.

ETHAN W, JR - A quiet 14 year old that had a hard time making friends. Due to experiments from his father, Ethan is a culmination of infections and viruses that each impact him in different ways. As he grew up Ethan refrained from talking too much as to not interrupt his father's work, causing him to become selectively mute.

MIA OLIVIERA - Younger sister of Carlos Oliviera. Mia skipped a grade due to her intelligence and advanced knowledge on many things kids her age normally didn't. She very easily got sick as a child, though she seemed to outgrow it as she got older. She was schooled both at home and at school before the outbreak. She shared classes with Ethan Winters (Jr) and Kyde Wells.

KYDE WELLS - A friend of Ethan & Mia, known for his cowardice. Kyde has a heavy sense of self preservation, but a weighted sense of compassion as well. He only ever has risked himself for his two friends.

JAMES HARISON - Mia's father. He worked for the Connections as a scientist and a researcher. Harison and his wife often exchanged information they learned from their jobs, aiming to and succeeding at "fixing" their daughter's proneness to viral sicknesses.

MARISA OLIVIERA - Mia's mother. He worked for Umbrella as a researcher. Oliviera and her husband often exchanged information they learned from their jobs, aiming to and succeeding at "fixing" their daughter's proneness to viral sicknesses.

JAKE VERANO - An Umbrella worker who had been trapped in the underground facility for a week, listening to the sound of his coworkers being eaten alive. Unstable because of his experience, he tries to create a cure using the intel of Ethan W (SR).

> FULL AU <

[September, 25, 1998.]

Ethan Winters walked home from school when his father failed to pick him up. He walked through the streets, paying no mind to a big fight breaking out near him. On the way home, he meets up with his friend Kyde who had also been walking home. They talk and walk together for a bit, before splitting up.

When Ethan arrived home, he noticed the front door of his house had been opened slightly. Confused, but wary, he entered the house, knowing it was uncharacteristic for his father to forget the door was open.

He entered the living room, and found his father laying on the ground dead, shot twice in the head, having just been killed moments prior. Ethan moved over to his father, before Albert Wesker walked out of his father's office.

Ethan barely has much time to react to him, overwhelmed by his own panic and the death of the only adult in his life. Wesker - wanting no witnesses - shoots him three times in the chest, and leaves under the impression the child is dead for good.

Ethan Winters dies for the first time that evening.

[September, 27, 1998]

For the past two days, Mia and her parents have been barricaded in their home, unable to leave safely. Mia sat in her room for most of the time, unable to look out of the windows due to boards covering them. During those two days Mia tries to call Ethan and Kyde several times in hopes that they were safe. Neither of them answer.

Until this day, the 27th, at 2:00 am, when she calls Ethan. And he answers.

{TRANSCRIPT OF THEIR CALL:}

Ethan: h-hello?

Mia: [Ethan]! You're alive! Are you okay?

Ethan: I'm breathing. [Pause] I'm breathing. You okay?

Mia: I'm boarded up in my house, we can't leave safely. Everything is a mess. I'm so glad you're alive, [Ethan]. Are you safe? I'm guessing you're safe.

Ethan: Not sure. Not sure. Find you soon, here alone. Alone.

Mia: Alone? What happened? Where's your dad?

Ethan: [Pause.] [Loud sound in the distance.]

Mia: [Ethan]? Are you okay?

Ethan: [Dial tone.]

Mia speaks with her parents about the call, expressing worry about her friend. She spends a while trying to convince her parents that Ethan may be alive (purposefully omitting the dial tone) and need their help. Finally, they agree, and at 12 pm, they head out with all the resources they could gather.

Managing to stay out of sight, the family make it to the Winters' household. They find Ethan hiding in his bedroom, one infected laying in the hallway with a pole through its head and Ethan's father laying in the living room dead.

They rescue Ethan, and flee from the house. Mia's parents explain that they need to evacuate the city, but that they wouldn't be able to drive, so they'd have to move on foot. They returned to their house and rested for the night.

[September, 28, 1998]

The family and Ethan head out again, this time aiming to evacuate the city. After several close encounters with large groups of infected, the kids and Mia's parents are unfortunately separated. Given instructions by her parents, Mia leads Ethan through the city, having to take detours due to infected blocking pathways.

Eventually, during the night, they run into Kyde, who has lost his parents trying to escape the city. The three of them take refuge in an empty abandoned house, and rest for the walk in the morning.

Ethan sits up for a while, thinking about what happened to him, and trying to figure out how to explain it to his friends. Eventually he falls asleep, unable to figure it out. In the morning they head out again.

[September, 29-30, 1998]

During another detour taken due to large groups of infected, Ethan is kidnapped by a man in a white lab coat.

Mia & Kyde go after them, refusing to leave Ethan behind. They manage to find him after roughly half a day had passed.

Ethan had been in a hysterical state and through tears he explains to Mia and Kyde what had happened to him in his house a few days ago, confessing that he had died and revived two days later. He warns the two of them that whatever Jake, the white lab coat man, did to him, it made him dangerous and unstable.

Mia and Kyde refused again to leave him behind, and spend hours gathering information from files and research left scattered around. They manage to make Something that was able to calm him down and cleanse what they had learned had been called the "T-virus" from his body.

As soon as Ethan had woken up again, they fleed the facility, Mia & Kyde both making sure he didn't collapse on the way.

[October, 1, 1998]

They don't stop running when they're out. A broadcast goes out saying that the city will be blown up in four hours due to being unable to contain the outbreak. The three of them realize they won't be able to get out if they take anymore detours unless they find a vehicle with gas in it and a clear road to drive on.

Three hours later, out of options, nearly to the city boarder, and faced with another group of infected blocking the only straight shot out, they decide to risk a run through. However, just as they were pushing through, a helicopter flew overhead and spotted them. Calling to them, the pilot tells them to attempt making it up a building nearby if they could.

Through pure bullshittery and luck, they manage to make it up, and they board the helicopter. Just as it begins to take flight, the city starts to blow up bit by bit. In the distance, they see other helicopters flying.

> AFTER THE AU <

Mia and her parents reunite, her parents having managed to get out before the children did. Kyde goes to live with his relatives in Texas, and Ethan is offered to live with them as well.

Mia's parents move back to their texas home, and everyone who had been in the city were given therapy. Eventually the three grow up and graduate from highschool, and move on to other things, never once separating.

The three of them eventually move into a single house together in California, and some time after that Mia and Ethan get married. And for a while they live happily

And then, Mia witnesses Ethan having some sort of attack in the middle of the night one time, and realizes that he hadn't been completely cured of whatever had been infecting him in the city at all, and that it had only gone dormant for some years. While he wasn't vicious or attacking anyone, Ethan had just been really plagued and didn't even remember the fits that only seemed to happen every other night.

Out of worry and fear, Mia begins to work for the Connections, hoping there was something she could learn from them in order to help her husband finally be cured. And years after, RE7 began.

And THAT, my friends, is my Raccoon City Survivors au with the Winters, also known as Raccoon City Winters.

[solarwonux]

Minghao x f!reader drabble

w.c: 2.8k

warnings: angst, slight mention of not eating, minghao be an asshole sometimes

note: I’ve had this one collecting dust in the docs so I decided to upload it today, it was meant to be part of a bigger fic but I decided to not continue though who knows it might be referenced later on in a different fic. Enjoy and let me know your thoughts.xx

Also I’m changing my schedule around a little. So instead of me posting Mon, Weds, Fri, I will be posting Mon, Thurs, Fri. You can find more info on Navi

drabble game || masterlist

There were sides of Minghao  that unfortunately weren’t reserved for you, except for one. The one you hated the most and the one you wished you could stray as far away from. The side that received you with a frown and a bitter cold glare. The side that spoke to you in short sentences, a sour tone that would weave its way through his voice like vines whenever he spoke to you. It sent shivers down your spine and not the good kind. It was the side that you couldn’t break through to get to the side that was reserved for the people he loved and cared about most in the world. And you weren’t one of those people.

Maybe this was the way the universe decided to punish you. A punishment you wholeheartedly thought you didn’t deserve because you were tied at your feet with no way out. When you had been matched with Minghao  by the System it was either you marry or die. And of course, selfishly you choose to live. You knew he resented you for it, but in the year and a half that you two were officially married, you had secretly seen the warmth that oozed out of his pores. You saw the wide smile that would light up the room whenever darkness poured in. His laugh sounded like a sweet melody that you would never get tired of listening and just his presence made you feel like home.

Minghao was a gift, the purest form of art, a being so powerful you swore he would restore the peace in the world. He could resent you, hate you all he wanted, look at you with an overwhelming amount of venom in his eyes. And you’d let him, you could never let yourself regret your final decision because he deserved to live.

Sighing deeply, you pushed yourself off the elevator walls watching as the hallway to your apartment came into view. This was the part you hated most about your day. It wasn’t the part where you woke up alone, it wasn’t the part where you had to go to work and it wasn’t the hour and a half walk home. It was the short walk from the elevator to your apartment. It never failed to stretch out miles as your heart caught itself in your throat because behind that closed door you weren’t sure what you’d encounter.

Sometimes it would be a quiet Minghao , sitting on the floor in front of the coffee table with his headphones on. His studio set up scattered all over, a notebook and his unlocked phone next to him. Sometimes it was him quietly sitting at the coffee table eating take out, sometimes it was him on his phone arguing with his mother as he shot piercing glares at you, probably wishing you weren’t alive. And other times it was a dark and cold apartment, nothing out of place. The silence creeping underneath the floorboards, reigning, occupying its throne in between the walls as it desperately tried to push the two of you out.

For some reason that was the apartment you always found yourself hoping for whenever you stopped in front of your door. Your hand gripping the doorknob tightly every night that it had started getting loose.

This was a routine by now. You’d put the key in the key lock, turn it until you heard it unlock. Then you’d close your eyes, slowly count ten Mississippi’s, proceed to give yourself a pep talk and then finally biting the bullet and opening the door. Anxiety rushed through you quickly when you saw what was waiting for you behind the door, Minghao  on the couch typing quickly on his phone, while the TV beamed with life in front of him. Lighting up the dark living room with undertones of blue.

“I’m home.” You spoke, a shake in your voice making you wish you were stronger. The door clicked behind you, signaling there would be no way out until tomorrow morning so you might as well bite your tongue and deal with anything you’d encounter tonight.

“Welcome, I ordered food but wasn’t sure if you wanted any.” He shrugged, locking his phone and setting it by his side. He crossed his arms in front of him and turned his attention to the TV.

“It’s fine I’m not hungry anyway.” You took off your shoes by Minghao’s worn out ones. The hunger swirled inside of you, but you pushed it aside, telling yourself that you’d find something to eat once he was asleep in the guest bedroom that by now had become his room. “Mhm, you are eating right?” He said a hint of concern in the back of his throat, but that could’ve been your mind playing games on you. Though the question had caught you off guard and you weren’t sure how to answer without lying because in truth for a while now your appetite had severely gone down.

“I am, had a big lunch with one of my coworkers.” Minghao  nodded at your answer, finally turning to face you, furrowing his eyebrows. You tried to ignore his gaze, relax your body as much as you could and placed your bag down on one of the highchairs in front of the kitchen island. “My family’s coming over tomorrow, my mom wants to cook dinner…you don’t have to be here if you don’t want to.” He blurted out the last part, hollowing out the part of your heart that was reserved for him. You loved Minghao ’s family as much as you loved him, but unlike him they had been very welcoming of you. Embraced you with open arms and you found comfort knowing that at least a part of him loved you.

“I’ll be there.” You whispered, shrugging off your coat and placing it on the back of the chair. “I have a day off tomorrow so I can clean up around here before they come over…I mean if that’s fine with you and all, I don’t want to make things uncomfortable.”

“Do whatever you want.” He spat out leaning back on the couch. His tone returning to the one you were used to hearing and you knew you had overstayed your welcome in the living room. “Right, I’m going to bed then.” You nodded walking past him and straight to your room, closing the door behind you quickly and resting your back against it. You breathed out a sad sigh of relief feeling the tears build up behind your eyelids, the hunger gnawing its way through your stomach ripping it to shreds. As well as your need for some sort of comfort, as you came to your first realization of the night. Just like it washed over you every single night and for once you wished you didn’t feel so alone, when the person that was supposed to love you stood on the other side not caring.

Oddly there was a side of you that loved Minghao  and maybe it was the side that kept holding onto the hope you first felt when you were given the news. Or maybe it was the image of him that you created in your head from all the fragments of light he let out whenever he thought you weren’t looking. But you loved him, that was something you were confident in because you saw him for who he was, flaws and all when the two of you weren’t alone.

“Fuck.” You pushed yourself off your door throwing yourself on your unmade made and grabbing the turtle stuffed animal you slept with every night. It brought you a small sense of comfort and any comfort you could get you would grab and indulge in it blissfully. It was small and useless in the long run.

You buried your head into the head of the stuffed animal, finally letting the dam loose and the sobs came in full throttle. Thankfully the TV in the living room was loud enough to muffle your sounds. It wouldn’t matter if he could hear you anyway because you knew he wouldn’t be running into your room like a knight in shining armor and save you from yourself. He just didn’t care and that was the second realization you would have every night. Each time you did, it sent a jab through your body, cracking the little wall that kept the small sliver of light you held onto dearly. Each night though you felt it flicker slowly losing its innocent glow. Sometimes you’d wonder when the light would finally die out, when the numbness would finally overtake your body and you could go on with life without feeling like you were worthless. Without feeling anything.

“Can I come in?” You sat up on your bed at lightning speed. Minghao ’s soft voice sounding from the other side of your door. A knock following in between syllables. Your breathing sped up and you brought your hands up to your cheeks slapping your tears away, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of him seeing you in this state. “U-Um yeah.” You spoke moving to rest against the headboard of your bed, grabbing your laptop on your bedside table and opening it to make it seem like you were doing something other than crying.

“I brought you chicken as I couldn’t finish it all.” He walked in, a styrofoam container in his left hand. His aura took over the air in your room and you felt as if you were suffocating. You watched as he slowly took in your room and your face heating up as you remembered the untidy state of your room. His eyes lingering on the wall of polaroid’s behind your even messier desk.

The girl in those pictures, the one whose smile reached her eyes and laughed still lingered in the small cracks on the walls of your room was someone that was unknown to you now. On days when you couldn’t bring yourself to get out of bed you looked at her as a sign of motivation. Telling yourself that that person was still within you and that she would come back you just had to fight through whatever you were going through. At the end of the day she always came back.

“Oh, I’m not hungry.” You closed your laptop and set it aside, the forgotten google tab opened waiting to be used. “I can have it for lunch tomorrow though.” You brought your knees up to your chest and wrapped your arms around them. To avoid his curious gaze, you looked out the window, the moonlight shining down at the skyline. You wondered if they were at peace unlike you.

“Why do you cry every night?” Minghao  blurted out. He had placed the container on your desk and sat down on the foot of your bed. His back turned to you. The question had caught you off guard as you searched through the files in your brain in order to come up with an excuse. Yet, you came out unsuccessful and decided to just finally confess to him. You had nothing left to lose. “I wasn’t supposed to fall in love with you?” You choked out biting your lip to keep the sob that threatened to spill locked away in the back of your throat.

“You can’t love…you barely know me.” He turned to face you and for the first time in a long time you couldn’t read the emotion that was playing against his features.

“Maybe I don’t love the person I’m faced with everyday, but I do love the person I see whenever you let your guard down around your friends and family.”

“But aren’t you tired of all of this? He raised an eyebrow, lifting his palm up and signaling all around the room as if the extra gesture would help prove his point.

“Exhausted.” You breathed out your shoulders falling as you felt yourself fall apart little by little in front of him. “Then why not hate me?” Minghao  brought his legs up to your bed and crossed them underneath him. This was the longest the two of you had spoken or been in each other’s presence and although it was suffocating there was a small ring of light that lingered between the two of you.

“Because as much as I want to sometimes, I can’t bring myself to hate someone that’s hurting inside as well.”

The deafening silence that the two of you had grown accustomed to entangling itself in the warmth that was lingering above the two of you now. Somehow bringing the two of you a sense of comfort in the midst of this confusing situation you found yourselves in. Although you could feel like you could breathe again, the question that still kept you up at night stayed put in the back of your throat waiting to finally be let out into the world. For months you had pushed it back, deciding you already knew the answer to it. But as you sat in front of Minghao , his soft eyes dancing between your puffy ones you weren’t sure anymore. So, you put your preconceived notions aside as well as your pride and opened your mouth, letting the question run out to freedom. Your heart raced as you anticipated his answer.

“Why do you hate me so much?”

“I don’t hate you, truthfully I don’t think I could ever hate you.”

“Then why can’t you love me back?” You whispered, shutting your eyes. Your hold on your legs getting tighter.

“Because I can’t bring myself to do so no matter how hard I want to sometimes, especially when I listen to you cry every night. I wish…I want to set everything aside and hold you. I want to make you feel less alone…but I can’t.” Minghao  let out a frustrated sign running his hands through his hair and tugging at his roots in desperation. The sight made your heart wrench. You wanted to reach over and hug him, give him the comfort you craved.

“W-Why?”

“I feel guilty.” He nodded resting his forearms against his knees, finally breaking his eye contact with you. Searching your room rapidly for another point of focus and finally settling on the humidifier on your bedside table. “I feel guilty because before I met you, I had chosen to live, not knowing that I would be the reason why your light would start to fade as the days went by.”

Without a second thought you let go of your legs, maneuvering yourself around your bed and wrapped your arms around him tightly. Finally breaking the barrier that silently lingered between the two of you.

You buried your face into his neck letting your tears run freely for the second time that night. Though this time instead of feeling the loneliness you had felt earlier, you felt a sense of relief wash over you.

Minghao  felt himself hesitate for a moment feeling overwhelmed as he felt your touch for the first time, not knowing he missed it. A thought he couldn’t explain because how was he missing something he had never had the pleasure of feeling. But he pushed it aside and hugged you back, letting the tears he had kept in for far too long out in the open. He wasn’t happy but he felt like he could be happy if this was what it felt like to finally have you in his arms. He held you tightly, gripping onto you and burying his nose in your hair taking in your scent, one he decided right then and there he would never grow tired of. The two of you basking in each other’s arms, your hearts racing against one another and it overwhelmed the two of you greatly.

“I know we have a lot of things to get through but I’m willing to start over if you are.” You whispered, removing your arms from his body and sitting back on your knees. You wiped your tears with the back of your hand, letting out a small laugh and shook your head in disbelief before holding your hand out for him to shake.

Minghao  smiled widely, chuckling before taking your hand in his. The feeling was enough to send shivers up his spine. The good kind.

For the first time that night he had a realization. A secret that he would carry out to his grave, unless you prodded it out of him and with how things were going, he was sure that you would succeed at it too. But for now, he would keep it to himself and enjoy the way your touch felt against his skin and the way your smile was enough to have his heart beating out of time.

“I’m Minghao, your husband.”

[writingdayandnight]

Line Without a Hook - Rafael Barba Imagine

Pairing: Rafael Barba x Reader (Fem. Pronouns) 

Word Count: 2650

A/N: Inspiration struck, perhaps a little OOC. Will probably go back later and edit. Just a little treat for everyone who misses Barba like I do. 

10:56 PM.

There was not a doubt in Rafael’s mind that he would not be home until after midnight. This case had been excruciating--brutal, really. Everyone had been pushed to their breaking point. Blood, sweat, and tears were poured into this case.

And here Rafael was with a pen cap fastened between his teeth, struggling to write an opening argument. It all seemed trivial. That words had the power to make or break a month’s worth of hard work. And that all he could think about was going home to his partner. 

He wouldn’t allow himself the privilege of a break until he finished his opening and prepped the summations, which was always his least favorite part. Tying everything together with a neat bow seemed to minimize the effort put into seeking justice. But it was his strong suit. There wasn’t a jury he couldn’t convince if given enough leeway during summations. 

His mind wandered yet again, back to the person that was waiting for him. He knew she would still be waiting for him when he got home, undoubtedly doing work of her own. She found solace in the quiet of the night. She would sit at the dining table with papers scattered across the surface, highlighters uncapped, lukewarm tea cooling unforgotten. 

Then there were her expressions. A furrowed brow while drafting a proposal. A lip bite accompanied by pensive tapping on the table. Her head slowly moving to the beat of the music that was playing from the speaker in the corner of the room. An exasperated sigh escaping as she typed another after-hours email. All of these things were the tiny details that Rafael loved noticing, learning, anticipating.

Finally, Rafael caved and placed a long-awaited phone call.

“Raf,” she answered, voice as tender as kiss goodbye.

“Cariño,” he replied, feeling a million times better just knowing she was on the opposite end of the line.

“When will you be home?” He could hear her trying to hide a yawn behind the scenes.

“Not any time soon.”

“Rafael, please take care of yourself,” she pleaded, yet it was to no avail. She knew this.

“I have to finish this prep, Cariño.” He could hear her eyes roll from across the line, “I bet you’re still doing work, too.”

“That’s none of your business,” she retorted, with a guilty shift in energy. 

“Take care of yourself,” he repeated, “I’ll be home soon. Don’t wait up.” 

“I love you.”

His heart grew full, “I love you more.”

Rafael ended the call, reclining in his leather chair. He had been overcome by love, both for his partner and for the way his life had been going lately. Despite the monstrosities he witnessed at work, everything had been going well. Even then, he enjoyed working with his coworkers; they acted as a support system, making the job a little more bearable. 

Then there was his love life. For once, everything was going right. He felt loved, supported, and capable of doing the same for his partner. It had been too long since he had that privilege. He knew too well the outcomes of a loveless life and he was trying desperately to escape them. Deep down, he understood that he didn’t deserve that. 

But there were times where he thought he didn’t deserve the love he had stumbled into. Never in a million years would he have thought that he would have fallen in love with the girl from the bar. 

The rain had finally let up outside, encouraging a few stragglers to clear the bar. Rafael remained, nursing a scotch on the rocks, muttering to himself about the news on the television overhead. It was a bunch of nonsense about the news anchor he and the SVU squad had just charged. He couldn’t listen much longer. 

A gust of wind hit as the door to Forlini’s opened; it sent shivers down Rafael’s back. Inquisitively, Rafael turned to see the person who just waltzed into the bar. Much to his surprise, it was a beautiful woman. He smirked and returned to his drink, secretly hoping that she would find her way to the bar.

She did just that, taking a seat two stools down from Rafael. He continued to watch the television, discreetly listening to her conversation with the bartender. Small talk. Nothing more, nothing less. Aside from her order--a vodka cranberry. 

“Will you get a load of this idiot?” She chirped, scoffing at the story of the news anchor. Her head was tilted in Rafael’s direction. 

He took a moment to answer, pausing to make sure she was directing her remarks towards him. 

“He’s surely a handful,” Rafael replied. 

Just then, his face appeared on the television screen. They had played his interview on the courthouse steps. He had been ambushed by the press, and even though he delivered better than most, it was not his best work. He silently thanked the Lord that the sound was off.

“Is that you?” She asked, spinning in her seat to face Rafael.

“Yes, it is.”

“It’s a shame, you look better in person,” she tisked, taking another sip of her drink.

Rafael couldn’t respond out of awe. No, that wasn’t the right word. He couldn’t respond because he was flustered. That was a first. 

“Sorry, it’s the vodka talking,” she retracted, making a face that suggested she was embarrassed. 

“No, I’m flattered. It’s not everyday the pretty girl at the bar tells me how attractive I look while sulking alone.”

“This is your version of sulking? Sitting at a bar surrounded by a bunch of people?”

“Perhaps,” he smirked, “Rafael,” he offered his hand.

“Y/N.”

“Beautiful name for a beautiful woman.”

“I was named after a comic book character, please don’t give my parents that kind of credit,” she laughed. It was contagious, infecting Rafael with an affliction that could not be easily cured. Not without an exchange of numbers and a couple of dates.

The memories of their first meeting flooded Rafael’s mind. It further distracted him from the task at hand. But how could he not think of the most impactful night of his life? Screw graduating from law school or getting promoted; nothing could top falling in love with Y/N. 

Nothing could top her love. From the little notes she dropped in Rafael’s briefcase to the silent support she offered when Rafael was not strong enough to ask for it. That’s when his mind wandered even farther, thinking back to the night he decided he was in love with Y/N. 

Rafael sat on the couch in a near-catatonic state. He couldn’t muster enough energy to move. His mind kept circling back to the horrors he had witnessed over the past 24 hours. In his ten years, never once had a case hit him this hard. It just cemented the callousness of man, something he had been trying to deny for so long. There was no such thing as a good person.

There was a knock at the door, a sound that should have startled him. Instead he was too lost in thought to react. He simply got up from the couch and headed to the door, only to be greeted by Y/N on the other side. 

“Rafael,” she mused, before noticing the hurt behind his eyes, “What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

She invited herself in, dropping her overnight bag by the door. Concern washed over her.

Rafael tried to speak but no words came out. He couldn’t find the right thing to say. His choices were to expose Y/N to the horrors of his job or simply keep it bottled up. His choice was the latter; he couldn’t bear the thought of unloading this grief on her. 

“Raf, please talk to me,” she quietly pleaded. 

He did not respond. Instead, he made his way to the couch, taking a seat in the same spot he had been sulking in for the past three hours. 

Y/N followed without command. She rested her head on his shoulder, wrapping her hands gently around his arm. She placed a kiss on his cheek. It made Rafael’s heart jump, yet he still remained silent. 

But that didn’t deter Y/N. She remained glued to his side, occasionally laying a gentle kiss on him or drawing circles on his bicep. She didn’t push; she knew better than that. Still, just her presence brought Rafael to his knees. 

After an hour or so, Rafael could feel her heartbeat slow. He could see her eyes fluttering shut from the corners of his. 

“I love you,” he whispered, hoping that she wouldn’t hear. Rafael felt guilty saying those words for the first time in such a terrible state. 

“I love you more,” she replied, drifting into a slumber in his arms. 

Rafael knew this could never be true. 

The hands on the clock seemed to turn at an unprecedented pace, yet Rafael had gotten little done. It all seemed pointless. There had to be more to life than this. Hours spent in some poorly-lit office drinking dirt flavored coffee, waiting for his mind to stop running a marathon so he could focus. Watching people suffer everyday for some little bit of justice. Doubting the existence of good in the world with every passing moment. 

But the thing he couldn’t stand was being away from the love of his life. For such a pointless endeavor. It was pointless, but it wasn’t what he wanted. Not anymore. Not with the prospect of love sitting right in front of him. In that moment, he decided to be the most spontaneous he had ever been. 

He whipped open the bottom left drawer of his desk, pulled out a copy of his resignation letter, signed it, and placed it in the mailbox of his boss. He grabbed his jacket, briefcase, and cellphone before practically running to the lobby of Hogan Place. By a stroke of sheer luck, a taxi had been idling outside. Rafael got into the taxi without hesitation--or permission--and called out the address to the apartment he had shared with Y/N. Getting to their front door was his only objective. 

As he settled into the taxi, he reached inside of his briefcase and felt a small item lodged at the bottom. Rafael quizzically pulled it out, determining that it was cube-shaped. As it was illuminated by the passing streetlights, he recognized it instantly. And that’s where he decided to make the best decision of his life. 

“Mami, are you going to be okay if I’m gone for two weeks on vacation?” Rafael asked, changing a lightbulb in his mother’s apartment. 

It was a Saturday which meant it was his day to do chores around his mother’s apartment, with much reluctance on behalf of Lucia, while Y/N went through her laminated chore checklist back at their apartment. Rafael had come straight from his office, totally forgetting his to-dos. Until Y/N reminded him--a pretty common occurrence. 

“I promise, Mijo,” she said, taking his hand and guiding him down the step stool, “I’m just happy you’re taking time off.”

“Me too,” he sighed, a wave of bliss flooding his mind as he thought of going to Greece with Y/N. He’s dreamt of her sunburnt cheeks and wine-stained lips since the moment he bought the tickets. 

“It seems like an awfully romantic vacation. Have you thought about asking yet?” Lucia hinted, pointing to her ring finger. 

Rafael didn’t want to say ‘yes.’ He didn’t want to let her know that he had been planning it since their six-month anniversary. He couldn’t wait to spend the rest of his life with the woman he loved. 

“I’ve considered it,” he teased, “but Greece is too cliche. She wouldn’t appreciate it.”

“You underestimate her, Rafi. She loves you.” 

“And I love her. More than anything.” 

Lucia scoffed, furrowing her brow in disgust.

“Besides you, Mami,” he sang, pulling her in for a hug,

While in Rafael’s arms, Lucia slyly removed a small box from her pocket and slipped it into Rafael’s briefcase. It was his grandmother’s ring, the one she always talked about leaving for him. The one she made sure to mention everyday she was sick. Lucia would never forget something that important. 

Rafael grabbed his belongings with haste, basically throwing $50 at the cab driver, telling him to keep the tip. He slammed the door behind him, jogging to the apartment elevators. He was too lost in thought to greet the doorman or the security guard at the front desk. He was focused on one thing and one thing only.

The elevator couldn’t come fast enough--Rafael tapped his foot anxiously, cursing the damned thing. As soon as it opened, he pushed the 8th floor button at least ten times. He felt a rush of nausea, excitement, fear run over him. The elevator dinged and Rafael ran, rummaging through his pockets for his keys. 

He opened the door as fast as he could, revealing Y/N calmly making a cup of tea in the kitchen. Lamplight illuminated the living room. Her laptop was opened to a document, purple and yellow sticky notes scattered on the table. 2000s Pop Hits playing in the background. He had captured her in her natural element; he was witnessing the essence of Y/N.

“Baby, it’s midnight,” he spoke, calmer than he had been all day. 

“I know, but I was in the zone. I thought you wouldn’t be home tonight,” she answered, walking over to place a kiss on his lips, before strolling back to the kitchen to stop the whistling kettle. 

Rafael’s heart was beating out of his chest. His hands were shaking, mind racing. This was it. This felt right.

“Y/N?” 

“What’s up, babe?” She gently blew on her tea to cool it down. 

“I quit my job today.” 

Y/N almost did a spit, “I’m sorry, what?” She exclaimed.

“I couldn’t do it anymore. It broke me, Y/N.” He sighed, walking to her side, “There are better things in life than case briefs and court.”

Y/N was shocked but supportive, “Well, I’m glad you’re finally free. Why don’t you get ready for bed and sleep for the first time in a decade?” She laughed, placing her hand on his shoulder. 

“There’s one more thing,” Rafael said, reaching into his pocket and for the emerald box that housed his grandmother’s ring, 

Rafael expected the words to escape him; he hadn’t prepared anything in the taxi. These weren’t summations, he needed guidance.

But that didn’t stop him. 

“Y/N, you made me realize that I don’t want to live my life circling the drain and going through the motions. You have brought color to my black and white life. The joy you bring me everyday is immeasurable. Every second I spend away from you makes me feel like the world is ending. I can’t live without you, Y/N. That’s why I’m asking you-” Rafael began to bend his knee before Y/N cut him off.

“Yes! You don’t even have to ask. Yes, yes, yes!” She exclaimed, a tear already sliding down her cheek.

Rafael pulled out his grandmother’s golden ring from the box and slipped it on Y/N’s finger with extra care, as if she was made of glass. Tears had formed in his eyes as well, seeing the ring that reminded him so much of the other most important lady in his life. The most romantic person he had ever met. 

“I love you, Y/N. I wish I could have given you a better proposal, but I couldn’t wait,” he chuckled, once again admiring how well the ring hugged her fingers. 

“If you waited any longer, I was going to ask you,” she laughed, kissing him again and again. “Let’s go to bed,” she whispered, placing a kiss on Rafael’s neck.

[poguesofthebau]

memory breach

summary: while out in the field, you fall into the hands of the unsub. after the incident, your hospitalization hits the team a little too hard. to make matters worse, you wake up in the hospital with a foggy memory and some nasty injuries. on top of having no recollection of the attack itself, you seem to have forgotten about chunks of your life-- including spencer, your boyfriend. warnings: memory loss/amnesia, head injuries, gunshot wound, hospitalization

word count: 8.8k (the longest thing i’ve ever written) pairing: spencer reid x female!bau!reader

a/n: here comes the angst, y’all. this one was requested by @astrologics​! i wound up straying away from the request a bit, but i hope you still enjoy! as usual, reader is a part of the team (because i wish i was a part of the team so it always makes writing more fun for me). i don’t think i’ve ever done serious, real angst, so this is my first time including warnings. please let me know if i missed anything that should be included and i will add it!! also lmk if anyone would be interested in some potential spin-off blurb ideas from this one! they would take place mostly during the line breaks in this fic!

he knew you could handle yourself. spencer knew that.

regardless of having that knowledge, he still hated every moment of every case that required you going out into the field. if you were with another team member, spencer had to mentally remind himself that, i trust morgan with her. i trust jj with her. i trust hotch with her. i trust emily with her. i trust rossi with her. and i trust her with them. if you were going out alone, though, his inner monologue went rampant. no matter how many mantras of trust and faith he repeated in his own head, the worry was always more dominant. the only time he found peace was when he was the one with you.

it was silly, and spencer knew that. he knew that he should be able to trust you to not get yourself hurt. but, at the same time, he knew you had the same sense of urgency that he did when it came to saving lives. it was easy for both of you to get caught up in the desperation and rush of it all, and you’d both do whatever you believed necessary to accomplish the task of saving people in danger. the only time spencer was able to contain that urge was when you were by his side. if you were there, too, your life was also on the line, which made spencer a thousand times more cautious on the field. he knew one of you had to stay level-headed and logical, and he always took the reigns of that position when it had to fall upon either him or you. being the one by your side brought him a sense of comfort, but it also increased his sense of responsibility, placing him in the role of the rationally-thinking agent.

all of that-- essentially, his constant need to know you were safe-- factored into the terror spencer felt when you went into the house alone.

the case had been quick so far. maybe it was because the murders were happening in dc, which saved the team some time when it came to getting to know the case and its locations. there was no ‘wheels up in 30′ from hotch, or two-hour flight to a different state, or time wasted asking where in a local precinct you could set up, or unfamiliar drives to crime scenes. regardless, it felt like the unsub had fallen directly into your laps when the team figured out who and where he was, and for that reason, spencer was on his toes. however, it was undeniable that he couldn’t have possibly controlled the time frame of the case, especially the portion of it that had resulted in your entering the house without backup.

you’d arrived to the house with emily. you’d been sent together to the location from which the unsub snatched his latest victim, and after a witness statement, composite sketch, and description of the unsub, garcia was able to pinpoint an address within 5 minutes. much to spencer’s dismay, you and emily had been the closest to the location. so, as the rest of the team rushed to meet you at the house, emily was just parking the suv. when you pulled up, the two of you made a joint decision to go around the back first, agreeing that it’d be the easiest and most effective point of entry. the plan came to a head when you found a barely breathing victim on the back porch.

“she’s still breathing.” emily didn’t have a chance to say anything else before you darted into the house. by yourself. she glanced undecidedly between the door you’d disappeared through and the unconscious woman on the ground. just as emily twitched to follow after you, the woman below her coughed violently, and, with no outward actions to expose her internal hesitation, emily was holstering her weapon and crouching down to try to help the victim.

three minutes passed before the rest of the team arrived. from her position on the back porch where the victim had now come to but refused to be left alone, emily felt helpless. there she was, beside a woman who had been attacked by a violent serial killer, while her teammate and friend was inside with the murderer. it was a sickening feeling for emily to know that she was partially responsible for whatever happened next, but there was a louder voice in her head-- your voice-- telling her to stay where she was, and to save the person you’d come to help. for those three minutes that you were alone, emily felt useless.

then, she heard the suvs come to a screeching halt nearby. “here!” she immediately called, hearing the sounds of rushing and scattered voices and she applied pressure to the victim’s wounds. spencer was the first one she saw, and the relief that had come with the team’s arrival quickly washed away, only to be replaced by guilt. not giving him a chance to ask the question, emily raised a hand and pointed to the door. “she went in, reid, i couldn’t stop her.”

a look of horror crossed spencer’s face as he bolted through the door, morgan and hotch following quickly behind. spencer was now sprinting through the house, gun pointed and coworkers in tow. with every room he cleared, every room he looked for you in to no avail, his movements became fueled by more and more desperation. soon enough he was bounding up the stairs, and as he reached the second floor, his ears tuned in to the sound of a struggle. he could hear punches being thrown as he ran, and your voice calling out warnings his brain couldn’t register. the first two doors he threw open exposed vacant rooms. and then, finally, he found you. you and the unsub.

the moment spencer stepped through the doorframe, he was wincing. as the door swung open, the unsub was shoving your head backward, smashing your skull into the wooden wall behind you. spencer could hear hotch and morgan barking instructions behind him, but he was stunned into silence at the sight. in those few seconds, spencer swore he could hear everything going on around the entire world. but none of it mattered, because the things he was hearing weren’t factoring into his thoughts at all. all he could focus on was what he was seeing happen to you. he didn’t hear morgan yell gun, and he didn’t hear hotch shouting reid, back up. he was still moving forward, toward you, when the two consecutive gunshots went off. he saw you collapse, hitting the ground with a thump that made him nauseous. his peripherals caught the unsub doing the same, but the thud of him hitting the ground didn’t even begin to register in spencer’s mind.

within a split second, spencer was beside you on the ground, calling your name and praying to gods he wasn’t sure he believed in that you would open your eyes and just see him. his ears were ringing at that point, but his vision was only getting sharper. he spotted the blood on the floor surrounding your head first, and then he realized that your blood was coating his hands. he turned your head, simultaneously finding the inevitable head injury and concluding that the blood on his hands had to be coming from somewhere else-- your head was in bad condition, but it wasn’t a realistic explanation for the puddle of red beneath you. “no, y/n, hey. no, no, no,” he muttered, hands hovering over you as his eyes scanned your body for a secondary injury. it didn’t take him long to find the gunshot wound in your shoulder. “no, y/n, wake up, honey. you have to wake up.” tears were streaming down his face, impairing his vision, dropping onto your face beneath him.

suddenly hotch was there, kneeling on the other side of you. spencer watched his superior put pressure on the source of the blood, and he knew he needed to do something. you were unconscious and bleeding right in front of him, and he couldn’t think of anything to do? what kind of genius was that? he needed to--

spencer’s inner monologue was interrupted before he had a chance to think of how else he should’ve been helping you. his sight was still blurred by tears, but he was able to recognize the uniformed paramedics beside him. hotch made his way around your limp body, gently grabbing spencer by the shoulders and lifting him up so the paramedics could get you onto a gurney. when he realized he was being moved away from you, spencer began to fight. he shook himself out of hotch’s grasp, moving to dive back down to your level, but being intercepted by morgan’s bicep reaching out and taking hold of him. “let me go! let me go, morgan! i have to-- i have to--”

“hey, kid, hey,” morgan was calling out, shaking spencer to get his attention. spencer’s eyes flickered quickly to the man once before settling back onto you. he was still crying, something he’d forgotten about until he watched you being lifted onto the gurney. “i know you gotta stay with her, reid. just stop for one second. look at me. reid.” his last word was gentler than the others, almost pleading with the younger man. with a few seconds of hesitation, spencer tore his eyes away from your tarnished body to lock eyes with morgan. the eye contact was intense. if he wasn’t so racked with worry over you, he would’ve felt exposed and uncomfortable. right then, though, he was too caught up in his thoughts of you to contemplate the way morgan was staring at him. “reid.”

spencer blinked, a few stray tears escaping as he adjusted to seeing morgan instead of you. his mouth opened and closed a few times, but he settled on shaking his head in place of trying to use his words. “i can’t-- if something happens, morgan, i--” the lump in his throat forced him to stop speaking, and he swallowed a few times before resorting to shaking his head again.

“hey, kid,” morgan said. spencer’s eyes had dropped to the ground, and it was morgan’s turn to glance back at you. the paramedics had successfully lifted you onto the gurney, and they were starting to roll you out of the room. “are you gonna be alright in that ambulance? because, i know you need it, but if you can’t handle it, man--”

spencer heard the wheels of the gurney through morgans words, and his eyes lifted back to you. “i have to go with her, morgan. i can’t not go.” morgan looked at spencer one more time, trying to find any sign of a lie in his eyes, before finally releasing him. and then spencer dashed out of the room after you, trying to mentally brace himself for whatever would come next.

the ambulance ride had been torture. and then came the waiting around at the hospital.

as cliche as he knew it was, he had truly never loved someone as much as he loved you, and certainly never in the way he loved you. there was something indescribable about the two of you together. neither of you were ever able to put it into words, no matter how hard or how often you tried. you were something like spencer’s best friend, guardian angel, twin flame, and soulmate all rolled into one human, but there was so much more to you than being his. you were kind, and loving, and certain, and stubborn, and selfless, and so many other things. even a person as intelligent as spencer couldn’t think of all the words that existed to describe you. on multiple occasions, spencer had coined you as “everything” when someone asked what you were like, because it was the most accurate word he could come up with.

of all the things spencer had seen in his life, all the trauma and bad experiences, this had to be the worst. and it was the worst because it was you-- the last person he would ever want hurt.

“hey, reid.” once again, spencer was cut off from his own thoughts. this time, though, it was by garcia, whose voice was gentle as she approached. he glanced up from his seat in the stiff hospital chair in the hallway, spotting his friend in her bright outfit complete with a flower in her hair that would’ve irritated spencer at that moment had anyone else been wearing it. however, this was penelope, and while spencer wasn’t in the mood to chat very much, he was relieved to see she was the one who’d been sent to see him. out of everyone on the team, garcia had the highest success rate when it came to providing him any possible level of comfort. the rest of the team was piled into the hospital’s waiting room just around the corner, but spencer had talked himself into a seat significantly closer to where you were currently being operated on. the first two hours of your surgery, he sat silently in the waiting room with the team, but he convinced himself he’d go crazy if he wasn’t as close to you as possible, which had eventually landed him a spot in the corridor. he’d been there, apart from everyone else, for almost an hour. that hour seemed like nothing compared to the three you’d been in surgery.

“hi, garcia.” his voice was quiet, and penelope frowned when she realized he was still in the same mindset as the last time she saw him. realizing the woman wasn’t planning on leaving him alone, spencer cleared his throat before adding, “there’s, um-- there’s no word yet.”

penelope sighed, moving to sit in the vacant chair beside him. “i figured. but, actually, i wasn’t here for updates. i wanted to see how you were holding up, but it doesn’t really seem like you are holding up.” spencer scoffed a laugh at that. garcia unintentionally (and usually unknowingly) putting her foot in her mouth had always been one of your favorite things about her. “reid?”

he sighed then, succumbing to the weight of her stare and looking at her. “i’m scared, penelope.” his words were a whisper, and that whisper snapped penelope garcia’s heart in half. she loved reid, and she loved you, and you both deserved so much better than this. it was a frustration that truly never left her-- why did the people she loved, the best people, always have to go through the worst events?

“i know, honey,” she nodded, blinking back tears. “i’m scared too. the others told me i shouldn’t act like i’m scared in front of you, but-- well, we both know i can’t really fake a smile.” she reached over and grabbed spencer’s hand in hers, giving it a squeeze and feeling the pressure being returned almost immediately after. “she’s strong, reid. so strong-- stronger than any of us. this is y/n we’re talking about. she’ll pull through. if not for the team, or for herself, she’ll pull through for you. i know she will. she has to.”

spencer looked at her, a twinge of hope in his eye at her words. sometimes, he thought no one could see you and him. it was such an intimate feeling, being in love, that he often forgot that people around him could gauge that love, too. and, knowing garcia, she was able to gauge it much better than most others. spencer’s lips stretched into the slightest smile at the thought, but before he could answer, his attention was grabbed by the sound of footsteps approaching. he raised his eyes to see who would turn the corner, only to find jj, morgan, hotch, rossi, and emily. confusion rushed over spencer, and the anxiety in his stomach that had been subdued by his conversation with penelope came flooding back. “what is it?”

morgan smiled comfortingly. “we came to see what was taking garcia so long with the snack delivery.”

“oh!” garcia reached into her pocket with the hand that wasn’t in reid’s, pulling out a packet of vending machine cookies. with a smile, she handed them over to spencer. “i almost forgot.”

“i wanted to come alone,” jj interjected lightheartedly. “but then we got into an argument about who to send, so here we all are.”

the next to jump in was hotch. “how are you?” the simple question seemed to jar spencer, slowing down the rest of the chatter swirling around the group of agents.

spencer couldn’t find the words to answer, and he soon felt garcia squeezing his hand again. his eyes met hers and he smiled sadly, eyes then panning around to see the faces of his friends. the last person his sights landed on was emily, who looked like some combination of a kicked puppy, a guilty teenager, and a remorseful child. the expression on her face only hurt spencer more, and he made a quick decision upon seeing it. swiftly, he stood from his seat and let garcia’s hand slide out of his. not losing eye contact with emily, he took two steps toward her before engulfing her in his arms. for a second, she was stunned. in all honesty, she expected spencer to be mad at her. mad for leaving you, mad for not following the rules, mad for anything. and she wouldn’t have blamed him. but here he was, holding her in his arms like she was the one who had been hurt. a second later, she hugged him back, burying her head in his shoulder and letting the tears fall through a whispered, “i’m so sorry.”

ignoring the tears that were falling from his own eyes, spencer rubbed emily’s back reassuringly and muttered back, “it’s not your fault, emily.”

as the two agents released each other from the embrace, the operating room doors swung open. “y/n y/l/n?”

“yes, that’s me-- that’s us,” spencer immediately confirmed. his heart was pounding in his chest, and he felt like his breathing had completely halted. “is she-- is she--”

“she’s okay,” the man said with a faint smile. the entire team physically deflated before the man, a rush of relief flowing through all of them. before the doctor could give any more details, penelope was enveloping emily in another hug, and morgan was wrapping an arm around spencer’s shoulders with a beaming smile. spencer, however, was still looking expectantly to the man in scrubs, eyes wide as he waited for the rest of the news. “we were able to dislodge the bullet from her shoulder, and the gunshot wound is all stitched up and ready to heal.”

“what about the head injury?” spencer couldn’t handle the suspense. in fact, he was growing a little impatient with the doctor, and that impatience was quickly morphing into anger. he needed answers-- he needed to know if you were truly okay.

“there have been some complications with the head injury.” and, just like that, the rest of the team was holding their breaths with spencer. “she had a skull fracture and a severe concussion. she’ll have some visual impairments when she first wakes up-- trouble seeing at first, which should decrease to light sensitivity and some general blurriness. i know you’re all used to seeing her very mobile, but she’ll have lots of muscle weakness when she comes to. she’s going to be fragile.”

“is that everything?” hotch’s voice sounded off from the group.

“not quite,” the doctor sighed as he scanned the group and continued. “the visual impairments that i described, they’ll be due to direct trauma to the occipital lobe. however, there was some damage done to other parts of the brain as well, and there’s a decent amount of swelling in her head that hasn’t gone down yet. we’re not certain, but we’re afraid that swelling may have in impact on memory.”

after a beat of silence from the whole group, rossi took initiative in speaking next. “what does that mean, an impact on memory?”

“putting it in simple terms, we’re expecting her to have a degree of amnesia when she regains consciousness. there’s no way to be certain until she’s awake again, but it is likely that she won’t be able to recall most details of the event, and that memory loss could also extend to longer-term memories.”

morgan’s arm dropped from spencer’s shoulder then, and he turned to see his younger friend’s reaction.

to put it simply, spencer looked like the world had stopped spinning. “you’re-- so you’re saying-- she might not remember us.”

the doctor nodded morbidly. “again, we’re not completely certain. it’s possible her memory loss will be minimal, but you should all have some awareness of the possibility that she may not know you right now.”

spencer blinked a few times, feeling the world around him distort. how am i supposed to do this? how is this going to be okay? how is this really happening? his feet took him back a few steps and he dropped into the chair he’d previously stood from. his head fell into his hands, fingers raking through his hair as he tried not to lose his mind completely. a part of him was convinced that he was dreaming-- there was no way any of this was real, right?

“okay,” hotch said wistfully. as hard as this news was hitting him, too, he knew the rest of the team would need someone to take the reigns in a situation like this, and he knew he was that person. “what happens next?”

“she’ll be brought into a recovery room for the next few days-- she’s being brought over to a room as we speak. we’ll monitor her closely, and the meds that kept her out during the surgery should wear off fairly quickly, possibly within the hour. until she wakes up, one of you will be able to be in the room with her at a time, and once we can get an idea of how she’s doing, the rest of you will be welcome to see her.”

“reid,” hotch called, turning to look at him. when they locked eyes, a part of hotch’s facade shattered. his eyes softened, the hurt and fear in spencer’s eyes too powerful for even aaron hotchner to mentally omit. spencer sniffled, roughly wiping the tears from his face as he stood again. he stepped up next to hotch, nodding at him. spencer turned to face the doctor, but was quickly stopped by hotch’s hand on his shoulder. when he turned back to face his boss, hotch’s expression had changed. now, he was looking at spencer with an expression that told him he knew what he was going through. “are you sure that you’re okay to see her right now?”

“i have to be,” spencer whispered. hotch searched spencer’s eyes for another moment before finally nodding submissively and letting his agent follow the doctor through the hospital to the room where you were.

spencer had hated the ambulance ride, and he’d hated sitting in that hospital chair not knowing if you were okay, and now he hated looking at you like this. there was bruising under your eyes-- a nurse, not knowing that spencer could figure it out for himself, had explained that the bruising was due to the skull fracture and the swelling in your head-- and he could just barely see the gauze poking out from under your hospital gown, covering the stitched up gunshot wound you’d suffered. he could still make out a tinge of makeup smudged on your face, and your hair was in a tangled, disheveled mess, with more white gauze wrapped around your head. he counted twelve additional bruises and cuts that hadn’t been on your body the day before, and those were just the visible ones. he knew there had to be more, hidden underneath the hospital gown and blanket that you were tucked under. your bottom lip was split open, and the sight reminded spencer of the moment just after the unsub had bashed your head against the wall. the vision of you hitting the ground flashed across his mind, and he suddenly remembered seeing your head bounce sharply off the ground, causing you to unintentionally bite down on your own lip. spencer cringed at the memory.

his eyes flickered down to your hands. immediately, he saw the tan lines on the index and ring fingers of your right hand, and a wave of nausea hit him. on a regular day, you would have a ring from your grandmother on your index finger, and the promise ring he’d gotten you on your ring finger. playing with the rings was a nervous habit of yours, and the entire team had picked up on the tendency a few days after spencer had gifted you the promise ring. from then on, it had become an inside joke among the team-- whenever you reached for that ring, morgan or jj made a sarcastic comment about you “thinking of your husband-to-be.” it was a small difference in appearance, but the thought plagued him. spencer was overwhelmed with discomfort at the discrepancy, and his eyes darted around the room to find the bag containing your personal items. he spotted the plastic bag on the nightstand to your left, and moved to grab it. after slipping the two rings back onto their respective fingers, spencer found himself sifting aimlessly through the rest of your belongings-- your badge, the necklace and earrings you’d been wearing, and your wallet.

trying to do anything to keep his mind occupied and his focus on something other than how hurt you were in that bed beside him, spencer pulled your wallet from the bag and flipped it open. his fingers grazed the faux leather absentmindedly, and before he could toss it back into the bag, his eyes landed on the one photo you always kept on your person. he slid the picture out of its slot in your wallet, blinking back tears at the memory. as he put your wallet back down on top of the bag, the wind was slightly knocked out of him at the rush of feelings. he found himself sucking in air harder than he should’ve had to, but before he could give in to the emotions, he heard the monitor beside him start beeping faster than it had since he arrived.

for a second, spencer was frozen in place as his brain stuttered at the idea of you having woken up already. the hesitation didn’t last long before he was spinning around to face you and getting visual confirmation of his suspicion-- you were awake again.

“um, hi?”

at the sound of you voice, no matter how confused or uncertain it was at that moment, spencer found himself guffawing in relief, tears pricking at his eyes as he grinned in awe. as his eyes locked with yours for the first time since you’d left the office that morning, spencer was on cloud nine. you were there, and you were alive, and you were awake, and--

she doesn’t know who i am.

the thought struck spencer harder than your waking up had. you were awake, but you didn’t know who he was. the smile vanished from spencer’s face, and the tears that were now spilling from his eyes became ones of agony. he felt a quick and sudden flash of embarrassment, realizing that he was crying in front of someone who had no idea who he was, and he swiped the tears from his face before taking a deep breath and giving you a sad smile. “hi, y/n. uh, i’m-- i’m spencer.”

the next few seconds felt like someone had their foot on spencer’s neck. you were processing his words as you held eye contact, blinking slowly a few times. he couldn’t place the expression you wore. all he could see in it was a twinge of confusion, but that didn’t seem to be the only emotion you were feeling. spencer opened his mouth to further explain, but you beat him to speaking.

“obviously, spence.”

now it was his turn to be confused. his eyes widened at your words, and he knew his cheeks were turning red as the heat rushed to his face. “you remember me?”

you were shaking your head lightly then, fighting the urge to wince at the pain that struck the back of your skull as you moved. “how could i forget you, doctor reid? you’re my best friend.” slowly, spencer’s face morphed again. and, this time, even you knew something was wrong-- at least, something other than you being in the hospital. “did i say something?” he sighed, shaking his head morbidly as he took a step toward you. he sat down on your bed, and you finally caught a glimpse of the small piece of paper he held in his hands. it was a picture. “what’s that?”

he opened his mouth to spew out some form of an explanation, but before he could get anything out, the door to your room was swinging open.

“miss y/l/n,” the doctor was calling brightly as he entered. “nice of you to join us again. how’re you feeling?”

a little disoriented by everything going on around you-- spencer acting so different, the beeping of the monitor you were hooked up to, the doctor materializing in your room who currently seemed to know more about you than you knew about yourself-- you looked between spencer and the man in scrubs a few times before settling on the latter. “i’m-- i mean, i guess i’m okay. a little confused, i guess, and my eyes kind of hurt, but fine otherwise.”

the doctor nodded, grabbing your chart from the foot of your bed as he approached you. he took out a light, flashing it in both of your eyes a few times before pocketing it again. “your eyes are looking good-- normal movement and coloration. do you remember anything about what you were doing just before you lost consciousness?”

you thought for some time, finally realizing what was happening. there were chunks of your memory missing. “honestly, i don’t think i remember much. i can’t say what the case was, but i know we were working one.” spencer watched you from the side of your bed, seeing the gears turn in your head as you tried to recall whatever you could. “i think i was with... jj-- no. no, i was with emily, and we found the vic. she was breathing, so i went in the house and emily stayed with the girl. i know i went in. i-- i can’t remember what happened after that. i can’t-- why can’t i remember what happened after that?”

“because you found the unsub, y/n.” spencer’s voice was low, and it held a weight that told you more than his words did. you’d found the unsub, and it mustn’t have been pretty. suddenly you were aware of the dull ache radiating throughout your body, the pain exceptionally worse in your head and shoulder.

“dr. reid and the rest of your team can fill you in on the details of the case that your memory is missing a little later, but the more important matter is your injuries. you sustained a skull fracture and concussion, and you were shot in the shoulder. aside from that, you’re pretty generally banged up, but that head and shoulder are our biggest concern right now. you seem to be doing better than we were preparing for, which is amazing. some nurses will be in soon to poke at you a little more, and you’ll have to spend a few more nights here for observation, but we’re expecting a full recovery physically.”

you had a million questions flying through your head as he spoke, but when the doctor asked if he could do anything else for you, you found yourself shaking your head and dismissing him. for some reason you couldn’t pinpoint, you felt like you needed to talk to spencer before anything else-- you needed him to fill in the holes for you. there was no one else you would trust to do it. why was there no one else you would trust more than spencer? what didn’t you remember that made him the one you needed to hear all this from?

“do you want me to go get the others? everyone should still be here-- jj, emily, hotch, morgan, rossi, and garcia. they wouldn’t leave until you woke up.”

“if it’s okay, i would rather talk to you first,” you told him. he nodded, glancing back down longingly at the picture he was holding. he sighed again, and looked back at you with sad eyes. “spence, what am i missing?”

he held the photo out for you to take, and when you got your first real look at the entire photo, your heart shattered.

in the picture, spencer was standing behind you with his chin resting comfortably on top of your head. his arms were wrapped around your waist, and your hands were resting on top of his. both of you were grinning, and it was clear in the photo that you were trying to peek up at him, head tilted up toward his. when you blinked, you swore you could hear spencer laughing from behind you, or feel his arms wrapped around you, or see garcia grinning and calling out directions through giggles as she snapped the picture, or emily, jj, and morgan cheering behind the camera. you tried to grab onto the snapshot of a memory, but it was gone as quickly as it came. the frustration was clear on your face as spencer watched you analyze the image, and he felt a stab to his heart at the fact that this was harder for you than it was him. he heard you swear under your breath as your eyes skimmed the picture one last time. your eyes fluttered shut for a second as you tried to remember anything, but all you could see were those same four flashes of the same memory. you knew you should’ve been grateful that you remembered anything on your own, but all you could focus on was the idea that you had an entire relationship and all you knew of it was one picture.

“are you okay?” spencer’s gentle voice pulled you out of your own mental abyss, and you forced yourself to open your eyes and look at him.

“i’m--” you glanced down at your hands, flinching when you saw the two rings on your fingers. you remembered those rings. “i’m so sorry, spencer.”

spencer was shaking his head at that, his hand finding its way into yours and giving it a squeeze. “there’s nothing for you to be sorry about.”

“yes, there is. i-- i went into that house by myself, and i don’t know exactly what happened when i did, but i know it landed me here, and i know i can’t remember things that are important to me, and i know how you probably feel right now, and i’m sorry for that. i shouldn’t have gone in alone. if i hadn’t gone in alone, i would remember everything about us right now, and even though i don’t remember, i know i want to, and i know i should.”

“it’s okay. y/n,” as he called your name, his hand slipped under your chin to lift your head, and with the softest touch, spencer was forcing you to look at him again. “i didn’t think you were going to remember who i was at all. it’s not perfect, but it’s best case scenario that you even know my name. we can always make more memories, okay?” stray tears slipped out of your eyes as you nodded at him.

“can i ask you some questions?” spencer gave you a tight-lipped smile at the question as he nodded. his hand slid back into yours, and you laced your fingers through his without a second thought as you spoke. “what’s today’s date?” spencer answered the question without a second’s hesitation, and you nodded slowly before speaking again. “how long have we been together? can you tell me the story?”

“of course i can.” the smile on his face was genuine then, and seeing it caused a swirl of hope and adoration in your stomach. you couldn’t remember finally getting with spencer, but you remembered how he’d made you feel before. you knew you loved him. “i loved you for so long before i finally told you. it was morgan and penelope, really. you’d told penelope that you liked me, and somehow you didn’t believe her when she told you all of the bureau already knew how i felt about you. morgan scared me into telling you how i felt-- he gave me the whole “if you don’t tell her how you feel, she’ll end up with someone else” speech one night when he knew you and i were supposed to hang out-- platonically, of course. it was six months ago, and we were supposed to go to the movies together-- i couldn’t tell you what we were supposed to see, even if you asked. you chose a movie, and i just went along with whatever you suggested because i was too scared and too lovestruck to question you. i picked you up from your apartment, and we started talking about our most recent case before that night while we drove there. when i parked, you said we couldn’t go into the theater for another ten minutes because the previews hadn’t started yet, so i took that as my cue to confess, i suppose. i rambled for a while before i got to the point, as i tend to, and we spent the next four hours talking in the theater parking lot. we missed the movie, but we agreed that it was worth missing for our first kiss after unknowingly pining over each other for a year.”

“so penelope wasn’t lying when she told me you had feelings for me, too?” spencer laughed and shook his head. “that’s good to know.”

“did you have anything else to ask?” you smiled at him, shaking your head lightly. “would it be okay if i went and got everyone else? they’re pretty worried about you.”

“i did take a bullet and get my head cracked open, so that makes sense,” you sarcastically replied. you were acting so much like yourself that spencer almost forgot the truth of your condition. if he hadn’t just recounted that story for you, he would’ve thought you had all the same memories he did. he moved to stand from your bed, but your grip on his hand tightened before he could get far. “do you mind just sending a nurse to get them? i’d like it if you stayed with me, if that’s okay.”

so spencer pressed the button by your bed to call in a nurse, giving you a few seconds of free time to wrack your brain for all the memories you could grab onto.

the next two days were essentially the same.

nurses would come into your room, ask you a few of the same questions, check a few of the same stats, change your bandages, and give you updates on your condition. spencer stayed with you, only leaving once when you sent him home to shower and get an outfit that hadn’t been pulled out of his go bag. during those three hours that spencer was gone, you’d called your doctor into your room. you hadn’t wanted to say anything in front of spencer or the team, but the fog surrounding your memories was beginning to dissipate, and you needed to know where that put you. it was hard to keep from the people you loved, but you didn’t want to get their hopes up for your mind’s full recovery if it wasn’t medically possible.

by the end of the first day you were awake, you’d remembered more than you admitted to. from the second spencer started telling the story of your first kiss, you were able to remember things he assumed were gone forever. you knew that two months into your relationship, the team finally caught on. you knew that spencer had said ‘i love you’ first, and you knew he’d said it while he was half-asleep as the two of you were curled up in his bed after a night out with the team. you knew hotch gave you both his permission to pursue a relationship while also maintaining professionalism in the field and office, and you knew that was a line you and spencer never crossed. you knew that the first time you ever wore his cardigan to work, thinking nothing of it, morgan and emily had teased you for it for the rest of the day, even assigning you a new nickname of ‘mrs. cardigan’ from then on. you knew spencer had given you a promise ring for your four month anniversary, and you vividly remembered how nervous he’d been to present the gift, and how hard you’d cried when you realized spencer was the one.

the last memory you’d recovered before sending spencer home so you could discreetly converse with your doctor was the memory of the picture. it was the first trace of your relationship you’d seen after being hospitalized, and it was the one that triggered the rest of your memories. whenever you tried to unlock the mental images of that day, you wound up recalling other events instead. after a day and a half of trying and failing miserably to remember the day that picture was taken, you made a mental decision to reveal your recovered memories to anyone around you only when you could successfully recount that day. and, finally, after all that energy you put into trying, you remembered it.

when you finally revealed to the doctor that your memories were recovering themselves with the help of your team being around, you didn’t get the reaction you were expecting. you’d braced yourself to be scolded and maybe even lectured for keeping valuable information from your doctor, but all you got was a chuckle. when he laughed, your face contorted into such profound confusion that the doctor laughed again. “i don’t mean to laugh, really. it’s a serious matter, as i’m sure you know, but it’s a bit of a comical situation, especially considering that i know your memories are coming back on their own.” your eyebrows raised at the claim, and the doctor continued with a genuine smile. “i deal with amnesia patients more often than you might think, and i’ve learned the signs. i know when my patients are progressing, and i know when they’re regressing. it’s been clear to me for a while now that you would be ready for discharge by tomorrow.”

“discharge? as in, sending me home?” the doctor nodded. “are you sure i’m ready for that? i mean, i’m starting to remember things, but how can you be sure that i’ll keep remembering?”

“from the moment you woke up, miss y/l/n, you were exceeding our expectations for recovery. based on that, i assumed your time here would be accelerated, and the changes in your physical condition have shown that you’ll be able to get closer to normal than you think you can. and, now that you’ve admitted to remembering so much, i’m even more certain of that. y/n, you’re regaining your memory. there will most likely be permanent gaps missing in your mind from the day of your incident, but everything else will come back eventually.”

“i’ll remember everything?”

“yes, you will. tomorrow you’ll be able to fill out the discharge papers and go home.” with one final smile, the doctor exited the room.

when the door clicked shut behind him, your face broke out into a grin a hundred times bigger than the smile the doctor had given you. you were going to remember.

an hour after your conversation with the doctor, spencer was walking back into your room. his bag was slung over his shoulder and he held a coffee in each hand. things almost felt normal in that moment, and you thought of the countless times he’d strolled into the bullpen just like that, loving smile on his face as he brought you your first dose of caffeine for the day. every time, he’d smooth a hand over your head in place of a kiss on the lips, and you’d gaze at him endearingly as you took a much needed gulp of the coffee. the thought of such normalcy brought a smile to your face, and spencer looked at you suspiciously. “hey, spence.”

he placed both coffees on the table beside your bed, dropping his bag on the floor as he slid into his usual seat. “hi, y/n. you seem like you’re doing better today.” you nodded at his assumption, and your enthusiasm only seemed to further confuse him. “i don’t have to be a genius to know that the odds of someone in your condition smiling like that from a hospital bed are very low. did something happen while i was gone?”

“kind of,” you eluded. patting the empty spot on your bed, you beckoned him to come closer. he moved to sit in the spot you’d directed him to, and as soon as he was settled, you were spilling a portion of the news. “i get to go home tomorrow.”

spencer’s eyes lit up at the revelation, a smile that matched your pasting itself onto his face. “y/n, that’s amazing! already? you talked to the doctor while i was gone?”

“i talked to the doctor while you were gone.” a giggle slipped past your lips at spencer’s expression. he was shaking his head at your actions, and you didn’t doubt that he was a little annoyed that he wasn’t there for the conversation. “i’m sorry, spence. i just didn’t want you to be here for it, in case it was bad news.”

“stop apologizing so much. that’s great news, y/n,” spencer insisted, brushing a stray hair from your cheek. his hand lingered on your face for a few seconds as you shared a loving look, and you leaned forward to press your mouth to his for the first time in days. spencer watched your lips close in on his, uncertain whether or not he should be kissing you right then. you’d made it clear that your feelings for him hadn’t changed, but he was still careful of his actions for a combination of reasons. one was your head injury-- spencer knew that a mishap as simple as your teeth clashing against his a little too hard could cause you an insufferable amount of pain, and he couldn’t fathom the thought of hurting you even more. on top of that, he was paranoid. despite your constantly insisting that you knew him, and you trusted him, spencer didn’t want to push your boundaries in your current state. no matter how many times he’d pressed his mouth to yours before, this situation made everything different, and all spencer wanted was for you to be as comfortable as possible. if that meant not kissing you for a few days, he would make the sacrifice. regardless of his reservations, spencer couldn’t resist but allowing you to connect your lips to his. kissing you again was a euphoric feeling for him-- he’d grown so accustomed to kissing you out of the blue, and kissing you hello, and kissing you goodbye, and the last few days had put a twist on that tendency. now, though, spencer felt like he was melting. it felt like your first kiss all over again. by the time you pulled back from him, spencer had almost convinced himself that you were sitting on his couch, or in your bed, or maybe standing in the elevator on the way up to the bullpen before your workday began. he let his brain play into the fantasy for a few seconds before he finally opened his eyes again, and the affection in your eyes almost knocked the air out of him. “i missed you.”

“i know,” you muttered, pressing your lips against his once again. “i would apologize again, but i don’t want you to yell at me.”

spencer laughed at your taunt, his thumb brushing across your skin as he replied. “you always do that. i mean, you’re always so overly-apologetic. it’s one of the things that made me start to love you-- no matter how redundant they are, your apologies are always genuine.”

you hummed in agreement, not thinking twice before you replied. “you always say that. i don’t know why you can’t just accept my apologies. everyone knows apologizing is one of my favorite pass-times.” spencer squinted at you then, his head tilting slightly at your words. you could see the question in his eyes, and you bit back a smile as you answered it without hesitation. “spence, did you really think i could forget you? forget us?”

“you remember?” instead of responding verbally, you grinned. awe was clear on spencer’s face, but no matter how surprised he was at the news, he couldn’t help but smile with you. “since when?”

“i started remembering little things as soon as i woke up. when everyone else came in, and you guys started telling me stories, it was like somebody broke open a dam full of my memories. i still don’t remember every little detail, and the doctor says i might never remember my fight with the unsub, but a new memory is coming back to me every hour now.”

relief rushed over spencer, and he hung his head as he processed everything you’d just said. you remembered, and you were going to keep remembering. you gave him a delicate nudge when he didn’t look at you, and there were tears running down his face when he finally locked eyes with you again. he took a shaky breath, and you slid your hand into his as he spoke. as soon as his mouth was opening, his eyes were dropping back down to where your hand held his, but you allowed him to speak without any further interruption. “i was so scared, y/n. i-- i watched him hit you, and shoot you, and-- i didn’t know what was going to happen. maybe it’s selfish, but all i could think of when you were in surgery was what i’d do if you didn’t make it out. i still don’t have an answer-- i don’t think i could ever recover from losing you. and then they said you wouldn’t remember us, and it felt like i’d already lost you. i thought that i did something to deserve this, or that maybe this was finally the end of the only good thing i had. i’ve never been more petrified than i was during all of this. i never thought i would love someone like i love you-- as much as i love you. and then i thought i had watched you die, and then i thought i would just be erased from your mind forever, and i--”

“spence,” you called out gingerly. “you know none of this is your fault, right? no one could’ve kept this from happening but the unsub. and either way, we beat him. we won. he tried so hard to take me from you, to take me from everyone. and guess what? i’m right here, and so are you, and he’s rotting in a cell where he belongs.”

“and that’s how it should be. except he belongs in a cell. you don’t belong in a hospital bed.”

“hey. look at me.” spencer’s eyes met yours, searching for any ounce of comfort within them. he found serenity in your eyes, and your words brought him even more peace. “i’m in a hospital bed with you. as long as you’re with me, there’s no place i’d rather be.”

finally, spencer gave in to his urges and planted his mouth on yours again. as he kissed you, spencer found peace in your words. as much as this had hurt him, and as much as it had hurt you, it hadn’t broken you. you were still together, and the love you felt for each other was still just as powerful as it had been last week. after all the panic he had been living with for the past few days, he could finally breath easy and let his focus return to you, because there was nothing more important to him. no matter how much he wanted to remain wrapped up in your lips and the tranquility they brought him, there came a time when his lungs compelled him to pull away and breathe again. when he looked at you, he didn’t doubt for a moment that the look in his eye was mirrored by yours. “i love you, y/n.”

“i love you more, spence.”

[whaleofatjme1920]

On Your Bedroom Floor with Her By Your Side (Kate the Chaser X F!Reader)

On Your Bedroom Floor with Her By Your Side

[Kate the Chaser/Kate Milens-Hayes X F!Reader]

[Warnings: slight language, minor violence, none really]

[AN: I started my oneshot book on quotev because I loved Kate that much]

You weren’t supposed to even know she existed. In fact, the way she found you was entirely an accident over winter break your freshman year of college.

Your parents had been out on a well needed vacation and left you home to handle the house. That was fine, you needed the time off and wanted to relax as much as you could before getting back into the swing of school in January. You spent most of your time moving about, pleased that you had the space to branch out and do what you pleased. This included listening to your music without headphones and generally, being weird without anyone to judge you.

A few days into your well needed alone time, you had laid in your bed watching videos on your phone. The house was dark and quiet, easily giving off the appearance that no one was home. On your own, you were naturally pretty silent when night fell over the land.

That’s what led Kate to make her first mistake.

Somehow, she had gotten separated from her group. It was supposed to be a simple clearing, a one and done it kind of deal, but they were essentially ambushed. Masky got shot pretty bad, so Toby’s priority was getting the group leader out and to safety. Hoodie stayed behind with Kate to finish the clearing, but they were swarmed. They had to abandon the operation and return to it later, or perhaps, another group would take it over. Hoodie yelled for Kate to scatter and that he’d get them off her trail. What a selfless guy, always watching out for the proxies in his group. And she obeyed him because he was Masky’s right hand. On her way out, she’d gotten shot. From what she could feel, it wasn’t fatal, but it still hurt like hell.

She stumbled while sprinting through the woods and found her sense of direction totally shot. This was a relatively new area to her and her group; she hadn’t committed it to memory just yet. No matter, she could return to them in the morning. She was probably too far to send out any mental notes to her comrades, but she attempted anyway just so they wouldn’t stay up worrying about her. Kate eventually stumbled upon this empty looking house and quickly deduced that the owners must’ve fled this cold place for somewhere warmer for the winter. Perfect! She’d spend the night there, fix herself, and leave without a trace.

Kate grit her teeth as she trudged through the snow and eventually, dragged herself to the back door. The wound on her side felt like ice, and the freezing temperature was not helping her feel any better. With a slight grimace, she pulled her coat sleeve over her fist and punched through the glass of the door. It shattered surprisingly easily and that alone made her raise her brows. Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, Kate opened the back door and threw most of her caution to the wind as she shut the door behind her. There were no neighbors, so she could turn on the lights and no one would care. Kate flicked on the kitchen lights and began working her ‘in real life magick’ after she shed her coat haphazardly on the counter.

Upstairs, you heard quite a commotion going on downstairs. Immediately alarm bells rang in your head. Your parents weren’t due to come back until much, much later. There was an intruder. You slipped out of bed, phone in hand and began to creep out of your room. From where you stood at the top of the stairs, you could see the lights turned on and someone’s shadow dancing across the floor followed by pained muttering.

You took a tentative step down and immediately panicked when it creaked. Time seemed to slow.

“Shit,” you heard your intruder mumble.

A tense second later and you heard they were running towards your direction. You screeched in surprise when you finally caught a glimpse of them and high tailed it back up the stairs, the image of their mask burned into your skull. After all, there was no way a human looked like that.

They chased you up the stairs when you narrowly made it back to your room, accidentally dropping your phone in the process right when you slammed your bedroom door shut as it acted as the only barrier between you and the intruder.

“What the fuck do you want from me?” You cried out as you locked the door, then quickly worked on piling various things in your room against it.

They didn’t pound on your door, nor did they try to violently enter the room, but the doorknob did jiggle a tad too much for your comfort. “Look,” the feminine voice said. “I’m in a lot of pain right now. I don’t have the time to deal with you. If you stay in there and don’t try running or telling anyone about me, I’ll do what I have to and be out of your hair before the morning.” You heard her tap at the door a few times. “Besides, where are you gonna go in a snowstorm like this? Your phone is out here with me, and as far as I can see, no one is coming for you any time soon. Even if you did have your phone, authorities wouldn’t be able to reach you,” she said as she tried to reason with you. “Don’t do anything stupud, and I’ll be gone before you know it.”

“Don’t even think about taking anything-” you began, eyebrows furrowing in rage. You balled your fists and glared at the door while you attempted to control your breathing.

“There’s nothing here I want but medical supplies,” she waved off, clearly exhausted. “I got shot, princess.”

Your eyes widen slightly. “You got shot?”

“I’m not explaining this to you; I don’t have the time,” she sighed in an exasperated tone. You heard her pad away from your door and to the direction of the upstairs bathroom. “You got first aid in here?” You heard her ask.

You wonder if you should answer her or not-

“Never mind,” she said, effectively cutting you from your thoughts.

An awkward silence falls between the two of you for about half an hour as she works on herself. You’re almost certain she’s ready to leave when you hear your phone ring. You instinctively glanced down at your hand only to remember she still has it.

“It’s your mom,” she said, voice on the other side of your door. “Do you uh, want to answer it or not?”

Of course you wanted to answer it.

“Look, I’m not gonna hurt you or anything. You can literally just stick your arm out and I’ll hand you the phone.”

You find yourself more than apprehensive.

“Tell you what,” she said, verbally looking down at the ringing device. “I give you the phone and you let me leave and I won’t hurt you so long as you don’t tell anyone about me.”

Hesitantly, you found yourself cracking the door open to get a good look at the woman who broke into your house. She’s still wearing that mask, but her eyes are so dark it’s like looking in the recesses of the universe and getting pulled into them. She’s not terribly tall, but she’s still taller than you. She looks tired - her body sags slightly. The shot must’ve taken it out of her.

“Give it to me,” you mumbled.

Without any words, she handed you the device, momentarily stopping you before you answered it. “I’ll be back soon to ensure you’re not talking about me. Have fun talking to your mom,” she nonchalantly stated, then nodded for you to answer it.

You shot her a more than confused look before finally answering your mother’s call.

And that was the start of your very strange relationship with the woman you came to know as Kate the Chaser. Though, she preferred you just called her Kate. Kate was a very odd woman, and she was only like, a year or so older than you. The second time she visited, she still had a mask on - something about privacy. You wondered often why she wore it, but she always claimed she had a reason, just could never tell you.

It was odd to admit how you had grown used to her visits. After the first few rocky visits, the two of you had established a schedule. Kate would only visit on the weekends, and your parents could never know she was here. That was fine - she often climbed up to your bedroom window anyways. Sometimes, the two of you would sit on the roof and star gaze. It became all too apparent that Kate enjoyed spending time with you. And slowly, you found yourself enjoying your time with her as well.

The two of you grew to like each other’s time so much that right at the eve of your graduation, she was the first person to wish you congratulations.

She had come into your room like she normally did, by climbing and knocking on your window with a special knock before you let her in. Truthfully, she could have just lifted the thing herself, but she felt it rude and an invasion of privacy (which you found ironic.) After hoisting herself into your room, she took her spot on your bedroom floor, thankful you had a mug of warm tea waiting for her.

“I graduate tomorrow,” you say with a small smile, plucking your mug up from your desk. “I’d kinda like if you were there.”

“I’d love to be, you know that,” Kate replies before taking an appreciative sip of the liquid. “I… I don’t think my boss or my coworkers would be pleased, though. Besides, I’m kinda nocturnal,” she chuckles, making you giggle in response.

In the back of your mind, you wondered why she couldn’t do so many things with you. Everything had been chalked up to her boss, her coworkers, herself. And any time you tried to pry it out of her, she went tight lipped, like she was afraid of telling you anything relating to her. Still, you knew enough of her. She was sarcastic, had a smile like the stars in the sky. And was incredibly knowledgeable on topics you’d never even thought to consider in your daily life. You knew her work, that much was apparent just by looking at her, but you wondered what type of work it was to keep her from you when the sun was out. You knew it was shady, but in order to keep her, you had to resist pushing. “It would be so much better if you were,” you continue, throwing your best puppy dog eyes.

Kate playfully rolls her eyes before ruffling your hair. “Not this time, princess.”

“I legitimately only graduate once,” you reply with a smirk painting itself onto your lips.

“It’s why I came tonight,” she continues as she gestures to the two of you on the floor. “Thought I’d bring you some little gifts to celebrate.” She slings the backpack off her back and opens the biggest pocket. Her hands rummage for a moment before she procures a medium sized leather book. “Here’s the first thing,” she places it in the space between you. “And the next.” out pops a set of high grade art supplies. “This,” now there’s a small little gift basket full of treats you enjoy. “And this thing.” It is a plush giraffe and is donned with a graduation cap.

You smile widely and look over the objects with fascination, gently holding them. The leather journal fascinates you the most. “Where did you get these?” You ask with that same smile.

“Here and there,” Kate answers, her eyes looking over the things she’s gotten for you.

“Thank you so much,” you say in a grateful tone, closing the gap between you and Kate with a hug.

She quietly giggles and hugs you back, her lips pressing to the side of your head. “I’m proud of you, y’know that?”

The two of you chat for a bit more before finally turning to a streaming service. Your parents thankfully, haven’t heard either of you over the sound of some anime playing on the screen, so you’re able to cuddle next to her on the floor and giggle about the world and its happenings as she holds you in her arms. You stay like this until her gaze goes blank, like she’s getting a message only she can hear.

“Have to go,” she says softly. It’s nearing 4 am.

“So soon?” You whisper back, hand holding hers like she’s the only thing grounding you.

“Yeah, work,” she mumbles, quietly standing up to not make too much noise in the quiet house (save for that anime that’s still playing in the background). “I’ll be back before you know it.” She tries to reassure you, her hand gently cupping your cheek.

Your hand meets hers and gently squeezes before she reluctantly leaves your side, heading towards the window. You stand and pad over to her, arms wrapping around her waist and face burying into her back. She smells like the forest. “No,” you mumble.

“His word is law,” she sighs while attempting to turn around to hold you properly. When she can’t get free of your iron grip, she tries something else. “Hey, first thing, you need to rest before the graduation ceremony and, second, just remembered I wanted to give you this.”

You look up from her chest and see she’s unclasping the necklace that’s captivated your attention since you first met her. Your eyes widen slightly when you realize she’s putting it on you. Your hands instinctively reach to look at the pendant, and with it, she’s able to move.

“Promise I’ll be back, so, take good care of it for me,” Another kiss to the top of your head and she’s out the window faster than you can even look up.

You rush to the windowsill to see her running towards the forest with three figures waiting at its edge for her.

She momentarily turns around, waves to you, then disappears into the woods with them.

You feel a slight pang in your heart, but holding the pendant between your fingertips quells it until she returns.

[wordsfromthesol]

Just A Facade (1/2)

Author: @wordsfromthesol Pairing: Jason Todd x Reader Summary:  Dick is very confused that his brothers seem to all be getting along with you, and worse…wanting to help you. And wait…were you dating his brother?! Warnings:  Violence, getting shot, cursing Word Count: 2.2k Taglist: @zphilophobiaz @anousiemay @malfoys-demigod @pricetagofficial

“What do you mean we are working with Y/N?” Dick questioned his brother.

“It’s her case, she needs back-up.” Jason simply stated.

“She tried to kill me last week!”

“That sounds like a you problem.”

“I have no problem with her, what’s the case?” Tim chimed in.

“I’m glad you asked, replacement.” Tim rolled his eyes at Jason’s nickname. “But I’m going to let her explain it. Be here tomorrow, 10am.”

“She has not entrusted you with the information, has she?” Damian grunted out.

Jason swiftly punched him in the arm, “Shut up demon.”

“Did no one hear me?! She tried to kill me last week! Why are we helping her?” Dick attempted to plead his case once again.

“Can you really blame her though…” Jason reasoned as he turned to walk away, Tim and Damian following closely behind. Dick was left dumbfounded at the table.  

**

10 am rolled around quickly for boys that spent all night patrolling, but they all sat at the table holding back yawns when you sauntered through the door.

“Hello boys, good to see you all.” You sent a knowing smirk Dick’s way. Before any of them could reply you continued, “So here’s the deal. Kids have been going missing.” You slid a file over towards Tim. “I need you to find the pattern.” Your voice wavered on the last syllable. In one second your demeanor completely changed as you accidentally let the façade drip away. “They’re just kids and someone is taking them, but no one seems to care.” You closed your eyes, as you caught your mistake. Taking a breath, your persona slowly morphed back into that which you had carefully constructed. “They don’t have the same birthdays, none of them seem to be from the same socioeconomic class…I could list the differences for days. I found two things connecting them: one, they’re all 12 years old, two, their guardians don’t notice or simply don’t care.”

“Well, they all have different zodiac signs. Someone could be trying to collect them all.” Tim blurted out as he continued to scan the pages.

“I didn’t notice that…” your voice went somber. Maybe if I had, one less kid would be missing…You shook yourself back into character. “Guess that’s why I came here. Anyways, four kids have been taken so far. I circled the most likely locations where they went missing. I count four little birdies, so I was thinking you could each hit a scene. Find something I missed.”

“And that leaves you where?” Dick questioned your intentions.

“I’m going to stay here and review the file, that computer there has more resources than mine.” You stated blatantly while pointing at the large monitor across the room.

“You, stay in the cave, alone…I don’t think so.”

“Ask Alfred to come babysit then. I’ve been to those scenes a dozen times.” You sucked in a breath, attempting to hide your sorrow and frustration. “I’m more useful here.”

“Lighten up Dickie, she’s been alone here dozens of times.” Jason taunted his older brother as he gave him a quick jab to the side.

“SHE’S WHAT?!” This caused an eruption of laughter in everyone…except Dick.

“Come on Dick, we’ll have more luck while it’s light out. Let’s go.” Tim composed himself and tried to ease the situation. “We’ll let you know if we find anything.” Tim directed the words towards you as he turned to leave.

“Tt, when we find something.” Damian mumbled before following his brother.

Dick sighed as he realized he was outnumbered, “Fine, but I’m getting Alfred before I leave.”

“Whatever makes you feel better sunshine.”

**

The boys didn’t get back until nearly dark, and none of them had very good news.

“Look, Y/N/N, we all took pictures.” Tim sighed, not wanting to admit defeat just yet. “I’ll compare the scenes and hopefully something will pop up. We’ll get this…” Tim consoled you as he placed a comforting hand on your shoulder.

“Yeah.” You took in a deep sigh, mentally reminding yourself to stay composed. “Do you still need this file?”

“No, take it. Remember to sleep though.”

You nodded walking over to table, where both the file, Damian, and Jason were sitting.

“I would be honored to pose as bait.”

A faint smile graced your lips, “Thanks Dami, but I’m afraid you don’t fit the bill. They’ve all been 12 years old, remember?”

“I can pass for 12!”

“I’m sure they go on more information than looks…but thanks.” You turned to leave but stopped as you felt a hand on your shoulder.

“Y/N, leave that here and take a break. When we do find these people, you need to be sharp.” Jason leaned in closer and whispered, “I can’t let you get hurt.”

“I’ll be fine, Jay. I’ve survived worse…”

“Heh, yeah. Guess so. Want me to walk you home?” Jason tried to mask the obvious concern in his voice.

“So you can just take the file as you leave?” You followed his cue and leaned in, whispering, “I think not my little Jaybird.”

Jason threw his hands up in defense, knowing you weren’t going to let this go. Dick waited for you to leave before he erupted.

“Are you all friends with her?! SHE TRIED TO KILL ME!”

“Did she really though?” Tim questioned his eldest brother, who just looked at him perplexed. “I mean…you’ve seen her fight, was she pulling her punches? Did she seem to move in slow motion? Did she stop as soon as whatever league members with her were gone?”

Dick’s mouth opened wide, as if to begin to answer, but he quickly shut it as his brows furrowed.

“She’s tried to kill me too…” Jason said with air quotes around the words.

“Same here” Tim chimed. Dick looked to Damian.

“Do not turn your gaze upon me, my mother would never allow the league to come after me.”

“I think there are other things at play that you don’t know about Dickie.” Jason tried to reason with his older brother as he turned to leave.

**

Dick still didn’t trust you, so a few hours later he made his way to your apartment. Crouching on a nearby ledge, he watched as you poured over documents scattered about the table before you. Suddenly you thrust your hands across the desk and collapsed to the floor. Is she crying? Now Dick was thoroughly confused, but his gazed was still fixed on you. After nearly a minute, you stood up and carefully began picking up the papers and photographs and placing them back on the desk. He watched as your head jerked towards the door, and as you stalked into the kitchen and reached for your gun. Seconds later the front door flew across the living room. As Dick swung towards you, he saw you place a bullet directly between the man’s eyes.

**

The crash of the window caused your focus to falter, however, you were relieved as you noticed the familiar black and blue costumed character glide across the floor and land at your side. Nodding at him you leapt over the kitchen counter and threw your body weight at the next assailant entering your apartment. His head rammed into the wall, knocking him out cold. You looked up and saw a gun pointed your direction. You quickly positioned the unconscious body between yourself and the gun. Unfortunately, this gun-for-hire didn’t care much for his coworker and shot directly through him. The bullet lodged itself in your stomach.

“Nightwing, give me some cover!” You screamed out and ran for the table, throwing as much as you could into a nearby backpack. Grabbing your phone, you took pictures of all the information that was plastered on your walls. You looked back to see Dick landing the final punch and called out again. “Window!” Before you had time to check that he heard you, or was behind you, you jumped.

Immediately you spread your arms and legs out in order to slow you down as much as possible. Part of you almost wished that you didn’t feel that arm wrap around your waist. You held back a pained scream as the hand fell directly over the fresh bullet wound. Dick turned to you as your feet hit the ground.

“Are you fucking crazy?!”

You only shrugged, “How many are left? Where’s your car?”

Even with the domino mask, you could tell Dick was glaring at you. “Three more were in the hallway. I noticed two vans, and an armed man at each exit. Motorcycle is three blocks down.”

“Alright, lead the way.”

As you walked through streets, you pulled one of the backpack straps loose and tied it tightly around your stomach. You could only hope the adrenaline was enough to get you to the cave. Just as you passed the first alley, an arm grabbed you and slammed you against the brick. Your arm reached up and wrapped around his neck as you kicked off from the wall. His body collided with the adjacent wall, as he struggled to free himself from your grasp. Soon you felt his body go heavy in your arms and you laid him to the ground just as two more assailants rounded the corner. You lunged at the closest one, while Nightwing came up behind and kicked the other’s legs from under him. Suddenly you began hearing gunfire ring through the air. Before you could get to the ground another bullet pierced your side, a mere inch away from the first. Thankfully, Nightwing quickly disarmed the man shooting blindly around the corner.

As the two of you rounded the corner you tossed your backpack to Dick. “Make sure Tim gets this. It could be helpful.” You could feel the pain burning through your whole body, the initial shock worn off. Dick looked at you, confused, but took the backpack anyways. The two of you made it to the motorcycle without any more fighting, but you looked at it wondering how you were going to hold on. You still don’t even know how you made it.

Walking into the cave you ignored the boys who quickly began to pour over the new information that Dick scattered across the table. You headed straight to the medical station, which thankfully Alfred had neatly organized. You quickly found what you needed and set up a table near the hospital bed.

You began cutting through your shirt but stopped short of the backpack strap as you noticed black spots creeping up in your vision. “Fuck.” Blinking rapidly to push them back, you threw your hand out, searching for the tweezers on the table. Your hand hit the tray instead, you winced at the sound of the metal clashing with the floor. Soon, all eyes were on you.

“Y/N? What the fuck? Are you hit?” Jason words rung through your head as he raced to your side.

“I got it…” You swung your legs over the side of the bed, in a sad attempt to recollect the tools on the ground. Jason steadfastly pushed you back into place.

“No you don’t. Stay. Please.” His head whipped around towards his brother, “I know you don’t like her…but really?” The disdain rose up in Jason’s voice before his attention turned back to you.

Dick’s head fell, “I didn’t know.” He whimpered before heading back near the computer to help Tim.

Jason made quick work of the wound, “Alright doll…I know it’s not the prettiest, but you’re all set.”

“Uhm…Jay…” Your eyes blinking heavily, you reached for the scissors in his hand. Reluctantly, he let you have them. You cut away the strap revealing another wound.

“Dammit Y/N!” Jason screamed a little too loudly, his eyes filled with worry. Dick rushed to his side.

“What happened?!” He was already thinking the worst.

“Nothing pretty boy. I just need more supplies.” Jason pushed passed his brother. “She was hit twice, apparently.”

“Twice? How did I not…” Dick mouthed under his breath. “Is that the backpack strap?” He began to question you. “When were you hit?!”

“Uhm…first at the apartment.” You winced as Jason dug into your skin with the tweezers. “The damn bullet went right through him.” A faint smile graced your lips. “Not fair…” you mumbled. “Second one got lucky.” Your voice grew more brittle. “Shooting blind…”

“I gave her some morphine. She’s probably going to be out of it for awhile.” Jason said without looking up from his work.

“I didn’t know, Jay.”

“Somehow, I don’t know if that’s better.” Jason chided as he pulled the final stitch through the wound.

“Awe, come on Jaybird. You can’t be mad at that cute face.” Your head moved upwards motioning in Dick’s direction, the morphine taking hold.

“Looks pretty punchable to me.”

“Don’t worry,” you brought your hands up to cradle his face, “yours is still so much cuter.”

Dick’s face dropped, “Wait…are you two –”

His words were cut off as Jason quickly shut down the conversation. “Doll, I think it’s time for you to get some rest.”

You pursed your lips, “But I’m not tired.”

“I think you are.” Jason quickly scooped you into his arms and practically ran up the stairs, headed towards his old room.

[cakesunflower]

Who’s Gonna Love You Like Me? [Brother’s Best Friend!Calum AU] Part 10

A/N: This is it, you guys!!! This is the LAST part of “Who’s Gonna Love You Like Me?”!!! I honestly thought this was gonna be the second to last part, as I had said before, but it’s actually the last one. I MIGHT do an epilogue, though I’m not 100% sure. If I do, it’ll be a short one. Nonetheless, this is the final part of this story, and I can’t thank y’all enough for reading it! I hope you enjoyed reading about Josie and Calum as much as I enjoyed writing for them. I hope you revisit them soon! For the final time (for this fic anyway), happy reading, babies!!

Previous Parts: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9

           Josie smoothed down the front of her dress, the floral maroon print one she admired as she fixed the slit on the skirt. It was a happy occasion and despite the weight on her chest, Josie was determined to enjoy it. So with her heels strapped and her hand grabbing her purse, she left her bedroom and went downstairs, heels clicking against the stairs as she tried to listen for Luke. Her eyebrows furrowed when she looked out the window in the living room, letting out a breath. His car wasn’t in the driveway. He’d already left.

           Which was fine, Josie figured. Calum was picking her up anyway. Josie sighed once again. And so the silence from her brother continued.

           When Calum pulled up in front of the house, Josie locked the door behind her and slid into the passenger seat, feeling some relief as Calum leaned over and greeted her with a kiss. His thumb brushed against her chin as he lightly cupped her face, brown eyes light as he said, “You look beautiful.”

           Her cheeks warmed as she settled in her seat, eyeing the black suit he was wearing. “So do you,” she responded with a cheeky wink, earning a laugh from Calum as he began driving.

           They chatted comfortably as Calum drove them downtown where the party was. It had been a while since Luke found out about everything, but that didn’t overshadow the excitement of Michael proposing to Crystal. He’d been planning it for a while, and her two friends’ happiness was a welcome focus that helped Josie ignore the fallout her own love life had brought. She spent the days listening to her brother’s footsteps around the house if the two of them happened to be home at the same time, and every time Josie would think Luke was about to come to her, to finally talk, she’d be sourly mistaken as he continued to do his own thing.

           Luke’s lack of communication bled into his act of sometimes spending the night at Sierra’s place, leaving Josie to either spend the night alone in the house or spend it at Calum’s. Every day of silence from him gave her more of an initiative to find a place of her own. That had been the plan from the start, hadn’t it? Crash with Luke for a while as she searched for an apartment of her own. So she had started looking; asking her coworkers if they knew of any apartments for rent, searching some up whenever she could. There were a few potential prospects, but Josie hated that even just the thought of moving out of the house—Luke’s house—had her stomach twisting uncomfortably. She didn’t want to move out, honestly. At the very least, have the memory of her moving out of Luke’s place be sadder than it already was.

           Josie bit her lower lip. When had she started thinking of it as Luke’s place instead of home?

           They arrived to the destination about forty-five minutes later, a restaurant right by the beach, and Michael and Crystal had rented out the roof portion for their engagement party. It was beautifully decorated, no doubt Crystal’s doing, with lights strung up above their heads and floral vines wrapped around the railings. The sun was going to set soon, and the air was filled with the salty scent of the sea, the sound of waves crashing against the shore forming a symphony, almost, with the music playing.

           There were rectangle tables, seating ten, scattered around purposefully, leaving enough space for a dancefloor, all around with beautiful floral center pieces. A bar was set up, as well as a table filled with dessert foods, including the engagement cake, and a lettered banner spelling out the couple’s names hung behind it. The colors of everything were a pretty combination of white and lilac, and the lights provided for a soft glow throughout the rooftop.

           As soon as she stepped onto the roof, Calum’s fingers laced with hers, Josie’s eyes somehow managed to find her brother. Luke stood next to Sierra, chatting with some of Crystal’s friends Josie had met in passing, and Josie’s breath stilled when Luke’s blue eyes met hers. He was on the other side of the roof, but Josie still caught the way his smile froze on his face before faltering a bit, the lightness of his eyes diminishing as he observed her and Calum. And then, just as quickly, he looked away, and Josie’s grip on Calum’s hand tightened along with the fist around her heart.

           How long was this going to go on?

           Josie looked away just in time to see Calum glance at her, a concerned glaze in his eyes as he briefly followed her gaze to see where Luke stood. Calum squeezed her hand in return and Josie looked up at him, returning his gaze with a smile. It was easy to smile around him. Nodding his head, Calum said, “Come on—let’s go see Mike and Crystal.”

           She nodded, allowing Calum to guide her to where their friends were standing. The two of them were glowing, which was the first thing Josie noticed as they approached them. There was such a tangible happiness engulfing the engaged couple, and it only brought the smile to Josie’s face, allowing her to forget whatever weighed heavily on her head and heart.

           For the next hour or so, Josie and Calum stayed side by side, chatting with their friends as well as Michael and Crystal’s families. Josie surprised herself by focusing on having a good time rather than letting her gaze wander over to wherever Luke stood, painfully aware of her brother keeping his distance from her. If the others noticed, they didn’t comment on it, knowing full well what had gone down. Still, Josie felt guilty. Their best friend was engaged and Calum and Luke couldn’t rejoice in it without being twenty feet apart or more. Josie would often glance over at Calum, trying to gauge his reaction.

           But her boyfriend was more or less an expert in schooling his expressions, not even letting Josie know what he was thinking or feeling with Luke being right there but not speaking to either of them. God, Josie hated this.

           At one point, she pulled away from the group she and Calum were chatting with, whispering to him the excuse of needing another drink. His eyes met her, and he let his concern show through. Josie just smiled back, giving his hand a squeeze, not wanting to worry him. She knew Calum always seemed to sense her sadness when it came to the shit that was going on with Luke, and the last thing she wanted was for him to feel guilty because of the strain between her and her brother. Just like he didn’t want her to feel guilty about the strain between him and Luke.

           As Josie waited for the bartender to make her a margarita, someone stepped up to her left, and she felt a sigh of relief when Sierra greeted her with a smile. “How’re you doing?” the brunette asked, placing her hand on Josie’s arm.

           She let out a sigh, offering a small smile. “I’m good,” Josie answered, despite feeling a sting at the lie. The close-mouthed smile on Sierra’s face told Josie that she didn’t quite believe her. Licking her lips, Josie asked, “How’s Luke?”

           Sierra let out a sigh, shifting so she was leaning against the bar with her hip, facing Josie. “Stubborn,” she said quietly, twisting her lips to the side. Her dark eyes met Josie’s blue, expression softening. “He’ll come around, Josie.”

           “Will he?” Josie returned, thanking the bartender as the margarita was placed in front of her. She let out a deprecating scoff, not entirely believing Sierra’s words. “It’s been radio silence on his end, Sierra. I’ve given him space and it’s not working. At this point, if I move out, I doubt he’ll notice.”

           Sierra frowned as Josie took a sip of her drink, standing up straight. “You’re moving out?” she questioned, giving a confused shake of her head. “Why?”

           Josie licked her lips after swallowing the sip. A breeze tickled her skin, making the skirt of her dress dance a bit. The salt in the air mixed well with the salt on the rim of her glass. “I wasn’t going to live with him forever,” she shrugged. “I was always gonna move out. I just—I didn’t think it’d be so soon. But with the way things are going, I think it’d be best if I found a place of my own quickly.”

           “So you’re going to give him more distance so he can talk to you?” Sierra asked. “I don’t think that’s how that works, Josie. I mean,” she looked away with a shake of her head, a short laugh escaping her. Josie realized that Sierra looked almost as frustrated as she felt. “Nothing’s gonna get resolved if he doesn’t talk to you. He keeps telling me that he’ll get around to it, but he’s just so fucking stubborn.”

           Josie smiled, almost sadly. So Luke knew he had to talk to her—he just didn’t want to. “He is my brother, after all.”

           “He’s being dumb,” Sierra sighed. “I wouldn’t ever tell anyone how long they can take to process something or how long they can be angry about it, but he’s your brother. “It’s been, like, two weeks? This isn’t some kind of problem that’s going to go away. You and Calum are together and the sooner you guys clear the air with Luke, the better. I know he doesn’t want to lose his friendship with Calum. It’s just—it’s so frustrating to see you all upset.”

           A-freaking-men.

           It wasn’t even fifteen minutes later, though, that Luke would finally break his silence.

           Josie had just left the bathroom, walking down the wide hall that would ultimately lead her to the door back out onto the roof, only to stop when she saw her brother’s large frame walking towards her. For a moment, Josie assumed he’d walk right past her, but was surprised when Luke stopped in front of her with a frown knitting together his eyebrows.

           “Are you moving out?” he demanded, and Josie wondered if she was imagining the hurt that colored his tone.

           She blinked up at him, not entirely expecting that. “What?”

           “Sierra said you were looking for an apartment—so, what, you’re gonna move out? Just like that?”

           Despite the surprise of Luke talking to her, in addition as to why he was speaking to her in the first place, Josie wanted to laugh. “You know I was gonna move out eventually, Luke. Staying at your place was temporary.”

           He frowned, pressing his jaw together briefly. His fingers twitched and Josie knew he was itching to run them through his hair, which was slicked back, so he kept himself from doing so. Luke exhaled sharply through his nose before shrugging in question. “So, what? You’re just gonna leave without word?”

           That had Josie mirroring his frown, though hers was deeper and more surprised. “I—No, I wasn’t,” she stammered through a startled laugh. “I still have to find a place and I—I would’ve told you.”

           He raised his eyebrows, skeptical. The music was a bit muffled, the party outside continuing as the two of them stood alone in the hallway. “Really? You would’ve told me?” Luke scoffed, looking unconvinced. “Thought you picked up a habit of keeping things from me.”

           Josie’s lips thinned, heart thudding in her chest as her expression fell. The bitterness in his voice hadn’t gone unnoticed, and even in the dim lighting of the hall, she picked up on the flash of regret that appeared across his face. “We were going to tell you, Luke,” Josie said quietly, carefully. Maybe they could finally talk, finally clear the air. “We just didn’t know how. How can you blame us for that?”

           “You’re my sister. He’s my best friend. You two broke my trust. Who else is gonna get blamed?” Luke retorted, sharp words making her flinch. Josie averted her gaze, dropping to her toes just barely peeking through from beneath the hem of her dress, biting the inside of her cheek. Blame, blame, blame. He let out a sigh, eyes closing as he raised his hand and rubbed it down his face. But before he could speak up once more, a new voice cut in through quiet of the hall.

           “We’re not gonna keep apologizing for our relationship, Luke.” Josie’s eyes widened slightly, Luke’s broad shoulders stiffening. She looked past Luke as her brother turned around, hearing Calum’s footsteps approach them. Josie kept her gaze on him as she walked past Luke, dark eyes still on him, as he came to stand next to Josie. She felt a sense of comfort with him now next to her, admiring eyes peering up at her boyfriend who stood confidently in front of her brother. “We’re sorry we hurt you, man—we really are. You know it’s the last thing we’d want to do—no matter how pissed you are at us, you know that’s true. But we’re not gonna apologize for our relationship.”

           Luke scoffed, rolling his eyes slightly. “Yeah, you’ve made that clear,” he said, tone dry.

           Josie clenched her jaw, for the first time feeling anger rather than just guilt over hurting her brother. “What do you want us to do, Luke?” she demanded, surprised at the steadiness of her voice, catching his attention. “Do you want us to break up? Would that make things better? Will you stop being pissed off at us then?”

           “That’s exactly what I’m afraid of, Josie,” Luke snapped, his glare returning as sharp blue eyes kept steady with hers. She stared right back, unwavering. “You think I don’t want you two to be happy? That’s not fucking it. I’m just afraid of the possibility of this thing between you two ending badly. I know both of you too well, know how you both deal with relationships. It’s messy on its own—how’s it supposed to work together?”

           Josie gaped at him, lips parting as a disbelieving scoff escaped her. Frankly, she was insulted at Luke’s words. Her guilt was melting into irritation, realizing that although Luke was valid in whatever he was feeling, that didn’t give him the right to basically insult her and Calum. “So, what, just because I’ve had shitty relationships and Calum’s barely been in any, we’re automatically, what, not gonna last?”

           Calum scoffed, looking just as bothered by Luke’s words as she was. With an affronted scowl and shake of his head, he all but sneered, “That’s a gross generalization, Luke. And an unfair one. You’re worried about an end of a relationship that’s barely even started, and even then, I’m gettin’ the feeling you’re more concerned about where it’s gonna leave you than what it’s gonna do to us.” Josie noticed the hardening of Calum’s voice, and knew that like her, he was growing angrier than upset, too. All of their emotions were heightened at this point, and Josie’s hopes of having a civilized conversation seemed to be slipping away. Unsurprising, since she was contributing to it. “You called us selfish for getting together, but you’re not too far off from it, either.”

           Her brother’s eyes flashed, darkening in aggravation and insult, but Josie kept her lips pressed together. She’d be lying if she said she disagreed with Calum’s words, knowing there was some truth in them. Josie saw both sides of this situation perfectly. She knew where she and Calum were coming from, of course; this wasn’t just some fling between them. What they had. . . It was more real than any of Josie’s previous relationships had been. Sure, they hadn’t been together long, but she and Calum have known each other for years. They’re familiar, friends, had a preexisting relationship that only developed further into the intimate one they had now. Her and Calum were new but established, and despite the secrets and sneaking around, they never felt wrong.

           That being said, Josie didn’t really fault Luke for his anger. His best friend and sister running around everyone’s backs no doubt hurt—Josie would’ve felt the same way if the tables were turned. And although she couldn’t speak from a genuine perspective, given that she wasn’t in Luke’s shoes, she liked to think she would’ve let go of some of her anger to actually see the relationship in front of her, to give them the benefit of the doubt. Was it too much to ask for Luke to do the same?

           Apparently so, given that he was already dreading the end of her and Calum’s relationship.

           Josie’s throat tightened, and her anger melted into sadness once more. Looking at Luke, she said, “You’re so busy worrying about the side you’ll have to take if Calum and I broke up that you won’t even think about the possibility of not having to pick any sides at all.” Josie shook her head, releasing a heavy sigh, though it did nothing to lessen the weight on her shoulders. “I know we hurt you, Lu. And we’re sorry about it. But I’m tired of tying my relationship with Calum to constantly being worried about what you’ll think.”

           She reached for Calum’s hand, feeling calm when his fingers automatically laced with hers, catching the way Luke’s eyes dropped to their joined hands. His expression softened, ever so slightly, and Josie swallowed the lump in her throat before her lips curled into a small, sad smile. Her voice, though, remained firm. “You’re my brother and I love you, but I don’t need your permission or approval to love someone else.”

           Josie barely registered Calum’s grip on her hand tightening, her attention solely on her brother, whose forehead smoothed as understanding seemed to dawn on his features, blinking with parted lips. Her heart wasn’t racing, much to her surprise, as a silence followed her words, disrupted only by the muffled sound of the party going on outside. She and Calum merely watched Luke, waiting for him to say something, wondering if he even would. Her brother merely gazed at her, looking surprised and taken aback, momentarily frozen where he stood.

           And then he sighed, looking away briefly as he rolled his lips into his mouth and gave a shake of his head. His jaw clenched under his beard, shoulders dropping slightly. There was a spark of hope in Josie’s chest when she noted the acceptance that seemed to creep across his features. Blue eyes on her and Calum, Luke said, “I’d never want you two to be. . . Not happy.” He paused, huffing as he tried to find the right words to say. Josie and Calum waited patiently. “I can’t apologize for being angry and hurt because I am—I was.”

           “We wouldn’t want you to,” Calum told him calmly, truthfully.

           Luke looked at him, offering a small nod. “But I can apologize for how I’ve been acting and the shit I’ve said. You two—” He let out a breath and, for the first time in a while, offered them both a smile that had Josie’s breath catching. “You’re some of my best friends.” Josie smiled when she noted the way Luke pointedly looked at Calum when he said that. “I never meant to be an ass and hurt you, just like I know you never meant to hurt me. I’m sorry.”

           “Us too,” Calum returned quietly, jaw tight. “We shouldn’t have pushed you and let you process everything at your own pace. We didn’t mean to make things harder.”

           “We know you were only worried about us—about all of us,” Josie chimed in sincerely, feeling the weight on her chest slowly lift. With a carefully playful smile, she added, “Just save it for if it ever happens.”

           “Which I don’t think it will,” Calum said right after, his tone confident and steady as he shot Josie a grin, one she couldn’t help but return as he gave a squeeze of her hand.

           Luke looked at them, letting out a light scoff before smiling wryly. Nevertheless, he agreed, “Yeah, I don’t think so either.” Josie grinned widely this time, blue eyes meeting his, before Luke smirked and pointed at Calum with a warning finger. “But if you break her heart, I’m still going to kick your ass.”

           Calum rolled his eyes, but grinned either way. No one mentioned how despite Luke’s broadness and height, he couldn’t really hurt anyone. Though, when it comes to his sister, who knew. Wanting to ease the nonexistent tension, Josie piped up, “What if I break his heart? You gonna kick my ass, too?”

           Luke smirked, offering a nonchalant shrug. “No. I’ll just tell Mom.”

           Next to her, Calum stifled a snicker while Josie gaped at her brother, who seemed all too proud by his threat. Flatly, Josie said, “That’s fucked up.”

           This time, Calum did laugh, Luke joining in, before her brother said, “What’s fucked up is you wanting to move out.” His expression grew serious, eyebrows drawing together as he looked down at her. “You’re not actually going to, are you?”

           Josie’s eyebrows raised, mildly surprised. “You want me to stay?”

           Luke rolled his eyes, looking almost exasperated. “My home’s your home, idiot. Of course I want you to stay.”

           She snorted. “That’s so sweet.” Despite her sarcasm, the relief that flooded through Josie was clear. It wasn’t that she couldn’t afford her own place or she was hesitant on living alone—she was just enjoying living with Luke. She hadn’t seen her brother for years, save for the holidays and rare weekends, and living with him was a way to catch up on lost time. Josie definitely owed Sierra dinner and a few drinks for informing Luke of Josie’s—now revoked—decision to move. It served as a catalyst for Luke to finally talk to her. She smiled then, genuinely. “Thanks, Luke.”

           He took a step towards her and Josie’s body relaxed as Luke pulled her in for a hug, and she didn’t realize how much she needed this until his towering frame wrapped around her own. She returned the embrace tightly, closing her eyes to revel in the warmth of her brother that had been absent for too long. Now it really did feel like a step forward in the right direction.

           When they pulled away, Luke offered them both a smile and jutted his thumb over his shoulder. “I’ll see you two out there,” he said with a low chuckle before turning and walking down the hall towards the door leading to the rooftop.

           Josie couldn’t stop smiling as she watched her brother’s retreating back, letting out a long breath once Luke was out of sight and turning to face Calum. Her boyfriend looked just as satisfied with that conversation as she felt, her giddiness returning in full swing, the weight on her shoulders gone the second Luke resolved things with them.

           “I feel like I can breathe again,” she said with an airy laugh, shaking her head in relief as she rubbed her hands down the sides of her thighs, smoothing the nonexistent wrinkles in her dress out in the process.

           Calum looked at her, and Josie was confused at the amusement she saw settle on his features, tilting his head at her. When she raised her eyebrows in bewildered questioning, Calum let out a short chuckle with a shake of his head. “You didn’t even realize what you said to Luke just a few minutes ago, did you?”

           Josie blinked, looking away at nothing in particular to rattle her brain, wondering what Calum was talking about. To be honest, she’d wanted that conversation with Luke to be over as quickly as possible so they could reach to a point of being alright with each other again, which she had been desperate for. “Uh. . .” She trailed off, lips tilting downwards as she shook her head. “Not really?”

           Briefly, she wondered if she should feel bad about not remembering whatever Calum did, eyeing him skeptically and worriedly. But he still looked amused, maybe even a little bit fond, with that boyish smirk tilting his lips as he took a step towards her. Josie kept her gaze locked with his, wondering where this was going. What had she said? “You told Luke,” Calum spoke up with an inhale, body towering over hers, right hand reaching to gently grasp her left. “That you didn’t need his permission to love someone else.”

           His words immediately rung a loud, alarming bell in Josie’s head, her eyes widening slightly as her throat dried, remembering exactly what Calum was talking about. Her heart stopped for a moment as the familiar scent of Calum’s cologne tickled her nose, but she was too busy realizing the magnitude of what she had said—and the unbridled truth behind it.

           The world around her disappeared and Josie wasn’t sure if she was more frustrated at the fact that she just so nonchalantly all but admitted the extent of her feelings for Calum, or the fact that she didn’t even remember doing so. It had just slipped out in the heat of the moment, and Josie kind of hated that it did as a way of trying to persuade Luke into forgiving them. Her love for Calum, no matter how true it may be, wasn’t meant to be used as some sort of ploy. She hoped to God Calum didn’t think that’s how she meant it.

           When she met his gaze once more, her air in her lungs stilled, she still only found amusement and fondness in his eyes, with a warmth glazing over that had Josie letting out a breath. “I meant it.” The words rushed out of her mouth quickly, though no less true. Calum raised his eyebrows subtly and she knew he was only teasing her, but she wasn’t going to stop there. There was no point to. And she didn’t feel nervous, which Josie realized as she let out a breath. There was no anxiety, no worry, and that made it all the more easy to finally tell him, “I love you.”

           Not for a second did Josie think it may be too soon to say those three no doubt significant words to Calum—it felt too right for it to be too soon. The two of them. . . They’ve known each other for so long, had been close long before that night in her dorm room, and it wasn’t startling that her fond love for her friend so effortlessly developed into a wanting, accepting love for her boyfriend. Being with Calum was so easy; she didn’t have to be someone else, didn’t have to worry about anything—other than the whole situation with Luke, but even that was now resolved.

           Calum made her feel wanted and safe and loved—more so than anyone else ever had. He did so when they were just friends, and even more now. How could she not be in love with him?

           She peered up at him, confident and sure and unafraid, her heart fluttering in her chest as Calum’s grin widened with a short laugh. He could probably feel the warmth of her cheeks as both of his hands reached up to cup her face, his touch soft as always, and Josie adored the crinkles that appeared by his brightened eyes. That smile of his—breathtaking as always. If Josie had any doubts, they disappeared as Calum responded, just as earnestly, “I love you, too.”

           Electricity coursed through her veins as Calum closed the gap between them, his kiss only emphasizing the sentiment he just proclaimed. Heat exploded across her skin and in her chest as she kissed him back, allowing Calum to back her up until her back was pressed against the wall and his front was wonderfully pressed into hers. The music playing in the distance was muffled, all of Josie’s senses willingly being taken over by Calum. He kissed her deeply, earnestly, like it was the last time he would be able to do so, and her own hands were pressed against his chest, willing herself not to take the material of his shirt into her fist as to not cause any wrinkles.

           Calum was smiling against her lips, her heart flipping because she couldn’t help but smile in return, a foolishly giddy laugh bubbling past her throat. She wanted to stay right in that hallway with him, stay this close, but she knew they couldn’t, no matter how badly she yearned to. “We should get back out there,” Josie said breathlessly, tingling lips brushing against his as she spoke.

           His hands slid down to her hips, but Calum didn’t pause in pressing more kisses to Josie’s lips. She’d have to reapply her lipstick, but she didn’t care. Not when his lips were so soft and inviting. “No one’ll miss us,” Calum replied, his voice a low murmur that sent shivers down her spine.

           She laughed gently, accepting his kisses briefly. “Tonight’s about our friends,” Josie reminded him, knowing that would get Calum to go back outside. Honestly, she’d rather stay right in this position, but she wasn’t going to hide out from Michael and Crystal’s engagement party—no matter how delicious her hiding space was.

           “Fine, fine. You win,” Calum grumbled, pulling away after pressing one last kiss. He looked down at her, a boyish smirk on his face. “Gotta fix your lipstick first.”

           She scoffed, her gaze going to his own mouth, noting the pinkish-nude tint that rubbed off on his lips. With a teasing laugh, she quipped, “I could say the same to you.”

           They walked out a few moments later after fixing themselves up, and Josie noticed with an awe-filled gasp the color of the sky. The sun was setting and the sky was painted in a gorgeous combination of purple, pink, and yellow, reflecting against the ocean that was in front of them. At one point, Josie found herself by the front railing, putting her phone away after taking some much needed pictures with her friends and of the sunset before admiring it.

           The time to herself lasted only a few moments, not that she minded, because soon two people were flanking her side and Josie stood straight when she heard Ashton greet, “Hey, kid.”

           She grinned, glancing at the black haired man to her right. “You know you just make yourself sound old when you call me that.”

           Ashton rolled his eyes while Michael snickered before saying, “Looks like Luke and Cal made up.”

           His observation had the three of them turning around, backs against the railing, and Josie easily found the two men in question. They were by the bar, drinking and chatting animatedly, and it was almost comical how relieving the sight was for Josie. The two of them were talking as if nothing had changed, and Josie was grateful for it. “Yeah,” she breathed out with a smile. “Everything’s good now.”

           “Thank fuck,” Michael praised with a shake of his head. “I couldn’t take the tension anymore.”

           Josie scoffed, shooting the engaged man an unimpressed look. “You couldn’t? I live with Luke.”

           Michael gave an acknowledging tilt of his head. “Yeah, wouldn’t wanna be you.”

           “But everything’s fine now,” Ashton cut in swiftly in an attempt to appease Josie before she retorted at Michael’s statement. “It was only a matter of time.”

           Both Michael and Josie hummed in agreement, and as she watched the party continue on in front of them, a realization dawned on Josie. She’d been so worried about her boyfriend and brother, she hadn’t given much thought to the two other equally important friends that made up the boys’ group. Josie felt a surge of guilt for being selfish, not sparing any consideration to how Michael and Ashton had been dealing with their two friends not on speaking terms. No doubt it was tense and awkward for them, unsure of whose side to be on, how to go about it.

           “Hey—I’m sorry if things got weird for you guys, too,” Josie spoke up. Apologies seemed to be going around today, she might as well deliver a sincere one to these two. Michael and Ashton both looked at her, confused. “Luke and Calum fighting couldn’t have been something you could brush off. I’m sorry if you got, like, caught in the crossfire.”

           Realizing what she was talking about, Ashton scoffed and waved his hand dismissively. “You got nothing to apologize for, Lil’ H.” Despite herself, Josie rolled her eyes at the nickname. She knew no matter her distaste, Ashton wouldn’t stop calling her that—she could tell by the brief smirk he wore. “We knew those two would figure their shit out eventually.”

           “Yeah, and we were right,” Michael shrugged, sipping his drink that Josie was just now realizing he had. “We’re glad, though—especially for your sake. But if there’s one thing Luke and Calum can agree on, it’s how much they love you. So, you know, all’s well that ends well.”

           His words had Josie’s cheeks heating, which she found ridiculous. She and Calum had just told each other they loved each other only a few minutes ago, yet hearing it from others—from people who knew the two of them quite well—ignited a fire under her skin far out of her control. Josie couldn’t lie, though. It was wonderfully thrilling.

           Her gaze once again found Calum and in that moment, he looked towards her too, their eyes meeting despite the distance and people separating them. He paused in bringing his glass to his mouth, throwing a cheekily charming wink her way, and Josie grinned in response. Especially when Luke, noticing Calum’s gesture, looked over his shoulder and his blue eyes found yours. He, in true older brother fashion, rolled his eyes and pretended to gag, which only had Calum shooting him an unimpressed look in response.

           With a shake of her head, unwilling to calm down her excitedly racing heart, Josie shook her head and said to Michael, “Yeah, yeah. Tonight’s not about us—it’s about you and Crystal.”

           “Oh, for sure,” Ashton agreed, and suddenly Josie was wary of the teasing glint in his hazel eyes. “But we all know which bridesmaid the best man’s gonna be hooking up with.”

           Josie’s cheeks flushed before her eyes widened, looking at Ashton before her gaze flashed to Michael. “Wait—I’m in the wedding party?”

           The groom-to-be glared over her head at Ashton, and Josie knew the beans weren’t supposed to be spilled quite yet. They were aware of Calum being Michael’s best man, but Josie hadn’t known about her own involvement in the bridal party. Sure, it wasn’t too shocking, given her history with Michael, but still. It still took her by surprise in the best way. One look at Michael, though, told Josie she was supposed to find out in some other way instead of Ashton just crudely joking about it.

           “Thanks a fucking lot, Ash. Crystal was gonna ask them all in her own way.”

           “Oh, fuck. Josie, pretend you didn’t hear that.”

           Michael threw a hand up. “Like that’s gonna fix it!”

           They dissolved into a round of bickering, though Josie wasn’t quite listening. Instead she just stood between them, an amused and happy smile on her face as their voices melted into the music that was playing. A breeze blew by, chilling her skin, but the sight of Calum and Luke still chatting away was warming enough. Michael had a point; if Josie really thought about it, no one had quite made her feel as loved as both Luke and Calum did, in their own ways. They were her favorite men, easily and truly. She would go so far as to say no one had ever loved her like Luke and Calum did, in the ways they did. And she was more than alright with it.

--

tags: @irwinkitten​ @sweetcherrymike​ @astroashtonio​ @loveroflrh​ @meetashthere​ @loverofhood​ @captain-what-is-going-on​ @angelbbycal​ @singt0mecalum​ @hopelessxcynic​ @lfwallscouldtalk​ @bodhi-black​ @findingliam-o​ @softlrh​ @highfivecalum​ @calumsmermaid​ @erikamarie41​ @quintodosuniversos​ @longlastingdaydream​ @babylon-corgis​ @lukehemmingsunflower​ @miss-saltwatercowgirl​ @pastelpapermoons​ @conquerwhatliesahead92​ @rotten-kandy​ @metangi​ @neigcthood​ @ohhmuke​ @mindkaleidoscope​ @5sos-and-hessa​ @trustmeimawhalebiologist​ @vxlentinecal​ @pettybassists​ @vaporshawn​ @lu-my-golden-boi​ @visualm3nte​ @isabella-mae13​ @dontjinx-it​ @lifeakaharry​ @neonweeknds​ @antisocialbandmate @ixcantxdecidexwhosxmyxfave​ @calpalbby​ @grreatgooglymoogly​ @sunnysidesblog​ @miahelizaaabeth​ @dramallamawithsparkles​ @kaytiebug14​ @hoodskillerqueen​ @bitchinbabylon​ @empathycth​ @xhaileyreneex​ @inlovehoodx​ @bloodlinecal​ @sublimehood​ @madbomb​ @raabiac​ @britnicole11​ @outofmylimitcal​ @wildflower-cth​ @bloodmoonashton​ @wildflowergrae​ @vxidhood​ @gosh-im-short​ @thesubtweeter​ @mycollectionofnuts​ @cthwldflwr​ @everyscarisahealingplace​ @socorroann​ @talkfastromance4​ @calumftduke​ @musichoney​ @treatallwithkindness​ @partlysunnycal​ @dead-and-golden​ @kaeleykaeley​ @harrys-sun-flower​ @br-hoe​  

[ssa-daddyhotchner]

Undercover - Chapter 6

Chapter Selection

Everyone had the weekend off, we had just finished a case in New Hampshire. A man was killing couples in there cars. 

He was a spree killer we tracked him with the type of gun he used and the rounds. It was relatively easy. 

Hotch and I wanted to spend the weekend together so I could meet Jack. 

I woke up and rolled over. Aarons side of the bed was cold, I smelt bacon from the kitchen. The smell made my stomach grumble, I got up and walked down the hallway. 

I walked past Jack's room and his door was open; I peaked in and his bed was messed up. 

I heard faint laughter coming from the Living room. I turned the corner and saw Jack laying down on the couch watching cartoons. While Aaron was making breakfast. 

I walked up behind him and put my hands over his eyes. 

"Guess who", he laughed. "Mom?", I put my hands down and smacked his arm. He grins and chuckles' turning to me.

Jumping onto the counter he uses his knee to separate my legs standing between them. His hands on my hips, and my arms wrapped around his neck; "Morning princess."

"Morning", I nod my head towards Jack who hasn't noticed my presence yet. "He got here early this morning...maybe a few hours ago. 

I looked at the clock, "Its 8:30." 

"Hayley had an early morning, I don't know.....all I care about is spending my weekend with my two favorite people.

I raise my eyebrows at him, "I'm one of your favorite people?"

Aaron nods, "Well I guess your my favorite person too." He smiles and kisses me; breaking it to flip the bacon.

"Jack, I want you to meet someone." Jack glances and jogs over.

"Who are you", I jump off the counter and kneel down to his level. Aaron putting a hand on my shoulder. 

"Well....I'm your dads...", I look at Aaron and he nods letting me know I can tell him the truth. "I'm your dads girlfriend." 

Jack stares at Aaron with an unsure look, I stand back up. "So you make my dad happy?" 

"Yeah she does, and she's gonna be around more often so try not to be so hard on her okay." He pats Jack on the back, and he runs to his room. 

We quickly eat the food and I walk away going into the bedroom.

Getting into the shower letting the hot water relax my muscles. I hear Aaron walk to the bathroom and get in with me. I close my eyes letting the water wash over my face. 

He goes to wash my hair with his shampoo. "I'm not good at reading kids was that a good interaction?", He huffs. "It went well." 

"Didn't look like it to me." I wasn't good with kids, they had a tendency to not like me. "Y/n he's 4 it's gonna take a bit to get used to you that's all...okay", I hum in agreement.

Washing Aaron now, "So Mr. Hotchner what are we doing today." 

"Jack has to practice for his 'soccer' team, they don't keep score but I don't want him to be terrible." 

I chuckle knowing that even though he's on a team that just plays for the exercise, Aaron is still gonna push him. He's a great dad, I though to myself.

Finishing the shower we step out getting changed for our day, I walked over to Aaron; giving him a long and deep kiss then I pull away. 

As I was walking he grabbed my hand spinning me back to him. He pushed his lips to mine putting a hand in my hair. My hand running down his toned chest. 

We jump away form each other when we hear pattering on the floorboards coming towards to bedroom. 

Jack ran into the bedroom and jumped on Aaron. "Dad, I'm ready to go." 

"Ok buddy." We walked to the car and drove to the field. Jack talked the whole time about school, his favorite food, and tv. He asked me if I also caught bad guys; when I told yes his face lit up. 

It made me have the biggest smile on my face. Aaron noticed and smiled back putting a hand on my thigh. 

We arrive to the park and Jack grabs the soccer ball running straight to the field. As me and Aaron take our time we watch as Jack places the ball down before taking a running start; kicking it into the goal. 

We throw our hands up and cheer; Jack turning and flashing us a smile. 

Aaron grabs my hand and we jog over. Jack wanted to have a practice game; there were only three of us.

I was up against the Hotchner boys luckily for me I knew my way around the game, but they didn't need to know that. 

They kick the ball my way I spin around Aaron kicking the ball from between his legs launching it into the goal. 

He looked at me with surprise, "What... Agent Hotchner there are a lot of things you don't know about me." I laughed and tapped his chest walking past him. 

Jack ran towards me to congratulate me on the goal. I pick him up putting him on my shoulders cheering for myself. I set him down and we play another game. 

I kicked it towards them and they kicked it to the end of the field. I ran from behind them; I dove and kicked it into the goal...again.

Aaron walked over to me out of breath, "You're cheating." I had a smug grin on my face and I walked away from them to catch my breath. 

Aaron stepped away when he got a phone call, we had the weekend off we shouldn't be getting called in. He hung up the phone and walked over to us, "We need go now." I shot him a look. 

He put Jack in the car and went to me. "Reids in the hospital...", he lowered his voice so Jack couldn't hear. "He overdosed", he could read the emotions on my face when he reassured me. 

"They're trying to stabilize him, but we need to get over there." 

Team POV

Morgan, Garcia, and JJ wanted to check on Reid. It had now been a week since his mom passed. 

They were trying to check up on him but he wouldn't answer their calls. When they called the phone would go straight to voicemail.

It had been a few days since that last talked to him. They heard no movement inside the apartment; it was still. Morgan decided he was gonna pick the lock. 

They walked in to find the apartment was in good condition. No books everywhere, there were no dishes everywhere, the trash was taken out; but there was no sign of Spencer

Garcia walked into his bedroom and saw a foot by his door in the bathroom. When she walked closer she called out for Derek. 

Reid's skin was pale, he was cold, his lips were turning blue, pulse was weak, and he was barley breathing. 

As Garcia and Morgan took Spencer to the hospital JJ called everyone else to let them know what happened.

Y/N POV

We dropped Jack off with Hayley; Aaron and I rushed to hospital. We were met with the team outside of his room. 

The doctors had stabilized him but he just barley made it through. If Garcia didn't find him when she did he would've died. 

He was unconscious for the time being. All of us sitting in the waiting room; there was still no word on how he was doing so far. 

We only left the hospital to go get food or maybe some sleep. He was family to us and we were gonna get him through this. 

The doctors finally let us into his room, they informed us it still might be awhile till he wakes up.

Reid's mom was all he had. When she passed a piece of him died along with her. 

The team was in his room scattered around; when we heard something. 

Reid had opened his eyes, "Where am I." 

________________________

We all looked up at a confused Reid. He looked pinker but we was still pale. His lips were chapped, and he was sweating. 

His voice was small like he was embarrassed, "Y/n, can you get me a trash can." I nodded. When I came back I gave it to him.

He sat up and held the bucket for a moment; then he started vomiting. It had been around 4 days since his overdose. 

He was starting to withdrawal... again. We should have addressed his addiction the first time he started using then maybe he wouldn't be here. 

My head started to fill with what ifs. Reid looked at around the room and we all frowned at him. JJ walked over and sat next to him; holding his hand. 

"Spence... what happened", he avoided our eyes and looked down. He tensed up and pulled his hand away from JJ.

His voice was breaking, "I just wanted to fe- better, I didn't know I had taken so much. My vision blurred, and I hit the floor." 

"Spence you could've talked to us." He didn't say a word; he laid back down, closing his eyes and going to sleep. We took the hint and left but JJ stayed behind not leaving his side. 

Knowing that he was going to be fine physically helped a lot; mentally Reid was fucked up and all we could do was be there for him. 

Aaron and I were going to leave and go get Jack. When we got to Hayley's she wouldn't let him leave the house. 

"Aaron he's not a game that you can pass back and forth whenever you want, he's a child and I don't need him to feel overwhelmed." 

She shouted at him sparking an argument, I stayed in the car not wanting cause any other problems. Hayley didn't even know I existed and that was an argument for another time. 

She was furious at this point, there was a moment I thought she was gonna hit him; I would've gotten out the car but I left it alone. 

Aaron came back without Jack; he was clearly frustrated. As we were driving to his place, I saw him gripping the steering wheel till his knuckles turned white. 

His gaze was dead set on the road ahead. I reached my hand out and put it on his. 

He broke his gaze and looked at me. "Baby it's going to be okay", his face rested and he dropped his hand into mine on the center console. His breathing slowed as he took deep breaths. 

I didn't blame him for being so upset; his coworker almost just died, and now he couldn't see his kid because of his bitch ex wife. When we pull into his driveway he turned off the car but didn't get out. 

He shifts towards me, "I'm sorry." 

"For what?", his face dropped slightly. "We were supposed to be with Jack. It was your first time meeting him and we had to leave. Now I can't get him back until next weekend." 

I held onto his hand and squeezed, "Aaron it's ok....for the time we did spend with him I'd say he enjoyed himself while he could. Especially when he made that goal." 

That got him to grin a bit, he chuckled and I did with him.

"Yeah that was pretty good wasn't it." 

"Somethings just happen that are out of our control. Best we can do is try harder next time." He looked at me. 

"Thank you", I shrugged my shoulders. "What can I say", He brought my hand to his mouth and kissed it.

Then we got out the car and went inside, closing the door behind us. "I'm ordering, what do you want." He sat on the couch; took a few breaths, "Pizza." I nodded and placed the order. 

Aaron was watching tv when I walked over; curling up with him. I sat next to him putting my head on his shoulder; he kissed the top on my head and grabbed my hand. I ended up falling asleep and when I woke up Aaron was gone. 

I walked into the kitchen and he was eating. "I didn't wanna wake you." He was still upset about the whole situation. 

I went up to him and tightly wrapped my arms around him. He nestled his head into the crook of my neck. I pulled away when I heard sniffling. 

I rested my hand on his neck and cupped his cheek. "Baby....", I said softly; he avoided looking in my eyes. 

I used the hand that was on his cheek and used my finger to lift his chin. When he finally did look at me his eyes were red and there were tears brimming. 

"Honey... what is it", he didn't have any words. He hugged me tightly without warning. I returned the hug; I wasn't gonna question him. 

I knew he wasn't in the mood to talk, Aaron wasn't one for getting emotional but with me he was so different. I understood to not push him, that he'd tell me in his own time. 

"Let's go to bed... okay", he nodded and walked to the bedroom. I put the food away and turned off the tv. 

When I walked into the bedroom he was laying on the bed curled up with some sweatpants. I took off my pants and put on a pair of shorts and laid down. 

I laid next to him; his head on my chest, my hands on his back and running my hand through his hair. His hands gripping my waist and thigh. 

He was still crying; I could feel the tears going down my stomach. "Shh... baby it's okay." 

He kissed above my heart and whispered, "I love you."

"I love you too."

I felt him drift off but I stayed awake the words "I love you" repeating in my head. That was the first time we had said it and honestly I wasn't scared or mad, I was elated. 

He was the reason I wanted to get up in the morning. The man laying down with me brought me so much joy. 

I had a hard time trusting after what me ex had done but he made it so easy. Aaron would never hurt me like he did; with my whole heart I do love him. 

____________________

When I woke up Aaron was still holding on to me; breathing deeply. I felt fluttering on my chest. "Hey." I said and he hummed; he was awake. 

"I don't wanna push you but.....can you tell me what made you so upset last night." He huffed and sat up and was staring at the bed. 

"Everything." I had an unsure look on my face. "What do you mean everything." He took a breath, "First it's just work I have so much I need to do, it's so stressful. Second it's the overdose, I knew he had a problem and I should've addressed it when we was addicted the first time. 

You know try and help him but I didn't, I ignored it. I should've seen this coming. Especially when he said his mom wasn't doing well." 

He ran a hand through his hair. "Third is fucking Hayley", he started to raise his voice. "She goes and tells me that I can't see my own fucking son. She acts like I don't exist sometimes, like I don't need to have a relationship with him!" 

I wasn't surprised to see he had a lot bottled up. All I could say was, "I know." I put my hand on his. 

"Come on", he tugged on my hand; he brought us to the door and I stopped him. 

"Okay one, its like 40 degrees outside; you only have sweatpants on and I have shorts." He jogged and got a me pair of pajamas and a quarter zip, he put on a sweatshirt and we went on a walk. 

Holding on to my hand the entire time we walked into a park. There was a trail that went into the woods and we went down it. 

We arrived at a clearing; nothing but trees surrounded the area. There was a view of the city, it was 4 in the morning; nobody else was around and the light illuminated the sky. 

We didn't say much during the walk; just enjoying the others company. He sighed, "I needed this." 

"Needed what." He looked around at the trees and the view, "A breather, just be alone for a bit." 

"You're not alone." He threw his arms around me resting his head on my shoulder. 

"I mean alone from everyone else, there's no way I'd leave you behind." 

My heart fluttered; we sat down close to the edge. I sat in between his legs, my back to his chest. His arms around me keeping me warm. 

_________________________

@marie1115 @appleblossoms-posts @mac99martin @donttellanyoneireadfanfiction

[heart-eye-harrington]

a ride home

(gif credits to @harringtown​, thank you!)

Summary: When reader is stood up on a first date, their knight in shinning BMW comes to help

Word Count: 1.5k

Warnings: a few curse words

⋆★⋆★⋆★⋆★⋆★⋆★⋆★⋆★⋆★⋆★⋆★⋆★

Day had long bled into night by the time you had decided to leave. The crisp night air felt especially cold on your legs, no longer protected by the park bench you’d been perched upon. You cross your arms across your chest in an attempt to catch any remaining body heat from escaping. You stare at the small face of your watch for what must have been the millionth time that night, only to see that time was still ticking. 

9:46. He was over two hours late. 

It’s late, it’s cold, and you’re tired. 

Scattered streetlights cast spotlight on the gravel road you travel on your way home. Your feet absent-mindedly kick the loose pebbles, channeling your thoughts on the simple task instead of the last few hours of your life.

Your evening had been less than ideal. It started out well enough, with clothes scattered across the floor as you tried to find the perfect outfit and the radio seeming to pick your favorite songs. There was a skip in your step as you walked to the park, the idea of a first date caused your heart to flutter. 

You hadn’t known him very well high school, just enough to put a name to a face. It wasn’t until he became a regular customer at Scoops Ahoy that the name really stuck in your head. He was nice enough, ginger curls framed green eyes that sparkled when he laughed. After ordering a mint chocolate chip cone for the hundredth time that summer, he slipped you his number along with the cash he owed you. You decided to go call him, despite Steve’s bitching about ‘having a bad feeling’.

His spidey-sense seemed to be working, because here you were, kicking rocks on your way home from being stood up. 

The roar of a car engine comes from behind you, giving you enough time to step onto the side of the road and out of its way. Instead of zooming by, it slows down, until eventually stopping. You tense up as you stare through the darkness the hides the driver. It’s not until they roll down the window that you recognize the familiar red BMW and its driver. 

“Hey, what’re you doing?” concern is evident in Steve’s words as he leans over the center console to get a better look at you. He doesn’t need to look hard to see the goosebumps on your legs and distress in your eyes. 

“I can’t even get rid of you on my days off, huh?” you quip, not quite wanting to answer his question. You really weren’t in the mood for an ‘I told you so’. 

“I guess not.” a light-hearted chuckle causes his lips to twitch up. After a beat of silence accentuated bit awkward glances, he decides to ask you again. “What’re you doing out here this late?” 

A renewed wash of embarrassment and anger coil in your stomach, burning its way to the tips of your ears. It was one thing to admit it to yourself, but to Steve? 

“I was supposed to meet up with someone tonight, but he never showed. So I guess I’m doing an awkward walk of shame.” you offer him a small shrug, eyes staying trained on how the red tie of his Scoops uniform sways with his movements. He must have just gotten off the closing shift. Either that or he secretly liked how the sailor shirt fit him. If you’d had the courage to look up, you would have seen how his brows knit together in thought. 

“Was it the curly-headed kid?” 

A frown pulls down not only your lips, but drags your gaze to the gravel road. All you can do is nod. 

Steve shifts, bringing a hand his mouth. A conversation he had with Robin playing in his head - 

“I don’t like that kid.” Steve’s pacing the back room as you scoop yet another mint chocolate chip cone. 

Robin throws a glance his way, then back to her nails. She gives a dramatic sigh, “And why is that, Steve?” sass dripping from her every word. 

“I- I don’t know! Just something about him that-” he shakes, sticking out his tongue in disgust, “-doesn’t feel right.” 

Robin looks to her whiteboard. Steve’s failed flirtations defined through tallies written in black marker stares back at her, but something else jumps out. She looks back to Steve, arms crossed and toes tapping. She follows his gaze not to the boy on the other side of the counter, but to the person standing behind it. Then it clicks. 

“Holy shit.” Luckily, her words were not enough to break Steve from his lovestruck gaze. She lets him get immersed just enough before popping his bubble. “Earth to Steve! Hello?”

His gaze snaps back to Robin, pink instantly flooding his cheeks. More evidence to prove her hypothesis. How come not one of the three coworkers could see what was going on? 

“Maybe, you’re mad someone’s beating you to the punch.” she gives him a pat on the shoulder before walking through the door and to the back of the counter, beside you. She sends him a wink as she sees the lightbulb behind his eyes, the first indication of his revelation. 

“Can I give you a ride home?” It was an offer he had given you many a time, but it felt different tonight. It was shelter from the cold, a reminder that you weren’t alone. It was the first time you noticed a butterfly taking off at his words, but the feeling was familiar around him. 

“Are you sure?” The last few hours creep back to ask one last question. Steve’s warm smile and nod melt away the last grips of cold. You offer him a small thanks before climbing into the passenger’s seat. Before you can buckle your seat-belt, Steve reaches into the back seat and grabs an extra jacket, offering it to you. You wrap yourself in his windbreaker, pulling it tight enough to your chest to smell the linger hairspray and cologne. 

The car ride continues in comfortable silence, neither of you knowing what to say, but having the other’s company is more than enough. 

Before you know it you’re outside your house and the realization that you need to leave sinks in your stomach. Your fingers rub the cuff of his jacket’s sleeve, absentmindedly trying to memorize the feeling before giving it back. 

“You can hold onto that, just give it back to me our next shift.” Steve’s words interrupt your thoughts. You turn to him, finding him with his arms laying in his lap, fiddling with his fingers. You recognize the habit, something he does whenever he has to say something he’s nervous about, like telling a little kid they’d run out of their favorite flavor. 

A million and one thoughts raced through Steve’s head. Something about how the moonlight catches and highlights your face makes him weak. Mint chocolate chip kid didn’t deserve to waste your time like this. Steve wants nothing more than to ask you on a date right then and there, but the sense of urgency melts away under your warm gaze. No one has looked at his this way before, like he was a safe place to run to, like he was home. Someone may have beaten him to the punch, but it was no contest. 

“Thank you, Steve, for everything.” you reach across the center console to gently take his hand and give it a gentle squeeze. 

“Of course, I’ll always be here for you.” the softness of his voice only strengthens his words. You believed him, knew you’d hold him to his word, and that he’d stick to it. Steve would always be here for you, and that’s all you needed. 

So with that, you give his hand one last squeeze, and pop the door open. You climb out of his BMW, making sure not to slam the door when you close it. As you walk to your front door, you hold you hand to your heart, the feeling of Steve’s hand lingering. 

Steve sits outside your house until he sees you get inside safe, the whole time his fingertips trace where yours had been moments ago. He hoped the feeling of your hand in his would be one he’d become used to, like the cotton of his favorite shirt. His hands eventually find their way back to the steering wheel, his car finding its way back on the roads that lead to his house. 

Most night he hated the drive home in the dark. Knowing the house that waited for him would be dark and cold, but tonight when he rolled into the driveway he finds light in a window. A lamp was left on in the living room, greeting him with its muted yellow. It reminds him of you -warm and helpful- and for the first time in a while, he feels at home.

⋆★⋆★⋆

taglist:

@kurtsbuckethat​ @harrington-ofhawkins​

[renegadepisces]

Bright Imagine: Kandomere accidentally meets your family Part 4 FINAL

Fandom: Bright Pairing: Kandomere x reader Tags: slow build, fluff, eventual nsfw Note: also on AO3 as Serendipity & Caffeine

A/N: Thank you all so much for hanging in there. It’s finally finished!

If anyone had told you in the miserable weeks since Kandomere kissed you and fled your apartment that he’d be sitting on your sibling’s couch watching a Disney movie with your nephews and niece curled up between you, you would have started the paperwork to have them committed to a psychiatric facility right then and there. 

Weeks had slipped into months since Kandomere kissed you in your apartment. It was enough time for you to be fairly certain that he hadn’t filed a complaint with human resources or asked for you to be transferred to another division. As grateful as you were to still have your job, the time had underscored another, more uncomfortable point. Unfortunately, it was also enough time for you to really miss whatever your relationship had been before that night. 

Overnight, he’d stopped coming by your desk and making friendly conversation. In meetings, he always put himself in the seat farthest from you. Almost all work-related communication came from Montehugh now, because apparently even calling you was a mistake. 

The word haunted you. With the exception of a few curt greetings and orders, those were the last words you’d heard from him. But you hoped tonight’s plans would take your mind off them. Your sibling and their spouse were taking a long weekend to celebrate their anniversary. You’d agreed to move into their home while they were away and take care of your nephews and niece. Tonight was the first night of what they’d called ‘the long sleepover’, and you were excited to spend some time with them after weeks of pressure at work. 

And your mind had admittedly been pleasantly distracted until you’d investigated some suspicious noises coming from the back patio and found two would-be burglars trying to reach a second-story window and break in. Thankfully, yelling loudly that you were a federal agent and waving your stungun at them had been enough to subdue one and send the other fleeing into the night. 

Even without discharging your service weapon, the incident still created a bureaucratic headache. Any kind of police response to a law enforcement officer’s home was a cause for alarm. Both the LAPD and the county sheriffs committed units to patrolling the area and checking local hospitals. Your sibling’s supervisor had even volunteered to station a patrol car outside the house all weekend in case the suspects came back. 

Most shocking of all was watching Kandomere arrive in furious style in his polished black sportscar. He barely paused to put the vehicle in park before stomping up the drive toward you. Even the most senior officers on the scene had rarely crossed paths with federal agents of his rank, much less the elven commander of the Magic Task Force. 

You were pretty sure damn few people had ever seen him quite like this. His usual scowl was harder and more deeply etched into his otherwise handsome face than usual. He seemed to have forgotten his blazer. His vest hung open, unbuttoned and slouching against his expensive button down shirt. His sleeves were rolled up, highlighting his bare forearms and the lack of cufflinks or his watch. He’d also seemed to have taken off his tie. 

Had he come from his home? Had he cut his night short to rush over to your sibling’s home? He seemed so disheveled that the horrifying thought that he might have been on a date sent your heart plummeting into your stomach. 

You nearly spit out the swig of water you'd taken when he fixed the ranking officer on scene with his most polite and unsettling smile and told them he’d personally keep watch. It was irregular, but no one was going to argue with him. Except you, of course. 

You were tired. More importantly, Kandomere’s rejection still stung and you weren't keen on being near him in an otherwise comfortable and private space. But all your arguing was futile. Between his infamous intimidation and mentioning that he’d been invited into the home before while casually dropping your in-law and all the kid’s names, he’d convinced the ranking officers to let him watch the house. 

As the last squad car pulled away, you whirled on him. Your tone was polite - he was still your coworker after all - but your rigid shoulders and crossed arms practically advertised your displeasure. 

“Coffee?” you asked curtly.

He nodded, his eyes seemingly grazing over yours rather than really looking at you, and followed you into the house. 

Your nephews were thrilled to see him and you didn’t want to think too hard on why that made you unhappy and, more importantly, what kind of relative that made you. If Kandomere was at all put off by your frosty behavior, he didn’t let it show. Halloween was approaching, and you and the kids had been immersed in Hocus Pocus before you’d heard the would-be burglars’ shoes scuffing against the side of the house. That felt like hours ago. The perfect ease with which Kandomere inserted himself into what was otherwise a perfect slice-of-life snapshot from the suburbs was alarming. 

Movie night? Check.

Blanket and pillow fort? Check.

Three excited kids fighting sleep as the TV flickers in front of them? Check. 

Hot elven boyfriend staying the night? Not quite. 

Soon enough, the boys lost their uphill battle with their own weary bodies. While they didn’t fully comprehend the potential danger of what you’d prevented, the excitement of so many strangers coming to the house had worn them out. Your niece had been put back in her crib about twenty minutes after you’d resumed the movie. 

That left you alone with Kandomere, despite the two tiny bodies laying in their make-shift fortress of pillows and blankets. You didn’t dare look at him. For all you knew, he probably found this movie offensive. You knew Halloween was a human holiday linked to Samhain, which was a big holiday for elves. You’d heard plenty of elves complain about hating Halloween and about it being a watered-down version of Samhain. As the final credits finished rolling across the screen, the living room was engulfed in still and silent darkness. Kandomere was the first to break it.

“Seems a shame to move them,” he said, “They’re sleeping so well.”

You kept your silence, considering the options. The boys could sleep through the night in their pillow fort. That wasn’t the problem. But you had to deal with Kandomere. You had planned to sleep in the guest room, but you could hardly let him sleep in your sibling’s bedroom. That was simply too intimate a space for your coworker, who had met your sibling a total of two times, to spend the night in.

“They’ll be fine here. The guest room is made up. It’s the last door on the left,” you told him as you gingerly rose from the couch to avoid waking either of your nephews. 

Without saying another word, you gathered up the handful of cans and juice boxes scattered on the coffee table and made your way to the garage. You needed some privacy - just a minute of privacy - to collect yourself. The near break-in was bad enough, your nerves were too frayed to let you sleep tonight. Having to interact with your Kandomere after he rejected you was the gritty, bitter icing on an awful, lumpy cake. 

After gently placing the cans and cartons in the recycling bin, you braced yourself against the wall. It was covered in a layer of soundproofing material, which felt soft against your fingers. Your sibling had told you once that the previous owners were musicians and used to practice in the garage, hence the soundproofing. Screwing your eyes shut tightly, you inhaled deeply and exhaled in a huff. 

Your frayed and frantic nerves, aggravated by the night’s earlier adrenaline, ensured that you heard Kandomere’s footsteps approaching from the hallway. You hadn’t turned the light on, so you couldn’t see him. It was childish, but you harbored a dim hope that he wouldn’t speak to you.

“We need to talk,” he murmured.

“No, we don’t,” you countered.

“Y/n,” he chided, “I don’t want things to be like this between us.”

“Like what?” you retorted, “There’s nothing between us. Which is why I don’t understand why you’re here.”

“That’s not quite true, and you know it,” He sighed, grimacing.

“Really? I’m surprised we even have a work relationship anymore given how hard you’ve been avoiding me Kandomere.”

You couldn’t see his face in the dark, but his voice wavered enough to tell you that your words hit their mark. Hurt lingered in his tone when he answered. 

“I owe you an apology. I handled it poorly. But I’m here because I - I heard the call and had to see you. I care about you, and I had to know you were okay.”

“Didn’t take you for the kind of man to make the same mistake twice,” you hissed. There was less venom in your voice than you’d intended, but you still weren’t proud of it. 

Instead of replying, you heard him draw closer. You could feel warmth rolling off him as he neared, despite the general chill that always lingered in the garage, which was less insulated than the rest of the house despite the soundproofing. 

His lips crashed into yours as his arms wrapped around your waist. You wanted to argue - this was just as bad an idea as it had been weeks ago in your apartment. But you found yourself leaning into his embrace instead of pushing him away. Finally, you tore your lips from his, panting breathlessly into the nape of his neck. 

“The mistake was mine. I should have been more honest with you about my feelings. But I was worried you’d put in for a transfer or file a complaint.” he whispered, not loosening his grip on your waist. 

His words brought you out of the reverie of his touch and back to reality. How could he possibly not know?

“Kandomere, you’re not actually my boss. You lead the MTF, but I don’t actually report to you. I was appointed by a completely different division of the FBI.”

He blinked, as if to clear his eyes from some intrusive debris. They glinted like stained glass in the dim light spilling in from the corridor leading into the house.

“What do you mean?” he rasped. 

“We work in two different departments of the FBI. The MTF is part of the Criminal, Cyber, Response and Services branch. I was appointed to the MTF to represent the intelligence branch, and I still report to that side of the agency,” you explained. 

“So, you don’t actually report to me at all?” He quizzed, pinning you with a sharp, serious gaze that made you feel something like a butterfly pinned to a display.

You nodded. 

His features broke into a wide grin. His teeth - sharp and glinting in the dim light like ice under moonlight - were fully visible. In a flash, his weight settled against yours and sent you backward a few inches until you were leaning against the wall. 

“This isn’t any less of a terrible idea than it was in my apartment,” you whispered as his lips descended on the soft, delicate skin beneath your jaw.

 “Actually, it’s an even worse idea because there are three children in this house.”

“Then you’ll just have to be quiet,” he teased, and put his warm, deft fingers over your mouth before attacking the waistband of our jeans with his other hand.

[shianhygge-imagines]

Sundown 勿忘草 [Reno/Reader]{Final Fantasy VII}

AN: I’ve been wanting to write a Reno one shot, but never really managed to get my lazy ass into gear. This is a long one (though at this point, I’m just known for really long story posts... let me know if you think it’s a good thing or a bad thing). I was debating splitting it into parts, but you all know how bad I am with posting updates to any of my fics written in parts. Also, can anyone tell me why I keep seeing “#reno sinclair” in the Reno tags? Since when was Reno’s surname Sinclair? None of the Turks have last names that I recall. 

Was hoping to get it to 10,000 words, but I’m around 2,200 short :P 

Title is “Sundown Wasurenagusa” meaning “Sundown Forget-me-Nots; ”Forget-me-nots meaning “True Love” in hanakotoba (Japanese language of flowers)

If you like the content I create, please consider donating to my Ko-fi! Please help me feed my tea addiction!

|Masterlist Link|

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A heavy and tired sigh escaped your lips as you continued to read through the various reports scattered upon the table before you, scribbling down information into your work notebook that would act as relevant evidence to support your proposal for several structural upgrades to the plates. Though it was a concern that your boss, Reeve Tuesti, had brought up during various board meetings, it seemed that the executives of Shinra Electric Power Company would do nothing without a formal report containing sufficient evidence to support immediate action.

Already over worked from his other projects, Reeve had personally asked you to oversee the project proposal. As a resident of the Sector 5 Slums, you felt that it was your duty to do everything you could to make life for your fellow under city residents better. So, despite the fact that you would be working on the project alone, you accepted Reeve’s task.

Now, sitting at a corner table on the Relaxation Floor, you were almost regretting taking on the task alone. Outside the large windows overlooking Midgar, the sun had long since set, the city lights and mako lighting up the dark space below in a sea of various colors. Most Shinra employees had left the building hours ago, yet here you were, still working, dinner purchased from the cafeteria sitting off to the side and half gone.

After reading another set of reports, you paused in your scribbling to slam your head non too gently on the cafeteria table, “You’d think with all the complaints we’ve had about falling metal pieces from the plate almost killing slum residents, that the company would immediately do something.” No one responded to your muttering. Not that you expected an empty space to provide commentary to your misery and exasperation. So, you stayed in that position, debating whether to call it a night so that you could catch the last train home.

“Well, color me surprised, I didn’t think any of you pencil pushers liked staying after hours.” Just when you were about to relax, a sly and cocky voice decided to interrupt your solitude.

Jolting up with a twitch of your eye, you glared at the redhead who approached your corner table, suit and dress shirt unbuttoned and showing off an ample amount of chest. Had you not lived in the Sector 5 Slums for your entire life, you probably wouldn’t have recognized the man as a Turk. Besides, the people at Shinra liked to gossip. Red hair pulled into a weird ferret tail looking ponytail, goggles resting on the crown of his head, red marks under his eyes, and a severe need of a slap to the face… yeah, there was no doubt in your mind that the man steadily approaching your table was Reno of the Turks… and the Turk second in command.

Rolling your eyes, you sat up and began to straighten out the papers on the table, putting them into a pile to slip neatly into your briefcase. “Just my luck. The entire cafeteria is empty, Turk. Why are you bothering me?”

A little hostile, but you couldn’t help it. Having grown up watching these strange men in suits harass Aerith… you didn’t exactly have a kind opinion of them. Plus… they were unwaveringly loyal dogs to Shinra, something that didn’t sit well with you.

Reno feigned a hurt expression, placing a hand upon his chest, “Why the hostility? It was an honest question.” The redheaded Turk smirked and lifted his hand to raise his pinky, “Pinky swear.”

Reigning in your frustration, you huffed and propped your head upon a raised hand, closing your eyes in an attempt to calm down. “Yeah… yeah… Sorry.” After inhaling and exhaling for a few seconds, and listening as a chair was dragged out from the other side of the table, you opened your eyes to stare tiredly at the now seated Turk. “Uh… what are you doing?”

“Keeping you company, of course.” The cocky smirk widened as Reno leaned back and propped his feet upon the table, narrowly missing your half finished dinner.

Reaching a hand out to grab the remains of your dinner, you quietly started to finish said meal off, “Uh…huh… sure. I buy that.” You remarked sarcastically, eyes not leaving Reno’s form. “So Reno of the Turks decides to just randomly pop on by to keep a Shinra office worker company as they work overtime… sure…”

The grin didn’t falter as his blue eyes wandered to observe you, “It would seem so.”

“Right.” You muttered, finishing the last of your meal before standing up with your bag and tray, “Sorry to cut this short, but I’ve got a train to catch.” You weren’t sorry, but you still called out to him as you walked away, “See ya, I guess.” Hopefully not.

“You can bet on it!” Reno called back to you, watching as you threw away your trash and left the Relaxation Floor. As the doors slid close, you caved and turned around to look back at Reno, meeting his gaze just as the doors closed. Why did you feel like that was more than a promise?

…

…

…because it was.

The two days after were supposed to have been your days off. Yeah, perhaps you still had to structure your formal proposal a little more, but at least you were surrounded by fellow under city residents instead of Shinra employees… yeah, no, that was perhaps a little harsh of you. Not all Shinra employees were like the Turks and executives. But you were still bitter at how content the employees were with this company. It’s sickening.

When you left your home across from Leaf House on your second day off, you had fully intended to spend the day stocking up on groceries and helping either Aerith or Miss Folia. What you didn’t expect was to run into a duo of Turks when you stepped over the bridge to Aerith’s house. The duo had stopped to stand just outside of Aerith’s house, clearly speaking to one another and absolutely intending to enter the residence. The moment you’d cleared the bridge and walked into sight, you paused with wide eyes and gingerly took a step back, hoping to walk away without drawing any of their attention towards you.

You didn’t want to be seen outside work. Much less while you were wearing the sundress that Aerith had insisted you get for yourself. It was girly and feminine, and not at all professional. But still, Aerith had asked you to bring her flower baskets back home while she helped look for the Leaf House kids, who had all gone on patrol again.

Unfortunately, the bridge creaked under your foot, and two pairs of eyes were suddenly turned to stare you. “Uh…” you faltered for a moment before raising a hand in greeting, “Hi?” The end of the word pitched up into a squeak and you suddenly wanted to dive off the bridge and escape.

Recognition appeared in a familiar redhead’s eyes, “Pencil pusher! Didn’t think I’d see you here of all places!” The bald man with the shades coughed and glanced towards his coworker with raised brows.

Growling indignantly, you stomped a foot and approached the two Turks, “Don’t call me that!”

“And why not? You never gave me your name.” Reno pouted dramatically, “How’s it fair that you have mine, but I don’t know yours?”

Your expression doesn’t budge the slightest, “It’s Y/N. I work in the Urban Development Department. And I know yours because there’s only one redheaded Turk that draws in so much gossip.”

That infuriating smirk was back on Reno’s face as he pat the taller man’s shoulder roughly, “Ya hear that, Rude? The people know me.” Rude looked like he wanted to say something, if the slightest twitch of the brow and parting of the lips was any indicator. Unfortunately, the stoic looking Turk didn’t get a chance to respond before his partner opened his mouth again. “So… Y/N, huh? Cute name, cute face… it’s a wonder that I haven’t seen you in HQ before yesterday.” The statement seemed innocent enough, except for the strange look in his eyes.

For Shinra’s version of secret service, you already knew where this line of inquiry was leading to. So you stared at Reno dispassionately, “Yup, it’s an absolute wonder that a Turk such as you, who has  to work outside the building most days, has never seen my face in the five years that I’ve been employed at Shinra. It’s not as if I’m just a faceless grunt among a few thousand office workers who are also cooped up in their offices during the work day.” Rolling your eyes, you continued forward, practically bulldozing your way past Reno when he didn’t move aside with his partner. “Now, if you’ll excuse me,” You waltzed up the front steps, raising the weaved basket in your hand, “I’ve got a basket to drop off. If you’re looking for Aerith, she’s not home, yet.”

There’s a sound of a metal baton snapping to full length behind you, “If you hurt her…”

Sighing in annoyance, you turned to glare at Reno, who seemed to look like he was going to charge at you with the stun baton. Rude, likewise, was in a combat ready position. “And why the hell would I hurt her?” You hissed, propping a hand on your waist. “Don’t just come to random conclusions. I’m simply here as a favor to her, she’s in the town helping Leaf House.” Waving your hand in a shooing motion, you turned to open the front door, “You Turks are all about the mission, right? So, go!”

Maybe you shouldn’t have been so antagonistic… maybe you shouldn’t have turned around. Because the next thing you know, your arm is yanked backwards, and you’re suddenly pinned facedown to the front porch floor, arms restrained behind you and the painfully tingly end of the baton jabbed into your back. The scream that left your lips was one of outrage, fear, and pain. “What the hell!” You cry out, tears in your eyes as you try to struggle.

“Y/N!” The front door of the Gainsborough household pulled open to reveal Elmyra, who cried out in horror at the scene before her. Before long, the blonde woman had settled on shoving Reno off you, “Get off of her! Just what do you think you’re doing?!” Startled into falling off of you, Reno merely stared wide eyed at the enraged woman, who gestured for you to run as she laid into the jerk with her words.

With Reno no longer pinning you down, your limbs were able to finally take on a more natural position, though the stabbing pain from having them forced into an unnatural position still remained even as you clambered to your feet and sprinted away from the house. Rude didn’t bother to stop you, going so far as to step way off the path to let you through. You didn’t look back as you ran, not even stopping to greet Aerith as she crossed the wooden bridge.

When you were safe in your shabby second floor apartment, you did everything you could to get rid of the pain in your limbs, stretching them out and massaging them.

No such luck.

The pain remained, following you into the next day as you prepared to head back to work. Luckily for you, your job mostly consisted of office work. Signing and arranging paperwork, project reports, and other desk work.

Unluckily for you, you were the only person in the department with your first name. When you returned to your office from lunch, rubbing an aching limb, Reno awaited you, leaning against your desk. The moment you saw him, you paused and walked out of the office intent on avoiding the Turk that had caused you bodily harm.

From behind, Reno sprinted after you, “Y/N! Buddy! Wait up!”

“I don’t see you. I don’t hear you. You are absolutely, definitely not following me right now.” You muttered, not turning your head from its fixed position staring straight and down. If I can just get my ass to Reeve’s office, he’ll leave me alone. If I can just get my slow ass, in these stupid heels, to Reeve’s office, he’ll leave me alone.

Reno, for his part, had no problems keeping up with you, catching up and strolling along beside you, making you growl inwardly in frustration. “Y/N, c’mon. I’m sorry about yesterday. Slow down, you’re going to-”

An uneven part of the carpet failed to catch your notice until your foot caught it, sending you sprawling toward. Ah shit. This is gonna hurt. You muttered to yourself, bracing yourself for impact and closing your eyes… only for the impact to come sooner than expected… and less painful than you expected… I’m still upright? You questioned yourself, opening your eyes to find yourself being held up by Reno, face practically buried in his open shirt and his arms gently holding onto both of your arms.

“See.” The cocky expression was gone now. Only mild annoyance remained as he made sure you could stand on your own two feet, roughly kicking at the uneven carpet in an effort to smooth it down.

“I… thanks.” You finished lamely, slightly unsure as to what had just happened, but glad that you were saved a few bruises… and probably a more severe injury to your limbs.

Reno raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms, “Can we talk now?”

You wanted to say no, the memory of being pinned down and tasered still fresh in your mind, but by the Planet, the jerk had just saved you from further injury, hadn’t he? The heavy sigh and slump of your shoulder betrayed your reluctance even as you agreed to speak to the redheaded Turk. “Yeah, fine.”

The Turk second in command seemed surprised that you’d agreed, a breathy and relieved “Great” leaving his mouth as he followed your lead back to your small office.

As you walked the short distance back to your office, you kept a bit of distance from Reno whilst attempting to block out the stares from your fellow colleagues. I can practically hear the gossip spreading now. Oh, did you hear? Y/N’s in a relationship with Reno. Oh, Y/N probably got in trouble with the company if the Turks are investigating them. The thoughts only worsened when you entered your office and Reno closed the door behind him. And that’s my cue to put as much distance as possible between us. You thought to yourself, shuffling to stand behind the desk. Yes, because a waist high wooden structure is enough protection against a Turk…smart. Reallll smart.

“You know, I’m not going to hurt you, right?” Reno looked slightly put out and frustrated at the fact that you had immediately shuffled behind your desk. And you had to hand it to him… despite his reputation as a bit of spazz, his observation skills were fitting for a member of the Turks.

“Tell that to my poor arms.” You spat, rolling your shoulders in another unsuccessful attempt to alleviate the pain that remained from yesterday.

Reno deflates a little when you wince in pain, and lightly scratches his cheek. “Yeah… about that… my bad.”

“Your bad…” you mimicked back at Reno with a hint of disbelief. “Heck yeah it’s your bad! I mean what the hell! What kind of a reason did you have for assaulting a civilian!?”

“That’s uh… we were assigned to look after Aerith… and the way you were acting yesterday… I thought you did something to her.” The explanation that came pouring out of the redheaded Turk’s mouth was lacking, but you let him continue because oh boy did the man sound like a certified walking mess. “And um… I reacted too harshly… which is totally my bad. And I know that’s no excuse, and I’ve already gotten an earful from Elmyra, Rude, and Tseng, so… what I’m saying is… I’m sorry.”

…he looks like a kicked puppy. You muttered to yourself, heaving a sigh as you sat down at your desk and allowed your posture to relax just the slightest. “Fine, apology accepted, but my shoulders still hurt like I got trampled by a fiend. How the hell do I get it to stop?” Apology vaguely accepted, you just wanted him to stop giving you that look.

“I uh… figured that you’d still be in pain.” Reno winced before sheepishly slipping a hand into his pocket and pulling out a beautiful glowing green materia, “It might be overkill, but casting Cure will get rid of the ache-ah… if you’re okay with it?”

You wondered offhandedly what Elmyra had said to Reno for his behavior to have shifted so drastically towards you. Look at the Turk now, you figured that there was no harm in befriending the man. Besides, you probably needed more outgoing friends anyways. “If it’ll get rid of the ache, go ahead, Reno.”

The smile on his face was almost boyish as his arm glowed faintly, casting the healing spell on you. “One full body stress reliever coming right up!” Hm… maybe he’s not that bad after all. The spell was like a wave of relief, not only alleviating the pain from yesterday, but also taking away the tension from months and months of stress. “Feeling better?”

The groan of relief that escaped your lips was probably enough answer for Reno as you stretched, a smile on your lips appearing at the redheaded Turk’s chuckle. “Much better, thank you.”

A moment passed between the two of you until the silence was broken by the sound of Reno’s phone. You couldn’t see the caller ID, but by the way he picked up almost immediately, you guessed that it was his boss, Tseng. “Hey-” The redheaded man was cut off from his greeting as he listened, “Yeah, I just finished…” Blue eyes met yours as he mouth, ‘got to go.’

Reno started to move just as you gave him a farewell salute, smirking when the Turk simply winked back at you before the door to your office closed.

Although you initially didn’t expect the day to turn out so well, you went back to work in a good mood. I guess being friendly to Reno won’t be such a bad thing. As the day passed, your mind absentmindedly wondered when you would see him again.

December 11th… Twenty-four days and seven hours later

“Oho, staying late again?”

A familiar voice broke you out of your furious scribbling while you once again stayed late to progress further in the piles of maintenance reports on the plates. And while you were tired from staring at black and white letters all day, you pushed aside the cranky attitude to at least smile and greet Reno as he approached your usual corner table. “Hi, Reno.” You raise a brow at the drink tray in his hands and gesture for him to sit wherever. “Late night for you, too?”

Reno shrugged and took the seat just to your left, setting the tray down on a spot free of paperwork, “Turks are always on call.” He handed over a covered paper cup, “Coffee?”

“Oh boy, yes please.”  You beamed ecstatically when the redhead handed you the heavenly drink. “I’ve been working on this project proposal for the past… I don’t know how long… and it’s just… so much.”

Taking a sip of his own caffeinated drink, Reno took a peek at one of the files sitting on the table. “Huh… ‘Maintenance Walkways In Hazardous State of Disrepair’…’Infested with Mako Mutated Fiends’… I forgot you worked in urban development. What’s Reeve got ya doin that requires so many late nights?”

Despite his asking, Reno made no further attempts at reading the papers on the cafeteria table. Pursing your lips, you eyed the Turk second in command for a long moment, regarding him with as much suspicion as he had directed towards you nearly a month ago. It was well known throughout Shinra that the corporation had bigger goals and aspirations than to serve the people. There were many in the company that truly believed in the work that Shinra did, but as someone who had lived in the slums all your life, and one of the project leaders within Shinra’s Urban Development Division, you held no such illusions of grandeur. With the exception of Reeve, the higher ups in Shinra had no qualms of neglecting the public, only paying attention to the people beneath their feet in order to satisfy their egos and prevent rowdy citizens from forming anti-Shinra groups like AVALANCHE. Reno, a Turk, had to answer to the President and Vice President of Shinra directly, and everything they do is by the will of the two highest powers in the company. If you told Reno of the plate restoration project… would it cause a negative reaction within the company?

“If I tell you, Reno… you have to keep quiet about it.” Despite being tired, you leveled the red head with a grave stare.

Reno raised his arms and displayed his palms out in a ‘I’m harmless’ manner. “If it doesn’t have anything to do with an assassination attempt or terrorist attack, my lips are sealed.” The Turk shrugged, “And if you don’t want to tell me, you don’t have to. I mostly came here to keep you caffeinated… and to ask if you wanted to grab dinner sometime?”

Well… that came out of left field.

The blush that rose to your cheeks made your embarrassment pretty clear to Reno, who hummed and leaned forward to observe you closer. “Huh… Red’s a good look on you.”

The wink that the Turk sent your way did not help you calm down. “That’s not… uh… why?” Why was Reno asking you out to dinner? You’d known each other for all of twenty something days… not that it was completely unusual for individuals your age to go on dates… if this even was a date.

“I figure you could do with a night free of worries.” Reno explained, now positioning himself to lean on the table towards you. “Plus I get to take a beautiful woman out to dinner.”

You raised a hand to stop his flirting, knowing the rumors that spread throughout the company of Reno’s flirtatious ways. “I accept, but it’s just dinner, okay? I shouldn’t stay out too late.”

The red head seemed happy that you accepted, but pouted nonetheless, “Well then… that’s boring. I was thinking of taking you out drinking with Rude and I.”

You gesture towards the paperwork all over the table, “I have to get the work done eventually, Reno.”

“Fine…” the sigh that left Reno sounded more like a whine than acceptance. The mischievous smirk did nothing to ease your concerns as Reno stood up to help you clean up the piles of paper and notes. “C’mon, the sooner we clean up here, the sooner we can get some grub into your growling stomach.”

“My stomach is not-” Gurrrggghhh… You blushed crimson when your stomach cried out for food.

“You were saying?” Reno raised a brow, mirth glinting in his blue eyes as you tried to act nonchalantly.

“…” Snatching the last of the paperwork on the table and shoving it into your bag, you sniffed in embarrassment, “We’re dropping this stuff off in my office before we go anywhere.”

The red headed Turk actually had the audacity to smirk and salute you.

… Twenty minutes later, you found yourself in a car heading towards Sector Eight… Although Reno had advertised the outing as a dinner between just the two of you, the two of you somehow found yourselves seated in the back seats of the vehicle while Rude drove and Tseng sat in shotgun. Glancing to the side at Reno, he seemed at a loss for words for once, blue eyes glaring sulkingly at the back of Tseng’s head.

“So, Y/N, as I understand it, you work closely with Reeve Tuesti?” Tseng asked, his eyes meeting yours in the rearview mirror despite its angle.

Somehow, you felt like you were about to get interrogated by Reno’s ‘parents,’ if the groan of exasperation from the red head beside you wasn’t enough of a give away.

“Um… I would say closely enough. I’m one of his project leaders, but even that title can be grossly overestimated.” The explanation leaves your lips before you can so much as think, “Because I work on projects that focus on the slums, most of my time is spent doing research and putting together proposals for projects that urgently need to be addressed.” Not that any of my proposals have been accepted thus far. You left the last statement unsaid, and your bitterness at the company unheard. Still, the discontent must have shown on your face, as Tseng started to speak again.

“Do you not like your job?” Such a simple question, but not something you could answer simply. The pleasant smile on the Turk commander’s face, which you glimpsed from the side view mirror, told you that he was well aware that you would have to expand your answer.

Wincing, you turned your gaze away to stare out the window as the car pulled off the highway. “I don’t dislike it, no… but I took the job as project leader in order to help make a difference for my community. But every project proposal that I’ve drawn up and presented has been turned down by the people that have a say in the company.” The sneer that started to form froze before smoothing into a less intense expression as you took in a deep breath and exhaled. “Sorry. Forget I said anything.”

“If you only wanted to help your community, then why take a job at Shinra? And why didn’t you simply quit?” Tseng was prodding at you, knowing that you knew what he was doing.

“Uh, Boss? Bit of a touchy subject, yeah?” Reno protested, sending very clear glares at Tseng’s way.

The Turk commander’s lips twitched in the slightest of smiles, “My apologies, Y/N. I didn’t mean to press you.”

Didn’t mean to press me, my ass! What the hell is this? Another round of ‘Y/N is a suspicious person?’ You thought with a lot of snark, outwardly shrugging, “You Turks certainly do live up to your reputation.” When Tseng rose a brow and Reno stared at your questioningly, you elaborated with another shrug, “The questioning… the false pretenses… you guys are very good at what you do, but…” Sighing, you shook your head and decided to shut your mouth, “Nevermind. Forget it. So long as you’re good to Elmyra and Aerith, I don’t give a damn if you guys restrain me and take me in for questioning.”

“…I thought I already said sorry for that!” Reno pouted, a wounded expression on his face.

The car stopped in front of a restaurant, but you were no longer hungry. Glancing down at your watch, you feigned a sigh, “Well, looks like I won’t be joining you guys for dinner tonight. I just realized that I had something to do in Sector 5.”

“Wait… hold on-”

“Would you like us to give you a lift?” Rude offered, cutting Reno off from his protests.

Bowing your head, you made to get out of the vehicle. “No, thank you. I appreciate the offer, but I’m fine taking the train back. I’m sorry for the trouble. I’ll see you three at work tomorrow.”

With that, you slid out of the car, shutting the door with as little force necessary before strolling down the street towards the train station. After turning the corner, you paused and sighed, shaking your head at the dinner plans. If you were being honest, you were actually quite excited to have dinner with Reno. He had turned out to be more thoughtful and intuitive than you had first pinned him as. Maybe we can have dinner alone next time. Suddenly hopeful, you resumed your gait towards the train station. If you hurried, you could catch the next train back and be in time to eat at the restaurant around the corner from your home.

“Y/N!” A familiar voice called out to you, accompanied by the sound of sprinting dress shoes, just as you were about to enter the train platform.

“Reno?!” You stared at the red head as he sprinted the last few meters to stop in front of you, perplexed and worried that he’d run all the way to the train station. The people sharing the train platform stared at the pair of you even as the train pulled into the station. “I… um… thought you were going to have dinner with Rude and Tseng? Did you need something?” You asked, glancing towards the train as it opened its doors.

“Y-you…” Reno gasped, clearly panting for breath despite the fact that he was supposed to be used to this. “You don’t work tomorrow.”

Tilting your head to the side, you admired Reno for a moment, pleased with his listening skills during the times that you spoke. “You’re right. No, I don’t.” You watched as the passengers all started boarding the train. “Reno… I have to catch this train, what is it?”

“Let me walk you home!” the red headed Turk suggested, straightening up and gently taking your wrist in his.

“Wait… What?” What the hell-

“It’ll be fun.” Reno didn’t give you much of a choice, as he led you aboard the train, careful not to tug on your arm too roughly. Once the doors slid close, the red head smirked at your completely baffled expression, “I promised you a dinner date, didn’t I?”

Your turned red as you stuttered, completely conscious of the stares incoming from the other passengers. “But what about Rude and Tseng? How are you going to get home after?”

Reno grinned, “They’re the ones who ruined our plans in the first place, so of course I’m ditching ‘em. And if I need to head home, I’ll just head back with the infantrymen stationed in Sector 5. So don’t worry.” Then, as if realizing that your face was growing more and more red because he was now holding your hand and had moved just a breath away, Reno coughed and backed up. Letting go of your hand, the embarrassed Turk raised a hand to scratch his cheek in the same nervous tic that you’d noticed before. “Anyways, let’s find a seat, okay? It’s been a long day for you… so if you want to take a breather…” Reno’s voice trailed off as the two of you shuffled through the cart to find a pair of empty seats.

Once seated, you sighed and leaned back on the uncomfortable bench. “Five years ago, I was living with my parents in the Sector 7 Slums. My father was an infantryman in Shinra’s army, and my mother was just a regular housewife. Around that time, fiend attacks had mysteriously started to increase… and people started to go missing. My mother went missing one night, and my father was a part of the infantry that was sent to investigate.” The dull ache in your chest increased as you thought back to the events years ago. “Neither of the two came back, and suddenly I was alone. But… I wasn’t the only one who lost a loved one that day.”

“So, that’s when you decided to do something to help your community?” Reno muttered, having turned to pull you into a hug, “But why Shinra? The slums have neighborhood watches that you could have joined…. Oh… eh… but you don’t have to tell me if you’re not up to it.”

Leaning your head to rest on Reno’s shoulder, you chuckled, “You don’t have to worry about walking on eggshells with me, Reno. I mostly gave Tseng a hard time because he was being too nosey.”

“Well… that’s good to know.” The Turk gave a light hearted laugh of his own, relaxing in his mannerisms. “Felt like I was standing on trial for a moment there.”

Rolling your eyes, you elbowed Reno in the side lightly. “Drama queen. But anyways, after mom and dad disappeared, a SOLDIER and his protege were assigned to hunt down the fiends. Before they started their hunt, they made a point to visit all the families that lost someone from the fiends attacks. It was sweet of them, taking the time to check up on us. And it’s because of them that I decided to work at Shinra. That if those two truly believed in the company that employed them, that I would be able to make a difference if only I had those same resources.” The smile on your face turned bitter once you started to think about those two. “After three years, I found out later that both mentor and mentee were quite popular in Midgar… and that they had died.”

“I think I know the two you’re talking about.” Reno muttered, gaze taking on a far away glint. “It’s good to know that they left behind a legacy.”

“They left behind more than a legacy.” You whispered with a fond smile, “Zack’s fanclub became the inspiration for Sector 5’s neighborhood watch. They all wield wooden replicas of Angeal’s sword.”

“A new generation of heroes, huh?” Reno smirked and closed his eyes, “I bet Zack would be ecstatic.” Blue eyes suddenly meet yours, a brightness in them as Reno addressed you, “Be honest, were you part of that fanclub?”

“And if I was?” You raised a brow, glad that the tone of conversation had shifted back to something light hearted.

Reno pouted and slumped in his seat, pulling you along as he playfully whined, “Where’s my fanclub? I want groups of people singing my praises, too!”

“Now you’re just being silly.” You chided, amused by the man’s antics. When Reno continued to pout, you rolled your eyes, playing along. “Fine. Then from now on, you can count me as your first fanclub member.” You raised your head to look him in the eye, “Happy now?”

The hug tightened, but Reno stuck out his tongue in reply. “Eh… I don’t think I can handle having a fanclub. Too much noise. Nah. I’m good.”

This time, you didn’t bother holding back your strength when elbowing him.

…… Around twenty minutes later, the pair of you departed the train with the rest of its passengers, and found yourself seated at your favorite noodle restaurant in Sector 5. Although it was thirty minutes before closing, the boss and chef knew you well enough to take your orders without much of a fuss. While the food was being prepared, you and Reno swapped stories about work and random weird stories.

“-I’m serious about the doomrats! They’re always appearing in Sector 7, stealing random shit and everything! My entire childhood was spent with threats of doomrats coming to steal my toys! My friend, Eli, her entire toy house was taken when her side of the sector was overrun with the pests!” You laughed in between bites of noodles.

“But that’s nowhere near as bad as having to deal with Hojo!” Reno protested, a string of noodles slipping out of his mouth to hang against his mouth. “The guy just takes things without telling anyone and somehow it returns with a bunch of stains on it! It’s like he has no regard for anything outside of his research.”

Your brain brought up a memory of passing Professor Hojo in the hallway once, and you let out a full body shiver. “Ugh… yeah… he does give off that whole… egotistic mad scientist vibe… sometimes, I wonder what the hell is so important that we have to devote so many floors to his research lab.”

“Y/N?” Reno’s humor suddenly disappears.

You blink, startled by the change, “Yeah?”

“No matter what happens… stay away from Hojo, okay?” There’s some concern in his eyes and tone, but he doesn’t elaborate.

You don’t know how else to respond to a somber Reno than to reluctantly nod your head, “Yeah. Okay. He gives me the creeps, so that’s not a problem.”

“I mean it, Y/N. If anyone in the company tells you to bring something to Hojo, you refuse. And if it’s a higher up, you come to me first.” The intensity in his stare is startling.

“Got it, Reno.” Not knowing what to do, you reached out to lightly poke his cheek, “C’mon, I know you have your own reason to be concerned, but I work in urban development. There’s little to no chance that I would have to cross paths with Hojo. So, let’s finish our noodles and stop worrying, okay?”

Reno pauses for a brief moment, taking in a breath and letting it out, a small smile making an appearance again. “Okay. Fine.” Reaching into his pocket, Reno pulls out more than enough gil for your meal and stands up, leaving the money on the table and offering a hand to you, “Let’s getcha back home, okay? It’s gettin late.”

Trailing after the red headed Turk, you stared at his back with a questioning stare. Though you pretended like the sudden shift in attitude from Reno hadn’t alarmed you, your thoughts kept shifting to linger upon the warning that Reno had wanted to make sure you understood. I feel like… something bad will happen if I don’t listen to him… When Reno stopped just outside your apartment building across from Leaf House, you tilted your head to the side, “Why am I not surprised that you know where I live? That’s kind of creepy, ya know?”

Reno startled, spluttering excuses as he let go of your hand and backed up, the warmth from his palm instantly being missed. “I ugh… You know it’s my job-and I just wanted-cause Tseng’s super paranoid about people close to-I’m just gonna shut up now.” The Turk second in command stopped his muttering when he noticed the teasing glint in your eyes, “Oh, ha ha. Very funny.”

“C’mon, Reno. You think I was going to miss my chance at teasing you?” The grin on your face was infectious, prompting Reno to return your easy-going smile.

Gesturing to the two story building, Reno bowed, “I will rest easy knowing that you got home safely, my lady.”

“Oh my!” You gasped, a hand raised to rest against your chest in mock surprise, “What a gentleman!”

There was a silence before the two of you burst into laughter that was probably too loud for that time of night. From down the street, you could hear one of the residents open their window and shout, “Fer cryin out loud, would ya lovebirds shut up! People are tryin ta sleep!”

Stifling your laugh, you practically danced towards the metal stairway leading up to the second floor apartments. “I guess that’s my cue to get inside.”

Reno’s eyes glinted as he stared after you fondly, “Yeah…” There was brief pause before he spoke up again, “Hey, Y/N? Let’s go out for a proper date… maybe, tomorrow or the day after?”

“Yeah, I’d like that.” You smiled as the agreement fell from your lips without much thought except the want to get to know the man before you better. “I’ll be at my friend’s place celebrating her birthday tomorrow, but I don’t have plans for the day after.”

“Great!” Reno gasped, seemingly breathless as he took a step towards you, “I’ll pick you up at 10, then?”

“Ten works for me!” You agreed, watching the red headed Turk as he closed the distance between the two of you, closing your eyes as you expected something to happen, only to feel a hand rest on your cheek before pulling away.

Confused, you opened your eyes just in time to catch Reno’s smile as he turned away. “I don’t kiss on the first date.” A wink is sent your way as he rounds the corner, disappearing from sight. “Sweet dreams, Y/N.”

You don’t know if you want to squeal at the gesture, or punch him for leaving you hanging. Biting your bottom lip in a manner befitting anticipation, you turned to climb up the rest of the stairs with a smile, very much looking forward to the next two days.

When Reno returned to Shinra HQ for the night, Elena would make note of the stupidly happy grin on her senpai’s face… even when he was handed a datapad containing the plans for the next night’s operation.

December 12th

The following night…

You grinned as you watched your friend, Selene, open up her gifts from each member of your friend group. She had just been accepted at her dream career of being a planetary conservationist, and was due to move away from Midgar tomorrow. Though her apartment was empty, you and your friends had brought enough food for the lot of you while you all celebrated and bid your goodbyes to a long time friend.

“Let us know if you meet any handsome guys where you are!” you heard someone joke, patting Selene on the back with a teasing grin. “City men aren’t romantic at all!”

“Hey! I resent that! We’re not all bad!”

“No… she’s right. We’re not romantic.”

Maybe it was the good vibes and laughter that prevented you all from noticing when the ground started shaking. Maybe you had all indulged a little too much on the alcohol. Regardless, no one was laughing when a large steel beam crashed through the apartment roof and landed on top of where Selene had been standing with her parents.

The room descended into shocked silence as all eyes stared at the metal beam…the crumbling ceiling…the limbs sticking out from under the mess of rebar, concrete, and wire…and the blood… All of your faces went pale at the realization of what happened. And then, the panic.

“Oh god!”

“Selene!”

“Someone call emergency services!”

“Help me lift this thing up!”

“So… much blood.”

Stumbling backwards, your eyes darted from the rubble to the moving bodies in the apartment before looking at the hole in the apartment ceiling. The beam could only have been from the plate… But how had it fallen? Had a piece been loose this entire time? …Had this been your fault? You were in charge of the plate maintenance project… you hadn’t read any reports about structure integrity over Sector 7… but maybe there had been something hidden. You shook your head in denial. No, the project proposal was sitting on your desk at Shinra HQ, nearly finished except for the conclusion. There had been nothing irregular about the plate above the Sector 7 slums. Not even when you’d gone personally with the inspectors to investigate.

And then, above the shouting voices and confusion within the apartment, you heard it. Helicopters and gunfire… people screaming outside.

“No…” you whimpered, eyes wide as you sprinted for the front door, throwing the latch open and ramming yourself into the metal door in your rush to get out onto the apartment balcony hallway.

Now that the door was wide open… now that you stood with a view of the Sector 7 Slums, the cacophony of screams and noises reached your ears with no problem. The plate above groaned as explosions detonated along the underside of its structure, sending larges pieces of debris crashing down like meteors upon the residential buildings below. You could see several Shinra helicopters flying away from the plate pillar, where the explosions seem to have originated from. Down in the streets below, the residents of Sector 7 scramble in different directions to avoid being crushed by the seemingly crumbling night sky.

“The plate’s falling!” You cried out to your remaining friends before making a break towards the stairway down to the ground floor, ensuring that the path was clear before waving your friends over. Just as you stepped off the stairs, another massive explosion rumbled violently from above you, the sheer volume of the noise popping your ears and throwing off your balance. A random civilian ran in your direction, screaming and flailing his arms, knocking you down in his haste to get away from another falling metal beam.

You’d landed on your arm wrong, but the adrenaline running through your body kept you moving as you stumbled to your feet and trailed after your friends. Behind you, another giant piece of the plate crashed into Selene’s apartment building with such force that the ground beneath your feet shook as the structure caved in on itself. You watched as people fled from their homes, as fires started and spread. You watched as people begged to be rescued, their limbs trapped under flaming metal and wood. You continued to stumble forwards even when rubble rained down upon you all like hellfire, crushing the unlucky many on the path ahead of you and blocking you off.

You wanted to cry… or maybe you were already crying. All around you, the plate continued to fall, blocking you off from any means of escape. Your ears rang from the magnitude of noises. Your arm had begun to ache from your fall. The flames consuming the houses rose in intensity, scorching your surroundings while you fought to maintain your balance. Trying, among the chaos, to find a way out of this impossible situation. But no. If you went one way or the other, you would be burned severely. Any other way would require you to pick through pieces of metal that were easily ten times your body weight.

Another explosion, this time coming from the direction of the pillar, sent you crashing to the floor from the force it left in its wake.

I hope you all made it out of here. You prayed to the Planet that your friends had gotten out of Sector 7. Looking up towards the falling sky, you could only sob as it fell too fast for your liking. Resigned, you brought out your phone, intent on calling a certain red headed Turk one more time.

“Hey, Reno. It’s me, Y/N…” you dry swallowed and held back another sob, hand raising to muffle your cries of misery. “I just wanted you to know that I’m glad that I met you. I’m really annoyed that you didn’t kiss me yesterday night, and I-” the line on your phone beeped to signal a disconnect, and you pulled the phone away to stare hopelessly at the screen.

No signal.

A bitter laugh escaped your lips as you bent forward, pressing your face to the cracked glass screen. A shadow swallowed your figure whole as the last of the plate fell down. “Reno…”

“I was really looking forward to our date.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thank you for reading!